Chapter Text
Baltimore, Maryland
Agent Graham sat in the waiting area of his new psychiatrist's office with his hands clasped tightly together. His jacket was open and revealed a flannel shirt, jeans and sturdy footwear.
Crawford had been more than clear that ongoing therapy was an essential prerequisite if he wanted to remain on active duty.
Just because of the Hobbs case.
Just because the case got under his skin.
Abigail.
Then the door opened and Will went still like a vegetable under the blast freezing.
He would recognize that face between millions.
He had walked right into the office of his Anam Cara. After everything he went through to never meet him.
The psychiatrist was dressed in a dark blue three-piece suit, expensive Italian shoes and a burgundy tie. Light brown hair streaked with grey and silver strands.
And he was tall. Like most Alphas. Even with the suit Will could already feel the sharp, well-defined muscles underneath, ready to attack and devour.
“Mr. Graham?”
But Agent frozen Vegetable didn't react; he just stared, not able to move. He couldn't take his eyes off the psychiatrist. A face even Michelangelo couldn't have sculptured more beautifully during his prime if an angel had sat for him.
Then the face moved closer together with the whole body. Will's whole body reacted and he leaned back against the wall. His breath hitched.
“Mr. Graham? What's the matter?”
“Please!”
Will raised a hand and Hannibal stopped right in his tracks.
The psychiatrist had a predatory gaze that pierced right through his armor and right into his soul. Will felt a strong, familiar pull in his lower stomach and body heat building all over his skin. His heartbeat quickened and pumped blood through his system at a much higher speed and into places he didn't need to be well-perfused right now.
He got up and watched the door, considering leaving, but that would make everything even more awkward.
The dark eyes of the Doctor were already tracking every movement. Will took a deep breath. He just had to get through with it. He had the surgery many years ago and no one was able to still smell he was an omega. The Anam Cara sign has been removed and all he needed to do was act normal. He stepped towards him with weak knees but put up a poker face and straightened his posture.
“Alright, Dr. Lecter, I'm all yours now.”
Will's voice was hoarse and breathless.
Bad choice of words he thought, but didn't say anything further. The last thing he should do was make everything worse by acting all awkward and suspicious.
Hannibal opened the door wider and let him in.
The good thing was, the office was very spacious , with multiple possibilities to sit or stand far away from the psychiatrist. The bad thing was it didn't matter. There was a magnetic pull towards him that acted like gravity and made Dr. Lecter the center of the room.
And then there were the apex predator pheromones. For an alpha at the top of the food chain they were surprisingly subtle and well contained (Will shuddered at the thought about the intensity if the Doctor would ever loose his cool), but as his fated better half it didn't matter, Will was supposed to recognize him, no matter how hard he suppressed his true nature.
And he felt he was drowning in it. Felt like Dr. Lecter was already whispering in his ear with his deep, hypnotic voice, his hands everywhere, playing him like an instrument.
He sat down, avoiding eye contact as much as possible, before he permanently crawled under his skin and inside his mind. The Doctor sat down on the opposite chair.
“What brings you here, Will…may I call you Will?”
“I prefer if our relationship stays completely professional.”
Hannibal tilted his head, smiling amused.
“God forbid we become friendly, Agent Graham?”
Now Will decided to make eye contact and laid all of his disdain in it.
“You're my Doctor. Not my friend. And quite frankly, I don't find you that interesting.”
Hannibal’s eyes darkened, his smiles got wider.
“You will…"
Will didn't ask if that was a promise or a threat and quite frankly, he didn't want to know.
“Special Agent Crawford, my superior, insisted I see a psychiatrist. Alana Bloom recommended you, because she wouldn’t take me on herself. It's common knowledge that she can't be my therapist and my friend.”
“She is a rare fixture in both our lives it seems.”
Will just stayed quiet. His heart was still beating fast and his whole body burned with the desire to be touched and taken right there. It took him a lot not to ask Dr. Lecter to bend him over the desk and…
Will flinched, the pheromones in the atmosphere had gotten stronger. Maybe he should open a window, but he stayed seated.
The Doctor clenched his hands together and after a while, he spoke in this measured, deep tone.
“You smell of woods, motor oil and a dozen dogs, Agent Graham. The awful aftershave, probably with a ship on the bottle is something I recommend to change but underneath you smell like nothing. Do you know what it means when a person smells of nothing? They had the Nullification surgery…”
Will didn't let his fear show and he felt no shame in making a choice over his own body.
“It's illegal to remove the scent glands and the reproductive organs, as well as the mark…”
Hannibal nodded along.
“Yet it is such a personal decision and everything that happens between a patient and the healthcare professionals is absolutely confidential, so the actual prosecution almost never takes effect…”
“How fortunate.”
“It is, isn't it? But there is something that is not widely known. The bite of an Apex Alpha can actually reverse some of the effects. Of course the womb can't be restored, but the glands can regenerate and the heat cycle can come back…”
Will frowned. He had never heard of that before. He thought about fake posts from Facebook, but the doctor didn't seem very gullible. Dr. Lecters seemed to understand what Will was thinking. He pointed towards the shelf.
“It's there. Dr. Shakur Koutrapali’s monograph about the Regeneration of scent glands and omega reproductive organs.
Will stood up and walked towards the shelf and looked up and down, he couldn't find it.
Then he suddenly felt the muscular chest of Dr. Lecter on his back. The heat instantly spread through him and Will went completely still, besides his breath getting fast and heavy.
But the doctor didn't touch him. He just touched the shelf, his long, perfectly manicured finger caressed the back of the books. Will knew it was intentional. Because the doctor was too close and way too slow in his movements.
“Here.”
He opened the monograph and showed Will the text and Will took the book with shivering hands. But the letters blurred in front of him, all he could think about was the man behind him. The pheromones had gotten thicker, which felt like the doctor was an omnipresence surrounding his senses.
“May … may I borrow it?”
Will's voice was nothing more than a whisper, he only heard the fabric of Dr. Lecter's suit rustling.
“Of course.”
Will wanted to move, but it only made them stand face to face. He pressed the book against his chest in a protective manner. He could already feel getting hard. And even worse wet. Despite the surgery, he still reacted like that. But at least he was spared with heat cycles and unwanted pregnancies, let alone being helpless in the face of an Alpha's command.
“Tell me, Agent Graham, why did you do it? Was it because of your better half? Or did you hate the thought of submitting completely in the most intimate way to an Alpha?”
Will didn't answer him, he backed against the shelf.
“I don't think this is any of your business. I would also like to leave…”
Dr. Lecter let him go after a few painful seconds and nodded.
“Next week, at the same time?”
“Sure. Goodbye, Dr. Lecter.”
Will left without looking back, still feeling Hannibal everywhere physically, the book a heavy promise to see him again. But he needed to know, if this was really reversible.
.