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Will strolled into the kitchen. Hannibal was standing at the counter, adjusting their camera. Will could feel the smile without seeing Hannibal's expression prickled at his nerves until his heart warmed beyond his control. When he got close enough to the counter to see the display screen, he saw the smile stretched across Hannibal's face. He nuzzled into Hannibal's neck and wrapped his arms around his waist.
They had talked about their anniversary plans extensively over the last few weeks, but having the moment arrive made Will's stomach twist. Hannibal took in Will's scent, and he caught the light traces of fear wafting over him. He brought up a hand to place on Will's forearm. The former psychiatrist had his concerns over their choice of celebration. He was more than sufficiently sure that they would not be jeopardizing anything by spending their anniversary this way.
Hannibal allowed himself the pleasure of feeling the luxurious fabric of Will's shirt under his hand. Will had let him pick out his outfit. Will thought giving Hannibal that to do might keep him from dragging Will through hell and shopping for one together. When he thought about it, seeing Will dressed like Hannibal's doll would be another blow.
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"Hello, Jack, Will, and I just wanted to thank you for bringing us together. " Hannibal looked over at Will and nuzzled into the scruff on his face. He rolled his dark eyes back to the camera and smirked while he teased his tongue across his lips. "Without you, we may be living entirely different lives. "
Will looks into the camera with a wide-eyed gaze and talks into the lens. "You knew that I was a fragile tea-cup, didn't you? Oh, Uncle Jack, you knew just the right man for the job, didn't you? You brought me face to face with the man who would let me drown myself within him. Don't worry; he doesn't allow our personal relationship to interfere with our therapy. Dr.Lecter continues to challenge me.
"This video is one example of Will's ongoing journey. I encouraged Will to reach out to you on several occasions." Hannibal states.
"He did, Jack. I thought that the idea was absurd. I felt that it would be easier for you to consider me dead, as I am legally now. Then I remembered how you introduced us and how you had been such an integral part of our beginnings together that it would only be right to show you what had become of your broken pony. "
Will turned to Hannibal and crashed into him, lip to lip, and threw his arms around him, taking him in a ravenous kiss. Will imagined Jack seeing this, and he pushed his tongue deep into Hannibal's throat and felt the same intensity reflected back to him. Hannibal threaded his fingers through Will's curls and pulled back from the kiss only to feel Will nip at his lip in need.
"Every year, Will and I bake our anniversary cake together, and we wish that you could have joined us this year, Jack. We considered inviting you, but the current state of the world is hardly the time for reunions in person."
Will laughed, wrapped his fingers into Hannibal's, and lifted their hands to show Jack the platinum and bone bands they wore on their left hands.
"I must insist on you taking off your jacket, though, Will, for baking."
Hannibal steps in and helps Will out of his jacket. Will gets their aprons out and puts one around Hannibal's waist. Hannibal motions for Will to turn, and he ties his apron for him and kisses his ear. Will watches intently while Hannibal slowly rolls up the sleeves of his emerald green shirt. Will rolls up his white shirt sleeves and turns to Hannibal.
"Ok, we are ready now, Jack. Will and I will be making a devil's food cake with simple chocolate buttercream frosting. To save some time, we have prepped the dry ingredients into a mix, but we left the wet ones to show you. "
Will holds up a silver metal bowl to the camera. The small bowl is filled with ruby blood. Will smiles a wicked smile and adds the rest of the wet ingredients one at a time, leaving the blood for last. As the blood is slowly poured in, Hannibal stirs it with a whisk, smiling at his husband. Will puts his hand over Hannibal's, and they stir the mix together. The wet ingredients are added to the dry, and the two men hold hands around the whisk handle and work to mix it in.
"Perfection," Hannibal says, "Ok, Jack, It's time for the oven. "
"We have been spending much of our time in isolation baking the most delicious things. Did you know that you can use blood as an egg substitute? There is no need to get eggs when we have plenty of substitute leftovers from our meals. I wish you could join us at our table today, but we concluded that it's just not a good idea in social distancing. You agree, right, Jack?"
"It really is a shame. I hope that you got our wedding announcement. "Hannibal smiles and kisses Will's temple. He runs his left hand through the waves of Will's hair, showing off his wedding band for his former friend.
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Will moves the camera to show Jack the two of them taking their cake from the oven. They carefully place it on the cooling rack, and Hannibal pours them a glass of wine. Will flips off the camera and moves to take Hannibal in his arms.
"Are you sure this is a safe thing to do?" he asks softly, as he nuzzles into Hannibal's shoulder.
"I am fairly certain that it is, but one can never be sure." his husband replies.
"If it falls apart, we know what our plan is. They can't take us into custody."
"That's right, my darling. They will never separate us, cage us, or have us."
"I love you," Will says with glassy teary eyes, and Hannibal kisses his salty tear-stained eyelids and then moves to his plush lips. He licks his way into Will's mouth, and Will grips Hannibal's neck and melts into the kiss.
"The last five years are more than I ever imagined that I would have with you. How shall we celebrate in five more years?" Hannibal asked, brushing soft feather touches to Will's ear and jaw.
"I don't know, we will see."
Hannibal takes Will's hand in his and leads him out the back door and down the wooden walkway to the beach. As they approach, Will grins at the sight of a small firepit ready to go and a burgundy blanket. He starts their fire and slips out of his shoes and lets his feet sink into the soft cool sand. The sky is black with an endless view of stars stretching out as far as they can see.
"What is the fifth wedding anniversary gift?" Will asks.
"Wood," Hannibal replies.
Will blinks and chuckles, "No, what is it, Han?"
"It is wood, as I told you." Hannibal smiles.
"So, is this fire pile my gift?" Will jokes.
"This is not the wood I had intended to gift to you, no."
Will rolls over and pulls Hannibal to him. He smells cocoa and red wine and salty sea air. Hannibal wraps his arms tightly around Will, holding him to his chest. They listen for the syncing of their heartbeats—two beautiful wicked hearts beating in unison in front of the ocean that they survived five years ago.
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Will places the camera at the end of their table and sits down across from Hannibal. Hannibal nods, and Will flips the record button on the remote.
"We just can't thank you enough, Jack, for bringing us together. It's a pity that you can't indulge in this marvelous cake, baked with pure love. Perhaps one day, we will all dine together again. " Hannibal takes the cake slicer, and Will reaches to help him cut through the thick chocolate frosting and the chocolate curls around the edges. They sit with one plate and two forks and proceed to feed one another their anniversary cake on camera for Jack Crawford.
The rush of thinking of Jack's reaction makes Will flush, and he moans at how delicious the cake is.
"OK, Jack, it's been a pleasure sharing this with you, but we have husband business to tend to. Oh, why beat around the bush. The Chesapeake Ripper will take me to bed and fuck me until I forget my alias, and probably my real name as well. Thank you so much for coming into my classroom and borrowing my imagination. Farewell, Uncle Jack. "
Will leans across the table, and Hannibal meets his lips while Will hits the stop button on their cam.