Smoking In The Living Room
By: Carol Molliniere
(A/N: Found myself in a writing rut, so I decided to post this here. This is for my Reverse Falls AU, my take on Reverse Pines where Gideon and his friend Pacifica are staying at the house of Pacifica's uncle Bill.)
Disclaimer: Gravity Falls does not belong to me. Neither does Reverse Pines. This just happens to be my own take on it.
William Northwest was smoking in the living room.
Not that there was anything unusual in that. Bill had been a smoker ever since eleven years ago, and had only recently (tried to) quit this summer. What made this sight remarkable was that his niece's friend Gideon Gleeful had never seen Bill smoke before.
When Bill spotted Gideon in the doorway of the living room, he didn't look guilty. Instead, he just took the cigarette out of his mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke, and regarded Gideon with an empty expression.
"What?" Bill asked.
Gideon shrank back a little, and twiddled his fingers together.
"Wh...what're 'ya doin' here?" he asked. "Aren't 'ya goin' t'bed?"
Bill shook his head. "Can't sleep," he said, putting the cigarette back in his mouth. "Found I'd much rather smoke than sleep tonight."
"...Isn't that bad 'fer you?" Gideon asked, looking plaintively at Bill.
Bill took one look at him, and started to laugh.
"...What?" Gideon took a step back.
"You sound just like my brother," Bill said. "My stupid, stupid brother. Always trying to help me, always trying to do what's right for me..."
" 'Cifica's father?" Gideon tried.
Bill's hand went up to the cigarette, then took it out again, exhaling another cloud.
"That idiot didn't know what he was doing back then...I'm sure he was trying to help...but in the end...we only..."
Bill ran his other hand over his eyes, and began to sob a little. Gideon took one step forward, and put a hand on Bill's shoulders as they shook.
"I'm sorry," Gideon said, and Bill looked up at him with tear-streaked eyes.
"...That's just what he'd say, too..." Bill said, sniffling.
Gideon didn't know what to say next. He patted Bill's shoulder for a while, before pulling it back towards him.
"I-I'll just go back t'bed," he said, before turning around.
"Hey, kid."
Gideon froze, and then turned around to face Bill. "Y-yes?" he asked.
"Don't tell your friend about what just happened here," Bill said.
"Yes, Mr. Northwest."
Then Gideon left, and William Northwest was left to smoke alone in the living room.