Arrow Inferno
Chapter 9: Stanley ‘STAN’ Norris vs. Ian ‘WILL’ Williams ~ Danger and charm… Eyes On You!

***

"What?" Will paused in the act of taking out slices of bread and glanced over his shoulder at Stan. "You don't want me to have a nightcap?" Stan didn't miss the amused glint in Will's eyes. "Rosanne."

"She's great isn't she?" Will couldn't suppress his grin as he opened the butter and grabbed a bread knife. "Is she in the room?"

"No."

"No, she's not great or no, she's not in the room?"

Stan left his seat and went to stand beside Will by the kitchen counter. "She's not in the room." He took the knife from Will and began to butter the slices of bread. "I'm not interested in her in that way. So stop pushing her at me." "Attached?" He poured hot water into a mug.

"No, I want none." Stan said when Will made to pour some hot water into the second mug. "I'm not attached. But I have my eye on someone."

"And what if that someone tells you she's not interested just as you're not interested in Rosanne..."

Stan chuckled. "I don't intend on giving the person any choice."

"Wow, ballsy." Will gave Stan a curious look. "This person must be real special to you if you're planning on resorting to caveman tactics with her."

"You have no idea." Stan breathed, making Will give him an even closer look.

"I like that." His eye showed how impressed he was. "But maybe Rosanne shouldn't give you any choice either."

"Will..." "What?"

"Let it go." Stan put the ham sandwiches he'd made onto a plate and placed it on the dining table. Then he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and then took a seat.

Will finished preparing his hot chocolate and took the other seat. "Thanks." He said as he picked up a sandwich.

"Why a wolf?" Stan gestured at Will's tattoo with his bottle of water.

"Love em." Will shrugged. "Always have. Do you have any tats?" "Nope."

"Well, this is the only one I have." He took a sip of his beverage.

"Plan on getting any others?"

"Nah. Maybe one day I'll have the name of the love of my life tattooed on me." He flashed a grin.

"Soldier boy is a hopeless romantic huh?"

"Just kidding. I mean, it will be damn unfortunate and stupid to be stuck with your ex's name on your skin."

"Or that could make you ensure the relationship actually works." Stan shrugged.

"Hey, shit happens."

"True."

"So this person you have your eye on...is she aware?"

"No. But the person will know soon enough because I plan to go in hard."

"Easy, Tiger." Will guffawed. "You might scare her off. But good luck." He took a bite of his sandwich, his eyes sparkling with humour.

"Thanks. I'll need it." Stan leaned forward and wiped a spot of butter from the corner of Will's lips with his thumb.

Will looked at Stan. If he was surprised at what Stan had done, he didn't show it. But his eyes widened visibly when Stan slowly licked the butter off his thumb.

"Good butter." He murmured, his eyes never leaving Will's. He watched as Will stopped munching on the sandwich in his mouth, saw the flush in his cheeks, and heard the quickening of his heartbeat. Stan couldn't help the smug look that appeared on his face. "So, do we have an understanding?" His husky tone, on the other hand, surprised him because he hadn't planned that.

Will swallowed then. "Huh?" He looked...ruffled.

"That matchmaking shit. It's gotta stop."

Will could only nod, his gaze locked on Stan's. He couldn't look away.

"Good talk." With that, Stan got up and left.

Will stared after Stan, wondering what had just happened. Even after he was gone, the handsome Navy Seal couldn't tear his eyes away from the doorway. Was Stan... He shook his head before he could even complete the thought. To say he was confused would be an understatement. His mind was scrambled. What was that? He didn't think the warm feeling inside had anything to do with the hot chocolate he'd been drinking. And that confused him even more. After about thirty minutes of just sitting and staring at the doorway, Will's hot chocolate wasn't hot anymore. He slowly finished the sandwiches, tidied up, and then went to his room. And when he got into bed, his thoughts were not filled with Akua as he thought it would after the great time they'd had that evening. It was rather filled with his blue-eyed suite-mate and the things he did that gave him a weird thrill that he felt was very inappropriate. After an hour, Will was still tossing and turning. He gave his bedside clock a quick glance and then reached for his phone. Ghana was seven hours ahead of Los Angeles. Even if it wasn't, he really needed to make that call.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping at this time?" Lt. Bradley Jackson, Will's colleague Arrowhead drawled on the other end of the line.

"I'm about to sleep but I needed to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Stanley Norris."

"Uhuh?"

"Is he gay?" Will didn't beat about the bush. "Jackson?" He rasped when his colleague remained quiet, obviously thrown by the question. "I'm trying to..."

"You did spend some time with him on that Island." Will reminded unnecessarily.

"It was only a few hours. It was Jean who spent a lot of time with him. But I don't recall him saying anything like that."

"So ask him." Will heard the desperation in his voice but didn't care.

"Hey calm down." He could hear Jackson moving. "He's in the shower. What the fuck is going on over there?"

"Just ask your husband and tell me what I need to know, dickhead." His growl only made Jackson laugh.

"Let me put this shit on speaker. You can ask him yourself." Will heard the sound of a shower briefly and then heard Jackson telling Jean to turn it off. "Will wants to ask you something." "What's crackin' mate?" Jean sounded cheerful as usual.

"All good, Doc. So in your interactions with Stanley Norris, did he tell you he was gay?"

Jean laughed. "You ask as if people go round telling others they're gay."

"Did it come up in your conversation with him?"

"Not really. But I can boldly say he's not." Jean sounded emphatic.

"You didn't get any vibe at all?"

"Dude would have told me if he was. He's that open." Jean chuckled. "He told me about how he brings his girls to the Island for fun."

"That doesn't mean..."

"He also told me about how his boss and his husband fucked whenever they felt like it. And he was very much comfortable around Brad and I. Definitely not the demeanor of someone who would hide the fact that he was gay...or even bi. Thanks, baby." The last part was clearly meant for Jackson.

Will sighed. So this wasn't about sexuality. "Alright, thanks."

"Anytime, buddy."

"So, ready to tell me what's going on now?" Jackson came back on the line.

"Nothing I can't handle." Will mumbled.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"That's the most unsure positive I've ever heard." Jackson chuckled. "Just know I'm here if you want to talk."

"I know. Thanks, bro."

"Seen Sarkodie and Robert yet?"

"They'll be coming down on Saturday. Can't wait."

"Akua showing you some love?" Jackson's teasing tone made Will laugh, briefly forgetting about his stress.

"She's dynamite." He groaned. "Maybe this can turn into a relationship."

"Player please, my phone battery lasts longer than your relationships." Jackson's laughter drowned out the insults Will threw at him.

The friends brought each other up to speed on what had been going on in the execution of their respective duties. After his conversation with Jackson, Will's head was clear enough for sleep to his relief. But the last thought on his mind just before he succumbed to sleep was that he needed to know the kind of man Stan was. He had to know what made the man tick. It was only when he got to know him that he would be able to understand his actions.