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Title: Stranger Things Have Happened
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: Quotables, Part 2, tv_universe
Prompt: "I've seen stranger."
Author's Note: Sequel to "Which Road To Take."
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.

***

"This is one of the strangest crime scenes I've ever seen."

Will shrugged as he looked around; to him, the crime scene didn't look that much stranger than some he'd seen in the past, but then, he was inured to odd things.

"I've seen stranger," he told the cop who had uttered those words. The other man didn't answer; he merely nodded and pressed his lips together, moving away from Will.

Will wasn't surprised by that; everyone at crime scenes tended to keep their distance from him. If they had been allowed to be in the room with him when he was going into a killer's mind, they would probably want to be even further away from his presence; he knew that would freak a lot of people out.

But he didn't allow people to be around him when he did that; Jack was the only one he felt comfortable with having there in the room, or wherever the crime scene was, with him.

Jack was really the only person who didn't look at him as though he was some kind of freak. He might not understand Will's ability, but he wasn't terrified of it, either.

Most people were. Or if not terrified, definitely apprehensive.

People didn't understand what he could do, and what humans didn't understand, they always tried to destroy. Will was sure that he knew that fact better than most people did.

There were still times when he hated his ability, though he'd more or less made his peace with it. He had turned it into something that helped people, which made it worthwhile.

But there had been years, especially in his childhood, when he himself hadn't understood just what his empathy was, or what it could do. And he had hated himself for possessing that empathy, feeling like a freak, always being on the outside looking in, never really a part of anything.

The other kids around him had kept their distance, and he'd never had any close friends. Any time he'd made friends, they had quickly learned to back away from him.

It had been that way all of his life, hadn't it? It was why he had such a problem socializing now, why he always avoided any kind of social situation if he could.

He'd never been comfortable around people, but then, it didn't seem as though anyone was truly comfortable around him, either. Even Jack, who seemed to understand him fairly well, was never truly at ease with him, especially when they were at a crime scene and Will put his empathy to good use.

The only person who never seemed uncomfortable around him, the only one who never backed away or kept distance between them, was Hannibal.

Though he couldn't help wondering if Hannibal kept his own secrets, hidden behind that inscrutable mask that he always seemed to wear. There was more to him than met the eye.

Hannibal was like him in that way. In so many ways.

It almost shocked him how much alike they could be in some ways, and how different in others. But then, Hannibal had a way of surprising him, over and over again.

How did he feel about Hannibal? That was one question that he had pushed to the back of his mind, refusing to let himself answer it, not wanting to struggle with it.

Did he even want to know the answer? His emotions were completely tangled when it came to Hannibal. He didn't know exactly what he felt, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to examine that tangle of emotions more closely. It was a closed book to him at the moment.

Now that would be strange .... the two of them together. Himself and Hannibal. Will didn't think anyone would ever see anything stranger than that.

Though he couldn't deny that the idea was .... well, enticing, in a way. He and Hannibal as a couple. He hadn't really thought about it before, but he was oddly attracted by the idea.

A part of him wondered if Hannibal would feel the same.

Stranger things could happen, he supposed, especially given the fact that Hannibal already seemed to be attracted to him. Who knew what the future might hold?

Will pushed that thought away with a sigh, and turned to look at the body on the bed near him. Closing his eyes, he knelt, one hand reaching out to touch the corpse. It was time to do what he had come here to do, and to stop thinking about his own personal troubles.

"This is my design ...." He began to lose himself in the killer's mind, letting his own thoughts go, becoming immersed in someone else's psyche.

It was almost a relief to be outside of who he was, if only for a brief time.

***