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Title: Swaying
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: 8, 50ficlets
Prompt: 38, Dance
Author's Note: This is a 50-ficlet AU series for Will/Hannibal. In this universe, the two of them are deeply in love with each other, though neither knows quite how to bring that love out into the open.
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.

***

"Try to relax a bit, Will," Hannibal told him. "You're far too tense. Dancing is supposed to be fun, not a chore. You really need to try to loosen up a bit."

"It's hard to loosen up," Will complained, frowning. "I'm not good at things like this, Hannibal. I've never tried to dance with anybody before. At least, not like this. I've never even been comfortable dancing where two people didn't touch. It's just not my thing."

Hannibal sighed softly, shaking his head.

"Will, a waltz is one of the most beautiful, romantic dances there is. And I am sure that you and I could learn to dance it beautifully. You're the perfect size for me, and you're a very graceful man," he said. "There is no reason for you to be so tense."

"I can't help being tense," Will told him, shoving a hand through his dark curls in frustration. "I've never tried to do anything like this before. I keep feeling like I'm going to fuck up."

Hannibal laughed softly, shaking his head. "Will, please try to relax," he said softly, slipping one arm around the younger man's waist. "This isn't an audition. It isn't a test. It's just a bit of practice. And it isn't as if we'll be seen by anyone else."

"Nobody else is going to see us?" Will asked in some surprise. "Then why am I learning to waltz? I figured you wanted us to go to some party and dance together."

But Hannibal shook his head, a slight smile playing around the corners of his lips. "No, my love," he said softly. "I am teaching you to waltz because I want to be able to dance with you in the privacy of my own home. I want to be able to hold you and whirl you around the floor."

Will couldn't help but smile at those words.

"And," Hannibal continued, "I want to be able to dance with you in my arms, close against me, swaying slowly to soft music. But that will come later."

The picture that Hannibal painted sounded so wonderfully romantic that Will could almost see it if he closed his eyes; the two of them locked in an embrace, swaying to a soft jazz song, so close together that there seemed to be not two people, but one single entity.

That was how he wanted them to be. Yes, he wanted to learn to dance. To slow dance, and to waltz, and whatever else Hannibal wanted to teach him.

Smiling apologetically, he held out his hands to his lover.

"I'm all yours," he told Hannibal, his voice breathless. "Teach me to dance. Any dance you want. I'll try my best to learn it and not mess up."

"You're not 'messing up' anything, Will," Hannibal said with a soft smile. "You're simply .... concentrating too hard, and making it more complicated than it has to be. Let the steps flow one in to the other. Don't feel that you have to get every one of them perfect."

Turning towards the stereo, Hannibal stopped the classical music that was playing, then put in another CD. Will was surprised to hear the sound of smooth jazz.

"I didn't know you liked jazz music," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You would be surprised at the different kinds of music I enjoy, my sweet," Hannibal told him as the strains of Etta James singing "At Last" filled the room. He held out his arms to Will with a smile. "Care to dance, my prince? A slow dance in my arms?"

"I'd love to," Will answered, feeling his heartbeat quicken at the idea of slow dancing wrapped in his lover's strong arms, held close in Hannibal's embrace.

He went into those arms without another word, sliding his own arms around Hannibal's waist, feeling the other man pull him close. It only took a moment for them to coordinate their rhythm, then they were slowly swaying, letting the music move their bodies.

Hannibal was right; somehow, he seemed to fit right into his lover's arms. And he was exactly where he wanted and needed to be.

Suddenly, dancing felt comfortable. The awkwardness was gone; the two of them moved smoothly together, like a well-oiled machine. They circled the room in each other's arms, swaying slowly, only stopping when the song was over and there was silence.

"You dance very well, Will," Hannibal told him, a smile curving his lips.

"I didn't know I could dance like that," Will admitted with a smile. "But I enjoyed it. And I'll work on the waltz with you. I'm sure I can get better at that. It'll just take some time and practice. But you'll have me waltzing around a dance floor soon enough."

"Yes, I will," Hannibal told him, going back to the stereo to take the Etta James disc out and put it away. "Shall we try that waltz again, then?"

Will nodded, waiting for Hannibal to put the classical music back on, then turn around to take him back into those muscular arms again. This certainly wasn't a bad way to spend the evening, he reflected. And maybe, one day, he'd actually turn out to be a decent dancer.

***