Title: Stronger Bonds
Author: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Sherlock Holmes
Fandoms: Hannibal/Sherlock
Rating: PG-13
Table: 9, 50ficlets
Prompt: 35, Share
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Will Graham or Sherlock Holmes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Will almost hummed to himself as he made his morning coffee.

In spite of the danger he knew that he and Sherlock were in, he couldn't help feeling good today. Last night had made him feel more confident more sure of himself.

Now that he had shared his fears with Sherlock, he felt closer than ever to his boyfriend. And the two of them had also shared a bed -- which not only made him feel closer to the man he was falling in love with, but also made him feel much safer.

Not that he didn't feel safe in his own bedroom, he told himself. He had Winston there with him; the dog slept beside his bed, as though he was watching over Will.

There was no reason not to feel safe here in 221B. Of course, there hadn't hadn't any shots fired into the windows here to make him feel uneasy, he thought wryly. There hadn't been any overt attacks here, as though Hannibal was being more cautious in the city.

He had been an easier target in the country house. Of course, he'd done that to himself by standing in front of the picture window in the living room.

Though at the time, he hadn't know that there was any reason not to do so.

Will sighed softly, wishing that the threat would simply go away, vanish into thin air. But, of course, that wasn't going to happen, no matter how he wished for it.

He didn't doubt that it was was Hannibal trying to creep back into his life. No one else would want to victimize him; no one else would try to frighten him by shooting at him when he'd least expected it. No one else would want to get to him psychologically.

Or physically, for that matter. Yes, he'd put a lot of criminals away, but as far as he knew, all of them were still in jail, and weren't gunning for him.

But was Hannibal only coming after him -- or both of them?

He had wanted to share his life with Sherlock -- but this kind of danger wasn't something he had ever meant to expose his boyfriend to.

If anything happened to Sherlock, it would be his fault. He was the one who had caused all of this; he was the one who'd led Sherlock into danger.

Without Will in his life, Sherlock would still be facing dangerous criminals -- but Will didn't think that anyone could be as dangerous as Hannibal. And when Hannibal was thwarted, when he didn't get what he wanted, he was more dangerous than ever.

Will didn't expect Sherlock to share that kind of danger. It wasn't fair for his boyfriend to be put on the front lines simply because he was with Will.

Sherlock didn't deserve to be in the middle of this war Hannibal wanted to start.

But, of course, he knew that Sherlock wouldn't back down. He was too involved in this now -- and he cared too much about Will to back away.

He didn't want to think along these lines, Will told himself with a soft sigh. He didn't want to consider all of the facts, at least not right now. He wanted to pretend that he and Sherlock still had time to get to know each other slowly, to let their relationship progress.

But Hannibal was rushing things ahead, bringing them closer together much more quickly, whether it was what he'd meant to do or not.

Didn't the bastard realize that all he was doing with these threats was driving Will right into Sherlock's arms -- which was apparently where Hannibal didn't want him to be?

Will frowned at the thought as he poured his coffee and stirred it.

There was no telling just what Hannibal was thinking in that twisted excuse for a brain of his. But one thing was very obvious, at least to Will.

Hannibal hadn't meant to kill him with that bullet. It had been a warning shot, as though Hannibal was giving him a chance to know what lay ahead of him. If he had truly wanted to kill someone, then he would more than likely have aimed for Sherlock.

After all, he would see Sherlock, and what Will shared with him, as the threat. He would want to eliminate that threat above all else.

He would think that removing Sherlock would give him access to Will again.

Of course, that wasn't true. Will had no intention of returning to Wolf Trap, or being anywhere near Hannibal Lecter again. Not in this lifetime, or any other.

But Hannibal, in his vanity and hubris, would think that Will could be easily made to come running back to the familiar if he lost the main part of his new life here in London. Hannibal would think that he'd be easily manipulated, just as he'd been before.

Hannibal was wrong, Will told himself firmly. He was a different person now. He was much stronger than he had ever been, with Sherlock by his side.

What he and Sherlock shared was something that Hannibal could never understand -- and because he didn't understand it, he would seek to destroy it. But he would never be able to accomplish that goal, Will thought. What he and Sherlock shared couldn't be broken.

Hannibal would learn that. He would discover that some bonds couldn't be severed -- and that old ones, once destroyed, couldn't be reforged.

And he would find out that the new bonds Will had developed were much stronger than any others.

Will turned as he heard Sherlock's footsteps, a smile on his face.

***