Chapter Text
Will’s heart pounded, fear, anger, and betrayal coursed through his veins as he stared at Hannibal. “You're the Chesapeake Ripper” he spoke softly, not wanting to believe it. “You've been right in front of us this whole time.”
Hannibal's lips curled in a smile, “and yet here you are confronting me…alone.” He took a single step forward, his eyes gleaming with something dangerous. “Tell me, Will, are you afraid?”
He took a shaky breath, willing himself to stay rooted in place. He wasn't going to give Hannibal the satisfaction of seeing his fear, “I know you won't kill me.” He stated, sounding braver than he felt. A soft chuckle escaped the man's lips, as he began circling the empath. A predator stalking its prey, right before the pounce.
“What makes you so sure?” The Ripper stopped just behind Will, standing close enough that his rich aftershave burned his nose. Every instinct in the empath screamed at him to run, sweat gathered in the creases of his brows.
Honestly Will wasn't entirely sure that Hannibal wouldn't kill him however, there's no telling how long the man was standing on the stairs before the empath turned around. He could have struck at any moment, but he chose not to, despite being capable enough to do so. “You would have done it while my back was turned, I was vulnerable so it would have been the perfect moment to attack."
Hannibal chuckled darkly, the hairs on the back of Will's neck stood up as the man spoke directly in his ear. “You truly are observant darling, that's what drew me to you in the first place.” The empath breathed a sigh of relief as the man backed away, “your mind is a beautiful weapon, one I intended to use for myself.”
The man entered his field of vision once more, basking in the fear that Will was trying desperately to keep hidden. He swiped his tongue across dry lips, the bitter taste of vomit lingered. “What was the purpose of you drugging me?” Hannibal raised an eyebrow, speaking almost mockingly. “I’m sure you know the answer to that Will, I just praised your intelligence—don’t make me take it back.” He leaned back against the freezer, body relaxed and eyes locked in on Will.
The empath on the other hand stood rigid, body poised and tensed ready to make a run for it if necessary. He knew escape was pointless, but going down without a fight wasn't an option. Hannibal cleared his throat, waiting for an answer. Will met the Ripper's gaze, “you wanted me unaware of your…extracurricular activities.”
Hannibal inclined his head. “It seems, however, that your body grew used to the effects.” Pushing himself off the freezer, he walked over to the wall of various tools, giving Will the chance to creep silently toward the stairs. His steps were light, his breath shallow, and it took every ounce of restraint not to bolt. Just as he froze, Hannibal’s voice continued, casual and unbothered. “I suppose it’s my fault you’re in this mess at all. Had I alternated the sedatives, you’d still be blissfully unaware.”
He kept his back turned to the empath, who in a sudden surge of confidence spoke up. “Who would have thought the great Chesapeake Ripper would meet his end due to a mistake?”
Hannibal went rigid, hand hovering over a tool that Will couldn’t name. For a second the empath felt a wave of triumph wash over him, the Ripper was a man of ego and pride, it felt gratifying to land a dig right where it hurt.
That triumph quickly turned to cold hard fear, as Hannibal turned to face him. The dark eyes that Will once found warm and comforting, were now hardened into something dangerous. The empath felt ice in his veins, his heart seemingly stopped beating as the man took a step towards him, forcing Will back.
This man, the one who stood before him now, was stripped completely of his person suit. The Chesapeake Ripper stood exposed, as all his victims must have seen him. “And what my darling Will, do you consider my end?”
Will opened his mouth however no words came out, the only coherent thought he had was ‘RUN!’ He shifted slightly towards the stairs, the tiny movement caught Hannibal's attention. The Ripper’s lips twitched with a smile, “go ahead and try Will. I assure you, that you won't make it far.”
It wasn't a threat but a promise, they both knew he wouldn't even make it from his spot on the floor before Hannibal would strike. He needed to get this under control so he could send a message to Jack, but how?
His phone felt heavy in his pocket, Will had two options, he could either risk it and try to send a message to Jack. However Hannibal could easily keep him from doing that, or he could attack the man, buying him some time to get in contact with Jack.
Neither option was ideal, and both could go horribly wrong. But the second option had the most potential to work. Blue eyes scanned the room for anything nearby he could use as a weapon. Finding nothing, he cursed under his breath. Hands only—it would have to be. He’d just have to use the element of surprise to his advantage.
“What was your plan for me?” Will asked, trying to reel in his fear, for his plan to work he needed to calm down. Hannibal's eyes twinkled, giving the empath a sense of dread.
He took a step towards Will, his hand outstretched as he caressed the agent's face. His touch burned, leaving behind a trail of fire as skilled fingers traced his jawline, before forcing his chin up. “That depends” Hannibal finally answered, his thumb rubbing against Will's bottom lip. It took everything in him, not to lean into the once loving touch. “How much do you want to know?”
Will's eyes never left Hannibal's, the fear slowly melting away for anger to take place. “All of it.”
Something akin to satisfaction crossed Hannibal's face, his hand trailed down from the empath's chin to his throat. Will's breath shuddered, knowing that at anypoint Hannibal could end him where he stood. “All of it?” He echoed, nimble fingers toyed with a racing pulse point. “Are you sure?”
The empath swallowed thickly, “no” he admitted. “But I want to know how much of what we were was true.”
The Ripper closed the distance between the two, his cold hand never leaving Will's throat. “Truth is a particular thing darling” Hannibal murmured, his gaze bore into Will’s as if waiting to see if he'd back down. “I'm aware, but I need to know.”
Hannibal's grin rivaled the Cheshire cat's, he withdrew his hand, allowing Will to breath a little easier. “Always the stubborn one you are.” He sighed, crossing his hands behind his back, as if trying to appear non-threatening.
“Everything that has happened between us was genuine, I cared about you Will — I still care about you. However the truth is what you want, so it was your empathy, your mind that I loved more.”
That hit Will like a slap to the face, he was expecting to not like what Hannibal had to say. He was used to people only caring for him when his empathy was involved, but to hear it from the man he had come to love. Somehow it stung a lot more, tears gathered in the corner of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.
“I was just a weapon you could wield, you never saw me as a person or an equal.” His voice wavered as he continued, “you saw what you could take, and what you could bend to your will.” He let out a watery chuckle, “and to say that you care…you're incapable of caring for someone, not without a price.”
Hannibal hummed tilting his head, “I suppose that may be true. I never saw you as an equal, because I was helping you become my equal.”
Will must have looked confused, because Hannibal continued the same twinkle in his eyes as before. “Your ability allows you to see the worst parts of God's creation, you become the killers you seek to catch rather you're aware of it or not. You feed off that darkness you keep under lock and key."
The Ripper moved close enough to whisper in the agent's ear. “You crave the dark, it was my intention to help you realize that.”
Will's mind was moving about a hundred miles a minute, until suddenly everything clicked into place. Past conversations where the two would stay up until all hours of the night discussing the Ripper cases, there had been times where Hannibal said things that sounded…out of place at the time, things that Will just brushed off as him being exhausted and stressed over the case.
However, now that he knew the truth, he realized Hannibal was giving him the answers to all his questions on a silver platter.
“You wanted me to find out the truth.” He stated, when Hannibal neither confirmed nor denied his accusation, Will continued. “Obviously not in the way it had happened, you wanted to be in control of when and how I uncovered the truth.”
The man smiled as if Will had just granted his most prized wish, “right as ever darling. Though I must admit, the look of fear on your face was positively delicious when you realized just what kind of mess you were tangled in.”
Will's eye caught the freezer in the corner of the room, his stomach twisted painfully at the reminder of its contents. “You fed me-” He choked on the words, but forced them out after a second's hesitation. “Human meat didn't you? As a way to place some part of you, inside of me.” His voice sounded raw, laden with all the emotions he wished to express but couldn't.
Hannibal's expression was devoid of any emotion, “I was testing to see how observant you were. Besides, if you ate the evidence, you'd be forced to keep the secret—to keep me.”
The empath's stomach churned, bile rising in his throat but he pushed it down. “You're sick.”
The Ripper walked behind Will, blocking his path to the stairs. A hand was placed on his shoulder, as Hannibal leaned forward. “Darling, you sit high on your throne of morality.” The hand dropped down to his waist, pulling him flush against the man's chest. His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper, “but what is the point of being righteous when in the end, you're just as twisted as I am?”
Something inside Will snapped, he grabbed the arm around his waist, voice full of venom. “I am nothing like you.”
In a quick motion, he brought his arm back and elbowed Hannibal in the gut. The man grunted in pain, however, didn't let go of Will. He twisted under the arm holding him, and kicked him back away from the stairs.
Hannibal stumbled, but quickly recovered. He slowly turned to face the agent, his eyes blown wide and black with something almost feral. If Will thought he looked dangerous earlier, he looked downright murderous now. “Oh Will.” His accent was thick, “if only you saw things my way.”
The empath wasted no time, he bolted up the stairs, adrenaline coursing through him. He fumbled for his phone as he ran through the kitchen, his gun was upstairs he just had to reach it, before the Ripper reached him.
He heard the quiet steps of Hannibal behind him, it was then he realized that this was just a game to the man. He knew he'd catch Will, he just enjoyed the chase.
He made it upstairs to the bedroom, when Jack answered the phone. “What is it Gra-”
“Hannibal is the Ripper! You have to get to his house now!” His eyes scanned the room, heart pounding as he searched desperately for his gun.
Jack's voice was tense. “Slow down, what do you mean Dr. Lecter is the Ripper?”
Will cursed, he knew he put it in the room, but where was it? The footsteps stopped outside of the room, “looking for this?” Time seemed to stop as the empath turned around, there hanging from Hannibal's finger was his gun.
“You didn't think I'd leave this laying around before I confronted you, hang up the phone darling.” Crawford was all but yelling in his ear, but Will drowned him out when the gun clicked.
“I’m not one to use a gun, however if you do not hang up the phone that will change.”
Will’s breaths were coming out in puffs as he stared at the barrel of the gun, “keep him distracted, I'm on my way.” Was the only thing the agent heard before the other end went silent, he pulled the phone away from his ear, reluctantly placing it in Hannibal's waiting hand.
He just had to stall until Jack and the others could get here, he just hoped it was soon.
“Now why did you have to go and get Uncle Jack involved?” The Ripper slipped Will's phone into his pocket, “if he dies darling, that's on you.”
The empath's voice wavered as he forced himself to speak, the raw pain in his eyes betraying his composure. "I trusted you," he murmured, afraid that if he spoke any louder, he might break.
Hannibal tilted his head, Will could have sworn he saw a flicker of guilt pass before his expression went blank once more. “Trust is a delicate thing Will, place it in the hands of the right person and that trust will flourish.” He lowered the gun, since they both knew who had the upper hand.
“However, place it in the hands of the wrong person, and that trust could be broken only to be reborn into that person's image.”
The empath closed his eyes trying to reel himself back in, “what happens now?” He asked softly, knowing that the answer wasn't one he'd like. “I don't want to kill you.” Hannibal murmured, voice almost regretful.
“However I'm afraid you gave me no choice.”
He jolted as Hannibal cupped his face, thumbs brushing away stray tears that slipped out. Slowly he opened his eyes, if he was going to die, he wanted to face his killer head-on.
“Just get it over with.” He whispered, Hannibal smiled sadly, carding his fingers through tangled curls. “As you wish.”
Time seemed to slow down, as Hannibal's hand moved towards something hidden in his suit jacket. Will's pulse quickened every nerve on edge, anticipating what might come next. Before anything could happen, the door downstairs crashed open, and Jack's booming voice carried up the stairs. Will's eyes flicked hopefully to the doorway just behind the Ripper as multiple sets of footsteps thundered up the steps.
"Drop the knife, Dr. Lecter," Jack commanded. At first Hannibal didn't listen, his dark eyes remained on Will. “Listen to him Hannibal…it's over.”
The agent held his breath as Hannibal leaned forward, his voice quiet enough for only Will to hear. "You can try to distance yourself, darling, pretend I’m contained. However, let it be known that no cell can restrain me forever. When I come for you, it will be inevitable"
The knife clattered to the ground, two officers grabbed the Ripper by his arms handcuffing them. The empath stared in disbelief as Hannibal was forced downstairs, he released the breath he was holding once the man was out of sight.
Jack made his way over to Will, “are you alright?” He asked, placing his hand on his shoulder. The empath nodded, “I'm fine, I just can't believe the Chesapeake Ripper was that close this whole time.”
The older man chuckled, patting his back, “it's always the ones you least expected. Come on let's get you home, you've had enough excitement for one day.”
^^^
The drive home felt surreal, not even hours ago he had been kissing death, now he was home, forced to go about his life as if it hadn't all changed in a matter of minutes.
He fed the dogs, ate whatever crappy tv dinner he had left, and sat outside while the dogs ran around. It was strange, he should be ecstatic that the Ripper was behind bars where he belonged.
Instead he just felt hollow, the only person Will had in his life was a killer who was just using him. Now the empath was alone, well besides his dogs of course. He laughed brokenly, unable to stop himself, tears filled his eyes but he wasn't going to scrub them away again. Instead he let them fall, the wave of emotions he'd been holding back, broke through the dam.
He screamed out his frustrations until his throat felt raw, sobs racked his body as every memory with Hannibal flashed by. Every single one of them now tainted, it was all just an illusion. No one cared or loved him, he was incapable of being loved, he was just a tool for people to use, only to be discarded once he’d served his purpose.
Once his sobs had quieted down, he felt exhausted. One whistle had the dogs running back inside, as if on autopilot the empath got ready for bed, and laid down.
Hannibal's words echoed in Will's mind as he drifted into a restless sleep. He knew that cell wouldn’t hold the man forever. He had to be prepared. When Hannibal broke out, he would come looking for him—and that was why Will needed to find him first.