Chapter Text
“It’s beautiful.”
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The drop was harsh, the water they fell into was cruel and merciless.
Hannibal had fallen while embracing Will tightly to himself the entire way down. He supposed he should have been terrified. He knew he could have tried to stay on land and not let Will tip them off. He would have wanted to stay alive, but it was Will that he was falling with. His immaculate boy had chosen their perfect end.
The icy wind howled fiercely, swirling around them as they plummeted, the frigid air filling their lungs and tangling in their hair. Hannibal clutched Will tighter, resting his head against his shoulder and inhaling the familiar scent one final time as silent tears streamed down his cheeks. Will was shaking as he hung onto him, also crying. His tears falling fast down his face and dropping onto Hannibal’s hair. Will smelled like the woods around his house, he smelled like the terrible aftershave Hannibal had gotten used to and all seven of his dogs. The sickly sweet scent of Will’s encephalitis had become faint and was overpowered by the smell of the salty air around them that clung to them and their clothes. Will’s arms wrapped around Hannibal's shoulders, keeping him close and not letting him move away. Not that Hannibal would ever move away from Will; they were intertwined and neither was willing enough to ever make that change.
They hit the water hard.
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Hannibal’s eyes shot open to a chaotic world of dark waves crashing violently over him and pulling him under the surface with a ferocious grip. He struggled to move his body at all, making it easier for the waves in their unstopping mission to drown him. The same water that was seemingly calm when they fell had turned the tides into a brutal dance with death. He tried desperately to get over the waves, to get above the surface, get himself free from the water, and breathe. But, the waves were savage and unrelenting, never stopping to reach their goal in dragging him under, making him surrender.
He managed to find his way up many times for air, getting as much into his lungs as he could, before being yanked back under. Every time he made it, another wave could come crashing down onto him as it submerged him.
In the water, Hannibal attempted to open his eyes. He needed to see to find a way to survive, but Hannibal couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black under the water with no clear way to see through. His eyes stung and burned as he tried to keep them open. He was enveloped, his vision fully obscured by the murky water.
Hannibal went back up for air again and managed to keep himself above the torrent, sputtering and coughing out salty water from his lungs. His ears rang loudly from the roar of the ocean and he could feel the water getting into them as it moved and crashed around him. Hannibal was hyper-aware of everything around him; the rolling of the tides, the feeling of the bitter air around him and in his lungs, the taste of salt that invaded his mouth almost every time he took a breath. The water was in and around him, consuming him and fusing with him.
He desperately tried searching for Will. It was supposed to be their end; poetic and tragic. Hannibal searched, but Will was no longer with him. He looked around above the water repeatedly, but could not see him. They had fallen together and hit the surface together, but now he couldn’t find him. Both of them had held onto each other so hard Hannibal was sure this could never happen, that he and Will would have stayed together. But they got separated, and now Hannibal was utterly alone.
Hannibal was trying not to lose hope, trying to keep looking for Will. They had wanted to end this together; that’s why Will helped him escape. It’s why they had fought together, it’s why they kept coming back to each other over and over even after the betrayals. He knew that it was meant to be, that it was all going to come to the fall. Yet he was still alive, still alive without Will.
He wanted to try and swim around, to see if he could find Will that way but Hannibal could barely move his legs. The cold and shock almost fully immobilized him, making it difficult to move at all. He could stay above the surface of the water for short periods but he always failed at keeping himself there, his arms and legs not doing much to help him anymore.
He choked as he was plunged under again. Each new wave felt like a weight crashing down on him, the water threatening to swallow him whole as he fought to stay awake, trying not to drown in the waves, but he didn’t know if he could take anymore. Hannibal didn’t want to surrender to the ocean, he didn’t want to give up at all. Not without knowing where Will was and his fate. If Will had died Hannibal knew he had to die too. It was supposed to be the final chapter.
Hannibal felt the strain on his body grow the longer he tried to move. The more he fought to stay conscious and afloat, the more his body protested. Icy water lapped at his wounds, sending shivers through him as it flowed over his skin. The frigid touch made his injuries sting, leaving him exposed and raw.
Pain coursed through him and he felt he really wouldn’t be able to survive this. The freezing water was sapping his strength quickly, and Hannibal was losing his ability to stay conscious.
A wave rose and fell onto him and he was thrust under once again.
Another wave came and forced him down further.
Hannibal hit his head on a rock, and everything faded away into the darkness.