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“Hannibal?” Will murmured as he peered into the dimly lit room. There was no response so Will crept into the bedroom, carefully placing a fresh glass of water on the coaster on the bedside table. He glanced over at Hannibal who looked horribly pale, even in the low light. There was a feverish blush to his cheeks but the rest of his face looked sallow save for the purple bags under his eyes.
“Will?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Hannibal sighed and levered himself up. “It’s alright. I wasn’t asleep.”
Will perched on the edge of the bed next to Hannibal. “How are you feeling?”
“Bored.”
“…Bored? Are you feeling any better?”
Hannibal shrugged. “I still have a fever.” Will frowned and put his hand against Hannibal’s forehead and found it warmer than it should have been.
“Should you take something?”
“In a couple of hours,” said Hannibal, closing his eyes and leaning back against the headboard.
“I… Can I get you anything?” Will cringed. God, he was so bad at this. “A book to read or some soup or…” He trailed off helplessly.
Hannibal chuckled and turned away from Will coughing into his fist. “I’m not hungry. And I have a headache.”
“Oh.” Will wracked his brains trying to think of something he could do to help.
“I would appreciate your company,” Hannibal said and Will smiled. Company he could do.
Pulling off his sweater, he crossed to the other side of the bed and climbed onto the bed, next to Hannibal. Hannibal smiled and then shifted closer, resting his head on Will’s shoulder. Will wrapped his arm around Hannibal and let his own head rest on Hannibal’s.
“You feel really warm, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Mmm, it’s just the flu. Trust me, I’m a Doctor.”
“I know, it’s just…” Will sighed. He was terrible at looking after himself, he wasn’t in a position to be helping someone else. “Are you comfortable like this? Maybe you should take a nap?”
Hannibal sighed. “I can’t sleep.”
Will smirked. “I thought that was my line.”
Hannibal laughed then extracted himself from Will’s hold as he started coughing. His cheeks turned pink and he reached out shakily for the glass of water on the nightstand. Will rubbed his back and waited for the fit to pass before pulling him close again.
“At least try?” Will asked.
Hannibal murmured and shut his eyes again with a heavy sigh.
“I could read to you or put some music on if that’d help?”
“Are these your tried and tested remedies?”
Will huffed a laugh, ruffling Hannibal’s hair. “No, my tried and tested remedy’s two fingers of scotch. Want me to go and get you one of those instead?”
Hannibal smiled but shook his head and then covered a wide yawn.
“Okay, no whiskey then.” Will paused, trying to think of something else that would help. “How about…?” He trailed off and fidgeted for a few moments. “I, uhh, I could sing for you? If you want? I mean I don’t have the best voice but-”
Hannibal shifted slightly and looked up at Will with a smile. “I’d like that.”
Will usually only ever sang when he was alone at home or in front of the dogs and he suddenly felt nervous. “Okay, uh…” He panicked as his mind went blank.
“A lullaby?” offered Hannibal, eyebrow raised. “If you want me to take a nap.”
“Okay, fine.” Will said, ignoring Hannibal’s gentle sarcasm. He wracked his brain for anything that might qualify as a lullaby. He wasn’t going to sing a hymn, and the only actual lullaby he knew was Rock-a-bye which was definitely not an option.
It came to him and he groaned because he knew he wouldn’t be able to think of anything else. Okay, what the hell? He let out a nervous laugh, took a deep breath and started to sing.
“Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr.”
Hannibal smiled. “I thought you were a dog man?”
Will laughed. “Yeah, I am. Want me to sing it again?”
Hannibal yawned and nodded. “Please.”
“Okay.” Will ruffled his hands through Hannibal’s hair and curled closer as he started to sing again. “Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur…”