I had never thought of star gazing as something I could do alone. Ever since I was little, it was something I would do with someone. And now, when I did think about it and realized it was something I could do without someone else with me, there was no way I'd be able to. Not when I had demons following me around everywhere I went.
As annoying as it was, I was used to Bill being everywhere I went. I couldn't sleep without seeing him somewhere, whether I be having a nightmare, a good dream, or a direct conversation with him. He followed me around when I was awake, sneaking thoughts and comments into my mind. He was like an ever present, second brain but he could be handled in most situations.
Alioth, on the other hand, was new. I hadn't seen him before, at least not enough to know he was real. He was bonded to my soul in something I could only think of as demon marriage. That was strange as it was. His mannerisms, though, were what made it hard to be around him. He was always staring with wide, owl-like eyes. He kept his distance unless you told him to come near you and he rarely ever spoke. Most of his communication was done through gestures and growling. He was less like a demon and more like an animal.
The two of them together were terrifying. To say they argued wouldn't be exactly correct. They fought, sometimes with fires and sometimes with fists. On more than one occasion the two had gone all out in dreams, leaving me with anything but a restful sleep. I couldn't even tell them to go away or to take it somewhere else, or rather even if I did they wouldn't listen to me. It was like it needed to happen in front of me. So when I did try to go star gazing, just to get my mind off everything that had been happening to me, they were the last things I wanted there but were, as always, right next to me. Literally.
Bill had taken my right side and Alioth the left. Neither of them had moved since they got there and they had been staring each other down over me. I could practically feel sparks coming off of them. It ruined the atmosphere of the lake, which had been the only place I could go and be sure that Dipper or Mabel wouldn't happen by on a late night search or party run. The urge to push one of them into the lake was almost overwhelming and if it hadn't been for the near perfect omniscience of one of them, I probably would have done it.
"Will you two stop it already?" I put my face in my hands and let out a huge sigh. I didn't want to deal with this (not that I ever wanted to) when I just wanted a few minutes to sit in quiet and remember old memories.
I felt a hand rest on my head and another on my shoulder but the tense atmosphere still hung in an oppressing and thick blanket. More aggravated than I should have been, I jumped up and turned to face them. The demons seemed unfazed, their eyes unmoving and their hands resting on air as if there was still something holding them up. I pulled at them by the wrists until they finally broke contact and looked at me, one as emotionless as always and the other with a hint of surprise.
"Can't you do something other than glare at each other? Or at the very least, go somewhere else? I'm sick and tired of having you two constantly fighting over me. Literally over me! I don't like fighting when it's beside me, why would you do it when it could hit my head?"
"Well, that's-"
"Save it, Bill. Not in the mood for one of your weird explanations right now. In fact, I'm not in the mood for anything except silence and the absence of weird demon fights." Giving them both a hard, meaningful look, I dropped back down on my back and settled in to stare at the sky for a while.
They seemed to listen for once, a miracle I was beyond grateful for, and Bill laid back with me. Alioth watched him carefully, eyes narrowing and pupils becoming even thinner slits than they usually were. He turned his head when he saw my catch him and looked up. I felt satisfied with this and relaxed, sinking into the ground and laying my hands on my stomach.
The sky was clear and dark, spotted with the bright and dim white stars. They twinkled endlessly but stayed in place, constant as they could be and endless as always. I mapped out what constellations I could remember, smiling at a few. Stories I had been told as a child came back to me and left tears in my eyes. I reached up to wipe them away only to find someone else already doing it. I opened my mouth to speak only to be cut off immediately.
"No need to get so worked up over the stars, doll," Bill muttered, pulling his hand away. "They're not all that important."
Alioth growled loudly, shifting over me and looking ready to snap Bill's head off with one clawed hand. I wondered if it was the star comment or the closeness that set him off but quickly started to push him away. He blinked, looking over to me with much rounder eyes. His head tilted to the side as if he were asking a question.
"Easy there. You know better." He shrank back at my words and looked down. He was as unreadable as usual but I thought I caught just a glimpse of apology in him. I turned my attention back to Bill, ready to tell him that he needed to be more careful, when I caught him grinning like he'd just won the lottery.
I reached out and smacked him upside the head, all concern fluttering quietly out the window. I should have known better, honestly. He was always trying to cause trouble and there was no reason for this to be any different. Bill looked at me with a pout, holding where I'd connected, but his yellow eye still danced with amusement.
"Don't go thinking too hard about that, you triangular menace."
"Admit it," Bill began, leaning closer to me. "You did that because you've gotten attached to me, not because of your silly no fights decree."
I huffed and rolled my eyes, arms crossing over my chest. "As if. I already said I don't want any fights. That's the only reason I stopped him."
"Mhmm. Tell ya what, I'll believe that when I know better."
[⋆]
Grace batted at Cipher, pushing his face away and looking like she was trying to hold back a smile. She wasn't doing that good of a job keeping it in though. I could see it come through every time she made eye contact with him. I found it annoying, how close she could be to someone like him. I wanted to pull them apart from each other. He shouldn't be touching her with his bloody hands. He of all people should have known that he shouldn't be doing that. Grace was mine and had been since her soul, as old as it was, had been bonded to mine. He knew what it meant. I was supposed to protect it and here he was, playing with it like a child's toy.
I pushed back my natural urges. It was only for a little while longer, both the way they were acting and his presence around her. He would have to leave her alone soon. The timeline demanded it and he wasn't someone who could fight the timeline no matter how hard he tried. He wasn't the sort of person who could get a time wish without anyone by his side. He wasn't the sort of person that would fight the Time Baby over something like Grace's precious soul.
And he certainly wasn't the sort of person that I would let get in my way.