Disclaimer: I do not own Hannibal or Clarice. They own themselves and run their own lives. Hopefully the person who keeps following me around with the harpy will know i'm not trying to own him and kindly keep his distance. : Nervous laugh: ...please.
TERRY - cRaZy ItALian: Gratzie mi bella reviewer. I will be happy to comply with this new chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
ann-marie: :laughs: well thank you. Hope you like this one.
Lector-in-Love: : smirks: Why not? I will continue then because you asked nicely.
Count Orlok: I'm glad to hear you'll follow this story as well. I love your reviews and hope you like where this is going.
Author's Note: This is where our dear Dr. Hannibal Lector makes his appearance. If he's out of character please tell me. Remember he's based off Anthony Hopkins performance in the movie 'Hannibal'. Not the book though I love it or Silence of the Lambs which still i'm not as affectionate to as this film but I love as well. This chapter may not make much sense, the next one will if writing it kills me.
The steps behind Clarice became increasingly louder. The noise he was making for her benefit she knew. Had he followed silently, Clarice would have been jumping at shadows the whole way.
: Now what Starling? Are you just going to play follow the leader all night:
Clarice chewed at the inside of her mouth and forced down the teasing words that voiced the obvious gap she had left in her plans. She said what she wanted but not all of it. Just enough to invite his company and start the conversation she was dreading.
: Remember what Gavin said, no man can wait forever.:
Clarice took a deep breathe and stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk. Her house was a few blocks down but she wanted to talk now! The footsteps behind never faltered and walked right past her. Clarice guessed that he wanted to be in the house before any discussion was commenced but she was finished playing by his rules for the night. She assessed the man walking away from her and smiled. Instead of his usual dress suit, Hannibal Lector had opted for khaki dress slacks, a silk blue shirt and a black leather sports jacket. He was still wearing his hair buzzed close to the scalp she noticed and he walked with his hands tucked in his pockets.
" Stop." It was all she said but he responded. He stopped in front of her but didn't turn. He knew the implications of what she said as well as he knew all the answers to the questions in his letter. They didn't need so many words as they pretended to speak to each other.
" Has a thousand years passed so quickly Clarice?" He asked in a calm, casual way that never seemed to leave him. Yet his words were sarcastic, biting if she let the comment get close enough to bare its teeth. Dr. Lector always handled a tense situation with his own brand of humor, she could use it against him. Perhaps throw him off.
" I'm sure you know the story of Rip Van Winkle, Dr. Lector. You can always assume you slept through it." Clarice said, her voice not coming off near as intelligent as it would have had Dr. Lector said it.
" Imagine that." His voice reached her ears, Lector was quiet plainly amused with her words. Hannibal Lector turned to her and Clarice saw his face for the first time that night. Like she had only a moment ago, Hannibal assessed her in turn. " And neither you nor I have aged since we last met. Still a vision ex-Special Agent Starling." He said, his maroon eyes burning into hers. Clarice couldn't stop the blush that crept up her neck and face.
Lector seemed pleased by her reaction if it were a cue to leap forward. "But still my offer stands Clarice, even if you've become an 'old maid' in my thousand year absence." He said and Clarice loved how he molded his mouth around the words 'old maid' with a smile and let the rest of his words run out in a near whisper.
Clarice shivered, knowing what she wanted was a few well said words away. Lector pulled off his jacket and before Clarice could say a word had placed it over her bare shoulders, the brush of his hand on her arm burned. " Cold Clarice?" He asked, though his eyes had that knowing glint in them.
" Smart ass!" Clarice mumbled under her breathe. Hannibal smiled.
" I often wonder why I fell in love with such a crass woman." He said in false thoughtfulness, leaving the comment in the air unexplained on purpose. It had the desired effect when Clarice could only stare speechless at him. " Suprised?" He asked. " I've said the very same thing before Clarice, why so stunned?"
Clarice stared at him and wondered the same thing. Yes, Hannibal had said that he loved her before. In his letters and when he had spoken it before the words had appeared to be pure innuendo instead of a confession.
Hannibal started to circle around Clarice, her senses instinctively kicked into alert. She was confident that he wouldn't hurt her. But she knew from experience that Hannibal Lector didn't need to touch a person to scar them. He was behind her when he spoke.
" What did you expect Clarice? That i'd sweep you off your feet like those two bit romances you watch on tv whenever Valentines comes. A bottle of wine to fill that lack of romance along with a bottle of Jack Daniel's to numb that lonely ache in your heart." He breathed in her ear and the words stun. But he didn't stop, clucking his tongue against his teeth in disapproval.
" You should know better then that. I've never been very conventional Clarice and you know that as well. But still you used a very conventional means to bring me out and I answered. I always admired your common tactics, how you fuse them with your feminine whiles unconsciously and succeed." Clarice heard the compliment amidst the barbs and it made her blood rush faster. She gasped when Hannibal ran the tips of his fingers down the length of her throat.
" How can you be so cruel?" She asked, pulling away from his touch though her body screamed at her for doing it. Clarice whirled to face Hannibal and she saw his expression was indifferent for the first time that night. It worried her, but Clarice pressed on. " How can you say you love me and still treat me the same as if we were back in Baltimore Dr. Lector? I'm not some plaything you can use whenever you feel like it and then toss away." Clarice told him, anger brimming on each word.
: You fell in love with a serial killer, did you expect candy and flowers?.:
" Did I ever say you were a 'plaything' Clarice?" Hannibal asked coldly as if the very idea left a bad taste in his mouth. " Your perception of my intentions has become twisted ex-Special Agent Starling. How quickly you forget the clearness of those intentions last we met." He said and came closer, Clarice forced herself to stay where she was.
" Maybe its time I clarified exactly what you are to me Clarice." He said in a deathly low voice. Faster then Clarice could have reacted, Hannibal Lector pulled her in an iron grip against his chest and claimed her mouth. Instead of the chaste kiss she hadn't returned at Chesapeake, he didn't give her the same chance to refuse. Hannibal drank from Clarice's lips likes she was one of his fine wines. At the same time his teeth grazed the tender flesh of her lips and made her gasp. It was enough for Hannibal to slip his tongue into the alcove of her mouth and taste her.
Clarice was helpless to do anything but cling to him. She was so lost in this blissful feeling that Clarice never noticed the intense response she gave in return. Her nails raking down his back, the fabric of Hannibal's shirt protecting him from any livid marks. Or the moans that escaped as deep purrs in her chest.
Clarice didn't acknowledge that they were still on the street in plain view as they kissed, only that she was being kissed.
When Hannibal pulled her out of the kiss he did it gently, placing smaller kisses and love bites along her jaw and throat. Clarice let her head fall back so he could have better access to the vulnerable flesh and closed her eyes. There she was in the arms of Hannibal Lector willingly, the famed , incorruptible Clarice Starling.
: To hell with shame and values, I don't care anymore. I'm happy here.:
Clarice gasped, a pain shooting through her lower back that she hadn't expected. Her head fell forward onto Hannibal's shoulder and hers hands tightened on his arms.
" Clarice?" Hannibal asked and his hand immediately delved to her back, beneath his jacket. Clarice hissed in pain when his hand brushed the bullet wound there that was bleeding. The bastard who shot her had used a silencer. She could feel the blood and life draining from her quickly.
"Clarice!" Hannibal said in alarm when her knees buckled and he had to catch her. Clarice was frightened now only because he was. She had never seen him afraid.
The look in his maroon eyes was the clearest fear she had seen in anyone's eyes before. With her fleeting strength, Clarice reached to touch his face and Hannibal brought her palm to his mouth so he could kiss it and inhale her scent. She smiled grimly and said the first thing that came to her.
"I love you Hannibal." She said in a teasing voice. " Now go get him tiger." She said, thinking with amusement how the words seemed to come straight from her father.
With that Clarice Starling's world went black, the last thing she saw was the hellish glint of Hannibal Lector's eyes as he raised her in his arms.
Author's Note: : immediately ducks any sharp objects: Wait! She's not dead, don't hurt me! Please, it wasn't my idea anyway. It was Lector's, he made me do it that twisted cannibal. I promise there's method behind the madness just be patient.
On a lighter note writing Dr. Lector's dialogue is a pain in the ass. Is he really out of character? I hope I didn't push it too far. There will be less hateful and more understandable dialogue between Hannibal and Clarice but I need reviews first and maybe some kind criticism. Please...?
