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There are small things that make up Pacifica Northwest. They're simple ones, things you wouldn't really see until you were looking close enough. Small imperfections here and there, only to be seen by those who were looking carefully; imperfections that are hidden and locked away.
But Dipper notices them. He finds them and loves them, even though he knows she would be against it. But he'd told her before, and he's willing to tell her again—being a Northwest doesn't mean she has to be perfect. Everyone has little flaws, sometimes barely visible, but they're there.
And right now, Dipper Pines finds another of her flaws.
The only difference?
He doesn't see until he finds Pacifica lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a blank expression.
"Pacifica?" he asks, stepping through the door. She seems to not have heard him, and Dipper realizes that when she doesn't reply. He tries again, "Pacifica?"
This time she hears it, her head snapping to the left, looking straight at him. Her eyes widen for a fraction of a second before her lips widened into a tiny smile.
She sits up, "Hi." Her voice sounds quiet, almost shy. It wasn't the first time Dipper had found her in his room; Mabel lets her into the apartment all the time. Ever since Dipper had (begrudgingly, he'd like to add, the teacher had asked him to) helped Pacifica out in kindergarten, the two have been best friends.
Now they were eighteen and they were still best friends.
"Hey," he replies as he sits next to her, the bed shifting as he adds his weight onto it. "Shouldn't you be at—"
"I ditched," she interrupts before he can say the words. "You know how I much I hate going to that stupid club."
"And yet you joined it anyway," Dipper adds, earning a punch to the shoulder. He remembers the day Pacifica had been stressing whether or not she should join the cheerleading squad to please her parents. "Remind me why you're here again?"
"I haven't told you," she says, lifting her legs and hugging them to her chest. "It's stupid, really."
"Come on," he stands up to fix his position on the bed, crossing her legs and facing her direction. She follows his lead, crosses her legs, and sits across him, face-to-face. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
She hesitates and bites her lip, refusing to meet his eyes. Behind her, Dipper can see that the sun has fully set through the window. The room is dark, with only their breathing to be heard.
"Lauren…" she trails, "she made fun of me again today."
Dipper sits in silence, a little confused. If anything, Pacifica never lets herself be made fun of. She'll always have a comeback—at least that's what Dipper thought.
"Must be pretty big if you're letting it get to you," he muses, raising an eyebrow. "What was it about?"
It takes a shaky breath and a moment of silence before she replies. "You."
Dipper moves back, just a little, out of surprise. "W-what?" he stammers. Sure, they're friends, but—
"Stupid, right?" asks Pacifica, breaking the silence. "I mean, I know I shouldn't let this get to me since it isn't about me, but for some reason, I do?"
"Who knew you actually had feelings," Dipper mutters, eating a shove from Pacifica. He laughs lightly, grinning. "Aww, Paz, I never knew you cared about me."
"Shut up, Pines," she says, but he can see her blushing, even in the dark. His stomach flips over at the sight of it. It's a relief to know he's not the only one that cares.
"What did she say?" he asks, shifting position so that his head is resting on her lap.
"Hm?" she hums, eyes glazed and staring ahead at the wall, looking a little distracted.
Dipper taps on her chin to catch her attention. "Lauren. What did she say about me?"
She frowns slightly at the mention of the name. "Oh, you know. The usual stuff. How you're a dork and I shouldn't be hanging out with you 'cause if I did, I would be so much cooler."
He frowns at the explanation. Well, there were times he did feel like he was a burden to her with all his mystery paranoia.
"Well, I, for one, think she's wrong," he says as Pacifica's head snaps down to look at him. He continues, "You are cool. They're just jealous that you hang out with me instead of them. Because, let's be truthful, who wouldn't want to hang out with the great Pacifica Northwest?"
She kisses his forehead, and Dipper's glad that it's almost pitch black in the room so she doesn't see how red his face is.
"You're such a dork," she says, her fingers messing with his hair.
"But I'm your dork!" he exclaims, grinning. "If I remember correctly, you're the one who asked to be my friend."
Pacifica blushes again and Dipper's heart almost lurches out of his body. He made Pacifica blush.
"That aside, it's good to know you care about me, Paz. I almost thought that this friendship of ours was one-sided," he jokes as he tries to slow down his heartbeat.
(It's not working.)
(Dammit, why isn't it working?)
"As much as it's surprising, you know I care, Pines," she says, her voice so quiet, he would've missed it if he wasn't so near her. Her eyes won't meet him as she focuses on fumbling her fingers in his hair. "You know that, right?"
He sits up and faces her. She's still not looking at him when he does. It's something he's never done before but he touched her chin and makes her face him. "I know, and I care about you too. Even though I might not seem like I do."
She smiles at him, and it's a real, genuine smile. Pacifica wraps her arms around his neck, and the only thing Dipper can do is hope to whoever's out there that she can't feel how fast his heart is beating.
Because it turns out, one of her flaws?
It's him.
(And she's his too.)