On the Mend (Hannibal Fanfiction)

Piece V

Tuesday evening arrived at a snail's pace.

The teacup looked much better once he'd scraped off the excess glue. Will put it back in the box, cushioned it with crumpled-up newspapers, and wrapped it with leftover wrapping paper from when he'd bought a present for Abigail a lifetime ago, during the case of children killing their families. His chest ached thinking about it. The present was still tucked away in his house, never to be delivered to its intended recipient. He couldn't bring himself to get rid of it. It would be like throwing away Abigail, somehow.

He thought about Abigail and about what could've been as he drove to Hannibal's.

Will arrived at Hannibal's house a few minutes early and waited until exactly seven to ring the doorbell. Hannibal was there to open the door and lead him into the foyer. Will shrugged off his jacket, hung it on the coat tree, and then, after a moment's hesitation, set his satchel with the box in it against the wall. Hannibal had weird boundaries, but he wouldn't rifle through what Will had brought with him — not in this scenario, anyway. He would find it rude.

Hannibal gave him a faint smile and led him into the dining room, which was empty.

"Alana is helping me finish up the appetizer, but we will be out shortly," Hannibal said, pulling Will's chair out for him.

Will acknowledged Hannibal's words with a brief twitch of his eyebrows and sat down, unfolding the fabric napkin over his lap. Despite his outward nonchalance, something bitter and annoyed stirred in his gut as Hannibal disappeared into the kitchen. Alana had no idea how much danger she was in. She held the company of a beast but saw only his immaculately-constructed person suit, and the beast encouraged it. Hannibal was blatantly and unrepentantly using her. Just the thought of him touching her, making love to her, made Will want to rip out his throat. Yet he was also irritated with Alana and how little faith she'd had — and continued to have — about his character. Will didn't know which was stronger: his anger and frustration with Hannibal, or his resentment of and frustration with Alana.

When Alana came in, took her seat across from Will, and gave him a restrained smile, he decided he was more angry at Hannibal for driving a wedge between him and everyone else in his life. Maybe Alana wouldn't have drifted so far away from him without Hannibal's machinations. Still, Will couldn't help the sharp stab of annoyance he felt when Hannibal came in to serve the appetizers and Alana gave him a much warmer, fonder smile than the one she'd given Will. He clenched his jaw and refused to give Hannibal more than a brief glance and a gruff, "Looks delicious."

The appetizer passed with stilted pleasantries and silence. When Hannibal left to bring out the main course, Will sipped his wine and avoided looking at Alana. He could feel her eyes on him as she fidgeted with the stem of her wine glass, and he knew what he would see if he made eye contact with her: curiosity, confusion, thoughtfulness, wariness. It left an aching in his gut for what could've been, in another world. The ache was not strong enough for him to regret his current demeanor towards her, however. Maybe if he was cold enough, he could get her to stay away from him and Hannibal permanently.

He told himself it was for Alana's own good. She would be safer and better off without either of them in her life. But he knew that wasn't his only motivation.

Hannibal reentered before Alana could break the silence.

"Parmesan and garlic risotto with roasted shrimp and filet mignon," he said, placing the entrée in front of each of them. "Served with sautéed green beans and morel mushrooms."

"It smells divine," Alana said, smiling at Hannibal.

Will secretly agreed, though he chose not to say so. The dish filled the room with the scent of garlic and sautéed onions, spices and cheese. Hannibal's cooking would truly be perfect if it were not for where he got his meat. Will could feel Hannibal's eyes linger on him and Alana as they took their first bites. As he chewed, he looked up and held Hannibal's gaze.