Title: Everything Moves On
Author: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Sherlock Holmes
Fandoms: Hannibal/Sherlock
Rating: PG-13
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.***
Will stood in the front yard of his house, the house that would only be his for a short time longer, until it was sold. He looked around him, taking everything in. He no longer felt as though he fit in here; he was putting it all behind him.
It was all done now -- the packing, the arrangements for shipping. Now that another two days had gone by, he was starting to feel anxious and impatient, ready to leave. He was more than ready to move on with his new life; he even needed it.
His life here was over. He knew that. Still, there would be a lot of things that he missed about Wolf Trap. He would miss the peace and quiet, the solitude, the feeling that he was at one with nature and all of the creatures around him.
Getting used to living in the city wouldn't be easy for him, but he'd manage it. After all, London was going to be an exciting place; he'd have things to do, and he wouldn't be able to focus on missing Wolf Trap or being homesick.
He'd have a lot on his plate right from the beginning -- he'd have to get used to a new city, get used to working for Scotland Yard, and deal with having a roommate. But that third thing wasn't going to be hard at all, Will thought with a smile.
He was already used to being around Sherlock; for the first time in his life, he actually liked having someone around all the time. It didn't feel like a loss of privacy -- rather, it felt comfortable and companionable to have Sherlock living with him.
It was a little surprising to him that he was actually looking forward to moving to London. It would be a little scary, but it would be a new experience, and he'd discovered that some new experiences could be good ones, if he relaxed and opened himself up to them.
Just like falling in love was a new experience, Will thought with a soft smile. Now that he'd accepted the fact that he was in love with Sherlock, everything seemed to be coming easier, even accepting that he'd given his heart away.
He couldn't help but think that Sherlock might have done the same thing, but there was no way that he could simply come out and ask the other man point-blank how he felt. It would feel rude and intrusive, and he wasn't prepared for whatever the answer might be.
If it wasn't in the affirmative, then he would have embarrassed himself horribly, as well as not getting the answer he wanted to hear. No, it was best to wait a while, until they had settled into the London flat comfortably, before he moved in that direction.
Will turned his head as he heard Sherlock's footsteps behind him; the other man stopped next to him, hands in the pockets of his long trench coat, looking around him just as Will had done. There was a slight smile on his lips, a look of peace on his face.
"It's lovely here," Sherlock said softly. "So peaceful and quiet. I can understand why you chose to live here, and why you might miss it. But I hope that you'll come to love London -- and our flat -- just as much as you do this place, in time."
"Everything moves on in life," Will said with a shrug. "I don't think I ever believed that I'd be here in Wolf Trap forever. Yeah, there are some things about it that I'm going to miss, but I'm looking forward to London. I think I'll like it there."
"I think you will, too," Sherlock told him, sounding enthusiastic. "I have so much to show you in the city, Will. There's a great deal to see and do, and I think you're going to really enjoy living there, and working with the Yard."
"I'll enjoy it because you're there," Will said softly, his blue eyes widening as he turned to look at Sherlock. Where had that come from? He'd told himself that he wasn't going to say anything about how he felt until they were in London and settled in.
But he'd let the cat out of the bag now; with Sherlock's keen senses, there was no way that the other man wouldn't pick up on exactly what he'd meant. And if Sherlock didn't feel the same way, then he would be disillusioned before they'd even left Wolf Trap.
"And I'll enjoy being there even more with someone I care about living with me in the flat," Sherlock said, his voice equally soft as he returned Will's gaze. Two pairs of eyes locked and held, their gazes intense, their meanings clear.
As one, the two of them moved towards each other; Will's arms wrapped around Sherlock as though of their own volition, and he could feel the other man's strong arms sliding around him to pull close against the lean warmth of Sherlock's body.
This wasn't how he had thought he would tell Sherlock about his inner feelings; he had imagined something much more romantic than standing here in the front yard that would no longer be his in just a few short days, looking out over the landscape.
But then again, it was romantic, wasn't it? Wolf Trap was a gorgeous place, and the forest around them was peaceful and quiet. It was the right place, and the right time, for him to declare those feelings; something told him that the timing was perfect.
He could feel Sherlock's breath, the warmth of the exhalation on his skin. Their noses bumped slightly as they moved closer, but Will didn't draw back. He couldn't make himself pull away from this man; he only wanted to be closer to him, not further away.
Sherlock's hand came up to cradle the back of his head; his own hand moved to twine his fingers through Sherlock's dark hair, to pull his head closer. His eyes closed; he no longer knew if Sherlock was looking at him or not, and he didn't care.
When their lips met, the kiss was soft and gentle, a bare caress of lips. It was the sweetest kiss that Will had ever experienced; not that he'd had many, but he'd had enough to know that this wasn't just a kiss -- it was a promise for their future.
Sweet and soft and gentle, just like Sherlock had been with him from the beginning. This was what he wanted, what he needed. He wanted to let himself fall into this man, to settle himself deep into the core of Sherlock's being, and let Sherlock do the same with him.
Nothing had ever felt like this. Nothing had ever drawn him in the way that this kiss did, making him feel as though he wanted to wrap himself around the person who was kissing him and become a part of them. His grip on Sherlock's hair tightened, his heart skipping a beat.
Sherlock's other hand was moving up and down his back, drawing him inexorably closer. Will realized that his free hand was doing the same -- and that the kiss was becoming more intense, going from soft to hot, feeling as though it almost seared his lips.
He wanted to stand here and kiss Sherlock forever, but of course, they had to come up for air. When their lips parted, Will didn't take a step back; he stood there in Sherlock's embrace, holding on to the other man, reluctant to let go.
It seemed that Sherlock felt the same, because he didn't step back, either. Instead, he regarded Will with a quizzical expression, then he smiled and leaned in again to brush his lips gently across Will's, the caress almost more intimate than the kiss had been.
"I think that shows us both how we feel," Sherlock whispered, his eyes not leaving Will's face. "I've been wanting to do that ever since the first time I saw you, but the prison bars prevented it. Now, I can do that all I like. And I'd like to do it quite a lot."
"So would I," Will murmured, feeling a blush suffuse his cheeks. Yes, he wanted to kiss Sherlock a lot more -- again and again and again, until they were both breathless with yearning. He wanted the two of them to do a lot more than just kiss.
No, that would come later, he admonished himself. When they were living in the flat in London, when they knew each other better. There was so much ahead of them, and he didn't need to move too quickly into the future. This wasn't a race.
But he'd been so right in what he'd said to Sherlock. Everything did move on, and even though it felt like they were moving more quickly now than he'd expected, he didn't want to slow down. He wanted the merry-go-round to keep spinning, to keep moving.
"I .... I'm falling in love with you, Will." Sherlock's words were very soft, so soft that Will almost didn't believe he'd heard them at first. But when they settled into his brain, they made his heart leap and his pulse jump as their meaning sank in.
Sherlock felt the same as he did. Sherlock was falling for him, just as he was falling for Sherlock. This wasn't one-sided; this feeling was being returned, apparently just as strongly as he felt it. There was no fear, no doubt, no hesitation.
There was nothing to hold the two of them back. They were two adults, two men who were completely free to do as they chose. And by moving to London, moving in with Sherlock, he was taking that irrevocable step, moving in the direction he wanted to go.
"I'm falling for you, too," he whispered, still not moving from the warm, protective circle of Sherlock's arms. "I think I might have been ever since we first met, when I was still in jail. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."
"I lie in bed at night and wish that I was in bed with you," Sherlock told him, the words sending a shiver down Will's spine. "I've wanted to come into your room and slip under the covers and just hold you, but I didn't think it was a wise thing to do."
"I would have loved it," Will told him, his lips curving in a smile. "It was what I wanted you to do. Maybe I should have said something about how I was feeling before now, but I didn't know if you felt the same, and I didn't want to be embarrassed."
"Neither did I," Sherlock told him, his own smile mirroring Will's. "I didn't believe that you could possibly have any interest in me -- even though I had my moments of being fairly sure that you did, just from being observant. But still, I wasn't sure."
"Well, you can be sure now," Will murmured, his voice growing stronger as he continued to speak. "I'm falling for you. Hard and fast. I might have already fallen all the way, but I've never been in love before, so I can't be completely sure."
"I think we can be sure that we both harbour strong feelings for each other, and that they can grow into love," Sherlock told him, his voice still very soft and gentle. "I hope you're willing to explore those feelings with me, Will."
Will nodded, smiling at Sherlock's words. "Yeah, I am," he answered, his own voice strong and sure. "I want to do that. Everything moves on, right? And our feelings for each other have to move forward. I think they'll move even faster once we're in London."
"I certainly agree with that," Sherlock said, his tone warm. "And for now, I think that we can simply say we're starting a relationship and taking it one small step at a time. Does that sound right?" he asked, sounding somewhat anxious.
"That sounds pretty much perfect to me," Will said, finally stepping back a little and taking Sherlock's hand in his own. "I think we're heading in the right direction. And taking small steps is a good thing, Sherlock. In the end, we'll get to where we're going."
"I can't wait to get there," Sherlock murmured, the words obviously meant for Will's ears only. "I'm looking forward to the day when we're exactly where we want to be. Though I feel that we're in a good place right now. At least, a good place to start."
"A very good place," Will agreed, turning and heading back inside the house with Sherlock by his side. They had so much ahead of them, he told himself with an inner smile. Yes, everything moved on. And now, he was moving right along with the current.***
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