Title: The Greatest Prize
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Sequel to "Shaking All Over."
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 regarded himself in the mirror, studying his face.Was this a face that could attract Will Graham? He didn't consider himself classically handsome at all, as Will was. But certainly Will found him .... intriguing, at the least.
At least, that was what he hoped, he amended as he smoothed his hair down for what was probably the tenth time. To his surprise, Hannibal realized that he was feeling nervous -- which was something that he hadn't expected to happen.
Why should he feel nervous about having dinner with Will? he asked himself. This was going to be a simple night out, a quiet evening for the two of them.
They would talk and get to know each other better. That was all.
The truth was, he wanted more than that, Hannibal thought with a sigh. He wanted to know exactly how Wil felt about him. He wanted this to move forward quickly.
But knowing Will, that wasn't going to happen, he thought with a wry smile. Will wasn't the kind of person who revealed too much about himself when he was first getting to know someone. It would take a while to gain his trust, to draw him out of that self-imposed shell.
Ah, but that was the challenge, wasn't it? he thought with a smile. Drawing Will out, having him reveal bits and pieces of who he was, one step at a time.
It was a challenge that Hannibal was more than ready to face.
Just the thought of being able to talk to Will like this, to break down that reserve of his, to delve even further into his mind, was an opportunity that he couldn't resist.
There was such an innocence about Will, an air of naiveté, for all of his experience dealing with the seamier side of life. That innocence surrounded Will like an aura.
And not only that, but if he was honest with himself, he wanted to become intimate with Will. He had wanted that ever since their first meeting; there was something about Will that had drawn him from the first, something that made him want to corrupt that innocence.
He didn't want to crush that side of Will's personality. Oh, no. He found that innocence captivating; he wanted to keep it intact, but he wanted it .... tarnished.
That was how he saw Will, he realized, smiling again at the thought. As an angel, yes, that was true. But for him, Will was a tarnished angel, his halo slightly askew.
Hannibal wanted Will -- and he intended to have the young man. But he would have Will on his terms -- and he would bend and shape Will into what he wanted him to become. Will would be his creation, something that he could be proud of.
Of course, that might not be easy, he mused. Will had a strong sense of self, even if he did think that he was some sort of a freak of nature.
That was something that Hannibal could use to his advantage, and he knew it. He could manipulate Will into his way of thinking -- even if took some time.
He would have what he wanted. No matter how long that might take.
Did it really matter whether Will wanted this or not? No, Hannibal decided, shaking his head. Because he could make Will want this, if that was what it came down to.
He couldn't read minds, or see into souls. But he knew, in some indefinable part of himself, that Will Graham wanted him. He could sense it in the way that Will looked at him, in the tone of his voice when they spoke, in a thousand different ways that Will reacted.
Will wanted this as much as he did, even if he didn't show it outwardly. After all, he wouldn't be coming here tonight if he didn't, now would he?
They wanted each other. And they would come together.
He would make sure of that, Hannibal vowed to himself. Even if he had to use methods to rush things along that might seem a bit .... well, underhanded.
But he wouldn't destroy that beautiful innocence that was so much a part of who Will was. He never wanted to do that. Even though he wanted his angel to be somewhat tarnished -- in part so that he would be more easily controllable -- he didn't want that innocence to be obliterated.
That was part of what made Will the unique person he was. It was something that Hannibal valued, and he never destroyed that which mean something to him.
He wouldn't destroy Will. He would just .... make him more malleable. That was all.
Yes, that was his plan, he told himself as he adjusted his tie and smoothed his hair once more. Tonight was only the first step in bringing that plan to glorious fruition.
Will would be his creation in the end, his innocent, tarnished angel -- and only he would be able to view the dark side of what lay beneath that innocence. That was what he wanted -- what he had wanted from the moment he had first seen Will. And he would have it.
After all, he was a man who always got what he wanted, he told himself as he made his way down the stairs to wait for Will in the library. Always.
And having Will wold be the greatest prize of all.
***
- Main Hannibal Fan Fiction page
- new stories page
- Will/Hannibal slash page
- other pairings page
- gen stories page