Chapter Four: Pacifica's Request
Dipper moaned as he sat up in the hot spring. That had been weird. He'd just kind of passed out. It had been late, but he'd stayed up much later in the past. He gasped.
"Wendy!" Dipper shouted, swimming over to Wendy. He shook her awake.
"Mmmmm? Damn, Dipper. We really passed out." Wendy said.
"What time is it?" Wendy asked. Dipper shrugged. He swam over and looked at his phone. It was at only 20%, but it said it was 9 am.
"Let's get going." Wendy said, getting out. Dipper blushed heavily, but couldn't look away from Wendy's slender but muscular body in the partial light. Wendy chuckled. It wasn't like she'd never been seen nude before.
"Aren't you gonna get out?" Wendy asked. Dipper sighed, getting out of the spring, covering himself up.
"You know, you don't have to cover yourself. I promise I won't laugh at you." Wendy said. Dipper blushed, pulling his hands away as Wendy dried off using her clothes and got dressed.
She wasn't exactly dry, but it was better than nothing. Dipper dried off as well with his shirt and then got dressed as well. They put on their socks and shoes and headed back to the Shack together.
"This was a great date. I feel crazy rejuvenated. My skin is tingling and it almost feels like it's glowing." Wendy said. She never knew that bathing in a hot spring could do that for you.
"Wendy, I've always thought you glowed." Dipper said shyly. Wendy smiled, blushing slightly. She kissed him lightly.
"Thanks, dude. That's really sweet of you. I wonder what my dad will say when I get home? I almost don't want to find out. I have to get to work. I'm already late." Wendy said.
They hurried back to the Shack as quickly as they could, going in.
"Hey! Wendy! You're late! I should dock you a day's pay for this!" Stan said angrily.
"It's my fault, Grunkle Stan. I kept her late exploring all the beautiful flowers. I did it in the dark when they were glowing, then I wanted to look at them again in the light." Dipper lied. Stan scowled at Dipper. He knew a liar when he saw one, and Dipper was lying through his teeth.
But he was glad to see Dipper finally becoming a man. He was strong now, he had learned to fight, he knew how to rock climb and play sports. Stan could give Wendy a break if it meant that much to Dipper.
"Fine. Just get to work, Wendy."
"Yep." Wendy said, checking her card in and getting behind the counter. Dipper went up to Mabel's room, knocking on the door.
"Hey! Dipper!" Pacifica said, hugging the messy haired man tightly.
"Pacifica. Hey, how's everything going?" Dipper asked. Pacifica had a nervous look suddenly.
"I mean… It's… Okay." Pacifica said unconvincingly.
"What's wrong, Pacifica?" Dipper asked. Pacifica sighed.
"My stupid parents are trying to force me to get married and I just want to live a normal life. Can you at least pretend to be my boyfriend to get them off my back?" Pacifica asked.
"Oh… Um… Wow." Dipper had been so caught up with seeing Wendy again that he hadn't even considered Pacifica in that way. Now that he thought about it, Pacifica had been another person that he'd become closer with over the years. He cared about her and he definitely had moments where he wondered what a relationship with her would be like. But he couldn't do that behind Wendy's back.
"I'd have to ask Wendy if she was okay with it. Mabel, can you look after the Shack while Pacifica, Wendy and I talk?" Dipper asked.
"Aw, boo! I have to work?" Mabel protested.
"Oh, boo yourself. You want to help Pacifica, this is the way." Dipper said, going to the desk.
"Hey, Wendy. Mabel's gonna take over for a few. Pacifica and I need to talk to you." Dipper said. Wendy smiled and went outside with Dipper and Pacifica.
"How much do you want to let me pretend Dipper is my boyfriend?" Pacifica asked.
"Uh, what?" Wendy asked, a little confused. Pacifica took a deep breath.
"Okay, here's the deal. My stupid parents are trying to make me get married. There's a number of men from various countries in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, Middle East. All extremely wealthy men, all willing to share their vast wealth with my family if… Well, you can see where this is going. If I marry their son. But I don't want to marry any of them." Pacifica said. Wendy listened, taking a moment to absorb everything.
"Why don't you just tell them no? You're nineteen years old. You have the right to make your own life choices. They can't control you anymore." Wendy said. Pacifica sighed.
"It's not that easy! I'm working on it, and that's why they're pressuring me to get married in the first place, because I've been getting a lot 'cheekier' over the years since Weirdmageddon. They don't like the fact that I'm becoming my own person, that I'm not the same snobbish, wealthy jerk, looking down on the lower class individuals of the town.
"Now, they want to ship me off to Europe or wherever the person I marry lives and have me relearn what they consider to be my roots. And honestly, it makes my skin crawl. Please, I'll pay you 10,000 dollars if you let me pretend that Dipper is my boyfriend for a week. After that, you can have him back." Pacifica said. Wendy laughed.
"You like Dipper! You have a crush on him." Wendy said. Pacifica blushed heavily.
"I-no… I-I mean…" Pacifica said anxiously.
"It's okay. I can't accept your money. But I'm willing to share Dipper if you want to date him to. We can take you to this really great hot spring we found last night to seal the deal. We can just relax in the hot spring all night and go home in the morning." Wendy said. Pacifica thought for a long moment. On the one hand, she'd never been good at sharing. On the other hand, she trusted Dipper. She didn't know Wendy that well, but if Dipper trusted her, she figured Wendy was good as well.
"I'm… Not a great sharer… But if you two can promise not to make this weird for me, I'll date Dipper and you can Date Dipper too. But we are not dating each other, Corduroy. I'm straight." Pacifica said. Wendy nodded.
"That's fine. Poly relationships are perfectly healthy and it's important to set boundaries for the participants." Wendy said.
"Alright. Boundary 1. I'm not dating you, Corduroy. So don't try to kiss me, don't ask me to participate in threesomes and I'm not going on three way dates. I don't do that. When Dipper is with me, his time is mine. When he's with you, his time can be yours." Pacifica said, setting things in stone right away.
"That's cool." Wendy said.
"Boundary 2. This isn't a free for all. I'm not going swinging with you. I give you, Dipper, permission to be with Wendy and me. Not with anyone else.
"So no swinging, no taking on additional partners, no asking if 'maybe just for a one-time thing'. The answer is no." Pacifica said. Dipper actually chuckled at that.
"I'm actually kind of touched that you think I'm that much of a catch. But I don't want to be with anyone but you and Wendy." Dipper said modestly. Wendy smiled. Dipper was actually kind of cute like this. It was sweet that he was so loyal to her.
Wendy smiled. On one hand, it was clear to her that this wasn't the first time he'd considered a relationship with Pacifica. So the fact that he'd pursued her, Wendy first was flattering. Pacifica was smart, she was rich, she was classy and beautiful. On the other hand, it was sweet and honest that Dipper had come to her first to ask her if it was okay if he dated Pacifica. Because at first, Pacifica was only asking to fake date Dipper. So that Dipper came to her for permission even for that was sweet.
Wendy was really looking forward to this relationship. It wasn't just her and a guy 'she was deciding to give a chance'. It was her with someone that she really cared for and admired and liked.
"Boundary 3. I'm not your side partner. I'm not your secondary partner. I'm your full girlfriend. Wendy can also be your full girlfriend. But I'm not just some side piece." Pacifica said.
"Of course not, Pacifica. Of course you're not just a side partner. I-I know you said that you only wanted to go on dates with me. But how would you like to come to the hot springs with Wendy and me tonight?
"I'd take you myself, but I don't know the way." Dipper said.
"Last night was the first time I'd gone there and OW! Son of a bitch!" Dipper snarled as he tripped. His hand got laid open on a sharp rock. He growled, looking at his hand. Blood. Not terrible, but it had really shredded his palm. He sighed, running it under some water. He looked down cautiously. His wound had already stopped bleeding. That was strange.
"Hey, Wendy… You saw my hand bleeding, right?" Dipper asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Because my hand isn't bleeding anymore. And I dunno… I guess I didn't cut it as bad as I thought I did." Dipper shrugged, going back inside with Wendy. Wendy went back to work.
