La Cena

Ropa Vieja

Hannibal's body hit the water, and he felt it surround his entire being. It was almost calming to him, to be entirely removed from the outer world. He felt a sense of serenity overtake himself, like he could simply close his eyes and fade away. Hannibal truly was able to wade into the stream's quiet, was able to experience what it felt like. Will wasn't wrong about his statement, it felt good.
It felt good until his lungs ran out of air. One could not be peaceful without breath. That was reserved for other times, times unlike now.
Hannibal threw his head up and out of the water, gasping for breath. He coughed out a mouthful of water, and his eyes were burned by the salt.
"Will!" he called out, his voice weakened by water. He coughed once more, and yelled out again. No answer was given, only a light lapping of the water. Hannibal squinted, noticing a dark figure underneath the water. It had to be Will.
Hannibal quickly pulled himself back underwater, squinting against the irritating saltiness. Parts of Will's head bobbed in the water, buoyant against it.
The water was becoming more noticeably cold, and increasingly unpleasant to Hannibal. He had to get himself and Will out of it and back into land, any land.
Hannibal felt the smoothness of skin, and went back above the surface. Will was unconscious, a combination of factors leading to it. Hannibal grabbed Will with one arm, using the other to propel themselves forward. His abdomen burned, having been stabbed in the area, and swimming did not make it better. The action required strength of the core, but Hannibal felt it failing. However, the shore was near, rocks and sand becoming more visible. Only a few more laps, and they both would be on dry land. This motivated Hannibal more. The burning of his core gave him the knowledge that it would lessen as soon as he was on the sand. The practical dead weight of Will would be reduced.
Hannibal then noticed that the water became more shallow, replaced by ground. He started to heave his body upward, finding purchase on the soft ocean floor.
He reached the shore.
Hannibal breathed deeply, sitting down. He grabbed Will tightly, attempting to force warmth into him. Hannibal ran his hand through Will's hair, pressing his lips to his forehead. He never wanted to let go of him again. The metaphor of Will as a fragile teacup still held to be true, in Hannibal's opinion. There was a certain beauty to Will, a wisdom, but he had to be conserved. His enigmatic style had to stay intact, or else he'd become totally unhinged. Hannibal only cared about Will's safety.
He pressed Will closer, contemplating what to do next.
Will was drenched, noticeably freezing, and shivering. Hannibal eased off his own shirt, relieved to have the weight of it off of his chest and back. Plus, it was warmer without cold and wet clothes. The act of swimming seemed to have helped him, too, as continuous motion creates heat. He laid the shirt down on the rocks, only now able to wait for it to dry.
Hannibal proceeded to unbutton Will's shirt. It would help to prevent serious hypothermia, which he was now very susceptible to.
There was also the case of a strong possibility of water buildup in Will's lungs. Will still wasn't conscious, leading to another problem.
Hannibal knew what to do in this situation. He was involved in physical medicine for a time, after all. Mustering up enough strength, he struck the side of his hand against Will's back a few times.
Will coughed, and Hannibal felt his stress relieve much more.
More coughing commenced, and Hannibal caressed the side of Will's face.
"You're safe, Will. You're on the shore. We're alive. Is this what you wanted?"
Will gave no reply.
Hannibal massaged Will's shoulders, in attempt to still warm him up more, and to bring him into the present. He found that he had to support Will, who could barely keep himself sitting upwards.
Will, in a seemingly purposeful manner, collapsed down onto Hannibal's legs, though the rest of his body rested on the rocks.
"It could be worse, Doctor Lecter."
Hannibal smiled down at Will. It all could've been a lot worse.
At least they were together. That was all that they both cared about.
"I should've chosen a more landlocked home, shouldn't have I?" Hannibal chuckled. Will scoffed, and a smile arose onto his face.
"You know, you can rest now, Will. I'll find a way to get back over the cliff tomorrow, but I think we're much too weak as of right now. It'll all work out, I promise."
Will nodded and closed his eyes, appearing to immediately slip into unconsciousness. Hannibal slid his hand under the back of Will's head to prop it up, but ran his fingers through the ends of his hair. Hannibal needed Will in this very moment.
Will was all that Hannibal had, and vice versa. It was as simple as that.