They don't have a name for what he is.

A few years ago, if someone had told Will this was where he would be, he would have been devastated. All his hard work at keeping himself together, at being normal all for naught. But as Hannibal says that, he can’t help but smile. Transformed. Like a butterfly. No, more than that. Like a phoenix. “What was that you said about me?” he said, eyes the color of the sea staring out at the waves as he spoke. “Something about me being… special?” He was finally starting to realize what Hannibal had meant by that. He was leaving a lot of people behind in this boat, but there wasn’t anything left for him with them. They had met the Will Graham who still thought he was one of them. This man was someone else. Something – Something stronger.

His eyes finally drifted back to Hannibal and he nodded. “I’ve been catching fish for days,” he said. He stood again. “I’ll bring you one. I want that gone when I come back,” he added, pointing to the water bottle. He wasn’t losing Hannibal to something as little as dehydration. They had already survived fires and floods and earthquakes. The very sea hadn’t been able to separate them for long. The sky itself would have to open up and strike one of them down to drag them apart now.

Will left their small cabin and went to stand on the deck. He was still visible from the doorway as he began gutting and cleaning a fish for Hannibal to eat. The wind in his hair. The sun on his neck. Feeling free.

It was hard to talk from this distance, so for a few moments Will occupied himself with soft whistling. Something he’d had in his head for what felt like years. He thought, perhaps, he had heard it a long time ago in Hannibal’s office. He knew, at the very least, he associated it with brown eyes and pale hair.

He smiled softly. “Yes, I called you special. You can see it now.” It wasn’t a question. It was clear as day on Will’s face, in the way he held himself. Hannibal hadn’t been this happy in many many years. He hadn’t been sure he could feel this happy. He’d always known there was something about the way his mind worked that wasn’t like anyone else’s. Other people had many emotions about everything it seemed. Hannibal saved the few emotions he had for the important people in his life, or important moments.

But with Will, he’d rarely had to tap into his stockpile of emotions. Will tended to draw them out of him naturally. Something only one other person had ever managed to do. He smiled, drinking his water, thinking about how easy it was. He didn’t have to think about smiling for effect with Will, it just happened. His face reacted to the chemical combination occurring in his brain. He loved it.

He watched his love, standing in the sun, free from everything. He felt a small stab of pride that he’d helped this to happen. But even Hannibal’s hubris wasn’t so great as to think that he’d done this himself. Oh no, this was almost entirely Will. All Hannibal had done was nudge him along the way. Sometimes he’d pushed, and Will had shoved back, savagely. He smiled again, thinking of hanging twice. Both times put in the noose by Will’s hand, the first time saved by the grace of God, the second time, saved by Will.

“No,” she said, immediately. It was a fast, short response, the kind prepared for a question asked over and over that she was tired of answering. “I don’t regret it. I love Tommy! He’s a little dumb sometimes, but he’s my dumbo.” She frowned, looking away.

Some part of her sometimes wonders if she doesn’t think she can do any better than Tommy. But it’s too late for that now. It’s too late to ask those questions. Those doubts don’t come to her in her own voice, they come in Ma’s and Dad’s. The voices she’s been trying to shut out her entire adult life. “It’s been rough, but I’m not losin’ him for anything.”

Her expression cleared a bit, and her mind moved on to other things. “Some’a the hardest bits was Sonny not liking him,” she said. That was easy enough to think about. “Sonny an’ I have always been thick as thieves. Him not likin’ Sonny made us less close for a while. Drove a wedge, y’know?”

He simply nodded a bit and kept listening. He believed her, she had an honest energy, she was trying here. He appreciated that. Will wandered, unbidden, into the foreroom of his mind palace. He shooed him gently away, now was not the time for thinking of Will. The young woman before him was making such an effort, it was the least Hannibal could do to give her his complete attention.

He tipped his head slightly to one side when she came back to the brother. “Why do you think Sonny didn’t like him?” This would lead easily enough into how Tommy had gotten Sonny on his side. And talking about things Bella was comfortable with would help her open up further.

Will: Omg, it’s finally happening

Hannibal: [falls over]

Left column is the first word. Discuss. 

Local man attempts to shame his dogs with confessional signs but can’t find it in his heart to say a single bad thing about any of them (signs’ text are repeated in the captions in case my handwriting is illegible)

Bonus:

This is a very late post but here’s the tiny Patreon commission of a very angry Will Graham, for the lovely @t-y-l-e-r–d​. :D

“I suppose–manners or not we’re all wolf in sheep clothing…” After all the frilly decor and frosted treats were simply a guise for what really lied behind her doors. Her fingers tapped on the counter as she waited for payment. The way he eyed his meal almost felt uncomfortable. His infatuation could hardly be contained as excitement rose. The man may have hid behind a charismatic smile but his intentions were obvious.  

The guess obviously clear–cash only. The best way to make a deal on drugs or human. Everyone had their vices and judgement came short as the cash hit the counter. Micha quickly counted the cash and accounted the twelve grand.  

This man was the real deal, she just scored twelve grand and sold the last three of her batch. The night seemed to be ending on a wonderful note.

“Well, your assumption was correct. I hope you will be a returning customer, Mr…?” her word dragged on as she waited for him to tell him her name-or an alias. Meat deals were never made for public. 

“Indeed we are.” He smiled, the very picture of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’d found through the years that what appeared to be a genuine smile put most people at ease. And he enjoyed the practice of smiling. When he saw someone relax after given a properly executed smile, he felt it must feel similar to a gymnast sticking their landing.

He smiled cheerfully. “Lecter.” He offered her a business card, reading in scripted font Dr. Hannibal Lecter, M.D., Ph. D. He didn’t mind at all giving out his name. After all, this meat had come from somewhere, and from the scent of it, the death had been neither an accident or due to natural causes. At the very least, she was liable for unlawful disposal of a body. 

Bella was starting to feel a little more at ease. Something about the way he held himself, probably. It was like having a warm blanket wrapped around you. It was funny, she thought. Sonny could put her at ease in a similar way, but with him it felt like being cuddled up. This man… It almost felt like being put in a warm blanket and still kept on the other side of the room.

Bella decided not to think too much about it. She barely knew him, after all. Sonny cuddled her up with his emotions because he loved her. This man had no reason to treat her the same way.

“Yeah… Tommy’s been to hell and back. Sonny didn’t like him much, but… I dunno. I couldn’t leave him. I always saw somethin’ in him worth waiting for.” She looked up a little. “Is that crazy? Thinkin’ he had… He had the potential to be somethin’ better?”

“Not at all,” he said calmly. “It shows courage to stand by someone. To wait for the person they will become. But, if you can see that in him already, you are not crazy, Bella. Do you regret your decision to wait for him?” he asked curiously.

He somehow doubted it, or at least doubted that she would admit it. Though, perhaps she would open up more with a stranger, in a removed environment. That happened sometimes. Far away from home, in a town where no one knew you, it was easier to talk honestly about the feelings you never shared with anyone. He could hear it in Bella’s voice. Her family had told her for years Tommy was no good, and she stuck by him anyway. Possibly out of stubbornness at times, but the young woman before him didn’t seem to be one to stay with a man that treated her poorly.