CH 1: Setting the Trap

The air between them was thick and heady. Abigail knew what Will was – she'd seen and experienced enough to be aware of the telltale absence of emotion – dead, soulless eyes, and the way killers would smile without it reflecting in the irises. Will Graham was smiling back at her in that same blank, soulless way. He was like a puppet – an ill-fitting mask. She yearned to peel back the layers and see the dark, unfiltered ugliness that she'd known all her life. Darkness had become a comfort. Thanks to her father, she knew it and experienced it firsthand, and without that same poison coursing through her very veins, she felt uncomfortably lost.

"I didn't feel ugly when I killed Nick Boyle," she found herself saying. "I felt good… To get to end it all, to stop it."

All at once, that blank stare filled with a low, smoldering fire, and Abigail triumphed at the soft smile Will gave her.

She had him now. Hook, line and sinker. Death excited Will – it turned his otherwise soulless eyes into pure, sparking flames, and she felt both terrified and exhilarated as she gazed upon him.

I've got you, you bastard, I've got you, I've got you. Cassie Boyle was a nameless victim in her eyes, but Marissa Schurr had been her best friend. She felt it her duty to lure Will into a confession.

"Did you feel the same rush after killing my dad?"

Will lifted a hand, then grasped onto her wrist in a way that made Abigail jerk at the startling, bone-crushing grip.

"I felt terrified," he whispered, seemingly hungering for her own terror. When he found the round, horrified look bleeding through her eyes and spiking the primordial, bestial undercurrent in his bloodstream, he relaxed his grip and stroked along the red, angry marks on her skin. "…And then I felt powerful."

With her heart in her throat, she shivered as his thumb skimmed almost sensually over the pulse on her wrist, his eyes never leaving hers as she swallowed back bile.

"It felt good," she choked, fear bubbling sickeningly sweet in her breast. Will had her in his sights like a hungry fox, and it shamed her that her body's first response was to throb and tingle like a live wire. Survival had always been her top priority, but now it seemed that she was hurtling herself straight over the edge.

"You're trembling," Will whispered. His free hand lifted to cup her own, and then his fingertips lightly stroked along her palm, the corner of his mouth twitching at the frantic rush of her pulse. It throbbed and fluttered beneath his touch, and briefly, his eyes lowered toward her chapped lips. "I think we can help each other, Abigail."

She swallowed, tensing her thighs as a ripple of heat pulsed wetly through her slit. He's dangerous. He knows, he knows, he knows.

"How?"

"Come with me to Minnesota. Together, we can coax the Copycat out of hiding."

Dazed, Abigail nodded, yet she knew the fear was still rippling in her eyes like a restless, perpetually moving pond.

He's going to kill me. He knows, he knows, he knows.

With a smile that could only be described as feral, Will nodded and indicated the door. "Come on. Let's get your things."

Feeling his arm wrap almost possessively around her waist, Abigail found herself traitorously leaning into his flank, if only to support her shaking legs. This was her last chance – if she truly wanted to win this, she needed to be the lure one last time.

A/N: This was mostly inspired by A) really missing these characters, and B) my meta that circles around the fact they're both manipulating each other equally. I love how Abigail gets the audience to underestimate her in the 1x12 garden scene, because I remember how in s1, everyone thought Will was the one manipulating her, when in reality, I think they're both being manipulative. By that point, Abby believed Will was the Copycat, so she tested his reactions by speaking about Boyle and how it felt. That's why she appeared unnerved when he said he felt powerful, as well as appearing scared when he asked for her help. She didn't enjoy what happened to Boyle. She said it to lure Will into a confession of his own, hence her having nightmares. People without a conscience don't have nightmares about what they've done. So yeah. I wanted to play with that idea here, except in this AU, Will actually did kill all those people. I just thought it'd be more fun to depict than having Will play into his canon reactions.

I fortunately think this won't take me long to finish, but incentives always help move things along! :) Thanks for reading!