Well, thanks to Matthew I didn't have power for a while, and didn't have internet for even longer. Anyway, here is chapter three.
Thank you to the awesome reviewers: Whiteling, Energy witch, ImpossibleJedi4, BILL CIPHER, Ella Le Hissy, DumDum, TheConManAndTheGhost, Catgirl PA, Nom, DiamondLuna2, and Insert Name Here. You guys are amazing!
DumDum: Yes, he will make an appearance in this story. It will happen sometime after Dipper comes back to town.
Insert Name Here: Nope, I can't make it too easy for them. :P
This chapter will have some heavy drama and angst as some issues that need to be addressed finally will be.
"Bill!" Ford called as he hurried after his fleeing boyfriend. The crowd from the flea market allowed the blond to slip into the sea of faces and escape beyond Ford's field of vision.
Wendy ran after Ford. The other teenagers noticed their friend rushing after Ford, and begrudgingly they followed her lead.
Once Wendy caught up with Ford she called over the collective voices in the crowd, "Mr. Pines, what did you do?"
"I don't know," Ford replied and picked up pace. He had only intended to prove a point, and instead sent his lover running. While his words were true, in hindsight he realized how hurtful they must have sounded.
While crowded, the park that housed the market was not too vast. Of course if Bill wanted he could have left the premises. The good news was that he couldn't go beyond a ten mile mark of Ford. If need be the help of wheels (or asking Soos to track Bill's phone) they would eventually find him.
"Wendy, what's going on?" Robbie asked when he caught up to his girlfriend.
"Bill ran off," the redhead explained.
"So what?" Robbie spat. The girl turned to face the boy, both displaying a countenance of annoyance. Robbie continued, "I didn't come out here to play tag with an old man and his whore."
No words were needed, for in the girl's fierce glare the Valentino teen clamped his jaw shut.
Ford suddenly stopped. The redhead skidded to keep herself from slamming into his back. Robbie gripped Wendy's arm to keep him from falling.
Lee, Nate, and Tambry stopped behind them. Tambry leaned over to catch her breath. Nate put a hand on her shoulder that she slapped away.
"Are they fighting?" Nate asked.
"Hold up," Lee said with his hand reached out ahead of him. "If they break up does that mean I get my money back?"
"Not a chance, dufus," Nate spat.
"But they're not a couple anymore," Lee argued.
"They were at the time and that's all that counts," Nate retorted.
"Shut up, you two," Wendy snapped.
Ford watched countless unfamiliar faces walking before him. Most of them were happy, although some annoyed, and others showing frustration or anger. Nowhere in the crowd stood the golden-haired demon.
"You think he'd leave the park?" Wendy asked.
Ford sighed. "It's a possibility," he said. "At any rate, I'll search the perimeter of the park first."
"I'll help," Wendy offered.
Ford turned to her with his hand up. "You don't have to. You came here to have fun and I don't want to ruin it."
"Already have," Robbie grumbled under his breath.
Wendy clenched her fists; it took every ounce of strength she had not to clock her boyfriend in the face.
"I'm serious, Wendy, you should enjoy yourself with you friends," Ford said. He motioned to the other teenagers in the group that had been pulled away from their activity to help search for Bill.
"Yeah, let's go," Robbie said and tugged on his girlfriend's sleeve.
Wendy yanked her arm out of Robbie's hold. She sneered at the other teen for a second then looked back at Ford. "Mr. Pines will never let me hear the end of it if we don't find his other employee. I don't even want to think about what Mabel will say."
Ford smiled. As much as Bill might want to deny it, he had become family.
"Well, I'm not spending my time chasing down that freak," Robbie said. He crossed his arms with his back to Wendy. "You do what you want."
"Forget you then," Wendy spat and followed after Ford.
Nate and Lee called for Wendy to wait for them. Tambry stopped next to her ex. She glared at the musician she had once fallen for, now looking at him, she couldn't understand why. The girl kicked loose dirt on Robbie's jeans making him exclaim then hurried after her friends.
Bill quickened his pace. The other teenagers hustled to keep up with him. At hearing the approaching footsteps accompanied with the sound of his name Bill took off running. He bumped into a few others, but with his eyes focused ahead he never heard their comments.
The blond only stopped when his body collided with an iron railing that separated the visitors from a small lake. Every two feet a spike protruded from the bars.
The weight in his hand registered. Bill gripped at the book that had been offered as a free gift. With a scream that startled everyone nearby, he reared back his arm and tossed the paperback into the murky water. The lake bubbled for a few seconds as the pages saturated and the object gradually sunk to the bottom.
A grin crossed over Bill's face as he considered resigning Ford's journal to the same fate. The image of Ford falling to his knees while clutching at his beautiful head of hair, blubbering at the loss of his precious research brought a smile to Bill's face. He suddenly wondered why during the entirety of his time bonded to Ford he hadn't taken his revenge by destruction of the journal.
Above all it would serve Ford right.
All those professions of love were counted as nothing. Perhaps it wasn't too late to beg his friends' forgiveness and join Kryptos when they returned in just a few months' time. Kryptos would agree to his terms if just to witness the great Bill Cipher groveling at his feet. Bill would endure the humiliation if it meant getting vengeance on Stanford. Maybe then Ford could understand just what a true monster he could be.
Oh, you haven't seen nothing yet, Sixer. You don't know what I'm capable of. Just you wait and see.
Bill was yanked away from his revenge fantasies when a familiar voice called his name. Bill looked over his shoulder to see the man who used to be Ford's assistant waving as he headed over. Bill leaned against the iron fence watching the old man make his way over.
"Hey, ya, Triangle. That must've been one awful book fer ya to go an' a throw it in the lake," Fiddleford said.
"Not really, I just needed something to throw," Bill vented.
The old man nodded. "Yeah, I un'erstand that. I sometimes gotta break stuff too." He laughed. "Though it usually ends in disaster. Like that time I almost fried the whole city 'cause my wife-uh, ex-wife married her another man."
Bill laughed. "You always did amuse me, Fiddlesticks."
Fiddleford visibly cringed at the nickname Bill had given him back when he worked with Ford. Too many forgotten nightmares included his supposed best friend possessed by that monster.
For a second Bill considered throwing himself in the lake. Without the use of his magic he would sink due to never learning how to swim. A grin crept over his face as he thought of how Ford would wail and blame himself for the rest of his life how the man he loved drowned himself out of grief. In a way it would be better revenge than having to suck up to Kryptos of all people. In addition Mabel would never forgive him.
From out the corner of his eye Bill saw Ford, Wendy, and some of the other teenagers approaching. He sneered at those closing in and pushed himself off the gate. If he jumped Ford would likely dive in after him and he'd have to listen to Ford scold him for the rest of the evening. Besides if he died, he wouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing Ford's reaction.
With his hands in his pockets Bill disappeared into the crowd. A few seconds later he discovered McGucket following him.
They walked until Bill spotted a picnic table. He laid his back down on one of the benches and let his left arm dangle. McGucket climbed atop the table then sat cross-legged, facing in Bill's direction. From his shirt pocket he pulled out a couple of spoons and started a melody by smacking them against his legs and the table. Neither man noticed stares in their direction.
Bill smiled at the steady rhythm. Other than that smart-mouthed teenager who he was certain still feared him, he had yet to come across another musician. While Fiddleford chose a nontraditional instrument, the tune was still welcome.
"Do you still play the banjo?" Bill asked.
Fiddleford ceased playing. He wondered how Bill knew of his musical talent for that particular instrument when he recalled that although not physically, Bill still lived with them back when the shack was used for scientific research.
"I do, but it's back at my home," Fiddleford answered. "You can come over sometime, and I'll play fer ya."
"You'd let me in your house?" Bill asked. "After everything I did to you?"
Bill sat up and gold eyes met with blue ones. The memory of Ford approaching him with similar yellow irises surfaced. Before he could react he recalled Ford informing him that Bill no longer had access to his powers, nor could he possess another living soul. Knowing that he felt bad for suddenly remembering those few returning memories of how the demon verbally tortured him whenever he got a chance. To inflict more pain Bill would torment him while using his dear friend's body as a vessel.
Bill moved away from the elderly man's face. He slumped on the bench.
"Can you even remember?" Bill asked. No malice or mockery in his voice, he simply wanted to know.
Fiddleford's returning memories were still muddied from thirty years of memory loss. He slowly regained his past and his sanity and along with that returned the nights he spent with Ford and at times Bill. The few encounters he had with the muse were ones he'd like to keep buried, but now knew that wasn't the solution he used to count on so readily.
"I do," Fiddleford said. He placed the musical spoons on the wooden table. "What you did was cruel, I won't lie and tell you it wasn't."
Bill shrugged. He knew he deserved it.
"But Stanford told me you changed," said McGucket. He smiled and put his index finger against Bill's chest. Through the shirt he barely felt the heartbeat. "But his eyes always was a clouded when it came to you."
"No denyin' that," Bill said with his arms raised.
Fiddleford laughed. Bill's eyes met the other man's soft smile. "It ain't fair to judge a man by who he used to be. An' I can see for myself ya ain't whatcha used to be."
"I don't deserve your kindness," Bill said.
"No, you don't," Fiddleford replied.
Bill smiled. Despite the burning in his chest he was grateful for the honesty.
After a moment of silence Bill asked, "Do you wish Forsdy never contacted me?"
Fiddleford shook his head. Bill was surprised but listened to what the other man had to say. "He loves you," the old man answered. "I don't like how y'all met, and how you treated him." And me, he added in his head. Digging up past resentments wouldn't help the present situation. "I only wish you've a met under better circumstances."
Again Bill was silenced. With a groan he laid back down on the bench with his arm over his forehead.
The resting was short lived when Ford and Wendy approached the bench. Ford was surprised to see his old friend accompanying his boyfriend, but was thankful Bill had someone to stay with.
Fiddleford smiled up at his old friend. Ford nodded and crossed over to the bench. Bill noticed something had caught his companion's attention and turned to see his boyfriend approach. The demon narrowed his eyes and jumped from the bench. Before he could move two feet, a firm hand clamped around his wrist.
Bill struggled to no avail. He released a heavy sigh and kept his back to Ford.
"Look, Bill, I didn't mean it that way," said Ford.
Bill scoffed. "Yes you did," he said quietly.
Ford sighed, not in the mood for arguing, especially in public. He noticed that the crowd wasn't as large in their current location, but still didn't want to gather any unnecessary attention. The bit with Bill running off had probably already garnered him enough wandering eyes and potential gossip from those in the town he barely knew.
"May we talk about this elsewhere?" Ford inquired.
"I'm not going anywhere with you right now," Bill spat. Bill turned to face Ford with eyes shut and a huge grin on his face. "Why don't you just admit the truth? Everyone else has."
"Very well. If that's what you want." Ford said.
"It is," Bill hissed.
Stanford released his hold on Bill and let his arms fall by his sides. Bill stared at the clenched fists. For a moment he wondered if he second guessed his decision.
Wendy turned and held out her hands to keep her friends from stepping into earshot of their conversation. Despite wanting to witness more of the quarrel, the other teenagers agreed to Wendy's suggestion and the lot of them turned back. Wendy herself took one final glimpse at the two men before following the others in her group into the safety of the market.
Ford adjusted his glasses then looked Bill in the eye. "Summoning you and letting you into my mind and my dimension was the worst mistake I ever made," Ford said. He spoke quiet enough so no wandering ears could pick up on their conversation, but the tone still held its force. He advanced on Bill forcing the latter into an involuntary retreat. "I put the world-no, the multiverse-in danger, and more importantly my family."
Ford paused as the heavy guilt of what nearly became of Stan, Dipper, and Mabel hovered over him. Deep in his heart he knew he would never truly forgive himself for the horrors they had to face last summer no matter what his brother, Mabel, or anyone else said on the matter. Even deeper he knew that Bill was not the only one to blame for Weirdmageddon. Half of that blame deserved to be piled on his own shoulders.
Ford continued to advance on the smaller man. Bill's back bumped up against the trunk of an oak tree. He winced, not at all minding the pain. The physical sting eased the verbal lashing he literally asked to receive.
Ford slammed his hand on the trunk next to Bill's ear. Glimmering gold eyes stared into to fierce brown ones shielded by thick lenses. At any other time Bill would have been turned on by Ford's aggressive move, but the cold look in his boyfriend's eyes caused a different emotion: not quite fear, and not quite worry. Nonetheless it was a feeling Bill would not willingly experience in abundance.
"I trusted you and you betrayed me," Ford hissed. "Your lies cost Fiddleford his sanity."
Fiddleford moved to speak, but chose not to intervene.
Ford continued, "You cost my brother decades of worry, and robbed me of thirty years of my life. You made the whole town flee in fear for their own lives. You put my niece and nephew in peril more than once. So yes, my reservations of wanting to keep others from repeating my mistakes have some merit. They don't need to know about you, or the other dimensions, or the gateway to those dimensions. Somethings are better kept secret."
With his left hand Ford grabbed Bill's chin. The demon's eyes widened for a few seconds. Once the instant shock wore off his lips curved into a smile. Ford's other hand trembled. The one holding onto his face held firm. Bill shut his eyes awaiting the blow he knew he deserved.
"But that's just it, they are my mistakes," Ford said quietly.
Bill opened his eyes.
"Summoning you is a mistake I can never live down," Ford said. "I let you in. You almost destroyed everyone and everything, and I'm the one who gave you the entry you needed." Ford stopped to catch his breath. Too long he had been holding that weight inside.
Both Bill and McGucket were dumbfounded. In that moment Fiddleford felt pity for the creature that nearly destroyed their town. Nonetheless he held his tongue as everything Ford spoke held validity.
"To answer your question, Bill, yes, it's true if I could do it all over again I'd never take your offer," Ford said. "I'd never had explored that cave. I never would've let your flattery win me over. I'd never let you into my mind." Ford clenched his fists. "I was the fool, and I'm the one who will carry that shame for the rest of my life."
"Now hold on a minute, Stanford, yer not bein' fair to yerself," Fiddleford interrupted. He jumped off the picnic table and landed next to his friend.
Ford let go of Bill's face to hold out his hand in order to stop the other man from moving closer. McGucket halted, although he desired to speak of the weights on his own heart.
Ford placed his other hand gently against Bill's face. Subconsciously Bill leaned into the touch. "But no matter what I wish I had or hadn't done, I can't turn back time and you aren't that monster anymore."
Bill gave him a skeptical look.
Ford leaned in closer. Softly he said, "You're family now. You've proven you're not the same Bill who betrayed me." He cupped his other hand on Bill's other cheek. "I've forgiven you and I love you." Bill started. Ford swiped his thumbs across Bill's cheeks. "I regret summoning you and letting you trick me, and letting you almost destroy this world, but I don't regret meeting you." He paused then added, "I don't regret falling in love with you."
"Sixer," Bill whispered.
Ford placed his finger atop Bill's lips. "I can forgive all you've done because I love you," he said. "I hate we met under a falsehood, but I'm happy to have you now." He gripped Bill's collar. "That won't change."
"Sixer...I don't-I don't," Bill replied.
The stammered words ceased when Ford pressed his lips against Bill's. Bill hadn't realized how much he desired affection from the man who stomped on his feelings-not that it wasn't something he hadn't deserved.
Ford realized he was in public and quickly pulled away from Bill. His face beet red, he kept himself from looking back at Fiddleford or over where he dreaded Wendy and her friends watched. He silently prayed that the teenagers had grown bored and left before they could witness his move.
Ford cleared his throat. He turned back to Bill, already feeling McGucket's stare on his back.
"So..." Ford began. Bill chuckled at his boyfriend's flushed face. "I-um-I was thinking of taking a look in that book. Maybe I can at least see how to properly catalog my findings for such a book."
"Actually, Sixer, you pissed me off, so I tossed it into the lake," Bill replied.
"Oh," Ford said. He coughed into his hand a second time. "Well, it's not necessary." He chuckled. "In that case I better not let you near my journal."
Bill grinned. "Oh, Fordsy," he said with his hands on his hips. "If I really wanted to destroy that journal, there's nothin' you can do to stop me." He snapped his fingers and a small blue flame appeared.
McGucket gasped with his hands over his mouth. Ford clamped both hands over the two fingers lighting the flame.
"Bill Cipher, if you even try," Ford threatened.
Bill's grin turned into a smirk. He patted Ford's cheek. "Your spell keeps me from harming you or people," he teased. He stepped away and held one hand on his hip and the other in the air. The single index finger wagged at his boyfriend. "There's nothing against hurting your journal."
"You won't do it," said Ford.
Bill pouted. "Won't I?" he asked.
Ford shook his head. "I don't think you will." He grinned. "You've had plenty of time to do so. So if you wanted to, you would have by now."
"Eh, fair point," said Bill. "I love the way your mind works." He pressed his finger against Ford's chest. "But don't tell me I won't do something, because I will just 'cause you told me not to," he warned.
Ford rolled his eyes. However the sound of Bill's laughter caused him to smile.
"That's enough excitement for one day," Ford said. "Let's go home."
Bill slipped his hand into Ford's. He stopped and turned towards the other man who used to be a part of their research team.
"So I'll take you up on your offer," Bill said to McGucket.
"How's about tomorrow?" Fiddleford asked. "Tate'll be out, so I wouldn't mind some comp'ny."
Bill looked to Ford who nodded. At the very least it would give them some closure to the past.
Ford turned to Bill. "Let's find Wendy and tell her we're going home," he said.
Bill nodded. He considered making a joke on Ford's age, but figured the other teens would do it in his stead.
The two walked in the direction Ford had watched Wendy and their group leave.
His heart had yet to mend from Ford's words, but this one time he would let the human's words slide. After all Ford had forgiven him for much worse time and again.
So in the first story I realized I only included McGucket a few times, despite the fact that he has history with both Ford and Bill. That is mainly due to the fact that I don't really know how to write him. However, I do plan to include him a lot more in this story since I also want the rekindling of Ford and Fiddleford's friendship as a subplot. It barely got touched on in Bonded, and I plan to have a bit more attention on that in this story.
Also, in the first story I only had one chapter in which Bill plays the piano, and Ford wasn't even present in that scene, so in the next chapter (and maybe a few others) I do want to have Bill playing the piano for Ford, since Bill's talent for that instrument is actually canon.
Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter.