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Title: Ideas For the Future
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.

***


Well, that had been a blow.

Will walked out of the building at Quantico that he'd come to think of as home over the past few years with his head down, not wanting to look at anything around him.

He knew that if he did, his heart would ache even more than it already did. He was walking through the grounds of the FBI Academy for the last time.

He'd been told, in the nicest possible way, that he could no longer teach at the Academy. He would still be able to do field work, of course, after he'd been cleared for it, but no parent would want him teaching their children, even though he had been exonerated of all the charges against him.

Even though he had been proven completely innocent, there would still be gossip about him, and there would still be people who would object to him keeping his teaching job.

So he was going to be thrown under the bus, looked at as being a pariah, not good enough to keep doing the job he loved, that he felt he was a perfect fit for.

Will couldn't help wondering just how much Jack Crawford had to do with this.

Jack had wanted him to stop teaching so much, to spend more time in the field. Well, now he would have that; Will had to work in the field if he couldn't teach.

Of course, Jack just wanted him around so he could solve cases that Jack took the credit for, Will thought sourly as he made his way to his car. Jack wanted the glory, even though he used other people to get it. And if Will worked in the field all the time, then he could solve more cases.

Jack didn't give a damn what kind of a toll solving those cases took on him. He had no regard for Will as a person, as a human being. To Jack, he was just some kind of freak.

He'd thought that his boss was also his friend, but Jack had turned his back on him when all of Hannibal's obviously manufactured "evidence" had sent him to prison. Jack had believed that he was insane, that he was a murderer, that he belonged behind bars. He had sided with Hannibal.

It didn't matter that Jack had since reconsidered his opinions, and that he was now apparently on Will's side. It didn't matter at all. He hadn't been there when Will needed him.

Jack wasn't a real friend, and neither was anyone else in the FBI.

None of them could be trusted. The only person he trusted to have his back no matter what happened was Everett. His boyfriend was the only person who had been there for him.

He'd put his trust in too many of the wrong places in the past; he wasn't going to make that mistake again. From now on, Everett would be the only one who had his trust.

If only he hadn't been stupid enough to trust Hannibal, then none of this would have happened, Will thought bitterly as he pulled his keys out of his coat pocket and unlocked his car. That had been the problem all along -- he'd been too gullible, too trusting, and he'd paid the price for that.

But now, his eyes were opened. Now, he knew just what Hannibal was, and he was going to bring that monster down and make sure that he paid for his crimes.

The problem was that he had no idea how to do that, and even with Everett's help, he knew that it was going to be nearly impossible to prove that Hannibal was a killer.

People liked Hannibal. They believed in him. They were unable to see through the mask he covered his true self with -- or they just didn't want to believe that someone who had such a charming and urbane exterior could be such a seething mass of evil just under the surface.

He'd seen that evil firsthand, Will told himself as he pulled into traffic. It had been close to him, even inside his head. And he had bee foolish enough to call it a friend.

He recoiled from even thinking of Hannibal as a friend now; he felt ashamed to know that he'd ever let such evil be a part of his life in any capacity.

Still, that time was in the past. It was a mistake that he'd learned from.

Maybe it was time for his life to take a different direction. He didn't want to keep working in the field exclusively; it would make him burn out, and he didn't want that to happen.

He was already near the end of his rope as far as using his empathic ability, Will mused as he pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store. Jack didn't care about that, though; he just wanted to exploit that ability, no matter what it might be doing to Will, both mentally and physically.

Maybe it was time for him to tell Jack to go to hell, and leave the FBI for good. He might not be able to find a teaching job anywhere, but he could do something.

He might be able to go back to being a cop. It wasn't what he wanted, but other than teaching, which might be a closed door to him anywhere, law enforcement was really the only thing he knew. And if he was honest, those two things were all that he'd ever wanted to do.

He had been lucky in being able to combine both of them, but it seemed that the time for doing that was over. He had to figure out what he wanted to do next, and go ahead from there.

And now, he had someone else to think of besides himself.

Whatever he chose to do in the future, Everett would be a part of it. He wasn't alone any more; he didn't have to make this decision on his own.

Everett would be there by his side, to help him with whatever he needed. He had someone to lean on now; he didn't have to feel that he was floundering along in the darkness.

The thought of Everett made him smile; his boyfriend would be waiting for him at home, ready to greet him with open arms and a smile that would warm his heart. It was time for him to stop thinking about what he was going to do about work in the future, and start planning a future with Everett.

What if they didn't even stay in this country? Will thought, his spirits lifting. They could go to England, live in Everett's home country. He could start a new life there.

It was definitely something that bore thinking about, and something that the two of them should discuss seriously. Once they had managed to catch Hannibal, they could decide what to do.

Who knew what could lie ahead of them?

Will smiled for what felt like the first time that day at the idea of moving to England with Everett once this was all over. It felt like the best idea he'd had in ages.

He went into the grocery store with a smile still on his face, getting a shopping cart and heading for the aisles, already thinking about what the future might bring his way.

***