A/N: Aaaand here's Chapter Five, finally! again, updates and the process of writing itself will be very slow since college started for me last week. So enjoy! I also updated Chapter One with two theme songs. Go check that out!

Main Theme: Pogo - Boo Bass (Magic Mix) or San Holo - We Rise
Sub Theme: Kolourz - Verisimilitude (Instrumental Hip Hop)

Beg.
1/9/2016
1:00a est

Chapter Five: Experimenting in Humanity

Isaac Donslova woke from a relatively dreamless sleep to a strange scent. He wasn't sure if it was food or something else, but it enticed him all the same. The boy sat up in bed, and became aware there was a weight in his hand. The boy looked down and saw he was still holding the frame, cracked but still precious.

He remembered now...

Bill was here last night and had urged him to stay, but he'd apparently fallen asleep and the demon tucked him in here and went off elsewhere, if the lack of a golden glow in the room was any indication.

The scent was getting stronger, and Isaac was growing ever curious. He decided to get out of bed, and, after setting the frame down in its place once more, he left the room and took his time walking downstairs. The scent was more discernible, and it was a mish-mash of different "foods". As soon as he made it to the kitchen, it was rather obvious what the demon took to doing while he was asleep.

There was a variety of dishes splayed across the large countertops, some edible, some not. Or maybe they just looked edible, but the boy didn't know, so he didn't bother trying any.

There was so much food it was enough for a party or more. The refrigerator was open, the stovetop ablaze with pots about to boil over, and blue energy nearly consumed the whole area. And in the center of it all was Bill Cipher, who seemed a lot better off than when Isaac saw him last. He looked like he was in the zone, in a pose with hands raised and legs straddling the air and his eye closed with content. The demon didn't even look like he had nightmares, or as sad as he had possibly just hours earlier; he had almost no sense of time now.

The boy had his first smile in what seemed like centuries right there...

The energy suddenly stopped, the refrigerator slammed shut, and the fire on the stove dissipated.

"Well, look who finally woke up?" Bill began without even looking at Isaac, and he entered a normal pose as the boy jumped back a few inches, smile gone; the demon continued, "I thought I might try my hand at one of those... human constructive activities you all do."

The boy then looked around at all the food, and Bill stifled a yawn as he opened his eye and smirked, chuckling shamelessly, "It's actually kinda fun!"

The boy's gaze landed back on Bill, and already he noticed something was wrong. The dream demon's eye seemed bloodshot and really tired, despite his attempts to hide it.

"Why don't you try some? you're probably hungry anyway," Bill shocked him with this question and statement, so much so that Isaac stepped back a bit, but the demon assumed that it was out of disgust and surmised, "Eh, I'm bettin' at least half of these are edible. Not quite sure anymore," as he scanned each food with his exhausted eye.

The boy looked at each cooked, baked, fried and so on item as well, trying to pick out which looked like what he could eat the most. He soon saw what looked like meatloaf, and pointed it out. The demon followed his gaze tiredly, and then, after multiple fails, most of which involved him getting the wrong food, finally levitated the "meatloaf" over to Isaac. Thankfully, it just so happened to be his most recently cooked meal, so it was already warm enough to eat. The boy took a seat, and Bill chuckled wryly, "It'd be a shame if you died... I mean, such a shame! for you to die so early in your life!"

The boy blanched, but somehow kept his appetite, and the demon continued, giving the boy a fork and a knife, "But it ain't your time, so you're fine! unless you wanna go early!?" and chuckling with a bit of glee.

Isaac almost tossed down the utensils, but he had to eat something. Bill was right; he was indeed hungry, having subsisted on cereal and simple sandwiches for however many days since his parents went missing.

But Bill was certainly wrong if he thought being happily morbid at a time like this was going to get him to eat what he cooked. He had no choice though, so he dug into the meatloaf...

...and instead of choking or spitting out the bite like he'd expected, he found he'd actually enjoyed it. The demon was quiet almost throughout, eyebrow raised and hands on his "hips" as he waited for the verdict on his meatloaf. Isaac nodded a lot, struggling to keep from smiling, "This is good actually."

Bill celebrated, his eye arching into a smile, "Oh, good! it was my first try too!"

"First try, huh?" the boy iterated, not because he didn't understand.

"Well, yeah..." his eye twitched, and Isaac almost knew it was a lie, and then the demon relented, "fine, it took a few tries! happy now?!" crossing his arms and looking irritated.

The boy didn't mean to ruin his good mood, but he couldn't take it back, so he apologized, only to be met with a "Meh". There was a tense silence, as Bill went around, sampling some foods and wrapping up others. He threw out the food that didn't taste good and the hungry monsters and demons outside immediately ate it up.

The boy, in the meantime, was thinking of a way to make it up to the demon, still eating at his meatloaf. He decided to stir up casual conversation with the triangle, but it wasn't really entertained. Bill shoved the wrapped food via magic into the once again open fridge and then closed it again, this time a bit more gently, but Isaac could still tell he was upset.

The triangle was now finished, but kept one dish out for himself and he sat down opposite Isaac, still floating however because of that superiority complex he seemed to have.

And he did.

He still hated the very thought of being on a flesh-bag's level, so then why...

...why was he so interested in them?

Surely maybe there was some bout in his past where he—and then his mind, it seemed, yanked him away from such thoughts. Something inside him, he felt, could tell he was getting far too close to whatever was making him feel empathy and compassion...

But what was it?! he so yearned to know. And what is this thing that's keeping me from getting what I should know...?

He sat in thought for a while, and mumbled darkly, "Or maybe I shouldn't know..."

Isaac tilted his head at the demon; he didn't catch what he said, unfortunately, but the silence... and the way Bill was staring, at nothing, even though it was his face, disconcerted him. He called out to the triangle, and Bill seemed to snap awake from his wave of thoughts, eye pivoting up to look at the boy with loads more focus than before.

"You okay?"

The demon narrowed his eye and snarled, "Yes! I'm fine!"

The boy was about to disagree, when Bill unknowingly interrupted, "For the millionth time!" obviously exaggerating.

Isaac sighed, and then swallowed the last of his meatloaf, and the demon began to feed himself; it was haphazard, as if he hadn't eaten in forever, but the food seemed to disappear into the spot just below his eye, also where Mabel Pines had once gotten eaten and then spit back out, so it didn't really leave a mess other than on himself.

That the boy was thankful for...

The food actually tasted delicious when he sampled them, and this surprised him. He wanted more, but he also didn't want to eat the kid out of house and of home.

This sense of human morality and ethics he was also somehow developing confused him heavily.

No... it confounded him...

"Confused" was such a weak word... and, instead of crushing it, he felt he was growing ever curious about these feelings. Bill suddenly wanted to see how it all worked. He knew, however. that it wouldn't come so easily, but he had to try.

Bill looked at Isaac again, and sighed. He thought about just scrapping it all, but he'd gotten so far...

The demon looked down at the table, rapping his knuckles on it; he remembered, albeit vaguely, that he used to have casual, non-morbid conversations with humans, an act of empathy he surmised.

Simple conversation... he narrowed his eye, Seems simple enough...

They both sat in silence as the three-sided polygon attempted to mentally concoct a start to such a human action. Finally, looking Isaac in the eyes, he managed, "How has your day been?" and that seemed a struggle.

The boy looked at Bill Cipher like he grew a mouth, the second time he received such a look, and, with a roll of his eye, he began to regret experimenting in the social aspect of humanity.

Until...

"Oh, I'd been okay... you?" and Bill blinked as he looked at Isaac, who was now, still confused, awaiting a response.

This was still Bill, right? he asked himself, barely believing it all.

Meanwhile, said triangle was surprised as well. He wasn't expecting getting a question thrown back at him, and he wasn't sure what to say.

Bill didn't think the boy cared about him enough to ask.

"I... I... that's good, I guess," the demon stammered, and he hated stammering but he pushed past this, and the boy's eyebrow rose at this. Eventually, he happily replied, "I'm doing great!" which was somewhat a lie, and in his thoughts he tacked on, As great as a morbid demon with apparent split personality can be anyway...

Isaac seemed to sense the lie, for his nose twitched, and Bill growled to himself for not being that good liar he used to be, and because he was starting to heavily dislike this sense the boy had. Luckily for the demon, he didn't ask, but also unfortunately Bill was hoping he would, and it nearly killed him when he didn't ask.

He had no idea what was happening within him, but he wanted to find out so badly...

And yet he didn't want to...

He wanted to... but he didn't want to...

Which side should he listen to...?

Which side was safer...?

He eventually decided that he'd scrap that plan.

Maybe the pieces would fall into place all on their own.

It was all he could hope...

The boy and demon continued to converse, and it barely delved into anything special or something like that. Maria and Robert were brought up, however, and Bill nearly shut down, not wanting to speak on this subject. It took a while, but Isaac finally realized and brought the conversation to another topic, and the triangle slowly opened up again.

They talked until it was "time" for bed once more, and Bill absolutely refused to sleep, despite what the kid would say to try and convince. He just took watch over Isaac, giving him good dreams for the night, of course after tucking him in and reading him a bedtime story once more. Bill settled in the kitchen afterwards, counting the food he wrapped up, all while resisting the urge to eat it. He saw that it would last the boy about a week or two, and that he'd have to buy more ingredients and condiments.

Or simply get. No one was operating the cash registers.

His conscience bothered him a while about this before he scoffed, Ugh, fine... I'll pay...

And then it left him alone, retreating back into the recesses of his twisted mind. But he wasn't planning to go right away...

He'd go when the week was out and then prepare more food. It was so simple and so fun he didn't mind doing it again. Then again, nearly all things were easy for him because he had powers. Briefly, he wondered how long he would last without them, and shuddered.

Probably not long...

Bill put his thoughts back on Isaac as he left the building, and smiled yet again with his eye at him asking how he was. He found he was deeply touched by the whole thing, and sighed dreamily.

Maybe... just maybe... this human thing won't be so bad after all...

Fin.
Jan. 18, 2016
2:03a

A/N: And there's the end! hehe, Bill's changing a lot actually, isn't he? I hope it isn't rushed or weak in anyway; homework and this darned Writer's Block is putting me into a tizzy.
By the way, I'm still debating whether or not to have it ten chapters or twenty chapters. But we'll see, won't we? So, yeah, as always, leave a review. I'd love to see what you think. :3
ONTO CHAPTER SIX!