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Title: Stray Puppy
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: writers_choice
Prompt: #313, Stray
Author's Note: One-shot.
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 looked down at the young man sleeping in his bed, a slight frown turning the corners of his lips down. He didn't know exactly what had driven Will to show up here tonight, but now that he had, Hannibal wasn't going to turn him away.

Will was very much like one of those stray dogs he was always adopting; he had the tendency to show up on doorsteps, looking for help, and it was impossible to turn him away.

How could anyone say no to that plea for help? Will was irresistible even at the worst of times, when he was looking haggard and run-down. When he was gazing at someone with those incredibly blue eyes, that tousled hair, those parted lips .... no one could say no.

He certainly couldn't, Hannibal thought with a sigh.

Will was his weakness, and he well knew that. He had often cautioned himself that he had to be careful with this young man, not let himself get in too deep -- but he had gone far past that point of no return already. He was, in a sense, hooked on Will.

Ah, but Will was the same when it came to him, was he not? There was no turning back for either of them; they belonged to each other, even though he hadn't laid a finger on Will in a sexual way yet. But that would happen. He had no doubt of it.

Will's visits to his house late at night, when he'd had a nightmare or had sleepwalked, meant that the young man was coming to rely on him more and more.

That was exactly what Hannibal wanted.

He wanted Will to feel as though he couldn't make it alone, as though he needed Hannibal in his life. That was the plan; it had been ever since the first time he had seen Will and decided that this young must be his, would be his.

Will would belong to him, one way or another. He wanted Will, had wanted him from first sight. And he always got what he wanted.

He had considered shedding his clothes and slipping into bed beside Will, but had decided against it. That wasn't what Will needed at the moment; sex at this point would more than likely only push them further apart in the long run, rather than bring them closer.

He didn't want Will to back away from him.

He needed Will's trust, needed Will to need him. Until the young man gave his trust, relying on Hannibal in any situation he might find himself in, then he couldn't let down his guard, couldn't do things that might send Will running in the other direction.

Though he had to wonder if sleeping with Will tonight might turn things in just the direction he wanted, with Will clinging to him and needing him more than ever.

Yes, that was what he wanted. But he couldn't be sure that being in the same bed with Will tonight would lead to that; the young man was too emotionally overwrought over this last bout of sleepwalking to register the fact that he was being held.

At the moment, he had tenuous hold over Will, one that he wanted to strengthen. But he couldn't move too quickly; Will was still too skittish for that.

Still, it was very hard to stay away from that tempting body.

Would it frighten Will if he awakened to find Hannibal nude next to him? Would he turn to that comforting embrace, or recoil away from it? At this point, it was impossible to tell, and Hannibal didn't want to make any wrong moves this quickly in the game.

Eventually, Will would come into his arms and his bed of his own free will. He simply had to be nudged in that direction, and Hannibal was going at doing that nudging.

For now, it was enough to sit here and watch Will sleep, to imagine the delights that lay in store for them in the future. Will would be pushed past his limits -- but he would learn that those barriers were meant to be broken, that his limits should be tested.

Once Will gave him the freedom to test those limits, then there would be no boundaries. He would be able to bend and shape Will in any way he wanted.

He would have carte blanche over Will in every way.

Will would probably be frightened by that at first -- he would have to find a way to soothe the young man's fears, to let him know that he wouldn't be harmed.

And he wouldn't be, Hannibal told himself firmly. Oh, he would be pushed past his limits, but physically, there would be no lasting scars. Ah, but mentally and emotionally -- there was no telling what Will could bear, and what Hannibal would push him to.

This stray puppy had come to him, begging to be helped, begging to be taken out of the world he inhabited and to be led into a new world, a world that would be a better fit for him. Hannibal knew exactly what to do for this stray; he could give Will just what he needed.

It remained to be seen whether Will would accept what was handed to him.

Will was very much like a stray puppy, Hannibal thought as he watched the young man turn over onto one side, sighing softly. He couldn't take his eyes off Will; he was mesmerized, entranced. It was hard to tear his gaze away, and he wanted to see more.

He wanted to reach under the covers and pull away the boxers and t-shirt that he'd lent Will, to see that beautiful body bare under his hungry gaze. He wanted to start his seduction of Will Graham tonight, to throw caution to the winds and abandon his plans.

No, he couldn't do that, Hannibal told himself sternly. Now wasn't the time; Will wasn't ready yet. He was just as liable to run away as to come closer at this point.

He was going to make sure that Will wouldn't want to run.

Will was begging to be taken in, to be loved, to be needed -- just like the stray dogs that Hannibal knew the young man seemed to collect. One look from those intensely blue eyes, and Hannibal knew that most people wouldn't be able to resist.

He could count himself as one of that number, he thought wryly. Will had mesmerized him without meaning to, capturing his imagination -- and his desire.

This was only the first step towards having everything he wanted from Will. When the young man awakened tomorrow morning to find himself in Hannibal's bed, he would feel grateful to be here, happy that the person he trusted had held out a helping hand to him.

He would be even more like a stray puppy, begging for love.

Did he love Will? Of course not, Hannibal told himself sharply. But he couldn't deny that he did care for the young man, in a way that he had never thought he would care for anyone. Maybe that was one of the things that made this relationship so fascinating.

It was going to be interesting to see just what he could do with this stray puppy that had found a way into his life -- and into his bed, Hannibal thought with another smile. Tomorrow morning, and Will's reaction to the night before, would tell him a great deal.

***