Never Tell - Gravity Falls Secret Santa 2016

The TV in the Pines' living room relayed the news as the family looked on. There was a peacefulness to the air as each family member preoccupied themselves with some mindless activity while watching. Weirdmageddon had ended just a few days before, and the joy they got from just being together in the same room now, even while doing nothing in particular, was palpable.

Stan and Ford sat at the table, playing poker while Ford recounted the finer memories of their childhood. Stan's memory was recovering quite nicely, though the further he delved into his past the fuzzier his memories first reappeared. Everyone was being incredibly patient, however, and the outlook was looking good.

Mabel sat in Stan's chair, a ball of vibrant pink yarn wedged between her leg and the arm of the seat. She was working on a sweater, though no one could weasel out of her what the final design would be. "It's a surprise," she had repeated over and over.

And finally, Dipper laid sprawled out on the floor. He scribbled random thoughts down in a notebook in front of him, his ear just half-listening to the news, until one particular story caught his full attention. He tilted his head up ever so slightly, Shandra Jimenez's voice speaking matter-of-factly.

"…family had gone broke. After pledging his allegiance to Bill and then placing all his savings in weirdness bonds, Preston Northwest had to sell his mansion to preserve his family fortune…"

"Whoa…" Dipper whispered to himself, eyes wide in surprise.

He didn't know much about what had happened to people during Weirdmageddon other than what he had seen, but anecdotes and news stories had been coming his way left and right over the week, filling him in. But for some reason, this story packed a little bit harder punch than the rest.

Because as spoiled as she was, he knew Pacifica was more decent of a human being than her parents, and she most likely didn't have a say in her dad's business affairs, with Bill or otherwise. She had broken the chain.

That's why Dipper felt a tiny twinge of pity at the news story. Pacifica didn't ask to be suddenly broke. While her new situation was probably still way better than the average person's, she must've been going through a lot of readjusting for a life she wasn't used to…

Before he could stop himself, Dipper suddenly got an idea. It probably wasn't his best idea, but nevertheless he found himself starting to go through with it.

With a grunt, he pushed himself off the living room floor, then turned to Stan, asking, "Hey, Grunkle Stan, do you know where Soos is?"

Without looking up from his cards, Stan shrugged and answered, "Should be in the parlor cleaning it up for tonight."

Dipper muttered a quick thanks and gathered up his notebook, then made his way out of the living room and down the hallway to the parlor, where Soos was in fact sweeping while humming some random tune.

"Hey, Soos," Dipper started as he peeked in from the doorway before standing in it fully. "Can you drive me somewhere?"

Soos looked up with a chipper attitude in his smile. "Sure, dude, once I finish sweeping. Where to?"

"The Northwest Manor."

What Dipper hadn't told Soos was that he was taking a gamble on Northwest Manor being the correct location to go to. But after a rather convincing conversation with the security guard over the intercom at the front gate, Dipper found out that he had made the right call. Pacifica and the Northwests were still there, packing up.

After Soos drove through the gate and parked in the massive driveway, Dipper told him to chill there for a few minutes while he went inside. The place was swarming with moving men, but he managed to find a butler who could tell Pacifica that he was there. Even though they were moving, he guessed they still had enough for butlers and the like. For now.

Within a few minutes, Pacifica came down the grand staircase, a weird combination of miffed and devastated playing on her face. Seeing Dipper at least managed to bring a distracted smile to it.

"Dipper, hey!" she said when she was close enough. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey," he answered, reaching his hand out of his pocket to give a small wave. He knew he would have to tread carefully with this next part, so he decided to go with sympathy. "So…I saw the news…how are you holding up?"

Pacifica sighed, jutting her hip out to one side. "Terrible. I don't want to leave this place! It's my home! I can't believe my dad could do something so stupid…"

Internally, Dipper had to disagree; he could believe Preston would try to negotiate with Bill. But instead, he nodded, offering, "I get that. I've had to move a couple times myself. It's not the best feeling in the world, but it could open the door to new possibilities, too."

The two kids smiled meekly at each other, before Dipper cleared his throat and pawed his foot at the ground.

"So I actually came here to ask you something - if you're free, that is," Dipper started, looking up at her. "Mabel and I are having a sleepover-campout type of thing at the Shack tonight as a 'last hurrah' with just our friends. It'd be great if you could come. Could help get your mind off things."

Pacifica smiled before looking down to the side hesitantly. "I don't know…there's still, like, a bunch of stuff to pack…"

Dipper pointed behind her at a moving man carrying a large box labeled "Pacifica" by himself. "Muscles over there seems to have things under control."

Pacifica glanced over her shoulder before turning back around. "Alright, but…will everyone at the party be…you know…okay with me there? I know I haven't exactly been the nicest to you guys."

Yep, she's definitely broken the chain, Dipper thought with a grin before he replied with something he remembered Mabel saying before. "Eh, that's water under the bridge. Besides, you helped us with the rescue mission during Weirdmageddon. C'mon, it'll be fun."

After internally mulling it over for a few more seconds and looking around at all the moving boxes littering the room, she finally looked back up at him, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Alright, I'm in."

The journey back to the Mystery Shack went quicker - and better - than Dipper expected.

Once Pacifica had agreed to come to the campout, she'd gone upstairs to get a sleeping bag and other supplies before they could be packed. Dipper then led her outside to Soos' waiting truck. He greeted her with a cheerful "'Sup, dawg?" and they hit the road, making it back to the Shack in record time.

Dipper knew this party would be good for her. Pacifica could let loose and act like a normal kid her age, even if he did have to coax it out of her a little. Plus, this would give her a chance to hopefully bond a little closer with Mabel and her friends.

When they walked into the Shack, they found Mabel hanging out with Candy and Grenda in the living room, taking pictures of Waddles with different hats on. Dipper gave Mabel a sheepish shrug and grin, but she seemed excited by the unexpected visitor. If anything, she would've been the first to invite Pacifica if it had come up.

Before they even knew what was happening, Dipper and Pacifica were getting pulled in to help choose the next hat for Waddles to try on. She suggested the Viking one Grenda was holding, and involuntarily giggled when she saw it on the pig. At that moment, Dipper knew the evening would go well.

The actual party didn't get going until about an hour later, when Wendy, Robbie, and the rest of their friends arrived.

The first order of business was to have an epic water balloon fight. Everyone split up into teams - teens versus tweens (and Soos) - then gathered at opposite ends of the front yard of the Mystery Shack.

Wendy fired the first shot with a ferocious battle cry, nailing Soos square in the chest after he stepped in front of the twins to protect them. He let out an oomph at the sensation, then pulled on his game face and returned fire, prompting everyone else to start chucking water balloons at each other.

All was fun and games, until one errant toss by Thompson amid the fire hit Pacifica right in the face.

Besides Thompson, who immediately shouted a nervous "Sorry!" across the battlefield before Nate playfully swatted his arm, only Dipper really saw the action take place. He watched as Pacifica stumbled back, bringing a hand to her face as she mumbled something like, "Ow!" Before she fell back completely, he caught her by the elbow.

"Hey, are you okay?" Dipper knelt them both down carefully, then tentatively pulled her hand back. Her face seemed fine, save for being wet and a bright red impact spot on her cheek that already seemed to be fading away.

"Yeah…" she answered, wiping some of the excess water off her chin. "That guy can throw harder than you'd expect." She sent a half-hearted glare in Thompson's direction.

"Eh, knowing him, I highly doubt he was aiming for your face," Dipper noted. He looked down at the red water balloon he set down on the ground after he caught her, then picked it up and offered it to her. "I know how you can get him back though."

Pacifica glanced down at the balloon, then up at Dipper, a mischievous, knowing grin setting in. She grabbed the balloon, then stood up, not bothering to dust herself off.

Shutting one eye closed, Pacifica pulled back her arm and aimed the balloon at her assailant, waiting until he turned back around to face her before she chucked it at him. The balloon soared like a missile through the air, surprising Dipper and even Pacifica herself, finally hitting Thompson square in the forehead. The balloon burst, splattering water all over him.

Thompson's shoulders slumped in knowing defeat when he saw Pacifica jump victoriously in the air, cheering, "Yes!"

Dipper did not expect the quick hug that followed, but he managed to return it easily, ignoring the blush that rose on his cheeks. When they parted, Dipper picked up a few water balloons from the tub behind their team and handed some to Pacifica. With a deep inhale first, he yelled out so everyone could hear, "EVERYONE GET THOMPSON!"

Both sides stopped as they stared at Dipper and processed his decree. Then, one by one, everyone turned to Thompson, who was staring back wide-eyed and scared.

Within a second, the standstill ended just as quickly as it had started with Dipper's "NOW!"

All water balloons were now being sent in Thompson's direction, with everyone laughing and having a good time as he tried to scramble away to no avail. Nate and Lee even managed to dump the tub with the rest of their team's balloons on his head, prompting him to cry out, "Aw, come on!" But even he eventually began to laugh too, soaked clothes and all.

As the water balloon fight wound down, and everyone was catching their breath, Mabel suggested that they break to eat, then perhaps start playing some games in the parlor.

Everyone agreed and stood up to go inside, where they found several boxes of pizza waiting for them, along with sodas, chips, and candy. After piling the food onto their plates, they all seemed to spread out around the Shack into smaller groups to eat, which left Dipper noticing something in particular.

Pacifica wasn't going off with anyone, and Dipper had a feeling he understood why. As much fun as she'd been having that afternoon, these weren't her usual friends, and it would probably take a while to settle in if people were just going to be talking while eating.

So Dipper got a better idea.

Instead of going somewhere in the Shack to eat their dinner, Dipper nudged Pacifica with his elbow and motioned with his head for her to follow him. "C'mon," he half-whispered.

With a noncommittal shrug, Pacifica followed him as he led the way through the Shack and into the gift shop, which was closed for the day and devoid of any people.

Pacifica watched as Dipper pulled back a curtain in the corner, revealing a ladder that went up to a trap door in the ceiling. With one hand delicately holding his food, he climbed up and pushed the door up to open it. Once he was safely above, he leaned back down and reached a hand out. "Here, hand me your plate so you can climb up.

Looking hesitantly between Dipper's outstretched hand and the ladder, Pacifica finally deemed it safe enough and climbed a few rungs before she lifted her plate up for Dipper to grab it, then easily climbed the rest of the way.

"Where are we going?" she asked once he handed her plate back to her.

"You'll see," he answered. When he was met with a dubious look, he added, "It's cool. Trust me."

After climbing another, shorter ladder and going through another trap door, Pacifica found herself on the Mystery Shack's roof. She looked over at Dipper like he was crazy, but he just stuck his hand out and said, "Hold on. This part can be slippery if you don't know where to step."

Pacifica grabbed onto Dipper's hand and followed him up the roof and over to the other side, where she saw a little rooftop ledge adorned with lawn chairs, an umbrella, and a cooler.

"Welcome to the Shack's hideout," Dipper announced with a proud smile.

Pacifica stared in awe before a small smile crept onto her face. "This is…it is cool," she finally said.

Dipper set his plate down on one of the chairs and opened the cooler to display the variety of sodas it held. They each picked one out, Dipper a cherry Pitt Cola and Pacifica a root beer. He then picked his plate back up and, ignoring the chair, opted to sit on the ledge of the hideout, his legs dangling midair.

It took some coaxing, but Pacifica finally gave in and sat down next to him, keeping a close eye on her limbs for a few minutes before she began to relax.

They started to eat while reminiscing about the water balloon fight and talking about what was in store for the rest of the night. The conversation fell into a friendly rhythm easier than Dipper could've hoped, and he found himself smiling over the fact that Pacifica was having what seemed to be a genuinely good time.

At one point, however, he quickly chewed and swallowed the bite of pizza he'd just taken and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he pointed out to the horizon in front of them. "Here we go. The main reason for coming up here."

"What?"

Dipper turned and gave her a warm smile. "The sunset. Can't beat 'em from up here."

They watched together as the sky started to turn a deep orange, then red as the sun started to dip below the mountains. The light caught on a few stray clouds lingering in the sky and on the needles of the pine trees below, creating a truly serene feeling.

"Amazing, huh?" Dipper remarked, leaning his head back to stare above. "Oh hey! There's Venus!" He pointed out in front of him, above and just a little to the left of where the sun had disappeared. Venus flashed brilliantly in the twilight sky.

Pacifica followed his finger, spotting the planet easily. "That is amazing…" She looked back down at Dipper, who was captivated, and playfully bumped into his shoulder with her own. "You're such a nerd, though," she added, though there was no insult behind it.

Dipper laughed casually, smiling back at her. "Yeah, I know."

The two of them spent a few more minutes out on the ledge, finishing up their food and watching the night sky as more stars started to appear. When a meteor streaked across the sky, Dipper light-heartedly told Pacifica to make a wish.

Once they finished eating, they cleaned up their plates and soda cans and went back down into the Shack, eventually finding everyone else already in the parlor.

About half of the group was engaged in an intense game of Twister, while the other half was either watching and cheering or helping Soos set up pillows and blankets around a projector screen. The projector had been Mabel's idea; it was a much larger screen than Stan's old TV and everyone could gather around it for a movie marathon.

Dipper and Pacifica seamlessly joined in on the fun, and once everyone settled down around the big screen after the games, they found themselves automatically sitting down next to each other, calling a mutual dibs on the bowl of popcorn closest to them.

Soos turned off the lights at the back of the room once everyone had found a seat and started up the projector, which was hooked up to his laptop. The opening crawl for Astro Battles started to roll, and hushed voices began sharing last-minute thoughts.

Dipper leaned over towards Pacifica during this time and added to the whispers. "Hey, you never told me what you wished for on that meteor."

The projector light bouncing off the screen onto their faces hid Pacifica's blush well, but that didn't stop her from playfully pushing Dipper away. "If I tell you it won't come true, silly."

Dipper rolled his eyes, laughing, "Fair enough."

What he didn't see, as he focused on the movie again, was Pacifica looking back at him, then around the room full of friends, a happy, satisfied smile warming her face as her wish entered her mind again.

I wish that I will always remember this night.

Happy holidays, everybody! And particularly to chatsnoir (on Tumblr), whom this fic is for! I hope you enjoy this Dipper and Pacifica fluffy goodness (with some Mabel to boot)! And thank you to stariousfalls for setting gravityfallssecretsanta up! It was a blast to do!