The Sea Boy (Hannigram AU)
Explicit // M/M // Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter // Tags: Alternate Universe, Merfolk AU, historical AU, Count Hannibal Lecter, Merman Will Graham, first kiss, time skip, reunions, injury, injury recovery, getting to know each other, falling in love, fluff and smut, happy ending.
The sailor spoke in a lower tone, “It is a lucky thing to see merfolk. But remember, how you treat them decides whether that be bad luck, or good luck for ye.”
Latest installment on my @hannibalbingo card: Harpy Knife
Also for: MerMay 2024
Chapter One (2.8k words):
On a fishing trip with his father, young Hannibal meets the sea boy for the first time.
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Hannibal had been so young when his father first taught him how to fish that it felt like he always knew. Together with some of the staff and the gamekeeper, they fished regularly on the Lecter estate, and always cooked their catch.
Whilst he remembered the excursions fondly, they fished so often that the memories became a blur. Years later only one truly would stand out in his mind, because it was one of the times they left the estate and went to the coast for a proper outing. And on this particularly memorable occasion, Hannibal had seen the sea boy.
It had been a two day trip, staying overnight in an inn near the shore, and on the first day out on a small fishing vessel, Hannibal had been mesmerised by the sight of a gloriously coloured tailfin. He had spent long hours pouring over the many volumes in his father’s library on the subject of fish and other aquatic species, and this was nothing he had seen. The colour was more like that of human flesh, up to the tips which were a faint greenish-blue. And perhaps he might have thought nothing of it and studied more once home, thinking it some exotic creature, but then he discovered it was more exotic than he had expected when a mop of dark hair surfaced.
At first he had thought it some flotsam, it was dark and threaded through with seaweed. But then a face emerged, a young boy about his age, with the same greenish-blue tinge at the end of his pointed ears and highlighting his cheeks.
Hannibal stood agape on the bow of the ship, watching as the boy watched back. They studied each other and he raised his hand in a tentative wave. The sea boy blinked at him and then his mouth split into a smile that revealed sharp, pointy teeth.
He was too mesmerised to call out to his father, and when he and the other men brought forth the small barrels of bait, the sight and sound of them must have scared the sea boy. His smile was gone, eyes wide, he continued to look at Hannibal for just a moment, then turned back into the sea, tailfin kicking up the water after him as he dove.
“Papa!” the spell between them broken, Hannibal found his voice. “Papa! I saw a boy in the sea. A boy with a fishtail!”
All the men laughed heartily and Hannibal’s father ruffled his hair. “You have a vivid imagination, Hannibal.” He chuckled.
Hannibal frowned and one of the sailors asked, “Are you sure he hasn’t been drinking the salt water.”
Another bout of laughter went up, this time a little more cruel, until there were three hard thuds on the deck and the sailors went quiet and back to their business.
Hannibal looked over to where the sound had come from and one of the sailors - an old man, much older than any of the others - sat on a low bench. He had a scar across his face, a pipe in his mouth and had knocked on the deck with a large stick that he used for walking.
“You ignore these fools,” The old sailor told Hannibal. “These waters are filled with all manner of things that sailors should fear. Them things of this world, and of others.” He raised his voice so the other sailors had to hear him. “They’d all do well to be more mindful of the sea.”
There were a few grumbles under their breath but no one spoke directly to the old man, who then grabbed Hannibal by the back of his collar and pulled him closer, close enough that his nose was filled with the scent of the damp tobacco. The sailor spoke in a lower tone, “It is a lucky thing to see merfolk. But remember, how you treat them decides whether that be bad luck, or good luck for ye.”
Hannibal swallowed and nodded, almost losing his balance when the sailor let go of him and waved him away.
That encounter might have been memorable in itself, but it was the evening that Hannibal remembered with most clarity.
It was a small fishing town they were staying in, and nowhere was far from the water. As the sailors drank and made merry in the inn, his father sat in his room going over charts with the captain, discussing the plans for the next day. No one seemed to notice that Hannibal was not in his room, and perhaps presumed him asleep. But instead, curious, he snuck out the inn and made his way down to the harbour. He sat on the solid stone part of the pier and looked out to the water, the waves lapping a few feet beneath him - noisy in their tidal movement.
He noticed the change in sound, the slap of the waves against the stone of the wall lost rhythm. He frowned and looked down, finding the sea boy beneath him, slapping his hand against the stone to attract attention.
Hannibal took in a sharp, excited breath and immediately scrambled to lie on the floor, hanging a little over the edge to smile down at the boy.
