Chapter Text
Autumn was always Will's favorite season, with the cool air, gentle breeze, and orange leaves. The feelings soothed his mind, it made him feel safe, no matter what horror he faced or was facing.
But nothing could have prepared him for the horrors he was seeing now
The scene in front of him was bloody
gruesome,
And Will was the cause.
The familiar stench of metal filled his nose as he stared down at the bloodied girl, the gunshot just fired was still ringing painfully in his ears as he tried to keep the blood from spilling out from the slit in her neck, the pale skin under his hand staining red as it flowed and flowed between his fingers.
"See..." The other spoke, holding at the gun wound in his chest, his wavering voice repeating that one word,
see
see
see
Everything was silent, faded, like an old record player slowly emitting a song.
He was shaking, and before he realized it, his hands were moved, replaced with another, more firm pair. Will fell back, holding onto himself as he whimpered, any cry he tried to let out only turned to a pitiful whine.
Time seemed to pass by in an instant, one second he was in the home of Garrett Jacob Hobbs feeling the life drain out of a girl he barely knew, and the next he was in a car, lying in the back seat, wrapped in a suit jacket as he cried, Then an unfamiliar office, with a man he didn't recognize, at least not at the moment. His blood-soaked clothes were now dried, sticking to his body like a scab, his hands were clean, but the feeling of the tar-like liquid was still slick on his skin.
"Mr. Graham, are you alright?" The man spoke, his soft accent ringing in Will's ears as he looked up slowly, still quivering. He rested his hand on the agent's cheek, gently gliding his thumb across his skin.
Will said nothing, only nodding as he tried to gather his thoughts.
"Good, can you tell me your name?" The man knelt in front of Will, pulling his hand away and he rested his arms on his knee.
"M-my name is Will Graham, Where am I?" Will finally came out of his hazy trance, taking a quick look around the room before turning back to the man.
"Perfect, you're thinking normally, I'm Hannibal Lecter, we've met beforehand, currently you're in my office." He gave Will a small smile, fixing his vest before standing up, and offering his hand.
"Come, I'll take you to my house, you can get freshened up and I'll make something for you to eat,"
Will stared for a moment, he wanted to decline and just go home, but a part of him didn't want to be left alone.
Without saying anything, he grasped Hannibal's hand, allowing the taller male to pull him up,
Will followed closely behind Hannibal as they walked towards the door, once the door was swung open, the familiar voice of Jack Crawford immediately bombarded Will's ears with angry questions.
"Jack, Please relax. For Will's sake." Hannibal smiled softly, and the agent immediately shushed, fixing his composer as he apologized.
"Say, why don't you join us for dinner? Then we can talk about what happened,"
Jack agreed, planning to meet at Hannibals' house once the time came,
The Psychiatrist led Will towards the car, the familiar leather seats that Will was bawling into just a few hours ago greeted him as he opened the passenger side door, he hesitated, earning the attention of Hannibal as he laughed softly.
"Don't worry about dirtying the seats, Please, sit,"
Will slowly sat down, buckling himself in.
As Hannibal started the car, Will took in the scenery, the orange trees with their leaves gradually falling to the ground, the soft breeze whisking them away, Will glanced back, seeing the suit jacket from earlier laid out on the seat, blood staining the expensive inner lining, almost like paint on a canvas.
"I uh...I'm sorry about your jacket." Will turned back around as Hannibal started driving, and the other smiled again, something about it was offputting to Will, it wasn't forced, but it wasn't fully natural either.
"Don't fret about it, I'll have it cleaned tomorrow," The doctor smiled, turning the radio on, the soft sound of classical music lulled Will into a near dream-like moment, the gentle shake of the car and quiet sound of the radio brought him into a peace he hadn't felt in a while, but that was cut short as he remembered his responsibilities.
"Actually, can you take me to my house? I need to feed my dogs,"
"Dr. Bloom went over earlier to check on them, she took care of everything, no need to worry,"
"Alana did? Why?"
"I informed her of what had happened and that it might be a while before you returned home,"
Hannibal gave Will that superficial smile again,
that simple
unnerving
smile
The rest of the ride was hushed, only the sound of old-timey music and the delicate breathing of the two men rang around the car, soon the road turned to gravel as they pulled into Hannibal's driveway.
The doctor led Will inside and towards a guest bedroom, laying out a simple dress shirt and pants on the bed.
"Take a shower and freshen up, leave your clothes in the basket and I'll wash them later." He smiled again, this time more genuinely,
"Why are you doing so much for me? You just met me." Will asked, staring at Hannibal as he thought for a moment.
"You're my patient now, so I must do everything in my power to help, no?" He smiled one last time before leaving the room.
Will did what he was told, he pulled off his blood-soaked clothes and stepped into the hot shower, feeling the warmth engulf him.
but something was wrong.
It was getting thicker, Will looked down at his feet, the water was red, as he looked up he realized the shower was drenching him in that familiar crimson liquid, He fell to the floor, gripping his hair and shutting his eyes tightly as his breath became labored, his head was spinning as more blood covered his body, the wall became covered with the small red splatters as the liquid became warmer and warmer, almost scolding as it hit Will's skin.
He opened his eyes again, the water was clear, his body was void of blood, and he was clean. Will stayed still for a moment before he sat up, quickly shutting off the water and drying it off. He was still shaking as he buttoned up his shirt, the top two buttons left open.
Will crept out of the guest room, finding his way towards the kitchen where Hannibal was working, he moved meticulously, like clockwork. Every move was quick and neat, every cut, every flip, and every placement was perfect, it was like watching a dancer swirl around a stage to a symphony.
By the time Hannibal had noticed Will, the meal was nearly done, as he let everything finish cooking, he made his way toward the shorter male.
"You're shaking Will, did something happen?" Hannibal questioned, resting his hand against Will's forehead.
"No, just cold..." Will pushed the hand away. He hated lying, but he hated making others worry for him even more, Hannibal was smarter than that though, he would know.
"Go sit by the fireplace, I'll call you when dinner is done alright?" Hannibal smiled at Will, he knew he was lying, but he refrained from calling the other males' bluff.
Will listened, making his way toward the lounge, and plopping down in one of the two chairs in front of the fire. He sat for a moment, trying to steady his breathing, his heart was beating out of his chest and he couldn't stop it.
Something about the mood the house gave was familiar, almost as if he'd seen through the eyes of the person inhabiting the space, and felt that person's intentions, but he didn't know why.
Just as he started relaxing, he heard the front door opening, he could hear Hannibal and Jack talking, but not what they were talking about, a few moments passed, and Hannibal retrieved Will from the lounge, leading him towards the dining room.
He sat across from Jack, watching his eyes as they followed Will's movements,
"Foie de veau à la Lyonnaise, paired with roasted potatoes and peppers," Hannibal interrupted the silence, placing two plates of food down in front of Jack and Will before placing his own at the head of the table.
"Please, enjoy." Hannibal sat, grinning at the two before he began eating.
Will took a bite, feeling the food practically melt in his mouth, this was heavenly compared to his normal diet. Hannibal glanced at Will from the corner of his eye, a content smile forming on his lips.
"Shall we talk about what occurred today?" Doctor Lecter was the first to speak, taking a sip from his wine as he glimpsed at the two men.
"Uhm...How's the girl?" Will asked, feeling a pit in his stomach grow as he anticipated the answer.
"She's okay, she's in the hospital right now recovering, but she'll be alright," The man sighed in relief at Jack's answer,
"Thank you, by the way, Dr. Lecter. If you weren't there she wouldn't have made it."
"Please, I was just doing what I was meant to do," Hannibal smiled fakely again, turning towards Will.
"How are you feeling Will?"
He thought for a moment, staring down at his plate as he thought back to earlier in the day. Suddenly his appetite was gone, he felt the food he had just eaten rising in his throat as he gagged, trying to erase the memories from his mind.
"I don't know...I feel like I just killed a man," Will finally answered, chugging the last bit of wine in his glass.
"You did what had to be done, if you hadn't pulled the trigger, that poor girl's life would have been pulled from her," Hannibal went on,
"While you ended life with that bullet, you inevitably saved another with it,"
Will smiled at Hannibal, his mind relaxing at the words just spoken, the three finished the meal, Jack and Hannibal having small talk while Will sat silently, still not able to stomach the food. Once they had finished, Hannibal whisked the empty dishes away and towards the kitchen, Jack departing soon after.
"Gather your things, I'll take you home, alright?" Hannibal looked at Will who was still sitting at the table, his plate full of half-eaten food.
"What about my clothes?"
"I'll have them cleaned and good as new by tomorrow, just run by my office and I'll have them." The doctor smiled again, at this point, Will couldn't tell if it was genuine or fake.
"Oh and don't worry about returning those to me, they don't fit me anymore, and they look much nicer on you"
Will smiled as he sat up, grabbing what little things he had with him, that being his phone and wallet.
Hannibal grabbed the plate and rushed to the kitchen. the other male walked towards the front door, waiting by it like a dog awaiting its owner to return home.
"Here, just in case you get hungry later on." Hannibal met Will at the door, handing the man a glass container filled with the food he hadn't yet eaten.
"Thanks..."
They walked out, got into the car, and started the drive to Will's house.
Just like earlier, the ride was mostly quiet, only the hum of the car and the old classical music coming from the radio echoes through his ears, but the calm feeling he felt before was gone, now replaced with an uneasiness, now and then, Hannibal would glance at Will with a look in his eyes that Will couldn't exactly pin down.
Hunger?
Passion?
Desire?
He didn't know, but whatever it was, it sent a chill over his body, like a prey being stared down by its predator.
Soon the familiar look of a Wolf trap met Will's eyes as they drove into the wooded area, seeing his house not far ahead.
He pulled into the driveway, turning towards Will,
"Here we are, I'll see you tomorrow Mr. Graham," Hannibal smiled again, that unknown look in his eyes still piercing into Will's mind.
"Yeah, thanks...goodnight Hannibal." Will got out of the car, walking onto his porch as he watch the doctor drive away.
He heard his dogs barking excitedly as they saw him through the window, they all filed out as he opened the door, leaping onto him happily as they licked and nibbled at him.
"Alright, alright, calm down~" He sat up, petting each dog he could reach, soon they ran into the yard, running around the yard and playing with each other as Will stood up, watching them play around in the grass.
Not long after, they started running back into the house after their owner, all piling up in the living room and snuggling into each other as Will walked past, placing the leftovers into the fridge.
The male sighed, carefully taking off the expensive clothes, folding them semi-neatly before placing them at the end of his bed, slipping on an old t-shirt, and flopping down onto the mattress.
Will pulled the blanket over himself, closing his eyes as he slowly drifted into sleep...
.
The girl was crying, shaking ever so softly as I pressed the blade closer to her throat, a small line of blood painting the knife's edge a beautiful deep red.
Suddenly there was a bang, I pulled the knife across her neck as I felt the bullet enter my chest, I stumbled backward, falling against the counters as I slid down, holding the wound in my chest, a dark figure hovered above the girl, holding her neck, but it was violent, it tightened its hands around her neck, suddenly blood started covering the floor, getting higher and higher until it started to fill my lungs, I did this, this was my doing
This is my design.
.
Will shot up, coughing viciously, his breaths heavy, his body slick with sweat, and tears sticking to his cheeks. He turned to the window, seeing the dark black of the night giving way to the sliver of daybreak. He looked at the alarm clock on his bedside table,
5:31
Will calmed down, sitting up as he wiped his face, staring down at his hands expecting to see them covered in blood, but they were clean. He got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom, slowly stripping out of his sweat-soaked clothes before slipping into the shower.
The water was cold, he didn't bother to wait for it to get warm, the coldness woke him up, leaving him shivering once he stepped out. He dried his body off quickly, his hair still left dripping as he slipped on whatever clean clothes he could find before walking to the kitchen,
His dogs slowly woke up, all following him into the kitchen as they sat waiting for their food.
Will smiled, grabbing the dog food and pouring some into each bowl, the dogs all scarfed down the food, racing towards the door as soon as they finished.
The man let the dogs out, leaving the door slightly open before walking back to the kitchen, quickly making a pot of coffee and pouring himself a cup, as he turned to walk out, he saw a familiar face at the door.
"Good morning Will, how are you?" Hannibal Lecter was standing in the doorway, a satchel hanging by his side.
"Morning...what are you doing here?" Will asked, letting the dogs inside before standing with Hannibal in the doorway.
"I thought we could have breakfast, May I come in?"