Sonny sat on an airport bench waiting impatiently. He gently rocked the bassinet carrying his boyfriend's little daughter Arianna Grace, back and forth. He glanced at the arrival notice that was now blinking red. Will's plane would be arriving in ten minutes. He was impatient to see Will. He hadn't been able to touch his lover in a week. It was maddeningly torturous. Oh sure…they'd Skyped each other; they texted and talked on the phone. But that wasn't the same. Sonny took the time to remember what Will felt like, how he smelled; the dorky way Will would wiggle his eyebrows, thinking he was being ultra-sexy, which he was; but he certainly didn't need to do that eyebrow thing to be sexy.
He really missed Will and could hardly sit still, he was so eager to see Will again; Sonny shrugged to himself, as he continued to rock Arianna Grace, hoping that she would stay asleep, just a little while longer. Arianna Grace had other ideas. She began to squirm and move; She was waking up. Sonny changed the way he rocked the bassinet and started to hum to her. She instantly calmed down. Sonny reached down and gently picked Arianna Grace up. She squirmed a little in Sonny's arms. He was going to need to change her before giving her her next bottle.
Sonny smiled as he got everything together to go to the change rooms. Sonny really enjoyed his time with Arianna Grace, so very much. She was beautiful. And she was a part of Will. Sonny then involuntarily shrugged again. He really couldn't wait to put his own lips on Will's and hug him tightly. There was, however, something that Sonny could wait for. He was going to have to tell Will something that Will was not going to like, not at all; something that Sonny had overheard Gabi talking to Nick about on the phone; something that could change all their lives forever. Will was not going to be happy.
Will walked towards the baggage area. He was impatient; impatient to see and touch two very important people in his life; the two most important people in his life, actually. He was longing to hold his daughter, see what changes a week had done to her development. Sonny had promised him that he hadn't missed any of the biggies. Arianna Grace hadn't learned to crawl or to walk or to speak her first words; but Will was still anxious to see her; for her to see him. He had been afraid that a week was so long in his young daughter's life that she would forget him. He'd seen her and talked to her on Skype; and Sonny had promised that he would talk about Will to her every chance he got; but Will still needed to hold her. He missed her smile and even her smell, well not all her smells; actually yes. Will smiled as he realized that he even missed his daughter's messier smells. Will also longed to kiss and hold and cuddle with Sonny. He had missed Sonny so very much; his messy hair that just screamed to have Will's fingers in it; Sonny's smile; Sonny's pout when he didn't get his way; Sonny's gentle touch when he kissed.
Will sighed. He had had a fabulous week. It was a little stressful, but also exhilarating. Will had not realized just how much he enjoyed writing, until he had been immersed in it for a whole week. Will also had to endure being hit on by others, both men and women of all sorts; funny how he hadn't had to deal with that sort of thing when Sonny was around. Will had thought that he handled it well. There was one guy who hadn't wanted to take no for an answer and Will had to firmly, yet gently put him in his place.
Will sighed once more as he neared the baggage area. He was so looking forward to seeing Little Ari and Sonny; he just wasn't looking forward to talking to Sonny about a decision Will had to make, and soon. He almost dismissed this opportunity out of hand. But he had promised Sonny that he would not keep any secrets from him; that he would talk to Sonny about things, when they went wrong and when they went right. This was a decision that would likely change lives; his, Sonny's, Arianna Grace's and Gabi's in particular. He wanted to just forget about it, but he knew that he couldn't.
Sonny managed to change Little Ari in almost record time. He'd gotten rather good at it. He even managed not to get any baby powder on his own clothing this time; a plus. He glanced at the time on his phone. He was only a few minutes late. Will should have arrived and gotten his baggage. Sonny wondered how long Will would wait until he sent a text asking where his daughter was. Sonny smiled when he heard the beep of his phone that meant he had just received a text. He looked at it and it said: "Babe. Where's My daughter? 3"
Sonny was about to reply, as he was pushing the bassinet with a now babbling Arianna Grace, when he looked up and noticed the blonde-bombshell that was Will Horton, not a hundred feet away. Sonny smiled with excited joy. Will Horton looked really good. He hastily sent back: "Near. Lover .She's Near." Then he waited. Sure enough Will Horton lifted his phone to read the incoming message, smiled and then started looking around. Sonny saw the expression on Will face explode with joy. Sonny noticed Will's beautiful blue eyes sparkling even from where he was.
Will started to move at a rather fast pace towards Sonny. When Will got close Sonny opened his arms in a gesture of welcoming. Will flew into Sonny's arms, grabbed hold of Sonny's hair, and pressed his lips into Sonny's with a controlled but still quite seething passion. Sonny felt his body light on fire as his hands grabbed Will's face. Their passionate kiss lasted quite a while. Eventually Will thought of saying hello to his daughter. He released Sonny from the kiss. Sonny took the opportunity to tilt Will's head and whisper in his ear: "Hey Lover…Welcome home." Will's smile increased. He blushed slightly, looked at Sonny, wiggled his eyebrows and said: "Babe…It is so good to be home…I missed you…"
Will turned towards the bassinet, smiled at his giggling little girl, bent down, picked her up and led her little face towards his lips and kissed her on the cheek as he said, love quite evident in his voice: "Hey there my little princess…You've grown! Yes you have! Pretty soon you'll be off to college like your dad! Hope you still remember me…it's been so long…"
Sonny smiled as one of his favorite people in the whole world brought her tiny little hand towards his other favorite person and tweaked his nose. Sonny laughed as Will winced in pain and said: "Whoa…she's gotten a lot stronger in a week…" Sonny then looked towards the baggage area and said to Will: "Come on Will, let's get your luggage and get you home…We have a lot to talk about…" Will saw Sonny's expression suddenly darken, for just a split-second and wondered inwardly: "That's strange…I'm sure he couldn't know about my little secret yet…I wonder what's wrong?"
Will decided to save his wondering for later. Right now he just wanted to get Sonny home…alone.
On the ride home Sonny asked Will about his seminar. Will had given him a play-by-play all week, but now Sonny could hear about Will's experience in more detail. Will talked about how interesting the experience was. He'd always thought he'd make a career in IT or some other computer related field. Writing was a pastime; something he never thought he was any good at. To find out that he was good at it; and that he actually enjoyed writing, was an eye-opener.
Will looked at Sonny, and although Sonny was driving, Will could just tell that Sonny's attention was all on him. He smiled. And then felt guilty. He needed to talk to Sonny, and perhaps now was a good time: "Sonny, I have something I need to tell you…" Sonny smirked, as he glanced towards Will, seeing his lover become a rather nervous, shy person right before his eyes. Sonny thought he knew what this was about and decided to alleviate Will's suffering heart: "Babe, I know someone flirted with you…and I'm not mad…from what I could tell you handled it well and I'm actually very proud of you…"
Will was surprised, and it must have showed all over his face because Sonny laughed. When Will's capacity to speak finally returned he said: "Sonny, how did you know? And yes someone flirted with me and I put him in his place…"
Sonny, gushing with pride interrupted Will: "I knew that something like that must have happened to you from the way you acted a little guilty and a little smug at the same time, the day after you went out with some of the people from your seminar."
Will was delighted that Sonny wasn't upset with him. He knew Sonny could get jealous. He was never sure how to react. He was also usually surprised when people flirted with him. He could never figure out what they saw in him. He had yet to figure out what Sonny saw in him. He was just glad that Sonny saw something he liked enough to be with him. But this wasn't what Will needed to discuss and he needed to just say it before he lost his nerve:
"Sonny, thanks for that, but that isn't what I needed to say. Several universities, including Berkeley have said that they will be sending me offers to attend their Creative Writing and Journalism programs; In fact I have Berkeley offer in my luggage. They said I could start the program next semester, if I wanted. I would never go to Berkeley I couldn't leave you or Arianna Grace. And even if we did go, I couldn't take Arianna Grace away from Gabi. I've never even considered being capable of writing, much less being a writer or journalist. I'll need to discuss things with you…"
Sonny was flabbergasted. He'd always suspected that Will would be good at writing. Will could be good at anything he set his mind to; but Berkeley? Moving? Leaving Gabi? This was too close to what Sonny needed to discuss with Will to be comfortable. Thankfully, the apartment was in view. They parked and Will was busy organizing Arianna Grace, in order to make the transfer from car to apartment as seamless as possible. Sonny had time to think how he was going to tell Will something else that might change his life.
Arianna was sitting on Will's lap playing with Will's fingers. Will was attempting to play paddy-cake with his daughter. She simply wanted to put his fingers in her mouth; exploring her environment. Will smiled. He had missed doing this. Arianna Grace squirmed a little and her eyes were closing involuntarily. Will had fed her and now she was about ready to be put down for the night. He rose with her in his arms and brought her to her crib, placed her down, and sang to her. She fell asleep.
When Will returned to the living room he found Sonny there. Will saw that Sonny was looking very pensive. From Gabi's bedroom door, Will asked Sonny: "Hey Babe, what are you thinking about?" Sonny had watched Will with Arianna Grace. He loved to watch Will with his daughter. The love those two shared was really something special. Sonny enjoyed seeing Will's maturity, his sensitivity, and his compassion shine through whenever he interacted with his daughter. Will had changed as a result of having Little Ari in his life; so had Sonny. They both had changed for the better. Sonny knew that deep in his heart. He did not want to lose that feeling. Sonny turned to Will, cocked his head, smiled and said: "About us…"
Will walked to Sonny and laid down on the couch with him, covering Sonny's body from head to toe and pressed his lips to Sonny's. Sonny enjoyed this sensation very much; he wanted to get lost in Will's arms, but he knew that he shouldn't; not yet.
Sonny lightly pushed Will away. He could see in Will's eyes that Will was wondering why Sonny wanted to stop. Will wasn't angry, not even really concerned ; he just looked inquisitive. Sonny knew that Will understood that Sonny would share whatever it was that Sonny needed to share. Sonny witnessed Will simply looking intently, empathetically, and warmly into Sonny's eyes; waiting patiently. With a sigh, Sonny explained his reticence to Will: "Will, you know I want you. But, do you remember when we first got back together and you needed to get things out in the open before you could be intimate with me? I kind of need to do that now…"
Will did not stop smiling he simply cocked his head and scrunched his brow, indicating that he was thinking, and then he said: "Is it about Berkeley? You know I'd never leave you…or Arianna Grace…You know I'd never decide anything without consulting with you first…right? It's just a stupid offer…I don't need…"
Sonny put a finger to Will's lips to stop him from talking: "Will…It's not about that. I didn't tell you certain things. Gabi isn't at Rafe's, like she said she would be…She is in New York City…with Nick…looking into a modelling job there…She plans to move there…with Arianna Grace…I thought you should know…I overheard her talking before she left this morning."
Will was shocked; he sprung up and was about to start shouting; not at Sonny, but at Gabi, at the world. Sonny sprang to his feet and before Will could let his anger out, he reminded Will that his daughter had just fallen asleep. This calmed Will down enough to enable Sonny to grab Will and hug him. Sonny looked Will in the eyes and said: "I know what your daughter means to you Will. Arianna Grace isn't my daughter…but she feels to me like she is…because of you. If we have to get my father involved…we will. I won't let Gabi dictate where Arianna Grace lives without your input. You are her father. You need to do what is best for her…"
Will was overjoyed that Sonny had just said that he felt like a father to Arianna Grace. He put a finger to Sonny's lips causing Sonny to cease talking. His smile was explosive. Will sprang forward and kissed Sonny on the lips, trying desperately to show Sonny how much he loved him. When Will released Sonny, Sonny looked confused, satisfied and fiercely fired-up, all at the same time: "What was that for?"
Will 's eyes sparkled as he said : "I love you Sonny. I love the fact that you consider yourself a father to Arianna Grace. Because I do too…"Sonny was so overwhelmed with joy that tears formed in his eyes. Will saw the tears and gently kissed them dry. He then grabbed Sonny by the hand, looked at Sonny with waggling eyebrows, and led him towards their bedroom, as he said: "Sonny I know we have a lot to discuss, between us and with Gabi. But that can wait. Right now, I need to show you something."