Angel's Sojourn: Hannibal x Reader x Will

Chapter 8. Consommé

It is nearly 24 hours after your impromptu adventure to Quantico that you return to sit patiently once more in Doctor Lecter's tasteful waiting room. The man himself greets you with a polite smile as he opens the door to his office and lets you inside. It had been raining, a cold November drizzle that had soaked you through to the bone in just the 20 minutes you spent shivering on the way over. Your hair is only just starting to dry in the warm heat of Hannibal's lobby, and he notices immediately.

"May I?" He asks and you nod surprised, and he takes your coat gently when you turn your back. "It is nice to see you again, Y/N." He says as his fingertips lightly brush the tops of your shoulders in sliding off your long overcoat. You stutter out a polite greeting, flustered at his touch, and he chuckles as a vivid blush creeps up to settle on your face.

"Please, make yourself comfortable." He suggests and motions to his familiar intimate sitting area in the center of the room. He goes to his desk to retrieve your file, thicker than the last time you had seen it. "We have much to discuss today." He says matter-of-factly as he sits across from you and folds his elegant hands in his lap.

You would have smiled at his relaxed posture if you didn't see right through it. He is too sure of himself, too informed. You know at once that he'd either read your mind or, more likely, been in touch with the Director of the Behavioral Science Unit. You state the latter rather accusatorially, crossing your arms as you lean back with a knowing smile.

"Jack is a close friend of mine, Y/N." Hannibal answers, laughing softly. Perhaps in surprise that you'd caught on to him so fast. "Any information he may have shared with me relating to his new recruit is not out of the ordinary, and purely coincidental I might add." He was making a point to establish the fact that he'd never glean information about you on purpose, and though you can't say you're pleased about his choice of words in describing your relationship with Jack, you believe him.

"What did Jack tell you about his new recruit, If I may ask? Anything interesting?" You say, remembering that you hadn't told the Doctor much at all about your past as a trainee at The Academy. You want to know just how much he knows about you in that regard. He gives you a charming smirk in response to your question and you watch enraptured as he licks his bottom lip before answering.

"Only that you had an exciting day yesterday, would you like to tell me about it?" He opens your file and retrieves a collection of papers whose contents you do not see, and places them front and center in his lap. You would have thought that he was adding to some previous notes, if it hadn't been for his choice in writing utensil; A seemingly expensive silver plated sketching pencil, where previously he had made use of a regular fountain pen, a common choice among Doctor Lecter's elite circle of "high end" psychiatrists. You watch as he adds a few marks in various places, as if cutting up a few last touches on a new work of art. His eyes flit to yours, waiting for your answer, and you look away quickly, hoping that he didn't catch you looking at his work too intently.

"It was... intense." You say, not sure how else to describe it. You shrug uneasily, suddenly unsure of where you should place your hands. You decide on balling them up tightly in your lap, worrying at a painters callous on your finger.

"Care to elaborate?" He asks, coaxing you further once more. You press your lips together, mentally preparing yourself to relive your experience at Quantico, and at what had greeted you and Will at Charlotte Green's death place. You take a much needed deep breath, and begin.

You tell him first of your meeting with Will Graham, a subject that surprisingly causes him to abandon his apparent note-taking, and to attend each of your words with extreme care. He leans forward in his chair the slightest bit, eyes filled with a lively intrigue that you don't quite understand.