Work Text:
You knocked on the door twice, teeth chattering. Christ, it must be thirty below out here. “Ford?”
“Right, one second!” he called out. “Password?”
“Casper’s creepy.” The locks on the door jingled from the inside as he unlocked them one by one, then he poked his head out.
“Miranda! Hello!” He was wearing sunglasses inside. Huh. That was… odd.
“Did something-”
“Oh, these?” He pointed at the glasses. “Yeah, Cipher took a swing at my right eye and it’s a mess, I’d rather you not see, that’s okay, right? Good.” His voice was skipping over his words a bit, but you followed him, as you always did, into the living room.
“Did you find any more information on how to deal with him?” A pleasant warmth surrounded you, and you realized the space heater was still on. That’s good.
There were papers on top of it, though, so you swept them off. The last thing he needed was to have his house catch on fire. You suck in a deep breath- might as well get it over with now. You need to know where you both stand. “About… about what I said last time.” Your hands tighten on both your arms through your heavy coat.
“Mmm? Oh, that.” A smile spreads across his face. “I’ve been thinking about it too.”
“I don’t want you to feel pressured, I know you’re kind of in a bad place right now, but I still want to be your friend no matt-”
“I like you too.”
You freeze midword, mouth slightly open. “…What?”
He reaches for your hands, pulling them away from your arms to rest in his.“I like you too. I’m glad you’re here.” His smile widens, and even though you can’t see his eyes your heart flutters. “I’m starting to look at things in a new way.”
“Really?”
“Definitely! In fact, I’m going to prove it. To show I trust you.” He started tugging you down the hall, then fiddled with a bunch of locks on a door with one hand. He’s surprisingly efficient at it- he must be used to working one-handed, due to the injuries Bill’s given him.
“What’s behind the door?”
“You’ll see. Trust me, it has to be seen to be believed.” His hand squeezes yours, and you scoot just a little bit closer.
There’s a hiss as the final lock comes undone and the door is opened, and you nearly trip and faceplant on the stairs as Ford hurries down, still holding you tightly.
“Is this the machine or whatever you said you made for Bill?”
“It is.” Down, down, down. You can hear a trickle of water, and a drop splatters the stairs behind you.
“Is it safe?”
“At the moment. It’s shut off, good to be careful.” He gives another strong tug. He’s very tactile today. Maybe he decided since he liked you back that he should-
“Gah!” You let out a short yelp as he stops short at the bottom and you ram into his back. He still smells like a week’s worth of sweat and charcoal and burnt hair. “Coulda warned me!”
“Ah, forgot, forgive me.” He lets go of your hand, and for the first time you realize how warm it is. Holding hands is much better than mittens. (It’s sweatier too, though, so… tradeoffs, you suppose.) “Now, which one is the light- ah!” He flips a switch and it takes a moment for the huge circular overhead light to turn on, shadows retreating inch by inch in the cavern. The gigantic structure’s image came at you in waves. First, it was a triangle. Then, it was dark silver, and then finally it was surrounded by symbols with a slight hum that echoed through your skull.
“Woah. It looks like something out of a sci-fi novel.” You couldn’t help but start walking towards the control panel. You’d never been very good with anything more than basic technology, but even you could tell how advanced everything was.
“I’d be more proud of it if it wasn’t about to cause the end of the world.” He followed you, and the fact that he wasn’t pulling you back meant it was probably okay to walk into the actual room.
“So, how could it cause the end of the world?”
“He wants to come through the portal and make this dimension a party.”
“Doesn’t sound too bad…”
“A party that destroyed his last dimension and left everything a fiery ruin.”
“Ah.” You bite the inside of your cheek before speaking up. “Thanks for showing me.” Your gaze trails up to see the top of it. “It barely looks like it should be standing, are you sure you didn’t use some magic to- mmph!”
Ford grabbed your wrist and whirled you around in one motion before pressing his lips against yours. He tastes the same as he smells- of sweat and coffee and adrenaline. His lips are chapped but you close your eyes and lift your free hand, setting it on the nape of his neck.
For a moment, nothing matters except the chill settled in your bones and the warmth of his body.
Then his fingernails dig into your skin and everything goes wrong at once.
He pulls away with the snap of a rubber band, leaving a trail of saliva that hits your shirt, and the smile on his face is more a twisted grin. You try to pull away, but his grip is iron.
“Let go!”
“Not yet, Curly.”
You kick at his leg, and he barely winces, but elbowing his stomach gets him to bend over, and the sunglasses fall off and crack on the ground to reveal yellow scleras and a faint glow.
“You… you bastard!” Very eloquent.
“Oh, real original- at least Fordsy would be sputtering about me being ‘evil incarnate’ or something else melodramatic. He’s fun.” Bill rolls Ford’s eyes, and you can’t bite back a short yelp as blood begins to well up at the six points where he’s pressing into your flesh. “That’s better! Much more lively. Now, where were we?” He drags you over to the control panel and starts messing with the buttons and levers. One by one, more and more lights flick on.
“Wh-what do you want with me?”
He doesn’t even look at you when he replies. “Leverage, fleshie, and boy, you really were a prize to drop in my lap!” One last switch and something white swirls out of the hole in the middle of the portal, spreading like a ripple to swirl out and fill it. The lights surrounding the portal snapped on, and the pebbles scattered across the floor began to rise.
You renewed your struggling, blood now beginning to drip down your wrist and onto both your fingers and Ford’s. “Let! Go! Of! Me!”
“Not a chance. Oooh, I can’t wait to see how he’ll react to this!” Bill’s voice was full of glee- Ford’s voice, it was Ford’s voice, he had to be in there somewhere, but right now you were being yanked around by someone using him like a puppet.
“Sixer’s fond of you, all right. He does like something about you. But he’s such a mess even he doesn’t know what it is! How great is that?” Bill pulled your arm up, and blood started trickling down your arm. “He’s still not sure you’re not just coming because I tricked him into making you up somehow. And I’m glad he gives me the credit I deserve, but nope, that’s all his own fragile mortal mind breaking into itsy-bitsy little pieces. And you’re so easy- just a smile and you melt!”
“Go to hell.” The words don’t have nearly the venom you want them to- it’s undercut by the growing terror pressing out like iron in your lungs.
Bill drags you back into the room with the portal again, and this time, he reaches for your sleeve, the one now smeared with maroon. He tears the end off in one swift motion, tucking it in one of the pockets of the coat, before letting go of you.
You have just enough time to spit in his face before he shoves you, and your arms and legs flail as you lift into the air.
Ford’s eyes roll back in his head and he collapses, and you scream as the last thing you see before everything goes white is his brown eyes widen as he reaches for you.