Title: Holding Love
Author: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Sherlock Holmes
Fandoms: Hannibal/Sherlock
Rating: PG-13
Table: 9, 50ficlets
Prompt: 33, Heart
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my 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.

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Outside, the sky turned from velvety darkness pinpricked with stars, to the pearly grey of early dawn, the morning light seeping through the window to illuminate the room.

Sherlock lay in bed with his eyes open, watching dawn break outside the window.

In his arms, Will was sleeping soundly; he lay still so as not to wake his boyfriend. He wanted Will to get the rest he obviously needed.

He himself had managed to sleep for a few hours during the dead of night, which was all the rest that he needed. He'd spent the rest of the night thinking about their situation, turning everything over and over again in his mind, coming to some conclusions.

Will was right. This couldn't have been caused by anyone other than Hannibal. They both had enemies, but it all pointed to him. There was no other logical explanation.

The man was obviously angry that Will was here in London with Sherlock, that he had been taken away and had made a new, happier life for himself out of Hannibal's sphere of influence. He hadn't thought that would happen, and he wanted the tables turned.

Sherlock knew that both he and Will were in danger; Hannibal was a psychopath, and there was nothing he wouldn't do to achieve his objectives.

He didn't mind the danger for himself. He found it exhilarating.

But the last thing he wanted to do was to have Will in the line of fire -- especially when that danger came from someone whose strengths he wasn't familiar with.

He was going to keep Will safe to the best of his ability, and he wouldn't fail. He would find Hannibal and bring him to justice -- even if it meant killing the bastard. Sherlock thought that would be the best solution for everyone, not just for himself and Will.

After all, Hannibal was a danger to society at large. He was evil personified; he would continue to kill unless he was permanently stopped.

He and Will were the people best equipped to do that.

Sherlock frowned at that thought; he didn't want to put Will into the line of fire, but he was the one who knew Hannibal best, and could most easily catch him.

But he would never use his boyfriend as bait, not even to catch a dangerous killer. He was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place; Will was the one who could best lure Hannibal out of hiding into the open, but it was too dangerous for him.

If anything happened to Will, he would never forgive himself. Nothing could induce him to put the man he loved into danger, to jeopardize his life and what they shared.

Just the thought of Hannibal getting his hands on Will again made Sherlock feel cold all over; he shuddered at the idea of that monster so much as touching his boyfriend.

He couldn't wrap Will in cotton wool and keep him safe from anything and everything. He knew that. But a part of him wanted to do just that, to keep Will safe from any kind of possible harm. Another part of him told him that Will would hate being treated in such a way.

Really, what he wished that he could do was keep the future at bay, put off searching for Hannibal, and just lie here with Will in his arms.

He was comfortable and relaxed. He was holding love.

The man he loved was here in his arms, and he didn't want that to change. He didn't want to even consider the possibility that things could be any different.

Hannibal could take his love away from him; he could make life a dreary, lonely wasteland again if he was allowed to get anywhere near Will. Sherlock didn't doubt that Hannibal would take Will back to Wolf Trap if he could -- or that he might even kill his love.

That thought made him shudder again; he closed his eyes, pushing that thought away, refusing to let it take on a life of its own in his mind.

Will was going to be safe here with him. He would come to no harm.

Will was his heart and soul, the most important thing in his life. Now that he had given his heart for the first time, he wasn't going to let anything take his love away.

His heart wouldn't just break if anything happened to Will. It would shatter into an unimaginable number of tiny shards, and they would never be able to fit together again. Without Will in his life, he could never be happy again, or even content.

So he would find a way to catch Hannibal, to either put him behind bars or put a permanent end to him. He would ensure that Will would be safe from that monster.

His heart would remain intact, and his love would be safe. Sherlock felt a sense of inevitability seep through him; he would make sure that those plans came to fruition. Somehow, he would manage to track Hannibal down, and neutralize the danger he represented.

He would spend the rest of his life holding love in his arms every night. Nothing and no one would ever be allowed to take that away from him.

Sherlock closed his eyes, holding Will against him, close to his heart.

He would never let any harm come to his love -- or to his heart, he vowed silently. He would protect them both with everything in him, if it was the last thing he ever did.

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