So this chapter is mainly fluff. There is still some drama (as this is a drama story), but mostly fluff.

Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers: TheEvil4ssHole, Energy witch, Insert Name Here, Gu3t, Ella Le Hissy, Catwildes, I'mnotaguestanymore, DiamondLuna2, and the three Guests! Many thanks for all your feedback!


Soos swung by a little after one with Bill's belongings from the motel in his truck. Bill waited on the porch of the shack with his arms out. The busting messenger bag was placed in the blond's outstretched hands. Bill had not been expecting the sudden weight and nearly toppled to the floor.

Bill hurried to drop his bag back off in his room. He returned to the kitchen to see Stan ladling soup into four bowls. He greeted Soos, and having predicted the younger man's arrival motioned for him to take a seat at the table. The older man then grabbed Bill and shoved him into a vacant chair.

"Eat," Stan commanded. "'Cause I ain't takin' you back to the hospital."

Bill rolled his eyes, but the rumble in his stomach reminded him that he required nourishment. Whatever was in those steaming bowls smelled delicious, and was most likely better than that slop they tried to feed him for breakfast at the hospital.

Soos took his seat next to Stan. Ford arrived on time for lunch and sat down next to Bill.

A bowl was placed in front of each person. Bill inhaled the savory scent of clam chowder with chunks of potatoes in the cream. The blond dumped half a bag of oyster crackers into his bowl.

"Save some for the rest of us," Ford scolded.

Bill grinned at the scientist and dipped his spoon into his chowder then dumped a heap of soggy crackers in Ford's bowl. Stan had to hold his hand over his mouth to keep his brother from seeing him laugh. The muffled sounds still made it to Ford's ears.

The bag was handed to Soos who sifted a few into his own creamy soup. He picked up the spoon and dunked tiny crackers under the steaming liquid.

"I tried to get you some of your money back," Soos said. "The manager wouldn't have it. He has the same refund policy as Mr. Pines."

"Smart man," Stan said with a nod of his head.

"That's two hundred dollars," Ford said. Both Soos and Bill nodded. Ford shook his head. "I doubt that's legal."

"Don't worry, IQ, I'll get him back for it," Bill said with a smirk.

"Bill," Ford reminded the other. "You can't hurt anyone."

Bill turned his grin to the author. "Oh, don't worry, Sixer, I won't be hurting any person." He gave a wicked laugh that made Ford worry.

The demon pulled his cell phone from his pocket. With that same evil smile in place he sent a group text to the teenagers who had recently accepted him into their clique. The phone was set down on the table along with Bill's laughter.

"Bill, what are you up to?" Ford warned.

"Ohhh, nothing," Bill replied with a laugh.

"It's best you don't ask," Stan said when he noticed his brother's discomfort.

Bill smiled as he brought a spoonful of soup to his face. He let the warm food into his mouth and licked the remaining cream from his lips.

Ford decided to let whatever Bill planned go. He could only hope that the blond in time would forget his quest for revenge.

Ford looked over Bill. In that moment he recalled all he had went through to bring Bill back to their side. He hoped that would be their last visit to the hospital for some time.

"Bill," Ford called. Bill downed the rest of his soda before looking over. Ford put his spoon down next to his empty bowl. "You said you have the notes for the healing potion?"

Bill nearly choked. He swallowed the bit of soup then nodded his answer.

"Not out of the hospital for two hours and you're already talking work," Stan commented.

Ford pretended not to hear his brother's words.

Seeing that lunch was practically finished, Bill hurried to his room. Soos busied himself with washing the dishes. A few seconds later Bill returned with a ripped sheet of paper folded into fours. With a sheepish smile he handed it to the author.

Ford accepted the gift. He sighed as he read over the ingredients for the healing potion. The handwriting was Alicia's. He glanced over the paper and glared at the demon.

"You took this out of Mrs. Remington's journal?" Ford asked.

Bill nodded.

Ford looked over the paper again. He wondered why he hadn't noticed a rip in one of the notebooks before. He flipped it over to see a journal entry dated for year he had not read up on.

"Which journal?" Ford asked.

Bill looked away.

Ford noticed the guilty look that Bill tried to hide.

"Bill," he repeated in a firmer tone. "Which journal?"

Without a word Bill returned to his room. Ford was tempted to follow, but waited for Bill to return. Stan cringed at his twin's foot tapping until Bill emerged in the kitchen once more. In his hands he held what appeared to be the bound notebooks from the lab. Ford wondered when Bill could have snuck off with them.

Without making eye contact, Bill placed the remaining three notebooks in Ford's hands. Ford ran his hand over the top one and took a deep breath.

"No more secrets," Bill said.

"You've been keeping these from me?" Ford asked, trying his best to mask the anger in his voice.

Bill nodded. "You asked for honesty, so...I'm coming clean," he said.

However he chose not to tell Ford that the journal entry detailing the spell that passed one demon's power to another was still hidden inside a pants pocket in his bedroom.

Ford dropped the bottom two on the table then flipped through the top one. Sure enough the words and dates written inside were not ones his eyes scanned previously. He felt a mixture of anger and hurt growing inside.

"When did you take these?" Ford inquired.

"A while ago," Bill replied. "Back when I was dating Chips."

"And you haven't tampered with them?" Ford asked as he grabbed the notebooks off the table.

Bill shook his head. He told himself that it technically wasn't a lie since he didn't verbally respond. Besides, he rationalized he only promised to try to tell the truth, and he had revealed most of his secrets. A meager two sheets of paper should be something he was allotted to keep to himself.

Pleased with the outcome, Ford picked up the new materials and headed for the lab without a word to the other three. Bill felt his stomach swell. He followed after Ford. The author quickened his strides. Bill called after him, but Ford refused to answer.

The door to the lab swung open. Bill stopped ten feet behind Ford. The human firmly grasped the bound journals that once belonged to the late Alicia Remington. Bill feared stepping too close.

"You're angry with me?" Bill asked.

Ford sighed. "No," he finally answered after a moment of silence. "I am disappointed," he continued. "Mostly with myself."

Bill watched the figure of Ford disappear down the stairs. The door to the lab shut behind the scientist, leaving Bill on the other side.

Bill's hand hovered over the keypad of the vending machine. He swallowed, knowing that Ford would be most annoyed with his presence at the moment. He let his arm fall by his side and hung his head.

"Oh, he's mad?" Soos guessed.

Bill sighed. "I...I really screwed up this time," he confessed.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Soos said, hoping for the best.

"Sorry's not gonna fix this one," Bill replied.

It broke Soos' heart to see his friend who was just released from the hospital two hours ago looking so glum.

He looked out the gift shop window and his eyes lit up at the sheet of white covering the outside.

"Have you seen the snow?" Soos asked. He took Bill by the hand and guided him over to the large window.

The two looked out to see hefty flakes falling and merging into the clumps below.

"It's frozen rain, right?" Bill asked.

He turned and smiled widely at Bill. "Dude, we're gonna have so much fun."

The two hurried over to the equipment closet. Soos pulled on his winter coat and scarf that Mabel made him over the summer. Bill put on the hand-me-down coat and gloves Ford gave him as a gift a few weeks ago.

Right before Thanksgiving break Ford had found Fiddleford's old coat and gloves in a box stored off at the end of the basement. Since they were the right fit for Bill, Ford had offered them to his new assistant researcher.

Soos grabbed a couple of fur-lined hats off the shelf and placed one on Bill's head, then one atop his own.

It took a little extra effort to push open the door. The two stepped outside. Bill wrapped his arms around himself when he stepped into the frigid air. He watched his breath turn to fog.

"H-how is fr-fr-freezing to death fun, Qu-question Mark?" Bill asked.

Instead of a verbal reply Bill watched the larger man jump from the porch. He landed in the powdery fluff below. Slowly the blond made his way down the steps. Soos laid on his back and waved his arms and legs. A handful of snow fell off the back of Soos' jacket when he stood. In his wake there laid a figure in the shape of an angel.

Soos pointed to the snow angel then motioned for Bill to try. The demon was hesitant.

Despite his body's reminder that it was a stupid idea, Bill laid down in the snow. The cold seeped through his clothes making him shiver more. He looked up at Soos who nodded for him to try. Bill shut his eyes and copied the movements he saw Soos make.

When he stood he wasn't surprised to see his wasn't as clear as the other man's. His angel looked more deformed.

Bill turned to say something only for a snowball to collide with his face. He shook the snow away and stared with his mouth open. Soos tossed a second one. Bill turned his head and the snow smacked against his hat.

Bill narrowed his eyes. He saw the enemy trying a third attack. Bill grinned and darted behind a tree. He shoved his hands into the snow and pulled out his own weapon. He rounded it and peered around the tree trunk to see Soos waiting for him. Bill ducked in time to miss the assault.

With a laugh Bill launched his first snowball. It hit Soos in the belly. The handyman merely laughed then readied another ball.

Again Bill dodged. He laughed as he threw three in a row. One by one they pelted the childlike man. The fourth caught Soos off guard and he was knocked on his butt. The two laughed.

Stan stood on the porch with a cup of hot tea in hand. He shook his head at his employee's behavior. He figured since there were no customers, and not likely to have any anytime soon in the present weather, he could let them play. Just for today.

Both Bill and Soos noticed the new presence. Bill nodded at Stan then grinned. Soos caught what Bill was trying to say and mirrored his smile.

They waited for Stan to finish the tea and put it down before they launched their attack. Stan yelled as he was pelted with four snowballs. Stan turned to see the two of them pointing and laughing at his expense.

"If that's how you want it," Stan hissed. He pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket and covered his fingers. He scooped up a nice helping of snow from the porch and formed a large snowball with it. "Then it's war!" he yelled and aimed.

Bill didn't have time to dodge. He took the snowball to the face and fell down. His falling form accidentally knocked Soos down. Soos landed on his stomach and Bill on his back. The two looked up to see Stan charging at them with more ammo.

"Retreat!" Soos cried.

Bill scurried to his feet, his boots spraying snow as he took off.

Soos and Bill hid behind a row of pine trees. Bill knelt down and with the help of his magic, formed twenty snowballs. He and Soos nodded then peeked out from the tree trunks.

Once Stan was in sight, the two let the snowballs fly. Stan yelped as he was hit again and again. He yelled out his surrender before his opponents could finish.

Stan backed up against a tree and his employees came out of their fortress laughing. Bill and Soos gave each other high fives then turned to their boss.

"You two cheated, I know it," Stan grumbled.

"Can't prove it," Bill teased.

"Alright, come inside before you two get frostbite," Stan said and waved for them to follow.

Stan glanced over his shoulder, wearing a sly smile. Soos and Bill took the bait. He waited until they were in place then smacked the center of the tree trunk. The two looked up as a blanket of snow fell upon the both of them, covering their heads and torsos with the frost.

Bill shook his head and laughed. His hat fell to the ground. Drops of white clung to his now wet curls.

"You were right, this is fun," Bill said to Soos.

The three made their way into the shack. Stan announced that he was going inside before he caught a cold. He let them know the snow would linger for about three to four months, and by that time they would be sick of it.

Nonetheless, the two were not ready to head back in. For the next fifteen minutes Soos instructed Bill on how to build a snowman. Again Bill relied on his magic to help roll the large sphere needed for the base of their snow creature. Soos topped it with a less rounded ball. Bill perfected the perfect shape for the head.

The blond leaped up on one of the trees and grabbed a branch. He kicked the trunk and the branch snapped in two. Bill realized his mistake too late as he along with the broken branch fell to the ground. The two feet of snow cushioned his fall. He held the materials they could use for the arms high in the air. Soos laughed and accepted them. The arms were jabbed into the middle sphere of the snowman.

A pinecone was selected for the nose and several stones worked for the eyes and mouth. Bill snatched his hat off his head and planted it atop their creation. The two stepped back to admire their work. It was far from perfect, but it was theirs.

Without the fur to warm his head, Bill found himself shivering more than before. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself and stated that he too would head inside to thaw out. Soos felt he had enough fun for one afternoon and followed his friend's cue.

The two stepped inside and stomped excess snow from their shoes. Bill removed the jacket and hurried to the living room where the main source of the heat originated. Stan sat in the chair nursing a fresh cup of tea and watching some cheesy Christmas special. The instant he noticed company in the room he scrambled for the remote and changed it to a sports channel.

"You didn't see nothin', Blondie," Stan grunted.

Bill placed his finger against his lips and winked at his employer.

Bill pushed through to the kitchen. He quickly made a cup of hot chocolate for each of those in the house. One was delivered to both Soos and Stan in the TV room. He balanced his and Ford's on a tray then walked to the gift shop. Bill looked out the window and his lips curved at a horrible idea. He hurried outside to plan a surprise for his dearest Ford. Said surprise for Ford was hidden in the other hand. He punched in the code then made his way down to the lab.

It was colder in the basement, due to the heat from the house not reaching that level. The heater in the corner was not turned on. As always Ford worked away at whatever project occupied his thoughts at the present moment. Bill was certain he examined the recipe for the potion. Again Bill was hit with guilt that he should have provided Ford with that information the first time he asked.

Ford felt another presence and turned to see Bill facing him with a tray of steaming hot chocolate in hand. Bill waited until Ford gave permission for him to move closer. Carefully, Bill approached and lowered the tray so that Ford could grab his mug.

The author stared into the cup to see the brown liquid covered by a thick layer of whipped cream, seven marshmallows, and a shake of chocolate sprinkles. Ford blew into the cup before taking a long sip. He moaned at the beverage warming his throat.

"It's good," Ford said and placed it on the desk next to his research.

Bill placed the tray on the adjacent table. The item in his other hand was placed beside the tray. He could only hope it would remain intact until he felt safe to use it.

Bill stood behind Ford. The author worked quietly. He wondered if Ford figured he left, or if he was purposely ignoring him. His heart ached at not knowing.

"I'm sorry, Sixer," he finally said. Ford cringed at the apology. "I really am," Bill pressed. "For being deceitful, and well...everything else."

"That's enough," Ford interrupted.

"I'm being earnest, Sixer," Bill pleaded.

Ford turned. He rubbed the sore area on the bridge of his nose then adjusted his glasses. "I wish I could believe you," he said.

That blow hit hard. Even so, Bill could not deny he deserved it.

Bill moved closer. Ford held up his hand to halt him.

"At least believe I do love you," Bill said.

"I can't trust anything you say," Ford replied.

Bill narrowed his eyes. "Then trust this."

Without warning Bill leaned forward and claimed Ford's lips with his. Ford pushed his palms against Bill's chest. Bill pushed harder and Ford lowered his defense.

Bill sat down on Ford's lap. He clamped his hands together behind Ford's back. Ford knew it was a mistake to let his emotions have control if even for a second. However, the look in Bill's eyes proved the truth in his words.

"I love you," Bill whispered in Ford's ear.

Bill moved back and offered a half smile. "I thought you said you'd never love me."

Bill smirked. "I lied."

Ford grabbed the tip of Bill's chin. He lowered Bill's face and let his lips clasp onto Bill's. Bill moaned and leaned into the kiss. Ford pulled Bill closer until their chests touched.

They parted. With eyes halfway shut Bill pecked Ford on the cheek.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked. "For everything?"

"There's a lot I can't forgive you for, and never will," Ford replied. He gave Bill a chaste kiss on the lips. "But this I will."

Bill scooted away. He stood up and reached for the surprise he prepared for Ford. Ford looked up at the blond. In hindsight he should've guessed Bill was up to something.

"I'm sorry for everything," Bill said. He grabbed the ball of ice. Ford noticed Bill's smirk too late. "But mostly for this."

Before Ford could process Bill's words he yelled at the piercing cold against his back. Bill laughed while Ford reached into his sweater to remove the large snowball Bill inserted inside.

Ford grabbed the chunk of ice and glared as it gradually melted. He tossed the snowball against the wall and let his glare fall on Bill. At the sound of Bill's laughter Ford was reminded of a certain weakness of Bill's.

Bill's smile fell as Ford's grew.

"Now you're going to get it," Ford declared.

He tackled Bill to the ground. Bill tried to scurry away, but Ford was too fast. Ford reached for Bill's ribs and tickled him mercilessly.

"Haha! No! Body spasms!" Bill cried as he thrashed. "Not again!"

Ford moved to Bill's armpits and tickled harder. Bill squirmed, laughing and begging for mercy.

"I give! Hahaha. Please! Ah! Haha! Sixer, stop!" Bill pleaded.

Ford granted him mercy.

Bill looked up to see Ford smiling down at him.

Bill wrapped his arms under Ford's and pulled him down. Ford kissed Bill on the lips one last time before moving to his feet. He took hold of Bill's outstretched hand and yanked him up.

Ford sat back down in his chair and picked up his cup. Bill pushed his chair right next to Ford's. The two drank from their mugs of hot chocolate, just enjoying the silence in each other's company.

Bill broke the silence with, "Question Mark and I beat your brother in a snowball fight."

Ford chuckled. He thought of all the times Stan had cornered and defeated him with snowballs.

"I'm sorry I missed that," Ford said.

Bill leaned his head against Ford's shoulder. While stirring his chocolaty drink he offered, "Winter'll be here a while." He grinned at the human. "We can always have an encore."

Ford smiled and draped his arm around Bill. Bill leaned against Ford. Ford shut his eyes and let himself return to that happier time when he and Bill had the world at their feet.


As promised, a sugary sweet fluff chapter. Also, some of you wanted Ford to tickle Bill after it was mentioned a few chapters back, so I included that too.

Bill finally admitted his feelings. Ford still hasn't, but he's proved his love in other ways.

I'm considering doing a Christmas chapter. The younger twins won't be present, but I might do something small with Bill, Ford, Stan, possibly Soos, and maybe even possibly Wendy. No real decisions yet.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this one.