Chapter 2
Alone in Hannibal's room Alana kicked off her heels, fell backwards on the big comfortable bed and took her pendant off. Holding it in her palm she looked at it, allowed it to remind her what it symbolizes.
"Why now?"
She asked the empty room feeling the old feeling of dread creeping over her. It had been years since inanimate animal figures had spoken to her. It wasn't a three month period she was eager to relive.
"I asked you a question"
She told the pendant but the tiny starfish kept its little mouth firmly shut.
"Now you shut up"
She growled running her fingers through her hair, messing the curls feeling restless and yet so tired... With a sigh she left the pendant on the bed and walked to the ensuit bathroom.
Letting her clothes fall to the ground Alana turned the water on as hot as she could stand it. She closed her eyes, standing gratefully under the spray, letting it massage the aches out of her.
Ten years ago she had hit her personal low. Fresh out of med school, she hadn't gotten the pediatrics fellowship she was gunning for. She had always been an overachiever and the loss of the fellowship combined with the loss of her twin it was more than enough to destroy her. So instead of hunting down other fellowships, she gave up. She got a job in a tourist trap of a shop, working with (and later for) Mouthbreather the dingy, geeky and annoying teenager for barely the minimum wage. She moved out of the family mansion and into a trailer. She was happy. Or so she thought.
The first talking figuring appeared in her life it was just when she was getting used to living the underachiever's life. But then one by one, more and more animal figurines, cardboard dogs in a police station when she got arrested, a snake on her boyfriend's t-shirt, even a freaking flamingo bird on her parents' front lawn pushed her out in the real world. Pushed her to live and experience things. Make her sister proud of her instead of living the life Arriane had chosen for herself until a car accident had claimed her life.
She had asked 'why me' the brass monkey in her therapist's office back then. The answer was 'because you listen'. And she had. She had listened to her parents crumbling marriage, she had listened to her younger brother and his atheist views of theology, had listened to her overbearing (and still overachiever) sister. She let go of things she couldn't control, pushed her best friend to go on with her own life and her boyfriend to remarry his ex and, finally, she put Niagara Falls in her rearview mirror in favor of Psych school.
And the animal figurines had shut up. Feeling in control of her mind, she put on her sister's favorite pendant and became who she now was and yet... the moment the ground beneath her feet crumbled and she was forced to view things around her through a critical eye, Arriane's pendant talked. And then the roasted pig
"Not only I have another 'sode, it's worse than before"
She mused, her voice barely audible in her own ears. The curtain was suddenly drawn aside, and a very naked and smirking Hannibal was climbing into the tub behind her.
"Hello, beautiful. Come here often?"
She shook her head and looked salaciously over her shoulder at him.
"Let me guess, you decided to do your part for the environment by conserving water."
Hannibal grinned, having lost pretenses as well as his clothes and wrapped both arms around her slim waist.
"How are you feeling?"
Alana looked in his eyes and saw worry there so she plastered a cool smile on.
"I'm fine"
Hannibal's eyes darkened and he took her chin in one hand
"Don't. Don't pretend with me. How are you really feeling?"
The worry had migrated to his voice and Alana closed her eyes for a minute and rested her head against his broad shoulder, not wanting to pull him in her crap.
The aquatic themed bathroom they were in was blue and featured sea life without being kitsch. The soap holder was in the shape of a fish and as Alana opened one eye it decided to offer advice
'Tell the truth'
Alana jumped unprepared making Hannibal look at her startled
"I... don't feel so well. Like I'm on slippery road barefoot"
She trailed quietly balancing on a need to know truth instead of therapy in a shower stall. Hannibal's brows furrowed and he tightened his hold on her thinking that dinner with Will wasn't such a good idea in retrospect. It had clearly shaken her and it caused his own mood to darken. Extending one hand to turn the water to a cooler setting before it parboiled them; he gently pushed her away from the scalding hot stream.
"Pass me the shampoo; I want to wash your hair"
He winked at her, making an effort to put all thoughts on Freddie, Mason and Will behind him, his caramel eyes turning almost ruby red as they looked deep into Alana's as she gave him an honest smile and handed him the shampoo. When she closed her eyes and her head dropped on his shoulder, her eyes closed, he gave a low growl hands wrapped possessively around her hips. Mine, he thought.
No one else's.
There was a good thing in sharing the shower, Hannibal thought. It was the perfect way to dispel images he wanted to forget in favor of new, pleasurable ones.
Hannibal found himself kissing the brunette in his arms as the images of Will holding her hand, her fleeing dinner, Will's calm disposition afterwards slipped down the drain.
Those images reminded him Alana would leave him and that it would be for the best when it happened. It made him pull her tight against him, made him kiss her like he'd never get the chance to do this again.
He wasn't supposed to enjoy being with her. He wasn't supposed to feel things. Their relationship was supposed to be a fake one, to panic Will into joining him enough for Hannibal to guide the younger man to taint the scarce evidence the FBI had against him.
He had underestimated Alana and her ability to slink past his defenses and the walls and the masks and suits that protected him from the outside world.
What had started as a gentle friendship intrigued by the cool and untouchable mask she often wore in his classroom had become a more intimate mentor/mentee relationship and bloomed to friendship soon. He hadn't expected that stepping over the friendly line, that she would find her way past his last line of defenses.
Was this love? The feeling of her belonging in his arms, in his bed, in his life, even as he kept some things from her, was love? He wished he could ask her, Alana would know. She looked adorable, her long hair wet and plastered to her body, eyes glistening, lips curled into a smile he had only seen her send his way.
"I like the way you say my name"
He spoke without thinking, his hands gently rubbing her skin clean.
"Wouldn't mind hearing you scream it in ecstasy soon."
He added slyly wondering why he always spoke without thinking first to her. She laughed and splashed him with water sending his morose and depressing thoughts away.
"Are you sure there is enough room for both me and our ego in the shower Dr. Lecter?"
"That was mean Dr. Bloom"
He said making a wounded expression that was so overdone it was obviously false.
"I'm sorry. On the bright side I've never accused you of being too big before"
She hedged with a laugh knowing that she had in fact told him she'd need extra alcohol before handling all of him on their first night together. He had bitched about having to wash the glass the next day instead of right after the dinner and her lipstick would set.
Hannibal laughed loudly and kissed her again, although he got a mouthful of water from the shower when he pulled back, and he had to spend a few moments in undignified coughing while Alana giggled behind her hand and pounded him on the back.
"Go to bed young lady"
He ordered trying and failing to sound stern. Alana watched amused as Hannibal first climbed out of the tub and offered a hand to assist her as she got out of the tub and wrap identical baby blue towels around them.
Trailing her fingers along his chin Alana gave him a kiss, a silent thank you for letting her keep her secret.
