The Way This Post Gutted Me From The Very First Sentence: “Hannibal’s Desperation To Be Needed By

Updated with four new additional fics as of 9/13/24!

Vulnerable Hannibal Fic Rec List

On my previous post, people were interested in finding fics where Hannibal is touch-starved and or dealing with separation anxiety post-fall. So here is a small list of some that may fit that theme! The first five fics are mine, but the rest are some of my favorite fics I’ve ever read that feature vulnerable Hannibal in various seasons or post-canon. This list will be updated intermittently! New additions as of 9/13/2024

The Ache Against The Wind: Will awakes in an alternate dimension. Inexplicably un-injured. Both his cheek and shoulder are still blessedly intact because the monumental bloodshed at the cliff house has yet to occur. He’s entirely unprepared for the aftermath that unfolds following the removal of Hannibal’s toilet.

Pareidolia: Six weeks post-fall, Hannibal suffers from a seizure during dinner.

Je Te Laisserai Des Mots: Six months have passed since Will pulled them over the cliff. Even in light of their progressing relationship, much of Hannibal still remains a mystery to Will. For reasons unknown, he’s begun to pull away.

Between The Hour Of Reprieve:

At the cliff house, Hannibal receives a much-needed-hug. (features crying, touch-starved Hannibal).

Shrike (To Your Sharp And Glorious Thorn): Hannibal feels anxious about the prospect of Will abandoning him one day because he isn’t at all capable of being like Molly. His anxiety only heightens when Will gets a job. (features crying housewife Hannibal speaking Lithuanian).

A Cabin In The Woods by KoolJack1: Hannibal is thirteen and runs away from the orphanage when he feels that a fate of the elements will be better than the fate of abuse. He finds a small cabin in the woods, thinking warmth will be all he finds. He also finds Will. But who changes who?

Recipricol Alchemy by Scifibabe: In the silent echoes of his dreams, Will Graham treads a line blurred between control and chaos, each step drawing him inexorably towards claiming Hannibal as his own. It's a perilous dance on the edge of darkness, where the thrill of possession whispers of a transformation too profound to resist.

Hold Me, Don’t Let Me Go by sourweather: It's a few months after the Fall when it finally hits him. Hannibal has barely been touched in 3 years. And Will won't let it go on for another moment.

Hosanna In The Highest by sainthannibal: During the fall, Hannibal receives the brunt of the injuries, which leaves him unable to care for himself. Will discovers how much he enjoys taking care of him.

You Made Me Soup by itsybitsylemonsqueezy: Hannibal comes down with pneumonia while incarcerated. Will decides to make him some soup. Absolutely no one thinks it's strange that Will comes to give his ex soup when he finds out he's sick. No one at all finds this suspicious. At. All.

The Boy Under The Monster’s Bed by Wr4tttttthh: There were deep wounds that needed healing, new and old, physical and otherwise. (features crying, vulnerable Hannibal).

Delicate Ghost by hannigramcracker & TimmyJayBird: She was different- not the ghost of his memories, but something about this bloodied child ripped right at Hannibal's chest, and left him drowning in a cold snow he thought he had left in his childhood, that he had locked away within his skull. Drowning, with only one hand to grasp at, one body to cling to. One man to work him through the trauma and remind him what life was.

You With Those Nails, Me With This Cross by TheBitterKitten:

Will goes too far.

The Distance Is Quite Simply Much Too Far For Me To Row by softhan: Hannibal is having a rough time recovering from his injuries post-fall, and retreats into himself to avoid confrontation with Will while he's still weak and ill. Having to play happy husbands hardly helps

It's only been a few months since the fall, and Hannibal and Will are still in the last dregs of their recovery. Will does something that really pisses Hannibal off and because it's *Will* and he's himself, he can't have a normal human reaction to it, can he? Hannibal kills someone, but he's sloppy. It's impulsive and violent and messy in a way that doesn't fit his usual M.O. of being careful and calculating. Will finds the kitchen and Hannibal completely soaked in blood. He'd accidentally strained his abdominal wound and is trying to stand straight to hide the pain. Will scoffs and asks, "done with your temper tantrum?" And that pisses Hannibal off way more than he was before (think of how telling a girl to calm down does NOT make her calm down) and immediately thinks 'temper tantrum? I'll give you a temper tantrum.' A nasty fight ensues but the wires of violence and sex are completely crossed over with these two so a night of violent love making unfolds, and neither worry about the disaster of the kitchen until the next morning. This incident is never brought up again.

how is it so cold when summer is right around the corner? i feel like i'm in an igloo and my heated blanket just broke 😭

Hannibal dealing with mutism and a broken ankle and a sprained wrist post-fall. He hasn’t had control over what he eats in three years and now he has to depend on Will for each meal because he can barely hobble across the room without being scolded. He hasn’t felt this helpless since he was a child. At first, he barely has an appetite, but then after a few weeks of rest and recovery, he wakes up feeling ravenous. Normally, the portions Will has been providing are enough. But not today. He doesn’t want to be greedy because what if they run out of food and it’s all his fault? He can’t stand the thought of Will going hungry like his sister. Especially if it’s due to him. Every time his stomach churns with hunger, he feels more and more like the starving child he used to be. Forced to go to bed with an empty stomach because the other orphans would steal his food.

Today, Will brings in a steaming bowl of stew. Hannibal’s heart plummets.

He hasn’t eaten stew in four decades. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to keep it down. But he can’t refuse either. Not when Will worked so hard to make this. Not when he’s so hungry. He wants to feed himself because at least he’ll regain control over one aspect of his life and he knows Will must be tired. Will sighs in frustration. Bats his un-injured hand away from the steaming bowl—and that sets Hannibal off. Awakens a dormant fear in the nervous beat of his heart. Because Will could take it away, if struck with the urge. Just like the nasty men who teased him with food (purposely placed just out of reach) and snatched away morsels before he had a chance to even think of taking a bite. For the first time in weeks he utters an involuntary sound: a hoarse, desperate whimper.

Will can sense something isn’t quite right. He can sense the brewing panic warring inside Hannibal’s flitting gaze and rapidly rising chest. He realizes Hannibal isn’t just being defiant—intent on pushing his buttons. He softens his voice to a soothing timber and raises the spoon to Hannibal’s clenched mouth. “This ain’t going anywhere, cher.” He watches the harsh tremble of Hannibal’s jaw as it unclenches with a mixture of reluctance and relief. How a pair of wobbling lips clamp down around the spoon with desperation as if afraid to release.

Will watches Hannibal savor that first bite, suckling every drop as if it’s his very last. Will praises him with each spoonful. Wipes away the silent tears scattered across his cheeks. Presses a kiss to his forehead when his breathing becomes shaky with the beginnings of a weak, tearful hiccup. It heals something inside of him. Until he feels the weight of a chunk of hot meat resting on his tongue. Will comforts him through a moment of panic—making sure not to feed him any chunks of meat—only broth and vegetables. His stomach is still growling even though the bowl is nearly empty. He’s too hesitant to ask for a second serving. Due to the literal physical inability to speak and the emotional turmoil.

“Are you still hungry, cher?” Will asks.

Hannibal’s resolve crumbles.

obsessed with post-fall hannigram domesticity. cleaning blood from each others wounds. quiet naps next to each other. gentle hands in hair, loving and soft. gazes at each other just to marvel. strong winters where one comes back covered in snow, just to have the other pull their wet clothes off and tuck them in soft blankets, giving them tea to warm up. showering together after killing, not shower sex, but gentle touches, one holding the other to their chest. post-fall hannigram domesticity.

making a tiktok account for my hannibal headcanons and vulnerable hannibal rec list and rambles <3 i woke up from a nap and it came to me like a vision.

Part 2) Blood gushes from Hannibal’s wound and from his mouth (where he bit his tongue on impact). His eyes are glazed over and Will realizes he’s having a flashback.

(this next part is barely a wip idea—but Hannibal was nearly drowned at the orphanage during a bath—by an adult who found him difficult to deal with—when he was sick with a cold and too weak to fend for himself. In that moment, he just wanted his papa or mother to save him. But he could only depend on himself).

“Tėtis,” (papa in Lithuanian) tumbles from Hannibal’s mouth, flecked with droplets of blood. Along with the word “Praušu” as he flings himself into Will’s chest, knocking them both to the floor. He burrows into Will’s lap, desperate for warmth and consolation. Will decides he can put his plans involving Hannibal’s impending entrapment on hold for one night.

Imagine if during Will’s honey trap era, he dropped by unannounced and found Hannibal slumped on the floor of his kitchen—wearing his red sweater and matching pajama pants—too weak and fatigued from the flu to make it back to bed.

He’s fevered and shivering, barely holding onto a half-eaten piece of toast that’s dangling between his sleep-slackened fingers. His bangs are fanned out across his forehead, softening his features and two days’ growth of stubble dusts his jaw. Will manages to wake him and strips him down to his boxers to wrangle him into a cold bath in hopes of bringing down his fever. Hannibal panics and tries to climb out—away from the frigid water—but Will holds him down.

Cue, Hannibal’s cryophobia emerging for the first time in decades and he regresses. In under a minute, he’s sobbing and on the verge of hyperventilating, clinging to Will and losing his footing as he makes another effort to escape—slipping back into the water and busting his chin on the edge of the tub.

me every time i read y'all's fics ♡ @incidentsofunknownorigins @graciereadshannigram @cervviidae

me when i realized there were no fics exploring Will finding out Hannibal's toilet was removed in the BSHCI and i had to write it myself 😔

people will see a fandom thing and be like "why isn't this a fanfic" "why is there no fanfic about this" my brother in christ, because you're not writing it

*clears throat and taps mic three times*

Will's breath catching when Hannibal laughs in front of him for the first time or smiles in front of him for the first time.

Will witnesses Hannibal's laugh (a sweet and boyish rasp) one morning on accident after two fingers graze the unknowingly tickle-ish area of Hannibal's stomach while checking his gunshot wound for any signs of infection. Will realizes Hannibal is so babygirl and a housewife all wrapped up in one being and worth ruining one's entire life for. Will also realizes Hannibal's teeth are the cutest things in the entire world. That is when Will truly falls in love. During a random overcast morning as rain patters softly against the roof of their safe house.