This chapter is short... I'm gonna upload 14 right after. Technically, I could just upload the whole story since it's done, but heck.

Since Bill had recovered, Amy had fallen back into her usual schedule of chores. After making sure everything was in place, Ghost had disappeared again, but Flora came over at least once a day to play with Mabel and answer some of Ford and Dipper's many questions. Sometimes she would even stick her head through the window to watch TV with everyone. As it turned out, not all dragons were capable of changing their form, so Flora was not able to shift into a human form like Ghost could.

Flora was lying near the old barn and watching as Mabel tried to balance on top of Amy's work ox. Luckily, the muscular creature was not easily bothered, and he simply continued to graze as the girl climbed all over him. Nearby in the barn, Amy's horse, whom she had dubbed Angelo, watched with mild interest. Flora giggled after hearing the horse mutter something about Mabel's wasted efforts and it bothered the girl that the dragon would not tell her what he had said.

"I wish I could understand animals," Mabel huffed as she slid down the ox's side.

"I don't know," Dipper said. He was leaning against Flora as he wrote in his journal. "Maybe it's a good thing that we don't understand. Overall, I mean."

"But wouldn't it be cool? Flora, isn't it cool?"

"I suppose…" the dragoness answered. "Animals are…simple things. Well…perhaps not…to humans." She looked over towards the pond where Amy and Bill were sitting under the willow tree, veiled by its hanging tendrils. "How quaint…"

The twins followed her gaze. "Aw," Mabel cooed. "Aren't they cute?" Dipper looked at her funny. She made a face at him them turned to Flora. "What do you think?"

She looked down at the human and tilted her head. "Of?"

"Them!" Mabel pointed towards the pair sitting under the tree.

Flora looked back over at them and thought for a moment. "They are good…for each other."

"Are you serious?" Dipper looked up at her. "Don't tell me you're with Mabel on that?"

She tilted her head at him. "What do you mean?... Can you not tell? Amy has become much more…accepting of people…since he came around. She smiles more… And he seems to have…hm…relaxed. They have developed…a bond…of sorts."

Dipper looked at them then back at Flora. "Wait, really? Like, you're serious? Wait, what kind of bond?"

"Of sorts…"

"That… That's not what I meant!"

"It must be difficult…for him to put his trust in another…after everything. He is lost now too…with nothing left…but her."

Bill was leaning back, slouching a bit, against the tree and with a narrowed eye was staring at the three near the old barn. He had noticed them repeatedly glancing over but he did not know what they were saying. He was debating going over just to pick a fight but didn't feel like moving from where he was. He could feel Amy's arm move as she turned a page in her book and he glanced over to watch her sketch a few lines. He had not actually meant to sit so close to her but neither of them mentioned it.

The past few days had been particularly strange to him. Ever since that stupid flower incident Amy seemed to be much more concerned over him. He found it rather humorous actually, cute, even. Sometimes he would do things on purpose that seemed to make her worry just to see her reaction. Nothing really bothered her before, and he was beginning to relish stealing her attention from other things and people. It was almost like a craving.

Earlier, he was playing around with an old hacksaw he had found in the shed behind the house. According to Amy, he was not only a sadist but a masochist as well. Which was not entirely incorrect. Often times, he relished physical pain, finding it funny or even exciting. But there were some exceptions… Though he had not actually meant to hurt himself today, he did manage to tear his glove and gash the palm of his hand open. It surprised him more than anything.

Of course, Amy's first reaction was scolding him before she became seriously concerned at realizing just how much he was bleeding. Really, he wasn't very concerned over it, but he had allowed her to clean, heal, and bandage the wound anyway.

He was too deep in thought at first to notice that Amy had placed her book aside until she had grabbed his hand. He blinked, surprised, and quickly looked over.

"Did that hurt?" she asked.

He laughed a bit in response. She rolled her eyes and lightly ran her fingers across the bandages. He felt a sudden rush, the same feeling he had felt that night in the barn when she touched him, and his face grew hot. The feeling threw him off and he instinctively pulled his hand away.

"I was going to take the bandages off." She tilted her head at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"How should I know?" he huffed. She looked bewildered at that. He grunted and watched as she took his hand again and carefully removed the bandages.

She gently pressed her fingers onto what was now a mere scratch in his hand. She looked up at him. He was staring down at their hands and appeared lost in thought. "Are you okay?"

He blinked at her and just barely tilted his head at the question as if he didn't hear. She suddenly remembered something that Ghost would do when she was upset or bothered by something. She scooted forward and pressed her forehead against his. "It's okay. I'm right here."

He tensed at the action and stared wide-eyed before slowly relaxing a little. Not really knowing how to react, he stayed still as she embraced him, her warm cheek now against his. Why did he find this so comforting? After a moment of hesitation, he slipped his arms behind her and pulled her up against his body, pressing his face into her neck to feel her pulse. Her warmth and scent were strangely soothing to him.

…

Later in the afternoon, there was a knock at the front door, but before any of them could get up to go answer it, it flew open magically and a tan man with crimson hair stepped inside.

"Honey, I'm hooomme!" he called loudly.

Amy looked back at the man from where she was sitting then stood up to go meet him. "Dionysus," she said. "You've finally showed up."

"Of course!" He was beaming. "I told you I would!" He suddenly fixed his posture, standing up straight, placed a hand behind his back, and used the other to take Amy's hand, bending forward to place a light kiss on her knuckles. "Milady."

She huffed with amusement. "Hello, Dionysus. How did you get on?"

"Fantastic!" He shot upright again. "Though, I must admit, I did get a little distracted chasing poachers under the guise of a two-headed lion." He chuckled. "Good times." He spotted Bill coming down the stairs, likely to investigate all the noise, and threw his arms out towards him. "Bill!"

"Dionysus!" He grinned.

"Darn, and here I forgot to bring some of my special brew for you."

"I'm glad," Bill muttered off to the side.

"Hello there," Mabel said cheerily as she jumped up from the sofa.

"Children!" Dionysus threw his arms out towards her and Dipper. He spotted Stan and Ford as they entered the living room. "Old men I have never met before!" He leaned closer to Amy. "Amy, who the heck are these humans?"

"They're friends staying for the summer," she told him. "Don't worry about it."

"Who said I was worried?"

Mabel caught his attention again. "We're the ones who kicked Bill's triangle butt two years ago and stopped the apocalypse!"

Dionysus burst with laughter. "Done in by some children and pair of old guys! Ha! You must be so embarrassed!"

Bill grinned at him with clenched teeth. "Shut up you drunken fool."

"Hey, I'm not drunk! …Yet."

"Guys," Amy spoke up, "this is Dionysus. Dionysus, this is Mabel, Dipper, Stan, and Ford. Oh, uh, and the pig in the corner is Waddles. He belongs to Mabel."

"Splendid!" Dionysus gave each of them a quick but firm handshake, even the pig. "Who wants a drink?" Several glasses filled with red wine suddenly appeared in their hands.

Mabel sniffed at the contents then made a face and wrinkled her nose. "Here you go, Dipper." She handed her brother her glass.

"Uh, but I don't wa- Okay I'm holding two now…"

Ford quickly confiscated the glasses of wine from Dipper and placed them on the coffee table. "These two are not old enough to have alcohol!"

Dionysus shrugged. "What are you, a cop? Relax old guy." He snapped his fingers and the glasses disappeared.

"Hey," Stan said, "I was gonna drink that!" The glass reappeared in his hand. "That's more like it."

"What are you doing here?" Dipper asked Dionysus.

"I've got some business in town," he replied. "I'm here to help the dragons out with some stuff. You know, shadows returning and wreaking havoc, Ragnarok's impending return, yadda-yadda. Ugh!" He suddenly threw his arms down and his head back like an annoyed teenager. "I guess I have to go tell Gaia that I'm here…"

"Don't worry about that," Amy told him. "I'll tell her later so you don't have to."

"Really!?" He perked up immediately.

"Yes. I know you two have a strained relationship."

"Oh, you're such a great friend, Amy!" He threw one arm around her waist, grabbed her hand with the other, then suddenly pulled her up against his chest and grinned down at her. "Mind if I stay here in the meantime and get to know you even better?" His tone had suddenly turned from friendly to almost seductive.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bill said, a little loudly.

"What? She's single." He grinned wider. "Right?"

Bill looked a bit surprised for a second before looking more annoyed than anything. "There's still no reason for you to handle her like that," he muttered.

Mabel and Dipper exchanged curious looks with each other.

"Aw, she doesn't mind! Right, Amy?"

Amy smiled and leaned away from him. "You're welcome to stay, Dionysus. But all the rooms are currently occupied. And," she placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back, "don't count on us ever being anything more than just friends."

"Ouch!" He laughed and released her. "Okay, okay! In all seriousness though, I noticed on my way here that an odd energy is surging."

"What kind of energy?" Ford asked.

He turned to Ford. "An odd one! Haha!" Dionysus thought for a moment. "Hm… Certainly not a good one, that's for sure. Good thing I got here just in time, huh?" He looked over at Bill. "You know, since you're so useless!"

"If you're going to stay here, then I suggest you be on the lookout for flying knives," Bill muttered darkly.

"Haha! I love this guy! He's so temperamental!"

…

June 27th

Dionysus showed up today! He came to help the dragons with some things. In the meantime, Amy's letting him stay here with us because he doesn't want to go to Telmak. Guess he never made amends with Gaia for what happened all those years ago. Man. Immortals sure can hold a grudge. I guess humans don't hold grudges as long because life's just too short. Immortals don't have to worry about that, though.

He's in a different form than the one the Enchiridion showed us from Africa. He's a shapeshifter. I wonder what his true form is? Right now, he's hanging around as a man with a nice tan and crimson red hair that's long and curly.

The guy is super friendly for someone supposedly cursed with madness. Though, he is pretty crazy, I guess. And excitable. He and Mabel are getting along great. Stan likes him too. He's like that cool party guy that goes with the flow and gets along with everyone. He's up for anything.

He even gets along pretty well with Bill, but Bill did seem agitated when Dionysus started flirting with Amy. I think Dionysus was mostly kidding, but I'm also pretty positive that he would have totally gone with it if Amy had shown any interest. But she didn't.

Speaking of Bill and Amy… Those two seem to have gotten really close all of a sudden. Bill follows her around even more than he used to and much closer too. Especially today, since Dionysus arrived.

June 29th

Bill got Amy a…gift today. It's…disturbing.

It's literally a glass bottle filled with human teeth. REAL human teeth. It even has a little red bow tied around the neck of the bottle. He claims to have put it all together himself and was apparently very selective about what teeth he put in the bottle.

How did he get the teeth? Are there a bunch of toothless or partially toothless people walking around Gravity Falls now? Did he kill people and then take their teeth? Maybe I don't want to know.

Anyways, it was hard to tell what Amy's actual thoughts on it were. She stared at it for a while then actually thanked him for it.

Update: Just saw a news report on the TV about mysterious grave robberies. The only things missing were their teeth…

Also, Dionysus used magic to somehow transform the storage closet in the hall into another bedroom for himself. What did he do with the tentacle monster that was in there?

Update 2: Amy displayed the bottle of teeth on a shelf in her room. I asked her about her thoughts on it and she said it was both disturbing and kind of sweet. What a weird (unofficial) couple those two are…

To be continued…

What did Dionysus do with the tentacle monster in the closet? The answer: He ate it.