Work Text:
"Pine Tree."
A soft noise of recognition was made in response, followed by the sound of fingers flying across a keyboard. When Bill's hands clamped down on his shoulders, he didn't even jump.
"When was the last time you slept?"
It was a trick question. Bill knew the answer, and Dipper knew that he knew, but he still gritted out, "Yesterday."
The demon's fingers tightened slightly on his partner's shoulders. Dipper's fingers didn't relent on the keyboard, his eyes glued to his laptop screen as he hurried to finish the chapter he was working on. "And what was yesterday?"
This time, there was a moment of hesitation, keyboard clicks pausing. "Tuesday," the man replied eventually, picking back up typing.
Bill sighed, moving his hands away. Dipper arched up a bit in response, subconsciously searching for the familiar touch. "Yesterday was Wednesday."
Another pause, and then an irritated sigh. "I'll sleep when I'm done working," he ground out. "I have a deadline to meet. I'll be fine." Bill opened his mouth to respond, but then Dipper continued, "Shouldn't you be, I dunno, watching the kids, or something?"
Bill scowled, hands clenching into fists at his sides. He didn't let his own annoyance seep into his voice, instead flatly responding, "Save your work, kid."
Even in Dipper's exhausted state, he noticed the threat. He didn't question the statement before his cursor flew up to click the save button, and the moment he was done, his screen went black. Though he must have seen it coming, he still angrily snapped, "Bill!" as he tried to turn the computer back on. When pressing the power button didn't do anything, he turned it upside down to pull out the battery, mumbling angrily to himself.
One of Bill's hands landed back on his shoulder, squeezing it in warning. Dipper's hands fell away from his laptop as he swivelled his chair around, giving Bill a tired glare. "I'm working," he growled, uncharacteristically venomous. Bill didn't hold it over him; Pine Tree got like this when he was tired.
"Not anymore." Bill grabbed Dipper from under the arms and hauled him out of his chair, ignoring his cries of protest as his weak human hands tried to push Bill away. Once he got the mortal on his feet, his arm wrapped firmly around his waist and began to lead him out of the office.
Dipper tried to dig his heels into the carpet so as to avoid being dragged around like an animal, but he was exhausted and Bill had demonic strength on his side. It left Dipper stumbling to keep up with Bill's strides as they went out into the living room.
Hazel and Makona both turned around and peeked over the back of the couch when they heard the footsteps. "Papa, you're alive!" Hazel exclaimed, eyes large and smile stretching across her face.
Bill released him, knowing that he couldn't back out now that the kids were there. Dipper realized this as well, sighing as the annoyed look left his face. He approached the couch, pulling Hazel up off of it and onto his hip.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked the little girl, frowning.
"You haven't left your office in two days," Makona interjected, eyes wide and sad. Even from a few feet back, Bill could see the panicked look on Dipper's face as he looked at his son.
"Dad said you got eaten by your computer," Hazel added. Dipper shot Bill a glare; he responded with a wicked grin.
Heading to the kitchen, Bill called, "Keep Papa company while I make dinner and don't let him go back to his office." Not that his computer would work anyway.
"Aye-aye, captain!" Makona responded, jumping on the couch. From the kitchen, Bill could hear Dipper tiredly telling him to sit down.
Bill was rarely allowed to make dinner, let alone unsupervised, and Dipper's lack of protest was just a further sign of his exhaustion. He set to work making one of the few things that he had perfected: mac and cheese. It was simple enough, and there weren't many ways he could mess it up too horribly. He set the water to start boiling as he set four plates at the kitchen table.
He poured the drinks- juice for the kids, Pitt Cola for Dipper, and water for himself. By the time he was done, the water was boiling, and he poured the noodles in. He listened to the sounds of his partner bonding with their kids as he waited for the pasta to cook. After a few minutes, he pulled it off the stove (and remembered to turn the stove off this time because boy, that had ended badly last time), strained the way out, and mixed in the milk, margarine, and powdered cheese.
When he was finished preparing it, he dished it out onto the plates and set the dirty dishes into the water-filled sink. He called his family in, the kids rushing to the table with Dipper trailing hesitantly behind them.
Dinner was filled with aimless chatter, mostly at the hands of the kids. Though Dipper's eyes were hazy, dark circles underneath, he kept up conversation well. As crabby as he got while sleep-deprived, he never showed it to the kids.
After dinner, Bill set the kids up playing a board game in the living room and hauled Dipper away before he could protest. He locked their bedroom door behind them and dragged his partner into the master bathroom, where he immediately turned on the shower to start heating up the water.
Still slightly annoyed at how bad his human was at taking care of himself, he turned an icy stare onto Pine Tree. "Strip," he ordered.
Dipper sighed, one hand bunching in the fabric of his shirt. "Bill, I'm fine," he argued. The words were quickly followed by a yawn that had Dipper slapping a hand over his mouth and looking betrayed by his own body.
"Clothes off, Pine Tree," the demon snapped. "Don't make me tell you again."
Whether because he was too tired to argue or because he recognized that tone of voice, Dipper complied, pulling his t-shirt over his head and dropping it to the floor. His jeans and boxers were quick to follow, and he swiftly kicked them off to the side.
Bill's eyes roamed possessively down his form, and Dipper's face flushed. He looked like he wanted to cover himself up but wasn't sure how, and Bill rolled his eyes as he undressed himself.
When they were both bare, he guided the sleepy human into the shower, quickly following behind. Dipper tensed when Bill's arms wrapped around his waist from behind, but relaxed under the warm spray of the water as Bill rested his chin on the brunette's shoulder.
"Why do you do this to yourself, Pine Tree?" he asked softly, thumb tracing over Dipper's hipbone. Pine Tree shivered.
"You know I don't mean to," he answered, turning around so they were facing each other. Bill's arms moved up to his shoulders as Dipper's hands landed on the demon's hips, gripping them softly. "I just get caught up in writing."
"You won't be able to write at all if you're dead," Bill reminded him, pulling back and grabbing the shampoo bottle. He squeezed a generous glob onto his palm, pausing. "Well, of course, unless I reanimated your corpse, but that involves all those technicalities and legal issues-"
"Bill."
"Anyways." He slid his hands into Dipper's now-wet hair, lathering up the apple-scented shampoo into the brown locks. The mortal relaxed into the touch immediately, squeezing his eyes shut and tilting his head down to give Bill better access.
Pine Tree may have acted as though he hated being babied, but Bill knew that he enjoyed being taken care of. And Bill always took care of his things.
The rest of the shower passed in silence save for the soft sounds of pleasure that escaped Dipper as Bill's hands roamed tenderly down his body. It wasn't sexual but was still extremely intimate.
When Bill shut the water off, he made Dipper stand, dripping, on the shower mat as he retrieved a fluffy towel that he wrapped around the man before drying off himself. He used another one to towel off Dipper's hair, drawing noises of indignation from the man that had him smiling.
Back in the bedroom, he dressed Dipper in warm pajamas and pulled on his own t-shirt and boxers. By the time they were both dressed, Dipper looked significantly more sleepy. Bill tugged him close, pressing his lips firmly against the human's. Pine Tree immediately went limp in his arms.
Bill chuckled as he pulled away and Dipper whined at the loss. "Go say goodnight to the kids. You need to go to bed."
Dipper frowned. "It's only seven o'clock." Bill gave him a flat look. "I have to put the kids to bed at nine," he tried, changing his strategy.
Bill kissed his forehead. "I can take care of that."
"But-"
"They'll both have their baths, be in their pajamas, brush their teeth, and be in bed for stories by eight-thirty," Bill assured him. Dipper relaxed a bit at that.
"Alright," he sighed. He kissed Bill once more before heading back out to the living room.
Bill took that time to draw back the covers on the bed. He adjusted the pillows to how he knew Dipper liked them and turned out the lights, turning on the lamp instead. By the time his partner returned to the room, all that was left for him to do was crawl into bed.
When he did so, Bill brushed his lips over his head softly. "Sleep, my love," he murmured.
"You worry too much," Dipper mumbled, but his eyes were already slipping shut. Bill's fingers brushed his hair behind his ear, dream magic seeping in. He'd ensure that Dipper had solid, dreamless sleep.
"I take care of what's mine," the demon reiterated softly, straightening up. By the time his hand left Pine Tree's head, the man was asleep.
He shut off the lamp, walking to the door. From the living room, he could hear Hazel and Makona arguing about whose turn it was. He smiled.
"Goodnight, Pine Tree."