Chapter Text
“well.” bill had long since gotten to his feet for faster movement once the tunnel opened up more, walking at a steady pace as shadow milk trailed beside him. “didn’t know you had that in you, monocle.”
shadow milk’s hand drifted to touch the glass on their face faintly before dropping back down to brush through their faintly glowing locks, the glimmer lighting up some of the cave to at least let them see the ground below. “i know, right?” a bright smile etched on to their face. a pause fell over the both of them before shadow milk looked over at bill with a smug yet curious expression. “sooo, billy… where are ya from?”
“firstly, don’t call me that, second, i don’t do backstories.” bill snorted, looking straight ahead. “however,” he said, quickly shifting the attention to shadow milk, “however, i am becoming very interested in yours.”
shadow milk felt his shoulders tense up and he tugged slightly at his bangs, but waited for bill to continue. “i know i’m not meant to ask about the caretaker, or mention the hair.” the man nodded at the stars. “so, uhh, guess my question is: if you’ve always wanted to see these goshdarn lanterns, why haven’t you gone before?”
shadow milk blinked slowly. what could they say? oh, my hair’s crazy magical so my caretaker put me in a tower to protect me??? “well, er–”
many footsteps starting pounding down the other side of the tunnel before shadow milk could finish, and he caught sight of the alarm in bill’s eyes before the man gathered what he could of shadow milk’s hair. the other mimicked the action before breaking into a run, bursting out of the tunnel not long after. they were in a small canyon, and halted just before where the cliff broke away to a steep fall. shadow milk only got a second to observe the waterways and wheels before an angry voice shouted behind them.
“CIPHER!” the voice roared, causing shadow milk to turn around with wide eyes. “no where to run now!”
“who’s that?” shadow milk panted, swallowing nervously.
“they don’t like me.” bill grimaced.
another call of bill’s last name made shadow milk snap around, and he saw two beings in the canyon below with angry looks on heir faces. shadow milk couldn’t make out all of their details from so far away, but he could see ginger hair on one and silver on the other. “who’s that?”
“they don’t like me either.” bill hadn’t turned around, but he seemed to know the two just from the sounds of their voices.
a horse burst out of the tunnel after the knights. shadow milk gave bill a look, again asking the question of ‘who is that’ without saying it.
bill groaned, dropping the hair he was holding. “let’s just assume for the moment that everyone here doesn’t like me!”
shadow milk shook his head and dropped the hair as well, grabbing it and spotting a rock on another cliff not far away. he picked up some hair and swung it in the air like a lasso before throwing it over to the rock and successfully hooking it, before swinging himself on to the cliff.
they watched bill pick up the frying pan that was on the ground, holding it up defensively as the leader of the pack of knights approached, holding a sword. bill smacked him on the top of his head and he dropped to the floor. the rest of the knights charged after bill and the man managed to knock all of them out with a triumphant grin.
the horse approached, having picked up a discarded sword from the ground, and swung at bill. bill swung back, frying pan and sword clanging together before the horse managed to knock the pan out of his hand and into the canyon below.
bill visibly gulped. shadow milk reacted quickly, swinging his hair over to bill and wrapping around his hand. shadow milk yanked and bill waved goodbye to the horse before he flew through the air.
the two angry beings below took a swing at bill, both missing. the blond laughed. “HAHA! you should see your faces, because you look–”
his midsection smacked into a plank and he comedically slid down to the ground, a withered "ridiculous” escaping his mouth.
shadow milk swiveled his gaze to see the horse beating down on a beam with its hooves to get to him. he quickly shook his head and hooked his hair over the beam that lead down to the ground, makeshift hang gliding down to where bill stood. bill grabbed him by the arm and snatched up the frying pan that lay nearby. the horse had knocked the beam down by then, causing the entire waterwheel to come crashing down. shadow milk ran as fast as they could, glancing sideways every so often to see bill right beside them.
they managed to bolt into a cave that shadow milk had spotted, running in just before a rock beam came crashing down and blocked off the entrance. water came rushing in almost immediately after, and shadow milk hoisted himself up to the highest point in the cave. bill quickly followed, pulling his knees up and panting as he stared at the water.
the water was rapidly rising, and once bill seemed to catch his breath, he dove underneath. he came back up a few seconds later, shaking his head before pulling himself back up to the ledge. “it’s pitch black down there.” he pressed at the rock above them, hissing when he scraped his hand.
shadow milk frowned and tucked his monocle away before diving in himself, bill grabbing him by the shoulder before he could get a good luck. “hey! it’s no use, moonshine, i can barely see anything.”
shadow milk swallowed and allowed himself to be pulled back up, his knees drawn up to avoid the rising water as if that would do anything. “oh, this is all my fault– if i just hadn’t– if– i should’ve just stayed in the tower–” their words were broken by loud gasps, and they felt tears brimming at his eyes. “i’m so sorry, bill.”
bill frowned, moving his hand to rest over shadow milk’s. he seemed to hesitate before speaking again. “my, um. my real name. it’s not bill cipher. but it’s been so long that i can't even remember it, and nobody’s called me it in too long.”
shadow milk blinked slowly at the secret revealed, turning to look at him. bill waved it off. “someone might as well know.”
shadow milk laughed, wiping at his eyes with his free hand. “i have magic hair that glows when i sing.” the water was at the ledge now, lapping at his dress.
bill paused before grabbing shadow milk by the shoulders with wide eyes. “well, use it then!”
shadow milk slapped a hand over his mouth in realization before stammering out the familiar song as quickly as he could, ducking under water as he felt bill grab his hand. his hair glew up, lighting the cave around them. bill stared for a moment at the hair, glancing at shadow milk before spotting the hair being pulled down. bill followed it, scrambling at the loose rocks at the bottom of the cavern. it had to let out somewhere, didn’t it?
bill and shadow milk dug at the rocks, smiling at each other for a split second when they managed to clear enough to worm through.
bill dragged shadow milk out of the river and on to the bank, panting heavily as he was finally able to breathe. he coughed, laying on the grass and allowing himself a moment. he barely registered the other getting up and to their feet, just running both hands through his hair and gripping his skull. “the hair glows. it actually glows.”
“bill.”
“why in the axolotl’s name does it glow–”
“bill!”
bill swallowed, flopping on to his stomach and staring up at shadow milk, who nodded at his injured hand. the pain came rushing back to him and he winced.
“it doesn’t just glow.” the other sighed, picking up the frying pan that had landed on the grass.
“what, pray tell, does that mean?” bill coughed as he got to his feet, rubbing at his good eye.
“just come on.” shadow milk started to head into the woods, and bill scrambled after him.
his clothes were heavy and his hair was wet, clinging to the back of his neck and making him grimace. bill tried to squeeze out what water he could as they came to a clearing, shadow milk guiding him to sit down on a fallen log. the thief watched as the other started looping their hair in circles around the clearing, eventually coming to sit down next to him. shadow milk nodded at bill’s injured hand (his deal making hand, how unlucky) and took it in his own, starting to wrap the end of his hair around it.
bill brushed his hair out of the way. “you’re being strangely cryptic while you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand.” he sucked in a sharp breath as he felt a spike in the sting.
“apologies.” shadow milk finished wrapping. “just don’t freak out. preferably.”
“i’m all freaked out for today, i think.” bill frowned.
shadow milk sighed and started to sing again, this time the song being much more drawn out than it was in the cave. now that bill got to actually hear it, it was quite beautiful, even if the lyrics were strange.
shadow milk unwrapped his hand when they were finished.
bill took a glance and–
oh, holy moly, sweet mother of triangle–
he had already guessed this had something to do with healing magic, given the song and how shadow milk had taken his injured hand and wrapped it like they were applying bandages. healing magic wasn’t unheard of, either, he knew a few beings learned it from the leader mystic flour long ago and passed down the information in generations. but normally, their magic still left a scar and the achy feeling– and certainly didn’t use their hair! normally it took much more concentration than just singing a song, and took much longer. but now, there was no scar and it was like the sting was forgotten. bill pressed a hand to his mouth, slowly biting down on the glove.
shadow milk was twirling his bangs with his finger, biting his lower lip. “my caretaker says that when i was a baby, people tried to cut it.” they brushed back their hair to reveal a couple strands of hair that had been cut. “it loses its magic and turns dull. loses the stars. a gift like that has to be protected. that’s why i never, ahem…”
“you never left that tower.” bill’s eyes widened. “and you still wanna go back?”
“yes! i mean no. maybe?” shadow milk buried his face in his hands. “i don’t know.” he laughed nervously and looked back to bill. “so… you’re not bill cipher?”
“no, no, i am.” bill nudged their shoulder, clearing his throat as he looked to the ground. “had the name so long it’s just me now. think i got it from a book somewhere. it’s kind of strange. i know i came from a little village, probably far away from here, and i was definitely an outcast. born with a blind eye and a fascination with the stars and outside of the village. then i remember fire, and screams, and my head gets staticky when i think too much about it. one time i blacked out for a full five minutes. i left at some point, played into being weird and odd and an outcast so much that it just became who i am.” he scratched at his chin. “gathered a group of outcasts at some point. disbanded. that’s who those two at the canyon were.”
he looked back to shadow milk and they had a hand over their mouth, brows furrowed deeply. bill loudly laughed, something itching at the inside of his skin and telling him to shut up. “but i’m great! pulling heists, travelling by my own free will… no… friends to hold me down. look, you can’t tell anyone about that, alright? could ruin my entire reputation!”
“ah.” shadow milk smiled with a twinkle in his eye. “we can’t have that.”
bill rubbed the back of his neck and got up. “i should probably fetch firewood. so we have warmth during the night.”
shadow milk tugged on his sleeve. “hey.”
bill glanced over his shoulder.
the other was smiling softly, their free hand reaching up to brush back their bangs. “you’re not half-bad.”
bill snorted and tugged away. “thanks, starshine.” he heard shadow milk softly giggle before he turned and walked away, into the woods.
shadow milk sighed as he watched bill’s figure completely disappear into the trees, but he quickly tensed back up when he heard a voice behind him.
“well.” shadow milk snapped around to see their caretaker, holding the satchel just by the handle. “isn’t that cute.”
“how did you–”
“find you? oh, just listened to the sound of ultimate betrayal and followed that.” the silhouette crept forward. “we’re leaving, flower. now.”
“no!” shadow milk scrambled to their feet, backing up when the figure made a grab for their arm. “no, you don’t understand. i’ve seen so many amazing things, i– i even met someone.”
“oh, yes, the wanted thief, i’m so proud.” despite not having a face, shadow milk could practically see their deadpan. “come along now, shadow milk.”
“please, wait.” shadow milk pulled at his dress. “i think he likes me.”
the figure sputtered, tension rippling through their shoulders. “likes you? please, dear, that’s demented.”
a nervous swallow. “but i–”
“this is why you never should have left.” the figure sighed, bringing their hand up to the bridge of their nose and squeezing. “this whole… romance that you’ve invented. it proves you’re too naive to be here. why would he like you?” their voice turned sickly sweet, though their words kept jabbing at shadow milk. “look at you, honey… you think that he’s impressed.” they held out their free hand. “come with me, don’t be a fool. remember, i know bes–”
“no.” shadow milk stared.
the figure took a step back before laughing. “oh, i see how it is! you know best? little flower knows best? he hasn’t even seen the worst of the world, and he thinks he knows it all now? fine, if you’re so sure.” they tugged the crown out of the satchel before tossing the bag at shadow milk’s feet. “this is why he’s here. don’t let him deceive you, he’s known for doing that. give it to him, watch, you’ll see.” the silhouette plopped the crown in shadow milk’s hands before their voice dropped to a gravely tone. “if he’s lying, don’t come crying.”
shadow milk blinked and they were gone.
they bit their lower lip and stared down at the crown for half a second before startling at another voice behind him and stuffing it in the satchel, haphazardly throwing it behind the log. he turned around as quickly as bill rounded around a tree, carrying a great lot of sticks. the thief was rambling. “hey, just a thought, do you think i’ll get like, superpowers? in my hand? ‘cause of the whole magic thing…” he came to a stop in the clearing, dumping the stickers before finally looking at shadow milk. “hey. you… alright? seem a little off.”
“oh.” shadow milk blinked, fidgeting with his hands. “yes, apologies, just lost in thought.”
bill’s gaze rolled over them, quietly observing, before he nodded and started to put together a fire. “i mean, supernatural good looks, born with ‘em! but superhuman strength? can you imagine the possibilities?”
bill woke to a horse breathing down his neck and sweat dripping down from said horse.
needless to say, he screamed.
the dark horse tried to drag him away, awaking and alarming shadow milk. the guy shot up and scrambled to his feet, ears twitching as he ran over to bill and grabbed him by the arms. “let him go–”
bill only screamed more when he blinked and saw the stars and milky hair everywhere like the day before, leaning his head back to see the blue wolf snarling. the horse dropped him (not without taking his boot), bill blinked and the wolf was gone, and he could see his surroundings again.
bill backed up against a nearby tree and panted, watching shadow milk run up to the horse and soothe it. “woah, woah woah woah woah! easy! settle down!”
the dark horse seemed to calm, still staring at bill with a glare that made him shudder.
“that’s it.” shadow milk sighed. “now sit.”
the dark horse slowly started to sit down.
“sit!!” shadow milk pointed at the ground, and the horse plopped down.
bill pressed against the tree. “what the hell..?”
“now drop the boot.” shadow milk crossed their arms.
the horse shook its head. shadow milk’s ears twitched. “drop it!” and the boot was dropped.
“aw, you’re such a good boy!” shadow milk cooed, arms wrapping around the horse’s neck. “yes you are.”
the horse wagged its tail like a dog, only encouraging shadow milk further.
“you’re all tired from chasing the bad man all over the place?” shadow milk patted the horse.
“pardon?” bill blinked.
“no one appreciates you, do they? do they?” shadow milk kept petting as the horse sputtered.
bill stuck out his arm. “oh, come on, that’s a bad horse if i’ve ever seen one!”
shadow milk scoffed, turning his body just enough to stick out his forked tongue at bill. “oh, he’s nothing but a big sweetheart! isn’t that right?”
“you’ve got to be kidding me.” bill rolled his eyes.
“look.” shadow milk turned fully back to the horse. “today is a big day, the biggest day of my life. i need you to not get him arrested.” when the horse frowned, he quickly continued. “just for twenty-four hours! and then i’ll let you chase each other to your hearts’ content.”
bill was pulled to his feet by the other, and he reluctantly stuck out his hand. “just give me a deal, horsie.”
the dark horse visibly recoiled.
“fine!” bill rubbed the bridge of his nose. “not a deal. an agreement. i’m their guide, horsie, so you’d better suck it up!”
“it’s also my birthday.” shadow milk added.
the horse huffed but nodded anyway.
shadow milk smiled, but their expression gave away to curiosity as they heard distant bells and started to walk in the direction of them. bill choked as the horse hoofed him in the stomach.