Work Text:
Hannibal: Hello, dear. Have you left work yet?
Will’s phone buzzed in his pocket as he packed up his papers and laptop. He slung his bag over his shoulder and leaned against his desk to respond to the text.
Will: i’m just about to why
Hannibal: Could you stop at the farmer’s market on your way home to pick up a few things, please?
Will: yeah, send me a llist
Will walked out to his car, waving goodbye to Beverly Katz as he passed her. He tossed his bag on the passenger seat and skimmed over Hannibal’s shopping list before buckling his seatbelt and turning the car on. Some type of honey and oil were on the list as well as a bottle of wine, among other things.
Will drove for a while, thinking about his next lesson, and when that got boring he thought about what movie he’d make Hannibal watch after dinner. Maybe Lady and the Tramp or 101 Dalmatians . Or Air Buddies !
He was only a few miles away from the farmer’s market when something small and fuzzy caught his eye, sitting on the side of the road. Will pulled over to investigate.
Sitting in the ditch was a dog. When the dog saw Will it shrunk in on itself and whimpered. Will crouched down and tried to make himself smaller too so hopefully the dog wouldn’t be so scared.
“Hey, buddy,” he said in a soothing voice. “I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise. Can I come closer?” He held his hand out for the dog to sniff. It sniffed him for a while before tentatively giving his hand a small lick. Will smiled. He looked over the dog’s body the best he could for injuries, but it was really dirty. Will could tell it was a golden retriever, but its fur was so dirty it was basically brown.
Once the dog was sure Will wasn’t going to hurt it, it walked closer to him and licked his cheek. Will giggled. “You wanna come home with me, hm? The others are gonna be so excited to have a new sister! Hannibal might not be, but he’ll get used to you! C’mon, let’s get going.” Will stood and tapped his thigh. The dog followed him to his car and waited for him to move his work bag and put a blanket on the passenger seat. She jumped up onto the seat and stared out the window with a big smile and her tongue sticking out.
Will’s smile was as big as the dog’s as he drove her home. He talked to her about himself, the other dogs, and Hannibal.
“Y’know, I think Hannibal will really like you once he gets over his annoyance that I’m bringing you home!”
The dog leaned over to give Will’s cheek another kiss.
He laughed and gently pushed her back onto her seat so he wouldn’t get distracted driving. “We need to think of a name for you. Hm, what do you think of Stella?” The dog sneezed. “Guess not. It’s okay. We’ll think of something else.”
Will parked his car in Hannibal’s driveway. “Let’s go inside,” he said to the dog, “but we have to be really quiet, okay?”
The dog tilted her head at him.
“Yeah, like that.” He unlocked the front door. He could hear the other dogs in the backyard. Hannibal must have let them out to go to the bathroom. He’d have to be quick getting this new dog to the bathroom for a bath. Hannibal would not be happy if he knew he was bringing a filthy dog into the house.
“Will, are you home?” Hannibal called from the kitchen.
Will silently cursed. “We gotta go, come on!” He whispered to his new dog, trying to usher her to the bathroom. They only took two steps into the house before Hannibal was there. Curse his long legs!
“Well, hello,” Hannibal said to the dog. “William, I know you were not about to just lead a dog covered in mud to run through my house.”
The use of his full name and Hannibal’s stern tone instantly made him start to feel little. He looked down at the couple of muddy pawprints on the floor. “Was gonna take her for a bath,” he mumbled.
“There’s a hose in the backyard. You can go through the gate. I’ll bring the others inside.”
Will looked up at Hannibal, surprised. “You’re not mad I brought her home?”
Hannibal rolled his eyes playfully and smiled. “I knew what I was signing up for with you. Wait outside while I bring the others in. You can clean these muddy pawprints after her bath.” Hannibal started walking to let the dogs in, but paused and turned back to Will. “Did you at least get to the farmer’s market before you were adopted by another stray?”
Will smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Daddy. I found her a few miles before the market and didn’t remember.”
Hannibal hummed. “It’s alright, elskede. We’ll take a trip together tomorrow. You can bring Lamby with us if you’d like.” That was his way of telling Will he wouldn’t be allowed to bring along any of the dogs. Will knew there was no point trying to argue for a dog to come, even the new one. Hannibal refused to have any of the dogs in his car and he hated Will’s car.
“Kay.”
Will beamed at his new dog as he toweled her dry. All the dirt and mud was gone. Will was pleased to discover she had no injuries now that he could actually see.
Hannibal opened the screen door and stepped outside. He carried with him a glass of wine for himself, a plastic cup full of lemonade for Will, Lamby, and a change of clothes, seeing as Will’s current outfit was now covered in dirt and soaking wet. Apparently this dog wasn’t a fan of baths.
Will sat in a chair next to Hannibal, taking his lemonade. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome, elskede.” Hannibal watched the dog play with a ball left out from the other dogs. “You sure do have a knack for picking up strays.”
Will smiled around his straw. “Mhmm!”
“Does she have a name yet?”
“Riley.”
The dog perked up at the sound of her name. It had been the first name she seemed happy to hear when Will was listing off names in the car.
“Riley, come!” The dog trotted over and nudged Will’s hand with her nose. He pet her head and turned back to Hannibal. “You’re really not mad?”
“I’m not. I know you couldn’t just leave a dog on the road if you saw one. But I would like you to go clean the mud off my floor and take a bath before dinner, please.”
“Okay, Daddy. I’ll be back, Riley! Be good!”
That night Will ended up sleeping on the floor cuddled up to all of his dogs. Riley’s back was pressed against his and the others were all around them. Hannibal took a picture when he went to check on him in the middle of the night which immediately became his tablet’s lockscreen photo.