snowblindrpg | [log] Tonight we light the fires, we call our ships to port [closed]

[When Will sat down, Hannibal followed him into the bathroom and closed the door behind them, giving them a little bit more quiet and privacy, hoping it would help Will feel more secure. That done, he crouched next to Will, looking up at him, settling a comforting hand on his friend's knee. He wanted to give Will his space, while also letting him know he was there. He listened, not interrupting or questioning or countering. As his friend became more agitated he squeezed his knee, reminding him that Hannibal was there. He wanted to hold his friend, stroke his hair and hush him, but he would wait on Will's signal that he was ready for that.

Hannibal noted the mention of House. Will had been rather explicit in insisting that House was Hannibal's friend, and this was not the time for Hannibal to counter him. However, he knew full well that the other doctor was Will's friend, not his. Will might have understood that, had he been party to the conversations between the two doctors.

Hannibal gently rubbed his friend's knee.]

I know this has been difficult for you, Will. And I am sorry for that.

Been?

[ Will said the word with soft incredulity, but between Hannibal's touch and the sound of his voice, the ex-profiler calmed a little. It was still a touchy thing, he had taken steps away from the self destructive ledge he'd dangled from just a few days ago but his stability was not a given thing.

Not after all these months and what had happened in the Pit, the events after the Pit and then the morgue.

His lips twitched but couldn't quite execute even a wryly amused smile, though he did lift his hand and lightly rest it atop the larger palm settled on his knee. ]

We've only just gotten past the first round.

I intended no implication that our difficulties are over.

[He sighed, pressing his lips. It had been difficult for Will, yes. It had also been difficult for Hannibal. He was used to being impassable, unaffected, strong, except when it was to his advantage to be visibly "vulnerable." He knew Will would not trust his words, might well take offense that Hannibal was pointing out how he had been wounded by all this as well. How he had protected Will with no gratitude from his friend. How he had paid a price of still uncertain breadth. For a man so skilled with his words, words felt so utterly insignificant.

So instead he knelt before his friend, and laid his head in his lap.]

[ It wasn't that Will was completely unaware of the fact that it was Hannibal who had died, and in such a horrific fashion. He was also aware of how abhorrent his friend had to have found being out of control.

The situation was a trainwreck, end to end.

When Hannibal set his head in his lap, Will gently set his hand atop ash-blonde hair and threaded his fingers through the soft strands. He weighed whether it was worth it to try to mention that when Beckett remembered what happened, he was going to hold a very powerful marker over Will's head.

And unlike Hannibal's actions, no one would forgive Will for what he'd done.

But just the thought of it left him exhausted and looking down at the tired man resting in his lap, Will didn't have it in him to add to his friend's burdens. He'd deal with Beckett when the vampire came calling.

For now, he brushed his hand downwards, smoothing it across the fabric of Hannibal's coat, pulled taut across his shoulders. ]

Dr. Watson been keeping you well?

[Hannibal was quite aware that Beckett was going to be an issue. And he would devote attention to that when the time arose. For the moment, however, he needed to be with his friends, to darn the frayed edges of their relationship, tattered by what had happened in the morgue and all that followed.

So he allowed Will's touch to relax him.]

He was quite attentive.

[ As Hannibal allowed it, Will indulged them both. Lifting his other hand, he continued to smooth one along his lover's shoulders, the other through his hair. Yes, he had a thing for hair shhhh. ]

I don't think it's any secret that Dr. Watson and I don't see eye to eye on ... anything.

[ Well, to be fair, they had stopped hissing at one another long enough to work on the technological seance. ]

But I do genuinely appreciate that he was there for you. In a lot of ways.

[There were few people Hannibal would allow to mess with his hair. He knew Will enjoyed it, however, and wanted his friend to remain as calm and relaxed as possible.]

I am likewise grateful to House for taking such good care of you.

[ It is probably in everybody's best interest that Will remain a calm as possible. Hiding in the bathroom was completely normal behavior, right? ]

You're a formidable pair. [ He said, sounding a bit rueful but also grateful. ]

Your safety is perhaps the only objective we hold in common.

[They might not be as adversarial as Will and John, but they're not truly friends.]

[ Watson and Will are one of the more openly adversarial pairs in this weird ass town.

For a moment he was quiet, thinking along the lines of the other objectives that House and Hannibal held in common. Objectives that had nothing to do with Will himself. For the moment, however, he didn't go forward with that observation. Now wasn't the time or the place.

Instead his eyes softened and he tilted his head to try to catch a glimpse of his lover's dark eyes. ]

Not the only thing. [ Will pointed out, with a small twitch of his lips. ] I'm a pain in both your asses.

[The words tugged at the corners of Hannibal's lips as well. He sat back, then rose up and pressed in, reaching for Will, drawing his lover's face toward his and kissing him firmly, hungrily, wrapping his arms around the younger man and holding him tight.]

[ Though he could feel the intent in the way Hannibal reached for him, Will still moaned softly when their lips finally met. It felt as if it had been months (3 years) rather than days since they had last been together and after a quick breath, he was returning the kiss just as hungrily.

His hands reached up, cradling Hannibal's face as his lips parted in an invitation to deepen the kiss. ]

[Hannibal took the invitation and parted his own lips, his tongue twining gently with Will's, enjoying his lover's taste. He wrapped his arm around Will's waist, pulling him close, and buried his other hand into Will's hair, cradling the back of his head as the kiss continued.]

[ Will tangled his tongue with Hannibal's, sucked lightly before releasing it and moving to nibble at the older man's lower lip. A loud noise from just outside the door caused Will to jump slightly -possibly earned Hannibal a small nip!- and he broke away from the kiss, moving to press his face against his friend's shoulder. ]

This house is painfully small.

[Hannibal leaned his cheek against Will's head and gently stroked his hair to soothe him.]

Certainly for the number of people currently inhabiting it.

[ Keeping his face against Hannibal's shoulder, Will worked his hands into his lover's coat and gripped tightly. ]

I think the plan is to head to the highschool via the tunnels.

[ Will knew that he'd be best served to act like an adult, go out and say hello to some people.

...

Just ... a moment longer. ]

[Hannibal rocked gently, stroking Will's hair. He was quite aware of Will's social anxieties, and would hold his friend for as long as he wished.]

Have you been to the high school?

[ Will nodded, careful not to dislodge himself from where he was hiding against Hannibal. ]

We were there a couple days ago, when I ...

[ attempted a snow nap. He doesn't say the words, expects that he doesn't have to. After all, Hannibal had been his psychiatrist long before he had become his friend and lover. ]

[Hannibal understood what was being left unsaid, and he turned his head to press a kiss into Will's hair, and murmur softly.]

Oh my love. Forgive me.

[ The kiss earned Hannibal a soft nuzzle and then a deep breath. It wasn't easy, trying to sort out his own head had never been easy for Will, but he had genuinely been trying to unwind the mess inside since House and Hannibal had worked together to keep him from self destructing.

Turning his head, it was the most natural thing in the world to talk to Hannibal. With his eyes closed, Will could almost imagine the pair of them back in Hannibal's office, in Baltimore. Rather than perched upon and kneeling beside a frozen toilet. ]

It's a series of events. [ He said quietly. ] I was already unsettled ... unstable as a result of what happened when I felt so certain there was something wrong with the people who have red lines all over their bodies.

It felt like being back in the Hobbs' kitchen, so certain I knew what I was seeing when I looked at you, but so out of control at the same time. I'd forgotten what it was like to be that ... fluid.

This place has had its own effects on me.

[He knew that Will was aware of the fact, but it was important that he remind him, that it wasn't just Will's own fragility at work. This place was even capable of affecting Hannibal.]

I was myself unsettled, by many things. The death price compromised my freedom, and even when it released its hold on me...I found myself seeing in your protection merely a further loss of freedom.

[He leaned his forehead against Will's, closing his own eyes.]

In truth, against this place, we need one another more than ever.

Edited 2018-04-25 00:23 (UTC)

I'm not trying to take your freedom, Hannibal. Not here, we all need ... everything you are too much in order to survive this place. [ He was aware that he'd done, so many times in their history, that it could be hard for Hannibal not to draw from the past. The same way it was for Will. ] Truth is, I probably bungled it all pretty thoroughly when I broke.

Luckily House is experienced at thinking on his feet in this nightmare, and he put a plausible story in play; one that directed attention away from both of us and bought us some time.

[ At least until Beckett got his memories back. Then it was going to get uncomfortable for all of them.

...

Well okay, uncomfortable for House and Will. Hannibal would likely never turn a hair. ]

[Will had certainly sought to take away Hannibal's freedom on many an occasion. But Hannibal was willing to recognize that there had been a seismic shift in their relationship after the events atop the cliff.

A sea change, as it were.]

I promise that from henceforth, I will work toward our mutual survival.

[He would not make any general promises about anyone else's survival, of course. Individuals, perhaps, insofar as such a person's survival was directly related to their own.]

[ To be fair, he'd be a pretty ineffective mongoose if he allowed the snakes to keep slithering past. Though it was true, things had changed with Dolarhyde and what had come to pass atop the cliff.

The wording Hannibal offered was not lost to Will, but he understood that for a man with a past and a present like Hannibal, the word our was a seismic shift in attitude. It wasn't fair to place even more expectation beyond that.

At least not unless Hannibal himself came to that conclusion.

For now, Will nodded and reached up to slowly brush his fingertips along the sharp jut of his lover's cheekbone. ]

Survival is all I want out of this, Hannibal. [ Will was a bit broader in terms of wanting to see everyone trapped here surviving and freed. He also wanted the data collective to be freed, whether that meant their destruction or something else.

Guardian Complex. ]

Edited 2018-04-27 23:07 (UTC)

[Hannibal brushed his fingertips against his lover's cheek, rough with stubble. He was well aware of his friend's guardian complex, and knew that he would have to interpret his statements through that lens.]

With no dying along the way. Are we in agreement?

[log] Tonight we light the fires, we call our ships to port [closed]

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cw: mention of suicidal intent

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