Holiday Season
(Y/n)/Cast/Bill
This story is canon to the official storyline
"Hey, watch it!"
"Come on, I don't have all day! Let's keep this line moving, I have other stores to get to today!"
"No, I haven't purchased it yet— but I did see it first which makes it MINE so hand it over!"
Bill peeked his head through the small window in the kitchen, looking out into the store as he watched the chaos unfold in amusement. "I have never seen so many Karens in one place at one time. It's like we hit the motherload!" he exclaimed, bouncing up and down with excitement as ideas filled into his head on the different ways he could play his special game and ruin all of their days.
"Expect this from now on until January 1st. Trust me, the worst is yet to come. This is only the beginning of a long and treacherous month," Jerome muttered under his breath as he and Vox were working at double speed to get the milkshakes out and running.
Bill pulled back from the window, looking over at the ginger like a curious feline who found a new thing to play with. "Why? What's so special about this month?"
"You don't know?" Jerome asked, looking away from the Minty Mayhem milkshake he had currently been working on to face the demon. After a brief period of silence, his eyes widened in absolute shock. "Oh my gosh, you really don't! You have no idea!"
"You think I'd be asking for my health?"
"Vox, Bill has no idea what's happening this month!"
"Yes, we— we already made that apparent. I don't think you need to go repeating it again like it's the worst news ever. Just tell me what's going on already before I start to grow bored and uninterested," Bill pouted, jumping up on top of the counter to take a seat and cross his arms.
Jerome shook his head, snapping out of the shocked state he had been in. "Right, right! Sorry!" He cleared his throat, completely abandoning the work he was supposed to do and handing it all over to Vox to take care of so he could give the demon a brief human-history lesson. "December is the month that is best referred to as the "Holiday Season". So many different holidays and celebrations occur during this time, all depending on your belief system and what your family chooses to celebrate. There's Hanukkah, Kwanza, Ōmisoka— but what Vox, Norah, and I celebrate is Christmas! You know, the holiday where we all believe a big guy in a red suit rides on a sleigh hauled by reindeer to give us the gifts we've been asking for all year. It's not real, by the way. Parents pretty much made the story up to make sure their kids are nice for at least one month out of the year. Eventually the kids grow out of it and now we just use the holiday as a reason to give gifts to loved ones you either care about or those distant relatives you always forget exists until that one day of the year comes along and they're calling you to pretend like they care about how you're holding up."
"Hold on a second," a new voice arose to interrupt the lesson. Bill and Jerome's head turned around to look towards the window and see Norah peeking through with her jaw dropped. "I don't know what to be more impressed by: The fact that you remembered Ōmisoka, the Japanese New Year's Eve tradition, to be a holiday or the fact that you know Santa Clause isn't real."
Jerome's face fell, looking very offended as he now completely abandoned Vox to walk over towards the window to properly glare at his friend. "First off: rude of you to assume I don't pay attention to your random facts of the day. I do. I find them very interesting to hear and it makes me feel just a little smarter. Second: of course I know Santa isn't real! He's just a story, nothing more. ...Now Krampus, on the other hand—"
"Oh no."
"—he's real! He's the complete opposite of Santa. Krampus either beats naughty children or devours them! Just you wait, one of these days I'm going to catch actual proof of him and Norah will HAVE to believe in him!"
Norah shook her head in disappointment, pulling back from the window to create space between her and Jerome's insanity. "I was proud of you for a second... and then you went and ruined it all."
"I'm going to show you the proof one day! I ended up proving to you that demons and other dimensions were real, didn't I?! What's so hard to believe that Krampus could be real, too?!"
Bill chuckled to himself as they continued to bicker back and forth. A month full of holidays, huh? He was definitely interested in learning about all of them if he could. He wondered what holiday Y/n chose to celebrate. As his curiosity roamed, he noticed that Vox did not seem too happy over in their little corner. This urged Bill to get up and go over to where they were and begin helping with the milkshakes while the old married couple continued their arguing at a distance.
"I still think Santa is real."
Bill paused, looking down at Vox who had barely spoken above a whisper so only the demon could hear them.
"Oh trust me, he is."
Vox dropped the cherry they had picked up, letting it fall on the ground and roll underneath the counter.
"He is?!"
Bill smiled, nodding his head. "I don't know if he ever visits this dimension, but I've definitely had my run in with him from time-to-time. Pretty sure he has an entire pile of coal labeled "For Bill" back at the North Pole because he never seems to fail to give me one whenever we've crossed paths. If I ever see him again, I'll make sure to formally introduce him to you." Bill paused, glancing back at Camera and Raindrop before his attention was directed back onto Headphones. "It'll be our little secret though, alright? Just between the two believers."
Bill had never seen Vox's smile before. Getting to witness it for the first time was a gift that he would forever treasure.
~
"Why the heck is it so freezing in here? Bill, did you touch my thermostat?!"
Bill came shuffling out of his room, a blanket wrapped fully around his body. "No! I'm offended you'd accuse me of such a thing!"
"Wouldn't be the first time you've pranked me."
"If I prank you, it's mainly meant for you. I don't plan my pranks so I can suffer along with you!"
Y/n hummed, looking back at the thermostat and pressing random buttons. "Alright, you got me there. Well, if you didn't screw with it... Crap, something must be wrong. Might need to call someone over here." Y/n winced, straightening their posture and rubbing their lower back out.
"You okay?" Bill asked, taking note of this random action that they did.
"I'm fine. My painkillers aren't helping much to relieve my muscles from the pain they've been experiencing by working so many hours down at the General Store. Which sucks since I'm not going to be able to take a break from work again until after the holidays are done and over with. Boss needs all hands on deck to help with the crowds we've been getting in."
Bill perked up at the mention of the holiday season once more. He shuffled over toward the human, his blanket still wrapped around him to try and keep himself as warm as he possibly could. "That reminds me, I meant to ask you the other day what holiday you celebrate during this time of year. Jerome mentioned a few of them, though there's probably more out there that he didn't tell me. So, what is it? Which holiday do you celebrate?"
"Hmm? Oh, I celebrate (insert holiday here)." They smiled towards the demon before they started to make their way down the stairs so they could grab some breakfast before work.
Bill was waddling after them, lost in thought now about all the different holidays that occurred during this month. It was very exciting to think about, in his opinion. There were just so many traditions out there that so many different people from all across the world chose to celebrate, not to mention all the other holidays that go on during this time of year across the different dimensions with a variety of different species to celebrate them. Everything was just so... different. And unique. It's what made all of this sound so fun.
Bill didn't have any traditions of his own. He never celebrated any types of holidays. Not even his own birthday— which he probably would if he knew what day that was. He never really questioned it in the past, but now his meatsack body was starting to yearn for something to celebrate and enjoy with family and loved ones.
But... he didn't have a family. Not anymore.
He also didn't have loved ones.
Bill looked up, watching as Y/n grabbed two bowls out of the cupboard and began to pour cereal into the both of them. A small smile spread onto his face as he watched this take place.
He had Y/n. That was enough for him.
"I want to celebrate a holiday."
"You— What?" Y/n turned around, looking at Bill curiously before heading to the fridge to grab the milk. "Huh... Well, okay then. That's cool. What holiday are you looking to celebrate? Do... demons even have traditional holidays that they celebrate?"
"I'm not talking about demonic holidays, that's an entirely different subject. I'm talking about wanting to participate in a meatsack holiday! The question is, picking one to start with. I feel like it'd be a lot to try and celebrate all of them in one month, y'know? So maybe I'll choose one for this year and then I'll celebrate a different one next year!"
"But—" Y/n stopped themselves, shaking their head and just continuing to pour the milk.
"... "But" what?"
"Nothing.
"No, it wasn't nothing. You were going to say something! ...Candle, the milk is overflowing."
"Crap!" Y/n snapped out of their thoughts, lifting the milk jug right-side up as they watched the extra milk spill onto the counter and floor. They sighed, quickly going to grab a bunch of paper towels before looking back at Bill with a worried expression. "I mean-... It's just-... Well, we're trying to still get you out of this town... aren't we? The moment we get the barrier down, you said you wanted to leave and go take over the world or something. You more than likely won't be here this time next year to celebrate any other holidays. ...Unless your plan has changed?"
Bill froze up, standing there in the middle of the kitchen with a small frown making its way onto his face. Had he really forgotten the plan in such a small amount of time of being within this town? He had started to get so comfortable here in this place with all of the people he has gotten to meet and befriend— Nowadays, he hardly ever thought about the barrier and what he would do once he got out of Mercy. That was... bad, right? It was bad that he was losing focus and straying from the path. How long had it been since he last checked up with the kids about the progress on the barrier? How close were they to tearing it down once and for all so he could go out and do-... stuff. What did he want to do when he escaped? Did he really want to take over the world like Y/n said? That's what he recalled saying when he first met them, but now he wasn't sure what he wanted to do.
The demon scoffed, waving off the human. "Yeah right. At the rate those twerps are moving at, we won't get that barrier down for another five— no, ten years! It's a shame, really. It sucks here but guess you'll just have to get used to my presence~" Bill walked over to the human, taking the paper towels out of their hands before crouching down and beginning to clean up the mess for them. "Maybe I'll start off with Christmas. The kids seem to know that holiday best so they'll be able to show me how to celebrate that one properly."
Y/n took note of the sudden subject change that Bill had just caused but decided they could discuss it at another time. For now, they supposed they could feed into the demon's fantasy and figure out how to make Bill's first Christmas a great one.
"Christmas is a fun kind of holiday, but also a stressful one. Especially when it comes to giving presents. Like, of course you want to give your friends and loved ones something special and meaningful, but trying to order gifts online means you never know when it'll arrive. If you try to shop in the stores, well... good luck with that. Shoppers during this time are insane and scary. They will not stop until they get what they came for, even if it means sending someone to the hospital."
"Huh, alright... Wait, so does this mean I get to go out and buy you a gift?"
Y/n bursted out into a fit of laughter. Bill did not see what was so funny. He turned around, picking up the milk-soaked paper towel and tilting his head in curiosity.
Y/n's laughter quickly died out. "Oh, you're being serious."
"Of course I'm being serious! If I want to celebrate this holiday properly then I need to commit to the traditions that follow! I have to get you a gift!" Bill stopped, thinking that over for a second. "On a completely unrelated note, can I have some cash?"
Y/n had to resist smacking themselves in the face at that moment, turning around and heading towards their bag so they could pull out their wallet. "Fine, but only because I know you'll keep annoying me about it until I actually do it."
They pulled out a $10 bill and handed it over to the demon.
"...You're kidding, right? What am I supposed to buy that's only ten dollars for you?!"
"Ten dollars is more than enough to spend on me," they argued as they walked back over to the bowls of cereal and picked them up to bring them over to the table. "I don't deserve anything big or fancy. I would literally be happy if you ended up only getting me a candy bar and that was it. That's all I've gotten from Claire for my birthday each year. I literally do not deserve anymore than that."
Bill was so not pleased by this answer, going to join the human at the table with a look of dismay.
"That's not right, Candle."
"Well that's called life, Cipher."
~
There was a rapid knock coming from the door. It grew louder and faster the longer it left unattended. Running up to the door, the human opened it up to reveal who it was that had been knocking with such urgency.
"I need help!"
"Oh, Goldilocks," Brik stuttered in surprise, stepping aside as the demon rushed in without warning. "Is... everything okay? What seems to be the problem?"
"Ugh, where do I begin?!" Bill spun around in a dramatic manner, hands in his hair as he looked the most stressed he has ever been. "Christmas is in a week and I'm having trouble getting Y/n a gift! All they gave me was a $10 bill but I can't find ANYTHING that they deserve to have under $50! I've been trying, I really have, but Y/n is just too great of a person and deserves the absolute best! Look, I have something in mind. Something that I really think they would like a whole lot but I don't have the money to actually purchase it! So I guess what I'm trying to ask is: could you lend me some money so I can get Y/n the best gift I can possibly think to get them? I'll work for it! I'll make the money up to you by doing some chores around the house, mowing your lawn, or even helping you to fix that old car of yours that is always and forever broken down! Please, I'll do anything! Just help me get the perfect Christmas gift for Y/n!"
Brik stared speechless at the demon, taking a minute to process all that had been sprung on him in under a minute.
"...Have you considered just getting them mistletoe?"
"What?"
"Nothing!" Brik cleared his throat, forcing down the laugh that wanted to erupt out of him. "Alright, let me go grab my coat real quick."
Now it was Bill's turn to stare speechless up at the human who already started to walk away towards a closet door.
"Grab your... coat?"
"Yeah. It's pretty chilly outside so I'm going to need it when we go out to buy this perfect gift."
"You're really going to help me— just like that?! Wow... and here I was preparing a whole monologue and sob story because I thought this would be a lot harder to convince you. So, how am I going to pay you back? Wash dishes? Fold laundry? Clear all the dust out from your house?"
Brik chuckled, throwing on his coat before he walked back over to Bill Cipher. He lifted his hand up, dropping it down on Bill's head and began to ruffle up his golden locks.
"Wha- Hey!"
"Just promise you'll stop by more often to hang out, alright?"
"Wait... what?" Bill looked up at him, confused by the answer given to him.
Brik smiled warmly though, removing his hand just so he could give the demon a good pat on the shoulder. "I could get a pot of coffee going, get us some cookies, and we can binge watch the entire series of Ducktective together. I just... want to spend some time with ya, Goldie. That's all I want in return. Consider that my Christmas gift from you and we can get whatever it is you want for your partn- roommate."
Bill's eyes widened before he relaxed a bit and a small smile ended up spreading across his face. "You got yourself a deal."
The two of them walked out of the house together, deciding that walking to the store would be way safer than trying to get the car up and running. Neither of the two seemed to mind this, however. The walk together was pleasant.
"You're a really good person, Brik. This world doesn't deserve you in the slightest."
~
"Can I open my eyes now?"
"No! And I swear, if I catch you peeking for even just a nano second then I will throw out the surprise. Don't think I won't, mister!"
"Okay! Okay!" Bill huffed, keeping his eyes shut tight as he sat on the couch in the living room. He had absolutely no idea what was going on currently. One minute he was in his room reading one of the books he had on the history of humanity only to suddenly be called downstairs by his roommate and be told he needed to sit and close his eyes. Apparently there was some sort of "surprise" they were preparing for him. He wasn't complaining. Not in the slightest. Well, maybe a little bit since he had been sitting with his eyes closed for ten minutes now.
"Candleeee!"
"Oh, you are one big whiner, you know that? Hang on, I almost got everything down from my room."
"If you weren't ready yet, then why did you call me down so early?! I could have been in my room while you set this all up!"
"You know... In hindsight, I probably should have waited to call you down, but... we're here now! And we're almost done!"
Bill groaned, feeling around the couch to grab one of their various pillows and begin to smack himself in the face with it.
"Okay, big demon baby, you can open your eyes now. It's all set!"
Bill did so, slowly and hesitantly as he really had no clue what this surprise could be.
Maybe it was food. Food-related surprises were always the best. You could never go wrong with food! Unless you were allergic to said food. Eating food that you're allergic to could make things go very wrong very quickly. But as far as Bill was aware, he wasn't allergic to anything! So a food-related surprise was definitely the way to go with this demon.
Y/n apparently did not get the memo about this. He was pretty sure that this surprise was not something he could eat.
I mean, he could if he really wanted to. Like a curious cat. But even when cats did it, they lived to regret it a couple hours later when they found difficulty digesting the plastic material.
"Oh... wow," Bill raised a brow, not really sure what was going on right now. "A fake tree... You shouldn't have. Seriously. Like— I'm sorry, why do we have a giant fake tree in the middle of the living room?"
Y/n rolled their eyes before smiling wide." It's for your Christmas tradition!"
"How does... owning a fake tree help me to celebrate the holiday?"
"Just about everyone who celebrates Christmas owns a tree, real or fake. They put it up in their home, decorate it with shiny ornaments or objects that hold special memories, hang a star on top of it, and then lay out all of their presents below it where they'll stay until Christmas morning! Didn't Jerome tell you any of this?"
"No... he's been trying to catch me up on the Krampus lore and how he plans to find proof of him this year to show off to Norah."
"...Yeah, that sounds about right." Y/n rolled their eyes, chuckling to themselves before bending down to grab a box that was filled with glass balls. Ornaments. So shiny, and they even came in a bunch of different sizes and colors! "You want to get started helping me decorate this thing or are you going to make me do it all by myself?"
"...Well, that does sound tempting—"
"That was a rhetorical question. Get over here."
And so the demon got off the couch, joining the human as they began to hang ornaments up one-by-one. A lot of the ornaments were the classic spherical shape, but Bill found that a few of them were different and special looking.
Bill lifted one of these special ornaments off the ground, his breath hitching slightly as he looked it over. It was a yellow ornament, which doesn't sound incredibly special but what made it so different from the rest wasn't the color of it but instead its strange shape. No other ornament in the stack had a shape quite like it, making it one of a kind. It was a triangle shape. A yellow, triangular ornament. Bill couldn't stop staring at it as he was frozen in place, no longer helping Y/n for the moment.
The human noticed he stopped helping and turned around to see what exactly he was looking at. They smiled softly, walking over to his side and kneeling down beside him.
"When we first met, you said that you used to be a golden triangle with one eye... right?"
"Yeah... That's right."
Y/n reached out, placing their hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. Bill turned his head back to look at them, their noses just inches apart.
"I thought you might like the ornament, but it is missing something from your description." They paused, their free hand digging into their pocket before they pulled out what looked to be a permanent marker and held it out to the demon. "And since you know what your old form looked like better than I do, I figured you could be the one to add it in yourself. If you want to, that is."
Bill did want to. He very much wanted to. He took the marker, feeling a heavy weight land on his chest as he did. His heart ached as he began adding the little details to the ornament. He started with drawing small lines to create the brick pattern. He then drew two small little triangles kissing each other to create a bowtie. Lastly, he drew one large eye with a slit for a pupil. It was drawn perfectly, almost identical to the original thing.
"That's what you used to look like?"
"Mhm. Almost. I also had a top hat and this cane— Oh, and arms and legs. Can't forget that."
Y/n laughed, their hand still on his shoulder as they looked over Bill's masterpiece. "You looked good."
"Thank you—"
"For a Dorito Chip."
Bill frowned, turning to look back at the human with a glare full of hate. This just caused the human to laugh even harder, laying their head on his shoulder as they tried to catch their breath. Bill tried to look pissed off. He really did. But... he couldn't help but to crack a smile. He looked back down at the ornament which was cradled so carefully in the palm of his hand. He never thought he would ever see his old body again. His heart hurt from the sight of it. It wasn't a physical pain... but it still hurt.
Bill walked over towards the tree, placing the ornament in the middle so it was front and center for all to see. He sighed, taking a step back to join Y/n once more and admire the tree they decorated and put together.
There were a couple of other special ornaments on the tree: there was a fake cookie ornament, a fake candle ornament, a real thermometer that Y/n had just tied some string around, and a fake bowtie ornament.
"Can I... tell you something?" Bill asked, his voice lowered to a whisper.
He refused to look over at them as he asked, his eyes remaining focused on the tree in front of the two of them. It concerned Y/n to a small degree.
"Sure. What's up?"
"I think I'm going to miss this place when I finally leave..."
Y/n blinked. That... was quite possibly the last thing they ever thought they would hear come out of his mouth. They stayed silent, however, as they sensed he wasn't done speaking.
"That's still the plan. Though I've been a bit distracted and have diverted from the plan as of late, my goal is to still get the barrier down so I can—... so I can take over the world, I suppose. I used to be excited about it, but now all I can think about is how I'll be leaving this town and the people in it behind. I didn't mean to get attached, I really didn't. But now... Now I get excited whenever I get the chance to dump some lore onto Jerome and watch his eyes light up. I look forward to whenever Norah helps me learn sign or when Adrianna teaches me Spanish so I can communicate with others better. Ollie still scares the crap out of me, but I think I like that about her. I know I can always go to Vox if I need a minute of peace or even to receive a hug. Brik, I think, has accepted me as part of his family, which is a really nice thought. I've gotten so used to being all around them... I still want to go ahead with the original plan, but I'm really going to miss them when I'm gone."
Bill paused, turning his head to look directly at Y/n as a sad smile graced his lips.
"I'm really going to miss you, too. You've made this entire transition so much easier for me, I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't run into you."
Y/n's heart melted. They swore they wouldn't cry— no, they most definitely would not cry in front of the demon. They returned the smile, though, as their eyes did tear up a bit in response to his words.
"Wow... Can I tell you something now, too?"
Bill nodded his head.
"...I think I'm also really going to miss you when you're gone."
They stared at one another for a moment before the two of them leaned forward to embrace each other in a tight hug.
"I mean... Who knows, right?! You said it yourself— It could take years before we get the barrier down!"
"Right. Yeah. Years. Mhm.."
"Which means we still have time!"
"Yeah... Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Which means we'll have the chance for you to try out all the holidays that you want. And maybe— maybe when you... do finally leave... You could always come back to Mercy to celebrate the holidays again with us."
"You sure you won't completely hate me by then...?"
Y/n paused, tightening their hug on him for a second. "You're still keeping your end of our deal to leave this town alone?"
"...Yeah. Yeah, I'm not going to ever hurt this town."
"Then I guess I won't completely hate you. ...Except if you miss a holiday. You better believe you'll get an earful out of me if you miss a holiday."
Bill smiled softly, closing his eyes and burying his head in the crook of Y/n's neck. "Thanks Candle."
Y/n smiled, holding him there as they finally let some tears fall now that he was no longer paying attention to them. "Anytime, Cipher."
~
After they decorated the Christmas tree together, the two of them decided they would watch some cheesy Christmas movies to push away their sadness. They eventually passed out there. Together. Curled up on the couch with a singular blanket wrapped around the both of them.
When Bill woke up in the morning, he was a bit confused about what was going on or even where he was. He looked down, feeling something pressed against his chest and was shocked to see a sleeping head laying there. Y/n was fast asleep, using him like he was some sort of pillow. Hesitantly, Bill lifted his arm up and wrapped it around Y/n's shoulders gently as he did his best not to disturb them. They looked pretty peaceful just sleeping there curled up against him. He smiled to himself, closing his eyes once more as he held them protectively while they continued to sleep.
~
"It's Christmas!"
Y/n's eyes shot wide open to the sound of screaming and rapid banging against their bedroom door. Not the way they expected to wake up today, but at the same time they couldn't really blame Bill. He really was as excited as a kid—... well, a kid on Christmas day. Seeing as this was his first Christmas he was getting to celebrate, that made a whole lot of sense.
Once they got a hoodie on and threw on a pair of slippers, they opened the door to see a demon bouncing up and down in excitement.
"Come on! We can finally open up all those presents now!"
"Maybe we should have breakfast first—"
"No! Presents!"
Bill grabbed Y/n's hand and pulled them into the hallway and down the stairs towards the living room. The human laughed all the way, following after their roommate as they watched as his smile grew bigger with joy in his eyes. They had no idea he would be this excited for a human holiday.
They started off with gifts from their friends first, believing it would be best to save the presents they got for each other at the end. Bill began by opening the presents he got from the three obnoxious children that he liked to hang out with so much:
From Jerome, Bill received an entire jar of peanut butter as well as a book the ginger had personally written containing all the lore on monsters, demons, and all things supernatural that he knew about. He pretty much gave Bill all the research he has ever gotten the chance to collect since the day he was born. Bill almost felt honored to be holding that book and swore aloud that he would guard those pages with his life. He considered the idea that maybe he would even give it back to Jerome one day except with the addition of his own notes added to it. For now though, Y/n and Bill agreed that for Christmas Jerome would receive in return a couple of leatherbound notebooks that he could fill with all of his newfound research. On the first page of one of them, Bill even drew out his Cipher Wheel for him to have.
From Norah, Bill received two books: one on ASL and the other on Spanish. He lit up getting to see them, realizing now he wouldn't have to wait until the next time he got to see Norah or Adrianna if he wanted to practice learning the languages. He could do it on his own now and become just as fluent in the languages as the two of them were! Now he no longer felt bad that the only gift he gave Norah was pretty much a notebook that he filled with all of the languages he remembered learning from across the different dimensions. He knew that there was still a lot he was forgetting ever since he was brought back from the dead and placed into a human body, but was grateful he at least remembered some of them.
From Vox, Bill received a mushroom plushie. Not just any mushroom plushie, either. This one had a tuxedo, complete with a top hat and bowtie. Bill had no clue how Vox found the toy but he really appreciated the gift. Vox was apparently a plushie collector and had a whole room filled with various plushies that came in all sizes and textures. After consulting with both Jerome and Norah on which plushies they already had, Y/n and Bill managed to get them one that they had yet to own and had been wanting for a while: a vampire cat plushie. Apparently the company who had been selling the product ran out just before Vox could order one for themself and was really disappointed that they missed their chance to get it. Well, by some miracle Bill and Y/n found someone selling it on the internet. Do not ask how much it was. It doesn't even matter because at the end of the day, if Vox was happy then so were they.
From the Walls Family, both Bill and Y/n got a whole tin full of cookies! The problem was convincing the two that they needed to share these cookies, but hopefully they would figure it out. In return, the two of them got Brik and his wife a gift card to their favorite restaurant for a date night and got their kids a gift card as well to spend on whatever toys they wanted to get themselves at the store. They figured it would be easier to do that than to figure out what kids in this day of age wanted to play with.
From Adrianna, Bill got a bumblebee plushie. Get it? It's to match the nickname that Adrianna had given him. Y/n had to convince him not to go throw it in the trash. Secretly, the demon loved it because of how soft it was but he wouldn't let the human know that. At least they went for a nickname theme since Y/n and Bill got her a really soft blanket in return.
From Ollie, Bill got a dead cockroach. Y/n jumped up, nearly freaking out at the sight of it as they thought it was alive at first. It wasn't. Bill checked. Then he went ahead and popped it in his mouth.
"Oh my gosh—"
"What? I'm assuming that's why she gave it to me after she watched me eat a live one at the General Store. You know, I saved Adrianna's life in the process when I did."
"I think you're over-exaggerating. Was she scared? Out of her mind. But thanks to you, she is scarred for life now. Not saved. Scarred. As am I."
"Ollie is the only one who truly understands me~"
"I think I liked it better when you two weren't friends. Who knew a cockroach would change all that?"
Bill laughed, tossing the now empty box to the side. Ollie's gift to him definitely matched up with the one he had given to her in return: a box with a new pet spider inside for her to add to her collection. Now wasn't that just thoughtful of him?
"I think the only present I have left to open is yours!"
"That looks about right," Y/n nodded as they sat back on the couch, looking down at Bill who sat on the floor surrounded by wrapping paper now.
Bill smiled though, reaching underneath the tree to grab a present that had been hiding in the back and holding it out to the human. "But first I want you to open my present!"
Y/n blinked before slowly reaching out to grab the small present and place it down on their lap. "Bill... You didn't have to get me anything."
"Yes I did! Now open it!"
Y/n rolled their eyes but did as they were told. They unwrapped the present carefully as they weren't sure what to expect on the inside. When they opened the box that had been hidden underneath the wrapping paper, they gasped. Then frowned.
"Really... you didn't have to get me this."
They pulled out the object, revealing the Sparkling Cinnamon candle that Bill had just gifted to them.
The demon giggled like a giddy child, rocking back and forth with a mischievous expression on his face. "Aw, don't you like it~?"
"Pretty sure you know the answer to that one already."
He started laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes. Before Y/n could get too mad at him, he held his arms up in defense. He then turned around to look back under the tree once more.
"Oh? What's this~? Oh, would you look at that! It's another present for you, Candle!"
"Another— Bill, I only gave you $10. How could you possibly have another gift for me?"
"You don't seem to care when you spend a whole lot of money on others, but then someone decides to spend a little extra on you and suddenly you're freaking out! Don't think about the money right now, just open the present already!" Bill exclaimed, shoving the wrapped gift into their lap.
After some extra convincing, Y/n finally began to unwrap the present to see what was inside.
Once it was completely unwrapped, the human sat there in shock. They weren't entirely sure what they expected, but it most definitely wasn't this.
"You got me a heated blanket...?"
"I did! I remember you saying how your back has been hurting and that the painkillers aren't helping with the pain anymore, so I looked up some alternative ways to help with the pain and humans agree that applying heat to the sore muscle does a lot of good! Plus, we still haven't fixed the heating problem and it's been really cold in this house so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone! Or in this case: one present!"
"I—" Y/n was at a loss for words as they brushed their hand across the soft quality. It was so soft, so fluffy. The last thing they expected out of Bill was for him to go all out and actually put a lot of thought into his gift. They expected a joke gift, like the candle, to come out of him, but not a joke gift and a thoughtful gift put together. "...I love it. Thank you." They hugged the blanket tight to their chest, looking over at Bill with a smile of appreciation.
"Really?!"
"Yes, really. Now, can you open my gift up?"
"Oh— Right!" Bill quickly moved and grabbed the very last present under the Christmas tree. It was a very big gift that had some weight to it. He appreciated the yellow wrapping paper and black bow on top. It was such a beautiful gift, he almost didn't want to tear into it. Keyword: almost. His curiosity was too large at this point to care about the destruction that was about to be caused.
He tore into it, throwing the wrapping paper left and right. It revealed a box! He opened it up, a bright smile on his face— that instantly fell when he saw another wrapped box inside. This one had black wrapping paper and a yellow bow.
"What? What's this?!"
"Another layer!"
"Another—... Oh, this is cruel."
"No, this is hilarious. Now hurry up and open it! Don't you want to see what I got you?"
Bill pouted, but nevertheless went through the second layer.
And the third.
Then the fourth.
Each layer alternated colors, going back and forth between yellow and black.
Then finally the fifth layer arrived. It was a golden layer: gold wrapping paper with a gold bow. It was so much smaller than the box they originally started with. This had to be the final layer. It just screamed the "final boss" right here.
Bill tore through it just as he had done with the other layers before it, and what he saw within this layer of paper was the last thing he expected to receive from his human roommate. He held the box up, looking over the images that surrounded it before carefulling going to open it to reveal the small, thin, glass item on the inside.
"A cellphone? Wait— you're really giving me a cellphone?"
"I am," Y/n admitted as they wrapped themselves in the blanket that was now starting to warm up. They had time to set it up and plug it into an outlet while Bill had been busy dealing with their gift. "You know how I admitted that I was going to miss you when you eventually leave Mercy...? Well... I've been thinking about it for a while now...and I realized it'd be pretty hard to miss you if you were blowing my phone up every single day. So— yeah. I bought you your own phone. It's set up and everything with my number in there. ...It's yours now so you can do whatever you want with it. And if you don't want to talk to me after you leave then it's fine and totally cool, I just thought the option to have it there would be—... well, nice, I guess."
Bill was so confused... He sat there completely stunned by Y/n's thought-process putting this gift together for him. They did this so they could stay connected? They cared about him enough to want to stay in touch even while he was out taking over the world? He wasn't sure what to say to that, really. It was a shock to him as he realized just how close they've become since the day they met.
Y/n meant so much to him.
Bill... really cared about them.
His face flushed from that realization.
Bill set the phone down as he stood up. He walked over towards the couch where he sat down beside his human roommate. He smiled, and they smiled back. Bill made the sign meant for "touch" and Y/n did not hesitate to pull him into a hug. He curled up in their arms, holding them close with no intention of wanting to release them any time soon.
He then lifted his head up enough to where he could place a small kiss to the top of Y/n's head.
"Merry Christmas, Candle."
Y/n blushed, squeezing the demon a bit tighter in the hug. Yeah, platonic kisses were definitely a thing between friends. At least, if nothing more it was a thing between these two friends.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Cipher."
~The End~
Chapter 18: Sunday, January 15th, 2023
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all!
I decided to try and make a holiday-themed one-shot for everyone to enjoy this year as my Christmas gift to you! I hope you enjoyed it and did not waste the whole day reading this 7k short story. Whether you celebrate Christmas or another holiday, I hope you all have a great day and get to enjoy it to the fullest!
I shall see you all again in three weeks!
Peace out!
(p.s. this three-week break is NOT the hiatus I have been warning about. That is still coming soon)