Will's Halloween costume

Months after the fall, the Murder Husbands were having breakfast. Will had cooked what they were eating –eggs and bacon–. His culinary skills had improved thanks to Hannibal's help (even though Will hadn't been able to catch much from the "lessons" since it eventually became just the two of them fooling around).

Their eyes met at some point, while Will was chewing and Hannibal taking a sip of his milk. Hannibal found Will's stare adorable so he stared at him a bit longer than usual.

"What is it?" – Will asked, intrigued.

"Can't I admire you while you're eating?" – Hannibal said with a smirk on his face.

Will sighed and decided it was stupid to argue or complain about it, it was just the way Hannibal was, and he loved him like that.

"You know Halloween is coming next week, right?" – Hannibal asked in order to break the silence.

"Oh please, don't tell me you want us to go out and scare some kids with some silly costumes." – Will said, rolling his eyes.

"Will! Come on! It's going to be fun! And we don't have to scare kids; we could just go somewhere wearing a costume."

"You just want me to wear a costume since I don't like to wear suits like you do."

"Please Will." – Hannibal said trying his best to imitate Will's puppy eyes.

"Your puppy eyes make my heart melt, but you haven't convinced me to wear a costume."

"What do I have to do then, to convince you?" – Hannibal asked with the most serious face Will had ever seen in a long time. It freaked him out a little.

"If we're going to play this game, I can't tell you how to beat me." – Will replied, taking his plate and empty glass of milk to the sink and leaving a reflexive Hannibal at the kitchen's table.

The rest of the day was very quiet: Hannibal remained thoughtful while Will played with his hair and watched TV. He didn't ask his boyfriend what he was thinking about; he knew it was about the Halloween thing.

The following day when Will woke up, he saw half of the bed empty. He panicked at first and walked quickly to the dining room and then to the kitchen. He didn't see Hannibal, but he did find a note written by him.

"My precious William:

I woke up early today so as to find something you may find pleasing and convincing enough to make you wear a costume on Halloween.

I beg you to put in practice what you've learned in our cooking lesson and make yourself some breakfast. Just don't starve to death.

With love, Hannibal"

"Moron." – Will said out loud with a foolish smile.

Will had breakfast alone, and waited for Hannibal's return.

He came back around 3pm carrying a sailor suit. When Will saw it, he didn't know how to react.

"What the hell is that Hannibal?!" – Will wanted to cry and laugh and kiss Hannibal. But also he wanted to punch him in the face.

"It's… a sailor suit."

"Yeah, I can see that, but I mean, what are you going to do with that? Is that your Halloween costume?"

"Will it's for you!" – Hannibal claimed, as if what Will had asked him had an obvious answer.

"For me?" – Will asked, clearly shocked. – "And what am I supposed to do with that? I hope it's not what you want me to wear for Halloween."

"Well! No exactly but… the stores I went to were out of fisherman clothing and that sort of things. I didn't know what to buy."

Will ran his hand through his hair as if saying "Hannibal you're an idiot", but he immediately started to laugh. He stared at a confused Hannibal, grabbed the package where the sailor suit came, and kissed his boyfriend's cheek, then whispered to his ear:

"That was stupid… but nice."

"Does that mean we will go out on Halloween?" – Hannibal asked with a childish look and dreamy eyes.

"That's not what I said."

"Damn it." – Hannibal complained for a second just before being wrapped on Will's arms and letting his lips carry away his concerns.

The following morning was similar for Will. Hannibal was gone and had asked him to make himself breakfast. It was like that for two more days: Hannibal left the house and came back with a gift Will liked but didn't love (or at least not enough to convince him wear a Halloween costume). He gave Will cookies, plaid shirts and a decorated letter that said "Will I love u. Pls let's go out on Halloween wearing a costume" with drawings of them holding hands and asking for candies. Hannibal was about to give up, but he couldn't. He had to keep trying.

On the fifth day, everything changed. When Hannibal came back, Will was ready to say "that won't make me wear a Halloween costume, Hannibal." But oh no, this time was different.

Before Will had turned his head to look at Hannibal, a little thing licking his shoes got his attention.

Will smiled. He couldn't believe what he was seeing: a baby golden retriever. Will carried him, placed him in his lap and began to pet him.

"It's… it's so adorable Hannibal. He reminds me so much of Winston even if he was a mixed breed."

"I knew it might, that's basically why I chose it."

"It's adopted, right?"

"Yes it is, Will." – Hannibal replied, proud of himself. Will loved his gift.

"And how did they happen to have a golden retriever in an adoption center?"

"Well, according to the guy who did all the paperwork, his family couldn't take care of him and his little siblings."

"Were there others?" – That idea excited Will.

"Yes, but he was the last one. If I hadn't gone a few days ago, I'm sure someone would've taken him too."

"Wait you… went there a few days ago? Today wasn't the first time you were there?"

"No" – Hannibal said laughing. – "I had been going there since I told you about the Halloween costume."

"So… it was just an act? The other gifts were just a 'distraction' so I'd think you'd run out of options?" – Hannibal nodded. – "That actually sounds a lot like you."

"Are you mad about that?"

"Not really, it never crossed my mind that you had this planned so… well done."

"Does that mean we'll go out on Halloween wearing a costume?" – Hannibal asked, still proud of what he'd achieved.

"Yes, we'll." – Will couldn't help it but smile at Hannibal.

It was Saturday 31, finally.

"Will! Did you wake up early?" – Hannibal asked half asleep palpating the side where Will was supposed to be sleeping.

"Ouch!" – Will groaned. – "I'm here Hannibal, relax."

"I'm sorry Will; I didn't mean to do that." – Hannibal paused before adding. – "Do you have your costume ready?"

"Maybe, or maybe not. You'll have to wait and see it yourself. Besides, you haven't showed me yours."

"I didn't pretend to… but I agree, let's do that when we're about to go out. What do you think?"

"Fair enough."

"Will, are you done?" – Hannibal yelled from the bathroom outside their bedroom.

"Almost! Are you?" – Will replied.

"I am! I'll go to the bedroom then; I'll wait there for you to come out." – Hannibal entered the bedroom and sat on the edge of their bed. – "Hey Will, how did manage to get a costume that quick? I hadn't convinced you until two days ago."

"Well, the day you brought Spooky, you took a nap after you know, we had sex, so while you were resting I went out and bought some things."

"May I see what you bought now?"

"Yes." – Will said as he walked out the bathroom door and stood in front of Hannibal. Spooky saw him and ran around him trying to get his attention. – "So, what do you think?" – Will asked smirking.

"That's… that looks perfect on you, you look gorgeous." – Hannibal was almost drooling; he couldn't take his eyes off Will.

Will was wearing a leather trench coat, black skinny jeans, a black formal shirt and black combat boots. He looked amazing. His hair looked fluffier than ever, and he had devil horns.

"I'm glad you like it. I like your vampire costume; it makes you look inoffensive and clearly not a cannibal."

Hannibal wasn't even paying attention at what Will said, he was lost in his beauty.

"Hannibal… Hannibal." – Will snapped his fingers in front of him. When Hannibal reacted, he pulled Will close and kissed him.

"I wasn't expecting that, actually. But I definitely enjoyed it." – Will felt like he could rule the world just by showing his face. He could indeed.

"I'm sorry Will, I just can't deal with you, you're beautiful."

"Well, then shall we leave? Or in how long?"

"Now I just want to stay here and admire you on a leather trench coat."

"No, no way. We're going to wherever the hell you want us to go because I didn't buy all this for not going out. Besides, if we stay here I'm sure we'd do everything but 'admire' my trench coat."

"I never said how exactly I wanted to admire it; I said on you but never specified if that's all I want you to wear or not..."

"And that's why we're leaving." – He squeezed Hannibal's wrist and led him to the main door.

"You know, next year we should do matching costumes…"

"We'll see that next year Hanni. Now, do you mind telling me where we're going?" – Will asked before getting in their car.