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Title: Target
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Aiden Gillan
Fandom: Hannibal/Blood and Chocolate
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Will Graham or Lee Fallon, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"I'm sorry that I got you involved in all this," Aiden sighed, shaking his head.

He and Will were sitting in the living room, both of them on the couch, both of them feeling tense and nervous, the smallest sound making them both jump.

Neither of them knew when their enemies would strike; they were simply waiting for it to happen. They were poised, on edge, ready to strike back when they had to.

Both of them were on edge; Aiden felt that there was a powder keg somewhere nearby, just waiting to explode into fire and energy. He felt as though he was sitting on that powder keg, and that at any moment, it would erupt into a conflagration, the world crashing around him.

He shivered at the thought. He didn't want this battle; he simply wanted to be able to walk away from it all and be left alone, to put it behind him.

But the loup garou wouldn't let him do that. No, they would keep hunting him down until they decided to end him; they were toying with him, enjoying the game.

Well, he didn't enjoy it. And he was going to put an end to it.

He just wanted to end them all, to make them go away and leave him in peace. And now, he had managed to pull Will into his mess.

It had been a losing situation for him from the start, Aiden thought bitterly. Ever since he had first seen Vivian in that church and thought that he wanted her.

He should have known, even then, that he wasn't interested in women. He had just been trying so hard to make at least one part of his life normal; he had wanted to be, in that one simple way, like everyone else he'd known at the time. He'd wanted to fit in.

He should have realized that he would never be the kind of person who "fit in," no matter what he did. His life previous to his time in Romania should have taught him that.

The only good thing about being with Vivian was that it had felt like his life had at least a little stability. But he should have known that was nothing more than an illusion.

She hadn't loved him. She'd only wanted him. Temporarily.

If he was going to be completely honest about it, he had never really wanted her. He had only been chasing after a semblance of normality. That thought made him snort aloud. Normality? When he had been involved with a girl who was a werewolf?

Yeah, that was really normal, he told himself, feeling dirty and disgusted. He should have known that she would eventually turn on him.

After all, she was a wolf at heart, not a human. She wasn't really capable of feeling love. Maybe affection, but love was beyond her scope of sensibilities.

And he hadn't been in love with her -- though he had tried to convince himself that he was, for a short time. Until he had met a man who had attracted him so much that he hadn't been able to live the lie with Vivian any more. And that had sent her, and her pack, after him.

He should have known that it would all end badly.

He'd had a target on his back from the first time he'd seen her, really. He should have sensed that there was something different about her, something dangerous.

Aiden knew that he should have stayed away from her. But he had always been one to play with fire. Only this time, he'd bitten off far more than he could ever chew.

He felt as though there was a huge red target painted right in the center of his back, and another on his forehead. And the worst of it was that now, Will was caught up in this, too. Will had the same targets on him; they were gunning for him as well, when he didn't deserve this.

He should go. He should leave Will in relative safety, make sure that they would leave this man alone. It was the least he could do, after WIll had helped him.

But he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay here, to bond with Will even further, to explore where whatever this attraction them was might go.

He couldn't leave. It was far too late for that, and Aiden knew it.

"What are you thinking about?" Will asked softly, jolting Aiden's thoughts back to the present moment. "You look so serious. Tell me what's bugging you."

Aiden couldn't help but smile; somehow, Will was already so attuned to him that this man could tell when he was thoughtful. Most people just assumed he was daydreaming.

"I was ...." Aiden trailed off, unsure of just what to say, how to organize his thoughts. Then he decided that Will deserved to know the unvarnished truth about what he was thinking and feeling. "I was telling myself that I should leave, that you don't deserve to be stuck with all of this."

"Aiden." Will reached out to rest a hand on Aiden's knee, squeezing it gently. "I'm already a part of this. And you can't deal with it alone. You need help."

Aiden nodded slowly, sighing softly, knowing that Will spoke the truth. This was something that he couldn't deal with on his own. That had already been proven.

"I know," he sighed. "I just feel bad that you're caught in the middle."

"I'm in this because I want to be," Will answered, shaking his head. "I want to help you, Aiden. I couldn't turn away from this even if I wanted to. I need to help you."

"I'm grateful for your help," Aiden told him, swallowing hard. "I just feel bad that you've got a target painted on your back now, just like me. You deserve better."

"If I've got a target painted on my back, then I accept that," Will told him, nodding. He took Aiden's hands in his, gazing into the younger man's eyes. "Aiden, I'm with you because I want to be on your side. I want to help you. Please believe that. I may be a target, but I'm willing to be."

Aiden couldn't speak; the generosity of spirit that WIll was showing overwhelmed him. He'd never had anyone on his side in this way before.

Will was one in a million. It was hard to believe that he'd finally found someone who would be on his side in every way, someone who would fight for him.

Someone who would stand by his side, and be a target just as he himself was.

No one had ever thought that highly of him before, and it made him care for Will all the more. It made him think that they could definitely have a future.

But first, they had to get through the battle that he knew was coming -- and it was the two of them against a whole horde of those .... things. They might not survive.

Still, if they didn't survive, at least they would go down fighting. He wouldn't have been a helpless, passive target; he would have fought back, and he would have had an ally standing by his side, helping him along the way. An ally he trusted with his life -- and with his heart.

The thought flashed through Aiden, shocking him. He trusted Will with all that he had, and all that he was. He was falling for this man.

It didn't seem possible, after what had been done to him. But it was true. Somehow, the feelings that he had for Will had gone far beyond simple attraction.

He didn't know what to do about them. Not yet.

But they had a future. He knew it. They weren't just targets; they were two people who were going to hold on to a possible future, and do all that they could to make it happen.

Smiling, he placed his hand on top of Will's, his gaze meeting the other man's. Slowly, they moved towards each other, and Aiden's eyes slipped closed.

Will was going to kiss him. He knew it. He could feel his body tense with anticipation.

When their lips met, it was as though an explosion rocked his universe.

***