Chapter Text
Danny knew he’d crossed over the border of the town when he coughed out a huge plume of his ghost sense. Despite having been traveling to supernatural towns across the world for a little over a year now, starting just after his 10th ‘Deathday’, he would never get used to the sheer amount of cold air that would force itself out of his lungs.
This particular town had been on his list for a while, but seeing as it wasn’t having any immediate issues he put it off, traveling to places that were in the middle of a series of attacks first, and you’d be surprised how often that happens.
Gravity Falls, a peaceful Oregon town, nearly 20 miles to the nearest mall. It had grown a reputation for the supernatural woods that surround it, but of course nobody outside the town actually believed any of the stories, it was a small town trying to drum up business. Most supernatural hotspots were like that.
The half-ghost’s stomach gurgled in disapproval of it’s emptiness, and he changed his route to a log-shaped building with a large sign declaring it “Greasy’s Diner.” He could refuel and ask some locals if they already had someone to keep the peace between the townsfolk and the supernatural creatures that were sure to be in the surrounding woodlands.
A small bell rang as he entered, and a few people gave him a quick glance before returning to their food. Danny slid into a counter seat and set his backpack down by his feet, smiling at the waitress as she approached,
“Well hey there!” She smiled right back, her open eye shining, “What can I get a handsome guy like you to drink?”
“Coffee.” He answered immediately, and the waitress - her name tag identified her as ‘Lazy Susan’ - gave a goodnatured laugh, set down his menu, and started back towards the kitchen, calling a quick “Coming right up!” over her shoulder.
When he was wrapping up his meal - pancakes, as suggested by Susan, and she was right, they were fantastic - and they were exchanging the customary “Can I get you anything else?” “No, I’m fine.”s, Danny asked the question he came into town to ask:
“Hey, I’ve heard a bunch of stories about the supernatural in this town, and I was wondering if you had any local experts that deal with that sort of thing?” and he got a surprising answer,
“Oh, you must mean Dipper Pines! He lives at the Mystery Shack, just follow the signs. He comes into town often, making sure both human and nonhuman are keeping the peace, he’s a great guy like that.”
In all his travels, Danny had never met someone who also checked up on how the humans were treating the supernatural. He decided he had to meet this Dipper Pines guy.
“Thanks,” the halfa stood, sensing a rant coming, absentmindedly paying for his meal - lunch, he supposed by the height of the sun - and swinging his backpack over one shoulder, ducking out the door with one last wave, hopefully before the waitress found out that was not enough money. Hero-business has never paid well, he felt bad about how often this has happened, but slowly accepted it as a part of half-life.
There were lots of signs for the Mystery Shack, some not even 5 feet apart, but they all looked at least 10 years old. The Shack itself could only be described as a tourist trap, the ‘S’ had even fallen off the sign so it said ‘HACK’, and the half-ghost couldn’t help a chuckle. He walked up the steps to the front door - he was pretty sure it was the front door - and gave 4 quick knocks,
The man who opened the door had messy brunette hair and a matching goatee, and wore tough jeans with a flannel shirt. Danny snapped out of his staring, “Dipper Pines?”
“Can I help you with something? The Shack’s closed.” Dipper gave the raven-haired man a lookover, not unlike the one Danny gave him.
“I heard you were the peacekeeper around here?-”
“I swear to god if it’s the gnomes again-”
“No, no, everything’s fine, I’m actually a supernatural expert myself, and I’ve been traveling to various hotspots to check in with any other experts in the area.” Danny explained and Dipper opened the door wider, “Please, come in.”
The inside of the shack only cemented Danny’s belief that this was a tourist trap, and he was holding in giggles. There were all sorts of knick-knacks available, signs for tours, and a curtain leading into a room filled with exhibits that were so obviously fake and ridiculous it was almost impossible for the half-ghost not to laugh. If it weren’t for the completely exasperated response about gnomes he would have felt discouraged that this all really was a business scam.
“So you said you were an expert?” The brunette asked as he led Danny deeper into the Shack to the living space,
“Well, more like I have quite a bit of experience.” Dipper gestured to a seat at the dining room table, and Danny took it, making a short hand motion to decline when his host lified a coffee pot, “I had quite the history with the supernatural in my teen years, I’m traveling to towns like my own to make sure they have, well, protectors. People like me or you making sure the two worlds are existing peacefully.” Dipper took the seat opposite of the speaker, wrapping his hands around his mug.
“Sounds like my own childhood, I came here to stay with my great uncle in this shack when I was 12, just for the summer, with my twin sister Mabel. We came back every opportunity after - winter break, holidays, you name it - and on our 18th birthday he gave us the deed to the shack, that was 5 years ago. Not to be rude or anything, but if you’re the ‘protector’ of your town, why are you here instead of there?”
“Something… came up. I left Amity in good hands, I just… had to get away from all that responsibility for a bit, you know?” Dipper gave an understanding nod, sipping his coffee.
“I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think I could ever leave.” At the raised eyebrow of his guest, he gave out a sigh, “My… boyfriend, he can’t pass through the barrier at the edge of town, it’s meant to keep all the supernatural contained to the town and surrounding woods.” Danny gave a nervous laugh at those words - Would he be able to pass? Was he stuck here?!
“Do, uh,” The halfa cleared his throat, “Do you think you could show me this barrier? I’ve never run across something like this before.” Dipper raised an eyebrow at the nervousness, but stood, finishing off his coffee, and putting the mug next to the sink,
“I’ll bring Bill along.”
The whole way to the barrier, Danny was nervous and twitching, worries and worst case scenarios running through his head.
“I meant to ask earlier, but why are you so nervous?” Dipper asked, interrupting the increasingly anxious thoughts running through the half-ghost’s head. He opened his mouth to answer, probably along the lines of denial, when Dipper’s boyfriend - Bill was it? - answered for him.
“He’s afraid he won’t be able to get through because he’s a hybrid.”
“Wow, really?! That’s so cool! Of what?” The adventurer asked, eyes practically sparkling. Danny attempted to sputter out more denial, but as it was made clear that he wasn’t going to get an answer from the halfa, Dipper simply turned to the well-dressed blond that was his boyfriend.
“How about this? Since I know how much you love mysteries, I’m not gunna tell you. You have to deduct it. How’s that sound?” Dipper answered in the positive, and too shocked at being outed, Danny simply nodded.
“How did you know?” he finally managed to breathe, and Bill gave him an amused look, “You know that symbol, ‘the all-seeing eye?’”
“... You’re the eye of providence? … You would think I would stop being surprised at this point.”
That was when the three finally made it to the barrier, a couple of large rocks on the side of the road the only markers. Dipper walked through them harmlessly, gesturing to himself like an example, then back over to Bill’s side. The blond rolled the eye not under an eyepatch, and put his hand up to the invisible wall of magic confining him to Gravity Falls, and it shimmered under his touch, revealing itself to the watchers. Both turned to look at the hybrid, prompting him to reach forward hesitantly.
When Danny touched the barrier, he gave a visible violent shiver, and pushed. It let him through slowly, like it was unsure, before he finally stumbled out the other side. He continued to shiver in discomfort, “It feels like walking through jello.” He explained. He turned around and walked back into town, the barrier giving him no resistance. It was meant to keep the supernatural in, not out.
“I can leave, that’s… good, but if it’s ok with you, can I stay a bit longer? I just met you, and you already know my secret, that doesn't quite sit well with me. Plus,” Danny added, “you still gotta figure out what my other half is.”
Dipper looked surprised for a moment, then grinned at the halfa. Danny wouldn’t admit it to himself, but he may be beginning to like the brunette.