Chapter Text
“Repeat that again for me, Will,” Hannibal had heard him clearly, he just wanted to hear it again. After a moment, Hannibal returned to sorting through some of his older drawings --- some he would put into storage, and some he would display.
“I-I want you to eat me . . . ?” Will stuttered. He phrased it as more of a question the second time around. He didn’t need to look at Hannibal to know he wore a smug smile.
“And I take it you’ve been thinking about this for a while,” Hannibal stated. “May I ask what brought it on?”
Will knew exactly what had brought it on --- he had been thinking about this for months and months until months felt like years. Despite all of the attention Hannibal had given him throughout their relationship, there had always been something missing. Will could never really figure out what.
When Will had first discovered Hannibal’s . . . tendencies, the first thing he felt was disgust and horror, among other things. After some time passed, Hannibal attempted to explain his actions to Will. Hannibal did not see the murder of human beings as Garret Jacob Hobbs saw them --- Hannibal saw them as animals; beings naturally meant to be slaughtered and consumed by those higher up on the food chain. Hannibal saw himself as powerful, and everyone else as weak. He was the apex predator.
It wasn’t as if Hannibal had not paid much attention to Will, it was that it never seemed to be the right type of attention. What Hannibal gave him was obsession, but it was from a distance. Hannibal never revealed to him anything that would give him a peek behind the curtain when the only thing Will wanted was to peek. Will knew that Hannibal was attached to him, but their relationship was never consistent, nor was it practical. Before Hannibal Lecter and Garret Jacob Hobbs, Will had been used to “normal” relationships, without the obsession, and without the murder. Just . . . love. Hannibal had warped that to his own advantage, forcing his idea of love to be Will’s “new normal.”
In the end, Will found himself relating more to Garret Jacob Hobbs than Hannibal Lecter. Hobbs saw to it that all of his victims were honored in the only way he knew how. Not one part of them would go to waste. And despite what Hannibal thought, that was the main drive behind Will’s sudden outburst that day.
Will turned his attention back to Hannibal. “Just-don’t question it.”
Hannibal raised a brow. “You know I can’t help but be a little curious, Will.”
“Then save it,” Will turned to leave --- he hadn’t been prepared to discuss this any further, as stupid as it sounded.
“Will,” Hannibal called after him. Will only stopped. He could hear the grin in Hannibal’s voice as he spoke. “It would be my absolute pleasure to consume you.”
Will shuddered and stepped out of his office.
Will showed up the next day for another session, per his own request. Hannibal greeted him with a warm smile at the waiting room. “I must say, I was pleased to receive your call for another session, Will.”
“Yeah,” Will looked around his office as if he had never been inside. “We need to talk.”
“Indeed, we do,” Hannibal led him to his chair before sitting down himself. “I have given some more thought to our little arrangement, Will.”
“Oh?” Will asked.
“I get the impression that you would like this event to be special, am I wrong?” when Will didn’t reply, he took it as a yes. “Have you ever visited Florence, Italy, Will?”
“I haven’t.”
A smile crept up Hannibal’s features. “How would you like to go there? All expenses paid, of course.”
Will smiled back. “I’d love to. Where would we stay?”
“I’ve secured a house just for us, via Airbnb with enough space to do whatever we want. It’s on the nicer side of things.”
Will hummed. “Sounds great. How much is it per night?”
“Don’t worry about it, Will.”
Even though Hannibal could have very well used Will’s money to purchase the tickets and Airbnb considering that he would be dead within the next week and a half, he chose not to --- this was his gift to Will in exchange for what Will had chosen to give up to him.
“Now, would you like to tell me a little about what spurred our arrangement?” Hannibal asked.
Will avoided eye contact like his life depended on it. “It would please you,” he said, though it was more of a question.
“Yes, Will, it would. You are willing to give your life and body to me solely because it would please me?”
No, there were many more reasons --- so many more reasons, but in that moment, Will couldn’t bring himself to expose them to Hannibal. Besides the promise of death, Will tried to focus on the good things that would come out of this --- Hannibal would show Will Florence. They would visit art museums, drink expensive wine, and see the opera. All of this Hannibal had promised Will long ago when he first mentioned Florence, and he was not one to break his promises. They would share a house, even if only for a little while. For that little while, they would live together, and it would feel, even if for a moment, that it would never end. In the end, amongst many other things, that was all Will wanted.
There were two main things, amongst his plethora of reasons, that immediately came to mind: one, that this was all some poorly thought out effort to grow closer to him in any way possible; and two, that it would simply please Will to please Hannibal. But Will did not share either of those reasons, instead, saying with very little confidence, “Yes.”
“Hmm,” Hannibal said. “How do you feel about leaving in three days? You’ll have two days to get everything in order, and prepare.”
“I can do that,” Will said. It wasn’t as if anything mattered, anyways. He hadn’t asked, but he was sure that Hannibal had some form of cover story for Will’s sudden disappearance, and it was probably best for Will’s mental health that he didn’t hear it. All Will would do is leave a small note for Alana, telling her that he was going on a trip (though not including the details of whom he was going with), and asking her to take care of his dogs for a little while.
“Good,” Hannibal said. Will figured that Hannibal had no need to make himself disappear. “Three days it is.”
“Three days it is,” Will repeated.