Hannibal

[0_0_7]

Bond received perks and bonuses through the office all the time, often because there was some "diplomatic" reason for him to go to an event. So when Tanner had approached him with two tickets to the opera to watch not the show but the Syrian ambassador Bond had smiled and agreed. When he saw that it was I due Foscari he smiled to himself. Normally he would take Q and make a romantic night of it but Q was not his first thought. For a tragedy of this magnitude he thought of only one person.

He thought of Hannibal.

The man knew what he was, what he did. That took the pressure off about the addition of a bit of work. Bond rang him up to invite him and agreed to meet early for drinks. The show was at 7:30 and they'd agreed to a late dinner. Bond was more than happy to wait and have Hannibal cook for him. If amuses made from leftovers were any indication, the night would be a treat all around.

Comments

[anamusebouche]

The food had been prepared early that afternoon. The rabbit – well, more or less – was currently soaking in its marinade, waiting patiently for the oven to start at eight. Hannibal had calculated that that would give it enough time to cook gently. By the time they would arrive at Hannibal’s home, the rabbit would be perfectly cooked. As always, the dish had significance. They were both hunters. Rabbit was the perfect meal.

No doubt his fondness of these dramatic touches was part of why he was invited to I due Foscari.

He appreciated the invitation very much. He felt a certain affinity with the agent and there was something appealing about his alliance with the law. Of course, he also enjoyed gaining the trust of people who were mentally vulnerable or instable. Poking around at their mental state provided great amusement to him.

Dressed in a dark suit with a purple shirt and a white tie with elaborate purple and red embroidery, he greeted James when he arrived, perfectly on time. “Hello, James. Good to see you again.”

[0_0_7]

"Hannibal," he replied warmly. "It's so good to see you- and under better circumstances. Shall we go have a cocktail?"

He gestured for the man to follow him to the car but applied no pressure.

[anamusebouche]

"Much better circumstances," Hannibal agreed. "You're looking well, in fact."

Hannibal nodded and followed James to the car.

[0_0_7]

"Thank you. It's amazing how much better a man looks when everything is right in the world," he said with an easy smile. "I do apologize for bringing chaos into your life, by the by. I can't say how much I appreciate your help, though. How are things going for you?"

[anamusebouche]

"Things are going well," Hannibal replied, with a curt nod. "Is everything right in the world for you? I'm happy to hear."

[0_0_7]

"Everything is dangerously wonderful," Bond chuckled. "Things can only go downhill."

[anamusebouche]

"Dangerously wonderful?" Hannibal echoed with a smile. "Tell me, what great things happened?" Last he saw Bond he'd been a lot worse off.

[0_0_7]

Bond hesitated briefly, considering the wisdom of sharing his secret. Keeping things close was second nature to him, but this news was delightful and he truly did wish to share it with someone. And Hannibal...well, he trusted him more than most.

"I'm getting married," he said simply.

[anamusebouche]

Now, what Hannibal did see last they met was James's devotion for Q. He was sure that if any love passed it would be between the two. Marriage, however, had not occurred to him. He wondered, therefore, if perhaps this was an announcement or a different sort of marriage. For work? He seemed genuinely pleased.

"That is good news," he said, a smile plainly on his face. "May I ask who the lucky future spouse is?"

[0_0_7]

"It's Q," he replied, smiling as he named him. It was a reflex and one he had to work to control in every other aspect of his life. But here and now he was safe and the truth felt good to speak aloud.

[anamusebouche]

Unconventional, certainly. More than anything the plain happiness radiating from James. But there was more, of course. Two agents and colleagues, the man in the field and the man behind the curtain. It was an unbalanced relationship,much like psychiatrist and his patient. Unconventional and some would say unethical.

"We must drink to that." His face was a practiced mix of pleasure and doubt. Like a friend who might want to offer advice against mistakes, but who thinks now is not the time.

[0_0_7]

Bond caught the look and he was torn between being annoyed that Hannibal might hav a negative opinion and touched by the man's obvious, though subtle, concern.He smiled a bit an nodded at the suggestion of the drink- something he would never turn down.

"Let's," he said. "And you should tell me what you've got planned for diner."

[anamusebouche]

"Rabbit," Hannibal said proudly announcing his proposed dish. "A Peruvian dish. Marinated rabbit with huacaty and maní. The oven should start while we are enjoying the opera, and it will be ready for us when we get to my home."

[0_0_7]

"It sounds delicious. I haven't been to Peru in quite some time. I rarely go to countries that are stable," he chuckled, gesturing for Hannibal to follow him to the car.

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal followed the man into the car. "So you are back in the field - both of you?"

[0_0_7]

"Oh yes. It's in my blood...Unless I'm laid up in medical I'm back to work. And Q hasn't been on the job nearly as long, but he's quite resilient," Bond replied.

[anamusebouche]

"I don't find that difficult to believe at all," Hannibal said, with an agreeable smile. "When, if I might ask, is the big day?"

[0_0_7]

Bond chuckled.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he smiled. "I truly doubt it will be the sort of thing we can plan, given schedules and obligations. But if any arrangements are to be made I trust Q will do it."

And the truth of it was that making it public would be unbelievably risky. Too many people would love an angle to get to Bond and doing Q harm would be an easy way about that.

[anamusebouche]

"It's a secret still, I presume," Hannibal understood.

[0_0_7]

"It must be," Bond replied more somberly. "He's become my biggest liability. Love makes a man weak."

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal wondered in how many ways that was true. He wondered what would happen, if Q was lost to James. How the man would react, what self-destructive path he would follow. "It can, yes. It can also give strength." He didn't think Alcuin made him weak. Made him stronger, perhaps, but not weak.

[0_0_7]

If only Hannibal could know Bond's past- how he'd been so wounded by Vesper's treachery and death that he'd gone on a lone rampage that ended with a hotel in flames and Greene dead from a gut full of motor oil. Bond's revenge had been...explosive...to say the least. And the drink. Bond didn't even attempt to hide that addiction.

"That, too, is true," he smiled, knowing only Hannibal's words. "He makes me feel like I could do anything and he encourages me to put my back into it when things seem impossible." He chuckled at that. The joke was his alone- only Bond thought that particular turn of phrase (put your back into it) to be endearing.

[anamusebouche]

"I wish you a happy future, then," Hannibal said. "Whatever form it might take."

[0_0_7]

"And what about you? Is there anyone special in your life?" he asked, mostly to be polite. He'd shared his secret, it was only fair to offer Hannibal the opportunity as well.

[anamusebouche]

Q knew and if Q knew Hannibal assumed James wouldn't be left in the dark too long. He decided to confide, maintaining a false air of transparency and openness. "There is, yes. And I find myself quite conflicted for it."

[0_0_7]

"Delaunay?" Bond asked. He was ninety percent sure that was who Hannibal was talking about, but he could be wrong and didn't want to be rude about it.

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal nodded. "Alcuin."

2014-11-08 0:18 GMT+01:00 0_0_7 - DW Comment dw_null@dreamwidth.org:

[0_0_7]

"Alcuin," he repeated with a nod. He reserved judgement on the lad's age, though he knew him to be even younger than Q. He'd read the papers, after all. He knew all the sordid details of the young man's life that had been fit to print- as well as the exaggerations and outright lies.

"It's going well?"

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal was not in the habit of excusing himself, and he made no attempt to do so now. He had no interest in gaining the approval of anyone for his actions. He did appreciate James' reservation of judgement for the polite gesture it was. "It is, yes." As he did wish to grow a friendship and a feeling of trust with James, he further confided. "I will admit I'm not quite accustomed to this type of situation. But, if anything, he's taught me to pay no mind to that. It does feel right."

[0_0_7]

"I am not accustomed to being attached," Bond chuckled. "I'm sure we'll both get used to it. Until then, we have the opera and dinner, hmm?"

[anamusebouche]

"That we do," Hannibal agreed with an easy smile. The opera house came in sight as Hannibal spoke. "Perhaps we ought to do a similar night out the four of us."

[0_0_7]

"That might be a delightful evening," he replied. There was a red light and Bond stopped, remarkably driving rather safely and sanely. Not something he often did. He was a fast driver, and aggressive. But tonight he was in no hurry.

[anamusebouche]

"If I might be allowed a crass remark, you don't strike me as a man comfortable settling down," Hannibal remarked, in the politest tone.

[0_0_7]

"Not all that crass...and more than true. I'm not what anyone would call domestic," Bond agreed with a nod. "But I can be utterly devoted when I put my mind to it. I've tried before. I was married once. I think I'm ready to give it another go."

[anamusebouche]

"You were married before?" Hannibal asked, casually.

[0_0_7]

"Only briefly. She was killed on our wedding day just hours after the ceremony," Bond confessed.

[anamusebouche]

"That is horrible," Hannibal frowned, feeling for his friend. It did explain why married life appealed to him. Something lost, something never truly expirienced. An ideal, a potential.

[0_0_7]

"It was," Bond agreed, then said no more. He had loved Terese and her death had been terribly difficult. The sort of thing that forged him into the man he was today.

"Have you ever been married?" he asked, much much more lightly. Just inquisitive, hardly interrogative.

[anamusebouche]

"No, never," Hannibal said. There really wasn't much else to say about it. He had had many affairs, but never anything more than that. For many reasons, including the practical. He enjoyed people, but valued his privacy.

[0_0_7]

"Is it something you've ever envisioned yourself doing?" Bond asked. "Not necessarily now, or even soon...but some day?"

[anamusebouche]

"I don't think marriage will bring anything to my life that I haven't already," Hannibal said. "Things are good as they are."

[0_0_7]

"A good way to view things," Bond agreed with a nod. "So long as you are satisfied- fulfilled and not lonely- you should do what suits your life the best."

[anamusebouche]

No, Hannibal wasn't lonely. And it was perhaps the first time he truly felt like that. All due to Alcuin. He would be forever grateful to him for that. "As, I trust, do you." Though demonstrably, James did not. Marriage - or in fact any relation with Q - was dangerous to his work and his life.

2014-11-27 3:02 GMT+01:00 0_0_7 - DW Comment dw_null@dreamwidth.org:

[0_0_7]

"I do," Bond laughed, struck by just how true that was. He did his own thing, much to the chagrin of the majority of MI6.

He rounded a corner and found the car park for the opera house. Men and women walked past, dressed in their finest. It was an occasion and people were set to enjoy it.

"Shall we?" Bond asked with a grin, exiting the car and straightening his dark blue tuxedo.