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Bill sits alone in a corner of the saloon, ignored by everyone and goddamn glad to be. He goes out drinking to get drunk, after all, not to socialise with other people.
(Although he is admittedly very fond of a good barfight.)
He glances around the saloon, looking for the other members of the Van der Linde Gang who joined him on this trip into the local town. Mac disappeared up the stairs with a working girl a while ago, whilst Davey gets increasingly loud and pissed off at the poker table. Arthur sits at a table, surrounded by at least five women who hang on his every word; he looks flustered by all the attention (women flock to Morgan, much to the frustration of other male gang members—except Bill, obviously), and Bill makes a mental note to tease him about this later.
And Sean and Javier lean against the bar, drinking beer and talking to a young woman who approached them; she only has eyes for Javier, it seems, despite Sean’s desperate attempts to flirt with her. Bill can’t hear his voice from here, but Javier smiles as he talks, obviously flirting with the woman, but when she touches his arm and leans closer, Javier shakes his head and walks away. Frowning, Bill wonders why the hell Javier refused the advances of a very pretty woman (Bill does not swing that way, but even he can tell she’s the sort of woman that a fool like Sean would fall head over heels for). And that’s when a thought enters his drunken mind that makes Bill’s stomach twist, his heart pounding against his ribs.
Is he… like me? he thinks, staring over at Javier (but trying to make sure it isn’t obvious that he stares at another man). He doesn’t know Javier very well—Escuella only joined the gang about a year ago, and they haven’t talked much during that time, let alone gone out drinking together—so he might be jumping to a dangerous conclusion, but with the booze in his blood, he can’t stop thinking about it. About if Javier might have refused the woman because… he doesn’t like women. If he’s an invert like Bill.
It isn’t like he’s into Javier (he much prefers men with a build like Arthur’s—but not Arthur, because Bill isn’t attracted to him either), and more that he would love to have an ally, another person like him around so he doesn’t feel so lonely and disgusted about his feelings towards men. A sober Bill would never out himself to someone, a member of the gang or not (because he would really rather not get punched in the face—or worse—for his perversion), but he isn’t sober.
And so, when he sees Javier wander toward his table in the corner, Bill starts seriously considering if he should find out if Javier is like him.
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After politely turning down the pretty woman who was flirting with him, Javier leaves Sean to bother her, and wanders away. He’ll flirt back when women talk to him, just to fit in with the other men, but when things get too heated, he always finds a way to get out of it—because he does not want a kiss (or more), thoroughly uninterested in that turn of events. Looking for somewhere a little more private in the crowded saloon, his gaze falls on Bill Williamson, who sits alone in the corner like he wants to look like a depressing drunkard. And, knowing that he’ll be left alone if he sits with Bill, Javier approaches him.
He and Bill don’t know each other too well, and Javier isn’t sure if they’re even friends yet (in fact, he used to despise Bill after the asshole said some very hateful things to Javier when drunk that left Bill with Javier’s knife against his throat; but once Bill stopped that horseshit, Javier grew to tolerate him instead), but he often feels sorry for Bill when the other fellers in the gang pick on him. And, most importantly, it’s nice and quiet in Bill’s little corner of the saloon.
“Mind if I sit, Bill?” Javier asks, gesturing to the spare chair.
He half expects Bill to growl at him to piss off, but Bill simply nods and mumbles, “Sure,” whilst avoiding eye contact. He looks almost… nervous.
Javier nods his thanks, sitting opposite Bill. He takes a sip from his half-full beer bottle, noticing the way Bill fidgets with the cuff of his sleeve. “So, how’re you—”
Before Javier can finish his sentence, Bill cuts him off by asking one of the strangest questions he has ever heard. Lowering his voice, Bill blurts out, “Are ya an invert?”
Javier flinches, his hand reflexively flying to his holster, ready to defend himself from an attack. He’s been asked if he’s homosexual before (a man saw his lack of interest in women and assumed he was an invert) and Javier ended up shooting the man when he tried to beat Javier up for his presumed attraction. From his experience, people don’t ask you about your sexuality with innocent motives, and the last thing he wants is to be attacked by a much stronger man.
Bill must see Javier’s reaction, because he holds up both hands in surrender, spluttering, “Th-That came out wrong. It’s just…” His voice drops even lower, barely above a whisper as he adds, “I am too.” Bill’s face flushes red and he glances away, his broad shoulders visibly tense. “I, I mean…” he trails off, finally seeming to notice what his drunken mind just made him say. “Shit…”
Javier stares at him, not too shocked that Bill “Can’t Talk to Women to Save his Life” Williamson isn’t attracted to women. He relaxes in the knowledge that he and Bill are similar, so Javier’s hand slips away from his holster. Still, he is a little concerned that Bill might lash out in fear or run away, so he decides to tell Bill the truth about him in turn.
“It’s true that I don’t like women,” Javier says, glad that the noise of the saloon drowns out the sound of their conversation. “But we’re not quite the same.”
“What d’you mean?” Bill asks, still bright red but a little less tense.
He’s never told anyone this in his life, but Javier feels like he owes Bill such personal information in return. So, he says, “I don’t like men either. I ain’t interested in anyone. But we’re certainly similar.”
Bill raises his head, looking at him for the first time. An anxious smile spreading across his face, Bill says, “Yeah…” He chuckles awkwardly and raises his bottle. “Here,” he says, holding it out.
Javier takes the hint, clinking his glass bottle against Bill’s. For a few seconds, he drinks his beer, feeling like such a massive weight has been lifted from his shoulders by talking to Bill about this… but then peace is shattered by a furious man yelling and Sean shrieking for help. Javier turns his head, noticing how Sean stands before a man covered in booze, whilst Sean babbles apologies and backs away from the feller.
Javier glances at Bill, and both men sigh, remembering how Hosea told everyone to stay on their best behaviour, and they rush off to break up the fight.