Hannibal, turned around to see himself in the mirror.
Everything had to be well coordinated; from his bow-tie and his cuffs to the fit of his pants and his shoes.
"I can't believe you're still here, people are already coming… shouldn't you be downstairs by now?" Corina's voice distracted him but he did not pay it heed.
"God I wonder why you even bother!" she added referring to the time it's taking him to prepare.
"You have light steps, that pretty much adds to the threat you carry" Hannibal said without turning around.
"My room is not part of the tour Ms Luminosi" he said as he tightened his tie a little more.
"Oh we're back to the formalities"
"I don't believe we ever left that phase" he adjusted his cuffs
"She literally can't see you, let alone appreciate these efforts"
"Will Graham is the host, I'm simply lending my home; that's not much of an effort"
"Oh is that so? I heard you slaved in the kitchen all day."
"Cooking to me is not a chore; I'm passionate about it therefore I enjoy it…"
"The same way you enjoy making people wait for you? A grand entrance is it?"
"It's rude to make people wait Ms. Luminosi I assure you I am not making anyone wait"
"Is that why you haven't greeted any of the guests yet?"
"They are not my guests; you see they are Will Graham's, he's the host, it would be impolite to steal his spotlight"
"Spotlight? He's not even worth a glance to me"
"Do not take him too lightly. He has more venom in him than you do"
"So that's what captures the infamous Hannibal Lecter's interest.
Slow lorises like Will Graham and baby snakes like my Luna. You know she hates you right, I'm pretty sure of it"
Hannibal's chest started to heave in sigh.
It's been a while since the last time he saw Luna.
He wants to see her, but he doesn't want her to know that he does. Is that what missing someone is like?
An emotion he already lost familiarity to.
He didn't realize that Corina already left the room.
Wait, did he just allow her to plant a seed of doubt? Definitely impossible! He never doubts because he's never wrong.
He should have said something when Will decided to invite her.
Then again it's Luna's party and Corina is her family. He only wished she saw Luna in the same light.
He needs to be downstairs before Alana and Luna arrive.
It's been an hour since he left Will alone. Will is socially challenged but greeting guests is not much of a chore.
He smiled at a memory.
It was funny how Will offered to help him cook; when he knew so little about the task.
What would he have fed his guests if Hannibal didn't step up to the plate?
God what have they been feeding Luna for the past two weeks? Take out?
Luna loved those he remembered.
He smiled; take outs are a lot better than Will Graham's cooking.
Then he heard Alana's car, they're here!
Will Graham crossed out the last name on his list.
Everyone is already merrily conversing as they enjoyed the Apéritifs and the Hors d'oeuvre that the doctor made from scratch.
He offered his help; he thought defensively, Hannibal declined.
He organized the party; that was a big contribution he convinced himself.
If only his main guests were already here.
A tap on his shoulder made him turn.
Hannibal was his well dressed self as usual.
He wore a black tux.
Perfectly coiffed, not a hair strand out of place.
Will looked down at his white unbuttoned suit;
He was dashing for sure… Raggedly dashing he thought to himself.
"They are here, let's fix you Will" Hannibal buttoned him up and fixed his gorge and lapel.
"There, you're good as new" Will took that as a sign and headed for the door.
"Can we call Will and ask him to open the door for us?"
"Patience Luna…" the door opened before Alana could completely insert the key.
"Finally the important duo of the night decides to grace us with their presence" Will greeted; the sound of cheers and applause emanated from inside the house.
Luna took a backward misstep due to the overwhelming thundering noise.
"Aww" she yelped.
"That was a good start" she said laughing at herself… "These pillars saved me!"
Will rushed to help Luna get her bearings back.
"I'm sorry Luna" Alana said guiltily…
"Don't worry about it, I'm good" Luna said turning.
Her ankle gave out and a pang of pain hit her, she hissed.
"I guess not… I knew these shoes will be the death of me" Luna quipped realizing she couldn't stand.
She giggled and that made Alana laugh, it was too infectious for Will not to join in.
"Can we share in the laughter? It seems you kids are having your own party out here" Corina got all of their attention.
"Auntie…!" Luna skipped on her good foot to follow the sound of her voice.
Corina met her halfway to hug her and tenderly kiss her on the cheeks, "My dear what happened?" she asked.
"I fell… but I'm okay" she recovered to avoid worrying her aunt.
"Well let's go inside and get that looked at" Will and Alana assisted her in.
Hannibal was coming out of the kitchen when he saw the scene.
"What happened" he asked.
"It's my fault, I insisted she wear those" Alana admitted pointing to the shoes.
"No it's not, i'm alright" Luna defended Alana again.
It's been a while since Hannibal heard Luna's voice. Still calming as always.
"You can stand right?" her aunt asked; her demeanor changing
"Yes i guess i can" she answered
"Good! We can have dinner then, you may sit her here" Corina said instructing Will to help Luna to the chair at the other end of the dinner table.
Alana sat beside her and so did Will.
Hannibal's plans of talking to Luna during dinner were quashed.
Corina is good at schemes, but she's not good with strategies.
He has the rest of the night ahead of him, he'll get his chance.
Funny stories and harmless banters flew back and forth among the guests.
This is a good night Luna thought; everyone is getting along and having fun.
Everyone in attendance were mostly people she met during the interviews and of course the main people in her life right now.
Even Hansen came by although it was just to say hello.
"Do you need a refill?" Finally the presence she was looking for all night; his darkness did not diminish at all, not even a bit.
Luna took a deep breath before she can muster up an answer "Yes please"
"Let me concoct something wholesome" Hannibal headed for the kitchen.
Hannibal knew Luna was following his scent, he slowed down his walking pace.
She's very much like him in this sense; he knew she would enjoy it like he did if the scent lingered.
He also felt eyes following him, a glare that was burrowing holes on his back.
"So you left the table for the celebrant?" Corina's voice was heedless of the guests' presence, good thing no one heard.
"Do you need a refill as well Ms Luminosi?"
"Yes I do actually, it's odd how you forgot to ask being the gracious host that you are" she sarcastically blurts with a smirk.
"I apologize; the bottle of wine is at the dining table. I will fill your glass once I'm done with Luna's drink"
"You understand she's just partially blind right, you don't need to wait on her hand and foot!" she leaned in to whisper.
"Weren't you a concerned aunt earlier?
Did the drinks make you forget that she's injured and can't walk?" Hannibal said with all the courtesy he could muster.
His statement annoyed Corina, she did forget.
But her concern earlier was genuine, how dare he question that!
She does care about Luna. There's just something about Hannibal that makes her release a competitive version of herself.
"Why not get her something kosher while you're at it then" her voice once again neglected her surroundings.
Hannibal turned to leave but Corina's hands caught his arm, spilling some of the drink.
"You're not leaving until I get what I want."
Before Hannibal's advanced reflexes could stop it, she already had her mouth on his, devouring…
Taking advantage of the fact that he had glasses in his hands, she had his body and mind locked down.
"Doctor you forgot to take my glass…"
Hannibal's thoughts stopped.
His head turned towards the threshold of the kitchen to find Luna leaning on a wall for balance holding out a glass.
"Get out Luna, this is not a good time" Corina stated sternly.
"Oh I'm sorry" Luna was panicked by the realization that she just walked-in to the same scene she was in a few weeks ago.
She rushed out of the kitchen in panic forgetting about her ankle injury.
A pang of pain hit her once more making her lose her balance.
She used her hand to break the fall causing the glass to break into pieces.
A shard of glass cut through her wrist and the wound started to bleed.
She endured the pain; She was intent on walking out of the kitchen.
She was so engrossed by the need to leave that she didn't hear a second set of glass crash in the kitchen.
She didn't feel Hannibal pull her arm, she didn't notice him bandage her wrist with the handkerchief in his pocket square.
"Stop Luna, Breathe… breathe…" as if on automatic she obeys.
When her mind cleared up; she realized the doctor had her pinned to the wall by the shoulder.
She felt a sting on her right wrist, she attempted to touch it but the doctor stopped her other hand from doing so.
"Luna dear, you should know by now; panic leads you down this road all the time…" Hannibal's voice was painted with concern.
Corina extended one of her arms between them reaching for Luna; intent on breaking their connection
"I have to go now Luna" she kissed Luna on the forehead and left.
"Auntie wait!" Luna called out attempting a step and almost falling forward, Hannibal caught her.
Corina didn't look back. Hannibal will have to deal with her later, he decided to focus on the present.
"I have to fix your injury before it gets any worse. We cannot delay it any longer" Hannibal cupped her face to get her attention back.
"Yes, of course" Luna nodded with a fraction of focus.
"I need you to put your left arm around my neck so I can carry you upstairs" without question Luna obeyed.
Hannibal brought her up into his arms in one swift motion.
Luna hid her face on Hannibal's neck, she didn't want the guests to see how undone she was.
Will came up to Hannibal as he came out of the kitchen with Luna.
"Is she alright? Will asked worriedly.
"She fell again; I need to take a look at her ankle" Hannibal explained.
"I see, what a dilemma this would be if Jack was still here, good thing he already left" Will said smiling
"I will take care of everyone, I am the host after all" Will continued, Hannibal couldn't help but smile at his response.
"Go take our birthday girl upstairs and fix her up".
Somewhere a violent argument ensues:
"You are being careless.
You see her every day, every minute of the day even! Isn't that enough" Corina yelled at the man.
"You're the one who's careless, making unnecessary connections. Deja vu! You're being a whore again!" the man yells.
Corina slaps him so hard his head jerked backwards "I made you who you are!"
"Yes you did, that's why I want what I want and I get what I want, you made me this way"
"You're using my words against me now?"
"You told me she's mine! But now you look at her as if she's your prey" The man was almost crying.
"Honey, she's not my prey, not yet that is, if only she would let me have what I want"
"She can't give you what's not hers" Corina laughed at what the man said.
"This is why I don't let you take control darling… you're as clueless as a crab in a hotpot"