Hannibal's house, Saturday

[sharp_as_knives]

It had taken entirely too long for Hannibal to do what he needed in Sidra, but he was back finally. He texted Jono from the Portalocity offices before he headed out. For once Fandom was the warmer place. Not warm, though, so he was very glad to get home and warm up.



[OOC: For the one mentioned!]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

"True." Because cats. "So, shall we?" After traveling to Glacia and the Keep and back and almost two days spent on acquiring the little pouch in his coat pocket, Hannibal was quite prepared to nap for a bit before anything else.

[furnaceface]

//Let's, then,// Jono agreed, slipping an arm easily around Hannibal's waist. //I could use a nap, myself.//

It was still weird and fascinating that somebody had asked him if he wanted to take one with him, for the record. But welcome all the same.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal could simply have thrown Jono over his shoulder and carted him off, if that would make it easier?

He let his own arm settle about Jono as they headed upstairs. "I should also mention, Raven gave me a letter to deliver to you. It's in the bag with your books." He hugged Jono tighter for just a moment. "I warned her I would not press you to read it, but it's there should you want to."

[furnaceface]

Easier and hilarious.

//... Ah, yeah?// Jono's brow furrowed a little as he walked with Hannibal up the stairs. //I don't suppose you know what it says, do you?//

He was not terribly keen on reading it, admittedly, but he wasn't going to not. Even so, a little warning beyond 'it's from Raven' would probably do him a world of good if he wound up opening it and it turned out to be a diatribe about babies or something.

[sharp_as_knives]

"An apology, I believe. Beyond that, I couldn't say." He led the way into the bedroom and toed his shoes off to set in the closet.

[furnaceface]

Jono, for once, had already taken his own boots off and left them at the door. Like an adult who was faced with a clean floor and nobody to take his boots off for him.

//Fair enough,// he replied, nodding a little. //I'll read it when we're awake again, then. I won't be heading to Kaeleer again any time soon, there's no reason for me to read it right this minute, anyway.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Well, Hannibal had been very busy! His boot-removing duties had simply had to fall beside the way.

He hung his jacket up and started changing into pajamas. "It still makes you uneasy being there?" he surmised.

[furnaceface]

Jono nodded his head tentatively in reply. And then, after a pause, he decided to clarify further.

//That. Very much that. And... Karla terminated my contract.//

So, uneasy being there, and he really didn't feel as though he had much business just dropping in, either.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Terminated it?" That got Hannibal's attention. He sat on the bed and looked at Jono expectantly.

[furnaceface]

//Apparently her conscience couldn't take it anymore,// Jono mumbled, shrugging out of his jacket and fumbling distractedly with his belt. //Or... my heart isn't in it or I didn't argue enough to keep it or something. She decided it would be selfish to keep me on, and she cut me loose.//

It felt like being punished, to Jonothon. Like he'd failed Glacia and Karla in some huge, glaring way and maybe he was the only one who couldn't quite piece together how. He'd been gone too long. He shouldn't have run when things with Raven began to threaten to hurt him far more than he thought he could tolerate. He shouldn't have taken time off after Kayla's birth. Something.

He hadn't done good enough at something.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal gave Jono a look of mild reproof. "So, she didn't terminate your contract so much as she allowed you to do so."

[furnaceface]

//She ordered people to stop contacting me. Handed the contract back. Came prepared to argue that it had to be done.// Jono shrugged his shoulders a little, looking... at another wall, then. Hannibal had excellent walls. //Look, it doesn't matter, alright? Contract's been terminated, whether it's for my own good or not. It's all for the better one way or another, I'm sure.//

It still hurt like hell, but Jono wasn't feeling up for explaining all of the intricacies of why it felt less like a reprieve and more like a punch in the guts just then.

[sharp_as_knives]

"If you keep staring at the walls, I may have to take up painting them." Hannibal stood and settled his hands at Jono's waist.

"You promised to do everything in your power to help Karla; it hurts to think you couldn't do enough. It feels as though you have failed a friend and broken a promise all in one. It will be difficult to get through. But think of this: if Karla believed you had failed her, broken your promise, would she remain your friend?"

Hannibal might not know exactly what had happened, but he felt confident that Karla still thought very highly of Jono.

[furnaceface]

//Maybe I'm just a wall-aficionado,// Jono muttered, and then sort of slumped forward to rest his forehead on Hannibal's shoulder. //And I don't... I mean, of course she...//

Ugh. Words.

//She doesn't think I failed her. No. Of course she doesn't. But not being capable of fulfilling my role in her Court... It was more than a promise to her. It was a promise to Glacia. I went to war for that territory. Buried friends there. And then... just... everything came at once at me, and. I.//

Wasn't crying. Of course he wasn't. That wasn't a thing he could do. He was just standing there with his face in Hannibal's shoulder, instead.

//I'm just tired,// he muttered. //Can we sleep?//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal rubbed Jono's head, combing his fingers through his hair soothingly. "You did quite a bit for Glacia as well as Karla. Is there anything saying you need to stop now?" He kissed the top of Jono's head. "Sleep," he agreed. "We can speak later. I imagine we will both feel better for the rest."

[furnaceface]

Jono stood there for a few moments more before grudgingly nodding - as much as he wanted to stop talking and go to sleep, he wasn't hugely keen on moving away from Hannibal's touch - and stepping back so that he could get himself out of whatever was least comfortable to sleep in. The high-end blue jeans had to go.

//See if we can get a decent nap out of it,// he murmured, stepping out of them and taking a moment to very painstakingly fold them. Everything he did got so much more deliberate when he was trying to look casual. Funny how that worked.

[sharp_as_knives]

Fortunately, Hannibal didn't mind if Jono wanted to engage in a bit of extra clothes folding; he was perfectly content to slide into bed and wait for him. There could be more touching there!

[furnaceface]

And touching was even better than clothes folding, wasn't it?

It took him a few more minutes to get out of the most awkward of his clothes, but he was slipping into the bed and kind of wriggling over to Hannibal eventually, so at least there was forward progress happening! Toward 'touching,' even!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal slid further over, letting Jono settle as he liked before returning to the touching. Which was definitely more interesting than folding clothes. And warmer and more comfortable.

[furnaceface]

Warm was good, comfortable was even better. And if Jono was going to be something of a clingy limpet right now, at least he was a warm clingy limpet, himself?

//This is good,// he murmured. //This is a marked improvement.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal was mildly amused by the warm limpet, actually. "It is." He put his hand back in Jono's hair and closed his eyes, more than ready to nap.

[furnaceface]

So, that was that, then. A marked improvement, a warm bed, and a warmer embrace to curl up in. Normally it would have been difficult for Jonothon to slip off to sleep, even in the arms of somebody safe, but he was tired enough these days that within a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal was very good at falling asleep when he needed to (and at waking up quickly), and after his recent activities he was well prepared to.

If he hadn't been quite so tired, the sudden odd feeling that swept over him a few hours later might have woken him more, but as it was, when it wasn't followed by any sense of danger or urgency, he simply gave a sleepy sigh and burrowed under the covers to curl up as closely to Jono as he could.

[furnaceface]

Really, all things considered, danger and urgency probably weren't going to be of any concern to Hannibal for a while, now.

It wasn't until another hour or two after that that Jono realized that the person who he had slung an arm around was no longer... well... under his arm. He was still curled up beside something, and could still sense Hannibal in the room, so he wasn't terribly worried about waking up immediately either. But after a few minutes, he cracked open one eye and looked around all the same.

... Huh. No, he definitely couldn't see him. So, if Hannibal was in the room, but not within plain sight...

He lifted the covers to see what in the world he was curled up next to.

//Ah.//

Well.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal felt the draft from outside his cozy nest and lifted his head to peer at the reason and huff in annoyance. Why was there cold coming in??