Chapter Text
Little Will and Matty are snuggled under two fleecy blankets on the family room's couch watching cartoons.
Will is sucking his thumb and stroking Mr. Bear's soft fur, while Matty is scrolling through his phone.
Both boys are tired from a long, fun day of apple picking, playing in the yard, and helping Will's daddy make apple pies and turnovers.
Will's little nose twitches at the sweet, syrupy smells of apples and cinnamon; he pulls his pink thumb out of his mouth.
"Hey Matty?! Let's go look at the pies we made! Maybe daddy will let you have a teeny, weenie slice!"
"He already told me no, " Matty complains, pushing his phone into his pocket and cuddling down against his little cousin's shoulder. "I'm bored, let's go steal a pie!"
Little Will gasps and tears his gaze away from SpongeBob.
"No! We can't eat a whole pie! 'sides, the last time I took somefing, I got spanked...weally, weally, hard."
Matty loves it when stress causes Will to lisp.
"You did? What'd you steal? "
Matty is all ears and morbid curiosity, imagining his little cousin's naked pert bottom perched over Uncle Hannibal's lap. His naughty weenie twitches at the toothsome image and he has to rub it a few times for relief.
Little Will frowns with embarrassment and shame," I don't wanna talk about it," he insists.
"Aww, come on...I'm bored watching TV...let's do something fun!"
Little Will looks doubtfully at his big cousin; Matty is a big boy, bigger than Will at the moment who has regressed to the age of a preschooler.
"Darling?"
Both boys heads swivel to see daddy Hannibal standing at the family room's entrance way.
"Yes daddy?"
Hannibal smiles at his sweet boy, warmly bundled in blankets on this squally October afternoon.
"It's beginning to rain and the forecast is calling for heavy showers. I'd like to make a quick run to the store before the weather gets any worse. Matty..." Hannibal looks sternly at the boy who feels sudden guilt for his blooming erection, "Could you be a big boy and watch Will for me? I shouldn't be longer than an hour."
"Sure thing Uncle Hannibal!" Matty grins, thinking about how the coast would be clear for some unsupervised foraging when Will finally gets hungry.
"Thank you, but you should both know," Hannibal looks first at Will and then at Matty," I've counted all the goodies we baked together, so if something goes missing, I'll know."
Hannibal almost laughs at the crestfallen expression on Matty's face; though sometimes the boy's voracious appetite worries him, he's even gone so far as recommending Frederick get him tested.
"I've placed some homemade cinnamon graham crackers in the refrigerator; if you boys need a snack while I'm gone, you may have those with some milk. Or, you may have any fruit that is in the fruit drawer."
"Okay, Uncle Hannibal thanks."
"'kay, daddy," Will says sweetly but disinterestedly and Hannibal feels a stab of concern; unlike Matty, his little boy must be coaxed to eat, it's an ongoing problem.
"I have my phone if you need to get a hold of me Matty. Remember, don't answer the house phone or open the front door."
Hannibal goes over and kisses his little boy goodbye and pats Matty on the head.
"Goodbye, be good boys!" He adjures and leaves, bolting the front door behind him.
Back in the family room, Matty waits until he hears the purr of Uncle Hannibal's Bentley drive away before leaping to his feet.
"Let's play a game!"
Little Will stares at his cousin with large, round eyes and pulls his thumb out of his mouth; he's feeling warm and lethargic, left alone, he probably would be dozing.
"What kinda game?"
"Hide and seek!"
Little Will thinks about how big and spooky his daddy's house can be, especially with the rain pouring down and the wind crying around the eves.
"Don't wanna!" He protests and shoves his thumb back in his mouth.
"Awww, come on..."Matty wheedles. "It'll be fun! Please Pooh Bear? Just one game of 'Hide and Go Seek' and then I'll let you pick the next game."
"'weally?" Will asks, intrigued; he has some new nail polish he doesn't have the dexterity to apply himself.
"Even 'beauty shop?'" He asks suspiciously; Matty hates 'beauty shop.'
Sure enough, Matty wrinkles his nose. "Awww, do you have to pick that one?"
"Yes!" Little Will demands, eyes shining. He loves putting on makeup and high heels and wigs
"Fine...after we play 'Hide n' Seek, we'll play your game."
"Goody goody gumdrops!" Little Will crows victoriously and gleefully bounces on the couch.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. First my game and I get to hide!"
Little Will pouts but finally agrees.
"Good! Now, turn around and count to twenty!" Matty runs out of the room but immediately sticks his head back in," don't look around until you're done counting!"
Little Will sighs and nods.
"Okay...one...two...three..."
Matty races through the main floor and up the stairs, the sound of little Will's voice becoming fainter and fainter as he goes.
He throws himself under Will's bed giggling to himself; Will will never think to look here.
From down below, Matty hears a faint, "Ready or not, here I come!" Matty hugs himself with excitement and waits.
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Downstairs, little Will is already regretting he'd agreed to this game.
The house seems different without his daddy; bigger and scarily dark.
Will timidly, walks through the foyer and into the music room.
"Matty? Are you in here?"He calls out in a quiet voice, which soft as it is, echoes loudly in the empty chamber.
Little Will gasps and closes his eyes. He doesn't like the look of the shadows in the corners. Then he remembers how naughty Matty had warned him that his daddy's suit of samurai armor sometimes comes alive to search for it's dead owner.
The boy whimpers and runs through to the dining room.
Bones, and giant eggs adorn the table and his daddy's hanging herb garden cover the walls.
Little Will doesn't even giggle at the painting of the naked lady over the mantlepiece because a scary thought has just occured to him.
What if something, something horrible was under the big table right now? It was so dark in the room, Will would never see the tentacle slither out, coming closer until...
"M...Maaatty?" Little Will warbles." Are you in here?"
BOOOM
A clap of thunder causes little Will to squeak and run back towards the kitchen, knocking into walls and colliding with furniture as he goes.
"MATTTTTTTY!!!" He wails.
Upstairs, Matty is getting cold and bored hiding under the bed when a loud clap of thunder startles him.
BOOOOM
Almost immediately he hears a thin, shrill scream from downstairs.
"MATTTTTTTY!"
Little Will is calling for him and he sounds completely terrified.
Matty shoots out from under the bed, sprints down the hallway, and tumbles down the stairs.
"Will?! Willy?! Where are you?!" He calls as he hurries through the house and towards the family room.
No answer, but Matty knows that when Will is really scared, he becomes as quiet as a little mouse.
Matty has nearly reached the family room when another "BOOM" shakes the house; just at that moment his phone rings.
It's Uncle Hannibal.
"Hello?"
"Matty? It's thundering here, is Will alright?"
"I think so..."
"What do you mean...you think so?" Hannibal's voice is frigid with disapproval and Matty winces.
"I mean...I'm sure he is...I just...I just don't know where he is ri..."
"I'll be home in fifteen minutes," Hannibal interrupts and ends the call without another word.
"Oh, no!!" Matty thinks. "Now Uncle Hannibal thinks I'm not a good babysitter!"