It was a long time coming Hannibal thought as he stood by Will at the crime scene.
He could feel the tension in his empath's shoulders as Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath, already in his new state of mind, the killer's mind.
Will had been acting strange for the past few weeks, the psychiatrist thought as he circled around the perimeter of the bloody room, leaving Will to his own devices. Perhaps he knew something he should not have, or, perhaps the cases of crime were merely grating on his nerves.
He was not been sleeping, the doctor thought as he turned around and examined the dark smudges of shadow under those dark lashes. Nightmares, Hannibal could only guess, of the murders and what they had done, what Will had had to do to get into their head.
It was poetic somehow, Hannibal slept soundly after he killed, his stomach warm and full of his victim's flesh; but, Will was an innocent, and innocents always got the worst out of life it seemed.
Hannibal was brought out of his thoughts by Will's gasp, his pale eyes fluttering open from behind the wide frames of his glasses, the consultant stared blankly at the wall, "he's going to kill again."
That was evident, but Hannibal was silent, letting Will think and observe in his own way.
"He started off with killing just one girl, then moved up to two at a time, he wants to move up to having a whole blood fest. Like an orgy." Will's hands and pulse were fluttery and nervous.
"How will he do this?" Hannibal kept his voice soft, his own thoughts swirling.
Will shook his head, running a latex gloved hand through his tangled hair, "I don't know. I can't think!"
Another headache coming on. Hannibal felt remorse as he watched the thoughts die down from Will's eyes. "Come Will," he said, smoothly diabolical, "we'll go get something for your head."
Will wasn't even surprised that Hannibal knew his antics by now, he just let himself be led by the older man out of the dank room and into the fresh air that surrounded the old apartment.
Jack unfolded his arms and pushed himself from the police car where he had been reclining, "well?"
Hannibal kept his mouth shut, giving Will a chance to answer before him. When the latter said nothing he casually commented, "perhaps later Jack. Will needs time to process his thoughts right now."
He ignored the head officer then, taking Will's arm more firmly and leading him to Hannibal's own car and bundling him inside before the shorter man could so much as utter a syllable.
"You know," the brunette managed once the doctor was inside the car, "I'll be fine on my own."
Hannibal ignored him, pretending to be focused on driving, "you need to get more rest Will."
The consultant flushed with annoyance then, "don't psychoanalyze me," he muttered, "I'm doing just fine."
Hannibal let a smile twinge at his lips, "you have headaches all the time William, you cannot deny that; and your dreams seem to be affecting you worse than usual."
Will slumped down in his seat, "I have a lot on my mind," he supplied.
Hannibal slowed to a stop as he led the vehicle to the side of the road, "tell me."
Will didn't even have the nerve to look surprised at anything anymore, he merely crossed his arms and sighed, "cases. They take up my time Doctor. I have too much going on in my brain."
Hannibal wished to relieve his of those worries, "you have been…acting strange as of late, why is that."
"Stranger you mean," Will spat out bitterly, "I just…something personal, is going on right now."
Hannibal fought to keep down the rising jealous that he, for some reason, felt, "is it, about a woman?"
Will looked incredulous, "what? No! More about a…guy. A really great guy."
Hannibal could have sworn that his eyes were red with bloodlust by now, "oh?" He would kill whoever dared to look at his Will in a romantic way, and then, in his own form of justice, he would feed them to Will over a candlelit dinner.
"Yes," Will's voice was down to a whisper now, "he helps me get my mind off of things. Makes me feel whole again."
"And who is this man?" His voice may have been professional but Hannibal was all roiling energy inside; he would need a name to complete his work after all.
Will turned to look at him then, in the eye, surprising the doctor, "it's you."
For once, Will Graham managed to shock Hannibal Lecter, something that had very rarely been done before.
Will was biting his lip, staring at him, waiting for some type of acknowledgement obviously.
"You find…comfort in me?" Was all that he could come up with, but, apparently it was the right thing because his William smiled, revealing those bone white teeth.
"Yes," the professor breathed out, "I do."
That sounded like something said at a wedding, and Hannibal liked those words on the other's lips.
"Well," the doctor said, a little hesitantly, "I would have you know that I find some comfort in you as well."
Will's answering smile was even wider than before, and Hannibal decided that he could bare a little of himself for his beloved if he was rewarded with that grin every time…
