Another day passed with the storm still raging as strongly as it had first begun. The Mystery Shack's property was littered with fallen trees, unrooted by the powerful winds. It was a miracle none of them had fallen on the house but it would still cost a lot of money to clean. Rather than sit around in the living room, Dipper was in his bedroom. Mabel had gone to bother Bill into playing LIFE with her again and in the quietness of his room, the sixteen year old had decided to meditate. Perhaps Ford was right. Maybe people without the Gift couldn't wield magic. But Bill had seemed so convinced that with the right amount of time and dedication, someone without the Gift could manage. In the end, what was the harm in meditating? If he couldn't wield magic, so be it, at least he found relaxation and inner peace along the way.

Dipper sat on his bed, adopting the lotus position. He cleared his mind, resting his hands calmly in front of him and controlled his breathing. He listened to the sound of air fill his lungs and slowly leave them. He listened to the gentle beating of his heart gradually slowing. He listened to the pulse of his blood pumping through his veins. He felt so serene, so close to himself, so calm. Suddenly, Mabel opened the door abruptly shouting Dipper's name. He had been so surprised that he had instantly fallen off his bed.

"Whoa!" Mabel laughed, "Are you okay?"

"Ow—yeah…" he groaned and picked himself up, "What's up?"

"I'm bored." She said and walked in the room, throwing herself on her bed.

"Weren't you supposed to be playing LIFE with Bill again?" He asked.

"Yeah, but then he got really annoyed and threw the game outside." Mabel explained, "The lightning's crazy today so there's no way I'm going out there to get it."

"Aww. I'm sorry." Dipper said. Though he understood the blonde's annoyance, doing such a thing was going a tad too far.

"Don't be." Mabel said and flashed him a grin, "It was really funny. You should have seen him."

"So you were doing it on purpose!" Bill exclaimed. The twins glanced towards the door and found the ex-demon in question standing akimbo in the door frame. "I knew it!"

"What are you doing?" Dipper asked as he walked in, looking at the walls they had covered with posters and papers over the years.

"I'm bored too." Bill said. "Fez is busy getting drunk and Sixer's slaving away in his lab. Neither are going to entertain me so you two are my only option."

"Well, we were playing a game." Mabel reminded with a cheeky smile.

"Don't." Bill warned in good humour as he sat on her bed, "Or I'll throw you outside too."

"So what are we going to do then?" Mabel asked.

"That Warlock's really annoying." Bill grumbled, "We could actually do stuff if he wasn't so keen on giving us the worse weather possible."

"If the weather was better we would be looking for him." Dipper pointed out.

"Beats being trapped in here." Bill sighed and lied on Mabel's bed, his feet dangling off the side.

"We could play D, D, and D." Dipper suggested.

"No one wants to play your nerd game." Bill stated bluntly.

"No offence." Mabel added with a sympathetic smile.

"Well what the hell are we supposed to do?" The brunet snapped.

"Talk about our feelings." Mabel joked.

"Ha. Good one." Bill snorted and nudged her.

Silence fell upon them. The only sounds to be heard were the rain drops pelting violently against the window, the wind rattling the surrounding trees, and the cracks of thunder. Had the TV been working, they would have gone to watch whatever was on, but the storm had torn down the Mystery Shack's satellite. If a tornado was heading their way, they wouldn't know until it was probably too late.

"I mean, we could talk about our feelings." Mabel said after a long moment.

"What's there to talk about?" Dipper asked and fell back onto his mattress, rolling onto his side to see the other two.

"I don't know…" Mabel muttered, "Do you have a crush on anyone?"

Dipper blushed violently at the question. He avoided talking about things like that with his sister because she always got too nosy for his liking. She would always goad him into letting her be his wingman when he really didn't need one. Afterwards, he would always get too embarrassed about the things Mabel said about him to the girls he liked and would screw things up while panicking.

"N-no!" He stuttered.

Mabel gasped and grinned widely. She saw through his façade and was definitely going to get the answers she wanted one way or another.

"What about Red?" Bill asked, "You were head over heels for her four years ago."

"I'll have you know I moved on!" Dipper stated a bit too snobbishly.

"To who?" Mabel asked excitedly.

"To…to no one." Dipper grumbled, "Geez, stop."

"Do you have a crush on anyone, Shooting Star?" Bill asked as he swung his feet lightly.

"I don't hold myself down to one person." Mabel stated pompously, "All the boys would weep if I did."

"So you're single." The blond concluded.

"Hey! So are you!" Mabel pointed out defensively. "I bet you've never actually dated anybody too."

"I have." Bill asserted nonchalantly, "But it was, like, thirty years ago."

Thirty?

"Ooh! Who was it?" Mabel asked. "Was she pretty?"

"He was pretty handsome." Bill corrected and Dipper was slowly piecing everything together.

That time in the bathroom, when Ford was cleaning his wounds…

When they were out shopping…

"And he still is." Bill said with a nostalgic smile.

"Aww, you're so cute." Mabel giggled and shoved Bill playfully, "Who was he?"

"Stanford Pines." Bill said and pillowed his hands beneath his head.

"What!? No way!" Mabel squealed.

"Yes way." Bill grinned and Dipper noticed he had a small blush on his cheeks.

"How did that even work out?" Mabel asked, "You were a floating triangle with a top hat."

"I can alter my appearance in the dreamscape." Bill explained, "That and there was this body."

"What do you mean that body?" Dipper asked disbelievingly.

"He made this thing for me, like, thirty years ago." Bill clarified and gestured his limbs with a pleased smile, "I thought he destroyed it after the whole betrayal thing but I guess he didn't."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Dipper said rapidly, "Grunkle Ford and you both knew who this body belonged to this whole time?"

"Well, yeah." Bill said, "I didn't say anything because he didn't say anything."

"Why are you changing your mind now?"

"Because I'm angry with him for the other day." Bill disclosed, "You can learn to wield magic, I know you can!"

"Aren't you scared he's going to get angry with you?" Mabel asked. "You know, because you just told us you two used to date and he made a body for you."

"What's the worst he can do?" The blond shrugged, "Throw me out? The Warlock will get me and hundreds of people will die, maybe more. At worse he yells at me for a bit."

"I don't understand why he wouldn't tell us." Dipper muttered. "He said he wouldn't keep any secrets."

"I'm sure he meant that, kid," Bill said sounding oddly sympathetic, "But there are some things that are hard to talk about. As you can imagine, things didn't end well between the two of us and it still bothers him."

"You know…" Mabel mused, "You always sound different when you talk about Grunkle Ford."

Dipper was glad he wasn't the only one to have noticed. Maybe it had something to do with Bill's vessel giving him human emotions? But the body wasn't human – not really; it was something Ford had made using magical ingredients most likely. He would have to ask him about it. Such an accomplishment was amazing and perhaps they could utilise the creation method so as to help amputees.

"What do you mean?" Bill asked.

"It sounds like you still care a lot for him." She specified.

Bill's mouth fell open and a dark blush quickly coloured his cheeks. For a moment he said nothing and gaped at her. However, he then became irritated and frowned, gritting his teeth together though his blush still remained. "I-I do not!" He stuttered, betraying the truth.

"Aww! You're blushing!" Mabel cooed with a laugh.

"Wait, do you still love him?" Dipper asked.

It would make sense what with the way Bill looked at Ford, the passing comments he often made, and, as Mabel had said, the way he talked about him.

Bill's blush darkened and spread to his entire face. He reached over to grab the pillow on Mabel's bed and threw it at Dipper, "No I don't!" he snapped, "I'm a demon! I don't love!"

"You're definitely in denial." Dipper smirked, catching the pillow. It was enjoyable to finally have the power to annoy and irritate Bill. Oh how the tables had turned – and in a most unexpected way, at that.

"I'm not!" Bill yelled louder as though raising his tone would make him sound more convincing.

"You don't need to lie to us, Bill." Mabel encouraged softly, "Not that we would believe you anyways."

"I'm not lying!" The blond continued though his resolved seemed to crumble steadily. "I don't…"

"You're too cute." Mabel grinned and then she gasped, "Oh my god! I have an idea! Let's try getting Grunkle Ford and Bill back together!"

"Uhh…I'm not sure that's a fantastic idea, Mabel." Dipper said, "Their break up was pretty chaotic what with the betrayal and Judgment Day."

"Yeah, I'm sure he wouldn't want to." Bill said and sounded upset, "N-not that I would want to get back together either!"

"Look at him, Dip!" Mabel said, "He's changed. He's also powerless so he's not going to try to end the world again! And Grunkle Ford needs to start dating again. It might be the only way to get him to leave his basement and his research for extended periods of time."

Dipper still wasn't entirely convinced though his sister had brought up some valid points. It was clear Bill wasn't the same person – ex-demon – they had met four years ago during their first summer at Gravity Falls. It was like she had said, he didn't possess the power to be much of a terror or threat to anyone, and he did seem more human – whether it be because of the vessel or not. He was more considerate and gentle, that much was obvious whenever he spoke about Ford. In the end, their Great Uncle was an adult. He was more than old enough to make decisions himself. He would decide whether or not he wanted to get back with his ex and if he decided not to, perhaps Bill could start moving on.

And it wasn't like Dipper nor Mabel had anything to do what with the terrible storm outside.

"Okay." Dipper conceded, "But on a few conditions. First, Bill needs to admit he's still in love with Grunkle Ford."

Bill glared at him.

"Just do it, Bill." Mabel groaned, "We all know it, so just say it."

He did nothing for a moment longer when he finally sighed and turned his glare to the ground. "Fine." He practically hissed, "I guess I kind of still like him a lot…but only a little."

"Good enough." Dipper shrugged, "My last condition is Bill has to make a demon deal swearing he's not going to hurt Grunkle Ford under any circumstances if we help him."

"That's reasonable." Mabel nodded.

"Hate to break it to you, kid," The blond said and gestured himself, "Not a demon anymore. I can't make deals."

"Then swear on your life." Dipper said seriously.

"I swear on my life." Bill said evenly, "I'm not going to hurt him. Not again."

"Good." The sixteen year old sighed with satisfaction. He then turned to his sister, "So Mabel," he said, "You're the expert. How do we start?"