August 1, 2018

Oh, no. He's hot.

Paul stared at Will, smile frozen on his face. He could see his father giving him an odd look out of the corner of his eye but he couldn't look away.

Will licked his lips, before sticking his hand out for Paul to shake.

"Uh – nice to meet you too," Paul replied, holding onto Will's hand for a moment too long.

When Will pulled his hand back, Paul's palm felt warm and tingly.

"I missed this kid," John squeezed Will tight against him, rocking him back and forth before kissing the top of his head.

"I missed you too," Will laughed, leaning his head on John's shoulder.

"We pulled off the perfect surprise," John said. "I haven't seen your grandmother this happy in a long time."

"I'm glad you convinced me to come," Will admitted.

Paul watched his father and Will interact with a bewildered smile. He heard many stories about the infamous Will but it was another matter entirely to see him in the flesh.

And what lovely flesh he had.

"You haven't been back to Salem in a long time, right?" Paul asked, trying to clear his thoughts. Focus on what he did know about Will already.

"No, not at all," Will said. The most adorable expression came on his face when started thinking. His nose scrunched up and his lips pursed. "I haven't been back in, wow, eleven years."

"It's been that long?" John questioned before nodding. "I guess it has."

"I don't think anyone's ever told me why you left Salem," Paul said. "I know both your parents are here and I always wondered…"

Paul trailed off when Will smiled even wider than before.

"I was a problem child," Will declared, lifting his eyebrows. "My parents sent me away for my own good. I went off to Zurich with Carrie and Austin and I loved it. So, I never came back."

"Even though we begged," John added, nudging Will.

"I was happy there," Will shrugged, smile dimming. "It was a novelty at the time."

Paul felt it deep in his chest when Will stopped smiling.

"But," Will put his head back on John's shoulder, "someone convinced me to visit."

"Long visit, right?" John confirmed. "I need you here the whole month."

"Yeah, yeah, you get me for all 31 days of August," Will promised.

"That's a pretty long time," Paul said with a smile.

"Long enough to get to know – mmm – Salem again," Will said with a teasing look in his eyes.

Paul got the feeling Will meant something else entirely. Someone else agreed. They cleared their throat, elbowing Paul.

Sonny

Paul almost forgot his boyfriend was there.

"Oh – Sonny – right – sorry, Will, this is Sonny. Sonny, Will," Paul flustered to introduce them.

"Hello," Sonny attempted to crush Will's hand when they shook.

"Hi," Will said, giving him an odd look when he took his hand back.

"Sonny Kiriakis, Titan board member," Sonny listed.

"Okay," Will tried not to laugh. He looked at John briefly, the two sharing a smirk.

"And what is it you do?" Sonny questioned.

"I'm an electronic trading analyst for UBS Wealth Management." At the blank look on Sonny's face, Will added, "I do a lot of math."

"They were alright with you taking the time off?" John asked.

"They don't care where I am as long as I get my stuff done," Will replied. He pointed between John and Paul. "You two work together with Uncle Steve, right?"

"Steve's your uncle too?" Paul wondered.

"Too?" Will lifted one brow.

"Steve Johnson is my uncle," Sonny declared. "My mother's brother."

"Oh, cool. He's married to my aunt. Well, great aunt. My grandpa's sister if we have to be technical," Will explained.

"I thought you just called John your grandpa?" Sonny asked almost a little desperately.

"Hmm? Just a habit," Will shrugged. "He's been with my grandma so long and I always did when I was younger."

Will looked at John again.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Don't be stupid, kid," John cuffed Will on the back of the head in almost the same spot Eric did earlier. "You were my first grandbaby even if not by blood. And it's been awful without you here."

"Aw," Will squeezed John's bicep and cooed. "I love you too."

John shoved Will away with a snort.

"I'm getting back to my bride. Paul," John said but pointed at Will. "Make sure this one doesn't get into any trouble."

"I would nev – oh, I can't even say that with a straight face."

John laughed as he walked away.

"So," Will said once left alone with Paul and Sonny. "How do you two know each other?"

"Oh – uh – well, Sonny and I-," Paul looked wide-eyed between Will and Sonny, head twisting back and forth.

"Paul is my boyfriend," Sonny stated, linking their arms together.

"Really?" Will lifted his brows, amused. "I wouldn't have guessed that."

"Why not?" Sonny asked in a clipped tone.

Will shrugged.

"I don't know, a vibe, I guess. Plus, you kind of look alike. And I just thought, since this is Salem, it wouldn't surprise me if you were related."

Paul opened and closed his mouth while Sonny made a strange squawking sound.

"Anyway," Will continued, ignoring their reactions. "How long have you been together?"

"A few days," Paul said.

While at the same time, Sonny said, "years."

Will watched with growing amusement as they squabbled.

"What? No, we haven't," Paul looked at Sonny incredulously.

"We might not have been together the whole time but it still counts."

"No, it doesn't. I wanted to be with you and you were too busy waffling between me and Brian."

"Who's Brian?" Will asked, eyes moving side to side watching them.

They both ignored him.

"What did you want me to do? I had a whole life before you came to Salem. And, most of the past few years, I wasn't with Brian, not really."

"Well, you certainly weren't with me either. Last week when I asked you to the party tonight, you finally made a decision and said yes. So, no, we haven't been together for years. In fact, we haven't even been together for a week."

"That really clarified things for me, gentlemen, thank you," Will covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to laugh.

"It doesn't matter when we started dating. All that matters is we're together," Sonny glanced at Paul before looking pointedly at Will. "Happy and together with so much history between us."

Before anyone could say anything else, Marlena rushed back to Will's side.

She hugged him tight again, pressing one palm to his cheek.

"I still can't believe you're here," she gushed. "I hate only seeing you for a few days at a time on vacation."

"Well, you get me all month," Will promised. He closed his eyes, leaning into her hand before pulling away. "No more face touching. Do you know how many people have pinched my cheeks in the last hour?"

"I know, sweetheart," Marlena replied. "You're used to your other cheeks getting all the attention."

"Grandma!" Will gasped before bursting into laughter.

Paul found the blush on his cheeks and the flush from his laughter very attractive.

"What? Like I don't know what goes on in your life? Carrie tells me these things," Marlena teased. "Like that one boyfriend, the one in high school? What was his name?"

Will covered his face with his hands, response muffled.

"Julian and do we have to talk about this in front of strangers?"

"It's just Paul," Marlena dismissed. "He's family. Now, what did Austin catch Julian doing to you when you were 16? Something to do with your butt and his phone?"

"Stop it," Will begged around a laugh.

Marlena pulled him into another hug, swaying Will side to side.

"You're beautiful and I love you and I don't ever want you to change, especially your cute little hiney."

Will outright giggled when Marlena gently swatted him on the butt.

"Now," Marlena turned to face Paul. "Oh, Sonny, I didn't see you there."

"Seems to be going around," Sonny mumbled under his breath.

"I take it you've met Will?" she asked, gazing at Will with unmitigated pride.

"Yes," Sonny said in a flat tone.

"Good," Marlena either didn't hear his tone of voice or chose to ignore it. "Now, Paul, Will hasn't been in Salem in so long. And I know how overwhelming the place can be particularly when so many relatives are going to hound him. Do you think you can show him around again? Help him acclimate himself to Salem?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Paul responded. He took a large gulp of air when Will beamed at him.

"Excellent, you are too sweet," Marlena praised. "I'm going to steal Will now but why don't the two of you meet in the morning? You are staying at the penthouse, right, Will?"

"That was the plan," Will replied, arm around Marlena's waist.

"Good, Paul, why don't you get there around, let's say, 9?"

"Okay, yeah, great," Paul licked his lips several times, heart pounding in his chest when Will batted his lashes.

"We'll see you then," Marlena pulled Will away.

"Bye," Will looked over his shoulder.

He smirked proudly when he noticed Paul's eyes had to quickly slip back up from where they once stared at his butt.

Will also laughed when he heard Sonny berating Paul as soon as they walked away.

Marlena knocked her head close to Will's, whispering in his ear.

"Don't think I didn't notice those eyes you were flinging at Paul, young man."

"Who?" Will asked with an innocent smile. "Me?"

"Mmm hmm," Marlena teased. "Well, you can thank me for asking him to show you around later."

"Aw, Grandma," Will squeezed her hip. "You do love me."

"What can I say?" Marlena shrugged. "I have a good feeling about you and Paul."