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Rain pattered softly against the poorly constructed canvas roof, sliding down the sides and forming shallow pools around the shelter. The thin pine needles blotted out parts of the darkening grey sky, sweetening the air with their fresh scent. Lichen that clung to rotting bark was soaked through, feeling more like a wet sponge than a plant under the heavy downpour, not unlike the many bushes that were weighed down with individual droplets of water clinging to every branch, leaf, and stem they could. Under the improvised tent, at the heart of the soft torrent, a fire crackled and hissed; warming its small audience of two. Both alike in every manner, except the numbers marked on their hats, the clones of Dipper peacefully warmed their hands against the heat of the fire, wary of the danger of ignition.
Number Three and Number Four, or, as they had been dubbed, Tracey and Quattro sat opposite on logs, wrapped in the safety of their yellow raincoats while listening to the rain that kept them confined to their small shelter. Every so often they would share a small smile, grateful for each other’s company despite having identical personalities. Rarely, they would exchange small talk.
Huffing in frustration at the roar of the downpour, Quattro turned to his cohort in search of conversation.
“Tracey?” He started quietly, almost too soft to be heard over the endless rain. Nonetheless, Tracey heard him, already attuned to the only voice he had ever paid attention to in his short existence.
“Yeah?” Tracey returned gently, clandestinely pleased that one of them had attempted small talk.
“Do you ever wonder what happened to Dipper Classic and Tyrone?” Quattro mentioned nervously, wondering if it was a topic that they shouldn’t discuss.
Surprised, Tracey’s eyebrows raised a little, before affectionately retorting, “don’t forget Paper Jam Dipper.” They both chuckled slightly, wondering if they should feel bad for laughing at that particular memory, before fading out to silence. A beat passed as Tracey took a moment to reminisce about the short time they spent with the aforementioned people. “Of course, constantly. It’s not like we have many other memories to think about.”
Quattro smiled, content knowing that he was well received. “True. Not to mention they created us- which is super weird to think about, by the way.”
Tracey hummed in agreement. “Yeah, at this point I’ve stopped thinking about how we created ourselves. It’s just too damn strange.”
Quattro laughed in response, before moving on. “Do you reckon they created more clones after us?”
“Oh definitely! We are not the kind of people to just stop halfway. No doubt Dipper Classic created a ridiculous number of clones just to dance with Wendy. That was what he wanted, right?” A look of confusion passed over Tracey’s face as he tried to recall one of his earliest memories.
“Y-yeah, I think so.” Quattro also had a look of slight confusion, having no less trouble reminding himself of why they existed in the first place. “Although it sounds kind of petty now.”
Tracey hummed and nodded in agreement.
“Knowing ourselves, we probably ended up completely redoing the plan- with extra steps as well!” Quattro laughed out loud at the thought, soon joined by his partner as they both imagined the extent the other clones would have gone through to achieve something so small.
“Yeah! I bet it took them hours to piece together- all just to dance with Wendy!” They both cackled and threw their heads back. “I bet it didn’t even work!” Both practically screaming with laughter as they poked fun at the other versions of themselves. The rain quickly absorbed the echoes of their amusement, leaving them in their own private bubble, away from the world. The cackling soon died down to sniggering as they made more jokes at Dipper Classic’s expense, and then eventually they both fell into a cheerful silence, listening to the rain as it continued to pound at their makeshift tent.
The fire soon died down to embers as the sun sunk far enough to barely peek over the horizon. Both Tracey and Quattro continued smiling through the pouring rain, high off of the lethargy they had inspired in each other.
As the shadows stretched for miles, melting into one another to create a blanket of darkness, the rain refused to let up, continuing to entomb the two paper clones inside of the pocket of dryness. The heat of the day had long since been washed away with the shower, having been replaced by a biting air that, while carrying a sense of freshness and being quite invigorating, was now fairly unpleasant with the oncoming darkness. As Tracey tossed another log onto the embers, he noticed a fairly violent shiver rack Quattro’s body, who happened to be seated further away from the fire than him. However, he chose to ignore it, thinking little of it. The snapping and popping of the log on the fire filled the pleasant silence that had settled, and blended nicely with the pitter patter of fat droplets against the canvas. A few minutes passed of them both watching the flames steadily relight and consume the log before another violent shiver swept through Quattro. Unable to ignore it this time, Tracey spoke up.
“Are you okay? You’re shivering a lot.” Tracey’s brows furrowed with concern, but was only met with a quick nod from Quattro.
Another few minutes passed, as well as a smaller log. Tracey kept sneaking glances at his counterpart out of concern, and was soon met by yet another vicious shudder shaking his small shoulders.
With barely another thought, Tracey opened an arm invitingly, lifting up part to his coat to make room for another.
“Come here.” Tracey spoke softly, with as little hesitation as he had ever managed.
Immediately, Quattro stood up and moved over to sit beside Tracey, mostly content to just brush shoulders until Tracey’s open arm closed around him, pulling Quattro against his chest. Unknowingly, they both sighed in relief, though for different reasons. Tracey buried his nose into his partner’s identical brown hair, breathing in the strange inky scent that still lingered after all this time, neither having an issue with their intimacy. For a moment, Quattro’s arms awkwardly hovered in the air, not quite knowing what to do with them before simply deciding to follow Tracey’s example and wrap them around his friend. A moment later, he felt a hand rest comfortably on his arm, and found it to be oddly soothing.
They stayed like that for nearly an hour, sharing the warmth of each other and the fire. Eventually, Tracey and Quattro moved to their sleeping bags, only somewhat delirious with exhaustion due to the late hour, and took a moment to decide if there was a risk of hypothermia in the biting night air. It didn’t take long for them to decide that yes, it was easily cold enough for there to be such a risk, and no, they wouldn’t be able to sleep comfortably. After only a quick gesture in the direction of one of the sleeping bags, Tracey and Quattro simultaneously stumbled towards it, deciding to skip all of the downsides of sleeping in the cold by sharing a sleeping bag.
They both crammed themselves into the small sleeping bag, shuffling around a bit uncomfortably before Tracey muttered “screw it” inaudibly and pulled Quattro’s back against him, fully content to spoon. In response, Quattro laughed softly before settling down, briefly wondering why he had to be the little spoon.
Wrapped up in their own warmth, it didn’t take long them to fall asleep to the soothing sound of rain drumming against the canvas of their shelter and pattering against the sodden soil around their tent.