Hannibal's house, Friday evening

[sharp_as_knives]

The bouquet was lovely - dark red roses, glossy dark leaves. Classy, yet sedate. He rather thought Bella would have appreciated them.

He wasn't entirely certain if Jack would, but his duty as a friend hardly ceased simply because they'd had an altercation.

He pulled out a sheet of good cream stationery and pondered what to say. To be eloquent, or simple?



[OOC: For the one who TOTALLY DOESN'T REALLY LIVE HERE, HONEST. And open to phone calls, texts, etc.]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

"Me?" Hannibal asked. He shrugged. "Bella saw her death as a kindness. A cure for her cancer. I see no reason to lament anything but having one fewer lovely person in the world. Jack will mourn her, though. They were very close."

He should probably avoid anything too flowery; Jack might be too emotional already. Or he could see it as mockery.

[furnaceface]

That did get a thoughtful squint out of Jono, there.

//I imagine he would,// he agreed, after a moment. //He's... erm... the same Jack? As that one time?//

Look, there had been a lot of things going on at the time. Jono figured Hannibal would know which 'that one time' he was referring to. Or maybe 'Jack' was just a common name and he was being ridiculous.

He kind of hoped he was being ridiculous.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled. "Which time?" He'd told Jono about a few things; he could mean any of them.

[furnaceface]

There really was no delicate way to put this, was there?

//The fight, in the kitchen?//

That really ugly one. That fight in the kitchen. With the stabbing.

Like... was there an appropriate way to say, 'I know I attempted to kill you that one time, but I'm sorry your wife is dead?'

[sharp_as_knives]

Well, he'd been happy to leave Jack alive so long as he wasn't actively coming after him.

"Then yes," Hannibal answered, "that Jack. He pulled through nicely."

[furnaceface]

//Well, that's...// Jono took a moment to kind of look speculatively at Hannibal's expression. //Good?//

... He would be the first to admit that he honestly wasn't sure.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal shrugged. "Jack is a friend and a good man. I can hardly blame him for doing his job. I'm pleased he was intelligent enough to survive."

Not that he wouldn't have killed Jack in a heartbeat, but it was good to know his taste in friends (ha) was at least still somewhat reliable.

[furnaceface]

//Fair enough,// Jono replied, more or less mollified by that answer. //I'm sorry he's lost his wife, then.//

He really couldn't blame a man of the law for doing his job, either. Especially knowing Hannibal's other pastimes. What hadn't been spelled out for him, he could more or less piece together from context, and if it had been anybody but Hannibal in that position, this conversation would have been very different.

Got into his head, that's what Hannibal did. Got right into his bloody head.

//I... hope he receives the flowers in the spirit they're intended,// he added, tentatively.

Because he knew he sure as hell wouldn't have, in Jack's shoes.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "I've been deciding what to say. I probably will keep it simple; just say I'm sorry for her loss."

[furnaceface]

Jono gave a little nod of his own at that.

//Probably the best way to go about it,// he decided. //If you have to say anything at all, probably a good idea to just keep it all to-the-point.//

Jono's excellent mood was taking a few dings, here. He bounced his knee a few times, and then added, //I can't imagine he'll be thrilled to hear from you, if the whole... kitchen thing was your last time speaking.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal shrugged. "Possibly not. But if he's spending time angry at me, he's spending less time grieving. Jack functions better with anger than with grief. And Bella deserves the acknowledgement."

He rubbed Jono's shoulder. "It will either be a comfort, or a distraction. Possibly both. Either way, it will help him."

[furnaceface]

Jono... couldn't argue with that logic, really. He did better with anger than grief, himself. It was just, generally he turned that anger inward, was the thing.

//Well, I suppose there's that, then.// He bounced his knee again, and then shrugged and leaned closer to Hannibal. //There are worse distractions than roses, anyway.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal wrapped an arm around Jono and grinned. "Are you suggesting I should buy you flowers?"

[furnaceface]

Jono gave the mental equivalent of a 'pffft' to that.

//It isn't as though I know what the hell to do with flowers, anyway. They sit there, the cats eat them, it's usually a mess,// he pointed out. //Get me flowers outside of some sort of flower-appropriate occasion, and I'm liable to just look at you strangely, you know.//

Lies.

[sharp_as_knives]

"And what would you consider a flower-appropriate occasion?" Hannibal asked.

He could hear that lie. Of course, Jono was as likely to get desert roses as the more traditional kind. Beautiful and deadly.

[furnaceface]

//Er...// Hell if Jono knew, really. //Valentine's day, I suppose. Or illness. Weddings?//

Jono didn't get sick often, thought Valentine's was overrated, and really had no weddings planned in the immediate future. So.

[sharp_as_knives]

Valentine's was past this year, if Jono got sick Hannibal would probably be occupied getting him unsick, and any weddings Hannibal knew about he'd probably be arrested for attending.

"I suppose we'll have to find another reason, then," Hannibal said. "Although there may be a greater chance of the latter, depending upon how many of the people here the news today affects." Whichever version of Baltimore Fandom was attached to, it had been very...rainbow, today.

[furnaceface]

//News today?// That had Jono blinking, yeah. He'd been pretty entranced with his book, and still tended to avoid the internet more than most. //Oh?//

Way to pique his curiosity, Hannibal.

[sharp_as_knives]

Honestly, Jono? If you never paid attention to the news, how did you know if you were in it?

Hannibal gave him an amused and exasperated look, then pulled up a news site on his tablet. It was currently showing a picture of the White House lit up like a rainbow, over a "MARRIAGE EQUALITY" headline. "This is true for a wide spectrum of worlds, from what I can tell."

[furnaceface]

Jono tried very hard to not know if he was in the news, these days. He had bad enough experiences with the media, he wasn't in any hurry to actually engage with it.

...

//Cor.// He blinked at the tablet. //Well, isn't that one hell of a headline? Good for them.//

Jono. Jono, you lived in America.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "I'm in favor of anything that allows people to be more true to themselves. It's only a start, but a good one, I think."

And it meant that if he were ever captured, he could propose to Jono and prevent him testifying against him. It was useful knowledge.

[furnaceface]

... There were probably less elaborate ways to keep from making Jono testify, that still didn't involve murder, Hannibal.

//There's still a long way to go,// he agreed. //Doesn't matter where you go, people are going to find excuses to be utter shite to one another.//

It was exhausting. And now Jono's mood had sort of simmered down to 'pleasant melancholy,' instead. He leaned against Hannibal a little more, and tried again.

//Still, a step like this is a big one. One less thing for bigots to hold over people's heads is generally a good change of pace.//

[sharp_as_knives]

But the elaborate ways were much more fun!

"True. And the atmosphere across the causeway seems quite celebratory." He raised an eyebrow. "Shall I see these flowers to their destination, and then we can go and see what's happening?" It wasn't that far to DC.

[furnaceface]

//Sounds like a good time,// Jono decided, after taking a moment to talk himself out of his usual knee-jerk, 'don't wanna.' He did want to. It was just that sometimes, he needed to remind himself of that fact. //Give me a few minutes to wrap up, and then we can go and take it all in? I imagine there are going to be a lot of happy people out tonight.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Very likely." Hannibal waved the card in the air. "I'll address this and see about a portal to DC."