WRATH: A Hannigram Fanfiction

28- Le Feu dans Mon Cœur

     Hannibal pressed his palm to Will's cheek and, adding another event to this night of endless miracles, healed his wound with just one touch. Although Will flinched in pain and drew his shoulders up, they never broke eye contact. Will gazed at him with reverence.
     "Thank you," he whispered, and it sounded like he really meant it. Like he was left without a voice in the face of such magnificence.
     Now, Will sat cross-legged facing the fireplace, the flames casting their warm light over the dark bedroom. He was hunched slightly, shivering. Hannibal couldn't take his eyes off of his beautiful grey wings. They were slowly air drying— Hannibal couldn't risk harming them with a towel. They weren't strong enough.
     "Here, baby." Hannibal retrieved a soft blanket from his armoire and draped it over Will's lap. Will held it tightly in his hands. "I'll get you something to drink."
     He took off before Will could object, migrating into the kitchen. He selected the finest chamomile tea from his cupboard and filled the kettle with water. As it boiled, he searched through the cupboards for a mug with a strong handle. He wanted Will to be able to hold it easily in his shaky hands.
     He opened the fridge and took out a tube of aloe gel. It felt wonderful on his own back at times when the skin was fragile, so he knew Will would love it. The kettle began to sing, and he promptly took it off the burner.
     He poured the hot water into the teapot, swirling it to warm up the glass, and then he left the tea in there to steep. He inhaled the sweet scent of the flowers that would make Will nice and sleepy. His Angel needed his rest.
     Into the mug it went, and he took it back to the bedroom. Upon arriving, he stopped in the doorway, observing Will. He was holding a corner of the blanket up to his face, his eyes closed as he rubbed the fabric against his cheek, his nose, his lips. He buried his nose in it and inhaled before eventually covering his whole face. It was as though the world were entirely foreign to him, something to be thoroughly explored with the senses.
     "I'm back," Hannibal said quietly. Will looked up, not startled nor embarrassed, just serene. He smiled softly as he took the drink.
     "Here. Now, what else? Are you hungry? I can fix you something. Another blanket? Oh, I should have brought you some water. I'll go—"
     "Hannibal." Will reached for Hannibal as he turned away, gently holding his wrist. "Stop. You don't have to do all of this."
     Hannibal paused. "I know that you only remember this life, Angel, but...you have suffered for so, so long. And your body is so worn out, you poor thing. I have to take care of you."
     "I want you to sit with me." Will inched over, patting the space next to him. "Please."
     Of course Hannibal had complied. He lowered himself to the floor, and Will shifted the blanket to cover both of their laps. Hannibal took the corner that Will had been holding and brought it up to his own face. Knowing that it had touched Will's skin made it somehow warmer, softer.
     "I like soft things," Will told him. "Makes my senses feel nice."
     Hannibal remembered the way Will buried his face in his dogs' fur, in the fabric of Hannibal's suits, the way he clutched blankets like they were lifelines. In that moment, he vowed to himself to give Will many gentle gifts. Clothing made from the finest silk, dogs with long, smooth coats, blankets from thick wool.
     "The clouds in Heaven were soft," he said before he could stop himself.
     "I know." Will's reply was instant. "They were."
     "You really saw it?" Hannibal held his hand.
     "I...I felt your lips on mine, and things changed before me. For a wonderful second, I was sitting with you in the clouds. We were holding each other." Will flapped his wings as though he had to check they were still there.
     Hannibal remembered the aloe. He moved behind Will, squeezing a small dollop onto his fingertips and working it into the cuts. Will startled, but he quickly relaxed into it.
     "Oh, that's really nice. Thank you."
     "You have always been my love. Time doesn't exist in Heaven, so I can't say for how long. But Heaven has a way of exacerbating joy, so it felt like something infinite. Something inevitable."
     "I felt it, for that moment. I felt so much love." Will stared down at his lap. "But...I don't know. It's hard right now, Hannibal. Lucifer. Because you've had all this time to remember me, to love me, but I've only just now remembered you."
     "I know, love. And that's alright. I don't expect things to ever be the same as they were."
     "But that's not fair. You've waited all this time. I should be everything you've ever wanted."
     "Hush." Hannibal leaned in and kissed his cheek. He rested his head on Will's shoulder. "You are everything I've ever wanted and more."
"Really?"
"I've existed for billions of years, Will." He took Will's cheek in his palm, turning his head to look into his eyes. The aloe cooled the scar on his face. "And you aren't that much younger. Since the moment you were created, every single thing I've ever done...it's all been for you. Every bit of it."
Will blinked back tears in the firelight. "But would you still love me if I wasn't an angel? If I was just Will?"
"That's an unfair question. It's a lot more complicated than that."
"So no?"
Hannibal sighed. "Right now, Will, you have a Soul." He pointed a finger at Will's chest. "Right in there. And that same Soul has been with you since the day you were brought into this Universe, billions of years before. It was with you through your life in Heaven. It survived the Fall. It's been with you for your second life, your one hundred and second, your one thousand and second. It's there now, and it always will be.
"Your Soul is what makes you who you are. Without it, Will Graham would not exist. So, no, I wouldn't love you if you weren't an Angel, because then you wouldn't exist at all. There is no Will Graham without Tranquility." He took a breath. "Does that make sense?"
"I guess. I just..." Will turned his head away, setting his mug down and burying his face in his hands. "It's hard, Hannibal. This is so hard."
"I know."
There was a long silence. Hannibal took the time to lean in close, gently massaging the base of Will's wings. He rubbed Will's back and shoulders, and the skin was warm and smooth.
"You and I...have begun to blur," Will finally said.
Hannibal opened his mouth to object, but then he realized that Will was right. They had each lost so the other could gain. They had sacrificed everything they'd ever known to be with each other forever. Will had changed him just as much as he had changed Will. They really had begun to blur into one being.
     "We're conjoined," Will continued, as if reading his mind. Perhaps he could. "I'm curious as to whether either of us could survive separation."
     "We already did. But it left us permanently marked." Hannibal squeezed Will's shoulders. "I don't want to test our capabilities again."
"I've never felt this exposed."
"No one can ever be fully aware of another human being unless we love them." Hannibal noticed the way Will's body tensed at the word. "By that love, we see potential in our beloved." He turned his head to kiss Will's neck. "Through that love, we allow our beloved to see their potential. Expressing that love...our beloved's potential comes true."
Another kiss, this time close to the ear. "I love you, Will," he whispered. He had never spoken those words to anyone else—he loved no one but his Angel, so to profess those words to another would be to lie. This, though, was the truest thing he had ever said.
Will looked like he was on the verge of tears again, but instead he gave a touched smile. "No one's told me that since...since Katie." He blinked rapidly before leaning up against Hannibal. "First time in decades, and it's the Devil who says it to me."
"No one at all?"
"No one."
This crushed him. "I would have said it much earlier if I'd known."
"You have, though. In many ways. And so have I. I hope you've noticed."
The memory of Will in the forest, bloodied and on his knees, washed over him.
"I've noticed. But will you ever say it?" It was a useless question; it was just as unfair as what Will had asked earlier. He couldn't expect Will to feel the powerful, celestial love that he'd been feeling for eons now. He was still only human, in a way."
"I don't know, Lucifer." Will pulled the blanket off of his lap and broke away, standing. "I'm a lot better at showing it than saying it." He retracted his wings and held out his hand.
Hannibal took it.
They silently moved for the bed, their bodies sinking into the soft mattress. Will removed his boxers, the only thing he had on, and Hannibal did the same. They were both so vulnerable then, naked and warm and full of need.
Will was so close to him now, straddling him. Hannibal could hear his breathing, and it made him even more desperate to close the gap between them. Before he could lose control, Will bent down and whispered in his ear.
"I worship you," Will said, kissing him on the cheek. Hannibal felt a warmth blossoming inside of him.
"I don't ask for your devotion, Angel."
"And I don't ask for yours. Doesn't mean you don't give it to me." Another kiss. "I've watched you create miracles out of nothing. You've healed me. Brought me back from the dead. Let me worship you."
Hannibal obeyed, relaxing into the bed and closing his eyes. Will could do anything he wished.
Will followed the same path that Hannibal had on their first night together, travelling down his body little by little. He kissed Hannibal's jawline, his stubble brushing Hannibal's face. Down to the neck, where he sucked the skin into his mouth but refused to bite. It was gentle.
Will eventually moved farther down, kissing him on the shoulders and collarbone. He pressed his lips to Hannibal's chest, lingering there for a moment and enjoying the feeling of his skin. Hannibal lay his head back and smiled.
When he felt Will's hand caress the center of his chest, he stopped. "Careful, love," he said immediately. "I don't know what could happen if you get too close."
Will looked up at him through his brows, a new determination in his features. "I don't care what happens," he purred.
Will kissed him.
Hannibal felt something inside of his chest burst open, a deep cavern forming inside of him. All of the matter inside of his chest, tissues and vessels and bones, were being sucked into a black hole. A beam of light escaped into the room, blinding them, ripping away their skin against their will and revealing their true forms. They were being swept into a hurricane of wind, being transported into a new place—
Silence.
Pure, misty white, like the inside of a cloud. They were both ghostlike, losing themselves to one another. Like magnets, they fell towards each other, and their bodies faded to become one.
It was a miraculous feeling, something that could never be put into words. The sun was setting in front of them, the sky painted a pure amber. They were one body, one Soul, and they were weightless. Divine.
     We're conjoined. Their voices combined.
They were bound together like never before. Warm rays of sun kissed Their one body, and Their emotions were one storm. Shock, confusion, comfort— but never fear. Lucifer reached his arm towards the sun, which was getting closer and closer. It was Will's arm, too. He squinted with Their eyelids and smiled with Their lips. It was such a sweet and easy peace, drifting here, and They were alone to bask in it.
Their Souls were merging, exuding waves of light, and They were so blissful. Lucifer could feel his Angel's thoughts loud and clear.
This is it. This is what perfection feels like.
He felt Will begin to sink into this new form, perfectly willing to stay this way forever. Lucifer did the same. They would never be separate again. They were floating up towards something new, towards the sun, towards Their new life—
And then the light faded from behind Their eyelids, and Lucifer felt a part of himself slip away. He heard Will gasping, clawing at him, trying to go back to Paradise.
They were in the bed again. The room was dark, and Will's lips hovered just over Hannibal's chest. The fire crackled.
"I didn't want to stop."
"I didn't do anything."
They stared at each other in awe, the unspoken words hanging above them. Neither of them were allowed into Heaven, nor would they ever be again. That was the cost of their choice: alone in Paradise, or together in Hell. Lucifer would always choose the latter.
The realization seemed to take its toll on Will. His eyes were wide and lost.
"Oh," he let out in a long moan of grief.
"Lay down, Angel," Hannibal guided him. Will let him move his body until they were laying next to each other, their legs tangled together, their hips pressed.
Hannibal didn't know what to say. Nothing could encapsulate that moment well enough. They had become Icarus, getting so close to everything they'd ever wanted before reality sent them crashing down.
"That is how it feels to love you, Will," he said after a long moment of consideration. "You are part of me. Do you understand?"
"I love you," Will breathed, biting down on his knuckles. "I love you."
Hannibal gripped his chin and tilted his head upwards. He kissed Will deeply on the lips. The trembling stopped.
"I love you," he replied once he broke free. "You are everything to me."
"Don't you ever fucking leave me." Will's face hardened. "Don't make me regret loving you, Lucifer. Tell me this isn't going to stop."
     "Never. Never." Will didn't seem like the type to say those words often. Hannibal knew it must have taken a lot out of him; he would make sure Will never regretted it. "After all of this, you think I would just get up and leave?"
     "Right. You won't leave." He was almost talking to himself now. "I know you won't. You can't." All of the tension left his body, as if he had finally hammered home the reassurance. He finally felt secure.
That, or he'd thought of something more sinister. Perhaps he'd thought about their crimes, how they were both tied to each other because neither could confess the other's sins without also confessing their own. Whatever it was, Will was calmer now.
     "Never. I'm going to show you so much, darling. You and I will own this world."
     Will snuggled into him. "Tell me where we'll go."
     Hannibal talked about Florence, Italy, swooning over the weather and the food and the culture of the city. He didn't have to speak for long, as Will's breathing eventually slowed, and his eyes fluttered closed. He was fast asleep in mere minutes.
     Hannibal watched him. It was over. It was all finally over.
He wrapped his arms around Will before settling in, too, and as he fell into a deep sleep he was comforted by the notion that they would be together for eternity. They were going to do anything and everything they could to protect their relationship forever.
     Anything and everything.