When Justin suggested that Sonny and Will take the outdoor paths to the atrium, Sonny thought it was a great idea. He took Will's hand, out of instinct and guided him along the path. They both walked in silence, hand-in-hand, watching the May flowers budding and growing, seeing the blossoms on the trees. They both had things on their minds and were both content with the silence.

Sonny had been trying to find a good time to bring something up to Will. He wasn't sure exactly how Will was going to react, but he could not help himself anymore. He was falling in love with Will, and he needed to voice that fact to Will.

Sonny knew from the first moment that he had seen Will in the waiting room of the lymphoma clinic that Will was someone special, someone who Sonny wanted to get to know. In the last four days they had spent a lot of time on the phone and on vidcom, talking about their lives, talking about coming out and about being truthful to who one is, if only for oneself. They also talked about cancer and the treatment and even, just a bit, about death. They talked about their families (mostly about their mothers). Sonny was so impressed with how Will was handling all this. He wanted to be there for Will, and in the beginning he was content to be just friends; but it seemed that they were more than that, although Sonny wasn't sure how that was even possible; they had known each other for only four days!

What made Sonny think that they were meant to be more than just friends? Besides the whole heart-fluttering and the goose-bumps on the skin whenever Sonny saw or even talked to Will, there was the whole holding of hands thing. Now granted, that could just be Will's way of being friendly and supportive; but really? Who does that? And Sonny had caught himself doing the same thing with Will, (they were even doing it now!) and he knew that this was definitely not normal friend behaviour for him.

But the timing couldn't have been any more wrong, could it? How could either one of them even consider starting a relationship? Sonny thought about whether he could cope if he lost Will so soon after meeting him. What about if HE didn't make it? What would that do to Will? This was so unfair.

Sonny eventually couldn't take it anymore, he had to say something. Just as they reached the glass walls of the atrium Sonny gathered all his courage turned to Will and said: "Will I need to ask you something…"

Will was enjoying the walk along the outside of the Kiriakis mansion. Flowers were blooming; birds were singing; insects were buzzing around. Life was happening. He enjoyed being reminded about life; especially since he had been thinking about death quite a bit lately.

There was another reason he was enjoying himself. He had looked down and had noticed that Sonny had grabbed his hand. Will enjoyed Sonny's touch so much, maybe a little too much. Even if one disregarded the obvious miss-timing of their meeting (although Will couldn't do that), Will wasn't accustomed to feeling this much, these powerful emotions, for someone.

He had been attracted to guys for a long time. And it took him a long time to accept what these attractions meant, and that to be true to who he was, he couldn't run from these feelings; but his feelings for Sonny were so intense that he was afraid (scared out of his head was more like it). He had to ask himself, were his feelings this intense because of his current circumstances? Would he feel this much, this fast for Sonny if he wasn't going through cancer?

Will had been asking these questions for days now; and he always came to the same answer. Yes. Sonny was so good. He was graceful and giving and kind. He had compassion for others. Will could also see Sonny's outer beauty, even as sick as Sonny was (His eyes were so intensely beautiful, and his lips…Oh My God!). He was beautiful inside and out. Will wasn't sure what he would do without Sonny in his life.

There was a chance that either Sonny or he wouldn't make it. Will wasn't sure if Sonny was willing to open his heart to him because of the very real possibility that one of them might actually die. Will, for his part wasn't 100% sure about it himself, but he needed to discuss it. Will wanted Sonny to know how he felt about him; and Will wanted to know how Sonny felt about HIM.

Will took a deep breath, sighed and then said:

"Sonny I need to ask you something…"

Hearing the other speak, both Sonny and Will said simultaneously: "No, you go ahead…" and then both young men laughed, embracing each other in an innocent friendly hug, that lasted quite a bit longer than either one anticipated.

It was Sonny that withdrew from the hug first, but he kept his hands strongly on Will's forearms, looked into Will's beautiful ocean-blue eyes and said:

"Will, we really need to talk…But I'm getting a little tired so we need to sit down…"

They found a nice love-seat just to one side of the doors leading to inside the atrium, and both sat down, with Sonny placing a hand on Will's knee (very much like he had done the first day they met):

"Will, I know you are going through a lot right now…so am I…But I need to say something…"

Will, for his part, thought that Sonny was going to go the we-can-only-be-friends-route. He wasn't sure he could stand that and he needed to say what he was feeling right now, before it was too late. And that is why both Sonny and Will said simultaneously:

"I think I am falling in love with you…"

Surprisingly…it was Will that gained enough composure first to ask: "Wait…what did you say?" and Sonny replied:

"Will, I think…no…I know…with every fibre of my being that I am falling in love with you…"

Will, lost all his composure. He was not expecting this at all. He just figured out his own feelings; he never expected Sonny to actually feel the same way, much less say it out loud. All Will could manage was: "Ditto…"

Hearing a flustered Will, Sonny decided he needed to do something before Will became a mess, or he would, and this magical moment would pass. And so, Sonny smiled, raised a gentle hand to Will's chin and pulled Will into a gentle loving and sweet first kiss.

Adrienne had stared at Justin for about two minutes. Adrienne had her arms crossed and also had a look of defiant determination, practically daring Justin to say anything. For his part, Justin remained calm. This wasn't the first time that he had persuaded Adrienne to go against her mama-bear instincts and actually try to be cautious about one of her actions.

Justin also knew that this certainly wasn't over. Adrienne was not the kind of person to change her mind easily. She would seem to be tolerant and even accepting of change but would snatch any and all opportunity to revert back to her original stance.

Justin loved his wife and this particular trait of hers usually allowed things to turn out for the best, but Sonny was a grown man and should be allowed to live his own life; and Justin believed that his wife wasn't ready to give up her mama-bear role quite yet, if ever.

Justin firmly and fully believed that Will Horton was a good, if not great new element in Sonny's life. And Justin was sure that Sonny could help Will in many ways, not just with his cancer.

Justin also believed that Sonny and Will were developing feelings for one another, and they were developing them very fast. It was Justin's opinion that that was a very good thing. True love didn't come by very often, and neither did reciprocal love-at-first-sight; and Justin believed that he had witnessed both in Will and Sonny's interactions. He would do all he could to stop Adrienne's inevitable interference.

Adrienne was staring at her husband. She couldn't believe that he had manipulated her into giving Will Horton…Sami Brady's son…a chance. He might be right. After all, Will Horton was not Sami Brady. But as the saying goes, sometimes the apple does not fall far from the tree. She would have to keep a close eye on him, and on her son, it looked like.

"Sonny, what am I going to do with you?" she thought to herself. He was always getting into binds, even as a kid. Not that cancer was a bind, or remotely his doing at all; but climbing mountains, skydiving, starting businesses before he even went to school to learn how to do it, these were all things Sonny HAD done. He always jumped in feet first, and suffered the consequences later.

Adrienne just didn't want Sonny to jump into anything that remotely had to do with Sami Brady, including her son. Justin was implying that Sonny was more than smitten with that Horton boy and she would have to make sure that her son, or that Will, didn't cross into 'the love zone'. Will Horton would probably break her son's heart eventually and in his present condition that could very well be the end; and Adrienne was not about to let that happen, not in the slightest.

After the required minute or two, she sprang past her husband who decided to follow her and she headed towards The Atrium. There were several such places in the rather large house, but Adrienne knew Sonny's favorite spot; a glassed-in partition to the mansion that was almost a greenhouse. It was filled with beautiful plants and some edible garden variety ones.

She rounded a corner and entered the atrium, scanned the room and didn't see anyone. Then she noticed two figures sitting outside, by the doors. It was Sonny and that Will Horton…and that Horton boy was seducing her son!

She ran to the doors, opened them and shouted in a rather loud voice:

"William Horton, how dare you seduce my son?!"

The sensation was unbelievable. The look in Will's eyes, those wonderful blue eyes, was full of tenderness and anticipation; then the touch of his lips, so tentative and gentle; the brushing of one nose with the other. Sonny was in heaven. Then Will must have mustered up a little courage, because Sonny could feel the pressure of Will's lips increase, as he grabbed at Sonny's lower lip with his teeth, very gently. This definitely was heaven.

And then the moment disappeared in a flash as he felt the rush of wind from the Atrium doors opening and his mother's voice:

"William Horton, how dare you seduce my son?! His immune system is suppressed! You could be killing him with your filthy Brady germs!"

Sonny couldn't believe this. How could his mother do this to him? She had a real knack for knowing just when to ruin a moment. And this was probably the most beautiful moment of his life…so far.

Sonny reacted instantly, by removing his hand from Will's chin to present it to his mother. He also, simultaneously squeezed Will's knee, to try and reassure him. He then spoke, a little harshly (with good reason) to his mother:

"Mom! For your information, if anyone was seducing anyone, I was seducing Will! I kissed him! If…this was any of your business…which it most certainly is not!"

Sonny could tell that his mother was far from finished. He glanced briefly at Will to see if he were okay. Will looked embarrassed. Sonny squeezed Will's knee a little more, knowing that his mother was about to give one or both of them a verbal onslaught and that there really wasn't anything he could do to stop it. If he tried to stop it now, she would just get worse and perhaps even more hurtful than he knew she was about to be:

"You are my son. I care about you. And I'm sure that this young man, with his perfect good-looks and his shy demeanor has manipulated you, just like his mother could manipulate any man she chose! You need your rest Sonny…you don't need some manipulative needy person hanging around you zapping you of your energy!"

When Sonny kissed him, Will was a little shocked. It felt so warm, and good. It felt nice. Sonny felt like home. Will was able to relax and enjoy this intimacy and then something happened. He felt a fire growing within and he did not want to embarrass himself by letting it get out of control, and so he used his teeth, just a little to clamp down and allow himself a little self-control.

And then Sonny's mother showed up and started shouting at him; and she was right. Sonny's immune system was more compromised than his, at least it was for now. He felt Sonny's reassuring hand on his thigh and that took the sting away for Mrs. Kiriakis' words, at least a little. But then Will got to thinking, and he realized that she may be right about him. All his life he tried to distance himself from his mother, her behaviour and what he deemed to be her selfish motivations. That was why he had worked hard, to get the grades , to make something of himself; to be in a position to help others. But maybe he was being selfish now. Maybe he should stay away from Sonny, for Sonny's own good.

And even though Sonny was telling his mother to basically mind her own business, maybe she was right. Will decided that he needed to explain his feelings to her. Try and make her understand that he was not his mother; that he truly did care for Sonny, even though they really had only truly met four days ago.

With his adrenalin pumping wildly, Will decided to stand up, explain himself. Defend himself. But then…everything became dark.

Justin was very disappointed in his wife. He wished that she could have waited and that she hadn't seen her baby kiss another man. He knew that no one would ever be good enough for Sonny; but Sami Brady's kid never even stood a chance.

When he saw Sonny kissing Will Horton, unlike his wife , his first reaction was happiness and pride. He was happy that Sonny and Wil had finally admitted, at least somewhat, their feelings for each other. And he was extremely proud of both of them to have the courage to express those feelings, under the circumstances.

When Sonny stood up for himself, he became even more proud. And he could see the discussion brewing in Will's mind. Justin was hoping that he would find the courage to defend himself. And when he started standing, Justin again felt a bit of pride.

But then Will faltered. As he was standing, Justin could see Will lose his balance, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. He had fainted. Sonny was the first to rush to Will, and Justin was the second.

Adrienne simply stood where she was with her hands on her hips as she said:

"See? He's being melodramatic…just like his mother!"

Justin couldn't believe what he just heard his wife saw Sonny crouch down to see if Will was okay. Sonny took Will by the arm and shouted: "Will! Will! Are you okay?"

Then Justin saw Will stir, look at Sonny, put his arm around him and kiss him. Will's face then reddened and an embarrassed look came across his face as he looked at Adrienne and then at Justin:

"I'm fine Sonny" he finally said, "I just fainted. The doctor warned me that this might happen. I just didn't think it would be so soon."

He then asked Sonny and Justin to help him up because he had something to say to Mrs. Kiriakis. And she stood there...waiting.