Hannibal's house, Friday evening (with hints of the past)

[sharp_as_knives]

The day had been decidedly long, and Hannibal was glad to finally make his way, avoiding any untoward encounters, back home. And, since Jono wasn't home yet, have a leisurely dinner of the sort he wasn't sharing with anyone these days.

[OOC: For the guy who can't duck a pitchfork!]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

"But you did deal with him," Hannibal pointed out. "Good." He peered at the wounds. "Lean forward; I'm going to give you a local anesthetic before I clean these out."

[furnaceface]

//Right,// Jono murmured, leaning forward obediently. //I did deal with him.//

Which was great for the 'out here' aspect of him, but really didn't make him go away from where he was camped out inside the shadows of his own head.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal dried his hands on a towel and unpacked a syringe and anesthetic. "Even a symbolic victory has significance," he said. "Eventually you should look at that part of yourself and accept the parts that are still true and dismiss the rest. Until then, the fact that you were willing to get rid of him when he taunted you is promising."

[furnaceface]

There was a long moment's silence, and then Jono offered, //Raven was offering to do it for me. Didn't know that it was me, at first. And he's... you know how dangerous he is. At least somewhat. I had no idea if he could be just as destructive as the mob that had chased her.//

Even this time, he hadn't gotten rid of him entirely for his own sake.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal thought for a moment as he administered the anesthetic around the wounds. "I still choose to see it as progress. One of us must be an optimist."

[furnaceface]

//And you're much better at it than I am,// Jono half-teased, keeping his eyes closed. //You're probably the right man for th'job, there.//

Jono was never going to be an optimist. Sorry, Hannibal.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I accept," Hannibal said, grinning. He kissed the back of Jono's head and set the needle down in favor of a bulb syringe. "But I'll at least make a realist of you yet."

[furnaceface]

//We can't just settle for the two of us almost averaging out to realism?//

Almost, because Jono's pessimism was well and truly established. And was pretty darn pessimistic.

[sharp_as_knives]

And Hannibal's optimism was less, "everything will end for the best" and more, "I'll make everything end for the best and kill what gets in my way", so.

"I never settle for less than the best," Hannibal answered, rinsing the deeper wounds as clean as he could. At least they didn't have to worry about infection, with Jono's flames licking out through the holes.

[furnaceface]

That did help rather a lot, yes.

//True enough,// Jono allowed. //I'll behave myself, then, and not ask how in the world it was that you decided to settle for me.//

That was kind of like asking, Jono.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I settle for nothing," Hannibal said firmly. He finished washing everything, then set down the syringe and coaxed Jono to lean back against him again. "Do you think I would accept less in a partner than in anything else?"

[furnaceface]

Ah, leaning. Good. Jono was very happy to lean, easing back so that he was resting against Hannibal.

//No,// he said, finally. //No, I suppose you wouldn't, would you?//

To say anything less would be insulting, really.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Never." Hannibal smiled into Jono's hair. "I suppose you'll simply have to accept that." He moved his hands over Jono's sides and as much of his chest as there was, searching out other injuries.

[furnaceface]

//I suppose,// Jono murmured, settling in and closing his eyes, //I'm just going to have to, aren't I?//

Such hardship. Truly.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Somehow," Hannibal agreed. He murmured in Jono's ear. "You're also going to have to fix these holes. I'll help."

Sorry, Jono; there was a price to being the best.

[furnaceface]

Now would have been terrible timing for an 'has anybody told you lately that you're terrible' quip, so Jono was selling for cracking open one eye and giving Hannibal a stinkeye instead.

//Brat,// he mumbled. He'd much rather sleep, but sleep wasn't really in the cards anyway.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal kissed the corner of that eye. "Unless you want me reaching into you to close them from the inside as well?" he pointed out.

[furnaceface]

That... sounded unpleasant.

//You wouldn't be able to see what you're doing in there anyway,// Jono muttered, closing his eye again and shaking his head. //I'll give it a try, give it a start, at least, but if I get too tired, I'm stopping. I'd rather be injured and awake until this situation is resolved than healed up neatly but out cold while the island is under attack.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Of course," Hannibal agreed. "Only as much as you can. I can stitch the outside. At the same time as you work, if the imagery would help rather than distract."

[furnaceface]

//It'd definitely keep my attention on what's going on back there, should some other bloody vision show up and attempt to drive me spare midway,// he noted. //If it's a distraction, I'll just let you finish and then get back to it.//

He didn't figure he was going to get terribly far, himself. But he'd give it a go, anyway. The less wounded he was for all this, the better.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "Best we do that on dry land, however. We can relax here first, as long as you like."

[furnaceface]

Jono was cracking open one eye again, but this time it was in vague amusement.

//I'm liable to just try to stay in here forever,// he noted. //And then you'll be trapped underneath me, marinating in my bloody bathwater until the end of time.//

What a way to go...?

[sharp_as_knives]

"It would make a terrible marinade," Hannibal answered. "No spices or acids."

After a beat, he added, "Also, it will probably be cold shortly."

[furnaceface]

//You'd still get wrinkly toes either way,// Jono decided, shrugging one shoulder a little before shifting his weight. Carefully. //... Help me up again?//

Cold nasty bathwater didn't sound half as comfortable as it had been when he'd gotten into the tub.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal gently moved Jono forward and levered himself out of the bath, toweling enough not to drip before turning to give Jono a hand.