Will woke to an ache in his left shoulder and something warm plastered behind him. Will fell asleep on his side, shoulders hunched together with Alex holding on tight. The two didn't move during the night.
Will smiled despite the pain in his shoulder. Alex snored in his sleep. Not too loud just a light sound. It was cute, made him seem human.
Settling into bed the night before was a bit awkward. Neither knew where to put their hands or which side of the bed to lie on. Both grew accustomed to sleeping in the middle, alone. Will wanted to cuddle and it only took a bit of cajoling for Alex to agree.
After that, it was easy. The two settled into a whispered conversation, stealing a few kisses, before drifting off.
Now, Will needed to use the bathroom and stretch but didn't want to move. He was in Alex's arms again after so long. He wanted to enjoy it.
Will grabbed the hand that rested on his hip and linked it with his. Alex's hands were wide and strong with a smattering of hair on his knuckles. They were longer than Will's, the skin darker. Will wondered what Alex's policy on holding hands was. If he'd grab Will's hand when they walked down the street or not.
Alex shifted behind Will, squeezing his hand.
"You wiggle too much," Alex's sleep-roughened voice said.
"Sorry," Will replied.
Alex pressed his nose behind Will's ear and breathed him in. Will smiled when he felt a tiny kiss to the back of his neck.
"Morning," Alex said, "I gotta pee."
Will rolled his eyes but squirmed out of Alex's arms in response. "Why are you always ruining my moments?"
"You'll get used to it," Alex said as he battled the sheets and hopped out of bed.
Will stretched, rotating his shoulder while Alex went in the bathroom. He didn't close the door behind him but Will didn't mind much. Something about it all seemed so domestic.
Once he had a turn in the bathroom, Will sat next to Alex on the edge of the bed.
"So," Alex said, right leg bouncing up and down, "now what?"
"Hmm," Will thought for a second before kissing Alex.
The kiss soothed Alex, lulling his jitters.
"I've never had a boyfriend before," Alex confessed, forehead pressed against Will's.
"I know," Will answered with a small smile.
"Or a girlfriend," Alex added.
"Right," Will grinned.
"I'm gonna fuck up," Alex said, tone getting higher and higher.
"I know," Will laughed when Alex frowned and tried to pull away. Holding Alex close, Will said, "You're you. You're gonna say the wrong thing at the wrong time. You'll annoy me, drive me crazy. You'll start fights and mess things up. But that's okay because I'm gonna do that too. I don't want a perfect boyfriend. I just want you."
Alex licked his lips and nodded. "Okay." He waited a few beats before blurting out, "I slept with Joey's girlfriend in high school."
"What?" Will blinked.
"Joey, my brother," Alex elaborated. "I slept with his girlfriend, on purpose. I forgot about it for the most part but I guess it's kind of relevant now. I slept with you and you were with Sonny. Maybe I have a pattern."
"I wasn't dating Sonny when you slept with me," Will responded. "I know you're-uh-experienced. I knew that before all of this. I mean, the first time we met you said as much."
"I did?" Alex frowned.
"Yes," Will chuckled, light-hearted. "Alex, I know who you are. I don't want you to be anyone else."
"I knew that," Alex stated.
"Since you brought it up, though," Will pulled away from Alex just a tiny bit. "I don't want to pressure you or anything but I do think we should talk about some stuff."
"Like what?" Alex asked.
"Are you my boyfriend?" Will wondered. "Because I want you to be."
"I want that too," Alex struggled to get out. It was getting easier admitting his feelings for Will but it was still difficult opening up.
"And no other people, right?" Will glanced at Alex, chewing his lower lip. "Not that I don't trust you. I just want to make sure we're on the same page."
"I've seen you with someone else," Alex grunted, crossing his arms. "I don't want to see that ever again. You're mine."
Will's smile lit up his face. He pulled his legs underneath him and kissed Alex again, longer. He didn't know what it was but hearing Alex talk like that did something to Will's insides.
"It's just you and me, kitten," Alex said once they parted.
"Good, I was gonna demand it," Will told Alex with a confident smile.
Alex looked Will up and down, raising his left brow. "You're pretty sexy when you're confident."
Will blushed but didn't look away causing Alex to nod in approval.
"I guess all that's left to talk about is telling people," Will said. "If you want to, that is."
"I didn't wait for you this long to keep quiet about it," Alex huffed. "We'll tell people just not for a while. Let the whole Sonny thing fizzle out."
"Right," Will frowned. He almost forgot. "He's gonna hate me for a long time, isn't he?"
"Yep," Alex confirmed. "You and me both once he finds out about us."
"I tried not to hurt him, honest," Will said. He slumped into Alex, a small pout on his face. "I know it's awful but I only agreed to go out with him because of what you said that night with the maid. If that didn't happen, I don't know what would have happened. I feel bad about it but I can't change my decisions. It's not even that Sonny was an awful boyfriend or I didn't like him. I could have been happy with him maybe. He just wasn't you."
"Don't worry," Alex put his arm around Will's shoulders, "everyone will blame me. I corrupted you or seduced you away or something. And that's fine. I don't care what people think."
"I care what people think about you," Will insisted. "I'm not gonna let people think you did anything wrong because you didn't. You never tried anything when I was dating Sonny. All you did was tell me how you feel. If anything, I'm the bad guy here. I toyed with both of your emotions. I mean, I pulled something right out of the Sami Brady playbook."
"You're 18," Alex rolled his eyes. "You aren't supposed to have all your shit together. You figured out you like guys and you figured out which guy you liked more. There's nothing wrong with that."
"I'm just saying," Will said, leaning toward Alex, "I'm not letting anyone treat you bad about this."
"Yeah, whatever," Alex mumbled even though he felt something warm up inside of his chest. "We should tell your family about us first, though. Since they want us together."
"I can't believe my mom and EJ went to you," Will shook his head.
"Your mom said I'm the EJ to her Sami," Alex proclaimed.
"That's a terrifying thought," Will said. "But accurate. Hey," Will remembered something, "did you know Johnny saw right through you?"
"Hmm?" Alex said.
"He asked me the other night if I liked you or Sonny better," Will recalled. "Said that you looked at me when you thought no one could see."
"Damn perceptive child," Alex grumbled.
"That child is the offspring of my mom and EJ," Will pointed out. "The world might not survive him or Sydney when they get older."
"Better get on their good sides now," Alex said causing Will to laugh.
"How long do you think we should wait to tell everyone?" Will asked after a few moments of comfortable silence. "I don't want to hurt Sonny again but I don't want to wait. I want everyone to know we're together and happy."
"Week or two," Alex said. "Maybe we'll luck out and Sonny will find a new guy to torture, I mean, date."
"I hope Sonny doesn't hate you over this," Will said.
"I knew before I told you that he was gonna hate me," Alex shrugged. "I'm not thrilled about it. We might not be friends but he's my brother. I knew it was gonna come down to you or him, though. I made my choice."
Will didn't know if he was ecstatic or saddened by that.
"You watched Sonny date me and you didn't hate him," Will pointed out.
"Sonny and I are different," Alex said. "He won't forgive me, not for this."
"He won't forgive either of us," Will remarked.
Alex hummed before standing up, yanking Will along with him. "I'm hungry."
"I'd make you pancakes but I'm pretty sure you only ate them 'cause you were sick and it dulled your taste buds," Will said with a sheepish smile.
"I liked those pancakes, damnit," Alex argued. "But I was thinking we can go out."
"Oh, okay," Will agreed. "After, I need to go to work, though."
"Lame," Alex responded, "but fine."
Will didn't have an extra set of clothes with him. He changed out of Alex's pajamas and into the pants from the night before. He borrowed a basic white t-shirt that caused Alex to growl and kiss Will fiercely.
"You make it difficult to keep things slow," Alex told Will, hands inside Will's back pockets.
"Don't you mean I make it hard?" Will asked, eyebrows leaping up and down.
Alex pushed Will away for that comment. "I'm dating a dweeb."
"But I'm your dweeb," Will laughed, putting on his shoes and socks. "Hey, where's my backpack?" Will wondered, looking around the small sitting room.
"Beats the hell out of me," Alex said, shoving his phone in his pocket. "I don't think you brought it."
"Must still be at the mansion," Will said with a shrug. "I'll ask EJ to bring it to work."
"Hurry it up," Alex ordered. "I'm starving."
"So bossy," Will mumbled under his breath, standing up.
Alex smacked him on the butt. "I heard that."
The two walked out into the hallway. Will pushed his hands into the pockets of his blazer so he could resist the temptation to hold Alex's hand.
"So, when we tell everyone," Will said, "can I hold your hand in public?"
Alex rubbed his lips together. "I guess."
"Is that something you'll like?" Will wondered. He didn't want to force Alex into any uncomfortable situations.
"Don't know," Alex shrugged. "I wouldn't hate it if it was you."
Will smiled, scrunching his hands in balls. He wanted to hold Alex's hand so hard now.
As they headed out of the elevator, Will couldn't stop thinking. "Why haven't you ever dated anyone? I mean, I'm not complaining or judging. It's just-you're so great. I don't understand."
Alex wanted to lash out but one look at Will's face and he knew he couldn't. Will didn't mean it in a bad way. He looked curious. Besides, Alex figured as his boyfriend Will should know anyway.
"I just never wanted to get close to anyone," Alex explained. "I never met anyone worth getting close to anyway. I thought relationships were a burden. Having to deal with the same person, day after day, only fucking one person, it didn't appeal to me. I'd sleep with a person once and get bored. Besides, everyone always has these expectations of me. They'd expect things out of me I couldn't give. It just got easier keeping people at a distance.
"Then this annoying, dweeby teenager came into my life," Alex said without looking at Will, "and fucked everything up."
"What a shame," Will said bumping into Alex. "But I don't think I did anything different. I had expectations too. That's sort of why we got our lines crossed."
"No, that happened because of me," Alex insisted, clearing his throat. "You freaked me out because I liked you and I don't like anyone. I did what I did to push you away. You didn't do or think anything I didn't want you to. I think that's why I want you now, you know, for something real. Because you didn't push and you didn't complain. You just let me figure things out on my own."
"I dated your brother," Will pointed out.
"Don't remind me," Alex grunted.
"Sorry," Will smiled for a few seconds. "I wanted to push with you. I wanted to yell and argue and make you see me the way I wanted. But I knew it wouldn't do any good. I couldn't force you to feel something you didn't."
"You were fucking blind," Alex said. "Everyone could see how I felt. They just didn't think it was true. And I thought you only were with me because you couldn't have Sonny."
"It was more of the other way around," Will said, realizing how awful that made him sound.
"Not like it matters now," Alex said. "You and Sonny are done. You're with me now."
"That's not changing anytime soon," Will reassured him.
"Not if I have anything to fucking say about it," Alex stated, moving closer to Will.
Will couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face. He grew even happier when Alex headed toward the Brady Pub without Will needing to ask him.
Sonny woke with a crick in his neck. He fell asleep on the couch at Common Grounds. It took him a few minutes to realize where he was and why he was there.
The art show, Will, Sonny recalled, scrubbing a hand over his face while he dragged himself to the bathroom.
He splashed some water on his face, trying to wake up. He needed to open the shop soon. He had to get moving. He just didn't know how.
How was he supposed to carry on as if nothing happened the night before? As if Will didn't just dump him without any warning.
Sonny didn't get it. Why would anyone break up with him?
Especially Will, Sonny thought, slamming the bathroom door behind him.
Sonny liked Will, he did. But he wasn't under any delusions about his former boyfriend. Will was young and clueless with limited options. Whereas Sonny, Sonny had options. Sonny could have had his choice of guys and he chose Will. How could Will dump him?
From the first moment they met, Sonny felt attracted to Will. He liked what he saw and the longer they spent together, the more Sonny liked. Although, if Sonny was honest, he liked Will more a few months ago. The attraction was still there but Sonny didn't care for Will's new attitude.
Sonny didn't appreciate Will arguing with him about almost everything. How Will talked back to Sonny's mother. How he refused to see reason with Alex. That Will didn't let up about Sonny's past. That Will didn't make time for Sonny. Always putting Will's siblings, his job, or even Alex ahead of Sonny. Sonny didn't like that he wasn't Will's first priority. That even on big dates, like last night, Will spent the whole time ignoring Sonny. Inviting Sonny places yet hardly giving him any attention at all.
Sonny's pride hurt, his feelings hurt, and it was all too familiar. His last relationship ended a little too similarly. Sonny believing everything was fine only to get his heart broken in the end.
Am I heartbroken? I haven't even cried. It hurts, yes but it isn't the same as last time.
Sonny didn't think he was in love with Will. He loved him, yes. Will was one of his best friend's but in love?
Once upon a time, I thought I was in love. That was before we started dating, before Alex.
In Sonny's opinion, Will changed once he became friends with Alex and not for the better.
Will became too loud, too opinionated, uncooperative. I want the old Will back, my Will.
Sonny rearranged the sofa, fluffing up where he slept on the cushions. Next to the couch, he saw a blue backpack, Will's backpack.
He must have left it last night.
Sonny considered taking it to Will. Demanding a better explanation for everything. But he wouldn't. As petty as it sounded, Sonny didn't want to do Will any favors.
Sonny made to carry the bag to his office when someone pounded on the front door. Walking over, Sonny saw Brian standing outside with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Sonny unlocked the door as quick as he could and ushered Brian inside.
"Hey," Sonny said, "what are you doing here?"
"You didn't answer any of my messages," Brian shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.
Sonny searched his pockets and found his phone. It was dead.
"I fell asleep here," Sonny said, rubbing a hand over the growth of stubble on his face. "I didn't charge it."
"Why'd you fall asleep?" Brian wondered. "I thought you were at some lame party with Will."
"We were," Sonny sighed. "We came back here for an emergency. After I took care of it, Will dumped me."
"What?" Brian spat, stunned.
"Yeah," Sonny turned away, "told me some BS about us not working. I don't know. I kicked him out and that was that."
"I can't believe this," Brian said, sitting on the arm of the couch. "Are you okay?"
"No, maybe, I don't know," Sonny answered. "It hurts but I'm not…crushed, I guess is the word. I think, more than anything, I'm mad at myself. I should have listened to you, my mom, hell everyone. Everyone could see what a loser he was but me."
"You got blinded by the pretty face," Brian said, trying to lighten the mood. "That's not your fault. At least you won't live with any regrets. And, hey, it's his loss. You're fantastic."
"Thanks," Sonny said without much emotion.
Brian didn't say anything for a while. Just looked at Sonny and around the coffee shop. When he couldn't handle the silence anymore, he cleared his throat. "What's that?"
Sonny looked where Brian pointed and made a face. "Will left it last night."
"Oh," Brian nodded. He looked at the bag for a moment longer before picking it up and unzipping it.
"What are you doing?" Sonny asked, moving to sit on the couch.
Brian slid over and said, "I'm nosy. Now, let's see what's in here."
Brian sorted through Will's things. There were typical items like gum, a handful of pens, scraps of paper that got tore off on the ends. Crumbs from a granola bar and what looked like an ear bud with the wires sticking out. Returned essays with top marks and a few memos from work. Most of which featured EJ demanding snacks and for Will to fix the internet.
"God, this kid's boring," Brian remarked. He pulled out a stack of photographs and dropped his jaw, making a strange gurgling sound.
"What?" Sonny asked, attempting to fix his hair in the hopes of looking more presentable.
"I take back what I said," Brian murmured, turning his head this way and that to look at the picture. "Not boring at all."
"Huh?" Sonny wondered.
Brian flipped through the pictures, admiring them before he remembered something important. "Doesn't your brother take nude pictures for a living?"
"I told you his art show was last night," Sonny crossed his arms and huffed.
"Uh-I think he forgot to use some pictures," Brian said, holding out one photo for Sonny.
Sonny looked at the picture. He blinked once, twice, three times, resisting the urge to rub his eyes in disbelief. He reached out and ripped the whole stack out of Brian's hands. Each picture showed the same thing, Will naked.
Some photos Will looked demure, wide-eyed, and innocent. Others he seemed devious, confident, and sexy. Others he looked happy, carefree, eyes dancing.
It was clear the pictures in Sonny's hands were Alex's. He recognized the styling. Last night, Sonny could see the beauty in Alex's work. Sonny began to see the pictures as works of art. Now, all Sonny saw was filth. Saw his once kindhearted boyfriend baring everything for Sonny's brother
"Sonny, you okay?" Brian asked, watching several emotions flicker across Sonny's face.
"No," Sonny said, voice a little too calm, "I'm not. My brother took pictures of my boyf-my Will." Sonny paused, squeezing his fists together and closing his eyes. "How could Will do this?"
Brian pulled one picture from Sonny's firm grip. It was different than the others, more intimate. Will's skin looked flushed, lips swollen. "What do you think happened here?"
"What?" Sonny asked too upset to focus.
"I said it before," Brian pointed out. "Alex always seemed a little too into Will for friends. And this picture? I think it proves that."
It took Sonny a few moments to see beyond Will's nudity, to see the expression in Will's eyes. The ease in Will's posture. Will, who at times seemed like a stranger in his own skin, looked so at peace, so comfortable in his nudity in front of Alex and a camera. Sonny knew what it meant.
"Oh, God," Sonny gasped, bending in half, head between his knees. Realization took over him. It all fit into place, everything he refused to see before. All the signs he ignored, all his insecurities. Even what Will tried to tell him the other night, about past partners. Will wasn't curious about Sonny's past. He wanted to hide his own. "Will had sex with Alex, with my brother."
The weight of his words, the implication that their entire relationship changed, hit Sonny. He didn't know when it happened or how often but he knew it was true. Will and Alex slept together.
"What are you going to do?" Brian asked in a wary voice as Sonny jumped to his feet, pictures and bag in his hands.
"Will needs his bag back, right?" Sonny mumbled. "He's gonna get it."
Brian chased after Sonny, beating him to the door. Brian spread his arms out to block the door. "Aren't you supposed to open up in like twenty minutes?"
"Chad can do it," Sonny answered, trying to shove Brian out of his way. "Get out of the way." When Brian didn't move, Sonny yelled, "now!"
"Call Chad first," Brian insisted. "I'm not gonna let your business suffer for this. It's not worth it."
Sonny wasn't happy but he relented. He used Brian's phone and dialed Chad. He didn't explain much, just said he had an emergency to deal with and needed Chad to cover him.
"There, happy?" Sonny asked as he handed the phone back over.
"Yes," Brian moved away from the door, holding it open for Sonny. "Now, what are we doing?"
"You said Alex's show was missing some pictures," Sonny said, face devoid of all emotions. "I'm just gonna put these where they belong."
Will sat in his desk chair at work, looking at a picture on his phone. It was one of the few photos he'd ever gotten of Alex where he wasn't blinking or making a ridiculous face. It made Will laugh. Alex took such amazing photographs but hated pictures of himself.
Will took the picture when he went with Alex to St. Louis. They had a lot of fun that trip, singing obnoxiously to the radio, driving too fast, eating too much fast food. The picture was candid, Will snapped it when Alex didn't expect it. Will forgot what Alex was laughing about but it didn't matter. Alex's eyes crinkled, his smile wide. He looked happy.
I want him to look like that every day, Will thought before rolling his eyes. That's too sappy even for me.
EJ walked through the door a few moments later. "William, what happened last night?"
Will closed the picture as fast as he could. He looked at EJ for a moment. "Where's my backpack?"
"It wasn't at the mansion," EJ waved his hand, tossing his briefcase on his desk. "Now, last night, did Alexander happen to talk to you?"
"I wonder where it is then," Will mused. "I could have sworn I left it there."
"William, focus!" EJ shouted, impatient. "Tell me about last night."
Will was afraid of this. He wanted to keep the news about his relationship with Alex under wraps but he wasn't always good about that. EJ saw through him almost every time.
"Well," Will swallowed, deciding to give EJ the truth, or at least, half of it. "I broke up with Sonny last night."
"You did?" EJ tried not to look too pleased. He leaned against his desk, facing Will. "Why?"
"I just, well, I realized that the two of us weren't working," Will said. "Sonny's great but I just don't think he's for me. I've been growing, you know, and I don't think Sonny likes the direction I'm headed. I'm pretty sure he's gonna hate me but I had to end things."
"And it wasn't because of a certain photographer?" EJ asked, smirking.
"Uh-well-not just because of him," Will said. "I do like Alex and I'm pretty sure he likes me. I just don't want to rush anything."
"I see," EJ reached into his suit pocket and pulled out his phone. He sent Samantha a text as fast as he could type. "Well, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters."
"Thanks," Will grinned. "I am happy."
EJ gave Will a suspicious glance. He opened his mouth to say something when his secretary ran into the office.
"Sir," the woman panted, "there's an emergency down in the art gallery."
"What?" EJ and Will said at the same time, both standing up.
"Something about one of the exhibits getting vandalized," the woman finished. "They need you downstairs."
Will and EJ rushed for the door, a million different scenarios racing through their heads. It took a few minutes to get down the elevator and into the art gallery. A barrage of security guards stood around, looking confused.
"What happened?" EJ demanded, shoving his way to the front.
"We're not sure, sir," the head security officer said. "We opened up this morning like you requested and everything was fine. On the last round, we noticed that," the man pointed toward an exhibit, the one right in the front, Alex's.
At first, it didn't look like anything changed. There were still photographs hanging from wires. There was no graffiti, no destruction.
When Will took a step closer, EJ put his hand on his shoulder. "What?" Will asked.
EJ, face red and lips drawn into a thin line, turned to the security team and barked, "find out who did this, now!"
Several guards ran off. Two stayed, guarding the front entrance.
Will shook off EJ's arm, walking up to the photographs. Yesterday, there were several different models of all different genders, shapes, sizes, and colors. Now, there was only one.
Will turned in a circle. His own naked body stared back at him from every angle. In the middle of the display, thrown haphazardly, was his backpack.
Alex closed his laptop screen and grabbed a cigarette. He thought about lighting it but knew how much Will hated it. Instead, he put it back in the pack and threw them on the table. His phone buzzed. He had a message from his dad inviting him to lunch with him and Sonny at the mansion.
Yeah, no, Alex thought. As he opened up the text, his phone rang. "Didn't I just drop you off at work?"
"I need you to get over here," Will said in a low, dangerous voice.
"What?" Alex asked, brows furrowed.
"It's your exhibit," Will said. "I – you better get here."
It took Alex ten minutes to get to DiMera Enterprises. It took just about as long to get inside, the place was crawling with security officers and police.
By the time Alex made it to his photos, he was already concerned. He spotted Will and EJ standing to the side. Will's head was in his hands while EJ looked furious.
"What?" Alex walked up to them. "What happened?"
"Go look at your display," EJ ordered when someone with a laptop walked up to him.
Alex glanced at his photos, stomach churning. He rushed back to Will's side, hand on his elbow. "Who the fuck did this?"
Will pointed toward his backpack, lips pressed together. "I remember where I left it."
"I thought you said it was at the mansion," Alex hovered over Will.
Will shook his head. He couldn't believe this. Couldn't believe he would do this.
EJ turned the laptop so it faced both Will and Alex. On the security footage, clear as day, stood Sonny and Brian.
"I left it with Sonny," Will whispered, turning away from the screen.
Author's note:
What do you think? Thanks for reading!