"Hi Sonny. It's me again. Brent said he stopped by and you guys didn't answer. So just… call me back whenever you get this. You're starting to freak me out a little bit dude. And I have
something very important to tell you. So… call me. Dork." 8:03 AM
1:39 PM
"Hi, this is Sonny Kiriakis and unfortunately I wasn't able to- Are you really gonna go with that? –What do you mean? It's the standard.- Exactly, add your personality to it, old man- Hey! It's MY cellphone… oh who am I kidding? This is Will Horton's Sonny *snickers* and I wasn't able to… oh just leave a message when you h-*beep*"
"Man, I don't know what kind of sex marathon you're running with Will, but I really need to talk to you NOW. So, just, I don't know… put a ring on it and come… I mean, step outside so we can talk, it's REALLY important."
Chad was getting annoyed, and secretly a little worried, at his friends' lack of response, so he decided to use, knowing full-well the spectacle he might come across (hopefully no pun intended), the emergency key Will and Sonny gave him to their new apartment. He didn't have much time, nor patience, so when he didn't see anybody at the living room, kitchen or dining room, he tried to narrow his sight as much as possible, man up and walk towards the bedroom… at least they will be really embarrassed… "Oh my god… do I really want to know how they do it? No… oh my god… I can't do this, I can't stumble upon my friends having sex… but I really need to talk to Son- wait," Chad had walked to a spot right outside the bedroom's door, and he didn't hear any of the sounds he knew are innate to sex. It was all so quiet. So quiet it was loud. The rush of nervousness, anxiety and… fear, pulled him to open the door. What he saw pulled him to his knees, desperate for the phone, desperate to reach his best friends and… and… what could he do? 911!? My two friends were sh…
"It wasn't a dream. You went to bed." Sonny said, as he and Will were walking towards their deserted apartment. "Do you remember? You went to the bedroom-"
"Yeah, but then I came back." Will said, trying to hold his confusion.
"No, you didn't come back." Sonny said, as a matter-of-factly. "Just try to remember: you went to the bedroom…"
"I went to the bedroom, I looked up and…" Will's confusion was now at ease, and desperation began to eat his face "…and Brian was there."
"Did you see the same thing I saw?"
Will began to remember, already at the edge of tears. "He had a gun. Sonny, I didn't come back."
"Oh my god." Sonny said, rushing towards the room to their apartment.
"Sonny, what's happening?" Will's voice was drifting off as Sonny got inside their apartment, except it wasn't their apartment. It was an ER waiting room. The loud wailing of sirens was complemented by the monotonous voice of a woman who chanted:
Two victims coming in, both critical. Victim one, male. Estimated early-20s. Single gunshot wound to the chest. Victim two, male. Estimated late-teens, early-20s. Single gunshot to the abdomen. Both unresponsive, time unknown with massive blood loss.
Sonny was frozen in the middle of the room, his eyes following the moving table that carried his own sleeping body, three attendees surrounding him. A doctor coming from inside the OR rushing towards him. "What do we got?"
"Two gunshot victims. Unknown down time, at least 12 hours." A nurse said, rushing by the doctor's side as they entered the ER.
"How the hell is he still alive? Okay, OR, let's go." Sonny heard the doctor gasp.
The next thing Sonny saw was Will, also surrounded by attendees and doctors, he too, was asleep. "Will." They didn't stop for anything as they got inside the OR, the doors shutting after them. "Hey! Help him! Will! Please help him!" Sonny ran after Will, pushing the doors open. Instead of the OR he was expecting, he was at the lake, Will standing in front of him, watching him with mixed emotions in his eyes.
"It's my fault." Sonny said, walking towards Will, the latter doing same. They held each other, Sonny cradling his head in Will's shoulder and Will running his fingers soothingly in Sonny's dark locks. "It's all my fault."
Sonny was standing in the recovery isle, where post-op patients would rest, conscious or otherwise. He was staring at an African-American man with an artificial breather connected to him. Will walked towards him. "I don't understand what's happening. I mean, this has to be a dream. "
Sonny moved on from the man and started checking the rest of the patients. "I don't think so."
"Will you just stop and talk to me. What are you looking for?"
"Us."
Just as Will was about to talk, he noticed that past Sonny, Chad stood, a desperate look in his face. "Chad!" Will spoke, a mix of relief and anxiety as he rushed to his friend. He, at the same time, rushed towards Will. Or so he thought.
"Gabi! Thank God you're here." Gabi, at the brink of tears and her voice already breaking, rushed to hug her friend.
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I came as soon as I got your message. How are they?" Chad and Gabi stood right in front of each other, Will standing next to them, staring at how neither of them noticed his presence.
"Guys, I'm right here." Will said, desperate tone taking over.
"Um… Will got out of surgery." Chad started.
"Chad!" Will yelled.
"And Sonny still hasn't." Chad's voice quivering as Gabi started to sob, both of them in a new hug, still taking through their mild sobs. "Gabs!" Will turned to Sonny. "They can't see me."
"I can." Sonny said, looking at Will and then turning his head right in front. Will walked over and saw himself, knocked out in a hospital bed, breather, IV and all those shenanigans plugged to his body. Will stood there, slowly walking towards his own body. Sonny standing right in his spot.
"Where are we?" Will said, standing next to Sonny. They'd just entered one of the many hospital rooms, none of them led of course to any room, each led to a certain different scenario. The door they'd just opened led to classroom, no more than 10 year-old students silently sitting down as each read a book. 20 heads looking down, at least 11 different shades of hair.
"I think I know." Sonny said, eyes fixated on the middle row of desks, the second of them. A brown-haired boy. Diligently reading the second part of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Will followed Sonny's sight, baby blue eyes landing on rich brown hair he didn't take two seconds to recognized. He'd recognized that hair in his sleep.
"Sonny."
Will's train of thought was interrupted when a slender blonde woman stepped inside the class, an obviously nervous blonde boy walking after her. "Good morning, Ms. Hastings." The class chanted.
"Morning, class. Sit." The students obeyed. "Class, today we've got something special. Please, I would like you to meet your new classmate. She looked at the boy and signaled him to step forward. "Please, don't be nervous. This is one of the best classes we have. So, why don't you tell us your name, please?"
"Will." Sonny spoke, shocked at how no different those sapphires in the boy's face shone just as brightly as his Will. He'd recognized those eyes in his sleep. Will, however, was still fixed in Sonny's toddler self, he was no longer reading and his big chocolate brown eyes were staring at the front of the class, at himself's toddler self. "What the hell is going on, Son?"
The boy didn't have so much fluency as Sonny as he responded in a stutter. "W-William Ho-rton." The class remained nonplused at the boy; a few, however, smothered a laugh. This caused Will to blush powerfully, his even creamier-than-now complexion gave away the crimson shade as if it were paint. The teacher took notice and quickly moved to take the boy off the spot.
"Okay, William, you can go sit in that empty desk." She pointed at a desk in the fourth column, the fourth desk. He did as he was told. "Okay class let's cont…"
The bell broke both boys from their respective reveries. Will was completely marveled at how toddler Sonny had that incredible cool, chill but also diligent persona as his older self. He was captivated at how the boy's big brown eyes had that special sparkle that no other eyes he'd ever seen had. Sonny, for one, was spell-bounded by toddler Will's innocence. Adult Will still had a sense of that innocence to him, but this Will was pure innocence, untainted completely. Sonny was completely charmed, and a little saddened, by how shy and nervous toddler Will was. He wanted to go and comfort him, get him a teddy bear and let him watch cartoons on his cell (Oh right, no cell.) Somehow, this little boy reminded him so much of what he would grow up to be, the man who holds his heart.
"Okay, class, you're dismissed. Please go to the cafeteria, it's lunchtime." The teacher spoke, looking at all the kids rushing towards the cafeteria. Will's eyes following little Sonny rushing out with all his friends. Sonny's eyes fixed at how little Will was just sitting in his desk, not moving at all. He was dying to go over there and talk to him, but he knew that it would serve for nothing. Sonny looked over at adult Will, who was now also fixated in his toddler self, Will's eyes were full of self consciousness, pity and just a bit of shame and empathy. Sonny then looked at the teacher, whose eyes were also astraying to toddler Will, her mouth was beginning to open to talk to him, but she was cut by a cheery voice. "Hey!"
Little Sonny had made his way back to the classroom, he walked over to little Will's desk and sat down at the desk in front, his body looking at Will. "Hi, I'm Jackson. I'm sorry I didn't say hello to you before, but you looked like you didn't want any attention, so I didn't say anything. But I can say hello to you now, can't I?"
Little Will was completely taken aback by little Sonny's introduction, he didn't know what to do, but for some reason he didn't want the boy to leave so he just nodded. Will and Sonny were completely captivated by the scene. Will at how perfect his Sonny was, even when little; and Sonny at how vulnerable his Will was as a kid.
The teacher stood up and walked to the exit. "Jackson, please keep William company, you both have my permission to have lunch in here if you want. Jackson, I trust you, but please, no funny business, so that means no bringing Tad in here, okay?"
Little Sonny turned quickly and nodded at his teacher. The teacher left.
"So, William, you have a cool name." Little Sonny said, opening the Middle Eastern designed lunchbox his father had gotten him in one of his trips.
"Thank you." Little Will said, his nervous somehow finding ease. His eyes dancing at the window, trying to not look at the food Sonny was taking out.
Adult Will took notice of that and blushed, he knew what little Will was doing.
Adult Sonny also noticed and turned to ask Will. Will answered before asked. "When I was about that age, my mom first met EJ, and you know the story so… she often forgot to fix my lunch." The sting that sent to Sonny's heart was magnified by looking at how little Will was trying not to stare at little Sonny's lunch. Knowing Will, Sonny knew that that was to avoid the other person the feeling he should share.
Once little Sonny had taken a sandwich, an apple and a carton of juice out, he stopped moving. He was just staring at little Will and how his eyes seemed to cloud slightly. "Hey, don't you wanna eat with me?"
Little Will turned quickly and nodded his head. "I-I'm just not…"
"Here." Adult Will and Sonny felt their eyes water when little Sonny put his sandwich in front of little Will. "I had a big breakfast, so I'm good with the apple. You can have my sandwich; my mom makes the best sandwiches ever." Little Will shook his head, refusing to take the sandwich. Little Sonny, not unlike his adult self, refused to take no for an answer.
"C'mon. Look, what do you say if we share it, and next time, whenever you can, we can share yours. That way we can always have a different sandwich. What do you say?"
Little Will nodded and little Sonny separated the sandwich in two. He gave Will the biggest part. "Try it. I promise you'll like it."
Little Will stared at little Sonny a few seconds and accepted the sandwich. "Thank you."
"No problem buddy." Little Sonny said before munching his apple, staring at the weird blush in William's cheeks. Must be nothing.
Adult Will however knew perfectly what that blush meant. Even if toddler Will was very far from knowing it himself. Will blushed himself as he shook softly his head in a grin. He looked over at Sonny, who was also smiling softly and looking at him. "What are you laughing about?"
"You took less than ten minutes to own my heart completely." Will said, looking at his younger self, who was eating while discreetly staring at Sonny's warm chocolate eyes and nodding to one of the other boy's telling.
"Yeah?" Sonny said, gazing at his toddler self, telling Will of the time he went to Dubai for the first time. He knew what the boy was feeling. "You took less than a minute to do so yourself.
Will didn't know what to make of that, so he just let Sonny explain himself. "The minute I saw you, I couldn't stop looking at your eyes. I know because," He looked at his wide eyed boyfriend, the awe in his features taking completely over. "It's also how long it took me to fall in love with you back when we first met."
Will couldn't do anything, he couldn't breathe, speak, he tried to, but the only thing that got out was a futile attempt of "Gawd…" and he slammed his lips against Sonny's. Tender kisses that spilled love all over themselves. The love they felt completely embracing them, smothering them as their eyes were closed.
When they opened them, however…
"Sonny. Now where are we?"
