Dipper wandered through the woods, journal out, following a compass as his twin sister Mabel complained loudly behind him. "Can we take a break now, please? We're never going to find this Den of Ancient Logs if we just keep running around like a chicken with our head cut off," she puffed, plopping down on a large boulder and pulling a bottle of water out of her backpack.

"Den of Ancient Songs," Dipper corrected, looking back at his sister and rolling his eyes as she took her fifth break of the day. "And you're right we won't find it, but that's only because you keep stopping." Before she could take a sip he snatched her bottle out of her hand and took a big swig. She narrowed her eyes at him as he handed it back to her. He snorted, water coming out of his nose as he glanced at her adorably angry expression. She never looked very serious when she was mad.

"That's what you get," she giggled, getting up to continue on as he sputtered and coughed behind her. He gave her an evil look before he ran at her, jumping on top of her as the two began to wrestle, laughing and yelling as they flipped over and over on the ground, before a sudden jolt made them both stop and freeze up as the ground began to shake and give way.

They grabbed onto each other, screaming in terror as they began to fall, sliding and rolling downward. Bouncing over rubble and rock, they landed with a hard thud on a cold, damp surface; Mabel had the wind knocked out of her as she hit the floor hard on her back, her brother landing roughly on top of her. She choked and gasped for a moment gripping his arms in a panic as he struggled to get up.

"Mabel? Mabel! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly staring down into her face. She was trying to breathe slowly, her eyes wide, as he placed his hand on her chest. "Breathe, you're okay, you're fine." She nodded and closed her eyes, air finally filling her lungs, before she slowly leaned up, her breathing finally returning to normal.

She looked up at him and blushed slightly. "Um, you can get your hand off my chest now, bro bro." He make a little yipping sound and leaped back, nodding awkwardly as he stood and helped Mabel to her feet. Dipper rubbed his arm nervously as they looked around. Walking over to the steep slope they had slid down, Mabel made a few attempts to climb up, promptly falling on her butt and sliding back to the bottom each time. "Well that's a no go," she muttered to herself.

Dipper looked over into the dark cavern. He could see from the dim glow of the light above that it was expansive and worked its way deeper into the mountain below. "Mabel, I think this is it! I think this is what I've been searching for!" He moved excitedly toward a soft outcropping in the dirt, a poor excuse for a path.

"Dipper, stop," she made a move to follow her brother then looked back up at the small opening they had fallen through. "We need to find a way out of here."

"We will, just…come on Mabel, just a little more," he pulled his flashlight out of his backpack and moved forward step by step. Mabel hesitated for a moment. She may have been the older of the two, but for the last 17 years she had never failed to follow wherever Dipper led. She sighed and pulled out her own flashlight following her brother deeper into the dark and silent cavern.

They walked along a small pathway, worn by time, but now practically faded and near impossible to see. Even with the bright light from both of their flashlights, Mabel could barely see the pathway ahead of them, trusting in her brother to find the right way. She stared at the back of his head rather than the floor. She had to look up, and for a moment found herself wondering when he had outgrown her.

The only sound in the underground caves were the muffled thuds of their steps hitting the packed dirt as they made their way in silence. Every now and then Dipper would stop, turning his light to the Journal and mutter to himself before continuing on. Mabel didn't speak and wondered if she wasn't there, would he have noticed? Would he have continued on without her? Would he have the courage to walk through these creepy, dark caves alone if she wasn't right beside him? She smiled. They were twins—there would never be a moment she wasn't right beside him. Her legs started to ache. She would even follow him into his dark, hot, oppressive cave just so he could find his stupid song den thing.

They had been walking for what felt like hours before he finally stopped again and turned back to look at her, shinning the light on her for a moment. "Are you okay?" She looked up at him curiously. "You're starting to fall behind, and I don't want to lose you in here. Need a break?" She smiled widely and nodding, plopped herself on the ground right where she stood. Pleased that for once her brother had taken notice of her.

"It's disgustingly hot in here," she muttered, pulling out her water bottle and taking a big gulp before handing it to Dipper. "I mean, you'd think it would be cooler underground." She lifted up her shirt and let is fall back to her damp skin in an attempt to fan herself. Dipper mumbled an agreement and pulled his top off over his head. "Well that's unfair," she sighed falling backward onto the hard ground, which felt even hotter to the touch.

"Hey, girls can wear skirts, at least you get a nice breeze—"

"Dippin' dots, if you want to wear a skirt I'm not going to judge you," she laughed, pulling at her top again to let some air in underneath. She sat up and leaned against a nearby wall which felt marginally cooler than the floor. "I'm going to melt to death down here!" Grabbing the sides of her shirt she pulled her top over her head, peeling the sweat-soaked fabric away from her skin. She gave a huge sigh of relief and dropped her shirt onto her backpack.

Dipper glanced over at her and blushed, clearing his throat, thankful for the cover of darkness. She was still Mabel, but over the last five years she had changed from a cute, little 12-year-old to—well—a girl. He avoided looking at her bra-clad chest, it was just uncomfortable and made him feel—weird. He wished she would have a little restraint around him sometimes. It was like she didn't realize they weren't kids anymore. He watched as she happily dumped water over her head. Okay, maybe she was still kind of a kid. The water dripped down her hair, over her shoulder and down her chest, Dipper following the little droplets with his eyes as they trailed down her skin. His mind started to wander and he swallowed hard. He shook his head. What the hell? That was his sister. His twin sister.

Mabel looked up, misreading the odd look on her brother's face. "Don't worry it's not the last of the water. I'm literally dying in this heat and if we have to find your singing den—"

"Den of Ancient Songs," he corrected as she rolled her eyes and nodded. She stood up, and stuffed her things in her backpack as the two started down the pathway again. They walked in silence, Mabel once again staring at the back of her brother's head. She had a curious feeling in her chest, something about the way he had looked at her earlier nagged at the back of her mind. She felt she would find the answer if she stared into his mop of messy brown hair.

Dipper stopped suddenly and Mabel slammed into the back of him. "What the heck do you think you're—" He slammed his hand to her mouth, trying to listen as she looked up at him angrily.

"I think I hear someth—ugh did you just lick my hand?" he looked down at his palm in disgust and glanced over at her. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"Next time don't mess with Mab—" The ground suddenly began to shake and shutter, as Dipper grabbed his sister's arm and yelled at her to run. Their shaky flashlights barely lit the way as they bolted through the caves running away from the loud rumbling and crashing sounds behind them. They ran as fast as they could, the hot air in the caves making their lungs burn as sweat dripped down them, but they didn't stop. Finally Mabel screamed, flying forward as she fell past her brother, her flashlight clattering to the floor and her knees hitting the ground.

The rumbling seemed to have quieted and Dipper quickly knelt down to help her up. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I brought you down here, we need to get out of here right now. Mabel?" He continued to pull her up, but she kept slipping back down.

"I think…I think I did something to my ankle," Mabel whispered, biting her lip as she looked up at her brother. "I can't put any weight on it." He nodded and pulled her arm around his shoulder, helping to lift her up from the ground. They fumbled along for a few minutes, snatching up her flashlight as they went, until Mabel was practically whimpering in pain.

Dipper looked over at her with a worried look on his face. "Mabel, are you okay?" he asked looking down at her ankle in the light. She nodded and urged him on; Dipper tried not to think about how swollen it was starting to look. Soon the path began to slope steadily upward, Dipper inwardly rejoicing that they were making their way out of the caves and could get Mabel to a hospital. The incline made for a slow and hard climb, Mabel trying her best not to show any pain, though Dipper could see right through her.

"Okay, stop, stop, stop," he spoke quietly, helping her sit on a nearby rock. "I'm going to keep going and go get help. You can't climb out of here on that ankle and don't pretend you're not in pain, I can tell."

She stared up at him with a worried look on her face. "You're leaving me? Alone? Here?!"

Dipper bit his lip and looked around. He didn't want to leave her here, but she needed help. He squat down in front of her and looked up at her for a moment. She was trying so hard not to look scared and upset. He almost laughed aloud; he knew his sister much too well. "No, I'm sorry. Of course I'm not going to leave you alone here." He looked around, handing her a flashlight. "Give me one minute."

He took the other one and continued walking down the path as Mabel sat alone on a rock in the middle of the dark cave. She waited until she couldn't see Dipper's flashlight and started counting. "One, two, three, four…"

By 56, Dipper's flashlight came back into view and Mabel inwardly gave a sigh of relief. She wasn't just worried for herself—they had no idea what was waiting for them in the cavern up ahead. "Okay, it doesn't look like it gets too steep so this should work. He turned his back to Mabel and kneeled down in front of her. "Climb on."

"W-what?"

"Climb on, come on I'm going to carry you out of here." Mabel stared at his back. He hadn't given her a piggy back ride since middle school. His back was broader now, bigger and stronger too, but…

"I'm not as light as I used to be," she muttered, pulling herself forward and wrapping her legs around his waist. He easily lifted her up, bouncing a bit to tuck his hands under her thighs to hold her tight. She put her arms around his neck and rest her head against his bare back. It was hot and sticky, but she didn't care. It smelled like him and she instantly felt calmer. He marched on as she clung to his shoulders, and while he stumbled a couple times, Mabel always felt safe.

Finally, the cave began to cool and they could smell the fresh air coming from somewhere above them. Mabel bounced excitedly on his back and laughed, as Dipper hastily tried to calm her down. Their sweat was giving him a slippery grip and the last thing he needed was her flying off so close to escape. "Hold on tight, Mabel, I don't want to drop you." She nodded against his back pulling herself in closer, pressing herself against him, her thighs sliding along his hands. He could feel her soft breath on his neck, her warm skin against his hands and her breasts pressed against his back. Dipper smiled and subconsciously rubbed his fingers in a soft motion along her thighs.

Mabel held him tight, comforted by the gentle movement along her legs as she rest her head on his back. We'll always be together. Her body was sore and the warmth of Dipper was soothing. She closed her eyes and trusted her brother to get her home safely.