Chapter Text
Will opened Hannibal’s front door and was immediately pushed into the snow by his dogs. He laughed as he pet them all, struggling to get to his feet with the weight of seven excited dogs on top of him.
Hannibal heard the door open and lowered the flame on the stove to go check on Will. He let Will roll around with the dogs for a minute before calling them off him. He offered a hand to help Will up. With a look at his face he could see that he was still in his adult headspace, but could easily be pushed into his little headspace.
“You’re home early, Will,” Hannibal commented.
Home.
Will still had his own house, but he and the dogs were at Hannibal’s more often than they were at their own home. The dogs liked it there. Hannibal cleared out one of the spare rooms and filled it with dog beds and toys for them, but they ended up in Will’s room most mornings anyway. They liked to be able to see him and make sure he wasn’t having nightmares.
“Jack cancelled my last class because he needed my help. I solved his case in like 15 minutes, but the class was already cancelled, so I just came home.” Will put down his work bag and sniffed the air. “Smells good.”
“I’m making a honey roast duck. I’m also making roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. Do you want to eat that, or do you want me to make you something else?” Hannibal tried not to make anything too ‘fancy’ when Will was there, but oftentimes he couldn’t help it.
Will thought for a moment. “Can I skip the onions? And the vegetables?”
“You can skip the onions. You need vegetables.”
Will shrugged. He knew Hannibal would say that. “It was worth a try. Can me and the dogs play in the backyard until dinner is done?”
Hannibal grabbed Will’s gloves, hat, and scarf. “You may if you put these on. You don’t want to get sick right before your birthday, do you?”
The color drained from Will’s face. He had hoped Hannibal didn’t know about his birthday, but of course he did. It was on the papers he’d filled out when Hannibal became his psychiatrist.
Hannibal frowned slightly at Will’s reaction. “You don’t seem very excited for your birthday this weekend. Saturday, correct?”
Will stared at the floor and gave him a tiny nod. “Maybe me and the dogs should go back to my house this weekend.”
“If you truly want to, I won’t stop you, but I’d like you to stay. Can you tell me why you don’t want to be here for your birthday? Preferably in the kitchen so I can make sure nothing burns.”
Will stomped the snow off of his boots before following Hannibal to the kitchen. He held his hat and gloves on his lap while he sat at the island. “I just don’t like my birthday,” he said. “It’s cursed . Something bad always happens.”
“A day cannot be cursed, Will. Why do you say something bad always happens?”
Will shrugged. “I get hurt or sick almost every year. I’ve been in the hospital at least 15 birthdays, not including the day I was actually born. One year when I was a kid our house burned down on my birthday. Last year Buster got sick on my birthday and I had to take him to the vet. Thankfully he was okay.” Will reached down to pat the dog’s head.
“That’s certainly quite a coincidence,” Hannibal agreed, “but it’s not because of a curse.”
They were both quiet for a minute before Will said, “Apparently my mom left on my first birthday. I don’t remember her at all.”
Hannibal gave Will a sad look.
Before he could say anything else, Will shoved his hat and gloves on, leaving the scarf. “I’m gonna take the dogs for a walk around the block.”
“Okay, elskede. Be careful not to slip on any ice.”
“Kay. Come on, guys, let’s go for a walk!”
---
Will collapsed into his bed at the end of the night. The dogs had gotten excited on their walk and ended up dragging him through the snow, so he’d needed a bath when they finally got home. Now he was warm and comfy in his dinosaur footed pajamas, and he was full of yummy food. Lamby was on the pillow next to him wearing matching pajamas.
Hannibal stood in the open doorway and knocked gently on the frame. He knew Will was still mostly in his adult headspace, so he tried to give him some privacy if he wanted it. Will still liked having his little things even when he wasn’t little a lot of the time. They comforted him.
Will looked up at Hannibal who held two mugs of hot chocolate. He scooted over in bed slightly, silently inviting the older man to sit with him. He accepted the mug he was handed and took a sip, humming happily. Hannibal sat next to him, smiling into his own mug when Will cuddled up next to him.
“Are you going to stay through the weekend, Will?” He asked softly.
Will shrugged. “What if the curse hurts you?”
Instead of reiterating that a day could not be cursed, Hannibal said, “What if I told you I had a cure for that curse?”
“Really?” He asked, looking up at Hannibal with wide eyes.
Hannibal nodded and pulled out a small bottle of liquid. Really all that was in it was peppermint extract, but Will didn’t know that. He took the label off in the kitchen. “I did some research into cursed birthdays while you were out with the dogs and found I had all the ingredients necessary to make the cure. May I add it to your hot chocolate?” Hannibal’s ‘research’ had actually been texting the group chat he had with Alana, Jack, Beverly, Jimmy, and Brian. Together, they had all come up with the ‘cure.’
Will nodded eagerly and held out his mug. He watched with wide eyes as Hannibal poured a few drops of the liquid into his mug, then he lifted it to his mouth and drank it all in one long gulp. It burned his mouth a little bit, but he didn’t care.
“Now what?” Will asked, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
“Now, you get a good rest. In the morning, the curse will be gone.”
Will threw himself at Hannibal and squeezed the life out of him. He pressed his face against Hannibal’s chest, crying. “It’s really gonna work? My birthday won’t be cursed anymore?”
Hannibal wrapped his arms around Will. “I promise it will work, elskede.”
They sat there, hugging each other tightly for a few minutes. Will kept repeating “thank you.” He couldn’t wait to wake up and not have his birthday be cursed! He wondered what Hannibal would do to celebrate it. This would be the first time he celebrated his birthday since he was 7! He was getting excited.
“Remember, Will, the most important part of the cure is a good rest,” Hannibal finally said.
Will quickly let go and lied down against his pillow, bringing Lamby into his arms.
Hannibal pulled the blanket up to Will’s neck and tucked him and his lamb in tightly. “Goodnight, Will. Goodnight, Lamby.” Each name was punctuated with a forehead kiss to its owner.
“Night, Daddy. Love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Sleep well.”
Will nodded his head once, determined, then shut his eyes and promptly fell asleep.
---
Will woke up in the morning to Winston licking his face. He giggled and gently pushed him off the bed. He gasped as he remembered the night before. He didn’t have a nightmare last night. That meant he slept good. That meant his birthday wasn’t cursed anymore, right? He almost started to cry again, but forced himself not to. He grabbed Lamby and raced down to the kitchen where Hannibal was making breakfast.
Will skidded to a stop just before crashing into him. “Daddy!”
“Good morning, little lamb. And Lamby.”
“Daddy, I didn’t have a nightmare! I slept good! That means my birthday’s not cursed no more, right?”
“Your birthday is not cursed anymore,” Hannibal confirmed. He hugged Will tightly when he started to tear up again. “Are you going to stay this weekend and celebrate your birthday now?”
Will nodded and wiped his eyes before pulling away from Hannibal. “What are we gonna do? What do people do on their birthday?”
Hannibal motioned zipping and locking his lips.
Will whined. “Daddy! I wanna know!”
“You’ll know in two days. Do you want juice or milk with breakfast?”
Will sighed. “Juice. Isn’t Daddy so mean, Lamby? It’s my birthday, I should know what we’re gonna do!”
“Well, do you have any specific requests of what you’d like to do or eat on Saturday, little lamb?”
“Pizza! And cookies! Maybe we can go to the park with the dogs?”
“That sounds doable. Here. Take your juice and go sit at the table. Breakfast is ready.”