"He's deaf." The voice was obnoxious, condescending.

Will didn't look up from his book at the words he had been hearing for so many years of his life. Ever since he was a child and had learned what deaf meant, he had leaned into it. He had never enjoyed holding conversations and absolutely despised any form of eye contact. He found any sort of social interaction unsavory and overstimulating even at the best of times.

He hadn't meant for the lie to go on as far as it had, even being wrongly and purposefully diagnosed when he was five years old. And he didn't mean to offend anyone by it, though he wasn't sure if anyone had ever known the lie, save his best friend. He preferred to stay silent and once he had taught himself sign language he had the perfect excuse to not meet someone's gaze. He had to watch their hands, fighting laughter through most conversations while the person speaking to him stumbled over their words both verbally and physically.

"Oh." The surprise and understanding belonged to the voice that had been so rudely instructing Will, in a thick accent, to remove himself from his seat so that the owner might be able to sit beside his friend.

"And both of you can fuck off." Will knew that voice so well he could hear it in his sleep. He didn't look up at Beverly and he knew she would understand the habitual act that he showed the rest of the world. "He has to sit up front to read the teacher's lips. There's seats towards the back of the class." The two men didn't deserve the explanation, but Will was grateful that Beverly took it upon herself to dish it out to whoever came at him.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding." The accented voice genuinely did seem to hold something sorry in it and it pulled at Will's curiosity, daring him to look up from his book, but he ignored it. Instead he flipped the page, despite not having finished it, to uphold the illusion.

A hand waved over the top of his book and Will let his attention be pulled up to where Beverly was smiling. She let her bag clunk to the floor and sat down beside Will with a huff, swiftly signing to him.

Fucking Matthew. If I ever get the chance to kill him I'll only let them find his left shoe.

Will allowed himself to chuckle and shook his head, closing his book. He supposed that was another upside to being the so-called deaf student on campus. He could gossip with Beverly as much as he wanted and no one could understand.

Will angled himself a bit more towards her so she could fully see his hands and answered with a large grin.

How kind of you to give his family that amount of closure.

Beverly tipped her head to the side and stuck her tongue out at Will. It was childish for their age, but he had always enjoyed the lightness that Beverly brought to their conversations. It made their shared lectures go so much quicker than the ones where he sat alone, only able to take in the lessons instead of participating.

Did you get a look at who was with Matthew? she asked and Will finally took the permission to let his gaze wander towards the back of the room where Matthew Brown now sat with a new student beside him.

His ashy blond hair fell into dark eyes, a color that Will couldn't name from where he sat. The man had sharp cheekbones that would put the edge of obsidian to shame. Crooked teeth grinned from behind thin, pink lips as he laughed. His eyes flickered over to Will and Will was about to return his attention back to Beverly when the man waved. Will's brows furrowed and he watched as the stranger's hands formed the question,

Do you want to get coffee?

The man's face held the perfect inquisitive inflection and Will found himself at a loss of how to respond. He watched as Matthew smacked the man's arm, but Matthew was swiftly dismissed with something being said that Will couldn't hear. Then the attention was back on him as the question was repeated.

Will felt his own arm being pulled on from Beverly and he tore his confused face from him and looked at the lively Asian who was nearly bouncing up and down in her chair, her expression ecstatic that someone else in this god forsaken school could sign.

"Answer him," she hissed into Will's ear, still shaking him. Will shook his head, pointing towards the door as the teacher stepped into the room. Beverly stopped her assault and pouted, slouching in her chair with her arms folded over her chest. Her voice was still low, low enough that only he could hear it. "Say yes."

If they had been alone Will would have loudly retorted with a strong no, but he found himself taking the typed up notes that the teacher gave him at the beginning of every class with a grateful smile. A little less work for him to do, not that he needed any help remembering anything he was taught. He had always had a wonderful memory and Beverly found the pre-written notes to be more helpful to her when he passed them to her at the end of their shared classes.

It was difficult for Will to concentrate, nearly impossible as his mind replayed the movements of the man's hands over and over in his head. They tugged at his curiosity so intensely that the moment the class was dismissed, Will was shoving the notes over to Beverly and pushing his way over to where Matthew and his friend were trying to exit.

He snatched up the man's shoulder, only now realizing how well the man was put together. Designer clothes, items that not even someone as rich and popular as Matthew could afford. Will pushed the thought away as merlot red eyes met his. What a strange color. Bloody.

You know how to sign, Will motioned, receiving a nod from the man.

"Hannibal, let's go. Come on," Matthew pushed in an annoyed voice, making it more than obvious that he wanted nothing to do with Wil.

Hannibal? Will stopped himself from mouthing the unusual name, showing no indication that he had heard it.

How? Will questioned.

He watched as Hannibal shuffled some books around in his arms so that his hands were free enough to answer.

Come get coffee with me and I'll tell you

Will's eyes narrowed and he exhaled sharply. Was it really so important that he know? Did it matter in the scheme of things? Not really. And Will doubted that he would ever see Hannibal again after the semester. He didn't look like the kind to hang around. He looked more like the type to come to school to prove to Daddy that he was capable of applying himself just so he could keep having his allowance.

Will licked his lips, annoyance bubbling through him at the smug grin on Hannibal's lips. Will's nose scrunched up in dislike as this rarity stared him in the face.

Time? Will asked.

Center commons at seven.

"Hannibal." Matthew grabbed Hannibal's arm and drug the man away from Will before Will had the chance to deny or confirm the meeting and Will was left with Beverly patiently waiting beside him.

It was quiet as they exited the classroom and it wasn't until they were back safe in their shared apartment that the bag was thrown from Beverly's shoulder and Will was snatched up with a fierce grip.

"Are you going?" she demanded. "You better fucking be going!"

"No, I'm not going," Will said back, stepping out of her reach with a laugh. "Why the fuck would I go?"

"Because he's hot and he can sign?" Beverly explained as if she needed to. Will shook his head and went to the fridge, pulling it open to grab two beers from it.

"He doesn't need to know how to sign." Will tossed one of the cans to Beverly who caught it and cracked it open. "I wouldn't be going either way."

"Will!"

"What?" The can hissed as Will opened it. He gulped some down and hopped up onto the counter, looking over an exasperated Beverly. "He's just some stupid rich kid who is gonna drop out in the middle of the semester. There's no point."

"You need more friends than just me Will." Her words caught Will off guard. He stared at her, unblinking. "You need more people in your life. And what if he doesn't drop out? What if he ends up being a good friend?"

"Bev," Will sighed. "I don't want-"

"You're going tonight. It'll be good for you."

"But-"

"Nope. We're picking out something for you to wear. Right now." Beverly's beer was set aside on the counter and Will's spilled down his hand as he was yanked off his perch by Beverly. Before Will could even argue, he was being shoved towards his room and forced onto his bed. He licked at the mess on his hand while Beverly immediately began tearing his closet apart. "Do you own anything with color at all?"

"You wear my clothes. You know I don't own colors," Will retorted, setting his beer aside. He gave a sigh and got to his feet, heading over to the pile of clothes that was forming on his bed. "Can I help you find something so I don't have to rehang everything I own?"

"I want that red long sleeved shirt."

"It's gonna be cold," Will complained, hoping that if he fought enough it would piss her off to the point where she would let this die.

"Then you can borrow my jacket."

"I'm not wearing a woman's jacket." Will gathered up several items into his hands and brought them back to the closet.

"I bought it in the men's section. It'll look nice on you." Beverly leaned a bit further into the sad little closet and Will rolled his eyes, waiting for his turn to put things away. "Found it!" she explained, pulling from the closet with the red shirt in hand. She brought it up to her nose and sniffed it, giving a small shrug. "Now pants."

Will rolled his eyes and set to work putting the shirts back up in the closet as Bevrerly found her way to his dresser and pulled open the first drawer. It had never occurred to Will just how often living with Beverly involved her in a whirlwind of chaos and him having to pick up after it. The idea made a smile come to his face as he fetched the rest of his shirts from the bed and hung them up.

Once he had been shoved into the clothes and forced into the black jean jacket that Will wouldn't ever verbally admit he thought looked nice on him, he was involuntarily pushed into a chair that Beverly had gotten from the kitchen and brought to the bathroom so that Beverly could try to tame his curls.

"Come on, Frodo," Beverly grumbled under her breath as he tried to pull the brush through his hair. "Even you had to brush your hair on your way to Mount Doom."

"That hurts," Will complained, doing his best to keep his neck strong against the assault.

"Shush, you baby."

Will snorted out his laughter once the brush had made a single pass through his hair and the curls turned to a frizzy mess. Beverly looked up into the mirror with a frown, but continued on. Will was holding his side that had a stitch in it from laughing so hard by the time Beverly had gotten through all of his hair.

"I look like the picture of my mom when she was going to her 80's prom," he blurted out, head falling forward onto the bathroom counter.

He could hear Beverly break into laughter behind him. "I think I understand why you only brush your hair after getting out of the shower."

"This means I don't have to go anymore, right?"

"No!" Beverly scolded through her snickering. "I will fix this! You are going to go meet that mysteriously hot man who can sign. And you are going to come back and tell me everything."

Will sat up, wiping tears from his eyes as he looked over his reflection once more. "Ok mom," he taunted. Beverly's nose scrunched up and she playfully swatted Will's shoulder. "How do you plan on fixing this then?"

"Water and a lot of product."

Will paced the center commons next to the large fake bell tower clock. He had been weaving in and out of the four posts that held up the clock for a few minutes now, unsure why he didn't just walk home. It's not like Beverly was here to stop him from leaving. The library was still open as was the ice cream parlor. He could go get a scoop of something and read a book for a few hours and make up some story about how badly it went.

He had just convinced his mind to turn his legs towards the library when a hand took his shoulder. Once upon a time he had hated being touched or grabbed, but he found that the initial touch of someone letting him know they were there far outweighed the idea that he would have to actually communicate with them.

He turned to find Hannibal with a warm smile on his thin lips. Will did his best not to smile when Hannibal began to sign to him while whispering the words out loud.

"Hello. I'm afraid I never got your name."

Will thought over the words for a moment, curious if he should make up something ridiculous just so that Beverly could have a laugh later on, but decided against it. He could only be so mean and hiding the fact that he could actually hear and speak was already enough of a lie to live by.

Will, he spelled out.

"Will," Hannibal repeated with a nod, fingers working in time with his voice. "It's very nice to meet you."

Will rolled his eyes. He didn't much care for the pleasantries of small talk. Instead he let his curiosity, which had been the only thing- besides a terrifying woman back in his apartment- that had made him stay, win out.

You told me you would tell me why you know how to sign.

Hannibal laughed, the sound something unlike anything Will had ever heard. It made his insides warm like hot chocolate on a cold winter's night. Will was staring, he knew he was, but he could mark that up to waiting for Hannibal to continue signing. He just couldn't bring himself to look away from that source of that warmth.

"Coffee first," he finally answered. "Then I'll tell you." They started on their way towards the cafe that was a touch off campus, but the only one close enough to walk to. Will was surprised to find that Hannibal took a position in front of Will, walking backwards easily, to make sure that Will could fully see his signing. "You look disappointed."

Will swiftly wiped the emotion off his face, years of exaggerating them going to give everything he was feeling away.

How could you tell? he asked, receiving another hearty laugh from the man.

"You wear your heart on your sleeve," Hannibal answered, voice a touch louder now and Will found himself grateful for the volume. He wasn't sure if he could pay attention to Hannibal's hands if he kept laughing like that.

Then let's distract you. That received another laugh and Will could feel the heat rising to his cheeks and into his ears. Where are you from?

"I'm living on the east side of campus." Will didn't need to hear the dripping sarcasm to pick it up in the man's dark eyes.

Will shook his head, wanting to yell at this man. Hannibal wasn't going to make tonight easy. This was going to be a tug of war, a brutal back and forth and Will had already had his fill of it with Beverly. He wasn't sure if he could handle someone who could match her sass or very well go past it.

I'm from Alabama. Where are you from?

All Will wanted was a clear answer on where the man's accent was from, wishing he could just ask him. But where would the fun in that be? He had to play Hannibal's game of waiting until the coffee shop to get his answers then Hannibal had to play his unknown little game too.

"Lithuania," was spelled out to him. Will watched as Hannibal glanced over his shoulder to see where he was going and Will smiled to himself, curious what would happen if he just let Hannibal step off the curb and into the street without trying to warn him. Hannibal's attention returned to Will. "But I grew up in a lot of different places."

Like?

"Mostly Paris, but I moved around a lot."

Will's hand snatched out and grabbed up Hannibal's arm as the man's heel hit the edge of the curb, pulling Hannibal back towards him. It was so natural to scold the man and tell him to be careful that Will had to bite his tongue to keep his mouth shut. He had never felt the need to actually speak to another human being beside Beverly before. He was more than happy to hide away in his little made up world, but for some whatever reason Hannibal was dragging everything out of Will and he hated the man for it.

Hannibal looked behind him and to the road with a chuckle and Will rapidly released his grip on the man's strong arm, stepping away from him. Will did his best to ignore the thank you given to him and he took to looking both ways down the empty street before crossing it, shoving his hands into his pockets so that he wouldn't feel the need to touch Hannibal again.

He could hear Hannibal's footsteps chasing after him, though no call for him to wait followed him. Did Hannibal have a deaf sibling? Or a friend back home? He had to have someone he signed to to be this fluent, especially being from another country, and to not have the impulse to try to get Will's attention with anything vocal.

Instead, Hannibal aligned himself beside Will and was silent until they reached the cafe. He held the door open for Will who blinked at the kind gesture, doing his best to still his features from the confusion his brows were pulling into, but it must not have worked very well because he could see the understanding in Hannibal's eyes.

Will stepped into the shop and looked around at the college students huddled together at tables, chatting happily. There was light music playing from someone with a guitar on a tiny corner stage, but it seemed to fit the atmosphere of the tiny room. The scent of coffee was pleasantly strong and the lighting was sleepy and low. A kind place to huddle to get out of the chill of the night that was foreshadowing winter.

A tap to Will's shoulder brought his attention back to Hannibal.

"I can order. What would you like?"

Black, cream, no sugar, Will answered, receiving a nod from Hannibal.

"Find us somewhere to sit?"

Will nodded and went off in search of an empty table. He was lucky to find one towards the front of the coffee shop, by the door. People were avoiding it so that anytime the door opened they weren't blasted with cold air, but Will didn't mind. He took his spot and watched Hannibal up at the counter, talking happily with the barista behind the counter. She smiled brilliantly at him and laughed and for some odd reason Will's insides twisted with something unpleasant.

He pushed it away after being unable to name the feeling and waited patiently for Hannibal to return to him. Will supposed it took longer than normal because Hannibal kept chatting up the girl as she made their drinks, but soon enough Hannibal wound his way through the other tables and over to Will with two steaming coffee cups in hand.

He placed Will's in front of him and took a seat, smile still on his lips and Will covered his own mouth with his coffee, burning his tongue. But that was a better excuse for why his face was contorted than whatever gurgling there was behind his ribs.

He set the cup aside and met Hannibal's dark eyes head on. There was something in the way the dim lighting caught them that caused the gurgling to turn to vines that curled around Will's insides and squeezed him tightly. He didn't like it. He was suddenly too hot and too cold at the same time.

"Is the coffee ok?" Hannibal questioned, hands still mirroring his words. Will nodded and Hannibal looked pleased. "Was there anything you wanted to talk about?"

The whole reason we're here, Will pushed, making sure to exaggerate his eye roll. God, if he could keep hearing that laugh he would be forever happy. He had never known anyone who laughed as easily as Hannibal and Will wanted to capture it up in a bottle and keep it to listen to it over and over again. But he supposed no bottle would hold such a sound and he very well couldn't pull out his phone and record it.

"You don't like to waste time, do you?" Hannibal teased and Will shook his head. "Where should I start then?"

How do you know how to sign? Will urged once more. It was going to be a long night if he had to keep pulling teeth.

"I taught myself when I was younger." There was a pause as Hannibal took a drink of his coffee and Will fought the impulse to reach across the table and strangle Hannibal for how long he was dragging this on. "I saw my family being killed in a home invasion and went silent for a very long time. I forgot too. Trauma does funny things." Hannibal's hands paused and Will turned his attention to his face to find it solid and emotionless, but his eyes held everything. They were so deep, so hurt and guilt dug into Will at having been so demanding about a piece of Hannibal's life that clearly wasn't shared very often.

I'm sorry.

Hannibal shrugged, smile restored to his face, right where Will thought it should always belong. "It was a long time ago," Hannibal excused as if it was nothing. "I was in foster care for a while until my aunt and uncle adopted me. My aunt was kind enough to learn to sign for me. She was the only one. The homes before didn't care and my uncle thought I was making it up the entire time."

Will hid his wince, chewing on his tongue, trying to figure out what he could possibly say to turn the conversation to something nicer or less about Hannibal's past. Hannibal seemed to be more than happy to offer up the information and Will wondered if maybe he had been the first person Hannibal had ever shared it with before.

How did you learn to speak again? Will asked, mentally scolding himself for not changing the subject.

"It kind of all came back?" Hannibal's voice was unsure as if he couldn't truly remember, though his hands were steady as they continued on in their explanation. "I saw a picture of my younger sister and then it was like a door opened. I remembered everything."

Will was at a loss for words, at a loss for anything to say in any aspect. It was like his mind had decided to shut down. He had pushed too hard and too far and had learned too much about a person he didn't need to learn more about.

But everything he had thought he understood about Hannibal melted away. He wasn't sure where the money for his clothes came from, but it wasn't from Daddy. Or at least not in the same way that Will had considered it. Maybe a trust fund or an inheritance, something left to him from his parents. And he wasn't here to just drop out at the end of the semester. He was here for a reason and there was Will's out.

What are you studying?

A chuckle. Will stared at Hannibal's hands instead of his face. "Medicine. I wasn't able to save my sister, but I can save someone's."

Will took the chance to snatch up his coffee and down a good portion of it, the liquid still far too boiling hot and burning his throat on the way down. He was out of his depth. Hannibal was smart then. He had to be to get into this college to begin with, but if he had been able to make it into the medical field... Will had been so off.

"What about you?"

Just generals. I'm not sure what I want to do yet.

Will had contemplated the answer many times and had basically just followed Beverly to this school so that he had a friend to be with. Not to mention that rent was cheaper with two than with just Beverly. There were plenty of things he was decent enough at, he supposed, but he was having a hard time deciding if he wanted to follow his heart or the money.

Maybe a teacher, he continued on, catching Hannibal off guard it seemed.

Hannibal's brows rose and he set his drink aside as his head cocked to the right. "Really?" he questioned. "I didn't see you as the type."

What does that mean?

Will tried to keep the offense from his face. He hadn't even mentioned the thought to Beverly. It had been a deep down secret for a long time, something that he kept hidden for fear of something like this. Being labeled, as if just by looking at him, Hannibal could see everything about him.

"Sorry," Hannibal apologized swiftly, a fist rubbing at his chest. "I just didn't imagine you as a teacher."

What did you imagine me as?

Hannibal shrugged and looked around the coffee shop as if he couldn't find the answer. "Maybe something to do with books. An author or a bookshop owner. You were nose deep in that book through most of class."

Will nearly opened his mouth in a retort, but frowned instead, curbing the want to say that just because he liked reading didn't mean that was his whole personality. But he supposed he had judged Hannibal just the same.

"Would you work in a specialized class or would you have an interpreter?"

Will found himself frozen at the question. He couldn't recall having ever thought past the idea of maybe just wanting to be a teacher. He would have to speak or he would have to hold specialized classes. Would he want to open his mouth up in front of a class of maybe thirty people? The idea was paralyzing. He hadn't even considered a subject he wanted to teach yet and now this opened up a whole new world of questions he had to ask himself.

That is an excellent question. Will gave a sheepish half smile and hid himself behind his coffee once more, waiting for the next dreaded question to come up. It was laced with another light chuckle that Will liked more than Hannibal's full on laughs.

"What do you want to teach?"

Forensic psychology, Will answered with the first thing that came to his head.

The bright smile that Hannibal had been wearing a considerable amount of the night slipped and Will watched as it turned into something incredibly warm and gentle, making the corners of his eyes crinkle just a touch. No one had looked at him like that before and Will didn't know what to make of it. The need to hide behind something was a strong tug in his limbs and he glanced around the cafe for the slightest chance of escape.

"I believe that fits you much better than a bookstore owner," Hannibal said, his voice much softer, much more modest in the cozy space, hands seeming to hold the same smile in them as he signed his words.

A lump formed in Will's throat and the overwhelming feeling of wanting to throw up overtook him. He wasn't nauseous in any sense of the word but his anxiety was churning his stomach into an angry storm.

Why did Hannibal's words hit him so hard? Why did every single little sign send his heart into an ocean wave beating up against a cliff face? There were so many opposites occurring in his body at once that he wasn't sure what was appropriate to do. Did he sit here and melt into a puddle? Did he freeze into a statue? Did he run away and if he did, how far did he run? Did he change his name and move states? Or did he just change schools? Did-

Will's attention was snatched up, his heart coming to a jolting halt in his chest when a hand took his. He was met with concerned eyes and his hand felt aflame. He was going to burn up if he didn't get out of this cafe right this moment. His hand received a squeeze and Will let out a breath that had been trapped in his chest.

"Are you ok?" Hannibal spelled out with his one hand still gently holding Will's. Will nodded, but he could feel his brows pulling together, confusion still pounding through his blood. He wanted to text Beverly, yell at her to come rescue him, or do anything to escape this moment. It was too much, too strong, whatever this was.

Will made a swift claw shape with his free hand and put it in front of his mouth, moving it away with an audible exhale.

Hot.

Hannibal nodded and released Will's hand. "Should we go outside? I can walk you back to your dorm."

Without an answer, Will snatched up his coffee that was empty and went for the door, throwing the paper cup away. He didn't wait for Hannibal as he stepped out into the cold and inhaled deeply of the night air. It burned his lungs in a wonderfully contrasting way to how his limbs felt like they were about to crack from the heat of the flames.

Hannibal made sure to stand in front of Will before he spoke again and Will bit his bottom lip as he listened without really reading Hannibal's fingers.

"Which way is your place?"

I can walk on my own, Will was quick to sign, his hands trembling and feeling weak as he used them. The immediate disappointment was perfectly clear over Hannibal's face before it was wiped cleanly away with another smile.

"Then I will see you in class."

Will nodded and tried to leave, but found himself blocked by Hannibal's body once more. He let his face turn to one of question and motioned What? The answer was the most silent but deafening answer that Will received in his life and it snapped all of the questions from his head.

His cheek was cupped and his face was turned upward in one fluid motion. Warmth crashed against his lips tangled with the taste of coffee and Will's eyes fluttered shut instantly. He barely registered the way his knees went weak beneath him, but the flush that went up to his hairline was searing. Not even the breeze could save him.

Hannibal pulled back and Will didn't think he could breathe right. At first he couldn't inhale and then when he finally could he had to stop himself from gasping greedily for air. He blinked, unseeing and he was grateful that Hannibal had been speaking while signing or he would have gone on without knowing what the man said next.

"It was nice to meet you, Will. Stay safe getting back to your place. Good night."

Will dumbly fumbled out a signed Good night and listened to the man walk away. He stood on the sidewalk until long after Hannibal had disappeared before his mind and body finally came colliding back together and he broke into a dead sprint back towards his apartment.