Onceler x Bill Cipher x Alastor

Chapter 10: Dread??? Again???

Hours passed as Bill scattered skulls around the house, delivered water to Ce-Ce, and finetuned the decorations. Alastor had watched the small entity rush around the house, a feeling foreign to him still lingering from when Bill had called him a "friend". His stomach was churning, but in an equally good and bad way. He wrung his hands whilst pondering what this feeling could possibly be. Was this giddiness? Fear? Disappointment? Relief? Perhaps it was all of them combined. That was the conclusion that Alastor settled on just before Bill called to him for help.

"Al! Come over here and give me a boost! The black-and-white hourglass is askew and it's bothering me!" Bill was on his tiptoes, trying to reach the top shelf but ultimately failing. Alastor couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he walked over to help Bill reach the hourglass. After reaching the shelf, he lifted Bill up from behind via the waist. Bill was momentarily surprised at the perceived raw strength that would've taken, but then remembered that he probably only weighed 45 kilograms. "Thank you," Bill fiddled with the hourglass that had been annoying him. As he did, grey sand shifted off of the two plastic skulls attached to the base on the inside. On their foreheads were the words "Memento" and "Mori".

"Not a problem, Bill!" Alastor's cheery voice covered up the emotional confusion that he was feeling. It also distracted Bill from the sudden existential dread that had washed over him after reading those words. "Are you ready to be put down now?" Alastor tried not to sound whiny, but truthfully his arms were starting to ache. 

"Yea, go ahead," Bill's voice sounded uncertain and distant- as if he'd seen something he wanted to inspect. Alastor brushed that tone off as Bill having one of his moments again, and set him down on the floor. He dusted off Bill's shoulders and sides, and fixed the blonde parts of the man's hair. Bill didn't fuss or move, which was unusual.

"There you go!" Alastor said, worry seeping slightly into his tone. Bill's moments of dread weren't too frequent, but Al knew they weren't this bad. "Say, Bill? Are you alright?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine. It's just... I felt like I was suddenly hit with the grief of a whole community. As if many people lost something and all that grief entered me."

"Hm.. Maybe you were just overthinking? And having a calm moment caused your body and mind to slow down a bit and made you feel a sudden crash?"

"Maybe..."

"Why don't you lay down? You look exhausted."

"But what about the decorations?"

"You did amazingly already. Now it's time to rest. We can make some small changes in the morning."

"Alright," Bill yawned. He walked over to the couch and flopped down onto it. He then looked at Alastor. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight," Alastor's rigid smile softened a bit as he manifested a blanket and draped it over Bill's tired body, "and sweet dreams."

(Another short chapter bc I'm tired but also I need yall to know that I'm not dead yet. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Love yall, stay safe.)