Still The Same Starlight - Billy Kid X Reader
You had gone on an extended solo mission, long enough that you didn't realize your love had gotten an upgrade until you returned home. He was so much more than your silly Billy now, yet entirely the same as he always was. - "He WHAT?!" You shrieked, nearly dropping your phone from the shock. "When??" "About halfway into you going missing for your mission." She answered with strained laughter. "I knew you'd sound so surprised~" "Well duh. What happened while I was gone?"
tags~ fluff, established relationship, flirty, head over heels in love for each other y/n~ gender neutral, human, sniper by occupation w/c~ 6.5k a/n~ ive been dying to get this out you have no idea. i decided to follow the path i set for the reader in my previous series Silly Billy, so if you wanted a little backstory ive got that too <3 it is quite self ship coded, but a blank slate y/n is my least favourite kind lol please enjoy, i love this silly construct man 💜 i still cant believe i broke 6k words after so long
You were a bit miffed about missing such a big event, but the solo job you had just taken on had all of your personal time completely consumed. You couldn't even spend time with your beloved Cunning Hares, working tirelessly just outside a companion hollow that had popped up for more than a week straight, causing you miss out on that snazzy porcelloy w-engine that was up for grabs in the Hollow Champion Competition. You wanted to participate so bad, but the dennies that were up for grabs from the job you just took simply couldn't be passed up, even if it was too good to be true. There were a lot of zeros in that payout amount, and you were admittedly blinded by them.
Jumping on that opportunity, you warned your comrades that you would be gone for a few days, maybe longer; but you hoped not too long at all. You couldn't give them specifics on the job because you hardly had any information yourself, just that you had a target to eliminate and you were supposed to stakeout and wait as long as necessary. That led to where you were currently, setting up camp in an old warehouse just outside of the companion hollow that had popped up a few months ago. This was a dirtier commission, a bit more like the ones you used to take on before you joined the Cunning Hares. Cramped up in the side wing of the old warehouse, you had no cell reception, and crappy instructions written on a crumpled up piece of paper from a notepad. They gave you nothing to work with except for an update on the target: a human-ethereal hybrid, and not to move until you see it and eliminate it. Horrid instructions, but you wanted to chance that the cash was gonna be real. It would be lifechanging for you, and you knew you could trust yourself to get the job done within minutes of seeing your target.
That was the problem though; your target just didn't wanna show up. It took a little over a week: one painstakingly long week until your target had made itself known to the world. To keep yourself going, you had been taking hour long naps to allow yourself to stay awake for around five hours at a time while you sat in a crusty folding chair, staring out the tinted window of an office at the hollow before you. No matter how sleep deprived you were, you didn't want to miss your chance because you fell asleep. Then, that chance came. The half corrupted individual you had been instructed to take down finally emerged from the hollow in the early evening, your eyes widening in disbelief that the thing had actually made it out. The ether concentration wasn't that high outside the hollow at all, so to see a corrupted one standing outside of the hollow and venturing further really threw you for a loop. It looked directly towards the city— towards New Eridu.
"Finally; it's about time you showed up, you wretch of a thing." You muttered, sitting upright in your chair and anchoring the stock of your sniper rifle against the reinforced steel wall of the office behind you, pointing the barrel out the slightly opened window. "You won't even get to cross the highway with me here."
Staring down the scope of your gun, you followed the path of the stumbling hybrid creature until it stopped just at the edge of the highway, suddenly letting out an earsplitting shriek of pain and agony. It sounded like it was distressed; possibly realizing what it had become with what little sanity remained in the thing. Now you felt bad, deciding it was time to make quick work of this and end your week long streak of poor sleep. You loaded up one of your explosive ether bullets with the signature caution tape shell, bracing yourself between the desk and the wall as you steadied your hand before you let that bugger fly, the wall behind you denting from the force of your shot. That familiar purple ether energy rippled through the air, seemingly cutting through the atmosphere before it ripped through the body of the corrupted hybrid, causing it to explode into bits of ether energy until nothing was left. Target: eliminated.
"Lord. I'm glad that's over. I better get my damn money's worth over how much sleep I lost for that shit." You huffed, starting to pack your things. "Talk about a science experiment gone wild…"
You had truly banked on getting that payout without a catch; there always seemed to be one of those damn things though. Unbeknownst to you, your commissioner had decided to go MIA while you drove yourself home on your shoddy old motorcycle, only realizing this once you had finally returned home and cell reception had returned to your device. Once you hauled yourself up the outer stairs of your complex, you tried contacting the guy on Knock Knock as you pushed open the door to your unit, only to find that you had been blocked. Stopping in your entryway and letting the door swing shut, you tried searching for the secondary number you had been given to contact in case of an emergency and saw that you were blocked there too. Once you realized you had your contact cut completely, you knew this loser had no intent on paying you with the insane reward he had advertised, making a silent fury bubble up inside of you over being fooled and lied to. You pulled your sniper rifle off of your back and halfheartedly tossed it onto your couch before you whipped one of your bullet bags into the floor angrily, pissed that it just clicked that you had been hustled.
"Fuck! That asshole took advantage of my dumb ass and used the shitty service to his advantage." You cussed, making tight fists before you threw your small crossbody bag into the other corner of your couch. "I will not be letting this shit slide. That job was stupidly suspicious anyway."
Angry as ever, you started pacing around your living room as you pulled out your phone and started to make a call— specifically to Rain, the young hacker you knew through your proxy friends. She was quick to answer you as always, knowing you only called like this when you had a really good reason to. She didn't even have to ask you what was up before you started to spill to her the incident that had just occurred, the young hacker getting upset on your behalf now herself.
"So the person who requested you to do such a dangerous job just bailed on you? Scum." Rain mumbled in disappointment. "With that many dennies on the line at such a high risk and requirement, there's definitely something shady going on."
"Tell me about it. That's so many dennies though, so I was wondering if you'd track this jerk down for a cut of my payout. Shady experiment or not, people will pay their damn dues to me." You huffed angrily.
"You've got both his Knock Knock and the burner phone number he used, right?" Rain asked.
"Yep. Still got 'em"
"Okay. Give me until the end of the day. I'll find the guy and get your dennies." She told you confidently.
"Thank you. I believe in you." You nodded, truly so grateful that she was willing to help you with such a ridiculous thing.
"No problem. Now take it easy, hey? I'll make sure you get paid."
After giving her the info she needed, you hung up and let out another deep sigh, truly already fed up with the situation. This was not part of the deal, and you were starting to have deeper suspicions on the guy who commissioned you. It was a simple takedown to protect the highway and the city by extension turned into an extended stakeout mission that went on long enough to allow your client to cover his tracks. Could this person have been the entire reason behind that hybrid ethereal in the first place…
"Maybe this guy… is making the hybrids himself, and I was his damn safety net??" You pondered, letting your mind wander a bit too much. "God I hope not—aAH!"
The sound of your phone ringing snapped you out of your thought spiral and damn near made you jump out of your skin. Nekomata's name took took up your screen, and you were instantly relieved, happy to see a familiar name calling you for once.
"Yo!" You said after answering.
"There you are! Finally! I've been tryna contact you for a week! What sort of insane job did you take on?!" Nekomata yelled, clearly frustrated but more concerned than anything else.
"Sorry! I'm so sorry… It was a takedown job next to a companion hollow that popped up along the highway. Service was nonexistent out there, and I had to camp out in the office of an old warehouse until the target showed itself." You explained. "It was a corrupted hybrid that ventured outside the hollow but the air around the whole situation seemed off. It was insane to see happen, but I'm glad I was there to remove the threat."
"WHAT?! You took that job on alone?!" She screeched.
"Y-yeah… Sorry. It was requested to only send one person, but I really do wish I disobeyed… I should've told Billy to come with me at the very least. He's not too worried, is he?" You asked, already sounding quite apologetic.
"He's about as worried as I am, cuz I've been tryna call you for a few minutes now. Your line was busy, but that's how I knew you were home and to keep trying."
"… Shit." You sighed.
"But… You came home. You back in New Eridu, which means you've come back to us alive." Nekomata eventually said, her tone softening with the relief she now felt. "Don't do that again. Next time, wire us some details through encrypted satellite messaging so we can come help you if we need."
"Yeah. I can ask Rain if she can modify an old cellphone for me to do that with; if she makes it I know it'll be easy to send you guys short messages from far away when I'm in a pinch. Maybe I'll get the managers in on that too. They've grown so strong lately it's kinda scary." You huffed. "No more secrets from me."
"Good." She replied, sounding quite satisfied with your response. "Well, at least you're not the only one keeping a secret right now, so I guess you can call it even. If you weren't gone for so long, you might've gotten to know it a lot sooner though."
"Pardon? Who's keeping a secret now?" You asked.
"Your sweet Silly Billy has recently gotten some upgrades. Big ones that you'll definitely notice when you see him." She informed you, her cheeky little smirk somehow possible to hear in her tone.
"He WHAT?!" You shrieked, nearly dropping your phone from the shock. "When??"
"About halfway into you going missing for your mission." She answered with strained laughter. "I knew you'd sound so surprised~"
"Well duh. What happened while I was gone?"
"Long story short, he had been saving for these upgrades for a while and only recently cracked to get Nicole to help afford the rest. He needed that new firepower to help our Proxy twins out during the Hollow Champion Competition. So much went down at that event, but I'll save that story for another day. It's a long one, and it's already turning to sunset; he did save the day though that much I can say~" She purred.
"Hah, of course he was out being a hero. That's my silly…" You paused. "Hey, is he still… He's still my Billy, right? Did the upgrades change him drastically?"
"Aw, don't worry. I promise he is still very much your Silly Billy. It's honestly like he multiplied his dorky self by ten." She assured you.
You sighed deeply with relief, knowing you could trust her when she said that. "Where are you guys now then? Can I come and see him? I'm finally home so just tell me where to go-"
"Calmmmm. I've got you covered, don't worry!" She interrupted. "We're in Blazewood right now catching up with the others. I was gonna ask a certain someone to come and pick you up since I know you've gotta be tired, but I'm pretty sure I saw them leave before I could even ask them to go get you. Your ride will be there soon I'm sure."
"What? The hell do you mean—" A knock on your door was the next thing to cut you off as you whipped your head around to glare at your front door. "Hello??"
"It sounds like your ride is there now, heheh. See ya soon~!" She sang through your phone before hanging up for you.
Wearing a confused expression, you turned yourself around fully and put your phone back in your pocket, grabbing the handle and opening your door to reveal Burnice standing outside on the open air stairwell of your complex. She held your helmet in her hands, having clearly swiped it from your motorcycle. You had a feeling you forgot to bring something upstairs with you.
"Yo!" She greeted, just as casually as you had answered your phone earlier.
"How in the hell did you get here so fast? Nekomata just hung up on me!" You questioned.
"Heheh, the moment the phone started to actually go through for her, even if you didn't pick up, the line was busy so I knew you were home. I hopped on my bike and started to haul ass to come and get you~! I wanted a head start, so I took my chances." She told you.
"So she was just stalling me then. Wow."
"It worked like a charm I'd say." She laughed. "Now are you gonna come down with me or not? Your Starlight Knight awaits you~"
Burnice finally held up your helmet and pushed it into your hands, to which you grabbed hold of the rather simple looking helmet to don for the ride without hesitation. You turned only to grab your keys from the table you had absently tossed them onto, stuffing them in one of your many cargo pants pockets before you stepped outside and slammed your door shut with a swiftness only seen by you when Billy was involved.
"Let's go. Before the sun is gone— I wanna see him before the day is done." You spoke firmly.
"Aw hell yeah, let's ride~"
You and Burnice ran down the open stairwell, your goofy self damn near falling down the thing as you descended the steps. Once on ground level, you hopped onto the back of her bike that she parked nearby and stuck your helmet on your head , waiting for her to hurry up and get on. She didn't make you wait at all, shoving her helmet on as well before speeding off down the street and out of the city, definitely going the speed limit as she peeled out onto the highway. You did not care. Whatever got you there the quickest was what mattered the most to you, eager to see your construct lover again after taking on such a foolish commission alone.
With how fast Burnice drove, you were back in Blazewood within a few hours. The gorgeous scenic views of the Outer Ring kept you plenty distracted, admiring the blazing orange sunset as you ripped down the highway. You never got tired of the ride out here, that incredible view being the only thing keeping you calm while you tried to figure out how Billy was going to look now. That had your thoughts tied up until Burnice pulled up along the upper highway, skidding to a stop at the higher entrance to Blazewood. You hopped off before she could even turn her bike off, throwing your helmet onto the back end of it before you started backing up into town.
"Thanks!" You made sure to say before you turned around fully, running off into Blazewood towards Cheesetopia.
"Heh, cute~" She hummed, flipping up the visor of her own helmet to watch you run off.
You didn't need to ask anyone if they had seen Billy; even with the changes, he was still so obviously himself. Standing right by the gas pumps chatting with Lighter was your tall construct lover, somehow even more himself that he had ever seemed before. You came to a complete stop about ten feet back from him, gazing in wonder at the sharp horns you could see poking out from the front of his face behind that familiar fluffy white hair. He now wore a jacket-hybrid-vest, the white steel of his left arm showing off a freshly painted mark on his bicep while the right arm remained hidden beneath the jacket side and red wraps as scarlet as the tattered scarf he wore. The fluff of the jacket's collar blended in with his hair so well it looked like he had a mane from where you stood behind him, still frozen in place as you processed all the changes you could currently see.
You stood there staring for so long that Lighter eventually noticed you, cutting himself off and pointing at you to get Billy to turn around. It worked, Billy's chatter fading away as he turned around before brightening instantly at the sight of you being behind him.
"Babe! You're here! Finally, you've been gone so long I… a-are you okay?" He exclaimed, pausing when he noticed you hadn't moved.
Now that you could see the front of him, your jaw hung open, stuck gazing at the newer angular shape of his faceplate that showed off the sleek look of those horns you saw adorning him, that thin visor that used to run over his face now no longer present. Chest still out, all sleek with new shiny metal, stood your boyfriend Billy Kid, just a little bit different, yet entirely the same man you know and love.
"Hun, you're scaring me. You're staring a lot." Billy then commented nervously, a thin blush still projecting across his face despite the lack of visor.
"Oh yeah. You're definitely still my Silly Billy." You huffed, a smile blooming on your face.
"Of course I am!" He exclaimed, stepping closer to you. "Did… did I go too far with the upgrades? Or were you worried you wouldn't recognize me?"
"No! No I was just… scared you might not be the same." You admitted. "The upgrades though. You…" You paused, rubbing your cheeks a bit from how excited you had become. "You look so fuckin' cool!!"
There were practically stars in your eyes as you gazed up at him in wonder, completely starstruck by him. Your reaction filled him with so much joy he swore his logic core was about to overload, laughing as he picked you up and spun you around. Both of you were so relieved that the other was okay, sharing giggles as you clung tightly to his shoulders with your legs wrapped around his waist. The usual yellow colour his eyes were had taken on a pink gradient between the two colours as he looked affectionately at you, leaning against the outer wall of Cheesetopia holding you tightly at your waist.
"Do you really think I look that cool?!" He asked you excitedly, gently pressing the crest of his forehead into yours.
"So cool. You look like the one true Starlight Knight." You nodded, bringing your hands up to his neck, then cheeks, feeling the new sharper structure of his face plate where the pieces met.
"Heheh, that means the world to hear~" He hummed, pulling his head back a bit to let your fingers explore the structure of his jaw.
"Mmm, I'm gonna have to be careful when I kiss you now though. You've got some sharp edges, but I'm happy to get closer to my Silly Billy just to get my kisses~" You said softly, leaning in close and placing a few sweet kisses to his cheeks, then the center where his faceplates met roughly where one's lips would be.
He gave off a bit of static with each kiss you gave him, humming affectionately each time. Lighter had left you alone by now to allow you to two to have your sweet reunion, not wanting to interrupt the sweet moment you had in each other's arms.
"I'm so glad you're still my Silly Starlight Billy." You sighed. "I'm sorry I was gone for so long… I missed your cool transformation."
"That's okay. You're here to witness me now, and now you're wrapped in my arms, finally safe with me~" He said, throwing in a cheesy line to make you smile from how dorky he sounded.
"I told you he hadn't changed a bit!" Nekomata called from up in the dining area of Cheesetopia.
"Oh… shush you crazy cat!" You huffed, looking up to see her smirk at you before she leaned her body back inside the restaurant out of view.
"Heh… Hey, do you wanna go for a ride and get away from here? Somewhere with less prying eyes." Billy then offered. "I can take you home where it's nice and quiet. The sun is almost fully set now."
"A ride? In what?" You asked, suddenly interested.
"it's part of the upgrade technically. Check it out." He chuckled, loosening his grip and letting you down.
Billy then whistled loudly, a sleek black and red motorcycle peeling out from behind some of the buildings before it parked itself right in front of you, purring loudly before it shut off. It had a design much like Billy's upgrades with horns protruding from the front, the whole thing looking like it was alive with the glowing eyes it seemed to have thanks to design choices. It really was designed in his image. You were in complete awe of the beautiful bike, running up to get a closer look at it.
"Oh my god. She's gorgeous." You gasped. "Please take me out on her, please- oh!"
In the middle of your sentence, you turned around to see Billy now had a helmet in his hands, holding it out to you. He obviously didn't need it. This one was much flashier than your standard one, donning a sleek gunmetal colour with red accents showing here and there like his bike, the visor being a yellow to pink chrome gradient. It looked incredibly similar to a Starlight Knight helmet, and you simply adored at as he presented it to you.
"Is this really for me?" You asked, taking it out of his hands to look more closely at it as well.
"Mmhmm, for you to keep and use forever. Then you'll always be stylin' when you ride with me~" He hummed.
"This is incredible." You remarked. "Is that… is that an engraving on the back? It says— oh my starlight it says '#1 Babe'. Billy!'
"Heheh, I figured some personalization would be nice. You found that pretty quickly too… I thought it would take you a little while at least." He chuckled sheepishly, lowering his voice. "Nothing gets past a sniper, hey?"
"Nothing." You laughed, "I love it so much, you have no idea." standing up on your toes to give him a kiss that sent sparks through his logic core.
A bright red blush bloomed across his face while a combo of a hum and a chuckle came from him, loving the way you made his systems spark and flutter. He then slid around you, tugging you along with him as he leaned against his bike, his eyes narrowing a bit to indicate his glee.
"Ready to go then? The open road awaits~" He hummed, swinging a leg over his bike to mount it, tugging you even closer.
"Hell yeah I am." You smiled, using your free hand to don your new helmet before using him to pull yourself up onto his bike, fitting snugly behind him. "Let's ride, babe."
The sound of your shared joy and laughter was soon drowned out by the sound of his gorgeous bike staring up again. You clung to him tightly around his waist as he kicked up the stand and started to speed off right away, leaving Blazewood in the dust and riding off into the twilit horizon.
His bike was fast, topping the speeds Burnice had reached in seconds as you ripped down the highway, not a single car in sight. A true open road greeted you as the sun slipped behind the horizon, violet skies with fuchsia lined clouds giving you a whole new scene of beauty to admire as you left the Outer Ring. You leaned into Billy's back a little more as you let out a long sigh, feeling tender in the moment.
"Isn't the sunset gorgeous from out here? No matter the time of day I swear it's like riding on a dream highway." Billy's voice suddenly remarked, coming through clear on either side of your helmet.
"B-Billy?! Even the helmet connects to you!" You spoke, a little surprised. "Does it have a built in mic too?"
"It sure does~"
"How much did this cost, oh my god?" You questioned.
"Let's just say… I'm deeply indebted to Nicole now." He chuckled sheepishly.
"Yeah I bet. The quality is incredible. No wind noise at all; it sounds like you're inside my head damn near." You told him.
"Mmm, does that mean you like it?" He then asked you a little more directly, his tone a bit lower, almost sultry.
"N-now I know you know what you're doing Billy…" You mumbled, poorly masking the quiver in your voice that the mic picked up all too well.
He started laughing, which flustered the hell out of you; the smack you gave his chest being well deserved in your opinion. He gave the throttle a cheeky thrust to make you grip onto him even tighter, amused by the noise you made at him in protest.
"That's the only yes I need." He said cheekily, speeding into New Eridu towards home.
It wasn't much longer until you were back within the city limits, the night sky now blanketing the world in it's dark blue hues. Billy pulled up to your tucked away apartment complex, parking his bike under the small covered area next to yours in the lot. Once he turned the beauty off again and flipped the kickstand back out, he turned a bit to look at you with a pleased expression.
"We're home~" He hummed. "Did you enjoy the ride?"
Letting go of him, you took off your helmet and gave your head a quick shake for some fresh air before you smiled up at him, almost shyly now. You then nodded, leaning back a bit with the helmet on your lap.
"I did, yeah. This whole upgrade thing is incredible." You told him, suddenly averting your eyes. "You're just… so damn cool I don't know how to act now."
"Ohoho?" He chuckled, turning himself around completely and straddling his bike backwards to face you directly, leaning in a little closer to you to the point you could hear his fans working a little harder despite his boldness. "Do I fluster you a little more now that I'm like this?"
"A-a bit, yeah." You stammered, a silly smile plastered on your face. "Now that we're alone I just… Mmm…"
You tried to put your helmet back on to hide the hot blush that had blossomed on your face, but Billy butted in and took it away from you, placing it out of reach at the front of his bike while playfully chiding you. He then reached around your waist and pulled you as close as he could to him, cupping your hot cheek with his wrapped right hand.
"Your reaction really solidifies that these upgrades were worth every denny in more ways than one. Even if I'm indebted to Nicole until I rust over completely, this right here makes it all worth it." He told you sweetly.
You mumbled something about 'not knowing that being a smooth talker came with the upgrade' before you leaned in and kissed him wherever you deemed necessary, claiming every new piece of metal used in making his new faceplate as yours before lingering where one's lips would usually be once more, a spark tickling your skin in an affectionate response. When you finally hid yourself in the fluff of his collar with a tight hold on his torso, he chuckled, hugging you tightly in return.
"You need to take me upstairs now. Carry me inside, Starlight Billy." You said, pressing into him.
"I need to, hey?"
"Mmhmm. I need to make sure you're still as comfy to cuddle as you were before, so you've gotta carry me upstairs again." You told him once more.
"Is that so~?" He hummed. "If that's your reason, then hell, we'd better get to testing that right away."
He swiftly picked you up and stood from his bike with you in his arms once again, earning a yelp, then a laugh from you as you clung to him tightly. Billy then carried you up the stairs outside your building, waiting for you to unlock the smart lock to let himself inside. Your home was still a bit of a mess from how you left it to get to him as quick as you did, but he didn't mind at all, carrying you straight to your bedroom where he flopped down on your bed with you, earning more giggles to delight his processor.
"Heheh, straight to the point as always." You said, kicking your shoes off. "Pass me that blanket, hey?"
"You're gonna do the folding thing, hey?"
"Yup."
The folding thing; what was simply folding a soft blanket or throw a couple times to cushion his chest for you to lay on without having something too thick getting in the way. You did exactly that, pushing him down into your bed to lay atop him and sigh, instantly feeling the warmth of his body spread across yours. He rested his arms across your back, gently massaging along the spots he knew were always sore on you. He was still an excellent cuddler. When you lifted your head to compliment him on that, you noticed all his yellow lighting had turned a gentle violet colour, reducing your eye strain in your dim room.
"Wow, you thought of everything. I don't know who's more prepared for cuddles now: you or me." You remarked with a smile.
"So I'm still a good cuddler, right?"
"Heh, of course you are, silly." You chuckled, craning your neck around to give him one more sweet, spark filled kiss. "I love you so damn much. I'm so lucky to have you; to get to call you mine…"
Before your tender moment could get any more sweet, the sound of your phone going off with notifications startled the both of you quite a bit. You mumbled under your breath about how it ruined the moment, until you saw who the texts were from, that is. They were from Rain, and the last one read 'i've got your cash' with a sunglasses emoji.
"Got your cash? For the last job you just took, right?" Billy asked, watching curiously.
"Yeah. The guy stopped responding after I finished the job, so I asked Rain to look into it for—oh. Oh my sweet starlight."
Right above Rain's message you got another notification from your bank account, displaying a deposit of a little over a million dennies. Your jaw hung open, and Billy's eyes widened to, both of you completely shocked by the huge amount shown in your account. You were so surprised that you called Rain instantly, still laying atop Billy without moving more than a few inches to put your phone on speaker.
"Rain?? Rain! What the hell is that amount of dennies?!" You panicked once she picked up. "Your overdue payout." She replied calmly. "I've already taken my cut as well, so please keep the rest."
"What?! What even happened?"
"So… There is no delicate way to put this. I hacked into the cameras of the facility that the hollow popped up over to see what was going on inside since the network line connected to the warehouse you hid in. Turns out your client was in fact a mad scientist of sorts, partially corrupted himself and trying to test survivability on other corrupted individuals outside of hollows with his own experiments. He wants to escape his fate. It's… sad, but what he's done is scary, and unacceptable. He was corrupting lost raiders with ether before sending them out to see if they would last. If one did… it had to be eliminated since there's no guarantee it would come back." Rain elaborated. "It's an incredibly deep running operation. You were quite literally the safety plan to stop the experiment from getting too far if it succeeded."
"What… the fuck." You muttered, in disbelief of what you were told. "What… What happened to the guy now?"
"Locked himself back up deep within the hollow. His corruption is getting worse, so his experiments are getting… Let's just say his plans are not humane from what I saw through the cameras." Rain admitted. "I'm putting out a report to the HIA for a proper investigation of the area. I also drained his bank account entirely for us. He deserves it for hiring you under false pretenses and the atrocities he has committed, so the lack of funding should slow him down enough for the investigators to find him and do what needs to be done."
"That's… insane. Wow." You huffed. "Well, thanks for making sure I got paid. Job well done, truly. You really are the best."
"I know~" She hummed. "I'll catch ya later, hey?"
"Yeah, chat later!" You replied before hanging up, tossing your phone down before looking back at Billy again. "Wow. That was a much more dangerous job than I thought it was. Didn't realize all that was going on."
"No kidding. That's… Never take a sketchy solo job like that again. No more solo missions for a bit, actually." Billy then scolded you, squeezing you a bit tighter. "Who's to say the guy isn't out to get you now since his account has been drained."
"Yeah I don't think I will be for a while…" You nodded. "I've gotta say though, that fuckin payout. Lord, what an awesome surprise. This means I can offer to help you pay off those upgrades of yours."
"Hey, woah— what??" Billy stammered so frantically his speech glitched a bit.
"I'd like to help you take some chunks out of that debt, if you'll let me, that is." You said. "This covers bills for quite some time with plenty left to spare for silly things. I don't care how much your upgrades were. Even if I can only make a dent in the cost here and there, I'd like to help."
"I… D-damn. If I could physically cry, I would be." He told you with a wavering voice, his overall lighting scheme shifting to a pink and violet gradient with a little projection of a tear streaking down his features. "Now it's my turn to say how lucky I am to have you; to love you and call you mine."
He squished you gently, a tickly current running though your skin when he nuzzled you, earning more laughter from your sweet lips. He was still so damn adorable, always trying his best to make you laugh.
"Heh, I guess I can take that as a yes then~" You hummed, giving him a few soft little kisses.
"If I can luck out on another million denny commission, I can keep up with those payments easily."
"If you come across another crazy commission with a payout like that, do not take it on alone. All those sketchy, high paying jobs should always be accompanied by a Starlight Knight." He told you firmly, giving you another affectionate squeeze at your waist. "That last one sounded sketchy as hell, and now I'm worried for you. Lay low for a while, hey? That dude sounded deranged."
"I promise." You nodded, resting your head on his chest again. "That was concerningly shady. I should know better. Especially since I have someone strong I can call on these days."
"Good." He said, his eyes shifting to that dim lavender colour once again. "… And thank you. There was a point I thought you might hate the changes made; now you're telling me you're gonna help me pay them off. I really got lucky making you mine."
"I love them. I promise. I still don't know how to act… You just look so damn good. I just might get myself a new sniper rifle to match your new design." You mumbled, sounding so deeply in love as you hid your face in the folds of the blanket. "You look really cool and handsome and I don't think I can get over it…"
"I love that I have this effect on you~" He chuckled, rubbing your back. "You're so cute. Everything was so worth it."
"You— mmm. You really are the same you, through and through, and that just makes me fall so much harder for you. I didn't think it was possible for me to fall even harder for you, but damn, here I am." You sighed with a smile.
"I can tell you mean that by how fast your heartbeat is." He hummed.
"Oh shush you." You laughed, warm up to your cheeks again. "Hey… Will you stay the night with me tonight?"
"I'm so glad you asked." He nodded. "I've got nowhere to be but protecting you, so I'm more than happy to stay~"
"Hell yeah. You're mine once again~" You sang out with a very tired voice. "I missed you so much. I couldn't sleep properly out there with what I had to do."
"Don't worry, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me, my love."
With his arms still wrapped around you, he radiated a gentle warmth that lulled you into a deep sleep; one you had been needing for the past week. You could finally let go, knowing you were safe within the walls of your home, protected even further by his hold. No more tense hour long naps where you were constantly checking to see if you were still safe or if your target had emerged, sat uncomfortably upright in a shitty folding chair. You were fast asleep within a few minutes, Billy himself slipping into sleep mode without needing to worry too much about you now that you were back in his arms.
He really was your personal, one true Starlight Knight.