Fandom: Red Dragon/The Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal

Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham

Rating: R/NC-17

Beta: Malakai_Amlug & elfinessy (thank you very much, to both of you)

Summary: Sometimes running is not possible as the past catches up with you.

Notes/Warning: This is a slash story which means that it features two grown up men in love with each other and physically expressing this emotion in various forms. If you are in any way or degree homophobic, disgusted, disturbed, feel threatened or weirded out by such a relationship, please do not read any further and don’t write me any stupid e-mails to preach about the wrongs or rights of homosexual relationships.

Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this story are by no means mine and belong to Thomas Harris. If you want to have some picture as a guideline for what these guys actually look like I would strongly suggest watching the movie versions of the books, which were done by DeLaurentis Pictures. As for the musical help I had with this story. The chapter titles and the paragraphs of lyrics in each chapter are songs composed and performed by Placebo. Therefore they are not mine either. I am not making any money with this and purely do it for my own amusement and entertainment.



CHAPTER THREE – My sweet Prince


“Never thought you’d make me perspire
Never thought I’d fill with desire”


Today started like all his days – with a hangover. Not a very strong one but it was there, buzzing in his head and making his stomach slightly queasy. Will actually couldn’t remember a hangover-less morning but then again he didn’t want to think about the past, which had led him to where he was now.

He continued with his daily morning procedure, waiting for the first warming morning rays to caress his face and wake him further. Sometimes Will would get up, throw the curtains and the window open and stand in the sun heralding the day. He soaked the energy and the warmth up like a sponge. But today he just lay in bed and with closed eyes and let the rays wander over his body.

Today was Saturday and it was the first of his two days off. This meant that today was the day for shopping, cleaning, washing and cooking. He could wait until tomorrow but he liked to spend his Sundays on the beach or out on the ocean. He would take his little boat out on the open water and fish or read or spend his time dozing in the sun. The sound and the feel of the waves was better than all the alcohol on the island to keep him from remembering. Will didn’t know why but maybe it was because of the safety he felt when being surrounded by all the water.

A low groan escaped him as he rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in the soft and warm pillow. A slight breeze wafted through the room and tickled the small of his back where the sheets had slipped away. He mumbled curses into the pillow and blindly grabbed back to tug the sheets up again. Somehow the cloth stayed out of reach though and he growled frustrated, burying his face deeper into the pillow and curled up on the mattress without a cover.

The neighbor’s dog started barking, which was always the signal that the newspaper was delivered. Chico – the dog – and the newspaper deliverer shared a special bond. Although the black canine barked and growled at the man every morning, it was completely in love with its enemy. Will was sure that should the man ever quit his job, the poor beast would be heart-broken. The volume rose and the barks grew more frantic.

Will sighed and stretched on the bed until he heard his spine pop. It felt good to laze around in bed like this. He wouldn’t mind doing this more often. Rolling on his side, he sat up and got out of bed. He stretched once more and padded to the darkened window. Will drew back the curtains and leaned against the frame looking out into the morning.

The sky was still silver grey with the odd golden fleck but soon it would change to the famous Caribbean blue. The breeze outside carried the scent of fresh pure air into the bedroom and slightly cleared Will’s heavy head.

After watching the morning for a couple of minutes, Will turned away from the window and scratching his chest, headed for the bathroom to relieve his bladder and brush his teeth. He hated the stale taste of morning breath. It tasted like an old sock or a dirty floor.

His washings every morning were his own kind of ritual to wash away his nightmares of the night before. The length of the shower he took depended on how vicious his dreams had been and on how much alcohol he had consumed to lock the horrors back up in his mind. On some days he got away with a quick ten minute shower but on other days he stayed under the scorching spray for fifteen up to thirty minutes. He never left before he felt clean enough to face the world. In the beginning, when his nightmares had been at their worst, he had burned himself a couple of times. But that hadn’t happened for some time now.

The warm water and the coconut lotion soon made Will feel freed from the memories he had had to fight in the dark and after rubbing himself dry he lotioned his body and put the beige linen slacks on. He hadn’t worn them for some time now. Combined with his black linen shirt it made him look like some movie star. The thought amused him and he chuckled as he combed his hair only to towel-dry it afterward.

He didn’t put on any socks, he had stopped wearing them after the first week. There was no use in doing that here, where temperatures never fell under 70°F. It was also some kind of freedom, not constricting his feet.

The whole house was filled with the pale morning light now and he crossed the entrance to the kitchen door. Will remembered vaguely spilling half a bottle of rum when he had tried to get his shirt off. The floor was clean though, nothing spilt and no trace of any dirt. It looked like somebody had cleaned the room thoroughly. Confused he trotted to the living room and just like in the kitchen, everything was cleaned in here too.

Panic started to seize him but he forced himself to calm down. It wasn’t like he made a lot of mess usually. He had probably been very careful this week, causing less mess – none at all to be more precise – in the house.

Will shrugged and decided not to worry about it. He didn’t want to or dare consider any other possibilities. Ignorance was sometimes a blessing. Turning his back to the mystery, he grabbed his wallet from the dining table and pocketed it. In the entrance he stopped in front of the mirror but never raised his eyes. It was some kind of weird habit of his, standing in front of the mirror but not to look at it, one more reason why some people thought him to be a lunatic.

After taking a couple of calming, relaxing, strengthening breaths, he reached for his Fedora and the sunglasses. He knew that this outfit suited him. Well, sometimes he felt like dressing up. The only thing missing here were his black flip-flops.

Now he was good and ready to go. Will opened the front door and stepped out into the new day.


“ Never thought you’d fuck with my brain
Never thought you’d go break the chain.”


The market was still empty at this time of the day. The sellers were still putting up their stands and unloading the goods from their trucks. Will always strolled through the market that early though, to be able to take a good look at everything before it got crowded later on.

After his brief inspection of the wares and having reserved six flying fish, limes and tomatoes, he strolled through the alleys to his favorite café.

The old establishment was the only real café in this part of the town but it was also the best one of the whole island. The atmosphere in the room was one of comfort and happiness. All the good things that had been thought and spoken in here over time could almost be felt. To Will it was a little bit like home.

He sat down at his favorite table in the back corner, grabbing the nearest newspaper and started flipping through it. He didn’t have to wait for long before Louis brought his coffee. Will didn’t have to place an order anymore because he frequented the café that often, the staff already knew what to bring.

The freshly brewed beverage smelled deliciously and the promising smell of the well-earned caffeine dose made him put the paper aside, dedicating his whole attention to the drink. He sighed, content after his first swallow, the hot coffee warming him from the inside out. It was as if the world got more color after a good cup of coffee, although he had to admit it was probably because the caffeine woke his brain and only then did he start to fully process the input from his own eyes.

The café was half empty and the sounds that could be heard were the radios playing in the market and the people outside chatting on the street. The new song that was being broadcasted now was a steeldrum piece that had made the second place at last year’s festival. True enough, this year’s competition would start in two weeks and people were getting excited about it. Everywhere children and women carried flowers and little trinkets together to give the finishing touches to their decorations. Songs were practiced and band moves choreographed.

Last year he had only been to the finals but this year he wanted to see more. Muta – his boss – and his friends were in a band that competed this time and he had promised to go to their performances. Like last year the garage would be closed for the duration of the festival and he would have more than enough time off anyway.

Will finished his coffee and folded the newspaper properly before putting it back on the stack he had taken it from. Getting up he carried his cup to the counter and laid the money next to it; waving his goodbye to Louis, he left the vicinity.

There was already a lot of hustle on the streets now and the people milled to the market. Glad that he wouldn’t have to fight his way to the stands to get a look at the goods, Will just handed the money to the seller and received his bag of fish. This was repeated with the vegetables and the limes and he was out of the crowded place and back on his way home.

Today he would make steamed flying fish and he had still to bone, scale and clean them and then marinate the fish to prepare them for later usage. He also decided that since his house was apparently clean, he would make some lemonade and mango chow. He had more than enough time after all.

Walking back up his street he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the spicy Caribbean air. Opening them again he strode up the last steps to his house and climbed the stairs up to the porch. There he balanced his bags in one hand while taking his key out of his pocket and unlocking the door. Getting inside he threw the front door closed behind him with his foot, putting his keys, his sunglasses and his wallet on the small table next to the door.

Without looking up he entered the kitchen, studying his purchase, noting that Marie – the woman selling the fruit – had put some mangoes into his bag with the limes. He smiled amused. The old woman always treated him like he was her son. Since both of her children had left to find better work, she had been lonely but almost from the moment she had laid her eyes on Will she had decided to ‘adopt’ him.

Will was about to put the bags on the kitchen counter to unpack them as a familiar voice made him stop in his tracks.

“Welcome home, Will.”


“My sweet prince
You are the one.”