Title: Pure of Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: 8, 50ficlets
Prompt: 10, Pure
Author's Note: This is a 50-ficlet AU series for Will/Hannibal. In this universe, the two of them are deeply in love with each other, though neither knows quite how to bring that love out into the open.
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.
***
His love for Will had no ulterior motives.Hannibal was contemplative as he closed the last folder on his desk, his thoughts already going to his young lover as he finished his work for the day. In truth, it was hard to keep his mind from dwelling on Will and the new direction in their relationship.
He hadn't expected this to happen so soon, hadn't expected to become Will's lover in the physical sense at this point. Everything was moving forward so quickly.
But he wasn't complaining about it, Hannibal told himself with a smile. No, he was very happy with the path that their relationship was taking. He was relieved that Will had felt comfortable enough to sleep with him so soon. He'd thought it would take much longer.
He hadn't manipulated Will into this relationship. Everything that had happened had been of his boyfriend's own free will. There had been no coercion.
He'd never do that to Will, Hannibal told himself firmly. He would never try to talk his lover into anything that he didn't want to do; Will would never feel that he was being backed into a corner. He could manipulate other parts of his life, but never his relationship.
Will would never be forced into anything. Never.
It was so easy to manipulate others into doing what he wanted, or even thinking what he wanted them to think. But with Will, it was different.
He wanted none of his usual machinations to enter his relationship with Will. His love for Will was pure, and Will was still an innocent in so many ways. That love couldn't be allowed to be touched by any breath of the manipulations he was so fond of using on others.
No, his relationship with Will had to be protected from that. He wasn't going to sully the purity of the love he felt for Will by letting his .... other side darken what they shared.
There was no reason to let that part of his life enter their relationship.
He could keep that side of himself hidden from Will, Hannibal told himself firmly. He would have to. He didn't want any of that to touch his love.
He wasn't going to sully the purity of what he shared with Will, or taint his young lover's innocence. It was amazing that Will hadn't already completely lost that innocence, considering the things that he saw on a daily basis, but somehow, he hadn't.
He still retained that purity, the angelic sweetness that was so much a part of him. He still had that hope, that innocence, the belief that the world could be good and beautiful.
That sweet innocence, that belief that the world was intrinsically good, was one of the things that he loved about Will. Will gave him hope.
That purity couldn't spread to him. He could never regain his own innocence, but he could bask in the light of Will's. He could hold on to that innocence and make sure that it never disappeared, ensure that Will never lost that beautiful hope that set him apart from everyone else.
He could protect that purity with his very life. And he would, Hannibal vowed to himself. He would make sure that Will's innocence never faded or died away.
He would keep that purity alive. He would treasure it for all of his life.
His own love for Will was a pure and beautiful thing. He would keep that purity alive, too. He would never let anything sully it. There was no other purity in his life, nothing else that was completely clean and spotless, no other hope that he could cling to.
Will gave him that hope, that shining brightness that he'd always wanted in his life. He wasn't going to let it go, not now that he had it within his grasp.
That was why he couldn't let the other side of his life, of who he was, touch Will in any way. He hated having to keep secrets from his lover, but this was one secret that he was sure Will couldn't understand or accept. If it was out in the open, he would lose Will.
Losing Will was not an option for him. It never would be.
Hannibal took a deep breath, leaning back and closing his eyes. All of this was purely academic. He wasn't going to lose Will.
He knew that deep in his heart, in his soul, in his very bones. Will loved him. His young lover wasn't going to leave him, and he wasn't the kind of man who tired of someone quickly and moved on to the next. Will was anything but flighty.
Will had given him his heart, and his body. He wasn't the sort of man who took that lightly. No, Will wasn't going to leave. He was in this for the long haul.
In the end, that purity of heart and soul that Will possessed was what would keep them together. Hannibal didn't doubt that for a moment. He needed that purity, needed to reach for it and hold it close, needed to let it seep into his own soul.
Will was his blessing, his saving grace. Will was all that he lived for. Will, and the future they would build together, the closeness between them.
As long as he had that, he would be all right.
***
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