Actor Will Graham was having a great time competing in Dancing On Ice with his skate partner Hannibal Lecter. But when an injury threatens to put them out of the running, things take an interesting turn…
Will looked at Hannibal’s arm and winced. The shoulder was dislocated, even once the doctor sorted it, they were likely out of the competition.
“I’m so sorry Hannibal.” Will said for the millionth time. If he hadn’t gotten his footing wrong as he moved into the lift, Hannibal wouldn’t have overbalanced. They wouldn’t have landed on the hard ice so awkwardly, and Hannibal wouldn’t now be in pain whilst they waited in the studio’s infirmary. It told in his scent, and that made Will wince all the more.
From the moment they had met Will had enjoyed Hannibal’s scent. It was rich and velvety, like a good wine. Just the kind of scent he liked, so skating with him had been a fairly pleasant experience on that front. Alphas and omegas being so attuned to each other’s scent, it was lucky that he didn’t find it repulsive. He guessed the same was true of Hannibal, as he’d given no sign to the contrary – but of course they didn’t know each other well enough to talk about such things.
In some ways it was a blessing about his scent, because half the time Will found Hannibal annoying to a distraction.
“Please, Will. It’s fine.” Hannibal gave him that reassuring smile that infuriated him. Still, it was better than the moon-eyes the guy had given him for the first two weeks of training. He was a third rate celebrity – he played a cop on a shitty daytime TV crime show that was little better than a soap opera – but Hannibal was apparently a fan.
For the first day it had been awkward. Will wasn’t great with people, he knew he could come off as blunt and, well maybe pretty rude, so awkward was common for him anyway. What made it worse was that he played a beta on the show – because who the hell wanted to watch an omega cop? It was light-hearted easy viewing, they didn’t want to deal with gender politics, but it did mean a lot of people assumed him to be beta in real life.
Hannibal already being a fan of the show – bizarrely – was bad enough. Once he caught Will’s scent as they shook hands on meeting… Will wasn’t sure who was more embarrassed by the way Hannibal practically fell over himself. Apparently Cop Town was on at a time when Hannibal was between training and so he had started tuning in. It had been abundantly clear in that first meeting when all the celebs and skaters found out who they were paired with – that Hannibal had a crush on him, or his character ‘Hugh Dancy’ at the least.
Had he been a beta he was sure Hannibal might have handled things differently, even if the alpha was interested in him he would have been able to manage it better. But being an omega seemed to have set something off in the alpha. To the point where Will worried for a moment that the alpha might go into a spontaneous rut.
After two weeks of getting to know each other in training, the crush seemed to ease off… or so Will wanted to think. But he wasn’t an idiot, he could see that in fact the childish infatuation for Detective Hugh Dancy had became a real fondness for the actor Will Graham. And maybe it was being an alpha, but Hannibal couldn’t seem to help little bouts of posturing. What was worse was that between the scent and not having somehow repulsed the man by being rude and… well… he was gorgeous – Will didn’t feel the need to discourage him.
Even so, tried so hard to be dismissive of his own feelings for the sake of being professional, or so he told himself. In truth the reason he was so surly and rude, the reason things never seemed to work out for him romantically, was because he was so hesitant in these things… even if he had good reason.
The continuing saga of a meet cute on a discussion forum. And yes, there is at least one more chapter to come. Previous chapters can be found at this link and on ao3. Thank you for reading!
8:15 pm
The modest building nestles on a quiet road. Atop a pitched roof a bell tower juts into the night.
Will surrenders the car to a valet. “It’s an old schoolhouse.”
Hannibal admires a stone carving bearing the year 1895. “With a striking resemblance to a church.”
Inside, an open kitchen creates a fireplace glow. A host guides their way. “I thought Italian was a safe bet,” Will offers.
“Italian is among my favorites,” Hannibal says, not bothering to hide his enthusiasm at the sights and smells.
Aged beams rise up beside a narrow staircase. The buzz of chatter fades as they arrive at a loft with three small open tables. Secluded as a treehouse.
Perfect.
Will gives a shy, proud smile as if reading his mind.
Unbuttoning his jacket, Hannibal settles in. Slowly the weight of Will’s attention creeps into his consciousness. He peeks over the wine list to find Will staring. “Something wrong?”
Will breathes out a sigh. “Nothing. Just … you look nice.”
Hannibal and Will have returned to Italy, together this
time. But a train trip from Florence to Palermo has made Hannibal
strangely pensive. Is it the past he broods over? The future? Will’s curious
to find out, but it turns out to be even more than he was expecting.
Once again, enormous thanks to @fragile-teacup for your awesome beta-skills!
Hannibal’s near-whisper sent a pleasant shiver up Will’s spine,
sounding through all his cells as if he’d been struck by a tuning fork.
Even though Hannibal seemed to be speaking more to himself than to Will,
his quiet voice electrified the previously silent space between them.
They had been silent for the majority of the trip, the low drone
of the train’s engine and the rhythmic clack of the tracks the only
accompaniment to their journey into the Italian countryside, rolling in
time to the sway of their private compartment. The silence itself wove
its way into that hypnotic mechanical symphony, thrumming between them,
twining around a strangely familiar mix of comfort and tension.
But now he speaks. And with words from the past.
Will found himself reluctant to respond, reticent to break the
spell. He wasn’t even sure if Hannibal expected him to. Instead he
hummed his vague assent and continued to watch Hannibal as he stared out
the train’s window, strangely pensive and now silent once again.
Hannibal had fallen quiet as soon as they had cleared the
outskirts of Florence, watching the countryside roll past, urban
streaming into rural — vineyards, orchards, old stone fences, red roofed
houses dotting the landscape here and there as it sped past their
window faster and faster. It somehow felt like they were standing still,
quiet, while the world spun and whirled around them.
It’s beautiful. He’s beautiful.
Will had been watching Hannibal intently all this time, eyes
sweeping that striking profile — so intimately familiar, yet perpetually
startling in its perfection. Will memorized how the golden Italian sun
kissed Hannibal’s features through the train window, how the subtle
rocking of the car and the sun’s ever-changing path highlighted each of
his features in a slow shift of light and shadow, softness and severity.
So rare not to be the one being dissected… willingly flayed… turned inside out under the gaze of another…
Prince Adam was given until his 25th birthday to find a love match, or else his parents would marry him off to another kingdom to create an alliance. He isn’t much interested in love but doesn’t want to be married off either, so he hold’s a masked ball on the eve of his birthday in the hopes of finding… someone.
Elias is the farmhand, servant and general dogsbody for his ugly stepbrothers. He dreams of being free, until one night a fairy visits him and tells him true love awaits at the the prince’s ball. She gives him a suit to wear, as white and sleek as a Charolais. A matching mask with the horns of a bull.
At the ball Adam dances with all, and with Elias thrice, as they talk about the general rudeness of people and the best way to strike someone with a rolling pin. Adam is smitten by the forthright ways of his bull.
At midnight the masks are removed and Elias is spotted by two of his brothers. Before they can drag him from the room he seeks the eyes of his prince. Hoping to impress upon him the already vast depth of his feelings. But he is removed by his brothers before Adam can move towards him.
Adam sends his valet far and wide across the land, telling him to find his bull before sundown of else be banished from the kingdom. He tears apart each and every home looking for the bull mask, until finally he sees a man. Such as the prince described, lumbering towards the barn of a great house. Within he finds the bull mask hidden in the bails of hay.
When Adam arrives at the home his valet has directed him to, he seeks out the barn as instructed. Within he finds his bull, in his cinder blackened rags, but instantly knows the man of his dreams. The someone he has sought. They make love there in the hay for the first time before they relocate to the palace to live happily ever after.
For those of you (lovely readers) wondering if this is The Date, I should explain that this is the first part of it. In the interest of my sanity I need to send it off into the wild so I can move on and stop fiddling. I hope this sustains you until the next chapter. Mea culpa for any disappointment. (Other chapters here)
7:00 pm
“Hello, Hannibal.”
“Will,” Disarmed, Hannibal stands motionless staring at a boyish face. The sound of a languid drawl stirs his blood. “You’re on time,” he offers, squaring himself.
Will raises a brow. “You didn’t think I would be?”
“I’ve learned not to anticipate when it comes to you.”
“No expectations at all then?”
So many answers to choose from. And yet, the chase is everything. “I’m prepared to let the evening unfold.”
Will’s sly smile confirms his understanding of the game. “How about we start with these.”
Hannibal’s stomach swoops as a bouquet of orange flowers appears from behind Will’s back. “… Lilies?”
“I figured roses were a little cliché. I think they’re wood lilies.”
“They’re lovely.”
“They grow wild around my place.”
Will’s sharp edges fade. Replaced by an earnest look. For a moment, Hannibal pictures him trimming stems over a kitchen sink. “You picked them?”
Will rubs the back of his neck. “Can’t you tell? I’m not much in the wrapping department. It didn’t help that Winston was trying to eat them.”
Suddenly feeling like a schoolboy, Hannibal tucks the moment away to be savored later. “This is very thoughtful, Will.”
Will’s lips curve. A slow, devastating smile. ”Courtly?”
The charm offensive shouldn’t work so well. Still, Hannibal can’t bring himself to care as he drinks in the sight before him. “Yes.” He breathes out as if surrendering. “Courtly.”
Nigel looked out the cafe window and spotted Aiden immediately. His soft hair framing his beautiful face. Fuck, he was gorgeous. Nigel’s heart skipped a little beat and part of him hated that. He hated that the same feeling of vulnerability that he had been stupid enough to let Gabi bring out in him was itching to reveal itself to Aiden.
When he saw Brie his heart dropped into his stomach. The way they interacted, how good Aiden was with her. Her smiling face as she looked up at him. It made him want Aiden more, knowing how happy he made her.
The thought was enough to distract Nigel for a moment from what Brie was wearing.
“The fuck.” He uttered as the bell above the door rang as the pair entered the cafe and Brie bounded towards him.
“Daddy!” Brie threw herself at him like she hadn’t seen him in days rather than hours. “Look what Aiden got me. For Abigail’s birthday party! All the other girls will be princesses.” She told him, righteous in not being a princess. He smiled and cooed over her until she slipped into the opposite side of the booth and grabbed a menu – doing her adorable grown up act.
Nigel looked up at Aiden, who was grinning. That smile shut down any and all protests Nigel wanted to have, and he found himself returning it instead as he asked-
“Really? Little Red Riding Hood?”
Aiden chuckled as he dropped into the booth next to him.
“You said get her anything she wanted.”
“I meant…” Nigel’s words trailed off as they both became aware that their bodies had slid together in the booth, Aiden practically leaning against him. So easily, so casually. Nigel could feel the heat of his body and wanted it there, never wanted to let the boy go. He could imagine waking up beside that heat every morning, he could imagine snuggling against it in wolf form after a full moon run.
Just fucking. Nigel’s brain provided, unhelpfully. Nothing serious. Babysitter with benefits.
Aiden suddenly went rigid – realising their closeness. He cleared his throat and slid back out of the booth. “Hey, I… uh, I forgot something I was meant to be doing. She’s um… all yours I guess.” His smile was weak, though it grew as he looked down at Brie and ruffled her hair. “See you Friday night Little Red!”
He was out the door before Nigel could say anything. Not that he had anything to say.
The mall was relatively empty to be so close to a holiday season. It helped that it was midweek. One Eye came in early because he was bored. He stopped by the Starbucks and attempted to order a double shot with sugar and cream. Jake was working. As cute as he was, Jake insisted on fixing some sugary concoction every time he waited on him without asking.
One Eye took the offered drink, but Jake waived off payment. “Oh, on the house. I insist. It’s dead today anyway.”
It earned Jake a wink and a smile.
The man’s cheeks turned pink as he smiled and breathlessly said, “H-have a good day, Frank.”
So One Eye went on his way sipping happily a coffee that tasted like chocolate and mint with too much whipped cream. He stopped to waive at one of the maintenance men fishing an errant red sock from the first floor fountain.
Suddenly, something ran into him. He turned around with a cocked brow to see a tiny blonde boy sitting on the ground with tears in his eyes. With one look at One Eye, the kid let out a high pitched wail of terror.
“I apologize, this is my friends monster of a child that I promised to bring here today.” The mans hair was close cropped, and he wore a deep purple sweater. He was attractive, blue eyes bigger than they had any right to be.
The boy sniffed, drawing their attention back. “You can’t say that Uncle Lee, I’ll tell my mom you said a bad word on the way to Build-a-Bear.”
One Eye watched the pretty man roll his eyes. “I didn’t say a bad word. If you try that crap with me I’ll tell your mom you said a bad word.”
The kids mouth hung open in shock and the man backtracked, “Only joking Cameron, I promise. Let’s go do this make a bear thing and get you some ice cream after?”
The man sighed in relief as the boys smile. “Sorry for the scene.” He held out a hand to One Eye. “Lee,” after they shook hands One Eye helped them both stand, “and this is Cameron.”
He nodded to the boy, but Lee caught his attention. “And you are?” With a flirtatious cocked brow.
One Eye smiled and touched his throat lightly. Then reached down and pulled his badge up for Lee to see.
“Frank at Hot Topic, hm?”
One Eye sipped his drink, smiling around the straw when he was done. He released it and licked his lips before he nodded.
“Well Frank, you have earned yourself something for this fender bender with Cameron.” He teased with a laugh.
One Eye shrugged and smiled.
“Also, I feel I should tell you-” Lee stepped a bit closer, “You have a bit of whipped cream on your nose.” He pointed to the tip of his own, “Just here, it’s terribly cute.”
One Eye wiped at his nose with a smile and nodded to Lee.
They parted company and Lee and Cameron went on their way.
***
One Eye was nearing the end of his shift when his coworker, Tina gave a shout into the stock room.
“Frank, you’ve got a visitor!”
One Eye set aside the boxes and headed to the front. He was surprised to see Lee standing at the counter. Lee cocked a dark brow in his direction, so he smiled in return.
“I know the mall is about to close, but I owed you something?” Lee pulled his arm from behind his back and sat a fluffy brown teddy bear on the counter. It wore a black t-shirt and a leather biker’s cap. “I made you a personalized plushie.”
One Eye smiled softly and tapped the cap with a questioning glance.
“Okay fine, perhaps I took some liberties.” One Eye caught Lee staring at his lips.
Tina called from the front of the store, “Frank, you cool to close up now or…?”
He gave her a quick nod and a smile as she left. He walked away to pull the gate closed across the store front to stop anyone else from entering. One Eye turned his attention back to Lee.
“So you have the place to yourself, then?”
One Eye gave a half shouldered shrug as he inspected his bear with a smile.
“I can only hope you sleep with it tonight and think of me. I often appreciate the company of a warm bear on a cold night.” He tilted his chin, but his blue eyes sparkled as he looked the quiet man over.
One Eye tucked the bear under his arm and motioned toward the stock room, going so far as to open the door and signal for Lee to follow.
Lee stopped him at the door and pulled the neck of One Eye’s t-shirt down to show the first peak of wiry chest hair. “Mm, had a feeling. It’s always nice to be right.”
The continuing annoyingly slow burn saga/meet cute of Moderator Hanni and less-than-shy Will. Previous chapters can be found under the tag #once upon a forum (If you get the sense that I’m writing this as if it were real time – you’re right. These asdjaxdn idiots are pulling the strings.)
Hannibal,
How’s my favorite stalker?
Will
___
Will,
What a delightful surprise.
Hannibal
___
Hannibal,
God, I missed your sarcasm.
Will
___
Will,
Well it has been a full forty-eight hours since you wrote. Although I did see you stirring up trouble on the forum.
Hannibal
___
Hannibal,
Did you see the post where I called Chilton a bottom feeder?
Will
___
Will,
I’m thinking of having that one embroidered on a pillow.
Hannibal
___
Hannibal,
Did you miss me?
Will
___
Will,
I wouldn’t go that far.
Hannibal
___
Hannibal,
Too bad. I missed you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you last night.
Will
___
Will,
I sense a punchline coming.
Hannibal
___
Hannibal,
Am I that predictable?
Will
___
Will,
Predictable is not a word I would apply to you.
Hannibal
___
Hannibal,
Aren’t you going to ask me what I was thinking?
Will
___
Will,
I’m not sure I’m prepared to plumb the depths of your imagination.
@shukkhy, I hope you like it! Thank you for the commission!
Will wonders if Hannibal has been saving himself, in a manner of speaking.
They’re currently at a small cafe in Mérida on the tip of the Yucatán that juts northward into the Gulf. The night previous, they shared a hotel room, just as they have been sharing hotel rooms and motel rooms for the past three months, and even sharing beds and one time a narrow berth that required them to lie on their sides, belly to back. In all instances, Hannibal’s attentions have never been anything but perfectly chaste. His touches and gazes are warm and fond, sometimes excruciatingly tender when he changes a bandage for Will, but they never go past that.
So Will wonders if Hannibal has set some restriction for himself. Perhaps he’s been waiting until they are safe—really safe—before taking any physically amorous step. He can’t imagine any other reason for such persistently monk-like chastity. He has imagined many things in his life, but he knows he didn’t imagine Bedelia confirming Hannibal was in love with him. He knows he didn’t imagine all the voraciously heated looks for years before that.
Will drinks his coffee and watches Hannibal reading the local paper. He is so tan already, to the point of being a bit burned on the bridge of his nose and points of his cheeks. His hair is longer now than when they first met and a kind of translucent silver that looks gold in the sun.
“Anything good in the news?” he asks so he has something to do besides stare like a schoolboy.
“Did you know the city is nearly 500 years old?” Hannibal asks. “There’s a celebration every January for the founding. I’d love to take you to the parties, but we’ll be in Havana by then, unfortunately.”
“We can celebrate in Havana,” Will says. He drops his voice to a suggestive rumble. “In our own special way, of course.”
Hannibal gives him a bright but painfully oblivious smile. “Any way you wish, Will.”
Will sighs, because what he’s wishing for seems less and less likely to happen.
****
Thanks to Hannibal’s meticulous planning, their villa in Havana is ready for them when they arrive.
It’s surprisingly modest, and certainly no architectural prize, but it’s quiet for being near a busy street thanks to the metal and brick wall that surrounds the property. Flowers grow all up and down the wall that would never even think of growing in a Maryland winter outside of a greenhouse, and they perfume the air with a heady sweetness.
Will picks one of the flowers and tucks it behind Hannibal’s ear.
“I could stand for you to wear only that,” Will says, letting his hand linger on Hannibal’s neck.
Hannibal gives a light laugh. “I suppose this last leg of our trip has left me in need of a change of clothes and shower. Shall we meet for dinner downstairs in an hour?”
Will sighs, defeated. “Yeah. Sure.”
****
Will is in the middle of unpacking the few belongings he has when Hannibal gets out of the shower. He stands in the middle of the bedroom, toweling his hair, otherwise completely naked and gleaming wet before he notices he’s not alone. Will almost starts panting like a cartoon dog.
“Oh,” says Hannibal, glancing at the armoire, in front of which Will is currently trying not to die. “I thought you’d put your things in your own bedroom.”
“My own…?” Will looks around for a second before he understands what Hannibal meant. “We’re not sharing?”
“I thought you might like to finally have your own room, your own bed,” Hannibal says. “You know how little I sleep. My getting up and down will bother you less.”
Will wants to scream, “It’s not a bother! I want you to get up and go down… on me!” Instead he just smiles weakly and gathers up his shirts, then retreats down the hall to the other room.
****
He’s well into his second tumbler of incredibly strong liquid courage by the time Hannibal makes his way downstairs to the kitchen.
Hannibal flashes him a smile as he pulls out pots and pans. “What are you in the mood for?”
“You,” Will says. He downs the last of the glass in one gulp. “I… am in the mood… for you… and me.”
Hannibal pauses at the fridge. “I’m sorry. What was that?”
He stalks his way across the kitchen, fixing Hannibal with the sultriest look of intent he can muster. He snatches a pan out of Hannibal’s hand and tosses it without care onto the stove, then bodily backs him up against the tile counter.
“I want,” he says, “for you and me to do what we should have been doing together long ago.”
Hannibal licks his lips and swallows audibly. “We… we can’t. Will, we can’t.”
Will lets out a growl of frustration and flings himself away from Hannibal. “I feel like we’re just treading water!”
Hannibal tugs him back over. “It’s simply not safe right now. It’s too soon. What if Jack Crawford finds out?”
Will’s brain almost oozes out of his ears as he instantly and unwillingly pictures Jack Crawford bursting through the door just as he’s languidly wrapping his legs around Hannibal’s waist.
“H-how would Jack find out?” Will asks, as confused as he’s ever been in his entire life. “And why would it even matter!”
“If we’re sloppy,” Hannibal says. “We could leave behind evidence.”
Will backs up so he can properly gawp at him. “In our own home?!”
“We shouldn’t kill in our own home,” Hannibal says.
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