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sovengardeswag · 1 year

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The Pines Files

After the events of Weirdmaggeddon, Dipper and Mabel are contacted by the SCP foundation and join the ranks. The adventure never ended, it just took a different turn. And now, years later, they're back to Gravity Falls, aka SCP-████. And it is up to them to investigate the ever-growing mystery behind the town and protect the most dangerous and important SCPs there are and face their past.

Chapter Two: All Around Me Are Familiar Faces

The good thing about being conscripted as a child was that Dipper didn’t need to be debriefed about where Gravity Falls was. He could just pack his stuff up, talk to his landlord, and head out. And that’s exactly what he did, packing just about everything he owned into a Uhaul, his testosterone in a cooler on the front seat to be safe. The trip to Gravity Falls was gonna be a bit of a long haul, unfortunately, but what was more American than taking an overly long road trip for a new job?

And to be honest, with the exception of a mixup at one of the motels and a lackluster lunch in Portland, the trip itself had been largely uneventful. The thirty-five-hour drive from Site-19 to Gravity Falls had been broken down into 10-hour drives, with sleep and meals in between of course. All in all, it took about three and a half days to do it, more or less.

But with all the drive time, even with the radio on, it gave him time to think. He hadn’t been to Gravity Falls in over two years, and Site-19 wasn’t exactly close; if he wasn’t taking all his stuff with him, he would have flown. That wasn’t to say he didn’t keep in touch however, he absolutely did. But he hadn’t seen the place in so long. It was bound to be different, wasn’t it?

And then it was the fact that it wasn’t his supervisor or even Dr. Casper who reassigned him. It was Dr. Bright. Head of personnel himself. There had to be a bigger reason to send him home than just potential. He figured that it was his experience with the site both during and after Weirdmaggedon, but was that really all there was to it? Why not assign him to Gravity Falls in the first place? It was honestly setting off his paranoia. What if there was some important assignment he had somehow missed in the paperwork?

It wasn’t until he was almost there that he remembered what the forms said. He hadn’t seen anything about a secret or a vital mission in those papers he signed. He’d probably be doing standard experimentation. Maybe even stuff he’d been doing ever since he was a kid. It could even be considered a well-earned break after working those five years at site-19.

But had he really earned it? He worked for three years in the anomalous objects department before working in the department of spectral anomalies. Plenty of people got way less after dealing with way worse. All MTF operatives got was a trip to the duck pond.

All Mabel got was a trip to the duck pond.

Best to not think about it.

When he finally arrived at Gravity Falls though, he found that not much had changed, Greasy’s was still there, the used car lot was still there- though it was clear Bud had retired- and no one seemed to move away. If anything, the little town had grown ever so slightly in the time he was gone. He wondered how much of it was foundation personnel and their families, and how much was just regular growth.

The real surprise though was when he arrived at his new building. Sure, he’d told his family where the apartment was going to be and he knew they’d be there to help him move in. What he didn’t expect was to be tackled as soon as he got out of his car and to hear a yell, “OH MY GOD, DIPPER, YOU’RE HERE!” Strong arms squeezed around him, damn near cracking his spine.

“Mabel!” He wiggled out of her grip just a little bit, the smile never leaving his face as he looked at his twin. “I had no idea you were in town! How long have you been here? Did work give you vacation time?”

“Nope! I’m here full-time! For like a month now!” She finally let him go.

“Wait, really? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Cause you said you were coming like a week after I showed up! So I wanted to surprise you!” She ruffled his hair.

“ACK!” He got away from her again, not wanting his hair to look any messier. “Come on, let me just get inside.”

Just as he expected, it was more than just Mabel there. Soos, Wendy, Melody, and his Grunkles. They even had a few bags with them. Housewarming stuff no doubt.

“Sorry if there was a wait guys, I had some trouble at a motel a couple of states back.”

Wendy went to mess up his hair, just as Mabel had before, Dipper batting her off as well before she high-fived him, “It’s fine dude, we haven’t been waiting long. What chu been up to?”

“Just a lot of work, getting ready to come on over here, what about you?”

“Just kicking ass!”

“Hell yeah!”

Then came a sudden and tight hug from Soos, “Dude it’s been way too long!” Melody then put a hand on his shoulder, telling him, “Yeah, it was like you disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Dipper laughed, telling them, “Yeah, I’m sorry, I should have made the time. But hey! I live here now, we can see each other whenever.” He looked around and noted the distinct lack of a small child clinging to his leg. “Hey, where’s Ernesto?”

“Oh dude, he’s at camp, remember?”

“Already?”

“Yeah, school let out a couple of days ago, you just missed him yesterday,” Melody clarified.

“Augh, I should have packed up sooner.”

“It’s alright, dude, Ernesto gets that he’ll see you when he gets back. Plus, you’ll live here! You can just show up whenever!”

“Yeah yeah, that’s enough small talk! Get over here ya little goober!” Stan pulled Dipper in for a hug and a clap on the shoulder. “How’s Detroit been?”

“Site 19 isn’t in Detroit, Stanley.”

“It's in Michigan either way.”

“It’s been nice actually. Way too cold in winter though.”

“That sounds about right, the great lakes region is known for being quite punishing.”

“Yeah, you don’t need to tell me twice. How was this year's trip?”

“Oh, it was great! I punched a Kraken in the face! And Ford here met up with his ex again.” Stan elbowed Ford, who couldn’t help but smile.

“I do admit that it was surprising to see Armand again after all these years. Especially when Stanley nearly jumped into the water after hearing his song.”

“Come on, let’s take the yapping upstairs,” Mabel interjected. “We haven’t even seen Dipper’s apartment yet."

The apartment itself wasn’t huge, just a regular one-bedroom. But there was a lot of stuff to bring up. The camera setup, all of Dipper’s dishes, even an aquarium, though it was currently devoid of both fish and water.

“Oh, dude, I didn’t know you kept fish!” Soos said.

“Oh, I don’t. I bought it back in January but I got slammed with work right after, so I never filled it. That’s gonna change though, I wanna start keeping tetra maybe.”

Mabel almost jumped at the chance to tell him, “Oh! You’ll be heading to Grenda’s then! Tell her I said hi!”

“Woah, Grenda’s living ing Gravity falls again? I thought she moved to Austria after she got married, or did something happen?”

“Come on, man, don’t be a downer,” Wendy ruffled his hair, “she and Marius just split their time. You really gotta keep up around here.”

“Right, I shouldn’t have assumed.” And with that, they continued the setup. With the aquarium right across from the couch, so Dipper could look at his fish as he relaxed. Once everything was set up, Dipper ordered pizza.

“Okay, so, we’re getting pepperoni and cheese and chocolate syrup for Mabel.”

Stan shuddered, thinking aloud as he said, “I don’t understand how you can eat some of that stuff, kid.”

Ford shrugged, “Honestly it doesn’t sound too bad.”

Mabel laughed a bit, telling them, “I just have better tastebuds than you guys.”

“More like way weirder tastebuds,” Wendy cracked.

“Sometimes I just think you’re making up how much you like that stuff just to mess with us,” Melody commented lightheartedly. And she further remarked, “It’d be a pretty hardcore prank, to be honest.”

“Honestly, I used to be way worse when I lived on-site and had to eat in the cafeteria. I would just go to the different stations and just put whatever was there on my tray and see what happened. But, like, I don’t do it all the time, I can eat normally.”

“I mean, you are pretty hardcore,” Dipper commented. “One time on site-19, I tried to replicate Mabel Juice for old time’s sake and almost got sent to the hospital.

That got a bit of a laugh and they spent the rest of the afternoon like that. Talking, catching up. Dipper could have honestly spent his whole life like that. Away from the stresses of testing, watching Mabel commit crimes against food.

When it was time for everyone to head out, Dipper bid them all goodbye and found that he had gotten a text on his phone from Ernesto.

“Did you make it home ok Uncle Dipper?”

Dipper smiled and texted back, “Yeah, your mom and dad came by to help, wish I’d shown up earlier bud.”

“Yeah, I wanted to help! 😫

But you’re still gonna be here at the end of the summer right?”

“Don’t worry bud, I won’t be moving for a long time. When you get back, I’ll have something super cool to show you!”

“Really? What is it?”

“It’s a surprise 🤫”

“I’ll just ask grandpa Stan then lol.”

Well, that settled it, there was no time to wait. He would need to get fish for both himself and Ernesto in the morning

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Mason didn’t have any dreams when he slept. There was no alarm in the morning either. He even made himself an omelette with cheese and mushrooms; thank god for Wendy bringing the groceries; and got his T-shot done quickly when normally he was a bit precious about it. He felt good about unhitching the U-Haul and driving through town.

It wasn’t hard to find Grenda’s shop. Past the used car lot/psychic’s shop, next to the laser tag place and replacing the dance studio. On the way, it let him see just how many people moved here. He wondered which were loggers and which were agents. He was pretty sure the super tall redhead in flannel who looked like a Cuordoroy was a lumberjack, and the lady picking up a coffee from Greasy’s who had sunglasses and an earpiece was without a doubt an agent, but with others, it was hard to tell. Though he was sure he would find out in time.

When he got to the shop, he found that it was, quite predictably, called Grenda’s Pet Emporium. The sign itself was even pink and the lettering was done in a cursive font, perhaps more appropriate for a hair salon or dog groomer than for a full pet store. But that wasn’t any of his business. As Dipper walked in, he found that the place made use of the dance studio space to create a huge floor, showing off both the supplies and pets. And then he heard it.

“Guten tag!”

Dipper looked to the cash register and saw Marius with a smile and his hair tied back. The young baron looked like he belonged there, oddly enough. Perfectly comfortable in a pink polo and khakis. “Marius? You work here?”

“Ja! When Grenda and I are here at least. It’s relaxing and the people are polite enough, though they ask many questions. And I get to spend time with mein lovely wife and all these little animals.”

“That does sound like a nice gig. Is Grenda here by the way?”

“She is! Just wait for a moment!” With that, he headed into the back, returning with Grenda.

“Dipper! You moved here already?” She gave him a hug that absolutely cracked his spine.

“Y-yeah! I just got in yesterday! Mabel says hi by the way.” It was good to see Grenda hadn’t changed since he last saw her. Still the affectionate woman who’d befriended his sister all those years ago.

She soon let go of him, asking, “So, what brings you here? Besides saying hi, I mean.”

“Oh, I actually came to buy some fish and supplies. I already have a filled tank so I just need some water conditioner, a heater, and some decorations.”

“What species were you thinking of,” asked Marius.

“I was thinking maybe tetras, but honestly, as long as it’s fresh water and won’t eat other fish, it works for me.”

“That’s great, 'cause we’ve got a bunch of tanks that I just stocked.” And so she led Dipper to the aquatics section. And she wasn’t kidding about the selections. She had tetras, suckers, goldfish, and more. All with meticulous care guides seemingly written by Grenda herself. Tellingly, she had no bettas in sad little cups. He was honestly pretty impressed and feeling almost serene watching so many fish.

That was immediately shattered when he heard, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Pine Tree home after all this time.”

Dipper nearly jumped at it, almost in disbelief. It couldn’t be, could it? He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tank with only one resident. A yellow axolotl that was missing an eye. And though axolotls couldn’t make faces, Dipper could have sworn this one looked smug. “No, it can’t be,” he muttered to himself. He must have been going crazy.

“But it is, Pine Tree. Did you miss me? It’s been what, 18 years? You’ve really grown up, huh? At this rate, you’ll be a corpse soon. Speaking of, how’s Fordsy?”

Dipper blinked. What the hell? Was this axolotl even real? Dipper turned to Grenda and asked, “Hey, what’s this guy’s story?”

Grenda looked in the tank and, much to Dipper’s relief, rolled her eyes at the water dog, “Ugh, this guy. He’s an absolute nightmare is what he is. We tried breeding axolotls and when the first clutch hatched, this guy ate all his siblings! Even lost an eye in the process! And now he just lives here, acting all creepy and junk.”

Marius shuddered, “I still remember all the little gills.”

“And they were absolutely delicious.”

So Dipper definitely wasn’t going insane, but why couldn’t they hear the dream demon’s voice coming from the tank? Either way, he needed answers. And if this, reincarnation? Puppet? Of Bill’s was around here and could talk, well, he couldn’t just leave him. Who knew what else he would do? Plus people thought he was crazy at the best of times, the last thing he needed was to have a conversation with a Mexican salamander in the middle of a pet store. “So, is he for sale then?”

“Yeah, he is. But for you, Dipper, he's on the house.”

“Come on, don’t be like that, I’m worth at least 100 bucks!”

“Ja, anything to get him out of here.”

“Are there any fish he won’t eat?”

“Yeah, there are some species axolotls get along with, guppies, minnows, snails, that sort of thing.”

“I’ll take him then.”

“WHAT?”

“I’ll take the supplies and some tankmates too. So he doesn’t get lonely.” So Dipper could have some fish he actually liked.

“Alright, just keep an eye on him for a little while when you get home. Just to be safe.”

Dipper looked at Bill again and could have sworn he had a look of despair on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dipper’s fish tank was a dream. Extra fine sand made up the substrate, the water was perfectly heated, and it had lots of hides and artificial plants. In the middle was the best and biggest hide. A replica of Teotihuacan, currently occupied by the tank’s axolotl. And that axolotl was pissed as he sat within that hide. Staring at Dipper as he sat on the couch across from him, drinking a Pitt Cola.

It was Dipper who broke the silence, the pit in the bottle rolling around like a shitty version of a Ramune marble as he put the soda down on the coffee table. “Ok, first things first. You should be dead. Why are you alive and possessing an axolotl.”

“Axolotl.”

“That’s what I said, axolotl.”

“No, it’s pronounced axolotl. And anyway, who said anything about possession? I was born like this, kid.”

“That doesn’t answer how the hell you’re even here!” Dipper stood up and began to pace. “I mean, you were erased from Grunkle Stan’s mind. That was supposed to, I don’t know, destroy your soul. You’re not supposed to be able to reincarnate or whatever this is!”

“Wow, you sure like making assumptions. Who said anything about my soul? How do you know I’ve ever even had one?”

Dipper glared at him and picked up his soda again, taking a swig from it like it was liquor and not a carbonated, fake-peach-flavored soft drink. “Ok then, why an axolotl? And how did you avoid getting destroyed?”

“That’s the fun part, I didn’t. I was dead. But before Stanley got to me, I called to a being more ancient than any of the universes. A being of creation, merciful but firm.”

“Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?”

“Shut up! Anyways, he heard me and told me I’ve got to be in another place, another time, another form. It just so happened that the form was in his image, the place was a nursery tank in Austria, and the time was last year.”

Dipper groaned, rubbing his face. “Ok, so, you got reincarnated by an axolotl god. What were you doing in Grenda’s store?”

“I lived there!”

“You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Then I’m done talking!”

“Look, it’s not like you can exactly enact your plans anymore now that you’re in an SCP-foundation scientist’s fish tank-”

The axolotl opened its mouth and Dipper heard that horrible, maniacal laughter. A laugh that made his hair stand on end and that brought back memories of being 12 and incorporeal.

“No wonder you look so dead! I just thought you weren’t sleeping again, but no, you’re a stooge! A goon for some nosy zombies! After all this time, after all those heroics, you’re still someone’s puppet!” His gills flapped at the word heroics

“I am not!” Dipper slammed his empty cola bottle down on the coffee table. “You’re lucky that I’m not logging you as an anomaly! I should be bringing you into the office!”

“And yet that chatty, girly monster and her old-money, wife guy husband couldn’t hear me. If you turn me in, we’re gonna end up as SCP 30629313-1 and 30629313-2. You’re stuck with me.”

Dipper sat back down, glaring at Bill as Bill stared back with his one blank eye. An eye that betrayed much more brain power than any amphibian should have. And Dipper knew he was right. He couldn’t tell anyone at work that Bill was alive. Both for his own safety and the safety of others.

“Ok, but at least tell me why you’re like, you know, this.” He gestured toward Bill. “Why do you remember that you were a dream demon? Reincarnation isn’t supposed to work that way.”

“You’re funny. You think reincarnation is something that can be cataloged like that? No, even your foundation has a couple of reincarnations that remember everything, some that don’t know anything at all, and some that are in between. Like, say, that poor kid that they keep in her very own site.”

“Don’t even joke about that, man. It’s not like anyone wants her there.”

“Yeah, yeah, cold not cruel. Either way, it looks like we’re at an impasse, two monsters killing time.”

“Yeah, two monsters…” He sat there for a bit, thinking, before he went for his keys and told Bill, “I’ve gotta go. If you eat my fish, I’ll flush you down the toilet.”

“And risk her ripping you apart with her bare hands?”

“Yes, now leave my fish alone!” And with that, he left, heading straight to Mabel’s place.

There was no way in hell that Dipper was telling the foundation about Bill. And he didn’t want to be alone in this either. So she was the only person he could tell.

When Dipper arrived at Mabel’s house, he knocked and she answered, “Dipper, hey! Come on in!”

As soon as he walked in, Dipper heard sniffing and felt something touching his leg. He looked down and asked, “You got another pig?”

“Yeah, that’s Baby! Isn’t she just the cutest little thing?”

“Yeah, she is! When did you get her?”

“This morning!”

Baby proceeded to chew on Dipper’s pant leg. She was a black and white pig whereas Waddles had been just pink, with marks on her sides and one black spot over her eye. He picked her up and she squealed, so he put her back down and she trotted off somewhere. Mabel then finally brought Dipper into her living room and he got a good look at the decor. It was very Mabel, with a lot of sparkles and cats, but not necessarily in an eye-burning way. The sparkles, plentiful as they were, were mostly accents, the pictures on her pillows tasteful. Not to mention the comfortable-looking knitted throw blankets. It was as if a kindly grandmother discovered blingee.

“So, what’s with the visit? You already done unpacking?”

“Haha, um, well, no. You see, I, uh, have something to show you. And you have to promise to not tell anyone on site.”

Mabel’s expression went from a smile to a suspicious frown. “Dipper, did you try to break your way into the gnome lodge again?”

“That was one time and no!” He sighed and took out his phone, bringing up a picture he’d taken of the one-eyed axolotl, “He look familiar to you?”

Mabel, knowing Dipper wouldn’t mess with her about work matters, looked at the axolotl carefully, but didn’t see much wrong with it. “Ok, what am I looking at?”

“Mabel, it’s yellow and has one eye! Axolotls should be able to grow those back!”

“Wait, it’s not pronounced axolotl?”

“Yeah, no, it’s pronounced axolotl. But here’s the thing, Mabel. What else do we know has one eye, is yellow, and,” he gave a shout as Mabel shoved a pillow in his face. It had a birthday cake scent pack from Build-A-Bear in it.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid, Dipper! I know where you’re headed with this and it’s messed up!” She took the pillow away from his face so he could breathe. “What’s making you think that anyways? Did a ghost haunt you from Site-19 or something?”

“No! I’m sorry! But it really is Bill. He talked to me in the shop and everything. So I bought him from Grenda and put him in my fish tank for containment.”

“And you’re sure he’s actually talking? It’s not just another ghost you picked up?”

“Yeah, I even have proof.”

Dipper swiped through his phone then, pulling up a video of the back seat of his car, focusing on the axolotl in one of the plastic transport bags. Dipper could hear Bill yelling as he pawed at the bag and thrashed, “THIS IS INHUMANE PINETREE! AN AFFRONT! RELEASE ME! JUST DROP ME OFF IN A LAKE OR SOMETHING! MASON!” And then the video stopped, not wanting to film too long for the sake of his fish.

He looked at Mabel and she blinked. “Dipper, I didn’t hear anything. Was I supposed to?”

“What?”

“Yeah. It’s weird but it’s not anything I would call headquarters over.”

Dipper sighed, running his hand through his hair. Had he just hallucinated that? He figured that if he could hear it, then maybe through being twins, Mabel could hear it. He had clearly been wrong. But then, if it had been a hallucination, he wouldn’t be hearing it on the video.

Mabel looked at him and, seeing her brother sad and despondent, got an idea. “How about we head to your place and you let me see him? Two eyes are better than one, after all. Besides, Baby needs to get to know her uncle.”

“You know what? Yeah, let’s go. Seeing him in person will probably be better.”

With that, they headed to Dipper’s car, Mabel putting Baby in the back seat and buckling her with a dog seatbelt. As they drove, Mabel got on her phone and started texting. She asked Dipper, “You already pick out an outfit for what you’re wearing to dinner tomorrow?”

“Ugh, I almost forgot about that. I haven’t even unpacked all my clothes yet.”

“You haven’t even been back a day and you’re forgetting about family stuff? Dipper I thought you agreed to move here to not have work on your brain all the time.”

“Can we not do this? I mean, Mabel, this isn’t some cursed app. Bill nearly killed us when we were just kids.”

“Uh, yeah! I was there Dipper!” She sighed and pinched her nose. “You know what? Forget I said anything. I’ll help you unpack when we get there.”

Baby snorted in the backseat.

When they got to Dipper’s building, Mabel flashed her badge at the front desk so fast that they thought it said CIA to let her bring a pig in.

“Mabel, what the hell?”

“Oh like you’ve never done it before Dipper, it was just to get Baby in,”

“Well, I haven’t,” Dipper lied.

Mabel just hummed and said, “If you say so.”

When they walked in, they found the tank right where they left it, with Baby going off to explore. Furthermore, Bill had, luckily, left his tankmates alive. But he was digging around the sand at the bottom of the tank much more energetically than an axolotl should be. When he detected that he was being watched, he stopped and started floating instead, looking as innocent as a newborn puppy.

“What are you doing?”

“None of your business.” He looked at Mabel and couldn’t help but comment, “Shooting Star didn’t believe you, huh?”

“No, she did, she just wanted to see you for herself.”

“What’d he say, Dipper?”

“He thinks you didn’t believe me.”

“And what was he doing?”

“It’s supposedly none of my business.”

“It IS none of your business.”

“It is my business because if you clog up the filter you’ll kill my other fish.”

Bill almost seemed to squint and Mabel definitely noticed it. She watched as he swam to his temple hide and saw how comfortable he looked in a pyramid structure. But she had to be sure, “Can he understand me, Dipper?”

“Loud and clear.”

So, Mabel went fully up to the tank and asked Bill, “What was the first thing I found in my prison bubble?”

Bill stared at Mabel with his one good eye, his front foot digging into the sand as if he was stimming while he thought. “The bubble was an automated spell that read your mind and gave you whatever you wanted. I didn’t enchant squat in there, kid. What I did do is grab your pig and drop him in. You humans just love your pets, after all. He would have been one of the first things you saw.”

“It was Waddles, the real Waddles. He didn’t personally give you anything else. You thought up that whole world.”

Mabel nodded, “Yeah, that’s right. I found Waddles and everything came later. But why is it that only you can hear him?”

“Who said only Pine Tree can hear me? I don’t remember piloting your meat suit around.”

“It seems like it’s cause he possessed me?”

“Do I wanna know his exact words?”

“Not really, no.”

Mabel sat on the couch, Dipper joining her, and Baby came by, wanting up too. Both humans stared at the tank as Bill stared back at them.

“So, what are you gonna do? It doesn’t exactly look like your setup’s temporary."

“I don’t know Mabel. He’s not exactly anomalous except for the whole talking to people he possessed. “

“Yeah, you and Ford would be part of his case file then.”

“So I have to stay here,” Bill interjected

“Yeah, I have to agree, looks like he’s staying,” Dipper said.

“We telling anyone?”

“See, that’s the part I’m not sure about, Mabel. Because who are we gonna tell? Ford? He’s just gonna get worried. Mayor Tyler? He’s just gonna taze us. Gideon?” Out of the question.

Baby snorted as she got comfy on the couch and Mabel sighed. “You’re right, it’s just, ugh, it’s another secret we have to keep.”

“I know, Mabel. But we have to. Until we figure out what’s up at least.”

Mabel cracked her neck and nodded. “Until we figure out what’s up.” She then got up. “Let me go help you unpack. We’ve got to get you dressed for tomorrow!” She then ran to Dipper’s bedroom. A threat that she was going to come up with something truly horrific to wear while she rifled through his clothes.

And Dipper couldn’t laugh as he told Mabel, “Don’t even think about He had to try and prevent her from seeing how many of the same shirts he owned. They didn’t see Bill go back to his digging.

Afa vlr qefkh vlr tbob pxcb

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If you liked this fic, please check out my writing tag (Sam writes and sam’s writing) here on tumblr. For author notes and the previous chapter, check the links in the reblogs. The hint for this chapter's code is 3 back

#sam speaks #sam writes #sam's writing #gravity falls #gravity falls fanfiction #scp foundation #scp foundation fanfiction #dipper pines #trans dipper #mabel pines #stanford pines #stan pines #grenda #marius gravity falls #soos ramirez #melody gravity falls #bill cipher #mabel gets a new pig yay #nothing bad in this chapter so no mature label

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e350tb · 8 months

Text

Gravity Falls - The Matchmabel - Chapter VII

Chapter VII: Date Night

“So while I was out with Ford and Wendy, you were setting me up on a blind date?”

Dipper and Mabel sat in the golf cart, bouncing along as they headed down the road into town. Dipper had been half-forced to change into a nice shirt and jacket, and was now fidgeting at his collar as they headed towards Greasy’s.

“Of course!” replied Mabel. “That’s the best kind of date! Love is blind, after all.”

“Look, Mabel, I’m flattered, but I’ve really gotta get back to my college application,” said Dipper. “Besides, whoever this is, I’m not sure I really want to date them, you know?”

Mabel shot him a knowing grin. “Don’t be so sure!”

They pulled into the Diner parking lot. Mabel checked her phone - 5.55. Perfect.

“Alright!” she said. “Let’s get you set up!”

“Set up?” Dipper quizzed.

Mabel ran around the cart and yanked him out of the passenger seat.

“You’ve gotta nail this, Dipper!” she exclaimed. “Your future is at stake!”

“I-is it?”

Mabel opened the door, revealing a decidedly dolled up Greasy’s Diner. Gone were the usual tables and chairs - they’d been cleared off for a single table, set up with a white tablecloth and a vase full of wild flowers in the middle. The number of forks provided for each of the two chairs was, to put it mildly, excessive. The ceiling and walls were decorated with pink bunting, and the entire other half of the diner was set up as a large dancefloor, with a big stereo set sitting next to it.

“Geez,” said Dipper, taking a seat. “Who’re you trying to set me up with here?”

He took a seat and picked up one of the napkins, turning it over.

“Oh god.”

Sewn onto the other side of the napkin were the words ‘Dipper heart Pacifica.’

“Mabel,” said Dipper, adjusting his collar. “We need to talk about this…”

“Can’t hear you, Dipper, gotta head out!” Mabel marched out the door. “Bye-eee!”

Dipper sat in silence for a few moments - the only sound being a soft, tinny eighties love song playing on the diner’s speaker system. After a few seconds, he shifted on his seat, looking for the fire exit - he might have a moment to get out of here before…

The door opened.

Pacifica stepped inside - she was wearing a pink dress and heels, and carried a small handbag over her shoulder. Her face fell the instant she saw Dipper.

“Oh,” she said. “It’s you.”

“Yyyyep,” replied Dipper, letting the last letter pop.

Pacifica sat down across from him - she picked up the napkin and winced.

“This is… a lot,” she said flatly.

“Honestly I thought it was gonna be Grenda,” Dipper shrugged. “She’s the only one of Mabel’s friends she hasn’t tried to set me up with.”

He scratched his chin.

“But she is with Marius, so… um… who did you think you’d be dating?”

There was a long, awkward silence.

“Sooooo…” Dipper rapped his fingers on the table.

“Hmm…” Pacifica stared at the wall. “Yeah…”

“How’s… being rich?” asked Dipper.

“It’s good,” replied Pacifica. “It’s… it’s good.”

“Cool, cool,” Dipper nodded.

“Good evening, sir and/or madam!”

Stan slipped into view, carrying a couple of glasses of water.

“Would sir and his very rich date like some water?” he asked, grinning a little bit too wide.

“What’re you doing here, Grunkle Stan?” Dipper asked flatly.

“What? Can’t your old Grunkle moonlight as a waiter?” demanded Stan. “You offend me!”

“How much did she offer you?” asked Dipper.

“Twenty bucks.”

“I’ll give you a hundred if you don’t talk to me for the rest of the night,” said Pacifica, producing the note from her bag.

“Done and done, and I mean done!”

Stan put down the glasses and walked off.

Another very long awkward silence ensued.

“So,” asked Pacifica. “How’s being… uh… poor?”

“Well, I, uh, don’t have much money,” replied Dipper. “So that’s… that’s a thing that I, uh, have to deal with.”

“Very unfortunate.”

“Yeah.”

Before long, Stan came back - in each hand he held a bowl of soup, which he laid out in front of the two patrons. Dipper frowned as he looked at his bowl.

“I think you forgot to heat this up,” said Dipper.

“It’s gazpacho,” said Pacifica, “It’s…”

“Could you maybe put it in the microwave or something?”

Stan gazed down at the bowl.

“Yeah,” he replied, picking it up. “I’ll, uh, I’ll get onto that…”

He took the bowl away.

“Thank you!” Dipper called back.

He turned back to see Pacifica pinching the bridge of her nose.

“What? It was cold.”

-----

“He wants it heated up?” asked Soos.

“Yep,” replied Stan.

“Does he know it’s meant to be served cold?”

“Nope.”

“Does Pacifica know it’s meant to be served cold?”

“Yep.”

Abuelita tsked and shook her head from the other side of the kitchen.

“This date is over,” she said sadly.

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” asked Soos.

“Careers have been ended over this, Soos,” replied Abuelita.

Soos and Stan exchanged glances.

“Maybe we should call Mabel,” suggested Soos.

“No, no, the enchiladas are gonna save this one,” replied Stan. “I’m sure of it!”

“They’ll have to be powerful enchiladas,” mused Soos.

Abeulita walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

“They will be.”

-----

Dipper put down his knife and one of his forks.

“Well, those were powerful enchiladas,” he said.

Pacifica dabbed her mouth with her napkin.

“Yeah,” she replied. “I’ve actually never had anything like this. Mom says it’s bad for my figure.”

“Yeah, parents say stuff like that,” Dipper sighed. “It’s because they care…”

“Do they though?”

Pacifica twirled her fork around her empty bowl of rice.

“I mean, they say they want what’s best for you,” she mused. “But is it actually what’s best for them? Like, they have this picture of what you should be in their mind, and they’re so focused on it that they can’t see the real you?”

Dipper looked down at his empty plate.

“I guess,” he replied. “But they still want you to be successful, right? So you can be happy?”

Pacifica frowned.

“You really think your parents want that?”

“Well… yeah.” Dipped shrugged.

Pacifica sighed.

“Then you’re pretty lucky, Dipper,” she replied. “You’re…”

The lights suddenly shut off, and both their eyes turned to the dance floor. Disco lights were swirling around, and the opening instrumental to a song played loudly. There was a prominent flute.

“Alright!” They heard Candy somewhere in the darkness. “Give it up for the main couple as they have their first dance!”

A bright spotlight switched on, shining on both of them as the song began.

Every night in a dream,

I see you, I hear you,

I know you will continue…

…less

Dipper and Pacifica gazed at each other - Dipper was visibly cringing.

“Uh…” Pacifica rubbed the back of her head.

And the distance between us,

He came to see…

Near, far, everywhere,

I believe that the heart rules.

But open the door again,

And you are in my heart,

My heart is going…

“Yeeeeaaaaah.” Dipper swallowed, his eyes darting around to avoid looking Pacifica in the eye again. “This is… a lot.”

“Mmm… hm, yeah.” Pacifica gazed down at her empty plates, her face turning bright red.

Love can only touch us once,

And it lasts a lifetime.

We won't leave until we leave…

“Yeah,” said Pacifica, standing up. “On that note…”

-----

About fifteen minutes later, Mabel stood outside the door of Greasy’s Diner, half the town gathered around her. She was just about bouncing in excitement - she had promised the whole assembly that ‘Gravity Falls’ Sweetest Couple’ would be emerging from the Diner any second now, and she couldn’t wait for the moment to finally happen. She’d managed to whip excitement in the crowd, too - there was an old lady who’d proclaimed she’d die of sadness if she didn’t see a happy couple tonight (and that one doctor who always followed her around had confirmed that this would happen.)

The doorknob turned. Mabel’s grin widened. This was it!

The door opened.

The crowd erupted in cheers as the happy couple emerged. Mabel did not join them.

“Oh, uh, thanks dudes!”

Soos and Melody, blushing somewhat, bowed to the crowd.

“Aw yeah, I’ve always shipped them two,” said Deputy Durland.

“Heh! They’re delightful!” added Sheriff Blubs.

“Well, that was fun!” declared Tyler. “Same time next week?”

The crowd dispersed, leaving Mabel alone, jaw dropped, as Stan, Candy and Grenda followed Soos and Melody out.

“Wh-what is this?” demanded Mabel. “Where’s Dipper and Pacifica?”

The group exchanged glances.

“They went home,” replied Grenda.

“But… but… you let them out?” exclaimed Mabel.

Candy shook her head solemnly.

“It wasn’t working,” she replied sadly.

“It was really awkward,” added Melody.

“Soos’ grandma was right,” said Stan. “It was over the moment he asked for the gazpacho soup heated up.”

“But… they have chemistry!” Mabel paced back and forth, clutching her head. “They’re compatible! They like each other! They-they even called the ghost hunting thing tomorrow a date! They… I…”

Soos shrugged.

“I think they’re just friends, dude.”

Mabel hobbled over to the side of the parking lot, sitting down on the curb and rubbing her head.

“I… I put in all this effort, though,” she said. “W-we all did.”

Melody sat down beside her.

“Sometimes these things don’t work out, Mabel,” she replied.

“But… I really, really wanted it to be Pacifica.” Mabel’s voice wobbled.

Melody put an arm over her shoulder.

“I know, Mabel,” she replied soothingly. “I know…”

“No!” Mabel stood up, jogging to the golf cart. “Dipper doesn’t know what he’s throwing away! I need to talk sense into him!”

She jumped into the driver’s seat and sped off, leaving skid marks on the car park behind.

-----

Dipper sighed as he trudged towards the back of the Mystery Shack. He’d found this shortcut through the woods a while ago, and it really saved time in getting back from town. It hadn’t been a particularly good evening, he thought (although the enchiladas were incredible), and he really needed to get back to his application, but he supposed it could have been worse.

He emerged from the trees at the back of the Shack, and stopped as he noticed a large pit behind the building - and not the Bottomless Pit, that was over to the left somewhere. This one was filled with ashes - had Stan been burning profit ledgers again?

He stepped closer, and noticed what looked like the charred remains of a chunk of cardboard at the bottom of the pit. Next to it, slightly buffeted by the wind, was a small scrap of… was it paper? Dipper jumped down and picked it up.

In the dim moonlight, he could see the remains of a burned photograph. All that remained was just under half of a picture of Wendy Corduroy.

#gravity falls #dipper pines #mabel pines #pacifica northwest #soos ramirez #grunkle stan #abuelita ramirez #candy chiu #grenda grendinator #melody gravity falls #sheriff blubs #deputy durland #tyler cutebiker #dipcifica #OR IS IT?#THE MOMENT OF TRUTH #writing

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