Title: A Ticking Time Bomb
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: 50ficlets
Prompt: 5, Memory
Author's Note: Sequel to "Parting the Curtains."
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.
***
"You say that your memories of that night are coming back?"Hannibal sat back in his chair, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed the young man sitting in front of him. This wasn't something he had expected to hear.
Will nodded, his tone of voice optimistic when he spoke. "Yes, they're coming back to me, even though it's going to take a while before I know everything. You know that patience has never been one of my virtues, but I'm trying to wait for those memories, and not to force them."
Hannibal nodded slowly, trying to keep his mind on what Will was saying, even as his own thoughts scrambled and skittered within his mind.
What was he going to do if Will remembered everything?
He could, of course, always tell the young man that he had blacked out, that he had been sleepingwalking, too -- which was, in a way, nothing more than the truth.
He hadn't known what he was doing when he attacked Will. It had been his subconscious leading him -- but he was a psychiatrist, and he knew that his subconscious would have been acting out something that he, deep in the recesses of his soul, actually wanted to do.
He had attacked Will because a part of him saw this young man as a threat to his way of life, a threat to who he essentially was. He had been trying to protect himself.
There was no other explanation. He knew that he wouldn't consciously try to harm Will, but it seemed that there were times when his mind wasn't under his control.
And with Will's memory coming back, that meant he was in trouble. He would have no real defense once those walls had come crumbling down, once Will's memory had returned and all the clouds that obscured that night had blown away. He would be exposed, for all the world to see.
He couldn't let that happen. Somehow, he had to think of a way to keep Will's memories obscured, or .... no, he didn't want to think about the other possibility.
He wasn't going to dispose of Will. He couldn't do that.
Will was staring at him, his brow furrowed. "I thought you'd be pleased about this. I thought a breakthrough into my memory was what we all wanted."
Hannibal nodded, glad that Will wasn't able to get into his mind. "I'm very glad that your memories of that night are finally coming to the surface, Will," he said, the words coming out slowly, carefully. "I just hope that what we discover is something that won't harm you even more."
Will had no idea how true that was, he told himself. What those memories might reveal when they finally did surface could hurt Will more than the actual attack had.
It remained to be seen just what would happen.
The world was suddenly reduced to a ticking time bomb.
One that could easily explode in both of their faces.
***
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