Chapter 28 - Bill the Freak

Bill's phone began vibrating in his pocket, which snapped him out of the deep train of thought he was lost in. He pulled it out, looking at the Caller ID, then speaking to his boyfriend Pina, who was sitting next to him, messing with his nails. "It's Louis."

"Oh fuck, finally! Maybe he'll let us know what's been happening." The herbivore leaned in so he could hear over the noises of the train.

The tiger accepted the call, holding it to his left ear so Pina could hear better. "Finally, dude. It's been days!"

Louis sighed on the other side. "I know. It's been crazy." He was laying on the futon with Legosi resting his head on his chest, holding the phone up, as it was on speaker so they could both be part of the conversation.

Bill blinked. "That's fair. You were in a mental hospital, man. That's crazy!"

The deer groaned. "I know. I'd like to not be reminded."

Pina rested his hand on the tiger's arm. "Bill..." He cleared his throat and addressed Louis. "Hey, Louis, what's up? How you been feeling?"

"Oh, I've been doing great. And I feel wonderful." His hand moved in little circles on the top of Legosi's head.

"What about Legosi?" Pina asked.

Thankfully, the wolf's voice emanated from the phone's speaker. "Hello! I'm doing great, too!"

Bill blinked, looking to Pina. "I thought you said they split?"

His boyfriend just shrugged. "Guess they unsplit. Makes sense."

Louis chuckled. "Not only that. We got married!"

The tiger looked bewildered.

Pina did more than that. "WHAT?!"

"Woah, calm down. No need to lose your head," the deer responded.

"Yeah!" Legosi was laughing.

"How the hell did you get married?" Pina was still flabbergasted.

"We just did!" Louis said, not explaining anything.

Bill scratched his head. "Wow. These two are giving me whiplash and it's only been like 30 seconds."

"You didn't invite us?" The sheep was trying not to sound too upset.

"Well, it was just in the condo, nothing too big," Louis explained.

"Yup!" Legosi chimed in. "We just decided we should be married. We'll have a ceremony and honeymoon later when we can afford it!"

Pina gawked. "Isn't that...just what being engaged is?"

"Well...now we can call each other husband."

"Exactly. As we've been saying, marriage is just word," his husband smiled.

Bill scratched his chin. "Just a word..."

"Wow, you guys sound like some new age yuppies." Pina snorted. "Still, good to know you're back together."

"Yeah. It was gonna suck having you both all mopey all the time. Plus, I don't like choosing between friends," Bill said.

Pina poked his chest. "Who would you choose, Billy?"

"Uhhhhhhhhh..." He took a moment. "I can't answer that."

"So...what did you guys want to talk about last week?" Finally, Legosi asked the question.

"Oh, right. Well...Uh...Pina and I were going at it and, well, we've never really had any problems before, but this time, when I was sucking his fingers, I had the urge to bite them, so I did, but I did a little too hard..."

"I punched his fucking face is what happened," Pina announced, triumphantly. "Guy thinks he can do that after I got my leg eaten? I don't think so! I got trauma and shit!"

Legosi and Louis were speechless for a moment.

Bill's ears flattened a bit. "I keep telling you it wasn't like I could help it..."

"I know, babe." The sheep kissed his forehead. "Anyway, just thought we should tell you that. I remember you saying Legosi got a bit nippy with you, Louis."

"Actually, we just did it again last night and he didn't bite me."

"Well...congrats. I mean, Bill bites me plenty but this time it really felt like he was gonna take the finger. Had the glazed over eyes and everything! Honestly scared me." Pina held onto Bill's arm, despite him being the subject of his fear in this case.

Louis looked at Legosi, trying to figure out what to say. "I guess...You can try doing what Legosi and I do."

"What's that?" Bill's head tilted.

"Instinct training."

"Huh. What's that all about?" Pina twirled his wool.

"Well, you just sit in front of Bill with his mouth open and try and fight your instincts. Hm...Though, your herbivore instincts might be stronger at that point. Bill, don't let Pina put his fingers in your mouth or he might cut them on your fangs and since you've had meat before, any amount of Pina's blood in your mouth is really dangerous."

Pina looked at Bill, ears lowered in confusion. "Uh...eh?"

The tiger blinked. "You already know I've had meat before."

"I mean what he just said!" The sheep gestured to the phone. "What's a 'herbivore instinct'?"

Louis thought of the best way to explain this. "You know how Bill says he constantly wants to eat you?"

"Well, I think it's gotten a little better, but yeah, we've talked about that."

"Well, you have that too, but the opposite."

Pina blinked. "Have...what?"

"Instincts. They don't teach you about it, but herbivores have an instinct of getting eaten themselves."

"Bill, do I have that?" the skinny animal whispered.

The tiger furrowed his brows. "I-I don't know? Do you want me to eat you?"

"I think the fact that I punched you when you tried to bite off my finger says it all. I'm twitchy with that stuff since my leg..."

Louis had a realization. "Your leg...what about when Riz ate it? Did part of you...want it?"

Bill blinked. "Of course he didn't, Louis! That's crazy."

"I know it's messed up, but still!"

The sheep thought for a second. "You know, I was about to call you an insensitive asshole for a moment, but first off I wouldn't because I love you, and secondly, one of the panicked and terrified thoughts I had while it was happening was wishing it was Bill who was doing it. Might have just been my morbid sense of humor, but who knows."

Louis sighed. "I wasn't trying to be insensitive...And I love you too, but you guys should really consider your instincts before it gets dangerous."

"Maybe," Pina conceded. "Oh, we're on our way to my parents' for the weekend. Wish us luck."

"Wait. Your parents? Really?" The deer almost gasped.

"Yep. In their attempt to actually know their son more and undo years of abuse, they wanted to meet the animal that saved my life. I even told them he's a carnivore and they said that was fine." Pina let out a sigh. "I think they're trying too hard."

Bill gulped. "Ever since Pina told me, I've been so nervous I've had trouble sleeping."

Louis smiled, endearingly. "Hang in there, big guy."

"Yeah! You can do it!" Legosi voiced his encouragement as well.

Bill blushed. "I...really hope so."

Pina steered the topic back to the reason for the call. "Okay, so train against instincts by staring at Bill's open mouth. Got it. Any other advice before we let you go?"

"You guys might have to get a feline muzzle if it gets out of hand."

"I mean this was the first time so I think we're okay." Pina stroked his carnivore boyfriend's cheek. "Not gonna count out stuff like muzzles, though. Shame that the one you got Legosi didn't fit him or me."

"You guys can keep it," Louis said. "I'm pretty sure Legosi hates it."

"I do!" the wolf's soft, but gentle voice confirmed.

Bill frowned. "I don't know. There's no point in having it."

"'Kay, anything else before we let you guys go?" It was nice to hear from the two again, but Pina wanted to talk to Bill about something alone.

"We miss you guys!" Louis added.

Bill grinned at that. "We miss you, too! We have to hang out soon! We went through too much to be separated this much. Plus, you guys are cool, I guess."

"Kai keeps asking about you two. Guess he's too shy to text. You know how tsundere he is," Pina giggled.

Bill laughed. "You're so right!"

"Wait, really?" Louis asked. "He misses us, too?"

"Sure does, but he tried not to show it. I think he wants you to approve of the stuff he's doing this year in school. Dude's really stepped up," Pina mused.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well, when he ends up telling you himself, act like you haven't heard about it yet, but he went and created that LGBT alliance club he was talking about at the mall that one time. I think Gon let him do it 'cuz he loves you guys, so thanks for that."

"No way! He really started a club? Is it...only for carnivores?"

"Nope! Interspecies clubs are still allowed but only if all the members have high grades. Doesn't make sense to me, but it's something. The drama club is really suffering because of it, though, right Bill?"

Bill sighed. "I might just leave it at this point. Most of the members quit or can't be in it and...it's just not the same."

Pina clutched his arm tighter. "C'mon, baby, we gotta stick with it!"

The tiger blushed. "Okay, babe. For you. It is hot watching you act, after all. Ooh, do you think roleplaying would be fun?"

Louis blinked. "Okay, well. I'm going to go, now. Hope to see you soon."

"Bye guys," Legosi's quiet voice followed.

"Byeee~" Pina waved even though only Bill could see it.

The tiger hung up and put his phone back in his pocket. "So...roleplay?"

"I'm down. Just nothing that involves a scenario where I get eaten. That's off the table."

"I already know! I'll be a buff handsome hero on a tireless quest and you'll be a sexy temptress trying to hypnotize and seduce me!"

"Oh shit, even more use for my dress." Pina smiled and rubbed his pecs. "Oh, I wanna talk to you about something, Billy."

"What's that?"

Pina took a deep breath. He wondered how his boyfriend would react. "So, you know how I visited Louis at the hospital, right?"

"Yeah! I remember that!" Bill moved his hand to grab his mate's, lacing their fingers.

"Yeah? Well, he was a mess, to say the least. I was giving him a pep talk and trying to help, y'know? Well, in my enthusiasm...I may have ended up kissing him."

"Kissing him? How? Where?"

The sheep nervously picked at the threads of his ripped skinny jeans. "Well, I kissed him on the mouth. Tongue. And I liked it."

Bill took a moment to imagine it. "Wow. That's hot. Did he use tongue, too?"

Pina barked out a laugh. "God, of course that's your reaction! I think he was taken by surprise, so he didn't really do anything."

"Fuck, I didn't get to see...You said you liked it? So, he at least kissed back, right?"

"He seemed to accept the fact it was happening, if that's what you're asking."

"I never thought you'd kiss him...Is there any other reason you did it? I mean, you used tongue and everything..."

"Hmm, well, I'm attracted to him. There was a night we went out all by ourselves and really bonded and I think that's when it sunk in." Pina chewed on his lip, finding it odd, yet comforting how easy it was to talk to Bill about something like this.

"You mean you have feelings for him?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Like...you'd date him?"

"I'd give it a shot if you'd be cool with it and Legosi and Louis would be okay with it. I don't think all of those pieces fall into place, though."

"Especially with Legosi in the picture."

Pina nodded. "Pretty much. So, what do you think about that, Billy? I never told you, but I'm kind of a swinger in relationships, or can be."

"I think it's hot as hell! Is there any chance you'll kiss him again, preferably while I'm there? But even if I'm not, you can just tell me." He blinked. "You know...my fantasy is to see you and Legosi bang one out. Yeahhh...I don't know, I had a dream about it...I think I might be into watching others do it."

Pina tried his best not to sputter. "Uh, I don't think those two would be down for anything like that, big guy." He shook his head as he processed what Bill had actually said. "Wait, me and Legosi? Weren't you the guy that was bothered by me coming onto you after I had tried to date Legosi?"

"Things change!" He huffed. "Though, now I'd much rather see you do it with Louis. You think if we paid them—"

"We don't have the amount of money that'd make that happen, Billy. Best to drop it." He patted the feline's big bicep.

"Aww, man..." The cat blushed, deeply. "They'd probably think I'm a freak if I said anything..."

"Aww, don't worry!" Pina rubbed his arm, reassuringly. "They probably already think that!"

"What! No!"

Pina cackled evilly and garnered stares from other animals in the car.

The tiger looked down at the floor of the train. "I feel dirty now." Then, the reminder of where they were going entered his mind. "Ah! How will your parents ever like me?!"

Pina shrugged. "Dunno. They're really weird, now. I'm not even sure what's going through their heads, but I wanna try and see where it goes. Maybe I can manage to have some sort of relationship with them later in my life." He stroked his chin as he thought. "You might have to stay in Luca's old room. I hope that's not too fucked up for you."

Bill sighed. "I can't stay with you?"

"My parents are gonna think you're gonna eat me, even if they don't say it outright." The herbivore groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I really don't know what they're planning. They genuinely might want to meet you but if they found out about us dating...I really don't know."

If there was one emotion the cat wasn't used to seeing from his boyfriend, it was fear. The only time he had really seen it was the night he lost his leg, so having it crop up now in a much less dangerous situation was strange.

The tiger looked down. "But...We never get to sleep together. I've been imagining it this whole time!"

Pina thought for a second. "Tell ya what. Come into my room after they're asleep. You might just have to sneak back into the other room before they wake up. Knowing how nosy they can be, they'll look in the rooms while we're sleeping."

Bill sighed, smiling. "I was already trying to come up with a plan to surprise you, but you beat me to it, hehe. Well, I'm dating a smart guy, so I'm not surprised."

The sheep cupped his chin, firmly. "No fucking, though. You're smart enough to know that."

"Not even under the sheets? It could look like we're spooning!"

"Remember that recording I have of us? How loud that fucking was? Unless we both have gags, which we don't, it can't happen. C'mon, you can go a couple of nights without cumming."

"I'll just masturbate in your brother's bed..." He paused. "I mean, the bathroom!"

Pina yanked on one of his whiskers. "Disgusting, man."

"You're right. I'm probably gonna be too busy barfing in there because of how fucking nervous I am. Nervous isn't my thing! It feels weird!"

"I heard you were sweating bullets the night you played Adler." Pina's reached up to cup Bill's cute, round ears.

"I was hopped up on deer blood. That's different...I seriously wanted to bite off my arm or something. I only have shitty memories of that night."

The skinner animal clicked his tongue. "Not fair that carnivores get to have a blood high. I didn't feel anything when I licked your nosebleed after punching you. Sucks."

"It's different for us. I have a really bad feeling that if your instincts take over and you ask me to eat you, I probably will. I don't want that to happen!" He looked down, his eyes shifting to his boyfriend's prosthetic. I'd do more than just take a leg to my own fucking boyfriend...get it together, Bill!

His hands went to his head. Lately, he'd been feeling waves of panic for whatever reason. It was so annoying and it made him look weak.

The sheep's large, aqua eyes grew wide once he realized they had entered serious time. "Oh...sorry, Bill. Maybe we could practice that instinct thing instead of fucking."

"But...what if something bad happens! We've been doing fine without you looking into my mouth. Honestly, that's stupid! It sounds stupid."

"Maybe I should tie you up?" Pina suggested.

Bill's hands immediately left his head and the tip of his tail moved slowly in intrigue. "O-oh?"

His boyfriend laughed again. "Not like that! Guess we could just focus on cuddles this weekend, hmm?~"

"Yeah...Okay. I'll try to hold back. For you," he grinned, softly. "Sorry, this annoying thing has been happening lately where I get this tightness in my chest. But Louis was right about one thing. We definitely can't let any of your blood get in my mouth or it's over."

"Cuz you've had meat before..."

"But I haven't had it at all since we've been together, which means the moment I do again..." His ears flattened once more. Being a carnivore sucked.

"I wonder if that panda guy from the black market would have some suggestions." Pina drummed his fingers on the plastic of the seat. "What was his name? Gogurt?"

"Yeah, I think so." Bill leaned against him. "It's...cool you trust me enough to meet your parents. I only met a girl's parents once and I thought they were cool with me, but uh, I was a little too open with how I am..."

The pretty herbivore jostled his shoulders. "What? A fuckin' nerd?"

"Well, I guess they weren't very comfortable with me taking their daughter's virginity, or something, I dunno..." He scratched his cheek. "Also, they kinda caught me with her..."

Pina offered him a toothy grin. "Well, you don't have to worry about that with me! You didn't take my virginity."

"I know, it's so lame!"

"What? Did you want to be my first? As if, kitty." The sheep's bravado ceased though, once he realized. "Well, you were the first guy, so...guess that counts for something."

"I love you..." Bill mumbled. He always got very embarrassed when he was seriously affectionate like this.

"Hey," Pina offered an equally serious tone. "I love you, too."

"..." Bill wanted desperately to say something he had been thinking about lately, but he held back, just staying silent.

The train made a stop, and Pina stood up, causing the feline's chest to constrict. The sheep looked down at him. "Welp, this is the stop. Let's hope this isn't too much of a fucking nightmare."