Gone for Too Long
Summary- After travelling the world for 13 years, Dipper returns to Gravity Falls for his yearly visit. But when he finds that someone close to him has fallen terribly ill, he must fight between his desire to continue his desperate search, and staying right where he is needed the most.
The bus drove over a pothole, the sudden jolt resulting in the sleeping man hitting his head against the window. Dipper groaned, opening his eyes to look around the empty bus. Glancing out the window, the young man noticed a large blue sign that read:
GRAVITY FALLS- 5 MILES
Despite himself, he couldn't stop the small smile that graced his lips, old memories returning to him. But the smile didn't last long, as he soon remembered why he'd been gone for so long, rarely returning to the cozy little town. After a couple more minutes, the bus came to a stop and Dipper climbed off, pulling his long black trenchcoat tighter. For a quick moment, he regretted his decision to not call ahead, cursing the cold winter weather.
Resigned to his fate, Dipper slung his bag onto his back and began to trudge his way through the snow. Although it took far, far longer than he would have liked, he eventually found himself standing in front of the Mystery Shack. Dipper took a moment to stare at the rickety old attraction, walking up onto the front porch as happy memories flooded his mind. Some involving his sister, some involving one or even both of his great uncles.
Dipper placed his bag down on the front porch, rolling his shoulders in discomfort. Taking a deep breath of the cold winter air, the young man walked away from the Shack and into the forest. All too soon, he began to grunt with the effort of moving as the snow came up to hia knees. Once he reached his destination, he breathed a sigh of relief, all though he was soon filled with just as much dread. Dipper could feel his body shaking, but whether it was from nerves or the icy winds he couldn't tell.
The statue of Bill Cipher stood in front of the man, the snow reaching up to just below his single eye. His hand was outstretched and open, as if saying, "Let's make a deal". Dipper was quiet for a long time, becoming lost in thought as he stared at his old adversary. The young man didn't know how long he stood there, but the sun was beginning to dip below the mountainous horizon when he finally came back to his senses. Shaking his head, he realized that his face and hands now felt numb from being out in the cold long so long. With one last look at the statue, Dipper slowly made his way back to the Mystery Shack.
Knocking on the door, it took a couple of minutes for Melody to answer, her eyes going wide at the sight of her very unexpected guest. Of course she let him into the Shack, although she shared the knowledge that her children, Maria and Delaney, were asleep. Soft voices were a necessity.
"I'm sorry that Soos couldn't be here, Dipper." She said with a small frown, "I know he would have loved to see you again, but Stan had told him about an old warehouse out-of-state. Perfect for gathering supplies for a new attraction. Soos couldn't disappoint your Grunkle, you know him."
"It's fine." Dipper surprised himself with how rough his voice sounded. It had been months since he had needed to speak, and since he had been travelling alone, his voice had fallen into neglect. He coughed, trying to even out his voice before he continued. "I don't plan on staying in town for long, Melody. Just a quick few days to visit Mabel, Stan, and Ford, and then I'm gone."
Melody's frown deepened, "Are you sure you don't want to stay any longer than that? You know how much the girls love it when you visit, and it's been so long since the last time they saw you."
"I… I know. I know. But HE's still out there, somewhere, and I have to find him before it's too late. Before someone makes the same mistake that Great Uncle Ford made. The same mistake that I made."
"I understand, Dipper." Melody sighed. Despite her words, Dipper could still tell that she was saddened. "But your sister and your uncles miss you. We all miss you. We all wish we could see you for more than a couple of days every year or so. Especially Mabel."
Dipper absentmindedly scratched at his arm, the scars from Bill's fascination with forks still prominent after all of these years. "I've been chasing after Bill for 13 years, Melody. I can't just stop now. If I do, all of that time, all of that work, it would have all been for nothing."
Melody sighed, "Can you at least take a vacation? Just for a week or two? Use that time to spend more than a day with Mabel?"
The young man was quiet, trying with all of his might to decline. But now that the idea of spending some extra time with his family was in his mind, he realized just how tempting it really was. "I'm not sure. Let me sleep on it." He said, to which the woman smiled softly.
After grabbing a pillow and a blanket for her guest, Melody retired for the night. Left to sleep on the couch, it took quite some time for Dipper to fall asleep. When he did, his slumber was restless and troubled.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Dipper grunted loudly, the air being forced from his lungs as he was rudely awakened. Little Delaney had jumped onto Dipper's sleeping body, and was soon joined by her older sister Maria. Both were laughing and talking, excited by their uncle's surprise visit. Once Melody was able to herd the girls into the kitchen for breakfast, Dipper was able to shower and change into a new set of clothes.
"Mama made you some pancakes, Uncle Dipper!" Delaney said when the man enteres the kitchen, a wide smile on the 8-year-old's face. Dipper took his plate from Melody with a nod of gratitude, sitting down in between the girls as he began to eat. The group of four shared idle small talk, the two girls telling Dipper everything that they've done in the year since his last visit.
"So Dipper," Melody started as she washed some dishes, "Have any plans for today?"
"Well, before I stop by Mabel's shop, I need to take a look at whatever supernatural object Pacifica's managed to find in her family's old storage vault. Ford will probably want to take a look too, meaning that Stan will be close by as he tries to make fun of us."
Melody looked confused, "I hadn't realized that she called you already?"
"She hasn't." He responded, putting on his trenchcoat, "But her family owns so many old artifacts that she's had something for me every single time I've come back to Gravity Falls. Why wait for a phonecall when I can just get a headstart?"
Stepping through the doorway, Dipper began walking towards town, grateful that a snowplow haf cleared the roads. The silence that surrounded him felt out of place after the noisy breakfast at the Shack, so the man put on some headphones, looking to resume a podcast. Surprisingly, the podcast had nothing to do with the weird or the paranormal, but was more focused on books and movies. Nowadays, Dipper found himself too busy to indulge in these simple pleasures, so he found this to be a pleasant solution to this problem.
As he made his way towards the Pines' Cottage, the townsfolk all waved their hellos as he passed. None of them seemed to realize that this tall, lithe stranger was the same boy who saved their town from Bill Cipher 13 years ago. To them, he was just another wanderer, a drifter, travelling aimlessly from town to town without any clear goal in mind.
Before long, Dipper found himself at his destination, silently staring at the wooden door before him. The thought of turning around and leaving crossed his mind, but he ignored it. Slowly, he raised his hand, as if struggling to perform this simple action. His arms felt like lead, heavy, fighting against his desire to reunite with his family.
He knocked on the door.