That, at least, Hannibal can tell is an absolute fabrication meant to play along. He has his flaws of communication, but they're not a lack of honesty about interest.
So he simply sinks his weight a bit more deeply in place, comfortably rooting to his spot where he gets to watch the two most important people in his life calmly joke across and around him.
Will has wiped the coffee off his chin and the outside of his mug, and he scoots across the kitchen to throw the paper towel away. Hannibal watches him and realizes belatedly that he'd apparently taken his shoes off sometime after following him inside, because Will's just wearing faded black socks. That's...surely a good sign of him being comfortable here, which is unexpected but pleasant, given it's still early on in Will visiting.
But then Hannibal is hawkishly watching Neph and Neph's phone, because while there's a lot of respectful boundaries around secrets between the two of them, he is openly and unendingly nosy and will read over her shoulder unless she specifically turns away to not allow that.
Hard to see when she's tilted away from him halfway to the sugar bowl, though. Hannibal sips at his black coffee and tries not to frown too hard at her scooping more sugar into hers. How can she drink it when it's just a syrupy sweet mess? How is she alive with that much refined sugar in her veins?
"Glad to know your bosses have some standards." Anyone hiring teenagers as their thieves is questionable to Hannibal, but the fact that they're apparently in the know enough to look the other way about this? That's good. Or it just means that mystery boy is just as rude in other situations, and he's turned everyone against him all on his own and it has less to do with Neph, but either option serves Hannibal's purpose of making sure Neph's decisions today get respected by her colleagues, so. Win-win.
"What a piece of shit coworker, though," Will says, and Hannibal has to admit he agrees with that one. "I hope he gets fired."
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That, at least, Hannibal can tell is an absolute fabrication meant to play along. He has his flaws of communication, but they're not a lack of honesty about interest.
So he simply sinks his weight a bit more deeply in place, comfortably rooting to his spot where he gets to watch the two most important people in his life calmly joke across and around him.
Will has wiped the coffee off his chin and the outside of his mug, and he scoots across the kitchen to throw the paper towel away. Hannibal watches him and realizes belatedly that he'd apparently taken his shoes off sometime after following him inside, because Will's just wearing faded black socks. That's...surely a good sign of him being comfortable here, which is unexpected but pleasant, given it's still early on in Will visiting.
But then Hannibal is hawkishly watching Neph and Neph's phone, because while there's a lot of respectful boundaries around secrets between the two of them, he is openly and unendingly nosy and will read over her shoulder unless she specifically turns away to not allow that.
Hard to see when she's tilted away from him halfway to the sugar bowl, though. Hannibal sips at his black coffee and tries not to frown too hard at her scooping more sugar into hers. How can she drink it when it's just a syrupy sweet mess? How is she alive with that much refined sugar in her veins?
"Glad to know your bosses have some standards." Anyone hiring teenagers as their thieves is questionable to Hannibal, but the fact that they're apparently in the know enough to look the other way about this? That's good. Or it just means that mystery boy is just as rude in other situations, and he's turned everyone against him all on his own and it has less to do with Neph, but either option serves Hannibal's purpose of making sure Neph's decisions today get respected by her colleagues, so. Win-win.
"What a piece of shit coworker, though," Will says, and Hannibal has to admit he agrees with that one. "I hope he gets fired."