Drawing Closer

The sounds of the night filled the air. Owls hooting. Crickets chirping. Gnomes vomiting. All the usual sounds of the forest. And in addition to all of it, were the sounds of a grown man struggling to carry a telescope up a particularly steep hill.

Dipper grunted, and groaned. He had been up that hill almost a dozen times now- and he still hadn't gotten the hang of it. By the time he had finally made it to the familiar grassy field, Dipper was sweating, panting, and chiding himself for joining a gym at the start of the year and never going. Not even once.

He took off his glasses and wiped his face. The trip always seemed to get longer. 'Or..' he thought with a grimace, 'Maybe I'm just getting older.'

He sighed. He had found some grey hairs in the bathroom mirror this morning. And then there were the glasses. And the look of weariness that seemed to stay on his face at all times. Maybe it was a result of spending so much time running away from monsters and powerful multi-dimensional entities. Or maybe it was because of all of those late nights spent obsessing over one thing or another.

He had gotten paler, too. A little more sickly. It was no wonder Mabel worried about him so much.

Dipper pulled a small piece of cloth out of his coat pocket, and used it to clean his glasses. He had celebrated his thirty-second birthday with Mabel just a few weeks ago. It had been a fun party- all parties were when Mabel was involved. But while everyone milled about amongst each other, Dipper couldn't help but notice himself drawing further and further away. It wasn't that he didn't like the people there. Mabel had pulled out all the stops. And she had invited everyone from Soos to Blendin Blandin.

But there was something about the group of people that made him feel... uncomfortable. And it wasn't the first time, either. Really ever since High School, Dipper had begun too reserve himself more and more. Until the only friend he had left, was Mabel. But even she had her own life to get too, and he didn't want to interfere with that.

And so, for the past few years, he had been almost exclusively alone. He didn't mind at first. Being alone certainly had its perks. But... He shook it off, and turned his attention back to the task at hand.

The telescope was bulky and more than a little heavy. But it was always easy to set up. That was why Dipper liked it so much. Well, that- and it was a present from Grunkle Ford. Dipper smiled a little as he pointed the telescope up at the sky.

"Let's see... visibility's little better than yesterday... Now, let's see..." he scanned the sky for a while, and stopped abruptly when he found what he was looking for. He pulled a book out of the secret pocket inside his trench coat. On the cover were a collection of silver spots and lines, coming together to form the Big Dipper. Underneath it, the number four was carefully inscribed in thick black ink.

Dipper flipped through it, and began scribbling furiously. As time passed, he would swing the telescope around, scribble something, and repeat. It went on for almost an hour, before he abruptly stopped. He slowly lowered his hands, as he stared at the nights sky.

"It's... It's happening again." he muttered. Dipper quickly shoved the journal back into his trench coat. His trusty trench coat had been outfitted with dozens of secret pockets, and in each one he kept something that no good paranormal investigator could be without. Stuff like giant-scorpion mace, dried screaming mushrooms, duct tape... all of the essentials. And somewhere amongst the labyrinth of pockets was Dippers favorite digital camera.

It was souvenir from the time he had been hired to track down an American were-wolf in London. It was the first case he had ever taken on by himself.

Dipper smiled at the memory, but quickly shook it off. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in nostalgia. He had work to do.

Up in the sky, the stars began to dance amongst each other. Dipper aimed the camera at the sky, and held his breath. He couldn't afford to have his hands tremble this time.

The stars began to join together to make shapes in the sky. First a triangle with a small circle inside it. Dipper took his first picture. Then the stars formed an X over it. Dipper took another picture. The stars went on to take the shape of a magnifying glass. And then a love heart. And finally, the image he had been waiting all night for.

A woman.

She had long hair, tied into a ponytail with a single long ribbon. Her bangs seemed to fall haphazardly over her face. Her eyelids were half closed over her big dazzling eyes, and her lips were curved into a smile. She was wearing a long, flowing dress, that made her look as if she was being swept up by the wind. Dipper took a picture. And then, he took a few extra.

This probably wasn't the weirdest thing happening in the forrest of Gravity Falls at that time, but for Dipper- it was certainly one of the more unique. Plus, it just had that air about it that made his Paranormal Investigator sensors tingle. It was exactly the kind of mystery he was looking for. One without a whole lot of danger- but still something he could sink his teeth into.

As the girl faded out from the sky, and stars resumed their usual places, Dipper placed his flashlight in his mouth as he made a few extra notes in his journal. "Are these messages meant for someone? Is it foretelling something?" he muttered as he continued to write as quickly as possible.

Dippers handwriting could at times be almost as florid and messy as his Grunkle Fords. Sometimes more so. Dipper liked to think of it as a sort of secret code that only he could decipher. That was one of the nice things about being a paranormal investigator. No one expected your notes to look neat and tidy. In fact, messiness was practically a prerequisite. Like with doctors.

Once he was finished, Dipper packed everything back together and made his way back down the hill. The way down should have been easier on him. And it would've been, if it wasn't for the way the telescope kept threatening to slip out of his grasp. When he finally made it to the old golf cart, he was happy to set it down again. He stretched his tired limbs, and took a deep breath.

The night air blew gently across his face. He appreciated it, as he sat down in the drivers seat. Dipper didn't like bringing cars deep into the Gravity Falls forest, and with the number of upgrades the golf cart had received from Soos over the years, it was a perfect little all-terrain vehicle.

As Dipper made his way out of the forest, he made a beeline for what was quickly becoming one of his top favorite places in Gravity Falls.

Ol' Lazy Susan's Pancake Steak House.

* ~ * GravityFalls * ~ *

Pacifica Northwest had once promised herself that no matter what happened, she would never enter a restaurant that had a giant food-shaped statue on the roof. For years, she had avoided the Beuno Nacho, the Kansas Fried Chicken and the Burger Emperor like they were made out of fire.

And now, all of a sudden she had found herself walking through the dull revolving door of Ol' Lazy Susan's Pancake Steak House. A place that had statues of both a stack of pancakes and a giant steak on the roof. On one plate. She grimaced at the thought of it. But- she was desperate. And, it was the middle of the night.

As she was greeted by the cheap lighting and aged decor, she has to hope that she didn't run into anybody she knew. Being spotted in a place like this would get her kicked out of the Yacht club, the Tennis club, and the Snooty Mini-Golf club. It was called snooty by the way, because it was founded by Walter T Snooty, and not just because almost everyone in it wore monocles and top hats.

As she took her first steps into the temple of mediocrity, she could tell right away that she didn't belong. There were no chandeliers. No candles. Not even a live orchestra. In fact, the entire place looked more like an aged retro diner than a restaurant of any kind. Still, she walked over to the counter and propped herself up on a stool.

Her makeup was running. She bit her lip as she grabbed a handful of napkins. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she had been smart enough to take her purse before she left. She rummaged through it for a while, until she finally found her old pocket mirror. Naturally, it was pure silver, and lined with jewels. She flipped it open, and flinched at the face staring back at her.

Her eye shadow and mascara had streaked all the way down her face, making her look like she was melting. Her hair was a mess too. With parts of it falling over her face, and other parts of it frizzing in every direction. She frowned. She couldn't have that. Pacifica Northwest didn't look bad for anyone.

She grabbed a handful of napkins, and cleaned up her face. Then, she pulled her hairbrush out of her purse, and set to work. When she was finally satisfied with it, she pulled out a long ribbon and tied her hair back. 'I'll probably have to visit the salon tomorrow...' she thought. She checked her nails, and winced. 'Yep. Definitely...'

She sighed, as she pulled out her ear rings, and took off the long high heels that had been bothering her all night.

"Can I take your order?"

Pacifica looked up. Standing behind the counter was a tall, burly looking woman. With a short ponytail and ear-rings shaped like love hearts. Her shirt had a name stitched into it with thick red thread. 'Grenda' it read, followed by a small collection of exclamation marks. Pacifica frowned. She felt like she recognized that name- but she couldn't quite place it.

Suddenly realizing that she had spent the past few seconds just staring at a stranger, she suddenly panicked. "Uh- Chocolate chip pancakes, please!" she exclaimed. The woman scribbled it down on a piece of paper. "You got it." she said. Her voice was deep and gruff. Certainly memorable. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't place it.

The door opened again with a loud squeak as someone else entered the restaurant. Or diner. Or whatever the dreary hovel she was sitting in was supposed to be.

She felt her chest tighten. 'Is it him? But... He wouldn't follow me here, would he?' she shot a quick glance at the doorway. A pale, scruffy looking man was standing there, rifling through his trench coat pockets. Pacifica felt her heart sink.

She didn't know what she was expecting. For her fiance to suddenly appear in front of her, and tell her that it was all a misunderstanding? To tell her that she hadn't really seen what she had seen?

Her hands clenched into fists. She didn't want to think about it anymore. She didn't want to think about him, or how stupid she was to think that anybody would ever like her for reasons beyond her families money. She grabbed another napkin, and wiped the tears out of eyes.

Suddenly, there was a noise right beside her. She turned around, to find that the man had taken a seat on the stool right next to hers. She grimaced. 'If this creep tries to hit on me... Then I'll have punched two people today." she thought. A few minutes passed, and the man didn't move. He appeared to be reading a book. Every now and again, he would scribble something into it, click the pen a few times, and then scribble something else.

By now she was aware that she was staring. But the man seemed so utterly engrossed in what he was doing, that she guessed that he wouldn't notice. Besides- it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

The mans hair was unkempt, but most of it seemed to be pushed down over his forehead. She noticed that he had a hat sitting on the counter next to him. It was a wide-brimmed, almost cowboyish thing. Something she guessed he thought looked cool in a movie once, so he bought one for himself. That was the reason for a great many fashion faux pa.

She drew her eyes down to his face. He had the beginnings of a beard forming on his face. Upon closer inspection, she could see a few scars on his cheeks, and down his chin. Most of them were thin, but he had a slightly more pronounced scar over his left eyebrow, and on the bridge of his nose. She probably wouldn't of noticed them from a distance, but now that she had noticed them they seemed to get more and more pronounced.

"Oh, hey Dip. I'll be right over."

Pacifica was jolted out of her observations by the sound of a voice from somewhere behind the counter. Suddenly, the woman with the 'Grenda' shirt from before came out of the kitchen, holding a notepad and a pencil. The woman approached the scruffy looking man with a warm smile. "You want the usual?" she asked.

The man closed his book. "Yeah. Thanks, Grenda." he said, as he suddenly produced his wallet. The man rifled through it for a while, before finally pulling out a twenty dollar note. "Keep the change." he said.

"Oh, come on. You know your money's no good here!" the woman exclaimed, as she ripped the money out of his hand. The man sighed. "Yeah, well- I don't want to have to owe you money again..." he muttered. "Thank you! I'll get your usual ready on the double. Oh! And Pacifica? Your pancakes are almost done!" the woman yelled.

At that, the man suddenly turned to face Pacifica. And grimaced. "Oh... It's you..." he muttered.

There was only one man in the world who would react like that to Pacifica Northwest. And right to her face, at that. And she couldn't hide her surprise.

"Dipper? Dipper Pines!?" she exclaimed. "What're you doing here?"

Dipper turned back to face his book. "I could ask you the same thing." he muttered. "Isn't this place a little 'low class' for a Northwest?"

Pacifica shot him a dirty look. "And shouldn't you be out chasing ghosts and mermaids or whatever?" she asked.

Dipper shrugged. "I just got back from something like that, actually. I just stumbled onto something in the woods..." he trailed off, as he realized who he was talking to. "Never mind..." he muttered.

There was a long awkward silence, as Dipper scribbled in his book and Pacifica fumbled with her purse. Part of her wanted to leave. But the rest of her didn't want to give him the satisfaction of watching her retreat. So she sat there, stubbornly waiting for her chocolate-chip pancakes to arrive. It would probably break the various trendy diets she was on- but at the moment, she couldn't care less.

Now wasn't the time to be worrying about calories or sugar. Now was the time for chocolate-chip pancakes. Just as soon as they arrived.

She began tapping her fingers on the counter. 'How much longer is this going to take?' she thought.

"It's worth the wait."

Pacifica blinked. She turned to face Dipper. He was cleaning his glasses with a small white cloth, and still facing his book. Without looking away, he repeated himself. "The pancakes. Grenda makes the best chocolate chip pancakes in the country. Maybe the world. They'll be worth the wait." he said.

Pacifica frowned. "How did you know I ordered chocolate chip pancakes?" she demanded. Dipper shrugged. "Just a guess." he said.

More silence.

This time, Pacifica was the one to break it.

"Do you... Do you know her?" she asked.

"Of course I do. She's one of Mabels best friends- and she's known you her whole life."

Pacifica thought about that for a moment. Then, something suddenly clicked. "Wait... Is she the loud one?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure all three of them could be considered the 'loud' ones, but yeah. That's Grenda. She's the one who dated that prince for a while." said Dipper.

"Oh, yeah... I read about that. I thought she seemed familiar..." she muttered. "Didn't she also turn into a werewolf once?"

Dipper blinked. "You read the Gravity Falls Gossiper?" he asked, raising an incredulous eyebrow. "Aren't you more the 'Snoooty Glitz and Glamour' type?" he asked.

Pacifica grimaced. "I'm not that shallow..." she muttered.

"Just a little shallow, huh?"

There was another awkward silence, as Pacifica turned her attention back to the counter. She could feel a familiar pressure building up in her chest, and she didn't like it. She had already cried enough.

"...Sorry." muttered Dipper. If Pacifica had heard him, she didn't show any sign of it. "It's been kind of a while since I last talked to someone..." he continued. "I guess I'm kinda rusty. But- Look, your not... Your not that bad. I heard that you've been letting the town into the Northwest mansion for your big party. That's nice."

Pacifica grit her teeth. "That was just a sham. My fiance has been campaigning for Mayor. And you can be sure he'll be coming up with some lame excuse for the next one as soon as he's elected." she spat. "He was using the party to collect donations- can you believe it? From the townspeople. It's not like there weren't plenty of super rich people there, but no- he has to prey on the others. Because he knows he can take advantage of them, and get away with it."

She clenched her fist. And from what she could tell- that was probably just the tip of the iceberg. The more she thought about it, the more she wished that she had punched him even harder. Broken nails be damned.

Dipper gave her a look. "You... you didn't know?" he asked. He looked genuinely surprised. Suddenly, she was beginning to reconsider punching a second person that night.

"Of course not." she spat. "He was so sweet. And... And he seemed so innocent. At least- he was when we first met. But then... I don't know. When he found out who I was... it changed him. But... But I didn't think... I didn't think he'd turn into..." she could feel herself start to tremble as she went on. "I didn't think he'd turn into my parents." she said.

"I... I found out tonight... He'd been stealing from us. And... and cheating..." her voice had started to break, and she could feel tears sliding down her face. She grabbed another handful of napkins, and angrily wiped her face. When she was done, she shot Dipper a glare. "Did you... Did you know?" she growled.

"Well... I had heard a few rumors..." Dipper muttered.

"Why didn't you tell me!? " she demanded.

Dipper shifted uncomfortably on the stool, and suddenly everything clicked into place. 'He thought I knew. And I was in on it.' Pacifica felt an explosive burst of rage. And before she knew it, she had already punched him square in the face. Sending him toppling off of the stool. Pacifica grabbed her purse and turned to leave, only to feel a hand on her arm.

"Wait-"

Without thinking, she turned around, and punched him in the face again. Dipper grimaced, as blood came trickling from his lip. "Will you stop doing that?" he asked. Pacifica raised her fist to do it again, and Dipper had already braced himself- when a gruff voice suddenly cut through the air.

"Ahem."

Dipper and Pacifica turned to find Grenda standing at the other side of the counter, holding a plate of pancakes. She sent Dipper a glare. "Your paying for her pancakes." she growled. Dipper frowned. "Hey, I'm the one getting punched." he exclaimed. Granda pointed at the pancakes. "You're also paying for an extra scoop of ice-cream." she said.

Dipper opened his mouth to protest, only to slump his shoulder in defeat. "Fine..." he muttered. Without removing his grip from Pacifica's arm, he rummaged around in his trench coat with his other hand, until he finally came up with some money.

"Here." he said.

Grenda nodded approvingly, and walked back to the kitchen.

Dipper turned his attention back to Pacifica. "Look... I'm sorry, Pacifica. It was wrong of me to... to just assume the worst. But we haven't spoken in almost fifteen years now." he said. "And people can change over that kind of time. And it's usually for the worse."

Pacifica could feel the wave of anger rushing past her. Replaced by an endless abyss of sadness. She could feel tears star running down her face once more. "You..." she muttered. "You're right... I have changed for the worst. I... I should've seen what he was doing. But I wanted to live in a fake little happy world. Just like the one I was raised in. And... And after I promised myself... and Mabel... and... you... I promised that I wouldn't let my family turn me into a... a snob..." she said. The tears were getting worse, and she felt like she was falling apart.

A Northwest wasn't supposed to lose their composure like this. But at that moment- she didn't care anymore.

"But that's what I am... I'm... Just a snobby little brat... Even now." she muttered.

"Mabel's pregnant."

Pacifica's eye's widened. "What?" she gasped. "Are you serious!?"

Dipper nodded. "Uh-huh. She found out just a little while ago. It looks like it's twins, too." he said.

Pacifica gaped. The idea of Mabel- the girl she had last seen wearing a unicorn costume and practicing head stands at age seventeen- being pregnant... Didn't seem to compute.

"This is her third marriage. But it looks like this one's going to stick. You know what they say. Third times the charm." said Dipper.

Pacifica sat back down on her stool to process this. She had a fuzzy memory of receiving a wedding invitation from someone a handful of years ago... Was that Mabel's wedding? And more than that- she had gotten married twice? No- thrice?

"The first one was a vampire. Just like she always wanted. Unfortunately, the whole 'being nocturnal' thing ended up being a strain on their relationship. Then there was the accountant who turned out to be a demon. And a bedwetter. But this new guy... Other than being a prince from another dimension- he's actually pretty normal. He's a nice foil for her." Dipper explained.

Pacifica took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "That's... crazy." she muttered. Dipper shrugged. "It's pretty much the norm for us Pines twins." he said.

"No.. Not the monster stuff- Mabel's going to be a Mom."

"Yeah. She's going to be the best Mom in the world."

Pacifica smiled. "She will..."

There was silence again. And, as if on cue- Grenda appeared with the plate of pancakes, now with a few fresh scoops of ice-cream on top. She set them down on the counter, and shot Dipper a look. "If you make her cry again, I'm going to punch you." she growled.

Dipper flinched. "Yes, ma'am." he muttered.

Without thinking, Pacifica picked up her fork, and cut herself a piece. Slowly, she brought to her lips, and took a big bite.

Pacifica let out a girlish squeal that surprised herself, but especially Dipper. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed. Immediately, she took another big piece, and was about to greedily shovel it into her mouth- when she noticed Dipper's eyes on her. "Oh, don't mind me. There's no such thing as table manners this late at night." he said. Pacifica frowned at him. "Of course I'm not going to tell anybody, either." he continued.

Looking satisfied with that, Pacifica ate her incredible desert without any restraint. As she did so, a thought suddenly occurred to Dipper.

"Hey, Grenda! You can't post any of this anywhere online!" he yelled.

There was a long silence, until a small voice came from inside the kitchen. "But... it's so juicy." she whined.

"None of it!"

"...Fine."

Dipper seemed satisfied with that response, as he sat back down in his stool. There was a period of silence, until Pacifica had finished he pancakes and let out a tiny, satisfied burp. She blushed. "Uh... excuse me." she muttered.

Dipper smiled. "So... You feel any better?" he asked.

Pacifica looked down at her empty plate, and thought for a moment. "... A little." she muttered.

"Grenda's pancakes can fix any problem." said Dipper. Pacifica smiled. "Yeah. I can see that." she said.

Dipper pulled a napkin out of the napkin dispenser, and brought it to his lip. The bleeding had most stopped, but there was still a steady stream of blood going down his chin. He winced. That was going to hurt in the morning.

"...Sorry about that, Dipper." said Pacifica.

"It's alright. This isn't the first time I've been punched in the face." he said with a smirk. "Listen... Pacifica? You're not... You're not a bad person. You care about other people. You have a conscience. I can see it in you. The same way I saw it during the Lumberjack Ghost incident. You're... You're not your parents, Pacifica. You're better."

There was another lulll, as neither of them knew what to say next. But when Dipper turned to face his book again, Pacifica suddenly found her voice.

"What about you?" she asked.

Dipper blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I told you about my love life. And... You told me about Mabel's... But what about yours? Do you have someone special? A... A girlfriend, maybe?"

Dipper shook his head. "Nope. I haven't been in a relationship in quite a long time."

"Why not?"

"I don't know... I've been busy. Plus... I'm not the best at communicating with fellow humans."

"You'd do fine."

"I... I don't think so. Besides, what am I supposed to do? Go online? Try and talk to girls at Swollen Eyeball meetings? I've tried all that. It never works. I'm just not... I'm just not meant to have that kind of relationship."

Pacifica frowned. "But you want one, don't you?" she asked.

Dipper sighed. "It doesn't matter what I want." he muttered.

"Order up!" came Grenda's voice as she burst through the kitchen doors. This time she was holding a plate of steak and mashed potatoes, a plate of plane pancakes drizzled in maple syrup, and a cup of black coffee. She put it all on the counter, and gave Pacifica a wink. Without a word, she turned around and left. Leaving Pacifica to wonder what that wink was supposed to mean.

She looked over at Dipper, who was already hungrily lunging at his potatoes with a fork. She couldn't tell if he was just hungry, or if he was trying to avoid her line of questioning. It was probably both.

"You must've been pretty hungry..." muttered Pacifica, once Dipper had finished his steak and moved on to his pancakes. Dipper shrugged. "Yeah, I haven't eaten in... all day. I forget sometimes." he muttered. Pacifica frowned. "You know that's like, super unhealthy." she said.

"So is fighting monsters and stuff, but I do that too." said Dipper. Pacifica shook her head. "And how long has it been since you last slept?" she asked.

Dipper thought for a moment. "Well... Less than twenty-four hours. I think." he said, as he took his first big gulp of coffee. "Sleep get's in the way of work."

Pacifica frowned, and put her hands on her hips. "You need to take better care of yourself." she said.

"I'll be fine."

"No you won't. I know you. You'll keep going until you either burn out, or you get yourself hurt."

Dipper frowned. "Then what am I supposed to do? This stuff is important, Pacifica." he growled.

"So are you."

Dipper looked away from her, and cursed himself for blushing. 'I'm not a teenager anymore...' he grumbled inwardly.

Pacifica herself looked more than a little embarrassed about what she had just said. But wouldn't take it back. She meant it. Maybe more than she than she thought she did. Maybe a lot more. She bit her lip, as old feelings came rushing back to her. Feelings she thought she had lost a long time ago. She looked at Dipper, and felt her heart skip a beat. They were alone. (Mostly). And her parents, the people at the country club, the yacht club- even her ex-fiance. None of them mattered anymore. Not as much as he did. She bit her lip.

"You know..." she muttered. "Back when I was a kid... You were one of my first big crushes."

Black coffee practically exploded out of Dippers nose and mouth, and he almost fell off of the stool again. After a good two minutes of loud coughing and sputtering, he regained his composure. "Is... Is that so?" he squeaked.

Pacifica nodded. "Uh-huh." she said, as she slowly inched closer to him.

Dipper gulped. "W-well, I guess I'd better get going. It is getting late and all." he sputtered, as he got up from the stool.

"What are you afraid of?" asked Pacifica.

"Wha- Who? M-me? I'm not afraid of anything!" said Dipper, as he slowly backed away.

Pacifica didn't let him. She grabbed him by the collar, and held him in place.

"Uh... Pacifica? Your confused... a-and, you can't- I mean, I'm... I'm me. Girls don't like me. I mean- look." Dipper pushed his hair back, revealing a birthmark on his forehead, shaped like the Big Dipper. "See? You want someone better. You-"

Pacifica cut him off. "The last time you left... I cried. All night. And Grenda said that if you made me cry again- she'd punch you in the face. Remember?"

Dipper opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off, when Pacifica pulled him towards her, and he felt her soft pink lips press against his own.

Everything went blank. Pacifica could taste pancakes, coffee and just hint of blood. Dipper could taste chocolate, ice-cream and lipstick. And that was the only thing going on in their minds. That is, until they heard the sound of a 'click' from behind the counter. Dipper pulled away.

"Grend- Candy!?" he exclaimed.

Candy was holding her phone up in front of her, and wearing an enormous grin. "Grenda called me as soon as she saw you two sitting together." she said. And with that, she ran off. Dipper moved to chase her, only to be pulled back by Pacifica. "Don't worry so much..." she muttered, before pulling back into a kiss.

And for the first time he could remember, all of his worries melted away. Gravity Falls, the Journal he had just spit black coffee all over- none of it seemed to matter anymore.

Because for the first time in a long time, he wasn't alone.

And neither was she.

* ~ * GravityFalls * ~ *

"Hey, Asmiohotep?"

"Yeah?"

"You think the kid who beat Bill got our message?"

"Yeah, I think so. I mean- how clear can you get? 'The one who beat Bill, should search for love, with- uh, what's her name?"

"Pacifica Northwest."

"Yeah. Pacifica Northwest."

"You think maybe we should've used words instead of pictures?"

"Geez. Listen to yourself. And you call yourself a mysterious all-powerful force? You can't just spell these things out. You have to make it complicated. It makes you seem smart."

"Oh... Okay."

THE END

(AN: So... this took a lot of effort. I would much appreciate any reviews or comments. Thanks for reading!)