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From there we came outside and saw the stars - Dante, Inferno
“Someone is definitely going to recognize you if you keep making that face,” Will teased, his tone dry and monotone.
“I am not making a face,” Hannibal replied.
“You are! You look like an evil mastermind plotting some kind of maniacal plan.”
“I am an evil mastermind. And I’m always creating imaginary maniacal plans in my head.”
Will rolled his eyes with a huff and rubbed at his forehead. “Okay, well tone it down, Darth Vader.”
Hannibal raised an eyebrow at Will. They were sitting in a local bakery waiting for coffee and scones. Although Will didn’t love being around people, he admired the atmosphere some of the local shops provided. He found that he could waste away his mornings at this location in particular, sipping on hot drinks, nibbling on sweet pastries, and perusing whatever book he was currently reading.
Begrudgingly, Hannibal would allow himself to be dragged along on the odd morning. As usual, he made a show of complaining, pretending it wasn’t up to his high-end standards, but Will knew he enjoyed it. He would watch Hannibal out of the corner of his eye while he read; observe him close his eyes in satisfaction as he drank his espresso, twirl the strawberry scone around on his tongue as he savored it, flick his wrist around his sketchbook, crafting his latest drawings to gift to Will.
“Mr. Sinclair!” The employee called out his name from the counter. Will moved to get up, but Hannibal placed his hand firmly on his forearm and stated, “I’ll get it. I suppose I must exchange pleasantries with the barista so she does not believe me to be… Darth Vader.”
Will grinned as Hannibal strode across the bakery and flashed the barista a charming grin, chatting with her amicably. He made his way back to the table with their plates, then made a return trip for their coffees. With a flourish of his hand and a short bow he said, “Your coffee, Mr. Sinclair.”
Will lifted his eyes to Hannibal’s, a grin flashing across his face. His unkempt hair dangled over his forehead. “Why thank you, Mr. Sinclair.”
Hannibal took his own place across from him and tipped his head, “You are quite welcome.”
After country hopping for a month or two while recovering from their injuries, they had finally decided they would stay in France long-term, which meant as long as nobody discovered who they were in their time here. Once they settled into a small house, they got their cover stories in order. Will insisted part of their cover was that they were married; it would receive the least amount of questions and speculation about their living arrangement. Hannibal, of course, didn’t argue; in fact, he was very pleased.
A few days after they had found their new home, Hannibal returned through the front door with a small folder. Inside were new identities and all the corresponding paperwork. Will had been lounging on the couch, taking a light afternoon nap, when Hannibal tossed the envelope onto his chest.
He pulled Hannibal’s ID out first. “Martin Sinclair?”
“It seemed fitting.”
Will squinted at Hannibal. He didn’t think he looked like a Martin. “Hm… how so?”
“Martin comes from the Latin name Martinus, pulled from Mars, the Roman god of war.”
Will chuckled, “Of course.” He fumbled in the bottom of the envelope until his fingers landed on the other ID. He stared at it and looked up at Hannibal, a look of disbelief shrouding his face, “Seriously? Perseus?”
“Also fitting,” Hannibal smiled. Will glared at him. “The Destroyer. Son of Zeus. Perseus was a demi-god. He could walk among the people of the earth, but he was not one of them. He could pass for mortal, but he was a god amongst men. ”
Will rolled his eyes. “I appreciate the honor, but it still sounds stupid.”
While they had both agreed “Percy” would raise less eyebrows in public, Will still felt silly saying it out loud–even eight months of settling into the name didn’t help–so he usually just went by Mr. Sinclair.
“I was thinking we could go out tonight,” Will said, glancing up from his book. Hannibal had taken off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his button down. He had his sketchbook propped against his crossed leg. His hand was quickly moving across the page. Will’s eyes lingered on his forearms.
“That sounds nice,” Hannibal replied without looking up.
“I’ve already planned something actually.” His voice was a bit quieter. Hannibal’s hand paused on the page and pulled his eyes up to meet Will’s, intrigued.
“Are you going to enlighten me of this plan or is it meant to be a surprise?”
Will contemplated for a second. “I think a surprise.”
“Okay,” Hannibal stated simply and the scratch of the pencil resumed. Will couldn’t contain his grin. Nor could he control the shade of pink that was spreading across his cheeks. He put his nose back in his book to avoid embarrassment.
He saw a quick flash of movement on the table beneath him. Hannibal had slid his sketch across the table. It was a picture of Will reading his book, his cup of coffee steaming in front of him on the table. He set his book down and pulled his face closer to the drawing, soaking in the details. He noticed Hannibal had shaded his cheeks–the shading mirrored the blush currently plastered on his own cheeks. He lightly brushed the pad of his index finger across the page, tracing the lines, until it rested below the picture, where in Hannibal’s elegant writing, he had lettered, 'My Perseus'. Will’s blush darkened.
“Wear something kind of casual,” Will’s voice rang out from down the hall. Hannibal was staring at the multitude of suits hanging in his closet. Then, “Sorry, I realize that’s not helpful since you don’t actually own any casual clothes.” Will’s head had poked around the corner of the bedroom doorway, a smirk spread across his face.
Hannibal simply turned and gave him his best glare. Will just laughed and clarified further, “Something comfortable I mean.”
“All my clothes are comfortable,” Hannibal stated, an edge to his voice. Will rolled his eyes so hard Hannibal thought they might fall right out of their sockets.
“Okay, well we’re not doing anything fancy, so I’m trying to say don’t wear your best suit or something.” He disappeared back through the hallway, his feet echoing down the hall. Hannibal debated, then reached for a dark green cashmere sweater and brown trousers, hoping that was appropriate for whatever excursion Will had prepared.
Will smiled wide when Hannibal entered the living room. “Perfect,” Will complimented as his eyes traced Hannibal’s outfit. Similarly, Hannibal took in Will’s outfit. He was wearing a gray sweater, layered with a light gray checked flannel and a pair of olive green pants. Quite the opposite from Hannibal’s attire though since most of Will’s clothes were cotton and found secondhand. A lumpy worn backpack was hanging from his good shoulder and he had a dark black duffle bag sitting at his feet.
“Do you think you can carry the bag?” Will asked, lightly tapping it with his foot. “It’s not a long walk.” Hannibal raised an eyebrow, curious about what was hiding away in both bags. It had a good weight to it when Hannibal picked it up, which intrigued him even more. He followed Will out the door, stepping into the brisk summer evening air.
The sun had long since fallen behind the horizon and the sky was painted an inky black. Hannibal and Will walked side by side through the park near their house. The night was clear and the moon lit up the canvas in front of them. Will was smiling and laughing as he talked, but Hannibal could sense a slight nervousness emanating from him. Not quite nervousness , he thought to himself. Anticipation . He gave a soft smile as Will prattled on, one hand gripping his backpack strap, the other gesturing erratically as he spoke.
“This way,” he pointed up a small grassy hill off the sidewalk. A single solitary tree stood at the top of the hill. Hannibal followed him. When they reached the top of the hill, looking out over the park, Will dropped his backpack to the ground and unzipped it. “You can put the duffle over here.”
He pulled a blanket from the backpack and laid it out on the grass, spreading it neatly before climbing on it and patting the spot beside him. Hannibal stared down at his rosy cheeks, his bright blue eyes turned up toward him, wide and hopeful. The light of the moon cast a soft glow on his face. Hannibal sighed, his chest warm with admiration, and lowered himself into the seat beside Will, their shoulders brushing together lightly.
Will reached into the bottom of the backpack and pulled out a thermos and a food tin. “A late night snack. It’s not as good as anything you make, but I tried,” he mumbled as he pushed the tin into Hannibal’s hands. He busied himself by unscrewing the thermos as Hannibal gently opened the food tin. As Will poured hot apple cider into two mugs, Hannibal examined the contents of the tin. Two sandwiches were inside, a basic ham and cheese, but he could tell Will had put in quite a lot effort to elevate the simple meal. He had clearly deliberated about the bread, meat, cheese, and condiment choices from what stores Hannibal had in the kitchen. “It’s very nice, Will, thank you,” he said softly as he met Will’s eyes. Will smiled again and diverted his eyes, blushing furiously.
They chatted as they ate, looking out over the park. When they finished eating, the evening was approaching midnight. Hannibal was curious why Will had them out so late. Will shifted, as if he could read Hannibal’s thought, “Okay, it’s almost time. Let me get set up.” He stood up from the blanket and reached for the duffle bag.
From it he pulled out a sleek black telescope. Hannibal had no idea where or when he had acquired the telescope but he was beyond pleased by the surprise. His eyes followed Will as he proceeded to set it up on the edge of the blanket. “You’ll be able to see it without the telescope, but it’ll be better with the telescope, of course.” Hannibal laid back on his elbows and admired Will as he put his eye to the viewfinder, adjusting the gears on the gadget, explaining as he went along. His curls were falling over his forehead, hanging down over the telescope as Will leaned into it.
Will pulled his face away and looked up at Hannibal. “Come here,” he motioned fervently. Hannibal sat up and Will grabbed his arm, pulling him forward gently. He sat on his knees in front of the telescope as Will guided him, his hands firmly on his shoulders. “All you have to do is look,” Will whispered, his voice fluttering across Hannibal’s ear.
Hannibal gazed through the telescope, his eye searching for what Will was trying to show him. He let out a short gasp of air when he realized what constellation he was looking at.
“Perseus,” he breathed.
He could hear Will’s smile as he spoke, his voice smooth, “Yes. Now look.” His hands squeezed at Hannibal’s shoulders, grounding him as his heart fluttered. Within a few seconds, Hannibal saw the first flash of light shoot across his view. One by one, more meteors began crossing the scene in front of him.
“Perseids,” he heard Will’s voice echo from behind him. “It radiates from the Perseus constellation every year. It’s one of the brightest meteor showers.” Hannibal didn’t respond, just hummed as he soaked in the moment.
After watching the fireballs shoot across the sky for what felt like hours, Hannibal finally pulled away from the telescope. Will tentatively released his hands from Hannibal’s shoulders and let them fall to his sides as Hannibal turned to look at him.
“It’s beautiful, Will, thank you for showing me,” he sighed. Will nodded quietly, his blue eyes reflecting the light of the night sky, shimmering with delight. “They’re not as beautiful as my Perseus though,” Hannibal added, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.
Will could hear himself gasp as the air collapsed out of his lungs at Hannibal’s words. He fell forward into Hannibal’s arms, clutching at the back of his sweater as Hannibal fiercely hugged him back, holding Will to his chest, their hearts beating in sync. Eventually they parted and Hannibal guided them to the blanket, where they laid back and stared up at the stars, their hands laced together as they watched the final meteors dance across the expanse of midnight.