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"Do you remember our first date?"
Hannibal paused then, spatula in hand, and they both knew they'd never been on a date before.
It had been four months since the fall, their bodies still healing, and questions like this had become a regular thing.
Questions with no real answer.
The first time he'd asked Hannibal such a question had been the morning after Chiyoh left, the stilted quiet and resentment building up until he found himself holding a knife with thoughts that made him sick to his stomach.
Will had asked only because if he didn't he would've shoved the knife into Hannibal's neck.
"How long were you in the circus?"
Hannibal, still slightly high on morphine, had smiled so widely at him Will couldn't help but smile back even as tears stung his eyes.
"El....even.....mon...ths," he said, his voice thick, "I....ran away....from home.....and....juggled.....with the clowns."
Will laughed, the knife sliding from his hand on the counter, and he leaned against the door of Hannibal's bedroom. "I would've killed to see that."
Hannibal smiled, eyes heavy, and said, "I killed many clowns then, one...." he yawned, wincing as Will found himself coming up to fix his blanket, worry filling him as he sat by his bedside, "...named Sprinkles."
"Bye, bye, Sprinkles."
Hannibal smiled. "Yes."
The next morning when he brought Hannibal breakfast the question, "Do you remember the dinner party you hosted?"
Will had grinned as he set down the tray, leaning back as he sat on the bed. "Oh yeah. That creme brulee was a massive hit. I still can't believe I made that tower of cheese. You know, I think there's a poem written about it somewhere?"
And after that, they just.....lied.
The stories were endless, ranging from Hannibal's love of lost kittens to the open grave Will fell in as a child. Will found himself looking forward to them, their outlandish responses grew so ridiculous that the question he asked now felt
tame.
And yet, Hannibal didn't smile.
For a second Will wondered if he'd crossed a line, especially with Bedelia's insistence that Hannibal had feelings for him, and yet suddenly he was desperate to hear the answer.
"Do you?"
Hannibal leaned against the counter with a sigh. "Yes. I remember."
Will swallowed the lump in his throat and set down his coffee. The table had been set immaculately despite Hannibal's lingering ailments wildflowers that Will had no clue the origin of.
It was breakfast, like always, and yet it felt in that moment their most important one.
"Do you?"
"You wore a tailored suit," he said, walking over to Will, cane in hand, and Hannibal had hated the cane with a fiery passion but now almost wielded it like a shield at times., "Your beard was....untamed...." his voice shook, "And you smelled like something expensive."
Will smiled, his voice shaking, "Not like I was wearing something with a ship on the bottle?"
Hannibal paused, just steps from him, and shook his head. "No, you...." he let out a long breath, gaze fixed on Will's, "....wanted to impress me."
He could almost see it, the naive him of the past redressing and fixing a fancy suit he paid way too much for hoping to impress someone like Hannibal. The cologne had been recommended by the woman at the department store, telling him it, 'Smelled divine' and the past him would've hoped Hannibal liked it.
"I did," Will said, tearing up as Hannibal drew closer, heart pounding now as he saw something like hope in Hannibal's eyes, "I did want to impress you. I.....I really...."
Hannibal was a step away now, hand on the table, and he leaned in smelling like the ocean. "I took one look at you and was immensely impressed but...." his hand drifted close to Will's who took it, "Didn't tell you. Why didn't I tell you?"
Will looked up at him as a tear fell down his cheek.
"Because you wanted me to want all your attention," he said, "Just....just like I have now."
Hannibal gripped his hand tightly, the cane dropping as his leg brushed Will's. "I wish I had kissed that night. I deeply regret it."
Will let out a long breath as more tears came and leaned against him closing his eyes. "But....don't you remember?" he asked, his voice shaking, "We did kiss, Hannibal. We did and it was....."
Hannibal lifted his chin, so close now, and his eyes were wet as Will felt breath across his mouth.
".....perfect."
Will smiled as he stood, their bodies pressed tightly together, and he grinned brushing fingers across his mouth.
"Wanna see if we can recreate it?"
Hannibal's eyes were fixed on his mouth as he let out a long breath. "I may die if we don't."
Will laughed, hand on his chin, and he heard Hannibal's breath catch. "Can't have that, can we?"
"Will...."
He kissed him then, their very first, and felt like all the stories and the pain melted together to create a world.
A world where Hannibal was an ex-circus performer, and Will had once been in a bank heist.
A world where kittens were Hannibal's passion and Will's dinner party was the stuff of legend.
A world of crazy, mad thoughts....shared just by two.
They broke for breath, both panting, and stared at each other in awe.
Will laughed and Hannibal's face lit up, hand on his cheek as Will did the
"I think we can do better than that."
Hannibal pulled him in again, shaking as Will's hands tightened at his back. "Yes," he whispered, staring at Will with adoration, "I'm sure we can."
And they definitely, repeatedly and with great pleasure all night long....did.