Mercy (Bill Cipher x Reader)

Chapter 12

It was a few days later when Y/n was getting ready to go out with Claire did Bill mention the whole "physical touch" subject once again.

They had been in their room, pulling random articles of clothing out of their closet as they tried to figure out what to wear. They had a ton of clothes to choose from, thankful for the amount of clothes that they did own- and yet they felt like they didn't own anything at all. They owned plenty, they really did, but looking in their closet they were beginning to question if any of their clothing would be approved by Claire. They wanted to make him happy, and didn't want to embarrass him while they were together in public. Claire was very strict about keeping up his reputation and in the past he had ditched them just because he didn't want to be seen with them due to what they were wearing. They weren't mad. They should've cared about their appearance more. It was their fault.

You live and you learn, as the saying goes.

Now they were learning to pay more attention to what they picked out to wear while hanging out with Claire.

As they were deciding between two outfits that made it to the final round of their decision making, a stern knock could be heard from the other side of their bedroom door.

"...Candle? You got a sec?"

Bill. Who else did they know who nicknamed them based off of an inanimate object? Placing the two outfits down on the edge of their bed, they headed over towards the door and opened it to greet the dream demon.

"Hey, Cipher. You need something?"

"Uh-... yeah. Only if you're not busy, though. ...Are you busy?" Bill shifted awkwardly as he stood there, looking at Y/n with an expression they couldn't quite make out.

He seemed off, which concerned them a bit.

They glanced back over their shoulder, looking back at the clothes they left on the bed for a quick second before turning to face the demon again. They had time. They had maybe two hours before they had to go pick up Claire. Claire didn't like to waste gas on pointless trips so of course they were more than happy to drive while Claire passed out in the passenger seat.

They had time. They could help Bill out then meet up with Claire later.

"Nah, I'm not busy." Y/n opened the door a bit more, crossing their arms as they leaned up against the doorframe. "So, what's up?"

Bill didn't speak right away, looking everywhere but right at Y/n. The human remained silent, staying patient as they allowed Bill to figure out what it was he wanted to talk about. It seemed like something was seriously bothering him and if they could help him out with whatever it was then they were going to do just that. Not because they liked him. Not because they cared or sympathized with him. No, none of that. Absolutely not. They just didn't like the idea of a pissed off demon walking around their house. Yeah, that was it. If a pissed off or upset demon began to roam around their house, who knows what would occur. They didn't want to risk waiting long enough to find out what exactly would happen, they rather liked keeping their house and theirself intact and unharmed. So helping Bill with his problem now could prevent any future problems from occurring. They just had to wait long enough for Bill to find his voice and speak about what problem was making him look so vulnerable and less than his confident self.

And that was the moment he allowed an old topic to resurface.

"A couple nights ago... You... We- umm... discussed that I have trouble accepting physical touch but that I also might be... touch starved. And you had... said that you would help me become more comfortable with the idea of experiencing gentle touches rather than harsh, aggressive touches. ...We did have that conversation, right? I didn't just imagine it?"