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Title: Trying New Things
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
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.

***

"Hey," Will said by way of greeting as he walked into Hannibal's kitchen.

The other man looked up, a smile on his lips as he gazed at his boyfriend. "Good morning, Will," he said, his voice very soft. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept great," Will told him, going to the coffeepot and pouring himself a cup of coffee, then adding a little sugar. "How about you?" he asked, leaning against the counter and watching Hannibal.

The other man was making pancakes, and Will couldn't help admiring his dexterity as he flipped them over expertly. He enjoyed watching his lover cook; Hannibal was more at ease in the kitchen than anyone Will had ever known, and he sometimes wondered why Hannibal hadn't become a chef.

"I slept wonderfully, after our activities earlier in the evening," Hannibal said softly, turning around to glance at Will. "That is always a good way to ensure that I will sleep very well indeed."

Will blushed at the words, and at the look that Hannibal sent him. It was a look that told him the other man wouldn't mind continuing those activities after they had breakfast.

And he certainly wouldn't mind that, either. Not at all.

"Why didn't you decide to become a chef instead of a doctor?" he asked, changing the subject abruptly in the hopes that he would stop blushing. "You're always so at home in the kitchen."

"Cooking is one of my hobbies, but I do not believe that I could ever have made it my life's work," Hannibal told him as he slid a stack of pancakes onto a plate. "My tastes are too .... esoteric."

Will had to smile again at those words; Hannibal was right about that. He had never had such exotic foods as he had since they had begun dating; there were times when he had no idea what he was eating, but whatever it was, he could never turn it down. Hannibal was a marvelous cook.

"Though I have decided to become more commonplace in my meals," Hannibal told Will as he sat down across from him. "I am finding that I enjoy more .... everyday fare lately."

"That's not entirely a bad thing, is it?" Will asked him as he poured syrup onto his pancakes. "Mixing it up a little, I mean. It's always good to try new things."

Hannibal nodded and smiled, leaning back and studying Will across the table.

"I believe that trying new things is always good," he said softly, forking some pancakes into his mouth. There was silence for a few moments as Will waited for him to speak again.

"If we don't try new things, then we just stagnate," Will told him, eating another forkful of the delicious, fluffy pancakes. "These are really good," he added after he had chewed and swallowed.

Hannibal nodded, sipping his coffee before clearing his throat to speak. "You are certainly right about that, Will. If we do not try new things, then we simply tread water, and we never move forward with our lives. Which is why I have decided to try something new, and I hope that you'll agree with it."

Will almost held his breath; his blue eyes widened, and he put his fork down, staring at Hannibal. What did his boyfriend mean? What was he going to try?

Was this the moment when Hannibal would tell him that they were over, that this "new thing" he wanted to try meant that he had tired of their relationship and was moving on to someone new?

"I have decided that I would like for you to move in with me," Hannibal said, his voice firm and steady, just as his gaze was. His eyes never left Will's face; Will felt as though the other man was trying to reach into his very soul, to gauge his reaction to those words.

He hadn't expected Hannibal to say that; he couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise. "Y-you want me to move in here? You mean .... permanently? What about my house in Wolf Trap?"

Hannibal smiled as he leaned forward, still gazing directly into Will's eyes. "We should keep your house. It would be a good place to go to get away from the city when we feel the need."

Will had so many questions that he didn't know where to start first.

But behind all the questions, behind the surprise that he was still trying to fathom, there was relief. Hannibal didn't want to break it off with him. Far from it.

No, Hannibal was holding out something that Will hadn't realized he wanted desperately until this very moment -- he was giving Will the chance to take a huge step forward in their relationship.

Moving in with Hannibal would be not just a step, but a leap forward. Still, hadn't they been leading up to this? Wasn't this just another phase of their relationship, one that they had to deal with if they intended to have a future with each other, and to try new things?

He couldn't be afraid of this. He had to accept it as a natural progression, and decide whether this was the right time for ti to happen, or if he felt that he should wait.

Will already knew the answer to that question, even before it formed in his mind. Of course he was ready. He loved this man, and he wanted their relationship to move ahead.

He would move in with Hannibal, as soon as he possibly could.

There were a lot o things to take care of first, but he would manage them. No, they would do that together. Just another way of strengthening their bond.

With a start, Will realized that Hannibal was still gazing at him, as though waiting for him to say something. Oh, right. He hadn't given his boyfriend a definitive answer yet.

"I think I want to try new things, too," he said, the words coming out slowly. "I want to move in with you, Hannibal. I want our relationship to move forward, into the next phase. It might not be the easiest thing I've ever done, but I'm willing to try if you are. I'm ready for that next step."

Hannibal nodded, then smiled -- a smile that made WIll's heart turn over in his chest. There was no way that he could have turned down this chance. Not when Hannibal looked at him like that.

He was more than ready to try something new. If it didn't work out .... No, Will told himself firmly. He wasn't going to think like that. He was going to be completely positive about this.

Not only was this new life going to work out, it was going to be extraordinary.

***