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Title: Overwhelming Attraction
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Sherlock Holmes
Fandom: Hannibal/Sherlock
Rating: PG-13
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.

***

Sherlock made his way out of the prison, feeling more than a little unsettled. He had agreed to take on this case, but now, he felt more than just a professional interest.

He hadn't thought that seeing Will Graham with his own eyes, being so close to him, would affect him in such a way. He hadn't realized how beautiful the man was; the picture that he'd seen hadn't done Will justice at all. He wasn't just beautiful; he was incandescent.

He was the most attractive man Sherlock had ever met.

He shouldn't even think of becoming involved with someone who was, for all intents and purposes, a client. It could only lead to disaster in the end.

Still, this was an attraction he couldn't deny. He hadn't felt anything this strong before in his life; when he had been standing there in front of Will's jail cell, he had wanted to reach out and touch the other man. He'd forced himself to keep his hands in his coat pockets.

He had never wanted anyone like this. In truth, he had never wanted anyone. He'd never felt an attraction to any other person, male or female.

But he was attracted to Will Graham, so strongly that he had felt a tremor throughout his entire body, and he had wanted to reach out and .... feel. Touching Will had felt like something he had to do; his hands had almost reached out of their own volition.

What would Will had done if he'd been touched? Would he have pulled away, horrified? Or would he have accepted that touch, needed it?

Did Will need someone in his life? Would Sherlock fill a void for him?

He had the impression that Will had been a very lonely man, even before he'd ended up in jail. Sherlock didn't like to think of someone so lovely being alone.

He was a lonely man himself, Sherlock reflected. Maybe he was simply looking for someone -- anyone -- to assuage that loneliness. But he didn't think so. It wasn't as though other people had the same effect on him that Will Graham did.

That effect had been completely out of left field; he hadn't expected to feel such an attraction. It had shaken him up to the point where he'd hardly known what he was saying.

He had as good as offered Will a place in London.

Well, what of it? he asked himself. He didn't doubt that Lestrade would welcome someone like Will to the Yard. His abilities could be very useful there.

But that wasn't the only reason he'd held out that offer, was it? he thought with a sigh. No, he'd done so because he couldn't bear the thought of solving this case, watching Will walk out of jail a free man -- and then going back to Britain and never seeing him again.

He wanted Will Graham in his life. He wanted this man in his life as more than a case, more than someone who needed his help in a professional way.

Maybe it was wrong to want Will so badly. Maybe he would have his heart broken. Maybe he would be sorely disappointed. But he didn't think so.

For once in his life, he wanted to be a little mad. He wanted to hold out his heart, and hope that it would be taken up, treasured and cherished. And he wanted to cherish someone else's heart in the same way. He wanted Will Graham to hold out his heart.

He wanted to take that heart and hold it in his hands, cradle it close to him, keep it safe and warm and happy. He wanted to let himself love, for the first time in his life.

It was mad. It was foolish. But for once, he didn't care.

He had never let himself follow his heart before. Truth be told, he'd never had feelings for anyone before, not in the romantic sense. Some people didn't think he had a heart.

But the way he felt now was proof enough that he did. The heart that beat so strongly and steadily in his chest had reached out for Will Graham, wanted to twine itself around him, protect him, hold him and tell him that it would all work out in the end.

Of course, he knew that he shouldn't offer that kind of platitude. But he was determined to make this work out; he was going to find out who had framed Will.

He didn't believe for one moment that Will Graham was a killer.

Those blue eyes, that candid gaze, couldn't belong to a cold-blooded murderer. He couldn't bring himself to believe that Will could kill anyone, no matter what others might think.

It didn't matter that other people thought they might know Will better than he did; Sherlock had the definite feeling that Will didn't let people close enough to him for them to know him as they thought they did. They had a skewered impression of who he was.

Sherlock, however, didn't see Will under the veils that they did. He could look at this man -- and this case -- with fresh eyes, the eyes of an outsider.

But those eyes wouldn't be so unbiased if he acted on his attraction to Will, he thought with a sigh. Still, he wasn't sure if he could hold back that attraction. It was too immediate, too strong, too overwhelming. He didn't know how to stop it from coming through.

He would have to try to keep it under control, at least until the case was solved and Will could walk out of that prison a free man.

After that .... well, then anything was possible.

That thought made Sherlock smile. Yes, anything was possible. The future was wide open, and for once, he was going to do what he wanted and not try to over-think the issue. He was going to throw himself in, and he would sink or swim on his own merits.

With that thought in mind, he picked up his pace, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He had some ideas, and he wanted this case solved as quickly as possible.

***