Freedom To Another Cage [BILLFORD]

Chapter 8: Accident

Bill was lying on the old couch, doing nothing but staring at the ceiling. That's how things usually started.

Ford walked in with 2 fresh cups of coffee in his hands. He gave a soft grumble before he walked over, holding the coffee out. He didn't speak though, mainly due to the lack of talking and the obvious tension between the two. Bill took the cup, looking inside it before looking up at Stanford. "I'm more of a tea guy."

Ford rolled his eyes, huffing before he sat down beside Bill. He took a long drink, placing it down and looking at the other. He spoke in a rather harsh tone. "Well there was no tea left, so this was the best alternative."
"Eugh.." Bill rolled his eye before his eyelids formed into lips and he started drinking it. Ford chuckled softly at the sight before shaking it off. He sat in a more relaxed position, placing his hands on his lap. "How are you feeling?"

"Woah.." His eye-mouth formed back to normal, eye widened and looking over at Ford, "You care?"
Ford huffed, looking away as he nodded gently. "Surprisingly, yes. Mainly because if it's a negative feeling, you'll probably go mental- which I'd rather not have another incident."

Bill's expression went back to normal, recalling the mental breakdowns and... something he did that Stanford didn't know. "Right.."
Ford could see the expression, immediately knowing that there was something else. The curiosity was going to kill him from not knowing, but the fear of what it was also held him back. He looked Bill in the eye, a soft hum leaving him as he spoke again. "Is there something else? You look like you've done something I don't know about."

"... It's none of your business, Brainiac." He said, gulping down the coffee despite how gross it was.
Ford raised an eyebrow at the drink being downed, before an annoyed look appeared on his face. He shifted, moving to sit closer next to the other. He put a hand on Bill's shoulder, "I believe it is my business. Tell me."

Bill scoffed, pushing Ford's hand off him. "It was just a freakout-of-the-moment kind of thing. It doesn't matter."
Ford huffed as his hand was pushed away. He looked at Bill, not believing a word he said, moving a little closer to the other just in case he ran off again. "You're terrible at lying. Tell me what you've done."

Bill glanced up at Stanford before looking away, thinking. "I... I may have.. tried to rip out my teeth.."

Ford was stunned in silence after the confession, his eyes wide before he immediately grabbed the other's face, gently turning it towards him and gently pulling down the eyelid to carefully move Bill's eye back so he could inspect for any damage. His expression held worry as he checked. "You what? Are you alright-? Wait, are your teeth okay?!"
"I only managed one, Sixer. It grew back, though..."

Ford looked at the mouth, seeing the teeth all still in place. He nodded gently before his worried expression faded and was replaced with a stern look. "Do not pull out your teeth again. That would only cause more trouble! I'm guessing you did it during a fit or something..."

"Like I said, It was a freakout-of-the-moment thing." Bill said, pulling Sixer's hands away and eye rolling back into place. Ford huffed. He gently grabbed Bill's cheeks, forcing him to look at him again. "And what were you freaking out over that made you want to rip out a tooth?"

"Mfh-" Bill muttered as he was pulled up to him, hands automatically going to the humans wrists. "It was just some paranoia! A specific one that I would rather forget. So don't ask."

Ford held his grip firmly. "I don't want this paranoia to happen again and the only way that would work is to know the cause." Bill scowled, "... I don't wanna eat someone again, alright? There, I said it!" He pulled away from Stanford. "Don't question it further."

Ford shifted and placed a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder. "... Okay, I won't. But... You have no reason to be paranoid like that anymore, alright? It won't happen as long as you control yourself and I'm around." Bill put a hand over his, "... Right.."

Ford softly smiled in response, a gentle but comforting look in his eyes. He moved closer, wrapping an arm around the other in a more embracing way rather than a restraint. "Just... don’t attempt to pull out anymore teeth, alright?"
"Please, you humans do it all the time to get free cash!" Bill rolled his eye in the crook of his neck.
Ford chuckled, and softly rubbed circles into the other's back, pulling him closer. A fond look appeared on his face, a comfortable feeling in his chest. "I really hope you didn't have the idea to sell your teeth for free cash."
"I'm sure Stan would sell my teeth."
"He'd be very stupid to do that, though."
"Eh, everyone is stupid."

Ford softly moved his hand, gently tracing small shapes where he could reach on Bill's body. He hummed softly as an idea appeared in his mind and a smirk appeared on his face. "Even me?"
"Yup."
Ford chuckled, pulling back a little so he could see the other. He let a teasing smile appear on his face, keeping his smirk. "And what about you? Are you stupid?"
"In my own way, I'll admit..."
Ford smiled and nodded slightly as the other admitted, a hum leaving him. He softly cupped the other's face, looking at him with a fond expression. "Well, we have a thing in common with that then, hm?"

Bill's own hand moved to hold Ford's face, of course involuntarily. Actually, every movement being made between them both to get them in this position was unplanned. "I guess, yeah.."
So close... Until Bill's eye widened, pupil shrinking in realization of their current position, and he immediately backed up. "Oh- Jesus..! Holy-" He covered his face with his hands, backing up against the arm of the couch.
Ford was still pretty stunned, but he had gotten over it for the most part. He looked at the other, his expression going from stunned to an expression that just said 'you idiot'.
"... You're a buffoon.."
"We both are." Bill said, crossing his arms once he got the courage to uncover his face.

Ford rubbed the bridge of his nose between two fingers. He nodded in agreement at the statement, lowering his hand. "Yeah, we are. That was a lot closer than I thought we'd ever be, honestly. I don't even know how it even happened."
An awkward silence formed before he spoke again. "We need to avoid this from happening. No more... That. Alright? No more..."
"Agreed."
Ford nodded again, glad that he could agree. He tried to ignore the small pang of disappointment that he felt at the agreement, knowing that it was the best thing to do. "Good. Good. That's... Good.."

Bill moved a bit, causing the old couch to creak. Ford had flinched at the sound, before groaning softly in annoyance. "That couch will collapse one day. I swear on it."
"Not to break the fourth wall, but I feel some foreshadowing..." Bill chuckled.
"Oh don't do that- do not jinx it" Ford warned, pointing a firm finger at the other.

Bill laughed before finishing the last of the coffee. "Ugh, did you even add any sugar or creamer into this?"
"You were getting it straight black whether you liked it or not." Ford said, "Coffee doesn’t need cream or sugar to be good."
"Coffee? No, Sixer, this is straight up bean juice!" He set the empty cup aside.
Ford rolled his eyes, letting out a soft and amused huff. He shook his head, shifting to a more comfortable position. "It is not ‘bean juice’. It's simply good coffee."
"Same difference." Bill crossed his legs.

"Not in the slightest. It's two totally different things." Ford responded, moving to rest an arm on the side of the couch.
"Fine, go marry your coffee. I'm sure you'd like that." Bill rolled his eye.
"Oh, as if you don't have a favorite drink that you'd marry, you hypocrite."
"Fine! You go marry your coffee and I'll go marry my tea!"
"Oh, yeah? And what if they don't like us? What do we do then?"
"Then coffee and tea can marry each other!"

Ford laughed at the response, covering his face with his hand to muffle the sound. His shoulders were shaking from amusement as he spoke again. "I don't think that's how it works, Bill."
"What, you never been to Beverage Dimension, before? I saw it with my own eye!"

"You've been to a Beverage Dimension?" Stanford asked, lifting his head up in slight surprise.
"Oh God, did I accidentally activate your nerd-neurons?" Bill raised one end of his eyebrow as he asked.

Ford huffed, rolling his eyes as a small chuckle left him. "I do not have nerd-neurons, and even if I did, they're always active, whether you trigger them or not. But anyway, go back to what you were saying about the Beverage Dimension."