Eat Your Heart Out | Hannibal X Reader

Chapter 8- Pendulum

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"Y/N?"

You squinted through the high beams, like a deer caught in the headlights. Peering breathlessly under the guise of your palm, you saw the rough figure of a man climbing out of the car.

He stared at you for a moment longer before approaching you quickly. His face becomes clearer as he nears you. It was Will.

"Are you okay?" He asks worriedly, clutching you by the arms and examining your features. The reflection of the headlights from his glasses blinds you.

"I'm okay." You say with a wince, trying to think of a good excuse as to why you were out in the middle of nowhere- at midnight.

He looks you over thoroughly before taking off his coat and putting it over your shoulders. You appreciated the gesture, and the warmth it brought.

He looked confused as he gently guided you to the car, "come back to mine. Stay with me for the night." He says as he opens the passenger side door.

You can only nod as you slide into the car. You hadn't realised how cold you'd been outside. You felt yourself relax at the soft humming noise of the engine.

He gave a worried sigh as he hopped in beside you and put the car into gear. A few moments of car ambience pass, only the shadows of shrubbery were visible outside.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks, glancing in your general direction.

You shake your head, too tired to open that discussion and, quite frankly, not able to think of a good excuse. He'd know if you were lying, anyway.

Instead you gaze out the window at the foggy fields that seem to lead to the abyss only metres away from you.

"Thank you for this." You croak out, shifting positions in the car seat.

He takes a moment to process the information and think of a response. His gaze flickers to you, the road, then you once more.

He settles on a response. "No problem."

You smile at the feeling, being able to relax in the rattly old car that your saviour had arrived in. It smelt of oil and dog, and you noticed the amounts of mud caked onto the floor mats. It was comfortable.

Before you even realised, the sound of the breeze passing you by faded into the night as you fell asleep beside him. Your head rested on the window ledge, ears tuned in to every noise the car made.

You'd completely forgotten the situation, and found yourself stretching your arms in the car after being awoken by a knocking on the window. You noticed the engine had been switched off and the lights switched on.

Standing outside the window with a smile, Will opened the door for you. This allowed the cool breeze to freeze you once more as you clutched to the Jacket the man had so graciously given you.

"Good sleep?" He asks with a small chuckle and extends a hand out. You step out of the car onto the muddy gravel below, almost losing your footing in the darkness.

"Thank you." You mumble as he leads you to his home.

He furrows his brows, still trying to figure out what had happened. But, ultimately focused on trying to get you rested and eventually fed.

You heave a sigh as you reach the front door. "I'm sorry about all this." You groan, barely able to keep your eyes open.

"Don't worry about it." He says, fiddling with the keys. "I could do with the company."

He half turns to you and grins before opening the door. He follows behind you and wastes no time in assembling a makeshift bed for you.

You crouch to the dogs by your feet, who seem to be overjoyed by your mere presence. How they could be so energetic that late at night was beyond you. It must've been one or two in the morning.