PART 2
Arianna slept for ten hours before waking up and distracting her daddy from his thoughts. At 4am the duo found themselves makings a trip to a twenty-four hour grocery store because there was nothing in the apartment for a two year old to eat. There was no reason for Sonny to keep food for Arianna around because she was thousands of miles away. Each time the topic of returning home would come up, Will would tell Sonny about all the things he still had to do in LA. The months went by without Will counting but Sonny was keeping track. They had arguments about it; Will wanted Sonny in LA and Sonny wanted him back in Salem. Marriage is hard.
They return to the apartment, eat then sit in front of the television to watch some of Arianna's favorite cartoons. She asks about her daddy, which was the purpose for the plane ride. He tells her daddy Sonny will be home soon, in an effort to convince both of them. But Arianna is smart and she doesn't seem to be buying it. They cuddle on the couch and watch cartoons until they are both asleep again.
The sun is peaking through the curtains when Will and Arianna wakes up for the second time. His first instinct is to look around for any signs of his missing husband, but the disappointments just keep coming and with it all his fears and worries. What if something happened to Sonny? What if he was in an accident somewhere? He thinks about calling the hospital but then he remembers that unlike LA, Salem is a small town and he would have heard by now if something happened to Sonny.
The last time Sonny was in LA things did not go so well. Will was busy preparing for the movie's release and attending meetings related to the new opportunities coming his way. He thought Sonny understood. The night before Sonny returned to Salem they got into an argument. Sonny was mad because he wanted to spend time with his family and Will was angry because Sonny did not seem to care about the amazing things that were happening for him. It felt like Sonny was trying to hold him back and they verbally vomited all over each other. In that situation no one comes out smelling good. The silence got worse after that. Conversations became so polite that it was only a matter of time before they started calling each other sir.
Success was happening for both of them; Sonny's new club was up and doing really well and Will's writing career was really taking shape. Professionally, things couldn't have been better for both of them. Their marriage was a different story. There are some things he could have done differently. Will knows he missed a lot that was going on in Sonny's life, like the opening of the new club and Sonny receiving the award for Salem's up and coming entrepreneur. It was not his intention to ignore what was happening for Sonny; it just looks that way.
There is someone else he could call but it's been over a year since Will dialed that number or spoke to her. But what choice does he have. Something strange is going on and he is going crazy trying not to think about the possibilities.
"Hello." The tone was tense and Will figured that's because he was calling.
"Hi Adrianne. It's Will."
"Hi Will." He should have done a better job of keeping in touch with everyone, especially family.
"I know this may be a little strange, but, have you seen or heard from Sonny? I've been trying to get in touch with him." There is a long pause before Adrianne finally replies.
"Will, he's right here." A sense of relief immediately fills him and Will sinks into the couch beside his daughter.
"Will?" There is the voice that he loves. It took making a mistake to realize just how much.
"Sonny. Are you okay? I tried calling several times."
"Oh, I'm sorry Will my phone died and I just haven't had the chance to charge it." He sounds weary and not like Sonny.
"Is everything okay?" He really wants to know when Sonny is coming home. Sonny probably stayed at the Kiriakis mansion last night, he's done that a few times. Will wonders why he didn't think of that before.
"No, it's not." He takes a deep breath and Will's heart clenches. "I'm at the hospital. My dad had a heart attack."
The warm and surprising homecoming that Will had planned is out the window. The next cab ride that he and Arianna take is to the hospital to be with Sonny, who was shocked when Will told him where they were. Arianna is overjoyed to jump from Will's arms to Sonny. She holds tight unto her daddy's neck and accepts his kisses with childish giggles. Will is more cautious with his greeting. He says hi to Adrianne who looks worn out with tear stained cheeks. He leans into Sonny, it's not a full embrace, just enough to let his husband know that he is here for him.
"I'm sorry about your dad." Sonny nods and drops another kiss unto Arianna's forehead. "Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah. The surgery went well. We're just waiting for him to wake up." Sonny is still looking down at their daughter then he looks up at Will with so much vulnerability that Will isn't sure what to do. "Thank you for being here."
Will wakes up really early the following morning. He leaves a sleeping Sonny and Arianna and enters the living room. After a few more hours of waiting at the hospital Justin was awake and doing well so everyone could finally breathe. Maggie took Adrianne home so that she could rest and Will dragged his tired husband home. Since then things have been pretty quiet. Sonny was exhausted and Arianna was content to cuddle with her dad, whom she hadn't seen in over two months.
It feels good to be in their apartment, almost like LA never happened. Will makes coffee, once again pulls out his favorite mug and sits around their small dining table. There was too much on his mind for him to sleep. His mind is racing, trying to pinpoint the exact time when things started going south for him and Sonny, and it is telling him it was the day he left for LA. Will doesn't want to regret that move, it was necessary for him, he needed to know that he could make it. Despite the numerous mistakes he made in the past. He wanted Sonny to be proud of him and he wanted to be proud of himself.
"Hey. Can't sleep?" Will looks up from his mug to find Sonny walking into the kitchen.
"No."
Sonny pours himself a cup of coffee then takes the chair across from Will. "What's going on Will?" He was never good at hiding from Sonny. "Why did you come home? Not that I'm complaining."
"I missed you."
They catch up on Will's life in LA and Sonny's life in Salem, like two old friends who have not seen each other in a while. Instead of the husbands they actually are. Will is just happy to be talking again, instead of the brief, polite, stunted conversations that they have become accustomed to. They move from the table to the couch as they keep talking and for a few minutes they are Will and Sonny again.
"Are you going to tell me why you really came home?" Everything was going so well but Sonny hated secrets and Will hated having them. In eighteen months Will never came home once, so why would Sonny believe him now.
"I wasn't lying when I said I missed you." He looks at Sonny but the guy gives nothing away.
LA was all about work and furthering his career as a writer, but that doesn't mean that his family wasn't on his mind. It hurt when things started to unravel but he was so driven that he chose to pretend that everything was fine and as soon as he was done with the project all would return to normal.
"I hate how things are between us. Sonny, when did we stop talking? When we got married we said we would be different from our parents."
"You left Will and then you shut me out. I tried talking to you."
"I know, but every time we talked it felt like you were asking me to come home and I wanted to…so badly Sonny. I just…I needed to chase my dream. I'm sorry that you think I sacrificed you for it."
"I missed you too you know. You and Arianna. I'm sorry if I pressured you to come home. This apartment was really lonely without you two."
"I wanted you there with me."
"I know. I could have tried harder."
"Me too."
"Will."
"Sonny." They say each other's name at the same time. Sonny smiles at Will and he wants to return it but there is still the weight of secrets.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you and Ari arrived. It would have been amazing."
"Yeah, but you don't need to be sorry."
"When Paul came in and told me about my dad, I just took off, I…"
"Paul?"
"Yeah. He was at the hospital for physical therapy and saw when they brought my dad in. My stupid phone was dead so he came over to the club." That answers a part of Will's question but he wants to know who this Paul guy is.
"I've never heard you mention him?" Sonny releases a deep breath and Will knows there is more to the story. They never really discussed Sonny's past relationships because Will never wanted to. The thought of Sonny being with someone else was very unsettling for him and he knew his insecurities would push him to make comparisons.
"I know." He runs a hand through his hair; something he does when he is stressed. "He is an old friend. There was no reason for me to mention him." It feels like a lie and that terrifies Will.
"Was he just a friend? Back then I mean." T's reaction keeps replaying in his head. It was obvious the guy knew something about Sonny and this Paul character; something T didn't want to say. It takes Sonny a few seconds to answer. Will can tell he is really thinking about what to say but he doesn't understand why the question would be so thought provoking.
"No… he was more than just a friend."
"How long…" there is tiny lump forming in his throat. "How long has he been in Salem?"
"Will. Paul is in the past. He has no bearing on what is going on between us."
"He doesn't?" because he feels very present.
"No. He doesn't." Sonny's eyes are completely focused on Will when he says those words. "Will, things may not be the best between us but that doesn't mean that I would jeopardize our marriage. Yeah, I wanted someone to talk to and he was there but just as a friend, nothing more. "
"Why didn't you talk to me?"
"When was I supposed to do that?" He voice goes higher but he catches himself pretty quickly. "I don't want to argue."
"We're not arguing we are talking. When was the last time we did that? When was the last time…" He doesn't have to say the words for his husband to understand.
Sonny came to LA, a little over two months ago, to be there with them for the premier of the movie; that was the last time they saw each other. He came for four days, but everything was so crazy that they didn't get to spend any time alone together. He spent his days with Arianna and Will spent his days with his mother and the studio reps. Each night there was an event for the movie launch and they would come home too tired to even undress. Prior to that visit, it had been three months since they saw each other for Christmas. Even then the sex seemed more like an obligation; something they had to do because that's what couples do and it was expected. If they didn't then they would both have to acknowledge that something was really wrong.
Will misses the way Sonny touches him. He remembers that look in Sonny's eyes; how it would strip him before he even started to undress. Sonny would run his fingertips along Will's leg, from his ankle up to his hip, before sliding around to cup Will's ass. It always drove Will crazy when Sonny did that. He misses being excited to go home at the end of the day and melt into his husband, praying for the baby to go to sleep so that they could spend the night exploring each other. He never got bored or tired of being with his husband; he figures they just got distracted.
LA was lonely. Will had his mother and siblings and Arianna and a full work load but he went to bed alone. Fuck, he missed feeling sexy and desired; the way Sonny use to want him more than anything else.
"Will, I never stopped wanting…"
"There was a guy…in LA." Sonny stops in his tracks and Will hates what he is about to do. "He was an editor for the movie. We were spending a lot of time together and …"
Swiftly Sonny gets up from the couch and walks over to the window. His back is turned to Will but Will doesn't need to see Sonny's face to know what he is feeling. Will knows this will hurt but he needs to be honest.
They were in the editing room at the studio discussing a new project that the studio was offering Will. Will was excited to have Alex onboard again because they worked so well together on his mother's movie. It was not unusual for them to hang out in the editing room. Alex liked having Will around when he was editing certain sections and Will loved being a part of the whole process. They became friends and Alex, who was older and knew a lot more about the business, would always offer Will advise when he needed it.
They were sitting in the room, reading through the particulars of this new project and feeling the excitement build. Throwing out ideas about the story and how the characters should look. It just happened. Alex leaned over and kissed him and Will kissed him back. In the moment, it felt really good to have someone kissing him, running their hand along his bare torso and telling him how beautiful he was. They were both panting and naked from the waist up, Alex's fingers unhooking the button in Will's jeans and poised to slide the zipper downwards; then Will came to his senses. It took him way too long to realize what he was doing; what he was about to throw away.
That was two days ago.
"I didn't set out for anything to happen, and I'm…"
"Just shut up. Is this why you came home? To tell me you're with someone else? To break my heart?" Sonny turns around and his face is masked in anger and pain.
"No. I came home because I want us to be good again. We can't do that if we're not honest with each other." Will gets up from the couch and takes steps towards his angry husband. "Honey, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let things get that far. I was moronic and… please, please understand that I never meant to hurt you. Sonny?" Will rests his forehead against Sonny's. Will isn't sure when he started crying but suddenly he feels the tears running down his cheeks. He wants so badly for Sonny to reach his hands out and wrap them around him.
"Sonny I love you. I love you so much." Will takes Sonny's face in his hands and slowly tilts Sonny's chin so that their lips meet. Will thumb brushes against Sonny's tears and there is anguish at the realization that the man he loves is crying because of him. "I love you. I love you. I love you." Then Sonny's hands wrap around him and Will crumbles with the relief.
The situation with Alex was enough of a wake up call for Will. The possibility of losing Sonny was too terrifying. Even now he isn't sure where things stand between them but he is hopeful. He still wants to write screen plays and tell stories but he will just have to find a way to do that from Salem.
"I love you too."
"Daddy." Little Arianna comes out of their bedroom dragging her favorite blanket behind her. Sonny quickly lets go of Will then picks his daughter up off the floor and wraps her in his arms.
"Hey sweetheart." He kisses her forehead and walks away from Will.
to be continued...