Chapter 28
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S
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Saskia had been delaying a holiday for a long time now. As it was nearing summer time and Abigail would be having free time during summer vacations, Saskia had asked the girl if she wanted to go to England for a bit. She had to go through and fine tune a few bits with her family since she was in the US for the most part.
Her mother's life insurance hadn't been released to any of the daughters yet, something about needing all of them being there for it to go through properly so Saskia decided to make a trip out of it.
Saskia and Abigail packed and got all of the dogs ready to go by ship from New York to Dover which took a week of travelling. Saskia chose a ship because it meant that the dogs wouldn't have been stressed out from the plane ride, and it allowed her to bring her huge red Range Rover which could fit the two women and half a dozen dogs.
From Dover, they went to London to get a few things for Abigail's stay in the UK, and then they drove through a few smaller cities before getting to Peterborough, and then headed to a town east of it where Saskia owned a house.
The house was huge with five bedrooms, two bathrooms with a separate toilet downstairs, two living rooms and a huge kitchen. The back garden was big compared to many UK houses, having a seperate garage at the back and another garage at the front which was attached to the house.
It was already furnished in Saskia's style with a lot of wooden furniture and tables with leather sofas and couches.
Saskia took the master bedroom while Abigail took the biggest guest room at her insistence. The dogs would have the back living room and kitchen area to themselves, sleeping on the dark red sofas in the back living room with ease. Countess, Hades, Winston, and Spike refused to sleep there, the former three preferring to sleep in Saskia's room while Spike slept with Abigail in her bed.
Barely two days into their lovely vacation away from America, Saskia's sisters decided to visit.
Saskia dispied when her sisters visited invitedly. When she was in contact with them years ago, she would have called ahead to make sure it was alright. Saskia would have thought they would do the same but she was wrong about them being polite.
After hearing the sound of chatter from outside the house and the engine of a car, Saskia went to investigate. When the locked door handle rattled as they tried to open it, Saskia snarled to herself with a swear before she stormed over to the front door and unlocked it.
"What are you doing?" Saskia stated in a plain voice, staring at her two younger sisters, Natasha and Evelott.
"What did you do to your hair?" Natasha grimaced at it. "You went back to split dye again? You're getting a little too old for that?"
When Saskia was younger, nearing the age of eighteen, she dyed her hair two outrageous colours. Splitting her hair down the middle, the left side of it was a dark red while the right was a bright ginger. While Saskia absolutely loved the style, her mother hated it and it made Saskia want to do it again.
So she did.
The left was a dark pinky red while the right was a ginger orange.
Her hair was cut down to her shoulders, just long enough to put in a decent ponytail without bits falling out.
"Never too old," Saskia smirked. "And I love it so I really don't give a shit about your opinion on it. What are you doing here?"
Evelott hummed. "Visiting."
"You didn't know I was here," She said, "Did you? Thought I was still in the US?"
"Maybe," Natasha shrugged. "Aren't you going to invite us in?"
"Why should I?"
"Because it's the polite thing to do?"
"Never said I was polite." Saskia stood still for a second before widening the door, jutting her chin inwards. "Get in."
While Saskia hated her sisters coming uninvited, her step father had always drilled into her that she should be a good host. Any time someone dropped by, she offered them a drink, which led to Natasha and Evelott sitting in her kitchen with a cup of tea in front of them both while Saskia sipped on her coffee.
"Who's that?" Evelott asked, nodding to the glass doors that looked out to the large back garden where Abigail and the dogs were playing.
Countess, Hades and Winston trotted back inside, sitting by Saskia's feet as she leaned against the wall. Spike sent the sisters a dark look and kept to Abigail.
"Abigail Hobbs," Saskia said.
"Who's she to you?"
Saskia half smiled, half smirked at that, putting her cup down before crossing her arms and watching Abigail play around with the dogs.
She didn't know what Abigail was to her. They shared a weird relationship, semi friends, semi mentor type. She couldn't describe it well.
Saskia cared for Abigail but if there was ever a need, she would kill the Hobbs girl without hesitation. Silence her throat and make it look like a suicide. But Saskia would prefer to not have to do that, mentoring and almost training Abigail into something that would benefit and aid them instead of trapping them.
There were already several different plans made, many others scrapped as soon as thought of, but a difficult one to decide on was what was going to happen to the dogs.
While Saskia couldn't care for other animals as much as she cared for herself, she knew Will cared about his animals.
Saskia had planned for Countess to be shipped off to Viktor if anything happened to her or she needed to completely go off the grid. Viktor knew this and had already agreed, liking the dog enough because she took no shit from anyone. While she was looking after the other dogs while Will is out of the picture, Saskia made sure that Abigail knew she would be chosen to look after them.
There were trust funds made already. Saskia even made one for Abigail, though the girl didn't want one but it was easier for everyone involved if Abigail didn't have to worry about student debt and loans. She could focus on getting an apprenticeship and getting into the job market properly before she had to even think about how she was going to pay rent or food.
While Abigail was a new card in the deck, she was not unpredictable.
While Saskia was a wild card, as Hannibal fondly said, with impulsivity issues and the knack for creating imaginative scenarios and plans, Abigail was not someone who liked to be a leader. Being manipulated by her father, corrupted by the influences of three creatures with dark natures, Abigail prefered to just keep to herself and not attract attention if she didn't need to. That also meant she didn't like to have too many friends because there was always a hierarchy within friendship groups.
Saskia smiled into her cup, "Someone I like more than you two."
Her younger sisters frowned and scowled at that.
"Why are you here?" Natasha said. "You're supposed to be in America."
"Summer break for universities, thought it might be nice to come back for a bit with Abigail and the dogs," Saskia said. "What are you doing in this part of Cambridgeshire? You live in the completely opposite direction."
They looked at each other, facial muscles twitching as they silently complicated and debated on who was going to tell her. Saskia raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes, giving them a look that said they should better explain quickly.
Natasha frowned when Evelott kicked her in the shin, turning on a smile before turning to Saskia. "We've got a convention nearby, and we didn't want to spend money on a hotel."
"That doesn't explain why you're here,"
"We thought since we've got this house where its only a half hour drive, it was better than getting an expensive hotel,"
Saskia laughed. "You don't have this house. I don't remember you paying the mortgage or even coming back after we all moved away."
"Don't be a bitch," Evelott rolled her eyes. "It's our house just as it is yours. We lived here for more than a decade, we've got rights to it."
"You don't fucking have rights to this house when I paid the mortage and council tax, and my name is on the deed," Saskia said calmly, a false politness coming over her but her eyes told a different story as they hooded and she didn't force a fake emotion behind them. "You are not staying here. This is not your house. I paid the fucking mortage, and unless you plan to give me half a million, this will never be yours."
"You can't do that," Evelott said, pushing her lip out with puppy eyes. "It's our childhood home though."
She thought she would get her way with that face. Their family usually gave in because Evelott was the golden child, she could do no wrong in their eyes. It got her out of so many bad consequences and punishments, their mum's anger went to Saskia instead. It quickly made Saskia despise her after figuring out what was happening.
"And? It doesn't matter to me," Saskia bared her teeth in a smile, an edge of feral danger behind it as coldness entered her voice. "This house is mine and mine alone. You both can leave."
"No!" She pouted, her eyes tearing up. Scrunching up her face unpleasantly, she shook her shoulders like she was crying. Natasha sent Saskia a disappointed and angry glare, turning to comfort Evelott.
"No?" Saskia returned it with false consideration before the dangerous curl of the lip reappeared. "Evelott, darlin', you're not a child and Mum's dead. Your crocodile tears don't work. They never did."
"You've got no fucking right to speak of Mum!" Natasha spat.
Saskia pouted, putting the up down. "Don't I? As you said before, I'm the reason she's dead. And I'm fucking glad! She deserved it."
Evelott stood, quickly storming over to Saskia as she tried to slap her older sister.
Of course Saskia was used to this behaviour and saw this coming, grabbing and twisting Evelott's wrist until her arm was behind her back and twisted until she heard a satisfying click. Not enough to permanently damage but only enough to hurt.
"Don't touch me," Saskia plainly said, shoving Evelott away from her as Natasha checked on the youngest sister. "Both of you can fuck off and leave. You are not welcome."
"You're such a bitch, Alexandria," Natasha snarled as she led Evelott out of the house, wary as Saskia followed them at a predator's pace.
Saskia smiled. "Never said I wasn't a bitch, but I'm not Alexandria anymore. Your problems are your own, and I'm still coming for my portion of Mum's life insurance."
The door was slammed into their faces before they could retort.
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H&W
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Life, as boring as it was now, continued for them.
Days became to blur for them, becoming the repetitiveness that they both hated and greatly detested. It was boring how they lived at the moment, staying at the apartment and leaving whenever it was needed.
They started to take walks everyday, taking longer ones that would take them away from the house for periods of time.
There seemed to be an empty spot in the bed whenever they slept, creating an empty area to one side or the other or sometimes in the middle on the nights both of them seemed lonely.
Hannibal would lounge around the apartment with a pencil and a sketchbook in his hands, sketching whatever caught his eyes. More often than not, each new sketch would be of the three of them rather than of the boring still life around him.
The sketches were beautiful, Will had to admit, beautiful and heart wrenching with loneliness. Each detail was precise and clean, woefully drawn with such scarcely found emotion that there was something supernatural in the way Hannibal would draw.
He didn't need references for his portraits, having memorized each and every tiny detail of his lovers' faces. The way Will's eyes would crinkle when he smiled deeply, or the way Saskia would get two faint dimples when she laughed or grinned cheekily. There was something about seeing true emotions crossing their faces which made him smile faintly, knowing they didn't mask or hide themselves around him.
He wanted to remember it so he drew. He drew and redrew, and ripped the paper up to start over again. He needed to get it right, to get their perfection on paper to fully show the appreciation he had for them and them for him. It was hard to get perfection on paper, almost impossible to get them and their perfection together but he was close to it.
"Why must you draw us nude so many times?" Will sighed, dragging a hand down his face as he picked up a drawing.
Hannibal's partners were drawn to be both in the shower, not one they knew well but one they spent a few hours in during christmas. Drawn from the waist up, Saskia was pressing Will into the wall by the hips as she had trailed open, biting kisses down his neck and onto the meaty portion between the neck.
It was drawn so Saskia's back was facing the viewer, her face hidden in Will's neck with only an inch showing a side eye glance from her. Will's face was lifted upwards to let her at it more as she had made a couple kisses bruise his skin in a way to mark her territory. The pure look of lust, love, and home.
Will's hand was buried into the base of her skull, pulling her closer as she pressed her chest into his. His other hand was curled around her waist, a possessive hold that showed off a nature that said mine.
The details were immaculate as was Hannibal's memory of the night. Each curve and sharp edge done to a divine level that it looked more like black and white photo than a sketch.
He had even gotten the mole on Saskia's left shoulder blade right, and the tinier scars on Will's hands from the dogs and working with engines.
Will had a fond look in his eyes. "This was christmas, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Hannibal said, his own fondness showing in his face. "Beauty should be preserved. I remember it well."
"So do I," He rubbed his hand through the stubble on his face. Hannibal had suggested that Will keep it tamed and neat while they were out of the US and now Will was constantly trying to make sure it was neat and tamed, taking pride in his appearance a lot more than he did a few years ago.
The next drawing Will picked up was of Abigail on the ice with the dogs around her. There was a certain happiness about her and her expression as she slid around and kept her balance with the pack swarming around her.
"I miss the pack," Will whispered, looking at the pack of dogs frozen in time as Abigail balanced on the ice. "And Saskia."
"As do I," Hannibal moved his sketchbook to the side, shifting across the lounge so his legs were on it too. He gestured for Will to lay on it with him, there was plenty of room for the both of them to lay entangled as they relaxed.
Hannibal moved until he was more sitting up as Will leaned into his side, passing the slightly shorter man the rest of the drawings. He went through the pile, looking at all of them with a certain interest that was hard to gather from Will Graham when he looked at art.
Hannibal pressed a kiss onto the area behind his ear, watching as Will stopped at a certain drawing.
Both Will and Saskia were curled up in Hannibal's bed.
Saskia leaned into Will's chest, his nose tucked into her hair as she tucked her chin against his collarbone and sternum. Will had a hand around her shoulder, holding the base of her neck loosely.
A cover was pulled around their entwined legs, covering them more than the underwear and a shirt they both wore.
Hannibal had drawn Countess at the base of the bed with one eye cracked open and looking at the viewer as if to say I dare you.
The burner phone rang loudly from where it was placed in a drawer.
They looked at each other before Will flicked Hannibal in the middle of his forehead and got up to answer the burner phone.
"Evening, Saskia," He greeted as soon as he got hold of the phone and answered it.
"Hey, Will. Is Hannibal there with you?"
Will grabbed the sketches from where they sat near Hannibal before jumping away as Hannibal tried to grab his hand. "Yeah, he is. You sound sad, are you alright?"
"Do I?" She asked. "Nah, I just had a long day."
"Will…" He warned, slowly moving to not startle him as he sat up. "Put her on speaker."
Will nodded and did as asked. A suspiciously smug smirk appeared on his face. "Saskia, did you know that Hannibal likes to draw us?"
"I did. Why? Has he become so bored that he drew us again?"
"Kind of," Will said, stepping backwards as Hannibal got to his feet. "He drew us again. Remember the night I had a case nearby and I was crashing at Hannibal's?"
"The time you had a nightmare and when I went to wake you, you grabbed me and refused to let go?" Saskia laughed. "Yes, I remember. We woke up with the covers over us. Thanks, Hannibal."
"It was freezing and you both were laying in nothing but a shirt and underwear," Hannibal said loudly. "You both would have caught a cold quicker."
"Did he draw us from that night?" She said, "How did you remember that night well enough to draw it?"
"How indeed…" Will jumped away as Hannibal tried to grab the drawings from his hands. Will laughed and just kept a few feet of space between them.
"If you're playing a game of catch the Will before he runs," Saskia laughed as she knew exactly what they were doing. "I suggest just tackling him into a fireman hold like you did to me and carrying him upstairs. I usually herd him towards the bedroom before having my wicked way with him."
"I assure you, I will be having my wicked way with him as soon as he puts down the sketches," Hannibal prowled forward, each step being mirrored by Will taking a step back. "I am quite fond of them."
"You like them because you drew us more or less naked in them," Will stated.
"Probably true," Saskia stated, there was a russell on her end. "I better go, Abigail just got back with the dogs. Have fun, darlings…"
As soon as she hung up, they both looked at the phone with a frown as Will placed the phone away. He dropped the papers onto the table, watching Hannibal carefully before a curling smile of teeth appeared and he bolted away.
Hannibal almost laughed out loud as Will went for the door attached to the bedroom. He wanted to be caught and caught quickly, getting to the fun part of the evening.
Hannibal knew Will was hiding behind the door, ready to pounce and that was what he did. Will tried to get Hannibal into a headlock but Hannibal was quick to step closer towards the bed before almost wrapping his arms around the slightly smaller male's form and swiftly dislodging him towards the bed.
As soon as Will was tossed on the bed, Hannibal started to untuck his t-shirt from his lounging trousers. Before Will could get back onto his feet properly, Hannibal shoved him back down to sit on the edge of the bed before making him lean back on his elbows. Will watched as he straddled his lap, Hannibal's knees on the outside of his thighs as a way to keep him in place.
Hannibal leaned down to him, pressing forehead to forehead before bringing their lips into it. While Will was distracted, he took out his switchblade and pressed the edge of it under Will's t-shirt.
There used to be moments when Will would entertain the thoughts of Hannibal hurting him, or at least hurting him in ways he didn't want to be hurt, or thoughts of being killed but Will now dismissed them completely. While there were moments that Will was reminded that they were only animals in human form, their true natures hidden by socialisation and pretty smiles and empty words, Will knew better to even think that either of them would hurt him, or he would hurt them.
There was too much at stake for it to happen, too much had happened between all of them for any to think they could hurt them without hurting themselves. They would rather break everyone else and burn the fucking world down before even thinking of hurting their lovers, their ones, theirs.
Hannibal sliced Will's shirt open with the knife, careful to not even dare nick him before he swiftly took his own shirt off.
"I liked that shirt!" Will protested, rolling his eyes as Hannibal rolled his hips into him. "Stop cutting my shirts up."
"Would you rather I cut these trousers off then?" Hannibal chuckled, leaning back down to spread biting kisses down his lover's jaw and neck as his hands trailed down his hands. "I wouldn't mind that."
"Because it would get me naked, I know," Will traield his own hands down Hannibal's side, shoving him to the side as he stood up. "Unlike you, I rather not ruin my clothes."
Will slipped off the ruined shirt, shaking his head at him before chucking it across the room. He toed off his socks before beginning to undo his jeans, unbuttoning them and getting them down to his knees when he realised Hannibal was just watching. He took them off completely before tossing them at Hannibal's face in frustration.
Will walked into the bathroom in nothing but his underwear, going through a cabinet to find a bottle of lube for their activities. He put it on the side table next to the bed, sitting on the bed as he watched Hannibal now begin to strip.
Hannibal raised an eyebrow.
Will shrugged. "You watched me undress and now it's my turn."
He rolled his eyes, finishing before grabbing Will by an ankle to drag him into the middle of the bed with him.
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S
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The McCall family sat in the conference room of a law building, the window on one side showed off some of the streets nearby.
Scott sat at the head of the table with Saskia on his left and Guilia on his right. Guilia sat with her husband and son. Natasha sat with her long term boyfriend, and Evelott by herself. Countess laid on the floor by Saskia's feet, curling her tail around one of her feet.
Mr Cartering, their mother's lawyer, was sitting at the other end of the table with a few small folders.
"Good to see you all here," Mr Cartering said. "Shall we get started? As you know, I was your mother's lawyer. I am here to advise and inform you about any legal action or situations that may need to occur. What would you like to start with?"
"Her will," Saskia said instantly. "What did she leave to her children?"
She had a feeling that she wasn't going to get a lot, and it was true. She received very few things from her mother, mostly smaller pieces of jewelry. She didn't really care that she didn't get a lot, she didn't want most of it anyway.
Then there was the matter of estate, meaning any houses that were in her mother's name.
"There is a house in Lithuania, in a town where I cannot pronounce the name and will not try. It says it is given to Evelott," Mr Cartering said. "Do any of you know this place?"
Guilia was the one with the best Lithuanian out of all of them so she looked at it, her face darkening in slight anger. "That's Fabius' house. That isn't Mum's to give away."
"Who's Fabius?" Evelott asked. "Doesn't matter really."
Saskia nodded at Gulia's comment. "It isn't our mum's to give away. She never had a right to the house or the land around it. Fabius is my dad and he and Mum have been divorced for decades."
"Can Fabius confirm this?" Mr Cartering asked.
"No, he's dead," Saskia mentioned. "He's been dead for years. I'm his only daughter and the house is in my name and has been since his death."
"I'll have to sort that out with your lawyer, Ms Alasite, then," Mr Cartering said. "Next item, the Vicarage to Natasha? Is there a problem?" He looked between Natasha who was glaring at Saskia.
Saskia wanted to laugh but she just smirked.
"Saskia bought the house a couple years ago," Scott said. "My wife never owned the house nor did I. Neither of us have a right to the house. We rented it for a bit when the girls were young but Saskia has owned it for about ten years or so now."
"Why does she get everything?" Evelott complained. "Mum's given them to us."
"If this is true, then Mrs McCall didn't have anything to give that has to do with the houses," Mr Cartering said. "Hmm. I will go onto the money inheritance then. Her life insurance gives each of her children, Guilia, Alexandria, Natasha, and Evelott, twenty five thousand each, plus ten thousand for each grandchild at the time of her death, so Guilia, you get thirty five thousand, and the rest of you get twenty five thousand."
"She shouldn't get anything!" Evelott almost screamed, pointing a finger at Saskia.
Saskia looked at Countess, giving her a look that said that she knew this would happen.
"Why should she?" Mr Cartering asked, looking at the folders. "There isn't anything that would disqualify her from getting what she is due."
"She's the reason Mum's dead!"
"Is this true?"
Saskia rolled her eyes, looking at her nails for a moment. "Mother was killed by an ex boyfriend of mine who was a serial killer, the Miscreant Killer. But can I just sign the damned document and leave?"
"Are you in a rush to leave?" He slid the folder towards her.
"I'm only in England because of this damn inheritance," Saskia took it, taking out a pen to quickly signature where needed with S A interlocking each other in her signature. "I just want to go home."
"Is that a wedding ring?" Guilia almost gasped.
Saskia looked at the beautiful black and red ring, remembering who sent it to her. "A promise ring."
She left quickly afterwards to get back to Abigail and the dogs.
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