Arms Hotel, Sunday morning

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal woke up feeling no different than the night before, until all the memories started flooding in. Growing up a woman; growing up with no uncle, stuck in a Soviet boarding school; growing up with his entire family, in France; being himself, with Sparkle his willing protégé.

He scrubbed his face with one hand and shoved it all to the back of his mind long enough to make coffee. Then sat drinking it, remembering, cataloguing every detail so as not to forget.

If there were a few parts that got especially fond treatment, that was nobody's business but his own.

Around noon, he made a phone call and sent a text message. Then he just sat and went back to thinking.


[OOC: Open to anyone who wants to drop by.]

[ETA: Therapy session NFB, please!]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

"It seems so." Hannibal looked at Derek thoughtfully for a moment. "Do you believe he wouldn't be attracted to a happier version of you?"

[justlurkinghere]

"Well, he ran out if the house after meeting him." Like Derek wasn't a sad little bitch when Stiles didn't think they were more than acquaintances.

[sharp_as_knives]

That was probably due more to the cognitive dissonance of "happy Derek" than rejection.

"Have you spoken to him about that, asked him why?"

Hannibal had a feeling he knew the answer to that, but there was always a chance.

[justlurkinghere]

"You think we should talk about that?" Stop with your logic!

[sharp_as_knives]

"I think any reaction that makes you question someone you have a relationship with is something you should speak about, yes."

Logic was a good thing. You should try it some time, Derek.

"You might consider that he ran from this other version of you, but not from the one he's used to."

[justlurkinghere]

Derek sighed, thinking that over. "I'll try."

Badly. Because his communication skills. Dear god.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Good." Hannibal nodded. "And what about on your part? Are you worried a happier version of you would not want to be with him?"

[justlurkinghere]

"More that it's because of everything." Meaning Kate and Paige. "That I want to be with him."

[sharp_as_knives]

"I'm certain it is," Hannibal answered. "The same could be said of any relationships that anybody has - without being the same person, you would make different choices. If nothing else, these last few weeks should show us that.

"However, if you are worried that you are unhealthily attached to him because you've had insufficient emotional support in your life, I can say that from what you've told me, you seem to be approaching this quite healthily so far. And also that Stiles doesn't strike me as the type to be shy of telling you if he feels there is a problem."

[justlurkinghere]

"That's for sure," Derek muttered. Stiles had nooooo trouble yelling at him, it was true.

[sharp_as_knives]

That was good; somebody had to. Granted, he was paying Hannibal to, but still.

"Do you trust his judgment? Trust him to know if the relationship is healthy for him?"

[justlurkinghere]

If he was paying Stiles, this would be a whooooole different conversation.

"He has even less relationship experience than me." Though less murderous relationships. So. There was that.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Which is not what I asked," Hannibal pointed out.

[justlurkinghere]

What kind of a therapist made people think?

Derek sighed. "I don't know."

[sharp_as_knives]

The kind with a brain, Derek.

"What causes you to doubt his judgment, to make you think he might not be able to tell?"

[justlurkinghere]

"He's young. And it's easy to be fooled by a pretty face."

[sharp_as_knives]

You had a very high opinion of your face, Derek.

"And is he often fooled by pretty faces?"

[justlurkinghere]

Excuse you, his bone structure was amazing.

"Isn't everyone?"

[sharp_as_knives]

His shaving wasn't. And his cheekbones hardly gave Hannibal's a run for their money.

"No." Hannibal raised an eyebrow. "Many people are capable of judging others based on more than their appearance. I would conjecture that with your past experiences, a pretty face is more likely to make you wary than trusting."

[justlurkinghere]

Well, there was no way to compete with that. Hannibal could use his own cheekbones to slice up Beverly Katz.

Too soon? Too soon.

Derek huffed in annoyance at that. Because he was full of issues. "He also said he was in love with a classmate who didn't know he existed for abut ten years."

[sharp_as_knives]

Definitely too soon. Especially since this Hannibal's canon isn't there yet.

"This is the girl your sister also had a crush on?" You should disambiguate your Stileses, Derek.

[justlurkinghere]

"Yes. She was dating one of the other kids here." A beat. "I need a flow chart sometimes."

[sharp_as_knives]

"A diagram might be helpful," Hannibal acknowledged. "This girl, was she only a pretty face?"

[justlurkinghere]

"I don't really know her." Except that she dated Jackson and was a banshee. "They're friends now."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Is Stiles the type to keep someone as a friend for their attractiveness?"

It was a trick question, Derek; you had better know the answer.