Historical

[youngandbeautiful]

The Historical Romance (AU) Meme

(also including high fantasy, steampunk, and sci-fi because why not)

There's nothing quite like a good historical setting to take a tale of sordid romance to the next level. Perhaps it's the setting that seems so separate from our own time, thus making the whole thing feel more exotic or epic. Besides, the codes of attitude! The costumes! The traditions! The disease and early death!

Uhhh, did I mention the costumes?

HOW TO PLAY

• This is a meme for shipping in historical (and also fantastical by historically based) settings. Pretty self-explanatory.
• Post with your character, information, and preferences.
• There are TWO things you can RNG here, because everybody loves some RNG. First is time period, second is prompt. Two for the price of one.
• Comment to other people.
• Be kind to others, play nice, etc.

Time Periods:

1. Prehistory
2. Egypt
3. Greece & Rome
4. Mythic & Legendary
5. Viking
6. Ancient Asia
7. Scottish Highlands
8. Celts
9. Medieval & Middle Ages
10. High Fantasy
11. Camelot/Arthurian
12. French Revolution
13. Tudors
14. Regency
15. Victorian/Industrial Revolution
16. Steampunk
17. Wild West
18. Civil War
19. Roaring Twenties
20. 1940s
21. 1950s
22. 1960s
23. The Space Age Future

Prompts:

1. Spoils of War: You've been taken of your home and made either an unwilling companion or, even worse, a slave. Yet something is beginning
2. Nefarious Intentions: Whether it be from jealousy or a desire to ruin someone, you want to make this person - perhaps with an equal or higher station - desire you, then you will destroy them.
3. Inherited You: Often times, in the past, positions came along with the spouse of the deceased or disposed.
4. Must Be Married: In order to get your inheritance, secure your title, produce an heir, or please a parent, you have to marry someone. Anyone will do, won't they?
5. Arranged: This marriage is one you didn't even get to pick. Hopefully, you'll at least like the person.
6. Servitude: You live to serve, but you also love the one you serve, perhaps from afar.
7. Love at First Sight: Okay, admittedly, you have't seen many people because this is before easy travel, but you know this person is the one. What can you do about it?
8. Learn to Love: The two of you are thrust together. The most you can do is hope to love each other in time.
9. Promised to Another: You two are head over heels, and things couldn't be better...except for the fact that one of you is supposed to belong to somebody else.
10. Seduction for Gain: In a time where women and the underclass were treated very poorly, there's no shame in trying to advance your station. Use whatever means necessary.
11. Courtly Love: Between a knight and a noble, a bard and a noble, a king and his lady, etc etc etc. The kind of love spoken of in ballads.
12. The One Above All Else: The one who got away...or the one who was never yours. Maybe they are a beloved friend, a special person you must protect, or that flickering green light far from you, but you love them all the same.
13. For the Man Who Has Everything: You are powerful, strong, well-connected; you have everything except for someone to share it with. Perhaps that will change.
14. Rescue the Maiden Fair: Or the "man" fair. Surely they will show gratitude.
15. To Honor You: Maybe if you win a great victory, slay a dragon, or invent a combustion engine, senpai your beloved will notice you.
16. Cultural Differences: When uniting two cultures through a marriage or union, culture clashes are bound to occur.
17. Class Difference: The poor street urchin who loves the child of the bourgeois or the serf who longs after the lord's only daughter. Is there anything more heartbreaking?
18. Healing the Broken: Life is hard, and perhaps one of you has bore the brunt of it. It falls on the other to bring life back into their life.
19. Met Before: You knew this person long ago. Have your feelings for them changed?
20. Courtship: You will do this the proper way, with meek handholding and chaperoned dances. Or you may have no other choice.
21. Secrets and Magic: Your romance is further muddled by the existence of strange creatures and the magical forces. Maybe one of you is even a magician, but you can't let anyone know, even the person you adore.
22. Torn Apart by War: On the same side or Romeo and Juliet-ing it, the constant fighting is ruining your war.
23. Forbidden: You took an oath, a vow, or some other kind of promise not to love. Before your eyes, that's all shattering.
24. Rule by My Side: You want power and you want this person to be your consort, and will do anything to get both.
25. I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, or: I hated you but now I've grown to want you like no other.
26. I'll Wait for You: You will wait for the person you love. Back in the day, this was pretty serious, considering the death rate from the plague. And dysentery.
27. A Promise Made: You told them you would make them yours and nothing would stand between you. You intend to make good on that promise, no matter what goddesses you have to face, monsters you have to kill, or political situations you must maneuver.
28. First Contact: You are the first envoy of your kingdom or race. Making a good impression and not breaking any hearts are both good calls.
29. 1.21 Gigawatts: "But I'm not even from this time period!" Instead, you're the modern guy or gal who fell through time. You must fit in...and not break everything by falling in love with the knight or samurai.
30. WILDCARD

Comments

Hannibal Lecter | Hannibal NBC | relatively ota; romance not required

[itrhymes]

[ preferred time periods are essentially 2 through 12, would try out 17 if asked because that's hilarious, am open to others but waaaay less knowledgeable about 13-16. ]

[dogamidstmen]

It hadn't taken Gabriel long to realise that he was the only one losing sleep over the encounter with Hannibal only a week or so beforehand.

Life in the household continued as it always did. He performed his work as he always had, only now his thoughts would wander further than their usual limits - where he might live one day, maybe somewhere by the coast or in the mountains, who he might live with if anyone at all. What his home might look like, what he'd be doing with his life. All daydreams, nothing more.

Only no, now they were saturated in a new anxiety. One that was steeped in what felt like a false sense of calm. When he tried to let his mind wander to some make believe future, the present would nag at the corners of the page and remind him that someone elseknew. Someone knew and it was only a matter of time before his secret was spilled. His previous master had kept it quiet purely for his own gain. His son had done the same but out of - a surely misplaced - respect and affection for him.

But the days passed, and Hannibal didn't mention it. He kept to his word and treated Gabriel as he usually would. On the surface, nothing had changed. It almost felt as though Gabriel had imagined it all. And in a way, that helped him to push it down, to put it down to nothing more than a stressful, surreal dream.

Only, dreams don't tend to reoccur in day to day life. Not during the day and certainly not in the middle of a loud, crowded market place. This of course isn't unusual, and up until Gabriel happens to look up, it's no more stressful than any other trip here.

However, this is the first time since joining Hannibal's household that Gabriel's seen anyone from his previous posting. But he catches Jacob's eye before he can turn his face away, and immediately he feels himself tense, his stomach turn. While there's still the instinctive part of him that wants to search for Christian, he knows he can't. It's no longer appropriate and he's not here for that, and now he's silently praying that Hannibal moves on so that he can have an excuse put distance between his last master and them.

[itrhymes]

Hannibal has never shied from playing favorites. With colleagues, with acquaintances, with slaves - he is friendly to anyone useful to him, but his attention is undoubtedly settled on the shoulders of very few.

Gabriel, as it happens, is circling closer and closer to that title. Hannibal is still fussing about details over what to do with him, where to press him to get reactions. To learn more about him. To see what he'll do.

Fate, as it turns out, takes over at least some of those decisions for him. Hannibal catches sight of Gabriel across a table of linens at the market. They're on their way to his preferred butcher, Gabriel already carrying a basket full of vegetables from another vendor. Usually Hannibal would carry that gaze right on past Gabriel, but the slant of his shoulders catches his eyes.

Gabriel is-- attentive. Unusually so. Hannibal's stare catches him and then continues onward, feigning that this is normal.

But from the corner of his eye, he wonders what's caught Gabriel's attention and, it seems, his concern.

Hannibal will hover here, then. Whatever's bothering him is surely nearby, and so Hannibal fusses with the nearest linens on the table, rather than moving forward.

[dogamidstmen]

Gabriel doesn't need to look over to know Hannibal's still close by, or to know that he's showing no signs of calling him over so that they can leave. It isn't that Gabriel's scared this time, or so he tells himself.

It's not fear, not really. Jacob can't hurt him anymore, he can't do anything. Gabriel knows this well enough. So why does the sight of the man he belonged to for so long practically root him to the spot? Why is dread dancing across his skin like needle pricks, why can't he make himself turn away or move?

He makes himself glance away, has to move aside to allow some people past him, but when he looks over again, Jacob's gone. What is it they say about venomous snakes? What's worse than one you can see? One you can't.

It should be a good thing Gabriel's lost sight of him. Maybe he didn't recognise him, or perhaps he had other business to attend to. Either of those options are possible, and yet Gabriel finds himself scanning the crowd for him, trying to find him if only to keep an eye on him, try and make it so they don't cross paths while they're here if he can help it-

"My son isn't here, in case you were wondering"

And there it is. One of the few voices that Gabriel would know anywhere, and the only one that has him feeling about three inches tall with only a few words. He turns to face him - because of course he does, because he has no choice - and meets his eyes for only a second before he has to avert his own. He can't see the smirk, but he knows it's there.

"Not that he's your concern anymore. Still," When Jacob brings a hand out from behind his back, Gabriel feels himself flinch, even when it just results in Jacob hooking a finger under his chin and tilting his face upwards. "You're looking well."

Gabriel's immediately reminded of the night Hannibal saw him turn, how he'd been gentle or something close to it. How he'd been curious. There's nothing of that here now. Gabriel was certain Jacob had never been gentle with anything in his life, and this is no different. Nothing flickers across Gabriel's face, he gives nothing away, but Jacob knows him well enough. Knows that he doesn't need him to express anything to know how tense Gabriel is at this moment, how, even after weeks of separation, he can still instil this sort of reaction in something like Gabriel.

[itrhymes]

It's not completely taboo, touching someone else's slave. After all, they're property - and just as a guest in your home might touch a painting in awe, or pick up a small statue or vase to examine it from all sides, so too are slaves up for light grabs from curious, bold, even lecherous viewers. Hannibal has had to gently steer men away from his slaves before.

It's more rare that it happens in public, though. The same way it's more rare for a stranger, uninvited to share your space, to touch your bag to tell you they admire it.

When a man who Hannibal has just watched stalk up behind his slave touches his slave's face, Hannibal's own face shows no reaction. But he tallies the weight of the small knife in his pocket, notes the distance necessary to travel between the two of them. Assesses the man's height, for grabbing from behind or kicking out a knee.

This is, without a doubt, what had caught Gabriel's eye just moments before.

'Not that he's your concern anymore.' Is this a past owner, to be so bold in his knowledge of Gabriel?

Hannibal appears from behind the stranger, watching Gabriel's face just a moment before turning towards this newcomer. "I understand your interest." Hannibal says, although his voice is devoid of any tone - neither humor nor threat. His small smile is confined to his mouth, doesn't stretch to his eyes.

"But I must tell you that this one is not for sale."

[dogamidstmen]

Gabriel can't say anything here, nor does he know what he'd say if he could, or rather, where 'd begin. The man stood before him has the scales tipped in his favour and they both know it. Whatever Gabriel wants to say would only cause more trouble for himself, so he stays quiet, daring to glance up only for a second when Hannibal makes himself known.

Hannibal knows a little about how Gabriel's been treated in the past by previous masters, but nothing specific - nothing out of the ordinary. He knows even less about this master, or so Gabriel's assuming. So really there's no reason for this to be anything but civil.

Gabriel doesn't want it to be civil, though. He doesn't want this to be happening. He wants Jacob to just...vanish. To disappear, leave the world behind him a better place.

Being addressed by someone else of his station is enough to grab Jacob's attention. Just like that, he relaxes his grip on Gabriel before relinquishing it entirely as he turns to Hannibal, unintentionally giving Gabriel a precious few seconds to exhale in a shudder, to close his eyes and collect himself.

As Jacob speaks now, Gabriel can hear the difference in his tone; there's no hint of malice, it's lighter, friendlier. Like he assumes Hannibal won't care about his property being touched.

"Ah, my apologies - this one's yours?" Jacob turns back to Gabriel then, noting with a flicker of smugness how the younger man almost seems to shrink when he knows eyes are on him. "He was actually one of mine until recently. Not too bright, bad habit of talking out of turn - but at least one of those you can fix. I had a little luck with it, but perhaps you'll fare better."

Gabriel grits his teeth against the insult and the lie - both said jovially - a sort of 'you know what I'm talking about' sort of comment, as if Gabriel isn't standing right there.

[itrhymes]

Hannibal takes the commentary without so much as a flinch. The stranger - the past master - and he are standing very close, now that he's turned to face Hannibal. Hannibal does not step back to give him more room, simply stays put and watches him with a small, polite smile on his face.

He glances at Gabriel too, a moment after the stranger turns to look at him. Gabriel's flinch is bone-deep - clearly repressed, obviously a reflex he's stifling, but the inward curl of fear is just enough for Hannibal to spot.

Hannibal has come across the past masters of some of his slaves before. He's even bought some directly from them, in fact. There's been some hesitancy from some slaves in the past - it's not uncommon for masters to strike their property or even brutalize them. But Gabriel's reactions, here, are so very unlike him. More than the fearful obedience he's displayed for Hannibal - already unusually by-the-book for his slaves. Hannibal considers that. How cruel was this man to Gabriel?

How much would it wind Gabriel towards Hannibal, if he acted as a shield in this moment?

Hannibal turns back to the past master, a congenial smile carving a little more deeply into his features. "I've found the slave behaves only as well as his master will let him. It's an art, one that is not kind to those unwilling to treat it as such."

Hannibal finally moves from the stranger and towards Gabriel. "Fortunately, I have found Gabriel more than adequate, so far." His hand comes up to rest on Gabriel's shoulder, gentle but unmistakably possessive - the sort of gesture a parent might make with their younger child, when speaking with another parent.

Hannibal's eyes come back to the stranger. His other hand comes out, his smile widens enough for teeth to momentarily appear. "Always interesting to meet their previous owners. I don't believe you've told me your name, yet."

[dogamidstmen]

Gabriel already has an idea of where this is going. They'll talk a while, introduce themselves, more jokes may be made at his expense, depending on whether or not they deign to acknowledge him further-

But then Hannibal's saying something that...isn't quite an insult, but it's no agreement either, no validation of the sentiment. Then Hannibal's standing next to him and his hand's on his shoulder, and Gabriel realises what's happening. Hannibal's...defending him? Is that really what's going on?

I am not like any master you have had before.

The surprise doesn't show on his face, not as intensely as his confusion about what's unfolding here. Although he knows he shouldn't, not in public at any rate, Gabriel can't stop himself looking at Hannibal, searching his face for some reason why he's doing this. No one's stood up for him before, which makes the fact that his master is all the more puzzling.

Jacob, meanwhile, is equally taken aback, though he doesn't show it as anything more than a kind of smirk, eyes narrowing a fraction. Some owners are more possessive than others, some grow fond of their slaves - it's not unheard of. He just finds it strange that that seems to be the case here after such a short space of time. How Hannibal doesn't seem to care that Gabriel's letting him look at him, look at them both as if he has any right to do so.

"Jacob Crane." Taking the offered hand, he shakes it once, firmly. "I was just thinking the same thing."

oven mitts are for the dinner

[itrhymes]

Gabriel is looking at him. Hannibal enjoys drawing him out of his shell, forcing the boundaries to gather more cracks. Gabriel looking at him without having been expressly prompted to is the sort of reaction that feeds right into Hannibal's desire to change things, to press them to bending points.

So Hannibal rewards it, as much as he can in the moment, by glancing down at Gabriel in return. The skin at the corners of his eyes moves for the first time during this conversation - a real smile, brief as it is.

And then back to the man. "Jacob." Hannibal repeats, shaking his hand. "A pleasure. My name is Hannibal Lecter." His head cocks, he leans in ever so slightly, as if preparing for an inside joke or otherwise sharing a light secret in public. His other hand never leaves Gabriel's shoulder. "What a coincidence to have run into you this way. I'll need to have you for dinner sometime."

hanNIBAL NO

[dogamidstmen]

Were they not here and now, were this situation entirely different, Gabriel might have returned the expression, however fleeting it is. It feels like a reward for something he doesn't realise he's done, a validation for something he hasn't realised he's voiced. It's a feeling he hasn't experienced since he lived in the Crane household; the feeling of having someone on his side.

Alongside the uneasiness and contempt he feels for his previous master, it's a strange mix.

And then Hannibal's extending a dinner invitation, and Gabriel's right back to square one, any expression in his face fallen away to make room for a subtle, well hidden dread. The only silver lining about being resold had been no longer having to see Jacob day in and day out. He'd have no choice in seeing him again if Hannibal wanted to have him over. He'd have no choice but to listen to him and serve him and pretend hearing about Christian didn't hurt.

"The pleasure's mine, I'm sure--"

Thankfully - or at least, Gabriel's thankful for it - the introduction is cut short when an older man emerges from the passing crowd, pressing a hand to Jacob's shoulder and saying something to him in hushed tones, something meant for his ears only. After a moment he nods and thanks him, looking back to Hannibal with a smile of his own.

"My apologies, business calls. But I'll certainly take you up on that offer of dinner if it still stands in, say...a week? The boy knows where to find me." And then, a glance to Gabriel. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again."

Gabriel does nothing and says nothing, doesn't even look up again until Hannibal next speaks to him.

[itrhymes]

"I will contact you with a date and time." Hannibal nods, polite, eyes on Jacob like a hawk - and the man who calls for his attention. Hannibal will be researching this man, looking for what business he works in, who he knows.

His daily habits. Who might miss him, if something were to happen.

And then Jacob is sliding off through the crowd, and Hannibal is watching him leave. And waiting, for a few moments. Gabriel says nothing, however, and that silence gathers until Hannibal turns to him.

His hand is still on Gabriel's shoulder. Hannibal doesn't squeeze, doesn't reposition his hand, simply keeps it where it is. "I don't get the impression you cared for him." He says, becomes sometimes life is more fun when you grossly understate things. Sometimes you want to see if someone's feeling bold enough to agree, or correct you.

[dogamidstmen]

It's such a gross understatement, Gabriel almost wants to laugh.

But he doesn't; he simply looks to where Jacob was stood moments before, watches the back of his head in the crowd before it disappears from view altogether.

"It doesn't matter what I think of him." He finally says, though with a glance at Hannibal, he does finish the thought with a suppressed, frustrated exhale. "But...no. I don't." And then, just a bit quieter, "...If I had to be polite about it, I'd say I feel nothing but contempt for that man and leave it at that."

[itrhymes]

"It does, though." Hannibal watches Gabriel intensely, and from this close it's thrilling to watch the way he holds himself rigidly against deeper emotions. The fact that even this much is surfacing only bodes poorly - terribly, even - for how he must have suffered at that man's hands. "It matters to me, what you thought of him."

Gabriel still gives him more than he might have, before Hannibal had caught him changing back from a wolf. He resists, but there's still a little handed over. Hannibal takes it, carefully, and knows immediately where to prod next. "And if you had to be impolite about it?"

He waits a moment, and then, daring to reach further across this chasm: "Just between us."

[dogamidstmen]

His heart's beating fast, because of the encounter he just had and now because he's being invited to share his thoughts openly once more.

It's frightening and exciting; the taste of it he was given back outside the gardens having reminded him of what it was like to speak freely. Even fleeting, it reminded him what it was like to be a person again.

The invitation to say more is a tempting one. How many times has he thought of what he might say to Jacob were he given the chance? How many times has he wanted to join in the hushed conversations between other slaves about their previous and present owners, tell someone - tell anyone who might listen - the horrific things that had been done to him under Jacob's eye or by his order.

He considers it, weighs the risk of talking out of turn with how damn good it'd feel to tell someone what he really thinks. He wants to, but he's still nervous about saying too much. Had he been asked a few years ago, back when he was still young and angry, in a time when he'd first come into Jacob's household.

Back then, if asked the same question, he might mention how he frequently dreamt of Jacob's death. How, more often than not, it was Gabriel's own hands around his throat, slowly crushing his windpipe or breaking his neck with terrifying ease, feeling it give way under his grip like a sapling branch. It was never more violent than that, there was never blood or gore.

But it always happened so slowly.

The only part of those dreams he'd never reveal was just how satisfying they truly felt. He'd wake up scared, horrified - but there was always a glimmer of disappointment that this one hadn't become reality.

"I..I don't know." Is all Gabriel says at first, swallowing back the urge to recount the memories of dreams long since passed. "Perhaps that I want him gone? I don't care how...he just- if there was ever someone who wasn't worth the air they breath, it's him. People like that..they don't deserve their wealth, their privilege."

Their right to carry on living.

He swallows again, making himself blink, look anywhere else.

[itrhymes]

There's a change that overcomes a person when they consider the taboo. Stare down social conventions and consider discarding them.

There's a flicker of that, in Gabriel. The struggle between what he's been told to do and what he wants to do is a muted fight in his stare, one that takes its time considering before he finally answers Hannibal's question.

The answer, brief and hesitant as it is, bursts with implication. There's a weight to Hannibal's stare now, a pressure that is attentive and almost physical. Gabriel thinks his old master deserve death.

"That's a very serious thing to say." Hannibal says. His tone is mild, but his eye contact is not. "And you are someone who knows to consider the weight of your words." Foot traffic parts around the two of them, in the middle of a crowded market as they are. Fortunately for them, it's busy enough that people are more than happy to just shuffle on past them, ignoring their conversation.

"He must have done truly unforgivable things."

[dogamidstmen]

There's a blood chilling moment when Hannibal comments on the seriousness of Gabriel's answer that Gabriel thinks he's made a very stupid mistake. Not that he can take it back now; whatever Hannibal says or does next will determine what happens to him. If anything at all, though with the way he's looking at him...

Gabriel opens his mouth to apologise, to make up some excuse or say anything that might mediate the situation, but then Hannibal continues, and Gabriel realises that mediation isn't called for. He sounds curious, almost. Looks intrigued. And all Gabriel can do is nod. He can't bring himself to say much else, and so when they finally do move on, he's glad for the distraction.

The day wears on, and he's met with no reprimand, no consequences. And for a couple of days afterwards, Gabriel lets the tension he's been carrying gradually begin to unwind. It was an unusual sensation, knowing what he'd said had been beyond inappropriate. It'd been dangerous, and nothing had happened as a result.

He even somehow let's himself go into the following week forgetting that he'd soon be faced with Jacob once more. Part of him had hoped Hannibal was only being polite when he'd extended the invitation, but then the afternoon had turned to evening, and he'd caught the all-too familiar scent, heard the all-too familiar voice, both clearer now that they ere away from the marketplace.

All he wants to do is hide. Just go anywhere else in the house and stay there until Jacob leaves. But he knows he can't. He has no choice, and as much as he wants to hide...he's not a child anymore. He's put up with so much more than this in the past, there's no reason he can't face his last master for a few more hours. He tells himself he can withstand the snide comments, both when Hannibal can hear and when he thinks he can't. Tells himself he can stand and listen to him be so pleasant and so polite and be fine with it.

Yet he still hesitates before entering the room each time, still leans against the wall and makes himself take deep breaths, still leaves as quickly as he can without running out whenever he's told to fetch things. Jacob can't hurt him now, he can't do anything to him, but Gabriel still feels like he wants to be sick. He was a part of his last household for a long time; perhaps if it had only been months, he wouldn't care so much. But he can't keep his heart from racing in panic, can't stop himself flinching whenever the man makes a too-sudden move in his direction.

At one point, he's told to bring more wine to the table. And it's this time that he does something that would certainly get him lashed in any other house. The order and the wine are abandoned back in the kitchen in favour of him finding an empty corner in the house, one that's tucked away and out of sight, and shrinking himself down into it, hoping that he too can become a part of the wall behind him if he stays quiet enough.

[itrhymes]

Jacob is not a complete brute. That much is clear from meeting him in person a second time.

But the positive qualities nearly end there. Jacob is a shrewd businessman, a fact which comes across while speaking with him over dinner, but Hannibal is not impressed when someone is just above baseline intelligence. Hannibal likes more than that.

The fact that Jacob was enthusiastically, excessively cruel to his slave is not a fact Hannibal that takes issue with. But it's the baseless, petty anger of it that Hannibal does not appreciate - this is a man without proper enjoyment for what he was shaping.

Better that Hannibal has Gabriel, now. Hannibal feels a stroke of fondness for Gabriel, as his slave flinches at the movement of Jacob's hand, gesturing with his fork at a point he makes to Hannibal. Gabriel is doing well, for how terrified he must be. Because while Gabriel had not gone into detail for Hannibal about what Jacob did, the minute flinches and the deep breaths speak volumes from someone so normally understated.

Hannibal doesn't care for how Jacob still tries to own him, though - the way this man reaches greedy fingers out to torment what doesn't belong to him anymore. Gabriel is Hannibal's.

And when Gabriel disappears, about two thirds of the way through the meal, Hannibal thinks of the slight sheen of sweat on his upper lip and at his temples. He thinks of that little flicker of a flinch every time Jacob had tipped his wineglass up to Gabriel for refilling.

Gabriel will not be coming back, Hannibal thinks with mild surprise. His slave is even better at hiding his emotions than Hannibal had realized, if he was so frightened that he can't come back - if the threat of later punishment from Hannibal outweighs the threat of being in a room with Jacob much longer.

Hannibal excuses himself to Jacob, who is polite in nodding him out of the room, and then Hannibal strides down the hallway with no intention to return.

Finding Gabriel is an unusual exercise in trying to think like someone else, as relatively simple as it may be. Hannibal walks far away from the scene of the crime, as it were - the kitchens - and towards the less-used areas. Does Gabriel ever go and hide away during the day? Does he ever get overwhelmed and need time to himself?

Hannibal stops, outside the door to a rarely-touched linen closet. There's a faint scent on the air, one that catches him there in thoughtful consideration.

He knocks, softly, twice. "Gabriel." His voice isn't loud. It doesn't need to be. "I apologize. It took me more time than I expected to find you."

[dogamidstmen]

Panic isn't a feeling Gabriel's unfamiliar with, but it is one he's gotten used to pushing down and ignoring at worst, and moulding and controlling at best. He's accustomed to pushing through it, so much so that even now, he's not crying uncontrollably. He's not rocking himself as he's seen younger slaves do in an attempt to calm down once they're alone after a harsh reprimand.

No. All he needs is quiet, disrupted only by his own quickened breathing and the sound of his pulse in his ears. The dark helps too, but it's rare the opportunity to find somewhere like this presents itself - not that it has tonight. He's been gone far too long already, not that it matters much now. He might as well use the time as well as he can.

Shaking hands slowly, almost rhythmically curl into tight fists and then relax. Breaths in try to deepen. Keeping his eyes closed, Gabriel concentrates on anything that might distract him; family doesn't work, his happiest memories of living with them are all faded now, there's nothing clear, nothing concrete. Past lovers aren't an option either, they're not a luxury those like him often get.

His happiest memories are closely tied to some of his worst ones. Thinking of Christian right now makes him remember who's sat at the table right now. Attempts to think back to warm, summer days spent in a wide, open garden bleed into having his jaw broken, just so that same man could see how long it'd take him to heal. Memories of keeping Christian company on days when it rained too heavily to go outside are interrupted with being held down and made to swallow silver.

Even focusing on the here and now does nothing. He's only making things worse for himself and he knows it; say he pulls himself together and returns, then what? He'll have two masters to take judgement from, the fact that only one has the right to punish him completely obsolete in his mind. And if he's found--

As soft as they are, the knocks badly startle him, and he's on his feet in half a second, bracing himself against the wall behind him. He'd been so caught up in remembering and trying not to, Gabriel hadn't heard anyone approaching the door, hadn't let himself register that another person was outside. His head feels like it's swimming still, memories and recollections quickly overtaken by the recognition of the voice.

Gabriel knows he shouldn't put this off any longer than he needs to - he's already wasted enough of his master's time. He's not entirely calm or collected if one were to look closely, but on top of that he's humiliated. He's had to be found, like a child having a tantrum. But, he opens the door regardless, his one and only attempt to look at Hannibal properly lasting less than a second or so. He can't even get his voice up to normal speaking volume at first, just something close to a whisper trying desperately not to waver.

"I-I'm sorry, I just need- I mean I only-" Gesturing a little helplessly past Hannibal into the house, he then tries to step past him. "I-I was coming back, I'm sorry- I'll go back-"

[itrhymes]

Gabriel still does not take long to come to the door. As certain as Hannibal had been that he'd chosen the correct hiding place, he hadn't been sure that Gabriel would come out on command. What, exactly, is going through his most obedient slave's head that he's run off in the first place? What punishments is he remembering, what sort of hovering rage does he think he's escaping?

If Hannibal were younger, prone to being more angry or competitive, he might almost be offended that Gabriel fears his old master more than himself. Today, however, with the tethers he's started to offer to Gabriel, that feels--

...Pleasant?

Gabriel comes out stammering. His expression has cracks in it, little windows where Hannibal sees his dread slipping through like fog.

When Gabriel goes to step past him, Hannibal touches him. "Gabriel." His palm flattens against the very center of Gabriel's chest, Hannibal not budging from his position of blocking the majority of the doorway with his own body. "You misunderstand me. I didn't come find you to bring you back to work." Which is still ambiguous. He may have come to find him for a punishment, to sell him back, any number of things might be worse than kitchen duty resuming.

"I know your work ethic. If you felt the need to leave a job unfinished, then I trust your judgment on what you can handle." Then the hand on Gabriel's sternum moves up, cups his cheek. It's not the impersonal-yet-kind gesture of Hannibal touching Gabriel's chin with finger and thumb - this is a hold, a soft one. "And I would like to be here to help you."

[dogamidstmen]

Really, he knew it wouldn't be that easy for him to go back to what he was doing. As if Hannibal had come here just to remind him and send him back without a word about it.

Being physically stopped from leaving combined with the ambiguous nature of what Hannibal's saying temporarily make Gabriel forget that this isn't a man who makes physical beatings a regular occurrence. It doesn't matter that it's not a rough or violent touch; his mind sees fit to remind him of what's certainly going to happen now - that he could have avoided this if he hadn't been so pathetic. It doesn't matter that Hannibal doesn't seem outwardly angry or even irritated with him, Gabriel still feels himself tense - the only option right now that isn't cringing back completely or pushing past Hannibal and not stopping until he's out of the house.

That's all he wants to do right now. Not talk or explain himself, not sit back and accept another blackened eye. He wants to run. And the only thing stopping him are the nails of his left hand slowly but surely breaking the skin of his palm, keeping him from slipping too far out of the present.

But Hannibal's hand on his face a moment later does a far better job of that. There's still a flinch, an almost-turn of his head as he resists pulling away. Right now he doesn't want to be touched at all if there's any possibility it'll be used against him, doesn't want company if it's not to help him, not that that's ever been an expectation that's been fulfilled by a master.

'I would like to be here to help you.'

'I am not like any master you have had before.'

It's not his place to question Hannibal. He knows that, and yet; "Why did you bring him here-?"

It bubbles to the surface before he can stop it. It's not asked angrily - even now, Gabriel isn't that stupid - but urgently, desperately. Quietly, in confusion.

[itrhymes]

Hannibal doesn't panic at the question, at what it insinuates. Instead he just relaxes his hand against Gabriel's cheek, lets it touch even more gently without forcing Gabriel's gaze back to his own. "I was curious about Jacob. I wanted to meet him on my own terms, in my own space. Where we would have the upper hand."

'We', not 'I'. Hannibal can cloud his intentions as much as he likes, but he enjoys the game of never lying, never specifically denying what he's done. He allows insinuation and partial truths to do that for him, and so he picks out what to give over with care.

And, as always, to make a point. Without accusation, he says softly, "You did not ask me not to bring him here."

Hannibal doesn't redirect Gabriel's gaze towards himself, but he leans in further, lets the space between them warmly begin to close. "I must ask for your forgiveness, Gabriel. I did not realize the depths your fear would drag you to, with Jacob near you again."

[dogamidstmen]

Questions climb and tumble over each other, trying to hurriedly order themselves and each trying to be the next to be asked. How was I to know I could ask something like that?

Since when have slaves had any input in who their master has as their guest?

Since when do masters care if their slaves are scared? What do you mean when you say 'we', what do you mean by 'the upper hand'? Why are you different, if you really are at all? What are you getting from this?

Why do you care that I'm not alright?

None of them are spoken aloud and for good reason, but they still whirr in Gabriel's head like black flies, stopping him from really processing what's happening here.

Hannibal's...apologising. To him. Asking for his forgiveness.

It's so surreal Gabriel almost laughs, nervous and shaken, but he doesn't. He can't. Instead, perhaps even worse than laughing, he feels his eyes sting as they begin to well. The last time he cried was...God, when he'd first been bought into the Crane house? Maybe once or twice after that, after he'd familiarised himself with how silver felt, after he'd taught himself not to bother anymore?

He's adamant that's not going to happen here, he makes himself swallow down the lump in his throat, blinks away the salt, tries to clear his vision as he shakes his head.

"We don't get to decide- we're not supposed to, I-I can't ask things like that. You wanted him here, I can't tell you not to-" Even saying it hypothetically feels like he's stepping over a line, regardless of the fact it's a line Hannibal seems hellbent on blurring. "I thought...I thought it would be fine. I thought I could handle it, but he's.."

He gestures limply in the general direction of the dining room once more, his voice softening from where it temporarily raised. "...seeing him, him being here...it makes him real again."

[itrhymes]

Hannibal tends to keep an open mind when he enters these sorts of situations, the kind with volatile people being given new stimuli. He wasn't expecting anything at all, per se, from Gabriel, and yet Gabriel still manages to completely surprise Hannibal. Gabriel's eyes take on a glossy shine, like someone overcome with fever, and Hannibal realizes how close to a precipice this man is being forced. He's just always stubborn enough to climb back away from it.

What if he weren't being pushed, then? What if he was only told that someone would be ready to catch him at the bottom, should he let himself fall?

Hannibal doesn't interrupt Gabriel. Doesn't move at all while he speaks, only reanimates once Gabriel is finished. "And it was easier when you could pretend it was a dream. Something that could not touch you any longer." Not an uncommon coping mechanism. "I did not know I would be shattering that shield for you. I apologize." Hannibal considers.

"...Perhaps I can clarify our relationship." Hannibal's thumb, which had been resting perfectly still against Gabriel's cheek bone, strokes in small, slow movements. "I am not seeking to humiliate you or ensure you are terrified, of me or my household. I would like to see you grow, of course. But I will never strike you or taunt you in the name of encouraging that growth."

Hannibal gives a small sigh, looking at all the points laid out between them. "Gabriel, you can tell me how you are feeling. In fact..." Hannibal still doesn't try to force Gabriel's gaze up to his own face, but he does move his hand. It circles around, holds soft at the back of Gabriel's head - a movement that brings Hannibal a half-step closer. This is the nearest Hannibal has come so far to offering a hug. "It would mean a great deal to me, if you felt you could be honest with me."

[dogamidstmen]

Not a dream...Gabriel's had dreams, and he's had nightmares. Nowadays it's rare he has either, but his experiences with Jacob qualify far more closely to the second than the first.

He doesn't know what to do with Hannibal's apology; it's like he's just been handed a device he's never seen before and expected to know how it works. It's foreign, strange, completely unfamiliar to him, as is the way Hannibal's touching him now. This, again, is different to their encounter in the garden. This is informal, gentle, how a parent might touch a child to comfort or reassure them...exactly what Gabriel wants and what he desperately needs, but instead of putting him at ease, it only sets alarm bells ringing.

When Hannibal's hand goes to hold the back of his head, Gabriel's breath hitches, eyes shutter closed. He can't understand it. This and what Hannibal's saying, none of it makes sense - he wants to know how he feels, wants his honesty-

"I feel tired." This comes out quickly, suddenly as he pulls away from Hannibal, his voice nothing more than a loud, scared whisper wrapped in barbs. The last thing he wants is to draw more attention to himself. But the words flow freely now; if he ever wanted to test Hannibal's claims that he wanted his honesty, this would definitely do so.

"I'm so tired, I'm tired of being scared, of walking around like I'm on a frozen lake waiting to fall through. I'm tired of being treated like a damned animal half the time and like I don't matter the rest of it. I-I know what I am, and I used to hate it and fight it, but there's no point now and I know that. I know that what I say outside of these walls isn't important, but I'm..."

It's only now that's he's realising that tears have begun to escape down his face, which he tries and fails to stem before more can follow.

"I-I know I'm not human...I know that, but I'm still...I'm still a person. I'm still a person and the things he did to me..." Another gesture accompanies this, only this time it's a jabbing point, aimed in what can now be assumed is Jacob's general direction. But the rest of his sentence doesn't see light.

He just lets his hand drop to his side while the other hurriedly wipes at his eyes, which are looking anywhere but Hannibal right now.

[itrhymes]

Hannibal lets Gabriel go, genuine surprise crossing his features at the harshness of Gabriel's movements, his breath.

And then it happens. Words tumble out like rain after a drought. They hit the air in concentrated, welling spots, hurts made real in the speaking of them. Hannibal watches Gabriel, watches him twitch back further into the closet - Hannibal is still selfishly blocking the only door, after all - and he steps in after him. There's a lantern set into the wall sconce - Hannibal can only assume Gabriel put it there when he came here to hide - and it illuminates the closet well enough as the door begins to hinge shut after them.

It's still partway open though, Hannibal still half inside and half outside the room. A fitting metaphor, perhaps, for the way that Gabriel will speak to him now but not look at him.

"The things he did to you tells you that he did not consider you a person." Hannibal finishes, voice even. His expression, however, has grown more somber - there's a faint line between his brows, there's more of a pout to his lips. "That was his mistake." Hannibal takes one step forward, one step further into the closet with Gabriel. The door inches shut a little more.

"He attempted to take your personhood from you by force, but he wasn't strong enough to do it, was he? No one would be." Hannibal is as close as he was before, now, but instead of crowding into Gabriel as before, he seems to lean back, as if inviting Gabriel into the space between them. His hand comes up once more, slow in its path to Gabriel's cheek. This time, Hannibal's fingers land on skin that's slippery with tears. He brushes some away with his thumb, watching Gabriel's eyes as he does.

"You're too strong to be broken by a man like that, Gabriel. The fact that you are here with me now is proof of it." Hannibal's serious face flickers with the warmth of a small smile, head tilting forward as if sharing a secret. "You are a person, and a better one than Jacob."