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Title: In His Eyes
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Lee Fallon
Fandom: Hannibal/The Big C
Rating: PG-13
Table: 20 in 20 Challenge, tv_universe
Prompt: 10, Sad
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.

***

Will smiled and nodded at the barista who handed him his coffee, turning and making his way through the crowd to the table he usually sat at when he came to this café. He hadn't expected it to be such a crush today; it was busier than usual.

And damn, his usual table in the back corner was taken. He wanted to curse, but he held the words back and approached the man sitting there.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" He kept his voice low, hoping that he sounded friendly.

When the man looked up, Will was sure that he could feel his heart skip a beat. Blue eyes met his, sapphire blue surrounded by incredibly long, dark lashes. He had never seen such eyes before; he wanted to fall into them, to drown in those blue depths.

But those eyes held a sadness that went so deep it tore at Will's heart. He could see it in that glance, feel it all the way down to his core.

Why did this man look so sad? What did he carry within him that brought such grief to his eyes, those eyes that seemed as if they held a thousand secrets within their sapphire depths? Will couldn't imagine where that sadness came from, but he wanted to find out.

"Not at all," the man said, his voice just as pleasing as his face was. "Have a seat."

"Thanks." Will slid into the chair, setting his cup down carefully on the table. "I usually sit here when I come to this café," he remarked, for lack of a better way to start a conversation. "I just hadn't expected it to be so crowded today. But I'm glad it is."

The other man's soft laugh filled the air; Will wanted to close his eyes and savor that sound. He'd never heard anything so enchanting.

"Are you trying to come on to me?" The question sounded amused, but Will thought that there might be a hint of interest underneath the words. The man leaned forward, holding out his hand. "I'm Lee. And if that was a pick-up line, it's a pretty good one."

Well, he hadn't expected Lee to think that.

Will could feel a blush suffusing his cheeks; it hadn't been meant as a come=on, but if that was how Lee chose to interpret it, then he'd go along with that. He didn't generally try to pick up men, but in this case, he was obviously going to make an exception.

"I'm Will," he said softly, taking Lee's hand. "It wasn't a pick-up line, but I'm not going to lie and say that it couldn't be. If you wanted it that way."

"I do," Lee said softly, a smile curving his lips. Will found himself wanting to lean forward and kiss those lips; he had to force himself to sit still, to let go of Lee's hand and pick up his coffee. Just that one touch had made his nerves sizzle, his senses reeling.

He had never been this attracted to anyone.

But there was still the issue of that sadness he could see in Lee's eyes. He was curious; he wanted to know where that look came from, and if there was anything he could do to help. He wanted to soothe that look away, to make Lee's beautiful smile reach those eyes.

How could he get Lee to talk about that? It wasn't as though he could simply ask this man why he seemed so sad. They had only just met.

"So, do you live around here?" That was a safe question -- and it would let him know if Lee was just passing through DC, or if he was here on a more permanent basis. Will couldn't believe he was doing this; it was so unlike him to be interested in a stranger.

But something told him that this man would be an important part of his life.

He had never gone out of his way to strike up a conversation with anyone like this before. He always kept to himself; he rarely ventured out of his self-imposed shell. But this was different. There was something about Lee that made him want to reach out.

Lee shook his head, looking down into his coffee cup and letting out a soft sigh. "I guess you could say I do -- at least for a while," he murmured. "I'm taking part in a clinical trial."

Will frowned, not quite understand what Lee meant. "A clinical trial for what?" he asked, wondering just why Lee would be taking part in something like that. He didn't seem like the kind of man who made a guinea pig out of himself, but then, Will didn't know him at all.

"It's a cancer study," Lee said softly, looking up and meeting Will's gaze. "I have cancer, Will. I'm dying."

Will could feel his heart plummet, feeling as though it was falling down to his feet, to hit the ground and shatter into a million tiny shards. No wonder Lee looked so sad. At the moment, he was sure that same sadness was wrapping around him as well.

***