Title: Not A Chance Meeting
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/John Reese
Fandom: Hannibal/Person of Interest
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely John Reese or Jordan Hester, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Will stood there, staring at the doorway, watching the man leave.

Why had his breath almost stopped when this man had entered the bookshop? Why had he felt drawn towards this person, in a way that he never had with anyone else?

Will had been shocked at the instant rush of desire that had swept over him when that man had walked into the bookshop. He could still feel it, tingling through his veins.

What was it about the man that had made him react so strongly? He should have been no more than just another customer, to be helped and treat politely and nothing more than that. Instead, he was still breathing hard, his heart still racing in his chest.

He raised a hand to his heart, still gazing out of the window at the sidewalk where he'd last seen the man, his thoughts on that smooth, firm stride.

For a moment, just a moment, he had wanted to run outside and beg the other man not to go, tell him to come back inside, sit down, and talk to him, to say anything.

He took one deep breath, then another, trying to calm himself down.

He wasn't going to run after a man he didn't even know, Will told himself firmly. All he had to do was wait. He was sure that this man would be back in the bookshop.

He'd said that he would be, hadn't he? Will frowned as he ran their brief conversation over in his mind, realizing that he could barely remember the actual words that had been said.

His heart had been pounding so loudly the entire time, that was all he had heard. Yes, the man had spoken, and he had answered. But the sound of his own blood pumping through his veins, his heart thundering in his chest, had overwhelmed everything else.

Why had he had such a strong reaction to this man? He shook his head, wishing that even now his heart would stop racing, that he could stop feeling so .... excited.

This was the person he'd been waiting for ever since he had moved here to New York City. He knew it. He could feel it in his heart, as surely as he could draw breath.

The question was, just why did he feel so certain of this?

He had no idea who this man was. He had no idea why his heart had leaped for joy when their eyes had first met. And he had no idea what to do about how he felt.

It wasn't as though he could just run after this man, after all. Will couldn't even call him; he didn't have a phone number, or even a name. He had no idea how to get in touch.

Will sighed, his shoulders slumping. All he could do was wait until this man came back into the bookshop, and hope that his heart would race and his breath come faster a second time -- because if it did, then he would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was indeed who he had been waiting for.

As he turned to go back behind the counter, he saw one of the bookshop's business cards lying there -- and he was sure that it hadn't been there before.

He frowned, looking at it for a moment before picking it up. Then his heart leaped in his chest again, racing along as though he had just finished running a marathon.

There was a number and a name on it. He didn't know when the man had managed to do it, but he had somehow written this down when Will hadn't been looking.

But how had he done it? Will frowned again, turning the card over in his hand. He had been watching the entire time. And he knew that nothing had been written down.

So .... had this man known even before he came into the bookshop that he wanted to leave his phone number? Had their meeting been something that was planned? Had this man been watching him? For some reason, that thought didn't make a chill run down Will's spine.

To think that anyone else had been watching him with the intent of approaching him made him shudder. To think that this man had been watching him put a little glow around his heart.

Will couldn't keep back a blush at the thought. He was acting like a little girl with her first crush. Not like a grown man who had just .... well, just met someone he was attracted to.

He picked up the card, reading the name. A single word. John.

No last name. Well, that was a bit odd, but he could live with it. He hadn't even told this man his own name, and the bookshop didn't require wearing a name tag.

But if John had been watching him, could he possibly already know Will's name? Or had he seen Will's picture in the papers from what he thought as the bad times in his life?

He sighed softly, closing his eyes. There was no way to know the answer to that. In fact, there was no way for him to find answers to any of his questions until he saw John again -- and something told him that he would. John wouldn't have left this card if he didn't intend to come back.

And he'd left his number, as well. Will traced his fingers over the thick black numbers, the writing bold and firm. He could call John any time he wanted to do so.

He could pick up the phone right now and call him. He could ask him casually if he would be interested in going out to lunch this afternoon, or to dinner tonight.

No, that would be too forward. It might make him look .... desperate.

He sighed again, sitting down behind the counter, Winston laying down at his feet. He would simply have to wait until John came back to see him again.

But then .... maybe then .... John would ask him out. Will couldn't help smiling at the thought, letting himself drift off into a daydream of what that would be like.

He could see the two of them in nice suits, going into a fancy restaurant -- but no, John hadn't seemed like the type of man who would take someone to a place like that on a first date. It would be too formal, and Will knew that he wouldn't be comfortable in a place like that.

Maybe John wouldn't, either. Maybe John was more like him than he seemed. Maybe under that sophisticated, suave exterior, he was as socially awkward as Will was.

Will smiled ruefully at that thought, shaking his head. He sincerely doubted that anyone in the entire world was a socially awkward as he had proven himself to be!

So that begged the question -- why had John reached out to him?

But still .... John had left his number. So that proved he was interested, didn't it? He had to believe that was what this meant. There was no other explanation for it.

And the longer he sat here with this card in his hand, the more strongly the feeling that John was the person he had been waiting for resonated within him.

There was something about John that drew Will to him, like the proverbial moth to a flame. And unless he was very much mistaken, he'd seen a spark of interest in John's dark eyes. There was something between the two of them, something that Will very much wanted to explore.

He was sure that they'd have the chance to do that, given the fact that John had gone out of his way to leave his name and number. They would meet again.

Will's heart rose at the thought, and another smile came to his lips. He was going to see John again, and he was fairly sure that it would happen soon.

He just had to make himself be patient and wait for the time to come.

This hadn't been a chance meeting. He was sure of that. There was some power in the universe -- call it kismet, fate, whatever it might be -- that had meant for the two of them to meet.

He would see John again. And he would wait impatiently until that power, whatever it was, brought them face to face again, and he could find out the answers to all of his questions.

***