Main Hannibal Fan Fiction page | new stories page | Will/Hannibal slash page | other pairings page | gen stories page

Title: Watching Him Sleep
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: writers_choice
Prompt: #109, Sleep
Author's Note: Sequel to "Some Kind of Bliss."
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 loved watching Will sleep.

Hannibal looked down at his young lover, a soft smile on his lips. Will was exhausted from their lovemaking; he'd fallen asleep quickly after their bodies had been sated. Odd, when he did all the work, that Will could be so worn out after each coupling.

But of course, his lover didn't go out of his way to keep himself in shape, other than the hiking through the woods around his house, and lifting a few weights.

Perhaps he would have to change that, Hannibal mused as he pulled the covers carefully over Will's sleeping form. Will was in fairly good shape, but the thought of his slim body honed to perfection, those muscles even more pronounced, was very arousing.

Though to him, Will was already perfect was he was.

He really didn't want to change a thing about the young man he'd fallen so desperately in love with. Will might not be perfect, but neither did he need to be changed.

He himself had changed a great deal since the first time he had met Will; though he wouldn't admit it, most of all to Will, he had softened, become less cynical. Will had changed so much about him, and he couldn't help but feel that it was all for the better.

He hadn't intended to fall in love with Will. He had known that could be dangerous, for both himself and his lover. He had intended to keep this light, pleasant, a casual encounter.

But that had been impossible to do. His feelings for WIll had continued to grow; he hadn't been able to hold them back, though he had tried. It had been impossible not to fall in love with this beauty; he would never have been able to hold these feelings back.

He had tried. Oh, he had tried. But it hadn't worked. His feelings had been too strong for him, and they had defeated him in the end.

Now, he simply accepted the fact that he loved.

What else could he do? He really had no choice. It was either accept his feelings -- or get rid of Will, banish the young man from his life for his own good.

He would never have been able to do that. Will had already meant far too much to him, even after only a few meetings. And no matter how he had tried to keep their relationship on a professional level, he had always known that it would come to this.

He could no more banish Will from his life than he could stop breathing. Will was the breath of life to him; Will had become the axis that his world spun around.

No, that probably wasn't a good idea. But it was too late to turn back.

He'd let Will become this important in his life, and if he was honest with himself, he didn't want things to change. He didn't want to go back to being that lonely man he had been when he had first met Will, lonely and reaching out for friendship.

He had found so much more than a friend when he'd found Will. He hadn't dared to hope for this, but now that he had it, he wasn't letting go.

There was no need to let go, not as long as he was careful not to let Will discover all of his secrets. He could make this work, with a little care and preparation.

Hannibal looked down at the sleeping young man in his bed again, smiling as he reached out to stroke the dark hair back from Will's forehead. He always marveled at the softness of those curls; Will's hair was like the finest silk, his skin like the softest velvet, his lips like the headiest wine.

Yes, he could make this work out. He simply had to be cautious.

There was no reason not to believe that he and Will could have a happy life together, and that he could still keep his secrets safe -- and continue with that secret life.

If Will ever found out, he knew that they would lose each other. And he couldn't permit that to happen. Will was his -- this beautiful young man belonged to him, and now that he had decided to keep Will, he wasn't going to let his lover go easily.

Will would never stay with him if he knew the truth, so that truth had to be kept from him. It might not be easy, but he would find a way.

Losing Will was not an option. Not now, and not ever.

Will belonged to him. He had as much as said it himself. And what belonged to Hannibal, he didn't let go. Not until he was ready to give up that particular possession.

He would never give Will up. He didn't know if the young man realized just what he had gotten himself into when they'd become involved, but it was far too late for Will to back out of this relationship now. He was trapped, spun into the sticky threads of Hannibal's web.

Will was his. Anyone who tried to take him from Hannibal would soon regret it; he would dispatch them speedily, and make good use of them.

Will, of course, would never know that; he would never know just what went on behind the closed and locked doors of Hannibal's home, or know what his lover did on the nights that he wasn't here. Will would never have access to all of his secrets.

It was a pity that he couldn't let his young lover into his life completely, but that would be too risky -- both for himself and for Will.

But they could enjoy each other, and they could be together.

He would probably never tell Will just how much he was loved; that would tip the balance of the scales in a direction that wouldn't leave Hannibal enough control. No, he would have to keep Will on his toes, keep him guessing, never quite let him know where he stood.

He could do that, he thought, gazing down at the sleeping man in his bed. He didn't have to let Will know exactly how he felt.

Or was it? he asked himself with a frown. How long would Will be satisfied with not knowing, with always having to wonder what his lover's feelings were? That thought opened an entirely new set of problems, but they were ones that he didn't want to deal with right now.

Right now, he simply wanted to relax and watch his lover sleep.

***