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Il Mostro di Firenze
That name tastes sweet like honey and rich like red wine on Hannibal's tongue. That's what they people call him in the papers.
A monster.
Not that this bothers him. He thrives on the attention, watching the investigations uncover his deeds from the distance like a play in Teatro della Pergola, one of his favorite theaters in the city.
Hannibal has always been a fan of art. No matter if paintings, poetry, music or sculptures. No wonder he feels a connection to the beautiful city of Florence. The warm summer, the breathtaking renaissance art and architecture filling the streets and museums and monuments at every corner. It is fascinating to study while also giving great inspiration for killings he plans. After all, you find rude people everywhere in the world, even in such cities as Florence.
This evening, he joined the premier of Swan Lake after a sudden director change. The old one had the unfortunate fate of walking into Hannibal a few months ago and being rude to his employees on a gala. He should have known better. Del senno di poi ne son piene le fosse, they say here. Very fitting.
As the ballet continues, one of the dancers stands out to Hannibal. Not because they were bad or acted out. No. They play the black swan precisely with fluent motions and an attention to detail that makes the role look easy, almost like he's only dreaming them onto the stage.
After the curtains fall shut and the people slowly split, he makes his way towards the crowd of dancers, now dressed in normal clothes again, scanning the crowd for the black swan. Though they are nowhere in sight. Left for an important reason, the director told him, not able to explain further. Since then Hannibal has tried to see every single show just for a chance to see them again, even killing one of the men at the door after they were rude to his black swan.
Finally, one day, he manages to get the address of the studio where the dancer is training. He waits in front of the building the whole afternoon until they appear. Hannibal walks after them, slowly approaching before acting like he accidentally walks into them.
"My apologies, seems like I was in thoughts"
"It's okay" the dancer replies, fixing their jacket, "I know what that's like" After a moment of hesitation and them mustering him with their beautiful eyes, they put out their hand. "Y/N. But you probably already know that"
"What gives it away?" He smiles politely, stepping to close but not too close to not scare them away.
"I saw you at the theater multiple times now. A true fan of Swan Lake, huh" Y/N tilts their head like a dog observing someone with great interest.
"You could say that. Mind if I walked with you for a bit?"
"Not at all. It gets a bit lonely walking here without anyone to talk to anyway"
Hannibal and Y/N walk for a while, casually talking about the play, the people passing by and the city. The more Hannibal listens to their lovely voice, the more he becomes obsessed. They walk as gracefully as they dance on stage, barely making a sound in the loud city.
"You seem like a nice guy. Ti stimo molto" Y/N smiles, stopping at a red light. "But I need to get going now. I expect to see you at the next ballet"
"I will be there" Hannibal nods, watching them disappear into the crowd as soon as the light turns green. He will be there, no matter the cost.
-&-
The evening of the next play, Hannibal somehow manages to get backstage unseen by all the people running around trying to get everything ready. He finds Y/N putting on the final touches of makeup in their beautiful black dress/suit, watching them in awe and studying each of their movements. They look even more mystical to him in the dim light of the backstage area. Like a fairytale come true. He stays back, watching from afar as the dancer for the white swan approaches them from behind, grabbing a few things off their table without even asking before dropping a few words and leaving again. Judging Y/N's expression, it wasn't very nice. Seems like Hannibal knows what to serve when he invites them to dinner at his place after the show..
The gong signaling the soon beginning of the ballet makes him retreat back into the shadows, slipping back into the main room completely undetected. Finding his seat with no problem, he waits for the lights to fade as the show starts.
Only as the white swan is supposed to be revealed, everything goes wrong. Instead of the dancer getting lifted to the stage in a white dress, the curtains open to a horrible scene. Said dancers slumped over in an indicated split ballet pose. Wouldn't be out of the ordinary if their eyes weren't staring off stage, a red substance dripping onto their dress from their neck, coloring it and the stage red. Blood. Someone slit their throat, no doubt.
"Che bello.." Hannibal mutters, staying seated like a rock in a stormy sea as people jump up and yell around him in pure chaos as the curtains instantly drop again. Whatever happened there is truly fascinating. Someone acted faster than he could on staging the perfect revenge for Y/N. Speaking of... He should check on them to make sure they were alright.
He makes his way backstage, ignoring the frantic people, his eyes only searching for his love. The further he gets, the quieter it is. Everyone is too busy freaking out about the body on stage to be here. Only Y/N was still missing. Hopefully, nothing happened to them..
His search leads him to a slightly open door near the wardrobe, a slightly rustling coming from inside. Hannibal careful peeks inside, gazing upon a scene he hasn't expected.
His lovely Y/N, still in their costume, going through bags before pulling out a bloody knife out of a hidden drawer. They look around as if trying to decide on where to put it until they nearly drop it as Hannibal clears his throat to get their attention.
"Mi dispiace. Was i interrupting?"
They look up at him with icy cold eyes, staring directly into his soul. "You shouldn't have followed me.."
"So you killed the white swan?" Hannibal notes, watching them quickly hide the bloody knife behind their back. He didn't expect this but it's a welcome twist in this game. Now they're on equal ground. Two killers, one just unaware of the others.
"I must say, I'm impressed" He continues , stalking closer to them, "How did you do it?" He only stops when Y/N pulls out the blade, pointing it at him as a silent threat. One more step and he might end on the receiving end of murder for once.
"You're.. not freaking out?" They ask carefully while raising an eyebrow, suspicious at the lack of fear displayed by Hannibal.
"No, my dear. What you did is impressive. Honestly, I really want to know more about it. Such a work of art must have taken a lot of time"
"It did" they hesitantly reply, still fixated on him, "But why are you interested?"
"Because I believe we might be more similar than you think"
"How so?"
"Let me introduce myself properly" Hannibal takes a step forward, putting out his hand like he did the first time they met, only more gracious this time, beckoning them to take it like a forbidden offer to dance, "They call me Il Mostro di Firenze if you trust the news"
"The cannibal.." they mutter in both awe and shock before slowly placing their hand on his, accepting this twisted introduction.
"And you are?"
"Black swan" this time there was no insecurity or hesitation. Two monsters who chose to join forces and dance with a knife between them, ready to strike one of them down. Exactly the type of artistic vision Hannibal enjoys creating. And this time, he didn't even do anything but offer a hand.
"It's a pleasure to finally really meet you. You seem like you need help with that" he points out the obvious, holding out his hand to offer help. "I could hide it for you so you can get through the police search undetected"
"Grazie" Y/N whispers, giving him the knife with gratitude in their eyes. A foolish move to hand the monster of Florence the weapon covered in blood and expecting not to die for the mistake. But no, Hannibal doesn't want to kill them. He has taken too much of a liking to them. "Sì. Meet me in the back after it's over"
"I will. Chi si assomiglia si piglia, no?" Y/N smiles, already leaving the room to act like nothing happened in the last moments between the two. A lie they can't escape.
"Seems like it"
-&-
The police investigation go on until deep in the night until Y/N is finally let go as no evidence ties them to the case. The detective speculates about jealousy as a motive but that would match each of the other dancers too. For now, they're free. Free to run straight into the monster haunting the city once again. They find Hannibal on a bridge nearby, leaning against the stone railing as if he had been awaiting their arrival. But without any hidden motivation this time.
"Thanks again.. for everything" Y/N mumble as they approach, coming to a halt next to him.
"You're welcome, mi amore"
A moment of silence passes by as both look at each other. Hannibal with a mix of adoration and the knowledge, he has found his Florence love and Y/N with a gentle, maybe still careful hopefulness. Finally, Hannibal breaks the silence, stepping closer to them. They don't resist as he pulls them in, brushing his thumb over their cheek. "May I?"
"Of course"
With that, he leans in, locking his lips with theirs in a gentle kiss under the silver moonlight, the city now forever carrying the secret of two monsters finding each other. The water glistens gently, creating a mystical scene matching the ending of a fairytale. Maybe it is something like that, in a twisted way. Where the black swan found their dark prince.
They only pull away from each other a few seconds later to breath again, watching each other's reaction. Neither Hannibal nor Y/N wants to admit it out loud and ruin the moment, but if love at first sight is real, they might have found their match. A match made out of blood, organs and black feathers. Romanticized by the Florence scenery and growing in a city which will most likely soon be filled with more dead bodies.
"What should we do now?" Y/N asks, tilting her head. They know the answer but want Hannibal to offer first.
"I might have an open bottle of fine red wine at my place. Interested?"
"Sure. Tutto finisce a tarallucci e vino."
"In a literal sense, yes. Come, mi amore, the night is still young. Would be a shame to waste it"
And so, both killers wander along the bridge hand in hand towards an unknown future full of more killing and an Italian love story as they only happen on Wattpad and cheesy movies.