Chapter Text
“Dad, why isn’t he here yet?” Jade looks out of the window while petting Winston jr.
Will looks up from the book he had been reading in his favorite armchair and smiles at the impatient teenager. His daughter is nothing like the orphaned baby they had adopted almost 15 years ago. She is a beautiful girl, with long blonde hair and maroon eyes, similar to Hannibal's. The older man had had a difficult time watching her as a baby, because she reminded him constantly of the little sister he had lost with their parents in an accident. Even though she was a little whimsical as a child, Jade had soon grown attached to books, to her family and dogs and had soon developed her own pleasant disposition.
“Jade, honey, Adam is probably somewhere stuck in the traffic…”
“But he said he would be here for lunch. You know how anxious Papa gets if people aren’t on time for his grand…” seeing Hannibal enter the room, Jade ducks her head and chuckles, staring out the window again.
“Who gets anxious?” A gray-haired and perfectly suited up Hannibal comes into the room drying his hands on a little dish towel. He goes to stand next to Will and smiles, placing one hand on the younger man’s shoulder. Will is not fifty years old, while Hannibal, who is in his mid-sixties, almost envies his eternal beauty and youth.
“I was only saying that Adam is late.” Jade states, still chuckling and looking out of the window.
Will smiles up at his husband and closes his book, placing his hand on top of Hannibal’s. “How is lunch going, honey? It smells wonderful.”
Hannibal looks at Will’s beautiful green eyes and for a moment finds himself lost in them. “I actually came to look for a sous-chef, I need someone to cut the vegetables for the salad.” He winks at Will, who is already standing up from the armchair.
“Well, I guess I will volunteer, unless you want to go, Jade?”
“No, I think I will wait for Adam, he should be here anytime soon.” The girl states, watching her parents walk out the library.
It’s when she sees her papa place his hand on the small of Will’s back to usher him out of the room, and the way his dad ducks his head blushing, that she thinks about how lucky she has been, to be adopted by that ever loving couple. Many years later, even though she is a teenager and old enough to be self-sufficient, it’s always to her papa she goes when she has had a particularly long day at school, because nobody can listen and give better advice than him; and it’s always to her dad she goes to, when she feels like having a burger and a milkshake over a long chat on a new tv-series they both watch when Hannibal goes for his night walk.
“So, what do you need me to do? Everything seems fine here, and the salad is already…” Will states just before being interrupted by Hannibal’s lips. At first, Will doesn’t respond, but then he smiles and reciprocates the kiss.
After a long moment, Hannibal pulls back and fondly observes his husband’s flushed cheeks.
Even though many years have passed and Will has grown to be a middle aged man, he is still the most beautiful boy the Lithuanian has ever seen. Will doesn’t dress like a homeless anymore and he doesn’t smell like something with a ship on the bottle, but physically the man hasn’t changed much, except for the soft wrinkles around his eyes when he smiles.
“Yes, everything is ready mylimasis” the older man answers, brushing away a stray curl from Will’s forehead and setting the glasses on Will’s nose straight.
“So you came all the way to the library only to get me here and to kiss me, Dr. Lecter?” Will said teasing his husband and holding onto a new brown vest the psychiatrist has put over a bright orange shirt.
Hannibal has not changed much, he was an incredibly stunning man and age has only colored his hair and beard, which Hannibal trims neatly and does not shave anymore.
“I am afraid I did all of that, yes.” The older man pulls Will close and nuzzles to kiss his neck and to caress his strong shoulders.
“Insatiable, aren’t you?” Will whispers to his husband’s ear, closing his eyes and enjoying that blissful moment of intimacy.
They have many of those, now that the kids are almost adults. Adam is in his first year of college, while Jade is still in high school; but the girl follows many extracurricular activities and spends much time at school, giving them a lot of privacy. Sometimes, they are by themselves for such a long time, that Will feels compelled to call the kids and talk to them on the phone, while Hannibal is busy reading or is simply sitting next to his husband listening to Adam or Jade speaking of their day.
Hannibal leans his head on Will’s shoulder and holds tight on his man, closing his eyes and perceiving Will’s smile in his hair. “Always, mylimasis.”
“Ugh, you will never stop that, will you?”
Hannibal smiles opening his eyes and turning around to see his older son standing on the threshold with a bag in his hand. Adam is grinning at them, especially to his dad, who almost jumps up. Jade is standing next to her brother and holding his coat in her hands. Before saying anything, Will steps forward and flings himself into the boy’s open arms squeezing him tight.
“Hello baby! My little boy!” Will cannot contain his enthusiasm and Hannibal laughs at that, stepping close to the “little boy”, who has outgrown Will and even though he is not his biological son, he always looks like him, with his wild curls and beautiful green eyes.
“Dad, stop!” Adam giggles, trying to stop Will, who is showering him in kisses. “I’m not a baby anymore. You know that.”
“You will always be my baby” Will says, remembering how sweet Adam had been as a three years old, when they took him out of the orphanage.
Only after a few minutes, Will lets go of Adam and Hannibal can make a swift move and embrace his son, who has been away for three months now.
“Welcome back home, Adam. You were very missed” the former psychiatrist murmurs while inhaling his boy’s scent.
At first, Hannibal had to reassure Will that their son would fare good in college and that it was the best thing to let him go on campus and to give him his freedom, but then, as soon as they spent the first day without him, even the stoic and controlled Hannibal had to admit that he missed his son very much.
“It’s nice to be back, papa. I missed you all very much.” The boy whispers back, turning around to look at his sister standing next to Will, who is visibly overexcited. “What did you cook? It smells incredibly” the young boy asks, peeking in the pristine clean kitchen, looking for evidences.
“Nothing grand…” The older man starts, walking towards the counter. “A butter poached lobster, braised beef cheeks and potatoes-wasabi puree. And for dessert a chiffon cake, amaretto-coconut cream, whipped cream and shredded coconut.”
There is a minute of silence and Will and Jade try their best not to laugh at Adam’s astounded expression. Hannibal as well, who is very aware of how poorly the boy has eaten for the past months cannot suppress a small smile. Then Adam claps his hands and states with a big smile on his face: “Oh God I missed home so much!”