Fandom: Red Dragon/The Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal

Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham

Rating: R/NC-17

Beta: Malakai_Amlug & elfinessy (thank you very much, to both of you)

Summary: Sometimes running is not possible as the past catches up with you.

Notes/Warning: This is a slash story which means that it features two grown up men in love with each other and physically expressing this emotion in various forms. If you are in any way or degree homophobic, disgusted, disturbed, feel threatened or weirded out by such a relationship, please do not read any further and don’t write me any stupid e-mails to preach about the wrongs or rights of homosexual relationships.

Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this story are by no means mine and belong to Thomas Harris. If you want to have some picture as a guideline for what these guys actually look like I would strongly suggest watching the movie versions of the books, which were done by DeLaurentis Pictures. As for the musical help I had with this story. The chapter titles and the paragraphs of lyrics in each chapter are songs composed and performed by Placebo. Therefore they are not mine either. I am not making any money with this and purely do it for my own amusement and entertainment.



CHAPTER FOUR – Change your Taste in Men


"Come back to me awhile
Change your style again"


For ten days he had been watching Will now and noticed all his habits, the way he organized and spent his days. Although a lot of times it looked like he didn't know what exactly he was doing, there was a routine after all. Most of all his mornings were strictly organized and were a repetition of the same order of actions every day.

He would wake up, shower, wash and dress. After that he'd put on the coffee and clean whatever mess he had created the evening before. At last he'd drink his obligatory cup and then leave to get to work. Today was Saturday and from last week Hannibal knew that Will would go shopping and return home to clean and cook, preparing things for Sunday so he could just laze around after a week of work.

Dr Alan Bloom had left two days after the coincidental meeting on the street and after that Will had returned to his apparently usual life style. It had been easy to see that the presence of the FBI forensic psychiatrist was stressful for him that this part of his past was something that he'd prefer to forget and hide from. But it was exactly this past that was reluctant to let him go. Every night he fought with nightmares and it was all too clear that the masses of alcohol he consumed where meant to drown his memories.

Hannibal had watched the former FBI profiler sleep for some time before he had started to wander through the house and clean it. He had decided that it was time to reveal himself to Will and he wanted the other man to be able to dedicate as much time as he needed to process the news.

So when Will woke up in the morning and started his morning routine, Hannibal waited for him to leave the house and go shopping. With all his work for the day done, the other would then have more than enough time to deal with the situation.

He waited in the living room, sipping some Myer's rum from a tumbler and thought about the time when he had first met Will Graham, the energetic but at the same time haunted man he had been. This had always been the thing about Will, behind his happiness and lively demeanor was hidden a deep well of darkness and the fear of it. It made him a great profiler but was his doom in the end. Hannibal was sure that had the former FBI profiler been more in touch and in sync with his darker side, he would have found him out much sooner than he had done and probably wouldn't have gotten stabbed.

The ability Will had was something very precious and it intrigued Hannibal that it was more a curse to the young man than the gift it truly was. In some kind of way it felt like the younger man was wasting his talent but then again, the way he treated this was exactly what made Will special. Unlike many others he didn't use his gift but tried to get rid of it. He was afraid. Afraid of himself but brave enough to fight his own demon. What really got to Will in the end, had been the strange demons of other people's minds. He had not been able to deal with all of them.

Hannibal closed his eyes and soaked Graham's aura up. The whole house was filled to the brim with Will. There was primarily darkness but as expected with a man like the former FBI `special' agent there was light too.

Cracking his eyes open again, he took a short glance at his watch and noticed that Will was probably paying for his coffee now. After a short trip to the market to pick up his purchases Will would head back home and this meant that the `show' would start soon.

He turned the glass in his hand and watched the light break in golden sparkles inside the dark liquid. The gold reminded him of a different gold that was even more beautiful to him than the one he saw now. The picture of light streaks between golden silk flashed in front of his eyes and Hannibal licked his lips as he wondered about some other taste.

It was true that he had wanted to kill Will in the past but in the last ten days he had come to realize that he was unwilling to live in a world without this fascinating man.

There had been a time when he had enjoyed the younger man's company, a time when the other had turned to him for help and guidance. Everything had been so easy back then. Now there was a history between them, a past that had left its traces on both of them.

Hannibal was willing though to forget what had happened between them. He was willing to let Will back into his life. When the decision not to harm Will Graham had been made, he had also figured out two possibilities of what to do next. One had been to step on a plane and leave – maybe to Japan? Number two had been to stay and take the next step in the unconventional relationship he and Will shared, whether the other man realised it or not. Whether he wanted it or not. He would go past being friends and do what years ago, he'd never have considered doing. Why was he considering it now? They both were different now, had seen their fair share of what the world had to offer. Back then, their positions had been different ones; they had been different.

He wondered how Graham would respond to the offer Hannibal would make. Would he have enough courage to take the next step?

The tumbler was empty now and he sat it on the couch table, his eyes fixed on the door. Soon he would be back and Hannibal would get the answers to his questions. Soon another chapter in another place would be started.

Hannibal smirked smugly as he pictured Dr Alan Bloom's and Jack Crawford's faces as they were told about the development in Will's life. He'd love to be there to at least see them if not being the one to tell them.

This amusing thought in mind he heard the front door being opened and a breeze of the spicy air wafted into the living room. Slowly he got up, strolling though the entrance to the kitchen.

In the light room, Will stood in front of the counter, paper bags in hand, studying their content. Hannibal saw the light from the kitchen window give a bright and soft shine to the golden head of the other. His fingers itched to brush over it.

A slight smile ghosted over the beautiful face as he noticed something in one of the bags. Hannibal crossed his arms over his chest and grinned cockily as he made the first step in a new direction.

"Welcome home, Will."

The words had exactly effect he had expected.


"Dazzled, doused in gin
Change your taste in men"


Surprise, recognition, shock, fear and resignation flickered over Will's face with a breath-taking speed, none of them lingering longer than the tenth of a second. In the end a blank mask slipped into place, hiding his true feelings behind it.

But Hannibal couldn't be fooled, he was far too familiar with the way the other's mind worked, he knew exactly what was going on inside the man's head. He knew that the reason why Will hadn't yet turned to face him was because he was still in denial. He hoped that if he didn't get the visual confirmation of Hannibal's presence, it was all just a trick his mind was playing on him, maybe another nightmare.

Hannibal stepped to the tense back he was looking at and slowly and cautiously reached for the forgotten bags in Will's hands. The blonde flinched slightly as their fingers brushed but otherwise refused to show any sign of acknowledging his surprise visitor. Putting the purchase on the kitchen counter, Hannibal placed his hands on the counter on either side of Will.

Trapped, he did the only thing that he was able to; turn around. Slowly the blue eyes rose to meet Hannibal's, the suppressed fear shining in them.

It was very tempting to wrap the arms around the form the man so close to him but he knew he had to proceed carefully, to not make the other bolt. The trick was to calm Will enough to make him listen and think rationally. The younger man had to know what he was being offered, and at the moment Hannibal knew he could only see death.

After seeing the fear slightly lessen and the tension slowly dissolve in the lean young frame, he decided to continue.

"I sent you a letter after your capture of Dolarhyde, did you get it? I sent it to your home address."

There was a short flash of anger, which was as fast gone as it had appeared, before the scarred face relaxed again. When Will answered though, his voice was slightly hoarse.

"Yes, I got it."

"You never wrote back. You knew my address; I hadn't yet left the company of the dear Dr. Chiltern."

Again anger but after that a flicker of interest. Ah, so Will wanted to know what exactly happened to the man, he wanted to know what it was that might happen to him. Soon enough the blonde would realise that what Hannibal had planned for him was not what he expected. Lecter could only hope it would be as enjoyable as Chiltern had proved to be.

"I got your letter. But writing to you didn't seem particularly high on my list of priorities."

There was no real sorrow in Will's voice or eyes. The explanation given might be the truth but the other definitely wasn't sorry about it.

"Ah, but how rude of you, William. The shy Mr. Dolarhyde even used toilet paper as stationary to write on just to send me a letter. Are you trying to convince me that all this time you never had the chance to sit down and write a short reply?"

Hannibal crowded further in Will's private space. He wanted him to lose the unapproachable attitude and let the real Will talk to him.

"I never tried to convince you of anything."

"No, you didn't." His hand cautiously traced the bicep up to a tensing shoulder and come to rest on it. "Do you dream much, Will?" The whole demeanor was that of a disobedient dog waiting for the first blow of his punishment.

"I know for certain that you do. How long do you think I have been on Trinidad?"

Again curiosity, but this time veiled behind fear. It was a relief to see all that behind all the alcohol and angst was still the lively young man Hannibal had met so many years ago. It wasn't too late to save Will from himself. It would have been a shame to realize that there was nothing to be done for him anymore. But then again the young man was too strong to let anything defeat him. It was true that the way he had dealt with the happenings in his past was not the most exemplary one but he could have done worse, he was leading a life after all.

"You have been watching me."

It was a statement, not a question. Will knew that this was the truth. What was the use of trying to play stupid? Again the bravery Hannibal always had admired.

"I used the time to reminiscent about our past and decide about the future."

There it was again, the anger that always lurked near the surface these days. Anger about the fact that somebody dared to decide about his future. Anger about his life being shattered once more. Anger about letting the other get to him time and time again.

Hannibal took the last step that planted him right in front of Will now and leaned closer. The first reaction to this move was to still completely and await the expected attack but when he passed the face without any attempt of causing harm and the lips stopped next to an ear, Will relaxed a tiny bit.

"Meet me at the Veni Mangé at 8 pm tomorrow. How about dinner and a show?"

He retreated slowly, watching the expression on the no longer blank face. When the younger man finally weakly nodded his consent, Hannibal squeezed Will's shoulder – a copy of a gesture on another night so many years ago – and left the other's private space.

"Good bye, Will."

Hannibal turned and left the cottage as he headed into town.


"Waiting for the day to end
Change your taste in men"