(... Sonny's POV... )

He is working towards his final. Every day he studies for hours, only taking short breaks to have something to eat. Everywhere he goes he has books and notepads within reach, using every lost minute to study. A week from now all finals are over, and he will finally have some time to rest. When I walk into our apartment he is sitting at our desk and tenderly I pull my fingers through his blond hair. He leans into the touch and sighs:

"You're home."

I lean down and kiss him softly on his lips. I see the dark shadows under his eyes, and the way he blinks tells me he is tired from reading all day. His blue eyes are transfixed on me and I lean down again to give him another kiss, this time letting it linger to enjoy the softness of his lips against mine. His arms reach up and fold around my neck and when I let go of his lips he holds me close to him. A tired smile paints his face:

"I am glad you are here."

"Me too."

He reluctantly lets me stand up straight again and I point at the books in front of him:

"You almost finished?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

I see the struggle on his perfect face, I know he is not sure whether to do a few more hours studying, or to snuggle up on the couch together. Finally, he reaches out and closes his books. He stands up and looks at me with a sweet smile:

"I am finished... and you and I are going to have some serious couch time."

I laugh and walk towards our bedroom to put on some sweats. When I come back he is just putting two bowls of cereal on the table. I raise my eyebrows and he shrugs:

"I have no energy to cook, and more importantly... I don't want to waste our time."

I shake my head while reaching for one of the bowls:

"Cereal it is..."

A couple of minutes later we have finished our 'dinner', and after Will has put the bowls in the sink he gets comfortable. His back is against my chest and is head is against my shoulder, while his forehead lightly touches my neck. My arms immediately fold around him while I kiss his temple. He sighs deeply and I ask:

"So how are you doing..."

"I'm OK."

"Nervous about your finals?"

"Hmmm."

Although that is all he says, the way he tries to curl into me even further tells me all I need to know.

"You are going to do great, baby."

He nods, while his fingers lace through mine.

"Will..."

"Hmmm."

"I just want you to know I believe in you."

It is quiet for a while and the way his head leans against me makes me feel like I am his hero. Without moving he softly answers:

"Thank you."

The whole evening we just sit there together, watching some TV and speaking softly. He doesn't move, and I find myself folded around him for hours. Without words he told me that tonight he needs me to be his strength, his shoulder, his anchor. All he wants to do is be tired and nervous, so that after tonight he can do the very best he can on his finals. All evening I whisper sweet little things in his ear that make him smile, chuckle, or just sigh happily. He is like liquid in my arms, moulded into me as if his body was meant to fit against mine. Around eleven we are both tired and ready to go to sleep. After I brushed my teeth I already find him stretched out on our bed and I crawl in next to him. While I yawn and try to get comfortable I hear his quiet voice:

"Sonny?"

"Yeah..."

"Can you... Will you... uhm."

"Will?"

"Can you be the big spoon tonight?"

Even though it is dark in the room I know he is blushing. I smile and wordlessly roll on my side, waiting for him to curl up so I can lie behind him. My head leans against his ear, my arm hugs his stomach and my leg drapes over his.

"Sonny..."

"Hmmm."

"Do you think I am weak?"

I shoot up, looking down at him, only seeing the outline of his face as there is only a little moonlight in the room.

"Did you just ask me if I think you are weak?"

"Yeah... all evening I have been... I don't know... needing you to hold me."

"Everyone needs to be held sometimes Will... it doesn't make you weak."

I lie down again and find my previous position. And after a few moments of silence I whisper softly:

"I am your boyfriend... looking after you is my privilege."

(... Will's POV...)

"Hi Sonny."

I smile as I always do when I answer his phone call. The idea of hearing his voice puts me in a good mood immediately and I wait for his usual 'Hi babe'. But instead it is quiet on the other side of the line and I am not sure what is going on:

"Sonny?"

"Will."

The moment I hear him say my name all my alarm bells are going off. For some reason I stand up and start pacing around the apartment. His voice, usually happy and cheery, sounds dark and dull.

"Sonny... what..."

"I... the club..."

That's all he says, but I am sure I hear tears in his voice. The only time Sonny actually cried was when I was shot. My parents told me how they found him next to me, telling me how much he loved me. Other than that I have seen him choked up, shaky and on the verge of crying only a few times. But right now I am 99% sure he is crying, or going to cry.

"Sonny, what happened."

While I wait for him to answer me I grab my car keys and moments later I am driving towards the club. All Sonny says on the phone is:

"Will... can you come over here... please?"

We hang up as I am driving and I can hear people asking for him in the background. Before I reach the club I already see the fire brigade and some ambulances parked. I quickly park my car and almost run towards the club. I ask a fireman:

"What happened."

He points at the club and says:

"A fire inside club TBD, no-one hurt so far, but the building is severely damaged."

I look around and suddenly I see Sonny, speaking to some fireman. After they have finished their conversation I walk towards him and the moment he sees me I see the relieve in his eyes. I wrap him up in my arms and the way he leans into me, while hiding his face in my neck, tells me he needs me right now. And then I hear it, a muffled sob against my skin. I stroke his back and whisper softly in his ear:

"Shhh... I've got you."

I feel how he uses all his strength to keep himself together and he pulls back, while biting his bottom lip. He softly says:

"I don't know if they need me for anything."

I nod and turn around to find a fireman, asking him if Sonny is needed for anything else. He shakes his head:

"Fire is under control, no-one was hurt, he just has to find someone to look at the damage, insurance etcetera... but he can do that tomorrow, it is already eight pm anyway."

I thank him and hold Sonny's hand while we walk to my car. He is quiet but suddenly says:

"What about my car."

While I push him in my passengers seat I answer:

"We will get it tomorrow... I am taking you home now."

We drive home in silence, and all I do is squeeze his thigh once and again to let him know I am here for him. He is still biting his bottom lip and I wish I could do something to make it all better. When we walk into the apartment he sits down on our couch and for a minute I just stand in the middle of our living room, unsure what to do. But the moment I hear him cry I am on my knees in front of him. My arms lock around him, while he buries his face against my chest. I just stroke his back with one hand, and use my other hand to softly touch his hair. He slowly calms down and then he is just tired. As it is now half past ten I pull him up from the couch and walk him to our bed. I help him to get rid of his clothes, and then quickly strip down to my boxers too. When we are both under the covers, he rolls into my space. I pull him back in my arms and listen to his soft words:

"The whole club is ruined..."

My hands are in his hair again and while I try to come up with something to say he speaks again:

"I am glad no-one is hurt... but the club... I worked so hard to get it to where it was... you know."

"I know baby..."

He cries again and my heart hurts when I feel the wetness from his tears on my skin. He tries to stop the sobs while he whispers:

"I never cry... I am so sorry..."

Both my hands move from his hair to cup his face. I hold him in a way so he has to look at me and I shake my head while softly kissing his swollen lips.

"Don't you ever say that again..."

"But I..."

I tenderly stroke his cheeks with my thumbs while saying softly:

"No Sonny... let me look after you... it's my privilege."

(... Sonny's POV...)

When his eyes are sad, I feel like I could move a mountain if that would brighten them up again. Although it doesn't happen often, every now and again we meet some homophobia and today was one of those days for him. He just told me how one of his tutors made a homophobic remark during a class, even though aware of our relationship. I know the tutor actually. He picks up a coffee every morning before he goes to University.

"I am so sorry baby."

He looks at me and suddenly the sad in his eyes fades away and makes room for anger:

"Who does he think he is anyway, Sonny?"

I shrug, not sure if he expects and answer. But he soon speaks again:

"He knows me, and he knows you... he knows about us. How could he say that..."

I shake my head while I walk towards him slowly. His eyes meet mine and suddenly the anger changes into softness. His eyes seem to caress my face when he says softly:

"If he would understand how much I love you, that would shut him up."

I lean forward and kiss him, unable to stop the smile that spreads across my face. When he pulls back he raises his eyebrows:

"I cannot kiss you properly when you smile..."

I chuckle, pulling him closer to me:

"Sorry babe, I just love you so much."

We both smile, but somehow I still see a little bit of pain in the deep blue of his eyes. He looks away though, trying to change the subject by asking about the club. I answer him, knowing that is what he needs right now. We do the normal daily things. We cook dinner and watch some TV, while chatting about nothing and everything. He avoids my eyes most of the time, as he knows his eyes are the mirrors into his soul. I let him, waiting for him to start about his tutor again. But he doesn't. He just says:

"I am going to take a shower before going to sleep."

I watch him walk towards the bathroom, and suddenly I am right behind him. He turns around and looks at me:

"Sonny?"

I push him inside and close the bathroom door behind us. I take his shirt off and smile:

"I am joining you."

He bites his bottom lip but is definitely not complaining. Moments later we find ourselves together under the warm water. I turn him around, and reach for the shampoo.

"Sonny, I can do that."

"I know you can... but I want to do it."

He lets me massage his scalp with the shampoo, while leaning back against me. My breath is warm against his ear when I whisper softly:

"Just say it."

It takes a while and then he says:

"OK, just once, and then we are done with it."

"Right."

"He shouldn't judge us, what does he know. He doesn't know what I feel right now... how right this is to me. And no matter what people say about it, about us... I love you."

I kiss his cheek and wrap my arms around him, enjoying the slippery feeling from the water that is still washing over us. He sighs and says softly:

"Thank you."

"For what."

"Taking care of me again..."

"My privilege, remember?"

(... Will's POV...)

We just returned from the airport to wave Sonny's parent goodbye. They have left for Dubai where they are going to stay for at least a whole year. Sonny is quiet and when we come home he just starts on dinner. I know he needs to keep busy, he needs to do something. He is close to his parents, they always share everything, and since they told us they were going to leave for a year Sonny has been nervous about the actual moment of goodbye. But that is over now, but by the way his shoulders are hanging down I know he is not happy.

"Son?"

"Yeah..."

"You OK?"

"Sure, I don't like goodbyes though."

I nod and walk over to kiss him on his cheek. He smiles softly and leans in to capture my lips before speaking again:

"I'll be fine."

Three months later, after a Skype call with Sonny's parents I suddenly know what to do. He smiles at me with sad eyes after we turn his IPad off:

"I miss them..."

I nod and make a mess of his hair while I look at him fondly:

"I know."

We both sigh and then he says jokingly, but with a serious undertone:

"Just so you know, you are not allowed to go anywhere without me."

"I don't want to, babe..."

"Good."

When he gets up to get to work at the renovated club, I grab the Ipad again. After some searching I have found exactly what I am looking for. Then I ring T, asking him if he can work for two for a week, and of course he is more than happy to help me out here. Then I grab my car keys and drive to the club. When I walk in I find Sonny busy serving everyone, but when he spots me he smiles widely. After everyone is served I sit down at the bar. He leans over and kisses me deeply, not caring about the people around us:

"Good to see you."

I smile and grab a hold of both his hands, unable to keep my secret any longer that I have to:

"I did something."

"What?"

"I did something just now."

"OK... should I be worried"

I shake my head and lean forward to kiss him again. But he pulls back:

"Tell me..."

"I booked tickets."

"For what."

"Dubai."

It is quiet and his beautiful brown eyes start sparkling. A smile creeps over his face and then he runs from behind the bar. He scoops me up in his arms, asking:

"We are going to Dubai?"

I nod, wrapping my arms around his neck, enjoying the feel of his heart beating against my chest. He is holding me so tight it almost hurts a bit, and his whisper is just for me:

"This is why I am the luckiest guy in the world."

"What?"

"I have you looking after me..."

I laugh softly and stroke his back while I whisper back:

"My privilege, babe... forever my privilege"

Thanks for reading! As always I look forward to your reviews. They make me happy and keep me inspired!