Chapter Text
Bill didn't know how long it had been since Soos first found him shivering on the porch upon coming in for work. A week? Maybe two? He had already lost count, the days were blurred together in a dull haze. In reality he had only been there for 4 days, but even he couldn't tell. Soos and Melody had attempted to get him to eat, or to drink water, but he either refused completely, or threw it up. He didn’t really mean to, it just happened. He didn't like the textures on his tongue, or the feeling of mush gliding down his throat.
Soos had found that Bill had a lot of trouble walking, constantly tripping and falling no matter how long he stood for. He gifted Bill a cane, who refused it and continued to try and stand up on his own, even if it pained him greatly. Bill was.. Confused to say the least. He didn't understand why Soos and his wife were so nice to him. Melody had only heard of him before, but even she treated him kindly.
“The Pines are coming on monday.” Soos said, and Bill looked up at him with his one eye. It was almost like he didn't hear him, static in his head and clouding his senses. What day was it anyways? Bill was sitting on the floor, staring at the TV screen’s error bars. He had been doing so for about 40 minutes, unspeaking. Soos repeated himself and Bill tightened his lips.
“You should get me out of here then.” He said simply, returning to look at the screen.
“No.” Soos replied and Bill looked back, brows furrowed.
“Look, guy, if they see me, or even hear of me even stepping foot in this house, they’ll gut me alive. I don't know what kind of joke you’re trying to tell me, but it's in poor taste.” He scoffed, hands moving around as he talked.
Melody walked through the door, holding a bowl of what appeared to be soup. Bill scrunched up his face and looked away.
“Just- get me out of here before the Pines come.” Bill said, picking at a scab on his knee.
“We don’t have anywhere else to put you.” Melody replied solemnly, crouching down to his level and placing the bowl next to him. Bill felt something tug at his heart, but he couldn't discern what it was exactly.
Melody tapped his shoulder and he turned his head to her, a spoon aimed towards him. She was trying to feed him. Bill pursed his lips and shook his head and she sighed. Then came the looks. The way Soos glanced at him almost disappointedly, and the way Melody looked into his eye with her brows upturned.
Pity.
They were pitying him. And he hated it.
“Just eat a little. Human bodies aren't supposed to go this long without food, you know.” She said, hopefully. Bill felt a sudden surge of anger overtake him, and he smacked the spoon out of her hand, trying to stand up. In the process, he kicked over the bowl of tomato soup, and fell flat on his ass as soon as he got onto his feet. Melody was still on the floor, hands resting on her thighs as she looked at the mess he had created. She wasn't even mad, and only sighed.
Why wasn't she mad at him?
He growled low in his throat and attempted to stand again, struggling, and failing. The longer it went on, the more his anger shifted into something else. Embarrassment. He felt weak, dumb and small, trying and trying to stand, only to fall again. He could feel tears prick at his eyes and he huffed through his nose, breath quickening. No. Not like this. He made a pitiful sound in his throat, on his hands and knees and attempting to push his foot underneath him.
He felt hands aiding him and he tried to push them away, feeling the first tear finally fall down his cheek. What was this horrible feeling?
Eventually he stopped fighting and just accepted it, letting Melody and Soos help him up gently. He was crying and he felt embarrassed, his face hot and sticky. He felt weak and pitiful and wanted nothing more than to retreat to his room.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door, and then the jingling of keys. The door opened and Bill raised a brow. Melody looked at Soos in confusion, and Soos looked back the same.
“Soos? Melody? We ended up coming a bit earlier than expect-..ed.” Stan stopped in his tracks, dropping the suitcase he was carrying in his hands. Bill’s heart was racing, and he felt his throat clog up.
Stan looked at the mess of soup on the floor, and then to the mysterious stranger that they were holding up. Ford came in soon after, his smile falling once he caught eyes with Bill.
“Who is this?” Stan asked, although you could sense he already knew. The one eye was almost shouting out the answer.
Ford instinctively reached into his coat, unease dripping from every person in the room.
“So, funny story, dude- Bill showed up at our doorstep a couple days ago and like, now he sort of lives here..?” Soos chuckled sheepishly and Ford immediately drew a gun that was in his coat.
Bill instinctively put his hands up in surrender, nearly falling over in the process.
“Whoa! Easy there, IQ!” Soos also put his hands up in defense, moving over to shield Bill’s body.
“Whoa! Whoa! Dudes let’s not get all angry and hateful yet. So far he’s been good! Well not- good- more like a.. kicked puppy that’s starving and doesn’t do anything except stare at the wall all day.” Bill frowned, “Not a threat, I mean!”
Melody chipped in, next, still holding onto Bill’s shoulders.
“He hasn’t been doing much since he got here. He won’t even eat or drink anything. All he’s done is stare at the static on the TV and pick at his skin. Pretty sure he’s completely powerless, because if he wasn’t he’d have done something by now.”
“That’s what he wants you to think!!” Ford exclaimed, waving his hand in gesture to move Soos.
“Soos, I’m going to have to ask you to move so I can deal with this problem before Mabel and Dipper get here. It’ll probably be painless on his part, although I wouldn’t complain if it wasn’t.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Ford, but I’m not moving, Bill is under my protection until further notice.” Melody nodded.
“Me too.”
“You can't be serious!” Stan interjected, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He tried to kill us? Hello?”
“But he needs help.” Soos replied, “he can't even eat by himself, let alone stand up without our help.”
“That’s probably part of his act! He wants you to feel bad for him!” Ford tried to reason, only for Soos to shake his head again.
“No, dude. He’s not a threat in the slightest, and when he finally starts to walk better he’s going to be working at the shack.” He stated, leaving no room for anyone to speak. He and Melody led Bill to his room, which was situated in the room upstairs. They knew Ford preferred his bunker anyways, so they saw no problem with it.
Ford stood flabbergasted, Stan the same. They were both less than happy finding this out, and stayed there silently drinking in the information. How could they be on Bill’s side after everything he’d done?
Melody helped Bill to sit down on the edge of the bed, rubbing his back. He felt like crying, but he repressed it like most of the emotions he had been feeling the past 4 days. His face contorted into something ugly, like he was processing and forcing his feelings away at the same time. He blinked slowly, the silence of the room absolutely deafening.
“That went.. as well as it could have.” Melody spoke up and all Bill did was glare at her. He hoped that if he repeated the word ‘die’ enough in his head that it would surely happen, although he knew it wouldn’t due to his lack of cosmic power. He lay flat on his back, legs dangling off the edge of the bed as he let out a dramatic sigh.
Melody and Soos sat next to him for a little while longer before they both left, closing the door and shutting off the lights. Bill let out a breath he had been holding, rubbing his eyes with the balls of his hands.
Finally, peace again. Finally.
He had stayed awake the whole night, much like the nights before. Melody chided him after finding out on the second night, but after he fell asleep the first time and had a nightmare he decided it was better to not sleep at all. He sat up, scratching his head and grimacing. He pulled his hand back, thouroughly coated in some sort of greasy substance.
When he noticed it was coming from in, panic started to set in. He felt overwhelmingly itchy and gross, and took to digging his unclipped nails into his scalp. His breathing was quickening, and he whined out into the air of the room. A knock at his door wasn’t enough to snap him out of it, and Melody raised a brow at him.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, and Bill didn’t answer. He tugged at his long hair, gritting his teeth and kicking his legs uncomfortably. He felt squirmy and icky and he didn’t know how to stop it.
“Hey! Hey- stop! This is why I told you to shower last night!” She pried his hands from his head, helping him up. His legs wobbled, and he held onto her for support. There was that weakened feeling again as she led him to the bathroom, grabbing some clothes that she had put there last night.
She sat him on the toilet, and he bounced his leg anxiously. Melody started the water, making sure it was warm before looking towards him.
“You’re going to have to take your clothes off, you know.” She said and Bill’s eye widened.
“No way!” He waved his hands in front of him, crossing his arms.
“I’ll look away if you want me to, but I need to teach you how to properly clean yourself.” Bill pursed his lips, the sound of the water hitting the bed of the tub the only noise. He finally sighed and peeled the shirt from his back suddenly, covering his chest. Melody had taken note of his chest size a couple of nights ago, and her suspicions were correct.
While he was still rather flat, it was evident that he had the feminine anatomy.
“Pants too, Bill.” She reminded and he groaned, kicking those off too. She helped him up again, making sure he didn’t slip as she settled him in the tub. She grabbed a washcloth and began to show him the basics, letting him do it at his own pace. She helped him clean his hair, and he felt something warm in his chest.
He almost felt.. at peace. It was nice, having someone care for him this way. His face softened, and his shoulders relaxed as she worked the soap into his black and blonde hair. She let him have a try, and he followed her motions, using his nails to scratch his scalp. It tickled a little, and he found himself closing his eye.
Melody chuckled a little and Bill opened his eye.
“What?”
“Nothing, just- this is the happiest I’ve seen you since you got here.”
“Oh.” He replied, going back to grimacing. They finished washing him, and dried him off. She handed him the clothes, an oversized question mark T-Shirt and some of her orange shorts that seemed to be a little big on him. He hadn’t noticed that she brought his cane until she placed it in his hands, leading him out of the room.
“Soos wants to try and get you working today.” She commented and Bill groaned.
“Of course.”
“It won’t be that bad. We were thinking of putting you behind the register for now. Just, be nice, please?” She smiled at him and Bill rolled his eye.
“Whatever.”
She placed him behind the counter, a chair already waiting for him. Wendy had been working there, but they had moved her to janitorial duties after they made the decision that it would be easier on Bill. Wendy didn’t seem to have much of a problem with him after finding out, although she seemed intimidating enough to not be messed with.
“What do I do?” He asked, and Melody gave him the run down. Seemed simple enough. Punch in numbers, bag items, get money. Soos was in his suit attire and Melody had dressed herself accordingly. The rest of the day went by in a blur, with Bill inputting numbers and barely talking to the customers when they stroked up a conversation.
They seemed unnerved by him, funnily enough. He noticed the way the mothers instinctively brought their children closer to their hips, or how kids would hide behind their father once Bill attempted to smile. He thought it was hilarious, and honestly it made his job easier because they’d get out of there quick.
Soos came up to him around 12:30pm that afternoon to tell him he was on break. Instead of doing anything, Bill simply sat at the register and played with a snowglobe that was near his seat. Soos noticed and came back, chuckling nervously.
“Hey, uh, dude? I said you were on break. You can eat.. or.. you know. Do something else..?” Bill glanced up at him, turning the snowglobe in his hands. Soos eyed the fragile merchandise, and the brunette noticed his unease with the way he was handling it. He tossed it a little in the air and grinned.
“Nah. I’m good.” Soos pursed his lips and let out another sheepish chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Oh..Kay. Uh. Break’s over in 20 minutes.” And with that he left. Bill frowned, placing the snowglobe back on the counter. He let out a sigh, closing his eyes for a few seconds to relax. He was overwhelmingly exhausted, having not slept at all since he first got here. He forced his eyes awake, looking around before finding a letter opener blade and stabbing it into the back of his hand. It wasn’t very sharp, and didn’t break the skin very much, but it hurt enough to wake him up. He cursed under his breath, twisted it a little, and pulled it away from his skin. He was already bleeding, blood dribbling down his palm and onto the counter.
“Dammit.” He muttered, trying to find something to clean it up with. After finding nothing, and the pool of blood getting bigger, he looked around before using his shirt to wipe it up. Unfortunately, it only made a bigger mess, blood smearing onto the wood and soaking up into the shirt.
Melody had come to check up on him and nearly screamed when she saw Bill sitting there with a bloodied shirt, and blood staining the wood of the counter. His hand had stopped bleeding at that point, and was beginning to scab over. It hurt to move it though, and he kept picking the scabs off once they’d heal.
“Bill what happened?!” She rushed over to him and he shrugged.
“Bear got in. Had to wrestle it out.” He replied nonchalantly, shrugging as Melody checked him over.
“Bill.”
“He had a letter opener in his hand and tried to tackle me, but I managed to get on top of him and pin him down. Not without gaining this cool battle scar.” He held up his hand, which was dribbling blood again from the scab he had just picked off.
“Bill! What the hell?! How did this even happen?”
“I just told you.” He replied snarkily, scoffing. She looked to the side and found the letter opener blade, and her stomach churned.
“Why would you do that?” She asked, her tone suddenly gentle. It threw Bill off and he stuttered.
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“I know what really happened and it’s right here.” She grabbed the blade and placed it in front of him. He stared at it, almost as if he stared at it long enough that it would disappear.
“Well?” He finally looked at Melody, who was holding his hands and looking at him with upturned brows.
“I got tired.” He said, simply, Shrugging.
“And? What’s so bad about that?”
“I don’t like being asleep. So I-“ he made a movement with his hand similar to stabbing, “-Shnk!”
Melody seemed perturbed by this, taking in the information. Bill grinned at her expression before her face softened and she asked another question.
“Why do you hate being asleep?”
Bill was less than ready to answer, his expression going blank and his smile falling instantly.
She looked at him expectantly.
“The static.” He said, finally. Just then, the timer that Soos had placed next to him rang and startled both he and Melody.
“Looks like I need to get back to w-“
“Not like this you’re not. Come on.” She helped him up and he swatted her hands away. He nearly fell, and his legs shook under his weight, but he refused her help. He trembled as he walked beside her, but he refused to look weak at a time like this. He pouted, muttering a few things under his breath.
Wendy caught sight of him and her eyes widened.
“Whoa! What happened to you, dude?”
“Wrestled a bear and won.” He smirked, and Melody chuckled. Bill seemed shocked at this and turned his head to her with a raised brow. She didn’t even look back, and instead kept walking.
“Hell yeah, least you won.” Wendy joked, grinning as they moved on. Melody turned her head to her as she walked.
“Oh yeah, can you clean the register, please? Bill’s little bear problem got messy.” Wendy did a salute and headed towards the register, disappearing behind a wall as Bill and Melody continued walking.
They eventually made it to his room, where there seemed to be a multitude of clothes on the bed in piles. He raised a brow, looking to the plump woman.
“I brought some of my old clothes and some clothes from my sisters. Some are more effeminate than others, but I hope you’ll find something you like. I also grabbed a few other question mark shirts for when you’re on the job.” Bill, for some reason, felt his heart twinge a little upon hearing that Melody had thought of him.
“..thanks.” He said, waddling over to the piles of clothes. Being on his legs was starting to hurt, and he toppled onto the bed before it became unbearable. He picked out some clothes that he liked, including a few pairs of orange yoga shorts with white stripes on the sides. He had seen Ford wear something like this once. He shook his head to get rid of the thought, finding a few more pairs of the same shorts in different colors. He got a few shirts and placed them to the side, Melody turning around as Bill started to undress himself.
He found it strange that humans would turn away in situations like that, when people were changing in front of them. Actually, human’s bodies were gross, so he could understand where they were coming from. He shrugged as he left himself only in my underwear, pulling on another question mark shirt and one of the shorts he pulled from the pile. He saw his cane resting against his nightstand next to the bed and he rolled his eyes as he grabbed it. He used it to pull himself up, walking beside Melody as they left the room.