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Title: Those Eyes
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: One-shot.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Hannibal Lecter or Will Graham, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

He was hypnotized by Will's eyes.

They were such a brilliant shade of blue, Hannibal thought to himself. Even when Will wasn't looking at him, he was aware of those eyes.

He couldn't escape that candid, clear gaze. There were times when he couldn't make himself look into those eyes, for fear of what Will might see in his own.

Eyes were, after all, the windows to the soul -- or so it was said. Hannibal wasn't sure that he believed in that old saying; after all, he kept his own gaze hooded, and when he met anyone's eyes squarely with his own, he was sure that they could see nothing.

Nothing but what he wanted them to see, at any rate. But Will .... well, he was much more perceptive than the normal run of people around the two of them.

If anyone would be able to look into his eyes and perceive the secrets hidden there, it would be Will Graham. And he couldn't let those secrets be discovered.

If they were, it would be the end of him.

Or at the very least, it would be the end of his freedom. Despite their friendship, and the relationship that was being built from it, he knew what Will would do with those secrets.

Will wasn't the sort of person who would take what he had done in the past lightly. He would feel honor-bound to turn him in to the authorities.

That would end his freedom; he would surely be kept behind bars for the rest of his days if his crimes were ever discovered. And more than that, it would stop the budding relationship with Will in its tracks; he would lose all that he was working so hard to secure.

Will would never be with someone who he knew had committed horrific crimes. He would turn away in disgust, and Hannibal knew that he couldn't bear that.

Seeing that expression of loathing on Will's beautiful face, and knowing that it was directed at him, would utterly destroy him. He couldn't allow it to happen.

He couldn't lose Will. Such a thing was unthinkable.

He had been hypnotized by this young man from the first moment they had met. From that first smile, that first murmured greeting, he had been under Will's spell.

That was how he felt whenever he looked into those incredibly blue eyes -- as though he was under a spell, as if he had been hypnotized, as though his will was no longer his own. Anything Will asked of him when he was gazing into those eyes he would gladly do.

That was folly, Hannibal told himself, shaking his head as though to clear it. He couldn't let himself get lost in Will's beautiful eyes. Too great a danger lay there.

What would happen if Will discovered all of his secrets? The idea brought a tightening to his belly, and a small frisson of what felt very like fear slid down his spine.

Jail didn't frighten him. He had been through more than enough in his life to be sure that he could survive any punishment that might be given to him. If he was incarcerated, then he would find a way out. It was as simple as that. No confinement could hold him for long.

No, that wasn't where the feeling of fear came from. The fear was from the feeling, no, the knowledge, that if he was found out, he would lose Will.

Everything always came back to that one stark fact.

Losing Will would destroy him. He had no doubt of that. He would spend the rest of his life regretting what could have been, what he had let slip away.

Will was his lifeline, his lodestar. With Will in his life, he could be happy. Perhaps he could even turn his back on what he had become and be ..... well, more normal.

He had never thought before that such a thing could be possible. He had long ago accepted what he was. But Will had changed everything. Will had given him hope that he could become something more, that he could slough of his life of darkness and deception like a snake shedding its old skin.

Was it possible? Could he give it up? Or was what he had become so much a part of him, so ingrained within his very soul, the essence of his being, that he was too far gone?

Hannibal shook his head again, this time in determination. No. He would never let himself believe that. Will could save him. He knew it in his heart.

All he had to do was look into those eyes, and anything was possible.

Those eyes held the promise of a life that he desperately wanted to lead, a life of happiness, of loving the person who he was sure had been meant for him.

Did Will feel the same way? He wasn't sure of that, not at all. But Will could be brought to care for him. It would only take time and patience to win his heart.

Will's heart was elusive; he knew that. But he was up to the challenge of winning the younger man over; they already had a friendship established, and that was a good place to start. From friendship, something deeper and more enduring could take root and flourish.

He would simply have to be patient, and nurture the relationship along. And he would have to be very careful not to let anything of his past life slip out.

If Will knew about his past life -- and about all that he had done -- the friendship, and everything else that went with it, would collapse into dust in the blink of an eye.

That wouldn't happen. He would be careful. He wouldn't make mistakes.

He would simply have to be careful of how much he looked into those eyes. And he would have to keep his own gaze carefully averted, lest Will read something in his own eyes.

Could Will do that? he wondered. Was it possible that the younger man saw things in his eyes, things that he would rather keep hidden away in darkness?

No, that wasn't possible, he told himself firmly. He himself might be hypnotized by Will's blue gaze, but he didn't think that Will had progressed to that point with him yet. After all, Will had a difficult time making eye contact with anyone. He still hadn't leaped that particular barrier yet.

But he would, Hannibal thought with a smile. It wouldn't take long for Will to feel more sure of himself. And then, their relationship would progress more quickly.

He hoped that would happen, and that it would be sooner rather than later. He knew how to be patient, but he also didn't much like to wait for what he wanted.

He wanted Will. By his side. In his arms. And in his bed.

Hannibal sighed softly, knowing that when he laid eyes on Will again, all of his good intentions would fly right out of the window, and he would be right back where he had started.

He would be hypnotized by those eyes yet again, and Will would wrap himself around his heart without even knowing that he was doing so.

But somehow, being hypnotized didn't seem so bad.

He was counting the minutes until he could gaze into those eyes once again.

***