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Title: Lead in the Dance
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 12, Dance
Author's Note: Sequel to "Intrigued."
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.

***

"Have you thought about what we talked about the last time you were here, Will?"

Will didn't answer, preferring to keep quiet at the moment. Ah, there it was, the look of annoyance that would always cross Hannibal's face when he didn't speak up right away. it was only a flash, gone as soon as the expression had appeared.

But he'd seen it. He knew that it annoyed Hannibal when he wasn't a good little patient bowing down to his psychiatrist's supposedly superior intellect.

Then again, Hannibal wasn't really his psychiatrist, was he? He was just someone who Jack had asked to do a psychological profile of his pet freak. Nothing more. Hannibal might be claiming this session was in a professional capacity, but it wasn't.

And they both knew it.

This session was Hannibal poking and prodding, searching for a way into Will's mind. And it was Will trying to dance away from that searchlight.

It was a calm little dance, a civilized one. There was no running, no screaming, no feinting to one side or the other. But it was a dance nonetheless, with Will sidestepping questions and asking his own to counter them. It was a game of one-upmanship.

It was a game that he didn't intend to let Hannibal win. This man thought so much of his own intelligence that it would be satisfying to bring him down a peg or two.

Or a hundred, Will thought with an inward smirk. He was a match for Hannibal when it came to mind games, and he was certain that the man sitting across from him knew it.

He took his time answering, and when he did, he knew that his words didn't please Hannibal. "I hadn't really thought about it much. And it's not going to change what I do. I'm not going to stop wearing the glasses. I like them, and I'm comfortable with them."

Hannibal shook his head slowly, a frown furrowing his brow. "You hide behind them, Will. That's not good for you. It's not healthy."

Will's brows raised in both a question and a challenge.

You mean that it's not good for you. It doesn't let you make eye contact with me without the barrier of glass between us, and you feel like it keeps you out of my head. That's right, it does. That thought made Will feel victorious, if only for a moment.

Aloud he only said, "That's your opinion, Dr. Lecter. But it doesn't happen to be mine. The glasses are staying on."

He could see the flash of annoyance cross Hannibal's features again, but this time, the other man didn't say anything. He merely leaned back in his chair with a curt nod, folding his hand in his lap as though he was simply waiting for Will to speak again.

It was apparently his turn to lead in the dance.

***