Work Text:
What is this feeling?
The calm morning was suddenly unsettling. Hannibal put down his newspaper and reached for his piping coffee cup. The acidity and thickness was calming, delicious, alerting, but of course not explaining anything. In fact, Hannibal struggled to really enjoy his morning reading and caffeine dose.
The distraction was harmless, in the shape of Will sitting right across the kitchen counter. Hannibal admired Will’s dark loose waves, framing his face and focus eyes upon his tablet. It’s all familiar views to Hannibal’s eyes and touch; they’re everything he saw and yearn for the last few years.
But Hannibal never really felt this way.
He had felt adoration, and a spark of intrigued the first time he met Will years ago. They were all good feelings, the kind of good that drove him greedy. Greedy for Will’s attention and recognition; Hannibal wanted them to evolve together.
Will struggled to look inside and open up, while Hannibal struggled to cope with the roller-coaster dynamic the relationship brought. More than anything, they struggled to accept. Struggled to admit that one person really could change the way they view things, the way they felt.
Over his cup of coffee, Hannibal identified what he’s feeling at the moment.
Is this falling in love?
The love he felt for Will before was tainted. Hannibal wanted to change Will, wanted to own him. It was more about fulfilling his needs rather than...loving Will. Why was it so hard, Hannibal wondered, even with all the beauty Will had inside and out.
It's not because Hannibal was selfish. The answer was easy: nobody ever shook Hannibal’s world like Will.
Hannibal reached for Will’s hand on the counter, trying not to startle him. Their eyes met, and Will had all these questions in his eyes. It’s an adorable view.
“Hey,” Will squeezed his hand. The warmth spread all the way to Hannibal's chest. “What’s wrong?”
They’re evolving together everyday, this phase was definitely the most eye-opening and heart-warming. Will had finally seen him a long time ago, and Hannibal felt this was when he finally got to really see Will.
This was his becoming.
“Nothing,” Hannibal smiled. “Everything is perfect. Totally perfect.”