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Will made out the figure standing on his porch from across the field. It stood out dark against the light from his windows.
It's about fuckin’ time, he thought, but made no move to hurry home. He patiently waited for his dogs to run off some energy before he trudged back towards his house through knee-deep snow, his bigger dogs gleefully plowing through the powdery white to make way for their smaller brothers. When they arrived at the house the pack greeted Will's visitor like an old friend.
Will slowly walked up the stairs, stamping his feet to get the snow off. Without a sideways glance he opened his door to let the dogs in.
"Truman!" He whistled and only when a lively Jack Russel terrier had also bolted inside after making an extra round through the deep snow between house and barn, did Will regard his visitor with a brief look. With a curt nod he motioned for him to follow him inside as well.
Hannibal closed the door behind himself but politely remained by the entrance, hands behind his back, while Will went about to close the windows he had left open. He then moved the space heater away from the hearth to build a real fire and once the flames started to spread from the kindling to the bigger logs, Will got up and moved one of his armchairs closer to the fireplace before addressing Hannibal who still stood by the door.
"It's going to take a while until the house is warmed up," Will said and removed his scarf anyway, noticing the minute flare of Hannibal's nostrils. He also saw how tired Hannibal looked, how his lips were almost blue, his cheeks red from the cold.
"Take a seat, I'll be back in a minute," Will commanded and, throwing his jacket on the bed in passing, headed towards the kitchen.
When he returned he had two large mismatched mugs of steaming tea in his hands. He set them atop a dresser next to his selection of liquors and retrieved a folded blanket from one of the drawers.
Hannibal was watching him. He could feel his gaze along his spine like a physical touch.
He added a generous shot of whiskey to each mug and took them alongside the blanket to the fireplace where the pack had already settled down.
"Thank you," Hannibal croaked when Will handed him a cup and the blanket.
Will took off his boots and sat down cross-legged on a pillow facing the fire, surrounded by his dogs.
"Don't ever do that again," he said quietly after a while, surprised that some of his anger had already started to melt away. Hannibal still had that effect on him. How can someone at once be the cause of and the remedy for all your troubles?
When Will finally looked at him, tiny puddles had formed around Hannibal’s feet from the melting snow on his boots. He had the blanket wrapped around his shoulders and was cradling the mug to warm his hands, blowing on the tea. Will saw the emotions clearly on his usually guarded face – regret and relief.
"You brought all of your dogs back," Hannibal said, copping out. "And got a new one." He took a sip from his tea and cringed a bit at the amount of alcohol.
"I didn't know when to expect you."
"Not if?"
"No."
Hannibal nodded briefly.
Will looked into the flames again. He had been sure that Hannibal would return. That he had survived. That he would do what had to be done. That he would take precautions and his time. That he would let him wait, especially after what Will had done. Will knew it was for the better that way – Jack had just recently reduced Will's surveillance. It was still highly risky for Hannibal to come here. But still... Nine months had been a very long time.
"You got my present." It wasn't a question. Of course Hannibal could smell it. Will involuntarily touched the side of his neck.
"Alana noticed," he said flatly and brought the mug to his lips. "She's been on vacation since." He couldn't entirely hide the little smirk that had crept onto his face when he looked up at Hannibal again.
Tiny crinkles appeared at the corners of Hannibal’s eyes when he smiled. He looked decidedly warmer.
Will had to force himself to look away again and welcomed that his newest dog had scuttled over and insisted on one of his beloved belly rubs.
Will hesitated before asking, "Did you kill anyone?"
Hannibal waited for Will to look at him again before he spoke, "I wasn't lacking opportunities..."
Will arched an eyebrow.
"The experience itself... Would have been lacking." Hannibal intensely gazed at Will who didn't look away this time. His hand on Truman's belly stilled and the little dog grunted in disapproval.
"You’ve missed me," Will stated, “in this…”
“And everything else.” Hannibal looked at Will almost pleadingly. He had put his mug aside and sat with his hands folded in his lap as if to keep himself from reaching for Will prematurely.
Will gave Truman a final rub, then dismissed him with a motion of his head to go and cuddle up with the rest of the pack. He snatched a pillow from an empty dog bed and placed it next to himself before leaning over to untie the laces of Hannibal’s boots with one hand. When he looked up at the other man through his curls, he thought Hannibal was about to cry, his eyes shining.
Hannibal removed his shoes, let the blanket slip from his shoulders and, ignoring the dog hair, sat down next to Will, who grabbed the discarded blanket and slung it around Hannibal again.
"You're still a bit cold." Will pulled Hannibal closer and couldn't help but grin at him, sitting on that pillow in trousers that were probably more worth than all of his own clothes together.
"You really missed me."
Hannibal hummed and leaned against Will’s side, just short of resting his head on his shoulder.
They sat like that for a while, both watching the curling and swaying of the flames, the heat on their faces. Will had his hand on Hannibal’s back, absentmindedly stroking up and down, before he rested it at the back of Hannibal’s neck. Will felt himself relax into the comfort of Hannibal’s presence and leaned sideways until their heads were touching. The only sounds were the popping and crackling of the fire and now and then the yawning or soft snoring of a dog.
"Where are we going?" Will asked eventually.
Hannibal lifted his head and turned towards him, the glow from the fire highlighting the sharp angles of his face. He hadn’t gained any weight since they had last seen each other.
“Wherever you want,” Hannibal whispered and couldn’t hide how moved he was.
“Good.” Will pulled Hannibal forwards and placed a firm kiss to his forehead.
“This is not going to be easy,” he said, pulling back and looking at Hannibal’s smitten face, “And we are taking the dogs with us.”
“I’ve already arranged for that eventuality.” Hannibal’s eyes were fixed on Will’s mouth.
“Good.”
Will got up, leaving a momentarily dazed Hannibal by the fireplace, and called over his shoulder as he went into the kitchen, Truman and Buster already on his heels, “The house is all warmed up, let’s have something to eat.”
“Quicker than I thought…” Hannibal mumbled and smiled to himself before he followed Will.