"Hey," Paul smiled as he opened his door. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Will offered a small smile of his own.

Things had been tense earlier that morning with Sonny. Sonny rushed into the kitchen to make them breakfast when he saw Will standing near the stove. Will tried not to feel offended but it was hard. He was more than capable of pouring a bowl of cereal.

Not wanting to start another argument, Will let the situation go. He was sure Sonny didn't mean anything by it anyway.

After dropping Ari off at the babysitter's, Will arrived at the Salem Inn.

Will headed towards the table they sat at the day before. "Did I come at a good time today?"

"Yeah," Paul acknowledged. "Actually, I just finished up breakfast. I saved you something though."

Will glanced at the table to see a pot of tea and two mugs.

"I'm not much of a tea drinker," Will admitted sheepishly.

"That's why I'll be teaching you," Paul confidently replied. "Trust me."

Paul sat down and poured them both a mug.

"This is like comfort in a cup," Paul remarked. "My mother would make this for me all the time. There's only a handful of people I'd let make it for me too."

Will got out his supplies and sat across from Paul.

"My great grandma would make me hot cocoa," Will offered. He wanted to keep the conversation flowing. "When I got older it changed to coffee."

"Did you not grow up with your mom?" Paul questioned, feeling curious.

"Well," Will thought about how to answer that. "Physically she was there," Will decided on. "But she wasn't always the best mother. Loves me, like insanely loves me, but it took her a long time to be a mom."

"Huh," Paul replied. He looked Will over as subtly as he could. He found it fascinating getting to know Mr. Will Horton. "Why do you think that was?"

"She had me when she was about 16," Will continued. "She's still working on growing up even now."

"Was it always just you and your mom?" Paul asked. "That's how I grew up. Just my mom, my grandpa, and me."

Will jotted a few things down on his note pad while shaking his head.

"She was single on and off," Will explained. "For the most part she went from guy to guy. She's been married more times than I can remember. Sometimes to my dad."

"Wow," Paul smiled. "I don't even remember my mom dating anyone."

Will laughed.

"That must be nice," Will teased.

"So," Paul licked his lips, enjoying Will's smile. "I wonder what else we have in common."

Will blinked a few times. He felt certain he knew what Paul was talking about.

'That can't be,' Will argued with himself. 'Paul Narita wouldn't be flirting with me. Besides, he's straight. Everyone knows that.'

"One thing we have in common is baseball," Will pointed out. He lifted one eyebrow. "Which is what we should be talking about."

"I don't know," Paul leaned his elbows on the table. "I like talking about you."

"Well," Will chuckled uncomfortably. "You might be the only one."

"I am curious though," Paul narrowed his eyes. "How do we have baseball in common?"

"I used to play," Will admitted. "T-ball, little league, in high school."

"Really?" Paul sat up straighter. "What position?"

Will relaxed as he got Paul to open up.

Will could see Paul brightening up the more he talked about baseball. Baseball had been Paul's whole life since childhood. He put his everything into it. Will admired the dedication and passion.

Without his permission, Will wondered if there were other parts of Paul's life he was just as passionate about.

"Thank you for meeting with us," Sonny stuck out his hand. "Your help has been informative."

"Yeah, thanks," Chad agreed shaking the man's hand.

"Of course," the business consultant responded. "Give me a call if you need my help again."

Sonny and Paul watched the man walk away before sitting down again.

"Well, it could be worse," Chad reluctantly said.

"We need to get rid of two employees just to get by," Sonny stated harshly. "How is this okay?"

"So fire Ben and T and get over it," Chad rolled his eyes. "Look, with some serious hard work and advertising we can turn this place around."

Chad swept his arm around the club.

"For god's sake, the only people in here are ancient," Chad realized. "No one wants to go to a club with old people."

"Chad," Sonny gave him a distasteful look.

"I'm just saying," Chad shrugged. "We need to liven this place up, serve better food. Get some real advertising."

"I know," Sonny pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just wish we didn't have to let anyone go."

"You heard the consultant," Chad said. "We need to get rid of the dead weight. We're running a business, Kiriakis. We can't let our emotions get in the way."

Sonny sighed deeply but nodded.

"You have to tell me about that game," Will urged. "Come on, I gotta know. That was my favorite moment that season."

"Well," Paul cleared his throat. He opened his mouth before pausing. "Wait," Paul flashed Will a teasing smile. "Favorite moment that season? What does that mean?"

"I, uh," Will scratched the back of his neck. "I, you know, follow the Giants."

"Really," Paul leered. "How does a boy from Illinois start liking a team from San Fran?"

"It's not like the White Sox or the Cubs are that impressive," Will joked.

"Come on," Paul pressed. "I wanna know."

Will shook his head, embarrassed.

"You tell me," Paul suggested. "And I'll tell you all about that game and the brawl. Deal?"

Will didn't want to tell Paul this story. But he couldn't pass up that offer.

"Ugh, fine," Will covered his face. "This is gonna be so awful."

"Now I have to know," Paul smiled. "Out with it."

"When I was around 16," Will confessed. "EJ, that was my step-dad, he took me to a baseball game. I hated him then but, you know, I wanted to go. Anyway, it was this whole big thing where we had suite tickets and everything."

Paul nodded, amused.

"EJ grew up in England so he doesn't know anything about baseball. I had to explain everything to him," Will reminisced. "I think that was the first time we got along."

"And?" Paul rolled his hands, asking Will to continue.

"And," Will wrinkled his nose. "I was really impressed with this one player," Will's face heated. "Some pitcher that was really young but really good."

A wide smile spread across Paul's face.

"After that I started following the team," Will finished. "Which was never embarrassing until I had to explain it to Paul Narita."

Paul threw his head back and laughed.

Will took a gulp of his tea.

Paul's laugh did funny things to Will's stomach.

"We need like a discount night or something," Chad suggested.

Chad's dress-shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He leaned his face on his palm, elbow on a table.

"How would that save us money?" Sonny wondered.

"It would bring in business," Chad pointed out. "Maybe once a week could be college night. Have half off beer or something, the cheap kind."

"That's not bad," Sonny agreed. "We could make out some coupons or something. If you come for lunch you can get discount drinks that night."

"Maybe we could make an app," Chad offered.

"With what money?" Sonny shook his head.

"We could ask Will. I bet he knows how," Chad realized.

"Will's busy," Sonny remarked.

"So?" Chad rolled his eyes. "He's your husband. I'm his best friend. He needs to help us out."

Sonny ignored Chad. He didn't want to put any pressure on Will especially after last night.

Instead, Sonny glanced around the club. There were a handful of people eating lunch but not enough.

'We aren't really known for food though, are we?' Sonny thought. 'Maybe we need to change our menu.'

"You know," Sonny recalled. "I heard the Brady Pub isn't doing that great either."

"Really?" Chad perked up.

"Will's going to help out his aunt Kayla," Sonny revealed. "She's taking over for Caroline. Kayla said business isn't going well."

"Huh," Chad mulled it over. "This could be good for us."

"How?" Sonny frowned.

"We need the pub's clientele," Chad gave Sonny an exasperated look.

"Right," Sonny mumbled. He didn't know how he felt about that. "Will wouldn't like this."

"Will doesn't work here," Chad said flatly. "Also, do you really think Kayla's in good hands with Will's help?"

Sonny crossed his arms and glared.

"I love the dude but you and I both know he isn't business savvy," Chad stated. "We need to get rid of the competition."

"So, I hit him," Paul finished with a smug smile.

Will shook his head with a laugh.

"Well, it was certainly my favorite game that year," Will remarked.

Will looked down at his notes. He had been talking with Paul for a few hours and had yet to even cover any of the questions he wanted to. Will kept getting distracted by Paul.

"So," Will casually said. "I don't think you ever really told me why you were in Salem."

Paul took a sip of his now cold tea. He spent so long talking he didn't get a chance to drink it while it was hot.

"No, I haven't," Paul agreed.

"You gonna tell me now?" Will questioned with a smile.

Paul pretended to think about it.

"Mmm, nope," Paul decided.

"What's it going to take then?" Will mused.

"Oh, Will," Paul grinned teasingly. "I don't think we're close enough for that yet."

Will grabbed his pen, pretending he wasn't affected by that.

'He's so cute,' Paul thought. He looked at the pink splotches gathering on Will's face and neck. 'I wonder how far down that blush goes.'

Will Horton was turning out to be a fun little distraction.

Will fiddled with his notes when his phone buzzed. Will checked it discreetly. He saw a message from Sonny.

Instead of looking at it, Will put his phone back in his pocket.

Will didn't know what was going on with Sonny. Things had been strange since Will came back. The first day he came back everything had been perfect.

'But Sonny's been weird,' Will noticed. He was either complimenting Will in every sentence or acting oddly.

Right now, Will wanted to focus on Paul, not his husband.

Paul watched a mix of emotions cross over Will's face when he checked his phone. He vaguely wondered exactly what Will was thinking.

Will took a look at his notes one more time, putting Sonny out of his mind.

Before Will had a chance to ask a new question, Paul beat him to it.

"You okay?" Paul asked.

Will felt taken aback. He didn't think Paul cared enough to ask a lowly reporter how he felt.

"Yeah," Will smiled once before it dropped from his face. "Of course."

"I don't know," Paul shook his head. "Earlier you were just fine. One look at your phone and you're different."

"No, I'm not," Will looked around the room.

"Who was on the phone?" Paul pressed.

"No one," Will lied. "It's just business. That we need to get back to. We're supposed to be talking about you."

"I want to talk about you though," Paul stated firmly.

"Paul, come on," Will tried.

"What is it?" Paul ignored Will. "The mother you were talking about? Zoe? Girlfriend?"

Will rolled his eyes.

"Boyfriend?" Paul asked innocently.

Will looked at Paul's face briefly before adjusting his notes again.

Paul raised his eyebrows in interest.

'So, I was right,' Paul thought. 'This'll make things interesting.'

"It's no one," Will reiterated.

"You seem pretty upset," Paul continued. "Lover's spat?"

"Paul," Will warned.

"Maybe they don't like the idea of you meeting a celeb in his hotel room," Paul added. "Oh, wait. You had to sign that agreement. So, they probably don't know about me at all."

"We're not talking about this," Will insisted.

"It's my interview," Paul provoked. "Zoe said you're supposed to give me anything I want."

"Not anything," Will amended.

With that, Will gathered his things and shoved them in his bag.

"You're going?" Paul frowned.

Paul was just teasing Will. Yes, he was curious about it but he didn't think it was that big of a deal.

'Clearly I was wrong,' Paul stood up.

"I have somewhere I need to be," Will replied elusively. "I'll call you if I have any other questions."

Will rushed out the door before Paul could say anything else.

"What the hell?" Paul asked out loud.

Paul had no idea what just happened.

The minute Will arrived at the Brady Pub he knew he made a huge mistake.

Will threw his things in the back office and closed his eyes.

'I literally just threw a hissy fit with the biggest opportunity of my career,' Will realized. 'Oh my god, what is wrong with me?'

Paul could call Zoe and get Will fired.

'I can't get fired twice in two weeks. I can't,' Will thought desperately. 'I have to fix this.'

With a shaky hand, Will pulled out his phone.

Paul navigated the Salem Chronicle website. He typed the name Will Horton into the search engine. Paul easily found the link he attempted to use the other day, Will's birth announcement.

'Samantha Brady and Austin Reed are happy to announce the arrival of William Robert Reed. Born on November 16, 1995, 7 pounds, 6 ounces, 19 inches,' Paul read.

'William Reed?' Paul frowned. 'Who the hell is that?'

Paul clicked the backspace and read the next article.

'Wedding Day Murder and Kidnapping,' Paul read the headline. 'What in god's name happened to this kid?'

Before Paul could find out, his cell phone started to ring.

Seeing the name, Paul contemplated answering it or not. Will was an excellent writer and Paul enjoyed his work. But he wasn't the only journalist around. Paul could find anyone else easily.

There was just something about Will. Paul enjoyed talking to Will. He wasn't like any of the other reporters Paul's dealt with. Will was something fun and Paul needed more of that in his life.

"Hello?" Paul asked dully.

"Um, hi," Will replied. "I just, I wanted to apologize for my behavior. It was completely unprofessional and uncalled for. I don't know why I reacted that way."

"I see," Paul mumbled, not budging.

"And I was thinking maybe I could make it up to you," Will announced.

"How are you planning on doing that?" Paul questioned.

'I could think of a few ways,' Paul thought with a smirk.

"You said you've been bored cooped up in your hotel," Will said. "I know someplace you can go where no one will bother you."

That wasn't exactly what Paul had in mind but he was intrigued.

Paul stood outside a quaint restaurant named the Brady Pub. With a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, Paul walked inside.

Paul examined the place.

'Cozy,' Paul thought.

The place was clearly in need of a makeover. But the scents permeating the space caused Paul's stomach to growl. Breakfast was a long time ago.

'Why the hell did Will send me here?' Paul wondered. It definitely wasn't the type of place he would frequent in San Francisco.

Looking for Will, Paul found him right away.

'Oh,' Paul grinned. 'I can live with this ambiance.'

Paul watched as Will leaned over a table, cleaning it up. Paul admired the stretch of Will's tight jeans across his backside. The way Will's biceps flexed when he lifted the tray full of plates. The way Will's white shirt fit him like a second skin

Will turned around and saw Paul standing nearby.

"Hey," Will smiled. "I have a booth in the back for you."

Will grabbed a menu and lead Paul to a booth near the kitchen. With the tacky curtains hanging above the booth, if Paul sat close to the wall no one would ever notice him.

"Look this over," Will offered. "And I'll be right back."

Paul read over the menu, giving Will one last once over.

"So," Will sat down across from Paul. "What looks good?"

'You,' Paul automatically thought. Instead of answering, Paul cleared his throat.

"I'm not sure," Paul said. "What do you suggest?"

"Well, the chowder is the most popular," Will stated. "But my favorite is the burger and fries. Secret family sauce."

"Okay," Paul nodded. "Bring me that."

Will jotted the order down and took it to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass of water and headed back.

"So," Paul remarked once Will returned. "You're a waiter? Is that why you flipped out over the call? Didn't want me to know your deep, dark secret."

"Not exactly," Will responded. "I'm just helping out here. It's not a big secret."

"Wait," Paul remembered the birth announcement and Will's article. "Your mom's last name is Brady. So, this is some family establishment."

"Yeah," Will nodded. "My great-grandparents started it. Now, my aunt is taking over. But she's a doctor at the local hospital. She never has free time and all of her siblings are either just as busy or not in town. I offered to help her out when I can."

"That's really nice," Paul acknowledged. "Your family must mean a lot to you."

"They do," Will smiled. "They're big and ridiculous. Overwhelming and drive me crazy most of the time but I love them."

"I always wanted a big family," Paul admitted. "Well, not really big but I wanted at least two parents."

"Well, coming from someone that's had several step-parents," Will admitted. "They're not all they're cracked up to be."

Paul shook his head.

"I would have preferred any type of father," Paul confessed. He snorted and rolled his eyes. "That's something to put in your article. My apparent daddy issues."

"I wouldn't put that in there," Will assured Paul. "I wouldn't put in anything you didn't want."

Paul caught Will's eyes.

'They're so blue,' Paul noticed. 'Big and beautiful.'

"Thanks," Paul gave Will a half-smile. He took a drink of his water. "So, if you didn't freak out over the pub, why did you blow up on me?"

"It's dumb," Will bit his lip.

Paul looked at Will expectantly.

Will took a deep breath. It didn't seem professional to answer. But then again neither was his behavior.

"Do you really want to know?" Will asked. He hoped he could get out of it.

"Obviously," Paul encouraged. "I wouldn't have come all the way down here. I could have called Zoe up and killed our interview."

"I know," Will nodded. He played with the salt and pepper shaker on the table.

"So?" Paul questioned.

Will didn't know why he freaked out earlier. For some reason, Will didn't want to talk about Sonny. It wasn't necessarily that Will wanted to keep his relationship a secret though.

Somethings were better left unsaid.

"Well," Will finally said. "You were right. It was a lover's spat."

"I knew it," Paul sat up straighter. 'Now, am I right about everything?'

"Well, it kind of was," Will admitted. "I wasn't paying attention and almost burned down the apartment."

"Um, wow," Paul tried not to laugh.

"And, of course, he got upset," Will continued. "But he yelled at me and our d-," Will cut himself off. Paul didn't need to know about Ari. Not yet.

"I can imagine that sucked," Paul commented. He held in a grin. 'Definitely right.'

"I tried to make him dinner," Will confessed. "I'm really bad at cooking. But I wanted to try. Because he does a lot for me and I don't really give much back. He got the short end of the stick when it comes to partners."

"Hey," Paul encouraged Will. "Don't talk like that. You wanted to cook him dinner. Accidents happen."

"They happen to me a lot," Will remarked.

Paul remembered the birth announcement and the proceeding article.

"I bet they do," Paul noted. "Actually, I have a question."

"About?" Will wondered.

"William Roberts?" Paul asked, head tilted.

Will furrowed his brows. It took him a few moments to realize what Paul was asking.

"Oh," Will rolled his eyes. "How did you find out about that?"

"Salem Chronicle website," Paul shrugged. "I was curious about you."

"Great," Will sighed. "You'll find out all my dirty little secrets now."

"Anyway," Will caught Paul's eye. "My mom lied about my birth father. Hence the different last name."

"Damn," Paul replied. "I couldn't imagine my mom lying about my father."

Chad walked into the Brady Pub, assessing. Despite Sonny's wishes, Chad was scooping out the competition.

'Huh,' Chad thought when he spotted Will sitting in a corner. 'Sonny wasn't kidding. Will really is helping out here again.'

Chad sat down at a free table and waited, observing.

Will got up from the booth to get Paul's order. Will glanced over the restaurant. The two waitresses seemed to have everything covered. That was until Will saw Chad sitting by himself.

'Hmm,' Will wondered what he was doing there.

"Here you go," Will placed Paul's food in front of him. "I'll be right back."

Will walked over to Chad.

"What's up, dude?" Will asked. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh, nothing," Chad evaded. "Just in the neighborhood. Sonny mentioned you'd be here. Glad you're back by the way. Sonny's a dick without you."

"Really? Will responded.

"Major pain in the ass," Chad confirmed.

"You want your usual?" Will asked, amused.

"Sure," Chad smiled. He almost forgot what that was it had been so long.

Will dropped off Chad's order before sitting down with Paul again.

"How's the burger?" Will questioned.

"Ridiculously good," Paul answered with a mouthful.

"Told you it was the best," Will proudly replied.

Will reached out to swipe one of Paul's fries.

"I really hope you know I'm sorry about earlier," Will reminded Paul. "Truly."

"Don't worry about it," Paul put his burger down. "I know all about having something you don't want to talk about."

Paul looked into Will's big, blue eyes. He hoped Will understood what he was trying to say.

Chad looked over at Will with a frown.

'Who is he talking to?' Chad wondered suspiciously.

Chad watched Will and the stranger in the booth throughout his meal. Chad never got a good look at the guy but he had his suspicions.

'There's only one explanation,' Chad realized.

"Will is seeing an investor," Chad smacked his hand on the desk in front of him.

Sonny blinked at Chad before going back to typing.

"Are you listening to me?" Chad ranted. "This is awful."

"Do you even know it was an investor?" Sonny asked without looking at Chad.

"He was wearing a Burberry jacket and Louboutin sneakers," Chad insisted. "Plus, I didn't recognize him. I know all the rich people-all of them!"

"That doesn't make the guy an investor," Sonny pointed out.

"Oh, well what other explanation do you have?" Chad lifted his hands in the air. "Why would Will only focus on that guy and ignore everyone else?"

Sonny thought of the interview Will was conducting. The one that was so secretive and hush hush.

'Would Will interview the person in public?' Sonny wondered. 'I guess he could be hiding in plain sight.'

Sonny let Chad ramble on and on.

'Who would Will even be interviewing?' Sonny went back to his typing. 'It's not like there's any celebrities in Salem.'

Sonny's fingers slipped off his keyboard.

'Oh my god,' Sonny panicked. 'Oh, god, no.'

Author's note:

What will Sonny do next?

Thanks for reading!