Paul watched Tripp as he slept. He had... He had thought the young man straight until the night before. Tripp had come onto him out of nowhere, and he had done it hard. There was a part of Paul that wanted nothing to do with him. Closet cases were nothing but trouble: he had learned lesson back when he still was one. However, there was another part that was intrigued by the man in his bed. For the first time in years, Paul had awoken without checking to see if Sonny was in his bed

A finger ran along Tripp's bare back, tracing the ridges of his spine, but the man did not stir. He was sleeping the sleep of the dead. After what they'd done the night before, Paul couldn't fault him. He was surprised to find himself awake. It would be an even bigger surprise if Tripp could walk without any bowing of the legs.

There was a knock at the door, pulling Paul from his increasingly sordid daydreaming. As reluctant as he was to leave the warmth of the bed and the body in it, Paul climbed out and wrapped the loose sheet around his waist. When he opened the door, Paul immediately wished he had just stayed in bed.

"Good morning to you, too," Will purred, licking his lips as he ran his eyes up and down Paul's exposed frame. "I was in the neighbourhood, considered inviting you out for breakfast. Staying in is fine with me, though."

Without waiting for an invitation, Will pushed past Paul and strode into the apartment. He stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw a man sleeping in Paul's bed.

"Is that the guy from last night?" Will asked, though the question seemed to be more for himself than for Paul. Turning around, Will stared into Paul's eyes. He seemed hurt, though there was no reason for it. It had been made clear on multiple occasions that Paul was not and would never be interested in Will. "Did you really sleep with this guy?"

"That's not really your business," Paul sighed. Rather than look at the needlessly pained look on Will's face, Paul instead looked at the ceiling. "We are not together, Will. We never will be. I'm fine being your friend, but you need to chill out. If you don't accept reality, we can't be friends. The choice is yours."

"He attacked me, Paul." Will's voice cracked, but Paul remained resolute and stared at a dusty string from a cobweb. "Last night, at Unicorn Highway. He punched me for just bumping into him! He's dangerous, Paul. Not a good person. You need to be careful."

"You should leave now."

"But Paul..."

Paul held a hand up, cutting Will off. He tore his eyes from the cobweb and looked at the other man's face. There was real fear there, which caught Paul off guard. Something told him, however, that the source of Will's fear was not Tripp.

"I do appreciate your concern, Will, but you still need to go." Paul was doing his damnedest to be gentle with how he handled Will. The last thing he needed was for him to start yelling and wake Tripp up, especially if there was any truth to his claim. "I can take care of myself."

"Fine. Whatever." Will looked from Paul, to Tripp, to the door, then back to Paul. "But Paul? I did try to warm you. A person like that, a violent thug, he wouldn't think twice about hurting you like he did me.

"I hope that, for your sake, this was a one time thing."

*Goodbye, Will." Again, Paul was being gentle, but he was also firm. He walked back to the door and opened it for the intruder.

Will offered one last pleading look before leaving. Paul closed the door behind him, and then he locked it. He pressed his forehead against the cool wood of the door and sighed. Why couldn't he even enjoy a one night stand without drama erupting?

"That's only half the story."

Paul whirled around and saw Tripp sitting up. His chest was heaving with controlled rage.

"Yeah, I decked that guy last night. He had it coming for grabbing my ass.

It was impossible for Paul to not burst out laughing, so he didn't even try. Tripp was not as used but Paul didn't care.

"Was that your first time in a gay bar or something? An ass grabbing is more common than a handshake."

"Actually, it was," Tripp answered. He tilted his head and looked Paul over. It didn't feel degrading like when Will would do it. This felt more like he was a puzzle Tripp was trying to solve. "Last night was my first time at a gay anything."

"It was your first time?" Paul approached the bed, but didn't join Tripp in it. "It certainly seemed like you knew what you were doing."

"I've banged chicks before," Tripp replied with a shrug. His anger was now quickly draining away. "Last night was new. Good, but different."

Paul was confused. "You're taking this really well."

It was Tripp's turn to laugh, though his was more of a chuckle. "It's sex. Man, woman, who cares? It's not like it's the 1990s anymore. Most folks don't give a shit. As long as everyone involved is cool, that's what should matter. Which is why I pretended to be asleep until your little friend left. Whether it's common or not, what he did isn't cool. It was sexual harassment."

"You're right. I'm sorry I laughed. Will was out of line last night. Was that what he and Sonny were fighting about last night? You punching Will?" Paul dropped the sheet and climbed back into the bed.

Tripp's face grew dark at the mention of Sonny. It wasn't anger, not like what Paul had seen after Will left. This was something deeper. Something dangerous, and not in a thrilling way. Paul flashed back to Will's warning.

"Sonny? Will's husband? Yeah. I got into it with him. He threatened me. If those two are any indication as to how the rest of the gay men in this town act, I think I'm just gonna stick to women. My family is gonna bitch less, anyway. I don't know about you Asians, but we Italians? We live for the screaming and the crying. And I don't need that if I can avoid it."

"'We Asians,' as you put it, we aren't strangers to drama. We just try not to broadcast it. Or, at least, the Japanese don't. I can't speak for anyone else. There's not an Asian hive mind. And I can assure that there is nobody else like Will on Sonny on this planet, gay or straight."

Tripp looked at Paul out of the corner of his eye and smiled. The action was simple, but it put Paul at ease.

"Okay, you've convinced me."

Days

Patience was not one of Ciara's strongest skills. Sonny had agreed to her deal, but had dictated his own terms. Things had to progress by his time table, and he refused to let her know what it was. He just told her to wait, that he would pull the trigger when the time was right.

That was all well and good, but in the meantime she had to listen to Claire yap about how worried she was because Tripp had spent the whole night out and wasn't answering her calls. She so badly wanted to throttle the banshee, if for no other reason than to silence the incessant screeching.

"He's a grown ass man," Ciara reminded the twit. She didn't even try to hide her disdain for Claire. In fact, she reveled in it. "Maybe he's just getting laid. At least one of us should be."

"Don't say that!" Claire wailed while punching in Tripp's number for what must have been the fortieth time. "He's not answering his phone, Ciara! He could be hurt! Or dead!"

"I should be so lucky."

"WHAT?!" Claire cried out before throwing her phone in frustration. It wasn't immediately clear if she had heard Ciara or not.

"Never mind," Ciara grumbled while the door to the flat opened.

The sound Claire emitted almost caused Ciara to go deaf. The annoying blonde woman ran to their returned roommate Tripp and threw her arms around him, halfway to hysterical at the sight of him.

"Did I miss something?" Tripp asked as he wrapped his arms around Claire and held her close. The smile pn his face was the perfect balance to Claire's shrill sobbing and Ciara's twitchy eye.

"She thought you were dead in a ditch," Ciara explained slowly so that the neanderthal and the human ostrich might understand her. "Me? I assumed you were balls deep in a hooker. But looking at you now? I don't even think you could get pussy if you paid for it."

With a groan, Claire released Tripp and turned to face Ciara. She looked about as threatening as an alpaca with an extra chromosome. "Why are you always so mean? This is why nobody likes you! You're just a lazy bitch who lays around all day letting her mom pay her rent while the rest of us actually have to work."

"You're just jealous that my mom loves me. Yours dumped you here and ran off to another continent. Just like Theo!" Ciara laughed.

"I hate you. I never should've added you to the lease."

"Yeah, but you did. So you're stuck with me." Ciara was really enjoying winding up her niece. It was such a simple pleasure, but it was also a finite one. Soon enough, Ciara's plan would be put into action. And if everything went as it should, Claire and Tripp would both end up leaving Salem forever.

Days

Board meetings were insufferably dull. Some days, they were enough of an irritant that Sonny wished he were still running his nightclub with Chad. Instead, they had closed it down and joined their respective family businesses. Now all he did was go to meetings and answer phone calls. When he was lucky enough to be spared those particular indignities, he found himself moving numbers from one spreadsheet to another. Titan Industries was deathly boring.

When a phone call from an unknown number interrupted his attempt to stay awake, Sonny happily excused himself from the meeting. His cousin Brady had been speaking with shareholders when Sonny left, so he considered the clueless-yet-offended look on the man's face to be a bonus.

"Sonny Kiriakis. Talk to me." It really didn't matter that he didn't know who was calling. All that mattered was that he was in an empty hallway and not an uncomfortable chair.

"It's me, Boss." The woman's voice was immediately recognizable. "I've got some bad news."

"You haven't been seen, have you?" Sonny asked nervously. He couldn't risk anyone knowing she was back in town, let alone connected to him.

"Nobody knows I'm here," she assured him. "But Will? I followed him just like you wanted. He went to Paul's place this morning. I hate to say it, but Paul wasn't wearing anything when he answered the door. No, wait, actually, I like saying it. Nude was pretty much naked and it was HOT. I mean, you already know this, but that Paul Narita is one fine ass piece of man."

"What is the point?" Sonny bit back a growl. He really wondered why he hired this woman. Her experience was a great benefit, but her personality might wind up being a detriment if things went on too long.

"Right. The point. See, here's the thing: I know you hired me to tail Will, but he didn't stay at Paul's long. When he left, he was angry with Paul. Fuming. And maybe even a little scared. And since I don't have X-ray vision or super hearing, I don't know why. But Will is still not happy with Paul right now, and that is good news for you."

"Whether it's good for me or not isn't your concern. You just need to keep me updated on what Will is doing. And I need for you to find out just what Paul did to him today. But be subtle about it. And don't get caught."

With that, Sonny ended the call. He looked at the door to the boardroom before walking away. He didn't have time for stuffy old suits. His operative would do what he needed, she was very good at getting things done, but she wasn't the only tool at his disposal.

He would find out what what Paul did to Will. He would determine what the wedge was between them, and then he would hit it with the biggest hammer he could find. Paul and Will would be split for good, and anyone who got between Sonny and his husband had better pray to god for mercy because he would show them none.

Days

"Hey, Son."

Tripp let the door to the Brady Pub close behind him, and joined his father at a nearby table. He hadn't known Steve Johnson long. The weekly lunch dates were supposed to be a way to rectify that.

"Dad," he said noncommittally. The lunch date had been planned for at least a week, but his mind was elsewhere. Claire had hugged him when he got home. For a moment, just a moment, they held each other and it was almost like she was his. It was almost like they were together. Then Ciara had opened her mouth. And as Claire defended him, he wondered why she was so passionate about him, but not with him.

But his mind also wandered back to the night prior. Paul's breath on the back of his neck, his weight pushing Tripp into the bed, the feeling of fingers sliding in and out of his mouth as other things slid elsewhere: the memories alone were enough to make him feel drunk.

As Tripp's brain flitted back and forth between his love of Claire and his night with Paul, he felt heavy. Guilty. And he had no idea why.

"Hey, the lady's talking to you." Steve reached across the table and nudged his son. "She asked if you want anything to drink?"

Blinking, Tripp realized he hadn't heard a word the waitress said. After offering a quick apology, he ordered coffee and hashbrowns.

"Skipped breakfast," the young man explained to his father after the waitress left.

"Right," Steve said, clearly not believing Tripp even though it was the truth. "Is everything okay?"

Tripp watched the waitress hand off his order before answering. "What makes you think things aren't?"

"Well, you don't have to be a retired spy to realize your mind isn't here, but it sure does help," the man joked.

"Well, there is something. Is it ethical to become involved with someone if you're in love with someone else?"

Steve steepled his finger and looked at his son for a few seconds. "Is this about you and Claire?"

Closing his eyes, Tripp nodded. He heard his father say Claire's name, but he saw Paul's face. Memories of their bodies entangled danced behind his eyelids, interspersed with how perfect the world felt with Claire in his arms. "Yeah, in a way."

"She's still with Theo, Son. She's not available. I am proud that you've been a real man, a gentleman, and that you've respected their relationship, but you need to move on. Do it for your own sake."

"That's the problem," Tripp confessed with a sigh. He began absentmindedly playing with a sugar packet, but opened his eyes in an attempt to banish his thoughts of Paul. "I'm trying to move on. I think. There's a possibility of someone else, anyway."

"Then what's the problem? Explain it to me."

The sensation of skin on skin overtook Tripp's senses. His vision clouded over with a dark heat. He could smell the sweat, taste the cotton of the pillow, and hear the grunting as if it were still happening. The sugar packet in his hands tore open and spilled all over the table, but he had no idea. Tripp was lost in a memory.

"Earth to Tripp. Hello?" Steve waved a hand in his son's face, pulling him out of the past and into the present. "This other girl must really be in your head something fierce."

"That's one way to put it." Tripp smiled. He noticed the sugar scattered across the table, then he noticed the torn packet still in his hands. Embarrassed, he began sweeping the sugar into a small pile. "But I don't know if anything serious will ever come of it. I don't even know if I want anything to come of it."

"Do I know her?" Steve asked with a grin. "Is she cute?"

"Yeah. You do." Suddenly, Tripp became very aware of his words and meticulously picked each one. "But I can't tell you who it is. Not yet. Things are still too... I don't want to rush anything. Especially when I don't know where things stand with Claire."

"You really shouldn't count on anything with Claire," Steve warned. "Theo isn't going to be at that clinic in South Africa for-"

"I know," Tripp interrupted. "She's with Theo. I just don't know that it's okay for me to pursue something with someone else when I still have feelings for her."

"It's not fair to anyone for you to deprive yourself of a chance at happiness, especially for someone who has made it clear she either can't or won't be with you. Besides, this new girl? She could be the one. She could make you forget all about Claire. This girl could wind up bringing nothing but good to your life."

Tripp felt himself smiling, even though mentally it was the last thing he wanted to do. "That would be nice."

He knew better.