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It was no secret that Hannibal Lecter was an odd man. His culinary preferences aside, he really was quite strange if you looked closely enough. He wasn't very big, barely six feet in height in fact, but could be very intimidating when he wanted to be. His eyes were a deep shade of red, almost maroon, and seemed to glow in the dark. No, Hannibal was not normal at all, and even after years of marriage, there was one thing that fascinated Clarice more than anything else. His hands.

It wasn't the fact that he'd once had eleven fingers instead of ten, which was an oddity in itself, but what interested Clarice the most was that he hadn't been hindered by the extra digit. He'd played piano and cooked effortlessly as if eleven fingers were normal. She'd tried not to dwell on in much. Still, questions remained, so she waited for the right moment to ask. One evening in bed after a long bout of lovemaking, Clarice finally found the nerve to bring up the subject.

"How did you wear gloves?"

Hannibal looked down at her silently, and she immediately regretted her words."Sorry. I didn't mean to blurt it out like that. It's just that you have weird hands."

Surprisingly, he wasn't angry. Instead, he simply chuckled."Of all the things about me, you find my hands the strangest?"

"Don't get me wrong, all of you is strange. In fact, your hands are probably the most normal thing about you."

"I'm not sure whether or not that is a compliment, but I thank you none the less. To answer you question, I could not wear a glove on my left hand for many years until I removed one finger."

Clarice took one of his hands and began tracing his palm. Despite his effort to stop it, Hannibal's heart jumped at the sensation, but he remained silent. She lazily traced random patterns on his palm, enjoying the feel of the calloused skin at her fingertips. She knew that he'd done horrible things to people with his hands. With a blade in it, he could cut a person down the middle just as easily as he chopped onions from dinner. The same hands that had tossed Rinaldo Pazzi off of the balcony years ago were the same ones that cradled her as if she were made of glass every time they made love.

Above her, Hannibal watched as she threaded their fingers together and ran her thumb across his knuckles. Still watching her, he ran his free hand down her side. She squirmed a bit when he hit a sensitive spot on her hip causing him to smile. He gave the hand holding his a light squeeze before confessing,"Truthfully, I do miss it sometimes. My hand is still a bit stiff from the surgery, and it was a great advantage when I played piano."

She took his other hand in her free on and began tracing it as well."It also gave you the hands of someone bigger than you."

Again, he chuckled at her words and squeezed her other hand slightly as well. Compared to the rest of him, his hands were a bit larger, but it was rare that anyone noticed."You have point, but I believe that there is a saying about men with large hands."

Clarice smiled evilly. That was definitely true when it came to Hannibal. That, along with the fact that his hands were skilled in areas other than just cooking, made her glad to be married to him. Sensing his wife's thoughts, Hannibal began trailing light kisses up and down her shoulder and neck.

"Yes, there is,"she said, her voice shaking slightly."and you certainly fit the bill."

He found his favorite spot on her neck just below her ear and bit down lightly. This was followed by a light gasp from the woman in his arms."I am happy that I fit you desired standards."

"You exceeded my standards, and now you've completely ruined me. I'll never be able to stand a man that isn't you. I hope you're happy."

In one fluid motion he flipped them so that she was underneath him. Clarice looked up and saw him grinning down at her. He said nothing but gave her a kiss that told her all that she needed to know.

After pulling away, she flashed him a grin of her own and wrapped her arms around his neck."Good. Now come and put those magic hands of your to work"

FIN