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Fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt, Will slowly worked a hole into the cuff of the old flannel. Glancing up he sees Hannibal giving him a reproachful look. Sighing he stops pulling at the loose threads, still debating the merits of his idea.
“You seem very distracted today Will.” Hannibal observed, giving the younger man a questioning look.
staring at the impeccably dressed man before him Will is struck again by the absurdity of his plans. Shrugging slightly he tried to brush off the doctor’s words. “Just thinking.” he hedges, knowing Lecter wouldn’t be put off yet unable to keep from trying to divert him nonetheless.
“Hardly unusual for you.” Lecter smiled, no more than a small crinkle around his eyes. “Yet this particular thought seems to be more consuming than some others. I would be happy to help you figure out whatever you are struggle with Will.” he continues, burgundy gaze never leaving Will’s face. “You need only ask.”
Unable to find a probable reason to give Hannibal Will found himself blurting out his idea. “I’ve been thinking about taking Abigail out of the hospital for Halloween. he said quickly, each word tumbling over the next as he struggled to get them out before he lost his nerve. “I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming over to celebrate with us” A small blush coloured his cheeks as he realized how childish this request had to sound to a man like Hannibal.
“What did you have in mind?” Lecter asked, giving away nothing on his thoughts of the proposition as he considered the other man.
Unconsciously reaching for his sleeve once more, Will paused a moment before answering. “I thought, perhaps you, and I, and Alana could do a small party for her. Just movies and such, nothing big.” he admits, struggling to read something from Hannibal’s expression.
crossing his legs and clasping his hands over one knee Hannibal thinks for a moment, realizing how much it had cost Will to ask him to attend. “I would enjoy that very much.” he said finally, giving Will a small smile, noting with pleasure the tension drain from his features as he grins back.
OoOoO
Wrestling with his mask, Will rushed to answer the door, tripping over the dogs clustering around. Yanking the door open he sees Alana standing there, a blue dress clinging to her body. Dark hair was curled and pinned until it hung just above her shoulders, scarlet lips tying the outfit together.
“Hi!” Will greeted, smiling at her as he struggled to keep the dogs from all rushing out the entrance.
“Hello Will.” Alana chuckled, looking over the costume he had thrown together last minute. “I didn’t realize you watched musicals.” she commented, instantly recognizing the half mask that hung slightly askew on his face.
“I don’t really.” he admitted. “But, I watched the Phantom of the Opera as a child, and it was easy to find.” he tugged the mask back into place as he stepped back slightly. realizing that they were still standing in the doorway he quickly stepped back, “ah, come on in.” he gestured towards the small living room, wincing slightly as the statement came out more like a question than he had intended.
Smiling Alana went over to hang her coat on the back of one of the dining room chairs, looking around at the decorations surrounding them. All around were streamers and candles, obviously purchased for the occasion and placed with extreme care to try and create an eerie glow. Will’s television was playing an old Dracula film, the actor glaring out from the screen in black and white.
“Is it too much?” Will asked worriedly, bending to adjust the collar on his collie’s neck. Each dog had gotten a new collar for the night, each one sporting either angel wings or bat wings.
Sitting in the chair Alana smiled up at Will. “Not at all.” she assured, “I think it looks great.”
Relaxing slightly Will went over to the kitchen, putting the last of the snacks into bowls to bring out throughout the evening. As the conversation turned to childhood halloween there was a knock on the door.
Standing on the stoop was Hannibal and Abigail, the later in a black dress, cat ears on her head. Next to her Hannibal was dressed in his usual suit, the contrast of elegance and whimsy made rather stark when one looked at teh drawn on whiskers on the teenager’s face.
“Good evening Will. Doctor Bloom.” Hannibal nods at the,, his accent slurring his words slightly.
“Hi guys.” Abigail greeted, stepping around Hannibal and into Will’s home. Grinning at her surroundings she quickly joined Alana at the table, leaving the men at the door.
Hannibal made his way into the house, surprised by the amount of enthusiasm Will had put into this endeavor.
“Um. Doctor lecter.” Will started hesitantly, voice low as he wondered how to broach the subject. “I, ah, well I wasn’t sure if you would want to be in costume, but I realized I forgot to ask. So I grabbed something just in case.” he said, shifting from foot to foot as he felt Alana and Abigail’s attention turn towards them.
In Will’s hand was a pile of fabrics, obviously purchased the day previously, each line still pressed neatly into the crisp fabric. Struggling to keep his apprehension from showing, Hannibal reached for the bundle, surprised by how many articles were in the pile. “I suppose it wouldn’t do to be the only one without a costume.” he said, reluctantly resigning himself to wearing whatever it was his friend had found.
Several minutes later he was fully dressed, somewhat disappointed that Will had managed to get the correct sizing for him. It would have been too much to ask that they would have been too small to wear.
it was obvious the clothes had cost much more than Will’s own costume. Each piece made of a rich fabric pieced together so that it was immediately obvious Will hadn’t been the one to coordinate the outfit; his palette being far less discerning than whomever had been working at the shops.
stepping into the living room Hannibal found each person sitting around the table, chairs turned towards the bathroom door, obviously curious as to what his costume would look like.
“Very nice Dr. Lecter.” Alana complimented, eyes scanning over him to take in each detail of the outfit. from head to toe Lecter had the appearance of a distinguished nobleman. Each detail of the clothes were finally crafted from the cream coloured shirt to the grey breeches. Adjusting the black waistcoat slightly Hannibal smiled, determined not to show his distaste for the garments. Though of very good quality, they were nonetheless a bit outside of what he preferred.
As Hannibal settled into the last chair around the table, Will resumed his story of a halloween from his college years, growing more animated as everyone settled into the comfort that came with being around friends. In the background movies played and time passed, each person unwilling to end the night. Midnight had long since passed before Alana finally stood and saying goodnight, left with Abigail.
closing the door behind her, Will smiled, glad that the evening had been success. It had been a long time since he’d had people over, tending to prefer his own company. His eyes roved around the room, finally settling on Hannibal who was seated on his couch, gaze fixed on a movie. the screen flickered brightly as a mill went up in flames, townsfolk cheering silently as the building crumbled.
“Thank you for coming.” Will said softly, “It turned out better than I thought it might.” he admitted as the doctor shifted to look at him
“It was my pleasure Will.” Hannibal said, standing and ambling over to where the young man stood. Both of them were silent a moment, gazing around at the controlled chaos around them, each lost in their own thoughts. “Would you like some help cleaning up?” Hannibal asked, startling the other.
“No, no.” Will answered quickly. “I’m sure you’re needing to get home. Besides, I’ll probably leave it for the morning.” he chuckled.
After changing back into his blue plaid suit, Hannibal made his way into the night, thanking Will for the evening. Leaning against the door Will sighed as he looked at the decorations lying about. Deciding his joke might have been more accurate than he had intended Will chose to leave things as they were. Shoving aside a few streamers the dogs had gotten a hold of to the side with his foot Will made his way to his bedroom. As he wrestled his blankets away from the dogs he thought back on the evening, happy that he had managed to pull everything together.