CHAPTER 1

Sonny did not feel like going to this meeting. He was eager to get started on transforming the coffee house. As proud and excited as he was, Sonny still felt bad about leaving his boyfriend.

After his mother got arrested, and he confessed his crime to Justin, Will had been completely stressed out. Justin assured him that he was working on it and he would have her out soon. But Sonny knew Will. And he knew that he was still blaming himself.

As Sonny pulled into his parking space he remembered how Will was when he left. He was frantically pacing around the apartment, claiming to be tidying up Ari's stuff. Sonny tilted his head back and sighed at how Will spent a lot of time pacing around the apartment these days. He projects his anxiety on his daughter.

Sonny and Will share everything. They share a bed. They share the chores. They share food. They share turns taking care of Arianna. But lately, Will has been scared about his mom. Sonny can tell that he's scared he'll lose her. He thinks that that's the reason Will has been hovering over Arianna. They don't share her in that way. Sonny cares so much about that little girl. He loves Arianna. But Will hasn't wanted to share her lately.

Shaking his head, Sonny opens the door of his car and stretches out. He makes a mental note to do something about that. Will is worried about his mom and daughter. Sonny is worried about Will. He has barely left the apartment all week.

Neither would Sonny if Brent and Chad had insisted on rescheduling this meeting.

"Hey, look who's here!" Chad called Sonny over from behind the counter. Sonny nodded his head at his business partner who was in the middle of chatting with Brent. He tried to shake Will out of his mind, but it was no use. In Sonny's mind, Will was a permanent resident.

"Sonny! Haven't seen you around," Brent said as Sonny walked over.

"Well, you know, I've been busy. A lot of stuff going on."

"Boyfriend stuff? Must be hard for Will with his mom still in jail."

Sonny paused, not knowing what to say to that. Of course it was hard on Will! "Yes….It's been hard on us both."

"Alright, guys. Enough chit chat," Chad said banging the table. "We were just about to get into Brent's designs, and then, of course what our bottom line is gonna look like after this."

"Ok, so here's what I was just showing Chad, Sonny. Now it doesn't have to be final…"

Sonny paid little attention. Although he was interested, his thoughts wondered back to his boyfriend. How could Sonny show Will that he was not alone when he barely got any time alone. Between Will's make-up classes and Sonny working on transforming the coffee house and taking care of little Arianna, the couple had little to no time for their relationship. Other than sweet words exchanged in passing and a few chaste kisses, they had not been acting like a real couple lately. Maybe this was the problem, Sonny thought. Perhaps they desperately needed the distraction. No. Not a distraction. A expression of love, and a united front.

"So, what do you think, Sonny?"

"Hmm?"

"I said what do you think of added expense," Brent said. "I know you didn't wanna go over your set budget, at least not yet…But I think this could add a great -"

"Ya, no. Um, it sounds doable. And if you think it's best then-"

"Oh, awesome! Sonny, you're great. Man, really. Chad, see, I told you Sonny would be cool enough to get into it."

"Oh, yea. He's…really cool."

"I knew he wouldn't be afraid to push boundaries. From what I remember, he was always up for risks."

"Right," Sonny said, only half-listening.

"Listen, Brent. Why don't you file these papers and put them with the boxes and stuff that's in our office."

"Sounds good. I'll be right back." Brent grinned at Sonny and then turned to walk over to the office.

"Sonny. Man. You have got a handful there." Chad smirked and folded his arms around his chest. He raised his eyebrows but Sonny didn't exactly know why.

"What do you mean? Are you talking about Brent?" Sonny asked.

"Who else? You can't tell me you didn't hear that!" Chad did his best at mockingly imitating Brent's voice. "Sonny you are great! Sonny isn't afraid to push boundaries. Sonny takes risks. I mean, come on, man."

"Chad, you make it sound like Brent was hitting on me." Sonny wasn't appreachiating his implications. Sonny had already dealt with a similar situation with Brian. He was clearly looking for a realationship-or at least a hook-up- with him. But his heart belonged to Will. The more Brian pushed, the more obvious and more pathetic he became. Sonny eventually had to deal with him directly and squash all of Brian's hopes. He had to because he could see that it was bothering Will. Sonny noticed Will's body language when he was around Brian. He could tell that his boyfriend was uncomfortable. And when Sonny noticed, he had to act. No more ignoring Brian's clear advances, because nobody hurts Sonny Kiriakis' boyfriend.

"Dude, that guy is clearly into you. He may be playing it passive-aggressive right now, but trust me. Brent's got his sights set. He knows you're with Will, right?"

"Of course he knows I'm with Will. The whole town knows I'm committed to him."

"Ok, good. Just be careful, Sonny. This little dance may seem innocent but it can bruise some people's feelings."

"Thanks for the advice, Chad…Listen, I'm working all day tomorrow. Do you mind if I head out now and catch you later?"

"Ya, no problem. I can handle things here. I actually have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I should get my hours in today… Not to worry, it's just a routine thing."

"Alright. Well, thanks. And good luck tomorrow." Sonny gave Chad a friendly pat on the shoulder as he started to leave. He saw Brent coming out of the office and sped up his pace to the door. Not that he was avoiding Brent, but he wanted to avoid an awkward encounter. And after what Chad had just suggested, any encounter with Brent right now would be awkward.

As Sonny found his car and proceeded to drive back home, he wondered about what Chad had said. He knew his mother had been trying to push him and Brent together, but she was just being over-protective and nosy. He had written off anything more from Brent as his mother's insisting delusions. But, maybe, they were founded in reality.

Brent had asked him to go with him to the 4th of July rave with him, which he did because Will had insisted he go. He had asked him to go with him on the hiking trip to Bryce. Will had pushed him to go on that too. If Brent really was trying to get closer to Sonny, then why would Will encourage Sonny to spend more time with him? No. Chad had to be wrong. Will obviously saw a friend who would get his boyfriend out of the house and interested in different things. Will kept giving him the 'obligation speech' that Sonny shouldn't feel obligated to stay confined to the apartment and baby duty. Sonny thought he had dealt with that, but now he was questioning everything.

When he finally arrived, he was so excited to see his boyfriend. He hadn't stop thinking of Will since he left and desperately needed to see his beautiful smile that made him weak at times. But when he walked into their apartment, he found Will without a smile. He was sitting on the couch trying to untangle what-looked-to-be a knot in the strings of Arianna's blanket.

"Hey," Sonny said because Will didn't acknowledge his entry.

"Hi. The frills of this thing got all tangled in the wash. It's been winning this battle for the past twenty minutes. But I've almost got it."

"Well, good. I'm glad to see you can handle it." Sonny walked over behind the couch and leaned over his shoulder. He gently placed a kiss to Will's cheek. He expected a kiss or al little something in return, but Will didn't oblige.

"So, what did Chad need you for? He asked.

Sonny meandered over to the fridge to get a drink. "Oh, he just wanted to reschedule that meeting with Brent. We were just going over some boring finance stuff."

And then, he saw it. Sonny looked over to Will who obviously thought he wouldn't be looking. Will's back stiffened at the mention of Brent's name. He put down Ari's blanket and clenched his fist.

"So, you had a meeting with Brent…and Chad, right."

"Yes," Sonny offered tentatively.

"Good. That's good."

"Is it?"

"Yea," Will said standing up and walking towards Sonny. "I'm glad you can go and meet with your friends and your business partners. You know. I know that makes you happy. And it makes me happy to see you happy."

"Well, you know. It makes me happy to come home to you." Sonny leans forward to plant a light kiss on Will's lips. It was short but sweet. Just like most of their kisses recently.

As Will turned away, Sonny was putting pieces together. Will was worried sick about everything going on in his life. The last thing he wanted was to worry about his boyfriend. Brent was making Will as uncomfortable as Brian used to. Sonny could see that now. Once he knew Chad had been there too he was okay.

But Will had been pushing Sonny to do what he thought he needed. Even though Will, himself, was not warm to the idea of Sonny hanging out so much with Brent. Did Will really think that it was better that Sonny spend time with a flirtatious adventurous guy than spend time in his apartment with his boring, worried boyfriend? If this was true, then Sonny was going to change that.