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A cold day in winter, the day before holiday's begin and Will and Hannibal will have a few days off to relax and enjoy the beginning of the snowy season. Hannibal has decided to make hot cocoa for his beloved Will, with his own personal touch of course. He prided himself in the fact that he made outstanding hot cocoa. Will complimented him on it every time, and it never failed to set a sweet smile on hisbface to receive such praise from Will.
He waited patiently, sitting on the couch by his fireplace as he held a tray of hot cocoa in his hand. He was steady with it, being sure not to mess up or smudge the complex design he incorporated into the drink. It was a flower, made out of marshmallows, cinnamon and some hard fudge chocolate shavings. It didn't take too long for will go finally enter the room, thankfully his drink was still relatively hot when he got there.
"For you, Mylimas." Will gave a half lidded look up at Hannibal, grateful that he went out of his way to make something especially for him. However, Hannibal could tell that Will's demeanor was different and slightly off compared to their time spent earlier that day. He seemed to have a strange aura surrounding him; something must have been bothering him. Even so, Hannibal wouldn't poke and prod unless Will wanted him to, or if he simply asked for help himself. Hannibal noticed the way that Will didn't compliment the hot cocoa this time, he took note of that.
Will say down on the couch, in a slow motion. He took small sips of the cocoa, his hands seemed a bit shaky but that wasn't too out of the ordinary for Will, so Hannibal tried to push it aside. a few minutes passed by without them exchanging a word to each other, and that was fine. Hannibal didn't mind the silence, he found the parallel play to be soothing and comforting since he didn't like chaos or ruckus anyways. But something caught him off guard; had Will been sniffling? He thought he heard it once or twice a minute or so ago but he didn't think much of it since it was very chilly outside, it could have been a result of the cold, he figured. But that didn't appear to be the case here. These sniffles were relentless, unending, constant.
He peeked out over to Will and immediately felt his need to coddle kick in. Will's eyes were wet with tears, red and puffy. His hands were shaking from the crying, and snot was dripping out of his nose. He wasn't even drinking his cocoa anymore, just staring at it and hiccuping. Hannibal was confused. He took action quickly and gently ran his finger along Will's cheek, wiping away some stray tears.
"Oh, dear Will.. what is the matter?" He asked softly, making sure his tone wasn't one that would scare his poor Will even more. The last thing he wanted or needed for Will was for him to be frightened during his time of need.
Will places the cup down onto the coffee table in front of them, shaking his head a few times. He feels pathetic for crying like this on their first day off, and on such a pretty day of winter too. He was supposed to be enjoying the day with Hannibal, not crying his eyes out and holding a cup of cold cocoa that he didn't get to drink simply because of his damned emotions.
Hannibal notices that Will doesn't respond, but he clearly has some resentment towards himself for being upset at the moment. Hannibal never wanted Will to be ashamed of having feelings, and especially not ashamed of expressing those feelings, too.
He decided to try something that they hadn't done in awhile, but he knew that it helped Will, especially on his hard days. He figured this was burnout, considering they had been working nonstop for weeks. No breaks and barely any time to see each other was.. hard to say the least, but he had forgotten how much harder it must have been on Will.
Hannibal patted his lap, and just like a puppy running to their owner, Will took the offer instantly and crawled over. He laid his head on Hannibal's lap, getting comfortable. He needed this. He really did.
"Dad's here, Dear Will. You're safe. Nothing will be able to hurt you as long as I am here and with you." He assured, stroking Will's cheek very gently, as if he was holding a newborn kitten, so fragile and small. He was well aware that the way he phrased that might have been a tad manipulative; but Will definitely enjoyed it just as much as he did. He was getting out of old habits, however they did slip to the surface at times.
"Thank you, dad." Is all Will could muster back. He felt so drained after the passing of the weeks, and he just needed to lay here for a while. Maybe a day or two. A week. A month. He never wanted to be apart from Hannibal for so long ever again.
"No need to thank me, Mylimas. You poor sweet thing, Have you been feeling regressed all day?" He cooed down at Will, who got flustered in a matter of seconds. He was so easy to fluster.
"Uh.. I suppose so, I.. don't really know." He confessed. He wasn't lying. He really didn't know. He felt like he had run the day on autopilot until they officially got home and were off duty. He could barely remember the week, too.
"Papa.." Will blinked up at Hannibal, showing signs of going deeper into his headspace. Hannibal didn't mind this. It was never a burden to him to take care of regressed Will, and if anything, he quite enjoyed it. He felt good to know that Will depended on him during those vulnerable moments. He was glad to be a sense of stability for his Dear Will.
"Yes, Will?" He looked down, returning the glance. Will seemed unsure if he should continue with what he wanted to say, fidgeting with his fingers and biting his lip, avoiding eye contact. Finally, after a few minutes, he spoke.
"Can you.." Hannibal didn't need to hear anymore to understand what Will wanted. They did this routine every time Will was regressed. When he said that, it either meant he wanted Hannibal's fingers to suck on for comfort, or he wanted to be picked up. And will certainly didn't seem like he wanted to be picked up right now.
"Of course, Will. Here you are." He placed his hand in front of Will, and his eyes practically lit up. He took Hannibal's hand almost instantly and slowly moved it up towards his lips, waiting a few seconds as if wanting more established permission.
"You may." Hannibal chuckled, finding the fact that Will was still so respectful even when regressed to be very endearing.
Will took Hannibal's thumb into his mouth, laying there still on his lap, suckling to his heart's content. It felt good to let go and relax after so much distress and paranoia from the cases they'd been working on before their holiday break. It felt good to just be young and enjoy life through the eyes of a kid again.