Midsummer Downpour

Summary: Dipper is determined and patient. Norman is cautious and apprehensive. When a sudden monsoon targets Oregon, how will the two get from the grand, watery cataract of Gravity Falls back to the Mystery Shack? Bad summary, Parapines, pointless fluff.

A/N: Hello everyone! My writing as been, erm, questionable lately so I decided to poop this out. I turned on some cool 8-bit music, opened my curtains and watched the downpour and let myself fall into the Wood of Words. It might not be that good, but this is just a writing warm up. Enjoy!

"…Okay my turn. Winsome."

"Um," a cough, "full of win?"

Dipper laughed. "No! It means innocently charming." He picked up a rock and chucked it at the rippling waves. "Your turn."

Norman scratched his knee. "Mellifluous."

"Hm… smooth and sweet."

"Ugh, Dipper! This is why I don't like playing this game with you!" Norman throws something green and slimy at the other boy. The child huffed when his friend easily dodged it. "You always know the definitions of the words I ask you. It's not fair."

Dipper laughed again. "Hey, working at the Mystery Shack isn't all adventurous mountain hikes or fast chase scenes. It's quite… quotidian. That's why I read the dictionary while I work. It helps pass the time."

"Commonplace or ordinary. Well, at least you have your risible sister to assist you in working the Shack."

"Laughable or able to cause laughter. Yeah, she isn't languorous, like some people in Gravity Falls." The brunette glared at some of the buildings on the street.

"Lacking spirit or liveliness. The multisyllabic vocabulary we've been using in our persiflage are luculent to us, but perplexing to others."

"Damn." Dipper cursed under his breath. "Um, persiflage means light banter, luculent means easily understood and perplexing means confusing or bewildering. Okay my turn…"

"No way, I'm not playing anymore. I can never win against you!"

"It's not my fault that I'm sesquipedalian."

Norman drew his thick eyebrows together. "Huh? What does that mean?"

"Given to using long words." Dipper winked.

The other boy pouted and put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, well-"

But he was interrupted by a bright flash of lightening and deafening roll of thunder. Norman looked up and noticed the pine trees rustling wildly, the water that cascaded from the falls seemed as if it was being controlled by an invisible force as the bend of aqua lashed around. The clouds rolled in quickly and the sun had completely disappeared. People on the streets had picked up their pace and quickly started to make their way home or check in to the closest motel.

Norman jumped at another threatening crack of thunder. "Um, Dipper? You think we should head back to the Mystery Shack?"

Dipper lifted the bill of his hat to look at the sky. "Uh-huh," he said. "C'mon, it's a long way back and we don't want to get caught in the rain." There was another spark of bright lightening and Norman covered his ears so that he wouldn't hear the frightening thunder that followed.

Dipper stood at the sidewalk as he waited for Norman to catch up. When they were side by side, they quickly strolled down the promenade, kicking rocks along the way. They talked, talked about nothing, words nowhere near great importance. But they enjoyed it because that's what talking about nothing with your best friend does; it makes you feel good.

There were more rolls of thunder and behind them a lightening strike had touched the street. That's when the wind had pushed the two boys forward some and the rain started to beat down on them, blind them as they were soon surrounded by a bleak sky, gray milieu and no lights, no citizens. They were suddenly alone on the seemingly monochromatic road.

It had only been raining for a few moments but the two were already soaked. Norman's shirt clung to his small figure and droplets of water dripped from the bill of Dipper's white and blue hat.

Norman rubbed and squeezed his arms. He'd left his hoodie at home because earlier on in the day, it was really warm, and Dipper suggested that he leave it. Little did he know that a downpour would hit the small town out of nowhere.

A strong gust had pushed both boys back some, but they continued on anyway. Another blast of air hit the two and Norman had tripped over his foot as he was shoved backwards. As he was falling, his arms had shot out instinctively, reaching for something to grab. They had latched onto two wet hands and soon his body was pulled forward, the wind still stubbornly thrusting them back. "You okay?" Dipper yelled. Norman had let out an almost inaudible yeah I'm good! before the two continued through the storm.

Halfway to the Shack, Dipper took his hat off and put it onto Norman's head, taking off his vest in the process. Norman, reddening because Christ I have Dipper's hat on my head, looked over to his friend, yelling through the rain, "What're you doing?"

Dipper hollered, "Improvising!"

Stan squinted his eyes as he stared out the window of the Mystery Shack. The little runts hadn't returned yet and the rain was coming down harder every passing second. Where are those two?

"You know Mr. Pines, it's not good to stand beside windows while there's a thunderstorm. The lightening could strike too close and temporarily blind you," Coraline's voice came from the living room.

"Really? I didn't know that!" Mable exclaimed. "I always look out the window 'cause the rain looks really pretty! But the lightening can be really bright sometimes…"

"See? That's why you can't look when there's a thunderstorm, 'cause then the lightening will make your vision go all fuzzy. And then when you finally can't see anymore, the doctors will take out your eyes and replace them with these." Coraline picked up two shiny, black buttons and put them before her eyes.

"I'll have buttons for eyes? Cool! That's so, so, so cool!"

"Wha- No it's not!"

Mable tilted her head. "It's not?"

"No! Having buttons for eyes is the worst thing in the world!" That's when Coraline started telling Mable scary fables about the Pink Palace. Each one involved a gory use of the small, round objects. The braces-wearing child leaned in and nodded every now and then, all the while knitting a bright yellow sweater to match her friend's bright yellow rain boots.

Stan still stood staring, waiting, frowning. He'd told all the kids to go out and play, get some sunshine. The girls had played in the front yard and the boys traversed to the dock. When the thunder had startled the two lasses, they came back inside and ate some warm peach cobbler and drank lemonade on the couch while they pointed out the most handsome newsmen that reported the news and weather.

But the boys, there was no sign of them. For a second Stan thought that jumping into his car would be the best thing to do. But what if they were just around the corner? That'd be a waste of gas. And wasting gas would mean wasting money! So Stan waited. He knew that they'd come running in here soaked and ashamed of how they made the old man so anxious, so worried!

They'd come running in here.

They'd come.

Norman flushes heavily. He was so close to Dipper. So close. The older boy had requested that Norman put his arm around his waist so that if another gust of wind tried to push him back, then he'd have something to hold onto. Dipper had shed his navy blue vest and was currently holding it above himself and Norman, keeping the rain from hitting them so hard.

"You doin' okay, Norm?" Dipper said. He didn't really have to yell this time because they were so close. So close that their cheeks were almost touching.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Norman says.

"Oh, that's good." Dipper tripped over a bump in the sidewalk and pouted as his friend smirked. "I was just asking because you're holding onto me really tight."

Norman's smirk fell and he removed his hand from Dipper's waist before mumbled an oh and latched back on again. This time not too tight.

After a moment, Dipper says, "We're almost to the Shack. Let's cross this street so we won't have to walk in the mud."

"Okay," Norman mumbled as he holds on tight again. The two looked both ways before crossing the lane and resumed their walk to the Mystery Shack.

"Norman."

"Yeah?"

"Hold the other end of the vest up."

"Um," the vest shifts around, "like this?"

"Yeah. Now I can do this." Dipper used his free hand to place it on Norman's waist, pulling him closer, closer, until one could smell the other's soft scent of baby wipes. "This better?"

Norman wished that he could pull the bill of the cap down to hide his red face, but both of his hands were occupied. "Y-yeah, this is better. Much better."

"Hm, Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major. Composed by that Beethoven dude."

"Ugh, that's what Dipper has recently listened to? I thought that he'd be listening to some Babba stuff…"

"Well that's what it says. Recently played: Symphony numb-"

Mabel waves her hand. "Okay, okay, what about Norman?"

Coraline takes Norman's MP3 player out of his bag in the twins' and turns it on, clicking and pressing buttons until she finds what she's looking for. "Um, Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz."

"Knew it."

"Really?"

"Not really."

Coraline smiled. "I like Gorillaz. How about you?"

Mabel waved Waddles over. "Don't know who those guys are!"

"Hm, Owl City?"

"Nope! Never listened to that band."

Coraline laughed. "Owl City isn't a band, it's just one guy."

Mabel smiled sweetly at her pig, giggling as he squealed when she rubbed his belly. "Just one guy? But Owl City. Owl City. That's obviously a band na-"

The front door slammed shut downstairs and both girls jumped up and went for the attic door, one wearing a new bright yellow sweater and the other trying not to trip over her pet that had ran ahead before her. When the two got downstairs, their jaws dropped at the soaking wet boys before them.

Coraline says, "Jeez Louise, you two are freaking drenched!"

Mabel nods. "What she said!"

"Well thanks for pointing out the obvious you two," Dipper replied with a roll of his eyes. "Could one of you get some towels for us?"

"Here." Stan comes in from another hall. He doesn't look very happy. He hands the boys the colorful, fluffy towels.

"Do either of you want some peach cobbler? I can put some slices in the microwave!" Mabel pipes up from the staircase.

"Yes please," the boys say in unison.

"Cut me a piece, too!" Coraline yells. After a moment she goes into the kitchen, mumbling something about pouring everyone a glass of lemonade.

Norman feels awkward as Stan chastises both him and Dipper for worrying his old bones. But when Stan finishes, he finishes with a smile and pats the two boys on the head before he goes into another room, shutting and locking the door.

"Ta-da!" Mabel yells from the kitchen. "Your cobbler is finished heating boys!"

Dipper looks back at Norman and nods pointedly toward the kitchen. Before they go in though, the ghost whisperer takes the cap off and quickly fixes his hair saying, "Dipper! Your hat."

The brunette glances back and smiles. "It's okay, you can keep it! There are hundreds of others in the gift shop."

"O-okay, well, let me just go put it in my bag."

Dipper nods as his friend turns around and heads for the staircase, for the dark hall, for the attic. He enters the messy room and finds his bag somewhere near Mable's colorful teddy bears. He opens the duffel bag and stares at the hat for a while.

There are hundreds of others in the gift shop.

Norman smiles. Nah, there are no other hats like this one.

Not like this one.

La la, watch me float inside an upside down umbrella as I stain my black dress with the children of Capella.

I made that up on the spot. It wasn't very good.

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