Work Text:
October 30th
Hannibal, while regressed, was adorably endearing. The boy was easily humoured and found endless enjoyment in everything any anything; a fact that Will was forever grateful for after he heard the horror stories about other littles from people in similar situations- Will always has to take a moment to find humour in that, as if any of those online could compare their situation to his and a literal regressed cannibal. Aside from the occasional tantrum and the ongoing battle to get the boy to eat, caring for a regressed Hannibal was straight forward and relatively carefree.
During fall, the instances of Hannibal regressing became more common. It appeared that as soon as the vibrant greens gave way to the ombre of orange, Hannibal was quick to slip his adulthood and enjoy the joy and whimsy that came with being Will's little boy. And then by the time celebrations came around, the boy was eager to see the pretty colours and the costumes and the seemingly endless supply of candy that magically seemed to restock itself when Hannibal once again goes to help himself- a fact 'big' Hannibal makes no effort to hide his annoyance at when Will picks up yet another bag of mixed cheap candies on their next grocery shop- the only saving grace being that the bag he picks up while with Hannibal are infinitely better than those he brings home on his own.
Of course, little Hannibal likes them the most however.
The moment Hannibal had seen the jack o' lanterns lining the neighbour's porch while out on a dog walk, he was besotted and the rest of the walk was spent with Hannibal excitedly pulling on Will's hand, asking what had to be a million questions a minute while the dogs pranced about their feet feeding off of the little's excitable mood.
They had pumpkins at home that Hannibal had planned to make soup or pie or something for Halloween in lieu of truly celebrating, with a proposed hunt if they were feeling up for it later in the night- in retrospect, Will should have foreseen his partner regressing.
Will was sure his husband wouldn't truly mind if Will borrowed one to appease his little self; he would probably use one even if Hannibal was agitated because Will has never been good at telling Hannibal no while he was regressed and looking at him with those big round eyes- he would get a kick from annoying Hannibal also.
Upon returning home, Will had to wrangle an over excited Hannibal to sit down so he could undo his laces and take off his shoes while Hannibal squirmed and fidgeted to take his gloves and coat off- Will had long given up trying to keep the boy in a hat or scarf, always shed before they could even reach the end of the drive and shoved inside of Will's pocket as Hannibal skipped ahead with a fist around the smaller dogs' leads.
"Don't run inside Hannibal, not while you're in your socks. Remember what happened last time?" Will calls from where he's hanging up his and Hannibal's jackets.
Last time being when the boy had taken off down the halls after the dogs and a misstep had sent him flying into the kitchen counter leading to a split lip and a bout of loud tears- the rugs that lined the halls were a welcome decorative, and more importantly practical, edition even if Will had to have an earful from big Hannibal on how he shouldn't have been letting the Little run inside in the first place.
"Hannibal, do you want to help carve the pumpkin bub?" Will calls from the kitchen, a large pumpkin sat in front of him. He smiles to himself when he he's a series of bangs as Hannibal no doubt threw whatever was in his lap to the floor in his haste to get up- Will only hoped that it wasn't his left over snack, he hadn't quite been able to break the dogs of their new scrounging habit from the last time which in turn wasn't helped with the boy's tendency to sneak them food.
"Coming daddy!"
And sure enough, Hannibal rounds the corner with an eager look on his face.
Will steadies the island chair as Hannibal climbs onto it, a hand on the back to stop it from spinning and the other taking the stuffed lamb the boy offers to him to set atop the counter.
"What do you want on your pumpkin hm?" Will asks once Hannibal has himself situated, smiles when the boy pulls a face in seemingly deep thought before he lights up with a grin.
"Kitty Daddy!"
"You want a kitty baby? You'll get a kitty." Will promises, kissing the top of Hannibal's head causing him to squeal and then moves back to the pumpkin. The design won't be anything elaborate, Will is certain if it was Hannibal designing the carving it would be something highly detailed and treated as its own masterpiece, but his baby boy was happy with whatever Will drew for him no matter the quality and simply enjoyed being in Will's general vicinity.
It took no time to cut a hole in the back for where the tealight would go and, with a large spoon, the seeds were easy to remove and put aside so Will could begin the task at carving out the cat design.
At the corner of his eye, Will watches while Hannibal stares at the bowl of scooped pumpkin innards, fascinated by the way the strings settle in a wet heap. Hannibal did not like things on his hands, a fact that was only heightened while he was small- but Will did not want to intervene, always eager to watch Hannibal venture out of his comfort zone and follow his curiosity, he did however drop the spoon to watch, ready to step in if need be.
In a split moment, Hannibal's hand was in the bowl and almost immediately, said hand leaves, left to float uselessly in the air while Hannibal stared at the orange mess coating it in abstract horror.
Will has to smother the laugh at the panicked hand flicking Hannibal does in the attempt to remove the slimy strings from sticking to his fingers before he grimaces when Hannibal starts gagging, looking to Will in panic and desperation.
"Okay okay, I hear you. Keep still so I can get it off you bub." Will shushes him while taking his hand and gently begins rubbing the goop and gunk away with a wet towel.
"Do you want to put it on the porch so we can light it?" Will whispers, leaning in close to the side of Hannibal's face, kissing his cheek when Hannibal nods and steps back to let the boy out of the chair.
"I hold it daddy?" Hannibal asks and Will agrees, picking it up.
"Hold it tightly, okay? Don't want to drop it." Will says, holding it out and waits for Hannibal to get a good grip on the pumpkin, "you got it baby? Come on then, lets go put it outside and then it's bath and bed."
"This is not needed Will." Hannibal says for what has to be at least the third time early that afternoon, nonetheless, he does not stop the gentle dabbing motion as he transfers face paint to Will's cheeks, staining them a pale grey while the area around his eyes are a bright white- a wolf Will had said, on account of his Little's demands, though Will was sure it was beginning to resemble more of a husky, the face paint in itself was a compromise, Hannibal had wanted Will to wear a mask but when looking at the rubber masks online had left Hannibal with a sad pout and wide eyed, Will decided against it.
"Don't be sour Hannibal, it doesn't become you. You, he, asked for it, besides, it's not like you wont be dressed up either." Will quirks a amused brow at Hannibal's frown, the man had agreed to go along with this- wear the costume, bake the treats, paint Will accordingly all so Will could plan the perfect at-home Halloween for the Little. Try as he might, Hannibal would not be able to prevent himself regressing even if he wanted to, had been on the verge all day with how surrounded by the festivities as he was.
After the face paint was done, Hannibal would go and Will would kiss his cheek on his way up to bed where he would likely wake up as Will's sweet boy- honestly Will was looking forward to the rest of the day with his boy.
When Hannibal first started regressing, the boy had a hard time waking up nicely, would often startle awake afraid and miserable and Will would have to spend the next half an hour sat in bed beside him offering cuddles and soothing touches until the boy settled. Even now, Will was careful with how he woke the boy, and sits on the side of the bed, skimming his fingers over Hannibal's cheek as he gently called the boys name.
"Hello baby, did we sleep well hm?" Will whispers when he notices Hannibal's waking twitches and grumbles, he smiles when Hannibal whines and turns his face into the pillow, pulling his blankey to his face.
"Are we still sleepy hm?" Will asks, brushing the boy's hair back as Hannibal shakes his head and Will gasps, "oh we're not? Why don't we get up then hm?"
Hannibal finally uncovers his face and when his eyes land on Will's he grins, reaching up to gently touch against his painted cheek.
"Daddy's a doggy!" he giggles, hands covering his mouth.
"Daddy's a wolf." Will corrects as he leans in close, "and he's going to gobble you up!" he announces as he dives to bury his face in Hannibal's neck and begins making growled chewing noises.
"No! Don't eat me daddy!" Hannibal squeals, lifting his hands to try and push Will away, giggling the whole while.
"But I'm so hungry…" Will growls but lifts himself up, "But okay, guess we'll have to just make dinner yeah?"
Dinner, as usual, was an affair.
While 'big' Hannibal was an avid foodie, little Hannibal was the complete opposite. Meal times could become hour long battles if Will allowed it- it wasn't as if Hannibal was intentionally being difficult, the boy just struggled with foods and textures and Will knew that forcing him would only result in stress and tears with no end in sight.
So, dinner was Hannibal lead, the boy helping as much as he could in the kitchen, picking and cutting ingredients where appropriate and overseeing Will where not- while not fool proof, it left Will secure in the knowledge that his boy was eating at the very least.
Tonight was dinosaur nuggets, carrot sticks and a bowl of grapes at Hannibal's demand while Will ate left-over casserole and anything the boy no doubt would leave.
Now fed, Will takes Hannibal back upstairs to get him dressed.
Calling what the boy was wearing a 'costume' was possibly stretching the definition somewhat. While it it was cute, Will had to admit he had just typed 'adult cat onesie' online and clicked the one he thought Hannibal would like the most- going with a cream and white design complete with an eared hood and a pink bow with a bell.
Hannibal loved it though and was more than eager to put it on, letting Will put it on over top of his vest and underwear with ease- a feat in itself as the boy was known to outright refuse on occasion and had no trouble letting Will know of his displeasure with wearing particular clothes, socks being the main problem although this was avoided when Will had swapped them out for a pair of tights instead.
"And we're done!" Will announces as he lifts his hands back after zipping the front up, stepping away from where Hannibal sits on the bed too look him over- he was unfairly cute, his toes wiggling inside of the feet of the onesie, the hood pulled up and over his head with the cartoonish cat face smiling, and the sound of the bell chiming as he happily rocks.
"Want to go downstairs now?" Hannibal nods, "yeah? Let's go then, come on!" Will takes Hannibal's hand and pulls him up, letting him run ahead, thankful for the grippy bottoms of the pyjamas as he slowly 'chased' the boy.
Will leaves Hannibal in the sitting room with the dogs while he washed the dishes knowing that if he left them and Hannibal happened to wake up 'big', unusual but no unheard of, Will wouldn't hear the end of it.
Will sticks his head around the corner to check on Hannibal and smiles when he sees the boy tucking his lamb into the blanket on one side of him and his stag on the other, before he turns back into the kitchen to grab two bowls- a large one for the popcorn they would share, or rather Will would eat while Hannibal picked and spat out, and the other one smaller for the sweets where Hannibal would no doubt spend half of the time with his hand in and end up with half of the chocolates smeared across his cheeks.
"You ready for the movie baby?" Will asks as he places the bowls on the table while he moves to sit besides Hannibal on the couch making sure to avoid the pile of blankets the boy was sat amongst; although that doesn't prevent the glare that's pointed his way when he still manages to lightly jostle the Etch A Sketch in his lap- the glare looses all its heat when taking into account the pout and the hood of the cat onesie sitting atop his head with it's cartoonish large eyes and pink nose.
Hannibal holds out the Etch A Sketch to Will wordlessly and Will takes it to tuck it back under the couch, grabbing the bowls again to sit back with them. Hannibal is quick to shuffle across the couch, blankets dragged with him, to cuddle into Will's side and manually dragging Will's hand to rest around his shoulders before he steals the candy bowl from Will's lap- but not before eyeing the popcorn and taking a piece before he predictably turns his head to the side to spit it out into Will's expectant hand where it then gets deposited onto the table.
As predicted, Hannibal didn't last even half way through the movie, passed out with his head tilted back against Will's arm, chocolate smeared across his cheek and no doubt into the fabric of Will's shirt yet Will could only smile at him and turn the TV volume down as he settled back against the couch to finish the film.