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Months and months have passed since the night they plunged into the depth of Atlantic Ocean and together, they reborn again. Ever since then they have been living together. It has been a steady, peaceful life. Them, together in a house big enough for two, located in the middle of some random rural area. They sleep in separate rooms and everyday is like the first day. Sometimes Hannibal will cook their meals, sometimes it’s Will’s turn. Other day Will will go fishing, Hannibal will clean the house. He make sure that Will is comfortable living with him and he wanted to give Will as much space as he needed. Life has never been easier. Or at least it’s what Hannibal has hope.
But then their relationship has not yet been define. What are they? How to call this relationship?
Now Hannibal can not predict or read Will and so for him, if Will wanted their relationship to be just this, to be platonic, Hannibal is absolutely fine with that. He can not pressure Will, he doesn’t want to because ..hell.. for Will to be with him now, living with him, is everything Hannibal could have asked for. And maybe it's just fine.
And then something changed, the wheel suddenly turned and the phase shifted.
It all began on a faithful starry night in the late summer. After they finished dinner together, Will suggested to spend the rest of the night outside their house balcony. He wanted to enjoy the summer night breeze under the twinkling stars upon the sky. It was the beginning of July, around this time of summer, the night was rather beautiful. Sometimes, when it is specially dark, stars light up so much their brilliance are mirrored from our dilated orbs. It's so surreal and it makes anyone want to reach up for one, keep it in our hands for warmth and pocket it to bring home and keep them in a jar. The Milky Way even appeared on the night sky. Late summer usually the best time to see the Milky Way. Now they were lucky because tonight was a moonless night so the Milky Way appeared even clearer and brighter. It was like a painting on the night sky. Sequin-silver stars like the scattered embers of a dying fire winked down at them, illuminating the atramentous curtain of the sky.
Will let his mind wander somewhere together with the stars when he didn’t realize Hannibal came up behind him and brought him a glass of wine.
“Thank you.” He took the glass from Hannibal’s hand.
They stood together in silent, sipping wine, appreciated each other’s company. Cool night breeze, under the sparkling stars. What else is matter?
Hannibal averted his gaze toward the young man when he was lost in his own thoughts somewhere in the sky. After a while he broke the silence between them before he took a sip of wine.
“I used to tell Mischa many stories when we were kids,” he slowly said while he gazed at Will, "Have you ever heard of the legend of Tanabata?”
Will turned to look at him then. Curiosity clearly appeared in his eyes. Will smiled
“Hm no, tell me.”
Hannibal returned the smile and began as he looked upon the night sky.
“Orihime, or The Weaving Princess, she was the daughter of The King of the Skies. While her father made and hung stars in the sky, she weaved a very fine, delicate and beautiful cloth-like material, which we now know as clouds.
One day, standing on the bank of the Celestial River which is the Milky Way, that was when she first saw him. His name was Hikoboshi , or the Cow-herder star. Now he took care of the Heavenly cows that help produce the Milky Way. In turn, he also caught sight of her.”
Hannibal completely lost in his own story that he didn’t realized Will was watching him the whole time.
Until he caught the young man’s longing gaze. It was like fire that burned his soul. There was a tight knot in his heart. What does that gaze mean?
“Go on, I’m listening” - Will stated, urging Hannibal to continued without breaking their gaze.
Hannibal turned his gaze away then and continued on his story:
“So the two crossed the only bridge that appeared on the Celestial River and slowly approached each other.
Eventually Orihime and Hikoboshi fall in love with one another. While they were so busy having fun together they forgot their duties and Orihime forgot to return home.
When the King found out, he was outraged. He decided to destroyed the only bridge on the Celestial River and force the two of them to live separately on the opposite banks.”
He paused for a second and go on, “But Orihime missed him terribly so she begged her Father to somehow settle for an agreement. Her father could not bear to see tears in his daughter’s eyes so he told her that if she works hard for a year, he will let her see Hikoboshi once a year, a late summer night.
From then on, around this time of summer, a flock of magpies forms a bridge on the Celestial River, allowing Orihime and Hikoboshi to be with each other on that one night of the year.”
After Hannibal finished with his story. He slowly averted his eyes back to Will. The young man still keep his eyes fixed on him while he scoot closer to Hannibal without realizing it.
“Star-crossed lovers, destined to wander what might have been.” Will said.
Hannibal smiled, “Lovers separated by the depths of tides,” as he slowly turned his eyes away from Will once more and upon the stars in searching for something.
“Now look, they can be seen on the summer evening”, Hannibal pointed at the brightest star that easy to spot upon the sky. Will immediately followed where Hannibal’s finger pointed. “That is Orihime, known as Vega.The brightest one.”
“And on the other side of the Milky Way is Hikoboshi, otherwise known as Altair, the third-brightest star.”
Under the sky of a perfect midnight velvet, under the stars so brilliant they drew the eyes heaven bound.The pitch-black curtain draped over the sky, and the twisted, warped shapes that the stars made against the blackness. The milky speckles twirled and danced along the sky in various patterns, tugging at the corners of Will’s lips in a way that almost made him smile.
“Nothing is worst than being apart”, Will whisper in a low voice and Hannibal dropped his gaze back to Will then. Silent consumed them once more.
Will sighed and placed his hands firmly on the wood railing of the balcony, blue eyes staring into the night without really seeing any of the riverside panorama. The light breeze tousled his brown curls.
Years had passed since Hannibal yearned for the touch of someone's lips so fervently. The only one person that made him feel this way. Did he dare reach out and cross that line with Will? Part of him recoiled in terror, his guts coiling and writhing like a serpent made of ice, even as another part shrieked at him to take the chance or lose it forever.
With the same kind of forceful gulp, he brushed the back of his hand lightly down Will's cheek, between his stubble, adding just enough pressure to ensure that the contact couldn't be mistaken for anything but intentional. Will froze then. Hannibal tensed, ready to pull back as if his warm skin seared his flesh at the first hint of repulsion or disgust. Hannibal’s heart stuttered to a stop in his chest as Will’s heat caressed his skin.
His mouth parched into desert dryness instantly, even as more optimistic parts south of the border reacted to Will proximity and the intimate contact. Like an idiot, he left his hand hanging exactly where it was as seconds passed with the same ponderous pace as geological ages. Will's cataleptic stillness suggested he balanced on a knife edge, and Hannibal didn't dare make a move to push him one way or the other. If Will chose to come to him, he would.
If not, Hannibal is still willing to wait for him when the time was right. Or maybe now this was the time.
Seems like an eternity later but really it was just a minute passed, Will relaxed against his hand. Now Hannibal’s heart thumping inside his rib cage, he was carefully but quickly turned it over so his palm lay against Will’s cheek. With a pleased little mewl Will stroked himself into the cup of his hand, his endless eyes sliding closed in apparent pleasure. Hannibal pulse began to gallop at quadruple time, making up for all the beats it had missed while he waited for Will to decide whether he wanted his touch or not.
Hannibal racing thoughts slowed time to a subjective crawl, and whole galaxies were born and died while Will sensually curved lips puckered, asking him wordlessly to touch them. He couldn't resist the invitation.
“If you want me to stop, tell me now”, Hannibal caressed his cheek
“No one is asking you to.” Will replied while still maintained eye contact.
With that Hannibal wrapped his free arm behind Will’s back and pulled his delicious frame against him and when their lips touch for the first time, the world stop turning.
Hannibal licked his upper lips and gave Will a long peck, a pleasant nibbled.
After a while they parted, offering Hannibal free access to the delightful heat within, and he slowly flicked Will’s tongue between his lips to finally drink from the one well that could truly slake his raging thirst.
Will’s arms reached up and tangled around Hannibal’s neck. All those years of yearning and longing, all those months of tension has brought them here, now, right at this moment.
Will tasted like wine, a savor, fine wine underscored faintly with brine, ignited Hannibal’s body and galvanized him to deepen the kiss. Will squeaked and stiffened slightly as Hannibal claimed his mouth, but then sank into him, meeting his impassioned embrace with fiery acceptance.
Will sighed into his mouth as Hannibal devoured him without harming him, the heat of his breath fanning Hannibal’s nerve endings into an apocalyptic inferno of craving. The quickening of his breath that matched Hannibal own. It didn't matter, so long as he could continue worshipping at this altar until he had no breath left in his body. A kiss like this was a beginning, a promise of much more to come.