A guest room in Glacia, Thursday night Fandom time

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal settled his things in the wardrobe and wandered about the room, familiarizing himself with everything in it. Karla's hospitality was as impeccable as he would have expected, even if he had been for all intents and purposes kidnapped. He wondered darkly for a moment if Glacia had an equivalent of the FBI to investigate such things.

Which naturally led to other thoughts. Of Jack, of Alana. And especially of Will.

He stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed, calming himself.

Jono	The equivalent of the FBI, in Glacia? Julian. Jono. How in the world did Hannibal keep befriending those types, anyway? To the point, in fact, where one of them was currently standing outside of the door to Hannibal's room, wondering if perhaps now was a bad time? //Hannibal?// It wasn't so much a word as it was a question, a light wash of inquiry, wondering if he was intruding. Maybe a sort of soft hint of, 'hey, I'm worried, I'm here if you need somebody' to go along with that.
Hannibal	Something about the violence and intellectual challenge of the job, maybe? Whatever it was, Hannibal had several fewer friends now than he had earlier in the day. He nodded, swallowed, and spoke just loudly enough for Jono to hear. "Come in."
Jono	Oh. Oh. That was a tone of voice that Jonothon had never heard from Hannibal before, and it had him hesitating at the door for a moment before reaching for the doorknob and letting himself in, pulling the door shut again behind himself. //Hey,// he said, tentatively. //Just wanted to check up on you, mate. Karla was in a hell of a rush to usher me away when you got in, and I never got a chance to ask if there was anything I can to do help.// But he had plenty of time to finish cleaning the canapés from the floor while Karla chased Hannibal up to the shower. So. That had been something.
Hannibal	And Hannibal would greatly appreciate that cleanliness once he got back home. For now, he turned to Jono and did his best to smile at him. It was a fairly credible one; he did have a lot of practice. "Thank you." He sat on the corner of the bed, and took a moment to think. "I don't believe there is, but I do appreciate your concern."
Jono	//Nah,// Jono replied, nodding once, //I figured that might be the case.// He'd danced this dance before. Though maybe with somewhat less murder than had been involved, not that he was aware of that much. //But I figured I ought to make the offer all the same. You don't have to force a smile for my sake, Hannibal. I'm not here because I think your pain is a spectator sport.//
Hannibal	That got a more humorous smile. "I hadn't thought it was. Although I wouldn't hold it against you to be a bit morbidly curious. It's human nature, isn't it?"
Jono	//Can't deny that,// Jono allowed. //We don't much care for mysteries, though if you're not feeling up to talking about what happened, I'm not going to push you for information. I know it wasn't your blood, I know you're more pulverized in an emotional sense than the physical one that Karla was letting on. And if there's anything you want to talk about, I'll listen. If you don't want to talk, I'm just fine with sitting here in silence, if that's what you want. Or leaving. It's your call, mate. No expectations, no demands. I don't expect you to perform, here. I just...// He shrugged. //... care.//
Hannibal	Hannibal waved Jono to sit. He wasn't sure if he could or should speak of what had happened, but perhaps the company would distract him.
Jono	Well, if Hannibal wasn't going to chase him out of the room, Jonothon was going to nod and take a seat in a nearby armchair. //Thanks,// he said, leaning forward a little. //... You know, I think this chair is actually more comfortable than the one in my room? There's how you tell Karla likes you, mate. You get the comfortable chair.// He... was rambling. Fabulous. //Hope she didn't put you out too much, kidnapping you away to Glacia like this.//
Hannibal	"I haven't ever missed a class before," Hannibal confessed. "I feel like I should be back there, doing something useful." Though given his current mindset, it was probably just as well that he not be around his students. "I feel..." he grimaced. "Like Sisyphus after his rock rolls back down the hill. I keep staring after it, wondering why it's fallen and how long until I have the strength to try again."
Jono	It was an interesting comparison. After all, Sisyphus' fate was a punishment devised to rub in his face that he thought he was more clever than the gods. //Your class will get on without you for a week,// Jono shared, //though there's enough of a connection to the island from here that you can contact somebody to take over your class if need be. As for the rock...// He shrugged his shoulders again. //I don't think you're damned to push it for eternity,// he offered. //And even if you are, you're certainly not required to push it alone. But...// His brow furrowed faintly as he tried to puzzle out how to say what he wanted to say. //That doesn't make it less brutal now. As much as 'this too shall pass' is true, that doesn't always make the here and now easier to stomach, does it?// This was heartbreak, wasn't it? Heartbreak was crushing.
Hannibal	"No, it doesn't," Hannibal agreed. "I still failed. I have still lost friends." Will had still rejected his friendship, rejected his own nature.
Jono	//I'm sorry,// Jono murmured, and he very much meant it. //It's the doubt afterwards, isn't it? When you end up asking 'what could I have done differently?' Picking apart every little aspect of what you've done, inspecting it in minutiae, after the fact.// And hindsight was always perfect, wasn't it? //Makes the loss that much worse.//
Hannibal	Hannibal clenched his hands around the edge of the mattress, his jaw set. "I trusted someone." Offered him my friendship. But he rejected it.
Jono	//Ah.// Jonothon's eyes rested on Hannibal's hands for a few moments, and then he looked up, trying to meet his gaze. //That's worse, then.// He didn't need to be a telepath to catch the undertones of betrayal and rejection in that statement. //Trust is a dangerous proposition.//
Hannibal	Especially for someone with Hannibal's secrets. "I told him I forgave him. I'm not certain if I meant it." Forgave him for putting him in a position to kill or be killed by Jack, certainly. Forgave him for rejecting both Hannibal and his own nature? Possibly not. Or possibly he still held out a tiny ember of hope.
Jono	//Do you suppose you'll ever be able to mean it?// Jono lingered awkwardly in that seat for a moment, and then nodded to the spot next to Hannibal on the bed. //May I?// This just seemed like it had evolved into the sort of conversation you didn't have from opposite ends of the room.
Hannibal	Hannibal nodded to the second question. To the first... "I gave him more than I've given anyone in a very long time. He turned it down. I don't know if I can easily let that go."
Jono	Jono stood, making his way over to sit down beside Hannibal, his gaze falling back to the floor once he was there. //And when you've been that closed for that bloody long...// Ouch. //Serves to reinforce why you don't open up in the first place. Rough bloody reminder of it. For what it's worth, I don't think anybody's going to expect you to give more than you feel you're able. Especially not in the wake of something like that.//
Hannibal	"Bloody in more than one way," Hannibal acknowledged with a grim smile. It wasn't as if Jono were going to forget the state he'd been in when he'd arrived home.
Jono	//Bloody in more than one way,// Jono agreed, glancing sidelong at Hannibal, at that. //Care to talk about that, at least? Or is that something you'd rather not discuss?// He wouldn't deny his curiosity on that front. It wasn't as though he could pretend he wasn't—Hannibal would know better just as well as he did, after all. It was human nature to want to know.
Hannibal	"I..." Hannibal tried to find some words to say that would be descriptive without being damning. He pictured the scene that he'd left at his Baltimore home, and nearly vibrated with grief and frustration. He swallowed and consciously tried to relax himself again. "Not now," he answered a bit curtly, trying to smile to soften it. "Perhaps when it isn't so close." When he could think about it more objectively, speak of it without the danger of losing control.
Jono	//Not now,// Jonothon echoed, nodding again. He hesitated for a moment before leaning sideways just a little, just enough to kind of bump his shoulder lightly against Hannibal's, filling his next words with as much patience and reassurance as he could. //Not ever, if you never feel up for sharing it. I'm not going to press.// Much as he wanted to. His curiosity wasn't worth endangering a friendship over.
Hannibal	Sharing. Hannibal nodded again, then all but threw himself off the bed, unable to sit still any longer. "Thank you," he managed, squeezing Jono's hand for a moment before he stalked away to pace.
Jono	Ah, pacing. Jono knew that urge well enough, himself. He sat silently for a minute, just watching, before pulling himself to his feet. //Anxious, mate? Want a hand working some of that frustration off?// Sometimes it helped to just hit things.
Hannibal	It did. And sometimes it helped to carve things up. But even if Jono wouldn't actually be harmed by that, Hannibal doubted that was what he was offering. He flicked a glance over at Jono. "What did you have in mind?"

[OOC: Preplayed with the wondermous furnaceface and continued in comments! NFB]

[ETA: Now very firmly NSFW!]

Comments

[furnaceface]

Jonothon's clothing was functional! It didn't have to be pretty.

//I'm game if you are,// he decided, looking back again as best as he could. //I'm curious as to what that extra percent might entail.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal folded Jono's trousers neatly on top of his boots and curved one hand around the back of his leg. Slowly he gave Jono's legs the same treatment as his feet had gotten - stroking, searching out the parts he'd learned were sensitive and ones he might have missed before.

[furnaceface]

The result was... mostly a lot more shuddering, the muscles in Jono's thighs and calves tensing a little whenever that light touch moved over more sensitive skin. Jono didn't speak as Hannibal touched him, but there were little encouraging waves of pleasure, of approval, as he was reminded once again that, yes, being touched could be a pleasant experience, too.

Mmm, sexy percentages.

[sharp_as_knives]

Math was so sexy!

Unlike those boxers, Jono. Hannibal would have cut them off, if he had brought his scalpel. He looked for a moment to the weapons on a nearby rack, but no - they were unlikely to be sharp enough, if they were for practice.

Pity. Those things were almost as bad as Will's. Had Will started wearing more stylish underclothes to go with his better outfits? Or had he seen no reason to, leaving the shell to fool Hannibal and doing what he pleased for the rest?

Those boxers possibly came off a bit more abruptly than the rest had.

[furnaceface]

A little bit. Enough to have Jonothon glancing back again, at least vaguely amused.

//Not a fan?//

If his underwear had personally offended, Hannibal, Jono would understand. They almost certainly had a tendency of saying unkind things about people's mothers, and such.

[sharp_as_knives]

"No," Hannibal answered shortly. Then he took a moment to stop and breathe, and deliberately stooped to pick up the offensive things and fold them on top of the rest. That was elsewhere, Will was elsewhere, and Hannibal was here.

And if your underwear were saying anything, Jono, you'd been wearing them too long.

[furnaceface]

//Give me enough warning next time you think loud, arousing thoughts at me, and I'll be sure to wear something that didn't come from a department store four-pack,// Jono decided, watching Hannibal... fold his underwear... from the corner of his eye.

Well, he supposed he couldn't fault the man for tidiness, could he?

[sharp_as_knives]

"Do you own any that didn't?" Hannibal asked. He was trying for flippant or arch, and at least managed better than insulting.

[furnaceface]

//You know, surprisingly, I do? I don't wear it often. I don't typically dress in the morning thinking about who might see it.//

So, yes, he generally only wore the fancy underwear when all of the rest was dirty.

[sharp_as_knives]

Jono, tailors worlds away were swept with a feeling of despair without knowing why.

"You see it. And feel it," Hannibal pointed out. "Or do you enjoy it being scratchy?" To punctuate that last word, he drew his fingernails down over Jono's ass.

[furnaceface]

Oh, hello, fingernails. Had Raven told Hannibal about that one? Because Jono was temporarily distracted from words, arching up against Hannibal's fingers in silent approval.

The answer, here, was apparently yes. Jono liked scratchy things very much.

//Keeps me awake,// he ventured, a few moments later.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Well, we wouldn't want you to fall asleep." And there were more fingernails - digging in, scraping across all the best places Hannibal had learned in his explorations.

[furnaceface]

Aaah, yes. And now Jono was quite alert, trying his damnedest to keep from writhing under Hannibal's fingernails. Most of that writhing involved trying to actively move those sensitive parts even more firmly against those nails, though.

//No chance of it,// he managed, more sentiment than words, but intelligible all the same. //Wide awake.//

And very appreciative.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Glad to hear it." Jono's skin pinked nicely under his nails, and Hannibal took a moment to wonder yet again how the hell his body worked.

He teased and dug in, varying it enough to keep Jono guessing. He wouldn't even pretend it was about anything other than the beauty of watching him and the gratifying sensation of being in control of something again.

[furnaceface]

Hannibal could join everybody else in trying to puzzle out what made Jono's body tick. It followed such an arbitrary set of rules, and most of them almost certainly boiled down to, 'because that's how Jono remembers it used to work.'

As for the rest of it - that was all Jonothon needed, really. If Hannibal wanted to be in charge of something, he'd certainly thought sexy thoughts at the right telepath. for all that Jonothon's traumas often seemed to stem from a complete lack of being in control, there was something about surrendering himself to somebody willingly that held some appeal. Especially somebody that he trusted. Even more than that, somebody who wasn't shy about it, or repulsed by the sight of him.

And really, it didn't take long before Jono wasn't trying to keep himself from writhing altogether, though the wrappings restrained him neatly. The gentle touches soothed and excited him, making the bite of Hannibal's nails even more sharp by contrast, making him want even more.

//Your hands are a bloody treasure,// he murmured with a shiver. //Big fan.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal didn't understand how anybody could be repulsed at the sight of Jono; he knew they likely were, but it seemed ridiculous to him. Skin and flame, molded together - it was fascinating and horrid and beautiful.

"You should see me with a scalpel," Hannibal answered. "Or a pencil," although that wouldn't leave marks nearly as lovely on Jono's pale skin.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon didn't seem half as concerned about the scratch-marks being marred by streaks of graphite, at least. He was intrigued, though, glancing over his shoulder at Hannibal again.

//Have you got one on hand?//

One of either, really. Jonothon was totally down for some variation on knifeplay, too, just so long as he'd still be able to move freely by Friday afternoon. Sort of important, that.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal gave him a considering and slightly predatory look. "I have both in my room; I hadn't anticipated needing them."

[furnaceface]

//Well, I'm not going anywhere,// Jono replied, raising an eyebrow back at him. //Only stipulation is that I'll need to be able to run tomorrow.//

There you were, Hannibal. Have at.

[sharp_as_knives]

Jono, you didn't even know how bad your life choices were, did you?

Hannibal nodded, stifling enough of his anticipation to respond normally. For whatever value of normal there was here. "In that case, I'll be right back." He buttoned his shirt back up as he went to the door, then paused as he went through it. "Don't worry; I'll leave your sign in place."

He had mentioned he liked to play dirty, hadn't he?

[furnaceface]

//... Bloody hell, this'd be a treat to explain.//

As opposed to, oh, the psychic scent that they were about to leave all over this place? That was going to be extra fun. Karla was going to make him scour the entire room with cleansing herbs. Or possibly fire. And it would be so completely worth it.

[sharp_as_knives]

And she couldn't even chide Hannibal for it, since he didn't know anything about that! This one was all yours, Jono.

"I'll hurry back," Hannibal promised. And rather prominently pictured himself removing the sign as he closed the door behind him.

[furnaceface]

//You bloody...//

Well, that was fine. If anybody walked in that wasn't Hannibal, he'd just explode. Literally. Possibly taking half the estate with him.

It was the only way. There were no other options. None.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal left Jono wondering (and the sign on the door) and headed for his rooms. He didn't hurry, but that was less to torture Jono and more to calm himself. If he didn't want to do any actual harm here, he would need to be a bit more centered.

He found his scalpel, and brought his pencil and sketchbook while he was at it, then returned to the room, pausing one last moment before he opened the door again.

[furnaceface]

Jono didn't jump when the door opened, per se, but he did tense a bit. Apparently the door was just out of his line of sight, especially since he was tethered down so firmly. But he relaxed a bit once he confirmed that the one stepping into the salle again was Hannibal, tilting his head faintly.

//Welcome back.//

He'd wave hello, but for some technical difficulties.