Everyone was silent after what happened, not moving from even a millimetre.
Bill suddenly sat up, his shaky hand obligating Dipper to keep himself upright as he was straddling his legs. A panicked gaze was scanning the young man face, apprehending the worse. Had Dipper took the shoot for him? Was he now going to forget everything about him? Everything had happened so fast he couldn't have pushed them both away from it.
He left out a breath he didn't know he was keeping when Dipper offered him a small smile, as if not sure himself it was all real. "Wow, I made it" said Dipper in disbelieve, apparently sure he was going to be hit by it. He was surprised when he was suddenly pulled to Bill's chest, the demon hugging him tightly against him, as if scared he would go somewhere he couldn't reach him, hiding in his neck.
"You idiot!" he restrained himself from screaming in the crook of his neck not to hurt his ear "You could have been hit by the Memory gun" he said as if it wasn't something evident. He was still feeling panic in himself, unable to calm himself from the fear of being all forgotten by Dipper. "What should I have done if you forgot about me, what should I do with this weird loving feeling I have if you don't have it too" He whispered against his skin. "Please, never do that again Mason".
The young man was surprised by his tone, sounding nearly as if he was begging him not to do that again. He was also surprised by him actually using his name, already used to him calling him by his silly nickname or even the one everyone was using for him.
He left out a chuckle, relieved too of not having forgotten about the feeling he had. Dipper hugged him tightly back, slowly rubbing the demon back to calm all the trembling he couldn't control. "I promise I will never do that again" he promises as he gave a shy kiss on the demon's neck, not able to do better since he was still hiding against his neck. "Now you can calm down, I'm safe and still remember you plainly, so you don't need to panic anymore" he said, keeping on slowly reassuring Bill on his safety and how he won't forget about him, how he could now relax.
It was hard and weird to see the demon looking this distress since it wasn't something he normally was. And Dipper doubted he was actually used to fear in his original form, or just feel anything even. So it was probably hard for Bill to keep up with such a distressing feeling. He would like to be scared of what could have happened if they hadn't fallen in time, but he instead focuses on calming his love.
They were so lost into reassuring each other that they totally forgot about the other Pines still near them. Ford had dropped the gun, most likely damaging it, when he thought he had shoot Dipper instead of Bill. Sure, it would have most likely just made him forget all about Bill, but he still couldn't believe he did such a big mistake, because what would have happened if he had tried to erase something else?
He was taken back to reality when strong hands suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his coat, turning him towards an angry Stanley. "What the fuck Stanford!" he yelled, "You could have hit the kid with that!". Ford couldn't respond to that, his wide eye going from the angry expression on his twin face to the two lovers embracing each other tightly near them.
Stanley wasn't one to joke with memory loss, as he was still struggling sometimes from what happened. Even if it was about forgetting that damn demon, he was against using it on any of his family. Because he knew. He knew how hard it was to have part of your memory totally blank, even if you know there is suppose to be something. It's extremely frustrating.
Mabel hadn't been able to move, still looking at the pair stuck in each other's arms. What would have happened if it hit her twin? What would have happened with all the memory he had from him? As much trauma it caused them, it was also what build a big part of their personality and who they were now, how could Dipper forget what had made him who he is? And as selfish as it sounded, how would she have been able to keep going forward with no one to stand beside her with those memories?
And as much as she couldn't believe that her precious brother was in love with Bill Cipher, she couldn't stand seeing him forget about the one love he had that was finally mutual. She wasn't sure how she was feeling about that, but it wasn't something she was concerned about for now. She was just relieved her brother was fine and could still be happily in love.
After some minutes of being tangled to each other and Stanley mostly yelling at his brother about how bad of an idea it was, Dipper and Bill finally got up. The demon had finally calmed down, taking off the eye patch to pass his hand on his face, trying to hide he had nearly cried. When his hand finally left his face, Dipper froze at the glowing red iris of the demon, glaring at Ford.
Dipper was quick to catch Bill, even if it wasn't that efficient, trying to keep him from doing anything the Ford. "You" growled the demon, making the twins shut up and froze, turning toward the angered demon. If Dipper wasn't doing something quickly Ford was most likely a dead man.
Dipper hugged him from behind, his head against his upper back, trying the pull him backyard. He could see it was taking everything from Bill side not to just push him away violently. "Let me go Dipper" he asked only to feel the other one pull hard.
"Please Bill no" asked Dipper, not loosening his grip one bit. "You promised you wouldn't hurt anyone from my family, you got to keep your promises". Bill really wanted to say he nearly shoots him and he didn't really care, but he knew Dipper wouldn't forgive him if he was hurting a member of his family, or at least voluntarily and violently.
The other Pines were surprised to see the demon listening to him, even if it was clearly pissing him off to not be able to do what he wanted to do now. Was he so attached to the young man he was ready to put his murderous anger on the side? Just because Dipper asked him to do so?
He just turned to Ford, making the man flinch a little, then looked at the Memory gun on the ground, using some magic to make it come to him. He didn't even bother trying to see how it work, a thing he would most likely have done in normal time, instead, he started to turn it to shred with the help of some spell. Like this, it wouldn't be close to hurt Dipper anymore.
He could feel the young man relax a little against him, clearly satisfied with the fact he didn't go for hurting his great-uncle. Dipper had to admit, at least this way they wouldn't have to worry about Ford using the Memory gun again.
"Can you let go now" asked Bill, eyes closed as he kept his voice more gentle this time, "I need to take a walk to calm down" he simply explained. Dipper thought it could be a good idea for him to do that, guessing it might not just be a walk and destruction might add, but at least it wouldn't be from his family.
He then let go of the demon, letting out a relieved sigh, starting to head for his family, supposing he needed to speak with them and that the demon would prefer to be alone. Well, it was a wrong guess, as he suddenly felt Bill grabbing him to carry him in his arm bridal style before turning to walk away. Dipper had looped his arm around his neck to be sure he wouldn't be dropped, blushing at how he suddenly choose to carry him around. "Bill!" he yelped, before asking him multiple time to let him down.
He tried for the next five minutes, but nothing came out of it so he settled on trying to enjoy the "walk". At least he could feel the demon slowly calming down, his eyes going back to their beautiful golden colour. He simply rested his head against his shoulder, sighing as he closed his eyes.
He was trying not to feel a little panicked himself at the idea he could have forgotten everything about Bill. It was something really scary to think about and he didn't like the idea, but it had been the first thing he thought of doing at the moment. But apparently, he had a lot of luck because it didn't happen. It didn't happen and it what they should focus on right now. Plus, the Memory gun was pretty much destroyed right now.
He was surprised when the demon finally stops walking, opening his eyes again as he was slowly being put down. Bill didn't let go of him though, keeping him close to him and hugging him. The demon managed to calm himself down, knowing what kind of consequences would have followed if he had hurt anyone. He couldn't understand why Dipper was so protective of someone who nearly whipped an important part of his memories.
Sure a lot of the memories Dipper had of him were... bad, really bad even, but slowly he was changing that. He was pretty sure the young man wouldn't want it to disappear in the fraction of a second. Especially as an accident since he jumped in front of it carelessly.
"I'm okay" smiled Dipper again, as if to make sure Bill was understanding that "Stanford clearly as learn his lesson and without the gun he can't do anything anymore" he continued to reassure the demon, but also himself. His hand were gently playing in the golden looking hairs, replacing them neatly. "So no need to kill him or harm him" he still warned, knowing well it was still somewhere deep down in Bill.
The demon just responded with a sigh, mumbling something about being too loving of Ford, but still promising not to do anything to him. Dipper didn't felt the need to add Stan in his request, as Bill didn't seem to see him as a threat. Sure he wouldn't be happy about Bill being there, but he wouldn't have tried something like this. Also, he didn't know about Bill and hadn't had a say in the matter.
He suddenly realised they were yet again close to the shack, a little surprise he took them back there. Bill must have felt his surprise and hesitation since he went on explaining "I thought you might need to talk with them". And it wasn't false, Dipper needed to speak with them, otherwise, things wouldn't get better, or at least settled things a little.
He called Mabel on her phone, gently waving at her when he saw her appear in one of the windows. He asked if they could calmly all talk outside over something to drink. Mabel was more than happy to help, as she really needed an answer as to why was Bill back and why was Dipper wanting to protect him so much.
Once they had placed a table with enough chair, made sure they had some light with them since it was getting late and finish making coffee, hot chocolate and other warm drink, they all sat down. As expected from everyone, it was silent at first and a little awkward due to what happened earlier. As much as Mabel wanted to trust her brother, she still couldn't really trust Bill and was actually feeling betrayed that her twin choice not to tell her, though she could see why. The Stans were not really in a much better mood, as none of them wanted to have anything to do with the demon.
"Sooo" started Mabel as she was looking at the demon poking at the marshmallow she put his hot chocolate, a little uneasy "This is Bill? As in Bill Cipher the triangle demon who tried to take over our dimension?" She ask. "Yes" responded Dipper as Bill was simply chuckling at how precise the young woman had to get to make sure it was him. "The one and only" grinned the demon as he finally turned his gaze away from his drink "But don't worry Shooting Star, I'm not here for that".
He was surprised by how the young woman seemed to cringe at the nickname, looking at Dipper as the young pines start mouthing him silently "Bad memories". Well, he guesses it was understandable, maybe he could try some other nickname for her as she was someone Dipper really loved.
"And why should we trust you?" asked harshly Ford who hadn't touched his tea yet. Dipper sighed, not surprised about with the way he was acting. "Because I do, isn't this a good start? He really isn't there for that or anything evil at all" he responds calmly, knowing getting all angry again wouldn't lead anywhere and would just make thing worse. Also, it not really like there was much to hide anymore.
"But what if he is manipulating you into-". "Grunkle Ford" suddenly cut Mabel, looking at him, knowing very well he was going back to his accusation and unwillingness to listen. "I'm just asking" he said as he starts frowning, not seeing why he couldn't ask again, even though it wasn't likely for him to listen unless Dipper was agreeing on him for that. "It already good that I'm keeping up with his presence" he commented.
"Well, if your not happy you can always fuck off, I'm here to stay, deal with it old man" said Bill, a visibly forced smile on his face trying to keep being civil just like his little Pine Tree had asked. Clearly, he wasn't over the fact Ford nearly erased all memory Dipper had of him, either it being on purpose or not.
Ford simply got up to leave as he knew it would only lead to more screaming and hurting than anything else. Dipper was hurt by the fact he wasn't going to try and at the very least listen to what he had to say without brushing it all of. He felt fingers gently brushing against his, making him look toward the demon who was giving him a genuine smile, trying to reassure him.
Now they were left with a very confused and sceptical Mabel; and a Stan uncomfortable and angry at Bill since he was the reason why he needed to have his memory erase and who had been indirectly the reason why his twin had been away for thirty years. But they were both at least ready to listen. Were they ready to forgive Bill for what he did? No, of course not, or at least not that easily. But did they saw how important the demon had become to Dipper? Yes, they were not blind. That the only reason why they were ready to listen, because Dipper was looking the happiest they ever saw him outside of the little circle of people he know.
"I'd like to know how he came back? Didn't we killed him the last time?" ask Stan before taking a sip at his coffee, looking from on to the other. "Pfff, of course, this wouldn't kill me" he said, seeing the glare the man gave him before continuing "Sorry to hear you had to get your memory erased for nothing" he tried. Of course, now it was feeling like they did all this for literally nothing, so this was making Stan angry, but he could see it wasn't Bill fault for that. He was a powerful demon after all and it is something they should have taken into consideration.
"We honestly don't really know how it worked" admitted Dipper, trying to step away from that minefield. "When we got there I went to his statue" he started, gaining a confused look from Mable who didn't get why he would do that "Don't ask why Mabel, I don't know why I went, I just felt like it, anyway before going back to the shack I went to grab the stone hand and that somehow made Bill appeared" he explained.
The two other were still confused as to how it all happened, but clearly, Dipper had no clue himself or he would already have told them more about it. What would be the point of hiding it now anyway? "We are still trying looking into it" finally stated the demon, eating the melted marshmallows "We supposed it had something to do with Dipper's tattoo since it reacted to it too, but it still all confusing" he admitted. "Would it have worked with mine too?" asked Mabel out of curiosity.
Stan looked back at Mabel, somewhere stuck between being surprised by it and 'well of course she do'. Mabel offered a hesitant smile, not needing to be scolded for it too, though she felt like he would be more willing to hear why they did it. "I couldn't tell, maybe? If it doesn't work it would probably because of the location, Dipper's one is really close to where our hand were connected" suggested Bill.
They left them to process a little that information, as Stan was asking if they know how to get Bill back. "We started with trying to get his power back for that" admitted Dipper, as it has been for some time their primary objective "But we got distracted from that task and choice to work on it later". Dipper felt himself relax when he heard his twin giggling at getting distracted, as she could guess what had been the distraction.
"Did you two made a deal?" asked the young woman, as it was clearly something worrying her, not wanting for Dipper to be stuck in something bad. "No, at least not an official one, I didn't even suggest one" smiled the demon with a laugh. "Just friendly human deal that wouldn't cost my body and mind" added Dipper.
As they were slowly talking about this Dipper managed to calm himself. After Ford departure, everything went more smoothly. Obviously, he wasn't expecting for Stan and Mabel to be forgiving Bill and wanting to be close with him, but at least they left him a chance to talk. He was able to explain without any bad interruption how well the demon had been with him, how he helped him not get hurt, how he taught him magic and how he overall made his summer better. Sure he was having a good time with Mabel and the Stans, but the men were getting older and Mabel was often with her friends. He didn't say it was bad, it just he wasn't really passing time with other people.
"So, are you two dating now?" asked Mabel curious. Again, she was stuck between being overjoyed for her twin, but at the same time, it was Bill. Though, she had been with the demon all summer, she saw how he was to Dipper and something in her really wanted to believe that he would never do something bad to her brother.
"We are still working that out" "Well of course" came the too respond at the same time, both of them looking at each other, confused. Apparently, Dipper wasn't sure, as he was still not exactly sure of Bill's feeling, though what happened earlier was helping a lot. They also hadn't really spoken about once at Pacifica house, so he was really not sure about it. But apparently, the demon was sure they were, not really needing more talk about it. He was confused as to why Dipper though they needed to speak more about it.
"Well, it doesn't sound sure there" commented Stan, feeling like he had missed a big part of the story when he was looking at Mabel knowing so much. Well, it wasn't that weird when he thought about it, Dipper would clearly be more open to his sister than him. Though he would have like to know, because even if his lover wasn't a lady he wouldn't mind, he was far from against that.
"What do we need to work out?" asked Bill, sounding clearly confused as to why Dipper thought that. "Because after accidentally confessing to you, you haven't really given me a clear answer and we haven't spoken about it afterwards" respond Dipper.
"Of course I love you back" responded Bill, even though the latter part of his statement was more of a whisper as he was embarrassed to say it out loud like this and clearly not used to it. "Wasn't it clear with how I act with you and what I said earlier today?" he asked, looking deep into the half drank hot chocolate, not wanting to make eyes contact with anyone right now.
As Dipper stayed quiet in shock, they could hear Mabel laugh "Of course you need to tell him, Dipper is a little stupid he won't catch up if you don't tell him directly" she commented. This made Dipper blush even more than he already was.
Bill seemed to mumble something none of them heard, before turning towards Dipper. Apparently, he needed to embarrass himself with human convention to make his point come across. "I love you Pine Tree, so stop doubting it" he said, before grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him closer, kissing him. Dipper was surprised by how gentle the kiss was, supposing Bill would be more of a harsh type. Well, he wouldn't complain, just kissing him back.
They separated as Mabel was cheering for them and clapping her hand, giggling. She would probably need some time to accept it was Bill and even maybe trust him more, but this couldn't stop her from being happy about it. Stan was confused, as he would never really have seen it coming, but guessed he might need to go with it. Maybe he could trust Dipper's judgement a little more on this.
"Don't need to cry kid, you should be happy" said Stan in a teasing tone, drinking from his coffee, knowing well just from looking at him that he was just overflowing with happiness. If it was going to make his great-nephew that happy, he could get used to it and he bet Ford would come around at some point too.
"Why are you always crying when you're happy?!" asked Bill, somewhere between confused, overly happy and amused, helping the young man wipe his tears away, both laughing. Soon after they went back to talking, this time the tension completely gone from the little group.
Yeah, they all could get used to it if it meant Dipper could keep being filled with such happiness.