It was a fucking plus.

His head was beginning to ache and that meant it was time to stop staring into the light and get off of the floor. He got to his feet and laughed once more, shoving the used test into the box and dropping it into the trash can. This was crazy and it didn’t mean it was real. He laughed again and walked back into his room and sat down on the bed, staring at the laptop that he’d left on the table. “This is all your fault.” He jabbed his finger towards it. “If I hadn’t looked anything up I wouldn’t be sitting here losing my mind over something that’s obviously not real.”

The computer looked hurt and Bill nodded, vindicated. This was just a virus.

Just a virus.

Just a virus.

Just a virus.

…Did he have to go to the bathroom again?

~*~

Tom wanted to drown himself in the shower. He always felt that way afterwards. It was almost noon and Anna or whatever was smart enough to leave before he woke up. If he hadn’t been so tired she wouldn’t have been in his bed overnight. He sighed and turned off the water. He dried off and put on some clothes, wondering what the odds were that he could dash across the hall without a hat on and not be seen. Since they hadn’t been able to book the whole floor he didn’t think it was in his favor.

He dried off and dressed quickly, not bothering to bind his hair as he shoved a matching cap on and exited his room. Tom swore and caught his door before it closed; running back in and grabbing his key card and the extra one to Bill’s room. He let himself in quietly, smiling as he realized the curtains were still closed. The covers were bunched up on the bed, and he could just make out a raven head in the middle of all that white bed linen.

Tom smiled and took off his hat and stripped. They had no obligations today, and just seeing Bill sleeping made him sleepy too. He dropped his clothes where they fell, and slid into the bed next to him, burrowing under the covers and pulling the love of his life in his arms. Bill stirred and turned over, smiling sleepily. “Hey.” He whispered.

“Hey. I wasn’t trying to wake you.” Tom whispered back, kissing him on the lips. Bill shrugged and pulled Tom closer.

“It’s okay. Did you have fun?” He asked, closing his eyes again. Tom shook his head.

“I don’t want to talk about my night.” He looked over to the table and saw the three empty plates and the laptop. “Did you have company?” Tom chuckled.

“No.” Bill laughed once, yawning as his twin rubbed his stomach.

“Then you must have been hungry. Why is Georg’s laptop here?”

Bill awoke fully at the question, and he ran through foolproof excuses as quickly as possible. “He wanted to show me some porn.”

“Really?” Tom laughed, kissing the bit of skin behind Bill’s ear. “I want to see it.”

Shit. “Uh, it was hairy woman porn. From the seventies. Weird boobs and everything.” Bill turned so he could glance at Tom weirdly. “I mean, if you want to-”

“Seventies porn? No thank you.” Tom took the opportunity to kiss him again. Bill smiled against his lips and sighed.

“I hope you’re not trying to start anything. I’m too tired.” He said apologetically, and Tom pulled back to really look at him.

“Bill, you’re always tired. Are you sure everything’s okay?” He asked again, running his hands along his brother’s long pale arm. Bill stared at the wall, mind rolling at a million miles a minute, but he didn’t say anything. “Bill?”

“Can’t we just sleep? Can’t we just enjoy the fact that this hotel actually has good curtains and we can ignore the sunlight? Please?” He whispered. Tom’s grip around his waist tightened just a little, and he felt a soft exhalation against his neck.

“Fine.” Tom kissed his neck again, moving his hair away briefly to stare at the patch Bill wore. “How long do you have to wear that?” He asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. That stupid thing was occupying one of his favorite places to kiss.

“A couple more months. The box said that six months minimum for guaranteed results.”

“So you have about another three months…” Tom huffed and inhaled the scent of Bill’s hair.

“Yes. You’ll have to make do with the rest of my skin to kiss.”

“If you’ll let me.” Bill frowned. It didn’t matter; he was too tired to even fake it. Turning over, Bill slid his arms around Tom’s neck and sighed. His twin could see the dark circles under his eyes and frowned. “When did you go to sleep?”

“Around four.”

“No wonder you’re tired.” Tom kissed his forehead and smiled. “We’ll stay in. How does that sound?” Bill nodded, curling up in his brother’s arms.

“That sounds amazing.” Bill yawned and promptly fell off to sleep resting his forehead against his twin’s chest.

~*~

“Hey!”

“Hey.” Tom smiled at Georg. “What’s up?”

“I came for my laptop.” Tom snapped his fingers.

“That’s right. Come on in.” Georg followed the dreadlocked teen into the room and spied his computer. “So, seventies porn? I thought you had better taste than that.” Tom joked, watching Georg pack his machine away. He stopped and looked at him in confusion.

“Seventies porn?” He asked, frowning.

“What you wanted Bill to see?” Tom looked at him strangely. Georg thought for a moment and pretended to remember.

“That’s right. You know how I am after a night of drinking. I wouldn’t remember my right hand if it weren’t attached to my body.” He joked.

“I think she would be hurt to hear that. Most people don’t forget their one true love.” Tom laughed as Georg flipped him off good-naturedly. “What are you up to today?”

“Absolutely nothing. I’m going to pluck my bass and watch movies and that’s about it so far.”

“Pluck your bass? Is that code for jack off?” Tom laughed again as he received the finger.

“Where’s Bill?”

“In the shower.” Georg fiddled with the strap of his laptop bag and debated on waiting for the singer to come out or not. He decided discretion would be the better part of valor, for now at any rate. “Why?”

“No reason. Just wanted to know what he thought of the porn.” He said smoothly, making his way to the door. “When he gets out tell him to call me, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” Tom picked up the remote and settled on the bed as Georg left, turning on the television. He tried to something with subtitles, but the pickings were slim. Just as he was debating the merits of watching The Bourne Identity for the hundredth time Bill emerged from the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel.

“Who was that?” He asked, throwing the towel on the ground.

“Oh, it was just Georg. He wanted his laptop back.” Bill nodded. He had deleted the browser history after he decided the whole situation was a total debacle.

“Oh. Okay. What are you watching?” He came and sat next to Tom on the bed.

“You.” Tom said honestly, watching as a long leg was revealed as the robe fell away. Bill smirked and grabbed the remote.

“As long as you look and don’t touch, we’re good.” Tom pouted.

“Since when have you not been into sex?” He asked, nuzzling his nose against Bill’s neck. The singer laughed and pushed him off gently.

“I’m just not in the mood right now, okay? Nothing big.”

“You’re going to give me blue balls, I swear.” Tom grumbled. Bill stilled and looked at his twin with a glare.

“Did the groupie you fucked last night not know what she was doing?” He asked pointedly. Tom frowned.

“Whoa, what’s going on with you?” He asked angrily.

“I’m saying you just had sex last night. What’s up with you trying to have your cake and eat it too?” Bill asked hotly.

“Hold on, let me get this straight. You’re angry that I did what you wanted me to, what you said was best and I reluctantly agreed to? Why are you mad at me?”

“Because you didn’t have to agree so quickly!” Bill felt tears begin to prickle behind his eyelids, and he closed his eyes, trying to get a hold on his emotions. When he opened them Tom was staring at him in disbelief.

“So I get it if I don’t listen to you because you say I never listen. Then when I do listen I’m wrong because I agreed too quickly?”

“You’re smart; I knew you’d figure it out.” Even to Bill that made no sense, but his mouth was running on autopilot, and he was just a slightly interested passenger.

“You know what, I’m going out.” Tom said abruptly, pushing up from the bed. Bill sat up as he watched Tom cross the room.

“I thought you said we were going to stay in today!” He screeched, angry at being misled.

“Well I’m not going to stick around and have an argument. I don’t want to spend a free day like this.”

“So you don’t want to spend it with me?!” Tom opened his mouth and closed it, trying to figure out if that’s what he said.

“No, that’s not-”

“Fine.” Bill said coldly, cutting him off. Tom seethed. He knew that was one of his pet peeves, to be interrupted.

“Fine!” He shot back, and slammed the door on his way out. Bill stared at the door in shock; he curled up and burst into tears.

“What in the hell is going on?” He asked the room aloud. Georg’s computer wasn’t there anymore to answer him.

~*~

“Dude, you look like you have a hangover.”

Tom shook his head absently, staring at the street as he nursed his drink. “I drank less than you did last night.” Gustav nodded as he remembered, sitting down in the seat next to him.

“That’s right. What are you looking at?” He asked, signaling for the waiter.

“Everything. Nothing.”

“Tom: The Deep Thoughts.” Gustav mocked, and Tom laughed quietly. “Where’s Bill?”

“Probably in his room having a fucking hissy fit.” He said, rolling his eyes. The drummer’s eyebrow rose.

“You two are fighting?”

“I don’t know.” Tom said honestly.

“I think you would know if you’re fighting. Hell, everyone knows if they’re fighting with Bill because he won’t let them forget it.” Gustav looked up at the waiter and smiled, quickly ordering a turkey Panini. “So what’s wrong now?”

Tom shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it though.” Gustav nodded.

“Okay.” They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, watching the traffic on the street from the patio of the hotel’s restaurant.

“It’s just…” Tom sputtered, suddenly becoming animated. “He’s upset about something that I did, and he suggested it!”

“What is it?”

“Can’t tell you.” He said quickly, staring down into his drink. Gustav nodded. He was used to the twins keeping secrets from everyone else. It came with the territory if you knew them. “But he’s being a jerk.”

“Well, you know you’re probably going to have to be the one to patch things up. I mean, Bill can hold a grudge longer than Georg can take shots.”

“And that’s a long time.” Tom finished the joke unenthusiastically.

“Look, I’m not going to tell you it’s going to be okay, because you already know that. You two always fix whatever’s going on. It’s just up to you to decide when you’re going to try and fix things.” Tom swallowed the rest of his drink and nodded, glancing at Gustav.

“I don’t want to fix everything. Maybe it’s his turn to fix it.” He said, still sulking.

“Maybe.” Gustav shrugged. Tom fidgeted as something inside of him felt… off. He didn’t want to fight with his brother ever, but sometimes there were things they just didn’t agree on. Such as Tom continuing to see other people. He flat out refused, and managed to hold on to his convictions for all of two hours. Bill just sat in his lap and patiently told him that if they didn’t keep up appearances, then they wouldn’t be able to hide what their relationship had become.

That relationship was more important to Tom than even his Gibson.

But he knew the truth of his twin’s words, and agreed, albeit reluctantly, and continued the façade of the ladies man. It still hurt, and now Bill was upset because he complied? He didn’t need any more insanity in his life; it was almost full of it as it was.

“What are you doing today?” He looked up at Gustav’s question.

Tom shrugged. “I might go back to sleep.” He was still tired, but he didn’t want to sleep in his bed. The groupie had been there. He really wanted to sleep in Bill’s bed again, but that was probably out of the question now.

“You could sleep forever.” Gustav shook his head.

“Mornings are for losers.”

~*~

Bill opened the door and frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Georg barged in, holding his laptop. He paled, staring at it. He wanted to accuse it of betraying him, but he would probably look strange doing it aloud. He imagined it looked sheepish.

“You were supposed to look up what was wrong with you.” Georg said, pointing at his laptop. Bill nodded.

“Yes?”

“What did it say?” He froze.

“It said it was nothing serious.”

“Liar.” Georg fumed. If there was one thing he hated it was being lied to. “I saw what you looked up.” He glanced at Bill and laughed ruefully. “Yeah, you deleted the history, but forgot the Temporary Internet Files.”

Bill snapped his fingers. “Shit. I knew I forgot something.”

“Why were you looking up pregnancy?” Georg asked, clearly irked. “How random is that?”

“No, I put in my symptoms and that’s what came up.” Bill replied honestly. The bassist looked at him briefly and burst into laughter.

“Oh wow. That’s funny.” He crowed, almost bent over under the hilarity. Bill watched him sourly.

“Yeah, funny.” He echoed.

“No wonder you didn’t tell me.” Georg laughed again, and he shrugged. “Look, obviously a website can’t help you. Go to a real doctor.”

“Georg…” Bill started shaking his head.

“GO TO A REAL DOCTOR.” He wasn’t playing around. “You’re still throwing up aren’t you?”

“I haven’t today.” Bill retorted proudly.

“Yet.” Georg frowned and shook his head. “I swear, if I didn’t know you I would think you’re bulimic. You eat the weirdest stuff and never gain weight, and you’re always throwing up.” He stopped and looked at him seriously. “Bill, are you bulimic?”

“No!” He said exasperatedly. “How could you think that?”

“That’s what people do when they don’t know what’s going on. Look, I’m just worried.”

“I get it.” Bill crossed his arms and looked away.

“Fine. I’m going out shopping, do you want to come?”

Bill shook his head. “I’m too tired. I’m going back to bed.” Georg’s jaw dropped.

“Did you just reject a shopping trip?” He asked, not quite believing his ears. Bill didn’t have the energy to keep the game going.

“I’m just tired, okay? Nothing serious and nothing deep and nothing weird. Definitely nothing weird.” He said, flopping onto the bed.

“… I think I’m going to go now. Get some sleep; you’re strange when you’re tired.”  Georg laughed and waved as Bill flipped him off.

As soon as the door closed Bill looked over at the nightstand and reached for his phone, pulling up Tom’s number and pressing the button. He patiently waited through Samy Deluxe until a gruff voice answered. “Hello?”

“Tomi.”

“Bill.” He took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Bill gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue.

“Sorry for snapping at you. I know I sounded kind of insane.”

“Kind of?”

“Okay, I sounded really insane.” There was a pause on the other side of the phone, and Bill could hear the sounds of traffic.

“I’ll be up in a minute.” Bill had to stop himself from squealing.

“Okay. Where are you?”

“Downstairs in the restaurant.”

“Didn’t go far huh?” Bill asked, rolling over onto his back. Tom chuckled in his ear.

“No. No I didn’t. I didn’t want to go anywhere at all.”

“I know. I promise to be good if you come back up.” He promised.

“Okay. I’ll see you in a minute.”

“Okay.” Bill hung up the phone and smiled, rolling over and inhaling the scent of the sheets where Tom had lain with him earlier that day for one of the best naps he’d had in a while. His stomach grumbled and he grabbed the phone again and pressed redial.

“Hello?

“Tomi? Could you bring me a hamburger?”

“Uh… sure.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Tom hung up the phone and Bill smiled happily at the thought of a hamburger. But that wouldn’t be enough. He dialed him again. “Yeah Bill?”

“And some fries. With butter.”

“That is so disgusting.”

“Tomi….” He whined, kicking his feet against the sheets.

“Fine. Nasty fries and a burger it is.”

“Thanks Tomi!”

“Yeah yeah. Bye Bill.”

“Bye!” Bill squirmed around on the bed, positively thrilled at the thought of impending food. His stomach gave a happy little flip and he had to agree. Food was good.