Week later, at the day of their date, Hannibal thought he would make a surprise for Will. He wanted to pick him up from work and take him home. For the last week they both had been busy and they hadn't had an occasion to see each other. They had called each other instead to talk, to see how things had been going, to share their thoughts about the cases. And Hannibal really wanted to see Will at the moment.

He went to the class Will had lecture in and saw Will standing in front of his students and telling them about evidences. At this moment, at this one precious moment he was incredibly proud of Will. He was proud of Will generally all the time, when he could see he was getting better, but at this moment it was visible. Pride was filling him. If he could he would just jump over the stairs and kiss him in front of all his students to show them Will was only his. And to show them Will was not a 'freak'. Will could be very sensitive and passionate, it was just not everyone could see this. But maybe this was better. Will was his and they didn't care about the world. They didn't need the world. People seemed useless and tasteless. Nothing mattered now when they had each other.

Hannibal smiled. His precious Will... He would keep him safe in his arms.

Hannibal was following every step of Will, every moment of tension on his face, every twitch of his muscles. He didn't like so many people in his space. The only thing Hannibal really wanted now was to take him home, pull a warm blanket over him and rub his tensed muscles to soothe him.

Will found him. He caught his eyes. He looked startled at first, but after a second he smiled wide at Hannibal, who blinked to him.

Hannibal decided to not wait longer.

'I am truly sorry I interrupt you.' He looked at the students for just a second. They weren't what he was interested in. Will was the person he wanted to focus on now. 'William, can I talk with you?' Hannibal looked into his eyes and Will felt his knees weaken.

'Yes. Sure.' Will said as he reached Hannibal and they walked out of the classroom. 'What do you want to talk about? Is there anything wrong?' Will asked with a frown, wondering what was the cause of the older man sudden visit. After all this was the day of their date... Maybe Hannibal had thought about it and realized Will was not the one for him. He should have expected that. It had been too good to be true.

And then Hannibal's look softened and Will could see glimpse in his eyes. That particular kind of light in darkness of his eyes that always made Will feel warm inside.

'I simply felt irrepressible urge to see you. Therefore I decided to visit you here and take you home.'

Will chuckled, feeling pleasurable wave of relief in his stomach. 'Ah, Hannibal. You and your sophisticated vocabulary. You mean that you missed me. Is that right, doctor Lecter?' Will asked, grinning and raising one brow.

Will didn't expect to see mischievous smile on Hannibal's face. He was not going to let Will win that easily.

'Dauguma pasaulyje, meldžiamasis.' Hannibal said and Will couldn't stop his jaw from dropping.

'What... What does that mean?' Will exclaimed.

Hannibal laughed softly 'You will find out someday.'

'B-but... I...' Will really wanted to know. He felt it was important... But in one moment, he could see that behind sly smile was hidden fondness in Hannibal's eyes. And at this moment, it was better than any words. That look said everything. Will didn't need anything more. He just wanted to stay there, with that one man, in that one moment. Get lost in it.

But he couldn't. Not yet. He realized he had students waiting for him.

Will smiled wide to the older man 'See you soon, Hannibal.'

'See you soon, William.'

When Hannibal reached the car he decided to not get inside as the snow was softly falling from the clouds. He liked snow. It was beautiful, even though it reminded him of the past, it always brought him some kind of relief... But that was not the time to think about the past. Later.

He wanted to feel the soft petals on his skin. It reminded him of Will and his gentle fingertips. This is what he really wanted to feel now and think about.

Half of an hour later Will left the building, smiling as he saw Hannibal waiting for him. As he reached the older man, he saw somehow thoughtful look on his face. His light wrinkles became little bit deeper. And there was something more in those infinite maroon eyes. Some kind of sadness.

Will hesitated if he should touch Hannibal, before he took gently his hand and looked him in the eyes.

'Is there anything wrong?' Will asked, visibly worried.

'No.' Hannibal was looking into his eyes. 'I just missed you.' he whispered.

Will couldn't hide astonishment. Where had that sudden change in mood come from? What had he been thinking about?

Hannibal pulled his hand. 'Come, Will. I will take you home.'

Hannibal turned on classical music. They didn't say a word. There was something heavy in the air. Will could see Hannibal was tensed. Though he probably was the only person who would ever see that...

Hannibal was so closed. What did he really know about him? He was charming, intelligent, sophisticated man. What else? Not much. And what did he know about his past? Nothing. And something was telling him that past was the key.

If they wanted a good relationship, he should know more about Hannibal. They should trust each other. They shouldn't be afraid to talk about personal things. Was Hannibal afraid?

Will opened his eyes wide and turned his head to look at Hannibal. What had happened in the past?

'Hannibal... What happened to you?'

The older man looked at him with a frown. 'What do you mean, William?' Maybe it was an illusion, but Hannibal seemed to hold his breath.

'What were you thinking about when you were standing by the car?'

'About you.' Hannibal was tensed. He knew what Will's direction was. He knew what he meant. But he really didn't want to have this conversation right now.

'Something more. There was something more in your eyes.' Will looked directly in his eyes as Hannibal turned to look at him for just a moment before he turned his face away to look at the road again.

'I was thinking how much I don't want to lose you.' Hannibal almost whispered.

They were going in dangerous direction. In direction of his thoughts and dreams. In direction of his past. Nightmares. And he wasn't sure Will was ready. Or maybe it was him who was not ready...

'Hannibal...' Will's tone was protective in its soft sound.

'Yes, Will?' Hannibal had put his mask on and tried as hard as he could to not let emotions be seen. It was surprisingly hard. He had never had problems with hiding.

'Don't try to hide from me. I want to fully see you. Let me see you, Hannibal.' Will stopped for a second, thinking if he should say what he wanted to say. It didn't take him long to make this decision. 'Let me love you.' he simply said and looked straight at Hannibal whose jaw dropped slightly in shock. He looked Will in the eyes, not being able to say even a word. Just like it was when he was a boy...

They were just looking at each other for a few seconds.

Few seconds too long...

Hannibal didn't see an oncoming car.