AN- Ok people, last part of the Fromage episode. This story is almost done. Just a couple of more chapters to go.
Not Beta Read.
OoOoO
Apparently a suspicion that didn't pertain to the Chesapeake Ripper could only get Jack to send two police officers out with Will who prayed it would be enough manpower to take Tobias in, that he would the reasonable kind of serial killer that turned himself in when the cops came to question him. It was wishes made with wasted breath, the Omega realizing it as soon as words 'we kept those details out of the press' left his mouth.
"A richer, darker sound allows music to say what words can't." caused the ravenstag to appear out of nowhere, visibly starling Will enough to make everyone in the room stare at him. All conversation came to an abrupt halt as he followed the creature outside without any given reason. He was well aware his departure earned him strange looks for all gathered there in the shop, Will vaguely hearing Tobias ask "Something wrong?" in his parting. It was like a warning of fate to him, a dying animal's cry in the snow covered street outside.
The ravenstag stood before Will, the empath shocked into silence seeing it so clearly outside of his own head space, though no one else reacted to its presence. The odd looks he was getting from people passing by was proof enough of that. Looking back to his strange company, Will found the ravenstag gone like it had never been.
Upon his return, Will found one of the two police officers already dead, a metal rod protruding from his neck as he bled out the last of his life into the hardwood. Fighting down panic and fear as he radioed the situation in, Will prepared himself to hunt down Tobias, the killer having the home field advantage. Will knew there would be a basement, the string shop known as Chordophone the murderer's base of operation, found the door to a hidden Hell easily enough.
Taking in even breathes to calm the quick pacing of his rabbit heart, Will went inward for a moment. He couldn't afford being distracted or alerting Hannibal to his situation. It would only make the Alpha worry or do something rash. There was also the very real possibility that Will might die here in Tobias's basement, and that would cause Hannibal great suffering. Their bond was too far along to avoid such a thing, but Will reasoned out that he could try to lessen the effect of his demise.
Curling long inhuman fingers formed by mist and foxfire, strengthened and sharpened by pure will, the empath found the edges of his mindscape where they merged with Hannibal's own, and pulled it all back like his land and sea were a sheet on a bed. He rendered what he could, tearing it all apart to push it back into himself as far as it would go.
Feeling much like a punch to the gut that winded him, the resulting sensation from this suffered like a fissure in his skull, the Omega feeling bereft without his Alpha's pieces to hold it all together in place. He could barely feel Hannibal, though the Alpha's shock and echoing pain made Will want to curl in on himself. That wasn't an option with Tobias lurking somewhere beneath. Will knew if he didn't go looking for the deranged Alpha that Tobias would come and find him. Will remembered the man's hatred for him and his gender well.
Aware of how unbalanced he felt and essentially the walking wounded, Will plunged himself forward into danger, entering the basement alone with his firearm in hand.
OoOoO
"Nine."
"Nine times."
"I can count on two hands the number of times I've been dumped by a psychiatrist."
Franklin was not taking his referral well.
That much was obvious. Hannibal couldn't bring himself to even really feign the proper emotions, looking dispassionately back at Franklin as the Beta fumed at him. As it was, he was finding it hard enough to focus on anything Franklin was saying, but not for the usual reasons.
There was an itch in the back of his head, an odd mixture of fear and guilt with an emphasis on the former. Will was doing something other than grading bad papers, partaking in some action that he knew Hannibal wouldn't approve of, and it was enough to distract Hannibal. It didn't take a lot of mental legwork to assume that Will was contacting Jack about Tobias.
Summoning up the ravenstag was an easy enough matter, the strange beast appearing before Hannibal in their shared mindscape. "Go and remind Will of his promise." Hannibal told the ravenstag, the creature dipping its horned head to him before taking off.
The ravenstag returned sooner than he would have liked but before he could focus on it, Hannibal ended up gasping aloud. The pain in his head was intense, making him fall a bit forward in his chair when his mind was torn into without any warning. There was a gaping wound inside the bone confines of his skull, the walls of his mind palace shaking from the force of it as the rupture grew.
Shuddering from the shock of it and feeling a numbness beginning to spread from him extremities inward, Hannibal realized belated just how much of effect the bond had upon him. Its sudden absence made it that all the more apparent. Something must have happened. Will wasn't supposed to have this kind of control with the bond though, not yet, at least not over him, but here he was, gasping for air at the implausibility of it all.
"Doctor Lector…are you alright? Are….are you crying?" Through the haze and the agony of loss, he could hear Franklin stammering out his concern. Having no idea how long he had been in such an unresponsive state, Hannibal touched his fingers to his face just under his eyes, pulling them back to see the tips moistened with his own salt water. Franklin had been correct in his assessment, his face wet with tears. Hannibal wondered how long he had been crying. He didn't remember ever starting.
"Is something wrong? Did I do something?" the Beta continued to babble as if he mattered.
"Be quiet." Hannibal ordered in a tone made more harsh by his accent, looking inwardly to confirm his growing fear, the unfamiliar sensation of it souring his insides to rot. It was all gone, a void where Will's fields and ocean had once been though all the roads remained, those pathway hanging in midair like an unearthed vegetable's root system. Hannibal had no idea what that meant in regard to their bond, the pathways hovering over an abyss.
"Tobias?' filtered through Hannibal's skull, drawing him back to the real world from his state of shock.
"Tobias!" Franklin's surprised cry alerting Hannibal that they were no longer alone in his office, his survival instinct kicking him out of his own head, and into high alert. Quickly dried his tears, Hannibal rose from his seat to confront the Alpha who dared to enter his office covered in other people's blood. By the looks of it, part of his ear had been shot off by someone. Hannibal hoped it was Will who had pulled the trigger.
Scents lingered around Tobias. Most were unrecognizable, but Will's was definitely there among them. Tobias had gotten close enough to Will for some transfer, meaning that this deranged Alpha had touched his mate, his Will. The one he couldn't feel anymore in his own head.
"I came to say goodbye, Franklin." Tobias said in a grand enough manner Hannibal was confident that the killer was setting his escape plan into motion. He was here for Franklin, to end the Beta before disappearing.
"What do you mean goodbye?" Franklin started to say, a bit slow on the uptake as he took in Tobias's appearance. "Oh my god, oh my god! Is that your blood?!"
Tobias answered the question but chose to look directly at Hannibal while doing so. "I just killed two men. The police came to question me about the murder." he said with gravitas.
All the rest of what was happening around him resulted in sounding like white noise to Hannibal as Tobias and Franklin continued to carry on their conversation. Ignoring the empty sickness that began to seep in under his skin, Hannibal stared back at Tobias with a carefully maintained void expression, his mind quickly reconstructing events he had been absent for.
Will had called Jack. Jack had sent Will done to the music shop to confront Tobias. The fact Tobias was here now, talking to them, meant that Jack had sent Will with too few people, essentially to his death.
Jack would be dealt with later. For now, Tobias was his enemy in every sense of the word and his mate's murderer. His death belonged to Hannibal, the Alpha's new purpose in life driving him forward to snap Franklin's neck without hesitation. The Beta was simply too much in his way and needed to be eliminated.
"I was looking forward to that." Tobias had the audacity to look taken aback by Hannibal's action.
"I saved you the trouble." Hannibal's words tasted like ash in his own mouth, making him wonder if Tobias's death would hold any flavor to him. He wondered if anything would again.
OoOoO
It was finished.
Tobias was dead.
All that was left was to access his wounds and make his plans to depose of Jack. Sitting at his desk, Hannibal found he lacked the energy to care for himself though. He had already waved off the attending EMT, not wanting to be touched by anyone at the moment, going so far as to frighten the concerned medical professional away with sharp words and enough power to even shake a Beta to their core. The display was enough to keep the team of FBI forensics at a respectable distance from him, the men and woman gathering and cataloguing evidence doing so on quietly on tiptoe around where Hannibal sat.
His senses made Hannibal wearily lift his head, another unwelcome Alpha entering his territory, Jack's power a brooding cloud of anger all around him a dead giveaway. With it came something unexpected though. A fevered sweetness, one laden with peaches, white flowers, and sun warmed honey bourbon, daring Hannibal to hope, to believe in impossibilities.
When Will entered the room, very much alive and as far as Hannibal could tell, relatively unharmed, it took all of Hannibal's control to keep himself seated in place. His leg was too wounded for any more sudden actions now that the perks of adrenalin and survival had worn off, and he couldn't afford to show weakness in front of another Alpha, especially one that was seeking any reason to possess his Omega.
Stepping into the room carefully to navigate around the working techs, Will's gaze flitted about, taking in all the details as his wonderful mind reconstructed what had just occurred here. Hannibal knew that Will was reading every punch and kick thrown, every blow exchanged, every impromptu weapon used in desperation. Will's hesitation to approach him told Hannibal that the empath thought that he was angry with him, perhaps even expected a punishment of some sort. In what felt like a lifetime in the space of a few minutes, Will finally came near him, nervously edging toward Hannibal to lean against the edge of his desk.
"I thought you were dead." Hannibal whispered before Will could say anything, his wounds and pain all but forgotten in Will's presence. His mate, his Will, stood before him. Dirty, covered in sweat and other people's blood, but very much alive. All he could do was take Will's hands in his own, Will flinching as he did so, expecting pain. Hannibal surprised them both by bowing his head until his forehead rested against their interwoven fingers. "I thought you were dead." he whispered again. "It felt like you were."
"I shut down the thinking of it. I thought I was going to die. I didn't want to drag you into my world, especially if it suddenly ended." Will murmured, reopening the bond between them. It felt good to do so. It felt right to do so as the Alpha and Omega breathing a sigh of relief together.
"We can traverse it together. Don't ever do that again. I would rather experience your death, than your nothingness." Hannibal pressed his lips to the back of Will's hands, the left one bandaged poorly. He could allow himself this much. He wouldn't break down in front of all these people but he could do this. The bond was like a meteor shower in Hannibal's mind, shining and shimmering as the reality of it there reasserted itself. His mind palace was surrounded once again by Will's brooding landscape.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I've never been…." Will whispered, losing the words for it. He had hurt Hannibal. It had been unintentional, but he had done that to this man, this beautiful Alpha who was kissing his fingers and the backs of Will's hands like he was most precious thing in existence. The weight of it hit Will hard. He was in a bond, and not just any sort of bond. He had a soul mate, him of all people. He entirely belonged to someone, and owned that someone back just as completely
Oblivious of other people's epiphanies, Jack stood watching them, and all Will wanted to do was growl at the agent for interloping on their moment. Jack was never one for take hints though.
"Tobias Budge killed two Baltimore police officers, nearly killed a FBI special agent, and after all that, his first stop was here, at your office." Jack said, his tone low and thoughtful and just bordering on accusatory. "Your office of all places, instead of escaping while he had the chance."
"He came here to kill my patient." Hannibal answered as he made himself look up, but refused to let go of Will's hands who made no move to take them back.
"Your patient. Is that who Budge was serenading?" Will asked gently. Now that their bond was fully reestablished, he could feel how much pain Hannibal was in, both mentally and physically. Compounded by the effect of a blown ear drum, it was making him nauseous and frightened. He wanted to go home and the two of them curl up in their bed under the covers, hiding from the world for a bit until everything hurt less.
"I don't know. Franklyn knew more than he was telling me. He seemed to at least when he spoke to Mr. Budge." Hannibal said tiredly, the amount of fuck given very similar to Will's own. He felt as tired and done with the day as Hannibal looked. "He broke Franklin's neck and then he attacked me."
"You killed him." Jack said the words slow, trying to infer and imply different meanings in them.
"Yes…." Hannibal admitted in a quiet voice as he reassessed everything now that Will was alive and real again to him. Jack's death would have to be put on the back burner for now.
"Could Franklin have been in on whatever Budge was doing?" Will ventured, freeing one of his hands from Hannibal so that he could brush a lock of Alpha's hair back out of his eyes. Hannibal's perfectly coifed hair was a mess, fluffy and sticking out. The ashen locks were soft to Will's touch released from its gel hold, Hannibal leaning into Will's hand. There was blood on Hannibal's lips as well, and bruising already forming along his nose, cheekbones, and forehead. He would be lucky if he didn't have two black eyes come next morning. He looked like hell. Will thought that Hannibal had never looked more handsome, covering in wounds and victory.
"I have no idea. I thought this was simple matter of poor choice in friends." Hannibal sighed. This game of killers had not turned out well. This all could have been avoided if Franklin had been easier to refer, Tobias less reckless, and Will more patient. All things considered though, he could say he wasn't bored. It wasn't often he got to kill one of his own. It held a certain thrill to it, knowing that he was the better predator.
"This doesn't feel simple to me." Jack rumbled. "You're going to have to…"
"Jack!" Will interrupted, turning sharply to place himself in front of Hannibal, glaring at the agent. If Jack thought for a hot second that Hannibal and him were going to go down to the bureau to give any sort of statement in this condition, he was in for a world of disappointment.
"It's procedure." Jack snapped, surprised by Will's sudden defiance. The people around them flinched as Jack's power sprung up like a slap to the face. Will and Hannibal were the only two remaining unaffected by it. It was answered by Will's own, startling enough more in its viciousness than its strength to make even Jack step away from the pair in surprise.
"It can wait. You've got your killer." Will growled out, his docile nature all but gone in his sudden fury and need to protect his mate. He wanted to lunge at Jack, tear the man's throat out with his teeth, but was kept in place by Hannibal's hand on his back and the Alpha's whispers for calm in his mind. "Beverly and the others are going to have field day with Budge's basement."
"In a manner of speaking." Jack said, gesturing to the body bags. He found that he couldn't move toward Will or Hannibal, the mated couple working together to keep him at bay while not setting off the rest of the room. He could do that much at least to prove that he had some sort of control left over the situation. "This isn't up for debate."
"While we are all down there, you can explain why you sent me to Budge's without proper backup." Will fumed in place, Hannibal the only thing holding him back.
"There wasn't enough evidence at the time to merit it…" Jack started to say be cut off by Will whose voice rose with disgusted anger, drawing unwanted attention to them.
"Since when does that seem to matter? If this case had been about the Chesapeake Ripper, you would have been down there personally locked and loaded with a whole SWAT team for backup." Will all but yelled. "But no. You send me instead, a teacher with a gun and a temporary badge, along with two cops who could have given two shits less about what was going on, and now we have four more bodies. All because you wouldn't listen to me, your head wrapped too tightly around the Ripper case to care about anything less. While you had your thumb up your ass, Hannibal was fighting for his life, taking another's in self defense. We all failed today, Jack. Even you. Especially you."
Empathy could be a weapon, Will's words not chosen at random, his intention to wound the man. The verbal blows fell hard, each one hitting their mark with a precision that Hannibal could only admire. Pride curled through their bond, warming it from within as Jack appeared to hollow out as his anger left him in a rush, the agent looking gray and faded around his edges.
"Go home. I'll see you both first thing in the morning."
OoOoO
Nervously driving the Bentley, Will took Hannibal home. He tried to keep his eyes on the road, to refrain from glancing over at the wounded Alpha in the seat beside him, Hannibal was all but motionless except for his even breathing. Will didn't know if he was asleep but he doubted it. The bond was like a live wire through both their heads now, somehow more present than before. No, he knew that Hannibal was very much awake and keeping a steady pressure to the wound in his leg, citing he would stitch himself up when they returned home, and do a better job of it.
Arriving to the house without incident and with an arm wrapped around Hannibal to help keep him upright, a trial of too many stairs and rooms was painful for them both, the pair relieved as they finally entered their bedroom. Motioning down to his leg, Hannibal directed Will to guide him into the bathroom.
"Do you want me to cut those pants off of you?" Will offered to receive a frosty look from Hannibal, who settled himself on the spacious rim of the tub and took off his shoes.
"Yes, because you don't have another plaid suit just like it." Will added, putting the footwear away for him among the wealth of proof there.
"I think my attire has been abused enough for today." Hannibal winced as he unbuckled his belt, stiffly lifting his hips to slide his slacks and underwear off all in one go so he wouldn't have to repeat the action. A good long hot soak was needed. All while Will was near him being held close Hannibal decided as he carefully leaned over to start filling the tub.
"Let me help. I can do that much." Will said, guilt riding his actions as he placed the ruined clothing into the hamper. He was waved off from helping Hannibal strip down completely though, Hannibal telling him to go retrieve his medical kit.
Finding the black leather satchel easily enough in Hannibal's closet, Will discovered its contents to be most impressive and very well stocked for something kept around the house as Hannibal sorted out through what he needed. He guessed it came from being a former surgeon, much like how a mechanic would have the tools of his trade lying around the house.
Sitting on the cool tile floor by Hannibal's side, Will watched his mate work on himself, administering local anesthesia to start stitching his own flesh back together. Will could only watch for so long though, Hannibal's lack of emotion while he placed even stitches in place not sitting well with Will. His focus turned elsewhere to escape.
Hannibal's legs were long, slender things much like how a dancer's would be in tone and build. Sculpted thighs and calves ended in surprisingly delicate looking ankles. Without thinking about what he was doing, Will ran his hands over the smooth knobs of the joints, taking off Hannibal's socks as he did so to reveal long thin feet. Mended now or not, he didn't want to look at the wound in Hannibal's right leg, much like seeing a slash in a painting, or red paint thrown on rare fur.
Letting his gaze travel upward, Will noticed that Hannibal's collared dress shirt was unbuttoned so that it hung open, revealing the plain undershirt beneath. All those layers of cotton, silk, and wool made to protect him, a modern day version of armor. To keep something in or keep everything out was the question that lingered in Will's head as the day replayed itself. Revealed musculature was firm from use, the Alpha's body a well oiled, care for machine. It held a mystery in its surface though, Hannibal's body covered in scars, thin white lines that pinned stories into the man's skin.
"I should bathe." Hannibal sighed, finishing up his own treatment as he sealed a waterproof bandage over the stitching for now to keep it dry. The bruising would have to heal on its own. He would increase his vitamin E and C intake to help compensate his immune system while he was in the process of healing.
"You should sleep. I can change the sheets in the morning." Will told him, his fingers running over the fine bones and wiry muscles of Hannibal's feet. He wanted to be close, but wasn't sure what was allowed now.
"Will…." Hannibal said softly, studying his mate. Will sat near him, pressing up close to his legs, yet refused to meet his eyes again with his own.
"I'm sorry. I should have listened to you." Will whispered to Hannibal's toes, all the little piggys there neatly pedicured. "I could have waited…"
"Yes. Why didn't you?" Hannibal asked, placing his hand on Will's head to let his finger sink into the soft curls there.
"I don't know." Will mumbled, bowing his head under the weight of his mate's palm.
"You're lying." Hannibal said, letting his hand slide down to grip the back of Will's neck. That proved to be a mistake. Perturbed, Will looked up at Hannibal with wide eyes, suddenly realizing the vulnerability of his submissive positioning. He hadn't even noticed he had placed himself there at an Alpha's feet, following his base Omega instincts to surrender to his mate.
Fear.
Fast and deadly as riptide, Will's mind, his entire being, was caught in its pull and the undertow was beginning to drag Hannibal under. He hadn't felt fear like this, in such great amount since…
…..Mischa…..
Hannibal's mind rebelled. He didn't want to think about his beginning, his becoming. He wasn't ready to show Will that part of his life, his tragic childhood, and essentially what was his second birth. At the moment, Hannibal wasn't capable of handling Will's reaction…his rejection.
"Hannibal?!" He could hear Will trying to talk to him, make sense of what was happening but they were both being crushed under the weight of Will's price for his gift. Pulling Will into his arms, Hannibal looked for escape inward, taking Will with him as they fell back into the tub. He could feel their bodies settling safely enough with heads well above water.
They had much to discuss.
OoOoO
Opening his eyes, Will found himself standing in a garden. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. It even had a castle in the background and high stone walls to border it. The grounds were an island of nature in a much larger sea of dark stone, a grove of mixed wood filled with ancient oaks, silvery birch, fragrant spruce, and flowering linden surrounded by the rest of the palace made of black marble. Will knew it was Hannibal's headspace, had wandered here and there into the structure but never this far as Will walked down manicured cobblestone pathways.
As far as Will could tell, the garden was more herbal than floral, filled with rosemary, heather, and thyme, not that was any surprise to Will. The only reason he recognized so many specimens was because of Hannibal and his love for fresh ingredients. Most of what grew in this garden was being cultivated in their dining room wall.
Will found his way out of the garden easily to find himself walking into a maze of hallways and rooms he quickly lost count of. Each new space he entered though was more beautiful than the last, every room themed and filled to its edges with artwork or what looked to be a life experience. Connected by hallways and staircases that belonged more in a M.C. Escher drawing, Will viewed sculptures from the Louvre in one room to find himself tripping into a Parisian bakery in the next.
While all of this was stunning in its complexity and overall beauty, the palace was empty of any other life, most noticeably Hannibal. At the rate he was going, Will knew he would never find Alpha here if he truly didn't desire it. Trying to go back the way he came to have the garden as some sort of reference point, Will found the rooms had already rearranged themselves. He was good and truly lost for now.
"Hannibal?" Will called out to hear his voice echo in the tunnel of hallways, making the palace sound as empty as it felt. To his surprise and relief, he was answered back but not by the one he wanted to hear from most. The ravenstag entered the room he was it, a place filled with nothing but Fabergé eggs displayed on tiny, delicate spun glass tables which were really kind of freaking him out. Its hooves clicked loudly on intricate mosaic tile that looked Byzantium in design for now, the creature somehow managing not to topple anything over.
"Hello there." Will greeted it to have the creature dip its horned head in greeting back. He still didn't know how he should feel about this animal or what it represented to them, but it seemed his best bet for finding Hannibal at the moment. "I don't suppose you can take me to Hannibal?"
The ravenstag made no move to do so though, the beast staring down at Will with dark fathomless eyes made of ink and starlight.
"Please?" Will added. The magic word seemed to motivate the ravenstag, the creature moving off to an entranceway Will was positive hadn't been there a moment ago. Down darkened hallways lined with portraits of people Will didn't know, he followed the ravenstag out onto a balcony that held a sole occupant much to Will's relief.
Leaning against the carved stone railing, Hannibal looked out onto the landscape that lay outside of his palace, studying the mist that drifted across scrub fields before wandering white tendrils lost into the forest's depths. Dressed immaculately in a light blue three piece suit with pale yellow detailing, his mate was completely healed here which made sense considering they were in their own heads. Or not, Will considered. This was a strange thing between them. He knew their bond was unusual, that this place shouldn't exist or at the very least, he shouldn't be here in it.
Unsure if he should approach or not, Will looked to the ravenstag for some sort of hint to find the nightmare creature gone. Swallowing hard, Will gathered up his courage as he crept toward Hannibal to stand near him. As of yet, the Alpha had chosen not to acknowledge him though Will could feel him register his presence.
"You don't have to be afraid of me or what I am. I can't hurt you. Not anymore. Not ever." Hannibal said, breaking the held silence between them to speak low. He kept his eyes looking outward onto the fields.
"You don't know that. You don't know what I have seen." Will said just as softly back.
"I have an idea." Hannibal said, nodding down.
Will look down, over the balcony, and into the fields of his own mind below. Corpses hung in trees there. Will recognized them all. They were every victim he had ever laid eyes upon, swaying in the winds of the bone forest. Most were Omegas brutally killed by their Alphas. Some were twisted into odd poses from broken bones. Some were missing their skin, parts of their faces bitten off or their necks gnawed down to ruined meat. Others were bruised, beaten to death. Others still were carved up, made unrecognizable, identified by their teeth. All were dead and done, but not forgotten. They lived on as scars upon Will's psyche, his own personal legion of ghosts to keep him company in the hell of his own making.
Looking away to watch his knuckles begin to whiten from the strain of gripping the railing too hard, Will tried his hand at breathing to keep from passing out if that was even possible while in one's own head. His damages were showing, all the cracks of his sanity bleeding through for Hannibal to witness. The Alpha would find out just how sick Will was at his core, the evil that he was bonded to, and Will would know and feel his mate's disgust on every level alongside his own. He didn't know if he was strong enough to carry both, Will watching as his hands began to shake even while clinging to stone like it were a lifeline.
His fear was making him fluid, Will feeling like he was melting into his own misery so Will bodily shuddered when he felt strong arms wrap around him, holding him close to someone solid, taking on his weight, all of it for once.
"My parents were soul mates. I realize now it was a blessing that they died together. I have never felt so barren before." Will heard the words rumble through him from Hannibal's chest. He looked up to find Hannibal studying him with those strange maroon eyes of his. Guilt and self loathing guiding him on either side, Will could feel himself losing his sanity quicker than he would have liked. Strangely enough, all he saw in Hannibal was stability and steadfast mooring.
"I'm sorry." Will whispered, not knowing what else to say. He was desperate in the way the drowning were, grasping at passing bubbles. His hands found rich material to dig his fingers deep into instead. Will clung to Hannibal and to his shame….to his relief….the Alpha let him.
"You don't need to be." Hannibal told him gently, resting his chin against dark curls to sway in place. "You never need to be with me."
"You could have died." Will felt the words choking him.
"You say that like your own death would be meaningless. Like it wouldn't be felt." Hannibal sighed out hurt and longing all in one breath. It turned to anger when Will shrugged his words off, his grip upon the Omega becoming tight as his fingers dug in hard enough to bruise if this were real. Will looked up, startled into attentiveness. Making himself let go enough to reach up, Hannibal stroked Will's face with the back of his knuckles, ignoring the Omega's flinch.
"Look what you've done to me." Hannibal whispered, stroking Will's face with the back of his knuckles until his mate stopped trembling under his touch. Without even really trying, Will had made him into a monster who could love. He wasn't supposed to, not really. Hannibal could appreciate, he could be devoted, but he wasn't supposed to be able to love. He found it disquieting. To think of all the terrible things he was going to do to keep that love, the lengths to which he would go. "Can you even begin to fathom what you mean to me?"
Not knowing how to answer but wanting to erase the hurt and confusion he found in those peculiar sanguine eyes that reminded him of old blood gone bad, Will leaned in to place a kiss to Hannibal's lips. Dry skin rasping silken, it began chastely enough, but deepened the longer it lingered, Will feeling himself being pulling in close again where he needed to be.
The only place where he truly belonged.
OoOoO
TBC