Hey! You! READ THIS BEFORE THE CHAPTER. A couple things I want to address, 1.) Dipper and Pacifica CAN be on the road for as long as previously stated because a few chapters ago, they've had a bunch of adventures I didn't write about. You remember! Giffany had her little flashback cameo. I suppose I'm just going to have to emphasize this more. And 2.) This story is a little unpolished so please forgive any grammatical mistakes. Start the fic.

4

3

2

Pacifica was wading through the ballroom, so far there was no sign of Julian OR Herbie but a percentage of the party crashers had been escorted out so things were getting a little easier. She searched the tables surrounding the walls but if Herbie was ever there he had already left. Then she thought to check the guests, maybe Herbie had hidden himself on some of their fancy clothing. She did her search carefully and delicately but Herbie was still nowhere to be found.

Pacifica was certain the dumb little insect had to be somewhere else. She was about to leave and look somewhere else when Dipper came back.

"Dipper?

Dipper smiled awkwardly and waved his fingers shyly. "Hi Sweetheart." he squeaked.

"What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't find the bug in the hallways and the Love God said Herbie doesn't like heights so that means he's still on the first floor... Soooo... Yeah, I came back."

Pacifica looked him directly in the eye and asked with the most serious tone she could muster "Is that really true or did you just decide that you missed me too much?"

"...Can't it be both?"

Pacifica furiously rolled her eyes. She grabbed him by the collar of his trench coat and brought him face to face with her.

"Listen to me! THIS is not you! The Dipper I know always thinks with his head! So USE that head of yours and figure out that THIS isn't how you normally act!"

Dipper held Pacifica's hands gently in his own. "But what if I like it better this way?"

"I... What?"

"I know a bug bite is responsible for my actions, but maybe I'm better this way. I don't overthink every step I take, I stay on task, but most important of all I'm not affected by the romantic tension between us."

Pacifica's eyes shot open. "What?!"

"Oh don't act like you haven't felt it too! It has been there for a long time! It was bound to happen really, but now thanks to the bug bite... I can be both Dipper Pines, Paranormal Detective AND a man who is attentive to your needs and desires. Isn't it better this way?"

"I..." Her eyes rolled down to where she saw the bug bite on Dipper's hand. "NO!"

She threw Dipper's hands down.

"It is NOT better because THIS..." she gestures to all of him. "Is only happening because of a bug bite! It isn't REAL! If it WAS real then things would still be awkward and tense but at least a BUG wouldn't be responsible for it! Now I need you to choke these FAKE feelings down and focus on the job of finding the bug! You ask around for any whereabouts of Julian or Herbie, I'm going to look outside!"

She turned around and stomped off while Dipper was left stunned. Pacifica almost made it out of the room when she heard Dipper shout to her.

"WOMAN, I WILL SNUGGLE YOU!"

A blush raced across her face but Pacifica kept walking. "Most romantic threat ever!"

Dipper watched sadly as Pacifica stomped off.

"Guess I'll ask some of the guests if they've seen anything... Oh! There's a couple of Pacifica friends!"

It was the twins Yolanda and Yolinda. Dipper couldn't tell them apart but hopefully he wouldn't have to.

"Ladies!" Dipper announced himself. "Pacifica and I are trying to find this little beetle. Have you seen it flying around recently?"

The two shook their heads 'no' and Dipper tipped his hat to them. "Well thanks anyways. Yolanda, Yolinda, have a good night."

*SLAP!*

*SLAP!*

Dipper looked at the twins with shocked confusion as he rubbed both sides of his face.

"I'M Yolanda!"

"And SHE'S Yolinda! Hmph!"

The twins stuck up the noses and stormed off.

"Aw come on, ladies! I understand where you're coming from! I'm a twin myself ya know? Be reasonable!"

Dipper was ready to move on when he spotted another one of Pacifica's old friends. She was a curvaceous woman with a bright red dress which held tight to her figure.

'Oh crap!' Dipper thought 'There's Pacifica's friend Joanne! I never learned what country she was from! Maybe she speaks English!'

"Hello, Joanne." greeted Dipper.

She said something back to Dipper in a language which was clearly not English.

'Double crap!' Dipper thought. 'She doesn't speak any English! I need to find Pacifica, this just isn't working without her! Hopefully Joanne can read in between the lines!'

"No Spraken de French amigo, comprende'? Sayonara!"

Outside...

Pacifica was in the rose garden. It wasn't a maze like her old mansion home used to have but it was quaint with a small charm that belonged to itself. It was basically four tall rose bushes shaped like square corners. This place certainly loved roses.

"That Dipper... I feel like my face needs some ice from all that blushing he made me do."

A faint buzzing caught her attention, she turned to her left and saw something which got Dipper's predicament out of her head instantly.

"THE BUG!"

Little Herbie was flying by at eye level; the scent of all the roses had become intoxicating to him. Pacifica made a mad grab for it but Herbie dodged her hand with expert ease.

"Pacifica!"

"Eek!"

Dipper had just jumped in to the garden surprising Pacifica to point where she accidentally grabs a rose full of thorns instead of Herbie.

"OUCH! Dipper!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I startle you?"

"What do you think?!" she snapped.

"Oh no, what happened to your hand?"

"YOU happened!" Pacifica remembered the situation and quickly looked around. "Shoot! It was here, Dipper! Herbie! Then you startled me and I grabbed a rose full of thorns by mistake!"

"Oh!" Dipper looked around and didn't see Herbie anywhere. "Okay, that one is my bad. I don't know where the bug is but I can help with your hand."

Pacifica's face was completely void of any kind of humor but she still shot up a raised eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah?! How? Are you going to rip your pant leg and bandage my hand?"

"If we weren't at a ritzy party? Absolutely. Since we are though," he brought up his special gun and set it to his whip. "I'll have to do it the fancy way!"

"Oh, he's smirking! I bet he thinks he's looking reeeaaal cool right now!" mocked Pacifica.

Dipper held his chin up high and never lost his smile.

"I hear your bitter criticism and turn the other cheek to them."

He started to lash his goop whip in to the air repeatedly, stretching the whip until the point he let it fall to the ground. He pulled the end of the whip over to himself and started to pinch at it.

"...Okay! I give up!" declared Pacifica. "I have NO idea what you are doing!"

"If I can pluck out little bits of my whip, I can use them to heal up your little cuts."

Pacifica crossed her arms in confusion. "It never worked like that before!"

"I never had access to rose petals before." explained Dipper.

"What? Rose petals? Why haven't we ever tried this before? We could have just, like, BOUGHT roses ya know?"

"Yes," Dipper admitted "but could we have done so with out any romantic undertones?"

Pacifica was left without an answer. "...I..."

"Not that I mind the idea now! Anyways, store bought roses probably wouldn't work since only the highest quality rose petals seem to agree with the goop."

"And this rose garden qualifies?"

"Pretty sure I saw a blue ribbon on one of the bush walls here dating back about a week so yeah."

Dipper had a handful of goop droplets and he plucked about five rose petals. He rolled them together and then showed them to Pacifica. The little green droplets were clear now and shining like diamonds. The two knelt down on the ground so there would be a smaller chance of Dipper dropping one.

"Now give me your hand."

Pacifica did so and Dipper delicately placed each one on a different puncture mark. "Now for a little heat!" He then cupped her hand between his own and squeezed.

There was a small flash and then Dipper let go. Pacifica looked at her hand, there was a layer of slime over it but the cuts were all gone.

"Wow! That's impressive, gross, but impressive!"

"Yeah!" Dipper grabbed the edge of the slime at the bottom of her hand and pulled the entirety of the slime off like it was a glove. "It doesn't work on big wounds though."

"Makes sense I guess. So what are you doing out here? I thought I asked you to stay inside and ask..."

"Yeah that went south very fast! I'm sorry but I don't think splitting up is really going to work this time."

"Is that you talking or the bug bite?"

"Honestly? I don't know. It's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins."

"Why's that?"

"Because I love you and you're a wonderful person?"

Pacifica smiled with a small blush but it didn't last. "Listen Dipper, all this attention is really flattering but you know why I can't act on it right?"

"Some nonsense about being a Northwest?"

"No! Because if Dipper Pines wanted to ask me out I would want it to be because he worked up the nerve to do it by himself, not because some bug bite is making him do it."

"I...I understand..."

Pacifica held Dipper's face with her healed hand. "That's good! Because I need you to be the man I know you are and listen to your head. You've been compromised; so I need you to stay here and keep a look out for Julian. I think Herbie is still out here and I almost caught him last time."

She stood up and left as Dipper feebly reached for her.

Dipper sighed and hung his head.

"Trouble in paradise, Sherlock?" Dipper looked and was greeted with the sight of the Love God looking down upon him, leaning over the top of one of the rose bush walls.

"Love God? You're just all over the place aren't you?"

"I follow the love, Big Guy! So why are you looking so down?"

"I've been compromised..." Dipper held up his hand. "Because of this! I know what I'm doing isn't TRUE love. All of this is just the bug bite making me act."

The Love God narrowed his eyes and nodded like a therapist listening to his client. "I see... Dipper, let me ask you a question. What do you think TRUE love actually means?"

"Uh... Honest? Genuine? Not-From-A-Bug-Bite?"

"It can also mean FATED."

"Fated?"

"Yeah. Haven't you ever heard the saying that there's somebody out there for everybody? Some people are literally made to be with each other!"

"And you think that applies to Pacifica and I?"

"And you don't?! Think about it! Who have you spent everyday with?"

"Pacifica."

"Who have you been through both good times and bad?"

"Pacifica."

"Constant danger in every adventure! Who is in your corner?"

"Pacifica!"

"That's right!" The Love God pointed at Pacifica in the far end of the garden. "Now look at that woman! Before my little Herbie gave you a little love nip..."

"It was a bite!" Dipper bitterly cut in. "He drew blood! It was not a 'nip' in any sense of the word!"

"Fine! Whatever! Just stay with me! Before... Tonight, that woman is interwoven with your life, so what do want for her?"

"Only the best!" Dipper stood up.

"And why do you want the best for her?"

"Because she deserves it! She deserves anything that makes her happy, because that's what makes ME happy!"

"Now look at her! Look at her!"

"If some other guy wanted to hook up with her, would you let him?"

"Never!"

"Tell me why, Tiger!"

"Because they don't know her like I do! They don't know what makes her happy! I do! She's MINE and..." Dipper's face softened with a smile. "I'm her's. I'll do whatever it takes to make her happy."

The Love God smiled. "Finally, one of you is starting to understand."

Meanwhile...

Over at the far end of the garden Pacifica actually had a stroke of luck. Herbie was flying at speed where he was not only easier to spot but practically begging to be caught. If Pacifica had to guess, she'd say that the little bug was probably exhausted from flying around everywhere. She reached out and grabbed at it with both hands, imagine her surprise when she actually caught it. Cupped in her hands, Pacifica could hardly believe her accomplishment.

At the other end of the garden she spotted the Love God, which was good! She could just hand it over to him and this whole mess would be over!

'Hm...' Pacifica thought. 'What's with Dipper? His expression is so serious but, like, soft. I wonder what...' "OW!"

Pacifica dropped Herbie as a sudden sharp pain shot through her palm. She instantly knew what this meant but she had already been staring at Dipper when it happened so there was nothing she could do about it.

Pacifica's eyes were replaced with giant hearts.

I believe in miracles!

She looked at Dipper and his entire image became surrounded in a pink puffy cloud substance.

Where you from, you sexy thing

Her jaw dropped but a dopey grin crawled itself into existence on her face.

Back with Dipper, he was still talking with the Love God when he started to hear a strange noise.

"Do you hear that? Reminds me of when Mabel came running at me screaming when we were kids, but different. Actually sounds... kind of happy. What is tha-"

A blur tackled Dipper to the ground at great speed.

"OOF! What was tha..."

Dipper looked down and saw Pacifica nuzzling her face in to his chest, squeezing his torso with a hug.

"Pacifica? What are... did you get bit by the bug?"

Pacifica said nothing but tightened her grip.

"Does this mean you're willing to let me love you and even love me back?"

What come out of Pacifica could only be interpreted as a happy squeak of affirmation.

"But what about all that stuff about being in your right mind and awkwardness and... stuff?"

Pacifica sat up with one of the most serious expressions Dipper had ever seen on her face.

"Forget awkwardness, forget listening to your head, and FORGET logic! I want my happiness and that's you!"

"YES!"

Dipper picked her up in a twirl of hug.

Standing together their embrace tightened, tender smiles painted on their faces.

"Of course you do realize when the bug bites wears off we'll remember everything and be super embarrassed."

"Oh yeah, like, no avoiding that one! Right now though? Let's just enjoy this. No tension, no awkwardness, no inhibitions, just you and me being happy together."

Omake

Dipper and Pacifica held each other with their blissful smiles, they didn't even mind the Love God was watching them.

"You two are SO cute! I just hope you'll stay on mission."

"We'll still find Herbie for you." Dipper clarified. "Tonight though, the most important thing is us!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself. Tonight, we can be the couple we've always longed to be!"

"Do the couple things yearned for! Like hand holding!"

"Hugging?"

"Snuggling?"

The Love God scratched his chin. "What about sex?"

The two looked at him and answered in unison "We're not there yet."

As Dipper and Pacifica went back to their cavorting, the Love God narrowed his eyes suspiciously at them.

"You two have given this WAY more thought than the bug bite would allow."

That's it for now. I'm actually a little disappointed you readers thought I would stop at just one of our heroes being bit. Just to clarify something here, just because both our heroes are bit that doesn't mean they're going to stop doing their jobs! They'll still be trying to arrest Julian, there's just going to be lots of fluff involved. You like fluff right? Right? YOU WANT FLUFF?! I WILL DROWN YOU IN FLUFF!