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"What were you thinking?!"
Tyrone and Dipper had just gotten home from school. Tyrone led, carrying both his and his brother's backpacks. Dipper was a few steps behind, limping. Tyrone unceremoniously dumped the bags on the floor and turned to face Dipper. Dipper's shirt was torn in several places with scrapes and cuts plainly visible through the tears. As bad as that was, his face was even worse. More cuts and scrapes marred his face ornamented by bits of dirt, his nose was bleeding, and a nasty bruise was beginning to form under his left eye. Dipper simply stood there sulking.
"Why the hell would you pick a fight with Billy Pescadero?" Tyrone demanded.
Dipper tried to wipe away some of the dirt with the heel of his hand, but that only spread it around. "He started it."
"What'd he do, tell you Bigfoot wasn't real?"
Dipper hesitated for a moment before simply shaking his head. Tyrone noted the pause, but simply sighed. He was just glad it was just the two of them at home right now. Mabel had rehearsal after school and both their parents were at work. If Mabel had been there for the fight, he had no idea how she would have reacted. Probably would have launched herself at Billy, too, thought Tyrone, or at least tried to. Their mom was going to shit a brick when she saw Dipper's face. Their dad, though, would decide how to respond once he found out who provoked whom.
"Alright, come on," Tyrone said, "I'll get you some first aid." He kept pace with his brother, who despite his best efforts couldn't hide that he was wincing with every other step. Ty, likewise, couldn't keep from letting the sight affect him.
Dipper saw the concern etched on his brother's face. "I can make it there on my own. Go on ahead and get stuff ready."
"You sure?"
"It'll save time. Go on."
Reluctantly, Tyrone went on ahead to the bathroom. From the medicine cabinet, he grabbed the first aid kit, some cotton balls, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Turning the hot water faucet on, he grabbed a clean washcloth from the closet.
By then, Dipper had limped into the room. Tyrone gestured to the rim of the tub, "Sit down."
Dipper couldn't stifle the sigh of relief as he took the weight off his legs. With a stern look, Tyrone took stock of his brother's appearance and attire.
"Arms up." Dipper just sat there. "Arms up; your shirt is a mess. You'll just get your face dirty again later if we don't take it off now."
He couldn't argue the logic, so with a shrug Dipper did as directed. Tyrone reached down and carefully peeled off Dipper's shirt, careful not to bump or chafe his wounds. Casting it away, Tyrone took another look at his now shirtless brother. The face was still the worst for wear. Tyrone hoped there wouldn't be any scarring. He was so used to them looking the same, he couldn't imagine them looking even the slightest bit different. At least, that was the reason he could say out loud. His eyes moved downward, assessing Dipper's torso. Luckily, they all appeared to be shallow enough. Tyrone's eyes drifted a little more southward and noticed his brother's "happy trail."
Before his thoughts could get away from himself, he jolted himself back to reality. Dipper, however, noticed where his brother's eyes had wandered. It gave him pause, but he chalked it up to looking for hidden scrapes and bruises. Ty soaked the washcloth and gently wiped Dipper's face, passing gingerly over his left cheek. "You're gonna have a hell of a shiner."
Dipper just grunted. Well, Tyrone thought, at least he seems to know the trouble he's in. He rinsed the washcloth through and went over Dipper's face once again, getting the last vestiges of caked blood and dirt before moving on to his chest.
As he wiped away the dried blood and dirt, Tyrone felt a stirring inside. No, stop that, he told himself, this is neither an appropriate time nor the appropriate person! He sped up a little, wanting to finish before his body betrayed him in a way he couldn't hide. That done, he took a cotton ball and the alcohol. "Alright, now talk. You said he started it. How?"
Dipper averted his brother's eyes. "He said...something he shouldn't have."
Another pause, Tyrone noticed. "What the hell, Dip? You've never gotten into a fight before! What could he have said that was so bad?"
"It doesn't matter anymore. I took care of it."
"Right," Tyrone said sarcastically. "It's not like Billy Pescadero isn't on the football team or anything. For God's sake, he's at least twice your size!"
"That wasn't the point! I wasn't gonna let him get away with what he said about you." Dipper snapped his mouth shut, realizing he had said too much.
"About me? What did he say?"
"Don't worry abou--AAAGGGHHH!!!" Dipper felt a sharp sting as his brother jabbed a cotton ball of rubbing alcohol on one of the nastier looking cuts.
"Talk!"
"No!"
"Why won't you tell me? What was so bad that you can't tell me?" Tyrone practically screamed.
Dipper couldn't take anymore. Between the pain of the alcohol and Tyrone's insistent questioning, he couldn't hold it in. Clenching his eyes shut he blurted, "Because he called you a faggot!"
Tyrone just stood there, in shock. "He...called me...what?"
"I'm not going to say that word again, but yes, he said it. He said...that he caught you eyeing him in the showers after gym class last week."
That was a bald faced lie, Tyrone knew. He wouldn't be caught dead giving that lunkhead anything but death stares. A few of the other guys in the class, though... Oh, crap! Tyrone thought. I thought I was being careful not to stare! Tears began to well in his eyes.
Dipper saw his brother's reaction, and realized this struck a bigger nerve that he had thought. He placed his hand on his brother's arm. "Hey," he said gently, "what's wrong?"
Tyrone slowly looked at his brother, afraid of what he would see. When he saw only genuine concern on Dipper's face, he sank down onto the rim next to him, eyes downcast.
"Dipper, I..." The words caught in his throat.
"Is what he said true?"
Tyrone shook his head. "No," he managed to say. "I never looked at Billy Pescadero like that."
"Then why this reaction?"
"Because..." He forced himself to say the words. "I have looked at a few of the other guys in gym class." He held back mentioning that one of those other guys happened to be the one sitting next to him. "I always tried to be subtle, but I guess I wasn't subtle enough. Billy must have spotted me."
Dipper let the words sink in. "So, you're gay?"
Tyrone shook his head. "I don't think so. There are a few girls I like, too." Again, he neglected to mention that one of those girls had a room next to theirs.
Tyrone stared at his shoes, afraid to look his brother in the eye. He dreaded how Dipper would react now that he knew. All manner of terrible scenarios ran through his head at once, from Dipper flipping the metaphorical table and demanding his own room to simply leaving in silence, which somehow seemed much, much worse.
What did happen took him completely by surprise. Dipper's hand came gently down on his far shoulder and tugged him close. "So what? Big deal. Even if I had known, I'd still have gotten in that fight. No one speaks badly about my siblings and gets away with it. You're my brother; that's all that matters."
He couldn't believe his ears. He accepted him. No question. The relief was too much to bear. Tears all but poured out as he clutched his brother in a bear hug, burying his face in Dipper's bare shoulder. Dipper wrapped his free arm around Tyrone. "Let it all out."
They sat there, holding each other, for a few minutes before Tyrone's tears subsided. Once he had calmed back down, he wiped the tears from both his face and Dipper's shoulder. He looked at his brother and smiled, "Thanks, Dip."
"Anytime, Ty," Dipper said, returning the smile. "I just want you to be happy and honest with yourself."
Honest with myself? he thought, looking into his brother's face and feeling the urge to kiss him. Would he really say that if he knew how I felt about him and Mabel? He wondered...
Before he could think further on the subject, the sound of the front door slamming jolted them both. "DIPPER? TYRONE?" Mabel's voice called, ”WHAT'S THIS ABOUT A FIGHT AT SCHOOL?"
Tyrone stood. "We're in here!" he called, "I'll be right out!" He handed the alcohol and cotton to Dipper. "I'll go talk to her."
"You sure? What are you gonna tell her?"
"The truth. I'm gonna be honest with myself." As he said the words, they seemed to galvanize him. "Starting now." And with that, he bent down and pressed his lips to Dipper's before exiting.
After Tyrone had left the room, Dipper sat there as he processed what had just happened. I was just kissed...by Tyrone...my first kiss...was with my brother... On one hand, he was a little upset. Though he'd never admit to it, he secretly wanted his first kiss to be with Mabel. On the other hand, though, Dipper had to admit that it felt really nice. And he knew he'd be lying if he'd never snuck a look at Tyrone as they changed clothes. He just always assumed it was simple curiosity, being identical and all. Now it was his turn to wonder...