Chapter Text
^ Jamie Burns and his friend Nick
^ Jamie Burns sitting on a bench
^ Actor Matt Bomer shirtless, because... :O
Chapter 1
Hannibal crossed his legs and settled comfortably in his chair. He was listening to one of his new favourite clients, James—or Jamie, as he liked to be called. Hannibal couldn’t take his eyes off him. He stared at the younger man’s short, dark, wavy hair and his piercing blue eyes.
“…What is the point of doing anything? What’s the point of all this?” Jamie said, gesturing wildly at the room.
Hannibal tilted his head and smiled subtly, but Jamie noticed and took offense.
“You think this is funny or something? I thought you were supposed to be non-judgmental, but you’re sitting there staring at me like I’m an amusing specimen.” Jamie said, leaning forward in his chair. He was ready to get up and leave.
“It’s not that, Jamie, let me assure you. It’s simply because you remind me of someone…” Hannibal said fondly.
Jamie slowly leaned back in his chair.
“Will Graham…Do you know him?” Jamie said quietly.
Hannibal was astonished; he wasn’t sure if he should confirm it or not. How did he know about Will? This could be a major breach of psychiatrist-patient confidentiality. Jamie smiled as he realized the usually confident Dr. Lecter was now squirming, unsure of what to do.
“He’s my brother. Let me guess, he’s a patient of yours, too.” Jamie said amusedly.
Hannibal’s jaw dropped slightly; Will Graham had a brother? This young man, Jamie, was related to Will?! No wonder they resembled each other so closely. Both of them held such beauty, they could stop his heart.
“I…had no idea.” Hannibal said.
“We were young when our parents divorced. I went to live with our mother and I took her surname, Burns. Will lived with our father and kept the name Graham.” Jamie explained.
Hannibal began having intrusive thoughts of kissing Jamie and Will, together in bed, taking turns. There were two of these divine creatures, both in his circle of acquaintances, close enough to touch. He wanted to collect both of them.
“I see.” Hannibal said.
“Will is two years older than me.” Jamie said.
Hannibal salivated; Will Graham’s baby brother…
“We haven’t been close since we were kids. I hope it's okay to have you as my psychiatrist. I mean, Will and I never talk about anything, let alone what we might discuss with you in therapy.” Jamie said.
“…I’m afraid it would be unethical for me to continue seeing both of you at the same time, Jamie.” Hannibal said reluctantly.
“What? Please don’t drop me. I need your help. I can’t get these thoughts out of my head, and I can’t sort out the conflict inside me. I think I’m going insane, Doctor. Please.” Jamie rambled nervously.
Hannibal raised his hand, which managed to hush Jamie and calm him. The young man stayed silent, although he was trembling with anxiety.
“I believe you both need my help. I’ll keep seeing you, and Will.” Hannibal said, but it wasn’t a kind gesture; it was selfish.
“Oh, thank you.” Jamie said earnestly.
“It’s quite alright. Jamie…can you tell me about the thoughts? The ones you feel are outside your control?” Hannibal said softly.
Jamie sighed exasperatedly; Hannibal felt the urge to tell him how similar he and Will were, but he refrained.
“You’ll lock me up if I tell you.” Jamie said.
“We’ll deal with the consequences together. What are the thoughts?” Hannibal said assuredly.
“…death…” Jamie muttered.
“Death? Can you be more specific?” Hannibal asked.
“I’ll be looking at someone…and in my head, I’ll kill them. I think it’s real, until I snap out of it. I’m fucking crazy, Doctor. Sometimes I don’t care whether it’s real or not…other times, I’m terrified of hurting somebody.” Jamie admitted.
Hannibal was enthralled. Will thought about killing as part of his job, and Jamie thought about killing just for fun, it seemed. They both resisted their dark urges. Hannibal wanted to peel back the layers of Jamie Burns and Will Graham like clothing…bit by bit, until the two were exposed to him in their purest forms.
Jamie watched Dr. Lecter thoughtfully rub his bottom lip with his fingertip. The psychiatrist’s dark eyes bored into his soul for several moments.
“Why do you only care sometimes, about the possibility of hurting others?” Hannibal asked.
Jamie stopped trembling and his demeanour changed; he became self-assured, aloof, unemotional. Hannibal wondered if Jamie was retreating to his fantasy world, or if he had multiple personalities.
“Because most of the time, I can’t be bothered. What does it matter if I do something to them or not? They’re going to die anyway. We all die.” Jamie said.
Hannibal was utterly fascinated.
“Jamie…I am still speaking to Jamie, aren’t I?” Hannibal said.
Jamie scoffed.
“You think I have a split personality? Of course you’re still ‘speaking to Jamie’.” Jamie said irritatedly.
“Good. Very good…” Hannibal praised; he liked when Jamie became aggressive.
Jamie wasn’t exactly sure what Dr. Lecter was approving of, but he enjoyed the older man’s approval.
“I like when my patients show themselves to me…,” Hannibal said, and Jamie raised a flirtatious eyebrow, “Their true selves. You don’t have to censor yourself here. You are free to be this version of yourself with me.”
“Thank you. I’ll try to learn to save up all my craziness during the week and let it loose on you in our sessions.” Jamie said.
“Please do.” Hannibal said playfully.
They shared a moment, gazing at one another, as their mutual attraction became obvious. Hannibal watched Jamie sigh and relax into the chair, spreading his knees apart as he settled comfortably. Hannibal briefly glanced down to take a peek at Jamie’s bulge. Jamie caught him looking, apparently, because he eyed him seductively. Hannibal was ravenous; the young man’s likeness to Will, and his effortless seductiveness, drove him crazy. One look from those beautiful blue eyes was enough to make him hard; same as Will. Hannibal crossed his legs.
“…Might I make a suggestion, Jamie?” Hannibal asked.
“Yeah. Go ahead.” Jamie said.
“I think it would be beneficial for you and Will to reconnect. I could help facilitate that.” Hannibal said.
“Hmm. I don’t know. We’re already sharing you. I don’t want him interfering with our time together.” Jamie said possessively.
Hannibal felt a stirring in his boxers; he crossed his legs the other way to distract himself.
“We will still have plenty of time alone, just the two of us. Will and I have our private sessions, and you and I have private sessions, but perhaps the three of us can meet. Wouldn’t it be rewarding to catch up with your brother?” Hannibal said persuasively.
Jamie carefully considered it, then he smiled.
“Okay. I’ll do it. As long as Will wants to.” Jamie said.
“Wonderful. I’ll bring up the idea with Will. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.” Hannibal said.
“I doubt it. We had a…dysfunctional relationship when we were young.” Jamie said.
“Can you tell me more about that?” Hannibal asked, intrigued.
“After our parents divorced, we had regular visits with each other. I became overly attached to him. He pushed me away all the time. I think he resented me for being so needy. When we were in our teens and our father had us for visitations, he’d take us camping in the middle of nowhere. He would get drunk on the beers he brought and leave us to fend for ourselves. On those occasions, Will and I shared a tent, and I eventually convinced him to cuddle. Um…we…experimented and practiced sexual things. Has Will told you about that? He was always ashamed of it. I don’t really care—it was how we bonded and kept ourselves entertained while our father was passed out drunk.” Jamie explained.
Hannibal’s mind was busy with visions of Jamie and Will fooling around together. He cleared his throat to bring himself out of his reverie.
“I can’t tell you what Will has discussed in therapy.” Hannibal said.
“Oh, of course. I’m sorry, Doctor.” Jamie said, now acting coy.
“It’s alright, Jamie. I understand that you’re curious.” Hannibal said; he wanted to give in and tell Jamie that Will had never disclosed that secret. Hannibal also wanted to ask for details about Will, but he stopped himself.
“I think I have daddy issues. I have a thing for dominating older men.” Jamie blurted out flirtatiously.
Hannibal swallowed hard.
“I see.” Hannibal said.
“I’m sure Will has daddy issues, too…I wonder how they manifest. I wonder if Will likes to be dominant or submissive. I bet he’s submissive…especially to older men or authority figures…such as yourself.” Jamie said softly.
Hannibal felt like he was walking a tightrope between maintaining his professional composure and ravishing Jamie right here in his office. It was a bad idea to keep seeing him as a patient.
“Unfortunately, Jamie, our time is up for today’s session.” Hannibal said with relief.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next day, Hannibal was sitting across from Will, who was shocked to hear that his brother was also a patient.
“I think it’s a good idea for the two of you to catch up. I can be present to make things less awkward.” Hannibal said.
“I’m not sure how I feel about this. Jamie and I barely know each other. We grew up in different households. The last I heard from him, he was still in college…it sounded like he was in some sort of cult or something. He kept obsessing over this Nick guy, who seemed to be a destructive influence. Jamie was losing his way, and I just…let him get lost, I suppose. I was starting my career…” Will said, then he sighed.
“It sounds like you have some unfinished business with him.” Hannibal said.
Will nodded subtly.
“I do. But…I’m reluctant to see him. I don’t suppose he told you anything about the time he sabotaged our father’s brakes as a teenager. He could’ve killed us. Luckily, my father just reversed out of the driveway and backed into a fence. What about when I had to bail Jamie out for reckless driving in his freshman year? Or that he was a suspect in an arson case? I doubt he told you anything. My brother is unstable and dangerous.” Will said.
“Are you worried about me? Or yourself? Because I assure you, Jamie is not a danger to me.” Hannibal said.
“How do you know that?” Will asked.
“I can handle him.” Hannibal said.
Will studied Dr. Lecter and pondered the situation.
“Dr. Lecter, Jamie has always been troubled. Disturbed. I can’t imagine what he’s like now.” Will said nervously.
“I can’t discuss the details, but I don’t believe he is dangerous to either of us. It’s fascinating how much he reminds me of you…” Hannibal said softly.
Will perked up when Dr. Lecter’s tone became affectionate.
“I guess we could try. But I don’t want to go into family therapy with him. Can we just make it a casual thing?” Will said.
“I’m glad you’re willing to try, Will. How about the two of you come to dinner tomorrow evening? Shall we say, seven?” Hannibal said.
Will sighed, then he nodded.
“Okay.” Will agreed.
(To Be Continued…)