A/N: Just a random little one-shot that popped into my head one day, so I decided to type it up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hannibal and I make no money from this work.

My Cannibalistic Protector

Will Graham had been back in the field for about three months before he finally noticed the pattern that seemed to be following him around. He was slightly surprised that it took him this long to finally catch the patter but he blamed that on his mental breakdown that he had a few weeks prior to this discovery.

As Will sat in his home, surrounded by his dogs, he looked through the piles of files that now littered his living room floor. He scoured through all of them before making tiny connections throughout each of the cases.

In every case that had been popping up randomly for the past three months, Will finally noticed the pattern. At one point and time, he had come into contact and spoken with each of the victims. He was shocked to finally discover his revelation and mentally prayed that no one else would make the connection.

As he scoured the files, he began remember when and where he had met the victims. Sometimes it was out at a bar, on the sidewalk or even the grocery store but there was another common denominator with each of the cases…all of the victims had been particularly aggressive towards Will upon him meeting them. This one threatened to rape him, this one threatened to kill him, that one said this and this one said that.

Will didn't want to believe it but he could no longer deny it; he had a connection with the victims albeit small, it was still there and someone else could easily discover it.

But before Will could continue his thought process and immerse himself fully into panic mode, he was jarred from his thoughts by his phone that had begun to ring loudly; the sound carrying throughout the silent living room.

It was Jack…they'd just discovered another body and this time the killer had left a message.

When Will arrived on the scene, he was once again greeted by a gruesome scene. The victim, a male, had been skinned and suspended from a wall by the skin that had been removed. The chest cavity had been removed and it could clearly be seen that the heart and lungs were missing from the body.

Will forced himself to look away as he walked over to Jack, who looked a cross between grim and angry; pretty much his signature look for the past few months.

"Will…there is something you need to see," Jack said as he led Will to the tables that had been set up by the other investigators as they gathered clues from the crime scene.

Will followed in silence, wondering what exactly Jack wanted him to see.

When they arrived at the table, Jack simply picked up a piece of paper that was now sealed in an evidence bag and handed it to Will and just watched him.

Will, confused for a moment before looking at the paper; realizing that it was the note that Jack had mentioned on the phone. Will quickly immersed himself in the writing that seemed to flow across the page.

Will Graham is mine.

I will kill anyone that tries to take him from me.

~Chesapeake Ripper

Will stood silently at the short but simple note that he held in his hands.

It was from the Chesapeake Ripper.

The Chesapeake Ripper had said that Will belong to him…and that he would kill anyone who tried to take him from the Ripper.

Will jerked his eyes towards the victim's body, this time studying the face and not the gruesome wounds. He jerked back with a gasp of shock as he actually backed into the table, his eyes growing wide with fear and shock.

"Will! What the hell is wrong you?!" Jack growled as he glared at Will for disturbing the evidence table.

Will shook his head to clear it as he looked at Jack.

"Jack, I know the victim."

"You…what!?"

"I know the victim. I met him a few nights ago at a bar and he got real friendly…too friendly," muttered Will as he looked up at Jack. "Jack…I only just realized it myself today that ever victim over the past few months, I've come into contact with at least once and that encounter was never on friendly terms."

Jack grew silent as he let this new information process in his brain as he stared at Will.

"You mean to tell me…that the Ripper is what Will? Avenging you?" He growled out, refusing to believe something so unbelievable.

"I don't know Jack; I have no idea what to make of this. All I know is that every person that I have come into contact with and it wasn't friendly has ended up dead, one of his victims. Jack...that means that he's been following me," Will stated as he felt fear course through his body.

"Shit!" Jack exclaimed, slamming both of his fist down onto the table.

Neither man spoke anymore as both seemed to further process this new information. One thing both men knew, even though they finally had a motive for the recent bouts of killing…neither knew how to stop it from happening again.

A few more months passed and while the killings continued, they seemed to slow down as Will had taken it upon himself to try and stay out of contact with anyone. Of course, he couldn't prevent this entirely and he had a few encounters with others who soon found themselves victims of the Ripper.

Over the past month however, Will couldn't help but think of how sweet it was that the Ripper was killing for Will…to protect Will in the only way he knew how. Will would curse himself for letting such a thought enter his mind but lately he couldn't help but find himself wondering about who the Ripper was, what he looked like and why was he interested in him out of all the people in the world.

One of the latest killings finally caused Will to connect the final dots as he finally made the connection over who the Ripper was.

The Chesapeake Ripper was Hannibal.

Will just couldn't believe that he hadn't realized it before now but with the latest killing being one that only Hannibal had witnessed the confrontation to, Will found more connecting factors with all the other murderers.

Will knew he should call Jack immediately but as he reached for the phone, his hand stopped as it hovered above it.

Hannibal was one of Will's few friends, and he had grown to trust the man completely in their time knowing each other. Will never trusted anyone like he trusts Hannibal, not even Alana. Hannibal was always there when Will needed him, always ready to comfort, to shield and now to protect.

Will felt warmth growing in his chest at the thought of Hannibal protecting him and couldn't help but smile at the thought. Will had accepted long ago that he had feelings for his friend and now it seemed that they were returned.

Will made up his mind and got into his car as he left Wolf Trap and drove the hour long drive to Hannibal. He needed to see him and tonight.

On the drive there, Will finally answered the last remaining question of the murder cases; which was why had the Ripper taken certain organs and/or skin from his victims. Will had racked his brain since getting into his car and when he was about halfway there, it finally clicked.

The only reason he could figure that Hannibal was doing with the organs and skin…he was eating them.

That thought should have caused him to turn right around and drive to alert Jack but instead Will kept driving towards Hannibal. In fact, he might even admit that his foot pressed further onto the gas in an attempt to get their faster.

The last few miles of his journey, he finally admitted to himself that he didn't care if Hannibal was the Chesapeake Ripper…he didn't care if he was a cannibal and eating those body parts and organs. Will had also realized that Hannibal wasn't the only one to eat the human flesh/meat…he had been feeding it to his guests, Will included.

Will admitted quietly to himself that he wasn't bothered by the fact that he ate human meat/flesh and admitted that he quite liked the taste of it, especially when Hannibal had prepared it himself. The man was a culinary genius and it showed in his cooking.

Will stopped the car outside of Hannibal's home and noticed that the lights were still on, which meant that Hannibal had not gone to bed yet. This made Will happy as he did not want to disturb Hannibal from his rest.

As Will made it to the front door and raised his hand to knock, he wasn't surprised to see that Hannibal was already at the door and opening it for him. Will simply stare at Hannibal as The Ripper met his gaze evening.

"What can I do for you Will?" Hannibal asked in his smooth voice that just washed over Will, causing the younger man to shiver as lust, want and need traveled through his body.

Will didn't vocally answer Hannibal but instead stepped closer to the older man as he gently placed his hands on either side of Hannibal's face.

Will could see that Hannibal's eyes had narrowed slightly at the younger man's actions but that didn't deter Will as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Hannibal's.

Hannibal was shocked to say the least at the action but quickly took control of the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Will's waste and pulled him to him, practically crushing the younger to his body. Hannibal felt Will's hands move from his face to wrap around Hannibal's neck, fingers lacing through the short hair there.

When their kiss ended, Will leaned back slight but didn't remove himself from Hannibal's embrace as he smiled at the other man.

"My Cannibalistic Protector," Will said his eyes alight with nothing but love and trust for the man that held him in his arms.

Hannibal froze for a second before a deep laugh emerged from his chest as he pulled Will inside of his home, shutting the door behind them.

And with that the murders stopped…

Well not entirely.

End

A/N: Let me know what you guys think! I love getting reviews!