Hannibal

[alcuin]

Alcuin had never done this before, and he realized that it might be a bad idea when one of the girls who worked at the brothel talked to him for a few minutes, then gave the person working the bar a Look and then went down the hallway in the direction of Hannibal's office. Where she informed him that Alcuin had been drinking gin martinis at a steady clip for the last hour.

... he really should have gone somewhere else. Or just gotten a bottle of gin and brought it to his room.

When he heard Hannibal's familiar footfalls behind him he said without looking, "I truly hope you're not here to scold me."

Comments

[anamusebouche]

"I expect you to understand the importance of what you do here," Hannibal replied. "You invaluable, Alcuin, for the safety of everyone here."

[alcuin]

Alcuin's mouth set in a straight line. "And yet it seems that you are all perfectly fine without me on my knees for one night."

[anamusebouche]

"I found another way to extract the information I needed," Hannibal said and the way he did should make Alcuin know that he had tortured the man, possibly killed him.

[alcuin]

Alcuin knew exactly what he meant, and it felt... manipulative. "Why didn't you fuck him?" he asked bluntly. "He likes to be dominated. I'm sure you could have done a perfectly fine job. Or you could have had Dorian do it."

[anamusebouche]

"Do not tell me how to run my business," Hannibal said, calm, but serious.

[alcuin]

"I'm not," Alcuin said quietly, and looked away from him. "I just thought my feelings might matter more to you than they seem to."

[anamusebouche]

"Of course I care about your feelings, Alcuin," Hannibal insisted. "That's why I told you not to get invested in the musings and suspicions of some fae."

[alcuin]

"It's not just about that," Alcuin said, and found himself getting emotional. He tried to fight it. He absolutely was not going to burst into tears in front of Hannibal. "Part of not knowing who I am is... is I feel like I barely exist outside of you. My entire life is doing what you ask of me!"

[anamusebouche]

"Don't be dramatic," Hannibal replied. "Both our lives are focused on this brothel and on obtaining information to keep us safe. And you enjoy it, Alcuin, don't suddenly think differently. Most the things you do are your idea."

[alcuin]

"There's a difference between enjoying something and being good at it," Alcuin said after a moment. "What if I told you I don't want to do it anymore? I could help you run things, but... no more sex?"

[anamusebouche]

"This is a brothel," Hannibal reminded him. "Sex is what we sell."

[alcuin]

"You aren't having sex with people you don't want to," Alcuin pointed out, frowning.

[anamusebouche]

"I'd this because of the fae? Or Kersen? Truly?" Hannibal wondered, though he full well knew the answer

[alcuin]

Alcuin sighed. "No, it's not." He ran a hand through his hair. "And you didn't answer my question. What if I didn't want to do this anymore? Would you... still love me?"

[anamusebouche]

"What has that priest been whispering in your ear?" Hannibal wondered. "Of course I would love you. I love you with all my heart."

[alcuin]

Alcuin looked down at his hands. "This has nothing to do with him. I didn't even seek him out today. He happened upon me... upset. And he is a kind person, he wanted to help despite what I did to him."

[anamusebouche]

"You went in his direction. I don't belive it was all luck and coincidence," Hannibal said, honesty. "And what about you Alcuin? You've asked, but not replied. Do you love me?"

[alcuin]

"Of course I do," said Alcuin quietly.

[anamusebouche]

"You don't sound convinced," Hannibal replied, hurt.

[alcuin]

Alcuin's eyes went a little wide. "No, I don't... of everything, I don't question that. This is about me, and the fact that I don't know what there is besides that."

[anamusebouche]

"It's normal to want to explore, Alcuin. I don't fault you for that," Hannibal replied. "But I don't appreciate the accusations. You're not my prisoner."

Well...

[alcuin]

“They aren’t accusations, they’re questions. But okay, then I think…” He hesitated. “I don’t want to do it anymore. No more sex I don’t want.”

[anamusebouche]

This was a problem. One he would fix, but an annoying development nonetheless.

"Very well," he conceded graciously. "If you say no, I will not insist."

[alcuin]

Alcuin looked a touch relieved. "Okay," he said. "That's settled then. Thank you."

[anamusebouche]

"Fine," Hannibal said. He rose. "Go sleep. I'll see you later."