11

Will watched the view of Hannibal's back as the FBI agent put the cuffs on his hands. And Will noticed Hannibal had not spoken a single word since he left his house. Hannibal's silence reminded Will that Hannibal once said that if he got caught he would live in his memory palace. At the time Will had not understood what Hannibal meant or how he could do it. But when he stared at Hannibal and felt his silence, he understood something. The silence must have some connection to what Hannibal said before.

Hannibal had a great, glorious and huge inner world to leave in. He said himself his palace is very huge even in comparison to palaces in the middle ages. If he decided to live there, nobody could force him to come out. No one could see him or get inside him without his permission. And Will kind of understood why Hannibal was not afraid, why he so calmly faced Will when he said he had already called the FBI. Hannibal did not want to get caught but he was not afraid of that. Hannibal has his own world, one that Will was allowed to get in before. But he was not sure he would be able to get in this time.

Looking from Hannibal's point of view, he did do something hard to forgive. He abandoned Hannibal, he betrayed him and he hurt Hannibal's heart. His thoughts on Hannibal were as complex as Hannibal's thoughts on him.

"Consider it an act of reciprocity."

He remembered the conversation with Hannibal when he killed the one that Hannibal sent to kill him. He spent so long trying to ignore the effect of Hannibal but it wouldn't be ignored. He always told himself Hannibal was not important, not as important as justice. But as he stood in front of his house and watched Hannibal' s back, he had a thought that he might really lose Hannibal this time. He had always been so sure about Hannibal's feelings for him, but not this time. He felt alone again. He had not felt alone since he first met Hannibal. But now he felt that. He finally admitted how important Hannibal's company was to him. The loneliness made him so miserable.

"Will, are you alright?" asked Jack.

"Yes, I am fine. I want to stay alone for a while. When you're finished, just leave."

"Will, you..."

Will smiled to Jack and told him he was fine. And he closed the door. He went to bed. He wanted a long sleep. He was afraid that he would have nightmares but he still needed to sleep now. He needed to sleep in his steam.

I noticed there are some readers from China or Chinese Taiwan. And if you want read this story in Chinese, just tell me.

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