Chapter Text
Mabel was having a great day.
Sure, there was a weird supernatural storm going on, but she got to have a giant sleepover with all her favorite people in the world, and Dipper was brave all by himself, and Pacifica was here! It was a pretty great day, by all means.
At least, until Grunkle Stan scowled at the room.
“Where’s Dipper?”
Mabel looked around.
Huh.
She could have sworn he was just here. If he had gotten himself trapped in the storm again or, worse, raised the undead again, Mabel was going to have some serious words with him.
Still, she wasn’t too worried. Twin telepathy and all that. (Dipper kept insisting that wasn’t a thing, but Mabel just knew better.) If her brother was in trouble, she would have known.
So, she looked up at her favorite grunkle in the whole universe and grinned.
“Not here!” Mabel chirped.
“Clearly,” Stan grumbled as he ruffled her hair. “Thanks for the input, though, pumpkin.”
Mabel preened under the praise. “Mabel-the-obvious-extradorinare, at your service!”
“Yeah, why don’t you take those stellar skills and go find your brother, eh?” Stan marched over to TV. “For the last time, Soos, I don’t want you wasting any tape on the stupid lamp! Secure the tapes, Soos, secure the movie tapes.”
Mabel scooped up her tape roll and headed for the stairs. Chances were, Dipper had gone upstairs to find the Journal (or one of his cheesy mystery books that she was forbidden from insulting even though Sunset was way better! Hot vampires and cuddly werewolves? Sign her up.) and had forgotten to come back down once he started reading. He did that a lot.
“Ooo-oooh Dipp-er!” Mabel bounded up the stairs with a grin. “Come on, where are you? You disappeared on me again! What the heck, bro-bro!”
The bathroom light was on, but after cracking the door open, revealed no one was there. The mirror was all fogged up, though, like someone had taken a shower. Which could not have been Dipper. He never showered unless he had to.
That was weird. That would leave…
Oh!
Oh.
Mabel grinned, creeping silently to the bedroom. She cracked the door open and bit back a squeal of glee.
Dipper and Pacifica were curled up on Dipper’s bed, fast asleep and–OMG OMG OMG–holding hands!
Mabel buried her face into her sweater sleeves and shrieked. “OH MY GOSH!”
The shout was muffled by the fuzzy fabric, but it didn’t tamper Mabel’s delight at all. She hopped from foot to foot, vibrating with joy.
Dipper and Pacifica? Dipper and Pacifica! Oh, this was way better than the Sunset series. Because this was real life romance! Happening to her brother!
And Mabel had been so worried he’d end up all alone in a beat-down shack in the middle of the woods, doing weird experiments as he got so many wrinkles he’d practically be a skeleton until he keeled over and died from not eating for five days straight.
Alright, that was a bit morbid, but it was true! Dipper wasn’t exactly the most social person (cough-cough, ‘the absolute worst at small talk’ three-time yearbook winner, cough- cough) and Mabel had been worried!
But here he was! Pursuing a classic fairytale romance with her dear friend Pacifica Northwest!
Mabel had to start planning the wedding.
Summer, obviously, with lots of sunflowers and pretty lilac bridesmaid dresses and–
O.
M.
GEE.
Mabel was going to have a sister-in-law!
Pacifica was going to be Mabel’s sister!
She buried her face in her sleeves and screamed again.
Dipper! Was! In! LOVE!
Oh, this was just the best news ever. She had to tell everyone. Candy and Grenda and–oh, oh, she could brainstorm buffet options with them! A chocolate fountain was a must, but she bet Dipper could be persuaded into a cheese fountain, too–
“Mabel? You okay?”
“EEK!” She jumped about a foot as a hand squeezed her shoulder. “Oh, Wendy! Hi, sorry, I was just–”
“In Mabel-land? I could tell.” Wendy’s lips ticked up into a smile, but the edges of her eyes didn’t crinkle with happiness. No, her gaze just looked… sad. “Care to let me save you?”
“I don’t need saving from paradise!” Mabel giggled as Wendy poked her ribs. “But fine. Save me, my valiant knight!”
Mabel collapsed dramatically into Wendy’s arms, complete with a hand fan fluttering her absolutely peckish complexion. Oh, to be a princess…
“Where did you even have that?” Wendy scooped Mabel off her feet as she laughed.
“In my Mary Poppins bag-sweater, obviously,” Mabel said, tugging on the pocket hidden in the folds of her sweater. “It’s perfect for hiding snacks and magic spells.”
“That’s sick, dude.” Wendy kicked their bedroom door. “But, anyway, we should head back downstairs before Stan starts docking my pay for worrying him. Where’s your brother?”
Mabel barely bit back her squeal of happiness. “Oh my gosh, Wendy, you won’t believe it. Dipper’s in there with…” she whispered into Wendy’s ear, “Pacifica.”
“Oh, really?” Wendy shrugged, all cool and not surprised, but Mabel didn’t miss the glint in her eye. “Well, we’d better wake them up, what do you say?”
“Wait, wait!” Mabel tugged on Wendy’s flannel. “I just can’t believe I didn’t see it before,” Mabel gasped. “They like each other!” It made sense! Why Pacifica asked Dipper for help, why Dipper had been waiting all week for Pacifica to call, why they were suddenly so close… They were crushing on each other! They were in love! “We have to set them up.”
“Mm, I don’t know, Sparkles. This might be something we just need to let happen. Interfering could mess things up.”
“Since when have I ever messed any romantic relationships up?!”
Wendy shot her a deadpan look.
“Other than my own.”
Wendy didn’t blink.
“Okay, fine, so my track record has been a little… rocky, lately. But I can do better, I swear! And you’ll be there to help me, right?” Mabel clasped her hands together. “Please, Wendy! It’s for love.”
She hummed for a long, long moment. “Alright,” Wendy said. “As long as you promise to back off as soon as Dipper says to.”
“Oh my gosh yes yes yes!” Mabel threw her arms around Wendy’s neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Aaaand down you go.” Wendy plopped Mabel back onto her feet as she winced. “You’re gonna throw out my back if you keep wiggling around like that, Sparkles.”
“Sorry! I’m just so excited!” Mabel clapped her hands. “This is going to be perfect!”
“If you say so.” Wendy crossed her arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “Alright, Miss Matchmaker… what’s our plan?”
Mabel beamed as a thousand ideas flitted through her head, each one brighter and bolder than the last. Oh, this was going to be absolutely perfect.
She rubbed her hands together and grinned. “I have a few ideas…”
***
“ACK!”
Pacifica jerked awake as a blur of pink and glitter tackled Dipper.
“What the-”
“WE’RE HAVING A SLEEPOVER!!!” Mabel grabbed Dipper’s shoulders and shook him around like a ragdoll. “A! SLEEPOVER!”
“Mabel!” Dipper shouted, trying to claw her off as his head flopped back and forth. “Calm down!”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Mabel shook Dipper so hard he became nothing but a blur. “This is the best day ever because it's SLEEPOVER TIME!” She finally released him and he crashed back into the mattress. “We’re going to have the best sleepover ever! Isn’t that right, Pacifica?!”
"Uh, sure." Pacifica shimmied away from Mabel’s grasp before she could be her next victim, but, unfortunately, Mabel was determined. Mabel crawled across the mattress after her with a unnerving grin. “Wait, what are you doing?" Pacifica winced as Mabel grabbed her shoulder. "I swear, if you shake my brains out-"
Mabel cut off her threat by dragging a bright pink sweater over Pacifica's head. Pacifica spat out some loose glitter as she was manhandled into the very, very, very colorful sweater.
"Um. Alright. Thanks? I guess?" Pacifica frowned as Mabel guided her hand through the sleeve. "Why are we having a sleepover, anyway?”
“Well, Soos and Wendy are going to stay the night, and so are you, soooo I thought we could have some fun! Plus, Grunkle Stan wants us all to stay in the living room as much as possible, but that's less important. We're going to have the best sleepover in the world." Mabel released Pacifica with a satisfied grin. "You look awesome!" She chirped as she tackled her twin and wrestled a matching sweater onto him. “Come on, Dipper, get in the mood!”
“Get off!” Dipper kicked her away and tore off the sweater with a scowl. “Oh my gosh, this is why I never wear your sweaters! I’m covered in your hair now. And your smell.”
“Better than your musty old teenage boy smell,” Mabel giggled.
"Oh yeah? Than take this!" Dipper peeled off his sock and threw it at her.
"Dipper!" Mabel shrieked and tumbled to the ground, batting the fabric away with a hiss. "Begone, foul beast!"
"Serves you right." Dipper rolled his eyes as twin flailed across the floorboards. “And you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to, Pacifica. She'll live."
"No, I won't!"
Pacifica peeled the sweater off with a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.” She tossed the sweater at Mabel, who paused her dramatics to give her the hurt-puppy-dog eyes. "Don't give me that, I think I was starting to break out in hives!"
"But..." Mabel's eyes filled with tears, and although Pacifica knew they were just crocodile tears, it still stung. "But I made it just for you."
"Mabel, don't guilt-trip Pacifica!" Dipper chided as Pacifica sighed.
I can't believe I'm doing this...
"Make a hypoallergenic one and I'll consider wearing it." Pacifica rolled her eyes as Mabel's tears immediately dissipated and were replaced by a blinding smile. "And that's a big if!"
"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" Mabel scrambled over to her bed and pulled out a giant laundry basket of yarn. "What color is your favorite? Pink? Blue? Oooh, green?"
"Uh..." Pacifica startled as Dipper hopped to the ground, leaving her alone on his bed. "Where are you going?"
Dipper raised an eyebrow at her tone and Pacifica cursed under her breath. She didn't mean for the question to sound so accusatory, but... was it so crazy to think that maybe she didn't want to be left alone with his manic crafts-addicted glitter-obsessed sister?
(Was it so weird to think that she didn't want him to leave?)
(Yes, it was very weird to think that. Why did she care?!)
"I'm going to check to see if our clothes are dry?" Dipper squinted at her. "Are you okay?"
Was she okay?
Pacifica didn't know, but... either way, she didn't want to see him go.
But she couldn't just say that. This night had already been weird enough, and frankly, she was exhausted with all the previous vulnerability.
Still... he was standing there, waiting for her answer, and she couldn't not answer him.
"Just get back here quick," she muttered.
His frown slipped into an crooked smile. "As you wish, Princess." With a lazy salute, he was out the door, leaving Pacifica with her shock.
Was she crazy, or had Dipper looked pleased by her request?
"What do you think, Paz?"
That he definitely wanted to stay.
Pacifica closed her eyes, a spark of warmth lighting up in her chest. "Do a light purple."
"Oooh, okay! That will look so pretty on you!" Mabel hummed as she dug through her knitting needles. "Alright, now that I have the color, I just need the design..."
"A ghost."
"Hmm, that's kinda a weird mix, but okay! If that's what you want!" Mabel looked up at Pacifica with a suggestive smirk. "Any reason for those specific requests? A certain nerdy boy perhaps...?"
Pacifica blushed. She blushed. What was with her today?!
Mabel screeched. "I knew it-!"
"Shut it!" Pacifica hissed, all too aware that Dipper could be back at any moment. She tossed a wrinkled fifty at Mabel. "Here, take it."
"Keep your money! I just want to know what was that blush forrrr..."
"What blush?" Dipper tilted his head as he walked into the room.
"PACIFIC-mmph!" Pacifica tackled Mabel and covered her mouth with her hand. The other girl wriggled around for a moment before going limp, and something very, very wet dragged across Pacifica's palm. "Eeeeeh..."
"Ew! Did you just lick my hand?" Pacifica shoved Mabel away. "What the heck?!"
Mabel collapsed onto the floorboards with breathless laughter. "This is the best day ever!"
Dipper and Pacifica met each other's gazes over her wheezing form.
They didn't say a word, but she knew they were thinking the same thing; Pacifica could see it in his soft brown eyes and slight, hopeful smile.
It kind of was the best day ever.
The moment last one second, two, then three.
Too long, but not nearly long enough.
When Pacifica finally tore her gaze away, she could still feel Dipper's curious stare burning into her frame.
***
After she had changed back into her clothes (the ones that Dipper had gifted her) Pacifica couldn't quite get her heart to settle down. It kept skipping past one too many beats every time there was... something in between her and Dipper, and it was driving her crazy.
Pacifica wasn't great at feelings, okay? She just wasn't, and she'd already reached her limit for emotional conversations today. Couldn't she just be done with feeling things today?
Her heart did a somersault in her chest as she pulled on the lilac hoodie.
Apparently not.
Whatever. It wasn't like these clothes were all that special.
...except they were, who was she kidding. It was just hoodie and sweats, but it felt like being wrapped up in a warm embrace. Pacifica slipped her arms around herself and took a deep, deep breath.
They even smelled like pine trees.
...Okay, this was getting weird again.
Pacifica scooped up the borrowed clothes and scurried out of the bathroom before she could have any other weird feelings.
She deposited the clothes in a wayward laundry room then made her way downstairs into the living room, where the rest of the Shack's residents were gathered. Dipper and Mabel had both claimed sleeping bags, Mabel's clearly marked by her assortment of arts and crafts all over the fabric. Stan was on the armchair with... Zeus? sprawled across a patterned picnic blanket. Wendy curled up in a flannel blanket beside Mabel's sleeping bag as Mabel slid a CD into the console.
"Pacifica! Just in time!" Mabel patted the sleeping bag in between her and Dipper. "Come on, come on! We're about to start the movie!"
A smile tugged at her lips. "Alright, I'm coming." Pacifica delicately sat down on the sleeping bag. "Thnks."
"No prob! Now..." Mabel raised a remote and screeched. “ONWARD!”
She clicked play, and the movie began.
A young boy, sick in bed, was being read to by his grandfather. The story he told was nothing like the ones Pacifica had been told, ones of pain and loneliness for those who were anything less than perfect. No, this was... magical. The unwavering devotion of the characters were speared with golden-tipped words, like Rumpelstiltskin himself was spinning the ordinary syllables into holy thread that pierced her right to the heart.
Every friendship, no matter if they started as enemies or not, was founded on nothing but love and hope. It was... enchanting, and Pacifica found herself wishing for something like that.
Then, of course, Mabel and Dipper entered the scene, just like the always did. With their excited, hushed whispers and soft laughter, Pacifica found herself feeling like these twins were torn right out of this movie. Because how else could they be so good?
Every time they entered a new scene, Mabel would shake Pacifica's arm and whisper: "Are you watching? Are you watching?! You're gonna miss the best part!"
And every time, Dipper would huff a laugh and roll his eyes. "It's not the best part."
"You're right," Mabel would agree. "The whole move is the best part."
And despite the dozens of times it happened, almost word-for-word, every interaction was almost just as magical as the movie itself.
One by one, the people in the room nodded off. Pacifica, however, barely noticed. Enthralled with the tale playing out in front of her, she lost track of the world around her. So much so that she didn't even care that she cared so much. She grinned as Buttercup and Wesley fell in love all over again, scowled at Prince Humperdinck's hideous plan, and maybe shed a tear or two when the lovers were separated yet again.
Dipper took her hand when the first tear fell and Pacifica couldn't find it herself to be embarrassed. She just held onto his hand and didn't let go.
The emotions–both from the movie and for the twins on each side of her-were sharp and soft and real, and Pacifica found she didn't really mind it at all.
Feelings still sucked, but. Well.
(Dipper squeezed her hand as the final battle began, a soft beat of reassurance that somehow, it would all be okay.)
Maybe they weren't all bad.
The battle was won, the day was saved, and the heroes rode off into the sunset to find their happily ever after. She might have grinned a little, but oh, sue her. It was just so perfect.
With a final, triumphant chord, the screen faded to black and the credits began to play. Pacifica stared at the screen, veins thrumming with... emotion? A lot of them. She wasn't sure which ones, but... it felt... it felt right.
It was the least the beautiful story deserved.
Slowly, Pacifica came back to reality, the soft hums of the strings fading into the background. She blinked and glanced at the others, surprised to find them all asleep. All except for-
For Dipper, who was staring at her.
With this... this look.
A look that was all fuzzy around the edges, like the static of a TV screen, with a secretive smile like he knew that he was the only one who got see this her like this, like...
Like he cared.
Pacifica met his eyes.
Something electric jolted the air between them.
"Um."
The moment broke.
Dipper jerked, as if just realizing that Pacifica had caught him looking. His face broke out into a blush as he snatched his hand away.
"S-sorry." Dipper's voice cracked. "You just... uh, looked like you were having a lot of fun."
"I did." Pacifica tried not to miss the warmth of his touch. "Have fun, I mean. It was a good movie."
The tension melted off of Dipper's frame and he smiled all loose and soft again, and oh, there was that feeling again.
Dangit, Pacifica had really liked not thinking about it for a couple of hours.
“It’s a classic.” Dipper agreed. “You know, Buttercup reminds me of you."
This, at least, Pacifica knew. The teasing, the sarcasm, the banter... but all Pacifica could feel was a rush of pride. Because, well. It was Buttercup. "Wait, really?"
Dipper's expression spasmed, as if he hadn't been expecting her honest question. "Oh, uh, yeah." He cleared his throat. "You're both stubborn princesses."
"Hey!" Pacifica smacked his arm. "It's better than being a helpless peasant like you."
“Excuse me, I would be Wesley, thank you very much." Dipper flipped his hair. "The persona of a scrappy pirate fits me very well.”
“Yeah, if you could even lift the sword.”
They laughed quietly, the rain drumming on the roof.
Pacifica turned to look at Dipper, heart pounding as their eyes met. Everything was still and dark, but yet the air felt alive and active, electric.
“Would you want to be a pirate?” she asked. “When you grow up, I mean.”
“I mean…” He fiddled with the edge of his sleeping bag. “I don’t really know what I want to do when I grow up. I used to have this whole life plan, but as this summer’s gone by… I’m not sure it’s what I want to do anymore.”
“What was your plan?”
He shook his head. “You’ll just make fun of me.”
“No, no… I wanna know.”
“Well…” Dipper shrugged. “I always wanted to make a show about paranormal activity or… or those ghosthunting shows I love, you know? I thought it would be fun.” He picked at a loose string, over and over and over again. “But now that I’ve actually fought ghosts… I don’t know it, it doesn’t seem as… appealing anymore? Ugh, that sounds dumb. I don’t know, I just…”
Dipper blew out a frustrated groan, the burst of wind ruffling his bangs. “I think… I think I’d want to be on the field actually meeting the ghosts rather than just making a show about them, you know? It sounds awful, but I think I’d get bored if I couldn’t actually do the research.”
That doesn’t sound dumb at all, Pacifica thought. But she couldn’t say that. So, she traced an idle flower on her pillowcase as she fought for the right words.
“So… research. Like, anything? Or would it still be, like, ghosts and stuff?”
“Maybe?” Dipper tugged at the loose string. “Really, I think anything weird would be good for me. This summer, here at Gravity Falls… it feels like I’m actually doing something. Like I’m… I’m growing. At school, I felt like I was just… stagnant. Memorizing facts and balancing equations. W-which is fine, don’t get me wrong! I like that, but… here, I actually get to go out and do stuff, to discover new things and be the one to learn all about them! I mean, how am I supposed to go back to doing division when I could be out here discovering new creatures?”
Pacifica tilted her head. “I thought you liked school.”
“I do! I’m excited to learn trigonometry and all of that kind of curriculum, but that’s all stuff that challenges me, you know? Not every class is going to be like that. Some classes are going to be boring, and why would I want to do that when I could be out adventuring?”
“So… you like learning,” Pacifica noted. “Not school.”
Dipper frowned, a little crease piercing the space between his eyebrows. It wasn’t angry or fearful, just… thoughtful.
Huh, Pacifica thought. So he doesn’t know everything yet.
Sometimes, she sure wondered if he did. It was kind of nice to know that for all his smarts, he was still an oblivious idiot on the inside.
A very nice idiot, but still, an idiot.
“I… yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Dipper released the string and smoothed it against the seam, letting it disappear in the folds of the fabric. “I love learning, and I want to keep learning no matter what I do in life. Which means I need to choose a job that always keeps pushing me. That makes me grow.”
He ducked behind his bangs, a light blush painting across his cheeks. “Sorry. That… that was a lot. Didn’t mean to dump all that on you.”
“It’s fine. I… I don’t mind.” And why didn’t she mind? Why could she see his future so clearly, understand all the ways Dipper could change the world? He was once just a thorn in her side, but now… Pacifica could only see all the good he would bring to her–all their lives–no matter what he did.
Why? Why couldn’t she stop thinking about it?
And why couldn’t she stop looking at him?
Why?
Why?
Why was it mesmerizing, the way his wispy curls fell into his eyes? And why did Pacifica want to brush them away so she could see his doe eyes again, all passionate and brave again? Why did… why did she care?
Isn’t that what friends did? Care about each other?
So why did this care feel so different?
Pacifica flushed as Dipper peeked up at her. Oh, she had been silent for way too long. She scrambled to save the moment of vulnerability.
Come on, Northwest, get a grip!
“That all sounds… nice,” Pacifica stuttered, stumbling and tripping over every syllable, and joy, she was embarrassed– “So, it’s fine. Or whatever.” I’m such an idiot.
Dipper smiled. He smiled. The edges of it were soft in the low TV glow as he took her fumble in a stride.
“Thanks. That… means a lot.”
Oh, now he was staring back at her.
Gosh, they really were just two idiots, weren’t they?
“Whatever.” Pacifica tore her eyes away to glare at the TV. “It’s nothing.”
Dipper chuckled and her heart just twisted.
Seriously, what was this feeling?
“Alright, alright, I get it.” Dipper leaned his chin on his hand. “What about you?”
“What?”
“What do you want to do when you grow up?”
Well.
Wasn’t that a question and a half.
“I… I don’t know.” Pacifica nearly winced at the brutal honesty, the desperate vulnerability, the fear… but she continued on, anyways. Dipper seemed to have that effect on her. “I’ve… never had the choice before. I’m expected to be married off and to just… waste away in a mansion, collecting investments and gold, but… but I don’t want to do that. I want…”
Pacifica stared at the static on the TV, the chaotic melody of… oh, what was it? The leftover sound of the universe being created… or something like that, right? Wait, cosmic background radiation, that was what it was called. (See, she paid attention in class!)
Yeah, all that chaos created something… so unique. Crazy and weird but good. A beginning that never ends.
Pacifica stared at that–the beginning, the curious static, the noise of the universe–and she thought of the Pines. Of the hurricane of chaos they brought wherever they went, of Mabel spreading joy everywhere she went, and of Dipper saving her when there was no real reason to… of her, opening the gates to the town and letting everyone in.
She thought of all of that–the way these twins had upheaved her perfect little life, how they had shattered her reality into a million little pieces then put it back together into a beautiful mosaic, and just… just helped people because they could–and knew, in that instant, what she really, truly, actually wanted.
“I want to help people,” Pacifica declared. “I’m just so tired of being alone and never connecting with anyone! Before I met you, I had never helped a single person in my entire life. And during the party, when the Ghost was hurting people… it was terrifying and so hard to do the right thing, but… it was nice–it was good. To open the gates and let the townspeople in, to save the guests and the ghosts, to… just help!”
“I’ve never felt that way before!” She gushed. “It was… amazing. I want to feel that again, I really do. But also, I–I want to make sure no one ever feels as lonely as I do, and I know that this is the way to do that. Because you and Mabel, you… you help everyone, so you’re never alone! I mean, when I was just downright awful to you–Dipper, I lied to you–you still… you still made me feel a lot less lonely. Like I could do more. And, I know, maybe it’s not a lot, but I can at least do that, can’t I? To be more than just another thieving, lying Northwest? So that’s what I want to do–no, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to help people, one way or another.”
Pacifica panted, her lungs exhausted from the sudden speech, but her heart was just burning with emotion, and... it felt… it felt right, it felt like she was alive, it felt like she cared.
It hurt, but oh, did it feel right.
“Wow.”
She looked up at him–and wow, that might have been a mistake. His eyes were practically shining with awe, and yep, Pacifica felt heat creep into her cheeks. How wonderful.
“I… sorry, I–”
“No–no, don’t apologize! Don’t ever apologize for that.” Dipper grinned at her. “Pacifica, that was amazing.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I mean, Pacifica–oh my gosh, that might have been the greatest thing I’ve heard in a long time! That was just–a lot of people do good things to benefit themselves, but you… you’re doing it because you care.”
“Part of it is for myself, though,” she pointed out, her stomach sinking with guilt and disappointment. Of course she couldn’t change who she was–
“Well, yeah, but like, it’s for a good reason,” Dipper stressed. “It’s not all just for you, you know? And for the parts that it is, it’s just… you’re not doing it for fame, or your image, you just want to be a better human being. To create connections. Like, Pacifica, that’s–that’s incredible!”
Pacifica blushed, her heart flutter-flutter-fluttering with his every word. A melody of you can start again, you can try, you can, you can, you can! “You really think so?”
“Yes! Absolutely. Without a doubt.” Dipper grinned at her. “You’re gonna do great things, Pacifica.”
In their excitement, they had scooted closer together, almost shoulder to shoulder as they smiled like idiots. It was new, but it was… it was good, and…
Her heart burned.
This is right.
“Thanks.” She hesitated, wondered–really? Am I doing this?–then slowly lowered her head onto his shoulder anyway. “You’re gonna do great things too, Pines.”
Dipper leaned his cheek against her hair. “Let’s hope so.”
“Oh, don’t be all humble now,” she sighed. “You really are gonna change the world one day with your weird genius brain, dummy.”
“That was such a contradictory sentence–”
“Shut up.” She flicked his arm. “Take the compliment and move on.”
Dipper laughed, soft and true, the vibrations warming Pacifica from the inside out. “Alright, alright, I got it. Thanks, Northwest.” Now it was his turn to pause. “You know… I don’t know if I can do it on my own.”
“I’m sure you can, but whatever, I’ll humor you. Go on.”
“I was just thinking… we both want to get better, right? To grow. So, how about we kind of… help each other? With our goals and stuff.”
Pacifica bit back a grin. That sounded… great? Wonderful? Like it was going to make her heart burn a hole through her chest? But…
“I had to break it to you, Pines, but there’s not much summer left.”
“I know, I know. But we can still, like, support each other or whatever. I mean, we both have phones, so we can-"
"Not for much longer." Pacifica cut in with a sigh. "As soon as I get home, my phone is definitely going to be taken away."
"Well... dang." Dipper hmmphed. "I mean, you've got to get it back at some point, right? But, you know, if you don't, we can... we can figure something else out..."
"Like what?" She poked his shoulder. "And, besides, how do you even have a phone? You didn't have one earlier this summer, and I thought Stan was all stingy with money or whatever. How'd you convince him to let you get one?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, I built it." Dipper shrugged, like it was no big deal. "There was this whole mystery surrounding this laptop a couple of weeks ago, and I was trying to figure out how to fix it, so I figured I would practice with other electronics, and... yeah."
"So you built a phone. To practice?"
"It's just a flip-phone," Dipper argued, as if that made it any less incredible. "And I had to figure it out somehow."
She shook her head in shock. This idiotic genius... "You're something else, Pines."
"Is that good or...?"
"Shut up. So, we could email, I guess?"
"Yeah, but... augh, no, emails wouldn’t work… I have to share a computer with Mabel, and my phone isn't great with sending emails... what about mail? The old-fashioned way? No, that would be…”
Pacifica hummed in thought as Dipper muttered to himself. It was a nice idea, that was for sure. The logistics would be… complicated, but… it would be nice. To know that no matter how many times she failed that someone was on her side, that someone believed in her, that she wasn’t alone anymore…
To know Dipper would be waiting for her, no matter what.
Ding!
The idea bloomed to life.
“What if…” she said, “We promise to meet back right here, a year from today. Even if we’re on opposite sides of the world, even if we hate each other again, even if the world is in an apocalypse or something like that… we come back. We come back and show each other how much we’ve grown.”
Dipper grinned. “I like that idea.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.” Dipper pulled back to look her in the eye, face deadly seriousas he held out his pinkie. “Pacifica Northwest, do you swear to meet back here today one year from now, no matter what happens?”
She linked their pinkies together.
Her whole body burned.
And with every fiber of her being, Pacifica just knew that this was right.
“I swear.”
“Well, then.” Dipper grinned. “See you in a year, Northwest.”
She smiled back. “See you in a year, Pines.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
The wind whistled outside, rain beat against the roof, the world spun on, but for just a moment...
Pacifica could pretend it was just them.
And maybe it was, with the way Dipper was looking at her, all worried but happy and...
Wait.
Worry?
"Hey, Pacifica..." He hesitated, something... desperate spasming across his expression. “Do you... do you really think we’re gonna hate each other again?”
And Pacifica just stared at the boy who, despite all the chaos he had brought into it, had changed her life. Changed her.
She looked at him and couldn't see a life without him in it, couldn't fathom a world where he didn't change everything he touched for the better, couldn't imagine Dipper Pines being anything other than good.
How could he worry about that when he was the best thing that had ever happened to her?
Which, ugh, was going to have to be some complicated emotions to work through later. Right now, she just couldn't understand how he could worry about this.
So, Pacifica did the only thing she could think to do.
She helped him.
“No, I don’t think so.” She linked her pinkie tighter around his finger. “We’re friends, after all. And even if something does go wrong, you’re bound to the powerful laws of a pinkie promise to see me at least one more time. So, either way, you’re stuck with me, Pines.”
Dipper leaned his hand into her palm, and Pacifica melted into the touch, lacing their fingers together.
"I don't think there's anyone I'd rather be stuck with, princess."
Grinning at each other in the darkness, they curled up in their sleeping bags with their hands clasped between them, a thousand promises she couldn't wait to decipher. Warmth emanated off of him and his pulse danced under her fingertips, adding fuel to the fire that was her skipping heartbeat. Although the storm continued to rage outside, there was a little bubble of warmth held between their hands.
Except it wasn't just in this small space between them, it was this whole place that felt safe... because Dipper was here, and Mabel, and their weird but kind-of-alright family, and... wow. Their family almost felt what family was supposed to be, almost felt like her family, like this was... was home.
Maybe it wasn’t… yet.
But it could be, and wasn't that just a wonderful feeling?
“I’m glad I called you,” Pacifica whispered.
Dipper's eyes shone like stars. “Me, too.”
Pacifica beamed.
This really had been the best day ever.
How inconceivable.
***
A hand shook her shoulder.
"Five more minutes," Mabel muttered.
"Psst, Mabel, wake up." The hand shook her harder. "Come on, before they wake up!"
"Wha...?" She sat up and blinked hard, sleep still clogging her every thought. "Why'd you pull me out of Mabel-land, Wendy?"
Wendy just grinned and pressed a finger over her lips. She pointed at the sleeping figures beside them, and... and oh.
Mabel immediately perked up and nearly cheered with glee. Dipper and Pacifica, fast asleep and holding hands again!
Wendy snapped a couple pictures with her phone as Mabel held out her fist.
"Mission success," she whispered.
Wendy grinned and fist bumped her.
"Mission success."
Waddles squealed in agreement.
Inconcievable!