Chapter Text
“I’m taking a vacation.”
It was one of the first things Will said once he and Hannibal were settled into their safe house, far away from everything and everyone who wanted them stripped of their freedom. It was a beachfront house, not huge, but more than enough room for the two of them, and a little private stretch of water out in front. Will could barely remember how they’d gotten there in the first place, whether it was because he’d been too nervous and excited to take in the trip or maybe because Hannibal had knocked him out on the way. Mauritius was where they’d ended up, or so Hannibal had told him, but, to his surprise, Will wasn’t too concerned with specifics. He was just relieved to be away from the chaos his life had become, even if it meant relying on Hannibal.
He’d said the words over the dinner table and Hannibal had quirked his brow. Will could have said so many things, questioned their standing with each other, questioned anything, but no. He wanted that vacation.
“Given that you’ve whisked me away to some exotic land after five odd years of making my life- interesting, I think I could use a month off.”
“And you intend to do what with this time?”
“Nothing,” Will said, shrugging. “Absolutely nothing, if I can help it.”
“I don’t suppose you had any other plans.”
“No. Kinda hard to make any when you barely know what’s happening.”
“And yet you came along with me.”
“If you call drugging me and shoving me on a plane “coming along,” sure. Still want that vacation.”
Hannibal slid one finger across the neck of his wine glass, giving a ruse of consideration for the idea.
“It’s true that this was rather short notice. And you have had some most interesting times, haven’t you, Will?”
Again, Will shrugged, pretending to care less than he did. “You know better than I do.”
“Indeed I do,” Hannibal agreed, erring a little hard on the smug side for Will’s tastes. “I don’t see why you shouldn’t.”
And there was his permission to do nothing. Hannibal went right back to his fettucine without another word. Come to think of it, Hannibal hadn’t made any implication that Will would have to do any kind of work anyway. Maybe he’d just been waiting to drop that on Will. Will didn’t know and he wasn’t about to ask.
The two of them ate in silence from then on. It was strange, not hearing Hannibal speak over dinner. They usually chatted freely about this or that and there was plenty to talk about. Still, Will didn’t want to test Hannibal’s kindness any further. He was free for a month and that was more than enough for him.
*****
People liked to lay in the sun on vacations, didn’t they?
Of course, Will wasn’t exactly people anymore. Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure if he'd ever been people. And yet, the activity “lay in the sun and do nothing” had made its way onto his vacation bucket list. He’d taken some of Hannibal’s note paper the prior night and jotted down a few ideas. If he didn’t write it down, Will feared that he might forget that he was taking a break at all. Among his plans included a spa day, swimming in the ocean, stargazing, and treating himself to the greasiest pizza he could find behind Hannibal’s back. But he didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.
So, the following afternoon, Will slathered some sunscreen on, stepped out onto their beach, and rolled a towel out. He couldn’t remember ever being to the beach before, not for relaxation anyway. Will knew that he had to have been at some point, but he couldn’t remember. It felt like his first time, that was for sure.
Will settled down on top of the towel, hands joined on top of his chest. He’d opted to go without a shirt, leaving him laying there in only a pair of shorts. Even in the tropical heat, the warmth of the sun’s rays beating down on him was intoxicating. Grayness seemed to follow him back home and having a blue sky as far as the eye could see lightened Will’s mood. The constant slosh of the ocean rolling in and out only added to the effect.
But Will couldn’t be completely at ease could he? He had to glance around, just to make sure that he was completely alone. From his understanding, they had some distance from the nearest town, but not too terribly much. Just enough for a private space between them. Despite Hannibal’s assurance that neither of them would be bothered, Will couldn’t help but worry in the back of his head. You never knew when some beach bum would wander by, after all.
Vacation. You’re supposed to be relaxing, Will reminded himself. So what if anyone came along? What were they gonna do? It was his strip of beach and no one could tell him not to lay on it. And if they tried, well, Hannibal could always use some offal.
Will smiled at the thought before the gravity of it hit him. Hannibal was actually a cannibal who murdered for his meat and it wasn’t just some grim dream of Will’s. He’d eaten the stuff himself more than once. They’d both brutally murdered people. It was all too real.
Which was exactly why he needed to do nothing for a while, Will told himself. If he wasn’t doing anything, then he wasn’t hurting anyone. And he couldn’t help what Hannibal did. Nothing could stop Hannibal from doing what he wanted to do and Will only tightened his own noose the more he fought. No more of that. Will was tired of that stress.
He was tired of all the stress he’d faced, really. In fact, Will was tired period. He’d slept okay the previous night, but the new bed and new surroundings had him waking up more than once in the middle of the night. Much as he liked not having to worry about the cold, Will was going to have to get used to the constant heat. Of course, that assumed that this would be more than a very temporary home. He was on the run from at least ten different governments, plus anyone who might have personal beef with Hannibal or himself. Stability wasn’t something that Will could afford to expect.
But that wouldn’t keep him from enjoying what time he had. Will let a long breath out and allowed his eyes to shut. For once in his life, he had no need to be anywhere, no obligations, no one he had to please. Will was beginning to see why people liked this kind of sunbathing. It was just him in the sun and it felt so good. So warm. So…
*****
As he came to, the first thing Will was aware of was saturated, late day light. If he opened his eyes just a fraction wider, he’d likely have seen a sunset on the horizon. That was a nice thought.
The second thing that struck him was a stinging pain all over his body. A single twitch of Will’s hand had his flesh scream at him to stop. Primal fear in Will had him wondering if it was Hannibal’s doing. As he cracked his eyes open and peered down at himself, though, the true culprit was obvious: sunburn.
All the way down his chest, belly, and legs, a nasty red hue had come over the skin. He’d fallen asleep in the sun like an idiot, of course he was gonna get burned. And now he had to force himself to get inside.
Slowly, so, so slowly, Will peeled himself off of the blanket and sat up. Every nerve end burned with the slightest motion. Will was used to pain, but never like this. He could tolerate being beaten, stabbed, shot, but this was nothing like that. He felt trapped in his own body, not just his own mind.
Just as he’d predicted, a sunset greeted him across the ocean, all gorgeous hues of orange, red, and a hint of deep blue. Every ray of light cascaded over the ocean’s waves, creating a natural light show of sorts. Had he not been in agonizing pain, Will would have loved to sit there longer. As it stood, it seemed as though the sun slowed its descent to take its time mocking him.
Will hauled himself to his feet, wincing throughout the process. It wasn’t so bad, he told himself. He really had dealt with worse, and it wouldn’t last too long. He’d tough it out just like everything else that had been thrown his way.
It was thoughts like those that got him back up the stairs onto the house’s deck. He leaned on the railing throughout, doing all he could to avoid touching his sore skin. As he turned the knob on the door leading inside, he thanked whatever god was looking over him that his palms hadn’t been turned up in the sun.
Will dragged his feet into the sitting room inside. Finally, he was out of the hellish glare of the sun and among the safety of wicker chairs, abstractly patterned rugs, and a woodgrain television cabinet. Will wondered how long it would be before Hannibal replaced all of those.
Will flopped down on the sofa across from the cabinet, spreading out and giving himself as much room as possible. He wanted as little skin contact as he could manage and it would probably stay that way for the next day or two. How was he gonna sleep? On top of the midday nap, Will certainly wasn’t going to want to make his way upstairs. He’d just have to sleep on the couch, he supposed. He definitely wasn’t moving from it anytime soon.
After a while of laying there, maybe minutes, maybe hours, Will heard a door open towards the front of the house. Hannibal. Oh boy, now he had to deal with humiliation on top of pain and suffering. That was just wonderful.
Will put his head back and tried not to listen for footsteps and rustlings. No use getting worked up over the inevitable. Even as the sound grew closer and entered the room, though, Hannibal didn’t say a word. He heard Hannibal’s light breathing and the soft shuffling of his clothes as he shifted, but he seemed to hesitate. The wait was so long that Will almost flinched when Hannibal leaned into his field of view.
“And how was your first day of nothing?” Hannibal asked, eyes wandering down his form.
“Shut up.”
Hannibal did just that, immediately stepping away from Will and heading elsewhere without a word. Well. Will had told him to, but he hadn’t expected Hannibal to listen.The footsteps trailed off somewhere else and Will was left to suffer on his own. He wasn’t sure if he needed to be nervous or not. With Hannibal, how could you tell?
Will laid silently for a few moments, and a frown appeared on his face. He’d told Hannibal to be quiet, not to ignore him, and somehow the action felt a bit like rejection. Maybe it was the pain of the sunburn that did it, but he suddenly felt more than just rejected. He’d imagined Hannibal showing some care for him, some concern or interest, not just turning on his heel and stalking off.
Will sighed, just briefly, but enough to be noticed. Then he sighed again, louder this time, hoping that Hannibal was close enough to somehow take pity on him. But Hannibal stayed out of sight and didn’t make a single sound. For all Will knew he could have left the house.
With one last sigh, Will tried to sit up, but the pain stopped him as the movement stretched raw skin and he couldn’t help a short yelp.
It didn’t even take a minute before Hannibal was back in his field of view.
“Are you quite alright, Will?”
Will blinked up at him. He couldn’t have been more than a few steps away and he had to have heard Will earlier.
“What do you think?” Will bit back, not giving a thought to his words.
Hannibal’s mouth curled into a small smile.
“With how much you desire attention, you’re very quick to spurn mine.”
Will turned his head away, just slowly enough to avoid pain. “Told you to shut up, not to leave.”
“I could hardly help you without proper equipment.”
Hannibal raised a pump bottle filled with a deep blue fluid into his view. Cooling gel.
“Oh,” Will said, filling his face heat up a bit. He was suddenly thankful for the red hue that had already overtaken his face.
He raised his arm a fraction of an inch before Hannibal interrupted.
“No need,” he said. “You’re in more than enough pain as it is.”
Will blinked slowly before allowed his arm to relax back into place. Hannibal disappeared from his view for a moment and Will heard him pull something up against the sofa, an ottoman maybe. Hannibal sat down next to him and pumped some of the gel into his hands. Will’s stomach twisted a bit as he watched Hannibal rub the stuff between his palms, as though he knew exactly the tension that that would build. In fact, he absolutely knew what that would do to Will. Asshole.
Will sucked in a breath at Hannibal’s first touch against the center of his chest. For the first instant, it stung, but after that, the burning pain that had been radiating from that spot all-but-stopped. He did his best not to let a sigh of relief pass through his lips, but something told him that Hannibal could see him releasing tension.
From there, Hannibal spread the gel out over his chest and belly, rubbing in small, gentle circles. It felt almost more like a massage than Hannibal simply doing what he could to mitigate any pain. Ever-so-slowly, Will felt himself relax more and more under Hannibal’s attention.
As he kept his care up, Will couldn’t help but notice Hannibal leaning in, nostrils flaring a bit. It happened once, then twice, then another time, and never with any regularity. Will could only imagine what Hannibal was getting from the experience.
“Enjoying the smell of burnt human flesh?” Will asked flatly.
“Very much so,” Hannibal said, just as nonplussed as Will sounded. “Sunlight grants the skin a particularly pleasant aroma. It suits you.”
“Would care a lot more if it didn’t feel like I fell face-first on a griddle.”
“Such is the price of beauty.”
“Shut. Up.”
Hannibal obliged him, but Will could still feel the smug amusement radiating off Hannibal. Despite the rude comments, he continued rubbing in the ointment, from Will’s shins, up to his shoulders. Yet never any farther than the base of his neck, Will noticed. A gesture of courtesy, maybe? Will didn’t know and likely never would.
Although, with how much courtesy and seeming care that Hannibal had shown him as of late, Will felt a little, for lack of a better word, brattish. Hannibal had whisked him away, taken care of everything, and was providing him with everything he could ever need without so much as asking Will to work for his keep. Odd as it was, Will shouldn’t have been ungrateful. Hannibal had done terrible things to him in the past, certainly, but he’d put himself in this situation ultimately. Might as well make the best of it.
“It was pretty good, actually,” Will piped up. “Today.”
“I’m pleased to hear that.”
“Even if I fell asleep in the sun.”
“Naturally.”
The palms disappeared then and Hannibal stood up. He placed the bottle against one of Will’s hands and balanced it there.
“Do take care of your face,” Hannibal said, giving a subtle, honest smile.
As Hannibal strode off Will glared at him suspiciously over his shoulder. He assumed that Hannibal was going to start on dinner or something, but- what the hell was that? They hadn’t really talked since they’d come here. Of course, it had only been a day or so, but Will had gotten used to he and Hannibal’s long conversations. Hannibal had been conspicuously quiet during last night’s dinner, to the point where Will had had to initiate to get him to say anything at all. It was unnerving now that Will thought about it. Especially after that strange, intimate moment they’d shared on that cliff the prior week. For all Will knew, they’d both just been high on adrenaline and the knowledge that they’d just killed a man, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Then again, Hannibal was and always had been unnerving. At least he didn’t seem to be interested in hurting Will anymore. Supposedly, he even loved Will now, whatever that meant to Hannibal. Will was still working out what to think and how to feel about the entire situation with them. In any case, if Hannibal was gonna pretend that nothing had happened between them, then Will was perfectly fine doing the same.
Getting Hannibal to talk about his feelings. That would be another thing for Will to add to that bucket list, he thought with a lazy smile.