Chapter Text
Will Graham paced the floor, phone in one hand as he threaded his fingers through his curls in frustration with the other.
"It's just a toothache, Bev." He assured. Or well, tried to.
Beverly did not let it go. She hadn't let it go for the past 15 minutes- completely ignoring all of Will's deflections and excuses to not do what she recommended.
He didn't want to- why was it such a big deal? If Will was in pain, it would go away eventually. Or if it didn't, he could get used to it. Will made sure to vocalize this, which Beverly immediately shot down.
"You're going to the dentist, William." She said firmly, making Will let out a breathy laugh.
"Do you really think calling me William will make me do what you want?" He asked, now leaning against his front door.
All of his dogs were laying on the floor, their eyes trained on him. Just watching their master get berated for their enjoyment.
"Traitors." He silently mouthed to them, looking away to face his window.
It was overcast outside, but there was a few rays of sun shining through the clouds throughout the day. It was about dinner time, he'd have to bring out the dog's food soon.
"Yes, yes I do." Beverly answered, prattling on. "Because you know you can't say no to me."
Will felt his lips twitch into a smirk, "And why is that?"
"Because I'm right. Or else you would have hung up already." Beverly pointed out, her voice sounding smug.
"You just want to childishly throw a tantrum before you agree to it." She added.
Will let out a loud sigh, tiredly rubbing his eyes with his non-dominant hand. "I'm not childish." He protested softly.
Beverly hummed, "We'll debate about that later. Anyways, you're still going to the dentist."
Fully sagging against the door now, Will grinned. "And who, pray tell, should I go to?"
"To Dr. Hannibal Lecter. He's Sarah's dentist. Been her dentist for, like, two years? You remember Sarah." Beverly rattled off.
Will made a small noise in acknowledgment.
"She keeps recommending him," She continued, "And I just met with him recently for a cleaning. I like him a lot, pretty straight to the point."
"And because of that, you think I'll like him." Will filled in knowingly.
"What do ya know, there is a brain under those curls!" Beverly gushed, adding in a gasp for good measure.
Will fondly rolled his eyes, standing up straight and walking into his kitchen. He needed a glass of whiskey for this conversation to continue.
Maybe if he wasn't sober when he agreed, Beverly wouldn't make him go. Oh how a man could dream.
At Will's silence, Beverly got serious again. "I mean it, Will. You've been complaining about that pain in your jaw for almost two weeks now. You barely eat already. I don't want it to get worse."
With a groan, Will set down the whiskey bottle he was about to pour himself. Beverly really had to pull that card, huh? Her being all caring about his health and all.
With another sigh, Will looked up at the ceiling before closing his eyes. He wasn't going to hear the end of this if he didn't agree. Might as well.
If he hated the dentist- Beverly couldn't make him go back. She would drop it- maybe make him go to another. At least that could save him some time.
"Will?" Beverly called, concern coloring her voice now.
"I'll do it." Will surrendered, his shoulders hunched. "I'll call his office tomorrow on my break to make an appointment."
Beverly let out a cheerful whoop, making Will smile thinly. She always got what she wanted, in the end. But Will knew what she wanted for him was always from a place of love.
He trusted her. Beverly was probably the only person in his life he trusted wholeheartedly.
"Oh," Beverly blurted, cutting through her celebration. "Don't bother making an appointment. I already made you one."
Will's eyebrows rose into his hairline, "What?"
He could practically hear her grinning from the other end of the phone, "Be there tomorrow after work. I'll send you the confirmation so you know the official time and address."
"I loathe you so much right now." Will said slowly, still in utter disbelief.
Then again, why was he so surprised? This wasn't the first and surely won't be the last time Beverly will do this.
"Oh shut up, Graham. You love me so much that it makes you sick." Beverly brushed off humbly.
"Yeah. Sick of you." Will teased back, shaking his head.
Even though Will never told her this, he was grateful to have Beverly in his life. No one else got through to him like this. Nor did anyone else try to get to know him like this.
Beverly never tried to change him. Never poked at his quirks and commented about them as if he was out worldly. To Beverly, his quirks were just his quirks. Nothing more.
They always worked around them, melding together in a way where their friendship worked. Thrived, even.
Sure, she mentioned them and teased him at times. But it was never out of malice or genuine intent of anything more. It made Will comfortable. He felt safe.
"Whatever," Beverly huffed. "You better be there on time, Graham. Or I'll know. They have me on speed dial if you're not there."
Will poured himself that glass of whiskey, licking his lips before taking a sip. His tooth still ached, practically throbbing at anything that was a little too cold.
He winced at the feeling before answering, "I promise that I'll be there. We'll see if Dr. Lecter will be any good at what he does."
"Good." Beverly murmured, "I'll let you go then. I need to finish the show I'm binging."
Will hummed in acknowledgment, "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Hopefully I'll walk out with my teeth intact."
"Har, Har." Beverly sassed, "Bye, Graham."
"Bye." Will said in turn, ending the call.
With that, he finished his glass of whiskey before going to his couch. The moment he sat down, one of his smaller dogs jumped on his lap to be petted.
Will looked down, huffing out another breathy laugh before scratching the back of Buster's ears.
"You sure left me to the wolves." He mumbled to the dog, who was continuing to look at Will with devoted eyes.
"Completely demolished. And all you want from me is pets." Will continued dryly, booping Buster's wet nose with his finger.
This made Buster tilt his head to the side, lopping out his tongue in the process.
Will felt a genuine smile spread across his cheeks at that. How were all dogs so adorable?
Before Will went to bed that night, he looked up everything he could on Dr. Lecter. Interviews, newspaper clippings, where he went to school, papers he had written, and even a multitude of reviews.
All Will knew before he went to bed that night was- that tomorrow would be interesting. It had to be.