Chapter Text
In Dipper’s defense, it wasn’t meant to turn out this way. He had just been curious about the latest anomaly in Gravity Falls. Now there was a raging pink worm making its way out of the woods.
~o~
Both sets of Pines twins had been back in town for a week when he showed up. A teenage boy in a Dondai, asking if anyone had noticed anything suspicious going on. He was quickly pointed in the direction of the Mystery Shack. He looked around for a bit, then got back in the Dondai and drove away.
Dipper had thought that was it. That another conspiracy theorist had heard about the town, seen that the Shack was a hoax, and left.
Then the boy came back again.
And again.
He was polite, and seemed familiar, though Dipper couldn’t place why. Maybe because he had come to the Mystery Shack three times. But Dipper still felt like he was missing something. Something obvious, that tickled the back of his skull. When he brought it up to Mabel, she immediately decided to resolve it in a Mabel fashion.
Going up and confronting asking him.
Dipper tried to get her to stop, but she ignored him. She walked straight up to the other boy and started talking. Then she pointed towards Dipper. Dipper looked away from them, blushing at having been caught staring, but he could still feel Mabel and the boy looking at him. Why were they looking at him? Someone was coming towards him. Was it Mabel? No, the footsteps sounded different. Which meant it had to be the boy. Dipper tensed.
“Hey, so are you the one who does research into the strange things about this town? The unexplainable? The say, oh I dunno, magic barriers?”
Bill had been interested in breaking the barrier. What if this stranger was working with him? Or being tricked? Or possessed? His shirt had a yellow star on it. A star was basically a bunch of triangles stuck together. Never mind all that. They had barely defeated Bill the last time. Never mind all that. And Grunkle Stan had lost his memories. Never mind all that. And everyone had gotten hurt. Never mind all that. And Mabel had been hurt. And what if Bill’s defeat was all a dream? What if it was a lie? What if Bill was floating around somewhere, laughing at him? Manipulating him? Controlling him? Hurting Mabel?
Someone was talking to him. They were saying something. Dipper tried to focus on the words.
“Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.”
Dipper tried to breathe with the count. He hadn’t even noticed that he had started hyperventilating.
“Listen, if you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. Or if you can’t. It’s okay.” It was the stranger. As he talked, he waved Mabel over. She sat down next to him and pulled out one of her worm on a strings. Dipper took it and wound it around his fingers. Focused on the repetitive motion, the feeling of the fuzz. Bill wasn’t here. Everything was fine.
Grunkle Stan came into the Shack and saw the three of them sitting on the floor. “Listen, kid, if you’re causing problems, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Now.”
Shit. Did Dipper really look bad enough that Grunkle Stan was going to kick a potential source of money out of the shack?
The older boy nodded and stood up. As he started to walk away, he turned and glanced back at Grunkle Stan. “Do you know any good parking lots in the area.”
Silence.
“Like it doesn’t have to be fantastic or anything, it’s just hard to sleep if the lights are to bright. You know?”
Dipper stared at the boy. Had he been living out of his car? That didn’t seem safe. And neither were any of the parking lots. Not in this town. Not when there was, who-knows-what lurking in the woods after Bill took over.
Grunkle Stan spoke up. “There aren’t any great parking lots, but I think there is a cheap motel across town.”
The boys face fell slightly, but it was quickly covered by a wide smile. “That’s okay. Thanks anyways. And sorry for freaking you out kid. I’ll… I’ll just… go now.”
“What’s your name?” Dipper called after him. “And how did you know how to help?”
The stranger looked at him curiously. “Steven Universe. And that trick usually helps me when I’m having a panic attack. It has a sort of flow you can follow. Like music.”
A panic attack. Was that what Dipper had been getting? Sure, he had difficulty breathing sometimes. He always assumed it was his binder. Or would have trouble thinking. But everyone felt confused sometimes. Or when he felt like he was being crushed by the weight of what had happened. Like at any moment he would open his eyes and be back in hell, but that would be easier because then he would have something to focus on and he would know it had actually happened and he wasn’t exaggerating because if it really was that bad then he would probably have mental scars and-
Oh.
Maybe Steven had a point.
“I… do you think you could explain how it works. The breathing thing I mean. Not a panic attack. Or music. Just, yeah. Breathing. Not how to breathe but the counting thing?”
“Okay, so you breathe in for 4 seconds, right. Then you hold it for 7, breathe out for 8. And keep doing that until you have control again. But if that doesn’t work, there are some other ones. You can find a bunch of good tricks online.”
Steven nodded to Grunkle Stan and turned to leave again. This time it was Mabel who spoke up. “Why are you looking for a parking lot?”
Dipper elbowed her. If Steven couldn’t afford otherwise, it wasn’t nice to point it out.
But rather then get upset, Steven laughed. “Most places ask for ID. Things get awkward and I usually end up having to lay low or leave town to avoid issues. Is that oversharing? That might be oversharing. Okay. I’m just going to go now.” He pointed towards the door.
“Oh no you don’t.” It was Grunkle Stan. There was a look in his eyes. A mix of understanding and pity. “You’re staying here tonight. As long as you aren’t a cop or crazy murderer, you’re welcome to stay as long as you need.”
Something flashed through Steven’s eyes. “It really is okay. I’ll be fine. It’s just been me and the Dondai for a while now. Plus, it’s not my first time living out of a car. Although it was a van before. And with my dad. And I was a lot smaller. But seriously, I’ll be-”
“That’s it. You’re staying. Room and board will be taken out of your pay cheque. I’m sure Soos won’t mind. Welcome to the Mystery Shack.”