Christmas Eve passed quickly. Wendy had saved a couple Christmas themed B movies to watch, so they hunkered down in her room with popcorn, and spent the afternoon adding color commentary to some hilariously horrible films. At five o'clock, she kicked Dipper out so she could get ready for the party.

Dipper went to Wendy's brothers' room and began transforming himself for the party. He had pieced his costume together bit by bit over the week, at secondhand or costume shops around town; although one or two things he'd had to order online and have shipped to the Mystery Shack, where he had picked them up the day before. He was actually pretty proud of his costume, seeing as Mabel was usually the one in charge of outfitting him for these types of things.

He wore dark green loose trousers, tucked into knee-high, lace-up moccasins. His shirt, tucked into his trousers, was a flowing white linen garment, with cuffed sleeves, and an open v-neck collar. It was topped with a dark brown vest; a large belt with a silver Celtic knotwork buckle completing the ensemble. While the clothes were simple, the rest of his costume was a bit more complicated.

He used theatrical glue to place two small horns on his forehead, then made them look like they had seamlessly sprouted from him by covering the bases with flesh colored putty, which he blended in to his forehead until it was indistinguishable from his skin. He placed two long, pointed ear tips over his own ears, again using the glue and putty to secure them and make them look natural. Using green and brown eyeliner pencils he had swiped from Mabel, he drew an intricate knotwork design around his eyes. He completed the look by rubbing a bit of styling wax between his palms, and running his hands through his hair, making his hair look slightly messier than normal—more windblown and carefree.

Dipper stared at himself in the mirror with satisfaction. He knew Mabel would be thrilled that he actually put effort into his costume. What he was really concerned with, however, was what Wendy would think. Dipper heaved a sigh, and opened the bedroom door, crossing the hall to knock on Wendy's door.

"Wendy, are you almost ready?" he called. "Mabel will kill me if we're late."

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute," she replied.

Dipper sauntered out into the living room, and flopped down on the sofa, waiting. His back was to Wendy's door, and he didn't realize she'd come out of her room until she spoke quietly behind him.

"Well, what do you think?"

Dipper turned around, and his eyes widened in awe. Wendy's costume was a long, flowing dress. The bodice was a corset, the fabric a dark greenish brown, the color of moss. It was covered in dark green silk leaves. The sleeves were of a sheer, pale green fabric, with vines of ivy winding from her shoulders down to her wrists. The skirt was not actually one piece—it was multiple long strips of different colored green silk, which swayed like leaves in the wind as Wendy walked forward. Her long legs, covered in opaque brown tights, peeked through the flowing cascade of fabric. Her feet were covered in soft, brown suede moccasins.

Dipper's eyes traveled down Wendy's body, then back up toward her face, trying to take in all the exquisite details she had worked into her costume. Her corset pushed her breasts up and together. Dipper tried not to let his gaze linger, but he did notice a unique gold pendant hanging in the dark valley between her mountains. Tearing his eyes away from it, he fixed his gaze on her face, stunned by her ethereal beauty.

Her lips were outlined in a dark green color, a lighter shade of green blending into it seamlessly and filling in the center. Her eyes were lined and shadowed with the same color palette, and a light dusting of green and yellow glitter caressed her brows and cheeks. Her luxurious long red tresses were plaited into a single, thick French braid, woven through with leaves, flowers, and bright green jewels, resting over her right shoulder. A small crown of woven willow branches, ivy, and flowers adorned her head.

"Dude, you still alive?" asked Wendy, cocking an eyebrow. "You didn't, like, stroke out on me, did you?"

Dipper blinked, and shook his head. "W-wow… I … you… pretty…"

Wendy smirked. "So I take it you like my costume?"

"Yes," said Dipper simply, still staring.

"Okay, you're making me blush, dude," said Wendy truthfully. Her cheeks were turning a brilliant shade of scarlet.

"Sorry," said Dipper, meeting her eyes with a grin. "I can't believe you madethat! I didn't know you could sew."

"Yeah, that's a carry-over from when I still had mom around," said Wendy. "She taught me how to sew and braid and weave, and all sorts of girly stuff I haven't really ever had a chance to use." She fingered the gold pendant that Dipper had noticed earlier. "This is actually the only thing of hers I was able to hide from dad, when he was getting rid of all traces of her after she disappeared. If he knew I kept it he'd be somad."

Dipper rose from his seat on the sofa, and crossed over to inspect the pendant more closely. Wendy held it out for him. It was a disc of what appeared to be pure gold, engraved with a large tree. The leaves of the tree were made up of what looked like tiny emerald shards.

"It's beautiful," breathed Dipper.

"I told you my mom loved nature," said Wendy softly. "She was my inspiration for this costume: a forest nymph."

Dipper glanced up, and realized just how close he was standing to Wendy. Their eyes met, and held. Wendy was the first to break the gaze, reaching up to poke one of Dipper's horns.

"I like your thingies," she said. "And your ears. I'd guess faun, but you don't have goat legs."

"Yeah," Dipper said, stepping back and clearing his throat. "I thought about going as a faun, but it's kinda hard to order goat legs online. So I settled on Puck."

Wendy burst out in laughter. "Oh man, Pacifica's going to be pissed if you make a prettier fairy than her!"

"Hey, no fair!" cried Dipper. "Puck is a named character, not some generic fairy. And look," he said, turned around so Wendy could see his back, "no wings!"

"Chill man, you make a badass dude fairy," said Wendy with a grin. "We even kinda match, how cool is that?"

"Great minds, and all that," Dipper said, shrugging. "C'mon, we need to get going. We don't want to be tardyto the party." He chuckled at his little joke.

"Dork," said Wendy, pushing him lightly. Donning their coats, they made their way out into the dim twilight.

"Wait, shouldn't we grab a flashlight or something, at least for the way back?" asked Dipper, stopping at the edge of the forest. He remembered the feeling of something watching him from the trees that he experienced a week ago, and wasn't keen to experience it in the dark.

"Relax, dude. Full moon is in a couple days, so we should have plenty of moonlight," said Wendy with a casual confidence. "Besides, I have my shortcut to the Mystery Shack pretty much memorized. I could probably walk it blindfolded."

"If you say so," said Dipper, reluctantly. He followed Wendy closely as they made their way into the dark depths of the forest. The back of his neck was tingling, but he tried to convince himself that the chill he felt was due to nothing more than the breeze of the cool winter night.

/

Although Dipper's nerves were on high alert during the walk to the Mystery Shack, the journey was uneventful. He could tell they were getting close when he heard the faint strains of upbeat Christmas music floating on the breeze. He saw a warm orange glow through the trees, and finally, they came upon the clearing next to the Mystery Shack.

All the trees surrounding the clearing were lit with strands of blinking, colored fairy lights, and at the center of it all roared a huge bonfire. Even the totem pole was festive, wound with sparkling garland and topped with a Santa hat.

Dipper and Wendy made their way to the door of the gift shop, and took off their coats, adding them to the pile behind the cash register. As they turned around to head back outside, they were nearly knocked over by a flying hug from Mabel.

"Dipper! Wendy! You guys look so awesome! And you're all matchy! That's soooo cute!" she squeed.

"Hey sis," said Dipper, grinning as he took in her costume. She was dressed as a Hobbit, from the curly wig perched atop her head, all the way down to huge, hairy fake feet that she wore on top of her own. "Stretching the Enchanted Forest theme to include fantasy literature, too?"

"Yeah," Mabel said nodding, her wig curls flopping on her forehead. "Half the girls wanted to dress as fairies, and I wanted to do something original."

"Well you look awesome, little Hobbit," said Wendy. "Care to venture a guess as to what Dipper and I are supposed to be? Oh—and the matchiness is strictly coincidental."

"Well, you're obviously a forest goddess or something," stated Mabel matter-of-factly. "I mean, your costume outshines all the other fairies and sexy witches out there. And Dipper…" Mabel tapped her chin with a finger, thinking. "You're Puck. You have to be."

"Wow!" exclaimed Wendy. "First guess. How'd you do that?"

Dipper and Mabel both grinned and tapped their foreheads, saying simultaneously, "It's a twin thing!"

Together the three friends walked back outside to enjoy the party. Mabel had invited pretty much the whole town, and everyone was wandering around the clearing laughing, singing and dancing to the Christmas music, and admiring each other's costumes. Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland shared a pink unicorn costume, bumbling all over the place and often trying to go in opposite directions. Robbie was (of course) a vampire, as was Tambry. Pacifica was a vision as a silver fairy, jingle bells covering her costume tinkling with her every move. Grenda was also a fairy, with large, colorful butterfly wings. Toby Determined was the saddest looking Christmas elf anyone at the party had ever seen, his green costume clearly too big, his red and white tights sagging as if trying to get away from him. 'Lil Gideon even made an appearance, dressed as a perfectly coiffed gnome.

Dipper's favorite costume at the party (besides Wendy's, which far surpassed everyone's), was Soos' costume: he wore a bear mask, and had apparently cut the heads off of a bunch of stuffed teddy bears, which were duct taped all over his body.

"Dude, I'm the Multibear!" he said when he saw Dipper.

"The resemblance is uncanny," said Dipper with a smile.

"Really? That's awesome. I was worried I didn't use enough heads," said Soos.

"Nope, you used plenty," Dipper said, stifling a chuckle.

/

After mingling for a while, Wendy and Dipper got separated. Dipper was scanning the party for her, when Mabel popped up next to him.

"Hey bro-bro, having fun?" she asked.

"Yeah, Mabel. You really outdid yourself this time," he said distractedly, still scanning the party. "Have you seen Wendy recently? She went off to talk to Tambry a little bit ago, but I can't find her."

"Dip, I hate to tell you this, but you're doing an awful bad job of acting like you don't have feelings for Wen," said Mabel, startling Dipper into looking at her.

"Wh-what? Haha… that's—" Dipper cut himself off, at a stern look from his twin. He sighed. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Totally," said Mabel, emphatically. "Everyone can tell. Even Soos asked me if you and Wendy 'are, like, secretly going out or something' the other day. And bro-bro… Wendy knows. There's no way she doesn't."

Dipper sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know what to do, sis. Last summer Wendy told me she was too old for me… but I could swear she's been flirting with me since I've been back. Unless I'm just terrible at reading people," he said.

Mabel cocked an eyebrow. "Have you actually tried telling her your feelings again? The only way you're gonna know is to talk to her."

"Seriously, Mabel? You know how awkward I am," Dipper argued. "Besides, she's my best friend. I don't wanna screw that up by declaring my undying love for her…again."

"You know Wendy better than that, Dipstick," said Mabel, patting his arm reassuringly. "She gave you a pass once before, and you weren't even as close back then. Yeah, things may be like, super-incredibly awkward for a while if she doesn't have feelings for you too… but you'll never know unless you talk to her." Mabel paused, and thought for a second. "You should try looking for her from the roof! You'd probably be able to find her in no time from up there."

"I guess you're right, Mabel," said Dipper. "I think I willgo up on the roof and see if I can spot her from there. I can't put off talking to her about this; it's driving me crazy."

"Good luck, bro-bro," said Mabel, saluting Dipper as he made his way through the crowd, toward the Mystery Shack.

"Hey Mabel?"

The voice behind her made her jump.

"Wendy! You scared the cheese and crackers out of me!"

"Hey," said Wendy reluctantly, "Can I talk to you about something… about Dipper?"

Mabel stifled a laugh. "Sure Wendy. Walk with me," she said, leading Wendy to an area of the clearing not visible from Dipper's vantage point on the roof.

"So, you know how your brother had this huge crush on me last summer?" asked Wendy.

"Uh, yup," said Mabel.

"I think he still likes me," said Wendy, uncertainly.

"If he did, would that bother you?" asked Mabel, noncommittally.

"Well, yeah. No." Wendy sighed. "I don't know."

"Do you like him?" Mabel asked, without any pretense.

Wendy looked down at her feet. "I do. That's the problem."

"If you like him, and he likes you… I fail to see a problem there?" said Mabel, confused.

"Mabel, I'm three years older than you guys. I can't date a guy three years younger than me! I'd feel like a creep," said Wendy, sourly.

"So that's the only problem?" asked Mabel, incredulously. "Your age difference? My parents are seven years apart in age. Three years is nothing."

"But what would people think?" asked Wendy.

"Wendy, since when have you ever cared what people think?" Mabel retorted.

"Touché," muttered Wendy.

"Look," Mabel said with a smile, "Why don't you go think about it some. Maybe try the roof? That's a good place to clear your head. But seriously, I just want you to know, I'm totally on team WenDip. You guys are awesome together."

"Thanks, Mabel. I think I'll do that," said Wendy, bending over to hug her friend before making her way back to the Mystery Shack.

If Wendy had turned around to look back at Mabel, she would have seen the younger girl grinning like a maniac, jumping up and down and flapping her hands like a fangirl in silent glee. But she didn't. She made her way into the Mystery Shack gift shop, and climbed the ladder to her rooftop getaway.

/

Dipper sat on the edge of the roof, still scanning the crowd for a glimpse of Wendy. He was starting to worry that she was avoiding him. He didn't hear the trapdoor open behind him, or the soft "Oh!" that Wendy uttered when she saw him. This of course, meant that he screamed and nearly fell off the roof when Wendy finally came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Woah!" cried Wendy, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the edge of the roof.

Dipper, his heart pounding from nearly falling to his death, didn't immediately notice that after steadying him, Wendy didn't let go of his hand.

"What are you doing up here?" asked Wendy.

"I was looking for you, actually," said Dipper. "Mabel gave me the idea that I could probably find you more easily if I came up here."

"Oh, she did, did she?" said Wendy, her eyes narrowing, although a smile was playing at her lips. She gave his hand a squeeze, then let go, sitting down next to Dipper.

"Wendy, I need to talk you about something," said Dipper seriously. He took a deep breath, and turned to look her in the eye. "Wendy, I—"

Before Dipper could say "love you," warm lips pressed against his, Wendy's fingers twining in his hair, pulling him closer. He responded instinctually, arms wrapping around her, lips softening against hers.

Wendy finally pulled away, resting her forehead against Dipper's. "I've been wanting to do that all week," she breathed.

Dipper's heart was pounding harder now than when he had almost fallen off the roof. "Wendy, what- I don't understand…" he stammered nervously. This seemed too good to be true.

"You need me to explain?" she asked playfully. Placing her mouth next to his ear, she said softly, "Dipper Pines…I love you."

Dipper groaned quietly. "And-and you're sure Mabel didn't invite The Love God to the party? Because this-this isn't the kind of thing that happens to me…ahahahah," he half moaned, half giggled as Wendy lightly bit his earlobe and trailed kisses down his neck.

"Dipper," said Wendy, finally pulling away from him and looking him in the eye. "Remember the day we fought the shapeshifter?"

Dipper nodded mutely.

"Think back, really hard, to what I told you afterwards."

"Y-you said you were too old for me," said Dipper, looking down.

Wendy tipped his chin back up with a finger, and made sure he was looking her in the eye before she said, "I did say that. But if you remember… I never said I didn't have feelings for you too. I just thought our age difference would be a problem." She kissed him swiftly, before smiling and saying, "I've reconsidered."

At that moment, it really sunk in. Dipper leaned toward Wendy, cupping her face with one hand, the other gently resting on the back of her neck. "I love you, Wendy," he said against her mouth, before kissing her—the kind of slow, deep passionate kiss that comes out of incredible longing and desire.

Wendy had had plenty of boyfriends, and most of them had kissed her—but never before had anyone kissed her the way Dipper was kissing her—gently, but with a fierce intensity, as if he was afraid she was going to suddenly disappear, and he had to hold on for dear life.

Dipper felt Wendy shudder against him, and, mistaking it for a shiver, he pulled away quickly, saying "I'm so sorry, you must be freezing. Do you want to go back down to the bonfire?"

"Not just yet," she said, smiling coyly. Quickly glancing behind him to make sure they wouldn't accidentally roll off the roof, Wendy pushed Dipper back against the shingles, and pinned him with her body, like he had pinned her earlier in the week during their play fight. Only this time, he could enjoy the feel of her curves, the heat of her body, her slow, graceful movements. And when she was close enough to kiss, he kissed her.

He rolled onto his side, and with Wendy lying next to him, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, pressing hot kisses down her throat and across her collarbone. Wendy whimpered softly, and Dipper immediately recoiled.

"I'm so sorry, did I hurt you? Are you okay? I'm such an idiot!" he berated himself.

"Shshshhh… Dip, you didn't hurt me," she told him softly, pulling him back against her, and curling up into the crook of his arm, her head laying on his chest. "Can we just stay like this for a little longer?" she asked.

Dipper kissed the top of her head. "Anything you want."

/

A while later, the new couple rejoined the party. Things were just starting to wrap up. The bonfire was considerably smaller, and only a few stragglers were left, as well as Mabel, Soos, Melody, Grenda and Pacifica, who had started cleaning up.

Mabel was the first to spot the couple, and began laughing and clapping when she saw they were holding hands. "I KNEW IT! Am I the best matchmaker ever, or what?!"

"I'd say you're pretty good," said Dipper wryly, "except for the part where I couldn't hear Wendy approach me over the noise of the party, and she startled me so badly I nearly fell to my death."

"Yeah, yeah, details," said Mabel, flapping her hand at him. "But the important thing is… you two are a couple now?"

Wendy looked down at their clasped hands and grinned. "What do you think, Dip? Am I your girlfriend now?"

"Yeah," Dipper said with a shrug, "I guess so."

"Success!" cried Mabel.

"I couldn't help but overhear that you two are an item now," said Soos, walking up behind Mabel. "It's about freaking time. Congratulations, dudes."

"Aw, how cute! They're matching shades of red!" said Pacifica, having approached the group while Soos' was talking. "Mabel, what time did they go up on the roof?"

"Around eight, I think," said Mabel.

"YES! I CALLED IT!" yelled Grenda. She held out her hand. "Pay up, Northwest!" Pacifica sighed and smacked a crisp fifty dollar bill into Grenda's hand.

"You guys… had a bet… on when we would get together?" said Wendy, slowly.

"More of a pool, actually," said Soos with a grin. "We all knew it was inevitable. We've seen the way you two look at each other."

"We just didn't know when exactly it would finally happen," added Melody as she approached the group, her white witch costume glittering in the firelight.

"We each kicked in ten bucks," said Mabel. "Paz got to be the banker because she's used to having large amounts of money on her person."

"Wait, Mabel, you were in the pool too?" asked Dipper. "How did you not win? You did kind of play matchmaker tonight."

"Yeah, man, what gives?" interjected Wendy.

"I chose New Year's Eve, at midnight," explained Mabel. "But when the opportunity presented itself tonight, I couldn't resist." She sighed dreamily. "What's fifty bucks compared to true love?" Then she grinned and pulled out her cell phone, snapping a picture of the couple before either could react, temporarily blinding them with the flash. "Scrapbook-ortunity!"

"Hey, you two skedaddle, okay?" said Soos to Dipper and Wendy. "We got the clean-up covered, and you dudes have a lot of lost time to make up for."

"Dude, being a couple gets us out of cleaning?" said Wendy incredulously. "Dipper, why didn't we do this sooner?"

"Hey, don't look at me," said Dipper with a sly grin. "We'd have been a couple this past summer if I'd had my way."

"This is true," conceded Wendy. "Well, later dorks! And Merry Christmas!"

Dipper gave Mabel a quick hug, saying "Merry Christmas. And thanks, sis."

"Anything for my bro-bro," said Mabel, pleased with herself.

"Merry Christmas!" everyone chorused as the couple walked back into the Mystery Shack to get their coats, before making their way back into the dark pine woods.

/

Dipper and Wendy held hands as they walked through the forest, stopping every so often to lean against a tree trunk and kiss hungrily. In his giddiness, Dipper forgot all about the sensation of being watched he'd been worried about earlier in the evening. If the back of his neck was tingling, he didn't notice, because his whole body was tingling. He couldn't contain his happiness, and would just burst into laughter from time to time.

"Wendy, this is literally the best night of my life," he breathed, as they stopped walking and he pinned her against a tree, his mouth pressing hot kisses along her neck, his hands exploring the contours of her body.

Wendy sighed softly, her eyes closed in bliss. Age was definitely not an issue with Dipper. She could sense, in his kisses, the pent up frustration and longing he had felt over the summer, and during previous week.

Dipper's mouth met Wendy's with an urgency, a physical need. She was so soft against him; still his strong, capable Wendy, but more vulnerable. He wanted to hold her forever, to protect her. Their kiss deepened, becoming almost animalistic. Briefly Dipper wondered if Wendy was still going to make him sleep in her brothers' room tonight. He doubted it.

Suddenly, Wendy stopped kissing him, inhaling sharply. Dipper pulled away, afraid again that he had somehow hurt her. She was staring over his shoulder, her eyes wide, hands clenching his arms so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Wyn Dahlia, daughter of the Green," rasped a harsh male voice, "We are commanded by Him to bring you home."

Dipper spun around, and adrenaline shot through his body as he realized they were surrounded. Cloaked, dark figures wielding wooden staves moved toward them. Dipper threw his arms out, attempting to block Wendy.

"Back off!" he shouted. "I don't know who you are, but you've obviously got Wendy confused with someone else!"

One figure broke away from the group and walked slowly forward. As he passed through a beam of moonlight, it was clear he was not human. His skin appeared to be weathered bark, the deep black eyes peering from under the hood of his dark cloak, emotionless. "We are not confused," he stated flatly, his voice creaking like trees swaying in the wind. "Wyn Dahlia is a daughter of the Green. She wears the pendant. We are the Green Guard. He commands her presence."

Wendy found her voice, although it was rather shaky. "Look, I don't know who the hell you guys are, or how you know my legal name, but I'm not some 'daughter of the Green.' What does that even mean? This pendant belonged to my mom; it's not some mystical talisman."

"Your real name is Wyn Dahlia?" whispered Dipper.

"This is notthe time, Dip," she hissed back at him.

"If the daughter of the Green refuses to come with us willingly, He has authorized the use of force," said the figure in front of them. A smile slowly spread across his face, bits of his bark-like skin crumbling off with the effort. "Are we going to have to use force?"

"Bring it on," said Dipper, his voice low and dangerous.

"Very well," rasped the creature, raising his staff to strike.

"WENDY, RUN!" screamed Dipper, as he leapt to intercept the blow. It landed with a resounding thud against his chest, bruising a few ribs, and knocking the wind out of him. He forced himself up, but when he tried to leap at the creature once again, he tripped on something, and landed hard against the ground. Struggling to get up, he realized that vines had started twining around his feet and up his legs.

"Foolish pretender," sneered the guard, as the vines continued to wrap tightly around Dipper, further immobilizing him. "We are of the Green. Why would we participate in your brutish fighting, when nature is so willing to help us?"

Dipper was clawing at the vines, when he heard a desperate shriek from behind him.

"DIPPER!"

"WENDY!" he cried, turning to see her being held tightly by two of the bark creatures, as thick vines snaked around her tightly, covering her heaving chest, her neck, her mouth. Finally, all Dipper could see were her panicked, tear-filled green eyes—then suddenly, nothing. The vines, which had been tight against her body, flopped to the forest floor, empty. All around him, the Green Guard melted back into the darkness of the woods, save for the one who had attacked Dipper.

"WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Dipper screamed, his voice raw, tears of rage spilling down his cheeks.

"As I have told you," the creature said calmly, as if explaining something to a small child, "He required the presence of Wyn Dahlia, daughter of the Green. She is with Him now, safe. You need not concern yourself with her anymore. No human may enter the Green Realm. You will never see her again."

With that, the creature disappeared into the darkness of the forest, and the vines holding Dipper immobile dissolved.

Dipper collapsed on the forest floor, his body wracked with sobs. He felt completely helpless. Around him, a light snow began to fall, the flakes glittering in the moonbeams that filtered through the trees. It was beautiful. Dipper saw none of it.

As he cried on the cold forest floor, the only thing he could see were Wendy's tear-filled green eyes, pleading with him to help her.

Just before he passed out from a mixture of cold and exhaustion, Dipper whispered, one last time, "Wendy."