Chapter Text
Bed Time
Will always had bad nights when he would wake up from nightmares shouting and shaking. Most nights, he lay awake until the sun peeked at the curtains.
He realized something was off when he enjoyed sleep for almost a week. The thought that he had been cured of whatever he had in his mind was outrageous.
As he settled down that night, he decided to lay quietly, pretending to be asleep.
Good with his instincts, he knew immediately what the culprit was--specifically, who.
The stag had pushed the door open to his bedroom near midnight. His hooves tapped loudly against the wooden floor. Will felt the bed dip on his right side. A cold nose traced his forearm, breathing calm. Soon, the stag had his arms wrapped around Will’s left leg.
Will didn’t have it in him to push Hannibal away. After a few more breaths, Will felt his body relax. it seemed that having company in his bed and a warm body to sleep against silenced his mind. In fact, he decided that he’d let Hannibal stay in for the next nights until he told him to go back to the forest.
His thoughts were cut off when he heard Hannibal’s throat working a tune. He first felt it as vibration against his leg until his ears picked up the hymn.
Hannibal was singing.
Will tried his best not to disrupt the stag with his soft chuckles. He bit his lip and faked his shuffle to lay on his side. Hannibal removed his arms making Will feel relieved that there was no more contact between them. He jolted when he felt Hannibal’s nose burying itself on the small of his back.
“Will?”
“Go to sleep.”
Hannibal continued nuzzling Will’s back.
“Aren’t you supposed to be by the fireplace?”
Will bit his palm when the stag started squirming with a whine. He willed himself not to laugh. if he just turned his head and looked at the stag’s face, he’d break.
“Cold. i want Will.”
Will’s chuckles died in his throat. He flushed until he felt the stirrings of warmth in his belly. He shouldn’t be thinking like that.
“You should go back, Hannibal.” Will turned around and faced a defeated looking stag.
Hannibal’s antlers were piercing runs and holes on his bed sheets and Will anticipated the anger that would bubble up his throat.
It didn’t come.
Instead, he sighed and patted Hannibal’s shoulder. “Alright, you can stay.”
Hannibal surged up and started nuzzling his forearm.
Will’s words died on his lips for the second time.
“Y-you,” Will started, “If you stay you have to help me with fishing again tomorrow. Deal?”
“Anything, mon cheri.”
Will hummed before closing his eyes.
Sleep came to Will and most of the nightmares went to the edges of his mind, waiting patiently to strike back and torment him.
---
Goodbye
“You don’t belong here, Hannibal,” Will shook his head, “You shouldn’t be here.”
it was late in the afternoon, and a policeman came by knocking on Will’s door. He had answered it and was questioned about a mysterious deer walking on its hind legs as narrated by a passing neighbor. Will cleared any suspicions about him experimenting with science by letting the policeman roam around his house.
It was a good thing he left Hannibal by the river. He told him he would come back with snacks.
The policeman brought up his phone and showed Will a clear shot of Hannibal. He still countered it by saying that it might be an illusion or the kids using their vivid imagination on Photoshop.
The police car left after a thorough ten minutes of interrogation. The picture had been taken a week before when Will left Hannibal to play in his backyard. Wrong move.
“You need to go.” Will tried his best to make his voice firm. He was pushing away the one individual who had been loving him fully by first encounter. He was pushing away the person who brought color to his routine.
Hannibal had his arms limp in front of him as if pleading. He had his head bowed, shaking. “No, I belong here. With you.”
Will walked towards him and held Hannibal’s shoulder. “If you stay, they will catch you.”
Hannibal sucked in a sharp breath. Memories of hunters chasing him and his sister when he was young floated in his eyes. Memories after that was a blur of people hunting him just for fun.
“I need you.”
Will shook his head. “No, you don’t need me. I’m sure, out there, you’ll find a mate, Hannibal. But not me.”
Hannibal lifted his hands and cupped Will’s neck, as if in possession. “No mate. You’re the only one.” A tear fell from the stag’s eyes.
“Your world belongs out there,” Will held Hannibal’s hands and pried it off him. He entwined their fingers and squeezed tight. He let them go.
Hannibal whined and scraped the grass with his hooves. He was distressed and his usually calm mask was breaking away.
“This is not goodbye,” Hannibal leaned in and pressed his cheek against Will’s. He huffed and leaned away to leave a kiss on Will’s lips.
Will pulled away. He wouldn’t admit that his eyes were burning.
“When everything’s alright, come visit,” Will’s cheeks hurt from his smile. He looked up at the towering creature and stifled a sob.
He reached for Hannibal’s hand again and entwined them, one last time. He started walking backwards. Their hands slowly unraveled. The distance between them was small, but both of them felt the gaping distance.
“The forest is your home, it’s waiting for you. Go.”
Hannibal gave out another huff. He shook his head out of instinct and turned away from Will. He started running on all fours away from his beloved and his true home.
Will closed his eyes when Hannibal disappeared into the deep forest. He turned towards the direction of his house and opened his eyes. He wanted the last image of Hannibal in his mind to be his strong and powerful physique and the antlers protruding from his skull. He wanted to think that it was just another deer that passed by his house and needed nursing.
The sound of hooves hitting the forest floor faded. A shiver traveled on Will’s skin.
Soon, Will walked up the small steps to his back door and settled onto his desk chair to prepare for tomorrow’s lesson.