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It had been awkward at first, when Paul had walked into TBD late this morning. But time and Will’s stiff well-meaning jokes had lightened the tension and though Derrick had joined them, the air had kept it’s relaxed tone for a few hours. Sonny smiled at Will from his place on the other side of the bar and Will had leaned into it, elbow on the smooth polished bar top as he listened to Paul tell an anecdote about the first time he ‘accidentally’ hurt someone during a game with his, in his words, ‘fierce fastball’.
Derrick laughed along at all the right moments and Will grinned right along with the rest of them. He was just pleased that he and Sonny were no longer fighting. He had made the mistake of bringing up Paul’s campaign for Mad World as a possible article in front of Sonny and though Zoe had liked the idea, Sonny had most definitely not been okay with it. It would have been fine except for Zoe butting her head into the conversation. The second she began to lecture Sonny on whether he supported Will’s career it all went screeching downhill.
When she finally was half-flung out of their apartment, the true argument had taken place. Old wounds were ripped open and every small victory, every kind word, every shaky smile from the last week, crumbled around them like ash. As per usual, Sonny had stormed out in the middle of Will’s frantic apologies and half-coherent promises and it wasn’t until an hour later that he got a text message that very curtly informed him that his husband would be staying at the Kiriakis mansion for the night.
Will had been up half the night as he paced back and forth. He had pulled at his hair, cursed himself, cursed his job, finally desperate, he rehearsed his apology until he finally sank into sleep. He wasn’t sure if it was his hoarse voice, bloodshot eyes, or his utterly miserable expression, but when Sonny finally came home early that morning he took one look at Will and flung himself into his husband’s arms. They had talked in hushed whispers against each others ears and ran hands across cloth covered skin until Ari had called for them from her room and they were finally forced apart.
Since then, Sonny had been almost too sweet and Will started wonder if he was going to have to send someone at the mansion flowers. He hadn’t thought Justin and Adrienne were exactly his biggest fans but other than Brady, who had declared himself Switzerland soon after finding out his relation to Paul, they were the only two who could’ve talked Sonny around this fast. Will was blissful.
“Sonny,” a familiar voice cried out with enthusiasm. Sonny’s open posture coiled tight and his eyes widened as he turned to watch as Brian approached.
“Oh my God,” Brian laughed easily and Will hadn’t realized he was back in town but was in a good enough mood that he grinned at him easily. “I’ve been trying to find you. Where’d you run off to this morni--Oh. Hi, Will-- and friends. Um,” Brian cut himself off eyes catching sight of the rings on Will and Sonny’s hands. The silence was oppressive and Brian’s face rapidly paled as he turned a shocked gaze on Sonny who was frozen in obvious fear.
“Oh my God,” Brian said again, softer. “Will, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I know you won’t believe me but-”
“Don’t worry about it, Brian,” Will said tersely, his stomach tugged itself into knots and he felt a phantom hand clench around his throat.
Brian’s discomfort was not at all subtle. His rush to get to the door caused a server to drop a tray of drinks that broke all over the floor. Brian very nearly leaped over the poor man on his way out. The muffled conversations stopped. Time stopped. The music seemed unnecessarily loud.
"So, you slept with Brian."
"Will," Sonny whispered. His eyes were full of tears and he couldn't seem to raise his gaze above Will's shoulders. "I-I know you're mad-"
"No," Will said calmly. "I'm not angry. I don't have any right to be angry with you. Especially not after what I did."
"Will, no-" Sonny was starting to become panicked now.
"It's fine. I get it," Will stood straight and grabbed his bag from the stool next to him. “I hurt you. I hurt you and you wanted to hurt me back.” Will finally raised his chin and looked his husband in the eye. Gratifyingly, Sonny’s frantic journey to circle the bar halted immediately. Paul and Derrick exchanged a glance and were very carefully still.
“Well done,” he whispered hoarsely.
Distantly he heard the glass being swept and the murmurs of the club’s patrons as the door closed behind him but he paid it no mind. He was halfway home before he realized that he didn’t know what any of this meant. Were they fixed now? Now that Sonny had gotten his revenge or whatever this was, did that mean they were okay now? Was everything supposed to go back to normal?
“What the hell am I supposed to do,” he whispered to himself.
His phone went off and he looked down to see a missed call from Sonny and a text from Paul.
I’m at the park if you wanna talk. Or if you don’t.
His phone rang again. Sonny. Will pinched the bridge of his nose and stoutly ignored how his fingers came away wet. His phone rang again. His hand squeezed it until it went silent.
He didn’t want to go home like this. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this either. He rubbed furiously at his eyes, sniffed and kept walking. His thoughts and emotions were tangled up so much he couldn’t even tell what they were any more.
“Will.”
He looked up at the soft call and saw Paul, reclined on a bench. Will tried to ignore how the soft expression on his face read pity so easily.
“Paul,” Will glanced around but didn’t see anyone else. “I didn’t mean to come here.”
“I think that maybe you did,” Paul stood and approached Will slowly, like one would a dangerous animal. His outstretched hand was inches from him when Will finally stepped back and turned away. “Will, listen to me. I know this is probably a really bad time but, Sonny-”
“Don’t,” Will whispered. “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t say it because I can’t even think about that right now. So if you’re going to talk it had better be about something else.”
“Okay,” Paul soothed. “Okay. Come here.”
Paul reached out again and pulled Will forward. Wrapped in Paul’s arms Will tried not to think, he just rested his cheek against Paul’s shoulder and kept his face tucked into Paul’s neck. The cologne Paul had used that morning was familiar, relaxing. Will remembered smelling it in the air in Paul’s hotel room every time he swung by with questions. He remembered smelling it on the sheets, on Paul, on himself.
His arms came up to lock around Paul and he pressed his face closer to Paul’s neck. Will’s nose slid along on Paul’s skin, his lips brushing the pulse that pounded rapidly against them. Paul hissed in a breath, his body coiled tight but he didn’t move away.
“Will,” Paul whispered. “What are you doing?”
Will pressed his lips against Paul’s throat in a hard sucking kiss as an answer and felt how Paul’s fingers curled in tighter to grip him and pull him in. Will raked his teeth against the straining flesh and felt Paul jerk against him. Their bodies aligned and Will breathed over the slick abused skin.
“Will,” Paul said again, firmer. “I’m not going to do this with you. I’m not going to help you get revenge on Sonny. I won’t let you use me in this game you two have going.”
Will’s hands roamed Paul’s back before sliding down to grip Paul’s ass and pull him in. He ground against Paul and let out a low strangled sound from the back of his throat. Paul echoed him, his head tilting down to rest on Will’s as he panted hotly over his ear.
“Will,” Paul groaned again.
“You’re not,” Will replied finally. “I’m not using you to get back at Sonny. I just-”
“What,” Paul murmured, one of his hands sliding up underneath the back of Will’s T-shirt to rest on the small of his back.
“--Want you.”
The dam broke. Paul half-lifted half-pushed Will a dozen stumbling steps backwards, his mouth found Will’s and their lips slid and pressed together as their breaths puffed out hot and quick into each others mouths. Will’s back hit a tree hard and he grunted at the impact before Paul leaned over and stole the sound from him.
Paul pulled one of Will’s legs up around his hip and held it there as he pressed in against Will. Their hard cocks pushed against each other through denim as they caught and ground together. Will groaned with increasing frequency into Paul’s mouth as he bit and explored the familiar hot cavern of his mouth.
They gasped and groaned into each others mouths as their tongues pressed and ground against each other. Paul’s other hand gripped Will’s hip and pulled him into a steadier rhythm. Will felt the pressure building and gripped Paul’s jaw and moaned into his mouth as he rode Paul’s hips. Will felt Paul’s hips stutter in their rhythm for a moment and suddenly he was pressed into the tree behind him so hard he knew his back would be a mess of bruises and scratches.
Their pace was now frantic, their easy glide all but gone as they humped and ground against each other with abandon, hands roaming the others skin. Will spared a brief thought to just how loud they were being before he dismissed it. It’s not like anyone normally came to this area of the park at this time of the evening anyway. There was only one person that Will didn’t really want to see them that could stumble into the clearing.
The thought sent a spike of cold panic down his spine and he gasped against Paul’s mouth and tore his head to the side. Heat coiled low in his stomach and though he knew this would be a mistake, yet another reason to prove why he didn’t deserve Sonny or his forgiveness, it felt right in a way that nothing had for a long time. Blue eyes rolled back and fluttered closed when Paul closed his teeth on the skin on Will’s neck. The way he bit, sucked, and laved the skin with his mouth was desperate. Like he had a purpose he absolutely must fulfill, one last chance, do or die.
The thought that someone, Paul in particular, needed him so desperately in that moment was a heady thought and rocketed up the tension that made his limbs taught and then he was moaning Paul’s name embarrassingly loud as his climax ripped through him. His vision went white for a moment and all he could feel was Paul pumping his hips against his wringing every last sensation and drop from his softening cock and the bliss that raced through his veins.
Just as the friction was beginning to hurt his over sensitive cock, Paul muffled a loud shout by sinking his teeth into his shoulder drawing a groan from Will. When their breathing finally evened they pulled away from each other and tried to ignore how uncomfortable their jeans were and how they had just rubbed off on each other in a public park. Will still felt the panic and fear as it flowed through him and ran both hands over his face and through his hair to hold his head. He couldn’t seem to look Paul in the eye even though he could feel his gaze on him.
“I’m sorry,” Paul said finally, sounding distraught. “I know you’re still married I just- Will, I don’t know how else to say this but to say it.”
Will was only half-listening as he fought back tears and internally cursed himself to hell. There was no way he and Sonny could work things out now. Oh God, what had he done. And with Paul no less. Again. Christ, what was wrong with him?
“Will,” Paul called firmly. “Just- Will you just look at me while I’m talking to you? Please? This isn’t easy for me either.”
Finally, with little other option, Will raised his head and met Paul’s stubborn, pleading expression.
“I know you’re still married and I know you want to try to work things out with Sonny. I know that but, I thought you should know. You have options. You could have me. I know we haven’t exactly always gotten along but I’m willing to forgive everything if you are and-- Fuck! Listen, I don’t know how this happened but, I have feelings for you. Real feelings. And sometimes they’re so strong and loud it’s all I can focus on and I catch myself staring at your smile and it feels like I can’t breathe.”
Will’s vision started to dim around the edges and he realized he had stopped breathing. He forced himself to take deep slow breaths and listen to Paul. To say he was shocked would be laughable. This whole situation was laughable. What the hell was wrong with him? What had he done in his life to deserve this? He was in love with a husband that he couldn’t stay faithful to, and now that he was forced to admit it, he had feelings for the man he cheated on his husband with, twice. What the fuck was he supposed to do? Oh God.
“I’m not asking for an answer now,” Paul pleaded his hands outstretched in front of him like he was trying to calm him. Maybe he was, Will realized absently, he certainly needed it.
“I just want you to think about it. Whatever happens, however long I have to wait, I’ll do it. But I like you, Will. A lot. Too much maybe. I know you’re probably going to try to work things out with Sonny and that you probably don’t give a damn about me but, God I hope you’ll at least think about it. Give me a chance, Will. Let me prove it to you. You’re the one I want. You’re the one I’ve wanted for a while now. Maybe even all along but I couldn’t realize it until I thought you hated me and I understood why the thought hurt so damn much. Like I said, I know you probably don’t have any feel-”
“I do,” Will admitted quietly, his voice seemed to echo in the clearing and it froze Paul in place and built up hope in Paul’s beautiful brown eyes. “I do have feelings for you. That’s what’s so messed up about this whole thing, Paul. If it wasn’t for Sonny and Ari, we wouldn’t even be talking about this. It would’ve been us from the minute you kissed me in your hotel room. But the thing is, they do exist. They are here and while I like you, yeah maybe even a lot, I love my husband. I’m in love with my husband.
“I owe it to not just myself but to our daughter to try to work things out with him. Besides, Paul, regardless of your feelings for me and mine for you, there’s a little girl waiting for me at home. She’s my main priority and you’re barely ready for a committed relationship from what you’ve said. I don’t think you’d be ready for a relationship with a guy who has a kid and I won’t put you in that position.”
The hope in Paul’s eyes died and Will had to look away when he saw Paul’s eyes go glassy as they filled with tears.
“I’m not saying no,” Will said finally. “I’m just saying that, I don’t think now would be the best time. I care about you, but I’m going to try to work things out with my husband.” He rubbed a hand over the teeth marks on his neck and shoulder that were no doubt already bruising into rather impressive hickeys. “That is, if he even wants to stay with me after this. I’m not going to lie. What just happened had very little to do with Sonny, I did want you. I still do. It’s like this constant thrum of energy crawling over my skin every time you so much as look at me--”
“Me too”
“--But we shouldn’t have done that. I’m still married and I’m committed to my husband. We can’t just keep cheating on each other every time our marriage gets hard. We’re going to have to work through this or… or we’ll need to look into a divorce. Even if we don’t work out, I don’t think I’ll be able to even think about dating for a long time. Sonny’s the love of my life, Paul. I’m sorry, I know this hurts you, but I need to try. I need to.”
“Okay,” Paul said finally a sad smile curled his lips. “I get it, but here’s the thing: I love Ari. She’s a good kid and while I’m not ready to be a father, I think I could totally deal with being her father’s boyfriend. I get it though. You and Sonny need to work through some stuff. But Will, I’ll be here when you figure it out. You’re not going to scare me off by waving a cute kid in my face because I care about you too. If you and Sonny work things out I’ll do my best to try to respect it, but I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not giving up on you. I refuse to. We’d be good together. We’d be everything. I refuse to give up on that. So go ahead, try to work it out. But I’ll be right here and if it doesn’t work out, you can bet I’ll be right there fighting for you. I’m ready. I was scared before but I’m not scared anymore and if you give me the chance, Will, I promise I’ll step up to the plate. I will.”
“Oh,” Will laughed, startled at the soft warm feeling in his chest. “Okay then.”
“Yeah,” Paul grinned, his voice fond. He didn’t say anything else besides a cheerful goodbye and a quip about needing long shower that Will knew was a half-joking invitation but Paul knew he couldn’t accept it. He watched as Paul walked out of the Park with only one glance over his shoulder.
Will found himself grinning all the way back to the apartment, a new confident feeling built up in him and straightened his spine. If he really wanted his marriage to work he would have to be honest. He would have to tell Sonny the truth and beg forgiveness and unconditionally give his own and then they needed to have really serious talk about what they both wanted out of this marriage and how to get it.
If it all worked out the way he hoped, he and Sonny would be on their way to their happily ever after. If it didn’t, well hopefully there would be a happy ending there too.
He approached door, and heard Sonny talking to what was undoubtedly his voicemail. He frowned down at the mess of his jeans and took a deep breath. This would be ugly, but it had to be done.
He opened the door.