I do not own Gravity Falls.

Warning: this chapter contains bullying.

To: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn)

From: Grunkle Ford (Highsixer)

Subject: Running late

Hey kids,

I just wanted to give you some warning that Stan and I may be late for our video chat. We're facing some rough waves here and we can't spend too much time below deck. We'll be fine, just delayed. We'll text you when we reach calmer waters.

See you in a bit!

The pair of rough hands collided with Dipper's chest, sending him sprawling backwards to the pavement. He landed with a grunt, his bare skin scraping against the black surface. A burly blonde loomed above him, a sneer on his freckled face.

"What the matter, Dipstick?" he taunted. "Haven't you toughened up yet? I'm getting tired of having a sparring partner who doesn't spar back."

Gritting his teeth, Dipper got slowly to his feet, watching the classmate who had been bullying him for years warily. "And I'm getting tired of dealing with you," he snapped. "Just leave me alone Freddie."

"Wow, someone's gotten bolder," sneered Freddie. "You normally know better than to talk back to me. That stupid hat must be melting your brain."

The second his fingertips brushed the beige ushanka, Dipper's eyes flashed and he kicked out, nailing Freddie in the shins. The blonde hopped backwards with a startled yelp, reaching down to rub the bruising limb.

"Don't touch my hat," hissed Dipper, clinging to it protectively. "Don't touch me. I'm giving you one last warning, Fredrick. Back off and grow up. Picking on people isn't cool. It only shows how insecure you really are."

There was a collective ooh from the onlookers gathered around, none of which seemed much inclined to intervene. The fighting between Freddie and Dipper was a well-known display, but Dipper had never defended himself to such a degree.

Face flushing red with rage, Freddie reached out and grabbed Dipper by the front of his shirt. "I'll show you insecure!"

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense," retorted Dipper.

He managed to wrench himself from Freddie's grip, not before getting caught across the eye with his fist. Shocked for a brief moment, Dipper shook away the stars swirling in his head and retaliated. He ducked the second fist and slammed his head into Freddie's gut. Winded, the blonde stumbled back a few steps, unable to prepare himself to counter the punch sailing his way. Dipper's fist landed squarely in his nose, a satisfying crunch audible.

"You little creep!" shouted Freddie, one hand clutching his bleeding nose. "I'm gonna crush you—"

"Who're you calling a creep, Hawser?"

Barrelling through the crowd was a blur of pink and brown. Mabel catapulted herself into Freddie, sending him crashing to the ground. She placed one foot on his chest as Dipper moved to stand by her side.

"Leave my brother alone!" she cried, glaring angrily at the one who caused her sibling so much grief over the years. "I'm not gonna tell you again. If I ever see you messing with him again, I'm gonna knock you a good one one!"

Mabel, who before the summer could never have looked threatening if her life depended on it, now radiated intimidation. Her eyes were narrowed into slits and her fists were clenched at her sides. Her foot was digging into his skin with enough force to add another bruise. Dipper's punch had hurt more than Freddie ever thought it would, evident by the fact the thin boy actually broke his nose.

"Yeah, all right!" whooped someone from the crowd, and the others quickly started a chant with, "Pines, Pines, Pines!"

Seeing that he was outnumbered and the mass was no longer on his side, Freddie straggled to his feet, silently fuming. "Whatever," he bit out viciously. "You're not worth my time anyway."

"Funny," drawled Dipper. "I've always thought the same about you."

Nursing his throbbing nose, Freddie slunk off, shoulders slumped with humiliation and anger. Mabel watched him go before turning a sharp frown on the crowd, their chanting coming to a slow halt. "Thanks for the help," she snapped, irritated with their bystander behaviour.

"Come on," muttered Dipper, taking her gently by the arm. "Let's go home."

Thanks to Freddie's instigation, the two missed their bus and started the trek for home. Mabel tucked her brown hair behind her ears. "Typical. There's never a teacher around when you need one." She regarded her twin worriedly. "He really got you. Does it hurt?"

Dipper reached to gently prod his right eye, flinching at the pain the soft touch ignited. "Very. But I think Fredrick got it worse."

"I can't believe him," said Mabel furiously. "What have you ever done to him?"

"Well, I'm quiet and weak. A natural prey for the predators of the world." Dipper rubbed his sore knuckles, a soft smile crossing his face. "I took long enough to fight back, huh?"

"Definitely," agreed Mabel. "But you were great. The look on Fredrick's face when you punched him was hilarious."

"I'll remember it forever." Dipper nudged his sister's arm affectionately. "Thanks for always coming to my rescue."

"Of course. No one gets to push you around. That's my job."

"Yeah, and you do it better than anyone," he quipped.

Studying Dipper's injury, Mabel remarked, "Wait until Grunkle Stan sees that."

"Oh, no way!" he said quickly, shaking his head hard. "He's not going to know about this."

"Why?" she asked, bewildered. "He's the one who toughed you up over the summer. He'd be proud to know you defended yourself."

"Sure, but then he's going to want to know how long he's been picking on me." Dipper kicked at the ground bitterly. "I'll have to tell him it's been since the day we pretty much started school. He'll know just how much of a wimp I really am."

"Was," corrected Mabel. "Not that you were a wimp—you just didn't like fighting. Remember the boxing lessons Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford had to take? They were bullied too. They'll understand. They'll never think less of you for being a victim."

Dipper rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a headache beginning to brew because of the pain. "I know," he said softly. "I guess I'm just embarrassed it took me this long to fight back."

"Hey, better late than never." Mabel linked arms with him. "Let's go home and get some ice on that shiner. If it swells shut we can get you an eye-patch. You can be a pirate!"

"Yeah, I'd rather not."

…

At the sound of her text alert, Mabel rolled over on her bed and reached for her phone. She quickly scanned the text and called, "Dipper, they're ready!"

Her brother entered their shared bedroom a minute later, a new bag of ice pressed against his injured eye. "Geez, about time. Must've been some storm they were going through."

The twins went over to the laptop sitting on their desk and Dipper dragged over a beanbag for Mabel to sit in. They positioned the webcam and soon their screen was filled with the familiar faces of their great-uncles, who looked pretty weather-beaten.

"Yikes, you guys don't look so good," voiced Mabel with a giggle.

"We don't look so good?" asked Stan incredulously, instantly zeroing in on the ice Dipper clutched to his face. "Your brother isn't looking so hot either."

"What happened?" asked Ford in concern.

Though Dipper briefly debated on making up some excuse, he knew it wouldn't work. The problem with having a professional conman for a relative was that you couldn't sneak many lies past him. "Got into a fight after school," he said with a sigh.

Stan's eyes narrowed. "Who jumped you?"

"He didn't jump me. He just insulted me and pushed me around," muttered Dipper. "It escalated when I fought back."

"Totally not his fault," chimed in Mabel. "Fredrick's been picking on Dipper for a while. He was just defending himself."

"We know," soothed Ford. "We would never think Dipper instigated a confrontation. Are you okay?"

"Fine." Dipper lowered his ice pack so they could see the fading black eye. "Just going to have this for a while."

"This punk has been messing with you for a while? Exactly how long?" pressed Stan.

Dipper flushed. "I dunno. Since the first grade, I guess? He was always taller and stronger and he chose me, his opposite, as his target."

Ford frowned sharply. "It's been going this long and no one's done anything about it?"

"The teachers sorta just sat Fredrick and Dipper down and told them to work it out," explained Mabel when Dipper shrunk in his seat, forlorn. "That ended badly, so Dipper kept it quiet. Our parents don't know. They work pretty much twenty-four/seven and Dipper didn't want to bother them with this. We've dealt with it."

"By yourselves?" demanded Stan. "Nobody stood up for you?"

Dipper and Mabel exchanged glances. "Not really," the boy finally answered. "We don't have too many friends here. They think we're weird."

"That's why we love Gravity Falls so much," added Mabel. "It's the first time we've ever had so many true friends."

This admission caused the two men to fall into silence. Stan gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white, as anger coursed through him at the loneliness his kids were forced to deal with. Ford had his arms crossed tightly over his chest, not missing the parallels that once more presented themselves. Dipper and Mabel were so much like himself and Stan, more than Ford wanted. He could vividly remember his days with his brother exploring the beaches of their childhood, and the bullies that scoffed and sneered at them. He knew what that feeling of isolation felt like, and it ached him to his core to know that Dipper and Mabel were experiencing the same thing.

Nervous at the tense silence that stretched on, Dipper hastened to add, "But that's okay. We're okay."

"No, it's not okay," said Stan furiously. "You're great kids, you hear me? No one has the right to treat you like this."

"That's right," agreed Ford wholeheartedly. "Your classmates are so caught up in the student structure of the school system that they refuse to acknowledge the ones deemed 'misfits' because they want to be cool. It's all utter nonsense. There's no such things as cool. It's all a construct."

"I dunno, Wendy's pretty cool," said Dipper in a weak attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

Stan could not help but crack a slight smile at that. "Wendy's in a league of her own, kiddo." His expression then went back to serious. "If that Fredrick jerk tries to pull something, let us know. We'll deal with it."

Dipper eyed him. "I know you have contacts from your previous 'business' dealings, so that vague threat makes me slightly uncomfortable."

"Send the gnomes after him!" said Mabel eagerly.

"I don't think we're able to send an entire tribe of a mystical creature across state lines," said Ford in amusement. "But if you do have any more problems, do let us know immediately."

"I think Fredrick's done with his bullying. Dipper really clocked him one," said Mabel cheerfully.

Stan brightened at this, looking at his nephew, impressed. "You did?"

"Yeah." Dipper smiled. "I think I broke his nose."

Stan burst into laughter at that. "That's my boy! Did you use the left-hook?"

"Yup!"

As his great-uncle beamed at him with pride, Dipper suddenly felt foolish for thinking, even for a second, he would be thought less of. Stan and Ford had been in the exact same position he and his sister were in. They knew better than anyone the trials one had to face when being perceived as different and odd. It was because of them, and their friends in Gravity Falls, that Dipper and Mabel learned to be comfortable with themselves.

Their days of being bullied were over. They would fight back and stand up for themselves. And if a certain blonde didn't learn his lesson…

Well, Dipper was sure Ford and Stan would drive the point home.

To: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan)

From: Grunkle Stan (StantheMan)

Subject: Package on the way

I sent something that might be of use to you, kiddo. It went by express mail, so it should get to you within a couple of days. How's it going? That Fredrick kid giving you any more trouble?

To: Grunkle Stan (StantheMan)

From: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan)

Subject: RE: Package on the way

Wow, thanks a lot, Grunkle Stan! I can't believe your old boxing gloves are still in good condition. You must have really taken care of them. I'll be careful with them, I promise.

I'm doing great. My eye doesn't hurt anymore. I actually brought the boxing gloves to school today to sort of show them around. Fredrick saw me and literally ran in the other direction! His nose had a cast on it and everything. It was hilarious. Mabel nearly died laughing.

Thanks for everything, Grunkle Stan. If it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't have had the ability to punch Fredrick that hard in the first place. I appreciate everything you've ever taught me.

Love you.