Chapter Text
Will came down the stairs in boxers and a t-shirt, bleary and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He heard Hannibal moving around in the kitchen, clanging pans and running water. He could smell breakfast before he even got to the kitchen: bitter, earthy coffee, savory bacon, and something sweet, maybe cinnamon rolls?
Will had the brief thought that that seemed odd; sweet breakfasts weren’t usually in Hannibal’s repertoire, but he supposed it was Sunday after all, as good a time as any for something special.
When he came in, he saw Hannibal standing over the stove, wearing pajama bottoms and a grey t-shirt, sweat staining the back in a V pattern. Now that was definitely odd. Hannibal always dressed before breakfast.
Since the fall, they’d taken up together in a small cottage on the coast of Maine, posing as a normal married alpha and omega couple. In the months they’d been here, they’d slept in the same bed, tending each other injuries, needing the other’s closeness. Though they knew each other intimately by now, they’d remained celibate all this time, never addressing the constant presence that was their desire.
And in all that time, excepting the weeks he was recovering from peritonitis, Will had never seen Hannibal in pajamas at breakfast.
“Casual Sunday?”
Hannibal turned and looked at him, expression blank, seeming slightly zoned out. Will gestured with his hand, drawing attention to his clothes.
The omega seemed to come back to himself at the sight of Will, straightening up a little taller as he did. “It’s been extremely hot in the kitchen lately, Will. I’m afraid I can’t handle much more of this summer we’ve been having.”
It had been a hot August, but it really didn’t seem particularly warm today, and it hadn’t seemed to bother Hannibal in the last few weeks. Huh. Will dropped it and sat to drink his coffee while Hannibal finished breakfast. They ate together silently, Hannibal obviously far away in his head. That wasn’t entirely unusual, but Will still felt funny about it. There was something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, rubbing against the wrong part of his brain, and he tried to put it out of his head.
Later, Hannibal finally got himself dressed and left to go to the market, leaving Will with some alone time. Usually these weekly trips took him several hours, between the grocery, the butcher’s, the florist, and the bakery (where he always thoughtfully picked up an extra pastry for Will). Will always used the time to catch up on his own thoughts, a need that Hannibal seemed to implicitly understand the value in.
That afternoon, Will was sitting in the living room, browsing a book about the coastal fish species of Maine with half his brain, while the other half thought lazily about his relationship with Hannibal: where it was going, what they were doing here, when and if things would change. He didn’t have any answers, he just felt the need to let things swirl around in his brain for a while.
He was just turning the page in his book to a section on the best deep-water baits when he heard the front door open, followed by hesitant footsteps. Hannibal had only been gone about half an hour, and Will wasn’t been expecting him for a little while. He felt a spike of adrenaline down his spine at the thought of a possible intruder.
“Hello?”
When he didn’t hear a response, he put his book down and took a couple of cautious steps towards the door.
“Hannibal? Is that you? Did everything go okay in town?”
As he approached the entryway, he caught a strong sweet smell, almost just like the cinnamon rolls Hannibal had made them for breakfast. Again, a fuzzy feeling clawed at the base of his skull that he couldn’t quite grasp. He shook his head to clear it a little and kept going until he could see the door.
What he found was Hannibal, hunched over on himself, leaning on the entryway key table for support. Sweat was building on his face, which was turning a worryingly beautiful shade of crimson. He seemed to smell Will more than he heard him, turning away when Will entered from the living room.
“Will, don’t come any closer.”
“Are you… are you okay, Hannibal?” Protective hormones flooded Will’s brain, a relic of his alpha identity that he’d tried to suppress for years.
Hannibal took a few deep breaths, trying to steady himself, grunting with the effort on the exhales. His eyes were clenched shut, trying desperately to rein himself in.
It took him a while to speak, and when he did, it was stilted. “I... didn’t think it was possible, but I’m going into heat.”
Will’s fear was quickly replaced by a mix of relief and panic. Hannibal wasn’t sick or injured: heat was at least natural and temporary. But they, as an alpha and omega living together, hadn’t discussed this sort of thing at all, and it was something that had honestly never crossed Will’s mind, given Hannibal’s age and abdominal wounds.
“Christ, Hannibal. Did you know this was possible?”
Hannibal, still looking down, shook his head. “I thought I’d had my last heat years ago. And especially with the injuries… šūdas!”
Hannibal doubled over as a fresh wave of it hit him just then, and Will could smell it, warm and smothering, filling his pores. Will felt his own faculties slowly start to slide as his body reacted to the smell and sight of Hannibal, betraying him when he needed to remain alert.
“Shit, let’s get you upstairs.”
Hannibal held a hand out, still trying to maintain control. “No, I can handle it. I’ll stay in the guest room. There’s no reason you need to deal with this.”
Will was becoming increasingly aware that, despite his best intentions, he wanted to deal with it, more than anything, and definitely more than he thought he would. His cock was rapidly gaining interest, and it was becoming difficult to think of anything else.
Will knew that Hannibal had wanted him for a long time, the way he looked at him over the breakfast table, or in the car, or on the sofa after dinner. For his own part, Will had been trying to figure out how he felt about the idea. Living with an omega, especially one with whom he had so much history and chemistry, certainly tested his restraint from time to time, but going through a heat with Hannibal, bonding was something else entirely. Could he really bond with this man, after everything that had passed between them?
Now, with Hannibal in front of him, dripping and gasping with his heat, all those questions seemed so far away. Of course it would come to this. Will had never really had an option to begin with: this was the deal he signed when he walked into Jack Crawford’s office so many years ago. When he called Hannibal to tell him to run. When he found him in Florence, and again in prison, and again when they were reborn on the shore after the cliff. How could he even think otherwise?
“Hannibal, look at me.”
Hannibal struggled for a long minute, gripping his lower belly with a wince, and finally lifted his eyes. Will felt a jolt go through his body at what he saw there, the raw need, Hannibal’s pupils swallowing all the light in the room. This powerful man, large and dominant, now utterly undone in front of him.
“Will… you know I don’t expect you to help me with this. I’ll be over it in a few days, I’ve managed before, many many times. Just leave me alone for a while.” Hannibal struggled to uncurl himself and stand straight, and finally managed, still wavering a little.
“I don’t think that’s going to be possible.”
“Of course it is, leave me in the guest room and go about your business.” Will saw the fight in Hannibal’s eyes as he tried, and failed, to maintain the aloof air he’d spent years cultivating.
“You want me to leave you alone in the guest room. The guest room that hasn’t had its sheets changed or its decor updated since 1973. No food, no water, no relief. That’s what you want?”
Hannibal groaned and screwed his eyes shut, abruptly losing his tentative mask of control to another wave of heat. Will walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, running it up his neck to softly grip the side of his face.
“Let me put it this way: do you want my help?”
Hannibal slowly opened his eyes and looked back at him, mouth hanging open, panting.
“Will…”
“Do you?"
“I’m not going to ask you to do that, not if you don’t want it. This isn’t your obligation.”
“And what if I do want it?”
Hannibal’s nostrils flared then, noting how thick the air was with both their pheromones. He couldn’t stop himself from letting out a low moan.
Will brushed Hannibal’s damp hair away from his face, tucking it behind his ear, then wound his hand around to place it firmly on the back of Hannibal’s neck. Hannibal went completely loose and calm at the gesture of dominance, his breathing slowing and his muscles going pliant.
“Good, you’re okay. This is okay. I want to help, Hannibal. Let me help.”
Hannibal clenched his eyes shut again, breathing out hard, then opened them and nodded minutely. Will took the slight invitation for what it was and, hand still on the back of Hannibal’s neck, slowly moved forward to kiss him. Finally, after all these years. It was like a keystone slipping into place, perfect and grounded and real.
Hannibal grunted with the simple, sweet shock of it, taking a minute to get his bearings and return the kiss. When he did, it was with a calm reverence that belied the animal need coursing through his blood. His lips were so soft, and so wet; he tasted better than anything Will had imagined, and he found himself unconsciously rutting close into him as they kissed.
At the feel of Will’s hard cock pressing into his thigh, Hannibal moaned and completely abandoned his controlled facade. He pressed back and took Will’s mouth hungrily, gripping his face and then his hair and tugging hard at it in a way that sent a sudden jolt down Will’s spine.
Will retaliated by traveling a hand down to squeeze at Hannibal’s ass, finding it just as round and plush as he’d always imagined (and he had to admit to himself that yes, he had imagined this before). Just a little further, he felt how soaked Hannibal’s pants already were, and it caused him to buck forward hard and break their kiss. He rested their foreheads together, both of them panting hard.
“Fuck, Hannibal. Upstairs. Now.”
Hannibal had a look in his eyes that said he didn’t care if they quite made it all the way upstairs, but he obeyed, unbuttoning his shirt as he went, discarding it in the hamper at the top of the stairs. Will followed, thoroughly enjoying the view the whole way up, the sway of his rounded hips a sight that Will couldn’t fathom having missed out on for so long.
Once they were in the bedroom, Will pulled his own shirt off and walked over to Hannibal, putting his fingers roughly through his belt loops and using them to pull him close. He nosed at his neck, scenting him hungrily, before kissing him there. When he bit down gently, Hannibal let out a sound like a wounded animal, grabbing at Will’s hips involuntarily and thrusting them closer together.
“I want this,” Will whispered into his skin, between leaving kisses and suck marks up the length of his neck. “I’ve always wanted this.” He surprised himself with the admission, both to himself and to Hannibal.
Hannibal just whined, his sweat already creating slickness between their flushed chests and bellies. He pulled away and moved his hand to hover over the bulge in Will’s pants, a questioning look in his eyes.
Will nodded, loosing his hold on Hannibal’s belt to grip his hand and move it closer, both of them sighing with relief when Hannibal cupped his cock. Hannibal stroked him like that for a moment, just running his big, warm hand lightly over Will’s clothed dick, getting a feel for the length and weight of it, breathing heavily and seeming very pleased with the whole experience. After a minute, he inched up to undo the button and fly on Will’s pants, and Will helped by shoving his boxers down, finally freeing himself to the sound of Hannibal’s appreciative groan.
Before Will could return the favor, Hannibal had dropped to his knees, and was mouthing enthusiastically at the head of his cock, tonguing the precum from his slit as he reached back to fondle his balls and still-deflated knot.
“Fuck.” Will buried his hand in Hannibal’s hair and let his mind go blank for a minute. Everything was unbearably good, and they hadn’t even really gotten started yet. He internally marveled at how, even in heat, Hannibal was restraining himself enough to appreciate Will’s body like this. Will knew he must be aching to be filled, yet the look in his eyes said this was all he’d ever need.
He came back to himself when Hannibal began sucking him down and then pulling off again, going a little further with every pass. He tugged on Hannibal’s hair gently, noticing how it made him moan and filing the information away for later. Hannibal reluctantly took the hint and pulled off maddeningly slowly, looking up at Will with glistening lips the whole time. He was obscene and beautiful, and Will felt a rush of intense possessiveness at the sight. Mine.
“Get undressed and get on the bed. Face up.”
Hannibal almost tripped in his haste to obey, and if that wasn’t a beautiful thing to witness. He lay down on his back, knees bent, feet planted on the bed. His omegan cock, smaller than Will’s, hovered above his belly, thick and flushed and wet. The sight of his hole, swollen and red and dripping slick all over the sheets, had Will bearing down on him mindlessly, needing to touch and taste.
When Will lay between his legs, Hannibal immediately crossed them around his hips, pressing him in close. He moved down through the tunnel of Hannibal’s thighs, kissing down his torso, leaving small bites as he went, then laving over the spots with his tongue, giving attention to his firm, corded neck, to his dark nipples, to his plush belly. Hannibal gripped tightly to his hair as he went, pulling just hard enough to be a little painful, but wonderful.
Eventually, he reached Hannibal’s cock, and he kissed lightly down the length of it before taking it into his mouth. A fresh wave of scent hit him just as he heard Hannibal’s surprised moan. Holding eye contact with Hannibal, he sucked hard as he pulled back slowly, finally releasing his dick with an obscene pop.
“Hannibal, I need to know something.”
Hannibal’s eyes, already wild and desperate, knitted together briefly. “Anything.”
“I need to know, Hannibal. Have you ever shared your heat with someone before?”
His face softened then, though his gaze was still heated. “Never.”
“Good. Then this is a first for both of us.”
At that, Hannibal’s mouth opened a fraction, a low noise emerging.
“I honestly thought I’d never get the chance. But look at you, hot and open and ready. How could I leave you like this, to get off on some toy. How could I give up the opportunity to see you like this? To taste you like this?”
Hannibal’s eyes went nearly black at the words, and his belly was quivering with the effort he was expending to keep himself from just flipping them over and finally sinking down on Will’s cock. The short taste and feel he’d already had was enough to make him ravenous for it. Thigh already wrapped around the side of Will’s head, he spurred his heel into Will’s back forcefully to get him to do something, anything to relieve the pressure building up in him.
Will laughed at his unsubtle prodding. “We’ve got days to enjoy this, what’s the rush?”
Hannibal glared back, bestial, firmly squeezing now with both of his thighs. Will wondered just how much of calm, collected Hannibal was in there right now, and how much was pure animal need. He wondered if there was really a difference, if this creature had lived inside of him for all these years. If he was here to stay for good. Will could certainly think of worse companions.
He gave Hannibal a cheeky smile before turning to kiss his inner thigh, sucking and biting a trail down before moving to lick, finally, at his opening.
He wasn’t sure which one of them moaned louder, but the contact was enough to have his head spinning. Will grabbed onto Hannibal’s thighs to pull himself closer, laving his tongue in broad strokes around and over his hole, then inside and oh god, oh god. This was nothing like being with a Beta. It was hot and slick and sweet and open, and Will found himself thrusting his tongue further in to get as much of his taste as possible.
Hannibal was producing slick in steady waves now, and clenching around Will’s tongue rhythmically. It was so damn good, and the heat was making everything so much more urgent, so much more than Will could have imagined. He slowly realized that he was losing his own control, rutting against the bed between Hannibal’s legs, trying to get any relief he could.
“Will.” Will was so focused on the feel and taste of Hannibal that he heard his voice from far away, as though he were underwater. After another minute, he felt a firm squeeze from the trembling thighs around his neck.
“Will.”
With no small amount of reluctance, Will stopped and looked up to see Hannibal, chest heaving, covered in sweat, mouth hanging open and panting.
“Now, Will.”
Will’s heart leapt past a beat, and he gave Hannibal’s thigh a gentle squeeze, encouraging him to let go. As he moved up, he felt those thighs immediately and reflexively cradle his ass as it slipped between them. He leaned down to kiss him, just briefly, and Hannibal groaned obscenely as he tasted himself on Will’s mouth, then pulled back, looked straight into his eyes, and repeated, “Now.”
Will nodded, holding himself up to get a better view as he gripped himself at the base and guided himself in, the noise from his throat stretching out into an obscene mess of low groans as he felt Hannibal’s tight, slick, hot walls around him. It was incredible, and looking up again, he realized Hannibal didn’t seem to be faring much better, eyes clenched shut and mouth open around a long, needy cry.
Once Will had bottomed out, they both stopped to breathe and adjust, Will grunting every time Hannibal unconsciously clenched around him. This wasn’t going to last long for anybody.
When Hannibal began rocking back, willing him to move, Will took a shallow thrust, then another, not really able to handle much more just yet. He already felt blood flowing to his knot, though it wasn’t nearly fully inflated. After about a minute, though, he felt the vice grip of Hannibal’s thighs around his hips again, and Hannibal began lifting himself to fuck back onto Will’s cock, faster and harder.
How did Hannibal even have the strength for that, after the injuries he’d been through?
Will’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he realized he didn’t have much choice here, so he may as well go with it. He travelled his hand down to Hannibal’s ass, massaging the soft weight of it as he helped him tilt up his pelvis, just enough to find his prostate. Hannibal let out a loud yell at the contact, and continued his fast pace, now grunting with effort and need. Satisfied, Will set his hands firmly on the bed again and began fucking back into him just as hard, feeling his knot start to expand more and catch on Hannibal’s rim.
“Fuck, I’m getting so close. What do you need?”
“Just… ngh… this, just keep… ungh… keep going.”
Will nodded, and he did, his movements becoming more and more difficult the more his knot expanded. Just as he pushed in for the last time, seating himself fully, he felt Hannibal clamp down around him with a shout, coming hard. The powerful contractions and the feeling of his knot being compressed so tightly set him off too, and he came deep inside Hannibal, vision going white. It felt like it lasted forever, waves and waves and waves of it, and he couldn’t remember anything ever being this intense.
When he came back to himself, cock still locked deep inside Hannibal, he tasted the slight tang of blood and found his teeth buried shallowly in the join of Hannibal’s neck. When had that happened? He let go, feeling Hannibal shudder under him and clench around his cock.
“Are you okay?”
Hannibal just let out a pleased hum, apparently too fucked out to do much more. Possibly too fucked out to care that Will had just unconsciously bonded with him mid-climax. Will rolled them to one side so he wasn’t laying directly on top of him, and Hannibal went along willingly, baring his neck as they settled.
“Did I hurt you?” Will laved over the red bite mark with his tongue, gently cleaning it of blood. He had a vague awareness that he was acting on instinct, flooding Hannibal’s body with his pheromones, but couldn’t really stop himself. Hannibal didn’t seem to mind, just nuzzling further into him.
The feeling of being locked inside was more than Will had anticipated, never having experienced this with a Beta. He suspected the same was true of Hannibal, who was now milking him rhythmically and beginning to move restlessly. Will gave a small experimental thrust, and was rewarded with a hard contraction and moan from Hannibal.
He kept at it, and soon felt a heavy sigh as Hannibal came around him again, triggering another small orgasm from Will as he did. They lay together lazily, coming down from their chemical high, and a few minutes later, he felt himself begin to soften, Hannibal clenching one last time in an effort to keep him inside.
Hannibal looked exhausted, but he was still flushed and sweaty and nuzzling into Will, chasing his scent. They dozed together for a while, but Will knew the omega would need this again, and soon. He said a half-serious prayer that he’d have enough stamina to make it through the next few days.
“Hannibal?”
“Hmm?”
“How long between…”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Oh.
Will buried his face in Hannibal’s neck again, reveling in the concentrated scent there. Hannibal moaned and reached his hand up to run his fingers through Will’s hair, pressing him in closer to the bite wound. Will began to feel like he might be ready to go again a little sooner than he’d assumed, and briefly remembered hearing about the rut effect that took hold during an omega partner’s heat, allowing for much shorter refractory periods in bonded couples.
Bonded.
“Fuck.”
“Hmm?”
“We’re… we’re bonded now, Hannibal.”
“Yes.” Hannibal buried his own face further into Will’s neck, chasing his scent. Almost impossibly, given how saturated the air was with their pheromones already, Will smelled a fresh wave of slick.
“I didn’t mean to… we should have talked about this.”
“Are you not pleased with this development?” Hannibal was laying kisses down his neck and shoulder now.
“I’m not saying that.”
“Did you not expect this, when you offered to help with my heat?”
“Not explicitly, no.”
“I did.”
Presumptive bastard.
“I can’t say I gave it much thought. I guess we were always headed towards this, huh.”
“Probably, yes.”
“Things just moved along a little faster than I’d expected.” And it really wasn’t so bad. Or so unexpected. Just very sudden, and very new. And, to Will’s surprise, very arousing. Will kissed the bite mark again, tasting both of them on Hannibal’s skin.
He moved his hand from where it sat on Hannibal’s hip down to his ass, squeezing it lightly. Hannibal hummed appreciatively. Will kissed up the side of Hannibal’s neck, from the bite mark up to his mouth. Hannibal reciprocated, and they kissed lazily as Will reached further back to finger around his hole, finding it still soaked with both slick and cum. He worked his fingers in the best he could with the awkward angle, and began thrusting in shallowly, pressing against his walls as he went. Hannibal moaned into his mouth, kissing him more desperately now.
After a few minutes of this, Will felt Hannibal begin to fuck back onto his fingers, rutting his omegan cock forward into Will’s belly with every thrust. Will’s own cock was beginning to take interest, and he rutted back, causing Hannibal to groan, slick spilling over Will’s fingers. Will kept at it, and soon Hannibal squeezed around him and broke their kiss, coming hard, still panting as he came back down.
“Will, I need…”
Will thrust once into Hannibal’s thigh, and Hannibal clenched around Will’s fingers again as though he hadn’t just come seconds ago. Will withdrew them, enjoying the satisfying wet noise as Hannibal’s body tried to keep them inside, and shifted to lay on his back, rubbing the slick over his cock, bringing it to full hardness again.
Hannibal watched with black eyes, breathing hard.
“Come here.”
Hannibal let out a small wounded noise and moved to straddle Will’s thighs, just behind his cock. Will let it go and put his hands on Hannibal’s firm thighs, squeezing lightly.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Hannibal groaned again and ran his eyes over Will’s body laid out before him. He reached down to grip Will by the hips, passing his hands up Will’s flanks, pausing to thumb at his nipples, focusing hard on all of Will’s reactions: the changes in his breathing, the travelling flush in his chest, his little moans. Will imagined that if Hannibal’s brain weren’t so overrun with hormones, he’d be composing some ode in ancient Greek. He might still be.
He moved his own hands up to rest them on Hannibal’s hips, squeezing them a little to encourage him to go ahead. Hannibal took the hint and reached out to grip Will’s cock as he rose on his knees to sink down on it, both of them moaning in tandem at the feeling of completion.
As good as the first time was, this was different, better, more, now that they’d bonded. Will felt home and safe inside Hannibal, like this was the only place he ever wanted to be. Any doubts and regrets about the sudden bonding were washed out of his mind when Hannibal began to move, rising up and sinking back down on his powerful thighs, clenching around him on every thrust up.
The feeling was almost eclipsed by how good the view was, Hannibal’s sturdy torso in front of him, silver hair along his chest and down his soft belly, his thick, corded arms caging Will in. And his smell was everywhere, all around him and in him and part of him. This was heaven, or very, very close to it.
Hannibal went slowly for a while, but soon the heat hormones washed over him again and he started fucking down harder onto Will’s cock. Will began thrusting up to meet him, and after a couple of minutes, had an idea and squeezed Hannibal’s hips to stop him for a second.
Will shifted to sit up, pulling Hannibal with him, cock still inside. Hannibal moaned loudly at the feeling of Will’s cock slipping deeper in this new position, and he kissed him sloppily, wet and hot and perfect. Their torsos pressed together tightly now, sweat dripping between them as Will rocked up into him. On his next thrust, Hannibal slammed down to meet him, setting a hard and fast rhythm to bring them both to completion.
Will’s knot began to inflate rapidly, and with it, he felt Hannibal’s movements slowing down as it became more difficult to thrust. They settled into a more gentle rocking motion until he was fully seated inside, Will letting out a loud groan and pushing Hannibal’s hips to encourage him to keep moving. Hannibal, mouth hanging open silently, began working himself back and forth around Will’s knot, finally stilling with a cry as he began to come, the powerful contractions setting off Will’s own orgasm. Will saw stars, this orgasm longer and gentler than his first, but no less intense. When they’d both come back down, Will hugged Hannibal to him tightly, both their bodies slick with sweat.
They sat like that, knotted together and breathing in each other’s scents until Will softened.
Over the next few days, Will lost count of how many times they fucked. He tried several times to get them downstairs to eat, or to shower, or to get some fresh air outside, and every single attempt ended in fevered rutting, mostly initiated by Hannibal, but a respectable number initiated by himself. He was amazed at just how much of this their bodies could handle, but supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised, given the five years of tension that had led them to this, on top of the heat and bonding hormones.
By the end, they were both exhausted, falling into a deep sleep in each other’s arms, still knotted after their final fuck. They woke up well past noon the next day, starving. Will made them a massive breakfast of pancakes to make up for the last few days, and they spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to bring the house back to some semblance of order in between bouts of truly shameless nuzzling.
He knew this fervor for each other would eventually die down, but for now their bodies wouldn’t seem to let them be apart. It was definitely not what he’d envisioned when he’d thought about his life together with Hannibal, but he could think of far worse fates.