Archive of Our Own ^beta

Dipper hated Piedmont. It may have been his hometown, but it wasn’t home. Not anymore.

Home was, without a doubt, in Gravity Falls. His heart would belong to Gravity Falls for the rest of his life, he was sure.

All of his friends were in Gravity Falls, his Grunkles were in Gravity Falls, not to mention his boyfriend was in Gravity Falls too. Well, Bill was in Gravity Falls whenever Dipper was, so maybe it was a moot point, but still!

Piedmont, after the wonders of a few summers in Gravity Falls, was boring . In a high school of three hundred kids, Dipper was just another face in a sea of faces. He was smart and a nerd, he wasn’t conventionally attractive or athletic. The most interesting thing about him was his random occult knowledge (that he rarely had to put to use in Piedmont) and the birthmark on his forehead that gave him his nickname.

Dipper missed Gravity Falls, was the point. He missed the Mystery Shack, Soos, his Grunkles, and he missed the magic of it all. He missed the way the magic swirled around and teased Dipper’s own smidge of magic. He missed the feeling of active magic dancing and teasing, like a faint wind that you couldn’t quite catch.

So, halfway through junior year, when what little magic in Piedmont shifted , Dipper grabbed his backpack (the adventure one, not his school bag), and flat out sprinted for the source.

Dipper, after returning to Piedmont after that fateful summer when he was twelve, had immediately done a shit ton of research about the magical history of his hometown.

He was very disappointed with what he found. Piedmont was a very boring town with very little magic, active or otherwise. Mabel made fun of his nerdiness for the fact that he had done research as soon as they had gotten back, but he had gotten used to his sister’s teasing over the years.

Anyway, having the magic shift was a huge thing. Not Gravity Falls huge (nothing was quite Gravity Falls huge) but big enough that Dipper’s skin felt a little tighter, a little more on edge than he normally would when magic moved.

After following the source of the magic for twenty some odd minutes, Dipper found himself in a cemetery (because of course he did!) drawn towards one of the biggest crypts in the place, from what he could see.

The door was open already, so he made his way down. Whatever was going on, someone or something was just asking for trouble.

He heard the chanting before he saw it, and he resisted the urge to smack his palm over his face.

He caught the word ‘triangulum’ and knew what was happening.

Dipper, because of that awesome Mystery Twin, Pine Twin, overall universal fuckery luck had walked into a summoning that was almost over.

The candles were huge, scented ones usually only used for decorations and the chalk used was clearly dollar store stuff used on sidewalks for little kids.

What the fuck man? Were they trying to get themselves killed?

Probably.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Dipper muttered as he walked forwards.

Most of the sports teams were participating in the summoning. Dipper could see most of the football team, the basketball team, baseball, and swim. Of course, some freshman with emo makeup that reminded Dipper of Robbie was chanting the incantation. He was butchering it in the way someone not fluent in another language butchered a conversation. You got the gist, but it was heavily accented.

Dipper repeated; what the fuck man?

It was too late to stop the summoning, but maybe it wasn’t too late to save his classmates from being annihilated by his boyfriend.

A few things happened simultaneously.

1: the candles roared higher

2: the baseball captain caught sight of Dipper and yelped

3: Bill roared into existence in the middle of the circle in some other horrifying form

4: Bill’s eyes locked onto Dipper immediately.

The freshman looked shocked that the spell had actually worked and dropped his book in surprise, startling most people.

Then the screaming started.

“HIYA PINE TREE!” Bill shifted from whatever horrific creature he had imitated into the human form he had taken to wearing around Dipper to sort of blend into the chaos of Gravity Falls. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Hey Bill,” Dipper said, startling more people. “I’m watching my idiot classmates summon a demon, apparently. Because what else would they be doing on the third Tuesday night of the month?”

“I wondered why the magic felt so different when I saw you,” Bill admitted, walking to the edge of the circle, causing a lot of people near him to back away hastily. “You weren’t the one who summoned me?”

“No, of course not. I don’t need a repeat of three summers ago, thanks,” Dipper said, rolling his eyes. “If Gravity Falls couldn’t keep up with you, Piedmont sure as hell can’t either. I don’t know what these idiots were thinking, but clearly they weren’t.”

“Hey!” someone shouted in objection, but a look from Dipper had him shutting up. 

After everything that Dipper had seen the last few years, dealing with high school jocks with fragile egos was the last thing Dipper had to worry about. It didn’t even make the list, if he was being honest.

“Oh great demon of knowledge!” the freshman began, proving the fact that his frontal lobe wasn’t anywhere near being fully developed. “I have summoned you from the great beyond to order you to–”

“He doesn’t take orders very well,” Dipper said, interrupting the kid. 

He didn’t really care why they had summoned the demon, he just knew that the magic in Piedmont was already twisting and that he needed to get Bill back to the Mindscape or things were going to go to shit very quickly. 

“I don’t mind taking orders from you, Pine Tree,” Bill said, raising one eyebrow seductively, putting his hands over his cane, then placing his head on his hands. He even batted his eyelashes.

Why was this Dipper’s life again? Oh yeah, because he had shit taste in men, apparently. Who woulda guessed?

“You don’t mind taking orders from me because you like my plans, Bill. Which are usually dangerous and chaotic. What is a high school freshman going to think of?”

“You thought of quite a bit at that age,” Bill murmured. 

He was clearly remembering the plans that involved fireworks or lighters. Dipper and Bill, when they were on the same team, got on like a house on fire. 

Which was something that happened all too often when Dipper was a younger teen.

“I thought you said you liked me because my mind was unique,” Dipper countered calmly. Getting worked up would just give Bill more ammunition to tease and rile him up.

Clearly, Dipper would have to be the voice of reason in this situation. Which meant that this would probably turn out horribly. Dipper had a habit of getting himself into trouble.

He blamed it on the fact that his boyfriend was a chaotic, demonic, little shit. He also ignored the fact that it had been like that since he was old enough to cause trouble. He was more subtle about it before, which was the most he would admit to.

“You are, I’m just saying,” Bill replied easily, “that this kid could be like you. I mean, he isn’t, but he could be.” Dipper raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend, who shrugged. “Don’t worry sweetpea, you’re the only person whose mind I want to root around in.”

“I order you to give us the answers to tomorrow’s calculus test!” the freshman shouted, his voice cracking halfway through.

“Seriously?” Dipper demanded, crossing his arms. “You were risking unleashing one of the most dangerous beings in the universe on Piedmont just because you didn’t fucking study for the calculus test that you’ve known about for two weeks?”

He really did facepalm this time, groaning.

“Wow Pine Tree, is that really all it takes to get you to make noises like that?” Bill asked, his eyes– well, eye– half-lidded, a fact that Dipper was trying to ignore.

“You shut up,” Dipper ordered, pointing at Bill. “I will send you back to the Mindscape so quickly, I swear to the gods Bill, don’t test me.”

“Aw, really showin’ me the love there baby boy,” Bill said, rolling his eyes. “You don’t write, you don’t call–”

“Nice try hot stuff,” Dipper threw back, “but I’m not risking the world just because I miss my demon boyfriend. You could always visit though.” Movement caught Dipper’s attention and he turned towards the swim idiot that was approaching the summoning circle. “Kevin, unless you want your insides to become your outsides and your bones to be obliterated, I would suggest stepping away from the shitty summoning circle.”

Kevin paused, then stepped back. Good, there was something floating up there then, despite previous idiotic decisions.

“You’re taking all the fun out of this, Pine Tree,” Bill said, leaning back against the circle wall. “A little obliteration never hurt anyone.”

“Sorry Stud Muffin, I just don’t feel like having to explain the simultaneous disappearance of half of the athletes in my school.” Dipper did a quick mental tally and then winced at the thought of having to clean this up. “Everyone go the fuck home for Christ’s sake.”

“And why should we listen to the wimpy monsterfucker–?”

Rodney’s eyes went wide when nothing else came out of his mouth. It moved, but he was silent. Finally, Rodney had been the loudest voice in the hallway since freshman year and Dipper usually only had to hear him hollering about batting experience and face shields.

Bill was growling so loudly that the crypt around them was vibrating, raining dust down around them.

“Release him, demon!” the freshman cried, voice shaking and cracking with fear. His frontal lobe must’ve been catching up. Or his amygdala was finally awake. Whichever one would be helpful.

“Fortunately for that pest ,” Bill said, voice cold and merciless, “I’m not the one casting the spell.”

All eyes turned to Dipper, who shrugged.

“It was for his own safety. Bill is having fun in the circle right now. I don’t need him busting out of it just to kill some asshole bigot who doesn’t know a thing about either of us. Also, I got irritated with him.”

“But-But the demon can’t break through the summoning circle! The book says!” the freshman cried.

“Bill is not the average demon, you moron. And you used kiddie chalk for fuck’s sake,” Dipper snapped. “Pretty much everything you could have done wrong, you did.”

Dipper could feel the magic twisting further around them and sighed. He could chew the kid out later, he supposed. Before he started another Weirdmageddon.

“Time to go, Bill. Piedmont can’t handle your presence here much longer,” Dipper informed him.

No one other than Dipper caught the way that Bill drooped a little.

“Hey, halfway there, lover,” Dipper told him. “We’ll be causing chaos and taking care of monsters before you know it.”

Dipper said screw it and crossed the line, cupping Bill’s face. “I wish you could stay,” he murmured, dragging his thumb over Bill’s cheek. “Meet my parents.”

Bill grinned, not as wide or bright as Dipper was used to seeing, but at least it was there.

“Gotcha,” Bill teased quietly as he wrapped his arms around Dipper’s waist.

Then Bill was fucking dipping him like they were in one of those shitty romance movies Mabel and her friends watched, one arm around his back and the other picking his leg up at the knee and wrapping it around his hips, mouth hot and hard against Dipper’s.

Dipper didn’t hesitate, he just dug his hands into Bill’s hair and kissed him back.

Gods, he’d missed this. He’d missed this so much.

“Bill,” Dipper panted when his boyfriend pulled back, settling back on his own two feet. “Bill, you’ve gotta go .”

“Oh alright, if you insist, Pine Tree. I’ll see you in your dreams.”

“You had damn well better. Especially after that ,” Dipper told him, pushing his laughing boyfriend back through the veil into the Mindscape.

The magic stopped writhing and twisting since Bill was gone, and it would be settled in the morning.

“Now, as for the rest of you dumb fucks,” Dipper said, “you won’t remember any of this in the morning.”

The memory erasing spell was easy to cast, and it was almost easier than the replacement spell he cast on them after that.

Twenty minutes after all of them left, the crypt held very little to no evidence that there had been a summoning held there in the first place.

Plus, Dipper got a new book! Always a win. 

It would make an awesome present for Ford once Dipper was done with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I hate Piedmont,” Dipper told Bill as he appeared in a rather bizarre dream that he’d been having.

Bill laughed, wrapping Dipper in his arms, pulling them both through the Mindscape and into Bill’s palace, into Bill’s bed.

“I don’t see why,” Bill teased, settling them under the covers, “tonight was interesting!”

“Tonight was a one-off, hopefully, especially since I told the kid to not buy any more spell books,” Dipper grumbled, resting his head on his boyfriend’s chest.

Bill laughed again, nuzzling into Dipper’s hair, pressing kisses there when he wasn’t laughing at Dipper’s pain.

Bill didn’t have a heartbeat, technically, but he didn’t wear a shirt to bed, so there was still a lot of skin-on-skin contact. Dipper had gotten used to it after the first few times that they had done this.

“I can’t wait for this summer,” Dipper murmured, holding his boyfriend close. “I’ve really missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Pine Tree,” Bill admitted. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited.”

“You’re busy, I get it,” Dipper said. It didn’t mean that Dipper was happy about it. He understood, but he wasn’t happy about it.

“Not busy enough that I shouldn’t be able to see you,” Bill told him. “I’ll work on it.”

“I know you will.”

Bill and Dipper’s relationship may have been a little weird, a little different than other people’s, but they had it worked out. They had been together for what felt like longer than two years and they kept working on it. Dipper had faith. He didn’t have faith in much, but he had faith in that at the very least.

“Sleep, Pine Tree, you’ve got a calculus test to look forward to in a few hours.”

“Of course, you had to ruin the moment,” Dipper grumbled, but he felt his mind slipping even as his boyfriend held him tighter and chuckled.

Just a few more months, Dipper promised himself, just a few more months.

They could make it; Dipper knew that they could.