A/N: Sorry for the wait, works been a bastard lately.

...

Dipper looked up from the screen of his computer again, rubbing his eyes. He'd been scouring college choices and course possibilities for the past day or so non-stop, it felt like. He hadn't told Mabel yet, either.

One of them had to do this, and it might as well be him. He was more convinced than ever that some time apart, to live on their own, meet new people, pursue their own goals…it'd be good for them. It hurt to accept it, but there was no future for the two of them, not in the way they wanted. The world wasn't like that. The more he'd thought about it the more sense it made for the two of them, this was for the best.

He hadn't talked to Mabel about it because he wasn't sure how she'd react.

Dipper groaned, burying his head in his hands. Now he was lying to himself, he knew exactly how she'd react and that was why he wasn't telling her. He just needed to prepare himself so that when he talked to her, he was ready. Maybe they could move past this.

"Dippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrr!" Mabel announced herself, barging into his room and nearly giving him a heart-attack.

Downstairs there was a torrent of shrieked curses, but Mabel only rolled her eyes with a haughty dismissal.

"Mabes!" He greeted, edgier than he'd intended. He raced to hide what he'd been looking at in the most nonchalant way he could manage, but it wasn't enough to escape his sister's notice.

She pressed down on his shoulder, peering over his head.

"Porn?" She mused, cheerily.

Dipper broke into a fit of coughing as he choked on whatever words he'd come up with to object.

"I don't care what you're into really bro, it's none of my business." She scoffed. "We do both use this computer though, so I'd rather you didn't get some sorta V.T.D. from whatever shitty sites you're trawling though."

The word ''Wait." Was barely from his lips as she'd batted his hand away from the mouse playfully and brought up the tab he'd hidden.

There was a moments silence as he could practically feel her digesting the contents of the page.

"So…colleges, huh?" He felt her ease off him and step back.

"Mabel," He turned in his chair. ", you don't understand."

She glanced at him sharply, pacing back and forth around his room, slowly. The beginnings of hurt in her eyes were palpable.

"No, I don't." She replied simply. "Why don't you explain why you've been looking at colleges for god knows how long, without telling me?"

"I was just looking, Mabel, it's nothing. I was going to tell you before…" The words died in his throat. This was all going wrong, this wasn't how he'd wanted to talk about this.

Understanding dawned on her and she took a seat on the side of his bed, meshing her fingers together in front of her.

"So this is how we start "the talk", Dip?" She mumbled sadly. "You hide it all like it's something disgusting until I find it for myself?"

"This wasn't how I'd planned it." He replied, sitting next to her. He tried to take her hand but she refused.

"I didn't know you were this unhappy about…us. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm not." He argued. "It's not that, it's just-"

"Then why?" She looked up at him, eyes meeting his.

He took a deep breath. Well, it was now or never.

"Mabel, we've been together for so long. I mean, can you remember a time when it wasn't just the two of us? We were brought up together, lived together, fought together, we faced danger together, we've been so close for so long and…"

"And?"

"I think it would be good for us to do our own thing for a few years. See new places, pursue our own goals, get out there and be ourselves for a time. Especially you, Mabel. I don't want to be responsible for…for dictating the rest of your life just because of my own selfish needs, you deserve a chance to decide for yourself if...if what's between us is really…um…"

"No."

"What?" Dipper looked back at her, losing his train of thought.

"Don't you fucking dare."

"Mabel, what-"

"If you've got a problem, if you're scared or afraid of where we go…together, that's fine. It scares me too. We both know that we'd never be able to be together in any normal sense, we know that, but don't you dare try and tell me I don't really love you." She spat.

"Mabel, we've always been together, neither of us know any different, what if-"

"Bullshit, Dipper." She got to her feet. "You might have overthought this and buried yourself in guilt about everything, like you normally do, but don't try and foist the blame for all this on…on nothing. You're just making excuses." She raised both arms in a vague gesture of frustration. "You always do this, but this…?" She prodded his chest hard, repeatedly.

"Hey." He was on his feet now. "I love you, I do, but one of us-"

"What?" She snapped, turning on him sharply. "One of us has to be big? One of us has to grow up? Be a martyr? Bullshit. If you don't want to be with me, if you want whatever we…are to stop, then just fucking say that. Don't hide behind some sanctimonious bullshit." Mabel's eyes were wet with tears now, she was furious.

This was not going at all the way he'd hoped.

"It's just a few years…" He tried, regretting it instantly.

Mabel threw herself at him, hitting him randomly and swearing at him.

"You bastard, you fucking bastard!"

He tried to calm her, talk her down, anything, but everything he did seemed to make her angrier.

"Mabel, please!" He tried again, despite the inescapable feeling he'd just about ruined the only thing he really cared about in the world.

She stopped suddenly, looking up at him through her red, swollen eyes and loose strands of hair. Without a word, she turned and made for the door.

"Let me know when you're ready to talk about why you really don't want to be with me anymore." Mabel pulled open the door. "I love you, you fucking idiot." She muttered, pausing for a moment. Then she was gone.

…

They were coming to the end of summer, soon they'd be back home and school would start again. Mabel risked a furtive glance across the small room they shared at her brother.

And things were still…off…between them.

Moonlight shone through the cracked old window between their beds, bathing the old floor in white.

Mabel hated it. She hated how this…whatever, had ruined their relationship. They talked about as much as necessary, but they weren't like they were anymore. They weren't as close, and it made her more sad then she'd ever thought it would.

She'd chewed, mulled, pondered and racked her brains over the last real conversation they'd had about…it. It was something to do with her. He'd said it wasn't her fault, but she was part of the problem for Dipper.

Just as he was part of the…problem, for her.

She huffed, quietly. She couldn't even think about it without thinking of it as just vagaries, despite some small part of her beginning to put things together into a picture she wasn't quite ready to see.

Mabel had had a word with Wendy, about Dipper's moods and how things had changed, without mentioning that Dipper had said it was because of her. The older girl had just put it down to her brother getting older. And hormones. And girls.

The last part had made her uncomfortable, but only a little, less than she'd thought it should. She hadn't risked asking Wendy what to do if she was the girl in question.

So Dipper had seen her naked and it bothered him. It never used to, they'd never really been apart at any point in their lives, they'd shared everything. Something had changed though. She had suspicions, wild thoughts, but…

She wasn't as naïve as people thought. She knew about things. As much as Dipper had been growing up with her, she'd been growing up with him too. She'd seen him grow and change. Stolen small glances at him topless as he left the shower, peered curiously at the way sweat glistened on…

She shook her head, trying to get back on track. Mabel knew these were things siblings were not supposed to…think about one another. But here they were, in this strange limbo. She wanted to get past it.

"Before you…um…grew up." Her brother had said.

She blushed a little, looking over at him again. He was sprawled on his bed with a book on his face. He let out a snore.

Neither of them had ever really been in a relationship. She'd chased boys when she was younger, and he'd crushed on Wendy, but…

It flattered her that he thought she was attractive. It caused her no end of confusion that it did, but it did.

Her eyes fell on her snoring brother again, and a thought came to her. It made her blush even more than before, and there were a million ways this could go wrong, and…

But she was already on her feet, sliding off the bed and straightening out the creases in her nightshirt. Her breath caught as even she noticed the curves and shapes beneath it that weren't there before. She wasn't as…well-endowed…as some girls her age, but…

Her foot hit a creaky floorboard and Dipper snorted, book sliding to the floor and his eyes snapped open. They fell on her with a mix of confusion, fear and…something else?

"Mabel, what are you…?"

She bit her lip, far less sure of herself now than she was before. She took a deep breath and let it all out.

"Things haven't been the same, Dipper." She blurted. "I don't like it."

He smiled sympathetically.

"I know. I don't like it either." He sat up straight on the side of his bed, making room for her beside him. She sat down.

"So I was thinking…"

"Uh-oh." He joked, earning him a punch on the arm.

"Har-har." She retorted, sarcastically. "Anyway, I was thinking, this all started when you and Wendy…"

"Um…yeah." He interrupted.

"And I thought…maybe…if we're having these…weird feelings or something…what if we…

"…we?"

Mabel blinked, refusing to meet his gaze.

"…we." She affirmed. "What if we just…kissed?"

"Just…kissed?" He asked, not reacting in any of the myriad ways Mabel had been fearing.

"Like…kissed. On the lips. Like a real kiss."

"…uhhh…and that'd…help?"

"Well maybe it'll just…get this…whatever out of our systems?" She shrugged.

Dipper could think of so many reasons why they shouldn't "just kiss", but he wasn't offering any of them. He couldn't bring himself to crush Mabel when it'd clearly taken a lot of courage on her part to say this, and when he couldn't deny he'd been having…dreams…about something like this happening for a while now.

"…okay." He agreed, hesitantly.

"…okay." Mabel repeated.

They scooted a little closer, both breathing heavily, hearts thumping in their chests. This wasn't right or wrong or proper or indecent or…

Mabel tucked her hair behind her ear, in a simple motion she'd done numerous times a day all her life, but right then it made her seem more beautiful than she ever had been before.

They leaned forward, eyes closed, trying to ignore the sheer sense of…

Their lips met, pressing softly together.

In the grander scheme of kisses, it was probably clumsy, tame, not anything to get excited about. But Mabel was sure she'd never ever forget it.

They pulled apart, both surprised by the powerful feeling of regret at it being over. Their eyes met, so many emotions and things they wanted to say to one another that didn't quite seem important right at that moment.

Mabel knew this wasn't just going to go away. Something in Dippers eyes told her he knew it too.

Then they kissed again.