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The thing is, Will does meet Subaru the following week.
Shimokitazawa is a tightly-knit neighborhood populated by small stores, eccentric art studios, and old wooden buildings that lean against each other for support. A charming, gritty place that Will had liked immediately and returned to often, whenever they needed groceries or any decorative tidbits for the posh apartment Hannibal had acquired for them in Azabu. There is a nice supermarket right by the east exit of Shimokitazawa station; a 100-yen (dollar) store sits four floors above it in the same building. Will had dragged Hannibal up there once, just so he could watch the man wince as they walked down the Kitchen Tools aisle.
Will is in the basement floor of the supermarket on a lazy Tuesday afternoon, trying to figure out where the goddamn pasta sauce is, when he spots a very familiar figure.
"Hey!" Will calls out before his mind has a chance to quite catch up with his mouth.
Several people turn to stare at the rude foreigner shouting in the supermarket. Subaru is not among them. He disappears in an aisle bearing tea and coffee on one side and fridges filled with terrible frozen food on the other.
Will could just let it go and leave now, and the man won't be any the wiser.
Instead, Will grips the handles of the plastic basket containing the ingredients for tonight's dinner and hurries after him.
"Subaru."
Subaru's head snaps up, narrowed eyes burying into Will like a knife's blade. They are mismatched today and for a second, Will sees Sakurazuka in his place. Will swallows and blinks the double-image away.
Subaru's gaze softens and falls to Will's chin.
"Will," he nods and turns back to examining the coffee display. The slight tension in the line of his shoulders betrays his nerves.
Will is a bit stumped. Socializing is not exactly his forte, and Subaru's reticence is not helping. The fact that Will is usually more than happy to escape conversations with strangers escapes his notice. "So, groceries," he settles on in the end.
Subaru blinks at him. "They have a good selection here," he agrees.
"Yeah."
Will kind of wants to punch himself in the face, because this is torture.
Subaru's hand pauses over a bag of instant coffee. Will strides forward before he knows what he is doing.
"No, no, that one's total crap. Do you have a coffee maker?" Subaru nods hesitantly. Will plucks a bag of ground Lavazza espresso from the shelf and thrusts it in Subaru's gloved hands. "This one."
Subaru stares down at the dark package. A small smile twists his lips before they smooth.
"Thank you, Will."
"Yeah, don't mention it." Will clears his throat. "Are you here alone?"
"No." Subaru glances up in time to catch Will's frown and shakes his head. "I am here with a friend. Not - not him."
"Good," Will says, then winces internally. Who's he to say whether Sakurazuka's absence is good or not where Subaru is concerned?
Subaru does not appear insulted. In fact, he seems not to have heard Will at all, eyes slipping over Will's shoulder to something beyond it.
"Kamui," he calls out, low and sharp. Will turns just in time to see a teenager drop a tomato guiltily back into a pile of them some steps away.
Will blinks. There are a whole lot of cucumbers protruding from that pile. Arranged rather suggestively. Will lets out a bark of laughter.
Large, blue eyes snap to Will and widen. Will is caught between being disturbed at the boy's prettiness and being disturbed by the sudden leer that twists his face.
"Subaruuuu," Kamui drawls as he comes closer, hands in the pockets of his school uniform. "Who's your hot friend?" His English is worse than Subaru's, but more confident somehow. Will wonders how the hell that even makes sense.
"Will Graham," Subaru says and Kamui lets out a cooing, ooh. "Will, this is my friend and charge, Kamui Shirou."
Charge? Will thinks. "Nice to meet you," he says to Kamui. Normally, he would offer a hand, but the way the boy is looking at him is making Will think he would try to lick it.
"Same. I hear you are part of the club!" Kamui grins and Subaru lets out a soft groan.
Will blinks."What club?"
"The my boyfriend is a psychotic asshole club. Well, was, in my case." The boy smiles widely and Will is kind of really fucking freaked out right now. He darts a look at Subaru. The other man has a gloved hand pressed to the middle of his forehead and seems in pain.
"What did we say about talking with strangers, Kamui."
"Tone down the crazy?" Subaru exhales sharply and opens his mouth, but Kamui talks over him. "Yeah, no, you didn't say that I know. I'm translating for general meaning." He turns to Will. "Hi, Graham, nice to meet you. Very happy to have you and your cannibal boyfriend in our lives."
Will's eyes narrow. He straightens, muscles tensing beneath his skin. Kamui is still smiling but his eyes are serious and unrepentantly on Will's. He does not seem scared in the least, despite obviously being aware of Will's past and nature. And Will - Will is intrigued.
So he does something terribly stupid and reaches out to Kamui with his empathy.
The next thing he knows, Will is blinking the ceiling into focus. There are a lot of people around him, speaking gibberish - or no, Japanese. Will makes out shaky, "safe, safe" which probably actually means "alright" in this case. He tries to say, "yes, fine, leave me alone," but there is blood in his mouth. He had bitten his tongue, and badly.
Gloved hands press on either side of his face and tilt his head up. "Will," Subaru says. He is bracing his weight, Will realizes, half-crouched in the tea aisle. The rest of the people around them are store staff. One woman is actually wringing her hands in worry. "Doctor," she says, the word probably a part of a sentence that includes "he needs a."
Will shakes his head quickly and staggers up, using Subaru as support. "Iie, daijobu desu." No, I am alright. It's the first phrase Will had learned in Japanese, and it continues to serve him well.
The woman does not look convinced, and neither do the rest of her coworkers. There's a bit of blood on the floor, Will notices.
Subaru speaks up then, Japanese smooth and so polite even Will can tell the difference. Slowly, some of the urgency in the faces around them melts away. Several people bow. Subaru bows back and takes Will's elbow, steering him away as quickly as Will's dazed state would allow.
"Where's the kid," Will mutters.
"Outside. Or gone."
Will kind of feels bad. Even though he is currently nursing a splitting headache and sucking on his still bleeding tongue.
They stagger outside. Kamui had not left, but judging by his expression he had really, really wanted to. He glares at Will and then looks away, managing to convey both anger and a staggering amount of self-hatred in a single glance.
"Sorry," Will tells him as they make their way to the train station.
Kamui blinks up, confusion softening his face.
"I shouldn't have, without asking," Will explains and Kamui snorts, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah. Well, now you know what'll happen if you do it again."
Will nods. Kamui studies him for a few seconds longer from Subaru's other side, seemingly bemused.
"Subaru," he says. "I'm going home."
Kamui doesn't wait for a response, splitting away to join a line of people descending a staircase to their right. It leads to a different metro line than the one Will uses. Will blinks after him.
"He's a right ray of sunshine," he comments.
Subaru is silent for a beat. "His past is...troubled. Will, would you allow me to escort you home?"
Will immediately shakes his head. The world fuzzes at the edges a bit. When he can focus on Subaru again, the man is giving him a terribly unimpressed look. Will sets his jaw and says, "No." No way is he letting an almost-stranger know their address. It is his home, with Hannibal. He is not giving it up for anyone.
"Alright," Subaru says after a moment. "Would you at least allow me to stay with you until Doctor Lecter comes to pick you up?"
Will blinks at Subaru.
"How would Hannibal know to pick me up?"
Subaru flushes the slightest bit.
"No." Will stares. "You didn't."
"I apologize for the intrusion, but you were - it took a while for you to regain your senses, and there was so much blood. I used your mobile." Subaru bows his head, a brief gesture of apology. "He said he would be at the station as soon as possible."
"How long ago was that?" Will demands.
"A little less than ten minutes, I should think."
Azabu is twenty minutes away by train.
Will groans, grabs Subaru's arm, and uses him as a crutch to get the fuck back to the station's front gate.
"I really think he would worry if you are not there to meet him," Subaru protests thinking, rather naively, that Hannibal would do something as rational as wait for the train. Will kind of wants to shake him until his bones rattle.
"Yeah, he would be. He fucking is."
Subaru shoots him a confused look, then they are swiping through the ticket gate and Will has gone about two steps further before a man grabs him and pulls him into a desperate embrace. Subaru lets out a startled gasp but, thank God, does not try to get in between them.
"What happened," Hannibal demands. His hands slide over Will's face, pausing at his bloodied lips before continuing down his neck and shoulders.
"I'm fine," Will tells him even as his body, the traitor, leans heavily against Hannibal's solid warmth. Hannibal pulls him in tighter. "Just a bit of a mistake. On my part. Nothing to worry about."
"Sumeragi said you were unconscious," Hannibal says, voice rough. Will tips his head up to squint at him. The man looks haggard, hair mussed by the wind, lips chapped.
Will narrows his eyes. "Hannibal, did you steal a motorcycle?"
"I reimbursed the owner," Hannibal says, unconcerned, which of course means that yes, he had in fact stolen a motorcycle and likely broken traffic laws to get across the city in under ten minutes. Will knows he should not be feeling warm and mushy, but he kind of cannot help it. Must be the blood loss.
"My hero," Will mutters in Hannibal's chest.
Hannibal looks at Subaru with an expression that is a perfect cross between accusation and bewilderment. Subaru's lips twitch.
"Once again, my apologies Mr. Graham, Doctor Lecter." He bows, lower than he had to the staff at the supermarket. "If there is anything I could do - perhaps I can call you a taxi?"
"That would not be necessary," Hannibal says smoothly. His eyes are still hard.
Subaru meets them without flinching. He's had a lot of practice looking into the souls of monsters, Will thinks giddily. "Then I will leave you. Have a nice day." He bows once again, eyes carefully averted, and disappears inside the station.
The arms around Will tighten.
"I am putting you on a leash," Hannibal mutters.
"Woof," Will barks, and licks his neck.
Hannibal's sigh is most put upon.