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"So, we'd be running away?" Bella concluded, sitting at the island as Clarice dished up a bowl of the beef stew and Hannibal rolled out his homemade pasta dough. "From everything we've known our entire lives. We'd just abandon our identities."

"I told you I regretted staying here the moment I woke up the morning after your father left." Clarice sighed and handed Bella the filled bowl and a piece of bread. "I know it's a lot to take in, and I'm not expecting you to make a decision now. But, it's another option. One that Hannibal can give us. You can start fresh. You can graduate this December and finally get away from Krendler."

Bella scoffed. "That would be a dream."

Hannibal grabbed a knife from the counter and began thinly slicing his dough. "This is your decision. Whatever you want to do, we will support you one hundred percent. Like your mother said, this is just a chance to do something you might not have thought possible for yourself."

Bella tore of a piece of her bread and began stirring it around in the brown broth. "So, how would it all work? If we keep our identities as Starlings, we can't just disappear into the night."

"Once you got your diploma in December, I could take an early leave from the FBI and take you to Europe to tour colleges. That wouldn't even be a lie. During the school year, I could come visit you. We'd set up a permanent residence under my name where you could live, and Hannibal and I would come visit. During the summers, we could all go down to Argentina." Clarice explained. The plan was quite simple when you looked at the layer of it, but she knew that intricacies of country hopping and switching IDs was going to be something new for Bella to get used to. Even with her FBI training, it would be something for her to get used to.

"This would allow you to still roam around the Earth without the constant fear of being caught and looking over your shoulder." Hannibal added in before dumping his noodles into the boiling water on the stove.

Bella leaned on her arms, forgetting about her food and growling stomach. "It sounds like there's another option other than that."

Hannibal glanced at Clarice out of the corner of his eye, seeing her doing the same thing towards him. "In the event that things go sour, we could all just run. We'd be on the run for the rest of our lives. I live quite comfortably. I know how to live in the shadows, and I could teach you the things you want to know. Foreign languages, the ballet, history. Your mother and I both know psychology. You could be anyone you wanted to be with any qualifications that you desire."

Bella bit her lip. "I just wouldn't be allowed to come back to the states."

"Again, that depends on what happens. If we were to be caught keeping your father here, we would both be subject for criminal charges." Clarice stated. "If we just run, we could return, but there would be lots of questions. We would be followed while we were here."

Hannibal reached out and caressed Bella's cheek. "And, that DNA of yours is deadly in the wrong hands."

"Because, I prove that you two slept together. I prove the rumors that have been circling since your first meeting with each other." Bella breathed, dropping her head to her fist. "I'll always be that dangerous too. Whether we're caught with him or not-"

"A search of our house would show that you're his daughter." Clarice whispered. She lifted up her own bowl of soup and walked around the island to sit in the barstool beside Bella. "It's a lot to process."

Bella gulped, knowing what she wanted but needing to know everything. "What happens if I say no?" She saw a flash of disappointment cross over Clarice and Hannibal's faces before they covered it up.

Clarice stroked Bella's hair. "Then, we would stay here, and your father would come visit when he could." She forced a smile on her face, because she couldn't even know if that last part was true. It took nearly two decades for her and Hannibal to have even a fraction of physical contact since the night he fed Paul his own brain tissue. The thought of parting with him again would crush her, but leaving her only daughter in a country she most likely could never enter again would never be an option. She'd choose her daughter over Hannibal every time, and she knew that Hannibal would do the same. He would be willing to sacrifice her if it meant Bella could live the life she wanted. "We support whatever you want to do. We just want you to be happy."

"Anytime you are ever in trouble - I'll be there taking down anybody you name." Hannibal stated with a startling low voice. He smirked at her with a wink before making the nibbling noise she had mocked him with earlier, the one he taunted Clarice with the first time they met.

Bella chuckled at Hannibal, happy that the tense moment seemed to be broken with the simple noise.


Clarice moaned softly, supporting herself on Hannibal's chest while her hips moved against his in sharp movements. They were both panting as they met each other's thrusts, the rhythm of their breathing matching the one that pulsed with each meet of their pelvises. Needing more skin to skin contact, she leaned down and nearly attacked his mouth as their bodies moved tightly against each other. Her breasts pressed against the matted hair on his. The flesh of his stomach grazed hers every time his hands pulled her down to impale on him again. Between her legs, the fire in her core burned intensely as he filled her.

Hannibal groaned into her mouth before rolling them over so she laid on her back. Before she could wrap her legs around his waist, he flipped her onto her belly and all but yanked her onto her knees. He thrust back into her heat, clamping a hand over her mouth to capture her moan with his palm. "Hold onto the bedpost."

Clarice nearly came undone from the low octave of his voice. He only came unglued like this in the heat of passion, and it did wonders to push her closer to the edge. She quickly dropped to her elbows and held onto the bedpost. "Jesus, Doctor." She panted.

"Wouldn't that be a comparison." Hannibal chuckled before wrapping his hands back around her hips and picking up from the rhythm she had set. He could see and feel her body's muscles contracting as her impending orgasm drew nearer. Seeing her grip on the bedpost, he moved one hand to the base of her spine and gently pushed down, angling her for deeper penetration. With his other hand, he reached around her thigh and let his fingers slowly find her clit.

"Fuck." Clarice gritted out as her universe combust. She reached for the pillow to muffle her cries, but found herself pulled back against Hannibal's chest. One hand over her mouth and the other in her hair. She bit the hand over her mouth when he continued to thrust, letting her ride out her pleasure before releasing himself. She shuddered feeling him empty inside her.

She didn't realize she was still biting his hand until she tasted the copper in her mouth.

Hannibal kissed her neck as she released his hand from her teeth. He could feel the warmth of his blood in his palm now. Just a small bite, and the sensation of her teeth penetrating him made his release all the more pleasurable. He continued to kiss her skin, his tongue running along the shell of her ear. "My, my, Clarice. I didn't know your cravings were still so strong. Tell me. How do I taste to you?"

Clarice licked her lips, his blood wet on them. Instead of words, she knew a way to surprise him with her answer. Taking his wrist into her hands, she lifted his bleeding index finger to her mouth and sucked on the wound, using her tongue to wipe away the access blood. She felt victorious feeling Hannibal's breath hitch, causing her back to arch back over his chest.

When the wound was as clean as it would get, she let it go with a popping noise and sighed contently dropping her head back against his shoulder. "Does that answer your question, Doctor?"

Hannibal bucked against her, causing her to gasp, before he craned his neck to kiss her lips gently. Far from the frenzied kiss they shared during their love making. "You, my dear, make my world much more interesting."

Clarice chuckled before pecking his lips once more. She moved back onto her hands and grunted when he pulled out of her. Although she was sated and exhausted, she didn't think she could ever get tired of having him buried between her legs.

They both moved to lie down on the pillows of her bed: him on his back, her on her stomach.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Clarice?" Hannibal asked into the silence of her room.

Clarice giggled, not noticing the bright smile that transformed his lips in delight. "Hannibal, we just had sex. I'm pretty sure you could ask me anything. It's never stopped you before, even when we were separated by bulletproof glass and a food tray."

Hannibal rolled his eyes thinking about the dark, dungeon-like cell without a proper view. But, he was no longer there. Lots of things had changed since then. "Why do you call me 'Doctor' when I'm fucking you?"

"Honestly, I imagined fucking you long before I even considered calling you Hannibal." Clarice smirked, propping her upper body up on her arms. A moment of silence passed between the two, and she knew that her fears weren't just hers. "What if she says no, Hannibal?"

Hannibal sighed, turning on his side and wrapping an arm around her waist. "I guess I try to visit you more often. At least now I know that I won't be handcuffed when I enter the house." He met her eyes. "But, then again, there are a lot of situations outside of being arrested that could call for handcuffs."

Clarice chuckled, dropping her head to his shoulder before he kissed the crown of her head. "I can't leave her, but. . .I can't live without you either. I just can't, not after everything that's happened."

"We'll find a way, my little Starling." Hannibal breathed, brushing back her damp hair. "You know I always find a way."

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