Bill woke up to something sticky being placed on his cheek. He blinked slowly, glancing over to see Mabel hovering over him with a sticker sheet in hand. She froze, hand still up from putting a sticker on his cheek.

"...are you really Bill Cipher?" She sounded cautious but the curiosity was hard to miss. Bill would caulk this sort of thing up to foolishness, but Mabel was different. She had never been afraid to face him.

"Yeah. Hi, Shooting Star." His voice came out so tired, it made him cringe. Which, in turn, made pain shoot through his face. Bill hissed, covering the splint that held his nose in place.

"Hey, be careful!" She grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his injury. He wasn't sure why her strength surprised him, or maybe it was his body that was weak? "You're gonna hurt yourself!"

Bill let his hands fall back into his lap, staring at the teen girl. He had figured out by now it had been roughly two years in this dimension since he'd last seen the Pines family. She wasn't the same little girl that he had tricked. And yet, despite everything he'd done, she could still find the ability to smile at him.

"This isn't another puppet body, is it?" It felt less like a question and more like a statement. "How did you even make this thing?"

"I…I didn't. I was told it was time for the next step of my rehabilitation and then…woke up in this meat suit." It felt good to actually talk about it. Or was it just that Mabel had that effect on people?

"Rehabilitation? You've been going to therapy?" Her smile got bigger and it made Bill uneasy.

"I mean, it wasn't by choice, but…yes?" Mabel considered him. She remembered everything that this isosceles jerk had done to her family. But here he sat now. No powers, no mind games, with a broken honesty in his eye. If anyone in her family was going to start giving Bill a chance, she would need to take that first step.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

The abruptness caught Bill off-guard and he had no comment as he watched her scurry up the stairs. His thoughts went to the letter that was tucked under his pillow. If only he could find the courage to actually give it to Ford…

"Back!" It took a measure of self control not to jump. Mabel set down a glittery box, seating herself on the dinosaur skull beside the armchair. She popped open the box, revealing a messy array of nail polishes in various colors.

"Let's see. What color do you want?"

"What is this?"

"I'm gonna paint your nails, silly! We can talk while I do it. So, color?"

"Oh, uh…" He looked at the bin, hesitating. "That one?"

Bill pointed to a bottle filled with a bright blue shade. Mabel picked it out, along with a couple of others before getting to work. It was surprisingly pleasant to get his nails done. The file had been a little alarming at first but Bill found the sensation nice, in a way. They spoke quietly as Mabel worked, her hands steady as she meticulously decorated his nails.

"Aaaaand, done! Just give them a few minutes to dry and you'll be good to go!" Her smile was bright, so genuine. Bill looked down at his hands and felt a wave of something. There were little sparkles over the blue coloring, making his hands seem less of a useless meat slab.

"Thanks, Shooting Star."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure." He looked up, a little taken aback at the intensity of the teen's gaze. It was as if she were trying to stare directly into his head.

"Are you really trying to be a better person?"

The question also felt like a trick, weighing heavily on him. What even made a good person? He bit his lip, which was becoming a nervous tick in this body, as he considered the question. Mabel could see the internal struggle, the exhaustion and self-doubt. She reached out and touched his hand, drawing Bill's attention back to her. The smile was gentle, forgiving. Something hot and wet fell from his eye. He touched it, a slight panic taking over. Was he bleeding again? But there was no red, only wet. Bill had hardly any time to register this before a pressure wrapped around him.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"It's called a hug."

"I know what a hug is… Why are you-?"

"Because you need it."

His vision blurred, tears rolling down his face unchecked as he let himself be hugged. When was the last time he'd been comforted like this?

"Mabel! What are you doing?!" Dipper's voice cut through the fog of quiet, making Bill jerk. The teen girl pulled back enough to look at her brother. Ford was hovering behind the boy, glaring at the scene before him.

"He needed a hug. Besides, someone needed to check on his nose." How could she do that? Speak about him like he hadn't put them through hell?

"I'll examine him. Kids, why don't you go help Soos." Mabel was hesitant before getting off of him and leaving. Dipper grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room the moment she was close enough. A hushed conversation between the twins faded away as Bill was left alone with Ford.