Chapter Text
“So tell me about your family, Abigail,” Freddie said in attempt to start a conversation with her charge. It was far too late to play Spanish Inquisition but the little girl wasn’t ready for bed, and Freddie wasn’t exactly ready to sleep in this mausoleum.
“Father and Papa adopted me when I was a baby. They found me on the doorstep on the night of a blue moon,” Abigail said seriously, brushing Bloody Mary’s hair. “Father says it was as magical as the first time he met Papa. That always makes Papa’s ears turn red whenever he says things like that.”
Freddie almost snorted at the mental picture. “I’d love to hear that story.”
Abigail looked up and beamed. “Good! It’s my favorite.”
Clearing her throat and motioning for Freddie to sit on the bed next to her, she began: “Once upon a time…”
“Well, Jack, it certainly is an honor for my daughter to marry your son,” Mr. Graham said as he sipped his tea and turned to his daughter with a large grin. “Isn’t it, Bedelia?”
“A real treat,” she said dryly, making Alana snort. “Do you have anything stronger than tea?”
Hannibal smiled and offered a glass he had poured. “Bordeaux?”
“Thank you,” she replied, taking a long drink.
Mr. Graham straightened up suddenly, sighing. “Oh, damn, I’ve just realized. I lost one.”
“One what?” Jack asked. “Marble? We’ve surely got a few lying around.”
“No, one child. Bedelia, where’s your brother?”
“Am I his keeper?”
At that moment the front door opened with a bang, and Will Graham rushed in, hair stuck in his eyes and suit jacket askew, a dog following happily at his heels. His father rolled his eyes.
“Sorry, sorry, case work was running late and I was–“ he stopped dead in his explanation as he locked eyes with Hannibal. Both looked they’d been shot with a crossbow, Alana thought.
"Quite a scene, Will," Hannibal had said earlier that day over a particularly gruesome tableau. He stood close to Will, close enough to smell that dreadful aftershave he adored.
"Indeed it is, Hannibal," Will said lowly, eyes shining. "It's beautiful. Thank you."
It was times like this Hannibal felt the rest of the world fade away and wanted nothing more than he and Will to be alone with their thoughts. But it was not to be as Will's supervisor walked over.
"Will? What are we looking at here? Some sort of threat?"
"Far from it," Will had said, bending down to his knees to stroke the deep cut marks on the victim's neck. As though he were compelled as Hannibal kneeled on the other side, 'accidentally' brushing his fingers against Will's. Their eyes locked together as Will said, "This isn't a threat; it's a sign of admiration. A declaration of love...
“Hannibal? Do you know each other?” Alana asked, suddenly, prodding him out of his thoughts.
He blinked and slid the person mask back on. “Yes, dear. We’ve…consulted on a few cases. They wanted an insight on the killer’s motives and I was happy to oblige.”
Will shuffled his feet, swallowed, and sat over near his father, refusing tea and muttering about migraines.
“Do you want something for your head, Will?” Jack asked. “I’ve got just the thing for that.”
He shook his head. “Thank you, but no. I’ve had chronic migraines since I was little. Too much thinking, I suppose.”
At that moment, in an attempt to direct the conversation elsewhere, Will’s father asked about dinner. Hannibal didn’t answer until the dog was sniffing his expensive trousers and then barked.
“Will, take it outside, please,” Mr. Graham said in exasperation, turning to Jack. “I’m terribly sorry about this. He has a penchant for strays, it seems.”
“Oh no, it’s quite all right,” Hannibal said, but it sounded to Alana as though he wasn’t as focused as usual, his eyes not leaving Will's face. “Dinner’s in the oven, it will be done in a half hour. In the meantime, Will, would you like to take him outside?” The last part was aimed at the dog that was trying to jump up into his lap.
“I’d love to,” Will answered quietly. “Here, Winston. Come on.” Alana watched them leave the room, and narrowed her eyes as she could tell Hannibal had reached for Will’s hand, and then quickly drew away.
“So, when were you going to inform me you had a sister?” Hannibal said with just a tinge of ice in his tone as they toured the garden, Winston begging Hannibal for the treats he always brought for him when he was around Will.
“Probably when you were going to inform me that you were engaged,” Will answered back smartly, scuffing his feet along the grass and trying to fix his tie. Hannibal watched as his fingers fiddled with the thin black strip of silk.
“You hate things around your neck.”
“Well, I was supposed to look presentable for my future in-laws.”
“You’re always more than presentable,” Hannibal said lowly as he gently removed the tie from Will’s neck. The corners of a smile tugged at Will’s mouth.
“You could talk an angel out of heaven, you know that?”
“That’s the idea, darling,” Hannibal smirked.
Will laughed, his eyes falling closed in bliss as he said, “I don’t know why, but I never have a headache around you.”
He felt the faintest kiss brush across his lips and he forced himself to pull away. Opening his eyes, he saw concern etched across Hannibal’s face.
“Is something the matter, Will?”
“The engagement to my sister, perhaps?”
“I’ll break it off," Hannibal said immediately, deeply serious.
Will gasped. “You can’t do that, Hannibal. What will she say? Or my father?”
“I don’t care, Will. I love you, I want to marry you instead, and I'll break it off.” Will took a deep breath and then began a rambling sermon that Hannibal knew had been instilled in him since he was a child. A long speech on “family honor” and something about his father always being right and something about their reputation, but in all honesty, his lips were so damn distracting that he realized that he wasn't paying any attention.
"I'm so sorry, Will, what were you saying?"
"I'm saying that this can't go on. You have to marry my sister, and I just can't disrespect her by sneaking around with her fiancé. Do you understand?"
No. No, I don't. You're mine, Will. All mine.
"It is your decision, Will. I can respect that," he said, pretending to sound defeated. And as Will leaned forward to call Winston back from sniffing the Venus fly traps, he suddenly caught Will's arm, pulling him close and talking into his ear "But I need you to know, caro mio, that I'm going to marry her simply to keep you in my life, because I can't go on unless you are with me."
Will shuddered slightly before slipping out his grasp, looking in his eyes before turning away.
Alana was tinkering with her C-4 after dinner when Hannibal flung open her door and nearly slammed it, making them both jump.
"You nearly blew us to Houston!" she yelped, clutching the explosive to her chest.
"Listen to me, Alana, this is very important. I need to you to convince Will to allow me to call off the wedding."
Confusion spread across her features. "Why?"
"So that I can marry Will instead."
A very long, stunned, pause.
"I think I'm missing something. Start from the beginning. Go slow. Talk like I'm still a child."
After an hour-long speech of adoration and romance that made her want to gag, she finally broke down.
"Alright, I get it, he's the love of your life, your one true love, the only reason you are still breathing, yada yada yada. Now, what do you want me to do again?"