An: - So, while this chapter isn't dark or angsty, I feel the need to warn people to tread lightly anyway.
- This is not beta'd, sorry for any mistakes.
- Tėvelis, pronounced tee-vel-ee-is [Lithuanian word for dad/daddy]
And yet to wine, to opium even, I prefer the elixir of your lips on which love flaunts itself.
-Charles Baudelaire
16 Months Later
If one could call it a miracle, if one were to believe in a God that granted such an asinine and implausible concept of a thing, then Will might have considered the fact that nothing having yet surfaced with regards to the missing Verger's, was one such miracle.
Spain, Alicante, Benidorm - 2024
They'd been back in their home in Alicante for just over two months.
Chiyoh had taken care of their house and their dogs in the long time that they'd been away, and when they'd returned from Argentina one late evening after a long flight, she'd been waiting for them with dinner that she'd pre-prepared so Hannibal wouldn't have to cook. After setting their luggage down and freshening up, they'd all sat down to eat and during their catch up conversation, Chiyoh had informed them that she'd be staying in Benidorm for a while, that she'd found a nice apartment on the beachfront and that she had no immediate plans to return to Italy.
Her decision had pleased Hannibal, and Will was –mostly- okay with it too because Chiyoh was family, and in a way he felt it would be nice to have her closer. She'd since moved only a ten minute drive away, with the agreement to visit sometimes, to have dinner with them some nights, to stay over on weekends and to occasionally babysit…
…because even Morgan, who'd spoken to Chiyoh several times on the phone while they'd been living in Argentina, liked the idea of getting to spend more time with his Aunt Heleen.
And since bringing him home to Spain, Morgan had grown attached to many other things as well, such as their high-hill house, their well-trained, playful dogs, the large open yard and the pool. And he loved his bedroom overlooking the sea, having selected which of the spare rooms he'd wanted as a bedroom after Will had shown him around the entire house to see the many extra rooms, telling him that he could pick whichever one he wanted as his own bedroom so that they could have it redecorated for him. Morgan had been ecstatic to choose, at the time he'd said it was awesome in his quietly excited manner and he had thanked Will with a hug…and Hannibal as well. And Will never got tired of watching Hannibal indulge the boy's enthusiastic and never ending affectionate side by returning his hugs and smiles.
Yes, Morgan Gerard was a part of their family, and he was also a happy, healthy brand new boy in a brand new life.
Because exactly as he'd said he would, Hannibal had redesigned Morgan, and not with violence or lies, fear or abuse, but rather with kindness and attention, talking, time and patience…and a small cocktail of drugs mixed with an hour a day set aside for specifically structured psychotherapy. And after only their first month in Argentina, Will had already begun noticing the differences in Morgan starting with the small things; he'd begun to talk more, expressed his feelings more fluently, asked questions when he was curious and he fidgeted less while spending more time and energy doing other things like watching TV, reading and playing outside.
When they'd been in Argentina for two months, Will had asked Hannibal if he could be present for a session, mostly out of curiosity, but after that hour spent watching Hannibal proceed with his structured session with Morgan, using various cognitive behavioral therapies, systemic therapy, expressive therapy, psychodynamic therapies and hypnotherapy, he'd opted out of ever being present again. Will had been relieved and glad though, that as time went on, Morgan's hour a day became an hour four days a week and then three and then one and gradually became less and less. And now, present day, he no longer required the drugs at all and Hannibal would sit with him once a month for an hour, unless he thought any additional time was necessary.
But it hadn't been so far, Morgan had taken to his new life so quickly Will sometimes worried when he realized that he no longer worried anymore, because Morgan fit so perfectly into their lives that he couldn't help thinking that something had to go wrong, which it hadn't yet. Instead Morgan grew more comfortable and content every day. He was smart, Hannibal had been right about that, and he loved being allowed to ask questions and make certain decisions for himself, like choosing his own clothing when they went shopping, selecting video and board games, books and toys that he liked, and he loved it when Hannibal would allow him to choose a recipe from the recipe box for family dinner –Will's idea- on Sundays.
Really, he was so well-behaved and had so effortlessly assimilated into their lives that it seemed surreal sometimes. The only thing about him that might have been a problem under different circumstances, was that Morgan was used to having wealthy parents. But while Will would feel stressed about the overly expensive toys and other items Morgan often wanted, with Hannibal, there was no problem with money being spent and he'd purchase almost whatever it was without batting an eyelash.
But Will hadn't let that get out of hand. He and Hannibal had discussed a compromise early on, agreeing that spoiling Morgan rotten was no good and so they'd settled on moderation. And then Will had worried about tantrums when they went out shopping, but the most he'd been met with from Morgan when he told the boy 'no' or explained that the item he wanted was excessive, was frustration and mild sulking. Because while Hannibal was lenient and indulgent and attentive, the man exuded an authority that demanded manners, respect and good behavior, and it was an authority that Morgan seemed to adhere to almost naturally, even when Hannibal wasn't around.
It had raised concerns for Will, that Morgan's easy acquiescence might potentially have been about fearing Hannibal, but over time he'd come to learn that Morgan was in fact not afraid of Hannibal, not any more than any child was afraid of upsetting their parent. As it was, when Hannibal reprimanded him, Morgan didn't cower or become subdued, rather, he'd give Hannibal his most defiant face, but he'd do so while holding his –increasingly opinionated- tongue, still aware that he needed to mind his manners, and he'd accept whatever decision would be made at the time. Will had actually become fond of the way Morgan would puff up his face up when he was upset.
Another trait Will appreciated about the boy was that he was not the sort to hold a grudge, in fact, the quicker the air was cleared after any kind of tension in the house, the happier he would be. Will had been stunned the first time he'd seen Morgan seek out Hannibal to apologize. It had happened about ten minutes after he'd been sent to his room for having purposely dropped the television remote control on the floor when Hannibal had told him it was time to switch the TV off and prepare for dinner. It had been a rare thing for Hannibal to deal with those tasks, since Will was generally the one who micromanaged the boy's recreational and general daily activities, but that day Will hadn't been feeling well –he'd taken a while to acclimate to Argentina-, and so Hannibal had stepped in.
And it'd been so endearing when Morgan had wandered over to Hannibal shortly after the incident and had said sorry in his accented and still developing English, looking up at Hannibal with his big blue eyes. And it'd been even more bizarrely endearing when Hannibal had left whatever he'd been doing at the bookshelf in the living room –where Will had been lying on the couch- to crouch down and accept the apology, to also accept Morgan's impulsive need to hug it out. And then with an approving smile, Hannibal had taken his hand and led him upstairs, where Hannibal had supervised as Morgan cleaned up for dinner.
Will had been lying silently on the sofa the entire time just watching, amazed…and falling more in love with Hannibal by the day…by the second.
In the end, Morgan having been as sheltered as he had, had made him an uncomplicated child to deal with because he had no hang ups, experienced no nightmares, had no ingrained obstinacies or blooming pathologies and knew no bad words or manners that he ever bothered to repeat or act out. It was just as Hannibal had said, Morgan had been like a blank canvas, a child who'd only ever really been attached to his mothers and had been used to his carefully managed life.
And of course, he'd eventually asked about Alana and Margot, back when they'd still been in Livorno actually. Morgan had asked Hannibal because of the language barrier he had with everyone else, and while Will had only understood bits and pieces of what Hannibal had told Morgan at the time, since then, the story of his parents being lost in a tragic accident had been incorporated much more integrally and yet subtly into the boy's newly conditioned understanding of his new life.
Hannibal had finely-tuned and skillfully crafted the details of a new and amended old life into Morgan so perfectly that Will was still amazed when he thought about it. He also couldn't always help that he felt a little guilty about it, but ultimately, what they were doing for the boy –who would likely have ended up in the foster system as a nameless lost child wherever they might have dumped him – was far better and safer, and most importantly, Morgan was happy and healthy, his two mothers almost seamlessly replaced by two fathers.
And another very specific result of Morgan's therapy with Hannibal had made it so that he didn't even mention his former parent's names, in fact, Will found himself wondering if Hannibal had somehow made Morgan forget their names altogether. There'd been one time, about nine months into their time in Argentina, when Will had been testing the boy's state of mind, specifically his understanding of how he'd come to be there with them. He'd been doing as Hannibal had asked him to, and it was on a warm afternoon after they'd had lunch that Will had asked Morgan if he knew how he'd come to be with himself and 'Hannes', if he understood why they were his family now.
And Morgan's answer had been spoken effortlessly, rolling off his tongue with no confusion and just the right amount of 'too young to really be affected' sadness, Morgan had said; My parents died in a car crash, and then papá and tėvelis adopted me.
It had been a simple explanation, one that people would likely never ask a six year old orphan to elaborate on and also one that Morgan sounded like he truly believed, even as he'd parsed it out slowly in his broken English and with the word 'tėvelis', being the Lithuanian word for 'dad' and referring to Hannibal, being thrown in there. And that was yet another thing that had surprised Will, was that Hannibal had given the boy such a personal word to use to refer to him as. A word that Will hoped people would believe was the Estonian term for dad if anyone ever asked and he had to lie about it.
As for the language barrier, it was a good thing that Italian and Spanish were lexically similar because it'd made it easier for Morgan to learn Spanish, which Hannibal was teaching him while Will taught him English alternatively. He'd been homeschooled in Argentina by the two of them, Will doing most of the basic subjects by himself while Hannibal would occasionally help or fill in to give Will a day off.
But even with how well everything had worked out, being in Argentina had been a period of time for them that had been both easy and difficult in various ways. Morgan may not have been a complicated child, but that was not to say that the whole experience hadn't been emotionally taxing as well as enlightening parentally and personally for himself and Hannibal, the two of them embarking together into parenthood and the massive commitment necessary for it had been a stressful thing to navigate.
Parentally, Will had learned a lot. In the past he'd had only a certain amount of involvement in Walter's life when he'd been married to Molly, but she had always been the primary parent. With Morgan, Will was the primary parent, which was how Hannibal seemed to think it should be. Because ultimately back in Spain, Will would be the one spending the most time with Morgan while Hannibal worked –having decided he was going to set up a practice with Juan and Adoncia- and so Morgan needed to develop his strongest familial attachment to Will.
And presently it was pretty much like that, although there was no doubt that Morgan was attached to Hannibal as well, which was understandable, since for their first few months in Argentina Will could barely hold a conversation with the boy and Hannibal had been the 'go to' adult.
Personally, they'd had a lot more to deal with, and he and Hannibal and disagreed and had discreet arguments over a lot of things concerning raising Morgan, but they'd more or less worked it all out. However, there were some things that Will could not avoid thinking about no matter how hard he tried. For instance, mostly late at night, when he'd be lying in bed beside Hannibal, sleeping against or with the older man holding him, maybe sore and satisfied from sex, maybe just tired and lying comfortably close after a long day, Will was often unable to sleep, too often plagued by the knowledge that Hannibal was ten years older than him…
…and that that was part of the reason for Hannibal insisting Morgan be mostly attached to him, because he'd most likely be the parent left behind when Hannibal inevitably…
Then there was also the fact that Morgan would grow up, and even with Hannibal there –worse if he wasn't-, if or when Morgan one day wanted to know and learn about his dead parents, if Morgan one day discovered who Hannibal and Will really were…what then?
And that had also raised the question of whether or not Morgan should be raised to be like them as soon as possible, whether or not they should reveal themselves when the boy became old enough to understand properly and then they could begin grooming him for the hunt…
…Will and Hannibal had argued most about that, and still had yet to come to a mutual decision.
Yes, it had been a difficult time, just a little over a year…
…but while things could go bad in the future- shit, things could go bad in the next hour, day or week-, for right then, Will felt like it was perfect, like he had everything he'd never thought he could.
Now they were home in Spain again, engaged and with a child they called son.
Morgan was a loving, bright eyed, intelligent boy with an excess of affection and energy who spoke one language fluently and two others passably. He was fond of dogs, loved reading adventure fiction and enjoyed playing video games, but he also liked playing chess, though mostly just because he really loved his Star Wars special edition chess set. And while Hannibal found it entertaining that Morgan always wanted to play as the dark side of 'The Force', Will found it endlessly amusing that Hannibal was always dissatisfied when he won for the good guys.
Morgan also loved swimming and running and jumping and just generally exerting himself, he loved playing outside in the warm sun, rolling around in the grass and playing with the dogs, going down to the beach with Will and spending the entire day there swimming or playing in the sand by himself or with other kids. His social skills had improved vastly and Will always encouraged him.
Back in Argentina, when they'd been there for a while, Will had used to take Morgan to the nearest park to play, and so Morgan had quickly learned to interact with the other kids who played there on the jungle gyms or with their pets, supervised by their parents who Will would stand among dutifully, and while Morgan had been shy at first, he'd come around pretty quickly. And Will had loved watching Morgan get along with other children and be completely normal, doing and enjoying all of the little things that Will himself had not had the personal normalcy to experience when he'd been a boy.
He was relieved though, when they'd left Argentina and he'd no longer have to visit that park ever again, because he'd been hit on way too often by every single mother there who either didn't notice or didn't care that he wore a ring on his finger, and it had been exhausting to turn them down or to brush off their constant flirting. And while Hannibal refused to visit the park with him because he found it amusing when Will would later complain about the incorrigible passes the various women made at him, after his griping, Hannibal would kiss him until he was dizzy and breathless and smiling and Will would know that it was Hannibal's way of smugly and wordlessly saying 'you're mine and don't you dare forget it'. As if Will ever could.
As far as typical behaviors were concerned, for a five year old Morgan exhibited most of the expectable ones; he sometimes wanted to eat sweets and desserts before having supper, he asked for a light to be left on for when he went to sleep, he occasionally tried to get away with not brushing his teeth before bed and he cried like any other kid would when he got hurt playing outside. On that last point though, his tears would dry up very quickly because he was always fascinated by watching and listening as Hannibal saw to him, the older man always talking throughout the small procedure of disinfecting a scrape or putting a plaster on a cut, giving Morgan a full medical run down of whatever he was doing inclusive of other relevant or irrelevant information. And most of the time Morgan couldn't even understand everything Hannibal was saying but he always listened raptly, nodding and trying to repeat words like staphylococcus.
But while Morgan was fascinated with Hannibal's doctor and chef skills and the fact that he could ask Hannibal just about any question and get a knowledgeable explanation or answer, in most other ways, he was more alike and closer to Will. For instance, he preferred to wear jeans and T-shirts and sneakers, and he also didn't mind that Will had chosen to grow his chestnut brown hair out so that it was a bed head like mess over his forehead and just reached his ears, his hair also almost never saw a comb, much like Will's. He also shared Will's love for being outdoors in nature, for the ocean and he was eager to one day learn to fish and to go on a real boat. Of course, he loved dogs and always wanted Remy and Heller to sleep on his bed with him, and even though it irked Hannibal, he never insisted that it stop.
Morgan loved to eat Hannibal's gourmet chocolate cakes and fancily decorated breakfast meals, but he often preferred simpler stuff, such as toast or waffles with golden syrup, sugary cereals, a big bowl of chocolate ice cream and Snickers bars. He had a fair appetite for his proper meals though…and he was in no way a vegetarian, something which Hannibal was very pleased about. And while they hadn't killed anyone in their time in Argentina or even since they'd been back in Spain, Will knew that the older man was looking forward to feeding Morgan his first cut of human meat…someday.
Will had been really relieved and grateful that Hannibal had chosen to ask him first about that, about whether he would be fine with Morgan being a cannibal or whether he'd prefer the boy to eat regular meats only. And Will had taken a few days to think about it because it was a huge decision concerning something that was a big part of their lives. When Will had been ready to, he and Hannibal had sat down and discussed it at length, and Will's primary concern had been whether or not there'd be any risk to Morgan's health.
Hannibal had then explained to him, in great detail that had left Will reeling, exactly what risks did exist and how very few could, but were unlikely to occur when it came to cannibalism. He talked about what parts of the human body he always avoided consuming just for the sake of being extra careful, and in doing so revealed that there was more than just civility in the reasons for why he didn't just go around eating raw human meat…for the most part. He talked about the age groups he tended to try to stick to and about how slight the chances were of getting sick from eating human meat.
Overall, Will had learned two things that day;
One, that it had apparently been a special and rare thing for Hannibal to have wanted to eat his brain back in Florence, due to the higher health risks involved in eating human brains. And two, that eating contaminated human meat and eating contaminated animal meat was just about the same thing, either one could make you sick, so long as whatever part you were eating of them was actually sick, otherwise, it was all relatively low risk.
Ultimately though, Will had asked to table the idea, deciding that they'd discuss it again when Morgan was a little older. Hannibal had thankfully been –and remained- very compromising in all things and had agreed without a problem. And Will had lost count of how many times he'd told Hannibal that he loved him from the time they'd left Livorno throughout the time they'd been living in Argentina.
Sometimes he couldn't even help saying it, he just felt like he needed to and so he would.
Spain, Alicante, Benidorm - Monday – 8 January 2024 – 8.41 AM
"Papá?" Morgan's voice brought Will out of his thoughts of picking up groceries and getting his car washed, and he shifted his hands on the leather steering wheel of his Jag as he drove, glancing at his son sitting in the passenger seat beside him, the seat belt strapped across Morgan's little body and his school bag settled on his lap as he looked at Will with bright blue eyes.
"Yeah?" Will asked as he looked back to the road, navigating the early morning traffic that was particularly busy the nearer they drove to the school district.
"Can we…go to the beach after school?" Morgan asked in careful English.
To Will, he tended to speak in English mostly and to Hannibal in Italian, but they encouraged him to speak in Spanish and English more than Italian because the school he would be attending was a Spanish/English school.
It was actually going to be Morgan's first day of school presently, even though it was already the second term, and Will had felt slightly tense the entire morning, worrying about how Morgan would do for an entire day away from home and in the company of strangers for the first time since they'd 'adopted' him.
"Maybe, don't you think you should see how you feel later on?" he raised his eyebrows, absently checking his mirrors, "Usted puede estar cansado después de la escuela."(You may be tired after school.) Will mixed it up, going from English to Spanish in hopes of encouraging the boy to use his third language more. He glanced from the road to Morgan and back again, pushing his sunglasses up on his nose.
Morgan fidgeted and chewed his lip, scuffing his shoes against one another, obviously nervous about his first day back at school. And Will was nervous too, because the last time the boy had been in school was when he'd still been with Alana and Margot, but Hannibal hadn't been concerned at all, in fact he'd reassured Will not to worry and that everything would be fine, and so he was doing his best not to stress about it.
"Okay." Morgan mumbled after a while and shifted his feet, putting shoe heel to shoe toe and pressing his head back against the seat as he turned and looked out of the window. Will slowed the car down, indicating before he turned a corner and drove along the next road until he came to a stop street.
He looked at Morgan properly then, smiling encouragingly,
"Hey, don't be scared, you'll be fine. Do you remember what tėvelis said?" he asked evenly.
Morgan looked at him again and nodded,
"Se comincio a sentire a disagio, devo dire al mio insegnante di chiamare i miei genitori."(If I start to feel uncomfortable, I must tell my teacher to call my parents.) he recited.
Will smirked and tilted his head,
"In Spanish?"
Morgan sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes,
"Papá…" he said as if Will was being unreasonably demanding and when Will just glanced at him expectantly he did as told, "Si comienzo a sentirse incómodo, debo decir a mi maestro…uh, para llamar a mis padres."(If I start to feel uncomfortable, I must tell my teacher...uh, to call my parents.) he fidgeted with his school bag.
Will smiled and nodded as he pulled away from the stop street and turned into the school street,
"Right, and I promise, if you have a good day and you still feel like it later, we'll go to the beach, alright?" Will confirmed, easing in behind a row of cars lining up to drop their kids off at the gates to the private school.
Morgan nodded, smiling at the promise before he began fidgeting with his red tie. His school uniform was simple, a black blazer over a white shirt and dark red tie, worn with black school shorts, black knee-high socks and standard leather school shoes. And because Hannibal was a stickler for neatness, the boy's uniform was perfectly tidy and ironed, every button fastened and the tie properly done…not that it would be by the end of the day.
Will smiled at the thought, and just then, after a minute of waiting, he drove forward and pulled up at the gates in the quick stop zone. Will then proceeded to do as all the other parents did, getting out of the car and meeting Morgan on the passenger side which opened onto the curb. Morgan had just gotten out of the car when Will came around and he pushed the door shut while the boy swung his small backpack onto his right shoulder.
It was busy there, parents and children and teachers and cars everywhere but Will focused on Morgan, pushing his sunglasses up into his hair before crouching down to look at the boy, and finding himself feeling ridiculously proud and a little emotional,
"Uh…right, be good, and uh, eat the lunch tėvelis made for you," because school prepared food was the same as eating out of a petri-dish as far as Hannibal was concerned, "practice your English and your Spanish and…" Will stared into Morgan's wide eyed face and took a deep breath, sighing away his excessive concern, "…and yeah, I hope you have a good day, Morgan." he swallowed lightly, placing his hands on Morgan's small shoulders and squeezing gently when the boy finally stopped nodding.
Morgan hugged him then, little arms around his neck, always tight and always genuine and afterwards Will stood up and he took Morgan's hand, leading him to the gates where two teachers waited to guide the kids inside. The younger of the two women smiled at him and Morgan and greeting them in Spanish, and Morgan replied in Spanish. Will let go of his hand then and gestured for him to go ahead inside with all of the other children as the two teachers directed.
Morgan nodded and started walking, glancing back at Will soon after, looking nervous but smiling as he waved and said,
"Bye papà."
Will smiled and waved once in return,
"Bye, kiddo, I'll pick you up later." he reassured and Morgan nodded again before he turned around and headed into the schoolyard without looking back.
Will would like to have lingered because he was paranoid, but he knew the school was good and safe because Hannibal had been the one to pick it out, he'd been the one to handle Morgan's enrollment and to make sure the teachers knew to contact him or Will immediately if anything was wrong with their son.
Also, there was a queue of cars that Will was contributing to the hold up of.
So after a sigh, he turned around and headed back to his car, slipping into the driver's seat and starting the engine before he pulled off the curb carefully into the slow flowing traffic, intending to head back home.
Life in Argentina had been a major adjustment, and then life back in Alicante had also had to change somewhat.
Will had had to rearrange his teaching hours to suit having to drop off and pick up Morgan from school. And Hannibal, having gone into business with Juan and Adoncia in their already established practice, had had to schedule and organize an influx of new and old patients and work out his hours for every day as well.
Will hadn't seen his new office yet, but Hannibal had told him that it was simple and very contemporary –which meant he didn't like it at all. And Hannibal was pretty busy with the new practice, because aside from his many new patients, several of his former clients who he'd given referrals to when they'd decided to move to Argentina under the guise of family priorities, had returned to see him, so his appointments were fully booked up five days a week.
But he was strict about not seeing patients on weekends because while yeah, he was really busy, Will knew that he could honestly have been busier. But Hannibal didn't allow his time to be overspent at work purely because Will wanted him at home as much as he could be, especially since now that they were doing the family thing Will wanted them to do it together. That was the unspoken agreement between them, and Hannibal seemed happy to oblige, keeping all of his appointments between 8 AM and 4 PM, five days a week with only patient emergencies as an exception.
And while they'd been adjusting to their new work situations in the first few weeks back, they'd also had Morgan's chosen bedroom redecorated to completion within the first month. They'd talked about and set a date for when they'd take that previously postponed trip up North that they'd wanted to make in order to get some fresh meat, having decided that Chiyoh could babysit for them. Honestly, most everything they usually did had had to be adjusted because they now had a child in the mix, but every day, more and more, everything was falling into place.
For instance, with everything else settled Will was finally ready to start seriously making wedding plans. Before they'd even been back in Spain, he –and Hannibal- had let Isa and Juan know that they were engaged and that they'd adopted a son, because Hannibal had said it was best to just get it out of the way before they had to see their 'friends' again, allowing the idea to settle so that the curiosity could have faded by the time they returned.
And so presently, they had dinner plans for the upcoming weekend with Isa and Juan, where the Cantillo's would meet Morgan, and also, Will expected that Isa would want to talk about the wedding plans.
Will guessed that he was going to have to be very firm with her about it being a private affair if she wanted to be involved in the planning, because women were pushy about weddings, he knew that from past experience with Molly. Still, even with all of the odd new things he had to contend with in his odd new life, he was looking forward to permanently committing himself to the person he loved like he hadn't ever any other person in his life…
…yes, Will was looking forward to living the bizarrely normal and yet so twisted life he was building with Hannibal Lecter.
Benidorm - Monday – 8 January 2024 – 9.11 AM
The drive back home went quickly, and soon Will was all the way up the long winding road that led to their house and he was turning up into their driveway before the gate had even fully rolled open for him.
He frowned as he parked off in the driveway, seeing Hannibal's Bentley parked in the open garage, which was odd, because he had left for work before Will had even left to drop Morgan off.
Wondering if anything was wrong, Will got out of his car and as the gate rolled shut he quickly made his way across the driveway and up the stairs to the yard level. He crossed the yard, Remy and Heller running from different parts of the property to greet him and he gave them quick verbal acknowledgments –because he'd only been gone for a half hour- before he headed inside.
Will walked through the open front door and left it open for the dogs, the cool air-conditioned temperature in the house bringing light goosebumps to his skin even though the sun was out and high in the sky. He took his sunglasses off as he walked through the hallway, looking into the main living room as he passed it on his way to the kitchen.
"Hannibal?" he said loudly enough that the man would hear him if he were anywhere downstairs. And Will realized, with a belated smile, that instead of having to call him Hannes as usual, now that they were alone, it felt and sounded so good to say Hannibal's name aloud, whereas usually he had to whisper it to him in a stolen moment, or moan it softly just between them when they had sex.
And oh yes, that was one thing that was definitely affected by having a kid…sex.
Will placed his sunglasses and car keys down on the island counter after he crossed the kitchen, and then he stepped over to the fridge and retrieved a bottle of water, and as he broke the seal and took a sip from it, he thought about just how good he'd gotten and being unvocal during sex.
It'd been a hell of a personal adjustment for him, considering how he'd always been free to make as much noise as he wanted to in the past, especially knowing how much Hannibal liked it when they fucked so hard and Will got so loud that his voice resonated through their open plan house, a harmonic blend of moaning and the staccato slapping of their bare sweaty skin...
…but they couldn't do that anymore, not with Morgan two doors down the hall from their bedroom.
So while the amount of sex they had hadn't been affected, or even really the quality of it, it was the freedom of vocal and other noise expressions during sex that had been drastically censored. They never worried about Morgan walking in on them because Hannibal had instilled in Morgan the strict rule of knocking and waiting for announced admittance before entering any room with a closed door, and the boy followed rules astoundingly well. So really, their only problem was that they had to be quiet and also had to keep sex strictly in the bedroom.
They had kissed and touched one another in generally acceptable ways around Morgan, things like minor lip locking, chaste neck kisses and waist holding or close hugging, keeping everything they did on a daily basis parentally and age appropriate. And sometimes when Morgan was asleep, they would take a chance and make out in the living room, but for the most part, everything sexual happened behind the closed door of their bedroom.
It was a bit of a bummer, but Will thought it wasn't all that much to sacrifice in order to have everything they presently did, a life and a real family. And if they continued to be so careful and to have such excellent fucking luck, Will was sure they could keep it, he could keep it.
"Hannibal?!" he tried again, placing his water bottle down on the island counter as he distractedly walked around the counter and over to the dining table, slipping his cellphone out of his pocket to check the time. It was almost 9.15.
Will set his phone down on the table and turned around to face the hallway,
"Hanni-…oh, there you are," he cut himself off when the older man walked into the kitchen, "why are you back home, everything okay?" he asked automatically, but his eyes wandered as he looked Hannibal over.
The older man's hair was casually styled, some of it hanging over his forehead, and he was dressed as he had been when he left for work that morning, decked out in a rich rust colored button down dress shirt, open at the collar, worn with a sheer textured midnight blue suit pants and black medallion toe leather shoes. His sleeve cuffs were undone and folded up almost to his elbow, showing off the sinewy lines of his forearms, his expensive but understated watch adorning his left wrist…and on his left hand, complimenting his long, slender fingers, was the thin diamond embellished platinum engagement ring that they'd purchased together for him in Argentina.
Will remembered buying it as though it were yesterday.
Hannibal had informed him that his own ring was part of a set, and that he intended to present Will with the second ring, the wedding band, at the ceremony, as was considered tradition. But because they were both men, Will had felt it would be a little unfair if he had to wear an engagement and wedding ring by himself, like the girl counterpart usually did. So he'd told Hannibal his feelings on it and decided that either both of them wore two rings, or they both wore one. And as promised, Hannibal agreed to anything Will wanted and together they'd gone ring shopping in Argentina, eventually finding something Hannibal thought was suitable for himself, the second ring of his set being a thick plain band just as Will's second ring was.
"Yes," he nodded once and offered no further explanation, "I've been waiting for you to get back, how is Morgan?" Hannibal asked as he approached Will, his gait slow and relaxed, confident and smooth.
Will raised his eyebrows,
"Oh, yeah, he's fine," he tilted his head back slightly when Hannibal stepped into his immediate space, "a bit nervous but…" he trailed off then when the older man slid his arms around his waist, and he slid his own arms up and around Hannibal's shoulders in return, letting his eyes fall closed just a second before he parted his lips to the kiss Hannibal leaned in for.
The kiss was not slow or soft, it was all deep tongue and wet heat, Hannibal pulling Will tightly close, his large hands splaying on Will's lower back and one moving down to grope his ass firmly. And Will moaned…softly…and then remembered he didn't have to be quiet because they were alone...
…and he smirked at the realization that came with that thought, drawing back and speaking even as Hannibal kissed and nibbled at his mouth,
"Did…you come…home, just for…this?" he asked knowingly.
Hannibal didn't answer with words, instead he unlooped his arms from around Will and abruptly and unexpectedly started unfastening Will's jeans, still kissing at Will's mouth, barely taking or giving Will a moment to breathe properly.
Will uncircled his arms from Hannibal's neck as his zipper was tugged down with a quick jerk, his hips tugged forward, Hannibal sucking sorely at his bottom lip before kissing him with more aggression and desire than before.
Will knew they were going to fuck at that point, and he was already getting hard and feeling hot with anticipation as he slid his hands to Hannibal's shirt collar and started to undo the buttons.
He attempted to speak between Hannibal's unrelenting and rough kisses,
"Shouldn't…we…go up-stai-…" he was cut off though, his thoughts and speech derailed as he moaned into the older man's mouth when Hannibal covered his own in a deep, intentionally silencing kiss, and a second later he was easily lifted to sit onto the wood and glass kitchen table behind them.
Will gave into the kisses fully then, thinking 'fuck it' as he deftly undid the rest of Hannibal's shirt buttons and then slid his hands, flat and firm over the older man's lightly hairy chest and then down over his tensing abdomen to the buckle of his leather belt. Will had it unfastened in seconds and then Hannibal was pulling his T-shirt up and he lifted his arms, their mouths parting briefly so the shirt could come up over his head.
They went straight back to it though, Hannibal licking into his mouth almost forcefully in a rare show of his dominance, seemingly unwilling to take his mouth off of Will's for too long. Hannibal worked his mouth with rough angles and tongue and suckles assiduously against Will's even as he pulled Will's leather boots off, tugging at Will's jeans a moment after the shoes thudded to the floor. And despite thinking of how it wasn't hygienic or dignified to fuck on the kitchen table, Will simply couldn't be bothered to give a shit right then and he lifted his hips so that Hannibal could easily pull the gray denim off of his legs.
It was dropped on the floor and then Hannibal grabbed his underwear next and without hesitation Will allowed those off too, and then there was just cool glass against his bare skin. Hannibal grabbed his thighs roughly next, stepping between his naked legs, and the older man hitched and wrapped Will's legs around his waist before Will even had the chance to do it himself…
…Christ, Hannibal was turning him on like crazy with the roughness and urgency…
The rest of the chapter has been removed due to FF's policy for no explicit content, please read it fully on AO3.
Basically, it's a happy ending...if you know what I mean ;)
That's a wrap, and this is probably the least angst filled and dark story I've ever written. It's so light and happy that I'm not sure how I feel about it. I might consider writing the wedding, maybe some future drama of the police kind? Would Hannibal get bored living the family life? Let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading!
