"Good Boy, Will." •HANNIGRAM•

Growing Closer

He wraps his arm around Will and drifts off to sleep, cuddling his good boy.

~•~

Hannibal cancels his appointments early in the morning, planning on going back to sleep and spending the whole day with Will. He's been busy and wants to spend more time with his hybrid. He supposes he'll have to ease into work again, once he gets things figured out with Will.

Hannibal hangs up the phone after finishing contacting his last client of the day and lets out a quiet sigh. Will lays asleep next to him, mumbling softly in his sleep. Hannibal slides under the covers, next to Will and wraps his arm around his waist, pulling the hybrid closer and feeling his warm body against his. He tucks his legs under Will's and holds him securely, not ever planning on letting go to the precious man.

He drifts off to sleep again, listening to Will mumble about nothing. They sleep for about two more hours until Will wakes up.

His breathing is soft and he blinks slowly as he wakes up. Light shines through the slits of the curtains, lighting up the room slightly. Will let's out a yawn and allows his eyes to wander around the room. He looks down, noticing he's under the blanket with Hannibal. He then realizes there's a warm body wrapped around him and someone breathing on his neck. Goosebumps form on Will's skin and he's quick to jump out of bed, freeing himself from Hannibal's grip and falling onto the floor.

The sudden movement wakes Hannibal up. He shoots up and looks around, his fight or flight response being activated. He turns his head and sees Will sitting on his bum, staring up at Hannibal with red cheeks. His tail curls around his waist and his ears fold back in embarrassment.

He's never had someone so close to him, he's never allowed anyone to see him so vulnerable. Hannibal had him in his grip, he could've done whatever he wanted, he could've hurt Will. Instead, he laid peacefully next to Will, holding him securely and sleeping.

"Will, what's wrong?" Hannibal asks, concerned for his hybrid. He relaxes and leans against the backboard.

Will looks away from Hannibal's eyes, reasoning with himself that Hannibal isn't a bad man. He allows Will to sleep in the bed and allows him to go under the covers too. How could he refuse such a thing?

The dog hybrid ducks his head down and brings himself onto his knees. Hannibal pulls the covers back, in a way of asking Will to join him. He crawls onto the bed and lays down, facing away from Hannibal. The human covers him in the blankets and Will can't help but smile. He curls up in a ball with his tail curling around him.

Hannibal lays back down next to him, facing Will's direction but keeping his hands to himself. The hybrid lays there comfortably before remembering how warm Hannibal was against him. He lets out a soft whine, yet nothing changes. He whines louder this time and nothing changes. Will finally let's out one loud dog whine and scoots towards Hannibal, pressing his back against Hannibal's strong chest.

The doctor lets out a chuckle and wraps his arm around Will's waist, pulling him closer. He curls himself around Will, just like he had before and closes his eyes.

Will let's out a content sigh and tries snuggling closer into Hannibal. "Warm," he says happily, making his owner smile.

"Yes, you're rather warm too," Hannibal rubs his face on the back of Will's head gently.

Neither of them say a word and they both close their eyes, enjoying each others company and growing sleepy again.

Just as Hannibal is about to fall asleep, Will starts wagging his tail between him and Hannibal, waking him up.

A happy feeling washes over Will, one he's never felt before. It feels like there's a spinning ball of electricity inside his chest and the faster it spins, the larger it gets. Will's tail continues to thud against the mattress. He's never felt so safe, so secure, so... loved. Will isn't even sure he understands the concept of love. It's all so foreign. But whatever this is, he likes it.

"What are you so happy about?" Hannibal asks tiredly in Will's ear. The hybrid lets out an excited whine-like sound and rolls over to face Hannibal. As soon as his eyes meet his, Will grows shy. Blush forms on his cheeks and his ears fold back, yet his tail continues wagging.

"What is it?" Hannibal smiles and brings a hand up to Will's hair, ruffling it. Will closes his eyes as Hannibal makes contact with him, he hums slightly and leans into the touch.

"What are you so happy about?" Hannibal asks again excitedly, as if he was talking to a puppy. Will's face scrunches up as he smiles. He starts wiggling his butt as his tail wags, following its movements.

"Such a sweet boy," Hannibal pulls him closer and Will rests his head on top of Hannibal's chest.

He stops smiling and somewhat freezes as he listens to Hannibal's beating heart. It soothes Will, making his tail slowly stop wagging. Will hesitates before draping his leg over Hannibal's waist, getting closer to him. The human shows no negative reaction, making Will smile.

He lets out a content hum and repeatedly nuzzles Hannibal over and over. "Yes, hello," Hannibal laughs slightly. Will suddenly straddles over Hannibal and sits on his hips. Hannibal subconsciously brings his hands to Will's waist, but the hybrid doesn't seem to mind.

Will's inner dog stares at Hannibal's neck before leaning down and rubbing their heads together with their necks touching as well. A jealous, protective feeling washes over him and before he knows it, he's scent marking Hannibal, claiming him as his human. This way every hybrid or animal will know who Hannibal belongs too.

Hannibal, unaware of the action just lets Will do his silly dog thing. He smiles, just happy that he's coming out of his shell.

Will stops rubbing his head on Hannibal and nuzzles his nose into Hannibal's neck, inhaling deeply. It's a sweet scent, one only animals could smell. Hannibal has no way of knowing Will scent marked him.

But suddenly, Will hears Hannibal sniff the air. Will sits back up and looks down at him, resting his hands on Hannibal's chest.

"Do you smell something sweet?" Hannibal asks.

Will's face drops and his cheeks go red. There's no way Hannibal would ever be able to smell his scent mark, it wasn't humanly possible. He must be smelling something else.

Unfortunately, Will is not aware of what other things Hannibal is able to smell on people.

Will shakes his head no and wags his tail shyly. He slides off to the side of Hannibal before draping his leg over him again. The doctor doesn't say another word about the scent, even though it's clearly coming from Will and has been put onto him. Perhaps he'll look it up later.

Right now he just wants to focus on the cute hybrid cuddling into his side.