A loud ringing jolted Dipper awake. He shot upright in bed, confused by his surroundings for a moment. This wasn't his room back in Piedmont and this wasn't his queen sized bed with a memory foam topper. The twin mattress was far less comfortable, the fabric worn away in spots to expose outlines of metal springs. He largely doubted that Stan would've replaced the beds since last summer, despite the fact that their age was starting to show.
The blaring noise that had so rudely awakened him was emanating from Mabel's cell phone. She must've set an alarm when she crawled into bed last night, whatever time that might have been. The obnoxious sound was having no effect on her, however, as she continued to snore through it.
Dipper groaned and peeled himself out of bed, plodding across the hardwood to silence the sound. He grabbed Mabel's white iPhone (complete with glittery unicorn case) and tapped "STOP" to disable the alarm. The attic was once again peaceful, but now Dipper was awake and slightly annoyed.
"Mabel," he poked her side. "Wake up."
She grunted dismissively in her sleep and rolled on her side, away from Dipper as she faced the wall.
A sigh of exasperation came before he decided to poke her harder in the shoulder blade.
"Ow!" She grumbled and sat up, rubbing her back through the gray t-shirt she was wearing to sleep in. "What was that for?"
He motioned towards the phone still in his hand. "You had an alarm set."
Mabel's eyes instantly went from tired to cheerful. "Yes!" She scrambled to pick up a piece of folded stationary on the nightstand. "I made a list last night! Well, a bucket list to be more specific." She unfolded the light blue page and held it up for Dipper to see. "This summer I want to do as many of these things as possible!"
Dipper set her phone down and took the paper, scanning the bullet points. It was mostly traditional summer activities, like going swimming and gorging themselves on sugary snacks. He cocked an eyebrow as he reached the bottom of the list where Mabel had doodled cartoonish hearts of varying sizes. "Summer love?"
"Of course, Dipper!" The brunette sprawled across her mattress with a dopey grin on her face. "The quintessential summer has to include a cute guy! It'd be criminal if it didn't!"
The mysterious man flashed across his mind, as well as the memory of jerking off to him yesterday. Dipper tried to shield his blushing face with the paper but Mabel hadn't noticed anyway. She was lost in her own fantasy of the perfect summer romance.
"Anyway," she leapt to her feet, "I wanna start the list today. I thought we could take our new friend around town and maybe get slushies or something!" She cheerfully made her way over to their shared dresser and began pulling out various tops and skirts, matching them against each other to try and figure out which combination looked cutest.
Dipper rubbed the back of his neck. He hated to admit how his heart did a little "!" whenever the stranger was brought up. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." He tried to put thoughts of the man out of his mind. Dipper forced himself to instead focus on having a good day with his sister, exploring the town they both loved so much.
"This'll work," Mabel nodded to herself. She paired a blue and white striped off-the-shoulder top with a denim mini skirt and then busied herself with finding some adorable accessories to match.
Dipper was hardly as picky. He threw on a black NASA tee and a pair of jeans, deciding it was good enough. As Mabel left the room to get ready, he also pulled on an unbuttoned red flannel with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It showed off the sleeve tattoos he'd gotten late last year, mostly comprised of symbols and images from Ford's journals.
When he was finished getting dressed, Dipper made his way down to the kitchen to look for breakfast. He busied himself by digging through the pantry and cabinets, trying to decide between cereal brands. The sound of voices made him pause and he set the boxes of Frosted Flakes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch down on the counter. He could hear Ford's hearty laugh and he poked his head around the corner to find his uncle and the newcomer engaged in conversation.
Dipper hardly heard what was said, his brown eyes locking on the outfit the man was wearing. Somehow he'd gotten ahold of Dipper's own sweatpants and t-shirt, but how?
"I let him borrow your clothes last night."
Dipper almost jumped out of his skin as Mabel suddenly appeared behind him. "Y-you what?"
"Yeah," Mabel shrugged. She was nonchalant as she continued, "I went to ask you if it was okay but you were already asleep. So I found some pajamas for him."
"Oh." He drank in the way his clothing hung on that lithe body and decided he couldn't be mad at Mabel. "That's... fine."
It was certainly way more than just fine.
The young woman glanced at the counter, spying the two cereals Dipper had narrowed it down to. "Hey, you weren't going to spoil my plans for breakfast, were you?"
He focused his attention back on Mabel who was pouting playfully at him. "What plans?"
"We're gonna go to Greasy's Diner and have pancakes just like we do every year, silly. Did you actually forget?"
Well, he'd certainly been distracted lately…
Mabel didn't wait for a response as she began tugging Dipper out of the kitchen. She inserted herself into the conversation the older men had been having. It had probably been something boring and science-y anyway. "Hey New Guy," she waved. Ford and the blonde turned to face the twins. "We're gonna take you out for breakfast and show you around Gravity Falls. You wanna come along, Grunkle Ford?"
"Sorry, Mabel. I've got research to attend to." Of course, boring old Ford. "But feel free to come and go as you please. Don't let this old geezer stop you."
Mabel hugged him tightly. "kay. Try not to die of boredom while we're gone."
"I'll see the three of you later," Ford said. He walked away before turning to add, "and scientific study is hardly boring, my dear."
"Whatever you say." She shrugged as Ford left and focused her sights on the mystery man. "I'll go get you more of Dipper's clothes to wear so you can get changed." She hurried off to the attic to pick something out.
Dipper bit his lip as he dared a look at the guy who already looked amazing in his sweats. He was kinda getting turned on by the thought of his clothes carrying the man's scent. It took every ounce of restraint to will away the growing boner in his pants.
Mabel was inadvertently torturing him now.
Mystery man's golden eyes were on him as they stood alone in the hallway. Dipper held his gaze, feeling goosebumps starting to rise along his arms. No words were exchanged between them, but the silence spoke volumes. Desire twisted Dipper's gut as the physical attraction deepened. They'd hardly said a word to each other since they met but somehow it didn't matter. There was an underlying electricity that charged the air and crackled to life inside Dipper.
The moment was soon broken as Mabel came darting down the stairs and thrusted a pile of clothes against the man's chest. "Here ya go. Go get dressed and we'll wait for you outside!" She waved him off and led Dipper out into the bright morning light. Dipper felt breathless as Mabel pulled him down the stairs of the front porch and into the dewy grass.
She adjusted her purse strap and began typing something out on her phone. Probably a quick text to their parents letting them know everything was alright and they were settling in just fine, and that Ford and Stan were still at each other's throats, but in a loving, sibling-like way.
A rust-bucket pick-up truck with plates reading "SUPDAWG?" pulled into the parking lot. Soos killed the engine and slid out of the vehicle, slamming the door behind him. He lumbered over to the twins, waving a greeting at them as he arrived for work.
Mabel waved back, grinning from ear to ear, a smile so bright it made the sun jealous.
At that moment, the newcomer walked up alongside Dipper and Mabel, looking quizzically at Soos.
"Oh, hey dude. You new here? Mind if I call you dude?"
Caught off guard he could only manage to say, "Uhm…?" before Soos was speaking again and patting his shoulder.
"Cool, dude. Where are yous guys heading to?"
Mabel beamed. "We're taking our friend to breakfast!"
"Sweeeeet. Have a good time for me." He started walking away but Mabel stopped him.
"Wait!" This caused Soos to turn to face her. "When's the day of the wedding? You didn't tell us yet!"
"Ohhhh," Soos smiled. Thoughts of Melody - beautiful Melody - caused his face to redden. She was perfect in every way and his heart thumped elatedly. "Sorry about that. It's July 13th, a Saturday."
"Eeee!" Mabel's excited squee was nothing short of endearing. "I'll mark it on my calendar!"
Soos shot dual finger guns her way. "Looking forward to seeing you there, dawgs." He waved once more before entering the Mystery Shack to begin his shift.
Mabel finished making note of the date on her phone and tucked the device into her heart-shaped holographic purse. "Okay you guys, let's go get stacked!"
It was a short walk from the Mystery Shack to the log-shaped railcar-slash-restaurant. Dipper held one of the glass doors open for his sister and the stranger as they made their way up the front stairs. "Thanks Dippy-Eggs!" She paraded inside to find them a table.
The man simply stared at Dipper as he followed Mabel, causing a pleasant shiver to race up Dipper's spine. He entered the restaurant and trailed behind as the hostess led them to an available booth.
He slid into the seat across from Mabel and the man, realizing that Mabel had only chosen that spot so she could point out different items to him and explain what each name meant. Dipper watched as the man peered over her shoulder at the laminated menu. Mabel was chatting away and the man was trying to take it all in, which made Dipper chuckle to himself. The poor guy was already confused, and his sister wasn't making things easier.
Eventually he said, "I'll just have what you're having," and Dipper wasn't sure if it was just an excuse to get Mabel to be quiet or because the menu was expansive and overwhelming for anyone unfamiliar with it.
Lazy Susan exited the kitchen holding a coffee pot as she made her way over to their table. "Well, well, I was expecting you kids today! It's so wonderful to see you again." She poured the steaming beverage into the empty mugs on the table and dispersed them to the three. "Say, who's your handsome friend here?"
Mabel wrapped an arm around the man's shoulder and squished their faces together, an action that seemed to make him feel uncomfortable, but he didn't speak up about it. "We just call him New Guy."
Dipper chewed his lip as Mabel explained how they'd found him in the woods last night and the fact that he couldn't remember much of anything. Lazy Susan nodded and smiled, interjecting here and there. "Well, New Guy, welcome to Gravity Falls." She pulled a pencil and notepad out of her front apron pocket. "So, what can I get everyone today?"
Mabel was regaling the boys with stories when Lazy Susan brought out their order: three stacks consisting of five pancakes each.
"And we'll show you the arcade and the mall, and town square - thanks Susan! - and then we can get slushies from the mini-mart, and…"
Dipper tuned out as his sister blabbed, drowning her pancakes in maple syrup. It took a while before she noticed they were now swimming and she set the bottle aside. Even while chewing, Mabel continued to detail her plans for the day, small bits of pancake occasionally flying across the table at her brother.
New Guy and Dipper both ate in silence, occasionally exchanging looks. Neither of them said much as Mabel chatted away. Iit was almost as if there was an unspoken conversation taking place between the two men, much like the moment they'd shared earlier this morning.
When the guy was distracted by Mabel, Dipper studied him. He was older, but not by a huge margin. Maybe mid-twenties, if Dipper had to field a guess. Almost impossibly attractive to the point of being distracting. Pretty Boy, Grunkle Stan would have called him if he'd been present.
"You okay, Dip? You haven't said much."
Dipper snapped out of it as he realized both his sister and the man were looking at him now. "Uh, yeah, just thinking about how good the food is here." He sheepishly stuffed a forkful of pancake into his mouth to stop himself from saying something he might regret.
"Okie dokie."
They all ate quietly for a moment before the man spoke up, poking his fork at the hotcakes on his dish. "I can't be sure, but I don't think I've ever had these before."
"WHAT?!" Mabel slammed her fork down against the table causing nearby customers to glance in her direction. This caused second-hand embarrassment on Dipper's behalf as he tried to smile at the other patrons and get them to return to their own meals. However, Mabel didn't notice, seeming thoroughly offended by his statement. "You've never eaten pancakes?! What strange place are you even from? Mars?"
He shrugged and laughed, and Dipper looked out the window to keep himself distracted from the man's gorgeous smile.
"Aw, crap." He turned back to see what had upset Mabel. She was wiping furiously at her shirt, a giant coffee stain marring the striped fabric. The paper napkins were useless and just seemed to make things worse. "I'm gonna go try to wash this off. 'Scuse me, gentlemen." She nudged New Guy out of the seat and made a beeline for the ladies room.
The man slid back into the booth, picking at his breakfast half-heartedly.
Alone again, Dipper gulped, feeling as self-concious and nervous as ever. The man looked up and they were staring again, and it was so fucking awkward that Dipper didn't have time to catch his words before they spilled out. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"Sorry." The man looked away now that he'd been called out. Dipper felt his cheeks getting warm, wondering where his sudden boldness had come from. "It's just…" The golden gaze was upon him once more, "...you seem so… familiar. Like I've met you before. Your sister, too."
"I'm sure I would've remembered you," Dipper muttered, sucking down large mouthfuls of coffee. He wasn't sure if the man had heard his indirect flirtation as no comment was made about it. "Sorry that Mabel's such a chatterbox." Maybe a change of topic would ease his nerves.
New Guy shrugged. "I don't mind. She means well."
Hm, so he's polite AND hot. What a fucking combination.
Dipper's dick threatened to betray him for the second time that day and it wasn't even eleven o'clock yet. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, she's a good person. Even if it can get a little annoying sometimes."
"Mm," New Guy hummed his agreement and sipped coffee from his half-full mug.
A few seconds later, Mabel returned to the table looking defeated. The stain was a shade lighter but still very obvious. "I'm gonna have to get a new shirt today." It was a good excuse to go shopping anyway, but she'd be lying if she said it didn't bum her out a bit. She fished around in her purse and pulled out several crinkled dollar bills, tossing them onto the tabletop as a tip. "I'm gonna say goodbye to Susan quick. Do you guys need doggy boxes or anything?"
Both men shook their heads, stuffed and sated. Leftover pancakes warmed up in the microwave later were nowhere near as good as fresh ones.
"Okay, I'll meet you outside when I'm done." She headed over to the bar counter and Dipper watched as she farewelled Susan with hugs and laughter and showed her pictures on her phone.
He turned back in his seat and saw New Guy holding one of the bills in his hand, looking over it thoughtfully. Dipper couldn't tell, but he was staring at the Eye of Providence as though mesmerized by it. Deep within, it stirred some kind of sensation - some kind of vague familiarity that he couldn't put his finger on. Weird.
"Hey, you ready?"
Dipper's voice caused him to put the money down and smile. "Yeah, I'm good." They slid out of the booth and exited the restaurant, momentarily blinded by the bright summer sun. Mabel joined them a few minutes later and hooked her arms around theirs. "To the mall!" she proclaimed, marching them out of the parking lot and into town.
