Will paced up and down Hannibal's office. He'd been repeatedly pacing for a long time now, and he had lost track of time a considerable amount of time ago.

"Will, are you quite alright?" Hannibal's voice finally broke the silence, a silence that was only previously interrupted by the sound of Will's shoes thumping against the wooden floor, which would creak and groan in protest of the weight above it.

"Yes, I am fine. I'm fine…" Will trailed off. He sharply turned around and looked at Hannibal, curious to find out if he would see through his lie; of course he wasn't fine.

Hannibal raised an eyebrow. Will turned away from Hannibal and resumed padding around the office. Will reached the end of the room and looked up at the delicate mahogany carvings on the wooden bookshelf. They stretched up and around, and were intricately and individually carved, every pattern unique to its neighbour.

"Will, you sometimes forget that I no stranger to mind games." Hannibal stood up and began to slowly walk towards Will. "I know you are not 'fine' and that something is clearly bothering you." Will tensed at Hannibal's words, He did care about him? He ran his fingers against and traced the patterns in the wood of Hannibal's desk, stroking the carvings and exploring the crevasses.

"No matter how insignificant or how troublesome your problem is, it is in my best interest that you are content. Now tell me what is on your mind."

The tone in Hannibal's voice told will that he was deadly serious, he did care about Will; both of them knew it well.

Will exhaled deeply, and ran his fingers through the thick curls of his hair. "It's just stuff, you know" he sighed. Will collapsed on the chair Hannibal had just left unoccupied and grasped dense dark clumps of his hair.

"Will…" Hannibal began.

Will stared at the floor, afraid of what Hannibal would have to say to his childish answer.

As Will glared at the floor, he felt a familiar stinging brewing behind his eyes. The wooden planks began to blur, and Will watched as his shoes collected the first few droplets. They formed a pool on the top of his shoe, and trickled down and landed on the floor.

"I'm just not feeling too good, you know? I mean, I've just got a lot to deal with right now, and Abigail's just-"

Will let a high-pitched choking sound escape his throat as he gave into himself and sobbed loudly, deep wailing gasps broke the silence that had settled in the privacy of Hannibal's office. Will let everything out, he knew he'd regret this later, but currently he just needed some form of comfort, the only person he could think to go to was Hannibal.

He felt his body suddenly tense as a hand was placed gently over his shoulder, he stopped crying immediately, and he realised the owner of this hand was Hannibal. He strangely found some comfort in this, and he quickly relaxed as Hannibal began tenderly rubbing his back, it was soothing, calming, to know Hannibal was there for him.

"Come on, I know what you need. I'll get your possessions together. I don't know about you but I'm hungry, a decent meal always lifts my spirits."

Will ran like an excited child and bagged the table at the back, the one with the high chairs that was almost never available. He could remember as a child, he'd loved sitting in the big chairs, he could watch everyone eat their food in peace from up there. He'd take note of how different people would eat their food. Some would shovel vast amounts in and hardly chew, some would take the tiniest mouthfuls and take forever to finish; currently Will was watching curiously as a stout man with greasy black hair ate a little of his meal and left, leaving the rest to be thrown away.

"How wasteful."

Will was interrupted from his observations as Hannibal arrived with a large tray of food. A big Mac and large fries. Will immediately felt a wide smile creep onto his face. It was nostalgic, eating at McDonald's again. The last time he was here was with his father, he must've been about thirteen. Hannibal placed the food down in front of Will and sat down opposite Will. Will attacked the boxes containing his meal like an animal, and wolfed down the fries and began to tear into his burger. Hannibal couldn't hide his subtle smile as he watched Will gnaw at the food like a famished hound that hadn't been fed for days.

"Somebody's hungry" Hannibal remarked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Will. Hannibal found some level of comfort in watching Will eat, and when Will had finished, he found he instantly missed the feeling he got from watching him devour his meal, so he gave him his own untouched portion. He had no food of his own now, but he didn't care. It was just nice to observe Will eating so ravenously. Hannibal wasn't even hungry, so it was better that the food went to those who needed it.

Will fumbled around in the mountain of wrappers, napkins and boxes he'd made. He dug around in the leftovers, and searched impatiently as he began to grow more and more frustrated.

"What is it?" Hannibal sharply asked, as Will had interrupted eating. "What are you looking for?"

Will gestured towards his cup of coke that been left untouched. "Straw", he mumbled through a mouth crammed with fries.

"Ah, I didn't remember to get you one. I am sorry Will, my mistake." Hannibal apologised. "I believe they keep spares over there," He said, pointing to the table of condiments, where there were straws, and ketchup, as well as those useless coffee stick things Will thought nobody ever used.

Will's face went red, and he looked down submissively. "I-I can't…" Will began to stutter.

"Hm?" Hannibal interrupted.

"I-I can't get a straw… I-"

"Really? Why ever not?" Hannibal interrupted a second time, but his voice still sounded patient and gentle, similar to how an adult might talk to a young child.

"I don't like all the people, you know, looking at me…" Will stammered.

"I see."

Hannibal stalked off and returned with a straw. He placed simply it in front of Will, who began to slurp at his coke loudly, as Hannibal quietly sat back down; eager to continue watching Will eat.

Will felt bloated and uncomfortable, his jeans pressed tightly against his rounded stomach. Hannibal picked up on Will's discomfort, and quickly realised he should've stopped Will from eating so much. Hannibal was angry with himself for doing this, he should've taken more care of Will, it was his fault that Will was uncomfortable. No matter, he'd sort it when they got home. Hannibal rose, and left. Will eagerly followed him to the car, much like how a dog would follow its owner.

The drive home was a silent one, the soothing humming of the engine combined with a full belly began to send Will drifting into sleep. Hannibal didn't mind this; he possibly even liked it, he let the contentment escape onto his face as he drove.

Will was woken by Hannibal wrapping his arms around him, Will was startled, but curious to see what Hannibal would do. Hannibal wasn't aware that Will was awake yet. Will lolled his head onto Hannibal's shoulder and he was surprised to feel strong, deltoid muscle strain beneath his clothes as he picked Will up and out of the car like a baby. Hannibal carried Will to his house and laid him down in a huge bed.

Will was still trying to cling on to consciousness but sleep kept taking him. The last thing he could remember was Hannibal pulling a white blanket over his still, resting body and leaving him to sleep peacefully as he left the room.