If she closes her eyes, Pike can still remember the moment she met each member of their little family.

Grog she'd found as a child, covered in scrapes and bruises, wandering the street by her house with a bewildered look on his face. The twins she'd met simultaneously nearly fifteen years later, when she'd been at Grog's apartment and he'd introduced her to his neighbors. Keyleth and Tiberius had been the year after, if that. They'd taken a vacant apartment down the hall, and Keyleth had dragged Tiberius around to greet all of her new hallmates. Percy joined them last, when Keyleth found his ad on Craigslist after Tiberius moved out. Pike had been half-convinced he was a serial killer at first, but she'd warmed to him quickly.

And then there was Scanlan. After the way things ended, Pike worried she'd never be able to forget a moment she spent with him. She knew she'd forgotten so many things already, all the mundane moments in their apartment, the everyday banter around mealtimes, the quieter moments while watching television, and yet, the memories she had of him remained far too crisp for her liking. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd missed some sign, if she could've stopped him, if she could've somehow known.

Like the day they'd met, five years ago. Pike had been working her way through med school, and took study breaks at Grog's whenever she could possibly spare the time. She was spending one of her precious free hours there, kicking Grog's ass in Mortal Kombat and drinking beer, when she'd heard a door open.

She didn't look up- she expected Grog's old roommate, a private fellow who didn't seem to like her much. Instead, a warm tenor purred, "Oh, hello. And who is this?"

Startled by the interruption, Pike let her guard down, and Grog's character dealt a major combo, leaving her with a sliver of health. "Fuck!" she said.

"Oh yeah." Grog rumbled, sounding amused. "Meet Scanlan. He's my new roommate."

"You got a new roommate?" Pike struggled to recover, but her rhythm was off, and Grog quickly dispatched her with a few well-timed moves. Pike threw down her controller as Grog laughed, and glanced up at the intruder.

Standing in his bedroom doorway, in ratty purple band t-shirt partially tucked into his jeans, was one of the oddest people Pike had ever seen. He looked as short as her, with long brown hair in a messy ponytail down his back. The ponytail, combined with weathered skin, a nine o'clock shadow, and ancient-looking cowboy boots, made his age inscrutable, but when he smiled, the grin had mischief that took years off of his face.

"Scanlan Shorthalt." Grog said. "He's my drinking buddy from the gym. Though he's not at the gym anymore."

"We had artistic differences." Scanlan said smoothly, extending a hand. "And this lovely lady is?"

Pike stood up, shaking his hand. "Pike Trickfoot." His grip was warm, although he lingered a second too long.

"My sister." Grog growled from the couch.

Pike let go of Scanlan's hand and turned to Grog, placing her hands on her hips. "Grog. You know I can handle myself."

"Yeah, you can." Grog leaned back on the couch, smiling proudly. "She could take you in a fight, Scanlan."

"Good to know." Scanlan said. When Pike turned around, he was still smiling at her, seemingly unabashed.

Afterwards, he'd joined them on the couch for a bit, even losing badly at a few rounds of Mortal Kombat before leaving the house with a guitar. Pike found out that he was trying to make it as a musician, that he'd worked as a receptionist at the gym with Grog for a few months, that he'd been fired for showing up late too many times and was a barista now, and that he was likely a fair bit older but refused to say. Pike remembered coming away from the conversation thinking Scanlan was a pretty open fellow, if a bit too flirtatious.

She wondered if she'd missed signs, even then. She wondered how she could have gotten such a wrong first impression, and how she'd kept it for so long. She'd eventually figured out he had his secrets, and his openness was partially an act, but she'd had no idea the extent of it until things had fallen apart.

But after three years, she accepted she might never get the answers to what exactly had happened back then.

Until the fucking sting.

(2017)

Pike knew, when she got the call from Kima to come down to the police station, that it could only mean one thing. She hurried in, gave her name to the woman at the front desk, and was quickly ushered into one of the more private rooms in the back.

After several minutes, Kima walked in, followed by Allura, to Pike's surprise. Kima she expected, as the short, red haired woman was the detective assigned to her family's case, but Allura worked higher up in the chain of command, on the court side of things. Allura wouldn't be here unless things were serious.

"What's going on?" Pike asked as they sat across from her. "Did you find them again?"

Allura and Kima traded a look, and Allura nodded. "We've heard word that a group matching your family's description has been operating cons out of Emon." Allura said. "Their usual methods, targeting kids and the elderly, convincing people they've broken the law, that sort of business."

Pike shook her head. "I'll let you know if they contact me. Unless you want me to try and reach out?"

"That's just it." Kima said. "We came up with a more proactive plan this time."

Allura leaned forward. "Do you remember the last time your family visited you? Three years ago?"

Pike nodded. "I...I remember. But that was because they found out I was living with someone well-connected. We don't talk, anymore."

Kima and Allura traded glances. "We have another idea." said Kima. "It's...strange."

"Okay."

"We were trying to come up with an event that would bring family into town." Allura clasped her hands together on the table. "Like weddings, funerals, major birthdays or anniversaries, and reunions. Of the list, only weddings or funerals are really compelling. And between those two, a funeral would be a lot harder to fake, and would only bring them into town for at most a few days."

Pike furrowed her brow. "So what you're saying is..."

"We would like you to fake a wedding and invite your family." Kima said.

Pike leaned back in her seat, wondering if she'd heard right. "Um..."

"We've received special allocation from the department to help provide you with funds, so you won't have to worry about that." Allura said. "We would prefer you tell as few people as possible about the true nature of this wedding, to prevent word getting to your family. Maybe host some bridal showers and events beforehand so they have a reason to be in town for a while."

Pike was still searching for words. Kima slid a hand across the table. "I know this is an odd plan, but that's why it might work. They'll suspect if you just invite them into town, but they might not if you're planning a wedding. And the amount of money that goes into a wedding nowadays might be too much for them to pass up."

"Oh, no, this sounds fun." Pike said. "You want me to host a big party for my friends and maybe get my family off the street? I can do that. I've got a few good friends who might agree to be my fake spouse, too-" At that, Kima leaned back, looking towards Allura. "What?"

"We've already got someone in mind." Allura said.

Pike tilted her head. "You do? Who, Grog? I don't think they'd buy that-"

"No." Allura said, and she and Kima glanced at each other again.

Kima stood. "Come with us."

"Um...okay." Pike said, following Kima and Allura out into the hall.

"This is a kill-two-birds situation." Kima said as they walked down a long row of doors. "We arrested a guy recently, he's connected to some big drug and counterfeit rings in the city. We offered him this wedding as a plea deal to keep him out of jail, for a bit. We're trying to get him to tell us more, but he's not keen on talking."

Allura nodded. "We would like for you to keep an eye on him, maybe get some information out of him."

Pike glanced between them as they stopped outside another door. "Wouldn't it be more believable if I was marrying someone they knew?"

"They do." Kima said, lowering her voice. "And you do, too. We think you've got a better chance of getting him to talk than anyone."

Before Pike could fully process the words, Kima had opened the door and ushered her inside. Pike stopped cold, staring at the person handcuffed to the other side of the table. If not for the nudge as Allura bumped into her back, she would've thought she was dreaming.

And then Scanlan smiled, the same smile from five years ago when they first met. "Well, this is..." He paused, searching. "...happening."

Pike lunged across the table and slapped him in the face.

A/N: New fic! A few things- this has been prewritten and for the most part pre-edited, so I'm going to aim to post a chapter weekly, probably on Sunday, but we'll see. Through edits, I managed to cut about 25k, some of which could stand alone as oneshots, so I may post a few of those down the line. Also, while working on this, I kept hearing songs and thinking "this is perfect for x scene!" so I eventually caved to self-indulgence and made a playlist. If anyone's interested, it's called "The Sting" under the youtube account mommamilioti. It shouldn't spoil anything- some songs I chose for the lyrics, but just as many others were chosen because they're referenced in story, or I liked the general mood. Only two are specifically about just Pike or just Scanlan, so there's plenty of room for interpretation.

Finally, I simplified some of the Trickfoot family relations, because humans unfortunately don't have gnomish lifespans- Astra and Johann are Pike's aunt and uncle instead of cousins (and JB's parents), and Ogden is Wilhand's brother and Pike's great-uncle, to justify his age. I hope you still enjoy!. I hope you still enjoy!

Next up: Pike and Scanlan move in together, twice.