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@pines-fix2-blog
Welcome to the Pines-fix archive
This page has been created with the expressed permission of the author. With the help of @panpacificpines, I have copied all of Fix’ original content and created a new Masterpost (see below). I have also linked to and reblogged all of the artwork by DoublePines that Fix inspired.
Fix, your fanfiction is fantastic! Thank you again for allowing us to preserve it.
@edward-or-ford
Fanfic Masterpost
Double Dippin’ AU
Beginnings
Artwork by DoublePines
Confessions
Artwork by DoublePines
Regrets
Artwork by DoublePines
Reunion
Drifting Part 1
Drifting Part 2
Plot (remainder of tripfic)
Tripcest Christmas Eve
Artwork by DoublePines
First Times 1 (nsfw, TyDip)
Lights On (nsfw)
Double Dippin AU artwork by DoublePines
Double Dippin AU artwork by DoublePines
Dream boy AU
Dream boy AU
Morning after
Artwork by DoublePines
Closure
Artwork by DoublePines
Breaking up is hard to do
Letting go
General P-cest
Mabel drabble
Pregnancy scare drabble
1.37am (nsfw)
Folgers
Marco-polo
Pool take 2
FemDipper x Mabel
Nothing Ventured
Non-twin POV
Stan POV drabble
Parting of the Ways
Non-pcest
ZombieAU - Wendy POV
Request1 - Night terror dips
Request2 - Mabill and Dipper
RevPines drabble
Beginning
Part 1 of the DD AU ficc yeahyeah
(Thanks to go-blu–or-go-home for being beta!!)
Ty sat on Mabel’s bed, kicking his legs, staring pointedly at the floor and trying to keep his breathing in check as Mabel changed into yet another dress.
Mabel spun around to face him, arms outstretched, “Okay, how do I look?”
He glanced up. “Do you want my honest opinion, or…?”
“Tyrone!”
“Okay, okay – you – uh, you look good.” And she did look good, you know. Very good. If there was a ‘too good’ option, he probably would have picked that one. But, well, he was also very biased in regards to the good-lookingness of his sister.
Mabel’s arms collapsed at her sides, “Ugh! You hesitated!”
“Well, yeah, I was surprised!”
She poked her tongue out at him and he poked his right back at her. She laughed a little before she sighed, turning around and hauling the dress up over her shoulders.
“Gah, Mabel!” he shouted, shielding his eyes with his arm.
He did not need to see that. He did not need to see the way her spine gently curved, the way she had two small dimples in her lower back. He definitely did not to see what underwear she was wearing. He’d have to try especially hard to erase that memory, just in case it decided to rear its ugly head when he was rocking the one-man pleasure band. Which, from past experience, it totally would.
“Oh, get over it! You’re my brother.” Mabel scoffed, muffled through the fabric of her dress.
Yeah, he thought bitterly, I know.
He had no idea how he managed to get himself into these situations. Like, seriously. What was it about him that made it impossible for him to say no? Dipper had, like, no qualms about rejecting Mabel’s request that they help her prepare for this date thing, heading straight out to hang out with some friends or something. But him? One pouting, puppy-eyed look and he’d been putty in her freaking hands. Why the hell did he get himself into these situations? He glanced at Mabel as she looked through her wardrobe, blushing and looking down again.
Oh, who was he kidding? He knew exactly why.
“How about this one?” she asked, slipping something frilly and pink over her shoulders and turning back towards him. She looked like Bo-peep, minus the sheep. Ty bit his lip.
“Okay, well…that may be a bit much.”
Mabel put her head in her hands, groaning.
Ty felt a pang of guilt in his gut, “But, like, it doesn’t look bad, or anything!”
“Doesn’t look bad? Doesn’t look bad?” Mabel stared at him like he was crazy, “it’s my first proper date, Ty! I want to look special.”
“Mabes, you look special in legit everything you wear.” Well, that was cheesy. Well done, Tyrone. Hold it back, remember? Conceal don’t feel, Frozen style.
Luckily Mabel didn’t notice anything about his weird-as-all-hell inflection, thank god, spinning back to look at herself in the mirror, cocking her head, “…So I could wear this?”
“…Well, okay. Maybe not that one.”
Her reflection made a face at him and he raised his hands defensively, “Hey, you asked!”
She glanced back at the single remaining dress in the ‘maybe’ pile, “So…the purple one?”
He sighed, leaning back and looking away, “Yeah. I like that one most. It, uh, has nice frills and stuff.”
“Thanks, Ty!” she said, perking up immediately. Ty looked pointedly away as Mabel changed into the other dress, humming happily to herself. God. This was it. This was his life. Helping his sister pick out an outfit for a date while his brother was off doing god knows what like a normal teenage boy. Great. Just perfect.
He’d sort of…fallen into these roles, without even meaning to. The sensitive one, the funny one, the guy who gave Mabel advice on what guys liked, the guy who talked to Dipper whenever he was being weird about girls. Not all the time, but, like, sometimes, it was like he was just there for advice, like he was just a reflection of both of them. A bad reflection. He glanced at Mabel as she pulled on tights, pulling them up along the curve of her thigh –
He looked away sharply. Ugh. Not only was he a bad reflection, he was, apparently, a gross one.
“Okay, okay, now plait my hair!” she sang, making her usual braid-train choo-choo noise.
Ty sighed as Mabel skipped over, plonking down on the bed and scooting in front of him, placing her back to him and humming. He started to play with her hair, trailing his fingers through it. He didn’t know what was sadder – that he plaited her hair so often he’d become better at it than her, or the fact that he didn’t even bother arguing about it anymore. He resisted the urge to breathe the smell of her shampoo, softly pulling knots out with his fingers before dividing the thick mess into three even parts and beginning to weave.
“I still don’t get why Dipper doesn’t have to help out with this,” he muttered. Not that he minded, but still, he’d feel a bit better if Mabel had forced both of her brothers to pick up the skill of hair styling.
“You’re way better at this stuff than him,“ she said, "Besides, he’s on a date with Charlie, remember?”
“Charlie?” Ty’s heart skipped a beat. A date? With a Charlie? Charlie was a boy’s name, right?
“Yeah, Charlotte, from geography class!”
“Oh.” Yeah. Right. Dipper’s not into boys, Ty. That’s just you, remember?
“Speaking of dates, Tyroneski,” Mabel said, and Ty felt his stomach clench. He knew where this was going, his hands fumbling awkwardly with her hair, “You’re the only one who hasn’t gone on any yet.”
Eugh. God. “Yeah. I know,” he muttered.
“I thought you’d be all over it since the ‘rents relaxed their restrictions.”
“Ï-I’m not too interested, at the moment.”
“Any reason?” Mabel sang, in her I’m-sort-of-worried-about-you-and-want-you-to-be-happy-but-don’t-want-to-scare-you-away-with-a-heavy-conversation-about-it voice.
Oh. You know. Probably because I want to bone you and Dipper. Preferably together. Multiple times. Maybe while the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing is playing in the background. Because, you know, that’s a totally normal thing to want and to think about multiple times a night.
“Not really,” he said instead, trying to think of ways to change the topic. He…he really didn’t want to talk about this now. Discussing the whole date-prep thing was already hard enough for him.
He realised he liked Dipper first, about several months after the feelings actually started to rear their ugly head. It should have been pretty obvious to him, really. Like, who looks forward to putting sunblock on a spotty teens back? No one. Especially not when that guy is your fifteen year old brother. Honestly.
It was sort of a relief a year later when he realised he sort of liked Mabel too. Okay, so, like, relieved was not the right word. It was still awful. But it made him feel like less of a traitor, you know? ‘Liking’ Dipper more had seemed unfair when he loved them both so much. So hey, his brain had decided to fix that problem for him. Or make it worse. Whatever.
In any case, if fifteen-year-old Ty hadn’t had a hard enough time with Dipper, and if sixteen-year-old Ty hadn’t had enough of a problem liking both of them, then seventeen-year-old Ty definitely was having enough of one with both of his siblings starting to date.
Ty was definitely not enjoying how dating and girlfriends and boyfriends had actually become something for him to worry about. But you know, it wasn’t like he hadn’t prepared for this. He’d built up a wall. And it should hold. Providing no one tapped it. This questioning thing though, right here, with Mabel? It was not helping this whole sitch. Not helping at all.
“You know, I heard that Lena likes you,” she said softly.
Ty grunted, reaching for the ribbon Mabel had laid to the side and gently fastening the plait with a bow.
“Or…you know, I’ve always thought you and Trung would be cute together…”
She said it casually, but he could tell she’d been practicing it in her head for a long time. Ty blushed, heart jumping in his chest, glad Mabel was facing away from him. Well, she had always been more observant than Dipper about this romance shiz. Thankfully not too observant. But enough, clearly.
But…like, Trung? “Mabel. He’s my friend. And also probably the straightest person I know.” his said, voice croaky.
She sighed, and he knew he hadn’t really gotten away with avoiding the actual question like he wanted to. He put on a straight, innocent face as she shifted herself so she was looking at him, one side of her mouth quirked up.
He tried not to stare too obviously at her lips as she ran her tongue over them a few times, biting the edges. “You don’t have to look so worried, Mabel.” And she didn’t. Because he was fine. Well, as fine as he was going to be, when he felt like this.
He tried to keep his breathing in check as she turned around to face him, reaching out to gently link their fingers together, looking down at their hands. He looked too. Her fingers were so much smaller than his, but they didn’t look delicate, marked with battle scars all her hazardous experiences with hot glue-guns and unwieldy scissors.
“You know,” she said quietly, “You…you can talk to me about anything, right? Girl troubles, boy troubles…I’m here for them all.”
He felt pricks in his eyes and shook his head quickly, “yeah. I know.”
He felt fingers underneath his chin and his head was brought up to a smiling Mabel, “Dips and I love you, okay? So…so don’t worry, about that.”
But you don’t love me, Ty thought, looking away from her face, that’s the whole problem.
He was aware it was his turn to say something but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t trust his voice, right then. Because her words were so kind, you know? They were just what he wanted, from her. But they weren’t…it wasn’t…she wouldn’t want to hear his words. She wouldn’t want to hear what he had to say. Mabel tightened her grip around his fingers but he didn’t look up at her again.
After a beat or two of silence, he glanced up at her again. She was still smiling at him, and gently, she leaned forward and poked him on the nose.
“Boop.”
He laughed, voice still strangely high-pitched, swatting her hand away, ignoring the tightness in his chest and the fluttering in his gut. He uncrossed his legs, swinging them over the side of the bed and standing up, stretching. The pain behind his eyes dissipated, the panic started to recede. He sighed, relieved.
Back into safe territory.
If Mabel noticed how quickly he moved she didn’t say anything. He glanced back at her, “Thanks, Mabes.” His voice was shakey, but that was okay. It didn’t give away too much.
Still grinning, she reached out her arms to him, “No worries, McFlurries! Now, help me up! This princess has got to get to the ball!”
***
Dipper dropped his backpack on the ground, slumping into the couch and grabbing the remote, clicking on the TV.
Well. That had sucked. He’d hoped, you know? Charlie was nice, and pretty cool, and he did want to like her. She ticked pretty much every box in the what-he’s-into list. But, no. He’d just spent the entire time thinking about how Mabel was going to be going out that night with some guy, her first official date that was okayed by their parents, and even though he knew he should have been pumped that he was technically out on his first ever official date as well, there was literally no denying the fact he was mega jealous of that douche Mabel was on a date with that he’d never actually met but who he knew was a douche from the way he styled his hair and –
He glanced up as Ty strolled into the room, huge bag of chips under his arm. He made a sound as he saw Dipper, chewing manically and wiping crumbs off his face.
"Dips, what’s up man? How was the d…ate…” Ty trailed off as he came closer, grin fading from his face.
Dipper looked away. He clicked on their xbox and picked up a controller, rapidly scrolling through the menu, hoping Ty would take the hint.
“We’re not talking about this, right?”
“Nope.”
“…Okay.”
Ty sat down next to him, switching up the chips for a controller and lying down, resting his legs in Dipper’s lap. Dipper’s eyebrow twitched and he glanced down at Ty who was staring intently at the screen. Ugh. He always did this leg-resting thing when Dipper was mad. He did it to annoy him, to force him to talk. Typical Tyrone tactic. Dipper rolled his eyes and purposefully ignored him, focusing on shooting up as many of these alien things as he could. He was pretty terrible at first person shooters, though. Ty kept killing him. Dipper swore angrily as his head was blown off for, like, the fifteenth time, or something.
Ty looked at him, brow furrowed. He sat up, poking Dipper in the chest, “Are you okay, man?”
Dipper looked away, mashing the B button. Ty had obviously given up on waiting for him to talk. A few seconds of silence went past and Dipper glanced back at Ty, who had raised a single eyebrow, arms folded.
“Yeah, fine,” he muttered, eventually.
“…Sure?” Ty asked, sounding unconvinced.
“Yes, man! I just said I’m fine!”
Ty looked a little taken aback by the outburst and Dipper felt guilt bubble in his gut. But, like, what was he meant to say? They had already established this was a no-go zone when it came to talking. And it didn’t even matter, you know? Because no, he wasn’t fine. Mabel was out, and his ‘date’ had sucked, and there was no avoiding the fact that those two things were intrinsically linked. But, you know, that didn’t matter. Because it wasn’t like he could actually tell Ty anything. It wasn’t like Ty would even be able to do anything about it. Dipper didn’t have an option. He had to be fine. No amount of asking was going to be able to change that.
Ty continued to look at him, frowning. Dipper looked down, breathing deep.
Ty suddenly dropped his controller, clutching his belly, “Oh, no.” he groaned.
Dipper glanced at him, “What?”
“S-something’s c-coming, ugh.”
“Ty?” Dipper put the controller down, shifting to get a better look at his brother, “You okay?”
Ty’s face changed from pained to a wicked grin and he launched himself towards him. Dipper barely had time to react before he was pushed down on the couch, Ty sitting on his chest, smug smile on his face.
Oh. Oh no.
Dipper looked at him, “Please don’t fart on me.”
Ty cupped his ear, tilting his head, “What’s that?”
“No.”
“Fart on you, did you say?”
“No!”
“Well, Dipper, if you insist –”
“NO!” Dipper laughed, kicking him off and using his unbalance against him, pinning Ty down, “Man, you are so gross.”
Ty looked up at him, a grin on his face. Not even half a second later, Dipper covered his nose, throwing himself back to the other end of the couch.
“Eugh! Man!”
“I warned you.”
“You’re such a jerk!” Dipper tried to sound mad but he was still laughing, despite himself.
Ty reclined on the couch easily, clicking his fingers and pointing at him. “You love it,” Ty winked.
Dipper laughed, leaning back towards him and giving him a playful punch, “yeah, yeah.”
Ty seemed to tense a little bit but relaxed, giving him a smile. Dipper picked up his controller. The game had not taken their absence well, with blood splattered across the screen and a big GAME OVER flashing across the top. If Mabel were there she’d totally make some joke about how they’re both terrible at gaming and she would whoop their butts no problem if they had the guts to play with her.
But, of course Mabel wasn’t there.
Dipper sighed, “I guess we better get used to this just-the-two-of-us-thing.” He sounded more dejected than he meant to be but he doesn’t have it in him to explain that to Ty. He glanced over but if Ty was offended he didn’t say anything, his grin gone from his face, mouth a thin line.
“…Yeah.” Ty looked down, then reached out and grabbed the chip packet, chucking it on Dipper’s lap. Ty shrugged at him, “But, you know. It won’t be that bad. We’ll cope.”
Dipper pulled the bag open, grabbing a bunch and placing them in his lap before giving the bag to Ty, laughing at the face his brother made as he plunged his head straight into the packet. Man. That guy was crazy. But he sure could make him laugh.
Dipper turned back to the screen, pressing start. Yeah. Ty was right. He…he’d cope. He had to.
doodled more stuff from this fic
can’t stop me
Confessions
Tyrone is back, baby! Part ?? of ??
(probably part 2 of 4. We’ll see.)
(Why do I start things in the middle instead of at the beginning)
Dipper groaned, shoving his bedroom door open gruffly, heaving in the washing basket after him. Maybe if he actually worked out this sort of semi-heavy lifting thing wouldn’t be so terrible. But hey, he didn’t, so it was. He sighed, shoving the basket on the floor and surveying his room. At least Ty had tried to clean it a little bit. Still, their room was pretty disgusting. He’d tried to tell his Mum that when she made him haul all of his and Ty’s clothes downstairs and wash them, but apparently there ‘being no point because they’re just going to get dirty again’ wasn’t a proper reason.
Dipper clicked the door closed behind him, kicking the basket over to his and Ty’s wardrobe to at least make it look like he tried to put them away. He glanced down at the pile of clothes, picking up a sweatshirt and sniffing it. He had to admit, having clothes that didn’t smell faintly of B.O was actually kind of nice. Maybe not nice enough to make this more than a monthly thing, but like, still. Pretty good.
The cleaning had been a distraction, at least. He’d been avoiding Mabel all day, and consequently Tyrone, seeing as he’d decided to hang out in her room for like, half the time. At least the clothes washing and drying had actually given him a decent excuse to not be around the two of them for the last couple of hours. Dipper sighed, shoving a bunch of socks into some drawers.
She had a date today. Another one. This made it thirteen dates with the same guy, which meant they were pretty much dating, which meant he was pretty much Mabel’s boyfriend, which meant –
He picked up some more T-shirts and started placing them neatly in the wardrobe, trying his best to distract himself but not doing a good job of it. Scene’s from the morning kept coming into his head.
He hadn’t meant to be a jerk, but it just…it was just hard, you know? Everything was hard now, when it came to acting like a normal person around Mabel.
It had been a relatively normal breakfast, with the three of them watching cartoons and eating cereal, and Tyrone was sitting in between them, which Dipper appreciated because it meant it was harder for him to weirdly stare at Mabel as she twirled her hair around her fingers and talked about her most recent art project. She always got so excited when she had a new idea, and it was hard to watch it without his stomach clenching and his heart starting to palpitate.
Anyway.
She’d mentioned she was going out that night with this guy from somewhere or whatever. He and Tyrone had stopped mid-bite of their cereal and exchanged glances because, like, tonight? Seriously? They’d hadn’t had an evening together with the three of them to just hangout in forever.
He hadn’t meant to sound like a kid when he reminded her that their parents were out that night and they’d planned to hang out together as the terrible trio, like the good old days. He was pretty sure she meant to sound like an indignant teen when she told him she was hanging out with them for the whole day and she could do what she liked in the evenings. He hadn’t meant to get angry and tell her she was being selfish as usual…as well as…other things. Untrue things. He bit his lip.
But he had said them, and after a moment of silence, Mabel told he was being mean and a complete butt-face as well as…well, other things. True things, though. Different to the things he had said. Then she’d stormed off, and he’d been avoiding her since. Poor Ty had just sat there watching them, trying and failing to interject, before baking some brownie peace-offerings and taking them up to her room after giving Dipper a few. And that had been the last he’d seen of both of them. Mostly because he stayed in his room the whole time.
He bit his lip. He could try and justify his actions by saying he was thinking about Tyrone when he said those things, but…well. He’d be lying if there weren’t ulterior motives in there as well.
He’d had…not-so-platonic feelings for Mabes for a while now. Like, several-months-to-maybe-okay-probably-a-year-ugh-okay-fine-almost-two-years. It had started with like, noticing she wasn’t too bad looking, actually, and before he knew it, he’d progressed from Mabel-can-rock-a-short-skirt to hey-I-think-I’d-like-to-rock-Mabel-in-a-short-skirt. Which was as gross as it sounded. Keeping it hidden from Mabel was hard enough, let alone Tyrone, who probably knew Dipper better than he knew himself. He’d thought, for a while, that maybe Ty…well, he’d caught him looking at Mabel, too. But that was a while ago, when they were awkward sixteen year olds. If Ty had had any sort of…of feelings, well, he’d obviously gotten over them. Or had coped a lot better than Dipper had, anyway.
Because Dipper was not coping. Especially not now Mabel was going on multiple dates with guys. Especially not now she had started to ask him and Ty on actual dating advice. Especially not now it was almost the end of school and he was faced with an entire summer of being around Mabel. Especially now it was almost the end of summer and he was faced with the very real possibility that it could be an entire summer without Mabel, the way these dates were going.
Dipper cursed under his breath and kicked the wardrobe. Ouch. Okay, avoid physical activity, Dipper. You’re not doing well with it today.
Something caught the edge of his eye and he looked down at the pile again, frowning. A piece of pink fabric poked out between the legs of his sweatpants. He smirked. Had Ty decided to try out the colour salmon, after all?
He reached down, pulling the thing out. Heat rose to his cheeks. He dropped it, quickly, looking around before realising he was in his room alone and there was no one around to judge him. He bit his lip, swallowing hard before reaching out to pick it up again.
Panties. Yep. These were panties alright. Pink, polkadots…they…well they definitely weren’t his, and he was willing to bet they weren’t Ty’s either. This was actually the first time he’d seen them, like, in person and junk, which was maybe embarrassing to admit for a 17 year old boy, but whatever, it wasn’t like he was fooling anyone with his never-had-a-serious-girlfriend thing. There was lace along the edges, and like, they probably weren’t the sexiest things around or whatever, but they were certainly doing something for him. Dipper bit his lip, running his thumb over the crotch –
Ugh – what was he doing?
He dropped them quickly on the pile of clothes, shuddering. Seriously. What the actual fuck. Come on, man. They were Mabel’s. They were obviously Mabel’s.
Dipper turned away angrily, bending down and starting to pick some of the crud off their floor, throwing shoes into drawers and piling books onto shelves. Goddamnit, Dipper. Get your shit together.
Because, if Dipper was honest, he wasn’t coping that well with things. At least not anymore. His jealous had definitely tipped into weirdly protective territory, and even Tyrone had hinted that maybe they should spend less time around Mabel at school. Why Ty noticed something, well, that’s when you know you’ve gone too far. It had been okay for most of it, but recently, after she turned 17 and their parents had finally relaxed the rules on staying out late, Mabel had been going out more, and talking about guys more, and…
Dipper sighed, running a hand through his hair, glancing back at the basket. Yeah, he – he wasn’t coping. Not now she’d started to go on dates with guys, not after…well, after he’d found a packet of condoms in her room. He winced at the memory, at how Ty hadn’t even seemed surprised when he’d told him later that night, “well what would you rather, man? A pregnant Mabel at 17? Her taste in food is weird enough without pre-baby cravings.”
But like, how could Ty not care about it? Not be concerned about Mabel maybe…ugh, about Mabel pressed against someone else, Mabel biting her lip with her hair tussled and even messier than usual and –
Dipper moaned, frustrated. His erection was still pressing hard into his jeans. His eyes drifted back to the pile of clothes.
If he just…held it, it wouldn’t be that gross, right? Well, not as gross.
Except it totally was, Dipper. It totally was.
Still, it…it was just really hard, right now. For him. And like…no one had to know? If he just held them no one would have any evidence. And it wasn’t even really about Mabel, more about, you know, it being a girl and – Dipper stopped himself, shaking his head. He wasn’t convincing himself at all.
“Ty?” he called out apprehensively, waiting. No reply. If Ty wasn’t in their room, there wasn’t many other places he would be. He’d said he had something to do today, right? Dipper bit his lip, his eyes drifting from his hand to the door and back again.
And…it had been a few months, since he got the room to himself. He had frustrations, you know?
Fuck it, he thought, picking them up and bringing them closer to his face to have a better look. He wanted to bone his sister. It wasn’t like he could get more disgusting than he already was, though, apparently, he was keen to try. He shoved the thoughts from his mind, biting his lip, sitting himself down on his bed and feeling the silky fabric in his hand. If…if he just…if he just held it, no one would be able to tell. He adjusted himself, unzipping his pants and closing his eyes as he tried to imagine her coming in close to his face, imagine her smiling at him, poking out her tongue like she always did when she was planning something; imagine her pulling him down into his bed, imagine her kissing him up his neck, along his collar bone, unbuttoning his shirt as his hands travelled down her body, into her –
“Mabel,” he hissed under his breath as she starts to move down his body –
There was a click. His door swung open. “Hey, Dips, have you seen –”
Dipper froze. Tyrone froze. Dipper’s hand froze, too, which Dipper did not appreciate seeing as he was well and truly exposed for what felt like the entire world to see and even though he and Tyrone were pretty much identical he did not want his brother seeing his junk, at least not today.
Tyrone continued to stare at him, mouth hanging slightly open, and Dipper’s eyes shifted frantically from his brother to himself to his hand and then back again. God. Isn’t this taking too long? Wasn’t there supposed to be a reaction right now?
Finally, like his brain had decided to kick into gear, Tyrone averted his head sharply, flinging an arm across his eyes, “Jesus!”
“Ugh, shit – sorry – ” Dipper balled the panties up hard in his fist, face red, heart hammering shit. Shitshitshitshit. Had he seen?
“This is our room, bro! Don’t you have any decency?”
“S-sorry – ugh –”
“Lock the freaking door next time! I mean, it’s 7.30! It’s not even late!”
“Ty!” Dipper hissed angrily at him, because like, their parents? Mabel? Ugh! Why was he even still here? Pleasejustleavepleasejustleave
“Relax, the ‘rents aren’t home, neither’s Mabes – lucky for you. She’s out on her date already. I thought I’d come and hang but like, apparently that was a mistake.” Tyrone swung around, and Dipper breathed in sharply – was he about to get away with this? Please tell him he was about to get away with this.
Tyrone grabbed the door handle, taking a step out and looking back over his shoulder at his brother, “Jesus, I’ll come back later… ” he trailed off, his shoulders slowly rising.
Dipper felt himself tense on the bed. His hands started to sweat.
Tyrone turned back to him, taking a quick step inside the door, handle still in his hand, “wait – ”
He was staring, staring straight at Dipper’s left hand. And he didn’t want to look, but Ty’s eyes were trained right on it, and Dipper felt his eyes drift without them meaning to, until they rested on his left hand, a tiny sliver of pink polkadot fabric poking out between his fingers.
Shit.
His eyes drifted up to his brother again. Tyrone shook his head at him, eyes going from Dipper’s face to his left hand and back. Finally he stutters out, “…a…are those…Mabel’s?” his voice quiet and worried and 100% not what Dipper needs right now.
Dipper’s voice comes out higher than he means it to, “w-what do you mean?”
He knows right away that his bluff isn’t going to work. Ty looks at him, a single eyebrow raised, somehow managing to pull off sarcastic and concerned at the same time, “Dipper. I am, like, 95% sure neither of us have pink polkadot anything…especially not underwear.”
“Ugh – um – no, ugh –”
Dipper’s mind raced – there had to be something he could say, right? Someway to change topic or – or –
“Dipper.” Tyrone’s voice almost dropped an octave, like it always did when he was serious. “Come on, man.”
Dipper glanced up at his brother and then down at his sisters panties and then back up at him again. Tyrone’s face was screwed up, his nose wrinkled in what could only be distaste, and Dipper totally got why, because Jesus, look at him, look at what he was about to fucking do, you know? Tyrone had a right to looked grossed out. It is gross, it’s gross and perverted and she’s his sister, and he was doing it in their room, and god –
Dipper shook his head, not looking at his brother, before he gently uncurled his fist. He heard Tyrone take a sharp breath, was pretty sure he heard him mutter something too. His hand shot closed again, the fabric sitting slick against his palm.
Tyrone turned back towards Dipper, eyes furrowed and worried and – ugh. It was impossible looking at him, sometimes – having his anxiety reflected back at him in his mirror image. Dipper looked down.
He hears steps, feels the gentle pressure of a body sitting on his bed next to him. He still doesn’t glance up.
“Dude?” Ty’s voice is quiet, coaxing, but Dipper doesn’t look up at him
An exasperated sigh, “Dude.”
Dipper’s eyes drift up to meet his brothers. Ty looks down at Dipper’s hand before reaching out and gently pulling the fabric away from him, letting it fall to the floor. Dipper blushed, angry and embarrassed and – ugh. He shifts his body away, placing his head in his hands.
“Dipper?”
A low groan escapes his body.
“Look clearly we need to talk about this because…well, man, I don’t think I need to tell you that this shit is pretty fucked up right here.”
“I know, okay? I know!”
A beat of silence, then, “so has this been happening for a while?” Tyrone gestured between dippers hand and his pants
“n-no!”
He sighed, body relaxing, “oh good, I thought you were some gross pervert or something.”
Dipper looked away, “Right.”
“But a one-time thing is completely different. Did you grab it to wipe or –”
“Ty please just stop, okay? Just stop.”
Tyrone looked at him, eyebrow still raised, and Dipper – he just can’t handle it right now. Can’t handle the way his brother is looking at him, can’t handle how terrible he feels about Mabel, about all of it; can’t handle having to lie anymore, all the time, whenever either of them was in the room -
He says it almost without meaning to. “It – it’s because it’s hers, okay? It’s because it’s Mabel’s.” It’s the closest to a confession he’s ever going to give but he can tell Ty gets it.
“Shit,” Ty whispers, and all Dipper can think is yes, shit. Shit indeed.
Ty shifts next to him. Dipper glances up and sees him fiddling with his fingers, biting his lip. He glances down and they make eye contact briefly before Tyrone looks away, something similar to a blush slowly encroaching on his cheeks.
There’s a beat of silence, then, “Look, Dipper…you’re…you’re not going solo with this here.”
Dipper sits up straight, looking at his brother. Ty was avoiding his gaze, eyes focused intently on the ground.
“What?” Dipper’s voice is more of a whisper than he means it to be.
“Well okay, I never stole her freaking clothes or anything pervy like that but like…yeah, I get it, or whatever. Been there, done that.”
“I didn’t steal her clothes!”
“Right.”
“I didn’t, they – it was in the pile, I don’t know what it was doing there, and – ” it suddenly hits him, what his brother said, and Dipper stared at him, “wait…you…you like Mabel?”
“…yeah. I like Mabel.”
“Like, seriously?”
“…yeah, that’s what I said.”
“Our sister Mabel?”
“Dude I literally just caught you about to jack off into our sisters panties, so whatever high horse you’re thinking of climbing up on, you better back the fuck up.”
“Okay, okay – sorry.”
Dipper fiddled with his fingers. Tyrone sat straight next to him, and they shared another quick glance before they averted their eyes again.
Dipper pushed his fingers through his hair before looking at his brother, biting his lip, digging his nails into her hands. His voice comes out croaky, “We can’t tell her, can we?”
“No! Are you crazy?”
“No! Ugh – I just, I thought maybe, now – now there’s two of us – “
“We can freak her out twice as much. Yeah. Great idea.”
Dipper sighed, exasperated, slapping his hands on his legs, “I know! Okay, I get it. You’re right.” And he was right. Of course he was right. But it’s was just so unfair, you know? Because he’d be lying if he hadn’t felt…not happy, when Ty told him, but he’d felt something. Something closer to relief than he’d felt in a long time. And he’d thought maybe, now he – now they could share that, with each other – and now, now he’d told Ty and that had been okay, then maybe, if they told Mabel –
But Tyrone was right. He was always right. “Forget I said anything. It’s just – she’s on this date and, like –”
“Yeah. I know.”
“What…what are we going to do about it?”
“I don’t really know.”
Dipper laughed, despite himself. Of course, right? Him and Tyrone, they’d been able to figure out everything together, when they were younger. They’d concocted so many plans, won so many science fairs, had solved every single Mystery Boys book before they got to the end – but the two of them, here and now? Couldn’t figure it out. He knew why, too. It was too big to be solved. There wasn’t another option for them.
He could cry, but as it happened, somehow he was able to laugh instead. So he went for that option.
Ty glanced at him and gave a small laugh as well, and it almost felt like this morning, when everything was fine between them and neither had confessed their weird into-our-sister secret, and Dipper couldn’t help but wonder if maybe…maybe things could work out. Maybe they could pretend this never happened. It wasn’t exactly fixing things, but it was something, right? It…well, it was the only thing, really.
Tyrone’s voice broke into his thoughts, “We could…work it out another way…”
Dipper glanced at him. Tyrone wasn’t looking at him, his shoulders tight, his cheeks still red.
“Like, ignore it?”
Ty shook his head violently and tightened his grip on the bedsheets. He breathed in deep and looked at him, and Dipper can tell he wanted him to understand, wanted him to tap into their triplet-sibling vibe and somehow read his mind. But it wasn’t happening, not today. Dipper shifted, feeling guilty, “…What do you mean?”
“I – I mean,” Ty rubbed the back of his beck with his hand, looking away, “Mabel’s out. Like, we can’t…bringing her into this…it’s just – you know?”
Dipper nods, swallowing hard.
“And we b-well we both like her, you know? Enough to not want to date anyone else, anyway, and…well…maybe we could…”
He trailed off. Dipper looked at him. He still wasn’t making any sense.
His confusion must have read on his face because Tyrone sighed, dropping his hands to his knees and turning his body towards him. Their bodies were close, Dipper’s leg brushing up against Ty’s, and he looked down as Ty moved in closer, until their arms were touching too. Dipper looked up. Ty’s face was right in front of his, their noses almost touching.
“Ty, what-”
Tyrone leaned in further, his eyes slightly closed, brushing his lips gently against Dipper’s. It was tentative, a hand travelling up Dipper’s leg and resting on his thigh. Dipper closed his eyes as Tyrone pressed into him, and Ty clearly took that as a sign for something, because suddenly the pressure became more real, more desperate, and he felt a palm cup his cheek, bringing him closer –
Wha-
Wait –
What?
Dipper jolted back, moving so quickly he accidently banged their foreheads together. He touched his lips lightly, looking at his brother, who was sitting, straight and tense, mouth still frozen in place. Tyrone’s hand was still cupping Dipper’s face, and he snapped it back sharply, leaving a coolness behind on Dipper’s cheek.
Tyrone looked at him, his eyes wide and scared, and Dipper’s aware he’s moved his whole body, that there’s space between them now, a space that wasn’t there before – and Tyrone is stumbling back now, too, and -
“I –“
“F-forget it, haha, um – I was just – yeah.”
Ty stood up quickly, taking several steps towards the door. His voice was high and panicked. Dipper felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He’d never heard it that panicked before. Not when he’d broken his arm, not when he’d found out how to get peoples internet search history – never. Tyrone’s breathing was hard and irregular and, god, the look on his face. Dipper could still feel him on his lips, still feel him pulling him closer, and he doesn’t – he doesn’t know what’s going on, but he knows he can’t let him leave like that, can’t let him leave looking like that –
Tyrone fumbled for the doorhandle, eyes still too wide, voice still too high, “Let’s – no wait, let’s pretend this never –”
Dipper clenched his teeth, no, that wasn’t – he reached out an arm to him, “Ty, wait –“
Tyrone looked at him once more before shaking his head violently, silencing him. Dipper retracted his arm and they looked at each other a moment, Tyrone just standing there, before mouthing a soft ‘sorry’ and opening the door, stepping out into the hallway.
Dipper watched him go, heart pounding. There was a tightness growing in his chest, a mixture of panic and shame, but he didn’t call out for him, didn’t rush for the door and pull it open and demand to talk to him.
Dipper laid back on his bed.
What…what had just…
He turned, facing the wall, letting out a slow, steady breath. He placed his palm against his forehead. God.
What was wrong with them.
***
Tyrone slammed the bedroom door, breathing hard. He stepped to the right, leaning against the wall and resting the back of his head against it. He half-listened for movement from Dipper’s room, but wasn’t too surprised he didn’t hear anything. He bit his lip. Dipper didn’t even call out his name.
Silence. Dead silence.
Tyrone sighed, standing up straight and rubbing the back of his neck angrily. Of course he fucking wouldn’t call out to you. This isn’t some romcom where the guy realises too late that actually he is in love with whoever it is and runs down the street after them, or whatever. This is real life, with your real brother, and you just royally screwed up, man. Good job.
Tyrone swore, starting to walk without really having a clear direction of where he was headed. His room was out of the question, potentially forever, seeing as Dipper shared it with him. His parent’s room? Weird. At the moment Mabel’s room was just as bad. He winced at the memory of the morning, when she’d somehow convinced him of helping her put her outfit together, her pulling off her dresses one after the other and –
No. No, that wasn’t helping. Bad idea.
He practically sprinted downstairs, mind spinning. He walked from room to room, hands running over his hair, his chest, his forearms, until finally he ended up at the kitchen. He rolled his eyes at himself in disgust. Of course he ended up here. Trust his body to subconsciously tell him to emotionally eat. He stared at the pantry, biting his lip, feeling the fabric of his clothes starting to stretch in places it hadn’t before.
He shook his head. Screw it. Screw everything. He doesn’t give a crap about how tight his jeans were getting or how he and Dipper were starting to look less and less identical. Not now, anyway. At the moment he wanted to get as far away from Dipper as he could.
Walking over to the cupboard Tyrone grabbed a ridiculously large bag of twisties and tore them open, sitting on the kitchen counter and thrusting his hand into the packet, taking a mouthful. They tasted foul in his mouth, though he was certain it had nothing to do with the food itself. He spat them out, letting the packet slump to his side as he buried his head in his hands.
He was pretty sure developing pretty hardcore crushes on not one, but both of your siblings, was just about the clearest fuck you life could possible give him.
The way Dipper had looked when he’d seen him doing the exact same thing only a few moments before flashed in his memory and he sat up straight and sharp, cursing.
It had been hard, when he realised what he was seeing in their room – Dipper, with Mabel’s – and like, it was so similar to his dreams, so similar to the hypothetical situations he’d imagined in his head when he did think about confessing; when he thought about all the times that maybe he could confess. And then Dipper had pretty much told him that he was into Mabel too, and he’d felt…not happy, but relieved, you know, like he wasn’t the only one, thank Christ, there was someone else who felt like him. And he’d thought, since Dipper felt that way about Mabel, since Dipper seemed willing to potentially…seemed okay with fighting and sulking and being a jerk in general because he liked Mabel, then maybe…maybe he’d…
And he wanted both of them, okay? He wanted both of them so fucking badly. But Mabel, she…she was seeing other people now, going on dates, and like, with Dipper, he saw an in, you know? Finally, after like, a year or something ridiculous, there was a chance, and he’d wanted so badly for whatever crap he was reading in Dipper’s face to be true –
But ugh. Who was he kidding. What was he thinking.
Gross unnatural thoughts about doing things with his sister? One thing. Gross unnatural thoughts about doing things with his brother, though? Now that was a whole new ballgame, apparently, and Dipper didn’t seem to want any of it.
And the whole thing is just so…so fucking unfair you know? That he’d found out about this, that he’d been put in this situation, and now –
He picked himself up off the counter and started to pace again, making his way to the living room. He glanced at the television and saw was still on, playing the cartoons they’d been watching in the morning when everything had been fine and normal and no one knew anything about anyone’s secrets.
Something caught in his throat.
He wasn’t sure why, but seeing that…well, that was too much for him, after all of it. After all lies and drama and everything, that was what was too much. Stupid cartoons on television. Of course.
He sat on the couch in their living room, head in his hands, breathing heavily.
He’s there for hours.
***
He doesn’t even hear the click of the door or the padding of feet, and wasn’t until he heard the clatter of keys on a table that he was even aware someone else was in the room.
“Ty? Why aren’t you in bed?”
He looked up quickly. Mabel stood in front of him, her hair still done up in an elaborate hairdo she’d done especially for this date, or whatever. She’d made him help her with the pins. A few strands had come loose, but it still looked great. She still looked great. She was also still his sibling, last time he checked. He looked down again. Ah, shit.
“Ty are you okay?” she was worried instantly. Of course she was.
“F-forget it, Mabel.”
She curled up next to him and he could smell her shampoo, fruity and sweet. She gently locked their pinkies together, like she used to when they were kids, “Did you and Dipper have a fight?”
“…not exactly.”
“I’m sure you two will work it out,” she gave him one of her dimpled smiles and he wants so much to believe her, wants to much to kiss her – Jesus Christ, Tyrone, that’s the fucking problem you idiot. He looked away.
“I’m…I’m not so sure.” He whispered, quietly. And suddenly he’s crying, not a lot but, like, enough for her to definitely notice, and he’s talking even though he doesn’t mean to, “I messed up, Mabel. I really, really messed up.”
She shifted against him, making a high-pitched noise in her throat. She reached out and pulled him into a hug and he wanted to push her away, wanted to say, no, this isn’t helping, no, you don’t understand,this is my problem, you two are my problem – but she’s holding him close and telling him, “everything’s going to be okay,” quiet, and gentle, like she used too when they were kids.
But Ty knows. He knows it’s not going to be okay. Nothing’s going to be okay again. Because Dipper – Dipper knew how he felt, about both of them, now, and how do you come back from that? How do you get back to a place when you’ve smashed it to pieces in your wake?
But Jesus, he just needs this right now, okay? He needs someone to promise him everything will be okay even if it’s not the truth, because the truth?
Well. The truth had ruined everything.
Tyrone hugged her back, pressing his face into her hair.
Tonight, well…he’d live with the lie a little longer.
workin it out another way
i felt a great need to illustrate this particular scene from pines-fix’s pinecest/double dippin AU fic confessions, if you haven’t read this fic please read this fic it’s such a gOOD FIC MAN
also i think i maxed out on my awkward expression quota for the next few days.
awk ty/dip comic continues under the cut so click that shit
-
Keep reading
Regrets
Part ?? of ??
(probably 3 of 4)
(follow on of this)
(one day I will figure out how tense works, but it is not this day)
(this story is going to be longgggg ugh)
Ty walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes, and froze. Dipper froze too, hunched over his bowl of cereal. They stared at each other for a second before Ty made his way over to the coffee pot, grabbing a mug and pouring himself some. He stared at the dark liquid, swirling it around his mug, waiting – for a cleared throat, a mumbled ‘um,’ even…even just a good morning.
Nothing.
Just like there had been nothing the past two weeks.
He opened his mouth, turning to his brother, but thought better of it when he saw Dipper look at him, eyes worried and sympathetic and – ugh – before he looked down, burying his face into some stupid book. Ty tried not to stare too long at the way Dipper bit down on his bottom lip, eyes running across the pages.
Ugh. For crying out loud.
Ty turned around sharply, taking a gulp of the lukewarm coffee in his cup. He made a face. He wasn’t used to it straight and black yet.
Of course, he wouldn’t have to be used to it at all, if it wasn’t for Dipper.
Ty had tried to raise the whole…kissing him thing, or whatever…a few times. But Dipper wouldn’t talk to him about it. The first time, it had been okay. Not great, or anything, but Dipper had come into the room when Ty was reading a book and mumbled something about how they shouldn’t tell Mabel. About any of it. And sure, that was pretty obvious and not something Ty was planning on doing, like, ever – but still, Dipper had initiated it, you know? He’d taken that as a good sign. But that was all he would talk about – the Mabel thing. When Ty tried to talk about the whole lips-connecting part of that intense, confession-filled day, Dipper just looked away and changed the subject to something dumb and meaningless.
It wasn’t exactly ideal, the whole avoiding-the-issue thing, but it was better than outright disgust, you know? And besides, even if it wasn’t what he’d wanted…well…Dipper had to figure things out in his own time. Ty got that.
So he didn’t press it, and didn’t bring it up again, waiting for Dipper to come around and for things to become normal again. At least with the Mabel thing out of the way, he thought things would get better but…but instead they just got quieter.
Until it got to the point where Dipper would fall silent when he wandered into the same room and stare awkwardly everywhere but Ty’s face.
Until it got to a point where Ty was desperate for Dipper to say something dumb and meaningless.
Until it got to a point where Ty was staying up until 1, 2, 3am, watching until the light in their room switched off, before he dragged his caffeine-filled body to bed, because being in a room with a silent Dipper was killing him.
Last week was when the whole have-to-drink-black-coffee-to-survive thing had kicked in. They’d fallen into an accidental routine. He got the room for the morning. Dipper got it in the evenings. It was a fair trade except for the fact that he had to get up before 8am on school days and Dipper was not being respectful about that, like, at all.
Tyrone made a face as he took another gulp of coffee, finishing his mug and pouring himself another strong dose of caffeine.
Also…it really. fucking. hurt.
And Ty got it. He really did. Dipper didn’t want to talk about it. Dipper didn’t want to remember the gross kiss with his gross brother. Fine.
But did he have to treat him like he was some sort of…precious thing, to tiptoe around? Did he have to look at him like he was about to break all the time? Did he have to act so freaking awkward about all of it?
Because yeah okay it was awkward for Dipper, but Ty was pretty sure it was way more awkward for him, seeing as he was in the same house as his two crushes; with one crush knowing and openly rejecting his advances, and the other one completely unaware of it to the point they walk around in their bra half the time completely unobservant of the fact he couldn’t wear sweatpants in his house now for that exact reason. At least he knew why Dipper had thrown out all of his sweatpants too, now. And he’d thought it was because he wanted to try and dress nicer for girls, or whatever. Eh. The theory was halfway there.
“Morning, my favourite brosephs!” came a voice, and Ty turned and smiled at Mabel as she bounced into the room, complete with crazy bedhead and way-too-big smile and bright pink band pyjamas – oh no. A blush crept up on his cheeks without him meaning it to. He stared as she bounced towards the cupboards, doing a jig as she reached for a bowl. Her legs were not the only thing that was jiggling (though, hey, they were plenty great too.) Ty turned his head quickly, staring down at his mug, face red. Ugh. No bra.
Good way to start a Monday, he thought before he could stop himself, wincing because eugh. God. That was creepy as all hell. Jesus.
He glanced at Dipper who was also staring, and who also seemed to have forgotten he had a spoon of cereal halfway to his mouth. Ty coughed, and Dipper’s head shot over to him, the spoon slipping and spilling milk all over the table. Mabel turned and noticed the mess, poking him playfully on the forehead and calling him a klutz as Dipper frantically tried to act like a normal human being. Dipper said a few short words before glancing at Ty and looking down quickly.
Mabel looked between the two of them sadly, lips slightly pouted.
Ty turned away from them.
Poor Mabel. She was also not coping with this them-not-talking thing. She’d asked him about the fight like three dozen times but he avoided answering properly. Dipper was avoiding her as much as possible, too, spending most of the time in their room; and Mabel was not all that happy with the terrible trio being knocked down to a not-so-dynamic duo. He probably wasn’t helping by being miserable like, 80% of the time. She’d tried interventions, sorry brownies, forged hand-written notes of apology, even getting sort of mad about it at one point. No convincing Dipper to break yet, and if Dipper wasn’t talking to him, he sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to try to talk to Dipper first. Dipper was always the stubborn one. He had at least tried to fix things. If Dipper wanted stuff to sort out, he had to do it himself. Which was fine, apart from the fact that Mabel was miserable about it. At the moment her attempts at reconciliation mainly revolved around treating them as a single entity, making general statements to the both of them in the hopes at least one of them would reply in the others presence.
She sat herself down at the table, raising a spoon triumphantly, “So, broskis, I got some major gossip for you two!”
Ty grabbed a banana and turned around, hoisting himself up on the counter. He glanced to his right and saw a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts were out as well. He bit his lip, putting the banana down. Was it too early for doughnuts?
…Probably.
He grabbed one anyway, taking a bite and looking up at his sister who was still bouncing up and down despite the fact she was seated. The silence was tense and her bright smile was starting to look strained. He looked pointedly at Dipper. Come on, man. Don’t be an asshole. Dipper stared into his bowl of cereal.
Ty sighed. Okay. He’d bite. “Isn’t it a bit early for gossip?” It was only 7.45. Surely no drama had gone down yet, had it? “What are people doing that warrants gossip this freaking early? Like, come on, people. Go home to your families. Watch some TV. Chill out, have a bath or whatever.”
Mabel seemed pretty uplifted by what was, if he was honest, a pretty weak attempt at banter, giggling and poking her tongue out at him. He even managed to wrangle a snort from Dipper, which was pretty freaking great, actually, and Ty winked at them both, taking another bite. For a split second the room got less weird and tense. Maybe today would be better, you know? Like, the turning point where things sort of got back on track.
Mabel plonked both her hands down on the table, “Josh and I are going facebook official!”
Dipper sat up like he’d been electrocuted. Ty managed to get away with a weird high-pitched ‘meep’ which he covered with a very unconvincing cough.
“He’s my first official boyfriend! Isn’t that great?”
Ty glanced at his brother, keeping his mouth shut. Dipper clenched his fists. It became quiet, enough to hear the ticking clock in the living room. Mabel looked between the two of them, grin slowly receding.
“Ty?” she tried, sounding so damn dejected. Great.
“It’s great Mabel.” He said, lamely, because one of them had to say something and Dipper was being absolutely no help.
“Dipstick?”
“Yeah. Great.”
Her face fell. Oh, great. Ty threw a piece of doughnut at Dipper’s head and he snapped around to glare at him. Ty glared right back. Dipper should be thankful, anyway. That was his last piece, and he’d wasted it on his big head.
“It is great, Mabel,” he tried to put more enthusiasm into it – which was easy to do when he had an act like deadpan-Dipper to follow, “he’s the guy who also helps out with drama sets and plays soccer with Trung, right?”
Dipper gave him a look and Ty rolled his eyes at him. Dipper would have had an idea of who this guy was too, if he actually paid attention sometimes.
She nodded, smiling at him wide and showing her dimples, finally taking a spoon and staring to eat her soggy cereal, “yeah! He’s not in any of our classes but he’s really great!” she slurped, “I’ve tried to introduce him to you guys a few times, you know, after dates and stuff, but you were always in your rooms or out with friends or whatever. And it seems weird to do that introduction junk at school.” She looked up from her bowl, grinning at him, and Ty laughed at the pieces of marshmellow stuck in her teeth, pointing them out for her in his own mouth. She laughed along with him, wiping her mouth on her arm, “You’ll have to meet him now! Maybe Friday! We’re going out again then.”
“Can’t wait.” Dipper muttered, and they both glanced at him. Mabel tensed and Ty wondered if she was going to call him out for being a massive butt, but she seemed to think better of it. Probably because she was enjoying the fact that both he and Dip were actually talking in the same room; even if it wasn’t to each other. It had been a while since they’d all hung out, even if it was, like, super tense.
Mabel picked herself up, grabbing her bowl and skipping over to the sink, dropping it in. She swirled around to look at them, smiling.
“You seem happy,” Ty noted, hoping he didn’t sound as wistful as he felt. Because she did. She really, really did. And like, it sucked about the boyfriend thing. But it was nice seeing her happy again. He glanced at Dipper who was still holding that damn spoon, like, way too hard, knuckles going white. At least one of them could be happy, this way.
She nodded, blushing, raking her fingers through the ends of her hair, “I really like him!”
Dipper snorted. “You like every boy.”
There’s a lull again, Mabel blinking up at him as Dipper followed a Cheerio around in his bowl.
“Dipper.” Ty glowered at him. Did he have to be so freaking immature about this? Mabel was going to get a boyfriend. It was inevitable. Their job was to deal with it, not be complete douchebags.
His brother didn’t look at him, grabbing his cutlery and taking it over to the sink. Mabel barred his way, brow furrowed, eyes small, mouth a tight line.
Uh-oh.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ty looked at Dipper. Come on man, don’t do the thing –
“I mean,” Dipper said, moving her out of the way and throwing his stuff down in the sink, “What makes this guy so special?”
Oh god. He did it. He did the thing.
“Well if you actually hung out and like, interacted with Ty and me, maybe you’d know!”
Dipper rolled his eyes in the superior way only Dipper could, “Yeah. I can’t wait to hear about Josh. Or…wasn’t it Liam, last week? Or Michael? I lose track.”
Ty winced. Jesus, Dipper.
Mabel just stared at him as he finished cleaning, her bouncing gone, hair thick and messy around her neck. Redness had seeped into her cheeks and down her neck. Ty stood up, arms reaching out to them in a manner he hoped implied they should all calm down, “guys, come on, it’s early, we’re tired, let’s just –”
Mabel interrupted him, “You’re being…you’re being a complete jerk, Dipper!”
Dipper spun back to her, “Yeah? Well, it’s honest.”
“Why can’t you just be happy for me, instead of being an overprotective brother all the time?”
Dipper looked taken aback for half a second, before shoving his thumbs into the waistband of his boxers, “you move onto guys pretty quickly, Mabel.” He shrugged, “I just hope this Josh guy knows what he’s getting into.”
Um, what? Ty stared at him and glanced at Mabel, whose lip was wobbling dangerously. He looked back at Dipper, who totally had to know how freaking low that was. God. Where the hell did he get off, anyway? Ignoring him – ugh, them – for like, two, three weeks? And then thinking he could get away with shit like that?
Ty had a very real urge to punch him in the face.
“What the hell do you mean by that?”
Hearing his voice so angry and loud surprised even him. Both Mabel and Dipper looked at him, mouths hanging slightly open, and he knew why. He never fights. Not really. He’ll snap occasionally or be passive aggressive or something, but nothing serious. His role is strictly Keeper of the Peace. He’s the one who makes sorry brownies, the one who goes into other people’s rooms to help them vent, the one who steps in before things get too heated. He was not meant to be arguing with them right now. He was meant to be calming them.
But screw it. Dipper was being a dick. And he had been a dick to him for the past few weeks. And he wanted a fight. So fine. Dipper was getting a fight. But not with Mabel. He crossed his arms, glaring at his brother, daring him to say something. Dipper glared right back, opening his mouth.
“Um, what do you think you’re doing?”
Ty froze, as did a nervous looking Dipper and a worried looking Mabel, turning towards the living room where there Dad was standing, hands on hips. Ah, crap. He took a few steps into the kitchen, shaking his head disdainfully, “Guys. As much as I would love to have you here, hanging out with me as I pretend to be working while secretly watching Days of our Lives, I have a moral obligation as your parent to send you to school.”
The three of them shared a look. He’d definitely heard their fight.
Mabel took the initiative first. “Ugh, right!” Mabel stuttered, bounding over and giving a kiss on the cheek before shooting them one last look and ducking up the stairs. Ty watched her go. She was fast when she wanted to be. Waitta avoid confrontation, Mabes. Not that he blamed her – parental scolding was not something he enjoyed.
“Boys,” their Dad said, turning to them with raised eyebrows, “I know you have a lot of teenage feelings. But please keep tomfoolery to a minimum when it’s before eleven.”
“Sorry,” Ty muttered, kicking his shoe awkwardly around the floor. Dipper grunted his agreement. There were a few more moments of silence before their Dad cracked, poking his tongue out at them and pulling a silly face before pointing to the stairs and walking into the kitchen.
Dipper and Ty shuffled out awkwardly, Ty avoiding Dipper’s eyes, his heart still beating too fast.
They jostle each other on their way into their room, elbows knocking, eyes glaring. They grabbed at bags, pulling on jeans and shirts. Ty looked away pointedly as Dipper got changed, then, when he was sure that Dipper’d put on a shirt and he would not be distracted by any bare-chest action, he stared pointedly at him.
“You really upset her, Dipper.” Ty said. Dipper was shoving a hoodie into his backpack, ignoring him. Oh, great. Fantastic. Back to the not talking to him thing.
“Dipper?” Ty tried, taking a few steps towards his brother’s bed, heart beating fast. “Dipper?” he said, louder, but he still didn’t look up at him, shoving things into his bag with a desperate kind of determination.
Tyrone tsked, “Come on man, you can’t just ignore me forever.”
Except that he could. He shook his head, jolting the thought out of his mind.
Ty sighed angrily, grabbing a shirt from the floor and throwing it onto Dipper’s side of the room. He aims for Dipper’s bed but it misses, of course, because nothing he throws ever hits target when he needs it to. It hits a mug instead, spilling what he presumes is cold tea all over the floor. Tyrone waited, breathing heavily, but there was still nothing. He felt like crying. He swore instead.
“Ass.” He muttered, under his breath, moving to grab his bag so he could head out the door. Before he got there he stopped, biting his lip. What Dipper had said to Mabel flashed through his head. Anger bubbled in his gut again.
Ty sighed, kicking at a random shoe on the floor, “She’s allowed to date people, Dipper. That’s, like, a real life thing she can do.”
Dipper suddenly threw his bag down on the ground, turning to Ty with his hands outstretched and his palms up, “Don’t you care at all?”
It was a struggle to keep calm. His voice cracked a few times without him meaning it to, “I care about Mabel, okay? And she likes him. End of discussion.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Dipper turned away. Ty could sense his eye-roll, even if he didn’t see it, “I bet it doesn’t even bother you.”
Ty stared at him for a split second. What? No. no fucking way. He clenched and unclenched his fists, aware he was turning his knuckles white. “Yes, Dipper, it actually does bother me. It bothers me a whole fucking lot. Like how it bothers me you’ve ignored me for like the past three weeks!”
Dipper leant away as Ty took a step forward, gesticulating angrily with his hands, “Mabel’s dating people, okay? Get over it, because the truth is, dude, things are never going to be the way you want them to. You think everything will work out? That if you wait long enough things will be okay? Newsflash, bro. I’ve been waiting two years and you didn’t seem to find it too hard to throw that back in my fucking face.”
He knows it’s unfair but he doesn’t care. Not right then, anyway. Dipper’s expression shifted. Ty picked up his own backpack, not even bothering to shove the rest of his books inside and ignoring the pricking at the corners of his eyes, “But you know what? I fucking deal. Because that’s what you do when shit like this happens. That’s what we promised. That’s what you wanted, remember?” he raised his fingers to do quotation marks, “Neither of us tells. We keep Mabel out of it.”
The voice he made as he did it was mean and he regretted it almost immediately, but he was on a roll now and he couldn’t get himself to stop. Because it’s always him, who has to be the bigger person. It’salways him who has to help Dipper out, even after he’s ignored him and rejected him and made him feel like the biggest freak in their entire family. And – and he was tired of that, okay?
Ty felt his resolve shifting as Dipper’s eyes grew wider, his mouth moving into a terrified frown…but…but no. No. Not this time. Not after that.
Ty turned away, hoisting his bag over his shoulder, “Mabel’s fine. I’m fine. The only one being a complete ass here is you, and I am over having to coddle you. Get your shit together.”
He shoved their door open and stormed down the stairs. If Dipper called after him, he didn’t hear anything.
***
Mabel had no idea how a day that was supposed to be super mega awesome had turned into a day that super mega sucked.
It was supposed to be a celebration, you know? Facebook official may be something childish or whatever, but it was her first bf. Like, the first official one that her parents acknowledged as an actual person, or whatever. All she wanted was, like, a ‘yay’ and stuff. But no. All she got was one overprotective brother and one weirdly-angry one. Oh, and disappointment, too. A buttload of that.
As if the morning wasn’t bad enough (like, even her cereal was soggy. That should have been a sign. No good day ever came from soggy cereal), the drive to school had been almost as bad. Mainly because they made her drive. Ty? Sure, he was pretty mellow about that sort of stuff, but, like, Dipstick? The guy was usually too nervous to let anyone but himself drive them around, but instead of insisting to take the wheel like he did every morning, he hunched himself over in the backseat of the car, headphones in his ears, in what was a passive aggressive statement of I-don’t-even-care-if-you-crash-and-like-kill-me-or-whatever-I-am-angry-at-you-and-I-don’t-want-to-deal-with-this-situation-like-an-adult-because-I’m-an-immature-butt.
…okay. So that probably wasn’t what he was thinking. But still.
And then when she’d finally managed to park the car (after she’d seen Ty totally roll his big dumb eyes about it, and Dipper had done his whole heavy-breath-sighing-thing) they just left her. Like, left her alone in the parking lot. And she’d had to go to homeroom on her own and to class on her own, and…yeah okay, she had friends to hang out with, but it just felt so gross and wrong with all of them fighting, you know? Josh had made it a bit better by giving her flowers and stuff, but she didn’t really want to tell him about everything because it was sib-biz, and…it just felt wrong, talking about that sort of stuff with him. At least at the moment.
After second period Ty hadn’t been too bad. He’d joked with her in art class and he’d even sort of introduced himself to Josh when he came by her locker and saw him standing there. She’d thought that maybe they could turn the day around, because, like, all of her friends were squealing about how cute her and Josh were; and Ty wasn’t squealing, but she did catch him smiling at her a bit in class and stuff, and Dipper had been looking at her too, when she was talking to Ty and Josh, in one of his wistful I-wish-I-was-included ways. So you know, pre-midday was very promising.
Then lunch had happened, with Dipper completely ignoring them, sitting with some of his weird chess friends (who were actually kind of sexist and lame and she did not like at all), and acting like a big doofus in general, and it had made Ty…well, it had made him really sad. It was sudden, and when she asked him why, he’d mumbled something about how Dipper had at least spoken to him, when he was angry. She’d nodded in agreement, eying Dipper as he obviously tried to obviously ignore them.
She had sort of known the Ty sadness was coming because, like, Ty could never say angry for long – but it still sucked, you know? Especially since he still wouldn’t tell her why they were fighting.
Ty had ended up going home with his friend Trung. She liked Trung, even if he was a bit into his axe deodorant. She thought Dipper would come home with her so they could, like, talk, but he was stillavoiding her – though at least he had the decency to look shame-faced about it now. And Josh had had football practice (though he promised to call her later because he was great) so she’d had to drive home, alone, and she couldn’t even stop for icecream because the store was closed. Ugh! It just wasn’t fair. This was supposed to be a good day, romcom style, you know? She didn’t want any of this drama biz. She wasn’t in the mood to be coupley when her bros were fighting, and…well. It was bad.
It was a bad day.
So now here she was, venting her frustrations out with pastels. Because electric pink made literally everything better. Apart from maybe over two weeks of awkward sibling anger and tension that was only getting worse every day.
This…this couldn’t be a thing, could it? This wasn’t going to become the norm for them, right?
She scribbled harder.
She got that, like, people moved on and whatever, and siblings weren’t always super close blahblahblah…but why did it have to happen? She didn’t want it to happen. She loved them, both of them, a whole bunch, with their weird thick hair and Dip’s scruffy chin and Ty’s cheeky smile. She didn’t want to have to let things go and fade because that’s just life move on blah.
A knock and click from the door interrupted her thoughts, “ugh…um…could I come on?”
She looked up. Dipper was standing in her doorway, his eyes wide and hopeful, a plate precariously balanced in his hands. She made a face at him, tempted to turn him away, but…oh, who was she kidding? Guilty, apologetic Dipper was one of her greatest weaknesses. She nodded at him and a relieved smile flooded his face as he came in, clicking the door closed behind him.
“You’ve cheered up,” she muttered, grabbing an inking pen and beginning to outline her drawing.
“Yeah…u-um. About…about before. I’m really sorry, Mabes.”
She looked up. He was avoiding her gaze, staring at the rug, a hand behind his neck and tugging on his hair, like he always did when he was nervous. He shuffled his feet and she felt something warm swelling in her chest at his dumb, awkward self.
A part of her really wanted to stay mad, because, well…she wasn’t usually so justified for being angry. It was usually over little things, like the toilet being gross, or the two of them playing too many videogames, or no one wanting to go to a movie with her. This rare opportunity of Dipper royally messing up may not come around again for a while.
…Then again, Dipper was pretty reliable at being a doofus. And she missed him.
It had been, like, almost two weeks since they’d hung out one-on-one. She looked up at him just in time to see him pull at the collar of his shirt. She bit her lip. Ah, Dipstick.
Fine, conscience. You win.
“Took ya long enough,” she said, sitting back and moving some of her pastels, guesting for him to sit down.
He looked at the spot on her bed nervously before taking it, plonking down the plate of…black square things? Huh? Dipper took off his cap, running a hand through his hair, “Yeah well, ugh…Ty…Ty said something to me this morning and it sort of…well, it took a while for it to…sink in, I guess. But it made me realise how much of a butt I’ve been.”
Um, yeah. Butt was a major understatement. She stuck out her tongue. ”You’ve been a stinkypoopface.”
“The stinkiest.”
She giggled a little, despite the fact she wanted to remain bitter and aloof about the whole thing for at least a little bit longer. Ah well. There were some people who did drama well, and some who did not. She’d stick to her lighthearted adorable ways. Especially if it meant that her brothers would hang out with her more.
“So, I’ve, ugh…come with a peace offering,” he said, offering her the plate.
It clicked suddenly. “Are those brownies?” she said, looking between him and the presumably baked goods. She didn’t mean to sound surprised, but, like…brownies were not a top five guess.
“Ugh, um…yeah.” Dipper looked down like he was only just realising that maybe they weren’t the most edible things in the world, “They’re not as good as when you or Ty make them…but…”
Well he was right about that. Unless they’d started selling black cocoa powder, they were not the right colour.
“Um, thanks, but…maybe we can feed them to the ducks at the park, or something.”
“They’re not that bad!”
“Eat one, then.”
Dipper made a face at her and picked one up, inspecting it closely. His eyes darted to hers and she folded her arms across her body, smirking. Yeah. This was good revenge. This made them even, almost.
…hey, speaking of even…
“I think I know a way for you to make being a huge lameface up to me,” she winked playfully at him.
Dipper fumbled with his brownie, dropping it on his lap and turning weirdly towards her, “haha yeah? What’s that?” he said, like…way too high pitched.
She saw an opening and her hand shot out, going straight for his point of weakness – underarm. He looked taken aback, doing an awkward gasp-laugh as she pushed him back, laughing and shouting “ALPHA!” as she tickled him like there was no tomorrow. Dipper laughed manically, like he always did when he was tickled, flinging his hands at her in a pretty feeble attempt to get away.
“There is no defeating me!” she cried, hands moving like, like, greased lightening, or something, fingers wriggling across his neck, belly and arms, “For I am the Alpha-”
Suddenly she’s flipped back, Dipper laughing on top of her, his left hand pinning her down as his right tickled up her torso, going for her underarms. She squealed, trying to kick him off and failing as his body pressed down on her, pinning her. She squirmed, trying to get away from his fingers, laughing and eventually pleading because god five minutes of tickling was way too long to have to deal with and –
He stopped, suddenly, watching her with wide eyes. She stared up at him, breathing hard, and he seemed to be looking at her more intently than he ever had before, like he was memorising every movement, each rise and fall of her chest.
“Dipper,” she said, her voice softer than she meant it to be, “I think I know what you can do to make it up to me.”
“Y-yeah?” he was close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheek.
“Tell me why you and Ty are fighting.”
There’s a silence. She can see his Adams apple move up and down his throat.
“You, mainly.” He said finally, quiet and stilted.
Silence. She let the words sink in, furrowing her eyebrows.
“…what do you mean?”
Dipper looked down at her, and his face suddenly seemed even closer than it was before. She could see all these details she never noticed before, like how he had this one random freckle on the side of his nose, and the way he had fine hairs joining his eyebrows together, and…and how brown his eyes were, some weirdly deep shade of brown. They were…they were really pretty, actually.
She opened her mouth to tell him, but before any words come out, his lips are on hers. His eyes closed at some point as he moved forward, and the kiss is soft and gentle, like it isn’t even there, almost. She held her breath in her body, her whole being paralysed.
What?
She felt pressure move from one of her hands, felt his fingers moving gently through her hair, and he’s pressing a little harder into her now, moving his lips in butterfly kisses, and she doesn’t mean to but she sort of makes a noise – and – and –
Oh my god, Mabel! Why haven’t you pushed him away yet!
She squirmed underneath him and Dipper finally seemed to get it, putting space between her face and his, breathing hard and fast.
Then there’s a sound, like a strangled gasp. Her heart felt like it stopped. Their parents – what –
Mabel moved her face away, turning to look at the door –
Ty was there, watching them, one hand clutching the doorframe, the other a copy of their favourite straight-to-DVD monster movie. The silence in the room is deafening. Ty’s eyes were wide, colour drained from his face.
They stay in their positions like they’re frozen, and she felt like she was frozen, stuck in this weird void of time where all these awful things kept happening.
Then time started to move forward again. Too fast, this time.
“Shit,” Dipper said, close to her ear, before lurching off of her, moving to the end of her bed, watching Ty, shaking his head at him, raising his hands, “shit, no - Ty-’
“Save it.” Ty’s voice was deep, like it always was when he was serious. He spun around, DVD cluttering to the floor, and then he’s gone, and – no – what did he think? What did he think he saw?
She leapt up after him, almost slipping in her socks, tearing out of her room, not even glancing back at Dipper. No. no no no.
“Ty!” Mabel cried, reaching out for him as he got to the top of the stairs. He spun around quickly and she took a step back. She’d never seen him so angry. Like, Dipper got angry, sometimes, and she got angry, but Ty – Ty never did. Even this morning, he’d never looked like this. He never yelled. But he was yelling now, cheeks growing red, eyes looking behind her. She looked over her shoulder at Dipper who was staggering out of her room, his face white.
“Don’t tell her! Right? We should keep Mabel out of this!” Ty’s entire body shook, “it’s for the best if we just pretend it never happened, we owe it to her, right?”
Dipper took a step forward, “I can explain –”
Ty took a full step back from them, almost falling down the stairs, “I think I figured it out!”
“Tyrone–”
“You ignore me, you treat me like I’m some sort of…of…and then you go do the exact same thing! When we decided not to!”
“Ty –”
“Do you know what that fucking makes you, Dipper?”
Dipper reeled back at the violence in Ty’s words and she looked at him, too, as Ty clenched his fists, like he was ready to hit anyone and anything.
“Guys, stop,” she moved between them, breathing hard and fast and trying not to bawl her eyes out, because okay, what…it…it was gross and weird, and she didn’t know what it meant, or why she didn’t push him away, but like, Ty was being so scary, and their parents were downstairs, you know? And it didn’t mean anything. No matter what it felt like.
So that was what she told him, turning to Ty and reaching for his hand,”Ty it was an accident, it didn’t mean anything.”
He looked between her and Dipper and his face changed again, the anger just slipping away like it had earlier, but the sadness that replaced it – it was so much worse than anything she’d seen before. Much worse than when Dipper was ignoring him. Even worse than Toy Story 3. She pulled her hand away from him as he looked at her through his bangs, eyes drifting up to Dipper and resting on him. She couldn’t make herself turn around and see what Dipper looked like.
“Yes it did.” Ty muttered, voice cracking before turning quickly and sprinting down the stairs, opening the front door and slamming it shut behind him. She could hear her parents shouting from downstairs, voices panicked, asking what was wrong, why were they yelling, where was Ty heading off to?
And she would answer them. She would. But she had her own question first.
Mabel turned to Dipper, heart beating so loud she could hear it in her ears, “what was that for, Dipper?” her voice is a whisper, and doesn’t sound like her at all, “What was he talking about?”
Dipper backed away from her, moving back to the wall and sliding down, head in his hands. The way he looked at her, when he raised his head, was enough for her to know. She shook her head, quickly, forcing down the panic that was bubbling in her throat. She rushed past him, running into her room and shutting the door behind her quickly, clicking the lock closed. She leant against it heavily, breathing hard, sliding down to the ground.
Her eyes drifted to the DVD that Ty had dropped on the floor. She picked it up, running a finger over the title, breathing out. Slowly she brought her legs into her chest, pulling her sweater up and over them.
She’d been so worried about the three of them drifting apart, she hadn’t even thought about…about…
She rested her head on her knees, a deep groan sounding from her chest.
Oh god.
What the hell was she supposed to do about this?
dipper done messed up
Reunion
Part 4 of the Double Dippin’ AU series fic
Thanks to merry-smissmas-from-the-blus for being beta!
Mabel woke up to the sound of keys being dropped on the hall table and heavy, shuffling footsteps. She had managed to fall asleep, but she was wide awake now, her heart leaping in her chest. Before she could say darntootin she was up off the couch, sprinting towards the hall.
“Ty?” she called, rubbing drool off of her cheek as she rounded the corner.
Dipper looked up at her from the hall table, rubbing his eyes and repositioning his hat on his head. There was a beat of silence between them before Dipper took a step forward, clenching his fists, “He… he didn’t come back, then?”
She shook her head at him, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. Dipper cleared his throat and scuffed his feet, and Mabel looked away, biting the inside of her cheek.
They hadn’t, like… seen each other since the… well, since last night. Ugh! It was just so hard, you know? She knew it was super uncool to stay in her room and avoid the mayhem that was their parents freaking about Ty and leaving Dipper to deal with it all, but, like, she had just had a big one planted on her by her youngest broski. That messes with your sibling game a little.
She’d tried, you know? She had called and texted Ty a bazillion times (no answer, no reply), and she had crept downstairs to sleep on the living room couch so she was right there when he did come back. She’d put in some effort! It’s just, like… sometimes you are allowed to hang out in your room and avoid having to deal with hooblah, and a not-so-platonic-and-way-uncool-but-ugh-you-know-if-she-was-honest-not-terrible-and-blergh-why-was-she-even-thinking-about-this kiss with your brobro was a pretty good reason.
Mabel glanced back at him, her heart beating faster.
She had sort of hoped that the whole… kiss-confession thing would be left behind. She knew it was naïve and whatever but, ugh! All she wanted was for things to be better, to have Ty back within the hour and then, when things had calmed down, to do the whole talking-about-it thing, and then–BAM, back to normal.
But it was the morning, and Ty was still missing, and there was so much distance between her and Dipper, and that had nothing to do with the actual space between them.
Dipper turned and gently clicked the front door closed. Mabel bit her lip, looking away. When she glanced back he was looking down, rubbing the back of his neck. She noticed he was still wearing his pyjama pants, a pair of mismatched and untied shoes on his feet.
She scuffed her foot against the floor, twisting her hands together behind her back, “W… Where have you been?”
He looked at her and she averted her eyes when they made contact. He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Uh… I… um, after Ty… I thought of some places he could be, so we could try and figure out where to go,” his voice lowered gradually, forehead creasing in concentration, “I made it, you know in - uh, in case he didn’t come home…” his voice cracked a little and he coughed quickly before reaching into the pocket of his PJs (pockets in pajamas? What is this madness?) and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper, smoothing it out with his hands, “and… and when he didn’t come back by six this morning, I… well he didn’t take the car, so I thought I’d check a few places out.”
Mabel twisted her hands. Butts. Neither of them had heard from Ty, for like, over twelve hours. The most she’d ever had to wait before was eight hours, and even then, that had been because he was stuck without reception in the absolute middle of nowhere when Dipper had convinced him to go look for something in the woods on their seventh grade school camping trip.
Ty never held a grudge, you know? She held grudges. Dipper held as many as he could possibly fit in his big dummy hands. But Ty? He was the nice one, the first to say sorry, the first to admit when he was wrong. She didn’t want to think about how it was this, uh… oh, blegh, this kissing thing; and howthat and that fight had been the thing that made Ty decide not to come back. She didn’t want to think about what he had yelled at Dipper, why he’d looked so darn broken when he said it, why this was something he couldn’t just get over. What was she supposed to even do about this… brother-fighting-kissing-thing, you know? She was in uncharted territory here, and it… well, it was scary.
She watched Dipper dart his eyes down the map. She could practically see him thinking things through, mentally crossing things out and marking things on the paper. She bit her lip, taking a few quick steps forward until she was next to him, peering down at the sheet of paper. She felt him tense beside her and glance in her direction but she ignored him, staring pointedly at the sheet and hoping that he did not mention last night. She needed more mental prep before she took on that ginormous emotional burden. One thing at a time, and at the moment, Ty was number one. Weird brother-feelings-inappropriate-kissing could wait.
She pulled a face at the map. Some of the places Dipper had circled… what was that kid thinking? Some places were understandable, like… well, school, and Trung’s house, and Greased, their favourite themed restaurant where you got a meal half-price if you went outfitted in full sixties gear (you know, minus the casual racism, sexism and homophobia). But some of the places? Like their old kindergarten? And – and –
“The cemetery? Seriously?” It was not a place of pleasant memories, why the heckers had be put that down?
“Yeah.”
“Dipper, we haven’t gone there since we were fourteen.” And they only even went because Dipper had managed to convince them that some sort of conspiracy was going down. Nope. There had been nothing there but graves and sad people and some weird teenagers who had been doing some way more inappropriate things than making out.
Dipper shook his head at her, “He goes there, sometimes, mainly to the pet cemetery, to sit by Bubbles’s grave. He goes when he wants to be alone. He doesn’t like bothering us, or whatever, when he’s like that.”
“…Oh.”
“But he isn’t there. I looked.”
“…Oh.”
“But… he… uh, it’s been a while. Since he left. He could have gone further. To here,” he pointed at a point on the map, “or here,” he flicked a finger at another, “but he didn’t take the car, and he left his wallet so… so he probably didn’t take a bus, or anything. I don’t know, I… I thought I’d check the closer places, first.”
She nodded, pointing at the map, “How about there?”
Dipper scrunched up his nose, “Taco Bell?”
“Oh my blob, Dipper! Ty likes it there. You’re the only one with a problem.”
“I’ve had some traumatising memories there, okay?”
“Whatever, bruhbrubs, mark it down. It’s Ty’s favourite place for a three-AM snack.”
“I-it is?”
“Yeah we… uh… we don’t usually wake you up to go there. Ty knows that places makes you uncomfortable.”
“…Oh.”
Mabel bit her lip, feeling pricks at the corners of her eyes as she glanced over the map at all the places they used to hang out. Before things got weird. Before they all stopped talking and hanging out together as the terrible trio. “He looks out for us a lot, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah. Yeah, he does.”
“Do…” her voice caught in her throat and Dipper’s head snapped to her. Oh, snagglebums fart troopers. She wiped her eyes hurriedly, “Do you think he’s okay?”
Dipper breathed in heavily, biting the inside of his lip, like he was rolling words around in his mouth, trying to come up with the right thing. After a while his shoulders slouched, and he closed his eyes, shaking his head before looking at her, “I… I don’t know, Mabel.”
She looked back at him. She could see the dark rims underneath his eyes, and tinges of red around his iris, like he’d been rubbing his eyes too much. His face was even more stubbly than usual, like he’d forgotten to shave. His mouth was small and sad, like time had worn it down. Ugh! He looked so tired, you know? So… so sad.
He looked just like Ty had.
Except Dipper didn’t look like he’d never want to see her again.
The image came back again, Ty snatching his hand back from her, looking from her face to Dipper’s and just… ugh! She could feel the tears coming before they got there and for a split second she felt like she could control them. Then a sob hitched in her throat, “D-Do you think he hates us?”
Dipper breathed in sharply as she started to weep like some sort of… weeping, crying thing, grabbing for her and pulling her into him and holding her against his chest as she bawled her eyes out. She sniffed in possibly the grossest way possible so that it came out in a strained sort of pig snort and he rubbed her back in small circles.
“I-I know this sucks, Mabel. And I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. But I want you to know I’m going to fix it, okay?” he murmured into her hair, voice high and croaky.
“Y-yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“We-we’ll find him?”
“Yeah. We’ll find him.” His voice had a finality to it, like a hidden ‘we have to,’ was in there somewhere. And he was right. They did have to find Ty. They did have to figure this whole hogwash out so they could go back to the crazyfun shenanigans of the good ol’ days.
“T-thanks Dipper,” she sniffed again and rubbed her face against his chest to lose some of them tear streaks, accidently rubbing her nose on his shirt. Ah, crabapples! Booger city.
His hand paused on her back for a second and she could feel tension grow in his body. Calm down there, broski – it wasn’t that gross. She moved away from him and looked up into his face. He was close enough that she could feel his breath, gentle and steady.
Dipper cleared his throat, taking an arm from around her waist (hey, how’d they end up there?) and putting a hand behind his head, rubbing his neck, avoiding her eyes, “Um… M-Mabel, I think we should talk about last nigh–”
Oh, oh no. Not this. Not now.
She took a quick step back, raising her arms and sort of accidently… oh… oh, okay, maybe a little bit on purpose pushing him away. Dipper’s eyes widened, his hands hanging awkwardly by his sides, like he wanted to grab her back, like he wanted to pull her back into him. Ugh! Why did he have to do that? Look so darn sad about everything?
The kiss… thing… ugh, she wasn’t ready to talk about it, okay? And she knew it was unfair to avoid it but – but it was last night, you know? That’s still super-duper recent! You need time to absorb the whole weirdness of that biz, you know? Plus, with this thing, with Tyrone… just… ugh! She couldn’t talk about it now. Not when Ty was still out there, probably freezing his bug dumb butt off. She just couldn’t.
“Mabel–”
She held her arms against herself, feeling heat creep up on her cheeks, shaking her head at him, “Not now, Dipper.”
“But–”
“No, Dipper!”
He flinched away from her, dropping his arms, and she felt guilt bubble up in her stomach. She raised her hands into the air, “It’s just…” she made an explosion sound, fanning her arms in a way that probably looked like she was imitating a windmill, but whatever, explosions were hard to do justice to… this whole sitch was hard to do justice to, “it’s just, KABLOW, you know?”
He took a step towards her, “Mabes–”
She shook her head at him again. Gah! Didn’t he get it! Come on, what was there even to get? Kiss zone was a no-go zone, end of story, and – and – she grabbed at the map in his hands, shaking it at him, “Ty’s still out there, Dipper. We can’t just – ugh! I want to do it with all of us, okay?”
And she did. She did want to do it with all three of them. She didn’t want to be in this dumb half-knowing place anymore. How was she supposed to sort all this hooblah out if she didn’t talk to Ty about stuff?
“I know Mabel, and – I want to too, okay? But you should… there are things you should know abou–”
“Dipper, Mabel?”
They spun around. Their Mum was at the hall door, rubbing her eyes, “Why are you two up?” her hands jolted down and she gripped the doorframe, “has – has Ty come home?”
Mabel glanced at Dipper who looked down, biting his lip. She turned back to her, “No… not yet, anyway.”
“Have you heard from him?”
Mabel shook her head, not trusting her voice.
Their Mum pinched the bridge of her nose, “He sent a text to Dad last night, telling him he was fine. But we haven’t heard from him since. You Dad went driving around and I’ve been calling, but…”
Mabel’s heart leapt in her chest. What? He’d sent a text? To their Dad? Like, their Dad was a pretty cool monsieur if she said so herself, but… but Ty hadn’t contacted either of them, and they were the trips! You know? The terrible trio! The three amigos! Ty… Ty had never contacted their parents before them. It was just an unspoken rule, between the three of them – a sibs first sort of thing.
Mabel bit her lip and glanced over to Dipper, who glanced back at her, worry lines around his eyes. Ugh! She didn’t need to see him being unsure, right now. She needed him to be able to promise her everything would be okay, that they’d find Ty and that things would work out. From the look in Dipper’s eyes though, she could tell that he wouldn’t be able to promise that. For the first time it occurred to her that maybe… maybe this couldn’t actually be fixed. Even by Dipper. And yeah, she was scared about this whole thing, sure, but Dipper? Well, Dipper… he was scared too. She could tell.
And that made her terrified.
Their Mum turned away, rubbing her eyes, “Come into the kitchen. Your Dad…he’s been up all night. He’s getting himself a coffee. We should…we can figure out where to go from here.” Her voice was hard and croaky.
Mabel nodded, moving forward, deliberately avoiding Dipper as she beelined for their kitchen. She bit her lip as she entered and caught her Dad leaning against the counter with his head in his hands, Mum’s hands pressed against his back. They jolted apart and their Dad attempted a smile, but it just looked strained on his tired face. Their Mum had pursed lips, brow furrowed.
Mabel forced a smile back at her Dad, hoping it looked less painful that it felt before taking a seat. Dipper came in soon after, pausing before pulling out a seat next to her. He looked down, avoiding her eyes.
There was silence for a long time, none of them moving. Mabel could hear the tick of the clock, all the way from the living room. Mabel laced her fingers, swirling her thumbs, looking between her parents. She made eye contact with Dipper and saw his mouth was a thin line. She nodded once at him before looking down again. If their parents were pretty much ignoring them, it meant one thing. That they were mad. And worried.
There was a beat of silence again. Their Mum pinched the bridge of her nose, turning to their Dad, “Have you checked with Stan?”
“He said he’d call us as soon as he heard anything.”
“And your parents?”
“Look, I know - I know he was upset. But I think he’d have to be incredibly desperate to want to go to Florida.”
“Alan.”
“Okay, sorry. You’re right. I just… anyway. No, he isn’t with them.”
Their Mum shook her head, sighing, “He’s not with my Mum either.”
There was a long stretch of silence, like their parents were waiting for something. Their Dad was the first to speak, turning and running his fingers through his hair, “Do you know why he left?” he said, voice croaky and soft, like he’d been calling out for hours.
Mabel wriggled in her seat, “We… uh…” ah, what could she say? Not the truth, obviously, but… but…
Dipper sat up taller next to her, scratching his chin, eyes cast to the ground, “We… uh… him and I… we were fighting. About a girl.”
Their Mum folded her arms, raising an eyebrow, “A girl? Really?”
“Yes.” Dipper shot back, folding his own arms, leaning back and looking away. He bit the inside of his cheek before he continued, the defensiveness seeping out of his tone, “Ty really likes her and I… I… ugh, it’s complicated, but… it was… I really upset him.” His voice cracked at the end, but he didn’t even bother to try and cover it up with a cough, relaxing his arms back down and biting his lip.
Their Dad sighed, making his way over to the table and pulling out a chair, sitting himself down. He rubbed his eyes tiredly as their Mum placed a cup of coffee in front of him before turning and getting one for herself. They both drank slowly. Mabel started to play with the bottom of her shirt, heart beating faster. Gah, she hated this… awkward fighting thing. Their parents always did it. It would almost be better if they yelled, you know? At least give them something. She knew confrontation wasn’t always the best thing in the world, but, like, if this was the alternative, whatever! Give her all the confrontation! At least she’d know where she stood, you know? She was like, 96% sure that this was where Dipper got his lets-not-talk-about-anything biz from, and probably where Ty got all his conceal-don’t-feel-put-on-a-show deal from, as well.
Oh, Ty. Where in the flabberjabbers was he? Mabel bit her lip hard to stop herself blubbering like some sort of seal lady, blinking hard to force the tears right on back into her dumb eyeholes.
“Ty doesn’t seem like the sort of person to do this all for a girl,” their Dad said, finally, swirling the contents of his mug around.
“Yeah… well…” Dipper said, voice so soft and quiet that she couldn’t help but look at him. It was a mistake, though. Dipper glanced at her, his eyes dark, and his face was just so open and vulnerable and –
She snapped her head back to the table, heart fluttering in her chest. Dipper cleared his throat, voice still painfully high, “Well, she’s… she’s special.”
Their Mum shook her head, “Oh, Dipper…”
“I know! Okay? I know. It’s my fault.” He put his head in his hands, “this whole thing… everything… it’s my fault,” his voice hitched, “I’m so, so sorry.”
Mabel felt her fingers itching to reach out to him but they didn’t seem to be able to move on their own. Heat was growing in her cheeks and her eyes were pricking painfully and – ugh! Why! Why was this happening! What was she meant to do? She always knew. That was her thing. Comforting people, especially Dipper, it was… it had always been so easy for her! But she had no idea what to do here. This was too big.
And… and it just sucked, you know? Because… well, usually she doesn’t care about the ‘who’s older’ thing, apart from teasing and stuff, but… when it came down to it, she was the eldest. She was the big sister. And it was the big sisters job to hold everything together, to take care of everyone and make sure everyone was doing okay. And look at her. Look at what she’d done.
Dipper wanted it to be his fault, she could tell he did, but… but it wasn’t, was it? She clenched her fists, driving nails into her palms. She looked down quickly, hoping no one caught the look on her face.
Some sister she was. She was meant to bring them together and all she had done – all she ever seemed to do – with her friends and her parties and her dumb Mabel-loves-boys thing – was tear them apart.
Their Dad reached over, clapping Dipper’s shoulder, “Hey… hey, hang in there bud, okay? We… we’ll figure this out.” His tone was not convincing, like, at all, but Mabel could tell from the way his hack straightened and his shoulders unclamped that it was what Dipper needed.
Dipper breathed in slowly, sitting himself up straight again, “Okay… okay,” he muttered, his tone determined. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the map, spreading it out on the table, “Let’s talk game plan. I was thinking Mabel and I could head to school, check out his friends, ask around to see who’s seen him… one of you could stay home today and the other could head to work and scout out the town… if we go for the inner-city and work our way out, I think there’s a pretty good chance of us finding him…”
Their parents looked at him as he smoothed out the paper, and Mabel couldn’t help but notice they seemed sort of surprised, like the hadn’t expected him to still be so… so Dipper, about all of this. She glanced at her brother, watching the set of his mouth and the dark circles under his eyes.
She jumped out of her seat, thrusting a fist into the air, “Yeah, buddy! Let’s get this show on the road! Operation find Tyroneski has officially begun!”
Dipper looked at her, giving her a small smile, and she gave him one back, leaning over the map. She knew there wasn’t much she could do, but she could do this. If Dipper could put on this everything’s-okay-we’re-going-to-figure-this-out act on it for a while, then so could she.
Fake it till you make it, Mabel. Fake it till you make it.
***
Ty sighed, resting his head on his knees and looking down. From this angle it didn’t look like the slide had an ending, like it was just an eternal drop of doom. Just like his life, really, except that his life wasn’t a horrendous shade of pink.
Sleeping overnight in a kid’s playground was definitely a low point. The good thing was, it would be hard for things to get worse than this. The bad thing was things had gotten so bad he had literally just slept inside a children’s slide to avoid the messed up reality that was his life.
People said that once you hit rock bottom, the only way to go was up. That once you crashed into that floor, things would look better. But he had been falling so far, and for so long, he had forgotten that bottom even existed, had managed to forget about the gravity of it all.
But he had found it, now, and he had hit it hard and fast.
It just seemed so…so freaking unfair. This whole thing felt like it was more painful, for him. Like he had lost more of himself than other people did when they landed. How can you even begin to piece yourself together when you’ve shattered into pieces so small? He felt splintered, like all that he was had become fragments.
The image came back into his head – the way Dipper had looked at her, the way she had looked back at him, the way their lips had met, so soft and gentle, the way he had pressed into her, the way she had moaned, arching into him –
He felt himself twitch and swore angrily, punching his thigh and then bringing his knees up into his chest, breathing hard and deep.
How could something that made him feel so fucking shit also turn him on? Seriously.
“Hey, you!”
He jolted, shifting himself and glancing down. A girl who looked like she was five or something had apparently crawled into the opening at the bottom of the slide and was looking up at him, brow furrowed and mouth pouted. What? What time was it? He glanced at his watch. Hokay, it was apparently almost midday. How that happened, he had no idea. Honestly, it was amazing how much time could past while you were moping in a children’s slide regretting your entire life and all your decisions.
“Hey!” he looked down at her again. Her cheeks were bright red, “You’re ugly!”
He blinked at her. Wow. Just… wow. That had not helped his self-esteem.
She crawled in further, “Aren’t you too old to be in a kids playground?”
“I don’t know, aren’t you too annoying to be in one?”
She screwed up her face, “I want to use the slide,”
Ty rolled his eyes. Nu-uh, small child. Not with that badditude. “Get your own slide. I’m using this one.”
She threw her head back, “Mum!”
“Ugh, okay! Okay! Get out of the way, then! Jeez.” He shifted himself and waited for her annoying head to disappear before he slid down, landing hard on his butt and probably dislocating his lower back, “Ouch, shi-uhhhh shitake mushrooms”
“Haa, haa!” the girl pointed at him and he had to restrain himself from pulling her pigtails. He rolled his eyes at her, picking himself up and dusting himself off. She poked her tongue at him before she clambered up the slide, legs wriggling. He glanced to the side and a woman was glaring at him with crossed arms. Her Mum, probably. He raised his hand to her awkwardly before walking away, hands shoved deep into his pockets.
Man. He’d just been bullied off a slide by a five-year-old girl. That was pretty pathetic, even for him.
He sighed, scuffing his shoe against the sidewalk. Now where was he meant to go? Home was a giant no, not even worth considering. He couldn’t go back to that… couldn’t go back to them. For one thing, it still made him feel sick. For another, he’d left in what was probably the most dramatic way possible. Going back would be embarrassing and weird even if you ignore the heartnumbing reality that was his sibs not wanting any weird-romance biz… at least, not with him.
He turned away abruptly, moving away from the road and walking out into the park. It was pretty empty, apart from the odd family. Looking around he eventually made his way over to a lone bench, hidden under a tree. On closer inspection it was not an ideal place to sit, seeing as it was wet and his butt would probably get frozen in place from it. Oh well. Maybe not an ideal place to sit, but definitely an ideal place to mope. If he was lucky he actually would get frozen in place and he’d never have to move from that position and face reality again. He’d become that weird park-bench guy that never left, surviving off the scraps of picnickers and forgetful squirrels and –
Okay, Tyrone. Just… just sit down.
He bit his lip, leaning back and reaching into his pocket, pulling out his phone. He’d turned it off after he’d texted his Dad last night. He… he was sort of scared to turn it back on again. Like once he did, he couldn’t just keep running anymore.
Oh, who was he kidding? The guilt was practically killing him. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. He wondered what it was like to be like a normal person and not worry about other people every second of every day. Why couldn’t he just wallow in self-pity and petty anger and just be normal for half a second? Ah, man.
Biting his lip, he flicked it on. Uh… wow. 139 messages? 73 missed calls? He’d only been out for like… fifteen hours, or something. Like, calm down, people. This wasn’t a ‘missing person high alert’ situation. He opened his messages, tapping his fingers against his legs. Pretty much all of them were from either Dipper or Mabel, though his parents were responsible for most of the calls. He clicked on Mabel’s name, scrolling through her texts.
Ty! Where are you? Please come back!!!!!
I promise it was nothing weird, broski, we can figure us out, the three amigos! Just come home, okay?
We have doughnuts! I can make brownies! This isn’t so bad, Ty, we can get through it! Trips style!
I’m waiting on the couch for you, everyone else has gone to bed
We can have one of our traditional sib-talks, fix this all up, you know?
Ty can you at least say something?
Please don’t hate us
Are you okay?
Please, Ty?
I’m scared
Guilt bubbled in his stomach and he stopped scrolling. He debated for a moment before clicking on Dipper’s name as well. They were just as bad.
Ty please, man, I can explain, just please come back?
It wasn’t what it looked like, okay? It’s complicated, but we can talk about it
We can talk about it, man. We can talk about everything.
Don’t be like this! Not now. Just come home already.
Please, Ty. I just want you back home
I’m worried about you, man… can you please just let me know if you’re okay?
Ty?
Ty, please
I’m sorry
I’m sorry
I’m so, so sorry
Ty dropped his phone quickly, blinking hard, resting his face in his hands. He knew this avoiding thing wasn’t good, he knew he was being unfair but…but this whole freaking situation just wasn’t fair, you know? Because – because –
It had been what he wanted. So slow and deliberate. It had meant something, no matter what either of them said. He knew it did. It was so similar to what he’d imagined, what he’d hoped for since he was fifteen. He had wanted Dipper to react like that, had wanted him to want him, just a little bit, even just out of curiosity. Arching backs and whispered names and… ugh! And yeah, he’d ruined the ending by barging in on them – but Mabel… she wasn’t like Dipper. There wouldn’t be weeks of silence. Awkwardness, sure, but… but Dipper would get a resolution, he would get an answer, eventually.
But Ty? Well. He got a big ol’ kick in the heartstrings.
So…no. Home was not an option yet. Not that that left him with many options in the first place. He didn’t want to stay with any friends, not even Trung. It was just…too close to it all. But Florida was way too far and also terrible and the idea of living with his Grandparents did not make him feel comfortable. There was really only one place that was an actual option, but he’d have to tread carefully if he actually wanted to get the okay to head up there.
He flicked through his contacts, finding the name and swiping it to call. He raised the phone to his ear, breathing carefully.
The phone rang for the longest time before it was finally answered, a gravelled, crotchety voice coming through from the other end, “yeah, yeah, whatever it is you’re selling I don’t want it—”
Ty laughed, despite himself, “Hi, Grunkle Stan.”
“Tyrone!” his voice perked up immediately, “Hey, kid! Man, am I glad to hear from you.” He cleared his throat, “uh, how are you? You okay?”
“Uh – I’m – you know – um, good. Yeah. Good.”
“…Right. Well. Okay. So –”
“Grunkle Stan, I was wondering if you could…I mean, if I could come up to gravity falls for a while?” Ty interrupted, his voice embarrassingly high. He gripped his free hand, biting his lip, hoping his desperation wasn’t too obvious.
There was a pause, then, “Ugh, I guess. I mean, it’s almost the middle of winter, I don’t know why you’d want to come up to this weird excuse of a town, considering you were here a few months ago.”
“Haha well, you know, I, uh…miss…you. A lot.”
“Come on, kid. I taught you to lie better than that.”
Ty sighed. Stan cleared his throat on the other end of the line, “Uh, you know, your Mum actually called to ask if you’d talked to me. Seemed, uh…pretty worried.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Stan cleared his throat again, “Is…is everything alright, kid?”
Ty felt pressure behind his eyes and he brought up his knees, resting his head on them, “It’s…things are just hard. Right now. For me.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
There was silence for a long time. Ty could hear his Uncle breathing. It was oddly comforting, and his own heart began to slow, his breathing becoming less forced.
It was Stan who was first to speak, voice gravelled and tinny though the poor connection, “…Look, Tyrone…take it from someone who’s been there. Running away…it’s, well, it’s easier. And, who am I kidding, it’s a heck of a lot more fun – did I ever tell you about the time I managed to start a rebellion in a Chuck-yo-Cheese one time? Incredbile – uh, anyway, the point is, I ended up tied up with stringy cheese to a log on a one-way trip to the sawmill, if you get my drift.”
“Right…”
“Long story short…you can’t outrun things forever, kid. And when do they catch up to you, all you are is tired from all that running.”
Ty bit his lip.
“You’re a tough kid, Tyrone. You’re tougher than you think.”
A tear, hot and wet, rolled down his cheek, a sniff coming out before he could properly mask it. He gripped his hands, trying to stop himself from shaking too much, as more tears started rolling out, landing onto his clothes. Damn it. Damn it.
If Grunkle Stan heard anything he didn’t acknowledge it, thank god, “Look, I’d love to have you up here, believe me, but…why…why don’t you just try to sort things out? Give it a shot.”
Ty rubbed his eyes viciously. Ugh. He was right, the big old…grumpy…Uncle…uh man he was not on point with his insults today. Running away would only make things worse. If he wanted them in his life at all, if he didn’t want to lose them completely, he had to suck it up, like he always did. Take one for the team. And the team was worth it. They were worth it. Even if it fucking sucked.
“Thanks, Grunkle Stan.”
“No worries, Tyrone. Keep you head up for me kid. And hey, I’m always here with my horrendous lack of a basic regard for your health and safety if you want to come and hang out with me for a while in the holidays.”
“…Love you.”
“Yeah yeah yeah. I, uh…you too. Uh…goodbye.”
Ty chuckled as Stan awkwardly placed the phone down. At least they knew where they got that whole lets-avoid-feelings thing from. What a grouch. A wise, unconventional grouch.
He stood up, shaking the cold out of his joints, rubbing the last of the tears from his face. He breathed deeply a few times, running his fingers through his hair.
He sighed. It…it might not be ideal, but at least that way, he’d still have some of them, something he could cling on to. That was the worst thing about all of this, really. What he had wanted had been soclose, you know? Like, he’d basically tasted it. It had been right there.
He wanted them so badly, but…but they didn’t want him. He just had to face that. Feelings were not mutual. Dipper did not want to ride the Tyrone express and from the look on her face, Mabel wouldn’t be buying a ticket any time soon, either. That hurt, you know? That stung pretty fucking badly.
But he was starting to realise that…it was okay. He could do that. He could give that up, for them. Hell, he would give that up, for them. A life without having them would be lonely and sad, but a life without them completely? No. He couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that.
Okay, Tyrone. Time to face the music. Head back, apologise, wave it away like it was nothing, crack some jokes, bake some brownies, and get ready to live a life of concealed feeling and eternal regret.
He bit his lip, starting to walk. Maybe…maybe he could at least take the long way home. Put it off a little longer. That would be okay, right? That…that was allowed?
Yeah. Yeah, that was allowed. Long way home it was.
***
Dipper slammed his hands on the steering wheel, swearing loudly before resting his head against it, breathing hard.
He’d spent the entire day driving and nothing. He hadn’t found Ty anywhere.
He’d been so sure he would be at school. Like, it was band practice day. Ty never missed band practice. Band was his thing. Even with chicken pox he’d pulled himself out of bed to go and riddled half the school with disease with only a minimal amount of regret. Ty was all about band. But no, he wasn’t at the morning practice. He’d asked everyone he could think of, and no one had seen him.
Neither him nor Mabel had seen Ty in homeroom, or in their English class, and by the time 10am had rolled on by, Dipper was pretty sure Ty wouldn’t be turning up. Then Mabel had come running to him after her maths class, bawling her eyes out and crying about how even Trung had no idea where he was and hadn’t heard from him. The look on her face, and the way she had been crying…it was too much for him. Mabel crying was always a sign things had gone too far, that they’d dipped into darker territory that there was no coming back from.
He’d never skipped out on school before, but he had done it today, telling Mabel that one of them had to stay, in case Ty decided to turn up, and going off on his own. His Mum was in the city, so he’d started as far out as he could, beginning at the mall and slowly circling his way back in. He’d checked every park, every fast-food store, every bus stop, every book store – nothing. No one had even seenhim. He hadn’t heard anything from either of his parents, either, and they’d promised to call if either of them found Ty.
God. It was all his fault. Why had he ignored him? If he’d just – if he’d just talked to him – but no, he’d been a coward about it. About everything. And now look. Look at this fucking mess he’d made.
But he didn’t know what to say, you know? Because the kiss hadn’t been…like it was weird but he didn’t mean to make him feel…ugh. Man. It was just, he’d never even thought that Ty had liked him, like that. The thought had occurred to him that maybe he liked guys but…well he had no idea that hewas that guy. And Dipper had definitely not considered the whole…liking guy’s thing. He knew enough about unrequited love to know that ignoring hurt like hell, but he’d just…he had no idea what else to do. There was just so much he had to think about – like, how it was his brother, and how his brother was a dude, and how – how it’d been different and weird but not in a bad way, not in a way that had scarred him or…or had even been that terrible, you know? Like he wouldn’t mind if – if –
Ugh. it was just – it was hard, okay? The whole situation was hard. And now, with Mabel, he knew how it felt to have that weight on you, except it had only been hours instead of weeks, and – and –
Dipper didn’t even know what he was planning to say to him, when they found him. Apart from, like, sorry. Multiple times, on his knees. Crying? Yeah. Probably crying.
But they hadn’t found him yet, and the whole ‘when they find him’ thing was quickly becoming an ‘if we find him’ scenario…and what if they never found him? What if he’d…the way he’d looked at him had been so –
No, no he wouldn’t let himself go down that road. Not yet, anyway.
He took off the handbrake, moving away from the curb, eyes fixed on the sidewalk. He was in a pretty iffy part of town, but he’d checked everywhere else, so seedy part it was. He’d trawled through literally every street he could think of. This was it, end of the line. The sad, desperate end of the line.
A car behind him beeped and he put up his finger at them, which was probably a bad idea to do in this area, but whatever. He was looking for his brother. The car could just go around if it wanted to. He’d cruise this block fifteen freaking times at whatever pace he wanted, he didn’t care. That dumb car could wait a few more freaking minutes to get to the end of the stree—
Movement up ahead caught his eye and Dipper’s heart stopped.
Wait – that guy, coming out of the doughnut shop –
He recognised that hoodie.
Dipper slammed on the breaks, earning more beeps, but whatever, he didn’t care. He rolled down his window, practically dislocating his shoulder, “Ty! Ty!” he stuck his arm outside.
The person didn’t move. Oh. Oh god. Was he seeing things? Had he gotten to the crazy hallucinating part of freaking out?
The person turned around, doughnut lodged in their mouth. Slowly, like they didn’t want to, they lifted an arm to them and made a fingergun.
Ty. TY! It was him! Yes, it was him!
More cars had come up behind him, beeping louder, some swerving dangerously around him, but ah whatever, forget them. He swore as he unbuckled himself, shoving the door open and sprinting at Ty, who was watching him like he was some sort of crazed lunatic. Which he probably was, at this point in time, his heart beating so hard in his chest he could feel it in his temples, sending heat through his body and a sickness in his gut and making his brain feel numb.
He threw himself at his brother, making him drop his doughnut on the ground as he wrapped his arms around him. His whole body was shaking as he buried his face into his brothers neck, breathing deep. There was a half second where Ty seemed to be paralysed, before he relaxed into him, wrapping his arms around Dipper and pulling him close. A few seconds passed and Ty moved his arms, taking a step back, but Dipper came with him, not moving his arms yet. He…he didn’t want to let him go yet. Not yet. Just in case…something…he didn’t even know. But just in case.
“Dipper, dude!” Ty stuttered, patting him on the back awkwardly, “hey, hey man…it’s…hey, don’t cry, Jesus.”
“I’m not crying,” he mumbled into his neck, not moving away.
“Well you sound pretty darn choked up.”
“I was so fucking worried, man. Don’t you ever do that again, okay? Never.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!”
He ignored him, pulling away slowly, ignoring the traffic that had backed up behind them, “Why didn’t you call?”
“I…I just-”
“I can’t believe you’re…” Dipper finally pulled away, moving back, glaring at him, the heat in his belly bubbling up into anger, “I can’t believe you’re here in this freaking place instead of at home, or at least letting people know you’re okay!”
“Relax, man. I was going to come home. After, you know…I’d stocked up a bit.” Ty gestured to the doughnut that was now on the ground, “thanks for that, by the way.”
“That’s a stupid reason.” Dipper clenched his fists, “it’s really freakin’ selfish, actually.”
Ty stiffened, face hardening, “Yeah, well, I just had my heart stepped on so…I feel like I have a pretty good reason to be selfish.” The anger left his face and he looked down, shoving his hands into his pockets, “anyway. I’m…I was on my way home. Before you jumped out of your car like a crazy person and tackled me.”
Dipper breathed slow and deep, trying to calm himself and stop his shaking as he studied Ty’s face. His anger was shifting to guilt pretty quickly, everything he wanted to say bubbling up. There were too many words he had to say, too many things to apologise for, and he had no idea where to start, what to begin with, how he was going to start fixing this.
“Ty,” he began, gripping his brother’s shoulder, “Ty, I’m so –” his voice choked and he swallowed hard, shaking his head, “I’m so sorry—”
Ty shook his head, prising his fingers off his shoulder, “Man, Dips…don’t…don’t say that, okay? Not here…just…” he sighed, taking a step forward and grabbing Dipper by the arm, “let’s just get in the car, okay? You’re making a scene, you nerd.”
Dipper nodded, swallowing hard. The beeping was definitely too loud for him to ignore now. Cars were racing past dangerously close to their car, people waving fingers and fists at them as they went past. He jogged over, raising his arms in a surrender hoping it’d cause the cars to stop, Ty next to him doing the same thing. Cars ground to a halt and Dipper clambered back into the car, Ty following suit in the passenger’s side. Dipper waited until he clicked on his seatbelt before he took off, waving apologies to as many people as he could.
He glanced over at Ty, who was staring out the window, mouth pursed.
Dipper let out a long breath, “We were so worried, Ty.”
“I know, I know.”
“No, you don’t know, okay? I thought…we hadn’t heard from you, and you looked so…so…I was soworried. We were all so worried.”
“…I’m sorry.” Ty mumbled, his voice cracking, “I’m sorry for everything, Dipper.”
Dipper’s eyes shot over to him before he remembered he had to concentrate on the road, turning back in time to avoid rear-ending someone. Ah, man. This whole thing…it was all his fault. And here Ty was, blaming himself, like usual. He bit his lip, shaking his head, hoping Ty was looking at him so he could see, “No, no…don’t – Ty, don’t be sorry, okay? None of this is on you. Well…okay maybe running away is on you. But nothing else, okay?”
Ty didn’t say anything. They fell into an uneasy silence, as Dipper struggled to figure out what to say, how he could go about starting to fix this. Because he had to fix it, or…or at least try to fix it, right now. This could be the last time they were together for a while. He had no idea how their parents were going to react. If he was going to get through to Ty, make things at least a little better between them – god, if he was going to at least explain himself – now was his shot.
He breathed in deeply. Okay. Here it goes, “Ty…there are so many things I want to say but…but first of all, I want to say I’m…I’m sorry, okay? The thing, with Mabel –”
“Dipper, don’t.”
“But –”
Ty finally turned towards the front of the car, fiddling with his fingers, “You don’t have to.”
“But—”
“Okay, how about this. I don’t want you to.”
Dipper flinched back. Wow. Not…not that he didn’t deserve it, but…
Ty shook his head, eyes widening, “No, no – ugh, I didn’t mean it like that. Stop looking like I’ve shot you every time I say something, man. God.”
Dipper stared ahead, aware his shoulders were still too tight. He felt something on his thigh and he looked over at Ty, who gently removed his hand from his leg, a small smile on his face, “It’s okay, Dipper…it’s just…it’s a lot, and, ugh, look, man, I don’t want to play this card, but I literally spent last night sleeping in a playground to avoid this mess.”
Dipper raised an eyebrow at him and Ty rolled his eyes, lounging back on the seat, “I…I get you want to talk about it. Cool, fine, we will talk about it. But later, okay? With Mabel.”
Dipper bit his lip before shaking his head, turning back to the road, “…Okay. With Mabel.”
A few minutes passed but Dipper could tell that the car was still too tense. There was just so much to say between them, you know? So much that even silence felt like it was bursting. And it was weird, being in a car without Ty telling lame jokes or making up stories about the people they passed on the sidewalk. He…he just wanted to get him talking. To get them talking, like they used to.
He bit the inside of his cheek, “Soooo, uh…not to pry but…did you say you spent last night in a playground?”
Ty laughed, chucking a fingergun in Dipper’s direction, “Oh, man, do I have a story to tell you about this complete butt of a little girl.”
***
Mabel creaked their bedroom door open as quietly as she could, making a face at every squeak of the wood as she coaxed it open. It was quieter downstairs now, their parents had stopped yelling at Ty a while ago, but still, she didn’t want to do anything to make him get in even more trouble. If they figured out she was sneaking out of her room, they might start yelling at him all over again. Dipper looked up, eyes wide, at her as she gently stepped inside, closing the door softly. He opened his mouth but she put a finger over her pursed lips, shushing him.
Ty coming home had been…a wild ride. The wildest of rides, you could say. She’d never seen her parents so…they weren’t even mad, necessarily, they were just so emotional. Just pure emotion coming out of them from every possible pore. Crying, hugging, kissing, the whole shebang. And that wasn’t including her reaction when she saw him, which basically involved tears and a weird hiccup screaming thing and her pulling both of them into a hug and not letting go until she stopped being able to feel the left-hand side of her body. It was like something from a Disney movie…a slightly dysfunctional straight-to-DVD Disney movie.
Then after the nice emotions had come the angry ones, which they did not have in Disney movies but apparently real life was all over it. The three of them had, like, five minutes to organise a meeting time to talk about everything before their parents had dragged Ty off to bellow at him, sending her and Dipper off to their respective rooms.
But that had been a while ago, now, and the yelling had stopped for a long time. Still, better to be safe than sorry. She didn’t want Ty to get in more trouble than he already had.
She tiptoed over to Dipper, who was sitting up straight in his bed, watching her carefully, biting his own lip.
“Mabel?” he whispered, shifting around awkwardly before finally deciding to stand up, tugging on his shirt, “w-what are you doing here? You’re early…?”
She stopped short, biting her lip and playing with her nightgown hem. Oh yeah. This…technically was the first time they’d been alone since last night. It was so weird! The whole thing seemed like it happened so long ago, when it had only been one day. One crazy major life-changey day. Maybe her coming here was a bad idea, after all…if Ty found them here he…
Welp, no point thinking about that now, Mabel. You have invested in this plan of yours, so you may as well go through with it. She glanced up at him, fiddling with her fingers, “I-I want to talk to you…about…about stuff. Before Ty gets here.”
Dipper’s eyes widened and he shuffled on his feet a bit, averting his eyes and scratching his chin, “Mabel, I…I don’t think we should talk about…about that stuff…I mean, I promised Ty we’d wait and”
Wait, what? No! “No, not about that stuff, Dipper.”
He looked taken aback, dropping his hands by his side before shoving them in his pockets, “I…uh, okay.”
She breathed in deep, letting the air out of her lungs slowly. She could tell Dipper was watching her and she bit her lip, shifting from one foot to the other. Her words came out stilted, her voice high-pitched and shrill, “We…you know, at school today, everyone who I asked about Ty…everyone was so worried about him, Dipper. Just…everyone kept asking if he was okay, and I could tell it was because they really cared about Ty, and…and all I could think about was how Ty…how he just manages to touch people without realising it, you know? Like, I don’t think he’s spoken to Arnold Sanders once in his entire life, but the guy looked like I’d kidnapped his Mum when I told him Ty was missing!” She waved her arms in the air, exasperated, “And I realised, I guess it just clicked that…he’s always looking out for people, Dipper. Especially us. And I…I just…I just want us to be there for him as well, you know? I…I don’t want to just sweep this whole biz under the carpet and forget about it. I want us to fix this. For Ty…and…and for us, too.”
Her arms fell to her sides as she finished her rant, her chest tight. There it was, all out on the table. The rest was in his hands.
There was a beat of silence and she watched as Dipper dipped his head down, brow furrowed, like he was rolling the words around in his mind. He looked back up at her, eyes determined, and nodded, “Okay.”
What? Agreement, just like that? She usually had to do a little bit of convincing. This was great! She clapped her hands in front of her, “Really?”
“Well, yeah. You’re right. We…we need to do what’s best for Ty, and for each other.”
“Yes!” She pumped her fist, feeling her body relax. Yes, they were doing it! They were going to fix this thing! Grinning, she looked up at him. They were close again, like they’d somehow drifted into each other’s space without realising it. She could see Dipper’s Adam’s apple move as he swallowed, his eyes focused on her face. Heat crept into her cheeks again, but she didn’t look away this time.
“Mabel?” Dipper said softly, voice quivering.
“…Yeah, Dipper?”
“I…”
The door opened suddenly, and Ty stepped in, rubbing his eyes. He froze when he saw them standing close together, hand holding the doorhandle gripping harder, his expression shifting. He turned quickly, clicking the door closed behind him, and Dipper stepped back from her as quick as he could, shame written across his face. Mabel could feel heat on her cheeks but she chose to ignore it, taking a few hesitant steps towards Ty as he stood facing the door.
He turned slowly, arm reaching behind his head to rub his neck, looking through his fringe at them. He dropped his arm, giving them a small smile, and Mabel made a small sound in her throat, bounding over to him and throwing her arms around his neck, burying into his chest. His arms were around her almost instantly, head bowing to rest on her shoulder as he pulled her closer to him. She breathed in deep, smelling the salty-sweet-not-that-great-but-gosh-how-she’d-missed-it scent that was so Ty. She sniffed loudly and she heard Ty murmuring things into her hair, not that she could make anything out. He was such a numpty! A big, lame numpty who had scared her half to death. She squeezed him tighter. There was no way she was going to let him go again.
She heard movement behind her, felt Ty lift his head off her shoulder. She turned her head to see Dipper watching them, arms hanging awkwardly by his sides. His eyes were trained on Ty, his mouth soft and sad. His eyes flicked to hers and that desperation was back again, that longing he got whenever his dumb Dipper brain got in the way of him actually doing stuff. She bit her lip and grabbed at him, pulling him over to them and wrapping one arm around him, keeping the other latched around Ty. She felt Ty’s arm shift and Dipper move his body and soon they were a tangle of bodies and limbs, each of them clinging to each other and mumbling ‘I’m sorry’s’ to anyone who would listen.
It was Ty who was the first to step away, rubbing his eyes fiercely, a weird sob-chuckle coming out. Dipper stepped away too, running a hand through his hair and watching him awkwardly, looking even more unsure of himself than normal, if that was even possible. A silence settled on them and Mabel watched the two of them, biting her lip. Ugh! This wasn’t what she wanted! This weird…awkward silence biz.
She tugged on her nightgown, “So…how…how’d the ‘parent talking’ go?”
Ugh, Mabel! Why was that your go-to break-the-awkward-silence question?
If it bothered him Ty didn’t let on, shrugging and giving her a small, embarrassed smile, “It was okay, y’know…I, uh…managed to wrangle it away from running away thing and into more of a…coming out sort of thing.”
Mabel stared at him, mouth accidently coming open. She snapped it shut. Wow. Big news. From the way Dipper was looking at him, Mabel was pretty sure this was a pretty big shock for him too. Their parents were cool and everything but they’d never really had to have any sort of…’real talk’ with them before.
Dipper shuffled himself, picking at a loose thread on his shirt, “Was it okay?”
“Yeah, yeah it was fine…had to happen sometime, you know,” Ty shrugged, looking away from the two of them, “it wasn’t exactly like I planned…like…haha, it’s dumb,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I sort of thought I’d break it to them at one of your weddings or graduations or something,” he waved his hands in the air, painting the picture for them, “imagine – a mega hot dude by my side, we sidle up in the wedding waltz, and - BAM – they’d be too overwhelmed and distracted by pure emotion to, you know, make a deal of it, or whatever. It would have been nice and simple. Like, ‘hey Mum and Dad how’s this wedding going huh anyway here is one of my life partners as you can see they’re smoking hot and also a dude. Did I mention I’m bisexual? Haha isn’t that fantastic? Anyway heading to the d-floor now thanks.’”
Mabel snorted despite herself, feeling bad pretty much immediately, but Ty winked at her playfully, obviously not too offended she’d laughed. Mabel glanced at Dipper but he didn’t seem phased by the bisexual news, a small smile on his face similar to her own. There was a split second where things felt normal before Ty’s eyes shifted, smile slowly fading from his face, “But…I guess I have to be happy with the much more emotionally intense version,” he sighed, shaking his head at them and making his way over to his bed, plonking himself down and falling back so his head was supported by the wall, “…lots of crying and back-patting and promises they’ll always love me. Like, lots of them. Which is, like, great and everything, and better than some people’s, but…I don’t know.” He shrugged, “I guess I wasn’t one-hundred percent ready to ‘break the news’ or whatever but…ah well. It was easier to just let out with that, rather than make up something to…to avoid talking about the…other…stuff.” He coughed into his hand, “uh…yeah.”
An awkward silence fell between them and Mabel tugged at her hair, shuffling on her feet for a little while before finally making a call and moving to sit on Ty’s bed, crossing her legs and fiddling with her fingers. Yep. That dastardly Other Stuff. More specifically that Sibling Stuff.
Dipper moved to, heading to his own bed and sitting down, leaning forward so his elbows were on his knees, watching them before resting his head in his hands. She bit her lip, looking down, waiting for someone to say something – even cracking a terrible joke would be a better option than this awkward silence thing.
She waited but no one made a sound. She breathed in deep, revving herself up. Okay, Mabel. You’ve got to be the first one to take the plunge. Sort out this whole…weird…mess…thing. Get straight into it. Ask the big questions. Go.
“I’m really sorry, guys,” Ty said next to her, shifting awkwardly and not looking at either of them.
Ugh, Mabel! You missed your chance.
Dipper shook his head across the room, “Ty—”
“No—”
“But—”
Mabel’s head shot between the two of them. They both seemed to be straining to speak first, desperation mirrored on both their faces. Okay, Mabel, get ready – she opened her mouth, but Ty beat her to it.
He slapped his hands on his thighs, frustration laced in his voice, “Guys! Just…just hear me out, okay?”
Dipper opened his mouth but the look on Ty’s face silenced him. Mabel crept her knees up to her chest, watching them, trying to control her heart beating in her chest.
Ty breathed in deeply, “Okay. Okay. Firstly, just to…to hit the nail on the head, or whatever…I…I know what I saw was – yeah,” he scratched his chin, avoiding their eyes “And it hurt. May as well…admit that too. I guess. But…but the fact that it hurt, that’s not on either of you, okay?”
She snapped her head to look at him but Ty’s was looking straight down at the floor, like it was the most interesting thing in the entire room, or something. She shook her head, nudging herself closer to him, “No, Ty, that’s not—”
Dipper interrupted, his voice high, “Ty, no – I,” he swallowed painfully, before he looked up and his eyes looked right at her – like, right at her, like they were looking into her, like they were seeing everything, “– I shouldn’t have kissed you. I shouldn’t have done that, Mabel.” He sounded like he was going to cry but he kept it together, forcing the words like he was punching them out of this throat, “I wasn’t fair on you, and…and Ty?” Ty looked up at him and Dipper let out a high-pitched noise in his throat before he coughed, continuing, “What I did…it was unfair on you as well. And I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for what I did.”
Mabel looked between them as they looked at each other. Dipper looked so repentant, like he’d never be able to forgive himself, like he’d hold this in him for the rest of his life. And Ty…oh, Ty. The way he was looking at him, like his heart had been broken all over again, and the whole thing, this whole mess, it was so awful, just so distressing and painful, like there was no way of getting past the hurt, and she buried her head into her knees because, dangit, somewhere, somehow, she’d gone wrong. Somewhere they’d missed a turn and she’d let them miss a turn and now look at it, look at this, for cripes sake, look at them.
She’s the next one to speak, her voice a wibblywobbly mess, “It’s – don’t be sorry, okay? Either of you. It…this…this thing, all of it –” her voice cracked, the tears coming out with pretty much no warning, “It’s all my fault,” she sobbed, not even really caring how pathetic she looked, “it’s all my fault we’re fighting and you guys are acting like this, and –”
Ty clenched his fists and she saw Dipper move towards her. Oh, no. No – ugh, Mabel, just…control your crazy emotions, please. This is not about you – repeat, this is not about you! Stop crying about everything, okay?
But ugh! She couldn’t help it. She was a feeler. She felt things, you know? She felt them a lot. And this was a lot to deal with – the three of them in a room together, after everything, and – and the reality of it all, you know? This was heavy stuff.
Ty moved quickly, shifting so he was sitting in front of her, grabbing both of her hand and pulling them down from her face, “No!” he said, and the firmness in his voice seemed to stop her tears for a second, “No, Mabel. It…it isn’t you, okay? It…it’s me.”
She shook her head at him because, like, no, it wasn’t him, didn’t he see that? It was hardly ever him, “Ty—“
“This isn’t just about that night, okay?” he sighed heavily, “I…I kissed Dipper.”
Wait – wait, what?
The tears stopped coming, like shock had forced them back. She stared at him. She could feel his fingers wrapping tighter around her hands. Dipper tensed in the corner.
“W…what?” she whispered, her voice weirdly high-pitched.
Ty gave her a small, sad smile, “Haha, yeah, you, uh, you weren’t wrong about the Trung thing…it’s…just Trung wasn’t really the guy that I…yeah. Turns out it was another straight guy. Who’s also my brother. Go figure, right? The plot thickens.”
But…but how could she not have known about this? How could they just not tell her? She shook her head at him, mind reeling, “W-when?”
“A few weeks ago. After one of your dates with Josh. The ice-skating one you kept talking about.”
She blinked at him, slowly fitting things together in her head. It clicked, finally – when things started getting super weird between them, when Dipper stopped hanging out with them, when things started getting strained and stilted…but…but what did that mean, for the other stuff? With that…kissing junk with Dipper, which part was the part that had hurt him?
She cleared her throat, “So…so you like Dipper, then?”
“It’s…a bit more complicated than that. Well, actually, not really. I like Dipper. I like you. That’s sort of it.”
She looked at him and then looked at Dipper, “and…Dipper, and you?”
“I…” Dipper sighed, looking away, “I…I like you.”
She shook her head at him. She knew that, they all…ugh! They all knew that. But that wasn’t the issue right now, this was about…about all of them, “But…but Ty?”
The silence was practically deafening. Ty looked down into his lap, blinking hard.
Dipper finally spoke, “I do like Ty, it’s just – I mean, it’s not – it’s complicated and I’m still figuring it out and everything but –” He broke off, looking down. When he spoke again his voice was small, “I…I like you.”
She could feel Ty tense in front of her, and she could see the shame in Dipper’s eyes as he said it.
Oh. Oh, no.
Ty gave her a small sad smile, running his thumb over her knuckles, “So it’s not really your fault, you know? All me. Me myself and I. Ty, Ty, the ruiner guy.”
But no, no, this – this didn’t make sense. Heck, this wasn’t even fair! What did Dipper even mean by that? What the heck? Why was this the first time she’d heard about this mess? Dipper had had many an opening to spill the beans! This whole thing could have been managed so much better if she’d known!
She turned to Dipper, cheeks red, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I-I didn’t know how, a-and besides, it wasn’t my news to tell, anyway, it was—”
She shook her head, unfolding her legs, glaring at him, “No, Dipper! It makes everything so much worse! Ignoring us and – and you knew the whole time that –”
“I know, okay Mabel! But – well what about you, huh? What are you doing to help out this whole mess? You ignored me too.”
“That was a completely different thing!”
“Pfft, you wish—”
“Hey, hey! Stop it, okay?”
They turned to look Ty, who was looking between them, an annoyed frown on his face, “Just…stop acting like kids for five seconds and listen.”
Mabel fell back, blushing, pulling her knees up again. Her, acting like a kid? That was a pretty big statement coming from that fart machine.
Ty shook his head and kicked a sock across the floor, looking pointedly away from them, “Look. Some people don’t like each other. That’s just life. No one can help it.” He shrugged, “The fact is…some people will never love you the way you want.”
She glanced over at Dipper and he looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how, his mouth opening and closing, his hands gripping the sheets.
If Ty noticed anything he didn’t show it, continuing to scuff his shoe, not looking at them, “And you know what guys? That’s okay. I know this is a lot. But I…” he swallowed, “I want things to go back to the way they were. Because I do love you guys. Not just that way, but, like…I…I love you. And I miss you. And I want things to go back. So. So let’s…lets try to forget it, okay?”
She bit her lip, “Oh, Ty—” she said, voice shaking.
He interrupted her, finally meeting her eyes, a small sad smile on his face, “No, no…it’s okay. I’m fine. I’ll be okay,” He looked at Dipper, nodding once, “we’ll be okay, Mabel. Both of you. Can we…can we please just let this go?”
Mabel shook her head at him, at both of them, because no, no they don’t get to just ignore this, they can’t just pretend this never happened, not if they wanted things to get better, you know? “Ty, we…we can’t just pretend—”
“Mabel.”
Mabel’s head shot towards Dipper, who was rubbing the back of his neck, “If…if Ty wants this, as in…if this is the thing he thinks will help—”
“It is.”
“Right…well…I mean, if it is what he wants then…I think we should listen to him.”
She looked at Dipper, eyebrows raised, and he looked away from her. Ugh, the lame-bum. What was he even talking about, letting this go? She…she knew this was what Ty wanted but it wasn’t what he needed, you know? He needed to know they’d love him no matter what. He needed to know what…what she thought about the kiss and what Dipper thought about…about both kisses, and they both needed to know how long he’d been feeling this way and, and – ugh! They obviously needed to talk about this! There was so much to say! No rug could cover all that dirt, no matter how hard you tried to sweep it away. She looked between them, “You guys can’t be serious! Come on! You want to just ignore all this? Pretend it never happened?”
“Yeah that…that’s sort of what I said.”
She rolled her eyes, “Real emotionally healthy, guys.”
Ty shrugged at her, “Mabel, it’s…it’s just too much to talk through, okay? There isn’t even anything totalk through. It’s not like you two can just change how you feel, you know? Just…live and let live. Forgive and forget.”
“But if we…if we just talk about it—”
“We are talking about it! And guess what, after tonight, nothing’s going to change Mabel, okay?”
She flinched back at Ty’s words and he looked immediately guilty. He put his head in his hands, letting out a moan, and for a second Mabel was worried he was going to start crying, “It’s just…there’s no fixing this, Mabel. I’m…I’m just being realistic here. What happened happened, and…and it’s in the past now. Kablam. Time to…time to move on, okay?”
She opened her mouth but the look on Dipper’s face stopped her. He shook his head at her, and the look on his face was almost as bad as Ty’s.
“Mabel,” he murmured, inclining his head towards Ty.
She hugged her legs to herself, blinking back her tears angrily, “Fine. Whatever,” she bit her lip, “if that’s what you want, Ty, then okay. Fine. We’ll do it.”
Silence came back to the room and Mabel buried her face into her knees, avoiding looking at her brothers. She got that this was Ty’s decision and she didn’t have a say in it but – but it just seemed so dumb. And…ugh, she knew it wasn’t about her at all, this whole biz, but it seemed so darn unfair. This whole thing was so much to absorb so soon and they just want her to forget it? They drop this bombshell on her and twenty-four hours later she was expected to just…let it go?
But this was what Ty wanted. What they wanted. They wanted to pretend stuff, wanted to just erase the life-changing experiences of the last day from their lives. And after everything she’d done to them, everything she’d made them do and hide for who knows how long, well…well, she supposed she owed them that. Even if that meant lying to them, and to herself, for…well, for pretty much forever. But it still hurt, you know. It still made her feel rotten, like she was some sort of worm causing all this awful sickness and disease in the three of them. Ignoring that wouldn’t fix that. And if they didn’t talk about it, she wouldn’t know how to fix it.
Silence fell in the room again, broken only by Ty’s heavy breathing. She glanced up at him as he raised his head slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking at both of them, “…Thanks, guys,” he said, followed by one of the most painfully forced smiles she’d ever seen. Her heart clenched in her chest. Oh, Ty, you numpty. Oh, Dipper, you petunia-face, helping him be such a numpty.
Oh, Mabel, you giant butt, letting them get off so easy.
Suddenly, like he’d been hit by some invisible cattle prod, Ty perked up, jumping to his feet and looking between them, “Okay, so, now that’s sorted…who wants to watch a movie? I’m thinking…Galaxy Quest.” He pointed his finger at her and then spun around to Dipper, “Dipper, my main man? Galaxy Quest?” he wiggled his eyebrows at them. She could practically taste the forced optimism of his voice.
There was a beat of silence, grin growing strained on Ty’s face before Dipper jumped up as well, same forced smile, same creepy optimism, “Yeah, sounds great. Uh, whaddya say, Mabel?”
She looked between the two of them. If they wanted to put on an act then fine, she’d put on an act. She’d put on the most convincing act of her life. She’d act so hard that she’d forget about the lip-mackin’ and the brother-brother crushin’ and the running-away and the crying.
She opened her mouth, ready to pledge allegiance to this weird lying optimism thing, but she couldn’t force the words out, her stomach rolling sick in her belly. She got to her feet, rubbing her arm, “Thanks guys but…I think I’ll pass tonight.”
She spun on her heel before they could stop her, walking to the door as quickly as she could while still being silent and gently letting herself out. She bit her lip hard as she clicked the door closed, hoping neither of them caught the sob hitching in her throat.
She rushed to her room, sweeping open the door and throwing herself in her bed, hiding her face in the pillows to help mask the sound of her lame baby-cries.
They wanted to put on an act. Okay. That was fine. It hurt, and it…it wasn’t healthy, but she would do it, for them. But if she had to do that for, well…the conceivable future, then she wanted tonight. Because whether the two of them wanted to acknowledge it or not, things…things had changed between them. It was going to be different now no matter how hard they tried or acted or pretended not to see the things that were there.
She wanted tonight…heck, she needed tonight, to feel everything and all of it and just…say goodbye to them. Say goodbye to relaxed Ty and happy Dipper, say goodbye to her brothers who she could tell everything to and have wrestle fights with and trust that they’d all be completely honest with each other about everything.
She had to say goodbye to the good times and the good vibes and her brothers being her best friends. Because she would not be seeing those things in the morning.
Drifting Part 1
Part 5.1 of the Double Dipping AU series
Drifting, Part 1 of 3
Hi guys! Thank you for your patience! I am aiming to update this fic every week until completion from now, on (Australian :P) Sunday’s! yayay
This chapter was hard to write and so I have elected to split it into three, to make it easier for me haha. Hope you enjoy it, and you’re excited about the fact this is starting again (because it means I’ll actually finish it properly lol)
(also sorry for typos tense issues etc I edited this myself and consequently there will be a lot of mistakes! Will fix them when I have time)
Mabel
Mabel huffed, reaching out on her tippy-toes and leaning far over the counter in what she had to admit was a pretty desperate attempt to reach the Lucky Charms. Who decided to put the best cereal on the top shelf? Was it Ty? She bet it was Ty. He hated sharing the good stuff with them. He always insisted on paying for all the best cereal himself, just so he could divvy it out as he saw fit – which apparentlymeant keeping it out of reach of the only person in the family who was also interested in eating sugar-covered-marshmallows-of-deliciousness for breakfast.
A surge of annoyance shot through her and she strained further, her fingers just brushing the sides – but it was too far. Ugh, of course! Of course she couldn’t reach it, of course it was too far – heckers, every single thing in her entire dumb life was too far!
She made a face and jumped, her fingers missing the cereal box by millimetres – crudmuffins – before she landed back on the floor, her ankle twisting. She let out a small whimper before snapping her mouth shut, clutching at her leg and biting her lip. Ugh! Just – just look at her! She couldn’t do anything right! She couldn’t even make herself some lame-butt-covered-stupid-dumb-nothing-is-ever-fair-ever breakfast.
She rubbed her ankle, blinking quickly and shaking her head. Snap out of it, Mabel! This isn’t the time for a pity party - crying over marshmallow cereal? Seriously? Seriously?
She wiped her eyes furiously, forcing down the heat that was building in her cheeks. She looked up at the ceiling, letting out a slow breath. Okay. This was okay. She could do this. She could get through another day, it’d be….it’d be fine. Just ignore the stuff. Ignore the kissy stuff. Ignore the running away stuff. Ignore the both-your-bros-are-into-you?-like-what-how-when-where-why stuff.
Yeah?
She breathed in and let the air out slowly through her nose, feeling some of the tenseness leave her shoulders.
…Yeah.
The floor creaked behind her and she balked, stumbling back and whirling around, snapping her arms into her body. Dipper shuffled into the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Mabel felt her body tense before a hopefully-not-too-obviously-fake smile washed over her face. Ah, crumpets. How was she supposed to deal with all these messed up conflicted feelings first thing in the morning? She’d been sneaking downstairs for an early breakfast for the past week specifically to avoid this sort of thing! She began to fiddle with her fingers, her heart picking up in her chest. Oh crimety.
Dipper yawned, stretching out his arms over his head. His shirt rode up a little at the movement, exposing a…a very obvious snail-trail.
Mabel blushed. Oh, Lordy loo.
Before she could stop it an awkward ‘mmph,’ prised itself out of her lips.
Dipper visibly tensed at her awkward…moan…thing, his arms dropping quickly to his sides.
Her eyes widened. Oh. Oh no. She faked a cough for cover, trying her best to ignore the fluttering – ugh, no, ugh, the…the…nausea. Yeah. That was it. Her tummy was not fluttering, it was not reacting at all to the bro-skin. No. No. No. No. No!
There was a split second of silence between them before he averted his eyes and stumbled over to the other side of the room, turning away from her and making himself some toast. She watched him, her hands gripping themselves hard enough to send the tips of her fingers white.
Nothing.
Mabel bit her lip, clenching her hands into fists to stop her twitching fingers and holding them tight to her chest, “Good morning, Dipper!” she tried, her voice high and light, ignoring the churning of her stomach.
She could see his shoulders tense. He cast a look over his shoulder, offering a small smile, before turning back and reaching for the margarine.
He didn’t say anything.
She looked down quickly, biting her lip. R-right. Okay then. She turned on her heel, trying her best to ignore the pricking behind her eyes. Ugh! Dumb, stupid Dipper. Dumb, stupid brothers who couldn’t even – who wouldn’t ever –
She snatched some cereal from the centre shelf – ugh, Bran Flakes? She grabbed the sugar as well before turning and clattering around for a bowl and spoon. She could feel Dipper’s eyes on her, but she deliberately avoided him, spinning and plonking herself down at the kitchen table. She was aware she was making too much noise, but she was too mad to care, filling her bowl up to the brim with Bran Flakes and sugar before pouring on some milk. Her phone buzzed next to her but she ignored it, spooning her breakfast into her mouth and munching furiously, breathing out hard through her nose.
Her phone buzzed again and she rolled her eyes, pushing it away from her angrily. Ugh! She didn’t need to look at it to know it was Josh. For, like, the fifteen time that morning. She had more important things to focus on now than her boyfriend. Like her dumb stupid brother, who was staring at her from across the room. Like the weird silence that was falling between them, just like it had been doing every morning for the last three weeks. Like the way her stomach was swirling underneath her in a way that definitely was not residual flutters. The way her heart was beating fast, and – and how tiredshe was. Of everything. Because things – things –
Things weren’t the same.
She could see it in the way Dipper and Ty never touched anymore, in the way Dipper never quite met her eyes and Ty never really took his off her. She could feel it in the way the room seemed to cold whenever the three of them together, in the way they skirted away from her at every opportunity.
They…they weren’t okay, anymore. Maybe not ever again.
For a little while there, she had thought that maybe things could be the same. The first few days had been awkward but manageable, you know? Some shy smiles before they fell into easy banter, a distinct lack of eye-contact each morning before Ty cracked one of his jokes…like, things had been different, sure, but not impossible. And she’d tried hard in those first few days, like, really hard. She’d made brownies with Ty and helped Dipper organise his sock drawer; she’d stayed up late and watched freaky monster movies – heck, she’d even sat on their gross bedroom floor and finished her homework with them. She’d tried really hard, like, really, super hard, but…but there was something off, something broken – and it just got more broken, the longer things went on.
By the second week Dipper and Ty had stopped going to bed at the same time, and Ty had started making his way through the kitchen snacks like it was no one’s biz. Dipper had stopped offering to help her with her maths homework. Then Ty had stopped asking her if she wanted to come to Taco Bell with him in the evenings. Ty stopped speaking in the mornings, then stopped coming down to eat with them at all, instead storing snacks in his backpack and bedroom. Dipper had stopped trying to talk to her when Ty wasn’t around. Ty never let himself be alone with her.
She dug a spoon into her cereal, biting the inside of her mouth hard enough to draw blood before shoving more breakfast into her mouth.
They’d forced her into this place, but they weren’t even brave enough to meet her halfway.
They had stopped talking to her, both of them, like…like she wasn’t even worth the lie, unless the other one was there as well. She had no idea how they could even do it – ignore things, ignore each other. They were just so…okay with it all; okay with them falling apart.
She hated it. She hated it. And…it was so awful, to hate things. How did people even hate things, usually? This whole negative emotions biz was alien to her. She was in uncharted Mabel waters.
Her phone buzzed next to her again and she huffed, snapping her hand out and swiping the screen to read the – wow, seven messages from Josh? In the last, what? Forty-five minutes? Her anger twinged to guilt as she read through the messages.
Hey :D how are you? Hope you had a wonderful sleep!
Miss you!
Also, I want to talk about something today, you free before school?
Hey Mabes, call me back when you can!
Mabel are you okay? Are you mad or something?
I know things have been tough but I just want to talk about things, give me a call and we can figure out a good time before school!
I’m happy to wait until after school, if you like?
She bit her lip, tapping her fingers against the table. Josh had been calling her a lot lately. And when he wasn’t calling he was texting. And always about something he wanted to talk about, or help her with, or…ugh! She knew she should probably, you know, talk to him…but, ugh, it was just so hard at the moment! It wasn’t like she could tell him anything, you know? It wasn’t like he’d be able to help, like, at all. It was just…she felt like every second had to be dedicated to getting over this stupid thing with her stupid brothers. She didn’t have time to talk to him – ugh, no, it wasn’t that she didn’t have time, but, like, things were so hard – and he kept wanting to talk about something and she didn’t – like, she had things on her mind, you know? Talking about something else would never seem right, and – and –
She felt Dipper sit down opposite her. She became aware of how fast her fingers were drumming on the table and she stopped tapping quickly, placing her hands on her lap and staring at her bowl of soggy, gross, totally-only-ever-actually-eaten-by-people-who-had-given-up-on-the-joys-of-life-and-sugar cereal. She could feeling him watching her and she glanced up, biting her lip. He sat there awkwardly, looking down at two slices of toast in front of him which were obviously way too cold to actually be okay to eat. She heard him mutter something under his breath before he looked up at her, eyes sad, before looking away quickly, his right hand rising to run its way through his hair.
“Mabes?” he croaked, the word obviously strange in his mouth, considering how long he had gone without saying it, “is…uh, is everything okay?”
“So now you want to talk,” she muttered, picking up her spoon and swirling around the soggy mess that was her breakfast. She caught his head shooting towards her out of the corner of her eye, saw something sad and desperate flash across his face.
Guilt bubbled in her stomach but she pushed it away, trying her best to replace it with heat and anger. Doing so was easier than it had ever been before, and it sort of scared her.
Dipper cleared his throat, “Mabel—”
Nu-uh, no way. “You can’t just ignore me for days and then expect me to tell you about everything, Dipper!”
He looked taken aback, his back snapping straight. Her anger twitched towards guilt but she fought against it. After all, what did he expect? Her to blab her feelings to him, now, at the breakfast table, after pretty much ignoring her for two weeks? How come she had to be the one to pretend everything was okay all the time? How come she had to be the bigger person when he and Ty got to be so dumb and small and petty?
“B-but I – I mean, I’m sorry, I just –”
She shook her head at him, feeling heat rise to her cheeks, “If you really think I’m going to talk to you about all my Josh probs, you can forget it, Mister!”
There was a moment of silence and she sat glowering at him, breathing hard and fast. Dipper was looking at her, stunned. All she wanted was for him to say something! She wanted him to yell at her, to get mad, to…do something, do anything!
He opened his mouth and then closed it again. She clenched her fists in anticipation. Finally he cleared his throat, “Sorry,” he muttered, “I’m sorry.”
Her icicle heart melted a little. Her hands returned to her lap. “It’s okay,” she said, quietly and sort of without meaning to because – well, it wasn’t okay, at all, actually. Nothing was okay. Her brothers weren’t talking to her when all she wanted to do was talk to them. Her boyfriend kept wanting talk to her and all she wanted to do was not talk to him. She rested her head back, closing her eyes, “When did this all get so hard?” she said softly to herself.
“…Hard?”
“Yes! Hard, Dipper!” Mabel sat up straight again, the anger returning, “Look at it! Look at us! Everything’s hard now! It’s hard with you! It’s hard with Ty! I don’t know what to do, because suddenly because of that, things are hard with school, and friends, and even Josh! And…and…”
“…Josh?”
Her heart dropped into her stomach. Flugelhorn.
Mabel looked at the ground quickly before jolting to her feet, grabbing her bowl and clunking it into the sink. She caught Dipper reeling at the suddenness of her movement in the corner of her eye. His eyes darted between her and his toast before finally resting on her and she switched her eyes back to the sink, scrubbing her bowl furiously.
“…Mabel?”
She shook her head furiously, and she knew Dipper could see she did, even from the back.
He ignored it anyway. “Mabel…do…is there anyt…” a frustrated sigh, knuckles rapping on a table, “I…I’m sorry things are hard, and…I’m sorry they’re hard with Josh, but…”
Her heart hammered inside her ribcage, her breathing high and tight in her chest. She felt like she was being pumped full of something hot and sick-tasting, her mouth growing bitter and dry. She glanced at her brother and saw that Dipper was biting his lip, eyes searching her, and - ugh! Why! Why did he have to always look at her like that!
She turned quickly, looking down at the ground, “I-I’ll go ask Ty if he’s ready for school.”
She could see Dipper was about to open his mouth and say something but she took a step before he could, stumbling past him. Her cheeks warmed as she sped from the kitchen, walking quickly and gripping the banister hard before she hurled herself up the stairs, going pretty much two at a time. She reached the top too soon, heaving breaths on the landing, her body still begging for her to run. But there was nowhere to run anymore.
She slammed her hand against the railing, wincing as part of a nail chipped off. She stuck the injured finger into her mouth. Ugh! It was so frustrating! She didn’t want her brothers to know anything about her and Josh. She didn’t want them looking at her like that, didn’t want them asking, didn’t want them ignoring her, didn’t want them thinking all of this was okay, that leaving her hanging like that was okay, that they could get away with being so – so –
And that wasn’t even all of it because…blergh…she felt things, when she looked at Dipper. She felt this rush, you know? She remembered all of it, every time she saw his dumb face. She remembered him pressing down on top of her and the softness of his voice and how his lips had pitter-pattered across hers and – and how it hadn’t been bad, and how it had felt so easy, and – and she missed it. And she did miss it. And she missed him. And she missed Ty – and the way they used to hang out, and how he used to play with her hair, and how she used to cuddle up to him on the couch and put her head on his chest and – and now she didn’t do that – but she wanted to, and maybe…maybe she wanted to…
She kicked herself sharply in the shin.
There was no point thinking about any of this. That kiss was a weirdy beardy mistake by her Lil B and she did not need to focus all of her attention on it, or his lips, or Ty’s lips, anymore. Ever. At all. She should be focusing on her boif’s lips, and also his now nine-going-on-ten where-are-you? text messages.
She sighed, pouting her lips and grabbing the hem of her shirt. What the macaroni was going on with her? It had been three weeks since the whole… let’s not discuss things like healthy adults thing, and she thought after that she’d be over it. Well, maybe not right after it, but maybe after a few days. She wasn’t really the type of person to linger over things, you know? That was more Ty and Dipper’s jam. But no. Here she was, still a-lingerin’.
Ugh. Just…. ugh.
She heard movement from the bottom of the stairs and jolted, shaking her head and avoiding looking down to check who it was who was watching her. Her Mum hadn’t left for work, yet, but she had a very strong inkling it was the Dipster. And she did not need another one-on-one run-in with him today.
She swiftly walked over to her brother’s room, standing outside it awkwardly, hand raised to knock, but suddenly doubting herself. They’d never knocked, before. But…things weren’t like they were before. The door was slightly ajar, and she shifted her weight on her feet before dropping her hand, gently pushing the door open.
Ty was lying on his bed, his hands balled into fists and pressed hard against his eyes. His body shaking, chest heaving in and out, and she could hear that he was muttering to himself between his breathes, his voice desperate and angry.
Her breath caught high in her chest, her fingers gripping the doorframe, “T-Ty?”
His arms snapped to his sides and he jolted up. Even through the shadows she could tell his eyes were swollen and red. Her heart skipped in her chest and her fingers gripped the frame harder.
He cleared his throat, “Uh - ha, um, yeah, Mabes?” His voice was high and strained.
Her heart was clenching painfully at her chest. She opened her mouth to speak but the words weren’t forming. Ugh! What was going on? She could always talk to Ty! Before she would have been able to go up and hug him, maybe even cuddle next to him in bed and wrap her arms around his tummy and ask him what she could do to make things better. Now look at her. Look at him! Sitting there, sniffing and acting like nothing was wrong when actually everything in the entire world was wrong. Look at all the darn space between them!
She finally managed to force out words, her voice high and squeaky, “Dipper and I - well, we were thinking of –” she coughed, “…Are…are you ready for school?”
She felt dumb pretty much right away. He was sitting in his bed in his pyjamas obviously crying his eyes out. Of course he was not ready for school. Come on Mabel! Get your head in the game, girl.
It was a dumb question, but he didn’t acknowledge it, shifting himself and moving his legs to the side of his bed, rubbing his eyes before slapping his hands against his thighs. He looked up at her, a painfully forced smile on his face, “Um, uh, not quite, but…yeah, give me, like, five minutes, o-okay?”
His voice was high and stuttered very much not okay, but she nodded, mirroring his smile, pretending everything was fine. Like they wanted her to do. Like he had asked her to do.
She stood there for a second, looking at him, biting her lip hard. He looked down at his feet before his eyes drifted up again. The way he looked at her – the way he looked at her, agh, it was too much. She cast her eyes to the side, trying her best to ignore the flickering of her heart inside her chest.
He was seeing her. He was seeing her, like he always managed to see her, when she pretended she was okay. He knew what her dumb heart was doing. Ty and her, they were similar like that, you know? They just felt things, like…like their emotions demanded to be felt, all the time, about everything. And sure, Ty was better at ignoring stuff, and lying about stuff, and pretending everything was okay – but he couldn’t do that anymore. Not about this. Not in front of them.
And neither could she.
The unfairness of it all hit her hard in the chest. Her phone buzzed in her hand. She glanced down – another message from Josh…ah, she still hadn’t replied! Guilt wound its way through her gut, meshing with the sadness that was already weighing her down.
Three weeks. How had everything become freaking flluglehorning hard in just three weeks?
She looked up at Ty again, with his sad eyes and his still-too-fast breath and his still-shaking body. She breathed in a raggedy breath, opening her mouth to say something.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs broke her out of her thoughts. Oh no. Dipper. She…she wasn’t ready for a triplet interaction yet. It was too early in the morning for awkward staring and shuffling feet. Her mind was blasting at her – avoid, avoid, avoid.
She spun on her heel, trying her best to push the image of Ty trembling on his bed out of her mind, “O-okay, well, get yourself ready and I’ll get my stuff and we’ll all be downstairs in, like, five!” she sang, her voice high and awkward. Her stomach plunged but she ignored it, staring at the ground and speed-walking to her room.
She spotted Dipper’s feet as she swept past her door and she quickly clicked it behind her. She leant against her door, breathing hard, clenching her eyes closed. She felt something hot and wet streak down her cheek and she brushed it away angrily.
Come on, Mabel! There was a time and place for the sad-times and it was reserved strictly for after-school, usually in her room, always on her own, with Taylor Swift playing ridiculously loud and her phone switched off.
She grabbed her bag and shoved in what she thought she needed for school – books, sparkle pens, random pieces of paper for scribbling down ideas…she felt like she was forgetting something…ah! Clothes! She should probably put a bra on, and maybe some pants that would actually keep her warm in this ridiculously cold weather. She shoved on her pants and coupled them with her extra snazzy purple legwarmers – both practical and fashionable! And her friend Sarah had told her they were a bad investment. Nothing purple could ever be a bad investment. She pulled open her cupboard, sticking a tongue out of her mouth. Should she wear bright yellow Confidence Bear today, who was adorable but not the best protection against the winter months, or should she go with deep blue Safety Squid, who was super warm but maybe a little prickly.
There was a rapping at the door – three quick taps, signature Dipper, followed by an awkwardly high “Mabel?” Her heart jolted – Confidence Bear it was. Maybe he would bring her a ‘beary good day’ like he promised in his glittery-gold writing. After all. it had been too long since she had a ‘beary good’ anything.
***
Mabel bit her lip, twisting her combination quickly and shoving open her locker door.
Welp, they’d survived another painfully awkward way-too-quiet-for-it-too-pass-as-comfortable car trip to school. It had gotten so bad she couldn’t even find it in her to sing along to Shakira, and even Ty had been silent in Hips Don’t Lie. A part of her hoped that Dipper had put the CD on especially to get her and Ty to sing along to something, so things were sort of normal, at least for a car ride…but the way he had avoided eye-contact the entire trip and kept the music at a distinctly too-low-to-belt-out-the-tunes-to-any-sort-of-justice level made that hard to believe.
She could hear Ty next to her shovelling books into his bag. At the beginning of the year, getting lockers right next to each other had seemed like the best thing ever. Pshhh, more like the worst idea they had ever had in history. Why did they need constant reminders through the day that things were weird between them with no indication that they will ever get better again ever? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Dipper’s shoulder accidently brushed hers and she felt him jolt away, Ty’s bag pressing against her leg in a way that would have been so comfortable before but seemed far too intimate now. She focused on her stuff instead, grabbing her glitter pens and ignoring the heaviness of her stomach and her flittery fluttery heart and-
Oh. Oh, no…
“Butt nuggets!” she cursed, grabbing her calculator angrily from the back of her locker. Her maths test. How had she forgotten about her maths test? Gah! This was shaping up to be yet another horrible day she couldn’t wait to erase from her memory. The mirror in her locker caught the reflection of glittery writing and she frowned. Confidence bear had forsaken her. He would definitely not be getting a re-wear for a while.
“Mabel!”
Her heart jolted and she spun. Josh was waving at her, walking hurriedly through the corridor, dodging around the people that were now crowding around the halls. He had a smile on his face but it was strained.
Her phone suddenly felt heavy in her pocket. Oh, poop.
He came up to her, one hand in his pocket, the other running through his thick black hair, “Hey,” he said, voice high.
“Hey,” she said, forcing as much bubble into the word as she could, giving him a grin.
Josh’s eyes flicked between her, her locker, and behind her, before resting on her face again, “did…did you, ugh, get my text messages?”
“Um…”
“…and…calls…?”
“Oh, ugh, yeah I did but – um…” Two lockers slammed on either side of her and she was suddenly aware of her brothers being right there, watching her talk to her annoyed-but-trying-not-to-show-it boyfriend. She fiddled with the bottom of her sweater. Poopsicles.
“Mabel!” sang a sweet, happy voice from her left, followed by a chorus of laughter and chatter.
She swung around, relief flooding her body, “Rasika!” she replied, waving furiously at her friend as she skipped through the halls. She was trailed by a bunch of Mabel’s other friends, Melanie and Taylor, as well as some of Josh’s friends from the soccer team, including Trung, who nodded his head in her direction. She didn’t need to look next to her to know it was meant for Ty, and she heard him shuffle awkwardly next to her, waiting for the group to get to them so he could take Trung and race off in the opposite direction.
Rasika finally reached them, wriggling her eyebrows at Mabel as she glanced between her and Josh, “I hope I’m not…interrrrrrupting anything?”
She could practically hear Ty’s back snapping to straight and Dipper digging his hands into his pockets. She shook her head furiously, sending her hair flying about her shoulders, ‘’Nope! No! Nopesuree bob, nothing to interrupt here!”
She could feel everyone’s eyes on her and she bit her lip, mentally kicking herself. She moved to grab her backpack and Josh took her hand, lacing his fingers between hers. She tried her best to avoid making a face. Crimety.
“O…kay…” Rasika raised an eyebrow at her, eyes flicking between her and Josh a few times. An awkward silence fell, full of shuffling feet and averted glances.
Taylor stepped forward, resting a hand on Rasika’s shoulder, “Anyway,” she said, bright and bubbly, and Mabel resisted the urge to engulf her in a ginormous thank-you-for-changing-the-subject hug, ”You all prepped for the maths test Mabel?”
Her stomach dropped. Oh no.
“You have a maths test today?” Dipper said behind her, voice high.
She spun around to look at them, Dipper had his eyebrows furrowed at her and Ty shuffled on his feet, eyeing her nervously.
She scuffed her shoe sheepishly, biting her lip and averting her eyes from theirs, “Yeah…”
Ty looked like he wanted to drop it, but Dipper clearly had no such inclination, his brow furrowed, eyes focused on her, “Why didn’t you tell us?”
She felt a pang in her gut – Oh, you had your own stuff, you know…”
Dipper shook his head at her, “But…I mean, usually we all study…I mean maths is your…ugh.” He shook his head, looking down and sighing before glancing up at her again, “…good luck, Mabes.
She bit her lip, nodding her head at him, “Thanks.”
There was a beat of silence before Josh cleared his throat, gently squeezing his fingers around hers and pulling her towards him, “Well, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Her girlfriends made high-pitched ‘awws’. He moved his head towards, leaning down, and in the corner of her eye she saw Ty visibly tense. Her stomach bubbled. She flexed her hand, prising it out of Josh’s grip and giving him a smile that she hope-hope-hoped didn’t look too desperate.
Something flashed across Josh’s face. He leant forward suddenly, pressing his lips against her and gently curling his fingers with hers. Her eyes widened. Oh no.
She heard two sharp intakes of breath. Her eyes drifted and she could see Dipper gripping the handles of his backpack so hard his knuckles were white. Ty looked wild, like he had been caught in some trap and was desperately trying to search for a way out. Her heart hammered in her chest.
Ty opened his mouth.
“Rasikagoonadatewithme?”
Josh pulled away. Mabel’s head shot to the left. Rasika looked like she’d just been told her first boyfriend was actually a half-dozen gnomes pretending to be a teenage boy.
“W-what?”
It was Ty, high pitched and soft, hands tight on his backpack straps and staring at his brother. Mabel’s stomach fluttered, her eyes flicking between the two of them. Ty’s eyes were fixed on Dipper’s face, but Dipper was staring at Rasika, his hands gripped tight, his mouth a tight line.
Rasika laughed awkwardly, eyes glancing between Dipper and Mabel. She scuffed her shoe against the ground, “Haha, um, what did you say, Dipper?” She asked, in what was a pretty obvious display of this-is-a-chance-for-you-to-lie-about-what-you-both-said-for-both-our-sakes-please-oh-please-oh-please.
Dipper breathed in deeply, avoiding Mabel’s eyes, “Would you like to…go on a date…uh, with me?”
Mabel’s tongue grew thick in her mouth. Her heart beat hard and fast in her chest. She cleared her throat but Dipper didn’t look at her. Her palm was hot and sweaty in Josh’s hands.
She glanced over at Ty, who looked panicked and stricken, and her eyes drifted over to Rasika, who looked about the same. Taylor and and Melanie shuffled awkwardly, looking at each other with their eyebrows raised. Trung was staring at the ceiling, the floor, the lockers opposite them – anywhere but at the painfully awkward scene in front of them.
The silence was made even more obvious by the loud, echoing voices of everyone else in the hall.
Rasika scuffed her shoe against the floor, “Um… uh…”
Mabel had never seen anyone less enthused about a date. Ever.
Rasika sighed loudly, “…Okay…”
“Great.” Dipper replied, not sounding like it was great at all.
There was a high-pitched groan, an almost ‘oh,’ so soft and high it seemed pained. Her eyes flicked over to Ty, who was biting his lip hard, eyes on the ground. It occurred to her suddenly that everyone was watching Ty, and she glanced backwards towards Trung, whose brow was furrowed with worry, eyes trained on his friend. Ty seemed to realise it too, his head shooting upright, a red blush tinging his cheeks.
“I - I’ve got to go,” he said hurriedly, shrugging his bag further onto his shoulders and pushing his way through the crowd. Trung looked over at Mabel quizzically before turning and jobbing after his friend, reaching him as he turned the corner. Ty didn’t look back at them.
Dipper shifted his weight awkwardly, everyone’s eyes now trained on him. Mabel felt her heart contract in her chest. Dipper glanced at her, his eyes falling to her hand. She bit her lip, pulling her hand out of Josh’s sharply. She heard Josh shift next to her, and heat grew in her cheeks as she noticed everyone’s attention shift to her. She looked down quickly, clasping her hands in front of her and chipping her nail polish.
She felt an arm move around her shoulder, “Mabel?” Josh asked, his voice soft and concerned. She glanced up at Dipper, who looked down hurriedly, running a hand through his hair before clearing his throat.
“So, um, Rasika I’ll – I mean, we’ll – ” Dipper held his arms out, palms raised, before dropping them by his sides again, clenching his fists repeatedly, “Um, I’ll just…talk to you later. Bye.”
He spun on his heel sharply, walking away with his head down and his shoulders tight. Mabel bit her lip, watching him. She felt Josh’s arm pull her tighter and her stomach bubbled uncomfortably – no sureebob, not now.
She moved away, ducking under and spinning back to face her locker. She tapped her fingers against the bottom of her locker hurriedly, breathing out slow through pursed lips. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears.
Wow.
What in the heck of all things macaroni was that about? Dipper? And- and Rasika? – And Ty, Ty! She couldn’t believe he did that to Ty, in front of all of these people! And just…Dipper on a date was just…ugh! It was just so unfair of him! How could he do that to them – um, well, to Ty, you know? She knew the Josh stuff was hard but it wasn’t like she – like, she pushed him away! It wasn’t anything, it didn’tmean anything – well, no, it meant something, but – well – ugh!
Oh, glob. How was she supposed to deal with this?
The school bell interrupted her thoughts, ringing through the halls. Mabel realised with a start that the hallway was loud, echoing with voices. She jolted, grabbing her things and slamming her locker with a start. Her friends were watching her warily, Josh’s shoulders were hunched over and he was biting his lip, hands deep in his pockets.
“M-Mabel, I didn’t—” Rasika started.
Mabel silenced her with a with a shake of her head and a smile she hoped didn’t look as forced as it felt, “No worries, m’lady! ”
She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Red creeped conspicuously into her cheeks and she took several steps away from the group, “A date, huh? That’s exciting!”
Rasika took a step towards her but Mabel stepped back further, forcing her smile to be brighter and her heartbeat to calm down, “I’ve got to head off to homeroom,” she said, turning on her heel as she waved over her shoulder, “I’ll, uh, see you guys at lunch, or something!”
She darted off down the hall, ducking between people as fast as she could to lose her friends in the throng of students. Her heart was still beating too hard and too fast. Her eyes were darting around the corridor like it was impossible for them to focus on anything.
There was a pressure on her arm and she twisted away, yanking herself out of the grip hard. She looked up, half expecting Dipper, more than half hoping for Ty, but it was Josh, looking at her with wide eyes, his arms pulled tight against his body.
The sickness she’d been feeling started to drain away, replaced by guilt and a tightness in her stomach.
“M-Mabel,” he said, biting his lip and rubbing the back of his neck, “”an we – can we talk about something?”
“I’ve got a maths test next,” she said, and winced – her voice didn’t come out like she wanted it to, sounding high and hoarse and annoyed. She noticed his fingers start to clench and his wrists start so shake. She bit her lip hard
“Well, I know, but – ” and it was like either the anxiety, or the confusion, or both, had suddenly grown too big in Josh’s chest, because his face hardened as he looked down at her, his hands still wringing in frustration, “but you’ve been ignoring me for ages, Mabel! I don’t know everything you’re up to. You never tell me anything!”
“I – I know, but – ”
“If you know then why are you doing it?”
“Josh – can we – can we talk about this later, please?” she whispered, looking around and biting her lip. People were slowing down to listen to them, particularly unsubtle ones stopping completely.
If Josh noticed the others watching them, he didn’t show it. He threw his hands up in frustration, “This – this isn’t supposed to be so hard, Mabel!”
Mabel felt heat – an entirely different kind to the embarrassed heat of before – rise into her cheeks. “What do you mean, ‘this’?”
His shoulders slumped. He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking at the ground, “I…I think you know what I mean.”
It took a few seconds to hit her, but when it did, it hurt
…Oh.
The heat rose high up through her belly and gripped her heart. She could feel the eyes of the people watching them and the heat rose higher still, nesting in her throat. She became aware that she was shaking – only slightly, but enough to notice.
Oh.
She breathed in deep through her nose, silently begging her body to calm down.
“I…I have a maths test,” she said finally, after her body had calmed down enough for her to be able to trust her voice.
She glanced up and Josh was watching her, his mouth small and his eyes sad. He nodded, shuffling his feet and glancing around, taking a step towards her to make it harder for eavesdroppers to hear.
“Talk after school, maybe?”
She paused before answering, her voice betraying her this time, coming out high and tight, “Y-yeah, okay.”
Josh gave her a small smile, his eyes still sad. He moved towards her, arms stretching out, before seemingly changing his mind, his arms pulling back and his hands jamming themselves into his pockets. He inclined his head towards her before turning, walking the opposite way down the hallway, head bowed.
Her cheeks still burned, even after people started to move away, heading off to their respective classrooms. She began walking, staring at the floor to avoid the sympathetic glances of the people around her.
A few weeks ago, she and Josh were texting daily and watching dinosaur movies every Friday night. A few weeks ago, if Josh had asked her to meet after school, she would have shaken her head because it was Band Practice day, which meant she and Dipper hung out in the library playing Risk until Ty finished up and they all got takeaway fries before heading home. A few weeks ago, if she had worn this outfit, she would have most likely had a Beary Good Day.
But it was not a few weeks ago. And there would be no Dipper-Mabel-Ty hangouts with fries, no casual banter text messages with Josh, no Beary Good anything. There was only a crying Ty and a detached Dipper, a Talk with Josh, and a maths test, and the heat in her cheeks and the pain behind her eyes that never seemed to quite go away.
She sidled into homeroom, taking a seat quickly and making a deliberate effort to avoid looking at other people. She brought out her maths book, leaning over it and running her finger across letters and numbers as the teacher called out names. Her hair draped down, concealing her face. Two wet splotches appeared on the pages in front of her. She didn’t attempt to wipe them away. Last summer, she’d thought about cutting her hair short. She was glad now that she had decided against it.
At least made it harder for people to see her cry in class.
Drifting Part 2
Tyrone
He slammed the stall door behind him, putting the toilet seat down before sitting and letting his head fall into his hands.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
He tried to force the memory down but it came spewing up anyway, lurching into his stomach. Dipper turning to him with wide eyes, Mabel watching with tense shoulders, a dozen eyes fixed on him as he fought the rising pain in his throat from reaching his eyes –
Another moan, low in his throat. He raked his hands through his hair. Shit. Everyone had heard him.Everyone. And now he was sitting on a toilet that smelled beyond suspicious because he couldn’t face the reality that his brother had asked one of his sisters best friends out on a date. Because he was in love with said brother – and sister too, actually, because his life had decided that the brother thing wasn’t quite shit enough.
Ty bit his lip hard, blinking at the pain behind his eyes. He was just getting used to seeing Mabel with Josh, and now this. Why did everything have to hurt so fucking much?
He breathed out slowly, willing his body to calm down. His heart still hammered but his breathing slowed. There was still a tremble in his knees but it was hardly as noticeable. His ears picked up the distant ringing of the bell – first period would be starting soon. He’d have to hustle if he still wanted to make Geography.
Did he want to make Geography though? That was the real question. Was desertification really all that important? No. Nope. Well. Okay. Desertification was most definitely important. But, on the other hand, chances of sibling interaction outside of stanky toilet were too high. He would rather stay in said toilet, which was increasingly smelling like yesterday’s faeces, than go and learn the problems facing the majority of the world (apparently). His own problems were big enough right now.
There was a knock at the door, and Ty started, jolting straight as the knock was repeated, followed by an awkward clearing of a throat and an obvious shuffling of feet.
“Um…is…is this Ty?”
Ah crap. He held his breath, fighting the urge to sniff. Please go away. Please go away. Please go away.
“…Um…Ty…? Man…I know you’re in there. I, uh…saw you running in, and…”
He rubbed his eyes furiously.
“…If you don’t want to come out that’s cool. I’ll, uh…just…wait out here, or something. Yeah. Okay.”
Ty ran his hand down his face, sighing loudly. Great. So he felt guilty now. Fan-tastic.
He stood up, cracking his back before opening the stall door, trying his best to keep his facial expression a steady neutral.
Trung stood in front of him, biting his lip with his head bowed, hands moving inside his pockets.
Neither of them said anything.
“Hey man,” Trung said finally, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
Ty inclined his head quickly, shoving his own hands deep into his hoodie pocket, not trusting his voice.
Something shifted between Trung’s eyes and he moved forward, hands moving out of his pockets and reaching for Ty’s shoulders before he started, pausing with his arms outstretched before snapping them back to his sides.
Ty bit his lip, averting his eyes and clenching his fists hard.
There was a beat of silence.
“So…uh…what was all that about?” Trung inclined his head towards the bathroom door.
“…Nothing.”
“Yeah that…that did not look like nothing, dude.”
Ty felt something warm grow and harden in his chest. He glanced up towards his friend and gave a small shake of his head, “Forget it.”
“Ty –”
“Just – just forget it! Okay?”
When Trung finally spoke his voice was high and soft, “…Okay.”
Guilt bubbled in his stomach, “I’m sorry, it’s just…it’s like…”
It’s like…what? Like being in love with his brother? Like being in love with his sister? Like how everything was too hard all the time and even though everything online said if he just waited a bit longer it would be okay? Well, so far, that wasn’t true. And every time he thought he’d hit the wall it would somehow get harder. And harder. And there was only so much more he could take and still stayhim, you know?
“It’s just…it’s just…”
Ty felt his chest tighten and he bit his lip, running his hands through his hair. He closed his eyes and let out a low groan. When he opened them again, Trung was looking at him, his eyes gentle and his mouth curved.
Ty waved his hands in the air, “Ugh!”
There was a beat of silence. Trung raised his eyebrow, “…Ugh?”
Ty ran his fingers through his hair again, breathing out slowly through his teeth. He leaned against the bathroom stall, “…Yeah.”
Trung let out a low whistle, “That’s pretty bad.”
“…Yeah.”
Ty avoided his friend’s eyes as Trung scuffed his shoe against the floor, shrugging his backpack further up his shoulders. There was the faint dinging of the bell again – the second bell, the warning bell…if they were any later, they’d get in trouble for being late to class.
Trung cleared his throat, “Hey…”
He rubbed his hand across his neck and glanced at Trung.
“Do you want to…hang out tonight, or whatever?”
Ty stood up straight, raising an eyebrow, “hang out?”
“Yeah, like…go and get a pizza, or something…?”
“I’ve got band practice tonight…”
“After band practice, then.”
Ty glanced down, “Look, Trung –”
“Ty, you’ve been acting really weird lately, okay? We never just hang out with the two of us anymore. Not properly. You’re always somewhere else.” Trung rolled his eyes at Ty’s face, “You know what I mean, Ty. You’re never properly there. Why not…I don’t know, give it a go tonight, or whatever. Pizza and icecream, my shout.”
Ty looked up at him, his eyes feeling too large and too dry.
Trung gave him a small smile that was more than a little bit desperate, “Come on…it’ll be fun.”
Ty sighed. He felt his lips pull upward as Trung made his puppy face at him.
Trung’s smile widened and he stepped forward, punching Ty gently on the arm, “Come on, you know you want to…”
Ty fought to control his face as Trung poked him in the side, “you’re always craving that pepperoni and anchovies special…” his fingers splayed out and started to tickle, “Or we could go to breadsticks…breadsticks, Ty…”
Ty snorted, shoving him away, “Okay, okay! You win!” he rolled his eyes as Trung’s triumphant smile, laughing despite himself, “you know how I am about those breadsticks.”
“Alright!”
Trung’s voice was bright and high and made something ache behind Ty’s eyes. He looked away hurriedly and moved towards the door, fingers tapping his back straps and hoping Trung didn’t notice, “We should probably get to class though…”
“Yeah, yeah…” Trung nudged him with his shoulder as he walked past him, pausing before he opened the door and turning, “I’ll get you after band practice, yeah?”
“Haha, okay, okay…” Ty nudged his friend as he leant for the handle, “You’re a real nerd, you know that?”
“Ah, whatever, you love me,” Trung said, grinning as Ty opened the door and stepped out into the almost completely empty hallway.
‘Yeah I do,’ Ty thought but didn’t say.
Trung gave him a smile and Ty felt some tightness leave from behind his eyes. He gave him a small smile back before turning, giving him a wave as he headed off to geography. His heart was jittery in his chest but the fuzz in his mind was leaving him, replaced with…well, not a calmness, but a something. A promise of calmness, maybe. A promise that this evening might not make him want to pull chunks of his hair out.
…In the very least, it was a promise of breadsticks.
There were exactly two days in Ty’s life when band practice didn’t make everything even marginally better. The first was when he was eight and Nana Jojo, who had been a very strong contender for his third favourite person in the world (not that he would ever tell his parents that), had died; and the second, apparently, was today.
It had been one of those days where things slowly got worse, where his stomach felt sicker and sicker, where he’d become more and more aware of eyes following him in the halls. Eight people had asked him where the other two were, stamping in the whole ‘the Pines triplets are separated because of a huge emotional impasse’ thing even harder. There had been exactly one attempt by Mabel to have an actual conversation with him, which he’d shut down on reflex and then regretted doing the rest of the day; and exactly one second of eyecontact with Dipper at lunch time before the guy had gone back to his very intense and deliberate ignoring – which, being honest, was the only way Dipper ever went into anything. He just wished that Dipper had decided to be intense and deliberate in his science project, or something, instead. It was a dark day, spiralling down and down and down –
And not even band had been able to save him.
He felt guilty as soon as the thought entered his head. His trombone was heavy on his back. Nah, that wasn’t fair. He couldn’t blame Tromboney. It wasn’t it’s fault that his life had become a giant butt nugget.
He hefted his instrument over his shoulder, blowing air out of his nostrils and shuffling on foot to foot, glancing around the carpark. The outcome of his entire day rested on the shoulders of Trung and breadsticks, which, yeah, okay, a lot of pressure to put on a person and a foodstuff, but he was desperate here. He was about ninety percent certain that the outcome of this day was going to be a pretty big sign-from-the-gods about whether or not he should put much more effort into this whole…living…thing.
The thought started in his mind as a joke and finished leaden in his stomach. Ty curled his toes and told his mind to shut up as his eyes shifted, searching for Trung and his might-have-once-been-red-but-now-thirty-years-later-was-a-pretty-sorry-shade-of-pink mini-van.
It was cold, the sun almost set, and he could feel his cheeks reddening from the chill of the fading light. He tried his best not to think about the lack of Dipper and Mabel in the car park. They would usually be waiting with Taylor Swift blasting in the speakers and yell at him to hurry up so they could fit in a Maccas run before heading home and curling up on the couch with hot chocolate and marshmallows to watch old Simpsons re-runs until their parents came home…
…but instead Mabel was with Josh, and Dipper was with Rasika, and he was standing alone slowly freezing to death waiting for his friend to come and make him feel like less of a loser.
He bit his lip and grabbed his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through apps and trying to distract himself from the heaviness of his gut as the car park slowly emptied around him.
He was about halfway through an article about which was the most efficient death machine designed by Mother Nature (crocodile, or grizzly bear. He had his money on the grizzy) when there was a horrendous screeching of brakes. His head shot up. Trung was leaning out of the window of his car, sunglasses on and hair slicked back in what Ty recognised as his ‘I’m going to treat my girlfriend to a nice time’ outfit.
Except Trung did not have a girlfriend. And even if he did, it would definitely not be Ty.
Trung waved in a way that Ty presumed was meant to be cool, “Yoooo Ty-rone! Get in the car, yo!”
Ty winced. Most of the people who had things on afterschool had left, but there were still enough people around for Ty to feel self-conscious about the incredibly obvious pity party his friend was throwing.
He ducked his head and buried his hands deep into his hoodie pockets as he scurried over to his friend’s car and clambered in. Backstreet Boys Greatest Hits was playing quietly in the background as Trung grinned at him.
Classic.
“Trung.” Ty said, trying to keep his voice neutral.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing?” Ty gestured to the slicked hair and the…leather jacket? Oh, geeze.
“What do you—”
“Trung.”
Trung snorted and pushed him playfully, starting to drive the car out of the carpark, “Haha, okay, okay, you’re not down for romance, I get it.”
“Trung. Why are you wearing your leather jacket?”
“Oh, uh, soccer practice was cancelled so I, uh, went home and changed.”
“…But why?”
“Because, babe, as we agreed, I am treating you to a night out.”
Ty raised his eyebrow at him as they took off along the main road. If Trung noticed he didn’t make any sign of it, nattering on about his plans for the night. Something something breadsticks, something something icecream, something something Quarter Backs (which, to be honest, usually fully caught his attention), something something hot chocolate…
He should have been excited, really. In the very least he should have been grateful. But it was just hard, you know? Everything was still swirling thick and hot in his gut. His mind kept drifting everywhere he didn’t want it to go. And even if he did want to talk about it, which he didn’t, he couldn’t even do that, because nothing ended friendships faster than admitting you were madly in love with your siblings.
Dipper and Mabel flashed across his mind and Ty swallowed painfully.
Make that friendships, as well as any and all the other relationships
“Trung, you don’t have to do this, you know.”
“Do what?”
“Do…this.”
“What? Be nice to a friend? Treat my girl to a night on the town?”
Trung raised his eyebrows and gave a sly wink. Tyrone rolled his eyes and looked out of the window. He knew he was being a butt, but…ugh! He was being taken on a pity date by his best friend because he couldn’t get his own date, because he was too in love with his brother and sister, who were both out on their own dates and not in love with him at all, because they were normal and he was not. It may have been a pity party, but it wasn’t like he was pulling it out of his arse.
“Tyrone.”
Ty tapped foot to the sound of the music, blinking rapidly and trying to fight down the pain in his throat.
The car jerked right and stopped suddenly. Ty gripped the seat at the sharp turn, his head jolting forward as the car came to a sudden stop. He turned to glare at Trung, but he was glaring right back, his mouth a tight line.
“Ty!” Trung said, before he could get a word out, “I. Am. Trying. To. Do. Something. Nice. Not. Because. I. Feel. Sorry. For. You. But. Because. I. Am. Your. Friend.” He slapped his hands on the steering wheel, “I just want you to be okay! Okay? I just want you to be okay!”
Ty stared at his hands, biting his lip. Trung breathed hard next to him. Ty glanced up and saw Trung was running his hands through his hair. Guilt bubbled in his stomach.
“B-but…I am okay,” Ty said, his voice high and shaking.
Trung didn’t even look at him. He slumped into his chair, letting his head roll back to thunk on the chair behind him, “No. You’re not.”
“Well…” Ty leaned back into his chair, blowing some of his curls out of his eyes. Something hard and pointed started to grow in his chest. He cleared his throat, “…N-no. I’m not.”
Trung breathed out slowly, tapping on the steering wheel. They sat in silence. Ty felt the hard and pointed pain rise behind his eyes. He blinked rapidly. Trung glanced at him before turning to the front of the car. Ty bit his lip as Trung quickly rubbed his eyes, trying his best to resist the urge to rub his.
“I just want to help you,” Trung said, finally, his voice cracking partway through.
Ty bit his lip, looking down. Cars raced beside them.
“Ty…”
Ty glanced over at Trung,
“I don’t…I know this isn’t going to magically make you better. I know that you’re struggling, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t make you any more okay than you were yesterday…” Trung swallowed, and Ty felt something prick behind his eyes, “I guess I just…I want to help. If I can. Even if I have to dress up like a reject from Grease. Even if it’s just for half a minute.”
Ty gripped his hands.
He didn’t know what he did, to deserve the love he got from people. But he was happy - so happy - that he had it.
He nodded, just a short, sharp one at first, and something raw and open cracked on Trung’s face. Ty nodded harder, forcing a smile and looking at his friend.
“Thanks,” he said, finally. He wiped at his eyes, not even caring if Trung saw because - quite frankly - if they were practically confessing their friend love in a car, they were definitely past the boys-don’t-cry thing.
Trung cleared his throat, looking away, and Ty rolled his eyes, a sloppy smile playing on his lips. Okay, so maybe they weren’t past it. At least not with Trung’s tough-guy 1960s persona hanging around.
Trung turned to the front of the car, thumping his hand down on the steering wheel, “You ready for the night of your life, babe?” he asked in what was arguably the worst New Jersey accent Ty had ever heard.
Ty twirled a lock of hair around his finger, batting his eyelashe, “Oh, you know I am, sugar-pie! This is going to be the bomb-diggity.”
“…Pretty sure bomb-diggity was not around in the 60’s…”
“Don’t break character, home-slice.”
People could say what they wanted about Breadsticks, but as far as Ty was concerned, anyone who was critical of free food should probably analyse the rest of their most-likely-completely-wrong-forever opinions.
He grabbed another roll from the basket, shoving the soft, whitebread goodness into his mouth.
“How many of those have you even had?”Trung asked, making a face at him over his spagetti.
“I don’t know…not many,” Ty said, even though he did know the number and it was many. Thirty seven, okay? He’d had thirty seven. But they were free! And seeing as Trung was insisting on paying for him on this ‘hot date’, or whatever, wasn’t eating all the free food a better option than getting his buddy to pay for a lot of not-free food?
…Of course, Trung had already ordered him chilli fries, onion rings, a hot dog and a milkshake, but…that was beside the point.
Ty sat back, breathing in slowly. His stomach buldged out over his jeans but he didn’t care.
Trung leant forward and grabbed a breadstick from the basket, using it to suck up the remainder of his spaghetti sauce, “My Mum’s trying to ban me from having white bread,” he sighed, taking a massive bite.
“What?”
“She said that it’s basically poison,” Trung took another bite, “She says wheat was bred faster than we could evolve and so we’re poisoning our systems with white bread. So she’s banned it from the house.”
“Trung that has got to be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I know.”
“Why have you only had, like, eleven of those bread rolls, if your supply is so compromised?”
“Eleven is a lot!”
“It’s nothing on thirty-seven!”
“You’ve had thirty seven!?”
“The point is, Trung, you are not taking advantage of this opportunity for white bread - free white bread!”
“Oh my god can you please not yell.”
“It’s a TRAVESTY, Trung! A TRAVESTY!”
“Shhh!” Trung grabbed at him with a poorly concealed smile on his face, “You’re so embarrassing.”
“I’m what?”
“Embarrassing!”
“I’m what?” Ty asked again, squinting his eyes and shoving two chilli fries up his nose as he leant forward, cupping his ear.
“Embarrassing!” Trung laughed, ripping the chilli fries out of Ty’s nostrils.
Chilli flakes went straight up Ty’s nose and he gagged, coughing manically. Trung shoved his glass of water at him and Ty took a drink before another coughing fit hit him and he spat water across the table. Trung looked at him aghast.
“Dude!”
Ty grabbed a napkin and blew his nose before taking a desperate gulp of water.
Trung laughed again as Ty made a gagging noise, “This is the last time I take you on a date anywhere. Geeze.”
A waitress came over, a tired smile plastered on her face, “Are you two doing alright?”
Trung went red, “Oh, uh - yeah, we were just –” he looked down at his hand, which was still clutching the snot-covered chilli-fries, “He, I mean, we, uh…”
“We’re fine,” Ty chimed in, his voice relatively calm considering he had almost died. The waitress smiled and took his empty plate as Trung glared at him from across the table. The waitress left, giving Trung a small smile as she did, and his blush came back even redder than before. Ty whistled. Trung looked like he wanted to strangle him.
Trung leant forward, thunking his head against the table, “Oh my god.”
“Please, call me Ty.”
Trung looked up at him and rolled his eyes before climbing out from his seat, “I’m going to go to the bathroom and try and wash off this shame,” he said, flicking the fries on to his plate.
Ty leant forward, reaching for them before Trung grabbed his hand.
“Dude!”
“What?”
“There’s a whole bowl of them right there!”
“Waste not want not,” Ty said, darting his other hand forward and grabbing them, smiling before he stuck the fries in his mouth.
Trung scrunched up his face and raised his hands, “Okay, okay, I’ll leave you to be disgusting in peace.”
“Thankyou,” Ty said with his mouth full. Trung rolled his eyes, grinning, before turning and walking towards the bathroom.
Trung grabbed a handful of fries, popping them into his mouth this time instead of up his nose - which was definitely tastier and burnt less, though was far less hilarious.
Ty glanced around, tapping his fingers against the table as he munched. He felt full and fat and didn’t care. There were at least fifteen people staring at him, but somehow he did not care about that either. He hadn’t felt this okay in a long time. Too long, really. It was amazing what a good friend, chilli fries, and an unlimited supply of breadsticks did for your self-confidence.
His eyes fell on a lady to his right who was still staring at him like he was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen. Ty made deliberate eye-contact with her as he reached for the last chilli fry and sensually placed it on his tongue.
She looked away.
He gave himself a silent hurrah rising up against ‘the man’, and his eyes swept the room again, trying to see if there were any more people inappropriately staring so he could inappropriately eat an onion ring in their general direction. A mop of familiar, thick, messy hair caught his eye. He froze.
Shit.
They froze, too. There were thirty slow seconds of excruciating eye-contact before Dipper looked away hurriedly, hiding his face with the side of his hand. Too late, though. Ty felt heat rise into his chest and colour his cheeks. Things had been going so well. And then he’d had to go and recognise his brother.
And apparently, he’d recognised him just in time for Rasika to come back from the bathroom.
Ty’s stomach bubbled as she slid into the booth. Dipper’s eyes flicked towards her for a half-second before glancing up to Ty again. It was Ty’s turn to turn away, looking away abruptly and staring at the table. He bit his lip, blinking hard. There were still at least three breadsticks left in the basket, but he was no longer hungry.
Shit. Shit.
He couldn’t believe this. Of all the places to go in their town, Dipper had taken Rasika to breadsticks.Breadsticks. Christ’s sake, Dip.
Of course he couldn’t catch a break. Of course.
His heart beat hard and fast in his chest and he breathed in deeply, trying to force down the sickness in his stomach.
“Ty?”
He jolted, his head snapping up.
Trung was looking at him, his eyebrows furrowed with concern, “Are…are you okay?”
Ty swallowed. He could see Dipper in his peripheral vision. He couldn’t tell if he was staring, but it felt like eyes were burning into him. From all around. From everywhere.
Ty stood up suddenly, shuffling out of the booth, “Let’s go.”
Trung looked at him, “Go?”
Ty felt something hot and desperate burst in his chest, “Yes! Go!”
“But…” Trung gestured to their table, “We still have onion rings left…and I just ordered some sundae’s –”
“I’ll pay you back.”
“Ty—”
“Trung, can we please just go!” Ty hissed, grabbing his arms and huddling into himself.
Trung opened his mouth but quickly closed it, replacing whatever he was about to say with a short nod instead. He motioned for Ty to head towards the door. Ty kept his eyes straight ahead as he walked towards the exit. He could practically feel Dipper’s eyes boring into him. He half expected to hear Rasika yell them over – but there was nothing. The heat in his body was crippling. He felt like he was floating, above himself, above everyone.
“I still have to pay,” Trung said, slipping his keys into Ty’s hand, “Go to the car and I’ll meet you out there, okay?”
Ty nodded, hoping his silent thank-you was clear enough for Trung to figure out. He gripped the keys hard and made a beeline for the exit, shoving the door open violently. The cold hit his face and he breathed in sharply, shoving his hands deep into his pockets before trudging toward the car, shoulders drawn up and his head tucked in. He fumbled for the key and unlocked the door, breathing hard as he clambered inside. He thudded his head back against the back of the seat, closing his eyes.
Shit.
He breathed in slowly, focusing on bringing himself back together. His heart beat was still too fast and he still felt unsteady, but he could feel his mind coming back into himself. He was still floating, but it was less high now. He was coming back to earth.
Too bad it was just as scary on the ground as it had looked up high.
Ty jumped as the door clicked open, holding his hand against his chest. He glanced over at Trung as he climbed in the car before looking down at his hands again, biting his lip.
“…Ty…”
He didn’t say anything.
“…Ty…what was that all about?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
They sat in silence for a few seconds. Ty didn’t look up, bracing himself.
“…Okay.” Trung said, finally.
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay.” Trung cleared his throat, “What can I do to help you?”
Ty blinked furiously, fighting the pain inside his throat, “I don’t know.”
“Do you want to drive?”
“Yeah.”
“Where?”
“Just…anywhere.”
“Okay,” Trung said, “I can do that.”
Ty glanced over at his friend. Trung was staring at his lap, holding a giant bowl of icecream that was slowly but surely melting despite it being so cold outside.
Trung glanced up and gave a sheepish smile, “Oh, uh…yeah. I got the sundae’s to go because they’d already made them.”
“You…got the sundaes?”
“Yeah.”
Ty blinked a few times, trying to figure out exactly what he was seeing. Trung took this as an excuse to reach forward and grab the keys off the dash, placing the sundae’s in Ty’s lap as he turned on the car. Trung swung the car around the parking lot, heading out the exit and racing along the highway.
Ty’s head was still buzzing and he still felt not-quite-there, but the coolness on his thighs was bringing him back pretty quickly.
“Trung,” he said, “The icecream’s melting.”
“Yeah, I know. I almost spilt some on my jacket bringing it to the car.”
Ty made a highpitched noise as Trung went over a dip in the road and the melted sugary goo made an impressive attempt at a leap out of the take-away bowl.
Trung glanced at him, biting his lip, “Ty don’t spill any on the car! If Mum finds out she’ll kill me.”
“What am I supposed to do, then?”
“Um…eat it, maybe?”
Ty glanced between the sundae’s and Trung. Um. What.
“But Trung, you’re driving!”
“I know!”
“I can’t eat all of this by myself! It’s a four-person sundae!”
“That’s never stopped you before!:
“It’s not the amount, Trung, it’s the time-frame!” Ty gestured to the dripping bowl, “You got them to give it to you in a shitty paper bowl!”
“It was a twenty-five dollar Sundae, Ty! I was not about to leave a twenty-five dollar sundae to melt into oblivion!”
Ty shook his head, “You have to help me with this, man! You’ve got to pull over!”
“I’m on a highway, Ty! I can’t just pull over for icecream!”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because that’s not exactly an emergency, is it?”
“It will be pretty soon!” Ty wriggled, making a face, “Oh my god. It’s getting all over my pants.”
Trung gripped the wheel, “Is it getting on the seat? Ty! Is it getting on your seat?!”
“Who cares about the seat? These are the only jeans that fit me at the moment!”
“Just…slurp it up or something!”
“What?”
“Just slurp it!”
“Oh god,” Ty said, a crazed giggle making its way out of his throat as he started to shovel the non-melted icecream into his mouth, “It’s everywhere.”
“Ty!”
“Trung what did you do to me? Why did you forsake me to the icecream demons?” Ty made a face as a brainfreeze came on, “Oh god, it’s leaking! It’s leaking!”
“Ty, come on man, just…I don’t know, drink the slushy stuff!”
Ty brought the practically non-existent bowl to his lips. The car jolted, sending liquid sugar across the dash, the gear sticks, and Ty’s face.
Ty spluttered, a manic laugh escaping from his lips.
“Oh god,” Trung looked petrified, “Mum will kill me.”
Ty looked between the leaking bowl and his friend. What could he do? There was literally no other option. Like, literally.
He wound down the window, “Get into the far lane, Trung.”
Trung’s eyes grew wide. He looked rapidly between his friend and the road.
“Don’t you dare throw it out the window, Ty.”
“I’m doing this for you, man.”
“I – there’s an exit coming up! We’ll figure it out then!” Trung quickly changed lanes.
Ty looked at him, slowly moving until his hands were outside the window.
Trung was manically laughing now, “No! No! Ty! Don’t you do it!”
“I’m sorry, Trung. It’s the greater good.”
“Ty I will pull over in fifteen minutes!”
“You will thank me come tomorrow. When the car has not been stolen into the night by sugar-crazed ants.”
“No! No—”
Silence.
“…I can’t believe you threw that out of the window.”
“It’s a paper container! It’ll disintegrate!”
“I’m not talking about the pollution, Ty!”
“Well then,” Ty licked his hands, “Seeing as you’re the reason we were in that mess in the first place, I suggest you shut your perty lil mouth, pardner.”
Trung laughed, and then Ty was laughing too, his jeans starting to smell from the combination of boy-sweat and sugar, Trung’s dash a slowly drying sticky mess. He felt warmth – but the good kind of warmth, the safe kind – rising up inside his chest.
They drove what must have been a long while, their laughter petering out into banter, petering out into a comfortable silence.
Ty was looking out the window, focused on following the street lights with his eyes, when Trung cleared his throat.
“So…do you want to talk about…the whole…not even finishing the onion rings thing?”
Ty rotated his shoulders, turning from his window to face the front of the car. He breathed in slowly.
“…No.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah. I…” Trung looked at his hands and then up again, “I…I don’t think I need to talk about it. At least not right now.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m feeling…”
He paused. He didn’t know how to say it. He felt himself again. His day had been lost, but then it had been saved again. By best friends. And Icecream. And he was…
“Okay?” Trung offered with a small smile.
“Yeah. Okay.”
Trung nodded, “Okay.”
They sat in silence for a split second before Trung reached forward and clicked the CD player of his car on, slowly turning up the volume, “Well then, if we’re both feeling okay, lets ride this okay train until it’s in a-okay-ville!”
Trung clapped his hands as the song got loud enough to hear, “Oh my god!”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“Ignition!” Ty started bouncing around on his seat, “It’s our song!”
“You know it, babe!”
“It’s been years since I’ve heard our song!”
Trung laughed and clicked the repeat button, “In that case, we’ll have to rectify that.”
Ty clicked open the front door, trying his best to be stealthy. It was eleven in the evening, which meant that his parents were in bed, but Mabel? Dipper? He had no idea.
He crept in to the hallway, waving manically at Trung who waved back before taking off, stereo blaring with R&B. Ty smiled and gently closed the door, tiptoeing towards the stairs. He made a face as a floorboard creaked and paused, his ears straining for hints that other people were awake.
Nothing.
Well that was…okay. He felt his stomach coil inside him as the idea that his brother and sister were not home, because they were out at eleven with their dates doing date things, slithered into his mind.
Ah, shit.
He shook his head, trying his best to push the thoughts of Mabel and Dipper and whatever it was they were up to at the moment out of his head. He’d had a good night with Trung. So good he’d actually managed to forget everything for about half an hour.
He knew it was too hopeful to expect that good-ride to continue now he was home, but he wanted to at least believe that it wasn’t too hopeful to at least have tonight end better than the day began.
And that meant avoiding as many thoughts as he could about his brother and sister.
He breathed out slowly, slowly making his way up the stairs. He got halfway before muffled sounds hit his ears and he froze.
Someone was home. And awake.
Heavy heat grew in his stomach. God. What if it was Dipper? What if it was Dipper, in their room, waiting for him to come home to talk about what happened at dinner?
Worse, what if Dipper had brought Rasika over? What if that muffled sound was actually fun-times going down? He didn’t know what fun-times actually sounded like. He was pretty sure porn was not a reliable indicator. Oh god. He did not want to see that. He did not really want to see his brother at all.
But no way. Rasika wasn’t like that. And Dipper was no suave. Come on, Ty. Be realistic here.
Oh God.
What if it was Mabel having fun times? She’d been dating Josh long enough! Oh god. Oh god, that was probably it. What if Dipper was sitting in their room listening and doing his whole emotional-Dipper thing? What if Dipper wasn’t home and Ty would end up being the one sitting in their room doing the whole emotional-Dipper thing?
Ty breathed out slowly.
Okay. Okay.
There was no actual evidence of any of this. He was freaking out. He was letting it get too big again. He had to reel it in. He couldn’t let today be another waste.
He breathed in deep and took another step. And another. He ground his teeth as he reached the landing, trying to break up the muffled sounds. His breath hitched in his throat.
Mabel.
It was coming from Mabel’s room.
Ty crept down towards his room, his heart beating so hard he could feel it on his ribcage. He reached for the doorhandle, easing forward. The floor creaked underneath him and he froze, his tongue thick in his throat.
The murmuring paused for a half second. Ty held his breath.
It started again, gentle and constant. Ty remained frozen, his face growing hot and his eyes stinging. He began to twist the doorknob, praying Dipper wasn’t waiting inside the room, before frowning, his hand stopping mid-turn. He strained his ears.
The murmuring didn’t actually sound like murmuring when he listened to it carefully.
He straightened his back and looked behind him to Mabel’s door. He bit his lip, his heartbeat quickening.
The murmuring wasn’t murmuring, but it was certainly familiar.
He glanced towards his bedroom door again, weighing up his options, before responsibility won out. He moved quietly across the corridor to Mabel’s room, reaching for the doorhandle as he listened.
Yeah. Yeah. He…he was pretty sure he knew what that was.
He knocked the door gently with his other hand. The sound stopped abruptly and he gently opened the door, peering in.
Mabel was sitting on her bed, tissues strewn across her doona. She was rubbing her eyes earnestly, a smile plastered onto her face.
“Oh, Ty!” Her voice came out hoarse and she cleared it quickly, “Um, I was…” She glanced around, her face growing red, “Um…how was your night? You’re back late!”
Ty took a step into her room, clicking the door gently behind him, “It…it was okay.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s great!” her voice was high and peppy, “I’m so glad you had a nice time!”
Ty looked at her, scuffing his foot against the floor, hands in his pockets, “…Mabes.”
Mabel’s face froze.
Tyrone took several quick steps towards her, his arms taking her up into a hug before her face collapsed. She took several desperate breaths into his shoulder, her body shaking. He felt his t-shirt becoming damp.
He rubbed the small of her back, “Mabes?”
She breathed in deeply, wiping her nose on his shirt. Well. It was all gross from icecream anyway.
She leant back, sweeping tissues off the bed to make it easier for him to climb onto it. He swung up and crossed his legs. She drew her own into her chest, resting her head on her knees and looking away. He knew better than to pry. He looked down, playing with a loose thread in her doona cover, waiting for her to feel ready.
“Josh broke up with me,” she said, finally, her voice high and tight.
Ty’s head shot up, “What?”
He knew his mouth was hanging open. He really didn’t care.
“He said that he didn’t think it was the same. That something was different – that I was different,” she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, “That it wasn’t working out anymore.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. Not what I was expecting from date night either.”
“I’m sorry, Mabes,” Ty said, scooting forward, reaching out and rubbing her shoulders.
She glanced up at him, her eyes watering again. She buried her head in her knees, her body shaking, “The worst thing is,” she sniffed, her crying getting louder, “I think he’s right, Ty.”
“…yeah?”
“I don’t know! I just – like, I like josh – liked him, I mean, I – I don’t even know what I mean, but he said I’ve been distracted, and I have, I have been, because nothing’s okay! Nothing is, at all, any of it!”
“Mabes –”
“And I’ve been thinking so much about the kiss, and about Dipper—”
His stomach coiled –
“And – and about you, and –” She breathed in raggedly and looked at him with wet eyes, “I don’t want to die alone.”
“Oh Mabes.” Ty took her up in his arms before she could shift away, hugging her against his chest so hard he could feel her collarbone pressing into him, “You’ll never be alone. Okay? Not ever. Not in anything. Okay?”
She didn’t say anything.
“No matter what happens, with you, and me, and Dipper – we’ll be okay. And we’ll be here for you. Don’t forget that, okay? I know it’s easy to when things…” he swallowed, and he felt her swallow too, “I know it’s easy too, when things are like this. But don’t let that confuse you, okay?”
She nuzzled into his chest. He stroked her hair. He felt her move away, her fingers gently creeping around his stomach and resting on his hips. She sat up, giving him a small smile.
“Thanks Ty,” she said, her throat croaky.
He swallowed painfully. Her hair was falling gently across her face. His heart was beating high and fast in his chest. Her eyes met his and something shot through him. His hand was there before he could stop it, cupping her cheek and gently brushing her hair back.
He knew he was supposed to move away, that his hand was overstaying its welcome.
He didn’t move.
Mabel bit her lip and shifted her head, gently placing a kiss into his palm. He felt her fingers tighten over his hips.
In hindsight, he wasn’t sure what happened, who moved first – but one moment their bodies were separate and then they weren’t. His lips were on her collarbone, her neck, her cheek, her lips; she was breathing short and sharp and desperately against him. She wriggled closer, until her hips were pressed against his.
The contact jolted him.
Oh shit.
Ty jolted back. His hands shot away from her face, shoving them behind him. God. God. She had been crying, Ty! Crying.
Mabel looked up at him, her eyes wide, “Ty?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Ty scooted back, bringing his hands over his face, “I’m so sorry—”
“No! Ty,” Mabel leant forward and grabbed his hands, pulling them away from his face, “Ty, I…” she bit her lip, glancing to the side, before looking up at him, scooting forward and pressing him into a hug, “I-I liked it, she whispered into his neck.
Ty froze.
“Y-yeah? He said, soft, quiet. He doesn’t want to believe it. It is too much, all of a sudden, for that to be true. His hands have moved up and he’s still holding her close to his body, breathing hard. He can feel her breath, gentle against his ear.
There was a beat of silence that seemed to go on forever.
“Y-yeah,” she whispered finally, her eyelashes brushing against his cheek, “Yeah.”
And then he’s kissing her, harder than before, a heat inside his chest reaching up inside of him. There’s a desperation in the way he cups her cheeks and he prays she doesn’t notice it. For a second he’s scared that this is all him – and then she is there too, pulling him into her, her hips pressed up against his. God. This was too much. He could feel his body getting away from himself, his fingers travelling faster than his brain.
And then Dipper.
His mind stopped. His heart stilled in his chest.
Shit.
He moved back again. Mabel followed him forward but he placed his arms on her shoulders, gently pushing her back. She looked up at him like she was broken and all he wanted was to take her up in his arms again.
But no. He had to – they had to talk about this
“Mabel,” he said, his hands on her shoulders, his finger gently stroking her cheek. He swallowed, “What does this mean? He asked, soft, “about…a-about us.”
Mabel bit her lip, not looking at him. Something bubbled warm in his gut. He felt tension rising into his shoulders.
“Mabel?”
She didn’t say anything.
He brought his hands off of her shoulders, gripping them tight as he moved away from her.
She reached out for him, “Ty—”
“What does this mean, Mabel?”
Her arms drew back towards her chest. Her lip wobbled.
“I…I don’t know,” she whispered, finally.
Something sliced into his chest, cold and pointed.
“What?” His voice was trembling.
“I like you Ty! I do! But – it’s hard, Josh, and Dipper, and –”
Ty shot up, his head reeling. Fuck. Fuck. Of course. Josh. Josh! She had just been broken up with, and here he was, sticking his tongue down her throat like some sort of –
And of course Dipper –
And of course she wouldn’t – of course she’d never – of course he was just –
“I’m so sorry,” he stumbled back, knocking his heel into her bedside table hard enough to draw blood, “I’m so – Mabel, I’m so –”
“Ty,” Mabel reached for him, getting to her feet, “It’s not – you’re overreacting!”
He was breathing hard, his ears close to ringing. Mabel took several short steps towards him, grabbing his hands with her own.
“I like you, Ty, I…I think I…” Mabel swallowed, looking down.
Ty felt like something cold and heavy had been dropped in his stomach. He looked down at their hands and saw that his were shaking.
“You and Dipper, I…I’ve been thinking. A lot. And…it doesn’t – it means something, Ty! It does, I just…” Mabel licked her lips, dropping his hands and hugging herself, “I just…it’s just…it’s hard.”
She said it like he didn’t understand. Like he didn’t know how it felt. Like he had not been living in a house with her and Dipper for months – years.
When he spoke his voice was hoarse, so hoarse he didn’t believe it was his, for a second.
“I know.”
Mabel took a step towards him, “Ty—”
He stepped back, shaking his head. Mabel stopped where she stood, her eyes wide and wet and her body shaking.
He knew what came next. He had seen it before, in dreams turned nightmares. He felt like his insides were dying. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. It was like his body was decaying away, leaving him empty and hollow.
It was hard. He knew it was hard. And come on, honestly…who would ever take the hard option?
Ty took a step back. And then another. The doorhandle pressed against his back, digging in to the base of his spine.
“I’m sorry, Mabel,” he said, and he hoped the way he said it made her understand what he meant, how sorry he was – for all of it. For everything. He looked down, grabbing the doorhandle behind him, “I know. It’s hard. And I’m sorry, for making it hard.”
“Ty…”
“I love you,” he said.
Mabel faltered, biting her lip and then looking down.
He could tell she knew what love he meant. But he had to say it once. Just once, you know?
“It’s hard, Mabel. And breakups are hard. But…that doesn’t mean you have to take the hard option. Just because you’re sad. Just because you’re lonely.”
She looked up at him. A part of him – the selfish part – wanted her to say something. To deny it, even if it was just a small part.
But no.
A tear ran down her cheek. Something hot pressed into his chest.
He turned away and pulled the door open, clicking it behind him. His heart was hammering in his chest. He wanted to die. Maybe he was dying. Maybe this is what it felt like - like he was empty. Like there was nothing.
“…Ty?”
He spun.
Dipper was standing at the top of the stairs, his eyes flicking between Ty, and their bedroom, and Mabel’s door. His face was raw and open. Ty knew that look – he had seen – well, no, he had felt that face before.
He took a step towards their bedroom, grabbing for the doorknob. He knew he was shaking. Dipper’s eyes bore into him, and he knew he should say something – anything – that Dipper’s brain would be doing its Dipper thing, that if he didn’t stop it soon, it would meet with a disaster.
The silence was palpable.
“It’s nothing.” Ty said, looking away from Dipper and staring at their door. He felt something within him break, finally.
Because it wasn’t just a denial. It wasn’t just avoiding. It was true. It was nothing. There was nothing.
Because who would honestly take the hard option, apart from him?
Ty opened the door and slunk into the darkness. He closed the door and sank to his knees, the darkness surrounding him. He waited, but Dipper didn’t come. There was a shuffling of feet, a clinking of car keys, and then nothing.
Ty sat for a while. Until his knees ached, and his back was numb, and his cheeks were salted and dried.
Plot
Okay so here is the plot for what is going to happen for the rest of the trip fic
Drifting part 3:
Okay so in this, it was a Dipper POV. It starts with him being totally pissed at himself for being a total asshole to Ty and Mabel. He spends the day at school ignoring them and stuff, and then he goes on the date. Except when he’s there, he notices Ty, hanging out with this dude with a leather jacket. And sure he’s just seeing the back of the guys head, but he’s p sure he’s never seen him before. And then he makes Tyrone laugh really loud and Dipper is like who the fuck is this guy what even is his deal and also why does Dipper even give a crap? Like his bro is happy right, he shouldn’t care as long as he’s happy? But he does care! So wtf? meanwhile his date is all like why did you even invite me to this if you’re just going to not talk to me and stare over my shoulder and he’s like whoops I’m still terrible with the ladies apparently…
ANYWAY
Then the guy Ty is sitting with stands up and Ty makes eye contact with Dipper and Dipper is like oh shit he’s seen me and Ty looks like he’s seen a ghost and then the guy comes back and Dipper realises it’s Trung and he’s like oh my god I was jealous of Trung?? Ty’s straight as aruler bestie? Oh my god.
And then his date is all can we leave now and he’s like I am wayyy ahead of you
ENDSCENE, FASTFORWARD TO DIPPER ARRIVING HOME ON HIS OWN BC HIS DATE GOT AN UBER INSTEAD OF RIDING WITH HIS AWKWARD BUTT and he’s p dejected about it but mainly about the gross hotcold feeling he got when he thought Ty was on a date and what exactly that means you know?
He arrives home feeling p shaken and sees Ty on the landing. He’s all frozen and then Ty goes inside their room and Dipper feels all hot and twisted inside and storms out of the house and goes on a longass ride in his car bc he can’t deal with feelings properly., End Chapter
Waiting:
Okay so this starts with a Ty POV!
Dipper has been totally missing in action since he saw him on the landing, and Ty is like, positive its bc he knew he kissed Mabel, and he feels totally totally guilty about it, because how could he do that to Dipper when he knew how shit it felt to have it done to him? What a grade A douche he is. Like, actually the worst person in the entire world, probably.
Mabel is sort of ignoring him, sort of trying to corner him in a room to get him to talk about feelings. Which is fine, you know, when he’s not dealing with his own inner turmoil. So to deal he’s hanging with Trung a lot, because…you know…avoidance is a totally healthy mental health technique.
Switching to Mabel’s POV, she wants to tell Dipper and Trung about how she sort of maybe likes them both the same? And that’s weird for her too because like, she just broke up with her boyfriend. Isn’t it sort of lamebrain of her to switch to two guys right away? Two related guys, at that. But she wants to badly for the three of then to just…talk again. Properly. She wants to just be friends again, you know?
So one night, when Dipper is in bed pretending to be asleep, she waits outside the room for Ty to come back from his TrungTy hangout, and when he does she grabs him in the hallway and just….well okay, she cries a lot at first. Because it’s a lot, and he’s right here, and she’s missed him so much, you know? And then after he hugs her and she stops crying so loud, she just…well she tells him. That she likes him. And he just stares at her like he’s about to shatter and she shakes her head and grabs his hands and tries to explain it better - because she likes both of them, you know? Both of them. The same. And she knows he likes both of them too, and he doesn’t…it’s not right, without Dipper. But she wanted to tell him so maybe they could…start to get back to normal? At least a little bit?
And then Ty’s POV: Ty smiles but it’s only a little bit happy and mostly sad because he knows what a shitty situation this is, and he holds her close and he whispers okay in her ear because that’s all he knows how to do, and he kisses her too, just a small chaste one, and probably the last time, too, until they figure this stuff out. And then he goes inside his room. He thinks for a half second he sees Dipper watching him through the corner of his eye, but changes his mind and pulls the cover over his head, trying his best to sleep while his insides are whirling inside him. End chapter.
Realisation
EXCEPT DIPPER WAS AWAKE THE WHOLE TIME AND HEARD HUSHED PARTS OF THE CONVERSATION AND KNOWS WHAT MABEL SAID OH MY GOD! And he’s like oh my god. This is too much. It’s basically all his fault none of them are talking properly, and he actually 100% knows it now, and it’s way, way too stressful to think about. He knows Mabel and Ty are trying really hard to be proper tripletfriends, and trying to make everything feel normal - and it would be normal, if he’d just been sleeping like a normal person. Except he’s not a normal person and he wasn’t sleeping and now he knows the whole story and it’s basically killing him inside.
So he goes on long drives even though gas is expensive to avoid going home after school and to make himself think - because when you drive, you’re going through the motions and it’s sort of zen and it feels like his mind clears and gives him time to think.
And one night after a particularly close call with a deer, and he’s clutching the wheel and breathing all deep nad thinking oh my god I could have died, he…sort of realises he maybe likes both of them too. Nothing like a life or death situation to put stuff in context, right?
But he doesn’t really know what it means because he’s never been into guys before, so like…does it count? But he’s not into every girl he sees either, like maybe Ty is just the first? And why does he even need to label it anyway, can’t he just like…accept it? Go with it?
Except if he gets it wrong this time then he’s not just fucked up a little bit, he’s fucked up his brother, and his sister too, and that’s just too much you know? He’s…huge on anxiety. Drowning in it. And there’s no one he can talk to about it because he’s not even sure if he can say it outloud himself yet.
But you know what? If he goes on like this maybe he’ll die like that. Just a perpetual anxiety machine, awkward and probably alone because he’s pushed his sibs away. And he’s not down with that. Not at all. So he’s going to take the risk, even though it’s scary, because fuck it life is scary, right?
So he drives home way faster than he should considering he almost got totalled by a deer, and when he gets home he throws open the door but only Mabel is around, and she’s like Dipper are you okay? Because you sort of have crazy person eyes. And he probably does have crazy person eyes. He feels crazy. But instead of explaining that to her he runs up and grabs her and pulls her into a kiss, like the one they had before but better, because he knows what it means now, and Mabel pushes him away after a few minutes because - and she tries to say it - because Ty -
but he stops her, because Ty…Ty is half of it, too. And he’s going to tell him, today, as well, because he…he likes both of them. And he doesn’t know what it means yet but he wants to try. And Mabel just looks at him and then she’s smiling and then she’s laughing and then she’s crying, and she’s jumping into his arms and kissing his neck and his cheeks and his mouth, and he’s laughing crying too (except in a manly way) because the tightness in his chest is finally leaving him.
And then there’s a strangled gasp and they turn around and Ty is in the landing just looking at them like he wants to die, and then he turns around and runs out the door, and that tightness comes right back. End chapter
End
Ty’s POV, and he’s running because oh my god what had he just seen? Like, seriously? And he can’t even be mad at Mabel really because he knows what he’d do in that situation, you know? If someone actually likes you, and you like them, you just…you act on it. He imagines. It’s been so long since that happened to him he can’t really even picture it.
And he’s happy for them really. He knows he’s holding them back, and if it’s easier and better for it to just be the two of them, he’s down. Like, totally down. He just needs time and space to get used to it. Maybe.
And somehow he ends up at that same park he was at before, and he goes to his original hang out above the slide, and he’s sitting there with his head in his hands trying to absorb it all, and then there’s a voice, and he stands up and looks down and it’s Dipper. And he almost laughs because this looks so much like Rapunzel, except it’s nothing like Rapunzel because there’s a happily ever after at the end of that story and he’s just going to get some weird excuses here.
So he says it’s okay, more to himself than to Dipper, because it is. He’ll be fine. Life goes on, until it doesn’t…but he wasn’t at that point. Not yet, anyway.
And Dipper shakes his head and he grips his hands and he says that’s not it, not really, it’s complicated, its…
And they’re looking at each other and Tyrone just wants to know, why are you even here, I saw you with her and…I want you two to be happy, so, it’s okay. I’ll deal. I just…need a minute or three hundred out here on the slide.
And Dipper just shakes his head because that’s not it.
And Ty’s heart is beathing hard and fast in his chest, and he asks what?
And Dipper says, “I…I don’t know if I like guys, okay? But I do know I like you. A lot.” and he swallows, and it looks painful, and then he makes proper eyecontact, “I like you Ty, okay? I like you both, and…I just…I want to…”
And then Ty catapults himself down the slide like he’s five and takes Dipper out on the other end. In his brain he would have ended up on top of him proper romantic like, but instead he kicks him hard in the stomach and Dipper doubles over and Ty is like ‘oh my god I am so sorry’
And Dipper sort of smiles mainly winces at him, ‘I guess I sort of deserve it.’
‘Yeah you sort of do,’ Ty says, but he’s smiling, and Dipper’s smiling, and then there faces are close to each other and then there lips are touching and its awkward, more awkward than he thought it would be, and it doesn’t last long, but it’s just as warm and wonderful as it was with Mabel. And Tyrone can barely keep a smile off his face as he pulls himself and his brother up properly and they try again, and it’s even better than the first time, and then there’s a yell and they break apart and look around and Mabel is running towards them in her PJs, even though its actually freezing out, and she lunges into their arms before they can tell her off for not putting on shoes and they’re laughing and hugging and giving each other wet, messy kisses, and they know it’s cold and they’ll have to go inside pretty quick if they don’t want Mabel to get ridiculously sick, but they’re together again and they’re happy and it feels like the first time in forever since that’s happened, so they just stand there. For a few moments. Letting it all sink in. Because they’re together, and they have so much stuff to figure out, but they get to figure it out together now.
The end
There you go! It’s not perfect, but it’s what I got :)
A Tripcest Christmas Eve
Happy Holidays!
~*just little grinch things*~
Dipper grabbed another handful of Christmas M&Ms, trying not to look too awkward or annoyed as he lounged against the wall in order to stay out of the way of people as they rushed here and there, calling out the names of their friends. He glanced at his watch. Was eleven too early to leave a party? They’d only arrived two or so hours ago, so it probably was. He sighed, leaning his head back so it thunked against the wall.
Great. Just great.
This party was awful.
…Ugh, okay, okay, so this party wasn’t exactly awful awful. The song choices were okay and the food was decent and people were nice enough, the ridiculously drunk ones coming and wishing him Merry Christmas and everything. It was an okay party, and it’d probably be pretty fun…if, you know, he’d actually been formally invited to the thing.
Mabel had gotten an invite, and Ty had received at least fifteen. Honestly, how that band-nerd had emerged from obscurity to insane levels of popularity in the space of six months, he had no idea. But somehow, despite the fart-jokes, Ty had managed it. Which was great, because it was about time Ty was seen as more than the ‘fat one’ or whatever, finally shaking his label. Label shaking was great. Dipper was all about the label shaking.
It was just…there had been no label shaking for Dipper. He was still ‘the one with the hat’ only apparently he was also going as ‘Ty’s brother’ or ‘the other triplet’ now. Popular enough for people to know he existed but not enough to warrant an actual invitation to things like this.
Mabel and Ty had managed to convince him to come, somehow. They’d actually managed to make it sound pretty fun. Eggnog, gingerbread, Kris Kringle, Christmas soundtrack complete with Grinch songs, and the two of them, who promised to hang out with him pretty much the entire night. It hadn’t sounded that bad, even if he felt weird for going to a party he wasn’t technically invited to, and even though it wasn’t 100% what he had planned for them all.
His spirit wasn’t crushed right away. When he had arrived, things hadn’t been that bad.
Eggnog? Yep. Soundtrack? Yep. Gingerbread? Well, no, the closest thing were some ‘Christmas M&Ms’ which were like normal M&Ms except they were only red and green. That was okay though, he didn’t, like, need gingerbead. Those things still had promise, even if it would be absent of cinnamon-ginger bread decorated to look like little people. He’d joked with his sibs and everyone had complimented their matching holiday sweaters and you know…things were going okay.
Then Ty was dragged off by Trung within the first twenty minutes, and Mabel followed pretty much straight after, dragged into some other room by Ellen. Both had promised to come back to hang with him, but he hadn’t moved from this room since, and he hadn’t caught a glimpse of either of them.
That had been almost two hours ago.
And now here he was, in his ridiculous Christmas sweater that Mabel had made him wear, standing by a wall eating M&Ms and trying not to look like he was hating every second of this party. Even though he was.
Great. Just great.
He glanced down at his sweater and made a face. Bright purple, tinsel edging, giant print of some mistletoe with ‘Kiss Me I’m Stylish!’ on the back. This…this was a hard outfit to disappear into a crowd with. But he had managed it. Well done, Dipper. You achieved the impossible.
Ugh, man. This was quickly shaping up to be the most depressing Christmas Eve he’d ever had – and there were some good contenders in there.
He sighed. He knew they were both more popular than him, or whatever. And sure that made him jealous sometimes but, like, it didn’t bother him half as much as it used to. They were great. He was glad people noticed they were great. He was glad they were invited to parties and talked to by people.
But…but this was their first Christmas together, as in, together together, and he – he’d just thought that –
He rolled his eyes at himself, sighing and looking down, popping another M&M into his mouth.
Ugh, man. He’d done it again. Overthought the whole…magic of it, or whatever. Bought into the dumb romantic Christmas movies with chestnuts and open fires and acoustic guitar and the…uh…stuff that usually followed those things. But no, it didn’t look like those things would be happening. Instead he was here at a party, with no chestnuts and a pretty meagre selection of food.
He quickly moved away from the wall, biting his lip, head down.
He knew it was immature but, like, he just wanted a Christmas with his sibs in their sweaters, watching a movie and giving each other presents. He wanted to eat Mabel’s cookies and listen to Ty as he quoted a Muppet Christmas Carol word for word. He wanted to unwrap their presents, as well as them, under the Christmas tree. That was what he had wanted. No parties. No people ignoring him despite his purple sweaters. No weird funk-moods. He didn’t think that was a crazy thing to ask for.
He sighed as he shuffled between people, heading for the next room. Welp, tonight sucked. It could at least suck with him awkwardly standing next to either Ty or Mabel as they talked to their significantly cooler friends. Maybe they’d take pity on him and let him leave early. Or…pay it back in…another way…later. Maybe the gingerbread could come into play then…
He blushed – ugh, seriously? Come on, Dipper. Control yourself. Expect nothing of the holiday season, this is what tonight should be teaching you.
He sidled into the living room, squeezing between a sexy elf and a reindeer (they…they knew this wasn’t a dress up party, right?), searching around for a flash of Ty’s red sweater or Mabel’s green one. He glanced to his right and stopped, looking at his reflection in the mirror that was hanging on the wall.
Wow.
He looked…
Well, he looked terrible in his Christmas sweater. But, more importantly, he looked miserable. Human personification of the Grinch, minus the green. Seriously, it was Christmas Eve, his first Christmas Eve not being single, and the first Christmas Eve where he’d been able to have a morning make-out session under the mistletoe with not only Mabel but Tyrone as well – and this was his face? Jeez. No wonder no one was talking to him. Hell, no wonder Mabes and Ty had left his sorry butt behind to hang out with people who weren’t so miserable.
Ah, man. He’d done the thing again. The I’m-not-happy-so-no-one-else-can-be thing. The lets-mope-around-and-hope-things-turn-out-my-way thing. The today-was-90%-my-plan-but-I-wanted-100%-so-I’m-going-to-be-a-huge-dick-until-that-last-10%-comes-along thing.
And he wondered how he’d been single for so long.
He sighed, pulling his hands out of his pockets and straightening his back, running his fingers through his hair to put a bit of life into it and practicing a smile in the mirror. The people next to him gave him ‘that guy’ looks, but whatever. He looked at himself again, moving himself around so the tightness in his shoulders dissipated.
Okay, so tonight wasn’t the magical night he wanted it to be. It wasn’t going to be fireworks for him, but…that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be fireworks for anyone else. Mabel and Ty had really wanted to come to this thing, and they’d really, really wanted him to come to. And here he was moping around looking like all the joy in his body had been sucked out through his nostrils.
Not anymore, Dipper Pines. It was time to suck it up. He’d find Mabel and Ty, apologise for sulking, drink some eggnog, and enjoy this party, or, at least, pretend to enjoy this party.
But first, he had to find them.
He wandered through the crowd, trying not to curse at the people who stepped in his way and the couples who lounged in front of him, blocking his entire path. Man, what was it with people and PDA on Christmas Eve? Not that he could do any of the PDA stuff with them, but if he could, he was about one-million per-cent sure that he would not be making out with Mabel and Ty in the middle of the dancefloor.
Mabes and Ty…Mabes and Ty…where on earth were they…
He walked into the main living room and glanced to his right. His heart leapt in his chest, going from standard to racing in a matter of seconds.
Well, there was Mabel. Against a wall with a pained please-leave-me-alone smile on her face, with some six-foot-three douchebag leaning over her, pretty much pinning her in place.
Dipper clenched his fists. Oh, no way. Fuck that.
Grinding his teeth he moved towards them, practically shoving people out of the way. He could hear their conversation as he got closer.
“I like your sweater,” the guy said, “mistletoe, right? Should we…test it out?”
Dipper cleared his throat, “Actually, that’s holly.”
Their eyes snapped towards him and Dipper was suddenly aware that his guy was actually considerably taller than him. Hmm. This…this was not an ideal situation. The dude glared at him and Dipper cleared his throat, feeling his heart beat faster. Then his eyes moved to Mabel, and his heart beat faster for a whole other reason.
“Dipper!” she said, sounding relived, looking at him with thankful eyes. She made a step towards him but the guy moved, making it awkward for Dipper to get to her.
The guy looked him up and down, “I’m Liam.”
Dipper clenched his fists, “Hi.”
Liam looked between Dipper and Mabel, “So, you two know each other?”
“I’m her brother, actually.”
“Oh,” he laughed, “oh great! For a second I thought you were her boyfriend.”
“Right. Hilarious.”
“Having fun at the party?”
“Not really. Can I talk to Mabel, now?”
“Actually, Mabel and I were just talking, uh…” Liam turned to her, giving her a smile, “something about mistletoe, if I remember?”
Dipper saw red but managed to keep his voice in check, “you know, if you want some mistletoe…I think I saw some in the kitchen.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s on the other side of the house.”
“…Right.”
“You should go check it out. You know. Alone.”
“Okay, okay. I got it. Message received.” Josh shrugged, turning around, “see you around, Mabel.”
She perked up as he moved away from her, moving to stand next to Dipper, “Smell ya later!” she called, before she hooked her pinkie finger with Dippers, “you jerk,” she muttered as he turned into the crowd.
Dipper squeezed her hand, glowering at the guys back.
Mabel rubbed her thumb across his knuckles, pulling his arm gently so he looked down at her. She smiled up at him, “Thanks, broksi. I appreciate it.”
She knocked him with her hip and he chuckled, knocking her back, “No worries, Mabes.”
She giggled, pulling him along with her as she made her way over to the food table. Hey, gingerbread! Maybe they were just holding out in the first few rooms to force you further into this dumb party. She grabbed a biscuit and handed out to him, taking a bite, “You seem to be in a perkier mood!” she said, mouth full.
He mimicked her, taking a huge bite of gingerbread before speaking, “Uh, yeah, sorry about that.”
She poked him playfully, reaching for another biscuit, “No prubs bubs! Sorry I left you, I wanted to come back but Ellen kept me for ages and then that bumfart decided to talk to me.”
“Eugh. Were you with him for long?”
“Nah, thanks to my brave brobro, I didn’t have to put up with him long.” She turned to him, wiggling her eyebrows and quickly looking around to make sure no one was looking before she took a step towards him, “my knight in shining armour decided to turn up and save me, how chivalrous of you…”
Dipper felt his heart kick up as she looked at him, eyes darkening. He looked away quickly, scratching his chin, “Haha, yeah, well…”
She leaned up and quickly kissed his cheek, “I’m going to have to give you a proper thank you tonight,” she whispered before quickly bobbing off of her tiptoes and taking a step back, grinning at him.
“M-mabel!”
She rolled her eyes at him, “Oh, hush, Dipper! It was a –”
“Maaaabbbbeessssss,” shouted a voice.
Both of them snapped their heads towards the source of the noise, which appeared to be a random dude with a Santa hat and suit, complete with boots that seemed at least several sizes too big. The guy waved at them, glass of eggnog in one hand and half of a Christmas pudding in the other, “Diiippppiinnnn sssaaauuuccceee!” they yelled, stumbling towards them through the crowd. About five seconds later Trung ran down the stairs, face aghast.
Dipper looked back towards the stumbling Santa.
Wait…did they say Dippin’ sauce?
Wait was that –
Was Ty in a Santa costume?
The Santa finally stumbled over to them, eggnog spilling from the glass and sloshing on the floor as they grabbed for Dipper and Mabel, throwing their arms around them and smothering them in a hug, “My two favourite people in the world, my special friends, my special-special friends aho-ho-ho—”
Oh. Oh god. It was Ty in a Santa costume.
Mabel snorted next to him, “Ah, Tryonikus,” she laughed, “how much have you had to drink ya duffer?”
“Mabes my dear sis I resent the idea that I’ve been drinkin! I’m just happy on holly, smiling for santa, cheery for the –”
Ty’s arms were pulled off of them, an embarrassed Trung holding them against Ty’s waist. Ty struggled against him before moving forward to lick Trung’s face. He yelped, pushing him away and looking at them both apologetically, “Sorry, guys, he, uh…he got into the alcoholic eggnog a bit early,” Trung smiled sheepishly, “I…I mean I put a little in there but you have to drink a lot for it to, like, do anything –”
Ty pushed Trung’s hand away, wagging his finger in front of his face, “Ah, but I love me some eggnog, Trung.”
“Yeah, I know Ty, you said that already –”
“I LURVE me some eggnog, Trung –”
“Yeah, I know –”
“I just – it fucking gets me, you know man? Just like – eggnog. Eggnog. I love it. I lurve it!” Ty fistpumped into the air, “I lurve it baby yeah!”
“Jesus Ty, can you calm your tits?”
“I’m sure you’d love me to calm my tits, Trung! How ‘bout you calm your tits? Calm everyone’s tits! Mabel! Mabel! Spread the word! Everyone’s tits must be calmed –”
Dipper took a step towards him, gripping his shoulder to hold him straight, trying to hold back his laughter, “Okay, buddy. Why don’t you go take a seat? Help us get some water into you?”
“Whaaa? Water? Nah, Dips. Eggnog is where it’s at.”
“Yeah, but you’re…I think you’ve had a bit too much eggnog, Ty–”
“Dipper. Dipper.” Ty shrugged Dipper’s hand off, eyes becoming serious, “I have a serious question, okay. Dipper? Mabel? Trung – yeah, you guys? I got a question for you okay, okay? Guys, guys. Be honest. Does this suit make me look fat?
Trung raised an eyebrow at him, “It’s a Santa costume, Tyrone.”
“Just answer the question, okay?”
“Well…yes. Yes, the pillows you have stuffed into your Santa costume to make yourself look fat have succeeded in making you look fat.”
Ty punched the air, “yessss, oh, I mean, uh, ho-ho-ho!” he jumped up and down, doing a dance erratic enough to force people in his immediate vicinity to take several steps away from him.
Mabel burst out laughing and Dipper rolled his eyes at him, “God, you’re such a nerd.”
Ty turned to him, arms still raised, eyebrows high, “Excuse me? Exc-use me? Whatdidchu say?” He crabwalked over, right into Dipper’s personal space, voice lowering an octave “Dude. If you call Santa a nerd you are bound to end up on the naughty list.”
Dipper’s back straightened immediately at their close proximity, his eyes darting quickly to Trung, who didn’t seem like he thought this was a weird interaction…yet… “Ty,” he tried, his voice awkwardly high.
Ty ignored him, leaning in close, his mouth next to his ear, “and there’s only one way to get off the naughty list, Dipper…”
“Ty –”
“…And it’s by being naughty,” Ty whispered in what was probably meant to be seductive voice but what came across as a weird slurred too-deep Santa. Even so, it was…it was sort of working for him, and Dipper could practically feel his face turn beetroot red as Ty made eyes at him. He tried to act natural as Ty winked at him, gently tapping his chest, even though he could see Trung look between the two of them, eyebrows raising.
“Hokay, buddy,” Mabel stepped in, smile still on her face as she dragged Ty away from Dipper, “I think it’s about time we got you home.”
Ty’s face fell, “Whaaaaaa?” he waved his hands in the air, “but Mabel! The party’s just getting started!” he gestured to himself, “I mean, I’m Santa! Santa! Who’s going to give out the KK presents? Who’s going to make sure everyone’s mistletoe fantasies are fulfilled?”
“Sorry, broski, but the Mabel has spoken.”
Trung looked between the three of them, biting his lip before throwing his arm around Ty’s shoulders. He glanced at Dipper and Mabel, “Are you two sure? I mean, I know he’s not exactly ‘Classic Ty’ but he’s not that bad—”
Ty turned his head and smacked a wet, messy kiss on Trung’s cheek before wrapping him in a bear hug, “Thanks, man, I knew you’d have my back—”
Trung pushed him away, wiping his cheek furiously, throwing his head back with laughter as he took several steps back, “Oh my god man, personal space buddy, personal space!” He winked at Dipper and Mabel, “haha, okay, you two win – take him away. He’s too far gone to save.”
“Trung! Hast thou forsaken me?”
“Afraid so, buddy,” he clapped Ty on the shoulder, “I’ll keep in mind your ridiculously low tolerance for alcoholic eggnog the next time I convince you to try something new.” He nodded at the two of them, “Do you guys need help getting this crazy kid to the car?”
Dipper shook his head at him, “Thanks but, uh, we’ve had plenty of practice with Ty before. We think we’ll manage,” he smiled as he grabbed for Ty’s arm, the smile quickly becoming forced as Ty tried to plant kisses on his cheeks – aaanndd the blush was back again. Great. Goddamnit, Ty, not now!
Mabel grabbed Ty’s other arm, “Thanks, Trung, we’ll take it from here.”
“I know you will. Sticking together in true Pines style,” Trung winked before giving them a wave, “have a Merry Christmas guys,” he said, before heading back into the crowd.
“Oh, we will,” Ty murmured into Dipper’s ear. Dipper glanced at him and saw his eyebrows were moving up and down like it was nobodies business, “ho, ho, ho, you know,” he continued, giving Dipper a wink, “A little elf tells me there’s a present at home just waiting for you to unwrap it.”
Dipper winced, “Oh my god, Ty. Oh my god.”
He heard Mabel giggle and she swung them around, throwing her arms around them both in a hug. When she drew back her eyebrows were wiggling like crazy as well. Honestly, how he ended up being the only one without any eyebrow game, he had no idea.
She leant in close so only the three of them could hear, her eyes dark, “I have to concur with Tyronikus, here…” she purred, “after all, I still have to repay my knight in shining armour for defending my honour, as it were.”
“Guys,” he hissed, feeling a blush creep back on his face again. He bit his lip as he pulled them both through the crowd, praying they could get through the front door and into the safety of their car before either of them tried anything too crazy.
He glanced back at them and they both winked at him wickedly, and he felt his blush get even deeper.
Maybe this Christmas Eve wouldn’t be that bad, after all.
i have finally given up hope on finishing these old doodles from fix’s christmas trips fic
First Times I
Hi everyone!
I gotrequests for Ty-Dip first times and started it but got sidetracked with BJ first times so we have BJ first times now yayyyyy! NSFW and under the cut yo
Dipper bit his lip, staring at the ceiling. He tapped his fingers against his sheets, listening to the slow, steady breathing on the other side of the room.
“Tyrone?” he whispered, turning his head to look towards his brother’s bed.
Nothing. Just a half-hearted snore, which usually would have made him crazy, if he had been trying to get to sleep. Sleep was not coming to him, though. Just lots and lots of images of his naked sister writhing on bed-sheets and his also naked brother moaning his name into his collarbone. He swallowed hard, blood rushing further south.
Ah, shit.
Okay, think about other things, Dipper. Think about algorithms. Think about the lion problem you got in class today. There are X number of lions, and you throw in a goat, or a sheep, or something, to the lions, which are more hypothetical than real lions because they’re also altruistic and…and you know who is altruistic? Tyrone. Especially when it came to snuggle times with Mabel, who was also pretty altruistic, now that he thought about it – ugh! Dipper, your brother is right there, you can’t just knock one out in the same room as him. That would be weird. Keep it together. Don’t think about Ty’s penis, don’t think about Mabel’s boobs, don’t think about Ty’s legs, don’t think about Mabel’s-
Ah, shit.
Dipper stared at the ceiling again, letting out a slow breath. Okay. So. Mabel was at a friend’s house. No big deal, no big deal…except…he had gotten pretty used to, you know, being able to ‘let off steam’ or whatever pretty much whenever he wanted to. And now she wasn’t here. And he had a lot of steam. And he wanted to let it off. Except, like, Mabel was not available, and even if sexting was his thing, which it completely was not, it was, like, 2am. He didn’t need to be an expert to know that the window of sexting time had well and truly past him.
Besides that, sexting would have been weird without Ty involved making inappropriate puns about body parts. Dipper’s mind drifted over to his brother again, who was in the same room as him, within four steps of his bed, and usually a willing participant in…in…stuff.
Except that, well, and he and Ty had never…like…they’d never really…’solo-ed’ it before, and it wasn’t like he’d never thought about it, but…
He glanced towards Ty’s bed again, swallowing hard. It…it didn’t even matter. Ty was asleep. What was he going to do, wake him up and ask him if he wanted to…Dipper didn’t even know, really. Besides. It had always been the three of them. All of them rustled up in sheets together, touching and feeling and…
He felt heat swirl again and he cursed under his breath. His eyes glanced once more over to Ty’s bed before he shifted his body so he was facing away from his brother, a hand trailing down his body. Fuck it. It was 2am. If he wanted to sleep this was his shot. Ty was asleep, and pretty far in, if he had started snoring. It’d be fine.
He lowered his pyjama pants, breathing slowly as he took himself in his hand, biting his lip and closing his eyes. Mabel was pressed against his back, her breasts against his back, Ty pressing himself against his front, his hand wrapping gently around his dick. He whispered into Dipper’s ear as he stroked him, Mabel’s fingers curling from behind and massaging his balls as he kissed his collarbone. Dipper hissed, moving himself faster, his other hand running up and down his thighs, like Ty’s did. Ty moved away from him, eyes wide and dark, his eyes drifting behind Dipper to Mabel’s face before he looked back at Dipper, a smile growing on his face. He moved in, kissing Dipper on the mouth, the collarbone, his chest, his stomach, trailing kisses along his thighs. Dipper sucked in a breath and heard Mabel giggle behind him, felt her press into him harder, “not yet,” she said, voice playful but hoarse, and he looked down at Ty, who was watching him, his head resting on his thigh, a pink tongue darting out—
“…Dipper?” mumbled a voice.
There was some shuffling of sheets, the click of a light switch.
Dipper froze.
Oh shit.
He scurried up his bed, sitting upright, his head jolting to look at his brother on the other side of the room. Tyrone rubbed his eyes, moving his hand away from the lamp and blinking at him bleary eyed, “What are you…” he trailed off, finally registering what was resting on the top of Dipper’s pyjama pants. His eyes flicked back up to Dipper’s face, and Dipper couldn’t help but notice his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. Ty pointed at Dipper and then at his sheets, finger flicking between the two, “Were…were you…?”
Dipper moaned, thumping back onto his bed, hiding his face in his hands.
“Dipper?”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t…what?”
“Don’t! You know, make…make fun of me, or whatever.”
Ty cleared his throat, shifting himself so he was sitting up and moving his legs so they dangled over the side of the bed, “I…I wasn’t making fun of you.”
Dipper huffed, moving his hands and tucking himself away, trying to ignore the redness that had spread across his cheeks.
Ty cleared his throat again, scratching his arm awkwardly, “I mean, like, I just asked a question…if you were…you know…?”
“Ugh! Ty! Come on, what does it look like I was doing?”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I was just…”
Dipper turned away, rolling onto his side, biting his lip. Whatever had been going on down there was fading fast. Well, that was one way to stop things, he guessed. Embarrassment in front of your brother-boyfriend. Just what everyone wants at 2am on a Friday night. Fan-fuckin-tastic.
“Dipper, wait—”
He glanced over at Ty, who was rubbing the back of his neck, biting his lip. Dipper glanced down and his blush came back as he realised that Ty had a pretty obvious tent in his own pants. Ty’s eyes followed Dipper’s as they flicked down and up again and he gave him an awkward smile.
“Oh,” Dipper said, because that was the only thing he could think of, because he was the suave triplet, obviously.
“Haha, yeah…” Ty scratched his chin, looking away.
Dipper felt heat rush down his body again. He continued to stare until he realised that staring was probably weird and looked away too, shifting himself so he was sitting upright, glancing at his brother across the room.
Ty coughed into his hand before rubbing his palms along his pants, avoiding Dipper’s eyes “You know, if um, you want to…you know,” he moved his hand up and down in what was a pretty obvious wanking off gesture, then seemed to realise what he was doing and stopped, panic flashing across his face, his hand freezing. He stammered, wiping his hands on his pants again, “u-um, anyway, if you want to…you know, and I want to…I mean, maybe we could…you know…together…?”
Dipper felt his mouth dry up.
Ty gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat, a hand moving through his hair. His eyes focused on the floor, “and maybe we you…you know…um…with our, uh…mouths?” he stammered, his voice high.
Dipper’s heart picked up in his chest, “Umyeahokay,” he said, too high and too fast, “thatsoundsgood.”
Ty looked up at him, biting his lip, “…yeah?”
Dipper nodded probably a bit too enthusiastically, breathing out slowly, “Y-Yeah.”
Ty grinned at him, blush still on his cheeks. He sat up a little straighter, moving his hands so they were gripping his sheets, “Yeah! Okay, totally! Let’s do this!”
Dipper laughed, swinging his legs over the side of his bed, gripping his sheets as well, mirroring his brother. “Yeah!”
They looked at each other expectantly. A beat of silence. Another.
Dipper shifted awkwardly, “So who…who’s gonna, you know. Go first.”
Ty’s eyes widened, his feet kicking against the bed, “O-Oh, uh…I mean, I can, uh, on you, like…if you want?”
Dipper swallowed hard, “Y-yeah?”
“Uh, um, yeah, why not?”
Dipper’s stomach dropped. Why not? Why not wasn’t the sort of thing a guy said when he wanted to put your dick in his mouth. Guilt bubbled in his stomach and he looked to the side, “You…Ty, you don’t have to.”
There was a confused ‘mmf,’ and Dipper glanced over at his brother, whose face had shifted to one of concern. Ty’s face softened when he saw Dipper’s expression and he shook his head gently, giving Dipper a small, shy smile, “No, Dipper, I-I mean, yeah, I…I’d like to.”
Dipper felt himself grow hard. He swallowed, trying to keep his heart from racing too hard. They had been doing things for a while, really, but they never said things like that, especially not to each other. His throat felt tight. Ty had said he wanted to. He wanted to, to him, and—
Ty was watching him, and Dipper suddenly realised that he should probably, you know…agree, or something. He opened his mouth but all that came out was an awkward squeak of a yes. Oh god. Oh god why. He bit his lip, resorting to nodding furiously, hoping Ty would let it slide.
He noticed Ty’s eyebrow quip but he didn’t say anything, thank god. Ty nodded back, a blush growing on his face as he muttered something to himself, pressing his palms on his legs, pushing himself up.
Dipper tried not to stare too obviously at the tent in Ty’s pants as he took the few quick steps towards his bed. When Ty reached him there was an awkward peen-at-face-height moment before Ty leant down, pressing his lips against Dipper’s. Dipper felt his shoulders relax as Ty ran fingers through his hair, trickling his hands down his torso, trailing his fingers down along his thighs as he kissed Dipper deeper, moving away from his mouth to his neck. A hand reached under his shirt as Ty nipped gently at Dipper’s neck, the other trailing higher and tickling along his inner thighs. Dipper let out an involuntary moan, biting his lip hard. Ah, damnit, always with the thighs. How was Ty so good at this?
Ty seemed to enjoy the sounds, moving his hand to brush up along Dipper’s length, causing him to moan louder. Dipper moved a hand forward in what he hoped was the general direction of Ty’s own inner-thigh area, but he heard Ty chuckle against his neck, the hand under his shirt moving to gently push him away.
Ty moved back, his eyes fixing on Dipper’s, “Not yet, man,” he murmured, his voice husky and if Dipper was honest incredibly sexy, not that he’d ever actually admit it out loud, “it’s your turn first, remember?”
Dipper did remember. He very much remembered. It was impossible to actually forget it with Ty’s hand gently brushing along him through his pyjamas. He had no idea how something he used to do to himself pretty often felt so amazing whenever Ty or Mabel did it.
Ty’s fingers moved away from him and Dipper had to try very hard to not whimper as they did. Ty glanced up at him, biting his lip, and for the first time Dipper saw how nervous he was, his forehead tensed, his brow furrowed. Dipper gave him a small smile, leaning forward slightly to kiss his forehead. They stayed like that for a second, Ty’s breath tickling Dipper’s neck. Something warm swelled in Dipper’s chest.
“Ty, you…you don’t have to—”
Ty silenced him with a kiss, parting Dipper’s legs wider as he kneeled down. His mouth broke away from Dipper’s as he settled between his legs. Ty looked up at him, biting his lip as his hands moved forward, hooking his thumbs in Dipper’s waistband. He quirked his head, questioning. Dipper bit his own lip, giving a quick nod as he rose slightly off the bed, Ty slowly moving his hands down.
Dipper gripped the sheets hard as he felt his pants drop down around his ankles, Ty’s hot breath against his inner thighs. Everything was hot all of a sudden.
His eyes met his and Dipper bit his lip as Ty’s cheek brushed along his inner thigh. His hands were clammy on his thighs. Ty breathed out, and Dipper took a sharp breath in as he felt the warm air hit him. He watched as Ty traced a finger along him, moving from his balls to his tip and back again. Ty began to trail kisses along his thighs and Dipper’s eyes fluttered closed for a half second, something high-pitched and probably embarrassing escaping his throat. He looked down again at Ty, who was watching him intently. His eyes were so dark. Had his eyes always been this dark?
Ty locked his eyes with Dipper as he slowly leant forward, slowly pressing his tongue against Dipper’s shaft. It was so warm, slick and wet. Dipper wriggled as Ty moved up him slowly, like he was tasting every part of him. Dipper breathed in sharply as Ty’s tongue travelled along him. The feeling was so different to hands, even Mabel’s smaller, softer ones, which were nothing like his own. It was so different to the hands, even Mabel’s smaller, softer ones. Dipper gasped, feeling himself twitch as Ty reached his tip, running his tongue over and around in one long lick. Dipper gripped the sheets.
Ty stopped moving, taking his tongue away. Dipper looked down. Ty’s eyes were lidded and he edged closer, a hand gently gripping Dipper around his base, the other moving to his balls. Dipper’s breath was high and fast in his chest. Ty squeezed his fingers gently and Dipper cursed under his breath. The pressure left him and he breathed out slowly. He felt something heavy rest on his thigh.
Dipper looked down. Ty was watching him. There was an eagerness there, and a fear too. His shoulders were tense, his brow furrowed, his mouth a tight line. Everything seemed to be asking for an okay. Is this okay? Are you still okay? Am I doing this okay?
Dipper reached out, brushing his fingers through Ty’s hair, giving him a smile. He didn’t quite trust his voice but that was apparently enough, Ty giving him a wide grin before his head came off of his thigh. He looked at Dipper one more time before opening his mouth, moving forward, gently taking Dipper in.
Fuck.
Slowly, Ty moved back, sucking gently and massaging the hands along the rest of Dipper’s shaft and balls. Dipper leant his head back as Ty ran his tongue around his tip, flicking the top before moving down over the entire head and gently sucking, swirling his tongue as he did.
Oh shit.
“Fuck,” Dipper hissed, reaching out and threading his fingers in Ty’s thick hair. Ty held him in his mouth a moment before moving, bobbing his head slowly at first but increasing his speed, occasionally pausing to swirl a tongue here or there.
He could feel pressure building again and his hips thrust forward without him meaning to. Ah shit. The internet said girls hated that. That meant boys hated it too, right? His head snapped upright again, looking down and moving away, but Ty moved with him, taking him further into his mouth as he did. He started moving faster, his hand pumping his shaft hard as the other gently massaged his balls. Shit.
Shit shit shit.
Fuck.
Fuck.
The heat was building and he knew what that meant. Oh god, what if Ty – did Ty want to…?
A tongue flicked his tip again and he let out a loud moan, “T-Ty,” Dipper hissed, gripping his fingers into his hair, “I’m—I’m—”
If Ty hadn’t been keen on swallowing anything, he didn’t act like it. His movement became faster, more erratic, his head moving fast, his hand pumping. Dipper heard a loud slurp and his heart leapt, his hips moving forward, caught by Ty’s throat at he moved with his brother’s thrusts. Dipper felt his face scrunch up, gripped Ty’s hair harder, pulling him to him –
“Tyronneee,” Dipper groaned, loud and high, throwing his head back as his body jolted. Ty moved with his jerks, sucking hard before Dipper jolted back a bit too far. He popped out of Ty’s mouth audibly, finishing, his body finally relaxing.
Dipper rested his head back, breathing hard, his fingers still in Ty’s hair. Oh god. Sweet Jesus.
He felt Ty kiss him gently on his inner thigh and he looked down lazily at Ty who wiped his mouth, looking up at him, his eyes large, his lips pink. Dipper breathed in a sharp intake of breath. He looked beautiful. Something warm grew in Dipper’s chest. He reached down, cupping Ty’s cheeks and moving down, pressing their lips together. Ty leaned up into him, his palms pressing on the top of Dipper’s thighs. Ty’s mouth was salty and warm.
Dipper pulled away, resting his forehead on his brothers, “Th-that was…”
Ty chuckled, moving so he was high on his knees, resting his forearms on Dipper’s thighs, “pretty good, right? What can I say, I am one talented Pines.”
Dipper rolled his eyes, smiling despite himself, “Eh, don’t get too cocky.”
“I like what you did there, Dipster.”
“Yeah, well, what can I say,” Dipper yawned, moving back and laying on his bed, “I’m one talented Pines.”
He closed his eyes, breathing out quietly. His body was warm and his head was foggy, the tingles slowly leaving his body and feeling tired. Ah man, he was tired. All of a sudden he felt like curling up into his bed again. His lower half was cold but he didn’t care enough to sit up to pull his pants up again. Ty had done a good job.
…Ty…ah, Ty!
Dipper opened his eyes and turned his head to see his brother looking at him awkwardly. He had stood up in however long it was that Dipper had been lying there.
Dipper felt guilt bubble in his stomach, “Sorry,” he murmured, sitting up and pulling up his pants before grabbing his brothers’ hands. He ran his thumb over Ty’s palms, kissing them softly.
He heard Ty giggle above of him, “it’s okay.”
Dipper looked up at him and smiled, slowly sliding back into bed, gently tugging on Ty’s hands. They didn’t usually snuggle too much, without Mabel…but…well, tonight seemed like an exception to that.
Something flashed across Ty’s face and Dipper noticed his hands get sweatier. He looked hurriedly between Dipper and the bed. What, did he not get it, or something? Dipper quirked an eyebrow, giving a sharp tug and pulling Ty down with him. Ty slumped next to him on the bed, his hand still held in Dipper’s. Ty’s hand were still weirdly sweaty but Dipper decided not to bring it up. Their faces were close and Dipper pecked Ty on the nose before sitting up, reaching for his bed sheets and pulling them across them.
He wriggled back into bed, shifting so his arms were around Ty’s middle, his head resting on his collarbone. He could feel Ty tense beneath him and he reached out, rubbing him across his chest, like he seemed to enjoy. He could feel Ty’s chest rising and falling fast with his breathes. He knew he should make sure Ty was okay, but his head was heavy and his mind was foggy.
“G’night, Ty,” he murmured, kissing his neck.
“Oh, uh…night,” Ty’s voice was high.
His mind was too sleepy to make anything of it. Dipper lifted his leg up, snuggling into Ty further. His leg brushed against something. Hmm. It was strangely familiar but he couldn’t place it. He felt Ty tense further underneath him and he moved again, brushing up against it with his thigh. Ty’s breath hitched in his throat and Dipper balked, his mind snapping to attention. Oh crap.
Dipper moved back, legs shooting away from his brother, “O-oh, you – you’re…”
“Haha, yeah…” Ty murmured.
Dipper kicked off the bedsheets, biting his lips. Ty lay there, looking at him, his eyes wide and worried. The tent in his pants was very obvious. How had he missed that? Like, he was tired, but how could he be that tired?
Dipper looked up at Ty’s face again, “Uh, um…” what should he do? Well, he knew what he should do, but – but –
Ty bit his lip, and Dipper couldn’t help but notice his lips were pinker than usual, the image of him down between his legs flashing across his mind. Ty looked away, scratching behind his head, “Y-you don’t have to…”
The way he said it made Dipper’s stomach bubble, “No, no!” he shook his head, sitting upright and looking down at his brother, “I-I want to!”
“Yeah?”
“Y-yeah!”
Okay, so, it wasn’t entirely true, but…ugh, it was hard, and Ty had just…and…ugh. He shook his head. Come on Dipper. This…this couldn’t be one-sided, all the time. He clenched his fists, pinching himself angrily with his nails before turning to look at Ty again, giving him a small nod. Ty’s face broke into a smile and Dipper felt his heart jolt in his chest.
Oh, yeah. This was worth it for that.
Dipper moved down the bed. He tried not to blush too hard as Ty parted his legs for him, his stomach curling underneath him as he positioned himself between Ty’s legs. He could feel Ty’s eyes on him as he leant forward, hooking his thumbs into Ty’s waistband and pulling down.
Wow.
He’d be lying if it was entirely what he expected. He didn’t even know what he expected, really, but…it was different. Very different. Like, he’d seen Ty’s penis before, obviously. Even before they’d all started going out together, the two of them did share a room, you know? Still, up close, it was…well, it was a penis.
He breathed out slowly, tracing along Ty’s thighs, like he did for him. He looked up and Ty’s head lay back into the bed. Dipper smiled, tracing some more, moving his fingers up along Ty’s dick.
This he could do. Handjobs he had done before.
He moved his hand up and down slightly faster, rubbing his thumb around the tip. He heard Ty moan, saw a drop of precum come out from the top. He swirled his thumb around it, wetting the tip and smoothing some of it down the sides. He started to beat faster before remembering himself, his hand slowing, his mouth getting dry. No getting ahead of himself. He wasn’t here for the hand stuff. He was here for…for the other stuff.
Dipper bit his lip, moving closer to Ty’s shaft. He tried to hold his balls and base the same way Ty had done for him, but it was harder with Ty lying down. He resorted to just holding the base, steadying himself with his other hand and positioning himself strategically over Ty.
Right. Well then. Now what?
“Should I…do I just…?”
“Yeah,” Ty’s voice was tight, “yeah.”
Okay, Dipper. Don’t freak out. Do what Ty did. Just…exactly the same thing.
Dipper stuck his tongue out and touched his tip to Ty’s shaft. He felt Ty tense and moved away, wetting his tongue again before moving forward again and touching his tip to it. He did it again. And again.
“Y-you know,” Ty said above him, voice squeaky, “you can, um…you can go up and down, maybe, if you want. Or put more than the tip on it, or, you know, something.”
“R-right,” Dipper stuttered, “sorry!”
He stuck his tongue out again, moving from the bottom to the top. It was strange on his tongue, salty and sweaty. A lot bigger than he had thought it would be, not that he’d actually say that to him. He did it again, trying his best to swirl his tongue on top like Ty had, but he felt his lower-teeth skim the sides of Ty’s dick. Ty wriggled underneath him and Dipper felt him get slightly softer in his hands. Guilt bubbled in his stomach.
Ah, crap. Shit, shit. Okay. What else had Ty done? He’d done the licky thing which he had sucked at. And the swirly thing that he had sucked at. That left the sucky thing. Dipper swallowed. Hopefully he could literally suck at that.
Okay. Here it goes.
Dipper opened his mouth, taking his brother in.
Ty moaned and the sound egged Dipper on. He moved slowly off Ty, sucking as he went, before moving forward again, bobbing his head like Ty had done. Ty’s fingers started to wriggle in his hair, and Dipper could hear his breathing getting more erratic.
“Dipper,” Ty hissed, and Dipper felt heat surge through him again. He began to move faster, Ty’s fingers raking his hair. He bobbed again, and again. He waited for more sounds but all he could make out was breathing. Should he move faster? Should he move slower? Had he been doing one thing for too long? But – but he’d been so bad at everything else! What else was there to do?
Dipper’s jaw started to ache and he relaxed his mouth a little bit. He felt his teeth brush something, heard Ty hiss, fingers grip tighter in his hair, felt Ty become soft in his mouth. Shit. Dipper jolted back. He breathed heavily, looking up at Ty, who was still wincing, his fingers still tight in his hair.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Dipper whispered, voice high.
Ty shook his head, fingers loosening their grip, slowly shifting himself away, “No, it’s okay, just…”
“I know, I know,” Dipper bit his lip, glancing at Ty again before looking away. Well, he had done it. He had officially ruined the mood. Fantastic. He sighed, resting his forehead on Ty’s thigh, “I’m…I’m…”
He felt fingers cup his cheeks, felt his head being tilted up, Ty leant in, kissing his forehead, “It’s okay,” he said, voice slightly too high for it too actually be okay. Dipper felt a lump grow in his throat. Shit. Ty shifted, moving a hand from Dipper’s face to move his pants back up. Dipper moved back as Ty pulled his pants up entirely. He looked away.
“I…I’ll get it next time.”
“You don’t have to,” Ty said quietly, sitting up so he was eye-level with him. He reached out and took Dipper’s hand in his own, splaying out Dipper’s fingers and gently tracing along his knuckles.
Dipper shook his head, twisting his hands so they were gripping Ty’s. He held them tight until Ty looked up at him.
“I want to,” Dipper said, his voice lower and more gravelly than usual. His body was tight. He blinked hard, but wouldn’t let himself look away, his eyes fixed on his brother’s face.
A blush grew on Ty’s cheeks. He nodded at him, smiling, another giggle escaping before he moved forward, placing gentle kisses on Dipper’s nose, his cheeks, his eyelids, “okay,” he murmured into Dipper’s ear before placing a kiss on his neck.
It was Ty’s turn to settle into the bed, his arms reaching up and gently pulling Dipper down on top of him.
Dipper snuggled into Ty’s chest, the tightness leaving him. He would get it, next time. All he needed was a computer, a notebook, a pen, and after he’d figured a few things out, a willing participant to practice on. From the way Ty was holding him, pulling him close to his chest while peppering kisses on his forehead, he was pretty sure that last part wouldn’t be a problem.
Lights on
ARE YOU GUYS READY FOR A HELLA NSFW TRIP FIC BECAUSE THIS IS A HELLA NSFW TRIP FIC. HELLA. HEEELLLAAA.
it’s basically porn haha hahahahaha it’s awful. But it features insecure Ty so it must be posted. I’d like to thank merry-smissmas-from-the-blus for being beta! :)
I would again like to stress this is very nsfw and has little plot and is basically trips having sex haha. it is also the last time I will write such a thing because I do not think I enjoy writing nothingbutsexnsfw stuff haha god i’m so sorry i’m sorry i wrote this ruhhjhfasjfasjf
“Ty,” Mabel said, voice high and far too innocent to not be guilty of something, “why do you always make us turn the lights of?”
He froze where he was, glad he was turned away from them, his hand pausing awkwardly on the light switch.
Oh. Oh god.
“Um, uh, it-it’s more romantic,” he said in what was probably the worst cover up lie he could possible come up with.
Mabel cleared her throat behind him, “I was thinking maybe we could try it with them on tonight?”
He turned his head to look at them. Mabel was playing with the hem of her skirt, shirt already discarded on the floor, biting her lip and looking at him with a small smile. Dipper was sitting on the bed behind her, already undressed to just his boxers, a small blush no his cheeks. When Ty made eye contact with him he shrugged in a ‘why not?’ sort of way, which, well, was the most Ty would be getting out of him.
They…hadn’t quite gotten the hang of talking about this stuff, yet. Which was weird, seeing as they’d been doing it for a while. Like, a good few months, at least. But it was hard, figuring this stuff out. Popular culture had not prepared him for having sex talks with more than one romantic partner, especially not when said partners were related. That threw a whole new spanner in the works. There is just no non-awkward way to start talking sexy to your sibs. The first few weeks were rocky, and he was glad things were mellowing out, but actual serious talking? About what they’d like to try? Nope. Nothing yet.
And like, this was good, you know? He wasn’t, like, against this talking thing. Honestly, Ty was all about trying new stuff. He was especially all about trying new stuff that they want to try…or, well, more accurately, trying stuff he’d thought about fifty times but didn’t always have the confidence to bring up because they were both new to the poly-ship that he’d been sailing for a good two years and he was pretty sure it’d overwhelm them if they jumped straight in to Ty’s-secret-fantasy biz.
But lights on? Lights on? No. No thank you. That was not the new stuff he was after.
He glanced at Mabel’s definitely quite flat and Dipper’s not 100% but sure as heck flat enough stomachs, sucking in his own gut and thankful that he’d managed to get over the other side of the room to the light switch before they’d pulled off his hoodie.
Lights off, now, that was fine. You could imagine what you want with lights off. Rolls stop being rolls and become whatever the heck you want them to be. A real-life ‘insert sexy object here’. But there was no lying about that with the lights on. Rolls are rolls are rolls. There’d be no more fooling them, and he was not ready to shatter the illusion yet.
God. How was he going to get out of this one?
He turned back towards the wall, breathing in deeply to settle his voice, “uh, I…I don’t think I like the idea of that, not really my jam…”
“Lights on is not really your jam?”
“Haha, uh, yeah…doesn’t…um…do it for me. Sorry, Mabes, maybe next time…?” Ty gently clicked off the light, sending the room into a dull gloom.
“If it’s not your jam, why are you offering up a next time?”
Ah, damnit. He bit his lip hard.
“Ty.”
“I…I just don’t want them on, okay?”
He heard movement behind him, gentle steps of unclad feet. A hand covered his on the switch. Ty glanced up, meeting eyes with Dipper. Even through the darkness he could see the worry around his eyes, the tight line of his mouth. There was movement to his right and then Mabel was next to him too, threading her fingers with his free hand.
“What’s up, man?” Dipper asked, voice laced with a softness that made Ty’s eyes prick painfully.
He looked down, shrugging his shoulders. He felt Mabel take step closer to him, pressing her body up against his side. He made the mistake of glancing at her, her eyes wide and eyebrows twisted in concern.
Ah, shit.
“You know,” he said, quietly.
“We know?”
“Yeah. Y-you know,” he shrugged Mabel off, running a hand through his hair, “I…I’m not…I mean, you guys are…” he looked at them and they stood, staring at him, giving him absolutely nothing. He sighed, frustrated, and gestured to them and then to himself, “look at you guys, and look at this, you know? I…it’s just, not all of us can rock the lights on look. I acknowledge I am one of those people. It’s…it’s just best we embrace that. Move on. You know?”
He kept his tone light, joking, and for a second he was pretty sure he got away with it, reaching out for Mabel again and linking their fingers, pulling her towards him for a kiss. Then she stepped away from him, shaking her head, and he felt Dipper’s hand close tight over his.
“That’s not true, Ty,” Mabel said, her voice high and sad and, god, he had done it. The mood was gone. Great.
“It is. It’s okay.”
Mabel made an indignant noise but was interrupted, Dipper taking a step closer so that his front was brushing against Ty’s. He could feel his breath in his face.
“We don’t care what you look like,” Dipper said, softness gone and replaced with a hard defiance, “we don’t care what you think you look like. We like you, okay? We like you for you.”
Ty didn’t say anything, not trusting his voice.
“Come on, Tyroneski. It’s not like we’ve never seen you getting changed or whatever. Why would you deny is the pleasure that is lights on? Hmmm?” Mabel kissed his shoulder, hands traveling down to the waistline of his trackie pants, “we’ll make it worth your while,” she whispered into his ear before blowing a raspberry on his neck.
He snorted, moving his face away from hers, and Dipper moved his face forward, catching their lips together. Through it, he could feel the curve of Dipper’s lips pulled into a smile, and when they pulled away, Dipper glanced at Mabel, eyebrow raised.
“I propose a vote. Majority rules. Those for lights on?”
“AYE!” Mabel screamed into his ear, causing Ty to make a face.
Dipper nodded at her, “Hmm. I have to agree.” He gently pressed on Ty’s fingers, the light coming back to the room and sending spots into Ty’s eyes, “sorry, man. You were outvoted.”
Ty felt a tightness in his chest as they smiled at him. Oh God.
Mabel’s hands moved from the trackie pants to the bottom of the hoodie. She tugged up hard but Ty moved his arms down, trapping the fabric against his body. She pouted at him and Dipper’s eyebrows creased in concern again. Ty held his breath as Dipper reached out, his fingers creeping under the hem of his hoodie and shirt. Dipper…Dipper was still pretty hesitant about initiating stuff that wasn’t, you know, kissing and junk.
“Come on, man…let us do something for you, okay?”
“It’ll be okay, Ty-Ty. We can just try it, you know? If it doesn’t work no biggie, lights off, BAM! Buuuuut you never know until you try,” Mabel wiggled her eyebrows at him, pressing her breasts into his arm. He felt himself twitch.
He breathed in deeply.
Okay?
…Okay.
…Okay?
Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Ty sighed, slowly holding up his arms, and his siblings gently pulled up his shirt and hoodie. He dragged it over his head, holding his clothes in his hands in front of himself. He stood their awkwardly, not entirely sure what to do, other than hide as much as himself as possible in a way that didn’t make him look like he was hiding himself. Hmm. Harder than it sounds.
Dipper took a step forward, pressing their torsos together, and Ty could feel the heat coming off him. Mabel did the same, the gentle curve of her breasts pressing against his upper arm, grabbing one of his hands. Dipper took the other and they gently prised his fingers open, his clothes falling to the floor. Mabel kissed his shoulder and Dipper kissed his collarbone and Ty tried very hard to remember how to breathe as they each took a step back, looking at him.
Was this looking at him thing supposed to be sexy? Because it was not sexy. It was just weird.
He looked down, blinking quickly, and then they were pulling him, dragging him over to Mabel’s bed. He followed, looking back at the light switch.
Ah, man.
Dipper turned him around and pulled him against him, Ty’s back hard against his chest. He fell back quickly, bringing Ty along with him and making him shriek in a totally manly way.
“Dipper! Come on, man. I’ll crush you!”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
“But–”
“Oh, shush, Ty,” Mabel fell on top of him, and he felt Dipper huff underneath him. She looked at him, smiling wickedly, “Dipper can handle it. He’s not that much of a baby.” She poked his chest, running her fingers down and gently brushing his nipples, making them harden despite it all. She grinned, kissing his collarbone, “besides, I kinda like this angle.”
He blushed as she continued to travel down, brushing kisses across his stomach, and he could feel Dipper start to twitch underneath him as she got to the waistline of his pants.
“w-wait!” Ty sat up quickly, and Mabel stood up and took a step back, brow furrowed in concern.
“Is…are you okay?”
Ty opened his mouth, but closed it again, feeling Dipper sit up behind him. His back was against his brothers stomach and he was aware of the folds on his own, the ones that were not there to be felt on Dippers. He put his face in his hands.
“Ty…?” Dipper put his hands on his shoulders.
“I – I just–”
“Ty.” Mabel grabbed his hands, pulling them away from his face, looking at him, eyes dark, “Dipstick and I…we…we’ve been talking about this for a while, okay? This-a plan has been in-a motion for a long-a time.”
Ty decided not to ask why she had decided to go for a terrible Italian accent. Noooot the most comforting thing in the world, he had to say.
“She’s right, man. We…we want to do something for you, for once.”
“And-a we want to a-do it a-seeing our-a brother!”
“But if, like…if you don’t feel comfortable, or whatever, it’s okay. Lights off. No biggie.” Dipper rubbed his shoulders.
Ty looked behind at Dipper and then looked back at Mabel. They were both looking at him so earnestly, and, ugh, man, they had to know he couldn’t say no to those faces. Mabel definitely did, face forming full puppy dog pout in a matter of seconds. He looked back at Dipper and he…he seemed to be trying to do the pout? If he was honest, he just looked terrible. And a little like he needed to poop. Ah, well, it was the thought that mattered. And the thought was making him tear up and want to bawl his eyes out like a big baby. But that would definitely ruin the mood.
Ugh. Man. Okay. “Okay, okay. Lights on.”
“Yes!” Mabel fistpumped, spinning around before pointing at him and grinning wickedly, “oh, and, uh, just so you know, it’s Tyrone-in-the-middle-time.”
“What?”
“Yeah that sort of comes with lights-on time, sorry, man. Forgot to mention that part.”
Ty’s head shot back to glare at Dipper because, like, really? He was not – like, okay, middle sounded okay, and yeah okay that was one of his go-to daydreams for at-home funtimes, but, he’d not emotionally prepared, you know? Usually he was the one driving this poly-train, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about it getting derailed somewhere along the way. Especially if he was middle. Especially if the lights were on.
He didn’t have much time to think about it, though, because Dipper shifted a little further back behind him so that he was leaning against the wall, and he pulled Ty along with him. He kissed him along his neck and Ty moaned involuntarily as he got behind his ear. He felt Dipper shuffling behind him and he laughed a little, picking himself up and turning to help him pull off his boxers. Dipper blushed as Ty hooked his fingers on the waistband and pulled down, trailing kisses along his thigh. Dipper kicked them off and Ty began to kiss his way back up his thighs with a very specific goal in mind.
Dipper grabbed him under his arms and heaved him up, shaking his head at him, “No way, man. Your turn, remember?”
He guided Ty around and Mabel was standing there, hands on hips, shaking her head at him, the smile shattering the illusion that she was annoyed. She took a few steps towards him and leant down, kissing him deeply, before moving her hands down to his tracksuit. He bit his lip and his breath hitched as Dipper guided his hips higher and Mabel slowly shimmied his clothes down his legs, trailing her own kisses down his thighs and tickling him with her hair as it brushed against him over her shoulders. He kicked off his pants and waited for her to climb back onto him but she looked for a moment, biting her lip, before taking a step to the right.
Ty blushed. They’d somehow managed to align their sitting position with Mabel’s full-length mirror. Of course they had. Man, if it wasn’t obvious Dipper had orchestrated pretty much this entire thing, then it was now. God. He felt Dipper stiffen under him, felt a small kiss on his neck.
“You look great, Ty.”
“One hot-to-trot broski, that’s for sure!”
He blushed as he saw himself twitch a little and managed to make himself nod once. He cleared his throat.
“Thanks, guys.”
He did it in the most ridiculous voice he could, because the room still felt way too heavy for a sexysesh to take place in, but he could tell from the way they both lit up with smiles on their faces that they got what he meant. Got what this meant, to him.
Mabel clearly had had enough of the watching thing, skipping over to them, “okay, Tyroneski. Prepare for the ride of your life. Literally.”
He snorted as she pushed him back, pushing him onto Dipper’s lap so that he could feel Dipper’s length along his backside, rising up towards his lower back. He blushed as she straddled him and let out a moan that was a bit too soon and sort of embarrassing but luckily was silenced with a kiss as she pressed herself into him, reaching up and pushing her fingers through his hair. He moved his hands down, trailing up and down her spine, moving his fingers in small circles along her lower back and shoulder blades. He gently cupped her breast through her bra and she moaned into him.
God, her moans. Jesus.
Dipper obviously agreed, kissing Ty’s neck and shoulders more fervently, running his hands across Ty’s chest. Ty kissed along her collarbone as he unhooked her bra, and she shrugged it off quickly, unzipping her skirt and dropping that to the ground as well. Ty blushed at how transparent her underwear was, biting his lip. She looked up at him, eyes dark, and moved back into his lap, her wetness and heat pressing up against him. God. She was so wet. Jesus.
He could feel Dipper stiffen against him, stimulated by their movement and the added weight. Timidly, Dipper rolled his hips into him, moving up and down between his cheeks, and Ty clenched his fists hard, leaning back and hitting his head against the wall. Damn. They hadn’t gone as far as penetration, yet, and they probably weren’t going to do that tonight, but that was okay because this was pretty fucking hot as well, like, Dipper actually moving against him, grinding, and, like…initiating stuff? Seriously. Wow. He didn’t care how freaking cliché or lame that sounded. Wow. Wow. If Ty new how much self-control he would need for this sesh he would have like, mentally prepared a bit more.
Mabel sat up straight so her breasts were in Ty’s face, reaching behind and pulling Dipper into a kiss. Ty took the hint and grabbed her around her torso, holding her straight as he reached up and began to suck on a nipple. She mewled, grinding down onto him, and if he wasn’t hard before he definitely was now.
Mabel took one of Dipper’s hands and guided it into her underwear, dotting kisses along Ty’s collarbone. He could feel Dipper’s fingers moving in small circles through the fabric, feel her getting wetter on top of him, and he began to move, stimulating Dipper behind him as he rubbed up against Mabel.
Suddenly there were hands on his hips, holding him fast, and Mabel leaned forward, mouth close against his ear, “Nu-uh, broski. This is our time to shine.”
He blushed as Dipper twitched against his backside and she stepped off him again and wriggled out of her underwear. Ty’s breath hitched in his throat and he heard Dipper swear behind him. He had to concur. He had no idea how Mabel was so comfortable standing around in the do, but dayum, he was not complaining.
She giggled, winking at them before turning around and skipping to the other side of the room. She opened her wardrobe and rummaged through her things as they watched. Ty bit the inside of his cheek, glancing round at Dipper (who was blushing! Blushing! Despite the fact his penis was right along his butt crack. What an adorkable nerd, seriously.) What the heck were these two up to?
As if to answer his question Mabel turned around, a bottle in one hand and a small box in the other. She skipped back towards them, and Ty realised what it was she was holding.
Lube…chocolate flavoured, apparently, no doubt curtesy of Mabel; and condoms, which were no doubt Dipper’s idea. Ty breathed out, relieved. He hadn’t even really thought about that. Good ol’ Dipper, ever prepared.
Mabel placed them on the bed, giggling, and grabbed her hair in her hands, stringing her fingers through her hair, biting her lip. Slowly, she reached forward and picked up the bottle, popping open the top and smearing some on her palm. She looked at the two of them, blush growing larger and a shy smile spreading across her face. Then she moved her lubricated hand onto herself and began to move in slow circles, a small, high pitched sigh coming out of her mouth.
Dipper’s breath hitched behind him and Ty was pretty sure that this was not something they had organised beforehand. Mabel began to move faster, her breathing getting faster, eyes focused on his face, biting harder on her lip.
Shit. Holy fucking shit.
Dipper nibbled on Ty’s ears as they watched, and Ty bit his lip as he felt one of Dipper’s hands reach down Ty’s back as he gripped himself and gently began to pump. Ty could feel him moving his hand up and down his lower back, and damn, he would very much like to be helping out, but Dipper was leaning forward, his free hand reaching for the other packet. Ty helped him out, reaching forward and grabbing it, practically tearing the box open. Damn. His hands were shaking like cray.
He swore as several packets scattered across his lap and Dipper laughed into his neck. Mabel stopped moving, giving him a playful smile, “a bit keen there, Tyroneski?”
“Ah, shut up. It’s you guyses fault, anyway.”
Dipper kissed him behind his ear, “Goooood English there, Bud.”
Ty squirmed, “Ugh! That’s your fault too,” he muttered, grabbing a packet and pushing the rest off of him. Mabel waltzed over to him, grabbing the condom out of his hand and gently placing it to the side. He looked up at her and she winked, “not yet,” she whispered, before coming onto the bed again and straddling him, kneeling above him so that she was holding herself on top of him, just high enough that if he would have to buck to meet her properly. She and Dipper shared a nod, before they both moved their hands so that they were stroking him, and Ty shifted between them, breathing hard, feeling the heat of both their bodies and trying hard not to lose himself.
Is this what being in the middle was like? Because, like, he could get used to this. If it didn’t kill him. Which…well, at this point, it might.
They used their free hands to gently touch him all over. It…it wasn’t even sexual touching, really. It took him a while to realise that they were just feeling him, stroking him across his stomach and chest and down his arms and legs. He looked up at Mabel and her eyes were so dark and unfocused, caught a glance of Dipper’s concentration in the mirror opposite them, and – and he realised –
They meant it. What they said. It had taken him until now to get it, but it had hit him, finally. He got it. He understood
They wanted him.
They wanted him.
They wanted him.
And, Jesus. It was fucking fantastic.
They started to move their hands faster and he let out a low moan and then suddenly they took their hands away from him, Dipper moving his hands back to Ty’s hips. Ty could feel his shaking breaths, feel him hard against his backside as he gently started to roll his hips again. He pressed back against him and he could hear him sucking air in through his teeth. He looked up at Mabel and her eyes were lidded and she moved closer to him, positioning herself so she was right on top of him.
She reached down for the condom packet and started to tear it open. He noticed her hands were shaking now, and he was worried for a second that it would get torn as she prised the wrapper open. It was fine, though, and she held it over her head, breasts bouncing at the movement.
“Victory!” She cried, before moving closer to him. He could tell Dipper was watching as she gently rolled it down him. She went slow, her eyes focused on his face, and he was suddenly aware he hadn’t breathed in a long time.
He bit his lip and closed his eyes, trying to control his heart.
He opened his eyes and Mabel moved in, kissing him slowly and gently. She pulled away as Dipper slowed the roll of his hips and gently cupped Ty’s cheek, turning his head around and planting a sloppy kiss on his mouth. They were all breathing hard but there was a stillness, for the moment.
A second seemed to pass with nothing.
Then things started up again.
Mabel sunk down on him and Ty swore, struggling to hold himself together through her warmth. She was so wet, jesus, it felt amazing. She was amazing. This was amazing. Dipper kissed him up and down his neck, his erection hard against him, and he began to roll again, brushing himself along Ty’s backside and lower back. Mabel started to move and Ty felt a pressure as Dipper’s fingers pressed him gently below his base, stimulating him in time with Mabel’s movements and the roll of his hips, and oh, god, oh, jesus fuck –
Ty moved his hands, falling back onto Dipper for support. He moved one of his hands forward so he was running circles against Mabel’s clitoris, feeling her wet against his fingers, and she twitched above him but didn’t push him away. He tried to reach back to Dipper but couldn’t without dislodging Mabel, but Dipper seemed to take that as an invitation. Ty felt Dipper move behind him, felt his hand brush him gently down his back before he took himself in his hand, pumping in time with the roll of his hips and Mabel as she started to move faster. He moved his fingers in smaller circles, increasing the pressure, and Mabel stuttered out his name. Dipper’s breath hitching behind him. Dipper bit his shoulder, hard, and Ty could feel the tightness rising in his body, could see how Mabel was about to uncoil, and god, if he could just – if he could hold it a second more –
Mabel’s eyes clenched closed and she began to move more erratically, and Ty could tell Dipper was watching too as her back arched, her face changing as she came, falling forward, her hands grabbing Ty’s shoulders as she shuddered on top of him. She clenched hard around him and Ty buried his face in her shoulder, her hair masking his voice as he moaned their names loudly, bucking hard into her as Dipper pressed up into him, pumping hard, his hips bucking up as well. He felt heat splash up his back and felt Dipper lurch forward behind him, breathing hard into his back as Mabel leaned in and kissed Ty’s mouth, pulling gently on his bottom lip.
She relaxed onto him and he leant back onto Dipper who made a small noise as he was pressed against the wall. Through the haze of his mind, Ty felt sort of bad about Dipper having to support all of their weight, but you know, he had a wall. He could deal.
They breathed heavily, the three of them still tangled together, before Dipper gently rubbed his hands along Ty’s arms, kissing his neck. Mabel giggled and kissed Dipper quickly on the lips before she joined him, dotting kisses along Ty’s collar bone.
“So,” Mabel said, voice high and far too innocent to not be guilty of something, “lights on, yay or yay, am I right?”
Dipper snorted behind him.
Ty rolled his eyes, “I’m not saying anything.”
“Oh, really?” Mabel gently poked him in his stomach.
Dipper’s fingers tickled along his sides, “Come on, man.”
Mabel’s fingers joined him, running up and down his torso, “Say it, say it!”
“S-stop tickling m-me!”
“You know you want to, broski.”
“Ugh! Okay! Okay,” he squirmed, laughing, twisting around and playfully smacking Dipper across the head before turning back to Mabel, rolling his eyes, “lights on.”
“Yay?”
“Very much yay…although…” he cleared his throat, “uh, while we’re on the subject of new things we want to try, I’ve got a few…suggestions.”
ty and trung after a game yeahyeahyeaH
drawing trung has been on my todo list forever (he’s ty’s best friend in pines-fix’s trip fics for those who are a wonderin’)
