Sonny and Will had made good use of the few hours that they finally had to themselves. The first hour and a half was spent locked away in the back office of the club. They boys hadn't managed to be very discrete during their midday romp and had occasionally knocked things off the desk and bits of furniture against the walls. On two occasions Meredith, one of the waitresses at the club had heard some of the commotion while passing the door. On the first occasion she became somewhat worried and concerned about what might be going on in there.
"Hello? Is everything OK in there?" She asked as she knocked at the door and got no response. The noise immediately ceased so she continued on with her work. Another half hour had passed and as she walked by again she heard another thud followed by what sounded like a stainless steel mug or ashtray falling off a table onto the floor. She banged on the door again pleading for a response and attempted to turn the door handle. "Hello? Mr Kiriakis?" She leaned her head against the door and heard some muffled 'Shhhhh' noises mixed with shuffling and giggling. Once the penny had dropped the now-red-faced Meredith scuttled away a little embarrassed about what she might have just walked in on. The door was locked though. Sonny thought this time around he'd better say something.
"Everything … woah .. everything is fin …. fine in here, Meredith …" Sonny had managed to shout out but not before Will had pushed him back down onto the office couch. She hadn't heard him though as she'd already bolted back into the club area so as to not disturb them any longer.
The boys had managed to get some not-so-personal time in also. They'd spent the afternoon together walking around window shopping and grabbing a late lunch. They'd certainly built up an appetite. These were the things that Will and Sonny should be doing. Not fighting off convicted murderers or kidnappers and getting sliced at with knives or knocked around by Police Officers. It was truly one of the finest afternoons they'd spent recently.
Lucas had dropped off Arianna at around five PM and despite Sonny making a few sneaky phone calls to Wills Grandma Caroline and to his father they had a relatively quiet evening in front of the TV with Ari. After tucking her into bed Will took a quick shower as Sonny got ready for bed. His mind was still a little amped about what was going to happen tomorrow at the Brady Pub and he was a bunch of different emotions all bundled up in a ball. The emotion he managed to come to rest of every time though was happy. Just happy.
Will on the other hand, who was completely oblivious to Sonnys plan was in the shower reminiscing about the fun they had in the club office earlier that afternoon. Once he was done with his shower and managed to wind himself back up again he burst into the bedroom ready for round two. To his disappointment he found Sonny fast asleep. He hadn't the heart to wake him though. He stood in the doorway and admired the sight before him feeling forever grateful that this man was the man he got to share his bed with every night. Catching himself out in a moment of super-cheesy-romantic thoughts he smiled, flicked the light off and hopped into bed trying not to wake Sonny. He mustn't have realized how tired he truly was because he too, was out like a light.
The next morning was fairly routine. Breakfast. Baby. Kisses. Shower. Will was just settling at his desk with Ari happily playing with her soft toys in her play pen. Sonny was putting on the finishing touches to his fake going-to-work outfit. Had to make things look normal. Truth be told he would only spend an hour at the club before heading to the Brady Pub to help get things organized and hopefully get in a quick chat with Grandma Caroline. He had after all not ended up talking to her face to face as Sami offered to do that for him. A nice gesture though he thought and he felt it the right thing to do.
"Right! That's me babe. I'll see you both at around 12ish?" Sonny said as he gathered his things together. Will hadn't noticed Sonny carrying his backpack which he didn't usually take to work. Said backpack containing a smart change of 'Will you marry me' clothes and the rings as well. Will was opening one of his mammoth sized text books to start doing some catch up for his the exams he'd missed.
"You bet. Come here Mister" He upped himself out of his chair and wrapped Sonny up in a hug. Sonny did his best to keep the backpack at arms length and out of sight. "See you at around 12". Sonny let go of Will and smoothly moved the backpack back down and behind him and made his way to the door looking back before he closed it.
"Hey Will" Will looked back at him as he sat back down at the desk.
"I love you" He said smiling.
"I love you" He replied as Sonny cheesed a grin and blew a kiss in Aris direction as he left the apartment.
"Right, Ari. Dada has to study. Just 'goo' or 'gaa' if you need anything" He said to Ari in her play pen. She didn't stir and continued to tug on the ear of her now favorite soft toy. Leo the Lion.
Sonny arrived at the club and saw Chad standing behind the bar.
"Hey Chad. Thanks so much for yesterday man" He said as he took a seat on the opposite side of the bar. Chad looked at him with an 'I know what you did last summer' look and raised his eyebrow. Sonny looked weary. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Chad just laughed.
"The back office, Son? Really? Isn't that a little … I dunno … secretary does Lawyer boss on the desk type of thing?" Chad said looking entertained. Sonny went bright red and spun around to search out the snitch. He caught Meredith's eye as he searched her out. Knowing she'd been caught, she averted eye contact immediately, turned red-faced again and continued to scratch down the coffee order she was taking onto her pad. Sonny feeling a little embarrassed but not angry rolled his tongue against his cheek and spun back around to Chad. He had no defense.
"Uhhh … "He scratched at the bar counter top. Chad laughed again.
"Hey man, it's cool. It's not like that's the first piece of action that office has seen!" Before Sonny had a chance to question this statement Chad had popped down under the counter and looked busy. Sonny just scoffed.
"So, hey. Midday. You've sorted some cover? I can't have you not turning up!" Sonny questioned as he made his way around the Chad.
"Got it covered. I'll be there. How are you feeling?" Sonny wasn't really sure how he was feeling. He certainly wasn't having second thoughts. Not on his life. He'd never done this before that's all and didn't' really know how to go about it.
"I'm good. Nervous. But good. I just don't know how I'm actually going to say the words, ya know?" That was Sonnys was of saying 'give me advice and tell me what to do'.
"Just go with the flow my man. It's all gonna work out. I promise. Just let it flow. Doesn't have to be a long proposal, or a short one. Doesn't have to be anything other than letting Will know you want to commit yourself to him for as long as forever will be" Chad was now wearing his 'you know I'm right' face. Sonny was glad of the advice but felt bad for Chad too. Chad after all would never get the chance to do this. Not wanting to be the pity party however Sonny rolled up his sleeves.
"Thanks Chad. You're the best. Now, anything I can do while I'm here? I've got about an hour" Sonny offered as he patted Chad on the back. Chad looked away mischievously and bent down to pick up some cleaning products and a rag.
"Yeah, there sure is. Get back in that office and disinfect it!" He said laughing. Sonny rolled his eyes and snatched the cleaning products and rag out of Chads grip.
"Jerk" Sonny muttered quietly so that just Chad would hear.
"Slut" Chad countered. They both laughed and Sonny left for the back office. Chad smiled and refocused back to his work but not before he felt a sharp pain run through his head. Quick and sharp but not long lasting.
Sonny left the club and made his way over the see Caroline. When he entered the pub he saw that everything was already taken care of. Food, drink – even the regular two-person tables had been removed to create more room. Caroline saw Sonny enter the door that had a 'CLOSED FOR PRIVATE FUNCTION' sign hanging on it. In her excitable way she shook her hands in the air and summoned Sonny over to her.
"Sonny my dear boy" Sonny was sucked into a big old lady hug. "How are you doing? Sami has told me all about it" She seemed happy. Sonny smiled and took a step back.
"Caroline. I'm feeling good. Nervous, but good. I wanted the chance to talk to you before people started arriving though. I mean, you're Wills Grandma Caroline after all …" He was silenced with Carolines all too familiar hand in the ear and eyes closed stance.
"Great … Grandma" She laughed. "Won't you take a seat with me?" She moved him towards one of the booths in the corner. Sonny followed feeling a little edgy.
"You know what Sonny. Ever since Will was little I knew he was different. Now, I'm not saying I knew that he was gay of course, but I knew he was an old soul. A deep thinking and loving soul. I've always known that. Kinda hard to believe he came from Sami, right?" She raised her brow and laughed kindly. Sonny laughed too. "Sonny. Will has had a difficult life as I'm sure you're aware. Difficult in ways that were beyond his control. When he came back to Salem after living with his Aunt Carrie and Uncle Austin in Switzerland basically all grown up I could still see that he was that same, special soul that he'd been as a child but now that he was older I could see that all the trauma and upheaval had taken its toll on him. Emotionally" Sonny had never had a conversation like this with Caroline before. She'd struggled with Alzheimer's Disease for the last couple of years but for now it seemed, was winning that personal war. Caroline went on.
"Sonny, went you entered Wills life I saw him change. Now, most people don't think I notice things 'Oh there's old crazy Caroline – forgetful as ever'" She tried to make light of that fact and Sonny understood. He rested his hand over hers. "…But I did notice that and without raking over the whole story of the last two years I just want you to know that nothing, and I mean nothing, would make me happier than Will getting to spend his life with you. You're his knight in shining armor ya know … you do know what right?" Sonny looked a little overwhelmed.
"That's how I feel about him too, Caroline. When I came back to Salem I was … I dunno … a little lost I guess. I'd spent so much time travelling alone and being away from the people that I love that when I came back I felt like I was starting my life all over again. But when I met Will, well – he changed that for me. It can't really explain it …" Caroline raised her hand to hush Sonny.
"You don't need to explain it my dear boy, certainly not to me that's for certain. Nor anyone else. Maybe to Will" She laughed "But nobody else. Sonny could tell this was one of Carolines more lucid moments and he was more than touched by her kind words. He felt his eyeballs start to ache a little as he fought off a few tears.
"Thank you so much, Mrs Brady" He said as he stood up and rounded the table to meet her for a hug.
"No. Thank you, Sonny. Thank you for helping Will to be the person he's meant to be and for making him realize once and for all that's he's worth it" She now felt the eye-ache too.
"He is. He really is" Sonny replied as he hugged what he hoped to be his future Great-Grandmother-in law tightly.
As the afternoon midday invite approached people started arriving at the Brady Pub for Will and Sonnys 'Welcome back to the world of the normal and thanks for not getting killed or robbed of your child' party. With the exception of Caroline, Lucas, Sami, EJ, Justin, Adrienne and Chad – everyone else thought they were there just for that purpose.
Justin had managed to talk Adrienne down after several hours. With Adrienne there had to come a point where she realized that no matter what her personal feelings were about Wills family, she simply had to take that step back and let Sonny choose his own path. After much argument and to Justins surprise it took just one question that he put to her that made her see some kind of sense.
"Adrienne – let me ask you this. What is it that you want most for our son?" His arms folded in frustration.
"I want him to be happy, Justin. Happy with a man that he loves" She replied in exasperation.
Justin didn't need to comment. She looked away then down to the floor then moments later back to Justin. She had let her feelings about Wills family cloud her judgment for too long. "Oh my god. That's what he is. Isn't he Justin?" She felt foolish and cried for hours. It was this conversation that had managed to put a Band-Aid on Justin and Adriennes recently developed rift. Still more work to do, but now they were on the same page about something that mattered their marriage was on the mend. At last, she was on board and was actually excited. 'Sonny isn't going to believe this' Justin thought to himself smiling. He then told her of the plans for Will and Sonny to officially marry out of state. Sonny had talked to his dad about this and what EJ offered. Justin hated to admit that EJ was right – but he was. Justin wasn't about to look a gift-horse in the face.
"What will I wear?" Added Adrienne. Justin relaxed into his seat and took a sip of his long awaited Brandy.
The Brady Pub filled up reasonably quickly. Hope and Ciara. Victor, Maggie, Roman, Eric Sami and EJ. Lucas and Wills three younger siblings. Marlena. Abigail, Jennifer, Justin and Adrienne. Rafe and Kate plus lots more. Basically everyone that mattered to Will and Sonny minus a few odd-balls that weren't really welcome. Then last but not least Will and Arianna trundled in the door.
Will was aghast by the turnout at the pub. Humbled by it all he made his way around hugging and thanking everyone for coming all the while trying to look for Sonny.
About twenty minutes had passed and Will hadn't had the opportunity to ask after Sonny. When he finally got to Sami who was the bearer of the biggest smile in Salem he asked.
"Hey Mom, where's Sonny?" She hugged him tightly almost knocking the breath out of him.
"Hey you, and hey little you" She said to Will and Arianna, respectively. "You look handsome, Will" She added. Will was wearing a smart grey suit – causal with a smart white shirt and no tie.
"Aw thanks, mom. Sonny? Where's he at?" He asked again. Sami tried to distract Will.
"He's just sorting some food out with Chad and he'll be back in a moment. Let me take Arianna and do the rounds with her. You've got a lot of people that are dying to see you" She said as she swooped up the baby before Will had a chance to respond. Wills eyes widened in confusion as Sami and Ari moved across to the other side of the pub to meet with Lucas. Sami whispered something into his ear. Will clapped his hands together and walked over to where the food was.
"Just breathe, Sonny. It's all good!" Chad tried to reassure Sonny. Sonny looked at him annoyed.
"I'm trying" He replied. His annoyance turned to surprise as Lucas popped his head in through the kitchen door.
"They're here!" Lucas whispered. "Welcome to the family" Lucas added as he smiled a big dimple-smile into the kitchen and darted back out as soon as he had entered. Those four words were like an injection of courage to Sonny. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt his nerves simply wash away. When he opened them again he was smiling as he looked back at Chad.
"Hey! That's more like it!" Chad said noticing the sudden change. "Now, you're sure you want to do this straight away? You don't want to wait a while and let the party get started first?" Chad asked just to make sure.
"No. Once I do this – that's when the party starts" Sonny said laughing.
"That's super corny, dude" Chad joked as he slapped Sonnys arm. Sonny knew it but couldn't give two shits. He stood up and straightened out his midnight black Tuxedo. Crisp with a white shirt and a black bow-tie that Caroline had help him put on – he was no good at bow-ties and with a stroke of luck the old Iron and Ironing board that Caroline kept in the upstairs apartment managed to make his Tux look like it had just come from the drycleaners.
In the short amount of time that Will had arrived the party had managed to get on its feet rather quickly. Sami was still doing the rounds with her Granddaughter Ari along with Lucas who had rejoined them. EJ was talking politics with Wills Grandpa Roman – the conversation was tense but they both knew they were here for a good reason and weren't about to get into an argument. Marlena and Caroline were having a little bit of a boogie-dance over in the corner totally unashamed of how silly they both looked.
Will was standing next to the food table talking to his Aunt Jennifer.
"Hopefully the music will change soon" Will joked with Jennifer.
"I know! Tell me about it! What is this?" They'd both agreed that Caroline might have pulled out some old – really old – music.
"Sonny has some great music on his iPod. Hopefully be bought it with him" Will mentioned as he looked around the room.
"Where is Sonny? I haven't seen him since we arrived?" Jennifer asked as she joined in on the search through the crowd of heads in the pub.
All of a sudden the awful music went silent. A few 'Awwws' of disappointment could be heard from some of the 'older' Salem folk. Will and Jennifer were both surprised and spun around wondering what happened to the music.
Chad walked into the middle of the crowd and spoke aloud.
"Can we have some room please people? Make way … make way …" He gestured with the swooping of his long arms. As if he was parting the Red Sea people started to pick one side of the other. Chad was now moving in circles like a cake mixer trying to clear space.
As people awkwardly resettled into their new positions – a few all knowing – the rest completely unaware – Chad took Jennifer by the hand and swung her towards the side that Abby had taken. Before Will was able to follow her Chad spun around again and grabbed his hand firmly.
"Not you, sunshine. You stay where you are!" He affirmed. Will laughed feeling a little silly and tried again to rejoin Abby on her side of the parted sea. "No! William. Stay where you are, right there! Do not move!" Chad pointed to the spot that Will now felt he couldn't move from. He looked around him feeling like he was on show.
"Uhh … what's going on?" Will asked as he surveyed the room for Sonny who he still hadn't seen. Then he tried to search for Samis face. He found it standing about ten feet in front of him. Her face was grinning and her eyes were starting to get a little red. Completely befuddled by what was going on he noticed that the aging pensioners had now stopped complaining about the music that had been so quickly culled and a little way back behind Sami those complaints were now being replaced by gasps and noises of surprise. "Mom wha …" Will was silenced when he saw Sonny emerge from behind Sami. He'd seen Sonny in a suit before but for some unknown reason, Sonny had never looked so handsome … or hot!
Sonny stood just in front of Sami and looked toward Will. A few people in the Pub were looking at one another confused and whispering. Some weren't so clueless and realized right away what was coming next. Despite the small whispers Will was hearing he didn't want to take his eyes off Sonny. Sonny looked amazing – right off a Hollywood red carpet only without the makeup and plastic surgery. A real beauty. Will felt his mouth start to open a little. He still hadn't put two and two together.
Sonny started to approach Will slowly. The closer he got to Will the more his peripheral vision closed in. The closer he got the less he could see of the crowd that was surrounding them. Wills smile was big. Once standing a mere one foot apart Sonny began to speak.
"Hey you" Sonny laughed nervously. He still couldn't see around or behind Will. He could only see Will. Will smiled back.
"Hey you, too …." Will responded as he exchanged quick glances with the people that were surrounding them in now what looked like a Greek Theatre and they were on show. "What's going on Sonny?" Will asked. Sonny swallowed the rock in his throat and said.
"Will. I've travelled the world. I've seen things, people and places that I couldn't have even imagined existed. When I finally decided that I'd learnt everything I needed to know about life I decided to come home. When I came home though and met you I realized that there was one thing I hadn't learnt while I was out there in the world. That thing was love. That's what you've taught me, Will. I love you with my all and my everything and …" Sonny descended to one knee and pulled out the ring that was made for Will. Silence fell upon the large crowd apart from Sami who let out a squeak.
"William Robert Horton. Will you marry me?" Sonny presented the gold band to Will that he'd worked to hard to keep secret.
The pub was now silent. No whispering. No movement. All eyes locked on Will and Sonny.
Will got down on one knee so he was at eye level with Sonny. He shuffled forward so he and Sonny were now mere centimeters apart.
"YES!" Will said about ten times. Will almost bowled Sonny over as he leapt toward him. Managing to steady the both of them Sonny let out a breath of relief and started to cry. Sonny Kiriakis was crying in full view of everyone. This was a first. Again – two shits – Sonny could not give.
They knelt there together on the floor of the Brady Pub. Sonny grabbed Wills left hand and singled out the finger where he placed the ring. It fit perfectly. Will looked at it proudly as he clenched his fingers open and closed – the gold flashing against the lighting of the pub above.
"I love it! I love you!" Will said as he wrapped his arms around Sonny. "It's much better than that mood ring I had!" He added. Sonny smiled.
"I love you, Will"
He pulled out the identical ring. "This is the one I had made for me … see the inscription?" Sonny held it close to Will. 'Veritable Amour Vrai'. "The inscription is the same on both rings. It means True True Love and that's ….." Sonny didn't have a chance to finish his declaration as Sami had swept him up off his feet as had Marlena with Will.
The music started again, this time from a more appropriate decade thanks to Chad. Towards the end of the evening his head started to bang again. He fought the good fight though and no one would have known he was feeling poorly. He helped Grandma Caroline settle Arianna to sleep in the quiet of the upstairs apartment. Upon joining the celebration Caroline asked Marlena is she would take Arianna for the night to give the boys some time together. Marlena didn't hesitate. Marlena left with Ari shortly after.
Will and Sonny went with the flow. The support they received was amazing. Some amazed – some were just waiting for this day. Adrienne was one of the first to hug them both. Sonny and Will were stunned by that and Sonny wanted to talk to his dad about that later.
After much alcohol and food consumed Lucas offered Will and Sonny a ride home. They leapt at the offer with the knowledge that Ari was in super-safe hands.
Once Lucas had dropped the boys off they made their way to the apartment door. Both were a little tipsy. Will had the key but couldn't find it. Sonny grabbed his hand.
"We're gonna have to get someone to take us to our cars tomorrow – oh and Look at that!" He said as he looked at the bright shining ring on Wills finger.
"It's amazing isn't it? I want you to wear yours, Sonny" Will replied.
"I'll wear mine once you say … 'I DO' …" they both laughed.
"I'm not tired …. you better be ready to feel the full brunt of me … my fiancé!" Will said as they both tumbled into the apartment.
"Full brunt?! Fuck yeah!" Sonny replied as he pulled Will into the apartment and onto the floor. "Put your hands on me!" he joked as he started to undress.