Ch. 14

When Will finally pulled up to his little house, he was exhausted and didn't even bother unpacking his bags yet. He dragged them into the house and left them lined up along the wall in his room to deal with later. First, he needed to call Alana and let her now he had arrived safely, then he needed to drive out again and pick up groceries. No matter how tired Will was, he wanted to have his shopping taken care of before anything else. He hated to have to run out for food or waste money on cheap delivery food.

Alana was bundled up on the armchair trying to adjust again to Will's absence. Hannibal sat reading in the living room with her, unsure of how to approach her to help. Alana was in a mood; she would be over it soon enough, but for now she sulked and cried and even snapped at Hannibal when he offered to make her tea. Hannibal understood she wasn't in a proper frame of mind, but was still startled by her rudeness. When Will called, Alana's face lit up and and she composed herself before answering the phone.

"Hello Will. Is everything ok there?" Alana twiddled with the ends of her robe as she spoke.

"Yeah it's fine, I just got here. Listen, I have to get groceries so I should go soon, but I knew you'd want to know I got here alright. I'll talk later, ok mama? Take care while I'm gone, and say hi to Hannibal for me please." Will was embarrassed to find that he was blushing, and was glad Alana couldn't see.

"Yes, ok. I will tell him, don't worry. Ok, be safe, study hard. Bye Will."

"Bye mama." Will hung up and grabbed his keys as he headed out to his car again.

Alana relaxed back into the armchair and smiled. Hannibal watched her become herself again. She turned to him and grinned.

"Will says, 'hi'. I think he'd appreciate it if you called him later, but a while later, he's getting groceries and knowing Will he's avoiding unpacking." Hannibal smiled, nodded his acquiescence. "Hey, Hannibal, I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I just worry something will happen to Will on the drive and I'll never hear from him again."

"No worries Alana, I understand. I'll make you that tea now too." Hannibal got up and prepared the tea. Alana was sufficiently grateful upon receiving the tea and Hannibal completely excused her earlier behavior.

Will returned home later with plenty of supplies to last him through at least the first week of school. He made himself a quick dinner and began to unpack his bags. Most of what he brought was clothing and books, but it still took a good hour and a half for Will to get everything put away how he wanted it. He'd just sat down on the edge of his bed to rest when his phone started ringing.

The sudden burst of noise made Will jump, and helped to wake him up a little as he scrambled to get his phone out of his pocket and answer it. After a couple rings, Will finally got his phone out and answered quickly, not even bothering to check the caller ID, for fear the person would hang up. He was startled when Hannibal's voice greeted him.

"Hannibal! I…sorry I was just surprised; I didn't expect you to call. Did Alana not say 'hi' for me?"

"Oh no, she did. I just thought it would be nice to hear from you myself, and wanted to know if you would allow me to call you every afternoon, say about this time?" Hannibal was starting to grow accustomed to Will eliciting strange feelings in him, and was unsurprised to find that a fluttery feeling was growing in the pit of his stomach as he waited for Will's response. If he didn't know himself better he might have thought it was butterflies.

"You don't have to do that, Hannibal…though I would like that very much." Will glared at the space in front of him as if it was mocking him for the blush that graced his cheeks. "Uh, I, I should be able to answer my phone about this time. I should just be studying around this time during the semester."

"Very good then my dearest Will. Now, is there anything in particular you'd like to talk about?" Something in Hannibal's tone told Will that there was something specific he expected Will to tell him. The gruesome and unrealistic things Will had imagined when they'd been kissing in the library so many days ago came to mind.

Will cringed as the images flashed in his mind. He felt sick and his voice came out a squeak when he finally spoke.

"No. No, there's nothing I need to talk about. Uh, was, was there something you wanted to talk about?" Will felt icy hands claw at his insides as he waited, hoping Hannibal wouldn't comment on the obvious lie.

"William, dearest. Don't become accustomed to lying to me so soon in our relationship. You have been keeping something from me, and I have been most lenient in allowing you days to decide to bring it up on your own. Now I am done waiting since it is clear you have no intention of telling me on your own." Hannibal didn't raise his voice or even sound hurt. He was just monotone and Will suddenly felt terrified.

"No, no it's not like that. Oh Hannibal I don't want to lie to you. I just…god I'm so embarrassed and I'm afraid you won't want anything to do with me anymore. I feel like a crazy person, normal people don't think like that!" Will clutched his phone tightly and curled up in the fetal position on his bed as he prepared to admit his creepiness to Hannibal.

"Go on Will, I truly doubt whatever you could tell me is so bad that I wouldn't want anything to do with you."

"Ok…ok. Well, uh, when we kissed in the library I, uh, I kind of had these strange thoughts. Ugh, Hannibal I can't possibly say, they're too strange!" Will clenched his eyes shut in frustration.

"William…were these strange thoughts…sexual in nature?" Hannibal had a moment of fear that Will might not understand his own body's urges. That was not a conversation he wanted to have over the phone.

"What?" Will squeaked. "Oh god! No! No, Hannibal, oh my god I can't believe you just asked that! I know there are people who would think our relationship is abnormal and bad, but I know better. One of the few things I'm completely sure of is….well, it's that you are the best thing in my life and our relationship is good. I'm not ashamed by it." Will was so flushed at his admission that he had to stretch out over his bed so the air could help him cool down.

"I'm sorry Will, I had to ask to be sure. Then, Will, what did you think about? You did seem a little distracted at times, but you weren't completely unfocused. I worry, my mongoose, last time whatever it was caused you to pull away from me. I refuse to have you estrange yourself for a thought. I am too selfish to allow you to pull away from me now."

"Selfish? I think the word you're looking for would be possessive." Will felt a little fluttering in his belly at the thought of Hannibal being possessive. For a boy who never really had anyone care for him, Will was extremely flattered to think that a man like Hannibal would want to keep him around. Will smiled at the little indignant huff from Hannibal, and then sighed. "Ok, I'll tell you. Um…well when we were kissing, I had my hand over your heart…and well, I started having these strange ideas about our hearts. Um, first I thought that my arm was connecting our hearts and it acted like a large vein between our them and then the rest of our bodies died but our hearts stayed and Alana kept them in a glass box. Then I...I thought about pulling your heart out and rearranging my own organs so I could fit it in my chest next to my heart. I preserved your body though! That way, I could move your heart back and you could be yourself every once in a while. And yeah…I'm so sorry Hannibal. It's inexcusable and bizarre. The worst part is that I thought it was very reasonable when I was imagining it."

Hannibal listened, rapt as Will explained his thoughts. Hannibal could have wept; Will had such a beautiful mind and it created such pure beauty. Hannibal was tempted to paint Will's imaginings and hang them around the house for Will to see when he returned. Will's creativity was admirable, if only he would let go of his inhibitions. Not that Hannibal wanted Will trying to pull his heart from his chest, but it was nice to know Will, at least mentally, wasn't so different from him. Hannibal had known Will was special, this just helped prove it.

"Oh Will, dearest darling mongoose. That is not bad at all. They were creative and artistic visions. You shouldn't let it upset you." Hannibal was almost purring he was so pleased with this new development.

Will was shocked. This was not the reaction he had expected.

"But…but what if I acted on these thoughts? What if I hurt you? Hannibal it isn't ok! I could be dangerous!" Will pulled into the fetal position again and waited anxiously for Hannibal's reply.

"William. You are youthful, but I still have faith in my own ability to defend myself. You mustn't worry. You are a gentle person at heart Will; I believe that you could never truly cause harm. Besides, your need to defend and care for others is too strong." Hannibal wished Will held more potential for hunting, but he adored Will despite his lack of potential for killing. These violent visions would be enough to satisfy, Hannibal hadn't even counted on anything like this happening, and so it was a real bonus. Will was so full of surprises.

The memory of Hannibal killing Tobias flashed in Will's mind, and he had no doubt Hannibal was still as strong as back then.

"Ok then. Does that mean you aren't worried I will randomly become violent? I'm still scared. I'm so afraid I will harm you. Hannibal I couldn't stand it if that happened!" Will was so afraid that he trembled at the thought of himself hurting Hannibal.

"Will. Have you been listening? No, I am not afraid. Why would a lion fear a mongoose? Remember, I am the more dangerous of the two of us, and I will do all I can to be sure than neither of us is hurt. Ok Will? And you are not allowed to estrange yourself from me over this. Understood?" Hannibal wished Will would relax; his mind was a gift, not something to fear.

"Ok Hannibal. I understand. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was afraid to lose you…" Will felt like he'd been very silly.

"It's ok William, it is in the past. Now, I must get ready for bed, and it would be good for you to do the same. Sleep well my mongoose, I will call you again tomorrow." Hannibal waited for Will's reply and hung up.

Later, he slept with a smile on his lips, unable to mask his joy in his sleep. Hannibal had sweet dreams of Will's visions.

Will laid on his bed and went over their conversation in his head a few times. Finally he raised himself from the bed and prepared to sleep before returning to collapse into his bed. His earlier exhaustion caught up to him and he was out like a light. Fortunately, his sleep was undisturbed by violent visions, and, instead, he dreamed of walking in a field of flowers with Hannibal and Alana.

There were two days until Will had to go to classes, and he needed to talk to Dr. Chilton about his summer internship. When Will got up the next morning, after having slept in until 9 o'clock, he checked his email immediately to see of Dr. Chilton had agreed to meet with him. It was good that Will checked so soon because Dr. Chilton had suggested they have lunch at a fancier restaurant in town. Will sighed; Dr. Chilton always tried too hard to appear wealthy and intelligent. The man was smart, but his personality and character made it almost unnoticeable.

Will was grateful he had Hannibal to fund everything, if he was a normal poor college student he'd have had to suffer the embarrassment of either asking to eat elsewhere or having Dr. Chilton be a smug self-satisfied snob and offer to pay for his meal. Though he was grateful for Dr. Chilton seeing him as a protégé, he didn't think he could stand to be in Dr. Chilton's debt financially.

Will showered and made a half-hearted attempt to groom himself to appear presentable. He did shave his cheeks smooth, and on further consideration, shaved his mustache as well. Will didn't mean to be manipulative, but he had a feeling that Dr. Chilton was more willing to help him when he appeared younger and made Chilton feel older and wiser. Will let his hair do it's own thing, and dressed in his most casual dress shirt, a dark blue shirt, and wore grey slacks. He wore his gray pea coat and Hannibal's scarf, and hoped he'd look presentable enough. Giving himself enough time to drive to the restaurant, Will grabbed his keys and wallet and left.

Will pulled in to the restaurant and sighed. It was the kind of establishment Hannibal would be at home in, not Will. He handed the valet a twenty-dollar bill on his way out of the car, and grimaced back at the guy when he smiled and thanked Will. It made Will feel awkward to have people treat him with so much respect without knowing anything about him; It seemed so underserving. Right as Will was walking through the entrance, Dr. Chilton called his name and trotted up behind him. Will greeted him and shook his hand. He had to try not to cringe away when Dr. Chilton put his arm around him and walked him up to the hostess.

"Hello miss, I have a reservation under Frederick Chilton for lunch." Will couldn't see Dr. Chilton's face, but he knew he was leering at the poor hostess.

Will was relieved when they were seated for the girl's sake. Being leered at by Chilton was an unsettling experience. He sat and smiled and nodded through the pleasantries as Chilton talked at him. Will made a point to ignore how Dr. Chilton gripped his hand over the table, and squeezed harder each time he said something he thought was particularly clever. The waiter came and took their drink orders, eyeing their joined hands over the table.

Will was hit by the realization that this could be misconstrued as a date. He must have visibly grimaced because Dr. Chilton stopped in the middle of whatever he'd been blabbering on about and looked at him curiously.

"William, are you quite alright?" Will nodded and tried to smile while he tentatively tried to pull his hand away. Will became frustrated when he couldn't get Chilton to let go.

"Dr. Chilton, may I have my hand back please?" Will tried to sound respectful when he said it. The last thing he wanted to do was offend the guy and lose his internship.

"Oh William, I'm sorry. I hadn't even realized. Of course you may, but first, you must call me Frederick. I'm not your professor this semester, remember."

"Ok, I'll do that." Will stared at Dr. Chilton, confused as to why he hadn't let go yet. He realized he actually was expected to say his name. "Uh…Frederick." Will couldn't help stumbling over the name it felt so awkward.

"Good, good!" Chilton grinned and let Will's hand go. Will immediately crossed his arms low over his stomach and leaned a little further back in his seat.

The waiter returned with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Chilton ordered a pheasant dish, and Will ordered salmon.

Frederick suddenly turned back to Will. Will had the feeling he wasn't going to like whatever he said next.

"So, Will. You've never said what your parents do. I'm curious to know how you manage to afford all the things you do." Frederick smiled at him over his lemon water and waited.

"Um…My mom is a calculus teacher. My dad works in shipyards, I haven't really kept in touch with him." Will hoped this wasn't another attempt for Frederick to try to analyze Will. Family questions, really. So unoriginal! Will tried not to let his anger show.

"Will, you haven't really answered the question, have you? You can't possibly afford to eat at the places I have asked you to, pay for school, and own that Bentley on your mother's teacher salary and whatever you get from your father. So do you work?" Will hated that Frederick was prying; he didn't know how to explain Hannibal.

"No. I, uh, I inherited a lot of money after I graduated high school." Will was glad the food had arrived. He moved the food around with his fork to distract himself from Frederick's searching eyes.

"Oh, not to be indelicate, but did someone die?" Will glanced up and shook his head. "What? Then how can you have inherited so much?"

"Well, um, my uh, my…my partner actually is the heir…but he uh…he lets me spend it." Will's voice was embarrassingly high and he flushed bright red. He was glad he hadn't said anything about Hannibal's prison time though, that would have been too much to admit.

Frederick stared at Will in shock for a moment and then tried, but failed, to act natural.

"So you have been with…you partner since high school? That's quite a while…congratulations. Do you have a photograph of him or something? I'd like to meet him sometime, he must be very special." Will could practically feel the waves of curiosity rolling off of Dr. Chilton. Everything needed to be inspected and exposed; the guy couldn't stand not knowing something. It was one of the few things that made him a good forensic scientist though. The guy loved details.

"Uh yeah, thanks. Um…I have one photo." Will relented, if only to get the guy to stop asking. He pulled his wallet out and showed a small photo he kept. Will had a photo of Alana in one pocket and one of Hannibal in another. Will had taken the photo of Alana on her birthday the year before, and the photo of Hannibal had mysteriously wound up in his wallet a few days ago. It looked quite recent too, so Will assumed Hannibal had it taken for the sole purpose of giving it to him. It made Will smile.

"Oh, is that a photo of your mother. She looks beautiful. That must be an old photo though." Will looked confused.

"No…I took that photo just last year. Anyways, this is Hannibal." Will held out the photograph of Hannibal. Hannibal looked like a model, he was leaning against a bookshelf in the library and smiling in the Zen way he always did. Sometimes Will imagined bombs could drop around Hannibal, and he'd just stand there and smile.

Now Dr. Chilton looked truly confused. He didn't understand how the young woman in the photograph could be William's mother, and the older man could be Will's partner since high school.

"Oh! Uh…right. How much older is Hannibal than you? If you don't mind me asking." Will was getting frustrated. He knew his life wasn't normal, but it was good. He wasn't going to let Frederick Chilton make him feel ashamed.

"Hannibal is twelve years my senior. Well thirteen really, but that's only for a small portion of the year. My mother is only ten years my senior; she adopted me. We all live together back home at Hannibal's when I'm not at school, and we are very happy. Now can we talk about the summer? I need to make sure I have all the basic knowledge and experience required before hand. I have brought a list of my classes for this semester. Please look it over and tell me if it is good enough." Will put away his photographs and his wallet before handing the list of classes to Frederick.

Dr. Chilton has been startled by the subtle vehemence from shy little Will, but took it all in stride. Will's strangeness made some sense now at least. Frederick decided that the boy suffered from daddy issues and his adoptive mother had clearly been too young to raise him to function properly in social settings. This…Hannibal was probably some creepy rich old guy who liked young innocent men. Poor Will was just too trusting. Chilton took it upon himself to help Will; he'd make sure Will was busy with internships each break so he wouldn't have to go back to his partner. Maybe Will would forget the guy and be able to move on with his life. William had so much potential; if he was successful, Will would owe so much to him. Frederick could almost taste his success and fame in the forensic world.

"These classes are just fine William. Also, I have considered it, and I want to find you internships for each break. You can build up your experience best that way, and be sure to come out ahead of your other classmates. They're an unpromising lot." Frederick smiled, smug, and looking like he thought Will should be kissing his feet.

Will was grateful though, and paid for their meal. Frederick was amused, and happily accepted. He thought himself mighty clever allowing Will's partner to pay for his food while he plotted ways to help Will escape the man.