The Apartment Above the Boards, Sunday Evening

[apocalipped]

What was the point of informing all of his Glacian war cohorts that they were staying at his apartment if he wasn't going to actually entertain them? Jono very rarely did anything that even remotely resembled 'having a social life,' or even 'entertaining company,' but when he had Momoko, Dinah, Raven, Karla, and Warren all staying under his roof,

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[never_dull]

Hannibal wasn't terribly sure about the quality of the movies on offer, but he was always curious to meet new people.

And Hannibal being Hannibal, he'd brought food for the occasion.

Fig ganache pumpkins:


Chocolate skulls with a bit of fire:


And eyeballs:


Which were totally chocolate. Not real at all. But they may have been just somewhat more realistic than most and had a cherry reduction inside so they were gooey and red. He was Hannibal a doctor, after all.

He nodded pleasantly to Jono as he presented him with the platter. "Thank you for the invitation."

[apocalipped]

"But of course," Jono replied, giving the food that Hannibal had brought with him a bit of an impressed looking over. "And thank you for coming. Good lord, are those chocolate?"

It was difficult to look away from chocolate that seemed to be staring at you first.

[never_dull]

"They are." Hannibal nodded. "The skulls may be somewhat spicy. The pumpkins are figs with whiskey-and-clove ganache. And the eyes are cherry and cognac filled."

[apocalipped]

"Officially making any one of those things more fancy than anything I've put on my tongue in ages," Jono mused, reaching for a skull and turning it over as he gave it a thoughtful looking-over. "There should be room on the living room table for all of that, can I give you a hand? And there are seats in the living room itself that haven't been claimed yet, make yourself at home."

It was entirely possible that some of the seats were empty because people were sitting on the floor out of solidarity for the winged guy that recliners and sofas really weren't made to accommodate. Details.

[never_dull]

"Of course, thank you." Hannibal nodded. "And I hope you enjoy them." He let Jono take the skulls and followed with the other platters, nodding hello to the people he hadn't yet met, which seemed to be most of them.

[apocalipped]

"I'm certain I will," Jono decided, setting the plate of skulls down on the table before popping one of them into his mouth.

...

Please hold. He was going to just. Just kind of need maybe a moment. Or two. While his eyes watered. He was trying not to wheeze too much.

[never_dull]

Hannibal eyed Jono, waiting for a moment to see if he'd be okay.

[apocalipped]

And Jono... was going to just hold up a finger, wordlessly excusing himself while he went hunting for one of those milkshakes that Karla had made Warren carry in.

A few moments later he came back, mopping a bit of sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve.

"... You warned me."

He had.

[never_dull]

"I hadn't thought they had quite so much spice to them," Hannibal noted. Then again, he did recall Jono saying something about flavors. Well, it had been an interesting reaction, anyway. "Perhaps you should try the others. There are no spices in these." He held out the eyeballs.

[apocalipped]

Jono nodded a little, picking up one of the eyes and having a brief staring contest with it. It won when he looked back up at Hannibal, attempting a wry smile.

"They're probably not all that spicy at all, for what it's worth," he offered. "My sense of taste is something I've been without since I was a teenager. I'm just getting used to having it again. Spiciness and I haven't quite managed to make amends yet, which is a crying shame for a bloke who used to live on tikka masala."

[never_dull]

"Well, perhaps we can work you back up to it." Hannibal smiled. He'd love to know about the missing sense of taste, but this hardly seemed like the time or place to ask.

[apocalipped]

"There's the hope," Jonothon agreed with a nod and a little smile of his own. "I've been working bit by bit. I'm finally getting to the point where my assistant at the theatre has to work to find a chocolate drink that'll knock me to the floor."

Thanks for that, Kenzi.

[never_dull]

"Why do I get the impression that's something she strives for?" Hannibal asked dryly.

[apocalipped]

"She finds it amusing," Jono sighed. "Anyone who's met Kenzi probably wouldn't be surprised. I don't mind too much... She does good work, even if her enthusiasm needs to be reigned in slightly. She attempted to decorate the Boards with actual tealights a few weeks back, and I had to explain to her the wonders of gas lighting back in Victorian London so that she wouldn't burn the building down."

He was fond of the building. He lived here.

[never_dull]

"Not to mention the rather large fire," Hannibal added.

[apocalipped]

"I try to keep my history lessons brief with Kenzi," Jono noted, "and keep more fire extinguishers around the building than might be strictly necessary."

You could never have too many. Never.