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Chapter Text

A day. It had taken an entire day for him to find out. Find out that his boyfriend had been hit by a speeding truck and had been rushed to hospital in a coma. Dipper was horrified once he heard the news, immediately grabbing the shack's golf cart and rushing to the hospital. It didn't take long to get there and find the room, and none of the doctors or nurses even attempted to stop him from barging inside.

He had been bracing himself for a confrontation of any sort, whether with doctors or Wirt's family ( or rather his parents who he hadn't met yet. ) however he was appalled to see that the hospital room was completely empty. He moved towards the bed in the centre of the room, holding back a sob as he spotted Wirt laying unresponsive inside it. The boy's eyes were closed, his dark brown hair messed up like it always was early in the morning. Dipper remembered that from their second date: they had gotten breakfast at Greasy's Diner.

As he looked over his unconscious boyfriend, Dipper felt a short tug on his jacket. Jumping slightly out of surprise, he looked down to spot the smiling face of Greg.
"Hi Dipper!" He called cheerily, seemingly unphased by the fact his brother was laying in a coma no more than a couple centimetres away from them. Dipper wondered if he truly realised what had happened.
"Hey Greg, are you doing okay?" He asked. Better to check than assume, Dipper decided. He was greeted by a nod.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think Wirt's gone back to The Unkno-" Greg began to speak but stopped himself by smacking a hand over his own mouth. "Sorry, I'm not supposed to talk about that." He explained, making Dipper even more confused. He tried to prod further and get Greg to explain, but the younger boy simply shook his head and told him that Wirt would explain when he woke up.

Another day passed. Wirt's parents didn't show up, and according to Greg had no interest in doing so. Mabel appeared to keep the two company ( Greg refused to leave his brother's side, so Dipper decided to stay to keep and eye on him ). All the while Greg remained adamant that Wirt would eventually wake up, and while he slept Dipper occasionally heard him mumbling about bluebirds and forests and frogs. Something else Dipper noticed during his time was that Greg's frog, Jason Funderberker, was acting different. The amphibian had always acted strange, but now it seemed protective of both Greg and Wirt, keeping a steely gaze on nurses who came in to tend to the unconscious boy or giving croaking warnings to people who tried to convince Greg to leave.

It was the third day that something finally happened. It was around 8pm, and the two were watching the tv that had helpfully been brought into the room for them. Dipper was flicking through his own journal, which he had started during his third Summer in Gravity Falls. Grunkle Ford couldn't have documented everything after all. That's when they heard a rustling from across the room. Greg's eyes widened and he immediately hopped up and rushed towards the bed, holding Jason in his arms. "Wirt!" He called, leaping up and onto the bed to look down at his brother. Dipper quickly followed after him, smiling at the younger's enthusiasm. He then returned his gaze back to Wirt, who's eyes were gradually flickering open.
"Greg?" He asked in a voice that sounded much too dehydrated. "GREG! Are you alright? Are you hurt? How long has it been?" Wirt ran through a list of questions, and Dipper noted from the last one that he seemed to be aware of his previous state. "I'm fine, brother 'o mine." Greg responded with a laugh. Wirt let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank god. Auntie Whispers was right." Greg's face shifted in shock, and then a delighted grin broke out.
"So you did go back! How is everyone! And don't worry, I haven't told anybody, even without you making sure. I almost told Dipper but I stopped myself." He declared proudly, puffing his chest out.
Wirt smiled softly, and Dipper's heart melted at the sweetness between the two boys. "Good job Captain Greg." Wirt joked, before looking over at Dipper and back to his brother. That's when it seemed to register that his boyfriend was there, and Wirt literally leapt out of bed to embrace him. "Dipper! I'm so sorry I didn't see you before. I missed you!" He spoke quickly, as a very flustered Dipper returned the hug.
"You have me back now Wirt. But I don't think jumping out of bed is a good idea. You just woke up from a three day coma." Dipper quickly reassured him, still not breaking away from the hug. Wirt got a slightly worried expression, looking back at the bed. "I'll be fine, trust me."

Dipper was slightly worried but decided to just let it be as Wirt broke away and took his brother's hand. He then looked up at Dipper. "Let's go home please? I'm sick of hospitals." He stated, and didn't wait for an answer before walking out. His boyfriend quickly trailed after him. A nurse tried to stop him, but backed away as Wirt glared at him. In all honesty Dipper was shocked, as Wirt was rarely very confrontational and wasn't particularly scary looking, but Greg seemed even more surprised. He quickly leant over and whispered quickly to Wirt, and Dipper managed to catch a "I'll tell you later." As they stepped out of the hospital doors.

Chapter Text

They quickly called a taxi as they left the hospital reception. The three bundled into the back of the vehicle, Greg sitting between the two older ones. Dipper watched as they spoke the for entire journey, Greg asking a seemingly endless amount of questions, and Wirt responding with short answers like "Yes" or "I'll tell you later." A few of the answers, no matter how short, led to shocked faces from Greg. As much as he found it adorable that the younger was so brimming with questions and eager to learn, he very much wanted to know what they were about.

"What are you two on about?" Dipper asked, only to be greeted by silence from Greg and a slightly guilty look from Wirt.
"Nothing important Dipper." Wirt began. Yeah, like Dipper believed that. "If it isn't important why won't you tell me?" He countered, causing Wirt to frown and glance away. Greg leant over and whispered something else, which sounded a bit like "I think we should tell him." It then lead on to a barrage of other questions about whether somebody called Beatrice would like him. At least that gave some kind of answer: Beatrice was one of the names that Greg had muttered in his sleep. Who was she though, a family friend? The name of Wirt's mother? Dipper knew that his parents were divorced, but aside from that he knew little to nothing. In fact, he didn't know much at all about Wirt's past. He knew he came from the East coast, he knew that even though they acted closer than him and Mabel sometimes, Wirt and Greg were only half siblings, and he knew that Wirt didn't let Greg near water unsupervised. It honestly shocked him that he hadn't thought to ask during their (albeit short) relationship. Then again, Wirt didn't like talking about his and Greg's past, usually pivoting Dipper's questions to ask about him.

He made a mental note to try again and see if he could solve whatever was going on as the taxi arrived back at the shack, all three getting out only for Wirt to be tackle hugged by Mabel immediately. "You're back!" She called happily, as Wirt gave an awkward laugh in return.
"I sure am." He replied, doing a vague jazz hands as Mabel let go off them, almost bouncing over to the other two and also giving them a hug each. "Come inside! You've all been having lousy hospital food for three days. And Wirt hasn't even eaten anything!" She grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him into the building as Greg and Dipper eagerly followed. He hadn't realised how hungry he was until he was reminded of it. Eagerly going after the others, his nose was met by the delicious scent of home-cooked food.

The three took a seat at the table, which Mabel had apparently already prepared. Grunkle Stan joined them soon, mumbling a "Glad to see you back kid." As he took his seat. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, both of the kids had grown on him during their stint of staying at the shack. He certainly wouldn't admit that he was up at night worrying about Wirt after he heard about the coma. Either way, Wirt looked up at him with a shy smile. Dinner was served soon after, and they all started to tuck in. Dipper noticed that Wirt seemed cautious before he started eating, but was quickly distracted by his ravenous hunger. All of them finished quickly, laying their plates. Wirt offered to help out with washing up but Mabel refused to let him, instead ushering them all up to their respective bedrooms. It was almost 10PM at this point, and Greg was up far too late for a 9 year old. Wirt ensured that his brother was tucked into the bed that had been set up for him in Mabel's room, and then retired to his own that had been placed in the spare room (the Pines' had long since gotten rid of the carpet). He and Dipper exchanged goodnight hugs, seeing that they hadn't moved on to kissing yet (Dipper silently cursed himself for not taking the opportunity to initiate one when Wirt woke up. Then again, Greg's presence may have made it slightly awkward), and Dipper went up to his own room. Of course, Stan had seperated their sleeping arrangements the moment he'd found out they were dating.

Chapter Text

It was midnight when Dipper woke up. At first he couldn't think of why he had been roused from his sleep, it definitely hadn't been a nightmare, but after a few seconds of sitting completely still in the darkness he managed to figure it out. He could hear voices. They were just outside, and couldn't be too far from the Mystery Shack. Pulling himself out of his bed, he sleepily stumbled towards the window to take a look outside. Taking a glance into the shadows, he could just make out two figures. One was small, and Dipper could recognise it as Greg, which confused him greatly. The other figure, however, made his confusion all the worse. A tall figure with large, proud antlers and what appeared to be a cone shaped hat. It's entire body was draped in shadows, and Dipper could just see a pair of pale glowing circles that appeared to be eyes, casting a soft light on the ground infront of it.

To say that Dipper was afraid of what the figure was doing was an understatement. Pulling on his jacket as quickly as he could, he thundered down the stairs and towards the front door. Quickly flinging it open, he was greeted by... nothing? Greg still stood outside, looking slightly disappointed at the figure apparently leaving.
"Greg, who was that?" The older boy asked, sounding exasperated as he walked closer to Greg, who looked up towards Dipper.
"That was..." Greg started, but paused, making a thinking face, "well I'm not sure what to call him." He explained, making Dipper even more worried.
"What was he saying to you? Was he trying to get you to do anything?" Dipper pressed, but Greg just shook his head.
"Nope! He was showing me his new powers. Oh, and making that." Greg pointed further into the forest, to a place where it looked like the trees had twisted and curled around eachother to make some sort of doorframe.
"What is it?" Dipper asked, heading a bit closer to inspect the trees. They certainly looked like nothing he'd seen before, the slightly reddish wood and black sap, alongside the orange leaves that grew in places made the branches distinct within the surroundings. The arched doorway was placed between two much more normal looking trees.
"It's a portal! I can't tell you where, Wirt doesn't like me talking about it around other people. He said it was a surprise." Greg said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Dipper raised an eyebrow. "What does Wirt have to do with any of this?" He asked, leading to Greg's face paling as he looked down at the ground.
"Um, nothing?" Yeah right, like Dipper believed that. He decided that he'd confront Wirt in the morning.
"Alright then little man. Get back to bed, it's too late for 9 year olds to be up." Dipper finally settled on saying, as Greg went to bed surprisingly eagerly for someone his age.

Heading back up to his room at the top of the house, Dipper took a moment to stop outside Wirt's door. He wasn't even really sure why, he just felt compelled to. As he stopped, he heard something the sound of a window shutting and the creaking of a bed being layed in. Wirt must have been closing his window. It was surprisingly cold for Summer anyway. However, as he began to walk away he heard something else. It sounded almost like rustling leaves, and then the sound of his boyfriend murmuring to himself. Dipper immediately knew Wirt was reading something, he had an adorable habit of reading outloud to himself when he didn't realise anyone was around, or reciting poetry beneath his breath when he got scared. It was almost the equivalent of reciting a prayer to Wirt. Dipper shrugged it off as nothing to worry about. Just another thing to talk about the next day.

The morning came much too soon for Dipper's liking. He'd never been a morning person, and the knowledge that he was going to have to confront Wirt about something only added to that displeasure. Begrudgingly, he made his way downstairs to the smell of pancakes being fried. As he had expected, he found Mabel standing infront of the stove, flipping a pancake. An already very large stack stood next to her, enough to feed the lot of them already.
"Morning Mabel." He mumbled, going to get out the plates to be helpful.
"Morning Dipper!" She called back in a singsong voice, adding on "and Greg!" when she heard the sound of the boy bounding down the stairs.
"Hi Mabel! Hi Dipper!" He replied, cheerily as ever. Dipper genuinely had to wonder whether he remembered the night before at all. Soon, Wirt also joined them, taking a seat at the table next to Dipper and giving him a small but still happy smile. "Good morning Dipper." He spoke softly, putting an arm around the shorter Dipper to hug him. Dipper immediately felt his cheeks redden, but just hugged back. "Morning Wirt." He responded, before a frown came over his face and he sighed. "Can I talk to you after breakfast please?" He asked in a whisper, and breathed a sigh of relief when he got a nod and a reassuring "of course" afterwards.

Maybe the inevitable confrontation would go better than he had expected it to.

Chapter Text

Breakfast finished much faster than Dipper had hoped it would. Grunkle Stan had already gone off to open the Mystery Shack for visitors. Mabel and Greg had raced away the moment they were finished eating, apparently to make socks for Jason Funderberker. Dipper raised an eyebrow and Wirt let out a chuckle, but they let them go anyway. Unfortunately, that meant there was no way to avoid the conversation. Wirt looked over to Dipper from his seat, his dark brown eyes gazing at him.
"So, you wanted to talk to me?" He asked, a soft smile on his face. Dipper frowned and rubbed his neck slightly.
"Uhm, yeah." He began quietly. "I know you're hiding something from me, and I want to know what." Dipper glanced hopefully up towards the taller boy, who had started frowning.
"I don't know-" Wirt started, but was soon interrupted by Dipper. Even without knowing about the heaps of questions and cryptic statements that Greg kept making, Dipper could've sussed something going on from the look of guilt alone.
"Please Wirt. I'm here, please tell me. We've barely even spoken since you woke up." Dipper did his best to convince his boyfriend. Luckily for him, Wirt was a bit of a pushover, and as much as he disliked doing it he knew that the guilt tripping was likely to work.

Wirt sighed and looked to the floor. "Alright, but it's a long story." He muttered quietly.
"We have plenty of time for stories, and I want to hear it. It feels like I'm in the dark about this." Dipper pleaded, making Wirt look all the more guilty about not telling him.
"I'm sorry, I just don't tell alot of people because I feel like they won't believe it, and it was a bit traumatic. But it's necessary now, I would've had to tell you eventually." Wirt explained.
"Wirt, have you seen what I do in my spare time? Like I of all people wouldn't believe you." Dipper joked, succeeding in bringing a bit of a smile to Wirt's face.
"Fine, yeah. I guess I was a bit stupid. I didn't know that at first." Wirt defended himself, before getting to the start of his story:
"It all started three years ago. I was fourteen and Greg was six. It was Halloween night, and long story short we narrowly avoided being hit by a train by tumbling into a freezing lake." He let out a small sigh at the memory, but continued nonetheless as Dipper placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "But the weird thing was what happened while we were in there. We were transported to this... forest, called The Unknown-" Dipper reminded himself to ask Grunkle Ford about it when he got back. "Me and Greg were completely lost, but it started off alright. We met a slightly scary man called The Woodsman, he carried a lantern and warned us about The Beast. We also got attacked by a dog that had swallowed this black turtle. We managed to defeat it by squeezing the turtle out with a waterwheel. We went to this town full of skeletons called Pottsfield, which was led by this massive maypole named Enoch, and we met this bluebird called Beatrice-"
"The one Greg was asking you about when you woke up from the coma?"
"Yeah, that one. Anyway, Beatrice told us we could escape The Unknown by speaking to a witch called Adelaide, so we kind of focussed on getting to her. We did a couple things on the way: went to a schoolhouse where a lady called Miss Langtree was teaching animals, met a guy who's mansion was so big it was connected to another mansion, went to this tavern where people only went by titles. I was 'the pilgrim'. Then we got on a frog ferry to go downriver. Did you know that Jason Funderberker could sing? He has a wonderful voice when he uses it." Wirt began to get sidetracked, although Dupper was completely invested in the story amyway. He hadn't been sure what he had been expecting, but it wasn't this. "Anyway, we got across, turns out Beatrice had betrayed us to try and free her family of a curse. We managed to defeat Adelaide though, she melted like the Wicked Witch of the West." Wirt frowned for a second, adding "I don't think it was great for Greg to see, but I was a terrible brother back then.
Anyway, after that we met another witch called Auntie Whispers and her niece Lorna. Turns out Lorna was possessed by an evil spirit, but me and Greg managed to banish it." Wirt continued, as Dipper raised a hand, not really wanting to interrupt. Wirt smiled as he did so.
"Yes."
"Why did you mention Auntie Whispers when you first woke up?" Dipper asked inquisitively.
Wirt frowned slightly. "I'll get to thay bit in a second." He replied, leading to a nod from Dipper.

"Anyway, once we lost them I'd pretty much given up hope of getting home. Unfortunately, that's when The Beast usually tried to turn you into a tree to fuel his lantern. Apparently Greg made a wish on a star and met this Queen where he asked to swap places with me. The Beast took him amd was seconds away from turning him fully into a tree. Luckily, me and Beatrice arrived, and The Woodsman finally realized what the edelwood trees were, and I blew out the lantern to defeat The Beast. Then we managed to get home." Wirt finally finished his recount of his first time in The Unknown.
"Sorry it was slightly rushed, I'm not really the best story-teller." He also added, though Dipper shook his head.
"I thought it was brilliant," Dipper replied, leaning over and hugging Wirt closely, causing the taller boy to blush. "But isn't there some more of your story left?"

Wirt sighed once again. "Yeah, there is. The first time we went, me and Greg were there for about a week in The Unknown, but it was only a few minutes on this side. But when I was in my coma, I went back. For a month. Apparently it had been centuries since I had last been there, but it was still pretty similar. None of the people had aged at all, but Pottsfield was different. Turns out I hadn't killed The Beast, just released him from his dependence on the lantern, but in the time I was away he'd had some sort of redemption? I learned he was dating Enoch, the mayor of Pottsfield I mentioned earlier, and apparently now all of the people who he'd used to burn in his lantern have wooden bodies and are citizens. It was an odd experience. But yeah, I had to track down Auntie Whispers to get my body back-"
Dipper interrupted for a second time to ask, "What do you mean get your body back?"
Wirt went pale, knowing he'd accidentally said too much. Dipper watched as his eyes flashed through colours, his jaw dropping slightly. That was definitely not what he had expected.
"I'm- I'm sorry. You probably hate me. I should go-" Wirt began to stammer out, his usual worrisome nature rearing it's head. He was quickly silenced by a firm squeeze on his shoulder.
"Please don't. I promise I don't hate you, and I get why you didn't want to tell me." Dipper reassured him, lowering his boyfriend back into the chair. If honestly, his curiosity was sparked even more than it had been before, which was difficult, even for Dipper. "And I think your eyes are handsome." He added on, causing Wirt's face to go red. He offered up a shy smile as his eyes returned to normal.
"I'm just glad I didn't accidentally let my antlers get out. They would've knocked all of the ornaments over." He joked, causing Dippers eyes to widen.
"You have antlers? That's really cool!" Dipper shouted excitedly, causing Wirt to shush him. He lowered his tone to a whisper, but was still extremely excited. "Wait, were you the one outside with Greg at midnight?" Dipper asked.
Wirt nodded slowly. "That was me. I was trying to make a portal so I could travel between here and The Unknown. I thought that Greg would want to go and visit everyone... and maybe you would too? The Beast and Enoch kind of see me like a son now as well, and frankly they took very good care of me while I was there. I was... not in a great state when I first arrived. I am the only other one like The Beast I guess. He also wanted to apologise to Greg." He paused getting a thought. "I could introduce you to Beatrice, I think she'd like you."
Dipper smiled, "I hope she would, and I'd quite like to meet everyone else. They all sound very interesting." He got another thought, standing from his seat quickly enough to make Wirt flinch backwards.
"I think I might know a way to speed up your portal making. Follow me."

Chapter Text

Grabbing Wirt's wrist, Dipper dragged his boyfriend into the main room of the shack and towards the vending machine.
"Why are we-" Wirt began to ask, but was quickly silenced as Dipper put in the code, causing the door to swing open and reveal the elevator. "-going."
"Just follow me." Dipper urged, not waiting for a response before pulling Wirt inside and pressing the button to go down. The elevator rattled to life, beginning it's descent below the ground.
"Is this safe?" Wirt asked, more to himself than to Dipper, who just shrugged.
"This leads to my Great Uncle Ford's study, and the portal room. It's hasn't been turned on since I was twelve, and that was to drag Ford out of a different dimension, so you should be able to do what you'd like with it." Dipper explained, relieving a bit of Wirt's confusion while simultaneously raising a whole heap of questions.
"I- thank you, for letting me use it I mean. Hopefully it'll work." Wirt replied, as he was pulled into a hug by Dipper, which he quickly returned.
"No problem. We're here." Dipper gestured to the doors, which creaked open to reveal the portal room. It had been cleaned up since the last time it was used, rubble no longer littering the ground. However, it was obvious that the room was still completely disused. Despite that, Wirt looked enthused at it, glancing towards the large portal and to Dipper. "It's perfect."

The two of them stepped out into the main room, after a quick warning to avoid the red hot metal on the side of the desk. Wirt stopped in the middle of the room, still looking awestruck up to the portal. Dipper giddily hopped behind him, eager to see what Wirt was going to do with his newfound powers. Wirt took a breath, as antlers sprouted from the sides of his head and his eyes began to glow white. Dipper gasped, both fascinated and strangely endeared by the antlers. He gave a disappointed sigh as Wirt's body was cloaked in shadows, only his glowing eyes still there.
"Sorry if this is... weird. I probably should've told you what was going to happen." Wirt gingerly spoke, rubbing his neck. Dipper was half tempted to chuckle at his embarassment, but instead just shook his head. "Don't be. It gives you a sort of mysterious charm to be honest. And I think your antlers are very handsome." Dipper said with a smirk, as Wirt's eyes got a reddish tint in the centre.
"You're going to distract me." Wirt grumbled as he closed his eyes. After a few seconds of waiting, branches began to sprout out of the ground. Dipper watched in awe as they did. His boyfriend had plant powers! He assumed that the branches were edelwood, and they looked similar to the ones he had seen in the forest. They continued to twist and grow, wrapping around the metal frame of the portal. Eventually, all of the steel was completely enveloped by the trees, and Wirt looked over towards Dipper. Wirt paused for a second, looking over to Dipper. "Are you sure you'realright with me doing this?" He asked. Dipper moved a little bit closer to him, looking at his glowing eyes. "Yes. Definitely. But thank you for asking anyway." He stopped for a second, before a sly smile spread across his face. "I'd kiss you right now if I could." He mumbled. The interior of Wirt's glowing eyes flashed a vibrant red once again. He spluttered for a second, shyly looking away.
"We can- there's-" He stammered out for a second, before his attention once again fell on the portal. "Is there any source of fire around here?" He asked, and Dipper nodded.
"If you make a bit of a stick we can use the plate on the desk to light it." He replied, and before he could even finish an edelwood branch had sprouted beside him. He would really have to ask Wirt the specifics of his powers, but for now there was something else to do.

Once he'd lit it, Dipper handed the burning stick to Wirt, who carefully left it on a sticking out branch on the portal. The wood immediately caught, flames spreading quickly around the entire rim. The fire leapt and roared on the oily wood, connecting and creating a blazing wall in the centre of the edelwood, which strangely didn't seem to be damaged by the burning. Wirt gave a happy nod, as he let the shadows slip away from him, though he kept his antlers and dimly glowing eyes. Dipper walked over to him and took his hand.
"What's going to happen now?" He asked, watching as the fire shifted into the usual stark white of the portal. "They have one on their end. I think it's in some barn in Pottsfield. I told them they could come through once I got the one on this end up." Wirt explained, rubbing his shoulder nervously. "Who do you think is going to come through first?" He asked, as Wirt squeezed his hand a bit.
"I think it'll be Enoch. He's the most confident out of the people who know about it. Then it'll probably be The Beast, and maybe Beatrice if she's about. She doesn't live in Pottsfield though, so it's anyone's guess." Wirt answered, and Dipper smiled.
"I hope they like me." He mumbled, and Wirt gave another reassuring hand squeeze.
"They'd better." He simply responded.

After a few more seconds of tense waiting, the first visitor start to come through. It began with a few cloth tendrils, glancing in and out of the portal. Then a few more, reaching out and grasping at the rocks. They started to strain a little, eventually pulling through Enoch, just as Wirt had predicted. The maypole took a moment to get his bearings, before spotting Wirt down on the floor.
"Ah, good evenin' young man." He drawled, his accent as thick as usual, the tall being leaning down to look at Wirt.
"I didn't expect he'd look like that." Dipper whispered to Wirt, slightly shocked at Enoch's appearance. The boy didn't get a chance to answer however, as Enoch turned his attention to Dipper.
"You must be the one our Wirt has spoken so fondly of. A pleasure to meet you my boy." He boomed, reaching out a cloth tentacle to pat Dipper on the shoulder.
"Nice to meet you too Sir." Dipper replied gingerly, getting a laugh out of Enoch.
"No need for the sir, just call me Enoch. There ain't any point in being formal." He reassured Dipper, before turning his head to look back towards the portal, which was shifting slightly. "Ah, here comes Beasty."

Looking over at it, Dipper watched as a shadowy figure stepped out of the light of the portal. He assumed that this was The Beast, and now that he saw him in the flesh, Dipper could see the similarities between Wirt's other form and himself. They looked very similar, although The Beast had much larger antlers, and the shadows that enveloped his body seemed thicker. His eyes shone much brighter, and Dipper could see that he wore furs beneath the shadows embrace. "It has been a while since I've been on the other side. Alot has changed." He noted in a deep voice, taking a few strides and placing himself at Enoch's side. "You were able to get this portal up very quickly Wirt. Well done." The Beast stated, offering a nod towards Wirt, before also turning his attention to Dipper. "So this is your constellation?" Both Wirt and Dipper blushed at the nickname, with Wirt offering up a,
"Yes, he is."
"It is good to meet you. Are you aware that you are the subject of alot of panicked poetry?" He asked, his voice becoming slightly gentler. Wirt looked over at Dipper embarassedly, as Enoch tutted quietly.
"Please dear, no need to embarass our little pilgrim." Enoch chastised, leading The Beast to scoff slightly.
"Of course not pumpkin. I'm afraid the Bluebird will not be joining us, so would you two lead the way?" The Beast redirected his vision to Wirt and Dipper.
"Sure! It's just up an elevator, so..." Dipper glanced towards Enoch, who most certainly wouldn't wouldn't fit inside it.
"I believe that means you ought to be in your catskin." The Beast half-whispered to Enoch, who proceeded to laugh.
"Certainly. One second, if you please." Enoch made a look of concentration on his pumpkin face, as the maypole quickly dropped to the ground, and out crawled a dark black cat. "Better?"
Dipper could only nod, taken by surprise as he started to lead them towards the lift.

They all bundled inside, Wirt and The Beast having to be careful of their antlers, as Enoch whisked between Dipper's legs. The elevator slowly began to move upwards, creaking under the extra weight, but eventually reached the top. The vending machine swung open again, leading into a thankfully empty room. Or at least, empty aside from Stan, who looked up at the group nonchalantly. However, he quickly did a double take. "Jesus kid, who the hell is that!?" He shouted, pointing towards The Beast.
"I am The Beast. I'm Wirt's.. something." The Beast explained, causing the boy to look at Stan.
"I'll explain to you later." He reassured, as Stan raised an eyebrow at his still visible antlers.
"I'm not sure I want to know." Stan grumbled, as Dipper and Wirt led The Beast and Enoch, who had been surprisingly quiet, outside.
Once they were among the trees, The Beast began to look around the forest, as Enoch started to make idle conversation. Wirt leant over to Dipper and whispered.
"I'll go get Greg."

Chapter Text

There was an awkward silence while the three who remained outside waited for Wirt to return. The Beast busied himself with inspecting the earlier failed portal, running his hands along the edelwood branches and muttering to himself under his breath (did he even breathe?). Enoch had decided to play with the goat that roamed the edge of the woodland, although he quickly became bored when it failed to react. Dipper sat on the porch, wondering whether or not to make conversation. He didn't wait long though, as his curious nature got the better of him.

"What's The Unknown like?" He asked, not really sure who it was directed at, but both creatures turned their heads.
"A lot of things. Secretive and Timeless predominantly. " The Beast simply stated, and when Dipper raised an eyebrow at the second statement, Enoch sprang in to explain.
"What he means is time works differently. People don't age, a day here could be a year there, or it could just be a day." Enoch clarified, leading to Dipper giving a nod of understanding.
"How do you know you'll return at the correct time then? Are you both relying on luck?" Dipper questioned further, as The Beast let out a quiet laugh.

"We are the Lords of The Unknown. Peaceful and Hopeless Death incarnate. It follows our rules. We return when we wish to return." He stated factually. Taking a couple steps back from the trees, The Beast fully turned to Dipper, his glowing eyes piercing through the shadows that clung to him. Dipper noted how bright and harsh they were compared to Wirt's dull, comforting ones. "I assume that Wirt has not told you too much about our nature?"
Dipper let out a bit of a sigh and nodded. "I only found out about any of this," he glanced at his watch, "two hours ago. He didn't explain too much before I offered to help him with the portal."

If The Beast could've looked surprised, he would have been.
"You're taking it surprisingly well. Do not blame him, he is... cautious by nature and assumed it would leave your relationship ruined." For the first time since they had met, Dipper believed that The Beast was genuinely trying to be helpful. He smiled and shook his head.
"Like that would matter. I'm honestly used to the supernatural at this rate, I find it really interesting. Wirt being how he is now with a mysterious backstory kind of just sweetens the deal." Dipper confessed quietly, thinking back to all of the paranormal adventures he and Mabel had been on. He'd tried to bring Wirt along for a couple, but he remained cautious of anything straying from the norm. Dipper wondered if that would change now.
"A man after my own heart, then." Enoch spoke, whisking over towards The Beast on his cat legs and climbing up his wooden body, taking a seat on his shoulders, "if you want a bit of advice, try the antlers. They're ticklish." He said with a chuckle, as The Beast sighed. Dipper had never thought he'd see an almost-deity flustured, but there's a first for everything.
"I would prefer you didn't reveal our secrets like that Pumpkin." The Beast stated in his usual voice, though he was quickly silenced to the sound of loud voices (or rather one loud and one quiet) coming from just inside the building.

After a few seconds of waiting, Greg burst out from indoors, sporting his old Halloween costume and with Jason in his arms. Wirt followed soon after, keeping a watchful eye on Greg as he rushed over towards The Beast and Enoch. Apparently his near death experience hadn't affected him.
He addressed The Beast first. "Hello! You tried to turn me into a tree, but it's alright now because Wirt said you were nicer now. I brought you a gift!" Greg reached into his pockets to look for something. The Beast seemed completely confused at the lack of caution, sending a strange glance towards Wirt, who just waved a hand.
"A-ha!" Greg pulled a small spool of silk from his pocket, offering it up to The Beast. "I got you an actual silver spool this time! I got it off of Mabel! What are you going to use it for?"
The Beast looked at the material, taking it out of Greg's small hand carefully with two fingers.
"It is brilliant, Gregory. I shall sew it into my furs like stars in the dark sky." He gestured to his shadowy cloak, before continuing to speak, "I apologise for attempting to turn you to edelwood. I will not excuses for myself, I was truly evil all those years ago. However my heart has long since softened, with much help from Enoch."

Greg gave him a large smile and thumbs up, and Jason gave a reassuring 'Rorrop'. "Where's Enoch? I need to say sorry for stepping on his pumpkins." He explained, tutting and shaking his head. "I had no sense back then." Wirt groaned in the background as Enoch spoke from The Beast's shoulder. "No need to, young Elephant." The cat spoke, making his presence known. "You already payed for those crimes by digging up two of my citizens." He explained, hopping off of The Beast's shoulders.
Greg's eyes widened as his mouth formed a surprised 'O', which quickly transformed into a grin. "Enoch! I didn't know you could turn into a cat!" He shouted happily, reaching out to scratch the top of the Harvest Lord's head.
"It wasn't necessary. And as much as I appreciate the scratches, I'd stop if I were you. Beasty might get jealous."
Enoch joked with as much of a grin as a cat could have. The Beast simply shook his head and rubbed between his eyes.

As this happened, Dipper and Wirt were watching from a slight distance away. Dipper was mostly just glad that everything had turned out alright, watching the two near-deities interact with Wirt's little brother. Looking to his side, Wirt seemed just as relieved as he was, although it was probably from the positive reaction from Greg. The taller boy glanced down at Dipper, leaning over to whisper, "Are you sure you're alright with all this?" He asked, worry still lacing his tone.
Dipper let out a laugh. "Of course I'm alright with it. Maybe a bit surprising, but I promise you Wirt," He reached out and took Wirt's hand, "I am completely fine with everything about you. My sister tried to date gnomes, a merman, and a weird puppet lover. I don't see anything wrong with me dating a shadow, death-god, forest spirit boy. Especially a handsome one like you." Dipper finished by squeezing Wirt's hand reassuringly. His words managed to coax a laugh and a burning blush out of Wirt, which was certainly a good thing.
"I'm not even sure what I am. I'll have to ask The Beast later, if he even knows." Wirt wondered aloud, leading to a smile from Dipper.
"What makes you think he won't?" Dipper raised an eyebrow.
"Him and Enoch might be immortal, but they haven't always been intelligent. Beast described it like the moment you snap into consciousness as a kid, if you get that. They're ideas given form, but I'm not sure if that makes them gods or just spirits, like you said."
Humming a response, Dipper continues to look over towards the three, Greg now having somehow climbed onto The Beast's shoulders.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Dipper spoke. "When do you think we should tell the others? They're bound to find out eventually."
"Judging by the fact Mabel is hiding up a tree watching what's going on, I don't think you have to tell her. As for the others, we could do it tonight if you want." Wirt nonchalantly said, as Dipper started scanning the tree line for Mabel. However, he came up completely short.
"How'd you know?" He asked, confused.
"The Beast knows everything that happens in his forest, I know everything that happens in mine." He paused for a second, rubbing his neck doubtfully. "I hope you don't mind that I sort of claimed it. It just feels the most like home now." Wirt added on in a slightly doubtful tone.
"I don't think anybody would mind. And hey, no more getting lost in the woods for me, huh?" Dipper replied, nudging Wirt. Despite his many Summers spent in Gravity Falls, Dipper was still prone to getting lost in the woods, especially when he didn't have a specific goal in mind when he went out. "Now, where's Mabel?"
Wirt pointed towards a tree, close to the top. As he was about to squint to try and spit his sister, the leaves began to rustle as she panicked about being seen.

Greg, Enoch and The Beast turned to look towards the source of the noise, watching as Mabel lowered herself from the top branches using her grappling hook.
"Doing a bit of snooping were we?" Enoch asked once she reached the ground, making her frown.
"Maybe I wouldn't have had to snoop if my brother had invited me to the party." She stated, although he faked offense couldn't properly hide her grin. "And Greg! The betrayal!" She cried, grabbing her heart, making the young boy laugh slightly. The Beast and Enoch exchanged glances as she extended a hand to the shadowy figure of Beast.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Mabel Pines!"

Chapter Text

"The Beast." He responded after a small pause, shaking Mabel's hand with his own wooden one.
"Oh- are you made of wood? I wasn't expecting you to be made of wood! Is that rude?" In all honesty The Beast seemed slightly disoriented by her quickfire questions. She reminded him of Greg somewhat, but at least that could be explained with childhood energy.
"It isn't rude at all. My shadows are very effective at hiding my appearance." He stated simply, snapping his fingers. The shadows along his right hand receded near instantly, showing his strange edelwood skin. However, they quickly returned to their original place on his body. Mabel reacted with an excited smile.
"That's so cool! I definitely need to make you a sweater at some point." She then turned her attention to Enoch. "And you are?" Mabel asked, kneeling down to be more level with the cat.
"Enoch. Mayor of Pottsfield. A pleasure to meet you." Enoch offered a small paw to Mabel, which she eagerly shook. "Your paws are so soft!"

Enoch held himself proudly at the compliment. The catskin wasn't usually his favourite form, but he still took pride in keeping it's black fur from becoming mangey. "Thank you, although it's not usually my preferred body. But you can't exactly fit a maypole into that lift can you?" He joked.
Mabel was about to respond, however she just caught a better glimpse of Wirt than the one she'd had from the trees. Her jaw dropped and she pracitcally bounded towards him.
"Woah, Wirt! I didn't know you had antlers!" She shouted, gawking up at the things on the side of Wirt's head. Mabel glanced from Wirt to The Beast, noting the similarities between the two, especially now that Wirt's eyes had started to gently glow with surprise.

"Wait, is that your dad? You didn't tell me you had a shadow-tree guy for a dad!" She complained, as Wirt hastily shook his head.
"He's more like my-"
"Uncle!" Greg interjected happily, looking up at Wirt with a hopeful expression. "If we called Endicott our uncle why can't we do the same for Beast and Enoch?" He explained, leading Wirt to shrug.
"You're both alright with that title?" He asked to the two beings, leading The Beast to give a nod.
"It will help to explain things quickly. I see no problem with it." He answered with a toneless voice. Enoch on the other hand, seemed much more enthused by the idea.
"Uncle Enoch certainly rolls of the tongue. And to think, the pilgrim sees himself as our nephew. And I suppose that would be the same for the little elephant!" He exclaimed. Enoch had always been one for large communities, so it wasn't a surprise that he would enjoy having some semblance of a family. Mabel sauntered over to Dipper with a grin on her face as she watched the exchange.

"Guess you're going to learn alot about Wirt's family huh, just not the side you expected to." She said with a smirk on her face. Dipper's own smile only grew.
"It'll definitely be an experience." He replied.

Just as the group was settling back into a conversational tone, with Mabel and Greg talking to The Beast and Enoch (mostly Mabel asking much too personal questions to both of them) and Wirt once again making sure that Dipper was alright with all of the things that had happened in the last 24 hours (he 100% was), the door to the Mystery Shack flew open.

A tall, red headed girl stepped out, her eyes immediately fixing onto Wirt.
"Leave me behind why don't you."
"Beatrice!"

Chapter Text

"Alright Wirt, it's only been a couple of days." Beatrice chuckled slightly at his excitement, glancing over towards Enoch and The Beast with a small wave. "You could have told me the portal was working." She called over to them, and when Enoch was about to speak up she stated: "and sending the flagsman doesn't count. You know how slow he is."

The Beast spoke up first. "Our apologies. We weren't sure how long the portal would hold on this end."

Just as she was about to reply, she was winded by a tackle-hug. Looking down, she was delighted to discover that her assailant was Greg. She grin and lifted him up. "Well there he is! Long time no see!" Greg giggled before putting on a bit of a pout.

"Too long. Three years is too long." He complained as Beatrice set him down on the floor again. She smiled softly down at him.

"Yes, it is. But look at how big you've gotten!" She exclaimed, and yes, he had gotten quite a bit taller than the last time she had seen him. He was still nowhere near as tall as Wirt, and she was sure he never would be, but the difference was noticeable.

Greg nodded eagerly. "I don't need a stool to reach the top shelves anymore!" He shouted eagerly, making Beatrice laugh.

"Very good, I'm proud of you." She responded, her smile still as wide as ever. She took a second to look around, her gaze finally landing on Dipper, who was standing at Wirt's side watching her reunion with Greg. A look of understanding crossed her face, before turning into a devilish smirk. "So this is the one Wirt was talking about." She asked to herself, nudging Greg slightly. "You like him?" The young boy eagerly nodded.

"He's nice, but his sister is nicer. Wirt likes him a lot though, which is good because it means he's not as grumpy all the time." He was breifly interrupted by a 'hey!' from Wirt. "And his grunkle is letting us stay in their house!"

Beatrice nodded along, as she moved over to Dipper. He cautiously offered a hand,

"I'm Dipper."

She grinned as she took it tightly. "Beatrice. I already know your name kid. I'm sure those two have told you that Wirt talked about you." She tilted her head to point towards The Beast and Enoch. "And let me just tell you. You ever hurt Wirt?" She leant over to whisper into his ear. "They're not the ones you want to worry about." Dipper gulped nervously, mumbling a "I would never" Beartice nodded and stepped back and putting on a smile like nothing had happened.

Wirt gave a slight laugh at the look on Dipper's face, pulling him into a hug with one arm. Although he seemed to take that threat more seriously. Greg once again ran up to Beatrice, who had a proud look on her face.

"You should meet his sister! She helped me make socks for Jason Funderberker!" He grinned, holding up the frog and his woolly socks. "And she's going to make us all sweaters. Even The Beast!" Greg's energy seemingly knew no bounds, and just as Beatrice was about to comment, Mabel bounded over to the side of the boy.

"Hi! I'm Mabel, creative genius and sweater enthusiast!" She introduced herself cheerily, offering out a hand eagerly. Beatrice reached down and shook it. She raised an eyebrow at Wirt. "So he has Adelaide as a sister." She mused jokingly. However, this just made Greg gasp in horror and leap between the two.
"She's nothing like Adelaide! She hasn't tried to kill us! And she can be in fresh air!" He defended heatedly, causing Beatrice to frown. She'd forgotten that Greg hadn't been in Portfield recently.

"Oh no Greg, I didn't mean it like that. Adelaide makes clothes for all of Beast's citizens now." She explained capmly, as Greg's expression shifted from anger to surprise.
"Alright then. I guess it's a good thing." Greg relented.

From the treeline, Enoch coughed, "Speaking of citizens, me and The Beast should be heading back. Chances are a new crop of problems has popped up while we were here."
The Beast looked down at him.
"Was that a pun, Pumpkin?"
Enoch's cheshire grin gave away the answer quickly. The Beast gave a look of disappointment, before looking up to address the others.
"Wirt, we shall visit in... let's say a week. We will look forward to seeing you and young Gregory again. Perhaps even learning more about your Constellation. And as for your sister, I appreciate you helping our little Elephant with getting a silver spool." He finished of his words with a bow to the group. "And Bluebird, I believe Whispers may want you. There is a lot to prepare for when Autumn is so fast approaching." Beatrice sighed and nodded, as much as she wanted to stay and catch up.
"I'll be back in a couple days, alright. Otherwise Auntie Whispers will get on my case for not taking this witch business seriously." She sheepishly explained.
The three said their final goodbyes, before heading back over to the elevator (which Beatrice operated for the two eldritch beings) and returned to The Unknown.

Mabel quickly grabbed Greg so that she would be able to ask him about details of whatever the hell just happened. This left Dipper and Wirt alone.

Chapter Text

Wirt and Dipper stood next to eachother outside, as Dipper looked over to his boyfriend with a warm smile on his face.
"I liked them." He broke the silence that was forming. Wirt's expression looked like a massive weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he replied, "Thank God. I know you like the paranormal, but I was worried it might be a bit too much all of a sudden." He admitted, "Their personalities probably didn't help." Wirt let out a small but nervous laugh.
Dipper shrugged. "They seemed nice. Enoch maybe a bit friendlier than the other two, but I can understand why you like them. Beast wasn't like how I expected him to be." Dipper admitted. When he had initially been told about The Beast, he had expected some hulking figure made of vines and screaming faces. He hadn't expected the somewhat lanky, shadow-covered figure that he was, but it was a pleasant surprise.
"He's changed a bit from when I saw him first. Taller than before, and his antlers are wider." Wirt conceded. "I'm very glad that you like my new uncles." He added on with a small smile forming on his thin lips.
"Only fair, you like my gruncles. Or, you like Stan. Ford hasn't been home all Summer." Dipper admitted.
"Hopefully he likes me. And doesn't mind the branches all over that portal." The worried expression returned to Wirt's face, but Dipper waved a hand.
"Even he's not deludedly stupid enough to try that again. Although he'll probably want to ask you some questions." Dipper responded, shrugging a bit. "Now I want to know more about what you can do."

Wirt raised an eyebrow. "Ask away I guess..."
Dipper's eyes lit up the way they always did when he was presented with an opportunity for new information. Wirt found it rather endearing to see his boyfriend so excited.
"Well, can you start by showing me your other form?" Dipper asked, his eyes pleading. Wirt sighed and conceded, antlers sprouting from the side of his head like tree branches, as his eyes began to glow softly.
As much as Dipper did want to test out what Enoch had told him, he started off with looking at Wirt's eyes.

They were similar to usual, although the normal brown irises were a glowing white. He watched as occasional flashes of colour moved through them.
"They're beautiful." He mused, making a deep crimson blush spread across Wirt's cheeks.
"T- thank you." Wirt stuttered out. Dipper kept looking into Wirt's eyes for a few more seconds, before moving on to look at the antlers. Dipper noted that they looked more similar to branches than antlers. He noted how the branches twisted together to form their shape. He also noted how black oil had solidified in parts like sap. Not being able to help himself, he ran a finger along the tip of one of the antlers, grinning at the surprised sound that Wirt made.
"Your antlers are very handsome as well." Dipper said, doing his best to make Wirt blush even more, and it was working. Wirt's entire face had almost gone scarlet, and his eyes had small red circles within them.

Dipper soon stepped away from Wirt and off of his tip toes. "So, you've got all those physical changes, what else can you do. Aside from growing the edelwood." Dipper asked inquisitively. Wirt smiled, and reached out a hand. From the ground, a perfect bunch of roses sprouted, which he promptly picked and handed to Dipper.
"For you." He said with a bow, as Dipper's cheeks glowed slightly. At least he had been able to get his own back.
"So- yeah, I can grow plants pretty quickly. There's this as well." Wirt snapped his fingers and all of the light around them disappeared, Dipper being unable to see anything but Wirt and himself. "But I don't think I'll use that much." He snapped his fingers again and the light returned. Dipper smiled up to him as the light returned, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, don't let Stan see you doing either of those. He'll try and make you an attraction." He joked, and Wirt put on a mock shiver.

"I think I should start a garden." Wirt stated after a few beats of silence. "It shouldn't be that hard, and I could sell some of the leftovers." He reasoned. His boyfriend grinned and folded his fingers into Wirt's. "That sounds like a brilliant idea." Dipper responded.
"Maybe the Mystery Shack could open a cafè." He added on to the end with a light smile on his face.
"As long as they don't serve Mabel Juice." Dipper replied with a shiver. He never wanted to see that disgusting drink again.
"Hopefully they don't." Wirt agreed. He'd been exposed to the terrible concoction once, and that was enough for me. "They can serve potatoes and molasses as a signature dish." He noted, making Dipper chuckle slightly.
"I still can't see how you and Greg think that's good."
"Don't knock it 'til you try it." Wirt gave a shy shrug, and Dipper rolled his eyes.
"But it even smells bad!" He retorded, pausing for a second and sniffing, "speaking of which, you smell different."
Wirt got a surprised look on his face. "Is it good or bad?"
Dipper thought for a second, leaning over and smelling Wirt's shirt.
"It's good, kind of like a nicer version of campfire smoke."
The taller boy gave an approving nod. "That's good. You had me worried for a second."
Dipper let out a laugh. "Only because you're a little worry Wirt."
Wirt grinned, nodding his head. "But I'm your worry Wirt. And also I'm taller than your entire family, Dipper."
"Touchè."

Chapter Text

The rest of the day passed pleasantly enough. Mabel and Greg mostly kept out of their sibling's hair, Greg no doubt telling Mabel all about his and Wirt's adventures in The Unknown. Wirt on the other hand, headed off on a walk with Dipper into the forest. As they wandered through the trees, he told Dipper more about his experiences in the other dimension, especially his most recent time. He was slightly embarrassed to admit that for the first few days of being there he couldn't do anything but be paralysed in fear. He also told him how much The Unknown had changed, and how the people had done as well.

Overall, the rest of the day passed exceptionally smoothly. And soon the sun had set, cloaking the couple in darkness. Wirt led Dipper back to the shack, using his glowing eyes to light the way. They stepped inside, and parted on the staircase that led up to Dipper's room. Dipper was honestly quite surprised when Wirt leant down and mumbled some poetry to him as a goodbye, his tone soft and soothing. Wirt never usually said his poetry aloud if he knew someone was listening, but Dipper had always found it beautiful. He was far from a writer, but something about the words always touched him when spoken by Wirt. They parted ways, and Dipper fell asleep the moment he his head hit the pillow.

He woke to shouting and the sounds of struggle. Pulling on a t-shirt, he raced down to the main entrance to the Mystery Shack. Sure enough, he found the source of the noise. Grunkle Ford had apparently arrived back that morning, and, upon seeing Wirt with glowing eyes and antlers, had tackled him to the ground.
"Get off of me!" Wirt shouted, doing his best to push his attacker away. Edelwood roots sprouted out of the floorboards, uselessly flailing around.
"Spawn of evil! You are to leave this house!" Ford roared in return, swinging a hook as oil splattered out of Wirt's mouth due to the punch.
"Grunkle Ford, get off him!" Dipper shouted, looking worriedly as Greg ran down the stairs, screaming for the man to get off of his brother. Mabel barely held him back, her face masked with horror.
Ford had come out on top, and was pressing his gun up against Wirt's head.
"I said OUT. OF. MY. HOUSE." He commanded, and there was a tick of silence. He was about to follow up, however, all light seemed to drain from the room. There was the telltale hiss as the vending machine swung open, a pair of glowing white orbs appearing within the shadows.
"You dare touch my nephew?" A tangle of roots broke through the floorboards, ensnaring Ford and bringing him to his knees. Wirt took the chance to shuffle away, his back against the wall. The padding of paws told Dipper that Enoch was also there. Light flooded the room once again, only The Beast remained cloaked in shadows. Dipper, Greg and Mabel rushed over to Wirt to make sure that he was alright, Mabel rushing off to get the first aid kit. Enoch swished around The Beast's legs as he stooped over to look Ford directly in the eyes.
"Get out of my home, evil! The unicorn spell is failing it's purpose." He grumbled, still having much of his gusto.

The Beast laughed. The roots wrapped around Ford tightened.
"I am not evil. Perhaps I was at some point. Not anymore." He answered, his voice worryingly calm. "Unicorn magic resists against the 'weirdness' of The Fiend. I am a being of Unknown, we work on different logic."
Ford's face darkened. He'd heard that title refer to his oldest enemy before. "You know Bill?"
Another laugh. "I do know Bill, Dealmaker. He was the most recent edelwood added to my forest." Was his response, before quickly changing his topic of conversation. "Now, I ask again. Why did you attack my nephew."

Ford looked over towards Wirt, finally realising that the 'monster' he had been attacking was a teenager. He also noted the way that Dipper was glaring daggers at him, how Mabel was holding an ice pack to Wirt's cheek, and a small kid who was looking at him like he was the monster in the room.
"He- he had a knife!" Ford retorted.
"I- I was making breakfast..." Wirt stammered out, his eyes clearing slightly of their black tears.
"Wha-"
"He's my boyfriend, Grunkle Ford." Dipper spat out, and Ford recoiled from the distain in his tone.

It was around then that Grunkle Stan entered the room, taking a second to put together what had happened in his mind, before leaning down to look at Greg.
"You mind turning around and covering your ears for me kiddo? Dipper can tap you when you can unplug them." He asked, and Greg did as instructed. Stan then spun around, politely shifting The Beast out of infront of his brother.
"Hey Ford." Stan greeted, before slamming his foot into Ford's shin, the steel cap certainly leaving a bruise. "The FUCK were you thinking! You think this kid broke in?! Where's the evidence DIPSHIT? So what, he has antlers and glowing eyes? Why the FUCK does that matter. Kids the most polite visitor we've had here in YEARS, STANFORD." He raged at his brother, who flinched at every shouted word. The Beast gave him a surprised but respecting look, and even Wirt managed to crack a small smile.

"So leave the kid the fuck alone. I don't want you touching him, I don't want you doing any tests on him, and I don't want you asking any questions he doesn't want to answer. Same goes for his brother." Stan finished, crossing his arms before walking off.
The Beast nodded, his gaze still fixed on Ford. "Your sibling puts it well. Consider this a warning." The Beast finished, as Enoch hopped up to face Ford.
"You're lucky I don't set the entire wrath of Pottsfield on you. My citizens hate when one of their own is harmed." While Ford wasn't sure what Pottsfield was, or how this cat was talking, but he understood the threat. He quickly nodded.
"Good. Now apologise and we can be off." Enoch demanded. Ford looked over to Wirt guiltily.
"I'm sorry for attacking you..."
"Wirt." Dipper supplied, anger still evident in his voice.
"I'm sorry for attacking you, Wirt."
The Beast exchanged a look with Wirt and Dipper, the former of which shrugged.
"We shall return at weeks end. Beatrice has told me to expect her and Lorna at some point soon." Wirt's.face noticable brightened at that, alongside Greg's. "And I'll be taking this." He added, as Ford's gun was dragged into the floor by roots. He stepped back into the elevator with Enoch, the trees holding Ford in place receeding to form new floorboards to replace the ones they had broken. By the time Ford was able to stand, the two supernatural beings were gone.

After a second to calm down after the experience, he looked to the side of the room, greeted by three furious expressions and one slightly apologetic one, surprisingly from the teen that he had almost shot.
"Can I have some explanation please?" He asked, his tone impatient.
Dipper huffed, stepping up to Ford. "That," he pointed to Wirt, "is Wirt. He and his brother Greg-" he once again pointed, this time to Greg. Mabel helped by lifting him up, althoug Greg maintained his angry look. "-Have been staying here since the start of the Summer." He explained hotly. Ford nodded along, still eyeing Wirt. "And why has he..."
"Got antlers?" Wirt interjected, standing up from his sitting position against the wall. He seemed to have recovered quickly from the fight. "I got hit by a car. End of story." Ford looked like he had many more questions, but kept them to himself for now. Instead, he grumbled out another apology and called the vending machine elavator again to go to his study.
Probably to nurse his broken pride.

Chapter Text

The rest of the day passed with practically no incident. Ford only showed his face to collect his evening meal, and no residents from The Unknown came up on the lift. All in all, it was a good (and much needed) day of relaxation after all of the supernatural goings on recently, as well as the attack from Ford.

Of course, Dipper had taken Wirt aside to talk to him about it, making sure that Wirt still felt safe and assuring him that it would by no means happen again. In turn, Wirt responded that he still felt completely safe, and that Dipper should really be more worried for his uncle than he was for himself. The Beast and Enoch didn't make hollow threats. His only slight fear was for Greg, but seeing that he was completely human he assumed that the older man would be fine with him.

What he hadn't been expecting was for Stan to do the same. The man had caught him in the hallway, nodding to the side to gesture that he wanted to talk.
"Listen kid, I get that you have some stuff going on with... whatever it is that's going in with you." He waved his hands at the notion of coming up with a better way to put it. "But if my brother tries to do ANYTHING to you, or your brother, you come straight to me. Not Dipper, not Mabel, me. I'll sort it all out. You're part of the family now." He finished, and Wirt only managed to get in a surprised nod before Stan wandered off and acted as if nothing had happened. It was a surprising display of kindness from the man; so far Wirt had seen little of Stan's kind heart. It was a pleasant surprise, but he had no intention of moving out of the Mystery Shack.
No intention at all.

It was three in the morning by the next time that Wirt saw the scientist come up. The tall boy had headed downstairs for a glass of water, but found himself standing outside and listening to the sounds of the forest. It was calming. It never had been for him before, but he supposed that was just another change. He was getting used to changes in his life.
He was just heading back inside when he heard the hiss of the basement door opening, as he was bathed in the blue light from the vending machine. Wirt tensed, ready to put up his defences at a moment's notice. Ford stood still in the lift for a tick, before sighing and stepping out.
"I'd like to apologise again-" He began, but quickly Wirt interrupted him.
"You're forgiven. I don't want to cause any trouble with your family being so kind to me and Greg." Wirt responded, and there was a beat of awkward silencce.
"So..." Ford began, "You're Dipper's partner? For how long?" He asked, wanting to at least somewhat mend his reputation in the boy's eyes.
Wirt raised an eyebrow. "We've been together for a couple of months. He didn't tell you?" The tall boy asked, a frown playing on his lips.
Stanford simply waved a hand. "No, but I've been at sea for a while. There wasn't really a way to contact me." He responded with a shrug.

There was another moment of quiet, no more comfortable than the last. This time, Wirt broke it with a sentence that surprised Ford.
"I'm going to guess you have questions about what I am?"
He asked, a small smile on his lips when Ford got a surprised expression on his face. "I assumed you would. I've heard that Dipper gets his curiosity from you."
That was most certainly true, if Ford's eager expression had any bearing. He quickly covered it with a veil of seriousness as he began to spout out questions.

"First off: What did you do to the portal. Why are there branches all over it, and why do all of the tests I perform have wildly different results?!" He demanded, and Wirt sighed. He'd forgotten that Ford wouldn't be as kind with his questioning as his boyfriend was.
"They're edelwood branches. They're from The Unknown." He answered calmly. The older man nodded, even though Wirt could almost guarantee that that didn't answer any of those questions properly.
"I see. In that case- what is The Unknown? What are you, and that thing that attacked me-" Wirt scoffed, and Standord hastily changed his words, "defended you earlier."
Wirt toom a breath as his body shifted into it's shadowy form, growing taller to loom over the man as his skin was cloaked in shadows.

"In order: The Unknown is a sort of limbo. Some people go there when they die. That's what happened when I got hit by that car that I talked about, and when me and my brother fell in a freezing lake." He explained, not wanting to go into much more detail about his trips into the dimension. "As for what I am; I'm a human. Born on the East coast. I've only been like this," he gestured to his shade covered body, "for a grand total of six days over here. The things that attacked you were technically some kind of death gods I think. The one who looked like I do was The Beast. He used to have to burn human souls in his lantern to live, but he doesn't anymore. The cat was Enoch. He doesn't normally go about like that, but his other body can't fit into the elavator."

That seemed to be a sufficient explanation for Ford, and just as Wirt was going to head back upstairs, the man said one last thing.
"Final question. Why are black tortoises bringing me death threats." He asked, and Wirt raised an eyebrow. Fishing about in pocket, Ford pulled out a handful of papers, giving them over to Wirt. There was a wide range of handwriting.

'Touch those boys and I'll chop of your tongue.' That sounded similar to The Woodsman, and the doodle of an axe at the bottom suggested that his daughter, Anna, had agreed.
'If you step foot near the Turtles I'll unleash three types of spirit upon you.' Lorna, obviously. She'd started capturing spirits recently.
'Attacking a pilgrim is bad luck.' Most likely the Tavernkeeper.
Finally, there was a hastily scrawled note.
'I swear to god you wrinkly old bum, if you even look at those boys I'll pull out your tendons.' It was grim, but that was to be expected from Beatrice. He wondered if Auntie Whispers had watched her write it.
Nonetheless, it earned a small laugh from Wirt. "They're from my friends. Don't worry about it." He handed the notes back to Ford, before turning to head upstairs as he shifted back to his normal form. "Good night Mr Pines." He replied with a wave, and Ford gave him a nod.
"Good night young man."

Chapter Text

Morning came quickly to Dipper, who woke up surprisingly early for himself. Normally he was the type to sleep in until late in the morning, but for some reason he managed to wake up at seven that day. He quickly headed downstairs into the kitchen, where he found his boyfriend pacing and talking to someone; apparently the black turtle that was sitting on the counter. Noticing the look of worry, Dipper sidled over to Wirt, draping his arms over the taller boy's shoulders.
"Something wrong?" He asked quietly as Wirt stopped talking to the turtle, looking half sideways to try and look at Dipper.
"It's-" Wirt began, trying to think of how to explain, "Beatrice and Lorna can't come." Before Dipper could try to interject with a solution, Wirt continued, "and Greg was really excited to see them again, and I really wanted to introduce you to Lorna, but now Whispers is ill and they need to take care of her and-" As he continued to speak, his eyes began to water.
Dipper quickly swooped in, spinning around him and cupping his cheeks.
"Hey. You're worrying about this too much." He reassured, rubbing his thumb over Wirt's cheek. "Why don't we just go to them?" Dipper suggested. In all honesty, he had been thinking about a trip to the other dimension ever since he had first learnt about it. Now he had the perfect excuse, and he got to make Wirt and Greg happy while doing it. Really a win-win.
Eyes lighting up, Wirt's expression of worry shifted to one of excitement as he thought over the possibility.
"That's- It's perfect!" He exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief as he rested his forehead against Dipper's. "What did I do to deserve you?"

Before Dipper got the chance to come up with an equally sappy remark, he felt a tug on his t-shirt. Looking down, both boys were surprised to see Greg looking up at them. "Are we going to The Unknown?" He asked eagerly, expectantly glancing between the two boys. Upon closer inspection, Dipper noticed Mabel looking on from the doorframe.
He glanced over to Wirt, who had a beaming smile on his face as he nodded.
"Yes Greg, we're going to The Unknown."

The next half an hour was a rush as Dipper, Wirt, Mabel and Greg raced around the shack to get what supplies they would need. Even starting at Pottsfield, where the portal exited to, it was still at least a few day journey to reach where Lorna and Beatrice were staying with Whispers. Because of that, Wirt had informed them that they would need to bring some camping supplies.
After quizzing the grunkles (and explaining where they were headed to) on the whereabouts of the tents and other supplies, they were ready to go.

Light filled the room as the portal powered up, edelwood branches writhing around it's frame. Stepping forward, Wirt offered his hand to Dipper, leading the group through. Greg followed eagerly after him, dragging Mabel with a surprisingly strong grasp for a child his age. Each saw a blinding flash of light as they stepped into the portal, quickly finding themselves disoriented.

Opening his eyes, Dipper found himself staring up into a canopy of orange leaves, lying on top of a patch of soft grass. Getting to his feet, he spotted Wirt helping out his brother, eyes aglow and antlers exposed. Looking around, he managed to make out a few wooden figures looking at them from within the multitude of houses around them. Mable quickly appeared beside him, trademark grin on her face as she began shaking him by the arm.
"Brobro! We're in another dimension!" She exclaimed, earning a chuckle frim her brother as he spotted The Beast and Enoch's maypole body approaching them, the latter having to stoop to fit beneath the trees that surrounded them on all sides.
"Good day to you all!" Enoch cried happily, reaching out a tendril to scruff up Greg's hair. The Beast exchanged a nod with Wirt and Dipper as Mabel rushed over to him.
"Hello Mr Beast, me and Greg made you something!" She explained gleefully, shrugging off her backpack and retrieving a long sweater from within it. After glancing around to the others present, most of which were looking at him expectantly, he let out a sigh and put it on.

It fit near-perfectly, as Mabel's sweaters always did. It was a navy blue, with snowflake patterns in certain places. Almost immediately, both he, Mabel and Greg were swept into a hug by Enoch, who was obviously making the most of being able to interact with them while in his maypole form.
"It looks positively dashing, my dears, as does my Beastie while wearing it." Enoch joyfully said, and Dipper managed to catch Wirt fake gagging from the corner of his eye.
"Must you always embarass me infront of guests." The Beast grumbled, and Enoch's patchwork smile only grew.
"It is my obligation as mayor. And besides, they are family now." He explained smugly, leading to an eye roll from The Beast.

Wirt was the next to speak, deciding he should probably explain what they were doing there. "I was planning on introducing the Pines' to Lorna, can we borrow a couple of coins for the ferry?" He asked, shooting a look towards Greg when he got a mischievous look on his face.

Before they knew it, even more supplies were being shovelled into their hands, most of which Wirt carried. As well as the two cents needed for the frog ferry later on, there was a small amount of extra gold, much more food than they would ever need, and a few bundles that The Beast had said were for Auntie Whispers. Wirt had taken them dutifully with a nod, and with the promise that they would be back for a tour or a feast later on, they were on their way out and into The Unknown.

Chapter Text

From their first step out into the forest, Dipper was enthralled with The Unknown. Of course, he had seen forests before; he lived in the dead centre of one for God's sake. However, the vast array of colours that scattered about the leaves were awe-inspiring to him, so used to seeing the coniferous forests of Oregon. Especially considering it was still Summer in their world ( They really should think of a name for it while in reference to The Unknown at some point ), it proved exceptionally interesting to him, despite the lack of outright weirdness that he had been expecting. Once they were out of Pottsfield, it felt like a normal, if very beautiful, forest.

It took no time at all for Greg and Mabel to speed ahead of Dipper and his boyfriend, deciding to make the most of the heaps of fallen leaves and mess around in them. They had plenty of time to enjoy themselves, after all. The hat-wearing boy hung back, content to watch the relaxed smile on Wirt's face as they moved. He rarely got so see his boyfriend so relaxed, especially considering recent events. It was rare in Dipper's experience for him to be truly relaxed, always worrying over Greg, especially if they were out in the forest. Dipper paled at the thought of how many times he he had brought the two out into the woods to help search for some sort of creature. It was something he'd have to apologise for later. Putting the thought out of his mind, a soft smile tugged at his lips when Wirt warned the others not to wander off and get lost, only for Greg to turn around and say that he sounded like the Woodsman. Mabel thoroughly encouraged this, blowing a raspberry for effect. That made Wirt start to laugh, although he quickly tried to hold it in. That only led to a snort, and oh god, Dipper had almost forgotten how adorable his boyfriend was. With all of the chaos of everything that had been going on recently, it was brilliant to have a chance to unwind and simply walk.

By the time that they reached anywhere notable, the group had already been walking for at least a couple of hours, although the time slipped by so quickly they barely noticed the fact that the once-bright sun had begun to set. As dusk began to take hold, the trees began to part into a clearing, a small building rested in the centre of it. The paint on its wooden walls was faded but still relatively in tact. Greg gasped, running off towards the building. Wirt reached out to stop him, but quickly changed his mind; there was nothing there that was dangerous, and he wanted to at least give Greg a little independence.
"Dipper!" Mabel shouted, a faked tremor of a fear in her voice, "Did your boyfriend... take us to... a school?!" She cried in mock horror, shaking her brother who only laughed at her reaction. Wirt shot her an apologetic glance, "It's the only place for miles with a four walls and a roof." Wirt explained, rubbing the back of his neck idly, "It was sort of the only option."
Mabel begrudgingly accepted, following Greg inside while asking about something fun to do. They quickly started talking about ball games and old cats, running off towards the stream, their distaste at the fact they were at a school apparently forgotten. Spotting that their siblings were sufficiently distracted, Dipper and Wirt began to make their way into the building and set up for the evening.

The schoolhouse had changed both a lot since Wirt and Greg's first trip into The Unknown, but it had also remained largely stagnant. The rooms were all exactly as they had been, writing still on the chalkboard, desks neatly arranged. The beds were lined up and well made, tables lined with cutlery. Even the piano looked practically the same. However, a fine coating of dust indicated the disuse of all that was within the building, pillows were moth-eaten and the instruments were dreadfully out of tune.
"I know we have tents," Wirt spoke as they entered the dormitory, "But we'll have plenty of time for camping later, right? If the option for a roof is here, why not take it." He explained, shrugging off the rucksack that he had brought onto the ground beside the piano.
"Sounds fine to me." Dipper responded, doing similarly to Wirt with his own bag. They were both quite large, filled with all of the equipment they would need for their days long journey to Auntie Whisper's house and back, and plenty extra that The Beast and Enoch had insisted upon them taking. He raised an eyebrow as Wirt began unpacking sleeping bag. Spotting his boyfriend's confusion, Wirt explained himself. "I'm pretty sure that some of the mattresses have bedbugs. Better safe than sorry." A small smile tugged at Dipper's face as he began to do the same, helping Wirt to shift the bed frames out of the way and make space.

The two remained in comfortable silence for a few seconds, before Greg entered the room. He was followed closely by Mabel, who still had a smile plastered on her face. Both appeared physically exhausted; they had evidently tuckered themselves out while playing outside. Apparently Mabel had gotten over the idea of being at a school relatively quickly.
"We're gonna hit the hay." Mabel started, as Greg began to shuffle his way into his sleeping bag, doing his best not to yawn. He failed. "So if you two want to do your mushy couple stuff, go outside." She was quickly followed up by a mumbled "yeah!" In an exceptionally tired voice from Greg's sleeping bag. It appeared that the busy day had worn him out slightly.

Wirt chuckled slightly and relented. "Alright, alright. Good night Greg, I'll see you in the morning." He placed a soft kiss on his brother's forehead, before heading over to the doorway. "Night Mabel!" Dipper called, following his boyfriend out.
"Night bro!"

The sun had set quite a while ago now, and the moon was high up in the sky. Stars glimmered in the sky and the soft sound of chirping crickets and rustling leaves was all around. Wirt stood a few steps outside of the door to the school, looking up at the stars. Despite it still being Summer in the real world, the boys' breath was visible in the air. It was late Autumn in The Unknown, apparently.
Dipper walked over to Wirt, leaning against him and taking his hand.
"Are you liking The Unknown so far?" Wirt asked, looking down to the boy resting on his shoulder.
"Mhm." Dipper mumbled in return, "It's different, but nice. I like being able to relax with you and the others." He admitted, "What's the plan for tomorrow?"
"First we can get breakfast at The Dark Lantern, then we can call in with Endicott, and head on to the frog ferry." Wirt explained, a soft smile on his lips.

A gust of frigid wind blew threw the clearing, but Dipper didn't feel it, nestled so close to his boyfriend.
"Alright, sounds good." He replied with a yawn, leading to a small laugh from Wirt.
"You're tired. Go get some sleep, I'll be in soon."
Dipper nodded, turning to head in before pausing. He spun around, planting a kiss on Wirt's lips before darting back in. It was quick, and he had no idea why he had done it, but the way his heart fluttered was worth it. Wirt stood there, shocked expression on his face as his cheeks blazed red. His eyes turned white temporarily, shimmering pink circles within, before he regained his composure.

He'd have to get his own back later on in the trip.