[ billy's been in duplicity long enough now that he's got a decent handle on more modern technology and how it works, but even so, he still pauses for a handful of seconds, just watching his phone buzz with an incoming call - a video call, at that, from derek. who billy's never seen before. he blinks at the screen, then shakes himself out of whatever weird zone-out he just slipped into, and then scrambles to stab at the little green answer icon with his thumb, nearly dropping his phone in the process.
the angle, at first, is bad on billy's end, taken from below, shooting the underside of his chin, and as he scrambles to find somewhere to sit, somewhere to prop up his phone, it becomes pretty clear that he's cooped up in one of the dorms in the down. in the end, he keeps his phone in his hand, but settles on his very narrow bed up by the pillows, one knee pulled up so his leg forms a little triangle, the other bent almost the same way, but laying flat against the bed. he rests his wrist on the peak of his knee, phone held steadily in his hand, the camera finally pointed at his face.
derek - doesn't really look the way billy had imagined him in his head, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. he looks - well, he looks like someone who could be a werewolf, maybe. billy squints at his image on his phone, possibly forgetting for a second that derek can see him too, and seems to nod very subtly like, yeah, okay, i could maybe buy the werewolf thing.
billy's seen an american werewolf in london. he remembers the sick transformation, how impressive the effects were, but this is - this is well beyond that, and as derek starts to shift, teeth elongating and sharpening, eyes shifting in color, glowing, billy just - slowly loses his cool. he loses his shit, pulling his phone in close like maybe he's being played, like this is some kind of sweet-ass special effects make-up, and then — shit, claws too.
his mouth opens. his jaw drops a little, eyes almost comically huge in his skull, and for a handful of silent seconds, he just stares. and then he laughs, loud and bright and excited, and maybe he's a little too loud when he says, ]
Holy shit, dude! You— there's no way. I've seen American Werewolf in London - that's gotta be like. That's some kinda special effects shit, right? Come on. Come on. [ he pulls his phone in close again, uncaring about the shitty view on derek's end, and closely examines every little change that's just taken place, murmuring, excitedly, mostly to himself. ] What the fuck. That's so cool, what the fuck.
[ derek doesn't mind billy's fumbling attempts to use his phone, nor does he even think to call him out on it or offer his help; he gets through the setup period smoothly enough, and derek's too focused on any anxious trip-ups he might have over showing billy the weird shit his body can do. he doesn't smile, exactly, when billy reacts to him with energetic optimism and a still kind sense of wonder, but even if he did, it would be hard to tell with those fangs of his. they're the first to go - he waves his hand, clicks his jaw into place, and gets back his usual, blunt set of pearly whites. ]
Man, shut up.
[ he's shrugging off all of billy's praise and excitement, even though there's something decidedly nostalgic about just how bright-eyed he is about all of this. speaking of bright-eyes, a few blinks later, and derek's green eyes are just as dull as his fingernails, which rap against his knee while he shifts to rest his cheek on his other wrist. derek doesn't ever really get shy, but this is as close as he comes. he looks up over his phone, presumably at steve, sharing one of those obnoxious, telepathic conversations that couples always seem to have, and then draws his attention back to the screen in front of him.
when derek changes the conversation, he's not really doing it because he wants to stop talking about the werewolf shit - but he sees billy's surroundings, really takes them in for the first time (along with billy's appearance, his mannerisms, all the things he hadn't yet been introduced to,) and finds himself frowning. he shouldn't be in the dorm if he doesn't have to be - the roaches don't need the company. ]
I thought you signed with someone. You should be out of the dorms. Especially with everything going on.
[ it's sharp, immediate, but it's very evident in the way billy says it, in the way he still looks completely and totally awed, that it's not malicious or unkind. immature, maybe, but - whatever.
billy laughs, idly rubbing his free hand over his stripe of green hair from forehead to nape and back again, seemingly just as fascinated watching derek's features shift back to something less... wolfish. there's still a part of him that thinks maybe his leg's being pulled here, but - it's way, way more fun to just believe what his eyes are seeing. a little bit belatedly, he realizes derek's been conversing with someone else off camera - both verbally, and just with looks, too - assumes it's steve, and wonders to himself if he's a werewolf, too. probably, he thinks.
at the mention of contracts, billy straightens up a little, but remains mostly nonchalant, more interested in derek than anything to do with himself or his... current situation. he waves his hand dismissively though this is barely caught on camera at the edge of the frame, and shrugs one shoulder, tilting his head until his ear rests against his shoulder, one eye squinted halfway shut. ]
I did. My - uh. The guy I signed with, he offered me the second room in his apartment, but. [ he drags his nails along the edge of his jaw, scratching lightly. ] My best friend lives down here too, and I want to be able to stick close by. So.
[ the dorms aren't so bad. or, well, they weren't, but they're kind of worse for wear now, in the aftermath of the little turf war that took place down here while billy was stuck in the up partying his life away. there's... room for improvement, and billy has the means to climb the ladder a little, but. it still feels kind of weird. everything is still kind of weird.
billy waves another dismissive hand. ]
Anyway. ... Does that hurt? [ he gestures. ] I mean the teeth and the eyes, all of that. [ ... ] Do you have like - infrared vision or whatever? Is that why they turn red?
[ derek does smile, when billy tells him to shut up, bright and happy and clearly endeared. billy has all the innocence and the excitement that stiles did back in 2011, and it's nice to see that kind of thing so front and center in somebody else. it makes him think of home - the good parts of home. erica, boyd, isaac, all the people he's missed since coming here. billy's the kind of kid derek would have loved to turn, if he'd had the opportunity - someone ferocious and dedicated who could benefit from all the gifts being a wolf would give him.
but it's not something he's going to pursue, least of all now. derek leans back, spinning slightly in his desk chair. he's just as endeared by billy's reason to stay in the down as he is by the rest of him, and he finds himself opening up more than he thought he would have when this conversation started. ]
Fair enough. Steve was staying in the dorms when I first showed up in Duplicity - I think the first couple of months I spent here, I was holed up in his room watching all the movies he was lucky enough to bring with him from home. Wouldn't have been able to survive without my best friend that close to me.
[ and he lets billy ask his questions, mildly amused by the stabs in the dark, the inaccuracies. he thinks it's sweet, that billy's first real question is does that hurt. most people don't think to ask that. ]
It doesn't. I can see in the dark, though, yes. Hear frequencies you can't hear, smell scents you can't smell. All kinds of things.
[ explaining why, exactly, his eyes turn red, would be introducing billy to werewolf hierarchy and flooding him with knowledge far more boring comparative to "man make teef big", so derek doesn't go into it. he just smiles again, a playful little twitch at the corner of his lip that he immediately bites down. memories flood through him - the school, tracking down peter when they didn't realize he was the alpha, the strangled little cat noise scott made over the intercom. again, his eyes flick offscreen to look at stiles, and what he says next might be more for him, than for billy. ]
I want to hear you howl. You said anyone can howl on mic, so - I want to hear you try.
[ technology is great and all, but billy is starting to get tired of holding his phone to participate in this video call pretty quick. the call itself is engaging enough, and he has no interest or intention of ending this anytime soon - sorry, derek - but he's gotta find somewhere to put his phone down so he can sit more comfortably, and not have to worry about keeping a steady hand or staying in frame or whatever else. billy unfolds his legs and scoots his butt to the edge of his bed so he can stand, taking his phone with him as he does, though he doesn't make much of an effort of staying in focus or in frame for now.
his skateboard is propped up by the door where he tends to leave it more often than not (easy to grab on the way out, easy to prop up under the doorknob just in case... things happen.. again), so he grabs that and takes it back to his bed, listening to derek explain how he relates to billy in that he, too, spent all of his time hanging around his friend. he snorts quietly out his nose, climbing back up onto his bed. ]
Yeah, but, [ billy plops down, crosses his legs and folds them under each other, slaps his board down on its side on the mattress, wheels facing out and away from him. everything looks kind of blair witch for a couple seconds as he settles, and then billy extends his arms and props his phone up against his board deck.
there. now he doesn't have to hold it, and he can sit however he wants - which is just exactly how he is now, but now he can rest his elbows on his knees and keep his hands free. ] Isn't Steve also your boyfriend or whatever? Of course you'd spend all your time with him.
[ nevermind that derek told him, once, that he and steve didn't get together until after they both showed up here, after knowing each other for - what, two years? anyway. billy's not really sure what that says about him and how all he wants to do most days is hang out with marcus, so he decides not to think about it too much and moves on. ]
Ugh, but you've got super senses. That's rad. ... Well, kinda [ he lifts one hand, holds it so his palm is parallel to the mattress, and then teeter-totters his hand back and forth a couple times, as if to say hit or miss ] on the scents thing, right? One bad fart and it's—
[ he swipes his hand in front of his throat in a slicing motion and laughs for a second. fart jokes. classic. ]
But still. That's gotta be so cool, dude. [ he pauses here for a second, wets his lips, absently adjusts the thick chain around his neck as he looks into the camera. ] You're gonna wish you were deaf after this, though. Don't say I didn't warn you.
[ if derek thinks billy's gonna shy away from howling like an idiot, he's dead wrong. billy straightens his spine, starts to clear his throat obnoxiously, ahem-hem-hem-hem-ing as he shakes both of his hands out. clearly, this is a full body experience, but eventually, he cups his hands on either side of his mouth, and he just goes for it.
it's very stereotypical as far as howls go, your basic aouuuuuuu that starts out at a higher pitch and drops gradually to a lower, bassline note that eventually fades out once billy runs out of breath. there's nothing remarkable about it, honestly - it sounds like every regular kid who's ever pretended to howl at the moon - but next to scott mccall's shitty rendition of a cat begging for death, it's not that bad.
[ derek typically isn't quick to experience vertigo, but once billy starts moving the screen and getting himself comfortable, he lets his eyes drift away to avoid any motion sickness. he's half-listening, half just smiling at stiles, mooning in that gross, lovesick way of his he always does when nobody's there to see him do it. stiles isn't doing much - just setting up an hdmi cable so he can watch movies from his laptop on the big screen tv - but derek is so in love with him that he's more than happy to just exist in the same space as him.
when billy brings up stiles, drops the boyfriend thing, derek frowns, turning his attention back to him. ]
He wasn't always my boyfriend.
[ derek's a little defensive, and that's partially because - well - that's debatable, actually. they were definitely dating before they knew they were dating. still, whatever he might be thinking about is immediately dashed short when billy makes a fart joke, and derek's staring down at his screen with his familiar brand of irritated disapproval. he doesn't say anything, just sighs, his good mood tanking in that annoyed, big brother way of his. "one bad fart". shut up.
he's mildly impressed, mildly annoyed, with how quickly and shamelessly billy commits to howling. derek scratches his beard on his wrist, too lazy to lift his head to scratch it properly, though he does adjust himself so he's resting his chin on his palm, wrist bent backwards. billy really fucking throws himself into that howl, and whatever mean, playful, bullying bone in derek's body wanted him to make fun of billy long before he started doing this actually kinda falters in the face of just how earnest billy is with this. the volume, the excitement, the effort - how can derek roll his eyes at this? he ends up laughing, dropping his arm on the desk, shaking his head. ]
Okay. I'll give you props for that. I didn't think you'd have it in you. But - hold on -
[ derek pushes back from the desk, his whole body soon in frame, has another little aside with stiles - babe, where are the cats? in the bedroom? okay, cool - and when he's sure that he's not going to freak out his pets with what he's about to do, he shakes out his wrists and rolls his shoulders. he clears his throat, slightly mocking billy with that ahem-hem-hem-hem he starts this off with, and when he flashes his eyes red, bares his teeth and throws his neck back -
well, he doesn't roar as loud as he could, because he doesn't want anyone to fucking track him and stiles down in the nice, warded privacy of their own home, but he does roar. it's this bestial, echoing, lion-like sound, completely inhuman and utterly terrifying in its overbearing dominance. he doesn't roar loud enough to shake the windows, but he roars loud enough to fuck up the volume on the call halfway through - it's loud enough for the mic to only pick up noise and static, for a second, before the volume fades back down enough for his phone to capture the rest of it. derek cracks his neck when he's done and uses his heels to roll back towards the desk, and he leans in close when he gets back to billy, keeping this from stiles. ]
Totally gonna get lucky tonight.
[ his boy likes werewolves, what are you gonna do. ]
[ billy has the gall to look offended at first, like getting props from a werewolf for his super badass howl is simply not enough. forget the fact that he dunked on himself like two seconds before tossing his head back, suggesting that derek was gonna wish he was deaf and didn't have to experience whatever atrocity came out of billy's mouth - that was a damn good howl, in his opinion, for someone who isn't a werewolf and has never heard what an actual werewolf howl sounds like outside of shitty movies. he drops his hands away from his mouth when he's done, holds them out like, come on, dude, but when derek rolls himself back, says something to steve off screen that billy only just barely manages to catch, he quickly catches on to what's about to happen and suddenly doesn't give a single fuck about getting credit where credit is due.
whatever billy expects a werewolf howl to sound like - it's not fucking that. derek roars, and even though the mic cuts out halfway through, billy hears enough of it, he sees enough of the entire display - the flex of derek's throat, his teeth, his eyes - to be genuinely startled, enough that he flinches back and slaps a hand over his chest, eyes huge in his head, mouth open and everything.
holy fuck that was crazy - and insanely cool. billy quickly settles, his mild, instinctive fear quickly fading away, replaced with fascination and awe. he starts to laugh, his breath tumbling out of him in a huge rush, hand moving from his chest to pass over his hair to the back of his neck. derek leans in, so billy does too out of impulse, hand still holding the back of his own neck, still smiling, bewildered. what the fuck is going on in this city.
derek makes a comment about getting laid, obviously keeping his voice down, but billy either misses that cue or he's just - too excited to monitor the level of his own voice. his eyebrows lift sharply, like he's somehow surprised, but also not... surprised. that someone would want to climb derek after that. ]
What, was that like - some kind of mating call? [ he laughs, maybe trying to ignore the little bit of confusion that's going on in his body right now. is he a little turned on? who the fuck knows. ] Jesus, man.
[ derek really isn't the type to show-off, these days, especially when it comes to being a werewolf... but billy is so animated, so funny, and he can't help but feel the swell of pride in his chest that follows his reaction. he spent so long feeling like he was inherently dangerous, and it took people like steve to convince him otherwise — seeing how rapidly billy's fallen into being impressed by him can't help but feel good. derek scratches the back of his head before deciding that he can't keep pushing this, and with a quick, smug little smile, he fades back to a more human shape. dull eyes, blunt nails — a marginally less impressive appearance. ]
Nah — I just know what he likes.
[ again, derek is distracted by steve, his face a little comical when he realizes he and billy were pretty obviously overheard — but derek just presses his lips together, tries not to laugh, and rolls his chair closer to the desk, leaning in and keeping his voice down. the urge to say something like "it's totally normal to get hard, that's basically why steve and i got together in the first place" hits pretty fast, but no, okay, okay, he's done being the obnoxious, braggadocious little prick he was in highschool. he drums his fingers on the desk, clearly in a good mood. ]
... Anyway — tell me more about you. Other than a penchant for drugs and a willingness to align yourself with a fucking monster hunter, I don't know much about you.
[ if it wasn't a mating call, then steve and billy probably have a little something in common as far as taste goes, if the subtle, lingering arousal is anything to go by. then again, maybe not. billy can't really say he has that much interest in 'getting lucky' with derek the same way steve probably does - he's an objectively attractive dude, billy can admit that much - so he's not really sure what is that's making him feel this way. probably, it's just - the consequences of being a teenage boy, riding on a small wave of fading adrenaline.
still, he makes a face. lifts his eyebrows, mouth turning downward, expression thoughtful, conceding. like it makes complete and total sense that derek's boyfriend would be super into werewolves, even though billy knows nothing about him.
billy hates this question. tell me more about you. ... well, it's less that he hates the question, but more than he never knows what to say in response to it, not that he gets asked to talk about himself very often. in billy's opinion, he's not a very interesting person, and the things that other people might find interesting, are things he doesn't really like to talk about - like king's, and what he does there, for one.
derek might be in a good mood, and billy's not necessarily in a bad one, but his expression does kind of neutralize a bit, from amused to - contemplative. maybe a little awkward or slightly uncomfortable, but he pushes through it, absently turning the thin strip of leather around one of his wrists, twisting it 'round and 'round, pushing it as far up his arm as it'll go before dragging it back down, just for something to do. ]
Uh. [ billy pauses for a second, then lets out a rushed breath that was probably supposed to be a laugh more than anything else, judging by the half smile he offers. ] Okay, firstly: you're the one who told me to find a Dom if I wanted to stop eating out of dumpsters, so you can't be all judgey about that. B: I didn't know you were a werewolf until, like, two minutes ago. I didn't know they actually existed until two minutes ago, and it's not like I was like 'hey, Geralt, I got a friend who grows fangs and claws and wants to date the moon, how about you sign a contract with me'.
[ no part of anything he says sounds, like - defensive. he's just goofing around, mostly, but also making it clear that geralt shouldn't be a threat to derek. he hopes that's clear, anyway. ]
I said I wouldn't tell him about you, and I won't. ... I do like drugs, though. You got me there.
[ but what else is there to say about himself? billy scrunches his nose up as he thinks. ]
I dunno, dude. I'm from California? Around the Bay area. [ what else, what else ] I like most music, I guess. Not super into, like - hippie shit or whatever, but if it's loud and meaningful, it's alright. And- [ hm. ] I've got a younger brother back home, and he... means more to me than he will ever know.
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the angle, at first, is bad on billy's end, taken from below, shooting the underside of his chin, and as he scrambles to find somewhere to sit, somewhere to prop up his phone, it becomes pretty clear that he's cooped up in one of the dorms in the down. in the end, he keeps his phone in his hand, but settles on his very narrow bed up by the pillows, one knee pulled up so his leg forms a little triangle, the other bent almost the same way, but laying flat against the bed. he rests his wrist on the peak of his knee, phone held steadily in his hand, the camera finally pointed at his face.
derek - doesn't really look the way billy had imagined him in his head, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. he looks - well, he looks like someone who could be a werewolf, maybe. billy squints at his image on his phone, possibly forgetting for a second that derek can see him too, and seems to nod very subtly like, yeah, okay, i could maybe buy the werewolf thing.
billy's seen an american werewolf in london. he remembers the sick transformation, how impressive the effects were, but this is - this is well beyond that, and as derek starts to shift, teeth elongating and sharpening, eyes shifting in color, glowing, billy just - slowly loses his cool. he loses his shit, pulling his phone in close like maybe he's being played, like this is some kind of sweet-ass special effects make-up, and then — shit, claws too.
his mouth opens. his jaw drops a little, eyes almost comically huge in his skull, and for a handful of silent seconds, he just stares. and then he laughs, loud and bright and excited, and maybe he's a little too loud when he says, ]
Holy shit, dude! You— there's no way. I've seen American Werewolf in London - that's gotta be like. That's some kinda special effects shit, right? Come on. Come on. [ he pulls his phone in close again, uncaring about the shitty view on derek's end, and closely examines every little change that's just taken place, murmuring, excitedly, mostly to himself. ] What the fuck. That's so cool, what the fuck.
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Man, shut up.
[ he's shrugging off all of billy's praise and excitement, even though there's something decidedly nostalgic about just how bright-eyed he is about all of this. speaking of bright-eyes, a few blinks later, and derek's green eyes are just as dull as his fingernails, which rap against his knee while he shifts to rest his cheek on his other wrist. derek doesn't ever really get shy, but this is as close as he comes. he looks up over his phone, presumably at steve, sharing one of those obnoxious, telepathic conversations that couples always seem to have, and then draws his attention back to the screen in front of him.
when derek changes the conversation, he's not really doing it because he wants to stop talking about the werewolf shit - but he sees billy's surroundings, really takes them in for the first time (along with billy's appearance, his mannerisms, all the things he hadn't yet been introduced to,) and finds himself frowning. he shouldn't be in the dorm if he doesn't have to be - the roaches don't need the company. ]
I thought you signed with someone. You should be out of the dorms. Especially with everything going on.
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[ it's sharp, immediate, but it's very evident in the way billy says it, in the way he still looks completely and totally awed, that it's not malicious or unkind. immature, maybe, but - whatever.
billy laughs, idly rubbing his free hand over his stripe of green hair from forehead to nape and back again, seemingly just as fascinated watching derek's features shift back to something less... wolfish. there's still a part of him that thinks maybe his leg's being pulled here, but - it's way, way more fun to just believe what his eyes are seeing. a little bit belatedly, he realizes derek's been conversing with someone else off camera - both verbally, and just with looks, too - assumes it's steve, and wonders to himself if he's a werewolf, too. probably, he thinks.
at the mention of contracts, billy straightens up a little, but remains mostly nonchalant, more interested in derek than anything to do with himself or his... current situation. he waves his hand dismissively though this is barely caught on camera at the edge of the frame, and shrugs one shoulder, tilting his head until his ear rests against his shoulder, one eye squinted halfway shut. ]
I did. My - uh. The guy I signed with, he offered me the second room in his apartment, but. [ he drags his nails along the edge of his jaw, scratching lightly. ] My best friend lives down here too, and I want to be able to stick close by. So.
[ the dorms aren't so bad. or, well, they weren't, but they're kind of worse for wear now, in the aftermath of the little turf war that took place down here while billy was stuck in the up partying his life away. there's... room for improvement, and billy has the means to climb the ladder a little, but. it still feels kind of weird. everything is still kind of weird.
billy waves another dismissive hand. ]
Anyway. ... Does that hurt? [ he gestures. ] I mean the teeth and the eyes, all of that. [ ... ] Do you have like - infrared vision or whatever? Is that why they turn red?
[ billy. that's not what infrared... is. ]
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but it's not something he's going to pursue, least of all now. derek leans back, spinning slightly in his desk chair. he's just as endeared by billy's reason to stay in the down as he is by the rest of him, and he finds himself opening up more than he thought he would have when this conversation started. ]
Fair enough. Steve was staying in the dorms when I first showed up in Duplicity - I think the first couple of months I spent here, I was holed up in his room watching all the movies he was lucky enough to bring with him from home. Wouldn't have been able to survive without my best friend that close to me.
[ and he lets billy ask his questions, mildly amused by the stabs in the dark, the inaccuracies. he thinks it's sweet, that billy's first real question is does that hurt. most people don't think to ask that. ]
It doesn't. I can see in the dark, though, yes. Hear frequencies you can't hear, smell scents you can't smell. All kinds of things.
[ explaining why, exactly, his eyes turn red, would be introducing billy to werewolf hierarchy and flooding him with knowledge far more boring comparative to "man make teef big", so derek doesn't go into it. he just smiles again, a playful little twitch at the corner of his lip that he immediately bites down. memories flood through him - the school, tracking down peter when they didn't realize he was the alpha, the strangled little cat noise scott made over the intercom. again, his eyes flick offscreen to look at stiles, and what he says next might be more for him, than for billy. ]
I want to hear you howl. You said anyone can howl on mic, so - I want to hear you try.
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his skateboard is propped up by the door where he tends to leave it more often than not (easy to grab on the way out, easy to prop up under the doorknob just in case... things happen.. again), so he grabs that and takes it back to his bed, listening to derek explain how he relates to billy in that he, too, spent all of his time hanging around his friend. he snorts quietly out his nose, climbing back up onto his bed. ]
Yeah, but, [ billy plops down, crosses his legs and folds them under each other, slaps his board down on its side on the mattress, wheels facing out and away from him. everything looks kind of blair witch for a couple seconds as he settles, and then billy extends his arms and props his phone up against his board deck.
there. now he doesn't have to hold it, and he can sit however he wants - which is just exactly how he is now, but now he can rest his elbows on his knees and keep his hands free. ] Isn't Steve also your boyfriend or whatever? Of course you'd spend all your time with him.
[ nevermind that derek told him, once, that he and steve didn't get together until after they both showed up here, after knowing each other for - what, two years? anyway. billy's not really sure what that says about him and how all he wants to do most days is hang out with marcus, so he decides not to think about it too much and moves on. ]
Ugh, but you've got super senses. That's rad. ... Well, kinda [ he lifts one hand, holds it so his palm is parallel to the mattress, and then teeter-totters his hand back and forth a couple times, as if to say hit or miss ] on the scents thing, right? One bad fart and it's—
[ he swipes his hand in front of his throat in a slicing motion and laughs for a second. fart jokes. classic. ]
But still. That's gotta be so cool, dude. [ he pauses here for a second, wets his lips, absently adjusts the thick chain around his neck as he looks into the camera. ] You're gonna wish you were deaf after this, though. Don't say I didn't warn you.
[ if derek thinks billy's gonna shy away from howling like an idiot, he's dead wrong. billy straightens his spine, starts to clear his throat obnoxiously, ahem-hem-hem-hem-ing as he shakes both of his hands out. clearly, this is a full body experience, but eventually, he cups his hands on either side of his mouth, and he just goes for it.
it's very stereotypical as far as howls go, your basic aouuuuuuu that starts out at a higher pitch and drops gradually to a lower, bassline note that eventually fades out once billy runs out of breath. there's nothing remarkable about it, honestly - it sounds like every regular kid who's ever pretended to howl at the moon - but next to scott mccall's shitty rendition of a cat begging for death, it's not that bad.
billy seems proud of it, at least. ]
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when billy brings up stiles, drops the boyfriend thing, derek frowns, turning his attention back to him. ]
He wasn't always my boyfriend.
[ derek's a little defensive, and that's partially because - well - that's debatable, actually. they were definitely dating before they knew they were dating. still, whatever he might be thinking about is immediately dashed short when billy makes a fart joke, and derek's staring down at his screen with his familiar brand of irritated disapproval. he doesn't say anything, just sighs, his good mood tanking in that annoyed, big brother way of his. "one bad fart". shut up.
he's mildly impressed, mildly annoyed, with how quickly and shamelessly billy commits to howling. derek scratches his beard on his wrist, too lazy to lift his head to scratch it properly, though he does adjust himself so he's resting his chin on his palm, wrist bent backwards. billy really fucking throws himself into that howl, and whatever mean, playful, bullying bone in derek's body wanted him to make fun of billy long before he started doing this actually kinda falters in the face of just how earnest billy is with this. the volume, the excitement, the effort - how can derek roll his eyes at this? he ends up laughing, dropping his arm on the desk, shaking his head. ]
Okay. I'll give you props for that. I didn't think you'd have it in you. But - hold on -
[ derek pushes back from the desk, his whole body soon in frame, has another little aside with stiles - babe, where are the cats? in the bedroom? okay, cool - and when he's sure that he's not going to freak out his pets with what he's about to do, he shakes out his wrists and rolls his shoulders. he clears his throat, slightly mocking billy with that ahem-hem-hem-hem he starts this off with, and when he flashes his eyes red, bares his teeth and throws his neck back -
well, he doesn't roar as loud as he could, because he doesn't want anyone to fucking track him and stiles down in the nice, warded privacy of their own home, but he does roar. it's this bestial, echoing, lion-like sound, completely inhuman and utterly terrifying in its overbearing dominance. he doesn't roar loud enough to shake the windows, but he roars loud enough to fuck up the volume on the call halfway through - it's loud enough for the mic to only pick up noise and static, for a second, before the volume fades back down enough for his phone to capture the rest of it. derek cracks his neck when he's done and uses his heels to roll back towards the desk, and he leans in close when he gets back to billy, keeping this from stiles. ]
Totally gonna get lucky tonight.
[ his boy likes werewolves, what are you gonna do. ]
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whatever billy expects a werewolf howl to sound like - it's not fucking that. derek roars, and even though the mic cuts out halfway through, billy hears enough of it, he sees enough of the entire display - the flex of derek's throat, his teeth, his eyes - to be genuinely startled, enough that he flinches back and slaps a hand over his chest, eyes huge in his head, mouth open and everything.
holy fuck that was crazy - and insanely cool. billy quickly settles, his mild, instinctive fear quickly fading away, replaced with fascination and awe. he starts to laugh, his breath tumbling out of him in a huge rush, hand moving from his chest to pass over his hair to the back of his neck. derek leans in, so billy does too out of impulse, hand still holding the back of his own neck, still smiling, bewildered. what the fuck is going on in this city.
derek makes a comment about getting laid, obviously keeping his voice down, but billy either misses that cue or he's just - too excited to monitor the level of his own voice. his eyebrows lift sharply, like he's somehow surprised, but also not... surprised. that someone would want to climb derek after that. ]
What, was that like - some kind of mating call? [ he laughs, maybe trying to ignore the little bit of confusion that's going on in his body right now. is he a little turned on? who the fuck knows. ] Jesus, man.
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Nah — I just know what he likes.
[ again, derek is distracted by steve, his face a little comical when he realizes he and billy were pretty obviously overheard — but derek just presses his lips together, tries not to laugh, and rolls his chair closer to the desk, leaning in and keeping his voice down. the urge to say something like "it's totally normal to get hard, that's basically why steve and i got together in the first place" hits pretty fast, but no, okay, okay, he's done being the obnoxious, braggadocious little prick he was in highschool. he drums his fingers on the desk, clearly in a good mood. ]
... Anyway — tell me more about you. Other than a penchant for drugs and a willingness to align yourself with a fucking monster hunter, I don't know much about you.
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still, he makes a face. lifts his eyebrows, mouth turning downward, expression thoughtful, conceding. like it makes complete and total sense that derek's boyfriend would be super into werewolves, even though billy knows nothing about him.
billy hates this question. tell me more about you. ... well, it's less that he hates the question, but more than he never knows what to say in response to it, not that he gets asked to talk about himself very often. in billy's opinion, he's not a very interesting person, and the things that other people might find interesting, are things he doesn't really like to talk about - like king's, and what he does there, for one.
derek might be in a good mood, and billy's not necessarily in a bad one, but his expression does kind of neutralize a bit, from amused to - contemplative. maybe a little awkward or slightly uncomfortable, but he pushes through it, absently turning the thin strip of leather around one of his wrists, twisting it 'round and 'round, pushing it as far up his arm as it'll go before dragging it back down, just for something to do. ]
Uh. [ billy pauses for a second, then lets out a rushed breath that was probably supposed to be a laugh more than anything else, judging by the half smile he offers. ] Okay, firstly: you're the one who told me to find a Dom if I wanted to stop eating out of dumpsters, so you can't be all judgey about that. B: I didn't know you were a werewolf until, like, two minutes ago. I didn't know they actually existed until two minutes ago, and it's not like I was like 'hey, Geralt, I got a friend who grows fangs and claws and wants to date the moon, how about you sign a contract with me'.
[ no part of anything he says sounds, like - defensive. he's just goofing around, mostly, but also making it clear that geralt shouldn't be a threat to derek. he hopes that's clear, anyway. ]
I said I wouldn't tell him about you, and I won't. ... I do like drugs, though. You got me there.
[ but what else is there to say about himself? billy scrunches his nose up as he thinks. ]
I dunno, dude. I'm from California? Around the Bay area. [ what else, what else ] I like most music, I guess. Not super into, like - hippie shit or whatever, but if it's loud and meaningful, it's alright. And- [ hm. ] I've got a younger brother back home, and he... means more to me than he will ever know.