Part 5: Can't Stay

Hannibal had been found out.

Will had figured out who he was. It had been by accident, purely by accident like it had the first time Will had caught Hannibal. Now Will knew and he'd left. He'd gone to call Crawford. He'd gone to find Hannibal.

Gods, I don't know what he went to do but I couldn't just stay in my house. I was the only one who knew where Hannibal actually lived since he'd been taking me there for a few weeks now, ever since I'd found out who he was.

I desperately had to save the man that I loved… or one of the men that I loved.

Will… I didn't know what he was going to do with this knowledge, but the hurt that I had seen in his eyes told me it wouldn't be good for anyone. Not for me, and especially not for Hannibal.

Grabbing my jacket and keys I ran out of my house, not even bothering to lock it. I had to get to Hannibal before anyone else did.

I pushed the garage button and slammed my car door closed, turning it on and pulling out with a squeal of tires. I drove as fast as I could without breaking any laws. Thankfully traffic wasn't a problem so I made it to the outskirts of town fast enough. Now I had to find Hannibal's driveway and wind my way through the gravel road leading to his estate.

I picked up my phone and dialed Hannibal's speed dial. He didn't answer so I cursed and stepped on the gas. I felt confident enough on this road to drive this fast. I had to get to him. I didn't know if he was home or not, but I was hoping he was.

When his house came into view I let out a sob of desperation and slammed the car to a stop outside of the front door. I turned my car off and jumped out, running up the stairs so that I could practically rip the door open.

I stepped inside and closed it behind me, locking it and turning. "Hannibal!" There was no reply and I felt tears burning down my cheeks. "Hannibal!"

I ran through the foyer, down the hallway beside the grand staircase, and back into the kitchen. He wasn't there. I went through the kitchen and out into the greenhouse where Hannibal loved to grow all of his own vegetables and herbs.

I saw him standing at the back of his greenhouse, his back turned to me. I stopped in the doorway and tried to catch my breath, my heart pounding a million miles a minute. "Hannibal."

Hannibal froze in what he was doing and slowly turned to me. When he saw me his eyes grew wide with concern and he dropped the potted plant he'd been holding. He strode over to me and his large, strong, weathered hands gripped my arms tightly. "Midnight. What's wrong? Are you alright?" His eyes focused on the light bruising beginning to show where Will had started to choke me. Hannibal brought a hand up and gently touched it with the tips of his fingers. "Where is Will?"

I let out another sob and clutched at his shirt, fisting the fabric tightly as if I could anchor myself to him. "He…" I couldn't suck in enough air. "He… Will… I…"

Hannibal scooped me up into his arms and strode back into the kitchen. He sat me down on the island in the middle of his kitchen and moved around, grabbing a cup from the cabinet and filling it with water. He came back and pressed it into my hands before reaching up and wiping away my tears with his thumb. "Tell me what happened, Midnight. Why are you crying?"

More tears came as I gulped the water down. When the glass was empty I sat it down beside me on the marble and stared into Hannibal's worried eyes. "Will put everything together, Hannibal. He knows who you are. He knows that I know. He… I don't know what he's going to do but he left. He stormed out and said he was getting Crawford."

Hannibal soaked all of it in and when I stopped talking he slowly reached up and cupped my cheek. I could see the fear in his eyes. "How did he find out?"

I gave a small shrug. "He was looking through the evidence boxes in the dining room after waking me up accidentally. He started asking me if I knew and how long I knew before he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. He asked me if I knew who you were. I tried to lie to him but he knew. He looked horrified. Then he…" I reached up and wrapped my hand around Hannibal's. "He started choking me but I didn't stop him. He stopped himself before leaving. He told me to tell you he was coming for you. He left to get Crawford so they're probably going to find us really soon."

Hannibal pulled me forward against his chest and allowed me to cry. My body shook with each sob and his hands rubbed circles against my back. "Shhh, now, Midnight. They're not going to hurt me."

I pushed away from him and swallowed back the lump in my throat. "Liar. Don't lie to me. I know what they're going to do. If they can't bring you in they're going to kill you. They're going to hunt you down. I can't let that happen." I slid down from the island and wrapped my arms tightly around Hannibal's waist, burying my face against his chest. "Please. Don't let them kill you, Hannibal. Please, please, please."

Hannibal slowly ran his hand through my hair, clutching me as tightly as I was him. "Shhh, Midnight. Shhh. I'm a bad man. I know that. They know that." He pulled slightly away and forced me to look up at him. "You know that." He leaned down and kissed me, devouring me as if it would be the last time… and it probably would be.

I pulled away from the kiss and slammed my fist against Hannibal's chest. "I know who you are, Hannibal. But fuck them. You've slowly started to change… for me… for Will…" I growled and hit Hannibal's chest again. "Leave with me, Hannibal. Right now. We can go to your birthplace. Leave so that no one can find us. They can't hurt you then."

Hannibal sighed and pulled away, tucking my arm into the crook of his. He moved out of the kitchen, tugging me along with him. "I can't do that, Midnight. I can't risk your life, or Will's… even if he… betrays me again."

He turned and we started going up the main staircase. He didn't say anything until we'd made it to the top and turned down the hallway towards his room. "I have to atone for my sins someday, Midnight. One day. All men do."

We reached his room and he turned me, slamming me back against the door. He used his body to pin me. He leaned down and kissed me roughly, biting against my bottom lip and splitting it open. He licked at the blood as it pooled out and then shoved his tongue inside my mouth, dueling with mine.

When he pulled away I could almost see stars and my body was burning with desire. "Midnight, precious Midnight." He kissed me lighter this time.

His hand found the door and he opened it while kissing me over and over again, then he scooped me up against his chest and strode into his room. He laid me gently onto the bed as his hands feverishly ripped at my clothes. Within minutes I was completely naked beneath his hands.

He stepped away from me and began unbuttoning his shirt. He slipped it off as soon as it was open and then started unbuckling his belt. He didn't bother pulling it out of the loops but instead unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and shoved them down his legs, stepping out of them and tossing them to the side. He was beautiful, his cock happy to be free from the restraints of his clothes.

His socks and shoes were short work before he was crawling across the bed to drape his body across mine. I ran my hands down his chest as he pulled my legs out and up so that he could drape them across his shoulders. I didn't look away from his eyes as he pushed himself into me with one strong thrust. He moved with steady thrusts and met my gaze.

"Never leave me. Please. I want…" He cut my words off with a strong snap of his hips. I gasped and arched my back, dancing my hips forward to meet his thrusts. "Hannibal."

My climax started to build, burning and rolling through my body, tingling every nerve. I dug my nails into Hannibal's arms as he shifted his body upwards a little more, curling my legs up around my shoulders.

Hannibal growled down to me and his eyes burned almost red as he need for release raged through him. "Come for me, Midnight. Scream. I want to feel you lose control before I'm finished."

Each thrust was deeper and harder than the last before I felt the fire of my orgasm roll over me. I let out a loud scream, not bothering to stifle it. Hannibal reached down, wrapping his arms beneath my shoulders and lifting me up as he rocked back onto his heels. I clung to him as he moved over and over. When I felt him spasm inside of me I cried out again as he sent me over the edge; he was quick to follow after me.

Even as he spilt his burning seed inside of me, he thrust until his body was shaking for the strain. "Midnight."

When he stopped moving and his hands slackened from behind me I allowed myself to fall backwards onto the bed, my chest raising and falling as I tried to control my breathing. My body jerked every few seconds as my orgasms slowly vanished. Hannibal slowly slid out from between my legs and curled up onto his side, pulling me up against his body.

I curled up against him, laying my cheek against his chest. I could hear his racing heart and I smiled as I closed my eyes, exhaustion stealing me off to sleep. "I love you, Hannibal. I'll always love you."

Hannibal slowly stroked his hand up and down my back as I drifted off to sleep. "I'll always love you too, my love."

Those were the last words I heard before I slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep, Hannibal's heartbeat lulling me.

[Hannibal]

I don't know how many hours I lay there holding Midnight but with each passing one I knew what I had to do. I knew it would break her heart, but I couldn't continue to be on the run.

When the moon started to raise outside, I slowly slipped out from beneath Midnight and pulled the blanket up around her, tucking her in tightly. I walked over to the pile of clothes in the middle of the floor and pulled on my briefs.

Heading down to the kitchen I opened the fridge and pulled out orange juice, poured a cup, and then headed back upstairs.

After giving Midnight a small kiss on the cheek I walked over to my desk and sat down, reaching into one of my drawers and pulling out pen and paper.

As the hours passed by and the moon followed its path across the night sky I wrote out a long note to Midnight.

Everything I owned would go to her. My family estate in Lithuania, my possessions in this house, the money in my bank accounts. My last name.

The last one had already been done without her knowing. I'd already filled out a wedding certificate, forging her name and signing mine and filed it. The lawyer I'd went to had been reluctant at first but when I threatened him and his family's life he'd done as I'd requested. Just yesterday I'd gotten the documents in the mail that showed that Midnight was my legal wife.

I was a man who always got what he wanted.

When I was finished writing the letter to her, detailing what I wanted her to do after I was gone, I reached back into my desk draw and pulled out the new certificate, ID, my legal will, and papers that would prove to Midnight she was my wife. She was now Mrs. Midnight Lecter.

I stood up and headed downstairs into the kitchen where Midnight had left her purse. I dug through it and pulled out her driver's license and her social security card. I replaced them with the new ones and slid her new birth certificate, my will, the marriage certificate, the papers proving we were married, and the letter to her into her purse, closing it once I was finished.

With a small sigh I walked over to the phone beside the backdoor and picked it up. I dialed Will's number by heart and waited as it rang.

I had never wanted to hurt Will but I had and now I'd hurt him again… deceived him into loving the man he'd hated for so long.

After six rings Will's groggy voice answered. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Will."

I heard Will sit straight up in bed and his voice cleared up. "Lecter."

"How are you doing, Will?"

"Why?" I closed my eyes at the pain I heard in his voice. "Why, Lecter? Tell me why."

I propped my hip up against the kitchen counter and looked out the glass back door as the sun started tainting the sky with oranges and pinks. "Because I loved you."

"Liar!" Will slammed his fist against something on his end of the phone. "You used me, Lecter. You used my emotions."

"Will… dear Will…"

"DON'T call me that, Lecter. I should have known it was you. I should have recognized you that first night. Why did you play my heart, Lecter? Some sick game? To break my mind some more? Wasn't nearly killing me once not enough for you?"

"I didn't want to kill you, Will… I only did what I did because you were threatening to take away my freedom. When we were working together, catching all those bad guys, I felt… alive with you. I loved you even then, Will."

Will was silent for almost a minute before he spoke again, his voice cold and emotionless. "You were a monster, Lecter, just like you are at this very moment."

"Do you love me, Will? Do you feel anything for me?"

"No. I feel nothing but rage and betrayal."

My heart hurt at his words but I knew there would be only two ways he would react when he found out about me; hate me or love me. He hated me without a doubt.

I bowed my head and cupped my face with my free hand. "I'm sorry, Will. I truly never meant to hurt you." I knew what I had to do. "If you really want to take me back in, Will, lock me back up forever, all you have to do is go to my office. You'll find what you need in order to find me. I'll be waiting."

I hung up before Will could say anything else and put the phone back on the hook. I slowly made my way back upstairs so that I could shower and dress before Will and the FBI arrived.

And before they did I planned on giving Midnight a shot of morphine to keep her asleep. I didn't want her to be awake when Will and the FBI came for me. I knew it wouldn't take them long to find me and I wanted everything to be in order.

I had a plan… a plan that was flawless.

It was nearly noon by the time they arrived in force. I'd set up my hunting stand in the woods behind my house and had my rifle propped up, ready if anybody but Will came for me. I wanted it to be Will. I wanted him to look me in the eyes when he killed me. It would be one final win against him and a final act of love for him… and for Midnight.

Looking through my scope I watched as Will stepped out of one of the FBI's standard black SUVs with Crawford. I picked up my cell phone and dialed his number, watching as he answered. He walked a little ways away from Crawford. "Where are you, Hannibal"

"Midnight's inside asleep. Try to make sure they don't disturb her until we're through here. I don't want her to get in the middle of this."

Will was silent for a long moment before he covered the phone and barked out orders to some of the agents. When he came back onto the phone he started looking around for me. "Where are you?"

I gave a small smile. "You'll have to come find me, Will. A game to see if the mongoose is stronger than the lion."

"Lecter, I'm not going to play games anymore. I don't want to kill you."

I sighed. "And I'm not going to be locked away. I've enjoyed my years of freedom, Will, and I will either be free or die trying. You should know this, precious Will."

I heard him growl into the phone and then he hung up. I watched through my scope as he started talking with Crawford and pointed to different places around my estate.

After a few minutes he pulled his gun out and walked into the woods, heading in the opposite direction of me. I sighed and sighted through my scope at one of the agents who was sitting and smoking a cigarette. I never did like lazy people. I pulled the trigger and hummed with approval when the bullet punctured the man's shoulder, throwing him backwards.

Agents swarmed around the man and Will came running back into sight. After assessing the situation he turned towards where I was perched in my hunting stand. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed my number.

I answered on the first ring. "I hate lazy men, Will."

"Guns aren't your thing, Lecter. Blades are."

I gave a small shrug. "Blades. Guns. Whatever works is fine by me."

Will started moving in my direction. "Are you really going to make me kill you, Lecter?"

"Only if you want to."

"I will, Lecter."

"I know. I've know you were capable of killing me the moment you killed Garret Jacob Hobbs." I gave a long sigh and sat my rifle down on the floor of the stand. I moved to the hatch and started climbing down, holding the phone in between my shoulder and ear.

When I was on the ground I slid the phone back into my hand. "If you keep going straight, Will, you'll find me in one of the most beautiful meadows I have on my property. If you bring anyone else they'll die. I promise you that. So keep that in mind when you come for me. Their blood will be on your hands."

I hung up and tucked my phone into my suit jacket. This wasn't my best suit so I didn't mind if it got a little dirty while romping through the woods. I headed towards the meadow I'd told Will about and found myself a little perch on one of the largest boulders.

The sun was warm and I closed my eyes, soaking up what might be the last warmth of September that I'd probably ever feel.

When I heard branches cracking close by I shifted towards the sound and watched as Will stepped into sight, his gun aimed at me, his hands steady. He stopped walking when he was close to the boulder. "Lecter."

I pushed myself off the boulder and landed with a soft thud infront of him. I stopped moving when I felt Will's gun press against the top of my head. "Shoot, Will."

I watched the grass move in the light breeze while I waited for Will to respond. It was a beautiful day to die. "Stand up, Hannibal. Slowly."

I did as he asked, standing slowly until I was towering over him. I smiled. "You're like a piece of art today, Will. The sun behind you, your curls blowing back and forth. The gun in your hand steadier than ever before."

Will lowered his gun, resting it against his thigh. "Why play me, Hannibal? Tell me that? Why now? Don't you realize the trauma, the nightmares, I experienced after you nearly killed?"

My heart ached at the pain I saw in his eyes and heard in his voice. "It wasn't my plan to play you, Will. Not when I've loved you since the first time we worked together."

"Liar."

"I do apologize for almost killing you." I took a small step forward, raising my hand to touch Will's shoulder.

He jerked back and raised his gun before I could. "Don't touch me." He took a couple steps back. "Your apology comes too late, Hannibal. My mind… isn't the same. It's more twisted than ever, sick beyond repair. I'm barely hanging on by a thread to my sanity."

I sighed and knelt down in front of him, absently running my fingers through the slightly green blades of grass. "If I could take back what I've done to you, Will, I would. In the blink of an eye. Loving you and loving Midnight has… shown me the better side of life." I tilted my head upwards so that I could look at Will. "Did you know I promised her I wouldn't eat anymore 'free-range' rude?"

Will shook his head, his beautiful curls bouncing, and the sunlight bringing out the light gold of his hair. "No."

I closed my eyes and allowed a small smile to play across my face. "For both of you I would give up my very life…"

"I'm not asking for your life, Hannibal."

I cracked one eye open. "But I won't give up my freedom."

"Hannibal."

I stood up in one smooth motion and brushed the wrinkles out of my suit. "I'm sorry, Will."

I lunged aggressively at Will, not fully intending to hurt him.

Will's gun fired seconds before I would have wrapped my arms around him.

I crumpled to the ground, blood splattered across the lower half of my jaw as I struggled to take a breath. I could feel my blood flowing out of me but I didn't know where he'd shot me.

Will dropped his gun and followed it to the ground, a look of horror masked across his face. He gently reached out and touched my side, pressing his palm against the jagged hole in my suit. "Why? Why, Hannibal? For fucks sake, why did you make me shoot you?"

I smiled up at him and slowly reached up to cup his scruffy cheek, grimacing at the pain that sliced through my side. "Because I love two people."

I slumped a little to the side and coughed roughly, blood pooling at the corner of my mouth. Will scooted quickly around to my side and gently laid me down onto his lap, his hand running over and over through my hair, my blood on his hand matting it. "I can't. I can't." Will shook his head and started to rock back and forth as I stared up at him. "I'm sorry, Hannibal. I'm sorry. I do love you. Why? Fucking why?"

I let out a small gasp as I shifted, reaching up to pull his face down to mine. I pressed my bloody lips against his and the taste of blood and tears mingled together. I whispered softly against his lips. "Take care of her… pl…ease…" My eyes closed and I felt the world slip away from me, my body drifting into a silent dark world.