Hannibal could barely focus during the session. He heard the words, but he couldn't understand them. He heard words leaving his own mouth, but they could have been anything. He could have been confessing to his crimes seventeen times over in that session.

The woman's face became Will's, her eyes became Will's sad, serious eyes. He had sometimes wondered what it would be like to kill Will, to look into his eyes and watch him realise, but he was quite certain that wasn't why he was considering killing this woman now. He just wanted to get back to Will.

The feel of Will's lips on his, the taste of Will's mouth- nothing had been so vivid in years.

A dangerous weakness, really. One he could ill afford.

The hour was finally up when the sun began to dip away, streaking the sky a bloody orange. Hannibal showed her out and glanced at the notes he had made. They were nonsense.

He sat down at his desk, cradling his fingers. Will was waiting for him. Beautiful, good, damaged Will. The person Hannibal cared about most in the world. Hell, the only person Hannibal cared about in the world.

This whole thing had played out like a dream. Will was putty in his hands now. He wouldn't give up his secret, and he would have to deal with that. Hannibal could observe his interesting descent into guilty madness with ease.

But that was no longer what Hannibal wanted.

"Sometimes I don't feel like I have a choice when it comes to you." The words haunted him. He wanted Will to have a choice.

He made a decision, the hardest one he had made in some years. He made a phone call before heading back to Will.

When he arrived at his bedroom, Will had fallen asleep. Even in sleep, he didn't look at peace. Hannibal could imagine what he was dreaming off, what it was that was making his mouth turn downwards and his arms twitch.

Hannibal took off his shoes quietly, then sat down beside him. He touched Will's throat. His skin burned, and it was damp with sweat.

Will's eyes snapped open, fixing Hannibal with a terrified stare for a second before he recognised him. The fact that his terror melted when he saw Hannibal was proof that Hannibal had made the right decision.

Without speaking, Hannibal kissed him, starting gently, but quickly working up to dipping his tongue inside Will's mouth. He felt Will's hands work their way beneath his jacket, fumbling with his shirt.

Will moaned his impatience, and Hannibal moved away to slip out of his jacket and waistcoat. Will tugged at his tie and successfully untucked his shirt. Hannibal couldn't remember the last time he had allowed another person to undress him in such a crude way.

He retaliated by tearing at Will's shirt, yanking it over his head, followed by the white cotton shirt he wore beneath. Will's torso was pale and delicate, satiny white skin and a scattering of dark hair. Hannibal kissed his chest. Will was unbuttoning Hannibal's shirt with those shaking fingeers, pulling it away.

Clumsy seconds passed, and the two men were naked. Will lay beneath him, gazing up at him desire and adoration written plainly on his face. His eyes were wet. Hannibal found his mouth again, kissing him with everything he felt. He moved so that their chests were rubbing together, skin on skin.

Will's hand found him first, gripping his length with inexperienced eagerness, and Hannibal wondered for a moment just how inexperienced Will was.

Gently, Hannibal touched Will, delighting in the hissing noise that evoked from Will. Will's fingernails raked Hannibal's back.

Hannibal wanted to tell Will that it would hurt, wanted to warn him, but he could see from Will's expression that Will was expecting pain. He slid a finger inside him, then two, and Will's gasping breaths burned his ear as the younger man pressed his face into Hannibal's neck.

"Please," Will said, and it was the only word uttered by either of them.

Hannibal entered him, and the pleasure was blinding. Will's face blurred. The nails scraping his flesh would leave marks but right now the only thing he was aware of was being inside Will. He'd wanted to be here all along, perhaps not so literally. He couldn't have imagined how good it felt, or how wrong.

He stroked Will as he took him, knowing it wouldn't take either of them long.

He slid out of Will when it was done, then lay down, cradling him in his arms. His heart was beating furiously, and he felt unpleasantly warm and sweaty. He knew he should feel success, but he could not.

When Will looked at him, his eyes were happy. They were never happy.

Hannibal pressed a guilty kiss to Will's forehead, dismayed to feel tears prickling his eyes. He held Will, wanting this moment to last forever.

"How do you feel, Will?" Asking the question now was like second nature.

"Content." Will chuckled. "I don't even remember the last time I felt content. I know I shouldn't, all things considered, but-"

"No, you shouldn't."

There was a knock at the front door. Will looked at Hannibal, then his eyebrows lowered when he saw that Hannibal wasn't surprised.

"You need to get dressed." The words came out around a painful, bitter lump. "Alana is here for you."

"What?" Will pushed up, away from Hannibal. His face was confused, clouded, hurt. At his most delicious. Hannibal felt no pleasure.

"I called her. I told her I have business out of state to attend to for the next week, and asked her if she could look after you."

"I suppose there are no prizes for guessing the nature of the business?" Will's teeth were clenched. He was angry. He moved awkwardly to the edge of the bed, cursing when he bumped his ankle, reaching for his shirts. "I thought you broke my ankle so you could keep me here."

"Things have changed. Everything has changed." Hannibal wanted to reach for him, but forced himself to keep still.

There was another knock on the door. Hannibal reluctantly got up. It was pointless trying to look put together in the suit which Will had crumpled so unceremoniously on the floor; instead, he pulled on dark jeans and a loose jumper.

Will was crying. He had struggled into his jeans and was now sitting, totally deflated, on the edge of the bed. Hannibal had wanted to break him down completely. He had been successful. Will was a ruined, empty shell.

"I thought I wasn't just a game. Why did I believe you? What's wrong with me?"

"You have encephalitis." It was rare for Hannibal to let words slip out, but those ones had. He was aware of the rage in Will's gaze intensifying. "I did intend to get it taken care of before it... escalated too far."

Perhaps it was the right thing to do. Making Will see him as a monster again would make this easier on Will.

"Oh, god." Will was gripping the edge of the bed tightly, knuckles turning white.

Another furious knock at the door. They were running out of time.

"Why are you giving me to Alana?" Even now, he was most upset at this perceived rejection. He looked at Hannibal with disappointment on his face.

Time to be honest. The game had run away from him, escalated in a way he could no longer control. Hannibal knew he was on the verge of tears himself, and hesitated before replying. "You told me you feel like you don't have a choice when it comes to me. That is a situation I have created, a situation I desired. In some ways, it is a situation I still desire. However, my own feelings have complicated the issue."

"I- what?"

"I need you to make the choice yourself." With that, Hannibal turned on his heel and strode to open the door.

He was aware of Will following in the wheelchair, could hear his hitched breaths in the peacefulness of the hallway.

Alana looked at them both when he opened the door. Hannibal knew he looked a far cry from his usual best, and Will's eyes were red from crying.

"I apologise for how long it took us to answer the door," Hannibal heard himself saying.

"That's ok." Alana's eyes were on Will. "Are you alright?"

"Still broken," Will said, with that grim smile. He gestured towards his ankle, but his eyes told a different story. They burned into Hannibal as Alana steered him away.

Note:

My first tentative steps into writing anything smutty in a long time! Anyway, that's it for this first piece. I do hope you enjoyed it. The second story is up now so you can just click over to have a look at the first chapter. Thank you very much to everyone who read this, liked it, reviewed it, tolerated it etc. It means an awful lot. :)