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Title: Worth Reaching For
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Sherlock Holmes
Fandom: Hannibal/Sherlock
Rating: PG-13
Table: 9, 50ficlets
Prompt: 16, Dream
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.

***

It all felt like a dream.

Had he really only left Wolf Trap that morning? Was this really London? Had he really uprooted his life, torn everything he'd thought that he was so comfortable with completely asunder, and started a new life in a new country, with a new relationship?

Yes, he had, Will told himself. And he was glad that he had done so. He had no regrets about being here with Sherlock, and starting a whole new life. None at all.

If he was in a dream, then he didn't want it to end. He wanted this dream to last for all of his life; being here in London with Sherlock, living in this flat, embarking on a loving relationship with someone he cared about with all of his heart.

That was probably the oddest part of it all, he mused.

He'd never thought that he would be in a relationship at all, let alone one with someone he'd fallen in love with so quickly. He hadn't thought it was possible.

Him? Fall in love? Will would have snorted at the very idea only a few months ago, before he'd fallen head over heels for Sherlock. But then, prison had changed a lot of his attitudes towards life, so maybe that had something to do with it.

He sighed as he sat down on his bed, looking around the room that was now his. It was comfortable and cozy, and he was sure that he'd like living here.

Sherlock was helping him find a new teaching job with the Scotland Yard Academy; within three days, he would have an interview with them, and if all worked out well, he could start teaching in the fall. Until then, he and Sherlock would work cases together.

It was still hard for Will to believe that after all he'd been through, after all the trouble that Hannibal and Jack Crawford had taken to frame him, he still had his head above water.

Sherlock had proven him innocent. That also seemed like a dream.

Scotland Yard hadn't seemed to be the least bit hesitant about telling him that they were interested in his work, and that they wanted to offer him a teaching position.

Will could only wonder how long it would be before they'd be asking him to go out into the field and use his empathic ability, just as he'd been persuaded to do for Crawford. He really didn't want to, but he was sure that he wouldn't be given a choice.

They could hold his past over his head if they wanted to.

So everything here wasn't going to be easy, and he wasn't going to be completely free. There would always be a sort of leash around his neck.

But it would be better than living in Wolf Trap and dealing with Hannibal and Crawford, wouldn't it? At least here, he had the chance for a decent life.

Here, he could at least put the pieces back together again.

He'd never have been able to do that in Wolf Trap -- if he had ever been a free man again, which he was sure wouldn't have happened. No, Hannibal would have conjured up more damning "evidence" to keep him a prisoner forever.

Will closed his eyes, feeling a little sick at the thought. He had only narrowly escaped being in a prison cell for the rest of his life, manipulated by an evil monster.

But that hadn't come to pass. Instead, he was here, thanks to Sherlock.

His life in Wolf Trap was the dream, and his life here in London with Sherlock was the future. He had to look at it that way. The past was gone, over and done with.

He wanted to leave that past behind him, to let it all recede into memory. There were a few good memories from the past that he would always keep with him, but for the most part, it was all starting to assume the status of a dream, a vision. A nightmare.

That nightmare had felt as though it would never end; somehow, his dream of working for the FBI had turned horribly, horribly wrong, and there hadn't been a way out of his predicament.

Not until Sherlock had come along and held out a hand. Sherlock had been the only person to believe in him, the only person who had cared enough to prove his innocence, or even try to. Sherlock had won his loyalty, and along the way, his heart as well.

And now the two of them were embarking on a new life together, side by side. It seemed like a dream now, but Will knew that reality would sink in later.

The past would be the dream, and this would be his world.

This was the only dream he wanted to have from now on -- the one that he was living, the one that had somehow miraculously turned into real life. The dream of a future without feeling that he was being horribly manipulated and used.

That would be the only dream he had for a while, Will told himself. The dream of having what other people would see as a normal life.

He had never really had one of those in the past, but now he would, he thought to himself with a smile as he stood up and headed for the stairs. He would have a life with Sherlock, a relationship with a person he loved, and he would be secure and happy.

That was a dream worth reaching for, and one that he intended to hold on to.

***