Rain or Shine (UnWilling Roommates book 2.5)

Keeping Promises

(A/N: Have you wondered why I haven't posted any chapters from Bill's perspective?  It's because I've been planning this one since the first mention of this promise, and I wanted to do it justice!)

Do you remember what Bill said to you in a dream?  Well, he does.

(Bill's POV)

Grunting with effort, I pushed the couch across the carpet until it hit the wall.  Next, I flipped the coffee table onto its side and leaned it next to the TV.  Surveying the open space I had created, I nodded with satisfaction.  It would suit my needs.

Now all I had to do was wait.

I knew Y/N was down the hall, helping Will fall asleep.  This was a complicated process that sometimes took an hour or more, but I'd used the time to my advantage.  I knew that either the sounds of moving furniture or the music playing would draw her to the living room to investigate.

My own gloved hands drew my attention as I stood in the living room, patiently waiting for Y/N.  I flexed my fingers, contemplating for the thousandth time the drastic difference between my old demon form and this pitiful human one.

Though covered by the gloves, I knew that the scars on my hands were still there.  Pain had once been hilarious, but now it was just... painful.  My human brain interpreted things differently, too.  Colors were sharper than they had once been, every sensation more intense.  I had been so detached from everything as a demon, destroying an entire dimension had barely been interesting.  But now emotions clamored for my attention, every feeling demanding to be felt at once, and the sensory input from these new nerve endings had taken a long time to get used to.  Everything felt different as a human.

I could still feel it, though.  The madness squirming through my brain like a thousand ants inside my skull; the constant clamor of a thousand voices telling me to kill, burn, destroy this world and everything in it.  Listening to those voices had been the only thing that made sense in the Nightmare Realm.  Obeying them had been so easy, I'd had no reason not to.

I looked up as Y/N appeared in the doorway.  The instant I laid eyes on her, as always, the voices were immediately muted.  Not silenced, but quiet enough to ignore for now.

"Bill?  What are you doing?" she asked, confused.  She looked at the furniture against the wall, then back to me.  "And what are you wearing?"

I ignored her questions, instead sweeping a low bow and holding my hand out to her grandly.  "May I have this dance, my lady?"

The music was already playing from a hidden source, filling the room with a slow but grand waltz.  Y/N's mouth twitched in a smile.

"I think I'm a bit underdressed," she admitted, looking pointedly at her pajamas and comparing them to the golden tuxedo I was wearing.

"You look absolutely stunning, my dear."  She finally reached out to take my hand and I tugged her closer, locking one arm around her waist.  Her smile widened as she followed my lead, turning with me in as wide a circuit as we could in the available space.

We twirled together, caught up in the music.  Y/N proved to be a marvelous dancer, as I'd expected, and her bare feet moved gracefully in time with mine as we kept whirling in circles.

"I don't know if you recall, but I visited your dreams once while we were apart," I finally said.

"I do remember.  You said you wanted to dance with me in real life."  She chuckled softly.  "I've been waiting for you to make good on that."

My heart leaped.  To cover my sudden elation (and perhaps to keep from giggling like a schoolgirl), I dipped her deeply.  She laughed and kicked one leg up.

"I've wanted to ask," I said as I swept her back upright, "how exactly is it that you manage to love me?"

She took the question as seriously as she should have, staring into my eyes as she contemplated her response.  We completed another circuit of the room before she answered.

"You've got a good heart," she finally said.  She must have seen me about to scoff, because she quickly added, "don't laugh, it's true.  It wasn't there when we first met, but I could see what you could become if given the chance.  Obviously, I was right.  I've seen the way you take care of Will.  And just look what you've done for me."

"It's true that my old self would vomit if he could see how sickeningly selfless I've become.  I became human for you!"  I laughed like it was a joke, but her face suddenly turned mournful.

"Bill," she said in the tiniest of voices, "do you resent me?"

"No," I said firmly.  "Not ever, not for a single second."

"Are you sure?"  She was still frowning.

"Where would I be right now if I hadn't done it?  All alone in the Dreamscape, full of magic but with no one to talk to.  You're more important to me than immortality."

She smirked.  "That's what every girl wants to hear."

That was typical Y/N, incapable of being serious for more than five seconds at a time.  I smiled as well and let go of her waist to spin her gracefully.  Instead of resting her hand back on my shoulder, she wrapped her arms around my neck.  I held her around the waist and we swayed in place, barely moving, as the song continued.

I knew now that it had been a mistake to try to take Y/N all for myself.  The entire world had nearly paid the price for my selfishness.  Besides, now that Will and I had resolved our differences, I could never hurt him like that again.  I would be content from now on sharing Y/N's attention with him.  It surprised me to realize that I was truly okay with our current arrangement.  The old Bill would never settle for sharing what was his.

Stupid human emotions, I mused.  I've gone soft as pudding.  I smiled to myself, my chin resting near Y/N's ear.  I could smell her vanilla shampoo.

Even so... Here I was, indulging my selfish side.  Just Y/N and me, dancing in the middle of the night like the rest of the world didn't exist.  For the length of a single song, I wanted us to be alone together.  I wanted Y/N all to myself. 

Even if it was just once in a while... or just once.

My eyes closed as our lips met.  We had fallen still as the song concluded, still standing in a close embrace on our makeshift dance floor.

The kiss stretched on and on, for an endless eternity where nothing mattered except the girl in my arms whose love I needed as badly as this human body needed air.

All too soon, the spellbound moment was over.  We stood nose to nose for another brief minute, just smiling at each other, then I reluctantly opened my arms and allowed her to step away.

"Next time you decide to hurl my furniture around, I expect you to ask me beforehand," she said with a glance at the coffee table upended against the wall.

"What, and ruin the surprise?" I scoffed.

She laughed and rolled her eyes.  "Just move it all back by tomorrow."

"As you wish, milady." I swept another grand bow.

Her smile turned into something more affectionate.  "Good night, Bill."

"Good night, darling.  Sleep well."  She hesitated a moment more, then left the room reluctantly.  I watched her go, hearing the voices of insanity get louder in my head with every step she took.

It hardly matters.  This is enough for me.

For now... or forever.

(A/N: I'm going on vacation for fall break, so writing time might be hard to come by over the next few days.  But guess what's coming up soon... The moment that two of you have been waiting for!)