Title: Giving His Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: writers_choice
Prompt: #534, Heart
Author's Note: Sequel to "Overwhelming Lust."
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Hannibal Lecter or Will Graham, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.
***
He'd given his heart to Hannibal. Freely and willingly.
That heart was his to give, and now that he had, he didn't want it back. Ever.
He wanted Hannibal to own him, to claim his body and soul -- and his heart. Then why did he have a little voice in the back of his mind, screaming at him to be careful, that he should take heed of what he was doing and not give his heart so easily?
Will wanted to ignore that voice. He wanted to sweep it away, to pretend that he didn't hear it. But that wasn't so easy to do.
It was as though a little demon rode on his shoulder, whispering into his ear that giving himself to Hannibal wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done. He was being cautioned to hold back, to keep his heart to himself, not to let Hannibal have all of him.
Wasn't it enough that Hannibal already had his body? Wasn't that all the other man expected from him? After all, Hannibal had said nothing about love. Will didn't know how Hannibal felt about him one way or the other. He might just feel nothing but desire.
This might be love at all, not for Hannibal. He might only want Will's body, and anything else that Will gave him would go unnoticed.
But Will found it hard to believe that.
Hannibal wouldn't have taken hm so gently, or made sure that his first time was so exquisitely pleasurable, if he didn't care for him in some way.
So maybe it wasn't love. As he'd already told himself, it didn't have to be. But it was more than just lust, more than a passing fancy. He knew that Hannibal's desire for him burned as deeply and strongly as his own for Hannibal.
There was no doubt in his mind that Hannibal wanted him -- but he could sense something else, something deeper, behind the desire, though he didn't have a name for it.
Just a few moments ago, when they were both sitting at the breakfast table, Hannibal had looked at him with a tenderness in those dark eyes that took Will's breath away. Yes, that was more than mere desire. It might not be love, but it was .... something.
Did it matter that he didn't have a name for it? No, not to him. As long as he could see that look in his lover's eyes, then that was enough for him.
He'd call it whatever Hannibal wanted him to.
Still, he couldn't help wondering if giving his heart so quickly had been the smart thing to do. Had Hannibal given his heart, as well? Will didn't think so.
He wasn't going to ask; it wasn't the kind of subject that he could just bring up casually. "Do you love me?" wasn't a question that could be asked lightly, especially when he wasn't at all sure if his lover did love him, at least in the same way that he loved Hannibal.
Asking someone about the state of their heart was a terribly personal question, even for lovers. And Will was afraid that Hannibal might find it unforgivably rude.
His heart was in no uncertainty; it belonged to Hannibal, and only to him. No one else had ever owned his heart, and no one ever would.
No one else would ever have his body, either, Will told himself. He hadn't exactly saved himself just for Hannibal; he had simply never met anyone he'd ever wanted to give himself to until Hannibal had burst into his life like a supernova across the sky.
Giving Hannibal his virginity had been surprisingly easy. So had giving his heart. He would never regret giving either; he didn't want them back.
He was content to let Hannibal have every part of him.
He hadn't thought that he would ever give his heart to anyone, Will mused as he climbed the stairs to the bedroom. But he had, and it felt right.
No one had encouraged him to give his heart -- or his body -- to Hannibal. It had simply happened, as the natural progression of their relationship. Though if he was honest, his heart had belonged to Hannibal from the first time his lover had looked into his eyes.
He had fallen in that moment, fallen hard and fast. Looking back, he could pinpoint the exact moment that he had given himself over to Hannibal.
Will had no regrets about that, and never would. He might not feel that his heart was entirely safe, of that Hannibal loved him as fiercely as he loved. But it was enough to know that Hannibal cared for him in some way, to know that there was the possibility of love.
That hope would take him a long way. He would hold on to it, cling to it, and let himself believe that at some point in their future, Hannibal would feel the same way about him.
One day, Hannibal would give his heart.
When he did, that day would be a glorious one for Will. He knew that his heart would sing to hear Hannibal say that he loved him; those were the words he wanted to hear more than anything else. But he knew that he might have to wait quite a while to hear them.
Well, that was no matter, Will told himself firmly. He could wait. He didn't have to get a declaration of love from Hannibal; it was enough that they were together.
Hannibal did care about him. He knew that from the gentle way that Hannibal kissed him and touched him, the look in Hannibal's eyes at times when their gazes met. He could tell from the way that Hannibal smiled at him.
That smile held love. It might be as yet unspoken, but it was there. Will was sure of it. He didn't have to hear the words to know that he was loved.
It was worth waiting for Hannibal to say that he'd given his heart, because when he did, the words would be doubly precious for having been kept back for so long. When Hannibal said those words, Will would hold them to his own heart, and never let them go.
Will smiled at the thought, closing his eyes and letting the idea wrap around his own heart.
When Hannibal said those words, he would mean them.
***
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