Originally posted to tumblr today. (I'm really, really behind on this challenge okay.)
/ Day 32 (2016.02.01
/ noun
/ 1. the present, or immediate, occasion or purpose (usually used in the phrase for the nonce).
Their first kiss tasted like blood. Hannibal always thought it would, but the situation was far from what he'd always wished. He had wanted one day to savour Will in all the ways a human could be savoured. Instead, they were bleeding out, clutching one another as they fell towards the sea.
Will was, surprisingly, the one to first press their lips together. The first to clutch Hannibal as tightly to him as his fading strength would allow. The salty wind ripped through their hair, tore through their clothes, tried to tear them apart. As in life, Hannibal had no wish to be separated from Will, and he had no wish to be separate in death. Will's tongue brushed against his, and he tightened his grip.
For the first time in his life, he could not differentiate between the two bloods on his tongue: Will's and Francis'. They both tasted metallic in a way blood never had to him. He could not taste Will's mouth either, the flavour that would belong to just him, that would set him apart from everyone else, that would be the embodiment of his scent. There were opportunities to mourn the loss of, but no time to grieve, so instead, he reveled. He reveled in finally having Will in his arms, in Will finally being so unquestionably his.
Their drop into the sea was nothing short of painful, and the contact as well as the waves nearly ripped Will from his arms. Hannibal hung on with all the fading strength he had left, even as he realized that Will's own grip had faded completely. Will was either dead or unconscious, but there was no way for him to tell beneath the waves. And even if he was unconscious, the water would soon drain them both.
He could swim for the surface, try to save them, try to get them both dry and safe, doctor Will back into one piece, but the surface was so far above him that there almost wasn't a point. His vision was going black and fuzzy, just as much from the blood loss as it was from the lack of air. He looked at Will's slack face, at his hair floating in the water, and held him tight as he pressed a kiss to his temple.
Hannibal closed his eyes, and let them sink.
FINIS
I kept rewatching the last 10 minutes of the last episode while preparing to write, write, and posting this. Such an amazing scene.
2016 10M WotD Master Post (themadkatter13fanfiction tumblr, /10M-WotD-2016).
Like the thing? Reblog the thing (themadkatter13fanfiction tumblr, tagged/Nonce). Tschüß.