Chapter Text
It's been a long week, that has rounded off a long month. Will sits at his teaching desk, trying to not see how many papers he has left to grade. He's so behind at this point that he's going to have to pick one of the assignments to just give 100 to if the person turned it in. Hell, he might have to do that more then once. With all the extra work he's been doing with Jack, he hasn't had time to think about being a teacher. And now it's all just piled up and sitting there.
That would really mess up his grading system though, so Will is still trying to avoid that. With a given 100 or two, there's a possibility that someone might pass that shouldn't. This is the FBI academy, it's very important that people don't just slip through. Fuck, his anxiety is just not going to let him grade like that. He's always been a hard but fair teacher. If people needed extra assignments to understand or practice more, then he's always given and graded them. This years group of students has been sorely neglected.
His head aches like it always does. He technically should be driving to his meeting with Dr. Lecter already, but has gotten distracted. Well; he sneezed so hard (twice) that his knees buckled and Will had needed to remain seated. He can't even read the papers in front of them. Will's eye sight has never been great, but right now everything is maximum blurry. It's almost giving him motion sickness to keep them open. He can tell that something is wrong, but honestly it feels like something has been wrong for a very long time already.
And then he'd started coughing. God, it was a terrible wheezing cough that took every his breath away. His chest contracted painfully and bits of fluid came up. Will felt like he might die in this stupid little office, as his body gave out on him. At least he had office hours tomorrow morning, so that someone was bound to find his body. Then again, with the amount of time he spends away no one might come looking. It would be hilarious to have to rot in the FBI building for days before being found.
Frustrated and in pain, he puts his head down on the desk. He feels so dry at the moment. His nose has started dripping, but he not sure if it's snot or blood. It looks red, but the red might not be real. Will doesn't know what's wrong. Well, he does know he's sick but it feels extra this time. Like his body is giving out. He closes his eyes and wheezingly tries to breath. Will doesn't feel very successful as his head swims and his limbs start to tingle.
Will doesn't have the thought of he's going to die here, he just sort of knows. This is it.
The door to his office opens. He can't look up to see who it is, but he can smell the light scented products that Hannibal always uses. He coughs wetly in greeting, feeling his world start to dim. Will doesn't like that someone has come to witness his final moments. He'd always pictured it being a private kind of event for himself.
"Will?" He can almost hear, but that voice that he definitely knows well, seems warped. Dark and strange. It's definitely Hannibal. What's weird is that he's shouting and Will can't think of a time when he heard Hannibal shout before. "Will!"
Hands touch him, dragging him up from the desk. His head hurts and Will can taste the blood that drops down from his nose to his mouth. Will realizes now that he's been so sick for so long. That he's been dying for months and this is everything just giving out. It's just a shame that Hannibal is somehow here to witness it. He probably came to check on Will because Will missed his appointment time and like a good friend, had been worried. And now Will is just flopping around, dead weight in his arms.
"Ann..bull." Will mumbles as his eyes slip closed. He couldn't even say his best friends name correctly in his last moments. It feels sad. His body shakes horribly and he can feel Hannibal bracing him. The thought is there that he might be having a seizure, but he doesn't really know.
"Will! Stay awake. You need to stay with me." Hannibal sounds frantic and also somehow like he's getting farther away. Has Hannibal ever begged for anything before? Why is he begging for Will? No one has ever bothered to beg for Will to stay with them before.
Things go dark as Will loses consciousness. He swears that Hannibal is crying and holding on to him as he goes.
When he wakes up there's machine sound around him. A steady beep. And a voice that reads to him softly. Will doesn't open his eyes, but he does manage to smile for a few moments before succumbing to sleep again. Just a small twitch of his lips. Hannibal is the only one he can think of who can read in Italian. He feels safe.
The second time Will is much more aware. Tired, but aware. Someone is brushing his hair, while humming softly. It feels like a song just for him. That with the relaxing movements he smiles again, but finds he still can't open his eyes. He's lost in his own head, but still alive.
"Will?" Hannibal asks, it sound like a whisper but Will hears it clearly. Hannibal sighs but he sounds relaxed. That's a good thing, Will likes when his friend is calm. "Rest some more, I'll be here with you." Hannibal says that even though he probably can't tell if Will can hear him. Will has never felt such devotion before.
He gets to lay there with Hannibal taking care of him for minutes, just drifting in his own body. Places are swore and he couldn't move if he tried, but he's here now with Hannibal. Will is absolutely sure that Hannibal would protect him from anything that might happen. It's comforting.
Will might be a little more in love then he was on the days prior to whatever this is. They had been heading down this path the entire time after all, right? The handsome, lonely Doctor taking an interest in the disturbed sickly teacher. What a romance novel that could be.
And then Will knows no more.
The third time Will wakes, he cracks his eyes open feeling like he got hit by a truck. They clearly have either taken him off something or are late giving it to him. He sort of hopes that he hasn't accidentally been forgotten about because it really feels like he's suffering.
It's dark around him or at least as dark as it can be in a hospital room. Hannibal is resting beside him in an uncomfortable looking chair. The man has hair on his face that looks very charming to Will, but also unkempt. That stubble is unfairly sexy. He's greasy in a way that Will had never pictured him. Like Hannibal had just managed to not think about showering for three or four days. His mouth is also open and he's very unflatteringly snoring. It's wonderful to see.
Will blinks again, tired. Blinking takes effort in a way that he has no explanation for. He wishes he could take a picture of Hannibal right now because he's probably not going to remember this. That hardly seems fair. Considering, Hannibal has probably seen him in horrible ways that last however many days it's been. God, Will is pretty sure he has a catheter in. There is no seeing a person in a worse spot then that. As he sleeps again, he thinks about the world being unfair.
Will doesn't get a nice wake the forth time. He shakes himself awake as Doctors and nurses work around him. Will isn't sure what's happening, but as his eyes snap open he sees that Hannibal isn't in the room. If it's a code critical he would have been escorted out. There are loud machine noises and too many people in the room. He's not conscious for long as the doctors work on him. He does however wonder, if this is his final moment. Most of all, Will misses Hannibal.
Time seems to stall because next thing Will knows, he is awake again. Hannibal is reading and also holding his hand. Touching freely. Will blinks slowly and tries to flex his fingers but he's so weak. Hannibal notices anyways. The man drops his book fast and lunges to be next to Will's face. One can only guess that after the scare he'd probably been out for a good while.
"Will. Oh my dear Will." Hannibal says. He sounds emotional. Will just blinks tiredly. He wants to ask how long he's been out but opening his mouth right now seems like too much work. Does that make him lazy? No, he just exhausted. Sick even, though he still hasn't heard with what.
"How I have missed you." Hannibal says that like they've been separated for years. Like Will is returning home from a long journey. It's been but moments for Will in his mind, but he can't help but understand. He's somehow missed Hannibal too, with every breath he takes even if they are right beside one another.
Hannibal seems to notice that Will is drifting back off calmly again. Will sees him frown with a sad expression. "Please come back to me soon." Hannibal says like it's some sort of secret confession. And Will can't help but want to stay. He doesn't have the power right then to stay awake though.
The next time Will blinks his eyes open to the world, Jack is unfortunately there. Will would have flinched if he thought he could have moved. Somehow, through all the horrible work they've been doing together, Jack has become a person he dreads seeing. His heart rate shoots up on the machines monitoring him. He fears the work Jack will bring him and the new horrors he will have to figure out. Hasn't Jack taken enough of him already? Why does he have to keep chipping away at the cracks?
The next person he can see is Hannibal, who looks freshly showered. Maybe Jack had been sitting with him so Hannibal would go. That's sweet, but he still doesn't like him being here. His heart rate appears to have gotten high enough to set off an alert. As a nurse come in and shoos them both out of the room. He watches as the nurses fiddle with some equipment, but is out of it again before they actually address him. He hopes he never has to see Jack again and that Hannibal will never leave him.
The last time Will wakes, it's not a sudden thing like it mostly had all previous time. Instead it feels like his waking up after being asleep too long. And Hannibal is right there with him, as he always was. He's smiling now, so Will smiles back.
"Welcome back Will." He greets. The Doctors must have told him that Will was going to wake up and be more aware again.
Will doesn't say anything but he does smile. Everything is slightly spinning, but that might just be because he's spent to long in bed. He has a feeling that he's going to have to get used to doing things like walking when he finally gets out of this bed. He honestly might even need assistance to do so. Hannibal reaches out to hold his hand, and it feels nice to have someone there.
"Focus on my touch Will. Stay with me." Will's mouth is dry, though he knows that they've been giving him fluids. He isn't sure anyone has ever asked such a thing of him before. It's- nice?
"Where else would I go?" He whispers back. Voice unused and crackling, Will hardly even sounds like himself. Hannibal smiles at his words, soft and sweet. The man looks enchanted by Will, and he's sure he looks a mess. Probably more then just mess, as he's spent the last god knows how long out in a hospital bed. Oh god, he still has a catheter in.
Will's heart rate rises, but Hannibal is quick to sooth him. Lovingly petting and giving small words of praise until the medical staff final comes in. They all looked pleased he's awake. Will has never had so many people look happy to see him. It's very strange and heartwarming all at once.
He learns that he's been in and out on treatment for anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Which is big scary talk for he nearly died via infection from what Will actually understands. He also had several people whisper at him that his Doctor friend had barely left his side in that extremely long time. It makes Will tear up. No one says anything about him crying silently in his little hospital bed, but Hannibal is right there to wipe his tears.
He'll be in the hospital for another week to finish up treatment before he gets to go on bedrest at home instead. But he's out of the woods as they say. It's a busy couple of hours talking about things with the medical personnel that definitely saved his life in the last few weeks, but he makes it through it. Hannibal stays right beside him and takes papers, and notes of things that Will needs to remember. A sweet gesture that Will appreciates.
And then they are left alone. Will looks Hannibal in the eyes and though he is once again exhausted, he sees. Hannibal loves him. Hannibal saved his life. Hannibal is hiding a big secret just behind his skin and portraying himself as a good person. Will just smiles at him softly. Who would spend every possible moment waiting by someone's bedside that they weren't even in a relationship with? Hannibal would have had to push clients and probably burn a few bridges to have abrupt time off. It's just adds to the fact that Will understands now; Hannibal's life is just a front facing window. Designed to look pretty to anyone who dares to stop momentarily and glance in.
He wants to do so much more then take a glance in.
"Every time I was awake enough to be aware, you were there for me." Will offers quietly. They are adults and should talk about things after all. Like how to move forward in the future, considering just how much Hannibal apparently cares about him.
Hannibal seems to suck in a breath, so maybe he hadn't thought Will would remember much. "Yes." He says, not denying it. "I was able to get you to the hospital for treatment, and then you just looked so small and vulnerable. I found I didn't want to and couldn't leave you."
Hannibal has clearly lost someone very important to him before and they had most likely been still small, as described. Hannibal had probably looked at Will and saw whomever he has lost, because they already have a bonded connection. It was sad. It was sweet. It was probably as close to love as Hannibal ever got. Will was grateful.
"Thank you." He says sincerely. "Thank you for saving me." Words don't do it justice because Will is still alive when he easily could have been dead. Hannibal saved his life.
Hannibal licks his lips and for a second the movement looks very odd to Will. Has he ever seen Hannibal's tongue like that before? He doesn't think so. It seems almost too human to see him do such a thing. Will suddenly wants to see Hannibal doing a full range of domestic things, including brushing his teeth. Gargling, sneezing from dust, rubbing his stomach after eating too much. Will wants to see all of it.
"You are quite welcome Will, after some more rest I would like to discuss the possibility of you coming to my house for the duration of your home bedrest." Hannibal is quick to suggest. He's clearly had a lot of time to think about how he wants to convince Will to do as he wishes.
Will blinks. He had known it was coming. Now that Hannibal had spent so much time with him, it was likely that he'd grown an obsession that wouldn't easily dissipate. Hannibal was predominantly predictable to Will, and now that Will's mind is working better it's even easier to see. Hannibal would want Will in his life close by and taken care of like the tiny source of loving nostalgia that he was. And Will was fine with that.
"That sounds lovely." He says, eyes once more slipping closed. It's just a nap this time, but a much needed one with drugs still pumping into his system. Hannibal pets his greasy hair lovingly.
"Sleep well Will, I'll be here when you wake." Hannibal says and it sounds an awful lot like a promise.