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Title: From Unpromising Beginnings
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Sequel to "Risks."
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.

***

His relationship with Will had not really started well.

But from somewhat unpromising beginnings, they had developed into quite a contented couple, or so Hannibal thought. Their relationship had developed into something he hadn't expected.

He would have never thought he could possibly be so enamored of Will. Was he in love? Hannibal couldn't really put an answer to that question, but he would like to think that he was.

Love wasn't something that he had ever really allowed himself to feel. Not since his sister had been murdered when he was so young, which he was sure had been the catalyst for the actions he'd taken over the rest of his life, had he let himself feel such emotion for another human being.

He had told himself over the years, for decades now, that love was something he didn't need to feel, that it would only hold him back from becoming the person he was intended to be.

But he hadn't counted on the impact that Will Graham would make in his life. He hadn't thought that he would ever find someone like Will, someone who needed him.

He would have never thought that he could fall in love.

He loved Will. He had already admitted as much to himself. And in his own way, he needed Will just as much as Will needed him.

The word "love" still felt strange on his tongue. He had never believed that love was for him; it seemed like an emotion meant only for other people to experience.

Though that obviously wasn't so -- because here he was, in love with a man who he never would have expected to care for so deeply. He didn't doubt that this emotion he felt was love. It had elements of what he had felt for his sister, yet it was far different.

Will meant more to him than he could possibly begin to put into words. This man was his heart and soul, the center of his universe. Will was .... well, in a word, he was everything.

Would he be able to give up his secret life for Will? Hannibal knew that it was something he'd have to do -- because if he didn't, he would certainly slip up sooner or later.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a secret that he could trust Will with. He knew that his lover had a finely developed sense of right and wrong -- and even though Will loved him, he had no doubt that he would find himself behind bars if Will were ever to discover that he was a serial killer.

His .... peculiar tastes were also somewhat problematic. It wasn't as though he could tell Will about that, either. The other man would most definitely not approve of his palate.

Will wouldn't really approve of anything in his secret life, so, of course, it had to be kept secret. He might even have to stop it entirely, if he expected his relationship with Will to continue.

Of course he wanted that. He couldn't face life without Will.

That was something he didn't want to think about. His hands shook when he thought of it; the very idea of not having Will in his life wasn't even to be contemplated.

Will had become the center of his existence, and he didn't regret that, not one bit. If he absolutely had to make a choice, he would choose Will without hesitation.

It wasn't a choice, really, Hannibal told himself as he leaned back in his desk chair. It was a natural progression, from their unpromising beginnings as what he had thought would be no more than a fling, to the point there were at now, where they had become indispensable to each other.

He was sure that Will felt the same way about him -- that life without the two of them being together would be a mere existence, not a life worth living at all.

Hannibal couldn't help but smile as he looked back over the relationship he and Will shared, remembering how it had come to be. He wouldn't have thought they would still be so close.

He had never expected to fall in love.

But it had happened, and now that it had, he was going to embrace that love with everything he was. He would never deny it, and never push it away.

From beginnings that had seemed somewhat unpromising, they had built a relationship that meant the world to both of them. And though he hadn't really told Will exactly how he felt, he knew that the emotions he'd held so close were real, and that he needed to express them.

When Will came here tonight, he would tell his boyfriend just how he felt. He would set Will's mind at rest for good, and open his heart to all that Will felt in return.

It would feel good to finally say those words.

***