TW: Mentions of dead animals

"Well, that should be the last of it," Y/n huffed, lifting their hand to wipe the sweat off their forehead. "Everything's been restocked. We can head out now if you're ready to go, Bill-... Bill?"

They look around, surprised to not find Bill hovering over their shoulder like he usually does. Where was he? The store was pretty small so Y/n began to walk around in an attempt to find where their demonic friend was hiding.

It didn't take long before they found him— again, it was a really small store that they worked in.

Y/n found Bill sitting on the floor, hand pressed against the door as he seemed to be watching the raindrops race each other down the glass. They couldn't help but smile as they watched him do this. For someone who claimed to be this all powerful demonic being, he tended to look like an innocent kid at times who was taking in the world around him like he was seeing it for the very first time.

"You having fun watching the rain?"

Bill jumped, removing his hand from the door to spin around and stare up at the human who was looming over him. "Geez- Could you not sneak up on me like that?! You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry- Wasn't trying to," Y/n laughed, looking away from him to watch the rain come down. "Have you ever seen rain before?"

"In this dimension? This is my first time. I've encountered rain in other dimensions, though. In one dimension, the rain is literal acid that will burn you if you are touched by it. In another, it rains literal cats and dogs. Which sounds cute initially- until you factor in that they have an overpopulation of cats and dogs. Plus- imagine you're driving and it starts raining! You probably just ran over at least five little kittens and puppies before you were quick enough to slam on the breaks! It's... quite hilarious of a sight, actually." Bill grinned when Y/n's face contorted into an expression filled with disgust.

"Well with that image now burned into my brain... Yeah, I'm kinda glad we don't have cats and dogs raining from the skies and it's just an expression here."

Bill hummed, turning to look back out the glass door to watch as the rain started to come down a bit harder. "I've never been in your dimension when it's raining, though. It's... quite pleasant to watch."

Y/n's smile returned slowly, looking down at Bill then back at the glass door. It was pretty pleasant to watch, they had to admit. Very calming, very peaceful.

"You know... the rain in our dimension doesn't burn when you touch it. And we do have to get to my car that's all the way across the parking lot..."

Bill looked back up at the human, his eyebrows furrowed as he was having trouble trying to piece together what exactly they were trying to get at. Then it hit him, and there was no way he could have possibly looked anymore excited for what was about to happen.

As the two locked up the shop for the day and proceeded to make their way towards Y/n's car, Bill was falling a bit behind the human to take in the rain for just a moment longer.

Bill has stepped out into acidic rain before just to experience the pain that it would give him. He enjoyed that.

Bill has stepped out into rain that was chocolate before just because he has a sweet tooth and wanted all the sugary goodness for himself. He enjoyed that.

Bill had stepped out into rain that was literal fire falling from the skies just to see how badly he could burn the body he had been possessing for the time being. He enjoyed that.

This experience, though, was entirely new. It was so different because the rain didn't cause him any pain. The rain didn't give him any chocolate or kittens, either. It was water. Water from the skies that began to soak his body. It was almost like taking a shower the way the rain fell upon him, except he wasn't in the bathroom but instead he was outside and fully clothed.

Why was it that he found himself adoring this more than all the other times he's gotten to experience the different kinds of rain from other dimensions?

Bill closed his eyes, lifting his head a bit just so he could feel the raindrops land on his face. It was a very light downfall at the moment, not a complete downpour but enough to get him completely soaked in a matter of minutes. A small, closed smile formed across his lips as he lifted his arms and spread them wide. He wanted to take it all in, soak it up and enjoy the moment.

"Uh... Bill? You coming?" Y/n called out.

Bill opened his eyes, looking over and noticing how the human had already made it across the parking lot and reached their car. He looked back up at the sky and waved a dismissive hand towards them. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm coming. Just get the car started and warmed up. I'll be over there in a second."

Y/n raised a brow before shrugging and getting in their car. He didn't have to tell them twice, they'd rather be sitting in a warmed up car than standing outside. Once they got the car started, they turned to look back outside in the direction they had last seen Bill only to freeze when he wasn't there anymore. They quickly looked around, trying to find where Bill had gone— which wasn't far, they figured out rather quickly. Y/n was shocked, during all the time they had spent with Bill they never once considered that one day they might find him dancing in the rain.

But here he was: dancing in the rain.

It wasn't good dancing. Bill was pretty much just jumping from puddle-to-puddle, soaking his shoes and the bottom of his pants with the rain water. His arms were spread wide, jumping and twirling around in the middle of the parking lot. It was definitely a sight to behold.

Y/n quickly rolled down their window, sticking their head out and shouting, "You stay out there any longer and you're going to catch a cold!"

"Demons don't get colds! I'll be fine!" Bill screamed back, running around with the occasional jump in his step. "You don't have any plans tonight, which means you have no reason to be rushing me right now! Leave me alone and let me enjoy this!"

"I-... Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you!"

They did, in fact, at least warn him. But Bill didn't seem to care as he spent the next 30-40 minutes out in the rain before finally Y/n was able to convince him it was time to go home.

Bill didn't think this would have any consequences. Until the next morning came and he found himself stuck in bed.

"CANDLE!" Bill whined before a strained cough escaped from him, causing him to curl up a bit more under his blankets in an attempt to receive some form of warmth.

"I'm coming, I'm coming- The thermometer wasn't where I thought I had last left it..." Y/n muttered as they entered Bill's room and headed over towards his bed.

It felt as though they had been in and out of his room all morning between him hacking his lungs out and whining for attention and care. They sat down on the edge of Bill's bed, quickly shoving the thermometer into the demon's mouth which only caused him to grunt and glare at them.

"Put it under your tongue so it can tell me what your temperature is. It'll only take a couple of seconds."

"I don't-"

"Uh-uh, no talking. Put it under your tongue and close your mouth tight."

Bill growled but did as he was told, closing his mouth and watching as the numbers on the thermometer continued to go higher and higher.

Y/n sighed, glad to have a moment of silence finally. It had been a hectic morning since the moment Bill had woken them up with all his coughing. They knew he'd get sick from this, but did he care? No. All he wanted to do was dance in the cold rain for half an hour.

Once the thermometer started beeping, they removed it from Bill's mouth to take a look at it.

"100.5... Yeah, you definitely have a fever. Probably because it's trying to fight off that nasty cold you caught from being out in the rain," they muttered, lifting their hand up to gently press the back of it to Bill's forehead.

He really was burning up, and they could tell he definitely wasn't feeling at his best since he wasn't trying to pull away from them. In fact, he was trying to lean further into their touch— but not wanting to get sick themselves, they pulled away. This only caused Bill to whine more, staring up at them with his big ol' eyes.

"Candle..."

"Hey- This is your own fault. You should have listened to me when I told you it was time to go."

Bill flopped backwards, the back of his head hitting his pillow as he stared up at the ceiling with saddened eyes. "I know... I know! I'm sorry- please... please make this go away. I- I'll behave! I promise! I don't want to feel like this anymore."

Y/n stared down at him, a bit in shock before standing up and shaking their head. "I can't really make it go away. The best I can do is give you some medicine that you'll have to take every 4-6 hours. Other than that, the best you can do is just sleep it off and let yourself rest."

Bill's eyes widened, turning his head to look in their direction and shaking his head violently. "No! No please, please make this go away! I'll be good! I'll listen! I'll listen to you, I swear! I won't act up anymore. I'll be good!"

Y/n frowned, walking back over to him and placing a hand on his cheek. Their hand was very cold compared to his burning skin, instantly causing the demon to purr and lean against it. They sighed, cupping his face while their other hand began to move strands of his hair out of his eyes.

"Bill, if I could make you feel better I would in an instant. But it isn't my say how long you stay sick. I don't have control over any of this. I know you'll be good. I need you to be good for me right now and just get some sleep. Can you do that for me? Get some sleep? I promise this sickness will only last for so long."

Bill stared up at them, and for a second Y/n could've swore this demon was about to start bawling his eyes out. But instead he just nodded his head, nuzzling against their hand for a second before pulling away and leaning back onto the pillow. Y/n made their way towards the door, looking at the light switch and then looking over at Bill once more.

"Would you like the lights on or off?"

"Off... Please..."

Y/n smiled softly, turning the lights off and proceeding to close the door as they left.

Bill hated all of this. He hated how weak and miserable he felt. He felt absolutely useless. He should have listened to Y/n, he shouldn't have gone out and played in the rain for as long as he had. But he did, and now he was cursed to deal with the sickness. Demons don't even get sick! So this must be a curse, his punishment for not listening to Y/n.

Why couldn't he be good? Why did he always find some way to screw over a good thing he has going for him? Was Y/n pissed with him?

They must be. Why else would he be feeling this miserable?

Stupid.

Stupid.

Bill should have listened. He should've been good.

Bill groaned miserably as he curled up underneath the blanket. It was so cold. His temperature was 100.5, though. Shouldn't he be feeling extremely hot? Why did Y/n call it a cold if he was apparently so hot? Both in attractiveness as well as temperature-wise.

Y/n said he should be good and get some sleep. Maybe that would lift the curse.

Bill sighed, letting his eyes close while pressing his face into his pillow. Sleep sounded really, really good right now. It did not take long before he was out like a light.

Y/n was not so lucky to get to go back to sleep. Now they had a job to stay home from work and take care of a sick demon. Was it supposed to be like taking care of a sick human? They hoped so- because they had no idea how to take care of a sick demon. Hopefully it won't be too hard.

After getting off the phone with their boss and getting Brik to cover their shift for the day, Y/n plopped down on top of their couch with a heavy sigh. This was going to be a long day...

...and just when they thought they already had enough on their plate to deal with, their phone vibrated to alert them that there was a new text.

A text from Claire:

Hey.
So it looks like you haven't learned anything. You're still being selfish. Is it really that hard for you to admit you were in the wrong and apologize? Ruby was seriously hurt when you kicked her out of the store the other day and I've been having to comfort her. Because I'm a good friend. Unlike you.
I'm also not selfish like you. So here I am being the bigger person contacting you. I forgive you. Are you happy now?
I need a ride today. Ruby and Matthias want to go to the beach and wouldn't you know it, they left before I was ready. So why don't we forget about this whole mess, you come pick me up, and we can spend the whole day together? What do you say?
I still think you owe Ruby the apology, though, once we get there. Let's plan to leave in an hour.

Y/n's eyes widened before quickly turning off their phone and placing it down on their lap.

They didn't know what to do.

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Chapter 16: Sunday, Nov. 27th, 2022

Don't forget:
A hiatus is coming soon.
If you want little short stories during this hiatus, I suggest leaving questions for the characters.
If there's something you'd like to know or someone you'd like to see more of, leave them in the comments.
I'll then pick and choose which ones I feel like tacking.