Dinner had been finished not too long ago and Dippers parents had settled in for an evening of television downstairs, leaving the twins free to continue their current attempt at trying to get Mabel prepared for her latest upcoming math test up in her room. Mabel was sprawled lazily across her bed with the textbook spread open in front of her and a look of intense concentration on her face while Dipper was sitting at her small work desk checking over some of the sample questions she had just finished. It was really more of an arts and crafts table than a desk to tell the truth, and Dipper found bits of glitter and old stickers latching onto his sleeves like barnacles as he leaned over the desktop and scratched a few notes and corrections onto the page.
"Done," he announced once he'd finished checking over the last problem.
"Alright… so… um… how did I do this time? Be brutal here- no sugarcoating." Mabel said, turning to him with a stern look on her face, ready for anything.
"Mabel, asking for less sugar? Are you sure you haven't been replaced by some sort of pod person while I wasn't looking?" Dipper asked in mock surprise.
"Quit stalling and just spill it already… did I even get any of them right this time?" Mabel asked as she absentmindedly slipped a lock of hair into her mouth and started chewing it nervously.
"Well, you definitely did a lot better than when we started out… you actually got almost all of them correct, even if I'm not really sure how you still solved number four using a completely wrong formula." Dipper replied.
"Wait- I got most of them right?" Mabel said with a note of surprised glee in her voice.
"Yep, 8 out 10 – thats solid 'B' territory." Dipper said with a note of pride in his voice.
"Yes! I'm a mathemagical genius!" Mabel exclaimed, pumping her fists wildly in the air with a big grin splitting her face.
"I'll call up the Nobel prize people and tell them to start polishing up your future medallion." Dipper said dryly. Inwardly he was enjoying the sight of her smile, his eyes drawn to the soft curve of her lips with distracting frequency.
"A 'B' though? I don't think I've gotten one of those in this class since the start of the semester – I had to bust my butt to just get it up to a 'D' before!" Mabel said with a note of barely suppressed giddiness in her voice, pointedly ignoring her brothers sarcasm.
"I told you that you could get this stuff… I mean, its just numbers – all you need to do is figure out how to put them together and the problems pretty much solve themselves." Dipper said.
"Well yeah, I'm sure they do if you've got some sort of weird computer brain but normal humans sometimes have a few problems with that kind of stuff." Mabel replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"I think the last thing I'd ever call you is normal." Dipper said with a teasing grin.
"Good one buttface," Mabel shot back as she childishly stuck her tongue out at him.
"Maybe that one was a bit buttface-y yeah," Dipper concedes. He's always teased her and she's always teased him back, but sometimes he wonders just how much teasing is okay now that they are… well, whatever it is they are. She's still his sister, nothing would ever change that, but at the same time he knows she's much more to him than just that. Mabel had declared them to be boyfriend and girlfriend, simple as that, and though Dipper felt that summed it up pretty well most of the time there were days when the unconventional nature of their situation would throw him through a loop. He didn't regret the turn of events that brought him here, he never has, but in the privacy of his own mind he still feels uneasy at times since it all seems so fragile.
Still, even with his occasional doubts Dipper knows that whatever this odd relationship is he's been very happy finding himself involved in it.
"Well, buttface or not you really helped me out a lot here with all this tutoring we've been doing… thanks for putting in all that extra time here with me. I know it can't have been too much fun going over this stuff again and again." Mabel replied with a soft note in her voice. Just the sound of that strangely gentle tone in her voice is enough to send a little flutter of butterflies in his gut, but he does his best to ignore them.
"Don't mention it… Anyway it wasn't really much trouble – you picked up on this stuff pretty quick when we actually concentrated on going over the material and weren't… you know… distracting each other," Dipper said, his ears going beet red as his sentence trailed off.
"Heh… yeah I guess we didn't really get too much actual studying done last time," Mabel agreed with a slight blush coming to her own cheeks.
"Or the time before that… honestly I think that I might develop some weird fixation on math problems if we keep mixing these two activities together like that." Dipper joked.
"Well we wouldn't want that to happen, would we?" Mabel replied, "Though you gotta admit that it would be hilarious if me whispering sweet nothings about fractions or whatever in your ear would get you all frazzled. You'd probably never be able to focus in math class again."
"To be totally honest I've been having sort of a hard time focusing in most of my classes lately anyway, not just math." Dipper said somewhat sheepishly.
"Oh really now?" Mabel asked playfully, scooting her way along the bed until she and Dipper were facing each other directly. He could feel her bare knee brush against his as she leaned forward, putting her face close to his and raising an eyebrow at him in a questioning manner, "Why do you suppose that could be Dip?"
"Well I've been seeing this girl lately and she's been on my mind a lot," Dipper said breezily, trying to sound more calm and casual than he actually felt… truth be told his palms were starting to get sweaty and he could feel his heart begin to thump a bit harder than normal when he noticed the frisky expression that was starting to make its way onto Mabel's face.
"Well I think since I did so well on this last practice quiz that we're both entitled to a little break," Mabel said cheerfully, "so how about you come on up here and tell me all about your new lady friend?" she continued, patting the empty space next to her on the bed invitingly.
Dipper swallowed the fluttering nervousness that he always felt whenever this peculiar tension started building between them and joined his sister on her small bed with its overly soft mattress and unruly zoo of stuffed animals scattered across it, trying not to seem overly eager in his movements. He didn't have to worry too much on that account since Mabel was clearly just as interested as he was – no sooner had he taken a seat than she had scooted along closer until she was leaning up against his side, sliding her arm out around his waist. Dippers own arm slid out automatically around her side to pull her in close, still marveling at the new sensation of feeling her pressed close to him like this… warm and soft and fitting perfectly nestled right against him like they were matching puzzle pieces.
"So, whats this girl like? Give me some details man!" Mabel said playfully with a sparkle in her warm brown eyes.
"Well she's incredibly cute, though between you and me she can be a little silly sometimes." Dipper replied, his earlier nervousness starting to fade away in place of a sort of joyful anticipation.
"Silly you say? I wouldn't think that a serious guy like you would go for the silly type." Mabel teased in a soft voice, leaning up close to him to trace her lips in a feather light trail up the side of his neck and toward his ear in a way that was both ticklish and incredibly exciting at the same time.
"I'd say she was definitely my type," Dipper replied equally softly, stroking his hand down Mabel's cheek and tilting her head up to face him. Their eyes lock and for a moment he's just frozen by the intensity in her look – its only for a second, but it feels so much longer to the teens hormone addled brain.
"So are you going to stare at me some more or are you going to kiss me?" Mabel teased, a blush coming to her cheek when she saw an expression of intensity in her brothers eyes that mirrored her own.
His answer is immediate and definite, sliding his arm up around her back and behind her head to gently pull her face to his as he leans in to her. Their lips meet and part immediately, no hesitation in this kiss… it isn't their first kiss or their second or even tenth but even so it still feels just as exciting to the both of them as if they had never done anything like this before. She's wiggling up against him now as her hands roam up his back to knock his cap off his head and tangle her fingers in his hair. Dipper feels an unconscious shiver travel down his spine as she gently traces her brightly painted nails along the back of his neck. His own hands are hesitantly traveling up along Mabel's side, sliding up the small of her back before coming to lightly rest on a small round breast – she gives a little hum of approval into Dippers mouth and his touch becomes more firm and confident. Distracted as he is, Dipper is taken completely by surprise when Mabel's hands slide up to his shoulders to push him down onto the bed with gentle force, and she climbs up onto his lap to pin him back completely with a triumphant grin on her face. She doesn't feel particularly heavy resting on top of him and Dipper is sure that he could probably easily throw Mabel off if he wanted to, but right now nothing could be further from his mind.
A faint sound echoes up the staircase and Dipper shoots a quick nervous glance at the door, but Mabel catches his eyes and bends down over him with a mischievous grin on her face to bring her lips close to his ears. He feels a small shiver travel down his spine when she speaks, her hot breath in his ear feeling almost unbearably nice;
"Relax Dip, the door has been locked the whole time… plus we are doing very important studying time here so no one is going to interrupt – my academic future depends on it." she says, her voice playful but with a husky note that he's still not used to hearing. She nips his earlobe gently after she finishes the sentence.
"Right. Studying." Dipper replies in a dazed voice, his mind a happy blur from the feel of Mabel's warm weight resting lightly on top of him and the scent of her tumble of jasmine scented curls so close to his face.
"So, since we're done with the math for right now," Mabel continued in a teasing tone, "how about we brush up on our makeout-ology?"
"I'm pretty sure that isn't a class – its probably more like a sport." Dipper replied, his brain finally having emerged from the happy pink clouds that it had been drifting through a moment ago.
"That can't be- you're actually really good at it." Mabel joked.
"Ouch, that one stung a bit." Dipper said, wincing as if he'd just taken a hit. Though the fact that she thinks I'm good at it is certainly nice to hear.
"Okay, that one was a bit mean… and I guess you're actually right about its sportiness – we do usually get kind of out of breath and sweaty by the time we're finished," Mabel conceded playfully.
She looks like she's about to crack another joke but Dipper doesn't give her the chance, quickly propping himself up on his elbows to bring his lips to hers again for another kiss instead. Mabel doesn't seem to mind the interruption at all judging by the way that she hums and purrs happily into his mouth, her tongue sliding gently against his as his hands stroke across her back and through her hair. She bites down on her lower lip to stifle a moan after Dipper breaks their kiss and instead plants his lips firmly against the soft skin at the crook of her neck and shoulder, a weak spot of hers that he had discovered not too long ago and now liked to tease at every available opportunity. The weirdly ticklish sensation is almost too much to handle as it sends Mabel wriggling around happily and she ends up unconsciously rocking her hips against Dippers and he feels his own buck up to meet her. A jolt of feeling suddenly shoots through the both of them at that moment, causing the twins to freeze up simultaneously. They pull back slightly, each breathing hard and red in the face… this is unfamiliar territory. They've kissed plenty, and done more than kissed, but they still haven't started anything this physically intense before… even fully dressed as they are its a bit much for them to process.
They don't say a word, but Mabel gently slides herself off of Dipper and he rises up to a sitting position and takes a deep calming breath. Neither of them speak and the silence stretching between them has a brittle uncomfortable quality to it.
"Should we get back to the math maybe?" Dipper asks hesitantly. In his own mind he would much rather return to what they were just doing a few moments ago, but he forcefully quiets the hormones roaring in his brain when he sees the uncertain look in Mabel's eye.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea." Mabel replied, reaching for her discarded text book and absentmindedly flipping back to the chapter she'd been going over earlier. Her face now seems calm, if a bit pinker in the cheeks than normal, but Dipper notices that her hands are trembling slightly as she skims through the pages with unseeing eyes.
"Hey… um… is everything okay?" he asks, reaching out a reassuring hand to place on Mabel's shoulder. He's worried that he's done something wrong, but she doesn't flinch away from his gesture and when he gives her a gentle squeeze she gives him a small smile in return that seems uncharacteristically shy for Mabel.
"Yeah, its cool… nothing wrong or anything," she says. Her eyes drop back to the book but he knows that she's not really paying attention to it since its upside down and on the wrong chapter entirely.
Dipper doesn't say anything, giving Mabel time to sort through her thoughts, and sure enough she glances back up at him just moments later and says, "Um… I guess its just that I was a bit embarrassed about, you know – getting a little too… I just don't want us to go really fast with that stuff… well, I mean I actually kind of do want to… but you know its not… blargh – never mind. Ignore everything I just said."
"Sure, no problem Mabel – all forgotten." Dipper replied quickly. He's feeling a little knot of nervousness in his gut just hearing Mabel talk about that kind of stuff, even if its in an incredibly roundabout way, and he has no real idea how to react in this situation. "We don't have to go… um… fast or whatever. I mean, unless you wanted to but you said you don't so its cool. Totally cool. Yeah."
"I thought you said it was forgotten?" Mabel asked accusingly, but there was no real anger in her voice – she just has a little bit of nervous awkwardness underneath her usual playful tone.
"Well I remembered it again, but this time I promise to forget. No more talking about this stuff until… I don't know, whenever you want to talk about it." Dipper said, finishing up his sentence with a cartoonish zipping up his lips gesture.
"Well its not like I don't ever think about… you know… it. The thing… naked bouncy kind of stuff…" Mabel said, her voice trailing off quietly.
"You can just say sex you know – we aren't little kids anymore and its not like we didn't do a whole chapter on it in that Health class we shared last year. I believe you actually got in 'A' in that section if I recall correctly." Dipper replied jokingly.
"I kind of had a head start on you in that class – Grunkle Stan had already explained pretty much all that stuff to me a few years back." Mabel said sheepishly.
"Wait, you got 'The Talk' from Stan?" Dipper asked incredulously.
"Well he thought I was you at the time – it was during that day when we switched bodies." Mabel explained.
"Oh yeah I remember that… oh wow, I must have really dodged a bullet there didn't I?" Dipper said.
"You have no idea… he did these little hand gestures and.. ugh… okay, next time I feel myself getting too frisky I'll just think about that. Instant mood kill." Mabel joked.
"Yeah, that sounds like a pretty foolproof plan there." Dipper agreed. "Though… I mean, we could just maybe talk about that stuff… you know, figure it out before we get too deep into anything. That seems like a mature way to handle things." he added hesitantly.
"What, are you saying that I'm not being mature?" Mabel asked.
"You did just refer to it as 'naked bouncy stuff'." Dipper replied.
"Okay, maybe calling it 'naked bouncy stuff' was a little immature." Mabel conceded, the tension in her shoulders loosening at the friendliness of Dippers expression.
"Just a tiny bit yeah." Dipper said with a smile.
"Well… I don't know, I don't like being put on the spot. What do you think about it?" Mabel asked.
"About naked bouncy stuff?"
"You aren't going to let that go are you?" Mabel said with a pout.
"Sorry, that was the last time – I promise," Dipper said raising his hands in mock surrender. He paused to gather his thoughts and felt his ears redden up a few more shades as he seriously considered the question. What do I think? That's actually a really good question… I mean, its not like I haven't thought about this stuff… a lot. Especially lately now that things have gotten more… touchy… between us. Its just not that simple though… I mean, even if we weren't… us… it still probably wouldn't be simple. What do I say?
"Yeah, I can see how talking about it is really taking a big step here – I'm practically drowning in a sea of words," Mabel said with a nervous chuckle at the silent look of slightly embarrassed confusion on Dippers face.
"Hey, that's unfair – I was just taking a little time to get my thoughts together," Dipper said defensively.
"Sorry… take as long as you want… I really do want to hear what you think about this stuff. I've just kind of been circling around in my own head about this junk for a while and its sort of been getting to me." Mabel said somewhat shyly.
"Yeah, its been like that with me to." Dipper admitted.
"Really? I practically had to paint a landing strip on my shirt to get you to second base the first time." Mabel joked.
"I hesitate! Its not like I don't want to do things with you but this is all sort of new ground here for me… I mean, I'm not really sure when its alright to do some things or when we've gone to far or whatever – possibly because we don't ever talk about it." Dipper protested.
"And possibly because you're a little awkward." Mabel said with a nod.
"Yeah, that could also be a factor." he said.
"Well I guess its not like I'm being super non-awkward about this stuff myself here… I mean… I want to do… stuff… with you… but-" Mabel began.
"Stuff?" Dipper interrupted.
"Argh… fine! I really want to jump your stupid dorky bones – happy now?" Mabel said exasperatedly, dropping flat back onto her bed and grabbing a fluffy purple cat from her pile of stuffed animals to jam over her reddening face.
"If I said yes would you hit me with that cat?" Dipper joked, feeling his mouth go dry as his mind fully took in what his ears just heard. Oh wow she really wants to… um… dang.
The toy flew through the air and bounced off of Dippers head in response, though it wasn't thrown terribly hard. He caught Mabel's eyes with his own and gave her a small smile and she smiled back at him and just like that the tension of the moment was broken, sending the two into a fit of laughter. Dipper flopped back down on the bed and Mabel rolled up beside him to rest her head on his skinny chest, still chuckling quietly to herself as he pulled his arm out around her to give her an affectionate squeeze.
"Well, I guess that cat is out of the bag." Mabel said with a sigh as she nestled herself in a little closer to Dipper.
"Yeah… so the question is what what are we going to do now?" Dipper replied, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
"Well there isn't going to be any naked bouncy stuff tonight, that's for sure." Mabel said in an exaggeratedly authoritative voice.
"I figured as much," Dipper said dryly, "but I can't deny that the fact that it sounds like a future possibility is something that interests me quite a lot."
"Me too." Mabel agreed.
"Do you feel a little better?" Dipper asked.
"Actually I kind of do… just letting some of that out of my head does feel pretty good." Mabel said with a small smile.
"Glad to hear it," Dipper said, "So um… should we maybe figure out a few things for that particular future possibility? You know, places or times or…"
"Oh no – I'm not going to let you turn this into one of your crazy 48-point-checklist situations!" Mabel objected.
"Whats wrong with doing a little thinking?" Dipper protested.
"Nothing is wrong with a little thinking, but you sir get obsessive. Anyway everyone only ever gets one first time and I'd want it to be special… you know, romantic and stuff. Planning out a day and time and junk like that just sounds kind of gross- like we're setting up a dentist appointment." Mabel said.
"Well alright, I guess I can see that." Dipper said.
"Thank you."
"In that case what do you usually picture… you know, situation-wise?" Dipper asked.
"I don't know – romantic stuff? Just the two of us somewhere like a beautiful beach or by a pretty waterfall or in a haunted house or something." Mabel said.
"A haunted house?" Dipper asked in slight confusion.
"Okay maybe that one doesn't sound really romantic but it keeps popping up in my head for some reason." Mabel admitted.
"Huh… well that might be something I should keep in mind around next Halloween." Dipper joked.
"Oh shut up," Mabel laughed.
Dipper grinned and pulled Mabel to him for a soft slow kiss which she returned happily. One kiss quickly became two, which turned into three and before long they were lost in a happy haze together, all thoughts of their earlier conversation temporarily put aside.
"I love you Mabel," Dipper said during a brief pause in their distraction.
"Love you too Dip," Mabel said with a happy grin on her face.
"We'll figure this stuff out… when it feels right it'll happen, so lets not stress ourselves out about it for right now." Dipper said.
"Agreed," Mabel said cheerfully, pulling his face to hers for another kiss that sent his head spinning, wiggling herself in tight against him to mold her body against his. "Of course," Mabel said in a slightly breathless voice, "now that we've been talking about it I'm thinking that doesn't mean that we still can't do some other stuff right now…. you know, till we're really ready for the full deal."
"Such as?" Dipper asked as his heart began to hammer away in his chest at the look in his girlfriends eyes.
"Lets figure that out together," Mabel said with a grin as she wrapped her arms around Dippers neck to pull him in for a searing kiss.
Oh I definitely think I'm going to end up with a serious THING about studying, Dipper thought hazily before he started to lose himself in the moment with Mabel.