Chapter 9

.:.:.

The drive home was a relatively quiet one. Dipper blamed it on the fact they were both tired and Cipher had to focus on the road for fear of accidently taking one of the sharp mountain turns to quickly. Not a single word was shared between them till they got into town and even then it was mindless chatter.

It started with a yawn, long and jaw aching to the point of making Cipher's eyes water, then—like a chain reaction—another one, shorter and belonging to the brunet sitting silently in the passenger seat.

Dipper shot Cipher a dirty look as he rested the back of his hand against his lips, "Jerk." He mumbled childishly as his teeth clattered together again.

Cipher chuckled, "Whoops." He mused, not sorry in the least. The rest of the ride was filled with the contagious yawning from both parties, a never ending cycle, and every time Dipper would slap Cipher's arm and accuse him for starting this.

As they strolled to a stop outside the rustic shack Dipper called home, Bill all but collapsed against the steering wheel. His eyes drooped, blinking slowly at the brunet. "Well, this was fun!" He mused, voice sounding a bit groggy.

Dipper gave a small smile and rubbed at his watery eyes. "Yeah, thanks for having me." He glanced sideways and scoffed at the blonde's posture. "You look like shit."

"How flattering." Cipher replied sarcastically. He dropped back against his seat, rolling his shoulders and stretching his lengthy arms out before him. Each generous pop of joints shifting was like music to his ears. "Really, so sweet of you, especially after I drove you a whole half hour home. I could have left you on the mountain, you know." He muttered in a strained voice.

"I just mean, you look really tired." Dipper rolled his eyes and shook his head a little. He discreetly watched the radio host bend like a cat for a moment before taking on: "I do appreciate not having to hitch hike, though." as a second thought and tore his brown orbs away.

He glanced at the clock—which read a daunting 3:40am—than towards the large house sitting silently amongst towering pine trees. There weren't any lights coming from the windows, not even a faint glow from the tv could be seen. Everyone was probably asleep already. Dipper wondered briefly if Mabel had told Stan he'd be out for the night. She must have, otherwise the man probably would have been sitting on the porch, waiting to rip him a new one for staying out so late. Dipper mentally chuckled at the thought.

On the outside, Stan didn't really look like he cared about much of anything, but deep down he could turn into a big overprotective teddy bear if pushed. Dipper recalled a time when Mabel and him were still in high school and Mabel came home five minutes late from a date, Stan was already waiting at the door with his arms crossed and a disappointed scowl on his face. That was the night the twins learned to be on time.

Dipper knew, of course, Stan's rules were only in the twins best interest and safety. As much of a lawbreaker as the guy was, he did prefer keeping his niece and nephew out of trouble, and most importantly out of harm's way.

Even though Mabel vouching for Dipper's whereabouts tonight might have dismissed Stan's worries, that didn't mean the boy wasn't going to be scolded at least a little in the morning for his unplanned nightly escapades.

Dipper sighed lightly at the thought and shifted into a better position to face Cipher. The guy really did look like he was about to pass out at any given moment. His eyes were lowered, shoulders sagging, and head lolling to the side as if on the brink of slipping into a dreaming state. His bright hair, usually neat to some standards, was falling in wavy chunks over his porcelain face. Dipper felt the urge to reach out and brush the stray strands away, but kept his hands down with a bit of restraint.

Honestly, the guy really didn't look like he should be driving much less being anywhere but in a bed. 'Preferably my bed.' Dipper thought in a haze. His cheeks instantly flared a deep shade of red as he registered what he just thought. Apparently he should very much be in a bed as well, where he couldn't spew nonsense. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no filter on the boy's mouth in that moment and before his brain could catch up with what words his tongue was forming, Dipper blurted out: "You should stay the night."

Somehow the words sounded clear as day despite Dipper feeling half asleep. He blinked long and hard, only briefly aware of what the hell he had just said. It was like his head was moving through molasses and everything else was moving at top speed.

Cipher blinked once, twice, then slowly turned his head in Dipper's direction. That was when the brunet really realized his voice had carried further than just his thoughts. His eyes widened as a rush of realization and extreme embarrassment gushed through his veins. He immediately began back tracking.

"I mean! You look really worn out and you probably shouldn't be driving in your condition." He sat up straight, arms beginning to flail a little. "We don't have a guest room but I've got plenty of pillows and you can sleep on the floor—what am I saying, that's rude! I'll sleep on the floor! You can sleep in my bed or—"

Cipher reached out and placed a hand on Dipper's shoulder, getting the boy to stop his nervous rambling. He searched those chocolate eyes for a few seconds, watching the many different emotions flash by before regret and fear began settling in. He smiled brightly and squeezed Dipper's shoulder, trying to rid the boy of his worries. Gosh, he was so innocent sometimes.

"I am gonna be honest, I would love to crash here for the night instead of driving more." Cipher laughed. He could feel Dipper relax ever so slightly under his hold. "But I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You wouldn't be intruding." Dipper answered quickly. "I mean, hell, I was the one that brought it up." He smiled a bit nervously, cheeks twitching under the moonlight. He moved a bit back to push open his door and nodded his head towards the house. "Come on, it's fine."

Cipher hummed softly and carefully followed suit. "If you're sure." He grabbed his keys and made sure to lock the door behind him before trailing after the brunet towards the house.

"Positive. I would feel terrible if I woke up tomorrow to find out you fell asleep while driving and died in a car crash or something." Dipper threw a glance over his shoulder at the blonde. He had a feeling this was going to be a terrible idea, but part of him didn't even care. Adventure, right? Sure, Stan might have a hissy fit when he finds a stranger in the house in the morning, but Dipper could deal with that. Mabel's gonna have a hay day with this, though.

"Try to be quiet, I am pretty sure Mabel and my great uncle are sleeping." Dipper muttered in a low voice as he clambered up the few porch stairs. He noted Cipher nodding in his peripheral vision and carefully twisted the doorknob, cringing at every loud squeak and ear ringing creak that the wood screamed.

They tip toed into the darkened house, Dipper quickly leading the way up the stairs to his room.

Cipher followed a bit slower, unfamiliar with the territory and wishing silently that he could spend a little more time just to look around. He told himself he could do that in the morning, however, when they weren't at risk of waking unsuspecting patrons.

When they finally arrived at the attic, Dipper let Cipher in first, then shut the door quietly behind him. He flicked on the light switch and let out a rather loud sigh. "Phew."

"Interesting set up you got here." Cipher mused as he scanned the room with amusement in his eyes.

Dipper gulped and looked discreetly towards his mounds of books and papers sprawled just about everywhere. "Er sorry about the mess." He uttered quietly and began fiddling with the buttons of his shirt out of nerves. "I would have cleaned up a little if I'd known I was having company."

Cipher waved the boy off and took towards the bed. He dropped down onto the fluffy comforter, bouncing lightly as he settled onto the surface. The soft fabric was a great welcome compared to the hard leather seats he'd been sitting on all night. "I don't mind so long as I have a pillow under my head." He yawned, throwing a hand up to cup his mouth. "You do have quite the collection of books, though."

Dipper chuckled nervously as he pushed some of said books and clutter closer to his desk till there was a significant amount of space for sleeping on the floor. It was far from a lie, Dipper did have a libraries worth of books shoved in just about every visible space in his room. If they weren't on his wall length bookshelf, then they were strewn across his floor, his desk, and most definitely under his bed. Mabel and Stan had always chided that the brunet had issues and really needed to clean out his stash, but they figured it was better he be obsessed with books rather than drugs or something of the sorts. Everyone had their fixes, and books were Dipper's.

"Do you expect any less from someone who works at a bookstore for a living?" Dipper snidely remarked as he wandered over to his closet and started gathering the few extra pillows he had stashed for emergencies. At least he wouldn't have to make a trip to Mabel's room for bedding.

He tossed them onto the floor carelessly, then yanked off a loose shirt from a hanger for sleeping in. With that in mind, the brunet glanced towards Cipher, wondering briefly if the man would want to barrow some clothes to sleep in. His question caught in his throat however, as his eyes graced over the already sleeping radio host. He was lying on his side, still completely clothed and looking very uncomfortable.

Dipper scoffed, a small smile toying at his lips as he gently tossed aside the shirt in his hands. He walked over to the edge of his bed and nudged at Cipher's leg with his knee. When he didn't stir, the brunet sighed and looked the man up and down. "Well you're not sleeping with your shoes on in my bed, no matter how pristine they may be." He mumbled under his breath and made quick work at tugging off the man's boots. He sat them beside the bed, each hitting the wood with a soft thunk.

It was mildly impressive that the blonde hadn't even moved a muscle at the action. Dipper figured he must have been pretty damn tiered to have not been disturbed. With careful precision, Dipper also managed to undo the scarf wrapped around Cipher's neck. He tried his best at removing anything constricting, which soon enough left the man in only his shirt and pants, other accessories having been set aside.

He stood there for a moment, contemplating if he should do anything more. Obviously sleeping in jeans wasn't a great thing to do, but it was borderline creepy to just take them off an unconscious man. Just the idea had Dipper flushing red like a teenage girl and really considering his sanity. It was much too late for him to be dealing with such awkward situations, and so he pushed the thoughts aside, grabbed a blanket, and haphazardly tossed it over Cipher's resting form.

He looked comfortable enough, Dipper thought. His usually sharp features were relaxed; eye resting closed and lashes brushing gently against his skin. Thin lips moved ever so slightly with each intake of breath, followed by the fall of a few strands of blonde hair. Anyone who witnessed this sight would have to wholeheartedly agree that Cipher was a pretty handsome man.

Dipper's hand twitched at his side, inching up to push a few fallen locks from Cipher's face. He could feel his chest tighten and heart pound hard against his ribcage when his fingers skimmed across the man's soft skin. He gently tucked the blonde hair behind Cipher's ear and eased his hand away slowly. Only when he got about an inch away, a hand snapped out, grabbing his wrist and stopping from in his tracks.

"Ah!" Dipper's squeaked, air leaving his lungs as he realized Cipher—still sound asleep—had his hand wrapped tightly around his own. In one flail swoop, Cipher rolled onto his other side, dragging the brunet harshly down onto the small space beside him. Dipper's arm was forced to bend so that he lay practically spooning the radio host.

Unable to move, and now completely breathless, Dipper lay stiffened with his face burning at a temperature that could counter the sun. He gulped but his throat protested and only tightened into an uncomfortable knot, warranting him to cough and choke on his own saliva but he held it in.

Being this close to Cipher was sending his body into red alert. He could practically hear the sirens wailing in his head: ABORT, MISSION FAIL. But all he could do was lay there, paralyzed like a deer caught in the headlights, awaiting a fateful death. This was the pure definition of being fucked.

The worst thought was that if he could get past the initial awkwardness of the situation, Dipper kinda figured he could actually enjoy this. Being able to feel Cipher's warm back pressed against his chest, the soft hair tickling his nose, and hand clutching his so sweetly the scene could cause diabetes. There was nothing more sickeningly romantic-movie-scene-cliché then accidently falling asleep with your crush and Dipper's heart could barely handle it. He tried so hard, really, but getting his heart to calm down would be a futile mission with the constant reminder that in his arms was someone he, not only looked up to, but also possibly had the biggest of crushes on.

Dipper's fingers twitched within Cipher's unyielding hand. He was fixated on the warm feeling and butterflies that arose with each finger that adjusted to tangle around his own, tightening the hold.

Once the initial wave of surprise and the near-heart-attack started to subside, Dipper was able to relax just a little. He let himself sink into that foreign warmth and indulge in the odd connection that'd probably never be built again after tonight. His mind told him to be selfish, and it wasn't like this was such a bad thing. All this was, was mindless cuddling if you really thought about it.

Dipper shifted a bit closer to Cipher's back till he was able to press his face into the crook of the man's neck. He closed his eyes and left himself get carried away, leaving whatever regrets he might have to be dealt with in the morning.

.:.:.

The first thing Dipper registered as consciousness took hold of his mind was how cold it was. Any blankets that might have once been on the bed were gone, letting the chilled morning air bite ruthlessly at Dipper's skin. He cracked open his mocha eyes, squinting at the sun seeping in through the large triangular shaped window at the head of his bed.

"Mh." Dipper grumbled, pulling himself up into a sitting position. He rubbed at the goose bumps sprawled out across his arms. The warmth he once bathed in was completely missing now and on further inspection, so was the blonde radio host that was supposed to be in his arms. This realization had Dipper's mind stirring awake far quicker then it normal would at this hour.

He glanced over the room, taking in the empty atmosphere that lacked a blonde. The makeshift bed Dipper had thrown together was still there in a lump on the floor, and Cipher's clothes laid neatly collected in a small pile at the foot of the bed. That was enough confirmation to assure the night prior hadn't been some wired dream his mind had made up, but that didn't explain where Cipher was.

Extracting himself from the crumpled up blankets that sat tangled at the end of the bed, Dipper heaved himself up to his unsteady feet. He swayed back and forth a moment, body tempted to fall over and return to the slumber it so graciously wished for. He pushed forward, however, rubbing his hands through his messy hair in the process of wandering out of his bedroom.

Down the hall from Dipper's room, Mabel's door was wide open. As he passed, he noted that the girl was not inside—and neither Cipher for that matter. She was probably already downstairs, eating breakfast.

The bathroom door was open as well, leaving no indication that anyone had been in there for a while.

Dipper paused at the top of the stairs, brows furrowed in confusion. Cipher wouldn't have just left without his clothes, right? That would have been stupid. But if he wasn't in the bathroom, or Dipper's room then where would he be?

His answer came in the form of laughter, loud and joyful, coming from the kitchen.

Dipper stiffened for a fraction of a second before he was flying down the stairs and rounding through the living room and into the kitchen like a bat out of hell. He stumbled to a stop in the arched entry way, eyes falling on the image of three laughing figures, each seated around the room with fits of giggles falling from their lips.

There was Stan, leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in hand.

Mabel, hunched over a bowl of cereal and smiling like a dork.

And finally, Cipher, sitting across Mabel with a cup of coffee cradled in his hands—which was all fine and dandy except for the fact he was currently lounging in one of Dipper's hoddies and sweatpants, looking like an adorable mess that had just rolled out of bed with his significant other.

Dipper's heart hammered in his chest for two reasons. Reason one being that Cipher was talking to Mabel and Stan—who knows what embarrassing stories they had been sharing. And reason two, Cipher was wearing his clothes, and actually pulling them off. What alternative universe had he landed in? Dipper was certain he could never look that good in his Illuminati sweatshirt and bright yellow sweatpants—which freakishly matched Cipher's hair almost perfectly.

"Well look who finally decided to join us." Mabel announced, breaking Dipper's reeling thoughts. He blinked, eyes shifting from Cipher to meet his sister. She was grinning knowingly around the Cheerios she had shoved into her mouth. "Long night?"

Dipper narrowed his eyes and pushed away from the doorway, gracefully ignoring Mabel's innuendos. "You could have woken me up." He mumbled and took a seat at the head of the table.

"You looked so peaceful; I didn't want to wake you." Cipher shrugged. He took a short sip from his drink before setting it down on the table and shimming his sleeves down till the cuffs covered his hands. He dropped them against his legs, which he was currently sitting on in a crisscrossed fashion. He looked like a toddler. "I hope you don't mind, I barrowed some of your clothes."

Across the room, Stan snorted mid-drink and Mabel made sure to crunch on her cereal slowly with extra volume.

"It's fine." Dipper smiled despite the two other occupants of the room. "I was going to ask if you wanted to use some anyways."

Cipher nodded; if he noticed the other Pines he didn't mention their actions. If anything, he seemed delighted with this whole ordeal.

"So, whatcha guys talking about?" Dipper leaned forward, elbows resting lazily on the table as his eyes shifted between each person.

"Oh! Cipher was just telling us all about his work." Mabel mused, twirling her spoon about all the while.

"Ah." Dipper nodded slowly. He shot a questioning glace at the radio host but only received a small smile in return.

"You should have told me sooner you had a walking story book full of great scamming material, Dipper. I might have to borrow him one of these days." Stan commented and took a long swig of his coffee.

Dipper forced a laugh, which ended up coming out sounding a little nervous. "Sorry but he's mine." He muttered.

A few seconds passed with no replies, and by the time Dipper realized why Mabel was smirking at him he had already effectively caused the whole situation to become even weirder. 'Thank you for gracing me with no filter, God.' Dipper thought bitterly. "My friend! He's my friend. So you shouldn't badger him about that kinda stuff." He clarified quickly.

Stan eyed him suspiciously but nodded nonetheless.

"Well." Cipher clapped his hands loudly, drawing the attention his way. He smiled brightly between Mabel and Stan, "It was a pleasure to meet you both," he began shifting off the chair in order to stand. "But I am afraid I should be going."

"Aww so soon?" Mabel stuck out her bottom lip, pouting.

Cipher chuckled at her attempts of getting him to stay but nodded anyways. "As much as I would love to chat further, I've got work. And I am sure you all have things to do as well."

"Well stop to say hi soon!" Mabel shot back, all smiles and giggles.

Cipher smiled back, giving a small wave as he took his leave towards the door.

"I'll walk you out." Dipper mumbled and skillfully avoided both Mabel and Stan watching the two of them leave.

Once outside, Dipper let out a long sigh of relief. It felt much better getting away from his family, sure he loved them but he was practically suffocating in there. He focused on the sound of his feet rolling over stones and scuffing against dirt. The sound of pure nature was a relaxing one.

"Sorry about them." Dipper mumbled as he wrapped his arms around himself, highly aware that winter was steadily approaching and t-shirts weren't appropriate attire for this time of year. "I mean, you know how Mabel is and Stan is… well I don't really know of a word to describe Stan, but you get it."

Cipher stood at the edge of the porch with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his sweatshirt—or well, Dipper's sweatshirt. "Don't be, their interesting people." He mused, sounding actually genuine. "As I've said before, I like Mabel, she has good tastes and is pretty chaotic."

Dipper raised a brow, not buying the radio hosts words for a second. "They aren't… off putting? You can say their wired, I know their wired." He shook his head at the simple thought of his crazy little family.

"No, no I am serious!" Cipher chuckled. "I've seen some crazy things, Dipper, and your family sure isn't on that list. Their sweet."

"Sweet?"

"…I couldn't think of another word." Cipher admitted.

Dipper snorted and rolled his eyes. "My point exactly!"

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they walked across the dirt lot towards Cipher's sleek black car. Dipper spotted Cipher out of the corner of his eye sinking into the collar of his hoodie, looking like a turtle receding into its shell. The sight brought a laugh bubbling from his lips.

"You like the sweatshirt?" Dipper asked as they paused beside the car.

"I'll admit it is very comfortable." He wiggled his shoulders a little for emphasis. "I'll give you these back next time we meet." Cipher dug out the keys from his pocket and began fiddling with the door while Dipper moved to stand closer to the tree line.

Dipper tossed his hand up, giving a dismissive wave, "Oh no, it's alright. I mean, it looks better on you anyways." He cringed at his wording but laughed it off. There was time to curse himself for his stupid mouth later.

Cipher hummed, yanking open the door and turning to face the brunet again. His golden eyes lingered up and down Dipper for a fraction of a second before meeting his mocha eyes. A small smile pulled at the radio hosts lips, "Well aren't you just a gentlemen." He teased, leaning his arm against the roof of his car.

Dipper rolled his eyes and crossed his own arms against his shivering chest. "I have my moments." He smirked.

The two stood there in silence for a while, both staring at the other with silly smiles plastering their faces. The soft look in Cipher's eyes was doing things to Dipper's poor heart. He could feel a rush of heat attack his cheeks, most likely leaving a bright shade of pink behind. When the quiet atmosphere stretched on a little too long, Dipper shifted and readied a farewell. However, before he could even being to form his words, a blur of blonde shoved him against a tree perched perfectly behind him. He winced slightly as his head hit the wood a bit hard, but any complaints he had dissipated the second he felt soft lips press sloppily against his own.

His eyes widened in shock but slowly fluttered closed as his body practically melted against Cipher. The constricting feeling that had been progressively getting tighter inside Dipper's chest over the past few weeks, had just snapped completely, overflowing with emotions he couldn't even begin comprehend.

As if on instinct, Dipper's hands reached up to grip at the fabric covering Cipher's chest. He leaned greedily into the kiss, taking in every sweet sensation that sparked to life within him. He barely even registered the hand holding him at the waist, and the other tangling into his hair with a needy want.

The kiss was messy to say the least, they ended up bumping noses and clattering their teeth together, but it was sweet nonetheless.

After what felt like minutes, but was probably only seconds, the two parted. Both gasped for air as they leaned their foreheads together and tried to make sense of what just happened.

Dipper was the first to open his eyes, taking the moment to stare over Cipher's flawless features. A tint of pink was shaded across his cheeks adorably; causing a shy but goofy smile to split across Dipper's face. When golden orbs found his, Dipper felt his heartbeat pick up. He was sure he shared the same blush, if not more so.

They stared at each other for a moment, both searching for any hint of regret or disgust within the others eyes but both coming up with none. Cipher took in a small breath and parted his lips as if ready to break the small silence that had stretched between them. However, just as words started fluttering to life, a loud and obnoxious ringtone—sounding oddly similar to The X Files theme song, Dipper noted—began blaring from within Cipher's pocket.

They quickly fumbled apart, Cipher reaching for his screeching phone and Dipper leaning back awkwardly into the tree.

Honey eyes implored the lock screen, seeing the name Gideon scribbled across the device. Cipher sighed and shot Dipper an apologetic look. "I gotta go, but I'll call you!" With each word he took a step towards his car and with each step Dipper could feel his stomach drop sadly. All he could do was nod and give a half-hearted wave to the man quickly retreating.

He stood there, leaning against the tree even after the radio host was driving away, the spark like sensation still fresh on his lips. He tried not to feel upset, knowing Cipher was a busy person and wasting time kissing a person he hardly knew wasn't something the man should be doing.

Dipper sighed and dropped his head back against the tree. "Ow!" He hissed, bouncing back to cradle his suddenly throbbing head as a round of smacked metal echoed in his ears. He turned around, narrowing his eyes at the place his head once occupied, only to notice something slightly off about the patch of bark around the area.

It wasn't bark.

It was metal.

To Be Continued}

_(」∠ ､ﾝ､)_

I AM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! I give you all permission to pelt me with potatoes. I had a creativity block the past few months so I haven't been able to get anything out, however I think I killed it because I just wrote the last 7 pages of this chapter in one day. I am feeling pretty proud even if it's a little on the iffy side! Also if it sounds wired, like my writing changed halfway through it's because I wrote the first portion MONTHS AGO. Allssooo not proof-read yet, ugh I'll do it later I just wanted this up x'D

So I think there is only going to be a few more chapters left (don't quote me on this tho). So our journey is steadily approaching an end ;w; However! I have some other stories/ideas that I've got rattling around in my head for future billdip fics so I probably won't disappear after this ends.

Thanks for reading! I love hearing what you guys think, so feel free to comment here or message me on tumblr (I am catxtopia over there) or something!

From here on out things will get bumpy (vo-o)v