Plagued By An Imagine

Part 1

"That sounds weak to you, even as you say it," Hannibal stated, eyes looking Will up and down curiously. His shoulders were beginning to ache from the angle the straight jacket held him in, what a medieval torture device. He doubted Will would care about the history of such a fascinating item of clothing, so he let the idea rest.

"Secret Service has a setup they've never used." Hannibal could hear the bored shrug in Will's voice as the man spoke. "They'll let us have it." There was a slight pause as Hannibal waited for the flattery he knew was coming. Will was easy to read, had become so easy to read, as had he. That was the whole reason for the flattery. Will knew it would get him anything he desired, even if he had betrayed the doctor. Hannibal couldn't resist the urge to preen under the attention and he so loved to make Will's eyes sparkle by offering him anything his heart desired. "You're our best shot, Hannibal."

Not Doctor Lecter. Personal.

Hannibal did his best to hide his pleasure and tipped his head to the side instead as if he hadn't heard correctly, gaze narrowing on the ex-FBI agent before him that was still somehow knees deep in whatever Crawford had drug him into.

Will's slightly smug expression fell when he realized that Hannibal wasn't going to take the bait quite so easily. His lips turned down and he took a single, small step forward, leaning in with a lowered voice.

"Please."

It wasn't a question. Will didn't have to ask. Didn't have to beg. Didn't have to demand. He just simply had to be and that was all Hannibal needed to be convinced, though he did enjoy playing with his food before a meal.

Will stepped back and Hannibal gave a micro smile in answer. Will's eyes left Hannibal's face and he nodded to the guards behind the man dressed in white like an mentally unstable patient, and before Hannibal could object, the harsh plastic of a muzzle was shoved onto his face. The tightening of it around his head wasn't gentle and dug deeply into the bridge of his nose and cheeks, adding a hint more pain to his already aching shoulders.

Will clasped his hands behind his back and once more nodded to the agents behind Hannibal and much to Hannibal's surprise, they left his cell, most likely certain that Hannibal had no way to get out of his prison. But there was always a way out.

"I find this a little unnecessary," Hannibal griped, his breath already hot against the plastic.

"Your bite is unfortunately worse than your bark," Will commented, taking to lazy steps to the left of Hannibal. The doctor followed Will's movements until Will disappeared behind him, only to reappear with those same slothful strides. "Can't be too cautious with you."

"I personally believe that you have put in the proper precautions, though they are rather uncomfortable."

"Good." Will shot Hannibal a sharp smile as he once more faded behind Hannibal, circling him like a bird of prey in his very own cell. "We can't have you thinking you're special, Hannibal. You're simply a means to an end."

"And tell me Will, what end are you hoping to achieve?" Hannibal mused, turning his head to be able to see when Will rounded him again, but the footsteps behind him changed direction. "One where you are the hero? Another murderer behind bars, only for another to rise up and take his place?"

"For us."

Hannibal's eyebrows lifted in interest as he turned his head the opposite way as Will came back into his line of sight. His hands were still clasped behind his back, steps just the same as before, biding time as if they had enough to never run out.

"You flatter me."

"Do not take this as flattery, Hannibal."

Hannibal gave a nod with a soft, "Ah," as if he had just put the pieces together. "You're hoping to kill two birds with one stone."

"A cannibal and a dragon," Will agreed, stopping only momentarily in front of Hannibal, to look at the full length of his body before continuing on in his idle circles. "If they both take care of the other, it is much less of a mess for me."

"And if you find yourself in the middle of the mess?"

There was a laugh behind Hannibal, brighter than he normally heard it. "I thoroughly expect to find myself in the middle of this mess. I have no doubt that you will find a way to drag me back into it whether I want to be there or not."

"Do you want to be there, Will?'

The steps came to a halt and Hannibal stared straight ahead at the blank wall of his cell.

"Does it matter what I want in any of this?"

"Hasn't it always?"

Will's next steps were hurried and the hints of anger pulled in those blue eyes as Will stood toe to toe with Hannibal. Will's eyes flickered between Hannibal's for a beat before he answered lowly, "No."

Hannibal didn't miss a beat. "And with the two of us gone, what then Will? Will you go back to your son and wife? I doubt you'd be able to repair what has occurred."

"No thanks to you."

Hannibal tipped his head to the side, the smile hidden behind the mask. "I only gave you a gift."

"A gift?" Will snorted, nodding and licking his lips. "Is that what you call it? Destroying my marriage, my chance at a family, my one small taste of happiness? A bit of normal? A touch of healthy? My one shot at-"

"You were suffocating, not happy Will."

"And you would know!"

"I know you better than anyone, Will," Hannibal answered back softly. "I know more of you than anyone you've ever let in before."

Will sighed, looking to the ground in silence. When he did look up, the anger was gone. "Did you ever think that you're the reason I can't let anyone else in?" Hannibal couldn't move as the front of his white fabric prison was snatched up in a fist. "Just admit it and tell me that's what you always wanted, what you had always planned from the beginning. Isolate me. Make me even more alone than I ever had been so that all I have for the rest of eternity is you."

"Would it be so bad if that were true?"

Will's grip tightened, Will's knuckles going white with the pressure, nearly pale enough to match the fabric they held. "I hate," Will hissed through his teeth, "that I don't mind it."

Hannibal hadn't been prepared for the words and he scanned Will's face carefully for any hint of a lie, but he found none. His blue eyes glistened with tears and Hannibal wondered if Will would allow them to fall, if they were even real or another trick in this game of go fish.

Hannibal could only blink as Will leaned forward, mouth pressing up against the plastic mask, kissing the wall between them. A painful heat of anger shot through Hannibal when Will stepped back, but not because of what Will had done, but because of the centimeter of plastic separating them, keeping the truth that Will had just spoken between the two of them hanging in the air and unable to settle.

"Do me a favor," Will whispered, calling maroon eyes to him. "Do the right thing for once in your life and die. Ok, Hannibal?"

The front of his straight jacket was released and Will turned away without another word, footfalls strong as he went for the door of the cell to call the guards back in to take care of Hannibal and Hannibal silently cursed the way he was strapped to a dolly and unable to chase after the man leaving him behind once more.