Chapter Four

**Hadrian's POV**

After the meeting Will Graham and the charming Winston at the Vet clinic, Hadrian found himself curious in a person for once. Dare he say it….obsessive?

"I would call you a stalker, Master"

….he wasn't a stalker. That is such a harsh term. He only made sure to Google the man and find out where he lived, what he did for a living, how many dogs he has, what kind of coffee he likes….

….he was a stalker. He also knew that Will liked to take his coffee black or with a dash of milk if he was feeling particularly well rested, which he hadn't been in the past few weeks…

"You are showing your stalker tendencies again, Master."

"I am just concerned!" he insisted. If Death had an actual face and not just something conjured to appease the masses of souls, he was sure he would be being stared down. But because it doesn't, Hadrian could only feel the pressure of judgment being thrown at him.

Hadrian had tried to come up with ways he could bump into Will without coming across as a stalker or one of those Freddy Lounds types. Nasty woman she was, a real piece of work. If he wasn't so held back by morals he would have made Death deal with her, but alas, he still had those pesky things that he still couldn't seem to shake. Or was there a way to get her targeted by the Ripper fellow stalking Baltimore recently?

"Off track again, Master."

…oh, back to planning his meeting with Will…..

Hadrian thought it over and knew that he just had to go for it, the man wasn't getting any younger after all and Hadrian wanted to be able to spend a quality amount of time with him before his time for his next great adventure came along. You never knew when the law enforcement types died, their deaths tend to be more spontaneous due to other peoples interference.

Packing up his paints, he thought over where Will might be at the moment. It was a Thursday and no new case has popped up so he should still be at the Academy teaching…

"He will be at the café near the campus in an hour, Master."

Ignoring Death, Hadrian quickly picked up his pace with his paints to be able to get ready in time to catch Will at the café.

Hadrian made it to the café in time to see Will walking through the door. He was glad to notice that during Will's paranoid scan of the interior that he seemed pleasantly taken aback seeing him there.

"Hadrian? Good to see you."

"You as well, Will."

He waved Will over to join him in the line, happy to see that Will was pleased to see him and was making an effort to make eye contact with him.

"What brings you all the way out here, Hadrian?" Will passed him his order and they made their way over to one of the corner lounge areas. Will making sure to sit with his back facing the wall and keeping a clear line of sight over the establishment. Hadrian found it endearing and had no problem with seating where indicated, anything to keep Will at ease with him.

"I need to pick up some art supplies and thought to stop to get a coffee. This place is highly recommended by the local bloggers."

Sipping at his coffee, Hadrian took in Will's appearance. He seemed scruffier than he last saw and were those bags under his eyes? Poor Will seemed to be over-worked.

"What about you, Will?"

Will seemed to deflate a little, a tired sigh escaping as a roughened hand scraped over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, dislodging his glasses. "I'm sure you heard on the news? A new case has me out in the field."

Hadrian thought over what he heard from his colleagues, he wasn't one for listening to mainstream media - especially the news. He had quite enough of that in his past life to last him several lifetimes over. Nothing came to mind.

"He's talking about a new serial killer, one that has about eight missing girls and counting, Master."

Nodding his head a bit, Will thinking he was agreeing about hearing of the case, continued. "I can't share much with you, you understand. But the case has my superior bringing in a psychiatrist."

"You don't strike me as the type to use their services, Will." His comment has Will relaxing, and it was then Hadrian realized that Will was expecting to be judged based on that information alone.

"No, unfortunately my boss seems to think otherwise."

**Will Graham's POV**

He was pleasantly surprised to see Hadrian standing in line at the café closest to the campus. After a long day of lecturing only for the last one to be interrupted half way through by Jack and his overbearing ways he was quite done for the day.

He found himself able to carry on an easy conversation with Hadrian, which surprised him. He had thought it was a fluke the first time he saw him and didn't think he would feel as comfortable conversing with Hadrian then as he does now. But he was mistaken. He had planned to order his coffee to go as he needed to be back at the office going over the case with Jack, but found himself sitting down in one of the corner lounge area with Hadrian, loathe to leave the man so soon after meeting him again.

Hadrian's simple dismissal over the issue of the psychiatrist had Will relaxing, it seemed that he wasn't judged over his boss finding him in need of psychiatric help or his potential of wanting to receive said help. Perhaps this will turn into a very rewarding friendship.

Will couldn't help but admire the visage Hadrian provided him, his legs elegantly crossed at the knee and daintily sipping at his coffee had long suppressed desires making themselves known. Will wasn't one to indulge in sexual desires as they always ended in disaster as his empathy tended to be a big turn off as well as his other multitude of issues that made him "unstable" but with Hadrian Will saw an opportunity. He was able to make eye contact without feeling the drowning depths of empathy and Hadrian was turning out to be the least judgmental person Will knows which didn't say much for the quality of friends he surrounds himself with. If he could call them friends at all If he was being honest.

"What do you think about getting a drink later this week, Will?"

If it wasn't for the case, Will would give a definite answer to when, but due to the nature of most ongoing cases he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't be forced to cancel. "I'm not sure, Hadrian. With the case being ongoing it can be unpredictable and I would hate to have to cancel on you."

He was glad to see that the man wasn't disappointed by the rejection, if anything he seemed thoughtful with a small frown crossing his brow. "If you don't think me too bold, Will. How about we go get that drink now?"

Will thought it over, "How about a meal then a drink? I have yet to eat and wouldn't mind sharing a meal with you."

He obviously said the right thing if the smile on Hadrian's face was anything to go by. He felt almost…giddy? It had been a long long time since he even attempted to date someone seriously and to have the attraction reciprocated? A nice feeling for sure.

A/N: I know, I know. Long time to wait for an update, I can understand. This chapter was hard to write, I ended up rewriting it so many times I lost count. I decided to go with this version as I think it has done it's job of getting Will and Hadrian together in a less formal environment and at least get the ball rolling on their relationship before Hannibal steps into play.

This story won't follow canon, dialogue will be different and the characters may be OOC, but I am trying to get the whole Hannibal TV show vibe going but as this is my first fic, I don't expect to get it right straight away.

I am also attempting to make my chapters longer to help with the story development, thank you for all the kind reviews and keep the suggestions coming! I love the brainstorming process and it helps me put pen to paper. How do you guys like having Hadrian be a little spacey from time to time when Death says some shocking things?