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Jeffrey Tobias Winger ([personal profile] textualhealing) wrote2015-07-06 12:32 am

IC CONTACT



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infomodder: under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: (humble yourselves therefore)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-07 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.]
infomodder: and tearing us all apart lisa ain't got shit on him (sharing his jars of blood)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-08 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
[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.
infomodder: i'm the one who sacrificed his son (rust is showing on my armor)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-08 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[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?
infomodder: about to turn into of rice & men real soon u lil shit (fathers & sons)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-09 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
[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.
]
infomodder: but then where is will getting his face shaved what the fuck even sense does that make (jealous of missing out on the salon)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-09 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.
infomodder: please r&r NO FLAMES i JUST got over encephalitis!!! (hey gais dis my first fanfic ^^;;)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-09 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.]
infomodder: this world is damned (verger babies)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-09 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.]
infomodder: to get the feeshies nobody else can and get germies on our shared flask. bffs? bffs. (that's why i'm here)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-11 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.]
infomodder: but hannibal said it was okay so it must be true (most definitely should not be drinking)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-14 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.
]
infomodder: put your trust in me, i’m not gonna die alone (clean up that blood all over your paws)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-19 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[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?]
infomodder: literally you are so full of shit my nose hair is burning (so you fed me shit to digest)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-22 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
[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.]
infomodder: (you oughta look out) (#yolo)

[personal profile] infomodder 2015-09-25 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)
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.
]