When she came into the Shack at 9 AM- technically 8:57, but she wouldn't quibble- Dipper was there, eyes bloodshot and an empty cup of coffee clutched in his hands. His face sort of turned to track her, eyes not really registering where she was so much as the fact that she was there. If there was a greeting to be taken from the piteous moaning that came from his mouth, she couldn't decipher it.
"That bad, dude?" She sat down across from him, putting her long legs up on the free chair normally filled by Mabel. "Another nightmare?" She winced sympathetically at him when he managed a nod, head lolling about like he was a puppet with his strings cut. "Was it, like, similar to the other one, or-"
"Nuh," he managed, upending his coffee cup over his mouth to down whatever last drops might still be there. "Just normal shit. I've had similar before, so it's just shitty timing. I've barely slept for two days now, man," he finished with the smallest of smiles dusting his face.
"I'll say, dude. Total negation of cool. Any way I can help?"
"Do you know a special lumberjack sleeper hold technique that will knock me out for a dreamless sleep?"
She joked back to him, "I mean, I could snap your neck or some shit, Dip, but that wouldn't really help too much, huh?" She laughed a small little laugh, and his wasn't much better. She shrugged. "It's whatever, man. What sort of insomnia is gonna stop the unstoppable Dipper Pines?" She punched him lightly on the shoulder, and he grimaced a little.
"I'm pretty damn stoppable, Wendy. I'm not tough like you are," and she could hear the faint tone of admiration in his voice that hadn't gone away since he was twelve.
"You kiddin'? Dude, you wrestled a bear when you were twelve. You went off into the woods with a flail and brought back some demon goblin thing ten times your size in a damn sack! Face it, dude- even when you were some noodle armed runt, you were a total badass." She crossed her arms, daring him to disagree with her.
"I was lucky," he protested.
"Duh!" She stuck her tongue out at him, and his eyes darted to the appendage quickly, then back to her eyes. "And, also, awesome. Don't sell yourself short, man. We saved the world together, so you get some bragging rights. It's not everyone that can keep up with a Corduroy," she boasted jokingly.
"Yeah, yeah, you're awesome. And, so am I, I guess," he conceded. He yawned, blinking rapidly as a stroke of sunlight came in through the window between the slats of the blinds. "Damn I'm tired. It's been, like, four hours already that I've been up. I can't fucking deal, man," and his head thudded onto the table.
She got up, standing behind him and rubbing his back in soothing circles. She thought that she might have been a bit flushed, but she forced herself not to dwell on it. "What have you even been doing, dude?"
"Trying to get back to sleep, mostly. I spent some time filling out my journal, too," he motioned to the leather bound book with a pine tree symbol on it. "Kill me," he whispered theatrically.
She snorted. "No such luck, Pine Tree. You're stuck with me!" And she wrapped her arms around his shoulder companionably, resting her chin on his head. He chuckled, reaching up to rest his hands on her forearms.
"What would I ever do without you, Wen?"
She giggled. "Be incredibly bored and less awesome, of course. And also probably dead. Good thing you'll never have to find out, Pines."
He laughed throatily, and then sighing contentedly, enjoying his friends comforting proximity.
"Say, where's the second half of your terrible twosome?"
"Mabel's out with Pacifica, I think," he said.
"Oh. That's... Great," she said guiltily.
"Like, super great."
Break
"It's not like I don't like Wendy, you know? She's great! She's funny and pretty and she's, like, the super-coolest chick I know, plus she's great at all the mystery stuff! And shes-"
"Mabel! Not helping!"
"Sorry," squeaked the chastised girl, blushing a bright discus color as she sunk into herself momentarily. But she bounced back after a second, taking Pacifica's hand as they sat at the small cafe on the corner of Main Street. "But, like I was getting at, Paz, is I really don't think that Bro-Bro would do well with her, you know? She's, like, our older sister, plus Dipper already had his super crush phase on her. So I just have this feeling like it's a bad idea and I don't want to see him hurt. Plus, it's obvious that you're, like super-gaga over him-"
"-I am not sup-".
"-and you two would be the most adorable couple," the hyperactive brunette finished, ignoring Pacifica's attempted outburst. "So, that's why I'm gonna help you with Dippingsauce and his awkward ways. Yeah?"
Pacifica sunk into her fancy sounding drink that had cost way too much for her strained wallet, contemplating the latte swirls and slight steam coming off it. "I shouldn't, you know?" When Mabel only gave her an encouraging smile, she pressed on. "I've known the dork for years, and, yeah, he's cute and brave and handsome and-" She cut herself off, taking a sip from her drink to calm her before she rambled some more to the female twin. "Yes. He's my best friend in the world, except for you, and that title depends on the day of the week," she laughed softly.
Under her breath, Mabel softly chanted, "Al-pha twin, Al-pha twin," and Pacifica suppressed a snort at the ridiculous girls antics.
"I shouldn't be so into him, Mabes. I shouldn't want to be closer than I am! We've got this good thing going, and I'm going to fuck it up because of hormones," she finished with disgust in her voice.
"Pazzy baby, you've been into him for a lot longer than the past couple days. It's obvious to a love expert like me," Mabel said, striking a pose that looked even more ridiculous given her hand dyed hippie shirt, a bedazzled bandanna holding back her long hair.
"Yeah, sure," the blonde dismissed. "Says the girl who fell in love with a fish!"
Mabel passed her a scandalized look, before blowing a raspberry in her direction. "I'll have you know, Mermando was a perfect gentleman! Also, super cute."
"And I bet he smelled like salmon," she snipped.
"Tuna actually," and they broke out into happy giggles. Mabel took a drink from her cup, all fruit and sugar and surprisingly little caffiene. Around them, the cafe, called Mary's Hideaway, sleepily played out its morning routine, groggy patrons speaking in hushed voices over steaming cups of coffee. "You have it bad, girlie. And you have for years now, even if you deny it. I grew up with you two; I know damn well what I saw!"
Grumbling, Pacifica took an angry drink from her cup, mumbling, "yeah, yeah, whatever."
"But!" The blonde found Mabel's finger now a scant inch from her small nose. "But! We have to talk about how we are gonna knock Dippers socks off! And maybe about how you'll go and get your rocks off-"
"Oh, would you shut up!?" Pacifica threw a wadded up napkin at her, bouncing off of the grinning girls forehead.
Giggling even harder, Mabel did her best to suppress the snorts and guffaws. Finally, she calmed enough to lean forward conspiratorially. "So, Paz... Here's what we're gonna do. Dipper won't even know what hit him!"
Break
She was sixteen, running through the woods, Dippers hand desperately clutching hers so that they didn't get separated. Behind them, the mad beast, crashing through the trees and underbrush just behind them, snorted and snarled it's displeasure, roaring a challenge to the sky.
"Just a bit more, Paz!" His panting breath was harsh against the forest air, like a fire was burning through his lungs and trying to break out. "Just a little more!"
She, on the other hand, was far more well paced, her lithe form used to running for fitness- not for escaping some demon creature in the woods, but it would do. "Whatever, dork; just run faster! Your plan doesn't work if we get crushed to death first!"
She could hear the shit eating grin spreading across his face. "Scared, Paz?"
"I'm gonna trip you and leave you for the beast, you fucking moron!"
"You are scared!"
She would have smacked him for his impertinence, but the snarling was right behind her, breathing down her sweat streaked neck and blowing into her hair. Instead, she pushed herself forward, leveling with the smirking asshole who was clutching her hand. "I am much too pretty to die, so you better fucking move it, Pines!"
"On three!"
She groaned, knowing what was coming up.
"Two!"
The animal behind her was gaining ground, feet pounding the forest floor eagerly, almost tasting blood from behind her blonde locks.
"One! Jump!" She brought her lead leg forward, pushing off the ground with an ease brought from desperation. She sailed through the air over an unassuming patch of forest floor, hoping that her leap was far enough. She never let go of Dippers hand, clutching at it so hard that she thought she felt his bones creak beneath her fingers. They landed on the other side, the uneven stride causing them to stumble and fall in a heap together. Their eager would be predator charged forward, roaring at them, saliva dripping from sharp fangs-
The ground beneath it gave way. With a surprised yelp sound, the beast fell into the pit that they had dug and covered over, leaves falling all around as it landed with an ungainly thud.
"That was... a really... stupid plan, Dip." He laughed, still entangled together in a pile of limbs and flyaway hair.
"Hey, you said you wanted me to start running, right?"
"For your health, you fucking dweeb!" She really did hit him this time, smacking his shoulder with as much force as she could muster from the poor angle she was in. He chuckled, so it wasn't enough. "So that, the next time you do stupid shit like this, you have a better chance as not ending up a bloodstain on the floor!"
"Where's the fun in that?"
She made a strangled screaming noise, wondering if she could get her hands around his throat from where she was.
"Great job, dudes!" They turned to see Wendy striding along nonchalantly, axe held over one shoulder, her hair in a loose ponytail as she strode to them. Along the way, she casually chopped her axe into a rope that was obscured by one of the trees around them, causing the net in the middle of the pit to tighten up and then pull up, brining the animal that was chasing them up ungracefully, struggling in the heavy duty net. "Well, don't you two look cozy," she teased as she got to them. She offered a hand.
Dipper took it, pulling himself up, and taking Pacifica with him, the two dusting off all the leaves now attached to their clothes. As they turned and meandered to the tent, Wendy continued. "So, what exactly is this thing, anyway?" It was a squat creature with a long tail and powerful legs, each ending in a three clawed foot. It's head was lizardlike, a short jaw filled with sharp teeth, a forked tongue slipping through the bright green scales that made up its lips. It hissed at them, although the effect was lessened by how it's tail, seemingly with a mind of its own, was currently smacking it in the face.
"Well, whatever it is, it's mean and ugly and I don't like it," sulked Pacifica from her position safely away from the net and the struggling creature.
"I think it's some kind of wyrm or ground wyvern. They usually dwell closer to the mountains, but this one wandered down here and started hinting a ranchers cows. Good thing we got to him before he got shot, huh?"
"Yeah, great. Next time, don't use me as bait, okay?"
Wendy threw her arms around the twos shoulders, the axe now leaning against a tree nearby. "Ahh, cmon, dude, you loved it! Action, adventure, awkward sweaty hand holding? That's, like, the perfect Pine Tree date night!" She threw back her head and laughed at her own joke, Dipper doing his best to sink into himself while Pacifica blushed heavily, turning away so that the other two wouldn't see. She was muttering under her breath about how this very much was not a date, thank you very much, when Wendy continued, drowning her out. "Nah, you guys did awesome. Alright, let's load up this bad boy into Soos' pickup and drive it home!"
Laughing, Wendy ran off, grabbing the discarded axe and loping off to where the beat up Chevy was hidden.
"Hey, Paz," Dipper said quietly, still looking at the struggling reptile instead of her.
"Yeah?"
"After this is through, do you wan-"
Crash
Pacifica fell down, landing on her rear, hitting the dirt of the road with enough force to daze her for a moment. That's what you get for daydreaming, she mused. She struggled to her feet. "I'm, like so sorry, I didn't see where I was-"
"It's cool, Paz," said Wendy, the flannel clad girl looking none the worse for wear for Pacifica barreling in to her on her nightly jog. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," she said. She shook her head in order to clear it, distractedly wiping some dirt from her running clothes. "Why are you...?" She made a flailing gesture towards the darkening woods, feeling just a bit out of her depth while she was thus rattled.
"I'm on my way home, chick. Got done at the Shack, now I'm gonna buzz out, you know?"
Pacifica, in fact, did not know, but she nodded nonetheless. "Oh. That's... Good. That's... Yeah."
Wendy gave a bemused smile to the younger girl, taking a small, perverse pleasure in seeing her so flustered just by her mere presence. "Yeah. Real good. Well, night, Paz. I'll see you tomorrow for the pig bash, yeah?"
"Y-yeah, I'll be there."
"Great! See ya," she said, starting to move back down the path that she was going before Pacifica had bumped her.
Now, Pacifica had expected to feel something upon seeing the girl. Anger, hatred, jealousy. Hell, even some envy or misappropriated hormonal flashes. Instead, she was just... There. Maybe a bit of shock at literally running into her, but that was it. Watching her back as she walked away, though, the Northwest felt a need to do... something!
"I... I know what you're doing, Wendy."
Apparently, that something was being a complete and total fucking idiot, despite her better judgement. The Corduroy stopped, turning halfway to entreat the girl with a sly smile.
"Oh? And what, exactly, am I doing, Paz-Paz?" Now there was the anger, however muted; she only allowed Mabel (and that, begrudgingly) to call her that diminutive. The redhead crossed her arms under her chest and waited.
"You're... You're going after Dipper. You're gonna chew him up and spit him out, just like with every other boy you got your claws into."
"Am I, now?" Wendy raised an eyebrow delicately at her, a small, dangerous something crossing her gaze.
Picking up steam despite herself, the blonde continued. "Yeah. Yeah! Ive seen it a dozen times, and that's only when I cared to look. Dipper deserves better than that, better than what you would do! I won't... I won't let him hate this place because of you!" The venom in her voice took the Corduroy aback for a moment, but she retaliated quickly.
"I'm gonna fuck him up, huh? Chew him up and spit him out? Girl, you're out of your blondie mind. Know what I think? I think little Miss Northwest wants the one thing she can never have so badly that she'll use me as an excuse for it." Her arms uncrossed, and she strode towards the smaller girl with purpose. In her defense, Pacifica didn't flinch or back down, merely locking eyes with her opponent. "How did it feel, watching him grow up and knowing that he was just out of your greedy little reach? Seeing him become the best man you've ever known, and knowing that you would never be good enough for him?"
Despite herself, Pacifica felt hot, angry tears prick at her eyes as the taller girl unknowingly spoke the words that had haunted her sleep. She didn't answer, biting her lip to ground herself, to not sob like some stupid little girl.
"That's what I thought," Wendy said, victorious. She smirked, turning to walk away.
"It feels bad," said Pacifica. The retreating girl stopped, but didn't turn around. "It feels like I'm always scrabbling and trying my hardest to be better than what my parents made me. If feels like I'm always not good enough for Dipper, or Mabel, or Soos, or even you. For anyone at all, actually. And it feels like I'm trying. I'm trying so fucking hard, Wendy. And I'm never going to stop trying. And I'm going to be good enough, because I refuse to let you hurt him. I'm beautiful, I'm still rich, and I'm his best friend. I know him, and I know what he likes in a girl. You won't win," she finished, voice ending on a strong note.
She couldn't see it, but Wendy was smiling, as if she was relishing the challenge. She didn't know exactly when Dipper had become some sort of prize, but she was a Corduroy. She refused to lose. "Good. Good to see that fight I knew you had in you, Pazzy. But you've got one thing going against you that you can't beat, little girl."
Pacifica raised her head high, glaring into the red mane that was mocking her from scant feet away. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"
Wendy's grin widened. "I'm Wendy fucking Corduroy!"
