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Will woke up to Hannibal straddling his waist. He watched the man leaned forward, so close that their noses were almost brushing each other, but not close enough to touch. Never close enough. He felt as the man's breath puffed against his skin, and he raised a curious brow. A large hand wrapped around his neck, not hard enough to cut off his breathing, but pressing lightly regardless.
"What are you doing?" Will asked, voice groggy and rough from sleep.
"Dont ask questions you know the answer to, Will." Hannibal replied, shadowed in the darkened room, light creeping in as the sun rises, streaming in through the window.
It had been 3 days since the fall, and they were on a boat heading towards Cuba. They had barely spoken to each other, interacting as acquaintances would. Will would catch Hannibal staring at him from across the boat, a darkness in his eyes, something lurking beneath the surface. Will would always look away, not scared of what he found there, but scared of how much he wanted to bury himself in it. Not like he hadn’t already, he thought sarcastically.
They stayed there like that for a while, Hannibal's hands around Will's throat, threatening but not acting. A wetness dripped down onto Will's face, and he belatedly realized that Hannibal was crying silently. The hand of his own reached up and caressed a side of Hannibals face, wiping away a stray tear. Pressure increased on his neck, cutting off air flow, and Will choked.
"I hate you," Hannibal said, voice wet with tears. "I hate you for what you’ve done to me, I should kill you and be rid of you."
Will smiled, head dizzy, feeling lightheaded. "I love you too, Hannibal." He murmured, and the pressure on his neck increased tenfold. His brain felt like it was on fire once again, agony in every form, but the only emotion Will felt was contentment.
If this was the way he was to die, so be it. He knew the only way Hannibal would ever allow him to die was by his own hand, and Will had accepted this fate a long, long time ago.
Tears of grief and loss dripped steadily onto Wills face now, Hannibal shaking above him.
"I hate you, I hate you, Will." He repeats, over and over again.
"I- I prefer sins of omission- to outright lies, Hannibal." Will chokes out, black creeping at the edges of his vision.
Hannibal says nothing in response, molten black eyes staring down into Wills oceanic blue ones. "You're beautiful," Will whispers with a final breath.
Finally, his hand drops from Hannibals face, and his eyes flutter shut, passing out.