textualhealing | IC CONTACT

[The sound of booze being pushed his way draws him like a fish to wriggling bait, and he gives a short nod in place of thanks (just say thank you, Will????????) as he leans forward to serve himself. Jeff may notice he fills that glass up, no pretense about just taking a moderate drink, no. In it to win it.]

He and I worked together. [Sort of...Chilton gave him work, it counts.] One of his patients murdered a nurse. Had to investigate the similarities between that and...a more notorious, sought after serial killer.

[Super casual about murder? Yes, yes he is, carefully twirling a chunk of noodle around his fork. More than is a proper mouthful but that's good, that's the purpose. Give him something to do and ground his mind from wandering to that evening with an elk head in Abel Gideon, Will picking bullets out of the wall and cleaning up any evidence Chilton had been there. Like a good dog.]

Couple months later, I went back. [He stares at that enormous forkload of food, shifting to cross an ankle over his knee.] As a patient. Incarcerated in his hospital. False accusations, but I was there for a while anyway.

[He shoves that fork in his mouth without further ado, eyes moving up to finally look Jeff in the face.]

[Will won't be getting much of a reaction, but it's there in the mildest of forms. A slight furrow to his brows and his mouth creasing downwards just a fraction is enough to display Jeff's thoughtful curiosity, his attention locked towards Will with only the occasional drift towards his salad and scotch. Got to keep well fed while gossiping.

It's hard to know how he's meant to process this information and what's expected of him. His total level of apathy should be known by now, but for the sake of friendship he has to show some level of empathy on the matter. He's definitely curious about it, letting each thread of information slowly come together to slowly create one solid tapestry of imPort drama that he's been piecing together from various 'he said she said' sources. Everyone seems to have shit going on and Jeff feels like he's stuck right in the middle of it all, totally clueless, but left holding far too many tales with no apparent relevance to each other.]

You two seem pretty friendly considering he had you in a nut house. [Such political correctness.]

[Wow, it's his life, it's not gossip, how dare. How dare.

Will assumes that despite Jeff's apathy, he might like to know if he's living with a dangerous individual who could reasonably kill and eat people, that's all. Even April had gotten the spiel, with nervousness behind it, though she'd gotten more. An ear in a sink more.

Jeff's reaction has Will quickly reaching for that glass to swallow down as fast as he can, shaking his head at the summary. No, wrong, he'll explain.]

He didn't put me there. He was doing his job. I can't hold that against him. [Because he has enough difficulty laying full blame at Hannibal's feet in his poorer moments, so he has to put up clear, precise boundaries. He'll later stumble around them, everything bleeding over and blending in, but he knows, he knows who put him there and he knows holding it against anyone else only serves to give Hannibal some leeway and that is unacceptable.] It...

[He drops his fork in his box, running a hand over his mouth as he tries to think of the least depressing way to say this. And struggles, because everything is awful in Baltimore.]

...could've been worse.

[That is not the face of a happy Will. In fact, every single shift and pitch points towards a man that would really rather discuss anything else than this. Jeff's not even entirely against a subject change, but curiosity does have the better of him and if Will feels this is something should be spoken about, then he has to take that judgement as right. It might help Jeff to understand more of what's going on behind he scenes anyway, all this paranoia from Walter that appears to make Chilton and Will out to be villains to be wary of.

As Will drags a hand across his face, Jeff takes the cue to reach for that bottle of scotch and top up his friend's glass without question. It's Jeff's way of saying he's here and he's listening, even if he doesn't quite understand.]

So. He's more like family then? Not quite someone you'd maybe choose as a friend, but they're there anyway. Family. The kind you'd wanna defend with your life and beat the shit out of at the same time? [It might be that Jeff's idea of family is a little skewed, but he doesn't have much experience with it.] You seem pretty quick to have his back.

[Will glances to that drink with a hint of a smile, one that vanishes entirely under his fingers as he drags them off his face, pulling his lips down at this whole idea of family. And how strangely accurate it is. Minus Will wanting to beat the shit out of him, really, that's never a good idea. But he gets the message just the same, glances to the corner of the room like some godly figure will intervene, and then back to the take out in his lap.]

That's a good way to think of it, yes. You could say we're blood brothers of a sort. [An unhappy sort, judging by Will's tone and the exasperated way one arm flops along the armrest, but what's new. Baltimore is a land filled with misery.] Easter dinner was just April, him, and me...guess that's answer enough, isn't it?

I get it. He's from back home. That makes a big difference. There's a kind of solidarity to it, of living through the same sort of crap and having the same familiarity with somewhere. [Jeff would be tempted to attach himself to virtually anyone from back home if the arrived here, even if they were a constant annoyance.]

He's an okay guy anyway. I mean, I assume, from what I've seen. If he is likely to murder me in my sleep then you don't need to worry too much about warning me, I'll just come back and make the little asshole's life pure misery. [What he's really trying to say is that he's okay with it all, that he doesn't mind the defensive stance and the friendship status with Fred. Winger would do exactly the same.]

[His eyes flick up, expression grim—it's rare for him to have this returned, the I get it. On less personal, normal, everyday things? Sure. But this strikes closer to home, literally and metaphorically, and Will is very familiar with only having one person to reveal his heart to (even if he fudged what he revealed) and how Hannibal had worked it so eventually it felt like only he mattered. Just him, even as the hand that reached out to help was covered in blood and would cover itself with Will's blood should he make a wrong move.

And Jeff doesn't have anyone from his world, but he must...he must be able to realize that if he did, even a fractured bond would be worth chasing after. If he's going for humor with the murder mention, though, it has the opposite effect. Will's shoulders tense as he takes a sharp breath, jaw clenched, shaking his head after a moment.]

He wouldn't. [Taut, like everything else about him. At least Jeff won't chase Chilton through the snowy woods behind Will's house and arrest him. There is that.] I wouldn't, either, the warning isn't...there's nothing to warn about.

[Abigail's presence will one day ask why Will had to lie, and lie, and just keep lyng. He won't have the best answer. Fortunately, Abigail isn't here right now to call him out on the lie in that simple statement.]

April knows. [There's a reason Jeff sometimes get a bit of hostility when he jokes around in ways that could implicate Will as a shitty husband. It's this, all of this, this baggage that drags him down. There's enough on his mind to make him think he's not worthy of her, in his worst moments, spiking the worry other people see it, too, isn't something he enjoys.] Probably should have given you a head's up earlier. But they don't make etiquette guides for how to tell your friends and the people who live with you that your world knows you best as the guy who murdered and ate all those people until two months later when you were the guy who didn't.

[And then he shuts his mouth, lips pursed as he watches Jeff carefully.

Is he still going to be such a cool bro? Will can only hope.]

[Jeff does get it. He gets a whole lot of it. Maybe he doesn't quite get the psychotic serial killing cannibal side of it, but that's really for the best if he never gets that at all. It's the total unfamiliarity with friendship that he relates to more than anything. Before his late return to college, he wouldn't have been able to identify a single 'friend' in his life. He'd focused on himself, kept others at a distance at the cost of never actually connecting socially beyond smiles and charm. Sure, he could be the life of the party and the guy everyone spoke to, but he was still the person returning home alone with no one to reach out to.

It took a crash course in sudden friendship and years of trial and error to really understand what it meant to have people there for you, to have someone who'd stand by you through thick and thin and defend you no matter what. Maybe Chilton wasn't that for Will, but he was something tangible that kept him grounded in reality and that must be worth something.

As far as he can figure there isn't much for him to think about here. Will's revelation doesn't change anything. It's still Will, the guy who climbed through his window that one night, the guy who openly accepted Jeff into his household with no jdudgement, and the guy who's just as happy to chat about dumb crap as he is to sit in silence in front of the TV.

His brows crease downwards in light consideration, but the single shouldered shrug depicts his inner monologue easily enough.]

Fine by me. [The most eloquent.] What you did or didn't do back home isn't really my business, it's what you do here and now that I'm interested in. [So try not to get arrested for serial killing while here, kthx.]

But look. Answer me one question that uh, I can't get overly elaborate with... [A pause like he's waiting for approval but then goes ahead anyway because screw manners.] If I'd maybe heard from someone that Chilton- and I guess to some extent yourself- can be pretty dangerous especially in the psychiatric field... should I be worried? I trust you enough not to screw me over, but where would this kinda news be coming from? How can Chilton scare anyone? The guys a snake at best. Unless someone's super creeped out by snakes...

[Ah, Jeff. Delightful Jeff. Master of understatements and whiplash, he gives Will a world of relief and then takes it away entirely. Like the tide, washing up over his feet, salty and cool, only to pull back and leave him feeling exposed, cold, wet, vulnerable, empty, naked.

Who's he been talking to, Will wonders. Though he has little wondering to do, he realizes. He also realizes that Jeff's already put up a boundary with that whole I can't get overly elaborate with bit. Does he want to smash that down? If it's Walter White he's been in discussion with, then confessing to that may later put Jeff at risk. Will's already in line to wear the target on his back instead of Chilton, he knows how to pull the trigger on a gun without hesitation, where to aim for what he needs...but Jeff?

Does he want to tear down that wall and risk putting Jeff in danger?

A moment's pause, brow furrowed, a not-quite frown on his face.

No, he decides. He'll leave it be. For now, he can work without making more of a mess than things already are.

For now.

Jeff gives him no relief and Will spares giving him that in return. No this for that, not today.]

He ran a home for the criminally insane. [Flat facts, Will tasting the information as he spins it, as he looks for all the world like he's trying to figure out where such information could come from.] That's, you must understand, a building full of the worst humanity has to offer. Had to install a line for therapists to sit behind because patients would urinate on them, for God's sake. It's a harsh environment to be in, you can't...get away with it if you don't adapt to your surroundings. He wouldn't have made it as far as he has if he couldn't deal with danger in some capacity. Neither would I. I suppose that's scary, to some people. Pull through a mess of blood and bone and keep going, confident instead of broken. Easy to start projecting dangers in places they aren't.

[Jeff has never shown a trace that he'd be glad to murder, again and again, in fantastic ways. Nothing that would make a good story, he isn't a prize patient. He should be just fine, save Chilton's general ability to poke and prod and get under the skin, to the root of the matter.]

I can't think of any reason for you to be worried about him, no.

[Liking Jeff is like a slap in a face, that's for sure, but he doesn't ever try to hide that fact. He's perfectly content to smooth the situation and throw in a right hook seconds later, it can't be helped. Perhaps it's the lawyer in him that insists on digging and twisting and never letting things settle.

At least he listens to Will's reply, poking at his salad idly without ever actually taking a bite. It's difficult to process what he knows and what he's learning, trying to judge every piece of information that's been slowly trickle fed to him and put it all together. Each side tells a different story, but isn't that always the way? And if he truly had to trust anyone, he imagines it'd be the guy he's sharing food with rather than the paranoid meth lord filling his bank.]

So maybe he's done some shit. Maybe you have too. I sure as hell have... Did you know I killed a guy's dad? [A thoughtful squint towards Will and a slow smile that suggests maybe it's not an awful murder but it's information sharing and Will's already shared so much.] He was old as balls. Like literally must have been a hundred or something. I made him have a heart attack.

[Yes, you have sits on the tip of Will's tongue. But he knows his memory is exceptional, remarkable. He knows that it's possible Jeff forgot and is attempting to open up instead of, what? Putting himself on the same level of fucked up and dangerous that Will is perceived as by some, even if it's not Jeff?

He's stares, openly, before he takes another sip of his drink and starts back in on his food, mirroring the poking-not-yet-eating of his companion.]

How'd you do that?

[Like he's never heard this before. Brand new information that Will doesn't seem a single bit perturbed by. He isn't.]

Sneak up on him and say boo? Tell him his son knocked up some girl and refused to make an honest woman out of her?

[Tell him your dirty, masterful tactics for murder, friend.]

[Not everyone can have a memory like Will's. Especially when their name is Jeff and he's not paying attention to things about 99% of the time. That and it's literally his only murder claim to fame. Sorry, bro, we can't all be that experienced in serial killing. Jeff sure could talk about some fucked up shows and movies he's seen though!]

Shouted at him for being an asshole of a father. [There's plenty of daddy issues here. Shrug!]

What I'm getting at is I don't really care. I mean. I care about what you want me to care about, but if you tell me all this isn't important? Then that's it. Done. I'm not gonna ask any more. You're a good guy, Will, I like you. I even like Chilton for some unknown reason that I doubt I'll ever understand. [Because srsly, that dude is annoying as hell.] So maybe some of the crap you've both got up to isn't entirely above board, but you're speaking to a lawyer. I've probably been responsible for more deaths than I'd like to think about. I get people off the hook and back on the streets and maybe some of them really shouldn't be in public. Am I proud of it? Not entirely. But it's my job and I'm damn good at it, and I am proud of that.

[Will stops everything, hands frozen mid-twirl of the fork, and lets his full attention sit on Jeff. He watches, listens—an ideal student for any teacher, provided they don't mind the occasional feeling said student sees through them, aren't bothered by the way one little tilt of his head turns him from hungry for knowledge to something bordering on predatory. Whatever those little gestures mean to Jeff, he's hopeful they're never taken as threat, but for now, Jeff's the entire universe to Will Graham.

He waits a few seconds after Jeff's declaration of pride, and finally expresses something of his own. Lips pull down, he nods a bit, buying every word for how Jeff puts it out there and finding them all to be just fine. Tasteful. Tasty.]

Point taken. Very fair, and you present it well.

[He appreciates. He accepts. A+ lawyer skills on display.]

I like you, too, by the way. In case you hadn't...realized that.

[He looks down and starts in on his meal with a returned zest for actually eating. Appetite restored, thanks to Jeff Winger.]

[As a guy with plenty of experience as a teacher, Jeff can honestly say he has pretty much never had a student look at him with any kind of interest or thirst for knowledge. Such things don't exist in Community Colleges, although that might have something to do with every student and teacher slowly dying inside. Most of his students are lucky if they even get any actual lessons that don't involve watching the same few episodes of The Blue Planet over and over because teaching is so much work and effort and Jeff would rather just play on his phone and drink alcohol.

Still, Will's interest is appreciated, especially that unwavering attention on Jeff because everything should always be about Jeff. Please give him all the attention ever, friend.

Except attention that involves talking about friendship and being liked because that's so hard to know how to react to! As it stands, Jeff just smiles, something small and private and not quite the usual broad smarm grin that he reserves for lying his way through life. It's first date levels of bashful and he distracts from it by smoothly going back to his salad. Yup, just eating his food, nothing to see here.]

Thanks for lunch. I'll get it next time... [Totally good subject change, right?] If you wanna spend the rest of it with April, I can go out. I got some things to do anyway. [In case the lovebirds want to settle their differences over a desk or whatever.]

Edited 2015-09-11 10:05 (UTC)

[And this is why, even though Will isn't on the mailing list for Winger Fan: Fans at Large, Will will always consider himself a member of the Jeff Winger fan club. A member of the only club that matters, a personal one led and founded by the man himself. It's a much better connection than just talking about him to a bunch of other people.

Will won't be making any mentions about that bashful look, nope. He'll note it and keep it for later, the best portrait of Jeff to add to any memory palace, and wonder if he should have done this earlier. He'd thought they'd passed first date a while ago, but would it have been a good idea to do this earlier? Sometimes relationships were like cooking—they needed to simmer, to stew slowly, rather than be tossed on hot flame and cooked in record timing.]

No, no, you don't have to do that. I came up here for you, not her. [Will casts a glance over his shoulder at the door as he says, like she'll have just appeared there and heard him.] I'll be spending all night with her, anyway. We can spare some distance over lunch. It's not a problem.

[Dude needs his brotime, okay? He loves April and would do anything for her, but April needs time with her ladies the same as Will needs time with his gentlefellas. This is all good. But if Jeff actually has things to do that he wants to do, Will won't be too perturbed. He's assuming that's less Jeff saying he needs to go and more giving Will an out (or an in, as it were), anyway.]

[That assurance that Will's here for Jeff just keeps that smile going, even as Jeff tries to force it into something a little more confident and a little more normal for the wily lawyer image he was meant to preserve. Will was permitted to see the occasional weakness, that's what bros were for, but if word got out of Jeff actually having a heart? Then his career may end as we know it. And shut up that's totally not an over dramatic thought, he's sure it'd be true!]

Well, I'm probably gonna be out tonight anyway, so maybe give the kids some money and kick them out of the house. Give you two lovebirds an evening alone for once, you both deserve that much. [Because he totally ships it forever more, cutest couple, dokidoki, uwaaa, etcetc.] You want some wine to set the mood? I got good wine.

[Perhaps Jeff's merely getting to the stage in his life where he's realised love and him aren't likely to ever work out so he just has to settle with seeing it work for others. Maybe that's his purpose.]

[As if Will is the sort to go running his mouth to everyone and everything when there isn't an actual need for it. Jeff's secrets are safe, rest assured.]

Implying April and I can't tell what a good wine is.

[He says into his drink, words that could be taken as how dare you insult me and my wife delivered in a tone that carries none of that. It's a sweet thought, but since Will still has no idea about Jeff's wonderful cash flow, he's less inclined to take additional money stuff from him. Even if this good wine was a gift, it's still Jeff's!]

Don't worry about it. We've got our own stuff. You just enjoy your evening out and call us if you get into any trouble.

[Doesn't necessarily have to be getting arrested trouble. If Jeff goes on some blind date that turns out to be absolutely heinous fifteen minutes in, April and Will can save the day. Call crying about something or other, or just show up and be even more heinous until his date decides this is in no way worth it.

Because that's what family does for each other.]

[That is quite some offer there, friend. Agreeing to get Jeff out of trouble could involve far more than just a simple pick up. This is Jeff we're talking about after all, the guy who manages to charm and piss off all in one, who can manage to have post apocalyptic style games of paint ball and be involved in zombie outbreaks and everything in between. Will is quite the bro.]

That... might actually have to be something I take you up on. I got a native I'm meeting with for dinner but uh, she's kind of a bigger fan than I first thought. Kinda to creepy levels. Gonna give the evening a chance, sure but uh, I'm kinda concerned she's gonna drug me and lock me in her home forever.

[Being kidnapped by crazy fans isn't even fun when they're super hot. :c]

[Not on Will's watch. He understands that Jeff is, most likely, just tossing out a scenario, horsing around, isn't really thinking much about what he says with that, but Will frowns and momentarily tenses just the same. People being drugged and locked away aren't a newspaper story or movie plot to Will, he's known them. And as long as he has any say in the matter, that is a thing of the past. Or, at least, a thing for Baltimore. Not here.]

April and I could could go out for dinner nearby and you can text if you feel we need to step in. Or meet up outside after—bump into each other. She can't drug you and take you home right in front of us.

[Normal enough conversation over lunch, really, but Will means every word. He'd do whatever it took to make Jeff feel comfortable, as long as he could actually do it. Will adopts some people more than he does others, always observant and watchful of what uses they may have for later on. Uses that might be positive, uses that might be very negative, but still something useful. Jeff and he already seem to have a rather tightly knit bond, as far as Will can tell, though that doesn't mean there's any harm in strengthening it, adding on. No skin off Will's back, plenty of gain to collect. Who doesn't win?]

[Jeff would have absolutely no gauge on how to react to an actual kidnapping. It's just not something that really ever happens back home. And if it were to happen? There'd be some distant part of him waiting for the punchline to a joke he didn't get.]

Great idea. I know of an amazing place near to where I'll be eating. I'll book you both in, my treat.

[Perfectly eager to spend his money on friends, because Will is a friend. A very good friend. One that he's not always sure how he managed to get or whether he's ever really worthy of. Will picks up strays, he welcomes people, he understands and discusses. Jeff bitches and grouches and avoids all sense of responsibility.]

[Will stares at him for a moment, stops chewing to do so, with a face clearly debating this. Like there is some thin sliver of pride dwelling inside him ready to insist otherwise, April and he can cover their own dinner. But when it comes down to these two, Jeff has so much more machismo than Will, and it's not difficult to see. If Jeff is prepared to drop some cash on April and Will outside of rent and household necessities, who is he to shoot that down? Jeff can be the alpha if that means both April and Will profit from it, he'd be an idiot to flatten his ears and challenge this.]

Deal. If the night goes to hell, we can go out somewhere else and make up for it.

[Like Balls Deep. Or a crummy movie. Or pretty much anything because, yes, they're friends, and friends will be able to turn a bad night around with ease And Will can pretend it's another anniversary thing for April and he, everyone wins.]

[Will makes a wise choice in allowing the dinner reservation. Jeff doesn't ask for much and doesn't expect much in return when it comes to friends, but if he makes an offer he expects it to be accepted, or be prepared to face his passive aggressive replies at being turned down. Yes, it's much easier for all involved if Will takes the freebie dinner and thinks nothing of it, or of Jeff trying to show affection through material objects.]

I'm sure we'll think of something.

[A pause to fork a whole bunch of salad into his mouth and, muffled around a boiled egg, he settles on a small:]

Thanks.

You're welcome.

[Feels odd to say, considering Jeff is going to foot the bill for a meal between April and Will that may end up just being a lovely evening together, but. It's polite, and that's all Will really feels he can go with, however odd.

And so they had a companionable lunch without more talk of cannibalism. Many verbal smooches were given. April, of course, got an actual smooch on Will's way out. Whatever happens on double date night, Jeff will wake up to find that Will had already prepared his favorite breakfast as silent thanks. He'll even pack it up in a special container if Jeff's running late.

Lawyer at Large? More like Lover at Large. What a happy family.]

IC CONTACT

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject