Chapter Text
A distinct, yet synchronized thumping of footsteps echoed in the hallways of the ‘Uffizi Gallery’ as Will and Hannibal trod across its perfectly polished floor while occasionally glancing over the paintings and sometimes at each other. This was not their first excursion together since they left Baltimore after being reunited with Abigail. Will looked at Hannibal and imagined what kind of calamity it could have been if he did not make it to Hannibal's kitchen in time before Jack.
“A bloodbath,” he muttered under his breath. Will forced himself to dismiss the thought as he tried to keep up with Hannibal who had a relatively faster walking pace, add to that, Hannibal’s passion to show Will the paintings, the one thing he considers measures up to Will himself, made him slightly lose track of his surroundings and resulted in Will lagging behind. They walked around the gallery with Hannibal’s unmatched admiration, especially for Botticelli, dominating their conversations. Will was lost, and not in the profound meanings, but in the man who uttered those words in his soft rhythmic monotone.
"Will?" inquired Hannibal,
"Yeah?"
"Are you listening?"
"I uh- " Will muttered, searching for a suitable reply.
"I understand, this must have been a tiring tour for you” Hannibal continued, “I think it's about time we head back"
"Yeah, that would be good," Will said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and cheeks slightly going red. "You can go ahead, I'll join you in a few minutes."
Hannibal nodded in agreement as Will started toward the restroom. Although the gallery was filled with dozens of people it felt empty to Hannibal without Will's presence. Hence Hannibal did not contemplate the need to stay any longer and went to wait for Will outside. On his way out to the courtyard, he met another familiar face.
“Bonjour,” A voice called, “Mr. Jackov, Isn’t it?” the familiar man greeted, “We met in Paris a few months back. Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, it’s just, here I was and there you were. I never forget a face”
“Anthony Dimmond,” Hannibal recalled.
“Nice to be remembered”
“You’re hard to forget.”
“What are you doing in Florence? Are You Working with Roman?”.
“Dr. Fell?”
“I heard he took an appointment at the Capponi Library.”
“ Yes, he’s the new curator and translator at the Palazzo Capponi”
“ Evidently, the last one eloped with a woman or someone’s money, or both.”
“That’s the commonly-held belief” Hannibal continued after a pause, “You just missed Roman.”
“Did I? Oh, I was hoping to take the piss”
“ Spare the piss for the time being. If you’re free, my friend and I would love to have you for dinner.”
Will returned back to join the two with a smile that lacked sincerity. He expected Hannibal to be alone and the uninvited company vexed him.
"Here he is.” Hannibal presented, “Anthony, Will Graham"
"Ah yes, the friend you mentioned" Anthony moved forward gesturing a request for a handshake. Will, bound to social courtesy, felt obligated to shake it even when he had no interest in Anthony, yet felt rather threatened by him, without knowing as to why.
"Will," Hannibal said gently, "Mr. Dimmond here will be joining us for dinner tonight. What do you think?"
Will's first instinct was to say "fuck off" to the man who had an uncanny resemblance to Will himself. They both had dark hair twisted in loose curls falling gently over their foreheads. But again, he did not feel the need to be unnecessarily rude and just gave an agreeing nod which roughly translated to "sure"
"Perfect" replied Anthony, while looking at Hannibal, ignoring Will as much as possible, attempting not to raise suspicion. Despite Anthony's feeble attempts to conceal his true intentions Will quickly inferred it, and subtly moved his hand towards Hannibal's and grasped it tightly in a possessive manner. This was the first time Will had initiated a gesture of affection towards Hannibal, and handholding was not something that Hannibal expected in that instance, he was delighted by the strong clasp of Will's fingers around his own five digits.
"I think I should leave now, I will meet you two in the evening, for dinner," said Anthony.
"We will be eagerly waiting for your arrival" replied Hannibal, handing out his address to Anthony with his usual polite smile curling up his lips. Anthony nodded and then turned around towards the exit. Will noticed his harsh grip on Hannibal's hand and pulled away as fast as he could while Hannibal's fingers still reached out for his touch.
"Did you invite him?" questioned Will
“Indeed I did"
"I don't like him"
"Why is that, Will?"
Will opened his mouth to answer, but a wave of doubt and confusion engulfed him. He instead said nothing and made a low grunting noise.
"Are you feeling imperiled?" Hannibal paused, "Is that why you sought my protection with your gesture of clutching my palm?"
"What!?” Will exclaimed, “No, absolutely not!” Will’s cheeks went extremely red from this remark and he trailed off quickly as if attempting to escape Hannibal’s piercing gaze. Hannibal maintained his tact demeanor as he watched Will contemplate running away from embarrassment, with the exception of a subtle smile and an ingenious tilt of the head, since this was the first time Will showed a sign of affection and yet it was followed by denial.
"You did, my dear" Hannibal murmured to himself.