As Tumblr removed a large amount of my QS Will art from our blog here...

I made a website for ALL the Quicksilver!Will fanwork by me and @weconqueratdawn​

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Lashings of fic, art, playlists, links - all in one place and UNCENSORED :)))

Chapter 17/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

The end is finally here - not just of this fic, but of the series as a whole :’) Do they get a happy ever after? Or something else? Read on to find out...

It was dark and cool inside the hotel after the bright sun. The glow of the terraced gardens could be seen through the open double doors at the other end of the lobby. Through them came the echoed murmur of people refreshing themselves with wine, conversation, and impressive views across the bay.

“Shall we have a drink before we go up?” Hannibal said.

He took Will’s arm; the brightness of the garden began to pull them in. But the concierge had noticed their arrival and had caught Will’s eye.

“Signora Graham?” he said. “A package has come for you. Will you take it now or should I send it to your room?”

“A package?” Will hadn’t been expecting anything. A quick glance at Hannibal proved he wasn’t the culprit. “I’ll take it now - thank you, Pietro.”

Pietro handed him a slim FedEx envelope - the shipping label showed it had come from a print publisher in D.C. Will opened it once they were seated at a table outside, in the full splendour of the afternoon sun, while Hannibal spoke to the waiter about drinks and the evening menu. Out slid the year’s sixth issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology; included was a slip of paper which read ‘in appreciation of your invaluable contribution - it wouldn’t have been possible without you’. There was no name attached and no return address.

Will turned to the journal’s contents page and found what he expected - listed on page 437 was ‘From moral insanity to The Mask of Sanity: a cultural perspective on our fascination with psychopathy’, an article authored by Dr Bedelia Du Maurier. When the waiter left, he held it out mutely to Hannibal.

Hannibal broke out in a grin. He took the journal and the slip of paper from Will and scanned them, still smiling. “She wants to disappear but also she can’t bear to be left out of the conversation,” he said, shaking his head. “Bedelia will get herself into trouble one day.”

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Chapter 16/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

Hannibal follows Will to the beach house (because ofc he does) but what happens next? Is everything going to be okay? Will the murdered kitchen live again???? Epilogue up next week!

Hannibal was away for longer than Will had anticipated; forty-five minutes had passed before he heard a car pull into the drive. He watched from a window - Hannibal was opening the door of a black Hyundai and taking out bags, so many that he must’ve brought back more than just breakfast. Will greeted him at the door, barefoot and curious. He was rewarded with a cup of takeout coffee, black, very hot and very sweet, just how he liked it.

“Hi honey,” Will said. “Look, I’m still here.”

Hannibal handed him a paper bag, pockmarked with spots of grease. “This is to keep you going while I make breakfast,” he said. “Or in case you can’t bring yourself to eat what I cook.”

It was a pain au raisin, a large one. Will ate it perched on a stool, watching Hannibal unpack. He saw a large loaf of crusty bread, a dozen eggs, some tomatoes, thick yoghurt and a punnet of raspberries.

“No meat,” Will commented. “Very delicate of you, under the circumstances.”

Hannibal smiled dryly down at the eggs he was scrambling. “Among other additives, the bacon had water added.”

Will took another bite of pastry; Hannibal’s distaste for inferior bacon was real but it wasn’t the whole story. “That, and you have to rebuild trust,” he said.

“What are you trying to build?” Hannibal asked. He took the pan off the heat and turned around so he could see Will answer.

“A picture,” Will said. “I’m building a new one of you, all the time.”

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Chapter 15/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

In which Will has run out on Hannibal and finds himself headed back to the beach house... 

Will finished the burger and left the greasy bag screwed up on the passenger seat. He drained the last of the coffee while casting a critical eye over the car - what next? Plenty of gas, plenty of road. Where should he go? The sky was getting lighter, greyer. He’d only progressed about fifty or sixty miles - it wasn’t enough. Hannibal must have woken by now.

He fished around in his bag for his phone. In his haste to get away he hadn’t switched if off and he braced himself for a barrage of missed calls and messages. There were none - his notifications were empty. Was that good? He wasn’t sure so he hid the phone away again. 

The key was in the ignition, the engine idling, but he still hadn’t fixed on a plan. He just needed some quiet, a place to think and be alone. He couldn’t go to his mother - she would ask too many questions and, anyway, he couldn’t let her become involved. Same with his dad.

A sudden horrible thought crept up on him, then; a suspicion that Hannibal might use her to put pressure on Will. But Will firmly pushed it away - if he could, Hannibal would want to keep this matter between the two of them. It would suit them both better that way.

He went over his options again as he put the car in drive and rolled smoothly towards the exit. He had a little money put aside so he could head to a motel, maybe a series of motels. That would be the obvious course of action. But then he remembered something - when he’d been looking for the garage controller, he’d thought he’d glimpsed something else in the glove compartment. He opened it up and found he’d been right. Inside, like a star to steer by, were a set of keys.

Will knew immediately what they were. He remembered them well: the keys to the beach house. He pocketed them and drove on into the night.

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Chapter 14/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

Now with 100% more gothic romance!! In which Will wakes up to a new reality and finds out *everything* via a trip through Hannibal's memory palace...

Wakefulness crashed over Will like the turning tide. He sat bolt upright, kicking the sheets away until he was sitting, alone and panting for breath, in the middle of the bed. He’d been dreaming of manacles, of chains weighing him down. He checked his wrists and ankles; both were unfettered and unblemished. And the space beside him was blank - Hannibal had not slept there.

His temples throbbed with a dull pain. Will blinked a few times, trying to dislodge the clouds from his mind, but they were slow-moving and clung persistently to his thoughts. His mouth was achingly dry. He turned and looked about himself; there, on the nightstand, was a glass of water. Hannibal must have left it for him. Will frowned at the glass, feeling a stir of strong emotion and trying to identify the reason for it. How had he got there? He couldn’t remember going to bed. He considered his bare knees and the thin red stripe of Hannibal’s pyjama shirt which covered his arms and chest. It was his favourite one but he had no memory of putting it on.

Then, mouth set in a line, he seized hold of the water glass and swung himself out of bed. He banged into the bathroom, where he threw its contents down the sink. There he paused, leaning on the vanity for support, chasing his quickening breath.

Hannibal.

Will rinsed the glass out well before filling it up again from the faucet. He chugged it down and wiped his mouth with the back of a hand.

Hannibal. The attic. Blacking out. That was what he remembered.

Dimly, he was aware that he should be terrified. But he wasn’t - he was furious beyond belief. Will ripped off the pyjama shirt and cast around for the clothes he’d worn the day before. He found them, carefully folded, on the ottoman at the end of the bed. He pulled them on and, as soon as he was decent, stormed out of the room and went looking for Hannibal.

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Chapter 13/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

OKAY, WHO’S READY TO KNOW WHAT’S IN THE ATTIC???

“Let’s go downstairs,” Hannibal said. “You’ve had a shock, you should eat.”

Will tried to pull himself together but was only partially successful. He felt so tired. Hannibal hoisted Will to his feet and offered his arm. Will took it as meekly as an invalid.

“I’ll make you something while we talk in the kitchen,” Hannibal was saying. “I try to only keep pleasant recollections here. No scars.”

They’d reached the top of the steps. Hannibal paused, solicitous.

“Can you manage?” he asked. “The steps are steep and your hand is shaking.”

Will nodded with grim determination. He reached for the handrail and made his way slowly down into the darkness. Only then did Hannibal follow.

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Chapter 12/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

Dr Du Maurier speaks some truth to Will. Meanwhile Hannibal has had some very unexpected news...

“Can you think of no malign influences which might swallow you whole if you let them?” The tone of her voice was almost syrupy: she was teasing him. Dr Du Maurier glanced at his hand, laid across his thigh. “The snake you wear declares your loyalty,” she said, then stopped, appraising him afresh. “You are a beautiful young creature, like a bold little deer. He loves things which are beautiful.”

Will choked down his annoyance, turning it into derision instead. “I’m not going to be devoured,” he said.

Dr Du Maurier ignored him. “Things which are both beautiful and interesting are rare,” she went on. “Rarer still is someone who is capable of understanding him. Do you believe you’ve understood him?”

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Chapter 11/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

Oh dear... brace yourselves.

This time Alana didn’t laugh along with him. She didn’t quite meet his eyes either.

She shifted a little in her chair. “About Hannibal-” she said, then stopped.

Will frowned; she tried again.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you,” she said. “I’ve thought about it a lot but I didn’t know if I’d have the chance. I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do, if you’d listen to me.” Alana paused and drew a breath; she was becoming agitated and with it grew Will’s alarm. “You’re not going to thank me for this,” she said, “which is a pity, because I like you, Will. I want you to know that; I believe in you. But I have to ask you this.”

A strange and silent horror took hold of Will. He was afraid suddenly, terribly afraid. He didn’t want to hear her speak but he was stuck, held fast. He couldn’t stand and neither could he raise his arms to shield himself from whatever was coming his way.

“Have you ever noticed anything about him?” Alana asked. Her expression was strained - she was holding something bigger inside. “Anything odd?”

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Chapter 10/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

Bev comes to dinner PLUS! enter one Bedelia du Maurier :0

should i bring anything? Bev texted in the middle of the afternoon, about that night’s dinner. wine??? that’s something people do isn’t it?

don’t bother bringing wine, Will replied. honestly, there’s more than enough here. um, idk, flowers maybe? a plant?

i can’t turn up and present hannibal with flowers, she said. i just can’t. don’t make me.

so a plant it is then, Will said.

Which explained why, five hours later, Bev was standing on the doorstep holding a Venus flytrap.

“Isn’t it cool?” she said, gazing at it adoringly. “I got one for me as well. And I impulse-bought a book on Amazon on the way here - it’s called Savage Garden. I’m going to get really into carnivorous plants this year - it’s gonna be my new thing.”

Will stared at it, thinking it was a surprisingly good gift, while she hung her bag up and fussed with her hair. She looked about herself as she did, then leaned right around Will once she caught sight of the fireplace behind him.

“This is some foyer,” she said. “Wow. And look how thick that wall is!” She was off now, moving under her own steam, into the hallway. “It’s like a castle in here, hiding inside a townhouse.” She put her hands on her hips. “Are you sure your count husband isn’t a vampire?”

“Wild, isn’t it?” Will said, laughing at her. “And if you’ve finished, how about coming into the kitchen and saying hi?”

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Chapter 9/17 of the final part of the Quicksilver series

Will and Hannibal stay in a motel (!) and visit Will’s dad’s house…

He was unpacking the hamper when Hannibal reappeared. He made straight for the food, mostly leftovers from their stay, and began to deal with them efficiently. But something solemn, almost dreamy, lingered in him.

“I would have liked to have served something more fitting,” he said. “Bouillabaisse, teeming with freshly-caught fish, the rouille spiked heavily with chili and garlic. A real fisherman’s pot.”

Will laid a hand on his arm, smiling. “I think you’re a little too heavily invested in my peasant origins. But I appreciate the thought.”

Hannibal laugh was rueful. “Perhaps I too am suffering from nostalgia. And the most pernicious kind: nostalgia for something I have never experienced and never will.”

“Did you find what you were looking for up there?” Will asked, imagining the ghost-Will and Hannibal each calmly taking the other in as the barrier of years between them dissolved.

Hannibal’s hands were busy, seasoning the tuna steak, slicing bread and chopping tomatoes; fingers dancing across his father’s things. “Your origins are as obscure as mine,” he said, meeting Will’s eyes. “I haven’t unravelled the whole story yet.”

For a moment Will was taken aback. He was used to Hannibal’s intense ways, even liked them, but he seemed to imply something beyond his usual meaning. Will found himself denying it, almost bashful.

“I don’t think there’s much else to see,” he mumbled, and went out to the porch to set the table.

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