Settling Back In

It seemed almost strange being back in California. The twins' parents were outside to greet them as Dipper parked the car in the driveway, and they exchanged hugs and kisses before taking their luggage inside. Dipper looked around the neighborhood, at houses that were closer together than he would have liked, the trees that really could have been more numerous, and mowed lawns. He could hear cars driving by on nearby roads. His heart already ached for the peacefulness of Gravity Falls, overgrown grass, dark forests, old homes and that smell of pine sap on the wind. Waddles had come home with them, but that didn't cheer Dipper up much.

Noticing her son's glum expression, Mrs. Pines said, "Dipper, are you okay?"

"Hm?" He looked over at her and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I just kinda miss Gravity Falls."

"Well, you won't be gone long," she said. "You're moving back after you graduate, right?" Dipper and Mabel had already told their parents of their plans for after school.

"Yeah, I am."

"You just have to get through a year and then you can go back. It'll be easy."

Dipper nodded and took the last of the suitcases inside. He only had a few minutes to unpack some things before his parents decided to take their kids out to eat as a birthday present, and soon they were back in a vehicle heading toward San Francisco.

I don't know how you stand it, Pine Tree, Bill whispered in Dipper's head. Tall buildings, the lack of nature, it's... oppressive.

Dipper nodded slightly as he flipped a page of one of the new books he had received. Yeah, I'm used to it, but I don't like it much. Ever since my first summer in Gravity Falls, Piedmont just seems... overbearing.

I do like this stretch of road, though. A bit too open for my tastes, but that does give a nice view of the sky. And without any big cities nearby it would have a wonderful night sky. We should stargaze tonight.

Sure. If I'm done unpacking.

I'll help you. Just call for me when you get home. For now, I've got things to do. Talk to ya later.

Then Bill's presence was gone, and Dipper was alone with his thoughts. He focused on his book, occasionally speaking when addressed, but mostly staying quiet. Mabel, meanwhile, filled their parents in on everything interesting that had happened in Gravity Falls. Except for the whole near death experience, of course. And she also didn't mention her brother making that life-changing deal with Bill. No, she talked of her adventures with her friends, and the various cute boys she flirted with, and of the paintings she made and sold while there.

That last one made Dipper glance over at her. Paintings? He really had shut her out, hadn't he? He couldn't really recall seeing her paint at all.

Then Mabel told them about Preston Northwest's death, and Pacifica taking over the family's business.

"We were following the murders in the town," Mr. Pines said. "We were almost going to tell you to come home, but decided that the odds of you being attacked weren't that high. You're both excellent at defending yourselves, and my uncle is... very protective. He would never let anything happen to you."

"No, we were fine," Mabel said. "They still have no idea who it was, though... I hope they're gone by next year. I don't want Dipper to have to worry about that." She gave him a sly look, though, and he tried not to smile.

"I'm sure they'll find them," Mr. Pines said. "So, Dipper, you haven't talked much. What were you doing? The way Mabel was talking, you weren't really with her that much."

"Oh, no, we kinda... did our own thing for once," Dipper replied. "She was socializing with her friends and having a good time, and I... well, I spent more time exploring the town and the forest. Finding things for my journal, and all..."

"Ah. Did that keep you busy?"

"Very busy, and I found lots. Even a dragon." He knew his parents were still skeptical of all his stories, and he had accepted that. But he wasn't going to lie to them unless he absolutely had to.

"That sounds dangerous," his mother commented.

"Oh, it was," Mabel said. "It almost killed us."

Dipper kicked the seat in front of him as he quickly sat up, nudging her. "Mabel!"

"Well, it did," she huffed. She rolled one of her sleeves up and leaned forward. Even though Bill had healed her, she still had a scar, which she showed her mom. "Look, here's where it bit me."

Mrs. Pines glanced at her arm, then did a double-take. "You have a scar!" She stared at the marked skin, grasping Mabel's wrist as she looked at her arm from different angles.

"But we got away from it," Dipper said hastily. "I pepper-sprayed it and it left us alone. We're fine."

"You really need to be more careful out there," Mr. Pines said. "That town is extremely dangerous. And I know how curious you both are. If you really did find a... a dragon, you're lucky it only did that much."

Wanting to change the subject, Dipper said, "Well, we didn't mess with anything else dangerous. The rest of the summer was pretty relaxed. So uh... where are you taking us to eat at?"

His mother replied, "Oh, you'll see."

"Is it that Mexican restaurant?" Mabel asked excitedly.

"You'll have to wait and find out."

While Mabel laughed and pestered them for hints, Dipper leaned back and lifted his book again, thoughts occasionally drifting to the town he had left. This year was going to take forever.

Before long the summer was over and the twins returned to school. Mabel was soon catching up with her friends and getting involved in the same clubs as last year, and even taking up volleyball. Dipper had a couple close friends, but besides them, he didn't really hang out with anyone. He simply showed up, did his work, and returned home at the end of the day. He tried to hang out with the science club for a few weeks, but it didn't seem to hold the same interest as it used to, so he dropped out of it.

It was considerably more difficult for Dipper to sneak out to run errands for Bill now. His parents would notice if he got in his car and left at night, so he would instead leave right after school to take care of anything Bill needed done, simply telling his parents he was studying with a friend. Still, it wasn't a daily occurrence. He was dealing with Bill's enemies once a week now, at most. The rest of the time he was leading a fairly standard life for a teenager in twelfth grade.

Bill didn't seem to mind too much, though. He said there will be plenty of time for Dipper to serve him, and for now, he needed to focus on school and do well so no one would bother him. Before going to bed, Dipper would often practice magic in his room, and this was something he could do daily. He was soon excelling at anything he attempted, and Bill was proud of him. The demon soon began bringing him reading material, old spellbooks he could learn from, first teaching him the languages inside, and then tutoring him through every chapter. It was nice, and Dipper would stay up for hours reading with only a single lamp on, usually getting chewed out by one of his parents when they found him still awake at midnight on a school night, but he kept doing it anyway.

Weekends were a time for going on long journeys, and Dipper became more and more proficient with his teleportation. By September he successfully traveled to the east coast, landing somewhere in Florida among huge oak trees draped in moss. Bill confirmed he had arrived in the correct state, and he was tired but proud. It had taken some more traveling to find who exactly they were after, but it was still a good bit of magic.

Absorbing souls hardly even hurt anymore. Not even human ones. And Dipper began using them, weaving magic into his body to strengthen his muscles, give him endurance and speed he would never have naturally. His best knife was covered with enchantments, one of which literally drained life from a person and turned it into energy for him as he struck at them. Very useful.

And every day, it seemed he and Bill grew closer and closer. As soon as Dipper was alone, Bill would appear to him and hold his hand, lean against him, watch him and speak to him with such happiness. There was really no tension between them anymore. Dipper no longer hesitated to do anything he asked of him, so Bill never had to threaten him or even really give him orders. They argued playfully sometimes, even had magical fights, but there was no fear. Bill didn't want Dipper to be afraid of him; it was so much more satisfying when someone served him completely of their own free will.

Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Dipper had concluded that he was falling in love with the demon. Despite their rocky beginnings, the initial distrust, the manipulation... he liked him. He was really fond of him, enjoyed spending time with him, appreciated everything that the other has taught him... he wanted to be with him for the rest of his life. Well, of course he would be anyway. But he wanted to be. He was always thinking about Bill, imagining what else the demon had to teach him, what they could do together, where they would go... He was obsessed with him.

And at his age, Dipper was also unfortunately influenced by hormones. His thoughts sometimes strayed into dirtier territories, and it wasn't like that was a bad thing, it was natural, just... Bill could read his mind. And with him already having an emotional attachment, his mind really did like to conjure up images of their relationship becoming more... physical, so to speak. Which he wanted, and he knew Bill was open-minded, but... it really wasn't appropriate to think these things about him.

But hormones often refused to be ignored, and some nights did find Dipper taking care of the problem in the easiest, quickest way, just trying to keep his thoughts clear and not accidentally get Bill's attention. After all, the demon wasn't always spying on his thoughts. When not with Dipper, he was usually out in the Mindscape, maybe halfway across the planet, maybe in another dimension, who knows. But he wasn't going to be listening to Dipper's thoughts all the time.

But one night, he may have gotten just a little bit carried away.

And he may have just let the tiniest whine of, "Bill, please..." slip out as he used his hand to push himself to his edge.

And of course, Bill, the bastard, heard. And not only heard, but decided to come see what Dipper needed.

"Yeesss, Pine Tree, how may I- oh."

"Bill?!" Dipper jerked up, scrambling to drag covers over himself, unable to make eye contact. "I, shit, I..."

"Ohh. You were... right." Luckily, Bill didn't seem angry or disgusted. He seemed more quizzical than anything, leaning slightly on his cane, eye sweeping over Dipper's quite disheveled appearance. "Want me to leave?"

"N-no, you don't have to... fuck..." Dipper ran his hand through his tangled hair, keeping his eyes aimed at a point just to the side of Bill. "Look, I was just..."

"Pine Tree, relax. Do you think you're the first human I've seen pleasuring themselves? People have been doing that for millennia. Calm down. I don't care."

Dipper slowly looked at Bill's eye, seeing that he was amused. Aware of how much he was blushing, Dipper said, "Even if you have seen it before, it's still awkward for me..."

"Well if I had known what you were doing, I probably wouldn't have showed up. Well, I might still have." Bill gave him a mouthless smile. "You make the most interesting faces when you're in pleasure."

"Oh God..." Dipper screwed his eyes shut, flopping down and throwing an arm over his face.

"Aw, don't be embarrassed, sapling." Bill landed next to him and ran a hand through his hair. "It's natural. And hey, when I have a human body of my own, I can even help you out with that stuff."

That made Dipper look up, shock subsiding into hope and maybe a bit of arousal. "You... you would help?"

"Mm yep." Bill played with a lock of hair, curling it around. "I'd be happy to. I do really like you, after all. As close as we are already, I think the next natural step is physical affection, hmm?"

Dipper nodded in agreement, tilting his head into the other's hand. "I'd like that."

"Of course you would. So, want me to leave and let you do your thing, or would you rather I stayed here and watched? I could help, actually..."

Dipper's face grew hot and he pulled back. He was not ready for that kind of thing yet. "N-no, that won't be necessary, just... you can go back to doing whatever you were... I can handle this alone."

"Heh, of course you can. Well, have fun, then." Bill started to float away, then stopped and turned back to Dipper. "Oh yeah, here's something for you to think about while you're doing that... I don't play gentle. When I finally get a human body and I can properly touch you, and you submit to me, I am going to give it to you fast and rough, and I'll get you screaming underneath me, begging me for more."

Dipper choked back a moan, almost grabbing himself before managing to stop. Bill laughed at his distress.

"I can't wait to show you how rough I am. You're going to love it. Pleasant dreams, Pine Tree." Bill tipped his hat to him and disappeared. After a few moments, Dipper swore and returned his hand to between his legs, working to finish now, unable to stop thinking about how Bill had described his style. Forget everything else between them... that was probably the cruelest thing Bill has done to him. But that was fine... he'll get to experience it for real one day. Just had to hold out until then. Hopefully it won't be such a long wait.