𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 / 𝖆𝖋𝖙𝖊𝖗

Paz felt him move closer, which she was thankful for, considering she had also inched herself in his direction. It was hard not to think about when he had disappeared, how long she had been forced to wait until he came back, losing her mind and imagining every single worst-case scenario she could until she had convinced herself she would never see him again. Her hand reached for his as she turned to face him, hoping for both of their sakes that everyone else was fine and just keeping to themselves this afternoon. "Something else? You know if we go anywhere in public, we might run into the same problem, and I wouldn't want you to freak out."

𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 : @faiirytalcs !! 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : somewhere downtown idk

Normally, Paz would have been thrilled with the town being quiet, that would mean all of the morons that ran around like chickens without heads had finally either found a way out or a new personality that didn't make her want to throw herself off of the highest building in town. Pausing, the blonde looked around them, noticing for the first time that things really were silent. "Maybe they're all sleeping in? Or...I don't know, do we really have to think about it? I'm getting flashbacks."

" i am NOT an awful liar !! " dipper huffed , yet , he knew he was . sure , he was good at hiding things , , , but lying outright always proved itself to be a challenge . he wasn't attempting to appear humble whenever he said he wasn't good with words . he truly wasn't . dipper drags his thumb up and down the side of her clothed hip , lips turning down into a scowl . " okay , so , maybe i haven't been sleeping , " he dismisses the severity of his lack-of-rest with a limp shrug of his shoulder , muttering the confession under stubborn breath .

"I'm sure you don't think so, but you can't lie to me." Pacifica pointed out. At this point, it was close to impossible for either of them to get away with lying to the other, she knew she was just as guilty as him. "I knew it. And don't even try to say maybe." She knew how seriously he took Bill as a threat, she knew firsthand how horrible he could be so Pacifica could never blame Dipper for being paranoid or worried. It was terrifying what Bill could do. But at some point, he had to go to sleep. There were so many horrible side effects to sleep deprivation. Did she know what those were? No, but she knew they existed. Her heart ached hearing him talk about his nightmares, her hand lifting to brush some hair out of his face, the strands that had fallen out of the loose bun on the top of his head. "It's Bill, Dipper. What else could he possibly be doing here other than trying to cause havoc?" As far as she knew, that was all the demon was good for. "You...have looked better. And to be fair, now I'm worried the plans I had for after work might have to wait until you've slept or else I'll feel bad."

a solemn nod , followed by the dramatic blowing of a lock of strawberry blonde out of her face ; " me too . " she gives him a clear and less than discrete once over , almost sizing him up to see if the open bar was worth handing herself away so easily , coming to find that he seemed suitable . his voice was nice and he smelt good . like a warm meal mixed with notes of whatever cologne he was wearing . a playful smile as she prods her lower lip with her straw , wagging the red thread . " i do , " she mused , an amused laugh sounding . huh , marriage puns were far easier to come by than she'd ever considered . not that she had spent much time considering them .

"Oh, wow. Wow, that was ... bad but good at the same time?" The sweet spot of puns in Harry's opinion. Lifting his own piece of yarn, the man looked between it and the woman's face as though he was currently about to make the most important choice in his life. A decision that would change both of their futures. "You know, why the hell not. I've always been a huge fan of love at first sight." Even though Harry was pretty sure they would both already know if that were the case since, they'd seen each other but he could play along. The whole thing was supposed to be fun after all, why not lean in? "Now, do you want me to get on one knee or should we just skip right ahead to tying the string for each other."

𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 : @faiirytalcs !! 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : some blind date event at poor unfortunate soul

Harry didn't often get a night off from the tavern, not because they were short-staffed or anything, but because he genuinely liked working there. However, he'd heard about this blind date, speed date event and it had sounded intriguing. Plus, he was completely unattached as of this moment and might have been on the lookout for someone new to...get to know. "You too?" Harry asked with jovial exasperation, as though they were the only two people left in this whole bar without a fake engagement. "It does seem a bit unfair, doesn't it? A little backwards considering those of us without a match are the ones who most likely need those free drinks the most." He teased, laughing warmly as he settled down onto the stool beside hers. "You know what this means, don't you?"

immune to his impish sense of amusement , saal finally collected her breath and sunk her weight back into the brick behind her . she could feel the gravel embedded in her skin , feel the sting of a dozen little lacerations from the asphalts bite . " yes , , , why ?? have you never seen a syringe before ?? " though there are no notes of sarcasm present on her tongue . it's a serious question .

"Yeah, I've seen a fuckin' syringe before." Luis retorted, scoffing as he looked at the makeshift weapon. "But I usually go for a different kind of thing for a weapon. That shit can be flimsy as shit." It might not have made the most sense, but it made sense to him and that was all that mattered. As she gave the limp body a kick, it rolled over and Luis tilted his head to get a better look at the guy. "Oh wait. Shit, I do actually know that guy." It was some grunt who worked for Carter, didn't surprise Luis at all that he'd managed to get himself taken out with a fucking syringe. "So, you plannin' to do something with him or just leave him there? I do gotta say someone might find him and connect whatever you gave him back to you, guessin' you're the only one with access to whatever that shit is."

his brow lifts , amusement painted over his expression as he offers a light chuckle in response . " i mean , i don't mind standing and staring but , , , " he shakes his head , then averts his gaze to the ceiling ( as if asking the fluorescents to grant him strength ) .

Light push. Okay, sure, she was all about light - a much different kind of light that was far more literal and lamp like, but still. There had to be some transference there, right? "Alright, a light push. I got it." She nodded in understanding, keeping her arms out and only shaking slightly when he let her go and moved a few feet back. Taking a deep breath, Bea pushed off of right skate, determination on her face as she started sliding in his direction. Not too quickly and not too solidly but it got the job done.

𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 : @faiirytalcs !! 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : outside the pharmacy

By most people's measure of safety, walking into an alley where you could hear a commotion happening would rate pretty low. A bad idea. There was no doubt about it. But considering this was Luis and the alley in question was right next to the pharmacy, well, his curiosity got the better of him. And he was glad it did. His lips curled into a familiar mischievous yet dangerous smirk, his footsteps slowing as he came upon the crumpled body and a cowering Saal holding onto "- is that a syringe?" He paused, still far more amused at the sight before him than he had any right to be. "He looks like a piece of shit. Why, should I recognize him?"

dipper's jaw twitches at her words , brows pinching together as he curls his fingers against the page he's referring to — crumpling it slightly . " no , , , no , it's just — bill doesn't have partners . he has puppets . people , things , he CONTROLS . this has to be someone who willingly works alongside him . someone he doesn't have direct power over but , , , acts of their own free will . like an equal . " a terrifying thought — bill having an equal . his voice suddenly felt hoarse , releasing the furled paper to pick up the water she had brought him .

Pacifica nodded slowly, knowing that he was right as far as she could remember. To be fair, she didn't often want to remember when her own father had offered to work for him and instead - well, that wasn't something she liked to dwell on even if it had felt like a victory at the time. But the point still stood. Bill wasn't the type to have an equal partner and the idea of someone like that existing was a terrifying one. "Okay, maybe...maybe he found someone but if that were the case, wouldn't more horrible things be happening already?" She really didn't want to think about that possibility.

dipper presses his palms into the smorgasbord of papers , notes , charts , graphs , and mindless doodles that now littered the booth's table. he blows a rogue strand of hair ( fallen from the tangled bun knotted atop his head ) out of his face , his eyes teeming on wild . he hadn't slept in two days , not for more than thirty minutes , and he was on the brink of lunacy , , , if he hadn't already breeched the threshold of it , that is .

It was almost impressive how much Dipper had already covered the table with things. Honestly, she should have been more used to it by now but sometimes it still took Pacifica by surprise just how much was going on inside his brain that poured out onto paper. A lot of it she didn't understand completely, but she felt like she was starting to. Her smile remained on her face as he wrapped his arm around her waist, leaning her hip against him as her hand came to rest on the back of the booth, her entire focus ( for the time being ) landing on the pages he was pointing to. "I mean this in the nicest way possible, and I know you're a genius and all that, but is this really the first time you've ever thought he had a partner?" To be fair, Bill hadn't needed any help at all when he'd been in Gravity Falls but considering he'd been one of the missing people...it seemed like there was a chance Bill either wasn't alone or maybe he wasn't involved at all. But Pacifica would never float that idea, not yet anyway. Her eyes lifted to land on Dipper's only seeing how sallow his skin looked and how red his eyes were. "Have you slept??"

𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 : @faiirytalcs !! 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: the jukebox diner

"Hey," Paz smiled. She paused only for a second as he pressed a kiss to her temple before moving onto one of her tables to refill their drinks and check to see if anything was needed. It was an off hour for the diner, thankfully, which meant no one was going to bother her if she took a break for a few minutes to see what Dipper was working on. When wasn't he working on something? Especially these days. Pacifica didn't blame him, and against all odds, she actually didn't mind when he threw theory after theory in her direction. Sometimes she even had a few of her own. Walking back over with some water, because she could bet that he was dehydrated as fuck after researching all day, the blonde hovered next to him at the edge of the booth. "Really? What's different this time? Did you finally take into account how gorgeous I am and now all those calculations make sense?"