Chapter Text
They were twenty six when Dipper proposed for the last time. They had been dating for eleven years now, although they had taken a three month break when they were twenty three. The two quickly found that, after spending nearly three and a half years living together, and spending much longer sharing a bed nearly every night, being apart from each other for so long was damn near torture. So they got back together and had been going strong for three years after that. After Norman turned twenty four (Dipper having been twenty five for several months) the two began to talk about their future and, for the first time, they considered marriage as a real option and not just something Dipper would suggest every now and then. Neither of them knew how to go about it though. After all, they had no idea how to plan a wedding, let alone buy a good ring. That didn’t stop them from trying though, especially Dipper.
A little after Norman’s twenty fifth birthday, Dipper began acting weirder than usual. He’d disappear for a few hours and come back smelling faintly like his sister’s apartment. Several times, Norman had come into the room and he would be scribbling something down on a paper, mumbling to himself. When he noticed Norman was in the room, he would fold up the paper and stuff it into his pocket. Norman wasn’t going to lie, he was getting pretty suspicious. Anytime he would ask Dipper why he was acting so weird, Dipper would just tell him not to worry about it.
One day, he decided he would go see Mabel, just in case she knew what was going on with Dipper. When he asked her about it though, she simply told him that Dipper had made her swear an oath of secrecy. After seeing his frown, she assured him once he found out what it was, it would be worth the wait and offered him some cookies. (The cookies were definitely a good touch. After all, Norman could never be mad at Mabel's cooking. Ever.)
For the most part, Norman’s frustration was quelled, but that frustration was replaced by even more curiosity. Almost every night, Norman would ask what was with the papers (he refused to sneak a look at them, not wanting to make Dipper think he couldn’t trust him), hoping to break down his boyfriend’s will. That was a task easier said than done though, seeing as Dipper was about as stubborn as stubborn could be. As time went on, Dipper began to abandon the little sheets of paper, choosing instead to pace around the room mumbling to himself, shutting up as soon as he saw Norman. After about a month of mumbling, Dipper finally stopped. Almost as soon as Dipper stopped his whole ‘mumbling to himself’ routine, he started being extremely affectionate towards Norman. Norman wasn’t complaining at all though. After several months of Dipper acting, well, the way he was, it was nice to have his attention again. So when Dipper suggested they go out one night, Norman thought nothing of it, assuming it would be just another normal date. But, oh was he wrong. It was something much better than that.
The night started out like any other date night; dinner at a moderately fancy restaurant and a movie. Normally Dipper would suggest they go home after the movie. Today, though, he said he had a surprise for Norman. The two got into Dipper’s car, the brunette insisting Norman shut his eyes. When Dipper told him to open his eyes, Norman couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows in confusion.
“Dipper, what are we doing at the lake this late?” He asked, climbing out of the car after his boyfriend. Knowing Dipper, he was probably going to take him on a late night monster hunt. Not that he would complain though. Norman loved going on hunts with Dipper.
“This is the surprise. Well, not the lake, but, um, this is.” With that, Dipper grabbed Norman’s hand and walked out to the end of the pier. Norman wasn’t going to lie; he loved the way the lake looked at night. There was just enough light from the town to keep the lake from being pitch black, but there wasn’t enough to block out the stars. Norman couldn’t help but stare at the sky. Even after living in Gravity Falls for most of his life, he was still awed by the sheer beauty of the night sky here. After a few seconds, he looked back at Dipper, who looked like he was extremely nervous about something.
“So, what’s the surprise you were talking about?” Norman asked, tilting his head a little. Dipper nodded, took a deep breath, and started to talk.
“Well, I’ve been thinking, you know, about the future and all that. And, man, it’s scary. I mean, we’re almost thirty. Our prime is almost over, you know? Before we know it, we’ll be balding men having a midlife crisis.” Dipper paused and let out another quick sigh. “Anyway, so I’ve come to the conclusion that the future is a terrifying thing to think about it, but there is something that makes it a little less scary.”
As Dipper said that, he grabbed Norman’s hands, looking him dead in the eyes. “Knowing that there is someone you can spend your future with.”
Suddenly, Dipper dropped Norman’s hands and reached into his pocket, getting down on one knee as he pulled a small box out of it. “I guess what I’m trying to say is I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.” Dipper opened the box, revealing a silver ring.
“Norman, will you marry me?”
Norman nodded, dropping to his knees and wrapping his arms around Dipper’s shoulders. “Yes!”
After a minute, Norman pulled back a little and Dipper took his left hand into his, sliding the ring onto his boyfriend’s finger before kissing his crooked grin. For the next five minutes, the two sat, arms wrapped around each other, exchanging I love you's and soft kisses. They ended up sitting on the edge of the pier for almost an hour, arms wrapped around each other’s waists, just staring up at the stars, completely content.
“So did you come up with that whole proposal yourself?” Norman asked, looking down at Dipper, who was resting his head on his shoulder.
“Mabel helped a little. But I did most of the work.” Dipper replied and Norman couldn’t help but chuckle. He let out a content sigh, lifting his hand so he could look at the ring on his finger.
“You know, I couldn’t help but notice that there are some words on this.” Norman began, making Dipper look up at him. “What do they mean?”
“Oh. Well, it’s Latin.” Dipper was cut off by a slightly sarcastic ‘how romantic’ from Norman before continuing. “Damn straight it is.”
“You didn’t answer my question though.” Norman teased, grinning down at Dipper.
“Oh, yeah. It says forever and always.” Dipper replied, a blush creeping up his face. Norman grinned and leaned down to place a quick kiss on his fiancé’s lips.
“You’re such a dork.” He laughed, resting his forehead against Dipper’s.
“Yeah, but I’m your dork.” With that, Dipper kissed Norman on the cheek.
They left an hour or so later, hardly talking the whole ride back, content with simply holding hands the whole drive back to the Mystery Shack. If Norman were being completely honest, the whole thing felt like a dream and he was terrified he would wake up at any second. But he never did. So when the two crawled into bed not long after they got back, Norman gave Dipper a good, long kiss.
“I love you so much.” Norman murmured against the brunette’s lips. He felt the smile appear on Dipper’s lips and couldn’t help but return it.
“I love you too, Norman.”
Not long after, the two fell asleep in each other’s arms and Norman couldn’t help but wonder how he ever got so lucky. Never in a million years would he predict meeting Dipper or winding up with such a wonderful boyfriend, or, well, anything he had now. And yet here he was, his head buried in Dipper’s neck, his arms wrapped loosely around his waist, with the already-comforting weight of an engagement ring on his finger. That night, Norman fell asleep with a smile on his face. Dipper, although still awake, was nearly asleep when Norman started softly snoring. He glanced down at his fiancé and returned the smile, even though he knew Norman wouldn’t see it.
“Forever and always.”