Chapter Text
Dipper felt the relentless rumble of the bus as it drove Mabel and him back to Gravity falls. He held the letter he’d gotten his last time tightly in his grasp. Ten years. That was way longer than everybody predicted he’d be gone. Mabel had gone every year she got the chance, but Dipper could never bring himself to come back until now. He’d pack his bags every time, but then he’d chicken out as nightmares plagued his mind the weeks before.
Dipper drew a breath as he watched the trees speed by, growing denser. He almost didn’t come this time, but Mabel convinced him by telling him how much everybody missed him. Stan and Ford came by Piedmont whenever they had time between monster hunting, but Dipper was usually in his room. Something in him was keeping him away from anything that was once involved with Gravity Falls. Heck, he found himself avoiding Mabel some days.
Mabel stirred in the seat across from Dipper. She sat up and stretched as she glanced out the window. Her face lit up as they passed the Welcome to Gravity Falls sign, she excitedly stated, “Dipper, we’re almost there!”
Seeing the sign, Dipper felt dread sink in his stomach, but he forced his expression to stay light . “Great,” he replied, “can’t wait to see everybody.” He shifted to look at his feet, keeping his voice steady as he reminded himself he was an adult now, he could book tickets back home whenever he needed to. Rubbing his eyes, he thought to himself, “why didn’t I just take my car?”
Mabel tilted her head, her long braided hair making an appearance from behind her back. “What’s wrong, Dippin’ Dots?” she questioned. “I thought you wanted to see everybody again. You don’t have to go into the woods, or even stay the whole summer. I know how you can get… twitchy.”
“I don’t get twitchy!” Dipper looked back at Mabel. “I just… gah!” He leaned back in his seat. “I don’t need to justify myself.”
Mabel gave her brother a worried look before she started getting her stuff together. Waddles was in a securely strapped box, sleeping through the ride he’d been on so many times by now. “I know you don’t,” she replied. Snapping her tone back to something more lighthearted she said, “anyway, who do you think you’ll see first? Ooh! Soos’s run at being the boss at the Mystery Shack has been amazing, but Abuela took our old room, so we’ll be renting out a motel. Good thing nobody comes to Gravity Falls often, the one I’ve picked out is dirt cheap and pretty good.”
With a nod, Dipper put his duffel bag over his shoulder and readjusted the hat on his head. He has Wendy’s in his bag, the thing had been taunting him since that first summer he didn’t come back. He intended to return it.
The bus came to a stop and Mabel excitedly got up. Picking up Waddles in both arms, she had everything she needed for the visit in two huge backpacks, one on each arm. She once told Dipper that Waddles’s little legs couldn’t make it down the stairs off the bus.
“I’ll never understand why you don’t just drive,” Dipper said as he followed behind Mabel. “Or why you don’t just shove everything in a duffel bag so it’s at least easier to carry Waddles.”
Mabel happily hopped off the bus. “My car’s electric and there’s no changers around here,” she said, holding Waddles as Dipper departed and the bus soon left the station.
“Right,” Dipper uttered, being reminded of just how isolated this place was from everywhere else. Rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. “So… where’s this motel?”
“This way!” Mabel announced as she put Waddles down and started running, Waddles loyally following after her. “Last one there’s a rotten egg!” she announced once she had a head start.
With a sigh, Dipped followed. He wasn’t in a mood to chase Mabel at full speed today, he was still wrestling with the dread in his gut. Once he reached the tiny town, he couldn’t help but notice how it looked like it hadn’t changed a day since summer 2013. He half-expected a younger version of himself and Mabel to run past and to see all his old friends still teenagers breaking rules, but instead he was met with faces he couldn’t quite recognize. Sure, he could make out a few people, but some looked completely unrecognizable.
Dipper had to stagger to a stop as he’d bumped into somebody. Taking a few steps back, Dipper quickly said, “sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“Well, I’ll say you didn't!” A person with a mildly southern accent said, annoyed. They paused for a moment before continuing, “well I’ll be, if it ain’t Dipper Pines! It’s been a good few years hasn’t it?”
Dipper looked down, his brow furrowing as he recognized that accent, even if the voice deepened. “Gideon?”
Low and behold, it was Gideon, his white hair now reasonably cut and his clothing choices still reminiscent of a person trying to be normal after who knows how long of being a spoiled kid with a magic pendant. “The one and only,” Gideon replied. “Now, tell me-” he pulled Dipper down to his level by putting his arm around Dipper’s shoulder, “what brings you back ‘round these parts? Though, I could also ask what’s been keeping you away?”
Chuckling anxiously, Dipper slowly unwrapped himself from Gideon. “Oh, you know… school. I- I’ve been very busy with school.” His grip was tight on his duffel bag as his gaze was trained on his own blue shoes.
Gideon gave Dipper a long suspicious look. “At thirteen?”
“Yes?”
Gideon’s look remained for a few moments longer before it lightened. “Oh, Dipper Pines, you and your studiousness!” He giggled and hit Dipper in the arm. “I should’ve expected nothing less from you.”
Dipper rubbed his arm and continued his anxious chuckle as he glanced for the pink of Mabel’s sweater. “Well, I’ll be seeing you around!” Gideon said before he continued walking.
“Yeah, you too.” Dipper managed to mumble before he saw Mabel excitedly hopping next to a building Dipper somehow hadn’t noticed his first summer there. She yelled something to Dipper before making a grand gesture for him to get over there. He let out a thankful breath as he jogged over.
“I win! I win! You’re the rotten egg!” Mabel announced, pointing at Dipper. She was moving so much her braid was bouncing like crazy. Waddles was sitting down, seemingly making similar brags through his oinks.
Nodding, Dipper stepped to the door which Mabel excitedly unlocked and ran in with Waddles. The motel was basically just two beds, a bathroom, and a minifridge, but he couldn’t complain, he couldn’t find a speck of mold or a stray splinter. “This’ll do,” he murmured as he put his duffel bag beside a bed and laid down, his dread giving him a mild headache.
Mabel threw her backpacks onto the bed and plopped onto the bed, holding Waddles in her lap. “What do you want to do first, Dipper?” she asked. “I heard Greasy’s diner upgraded their appliances.”
Dipper put a hand over his eyes. This town was so small the diner getting some upgrades was something worth mentioning. “I want a nap,” he said. “Something about being out here is giving me a headache.”
“Probably the pollen.” Mabel shifted a bit so Waddles wasn’t cutting off circulation to her legs. “There’s so much more plant life here. It’s great!” Dipper could never understand how Mabel was always so shocked at how luscious this place’s plant life was. “But if you need a nap, Waddles and I are going to visit Pacifica.” She put Waddles down and headed to the door. “I’ll see you later, Dipper,” she said before she and Waddles left.
Removing his hand, Dipper stared at the ceiling. “What is wrong with you?” he asked himself. “This shouldn’t be so hard. Bill is defeated, Stan and Ford will be along tomorrow, and I don’t even have to interact with the supernatural if I don’t want to.” He sat up and rubbed his temples. “It’ll never be that easy. Everything is too similar for me to separate the times. Maybe Mabel was right, if I’d come all those other times this would’ve been easier. Everything would’ve been similar but I’d learn to spot the differences and grow up with my friends.”
Dipper leaned down and rummaged through his duffel bag, looking for Wendy’s hat. “I just need to start. It’ll get easier. It won’t stay hard.” Once he found the hat he rubbed his fingers against the soft interior. “And my first step will be seeing Wendy again. I’m sure she has a whole boatload of new things going on in her life, and I… I’ve got a high GPA?.. A life sucking job after a soul crushing four-year college course?”
He stood and made his way into the cramped bathroom, looking at his already exhausted expression and unbrushed hair. “When did you grow up, Mason Pines?” he muttered as he splashed some cold water on his face. He looked up for a towel when he caught a glimpse of a golden yellow triangle, causing him to shout and press himself against the opposite wall, though once he got the water out of his eyes he realized it was just what the towel was supposed to hang off of.
“Idiot,” Dipper said to himself as he walked back into the main room and started looking through Mabel’s things, he hadn't thought to bring a towel. Quickly, he realized Mabel didn’t think to pack one either. Making a pact with himself to buy some towels when he went to the store, Dipper grabbed a jacket he brought and wiped his face off.
Standing back to his full height, Dipper stared out the window for a moment, catching a glimpse of gnomes which made his gut twitch. “I shouldn’t have agreed to this,” he said, sitting back down and wondering how long he would have to stay in order for his visit to be considered acceptable. “At least until after I see Grunkle Stan and Ford, then I need to see Wendy and Soos.”