Work Text:
Sleeping together had seemed like the practical thing to do. They had both sustained several severe injuries from the fall, and it was reasonable to maintain close proximity, lest one of them required immediate attention. It hardly registered to Will as anything but a situation born of necessity. And he could at least admit to himself that he preferred having Hannibal nearby, at any rate, though he didn’t analyze the various reasons as to why. He couldn’t allow himself. By the time they had recovered from their injuries, it didn’t seem to occur to either of them to do anything else.
The weight and heat of Hannibal’s body beside him had become familiar, and after a while, something Will found he needed; a fact he resented, but it was a fact nonetheless. So it should not have been a surprise to him when, while in that place between sleeping and wakefulness, he reached out to grab onto Hannibal’s arm with the vague awareness that Hannibal was leaving the bed earlier than usual. Disconcerting, being annoyed both by the anomaly in their routine, and the fact that he was annoyed at all.
“Too early,” Will murmured, eyes still shut as he frowned in Hannibal’s general direction. Hannibal sat back down on the bed, gently extricating Will’s hand from its death grip on his forearm.
“I need to go to the washroom, Will. Is that acceptable to you?” The amusement in Hannibal’s tone made Will frown deeper, but he made a noise of assent and curled onto his side, facing the empty space on the mattress.
Upon his return, Hannibal was careful getting back into bed so as not to disturb Will, and laid on his side so they were facing each other. Will reached out to grab him by the shoulder and pull him closer, seeking once more the heat of Hannibal’s body. He tucked his face under Hannibal’s chin and scooted forward so he could drape his leg over Hannibal’s hip. Hannibal went rigid, unwilling to make any move that might startle Will out of his oblivious state, waiting. Several minutes passed but nothing else happened, and at last Hannibal relaxed and let himself slide back into sleep.
*
When Will stirred again a couple of hours later, he gradually became aware of being tangled in someone’s arms. Contentment rippled through him and he pressed himself closer, sighing against Hannibal’s chest. The combination of Hannibal’s musky scent, and the rasp of his chest hair on Will’s face brought an abrupt reminder of where he was and with whom. Every fiber of Will’s being was at war with itself, torn between the desire (no, need) to stay close and safe and warm, and the more rational desire to roll away.
“Good morning, Will.”
If he acknowledged the greeting, Will was also acknowledging the fact that he was voluntarily cuddling with Hannibal. Best to pretend he was still sleeping. Unfortunately, Hannibal had already noticed that he was awake, and Will could feel the shaking of Hannibal’s silent laughter against his face.
“I do hope you’re comfortable.”
As aware as he was of how close they were, Will didn’t expect that lifting his head to look at Hannibal would bring their faces so close together. His only consolation was the audible catch in Hannibal’s throat, the tensing of his arms and spine. The warm, shaky puffs of breath against Will’s face sent shivers through his body. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been so close to anyone. Well. Before that time on the bluff, anyway.
Moments passed as they stared at each other, breathing each other’s air. If Will had a retort, it was gone from his mind, replaced with acute awareness of every point where their bodies touched, every tremor and flex of Hannibal’s muscles. He opened his mouth to speak, still uncertain of what he wanted to say, but he was interrupted by Hannibal, who tilted his head forward to capture Will’s lower lip between his own in a tentative kiss. It surprised Will into closing his mouth, inadvertently capturing Hannibal’s upper lip in turn, and Hannibal rumbled appreciatively against him.
Neither of them moved for several seconds, both shocked into stillness by the contact. Will could barely breathe, nor look away, transfixed by the way Hannibal’s eyes slid closed as Will felt his body relax bit by bit, until they were all but melting against each other. The only thought that Will was able to grab onto with any permanence was to open his mouth, just enough to flick out his tongue, curious to see what would happen.
It was all the encouragement Hannibal needed, and he rolled forward so he could pin Will beneath him and kiss him properly, sucking on Will’s tongue and nipping at his lips, hands roving up to rest on either side of Will’s face.
It was the most incredible kiss Will had ever experienced. It consumed him, as thoroughly as Hannibal had consumed every other part of his life, and he moaned into the kiss as he brought up his leg to curve behind Hannibal’s thigh.
He couldn’t say he hadn’t thought about the possibility of their living together in such close quarters leading to… this. If anything, this development was inevitable - how else could they coexist without destroying each other? Where else could they focus their myriad, complicated feelings about each other? Will was already dependent on Hannibal’s presence, and he didn’t think either of them could abide any outsiders coming between them, so to speak.
The kiss broke as they each came up for air, gasping and overwhelmed, and Hannibal rested his forehead against Will’s, his eyes still closed. Will brought his hands up to cover Hannibal’s own, still on Will’s face, fixated by the slight downturn of Hannibal’s mouth, the flick of his tongue between his parted lips. He supposed he was willing to admit that he had wanted to kiss Hannibal for quite some time. Probably years.
“Hannibal,” Will began, raising his other leg to cross his ankles together, trapping Hannibal against him. Hannibal grunted his acknowledgement, a husky sound, and opened his eyes.
“Good morning,” Will continued. He grinned.
Hannibal looked down at Will’s lips, more out of a need to avoid eye contact, it seemed. “Yes.”
“What’s for breakfast?” The question appeared to confuse Hannibal, and he still didn’t meet Will’s eyes as he slid one hand up into Will’s curls, the slightest tug of a frown settling between his eyebrows.
“Whatever you wish, Will.”
Will felt giddy. Hannibal was more affected than Will had ever seen him, and it gave him a heady sense of power, as provocative as killing. Perhaps more. He had a fantastic idea, and he wiggled a little underneath Hannibal as he moved his own hands to Hannibal’s shoulders, a light scrape of his nails as he grazed downward until he felt the swell of Hannibal’s backside, where he paused.
“What,” Will licked his lips, “what if I said I wanted you?” Will gave his best insouciant expression, eyebrows raised and one corner of his mouth upturned in a way that he hoped was appropriately coquettish. He got the reaction he hoped for.
Hannibal’s eyes snapped back to Will’s face as he ceased breathing all together, and his hands stilled in Will’s hair and on his face. He looked wrecked, devastated in the most captivating way.
“Will,” he breathed at last.
“That’s my name,” Will teased. “Not really an answer, though.” He shifted his hands just a little lower, just enough to elicit a gasp from Hannibal, and he grinned again.
“Will,” Hannibal repeated, and he moved to bury his face against Will’s neck, inhaling against his skin. Will felt something stir inside himself, pleasant and thrilling, and he squeezed his hands over Hannibal’s backside in encouragement. He felt a warm, wet kiss pressed to the side of his neck, but Hannibal was otherwise silent.
“Hannibal?”
Hannibal roused, pulling back to look at Will again, looking no less undone than before. He still didn’t quite meet Will’s eyes. “I think this may be... all I can manage, for now.”
Will was smitten. “You okay?”
“Of course.”
“I’m really here, you know. This is actually happening.”
“I know,” Hannibal said, though he looked doubtful. Will managed not to laugh.
“It’s 7:36am, your name is Hannibal Lect--” Will was interrupted with a kiss, insistent and maybe even a little desperate. God, he really liked it. He really liked kissing Hannibal. He brought his hands back up to loop around Hannibal’s neck, distantly thinking that he was kind of clinging to Hannibal like a spider monkey.
Desperation turned to passion, Hannibal’s body relaxing once more as he slowed their kisses to something more exploratory, and Will knew that Hannibal meant to memorize the feel of Will beneath him, in his arms. Will stroked his own tongue against Hannibal’s before sucking it into his mouth, trapping it between his teeth as he angled one hand to graze his nails over the nape of Hannibal’s neck, gratified by the way Hannibal moaned into his mouth and arched his body in an involuntary thrust against him.
Hannibal broke the kiss, and Will made a frustrated noise, tugging Hannibal down to try and recapture his lips, but Hannibal turned his head to tuck his nose behind Will’s ear as he shifted their positions so he wasn’t smothering Will with his weight so much, while still being draped over him.
“Are you disappointed with your breakfast?” Hannibal asked, voice muffled into Will’s neck, using one finger to brush Will’s curls aside before tracing over the scar on his cheek. Will shivered.
“Mmm, no. I figure there’s always lunch. And dinner. And snacks. Plenty of opportunities to impress me.” Will got a growl in response and he laughed, pushing Hannibal back just enough to look at him. “Or I could just use some good old-fashioned manipulation to get exactly what I want.”
Hannibal smiled wide enough to show teeth, still stroking a finger along Will’s scar. “You’re beautiful.”
A flush spread across Will’s cheeks. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to deal with Hannibal’s unabashed adoration, but he refused to be the only one disconcerted. “Wait until you see me after a feast.”
It was obvious that Hannibal was using all his power to keep any expression from his face, but Will could still feel Hannibal’s pulse as it began to race, and the goosebumps that appeared over his skin along with the slight tremor of his muscles as he held Will in his arms.
“I plan to,” Hannibal rumbled, pulling Will in close, the way they had been when they woke up with Will’s face against Hannibal’s chest.
They lay in bed wrapped around each other for the rest of the morning.