Chapter Text
"Will, I must say.. for someone who uses that god awful aftershave, your hair is rather healthy. I wonder what products you put in it to keep it so comely."
Hannibal hummed as he squirted a fair amount of shampoo into his hand. He started slowly, just wanting to massage the thick liquid into Will's hair. He didn't scrub it in, no. That wouldn't be good for Will's hair. He was gentle, firm and careful. He didn't want to miss a single spot.
"I use 4 in 1 shampoo and conditioner." Will replied after a few moments. He must have gotten lost in thought, he usually did during their bathing routine.
"Mylimas, what do you mean 4 in 1? What is the 4th?" Hannibal curled his eyebrow upwards. He had never heard of a 4 in 1 shampoo.
"It also substitutes for face wash." Will said it so casually, as if this was any way to get clean. How saddening.
"We are going shopping for you tomorrow. You will not be bathing with 4 in 1 concoctions in my house." Hannibal says, almost as if it were an order. Will just sighs, although he wasn't displeased by it. He found Hannibal's passion for expensive hygiene products endearing, in some way.
"Okay, as long as I can keep my aftershave deodorant." Will jokes, however Hannibal has a horrified look on his face upon hearing this.
"I don't eat people who smell like deodorant that has a boat on it." Hannibal replied, giving Will a sudden shoulder slap, not too hard. Will found it amusing.
"Lucky me." Will mused. He snickered up at Hannibal, and of course, Hannibal did not entertain. He simply huffed, a loud sigh. He didn't move his hands from Will's scalp once, except to slap Will's shoulder in a playful manner.
"Okay, I'll let you pick out a new deodorant for me. On one condition.." he waited to see Hannibal's reaction. To his surprise, Hannibal looked up from the bathtub, finally.
"What is your offer?" Hannibal did not look impressed. He was definitely expecting Will to say something stupid.
".. I'll let you pick out a new deodorant for me if you'll get one that has a boat on the fr.." he didn't get to finish before Hannibal cut him off.
"Immediately no. You are pushing my buttons, William." Uh oh, he used his full name. Will rolled his eyes at that.
"Fine. You can do it for me, just like always. Always doing everything for me. Standing above me like I'm some kind of dog and you're my handler." Will sunk into the bathtub, rinsing the suds and bubbles out of his hair before Hannibal got to finish.
"Ah, well. I had assumed you were my puppy when you asked me to collar you and call you 'pup', but it appears I was mistaken." Hannibal let his arms rest against the bath rim, his fingers dangling just a centimeter away from touching the water.
"Oh." Was all Will could say, it was all that would escape his throat at the moment. His face turned red. God, he was hoping that Hannibal would have forgotten about that, or at least wouldn't bring it up again. Why did he think that Hannibal of all people wouldn't use that as good manipulation material? Will sighed and turned around to face Hannibal properly.
"It's rude to stare, pup." Hannibal teased. Will made a sad attempt at what he called 'grabby hands' towards Hannibal. he wanted out of the tub now. Instead, he would like to be dried off and dressed into his favorite pajamas. The ones with the dog's on it.
"I'm coming, dearest." Hannibal lifted will up out of the tub as if he weighed nothing. Well, to him at least, Will did sort of weigh nothing. Hannibal wasn't exactly a frequent gym visitor, but he definitely put in the work on the occasions that he did attend.
"Oh my. Feeling kiddish, Will?" Hannibal asked genuinely as he grabbed a soft towel and draped it around Will's shoulders. He was sure to manually warm it up himself before daring to lay it around his Dear Will. He would never let Will come out of a warm tub and be thrown into a cold towel, especially because of how badly it affected Will's sensory issues. Will needed temperatures to stay the same, and Hannibal would provide that for him.
Will nodded his head, just wanting to hide his face in Hannibal's neck and never look back up again. He found his voice, and somehow managed to spout a few words before going back to being quiet and ready to go along with anything Hannibal said.
"I'm tired, Dad." He said, so low that it nearly sounded like a whisper. Hannibal ran his finger through Will's soft hair. So soft, so delicate, so fragile. He smelled so nice now, too. Hannibal took a whiff of Will, which wasn't out of the ordinary anymore. Hannibal was constantly smelling Will.
"I'll put you to bed, Dear boy." Hannibal whispered back. He did his best to move around a fast pace, dressing Will in his favorite pajamas. The ones with the dogs on it, of course. Soon he carried Will over to their shared bed, laying him ever so gently on the soft blankets below him.
"This does not mean you're off the hook, William. We are still going to buy you a proper body spray." Hannibal reminded.
"Shut it, old man. Let me have this one moment." He yawned behind a thumb in his mouth. He didn't even notice when he did it anymore, it was just instinct at this point. Bedtime equaled thumb suckling time. Hannibal thought it wasn't very good for Will's teeth, and he wanted to wean him off it, but he wasn't sure how Will would favor the idea of using a binky.
"Dearest, Your thumb cannot provide you so much comfort. Does it really taste that good?" Hannibal knew that wasn't the reason Will was sucking his thumb, he just wanted to get his attention.
"Dad, I don't suck it because it tastes good." Will mumbled. He was a bit flustered at that, too. He thought that there was an unspoken understanding between the two.
"Really? If you say so, Mylimas. I do have an idea though.." Hannibal pulled out his mobile device and skimmed a few photos before he landed on one he thought they would both like.
"It's a red binky. It should help you with your thumb sucking tendencies. Doesn't that sound nice, Will?" Hannibal felt that if he gulped, It would be so loud even the neighbors would hear.
"A.. binky?" Will was confused. He didn't know what to say, and honestly.. it didn't look too bad. But he was still offended, and he didn't understand why.
"It seems it could also help you deepen your headspaces. I know you struggle with staying in them, I thought it would be a good tool." Hannibal hummed in response.
Will thought about it. 1 minute. 2 minutes. 3 minutes. Okay, now Hannibal was starting to think he was receiving the silent treatment.
"I.. want to try it." Will finally answered. Hannibal felt like a weight was just lifted off his chest.
"Wonderful, Will. I can assure you that if you don't like it, we will throw it away without a second thought." Hannibal smiled up at his boy, and surprisingly, Will smiled back down at him.
The night was uneventful. Well, it's not like a night can be all too exciting anyways. They slept peacefully, and in the morning, they would go further on the topic of binkys and thumb suckling. However, right now, the order had been placed, and the binky was said to arrive in exactly 2 days. The wait had begun.