Chapter Text
Dipper was smiling slightly as he tried to pack another binder into his, admittedly, already full suitcase. He knew full well that Mabel was going to tease him about how much he packed but he didn’t really care. She’d packed about the same as him though a lot more of it was their unfinished projects and designing supplies and a lot less of it was random stationery and journals. Both of them overpacked and yet they both teased each other about it, nonetheless. Perhaps it was a twin thing but there was a lot of harmless teasing between them. He let out a chuckle thinking about how ridiculous the whole thing was. He wasn’t going to stop teasing them, but it was funny. Accidentally picking up Mabel’s old photo album rather then his journal, he started flipping through it for a short break and thought back to old memories.
Since that first summer, most summers were spent going back to Gravity Falls. To him that was his real home, not just a fun place to go back to. His parents were unsupportive his whole life so even though he lived in California it wasn’t his home. If Mabel didn’t want to go back, he wouldn’t, he cared about her too much to leave her or force her to go, but Gravity Falls was his home. In Gravity Falls he wasn’t weird compared to everything else, and even if he was, the townsfolk had a habit of accepting weird things. His Gruncles were like fathers to him when his biological dad didn’t accept him.
The first summer he went to Gravity Falls was the summer he came out to Mabel, he told them he was a boy and that he wanted his hair cut short. They both knew their parents wouldn’t want him to cut it so right there on the bus Mabel got out her scissors and cut his hair. It was the first time he had ever felt like himself. Mabel accepted him just like that and it was all he could have ever dreamed of. They were twins and there was nothing that could change that.
When they got out of the bus and met their Gruncle Stan he and Mabel convinced him that he was always a boy and their parents got it wrong in the letter. They didn’t know until later on that Stan had been there when the twins were born and just didn’t say anything. Even though he was old, he was always accepting of them, he didn’t know all the terms, nor the best way to talk about things but he cared and always listened to them when they explained things.
During that first summer in Gravity Falls Dipper did a lot of research into who he was. He knew he couldn’t be the only one who was born a girl but was actually a boy. He came across the term trans and knew that was him, he was a boy and the books helped him know it was true. Knowing that he wasn’t alone, that there were others like him was a relief he could barely hold in. He went to Mabel that night with one of his favorite books that he found on the topic and read through the whole book. He hadn’t expected Mabel to fall silent for a moment before jumping up and declaring she was a demigirl who used she/they pronouns. Dipper nodded and smiled asking them if they still wanted to be called his sister and she said yes but that they preferred twin.
He came out to Stan after everything with the Menotaurs. He and Mabel had a lengthy chat about how some teasing was fine but how jabs at his masculinity really hurt. She understood and apologized a lot but that left him with the problem of how to tell this to Stan. He knew for a cis man this was just everyday teasing, so it was hard to explain without coming out as trans. He couldn’t find out how to without coming out so with the reassurance of Mabel he did so. So, with Mabel by his side ready to support him no matter what, Dipper came out. For all his gruffness, when it came to what mattered Stan cared. He hugged Dipper and told him he would support him no matter what with a small smile on his face. Gruncle Stan never teased Dipper about manliness again after that.
When Gruncle Ford came through the portal, Dipper idolized him because he was the author of the journals. It was hard for him to believe that he was related to that person, his brain not catching up to that just saw him as a person out of reach. He so desperately wanted him to like him, so much so that he was afraid of coming out. He didn’t see how logically Ford would probably accept him, Ford had so much experience with things he probably wouldn’t care. His brain was just scared that, ironically, he would see him as weird and want nothing to do with him.
It took weirdmagetton for him to finally trust him, to see him as the person he was, not the idol he saw. Mabel insisted and he finally accepted that yes, Gruncle Ford wasn’t going to hate him for being trans. Coming out to him was a lot smother than he expected. Ford was a bit surprised that this reality had become so accepting, but he talked about all the genders he ran into in his travels. There was a lot more genderless or muti-gendered species than you would expect, and one had 2456 recognized sexes let alone genders. He also explained that his old college roommate and assistant Fiddleford was trans. Knowing this sent Dipper on a ride, the fact that old man McGuckin was trans was a bit crazy, but he was happy that he wasn’t even alone in this town.
So, with two Gruncles that supported him, a town that saw him for who he was, and a twin that always stuck there by his side, Gravity Falls was his true home. The next 5 years after that saw him going back to Gravity Falls every summer, his parents caving due to mostly threats from his Gruncles. He was allowed to have short hair there and be himself, when he wasn’t allowed to do any of that back in California. He had binders he was able to hide and wear to school sure, but in Piedmont he was known by his deadname and as a girl, and he wasn’t even able to correct anyone. It was only in Gravity Falls that he was allowed to be himself, that was why it was his true home.
As soon as they turned 18, he and Mabel moved out into a two-bedroom apartment that they shared the rent on with their combined income. It still wasn’t home, but they needed to finish college and it was the best workaround they had until they could actually move to Gravity Falls. It wasn’t like they couldn’t find jobs there either; Mabel could design clothes anywhere and Dipper just wanted to study things with Gruncle Ford, so it worked out once they were done with schooling. So, with a plan in place they were going to move when college was finished. It would be home then, and no-one could take it away from them ever again.
He was 22 now and his childhood dream was about to become a reality, he was going to finally go home and stay there forever. It felt too good to be true, the fact that he was free. He was going home. It was amazing, so grand and yet he didn’t know how to feel. He was excited sure, but there was that nervousness, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. What if the others decided he was too weird, even for this town? What if Gruncle Ford decided he didn’t want to work with him? What if-
He was broken out of his thoughts by a hand resting on his shoulder, he looked up to find it belonged to his twin, “Hey Dip-Dot, I can almost hear you overthinking, do you want to talk about it?” They asked gently, breaking through his anxiety. He really was surprised at how real their twin sense was, both of them always seemed to know when the other was upset.
Turning towards Mabel he sighed a bit. “Sorry, I’m just worried about the other shoe dropping, I know Gruncle Ford and Gruncle Stan love us, but after everything…” He drifted off, his thoughts threatening to pull him back into the endless pool that was his anxiety,
“They aren’t like our parents Dipper. I know our parents were terrible, but most people aren’t like them, most people are going to be a lot kinder. Our Gruncles aren’t going to hate you because you’re trans. I mean Gruncle Ford is dating Gruncle Fiddles! You can trust them; I know it’s hard after everything, but you can.”
Dipper hugged her, their words breaking through his cluttered mind to sooth it, “Thanks Mabel.” He said, with a shaky but genuine smile. He knew that he wouldn’t be alone, not matter what happened, as long as he had Mabel by his side, he could do anything. It had taken a lot to realize that but he knew now that she was going to be there for him.
Finishing up his packing, Dipper made sure that he had the essentials and that they would be good until they found a house. They were living at the Mystery Shack as they searched, only packing the essentials for now. Well, the essentials were a loose term considering how much he and Mabel tended to overpack, but they each only had one suitcase. Everything else was packed up in boxes to be taken by a moving truck once they found a house. He and Mabel decided they were going to get a place together, something small that they could buy easily until they found someone to move out with. They cared about each other as twins and didn’t want to split apart just yet.
With everything packed, he headed to the front door and waited for Mabel who was still packing her own things. While he was waiting, he started scrolling through his phone to see how everyone was doing. Pacifica was hosting a charity gala soon so that should be fun. He wondered how much Mabel and her were going to jump around each other before one of them asked the other to dance. He chuckled a bit at the thought. Everyone knew they liked each other except for the two of them who continued to think they were just friends. It was funny how both of them could be so oblivious when everyone else saw it. Mabel set people up and had searched for a romantic partner for so long, yet when the love was actually reciprocated, she was too oblivious to tell.
Pacifica was a good friend, ever since everything with the ghost they spent a lot of time together, when she wasn’t with Mabel anyways. She put what was left of her family’s fortune into a charity fund going into different charities. She opened a charity for people stuck in countries where being gay, or trans was illegal. Pacifica was much different than her parents, she didn’t treat people like dirt, and she cared for the people of Gravity Falls. She was nice and he was glad to have her as a friend. One of the things he was looking forward to when he got back to gravity falls was going to Greasy’s diner with Her and Mabel and getting some pancakes. It was always a fun experience, sharing that time together. She was like an honorary sister to him.
Dipper scrolled a little further and say that Gideon posted a photo with his boyfriend. Once the slightly younger boy stopped obsessing over Mabel he had reached out to others and found out that he, like Mabel, was pansexual. He found others who he liked and dated for a while until he found Kai. The two were a cute couple and they had found that they both enjoyed doing entertainment. They created a theater company that became pretty popular, and they traveled around a lot. It was nice to see him find something he enjoyed that didn’t involve terrorizing the people of Gravity Falls. He had mellowed out and they were pretty good friends now.
Both Gideon and Kai were out and about a lot, but they still spent the summers in Gravity Falls. Since they were moving in the summer it was nice that the two would be able to welcome them home. Gideon wasn’t the closest of his friends but still, it was nice to spend time with him every now and then.
He chuckled as he saw a video of Wendy doing a couple’s workout with one of her girlfriends. He was still pretty embarrassed about his crush on her during his first year in Gravity Falls, now that he was older, he understood how awkward that must have been for her. He was glad she found someone, or rather two someones, who treated her right and were her age. Malissa and Ray were pretty cool people, and it was fun to hang out with them. They often joined in on the adventures he and Mabel always found themselves in. Malissa didn’t do as many physical activities as her girlfriends, but she still kept up. She and Wendy were the best people to go to when it came to talking about your problems, Ray usually gave pretty violent advice. He was pretty sure she wanted to kill his parents when he told her they weren’t supportive. Ray was nice but she was also a badass, if you hurt someone she cared about, she will come at you with a fiery passion. He was glad he wasn’t on the wrong end of that anger. Wendy and Ray did a lot of workout stuff together and they could pick each other up, though it was usually one of them picking up Malissa.
Wendy was a firefighter, and she was good at it. There was surprisingly a lot of fires in Gravity Falls despite it being a small town, so it was nice to know they had a firefighter. Malissa was a hairdresser though she also did nails, he actually usually went to her when he was in town and needed a haircut. She did magic with scissors and if he wouldn’t be surprised if someone told him that it was actual magic. Ray on the other hand opened up a gym and did daily classes that anyone could join in, he’d gone to a few, but they were a little hardcore for him even if he wanted to build muscle.
He turned off his phone when Mabel came to the front door and walked out with her. It would be nice to breathe in the air in Gravity Falls and not have it polluted like the air in the city, that was another reason he felt that Gravity Falls was his real home. He got in the car and started driving after putting on his travel playlist. He and Mabel switched out driving and the playlists would switch out between them, it was a rule that whoever was driving got to choose the music. It didn’t cause any conflict and it helped both of them drive so they stuck to it.
The road trip was nice, it took a while to get to Gravity Falls so there was a lot of time in the car. Once when they stopped at a rest stop there were a lot of big buff dudes, and he was harassed when he had to take off his binder. It wasn’t fun but it just showed how much better Gravity Falls was. Though Mabel had found a plushie that looked just like Waddles. She showed it to him, and the pig had liked it so much he had sniffed it and promptly started nibbling on its leg. Needless to say, they had bought the plushie. Luckily the price tag wasn’t too steep, though they did have a good amount of pocket cash anyways.
It took a few days to get there, and they stayed in a couple hotel rooms. Some of them actually felt more like home than their parent’s house had, though that spoke more about how bad it was. He was glad to be free, glad to be moving to Gravity Falls and not some cheap apartment. Maybe he’d even find someone there for him. He had never really dated before considering he was trans and his preference were men. Some people were ok, but there were a lot of gay men that didn’t consider him one of them, and he’d also gotten some straight men that considered him a girl. He hoped that things would be better in Gravity Falls because people were just a lot more accepting there. It was nice to have that fresh start.
When Mabel was driving and they got close to Gravity Falls, he watched the views outside his window. Oh, those big redwood trees that marked home, he missed them so much, he always did. So many memories were woven in those trunks, good and bad. They were part of home, and they were part of him as much as his arm and leg were. He was almost home, and he could feel it. He loved it.
He smiled as he saw the familiar sign, the one he loved, the one that signaled he was home. He read over it and stretched back, waiting to pull into the shack.
Welcome To Gravity Falls