Title: The Chance They Take
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Sherlock Holmes
Fandoms: Hannibal/Sherlock
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The greatest danger to them may be past, but Will knows that there will be others in his and Sherlock's future.
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 Sherlock Holmes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

The danger was past. He was safe. A whole new world had opened up to him.

Sherlock had promised him a new life, and he had delivered.

Will couldn't help smiling at the thought, propping his chin on his hand and gazing out of the window at the clear blue sky that seemed to stretch over London.

He loved it here; he loved this city, loved the area they lived in, the friends he had made. This felt like home, more than Wolf Trap ever had.

There were times when he missed the dogs he used to have, but he knew that they had gone to good homes -- and they still had Winston with them. He was sure that they would be getting another dog sometime soon; after all, he wanted Sherlock to have a dog of his own.

His life here hadn't always been easy thus far, thanks to Hannibal interfering with their happiness. But now Hannibal was gone, and there was smooth sailing ahead of them.

No, he shouldn't think that, Will told himself. Sherlock was always finding new cases; there would be something else to place them in danger again before too much longer.

Still, that was what they did, and it was a chance they took.

But there would be no danger like what they had so recently passed through. He was sure of that. Hannibal had been the greatest threat to their lives.

Will knew about the villains that Sherlock had faced off against in the past. He had been told about both Moriarty and Magnussen, and all that they had done.

Those villains had made his blood run cold, and he had been glad that he hadn't had to go up against them. But he knew that Hannibal had been right up there with them -- and even though those two had been deadly, he didn't think that they'd been as much of a threat.

Hannibal hadn't just put himself and Sherlock in danger -- he had been a menace to all of society, what with his, well, unusual predilections.

Will pushed that thought aside. It was over and done with now.

He didn't want to think about Hannibal. He didn't want to remember all of the horrible things that monster had done, not just to him, but to other innocent people.

Hannibal was a part of the past now. The danger he represented was gone, and it would never return. He and the man he loved were safe from that threat.

But there would be others. He was sure of it.

How could there not be? He and Sherlock were in a dangerous profession. And they were both committed to what they did; neither of them would stop solving cases.

That was what they had been born to do. He couldn't see Sherlock existing as anything but what he was, and Will knew that he himself couldn't stop using his singular empathic gift to help people. As long as he could be of some use, he wouldn't stop. He felt obligated to do what he did.

He was sure that Sherlock felt the same. He might not be as outspoken about wanting to help others as Will was, but he knew that Sherlock had a good heart.

Whatever dangers they might find themselves in sometime in the future, he was sure that they had defeated the biggest one that could possibly come their way.

That black cloud no longer hung over his horizon.

There would be danger coming into their lives again. Will didn't doubt that for a moment. In fact, it seemed that Sherlock had a tendency to seek danger out.

Well, maybe he himself did the same thing. But it was part and parcel of what they did for a living. They had to expect some danger to come their way.

He couldn't help but smile at the thought that in the future, they would be working together. They would solve crimes as a team; they would bring more villains to justice, and they would find closure for people who needed it. That was the best they could do, even if it might not seem like much.

It was what he wanted to do, he realized. Work with Sherlock, live here in London, and build a life together. A life that would be full of love and laughter.

Yes, there might be some danger thrown into the mix, too. But he could live with that. Nothing was perfect, not even his future life with the man he loved.

Besides, danger could be .... intoxicating, in a way.

He'd discovered that a long time ago, much to his surprise. Maybe that was why he and Sherlock both tended to run towards it, instead of in the other direction.

It was a little scary to think that they could put themselves in danger willingly, that they were the kind of people who would risk their lives for others. But that was just a part of who they were -- and if either of them was any different, then they probably wouldn't have fallen in love.

He wouldn't want Sherlock to be any other way. He loved his boyfriend just as he was; there was nothing about the other man that he would ever want to change.

And he liked himself pretty well as he was, too.

This final acceptance of himself had been a long time in coming; Sherlock had helped him to it, and he would be forever grateful to his lover for giving him such a precious gift.

Will looked up as the front door of the flat opened, and Sherlock bounded into the room, a smile on his handsome face that seemed to light up the area around him.

"We have a case," he announced, his pale eyes sparkling with anticipation.

A case? Those very words made Will's heart beat faster.

Will sat up, his own smile mirroring Sherlock's, eager to hear what they would be doing next.

***