#''stay away from the hannibal fandom'' they said ''there's incredibly stupid takes out there'' they said. and did i truly listen

[tenpixelsusie]

me when i'm in a demonizing teenage girl characters competition and my opponent is hannibal fandom

[hostgalli19]

The Cannibal’s Book Collection -  Chapter 3: An Unexpected Pet

Chapter Summary: Will has an unexpected addition to his pack and has unintended consequences that aren't necessarily bad. Note: Afternoon everyone, this is my 6th Hannibal story. I've only been apart of the fandom for 11 days its already affected me. The meaning of "roast (insert name here)" has completely changed and I'm not really sure how to feel. 

Thank you to everyone who has read this story, so far. This story is also posted on FFN and Ao3

Length: 2,542 words (4 pages)  Tag List: @wilfordwarfstacheisbae, @matt10nt, @fuckmethomasshelby, @lamb-and-knife Link

Date: 16/05/20 Time: 3:39 pm – 6:12 pm

Will had no idea how he ended up adopting a Wendigo. He'd found the Monster trapped in a bear trap in the woods around his house. He had no idea why there was even a bear trap in the woods around Will's house. The thought someone setting something like that in his forest made Will's insides boil.

He had done an extensive amount of research on Wendigo's after finding the one in the forest, hoping to avoid any unwanted surprised in the future. He knew the Wendigo had been hunting in the forest but hadn't a real meal in a long time as evidence by him almost bitting Will's hand when he gave the Wendigo one of the meals Hannibal had cooked.

He found the Wendigo could disguise himself as a normal if rather a large dog and had taken to following him wherever he went. Jack had been annoyed Will had brought one of his stays to a crime scene but soon shut up when Wendi growled and snapped at him. Wendi didn't like anyone in the BAU except for Hannibal.

He was strangely okay with the man. Will had been incredibly embarrassed when Wendi had eaten the meat Hannibal had been preparing in his kitchen when they were invited over to his house. It was then that he remembered Wendigo ate human, he always seemed to enjoy Hannibal's food.

It didn't take Will long after that to figure out what Hannibal was and even less time after that to figure out he was the Chesapeake Ripper. The fact they had kidney pot pie when there had been a Ripper kill that day, the body had been missing several organs, one of which was likely in the kidney pie.

None of which Will got to eat as Wendi had eaten it before he could. Will knew he wasn't going to get to eat any of Hannibal's food in the future if it contained even a little human. He didn't bother trying, telling Hannibal to give the rest of what was going to be his to Wendi. He seemed curious but accepted without much complaint. They had regular meals with Hannibal after that.

Will would bring food for Hannibal to cook, any food Hannibal tried to give Will that had even a little human in its Wendi would eat it before Will got the chance.

Will and Hannibal had just sat down to eat when they got a call from Jack request (read: demanding) their presence as The Ripper had struck again, which wasn’t possible as Hannibal hadn’t been out of his sight for the last six hours. He had been teaching Will how to cook. Wendi stealing bits of meat when he got the chance.

Will definitely knew Hannibal hadn’t been responsible due to the kill only being an hour old at the most, that and all the organs were in their correct place though it looked like the Killer had been in process of removing them from the victim’s body. Wendi had whined and whimpered but stayed near Will’s legs.

Will knew Wendy wanted to eat the body but knew he wouldn’t. Will told Jack someone other than The Ripper had killed this person. They were, however trying to copy The Ripper. Jack hadn’t been pleased when he heard that and made the mistake by hitting Will and yelling at him. Everything stopped.

Will said nothing, he was used to this sort of behaviour what he didn’t count on how Will’s rather big dog and Hannibal would react. Hannibal was glaring at the back of Jack’s head like he was imaging killing Jack. Will knew Hannibal didn’t like Jack. Now he knew Hannibal was The Ripper he knew he had been trying to teach Jack a lesson. One he clearly hadn’t learned but he would learn very soon.

He had been more than rude and callus. He was constantly blackmailing and bribing Will into working for the BAU. It didn’t matter what Will’s emotional or mental state was like or what Will himself thought. Jack didn’t care for him and was only using him because he had a useful gift that allowed him to catch the killers the stalked the streets of Baltimore.

Will knew he would never be able to escape the BAU with his sanity intact. Wendi’s reaction to Jack yelling and hitting Will was far more sudden and rather… violent and made everyone freeze in fear. Everyone but Will and Hannibal. Wendi growled and snapped and snarled at Jack after knocking him to the ground, landing on his chest.

He suddenly looked far bigger then he had before and far more dangerous. Was he always that big? Where his teeth always that sharp? Everyone scrambled to get away from the ‘dog’ that really looked like a dog anymore. He looked much more like a wolf and they couldn’t help but wonder where Will had found him, he was staring down at Jack with unnatural red eyes.

He growled one last time, snapping at Jack’s throat in warning before stalking back over to Will and Hannibal. He looked far more intelligent than any of them had been expecting

It took Zeller a minute to realise Wendi was standing between Jack and Will and Hannibal. He came up to Will’s waist. His ears pinned against his head as he growled lowly in a warning. Zeller, Beverly and Jimmy knew Jack’s treatment of Will had the best chance if he didn’t want to end up injured, that was a clear threat and challenge.

Will’s ‘dog’ would kill them if something were to happen to Will or Hannibal. Will didn’t appear alarmed, just surprised as he petted the top of Wendi’s head. He was staring down at Jack, who had yet to get up with a cold look on his face. Far colder than Beverly expected. None of them really understood Will and how he was able to get inside people’s head but found it creepy, but no one said anything.

They knew they would be screwed with Will’s help so tried to be as nice as possible and stay out of his way as much as possible and get him anything he needed.

Beverly, Zeller and Jimmy knew how Jack got Will to help with them with cases. They knew Jack would continue to use Will until the younger man was no longer any use to them, they had no idea what would happen to Will when Jack no longer felt like he was any use to the BAU. He’d more than likely end up in a mental hospital, being deemed insane due to his work with the FBI.

They knew Jack Crawford held no love for William Graham. He never had, he would continue to use the man in order to catch killers and make himself look better but Will would never get the help he truly deserved because if that happened then Will wouldn't be as good at his job which they all knew would wrong.

Zeller knew Jack Crawford held no love for Will Graham. He never had, he would continue to use the empath to catch killers and make himself look better but Will would never get the help he truly deserved because if that happened then Will wouldn’t be ‘as good’ at his job, which Zeller knew was stupid.

Will would do a better job if he was mentally and emotionally stable and had someone to talk to about his problems and that wouldn’t punish him. It seemed Jack had unknowingly given Will exactly what he needed in order to get better in the form of Hannibal Lector who clearly cared about the man. He may not have outright said it but his actions certainly said more than he ever could.

He cared about Will a great deal, how and when that had happened Beverly, Jimmy and Zeller weren’t exactly sure, but they knew he would do anything for Will. They also knew Hannibal Lector was a very dangerous man and not someone you wanted to get on the bad side of. He was after all capable of killing and would if someone pissed him off enough.

Oh yes, they knew he was Chesapeake Ripper but they never said anything to Jack, he hadn't treated any of them well, he never thought about their feelings or waited for their opinions on things, often pulling them away from their families and friends to help with cases in the early hours of the morning or during important events.

Often pulling them away from their families and friends to help with cases in the early hours of the morning or during important events. Jack would continue to message and call them until they answered and come in and helped with whatever case he needed them for. Yelling at them in front of everyone.

He'd certainly done it to Will plenty of times, regardless of the fact Will was most likely up all night with nightmares or hadn’t gotten any sleep.

He was shorter tempered on those days, Beverly always made sure she had coffee on hand for those days, she knew it helped. If only a little. Beverly, Zeller and Jimmy looked after Will, even if Jack wasn’t going to, even if meant ordering strong, slightly too sweet coffee in the morning and bringing leftovers from the night before then they would do it. Jack never seemed to notice.

Will had put on some weight since he’d met Hannibal which was good. He was far too skinny. Zeller knew the Doctor had been cooking for him and couldn’t help but be a little jealous. Hannibal Lector was an amazing cook and everyone knew it. He would look after Will and would make sure he never got hurt.

In return Zeller, Beverly and Jimmy never told Jack who Hannibal was and made sure he never got too close to figuring it out.

They had their own abilities they had never mentioned to Jack knowing how he treated Will. Jimmy had known Will’s ‘dog’ hadn’t been normal, even if back then he hadn’t been as big as was now. Even if he was perfectly friendly, Jimmy had always felt like it was an act, like he was trying to lull them into a false sense of security and let their guard down.

He had never caused Zeller, Beverly or Jimmy any trouble, one more than one occasion Jimmy had seen him lick the blood off the crime scene and even eating any stray chunk of the body. Jimmy never said anything though. They were fine with him as long as he looked after Will and didn’t cause them too much trouble.

Beverly knew he definitely wasn’t a normal ‘dog’ after he had knocked Jack on his arse with ease. He looked far bigger and lot more threatening and dangerous. She knew without a doubt Jack had better be careful otherwise he might end up the ‘dogs’ next meal and Will would have a perfectly good excuse for why his dog had bitten Jack.

"I told you the Ripper didn't do this Jack, all the organs are here, the Ripper would never leave the organs behind. This killer had is more than likely a Copy Cat as the kill is similar to that of the Ripper's but not at the same time, this Killer was interrupted, likely by the person who reported the death. Now, if you'll excuse me I would very much like to go home and have dinner," Will snapped, his eyes cold and hard.

He did not care for Jack at all. Not that anyone present blamed him. Jack Crawford was a horrible man who only cared about his job and no one else. Jack watched as Will and Hannibal got into Hannibal car and drove off, that huge ‘dog’ sitting in the back seat watching him with. Jack shivered.

----------

Hannibal sat quietly as he listened to Will rant about Jack and how callus and cruel he was, he’d known Jack was using him for a long time, he was only helping the BAU and the FBI because it was the best use for his skills and he could help catch killers. He hadn’t set down any ground rules when he had first come to help and his mental and emotional state was suffering because of it.

He had been getting better since he’d met Hannibal, the nightmares were lessening. He was still having problems with sleepwalking but was learning to deal with it. He no longer changed out of his everyday clothes, ensuring the “went to bed” with warm, thick clothes on knowing he would end up outside at some point during the night.

His nightmares weren’t truly nightmares anymore, they had mostly stopped after he’d found Wendi trapped and hurt in the forest. They were now of the cases he was working on or of Hannibal and the small amount of information he had gathered on the man.

He had been trying to order his mind a bit, hoping it would help him deal with the nightmares. It had. He was getting better at packing the memories away into the different boxes and rooms around his house. He had used the forest to store some of the memories.

Will had been trying to organised his mind a bit, hoping it would help him deal with the nightmares. It had. He was getting better at packing the memories away into the different boxes and rooms around his house. He had used the forest and the river were distractions and protection. His dogs were also added in. Wendi was his last defense. Things changed after he added Wendi. Hobs finally left him alone.

The other ghosts left him alone. He knew he was safe in his own mind, though he was careful when creating his mental world, trying not to wander too far. His body tended to follow his mind. At least he no longer woke up feeling cold. He had been shocked when he had first woke paralyzed and unable to control his body to find Wendi had followed him.

Stand instead of crawling along the ground like he usually did.

He grabbed Will’s wrist and lead him back towards the house, making sure he didn’t trip and helped him to bed before curling around him. Will thanked him for the next day and had explained that he sometimes got sleep paralysis. He was awake but unable to control his body.

Note: Thank you for reading. I should have the next chapter up soon

[freerange-rude]

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Hannibal (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham Additional Tags: Fluff, an au where hannibal is not a cannibal, and he also cares about things Summary:

In which Hannibal is not a cannibal, and actually wants to help Will Graham.

@hyperfashionist Chapter 2 is finally done! I hope you enjoy!  Tagging everyone who was interested in chapter 2: @bloodyilaria @ghostgurlgamer @fragile-teacup  

Hannibal and Dr. Sutcliffe stared at the images that Will’s brain was emitting. It was quite literally on fire, inflamed and angry. Hannibal was relieved. No tumors. He pointed to the screen, “Encephalitis?” He asked as if he didn’t already know the answer, but Dr. Sutcliffe nodded his agreement nonetheless.

“Anti-NMDA Encephalitis.” He said, sighing quietly. “We should get him admitted as soon as possible.” Hannibal wasn’t quite listening, staring at the scan. Will had not been being honest with him at all. This was not the brain of someone functioning well. He felt something uncomfortable pulling in the pit of his gut, but he couldn’t quite identify it.

“Yes, we should…” He sighed softly, then pressed the little button that opened the com, “Will, we’re done now. I’ll come get you out.” He informed, before going to do just that.

Will sat up once he could, being careful. “What is it? What’s wrong with me?” his voice was so filled with worry, and it soothed the pulling in Hannibal’s gut.

“You have Encephalitis. Your brain is on fire,” That could have been it, the end of the conversation, as he helped Will stand, “You’ve been dishonest.” But of course he had to say it.  For a few moments Will was silent, just standing there. He licked his lips, Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed.

“Some things, I just can’t put into words.” He murmured, and Hannibal grunted softly in understanding. There was a short pause before he turned to grab Will’s clothes.

“Here, go get dressed.” Hannibal wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He didn’t like that Will had kept things from him. It went beyond their doctor/patient relationship, which dismayed him even further. What he had felt in his gut was hurt, a mostly foreign feeling to him. He never let anyone close enough to be hurt. At least Will would be in the hospital for a while and he could have a break from him.

--

Will didn’t like hospitals. He had a hard time relinquishing control. He didn’t feel like he had much control with his body as it were, so when doctors started making the decisions for him he really felt powerless. It wasn’t like he couldn’t say no, or refuse treatment, he just knew better than to do that. Especially with something as serious as encephalitis. He didn’t feel quite as anxious this time. With Hannibal delegating and giving second opinions for his care, he felt he was in good hands. An odd relief, but not unwelcome.

Despite insisting to himself that he needed a break from Will’s company, Hannibal had been coming to visit him in the hospital every day before or after appointments.  Sometimes both. In fact today, Will suspected he may have cancelled appointments to come see him. He had come in the morning, and now that Will was eating lunch, courtesy of Hannibal, he was still there. Scrutinizing each nurse, each medication put in his drip. Checking his temperature and occasionally… Well, he couldn’t be sure, but it did seem as if Hannibal was giving him a good sniff. There it was. He leaned close, and took a deep breath. Surely he thought he was being subtle.

“Did you just… smell me?” he asked, looking over at Hannibal. Hannibal looked just a touch flustered, which meant he was very flustered. Will saw right through his stoic facade.

“Hard to avoid.” he quipped back, his only defense apparently. Will’s sass gun was locked and loaded though.

“Pardon my lack of showering, since I’m connected to five million machines currently.” In response, Hannibal made his classic chin tuck, mouth agape just slightly.

“That was very rude. If you would like to shower, the nurses can assist you.”

“I don’t want strangers helping my naked ass in the shower.” Will was a prideful man, and he wasn’t about to let the nurses giggle about what he had hidden beneath his clothes.

There was a pause before Hannibal spoke. Will watched him, knowing he was handpicking each word.

“Perhaps you would like someone more familiar to help you?” The hesitation in his voice made Will squirm. It made him uncomfortable that Hannibal sounded shy.

“Perhaps.” His gut was churning at the idea. He felt stupid for it. Hannibal was his friend, he just wanted to help. “Fine. Yeah. just help me figure out how to position stuff so I don’t break anything.”

Will started getting out of bed, careful of all his wires and IV. He was doing much better than when he was first admitted. He was hoping to get out soon. However. the doctors were talking about in-home care. Encephalitis wasn’t a quick cold, and some things he might not ever recover. It was scary to think about. Memories he had lost could stay lost forever, and there was potential for adopting other mental illnesses. Like he didn’t have enough already.

“Adopt them like dogs…” He mused to himself, and Hannibal looked to him questioningly. “Mental illnesses.” He smiled drily, but apparently his dark humor was funny enough to make Hannibal smile.

“I predict a full recovery. We caught it fast enough, I think.”

“Doesn’t change that my brain was on fire.” He muttered, and Hannibal conceded with a nod.

After a quick conversation with a nurse, they were headed for the shower. Hannibal made it clear Will would not require help. Although Hannibal didn’t touch, his hands hovered as Will shuffled into the bathroom. He appreciated the courtesy. He wasn’t too proud to allow himself to fall on his ass.

“Here, sit on this.” It was a shower chair, the kind you saw in nursing homes. He plopped himself on it and Hannibal removed his drip and heart monitor patches. “Do you need help with your gown?”

If Will hadn’t known better, he would say Hannibal was flushed at the question. Oh, he could take this and run with it. He wouldn’t though- he was embarrassed as well. “I think I’m fine.” He stood, “You can just… hover by the door. Once I’m sitting I’ll be fine.”

Hannibal was respectful, keeping his gaze turned away visibly until Will was finished and seated. After that he left, standing outside the door. He kept it cracked.

His shower was uneventful. It felt great though, to get clean. He’d already been here for almost a week and this was his first time showering. Fact was, he wasn’t sure he would have showered if Hannibal hadn’t been the one helping him. He was beginning to feel an odd reliance on him, that spanned past a doctor-patient relationship. A friendship, he would tentatively call it, for now.

With Will safely back in bed and finally clean, Hannibal pulled out something surprising. A deck of cards. He pulled them delicately from their box. They were gold trimmed, and black on the back. “Canasta, or Poker?”

It was Will’s turn to surprise, “Canasta.” They settled into a long game, bantering back and forth.

Halfway through the game, Hannibal recalled what he had said earlier. “Will, do you often feel mentally ill?” He kept his voice even, and soft. He knew if it felt like prodding, Will would clam up.

“I’ve been depressed since my early teens.” he admitted, drawing two cards and adding to the massive hand he was holding onto. Waiting for Hannibal to throw down the perfect card.

“From all the moving?”

“From a lot of things. Loneliness, mostly. So I guess that was a side effect from the moving.” Will found it fairly easy to talk to Hannibal ,specially after all his visits to his hospital room. The only one who came to visit, really. Jack came once to reassure him their latest case was going well. Bev came a couple times, bringing along crime scene photos and files. No one just came to see him. Perhaps it was his own fault. He had been trying hard to stay out of the way, while still cooperating and working as a team. Perhaps he would just always be alone. It was better that way.

“I don’t want you to be lonely anymore.” Hannibal admitted, staring at Will over his cards. Will met his eyes, and a smile slowly crept onto his face,

“Are you saying you’ll keep me company?”

“Is that not what I’m doing now?” It was a fair point, and Will sat back with an amused grunt.

“Fair enough.” After Will spoke, Hannibal threw down a card. The perfect card. He had been throwing down a plethora of cards that Will could use. He scooped up the large pile, cackling deviously.

Hannibal watched, mouth gaping as Will lay down almost his entire hand. And then his entire hand. Two blacks, and two red canastas. Hannibal had held the lead by almost a thousand points, but that was now crushed by this naughty empath.

“You cheated.” Hannibal said, a big smile on his face. Will snorted,

“Did not, sore loser.” he was counting his cards, additional points for his amazing comeback. Hannibal started doing the same, trying to salvage what could have been a nice victory. But as he did, Will became quite obnoxious.

“49, 107, 34, 401.” He chanted, and Hannibal huffed,

“Will, you made me lose count!”

--

Will’s laughter made his incredible loss and annoying antics all worth it. Will hadn’t been genuinely happy in a while. To be involved in this happiness was a gift. He would cherish it, hold it close to himself. This hospital room would be renovated into his memory palace. These moments tucked away for any time things became bleak. Will was starting to occupy all the brightest rooms. These rooms had been empty for so long, it was odd to have someone in them. He used to keep his memory palace boarded up, guests were unwelcome. He wasn’t even sure when the boards had come down.

“You are beautiful when you laugh.” Hannibal admitted, and Will stopped, finger placed on the card he was about to draw.

“I… Thank you.” It was obvious Will wasn’t accustomed to compliments. At least not like the one he had just been given. The room was quiet now, and Will drew his two cards.

“When you’re released, I would like to care for you.” Hannibal announced. He felt like he was starting to get irrational. But he also felt if he held all this inside, he might just explode. “I can care for you better than any nurse here.” This for some reason, made Will laugh again.

“Alright, alright. It’s okay. I’ll let you care for me.” Will was still chuckling a little when he spoke, then sobered. “It has to be at my house. My dogs.” He added, and Hannibal nodded. He could live with that. The question was… How was he going to get a table from his house to Will’s?

--

It was finally time. After a week and a half in the hospital, he was finally able to go home. It wasn’t all that bad really. He didn’t have to go look at death, he didn’t have to teach, and Hannibal fed him and came and saw him every day. His dogs had been cared for by Alana, but oh did he miss them. He was also excited for a good night’s rest. Aside from the night that Hannibal had stayed, the card game night, Will had been woken every few hours to check his vitals or change something or other. Hannibal had fought off the nurses the night he stayed, doing his own checking.

Hannibal’s care had caused more paperwork. Will had to sign that he understood Hannibal was not staff at this hospital, and that they weren’t responsible for any negligence on his part. He was perfectly fine with that.

Will had become quite attached to Hannibal now. He was disappointed when he woke in the mornings and he wasn’t there, but always brightened when he came back around, always with food in hand. The heavy medication, the dizziness and sickness, didn’t seem so bad if Hannibal was there, to play cards with or just talk to. Sometimes they sat in silence, Hannibal reading while Will watched the TV. It was a wonderful comfort, and the nurses seemed to notice that his condition improved in Hannibal’s presence.

He was now signing the final paper, the discharge forms. Although he was still experiencing confusion, memory loss, and some muscle weakness, the promise of at-home care was enough to be able to let him go.

Hannibal took his bags of prescriptions, as Will slowly made his way outside. It felt good to wear normal clothes again. Admittedly, the adult underwear they had there was quite comfy though. Hannibal took his arm at the curb, and helped him step down. He was still weak, mostly from the malnutrition he experienced prior to going into the hospital. Whatever he ate didn’t stay down, so he had stopped bothering to eat mostly. Now that he was lucid he realized how stupid that was.

Will felt carsick on the way home, despite Hannibal’s best efforts not to take any turns sharply, or hit the brakes too suddenly. It was most likely a side effect of the myriad of medicines he was on. Some of them were more like chemotherapies than normal medicines. Another reason he needed someone at home with him until he was through the medications.

At his house, after over an hour of driving and queasiness, Hannibal helped him inside. Alana had the dogs outside, and Hannibal did his best to keep them down. Will shooed Hannibal away, and carefully got down onto the ground with the dogs. He pet each one, talking to them lovingly. He laughed as his face was licked, then ordered them inside.

“Help me up?” Will asked, and Hannibal did as soon as he asked. He grasped his arm, and pulled him up. Inside they went.

Will tried to help Hannibal get the couch prepared for someone to be sleeping on it, but Hannibal had insisted he get in bed, and rest until his dizziness subsided. He went to bed, but he didn’t like it. He busied himself anyways, creating a list of what the dogs needed each day, and what commands worked for what. It was maybe a little overkill, since he’d be there. It was more in case he was asleep and Hannibal wasn’t sure.

He didn’t recall falling asleep, until he was startled awake by weight on the bed. His half asleep brain assumed it was one of the dogs, and he tsked at them. Hannibal laughed softly in reply.. Will opened his eyes, brows furrowed.

“Oh…” he croaked, and a glass of water was offered. He took a drink from it, “I thought coming home would keep me from being bothered awake?” He smiled as he spoke.

“My goal wasn’t to wake you.” he admitted, and Will’s brows furrowed again.

“What was your goal?”

“You were dreaming, and so I thought perhaps the presence of another person would help calm you.” Will nodded softly at that, and relaxed back in the pillows. Resigned himself into them. He was hoping the dreaming would end once the encephalitis was cleared up. Though he wasn’t fully recovered yet.

“Thank you, Hannibal. For doing this for me.” It came out of the blue. He could have kept talking about the dream, or the fact that Hannibal woke him up. It felt important to say it, while he had the guts to say it.

“You’re welcome, Will. I just want you to get better, and to feel better.” Will moved a hand, to gently grasp Hannibal’s. “No one has ever done anything like this for me.” He explained, “You’ve taken work leave, just for me.” His voice was still gravely with sleep, “It means a lot. It really does.”

Hannibal nodded, “I care for you, Will. You are my friend.” Hannibal’s gentle hand felt his forehead, and he sighed softly. “You’re warm.”

“I’m not done talking,” Will said indignantly, “Hannibal, I think we both know this goes far beyond doctor-patient relations.” Hannibal’s expression became guarded, and Will’s stomach dropped a touch. “Hannibal, I really care about you. I’d do the same for you. I would.” He reached down, and grasped for Hannibal’s hand. To his relief, Hannibal’s fingers clasped his.

“Thank you, Will. I care for you too. More than I have been able to admit to myself.” he was smiling now, and Will smiled back. “I meant it, Will. When I said I don’t want you to be lonely anymore. I want to fill all of your needs. Every single one.”

“Then kiss me, Hannibal.” Will whispered. “Kiss me.” Hannibal took no time to obey. Anything. He would meet all his needs. Hannibal pressed his lips to Will’s shyly, a tender little kiss.

You see, when it comes to mirrors and fruit, not everything is as it seems. Grapefruit looks juicy and sweet, but is bitter. Sometimes the fun house mirror distorts our appearance in the worst ways. But sometimes the low-hanging fruit is the sweetest, even if it doesn't look good on the outside. And sometimes the mirror reflects the best parts of ourselves.