Over the years, Dipper Pines had faced an impressive array of hideous monsters, maniacal demons, and dark conspiracies that likes of which few people could barely conceive of even in their wildest nightmares. Yet even with all of that to keep in mind, the young man could still safely say that at that moment he had never felt more terrified in his entire life.

His hands trembled slightly as he unpacked and assembled the homemade picnic supper. Since the date had started, his anxiety had steadily grown to the point where it felt like a maelstrom was attempting to consume him from within. Thankfully even though she was only a few feet away, so far his girlfriend had no idea about the torture that he was going through.

"Nice spot!" Wendy happily drank in the view from the hillside ledge. They could see all of Gravity Falls below, set picturesquely against a backdrop of tree-blanketed mountains. To top off the scene, the setting sun was bathing everything in a spectacular golden glow.

"You think so?" He blurted out hopefully, then hastily toned it down. "Uh, I mean….yeah, it's okay."

"Dude, give yourself some credit for once." She pecked him lightly on the cheek, getting a brief smile out of him. But no sooner had she turned away when he shoved his hand into his pocket and squeezed the tiny velvet ring box for good luck.

It was going to be okay. He was going to be okay. They had been dating for about a year, and a curious one at that. A relationship wasn't easy when one partner lived in her Oregonian hometown and the other commuted from Northern California every weekend he could. But after knowing her since they were mere kids, he now felt like more than ever she was the one for him. So despite what the knot in his gut said, this was happening. This was happening tonight, anxiety be dammed. This was the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with. This-

"Dipper?" Wendy waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his latest train of frantic thought.

"Sorry! I was...uh, just wondering if I forgot anything for dinner." He lied.

"Looks like enough to me." She eagerly surveyed the spread. "What's on the menu?"

"Nothing too special. Just whipped up some pasta with a spicy meat sauce." He read the smile on her face with relief. Wendy always prefered simple and hearty over fancy and delicate any day of the week. There's also some garlic bread, and if you want I brought a…. block….of….fresh par….parmesan cheese...for the…."

As he spoke, he could see a homemade poster slowly rose out of the woods behind them. Scribbled on it in glittery letters was a simple message of encouragement;

YOU GOT THIS, BRO.

He wished it was just his eyes playing a trick, but there was no denying it. Dipper could feel his gut shrivel with a panic that defied description. A puzzled Wendy glanced behind her, but the sign slipped from sight as abruptly as it had popped up. She found herself gazing at nothing more than ubiquitous evergreen forest.

"...Everything okay?"

"Yeah! Yeah, of course it is! Why wouldn't it be?" Dipper babbled. "I just...just remembered that I...uh, forgot the napkins. Hold on!"

He shoved a plate in her hands, then hot-footed over to their bikes. While he pretended to rummage through his bag, he shot a whisper into the nearby bushes. "Pssst! Mabel!"

Out peeked a familiar young woman wearing a smile so large that it threatened to split her face in two. Mabel was as hopelessly excited as her twin brother was unbearably nervous.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" She pat her rosy cheeks and gushed. "The big moment's almost here! You're finally going to do it! I know you've been talking about this for weeks and weeks, but still I can't believe it! The dream-couple, finally together-"

"What are you doing?" He snapped incredulously. She was supposed to be back in Piedmont, doing one of a hundred things that wasn't this. "Did...did you follow me up here?"

"Nope! Got a substitute for all my classes, and got into town a day before you!" She cheerily explained. "I've been crashing with Candy while I got things ready-"

"Ready for what?" He anxiously shot a glance behind him. Luckily for him, Wendy was busy helping herself to the home cooked meal.

"To help you out! You need some major moral support." Mabel was very matter-of-fact on the matter. Judging by the panic in his bulging eyes, Dipper clearly disagreed.

"Get out of here!" He hissed urgently. "I don't need need you-"

"Oh? Well if you're doing sooooo well on your own, then can you explain these to me, Sir Shaky-Quakes?" She grabbed his wrist and raised his arm and Dipper winced. His quaking had gotten worse. Mabel let him go and flashed a comforting smile. "Don't worry, bro-bro. I totally got your back! We're gonna make sure that the perfect match is getting made tonight."

"Wait...we?" No sooner did Dipper ask when he felt a hand snake out and pat him heartily on the back.

"You totally got this dude," Soos whispered. "Pop that question, Dipper-man!"

"What? Wait, you're both..." Dipper croaked. "Ohhhh, no. Oh no, oh no-"

"Here, take these. She'll love 'em!" Mabel shoved a tin of cookies into his hands. "I call them Mabel's Perfect Proposal Chocolate Puffs. It's just the thing to top off a romantic dinner!"

"I….guys…." His head was spinning from panic.. "This is not happening. This is so not happening right now. This is not happening….

"And in case your pasta-stuff doesn't go over, I got the thing for you." A smoky odor wafted from where Soos was sitting crouched, with several branches awkwardly taped to his shirt for camouflage's sake. "I got a whole batch of my famous Kick-Butt Chicken right here."

Mabel had clearly helped herself to a little bit. She licked a bit of sauce from the tip of her lip. "It's got a great tangy aftertaste!"

"...This is not happening, this is not happening…." He kept babbling.

"Nope, no getting nervous here! Remember, we got your back if anything goes wrong!" Mabel quickly ran her fingers through his hair, whirled him about and pushed him off, though not before giving him a hug from behind. "Go get her, bro-bro!"

Dipper's head was spinning as he shambled back.. Luckily for him, Wendy was still distractedly chowing down and enjoying the view. The steadily setting sun was painting the skies with shades of purple and orange.

"There you are! What took you so l-oh!" Without a moment's hesitation she popped one of the Proposal Puffs into her mouth and immediately lit up with approval. "Man, you're on fire with the food tonight!"

"Th-thanks." Dipper managed a feeble excuse for a smile.

He took a moment to get his head together. Okay, so yes, his twin sister and friend were hiding only a few yards away. Okay, so his anxiety was now raging so furiously that he could almost hear his heart pounding against his rib cage. Okay, so, his stomach was clenched so tightly that he could barely breathe. Okay, so the extra undershirt he had on felt like it was already drenched through with his sweat.

But he could handle this. He had to. He reached into his pocket and squeezed the tiny ring box again. He was going to get through this-"

"Are you okay?" His latest internal monologue had gone far longer than he thought. Wendy was shooting him a curious stare. "Dude, you spaced out for like a minute on me."

"Oh, uh…..it's nothing! I'm just thinking about some stuff on my mind. Not like any of it's important or anything like that...haha….ha….just….hahaha…."

The forced laughter turned out to be a bad call. Wendy's suspicion was growing by the second. She glanced down to the fancy meal, then to the panicked look in her boyfriend's eyes. "Dipper….what's going on?"

"Nothing! Why wouldn't I tell you if something was going on? It's okay, really-" He tried to give her a comforting pat on the arm, and too late did he realize that his palm was literally drenched with sweat. Wendy grimaced at the touch of the tell-all clue.

"Okay, what's wrong?" She demanded. The young man froze up like a rabbit in headlights. Time seemed to stand still. This was hell on earth.

Correction. It was almost hell on earth. As if things weren't a trainwreck already, two yells suddenly rang out from the trees.

"What the?" Moving fast, Wendy was up on her feet and off to investigate. Poor Dipper was left on the blanket, stewing in a despair that seemed to know no bounds. A sharp cry from Wendy reached his ears, and he knew his failure was now complete. For a moment he briefly toyed with the idea of hurling himself off the hill After a quick internal debate, the crushed young man decided to go with death by humiliation instead. At least he owed her that much.

"Okay," Like a condemned prisoner walking to his execution, he dragged himself over to her side. "I can exp-"

Wendy's arm shot up, holding him back. She wasn't even looking at Mabel or Soos, even though the duo made quite a spectacle as they clung grimly to a nearby tree. Her attention instead was set on the small gang of wolves that were busy gobbling down the remains of the Kick-Butt chicken.

"Knew I went overboard on the spices." Soos lamented, right before a hungry canine tried to take a bite out of his thigh. "BAD DOG!"

"S-sorry!" Mabel whimpered to her brother as she struggled to reach a higher branch. It wasn't long until one of the wild wolves noticed the new arrivals with a growl growl. The others paused their ravenous feasting and shot fierce warning glares.

"...Oh you have got to be kidding me." Dipper groaned. Of course things always somehow found a way to get even worse.

"Shhh!" Every muscle in Wendy's body had tensed as tight as a snare drum. Slowly she pushed him back. "No sudden movements. Just...nice….and...easy…."

She back up right into a tree root, sending her tripping hard Startled by her sudden fall, the largest of the wolves raised its hackles and lunged at the possible threat.

For Dipper, it wasn't a matter of thinking. The animal sprang, and so did he.

"DIPPER!" Wendy watched the two clash on the ground. .

"GO!" he gasped, fighting to keep the beast's fangs at bay. "Wendy, go! Go, go, go!"

She frantically rocketed off towards the bikes as fast as her legs could carry her.

"NO!" Mabel tried to come to his aid, only to be sent scrambling back to her perch by an angry snap from below.

To Dipper's own surprise, he managed to hold his own at first. But that was before another wolf joined the fight. He felt a pair of jaws snap around the collar of his shirt, followed by the scrape of teeth grazing his legs. He thrashed and fought like mad, lashing out with bony arms and kicking at anything that got into range. However, it wasn't all that long until he vanished beneath the literal dogpile with a despairing cry.

A loud thwack rent the air. One of the wolves suddenly charged off into the woods with a yelp. Like a scarlet-haired avenging angel, Wendy had returned. One didn't grow up in the woods without learning the value of keeping a hatchet close by. Whirling her trusty axe, she seemed to be everywhere at once as she lashed out with the flat of her blade. Between her fury and the wild yells she threw in for good measure, the pack only withstood the onslaught for a few seconds before they they all retreated as fast as possible from the red-haired demon. A few paused to snap aggressively, but by now it was safe enough for the others to join the battle.

"Take that! And that! And that! My brother is not on the menu tonight!" Mabel hurled sticks, pinecones, and everything else that was in reach. Soos threw up his chubby arms as far as he could stretch them.

"Look! Check it out guys, I'm creating an illusion of superior height!" He yelled. "Watch out, possible apex predator over here, dudes!"

Howling piteously and with tails tucked between their legs, the last of the routed animals hurried off into the forest. Wasting no time, Wendy jammed her axe into her belt and dropped to Dipper's side.

"Dipper? Dipper!"

"I-I'm okay!" Dipper snapped back up with a gasp. Besides a heaping mess of scratches and scrapes, he had come out miraculously all right. Wendy of course didn't seem quite convinced yet. After all, she had just watched an entire pack jump him. To prove his assurances, he clambered up onto shaky legs. "See? I'm fine-"

He was quickly sandwiched in a tight group hug. Mabel descended on him first, followed by Wendy. After helping squeeze the air out of him, Wendy finally took a moment to register the fact that they had company.

"...Guys?"

Mabel shuffled nervously before she could manage a sheepish smile. "H-hi, Wendy."

"Sup, Wendy." Soos murmured.

"Uh, hey. Okay…." The befuddled woman quickly got to the heart of the matter. "Sooo…..anyone want to tell me what's happening here?"

"We were…" Mabel wilted under her friend's curious stare. "Just….uh….helping. Then things kinda got….see, we weren't planning on wolves-"

"Helping with what?" The lanky woman gestured impatiently.

"Y'know...just some stuff." A heavy silence descended upon them. Dipper felt like his heart was ready to beat out of his chest. Unfortunately, his twin wasn't ready to let this night turn into a disaster. WIthout warning, she grabbed him by the arm, pulled him close and whispered urgently. "This is it, bro."

"Wha-" Before he knew what was happening, Mabel had shoved him hard into Wendy.

"Go get her, Dipper!" She whirled around and fled by the safety of the woods. "Do what you have to! This is your time! Your time!"

"And I'm not here either!" Soos followed her example and clumsily fled from sight, leaving the couple alone. Wendy righted her boyfriend and shot him a befuddled look.

"Are you finally going to clue me in here?" She demanded.

Dipper stared back mutely like a deer in headlights. It was a good thing that he temporarily froze with panic, otherwise he might have followed the near-overwhelming urge to retreat after his sister into the woods. This wasn't quite the by-the-book romantic evening he originally had in mind, to say the least. Now here he was, feeling anxious, terrified, itchy beyond belief, and sweating so profusely with panic that it was like a swamp under his shirt. In other words, he felt like the biggest mess that had ever walked this earth.

Yet in spite of everything, he couldn't deny one thing; she was still here. Once again, she had experienced utter madness simply as a result of being around him, and yet again she had a prime opportunity where she would have been more that justified to storm off and leave him without another word. But Wendy didn't look like she was going to leave anytime soon. Once again, all she clearly wanted was some much-needed clarification, and so she continued to stand there with a mix of exasperation but also visible concern in her eyes.

The courage that Dipper had been hunting in vain for all evening finally reared its head. Suddenly, he had never more sure of anything in his entire life. This was meant to be. This was the one who he wanted in his life, now and forever. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind. Without thinking twice about it, he reached into his pocket and yanked out the small velvet box.

"What are you….wait….wait…." The instantly sight stole her breath away, sending her reeling. "Oh my God…."

He opened the box to reveal a silver ring, topped with a tiny glittering diamond. Dipper got down on one knee, and took a final deep breath. This was it. Now or never.

"Windy….will you marry me?" He promptly winced violently. Smooth. Real smooth.

Thankfully, either she didn't notice his nervous mistake, or she was too distracted to care. Her jade green eyes locked incredulously on the ring.

"Dipper…." She gasped, hands flying up to her mouth. Dipper now watched her face intently, scrambling to interpret her expression. Was she happy? Shocked? Dismayed? He honestly couldn't read the clues. His heart paused in his chest as waited anxiously for the answer.

"Say yes!" Soos blurted out from his hiding spot.

"Soos, you're ruining it!" Mabel snapped.

"Sorry, Hambone! I just can't take it. The anticipation's like, totally killing me-"

"Hey, c'mon!" Dipper stood back up with an exasperated groan. "Could you guys please-"

He was abruptly interrupted when a pair of slender but strong arms hurled himself around him in a tight squeeze. Wendy's warm laughter filled his ears, much to his genuine disbelief. The thunderstruck young man turned back to face her. "W-Wendy?"

Tears welled up fast in her jade-green eyes. A beaming smile was spreading fast from ear to ear. However, even though he was literally looking at joy in the face, the ever-paranoid Dipper Pines still couldn't be one hundred percent sure. He just had to ask.

"So…..is that a yes?" On cue, his voice went a little hoarse. Despite her attempts to fight it back, a hot tear trickled down her cheek.

"It's a yes, doofus." She chuckled. Just in case he had any lingering suspicions, she grabbed the sides of his face and mashed her lips tightly against his. Dipper automatically went lightheaded. His arms flopped limply against his sides like a pair of noodles. The couple felt like they experienced a lifetime's worth of pure joy in the space of a few mere seconds before they broke the kiss with heaving gasps.

"...R-really?" Dipper couldn't help but sputter. He was still having trouble grasping his new reality.

"Oh my God." Wendy barked with laughter as she drew him into another loving squeeze. While the two embraced, they could barely hear a thing beyond the pounding of their own hearts. That, and the hearty sobs from nearby.

"It's...i-it's beautiful….it's just so…." Mabel mumbled as she shot several photos. Tiny rivers flooded down her cheeks. She barely managed to throw her arms in the air and cry triumphantly to the world, "M-match made!"

The young woman then broke down completely. As she wept uncontrollably with delight, a teary-eyed Soos rocked her in his burly arms. "Shhh, it's okay. Soos's gotcha...just let it all out…"

Dipper shrugged apologetically to his fiancee. "Yeah, about them….sorry….I seriously don't think I could have stopped that even if I knew they were coming."

Wendy laughed and pecked his forehead. "It's okay….I honestly kind of expected this moment to go down like this anyway…."