The Ripper's Love

Tell me Doctor...

You sit patiently outside of Hannibal's office, shaking hands only steadied by the warmth of your phone. You balk at a particularly scandalous headline from one of the online new sites you follow with a plethora of quote retweets.

You click on the headline, scrolling through the article, sighing at the lack of evidence. "Hannibal and Will Graham Partners in...?" the headline crowed, the only hint towards the truth of it being a picture of the two at a crime scene of the most recent Chesapeake Ripper murder and the author discussing how 'unstable' Will Graham was. And of course the comments were flooded with fangirls screaming about how the two were clearly in a relationship.

Lector opened the door at the moment you finished the article, a polite smile on his face, hands folded behind his back.

You turn your phone off, looking up at him as you laugh internally at the convenient timing of his appearance. He motions for you to walk inside and you follow behind him quickly.

You sigh, running your fingers through your still damp hair as you sit down in the chair closest to the door, dread swelling at the coming conversation. Lector takes the seat opposite of you, leaning back and crossing his legs. "So, how have you been since our initial meeting Ms. (l/n)".

You shrug, looking at the books surrounding the top of the office. "As good as I can be," you offer nonchalantly. Hannibal tilts his head at the answer.

"As good as you can be? Can you elaborate?" He asks, a neutral expression on his face.

"You read really far into every response your clients give, don't you?" you ask, annoyance coloring your voice as you look him in the eyes. He smiled at the fire burning in your gaze. He sighs, shifting in his seat.

"It's my job to read into your responses and determine how to help you, (y/n)."

"Must suck, having to talk to people like me. Annoying kids who won't open up about their past." Hannibal seemed to tense at that statement, shoulders tightening ever so slightly.
Your eyes averted Hannibal's gaze. God, you thought, I hate therapy.

"You're not an annoying kid who won't open up, (y/n). You're... a very intelligent person who has an issue with being honest and open."
Hannibal asked the normal questions, and you gave the obvious answers, just ready to get out of the office.

"That was the last question I had, and we have about fifteen minutes until the end of your session". You sigh in relief at his statement, relaxing into the chair as Hannibal stands. "Would you like to ask me some questions?" Hannibal asks, and you almost laugh. He's opening the floor up to too many different scenarios.

"I do have one, but you might not like it." You say, biting your lip to hold in the laughter threatening to burst from you. He nods for you to continue, seemingly not daunted by any question you could come up with.

"Just so you know, this is completely sarcastic. There is a sect of the internet that loves to speculate on your relationship with Will Graham, would you like to comment?"

Hannibal went completely still.

You could see his mind racing, and you were confused as to his odd reaction. He finally moved and relaxed.

"I was unaware the internet was so interested in mine and Will's personal relationships. But in the interest of honesty, though the FBI does not know, Will and I are involved romantically."

Your eyes widened, and you sat in your seat, dumbfounded. You had thought it was just the internet reading too far into it, but no, they had stumbled upon a truth far more dangerous than they would ever understand.

Hannibal looked at his watch, and moved towards the door. "It seems we're out of time (y/n)."

You shook your head, and looked back to see Hannibal smirking slightly at your shock. "Holy shit," you said. He ushered you out, and you followed without thinking.

"I'll see you same time next week, Ms. (l/n)" Hannibal said, closing the door behind you.
You stood with your back almost touching the door, eyes wide and mouth open slightly.

You were immediately confronted by the realization that this was not the Hannibal most told stories of. Almost anyone who interacted with him said that he was very professional and stiff when it came to any conversation, and everyone said that he was very composed and rarely showed any emotion. But the way that he was acting around you was so different from everything everyone else said about him.

The fact that he had told you about he and Graham, that he had shown his shock when you had asked about his relationship and had been completely honest, all seemed very out of character. You could tell he was still playing mind games with you, but you expected as much when you met him.

You shook your head, grabbing your bag and began to walk out the door, stepping back quickly to avoid being hit in the face as it swung open. You struggled to keep a calm face as Will walked in, black smudges under his eyes and snow flakes softly resting in his hair from the weather outside. He's really cute, you whispered internally, immediately pushing away the intrusive thought as soon as it entered your head.
As he passes you, you smile. "Hope you have a great session" you say, winking at him.

You felt a slightly twist in your gut as you said it, but it was overpowered by the delight at Will's clear confusion.

As you continued towards the door, the news finally sunk in, and it stung oddly. They were together and that made you feel all kinds of upset and upside down. You couldn't explain why, or at least, your mind refused to.

You tried to brush it off as you wrapped your scarf around your neck and walked into the snowy winter of Virginia.

***

Will walked into Hannibal's office, mind mulling over (y/n)'s odd comment in the hall. He opened the door, not waiting for Hannibal's welcome before making his way towards the opposite wall. He climbed the ladder and sat with his legs hanging between the banisters.

"Nice to see you too, Will," Hannibal said sarcastically, looking up at him with a look of confusion on his face.

"What the hell did (y/n) mean by that comment," Will pondered, head resting on the banisters, biting his lip in thought.

He was pulled away from his spiraling mind by Hannibal suddenly laughing out loud.
"Hannibal? What is it?"

Hannibal motioned for Will to climb down, still laughing. He did so slowly, giving Lector an odd look as he did so. Hannibal stopped laughing, kissing Will on the forehead lightly. "I may have mentioned our relationship," he half whispered, a smile still on his lips.

Will jerked back, eyes clearly showing is shock and hurt at Hannibal's confession to (y/n). "I've barely talked to her, and you tell her that we're fucking?" Will hissed, mood suddenly shifting.
Hannibal wasn't fazed in the slightest as he responded. "How is she supposed to be honest with us if we couldn't be honest with her?" he stated, brows furrowed.

Will pushed him away, arms doing little against Hannibal. "She's going to keep away from us if she knows we're together. I wanted to flirt without her thinking I'm a slut," Will said, exasperated.

"Dear, we'll simply tell her we're polygamists. It's fine," Hannibal says, running his fingers through Will's wet from the snow curls. Will sighs, nodding, leaning into Lector's touch.

Hannibal pulled away, taking a seat in the chair facing the door. Will rolled his eyes, and sat the the opposite seat.

"So, how was your week," Hannibal asked. Will laughed, getting up. "You would know Dr. Lector, you were there for almost all of it."

He straddled Hannibal, putting a hand on the side of Hannibal's face, thumb brushing lightly along his cheekbone. "Why do I even come to these anymore," Will pondered aloud, head finding a resting place on Lector's chest.

"Because we need to at least act like we're not together for the FBI," Hannibal states softly, arms wrapping around Will.

"Well that might not matter for much longer, since (y/n) knows."

"I promise you Will, (y/n) won't tell anyone." Hannibal said, running his fingers through Will's hair comfortingly. Hannibal rested his chin on Will's head and closed his eyes, sighing contentedly.