Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 27, Animal
Author's Note: Sequel to "A Lingering Memory."
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.
***
"Good boy, Max!" Will's words of praise rang out in the quiet air.
Max dropped the stick that Will had just thrown for him to fetch, sitting down at his master's feet, his tongue lolling out and his head tilted to the side.
Will couldn't help but smile at the dog's pose. Judging by the look on Max's face, he seemed to be smiling. It was obvious that Max was having a good time; he'd gone after the stick enthusiastically every time Will had thrown it, and brought it back with no problems.
He was such an obedient dog that Will was sure he'd either been to some kind of training when he was a puppy, or someone had played with him a lot.
So why did he act so unfriendly towards Hannibal?
Will could only assume that his theory was the right one: Max had probably been mistreated at some point, and Hannibal reminded him of whoever had done it.
The more he was around the dog, the more time he spent playing with Max, the more he had to believe that was true. Max seemed incredibly friendly and well-behaved; it was obvious that he'd been a pet at one time in his life, and that he'd simply been abandoned.
After he had become a stray, he'd probably been treated badly, as a lot of stray animals were, Will thought with regret as he knelt to pet the dog.
Hannibal simply reminded him of the person, or people, who treated him badly and frightened him. That was all. Animals remembered that kind of thing.
As did people, Will told himself. He could still remember the names and faces of the kids who had taunted him and called him a "freak of nature" when he was small, and he still resented everything they'd said -- even though a part of him had come to believe them.
An animal had an even longer span of memory than a human, Will mused, scratching Max behind the ears. It was no wonder he was wary of Hannibal.
The goal now was to get him past that wariness.
If he didn't, Will knew that his boyfriend would never accept his newest dog, and neither would Max accept Hannibal in his life. And he didn't want to choose between them.
He felt as though he was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. It would probably be easier to find a good, loving home for Max; giving up the one person who seemed to understand him, the one person who wanted to be with him, would be impossible.
For now, they had reached a standoff, where Max and Hannibal were in their respective corners, eyeing each other and waiting for the next bout.
Will hoped that in the end, each of them would be willing to make concessions.
He sighed as he stood up and headed back to the house.
"Come on, boy," he said, smiling as Max barked and followed him.
***
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