Prevision

      The soft, unobtrusive smells of a Christmas tree, fresh ginger cookies, and hot cocoa greeted Hannibal in the room where Will sat on the couch, his leg tucked comfortably under him. A blue fuzzy sweater cozily covered his bent knee and pregnant belly, warming the new life that was sleeping peacefully and preparing to be born soon.       Will was reading a book and drinking a sweet drink from a mug, squinting with pleasure. His quiet exhalation perfectly complemented the pleasant crackling of the pine wood in the fireplace, and the glow of the orange flames played beautifully in his curly hair and reflected in the burgundy balls decorating the Christmas tree.       “Hi, Will,” Hannibal smiles warmly. He takes a seat across from the omega and places his palm on Will’s tummy, hidden beneath the knit pattern. “Hi, baby.”       Will smiles sweetly back, making the little dimples on his cheeks light up, licks his lips hurriedly and sets the mug back on the nightstand.       “I didn’t hear you come back!” Leaning over, he pulls Hannibal to him for a leisurely kiss, and pats him with the luscious scent of cocoa. “You’re so cold after the street!” Will laughs and kisses him again. Finally, satisfied, he pulls away.       “I have something for you.”       Hannibal squints slyly at the mischievous lights flickering in the dilated pupils of Will, who is squirming impatiently on the couch.       A small gift appears in his other palm, carefully warmed in his black pants pocket.       “What is it?” Will looks at the little wooden deer in surprise and sets the book aside. He even forgets to mash the corner of the page where he left off.       One hundred and fifty-eighth page. A little later, Hannibal would bookmark it so Will wouldn’t have to look for the right page.       “I thought a handmade gift would please you more than any other.” Hannibal scrutinizes Will’s every gesture and the change in his facial expression, causing him to throw both feet off the couch and hide the dimples in his cheeks behind the shadow of a slight frown. “You don’t like it?”       Will hesitantly reaches out and barely touches the curves of the graceful antlers, the outline of the unusual neck feathers and the almond-shaped eyes of the deer. The feel of the texture of the wool and the natural roughness of the antlers is amazing.       “I like it. Very much, but…” Will inhales deeply through his nose and tries to contain his ambivalent emotions. Leaning on Hannibal’s shoulder, he rose awkwardly from the couch. “Just…”       Will tries not to look into the alpha’s frozen face. He bites his upper lip and nervously rubs the soft sleeve of his sweater.       There is a thick pause between them, during which the quiet rustling of the fireplace and the rapid beating of Will’s shrinking heart can be heard.       Hannibal says nothing, but draws his husband’s curly head to him and strokes the silky hair gently. He wants to find out the reason for this unexpected reaction. The opposite of what he’d hoped for.       “Is something wrong, my love?”       Will sighs heavily and hesitantly raises his large, slightly moist eyes. A storm of confusion rages in his darkened eyes, which he cannot hide even behind the black curve of his lashes.       “No, it’s, uh. it’s okay, I just don’t understand. You wanted to give a deer to our baby when he was born, and you ended up giving it to… to me?” Hannibal finds that reason terribly ridiculous. But not to Will, who struggles to find the words.       “You don’t feel it yet, but your body is already tingling with a very subtle aroma of readiness and anticipation. And it’s so clear that I was afraid I’d be late with my gift.”       The soothing kiss was weightlessly imprinted on the tip of Will’s nose. And beyond the kiss, the meaning of Hannibal’s words came to him.       “Wait, what?” Will shakes his head incomprehensibly, his curls poking out of his neat hair and falling in frizzy curls across his forehead. “You think…”       “I suspect it will be next to the crib tomorrow morning,” Hannibal cooes. He hugs his husband gently and strokes his big belly with a broad palm.       Will squints incredulously, then laughs, smoothing the nonexistent creases in Hannibal’s maroon sweater and adjusting the collar of his shirt with a familiar gesture.       “I never thought my husband would feel labor approaching before I did.” Will playfully jerks his chin up and deliberately exposes his neck, which smells like ginger cookies. “What else do you feel?”       Hannibal leanes over and leisurely ran his nose along the apple of Will’s ankle, blowing hot breath over the skin and nibbling on it with his teeth.       “You really missed me,” he whispers and runs a wet trail to his husband’s ear before blowing on it and feeling Will press his fingers against it, crumpling his sweater and sighing softly.       His always so ready and responsive body snuggled against him after the pleasant caresses, and the air around him seemed to heat up. The shirt was quickly becoming tight and hot, and Hannibal wished he could take off his and Will’s outerwear now, to warm his omega better and more efficiently than any sweater could.       A tiny heel pressed into Hannibal’s palm, and Will groaned, feeling a strange hardness in his stomach, and then something inside him pulsed, sending a wave of fire into his lower back.       Will’s eyes widen with horror. And Hannibal froze in alarm:       “What happened?”       Will is tentatively silent. He doesn’t know what to say, and he listens more and more to himself, staring intently at the little wooden deer. Hannibal had definitely seen this coming. He knew exactly that it would start today, and he knows exactly what is happening now!       His hands shake slightly from the excitement running through him from head to toe, and Will takes a deep breath and a long, slightly ragged exhale to calm himself. It wasn’t working too well.       He shifts his gaze to the maroon ball on the Christmas tree and swallows noisily, seeing his and Hannibal’s elongated reflection. Has the day really come? Christmas Eve…       “Looks like your present really did come home on time,” Will finally whispers as the wave inside him subsides. He pulls Hannibal closer and openly asks for some more attention: “Just kiss me one more time while I can enjoy you and not think about breathing or what to do. Please.”       And Hannibal doesn’t leave his cocoon of concentration for a second. He kisses Will deeply and passionately, putting all his love and support into the gesture, until Will pulls away. He can feel the changes that are inexorably taking place in his body.       The feeling is impossible to explain. He feels like the center of concentration of a new universe and stares incomprehensibly into Hannibal’s amber eyes, burning with focus, readiness and happiness. A strange smile spreads across his face, mixed with anticipation, excitement and slight fear:       “It began…”