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Chapter Text

When Hannibal had smelled Freddie Lounds on Will, he had realized that Will had lied to him and betrayed him. His Will, the only person he had allowed himself to love after his sisters death decades ago. If it had been anyone else, Hannibal would have slaughtered that liar like a pig, without a second thought. But Will wasn ' t a pig, no matter what he had done.

Hannibal had considered killing and eating Will. He would have stabbed Will and held him in his arms when he was dying. He would have whispered soothing words into Will's ear to help Will to make it all go away and wade in to the quiet of the stream. Afterwards he would have consumed his beloved Will, so that no one else could ever have him.  

But Hannibal couldn´t have brought himself to kill Will, instead he had decided to give Will one last chance to confess his betrayal and run away with him.

Will sat at Hannibal's dinner table, like so many times before. He tried to look normal, but he felt nauseous and couldn't eat anything. The atmosphere was calm, almost too calm, like the moment just before a hurricane.

Hannibal was heartbroken and disappointed in Will. And disappointed in himself, he had believed Will's lies because he had wanted to believe in them. Hannibal had fallen in love with Will at the first sight, when he had met that rude man in Jack Crawford's office. He had thought that he had finally found someone who understood him and accepted him. An equal. For a brief moment he had believed in ideal, before he had smelled betrayal. But he hadn't given up hope. Hannibal knew that Will still couldn't fully embrace his own darkness, and he also had a habit of making decisions at the last minute.

“Is it ideal that Jack die,” Hannibal asked, carefully observing Will.

“It's necessary. What happens to Jack has been preordained,” came out of Will's mouth. His chest felt tight and it was difficult to breath. Will had gone too far this time, and there was no way to prevent the tragedy from happening anymore.  He felt himself torn between Hannibal and Jack. When he had gotten out of the prison, he had yearned for revenge, and made a plan with Jack to entrap Hannibal. But Will had fallen in love with The Chesapeake Ripper. He knew he couldn't kill Hannibal or watch him to die. And he didn't want Hannibal to end up in prison. Will just wanted to be together with him. But he didn't want to kill Jack either. Jack had his own flaws, but he was Will's friend after all. He would have given anything, if he could just turn back time.

“We could disappear now. Tonight. Feed your dogs. Leave a note for Alana, never see her or Jack Crawford again. Almost polite.” Hannibal had decided to give Will an easy way out. No one had to die.

“That would make this our last supper,” Will managed to say. His heart was pounding and he desperately wanted to say yes. But he was sure that Hannibal would never forgive him, if he found out Will's betrayal. Could Will live with that kind of a secret the rest of his life? If he ever confessed to Hannibal, that he had tried to entrap him with Jack, Hannibal would kill him for sure. Running away with Hannibal also meant that he would finally have to accept his own demons. And that scared him like hell.

“Of this life. I am serving lamb,” Hannibal replied.

“Sacrificial?”

“I don't need a sacrifice. Do you?” Hannibal asked looking Will into the eyes.

Will realized that Hannibal knew. “If I confessed to Jack Crawford now, you think he would forgive me?” Will asked carefully.

“I would forgive you. If Jack were to tell you all is forgiven, Will, would you accept his forgiveness?”

That was it. Tears started to fall from Will's eyes. “I'm so sorry. I have lied to you,” Will confessed.

“I know,” Hannibal said and circled the table. For a brief moment Will thought that Hannibal was going to kill him. But instead, he pulled Will into his arms and asked, “Would you run away with me tonight?”

“Yes. I want to run away with you,” Will answered and buried his face in Hannibal's shoulder. He was overwhelmed with emotions and unable to fully understand, what had just happened. He was safe, loved, relieved, mortified and happy beyond belief. “I'm so sorry I lied to you, please forgive me...”

Hannibal took Will's face in his hands and wiped his tears away. “We are going to talk about that later. Finish your dinner before we leave.”

They were in Hannibal's Bentley. Hannibal was driving and Will was processing everything that had happened. He had wondered if someone like Hannibal could actually love anybody. He had been aware that Hannibal liked him and was interested in him. Will had purposefully used those things against him. But now he knew that Hannibal truly loved him, otherwise he wouldn't be alive anymore.

Hannibal had done terrible things to him. Abigail's murder was something Will could never forget and never accept, but even that couldn't prevent Will from loving him. And now Will was about to leave everything behind and devote himself to Hannibal. He didn't even know where they were supposed to run. For one thing Will was sure, he was going to miss his dogs.

“Hannibal, I can't leave without Winston,” Will said. “When I was in prison, Winston kept on running away from Alana and tried to find me.”

“Then we take Winston with us,” Hannibal replied.

Once they arrived in Wolf Trap, they walked together to the riverbank with Will's dogs. Will was looking longingly at the scenery. “I'm going to miss this river, these hills and forests.”

“I will share this scenery with you in my memory palace forever, Will. I can draw this for you from memory, any time,” Hannibal promised.

“Last year a drunken fisherman fell to the river and his body was never found,” Will said looking at the whitewater rapids.

Hannibal instinctively put his hand into his pocket where he held his scalpel. But then Will turned around and walked back to his house.

Will fed his dogs and filled their water bowls. “When I won't show up to work tomorrow morning, they will come here to look after me, and find my dogs” he explained. Then Will sat at his desk and wrote a note for Alana.

Dear Alana,

By the time you read this letter, I will be dead. And so will be Hannibal and Winston. I couldn ' t live with myself after everything I had done. And I couldn ' t leave this world without Hannibal. We were conjoined. And Winston was my most loyal dog. I took them with me and waded in to the river. Please, ask Ms. Lounds not to write about Abigail. She can write about me and Hannibal, but she should leave Abigail alone. Please, take care of my dogs and find good homes for them.

Will packed quickly some clothes into his suitcase and then he was again in Hannibal's car, with Winston this time.

Hannibal placed a hand on Will's thigh and glanced at him, his face unreadable. “You fooled everybody again. Just like that. I must admire you. What a cunning boy you are.”  

“How did you find out?” Will asked in a low voice, looking at his shoes.

“I smelled Freddie's perfume on you. Even your horrendous after shave couldn't hide that smell.”

Will had forgotten Hannibal's extraordinary sense of smell. And maybe it was a blessing, because now things were going better than he would have dared to dream of.

When they arrived to their destination by the sea, Will saw a low white house with large floor-to-ceiling windows. He felt cool sea breeze on his face and could smell the salt in the air, wondering what this place was.

“The bluff is eroding. You and I are suspended over the roiling Atlantic. Soon all of this will be lost to the sea.” Hannibal looked into the water. “Are you planning to drown us for real, Will?”

“No, I'm not. I hope that one day I could get your trust back.”

Hannibal opened the door and Will stepped in. The lights were on and Will was looking around himself. The interior of the house was modern, very different from Hannibal's museum like home in Baltimore. Then Will froze, he couldn't understand what, or whom, he saw. “Abigail…? Is it really you? Are you real?”

“I am real. I'm not a ghost,” Abigail laughed.

Will approached Abigail and hugged her. “Good to see you. Are you ok?”

“I'm all right, and so happy to see you, Will.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” Hannibal said to Will. “Time has reversed. The teacup I have shattered has come together. A place has been made once more in your world for Abigail. A place is made for all of us. Together.”

“What's going to happen? Where are we supposed to go?” Will finally asked, still stunned.

“We are going to travel to Florence tomorrow morning. I have a house there, passports for us and documents for Winston.”

It warmed Will's heart that Hannibal had thought about his dog. “Thank you for arranging everything and also thinking about Winston.”

“I knew you couldn't leave without Winston.”

Hannibal began to cook supper and Will went for an evening walk with Abigail and Winston.

“Where have you been all this time, Abigail?

“I have lived here. And no, he didn't keep me locked up in his basement,” Abigail laughed. “I have spent my days mostly exercising, reading and learning Italian.”

“What do you think about Hannibal? Has he treated you well?”

“I like him. I think we have much in common. And he has treated me well,” Abigail replied.

“Do you know what Hannibal is?” Will asked.

“I know he has killed many more people than my father. And no, I'm not afraid of him. Hunting with my father was the best time I have ever had.” Abigail looked at Will and saw right through him. “I can see that you and Hannibal are like two sides of a coin.”

Will let that sink in. After a long silence he said, “Hannibal took your ear.”

“Yes, he did. I can live with that.” Abigail looked Will in to the eyes and said thoughtfully, “You know Will, some day he might leave scars on you.”

When Abigail had retreated into her room, Hannibal observed Will closely, then patted the couch next to him. “Come. Sit by me.”

Will was almost squirming under Hannibal's gaze. He wasn't afraid of Hannibal, but the look he gave Will, definitely made him uncomfortable.

“I let you know me. I let you see me,” Hannibal said, and Will could hear deep hurt and sadness in his voice.

“You wanted to be seen.”

“By you, Will. A rare gift I've given you. And you used it against me. I deserve better than that.”

“I'm so sorry,” Will apologized.

“You would have denied me my life,” Hannibal accused.

“Not your life.”

“My freedom then. You'd have taken that from me. Confined me to a prison cell.”

“Not anymore. But at first, I wanted to revenge and confine you to a prison cell. Can you really blame me for that? You put me in prison, lied to me about my encephalitis and made me believe that Abigail was dead. You nearly destroyed me. I deserve better than that.”

“I have always wanted what's best for you.” Hannibal really meant that, but Will couldn't believe what he had just heard.

“Don't lie to me, Hannibal!”

“I'm not lying to you Will. I did all of that to help you to accept your own dark side, and because I wanted to share my life with you. I wanted to be able to let you see me. Do you understand?”

“I think I'm beginning to understand now, but that doesn't change the fact that the things you did to me were terrible,” Will replied.

Hannibal pulled Will against his chest. “We should go to sleep now. It's late and we have to leave early in the morning.”

Will was sleeping peacefully, resting his head on Hannibal's chest. Hannibal had circled his arms around Will and held him tightly. He could hardly believe that this was happening. Will had chosen him and they were going to start a new life together with Abigail. He had been so close to destroying his dream and shattering the teacup permanently. Hannibal knew that building trust between them would need a lot of time and effort, but this was a beginning. Their conversation earlier had already cleared the air.

In the airplane Will could finally sigh in relief. He had worried all morning that something would go wrong. But everything had gone according to their plans. Hannibal was now Roman Fell. Will was his husband Leonardo Fell and Abigail was their surrogate daughter Laura Fell. Will knew that life as Hannibal Lecter's husband was not going to be an easy life for him. But he was sure that he had made the right choice.

Chapter Text

Rays from the Italian morning sun shined through the bedroom window when Will woke up. He stretched his sore muscles and smiled happily when he remembered last night with Hannibal. Their sex life was great and Hannibal was an amazing lover. He was able to be so loving, tender and rough, all at the same time. And Will loved every minute of it. He had had some sex partners, both men and women, before Hannibal, but he had always found it difficult to communicate with them and openly tell them what he wanted and enjoyed the most. He had been too embarrassed to talk about his preferences. But with Hannibal it was different, he really encouraged Will to fully embrace all his desires. Will had always been awkward in all kinds of social situations and it was still hard to believe that someone truly wanted him.

Will would have loved to just stay in the bed and dream about Hannibal's touch, but it was time to get up.

He walked to the kitchen where Hannibal was cooking breakfast. Winston was already there too, waiting for food scraps. Will inhaled the delicious smell of fresh coffee beans and food.

“Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well?” Hannibal asked.

“Yes, better than for ages,” Will answered yawning.

Hannibal smiled fondly at him. “I think you should wake Abigail up before she will be late from the lectures. Breakfast is almost ready,” Hannibal said and began setting plates on the table.

They ate chicken cheese frittata and fresh fruits.

“I will be traveling to Rome next weekend with my friends,” Abigail told enthusiastically.

“How long will you be staying there?” Will asked.

“Just two nights,” Abigail answered.

“I'm lecturing on Dante to the Studiolo in the afternoon today,” Hannibal told.

“Sounds appropriately hellish,” Will said with a smirk.

“That sounds interesting, I will come there straight from the university,” Abigail replied.

“I'll meet you at Palazzo Capponi in the afternoon, then,” Will told to Abigail.

They had settled in an Art nouveau style house in Florence. It was smaller than Hannibal's house in Baltimore, but spacious enough for them. Abigail was studying psychology at the university and Hannibal worked as the curator and translator of the Capponi Library. When Abigail was studying and Hannibal was working, Will often made long walks with Winston, and explored the city and the buildings that had been there for centuries.

Abigail was happy with her life. In the past, life had given her hard time, but now everything was fine. Although she was already a young adult, she still wanted to live with Will and Hannibal. She had made new friends, but she knew that Hannibal and Will were the only people who could truly understand her. With strangers and her friends at the university, she was wearing her person suit, but here at home she could be herself. She enjoyed studying psychology and often had interesting discussions with Hannibal. Abigail had a Brazilian black tarantula, called Morticia, as a pet. At first Will had worried how Morticia and Winston would get along, but Morticia spent most of the time in her terrarium and Winston had learned to leave the spider alone.

Hannibal loved his work at Palazzo Capponi and he was happier than he had ever been in his life before. His duties included studying paintings and poems, giving lectures and curating an exposition of Atrocious Torture Instruments. He spent his days surrounded by history, literature, art and beauty. And he loved his family. Will was exquisite and Hannibal practically worshipped him.  But sometimes he wondered if Will would ever love him as much as he loved Will. Hannibal knew that Will was still struggling to accept his true self and he also had persistent nightmares. But fortunately, most of the time Will seemed to be happy.

Will and Abigail sat among the scholars and academics, surrounded by the torture implement exposition at Palazzo Capponi and listened to Hannibal's presentation. Will couldn't get his eyes of Hannibal, so handsome in his impeccable three-piece suit. And his voice…especially when he was talking about those diabolical subjects.

Abigail was observing the ancient torture implements with great curiosity. She decided to come here some day next week and ask Hannibal to tell her more about them.

“I present the case of Pietro della Vigna, whose treachery earned him a place in Dante's Hell. He was disgraced and blinded for betraying his emperor's trust. Dante's pilgrim finds him in the seventh level of the Inferno, reserved for suicides. Like Judas Iscariot, he died by hanging. Judas and Pietro della Vigna are linked in Dante's Inferno”

Hannibal approached Will and placed his hand on Will's shoulder. His touch was gentle but it sent shivers down Will's spine. Hannibal had already forgiven Will a long time ago, but the pain was still there, maybe it would never go away. He never wanted Will to be afraid of him, but he couldn't resist the urge to remind Will, what had been the fate of the betrayers since the ancient times.

“Betrayal and hanging, then, linked since antiquity, the image appearing again and again in art,” Hannibal spoke, indicating an art slide on the drop cloth.

“This is the earliest known depiction of the Crusifixion, carved on an ivory box in Gaul about A.D. four hundred. It includes the death by hanging of Judas, his face upturned to the branch that suspends him. On the doors of the Benevento Cathedral, we see Judas hanging with his bowels falling out. And here, from a fifteenth-century edition of The Inferno, is Pietro della Vigna's body hanging from a bleeding tree. I won't belabor the parallels with Judas Iscariot.”

Hannibal ended his presentation and the audience applauded enthusiastically. Will stood up and headed out with Abigail.

“What did you like Hannibal's presentation?” Will asked Abigail as they walked down the old cobblestone street.

“It was really interesting. I'm almost sad that I'm not a history student,” Abigail replied.

“Do you think he will ever forgive me?”

“He has already forgiven you, and he loves you more than anything, don't worry about that, Will. But he is still hurt, it takes more time to heal.”

Will knew Abigail was right. She had some kind of a sixth sense. The way she quietly observed people, and seemed to know everything about them, made Will think that there was something supernatural in her.

Hannibal stayed at Palazzo Capponi after his presentation and arranged the torture instruments back in their places. He remembered the look in Will's eyes and hoped that he hadn't frightened him too badly. Hannibal hadn't been afraid of anything since he was a child, but the thought of Will leaving him really terrified him.

He was dusting one of the medieval torture devices, when he saw a tall man in his early forties approaching him.

“Anthony Dimmond.” The man offered his hand to Hannibal. “Thank you for your presentation, dr. Fell.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Dimmond.” Hannibal shook his hand. “I guess we haven't met before.”

“No, we haven't. But I knew Roman Fell. I was his TA at Cambridge. Have you ever read his books? They are terrible.”

Hannibal's expression was unreadable as he kept a close eye on Mr. Dimmond.

“Clearly you found Roman Fell as distasteful as I did. Where is he? What happened to him exactly?” Anthony questioned.

“You may have to strap me to the breaking wheel to loosen my tongue,” Hannibal replied.

“We can twist ourselves into all manner of uncomfortable positions just to maintain appearances, with or without a breaking wheel.”

“Are you here to twist me into an uncomfortable position?” Hannibal asked, annoyed. He would have loved to be in his bedroom, twisting Will into uncomfortable positions, instead of discussing with that nosy stranger.

“I am here to help you untwist…to our mutual benefit.”

“If you are free, I would love to have you for dinner tomorrow,” Hannibal said politely.

At home Hannibal cooked supper for Will and Abigail, and told them about his encounter with Anthony Dimmond.

“We have a problem. We have to do something about that,” Will said. It was too painful to even think about losing Hannibal and Abigail.

“Yes, you are right. But now we should go to sleep, you look exhausted,” Hannibal said.

Winston came running to the kitchen when he smelled the food that Hannibal was cooking for dinner. He opened the fridge and gave a juicy bone to the dog. Anthony Dimmond was a problem, a threat to Hannibal himself and his family. It would be practical to kill him in the dining room or in the kitchen. But what if Will would be repulsed by him? He knew that one of the reasons why Will was drawn to him, was the fact that he was The Chesapeake Ripper and Il Mostro di Firenze, but there was a difference between studying his crimes and actually see him committing one. Will had seen what Hannibal did to Mason Verger, and hadn't seem to be bothered by that. But he could never really predict Will or his reactions. And he didn't want to think about, what he would do, if Will tried to leave him. At least the dinner was a chance to get more information about Mr. Dimmond. Keep your friends close and enemies even closer, Hannibal told himself.

Hannibal served snails and some meat. “I've kept cochlear gardens since I was a young man, fattening snails on herbs and vine leaves. What they eat, greatly influences and enhances their flavor.”

“Delicious,” Anthony complimented. “What I'm putting in my mouth?” He asked, when he took a bite of the meat.

“Rabbit,” Hannibal replied.

“It should have hopped faster,” Anthony joked.

“Yes, it should have,” Hannibal agreed.

Abigail, who had been quietly observing their guest, suppressed a laughter. Will tried not to choke on his wine, but managed to keep himself somewhat composed.

“My husband always wants to know where his food comes from,” Will told and flashed a wide smile.

“Do you travel alone, Anthony?” Hannibal asked.

“That's the only way I travel,” Anthony answered.

They kept on chatting and eating. When Anthony had left, Will asked Hannibal in disbelief, “you just let him go?”

“What did you expect me to do then?”

It was a sunny and hot Friday. Too hot to take Winston for a long walk in the middle of the day. The dog was sleeping on the cool tile floor when Will left the house. Abigail was about to travel to Rome next morning and Will went to buy some food and a bottle of wine for himself and Hannibal.  He had just left the grocery store when he saw Anthony Dimmond approaching him. That guy really couldn't understand his own good.

“Hello, nice to meet you again, Leonardo Fell.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Dimmond.” Will tried not to be rude.

“The dinner was lovely. I must confess to a certain curiosity about your husband… I have no delusions of morality, if I had, I would have gone to the police.”

“Good-bye, Mr. Dimmond.” Will tried to end the conversation and began to walk away.

But Anthony kept following him. Will was already really pissed at the moment.

“What happened to genuine dr. Fell?” Anthony asked.

“I don't know,” Will lied.

“Does your husband know?”

“Mr. Dimmond, you really should leave me and my family alone right now,” Will growled.

“Don't get mad. I'm just curious to know, who you are, and who your husband is.”

“Well, if you are so curious, why don't you come with me and find out yourself.”

Will took a wine bottle out of his shopping bag and ushered Anthony inside. Once Will had locked the door behind them, he tried to hit Anthony to the head with the bottle, but Athony was fast and it hit his shoulder instead. Anthony turned around and punched Will hard enough to knock Will off balance. Will ended up on his back and Anthony was choking him on the floor. Abigail saw what happened and grabbed a statue from the side table and began beating Anthony with it. When Winston noticed that Will was in trouble, it came to help and bit Anthony's leg. With Abigail's and Winston's help Will was able to release himself from Anthony's grip. Hannibal heard the noise and rushed out of the kitchen, a knife in his hand. Still on the floor, gasping for air and coughing, Will turned his head, and saw Hannibal stabbing Anthony. Seeing Hannibal, stripped of his person suit, made breathing even more difficult. All Will could do, was to stare at him, enchanted and heart pounding in his throat. He thought that he really shouldn't be getting aroused by what he saw, but there he was.  

“Are you ok? Did he hurt you?” Abigail asked looking at Will's bloodied face.

“I'm ok. Are you?” He asked worriedly.

“I'm fine,” Abigail answered.

There was red wine, blood and glass shreds all over the carpet. Will lifted Winston into his lap and checked his paws, fortunately they were unscathed.

Abigail went for a walk with Winston. It would ease the dog's nerves and Abigail needed a bit of time alone to process what had happened. She went to a park and sat on a bench in the shadow. There wasn't too hot for Winston. She thought about Will and Hannibal and how much her life had changed since meeting them. Her biological father, Garret Jacob Hobbs, had been a murderer and Abigail had always been drawn to macabre. Hannibal was this weird, European old money person, she had learned to know. Lavish dinner parties, operas and travelling abroad had all been new to her, but she had accustomed to the lifestyle. The fact that Will had lured Anthony Dimmond into the trap hadn't surprised her at all. Will was fiercely protective towards his family. And although he didn't want to admit it, Abigail knew that he was as much drawn to the macabre as she was.

Hannibal took Will into the bathroom and cleaned up his bloody nose and split lip. Hannibal's touch was almost too much, Will's skin was on goose pumps and his cock throbbed when he thought about the monster he had just seen.

“These will heal fast,” Hannibal said, relieved that Will wasn't seriously injured and pulled Will into his arms. “Why did you bring Mr. Dimmond to our home?”

Will told Hannibal how Anthony had tried to fish for information and had kept on following Will even after Will had told him to leave them alone.

“Mr. Dimmond was discourteous and too curious,” Hannibal stated, sliding his hand down and cupping Will's crotch. “It seems to me that I have quite an effect on you,” he murmured into Will's ear and pressed Will's back against the wall.

Will thought that there was something wrong with him. He should have been terrified when he had seen Hannibal without his human veil, but instead he was painfully hard.  

“Do you care to tell me what makes you so aroused at the moment?” Hannibal asked, knowing fully well what it was. He had seen how Will looked at him when he killed Mr. Dimmond. But Hannibal wanted to hear Will saying it.

“You, your hands and your voice,” Will told the half-truth, rubbing his erection against Hannibal's thigh, desperate for friction.

Hannibal gripped Will's hips, preventing him from moving. “I think you are not telling me the whole truth now, Will,” he snarled.

The dangerous look in Hannibal's eyes made Will's cock leak and he tried to wiggle his hips in Hannibal's grip, but he just couldn't bring himself to admit the truth. All his life he had tried so hard to be normal.

“We have to cook dinner before the meat spoils,” Hannibal said and took a step back.

“But I need to…” Will let out a shocked whimper. He knew he sounded pathetic, but he couldn't help himself.

“Come with me to the kitchen, we have plenty of work to do. And then we need to talk” It took all of Hannibal's self-control, but he wasn't going to give Will what he wanted. Not now when Will wasn't telling the truth.

Damn, Hannibal was cruel, Will thought, but he knew that there was no point in arguing with him.

They prepared liver pâté, Sanguinaccio Dolce for dessert and sausages for Winston. Hannibal's sleeves were rolled to his elbows and Will couldn't get his eyes off him when he was meticulously chopping the meat. It was impossible to focus on anything else than staring at Hannibal's forearms and Will almost cut his finger with a knife.

“Be careful, Will, don't hurt your hands,” Hannibal said in a soft voice.

Abigail came back home with Winston just before the dinner was ready, and fed some meat for Morticia before putting their bloodstained clothes into the washing machine.

After eating liver pâté, Will lay on his back on the couch in the living room and rested his head in Hannibal's lap.

“I tried to kill Mr. Dimmond,” Will said.

“How did that make you feel?” Hannibal asked gently, tucking a curl behind Will's ear.

“I just did what I had to do. I told him to leave us alone, but he didn't listen.”

“You ate his liver half an hour ago, Will. And now you are telling me, you just did what you had to do.”

Will decided to be honest. “I feel like I missed an opportunity, when I hit his shoulder with the bottle, instead of his head.”

That sounds interesting, Hannibal thought. “And how did you feel when I stabbed him to death?”

Will's cheeks were burning and his voice low. “I was so excited to see you without your person suit,” Will confessed. “But I shouldn't feel this way.”

“You delight in wickedness and then berate yourself for the delight.”

Will considered that, and he realized that Hannibal was right.

“Sometimes I just wish I was normal,” Will said.

“I love you the way you are, Will.”

“I love you too.”

Chapter Text

They woke up early in the morning and ate breakfast together before Abigail travelled to Rome with her friends. Will and Hannibal had the rest of the weekend for themselves. Before lunch Will took Winston for a long walk and fed Morticia.

Hannibal was cooking oysters with acorns for lunch and his lips turned into a smile when he thought about his plans for Will. In their sex life Will let Hannibal take the lead and have his way with him. The amount of trust Will had in him almost melted Hannibal's heart. Will's trust was something he definitely couldn't take for granted. Will had opened up to Hannibal about his fantasies, which he hadn't dared to tell anyone else before, afraid that people would find him weird. But Hannibal had encouraged Will to talk more about what he liked and disliked.

When Will walked into the kitchen, Hannibal kissed him passionately and lifted him on the counter top. Soon Will's heart was racing and his breathing became heavy. Hannibal knew that Will had been somewhat worked up since yesterday. And his own self-control had really been put to test. He had wanted so badly to fuck Will in the bathroom after cleaning his wounds. Hannibal groped Will's crotch through his jeans at first, then slid his hand into his boxers. When Hannibal broke the kiss and pulled his hand away from Will's cock, he whined in frustration.

“Already hard and desperate. And we have barely begun,” Hannibal murmured into Will's ear.

He took Will's hand and guided him to the dining room.

“You are serving me oysters, acorns and Marsala for lunch,” Will wondered.

Hannibal watched, amused, as Will squirmed in his seat.

“Are you uncomfortable, Will?”

“Yes, I am, and you know that without asking.” Will groaned.

“Good, I like you that way,” Hannibal said. “Finish your lunch before it gets cold.”

Will's erection was straining against the fabric of his jeans. He was already fully hard and Hannibal's words made his cock leak.

They washed the dishes together and Will almost dropped a plate on the floor when Hannibal wrapped his arm around Will's waist and cupped his crotch.

“Hard and aching, aren't you? I'm planning to keep you like that as long as I possibly can.”

Will knew that Hannibal always kept his promises and that made his cock swell even more.

Hannibal took Will to the living room. He unbuttoned Will's shirt and trailed his fingers along Will's spine.  Will let out a moan, when Hannibal pulled his jeans and boxers down.

“You look so handsome like this,” Hannibal praised and stared at Will's naked body like he was something to eat. 

Hannibal sat on the couch, his back against the armrest and his legs spread. “Come here.” He patted the cushion between his legs.

Will climbed there, leaning his back against Hannibal's chest.

Hannibal trailed his hands up Will's inner thighs, avoided touching his cock and lightly caressed Wills belly with his fingertips. That made Will to squirm, but Hannibal wrapped his arms around him and held him in place. He took his time, caressing Will's bare skin, occasionally bringing his hands close to Will's swollen cock, just to pull them away again. 

“Please touch me,” Will whimpered.

“Already begging. But I am touching you right now,” Hannibal teased.

“I'm sure that you know, where I want you to touch me.”

“Tell me, Will, where you want me to touch you.”

“Please, touch my cock,” Will begged shamelessly.

Hannibal began to stroke Will's erection. When he was about to come, Hannibal pulled his hand away and held Will tightly in his arms. He repeated the edging until Will was a flushed and sobbing mess.

Will tried to buck his hips up. He was so close to orgasm, but Hannibal just held him against his chest.

Then Hannibal grabbed Will's cock in his hand and began to stroke the swollen tip with his thumb. The sensation was almost unbearably intense and Will tried to squirm away from the touch, but there was nowhere he could get.

“Sensitive?” Hannibal asked and brought his hand up Will's chest and took a nipple between his fingers and kissed Will's neck.

“Everything is sensitive, please…please”

Hannibal brought his hand back to Will's throbbing cock and caressed the leaking tip with his thumb again. Will sobbed and squirmed and clenched his hands into fists.

 Hannibal  held Will in his lap, waiting his breathing to even out, before he lifted Will up from the couch and took him to the dining room and pushed Will on the dining table.

He stood between Will's legs, gripped his hips and pinned him against the table. He admired Will for a moment, he looked so perfect like this. On his back, knees bent and legs spread, skin flushed and sweaty, cock twitching and leaking precum.

Hannibal kissed Will's inner thighs and sucked the sensitive skin there. Will's legs shivered when he fondled Will's balls in his hand, the other hand still pinning Will against the table. Finally, Hannibal took Will's cock in his mouth and sucked.

“I´m going to come,” Will moaned.

Hannibal wrapped his fingers around the base of Will's cock and squeezed tightly, almost painfully.  “No, you are not going to come. Not for a long time.”

Will let out a shocked gasp and squirmed in Hannibal's grip. His cock was aching and he needed to come.

“Don't move.” Hannibal ordered and stepped away from Will. He sat on a chair, still fully dressed, and took his sketchbook in his lap. “You are to stay completely still while I'm drawing you.”

“You truly are the Devil,” Will groaned.

“The Devil has been here since people began to think and dream. I have existed a much shorter time.”

“I wouldn't be so sure. I think you are old enough to be the Devil himself.”

“You are rude, William. What's to be done about that?” Hannibal grinned wickedly.

“Please…please…I won't be rude…”

Hannibal was drawing Will and looking at him like he was something otherworldly, so perfect like this, desperate to come and slightly shivering. Doing his best to stay still. Will's eyes where closed, a couple of tears escaped from behind his eyelids. His skin was flushed and glistened in sweat. His cock swollen and red, leaking precum.

Will knew that he could stop this torment any time, if he truly wanted to. Hannibal never violated his consent. But the truth was, that he was enjoying this as much as Hannibal. Or even more, if that was possible. And the reward he would get was always worth waiting. But it was fucking difficult to stay still, when all he could think about, was the almost unbearable pressure in his groin.

Once Hannibal's drawing was ready, he run his hands up and down Will's body, caressing the flushed skin. “I have no words to describe how perfect you are,” he said in a hoarse voice.

Hannibal grabbed Will's aching cock in his hand and rubbed the swollen tip with his thumb once again, pinning Will against the table with one hand.

“Still sensitive?” he asked.

“Please, let me come…please…please…stop torturing me… My cock fucking hurts.”

“Soon,” Hannibal promised and licked the precum from Will's belly. “You taste so good. I could devour you.”

When Hannibal took Will's cock in his mouth, it didn't take long before Will's muscles clenched, his toes curled and he came hot and thick.

Will's mind was hazy and his muscles felt like they had turned to jelly.

Hannibal kissed Will and let him rest on the table a moment before carrying Will to the bed. He undressed quickly and took the lube from the drawer. Hannibal thought that Will's ass looked even more perfect than usually, when he lay on his stomach on the bed.

Hannibal pushed one lubed finger into Will's hole, then two fingers. Hannibal had an excellent self-control, but he really had to restrain himself. Nobody else had ever had this strong effect on him. Will's cock began to harden again when Hannibal's fingers brushed over his prostate. Hannibal took his time to prepare Will before adding third finger. Will was fully hard again and rubbed his cock against the sheets.

“Please, fuck me,” Will begged.

Hannibal applied lube on his dripping cock and pushed deep into Will. He didn't last long before reaching his orgasm. Hannibal grabbed Will's cock and pumped it a couple of times before Will came the second time.

They lay on the bed, panting.

“Would you like me to run you a bath?” Hannibal asked after a while.

“No, thank you. I'm too tired,” Will answered.

Hannibal got up and brought a bottle of water and Sanguinaccio Dolce with berries and biscuits for Will. The dessert was like pudding when Hannibal took it from the fridge. They ate together and Hannibal cleaned Will with a towel.

“I'll take care of Winston,” Hannibal said and dressed. I'll be back soon. He took Winston for a short evening walk and fed the dog before returning to the bed. He pulled Will against his chest. It had felt bad to leave Will alone even for a short time, but the dog had needed it's walk and food.

“How are you feeling? Was something too much?” Hannibal asked.

“Everything was amazing,” Will said and smiled happily. “And thank you for taking care of Winston.” Will knew he was going to fall asleep soon.

“I think one day I'll hang my drawing on the dining room wall, so that all our dinner guests can admire you while eating,” Hannibal said with an evil grin.

“You wouldn't do that. You would eat anybody who would dare to lay their eyes on me,” Will said.

Hannibal knew that Will was right.

Chapter Text

Will was in Hannibal´s kitchen in Baltimore, sitting at the floor, back against the cabinets. The black stag was dying on the floor in front of Will and there was blood and glass shreds everywhere. Suddenly Abigail appeared out of nowhere, her skin was pale and she was wearing a white night gown stained in blood. “He gave you a chance to take it all back, and you just kept lying,” Abigail cried. When Will tried to reach a hand to touch Abigail, she disappeared like smoke in the air. Blood was pooling and rising around Will and he was desperately gasping for air, soon he was going to drown…

Will woke up soaking in sweat, eyes glazed and wide. The nightmare had been so vivid, that it took a moment for him to understand that he was at home in Florence.

“You are safe now. You had a nightmare again.” Will heard Hannibal's soothing voice and realized that his husband was next to him.

He curled his arms and legs around Hannibal and clung to him.

“If some day you want to tell me, what you see in those nightmares, I will listen.”

Will didn't answer anything. He didn't want Hannibal to psychoanalyze his dreams. Sometimes he had considered talking with Abigail about his nightmares, but he had told himself that he didn't want to frighten her. The truth was that Will was too afraid to hear what Abigail would tell him. Sometimes her skills terrified him.

“Why don't you take a shower, while I cook breakfast,” Hannibal suggested after a while.

Delicious smell of honey, herbs and coffee came from the kitchen when Will had showered. It was like any other morning. Days had become weeks and weeks had become months. Hannibal worked and Abigail studied. They went to operas and art galleries and sometimes arranged a dinner party.  Three months ago, they had killed Anthony Dimmond. After that no one had bothered them.

“Would you like to come with me to a party tonight?” Hannibal asked Will and Abigail while they were eating breakfast. “There will be mostly my colleagues.”

“Sure, but then I have to buy a new handbag,” Abigail replied.

“Soon we are going to have to buy a warehouse for your handbags,” Will laughed. He hated parties and small talk with strangers, but he loved to spend time with Hannibal and Abigail, so he agreed to go with them.

Abigail looked stunning in her blood red dress and high heels. She had her new handbag and a necklace that had once belonged to Hannibal's aunt. She looked confident, not at all that shy girl she had once been. Abigail had studied at the university long enough that she was no more uncomfortable in situations like this, surrounded by academics.

Hannibal was dancing with Will when professor Sogliato interrupted them. “Dr. Fell, I hope you translate as well as you dance.” Sogliato was staring at them disdainfully. “I think you might hold in your non-Italian hands a note from Dante Alighieri himself without even recognizing it.”

“Didn't you hear my husband lecturing on Dante a couple of months ago?” Will asked.

“No, I didn't.” Sogliato sounded as arrogant as he looked.

Will took a glass of champagne. “I have to get Hannibal away from that man right now,” he whispered to Abigail.

“Dantes first sonnet fascinated Cavalcanti. The eating of the heart is a powerful image.” Will heard Hannibal saying to Sogliato, and pulled his husband to the dancefloor before anything disastrous could happen.

“Foreigners and faggots,” Sogliato muttered to himself.

Will heard the slur and he was sure that also Hannibal had heard it. He was thinking that Sogliato was remarkably stupid for a professor.

“Would you dance with me, professor Sogliato?” Abigail smiled politely, already knowing what Sogliato's fate would be. That man really disgusted her, but she was able to hide it remarkably well.

After the party Hannibal, Will and Abigail were sitting together in their living room. Winston was chewing a bone on the floor and Morticia was resting on Abigail's arm. She was so happy that no one in their family was afraid of her eight-legged furry friend.

“Sogliato is discourteous. And discourtesy is unspeakably ugly to me,” Hannibal explained to Will and Abigail.

“Are you thinking about eating him?” Will asked.

“Whenever feasible, one should always try to eat the rude,” Hannibal replied.

“Free-range rude,” Abigail giggled.

“Would you join me at the table?” Hannibal asked.

“I would,” Abigail answered immediately.

“I'm not going to kill anybody with you just because they are rude,” Will stated. “Don't force me to participate in something I'm not comfortable with.”

“I'm not going to force you into anything,” Hannibal promised. It wasn't easy for him to admit that he had done something wrong. But he knew that he had pushed Will entirely too hard and treated him terribly in the past, and he tried to avoid repeating his mistakes.

At the moment Will was so distressed that he couldn't handle it anymore. He got up, put his shoes on and stormed out of the door with Winston. After walking around the streets about two hours, he came back home. Will went to bed, turned his back to Hannibal and tried to get some sleep.

In the morning Will told Hannibal that he was going hiking with Winston. When Will needed time alone, he drove up north and spent a couple of days hiking on the mountains with his dog. Walking out in the nature always cleared his mind.

Hannibal packed dried meat for Will and Winston. “Protein-rich snacks are essential for muscle repair and recovery,” he reminded.

“Thank you,” Will said and put the human meat snacks into his backpack.

Once Will was in his car with Winston, he took his phone and bought a train ticket to Paris. He rubbed his forehead with his hand and tears were burning in his eyes. He knew that he could never go back to his old life. But he wondered if he could start a new life somewhere once again. What if he could be normal after all?  Abigail was an adult and seemed to get along with Hannibal really well. Will knew that he would break both Abigail's and Hannibal's heart, but the urge to escape his own demons was too strong.

At the train station Will looked at his phone. Abigail had sent him a message.

Have a nice trip. Hope you come back home soon. We already miss you.

The Paris train pulled out of the station slowly and Will watched it go.

Hannibal had prepared lomo saltado for dinner. Abigail was eating with him.

“Should we have Professor Sogliato for dinner while Will is hiking in the Alps?” Abigail asked.

“Maybe we should.”

“Would you prepare heart tartare for me?”

“We are going to prepare it together, Abigail.”

Abigail looked at Hannibal. He looked as composed as always, but she could tell that he was worried. “Will is still struggling and conflicted sometimes, but he always chooses us, Hannibal.”

“I know,” Hannibal replied.

Next evening Professor Sogliato sat at Hannibal's dinner table.

Hannibal placed food before Abigail and their guest. “Purple artichokes served with lamb's liver, lungs and heart.”

“The meat is delicious, you must have a really good butcher,” Sogliato complimented.

“He has,” Abigail said with a charming smile.

“I first prepared this dish when I lived here in Florence as a young man. But I have perfected the recipe over the years,” Hannibal told to their guest.

“Oh, I didn't know you have lived here when you were young, Dr. Fell.”

“I lived here twenty years ago and fell in love with the city.”

Hannibal brought a cocktail shaker, block of ice and an ice pick from the kitchen. He smashed the ice to chips and put it into cocktail glasses. “Punch Romaine, a cocktail served to first-class guests on the Titanic during their last dinner.”

Abigail kept a close eye on their guest as they enjoyed their cocktails. Her face gave nothing out when Hannibal took the ice pick in his hand and killed Sogliato.

They chopped the meat and prepared heart tartare together. Hannibal loved to teach Abigail to cook. She listened to his instructions and was learning fast.

Hannibal salted one arm and hung it from the kitchen ceiling. “When this will be ready, we will have excellent home-cured ham.”

“I will eat dinner with you tomorrow after the lectures,” Abigail said and put the heart tartare into the fridge.

Will had been hiking with Winston and now it was time to return home. He knew that he could never live without Hannibal and Abigail. But his life as Hannibal's husband wasn't always just sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes it was painful as hell. What if Hannibal would stop loving him because he couldn't be what Hannibal wanted? Or if he would still try to manipulate Will like he had done before? But he remembered how he had chosen this life, knowing it wouldn't be always easy for him.

When Will arrived home, Hannibal and Abigail were preparing dinner in the kitchen. There were onions, dried herbs and an arm hanging from the ceiling and a bone broth was boiling on the stove.

“Good to see you, darling. Welcome back home. Food will be ready soon,” Hannibal said and hugged Will.

“Which one of you provided the meat?” Will asked curiously.

“I did,” Hannibal answered.

They ate together in silence.

After the dinner Will sat on the balcony, deep in his thoughts, and looked at the full moon in the night sky. The street was quiet, completely different from summer days when there were tourists everywhere. The only noise Will heard was a dog barking somewhere far away.

Hannibal brought an old wooden box, a teapot and two cups with him as he joined in Will's company.

“How was your hiking trip?” Hannibal asked.

“Good. I had time to sort out my feelings.”

“I'm happy to have you back home with me, Will.”

“Where else would I go?” After a moment of silence Will confessed, “first time I considered leaving, but I realized I could never leave. I belong here with you. Sometimes everything just feels too much to handle.”

“Did you believe you could change me the way I have changed you?”

“I already have. But I'm not trying to change everything in you.” Will replied.

Hannibal let that sink in, he realized that Will was right.

“Will, I know I haven't always treated you well, but I have done my best to change that.”

“You let me see you. You let me know you. And I left everything behind and willingly devoted myself to you, Hannibal, because I love you.”

“Love is a mutually unspoken pact to ignore the worst in one another to continue enjoying the best,” Hannibal said.

Will thought about the nightmare that kept haunting him. “Thank you so much for giving me a second chance.”

“I should thank you for being here with me,” Hannibal replied.

They sat there together, drinking tea and watching the night sky.

“William, would you allow me to mark you as mine, so that you will always remember where you belong to?” Hannibal asked and took an old dagger out of the box.

Will looked at the sharp blade and a silver handle with wide eyes.

“This dagger belonged once to my grandfather. I brought it with me all the way from Lithuania,” Hannibal told.

Will touched the blade carefully, it was as sharp as it looked. His hand shivered a bit when he anticipated what was about to happen.

“I don't intend to harm you,” Hannibal promised

“I know, please, mark me as yours.”

Hannibal stood up. “Come to me, Will”

Will stepped close to Hannibal, keeping eye contact.

Hannibal took a firm hold of Will's hair and bent his head back, exposing his neck. He opened Will's skin with the dagger, careful not to cut too deep, and began to kiss the wound. The sweet and coppery taste of Will's blood nearly made Hannibal to lose control. He buried his teeth in Will's neck and sucked his blood.

Will was overwhelmed with sensations and his knees went week. He grabbed Hannibal's shoulders to prevent himself from falling to the floor. It was painful and it was something else that Will didn't find words to describe.

“Why did you stop?” Will whined in disappointment when Hannibal finally pulled away from his neck.

“If I wouldn't have stopped now, then I wouldn't have been able to stop at all,” Hannibal growled.

He held Will in his arms and pressed the wound with his hand to stop the bleeding.

“I have to clean this, so that it won't infect. When the wound heals, it will leave you a scar. Every time you see that scar, you will remember who you belong to.”

Will steadied his breathing and waited for his hands to stop shaking before he asked, “would you let me do the same to you, Hannibal?”

“Of course, I belong to you as much as you belong to me” Hannibal answered and placed the dagger in Will's hand.

Will watched Hannibal and the blade in his hand before cutting, then brought his hand to Hannibal's neck and touched the wound. “It looks black in the moonlight,” he said looking at Hannibal's blood on his fingers. Will began to kiss, suck and bite Hannibal's neck like a starving vampire.

After several minutes Hannibal grabbed Will's chin and forced eye contact. “Let's go back inside and I'll clean our wounds.”

Chapter Text

When Hannibal woke up, Will was still sleeping, his cheek against Hannibal's chest. Hannibal had wrapped his arms tightly around Will. They slept like this most of the nights. Just like the night at the cliff house, when Hannibal had forgiven Will and Will had decided to forgive Hannibal everything he had done to Will. Hannibal thought once again how much he loved Will and how lucky he was to have him here in his arms. He kissed the scar on Will's neck, like he had done every morning during the last months. Will opened his eyes, yawned and stretched his arms and legs.

“Good morning, Will,” Hannibal said and kissed his neck again.

“Good morning, Hannibal.” Will brought his hand to Hannibal's neck and trailed his fingers along the scar he had carved there.

When they got up, Will went for a walk with Winston while Hannibal cooked breakfast.

“We have a party with my friends tonight. I'm going to Sofia's house after the lectures and I think I won't come back home before tomorrow morning,” Abigail said.

“Have fun. If you come home in the middle of the night, you can find something to eat from the fridge,” Hannibal replied.

Sofia was Abigail's closest friend at the university. They often went to movies, parties and shopping together.

Hannibal had some work to do at Palazzo Capponi, but he told to Will that he would be back home at the lunchtime.

After Abigail and Hannibal had left, Will decided to clean the house. They had cleaned together only a couple of days ago, but there was already Winston's hair on the floor.

Will thought about Hannibal. He was such a loving and caring husband, but also a ruthless monster and a murderer. And Will knew that he belonged here, living with Hannibal behind the veil. He noticed that he hadn't had nightmares in months. He had followed Hannibal into the darkness and found peace there.

After dusting the carpets and vacuuming the floors, Will went for a run with Winston. It was a cool winter day, a perfect weather to run with a dog.

By the time they arrived back home, Hannibal was cooking chicken soup for lunch. He couldn't resist the urge to grope Will's gorgeous ass through his sports pants. Then he turned Will around and pushed him against the wall. Will felt like he couldn't breathe and his knees went shaky when Hannibal grabbed his hair and kissed him roughly.

“I could eat you right now,” Hannibal growled, sliding his other hand to Will's groin and gripping his cock. And then he stepped back and began stirring the soup, like nothing had happened.

Will leaned against the wall, panting and wiping the sweat from his face. Hannibal had this ability to pretend to be unaffected and that was driving Will crazy.

When the soup was ready, Hannibal sat at the table next to Will. Despite being hungry after cleaning the house and running with Winston, Will was too distracted to eat. His cock was throbbing and he wanted Hannibal to touch him.

Hannibal slipped his hand under the table and pinched Will's inner thigh, hard enough to make him wince. “Stop squirming, and eat your food,” he commanded.

Will groaned, but ate his soup obediently while Hannibal gently caressed his thigh.

“You need a bath,” Hannibal said after they had eaten and washed the dishes.

Will agreed, he was still wearing his sweaty sports clothes. He was surprised that Hannibal hadn't considered it rude to eat lunch dressed like that.

Will was sipping champagne in the bath while Hannibal washed his hair. He closed his eyes when Hannibal gently rubbed his scalp with his fingers and spread shampoo. He was painfully hard and desperately needed relief.

Will wrapped his hand around his swollen cock, but Hannibal immediately grabbed his wrists.

“No.” Will heard Hannibal's sharp voice. Being denied just made his cock throb even harder.

“Patience, darling,” Hannibal murmured and kissed Will's neck.

After the bath they were resting together on the couch. The fireplace was warming the room but Will's skin was on goosebumps. Hannibal was reading a book and occasionally slided his hand under Will's bathrobe, caressing his flushed skin.

Will's cock was leaking precum and he wiggled his hips, desperate for friction.

“Is my cunning boy horny?” Hannibal whispered and cupped Will's crotch.

“Please, please, I need…” Will begged incoherently.

“Later,” Hannibal said pulling Will against his chest and gently tugged his earlobe with his teeth.

In the evening, they ate dinner and went for a walk together with Winston. They walked down the old cobble stone streets hand in hand and Hannibal told Will stories about the buildings, bridges and parks they saw. He still loved to show Florence to Will. The cool night air felt good on Will's heated skin. He loved to listen to Hannibal's voice and his stories but at the moment he was too aroused to properly concentrate in anything.

After the walk they fed Morticia and Winston and retreated into their bedroom.

Hannibal stripped Will and pushed him on the bed on his back. He ran his hands up and down Will's body and planted kisses on his chest and shoulders. Will was moaning and squirming under Hannibal's touch. Hours on edge had made him even more touch starving than he usually was. He shifted and tried to rub his erection against Hannibal.

“Stay still when I'm touching you, or I'll tie you up and leave you aching for the rest of the night,” Hannibal growled with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Please, don't,” Will sobbed, but forced himself to stop moving.

Hannibal raked his nails up Will's inner thighs and fondled his aching balls in his hand. He licked Will's erection teasingly and then kissed Will's lips and caressed his sensitive skin with his fingertips.

Will's cock was twitching and leaking precum and Hannibal wondered if Will could come from just this touching.

Hannibal admired Will's handsome body for a moment, then lubed his fingers, spread Will's legs wide and pushed one, then two fingers into Will's hole. After preparing Will, Hannibal fucked him until they were lying in the bed, panting and completely sated.

Hannibal brought Will a glass of water and fruits with prosciutto. They ate and took a quick shover together before going to sleep.

It was a peaceful Saturday morning when they woke up.

“Did you enjoy last night?” Hannibal asked.

“Yes, very much,” Will replied smiling.

Abigail had returned home early in the morning and came out of her room still wearing a night gown.

“Did you have fun at the party?” Will asked.

“Yes,” Abigail replied yawning.

Hannibal brought her a cup of strong espresso and a painkiller. “This should help your hangover,” he said grinning.

They ate tortilla sacromonte and fresh fruits. Abigail and Will still wondered how vegetables and fruits could be so delicious here.

After the breakfast and a morning walk with Winston they were relaxing and spending time together. Hannibal played piano. Abigail lay on the couch, Morticia resting on her shoulder. And Will was reading news on his laptop with Winston sitting in his lap.

“Four female students of the University of Florence have been attacked. A man, in his late twenties or early thirties, had broken into the student dormitory yesterday in the evening,” Will read aloud. “The attacker had brown hair and average body type. Witnesses had described his face goodlooking but difficult to remember. The police don't have any suspects yet."

”That don't surprise me at all,” Hannibal said. “La Questura di Firenze is not particularly effective. They still have the window of their laboratory garlanded with garlic to keep out evil spirits.”

“Some of my friends have told that a man has followed them after the lectures. Is it the same guy?” Abigail wondered.

“It probably is the same guy,” Will said grimacing.

“Take this and keep it with you all the time from now on.” Hannibal gave Abigail a scalpel. “If someone sees it and asks something, tell them that you like to sharpen your pencils with it.”

On Sunday morning Abigail left the house in a hurry. “Sofia is in trouble,” she said and took her coat and handbag before rushing out of the door.

She came back home when Hannibal was cooking lunch. “Smells delicious,” Abigail said, looking distracted. “Sofia had a date yesterday with a guy called Ted. He had told Sofia that he was studying biology at the university and that he was from Britain. He was older than most students, but he had seemed to be a nice guy. But when he was alone with Sofia, he had drugged her and attacked her. I'm sure he's the same guy who attacked the other students.

“Did Sofia call the police?” Will asked.

“No, she didn't. I told her she should. She blames herself for trusting Ted and doesn't want anybody except me to know what happened. I told her it's not her fault that she was attacked,” Abigail said.

“She really should call the police.” Will let out a frustrated sigh. “Sofia is no more at fault for what happened to her than if she had been bitten by a mad dog.”

“Mad dogs are put down,” Abigail replied.

Next Friday Abigail came home in the evening. “Will! Hannibal!” She shouted from the foyer. Both men came running to her. “I saw Ted,” Abigail panted. “He followed me when I walked here from the restaurant, where I was spending time with my friends.” Abigail still held the scalpel in her hand. “I started running and I think he got lost, but I'm sure he was the same guy.”

Will and Hannibal both hugged Abigail. “We are so happy that you are ok,” they whispered.

“I would love to have Ted for dinner,” Will said in a cold tone.

“Yes, we definitely should have him for dinner,” Hannibal replied.

“Ted is on the menu,” Abigail laughed. “I could invite him here.”

“Abigail, I don't like the idea that you approach that scumbag. He is dangerous. We should make a different plan,” Will said worriedly.

“I can take care of myself. I'm not some fragile teacup!”

“I know you can, but please, promise to call me before you approach him,” Will pleaded.

“I promise.”

Next day Abigail went to the same restaurant, where she had met her friends yesterday. She had been right. Ted, or whatever his real name was, sat at a table alone and pretended to look at his laptop. Abigail ordered a cappuccino for herself and texted to Will. After about ten minutes Will sent Abigail a message that he waited in his car outside the restaurant.

Abigail approached Ted.

“Hi. May I sit here?” Abigail asked. “You look somehow familiar. Have we met before?” Abigail asked.

“I'm not sure,” Ted managed to say. He was getting a bit nervous if the young woman knew something.

“My name is Laura Fell. I'm studying psychology at the university. Maybe we have met there.”

“I think I might have seen you at the university. I'm studying biology there. And my name is Ted.”

They kept talking about studying, movies and hobbies.

After about half an hour Ted made his move. “Would you come to my place. It would be nice to get to know you better. I have wine there. We could drink and spend the evening together.”

“Actually, I would like to invite you for dinner. My father is an excellent chef.” Abigail smiled at Ted. “After the dinner my parents will go to the opera, so we can spend the rest of the night there, just the two of us,” Abigail lied. “My father's basement is full of wine bottles. I think you should really see that place.”

That girl seemed like an easy prey, Ted was thinking. But he was a bit hesitant because her parents would see his face and could recognize him later. But maybe he could kill them all if needed.

“Would you join me if I ask my dad to pick us up?” Abigail asked.

Ted didn't want to miss an opportunity. “Yes, thank you for an invitation,” Ted answered.

Abigail called Will and after five minutes they were in Will's car.

Hannibal took Ted's coat in the foyer and closed the door behind them. “Take a seat, please. Dinner is ready in a couple of minutes.”

They were eating and chatting but Ted sensed there was something weird and threatening in this family. He couldn't point out what it was exactly, but he could definitely feel the diabolical atmosphere. Like they were all cursed or something. Laura had seemed like an easy prey, but now she looked like a witch in her gingerbread house when she quietly observed him with piercing eyes. Ted felt like the hunter had become the hunted.

“Oysters, acorns and Marsala. That's what ancient Romans would feed animals to improve their flavor,” Hannibal told about the food he was serving.

“My husband has quite a sophisticate palette. He's particular about how people taste,” Will said.

“Is it that kind of party?” Ted asked. Wow, this family was really interesting, he thought.

“Yeas, it is that kind of party,” Will said, his face unreadable.

Hannibal looked amused. “It definitely is that kind of party.”

Abigail tried to suppress a laughter.

Suddenly Hannibal placed a small cardboard box on the table. “Ted, would you mind explaining me why you had date-rape drugs in your pocket?”

“Those are not mine. I don't know anything about them,” he lied in panic. Then he turned to look at Abigail. “Why did you invite me here?”

“To kill you,” Abigail answered honestly.

Before Ted could process, what he had just heard, Hannibal, Will and Abigail had circled him. Ted looked at them and then he looked at his empty plate in horror.

“Don't worry. I didn't poison you, Ted. I would never do that to food,” Hannibal said.

Ted grabbed a fork and lunged towards Will. But before he could hurt Will, Abigail hit him to the back of his head with a frying pan. When Ted stumbled forward, Hannibal grabbed his arms and forced his hands behind his back. Will took a knife from the table and sliced Ted's throat in one sleek movement. The blood was spraying from his carotid artery all over the table and floor.

Hannibal let Ted's dead body fall to the floor. “I'm really proud of you, Abigail,” he said.

Will went to the kitchen to wash his hands. Hannibal followed him there and pulled Will into his arms.

“See, this is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us."

“It's beautiful.”

THE END