Whenever Will moved schools, there was never a fuss made about his arrival. Like some sort of spirit, he'd be there one day, gone the next. Though he had started to take most lessons with the other kids, he still wasn't all that recognizable. He'd been set at the back of the classroom, staring at the stationary that his Grandmother had bought, made an effort to mail him. It was set neatly next to him. Ms. Sandsforth had made him feel very welcome when they'd given him a tour of the small school that morning, so he wasn't as nervous as he usually was, though he was making a real effort to keep himself to himself, hands firmly set in front of him.
The majoty of the class was gathered in a crowd near the front of the class.
Hannibal had turned ten the weekend before, and had brought cupcakes to celebrate. He was glad to be showing off his cooking skills - his foster mother was delighted that he had them at all - setting out the boxes and grinning at his work.
"Woah. Did your Mom make those, Hannibal?" A usually rather timid blonde girl asked. Hannibal shook his head, smiling proudly and pointing to himself. There was a chorus of impressed muttering.
The blond started handing them out, one for each child, an entire box left over after he'd given one to everyone gathered around him. His eyes traveled the room and landed on Will, Hannibal squinting for a moment before his mouth widened. He took a particularly nice cupcake and stepped over to the chair Will was in, extending his arm.
Will stared at the cake that had been pretty much shoved into his face, the child supressing a glare.
"No thanks, I'm not hungry-" Will began, looking up at Hannibal and falling hauntingly silent, blinking at the blond. He opened his mouth, closing it again a moment later after some debate.
"It's... You, isn't it?" Hannibal nodded slowly. He couldn't believe he had actually found Will again, his chest lighter somehow.
He still had the book, sitting on his bedside table because he had so few actual belongings to cherish. Hannibal offered the cupcake again. Will took it, though he wasn't particularly hungry.
"I... I hope you liked the book." He did miss it, but his father had forked out to buy him a smaller version, which he read often. The male averted his gaze.
The bell for recess rang, but Hannibal didn't budge, reaching out his hand and setting it atop the brown mop of. Curls on Will's head. He pulled the limb away, glancing over his shoulder to watch the other children scramble towards the door. They were quickly alone, save the teacher, who was lingering in the doorway waiting for them.
Hannibal licked his lips and leaned forward to press a kiss to Will's mouth before he bounced away, the teacher too shocked to do much of anything when her star student passed her.
Will's eyes had widened to ridiculous proportions. He stood so fast his chair fell behind him, Will pressing two tentative fingers to his lips, as if Hannibal had slapped him rather than kissed him. He was frozen, swaying subtly back and forth.
Hannibal had retreated to a small inlet, hidden under a stairwell and leaning against a heater. He had fully intended on kissing Will, but wasn't quite sure what had made him do so, touching his own lips and feeling the echo of Will's surprised response. After a moment of pointless blinking, Will broke into a run, disappearing down the stairwell and stopping once he reached the doorway that lead to the playground, because he knew Hannibal would not be there. He turned intently on his heels, scouring the unfamiliar hallway with a clinical, humorously adult-esque stare.
He could hear soft breathing, turning back towards the heater, an arm outstretched. Hannibal blinked up at Will from his shaded hiding spot, scooting over to offer the brunette a place next to him.
"Y-you kissed me." He mumbled, frowning.
"You're a boy. You're not supposed to kiss other boys." Hannibal looked silently pleased with himself for a moment, unmoving. He patted the space next to him again, and Will gritted his teeth.
"Answer my question, please." He muttered.
"Or can't you talk? I'm not gonna sit next to you unless you say something." He crossed his arms firmly.
Hannibal's smile fell, and he looked to the floor next to his feet, sniffling lamely. He was still so afraid of speaking, but was confident Will wouldn't hurt him if he did.
"I think you're pretty, in a way girls can't be." He explained, voice smooth, measured, soft.
Will furrowed his brow. He stepped forward, pressing his palm to the wall but stopping abruptly.
"Your voice sounds weird." He noticed, shifting his foot along the floor.
"I don't like talking." Hannibal responded.
"I used to get hurt for talking. If a grown up hears me, I might hurt again."
"Uh... Grown-ups don't hurt people in schools for speaking. You used to get detention if you spoke during morning prayers at my old school, but they never hurt you." Will sat himself next to Hannibal, immediately empathising with him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be nasty to you." He attempted to smile, but it just made him look unwell.
Hannibal was charmed by Will's attempt at a normal person expression. He had mastered them out of necessity, but Will seemed incapable. He was so much less human than his peers, Hannibal not feeling disgust or abhorrence in his presence.
"I'm Hannibal." He changed the subject.
"My sister used to call me Hanni. You can, if you like."
"I think I'll call you Hannibal." Will replied, staring at the wall opposite them. Hannibal's gaze was far too intense. He never much liked eyes, anyway.
"I'm Will. My Grandma calls me Wilma. I don't want you to call me that."
Hannibal looked Will over as he spoke, taking in the tight ball of a fist, the troubled expression, the bags under his eyes.
"Why are you so afraid?"
"I'm not afraid." Will almost sounded offended. At any rate, he was lying, the child looking away.
"You see things differently than most people, you know things. Me... me too. I can see what people feel, on their faces." Hannibal started. Will fell somewhat silent.
"I... I can see things how other people see them. If something goes missing, I can work out who took it, and why." Will admitted after a moment.
"An overactive imagination. That's what it's called. I'm usually right, though."
"It's not, though. If it was imagination, then you wouldn't be right." Hannibal responded easily.
"We're both special, and nobody can see it."
"They know I'm special." Will said almost simply.
"They put me on a bus with lots of other special kids, ages ago. I'm better now." Hannibal frowned. Will didn't understand the the people they were surrounded by were just that, people, when they were gods, that they were so much higher, better, more deserving. He supposed they couldn't share every experience.
"Can I kiss you again?"
"Why do you want to kiss me?" Will asked, defensively. Hannibal pondered for a moment, looking away.
"Because you're... interesting." It was a compliment he hoped Will would understand, turning to look at him again, catching eye contact and shifting the hand he was supporting himself with closer to Will's. Will leaned forward, what little childish curiosity he had preserved driving him forward.
"... I'm... O-okay..." He responded, voice a mere whisper. It was almost, just the slightest bit exciting.
Hannibal pressed their lips together, running a hand through Will's hair as he tilted his head, their lips pressed tightly together. He pulled away after a moment, watching Will carefully.
Will's face has subtly reddened, but other than his flush, he seemed unchanged.
"That was... A little weird." He admitted softly.
"Grown ups do that a lot. I don't get it. I just feel kinda warm, now." Hannibal leaned against the warm metal behind him, smiling and blushing himself.
"Grown ups use their tongues sometimes. I think that's gross." He admitted half-heartedly, setting his hand on top of Will's and squeezing it.
"That's really gross." Will replied with a distasteful frown. Though he flinched at the contact between him and Hannibal, he relaxed moments later.
"Grown ups are weird." The younger child smiled a little to himself.
"We... we should never grow up. Me and you, smart forever." Hannibal sounded more like a child than he probably ever had.
"I... don't ever want to grow up."
"I do." Will admitted.
"I want to get a job. Stay in one place. My Dad moves around a lot. I don't like it." He stared at his hands.
"Why don't you wanna grow up?"
"I hate grownups." Hannibal said, sounding more disgusted than angry.
"They break everything they touch because they're selfish and destructive."
"Not all grown ups. Just the bad ones." Will hummed to himself.
"My... My Grandma says that there are bad people, and there are good people. The good people often outnumber the bad people, she says. I don't know if I believe her."
"Why are kids never bad like adults? Growing up makes you evil, I can already feel it happening to me." Hannibal sounded pained.
"I'm moving. You... just moved here, and the adults are taking me away. I guess that's why I wanted to kiss you, so... so we wouldn't leave on bad terms." Hannibal stood.
"I'll try to find you again, when I'm big enough to." He offered Will his hand for the third time that day.
Will's heart sank, though he wasn't sure why. He took the offered hand, clinging to the extremity for a moment, before letting go, letting his hand fall to his side. Hannibal brushed his hand over Will's cheek, over to his neck, a thumb working through satin brown. He leaned forward for another kiss, this one chaste and quick.
"Try to find me, too."
"I will." Will nodded, embarrased, but firm.
"Goodbye, Hannibal." He stood up, too, the bell ringing, signaling the end of recess.
Hannibal felt burn at the back of his eyes, turning and jogging away. He couldn't bare to think too much about having to leave Will.