Abigail walked into Common Grounds for her latte, just as she does after every Sunday morning service, excited to see her favorite cousins for their weekly catch-up breakfast. She knew that Will would be seated at the small booth next to the counter, books strewn all over, deep in thought preparing for the coming week of classes, and Sonny behind the counter fueling the caffeine seeking masses with a cheery smile. She couldn't help but think to herself how lucky those two were having found each other and a smile crossed her lips as she silently credited herself for introducing them. What she saw when she opened the door was far from what she expected.
The coffee shop was unusually slow, there was only one table filled where a young couple sat drinking espresso. Sonny was the end of the counter talking intensely to Will who was standing across from him leaning against his study table. Sonny was talking at will, not so much to him as he accented his every word with a pointed finger at Wills chest. Will was leaning against the table, his arms were crossed and his face stern in disgust as he analyzed every word that Sonny appeared to be barking at him. Abi inched a little closer to the counter to see if she could hear what had her cousins so clearly upset. She'd never seen Will and Sonny argue before and hardened herself with worry as she listened in.
"You can't be serious with this?!" spat Will "We've gone over this time and time again. I cannot have this discussion one more time." Will threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.
"So I have no say in this, Will gets what Will wants, end of story?" questioned Sonny.
"In this case, Yes. End of story."
"So what I want doesn't matter. My opinion doesn't count?"
"Come on, I'm not saying that and you know it. I'm just saying…you know…when it comes to this..." Will smiles coyly at Sonny and shrugs "…you're wrong."
"Wrong?"
"Yeah, wrong." Will said as he stood up tall with his chin forward, crossing his arms again defiantly, and stepping a little too far into Sonnys personal space.
Sonny eyed the cocky smile on his boyfriends face as Will closed the distance between them and was now chest to chest, as if daring Sonny to react. "Wrong, huh?" Sonny said as he slowly untied his apron, folded it neatly and sat it on the counter, never breaking eye contact with Will.
"Yup." Will spoke, popping the last letter of the word, "Wrong." he said poking Sonny in the chest with his finger for emphasis.
From a couple chairs away Abi watched the scene in front of her unfold, having gone unnoticed. She looked on as Will poked Sonny repeatedly in the chest emphasizing each poke with "Wrong". She felt her stomach clench and a wave of panic ran over her as she saw Sonnys back muscles tense up and his fists clench. She knew she had to speak up before something happened or harsh words were uttered that could not be taken back. Just as she opened her mouth to speak Sonny lunged at Will, wrapping his arms around Wills waist taking Will off his feet. Will flailed his arms trying to regain his balance but to no avail, Sonny was in complete control of his body. Will wrapped his arms around Sonnys neck, bracing himself for whatever was coming next. He'd forgotten briefly how strong Sonny was and immediately rethought his choice of provoking him.
Abigail stood up quickly and small let out a small scream, clutching her hand over her mouth. "Stop!" she yelled at the two men who were still oblivious to her presence.
Sonny gripped the back of Wills jeans in his hands as he walked Will over to the couch in the middle of the coffee shop. The couple in the corner table looked on in disbelief as Sonny hitched Will up slightly onto his shoulder with a small grunt. "Sonny, NO!" will protested as Sonny threw Will back first onto the couch with a thud, landing on top of Will and sending the couch sliding a foot across the floor with a high pitched scraping sound. As they landed on the couch Sonny shifted his position so he was on top of Will with Wills legs under him as he fought for possession of Wills right arm. Will was trapped under Sonnys weight and was trying desperately to push him off. "Sonny, don't….come on, man…Sonny. Sonny! Don't!"
"Wrong? Wrong?" Sonny menacingly asked as he grabbed Wills right wrist with both hands and wrestled it under his legs trapping it under his weight with the rest of Wills body. Sonny looked down at Will who was wedged in the cushions of the couch underneath him, defenseless against his attack. Sonny stared down at Wills panic stricken blue eyes and a maniacal smirk rose on his lips. He raised his hands and wiggled his fingers at his victim.
"Say I'm right." he commanded.
Will looked up and smiled innocently, still struggling under Sonnys captivity. "Say what?" he said as if unaware of what was being asked of him.
Sonny gritted his teeth and snarled. "Say. It. Now."
Will stilled himself. Furrowed his brow, and with as much resolve as he could muster in his current situation, he looked up at his assailant and said "Never."
Sonny smiled and set his hands into Wills ribs, tickling mercilessly as Will bucked and wiggled uncontrollably underneath him. The couch scooted along the floor as their bodies shifted and jostled. The cushion underneath Will worked its way out from under Will during the scuffle allowing Will to get both arms free. He pushed up on Sonnys chest trying to stop the onslaught of tickling. Sonny shifted his weight forward and once again was in control, he trapped Wills arm over his head and began tickling Wills armpit.
"Sonny, please…" Will said breathlessly, fighting off the giggles of a six year girl. "Please, stop. Stop, I'm gonna pee. Please, I give. I give."
Sonny relented and sat up with his left hand pressing down on Wills chest. "Say it."
Will collapsed under Sonnys pressure, "Okay, Okay….let..me..catch..my breath."
"Say it." Sonny ordered. He could feel Wills muscles tense up under him and he knew what was coming.
Will looked up again at Sonny, smiled big and whispered, "Never".
Just as Sonny was about to set into his boyfriend again, he felt his body lunge hard to side. "Get off him! Stop!" Abigail screamed as she hit Sonny on the back with her purse, slapping with her other hand. "Stop fighting! Stop! Stop!" she continued.
"Abigail? Where the hell did you come from?" "Hey!... Easy!... Ouch! What hell is in that thing? Sonny asked trying to get out of the way of Abigails blows.
Will jumped up and grabbed Abigails arms. "Abi! It's okay. Relax, it's okay." Will spoke with a calming tone trying to reassure his cousin. He pulled her into a hug, "We were just messing around, everything's fine. It's okay."
Abigails heart raced and her body shook as Will held her. She looked up at Will who was smiling, "What?" she asked with a confused tone. "You were screaming, he..he was punching you." She looked over at Sonny who was sitting on the arm of the couch rubbing the back of his shoulder, stretching his neck back and forth.
"I was laughing not screaming, he was tickling me."
"We were just messing around, Abigail. Really." Sonny said as he got up from the couch and walked over to where Will and Abigail were standing. "Besides," he said as he straightened the collar if Wills shirt, placing a small kiss on Wills lips "I could never hurt someone so cute."
"Well. Thanks for scaring the you know what out of me guys." Abigail, picked up her purse and set it on the counter. "So, then what was that argument about when I came in then?"
"Argument?" Will asked he and Abigail sat back down at his booth.
Sonny picked the couch cushion off the ground and set it back in place. He scooted the couch back to its proper place and brushed off the cushions with his hand. As he turned to head back to the front of the coffee shop he noticed the young couple in the corner table staring at him. He smiled and walked over to them. "Can I get you guys another espresso?" he asked. The couple looked up at the barista, who had apparently just assaulted a customer, with bewildered looks that silently asked "What the hell was that?" Sonny looked over to where Will and Abigail were sitting and then back to the couple. "Oh, that. Umm… yeah. Sorry about that." He thought for a second how to explain the tickle fight that just occurred in the middle of his shop. He pointed his thumb in Wills direction, smiled at the couple and said "He didn't tip me."
Will scooted over in the booth as Sonny sat down next to him. "So, Abi wants to know what our argument was about." Will stated as he put his arm around Sonnys shoulder.
"Argument, huh?" asked Sonny looking at Will and smiling. Sonny reached over and took Abigails hand in his. "Really Abigail, it was nothing. Don't worry about it."
"No, I think we should tell her." Will spoke up, "Maybe she can be the deciding vote and we van finally put this behind us"
"Will, jesus..." muttered Sonny "…let it go."
"Nope, were doing this." Will turned to Abigail "Oh, and Abi, it wasn't an argument. It's more like a fundamental, ideological difference."
Sonny craned his head toward Will "Really?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yep" Will continued as Abigail looked on in utter confusion. "See Abi, when Sonny and I moved into our new place together we agreed on everything. Everything! We liked the same sheets, same pillows, same food, same restaurants, same table settings, glasses, bath mats, TV shows, music, movies..Everything!" Wills voice was getting an excited pitch to it as he rambled off his list, he stopped and took a breath and went on, "Everything, Abigail. Everything. Until..."
Abigail looked over at Sonny who had his face buried in his palms slowly shaking his head. She looked back to Will worriedly and asked "Until? Until what?"
Will took his arm off of Sonnys shoulder and slid over to the corner of the booth, "I can't.. Abi. I just… I can't."
Abigail could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes and forced herself to suppress them. She wanted to be strong for her friends and help them through whatever was coming between them in this way. "Please just tell, me" she pleaded "I can help, just tell me what you can't agree on." Nothing came from the other side of the booth except silence. She looked at Will who was leaning against the side of the booth, muttering "I can't" to himself over and over then glanced back to see Sonny still shaking his head in his hands.
"Guys, please." She pleaded again.
More silence. Then…
"PEANUT BUTTER!" Sonny blurted out suddenly.
"What?" asked Abigail softly, positive she'd misunderstood.
"Peanut butter." Sonny said again softly, head still in hands.
"Peanut butter?" she sighed.
"I like crunchy, he likes smooth." came from the corner of the booth "It's tearing us apart."
"Peanut butter!?" Abigail confirmed.
Sonny looked up from his palms to Abigail "Yes, peanut butter. Help us choose, please." he begged
"Crunchy rips the bread."
Will slid over to in the booth until he was right next to Sonny "and smooth feels like baby food. I need texture Abi, texture."
Abigail looked at the two of them in astonishment, her mouth wide open. After all they've been through, all the crap that they dealt with while finding their way to each other. After Gabi, Nick, the wedding, and little Arianna this is what their problems are now? Peanut butter. She closed her mouth and actually thought about the ridiculous question in front of her. Smooth or Crunchy?
"Uhm, well… I guess…" she cleared her throat as Will and Sonny leaned forward on the table in anticipation "...I guess it doesn't matter to me as long as it's "Skippy"
"WHAT!?" Will and Sonny spoke in unison.
"Skippy" Abigail said "I like Skippy brand. What do you buy?"
"JIF!" they said once again in unison looking at Abigail with a look of surprise combined with disgust.
Abigail suddenly felt defensive "Well, I guess as long it's on soft white bread, it doesn't matter right?"
The boys looked at each other and then back to Abigail "Wheat." they said.
Abigail fiddled with her bracelets awkwardly "Gra…"
"Strawberry." they said before she could even finish stating her jelly preference, shaking their heads in disapproval.
"I think you should go." said Sonny.
Abigail grabbed her purse and slid out of the booth, she walked to the door of the coffee shop in exaggerated anger then stopped midway. She slowly walked back to the booth, leaned down and looked Will and Sonny in the eyes, "Buy two jars, idiots". She turned and walked away.
Will called out to her as she reached the door "See you next Sunday?"
"Yep." and she waved back at them over her head.
Will put his arm back around Sonny and pulled him in close for a kiss. "Skippy" he laughed and shook his head. "Hah, Skippy." said Sonny and he returned to his place behind the counter as Will turned back to his books.
The couple in the corner table got up and returned their cups to Sonny at the counter. "Thanks" said Sonny "Come back soon." The man pulled a $10 bill from his pocket held it up making sure Sonny could see it and placed it in the tip jar on the counter.