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Title: You Know Me
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Sequel to "His Creation."
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.

***

"You know me too well, Hannibal."

Will leaned back in his chair, studying the man who sat across from him. Were the words he'd just said the truth? Did Hannibal really know him that well?

He didn't think that he'd ever revealed himself fully to this man. He'd certainly never revealed the desire that was in his heart; he hadn't told Hannibal how he felt.

Should he do that? If he did, what would it lead to? Would he lose more control of his life, and give that control over to Hannibal? Something told him that it would be exciting to do that, to not know what would happen next within the context of their developing relationship -- but that it would also be dangerous.

He wanted Hannibal. He'd wanted this man since they had first met. But something in him held back from letting that desire run free; something told him to be cautious.

There was a part of him that didn't quite trust Hannibal. He couldn't say why, but something within told him to err on the side of caution, at least for now.

Though he wanted to ignore that warning, and throw caution to the winds.

Did Hannibal know him as well as he thought he did? Will had to admit that he'd told his man things he'd never spoken to anyone else. So yes, Hannibal did know him well.

He didn't beleive that Hannibal would divulge anything that Will had told him to anyone else. After all, he was a doctor, and anything that his patients told him was protected under the law. So he didn't worry about Hannibal spilling any of his secrets. Unless ..... he sighed without realizing he'd done so.

If Jack Crawford wanted Hannibal to tell him anything of what Will said in their sessions, he didn't doubt that Hannibal would do it. Jack was, after all, the one who had insisted on this.

Of course, Jack hadn't known how he felt about Hannibal.

Jack had no idea that he thought he was falling in love with his psychiatrist. Jack didn't know that he wanted Hannibal, that he felt a deep and intense desire for this man.

And he knew that Jack wouldn't approve of his feelings if he did know. No one would, really. They would tell him all the things that he already knew.

Everyone would caution him that getting involved with his psychiatrist was a dangerous road to travel down, that the risks would far outweigh the rewards. He'd tried to tell himself that, too, but his heart didn't want to listen. And neither did his traitorous body. They both still wanted Hannibal.

Did Hannibal know that he was desired? He'd never given any indication that he had any idea of what Will felt for him. Did he know, and just not show it?

And would it be a good idea for him to at least give Hannibal some small hint of how he felt? Or would that just send the man he desired running in the opposite direction?

No, of course it wouldn't, he told himself. Hannibal wasn't the type of person to run away from anything. But Will couldn't help feeling that Hannibal would turn him down, even if the other man let him down easy. He would simply say that they shouldn't be involved, and gently but firmly push him away.

Then, of course, he wouldn't be able to see Hannibal as a patient any more. It would be too embarrassing to keep on confiding in him, when Hannibal already knew the deepest secret of his heart.

Maybe he already knew, or at least guessed. Maybe Hannibal really did know him that well, and he just kept that knowledge to himself.

How could he find out? Would it be best to simply ask?

"Why the sigh, Will?" Hannibal was staring at him, his head tilted to one side, a slight frown between his brows. "is there something on your mind that you'd like to talk about?"

How was he supposed to answer that? He couldn't simply blurt out his desire here and now; he'd kept it to himself for so long that he didn't know just how to word what he felt inside. He would have to think about it, find the right words -- and the right time to say them, as well.

"I was just .... thinking about how you're right," he finally said, knowing that his words weren't entirely truthful. "That you know me really well."

Hannibal nodded at that, a small smile playing around the corners of his lips.

"I don't think that's entirely the truth, Will -- either that I know the inner you all that well, or that it's what you were thinking of at the moment," he murmured. "But we'll let that go, for now."

Will could feel a blush pinkening his cheeks; how was it that Hannibal could always tell when he wasn't being entirely truthful? This man did know him better than anyone else ever had.

"Nobody else has ever really known me," he finally said, daring to look directly into Hannibal's eyes. "Maybe because I've never trusted anybody to get close enough to me to let them. But you .... you're the only one who knows me better than I know myself, in some ways. And that's a little bit scary."

Hannibal nodded, leaning back and regarding Will with a pleased expression. "That's very true, Will. It can be frightening to realise that another person knows you so well."

"How well do I know you, Hannibal?" Will asked, unable to keep himself from asking the question, from issuing it almost as a kind of challenge. "Do I really know you at all?"

Hannibal smiled at him -- but Will didn't think that smile quite reached his eyes.

"You know me as well as anyone can, Will," he said, his voice very soft, almost seductive. "But I think that in the future, you will come to know me much, much better."

Will swallowed hard, wondering just what Hannibal meant by that. Was the other man giving hm some kind of opening to confess his desires? He wasn't ready to do that yet -- but if Hannibal knew about them, if he'd managed to divine just how Will felt, then it might make the words come more easily.

"We will come to know each other much more .... intimately in the future, Will," Hannibal continued. "But not just yet. I believe that you need to trust me more before that happens."

All Will could was stare at him, wide-eyed.

Were his dreams finally going to come true? Was he going to be Hannibal's, and would Hannibal finally be his? The question was on the tip of his tongue.

But he didn't ask it. Instead, he only smiled, hoping that his expression was as inscrutable as the other man's was. He didn't want to reveal too much. Not yet.

Hannibal might know him well, but not the inner precincts of his heart.

For now, those thoughts were kept hidden. At least, he hoped they were.

***