Chapter Nine: I Don't Trust You
It was almost an hour of warming up and thick blankets for Mabel to stop shaking. She stole more of Bill's clothes, completely ignoring the dresses he had bought for her. Really, she was on a pirate ship, and apparently already some of the crew viewed her as a weakling, she didn't need a bigger target on her back.
She was sad to untangle the items from her hair, but she needed to dry off, and most of the shells were caked in ice now that her hair had dried. Mabel was an honorary mermaid, and the shells and seaweed were quickly and carefully placed on the cabinet next to the bed. One in particular caught her attention, a seashell encrusted with scales that almost looked like jewels. Mabel made sure to set it down as carefully as possible so that it wouldn't break.
Curling up carefully, Mabel yawned and thought once more of the mermaids as she could hear Bill shouting on deck and giving orders out. Sister, they had called her. The thought of being so close to something so gorgeous filled her chest with warmth, but at the same time it made her sad. Dipper was probably worried sick about her, and she just wanted nothing more than to be with her family again. Adventures at sea were only fun when one actually chose it.
With all of Bill's blankets tucked around her, Mabel settled into bed to finally warm up, and to hopefully fall asleep. At least in her dreams she'd be able to think about Dipper, and be with her family. In a way, she wished the adventure was already over.
After shouting and orders, Bill found himself at the helm, sailing the ship for the first time in a long time as whoever wasn't needed on deck disappeared below to try to escape the cold. He just couldn't get the imagine of Mabel completely surrounded and protected by mermaids out of his mind. It was one of the strangest, and most gorgeous sights, he had ever been graced with.
He wasn't out there for long before Tad came over, leaning against the railing and sending Bill a curious look, to which the pirate captain ignored. Whatever Tad wanted to talk about, Bill didn't. He knew that look, and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.
"What are you going to do when we get to port?" Tad asked instead, crossing his arms and seeming completely oblivious to the cold. Even Bill couldn't help but shudder at it.
"Restock supplies and make sure everything's in working order." Bill snapped, completely ignoring the obvious topic that Tad wanted to breech. Tad sighed, clicking his tongue slightly and deciding to leave it.
"You know, if she really is the one," Tad paused, looking at Bill, who suddenly seemed very interested in the compass he pulled out of his pocket, "this won't end well. Gleeful won't let her go easily. You've known what this meant, going into it. She's nice and everything, but are you really going to let yourself get attached?"
Bill barked out a laugh, loud enough to get some attention of the crew and make them quickly turn their gaze away from the captain. They knew that tone when they heard it, and knew when to avoid their captain. Mabel, for some reason, had actually been one of the few things that actually calmed him down, but she wasn't here, and Bill was a loose cannon.
"The deal with her was that she'd help me take down Gleeful. I never said how, she's signed herself up for this." Bill's tone was sharp, and to anyone else it would have been a cue to take their leave and drop the topic. Tad never seemed to understand cues like that though.
"This, from the man who pouted like a child when she ignored him, from the man who only smiled at her when she smiled first, who gave up his bed, who made sure she was safe on that island. Get off that high horse you're riding and admit that you care." Tad was somehow completely relaxed as he chewed Bill out, arms still crossed casually and if it wasn't for the volume of his voice steadily rising, one would have thought he didn't care at all.
"You're crossing a thin line, Strange." Bill growled. "How long have we dreamed of this? Doing our best to collect what we needed? It's finally in our grasp and you want to back out?"
Tad finally moved, holding his hands up and shaking his head. He was disappointed, he was angry, but he didn't want to do anything like this anymore. Bill was fighting his own feelings, and Tad was starting to think that it wouldn't just take a nudge, but a hard shove in the right direction to get Bill to realize it.
"Say what you will, captain. I just don't think that when the time comes, you'll be able to spill her blood."
She woke with a slam of the door and a haze as she realized she actually slept through the night. For a moment, Mabel was afraid, until she saw that it was Bill there, and her guard went down slightly. He glared at the door he slammed shut, as though it would burst into flames by his gaze alone. Mabel rubbed her eyes for a second longer before she watched him going to settle at his desk.
"Bill?" Mabel asked softly, still a bit pale and cold, but not nearly as much as before. When she only got a grunt in reply, Mabel slowly moved out of the bed, the floorboards creaking underneath her weight and the sway of the ship.
It was almost too easy to see how stressed he was, or maybe he was just angry. He was harshly writing a line across the map, going from where she assumed they were to a place on the shore, and finally to an island so small that it almost looked like it didn't exist.
Hesitantly, she placed her hand on his shoulder, feeling how tense he was. It seemed to snap him out of whatever anger he was in, because after a moment he looked up at her, watching her rub her eyes and try to keep from yawning.
"...I'm still cold." Mabel said softly, leaning over and taking the pen from his hand, placing it on the desk and then taking his hand so he wouldn't be tempted to pick it up once more. He stared at her mutely, not saying a word.
He didn't really need for her to say anything else, but that didn't mean that he didn't want her to say it. Mabel gently tugged on his hand, but the sea captain remained firmly seated in his chair as though she wouldn't have been able to simply pull him out of his chair.
"Will you lay with me?" Mabel asked, in a rush, as though she was embarrassed. Bill nodded, finally letting her tug him out of his chair and over to the bed.
He stripped off his coat and boots so he could be comfortable, watching Mabel slip into his bed as if it had always been her own. Eventually, he made his way, lying stiffly next to her as she got comfortable with no worries. Soon enough, he was wrapped up in the blankets just as snugly as she had been before, laying on his side with Mabel's forehead pressed against his chest.
It wasn't until he was sure she was fast asleep that he moved, wrapping his arm around her to keep her closer. For the first night since she came aboard, Bill Cipher fell asleep, completely in denial about how much he liked having her share his bed with him, even if she was a blanket hog.
With how the ship sailed day and night, it wasn't long before they were coasting into the newest port, with everyone cheering that they were actually somewhere warm for once. Mabel watched from her place beside Bill at the spot of land that was just starting to become visible to them, quite eager to get her feet back on the ground.
"Are we actually going to stay for a couple of days?" Mabel placed her hand on Bill's arm, and he had to fight back a smile at the way she bounced up and down, her excitement infectious.
"We are." Bill chuckled slightly, turning back to the crew. "We'll probably get there tonight. You should wear one of the dresses I got for you a while ago, since it's warmer now."
She nodded excitedly, turning her gaze back to the land that was slowly and steadily getting larger. Bill turned back to his crew, seeing more life in them than he had in a long time. He made a small promise to Mabel to return quickly, heading off on the deck and doing some things on his own.
"Captain, what are you gonna do about…" The man, one Bill vaguely recognized as one of the ones to assault Mabel when they first got back to sea. Bill didn't really feel like talking, but he did move his gaze back to Mabel, watching her talk excitedly with Tad about being back on land.
"I don't know about 'cha, but I bet she gonna be a runner." The man laughed, nudging Bill for a moment like he was making a great joke before he saw the glare that Bill gave him. "Don't look at me like that, the only reason she didn't run before was because she got drunk, ya?"
Bill grunted, crossing his arms as he watched Mabel laugh at a joke Tad said. It wasn't something he thought he'd have to worry about, if he was being honest. She seemed happy here, and he didn't want to ruin things by showing he didn't trust her.
What if that's what she was trying to do though? What if it was all just some ploy so she could get off his ship? Bill might have given her every reason to run, but he sure as hell didn't give her any ideas about escaping.
Bill Cipher was not one to let go of what was his.
He avoided her for the rest of the day, which Mabel seemed to have no issue with. She went and talked with Tad, or she went and bothered Kryptos below deck when he wasn't busy. Bill went over his options all throughout the day, going over every scenario and wondering what the best option to take was.
By the time the sun was close to setting, Bill felt he had come up with a decision. He helped the men tie the boat off at the dock, seeing a couple of them actually jump overboard and into the water below they were so eager to get on land. Mabel laughed with the rest of them, watching the men go splashing into the water.
"Bill." She seemed addicted to saying his name, and he really had no problems with that. "Can we go on land? I just really want to walk on the beach."
She actually reached for his hand, and Bill's resolve almost waivered. Tad was right about something, he was getting much too close to her, and that needed to change. With the wide grin that spread across his face, even he could see Mabel's guard rise up a bit.
"I have a much better place for you to go." He ended up saying, hearing his own voice snarl. Mabel hesitantly took a step back, but Bill just leaned down and wrapped an arm around her waist, hauling her over his shoulder and taking her downstairs.
A couple of the men hooted at them, thinking their captain was going for a new conquest, but he ignored them easily. Mabel was pouring out questions a mile a minute, trying to ask where they were going and what he was doing all at the same time. Bill completely ignored her until they were finally downstairs, in the dark part of the ship where even the sun had a hard time getting to.
"Bill, please, I don't know what you're thinking but please don't." Mabel pleaded, not even able to get a word through to him as Bill finally set her on her feet and shoved her back, hard.
Mabel fell with a small 'oof' on the floor of the brig, watching with wide eyes that were full of hurt and anger. This was a terrible decision, he knew that immediately, but it was much too late to go back on it, not when she was staring up at him already with pain and hurt and he knew he had messed up.
"...Enjoy your time in the brig." Bill muttered, locking the door firmly and shoving the keys into his pocket of his coat.
"Bill, don't you dare walk away from me." Mabel snapped, hands going to hold the bars of the brig and nails digging into the old and flaking metal.
That's exactly what he did though, turning on his heel and walking out of the room, shutting and locking that door as well. No one was going down there without his permission, and even then, he wasn't sure he would let anyone down there.
