DISCLAIMER: Silence of the Lambs belongs to Thomas Harris.
~ Benediction ~
She reached for the file. He pulled it back, just out of her reach.
Without thinking, she stepped closer. Reached for the file. Didn't quite have a hold of it when his left hand gripped the back of her neck.
Her fingers closed over the folder. Her mind did not register the action, consumed as it was with an overwhelming sense of panic.
Fear - or some other instinct - caused her eyes to close. She didn't fight her body's instincts or the firm yet gentle pressure on her neck that urged her forward. She did not open her eyes when she felt the cool metal of the bars against her cheeks.
Then his mouth was on hers, and in that instant every muscle in her body locked up.
Only seconds had passed, but it was enough for the worst of the panic to clear away. Her mind started working again, and the first thing it registered was that he was kissing her. Kissing, not biting.
Other things, less important things, filtered into her awareness. The weight of the file in her arms. Background noise: panicked footsteps approaching; several voices calling her name, with varying degrees of worry; guns sliding free of their holsters; someone shouting, "Let her go, Lecter!"
She kissed back.
He wasn't expecting it. She opened her eyes now and saw the faint echo of surprise in his.
She smiled into the kiss. It was a blessing, a benediction.
Whatever else you may be, you are NOT pure evil and there is at least one person in the world who knows it.
She didn't have to say the words for him to understand.
His hand slid away from her nape. The tip of his tongue flicked against her lip as they pulled away from each other.
She stumbled backward, the folder clutched to her chest. Unfamiliar hands gripped her shoulders, steadying her and at the same time pushing her farther away from the cage.
He backed away as well. Calmly, toward the center of his cell. Until further progress was prevented by his table, which he stopped just short of without bumping into.
The main portion of her attention was still fixed on him. None of them were looking at him anymore. They were all focused on her. She almost didn't realize that they were asking her questions.
"What? No, I'm fine," she answered, shaking off their worried hands just as she brushed off their worried inquiries. "He didn't hurt me. Weren't we in a hurry? I have a plane to catch…"
Reminded of their duty, they rushed to escort her out of the building. Before they were out of the room, she looked back over her shoulder at him one last time.
He smiled at her. A real smile. Not mocking, for once.
A benediction.
~end~
A/N: Reviews are love.