Chapter 31

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"Ow!"

"If you stopped moving, it wouldn't hurt,"

"If you stopped jabbing it, it wouldn't hurt!"

Hannibal made a disapproving sound as he cleaned the healing area on Saskia's side.

After getting back to the beautiful apartment, the one which Saskia owned and hadn't been in in years, Will had to force Saskia into letting Hannibal have a look at the injured site.

He had given her one dark look, challenging her to disagree that her health wasn't worth looking at before Saskia stuck her tongue at him and laid on one of the lounging chairs. Saskia had to pull down the bodysuit completely, baring her breasts but she just didn't care much about that. They had seen it and more, and so she just laid on the lounge chair to allow Hannibal to check the healing wound.

It was only a couple inches wide, needing four stitches in total. Pink and still sore, it had only been a couple of weeks since the abduction so it hurt a little. It pulled when she moved but the bandage kept it from snagging on her clothes.

Hannibal grumbled about the inadequacy of the stitches. "These are absolutely atrocious. The spacing is too wide and there aren't enough stitches to keep it healing properly. I'm sorry, Saskia, but I'll have to redo them. Otherwise, your side won't heal properly. I'm surprised you haven't already pulled one of them."

"Motherfucker," Saskia frowned, turning to Will with a pout. "Can you get some alcohol? I need to dull the pain with something that isn't painkillers. Hate them."

"There is a Red Stag by Jim Bean near the top shelf. Saskia likes that one," Hannibal said, patting Saskia on the knee as he stood up fully. "I'll go get the suture kit."

"Suture kit?" Saskia asked, sitting up as Will passed her one of his button-up shirts and a glass of Red Stag. She sipped at it rather quickly, finishing it off easily.

Will pulled another chair to sit near her. "It's Hannibal. He always has one nearby because of our little extracurricular activities."

He scoffed as she made a grabby hand, gesturing for the bottle Will had placed down on the nearby table. He passed her it, watching her bring it to her lips and take a few big gulps before sighing.

As Hannibal approached with a small tray, wearing sterilised gloves, Saskia just gave him a death stare. She didn't like medical procedures of any sort, including blood being drawn or simple exams. Spending so much time in the hospital did that to her, especially after all of the times she got stabbed or sliced or hurt by a knife or sharp object.

Saskia just lifted the side of the shirt, letting Hannibal pick each stitch knot and tugging it upwards only slightly with the tweezers before snipping the nylon stitch before wiggling it out of the wound. He had to be careful because, one, Saskia was sending him death glares as he did each stitch, and two, the wound wasn't fully healed and could open if he didn't try to minimise the damage he was doing to it. The damage he did was needed for it to heal, he didn't want Saskia to be inconvenienced by something that could be fixed so easily. Plus he knew her hatred of scars when she felt like she didn't earn them.

"Another big gulp, dear," Hannibal said. "I'm going to start on the new stitches now. This bit will be quick."

He had threaded the needle with nylon thread and began to do a continuous stitch through the couple inches of the wound, closing it off tightly but leaving enough slack so it wouldn't suddenly tear when she moved.

Saskia had finished half the bottle, but her tolerance for alcohol was high anyway. With the UK drinking age being eighteen and going to uni, she drank a lot when she studied since it relaxed her.

"Motherfucker," She muttered unhappily, sitting up as she felt her side pinch a lot less than it did before. She covered herself properly again. "Thanks."

"You are welcome," Hannibal smiled, pulling his gloves off before putting a kiss on her forehead. "Better to do it now rather than have to cut it open because it got infected or healed wrong."

She sighed, placing the bottle on the side. "I know. I got it done at the ER but it was busy."

"No excuse for poor medical practise," Will said. "Who was it?"

"Doctor Mills or something. I don't really remember, I got my wrist put in a splint for a week or two but got told it was only a sprain," Saskia let Hannibal have a quick look at her wrist, watching him bend it every angle gently and pressing his fingers into the skin. While he frowned at it and the slightly yellow bruise around it, he didn't comment on it being bad.

Will moved his hand to hold her left one, thumb caressing the top. "How are the dogs? I doubt you would leave them with someone unworthy."

"So you care more about the dogs than me?" Saskia laughed, watching as Will's face fell an inch. "I'm kidding. They're with Abigail. She moved out of the uni dorms, remember? She and her girlfriend are living in a house I'm renting for th—"

Instead of letting her finish the sentence clearly, Will muffled her words with a kiss. It didn't stop her speaking, as nothing could do that, but after she realised what was happening, she became silent and leant into the kiss.

She brought her hands up, clasping them on Will's jaws as she just sighed into the kiss she had craved for so long.

It was a good minute later before they parted, watching as Hannibal just shook his head at them.

"No extreme activities, Saskia," Hannibal said. "Doctor's orders."

She pouted, sticking her bottom lip out.

He strode over, standing before her as he tucked his hand under her chin and traced his thumb over her bottom lip. Hannibal grinned like he knew a secret that would be soon revealed.

"There are other activities that involve you not moving much," He said, feeling Will get up from his own seat with eagerness. "I believe Will is in favour of these activities."

Saskia raised two hands as a lady would ask for help up, which they both carefully helped her up before realising she was going to drag them to the bedroom within seconds.

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They had no clue how long they had spent in that bedroom, or how long they laid silently in the bed afterwards.

They were all naked, bottom halves hidden by the thick duvet of expensive duck feathers and Egyptian cotton sheets.

Saskia was propped up with pillows behind her back, just a couple to make sure that the wound wasn't going to pull. Both men were on either side of her, turning onto their sides so they could look at each other and her. They clasped their hands together, resting their hands loosely on Saskia's stomach.

All of their hair was messy. Saskia's was the only one that was semi-salvageable that night but that was mostly because she spent more time on her back with men pleasuring her than she did actually moving. They refused to let her move lest she pull the new stitches.

After hormones and endorphins seemed to settle, a lush calmness settled over them.

The Kitsune was on the floor a couple of metres away from the bed, both Lycan and Wendigo were being lavished with kisses from her. They settled on the floor, backs against the bed as they more or less sat on each other as they held onto one another like lifelines.

While Hannibal held Will's hand in a loose hold on Saskia's stomach, he used his free one to play with her hair as they just laid on the bed. Will propped himself on his unused arm, watching the exchange as Saskia's eyes settled halfway and she seemed to completely relax at Hannibal's and his touches.

The small caresses from the Lycan and Wendigo soothed the Kitsune's temper and arousal, letting all of the stress and disgust of being separated disappear with each new touch.

Separating the three was a difficult feat, but it happened around late morning when Hannibal's phone rang. He answered the call, making a few comments of agreement and hung up.

"Nooooooo," Saskia groaned as Hannibal left the bed, leaving kisses on either of their heads as Saskia curled deeper into Will's warm side. "Don't leave, 'Annibal."

"As much as I would love to stay, I have prior commitments today," Hannibal said, he grinned like he had a secret. "I have work and then a dinner to prepare for tonight, and a fourth guest to accommodate. Professor Sogliato will dine with us tonight. I need to give you a list of what we need. Later, we can go pick up our new suits and perhaps a dress for Saskia."

Will made a face, moving closer to Saskia as Hannibal began to pick stuff out for the day.

"We should get up too," Will said, unravelling himself from Saskia's octopus-like limbs as she tried to keep him in bed.

"Nooo," She pouted, reaching for his hand as he got out of the bed completely. She moved to lay on her stomach because she didn't want to leave the warmth and safety of the bed.

Will smiled. "Hannibal, when do you have to be in for?"

"I have another hour or so," Hannibal said, leaving for the shower with a wink.

"Plenty of time," Will's tongue ran against his upper lip before it dipped to his lower one, lips peeling back to reveal a feverish grin of lust. "Unless, you're not up for it, Saskia?"

Saskia dropped her face into the bed, groaning before lifting it up as she got out of bed too. "I hate it when you manipulate me like this…"

Will held a hand out for her and she took it. They were all stark naked but none cared as they went for a shower which was a lot less productive than it could have been.

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While Hannibal went to work as a curator for the Palazzo Capponi Library, Saskia and Will went out to explore the city.

Hannibal had chosen a lovely almost royal blue coloured suit, Will chose the same colour for his shirt. Will had a black suit jacket over it while Saskia wore a slip dress in the same royal blue colour with a slit to the left thigh.

The weather was warm in Italy, and since they would be walking around a lot, Saskia settled for strappy sandals. She had her hair pulled back into a wide spider clasp, keeping hair out of her face. She carried a tiny clutch with her phone, a thin chain laying on her shoulder so she didn't have to hold it.

She had on a lovely shade of red lipstick that complemented her complexion and the dress. Black sunglasses finished the look, similar in shape to a pair that Will wore but a little bigger and a bit more circular.

The first place they went was the marketplace since Hannibal gave them a list of ingredients.

In the early afternoon light, they walked through several different market places around the city, some had better vegetables, others fruits, others had great dairy and cream. Hannibal wrote down exactly what he wanted, listing off each stall he liked and what he prefered from each person.

It was calming for them both, linking their arms together as they walked and gathered what was needed. Will brought a cloth bag to carry whatever was requested by Hannibal, carrying it on his free arm as his right one was linked with Saskia's left.

One last stop to the 1926 Vera Dal, buying two bottles of Bâtard-Montrachet and a portion of white truffles, and the duo were back to the apartment to put the food away.

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At around four, only an hour or two after the duo finished at the marketplaces around the city, they went to the library where Hannibal worked. They were told he was in the private sector, and since this wasn't the first time Will had visited, the receptionist just smiled and gave them both temporary passes.

As they ascended the stairs towards one of the upper floors, both Saskia and Will quickened their paces, silently challenging each other to see who could find Hannibal faster. They were both told where he was.

While Will had prior knowledge of this place, Saskia was always better at deducing things about new places.

When she found the room, Will was not far behind. She knocked, waited and came in. She closed the door, leaning on it to make it so Will didn't get in for a second.

"Let him in," Hannibal smiled from the desk, a man sitting across from him who gave her a once over with surprise. Hannibal changed to Lithuanian. "Last time you closed the door on him, he broke it."

"It was a pain to replace," Saskia said, letting Will into the room too but she stepped closer to Hannibal's desk.

"You need to stop with the door closing!" Will snapped when he came in and closed the door, calming down as he straightened out his shirt collar. "Afternoon, Hector. We came to retrieve you before dinner."

"We still need to get the suits before dinner, and I need a dress," Saskia said, smiling at Will's delectable slightly dishevelled appearance. "I haven't got anything appropriate because I didn't think I'd be going to a dinner after last night's festivities."

"Is she the reason you asked for the morning off?" The professor that sat at the desk with Hannibal asked politely. The man grinned, looking back at Saskia who came closer with Will towards Hannibal. "I have to applaud you, Hector Alas. Such beauty. I understand why you requested the morning off last night. I'm Professor Sogliato, I work alongside Hector Alas."

Saskia smiled, letting him take her hand like a gentleman and kiss the knuckles of her dominant hand, "Alexei Alas."

"Oh. Sister or something then? You share the same last name as these two," He gave them a critical and almost hopeful eye.

They watched as Saskia leaned against the desk nearest Hannibal, placing a hand on the desk to steady herself. Hannibal put his hand on hers as he smirked.

"Lover."

"Ahh, to both you and Waylan?"

"Yes,"

"You lucky men," Professor Sogliato muttered. "Will you be attending the dinner tonight too, Miss Alexei?"

"I will be," She said. "That's the reason Waylan and I are here. While we can cook, Hector here is the master chief amongst us. If we do not come and get him, he will work through the night. It's happened before."

"What do you work as, Miss Alexei?" He asked.

"I'm a lecturer for creating writing," It wasn't a full lie but nor was it the truth.

"So you do not take interest in these?" He gestured around the room at the different artefacts and books.

"Oh, I take interest," She said. "I take interest in any and all mythology, ideology, and theology. I did Religious studies at school and in it was philosophy and Christain Theology. I believe I was told how you tried to discredit Hector about Dante, but he did well."

"Yes," Professor Sogliato looked displeased at admitting this. "We are not fond of foreigners here. We've had trouble in the past with them trying to change what should never be changed."

"Some traditions should stay and others should change," She said calmly.

"Sometimes foreigners should be accepted…"

When his straying eye landed on her rear end as she and her lovers were leaving the room, Hannibal put his hand on her lower back to guide her away from the room as he saw what a great temptation Professor Sogliato was.

For Saskia, she felt the Kitsune flare her tails in her shadow, almost pawing at the hands of the Wendigo and Lycan which stopped her assault on the human man.

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Finding a dress for Saskia was a hard feat, both men had long realised.

To find one that she liked and was fitted well enough to her that was also store-bought and not altered, was hard.

She went for an Alexander McQueen dress, one which was red, went down to her mid calves, and had a sort of small corset that did not have a use but looked pretty. It had silver eyelets with a black ribbon to make it look like a corset.

While Will set up the table to Hannibal's instructions, Hannibal was in the master bedroom with Saskia to curl her hair.

They both knew she could do it herself but Hannibal liked to help when it came to curling or styling Saskia's hair. Will was less inclined to let Hannibal mess with his hair, so Hannibal settled with only doing a comb through on him.

Hannibal let her hair go down her shoulders in lovely, loose wavy curls. They looked natural and weren't going to get in her way when he pulled two of the main pieces back and clipped them away with a tiny broach.

"Do you know how I test if a new lipstick will transfer?" Saskia said, dabbing the dark red lipstick on. She turned around as she finished, ruby lips curling up in a feral smile.

Hannibal held a hand out to help her out of the chair, quickly tucking her closer until her hands were on his jaw and they were kissing. Hannibal pulled her close with his hands on her lower back, letting her almost climb onto him as she jumped and hooked her legs around his waist. He took her weight easily, letting her move her arms to stabilise herself and tucking his hands under her butt to keep her up.

"Stop it, you two!" Will said from the door, giving them equally lustful looks but trying to remain face as they had a dinner soon.

Saskia dropped back to her feet again, flicking her hair out of the way. It looked beautifully wild and just added to the feral smile she had on. She ran a thumb down the edges of her lips, "I'm just testing if my lipstick transfers."

When she stalked forward to give him a test run, he hooked an arm around her waist and moved her around.

"Oh, no test run?" She pouted, letting the light catch her lips.

Will sighed, capturing her mouth for all of five seconds before he had to let her go.

"Come on, he'll be here soon," Will said, letting Saskia trail into the other room with a leisurely pace before leaning towards Hannibal. "Can we kill him?

"Perhaps, perhaps not." Hannibal put a hand on Will's lower back and guided him inwards as the American man sighed with displeasure.

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"The Studiolo is a small, fierce group," Hannibal said as he paused his chipping of the ice. "They've ruined a number of academic reputations."

Professor Sogliato took a piece from the meat platter that Will just place down, both he and Saskia already seated across from one another. "Appearing before them is a peril."

"You were very eager to see me discredited, Professor Sogliato."

He smiled. "You hang for your supper before the dragons at the Studiolo."

"You sang very well," Will said, taking a seat at one end of the table.

Sogliato clapped after making a sound of approval. "First applause, and then by wet-eyed acclamation… The memberships affirmed you as master of the Palazzo Capponi."

Hannibal kept a neutral expression, passing a drink to Saskia first before giving Sogliato one too. "Punch Romaine. A cocktail created by Escoffier."

"The drink that was served to the first-class guests on the Titanic before their little mishap," Saskia said, sipping the cocktail and smiling pleasantly. She raised the glass in such a way that it told her lovers that she liked the drink.

Sogliato raised his glass before grinning at Saskia. "The committees have a new curator."

Hannibal continued to stand, picking things from the plate as he stood on Sogliato's left side. "If my victory pleased the professore, I could not tell."

"Then you weren't paying attention," Sogliato said snippily. "You should have been there, Alexei. Your… lover sang well enough to gain some respect."

"Of course he sang well," Saskia said. "If he didn't, we would know something would be wrong."

"Yes...Wrong…" He looked between the three of them with a distant glare hidden behind a pleasant smile and a slight trail of the eyes down her form.

Saskia didn't mind him admiring her beauty, she liked it sometimes but the way he did it made her sigh with displeasure. She could see that both Hannibal and Will's hunger for blood twitching with each new glance Sogliato made towards her.

The comment made it worse.

An icepick found its way into Sogliato's temple.

Will picked up his fork, taking a piece of food into his mouth, chewed and swallowed before speaking. "Bit impulsive there, 'Annibal."

"That shut him up," Saskia said as she began to eat too.

Hannibal sat down, taking a piece of meat into his hands and picked at it. "That may have been impulsive."

"Just a tad," Will agreed, making the other two laugh.

Saskia wiped her hands down before she stood up, walked over to Sogliato and pulled the icepick out, saying, "His twitching was annoying."

The way he slumped in his chair made Will shake his head in amusement as Hannibal turned to Saskia with full seriousness, "Technically, you killed him."

She rolled her eyes, dropping the icepick onto the table before retaking her seat.

"Didn't like him anyway."

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