Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

We'll meet again
Don't know where
Don't know when
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day.

△

The air was crisp and light, save for the slight humidity from the heavy rain the day prior. It was the peak of the season, meaning the folk of Gravity Falls would soon be terrorized with rough rainstorms and the awakening of hibernating supernatural creatures.

Dipper Pines graciously thanked the bus driver, simultaneously struggling with all his might to move the two suitcases. Already waiting, Grunkle Stan stood on the porch of the Mystery Shack, a Pitt soda in one hand and what seemed to be a ghosting smile on his face.

"Kid! You made it!" he shouted, not bothering to help the clearly struggling boy with his luggage; though Dipper expected as much.

"H-Hey Grunkle Stan." The younger boy sighed as sore arms dropped the bags in front of his great uncle. Stan finished the last of his drink, tossing the empty can to the side carelessly before huffing a laugh in response.

"Still the little knucklehead I met 5 years ago, eh?" He grinned widely as Dipper approached the aging man, a hand outstretched, to which Stan grasped tightly and used to pull him into a hug. His great nephew fell into him with a chuckle, patting his back as the two pulled away.

Stan appraised Dipper with searching eyes and nodded approvingly. "You look good. Thank God you bagged that stupid hat. How long has it been since you last visited anyways? Two years?"

Dipper shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry Grunkle Stan. Been busy with school and stuff. And that hat is not stupid." Though, admittedly, he couldn't recall why he wore it everyday throughout his first summer at Gravity Falls and the next two to come.

"So. . .where are you and great uncle Ford going? There was too much shouting over the phone for me to gather as much." Dipper took note of the hideous, firetruck-red Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts his uncle was sporting.

"Where are we going? More like where are we not going. We're traveling around the entire world!" he exclaimed loudly, scaring off a flock of birds from nearby trees. "We're going to drink cocktails for breakfast and break every law possible in France!"

"Everything but the law part," a familiar voice sounded behind Stan and Dipper's eyes lit up. His other uncle clapped a six-fingered hand on Stan's shoulder affectionately as a warm smile tugged on his lips. "Good to see you, Dipper."

The two older men, Dipper noticed, were wearing variations of the same outfit. A bright blue Hawaiian shirt fit awkwardly on Ford's body and the small fracture on his spectacles was no longer.

"Maybe for you. But I know I'm going to violate every law until I'm banned from that country!" Stan nudged his twin and laughed loudly, eventually breaking into a coughing fit. Dipper smiled softly. It was good seeing the rift between the brothers finally being patched.

Ford shook his head at Stan's behavior, though not before letting a small chuckle escape his lips. "Sorry to break our meeting short but our flight's soon and we must leave."

Dipper nodded understandingly as Ford brushed past him with their luggage. Grunkle Stan ruffled the younger boy's hair and flicked a ring of keys to him. "Take good care of her, kid."

The brunet blinked once and saluted, a bright smile on his face. Stan returned the gesture before sauntering to the car where his brother was waiting.

"See you in July! Don't make a mess," was the last thing Dipper heard from his uncle as the car sped away, just in time for the sun to disappear behind the horizon. He stood there for a moment, fully absorbing the stillness of the remote town he missed so much and finally dragged his belongings into the threshold of the Mystery Shack.

The uncharacteristic silence of the house was not something Dipper could get used to. It was strange not hearing Grunkle Stan yell at the television while Mabel played her favorite insufferable summer pop song on full blast, or the faint sound of tools and machines running down in the basement where Ford worked. For once in his life, Dipper felt he wouldn't enjoy the next few months in the shack.

△

Somewhere deep in the forest dimensions apart, a creature stirred, his single eye blinking. Had he just felt the energy of who he thought to be? A breeze stirred the colorless trees around him and melted into the grayscale world in which he resided. The dream demon had took a particular liking to little Pine Tree many years ago. Something about the young boy's curiosity and grit intrigued him, quite remarkable considering the timeless demon which was he. Even when the Pines family assumed the inter-dimensional being to be destroyed he made sure to keep an eye on his human toy. A slow chuckle worked its way out of him; it's been way too long since he's last seen his favorite meatsuit.

△

"Hey there, Dip-Dop!" Mabel's cheerful voice sounded after two rings.

"Hey Mabel." An easy smile spread onto his lips as he walked into the living room, Dipper lazily slumping onto the couch. "I'm back in Gravity Falls. Stan and Ford left a while ago."

Mabel giggled, "You're the boss now! How does it feel owning the shack?"

He hummed as he took in his surroundings; nothing had changed. "It's a bit quiet without them." After a second, he added with a slight frown, "Without you."

She lapsed into a brief state of silence, "I miss you too, Dipper. Don't worry, I'll be back in the Falls by summer."

He sadly smiled. "How's New York? University treatin' you alright?"

She squealed giddily and Dipper knew he was about to get an earful. Mabel talked about her failed boyfriend endeavors—the guy who only wore cat sweaters, the guy with an indecorous obsession of ballpoint pens; the list when on and on. She talked about her new friends, though Candy and Grenda still held a special place in her heart.

Hearing his sister so happy was exactly what Dipper needed. He slowly felt his eyes become bleary as the hours flew by and soon he succumbed to the seducing tug of sleep.

"Goodnight, Dippin' Dot."

△

The faint shadow of a triangle hovered over the shack, hidden dimensions away, watching as Dipper and his twin talked over the phone. Human emotions had always confused the chaos god. They were so. . .possessive and strange, why would any human like them, much less want them?

The triangle shook his head (or. . .body) distastefully before averting his attention back to the boy. Humans were stupid creatures and unworthy of his time, he decided.

To his surprise, Dipper's eyes were closed and his breathing steady, phone still in hand. He was sleeping, Bill recalled the name of the humans' pastime.

Grinning, he readied himself to enter the boy's Mindscape, fixing his dapper little bow tie, until a more sinister idea washed over him. A slow laugh dragged its way out of the demon.

Oh, Pine Tree, you're in for a big surprise.

△

Dipper pushed open the door to his room and walked inside, heading to the desk where his papers were still strewn over from the last time he had been here which was back two summers with Mabel. Sunlight spilled in from the moth-eaten curtains and flocks of birds sung into the morning air.

Somewhere throughout the night, Mabel had hung up, leaving his phone's battery to slowly die out. Dipper didn't mind much though; the device was hardly of use to him, charged or dead.

He picked up a piece of paper on the table before dropping it back. The brunet observed everything atop the desk, flipping through pages of various books, until he finally slammed one shut, breathing a sigh.

He was bored.

Wendy didn't work at the shack during the fall season due to university and Soos wouldn't be coming in for another month or so.

He shrugged and rummaged through the luggage for his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder, and nodding. He made sure the front door to the Mystery Shack was locked before trudging into the forest.

Rows upon rows of trees full of mysteries and new discoveries awaited Dipper. He knew he shouldn’t be out in the forest alone, unsupervised, especially since erratic things tend to happen when one explored Gravity Falls forest. But the young boy had gotten used to the weirdness, even craved it.

The trees around him rustled with the faint promise of warmer days to come. Dipper knew his own journal was in the bag so he could document everything, following Grunkle Ford’s footsteps in trying to continue his research and even conduct his own.

A splotch of teal skittered across Dipper’s field of vision, too quick for him to register what it was but long enough for him to know this was the first time he’s encountered the creature.

Adrenaline and excitement pumped in his veins as he chased after it, deeper and deeper into the forest. By the time he realized the creature was long gone, it was already too late. He had ventured deep into the core of the forest with no recollection of how to return. There was a thin line between curious and reckless, and this was one of the many times where Dipper had crossed it.

“Shit,” he muttered to himself as he looked around, though it was all greenery for as far as he could tell.

Don’t worry, Dipper. It’s only the afternoon, you have time. The dangerous ones don’t come out until sundown, he reassured himself.

Naturally, right after the thought flew past his head, a loud growl sounded near him; most likely the Gods finding his helplessness amusing.

Before he had time to react, another one emitted from the creature, this time way closer than the last one. Clenching his fists, Dipper ran in the opposite direction, twigs and branches snapping under his feet and from behind him. Something inside him told him not to look back, and he listened.

This was it. He was going to die.

A rough object tripped his feet as he fell with a small yelp. Whipping around, a pair of glowing red slits sprinted towards him at an alarming rate. Terror ripped over him and he was unable to move. His eyes quickly fell to the object which had ultimately damned him.

It was a strange statue, only the tip of it seemed to peek out from the dirt.

His small revelation was cut short with a talon of sharp claws and a face to face with the beast. Dipper struggled with all his strength to keep the spiraled rows of teeth from chomping down on him.

I’m sorry I couldn’t talk to you for the last time, Mabel.

Try as he might, the boy knew he would not be able to overpower the mythical beast. His arms were beginning to numb and the drool from the creature’s mouth dripped onto his face.

“Please! Someone help!” Dipper tried with his last attempt, though he knew no one could hear him. Feeling the last of his strength giving away, he closed his eyes and hoped his death would be quick and painless.

But the beast’s teeth never sank into the boy. Dipper opened one eye and instead of the feral red eyes, he was met with a faint blue light and a familiar ethereal echo.

“Long time no see, Pine Tree.”

△

Chapter Text

"Long time no see, Pine Tree." The triangle who had terrorized Dipper's childhood stared down at him, the same devious glint in his single eye, "Almost couldn't recognize you without your hat." The boy struggled to form coherent words as he stammered.

"T-There's. . .no w-way."

In response, Bill laughed loudly, his eye curling upwards. Dipper flinched.

"Oh, Pine Tree, but there is. You see that statue over there?" He pointed a gloved hand at the small object which had barreled Dipper's feet and scraped his ankle. "Take a closer look at it, would ya?"

Dipper managed to gather enough strength to steadily crawl over, ignoring the stings from sharp pebbles and other sediment. It was then that Dipper noticed everything around him was devoid of color, from the dirt crunching below his forearms to the crumpled leaves scattered around. He was in the Mindscape.

The small statue, turned out, wasn't just any statue. It was the statue of Bill Cipher himself, and the small radius of dead foliage and insects surrounding it confirmed its authenticity. Dipper could now make out the protruding part of the statue to be the tip of his top hat.

"I don't understand," the aftershock was wearing off and his senses were coming back to him.

Bill doubled over in more crippling laughter. "Smart as he is, my little Pine Tree is still a stupid human." He spun around the boy as if to be scrutinizing him.

"How are you back? You're supposed to be dead. We killed you!" Dipper cried, staring at the demon with a mixture of confusion and hatred, "Unless. . .Stan's memory!" Bill chuckled in response.

"Cute guess, kid, but no. Restoring your uncle's mind wasn't enough to bring me back, something else was. And you're going to love hearing it," his words came out mockingly slow, "In fact, I can even guess the face you'll make when you do." Bill's body melted into a glob of yellow and rearranged into a grotesque abomination of what could only be Dipper's face, twisted in a brutal combination of shock and fear. The boy screamed as he struggled to back away from the sight.

Bill reverted back to his form and observed the boy like a predator playing with its food, circling around him. The gesture alone was enough for every drop of blood within his body to run cold.

"Hey, as a treat for my favorite fleshbag, I'm offering you a seat for the news I'm about to break. What about one made of raccoon arms?" Bill suggested flippantly, snapping his fingers as a bloody mess of grey fur and tiny claws appeared in front of the boy. Dipper screamed again as a spare arm broke apart from the "chair" and fell onto his foot. He was almost sure he'd lose his voice after this.

Bill cackled and the chair disappeared. "I never died, Pine Tree. Simply erased from this dimension. But that statue kept me grounded and gave me physicality, prevented me from being completely erased. I was still part of the Mindscape, but I didn't have enough energy to bring myself back. Until, one sunny day, a curious friend stumbled deep inside the forest," Dipper flushed and rubbed his right arm mindlessly.

"And I had him exactly where I wanted. All I needed was for some idiotic human to saunter their way here and find me. Even better that its you, Pine Tree! Now you're going to help me." Horrifying revelation washed over Dipper.

Bill grinned as his favorite meatsuit slowly pieced the parts together. "I'm here to make a deal." His eye glowed blue momentarily and a flicker of blue flames illuminated his small hands.

Dipper shook his head furiously, finally standing and holding himself up with a tree, his legs still wobbly. "No deals, not with you," he jabbed a finger at the levitating triangle. Bill seemed unfazed and began to bawl dramatically, finishing off his theatrics by wiping away a faux tear. "That hurt, Pine Tree," he said indifferently and hovered over to a confused Dipper.

"No deal? Alright then, fine with me. Bye-bye, Pine Tree!" The triangle snapped his fingers and the red-eyed beast appeared in front of Dipper again, frozen mid-snarl and in grayscale.

"Wait, no! Cipher!"

Bill laughed then, sickly, predatorily, everything that set off warnings in Dipper's head asking him to run as far as he could. To do anything and everything in his power to bolt out of there. But he sat there, a fear-stricken expression of what was to come slapped across his features. After all, there wasn't much he could do with a bloodthirsty beast in front of him and an all-knowing demon above him.

"Great!" Bill rubbed his gloved hands together. "Let's get to it then."

Dipper bit at the inside of his cheek. "What do you want?"

"In exchange for your life and. . .your family's," Bill started, pretending to think as he spun a finger around in circles, "You give me something human. Something small.  An eyelash, a fingernail, something of that sort. And you help me with a simple plan of mine."

Bill chuckled before speaking again, “Heck, to sweeten the deal because of the suave businessman I am, I’ll even protect you and your family of meatbags until I finish what I gotta do.” 

Dipper was expecting Bill to ask for his eternal allegiance to the demon, maybe even the souls of all the townsfolk. The deal was suspiciously, well, fair and Dipper knew better than that from prior experience. He stared at the demon warily. "Why do you need something human? And what makes you think I'll say yes?"

"Because, Pine Tree," Bill said, sounding bored, "You don't want to die. You don't want your sister to die."

Dipper felt the fear in him rising along with the stakes that came with the deal.

"Don't you, sapling?" the demon asked, tauntingly innocent. 

Dipper's first instinct was to refuse the offer, but the thought of Mabel's life on the line made him stand his ground.

"So whaddya say Pine Tree, we got a deal?" The eerie sadism in his voice had dissipated in seconds. 

"No loopholes, Bill. You can't possess my body and you can't take something I need. You can only take it from me. Not Grunkle Stan, not Ford, not Mabel. I won't help you if your plan involves something like world domination," Dipper squinted at the smug little demon who had his arms crossed.

"You're clever, kid. I'll give you that," he pointed at the brunet. "Sounds like a deal to me. Shake on it?" He held out a hand as blue flames swallowed it and slowly snaked up his arm. Dipper stared at it for a brief moment. Was he really going to make another deal? With Bill? The same demon who used his body as a puppet.

He sighed, thinking of his family; of Mabel. Whatever the chaos god had planned, he'll deal with it. As long as his family was unharmed.

A pale hand reached up and grasped the demon's, an all too familiar sensation sparking at his fingers the moment they made contact. Bill began laughing.

"Just not almost as clever as me," his eye turned red and a blinding light erupted from their handshake, "The small thing I want is. . .hmm. . .ȃ͛ p̲͉̗̳̰͖̏͋̐͗̃̿i͂̊̿e͓̹̖̞̖c͓̝̃̀ͦ̈̔̓ė̪̱̞ͭ̈́ õ̙̠̞͊͛ͥ͗̋f̒̆̋ͩͬ̄̚ ỳo̹̰̬̯̜̱̐͒͒̈́̄̚u̪͕͎̤̖ͨͮ̈r̝̖̱͍̦̠ͧ s̲̥̭̬̟̺̰̏͐ō̥̲͇u̼͓͉̩͙̍ͅl̔."

The distorted voice sent chills down Dipper's spine as something tingled within him, somewhere deep inside where something human couldn't reach. "W-Wait, Bill! This wasn't part of the—"

Blackness overcame him as his grip on reality began to waver, his eyes slowly closing, and the last thing he saw being the light fading away into blurred green splotches of trees.

△

Dipper nuzzled his head deeper into the warmth of his bed. His hands gripped the bedsheets, mindlessly tugging them closer while half asleep. Dipper's mind felt fuzzy and his limbs were unnaturally sore as he continued to twist and turn. He was about to fall back into the arms of slumber when bits of his encounter with Bill penetrated his mind, jolting him awake.

The boy's eyebrows pinned together in confusion. He was back in the Mystery Shack and early hints of sunrise spilled from the stained glass window. Wasn't he in the forest? How did he get back here? Was it all just a dream?

"You're awake." A vaguely familiar voice chirped to his left and to his surprise, a lanky, tall blond stared at him with an equally familiar (and scary) grin. Dipper's vision was still blurry due to his groggy state and was just about able to make out the general color and shape of the man. He was lazily sprawled across Mabel's old bed, arms behind his head and one leg kicked over the other. There was something off about him. Though the pounding headache was enough for Dipper to postpone the suspicion.

"Who are you? And how did I get back here?" the brunet pressed. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Dipper quickly looked down to make sure he was fully clothed and to his relief, he was.

"Aw, don't say you don't remember me, Pine Tree." He completely ignored the last question.

Dipper stiffened. Pine Tree?

"Cipher?!"

"Flesh and blood." The shit-licking grin remained slapped across Bill's face. As Dipper's vision began to clear, he was finally able to fully analyze the human Bill. The first thing, Dipper noticed, was his right eye; unnatural and flaxen. The other eye was covered with a black triangular eye patch, the shape was ironically similar to his true form.

Tousled golden locks spilled messily around his tanned face with tufts of black hair hidden behind his neck. His outfit choice was unusually dapper, considering they were in the middle of nowhere. A beige button-up was clad around his lean body and layered atop was a yellow dress vest with designs of what seemed to be bricks. His black overcoat had a similar pattern and pooled underneath his slackened posture. To top it off was his infamous bow tie, placed neatly in the center between the collars.

"What did you do to me, Bill." It came out as more of a statement rather than a question.

The demon licked his lips before stating matter-of-factly, "I took a small bit of your human soul."

A mixture of horror and anger flashed across Dipper's face. He had no idea what that meant but it did not sound good. "You lied to me! This wasn't part of our deal."

Bill grinned derisively. "Naive sapling. I've been doing this for centuries, kid. You thought you could outsmart me with your little limitations? I didn't lie to you. I simply found a way for the deal to work more so to my benefit than yours." 

"Bu-But. . .that. . ." Dipper tried to argue but he knew he had been beaten. Once again.

"Better luck next time, kiddo." His voice conveyed otherwise and showed no sympathy or concern whatsoever, instead, he just smirked smugly at the fuming brunet.  

"What do you need with a soul anyways? And what'll happen to me? Will my molecules disassemble themselves? If I die because of this then your side of the deal is broken."

Bill slung his long legs to the edge of the bed and laughed at Dipper's stupid human behavior. "Relax, kid. Yeesh, you talk too much, do you ever just shut up? I needed a speck from the human soul to make this bad boy," he pointed to himself with a grin, "I didn't take enough to destroy you, Pine Tree. Though watching that unfold would sure be great!"

Dipper stared at the blond. The nature of this situation still bothered him. "Why would you want to be human? I thought you hated humans."

The demon pulled at the skin on his fingers. "I dunno. Change of heart?" 

Anger coursed through Dipper at the lack of seriousness Bill had regarding the conversation. "Bill, tell me the truth. You took my fucking soul for this."

"A piece of your soul," the chaos god corrected, evidently amused. Dipper growled.

"Tell me what's really going on, demon. Why are you human? I deserve to know," the brunet gritted his teeth. He was beyond furious.

Though Bill paid no mind to this and continued to observe his newly found human body, tugging at his hair and tapping his cheek. "Man this body is so flimsy. . .a perfect imitation of a human! Did I do a good job, or did I do a good job?" He was awfully pleased with himself and his amusement only angered Dipper more.

"Listen to me, Cipher! Why do you need a human body? What are you planning? Tell me what's going on or I'll find a way to destroy you again!"

Bill's eye flashed red as he slowly stood up and stalked his way to Dipper's bed. He leaned into Dipper who was already beginning to turn red from the blood rushing to his face. "Oh yeah? Whatcha going to do, Pine Tree?" His face was uncomfortably close to Dipper's, their noses almost pressing up against each other as Bill's warm breath fanned onto the brunet's top lip. Heat began to rise into Dipper's face and his breathing became labored.

"I'll-I'll. . .Get off me!" The little distance between them was suffocating and making it awfully hard to think. Dipper tried to shove Bill but the demon's inhuman strength was no match for his. Bill's red eye darted around his face, finding the human's discomfort and terror hilarious.

"Those questions, Pine Tree, are a need to know basis." He finally pulled away from Dipper's face, leaving him flustered. Trudging out of the room, he chuckled to himself at how easy it was to taunt the boy.

Dipper roughly ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated and terrified.

What did he get himself into?

△

Chapter Text

In the coming days after Bill’s return to their dimension, he made himself comfortable in the Mystery Shack; along with him came Dipper’s unusual nightmares which left the boy in cold sweat during the late hours. He dismissed them as merely the manifestation of his uncomfortableness from having Bill around.

And much more to Dipper’s displeasure, the demon lingered around the shack as if it were his own home; randomly popping in to shuffle through the food stock and sleep on the couch. The human boy was less than keen on the fact Bill was sustaining himself with his paid supplies.

By the fifth time Dipper had caught the blond with his head poked in the snack cabinet, he was already sick of Bill’s shit and couldn’t take it much longer. “Hey! Quit that! This wasn’t part of our deal you-you...” Dipper struggled to find an insult. Bill turned around to face him with a classic vice-like smile, in one hand a Doritos bag and in the other a juice box.

“Hey meatsack! These things are delicious! I haven’t eaten in millions of years and these sure taste better than cooked echidnas,” he made a face, “Anyways, didn’t I tell ya? You agreed to help me with my plan, and this is it! Simply keeping my flimsy human body alive until I finish what I gotta finish!”

Dipper blinked. “No, you didn’t tell me that.”

Bill shrugged before taking a sip of the juice, “Well now you know. Later, Tuts!”

As the demon pushed past him, Dipper rolled his eyes before roughly grabbing his forearm.

“Hey! What gives?” Bill whined.

“If you’re going to be living under the same roof as I am, you damn well better be considering telling me what you’re up to.” Bill ignored him and easily tugged his arm free. Even with both hands preoccupied, he was notably stronger than the human boy. Though this didn’t falter Dipper, who only tightened his grasp and pushed the demon against a wall to avoid escape again.

Bill smirked. “Woah-hoho, didn’t know you were into that.”

Dipper reddened slightly before scowling. “You’ve barely told me anything, Bill. And you're being very suspicious by hiding all this. Don't think I don't notice when you sneak out at night or when you start whispering some weird Latin chants. None of this makes sense.” The grin on the hellion’s face didn’t flicker.

Does his mouth ever hurt from smiling so much? Dipper thought to himself, Right. I forgot he wasn’t human.

“Good. It shouldn’t make sense to you. The less you know, the easier it is for both of us.” Bill leaned his head against the wall. The lack-luster answer wasn’t enough to suffice Dipper whose curiosity only doubled.

“Stop being so elusive and secretive. You’re the one who dragged me into this,” Dipper continued stubbornly, “The least you could do is tell me what’s happening before you stir shit up.” Bill finally frowned as his eye glowed red with annoyance.

“Listen, kid, your curiosity is going to be the end of you. I’m doing you a favor by holding back on information. I suggest you walk away from all this before you get sucked into a storm you can’t come back from. You really want to know what’s going on?” Bill leaned into his ear and whispered, “You’re dancing with some dangerous forces. So play it nice, Pine Tree.”

Something about Bill’s warning ghosted through Dipper’s body and sent goosebumps down his spine. Maybe it was the underlying sincerity edging his voice or the unknown of what Bill was referring to. Nevertheless, he didn’t argue this time around when the blond pushed him off with his leg and walked away.

What did you expect, he mentally slapped himself for being so stupid. Maybe there were some things he shouldn’t interfere with. Besides, Bill wouldn’t harm him or his family, that was part of the deal. Why is he still so hellbent on asking him?

He shook his head, deciding it was best to leave the situation alone for now. He slowly made his way back into the gift shop to finish up the customers for the day.

△

Dipper tried his best to avoid the demon after the eerie conversation. Fortunately for him, Bill was usually gone in the mornings when Dipper woke up and rarely in the house at night. But then again, luck runs out eventually.

“Hey Grunkle Stan!”

“How’s it hangin’ kid?” Dipper’s great uncle’s gruff voice sounded over the phone.

“Good, good. Uh...Why’d you call?” Dipper mindlessly walked downstairs and into the living room, “Did something happen?”

There was distant shouting on the other end of the phone, “For fuck’s sake, Ford! You...Gah!” Dipper’s eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“Grunkle Stan?”

“Yeah, don’t worry kid. That big nerd busted our engine. I’m just calling to check on the shack...and you.” A small smile spread on Dipper’s face, but was quickly wiped off at the sight of a sleeping Bill on the couch.

“The shack’s fine. I’m fine too. Business’ been good.”

If by fine you mean the same demon that tried to kill us years ago is living with me, then yeah I’m perfectly fine, Dipper thought to himself bitterly before turning away.

“Sounds great. Uh, listen, I gotta end the call. Ford needs help restarting the car. Sorry for cutting it short, kid. We’ll be back before you know it,” Grunkle Stan reassured warmly and Dipper smiled again.

“Yeah, no worries Stan. Hope you fix that car,” he chuckled with his uncle. The older man quickly muttered another apology and goodbye before finally hanging up, leaving Dipper to his own problems.

He sighed heavily. His great uncles had no idea what was going on and Dipper sure as hell wasn’t going to endanger everyone’s lives anytime soon by snitching.

“Pine Tree?” a tired voice croaked out from behind, followed by a cough, “What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel like this? Did you poison me?!”

Dipper rolled his eyes before frowning as he set the phone down and sauntered over to where Bill was laid, feeling his forehead with the backside of his hand. Bill raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. His head felt warm, bordering hot, which only deepened Dipper’s frown. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

He quickly rummaged through Ford’s bedroom for the thermometer, finally finding it at the back of his drawer covered with dust and wiping it off with his shirt. Dipper made his way back downstairs to the blond.

“Lift up your arm.”

Bill looked up at the boy with bewilderment, “Huh?”

“Just listen, Bill,” Dipper demanded, slightly more stern this time. Bill nodded in response and did as he was told. The brunet reached under his left arm through the collar of his shirt and held the thermometer in place. “Okay now put your arm back down. Clench the thing between your armpit.”

Dipper ignored the warmth that was rushing to his face from how silent the room was and how soft Bill’s skin felt under his. He avoided the wandering eyes of the demon as he waited for the machine to beep.

Bill, on the other hand, took this as the opportunity to fully analyze the boy’s features. He noticed the small, almost undetectable freckles which dusted his nose and pink cheeks. As much as he hated them, Bill had to admit humans were beautiful creatures. Each one was different from the rest and even twins had their own special properties.

The odd birthmark was still hidden under a mop of brown curls and Bill weakly raised his right hand to trace the spots. “The Big Dipper,” he mumbled, his nimble fingers were gentle and soft.

Dipper flinched at the contact and pulled away almost immediately. Bill didn’t say anything in response, probably too in pain to be able to, and shut his eyes.

Dipper hesitantly finally let his gaze fall onto Bill’s face and immediately noticed the heavy dark bags under his long eyelashes. The eyepatch was gone, he also noted. His button nose twitched every so often like a rabbit and steady huffs escaped from his parted lips. His human form looked fairly young, maybe only a year or two older than Dipper himself. And admittedly, he was also fairly attractive. Dipper scowled slightly at the thought.

“Quit staring at me like that, kid. You’re weirdin’ me out. And why is your face the same shade as a baboon’s ass?”

Beep!

Dipper gratefully pulled out the thermometer and himself from Bill’s touch to read the results. His confusion was quickly replaced with worry.

101.2 ℉.

“You’re sick, Bill. High fever.” So that was why he was still asleep when Dipper woke up. Usually he disappeared by the time he came down for breakfast.

He frowned, “Well, how do I get rid of it?”

Bill was a timeless demon with an infinite amount of knowledge, yet humanity seemed to be a completely different genre. “You have to wait it out. Sickness usually passes after a day or so. Maybe longer for you since you have the immune system of a small child. Medicine and sleep help a lot though.”

“But I don’t like being sick. My throat feels funny and I’m cold,” Bill stubbornly complained and Dipper sighed.

“Alright. Go brush your teeth and wash up. I’ll make you some real food and figure something out,” Dipper plastered a smile on his face, though internally he was not at all pleased to be spending his day with a sick Bill. The demon silently stared at him.

“I don’t know how to brush my teeth. I don't think I even had teeth before all this.”

God, today is going to be a long day, Dipper scrunched his nose. “You’re telling me you haven’t brushed your teeth once in the week you’ve been here?” Bill shook his head and Dipper led him up into the bathroom. After an entire 10 minutes of explaining and reminding him not to swallow the toothpaste, Dipper finally left to make breakfast and decided it was best to close the Mystery Shack for the day, seeing how literally oblivious to basic human pastimes Bill was.

Mabel’s homemade lemongrass chicken soup seemed to be the perfect choice for the occasion. She always made it when Dipper was ill and it always made him feel better. Why not give it a try for Bill?

By the time the blond had finished brushing his teeth and washing his face (which unsurprisingly took about half an hour), the soup was almost done and the house seemed to smell only of savory herbs and fresh broiled vegetables.

Bill stumbled downstairs and into the kitchen where he messily sat down, stared uncomfortably at Dipper, and groaned about how much his head hurt. “Whatcha making, short stack?” Though his head obviously didn’t hurt enough for him to stop making snarky remarks.

“Soup. It’s better for your body than all the junk food you’ve been eating,” Dipper said. Bill simply nodded without another smart reply, an indicator he wasn’t feeling 100%.

Dipper set the steaming hot bowl of soup in front of Bill and handed him a spoon. “It’s really hot,” he warned, “Don’t drink it all once.”

As he turned away to pour himself a bowl, there was a yelp from Bill and the sharp clatter of silverware hitting the ground. Dipper mentally face-palmed.

“Bill, what did I tell you?”

“I don’t understand how humans eat soup,” he sighed, his voice breaking from the sore throat, and Dipper sighed. He walked over to the table with his own bowl of soup and two spoons.

“I’ll show you, okay?” he said patiently and sat down next to him. Dipper held a spoonful of the soup in front of Bill’s face and leaned in to blow cool air onto it, their faces becoming dangerously close to each other. He began to blush, once again, while Bill seemed to pay no mind to it, instead his focus was completely on the spoonful of soup in front of him.

“Blow on it softly. Not too hard, or the soup will spill out,” Dipper instructed, “Open your mouth a little.” Dipper was expecting a smart comment but Bill simply shot him a questionable look before doing so.

Dipper carefully placed the tip of the spoon between Bill’s soft pink lips to let the boy slurp it in. Instead, Bill decided to take the entire spoon into his mouth, pressing his lips against it and slowly pulling back out. The small gesture was enough for Dipper to retract from Bill, evidently embarrassed.

“It worked, Pine Tree! It’s not hot anymore!” Bill was impressed as he took the spoon and tried it for himself.

“Yeah...not hot,” Dipper breathed out and slumped into his own seat. He has gotta stop letting small things make him uncomfortable. 

△

After the soup fiasco, Dipper realized how much Bill had reeked and started a bath for him while the blond sat impatiently outside the bathroom door. 

"I don't get why I have to bathe," he grumbled, "I'm a being of pure energy! I don't have time for this."

"You're sick, Bill. The water helps clean the bacteria and make you feel better." And that was the end of that. Bill finished his sulking in silence.

After instructing him to simply strip naked and sit in the tub, Dipper placed a towel and spare change of clothes on the counter before leaving the boy to himself. He went into his own room and ran his fingers through his tangled hair, stressed. Managing the demon was like tending to a child.

The untouched bed in the corner of the room caught the boy's attention and Dipper thought it would be better for Bill to sleep in a proper bed that night instead of the hard couch. A replay of the week's events raced through his mind as he prepared Mabel's old bed; smoothing the sheets and even getting a new pillow from Grunkle Stan's storage. The faster he got better, the less time Dipper would spend taking care of him, he decided. After he was satisfied with how the bed looked, he returned to the bathroom to check on Bill, hoping he hadn't accidentally drowned himself. 

He awkwardly knocked on the door, "Uh, Bill? You finished?"

"Yeah, this is really weird," he replied.

"Great, uh, step out of the tub and wipe yourself off. There's a towel and clothes in there for you. I'll be in the gift shop if you need me." Dipper could hear water sloshing and wet footsteps inside as he left to go tidy up the gift shop, mainly because he had nothing to do without customers. It was the late afternoon now and dusk was already beginning to settle due to autumn's early sunset.

"I don't think that bath helped, Pine Tree. My head still hurts," a voice came from behind and Dipper almost couldn't believe it came from the same demon who practically threatened him days prior. Albeit the bath didn't completely help with Bill's fever, it seemed to have tranquilized him immensely. Dipper set down the cardboard box and turned to the blond.

After ditching the strange outfit and replacing it with a plain t-shirt and sweats, Bill didn't look any different from an average person. His messy hair, tired eyes, and reddened cheeks made him look humanly vulnerable.

"Sleep will make it better. Go upstairs to my room, the bed in the right corner is yours for the night." Bill nodded with no protests or witty comments and slowly walked upstairs. Dipper quickly cleaned up the bathroom, throwing Bill's old clothes into the laundry and draining the tub, before remembering he still hadn't given medicine to the demon yet. He easily found the bottle in Ford's bedroom and brought it up to his room where he found Bill laying on the bed facing the ceiling. He tapped the sleepy boy, and gestured to the red colored liquid. He poured a small amount into the small clear container and handed it to Bill who quickly downed the entire thing.

Bill winced and made a face at the bitter taste, swallowing it nonetheless before gagging, "What is this disgusting human drink? I prefer Kool-Aid." Dipper stifled a laugh at his comment but the demon still noticed. It was the first time he made the human laugh.

"It's medicine," Dipper's voice softened as he passed him an extra blanket from his own bed, "Here. This'll keep you warm."

The human helped him set it up after noticing his confused expression. He felt the taller male's forehead with his hand, "Uh, you can just sleep now. You should be better in a few hours. I'll bring up dinner for you later."

Bill stared at him with an unreadable expression before blurting out, "Do you have a piece of paper?"

"Uh...why?"

"Just give me a pen and paper." He began coughing.

"You're still sick, Bill. Be careful," Dipper warned before picking up a random sheet of paper, a black pen, and a clipboard from his desk. He handed them to Bill who smirked at the tip of the pen clicker. "Really, kid? Still biting your pens?"

Dipper flushed before shrugging, "It's a habit." Bill didn't look up at him as he scribbled furiously on the paper and occasionally tapped the pen on his chin while chewing on his bottom lip. He eventually stopped writing as his eyes ran over the paper for the last time. Satisfied with his work, he handed the things back to the boy and laid his head back onto the pillow.

After one glance at the writing, Dipper looked at the blond in confusion, "What is this?" U JKWEWK TRRHYUD. It was a bunch of random letters in random orientation.

"What else does it look? It's a code," Bill hummed.

"This doesn't correlate with any of the codes I've seen before," Dipper noted and the demon grinned.

"That's because I just made this one up. Just to keep you entertained," he said before yawning and Dipper stared at him in amazement.

"You can do that?!"

Bill laughed weakly, "Pine Tree, why do you think they're called ciphers?" Dipper sat on his own bed as millions of ways to decipher it floated in his head. Bill shut his eyes, feeling sicker than ever thanks to the stress on his brain.

"While you do that, I'm going to sleep," he yawned again, "Wake me if you're bored." And with that, the chaos god fell asleep.

Dipper couldn't help but smile. 

△

Chapter Text

U JKWEWK TRRHYUD

Dipper had been working on the code for hours now, scribbling in his own journal and checking all the ciphers in his great uncle’s but nothing.

What if pairs of letters were meant to represent another letter? Like a math equation! No...that would equal more than twenty-six,” Dipper crossed out the numbered alphabet he had at the top of the page.

He pursed his lips, stumped once again. How many ways could someone number the alphabet?

He glanced over at the other bed where Bill was still resting. He chewed on the end of his pen before softly groaning, not wanting to wake the boy up.

Maybe he was overthinking it.

It was almost nine and Dipper decided it would be a good time to make dinner, give his brain a rest.

He taped the cipher into the last page of his journal before closing both books and stretching his limbs.

Dipper quietly padded downstairs in the dark house and flicked the light on in the kitchen. Although being alone in the Mystery Shack wasn’t something new, Dipper did admittedly feel a bit safer with Bill sleeping upstairs.

He hummed to himself as he heated a saucepan full of water and searched the cupboard for the spaghetti. As he waited for the water to boil, Dipper couldn’t help but wonder why Bill had impulsively made a new cipher just for him. The gesture was not very Bill Cipher-esque.

In fact, the entire day was not very him. He didn’t annoyingly taunt Dipper nor did he purposely do things to make the poor boy uncomfortable.

Maybe he was too sick, Dipper thought, or maybe because I didn’t mention his side plans.

The water began to bubble as Dipper turned the heat down lower and added three hearty fistfuls of dry pasta.

Waiting for the water to boil and cooking the pasta was the longest part, after that, the job became a lot quicker. The sauce was made and seasoned in another pan before being poured onto the plates of spaghetti.

Dipper carefully held both plates and made his way back upstairs, only to find Bill’s bed empty.

”Are you fucking kidding me?”

The window in the room was slightly open, cold air rushing in from the small crack and blowing against the worn curtains. Dipper set down the plates before fully sliding the window up and poking his head outside into the autumn night and shivered. Either at the sudden drop in temperature, or the faint sound of whispers that blended in with the wind. Maybe both.

As Dipper concentrated on what they were saying, he realized it was some sort of old, dead language; most likely Latin. It sounded oddly similar to what Bill sometimes muttered under his breath.

“Pine Tree?” came slowly from behind, “What are you doing?”

Dipper whipped around in surprise. “Oh, the window was open. How are you feeling?”

“I opened the window for some fresh air and went to use the bathroom. I feel better than before.” Bill quietly analyzed the boy’s expression, “You okay, kid? You look paler than usual.”

Dipper let out a jagged breath, “Y-Yeah. I’m fine.”

Bill cocked an eyebrow, unconvinced. “Pine Tree. What happened?” he pushed.

“I-I thought I heard weird whispering. I don’t know, might’ve just been my imagination. I haven’t properly slept in a while,” Dipper shook his head at how ludicrous he sounded. Even in a place as supernatural as Gravity Falls, hearing voices was not good. 

The demon’s eyes darkened momentarily before blinking. “Yeah, you should sleep more.” He pushed Dipper back rather roughly and slammed the window shut, his fingers lingering on the pane for another unusually long few seconds. Dipper noticed his knuckles becoming white from clenching so hard and he mused on what could've caused him to react that way.

”So did ya decipher the code?” Bill's tone had changed abruptly along with the subject of the conversation, as he turned back to the boy. Dipper shook his head, still a bit absorbed in thought.

”Hm...” Bill slouched into a seat and began scarfing down the food. “How ‘bout a clue? Just for you,” he teased and the brunet managed to crack a small smile.

Dipper pushed away his thoughts about the weird whispers, dismissing them as his imagination manipulating the strong country winds. He followed Bill suit and pulled up a chair beside him, shoveling a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

“Sure.”

”Close in from the ends, what comes around goes around,” Bill said with a mouthful of food.

“Huh.” Dipper scrunched his lips to the side and pinned his eyebrows in thought. Bill didn’t say anything else and simply glanced to his side every so often, trying to be as subtle as possible.

After only living with the boy for a week, he had already picked up on small things he did; licking his lips when he was deep in thought, eyes softening at certain things, and other subconscious gestures. Bill found it almost fascinating at how many emotions the human body could show. He was almost disappointed he’d never experience them himself. Almost.

”Pine Tree,” the demon sighed, “You’re overthinking it.” He finished the last of his spaghetti before strolling to the bed and lying down, eyes shut and arms behind his head.

Dipper gasped as an idea suddenly struck him and scrambled to his journal. Bill didn’t react and simply peeped an eye open.

Close in from the ends.

So A would be 1, Z would be 2, B would be 3, and so forth. Then r earrange the alphabet respectively based on the new numbers.

He was left with the following:

A Z B Y C X D W...

Now how many spaces would he move? There were twenty-six options and trying all of them would take a fairly long time.

“Can I have another hint?”

Without missing a beat, Bill mumbled, “Third time lucky.” It all finally clicked in Dipper’s head.

He moved the first three letters to the back of the cipher and ended up with this:

Y C X D W...A Z B

Finally matching the code with the one Bill had written, Dipper scribbled out the message.

I PREFER KOOLAID

It was an odd message, one that was seemingly random and meaningless. Dipper cocked an eyebrow at Bill, “Uh...what does this mean?”

”What does what mean?” Bill hummed.

”The code. I prefer Kool-Aid?”

He shrugged. “Dunno, Pine Tree. I just like Kool-Aid.”

Dipper looked at him weirdly, slightly disappointed with the message. At least he’d ridden himself of the stress from deciphering the code.

The two lapsed into a brief silence and Dipper decided it would be best for him to prepare for bed. He stumbled out of bed quietly and made his way to the bathroom with Bill now watching him intently.

As Dipper did his business, the demon gnawed at his bottom lip alone, in thought. What could they have possibly wanted? Why were they whispering to Dipper? It didn’t seem like something they’d do.

He sighed. Whatever the reason might be, it was definitely not a good sign. They were perfectly capable of destroying both him and his favorite meatsuit. And Bill simply couldn’t let that happen, not when he had unfinished business here.

△

By the time Dipper woke up that morning, the bed next to his was already empty; sheets crumpled from sleep the night prior and nothing to tell Dipper where the hellion had ran off to.

“Stay out of trouble,” he muttered under his breath to no one in particular. If Bill was injured out there, Dipper knew he’d have to tend to him and that was something he did not want to do again.

He carded his fingers through his knotted hair and sauntered over to fix the messy bed sheets.

Surprisingly, Dipper was able to make out a small piece of paper through his sticky eyes. It was folded and placed neatly on the pillowcase, practically blending into its whiteness.

Huh.

He opened it curiously and in messy handwriting was sprawled:

ROL. CYXT PUUI. PLYZ UIPUDW.

Fortunately for Dipper, it was the same cipher from last night.

OUT. BACK SOON. STAY INSIDE.

Dipper raised an eyebrow. Since when did Bill feel the need to inform him of his whereabouts?

”Whatever,” he grumbled and threw the paper aside. Though he couldn’t help but acknowledge the spark of something within his chest, something along the lines of relief and...content?

Dipper scoffed, reminding himself that Bill was dangerous. A flashback of Weirdmaggedon was enough for him to dismiss any worry he held for Bill.

On a lighter note, Soos was finally coming back to the shack today. Dipper appreciated the company from someone other than the demon, albeit temporarily.

He went through with his usual morning routine, until a familiar face finally popped into the Mystery Shack.

“Hey hambone! Miss me?” There was a goofy smile slapped on Soos’ chubby cheeks as he opened his arms to welcome an old friend.

“Soos! Woah, dude, it’s been so long. How’s Melody?” Dipper couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he embraced him.

“She’s doing great, wanted to come with actually. I forced her to stay home with abuelita though. Doctor said traveling wasn’t good for the baby,” Soos sighed contently and Dipper’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait, wait. She’s pregnant? You never mentioned this. That’s some pretty big news.” Soos scratched his chin in thought.

“Huh, Stan must’ve forgot to mention it to you. She’s 5 months pregnant. A boy,” he smiled fondly and Dipper continued to stare, wide-eyed.

It felt like only yesterday when the 22-year old man worked at the shack on a daily basis and struggled to talk to girls. Now, he was almost 30 and about to branch out into his own family.

“Congratulations, dude! You seem happy,” Dipper exclaimed and Soos nodded, a stupid grin still on his face.

“I am! I was thinking of the name Mister Frodotron the Hedsinberg. Melody thought it was too long. She wanted the name Louis,” he sighed, “Frodotron is better though.”

Dipper laughed, “I totally agree with you.” As much as he was happy to have Soos back, he couldn’t suppress the possibility of Bill hurting his friend.

△

The day ended just as fast as it had started. Soos was soon on his way again, bidding the brunet goodbye for the day as he drove back home. And it would only be a matter of time before the real trouble came home.

Chapter Text

It was during the late hours when Bill stumbled back into the shack, tired and breathless as if he’d been running from something. The front door slammed shut, startling Dipper who was reading upstairs.

He came running down the stairs welding a baseball bat and a lantern, only to be met by the golden eyes of a tired blond boy.

“Hey Pine Tree,” he whispered hoarsely, “How’s it hanging?”

Dipper analyzed him warily and immediately picked up on the fact that Bill was holding his knuckles and his left leg was bent at an awkward angle.

“What happened? It’s like 3AM,” Dipper said sternly, “You were sick not even 24 hours ago, you’re going to seriously hurt yourself.”

“Going for a night walk obviously, what’s it look like?”

The brunet sighed, “Bill, honest. You’re clearly hurt.”

Dipper gestured to his body and walked closer. Only the soft sounds of his bare feet padding against the giftshop floor were heard in the silence.

There was a flicker of softness in the demon’s eyes before all emotion was devoid of them.

“Stay out of my business, kid.” He pushed past the brunet, slightly limping into the living room. Dipper sighed again. Bill’s emotions tended to shift faster than he could comprehend.

“At least clean your wounds.”

He didn’t answer.

Dipper wasn’t sure where the spur of affection for the demon came from, especially since he knew how manipulative Bill really was. He stayed in the kitchen for a few more minutes, unmoving, before finally walking out of the room.

Knowing how stubborn and elusive Bill was, the human went to grab a medical kit from the storage closet and a thick blanket from Bill’s bed.

He silently walked to where the couch was (and where Bill was hidden under a thin blanket). Dipper placed the supplies onto the floor next to the sofa and draped the blanket over Bill’s lean body. If he was awake, then none of his movements betrayed it.

“For the deal and stuff, y’know,” Dipper mumbled, “Wouldn’t want you dying of hypothermia in your sleep.”

As Dipper silently made his way back upstairs, Bill snuggled his head closer into the warm mound of blankets.

“Thank you, Pine Tree.”

△

Days flew by with the same schedule: Dipper wakes up, finds Bill missing, goes on with day, Bill comes home late, Dipper goes to sleep, and the cycle continues. They rarely spoke to each other.

That was, until Dipper broke the cycle.

It was the middle of the night when Dipper jolted awake, his eyes glazed with tears and his throat stinging with a painful dryness. He struggled to catch his breath as he downed half a bottle of water.

He couldn’t remember exactly what had happened in his nightmare, only the fact that his family was in danger. Dipper exhaled heavily as he kicked the sheets off and cool air tickled his burning skin. He combed a hand through his tangled hair and closed his eyes to regain his composure.

“Pine Tree,” a tired voice echoed from the doorway, startling the already riled up human. To Dipper’s surprise, a disheveled Bill stood there, rubbing his face.

“I heard a blood-curdling scream and came to check on you. The deal and stuff, y’know,” he repeated the words that the human had said nights ago.

Dipper didn’t notice and stayed silent. It was odd not seeing a sadistic grin on the demon’s face and with the sleepiness embedded in his features and messy hair, Dipper would dare say he looked almost...human.

“I’m fine,” Dipper slowly started, “Just another nightmare.”

Bill stood there for a moment, as if thinking, before padding his way to the bed. The human froze in anticipation of what he was going to do and Bill chuckled, “Relax, Pine Tree. I won’t hurt you. The deal, remember?”

Dipper relaxed slightly but still kept his guard up in case the demon tried something funny. Pulling up a nearby wooden stool, the demon sat beside the bed and sighed. “Lay down, kid.”

The brunet’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Wha—“

“Just trust me. Lay down.”

Dipper hesitantly slid down the bed and rested his head on the sweat-drenched pillow, waiting to see what he would do.

“Close your eyes,” Bill muttered. The human warily listened and Bill rested a warm hand upon the boy’s forehead.

“Uh, thanks,” Dipper suddenly blurted out, taking Bill by surprise, “For caring, I guess. Even if it is just because of the deal.” The demon nodded in acknowledgment.

“What are you doing?” the boy managed to yawn out as his tiredness had suddenly became significantly stronger.

“I’m a dream demon, Pine Tree. That’s all you have to know,” Bill quietly said. Though, Dipper never responded, had he already fallen into the deep lull of sleep. And for the rest of the night, Bill stayed there, fighting off the nightmares in his favorite meatsack’s head.

△

The only remains of Bill’s presence the next morning was the small wooden stool still sitting next to Dipper’s bed. Though of course, Bill had made sure the human would not remember any of the events that unfolded last night.

For the first time in a long while, Dipper had a good night’s rest.

Maybe it’s the way I slept, he thought to himself. Or maybe it was that new body wash scent.

Disregarding his theories, he stretched his back, cracking it softly, before he made his way out of bed to start the day.

He rubbed his eyes as he went down the stairs, not noticing the human form on the bottom step and tripped, pulling a small yelp from his chapped lips.

On the floor was Bill in the same clothes from last night, his face was paler than usual and the bags under his eyes had darkened. Dipper gasped, worried, and shook his lanky body by the shoulders.

“Bill!” Dipper grasped his face softly, thankfully it was still emitting warmth. His golden eyes slowly opened in confusion and exhaustion.

“Wha—Pine Tree?” he croaked out as he observed Dipper’s distraught features and tried to sit up against the stairs. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Dipper stared at him dumbfounded. “Am I okay?! I just found you sleeping on the floor.”

Bill blinked before realization struck him.

“Oh…” he trailed off, “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Why were you sleeping on the floor?!” Dipper stared at him as if he were ludicrous before helping him properly sit up.

“I wanted to be closer to the earth,” Bill said blankly without missing a beat. The human continued staring at him before sighing and letting the topic go. It wasn’t like Bill would tell him anyways.

“I’ll make breakfast.” Dipper got up from his sitting position on the floor and the blond nodded.

“How was your sleep last night?” he asked before wrinkling his nose at his morning breath.

“Good,” Dipper retorted. “Great actually.”

Bill smiled. “Yeah?”

The human hummed in response, completely oblivious to his small smile.

“I’m glad.”

△