Ben poco ama colui che ancora può esprimere, a parole, quanto ami

Part 3

Will doesn't know for sure why Hannibal is acting so aloof but he has his suspicions. 

Hannibal is absent-mindedly rearranging books in the  living room's library by some obscure order. It's something he's only started doing at the villa, he thinks.   

Will first caught him in the act a few days into their stay. He woke up one night, worried out of his mind when he found Hannibal's side of the bed ice cold; he was still recovering from his gunshot wound but of course trying to get the man to sit idle was about as easy as trying to pet a feral cat out of the blue. Nearly impossible and at the risk of losing body parts. 

Will walked down the hall to the living room, groggily checking the bathroom and calling Hannibal's name. He found him sitting in front of the cedar bookcase, immersed into switching books left and right. Hannibal didn't notice him so Will, reassured that he wasn't on death's doorstep, decided to go back to bed and leave him to his little "hobby".

Since then, Will always looks over the books carefully, taking note of every little change in the display. Sometimes he's there when Hannibal does his thing, more often than not though the changes  appear when Will is out of the house to run errands or fish. A few times  it happens overnight, Will always wakes shortly after Hannibal leaves their bed but he never lets the other man know he's awake. So far, there have been alphabetical, chronological and chromatic arrangements over and over. A few times, the order seemed to be based on the books' number of pages, which is a whole new conundrum in and of itself. 

Will has never once asked Hannibal about it, he never even found it in himself to comment on it. He tells himself that if Hannibal wanted to talk he would, but he knows better. Will knows he's just making excuses, too scared that if he were to question the man on it he would just clam up and downright stop. 

It is approaching 6 pm and Hannibal is still sitting in front of the library, rearranging. He's been going at it for about two hours, since a little after they managed to set an appointment with Mr. Scott at 9 pm. Will figures now it's his chance to needle Hannibal about the book thing, seeing that he's so engrossed in it even though he seemed so pressed on practicing for that night's kill. It's not really like him to give up so easily, as shown by Will's unjust incarceration and their subsequent years-long game of cat and mouse. 

He slowly makes his way closer to Hannibal and, mind made up, he calls for him... and gets no reaction. 

"Hannibal?", he tries again and this times he notices a small flinch, but the other man isn't responding. He tries a third time and still gets the same subtle flinch but nothing else. He is ignoring him on purpose, the asshole. 

Two can play this game, Will thinks as he silently gets closer and closer. He notices that  Hannibal is watching him surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye. Will smirks as he stops right behind him and Hannibal goes a tad-bit rigid, no longer moving the books but just fiddling with the one he has in hand.  

He leans down to the other's ear and uses his newly discovered trump card. "Han?", he whispers, and the reaction is immediate. Hannibal turns so fast to glare at him that he almost headbutts him in the face. Will considers it a victory, to have riled him up this much. He smiles in the face of danger.

"Will, do we have to go over this again?", Hannibal asks, clearly annoyed. 

"Oh, no no, you were very clear about your feelings on your new nickname, Han. " Another glare, another victory. 

"Just get to the point, Will,"he sighs, dejection passing through his voice, leaving Will somewhat puzzled. 

"I just wanted to go over the details for tonight. You wanted to practice, didn't you?"