Chapter Text
The doorbell rang and Will jumped up from where he had been colouring on the floor of the study.
“Daddy! She’s here, she’s here!”
He ran down the hall to the front door and fidgeted excitedly, but he knew never to open the door without his daddy’s permission.
Hannibal stepped out of the kitchen, smiling and wiping his hands on a tea towel.
“Alright Will, you may open the door.”
Will unlocked the bolt and pulled the door open, overcome with a sudden shyness as he caught sight of Bedelia, standing at the door, holding a bottle of wine and a colourful gift bag in addition to her own purse.
“Hello Will, darling!”
Will bit his bottom lip and blushed, toeing his sneaker into the floor. Hannibal put a reassuring hand on the back of his neck as the boy looked down at the ground and mumbled.
“Will. Remember we look at people when we’re talking to them. And we don’t mumble. What do you say to our guest?”
Will peeked up through his lashes.
“Hi mama Bedelia.”
He rushed forward and gave her a hug. Hannibal wrangled the wine and the bag from her hands, and Bedelia, grateful for his help, put her arms around Will.
“That’s more like it my boy!”
She closed her eyes and kissed his curls, inhaling the baby shampoo scent. When she opened her eyes, Hannibal was looking at them with a fondness. Bedelia gave him a small smile and gently pried Will away.
“Look how much you’ve grown, Will! Practically a young man.”
He tried to scowl in that funny way Will does, either as an adult or in his little space, when he was embarrassed and flattered at the same time.
“Happy Mama’s Day. Come on, wanna see my drawings?”
Will grabbed her by the hand and she followed him through to the study.
Hannibal followed, studying the wine label. A Pinot Noir; the perfect accompaniment to their dinner.
“Can I offer you a drink, Bedelia?”
She settled on the couch while Will gathered up his drawings.
“Champagne cocktail?”
“Certainly, I will be right back. Will darling, I expect you will look after our special guest?”
“Uh-huh, of course daddy!”
Hannibal smiled and went to the kitchen to see to dinner.
Bedelia crossed her legs and watched Will as he sat on the carpet, sorting through pages of coloured artworks, mumbling to himself. She spotted the telltale bulge of a diaper through his pants and thought of this as a clue to the proceedings of the night.
When Hannibal had told her of this aspect of he and Will’s relationship, she was not entirely surprised. Will had always seemed slightly lost, to her. Very intelligent, of course. Measured. Kind, but not effusive. Damaged. Almost as he was always on the precipice of darkness he could not see into.
Then, she had felt a little jealous of their relationship. Not because she wanted a child of her own. But because she knew Will was precious. She also knew Hannibal was very, very territorial, and knew she had to tread carefully.
So a few times, she had indeed met little Will. He was delightful and Bedelia had naturally taken on the role of a mother, of sorts. Outside of their play, she and Will never discussed the days when Will was little. That was for Hannibal, and Hannibal alone.
But she could still have her fun.
Bedelia patted the spot next to her on the couch.
“Come. Sit by me Will and show me what you’ve drawn.”
Will brought his drawings over and sat down, the telltale crinkling of his diaper audible in the quiet room. Bedelia put her arm around him and drew him close.
“Mama, this one’s of me and daddy in the garden.”
“Oh that’s lovely. I like how you’ve drawn the trees here, you’re very clever.”
Will grinned and showed her the next one.
“Oh, and this one’s of me and Matty washing Uncle Frederick’s car with mud!”
Will giggled and Bedelia feigned mock horror.
“You didn’t do that, did you?”
“Uh-huh!”
“Goodness! Was Uncle Frederick very upset?”
Will’s face fell slightly, remembering the aftermath of that particular incident.
“He was a little angry. But it’s okay ‘cause my daddy made it all better.”
Hannibal returned with a drink for himself and Bedelia, and a sippy cup of juice for Will, hearing the tail end of the conversation.
“Daddy made what all better?”
Will eyed the sippy cup warily as his daddy handed it to him. The drawings slid off his lap and on to the floor.
“Will was telling me about the adventures he and Matty had with Frederick’s car?”
Bedelia took her drink and clinked glasses with Hannibal, before taking a sip.
“Ah yes. Dr Chilton was not pleased.”
Annoyed at being ignored, if only for a second, Will pouted.
“What’s wrong darling? Drink your juice up before dinner please.”
“Don’t want it daddy. I want what you and mama are having!”
Hannibal shook his head.
“I’m sorry Will, but this drink is for grown-ups. But I put a version for little boys in your sippy cup.”
“But that’s not fair! And ‘sides, I’m almost growed up! Mama said so when she got here!”
Bedelia gave a small smile as she took another sip. Even as a little, Will never lost that particular cleverness.
Hannibal placed his glass on the side table and knelt in front of Will.
“Darling, please drink your juice. Daddy is preparing a delicious Mother’s Day feast for your mama Bedelia. You wouldn’t want to be on the naughty step for any of that, would you?”
Will gave a small, sad little sigh and shook his head.
“No.”
“I thought not. Now, drink your juice. Daddy has a few more things to prepare for dinner.”
Hannibal stood and took his drink, heading towards the door.
“Do you need a hand, Hannibal?”
“No thank you, Bedelia. You are our guest. If you can just make sure Will finishes his juice, that will be help enough.”
Will scowled at the directive and Bedelia patted him on the back.
“Poor baby. Why don’t you pick up your drawings and then drink your juice while I look at them? And I’ll try and guess what they are.”
Will sighed and bent forward. As he did, his shirt rode up at the back and Bedelia caught sight of the plastic waistband of his diapers.
Settling her half-finished glass on the table, she took the drawings from Will who began to drink from the sippy cup.
“This one is nice. Let me guess, this is you, and the little girl with the unhappy face…is that Alana?”
Will nodded and murmured in the affirmative as he drank his juice.
“And this one. Oh, this must be you and your daddy at the park? Feeding the ducks?”
Another nod.
“You’re very, very clever Will. I’m very proud of you.”
Will blushed and smiled around the cup and as he did, he dribbled some juice down his chin. He removed the cup and went to wipe it with his sleeve, but Bedelia grabbed his wrist before he was able to.
“Ah, no Will, that’s not what sleeves are for.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a delicate handkerchief and gently wiped Will’s face and chin with it. He was clean-shaven, and she almost had the temptation to spit on the cloth to remove any of the sticky juice residue.
“There. Good as new.”
“Thank you mama.”
Will resumed drinking and they went back to the drawings, Will pointing things out and Bedelia guessing about the contents of the pictures.
A delicious smell began to waft through to the study and soon after Hannibal came through.
“Bedelia, Will. Dinner is served.”
Bedelia stood and Will followed, grabbing her hand.
“Will, did you finish your juice?”
“Yes daddy.”
“Good boy. Please wash your hands, and then come to the dining room.”
He shook his head.
“Want mama to help me.”
Bedelia smiled and spoke before Hannibal could say anything.
“I’ll take him, Hannibal. We’ll be in shortly.”
She took him down the hall to the small powder room opposite the dining room. Turning on the light, she shut the door behind them.
“Do you need to use the toilet before dinner, Will darling?”
Will went bright red and Bedelia hid her smirk as best she could.
“No mama.”
“Are you sure my dear?”
Her eyes travelled down to his crotch and then back up to make eye contact with him. He swallowed and shook his head.
“Very well. Here, let mama help you.”
Bedelia rolled his sleeves up and pumped some liquid soap into his hands before turning the faucet on. As he washed up, she placed a hand at the small of his back, where his shirt met his pants. She ran her hand across it, feeling the slick plastic underneath.
“Good boy, you’re doing such a good job.”
Will squirmed under the touch and under the praise. Bedelia turned off the taps and grabbed a hand towel, drying his hands.
When they were done, he grabbed her hand again.
“Thank you mama.”
“You’re welcome, my dear. Come, let’s have some dinner.”