"Nervous for your date?" Will's therapist questioned towards the end of their session.
"A little," Will responded. Licking his lips and pulling on a loose thread at the bottom of his shirt, Will said, "Is that normal?"
"Of course," the woman told him earnestly. "From what you've said all of your other encounters were based on sex. Now you're doing something that's inherently different than just sex."
"It's not like we only ever had sex," Will mumbled under his breath. "It would just always lead to sex."
"Do you think tonight is going to lead to sex?" the woman wondered.
"Probably," Will admitted. "My dad volunteered to watch Ari for me all night."
"Maybe you should try not sleeping with him," the woman suggested. "To see if you actually have things in common besides sex."
As the session wrapped up, Will left the appointment with a new prescription in hand and a lot to think about.
"Be good for grandpa," Will ordered as he gave Ari a long, tight hug goodbye.
Ari nodded as she rubbed her cold little nose against Will's neck making them both laugh.
"What are you doing you little goober?" Will teased.
"I saw your friend do it," Ari giggled, "You like it."
Lucas coughed to cover up his laughter.
Will, embarrassed, gave Ari a kiss on her nose, "How about we just let Paul do that, OK?"
"OK," Ari answered before planting a large kiss on Will's lips.
"Bye, Daddy," Ari waved as she put on her little backpack and held Lucas' hand.
Will leaned against the doorframe and watched them walk away. Just before they were out of earshot Will yelled, "No ice cream for dinner!"
Ari turned around and stuck her tongue out.
Shaking his head and laughing, Will closed the door and looked at the clock.
'OK, two hours before Paul picks me up,' Will rocked back and forth on his heels. 'That should be plenty of time to look decent and stop feeling like I want to puke.'
Will paced back and forth in front of his closet, hair dripping wet and completely naked.
'What am I supposed to wear? I don't even know where we're going. What if I get cold?' Will thought as he clutched at his elbows.
The only thing Will could think of was essentially what he wore when he and Sonny went out with Paul and Derrick. 'There is no way in hell I'm wearing that,' Will groaned, going through all of his shirts once again. 'Although I doubt Paul noticed me at all.'
Hearing his phone buzzing, Will exhaled in relief when he saw who it was.
"I need help," Will said into the phone in lieu of a greeting.
"About?" Chad wondered warily.
"Um," Will rushed out quickly, "I'm going on a date and I don't know what to wear."
"Are you serious right now?" Chad complained. "Some of us have real problems, Will!"
"You didn't kill anyone," Will dismissed, "But I am having trouble so just help."
"Ugh," Chad rolled his eyes, "All your clothes are ugly. Just wear that light blue shirt, a jacket and some tight pants and be done with it."
Will found a light blue dress shirt and pulled it out, "OK, thanks. Now, why did you call?"
"Just wondering if you have any tips on staying out of jail," Chad replied with a deep sigh. "Since that's apparently where I'm heading."
"Stop thinking like that," Will insisted as he found his iron and ironing board. He really wanted to look his best. "You aren't going to jail. Obviously the police don't have enough to charge you with."
"With the way everyone's talking I guess it's only a matter of time," Chad admitted. "I'll have to go visit Gabi and get some tips on how to deal with jail."
"If you ever get an ankle monitor," Will presented, "I know how to hack the system and get it off."
"You do?" Chad laughed.
"Yeah," Will shrugged. "I did it for EJ once a while ago. It's not that hard to get into the Salem PD's system. Want me to see if they have anything on you?"
Chad, thinking it over, decided, "No, better not risk it. Ari can't have both her parents in jail."
"Psh," Will dismissed as he started getting the wrinkles out of his shirt, "I'd just blame it on you."
"You're a fantastic friend," Chad replied dully. Listening to Will laugh, Chad thought of something, "Who are you going on a date with?"
"You mean you didn't see the paper yesterday?" Will asked curiously.
"No," Chad shook his head, "Ever since I've been the scapegoat for the spike in crime I've steered clear. Why? What's up?"
"My grandpa and Hope brought me into the station," Will explained. "They thought I might be connected to the murders somehow."
"What?" Chad spat out. "That's as stupid as the crap they've got on me."
"Well, yeah," Will said, "Anyway I had an alibi that was pretty newsworthy."
"Which was?" Chad pressed getting interested.
"I couldn't have hurt anyone," Will sighed, "Because I spent the whole night in Paul's hotel room."
"Excuse me?" Chad started choking.
"Yeah," Will made a clicking sound with his tongue.
"You know," Chad started talking, "When I said you being nice to Paul was you keeping your enemy close I did not anticipate you keeping him that close."
"Oh shut up," Will off-handedly said, trying to focus on the area between his buttons. "Anyway since the cat is out of the bag Paul asked me out tonight."
"What does that mean?" Chad asked. "How long have you been seeing Paul?"
"….A while," Will said.
"Well it doesn't sound like you need to be nervous," Chad huffed. "You already gave it up to him so it's not like he's taking you out to get some."
"Hmm," Will thought that over, "I know you weren't meaning to be helpful but that actually kind of worked."
"I'm insightful even when I'm the one who should be comforted," Chad joked.
"Well," Will offered, "Next time I'll be helpful."
"Tell me how tonight goes," Chad told Will, "But not the details. That I don't ever want to know. But good luck."
"Thanks," Will bit his lip, "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you lately."
"Not like there's anything you can really do," Chad said, "But thanks."
Paul looked at himself in the mirror as he finished combing his hair and sprayed himself with his cologne.
He wasn't using Narita because Will admitted once he didn't like it. Instead Paul was wearing the same scent he had for ages. The same scent he used to dowse himself in before Will would come over for his interviews.
'Alright,' Paul told himself as he moved back into his room and started getting dressed, 'You can do this.' He would never admit it to Will but he spent almost an hour trying to pick out an outfit.
Paul didn't want to be nervous but he couldn't help it. He had never gone on a proper date before. 'At least not as an out and proud gay man actually going out with the right guy,' Paul thought.
'Ugh,' Paul shook his head as he grabbed his wallet and phone. 'There's nothing to be nervous about. It's just Will.'
'Just Will,' Paul closed his eyes. 'Yeah, right. He's never been just Will.'
Paul headed for the door only to hurry back before the door could close behind him. Picking up his hotel room key he thought to himself, 'I really need to move out of this hotel.'
Will checked his appearance in the mirror once more. He had gotten his hair cut rather short earlier in the morning and he couldn't stop touching it.
'Don't be nervous,' Will ordered. 'It's going to be fine. If I can get through a Thanksgiving dinner where Paul tried to get me off under the table than a date should be easy.'
Knock Knock Knock
'OK, don't be nervous. You look nice. You know Paul is attracted to you. You know he wouldn't ask you out if he wasn't interested. Don't be nervous.'
Will opened the door quickly and smiled, "Hi."
"Hi," Paul repeated as he locked eyes with Will. "Your hair," Paul lightly touched Will's shorten locks.
"Yeah, I cut it," Will said softly, "Obviously."
"I like it," Paul couldn't help from rubbing his thumb across Will's cheek. " And you're wearing blue," Paul announced.
"I am," Will nodded, eyebrows knitting together, missing the warmth from Paul's hand.
"Brings out your eyes," Paul smiled as he reached out for Will's hand.
Will took Paul's hand and closed the door behind him, "One of your favorite features."
Paul watched as Will locked his door, "Those pants show off another one of my favorites."
Will turned around and smacked Paul with his free hand, "Just what kind of date do you think I am?"
"I think you're the kind of date," Paul started pulling Will along, "That is susceptible to flattery."
"Yes," Will declared with a laugh, "Yes, I am."
"You gonna tell me where we're going now?" Will asked as he tried not to let the people watching them bother him.
"Nope," Paul laughed. "You can wait. Now get in the car."
"Since when do you have a car?" Will questioned as he let Paul pull him along.
"Do you really trust me with this?" Will looked at Paul like he was crazy. "I'm going to boil myself alive."
"You will not," Paul laughed. "Come on, it's really good. It's not dangerous at all. Just don't put your hand in it."
"You know that there's a Japanese restaurant in Salem," Will said conversationally as he sat down at the table.
"Just because a restaurant serves sushi does not make it Japanese," Paul argued.
"I don't really like sushi," Will confessed giving Paul a sad smile.
"That crap from Salem is not real sushi," Paul told Will. "There's no way that fish is fresh. One day I'll get you something real. But for tonight we're having beef."
"Isn't that what we have every night?" Will asked quietly.
"Yes," Paul rolled his eyes at Will's lame joke. "Just let me do the ordering."
"What if I don't like it?" Will whined slightly before biting his lip.
Paul reached forward to grab Will's hand and look him straight in the eyes, "Just trust me. You'll like it."
"If I can't use the chopsticks you don't get to make fun of me," Will pouted, resisting the urge to squirm under Paul's intense stare.
"Oh I'm making fun of you," Paul assured Will in a kind tone.
"I give up," Will tossed the chopsticks on the table. "I'll just starve."
Paul got up from his seat and sat down next to Will on the other side of the table.
He put his arms around Will. "Give me your hands," Paul requested as Will picked up the chopsticks again.
"Now," Paul instructed, "Pinch your fingers right here."
Will tried to do as Paul said, "Like this?"
Paul inhaled sharply when Will turned his head and was suddenly right there.
"Yes," Paul whispered as he looked over Will's face.
Staring into each other's eyes Paul and Will slowly started moving closer when the waiter came with their food.
"Um," Paul let go of Will, "Guess it's time to put your skills to the test."
"How do I know when it's done?" Will wondered as he watched his thin slice of meat boiling in the water.
"When I tell you it is," Paul smiled. "Now put some vegetables in it."
"Bossy," Will mumbled as he slowly and carefully used his chopsticks and tossed the vegetables in the boiling water.
"So," Paul stirred his meat and vegetables around, "How am I doing as far as a first date?"
"Well," Will answered very seriously, "It took 45 minutes to get here. You've taken me to a restaurant I can't pronounce with a waiter that doesn't speak English. I still don't think I'm using these right," Will indicated his chopsticks, "And I'm not entirely sure what I'm actually eating."
"But," Will pressed his lips together, "I did learn that you like to sing along to the radio. That you like cheesy pop music and that you drive like an old lady."
"So, yeah," Will nodded, "You're doing good."
"Good," Paul smiled. "You can take it out now," Paul gestured to the boiling water, "If you can get the chopsticks to work."
"Now where are we going?" Will asked as they exited the restaurant.
"I figure I've challenged your poor American palate enough," Paul grabbed Will's hand, "Now we're getting something warm to drink and maybe take a walk."
Will squeezed Paul's hand and smiled appreciatively when the last part of the sentence sounded like a question.
"That sounds good," Will nodded and let Paul steer him across the street to a coffee shop.
Paul and Will walked down the quiet street with a cup of green tea and black coffee respectively, disregarding the chilly December air.
"Tell me the weirdest thing about your past," Will entreated as he knocked his shoulder with Paul's. "The strangest, most uncomfortable thing you can think of."
"Oh, god," Paul thought long and hard about it. "OK, this is really embarrassing but when I first started going to school I hated it. I wanted to stay at home all day and I didn't want to listen or follow directions. So, um," Paul's face started burning, "I used to purposely wet myself to go home."
Will burst into laughter, "You cannot be serious."
"I was five," Paul defended. "Anyway my mom realized what I was doing and made me stop. So there," Paul smiled at Will as they stopped at a stop light. "What about you, hmm? What weird things happened to you over the years?"
"Oh," Will huffed. "You have no idea."
"Tell me," Paul nudged Will. When Will hesitated Paul cajoled, "I told you about purposely peeing myself. You have to tell me something."
"My life was really different than yours," Will meekly replied. "You're gonna judge."
"No, I'm not," Paul tried to insist.
Will grabbed Paul's arm and gave him a hard look.
Paul scrunched his face together, "OK, maybe I will."
Will groaned and started walking again.
"I'll try very hard to be open minded," Paul offered.
'Do not judge him,' Paul ordered himself. 'Seriously do not judge him.'
Paul grabbed Will's hand, "I want you to be able to talk to me about stuff. I might not get it all but I'd like to, if you want."
"OK," Will gave Paul a brief smile, "Let's see, weirdest thing from my past."
'Where do I even begin?' Will thought.
"Does it count if it's something my mother did that gave me second-hand embarrassment?" Will asked lightly.
"No," Paul half whined, half argued, "Don't flake out on me now, Horton."
"Alright," Will winced, "I've never told anyone this before."
"Anyone?" Paul clarified. The 'Not even Sonny' went unsaid.
Will gave Paul a small smile, "Anyone. The only people that know are the ones that were there."
Will took a deep breath, "OK, when I was in high school we were living in the DiMera mansion for a while. And I had some friends over for a sleep over once."
"Is this where your latent homosexual tendencies came out?" Paul teased.
"No," Will snorted. "Most of my friends kind of chickened out and didn't show up. Big scary DiMera place and all. Well," Will conceded, "Some of their parents were too freaked out to let them go. Anyway," Will continued, "We were all together and we started talking about different DiMera urban legends trying to scare each other. And they somehow ended up daring me to try to sneak into this locked room."
"OK," Paul nodded eagerly. He found Will's reluctant storytelling endearing.
"So I did, obviously," Will explained. "And we were all scared and freaked out, right? And I managed to get the door open and I walked down this flight of stairs and my friends closed the door on me. I was at the bottom of the stairs completely freaked out and something brushed against me."
"What was it?" Paul asked smiling at Will's obvious discomfort.
"A broom," Will admitted with a deep sigh. "So I started screaming and crying and the door wouldn't open and I could hear my friends screaming. Then EJ literally kicked the door in with a gun in his hand and I looked behind me and yeah, a broom. I walked into the world's fanciest storage room."
"For some reason," Will said loudly over Paul's chuckling, "My friends didn't really come over after that. I guess being in the mansion with EJ and a loaded gun freaked them all out too much."
"That could have been worse," Paul told Will as he rubbed his shoulder.
"If you grew up in Salem you would know why that's horrifying," Will smiled.
"I'm starting to get it," Paul told him.
"I like that you're free from most Salem hang ups," Will said to Paul. "Well," Will reluctantly smiled, "You did have a paternity issue so I guess you're becoming one of us."
"One of us?" Paul wondered.
"Yeah," Will nodded, "You aren't the only one. My mom lied to everyone about who my dad was when I was born," Will enlightened. "Everyone thought Claire was someone else's too. Plus there's Parker."
"Who did she say was your father?" Paul wondered curious only about Will. He didn't know why but this oddly made him feel closer to Will.
"My dad's brother," Will said, "It all came out at their almost wedding."
"That reveal is slightly more dramatic than what happened with me," Paul conceded. "But I'd say it's actually something we have in common."
"Do you know how messed up that is?" Will giggled.
"You probably could have been helpful for me back then," Paul nodded, "If we weren't so busy trying to hate the other."
"I didn't hate you," Will automatically said. "That's why I was so angry all the time. I knew you were better than me and so did everyone else."
"That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard you say," Paul commented. "We're different. That doesn't make one of us better or worse than the other."
Will shot Paul a sharp look, "You absolutely know that's not true. But it's fine. I'm working on accepting myself and my faults."
"I'm pretty sure accepting your faults means acknowledging that a lot of them are things only you see," Paul replied seriously.
"Maybe," Will smiled, not wanting the night to turn too serious.
Paul nodded before taking one last sip of his green tea and tossing it in a nearby trash can, "So, you lived at the DiMera mansion because your mom was married to that EJ guy, right?"
"Yep," Will relaxed as Paul put his arm around his shoulder and pulled him in close.
"Was that before or after your mom was with that Rafe guy?" Paul questioned. He had been doing his best to remember Will's long, convoluted history.
"Well," Will took a deep breath ready to explain that particular part of his life.
As they were talking and walking both ignored any passerby's that stopped and stared.
A Few Weeks Ago
"Higher," Ari ordered as Will was pushing her on the swing set at the park.
"Are you pumping your legs?" Will asked with a laugh as he gave her a gentle push.
Ari giggled, long blonde hair flying across her face, "Higher!"
Will, hearing the alarm going off on his phone, grabbed the chains of Ari's swing and pulled her to a stop, "Time for lunch."
"Aw," Ari complained as she jumped off, wobbling slightly on her feet, but internally cheering for her dismount.
"We can swing later," Will revealed. "But you need to eat and daddy needs to take his medicine."
Will guided Ari over towards the picnic table with a large lunch box in his hand. The two sat down as Will got out their sandwiches and the fruit he sliced up for them.
Will got out Ari's juice box and his own reusable water bottle he brought. Inside of the lunch box he had shoved his medicine. He always made sure the childproof cap was locked tight and Ari had already been informed she wasn't allowed to play with them.
"What do we have here?" a voice called out from behind them making Will jump.
Will turned around and swallowed apprehensively as he saw Justin Kiriakis.
'Great,' Will braced himself for what was sure to be an unpleasant altercation.
"Justin," Will nodded before stuffing his medicine back into the lunch box. Justin was definitely someone he would never want to know he needed antidepressants.
Justin gave Will a brief dismissive glance before smiling and waving at Ari.
Ari gave Justin a quick look before digging into her peanut butter and jelly.
Will frowned a bit. Ever since Sonny had left and they had gotten divorced he wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do about Sonny's parents. He knew they should be a part of Ari's life. He didn't want to just cut them out but at the same time it was hard for Will to be around them.
'And whenever I'm uncomfortable Ari gets that way too,' Will knew that wasn't always a good thing.
"Shouldn't you be working or something?" Justin asked in a rather smug tone as he adjusted his tie.
Will blinked a few times before saying, "I can't write all day."
"Hmm," Justin sniffed. Turning his attention to Ari once again, Justin asked, "How have you been little Arianna?"
Ari, crumbs all over her face and jelly on the corner of her lips, said, "We go run morning and play in park. Daddy has friend over."
Justin looked at Will out of the corner of his eye, "Really? What friend is this?"
"Here," Will dived into the lunch box and pulled out a large bag of M&M's in fall colors. He gave Ari a few pieces even though he knew it was wrong.
'What kind of father gives his daughter chocolate before she's done with lunch to shut her up?' Will thought miserably. 'But Justin absolutely cannot know about Paul.'
"What friend?" Justin narrowed his eyes.
"Uh," Will tried to think quickly but he was never good at that.
'This is why I make horrible decisions when I don't have time to think,' Will panicked.
"It was Chad DiMera, wasn't it?" Justin practically growled.
"Uh," Will nodded slowly, "Yep. That's my friend alright."
"Well," Justin shook his head, "It's no surprise you'd still be friends with someone like that."
"What?" Will asked not understanding Justin's animosity.
"You were never punished for your crime," Justin continued as if Will didn't speak, "It's no wonder Chad and you are so buddy-buddy."
"What?" Will repeated in shock.
"Birds of a feather," Justin muttered angrily.
Will opened his mouth to defend himself or Chad, 'Or both of us,' Will thought feeling a bit confused.
"Hey," a cheerful voice called from behind Will once again.
'Oh god,' Will's eyes opened widely, 'Why does he always seek me out in public? Does he even know how to keep a secret? How did he not accidentally jump out of the closet before?'
Paul got closer, eyes locked on Will's face, completely oblivious to anyone else.
"Hi," Paul gave Will a soft smile.
"Paul?" Justin questioned lifting one eyebrow.
"Oh," Paul took a step away from Will once he noticed Justin, "Hey, how's it going?"
"What's going on here?" Justin wondered suspiciously. As far as he knew Paul wanted nothing to do with the likes of Will Horton.
Neither Will nor Paul said anything at first.
"Frien-" Ari started to say before Will held out another handful of M&M's.
Will cleared his throat, making sure he wasn't looking at either Paul or Justin, "My grandma suggested we try to get along. The holidays are here and we don't need to make anything awkward for our family."
"Really?" Justin somehow doubted Will cared at all about making anything worse for someone else.
"Of course," Paul readily agreed. "We spent Thanksgiving together the other day after all."
Ari, looking between her daddy and Paul, nodded.
Justin, prepared to question them further, heard his phone go off. Looking at it Justin declared, "I need to get to the station. Important news on your friend no doubt."
"Right," Will wanted to say something biting but decided against it.
Patting Ari on her head, Justin turned to Paul and casually said, "If you ever have a free moment there's plenty of stories Sonny's told me I can tell you. I know how much he would want you to know them."
Will rolled his eyes and turned to face Ari, getting her to finish her sandwich.
Paul frowned, "I don't think that's necessary."
Justin shrugged as he walked away, "Just think about it."
"Sorry about that," Paul awkwardly told Will. "I don't want to listen to him talk about, uh, you-know-who."
"You can say his name," Will informed Paul. "And you can do whatever you want."
"What I want," Paul lowered his voice so Ari couldn't hear, "Is right here." Paul slid his hand down Will's lower back and rested it over the ample swell of his ass.
"Paul," Will whispered knowing he couldn't risk anyone else seeing them.
Paul took a step closer to Will, "I want you right-"
"Hey you two," a deep voice called.
Will moved away from Paul instantly and turned to face the newcomer.
'At least they're better than Justin,' Will thought before giving a small smile.
"Brady, Theresa, hey," Will greeted before moving to the stroller in front of Theresa and cooing at Tate. "Hi, little dude," Will beamed as he tickled Tate's neck.
Ari threw the rest of her sandwich on the picnic table and peered into the stroller.
"Hi, baby," Ari copied Will and tickled at Tate, giggling excitedly when laughed.
Paul grinned at the sight of Will and Ari both interacting with the baby.
Theresa smiled fondly watching her cousin before glancing over at Paul. Theresa instantly noticed the look on his face.
Lifting an eyebrow, Theresa said as casually as she could, "So, what are the three of you doing here…together?"
Will stood up and patted Ari on the back. He loved seeing her looking so happy.
"Ari and I are eating lunch," Will explained a little too quickly. "Paul was just passing through."
"Really?" Theresa lifted her chin slightly to look into Will's eyes. "Isn't that convenient."
"Well," Brady moved closer to Paul and good-naturedly put him in a headlock. It was still fairly strange to think he had a younger brother but he had been doing his best to make Paul feel welcome. "I'm just glad you two are getting along now."
"Yep," Paul shoved Brady away and laughed as the two punched each other lightly, "Definitely getting along."
Will, dropping the bag of M&M's he was still holding, bent over to pick it up.
Theresa tried not to smirk when Paul's eyes were glued to Will's ass.
"Will," Theresa said, voice a mixture of saccharine and sly, "It's so nice to see you looking like this."
"Like what?" Will wondered as he stood up and looked at Theresa suspiciously.
"Happy and healthy. I haven't seen you smile in so long," Theresa put her hand on Will's bicep. Squeezing the muscle Theresa said, "Huh, were your arms always this big?"
Will awkwardly stared at Theresa not really sure what she was doing, "I've been working out more."
"I can tell," Theresa nodded before slyly looking at Paul. Theresa ran her hand over to Will's shoulders and down his back before lightly smacking his butt, "You look good. I'm sure some hot, young thing will snap you up soon."
"Uh," Will's cheeks were bright red. "I don't know about-"
"I heard that you went on a date the other night, actually," Brady said once he was done rough housing with Paul. Seeing Will's quizzical look, Brady shrugged, "From Marlena and Kate."
"Oooh," Theresa smiled as she linked her arm with Will's, "Is he hot?"
Paul crossed his arms unhappily.
"Actually," Brady smiled, "Now that I'm looking you do look so much better now than you did before, Will."
"Thanks," Will gave him a shy smile. "I'm trying," Will admitted. He wasn't entirely sure he liked being the center of attention right now.
"You can even be around Paul now without anything happening," Brady joked. "That's progress for both of you."
"Imagine that," Theresa replied, "Well, good for you Will. I'm glad you're able to find your footing even after certain people," Theresa gave Paul a dark look, "Tried to take that away from you."
"Theresa," Brady frowned. He did his best to stay out of the mess of a situation Will, Paul and Sonny had found themselves in. He was thrilled that Paul seemed to have settled into life in Salem and was finding his place but Brady also loved knowing that Will was getting help too. He cared about both of them as well as Sonny. He didn't think it was his place to butt in.
"No, it's OK," Paul said catching Will's eyes. "Will and I have talked about this stuff. We're working on it."
"I can see that," Theresa snorted.
"Daddy and Paul play," Ari pipped up.
"What?" Brady asked looking down at Ari as she smiled up at him innocently.
Will put his hand in the bag of M&M's quickly.
"Paul comes over and makes daddy all red," Ari confessed before her daddy shoved a handful of candy into her mouth.
'Mmm,' Ari smiled widely as she cunningly gave Will a smile.
'I totally just got hoodwinked by my daughter, didn't I?' Will thought unhappily as they stared each other down.
Brady, blinking a few times, decided he really, really didn't want to know.
Will cleared his throat and asked, "What are you three doing anyway?"
"Well," Theresa explained, gleefully grinning at Will's reddened cheeks, "We were on our way to lunch."
Tate, realizing he was being ignored, started whimpering pitifully.
Working on autopilot Will bent over and pulled him out of the stroller and into his arms.
Brady laughed at Will, "Old habits?"
Will shrugged as he bounced Tate up and down, "You try having three younger siblings and a baby all within eight years."
Paul didn't know why but his heart melted quite a bit seeing his adorable, chubby-cheeked nephew nuzzling against Will.
"If you want to get lunch alone," Will offered, "I can watch Tate. Ari and I are going to be here for a while anyway."
Will knew Theresa had wanted to get in Brady's good graces for a while now. He didn't mind giving them a little nudge.
'Plus this little guy really is cute,' Will mused as he held Tate against his shoulder.
"Sure," Brady said slowly. "That's nice of you."
"You should get going then," Will suggested as he sat back down at the picnic table.
Theresa and Brady walked away promising not to be gone too long.
Paul waited for them to be out of sight before sitting down next to Will.
"You want to hold him?" Will slowly held Tate out to Paul.
Paul, still not used to this, gingerly took Tate.
"He's really cute," Paul gushed.
Will nodded before realizing he still hadn't take his medicine. He found the bottle and popped a pill into his mouth and took a sip of water.
Paul frowned, "What was that?"
"Oh," Will flashed the bottle at him quickly. "Just some medicine."
"For what?" Paul was slightly worried that there was something wrong with Will.
"Um," Will nervously explained, "Just a prescription I got from my psychiatrist."
"Oh," Paul took a deep breath. "Does it help?" he asked curiously.
Will nodded as he took out his sandwich from the lunch box, "Yeah, I think so."
Paul gave Will a small but sincere smile. He had seen so many changes in Will but never really thought about there being anything wrong with Will mentally or chemically.
"Do you mind telling me what they're for?" Paul casually asked.
Will looked at his sandwich before saying, "Depression."
Will offered half of his sandwich to Paul before saying, "I also have anxiety medicine too but I don't take that every day."
Paul quietly thanked Will for the sandwich, "Are you comfortable with that?"
"I didn't want them at first but I can feel the difference," Will said as Ari finished a few pieces of fruit and he cleaned up her hands. He let her run off back to the playground since he could still easily see and get to her.
"She said I probably should have been taking them for years," Will recalled.
"Well," Paul took a bite of his sandwich and shifted Tate, "As long as it helps you now."
"Thanks," Will nodded before preparing a bottle for a fussy Tate and instructing Paul on how to feed him.
Paul stayed with Will until Brady and Theresa came back. They both did their best to ignore the knowing looks on their faces when they discovered Will and Paul together.
As Paul headed to a meeting at work he couldn't help but realize that was the first time in a long time he had been around Will without any sexual contact at all. Paul didn't want to admit to himself that sitting at a picnic table with Will, a baby and a toddler was almost just as much fun as the time they spent in bed.
Author's note:
This is the first time Will and Paul haven't had some sort of steamy moment in a chapter. But the date will continue in the next one so things will probably go back to normal.
I'm not exactly following the storylines on the show so Gabi probably won't be making an appearance.
Also, Paul took Will out for shabu shabu which is my personal favorite Japanese food.
Thank you very much for reading and please let me know what you thought!
As always thank you to iluvh0rs3s for helping me out all the time!