Title: Truth
Fandom: Hannibal (TV)
Rating: General
Pairing: Will/Molly, implied Will/Hannibal feelings
Length: 307 words
Content notes: Playing with future tense
Summary: Will knows how the conversation will go before he starts it.


Will knows how the conversation will go before he starts it.

He'll pick the quiet time before bed, when it's just the two of them. Molly will be knitting her scarf of multi-coloured wool scraps by the fire, trying to persuade him it's his turn to lock up after the dogs even though it's really not. She'll be teasing and chuckling and he'll want to not smile but he won't be able to stop himself.

Then he'll offer to take her turn, and she'll look at him, knowing.

"What is it, sweet man?" she'll say, in that voice that's so much softer than he deserves, and he'll be drawn in, sit in the glow of the fire with her and lean against her legs so she can stroke his hair.

And he'll tell her they need to talk about Hannibal Lecter.

He'll tell her that the man who gave him his worst scar was the best friend he ever had in his life. (True.)

He'll tell her that he'd never felt a connection like that with another human being. (True.)

Until her, of course. (Not true.)

He'll tell her that Hannibal is securely locked away. (True.)

That he'll never be released. There's no such thing as parole or treatment for him. (True.)

That he will never be able to escape. (Not true.)

That they are safe. That he will never see Hannibal again. That it's over. (True and not true.)

Then she'll thank him for telling her, and she'll take him to bed and hold him, and he'll lie awake and think about how the lies shouldn't have been the easiest parts of that conversation.

He knows how the conversation will go if he starts it. So maybe... maybe he won't start it just yet.

Maybe after another week or two, they won't be lies any more.