#post fall.

they're healing. slowly, but surly. hannibal had rarely felt his age, but the long fall from the top oft he cliff into the ocean had taken its toll on his body. having dragged will out of the water he had so easily thrown them into, his companion was comtatose for a long time. the doctor tended to both their wounds, heaved himself from unconciousness in order to look after the other man. this is not something hannibal had planned for, but he was prepared enough to get them to safety ; somewhere they could hide away while they decided what to do next. when will had finally awoken, hannibal saw a light in their future. they couldn't move yet, neither well enough to travel, but they were getting closer to being whole, again.

it was the lingering glances when hannibal rolled up his sleeves, the way will spent just a little too long in the shower after he saw hannibal in a towel, that made hannibal recognize the want in will. something the other man was clearly pushing down, much like he did everything else. oftentimes, hannibal would inhale and smell the need on will, and he had to keep himself from taking will where he sat. the longer it went on, though, the more hannibal began to test will. touching him more intimately, egging him on with certain words, teasing in tone. tonight, will had surprised him with his response. speaking of how much he wanted hannibal, in his own roundabout way. and then, while hannibal had taken a second to be stunned, will had closed the short gap between them and kissed him like he'd die if he didn't.

loved. he thought about the word in past tense and it still stung, because it wasn’t true.

ksenija’s cousin was the only reason they ever dared take missions in vacuo, on top of visiting their old teammates. family is family, despite the supposed dangers. he liked to believe that she was safe here among the shade walls. they would only be staying for a short while. love was not someone vitani intended to keep in contact with when he left to attend haven too, their shared link missing, he thought that bond would fall away. but he greeted the avian like any old friend would, and for that he was grateful. ksenija fleeing vacuo was an unspoken end to their relationship but even when he had no idea where she was, he still missed her, longed for her. that had only flared up once vitani found her in haven once more. partners this time. awkward.

but maybe love hadn’t known that. maybe he assumed they picked up right where they left off. it wasn’t as if vitani’s feelings had changed any. green eyes widened for a second, hurt lancing through his chest as if the words pierced his lungs. a bandaged hand rose to run through dark mess of hair while he thought up a response, at a surprisingly lack of words. ‘ it still that obvious, huh ? ’ he drummed his fingers along his seat, bringing up both his legs to cross them, in a perpetual need to find a more comfortable position, as if that might alleviate how awkward this subject was for him. that was saying a lot, he was normally too dense to realise tense atmospheres. ‘ ‘s it corny to say i can’t remember a time i didn’t ? ’

it’s too hard to look love in the eyes. he’s not really afraid of him relaying this back to her. ksenija’s dense too, at least when it comes to this shit. that big brain of hers will come up with a million reasons why vitani wouldn’t love her anymore, before she believed in one where he did. ‘ when we were still dating, i said it too early, y’know ? ’ gods, he could still remember how scared she’d looked, treating those three words like he’d fired off a bullet instead. ‘ i never expected her to say it back, but then she left so … ’ he let the sentence trail off, uncharacteristic melancholy in drooped shoulders, drooped wings too.