Dipper was the first awake and pretty abruptly about that. Well, at least he wasn't having his nightmare anymore, that was that, though he was still tired. He didn't really try to go back to sleep, seeing it was eighth in the morning anyway. He stayed in his bed a little longer, trying to calm himself before finally getting up, thinking that a shower would be a good thing to help him be less tired for the morning.
He took a quick glance at the demon, his sleeping form telling him he would most likely not do much damage in the couple of minutes his shower would take. He grabbed a clean pair of jeans, a shirt and some clean underwear before going for it. He still didn't take much time, not wanting to let Bill with no one watching over him.
'Maybe I could have taken longer' thought Dipper while drying his hair with a towel, the demon still asleep on the ground. He hesitated before crouching down next to him, shaking him up a little to wake him up. "Wake up, we're going shopping" he simply said after he saw the demon open his eyes, grumbling something about not wanting to get up, even if he did anyway.
"I'm not going out with those, right?" asked Bill, looking at himself in the mirror on the wall. Dipper looked at him confused, why couldn't he. "Why not?". He catches the demon's eyes through the reflexion, Bill looking as if he thought Dipper was really stupid for his question. "Sure, those fit you, but I need something more proper to go out" said the demon.
Dipper didn't respond for some time, as if he was waiting for Bill to say he was joking. Sure, it was a really casual look he had right now, but he could deal with it for now, no? Apparently no, since Bill was dead serious. The human was debating inside himself if it was worth arguing, feeling like he wouldn't give up so easily on this one.
"well... maybe Stan left some clothes in his room" said Dipper, purely supposing that. He also took a better look at Bill's face, his own eyes couldn't let go of the black one. "And you need something for your eye" he pointed out "I don't need you to attract too much attention" he explained. For that it would be easy to find, he most likely still had his pirate costume in the closet from some summer Halloween, Mabel had really wanted to do a pirate themed that year.
He was happy to find the eye patch easily, throwing it towards Bill, knowing he would find a way to put it. He then went downstairs, making sure the path was clear before going with Bill. Finding some clothes in Stan room was a little harder since they took most of them with them on their boat adventure. But, he luckily found the old Mystery Man costume. Once on Bill, it was a little too large for him, but by the demon's expression, Dipper got that he was more satisfied by this outfit.
"You look like some kind of sketchy guy" commented Dipper amused. A too large button up shirt, pants that were too large too, but the good length, the eye patch and the tattoos. There weren't any dress shoes to go with it, so he was stuck with Dipper sneaker. He wasn't looking more "proper" but more like a sketchy guy in his opinion. Well, they could find better later. "Still better than a slug" responded Bill with a smirk.
"Whatever, let go get breakfast" he said while passing him to get out of the house, making sure he had his bag, just like the day before, and his wallet. Bill walked at his side this time and not behind him. He had to admit, it was less stressing that way.
It took them some time to finally get to lazy Susan Greasy's Diner, after all, they were on foot, but at least now they were seated and could eat. Dipper was also surprised that the demon wasn't complaining about the place, he wasn't going to mention it either, it was good like this and he wouldn't go somewhere else, he really liked lazy Susan food.
"Who's this pretty boy" asked the old lady when she came to get their order, smiling at the new face. "A friend from school" said Dipper before Bill could even try to say something stupid. Bill gave him an amused look, so now they were friends from school, he could play with that. "Dipper wouldn't stop talking about this place through the years, so I ask to come to see for myself", smiled the demon "And I'm really happy I did" he adds, making Dipper roll his eyes. Well, at least he wasn't causing problems.
They ordered after some talking with the woman, before going back to the two of them, Bill watching the human in front of him. "Where are we going shopping? I doubt there is a really good shop here, no offence to the people you like so much, I just have different standards". Well, he wasn't really meaning the no offence, but that wasn't important at the moment.
Dipper had the feeling of talking with Pacifica, or at least for the first time they knew each other. Of course, nothing would meet his standard here if his standard were gold and expensive stuff. "There are some more formal stores, though you might find more at the thrift store, that's pretty much where every 'old' clothes from the Northwest family go since they have such a big heart" said Dipper. Well, he could be sarcastic about it all he wanted, it was still a good thing, they could find something for him without costing Dipper his whole bank account.
"That sound good enough" Said Bill while nodding and smiling "Could find something better for you too" he added with smirk. "Well, sorry not to have such high standard as you in clothing" said Dipper a little annoyed, especially since it wasn't really the first time he could hear that. "I might try and look for a new bracelet though, can't have Ford know about it, Mabel was right, it wasn't the best place to have my tattoo".
"Yeah, not really smart of you Pine Tree, I thought you were better than that" laughed the demon, "But at least you can look at me all the time~" he added in a teasing tone. Dipper scoffed a little, turning to look outside the window, missing the demon pout from his lack of responsiveness. "Anyway, where did Shooting Star got it, then?" he asks to change a little the subject.
"On the ribs, so she could hide it easily, even when going for a swim, she doesn't bother much when we're not in Gravity Falls unless Ford and Stan are visiting" he explained. He had to admit, it was a smarter choice since it was easier to hide in the Summer, he was stuck with wearing long kind of bracelet to hide it. Ford never questioned it, that was good enough, he wouldn't be the best to ask with his coat in the middle of summer.
"I still can't believe you two did that" admitted the demon, but sounding clearly pleased at the idea that both of the twins had something of him on them.
"Like I said, Mabel wasn't totally sober when we went to the tattoo shop and I was deprived of sleep, so we did it... funnily enough none of us regretted it after the whole situation finally sank in" admitted Dipper. He wasn't sure why he was telling him that, he never explained it to anyone and only Mabel knew why they did it and more he never thought Bill would ever know, so why being so honest? He didn't really have the time to think about it since Lazy Susan was back with their plates.
Luckily Bill didn't add anything about that, only going on about how good those waffles were. "That's why I came here all the time" simply said Dipper with a shrug. Normally he was with Mabel, not really liking going out alone to eat, but Bill was apparently able to be good company. He was stealing glances towards the demon, amused at how he seemed to enjoy his breakfast. He never thought Bill could act like this, he would have imagined a more annoying and violent person.
Finally... it wasn't that bad to pass some time with the demon. If he was going to be like this all the time, he wouldn't mind. Sure, he was annoying and all, but it was still nice, especially since he knew Mabel would pass lots of time with her friends. He kept in the sigh he wanted to let out, eating his waffles.
They could finally go to the thrift store, which was the closest one after Bill asks for two more plates of waffles. Dipper had to stop him, otherwise, he would get sick and he didn't want to deal with a sick demon. At least by now he was really awake, ready to help find some clothes.
When they entered the store, Bill hadn't taken a long time before spotting the formal clothes, going directly for that, Dipper following behind. The Demon was looking through the clothes poles, taking out items and throwing them at Dipper so he could keep them. "You do realise I don't have infinite money, right?" asked the human, still keeping the clothes, pretty used to it by now. "I will find a way to repay you, don't worry" said Bill, still looking through the nearly new clothes.
It took long minutes of going through the whole area of more formal clothes before the demon finally went to the fitting room. It only then Dipper realised that Bill didn't really look the sizing, now just seeing what would fit or not. He then just left the dream demon to try on the clothes, going instead in the accessory section.
He was looking for a new bracelet that could cover a large section of his wrist and forearm because he surely wasn't going to get caught first with his tattoo. Let say they had made a bet about who could hide it the longer, both knowing that Dipper was most likely going to lose. Anyway, he still had some time until Ford and Stan arrival. At worst, he could always use some bandage and pretend he injured himself somewhere.
He was trying one a nice looking leather bracelet with some forest pattern burned on it when he heard someone whispering his name right next to his ear, making him drop the accessory and squeak a little, quickly turning toward the demon. Bill was standing there with a shit eating grin, clearly satisfied with the way he scared the younger one. Dipper was going to says something when he was cut by the demon "I finished, you found something you like?" he asked instead, taking a look at the bracelet he was wearing.
Dipper took a quick glance at the pile of clothing that was very much smaller than before, seeing away a poor employe with all the other clothes needing to be put back. Well, at least it wouldn't kill his bank account. "Yeah... I think this will do good" he answered while showing the leather accessory. It seemed to have the approval of the demon since he was humming and nodding.
They went to the cash register after Bill found some nice golden looking triangle piercing and dressing shoes. Really not a surprise, but they weren't that pricy so he took them too. Once out of the store, Dipper was grabbed by the arm as Bill was pulling them towards a back alley, stopping only once there were not in view anymore, grabbing the bag to get some clothes.
"You can't change here!" said Dipper, looking back to make sure no one would come towards them. "Relax, it's not like I am giving a show or something" answer Bill amused, throwing Stan's clothes at the human. Dipper finally turned toward him, before asking "Wait, is that my underwear? When have you took those?"
"Oh, when you went to get some food yesterday, I assumed they were clean... they are clean right?" asked Bill, raising an eyebrow. "Of course" said Dipper, as if he was keeping dirty underwear to travel "It's not the problem". He only gained a laugh from the demon, clearly not understanding why it was bothering him.
By then he was finishing dressing back up and Dipper had to admit that the demon had good taste. A dark grey button up shirt under a yellow waistcoat, a bow tie, some black dress pants and his new shoes looking new. He was finishing the look with one of his new piercing, Dipper still surprises that his ears were pierced.
Dipper didn't say anything first, still surprised by how well fitting the clothes were on him. Bill was smiling at him, clearly pleased with the effect he had. "Well, I can assume this look good?". Dipper coughed a little as he finally stopped staring, pointing at his own hat "You are missing the top hat" he commented.
"Yeah" said the demon while looking up, as if looking at the top of his own head "Well, they didn't have any that were looking nice, maybe later" he said with a smirk.
"Now back to the shack so I can drop this bag in my room and let get some research done" suggested Dipper as he was placing the folded clothes in the shopping bag. Bill seemed more like he wanted to keep doing other things, but this wasn't really a bad idea. "I know somewhere where we could go first" suggested Bill.
Dipper looked at him, curious, but the demon didn't say anything more, taking the lead instead. "It's a secret, you will know once we get there" he told him. Dipper started walking after him, asking him a couple of times what he wanted to do, trying to guess, but it was really going nowhere. He only stopped once they got to the shack, entering through the back door where he was sure Soos wouldn't be working. Going yet again upstairs to place the shopping back in a corner of his room, grabbing some more things he could bring with them.
"Brobro you're back!" he could hear from outside the door, making both men freeze. Dipper was the faster to react, pushing Bill inside the closet, closing it and moving away quickly enough so Mabel didn't notice when she got in. "I see you're finally home, was it fun yesterday?" he asks as if nothing happened.
She smiled and went on about all the things they did and talked about, sitting on the bed as Dipper was giving a quick glance at the closet door. It took at least ten minutes before Mabel had finished, asking for what his twin had done. "Oh, nothing really exciting, went for a hike yesterday, read a lot before going to sleep, went to lazy Susan, the usual stuff" he answered. Mabel was surprised to hear he went to lazy Susan restaurant alone, something he didn't really do, but guessed he wasn't twelve years old awkward Dipper, but nearly twenty years old less awkward Dipper.
"That sound nice" she said with a bright smile "You were going out again?" she asked as she was seeing he hadn't yet dropped his bag like he usually does. "Oh yeah, I was going to go and see again if I couldn't find back... the jackalope I think I saw yesterday" he said while finding some excuses, feeling guilty from lying to Mabel. "Wanna come?" he asks, knowing it would be out of characters for him not to suggest it.
"Nah, I would really love to because they must be so cute" answered Mabel "but I think I'm too tired to keep up with you, we did talk until really late in the night" chuckles Mabel with a soft smile at the memory from the day before.
The happiness from his twin made Dipper smile softly, happy to see she had a great time with Pacifica. "It's fine if I find one I will try to take a good picture or a video so I can show you". This made her really excited, telling him great luck on his hunt before excusing herself, saying she really needed to take a nap. "Sure thing, sleep well Mabel".
He stayed there until he could hear the door from Mabel room being close, going back to the closet, seeing a semi annoyed Bill in it. "A jackalope?" he still asked with an amused smile, the idea of being forced into the closet not the worse he could have had. "I needed an excuse" whispered Dipper in case his sister wasn't already fast asleep "and since I have no clue where you want to go, I had to come up with something".
After the demon got out of his hideout, they were on their way out, making sure not to make too much sound, Bill leading the way again. It was like this even through the forest, Dipper having no idea where they were going, only that it was getting farther and farther from the shack. Not that he was really worried, he did lose his way pretty far away too, it was more that he would be all alone with the demon in the middle of nowhere.
When they finally arrived, Dipper was surprised to find a simple clearing and pond. "You wanted to come to a clearing?" asked the human, kind of lost about why he wanted the come here.
"Well Pine Tree, I would have thought you found it in Six Fingers journals" Said Bill will calmly walking towards the pond. "If you are curious, this place is a great place for any creature to regain some magic and power" he explained while sitting on a rock, looking at Dipper with a smile.
The human wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but at the same time what could he do? Dragging Bill back to the shack? He was clearly not strong enough for that and he himself was supposing the lack of power from Bill's end would be hard for them to send him back. He just sighs, going to sit on another rock.
They stayed there in silence, Bill lays on the rock and letting the sun warm him, as Dipper was taking notes about all he could find about this place, just in case he didn't have the page about this place in one of Ford journals. Plus, he had the weird impression of himself feeling better the more they were staying.
"Bill" he said to catch his attention, knowing he had it when the demon simply hummed back. "Can this place... affect humans?" he asked after some time of hesitation. "Maybe, it depends" answered the demon. "I know it was affecting Ford on some level and since you are from the same family I guess you can too be affected by magic, I wouldn't be surprised if you could work out some spell too".
"Wait, what". Dipper couldn't really believe him, could he really work on being able to use magic spell? Was Ford able to do that too? He was taken out of his questioning when he heard the demon laugh as he was sitting up. "Ford never told you he was able to manage some? He's smart and good at a lot of stuff, but he wasn't the best at magic if I had to be honest, not enough magi in him, otherwise, he was draining himself".
Bill was surprised to see the suddenly excited expression on the younger one as if he really wanted to learn too. Well, he has managed to deal with ghosts and other types of things, it wouldn't be a surprise if he could do better. It could be actually funny to try and show him some tricks. This thought only made him smile wider "I can show you after some time here so we are sure you won't pass out on me".
He didn't even need to hear the boy answers, his face was enough.
Well... maybe staying some time wasn't such a bad thing too, he was clearly not getting as bored as he had often been in the Mindscape.