Chapter Text
(A/N: Click here to listen to the Spotify playlist I made for this story.)
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Will hits the water first, his body is getting swept towards the shore by the intrepid torrent of the Atlantic ocean. Hannibal enters the icing cold water a few seconds later, in muffled screams and mind numbing fear Hannibal grabs Will's hand.
They pull each other in, gasping for air and trying so hard to swim to the shore, thankfully that night the ocean is kind enough. They reach the shore around fifteen minutes after entering the water.
Still holding on tight to each other, Will feels his feet reach the bottom of the ocean, he almost cries tears of joy when he does, slowly gaining balance in the water. He takes all the strength he has left in him, as little as it is, gripping so tight onto Hannibal his knuckles turn white.
If only exhaustion did not take the better of them, after they both fell down to their knees, still deep enough into the water, spitting the salted liquid like wine tasters, back into the ocean. Will fell, taking Hannibal down with him.
Will's eyes closed, Hannibal yelped and all they could feel was the cold, the smell of salt and the warmth of each other on the sand, the moon would look over them, Will thought as his mind shut down.
***
Three hours later Will woke in excruciating pain, his chest heaving in an odd manner, his eyes flashing open stuck with salt water and sand. He turned slowly to his side, ears buzzing, the first thing he noticed was the sky – dark, the sun had not risen yet – Hannibal's hand lay flat on his chest.
Will groans, coughing and sobbing as he screams, "Hannibal!" and sits down with so much difficulty he almost lays back down immediately.
"HANNIBAL!" Will screams once again, increasing the volume of his voice, shakily.
Hannibal does not move, still unconscious. Will turns to lay on his stomach, with his left hand, trying to keep his eyes open, he places two fingers on Hannibal's neck to feel his pulse and Will sighs with relief when he feels the beating of Hannibal's heart – right under his fingers.
Will moves, getting up slowly, he stays on his knees for a while, crying in pain. At last he places a hand on his knee and pushes himself up, Will howls at the sky in a maddening fury.
Will sobs, for the life he has just given up, the lies he told himself for so long. The family he built and broke so easily, oh he wished to have seen earlier.
All he could think of was how grateful for the pain in his cheek he couldn't focus on what he had just done, he was waiting for it to pass, for Hannibal to wake and for them to leave and start their life.
Still, the guilt seized him, so strong it threatened to send him right back to the freezing Atlantic.
Will gulps, shedding a tear, he kneels and shakes Hannibal with numb hands. "Please wake up." Will kept shaking him, nothing could do, the man stayed asleep. Will feels pain in his own abdomen when he looks down at Hannibal's blood soaked sweater.
Will pulls up Hannibal's sweater and shirt to take a look at his bullet wound, he winces as the blood gushes, black in the moonlight.
Will begins to lose his patience, he stays on all fours, waiting, staring at Hannibal's unconscious face like one stares at a painting hung in a museum.
Will slaps Hannibal violently and screams in agony and hatred towards him but also, with fear.
After a few minutes of intense fury, Will was still shaking Hannibal forcefully. Suddenly, Hannibal started coughing and spitting water, Will immediately sighs in relief and pushes him on his left side so he can let all the water in his lungs out. "Thank… Ah!" Will wails as the hole in his cheek and the cut in his shoulder send electroshocks through his whole body, "Thank god you're awake…"
Hannibal lets out a laugh, a pure reflex of the body. "Not.. sure god has anything to do… with… ahh… me… being awake." It was Hannibal's turn to wail and cry.
"Get up ol’ man, we've got to go." Will says in a southern accent.
"Help me out a bit." Hannibal replies, breathing heavily.
Will slides both his arms under Hannibal, from a certain angle, it would look like they were hugging, until Will squeezes and pulls him up, both wailing and cursing in pain.
Once up, the two men can barely stand, the extent of their injuries will most likely maim them. "The car is…" Hannibal's voice trails off as he coughs again. "I know where it is, you showed me yesterday. It's dark but um… I'll find it. Could you give me the keys? I'll drive" Hannibal looks at him, they stop for a minute, halfway to the land.
Hannibal nods, he reaches for the pocket in his trousers and hands the keys to Will.
It takes them far longer than expected to reach the car, parked a mile from the coast at the start of a forest.
Will smells the pine trees and it comforts him, to smell something other than the God-awful salted ocean water. He can't stop thinking about how Hannibal most likely felt relief too, that the ocean was far now.
Will opens the passenger seat door and places Hannibal gently in the seat, still the man winces and whistles as pain shoots through him when he sits.
Will almost throws himself in the driver seat, he starts the engine, his heart beating so fast it seems it would soon fall out of his chest.
"Fuck." Will begins to panic a little, exhausted and ill from his wounds.
Will looks over at Hannibal, expecting him to say something reassuring but he has already fallen asleep, his eyes are closed and lips slightly parted, Will can't help but smile at the sight.
How funny it is, to see Hannibal in such a vulnerable state, it is the first time Will has felt the control he has over him. Satisfaction grows warm in Will's stomach, like he has just eaten a full meal.
Will manages to start the engine, he puts his mind on survival mode and hits the road, luckily he knows where to go. As they had discussed the previous afternoon, Hannibal has a cabin in the nearby woods they will stay in until healed.
And what better way than to hide in plain sight? Will smiles wider, the cabin is a few miles north, they will have to finish on foot and hide the car, but that's a tomorrow problem, Will thinks.
He looks over at Hannibal one last time, just to make sure that he is really there and it is not just a trick of his mind. But the stag was nowhere to be seen. Hannibal breathes so deeply, Will wonders if he isn't snoring softly.