Work Text:
After looking over the eroding bluff, Hannibal grabs the spare key, and they enter the cliff house. Hannibal is wary of the gun Will has tucked into the back of his jeans. He knows that at this moment, his mongoose is more unpredictable than ever.
Hannibal heads upstairs to rid himself of the dreaded prison jumpsuit and slips into the shower, leaving Will to his own thoughts. Will, unsettled in his own mind about their course of action and about what he wants, wanders this new space.
The main floor is filled with furniture covered in white sheets. Upstairs, Will passes a gray themed room, and another navy-blue room, which he enters. His breath catches as he recognizes one of Abigail’s scarves hanging in the open closet.
Will is filled with a rush of anger as he backtracks out of the room and further down the hall. This house is another space in which Abigail’s ghost and the thoughts of "You were supposed to leave" haunt him.
At the end of the hall lies a vast master bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows and an incredible view of the roiling Atlantic. Will feels restless in this space, unsure of how the Dragon will exact his revenge, unsure if he is safe here with Hannibal.
Will’s eyes catch on a dark mahogany dresser that is not dissimilar to the one he had in his home in Wolf Trap. Pulling open the top drawer, Will is shocked to see shirts in his size, embroidered with his initials that he has never seen before.
If Hannibal had truly wanted this life together, then why did he wait to tell Will how to truly felt? He feels a deep pang of loss settle in his gut. Will glances at the maroon sheets on the bed and tries to calm his racing mind.
Just when his thoughts linger on the idea of sharing a bed with Hannibal, he emerges from the bathroom dressed sharply in a dark gray jacket. Refusing to meet his eyes, Will heads back downstairs and forces himself to look out the window and collect his thoughts
“My compassion for you is inconvenient, Will,” Hannibal says with a bottle of glass in his hand. Will is now wary of the bottle opener Hannibal yields in his hand.
Will wants nothing more than to make Hannibal suffer for making him wait all this time to reveal his emotions. He wants to strangle this sophisticated, dangerous, yet lovable man who has captured nearly every one of his thoughts for the last three years.
But before Will can respond, a bullet speeds through the window and shatters their wine bottle. Hannibal drops to the floor.
Will looks down at the display of Hannibal, breathing sharply with a hand clutched to his side. His eyes meet Will, who allows a dark smile to creep across his lips before taking a sip of his wine.
Could this scenario have been more perfect? Now, finally, Will has the opportunity to show Hannibal that he is ready to live the life they were always destined to have together.
Will’s mind feels a deep sense of calm for the first time since exiting the police vehicle. He and Hannibal will slay the Dragon together. This is what his beloved has wanted all along.
This is their design.