Katherine

"No," Will replied awkwardly, interrupting himself from staring even though Hannibal was not facing him. "It wasn't as bad as I thought. May I help with anything?"

"I'm almost done, then you will have my undivided attention, Will."

"There is something that I've been meaning to ask you the whole night," he said mysteriously.

The faucet was instantly closed.

Hannibal grabbed a towel and started drying his hands. "You made me curious."

Now that he was facing him, Will's gaze intensiefied.

Will's hand went towards his head. His fingers felt the texture of his sleek hair. He picked up a few strands and brought them to the front. Hannibal didn't try to stop him in any way, nor did he step back.

Will's touch felt like a blessing on any day however this was a bit unlike him.

"Have you had a few drinks, darling?"

The smile on Will's lips grew wider as he kept working on Hannibal's bangs, ruining his formal look.

"Maybe," Will said as he inhaled. The perfume was indeed strong, musky, bitter.

"What did you have?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Will asked and leaned in, melting himself against Hannibal.

The kiss was sloppy.

Will's teeth grazed against Hannibal's lips and his tongue slid in only slightly, like a tease.

Hannibal grabbed the back of Will's neck and tilted his head to the side, encouraging Will to keep going.

Their lips kept brushing against each other, hungrily until Hannibal's hands reached for Will's face and gently distanced himself from him.

"There is something..." Hannibal said thoughtfully, "Did you have one too many vodka cranberries?"

"I thought..." Will started and laughed shortly, "I thought you wouldn't be able to sense the vodka. Vodka doesn't even smell like anything."

"I can taste the cranberries. Where there's cranberries, there's always vodka," Hannibal said. "Or an UTI but it's probably not the case."

Will shook his head and casually leaned against Hannibal and wrapped his arms around his middle.

"What was it that you wanted to ask me, Will?" Hannibal asked while hugging him back.

Will's head was resting on his shoulder. His lips reached for his neck twice before he answered. "How do you smell so good all the time?"

"You like it? Good to know."

Will nodded against his shoulder. "It was something else that I wanted to ask. I forgot."

"That's alright, darling," Hannibal said, "For now you need a glass of water, an aspirin and a bed."

"Bed sounds good."

"For sleep," Hannibal specified and smiled, aware that Will's hands were patiently waiting to make a move.

"Will you let me carry you?"

Sober Will had always refused that.

"Don't drop me."

"I could never."

"It's funny, I wanted to ask you about that thing but then I decided alcohol would make it easier. And now," Will started and behaved like a ragdoll when Hannibal lifted him up, "it's the alcohol that made me forget."

"I am more curious about why you would need alcohol to ask me something."

"Because you're better with that sort of thing."

"What sort of thing?"

"The emotional area. Damn, you really smell good."

His nose was conveniently close to Hannibal's neck. He stole another kiss.

Hannibal smiled, then entered his bedroom, opening the door with his hip, elegantly. He carefully laid Will down on his king sized bed and quickly kissed him. A silly smile appeared on Will's face.

"I think I remember," Will suddenly said as Hannibal headed towards his dressing to bring him some clothes for the night. "You're a complete idiot."

"I am?" Hannibal asked, "I did not get drunk on vodka cranberry."

"I did because..." Will said and yawned, "Because I got mad at you at some point. And I wanted to have a drink before I confronted you. Otherwise I would have...anyway, I didn't want something strong...I still wanted to be coherent. But you can actually get drunk on vodka cranberry, Hannibal."

Hannibal placed a neatly folded pile of clothes next to him on the bed. "I can certainly see that. Did I upset you tonight, Will?"

Will nodded as Hannibal helped him take off his blazer. Hannibal was surprised with how submissive he got after a few drinks. "Tell me while I'm unbuttoning your shirt. I promise I had no intention of upsetting you tonight. Aren't you my most precious thing in the world?"

Sober Will would have made a face at that comment but drunk Will laughed. "Who else if not me? Sure, do whatever you want, I'm too tired for buttons. And then there's the...how are they called? The super annoying ones."

Hannibal looked at him dearly. "The cufflinks?"

"Those. I hate them."

"Let me do them for you from now on," Hannibal said as he undid them quickly, "Your question, Will. What was it that you wanted to ask me when you were upset?"

"There are too many verbs in that question. Yeah, I heard from one of your arrogant assholes tonight...that your birthday was last week. Why didn't you tell me?"

Hannibal's hands froze on the third button. He said nothing, aware of how heavy Will's gaze was.

"It's the sort of thing I should know but it's also the sort of thing you should share. It's a two way street."

"You are correct," Hannibal agreed and continued his previous activity. "You were tired that day. And you did spend the night with me. That was everything I wanted. I don't find my birthday to be particularly meaningful."

"Maybe I do. I never got to celebrate one, smug ass. When I was a kid, I mean. You should make the most of it. It's important. How does one like you - who finds every piece of shit meaningful - not find birthdays to be meaningful?"

"Hands up," Hannibal said after he removed the shirt and attempted to put one of his t-shirts on Will. "I find your birthday to be meaningful, Will. Mine, however, is not real."

"I might be drunk but that sentence doesn't make any sense. This feels good, by the way," he said as the fine fabric of the t-shirt caressed his skin.

"Do you remember that for a few years I grew up in an orphanage? After my parents died?"

"Yes?"

"They didn't have a way of knowing my birth date. They made one up and I stuck with it."

"But you were old enough to know your own birthday, weren't you?"

"I have been non-verbal for a few years back then. And my brain blurred most of the things I knew."

His hands were steady when they unbuckled Will's belt and pulled his trousers off, not showing any glimpse of nervousness.

"Shit, I had no idea."

"You didn't have a way of knowing, Will. I have never shared this before. Your concern about it means a lot to me. Do you feel well wearing these? Are they comfortable?"

"They are softer than a cloud but don't change the subject. Why haven't you mentioned you don't know your birthday?"

"It is not something that came up in our conversations. Besides, I don't think about it that often. And I'm not even fond of astrology."

"Hmm," Will hummed as he crawled on the bed and rested his head against one of the fluffy pillows. "That makes you even more interesting. You already had this appearance of immortality. Like you are timeless."

"Is that so?" Hannibal asked as he started taking off his own clothes.

"Yes. Now, come here, I'm tired."

"In a second. And Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Empathizing with serial killers might be your calling but I'm not so sure about acting."

"Acting?"

"You're not drunk. You did have a generous amount of cranberry juice. You wanted me to taste it so I could infer you had something strong, like vodka."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you wanted to be playful, Will. You wanted to be affectionate. But you were not ready for me to see that yet. You decided to put it all on being drunk so that I wouldn't think that you with all your nonchalance would be eager for something like that. The question about my birthday was the only thing that you did not plan. You were genuinely worried, my love."

Will's stupid smile disappeared.

"What gave me away?"

He felt unmasked.

"The antibiotics I found in the pockets of your blazer. You do have an UTI. You couldn't have consumed alcohol. And this explains the cranberry juice."

"Fuck," Will said between his teeth. "I could have done better."

"Yes, you could. But at the same time, I had a lovely time. I liked seeing you that submissive," Hannibal confessed and sat on the other side of the bed.

"Of course you did," he said and turned his back to him. "Asshole."

"Learn to lie, Will. It's a useful skill. Might not work with me but there are enough idiots out there."

"Sure, doctor," Will murmured. "The least you can do is be the big spoon."

"I'm on it," Hannibal said and embraced him from behind. "And Will?"

"What now?"