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Title: Taking the Risk
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Aiden Gillan
Fandom: Hannibal/Blood and Chocolate
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 Will Graham or Lee Fallon, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Aiden's eyes flew open, and he sat up in bed, gasping.

He looked around him in confusion, not remembering where he was for a moment. This bed wasn't familiar, and neither were the curtains at the windows.

Then it all came back to him in a rush. He'd collapsed on the steps of Will's house last night, and the other man had given him shelter. He was safe here -- well, as safe as he could be with the loup garou after him, he thought wryly. But at least he wasn't out there in the woods.

What was going to happen today? Will had said that they would work something out, but Aiden had no idea what steps they should take next.

He just wanted to be safe, to feel that he wasn't a target.

Which wasn't going to be easy to do, he told himself with a sigh as he lay back against the soft pillows. He wouldn't be able to rest until the loup garou were gone from his life.

How long would that take? Days? Weeks? Years? A shiver went down his spine at the thought. He didn't want to be plagued by them for the rest of his life.

And he had managed to drag Will into this, too, he thought with an inward groan. That was the last thing he had wanted to do. Will was a good person; he didn't deserve to have to deal with someone else's problems just because he had been compassionate enough to extend a helping hand.

Something told him that Will wasn't going to turn away from him, that he would keep holding that hand out until Aiden didn't need it any more.

He'd been lucky to find Will. He knew that. But at the same time, he didn't want to involve anyone else in something that could very well be deadly for both of them.

He should leave Will out of this and try to go it alone.

But Aiden knew that he needed help. He needed someone on his side, someone who would fight alongside him and give him the strength to go on.

All he had to do was ask Will for that help, and he had no doubt that it would be freely given, even though he also knew that Will understood the danger he was placing himself in.

He really should just have breakfast, ask Will to drive him back to the hotel he'd been staying in, and end things there. But he didn't have the strength to do that, Aiden thought with a sigh. He needed that compassionate hand that Will was holding out. He needed a friend.

He had no doubt that Will would be that friend. Will wasn't the kind of person to turn away from anyone who was in need. He already knew that about the man.

Of all the places he could have ended up, he reflected, this was probably the best one he could have found. Will was a good man. He would help. He'd do all that he could.

Ending up here had been extreme good fortune for him, Aiden told himself. It really wasn't fair to drag Will into all that he was dealing with, but he needed help. He knew that he couldn't do this alone. What had happened to him in the woofs last night was proof of that fact.

He closed his eyes, holding back a sob. He knew that it would probably happen again if the loup garou caught him. And he couldn't bear that. He'd rather be dead.

He didn't want them touching him again. He couldn't bear the feeling of their hands on his body, their hot breath in his ear, the pain that they would put him through.

And this time, he had no doubt that they would kill him.

He was honestly surprised that they hadn't done so already, really. He'd expected to die last night, but for some reason, they had let him get away.

They were toying with him, Aiden realized. They were playing with him as a predator plays with its prey -- like the savage wolves they were. They were lying in wait.

This wasn't over, not by a long shot. It wouldn't be over until the leaders of the loup garou were killed. And then what would happen? He shuddered at the thought of being leader of the pack under their laws. If he killed the leaders, then he would automatically take their place.

He didn't want to do that. He didn't want to be a werewolf. He might have been fascinated by them at one time, but now, he wanted nothing to do with them.

Why had he been stupid enough to get involved with all of this in the first place? He should have known that it would all come to a very bad end.

But he'd thought that he knew what he was doing.

Aiden allowed himself a grim smile, one that was more of a grimace. He hadn't known anything. He'd been foolish, and now he was paying the price for leaping before he looked.

At least he had Will on his side now, though, he thought, his spirits brightening a little. He wasn't alone any more. He didn't need to keep everything to himself, and he didn't need to keep running and hiding, constantly looking behind him. He could take a stand and be strong.

He closed his eyes again as he thought of what could very well happen if he did that. He and Will could both end up dead, with no one knowing the truth about what had happened to them.

It was a risk that he had to take. He just wished that Will didn't have to take that risk, too.

Sighing softly, he pushed the covers back and swung his long legs out of bed, then stood up and stretched. It was time to start the day, to go downstairs and talk to Will.

He was sure that he could smell coffee, and hear the sound of something frying on the stove. The least he could do was help Will with breakfast before they settled down to talk.

***