To make up for not noticing what he went through the past few months, Will's family hounded him now. Sami, Marlena, and John invited themselves over throughout the evening. Bringing food or drinks, Marlena even arriving with groceries to fill Will's refrigerator several times over.
And that was all within one day.
Paul wasn't far from Will's side either although his presence was much more welcome. He spent the night at Will's again. This time sleeping on the couch instead of on the floor while Will once again fell asleep in Ari's bed with her.
The boxes with Sonny's things were stacked near the door. Will wanted to take Ari to deliver them to Sonny but he wasn't up to another confrontation yet.
He also didn't know if he wanted Ari to see Sonny's face yet either. It must be a bruised mess by now. But it wasn't like Ari hadn't seen Sonny get his face smashed by Paul. There could be a learning moment about the consequences of fighting.
Or so Will hoped.
When Will woke in the morning, it was around his normal time before the sun rose. He left Ari in her bed with a kiss to the forehead. He saw Paul sleeping on the couch and left him with a kiss to his forehead as well.
Will went into the bedroom and began turning it back into his room. Filling the void Sonny's junk took up. Spreading his clothes out in the closet, lining up his shoes just the way he liked. Even finding the pictures he once had hanging on the walls before Sonny decided to redecorate.
The noise Will made moving things around woke Paul. After hammering a nail in the wall, Will peeked his head out of his room and saw Paul stirring awake.
"Good morning," Will said when he saw Paul sit up.
"Hi," Paul greeted, rubbing his sleep-swollen eyes and looking all too adorable.
Will didn't care Paul was barely awake, they both probably had morning breath, or that they were supposed to take things slow.
Paul was too precious not to kiss.
Will tossed everything in his hands aside, moved into the front room, and straddled Paul's lap. He ran his hands through Paul's hair and pulled him into a kiss.
Kissing and kissing and kissing until they were both panting. Will pulled back, gave Paul a wide grin, and slipped back into his room.
Paul watched him go, easing back into his pillow and crossing his arms behind his head.
It was good to be home.
After getting Ari on the bus, and only dealing with minimum amounts of attitude over Paul being there, Will and Paul left for the hospital. Marlena secured a spot for Isak's team of scientists to check Will over.
Even with the early hour neither Will nor Paul was surprised to find Sami, John, Marlena, and even Isak waiting at the entrance to the hospital.
After checking in with the hospital administration, they went to a small room to wait for further instructions.
Will hadn't had anything to eat or drink since dinnertime the night before. And he let everyone know how uncomfortable it was.
Paul held Will's hand and tried to distract him while they waited. All while John stood outside the room with his arms crossed like a bodyguard. Sami, meanwhile, terrified the nurses every time they came to check up on Will.
Marlena and Isak went upstairs to speak with the hospital board. Isak making a grand production of writing more zeros than Will had ever seen on a check for them.
What he referred to as a simple donation as a thank you for allowing his team to use the hospital facilities.
"You must give damn good head," Sami commented as Isak and Marlena left the room. "That was a hell of a lot of money, Will."
"Gee, thanks, Mom," Will said in a huff, adjusting on the uncomfortable hospital bed and glaring at her.
Paul, a little taken aback by the amount Isak planned to donate himself, gave Sami a reproachful look.
"Will's worth any amount of money."
Sami rolled her eyes at both the sentiment and the cheesy smiles Will and Paul shared after he said it.
"I'm just saying, for a man Will's know like a week to give up that much money? No one's that generous for a mere friend."
"He spent a thousand dollars on flowers after knowing me less than a day," Will pointed out. "I doubt he cares what he spends."
"He'll write it off on his taxes anyway," Paul added to end the conversation.
He didn't want to think about Will with someone rich, handsome, and successful anyway. At least when Will was with Sonny Paul knew he'd come out on top in any comparison.
Will pulled Paul closer by the arm, holding Paul's forearm tight to his chest. Paul smiled at the gesture, moving as close as possible to sit on the bed with him.
Sami watched the sight with a slight smile.
"I'm gonna call the nanny," Sami stated while standing up. "The kids should be getting up about now anyway."
"Tell them I said hi," Will urged, thankful his mom was leaving.
He loved her, he did. But small doses of Sami Brady went a long way.
Once they were alone, John going with Sami with a small mention of finding the cafeteria, Paul sat on Will's bed. The two faced each other, hands entwined, eyes locked.
"This is a little different than the last time we were in this position," Paul said with a sad smile.
"Yeah," Will whispered, looking away from Paul.
Remembered sitting at Paul's hospital bed, insides warring with what he wanted and what he was told to do. Poor Paul, as always, screwed over in the drama surrounding Will and Sonny.
"Have I mentioned lately how sorry I am for what I did to you?" Will asked, eyes on Paul's hands and fingers. He sighed before bringing Paul's palm to his mouth and kissing it. "For leaving you and hurting you. How can you be so kind to me, especially in a hospital, after the way I treated you?"
"I know you're sorry. Just like I know this isn't your fault."
"It is, though," Will argued, keeping Paul's hand close to his face. Pressing the back of it to his cheek. "If I handled things with Sonny the right way to begin with none of this would have happened. I made a mess of everything when I came back to Salem. I shouldn't have ever agreed to try things when I never wanted to back then. I shouldn't have moved in with him or gotten his hopes up. I should have put a stop to everything so he wouldn't have had any hope my memories would do anything."
"Will, you can't blame yourself for this."
"All I wanted was you and I didn't do anything properly and you were the one I hurt in the end. Paul, you were physically hurting and I made everything worse when I should have been at your side. I wanted to be at your side."
"I know you did," Paul turned his palm over so he was cupping Will's cheek. "I know and if it makes you feel better, I forgive you. I forgive you and now, all I want to focus on is getting you better."
"And if they don't find anything wrong with me?"
"Then we'll deal with it, together."
Will nodded, nuzzling Paul's hand.
Before they could say anything else, a team of doctors came to begin Will's testing. They started off small with blood samples, an MRI, and a CAT scan. After, they brought Will back to his small room and prepped him for a lumbar puncture.
Paul held Will's hand as they extracted his cerebral spinal fluid and sent it for analysis. Will had to lie perfectly flat for an hour afterward. Paul distracting and entertaining him. Sami and John returned with food for Paul, teasing Will who was starving and couldn't eat anytime soon.
Marlena and Isak came back as well halfway through Will's imposed hour lie-down.
Doctors came and went, taking more blood samples and asking Will question after question.
Once Will was able to move again, he didn't get to leave. An anesthesiologist and a team of neurosurgeons took him away for a cerebral angiogram.
Paul wouldn't let him leave without a kiss and a promise to see him when he gets back.
"So," Sami said as everyone settled once Will left, "I know why I'm here. Mom and John are obvious. Paul's about a step away from worshiping the ground Will walks on. But, Casper the Friendly Ghost, what the hell are you here for?"
Paul, John, Marlena, and Sami all looked at Isak expectantly.
Isak, meanwhile, didn't realize Sami was even talking to him.
"Me?" Isak asked, pointing to himself.
"Who else?" Sami wondered.
"I am not ghost," Isak responded giving Sami an odd look.
"It's a joke, dear," Marlena took pity on him. "She's saying you're pale."
"Oh," Isak said, glancing at his own hands before shrugging. "What was question?"
"Why. Are. You. Here?" Sami said loudly, articulating every word unnecessarily.
Isak looked at Marlena and asked in a faux whisper, "Are you sure she Will's mamma?"
Paul and John both chuckled, relaxing for the first time since the doctors began testing Will.
Sami sputtered, offended.
"Listen here you albino molerat," Sami started before Marlena cut her off.
"Sami, enough."
Isak cleared his throat, crossing one long leg.
"I am here to support friend. Also, I pay for visit and my employees all working on Will."
"Don't you have a whole corporation to run?" Sami asked with crossed arms and narrowed eyes.
"I'm boss. I do nothing now. That is why I'm boss."
"Speaking of that," John interrupted them before Sami could continue their back and forth. "What are you doing about Sonny?"
Isak pulled two phones out of his suit jacket pocket and said, "I will check."
He tapped away at both phones, making hmm sounds every few seconds, mumbling under his breath in Swedish.
After a few minutes, his phone rang and he answered. Speaking in rapid-fire Swedish for a few moments before his other phone rang too. He switched to the other phone, this time using English.
"Ja, yes, yes, hmm, no, no. I see, ja. You are sure? Ugh, no, yeah, thank you. Bye."
Isak hung up one phone, switching to the other and hanging up after a few moments.
"And?" Sami asked when Isak scrolled through one phone.
"And I do not get to fire Sonny. Lawyers say can't fire over personal fight. Also, would get sued for telling Sonny only Will can give him job if fire now. But, I will find ways to make him miserable at work."
John deflated a bit. Marlena comforting him with a consoling rub to his back. Paul couldn't deny he was disappointed too. It didn't sit right with him that Sonny could still get his dream job at the end of all this.
"Whatever happened to the guy Sonny paid to screw with the serum?" Sami wondered. The news Sonny wasn't getting fired saddened her.
"We tried looking for him," John told her. "He skipped town after getting the money from Sonny."
"Smart man," Marlena commented. "But, it would be easier if he was here. He might have some clue what's going on with Will. It doesn't make any sense the serum is still messing around with his mind after all these months."
"I hire best researchers and doctors," Isak said, back to scrolling through his phone. "They will fix William."
"You know, some things you can't fix by throwing money at it?" Paul said in a dry voice. Although, he wanted more than anything to believe Isak was right.
"Ja," Isak said without looking away from his phone. "But money makes easier."
A few hours later, Will was wheeled back into the same small room in a hospital bed. Will finished with his angiogram and was groggy from the general anesthesia.
He also had to lie flat on his back again, this time for two hours.
"Hey," Paul greeted, rushing to Will's side. "How do you feel?"
"Like I have to pee," Will complained and started to wiggle on the bed.
"Hey, none of that," Paul pushed down on Will's right leg. "You know you need to lie still."
A team of Isak's scientists and doctors, as well as a team of neurosurgeons, crowded the small room.
"What did you find?" Marlena asked, clutching John's hand in her left one, Sami's hand in her right.
Dr. Karlsson, whom they met at Isak's building, answered. She zigzagged her way to a spot on the wall to showcase x-rays.
"This is the results of our angiogram. Here is an x-ray of William's blood vessels."
She used her finger to point to the arteries in Will's neck.
"These all look good. No blockages, no calcium build-ups. But,"
The woman pointed to the blood vessels in Will's brain.
"This is what we hypothesize is the cause of William's strange behavior. It would explain his susceptibility to suggestion, the nosebleeds, everything. As far as we can tell, the serum targeted this area of William's brain. In the process, it weakened the artery's walls, causing it to bulge."
The woman followed a series of lines to show the difference.
"This blood vessel is normal-sized. But here, you can see a bulge."
"Which means what?" Will asked, staring at the image of his brain with a frown.
"It means you have a brain aneurysm," the woman stated. "The entire team working on your case discussed it. We believe the best course of action is to remove it. There are risks, of course, especially since it's un-ruptured."
Will pressed his lips together. Groping to find Paul's hand and squeeze it as tight as he could.
"How would you remove it?" Marlena wondered. "Surely not surgery?"
"No, no, surgery," the woman said. "Endovascular coiling. It would be similar to the angiogram from today. Put a catheter into an artery near William's groin and up to the aneurysm in his brain. Send a small wire and use it to seal off the aneurysm from the artery. It would require three to five days in a hospital and about three to six weeks of recovery at home."
Will couldn't formulate any words. His mind was blank, entirely and completely blank. He looked from the surreal picture of his brain to Paul and back again.
"Hey, it's okay," Paul insisted, holding Will's hand in both of his. "This is a good thing. This is going to help you. It's no different than what they performed today, not really. This is fine."
"But, Ari," Will said after a time. "I can't be laid up recovering when Ari needs me and I can't take that much time to recover. How am I going to work? What if something goes wrong? What if this doesn't help anything? What if-?"
"What if gravity suddenly stops working and we all fly off into space?" Sami said, crossing her arms. "We can ask stupid questions too, Will. Do you not see everyone in this room? We've been waiting hours. Do you really think we aren't going to be there for you through every single step of this?"
Will gaped at his mother.
"Honestly, Will," Marlena said with a fond shake of her head. "We love you. Maybe we haven't shown it as much lately but we do. We'll all take care of you and Ari whenever you need us."
Even Isak said, "ja, yes, ridiculous William."
"You don't have to handle everything on your own anymore," Paul assured Will. He brought Will's hand to his lips and kissed the top of it.
"Oh," Will blinked a few times. "When would we do the coiling thing, then?"
"Tomorrow morning," the woman answered. "For now, you need to rest tonight. Tomorrow we work on getting you better."
"Right, thanks," Will said as the hoard of doctors left his room.
Isak said his farewell and followed after them.
Will whispered goodbye, eyes drifting shut before forcing them open.
"Close your eyes," Paul requested, stroking over Will's forehead and brows. "We'll be here when you wake up. Then I'll take you home."
"And you're all going to help me?" Will asked.
A chorus of yeses answered him.
"Then who wants to pick Ari up from the bus stop? And take Sonny his crap?" Will wondered before falling into a gentle sleep.
Sami, Marlena, and John went to pick up Ari. They took her home and helped her pack a few things of her own. Marlena and John volunteered to take Ari for a slumber party. A whole night for a trained psychologist to explain to Ari all the things that happened in her fathers' lives and what was inside Will's brain now.
After doing homework and stopping for a quick treat at an ice cream parlor, everyone headed back to pick up Will and Paul from the hospital.
"Daddy!" Ari greeted with a high-pitched squeal when Will got in the car. "I missed you! But Grammy and Grandma and Grandpa took me for ice cream. And we did my homework and I get a slumber party!"
"Wow," Will said, processing her excited chattering. "That sounds like a whole lot of fun. I wish I got ice cream and to have a slumber party."
"No boy's allowed," Ari insisted.
"What about me?" John questioned from the front seat. At a stop light, he turned back to look at Ari with an over the top look of shock.
"You're not a boy, silly," Ari giggled. "You're a Grandpa!"
"Yeah, Dad," Paul snickered from the passenger's seat next to him.
Ari gave Paul a sharp glare until Will linked their fingers and gave her a squeeze.
"What did you do in school today? Was it an art day or a music day?"
Ari rambled the whole rest of the car ride, kicking her feet back and forth from her car seat.
"Here we are," John interrupted Ari's play-by-play of her time on the playground.
The Kiriakis mansion
Will wasn't even surprised.
Sonny always stuck to what was familiar.
"This is where Daddy is?" Ari wondered as they all got out of the car except Sami.
John and Marlena already informed her she was not allowed to go inside. Not if they wanted to get out of the situation without any bloodshed.
"I told you he wouldn't be too far away," Will said, wincing at the pulling sensation near his right hip and groin area.
"I already called ahead," John declared, nudging a box into Paul's arms. Neither would let Will carry anything. "Just let me do all the talking."
Will and Paul hung near the back of the group, hoping to remain out of sight for the time being.
The butler let them inside. They stood in the front parlor, Ari plopping on the couch and making herself at home.
A few moments later, Victor, Adrienne, and Justin joined them.
"Sonny's not here," Justin said, the first one in the room. "He's still at work."
"So," Victor declared as he hobbled into the room. He eyed Will with blatant dislike, before looking at Paul. "You're really going to waste your time with something like this again, then?"
Paul, who always tried to be polite in all situations, frowned when he saw Will wince.
"With all due respect, sir, the only time Will and I have ever wasted is time spent with Sonny."
Will couldn't have stopped the lovesick look he gave Paul even if he wanted to.
Before Victor or Adrienne could reply, John cleared his throat and called a maid over.
"Show Will and Ari to Sonny's space and get someone to help carry these boxes, please."
"Come on, Ari," Will grabbed her hand. The two followed a butler and two maids out of the room.
Not before hearing John and Marlena's raised voices jumping to his and Paul's defense.
The servants did not lead them to Sonny's old room in the mansion. Instead, she led them outside and toward a tiny cottage. It was one room with a minuscule kitchen and bathroom. Will vaguely recalled the old gardener used to reside there.
"Well," Will said as the last box was delivered and the help retreated. It left only Will and Ari. "Here's where Sonny's staying."
"It's small," Ari commented, walking around the building with a wrinkle to her nose.
"Yeah," Will agreed. The room was Spartan with only a bed, a chest of drawers, and an old armchair for decoration.
It gave him an idea.
"Hey," Will gave Ari a smile. "Why don't we unpack Sonny's things for him, yeah? When he gets home he'll know you've been by to help him."
"Okay," Ari agreed.
Will put away Sonny's clothes. Hanging up his dry clean-wrapped suits in a meager closet while Ari unpacked Sonny's decorations.
Ari insisted they hang up all Sonny's pictures and put out all his knickknacks in the exact spot she demanded.
Once they were finished, the small room looked like Sonny.
"Do you want to leave him a note?" Will asked, finding a pad of paper and a pen.
Ari doodled a little heart and wrote her name.
"See," Will said as they left the cottage and headed back to the mansion. "Sonny is still pretty close. He just has his own place now. And if he's not busy you can see him whenever you want. Maybe even have sleepovers like you're gonna have with Grandma Marlena."
"I guess," Ari replied, swinging the hand entwined with Will's. "It's not the same, though. I liked it better when it was us three."
"I know you did," Will acknowledged. "But, Sonny and I can love you and take care of you without having to be together. You'll see."
"Daddy?" Ari asked as they neared the mansion. "Why doesn't Uncle Victor like you?"
"Victor hates Grammy and he thinks I'm just like her."
"Oh," Ari said. She didn't say anything else until they were back inside.
Everyone was right where they left them except this time they were in a tense silence.
"I'm ready to go," Will announced. Paul was by his side in mere seconds.
Ari gave Adrienne and Justin a hug goodbye. For Victor, she gave him a harsher glare than the one she reserved for Paul and declared, "don't you say mean things to my daddy again."
Ari tossed her hair over her shoulder, grabbed Will's hand, and stomped out of the mansion with her head held high.
John dropped Will and Paul back at Will's apartment. Without Ari, it gave them the night alone together. After Will complained of dying of hunger, Paul ordered them some takeout. Will hadn't eaten since the night before and was starving. Plus, he wouldn't get to eat again so he could go in for his procedure the next morning.
Which meant Paul decided to spoil them and ordered sushi from their favorite restaurant the next town over.
They sat on the ground in front of the coffee table at Will's apartment. A feast of sushi, tempura, soba noodle, and onigiri spread out in front of them.
Will eased his right leg straight out and sat close to Paul's side. The two teasingly feeding the other, popping a chopstick in the other's mouth with a laugh and smile.
They took a long time eating. Laughing and teasing, talking the way they once did before. Watching reruns of their favorite show, so at ease with the other nearby. Relaxed in a way neither had been in ages.
They both ignored Will's procedure and the chaos of their lives in the past few days without having to mention it.
Tonight was just them.
"It's probably weird to ask you to sleep here with me," Will gestured to his bed as he pulled down his comforter.
"You packed the pillow Sonny used," Paul pointed out. "It is a little weird, though, I guess. Well, here, why don't we do this?"
Paul and Will pulled the sheets off the bed, switching everything out. Will almost cried when Paul started the washing machine himself.
The two had already washed their faces and brushed their teeth. Will had an extra toothbrush on hand from a trip the other month to the dentist.
Will eased into bed. The incision on his hip was only about an inch long but it pulled whenever he moved.
When Paul walked back into the bedroom, Will patted a spot on the bed next to him. The two settled into their old sides of the bed easily. Something Will missed so much. He didn't realize how difficult it would be to adjust to sleeping on the wrong side of the bed.
It also didn't help Will shared the bed with the wrong man.
Will knew he shouldn't jump into anything with Paul. He should let them take their time, relearn the other, fall in love again. He knew he needed to give Ari time to adjust and recover from Sonny's departure. But, at the same time, Will couldn't imagine going a single night without Paul in his bed.
Will loved his daughter more than anything. If it came down to it, and he had to choose, he would pick Ari. Will also knew Paul would never let it come to that. Paul would find a way to make things work. He always did.
Paul, his great rescuer.
"What are you smiling about?" Paul asked, turning on his side to face Will.
"You," Will answered, smile even larger at the surprised but pleased expression on Paul's face. "Just you."
"What about me?" Paul wondered, relishing in the look in Will's eyes.
"You always seem to rescue me especially from myself."
"Well, you are your own worst enemy," Paul commented, wrinkling his nose when Will made a shocked squawk.
"Be that as it may," Will said with a fond eye roll, "thank you. I think we've established I don't do well without you around."
"You had some help this time," Paul said with a small frown before closing his eyes and refocusing. "But, I knew what I signed up for falling in love with you."
"Did you now?" Will asked, smile widening.
"Well," Paul rose up on his elbow, looking down at Will, "let's see. In the few years I've known you, you cheated on your husband. Blackmailed my mother. Schemed to get me to sleep with a bellboy. Died. Came back to life and had an Elvis impersonator as your father figure. Got us tied up in a mausoleum. Took what turned out to be a mind-controlling serum. Helped cover up a dead body. Got blackmailed. Dated someone you never wanted for months. Have a brain aneurysm. Oh, and you fooled around with a millionaire behind your boyfriends back.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I knew loving you would be a pain in the ass."
Paul leaned in closer to Will, hovering over him.
"But worth it. So, so worth it."
Will couldn't help the soft little sound of contentment he let out when Paul finally kissed him. He also couldn't help but pull Paul closer when he tried to back away.
Paul didn't put up much of a fight, though. He sank into the kiss. Hands spreading along Will's cheek and neck, sliding behind his head.
Will dragged his hands into Paul's thick hair, holding him close. Opening his mouth, flickering his tongue along Paul's lips.
Paul grunted when he felt Will's tongue teasing his lips. Paul hadn't gone without since he left Salem. He'd been with several men and the sex was good, great even. But none of them got his heart racing as fast as Will did with just a hint of a touch. None of them clouded Paul's head and made him lose all sense of control.
No one else ever had and no one else ever would.
Will slipped his hands to Paul's wide shoulders. He missed Paul as a person more than anything but god, did Will miss his body too.
Will yanked Paul closer, so his thick, muscular body was directly on top of him.
"Yes," Will sighed when he felt the familiar weight of Paul settled on him. Then he went right back to devouring Paul's mouth. Hands roaming, tongues touching, rubbing their lower bodies together.
Paul rucked the edge of Will's shirt up to his belly button. Thumb digging into the grooves he knew were along Will's hips. Lines and grooves Paul spent hours worshiping with his tongue, sinking his teeth into them as often as he could.
Will helped Paul pull his shirt off, tossing it somewhere. Will didn't know where and didn't care. All he cared about was getting Paul's mouth on any part of his body. He didn't even care which.
Paul moaned when he saw Will shirtless and out of breath. Chest rising and falling, flush spread all the way down to the edge of Will's sweatpants and beyond. Paul knew it led all the way to Will's cock and he couldn't wait.
It'd been months since they were together but it might as well have been several lifetimes.
Paul flashed Will a wide, confident grin before kissing along Will's neck. Nipping over a faded mark Paul knew Sonny didn't leave behind.
He left a trail of wet kisses all the way to Will's right nipple. Where Paul took his time, circling and sucking before pulling on it with his teeth. Lapping up every sound Will made, every desperate little gyration of his hips.
Paul pulled away when Will let out a sound a little more pained than pleasure.
"What?" Paul asked, straddling Will's hips.
"No, no, go back," Will threaded his fingers behind Paul's neck and pulled.
"What's wrong?" Paul demanded, face close to Will's.
"Nothing, it's nothing," Will dismissed. "Just the incision pulling. That's all."
"Oh, right," Paul frowned. He pulled on Will's threadbare sweatpants, watching them slide down Will's hips, catching on the tip of his erection.
Will's incision was small and red. Near his outer thigh and a few inches away from where his leg met his hip.
"I guess we'll have to be creative with this," Paul whispered with a wicked grin. He put one hand along Will's incision, holding the leg down. "Try not to move."
But telling Will not to do something was tantamount to torture. Under normal circumstances, Will could rarely follow directions on a good day. Telling him not to move when Paul's luscious mouth was all over him was nearly impossible.
Paul was counting on it.
Paul ran his tongue over every ridge and crevice of Will's abdominal muscles. He nuzzled the area above Will's groin, right where his pubic hair started. Breathing in Will's natural scent, smiling against Will's skin because Will could not keep his hips from moving.
It reminded Paul of another time in their relationship. Alone in Will's room at the Martin house, Paul wanted to see how long Will could go before touching him. Will failed so spectacularly. He didn't even last a minute. But Paul kept pressing and pressing until he eventually tied Will's hands together with a belt and fastened him to the headboard.
That night was by far one of their more memorable encounters.
Paul was hoping for an encore.
"Ah, ah, ah," Paul said, looking up at Will's flushed face. "You have to stop moving, baby. If you don't stop moving, we'll have to stop and go to bed."
Paul wrapped his hand around the base of Will's cock, holding it upward.
"You don't want that, do you?"
Will shook his head over and over.
"No, no. I'll be good. I'll be good."
"Oh, you are so good," Paul praised, stroking Will up and down, holding eye contact. "Look at how hard you are for me. Look at all that pearly liquid on your tip, hmm? What should I do with it?"
Will fisted his hands in the pillow underneath his head, toes curling as he tried with all his might not to move his damn hips.
"Paul, please," Will begged without a care to how pathetic and desperate he sounded.
"Hmm, I guess I could do this," Paul said before swiping his tongue along Will's tip. Making a large production of moaning at the taste.
He chuckled at Will's reaction. Watching Will throw his head back into the pillows, back arching and arm thrown over his eyes because he knew Will had a thing about watching.
Will loved watching Paul go down on him and it always helped get him off even quicker.
"Let me see your eyes, baby," Paul teased with the lightest, gentlest of commands. His breath ghosting over Will's cock, hand slowly jerking him.
Will shook his head. He was barely hanging on by a thread.
"Will," Paul said, tightening his grip on Will's dick.
Will could feel the familiar stirring in the back of his nose but it wasn't as intense as before. It didn't feel like when Sonny would demand he do something. Maybe because Will wanted to look. He wanted to see Paul swallowing his cock. He loved it in fact. He loved it when Paul bossed him around in bed. Will found it unbelievably sexy.
Will sniffed hard, hoping to stem any blood from running out and ruining their mood.
Paul recoiled when he heard the sniff. He almost forgot all about it. That since before he left Will was forced to do anything and everything someone ordered him to.
Paul didn't want to be one of those people, refused to be one of those people, especially while they were in bed. Paul still hadn't gathered the courage to ask Will what all Sonny forced him into while they were a couple.
"Hey," Will said, getting Paul's attention, bright blue eyes holding his gaze. "It's okay."
"Will, I never wanted to force-,"
"You didn't. I want this. You have no idea how long I've wanted this, Paul."
"Yeah?"
"How do you think I survived months with Sonny? I had to close my eyes and remember all the times we were together."
"Oh?" Paul's smile slid into something cockier.
"Uh-huh," Will nodded. "And if you don't get me off in the next few minutes, you're gonna be the one without the ability to move."
"In that case," Paul jerked Will off again, slow and steady. Spreading more of Will's precome to use as a lubricant. "What was your favorite memory?"
"Huh?" Will asked, blinking stupidly down at Paul, distracted by the perfect grip Paul used.
"When you were thinking about us together? Which memory did you use?"
"All of them," Will admitted without an ounce of shame. "All the times we fucked in the middle of the day. How often I'd ride your thick cock. How tight you'd feel around me when I'd get you on your hands and knees."
Paul raised one brow and used his tongue to follow a thick vein from the base of Will's cock to his tip.
"Fuck," Will's eyes fluttered shut. "But, when Sonny would – well- you know with him, a lot of the times I'd close my eyes and picture your old hotel room. Rolling around your sheets, fighting for control. Feeling so thoroughly fucked for the first time in my entire life."
"That's so hot," Paul mumbled before wrapping his lips around Will.
Mouth the perfect amount of suction as he bobbed up and down, cheeks hollowed.
"Oh, god," Will praised, hands digging in Paul's hair.
His hips wouldn't stop moving and the small amount of pain mixed with the perfect amount of pleasure from Paul was titillating.
Will wasn't going to last long. Not with Paul in his bed, Paul's lips on him, Paul's perfect, perfect mouth. One hand holding Will's right leg down so it wouldn't move anymore and the other cradling Will's balls.
"Paul, Paul, Paul, Paul," Will half moaned, half shouted before letting out a pained gasp and flooding Paul's mouth.
Paul swallowed the initial mouthful but choked a bit on the next blast. Semen slipping down his lips and chin as he pulled back, jerking Will through it all.
"Oh, god," Will said once he recovered and saw Paul.
He made grabby hands, encouraging Paul to get closer.
Paul rolled his eyes but loved how come-happy Will would get. The two kissed, Will chasing the taste of his own come out of Paul's mouth. Tongue slurping up all the mess over Paul's face.
Paul smiled at Will indulgently once they pulled away.
Will smiled back, hands reaching into the sweats Paul borrowed. Wrapping both hands around Paul's dick and pulling it free.
"Hey, I can do that," Paul insisted, straddling Will's hips again. "I just want to look at you."
Will gave Paul a fond smile before saying, "if you don't sit on my chest and feed me your dick I'm going to kill you."
Paul burst into laughter. Wiggling up to follow Will's directions and put one knee on either side of Will's neck.
He traced the tip of his dick along Will's bitten lips, smiling at Will chasing after him with his tongue.
"How do you want to do this?" Paul asked with a soft tone. "Slow? Fast?"
Will gave Paul a dry look.
"I want you to fuck my throat so hard I can barely talk tomorrow. Think you can handle that?"
Paul didn't need to be told twice.
He took a hold of Will's neck with one hand and his dick with the other, finding the best angle for everything to work.
Sliding in and out of Will's mouth, relishing the wet, slick sounds they made. Paul built up a speed, giving Will time to adjust. Then he really let loose.
Fucking his cock into the back of Will's throat, eyes rolling into the back of his head when Will would swallow him down.
It wasn't just the feeling of Will's tongue and his throat and spit soaked mouth around him, no. It was the look on Will's face. How utterly pleased Will looked as Paul fucked his throat harder and faster. Holding tight to the back of Will's head and slamming into him.
It was too much for Paul after so long without Will. He came faster than he wanted. Letting Will swallow everything up and jerking the last bits out, slapping his cock onto Will's lips.
Paul flopped on the bed next to Will, the two sweaty and sated.
"I missed that," Will confessed in a hoarse voice. "Missed you."
"You have no idea," Paul said in agreement, rolling on his side to pull Will closer.
The two shared several soft, meaningful kisses, eyes fluttering shut.
The sound of Will's cellphone blaring an obnoxious ring startled them.
Paul reached for it on the nightstand and rolled his eyes when he saw the name. He also raised his brows in surprise when Will answered it.
"Hello," Will said in a deep throat-aching voice.
"Hi," Sonny replied. "What's wrong with your voice?"
"Nothing," Will said with a small smile, putting the call on speaker so Paul could listen too. "Why are you calling? I told you I didn't want anything to do with you."
Sonny scoffed. Will and Paul could both picture the look of condescending annoyance on Sonny's face.
"Will, you're being ridiculous."
"No, I am not," Will insisted in a calm, rational voice. "You hired someone to create a dangerous, mind-altering drug to use on me. You treated me like crap for months. You've been filling my daughter's head with your disgusting, biased opinions. No, I am not being ridiculous. What was ridiculous was putting up with you when I should have run screaming the other direction."
"Will!"
"Don't 'Will' me. I have been miserable and suffering for months. Paul has been miserable and suffering for months. And you knew it. You knew it and didn't care at all."
"Stop being dramatic. I didn't do anything to you or Paul. You don't even know what that serum did to you."
"Yeah, I do," Will insisted, grabbing Paul's hand in a tight squeeze. "I know it altered with my choices. I know I've been suffering from nosebleeds and you wouldn't let me go to a doctor. Maybe if you had I would have found out I have a brain aneurysm sooner, Sonny. But you didn't. You didn't care about anyone but yourself in all of this. Well, that's over with, now.
"Ari and I already brought you your things. She saw where you live. Soon she'll realize I'd never take the two of you from each other even if you are a selfish asshole. And for the record, my voice is like this because I just finished choking on Paul's dick.
"Goodnight, Sonny."
A few seconds after Will disconnected the call, Paul grabbed him by the neck and pulled him into a kiss.
"I love you so much," Paul said when they pulled apart.
"I love you too," Will replied, snuggling into Paul's arms. "No matter what happens, no matter how many things are wrong with my brain. I will always love you, Paul Narita."
Paul fell asleep with a smile on his face and Will tucked into his arms, peaceful at last.
By the time Will and Paul arrived at the hospital the next morning, there was a group outside to greet them. Sami, Marlena, and John as well as Ari and even Brady, of all people.
"Daddy," Ari cheered, running and jumping into Will's arms.
"Hey, baby. I missed you last night," Will told her squeezing her tight.
"I missed you too, Daddy," Ari put her hand over Will's ear and whispered, "Grandma and Grammy don't read my stories as good as you."
"Don't worry," Marlena said ignoring Ari's faux whisper and saying, "we already called the school and let them know she'd be late today."
"Yes, someone would not go to school without seeing you first," Sami informed him. She handed Ari a stack of papers, "don't forget these."
"I made them for you, Daddy. So you wouldn't be scared in the hospital."
Will put Ari back on the floor and looked over the drawings. Each was a brightly drawn picture of something Will and Ari did together. One was them at the park. One was them playing toys. One showed Will cooking dinner and Ari playing at the counter.
The last one showed Will lying on a couch and Ari standing over him with another man. At first glance, Will assumed it was Sonny. But, whenever Ari drew Sonny she always gave him a tie. This man didn't have a tie.
"What's this picture about?" Will asked her.
"That's you and me and him," Ari gestured to Paul. "When your brain is all better and you come home, he can help me take care of you."
Will beamed, pulling Ari up into another tight hug. He could see Paul's grin out of the corner of his eye too.
Will's life wasn't perfect but it was a start.