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Title: Running From the Monsters
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: Quotables, Part 2, tv_universe
Prompt: "I don't run from monsters. They run from me."
Author's Note: Sequel to "Recaptured Innocence."
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.

***

"I'll find the truth, Hannibal." Will's voice was flat, emotionless.

He had to work to keep all that he felt out of his voice. The anger, the rage that had built up inside him over time. That rage only intensified the more that he thought about what Hannibal had done to him.

How could he ever have trusted this .... this thing that sat in the cage in front of him, contemplating him with such a steady gaze, so unblinkingly?

How could he have ever thought that Hannibal was his friend? If only he had those missing pieces of his memory back, then he would know exactly what Hannibal had done, and he wouldn't have to guess at what could have taken place in those blank spaces that still existed in his mind.

But Hannibal was determined to keep playing his mind games, and not give him the answers that he sought. And Will had to figure out if he could live without those answers.

Hannibal was trying to drive him over the edge, and he knew that. He knew what Will was going through, and he was deliberately withholding information.

It was his way of tormenting Will, even from the position he was now in.

He should have expected this, shouldn't he? He should have known that Hannibal would try to maintain some kind of hold over him. It was what the bastard did best.

"Perhaps not knowing everything about the past will better help you in the future," Hannibal said, his voice mild. The tone irritated Will; Hannibal acted as though this wasn't important.

Of course, to him, it wasn't. He didn't care if Will had all the pieces of his personal puzzle; in fact, he had gone out of his way to keep those pieces from falling into place. He knew that Will was tormented by this; he wanted to drag that torture out, to make sure that Will never had closure.

He hated Hannibal for that. He hated these mind games, hated that he couldn't stay at least a few steps ahead of his nemesis and beat him at his own game.

Maybe he could, though. Maybe he could manage to make Hannibal think that he didn't need those answers now, that he had come to terms with those blank spaces in the past.

"I don't really need to see into those spaces any more," he said, affecting a nonchalant tone, and shrugging to add a bit of veracity to his claim. He knew that it wasn't true, but maybe he could fool Hannibal into believing that his words were sincere. "I'm at peace with the past."

But Hannibal shook his head, a small smile curving his lips. "No, you aren't, Will," he said, his voice deceptively soft. "You are still running from the monsters in your mind. You always will be."

Will shook his head, leaning forward, anger in his voice; he was unable to keep it from spilling over. "I don't run from monsters," he said through gritted teeth. "They run from me. You did."

Hannibal raised a brow, that slight smile still on his lips.

"Are you so sure that the monsters run from you?" he asked, those dark eyes fixed on Will's face. "They may be simply biding their time, waiting for the right moment to attack."

"Just like you did, huh, Hannibal?" Will answered, the anger flashing out, bright and blinding. He sat back in his chair, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

This wasn't getting him anywhere. He wasn't achieving his goal. Lashing out at Hannibal, responding to his taunts, was only going to make him feel all the more frustrated, and it wouldn't get him any closer to finding the answers he sought. It would only amuse Hannibal, and make him feel more in control.

That was the last thing he needed, to give this monster any more control over him than he already had. He had to take that control back, wrest the reins of his destiny away from Hannibal.

"I'm not running from any monsters. I'm confronting them," he told Hannibal, not looking away from the other man. "I've stopped running. I'm standing my ground."

Hannibal gave him what Will could only call a pitying look.

"Until you have the answers that you've been seeking, you'll always run from those monsters, Will, whether you want to admit that you're doing it or not," he said, his tone almost admonishing.

Will could feel the rage rising within him again, but he clamped his lips shut and refused to let that venom spew out. He was done with rising to Hannibal's bait.

"You're wrong," he finally managed to say, knowing that if he kept up this conversation, he would end up saying things that he might regret, things that would give Hannibal more of a foothold into his subconscious. He couldn't let that happen. He had the upper hand now; he had to make sure that he kept a firm hold on it.

"I don't run from those monsters any more, Hannibal," he said, looking the other man in the eye. "I don't have to. The worst monster is behind bars, where it belongs. I have no need to run."

With those words, he got to his feet and left the room without looking back. But he could feel Hannibal's gaze boring into his back, watching him until he was out of sight.

Only then did he let out the breath that he'd been holding.

Only then did he allow himself to admit the truth. Hannibal was right. He was still running, and until he had those blank spaces in his past filled in, he would never stop.

He had to fill in those blanks. He had to wrest that information out of Hannibal. Because if he didn't, he would run until he dropped from exhaustion, and the monsters would catch up to him.

What would happen then, he didn't want to contemplate.

And at this point, he was getting too tired to run for much longer.

***