FOUND: A Hannigram Devil AU

2

     "So you must be the man who's gonna fix my crazy."

     Will leaned against the doorframe to Jack Crawford's office, watching the lone man in the room turn around at the sound of his voice. He was older than Will, likely approaching his fifties, and he had a chiseled face with light hair and an immaculate suit. He stood, giving Will a soft smile.

     "And I know, 'crazy' is a bad word," Will continued, stepping into the room, "but there's no other word for what I have."

     "A person can always broaden their vocabulary. I hope to help you find the proper words." The man held out his hand. "Doctor Hannibal Lecter."

     Will shook his hand, taken aback by the firmness of his grip. "..Will Graham." His eyes shifted towards the ground on instinct. In fact, they wandered all over the place— the wall, the desk, the carpet.

     "Jack ran out for a second," Doctor Lecter said. "He'll be right back."

     Will hoped it would be sooner rather than later. "He wants you to make me all better." He couldn't keep the disdain out of his voice. "I think it's a bit insulting. You done any profiling before?"

     "I profile every one of my patients, technically. For example, I can tell you have an anxiety issue." Will could feel the doctor scrutinizing him. He glanced down at Will's hands, where the skin around his nails had been picked completely off. Painful scratches lined his fingers. It had become a nervous tic decades ago, and it was something he'd never been able to shake.

     Will furrowed his brow in annoyance and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "That wasn't an invitation to start psychoanalyzing me. You won't like me when I'm psychoanalyzed."

     "Just doing my job."

     "Yeah, well, you're not on the clock yet. This isn't my session— it's me assessing you, more than anything." He glanced towards the clock on the wall.

     "You're not fond of eye contact."

     Will sighed. "Eyes are distracting," he said, finally looking up and gazing into his eyes. They were an odd shade of brown, almost the color of blood. As always, he immediately felt uncomfortable. "See too much, don't see enough. It's hard to focus when you're so concentrated on..."

     He trailed off, as there was something uncanny that was scratching the back of his brain. Unease began to churn inside of him, and he found himself leaning in slightly to see what exactly was bothering him. That was a mistake. Doctor Lecter's stare was more than uncomfortable; it was utterly paralyzing. There was something dark in them, a glint of pure evil, and it was then that Will suddenly found himself trapped. He was sucked into another reality, falling down and down until it was just him and the doctor. No one would ever find him. He couldn't look away, couldn't turn his head if his life depended on it. His neck was tense, veins bulging, simply stuck in place. The world around the two of them began to blur, a loud static entered his ears, and he felt himself begin to shudder with fear—

     "Ah, Will—"

     "Shit!" Everything came to a stop, and the world resumed so suddenly that it made Will dizzy. He stumbled backwards, his trance broken by the sound of Jack's voice. The back of his hips collided with the desk. Both Jack and Lecter stared at him, Jack with confusion and Lecter with shock.

     "Something wrong, Will?" The doctor said, giving him a once-over. "It looked like you were panicking. I wasn't trying to force you to look at me."

     The words differed greatly from the inflection; there was a sly tone in the way Lecter spoke. It was as if he knew exactly what had happened. The way he was staring at Will made Will feel small. Lecter had to know something; those eyes had sucked his secrets right out of him.