Forever and For Always
Will knew that Arianna wasn't going to sleep through the night. She had been home from the hospital for a month now and he was finally off the painkillers that put him into a coma every time he fell asleep. Actually, he was glad that his daughter's cry could wake him now. For some reason, he felt guilty that Ari's late night care fell onto Gabi and his boyfriend. They said they didn't mind, but still it made Will uneasy. Like he was being a neglectful father.
When he heard the soft cry come from the next room, he immediately shook himself awake and forced himself out of bed, determined to be there for his daughter tonight.
What he didn't expect was to see Sonny already in Ari's room sitting beside her bassinet. Ari was moaning as Sonny tried to shush her back to sleep. Will just stood in the doorway for a moment and lovingly gazed at his boyfriend, who was whispering comforting words trying to quiet the distressed infant.
"Need some help?"
"Will," Sonny whispered turning to see him standing there. "I was hoping Ari didn't wake you."
"Well, she did. And I can take it from here. You've already done so much." Will kneeled down next to Sonny and reached his hand inside the bassinet to try and calm the child with his touch. "You've been up with her practically every night."
"I didn't mind, Will," Sonny insisted. "I love spending time with little Ari, even after dark."
"Well, now I am gonna take a shift," Will said smiling at Sonny. He knew Sonny wanted to help as much as he could. And he loved him for that. It meant the world to him that his boyfriend would give up a good night's sleep to take care of his baby girl. Will knew it was because he loved him. But Will wanted to be the one to care for his daughter tonight. He wanted to show her that he would always be there for her.
"Since you're new to these late nights. I should probably give you some tips," Sonny suggested.
"Oh, really," Will said. He loved that Sonny could say things that made him smile, even with a crying baby in between them.
"Yes. Tip number one is that Ari really likes lullabies and if you sing her a song, she'll likely stop crying and fall back asleep."
Will raised his eyebrows at Sonny and smirked in disbelief. "If you're singing, she probably fell asleep just to get you to stop." He liked teasing Sonny, but only because his brown-eyed boyfriend laughed along and agreed that he had a terrible singing voice.
"Well, fine, Mr. Big-Shot. Why don't you give it a try." Will gazed into Sonny's eyes that were starring back into his. He felt so lucky to have someone in his life who was willing to share these moments with him in the early hours of the morning. His thick black hair was messier that usual, and the T-shirt that he wore to bed had a few of Arianna's messes stained on it. Will looked at Arianna and then back at Sonny. There were no two people he'd rather be up at 3 a.m. with. He gently started rubbing his daughter's stomach and began to sing.
"there ain't no way-
I'm lettin' you go now
And there ain't no way-
and there ain't no how
I'll never see that day...
'Cause I'm keeping you
forever and for always
We will be together all of our days
Wanna wake up every
morning to your sweet face—always"
Arianna seemed to like her father's voice. She stopped fussing and listened to his singing. Will repeated this chorus a few times until Ari had drifted off.
"Excellent job, Horton." Sonny had been watching Will the whole time he sang. He just watched his lips move so softly and make beautiful sounds. He so wanted to interrupt the song and kiss those lips.
Will stood up and grabbed Sonny's hand. "Why don't we go back to bed?" Sonny followed Will back to their room. As they climbed under the covers Sonny grinned at his gorgeous blue-eyed boyfriend.
"That was an amazing song. It was so sweet."
"I wanted Ari to know that I'm always gonna be here when cries or wakes up in the middle of the night." Sonny nodded as he leaned his cheek against the pillow starring into Will's eyes. "And that's not the whole song, you know."
"Oh, yea?"
"Mm, hmm. I saved a part for you." Sonny blinked, wondering what Will meant. Will propped his elbow against the pillow and smiled at Sonny. Then, he started softly singing to him.
"In your heart-I can still hear
a beat for every time you kiss me
And when we're apart,
I know how much you miss me
I can feel your love for me in your heart
And there ain't no way-
I'm lettin' you go now
And there ain't now way-
and there ain't no how
I'll never see that day...
Cause I'm keeping you
forever and for always
We will be together all of our days
Wanna wake up every
morning to your sweet face—always"
Tears started forming in Sonny's eyes as Will sang to him. Once he finished, he brought a hand up to cup his face. His thumb grazed over his lips, those lips that could sing such beautiful songs. Sonny pulled him in and kissed those lips.
They lay in bed kissing for few moments before they pulled away and rested their foreheads together. Will whispered tenderly, "Forever and for always."