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Title: Darkness Closing In
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: Personal Challenge, 1drabble
Prompt: 25, Darkness
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.

***

"What do you mean, I'm ill?"

Will could hear his own voice, but it didn't seem as though it belonged to him. His voice felt disembodied; he felt as though he completely disconnected from himself, trapped somewhere behind a wall that he couldn't break through, no matter how hard he tried.

He had always felt as though he was cut off from the rest of the world, and the words that Hannibal was saying to him now made him feel even more so. He was alone, with darkness closing in all around him, and no one to help him find his way out of it back to the light.

Had he ever known what it was like to be in that light? He didn't think so. At the moment, it felt like his entire life had always been nothing but that darkness.

That darkness had always been all around him, and now it was moving in even more closely, threatening to completely envelop him. The only way out of that darkness was to reach out for the one person he knew who could make it go away.

Hannibal could do that. He was sure of it.

All he had to do was reach out to Hannibal, ask for his help. Hannibal would do all he could to extend that help; Will somehow felt that the other man was a lifeline, the only thing that could keep him from drowning in the deep water that was steadily rising around him.

"I mean exactly what I said, Will." Hannibal sighed, shaking his head. "You have encephalitis. One side of your brain is swelling. It's as if there is a fire in your brain, one that needs to be put out. But I'm not entirely sure how that is going to be done."

"So you don't know how to help me?"

He didn't want to ask that question. He didn't want to believe that Hannibal couldn't help him. At the moment, Hannibal seemed like the only light in the darkness, the only thing that he could reach out for and hold on to, the only thing that was real.

Those words that Hannibal was saying weren't real. They couldn't be. It was a blood clot, or a tumor, or some other thing that could easily be gotten rid of.

Encephalitis was more dangerous. He didn't know exactly what could happen, but he was sure that none of the possibilities were good ones. And he didn't want to think about it. Not now. He didn't want to contemplate all of the things that could happen.

"No, I don't." Hannibal sighed again, his gaze focused on Will as he leaned forward in his chair. "But I'll do all that I can to try to find a way to help you, Will. You're my friend -- and more. We'll see this through together. Hopefully to a good ending."

Will nodded, trying to smile. But those words didn't dispel the encroaching darkness.

***