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Title: Only in His Dreams
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Everett Hobbs (Original Character)
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Everett's face is Benedict Cumberbatch.
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.

***

Everett had kissed him.

Everett had actually kissed him. Will couldn't stop his fingers from moving to his lips, trailing along their outline, his eyes closing as he remembered.

He could still taste the gentleness of that kiss on his lips, the promise of it. He could still feel Everett's lips on his, those lips that he had watched whenever Everett spoke, wondering what they would feel like on his, just how a kiss from this man would taste.

Well, now he knew. And he also knew that he wanted Everett more than he ever had, that he wasn't going to be happy until he was out of here and they had a future.

What kind of a future did he have behind bars?

Will sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head in his hands. He might as well face facts. He had nothing to offer Everett, nothing at all.

Even if Everett did manage to get him out of here, he would still have a cloud of suspicion hanging over his head. He seriously doubted that anyone would ever look at him in the same way again; even if he was proven innocent, a lot of people wouldn't believe it.

There would always be some people who would see him as guilty, and say that he had only gotten away with it because he'd worked for the FBI.

Never mind that the FBI seemed perfectly content to railroad him; they were buying into the frame-up, even putting Hannibal into his place, giving that monster the job that he used to do for them. They were even saying that Hannibal was becoming Will Graham.

The very thought of being associated with that hideous reptile made him feel sick. He wished that he had never heard of Hannibal Lecter, never met him.

But it was too late for that wish to come true now. Far too late.

Hannibal had already destroyed his life, and it looked as though he might never be able to put all of those shattered pieces back together again.

He desperately wanted to have a future with Everett, but who knew if that could happen? Will had learned the hard way that no matter how badly he wanted something, even worked towards it, there were times when wanting and even hard work didn't make it happen.

Wishing on a star didn't work, and dreams didn't always come true. In fact, he'd come to the conclusion that dreams coming true only happened in fairy tales.

He had become cynical, he thought with a sigh. Cynical and bitter.

That was the kind of man Everett would want. He wouldn't want to be with someone who couldn't believe in dreams, someone who had closed himself off to possibilities.

He couldn't let that happen to himself. He had to hold on to his dreams, had to hold on to hope. He had to believe in Everett, believe that he would find a way for them to be together, to get him out of here so that he could finally leave this nightmare behind.

Was that even possible? Or had Hannibal been so good at what he'd done that Everett would never be able to find a way out for them?

Will's hands clenched into fists at the thought; the last thing he wanted was for that monster to win, for him to be trapped here forever, away from Everett.

Hannibal thought that he had Will right where he wanted him, that he had foreseen all the eventualities, and that no one could help him. But Will refused to let his belief in Everett be shaken. If anyone could find a way to get him out of here, Everett could.

His fingers strayed to his lips again, still tasting that kiss. He would hold on to that, hold it close, keep it in his dreams and in his heart.

Everett wanted him. That was enough to keep him going.

He'd never thought that anyone would look at him with the kind of love in their eyes that he saw in Everett's whenever their gazes met. It took his breath away.

And he felt exactly the same. He knew that his emotions showed when he looked at Everett; he couldn't have held them back, even if he had wanted to. He knew that everything he felt for this man was written in his eyes, etched clearly on his face.

He didn't care if everyone knew that he was falling in love. He didn't care what they thought. He wanted them to see that love, wanted people to know that he could feel.

Will wanted everyone to know that he wasn't a monster.

He wasn't like Hannibal. He wasn't the kind of unfeeling criminal who could make someone else pay for their crimes, and not care what happened to that person.

Only when he was deep in dreams did people realize that, though. In the real world, everyone seemed to be against him, even the people who he had thought were his friends. Beverly Katz was the only one of his former colleagues who seemed as if she might believe him.

Everyone else had turned their backs, believing what Hannibal wanted them to believe, taking his words like some kind of sick, twisted gospel.

None of those people were truly his friends, not even Jack -- the person he had trusted for so long. It was Jack who had led Hannibal to him, Jack who had begun Hannibal's obsession with him, and started them down this long, convoluted path that they were treading.

Jack had turned his back as surely as everyone else had. Jack no longer believed in him; he had gotten all that he needed out of Will, and was ready to toss him away like trash.

Which was exactly what Hannibal wanted him to do.

Hannibal wanted everyone to give up on him; he wanted Will to believe that he only had friends and allies in his dreams, dreams that could never come true.

Well, that wasn't the case, Will told himself firmly. He had Everett, and his trust and faith in him was utter and absolute. He knew that Everett cared for him, and that he would do everything humanly possible to prove him innocent and get him out of this place.

Hannibal couldn't crush his spirit, or crush his belief in Everett. He might only have other allies when he was dreaming, but in the real world, one was all he needed.

The world might be against him, but as long as he had Everett, he had hope.

His dreams could never be as magical as the real world, now that he knew Everett felt the same way about him. That kiss proved it.

He had more reason than ever to prove his innocence and get out of here now; he had a future to look forward to. Everett would be waiting for him, and he wanted their future together to begin. Preferably away from here, away from everything that reminded him of Hannibal.

They would be able to make a fresh start, to put the past behind them. All that remained to be done was to prove that he couldn't have committed these crimes.

Everett would do it. Somehow, he would. Will had faith in him.

Lying down on the hard surface that passed for a bed, he closed his eyes, wishing that he could dream himself away from this place. Only in his dreams could be he with Everett, though he hoped that in the future, those dreams would become a reality.

They had to. He couldn't keep holding on to nothing but dreams for much longer.

***