He hadn't planned it from the start. He didn't even realize it was happening until she said with all the words, slightly shy but still arrogant enough in a way that assured to him that this wasn't a strange hallucination, in a way that just screamed Pacifica: "This time, I'll go with you".
Of course, it wasn't a question.
In retrospect, Dipper probably shouldn't have been as surprised as he was. Since that little incident at the Northwest Mansion, they had been on… friendly terms, he guessed. Or as friendly as Pacifica can be.
They met again a few times after that day, at random, usually somewhere in the town. Their encounters had been both casual and awkward, if that's possible, but he thought it was only natural. This friendship, newfound respect, or whatever this is, was new for both of them.
Pacifica had been a lot to the town, lately, and unsupervised. He wondered if it had something to to with her parents (he knew it had), but she never mentioned it so he never mentioned it, either.
What she did mention, and more than once, was his book. It's funny, but Pacifica seems to share an interest in mysteries and adventures similar to Dipper's. Maybe the Northwest Mansion incident gave her a taste for it, or maybe she always had it in her, somewhere.
Dipper liked when she talked about that. It was a subject he felt comfortable with, and it made their brief encounters less awkward.
After some time, she started going to the Shack. Briefly, at first, only looking over some of the fake objects with disbelief but claiming that was the only reason she was there. But then, Mabel managed to make her stay a little longer, and to have actual conversations with her.
This is so typically Mabel. His twin sister had always been more accepting of Pacifica than him, and she had more reasons to resent her than he did. Dipper secretly admired her positivity and forgiving behavior.
She started to hang out with them, ocasionally, though still claiming she was only there because she had nothing better to do.
In a relatively short amount of time, having Pacifica around him stopped being a nuisance, stopped being so awkward and weird, and instead, it became another type of weird. A somewhat pleasing type of weird, one that reminded him a bit of how it was with Wendy, some time ago.
But only superficially. Really, it wasn't like it was with Wendy. He didn't stay up at night just thinking about her (he did spare some thoughts for her before going to bed). He didn't blush around her (only one time where Mabel made a particularly naughty innuendo, but that meant nothing), he didn't plan what to say to her(although he actually captured a creature that appears on the book after she expressed interest in it just to learn more of it, but that was because it was indeed an interesting creature).
He tried not to think about it too much, though. It was only his mind wandering into dangerous places. He was already having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that he was starting to enjoy Pacifica's company (something he never thought possible before), he didn't need more to worry him.
Dipper was enjoying their… whatever they had now, and it seemed like it was the same for Pacifica. For once, he didn't feel the need to overthink and overplan anything; he liked the naturality of it all.
Natural…
It all progressed so naturally that he didn't even notice that, yes, Pacifica now had enough intimacy with them to ask to tag along in a case with him. No pretense, no Mabel around. Just them. Just because she actually wanted to go with him.
He still wasn't sure what he felt about this, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't bad.
A/N: A short fanfic to this pairing! I really needed to get some of them out of my system. As usual, there's no direct romance in it, but mostly because I think it's a little early for that. Also because I love slow burn relationships.
Thank you for reading!