Folie à Trois: a Will X Hannibal

The Courtship...

Narrator's POV

About a week after Franklyn's body was found, a few hours after dinner, Will went down into the basement where his murder suit was waiting and got dressed.

As he began to head out of the house, he noticed Hannibal waiting for him by the front door, "Where are you going, mylimasis?"

"Out." Will replied, "I'd elaborate but I don't want to ruin the surprise. Keep an eye on Tattlecrime in between patients tomorrow."

Before he left, the younger male kissed the older male's lips and went out.

***

The following afternoon, Will was called to a crime scene while Hannibal was still at his office.

"Victim has been identified as Randall Tier." Zeller told Will

Price added, "Worked at the Natural History Society, mostly in skeleton reconstruction."

"Which would explain why he is now attached to the skeleton of a cave bear." Beverley finished

Will then 'did his thing' and imagined the crime once everyone was out of the room, remembering what he had done last night.

"Randall doesn't know me yet, not in this life. He knows not how I have hunted him like the animal he believes himself to be. I render him unconscious by taking him by surprise and began to make my amputations, separating his body parts in order to attach them to the bones of the most similar animal. Now that he is dead, I craft my letter, knowing the intended will read it and appreciate the message. That is my design." Will thinks, the corners of his mouth raised slightly to hint a smile

He relays most of that to Jack once he returns.

"This killer isn't the Ripper or a Copycat —not truly. This killer is paying homage to the Ripper's style in order to grab his attention, this is the same fan." Will informed, his face neutral, "He wants the Ripper to know the letter is for him."

"And what does the letter say?" Jack asked, slightly frustrated that he had two serial killers now

Will turned to the older man, "The pink camellias in his mouth show longing, the heliotropes in the brain symbolize devotion, the hyssops along the stomach shows sacrifice, the white roses in the hands show new beginnings, and the toadflax in the heart basically asks 'please notice my feelings for you'. The killer is writing the Ripper a love letter, the first victim was the greeting, this is the message."

***

Three days later, the body of Matthew Brown, an orderly at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, was discovered crucified and hung in a public swimming pool.

"My victim doesn't know me but he knows of me. He recognizes me but I manage to overpower him and begin my harvesting. First I slit his wrists to let him bleed out like the pig he is and cut off the top of his skull, taking his brain. Then I take his lungs, kidneys and eyes. I then write my reply; that is my design." Will thought as he recreated the scene in his mind

"Is this the Ripper or the admirer?" Jack asked the empath once returning into the room

"This is the Ripper, it's seems he's written his reply." Will replied, "The hydrangeas in the heart show that the Ripper is 'happy to be understood', the lavender roses in the eye sockets show love at first sight, the sweet Williams in the wrists show admiration and the ambrosia in the head show reciprocated love. The Ripper accepts the admirer and wants to set up a line of communication."

"Communication? The last thing we need is a team-up between two psychopaths." Jack furiously say

Will shrugged, "Knowing Freddie Lounds, the article for these killings are probably already on there: that's probably how they are communicating."

***

When Will was finished at the crime scene, he walked right into the older man's office for his Jack-ordained session.

"Seriously, Hannibal, Sweet Williams?" The empath asked as he sat, not even greeting his lover, "You're basically pointing Jack's attention at us."

"My dear boy, during the entire time I have known Jack I have been making cannibal puns and he is yet to notice." Hannibal soothed

Will cradled his head in his hands, "I know, I'm just worried our plan is going to fail horribly. Guilt sticks to me."

Hannibal nodded, "And I am working to insure that you remain innocent in the eyes of others no matter how much guilt you draw."

The younger male nodded, sitting up fully, "Thank you. But, I had an idea for a 'date' tonight."

"Which would be?" Hannibal asked

"Let's show Jack the Ripper and his admirer have teamed up." Will replied

And that's exactly what they did.

Killing the Dragon was just as magical as it was when they had done it last.

Though this time, time did not reset; instead, the lovers could barely stop themselves from making love when they finished their display.

But when they got home, that's exactly what they did.

***

Will sighed happily as he looked up at the corpse of Francis Dolarhyde, his body sore from last night's activities.

The body was displayed in a movie theater, his ribs had been ripped open to resemble wings, his jaw ripped open to turkey look like he was roaring.

This would likely be the final letter, Will related that to Jack, since this letter was addressed to the F.B.I.

"The lotus in the head shows enlightenment, the Myrtle in the ribs symbolize love in marriage, the violets in the mouth shows faithfulness, the amaranth along the wings show immortal love, and the bamboo stabbed through the legs showed longevity." Will interpreted, "This shows the beginning of their partnership."

"A match made in Hell." Beverley commented as she photographed the scene

"Still a better love story than 'Twilight'." Price said with a shrug

Zeller added, "If this is flirting for them I'd hate to see the break-up."

***

The next morning, as Hannibal made breakfast and Abigail was letting the dogs out, Wil read the new Tattlecrime article aloud for his family that was titled, "Murder Husbands? The Crime World's Newest Love Story."

Will had a happy grin on his face as he read the article...