Lessons

By QueenofHearts7378

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GRAVITY FALLS. END OF STORY.

.o0o.

When they were 12, he taught her to be brave and be her own person.

.o0o.

Pacifica felt light, lighter than she had been her entire life. She tossed her dirty gloves to the side and smiled. Laughter floated up to her room and she giggled to herself.

Opening those doors had been the best thing she had ever done.

'Just another link in the world's worst chain.'

She squirmed out of the dress she didn't want to wear and slipped into her favorite pajamas. She sighed in comfort as she flopped onto her bed.

'I'm not going to be that anymore.' She thought to herself. She caught sight of her heavily makeuped face and grimaced. She looked too much like her mother.

She jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. Two minutes later, her natural (if a bit red from the scrubbing) face looked back at her. She smiled.

She knew she was going to hear all about it from her parents tomorrow. They might even ground her.

But at the moment she didn't care. She felt light and free. She decided right then, with her makeup free face grinning at her with a real and true smile, she wasn't going to dress up for them anymore.

If she was going to look good, she was going to do it for herself.

And maybe for the boy who was warm and smelled like old books and pine trees.

.o0o.

When they were 13, he taught her how to have fun.

.o0o.

She was walking through town when the twins jumped her.

"Hey Seashell! Wanna play a game?!" Mabel gave her a crooked, bracey smile as she looped her arm through Pacifica's. She stopped asking where their nickname of seashell for her came from. Dipper told her it was Mabel's idea and it just kinda stuck.

Said boy linked his own arm through her free arm, "Might as well say yes. Mabel's just going to drag you with her anyway."

Pacifica blinked, not sure why they saw fit to practically kidnap her in the middle of the day.

"Uhh….what sort of game?" She suddenly noticed how Mabel had a large bag of….something, and Dipper was carrying three baseball bats.

They steered her towards the road leading to the Mystery Shack.

"Well Mabel is still getting creepy love letters from Gideon-"

"-and Dipper's been getting frustrated with the lack of mysteries around town right now-"

"-and we know about your thing with bells because of your terrible parents-"

"-so we came up with a way to solve all of our frustrations all at the same time."

They stopped in the middle of a clearing, bells and glass bottles and pink letters and half-broken china and pretty much a ton of other breakables just sitting around for no reason.

They let go of her arms and smiled at her as they said in unison, "With unsupervised violence!"

She just looked between them and the breakable mess in front of her. "I don't understand. How is this a game?"

Dipper rolled his eyes as his sister bounced off to dump her bag full of more junk everywhere around the clearing. He held out one of the bats.

"I guess it's not, really. But it is a great way to vent. It's supposed to be fun."

"Fun." Pacifica repeated.

Dipper raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, fun. Haven't you ever just done something for fun?"

Pacifica bit her lip and bowed her head, her hair falling to cover her face.

"Really?" He said incredulously, "What about mini golf?"

"Father said I should start with something easy before I moved onto real golf."

She heard him shift his weight, "Uh, what about dancing?"

"Mother considered it a requirement for an heiress. She didn't want me to embarrass her."

Dipper made a strange noise in the back of his throat that caused Pacifica to peek at him from under her hair.

He looked annoyed and angry, but for what she just couldn't fathom. He still held out the bat for her to take. "I swear, the more I learn about your parents the more I don't like them." Then he gave her a small smile, "Consider this your first lesson in fun. Make a mess. Pretend you're hitting your troubles away."

She finally took her bat from him, holding it gingerly. He smiled at her again and tossed one of the two bats left at his sister. She caught it in midair and brought it down on a pink heart shaped card. "This is SO MUCH BETTER than the bottomless pit!" She mashed the paper into a muddy mess.

Dipper grinned as he swung at a nearby bottle, sending it shattering against a tree. "Agreed!"

Pacifica just looked at her bat. Then looked back up at Dipper. "How am I supposed to….?"

The boy looked at her with a crooked smile and bright eyes, "Just swing away! There isn't a right or wrong way to do this. Just break something!" He shattered a blue teacup with a crudely painted duck against a rock.

Pacifica looked at the bells hanging from tree branches. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and just swung. The sound of crunching metal rang in her ears.

She opened her eyes to see a couple of bronze bells lying broken on the ground in front of her.

She smiled and swung again.

For an hour they just broke stuff, and Pacifica couldn't stop the giggles from coming up every now and then.

Once everything was broken, they collapsed laughing and breathless on the ground together, just outside of the clearing full of broken. Mabel and Dipper laid on either side of her, laughing just as much as she was.

.o0o.

When they were 14, he taught her what having real friends were like.

.o0o.

Pacifica tried to keep the tears back as she knocked on the door again. Dipper and Mabel wouldn't be mad at her for coming this late….right?

She hugged herself and knocked again, louder this time.

Finally the door swung open to reveal Stan Pines in all his underwear and wife beater glory.

"I swear to all that is holy if this is some salesperson again-" he cut himself as he looked at the shivering, red eyed girl standing in the doorway. "Pacifica? Pacifica Northwest?"

"Is-is Dipper home? And Ma-Mabel?" She stuttered, trying not to fall to pieces in front of him.

He looked her up and down, taking in her shaken form and the old backpack sitting at her feet.

He sighed, dragging a hand down his face, "It's about time. I was wondering when you would run. Come on in. Kid's probably still up doing who knows what. Think he's got insomnia or something…."

He stepped to the side, gesturing for her to come inside. She grabbed the bag and ducked into the hallway. Footsteps sounded on the staircase and Dipper came down holding a flashlight.

"Who's at the door Grunkle Stan? Is it that old gypsy lady from the circus. I told you not to steal-" He stopped at the bottom, his flashlight shined on the fragile blonde in the room. "Seashell? What are you-" His eyes flicked from her full backpack on the ground to her watering eyes.

He gave her a small, understanding smile and she finally broke down.

"Yep." Stan started towards the living room away from the crying girl. "I'm just gonna-" The he shot out of the room before Dipper could blink.

He just walked over to the sobbing girl and pulled her into a hug. "C'mon. Let's go wake Mabel. We have the perfect recipe for this type of sadness."

Thirty minutes later she was sandwiched between the two twins, a fluffy fort all around them, some sappy movie playing on the little laptop and an empty tub of ice cream with three spoons was set off to the side.

Her head laid on Mabel's lap as the hyper girl stroked and played with her hair. Dipper was reading some book and taking notes, but was just as tangled up in the blankets as the two girls were. Every now and then he would catch her eye and just smile at her.

They didn't press for details. Didn't ask what had happened, or why she came to them. They never teased her about crying or rejected her choice of movies. They both somehow comforted her and gave her the space she needed and she couldn't fathom why.

"Why?" she croaked out, buried under the softness of the blankets and the warmth of their unconditional kindness.

Mabel's fingers stopped playing with her hair as she gave Pacifica a questioning look. Dipper stopped reading his book and muted the movie.

"Why what?" They echoed, as only twins could do.

She buried her head into some stuffed animal Mabel gave her to cuddle. "Why are you being so nice?" Her voice was muffled by all the fluff and cotton. "Heaven knows I don't deserve it. I was awful to you two. Why would you be so nice to me?" Her voice started to crack at the end and she choked back another flood of tears.

Dipper chuckled, "Well you may be a bit of a spoiled brat-"

"-a little whiny at times-" Mabel added.

"-snobbish and unbearable-"

"-not to mention you can be just plain mean…."

If this was supposed to make her feel better it wasn't working.

Two different hands touched each side of her shoulders.

"But you're still our friend," Mabel said brightly, no doubt smiling like crazy.

"And we always help a friend." Dipper's matter-of-fact voice caused her to raise her head.

She looked at them with wide eyes, "Friend? But Tiffany and Ashley never-" 'Never thought about what she wanted. Always wanted to know all the details so they could gossip. They thought about image first, friendship second.'

"Is this…." She clutched the stuffed animal tighter to her stomach, "Is this what real friends do? Just...be nice?"

Dipper threw his arm around her waist at the same time Mabel threw her arm around her shoulders and they both gave her a one armed hug. "Yep!" Mabel chirped. "We tease each other, gather blackmail, make stupid bets-"

"-not to mention do stupid stuff with each other, laugh together, and generally just enjoy each other's company."

Mabel patted her head, "We've got each other's backs."

"Anytime you need us, we'll be here for you. No questions asked."

Pacifica smiled through the fresh tears falling down her face, "Thank you." She hugged her best friends back, true happiness filling her heart.

In the morning, Stan and Ford walked into the twin's attic to find the all three of them snoring underneath a mountain of pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and Waddles.

Ford smirked at the adorable scene, "I don't know Stan. Think we can handle one more teenager under our roof?"

Stan shook his head, "She's lucky I never turn my back on a runaway. Don't know what the kids see in her."

.o0o.

When they were 15, he taught her how to be a better person.

.o0o.

"-And that was how this family managed to smuggle the bills over the border." Stan finished with a flourish.

Pacifica rolled her eyes as she put away her dishes. Mabel and Dipper were going to be back for the summer any day now, but Melody was here and Stan thought he'd introduce her into the family by telling all the tales of how he got away with pretty much anything illegal. Some of those involving Mabel and Dipper.

Melody had an unsure look on her face, "Isn't that, you know, somewhat illegal?"

Pacifica snickered, "Try completely illegal. Dipper still complains about that trip."

She still looked uncertain, "So you mean that was a true story?"

Stan had the guts to look offended, "You know I may be a thief and forger and a conman and a-"

"You really want to continue that list Stan?" Pacifica spoke up as she leaned against the counter.

Stan paused, "Good point. But all that aside I am a man of my word when I say that the story is completely, totally, absolutely about 63% true. Maybe. Scout's honor." He lifted his right hand.

Pacifica smirked, "Your fingers are crossed."

"Gosh dangit kid! You caught me red handed!"

Melody and Pacifica laughed loudly, nobody in the small kitchen noticing when a bus pulled up next to the shack.

Suddenly the door slammed open and a pink, glittery ball of teenager flung herself into the room.

"GRUNKLE STAN!" Mabel squeezed him to death (or only to the point where he turned blueish purple) "OhmygoshI'vemissedthisplacesomuch!" She let go of Stan to grab Pacifica in a hug/jump/squeal thing. "OHmyGOSH! Seashell it's been FOREVER! Texting just isn't the same as having sleepovers and face to face girl talk and-" Mabel's eyes went wide as she breathed in deeply, "MELODY! You're here ohmygosh you're here!" She tackled the woman in another Mabel Death Grip ("hug") "How long are you staying? How is Soos? Where are you staying? Are you getting married? When is the wedding? Am I going to be a godmother?!"

"Mabel! Breathe!" Dipper smirked as he walked in, a wide smile on his face. Though he quickly jumped on Stan to give him a hug too. "Hey Grunkle Stan. It's good to back home." Grunkle Stan returned the hug and held the boy out at arm's length.

He frowned, "Something is different about you….?"

Dipper shrugged. "Maybe martial arts classes and boxing is finally paying off."

Pacifica blinked, trying to keep her jaw from dropping. "Martial arts?" she repeated, "And boxing? You?"

He stuck his tongue out at her, "Me and Mabel both. Granted she can still kick butt-"

"-and that won't ever change Bro Bro."

"-but I can take care of myself. Figured it'd be a good thing to learn after all the stuff that's happened here."

Pacifica narrowed her eyes and moved over to stand between the twins. She started to poke Dipper's shoulders and arms.

"Ow. Ow. Ow! Nice to see you too, Seashell." He tried to bat her hands away. She just ignored him and grabbed his arm to bring up to eye level.

"Huh. You don't have noodle arms anymore." She dropped his arm as her inspection of her old friend was completed. She turned around and gave the same treatment to Mabel, though Mabel giggled more being extremely ticklish.

She looked between the two of them. Between Dipper's short sleeved t-shirt and Mabel's not exactly loose sweater (she still wears them), she could see the athletic muscles that had been developed over years. It gave both of them a healthy, athletic appearance.

"And here I thought the only muscles Dipping Sauce would ever get would be from turning pages in books."

Dipper blushed while Mabel laughed. Then he smirked at her, "Sure, sure. Whatever you say shorty."

Her eyes widened, "No. There is no way-" She went toe to toe with him, her hand measuring out their heights.

"Oh no fair! You're a whole two inches taller!"

He let out a victorious whoop, grinning at her humorously. "And yet me and Mabel are still the same height. So you're the short one in the group."

She let out a groan and flopped dramatically in a chair. But she grinned at him anyway. "It's good to have you two back."

Later that night, after the whole homecoming thing and a small detour with some gnomes and a banshee, Pacifica was snuggled in her blanket on top of the roof.

"So how's life at the Shack been treating you?"

She turned to see Dipper sitting down next to her. He kept his eyes on the stars above them as he leaned back next to her.

"I've never been happier." She said softly. "It was weird and unusual when you two left, but it's so much better than Northwest Mansion."

"What have your parents been doing about the situation?"

She just shrugged, snuggling further into the blankets warmth. "Bribery. Empty Promises. Threatening. Private investigators. The usual."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "What are the local cops doing about the situation? You'd think they would've dragged you back by now."

Pacifica giggled, "Those two? I don't think my parents have as good of a hold on this town as they think. They're happily turning a blind eye to me staying at the Shack. In fact, everybody but my parents are. It's kinda sweet in a way." Her smile fell from her face. "But I don't deserve it."

Dipper snapped his head to look at her dumbfounded. "What are you talking about?"

She hugged her knees. "I know I'm not the best person in the world. You've even told me that to my face."

Dipper continued to look at her baffled, "When did I ever say that?"

"When I came to ask you to take care of the ghost. You opened the door, said I'm the worst, and shut it in my face."

He rolled his eyes, "We were twelve Seashell. And you were a spoiled brat."

Dipper grabbed her shoulder and forced her to face him, "You're a good person now. Sure you might not go out and donate heaps of cash to charity or-or start programs to save the whales or that other nonsense, but you are a good person. You've stopped looking down on people, treated others with respect, got a job-"

"I live with Stan pines. I have to work in the Mystery Shack."

"But you could've just blown him off. You didn't have to say thank you to Susan for bringing lunch. You didn't have to help the lady pick up her stuff when she knocked over a stack hats. You didn't have to make Melody feel at home by spending the day with her."

"How do you even know about all that?"

"I just took a walk through town. People were chatty. They really love you Seashell.

"You don't need my help to be a good person 'cause you already are one."

She closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder, warmth bubbling in her stomach. He dragged the blanket over the both of them as they laid on top of the roof.

"Do you really mean that?"

"I swear it on the Journals, Seashell."

She smiled, content as she watched the stars with the smell of old books and pine trees surrounding her.

.o0o.

When they were 16, he taught her what a true family was.

.o0o.

She ran into the Mystery Shack, happiness leaking out of her.

"I did it!" She squealed as she flew into the shop. Dipper was startled off the stool he sat on. Mabel squawked as Waddles jumped on her in fright. Stan plugged his ears to prevent hearing damage and even Ford poked his head out of the basement to see what the deal was.

Rubbing his bruised backside, Dipper asked, "What? What did you do?"

She waved the paper gleefully around as she danced in joy. Mabel gasped and squealed louder than Pacifica did. "YOU DID IT! Ohmygoshyoudidit!" She tackled the blonde in a death hug.

"Stop your yelling. You'll scare the customers." Stan griped at the girls. "Now what exactly did you do?"

She shoved the paper in his face and he went cross eyed, "I passed my driver's test!"

Dipper joined Mabel in hugging Pacifica, "That's great!"

Stan let out a smile and ruffled her hair, "That a way kid. Taught you everything you know."

"You're an awful driver!" Ford exclaimed. "I'm the one who taught her right! You were showing her the best places to avoid cops."

Dipper, Mabel, and Pacifica ignored them as they fell into their usual bickering. "We should celebrate." Dipper said.

Mabel squealed again, "EEEEEE! We get to do it! Family tradition! Let's go!"

Pacifica blinked. "A family tradition?"

"Yeah!" Mabel run around the counter to grab her purse, "Ever since our great great grandparents, each time we pass a driver's test we go eat ice cream and then go do something fun! Like a movie or a picnic or a snail race! You get to drive us though."

Dipper saw the unsure look in her eye as Mabel rushed out the door. He grabbed her hands, "Pacifica, you've been living at the Mystery Shack for three years now. You've been both mine and Mabel's best friend for even longer. I don't know how many times you've come to stay at our place in California. You're family Pacifica."

Her smile nearly blinded him. "This is what real families do?"

"Yep! Now let's go. That ice cream is calling our names!"

.o0o.

When they were 17, he taught her what being loved for her true self was like.

.o0o.

Pacifica rubbed her puffy eyes. She had perched herself on top of the Mystery Shack, where they usually relaxed. Two weeks and her heart still throbbed.

Pacifica had dumped her boyfriend after being totally humiliated. He had cheated on her. She had literally caught him with the other girl at party. Her birthday party of all things. She spent the next three days with Mabel crying her heart out till she thought she'd run out of tears. Even now she felt betrayed as she surrounded herself in a fluffy blanket as her heart still ached for a guy who wasn't worth it.

The smell of old books and pine trees floated around her and she buried her head in her knees. She knew he would come. He always did. This was their spot. Maybe she didn't want to be as alone as she thought.

She felt his warmth as he sat down next to her with a barely concealed wince.

She snuck a peek at him and couldn't hold back the gasp that flew out of her mouth. Even though it was nighttime, the full moon gave her a good look at Dipper's bruised face. His left eye was clearly black, his cheek under already turning purple, and his lip had been split. The knuckles of his hands were swollen and he seemed to be favoring his left side.

"Dipper…." Pacifica whispered as she gently touched the bruise on his face.

"I know it's cliche but, you should see the other guy." He fidgeted under her inspection, reminding her of his nervousness around others that he never quite lost. "Actually don't. I don't want you anywhere near him."

"Dipper." Her voice firm now, suspicions forming in her mind.

"I know you can take care of yourself. And I probably could've just hexed him or-or something but I was so mad. All of my training just went out the window and I got into a full blown fist fight with the jerk. Seeing you like this? Seeing you cry your heart out even though you knew he wasn't worth it just really made me upset. and I-I just lashed out when I saw him on the street today laughing with some friends with that-that leech hanging off his arm and….I'm sorry."

"Dipper. Look at me." His guilty brown eyes met her baby blue ones. "That is probably the sweetest thing someone has ever done for me."

He caught her hand in his own, holding it against his face. His eyes closed and he sighed. "I'm still sorry. I know you don't like others fighting your battles."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "It's all right Dipper. You don't have to be sorry. I know now that he only dated me for my looks. It's something I should be used to by now." She mumbled the last sentence, not expecting Dipper to react the way he did.

He jerked around, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look up at him, shocked.

"You shouldn't have to Pacifica!" He wasn't yelling, but he was firm and passionate. "You're kind and generous. You're super smart and funny and you're loyal to those who you consider family. You being beautiful on the inside as well as the outside is a bonus. You deserve someone who knows that. Someone who knows when to let you fight your own battles. Someone who will accept your flaws. Someone who understands your fear of bells and how you love waffles over pancakes and you hate the color yellow and how you can understand Chemistry just fine but you get a little lost when it comes to Literature. And-" He cut himself off, bowing his head as his cheeks darkened.

She smiled and leaned closer, "It sounds like you already have someone in mind." She said softly.

Dipper stuttered nervously under his breath before muttering a solid, "Screw it."

He pulled her closer, resting his forehead on her own. "Maybe I do. And maybe he's willing to wait for you, cause as much as he wants to kiss you right now it wouldn't seem right since you just broke up with your boyfriend. And maybe he doesn't know if you even like him that way and he doesn't want to ruin an amazing friendship with one of his best friends."

"And if I want to kiss him right now?"

"He probably still wouldn't kiss you cause he has a split lip and it really hurts."

Pacifica let out a laugh and hugged him, burying her face in his chest. Hidden under the covers of night and a warm blanket, with the smell of old books and pine trees filling her senses, she looked back at all the lessons Dipper had taught her (intentionally or not) and added one more to the list.

*Nervously peeks out behind a door* I really need some help. I'm drowning in fanfic ideas and this didn't help one bit.

Ugh! I didn't even start reading Gravity Falls fanfics till two days ago. (Though I'll admit I've been shipping Dipper and Pacifica since the Northwest Mansion episode. I mean, how could you not after watching it!) This ship and the Soos and Melody ship are the only ships I ship in this series. Mabel, well, she's a whirlwind romance kind of girl and has had different crushes and boy fancies every other episode. I'd imagine it'll stay that way when she grows up so I've never really paired her with anyone.

I'm not really a romance writer despite me being a hopeless romantic and I'm not even sure where the inspiration for this came from. But I haven't been able to work on any of my other stories with this stuck in the inspiration hole clogging everything up.

I really just want to read more stories where Dipper and Mabel go back to school in Cali and are just super odd and people don't know what to make of them anymore and have no idea what they went through during the summer.

Like, Mabel has a grappling gun and Waddles and learns karate and boxing and is an excellent con man even if she uses her powers for good and she's sure to have some nightmares about Gravity Falls but she's still Mabel. All glitter and sweaters and stickers and Mabel Juice. You know there's going to be Mabel Juice. And Dipper….oh do I have headcanons for Dipper. PTSD for one. He officially has insomnia after all the stuff that's happened. Doesn't like triangles at all. He might take martial arts lessons or boxing, depends on my mood. He's a genius, duh, but stays in the same grade with Mabel. (They are not about to be separated.) I've totally made him like a wizard or something in my head. He raised the dead on accident with a spell, he's got rad magical powers you cannot convince me otherwise. (Which Mabel will use to her advantage.) I could go on and on but I'll stop my rant for now.

One of these days I will write something like what I want. But not right now cause I have a boatload of other stories that are desperately needing to be finished. I just needed to get this out of the way. So for now I'll just settle for reading the one fic that actually gets the closest to what I want: "An Outsider's Look at the Pine Twins". Rereading it over and over again will satisfy my needs for now.

I have other multimedia sites I'm on constantly and they can be found on this useful thing called a profile page.

*sighs* I'm taking my ACT tomorrow. Wish me luck! I'll need it. After all,

REALITY IS AN ILLUSION, THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM, BUY GOLD BYE!

ENJOY MY VIEWERS OF THE CORN!