Chapter One: Returning to Gravity Falls

Dipper smiled.

"You ready, Mabes?" He asked. They hadn't been back to Gravity Falls for almost three years. Dipper was eighteen now. He hadn't gone to Gravity Falls when he was 15, turning 16 because he had to continue studying for his SATs. His tendency to overthink things had worked in his favor. He'd downloaded past years' worth of SATs and built study guides off of them and took a different year's SAT each week and then got the answers and determined what areas he needed work in.

He got a perfect score on his SAT. And on top of his incredible scores, he was in Chess Club, Martial Arts Club, Track, Cross-Country, Future Inventors' Club and Gamers' Club. He could get into any college he wanted in the country. But he was kind of hoping that Ford's offer to teach him was still open.

"Absotutely, Dipping Sauce!" Mabel said!

"Mabel had benefitted from Dipper's overthinking. So even if she still teased him a lot, she appreciated that he helped her get a 1335 on her SAT. She was hardly one of the top students in the country. But she was in sewing and knitting club, cooking and baking club, 4H Club, the LGBTQIA+ Alliance (she knitted sweaters for everyone who asks with their flag colors and had always remembered everyone's pronouns and preferred names), she was in Future Leaders of America and had a few past boyfriends and girlfriends, all of whom she was still on surprisingly good terms.

The short of it was that it was hard to stay angry at Mabel. It had been three years since they'd been here and Mabel was excited to see how things had changed.

The truth was… Nothing had changed. Gravity Falls was a town where supernatural happenings were common, but where the people were slow to change.

"You know, that's a pretty nice car, Dipper." A familiar voice from behind them said.
"Oh, thanks. I made pretty good money repairing and improving computers, updating software. You'd be amazed how many people will pay you to do something as simple as upload the new version of Windows." Dipper said.

"Wendy!" Mabel shouted, hugging Wendy tightly. She looked the same as ever. Still the same slightly gangly, extremely tall young woman with long red hair. Her hair actually seemed even longer now.

"Hey, guys… Damn, it's been a long time. What's it been? Three years? Dipper… You're… Tall now." Wendy said. Dipper blushed slightly. He was even taller than his father now, standing at 6'2".

"Y-yeah… Well…"
"And you look like you've put on some muscle!" Wendy said.

She knew that Dipper was a little bit self-conscious and she wanted to make him feel good.
"Well… Martial Arts, working out, Tennis, rock climbing, track, cross-country." Dipper said shyly. Wendy laughed.

"Way to go, dude! And Mabel! Damn! You're looking great. Still rocking the sweater look. How did high school go for you two? I wanna hear all about it." Wendy said.

"Hey! Kids! Get in here! We need to figure out how we're going to fit both of you in separate rooms!" Stan shouted. Dipper chuckled.
"Alright, well… How about my friends and I take you two on the town tonight?" Wendy asked. Mabel looked at Dipper, who was blushing heavily. He still had feelings for Wendy.

"I promised my time to Pacifica. Why don't you and Wendy hang out together?" Mabel asked. Dipper tensed.

"Oh, n-no… I'd rather hang out with the whole group." He said. That was a blatant lie. But he was nervous and didn't want to deal with the bunker situation again. He'd rather pretend to just want to be friends with Wendy than risk embarrassing himself again. She'd been cool about it the first time. But would she be as cool about it now? Did she have a boyfriend already? A girlfriend? It didn't matter. She was still way out of his league.

"That sounds cool though. I actually have a really fun place that I like to go. Only on my own. It's kind of my own private getaway. I only found it about six months ago. It's got a few different parts to it. So we can all enjoy it. I haven't taken anyone else there yet." Wendy said.

"Really? Wow, that's an honor… Wait, are you offering to take me to it or just telling me about it?" Dipper asked. Wendy laughed, taking her fur lined hat off of him and giving him his blue and white hat back.

"I'm offering to take you guys on a trip! It's really deep in the woods and there's some glowing plants and moss out there. The flowers are beautiful shades of gold and pink and blue and purple and red. And at night, they light up the whole area." Wendy said.
"Bio-luminescent flora." Dipper said, locking up his car and carrying his and Mabel's suitcases into the Shack. Dipper hugged their Grunkles Stan and Ford.
"Hey, Grunkle Ford, I'd like to ask you something when we have a chance to talk." Dipper said.

"Of course, of course. I have something I'd like to talk to you about as well. It's something I'd trust to few others." Ford said. Dipper grinned widely, honored that Ford seemed to be wanting to share secrets with him. Stan waved this off.

"Alright, Dipper, you can come down and stay in the break room. There's a couch there that you can fold out into a bed. Mabel, you can stay up in the attic." Stan said.

"Wendy, check out and go home once you help the kids get settled." Stan said. He'd become slightly more generous over the years. Wendy didn't really care that Stan still only paid her 12.75 dollars an hour. It was minimum wage and she lived in her father's house. As long as she had a job, he didn't make her leave Gravity Falls and become a lumberjane or worse, go to college. She was sure she would hate going to college and getting a 9-5 job.

Wendy grabbed Dipper's stuff and took him down to the break room, helping him unfold the bed, which tended to stick. She winked lightly at him and then went up to help Mabel get her stuff up.

"How did you get so strong, Wendy?" Mabel asked. She was a little jealous that Dipper was still so slender, but seemed like he'd gotten really strong. He'd worked hard. She knew he got up early to go running and biking and practice martial arts and stuff.

He said that he was going to go back to Gravity Falls someday and he wanted to be able to keep up with Wendy if they had to run from some horrifying supernatural stuff.

"Oh, you know. I just have a really active lifestyle. I can help you work up a workout routine. Or you could ask Dipper. He seems like he's pretty packed." Wendy said. Mabel chuckled.

"He's actually gotten pretty cool. He even had a girlfriend or two in high school. He's still shy, but he's gotten more confident.

"What really cinched it was that a guy that I had fallen for had a crush on Dipper." Mabel laughed. Wendy cracked up.
"Wow! Did he go for him?" Wendy asked.
"No. I think Dipper is straight. I'm usually pretty good at reading that kind of thing. I was surprised when it turned out Randall was gay." Mabel said. Wendy shrugged.

"Yeah. It happens, dude. Don't stress on it. You know, back when I was 14… Back before I knew you guys, there was this girl in my class and damn did I fall hard for her. She was totally straight though and when I confessed to her… Actually… Looking back, she could have been a lot worse about it. She wasn't exactly cool about turning me down. But she could have embarrassed me a lot worse. She just said that she wasn't into girls." Wendy said.

"Really? Well… Hey, you get home and Dipper will see you around 8. That cool with you?" Mabel asked.

Wendy laughed.
"Yeah. You Dipper's wing woman now?" Wendy asked.
"Well… He's more confident than he was before. But that doesn't mean he still won't mess up in the moment overthinking things. Maybe you and he can have some fun tonight." Mabel said. Wendy laughed.

"Well…" Wendy said. Dipper was quite handsome. And she'd never been shy about 'giving someone a chance'. If the attraction wasn't there or she didn't even know them, she would turn them down.

But Wendy had maybe been a little too free with dating people in the past. Now, here was someone who had shown time and again that they would really go to the bat for her. He'd included her in his adventures because he knew she enjoyed that kind of thing. He'd tried as best he could to defend her. He was shy, he was awkward and he was nerdy. But he was kind and he had always had strong feelings for her. And even after five years, he still had feelings for her. That was a lot of devotion for someone so young to have.

And Wendy was a little worried. What if they dated and it didn't work out? What if she broke his heart? What if what he thought being in a relationship with her was like wasn't actually what he got? She'd agreed to date Robbie because he asked and because they were friends, so why not try? But Dipper was someone she really did like. And she… Did she have strong feelings for him? She wasn't sure. But she really did like him and she wanted to do right by him.

"Wendy… You know…" Mabel said, running out after Wendy.

"I can't tell you what a relationship with Dipper would be like. I wouldn't be able to stand dating someone like Dipper. He's such a nerd and his nerd talk would drive me crazy. I love him because he's my brother. But you seem to like him and what if you and he go out and it goes great? Would you risk not having that just cuz you're nervous?" Mabel asked.

"What? How did you know I was nervous?" Wendy asked.

"Well… I'm a little better at reading people than Dipper is." Mabel said. Wendy laughed.
"Okay, you got me. I'll go on a date with Dipper." Wendy said. Mabel smirked.

"Alright, great!" Mabel smiled, high fiving Wendy and going back into the Shack.

-0-

"Dipper… You have a date with Wendy tonight at 8. Don't bother getting dressed up. You know Wendy. She'll just be her usual casual self." Mabel said. She could practically hear him grinding his teeth.

"Okay. How'd you manage to get me a date with Wendy?" Dipper asked.

"Well, we were talking about things and she seemed to be lost in thought. So I told her that she shouldn't not do something just because it might not be perfect." Mabel said.

"I see. Well, as usual, you're the charismatic one." Dipper chuckled, heading down to the basement, where Ford was working on something.

"Okay, Dipper. I want to show you something that I've been working on for the past six years. Even before you stopped coming to Gravity Falls, I've had an idea for this." Ford said, opening up a hatch, showing an assorted collection of mechanical organs.

"These are bionic organs. We have the heart, the lungs, the stomach… Eyes, inner ears, tongue implants, nasal implants. Liver, Kidney, Intestines… And this guy here… He's an especially complex thing that holds, recycles and releases nanomachines. The one who has this organ will receive enhanced speed healing, resistance to diseases and poisons and other things on top of what the bionic organs themselves offer." Ford said.

"Unfortunately right now, I've only been able to make six sets, enough for you, Mabel, Stan and me and two other people of our choice. And even that stretched my funds." Ford said.

"Which brings me to my next question. Will you test these organs for me? I would give you a full set of them and complete medical care in times both good and bad with them. Any improvements that need to be made, I will make and repair them for you." Ford said.

"I like the idea. But I'll have to think about it. It could be dangerous.

"Have you offered one of the sets to Mabel yet?" Dipper asked.
"Not yet. She doesn't have your analytical, scientific mind. You're the first person I've offered these to. I have multiple hypotheses of what these organs may entail in those who accept them. I'll go over them with you if you like." Ford said.

"Another time. I have a date with Wendy at 8 tonight and I gotta get going." Dipper said.

"Of course. Have a good time. We can talk about science things tomorrow." Ford said. He was worried. He was getting older. He wasn't 42 anymore. He was turning 67 soon. He'd have to begin preparing someone to take his place. He'd have to find a student and he hoped that student could be Dipper. He wanted to keep it in the family. But Dipper seemed ecstatic about his date with Wendy, which was great. But it could pose a problem for finding time to study together. Still, he'd heard about Dipper's SAT scores. He'd gotten a perfect 1600 on the test.

And he'd seen some of the science projects that Dipper had done. Even without Ford's help, Dipper was exceptional. He was the perfect person to pass on his secrets to.

-0-

Dipper was freaking out a bit now. It was 7:30 and he was still looking at his clothes, deciding what to wear. He only had five sets of clothes with him and he was acting like it was the end all, be all.

"Dipper, it's okay. You don't have to go all crazy. You and she are gonna be in the dark anyway! You and she are going to that little hiding place of hers in the forest." Mabel said.
"Yeah… Yeah, you're right. This outfit… No, this one. No, this shirt and these pants…" Dipper said.

"Dipper. Do you trust me?" Mabel asked gently. Dipper nodded.
"Of-of course I do."
"Then go outside the room. I'll pick your outfit for you and you'll promise to wear what I pick." Mabel said. Dipper nodded, going outside and waiting. Two minutes later, Mabel came out.

"Your outfit is on your bed." Mabel said. He went in and saw a basic tee shirt and shorts.

"Okay." He said, though Mabel could tell he still wasn't sure. But he started stripping.
"Ew! Wait for me to leave!" Mabel protested, looking away and running out of the room. Dipper shrugged. It wasn't like she hadn't seen more of him in the past. They lived in the same room for years.