Portalocity, Sunday afternoon

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal often adored surprises. Especially for other people. All he'd told Jono was to dress in comfortable but presentable clothing, meet him at Portalocity, and be prepared for a day off the island.

And not to bring the banjo. Honestly, Jono.

"Ready?"


[OOC: NFB for distance once they leave, but that they went somewhere is fair game. Open for interaction before they go, why not?]

Comments

[furnaceface]

They still looked fancy to Jono. Just... maybe less so, in comparison to Hannibal's usual. He gave Hannibal an amused side-eye, but shrugged all the same.

//I suppose I'll find out, won't I? Unless we came all this way for you to turn around and tell me we're not actually going anywhere, you just wanted to look at the portals for a while.//

Which, sure, would be fine too. What with them being all... swirly and portally. Maybe a little weird. But fine.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Tempting," Hannibal said, "but no." One of the employees beckoned them through, and once the swirly part had stopped, they stood on a street corner in front of a very large building. Hannibal nodded and took a moment to breathe the midmorning air. "Welcome to Denver."

[furnaceface]

//... Colorado?//

On the list of unexpected portal destinations, Hannibal, Denver was pretty high up there. Jono looked at Hannibal for a moment, confused, and then looked up at the building in front of them.

//Right then, I'll bite. What's so special about this particular building that we had to go to Denver in order to go to a--// A pause. //Library? We're at a library?//

Okay, he was somewhat less skeptical now. Jono was a sucker for a good library.

[sharp_as_knives]

"This particular library has a program I thought you might be interested in." Hannibal called up the site on his tablet and handed it to Jono.

[furnaceface]

//Oh?// Jono accepted the tablet, and gave it a once-over. //Public library... read aloud program? Volunteer work? Reading to children?//

There was a pause.

//You're going to read to kids?//

What? It wasn't like Jonothon could. Not without scaring the crap out of them, anyway.

[sharp_as_knives]

"We are going to read to children," Hannibal corrected him. "More precisely, you'll read in English, and I'll translate in Spanish. They have a particular need of bilingual readers."

[furnaceface]

Jono took a moment to squint at Hannibal. He knew better than to think that Hannibal would willingly put him in a position where he'd end up terrifying a group of small children with his voice, but that really just raised more questions besides.

//What...// He blinked. //I mean, how were we--//

//Sorry, pardon me,// an unfamiliar voice said, bustling past Jono and Hannibal with an energetic small child in tow. And then, aloud, "Jeremy, say you're sorry for almost running into the nice men."

"Sowwyyyyy." The little boy holding his mother's hand didn't seem particularly apologetic. He had important places to be, and was right back to dragging her off into the building.

Jono just stared after them.

Buh.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal took a moment to gleefully enjoy the look on Jono's face.

"Approximately twenty-five percent of the population of this world is telepathic to some extent," he explained then.

[furnaceface]

That earned a slow headtilt. And a blink. And another few seconds of processing time before the implications of that statement all caught up to Jonothon at once.

//I. I might. Might have to visit here often. Several times. Constantly. Let's never leave? I. Thank you. Thank you.//

Welcome to Overwhelmed Jono Happy Funtimes.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal gave him an innocent look. "I'm pleased to hear you say that, since I signed us up for all ten weeks."

[furnaceface]

Jono was going to have a coherent response to that statement. Any moment now. Really. He would. In fact, he was perfectly capable of stringing words together into sentences like a grown-up person would.

It was just, first, he was going to need to take a moment to pull Hannibal into a hug and cling like a total idiot.

Shh. He was just a tad overwhelmed with something or other that he would later vehemently deny was actual emotion. Really.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled and hugged back. "You're welcome. Shall we go? There are children waiting."

[furnaceface]

Jono gave a nod that was a touch on the enthusiastic side, clinging a little more tightly for a moment before easing back again, trying not to look too overwhelmed as he nodded a yes.

//Let's,// he replied. //Let's do exactly that. And. And.//

God, he used to know how to communicate, he could have sworn it. The best he really had now was a wave of wordless appreciation, a glimmer of just how touched he really was as he reached for Hannibal's hand.

//Let's.//

Words.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled. "After you." He waved Jono toward the library.

[furnaceface]

Jono wasn't dragging Hannibal inside the way the little boy from earlier had been doing to his mother, no, but it was a near thing. Fortunately, Jono had at least a modicum of restraint hidden in there somewhere.

Which meant he was only half-bouncing anxiously from foot to foot once he was through the door.

It was going to be an excellent day.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal was more amused than anything; he steered them toward the main desk, where the charming girl directed them to the children's area. There were already a number of children milling about, including the boy that had passed them earlier, and they looked up at them hopefully.

The librarian for the area approached them, smiling. "You're Dr. Lecter and Mr. Starsmore?"

[furnaceface]

//Jonothon, please,// Jono replied, halfway just testing the waters as he stepped forward to offer the librarian a handshake. To his delight (which mostly just manifested itself by means of yet more enthusiasm to be here), nobody in the room so much as blinked. //Where do you need us?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Just over here, please, Jonothon." She gave them a grateful look as she led them to a corner set up with two chairs. "Thank you both for coming; we get a lot of disadvantaged children here, and their parents don't often have time to volunteer."

She brought out a stack of books and set them on a small table next to the chairs. "These are some bilingual books to start you with; you probably won't get through them all this time." She laughed. "Be prepared for a lot of interruptions and questions, not all of them relevant." Because children. "¿Your Spanish is fluent, Dr. Lecter?"

"It is," Hannibal answered with a nod. "Though more peninsular than American, I'm afraid."

"So I hear," she said, grinning. "Don't worry; you'll manage, I'm sure. If either of you need anything, I'll be over there behind the desk. Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Maria. Can I get you anything else?"

[furnaceface]

Jono looked between Maria and Hannibal as they chatted in Spanish. He caught a few words here and there, mostly by virtue of having spent so much time with Angelo back when he was attending the Massachusetts Academy, but really didn't have a hope in hell of following along without mentally eavesdropping, and... no, not today.

//I think we'll be fine,// he decided, poking through the titles. Some counting books, some ghost stories - Jono recognized La Llorona, again, because of Angelo - and cuter, more whimsical things. The coyote one looked promising. The one about the happy poop had him doing a double take. At least the kids would get a kick out of it, he supposed. //Is there any particular order we should read these in? Or should we let the children decide which comes first?//

It was going to end up being the poop book, he just knew it.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Whichever you like," Maria said. "Readers' choice."She turned to gather the children, and Hannibal shuffled the books.

"She wanted to know how good my Spanish is," Hannibal explained. "It's more Spanish than Latin American, but that shouldn't be a problem. What about this one?" he suggested.

He was not reading the poop book first, Jono.

[furnaceface]

Jono gave the book a thoughtful once-over, and then he nodded his approval.

//Cuban folk-stories seem like an excellent starting point,// he decided.

Better than poop!

//Shall we get started, then?// He took a seat, and made a reach for a second copy of the same book, flipping over to the first page and giving it a once-over. //Are we... going to take turns reading on the same page?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I think so, don't you?" Hannibal opened his book and waited for the children to settle. "It will be more conducive to developing their language skills."

[furnaceface]

//True enough,// Jono agreed, giving a little nod as he waited for the same. //And mine, perhaps. Always did mean to pick up a little Spanish. Beyond the sort of words Angelo typically used, that is.//

Angelo's Spanish was often not even remotely kid friendly.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I can imagine what that sort is," Hannibal said, amused.

And as the children mostly finished settling, he looked at Jono expectantly, letting him do the introductions.

[furnaceface]

//The colourful sort,// Jono replied, winking, before he looked out at the children, most of whom were giving them an expectant look as well. //Er...//

Still, nobody seemed to be freaking out, so he squared his shoulders and nodded to the little crowd that had gathered.

//Hello.// God, he was bad at this. //I'm Jono, and this is--// A pause. //Doctor Lecter?//

Was that what Hannibal wanted to be called? Jono shrugged. If Hannibal wanted the children to call him something else, he'd speak up, he was sure.

//And we'll be here to read to you through the summer.//

Which was about the tall and short of what Jono knew of the situation, thus far.