Work Text:
Watch this short film
http://vimeo.com/49570615
Now, imagine that after Hannibal has been imprisoned, Will manages to have Matthew released due to his help with the Ripper’s capture. Matthew thinks that this means he and Will can finally be together. But that’s not the case. Will has met Molly. He quietly confides in Matthew that he intends to marry her. Bought a ring and everything. That’s he’s finally going to have the normal life he wanted.
Matthew manages to smile. To swallow down his hurt and congratulate Will. Tell him how happy he is for him. And really, he is. Out of all the people who deserve to be happy, it’s Will. Will grips his shoulder and gives a rare smile. Tells him to go out and have a normal life. Be normal. Try and be happy.
He’s under constant supervision for the first couple of years. They move him out of Baltimore, out into the big city where no one would know who he is. Give him a chance at a normal life. A chance to be happy. He goes back to school, finishes his education. He considers going back into the army, but decides against it. The last thing he needs is a gun in his hands.
Matthew manages to make friends, dates a few girls but nothing sticks. He still identifies as gay, but he’s consumed enough media in his lifetime to have the firm impression that is not ‘normal’ and it won’t make him ‘happy’.
Eventually he finds himself with a small group of friends and a steady girlfriend. He’s decided the time has come to ask her to marry him. He’s saved up. He’s got a ring and god is it a pretty one. And even though he’s not sexually attracted to her. He loves her. So much. And even though he thinks about Will every waking hour, he thinks this is the closest thing he’s going to get to being happy.
And it’s enough. This time, it’s enough.
After his girlfriend leaves him, Matthew moves back to Baltimore. He’s broken in both mind and heart. Despite all he’s seen in his life, he never thought that a person could be so cruel. Someone who he cared for so much could betray him so thoroughly. And someone he loved with his whole twisted, battered heart couldn’t even listen to his side of the story. In one day he’d lost his girlfriend, his home, his friends. And after weeks of not going into work, his job.
He’d bought the one way ticket to Baltimore without a second thought. Packed up everything he owned and just left. Didn’t look behind him not even once.
He wanted to kill. To get into a stupid bar brawl and feel energy thrum through his very being as he shoved the knife between his victim’s ribs. But he didn’t. He’d done so well. Six years. It had been six years since he tried to kill Hannibal Lecter. Since he’d last had blood on his hands. Since he last saw Will Graham. He wanted to be pure. To be good. To be blameless. For once.
Will wasn’t there.
The little house in Wolf Trap was deserted. No dogs barked and howled as he trudged up the dirt driveway to the porch. The place looked like it had been left to rot. Matthew peeked in at the windows, but not even a single piece of furniture remained.
Nothing.
He stayed in a motel that night and started digging. Tried to find anything he could that could lead him to Will. In his new life he’d been avoiding anything to do with Will Graham. Didn’t read the papers, didn’t watch the news. He told his friends it was because he found it depressing. It wasn’t a lie. And they accepted it without question.
He was horrified at the things he found. About what had happened to Will during the Tooth Fairy case. His heart sank as he read through Tattle Crime and discovered that Will was now a drunk in Florida with a face that’s hard to look at.
The urge to go to the Tattle Crime offices and raise some hell was strong, but he didn’t do it. Knew that it would just earn him a place back in the BSHCI.
Instead he continued his search. A one way ticket to Florida purchased on his phone as he left the motel before dawn.
Dirt sheets and paparazzi shots were his new best friends in regards to tracking down Will. There were very few names of places written down, but Matthew caught sight of a few landmarks in the backgrounds of photos.
Knowing Will, he’d probably be out in the swamps somewhere. Somewhere deserted. Somewhere the fishing was good and he could work on boat engines in relative peace.
Matthew was right.
He turned up on Will’s porch in the evening, a little after seven. It was no surprise to him when Will answered the door with a shotgun slung over his arm. The scarring on his face broke Matthew’s heart, made him want to raise Francis Dolarhyde from the dead and kill him all over again. But he didn’t allow that to show on his own face. All that was in his eyes was love, adoration and relief.
There was no scamper and scurry of dogs, no gently questioning wife, no curious children. Will was all alone.
Before Will could speak, Matthew began babbling. Trying to get his words out all at once. Tried to explain himself before Will could turn him away. He wouldn’t know what to do if he turned him away.
"I tried. I tried so hard to be normal. I did. I promise you, I did. I had friends. I had a job. I was going to be married…”
Matthew broke down, finally allowed himself to cry properly instead of the sporadic bursts of anger.
"People are… People are so fucking cruel... They’re selfish and they just take what they want and fuck whoever they hurt in the process. I… I want to be selfish now. I wanted to find you. Take me in… Please, Mister Graham. I’ve got nowhere else to go.”
At first it seemed like Will was going to turn him away. The Empath was quiet for the longest time. But eventually, he nodded and stepped back, allowing Matthew to enter.
"Thank you. Thank you."
Matthew slunk into the house like a beaten dog and Will shut and locked the door behind him.