Title: An Improper Interest
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: Holiday Non-Bingo, tv_universe
Prompt: 27, Gifts
Author's Note: Sequel to "Dreams of Desire."
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.
***
Hannibal smiled to himself as he stepped back and regarded the tree.He had decided that this year, he needed more than a small tree on his desk, as he intended to host a Christmas party. The tree would add a nice touch.
Also, he had someone to buy gifts for this year -- though he had to remind himself to be careful not to get too many, and make his interest in the young man clear.
But every time that he had seen something in a shop window, or on a shelf, that looked like something Will would enjoy, or that he might need, Hannibal hadn't been able to resist buying it. At this point, he had wrapped what looked like a small mountain of gifts.
Well, there were a few for other people, of course. But the majority were for Will. At last count, there had been five small boxes, and two large ones.
Was it too much? Was he making it too obvious that he had an interest in the young man, an interest that others might consider highly improper?
He didn't really care much for what other people might think, but he had to look at the fact that some might questions his professional ethics if he were to become involved with Will.
He was Will's psychiatrist. It would look .... odd, to say the least.
And since when had he bothered to care about what others might perceive as being odd? Hannibal asked himself with an inward snort. He cared nothing for those opinions.
Still, he knew that he had to tread carefully. If his ethics were brought into question, he could lose his license to practice his trade -- and that would be a disaster. There really wasn't much else that he could do, not on a professional level. He couldn't go back to being a medical doctor.
Well, he could, but he didn't want to. He was comfortable practicing psychiatry. Not only that, but he found his job fascinating. He didn't want to stop.
Of course, he could go into the culinary arts as a profession, he told himself, smiling at the idea. He would be a highly-sought-after chef.
But that would take the fun out of cooking. It would become his job, something that he did to make a living. The sheer joy of creating meals would be gone -- and, of course, it would be more time-consuming than his current profession. It would take too much time away from ..... other things.
No, he didn't want to put his job at risk. So he would have to give Will most of his gifts in private, though he knew he'd have the perfect opportunity for that.
He would invite Will over for a quiet dinner, just the two of them.
That was when he would give the young man the majority of his gifts, and gauge Will's reaction to opening them. Then, and only then, would he be able to say what he felt.
He would let Will know that he was interested in them being .... well, more than a psychiatrist and his patient. More than friends. That he wanted them to become .... involved.
It wouldn't be easy for him to say those words, but he knew that he had to. Without them, he had no hope of keeping Will by his side in the capacity that Hannibal wanted him in.
Perhaps Will didn't feel the same. He might back away, might turn and run. But that was a risk that he had to take. He had to know for certain how the younger man felt, even though he was fairly sure that he already had an inkling. It would take a bit of a push to make those feelings come to the forefront.
Yes, this holiday season would be a breakthrough for himself and Will. He would just have to push a bit harder than he had done already to achieve the results he wanted.
There were a lot of emotions swirling just below the surface. He needed to bring them to the forefront, and if possible, let them break free and express themselves.
Once that had happened, Hannibal was sure that both he and Will would be much happier.
***
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