An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Fandom: Gravity Falls
Warnings: Profanity, Implied Drinking, Implied Sex
Additional Tags: College AU, College Parties, Fluff, Older Pines Twins, Human Bill Cipher, Nice Bill Cipher, Dancing, Comfort, these two are adorkable boyfriends that are good and considerate to each other, sorry if this sucks i'm not good at writing fluff :|
Maybe it was because of the stuffy, humid heat produced by the horde of inebriated college students or the pulsating, pounding sounds of EDM blaring through speakers, but regardless of whatever it was, one thing was for sure:
Parties were the bane of his existence.
He was okay with hanging out with familiar, old faces or heading somewhere with a very small group of people. Never was he one for meeting a sea of strangers, grinding up against someone else, drinking to the point beyond being shit-faced, and so on.
At least he had Bill, though.
The brunet turned his gaze from the shifting and squirming mass of people who were all dancing and packed in the other part of the room like sardines in a tin to the young man sitting beside him. The two were watching the crowd from the sidelines, idly seated on a nearby couch. The fingers of the blond’s right hand were laced and entwined with Dipper’s left while the ones of the guy’s free hand were restlessly drumming against a fairly shabby, stained armrest to the beat of the music.
Bill wanted to party and dance like the others, that much was obvious.
The young, sleep-deprived adult stared at the remainder of the swishing and sloshing liquid held by the obligatory red solo cup in his hand. He drew his lips into a thin line, contemplating something before letting an almost inaudible sigh as he forced a faint smile.
Times like these were when he’d truly realized how different they and their worlds really were.
“Y’know,” he started, catching Cipher’s attention, “you can go out there too if you want. You don’t need to force yourself to stay with me.”
Cobalt eyes widened, similar to those of a preteen found reading his father’s porn mags. The action was so short-lived that he would’ve missed it had he blinked.
The affable first-year was quick—but not quick enough—to conceal his blunder that screamed, “I’ve been caught!” by quirking his lips and slinging an arm over the shoulders of the boy beside him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, kid.”
“You look really bored,” Dipper countered.
“Geez, Pine Tree! I think you need more glasses or something since I clearly can’t see what you’re—”
“You really shouldn’t lie to your seniors, Billy Boy, especially if they’re your psychology study buddy.”
In reaction to the interruption accompanied with a smug, knowing look, the taller male looked away, uncharacteristically flustered as he grumbled something along the lines of “stupid smart guy”.
The shorter young adult let out an amused, good-natured sigh.
A serene though brief quiet passed between the couple as they listened to the thrumming beats of the song that was currently playing and the drunken shouting of their fellow peers. The introverted Pines twin was the one to break it.
“You can go if you want to. I don’t mind.”
“But you would mind joining me, right? Plus I’ll be leaving my poor, little tree all alone!” the blond dramatically cried out that last part. He threw an arm against over his eyes—well, eye—swooning like some damsel in distress as he swung his legs back and forth, kicking the air while flopping back into the cushions of the sofa.
Mason smirked at his antics and singsonged, “Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mind watching you.”
Bronzed cheeks gave away a faint blush. Another tranquil and momentary silence transpired. This time Bill broke it.
“You sure about this, Pine Tree?”
“Absolutely.”
“Really, really sure?”
“Positively.”
“Really, really, really—”
The brunet stopped the probably never-ending river of what would essentially be the same, pointless question rephrased over and over again by turning to face the man, swiftly grabbing and tugging down on the other’s collar until their faces were a mere breath apart.
“Bill, just shut up and go dance. I want to see if my boyfriend can actually pull off the legendary moves he’s been claiming to be capable of for the past few days.”
Said boyfriend smiled mirthfully, genuinely and with a noticeable hint of guilt, arctic-blue irises softening fondly at the playful challenge.
Dipper wasn’t prepared for such an uncommon expression to cross his love’s visage. Nor was he prepared for a fleeting but warm and comforting peck against the tresses curtaining his constellatory birthmark from the younger.
“I promise I’ll make this up to you, sapling,” the smitten beaut whispered fondly. The guy’s smirk grew wider at the sight of a rosy flush blooming across the pillow-soft cheeks to the originally pale-tipped ears of a certain mystery-loving lad.
“Yeah, yeah,” the second-year mumbled, shooing the other away as he bit the insides of his cheeks and turned his florid mess of a face away from the other’s gaze. “Now go have some fun.”
And with that, the Pines boy watched his eccentric other half walk away, content though somewhat forlorn…
…only for the sapphire-eyed man to come back not even five minutes after his departure, deciding to return just in order to literally carry his unwilling, bibliophilic significant other with him as he dove back into the dense flock of college students.
After weaving and struggling their way through several waves of mainly inebriated people, they eventually reached an oh-so-very marginally less busy area near one of the sides of the room. Throughout their ephemeral but still rather arduous and tedious journey, the (much) smaller male was fruitlessly kicking and releasing shouts and protests that went unheard by both Bill and the surrounding students. To the freshman, it was honestly like carrying an adorably irked, drowsy kitten.
When he finally decided to gently put the thrashing nerd in his arms down, he received a punch to the shoulder and an aggravated sigh.
“You’re such an ass!” Dipper exclaimed. The blond gave him a faux sheepish grin.
“What can I say? I started missing and worrying about my favorite tree!”
The brunet attempted to force down the redness that threatened to creep up his cheeks and threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.
“What happened to the ‘I promise I’ll make this up to you’!? You’re serio—”
The first-year abruptly cut him off by placing a finger on his sapling’s plush lips. “Shh! Just dance with me.”
His lover sputtered, flustered before a sudden anxiousness and nervousness seeped in after realizing where they currently were.
The sophomore was beginning to panic, starting to feel like everyone was staring at him—even when they actually weren’t—with scornful looks that stabbed through his body, leaving it a porous, gory carcass. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to this, however, due to the numerous groups of girls and guys lusting after his popular boyfriend. Thankfully, though the other was deranged and unpredictable, he was always the first to notice and the first to be there to reassure and console him all those other times, so what made this time any different?
“Bill, I-I told you! I r-really don’t like crowds an-and I’m really bad at-at dancing and I really don’t want to—!”
He was cut off again, this time by the dark-skinned man looping an arm around his waist, partially and effortlessly dipping him while being mindful of the bustling people around them and the lack of space they gave. The taller male titled his Pine Tree’s chin slightly upwards, forcing gingerbread-brown eyes as wide as dinner plates to meet relaxed and confident blue ones.
“Focus on me, kid, just me.”
Dipper didn’t bother trying to bite back a soft smile.
The duo danced the night away afterwards—or, well, at least until Bill began getting more “aggressive” in their dance which inevitably led to the two of them retiring early for the evening because of certain very recently-planned activities they had much, much later that night (and yes, these activities did drag out to the ungodly hours of the morning).
A few people around them had realized just how heated their dancing was becoming. It’s not like it mattered to either party, though. Many others in the room were doing the same, so the couple forgot about the world around them during their dance.
The day after, while in bed and being securely wrapped in the safety of his partner’s arms, Dipper supposed that parties aren’t all that bad, so long as he’s with Bill.
