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[abrightboy]

 This is Bright. Leave a message.

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[empathicfault]

"That's...that's really good reasoning, actually," Will replies. "I don't know what you're going to encounter here, but it probably won't include him. Sometimes, removing yourself from the situation is the smartest thing to do, and you've got that option. So why not take it?"

Will's kind of impressed, actually. "Has that been working out for you so far?"

[abrightboy]

"...Yeah. As long as I keep working and don't let myself get in my head too much, it's going well. I still have access to my medication and I'm able to keep up my morning routine and I have a meaningful job to do. ...It's not my first choice of career, but... maybe it was time for a change." He looks at Will. "I think it helps to have a job beyond just the... inmate/warden interaction. Have you chosen one here yet?"

[empathicfault]

"Not really. Just been doing custodial so far. I might start looking into something else, but-" He gives Malcolm an exaggerated shrug. "I'm okay just helping out where I can for awhile. Oh, and Shaw's training me for patrols, since she can't sit still, either. Guess that's not just us, although she is a little less murder-centric than we are."

[abrightboy]

“I’m not sure she’d agree. She wanted to test my lethality but I wouldn’t attack first and she got mad at me,” he says, but his expression and tone suggest fondness.

[empathicfault]

"Your lethality?" He raises his eyebrows, although he sounds amused. "Okay, maybe I was wrong. Did she know that's a sore spot for you, or- how did that even come up?"

[abrightboy]

“I… can’t really discuss her reasons; it had to do with counselling she asked for. But she didn’t believe I could defend myself. Which.” He shrugs. “I get it. I’m small; I talk a lot.”

[empathicfault]

"Oh." He nods. They've talked about so much here, but there are some confidentiality concerns to worry about. "I mean, I know you get underestimated, but talking a lot doesn't mean you can't fight." If that were true, he would've beaten Hannibal a few times over.

"Does she believe you can defend yourself now?"

[abrightboy]

“I don’t know,” Malcolm admits. “Sometimes we really get along and sometimes she doesn’t believe anything I say.”

[empathicfault]

"Huh," Will replies, then shakes his head. "That's usually my problem. Which really didn't work great as a profiler, sometimes."

He rubs at his face. He doesn't want to ask more questions about Shaw's therapy- well, he does, but that wouldn't be a good idea right now. "If I had to guess, I'd say your energy levels don't line up sometimes. But if she's still talking to you, she trusts you on what she's asking your help for."

[abrightboy]

“Oh. Yeah. I’m… not helping her anymore. She doesn’t like my methods. She did like my weapons collection, though. We’re supposed to spar at the gym,” Malcolm tells him.

[empathicfault]

Oh. Whoops.

Will looks away, suitably awkward before he looks down at Malcolm's desk. "Well, it's not a total loss, then. Maybe she's just not ready for something more formal. People get weird about therapists, I don't know if you've noticed." The smirk is probably less effective, as it is focused down on the desk between them.

[abrightboy]

"People also get weird about me, so... six of one, half a dozen of the other," Malcolm says, watching him. "I left the door open, in case she changes her mind." About that or... anything. "Was he the only therapist you'd been to before now?"

[empathicfault]

Will's eyes immediately look up to find Malcolm's, and his pupils dilate very slightly as they fix on the man in front of him.

"Who, Hannibal?" Will asks. He shakes his head. "Hardly. Been going to them since I was ten. Gave up around twenty-five or so? And then tried a couple times after that. It never worked out. Hannibal was sort of...sprung on me, by the FBI."

His fingers lace, then unlace. "He was definitely the only one I got close to, I'll say that. The only one I really trusted."

[abrightboy]

“I’m sorry that person had to end up being abusive. I probably would have quit if not for Gabrielle. I mean, sometimes I take… extended breaks and sometimes she tries to get me to look into a more age appropriate therapist but… I wouldn’t see anyone if she made me, so…” He shrugs.

[empathicfault]

"I'm glad she hasn't succeeded in making you," replies Will, with a wistful smile on his face. It was important to hold onto those people that were there for you.

Although what would Will know about that, really? When he tries to think of who that might be- he can only think of Hannibal. And he knows- he knows that some of that is the fact that Hannibal drove everyone else away. He knows Molly's still out there somewhere, broken down but she'd probably try for him, if he survived. But he can't see a future there.

He frowns briefly, then takes a bit of a breath and asks, "Malcolm, do you know anything about 'psychic driving'?"

[abrightboy]

“It’s a discredited psychotherapy procedure from the 50’s that’s basically considered torture now, which involved using various questionable methods including ECT and psychedelic drugs to break down a person’s mental state so that their personality could be altered or even rebuilt… it basically only did the first thing. None of its victims were ever known to have successfully rehabilitated in the manner it was supposed to have been designed for,” Malcolm says. He pauses, then carefully asks “…Is that what he was doing to you?”

[empathicfault]

Will opens his mouth, then shuts it without replying. He nods his head and sighs. "It was during the encephalitis. Maybe cooking my brain made it easier to reshape."

He's clearly hesitating to say anything else, but eventually he sets his jaw and says, "We had known he was using it to convince me that I was responsible for his murders. But...I would like to know. If my feelings for him are related." His throat works at 'feelings', as if he's practically choking out the word.

[abrightboy]

“…Like a sort of trauma bonding or Stockholm syndrome? Very possible. We can explore that if you feel up to a bit of a deep dive into your interactions,” Malcolm offers.

[empathicfault]

"Yeah, I think that's probably a good idea. I just-" He chuckles at himself, a breathy sound. "I realized that I still trust him, and how very messed up that is."

Will knows why he trusts him- he trusts Hannibal to be Hannibal. But he would like to know just how much tampering went on before they really got to know each other. Maybe Malcolm can help him pick that apart.

"Trauma bonding- I know that's got to be a technical term. But just going off the words, it sounds accurate to what I've experienced." Lots of trauma, crazy-glue-like bonding.

[abrightboy]

“That you developed a bond to each other by enduring trauma together? He was a trained psychiatrist. If he was also the predatory psychopath and narcissist you’ve described, he probably engineered the trauma specifically to bond you to him. When a predatory psychopath goes into a medical field, they know exactly what they’re doing. Holding life and death in their hands? Holding power over everyone that comes into their office? It feeds them. And when that’s not enough anymore, then it escalates to hunting for prey and ritual murder. Something about you made him want to own you. That’s an impulse that narcissists mistake for love. How did you start seeing him clinically?” Malcolm asks.

[empathicfault]

Will nods through the explanation, and actually laughs quietly as Malcolm gets to the 'he probably engineered the trauma' part. That isn't even a question. Will does regain his composure as Malcolm continues, nodding further.

The question has him thinking. It happened before so many other things and it was hard to clarify the blur that was the two of them meeting. "He was a friend of a friend, referred to the FBI for the same reason I was, supposedly. As a consultant."

Will rolls his eyes, thinking about it. "I wouldn't be surprised if my boss wanted him there to secretly evaluate me. He noticed how I avoided eye contact, I think. Found my condition interesting. A few days later, he came to my motel room, gave me some 'sausage' as breakfast leftovers, and later that day he set me up to kill Garret Jacob Hobbs while we worked the case. It was just after that he was tapped to 'evaluate' me for fitness in the field. That's when I started my appointments."

He puts his hands behind his head and leans back, stretching out. "He slipped under my radar while I was panicking about Hobbs and settled himself as both friend and doctor in one fell swoop. I didn't have a chance."

[abrightboy]

“How calculating of him. Genius level intellect?” Malcolm guesses.

[empathicfault]

"Oh, yes," Will replies. "He was very experienced with his pet projects, too. Did a good job of obfuscating just how many of his patients got worse instead of better. He also disproved his insanity defense and got published in at least three psychiatric journals- all after sentencing was concluded, of course."

[abrightboy]

"Of course," Malcolm says. "That's actually very different from my father," he admits. "He was very diligent to... well, as he put it, 'never mix business with pleasure'." He considers Will for a moment. "Did he know about you before you met him on that case?"

[empathicfault]

"Not that I know of. He knew my friend Alana Bloom- well, we were acquaintances. She didn't want to get too close because she had a 'professional curiosity.'" He's over how that went down, honest. "She might've mentioned my condition to him. Other than that? Nah. I hadn't been in the papers yet, and mostly tried to stay out of the way."