Chapter 7

Tonight's the night. Sonny thought as he did one last sweep of the bedroom. Everything looked just as he wanted it too. The bedroom atmosphere had to be perfect for tonight. Finally feeling satisfied, he carefully closed the door as if he needed to preserve the bedroom as it was at this moment.

He walked over to Ari's bassinet to find her awake but silent. She must know that something big was happening tonight and she curious to find out what. She stared at Sonny when he came into view.

"Are you excited Ari?" Sonny asked playfully. He placed his hand inside the bassinet. "I know I'm excited. But I'm also a little nervous. I'm proposing to your dad tonight." He could have sworn he saw Arianna give a little smile. Finally, Sonny had put his plan in motion. A lot that had happened since he first had the idea of asking Will to marry him. Sami's trial had started immediately after jury selection. He and Will were both called to testify. Then, Nick somehow got involved. Will had been really upset about that. Then, on top of that, Sonny had made the unfortunate discovery that Gabi was sleeping with the guy! Sonny was so busy trying to keep Gabi in check that he had no time to think about a proposal. Sonny also disliked the idea of proposing while at the same time keeping a secret from Will.

But that was over. Sonny thought, About time. He and Will had gone through so much together. But Sonny knew that Will's insecurities were still haunting him. When Will had found out that Sonny had lied to him, he hadn't waited for an explanation. Sonny knew that was because of Will's history with lying. Being true to someone was not something that Will was really familiar with. But that was gonna change tonight. Sonny had to make Will see how he was committed and that Will didn't need to fear Sonny abandoning him.

To Sonny's relief, Gabi walked in. "Hey, I'm here."

"Good. Good," Sonny said clapping his hands together. Honestly, he had been worried that Gabi would be the loose end in his plan. "So what's happening with Ari tonight?"

Gabi's eyebrows scrunched together. She put her hands on her hips and said, "What are you talking about? I thought you wanted me stay here and watch Ari while you and Will have your night out."

"No! Gabi," Sonny said exasperated. "You have to take Ari somewhere away from here."

"Why? If I have to watch Ari, why can't I sit in the comfort of my own apartment?"

"Because, Gabi," Sonny expressed slowly as if it were obvious and he was explaining this to a child. "When two people get engaged, it is expected that they will come back home and have sex. And it would be nice if you and Will's daughter were not here for that."

Gabi scoffed. "Fine, I'll take her to the pub and we'll have some dinner."

"No, you can't do that either."

"Ok," she said a little annoyed. "Are there any other places that we shouldn't be tonight?"

She was being sarcastic, but Sonny answered her question. "Yes, as a matter of fact. It would be great if you could stay away from the apartment, the pub, the pier, and Horton Town Square."

"My goodness, what is this a super-date?"

"You could say that."

"I hope after all this trouble Will says yes." Gabi walked over to Arianna to pick her up.

Sonny went over to grab her stroller. "That's what I'm hoping," Sonny said softly to himself. Unfortunately, Gabi heard him.

"Oh, Sonny. I was joking! Of course Will is gonna say yes."

He helped settle Ari in the stroller and drooped a pink blanket on top of her. "Well, I did joke about it once, and he got really upset. You know, cause of his parents and how many marriages they've been through. He said I should not joke about that stuff."

"Well, this time you're not joking, Sonny."

"No, but it's pretty clear what he think about marriage. I don't know if he'll be willing to…you know…"

"Sonny," Gabi stopped him. "Look. Will loves you. Anyone who sees you two together has no doubt of that. Or that you guys were meant to share your lives together. Will's not stupid. He won't refuse you."

"Thanks Gabi." Her faith in their relationship actually eased Sonny's nerves a little.

"Now, we are going to get out of here, so you can start one of the best evenings of your life. So don't screw it up." She warned. With that she pushed Ari's stroller out the door.

The time on his phone turned to 6:35. Will's class ended five minutes ago and Sonny was waiting outside the Economics Building. With every second that passed, Sonny's heart beat a little faster. He was anxious to see Will.

Finally, he spotted a blonde head emerge from the building and start to walk toward him. His heart lifted when he saw him. Will gave him a smile and Sonny felt a little less anxious.

"Hey!" Will called to him. "What are you doing here? Is there everything okay?"

"Yes. Everything's fine. No worries." Will stopped right in front of him. "I just thought we could have a little us time."

"Us time? You mean without Ari?"

Sonny rubbed his hands and nodded. "I had Gabi take Ari for the evening. So we have time to focus on us. If-if that's okay with you."

"No, yea. I think it's a great idea. I mean, I love Ari but I could use a break. To just…be alone with you."

"I agree. Can we take a walk?" Sonny gestured to the walkway.

"Did you have a destination in mind?" Will asked curiously.

"Actually I have several," Sonny said through a large smile.

"Alright, then," Will said excitedly. "Lead the way." Sonny slipped his hand into Will's and pulled him in the direction of the first location.

After about ten minutes, they arrived at the pier. "Wow," said Will. "I haven't been here in ages." Will walked over to the bench and sat down to look out at the water on the docks.

"Yea, we don't walk through this way much anymore." Sonny walked past the bench to stand on Will's right. "But I remember this pier very well. I was standing right here when I met you." He looked over at Will who smiled and nodded.

"That's right. I saw you with Abigail."

"I can't believe you thought I was with her, or that she was cheating on Chad with me."

"I didn't know who you were!" Will said defensively. They both started laughing.

"Well, you were being a good friend," Sonny said softly. He started walking closer to Will. "And you would come to be a very good friend to me as well." Sonny sat down next to him.

"Well, I knew you were nice and some people in this town weren't treating you like you deserved."

"No," Sonny said as he grabbed Will's hand. "It was more than that." Will squeezed his hand and turned his head to look at Sonny.

"Well, you were a wonderful friend to me too." Will dropped his gaze. "Even when you were probably frustrated with me… you never gave up on me."

"Hey, you know, I was letting you figure it out on your own, but offering support when it seemed you needed it. And I hope I wasn't too overbearing."

"No, you were so good." Will brought Sonny's hand to his lips. "I must have been annoying as hell, though."

"You were worth the wait." At that point, the sun had started to set. The sky had turned a reddish orange that was reflected on the water. Sonny hoped they would be at the pier in time to watch the sunset. Sonny didn't even realize how long they had been sitting there until it began to get dark.

The frozen yogurt they had gotten at the Horton Town Square went quickly. Since it was Will's favorite flavor and he had gotten the bigger spoon, the bowl was empty when they reached the little alcove with the bench.

"And here," Sonny exclaimed as he walked through the vine-covered archway, "is where I found you after the explosions, I tried to kiss you, and we had our first fight."

"Ugh, that seems so stupid in hindsight," Will said running his hand through his hair in frustration. "You wanted to kiss me. I wanted to kiss you. But I was just too…"

"Stupid?" Sonny offered.

"Yes!" Will sat down on the little green bench.

"I'll admit, I was a little out of line when I yelled at you," Sonny said as he sat down and put his arm around Will.

"No, you were right. I just wasn't ready to listen," Will interrupted and then laid his head on Sonny's shoulder.

Sonny continued, "Well, in any case, I was a little hurt that you rejected me so fiercely, and that's why I lashed out, but-"

"I'm sorry-"

"Would you let me finish?" Will mimed zipping up his lips. Sonny smiled and then said, "but I was so glad when we realized it was a misunderstanding. And then decided to give us a chance."

"I was happy too." Sonny gave Will's forehead a quick kiss. "Just like when I found out you didn't tell me about Gabi and Nick. It was a misunderstanding. And once I found out why you did what you did we made up."

"That fight also happened here," Sonny pointed out.

"It did." Will stayed where he was for a few seconds and then sat up. "You know, we've had a lot of fights here."

"I guess so," Sonny agreed.

"I don't wanna stay here, then. We might get into another fight."

Sonny laughed. "Alright," he said standing up. He offered Will his hand. "There's one more place I wanna take you."

Will gave Sonny his hand. Once Will stood up, they started walking away from the Town Square.

They rounded a corner and arrived at The Brady Pub. "Recognize this place?" Sonny asked jokingly.

"Haha. Oh, yea. I've been here once or twice," Will said, playing along.

Sonny moved in front of the door so that they were in the light of the outside lamp. He turned to face Will so that his back was to the entrance door. Then, he put his hands on Will's shoulders and moved them both a little to his right. Now they were in front of the fence. "This is where we had our first real kiss," he said. "Do you remember?"

Will nodded. "Like it was yesterday. I was so nervous."

"You were nervous?" Sonny exclaimed. "My heart was beating out of my chest."

Will smiled. "Well, mine was too…But I was less nervous when you said all those sweet things."

"They were true." Sonny stared into Will's big blue eyes. "You were upset-so upset that you cancelled our date- because my mom said you weren't good enough for me. And all I said was that she was wrong. Because she doesn't know you like I do."

Will scoffed. "Well, I kind of proved her right after that, don't you think? I mean, I complicated your life farther than she had ever pictured."

"Hey, I love my-somewhat complicated life. Because I'm with you." Sonny stepped closer to Will. "Haven't I proven to you how much I love our life. And how little I care about what others think."

"Yea, you have." Will laughed, "And you've been so great. Dealing with me and my baby-"

"Hey, she may be your baby," Sonny said as he wrapped his arms around Will, "but you are my baby."

Will let out a small chuckle. "Aw, that's so sweet," he said leaning into Sonny's embrace.

"I mean it. You take care of her. And I'll take care of you." Sonny placed a quick kiss on his lips.

Will recoiled from the kiss with confusion. "Then, who's gonna take care of you?" he asked.

"You will."

"Me? So I'm supposed to take care of you and Ari. That's a lot of pressure. I don't know if I can handle all that."

"Stop being silly. I'm trying to be serious!"

Will brought up his hand and placed it on Sonny's shoulder. "I'm sorry. But I know you're serious. I know how much you love me." Will gave his shoulder a little squeeze.

"That's just it Will, I want you to know that I am always going to be there for you. I want you to see how committed I am to you and Ari. I want you to understand that being apart from you would be my worst nightmare."

Sonny grabbed Will's hand that was sitting on his shoulder and held it in both of his. "Will, I need you to know that I want to be by your side every minute of everyday." He squeezed Will's hand tightly, and Will just looked deep into Sonny's eyes, listening and absorbing everything he was saying. "I never want you to be afraid that you'll lose me. Because I never want to lose you."

Will shook his head so slowly, Sonny almost missed it. His eyes started welling up. Sonny thought he better do this now. So he took a deep breath, transferred Will's hand into just his left hand, and lowered onto one knee.

Will gasped when he did that. But Sonny continued, "Will, I love you with all of my heart and soul. I love Ari. And I love our life. I want us to stay this happy, and this in love forever. And if it's possible, I want to grow even happier with you. I want to publically show you and everybody else how much I love you and how much I desperately want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Sonny could see tears clearly forming in Will's eyes. He was not smiling, but staring at Sonny so intently, yet with so much love. Sonny pulled a ring box out of his right pocket, opened it and said, "William Horton, will you marry me?"

At first Will said nothing. He just swallowed hard and continued to stare at Sonny. Even in the dim light with his eyes all watery and puffy, Will looked gorgeous. Sonny didn't say a word. He just waited for Will to answer. When he didn't, Sonny felt his heart drop. Maybe he was right. Will was not ready. How could he be? How could Sonny not have seen this? He felt so stupid.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Will." Sonny dropped his gaze. "I-I thought-"

Suddenly, Will tightened his hold on Sonny's left hand. "Yes," he said.

"Wh-what?"

"I said yes, Sonny. Yes, I will marry you." Sonny didn't wait. He quickly stood up and pulled Will into a kiss. He wrapped his arms around him and held him so tightly as though he would never let go. Will grabbed the back of Sonny's head and pulled his mouth closer. Then, he ran his fingers through his dark hair.

When finally, they stopped, Sonny asked through gasps of breath, "Why…did it take you...so long…to answer?"

"I was thinking it over," Will answered, rubbing Sonny's back. "I was thinking about everything you said. And I'm not afraid Sonny. I'm not. I trust you. And I want to marry you."

Sonny smiled so big he didn't know if he could ever stop. Will was his fiancé. He and Will were going to be married. He kissed him again, this time slower and more passionately.

"Now what?" Will asked grinning.

"Well, Gabi and Ari just so happen to be away from the apartment this evening."

Will shook his head and smiled at him. "Sonny, you thought of everything."

The End