Will paced the waiting room of Hannibal's office, having arrived ten minutes early to their session. He both did and didn't want to discuss the recent, wild events of his life. A part of him panicked when he thought about telling someone how he felt as if his relationship was a vital secret. He tried to calm down the nervous flutter in his chest when a soothing tranquility settled over him and he knew that Frederick was reaching out. He smiled to himself just as Hannibal's office door opened.

He turned and the smile dropped away just as Hannibal stepped aside to allow him in. "Will, good to see you."

Will nodded and flashed a brief smile before walking into the room. He took his usual seat and waited until Hannibal sat down in his.

"How have you been, Will? Any new developments in your life you wish to discuss?" Hannibal said as he sat more toward the edge of his seat.

The mark on his right hand seemed to tingle as he thought about telling Hannibal. "I spoke with Dr. Chilton since our last session."

Hannibal's eyebrows rose minimally. Will couldn't get a read on him, which he found mildly frustrating. "And how did that go?"

Will leaned back, thinking about the time they'd spent together in the last week. "It went… well. Surprisingly well. I think I like him."

Hannibal's brow furrowed for a brief moment before his expression returned to stone. "What caused your opinion to change so quickly?"

"We resolved our initial issues and then went out on a date to see if we're as compatible as these marks seem to think we are," Will said as he displayed the image of interlocking circles on his hand. "He is not what I expected. Not entirely."

The veins in Hannibal's hands stood out as he clasped them tightly together, his knuckles turning white from the pressure and lack of circulation. "How does that make you feel?"

Will frowned at the question. "It makes me feel… confused. I didn't like him initially for perfectly valid reasons but being inside his head and having him be in mine, it opens up a whole new line of communication. It cuts through all of the surface bullshit to get right to the truth and with that I can see that he isn't as terrible as he makes himself out to be. He uses his less-than-pleasant attitude and demeanor as a defense mechanism and knowing that I can empathize with him more easily."

"Being able to empathize with someone isn't a basis for a romantic relationship, especially when it comes to you. You can empathize with anyone," Hannibal said as he loosened his tightly clasped hands and sat back a little.

"Yes, but the difference is that he can empathize with me as well. That is something I haven't experienced before, being in a relationship with someone who understands. And his understanding seems to have weakened the armor he's erected around himself somewhat," Will explained, knowing that he was right as he said it. Frederick's walls were slowly crumbling the more he understood Will and it was the same the other way around.

The muscles in Hannibal's jaw stood out as he appeared to clench his teeth. "Things between you two are working out well, then?"

"So far," Will said with a nod. "But I worry there are things he's hiding from me, especially involving the Abel Gideon case. I can feel what he feels but I can't read his thoughts to know if my suspicions are right. I feel awkward asking him in case I'm wrong but I'm also afraid to ask and be right."

"Perhaps I could speak to him in your stead," Hannibal suggested, saying it in a way that might seem like he'd only just considered the idea. Something in Will's gut told him he'd already been considering it.

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea," Will said warily.

"I just want what is best for you, Will, and I'm not certain that he is," Hannibal replied calmly.

"Well, Dr. Lecter, I think I can decide that for myself," Will snapped.

"I apologize, Will," Hannibal said, holding up his hands in surrender.

"I don't want to discuss this anymore," Will said as he crossed his legs, his posture and positioning turning defensive.

Their session together tried to limp on but it ended early since Will had completely shut down. They made an appointment for that Monday as well as Thursday in the hopes that their current issues would be resolved and make up for lost time. He just wanted nothing more to do with Hannibal that day and leaving his office to go home gave him an immense amount of relief.

As he was driving home, he received a call from Frederick and answered it. He kept the phone on his shoulder while thinking about how useful some sort of Bluetooth device might be.

"Hello," Will said, feeling a little happier to talk to him.

"Hi, Will. I was just calling to check in on you. Your emotions were going a little haywire over the past hour," Frederick said, sounding and feeling concerned.

Will felt warmth spread through his chest. "I appreciate your concern. I was just in a therapy session with Dr. Lecter but it's all right. Listen, how would you like to come up for dinner tomorrow?"

"Would this be date number two?" Frederick asked. Will could almost feel both of their hearts beat a little faster.

"It would be if you said yes."

"What time?"

"How about six?"

"I will be there," Frederick said, his happiness apparent in Will's head.

"See you then," Will replied.

"Can't wait."

Will hung up the call and dropped his phone in the passenger's seat, finishing out the long drive in a considerably better mood.

The next evening, Will rushed around trying to prepare for Frederick's arrival. He'd taken a lint brush to his furniture in an attempt to pick up most of the dog hair but it didn't last very long. He'd vacuumed, cleaned up some odd objects lying around like clothes and books, in an effort to make his living and kitchen areas look presentable. He'd only just started to pan sear the salmon when his doorbell rang, attracting his attention and those of the dogs.

He rushed out to the living room and opened the door to see Frederick standing there in a light blue dress shirt tucked into a pair of dark designer jeans. Will felt surprised to see him dressed so casually, but it was a pleasant surprise.

"I figured since we were just going to be staying in at your place that dressing down a little would be more appropriate? I mean, you got dressed up on our first date. I thought this would be returning the favor," Frederick said, a light flush barely noticeable above his recently trimmed beard.

Will grinned. "You look really good. It suits you. Please, come in, make yourself at home."

Frederick moved past him through the doorway, parting the mob of dogs with ease. Will noticed that he seemed to be more comfortable around them, leaning down to pet them without any hesitance. He didn't even flinch away when the little white one, Daisy, licked his hand. It was the most attracted he'd ever been to Frederick.

After a minute, he snapped out of his admiration and hurried back to the kitchen to check on his fish. He got there just in time to flip the fish over and check on the two pots on the back burners, one filled with brown rice, the other brussel sprouts sautéing in butter and garlic. He sliced a lemon in half on a nearby cutting board and squeezed out some of the juice into the fish pan, causing it to sizzle. He didn't notice that Frederick had wandered in until he finally looked up to his right.

"Sorry, I just smelled something wonderful and had to check it out. It looks delicious," Frederick said with a smile. "To be honest, I didn't peg you as a man that could cook."

Will shrugged. "Well, I do live alone so I had to learn at some point. Though, to be fair, the dogs eat better than I do most days. Would you like anything to drink? I have water, milk, beer, or whisky."

"Water sounds good for now, if you don't mind."

Will turned around to the cabinets and grabbed one of his glasses from them. He filled it most of the way with filtered tap water before handing it to Frederick. He returned to being attentive toward his still cooking meal while Frederick stood by, watching him cook and inattentively sipping the water. After a moment, Will started to feel a pleasantly buzzing heat in his head, like the times he recognized when Frederick was thinking about their kiss. Will grinned as he turned off the burner for the fish and set it aside on the only unused one.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, both genuinely curious and out to embarrass Frederick a little.

"Oh, I, um, nothing," he said before taking a long gulp of water to buy him time. "I wasn't thinking about anything. I don't… I am going to go sit down."

Will laughed as Frederick hurried to the living room. "I apologize, I shouldn't have asked."

Frederick's face was beet red, he could tell even with the distance between them. "It's all right, I just forget sometimes you can feel what I do and that's a bit humiliating."

"It absolutely can be but I guess that's the point of our condition. Can't hide anything. Dinner is ready, anyway, to take your mind off of it," Will said as he turned off the burners and turned to grab a couple of plain white plates.

Frederick stood and walked through the kitchen to reach the dining table, stopping for a moment to kiss Will on the cheek before moving on. Will didn't have time to react before he was gone, but he couldn't help but smile as he plated the food. Once he was done, he carried the plates into the dining area and set them down on the small wooden table. He sat down in the seat across from Frederick before they both dug into the meal.

"Sorry it's not as extravagant as you're used to," Will said.

"It's just as good as it looked. Better than anything I could've paid for," Frederick said, intently cutting one of the sprouts in half.

Will gave him an incredulous look.

"Okay, I probably could pay for better, but the fact that you made it for me gives it points in its favor," Frederick admitted with a smirk.

"Sympathy points, I see what this is," Will said, sending them both into a brief fit of laughter.

"It is very good, though. My compliments to the handsome chef," Frederick said after composing himself.

"Thank you," Will said, glancing up at Frederick.

After they both finished their meal, Will stood up to clear the table, but Frederick beat him to it. Will watched as he rinsed the dishes off in the sink before loading them into the dishwasher. He felt his affection grow a little more from the action and he stood up to meet him at the counters.

"You are full of surprises," Will said as he looked him over.

"I am an enigma," Frederick said with a smile.

Will reached up and placed a hand at the nape of Frederick's neck, curling his fingers into his soft, dark hair.

"What are you doing?" Frederick said, appearing surprised.

Will shrugged. "Giving you something to think about."

Will pressed his lips to Frederick's, kissing him hard and slow as he pinned his lower back to the kitchen counter. Frederick's arms flailed for a moment until his right hand settled on Will's waist and the other entangled in his curls. Will could feel Frederick's lust skyrocket, infecting his own mind as he pressed his body hard against Frederick's.

Will pulled away from Frederick's lips to kiss his way down his jawline to a spot just behind his ear. The sped up heartbeat he could feel against his chest told him that spot was particularly sensitive. Frederick gasped as Will nipped and sucked on the flesh, causing his grip to tighten on Will's hair. His breath caught in his throat just before he moaned Will's name softly into his ear, sending electric chills through Will's body.

Frantic hands grasped at Frederick's shirt and undershirt, ripping them free from their tucked position so Will could fit one hand underneath while the other worked on unbuttoning the light blue shirt. Frederick seemed incapacitated and weak at the knees, sliding down the counter until Will lifted him up by the backs of his thighs and sat him on top of it. The action seemed to set off a switch in Frederick's brain as he suddenly grabbed Will by the front of his shirt and pulled him back into a kiss as he tore the shirt open. Buttons scattered on the floor and Will made an irritated noise.

"That… was a perfectly… good shirt," Will said in between kisses.

Frederick held Will's face in his hands, making sure he was looking him in the eye. "Shut up. I'll buy you a new one," he growled.

He pulled the shirt down Will's arms before dragging the white cotton undershirt off of him. Then he wrapped his legs around Will's waist, moving him in close as they both worked on removing Frederick's shirts. One after the other, the blue shirt and the black one underneath ended up on the floor in a pile with Will's clothes. In between hot, messy kisses, Will fumbled with the button and zipper on Frederick's jeans until he was finally pulling the jeans and his boxers down his hips. Just as Will started to kiss his way down Frederick's chest, a loud, familiar ring echoed through the house.

Will groaned and dropped to his knees. "Shit."

He moved to stand up but Frederick grabbed him before he could walk away, kissing him again to remind him what he was leaving. "You don't have to answer it."

Will held Frederick's face and pressed their foreheads together. "I do," he said breathlessly. "It's probably Jack. My work with him, it's like being on call."

Frederick reluctantly let Will go and Will kissed him softly on his forehead before rushing to the living room to grab his phone.

"What is it?" Will answered irritably.

"I need your help. You need to come down to the BAU right now," Jack demanded, not registering Will's tone at all.

Will shook his head and held in a sigh. "I'll leave in a few minutes."

He hung up the phone and turned to Frederick with an apologetic look and Frederick slid off the counter before pulling up and buttoning his jeans. Will walked over and picked up his white undershirt and Frederick's blue shirt, putting both on as Frederick pulled on his black undershirt. Frederick stared down at the plaid shirt in a heap on the floor then at Will, who was buttoning up the blue one.

"Um…" Frederick said, staring at him oddly.

Will grinned. "Well, you ruined mine. Think of this as penance."

"You are cruel and devious," Frederick said with a serious expression.

"Unfortunately, it's too late for you to back out now. You're welcome to stay here while I'm gone or head home," Will said, pausing for a quick kiss from Frederick. "But if you leave, make sure you lock the door. And I'm sorry about all of this."

"I understand, Will. Just stay safe. I've looked into the cases you've worked on. Those killers are a normal person's nightmare and a psychologist's wet dream," Frederick said as he followed Will to the front door.

"They're like spiders. More afraid of you. Probably," Will said with a shrug, exiting the house after one more quick kiss.

Once outside, distanced from Frederick, his head started to clear as if he'd been living in a fog. His heart stopped beating quite so fast and he could breathe easily. When he reached the driver's door of his car, he looked back at his home and saw Frederick walking by the window. Will could feel the dying embers of his heated lust in his mind along with a dull hum of contentment but all of it was significantly duller than what he'd felt when they'd had physical contact. When they touched, it was an emotion high.

As he buckled himself in and pulled out onto the street, he wondered what other effects their soul mate bond had, both good and bad. He also wondered how many of them Frederick knew about, how much he hadn't been told. It was an unpleasant feeling, being unable to trust someone he was supposed to be falling for, and he was slowly falling for him. Both of those facts terrified him to no end, but he tried to keep himself from feeling it as he settled in for the drive to the BAU.

After the extensive ordeal of trying to figure out where a call made to Jack originated from, Will found himself driving home with a whole new set of worries. If Jack did receive that call and hear the voice of Miriam Lass, it proved that Gideon wasn't the Chesapeake Ripper. While knowing that both solved and caused problems with the current case, it only raised problems in his personal life.

He felt relieved to see Frederick's car gone when he arrived home. He knew he would have to deal with the case issues with him eventually, but after a long night, all Will wanted to do was sleep. With great effort, he dragged his body up onto the porch, unlocked his door, and checked on the dogs before he undressed and crawled into bed.

He slept for a little while, not as long as he'd have liked, but a few hours seemed better than nothing. He crawled out of bed at noon, knowing he probably should've driven to the Academy to get work done, but ultimately decided to stay home. He opened up the blinds and shades in his living room and kitchen to let some light in and hopefully energize him to feel more awake. Instead, all he felt was a buzz of apprehension and excitement at the back of his mind.

Curiosity rose at the odd feelings and he wondered what Frederick was up to, but he didn't want to call him. Instead, he tried to distract his mind with other tasks. He finished working on the boat engine he'd almost completed a little over a week ago, he put away the dishes still sitting in the dishwasher, he started a load of laundry, and he rearranged his bookshelves. All of it kept his mind off of Frederick and the Gideon case for a little while at a time, but his thoughts kept wandering back to that point.

The stress he felt rose the more he tried to avoid everything until he reached a point where he had to cave or else he would've gone down to the nearest hardware store for paint cans to repaint the whole house exterior. He grabbed his phone and sat down in the living room before calling Frederick. A part of him desperately hoped he wouldn't pick up, but he did.

"Will, I was just going to call you in a few minutes when my shift was over," Frederick said cheerily.

"I'm sorry, I can call back," Will said almost too eagerly.

"No, it's all right. I'm just taking care of a few last minute things. What's on your mind?"

"We need to talk about something important. While it doesn't necessarily affect us directly, it is a problem we need to resolve," Will said as slowly and calmly as possible. Frederick's worry spiked so high at his words that Will could feel it in his veins like an adrenaline shot. His heart beat faster and his brain buzzed like television static.

"Um, okay," Frederick said in a sober tone. "What is it?"

"The Abel Gideon case. Gideon isn't the Chesapeake Ripper. I can't really reveal the details to you right now, I don't have that authority, but there's been a development that rules him out. He may have murdered that nurse and he may think he is the Ripper, but he isn't," Will explained as he heard his own blood rushing in his ears and felt the sweat building up on the palm he held his cell phone in.

"B-but he is. I know he is, Will," Frederick said, trying to sound adamant, but Will could feel drops of uncertainty collecting like rainwater underneath his anxiety.

"Frederick…" Will paused and dropped his head into his free hand. He tried to collect his own worry and disappointment and pack them away before continuing. "Did Gideon come to the conclusion that he was the Ripper on his own or did you help him?"

Will's heart started to beat even faster and the buzz in his head grew louder and the worry infecting their bond expanded. "I had my suspicions but he—"

"Jesus Christ, Frederick, I know you're lying," Will snapped, his voice coming out louder than he intended. "I can feel it. I just wanted you to come clean and you couldn't even do that."

"I'm sorry, Will," Frederick said, his voice soft as his anxiety died down and slowly replaced itself with fear and shame. "It's just, I am already disgraced in my field. If it gets around that I've committed an unethical practice that led to a murder, I'm doomed. It's not like I don't feel guilt. I feel it every day but that nurse is dead and I still have a life to keep intact."

Will felt a strong sense of disgust, causing Frederick's shame to flare up like a gas fed flame. "I understand looking out for yourself, but not at the expense of others. Not like this."

"I didn't know!" Frederick exclaimed in a panic, trying to keep Will on the line, trying to get him to understand. "I didn't know any of this would happen. I had my suspicions that Gideon might possibly be the Ripper, so I used not necessarily approved of methods in case he had simply repressed the memories. I never intended for him to wrongly believe himself to be the Ripper. I didn't want this, Will. You have to believe me."

Will shook his head, feeling angry and to a lesser extent betrayed. "I do believe you but it doesn't fix anything. Listen, Frederick, I have to go. Please don't… don't call me for a while."

"Will?" Frederick said, a pitiful whimper heightening his tone.

Will hung up the phone and set it down next to him before he stood up, slipped on his shoes, and walked outside. The final vestiges of a deep red sunset lay on the horizon as Will entered the chilled outdoor air, the dogs at his heels. He hardly noticed the cold sting on his arms and face as he walked down the porch steps and started to wander his expansive property. The dogs took the opportunity to run around and play unsupervised, dashing by Will and rolling around in the grass. Will simply shoved his hands into his pockets and kept moving, trying to keep his mind clear of all thought.

His life felt like it had been a whirlwind since he started working with Jack and somehow that wind picked up speed when he met Frederick. He'd hardly had time to breathe since he met him, swept up by mostly unwanted emotions. The universe dropped a soul mate in his lap and in that moment he was wondering if the universe accepted returns. Maybe he could exchange Frederick for a nice brunette who liked dogs and had nothing to do with medicine or psychiatry. He rubbed his eyes and sighed, the sound and breath lost with the cool breeze. He just wanted something stress and drama free but that was not in the cards for him and he would have to learn to accept that.

A part of him didn't know why he felt so hurt by the lies because he knew what Frederick was from the start. He knew that he had probably been hiding something from him, but it still hit him as hard as if he hadn't been expecting it at all. He'd been lured into a false sense of trust by their bond, by the feelings they shared. Even in that moment, the sadness and regret he felt from Frederick made him want to forgive him, but he couldn't let it go so easily. Even if Frederick made the choice to lie to everyone else in his life, he wouldn't lie to him again. He couldn't even if he wanted to.

Will's pace slowed down until he stopped moving all together and looked up at the sky. The moon hung high in a fat crescent along with scattered stars across the huge expanse above him. He wandered over to a nearby tree and sat down, joined shortly by Winston who rested his front paws and head on his lap. He brushed a hand through Winston's fur, focusing solely on that action, finding that if he kept his mind clear it was easier to block Frederick out.

He rested outside until he had calmed down from their argument before heading back in to have dinner and then crawl into bed. He didn't even bother looking at his phone, knowing he'd have multiple missed calls and even more by morning. Instead, he set the alarm on his clock for five in the morning in a last minute decision to spend his Sunday fishing. He thought Frederick might attempt to drive up and see him and he didn't want to make the mistake of being around if he did, especially considering the last time they were together.

Their combined emotions in close quarters would turn the situation heated, possibly in either a positive or negative way. Not to mention, he just really didn't want to see him for a little while. So, Will turned off the light and settled in to sleep, clearing his mind in order to relax the sadness lurking just out of reach.