Chapter Text
After the incident with Mr. Daniels, Will did his best to avoid Hannibal as much as possible. He was granted a few days of respite before talk of ‘inviting Ms. Katz to dinner’ came up while they ate the lungs of the former resistance leader. After that Will stopped disappearing within the castle and stopped talking instead, which actually seemed to bother Hannibal more than his absence had.
Talking was never part of their deal, just Will’s staying peacefully with Hannibal. And, other than his silence, Will was being the perfect house guest. He never missed a meal, went to whatever little event or meeting required his presence, he even wore the collars without complaint. All without saying a single word to Hannibal.
The first few days of silence were simply ignored and brushed off as a minor annoyance. But when the days became a week, Hannibal began to get concerned. He tried to make light of the situation at first, still going about his daily routine without pause.
“How much longer are you going to keep up this petty little display?” Hannibal asked while Will tried on a dark blue suit. He only got a noncommittal shrug in response. “It’s very childish and I expected better from you.” An obstinate glare was his response this time. A slight frown marred Hannibal’s face for a moment before it disappeared and his mask was put back in place. “Take off that suit, it’s bunching too much around the shoulders.”
When Will still wasn’t talking after two weeks, the concern changed into irritation. The walks that they took around the tiny island were tense with Hannibal occasionally attempting to get a response out of his reluctant companion.
“You do realize that you have condemned yourself to life as a mute don’t you, William?” Will didn’t appear to be bothered by the idea and Hannibal’s temper continued its slow rise.
Two days later Hannibal ran out of patience. “It’s been sixteen days now, haven’t you pouted enough?” The ruler of the world put down his fork with an unnecessary amount of force when he got no response. “Dinner is meant to be a meal where people engage one another in polite conversation, William, and it seems as if you are making no effort to do so right now. Either start talking or go without food until you speak again.” When Will still made no sign of acknowledgement, Hannibal grabbed the guards by the doors and had him escorted back to his room. The last sight Will saw as he was led away was a scowl firmly in place on Hannibal’s face.
Will Graham went to sleep with the knowledge that there was at least one way to get back at the man that had ruined his life. Going hungry for a bit seemed a small price to pay for that satisfaction. He knew Hannibal wouldn’t really let him starve to death, and Will already had plenty of experience with going hungry from childhood. He would win this fight.