Chapter Text
Hellish, tormenting, gut-wrenching are all words that Will Graham would use to describe his attempts at sleep. It’s horrible. He constantly woke up swimming in sweat. Tonight was nothing new.
Yeah, right.
Will’s eyes opened sharply, dry and unfocused. His hands clamored at his sides grasping desperately at the sheets by his side. Smooth. That was unusual to say the least, the sensation of the blanket under him was nothing like the one he was used to at home. It was soft and comfortable, and there was an unnerving lack of dog hair. He sat in it for a second, the slip of the fabric quickly became its own brand of uncomfortable.
Will blinked hard a couple times to see if he was just hallucinating again. Then the realization hit, scarier than any nightmare. This isn’t his room . He plopped back down into the bed and pulled the comforter at his side over his shoulders.
And then the blanket pulled back.
Well, there was no sentient blanket here but somebody did pull the covers back over themself. Somehow the night couldn't get worse for Will. He’d just had a terrible nightmare, woke up in somebody else’s room, and they were in that bed with him. He wasn’t a drunk by any means, usually his dad would let him have a finger of whiskey with him on weekends, but he had to have been absolutely fucking wasted to be in this position on a school night.
“Another nightmare, Will?”
That was another piece of information the teen didn’t need. He was in bed with another guy, this was going to make gossip headlines. Will really wanted to scream, nearly choking it back. Even at this late hour, the voice of the person next to him had a familiar European accent.
“You really should try to sleep, Will,” Hannibal said quietly.
“You’re kidding me right?” Will stammered, reaching for his glasses on the ornate night stand. “Please tell me I didn’t just have a one-night-stand with you,” he laughed awkwardly, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. The floor is cold and smooth under his feet. He frantically rose from the bed, cool air attacks his back. He turns to look at the student a year-and-a-half his senior, laying down on his side. Even while attempting to sleep, he is rigid. Guilt started to overcome Will, he stared intently at the sweaty indentation of his body marked into the satin sheets. Disgusting .
Hannibal exhaled sharply through his nose, his eyes still shut. “No, I assure you there was nothing of that nature. Now please, there are classes in the morning, come back to bed,” he said nonchalantly.
Will scrubbed his hands down his face with absolute disbelief, glasses sitting askew on his nose. “You’ve got to be joking me. How drunk was I?”
“As far as I’m aware you’re sober.”
“Oh come on, I wake up in your bed, only in my sleep shirt and underwear, there is no way I didn’t black out and make some kind of,” he paused, “ regrettable decisions.” His eyes darted between the senior and his clothes folded neatly on the chair across the room.
The older boy simmered in the ridiculously large bed. He sat up, resting against the headboard. His hair fell loosely around his face and a slouchy red sweater hung around his svelte frame. This was the most undone Will has ever seen Hannibal Lecter. He met Will with a relaxed smile, eyes dark and glossed over with sleep. He’s fighting back a laugh. “Please, take my word for it, we didn’t do anything.”
“That doesn’t explain why I’m in your bed!” Will exclaimed, a little too loud for the hour of night. He drew his arms closer to him, fingers rubbing circles into his palms for comfort.
His paranoid words clearly stung Hannibal as his face twitched in annoyment. “Calm down. Sharing beds with other men is far more common outside of the United States, it has far less of a homosexual implication there.”
Hannibal stared at Will like he was going insane. Like a lost child. Like there wasn’t anything, anything at all alarming about what was happening. Will stared at him, slack-jawed and stuttering over words he couldn’t quite find. He could feel his cheeks flush with embarrassment and another nervous laugh building up in his chest.
“That isn’t going to help my case when I walk into the school building now is it,” Will deadpanned. “I can already hear Freddie Lounds’ stupid headline now. Breaking News: Junior Class Joke Will Graham does it with School Prodigy Hannibal Lecter.” Will announced, drawing out an arc with his hands in the air.
Will’s arms dropped to his sides again. He let the air still around him and Hannibal once again. Pale rays of moonlight scattered on the floor through the large window to the left of the room. Its curtains parted just enough to let in some light.
Hannibal’s head tipped to the side, face entirely neutral. “That does sound like one of her blog posts,” His voice was amused, Hannibal was secretly an avid reader of his classmate’s trashy gossip site, “but I’m sure you’d like me to do some explaining.”
“Yes, you have quite a bit to explain, Hannibal.”