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As soon as they make eye contact in the back of that little escort van, it all goes to shit.
One of the cop cars assisting the journey turns on their red and blue lights, pulling forward ahead of the rest. Will watches as it speeds past them, slowing down as it comes side to side with the first car in the line. The driver reaches out, shooting through their open window and killing the police officer in the car beside him, the car screeches to a halt, stopping sideways in the middle of the road.
There isn’t enough time for their van to slow down, crashing into the cop car at full speed. Hannibal is tossed against his cage wall, there isn’t much room so he’s spared most of the impact as he braces himself against the metal. Will however, was seated on the bench opposite, the collision causing him to jerk at an awkward angle, crashing into Hannibals cage before tumbling backwards and hitting his head on the window behind him.
Will isn’t sure how long he’s out for, blinking in and out of consciousness for what feels like hours but can only be a few minutes as he hears their attacker shoot the last remaining cops.
He watches as Francis opens the back of their van, the sunlight blinding Will as he strains his eyes to watch the killers next moves.
The cop that was traveling with them in the back suddenly scrambles to get to his feet, reaching for his weapon. He barely gets his hand on the grip before Francis shoots him in the head, rendering Will and Hannibal the only two survivors.
Will can’t do much else but watch as Francis searches the cops body, roughly pushing him around until he finds what he wants, a key. He stands, reaching out to unlock Hannibals cell before unbuckling his straight jacket and leaving the two of them in the middle of the wreckage.
It takes Will a few minutes to recover from the blow to his head, but as he does, Hannibal takes the opportunity to get himself out of the van, subsequently removing the straight jacket and spit guard that he was forced to wear during transit. Will watches the older man sigh deeply at the freedom, taking in the fresh air and view. The scenery isn’t much to look at, just a basic road littered with trash and dying vegetation, tarnished even further by the bodies and wrecked vehicles. Although, Will supposes that any natural view would be beautiful to someone who had been incarcerated for the last three years.
As Will finally regains enough strength to pull himself to his feet, Hannibal breaks the silence,
“He’s not going to kill us here… what he wants to do requires something a little more private”
He says, tossing the discarded jacket and mask back into the van as Will pulls himself out onto the concrete.
Will staggers, still dizzy from the crash as he watches Hannibal walk away,
“What are you doing?” He asks, hating how his voice shakes. He doesn’t know if the pang of fear that shoots through him is from the idea of Hannibal escaping custody, or Hannibal leaving him behind.
“You know, Will… you worry too much” Hannibal says calmly, catching on to the weakness in Wills words. He heads over to the cop car that was least damaged in the attack, opening the door to pull the body of the driver out and dumping him on the road to take his place.
Again, Will felt a small pang of fear that Hannibal might leave him behind.
Any worries of that disappear as Hannibal pulls the car up in front of him, opening the door and pushing the corpse of the passenger out too. He leans over the centre console,
“Going my way?”
—
They’ve only been driving for a few minutes before Will notices Hannibal’s grip on the wheel tightening, knuckles turning white. It’s only when one of the hands reach up to his face to wipe a tear from his cheek that Will starts to worry.
“Hannibal… what are- are you okay?” He asks.
“I have to kill him, Will. There is no other way for me, you understand that. Once I do, I can’t go back. I’m already facing a life sentence and I’m not sure that is ever going to change. Certainly not now that I’ve escaped custody to chase down and murder their suspect” he says roughly
“I can’t promise you anything… but I can try to help you. It was my idea that we use you as bait, that Francis ambushed us. I’ll tell them that it was my idea for us to go after him, that I was hoping to contact them when we got to a secure location. I’ll say that he came out of nowhere before I had the chance, that you protected me”
“I am not going back, Will. I suffered their scrutiny and degradation long enough whilst I waited for you” he says, Will feels a pang of guilt.
“You know I had to stay away, I had a fami-“
“I gave up my freedom for you. Something, if you care to recall, that I was pretty adamant on keeping. I let them take me so that you would always know where to find me… and yet you never came to see me until I was useful to you”
He says, voice wavering. The car starts to speed up as he pushes down harder on the gas.
Will tries to reach out calmly but the second he comes into contact with the fabric of the prison uniform, Hannibal jerks, startled. The action causes the car to swerve, coming dangerously close to the ditch by the side of the road.
“Hannibal, I need you to see it from my perspective. At least for a moment. With everything we’ve been through, it wasn’t so simple for me to just come in and see you. As time passed, my life moved on and it just became harder and harder for me to bite the bullet and show up. Especially after I met Molly and Walter”
Will tries to reason, but as the car continues to speed up, he knows that it’s only making things worse.
“Three years, Will. Three years” Hannibal replies, a little louder this time, his voice shaking as he holds back a sob.
“Pull over”
“We have to catch up with-“
“I said pull over, Hannibal. I don’t feel safe with you driving like this”
Reluctantly, Hannibal slows the car down before pulling over to the side of the road as they stop.
Will gets out first, walking to Hannibals side before pulling his door open.
“Out”
Hannibal does as he’s told and it’s the first time Will really gets to see him in the light since they left Baltimore State Hospital.
The bridge of his nose is cut from where the mask dug in during the crash, the blood already drying. His hair is sticking out at all directions, vastly different from the way Will is used to seeing it. He has dark bags under his eyes from restless nights in his cell, a bed that’s just a little too far on the side of uncomfortable and guards who found their fun by tormenting prisoners. His cheeks are slightly flushed, eyes burning red as he holds back tears, tracks of some trailing down his face. One falls as he blinks, avoiding eye contact.
“Where has this come from? All these years of knowing you and I’ve only seen you cry once. Even then, it wasn’t like this. You didn’t let the emotions get the best of you” will enquires. The last and only time he’s ever seen the man before him cry was seconds before he slid a knife across his stomach and left him to bleed out.
“When I kill him… I’ll have to go on the run”
Will looks at him confused
“So?… you’ve never cared about that before. What’s so different now?”
“Last time was easier. I knew you’d come looking. When I leave tonight, I won’t be able to leave you any tracks”
“I won’t follow you this time, Hannibal. I’ll let you have your freedom. Once you’re gone, it will be my last time working for Jack and he doesn’t know enough about you to figure it out fast enough. By the time he knows where you are, you’ll already be gone”
Will tries to reassure. He can only assume that Hannibal is worried about Will helping the FBI to chase him down.
His words only make things worse though as Hannibal finally succumbs to his emotions, tears spilling from his eyes as he lets out a sob. He grabs his hair in a tight fist, turning away from Will.
“That’s exactly why I don’t want to go!” He shouts, hands falling to his sides roughly.
“What?” Will asks quietly, not fully understanding
“I waited three years for you Will. Three years where I never knew when or if I was ever going to see you” he starts, voice shaking as he tried to keep his composure
“It was agony. Worse than anything the doctors or guards did to me. Now, when I leave tonight… I know for sure that I’ll never be able to… once I’m gone, I’ll never get to see you again”
Will can hear him choking back sobs as he leans against the car, facing away from him.
“Hannibal-“ Will says softly
“Don’t. I know that you don’t feel the same about us. I took your understanding of me and twisted it into some fantasy. It was childish of me but do not give me your pity”
Will walks towards Hannibal, stopping next to the back door of the car. He opens it without a word before gently reaching out to rest a hand on the other man’s shoulder. He flinches again and Will feels a sharp pang of sadness at how fragile Hannibal seems.
“Get in” he says gently, pulling on Hannibal’s shoulder. He complies surprisingly easily, sliding into the back seat without looking up. Will closes the door for him and heads around to the other side, getting in and sitting next to Hannibal.
They sit in silence for a moment, the only noises are Hannibal trying to quiet his crying and the occasional sniff.
“Come here” Will says softly, reaching his arm out towards the older man. He looks a Will for a second before slowly sliding over until they’re pressed side to side. Will closes his arm around Hannibal, pulling him closer.
As soon as Hannibal feels Wills warmth through their clothes, he lets go. A loud sob leaving him as he tries to hide his face by wiping at it roughly.
“Hey, hey, none of that” Will says, gently pulling Hannibals hands down and holding one with his own, starting to rub soothing circles into Hannibal’s arm with his other hand that’s wrapped around him. Hannibal stops trying to rub at his face, but the crying doesn’t stop.
“Shhh, it’s okay” Will whispers, resting his head on top of Hannibals. His sobs shake them both, tears soaking into Wills shirt.
“It’s okay, Hannibal” Will repeats “it’s okay”
Will doesn’t know when he pulls Hannibal even closer and begins to rock them gently. The movements come naturally as he tries to calm down the older man, the only person who truly understands him. If Hannibal is the only person who can help Will, then Will feels that he is likely the only person who can help Hannibal. They have a unique understanding of each other that no one else can compare to.
Will feels useless as Hannibal continues to cry, the noises only subsiding as he grows tired. Soon, the sobbing stops and the only noise is his shaky breaths and occasional sniffling. Will knows that the tears still haven’t stopped, can feel them dripping onto his shirt.
“We’ll be okay, Hannibal. I promise. I won’t leave you again… we’ll be okay, baby” Will whispers, pressing his face into Hannibal’s hair.
The pet name falls easily from his lips, no time to think it through.
Will feels Hannibal tense, pulling back slightly. Just enough to look him in the eyes.
Wills heart breaks as he sees Hannibal’s face, burning a deep red from all the crying, eyes wet and bloodshot and tear tracks down his cheeks, face soaked with them as they continue to fall. Hannibal’s eyes cast over Wills face.
Will knows exactly what Hannibal is looking for, signs of deceit.
Will does the only thing he can think to do, leaning forward to press a kiss to Hannibal’s forehead, just above the cut on his bridge. He holds him there for a few long seconds, hoping to convey his emotions through the act rather than speak them aloud.
Hannibal slumps, defeated and accepting. Will pulls him in tightly, manoeuvring them until they’re almost laying down across the back seat, Will reclined against the door as Hannibal rests over him, head on Wills chest. They lay like that for a few minutes, Will gently running a hand through Hannibal’s hair.
“Promise me again” Hannibal says
“I promise” Will replies.
It’s silent for a few seconds and Will can practically feel the gears in Hannibal’s spinning, overthinking the situation.
“Look at me” Will says gently.
When Hannibal doesn’t move, he urges again
“Come on, baby, look at me” he says, reaching up to tilt Hannibal’s chin towards him.
Hannibal complies easily, the pet name smoothing him over just like Will knew it would.
“I made a mistake. I should have come to see you sooner, I am truly sorry. I was just scared… scared that if I saw you, I would have to admit to what I was becoming. It wasn’t fair on you. I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry” Will says, caressing Hannibal’s face as they lock eyes.
“I promise, I will not make that mistake again. You have me. If you still want me, you have me” he says, voice barely above a whisper. They’re so close that Hannibal can feel Wills breath on his face as he speaks.
Wills hand comes down to Hannibal’s mouth, thumb tracing over his bottom lip gently. Lovingly. His eyes locked onto the flesh beneath his thumb.
“Can I?” He asks, looking back up into Hannibal’s eyes. Hannibal nods, the movement so minuscule that Will almost misses it.
It takes Will a few seconds to finally close the gap between them, pressing a soft kiss to the older man’s lips. Neither of them try to deepen it, even as they stay like that for slightly longer than they typically should have.
Will pulls back slowly, a small smile across his face.
Neither of them say what they’re feeling. The time will come. After Francis is dead and they bask in the afterglow, the words will come to them more naturally than ever before:
I love you
But for now, in the back of this cop car, they make that admission through different words:
“I promise” Will whispers
“I promise” Hannibal replies, closing the distance once again.