Hannibal and Jono's house, Late Friday night

[sharp_as_knives]

The knock came later than most would be visiting, but this being Fandom, it would hardly be the strangest thing.

When Hannibal opened the door, though...

He blinked.

Abigail smirked. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Hannibal rallied. "I'm surprised you didn't find a window to climb in."

"Didn't look." She shrugged. "It's winter; figured they'd be closed up tight."

The silence was slightly awkward, and it was Abigail that broke it again, though she sounded a bit less certain now. "So...can I come in? Kind of a waste of a visit otherwise."

Hannibal stepped back and waved her in, the pieces clicking into place. "It's that whim of the island's, then." He should have guessed, but it wasn't the first time he'd dreamed of Abigail. He closed the door behind her and took her hand. "It is good to see you."

Abigail let him pull her a bit closer, but she scowled. "Whose fault is it you can't?" She tucked her head into his shoulder and held on.

Hannibal sighed and kissed the top of her head. "Entirely mine, my dear. So, the weekend, then? Where shall we start?"

Comments

[furnaceface]

It was late, but Jono wasn't so much a light sleeper as an insomniac, and he was already up on the sofa in the other room, reading a book. On his phone. Because apparently phones doubled as books these days, and would wonders never cease?

Jono did look up from his phone, at least, to see Hannibal lead the girl into the house. And then he blinked. Huh. He didn't recognize her. One of the new students, maybe?

... Were there any new students, besides Pinkie?

//Ah, hullo,// he offered, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. //Sorry, wasn't expecting company. Should I leave you two be?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"It's apparently one of those weekends," Hannibal said by way of explanation. "Abigail is here for the weekend, to visit. Abigail, this is Jonothon Starsmore, my husband."

[sharpened_him]

Husband? "Um...how long have I been dead?" Abigail asked. She gave Jono a dubious look, only partly because he seemed to be...on fire?

[furnaceface]

//One of-- Oh.//

One of those weekends. Jono fell silent for a moment, doing a quick scan of the island to see if his granddad was around, or Mira. Or anybody else he'd lost, really. Ev. Sean.

God, it was a depressing list that went much, much longer.

[sharpened_him]

"Huh." Abigail shook her head like there was a fly buzzing around it. Because his voice was in her head. And not like Hannibal's sometimes was, either. "Okay, this place wins for weird. Though I guess me being here was a bit of a clue."

[sharp_as_knives]

"It has its own whims," Hannibal said. "And people from many different worlds. Do you really want to spend however long you're here in discussing that?"

[sharpened_him]

"The weekend," Abigail answered absently. She shrugged. "Not like I had any actual plans, though. I just...sort of wanted to see you."

[furnaceface]

Jono fidgeted a little, awkwardly. Right. He was that weird she was talking about, wasn't he?

//Perhaps I should let you two catch up, then?//

Not that he didn't think you were the bee's knees, Abigail, but Jono was sometimes bad with people in general and the feeling that he was intruding on something in particular.

[sharpened_him]

Abigail shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. Kind of curious about what kind of guy he'd marry," she flicked her eyes to Hannibal. "Or would marry him. And you're not running screaming from me or trying to pick my brains, so I'm good."

[furnaceface]

Jono blinked and kind of held up a finger at the 'pick my brains' bit. And then realized that she probably didn't mean it quite like that, and lowered his finger again before looking questioningly at Hannibal.

He was going to defer this one to his husband, then. Hannibal had as much say in this one as she did, he figured. He was probably the reason she was here, after all.

On so many levels, Jon. So many.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Abigail was a little famous, or infamous, back in our world," Hannibal explained, "through no fault of her own. Don't worry," he told her, "nobody here has heard of either of us."

[sharpened_him]

"Bet that comes in handy," Abigail quipped.

[furnaceface]

//You can't imagine,// Jono noted, his tone slightly dry as he stole a glance toward the kitchen.

You know. For obvious reasons.

//This place is excellent for anybody who would like to get away from being infamous for a while, I'll give it that. So... how did you know one another?//

[sharpened_him]

"You'd be surprised." He wasn't even the first cannibal she'd known.

"Hannibal saved my life," Abigail said. "Then he was really like a father to me," she added, perfectly seriously.

If, you know, your father had fed you human meat and slit your throat, too.

Hannibal gave her an exasperated sigh, and she just shrugged.

[furnaceface]

//Really?//

And here, Jono was giving Hannibal a look that was sort of meant to convey, 'You never mentioned a daughter figure to me before,' without... being too obvious that he was trying to convey exactly that.

Sometimes, Jono forgot that he could be very selective about his telepathy.

//He does have a habit of taking in the odd person in need of guidance.//

Strays. He took in human strays the same way Will collected dogs. For better or for worse.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Abigail's father was a serial killer," Hannibal said wryly. "She was his last victim."

[sharpened_him]

"Not yours, though." Abigail sat on the couch, not too close to Jono, and looked up at Hannibal. "What happened to Will?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"After that night?" Hannibal asked. Abigail nodded. "I don't know, beyond the basics. I have moved on, in a way I never thought I could. It seemed inadvisable to pursue him any further."

[sharpened_him]

"Never thought you'd ever move on after that," Abigail said. "We were going to be a family." She glanced at Jono guiltily. "No offense. I'm glad he's got someone, anyway. Just never thought it'd happen."

[furnaceface]

Jono just shrugged his shoulders a little, looking between the two of them, somewhat perplexed.

But Hannibal had... killed her. That was what he was getting from all of this. And she was happy for him, and they were going to something- his head hurt.

//None taken,// he said, a little dumbly. //I remember the last time he spoke to Will. Or... at least the aftermath of it. He's come a long way since, too.//

That said, Hannibal was getting such a side-eye.

[sharpened_him]

"Really?" Abigail was skeptical, but...well, you never knew. "How long ago was that?"

Abigail could put pictures together, too.

[furnaceface]

//Ah... little over two years, I think,// Jono replied, looking up at the ceiling in thought. //Back when I was still... and there was a...//

'Working for Karla' and 'thing where Hannibal played dirty.' No, he wasn't saying any of these things to Abigail. Thanks.

//Anyway, we sparred.//

Briefly.

[sharp_as_knives]

"The same evening you died, Abigail," Hannibal added. No, there were some things she didn't need to know.

[sharpened_him]

"You haven't talked to him since? Wow. You really did move on, didn't you?" She probably sounded a little bitter about that. Then again, she figured she had the right to be.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Will wanted nothing to do with me, nor indeed with himself," Hannibal said firmly and a bit disparagingly.

He paused and sat on the chair by Abigail's side of the sofa, then tucked her hair behind her ear. "When parents argue, it is very rarely the children's fault."

[sharpened_him]

"The kids still get the brunt of it, though, don't they?" Abigail said. "It wasn't ever really about me, but that sort of hurts more, y'know?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"I know." Hannibal bent to catch her eye. "I'm very sorry, Abigail. Forgive me?"

[sharpened_him]

She looked up at him, met his eyes for a few seconds, then shrugged and smiled. "Of course. I wouldn't be here if I didn't, right?"

[furnaceface]

Jono kind of tried not to shift his weight too obviously, there on the couch during that exchange. He sort of felt like he was intruding on something private, here, and, weirdly, like the boyfriend showing up after a divorce, meeting the kids for the first time.

... Which he supposed he sort of was.

It was difficult to sneak out of the room while you were glowing from nose to navel, so Jono just sort of gathered up his shoulders and pretended to be very interested in his phone for a bit.

Really awkwardly interested in his phone.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I'm pleased to hear it." Hannibal smiled back at her. "Now, will you do me a favor?" He leaned closer. "Tell Jono that he's been better for me than Will was, and that I'm happy he's here and pleased to introduce you two. And then steal his phone."

[sharpened_him]

Abigail looked from Hannibal to Jono and back, a calculating look on her face. "What's in it for me?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Proper hot chocolate and snacks?" Hannibal offered.

[sharpened_him]

"No people?" Abigail asked, just to be sure.

[sharp_as_knives]

"No people," Hannibal assured her.

[sharpened_him]

"Deal." Abigail reached to grab Jono's phone, already getting up to run.

[furnaceface]

//Wh-- hey!//

Well, that was one way to get Jonothon's attention, anyway.

//What'd you do that for?!// Look at Jono, pulling himself to his feet, too. Which, granted, was better than trying to fold himself into himself even more.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Because she needed something to do, and you needed an excuse to look up," Hannibal said. He stood, too, and wrapped one arm around Jono to lead him into the kitchen as well. "I am here, and glad of it. And you are a large part of that."

[furnaceface]

Jono wrinkled his nose a bit at the explanation, but relaxed against Hannibal once he wrapped his arm around his waist.

//Well, I would hope we wouldn't be married if I wasn't at least some part of that,// he said, only half-joking. //Still, I can give you two space if you need it. At any point, just say th'word. S'a big house.//

And if he got his phone back he could get back to reading.

[sharp_as_knives]

"We may want some time," Hannibal said, "but Abigail is very curious, and will likely want to spend time with you as well. Be prepared for a lot of questions, some of them rather blunt."

[furnaceface]

//Blunt, I'm fine with,// Jono replied, shrugging his shoulders a little. //So long as it isn't blunt and cruel or blunt and screaming in terror, it's fine. Nothing the matter with curiosity.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I can't promise she may not be a little cruel," Hannibal warned. "She is a teenager, and she enjoys testing people."

Her home life hadn't really led to stability. Imagine that.

[furnaceface]

//There's testing, and then there's spitting in a person's face because you legitimately think they're an abomination of nature,// Jono pointed out. If she manages to say anything that's any worse than any of the students around here have, I'll mostly be impressed, I think.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smirked. "Best not to tell her that. I have a feeling she might take it as a challenge."

[furnaceface]

//She's welcome to,// Jono joked, shaking his head. //I think she'd have a hard time topping some of the bile I've heard over the years, really.//

She hadn't immediately tried to put out his face, so she had some fierce competition.