I

"You get along with the good doctor pretty well, don't you?" Beverly asks out of nowhere. Will freezes, face pink like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Nailed it, she thinks, three-quarters of a bloody forcep deep into another body.

"We're professionals, Bev." 

"You’re very courteous with each other." He nods, a little too quickly. "But you could, you know. Get all up in his space a little." That gets her an exasperated look. 

"Hannibal doesn’t like rude people."

"Sure, but if it were coming from you, maybe he wouldn’t find it rude. Maybe he’d be into it." Maybe he’d be into it , Will mouths sarcastically. "Will Graham. You’re telling me you’ve never thought about getting up close and personal with Doctor Lecter."

Will opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again. "Hannibal and I are fine."

"Uh-huh. Don't lie, Graham. I saw you looking at him after you stormed out of Jack's office the first time you met. I know a hate-sex-glare when I see one. You don’t think he’s fine, you think he’s fine . Gimme the collection tube?"

Will rolls his eyes at her and mimes throwing the plastic tube at her as hard as he can. Her response is a cheeky grin and an outstretched hand. He's nice enough to unscrew the cap for her before actually handing it over. Softie.

"I’m also ninety percent sure he opens doors on purpose so he can check out your ass," she slips in conversationally. The dark blush on Will’s face is worth the surprise attack. 

"I'll deal with it."

"Well don't just deal with it by standing there and doing nothing. You set up any appointments after your psych eval with him?"

"Jack has had him on every other case with us since two months ago. We talk about every case because he’s there as a consultant too. I don’t think I need any appointments with him." Beverly swivels around in her chair, particulate sampling done. 

"Will." Her admonishment is punctuated by the snap of her gloves as she takes them off and throws them in the trash. "That is literally not the point." 

"That's not the point of a psychiatrist?" He sasses. Her sharpie, originally used for labeling the samples, gets repurposed as an aggressive jabbing implement in Will’s direction.

"That's not the point of hooking you up with a handsome, rich doctor!" Will snorts a laugh, and Beverly beams. "See? Cute smile, to go with the cute brains. Go on, mister fisherman. At least cast a lure and see if he bites?"

Will shakes his head with a quirk of his lips. "Bev. Seriously, it's fine."

"Ugh. See if I ever help you out anymore," she knocks their shoulders together lightly as he helps her carry the tray of tubes over to Price’s station. He retaliates with an elbow on her head. 

Well, it’s not entirely true that she won’t help him. Direct only sort of works with Will Graham—in this case, he’ll just non-answer his way out of it again. Instead, she goes out of her way to nudge Brian and Jimmy out of the way whenever Hannibal and Will are in the same space at the same time. If she works the room to make the two of them stand next to each other, then that’s nobody else’s business. 

II

It’s kind of nice that the FBI subsidizes their flight out to Minnesota to investigate the Shrike. It’s unfortunate that the FBI only subsidizes trash motels with uncomfortable beds that probably only cost 20 bucks a night. 

Waiting for the crew to finish tearing down the bright yellow tape, Beverly rolls her shoulders in a futile attempt to work out the kinks. 

Everybody’s wrapping up their work, moving supplies and corpse goo into bags and trucks. Will’s shuffling in the pockets of his jacket, desperately looking for his painkillers.

"Perhaps they were left in our room?" Hannibal asks quietly. 

"No, no, I took some on the way here… they’ve gotta be on me."

Hannibal gives Will a reproachful look. "You know what I will say about your aggressive usage of aspirin." Will shrugs and tries his pants pockets now. "I will check the car."

As soon as Hannibal is out of earshot, Beverly sidles up and elbows him eagerly. 

" Our room? You sly dog, are you sleeping with the doctor and not telling me about it? And," she sticks a finger up to shush Will's rebuttal early, "don't think I didn't notice you two rolling up in the same car . The evidence is there."

"You wish. The hotel messed up the reservations and gave my room away. I basically crashed on the couch." He pouts at the lining of his jean pockets pulled out, lint drifting away in the light breeze. 

"Okay, but you didn’t answer the question. Sleeping?"

"Yes, Katz, that’s what people do at night."

She looks over her shoulder. Hannibal is still digging in the center console of their rental car and not heading back anytime soon. "You could do other stuff at night. I’m sure the doctor wouldn’t object to a partner activity."

Will snorts. "You really think anyone would have energy for a ‘partner activity’ after landing at 4 am?"

Beverly lets out a little noise of protest. "You’re 30, not dying of consumption."

"All I did was stay up for a few hours and I feel like someone dug their hand into my brains and squeezed them into pieces. You’ll excuse me if I’m prioritizing things like rest over ass ."

"Work with me here, Graham. After you’re done with your Sleeping Beauty stint and we get the hell out of Minnesota, then are you going to share a bed?" She holds up her index fingers and then brings them together, rubbing them slowly with her eyebrows raised. Will brings his hand to his chin and pretends to consider her question.

"Seems a little impractical. You know we live in separate houses, right?" She shoots her best seriously? look and he just smirks back at her. "Are you gonna buy me a bed frame big enough to go from Baltimore to Wolf Trap?" No fun at all.  

She lets out a low groan, rolling her head back. "I don’t know why I bother with you."

"I don’t know either," he replies fondly before going off to find Hannibal at the car. 

III 

Why can’t murderers do their freaky work at a reasonable time? It’s tiring getting woken up at five with the waft of decomp to really get a girl going in the morning. At least Will, with a huge cup of coffee that has Bev scrawled on the side, brightens up her morning, until she does a double take at him. 

Wolf Trap Will Graham, first on a scene? "Alright mister I-live-an-hour-and-a-half-away, spill. What are you doing here so early?"

He hands her a steaming cup, which she accepts gratefully with both hands. "Baltimore. Maybe ten minutes? Figured the sooner we wrap up here, the sooner we can all get back to our Sunday."

"Baltimore?" She stares at him. He does not take the bait. "You know who else lives in Baltimore?"

He sighs. "Hannibal asked me to house sit." Her jaw drops just a touch; she wasn't actually expecting that as an answer, and her face must show it. "Yes, I stayed the night at his place. No , we did not sleep together." At that, his cheeks flush and his eyebrows knit together. It's pretty cute that even talking about sleeping with his crush makes him look like that, she has to admit.  "He’s out of town for a few days at a conference." Joke’s on him if he thinks that’ll be enough to get him out of this conversation. 

The coffee is still too hot to drink, so Beverly just lets the steam warm her face. "He asked you to house sit. And you just did it?"

Will shrugs. "He house sits for me too."

That gets her laughing, coffee nearly sloshing out of her styrofoam cup. "You make Doctor Lecter drive all the way out to the boonies to house sit for you?"

Will's eyes drift askance in consideration. "And feed the dogs."

"Feed the--Will." She can't smile any wider unless she wants to feel her face split. Have these idiots finally stopped dancing around the examination table and into each others' homes?

"It-it's not, look--" he flubs and tries again. "He's the only person that would go through the hassle of following my recipes for dog food, being the literal only chefy person we know. Would you honestly say that you'd drive out to grind sausage for Winston?"

"Sweet summer child," she shakes her head and finally takes a slurp of that glorious, life-giving beverage. "You're making my points for me. No way in hell I'd do that for you, even if Winston is cute as hell. You got the doctor whipped."

"That implies that there was some got-ing to begin with, wouldn't you say?"

With mock seriousness, Beverly clasps Will's shoulder with one solid thump. "I definitely think it's time to reel your new boyfriend in."

Will's lips tremble, the way she knows precedes barely-held-in laughter. "What, now I'm just dating anyone who house sits for me?"

"Graham, knowing you, that really is the date." She cracks a grin as he splutters lightly.

"I'm not that unromantic. You better watch out, I'll take away coffee buddy privileges."

"Could've fooled me with how slow you're putting the moves on the doctor. And excuse me, I'm usually the one that gets here early and gets you coffee." He purses his lips and concedes the caffeine point.

"I honestly wonder how you've managed to get any boyfriends in your lifetime." She mutters goodnaturedly.

Will stares into his coffee for a second. When he responds, his voice is soft and fond. "Well, I haven't needed to for a while." Before she can ask what the hell that's all about, Jack's already grumbling at them to hurry up and get started. It's a shame she forgets to follow up about it afterwards.

IV

Beverly's made it just in time to Will's usual lecture hall. The bell rang not 10 seconds ago, right as she turned the corner to the right hallway; by the time she heads inside the double doors of the auditorium, students have only just started to spill out.

Well now, what do we have here? She lingers by the entrance to snoop. Hannibal is already here, leisurely ambling up to the podium with hands in his pockets, waiting for the last FBI trainee to finish her question with Will. As soon as the trainee salutes and slings her backpack over her shoulder to head out, Hannibal takes her spot and edges closer into Will's personal space, quick as a whip but still giving off effortless energy.

They look good together. Will's leaned against the podium, relaxed as can be as he unbuttons his cuffs and rolls his sleeves up to his elbow. Students continue to leave their seats, interrupting Beverly's view of the pair, but she doesn't miss how Hannibal's eyes flick down to Will's forearms and back up to Will's collar, two buttons popped open. 

Every time Hannibal says something, he angles towards Will, keeping his voice hushed and slanting his lips to Will's ears. Beverly is amazed at how comfortable Will looks, even with another body so close to him. When Will responds, his eyes are still tracing the now-empty auditorium seats, but his mouth is similarly inclined towards Hannibal. It almost feels like she'd be interrupting something personal if she stepped in right now, but she's seriously hungry, and Will's apparently never going to get anywhere with Doctor Lecter anyway, so she walks forward, letting the heels of her boots announce her arrival.

"Will. Doc." She smiles her greeting and gets two friendly nods in response. Ah, they've even got similar mannerisms. "Fancy seeing the two of you here. Hungry?"

"Miss Katz, a pleasant surprise. I've just gotten Will to agree to lunch. I see no reason why we cannot have a third."

Beverly deliberately cants her head in Will's direction, just slow enough to make him squirm. "Just lunch, you say? Not a date?"

"Hannibal wants to talk about the case from yesterday. Doesn't seem like very appealing date talk to me."

"Uh huh." It's weak for a nonanswer. "The good doctor here is going all Ying Yang Twins on you just now and you're only talking about the case?"

Will's nose wrinkles. "Who?"

She rolls her eyes with a grin. "You know, like… hey lil mama, lemme whisper in your ear ? You two were standing mighty close." Will's cheeks flush and he jams his hands in his pockets.

"Bev. The cases are confidential. Of course we're going to be quiet about it."

Hannibal, who's been standing there amused, finally comes to Will's rescue. "I'm sure there are many lovely lunch places that will allow us enough privacy for us to speak about the case without whispering. Shall we?"

Beverly flashes a thumbs up. "Thanks for the invite, Doctor Lecter!"

"I don't really know if I feel like talking to you anymore if you keep picking on me over lunch," Will mopes without any real venom.

"Aww, I promise, I'll be nice!" She knocks his arm lightly as he starts to pack up.

"Lunch will be much more pleasant if you are willing to voice your theories and ideas." Hannibal nods. "After all, I believe the saying goes, 'a closed mouth don't get fed.'" 

That earns him a side-splitting bout of laughter from Beverly. Who else could say that they got to hear Doctor Hannibal Lecter quote The Whisper Song?

After a fantastic lunch of creamy corn chowder and crispy french fries, Beverly tries to reach for her wallet only to see Will put his credit card down on the bill that comes.

"What's the special occasion?" She asks, rubbing her full stomach.

"I, ah… I owe Hannibal one. Figured I could pay for you too." At her leer, Will immediately backtracks. "Nevermind, I'm going to tell the waitress to split the bill, you freeloader."

Beverly immediately snaps her mouth shut, but she can't hide the smile that breaks through.

It must've been a good lay if you're paying , she shoots in a text instead. It takes a few minutes, but she catches the moment Will sees the text and turns beet red.

I'M NOT PAYING FOR SEX WITH HANNIBAL LECTER , her phone flashes. She guffaws.

V

Crime never rests, even during the December holidays. If they don't get days off work like everyone else, at least the BAU holiday party has a great budget. Beverly is sporting a Santa hat with little jingle bells, eager to get her money's worth in little finger sandwiches and mulled wine. She spots Will when he enters, immediately awkward in the face of so many people schmoozing, and waves him over.

Brian, dressed up in an elf costume, has a whole bag of holiday cheer ready to sic on his coworkers. For Will, he plucks out a headband with antlers and little reindeer ears, decorated in plastic holly. Will looks at the headband, looks at the bag, looks at the headband again, and reluctantly lets Brian put it on him.

"Hey man, do you, uhh… do you want a scarf instead or something?" Brian asks. Jimmy, in a snowman costume, looks over from the open bar, eyes finding the mark on Will's neck, and nearly drops the beer that's handed to him. Will's wide-eyed and confused.

Brian tries again over a mouthful of hors d'oeuvres. "Look, I swear I'm not in on whatever schemes Beverly's got but uhh… is that…" he gives a pained look and points to the crook of his own neck. Will flushes and tries to adjust the wire in the antlers to keep himself busy.

Beverly makes a pitiful sigh. "Sorry to disappoint, boys, but that is unfortunately not a hickey." Nobody asks for any elaboration, but she continues anyway. "Will took me fishing last weekend and we had a little accident. Honestly, I'm not even sure what happened," she pouts at the little cucumber sandwich on her plate.

"You punched me," Will grumbles.

"It was an accident! I was trying to reel something in but those damn fish are strong. I may or may not have accidentally clocked Graham when he tried to help me," she finished with a guilty smile. Brian and Jimmy are laughing so hard they're holding onto each other to stay upright.

"Laugh it up, nerds, I'd like to see you guys try to nab a fish the size of your leg." She leans in to investigate Will's bruise, still purple and pink, though its edges are starting to tinge with yellow. Will leans back the same distance, eyes looking at anything but her. "Wish it were a hickey though."

"You're the only one that thinks that," Jimmy makes a face and looks away. 

"You know, it still looks pretty gnarly for being a week out." Beverly waggles her eyebrows and gets an exasperated snort out of Will. "You know who'd probably love to help make your bruise better?"

"No," he deadpans, "I have zero idea. Who could it be?"

"You know there just happens to be a medical doctor across the room from us." Hannibal had shown up half an hour earlier, sporting a festive red vest and a tie swirling with poinsettias. He's not looking over here, but Beverly knows he's had his feet angled towards Will since he entered the party. "See, he even knows you're here already." She mimes swooning and Will scoffs.

"He'll just make it worse."

"You're a little skeptic today, aren't cha?"

"You have no idea what I've seen."

+I

It's been, what, six months? Seven months? Who's counting? Not Will. That man has zero urgency except when it comes to his dogs. If Beverly wants to set her good old pal Will Graham up with the hottest doctor in down, she's going to need a different approach.

She knows she's not wrong about Will being into Hannibal. Even now at the holiday party, it's clear to anyone who knows them. When they're not next to each other, their sight always crosses paths, and she sees the flicker of a million conversations fly through until they look away. When they are next to each other, their personal bubbles expand and contract unerringly to make room. 

If Will really hated her needling, he'd tell her in no uncertain terms to knock it off already. He hasn't, though, which means something is definitely going on here. Her science brain wants answers!

Maybe she could ask the doctor himself instead? He's a little intimidating and his work as a psychiatrist probably means he'll also talk circles around her if he won't be forthcoming, but she knows he's sweet on Will. She'll get these two dorks together somehow .

It's getting to the end of the night. Alana, Jimmy, and Bella are tearing up the dance floor while Will has wandered back to the hors d'oeuvres table for more snacks. It's now or never , so she downs the rest of her mulled wine and turns to Hannibal.

"If you like Will, you should ask him out on a date." She says without preamble. "I don't know if you guys are waiting for a sign, but I'll give you one right now."

Hannibal's eyes are crinkled in silent laughter. "Miss Katz. Indeed, I quite like him." She releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. Thank god it's actually reciprocated . "Who would I be to refuse such an honor?"

He inclines his head, the tiniest of bows excusing himself, and sets off to find Will, Beverly hot on his heels. There's no way it's this easy, not after all the long-suffering conversations she's had with Will. She tries to hide so she can listen in on the conversation without interrupting, slipping behind a giant tower of profiteroles.

"Will. Might I have the pleasure of your company this weekend?"

"Hannibal." Will leans back to look at him, curious smile gracing his face. "You already have my company this weekend." 

"For a date," Hannibal clarifies.

"What, taking the rings to get professionally polished not enough of a date for you?" 

"Just because we don't wear the wedding rings frequently does not mean we should let them tarnish," Hannibal chastises. Beverly manages to hold in a squeal, but she does fluster a nearby waiter when she almost flings herself into the tiramisu display in excitement.

"Yeah, well, it's hard to wear that honking rock underneath gloves."

"Why, sweet Will, are you asking for a new one? Shall we, on our date?"

"Absolutely not." Will shakes his head and turns around, only to find Beverly trying to ambush him from behind the chocolate fountain. "O-oh. You heard all of that, didn't you?"

"You're telling me you didn't let me set you up with the hot doctor for half a year because you were already married to him?" She hisses.

"It may have been five years ago, yes." 

"Will is such a shy creature," Hannibal murmurs fondly. Will snorts.

"To be fair, it was a little funny. I was starting to wonder how much longer I could keep up telling you just enough of the truth to be 'not lying'."

"I still feel lied to," she pouts. "I'll never be able to trust anything that I didn't see personally with my eyes now. At least your bruise won't lie to me."

At that, Will flushes and brings his hand up to cover the mark on his neck.

"Y-you two--!" she whips her head back and forth between the two of them

She swears that she saw a flash of sharp canines under Hannibal's cheerful smile. "He… He may have turned it into a hickey anyway."