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“If you were to be a father, what kind of father would you be, Will?”
“I think I’d be a good one,”
-
Hannibal should have seen it coming, in truth. As both a doctor and psychologist, and Will’s husband. It was obvious really. Will was a lycan, half man half wolf, no matter the distance his lycanthropy afforded him from his more animal side. Biology did not rule him, but it did influence his actions.
-
Hannibal watched as Will picked the burgundy and white striped afghan from the couch. Will pressed his face into the soft blanket, sniffing it deeply for a long minute before tossing it back over the couch, dissatisfied. He shifted his jaw, looking around the room before he sat down. Hannibal had observed him doing this three times already.
Every hour or so after Will sat down to watch whatever Hannibal had put on, his restless movement would become too much and he would stand and pace around. Sometimes he would leave the room for a few minutes before coming back. Sometimes he’d find the closest soft object, like a blanket or decorative pillow, sniff it, and either set it back down in frustration or take it away to another room.
Will had been doing it more and more, at first it was barely noticeable. A missing throw blanket there, a throw pillow picked up and put back down here, Hannibal hadn’t taken any mind.
He didn’t even notice at first, when his clothing began to disappear. A nice woolen suit jacket had gone missing, then a vest, slowly little pieces began to go missing and he was down to only a few matching suits anymore. It wasn’t exactly a problem, but he did very much like that red suit.
And now the frequency and level of frustration Will showed had increased dramatically, and Hannibal had the fuzziest clue as to why.
“Is there something wrong Will?” Hannibal asked finally, after the fifth time Will had made his rounds. He hadn’t even noticed that Hannibal had changed it to a news station Will hated with a passion.
“Hm?” Will hummed, eyes unfocused and searching.
“Is there something wrong, my Will? Is there a scent that’s bothering you? The texture of things you don’t enjoy? If there’s something wrong you can tell me,” Hannibal cupped Will’s face and kissed his forehead gently.
“Wrong?” Will blinked, his gaze becoming less fuzzy. “No, no nothing’s wrong,”
“Are you sure Will?” Hannibal pressed.
“Yeah, ‘course, why do you ask?”
Hannibal pursed his lips. “No reason lovely,”
Will shrugged. “I should probably go check up on Lucian, the other vampires, they’ve been getting itchy lately. A lot of children get left behind by the guard. The scent of blood drowns the scent of pups,” He bit the inside of his cheek. “I need to help him more, he’s overwhelmed,”
“Are you sure, love?”
“Yes, he needs help,”
Hannibal took Will’s hand and kissed the palm of it. “Mind that you take care of yourself. Do you need a ride or anything like that dear? I’d be happy to help if-”
Will smiled softly. “I will, I will. It’s okay, I’ve got it,”
“Remember you can ask if you need-”
Will sighed and hoisted Hannibal up, wrapping Hannibal’s legs around his waist. “I will, I promise, I know,” He laughed and kissed Hannibal, then set his head against the vampire’s chest. “Now please, may I go help the pack leader? Or will you keep me hostage with kisses and sappy words?”
“If you insist,” Hannibal grinned. “If only you put me down my wolf,”
“If you insist,”
-
And now they were here.
Will’s form was majestic, likely to be three times Hannibal’s size, with a thick, fuzzy and shiny pelt the color of blood in the moonlight. Hannibal watched Will as he breathed, slow and relaxed, chest rising and falling. If it wouldn’t disturb the picture, Hannibal would have pressed himself against Will’s chest and listened to his heart, always faster when he was transformed.
“Will?” Hannibal spoke gently. “Lovely, is there a reason you turned? Is there a reason you’re inside?” He stepped closer.
A small growl came from Will when Hannibal approached, but was quieted quickly. “Needed to protect. Couldn’t fit in the nest, was too cold out, bed worked,” His voice was gravely, his words choppy as well when he turned.
“What are you talking about Will?” Hannibal asked, getting closer to his lycan. “What nest? What-”
He stopped in his tracks, tucked into Will’s arms was a tiny pup. Their fur was the color of caramel with white spots that made them look like a little fawn rather than a lycan pup.
“Who is this Will?”
“Abigail,” Will rumbled. “Our pup,”
“Does Lucian know you have her?” Hannibal didn’t make a move to remove the girl from Will. The past weeks finally made sense, Will had been nesting, preparing a space for what his body had decided was his pup. He wouldn’t dare take her away now, not when Will was turned, he’d likely kill Hannibal at this stage.
Will made a rumbling sound. Hannibal sighed, he had kidnapped the poor thing, of course. He wasn’t thinking sensibly.
“Well Will,” Hannibal sat down on the edge of the bed. “We’ll need to tell Lucian where she’s gone, I’m sure he’s worried and I wouldn’t want him thinking you’re doing something nefarious-”
Will grabbed Hannibal and dragged him close, before Hannibal could even squeak a protest or a sound of surprise out he was tucked up against Will’s chest, next to little Abigail. She barely stirred, making only a little whine as she readjusted herself.
“Stay,” Will rumbled.
“Will please I need to-” Hannibal attempted to move, but was swiftly brought back down with a growl.
“Stay. Our pup,” Will picked Abigail up and set her into the crook of Hannibal’s arm. “Needs us both,”
“Will please, I’m sure the little one won’t appreciate my coldness,” Hannibal protested, trying to shift Abigail back to Will. “She’d much prefer you my dearest, just let me get up and both of you will be more comfortable,”
“She likes you,” Will rebuffed. “See?”
Hannibal looked down and saw the pup curled up into him, making little noises of discontent at being woken up, but happy nonetheless. His heart hadn’t beat in centuries, but he could have sworn then, in that little moment, his heart jumped.
“See? She likes you,” Will had a smile in his voice, and curled a little tighter around his family. “We will have to make the nest here, the closet is too small for all of us,”
Hannibal nodded. “We’ll have to tell Lucian first, I don’t imagine he’ll say no, but he’ll appreciate knowing where one of his stray pups went,” He sighed happily. “It’s like we’ve got a coven now,”
“A pack,”
“A family,” Hannibal said at last. “You’ll be a good father Will,” Will rumbled happily at that.
Hannibal went lax and sunk into the little pile that was his family. He’d call Lucian later, if the man didn’t break down his door first, firstly, he needed to be close to his family.