Warning: Minor self harm

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Saskia's scowl softened as she saw them, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She stood on the second step in a long button up she had hazardously thrown on, buttoning it barely enough to keep her decent.

If Saskia thought she looked terrible at this time of night, they were much worse. Both tired but satisfied with what they did.

Will's hands twitched and tried his best to keep the impulses to kill under control, using his job as an outlet wasn't working anymore.

"He's asleep on his feet," Hannibal muttered as Will just buried his face into Hannibal's shoulder. Hannibal ran his hand down Will's back gently as Will clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to get the images of the recent scene out of his head.

The temptation was there, strong in the back, of his mind. The beast inside lashing at its cage but Will couldn't let it out, it wasn't time. Nowhere near the perfect time. It needed to be perfect, the right time to show her the true him and not hide his truest self.

Hannibal would have agreed.

"Get him to bed before he falls asleep standing," Saskia gestured upstairs with her chin. "I'm going to get some coffee then get some work done."

She sighed as her tired eyes dropped again. For the last two nights, she slept like shit, tossing, turning, even went as far as kicking Countess out of the bed to see if that would help. It didn't.

Trying to step to the side of them to pass and get to the kitchen, a cold hand clasped at her wrist.

Will brought her hand up, bending the palm down as he looked at her wrist, unscarred and blemish free apart from the indentation from her hair tie, watching the veins pulse under his fingers. Her heart rate was steady and slow, perfectly timed with each second. This seemed to calm the beast more than when he had imaged unholstering Jack's gun and shooting him in the throat with it, watching as he would bleed out with the neck wound.

"No."

"No? What do you me—" Will's grip tightened on her wrist, covering her veins and clenching shut over them. It wasn't painful and she could feel Will's heartbeat through his hands. She had a feeling it was meant as a warning.

"Please," Will said, looking back down at the connection between her wrist and his hand. "No arguments. Not tonight."

Saskia looked to Hannibal. He seemed to have an idea of what was going on but he was just as confused as she was. He opened his mouth but carefully closed it when Will's dark eyes turned to him.

It was too close to the surface now.

Hannibal's own instincts reacted, fully knowing that Saskia now realised what was going on with Will Graham. Even if Hannibal wanted to, he couldn't control his instincts when Will's were gone haywire.

Saskia exhaled through her mouth. Slow. Steady. Calm. Her pupils dilated, almost completely consuming the colour but she could see clearer. She kept still but her hair raised on her heated skin as Will's predatory gaze went from Hannibal to her as a soft twerk of lips graced his face.

"Stay." His voice sent a chill of fear over her skin, her heart skipped once but regained its rhythm. "Please. I've had enough of… fighting tonight. I need sleep, uninterrupted sleep and Hannibal says you do too."

"You haven't been sleeping well recently," Hannibal said carefully.

Saskia shook her head as Will turned over her wrist, now looking at the thin silver and blue ring on her middle finger. "It's nothing. I usually can't sleep when the full moon is out. Usually the day of and after but I sleep fine after a few days."

"Predators prefer the full moon to hunt as it gives the best lighting for them to hunt," Hannibal said lowly, his eyes flickering to the windows. "But the prey have a better chance of running on nights like these. Running and hurting themselves. On nights like these, blood will look black in the moonlight. Blacker than the shadows."

"Shadows are not black," She exhaled slowly. "Shadows are the limitation of light, places where light cannot reach. The dark is the voidment of light, but the shadows are as close as we would get to it. Shadows are every shade of grey that the light can give and the dark allows."

"In a world of black and white, shadows are needed to keep the balance," Will muttered. "We need sleep. All of us. Even Countess."

Saskia was confused by that but allowed Will to lead her upstairs, Hannibal following promptly.

As soon as Will entered Hannibal's bedroom, he was stripping his clothes off with each step and somehow, she didn't know how, he kept his hands on her wrist and felt her steady heart rate.

Instincts told her to not take her eyes off of him. Too dangerous, they told her. Too unsure. Too early.

With her eyes on Will, watching each muscle twitch and move as he quickly stripped to his black boxer-briefs, she didn't notice when Will suddenly had brought her over to the bed and seated her at the edge.

She looked to them with her eyebrows furrowed together, confusion mirroring in her eyes too. She was about to open her mouth to ask what the fuck was going on but Hannibal simply nodded. His eyes told her that she couldn't argue, not tonight. And she didn't with a simple exhale.

Saskia found herself laying on Will's left side and Hannibal took the other, never once complaining or even thinking about speaking. She didn't need to speak. Actions would speak louder than words.

The only sound she made was the soft sigh and yawn as they settled into the bed. Will's hand was still around her wrist which he laid on one of his hips, just as he did the same to Hannibal's left wrist. It reassured Will and the beast, too close to mixing at the moment, that both of them were there, with them, just like it should be.

Instead of joining them, Countess had Saskia's bed to herself.

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As soon as the alarm for six o'clock set off to wake them up, Hannibal turned it off before slumping back into the bed. He curled into Will's side, his leg slightly swung over the pair of already tangled legs, trapping them there for a moment. Taking in the natural aroma of male and female musk, all from the stress of yesterday, Hannibal sighed into Will's soft hair before getting up to start his day.

Saskia had woken up the moment the alarm went off, opening her eyes for a moment before realising where she was and that she was trapped by Will's legs tangled with hers. She slept with the pillow clutched close to her head, mostly sleeping on her stomach as she yawned and wished Hannibal a good day at work.

Hannibal let his lips twist into a faint and soft smile before he left the room. Coming back into the room with Saskia's weighted blanket and gently tucked it over them to keep the warmth in, he gave Will a kiss on the head and ran a hand down the back of Saskia's head as she snuggled back into the blanket and pillow.

He doubted they wanted to become ill again.

As soon as Will felt that Hannibal had permanently left the bed, he shifted completely. Instead of laying on his back, Will now turned completely onto Saskia and trapped her with a leg thrown over both of hers while the other entwined between her ankles. He tucked her head under his, an arm curved under his head while the other arm was thrown over her waist to clutch at the blanket on her other side.

"I haven't slept that good in a while," Will whispered in a single breath as soon as he was lucid enough, though very quietly as to not wake Saskia but she did anyway.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she burrowed her face into the crook of his neck without knowing. She froze, realising where she was and taking a moment to collect her thoughts before relaxing again with a yawn.

Shifting to lean on her side before completely turning to lay on her back, Will's hand was forced to move to lay on her partially covered stomach innocently. Saskia rubbed her eyes and face as she yawned. She then sat up and Will quickly moved his hand from her stomach, laying it on his as he laid back still in bed. He found her posture amusing; she curved her spine like a cat before stretching fully with a yawn.

He missed the warmth already.

"How do you feel?" She asked, her eyes barely open enough to see.

"Good morning," He blinked, watching her facial expression change a little.

She rolled her eyes. "Good morning. Did you get the display finished?"

"Just waiting for the FBI to find out now,"

"Good," She muttered.

"Your scar has healed a lot," Will said, nodding to the exposed shoulder. "It's barely there now."

"I'm a good healer," Saskia said, touching the scar. "I think this is my worst one. I'm very much willing to return the favour when it comes to it."

Will smiled and nodded before asking, "When did Hannibal leave?"

"He left the bed at three past six, and left the house at ten to seven,"

"Hannibal's like a bloodhound and you're like a bat, hearing everything," Will said, his lip curling.

"I'm a light sleeper," Saskia shrugged. "Ever since Leroy tried to kill me, I wake up at the smallest amount of movement. Still don't know how I didn't wake up at the hotel on christmas. Thanks for that, though."

"I definitely felt better getting rid of him."

"I felt better after getting rid of Yasha," She smiled before getting out of the bed. "I'm going to take a shower before I start breakfast. How does bacon sound?"

"It sounds lovely. I'll start on coffee then," He suggested before he went to Hannibal's bathroom.

Saskia stripped in her room before stepping into the burning shower. The water muddled with the silent tears that dripped down her face. She could feel them running down her face but she couldn't find the right emotions to pair with this.

She didn't know why she was crying. Perhaps the last few weeks had finally gotten to her now. But when her eyes saw the razor that sat on the side, the familiar desire to see crimson stain her skin was making itself known in her chest.

Saskia was not suicidal.

It was as simple as that. She had never attempted, never even contemplated doing it, and she was going to keep it that way. Even if she had a disregard for human life did not mean she was willing to take her own.

Cutting was a habit she acquired during her youth, using it as a means to control herself and her aggression. She was quick to draw the edge of the razor blade into the soft flesh of her left wrist before flicking her hand to the side.

She gasped before taking in a shaking breath as she mirrored it another two times to create three even lines against the skin on her wrist. As she drew lines deep into her wrist, she felt high.

Blissful.

Euphoric.

Her dark desires and emotions slowly leaked out of her and stained the water red, slowly. The lines were shallow, would scab and heal without a scar, but the mere presence of them made the pain in her chest and head lessen. Her fingers would twitch less.

Saskia sat on the floor of the shower, her head against the wall. She needed this. No, she wanted this to lessen the pain because she was scared. Scared to admit everything again in case it ended like the last two times. She didn't need the betrayal again so she would rather wallow in self pity and grief than admit anything.

"Saskia," Will knocked on the bedroom. "Coffee's ready."

"I'll be there in a minute," She turned the shower off and washed the evidence away. Her tears dried as she dried off and applied antiseptic cream to her cuts, wincing a little when it stung. She dressed in a shirt and loose joggers, easily plastering a pleasant smile on her lips as she hid the pain and evidence with a watch over a small bandage over the slices.

"Scrambled eggs and sausages?" She asked as they walked to the kitchen.

"Sure,"

Countess was giving her a dirty look but still stayed by her side as she cooked the eggs and sausages in separate pans, along with bacon. The lines stung. They were a good reminder and gave her a sense of calm, a sense of control.

A calm she didn't get to feel often, only twice she had felt this without hurting herself.

Only when Samson died and Yasha was killed, did she feel this calm.

Saskia dished them out easily, only buttering toast for herself as Will sat in the kitchen to eat breakfast. She put her plate to the side as she began to clean the kitchen, she didn't like a messy kitchen much like Hannibal. When she did eat, she was careful to not get any crumbs on her tablet as she checked her emails. She sat next to Will, giving Countess her bacon and eggs after they finished but both continued to drink their coffees.

Will sighed after looking at his phone, a happy sigh this time, one with remnants of the beast she saw last night. "It's been called in."

"And?"

"Jack says the FBI has been called in, he's asking for me and Hannibal." He got up from the table. "Thanks for the breakfast."

She smiled. "No problem."

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She called ahead and made sure that Hannibal was free for lunch. He had been called in too to consult but his part was finished for the day, he just had a patient or two or he had plenty of time for lunch. Saskia had asked Will if he wanted to join them but he said he would have lunch with the team.

"Afternoon," She seemed chipper compared to this morning's little episode, the burn was still there as the watch rubbed against the skin coloured bandage. "Made Caesars salad. Celery, radishes, baby plum tomatoes, a little bit of cashews and walnuts, and everything else that makes a salad Caesars. I cooked some chicken breast and added that to your one."

"Chicken?"

"Actual chicken, Hannibal. I don't go in that fridge if I can help it."

"Good,"

Lunch was a quiet affair as they didn't speak of last night. Unknowing to Saskia, Hannibal could smell the blood on her. The blood and the metallic tang of metal that was reserved for a blade against skin. The spice of her blood was easy to detect against her normal spicy and floral scent, it most stayed around her left wrist as she walked around the office and sat down across from him at the desk.

There was something about the chicken but he couldn't put his finger on it.

As soon as they were finished, Saskia had tried to excuse herself but Hannibal didn't allow it. He stopped her completely, his hands gripped her biceps and refused to let her move a muscle as he took a deep breath in.

"You're bleeding."

"Am I?" She gave him her best confused face. "Probably a paper cut or I snagged a branch while I was running this morning."

She actually thought she had him fooled for a moment when he nodded and dropped his hands. She went to step away but Hannibal grabbed her hand and bent the hand back, seeing the discolouration on her skin. He gripped it gently as he watched her expression and mannerisms change as he kept her in place against the desk with his body.

Her nostrils flared as she felt the burn of anger and the heat of instincts coming alive on her skin. She tried to pull his hand away but he didn't budge, only gripping harder to make the watch strap dig in more. She gritted her teeth.

"You hurt yourself today…" He watched her face as he tightened the grip on her injured wrist, never looking away from her eyes. "You were fine yesterday and this morning before I left you and Will in bed… What happened?"

"Like you don't know," She snapped, trying to get his hand off of her wrist but failing and letting it drop in his grap. "Last night's little show really messed with me, alright? Unlike some of us, I don't have the pleasure of having someone cleaning my messes up or hiding evidence or clues. The battle of wits and instincts last night set mine off to the degree I felt I needed to control myself."

"You've always had excellent control. Why did last night set you off?"

"Well, I don't usually sleep in the same bed as two men, both cannibals and just as deadly as I," Saskia said. "Right after they go and display someone like an unwanted trophy to humiliate them further after death."

He was more concerned with her than her opinion of what they did last night. "Saskia, harming yourself isn't healthy."

She scoffed. "Says the man who spikes my drinks. You think I wouldn't notice?"

He smiled, a grimace of a dark smile that showed off his pearly white, and sharp teeth, as he leaned into her face as she simply continued to glare at him. "Yet you still drank it."

"I wanted to see how far you were willing to go to get me compliant,"

"You're an actress, Saskia," Hannibal used a hand to hold her chin in place as she tried to get out of his grip but she didn't want to. He knew she would be able to if she truly wanted to. "You hide your emotions and intentions so well. You've got Alana fooled. She thinks you are the victim, the prey. But you have the grace of a predator, refusing to let that nature take over so you hurt yourself, slice into your own skin because you couldn't do it to another."

"I don't refuse my nature, I just… have to be careful about when I do."

"To make sure you do not accidentally slip up."

"I don't slip up unless I mean to," She glared at him, almost spitting the words out. "I very much didn't expect an empath and a cannibal with the nose of a bloodhound to be working with the FBI. If I knew that, I would have been more careful."

"If you knew that, you would have never met us and interacted with us to the degree you have,"

"That's true," Saskia sighed, sagging a little against the desk so she barely sat on the edge with Hannibal still in front of her.

"You've always been careful, especially when it suits your needs," Hannibal stepped away and allowed her a bit more room. "You are slow to trust anyone yet you took Countess like she was your own child."

They both looked to the canine who laid in a heap by the side of the desk, eyes watching the two humans. Countess didn't even react to Hannibal accusing Saskia or the opposite, the dog knew they needed to sort this out themselves.

"Countess has done nothing but protect me and make me happy."

"And Will and I?"

Saskia froze, quickly letting calmness overwhelm the other emotions but her heart refused to calm down, slowly letting anxiety weigh heavy in her chest. She clenched her hands tightly, happy that she didn't have her nails done after getting back from Lithuania.

"You've been nothing but kind."

"Then why are you scared?" He stepped closer until Saskia had to stand otherwise their chests would have touched and he would have towered over her. "Your heartbeat is unsteady and you're having heat flashes, though small. You're not having a panic attack, Countess would have reacted."

"I'm scared? What do you think I'm scared of?" She sidestepped him then began to pace a little. "I'm scared that one day you will see that I'm at my limit of usefulness. I don't want to die but I know it's coming. If you're ever found out, I'll be one of the first you come and visit and making a fucking meal out of. I'm scared to trust you and Will. I allowed Leroy in and he almost killed me twice. I let Samson hang around and he abused me physically. I'm terrified. I loved both of them and that makes it worse!"

Saskia didn't realise that she switched languages at the end, her mother tongue a comfort.

"You have Pistanthrophobia, the fear of trusting people. It's usually due to past experiences, much like in your case."

An overwhelming amount of fear spliced the air, Hannibal noted, but Saskia was quick to change from uncontrollable terror to a type of sudden calmness that even unnerved him. Her scoff was mocking as her eyes held a tone he had always desired to see again. Will had the same look, the same deranged, maniacal glaze of the eyes that hid the truly sane and dangerous mind inside.

"I don't have a fear of trusting people, I prefer not to. I trust, to a certain degree, you and Will. But I don't trust Abigail the same as you."

"To what degree is the trust?"

"To the degree that you told me the one secret that I could manipulate for my own gain. As you said, I am an actress and I played the role of vulnerable, not so innocent, needy, little old me. You played the role of wolf in sheep's clothing so well, you forgot to check the herd for the little fox picking off the wool of your costume bit by bit."

"Yet the little fox gets trampled by her own thoughts that she can no longer decipher her true self from the mask she wears so well."

"You wear the suit of a man so well…" Saskia walked until she was close enough to feel his breath on her skin. "I forget that you're much like me. A rare feat finding kinship in someone, yet you found it in Will and I." She exhaled slowly, her tense shoulders sagging and eyes softening but they still held the dangerous gleam. "You both are lucky."

"How so?"

"You have each other. Companionship is key for people like us. Regardless of how humanlike Countess is," Saskia's eyes trailed to Countess', then back to Hannibal's dark eyes. "She is a dog. I love her but she is still an animal, replaceable. She helps to keep my… urges, you could call them, in control when in public. Social conduct was never one of my strong suits. It's like how you don't consider yourself a cannibal. Cannibal means you eat your equal but your victims aren't your equal. No one is."

"And Will and yourself? What are you two then?"

"Will is, using animal terms, your pack. You both look after each other without asking anything in return."

"Like yourself and Countess,"

"Yeah. I'm just here because I'm careful to carry your favour instead of your wrath…" she trailed off and looked away. When the new thought entered her mind, her eyes flickered back to him, no longer soft but now held the same adventours glint that the Cheshire Cat had messed around with the people of Wonderland. "What would you do if I threatened to sell you out? If I told the FBI your little secret, would Will be considered an accessory or a victim? I'm curious where I would end up in this equation."

Saskia didn't flinch when Hannibal grabbed her biceps and twisted her until she was between the desk and his body, holding her there as a sharp switchblade was pressed right below her jaw. She was forced to look up as her feet were kicked from beneath her, making her fully sit on the desk as Hannibal leaned over with one elbow holding his weight on top of her.

The blade was cold against her skin, and dangerous.

Nonetheless, Saskia just grinned at his attempt of intimidation.

Her grin was very much the same one he had earlier. The twisted grimace of a predator who just got exactly what they wanted. There was a hint of condescending smugness but he knew that this was just part of her little plan to anger him. He shared a replica of the same grin as he pressed the blade, enough to make her gasp but never enough to actually cut her. Her heart beat was pulsing through the blade.

"Regardless of my situation, incarcerated or not, even if you hid, I would find you and make a very nice meal which you would also partake in. I would slaughter the hound before she could even react, making sure you watch and later on make you eat her too."

"I don't expect anything less than that, Hannibal," Her eyes lit up with the dark enticement of violence, her voice never quivering in fear. "Otherwise, I would have thought you would have lost your touch."

Hannibal stiffened as he watched her raise one of her hands and thread it into his hair, just at the edge, near his eyebrow where the hair would be longest as it was usually slicked back. She uncurled a thick strand of hair, twisting it around her finger before letting her hand suddenly drop back to the table. The pesky bit of hair now obscured his sight and he used the knife hand to wipe it up.

He regretted the move.

Saskia hooked a leg around his hip, using the other and a hand to push up from the desk. Twisting until Hannibal was against the desk, Saskia straddled him with both of his hands above his head. She struggled to get the blade from his grip but after jamming a nail into his vein, and making his hand go a little numb, she got the blade in her own hands.

Hannibal didn't struggle as Saskie used her left hand to keep both of his above his head, the other hand used the switchblade to gently trace his barely covered jugular.

"Lets just say the chicken was seasoned with the same stuff you give me,"

She jumped off of him as soon as she saw the twitch of a muscle, getting as much space between herself and him.

"That explains why I feel a little nauseated,"

"You know how I used to feel,"

She plopped onto the thick chair Hannibal had behind his desk. She appreciated the view as Hannibal sat up before getting off of the desk, fixing his cufflinks and collar before smoothing everything down.

Hannibal kept a close eye on her as he peered around the room.

"If you want your scalpels, I already put them away before our little convo."

"Good thinking in your part,"

"Didn't really expect the switchblade though," Said switchblade was being put away before it opened again with a flick of her wrist, and again, and again. "Could've done without the marks from this."

He scoffed as straighten up completely. "If I wanted you dead, you would have been a meal years ago."

She had no reply to that, rolling her eyes as she put the tip of the blade to finger, twisting it gently but never enough to break the skin. "If I were to stick this little thing, say, into your stomach, just to the side before slicing you open, and letting your innard spill out like a masterpiece, I will feel no guilt. If I took Freddie Lounds and burned her to a crisp, listening to her screams of mercy as she burned alive, I would feel no guilt. The only reason I haven't done that is, one, Freddie may be an annoying chit like a beetle or buzzing fly that won't leave me alone, but she has her uses for now."

"And myself? Why haven't you cut me up like a prized pig ready for the slaughter?

"Unlike Freddie, you… somehow…" Saskia paused, taking a little breath as she put a boot on the desks corner before crossing the other ankle over it. "Wormed your way into my good graces."

"And that means you have a soft spot for me?"

"No. I have a soft spot for Abigail," Saskia tilted her head side to side before shaking it gently. "But that wouldn't stop me from gutting her if there was a need. No, you and Will have made me care for you. And I haven't cared for anyone since my dad died! Almost fifteen years of good alone time, never needing to look out for anyone but myself until you and Will came along. " She paused before sighing. "The only reason I haven't killed you is because I'm selfish."

Hannibal made a face of agreement, swiftly walking over to the cabinet that contained the liquor. Grabbing two glasses and a bottle, he walked back over to the desk and put both glasses there in her line of sight. He knew she didn't trust him fully but when she took the offered glass of amber liquid, he was glad she didn't even question what glass to take.

"You are a demon in human form," Saskia continued after sipping at the drink. "Uncaring for those around you. You found kinship in Will, and you wanted to keep him happy so you kept Abigail to appease his mind and dwelling guilt. A Wendigo would be the most accurate description."

"The desire of human flesh. The greed, the gluttony, the starvation that has caused humans to to cannibalise to stay alive." Hannibak tilted his glass to her in agreement before taking a drink. "Quite accurate. I can agree with that, but I feel like there is another reason you have chosen this creature to compare to me."

She smiled, running her tongue over her top teeth. "Wendigos have this twisted desire to share their gift. You've done just that."

"Do you consider Will a demon for not helping my victims when he could?"

"He is dual natured. He still has some good in him, even if it is twisted sense of right and wrong. No, I consider him a Lycan, a Werewolf in all respects that he is always dual natured. Even when he is doing good, helping the FBI and public, there is a little voice in the back of his head that says What if? What if? And sometimes he entertains the thoughts of destruction and chaos, and other times he ignores them. Either way, when he does good or bad, he is still the predator waiting."

"And you?" He spat with slight fury. "Are you a concubus preying on us with false words and fake promises?"

"One thing I do is keep my promises, Hannibal, you know this," She glared before it dropped and softened. "I don't promise things often. I may lure you out into the open, waiting for a good moment to strike but I'm not a concubus, I don't feed on fear and sex, that gets boring, I feed on the paranoia that people have, knowing I'm inside their heads and yet they can't seem to get rid of me. There's just something fun about creating chaos, I have that in common with Kitsunes. I lost control of the chaos with Leroy Harris and he became more than I could handle at the time."

Saskia sighed as Hannibal looked to the doorway. How Will managed to always walk in when things got good would always be a mystery to her. She continued anyway.

"I like killing things, Hannibal. I like killing people. I like a little pain. The sudden rush, the high. It's so addictive but I'm not a danger to myself. I might be a danger to others but never myself. I am never a danger to myself because I like control."

Saskia almost jumped from the chair as soon as Hannibal moved to stand on the same side of the desk as her, the glass left forgotten as she put distance between herself and him.

"Then what are you, Saskia?" Hannibal almost demanded with a serious tone, gritting his teeth as he watched her stand before the windows, looking outside.

"I'm the result of genes mutated enough to cause a mental disorder that created me," Saskia whispered. "My disastrous mother had caused me to grow up too early. Abuse made me tough when I should have been soft. I was shown love when I should have been shown disgust. I created a monster when I started dating Leroy. I saw something familiar in him and I tried to nurture it, but he became obsessed."

Will walked forward, slowly as Saskia watched him out of the corner of her eye until he stood next to her. "Obsessed with the idea of murder and death?"

"He loved the classics. His favourite was Hamlet." Saskia knew Hannibal was getting closer to her, but she kept her back straight and courage up. "He loved the idea of us being Hamlet and Ophelia, that's why the killings started. I asked him to kill Samson with me because I thought he got over his obsession but he hadn't. It's my fault so many people died."

"Do you feel responsible for it?" Hannibal asked, now standing to her other side. He watched her flick the switch blade open and close a few times, careful to keep out of her arms reach.

Saskia had a dull look on her face. "No. They're dead, end of story. Death never really occurred to me as a bad thing. When I was a teen, I thought I would have been dead by this age."

"I'm glad you're not," Will said softly.

"So am I, Will," Saskia held out the knife for Will to take. "Did you hear our conversation?"

"Almost all of it," Will nodded, crossing his arms loosely as he looked at her expression, dull and accepting with a teary eye. "Do you truly think we would kill you?"

"Yes." She said without hesitation. "We all are humans. We are survivors. We are selfish. I greatly debated killing you and Hannibal when we first met, especially after Hannibal told me that you knew."

"You were scared of us bringing you in, weren't you?" Hannibal asked. "That's why you were so easy to manipulate at the beginning."

Saskia paused, her eyebrows furrowing as she turned to him accusingly. "Did you allow me into your house to manipulate me further?"

Hannibal didn't even need to answer, Saskia already knew the answers.

"And the drugs?"

"What drugs?" Will asked.

Saskia looked to Will before going back to Hannibal. "You didn't tell him that you were drugging me. Hannibal was putting this powder sedative into my coffee. He's only been doing it since Christmas."

"You were drugging her for her compliance?" Will shook his head. "I'm surprised she hasn't ripped you a new one yet."

"I was planning to before you came in," Saskia said, suddenly smiling with malice at Hannibal. "You are a manipulator, and Will, and Abigail, and I know it. It's like a game of cat and mouse, entertainment, like watching the fox run away from the hound. But you always forget that this fox has fucking claws and will rip your fucking throat out if she so desired!"

"Then why hasn't she?"

"As unhappy as I am to admit this," Saskia exhaled slowly. "Your companionship is worth more to me than your death. I don't want to kill either of you. Do you realise how hard it is to find people like us? We don't give a shit about society, living by our own moral codes of twisted conduct. Like always, I'm being selfish by not wanting to kill you."

There was silence.

For long minutes, there was a comfortable silence that came over them, watching the rain outside of the window. There was something about all three of them being there, together. It felt nice.

"The reason I didn't kill Will the moment he began to figure me out," Hanninal started, "was because I was being selfish. I knew, to keep Will, I needed to keep Abigail alive. I had completely planned to frame Will for everything if I had to."

"I saw the light, well, darkness," Will smiled. "We kept Abigail as a way to keep us, our flourishing relationship, stable. But very soon after I admitted my true self to Hanninal, you came along to take Abigail's position. Hannibal had planned to kill Abigail off because she had no use anymore, she knew too much, but he saw the attachment you quickly obtained with her."

"I knew if I killed her, you would have been grieving," Hannibal said. "You would have been no use to us if you were always upset so I weighed the pros against the cons and allowed her to live."

"Let's not tell Abigail this conversation or how she was almost killed," Saskia snickered before it dropped. "When you met me, you didn't see my true nature."

"We truly don't know our own true natures, so how can anyone know anyone else's?" Hannibal said.

"Stop with the philosophy, Hannibal. Let her speak."

"I've never known myself better than I have with you two," Saskia looked up at the ceiling before looking back at her empty hands. "I thought I knew myself quite but I guess I didn't. You've made me question more in a few months than I have in my entire life. As much as I would regret killing Abigail, if I had to I would. With you two, I would regret more than just that. I can forgive the drugs and the manipulation, I've used both on others myself. If you're going to kill me, kill me already!" She spat out, her eyes suddenly teary as she dropped her gaze again. "Just leave my mind alone. It's the only thing I've got left that's truly mine."

Saskia hated crying.

It made her feel uneasy since she didn't cry often. She felt vunrable, weak. She hated being weak.

It had been a while since she had cried and been comforted. Hannibal's arms around her were warm and welcoming, she was just waiting for the knife to be put against her throat or into her back. She wondered where it would go, and what piece of her they would eat.

She didn't expect Will to place the knife in his back pocket and pull Saskia into his own embrace to comfort her. She felt pathtic that she had to be comforted, but this probably stemmed from the fact that if she cried as a child, she would be ridiculed.

Will remembered when Hannibal had begun to play with him. It was a tiring game that was much easier to lose at than win, and somehow Will was able to win the same time as Hannibal. This was a feat that was never to occur again and yet Saskia stood in front of them, wet eyed and emotions numbed from exhaustion, she won the game too.

"I'm not going to kill you," Hannibal softly muttered, bringing them both into his arms again. "Just as we have made you care for us, you have made us care for you too. I fear that if you were to die, one of us would snap in some way."

It went silent again.

They were warm, calm, sated. Their inner beasts felt at ease at a time that wasn't killing someone, something they hadn't thought possible.

At the edge of their vision, they watched as the animals came into the room. The Stag trotted in slowly, the Wolf right next to him while the Fox weaved between their legs until all three came into the room.

None of the killers, that was what they were, Hannibal, Saskia, Will, they were killers, knew what these animals presented.

They escaped the embrace and just breathed calmly as Countess came over to beg for belly rubs from all three humans.

"I will snap if you try to into my mind again though," Saskia said, breaking the silence. "My mind is not a maze for you to finish. It is a labyrinth that will eat you alive if it finds you a threat."

"Then we will be going through the labyrinth at a leisurely pace to make sure it doesn't see us as threats," Hannibal said, making the other two laugh.

Finally, Countess thought as she looked at the Fox with eight tails sitting on the back of the Stag as she swatted at the Wolf playfully, they were able to get over their petty yearnings for each other.

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