Will woke up with a cool breeze wafting on his exposed flesh. He lay there with closed eyes until he realized he had no clothes, he normally slept with a shirt and boxers. Opening his eyes, the events of the last night rushed through his mind. He was still pleasantly hurt but the person that had inflicted the delicious torture was nowhere near in sight. He couldn't believe that all of this had happened, it was way better than his wildest dreams, they hadn't been nearly wild enough. When he searched for his glasses on the nightstand, they were above a neatly wrapped magenta velvet robe. He was probably supposed to wear it.

Will went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth with a fingertip covered with toothpaste. He couldn't stand not to brush them and he was glad Hannibal hadn't awakened him. Morning sex sounds great, morning breath not so much. When he was descending the stairs, the smell of pancakes caught his nostrils and he rushed his steps to the kitchen only to find a Hannibal equipped with a spatula and an apron.
Sadly, he had clothes on also.

The doctor/chef motioned with the spatula for him to sit while he made another pancake. Will said good morning but Hannibal, for his mouth was full, just gave a tiny smile. He motioned with the spatula for the professor to sit and soon a perfectly rounded pancake was on his plate. Will watched in awe at the skillful and practical way Hannibal did everything and he didn't wait for a fork, he just rolled the pancake covered with brown sugar and ate it.

''Hmmmmmm, this is really good'' he said with his mouth full and after realizing how bad mannered this was, he added ''Sorry''

''No, I'm glad you like it so much that you can't wait to express your opinion''

Will, embarrassed, took a napkin and wiped some sugar from the corners of his mouth.

''There's still some here'' Hannibal pointed to the left side and ended up wiping it himself, putting his thumb to his mouth.

A simple but erotic act that obliged Will to use the napkin again for he was almost drooling.

''Do you have to go to the office?''

''Not really''

They ate in a peaceful quiet. None of them mentioned the night before, Will didn't feel like a lover. He chose not to dwell on it now and started to wonder about the PK case. It's not that he didn't care about it, but nothing had been relevant. He had a strange feeling about the shop they had visited and that awfully suspicious kid that he didn't remember the name. He hadn't told anything to Jack because it was only a gut feeling, he didn't trust himself entirely. Maybe the gut feeling was simply pointing to the scary way those handmade puppets remembered the corpses... wait!

''Actually, I do. Would you drop me at the university?'' he almost forgot the magic word when near Hannibal ''please?''

''Right now? At least finish your meal''

He ate a whole pancake with only two bites and instead of sipping the coffee, he gulped.

''If you eat like that, you'll feel sick'' Hannibal took the plate from him, offended ''You're not even tasting it, let me pack some and you can eat it later''

''Sorry, it's just that I really have to get there as soon as possible''

''It's a pity that you're in such a hurry''

''Why?''

''You see, I had plans'' Hannibal walked into Will's personal space.

''W-what?''

''I haven't had a complete breakfast. I'm still hungry'' He tugged at the belt of the robe, letting it loose.

''Pancakes weren't enough?'' Will took a few steps back until his back was against the balcony but the doctor trapped him there.

''Not even nearly''

''The cake looks good'' Will gestured to a cake at the other side of the balcony.

''No, I think I'll have'' Hannibal opened his robe and whispered on his collarbone ''you for breakfast''

Will doesn't have an inner goddess to whisper advice but he does have a left brain side with encephalitis and a right brain side with morals. Right now both sides were arguing fiercely.
Don't give in, please don't give in - with morals

give it to him, please give it to him - with encephalitis

Will didn't truly listen to any of them, nor did he follow his heart. He followed his cock, that, right now, was being held by the warm hand of the person he desired most.

''I guess I could stay a little longer'' he said with a defeated voice.

Hannibal parked the car at the university. After having sex on the balcony, they took a shower, not in the hot tub, and drove to Will's destiny. Hannibal sincerely wanted to spend more time with Will. Even if they couldn't have sex in the campus (or maybe they could, if it was up to Hannibal), the doctor was still interested in Will's development of the mind. So when Will hesitated to get out of the car, Hannibal only opened the door boldly and asked:

''Are you coming?''

Will happily got out of the car and they strolled to his classroom. Correction: Will strolled.

''I have to compare the photos of the victims'' Will explained why he was in such a hurry ''I have a theory, a suspect''

''Compare the photos of the victims with what?''

''With the puppets!''

''I don't see where you're getting at''

''Explaining with photos will be easier'' he opened the door to the classroom and reached for the keys of his desk in his pocket.

He unlocked the drawer and took his laptop and the copy of the file of the PK case. While his laptop turned on, he displayed the photos along the desk.

''You see the way the victims were dismembered? Every time they're cut differently. That doesn't mean it's a different person, he is experimenting, trying to reach the perfect cut''

''It will take him long to achieve it, then. The cut is brutal, nothing sirurgical''

''Different ideals, his ideal of perfection is brutality. The first experiment, he cut at the joints, where is easier. The last, you can see he cut through the bone at an awkward angle''

''Do you have a suspect?''

''Remember that second shop? The puppets had members separated exactly the same place as the victims''

''Now I see where you're getting at, but many puppets are made that way''

''The old man said they're all originals and handmade, but just in case, let's see if this model of puppet is common'' he typed puppet on the google bar.

Many things appeared: sex dolls, links to fanfictions related to puppets... He searched through images and as he had expected, no puppet had the members sewed the same way.

''Even if I'm wrong I have to at least talk to Jack about this''

''I'll walk you to your car''

As much as he wanted to stay longer with Hannibal, he had to do his duty. He was just about to ask Hannibal if he didn't want to go to the office with him when the doctor said, as if he had read his thoughts:

''I have a patient in'' he glanced at his clock ''thirty minutes''

''Ah, see you later then?''

''How about dinner at my house?''

''I'd like that'' Will smiled and opened the door of his car.

There are things in life that you have to ask. It is so easier to ask. The answer can hurt you, but it hurts more if you don't try. Despite hating clichee phrases about life, Will followed the advice of the sentences above.

''Can I have a kiss?'' he said hesitantly and looking at his feet.

Hannibal didn't answer, just took the professor's chin between his thumb and forefinger and kissed him gently, in no hurry. It wasn't a long kiss but it was enough to take Will's breath away. When the doctor pulled off, Will was using the car as support and fought hard with indiscreet thoughts of fucking in public. Hannibal seemed to be thinking the same as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

''All you have to do is ask'' the doctor said, tucking his hands in the pocket of his coat ''I expect you for dinner at eight o'clock''

They've had dinners at his house many times before but Will had a feeling that this was like a date. As he drove to the office he couldn't stop thinking about this: he had to comb his hair.

Hannibal had just finished cleaning the mess they had done when the campaign sounded. That was strange, his next patient would be Mrs. Bullit and she was always late for her session. His instincts proved right when he opened the door and came face to face to an awfully suspicious kid. He didn't react outwardly but he immediately remembered the kid from the puppet shop.

''I saw you and the other agent at the corner of my street, I know the police don't accept that kind of shit'' he paused and entered the house uninvited, taking a look around ''If you want me to keep my mouth shut, let's make a deal, will ya?''

The kid smiled mockingly and sat at the closer chair available. This kid had been extremely rude, walking uninvited to Hannibal's sanctuary and blackmailing him without explanations, the kid probably didn't even knew what the word means. The kid was screwed.

Thanks to all of you reading this. Please review (: