Several hours later Hannibal came home. He had given Will a key to his house a while ago and was not surprised when he got back from England to find him and Abigail waiting for him.

Seeing the Styrofoam box that Hannibal had, Will asked, "Did you kill Sherlock? Is that why you went over there?"

"No, I did not. This is now what remains of Jim Moriarty."

Upon hearing the name, Will took a step back, his finger nails digging into the palms of his hands. It didn't matter that Hannibal had just said the man was dead. It didn't matter that Will now killed people and ate them without so much as flinching. What Moriarty had done to him still terrified him in some ways.

"But his death did involve Sherlock did it not?" asked Abigail. "Is that the 'case' you two discussed when he and John were over?"

"Yes, in fact. Sherlock Holmes is very much alive though you can clearly not tell anyone that," Hannibal replied. "Speaking of which, how have you heard so quickly? I doubt it's gotten into the papers over here though I'm sure the internet is full of the incident."

"Actually John called me," replied Will. "He . . . he couldn't stop crying. Why would Sherlock do that to him? Why?"

"One, to get rid of Moriarty. Two, to protect his friends."

"Then why hasn't he shown himself yet? This happened over twelve hours ago. Moriarty's dead, what could Sherlock possibly be waiting for?" asked Abigail.

"He has to wait until Moriarty's organization is completely disbanded. If they knew he was alive, they would kill John and several others. For now, this is the safest way," Hannibal replied.

Will opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. He thought about this and then his eyes widened. "That means Sherlock—"

"Yes, he knows," Hannibal said, utterly calm.

Abigail bit her lip. "Isn't that a problem though? I doubt he exactly approves of our lifestyle."

"For the next three months it is not a problem. After that, it depends," he replied.

Will was silent during this exchange and Hannibal finally asked, "Are you alright Will?"

"I'm fine," he quickly said. "Just thinking of John. I would suggest finding Sherlock and actually killing him but that would hurt John. The way he sounded on the phone . . . I don't want him to hurt anymore."

"I never really considered killing him anyway," Hannibal said. "The world is a far more interesting place with him in it."

"What will we do though if he tries to catch us in the act so to speak?" asked Abigail.

"We'll find a way to get out of it. Simple as that," said Hannibal. "Now, I've made preparations so the meat in here has kept since Moriarty died. Do you care to help me with dinner?"

"You mean we sit and watch you cook," Abigail replied.

"Hmm, I was thinking this time you could actually help me."

Will's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Now William, you know as well as anyone that I don't joke about my food," Hannibal said with a sly grin. "Come on, I'll show you everything you need to do."

As he passed Will, Hannibal gave him a small kiss on the cheek. The movement made Will jump slightly, not expecting it and he automatically put his hand to the kissed flesh. Hannibal went on into the kitchen, not seeming to pay any attention to Will's reaction.

Abigail smirked, laughter and mirth in her eyes as she passed Will, adding another kiss on top of Hannibal's. While she walked up to Hannibal, she commented, "Dr. Bloom visited Will while you were gone."

"Did she? What did she say? Clearly something interesting or else you wouldn't have brought it up."

"She doesn't approve of . . . of us," Will answered walking into the kitchen. "She thinks it's unhealthy."

"So there is an us?" asked Hannibal with a smile.

Will squirmed under his gaze. "No-maybe-I guess-uh—"

"What does she find unhealthy about it Will?" interrupted Hannibal, partially out of curiosity but also so Will wouldn't have to answer the other question right now.

"She thinks of us as a pack, with you as the alpha so to speak. Alana believes that you have utter control, unlike what most relationships are based around which is equality among partners," Will slowly replied, looking at the ground.

Hannibal leaned forward, his face close to Will's. "And what do you say to that?"

"If I was my psychiatrist, or even friend, I would say that I should get out of this as soon as possible."

"But what do you say?" asked Hannibal.

Abigail also leaned forward now, wondering what Will would reply with.

"I say . . . I say I don't care."

"Don't care?" questioned Hannibal with a grin.

"Even if we weren't . . . if we weren't actually together, I mean-I kill people with you! How much more unhealthy can you get?" Will said.

"And the controlling part? Do you care if I always take the lead?"

"You've always had the lead Hannibal. The only difference is now I notice it and, probably because of how much I've been around you and the kiss, Alana has noticed it to. But I don't care about it. I don't . . . I don't mind."

Abigail suppressed a chuckle at Will's embarrassed face. Hannibal leaned in and kissed him again. It was the first kiss between them where Will finally eased up and wasn't as even the slightest bit tense.

When Hannibal pulled away, he smiled and said, "Now, who's ready to begin dinner?"

The next day, Hannibal visited Will at the police academy. He said it was to see how Will was doing and what the current case was about. However, they both knew that wasn't quite true. One of the first things Hannibal did was kiss Will, establishing dominance, ownership. It made Will's face turn red but he gave a tentative smile and went back to talking about the case that they had been discussing.

Both Jack and Alana had been in their immediate company and it was easy to tell they were shocked by this display. They had heard that Hannibal had kissed Will but actually seeing it and making it clear there was now a relationship was certainly different.

Jack didn't comment on it but Alana pulled Will aside afterwards. He wasn't surprised; he'd been expecting it actually.

"You went against my judgment," Alana said, starting off what Will hoped would be a brief conversation.

"Yes, I did."

"I only want what's best for you Will."

"I know. I'm happy though. This makes me happy. Honestly Alana."

She frowned, looking at him, clearly not happy with this choice. "So you are together then? Officially?"

"He kissed me in a public place. How much more official do you need?"

"It looked more like stamp of ownership to me."

Will sighed. He had known it would go something like this but it still didn't mean he wanted it to. "Well maybe I'm fine with that."

"Nobody should be fine with that Will."

"Just because society deems it normal doesn't mean it is for me. I'm not even close to normal! It's really not surprising that I would get into a relationship that wasn't exactly customary," replied Will.

"Then you won't budge?"

"No."

Her shoulders moving up and down in a sigh, Alana asked, "Will you at least listen to what I have to say about Abigail?"

"No!" Will said before she could even finish the question. "I don't care if you approve but this is my family now, or pack as you put. You're a psychiatrist. I know that. You've told me plenty of times now but you're not my psychiatrist yet you seem to forget that frequently! I control my own life. I make my own decisions. I care about Hannibal and I care about Abigail. What is so wrong with that?!"

Alana was taken aback. She had never heard Will utterly shout at her like that. He wasn't fuming and yet his eyes were murderous.

"I'm sorry," she finally got out after some silence had passed.

"No I'm sor—" But Will stopped himself and looked Alana in the eye. "You know what? I'm not sorry actually. Alana, I want to remain your friend, I do care about you, but if you try to run my life for me then . . . then it just won't work."

She gave small nod, a wary look in her eyes. "Understood Will."

"Good. Just-oh you know what? I am sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you," he murmured, rubbing his face in his hands.

"No, you're right. You're an adult who can make your own decisions. Just know that whatever I say, it is because I want what's best for you," she said.

"I know. I'm sorry," Will said once more. He bit his lip and said, "I should probably get back to the case."

"Yes! I suppose so."

Will walked away without a good bye. Alana watched him leave and sighed to herself. As much as she didn't want to, she decided to stay out of this. If anything suggested wrongful treatment, she'd get involved again but until then, she would respect Will's decisions.