Day 5 - Mistletoe
Will Horton and Paul Narita
"You're standing under the mistletoe," Will's kid sister Allie said with a giggle.
Will looked up and then at Paul who was standing about two inches away from him. Sure enough, they were positioned right under a sprig of mistletoe strategically placed in the doorway of The Brady Pub.
"That means you have to kiss!" Will's brother and Allie's twin Johnny chimed in. "Kiss. Kiss. Kiss."
"But they're boys," Theo Carver said as Will and Paul looked everywhere but at each other.
"Kiss. Kiss. Kiss," Johnny and Allie had begun to chant.
Will sighed. "You three go scram! Now," he said.
"But Will -"
"No buts, Allie, please go," Will said and the kids groaned but took off running towards the adults.
"Saved by the bell, right?" Paul said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Right," Will said hurriedly. "I mean it would be weird to kiss you."
"Wait, weird?"
"I mean… You know what I mean!" Will said, flustered now.
"No, I don't think I do."
"Well, you're Sonny's-"
"Ex-boyfriend. We were over a lifetime ago."
"But he loved you. Sonny loved you and -"
"He loved you too. But remember, he left us both so -"
"I know … So - so are you saying we should kiss?"
Paul shrugged. "Well, we've done it before…"
"That's how the trouble all started…"
"You're right. Why open another can of worms because of some stupid old tradition or superstition or whatever this amounts to?"
"Exactly," Will said. Still, he and Paul both hovered under the mistletoe, not daring to move, each silently debating the consequences of kissing each other again after all of this time.
"Will-" Paul started.
"Paul-" Will said at the same time.
They looked at each other and laughed. "You first," Paul said.
"No, you."
"Okay, well, I was just thinking you know, with Sonny being gone - his choice - he couldn't possibly begrudge us a kiss."
"Yeah you're right." Will saw the kids staring at them expectantly, as well as some of their adult friends and family members. "And we wouldn't want to disappoint our audience, now would we?"
"No, definitely not," Paul agreed. The guys both leaned in for a kiss at the same time, crystal blue eyes riveted on smoky brown ones. Will's hands came up to knot in the fabric of Paul's baseball jacket and they stood there, lips moving and exploring each other's, for what could have been two seconds or two minutes.
When they finally parted, they received enthusiastic applause from everyone there. "I give you both a 10 for technique and pure hotness," Abby whispered as she passed by them.
They didn't say anything, just looked at each other covertly and then hurried in opposite directions. Paul slid into a booth with John and Brady as Will joined his mom, and the kids, including little Ari, and Theo and Ciara at a table.
Every so often, when they thought the other wasn't looking, Paul and Will would sneak a glance at the other. However, one time, their eyes did meet and they both smiled at each other, a new awareness between them very evident.