Disclaimer-I don't own "Will & Grace." They are property of NBC, David Kohan, and Max Mutchnick. The only parts that I do own are the plot and the character Bryan Shultz. I also do not own the song "Friends and Lovers." It belongs to Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson.

A/N-Thank you so much for the reviews! Keep 'em coming!

~ * ~ Chapter Two-Desperately ~ * ~

Something about the way you looked at me

Made me think for a moment

That maybe we were meant to be.

Living our lives separately.

And it's strange cause things change

When I've been wanting you...

-Michelle Branch "Desperately"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The Next Morning . . .

Will was standing in the kitchen, making up breakfast for both him and Jack. After the previous night, he was going to make sure that Jack never cooked again . . . ever. He looked up at the sound of Jack's bedroom door opening.

"Hey Jackie," he greeted as soon as Jack rounded the corner.

"Ugh . . . uh-huh," grunted Jack, rubbing his half-closed eyes with the back of his hand. He made a beeline for the bathroom. Before entering the bathroom, he turned around to look at Will. "I'm gonna take a . . . a . . ." He yawned. "A shower," he finished, turning around and entering the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Will smiled at the closed door. The water began to run from behind the door and Will heard Jack begin to sing: "Do you beeeeleeeeeve in life after love after love?!"

Will grimaced slightly, but went back to cooking. He poured a good amount of pancake batter onto a frying pan. As the batter began to sizzle, he found himself smiling. Jack sure looked cute this morning, with his hair all tousled and . . .

He cut off his thought. 'What am I thinking?' He laughed nervously at himself and began to flip the pancake.

"And . . . something something something . . . beeeeeeleeeeeeeve in life after love after love!"

Will shook his head, still smiling. He heard the water shut off and after a matter of seconds, Jack opened the door. Steam erupted from the bathroom and Jack stepped out, wearing one of Will's robes and drying his hair with a towel. "Hello," he said, cheerfully.

"Hey, how was your shower?" asked Will, placing a pancake onto one of his plates.

"Wonderful," replied Jack, smiling. "In fact, Cher's song has made me feel fine about breaking up with . . . with . . ." His face fell and his eyes began to glass over. "Stewart," he finished, slumping down on the couch. "Stewart, why?!" he wailed. "There isn't life after love! Why d-did you l-leave m-me?" His voice began to hitch. "W-why?!"

Will's heart fell. He went down and sat next to his friend, wrapping his arms around him. "Oh, don't worry, Jack," he said, soothingly. "You'll find someone else. I know you will."

Jack sighed deeply, burying his face into Will's shoulder. "No, I won't," he whined. "Stewart was 'the one.' I was even gonna ask him to . . . to . . . move in with me."

Will opened his mouth to reply, but closed it almost immediately. He felt something gnarling in his stomach; the feeling was either utmost pity for his best friend or-'No, don't even think it,' he told himself-jealousy.

But why would he be jealous, for God's sake? There was no reason for it, right? If Jack had moved in with Stewart, would he have felt this way?

Simply picturing Jack and Stewart living together made that nauseous feeling return. He swallowed. 'No, I don't feel jealous,' he thought. 'I'm just really upset for Jack. That's all; nothing more.'

He cleared his throat. "Jack," he said, causing Jack to pull away from him. No, don't do that, his mind screamed. He shook his head, trying to rid the voice that wanted, no, needed, Jack to need him. "Why don't I take you out tonight? To a bar, or something. I'm sure that seeing cute guys will make you forget all about Stewart."

Jack gave him a watery smile. "Maybe," he said, hopefully.

"Now, why don't you go and eat breakfast. Do you feel up to going to the hospital?"

"The hospital?" repeated Jack, giving Will a confused look.

"Yeah, you know . . . where you work," Will replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, right. Yeah, I'll be fine. Maybe seeing those unlucky people will make me feel better." Jack stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Is this mine?" he asked, gesturing towards the plate on the counter.

Will nodded and Jack picked up the plate and walked over to the table. As he began to eat, Will caught himself smiling. Again.

Good job, his mind told him. Taking Jack to a bar, where he's bound to meet a guy, or two.

'But that's the point,' he argued back. 'To take his mind off of Stewart.'

That isn't what you want, though, his mind said. You don't want some other guy for Jack.

'What?'

Admit it.

'Admit what?' he thought, cluelessly.

You love him.

Will felt his heart skip a beat. 'No, I don't,' he insisted.

Yes, you do, his mind insisted.

He looked at Jack, who was pouring a good amount of syrup onto his pancake. Just seeing him so peaceful, so at ease, sent his heart soaring. 'Or, do I?'

Will swallowed. All it took was a nagging voice in the back of his head to make him realize something that was probably always there: He loved his best friend. And that night, he was going to have to give his-oh, just say it-crush away to someone else. The nauseous feeling in his stomach returned.

He looked at Jack again. "Uhh, Jack?" he said.

Jack looked over at him. Will stared into his bright blue eyes and felt his face begin to burn. "You know," Will began, trying to keep his voice steady, "if you don't feel ready to meet other guys, we don't have to go tonight. You and I can go to a movie, like 'Me, Myself, and Him, I mean, Her.' So, what do you say?"

Jack swallowed the bite of food in his mouth. "No, I'm ready. If I can go to work and see people on their death bed, I can sure meet a guy and, you know, get lucky." Jack grinned and took another bite of food.

Will smiled and nodded, but could feel the feeling of jealousy ripping away at his stomach. "Okay, just wanted to . . . make sure."

Jack nodded. "Hey, what time is it?" he asked, suddenly.

"It's . . ." Will looked at his watch. "Almost ten o'clock."

"Oh, then I'd better get to the hospital. I'll see you later tonight. We'll leave at, like, six o'clock, 'kay?" he asked, standing up and setting his plate in the sink.

"Oh, oh sure," replied Will, standing up as well. As Jack was about to pass him on his way to the bedroom, Will wrapped his arms around Jack's shoulder's, embracing him tightly.

Will felt Jack tense up for a second, then relax. "I'm glad you're feeling better," whispered Will, feeling Jack's heart pounding against his chest, feeling the warmth of Jack's body on his own. He pulled away. "Well, you better get to work," he said, quickly, walking swiftly towards the kitchen.

"Umm, okay," replied Jack, in a confused tone of voice. He walked into his bedroom, leaving Will alone in the kitchen.

Will looked across the room to the mirror on the opposite wall. Even from the distance he was at, he could see that his face was a bright pink. "Oh, God," he muttered, turning on the faucet in the sink and splashing the cool water over his face.

"Why did I hug him?" he asked himself, turning off the faucet and picking up a dishtowel.

Because it felt right, his mind replied. Will wiped his face dry with the towel and silently agreed. It had felt right. It had felt even more right than it had with Michael. And he wished that he could do it every chance he had . . .

Why, why had he suggested they go to a gay bar? Why? Well, he hadn't known about his crush at that time.

It was interesting . . . how you can be best friends with someone one minute, and then in love with them the next. And as upsetting as it was that he probably would never be with Jack, at least, not that night, it felt so good to love someone again.

Jack entered the living room, wearing one of Will's collared shirts and a pair of Will's kackis. "Well, I'm off," he declared, opening the front door and exiting.

"Bye," said Will. And then, after the door had shut, he whispered: "I love you."

Noon-Grace Adler Designs . . .

"Karen, could you hand me that pencil sharpener, please?" asked Grace.

"Oh, sure honey," replied Karen, taking her feet down from atop the desk and looking around for the pencil sharpener. "Umm, Grace, what does this sharpener look like?"

Grace sighed. "Well, it's the round machine that says 'Pencil Sharpener' on it," she replied, sarcastically.

Karen continued to search her desk. "I'm sorry honey, I don't see it."

"The blue thing!" snapped Grace.

"Grace," began Karen, with a small giggle, "with the stuff I took this morning, everything looks green."

"Ahh, well . . ." Grace got off of her stool and walked over to Karen's desk. She picked up the pencil sharpener and returned to her desk. "Never mind."

"Oh, you found it; good," said Karen, putting her feet back on top of her desk.

The door opened and Will walked into the office. "Grace," he said, quickly, "I've got to talk to you."

"sure, Will; what is it?" asked Grace, standing up again and walking over to him.

"Well, uhh . . ." He tried to find the right words to start with, but nothing would come out. Did he really care what Grace thought about his being in love with Jack? Well, yes, he did. "I think that . . . there's a guy-"

"Oh my God; you're in love with Jack!" interrupted Karen, her face showing as much surprise as it possibly could.

"How-how did you do that?" Will asked, slightly impressed, slightly frightened.

"Wait, you're in love with, you're in love with . . . Jack?!" Grace's lips curled into a smile. "Honey, that's great!"

Karen scoffed. "Yeah, it's about time," she said, rolling her eyes. "I was just waiting for one of you to declare your love for the other."

"Karen, I'm . . . not going to 'declare my love' for him," protested Will.

"What?" Karen and Grace said at once. "But, you have to," insisted Grace. "You two would be so happy!"

"Grace, no, I can't. At least, not right now. He and Stewart, like, just broke up, and it wouldn't be right . . ."

"Oh, who cares about 'right?'" asked Karen. "What matters is that you love him and, trust me, honey, deep down, he really loves you. He just doesn't know it yet."

Will sighed. "Maybe, but I would feel guilty, like I was going in for the rebound or something."

"Rebound?" repeated Grace. "You don't even watch sports, so you cannot use the tern 'rebound.'"

"Fine. But I don't want him to feel like I'm just using his misery for my own benefit."

"Will, do what you want," said Grace, placing her hand on his shoulder. "But you have to tell him sometime in the next four weeks."

"Why the next four weeks?" asked Will.

"Well, because in six weeks Leo is back, and I need a few weeks to get ready, so I'll be too busy to congratulate you two," replied Grace, with a nod.

"Right."

Six O'clock-Will's Apartment . . .

Will arrived home that night to find Jack sitting on the couch, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a Will's collared shirt. "Hey Jack," he greeted, with a smile.

"Hello Will," he replied, standing up. "I'm ready to go when you are."

"Okay, just let me get-" Will began to cough at the faint scent of smoke. "Jack, what is that?"

"Oh, just my pants. I really like wearing these out, and no smell will keep them off of me! Besides, it'll smell so strongly of perfume and cologne in there that no one will smell it."

"Okay then," replied Will, walking back towards his bedroom.

After Will got ready, he and Jack went downstairs. They exited the apartment building and walked together down the street. "So, how was work?" asked Will, striking up conversation.

"It was okay. About as good a day at a hospital can be," replied Jack. "How about you? How was your day?"

Will looked at Jack, trying to see if Jack was asking, but not really listening. Jack's eyes were locked on Will's, and they looked so interested, they caused Will's face to burn again. "It was all right. I looked over some cases, saw Grace at lunch time and . . . then I came home." In his mind, he added, My day wasn't interesting at all until I saw you.

Jack nodded. The rest of their walk was filled with an awkward silence. When they finally reached the bar, Will was hit with a horrible realization: 'Jack and I probably won't talk for the rest of the night.' At that moment, there was nothing Will wanted more than to look into Jack's eyes, tell him how he felt, and give him a warm, passionate kiss.

The thought of his and Jack's lips meeting made Will shudder. Jack noticed this and asked, "Are you okay? Should we go inside?"

Will nearly shouted out, "No! I don't want to go inside! I want to take you home and hug you and love you forever and ever and ever . . ." But he didn't. "Yeah, let's go inside," he replied.

He followed Jack into the bar. His ears were immediately filled with eighties music. Jack leaned over to him. "Look at that guy over there," he whispered in Will's ear.

Will looked in the direction Jack was looking. Sitting alone at the bar was a brown haired, blue eyed guy. "Dibs!" squealed Jack, as he dashed across the floor to sit next to the brown haired guy.

Will was left standing alone. He looked around the bar; there were many attractive, single, gay men in this place, and he did not want to go for any of them. He sat down at a small table and watched Jack as he hit on the brown haired guy.

Jack said something and the brown haired guy laughed, causing Jack to laugh as well. "Bryan!" Will heard Jack exclaim. "You have such a great laugh!"

Will began to feel ill. "Excuse me?" he called to a passing-by waiter. "Could I have a glass of wine?" He heard Jack laugh in the background. "And a martini?" The waiter nodded and left to get his drinks.

Another song began to blare over the speakers. Will could no longer hear Jack and Bryan's conversation, but by the light in Jack's eyes, he knew that it would not be simply him and Jack walking home that night.

Will held his head in his hand and listened to the music:

"What would you say if I told you

I've always wanted to hold you?"

Will's drinks were delivered and he took a large swig of his martini, his eyes locked upon Jack.

"I don't know what we're afraid of.

Nothing would change if we made love."

Jack's hand was on top of Bryan's, and the two of them were laughing heartily. Laughing together. Together.

"'Cause I'll be your friend.

And I'll be your lover.

Well, I know in our hearts we agree.

We don't have to be one or the other.

Yes, it's a chance that we're taking.

And someone's heart may be breaking."

Will watched as Jack slipped his arm around Bryan's waist. Will felt as though his heart could explode.

"But we can't stop what's inside us.

Our love for each other will guide us."

"Hi," greeted a voice. Will looked up and saw a cute blonde standing over him, a smile on his face. "Is someone sitting there?" he asked, gesturing to the seat across from Will.

"Umm . . ." Will looked at Jack and felt his heart ache. "Yes, I'm sorry. My friend should be coming back in a minute."

A look of disappointment washed over the blonde's face before he turned and left, leaving Will and his love for Jack alone.

"I've been through you.

And you've been through me.

Sometimes a friend is the hardest to see.

We always know when it's laid on the line.

Nobody else is as easy to find."

Will chugged the rest of his martini and, for a split second, he thought that his and Jack's eyes had met . . . and that Jack had known how he felt . . .

But Jack was still talking to Bryan, a large smile plastered upon his face, and Will knew that Jack hadn't looked at him. That Jack did not know.

"So I'll be your friend.

And I'll be your lover.

Well, I know in our hearts we agree.

We don't have to be one or the other . . .

Other . . ."

As the song faded, Will felt tears burning in his eyes. Jack would do this every night; find someone new, and not even notice the way Will stared at him. Not notice the way Will loved him.

~ * ~ TBC ~ * ~

A/N-Don't worry, I'm not some eighties freak. I just saw the title and thought it would be perfect. Anyway, review please!