"The act of love greatly resembles torture or surgery."
― Charles Baudelaire
Friday – 16 Sep 2022 – 1.19 PM
Will wasn't fond of flying, and not because he was afraid of the plane crashing or anything, but because he was always able to sense how many other people were. At least it wasn't a long flight they were on, just about an hour.
Presently, Hannibal had just taken a sip of his chilled bottled water at the same time as Will dropped three aspirin into his palm and tossed them into his mouth. He'd intended to dry swallow the pills but Hannibal offered him the bottle of water and Will accepted it, taking a drink of the cool sparkling mineral water to wash down the tablets. He pursed his lips after he swallowed and took a breath in through his nose, holding onto the bottle in order to give his hands something to do.
They were seated in business club class, Hannibal in the aisle seat, and even though it wasn't full in the cabin Will's headache was still significant, so maybe it wasn't entirely just because of the people around them.
He was pressing his fingers into his eyes when Hannibal spoke,
"Perhaps we should have driven." he said quietly, looking over Will who was tense in his seat, legs tucked back and ankles crossed despite the leg room, his shoulders slightly hunched. Will shook his head,
"Driving for…what?" he frowned, "Almost five hours, instead of taking a short flight…it'd be ridiculous." he mumbled and then rubbed a hand over his cheek, his trim beard rasping softly.
"For your comfort-…"
"Yes, I know," Will cut him off and then sighed shortly, "and thank you…" he added, looking at Hannibal and offering a quick, wavy smile, "…but no, it would have been unnecessary." he restated.
Hannibal only nodded in response and then turned his attention away, silence falling between them, filled only by quiet conversations happening around the cabin and the quiet hum of the plane's turbines.
Will looked down into his lap as he fiddled with the glass bottle, picking at the clear label.
It had been a short morning for him. Hannibal, as usual, had been up at least two hours before Will, having already made a light but sufficient breakfast for them both, packed the car, been showered and dressed in a slim fit black button down shirt with fine pinstripes, a pair of dark Italian designer jeans and black leather chelsea boots, perfectly put together.
Will had stumbled downstairs eventually in naught but a pair of hastily pulled on pajama pants to cover his nudity, having finally been woken up by the sound of his cell phone's nagging snooze alarm. Their flight wasn't early so Hannibal had decided to let him sleep in, but Will felt irritable with himself for being so inefficient. Hannibal was unbothered by it though, he'd smiled pleasantly when Will had walked into the kitchen half dressed, his hair in a state and still rubbing at his sleep puffy eyes and he'd pecked Will on the lips with that same smile, before Will had fallen into a chair at the kitchen table, where Hannibal had served him breakfast with strong coffee just the way he liked it.
And after an unorganized morning spent wondering what Hannibal must think of him, Will's day was off to a shitty start. He wouldn't have usually felt that way, because the morning hadn't exactly been out of the norm for them, but once again, the damn engagement ring had Will overthinking everything. And that morning, as he'd sat at the kitchen table chewing on a mouthful of what he knew was a delicious omelet, he'd barely tasted it, because he'd been wallowing in the insecurity he'd felt not long after waking up, and the subsequent personal reevaluation that followed, of whether he was good enough to and for Hannibal.
Serial killer detail aside, Hannibal was like the perfect partner…lover, boyfriend, husband…husband…
And Will, well, he was less of a mess than he had been, but next to Hannibal, less was not more.
He'd hoped to feel better after eating, and then still hoped after he'd taken a shower, cleaned up and dressed. Will had made sure he was casual but not sloppy, because he needed to look good next to Hannibal, so he wore a light gray Henley shirt and a pair of black designer jeans –because Hannibal didn't buy anything that wasn't branded- with a pair of black leather chukka boots. He'd run a comb through his hair more than the usual one time before he got all of his last minute stuff together for the trip and had met Hannibal downstairs when he was ready to go. He still hadn't felt any better though, continuing to be irritated –with himself- because he'd wanted to wake up earlier for a specific reason, having intended to sneak down to the cellar to check on whether the ring was still there or not. And not waking up early had made that impossible and had just ruined his entire morning in the end.
So on top of his internal self-doubting episode during breakfast, Will also had no idea whether Hannibal had even brought the ring along which meant he'd be completely clueless as to whether Hannibal intended to propose to him that weekend.
Will took another drink of the water and then glanced at Hannibal, who appeared to be deep in thought about something, his head inclined slightly and his eyes downcast. Will chose not to interrupt the older man, instead he turned his head to look out the window at the clouds that stretched on for miles…
…his mind drifting through several thoughts; hoping his dogs would be okay in the fancy dog hotel, wondering how their trip North would go, considering all of the ways the retreat might turn out to be a bad idea…
He wasn't sure how long he sat distantly staring out of the small window, but when he felt a hand on his knee, Will started. He was lucky that the water in the bottle he held was halfway empty or he'd have spilled it into his lap from how abruptly he'd jerked, so harshly that his sunglasses slid out of his hair and landed in his lap after knocking against the bottle.
Will hadn't been so jumpy in years.
Will clenched his jaw in frustration when he realized how undue his reaction had been and he glanced from his knee, on which there was no longer a hand, to Hannibal's lap and then he tracked his eyes upward to look apologetically into Hannibal's face. He had his contact-lenses in, would for most of the weekend, but for the first time in years, Will missed the comfort of his spectacles sitting on his nose and serving as a buffer between him and direct eye contact.
Hannibal's face was not guarded, so Will saw the displeased curiosity in his eyes as clearly as he noted the concern in the shallow crease between Hannibal's eyebrows. Will's reaction just then had been reminiscent of when they'd first been on the run in America, and Will had still been nervous and unfamiliar with being casually touched, often having tensed up or shrugged a touch off, or been caught unawares and having flinched away.
But they were so far past that that Will actually frowned at himself right then, not understanding the regression.
It was as if he were slowly turning back into the man who'd often felt wary and self-conscious and insecure around Hannibal while still –always- craving his presence and his touch and his closeness.
"Are you alright?" Hannibal asked rather evenly, considering Will could tell he was upset.
Will nodded and absently glanced around,
"I'm sorry, yes…I…" he trailed off when he noticed that the couple across the aisle from them were glancing over, looking judgmental and forward and amused, and Will also noticed two of the air hostesses serving champagne and coffee further up had noticed his reaction too and were looking curious.
That was when it really sunk in how it must look to the people staring, the fact that he was so jumpy to such a subtle touch, having popped pills, sitting and staring out of the window and looking miserable and uncomfortable…avoiding eye contact with Hannibal and leaning away from him in his seat.
Hannibal was definitely irritated by their rude stares but probably also by the ideas he –and Will too- knew were popping up in the onlookers heads. People often stared at them, Will knew that, he saw it all the time when they were out together and even earlier when they'd been walking through the airport. But never out of recognition, mostly just curiosity and sometimes disapproval.
He didn't know how people just knew they were a couple, but it was somehow obvious to everyone who saw them. Maybe it was in the way they walked side by side, the way Hannibal would occasionally touch Will with a hand on his back or his waist –or just to touch him for the sake of touching. It could have been the way Hannibal looked at him or the way Will looked at Hannibal, their easy familiarity, their comfort around one another.
Whatever it was, people stared, and whether it was because of their obvious age difference, or that they looked good together, or because Hannibal was so obviously out of Will's league, or maybe some people saw it the other way around, Will didn't know, but people always stared.
And they all had their own way of viewing things, depending on stereotyping or their prejudices, and right then, whatever they'd been thinking when he and Hannibal had been seated together had either been tainted or confirmed by Will's behavior. With his empathy, Will was able to perceive their ugly thoughts, the unpleasant things they were thinking because he had reacted so uncomfortably to Hannibal's light touch.
Hannibal removed his sunglasses from where he'd hooked them on the topmost fastened button of his shirt and he placed them on the table pulled out from the seat in front of him with a soft clack, some of his hair falling over his forehead when he leaned forward.
When he settled back into his seat, he sighed softly and crossed one leg over the other, glancing at Will briefly,
"If you've changed your mind about the retreat," Will was already shaking his head, "then we can take the first flight back once we arrive in Málaga."
"…n-no, no Han…Hannes," he needed to keep their names straight in public, "I, I haven't changed my mind…" he said quietly and took his sunglasses off his lap, placing them on the wide flat armrest space between them and then he placed the water bottle into the cubby space below it. Will rubbed a hand over his face when he realized he had no explanation he could give for his behavior. And from his stalling, Hannibal seemed to have picked up that there was nothing else forthcoming because he sighed again, leaning his head back and not looking at Will.
Will noticed one of the hostesses were coming closer to them, across the aisle and two seats up ahead. He took a breath and waited for her to pass them, Hannibal declining her offer of a beverage before Will shook his head 'no' as well. Once she'd moved on to the next people a few seats back, Will placed his hand over Hannibal's, linking their fingers as he brought it from the older man's lap into his own,
"I, I'm not…feeling well, my head…" he glanced at Hannibal and then looked away, clenching his jaw and trying to get his shit together, "…I'll be fine, I'm sorry…" he said in a rush of breath and forced himself over the small mental hump that should never have come up, turning and looking at Hannibal properly in the eye, "…don't, don't be-…"
"I'm not being anything besides concerned." Hannibal said quietly, squeezing his hand and Will nodded unevenly, licking his lips, and then, quite impulsively –due to the new Will battling the twitchy old Will and winning-, he leaned over the armrest toward Hannibal for a kiss...
They didn't kiss in public as a general rule…or at least that's just how it'd been between them all along.
Light touches and gestures, smiles and standing a little closer was all acceptable, but never kissing.
And in that moment that he leaned over, Will didn't know if it had always been his subconscious rule or Hannibal's that had kept them from doing it, but it no longer mattered in that split second when he hung himself out on a very thin wire, because Hannibal rebuffing him was a very real possibility. But Will had already gone eighty percent of the way. So embarrassment was inevitable if Hannibal didn't choose to kiss him…
…but Hannibal didn't take advantage of Will's vulnerability, he hadn't ever again since the night they'd killed Francis Dolarhyde.
And Hannibal leaned in so easily, so naturally, to meet Will's kiss that he had to wonder why it'd never happened before. It felt freeing to kiss Hannibal in public, to subtly slide his tongue against Hannibal's bottom lip, even if it was only for a brief moment, a few seconds, before they both drew back to an acceptable but still intimate distance.
Will was still partially leaning into Hannibal's space and squeezing their fingers together and he felt instantly better with some of his confidence restored. He smiled slightly, licking his lips and he even didn't care that the hostess had walked back up the aisle while they'd been in their quick lip lock.
Hannibal smiled too, a subtle curving of his lips, but in his eyes Will saw how pleased he was and Will felt that kissing Hannibal in front of staring strangers was like a new door being opened between them that had previously been locked. And it made sense to Will to start unlocking any closed doors that remained, because if Hannibal was to be his husband, Will wanted everything on the table.
Friday – 16 Sep 2022 – 2.30 PM
The Villa for the couples retreat was beautiful.
But not in the touristy getaway, overly exorbitant sort of way, it was more welcoming than that, cozy even, despite being large and spacious and it had everything necessary with just a touch of extra luxury.
The private villa they were staying in was above sea level much like their home in Alicante, and it was surrounded by tropical gardens and a view of the ocean that was just as stunning as well. The villa also had an infinity pool on its patio/balcony, which complimented the ocean horizon perfectly and added a sense of extravagance to the place.
From what Will understood from the brochure, the three couples had private access to all of the extracurricular activities available; the tennis court, spa, gym, Jacuzzi, library, sauna and so on.
The staff person who escorted Will and Hannibal to the villa when they arrived was friendly and wished them a good stay before leaving. When they walked inside the villa through the open main door, Hannibal announced their arrival audibly into the large lounge area as Will looked around, both men setting their bags down at their feet. The décor was white tiles and earth colored walls with high ceilings and hanging lights and the furniture was a mixture of contemporary and Spanish cultural design.
The brochure had said there were three double bedrooms, all of which had en-suites. The living area was spacious with a built in bar, a flat screen TV mounted onto the wall and sliding glass doors that led out onto the large balcony area where the pool was. The balcony was furnished with daybeds, a variety of garden chairs and tables and exotic plants and Will just hoped that the kitchen was up to a decent standard since the place was self-catering.
But overall, the villa seemed very secluded and very comfortable.
Juan and Isa were already there when Hannibal and Will arrived and they came in from outside to exchange greetings. Will hadn't seen the couple in a few weeks, and he was comfortable enough with Isa to return her hug and kiss on the cheek when she reached for him and then for Hannibal next. They were people Will liked and enjoyed the company of.
"Isa and I have chosen our room, there are two left and we figured we'd treat the whole thing as first come, first serve." Juan explained after they'd all greeted one another.
It made sense and seemed fair, any one of the three couples could have checked in early that morning, it had been up to them if they decided to get there early or not.
"Of course, I chose the bedroom with the biggest bathtub, you all know how I love long pampering baths." Isa was smiling and she looked a little buzzed, the margarita she had in her hand was already halfway finished and it was obvious that she'd started the party early.
Hannibal had his standard friendly smile on his face,
"Of course," he agreed with her kindly, "then we shall select our room. Ethan…" Hannibal addressed Will and said man turned to face him from where he'd been observing the hanging lights. He'd gotten used to responding to his fake name over the years. Hannibal gestured toward the doorway leading to the hall, "…I'll leave it up to you."
Will had been following the conversation absently and he nodded before he grabbed the handle of his suitcase, pushing it in so he could carry the bag instead of rolling it.
"Can I make you drinks in the mean time?" Juan asked as they started to walk away.
Will stopped walking and immediately responded,
"Whiskey, please." he was aware that he couldn't get drunk, because if he got drunk he might slip up and call Hannibal by his real name, but he would pace himself so he was at least relaxed.
"Sure, I'll make you a Manhattan." Juan decided with a grin and didn't give Will a chance to say anything else, "and you Hannes?"
"Red wine, please." Hannibal answered, looking amused from Will to Juan.
"Ah, of course," Juan quickly walked over to the bar and he looked at what was there, "Let's see, Dal Forno Valpolicella, 2007 or Leoville Barton, 2000?"
It was imperceptible to anyone else, but Will knew Hannibal wasn't pleased with either option,
"The Bordeaux, thanks." Hannibal said evenly.
Juan nodded and picked up the Leoville Barton bottle just before Will and Hannibal left to choose a room, going up the stairs that the hallway led to.
Will looked over both of the available bedrooms and despite the gaudy red and white coloring of the more contemporary room, Will liked that it had a large wall of windows which let in lots of natural light and it didn't feel like a claustrophobic space. The view was all landscape and no one would be able to see into the bedroom from outside, so it was the room he preferred.
"Is this room alright?" he asked Hannibal as they stood just inside the door. Hannibal was surveying the space as well. Will looked at the bed when Hannibal did, it was more or less in the center of the room, with a free standing square, red upholstered headboard and Will liked that the bed faced the windows, there was something about the layout of it that appealed to him.
Looking at the bed from the back of the low headboard, Will could see himself on that bed from the angle where they stood right then. Hannibal would be lying on his back, not visible due to the headboard but Will could see himself, moving on top of Hannibal, up and down, riding the older man with his hands braced on the headboard…in the day time was an especially appealing thought, with the curtains open and the sun on his back, making him work up a sweat.
Similar to how they did it at home.
Will blinked out of that train of thought when he felt his cock stir and he walked further inside to place his bag down, decision made. Hannibal did likewise, as Will had expected he would,
"It'll do fine." he finally said and he sounded sincere enough.
Will nodded, accepting that, before he followed Hannibal out of the bedroom and back downstairs to join the Cantillo's.
Isa was a tall woman, she was more or less Will's height when barefoot, with reddish-brown hair that was styled in a precise bob that aligned with her sharp jaw and she had dark green eyes and nicely tanned skin. She was lean and very feminine, the way she talked and sat and gestured, just the way she carried herself in general was entirely ladylike. Her age was apparent mostly in the fine wrinkles at the front of her neck and on her hands, but otherwise, for a woman who'd turned fifty a few weeks back –when Will had last seen her- she looked damn good.
Juan, who was more or less a year younger than Hannibal at 52, complimented her by also looking good for his age. He was wrinklier in places on his face though, not just his hands and neck and his hair was almost completely silver. Also he was taller than Isa, even a little taller than Hannibal, and lean on the side of skinny in build.
Will often looked at them and then wondered how odd – or not- he looked with Hannibal. He was almost 43, or as Isa called him, 'a young 42', because when he was healthy and happy it apparently added youthfulness to his features. Hannibal too, looked great for his age, he was healthily lean and fit, with impressive strength no one would expect him to have. His hair was an attractive mixture of silver, blonde and brown and his exotic bloodline and healthy lifestyle minimalized aging in his face and body too. He was aging well and Will knew he would continue to, inside and out. At 53 years old, Hannibal was still svelte and attractive. Isa had once said Hannibal was 'un buen partido', which basically translated as saying he was 'a good catch'.
Isa had also told Will she thought that Hannibal was damn lucky to have landed 'a young, chico guapo' like him.
And her saying that had made the stigma attached to older men who dated younger people bother Will more than it should have. Because while Isa didn't judge him, Will knew that when most other people looked at him, they likely thought he was only with Hannibal for his money and status, as the case usually was when younger men got involved with older wealthy men. It's what most people –like the people on the plane- assumed more often than not, and he really didn't like.
Feeling that way was probably the only reason Will forced himself not to be hypocritical when he met Adoncia De Villafranca and her husband.
Friday – 16 Sep 2022 – 3.21 PM
Hannibal, Isa, Juan and himself were standing outside of the air-conditioned villa on the large balcony, it was the middle of the afternoon and they were catching up with one another as they nursed their drinks.
Presently, Will had told Juan that he'd enjoyed the Manhattan drink, and Juan was explaining to Will what was mixed in the whiskey cocktail. When he was done, Isa asked how their flight had been and only then did Will's feelings of upset over what happened on the plane rear up again, the negative thoughts souring the buzz of lingering horniness that he'd been experiencing from when they'd chosen a room earlier.
Together though, the two feelings gave Will an idea of how to make up for it with Hannibal, and because he'd become so comfortable around Isa and Juan, he found himself feeling incredibly bold about it too.
Juan and Isa were telling him and Hannibal some funny story about an experience their eldest daughter had had on a flight and Will managed just enough patience to wait until the story came to an end, everyone smiling and laughing, before he looked at Hannibal and decided he didn't want to wait anymore.
Will reached out and took Hannibal's glass of wine from him before setting both of their glasses down on the garden table just behind them.
All three of them were looking at Will with curious amusement but he just ignored the heat rising to his face and cast his usual propriety aside as he slipped his hand into Hannibal's and tugged lightly, taking a step away,
"You guys are going to have to excuse us for…" he grinned when Hannibal started to follow him toward the patio doors to go back inside, "…maybe fifteen minutes." he announced, feeling a blooming of heat in his belly already.
Isa immediately dissolved into a surprisingly refined fit of blushing giggles and Juan was grinning with one eyebrow raised as he watched them,
"Only fifteen?" he quipped impishly, putting his arm around his amused wife's waist.
Will had been walking sideways, aware of Hannibal's surprised, confused and heated gaze never leaving him, and he slowed down at Juan's comment to give Hannibal a brazenly risqué once over, his eyes lingering in naughty places before he looked over at Juan and Isa with a rakish grin,
"For what I have in mind, fifteen minutes has been my record," he said honestly, Hannibal raising an eyebrow at him, but Will bravely went ahead and tiptoed over the line of decency, "but I'm gonna' put my neck into it and aim for ten." he tugged on Hannibal's hand then and led them quickly inside, blushing furiously at his own forwardness.
He heard Juan catcall loudly and Isa say 'vas, muchacho' as he dragged Hannibal through the lounge area, the hall and upstairs to their chosen room.
Hannibal only spoke once they were in the bedroom and Will had closed and locked the door,
"That was very ill-mannered and crude of you." he mumbled, standing at the back of the red headboard with a questioning look on his face as Will came toward him.
Will was too turned on to care about being lectured on his manners right then, so instead he just kissed Hannibal and at the same time he grabbed the older man's belt with both hands and undid it quickly and roughly, pushing Hannibal back to lean against the headboard as he pulled the leather strap from the buckle.
Will drew back from the deep, wet kiss when Hannibal's hands came up to slide into his hair and he grinned at the older man, popping the buttons of Hannibal's jeans open as he said,
"Ill-mannered yes, but crude, Hannibal, would have been me telling them that I desperately needed…" Will kissed Hannibal again, quick and with a scrape of teeth as he started to push Hannibal's jeans down just enough for accessibility, adding in a rasp, "…to get on my knees and suck your cock."
Hannibal's response was a low, throaty growl, an intimidating sound that made Will shiver and then he kissed Will hard and deep for a jaw clicking long minute, before letting Will drop to his knees to do exactly what he'd said he needed to.
When they came back downstairs about twenty minutes later –Will having spent only twelve minutes on his knees, which meant he was improving- the third couple had arrived, Eurico and Adoncia De Villafranca.
The newly arrived couple was standing in the lounge area, still exchanging greetings with Juan and Isa when Will, followed by Hannibal, came around the corner from the hall and walked in to join them.
Will stopped a few feet away, seeing their additional weekend company for the first time as Hannibal stepped past him with an extended hand,
"Doctor De Villafranca, good to see you again." he was saying, taking Adoncia's hand in his own as a Count would take a lady's and making a subtle bow, as was Hannibal's way with women.
She smiled and blushed as he held her hand, delighted as most women were by Hannibal,
"Please, Doctor Kask, call me Adoncia." she predictably said.
"Then you must, please, call me Hannes." Hannibal predictably responded.
She nodded, still smiling as she turned to the old man standing at her side and Hannibal turned to him as well, extending his hand again,
"And you must be the other Doctor De Villafranca." Hannibal said charmingly, always so perfectly prepared for anything even as Will stood there feeling awkward as all hell with his erection only just subsided, his lips still slightly red and the taste of Hannibal's come lingering on the back of his tongue.
Isa appeared at his side just then and handed him another Manhattan as she bumped shoulders with him.
And God, was her timing impeccable. He looked adoringly at her as he took the proffered drink and she smiled knowingly back at him.
"You may call me Eurico, Doctor Kask." Eurico smiled a bit tightly, the corners of his eyes and the skin under his ears wrinkling deeply, because he was old…like over 70 or something.
"Hannes." Hannibal offered and by that point Will had taken a gulp of his drink and was licking whiskey laced alcohol from his lips.
The attention had been on him only partially before, but now they were all looking at him because Hannibal had turned to him with the intention of making introductions,
"Ethan, Doctors Adoncia and Eurico De Villafranca," he gestured to the mismatched couple.
Will took a step forward, he knew what he had to do and he did it, shaking Eurico's –rough, wrinkled, veiny- hand first,
"Hi, Ethan Gerard." he said with a not overly noticeable, but still tense and forced smile.
Eurico nodded shortly, looking vaguely uncomfortable, and Will guessed that the man had noticed him the second they'd come into the room, aware that they'd come from upstairs and he had probably noticed the slightly dazed state Will was in, because his handshake was hesitant and he wouldn't meet Will's eyes directly. He was probably wondering where Will's hands had been.
That didn't mean he was homophobic, but Will took note of his discomfort anyway.
He shook Adoncia's hand next –normal hand in hand, no gentlemanly fanfare- and while Will hadn't really looked properly at her before, he certainly did after he'd taken her hand into his, her slender and smooth and small hand…and damn, she was young. Much younger than her husband. Younger than Will even. She was probably in her early thirties, but she was a 'young 30 something' if that was the case.
That was when Will had to remind himself not to be hypocritical about older men with younger partners, but even though he was able to dismiss his judgment, Will couldn't help looking Adoncia over with raised eyebrows.
She was petite and undoubtedly attractive, but the word cute specifically came to mind as a quicker association for Will. She had long, elbow length, cinnamon brown hair that was styled perfectly into tangling waves at the ends and her skin was fairer than Isa's but darker than Will's. Her eyes were almond shaped and dark brown in color, done up with smoky makeup, her nose was small with a round tip and she had a pretty, quirky mouth painted in a soft red-brown lipstick.
She was shorter than everyone else in the room, Will estimated that without her white strappy heels she'd be half a head shorter than himself. The dress she wore was tight and a crisp white, fitted perfectly to her subtle curves with a length that reached just shy of halfway down her thighs. It had elbow length lace sleeves and a low, round neckline that showed off the swell of cleavage that her breasts formed inside what was likely a push-up bra. And her smile was soft and sweet with straight white, veneer teeth.
As they separated their hands, her long manicured nails scraped Will's palm lightly,
"It's nice to meet you, Ethan. Isa and Juan have told me many things about you, all good, I promise." she said in her pleasant, lilting, accented English as she tilted her head and some of her hair fell over her shoulder.
Will swallowed tensely and nodded, clenching his hand into a fist once before shoving it into his jeans pocket,
"I'm sure. It's, uh, nice to meet you too." he managed a tight smile.
"Drinks, my friends!" Juan said, thankfully interrupting, and he was all grins as he poured fresh drinks for Will –again- and Hannibal and then retrieved two new glasses for Eurico and Adoncia from behind the bar.
Isa clucked her tongue at him,
"They must take their bags to their room first, Juan." she said with a blithe smile, tucking her arm into Will's and tightening her grip abruptly…and that was when Will realized he'd been staring at Adoncia…
…and that Eurico, Adoncia and Hannibal had noticed.
Will's stomach lurched quite unpleasantly and it felt as if a solid rock settled there as he dropped his gaze down to the tiled floor and held his breath.
'Jesus Christ…' he thought in a mental panic, '…what am I doing?' he truly had no idea.
Will didn't think he'd been checking her out, after all, he hadn't looked at a woman that way in years, not since Hannibal had first kissed him. But that being said…Will had noticed how pretty her mouth was, how shapely her breasts were and how soft her thighs looked. So what was that if not checking her out?
'Fuck.'
"Yes, yes…" Juan acknowledged his wife's words, shrugging as he handed Hannibal and –after a nudge- Will their drinks and then he gestured to Adoncia and Eurico, "…go then, and when you're done I'll prepare your drinks, and then," he made a big gesture with his hands towards Hannibal, "the master chef has offered to cook our meals for us this weekend and treat all of our palates to his fine, fine cuisine." he was smiling at Hannibal, who inclined his head to politely accept the compliment and the priorly discussed responsibility.
Adoncia looked eager,
"Oooh, yes, I have heard a lot about your fantastic cooking, Hannes, what will you be making for us?" and she sounded genuinely excited. Even to Will's empathy she felt sincere.
That time, he forced his gaze away from her pretty face once she was done speaking and he felt nauseous for having to.
Will looked instead at Hannibal, who was looking at Juan,
"That depends entirely on what the kitchen is stocked with." he said before sipping his wine.
Will gulped from his own drink and Isa squeezed his arm tighter in silent…support? He wasn't sure.
Juan beamed at Hannibal and winked, gesturing from his wife to Hannibal with the box of cigarettes he'd taken out of his pocket,
"Isa and I made sure you'll have everything you need and even extra, Hannes."
Hannibal continued to smile,
"Then I will be sure to make proper use of whatever is at my disposal."
Will's nausea was getting worse as he stood there in the midst of small talk. He could smell Isa's feminine perfume mixing with Adoncia's and it was aggravating his senses and fueling a dark irritation in him for the fact that the smells and alcohol had made it so he could no longer smell Hannibal's cologne or taste Hannibal's come on his tongue.
He felt so confused with his thoughts and feelings so conflicted that his head started to ache again at an alarming rate. Will hadn't had headaches or anxiety like what he was experiencing right then in years, it was unsettling.
"Let's go darling, we'll return and have that drink." Eurico said to Adoncia in clear English, only just lightly accented and he placed his wrinkly hand on her lightly curved waist to lead her away.
Hannibal looked at Will then and he met Hannibal's eyes, grounding himself with Hannibal's gaze as he often did when he wasn't feeling well and the older man knew instantly that something was wrong, he always did.
"Your head?" he enquired as he stepped closer, Isa loosening her grip on Will as Hannibal took his cheek in one hand and looked into Will's face, pressing his other hand to Will's forehead as the younger man nodded, "I'll fetch you aspirin," he told Will, lightly stroking the younger man's ear once before relinquishing his hold and glancing at Isa, "Isa, if you would, please fetch Ethan some room temperature water?" he requested.
Isa assented and quickly left Will's side to go to the kitchen, Hannibal walking away as well to fetch the aspirin from the bedroom as Juan took Will's drink from him,
"Are you alright, Ethan?" he asked, concern in his voice as he placed the hand in which he held an unlit cigarette on Will's shoulder. Will nodded, wishing Hannibal would come back and put his warm hands back on him,
"I'll be alright, just some days…I have headaches…" he trailed off from the lie as Isa came back and handed him a bottle of water. He had headaches so rarely, not some days, hardly ever. He was getting worried.
Will took the water with a mumbled thanks and opened the seal, taking a gulp from it.
He wasn't sure what the fuck was wrong with him, but he doubted the aspirin would help.
Friday – 16 Sep 2022 – 6.41 PM
It was easy to sit mostly in silence, only talking occasionally while the other four all exchanged stories.
Night had fallen but the sky was only just about dark. They were all out on the balcony, sitting on the daybeds and chairs while they talked and drank cocktails, socializing like normal people did and it was weird but Will was managing. Isa was pacing herself with her drinks, as was Juan, while Adoncia seemed quick to get drunk but was not shy to keep going. She'd already had two margaritas which left her giggly and glossy eyed but she was presently halfway through her third. Eurico only drank imported German beer apparently, so he'd brought his own booze and was drinking at a moderate pace, and Will was sticking with water. But he'd been upgraded to sparkling water with pineapple slices in it courtesy of Hannibal. It was actually pretty tasty, Will thought he might start putting pineapple in his water at home too.
Hannibal was not in their company since he was in the kitchen preparing dinner, and there were delicious smells filtering outside from whatever he was cooking.
Adoncia was the first to comment on it,
"Wow, whatever he's making in there, it smells amazing." she glanced at the patio doors, "Even our cook doesn't make anything that smells so incredible." she added, speaking against the sugary rim of her glass before sipping from her drink. Eurico was sitting beside her on the daybed leaning back on his arm, his legs were crossed and in his hand he held his beer, the bottom of the bottle resting on his thigh. He didn't comment on what his wife said, but he did uncomfortably glance at Will, who sat on one of the steel patio chairs, just to the side of the other daybed that Juan and Isa were occupying.
"Hannes is incredible with food, it's like he has a magic touch." Isa praised and Juan nodded,
"The first time he and Ethan invited us for dinner, I didn't even believe he'd actually cooked it himself." he laughed and looked at Will, who nodded with a small agreeing smile, leaning back in his chair and fiddling with his water filled glass.
Will would like to have kept quiet, but he knew a conversation prompt when he heard it, so he glanced at everyone and then looked back to Juan,
"That's true, you thought we'd hired caterers." he commented and Juan laughed, nodding again,
"I really did, I mean, it was a six course meal and Hannes' presentation was maravilloso."
"All of the food looked so professionally done," Isa added, nodding at her husband's comment, "it was beautiful and cooked to perfection." she leaned into Juan with affected dreaminess.
Will felt proud listening to them compliment Hannibal, he enjoyed hearing Juan say that Hannibal as well as Will had invited them to dinner and he liked being able to say 'we' when referring to his and Hannibal's home in any context. It all gave him very enthusiastic butterflies and a burst of verbal confidence to boot,
"He is very epicurean, and his cooking is a testament to that. Despite his many other hobbies and talents…creating amazing food is still Hannes' greatest passion." Will said with earnest admiration, knowing it was true and thinking of all that human meat that Isa and Juan had consumed with clueless smiles on their faces over the years.
These people had no idea. And that never failed to amuse Will.
"No es esa mirada de nuevo, Ethan," Isa piped up, grinning against the rim of her glass and all pairs of eyes were on him immediately, and Will knew what she was referring to even before she added, "whenever he is thinking about how much he loves Hannes, he gets that look." she was apparently tipsy enough to embarrass Will.
Will laughed awkwardly, noticing how intently Adoncia was looking at him and how Eurico was trying not to look too obviously. He forced himself to shrug and then bobbed his eyebrows,
"I won't deny it." he mumbled with a smirk and took a gulp of his water, thinking why the hell should he?
"How long have you and Hannes been together?" Adoncia asked, breaking the silence with a soft, curious smile on her face. Will looked at her, blinking a few times and shifting in his seat as he took in an audible breath. He and Hannibal had a back story worked out for that very question, so it wasn't difficult to answer,
"Uh, well," he purposely didn't rattle anything off mechanically though, because it'd loose authenticity if he did, "officially together as a couple, I'd say, about three years." he stretched one leg out and rubbed a hand down his thigh, fidgeting.
He hadn't done that in a while either.
Isa was nodding and she had her romantic smile on,
"Yes, but you two have known one another much longer." she added, having heard their made up story long ago. She loved it, she thought it was sweet and was absolutely clueless as to how far from sweet their earliest years had been. But no one knowing was the point, so.
"Oh?" Adoncia sat forward a little and Eurico glanced at her irritably, looking uncomfortable again. Will just nodded, going along with the flow of conversation,
"Yes, uh, we…Hannes and I, have known one another for just about nine years." a little bit of truth often helped to shape lies nicely, so their story was rather closely scripted to the truth.
"How did you meet?" she predictably asked.
Will rubbed his cheek with his free hand, his fine beard rasping before he swiped his hand over his mouth and smiled slightly, playing up a little shyness as he spoke with his eyes focused on the ground,
"We met through a mutual friend, she invited me along to one of Hannes' dinner parties and introduced me to him," he glanced at everyone, "and truth be told, we didn't really hit it off." they were all listening, even Eurico. "That night I mostly came across to him as a rude boor," they all laughed quietly as Will smiled at his own comment, embellishing on the story somewhat, "I had introverted, antisocial, high-strung asshole written all over me." they laughed even more at that, even Eurico cracked a smile. Will was entertaining them, "I barely talked the entire evening and when I did, I was just bad company, for everyone." Will had always preferred to ham up his antisocialism because it lowered people's expectations of him. It was a long standing tactic.
He took a sip of water and then continued,
"So, after the dinner party I didn't actually see Hannes again for a few weeks, but as it usually happens once you've been made aware of a person you didn't know before, I…ran into him on two different occasions, and both interactions we had, were pleasant." Will looked at the floor again, going over the made up details in his mind, "He ended up inviting me to dinner again, but the second time it was just the two of us and our mutual friend, so it went much better," a pause and a slow smile, "great, actually, we really got along well from then on."
Will was careful to make his way through the story at a deliberately thoughtful pace,
"Ultimately, we became friends," he placed his glass on the table, "then we became very good friends," Isa was grinning by that point, "And for many years that we were friends, I had no idea that he was interested in me like that, not until our mutual friend brought it to my attention." he took a moment to look around at his audience.
Adoncia was listening with intense curiosity, Eurico was looking uncomfortable again and Juan was smiling around a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"And then, you noticed." Isa added, leaning toward Will and pushing his knee lightly with her hand, and Will nodded and rubbed at the side of his neck,
"Yes, then I started noticing certain things in the way he talked to me and looked at me when we were alone with one another." there was a little truth in everything he'd said so far, depending on how Will looked at the original story. "And of course, he noticed that I noticed and randomly one day, he just decided to start being more obvious about it…without actually ever admitting it." Will remembered the turning point in their relationship, when Hannibal went from being completely not the Ripper, to letting little clues slip through the cracks just as teasers for Will's cooking brain, he'd grown bolder every day.
Will pursed his lips at the memory, still smiling as he sat forward and rubbed both of his hands down over the tops of his thighs before settling his elbows on his knees,
"It was up to me then, to either pretend like I hadn't noticed or to acknowledge that I had."
"So what did you do?" Adoncia giggled out her question, sipping her drink and licking her lips, no longer stained with lip stick. Will raised his eyebrows and glanced at Isa who looked tickled pink, her cheeks slightly rosy.
"I found a middle ground and Hannes and I danced around the issue for a long time, about a year or so," he recalled their courtship of dead bodies, of dinners and cooking in Hannibal's kitchen with him, the intense looks and words spoken that meant more than just what was said at the time.
"See the look." Isa pointed out with a raised eyebrow and a glance from Will to Adoncia, who giggled again and nodded,
"Sí, sí." she was watching Will intently.
Will truly wondered what he looked like in those moments, but, yes, his face felt too warm right then and he was blushing, dammit. He laughed awkwardly, short huffs of breath and then he tried to finish the story off,
"Well, anyway, gradually our time spent together became less the things friends did and more the things people who were dating did-…"
"Like what?" Adoncia asked curiously, placing her empty margarita glass on the floor beside her heeled feet.
Will faltered, blinking and raising his eyebrows and wondering how to deflect the unexpected question, but then he realized it was a relatively normal enquiry all things considered.
So Will swallowed lightly and wrung his hands together as he carefully elaborated,
"Uh, well, like…when I needed to go somewhere for work or out of town, Hannes would drive me." that was pretty damn true, "And instead of just inviting me to dinner, I'd cook with him and we'd eat together, have drinks after…I'd usually leave to go home pretty late." that was true too. "He would check in on my house and my dogs when I needed someone to feed them if I was going to be away from home for a while." also true. And while having been framed for murder during those check ins was irrelevant, the little truths mixed in between the lies and the horror of reality worked well. "He would give me impromptu gifts that he knew I'd appreciate…" he trailed off, remembering all of those beautiful crime scenes Hannibal had crafted, knowing that Will would be the only one truly able to recognize the art of them.
He cleared his throat when he decided he'd given enough examples. Honestly, pointing out all of those details aloud made Will realize just how close to a twisted courtship and relationship they'd actually had in those years before they'd killed Francis.
"So when did it just finally happen?" Adoncia asked almost wistfully, apparently finding the whole thing sweet just like Isa did. Will didn't need to fake the ache and sadness he remembered about the next part,
"When Hannes realized I was a commitment-phobe…and that I was essentially just stringing him along, that he wasn't getting anywhere with me, he, he gave up and left the country…and he came here, to Spain." he only just remembered to add the last part. If Adoncia was curious about where they'd lived before, she didn't immediately ask, too caught up in frowning about the sad turn in the story, so Will drove it home with a few choice words, "And because I didn't know what I'd had, when he was actually gone, I was left…gutted."
Oh yes. He'd been gutted.
Adoncia was shaking her head, frowning,
"What did you do?"
Will smiled, having expected that question,
"I followed him." and that was the 'romantic' part that Isa loved so much and she was beaming at him, Adoncia looking just as enchanted, "It was after a few months, but I ended up packing up my life and going after him."
And next was where he skipped a huge chunk of true lies, since the entire thing with Hannibal being in the BSHCI after Florence and Muskrat Farm didn't really have any decent points to work around. So he just moved the timeline up to the end as he'd done for Isa when he'd first told her the mostly fabricated story, "But there was someone else interested in him, someone he'd known before he met me," because what was romance without a little drama? Seriously, the only person who wasn't enjoying the story was Eurico. Still, Will was getting tired of talking so he decided to wrap it up, "and it took a few bold gestures on my part, but to cut a long story short-…"
"You got your man!" Isa announced, wooting afterward –she tended to do that often- and leaning back into Juan, who put his arm around her shoulders and shared in her smile.
Will blushed again at her choice of words, but conceded with a tip of his head toward her, not making eye contact with anyone as he said quietly,
"Yes, yes I did."
There was a beat of silence and then,
"So much time, so much suspense, I bet that your first kiss was amazing." Adoncia said in a fascinated tone, but her statement was apparently a bit too forward for her husband's tastes,
"Ese no es su negocio, Adoncia." he said brusquely, looking red in the face and very much like he didn't want to be involved in the conversation anymore.
She glanced at her husband, looking uncertain about what he'd said, but still, she was clearly going to apologize to Will anyway. And simply because Eurico was being such an asshole, Will decided to be one too,
"No, its fine really, I don't mind…" he raised an eyebrow at Eurico and then looked at Adoncia, "…and you're right by the way, it was amazing, just as every kiss since then has been."
Isa and Juan seemed to know what Will was doing, the couple having been one of the major reasons Will was no longer shy about discussing his relationship with Hannibal, and they were thoroughly amused.
Adoncia was beaming and blushing and Eurico had finally had enough, he cleared his throat and stood up,
"Excuse me." was all he said. Adoncia asked him, almost uninterestedly where he was going and he said something about checking his emails as he disappeared inside.
Will noticed, and Isa and Juan must have too, that Adoncia looked almost relieved once Eurico had left their company,
"Your story is so lovely, like something out of a movie." she commented with a softer smile, crossing her legs and folding her forearms on her knee. Will just offered her a distracted smile as he thought of how lucky he and Hannibal were that no one had decided to make a movie about Hannibal the Cannibal yet.
If anyone did though, they'd have to go straight into hiding.
Freddy had once been so eager to sell their story as a movie, but since they'd disappeared, amazingly –and confusingly- she'd been very…tactful and vague about what she'd published with regards to them after their disappearance. And even that had only lasted a couple of weeks before she'd stopped writing about them altogether. Curious that. Another thought on the subject was that maybe people were afraid that the big bad cannibal was still out there –which he was- so no one was eager to put themselves on the menu by making a movie.
Will didn't even know if Jack was still looking for them, or Alana for that matter. Hannibal wasn't interested in Jack though, he'd told Will that he felt like he and Jack had reached the peak of their interest in one another long ago and anything else that happened after Hannibal had turned himself in had just been police procedure at its most banal. Jack's exhausted moral fiber had just been refusing to let him be free by that point.
Hannibal was, however, very interested in Alana, he had people looking for her constantly as far as Will knew. He also suspected that Hannibal intended to kill Margot and the Verger boy too, when he finally found Alana. Will didn't know that for sure though, and he never asked. But aside from Alana and family, Hannibal showed little interest in settling old scores. He hadn't even voiced any interest in killing Freddy Lounds, even if he quite liked the idea of her turning up dead somewhere. Really, besides Bedelia and Alana, Hannibal didn't show much interest in killing anyone from their past. So it was already one down and only one to go, because Bedelia was long dead.
Will frowned at the water pitcher on the table when he remembered the question he'd wanted to ask Hannibal about what he'd done with Bedelia Du Maurier's body.
Adoncia was politely declining to tell the story of how she met Eurico, saying it was boring compared to Will's story and Will quickly took advantage of the resulting lull in the conversation,
"Ah, excuse me guys," they all looked at him, "I'm going to check on Hannes."
He stood up and walked away when they gestured for him to go ahead and Will made his way inside. The aircon made the inside of the villa cooler than outdoors, but only marginally. He walked across the lounge and into the kitchen and as he entered his eyes fell on Hannibal, who stood at the counter where most of the food was already done and laid out on serving trays.
Hannibal looked up, sensing –or smelling- Will's presence and he smiled at Will. But it was an almost cursory smile, not an honest one and Will's stomach dropped out immediately, remembering that he and Hannibal hadn't had a moment alone since Will had been caught staring at Adoncia earlier.
Christ. He felt a little shock of panic fire off along his spine.
Will didn't want to talk about it right then though, they didn't have enough privacy in the kitchen for that conversation, so he decided to leave it for later and hoped it wouldn't make things worse to wait.
With a silent inhale, Will folded his arms over his chest and leaned in the doorway of the kitchen,
"Need any help?" he offered.
Hannibal glanced over the food trays and then nodded at Will,
"Yes, you can help me carry these outside." and he was at least speaking informally to Will, which meant he wasn't super pissed off, probably just slightly miffed.
Will nodded and walked closer, but instead of going to pick up a tray, he stepped around the counter and moved toward Hannibal, unfolding his arms so that he could take a hold of the sides of the apron Hannibal wore and turn the man to face him as he leaned up to kiss him.
The kisses that followed were slight and soft, their partially open mouths coming together a few times with sensual grazes of their tongues. It was intimate enough that it made Will feel less like he'd fucked up majorly earlier. Hannibal was alright with him, they were alright.
Once again, he forgot all about wanting to ask after Bedelia.
"How's your head?" Hannibal asked quietly after a final kiss, wiping his hands off on a dishcloth before bringing a hand up to slide over Will's cool forehead, where he held it for a second and then slid it into Will's soft curls.
Will leaned into his touch and half closed his eyes,
"Its fine, the aspirin helped…" he frowned lightly, "…was I…running a fever earlier?" he remembered Hannibal feeling his forehead then too. The older man shook his head lightly and then stepped back from Will to remove his apron,
"No, you were a bit warm but nothing to be alarmed about, a prerequisite to whatever was causing you stress at the time more than anything." he said casually, both of them knowing the thing that had made Will 'stress' was Adoncia's unexpectedly attractive presence.
Was that it though? Will still didn't get where it was coming from.
And Hannibal could definitely help him understand it, if only he could tell the man what had been going on with him all week, but that would mean admitting to finding the engagement ring and that was a big no, no.
Will refused to ruin that.
"You may take those trays," Hannibal gestured to two platters, "and tell Juan to please fetch the two bottles of 2003, Valandraud I left in the bar fridge, they are to be served with dinner." Will's heart stopped in his chest for a moment and he just stared at Hannibal, "I'll bring these other trays along shortly." Hannibal said while adding a few decorative touches to the dishes on one of the trays.
Will swallowed quickly and forced himself not to frown,
"You brought wine…from home?" and wasn't that such an odd question, because why would it matter?
Hannibal glanced at him, his hair hanging over his forehead and shifting slightly as he mixed a new ingredient into a dressing he was making.
"Yes." he answered with a curious tilt of his head, an unspoken question of exactly why Will was asking.
Will just nodded and then shook his head, quickly grabbing the trays Hannibal had designated to him,
"G-great, good wine at least." he covered pathetically.
If Hannibal gave him an annoyed look, which Will just knew he probably had, he didn't have to see it, because he was already leaving the kitchen.
Will walked back outside with the trays and everyone's attention was on him immediately, including Eurico who had returned to the patio area at some point. They all stood up and came over to the table as Will set the trays down, doing their part to help by setting the chairs neatly in their place and clearing whatever else was on the table away. It was a very informal sort of eating situation and Will kind of liked it, he just wondered how Hannibal felt about it.
Will glanced at Juan,
"Uh, Juan, Hannes asked if you would please fetch the wine, it's the two Valandraud bottles in the bar fridge." he passed the message along and Juan went with a smile, Isa following him saying she'd bring wine glasses. Adoncia retrieved the other half- finished drinks everyone had left around and set them on the tray with the water pitcher before picking the tray up,
"I'll just take this inside." she said before she clacked off quickly on too high heels and disappeared inside.
Will was left outside with Eurico for an awkward moment, in which he decided to make a minor power play by moving to stand at the head seat of the six seat patio dining table.
It would be Hannibal's seat, which meant Will would be sitting across in the other head seat.
He was curious whether Eurico would try to challenge it, since Will sensed that the man thought himself to be the most important and notable person among their present company. But Eurico was just an old curmudgeon in the end, since aside from a subtle clenching of his jaw, he just watched Will and said nothing.
Juan and Isa came back then and she set the glasses down as Juan started to uncork the wine. A minute later, just after the cork popped out, Hannibal came outside with Adoncia in tow, both of them carrying three other food trays, Hannibal carrying two and Adoncia carrying a large one over both of her forearms.
It irritated Will that Hannibal hadn't told him to come back and help with the rest of the food, but he didn't let it show, it would have been childish.
Hannibal noticed where Will was standing and after he placed the trays down along with Adoncia, who also had cutlery wrapped in napkins on her tray that she was laying out, Hannibal came to stand beside Will, accepting Will's choice of seating and approving of it with a brief moment of eye contact before he addressed everyone with a smile,
"I hope no one minds that we'll be eating in this self-service manner," but not really because every person's dish of each different food was on individual plates, so it was hardly a friggen' buffet or whatever, "not being in my own kitchen means I do not have the luxury of keeping all of the courses appropriately stored between servings, so please, eat as you like." he kept smiling in his charming manner as everyone waved off his concerns, complimented the food and started to pull up chairs.
Will pulled the chair out slightly for Hannibal and then moved around the table to the other head seat as Isa, Juan, Eurico and Adoncia all sat down as well, a couple on either side next to their respective partners.
"Everything looks delicious." Adoncia praised as she looked over the dishes.
"What have you made for us, Hannes?" Isa asked, because she was used to Hannibal's more formal servings where he announced each course. Hannibal inclined his head politely to her and as he was still standing while everyone got comfortable, he gestured politely to the food as he answered,
"In recommended order, watercress and papaya salad, Nappa cabbage and lobster rolls with mint mayonnaise and carrot ginger sauce, goat cheese quiche with prosciutto, grilled steak with black bean shrimp and a side of ginger butter potatoes," he glanced around at everyone's predictably impressed faces, "and thereafter, dessert."
"Oh, wow." Adoncia looked like she couldn't wait to start eating.
"This looks fantastic." Eurico said sincerely, even if he said it to the table, not looking at Hannibal.
Hannibal picked up the open wine bottle then and begun going around the table and pouring for everyone,
"Please, go ahead and eat." he let everyone know they could begin and of course, everyone selected the salad first because that was what Hannibal recommended.
Will had seen far more visually complicated and intricately prepared meals made by Hannibal before, but he recognized what he was looking at, as Hannibal doing as he and Will had agreed, making the weekend retreat completely normal. The food was all so plain, being as it was all animal meat and there were no macabre presentations, no food topiary that resembled bones, entrails, organs or Kafkaesque shaped hors d'oeuvres, no blood textured sauce drizzled over the meat in a suggestively morbid pattern and no cryptic foreign names for the food that had double meanings.
Honestly, aside from the taste –which would only be lacking due to the fact that it was not their usual meat choice-, Will thought everything was perfectly ordinary.
Everyone was already eating savored forkfuls of the salad and complimenting the chef by the time Hannibal came to Will's side and poured wine into his glass in that elegant no-spill way he always managed. And Will smiled and felt light in his stomach and head when Hannibal pressed a kiss to his hair before he walked away back to his own seat. It was such a subtle and personal gesture that regardless of the fact that everyone noticed, Will didn't care and he continued to smile as he watched Hannibal take his seat.
They smiled at each other across the table then, exchanging another intimate glance, before they too tucked into the food.