His eyes were still full of sleep, so he rubbed them for the umpteenth time and stretched his tall frame. He bent over the bike rechecked the bags and tightened the straps. His rucksack was large but sat well balanced on the back of the motorcycle and the bungee cords that held it were new. A short walk to the motel office and he threw the key into the night-deposit box. The lights were still out at 5:30am, too early for the owners. Before he returned to the bike, he observed the heavy clouds; they moved fast and the weatherman promised a clearing later in the day. He said a prayer unconsciously.
He had recently installed an electric starter, and with a click of a button, the engine roared to life. A short moment for it to warm up and he was off. The Oregon Trail stretched out before him, forests, grasslands, lakes; all held a promise of an adventure same as when he was a child. Last time he came through here was in a bus and he was twelve. Time changes all things and ten years changed this boy into a man.
The sign said fifty, but he opened up the throttle and let the bike devour the miles of tight curves and glorious straights. With the wind in his face, his mind was not on the destination but on this free ride through the lush Oregon forest and down memory lane. He was determined to visit Gravity Falls one last time before setting out into the multiverse with Ford.
Yet in the back of his mind was the destination, more to the point was the reason he had come here, it was because of her. The one person he needed to see again, the one person who had become his obsession. He needed to see Wendy.
Some time in the afternoon, a light drizzle caught him in the open and he pulled over to wipe his glasses. The weatherman was wrong and soon a steady rain had begun which made him glad for the waterproofing of his jeans and jacket. He clipped a visor to his helmet and resumed his ride.
The thick tread of his rear tire kept him from skidding and a few hours later the rain finally gave up. Ever since his parents' death, he did not mind the rain. It had an isolating feeling and a promise of a brand new clean world. Maybe even a rainbow.
His mind drifted and so did the bike. He caught himself just in time to avoid a lumber truck hurtling down the road. The splatter almost knocked him off the road and into the bush. He gave the trucker the finger.
Another sign, this one showing ten miles to Gravity Falls. Had he ridden almost a full day on a single cup of lousy motel coffee? Maybe a quick stop at Greasy's Diner was in order. Maybe.
He sighted her at the side of the road pushing her bicycle long before he reached her, and recognized her immediately. That blond hair stood out amongst all the greens and browns of the forest and opened the floodgates to his memories. Pacifica. He debated whether to pass by and continue on his way, but she might be in trouble so he decided to stop.
He passed her and came to a stop a few yards up the road as the gravel on the shoulder crunched under his tires. He got off, replaced the helmet with sunglasses, lit a cigarette, brushed his wet hair back and scratched his beard. Then looked back at her. She had stopped and now glared at him.
He began to approach her. Suddenly she dropped her bicycle and started to back up, readying herself to run.
"Pacifica, what are you doing?" He called out and she froze, turned around to face him and cocked her head to one side. He admired her figure, something he did not remember paying much attention to as a boy.
"Do I know you?" She called back.
"Sure thing blondie, it's me Dipper." She did not respond immediately but he saw the wheels turning. "You remember me, Mable's twin?" He came up to the bicycle and noticed a flat tire. "Need help getting home?" She slowly moved closer but kept a safe distance from him.
"I caught a flat." She pointed to the bike.
"Yeah I can see that. If you want I can give you a ride home." Now that she was closer, he could see she was in a bad shape. All wet, pants torn and knees scrapped with a nasty bruise on her chin. "Hey, I've got a little med-kit in my saddlebag with some antiseptic. Those scrapes look like they could use a little cleaning up." He turned and headed back to his bike.
"No thanks, it's ok I can manage!" She tried to reassure him.
"It's no problem; I keep it right on top of my stuff just in case I need it." He reached his bike and pulled out the med-kit from the saddlebag, a well-worn leather satchel. "Here it is. Now come up and sit on the bike and let me have a look at those knees." He motioned for her to come. She hesitated and looked about for the non-existent traffic. "What is it? You still don't know who I am?"
"Oh I know who you say you are." She asserted. "But you could be lying." He looked at her and smiled. The cigarette was almost finished so he tossed it onto the road, and then lit another one. So much for quitting.
"You don't know who I am, do you? You might remember Dipper but you don't recognize me."
"No…" She whispered.
"Would it help if I told you about our adventures ten years ago? How about that time we saved the manor from the vengeful ghost, or how about that hug you gave me. Remember that?" Pacifica's eyes widened.
"I never gave you a hug!" She stomped her foot hard on the ground and grimaced in pain.
"Yeah you did and you paid me to pretend it didn't happen." Now there was more in her eyes than fury, she was about to burst out laughing.
"Well that was money wasted, obviously you didn't forget." A broad smile brightened her face and she approached him confidently. As she passed him, he caught a scent of champagne and flowers. Something stirred in him.
"Here, have a seat and put your foot on the peg." She sat down and did as he asked. With both knees of her blue jeans torn, he could see bits of gravel in the wounds. "Sorry, but this might hurt a bit." He crouched down, took out a gauze and sprayed it with antiseptic then gently began to wipe the blood and dirt off. She sucked in air and grabbed at the seat. "Does it hurt? Want me to stop?"
"Yes and no. Just finish quickly." She spoke through clenched teeth with her eyes closed. From this angle, he could see that he might have to do the same to her chin. "Are you done?"
"Um no, not yet." He returned to her knees and quickly finished cleaning them. Once complete he placed a large bandage on each and stood up. "I'll need to do the same to your chin."
"Are you sure? I didn't hit it that hard." She was about to rub her chin but he stopped her hand.
"I wouldn't do that, you might get it infected." He held her hand in his and for a moment, their eyes met and held. His heart skipped a beat and suddenly Dipper saw Pacifica in a new light. He let her hand go but his mind still held her. She smiled.
"So are you going to clean my chin too?" She asked.
"Oh yes, of course." He fumbled for more gauze and antiseptic. 'What just happened?' He thought.
He gently pressed the gauze to her chin and watched her purse her face. 'Wow, she looks really cute! Again, what just happened?'
"Ok, I'm done. So are you going to need a ride home or can you call someone?" He asked while placing the med-kit back in his saddlebag.
"Thanks and my phone broke when I fell, so yeah I'll need that ride home." She stayed sitting and watched as he unhooked the second helmet. "Do I need to wear that?" She pointed to his old beat-up spare. "Can I just ride without one? It'll ruin my hair."
"Well, if you value your life, you'll put it on. Also, I don't want to pay a fine just because your hairdo is more important." He wanted to sound lightly sarcastic but by the look on her face, he might have overdone it. "Here, put this on too." He pulled out a thick grey sweater and handed it to her. "You're all wet and will get cold when we start to ride." He'd grabbed this old sweater from Mable's closet. "I think it should fit you."
"Thanks, but does everything you own look like you bought it second-hand?" He deserved that after the hairdo comment.
"Just put it on Princess, you'll thank me later," he said smiling. He tossed the cigarette and made sure the bags were secure. "What do you want to do about your bicycle? You're going to come back for it?" She stood up and slipped the sweater on over her wet light blue shirt, and he noticed it had a pink Lama on it. He smiled.
"Nah, I'll just get a new one." She waved her hand at the bicycle.
"Really?"
"I'm just kidding; it's only a blown tire. I'll have my driver pick it up."
"By the way, what were you doing all the way out here and all alone?"
"What, a girl can't get her exercise anyway she wants to?" She crossed her arms and faced him down.
"Oh you can exercise any way you want to until the cows come home. Just didn't expect you to be doing it outside. I thought you'd be in some posh fitness club or something."
"I guess you don't know me as well as you think."
"Well, after ten years I guess I don't." She came up to him and then up on her tippy toes kissed him lightly on the lips. He felt the blood rush to his head, actually heads.
"What was that for?"
"A kiss for my knight on an iron steed." Seductively her eyes held his while he fumbled with the helmet latch. "Just pass it here, I think I can manage." She put the helmet on and turned to look at the bike. "So where do I sit? You only have a single seat here." She spread her hands apart and motioned at the bike.
"You'll sit in front of me. There are pegs here to stretch out my legs during long rides; you can use them to put your feet up." He said as he bent down at the front of the bike and pulled down the pegs. "By the way do you want me to move your bicycle further off the road into the bush?"
"Nah, it should be fine where it is, but thanks for thinking about that."
"Sure thing, anything to make you happy. I mean…" Dipper's words caught in his throat.
"Anything to make me happy? Well now, I can certainly think of some things." Pacifica laughed for quite a while. Dipper shook his head and tried to avoid her eyes.
"Just sit on the bike, ok?" Still laughing she threw her leg over the bike and positioned herself on the front of the single large seat. With his helmet on, Dipper mounted the bike himself and sat down just behind her. There was nowhere for her to place her hands so she had to lean back into Dipper and placed her hands on his thighs. "You ok?" He asked as he leaned over her shoulder. She looked back at him and smiled, her eyes dancing.
"Yeah, I'm ok." The bike growled to life and Dipper headed out onto the road.