Will and Paul laughed watching Ari. Will attempted to put Christmas lights on their tree but Ari had other ideas.
Instead, Ari wrapped herself with the lights. With a Santa hat on, Ari climbed onto the coffee table. She shimmied her hips, making her sparkly skirt swirl.
"I Christmas tree," Ari declared happily.
"A very cute Christmas tree," Will agreed. "But I think we need to decorate the real tree and not you."
Paul grabbed Ari's hand, helping her twirl. Will unwound Ari from the strand of lights.
"What time Grammy get here?" Ari wondered. "I need my friends."
"Soon," Will told her. He began covering the branches with lights. "Everyone will be here in time for dinner."
"Speaking of that," Paul said. "What do we want to eat?"
"Pizza," Ari yelled. She sat down on the coffee table, taking ornaments out of the box next to her.
"You got it," Paul stated.
Paul yanked out his phone, placing an online order for several pizzas. Paul, glancing at his phone, noticed an official looking email from Kate.
Skimming it over, Paul smiled.
"Oh, baby," Paul called.
"Hmm?" Will responded, head between the tree branches.
Paul admired Will's bent over backside before answering.
"Kate released our ad about thirty minutes ago," Paul said. He walked over to Will, smacking his butt.
"Oh," Will jumped both from the tap and the news.
"Let me see," Will requested. He came out from between the branches, pine needles stuck in his blonde hair.
"Here," Paul handed over his phone.
"Now Daddy tree," Ari clapped. She stood back up on the coffee table and pulled the needles out of Will's hair.
Will bit his lip as he examined the new ad for the Narita cologne.
Will sat on Paul's lap on the bed, the sheets rumpled. A bottle of cologne lay on its side in front of them. Paul's jeans spread tight across his thighs, riding low on his hips. One of Will's hands clung to Paul's side, bare skin under his fingertips. The other hand dug into Paul's thick hair.
The focus of the picture was the placement of Paul's hand on Will's neck. Will's mottled bruises contrasted with Paul's bronze skin. Both Will and Paul looked at the other as if they were the only ones in the world.
"Wow," Will responded.
The finished product managed to be sexy and sweet all at the same time.
"Mmm hmm," Paul nodded in agreement. "We look amazing."
"Yes, yes we do," Will stated. His eyes locked on Paul's back muscles and the scratch marks he left.
"No wonder Jake couldn't stop looking at your ass," Paul commented. "It looks fantastic."
"Have you seen your obliques?" Will asked dryly. "Just looking at them makes my mouth water."
Paul wrapped his arm around Will, smug.
"Phone," Ari shouted. "I play!"
"Uh," Will figured now would be a good time to let Ari know about the advertisement.
"Come here," Will held his arms out, sitting on the couch.
Ari plopped on Will's lap.
"Phone?" Ari repeated.
"First," Will explained. "I want you to see the picture Daddy and Paul took."
"Oooh, my model daddy," Ari squealed. She ripped the phone from Will's hands.
Paul sat next to Will. He watched as Ari's face scrunched together.
"Why you no wear clothes?" Ari wondered innocently.
"Well," Will tried to think of a toddler-appropriate explanation. "People think we look nice without shirts."
"Oh," Ari said. "OK. I play it now?"
"Do you have any questions?" Will wondered. "About why Daddy and Paul are together?"
"No," Ari replied. "You kiss and you love Super Paul. I see. Now in picture."
"Right," Will smiled. "You can play now."
Ari moved to the other side of the couch. She easily found the red symbol for the YouTube app.
"That went well," Paul said, pulling Will against him.
"She's too young to really get what it is," Will shrugged. "When she's older, she'll be horrified."
"If that's the worst for her to be embarrassed about," Paul decided. "We'll be lucky."
Paul handed the pizza delivery guy a tip and made to close the door. Just before he did, he heard several loud voices all speaking at once.
'I wonder who that could be,' Paul sarcastically thought.
"Baby," Paul called over his shoulder. "I think your family is here."
Will jogged to the door, smiling breaking out over his face.
Paul moved out of the way to put all the pizzas on the kitchen counter. He was anxious to meet Will's siblings. Paul knew how much they meant to Will. He hoped he would make a good impression.
Will stood in the open doorway when a small brunette barreled into him.
"Will," Sydney shouted. She jumped up into Will's arms.
"Hey," Will greeted. He shifted Sydney onto his hip.
'I do not remember her being this big,' Will thought.
"I missed you," Sydney latched her arms Will's neck. "Don't ever leave us again!"
"I missed you too," Will revealed. He kissed her on the cheek.
"Will," Allie yelled. She jumped onto Will's other side.
"Oh my god, when did you get this big?" Will questioned.
"Will," Johnny wrapped his arms around Will's neck.
Will staggered into the apartment. He was strong but his siblings were not light.
"Friends," Ari shrieked from the couch. She leapt from the arm of the couch onto Will's back.
Paul laughed watching Will covered in children.
Sami closed the door behind them. She smiled seeing all her children and Ari together. A moment later, her eyes zeroed in on Paul.
Paul's smile slowly slid off his face when he noticed Sami's stare. Paul found her light blue eyes unsettling.
'Especially when she looks at me like she's imaging where to hide my dead body,' Paul thought. 'What did I even do?'
Will hobbled over to the couch and shook all the kids off of him. All four children started talking rapidly over each other. Will, caught up in them, didn't pay any attention to his mother.
Sami marched over to Paul. She pulled on his upper arm. With a surprising amount of strength, Sami dragged Paul into Will's bedroom.
Paul swallowed nervously when Sami closed the door.
Sami held Paul's eyes for several long, tense moments.
Paul, unnerved, couldn't handle the silence. He needed Sami to yell at him, slap him, something.
"What?" Paul questioned, breaking. "What did I do?"
Sami lifted one brow, pursing her lips.
"I spent last night here because Will couldn't handle being alone," Sami stated, tone deadly. "What the hell were you doing last night?"
"Wha?- No," Paul shouted. Realization washed over him. "I didn't cheat on him!"
"You might think you're some big hot shot," Sami criticized. She ignored Paul entirely. "But my son is the best thing you're ever going to get! He's sweet and smart and handsome and-,"
"I would never cheat on Will," Paul interrupted. "I don't want anyone else. For months, Will's all I've been able to think about. He's the only one I want to be with. I'm in love with him."
"That doesn't mean anything," Sami noted. "If you think you can go around hurting my son," Sami threatened.
"I would never hurt Will," Paul declared, impassioned.
"Now?" Sami asked, blinking several times. "You sure as hell had no problem doing it before. I guess I should just be grateful you didn't sleep with Sonny. You st-,"
"I didn't sleep with anyone," Paul argued. "I went to the party and yeah I talked to other guys. But I had my phone glued to my hand. I talked to Will all I night. Hell, neither of us could sleep without the other."
"As sweet as that sounds," Sami simpered. "How do I know that wasn't your guilty conscience?"
"Will believes me," Paul maintained. "That's all that matters to me. If that's not good enough for you ask Kate. She was near me the entire night."
Sami scoffed.
"Besides," Paul added. "If you should be mad at anyone it needs to be Sonny."
"What did he do?" Sami asked, surprised.
"Sonny," Paul explained. "Was behind the entire trip to Chicago in the first place. He sent the stupid secret admirer gifts. He convinced the pilot to keep us in Chicago. He had the article published."
"Did he think that was going to make Will run into his arms?" Sami shook her head, distracted.
"He kept rambling on about how he loved Will," Paul admitted. He held his elbows, shoulders hunched. "Telling me I'd never know Will the way he did. That we'd never last."
Sami made a tsk-ing sound, observing Paul.
"I came back home and I found him bothering Will," Paul shrugged. "Things got out of hand but I think he got the picture."
"I suppose that explains your face," Sami muttered. "I'll have to send him a thank you card for that later."
Paul rolled his eyes.
"But," Sami uncrossed her arms. "That'll be after I kill him. Trying to manipulate my son," Sami shook her head, mind whirling.
"Hey," Will pushed his bedroom door open. He looked panicked and wary.
"What are you two doing in here?" Will questioned. He hurried to Paul's side.
"I'm grilling your boyfriend," Sami confessed. "Still pending on whether or not he needs to be taken care of."
"Mom," Will huffed. "Paul didn't do anything."
"That's what they always say," Sami argued. "You and I both know anyone can cheat."
"Mom, I trust Paul," Will insisted. "I know he wouldn't do that to me. Not after everything."
"Will," Sami closed her eyes.
"No," Will shook his head. He linked his arm with Paul's. "I know Paul didn't do anything. I trust him. The entire thing is because of Sonny."
Sami exhaled loudly through her nose. She wanted to believe Will and Paul. But she didn't want Will to make the same type of mistakes she did.
'I can't have Will staying with someone that hurts him,' Sami thought.
While Sami loved EJ and even Lucas at one point, they both hurt her over and over again. Sami caused her fair share of harm as well.
'I need Will to know that he could be with anyone,' Sami looked at Will's face. 'He has so much to offer. He doesn't need to waste it on someone that doesn't deserve him.'
Will moved closer to Sami. He put one arm around her shoulders.
"He loves me," Will said, holding onto Sami. "I know he does. And I love him too."
Sami curled her upper lip but nodded.
"Fine," Sami decided. "He gets a free pass because he saved your life. After this I get to kill him."
"I thought you were killing Sonny?" Paul reminded Sami.
'Anything to stop talking about me,' Paul thought.
"Oh, he's going to suffer," Sami promised.
"Mother," Will warned in a low voice.
"If he thinks he can waltz back into your life," Sami started.
"He can think all he wants," Will interrupted. "I know what I want. I already have it. Now, can we please stop wasting our time on this?"
"But," Sami tried again.
"I've had enough of people fighting over me today," Will remarked. "Besides, I'm hungry and I'd like to spend the night with my family. I don't want to be worrying about you, Mom."
"Fine," Sami reluctantly answered.
"Thank you," Will squeezed her shoulders. "I know how hard it is to control your Sami Brady-urges."
"Oh, shut up," Sami pushed Will away from her.
Will, chuckling, held his hand out to Paul.
"Come on, puddin' pop," Will invited. "I have some people you need to meet."
Johnny, Allie, Sydney, and Ari were bouncing all over the couch. Will smiled watching them interact.
Will understood why his mom moved away from Salem but he really missed them.
'I haven't seen them in person in a year,' Will realized. 'How could I let that happen?'
"Hey," Will caught everyone's attention. "There's someone I want you to meet."
"Get up," Sami ordered.
Johnny, Allie, and Sydney got off of the couch to stand near Will. The three glanced at Paul oddly.
"Right," Will gestured to Paul. "This is Paul, my boyfriend."
Paul lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers.
"Paul," Will put his hand on Will's lower back. "This is my brother Johnny and my sisters Allie and Sydney."
"Hi," Paul welcomed.
Paul shifted uncomfortably when the kids blinked at him owlishly.
Will's smile froze on his face. He knew it would be hard for the kids to meet someone new in his life. They knew and loved Sonny. Will didn't even know how much they knew of the story between him and Paul.
Johnny looked Paul up and down carefully. He knew who Paul Narita was. He had seen him on TV before. A part of Johnny found it exciting to be around a famous sports star. The other part though, a stronger, louder part, didn't like Paul at all.
Johnny knew Will and Sonny weren't together anymore. He also knew it was partly because of Paul. Johnny had seen and heard more than his mother thought he did on the subject.
Johnny watched the news reports on TV about Paul liking boys and sleeping with Will months ago. Just like Johnny remembered seeing a picture of Sonny and Paul on his computer. An article accompanied the picture that made Johnny angry. Sonny wasn't married to Paul. He was with Will. Why would anyone mix up the pictures?
From what Johnny understood, Paul wanted to take Sonny away from Will. Paul wanted to take away Will's family and happiness. Johnny knew all too well what that was like.
'But Will looks happy now,' Johnny noticed. 'Ari looks happy.'
"Paul not boyfriend," Ari corrected Will. "Paul super boyfriend!"
Ari mimed flying through the air, stopping in front of Paul.
"He my super Paul. He save Daddy," Ari bragged.
"Really?" Johnny asked with his arms crossed.
"Yes," Will smiled. It made Will laugh whenever Johnny channeled his inner EJ.
Will glanced at his mom. He knew the kids had been briefed on the situation but he didn't know how much they knew.
Sami cleared her throat.
"Paul rushed in and saved your brother," Sami agreed. "It was very heroic."
"Wow," Sydney whispered in awe. "You save Will?"
"Yeah," Paul nodded. "I had to."
Sydney moved to stand next to Ari. She was so young still it didn't take much to warm up to anyone.
"Good," Johnny huffed. He kept his chin tilted upwards, wanting to be tough.
Allie chewed her lower lip, tips of her shoes brushing against the floor.
Allie loved that Paul saved Will. She knew who Paul was too. She had seen him on TV before. Allie thought it was so cool her big brother was dating someone famous. But a part of Allie felt sad too.
Allie missed Sonny. He always played with the kids and he made Will happy. Allie had a good grasp of the situation. In a lot of ways it reminded her of her own parents and EJ.
Allie loved EJ, she did, but he wasn't her own dad. Allie always wanted her mommy and daddy to be together. She didn't think it was fair that Johnny and Sydney got to be with their daddy and have mommy too. Plus, Allie knew that her parents had been together first. They had Will together after all.
Despite how hard Sami, Lucas, and EJ tried to get along in front of the kids, Allie and Johnny knew the situation. It made Allie upset to think that the same thing could be happening with Will.
'Will was married and happy. Someone else came and now Sonny is gone,' Allie sucked on her lower lip. 'Now Ari doesn't have Sonny.'
Paul looked at Will in a panic. He didn't know what to do, how to get Will's siblings to like him.
'Ari's so young it's not hard but these kids are huge,' Paul thought. 'What do I do? Or not do?'
Paul knew how much these kids meant to Will.
'If I can't get them to like me our relationship might never work out,' Paul realized. 'Oh, maybe that's why Will's so nervous about my mom coming.'
Will grabbed Johnny and Allie's hands. All three moved towards the couch.
"What's wrong?" Will asked blankly.
Will had a pretty good guess but he needed to be sure. His brother and sister were smart. Will was certain they knew more about everything than their mom thought. Will always did when he was younger.
"I don't like him," Johnny bluntly declared.
Ari gasped dramatically, sputtering.
Paul's face dropped.
"OK," Will put his hand on Johnny's shoulder. "Why not?"
"I saw him on TV," Johnny stated. "He was with Sonny!"
"That was a long time ago," Will tried.
Johnny shook his head, dark curls flopping everywhere.
"No," Johnny argued. "It was only months ago. I saw it! He wanted to take him away from you. He wanted to break up your family. Just like she did before Daddy died."
Will winced. He knew Johnny was a sharp kid. Will never thought Johnny would make that connection though.
'It probably does remind Johnny about what happened with Abby though,' Will thought. 'It is similar in a really weird, messed up way.'
"That's not what happened, buddy," Will explained. "It's not Paul's fault I'm not with Sonny."
"But he wanted Sonny," Johnny contended. "The TV said so."
"That was before," Paul interjected. Ignoring Johnny's little glare, Paul continued. "I used to date Sonny. I thought that I wanted him again. But now I know I want someone like Will."
Paul sat on the coffee table and put his hand on Will's knee.
"I love Will," Paul promised. "And I'll do whatever it takes to get your approval."
"Fine," Johnny decided. "You can prove it to me."
With that, Johnny rose from the sofa and moved to take Ari and Sydney's hands. He lead them over to the pizza without looking back.
Allie, not wanting to talk to Will just yet, jumped up to follow after them.
Will watched them all walk away with a sigh.
"We'll just have to keep trying," Will told Paul. "They're usually sweet and loving. I know they'll warm up to you."
"Right," Paul mumbled.
Will pulled a dejected Paul off the couch. Will made to offer his mom some pizza only to pause in concern.
"Mom?" Will asked. He felt alarmed seeing Sami with tears in her eyes.
"He just reminds me of his father so much," Sami said with her hand over her mouth and nose.
"Mom," Will complained, smacking her hands away from his plate. "I'm not a baby."
"You're my baby," Sami huffed. She continued cutting Will's pizza into small, bite-sized pieces. "Now, let me get you something nice and soothing for your throat."
Paul snickered under his breath.
Will extended his foot and kicked Paul in the thigh.
Will had all four children smothering him on the couch. All four of them forgot what personal space meant.
"Does your throat hurt?" Johnny questioned. "You still have bruises."
Johnny felt torn between concern and thinking it was cool.
"No," Will shook his head. "Now it doesn't hurt. When it happened it did."
"Daddy sound sick," Ari pointed out from her perch on Will's lap.
"Yeah," Will nodded. "I sounded like I had a really bad cold."
"Was it scary?" Allie questioned.
"Terrifying," Will answered. "But Paul was there for me. He makes sure I'm not scared."
Johnny and Allie looked at Paul with begrudging gratitude.
"Why would anyone hurt you?" Allie asked, eyes-wide.
"He was really sick," Will explained. "Maybe we should ask Grandma though, just so we understand."
"Decate tree now?" Ari wondered. "I all done."
The kids polished off their pizza quickly and began putting ornaments on the tree.
Will, eating his bite-size pieces diligently, put the TV to a Christmas music channel.
Sami handed Will a mug of tea. She sat in the vacant spot next to him.
"This beats the Horton family tree trimming," Sami mused.
"What's that?" Paul asked.
"Every year we all get together to decorate a tree," Will explained. "Everyone has their own ornament with their name. It's a tradition but I gotta say it's boring. I don't even know if I want to go this year."
"Why not?" Paul didn't have many family traditions of his own.
"It'll be weird," Will shrugged. "I haven't seen Abby since the hospital."
A loud, disgusted sound emitted from the back of Sami's throat.
"I don't even know what they'll do with Sonny's ornament," Will continued. "Not to mention only one of my siblings is a Horton. I wouldn't want to spend the time with only Allie. Plus, I want to be with you."
Paul smiled gratefully.
"I could go with you," Paul reminded Will.
"No," Will shook his head. "I just want a low key Christmas this year. Just our parents and the kids."
Paul leaned closer to Will, knocking their foreheads together.
Allie snuck a look at Will and Paul over her shoulder. She had a pensive look on her face.
"Speaking of parents," Sami said before the two could kiss. "How are we going to deal with your parents," Sami pointed at Paul. "Being in the same room with my mom?"
"Oh, right," Paul frowned. "I forgot about that."
"Um," Will took another bite so he wouldn't have to answer.
"Yeah, this'll be a merry Christmas," Sami rolled her eyes. She reached over to wipe the side of Will's mouth with a napkin.
"Mom," Will complained.
Chad stared blankly at Sonny. The desk in the office at TBD sat between them.
"Stop looking at me like that," Sonny ordered.
"To recap," Chad pressed his fingertips together under his chin. "You plotted, schemed, and manipulated to separate Will from Paul. Attempted to make the entire world think Paul cheated on Will. Now, you're wondering why I'm looking at you?"
"When you say it like that it sounds bad," Sonny mumbled.
"Because it is," Chad reminded Sonny. "All the things you hated Will doing, you just did."
"I'm aware," Sonny grunted. "I was desperate."
"No kidding," Chad commented.
"Would you stop it?" Sonny pleaded. "You aren't helping me."
"Unfortunately, I am," Chad disagreed. "You clearly need more than a few punches to the face to get it through your head."
Sonny crossed his arms, glaring.
"Look," Chad said, getting serious. "I get it. Will moved on and you don't know how to handle that. But if you keep going this way you're going to alienate him forever. Will and Ari."
"I'm not saying," Chad continued. "That you'll never get back together with Will. You never know, maybe one day you will. But for now, you need to salvage your relationship with Arianna."
"I know," Sonny admitted. "It's just hard. I-I don't know what I'm doing anymore."
"Well it's a good thing you've got me," Chad quipped. "For starters you need to apologize to Will and Paul."
"I'm not telling Paul anything," Sonny argued. "He stole my life and-,"
"Sonny," Chad cut him off. "6 months ago he tried to do the same thing to Will and you didn't care. In fact, you encouraged him."
"No, I didn't," Sonny defended. "I never told him to do anything."
"You also didn't tell him to stop," Chad stated. "You liked that you had two guys fighting for your attention. You didn't want to let either of them go."
"But Will," Chad added. "Will isn't like you. He spent the majority of his childhood having people fight over him. He doesn't appreciate it the way you did."
"I know," Sonny slumped in his chair.
"So, be the bigger man and apologize, for everything," Chad ordered. "If you don't make things right in some way with Will you could lose Ari forever. I know you don't want that."
Sonny looked horrified.
"Exactly," Chad nodded. "Just try. Besides, if you love Will the way you say you do you'd want him to be happy. Paul makes him happy."
Sonny grimaced.
"Fine," Sonny agreed. "I'll apologize."
Sonny was desperate to change the subject. They had been going in circles over this for hours.
"What about you?" Sonny asked.
"What about me?" Chad countered.
"After everything," Sonny shrugged. "I would expect you to be by Abby's side."
Chad looked away, uncomfortable.
"I can't be with Abby," Chad confessed.
"Why not?" Sonny wondered. "I thought you had feelings for her."
"I did or I do," Chad frowned. "I don't really know anymore."
Chad ran his hands through his hair.
"I slept with Abigail," Chad confessed. "I could be the father of her baby. And because of that five women are dead. Will almost died. You don't know how guilty that makes me feel."
"It's not your fault though," Sonny said. "You didn't kill anyone."
"Not directly," Chad sighed. "But I can't even think about Abigail without feeling sick to my stomach. I have nightmares about it. I think about her and all I can see are rotten corpses and Will's mangled throat. I just can't be with her right now."
Sonny nodded in understanding. When Sonny found out Will cheated on him he couldn't describe the anger and betrayal.
'But it wasn't enough to make me murder anyone,' Sonny thought. 'It must be hard though. Knowing that your love for someone caused the senseless murder of five people.'
"Besides," Chad cleared his throat. "I accidentally on purpose ruined something at work."
"Why would you do that?" Sonny asked.
"To distract my father," Chad explained. "I humiliated an important board member this morning. My father needs to smooth things over. He's thinking of taking the man and his family to Vale for Christmas."
"I don't get it," Sonny admitted.
"You don't need to," Chad dismissed.
'I just needed to find a way to keep him out of Salem and away from Sydney and Johnny,' Chad mused.
"Speaking of," Chad said to himself. "I better call and see if anything is happening."
Chad pulled his phone out of the pocket of his suit jacket. He browsed through his phone before a Twitter notification caught his eye.
'Narita ad causes stir,' Chad read. He clicked on the link.
"Holy crap," Chad said loudly. He examined the cologne ad featuring Will and Paul.
"Will Horton, you hussy," Chad laughed under his breath.
"What?" Sonny frowned.
"Nothing," Chad held the phone close to his chest. "Nothing, it's nothing."
"Chad," Sonny warned.
"I'm just thinking True Vista is going to have some explaining to do," Chad commented. "When they see the new ad for Paul's cologne I don't think anyone is going to believe Paul cheated."
"Why?" Sonny demanded.
"Did your uncle approve of this ad?" Chad continued. "I think it would have given him a heart attack."
"Show me," Sonny ordered.
"Yeah," Chad shook his head. "I can't do that."
"Fine," Sonny said calmly. "I'll just go and ask my uncle."
"Sonny, I don't think you want to do that," Chad said. "Trust me, you don't want to see it."
"Oh, I do," Sonny insisted. "Thank you for the talk. I appreciate it. But I need to go."
"Don't do anything you'll regret," Chad shouted to Sonny's retreating back.
Chad looked at the ad again and snorted.
"Who would have predicted this a year ago?" Chad asked himself.
"Here you go," Paul said as he lifted up Sydney. She wanted to reach a branch of the tree above her head.
"Me too, me too," Ari chanted, hopping up and down.
Paul easily lifted her in his other arm.
Johnny tried not to smile watching his sister and niece. He also had to keep himself from asking Paul any questions about his arm or shoulder.
'How can he lift them? He stopped playing because he got hurt,' Johnny recalled.
'No, stop that, you don't like him,' Johnny reminded himself.
Allie and Will were in the kitchen making hot chocolate.
"Do you want to tell me what's going on with you?" Will asked Allie in a quiet voice.
Allie dropped a handful of marshmallows in one mug, quiet.
"Come on," Will nudged her shoulder. "You can tell me anything."
"Where did Sonny go?" Allie questioned. "Why aren't you together anymore?"
"Oh," Will didn't expect that. He licked his lips. He needed to think of the simplest explanation for her.
"Well," Will said. "I did some bad things that hurt Sonny. He did some bad things to hurt me. So, Sonny decided to work in Paris and now we're not together anymore."
"Like Mommy and Daddy?" Allie pressed. "Because Paul got in the way like EJ did?"
"Whoa," Will frowned. "Where did you get that?"
"Mommy and Daddy were together before EJ," Allie explained. "I hear things. Everyone thinks us kids don't know things but we do."
"So," Allie asked again. "Is Paul your EJ?"
"I don't know how to answer that," Will confessed.
"I loved EJ," Allie shrugged. "But he's not my daddy."
Will turned Allie away from the hot chocolate to face him.
"What happened with Mom, Dad, and EJ is different than what I have with Paul," Will assured her. "Sonny and I were over for a while before I started seeing Paul."
"Oh," Allie nodded. That made her feel better.
The two grabbed the mugs of hot chocolate and brought them over.
"Don't you miss Sonny though?" Allie wondered.
Ari, back on the ground, frowned.
"Can't miss Sonny," Ari declared. She crossed her arms and hmmf-ed. "Sonny mean."
"Why's he mean?" Johnny asked.
"He not listen Ari or Daddy," Ari declared. "He fight Super Paul. Can't not like Sonny."
"Sonny was mean?" Allie questioned Ari. She held her arms open for Ari.
Ari nodded, hugging Allie.
"He go far away and not talk me," Ari explained. "He not listen me. Made me cry."
Johnny frowned.
"It OK," Ari insisted. "Super Paul make Sonny go away. He save Daddy and Ari."
"That is good," Allie agreed.
Allie couldn't imagine the Sonny she remembered being mean. But if Ari thought so it must be true.
'Paul made Ari and Will happy,' Allie glanced at Paul shyly. 'Maybe he's not so bad.'
Paul, still helping Sydney put up decorations, smiled to himself.
'At least Ari's on my side,' Paul thought.
Hearing the kids talk about Sonny reminded Paul about the messages Sonny sent him.
'Sonny and Will shared things with each other,' Paul knew. 'Sonny really might know things about Will that I never will.'
Paul handed Sydney another ornament.
'Will has to work on my mom. I guess it's only fair I need to win over his siblings,' Paul believed.
"Where are you guys staying tonight?" Will asked his mom.
The tree was finished. It had a haphazard placement of ornaments but it looked cute. The kids were all in Ari's room playing with toys.
"I'm not sure," Sami revealed. "Mom offered to let us stay but I don't know if they have enough room for all four of us."
"You could stay at my condo," Paul presented.
Will and Sami both looked at him in surprise.
"There's plenty of room," Paul explained. "No one would know you were there either."
"OK," Sami agreed. "We can stay there. It'll be interesting to see it with furniture."
"This my room?" Ari asked, jaw dropped open.
"Yeah," Paul smiled. "For when you come to my house. Do you like it?"
"Uh huh," Ari nodded.
Ari examined the room, taking in the star decals and the collection of toys.
"Thank you," Ari hugged Paul's thigh. "I love my room."
"Daddy," Ari screamed. "See my room!"
Will, helping his mom get comfortable in the guest room, hurried over.
"Wow," Will smiled. "This is nice. Is it my room?"
"No," Ari shook her head. "My room! You sleep with Super Paul."
"Oh," Will laughed. "I see how it is."
"Friends," Ari ran out of the room. "Come to my room!"
Will and Paul moved out of the way as all three kids ran into the room.
"You did good," Will smiled gratefully at Paul.
"I know what kind of stuff she likes," Paul shrugged. "It wasn't that hard."
"I appreciate it," Will slid his arms around Paul's neck. "And so does Ari."
"Good," Paul said before kissing Will.
Around an hour later, Paul sat in his room on the phone.
"Tomorrow?" Paul repeated. "Yeah, no that's fine. Um, if you stay with me it might be tight quarters."
"I thought you said your condo had some guest bedrooms," Tori recalled.
"It does," Paul nodded. "But Will's mom and his siblings are staying with us."
"Us?" Tori questioned.
"Yeah, Will, Ari and me," Paul said. "There's still a room for you. I just don't know if you'll want to be around that many kids."
"How many kids exactly?" Tori wondered.
"Four," Paul revealed.
Tori sighed.
"Well, I suppose if you are that serious about Will," Tori explained. "I should get to know his family."
"Right," Paul smiled widely. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yes," Tori agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow son."
Will walked into the bedroom just as Paul hung up.
"All the kids are down," Will told Paul. "And my mom is safely shut away in her room far, far away."
Paul chuckled.
"Tired of her babying?" Paul asked.
"Yes," Will collapsed next to Paul on the bed. "I don't think she smothered me this much when I was a child."
"Well," Paul rolled onto his side to face Will. "She cares about you and doesn't get to see you much. It could be worse."
"True," Will commented. "At least the kids are warming up to you."
"Maybe," Paul pointed out. "I've got my work cut out for me. Just like you do with my mom."
"Yeah," Will winced. "Is she coming soon?"
"Tomorrow," Paul told Will. "She's going to try staying with us."
"Oh, god," Will mumbled. "No, no I can do this. I'm not the same person I was before."
"You're not," Paul encouraged. "I'm not either."
"And if there's children around she won't be able to yell at me," Will added. "Wait," Will looked at Paul in alarm. "Has she seen our ad?"
"She didn't say anything," Paul replied. "But I'm sure by tomorrow everyone we know will."
"I don't care if anyone else sees it," Will told Paul. "But your mom already thinks I'm awful."
"If she says something about it," Paul promised. "I'll make sure to tell her it was my idea. The whole thing."
"OK," Will nodded. "I just don't want her to hate me anymore."
"She doesn't hate you," Paul insisted. "She just doesn't know you, the real you."
"Not the way you do," Will said.
"Exactly," Paul rubbed Will's shoulder.
'Speaking of that,' Paul thought.
"Baby," Paul pressed his lips together. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," Will answered. "What is it?"
"Earlier, before I got home," Paul reluctantly said. "I got some messages from Sonny. Most of them I just ignored but one of them bugged me."
"Which one?" Will wondered.
"He said how you've told him things I'd never know about," Paul admitted. "I mean, he could be lying for all I know. You've told me so much about your childhood that freaks me out. But I can't help but worry maybe there's something. Something that you don't trust me with."
Will bit his lip.
"Oh," Paul responded. "There is something. Right, OK."
"We haven't been together long," Paul consoled himself. "You don't need to tell me everything. I shouldn't pressure you."
"Paul," Will grabbed his hand. "It's not like that."
Will sighed, looking down at the bed.
Will promised himself, his mom, Sonny, his father, and EJ that he would never tell anyone else about this again.
'But there isn't any evidence anymore,' Will recalled. 'EJ's dead. Paul would never tell anyone anyway.'
"This is pretty much the worst thing about me though," Will bit the side of his cheek. "You have a hard enough time accepting the other things. If you know this you'll probably never look at me the same again."
"I wouldn't do that," Paul argued. "I love you. There isn't anything you could do to change that."
Will looked into Paul's eyes for several moments.
Paul didn't know what Will was looking for but he must have found it.
After making sure the bedroom door was closed and locked, Will decided to get it over with.
"When I was 14," Will confessed. "I was in a really bad place. My mom was going to marry EJ and I didn't want that."
"OK," Paul nodded.
"So, in my infinite logic," Will swallowed. "I got really drunk and I shot EJ."
"Shot him?" Paul repeated, blinking several times.
"Yeah," Will turned away from Paul. "In the back."
"But," Paul tried to process everything. "I thought you liked EJ. I mean, you worked for him and he married your mom."
"Remember when I said that I tried to blackmail him and ended up working for him instead?" Will asked.
"Yeah," Paul nodded. "You tried to blackmail him but he blackmailed you instead."
"It was because I shot him," Will elaborated. "EJ knew I did it and I let my dad take the blame. He went to jail and everything."
"Wow," Paul muttered.
"A few other people found out, blackmailed me with it," Will added. "My mom got rid of all the evidence. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone else ever again."
"But Sonny knew," Paul stated.
"Yeah," Will agreed. "He knew. We got back together after the big baby reveal. I didn't want to keep any secrets from him again. I guess that didn't last long though."
"Thank you," Paul finally said. "For telling me."
"I wanted to tell you before," Will said. "I thought it would freak you out too much though. That I would be too much."
Paul pulled Will into his arms.
"You were young and drunk," Paul reminded Will. "It sounds like you learned your lesson. Besides, I know how much guns freak you out now."
"Sometimes I feel like if I had been caught," Will told Paul. "Maybe I would be a better person."
"Don't say that," Paul argued. "It took you some time but you're finally getting everything together."
"I know," Will responded. "Maybe it wouldn't take me so long though if I had gotten everything under control before."
"You don't know that," Paul pointed out. "Things would be different, yeah. But I happen to think things are pretty good between us."
"Yeah," Will smiled. "You and I are good."
"If we hadn't of made the choices we did," Paul said. "We might not be together now. And I wouldn't want that."
"Me either," Will agreed. "Sorry, I'm just nostalgic I guess."
"I don't mind," Paul smiled. "I love you, attempted murdering ways and all."
Will huffed out a laugh.
"Gee, thanks," Will replied.
"I'm serious," Paul guaranteed. "The good, the bad, I love you, Will Horton."
"Even if your mother hates me?" Will asked with a sad pout.
"Even then," Paul confirmed. "Although, I don't think she'll be the one to worry about with the ad."
"My dad might not like it," Will conceded.
"Or your mother," Paul laughed. "She's waiting for the proper moment to kill me after all."
"I guess we'll have to show all our parents that we're just fine," Will promised. "Although I've ignored my phone for a reason."
Paul lifted his eyebrows up.
"I posted our ad on my Instagram," Paul admitted. "You wanna read some comments?"
"No," Will chuckled. "It might be bad."
"Or it might be good," Paul grabbed his phone and waved it in Will's face.
Will took the phone from Paul and tossed it aside.
"I don't need to know what anyone thinks about it," Will pulled Paul closer. "I know what I think about us."
"Oh, yeah?" Paul lifted his eyebrows. "What do you think?"
"I think," Will rubbed his hand over Paul's chest. He pushed the shirt up, hands mapping warm skin. "That you are unbelievably sexy and that you're all mine."
Paul moaned lightly.
"That's right I am," Paul agreed easily. "Any other thoughts?"
"Hmm," Will rolled Paul onto his back and straddled him. Will encouraged Paul to take his shirt off. He bent over, whispering against Paul's chest.
"This part of you," Will's tongue brushed out against Paul's nipple.
"What?" Paul gasped, hips rolling up.
"Just looking at it makes me want to put your mouth all over you," Will confessed.
Paul groaned when Will's mouth closed around his nipple.
"Fuck," Paul bunched the sheet in his fists.
Will, smiling, used his teeth, pulling. Will worked his hips against Paul's. Will's hand started thumbing against Paul's other nipple.
"Baby," Paul praised. "Fuck."
Will kissed over Paul's chest, nipping, and leaving small bites.
Will moved further down Paul's stomach. Will started laving Paul's oblique muscles and abs.
"Wonder how many guys wish they could be doing this right now?" Will mused. "Have you spread out underneath them?"
Will's hand moved to the button on Paul's jeans.
"Bet your little model from last night is thinking about it," Will teased.
Paul worked his hips against the palm of Will's hand. He wanted the friction.
"Or they're thinking about the two of us together," Paul responded.
"Maybe," Will rubbed against Paul's groin. "They could be wondering what we look like together. Or," Will unzipped Paul's jeans.
Will pulled the pants open, shoving his hand inside.
"They could wonder how wide I can stretch my mouth around you," Will pondered.
"Oh, god," Paul's eyes fluttered shut. His hips moved into Will's fist.
"Do you remember what I look like?" Will asked. "With my lips all around you, bumping against the side of my cheek?"
"Nugh," Paul responded. He shoved his jeans off his hips as fast as he could.
"Eager?" Will wondered, breath puffing against Paul.
"Yes," Paul admitted. "Want it, baby, please."
"I think I like it when you beg," Will said before opening his mouth and swirling his tongue around Paul's tip.
"I'll say anything you want," Paul replied. "Just keep doing that."
Will twisted his wrist around the base of Paul. His mouth moved up and down Paul's cock, tongue tracing haphazard patterns.
Paul bit his lip, hands moving to Will's hair.
"You look so fucking good," Paul praised.
Will took a deep breath and swallowed.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Paul pushed down against Will's head.
Will tensed for a moment before relaxing.
"Sorry, sorry," Paul eased his grip on Will.
"S'fine," Will said, coming up for air. "You can fuck my throat if you want."
"Don't wanna hurt you," Paul shook his head.
"You won't," Will grinned before taking Paul into his mouth again.
Paul tried to resist but the way Will started working him over was too good to resist.
Paul held Will's hair in his hands. The two of them found a rhythm. Paul bucked into Will's mouth, hips moving off the bed.
Will, nose brushing against Paul's stomach, closed his eyes tightly.
"Gonna," Paul licked his lips. "Gonna, can I, in your mouth?"
Will nodded as best he could, rubbing one hand against Paul's thigh.
Paul helped ease Will off of him until just the tip remained. With a loud cry, Paul painted Will's tongue, panting heavily.
Making a show of swallowing, Will sucked gently against Paul. Will wanted everything Paul could give him.
Paul pulled away when he started to feel too sensitive.
"Holy fuck, I love you," Paul declared.
Will pressed his chest to Paul's and gave him a big kiss.
Paul moaned when Will opened his mouth. He could taste himself on Will's tongue.
"You love me or you love my mouth?" Will asked with a smile.
"Both, definitely both," Paul kissed Will again.
Will pulled away, licking over his puffed out lips.
"Now," Will ordered. "You're gonna open me up with your tongue and fuck my brains out. Got it?"
Paul pulled and ripped at Will's clothes, eager to get started.
Author's note:
Any thoughts?
Thank you for reading!