Disclaimer: I sadly do not have the creativity to dream up such wonderful characters as Tom Harris has, but nevertheless I will continue to steal them for my own purposes.

Clarice woke up the next morning feeling the best she had ever felt. She got out of bed, showered and put some effort into her appearance. She stood out on the landing. Food, she thought. Bounding down the stairs, a smiled formed on her lips as she saw Hannibal, back to her, cooking at the stove. She stood there for a moment, watching him as he manoeuvred around the strange kitchen with ease. He stopped moving once he caught her scent.

"Good morning Clarice. Enjoying the view?" he asked, without turning to her.

That damn sense of smell. "Cocky much?" she responded, walking into the kitchen. Ardelia was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee. When Clarice sat beside her, Ardelia leaned across in her direction.

"This is the best damn cup of coffee I've ever had. And it's the stuff I make every day. The guy's got a magic touch!" she whispered incredulously. Clarice smirked and nodded in agreement.

Clarice got up and walked over to the sink to wash their empty cups. She was still shaking after her explosion earlier. With her back turned to him, he could not see her facial expressions as she tried to piece her thoughts into one finished jigsaw.

"Tell me, Clarice," he began, pushing his chair back, folding his arms and crossing his legs. "Why did you do this to yourself? Was it because of the Bureau? Was their rejection of you too much to handle?" She sensed him getting sarcastic. He sensed her getting agitated.

Two can play at this game, Clarice thought.

"No, not the Bureau." Short and sweet but welcoming another question.

"Then why, Ex-Special Agent Starling?"

She turned to him. "Because of you."

Hannibal felt like he had been punched in the chest. Repeatedly. He knew deep down he had hurt her, but hearing her say it out loud made it real. He played coy to hide his feelings.

"Why on earth would I be the reason for your decline into madness?"

Men. Completely blind. He seemed so oblivious that it began to annoy her. She flung the sponge that was gripped in her hand at him, soapy water flying in all directions. It hit him straight on his chest. He looked down in surprise.

"Because I love you! And I know its completely insane, but guess what? So are we! I've tried and tried to forget about you, to move on like I thought you had. I wanted my feelings to change. I certainly didn't want to be waiting for an unknown source of my happiness. But you won my heart and its now yours forever. I can't change that. Is that what you wanted to hear?! God, I feel so stu-"

Before she had a chance to finish, Hannibal shot out of his chair, grabbed her face in his hands and whispered "No more words." Then he kissed her.

After a few moments, he drew his head back, slowly with his eyes still closed. Clarice felt a little lightheaded and gripped the sink behind her to anchor her. Hannibal opened his eyes, took one look at Clarice and smirked.

"Um…so, I… er"

"Are you speechless, Clarice Starling Have I rendered the Clarice Starling speechless? I am as good as they say." He seemed mighty pleased with himself, Clarice thought, as he grinned from ear to ear. She could not help but smile back.

"Happy with yourself, are you?"

"Happy with you."

A/N: Sorry for the shortness! Struggling to get back into the swing of things but I PROMISE I am going to sit down and brainstorm, plus I found a lot of old drafts from 3+ years ago that I'm going to expand on so hopefully things get better for us. I'm enjoying trying to get myself back into a creative mindset. I've been writing about facts for too long.

Love,

Chloe x