sharp_as_knives | Hannibal's house, Wednesday

Hannibal rolled down his sleeves and nodded at the table. Everything looked to be in order for his little dinner. He'd made a slight variation on steak and kidney pie, with Yorkshire puddings, horseradish potatoes, and roast winter vegetables. And, since Jono would likely be far too busy to visit on Christmas day (Winsol no doubt meant a security nightmare above what it already was), Christmas pudding, one week early. It had been sitting for around a month, which should have been long enough, anyway.

Hopefully it would be a welcome break from the excessive work Jono was no doubt putting himself through, and they would have a chance to talk and share music again.

He had no doubts of Jono showing up - he'd sent a beautifully calligraphed invitation.

[OOC: For the one mentioned, though I suppose if anyone wants to drop by beforehand, why not?]

Current Mood: mellow
Current Location: 22 Phoenix Place

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Which Karla would no doubt give right back to you," Hannibal said. He started eating - it really was good pie. "Morton is helping you - are there no others you could trust to recruit?"

From:

furnaceface

Jonothon shrugged his shoulders a little and shook his head.

//We could potentially get Julian in on this, but it's not really his style. And what we're doing...// His brow furrowed. //Morton and I can keep it quiet. We can do it without drawing attention, without leaving evidence. A cut throat. A convenient fire. It's winter. Everyone's burning something these days...//

He closed his eyes and let himself focus, for a moment, on the pie. It was lovely, wasn't it?

//This old tom, he came from the butcher's shop, as I said. We were after a mark who was renting a room, and while we were there, I dug deep enough and found that the butcher was in on the first one's plot. Was going to dispose of the body, so there was no chance that Karla would come back as demon dead. Or, at least, so that there wouldn't be enough pieces for her to do a hell of a lot if she did.//

From:

sharp_as_knives

Well, Hannibal certainly couldn't fault the man's disposal methods, but at least he'd never had to worry about any of his meals coming back to life. Not even on Fandom, so far! "A pleasant thought."

He took another sip of beer. "A pity you can't at least make an example of them, to deter others. Instead you're left with almost as much work when you finish." He looked at Jono calmly. "Are they getting more or less frequent, the nosebleeds and headaches?"

From:

furnaceface

//Believe me, I'd love to make an example of them, if it wouldn't just make them bloody martyrs. I might have a perpetual stream of work to be done, but if this were to be connected to Karla in any way, shape, or form, the fallout would be far worse.//

He was quiet for a long moment more, before answering Hannibal's question. He really didn't seem all that keen on doing so, no, which probably said plenty on its own.

//Less... ish. I push harder, try to stretch my consciousness a little farther, whenever the physical strain starts to be a little less. I can't quite reach Glacia's borders, and the plots sprout up from all over the territory.//

From:

sharp_as_knives

So, that sort of "less" that resembled "more"?

"And probably from outside it," Hannibal pointed out mildly. He set down the beer in favor of leaning closer to Jono, reaching to put a hand on his. "You will never be able to see everything. Beyond the physical strain, what will be the result if an attempt should come from someplace you haven't been able to look? By taking everything on yourself, you are setting yourself up for failure and further guilt."

From:

furnaceface

//Couple more months,// Jono mumbled. //I only have to keep this up a couple more months. And then Karla will have the Ebon-Grey behind her again, and she can take care of her own goddamn self for a while.//

He... didn't mean to sound so bitter about that. He winced a bit, and then turned his gaze toward Hannibal's hand on his own.

//S'exhausting,// he admitted. //It's been a while since I've been this exhausted. This is... deep tired. To the bone tired. Witchblood lung tired and Weapon X tired and Akkaba tired, and here I am, keeping it a brilliant secret by bumping into walls and slipping out late and coming back with the occasional cat I can't hide from Karla forever and the far more frequent bloody nose.//

From:

sharp_as_knives

"I would suggest that you split the work more evenly with Morton," Hannibal said. "And that if there are not already spies in Karla's employ, you get some. You shouldn't do this on your own."

He shook his head. "I would suggest it. But I would prefer to do so at a time when you can discuss it with your best wits about you." He stood and prodded Jono to get up. "Which means that before anything, you rest."

From:

furnaceface

//Most people don't rest by standing up,// Jono grumbled lightly, grudgingly pulling himself to his feet. //Anyway, this is... same old. I've been doing this for months, now. It's not even number one on my list of reasons to lament not being able to drink, these days.//

A pause.

//Suppose it is the most immediately dangerous one, though.//

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Most people don't have the ability to teleport into a bed, either," Hannibal answered wryly, "and I'm not carrying you. If you go on your own, I'll even let you undress yourself while I put away the rest of the food and make a tray to carry." He still did have to eat, after all.

From:

furnaceface

//You mean I get to take off my own boots? Lord, I barely remember how...//

That was, of course, absolute bull.

//But I suppose I can muster up the will to head up on my own. I think I've got that much left in me.//

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal smiled. "There are pajamas in the bottom drawer on the left, if you'd like." He handed Jono the remote. "I'll set the music to play upstairs."

From:

furnaceface

Jono took the remote with a little nod. He didn't generally have much use for pajamas, but when sleeping in Hannibal's bed, he didn't exactly want to go without, either. Even if they did feel silly.

Jono was very much not a pajamas person.

//I'll see you up there in a bit, then,// he replied, heading for the stairs to go up to get ready.

The cat watched him leave for a moment in silence, and then opted to wind around Hannibal's ankles, instead.

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal wasn't much the type to talk to animals, and the fact this tom was deaf made it doubly pointless. He reached down to rub his head, then plucked a piece of meat from the pie and held it out to him.

Because he hadn't quite learned his lesson with the flamingos yet, apparently.

From:

furnaceface

The cat was quite happy to gobble that meat up, please and thank you, and now Hannibal was at least pretty damn tolerable. You know. For a people. The cat was going to demonstrate his acceptance of the people by looking up at him expectantly for another morsel.

Jono, meanwhile, was taking his own boots off (like a big boy) and changing into a pair of pajamas that seemed like the most mild assault on his senses that he could find.

Hannibal and plaid patterns. Really, now.

Still, it didn't take long before he was sitting on the edge of the bed, kind of awkwardly inspecting his own toes, planted firmly on the floor.

From:

sharp_as_knives

They were very sedate plaids! And there were even a few stripes and solids! Just because Jono didn't want to go digging...

Hannibal put everything away (with feline help that made it take a minute longer) and made his way upstairs with a tray of just enough for dinner. Okay, and a small dish of raw lamb cut into tiny bites. What? He couldn't imagine the pie with all its spices was the healthiest for a cat. And since it seemed more or less permanently attached to his ankles at this point, he might as well feed it.

"I'm sure I've socks as well, if you like," he said. Not that he for a moment believed that was what the toe-gazing was about.

From:

furnaceface

//Hmm? Oh, no. I always thought it was a little weird, people wearing them to bed,// Jono replied, tilting his head a little at Hannibal and the cat both. //Looks like you've made a friend, there. Fed him, did you?//

Friend for life, there it was. No remedy for that now.

From:

sharp_as_knives

"He was acting as though he hadn't been fed in some time," Hannibal explained. "And while in my limited experience that may not mean much, I'm guessing if you had him at the vet, he hasn't been." He sat on the bed and set his tray down, then tossed another piece of meat to the cat.

"If all of this isn't your primary reason to want to drink, what is?" he asked.

From:

furnaceface

Jono watched the cat eat, and then nodded a little. Yes, he supposed it was dinner-for-the-cat time. He could appreciate that.

It seemed easier to focus on than that other thing. Or even the other more different other thing.

There were a few of those.

//Been talking to Raven at all lately?//

From:

sharp_as_knives

"I brought her a birthday present." Hannibal shook his head. Raven's vehemence - almost avariciousness - at the baby shower had worried him, but he'd rather hear Jono's untainted opinion before mentioning that.

"We spoke about the need to remind you yours is worth celebrating. I said I might have to have a party for my own, and she threatened me with Karla's cooking. Why?"

From:

furnaceface

//She...// Jono stopped short, briefly wondering if it was any of his business to share. But then, he trusted Hannibal's judgment, and this, just as much as what he'd been talking about earlier, wasn't something to go running around mentioning to just anybody. Hannibal would respect that. //... She wants a child. One of her own. And I think that's in no small part because Karla and Warren are having one, that 'got to have a baby right now' mindset that some people get into, and I understand where it's coming from and all, but...//

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal nodded slowly. "She mentioned that to me at the baby shower. I thought at first that it was just as you say, but she seemed rather..." greedy? "...insistent upon it. Then she dropped the matter altogether."

From:

furnaceface

//Not altogether,// Jono mumbled. //She asked me to be the father.//

Which came with a whole bucketload of fun issues, really.

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal was not going to laugh. He was going to drink some more beer as he thought. And maybe take a bite of potato.

"It is an expression of the trust and regard she holds for you," he pointed out to Jono. "Do you think she truly wants a child and all that entails, or is this merely passing fancy, envy that her closest friend will be giving birth soon?"

From:

furnaceface

Jono's shoulders hitched up a little, and he was staring back at the floor.

//Both, possibly,// he admitted. //Lord knows, I would love to be a father someday. I just... don't think I'd be cruel enough to pass my genetics on to somebody else. But the timing has me second-guessing it. We haven't been a dedicated couple in... a long while. There's no stability in either of our lives at the moment, and it would be bloody cruel to bring a baby into the world, no matter how stupid Karla and Warren are being about this. Don't get me wrong -- I already care about that child and I'll protect her with my life -- but she was an accident. Making the conscious decision to bring another baby into this situation right now, it seems... ill-thought out. Like a desperate whim. And there shouldn't be any hurry. Raven's still young. There's no timer nearing its end or anything of the sort...//

From:

sharp_as_knives

"This seems to me an easy problem to fix, then," Hannibal answered. "Tell her these things - there is no rush, and now is not the time. Ask her to reconsider you in a year, or whatever space of time you feel you need. It isn't a refusal, and it should eliminate the aspect of desperation."

Hannibal rubbed Jono's back. "Don't make your own poor decision for fear of disappointing a friend."