Happy Parapines day! Parapines day is August 20th apparently, so I made something! This goes along with my Mystery Kids Case Files series, but don't worry, there are very minimum spoilers and it can be read as it's own separate thing.

Also, check out my Tumblr mysterykidscasefiles to keep up with my Mystery Kids fics.

Mystery Kids: Someday Dipper Would

Time Period: Third Summer

A wind blew through the tops of the evergreens, causing the branches of the giant trees to dance and weave against the blustery weather. Norman pulled his coat closer to himself and glanced over at his companion who was frowning down at a journal.

Norman's nose had gone numb from the cold and he wished he could say the same for his legs, which were aching and sore from traversing the forest all day. Although he couldn't see the sun through the trees, Norman knew it was getting dangerously late from the pinkish-orange light that was filtering through the branches above.

"Dipper, don't you think we should head back? It's getting pretty late."

His friend groaned and snapped the journal shut in frustration. "But if we don't find at least a clue then we would have wasted the entire day looking! Just thirty more minutes and I'm sure we'll find something."

Normally, Norman would have let this go and allowed Dipper to stubbornly continue his search. However, Dipper had used this exact line four times in the last two hours.

Norman nudged his friend and pointed up at the sky. "We don't have thirty minutes to keep looking. If we don't head back now it will be dark before we reach headquarters."

Dipper paled slightly; he took in his surrounding as if he was looking at it for the first time. "Okay, you're right, and we don't want to be stuck here in the dark. It's weird, Mabel usually texts me when it gets too late…" Dipper reached for his back pocket, only to suddenly go stiff. Frantically, his hands moved to his vest pocket where he continued to search for something. Finally, Dipper sighed in defeat as his hands fell to his sides. "…I forgot my phone," Dipper mumbled to himself dejectedly.

"It's okay, I have mine," Norman assured him. "And the forest doesn't get the best reception anyway."

"Still, a bad connection is better than no connection. Has anyone texted you yet?" Dipper asked.

Norman double checked his phone. "Not yet."

"Well, let's head back anyway. I'm sure everyone else is already waiting for us. Maybe they had more luck then we did."

As they headed back through the forest, Norman started to become increasingly aware of the feeling of being watched.

After spending two summers in Gravity Falls, Norman had come to accept that this was a common feeling he should expect. The feeling was rarely ever paranoia, and almost always meant that they were being watched by somebody or something. In this town, you should be less worried with if you are being watched, and more worried about who was watching.

The hairs on the back of Norman's neck were standing up, and there was a distinctly icy feeling in his gut that he usually associated with a ghost. Norman made the effort to relax. He could sense that the ghost didn't mean any harm. It was probably just a benign ghost watching them from behind a tree. They were in a hurry, so Norman decided against mentioning the ghost to Dipper. He knew Dipper, and his friend would want to investigate.

Disco girl

Coming through

That girl is you

OOH OOOH, OOH OOOH

Surprised, Norman looked down at his phone to find that he was being called by Dipper's cell phone.

Disco girl

Groove that jive

The beat makes you feel alive

"Th-that's not your ringtone," Dipper said as he looked over to see who was calling. "Me? That's my ringtone when I call you?" he asked, his face growing red, much to Norman's amusement. "Wh-why?" he spluttered.

Norman laughed. He hadn't meant for Dipper to find out, but his friend's reaction had made it worth it. "Because it's cute- I- I mean, b- because it's funny!" Norman quickly corrected, his own face turning color to match Dipper's.

"J-Just answer it already!" Dipper insisted. "And plenty of people like that song, not just me!"

Norman answered the phone, immediately putting the phone on speaker.

"Hey Normy!" Mabel's loud voice came through the phone. "Is my forgetful brother with you?"

"I'm here, Mabel," Dipper said grudgingly. "And my phone is password protected. How did you get in?"

"Pssh, please," Mabel scoffed. "Bigfootisreal has been your password since you were eight."

"Great Mabel, just tell the whole world!"

"Did you guys find anything?" Coraline's voice came over the phone.

"No, did you guys?" Dipper asked hopefully.

"Nope, Sneaky Suzy avoids us again yet again!" Mabel said.

Dipper rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Mabel, what did we discuss about naming monsters?"

"Hey, if you want to name one, bro-bro, you'll just have to be faster!"

"No, that's not- ugh, never mind!"

"You guys should head back," Raz's voice suggested. "It's getting late."

"Don't worry, we're on our way back now," Norman said.

"You should hurry. It looks like it's about to rain," Raz warned.

Startled, Dipper looked up at the sky.

Norman noticed that the clouds looked darker than usual and the wind was picking up.

"We'll see you guys back in headquarters as soon as we can," Dipper said. "Bye."

"Okay, see you guys soon."

The call ended and Dipper took one more look up at the sky before they both continued on their way.

They had traveled deep into the forest looking for signs of a monster that they had seen only glimpses of sneaking around all week. They had split up in teams of two to search the forest for the creature, but it seemed to be living up to Mabel's new nickname.

Although the day hadn't been a success where monster hunting was involved, Norman hadn't minded spending time out in the forest alone with Dipper.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Dipper, who had a cute, frustrated pout on his face. His lips look soft and he wondered what it would be like to kiss them; Norman's stomach fluttered at the thought and he looked back down at the path in front of him.

Why did he keep torturing himself like this? It wasn't like he would ever be brave enough to do it.

Dipper looked up at the darkening sky and frowned. "It's already started to rain," he noted as he held out his hand. "Let's hurry."

Norman nodded. They were still over an hour away from headquarters and there was a good chance that they would get drenched in a downpour.

They continued on for half an hour until the rain became so heavy that Norman could feel it weighing his hair down and soaking into his shoes. Dipper had his arms tucked over his journal, which was hidden in his vest to keep it dry.

Stopping for shelter wasn't really an option. They could either get rained on and risk catching a cold for the next few days, or risk facing the creatures that stalked around the forest at night.

There was no trail in the forest, and the ground beneath their feet was slippery and covered with tree roots. Norman found himself struggling to keep his balance as they walked down a steep hill. The mud gave way and his feet slipped out from under him. Instinctually, Norman grabbed Dipper to catch himself, one his hands landing on Dipper's chest.

It wasn't until the warmth of Dipper's body reached his numb fingers, that Norman realize what he was doing. Panicked, Norman lurched away from the boy, his heart beating wildly in his chest, only for his feet to miss a crucial step. He threw his arms out and tried to catch himself with his other foot, but his foot was snagged by a tree root as he fell face forward onto the ground.

"Norman!" Dipper called worriedly.

Norman hissed as a sharp pain in his ankle traveled up his leg. He turned around gingerly in the wet dirt, trying to adjust his leg without moving his ankle too much.

He felt warm hands on his back as Dipper knelt at his side.

"Are you okay?"

Norman nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I just twisted my ankle."

"How bad is it? Can you stand up?" He could hear the fear in Dipper's voice.

Norman nodded again, and nearly gasped when he felt Dipper's arm go around his waist. With some effort, he helped Norman to his feet, Dipper's body pressing against his for support.

Despite the cold rain, Norman's face felt hot as he squirmed awkwardly in Dipper's arms.

"Can you put any weight on your ankle?" Dipper's question brought them back to the current situation.

Norman attempted to take a step with his right foot, and immediately, a sharp pain traveled through his leg.

Norman shook his head. He didn't trust himself to talk. He felt his throat begin to close up and the back of his eyes stung with the beginnings of tears. They were in a really dangerous situation now. There was no way Norman would be able to make it to headquarters before nightfall.

Dipper's grip around his waist tightened, as if he had sensed it would help Norman, and it did. Norman let out a shaky breath and tried to focus on not panicking.

"We'll, we can't walk home now-"

"I'm sorry." Norman hung his head.

"Don't," Dipper said through gritted teeth. "This isn't your fault. We just have to find someplace safe from the storm and… and safe from anything else. Maybe there will be a cave nearby or something."

"Yeah…" Norman agreed half-heartedly.

"Try and call someone," Dipper suggested. "We have to let them know where we are."

Norman fumbled with his phone. The screen glitched as water covered it, but Norman still tried to navigate to his recent contacts. "Th- there's no signal," Norman said at last.

Dipper sighed. "Of course not. Come on, we should get moving."

Norman winced with every step, but he kept his mouth closed tight to keep from crying out. It didn't matter how much pain he was in, they couldn't afford to stop.

Suddenly, Dipper stopped walking, his neck straining to look behind him. "Did you see that?" he asked in a whisper.

"S-See what?"

"I thought I saw… out of the corner of my eye…"

"This is not a good time to find the monster," Norman muttered to himself.

Dipper shook his head. "No, it's not. L-Let's keep going."

"D-Do you really think we'll find shelter?" Norman asked after another few minutes of wandering. His stomach twisted and he felt nauseated from the pain. Both he and Dipper were shaking so violently from the cold it was difficult to keep a grip on each other.

"Don't worry, Norman. I'll take care of you. I'll get you some place safe. I promise."

Norman turned to stare at Dipper's determined face and his heart skipped a beat, only to thump harder against his chest to make up for it. Oh, what had he got himself into? He couldn't have fallen for someone who was a little less amazing and heroic? Then maybe his heart could get a break once in a while.

Norman looked away from Dipper and froze when he saw a figure in the distance. The monster? No, the rain made it hard to see, but this figure looked human.

"What's a matter?" Dipper asked.

"I-I see someone. A person." He pointed directly at the person and Dipper leaned forward and squinted his eyes.

The figure just stood there, staring at them. Norman felt himself being pulled towards it.

"I think he wants us to follow him."

"Is it a ghost?" Dipper asked.

"I think so. I felt a ghost watching us before. I get the feeling that he wants to help."

"Well, we could certainly use some help. Let's go."

Norman blinked through the storm to try to get a better look at the man, but the figure disappeared as they got close.

"Wait, I see something," Dipper shouted. "…is that a house?"

Norman could see light through the storm. It looked like it was coming through a window of a cabin, and the way the light flickered, Norman realized it must have come from a candle. Was someone living in the old rundown cabin?

"Wait, I know what this it," Dipper said. "This is the Corduroy's family cabin! My great uncle Ford stayed here for a few nights. He says it's really haunted."

"Yeah, it… it is," Norman agreed. Even from a distance, he could feel the presents of multiple powerful ghosts in the cabin. He had never sensed so many strong ghosts together like this. He wasn't surprised that Dipper's great uncle had seen them. However, despite their power level, they didn't seem to be malicious, expect for one entity in the house. That one ghost was enough to make Norman nervous. "I'm not sure if we should go in there."

Dipper sighed. "You know usually I accept your wisdom on all things ghostly, but we really don't have a choice here. We can't keep wandering around in the rain. Something worse than ghosts is going to find us."

Norman didn't like it, but he knew Dipper was right. You knew you were in deep trouble with the supernatural when a malevolent ghost wasn't the worst of your problems.

The door of the cabin opened with no resistance, and although the inside of the cabin was freezing, it was a huge relief from the downpour outside.

"Hello?" Dipper called, but there was no response. Norman would have thought this place was completely abandoned by the living if it hadn't been for the lit candles.

The front door squeaked behind them before clicking closed, startling both of them as they whirled around in fear. Dipper's arms tightening around him, and without even thinking about it, Norman pressed closer to Dipper for reassurance.

"H-Hello," Norman said hesitantly as he stared at the ghost who closed the door. It was a young Chinese man dressed in clothes that Norman suspected were worn in ancient China. This had been the ghost that had lead them to the cabin.

The ghost looked startled. "You can see me?" he asked.

Norman nodded. "Thank you for helping us."

Dipper gasped and the ghost looked over to him and nodded in Dipper's direction. Dipper was staring, wide-eyed directly at the ghost, and Norman realized the ghost had made himself visible to Dipper as well.

"That's what I do," the ghost said. "I help people like you two."

"Wh-what do you mean people like us?" Dipper asked.

The ghost smiled. "My name is Tu'er Shen. I have been watching you, and I saw you were in trouble, so I lit the candles in this cabin to help you find your way, but…" he glanced at Norman. "I've been doing this a very long time and I've traveled all over the world, but no one has ever been able to see me before."

Dipper chuckled and gave Norman a pat on the back. "Yeah, well, Norman's special," Dipper said.

Norman hoped it was too dark in the cabin for Dipper to see how red his cheeks must be.

"I see," the ghost said with a secret smile.

"Wait…" Norman said slowly. Something the ghost said didn't make sense. "You've been around the world? But ghosts usually stay in the same area."

"I'm a spirit who watches over people like you. I go where I'm needed."

Dipper glanced at Norman in confusion.

"Now I must leave," the ghost said. "There are many ghosts in this home, but they will leave you alone for tonight. And while you're in here, that thing that has been hunting you outside won't be able to get to you."

Startled, Dipper leaned to look out through the window, but it was already getting too dark to see anything outside

"Th-thank you," Norman said while his body was wracked with a powerful shiver and his teeth knocked together.

The ghost gave them a nod before turning towards the closed door and walking through it.

"That was so cool," Dipper said in a hushed whisper, then his grip around Norman tightened again. "Come on." He led Norman to the couch and slowly helped Norman sit down.

Norman winced at the pain in his ankle, but that wasn't nearly as bad as losing the warmth from Dipper's body as he moved away.

"I'm going to try and find us some dry clothes or maybe some blankets from the other room," he said.

Norman nodded, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

Dipper wasn't gone for long. When he returned, he had three blankets and a change of clothes.

"Here," Dipper said, as his shivering hand held out clothes for Norman. "They're really big, but they're better than wet clothes."

"Th-thanks."

"How is your ankle?" Dipper ask. "We should really get that elevated."

"As long as I don't walk on it, it doesn't hurt t-too bad."

Dipper kneeled down on the floor and inspected his leg.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"I'm going to take a look at it," Dipper said as he gently rolled up the leg of Norman's pants. To Norman's surprise, Dipper began untying his shoe, and pulling it off his foot slowly. Norman bit his lip to keep from crying out.

"Sorry," Dipper apologized. "It looks really swollen. Are you uh…" he hesitated. Norman raised an eyebrow at Dipper's suddenly red face. "Are you going to be able to… umm, to get your pants off by yourself?"

Norman's heart leapt up into his throat, his eyes going wide. "I- I- uhh," he spluttered. "Y-yeah!" his voice broke, and the rest of his words followed in a frantically higher pitch. "I'll… I'll be fine! D-Don't worry."

Dipper stood up, his face still flushed. "Umm, right. Good. I'm umm… going to look for a change of clothes for me," he said as he walked quickly out of the room.

Still stunned and embarrassed, Norman let out a frustrated groan. Great, now Dipper felt awkward too. Careful of his ankle, Norman pulled off his pants, which were much harder to get off they he thought they would be because they were completely soaked. He wasn't brave enough to take his wet boxers off, so he left them on as he began pulling up the unusually large sweatpants.

Norman glanced around him shyly. He could still feel ghosts around him, but like Tu'er Shen said, they were leaving them alone.

Finally, Norman was swimming in the huge clothes, and he was glad he couldn't get off the couch, because the pants would probably fall off him if he tried.

Dipper walked back into the room, holding up his oversized pants with one hand, and three logs of firewood in the other.

Dipper dumped the firewood by the fireplace first and then turned to face Norman.

"We need to get your leg elevated," Dipper said, and before Norman could protest, Dipper lifted Norman's legs up with his free hand, and helped him sit sideways on the couch. He propped Norman's legs up on the arm of the couch, and then put a pillow under his head. Norman laughed as Dipper threw a blanket over him as well.

"I think this is overkill," Norman said, but he couldn't help but feel pleased that Dipper was taking care of him.

"No, it's necessary. You're still shaking," Dipper pointed out.

"So are you."

Dipper ignored him. "I'm going to make a fire to warm this place up. You just lie there and watch the master at work."

Amused, Norman turned to watch as Dipper pulled a lighter out of his backpack and placed the logs into the fireplace. He got up and searched the house for old newspapers, which he found and tucked underneath the logs. Without smaller kindling to make the process easier, the paper burned out too quickly and Dipper had to try twice before the logs finally caught fire.

"There!" Dipper said proudly. "That should last for a while!"

Norman sat up to allow Dipper space on the couch. Dipper sat where Norman's head had been previously and placed the pillow on his shoulder, inviting Norman to lean against him.

Hesitantly, Norman did so. As he leaned against Dipper, his friend's body warmth soaked through to his skin, causing his shivers to stop.

"See, I told you a fire would be a good idea."

"Y-yeah," Norman agreed. "It's warm."

There was silence between them as both boys watch the crackling of the fire. Norman glanced at the window. The sky had gone completely dark now and Norman felt grateful they still weren't stumbling around out there. Tu'er Shen had said something had been hunting them. It seemed they were closer to finding the monster than they thought.

"Does your phone have a signal yet?" Dipper asked.

Norman reached for his phone and inspected it closely. "No, not yet. The storm is still pretty bad."

Dipper was silent for another moment.

"You don't think they're out there looking for us, do you?" Dipper asked worriedly.

Knowing the other kids, the answer was probably yes, but he didn't say that right away. He knew Dipper was worried about his sister and the others traveling through the forest at night.

"Don't worry, Coraline, Raz and Lili won't let them do anything stupid," Norman assured him.

Dipper let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. If it wasn't for that ghost, we would be the ones in trouble. He probably saved our lives. What do you think he meant?"

"Huh?"

"The ghost said that he helps people like us. What do you think he meant?"

Norman shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never seen a ghost like him before."

"Maybe he was like one of those ancient spirits you hear about in myths that guide lost souls, or whatever," Dipper said excitedly. "Maybe saving people is his job."

Norman yawned. "Maybe."

"You tired?" Dipper asked in amusement.

"I'm always tired," Norman answered automatically. "But I probably still won't be able to sleep."

"Well, just close your eyes then. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe," Dipper promised in his heroic sounding voice. Even though Norman couldn't see him, he could imagine Dipper puffing out his chest.

Norman chuckled. "'Kay. I'll just… close my eyes."

His insomnia still wouldn't let him sleep for a while after that, but for once Norman didn't mind, because that meat he got to enjoy the feeling of Dipper's warm body against his and the steady rise and fall of Dipper's chest for just a little bit longer.

The next morning, they were found by the rest of the Mystery Kids and brought home to the Shack. After a hot shower and his ankle was wrapped, things started to go back to normal. At least, as normal as things got in Gravity Falls.

Dipper never brought up the ghost again, but something was still nagging at the back of Norman's mind. Why did the ghost help them? Who was he?

Finally, his curiosity got the better of him, and he asked Wybie to borrow his computer. He googled Tu'er Shen and clicked the first the first link that popped up.

His face grew warm as his heart pounded loudly against his ribcage. He read the line again and again, but it didn't change.

Tu'er Shen is the name of a Chinese spirit who oversees the love between homosexual men.

Norman couldn't believe it.

He had met some sort of guardian spirit for gay guys? Something like that really existed? Well, the spirit must have been confused, because whatever attraction that was between him and Dipper was completely one-sided. As far as Norman knew, Dipper had only ever liked girls!

Norman deleted the internet history and closed the computer, his mind still racing as fast as his heart. He hoped Dipper would never google who Tu'er Shen was.

However… there was a part of him, a small, deeply ingrained part of him, which desperately hoped that someday Dipper would.

I hope this was good... I thought this was cute when I wrote it so I hope you guys feel the same?

Please review!