There he stood, dressed in two-day-old clothes and dazed from his nap, while Pacifica glittered from head to toe in diamonds and Swarovski crystal like a princess. And she had just asked him to go out.
He must have been dreaming.
“Wh…what, now?” Dipper folded his arms over his chest to conceal the Ghost Hunters logo on his ratty t-shirt and asked, “Like, now now?”
She rolled her eyes. “Duh. You promised me a good time and here I am. Keep up, Pines.”
Dipper chewed on the inside of his lip as he deliberated. He was exhausted from his shift and had planned on a night of watching bad horror movies and binging on popcorn. He wasn’t mentally prepared for an evening with Pacifica, especially when she looked this good.
But this invitation was everything he had wanted for the past week, and he’d be a fool to pass it up for popcorn and fake blood.
Pacifica’s eyes fell to the side and she tightened her folded arms. “Yeah. Is that so hard to believe?”
Yes, is the answer that sprung to mind first, but one look at her frowning face made him realize that would be a mistake. He opened his mouth and let it hang like that for a few seconds as he tried to come up with the words to express his confusion.
He finally settled on, “Since when?”
It was an innocent question, but Pacifica responded like he had insulted her mother. “I don’t know, does it matter? I just said I like you, okay?”
Dipper wasn’t prepared for the words, even though it was the second time she had said them, and he flushed all over again.
He had taken a liking to Pacifica over the past few years, and they had formed an unlikely friendship. Even the idea that Pacifica had wanted to be his friend had been startling to begin with. Now, finding out she like liked him was completely surreal. He had never considered it before.
As his silence stretched out, Pacifica grew more agitated. Fresh out of patience, she huffed and threw her arms down. Her voice was sharp when she spoke again. “Look, I get it, you’re not interested. Let’s just...forget I said anything, okay? Sorry.”
The sorry wasn’t an apology; it sounded like a cross between anger and shame. Anger that the conversation wasn’t going how she had planned, and shame that she had admitted something that made her so vulnerable. Dipper felt guilty.
“No, don’t be sorry,” he rushed to reassure her. “Please don’t…”
He growled in frustration. None of his words wanted to come out.
“Look, Pacifica, I - like you a lot, too. I...don’t know if I like you like that, though. I’ve never really thought about it.”
Pacifica looked even more dejected than before and she lowered her eyes to the floor. “I told you, just drop it. It was stupid of me to say, anyway.”
When she turned to walk away, Dipper surged to his feet. His hand reached out to catch her, but then he thought better of it.
“Pacifica, I’m sorry.” His voice was rough with nerves, and he licked his dry lips. “I’m sorry I can’t give you the answer you want right now. But if you can wait for me to think about it for a little bit, I might be able to....”
He couldn’t finish his sentence because his throat seized up. Pacifica didn’t look at him, but she turned her head to show she was listening.
“What?” she asked.
He swallowed and changed tactics. “I’m interested. I want to know you better, and maybe I want to know you...like that.”
It was the most vague, embarrassing thing he had ever said, and it was directed at the friend who he might kinda-sorta-like-like. Dipper wanted to evaporate on the spot but he stood firm.
Pacifica finally met his eyes, and there was hope there. “I’m not a patient person, Dipper. But for you...yeah, I can wait. Just not too long.”
That last warning was bravado. He could see she was excited by the idea that he might like her back, and the idea that she was excited made his heart beat faster. Maybe this wasn’t so far-fetched, after all.
Even as the sun dipped below the orange horizon, heat pressed into Marinette like a thick pillow until she felt she would suffocate. She lay prone on her balcony, staring up at the sky as the last of the orange dusk was overcome with inky blue. Sweating with the effort, Marinette pushed up on her elbow and stretched with her other arm for her soda. Her fingertips brushed the glass bottle, still cool, and she brought it to her lips for a drink.
A groan rose from the pile of catsuit next to her.
“Mariii,” Chat Noir whined softly, “can you grab mine, too?”
She shot an annoyed look over her shoulder, but it faltered when she saw him lying flat on his front, spread eagled. He looked ready to sink into the floor and melt right into her bedroom below.
Marinette stretched a little further to snag his bottle by the neck and deposited it in front of him. He perked up and smiled with gratitude.
“Thanks, Mari,” he said as he took a sip.
“No problem, Kitty,” Marinette replied with a tired smile. As he drank, she sank a hand into his curls to ruffle his hair, only to snatch it back with a yelp when she found them drenched with sweat.
“Ew, Chat!” She gave him a nudge with her toe and swiped her hand on her shorts.
“Sorry,” he replied as he turned on his side to face her, “it’s so damn hot.”
“I know I am,” Marinette mumbled sleepily, and all it earned her was a begrudging snort.
“Cute, Princess.”
As the last of the daylight fell away, all she could see were his lenses, glowing green in the darkness. It should have been eerie, but Marinette found the light soothing, like a nightlight from her childhood. Her eyelids started to droop as she repeated, “I know I am.”
“Can’t argue there,” Chat replied with a wink. Marinette closed her eyes and hummed. She could just fall asleep up here; her parents were out of town and would be none the wiser if she slept under a blanket of starlight.
There was the telltale glug of Chat Noir draining his bottle and a pop as he released it. The glass rang out crystal clear as he set it down.
“Seriously, I’m dying over here,” he complained. “It’s so hot I think I’m going to be permanently stuck inside this thing.”
Marinette cracked an eyelid to see him tugging at the collar of his suit to air out his neck. she wrinkled her nose when she heard the damp squelch as he peeled it from his skin.
It truly was sweltering. Even in tiny shorts and a tank top, the night pressed hot and sticky against her skin with not a breeze to relieve them.
Already half asleep, Marinette giggled. “Why don’t you go take off your suit if it’s so hot, then? A leather catsuit isn’t the best summer attire.”
There was a beat of silence, then a sudden flash of white light that momentarily blinded her. As the spots started to clear from her eyes, she realized she no longer saw the green glow of Chat’s lenses. Just a distinctly paler figure lying where Chat Noir had been a moment before.
Marinette rolled over with a shriek so her back was to him. Her voice scattered a nearby flock of pigeons from their roost.
“Oh my god, did you just take off your miraculous?”
Her shrill voice must have caught Chat Noir off guard, because he sounded defensive when he replied, “You just told me to!”
“I didn’t mean right in front of me! I meant go home and take it off!”
“...oh,” Chat Noir said, as if the idea hadn’t occurred to him.
“Put it back on!” she pleaded.
Then came a new voice. “No way, kid. I need a camembert break before I do anything. Maybe a nap.”
Marinette cursed under her breath. That must be Chat’s kwami. If they was anything like Tikki, they would need time to recover before Chat could transform again. She’d have to deal with a de-costumed Chat until then.
“Here you go,” she heard Chat Noir say to his kwami, and Marinette saw a tiny black creature zip past into her open window.
“Hey, Plagg! Where are you going?” Chat called after his kwami. When there was no answer, he growled.
“Probably looking for more cheese,” he muttered.
Marinette was pressed to her balcony in fear. What if Chat Noir’s kwami sensed Tikki? What if her identity was revealed? This lazy Saturday night chat had turned into a game of identity Russian Roulette.
“You need to go home,” Marinette said suddenly as she sat up with a grunt. It was hard to fight the humidity and her fatigue, but she was determined to control the damage.
“It’s okay, you can’t see me! Just keep your back to me,” Chat Noir said, as if this made everything okay.
“What am I supposed to do, talk to you like this all night?” Marinette demanded as she shielded her eyes. “This is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done!”
He laughed and said, “I don’t know, I think you have to compare notes with Ladybug. She’s seen me do way stupider things.”
Marinette clenched her jaw and thought darkly, I already did, and she thinks you’re an idiot!
“You can’t just reveal yourself to anyone! It’s dangerous.” Marinette felt oddly bare as she lectured Chat Noir. She wondered if she should be in her spotted suit for this.
Chat Noir’s voice was calm when he spoke. “I’m not just revealing myself to anyone. You’re a good person, Marinette, and I trust you. I know you won’t look, and even if you did, you wouldn’t tell my secret, would you?”
She absorbed that. “No I wouldn’t,” she agreed. “But still, this is risky…”
“Look, I’ll turn over, okay? Then there’s no chance you’ll see me,” Chat Noir said. Shuffling followed, and then he said, “All better! Now you only have my butt to identify me by.”
This made Marinette laugh in spite of herself. “I promise I won’t look at your butt.”
“Careful, Marinette. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Marinette rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Don’t worry, I’ll be able to keep this one.”
She lowered her hand and lied down on her side again. She was drowsy now and it was more difficult to resist the lull of sleep.
“I’m gonna fall asleep out here. Where’s your kw...your little spirit thing or whatever?”
Marinette was so tired, she almost let the word kwami slip . The sooner she fell asleep, the better.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be back and I’ll be gone before you wake up. Cat’s honour,” Chat Noir insisted.
“Bonne nuit, chaton,” she murmured as she curled up on her side and closed her eyes.
“Bonne nuit, Marinette,” she heard him call over his shoulder.
She was instantly consumed by sleep.
The next morning, Marinette woke to the warm kiss of sunlight on her face. She stretched and yawned, rolling over with a sigh. Her eyes opened to greet the city. Instead, they greeted a sleeping boy.
But not just any boy. A boy whose face was so familiar it made Marinette’s stomach swoop and time slow. His mouth slack with sleep, his hair messy from a night outdoors, and a little black kwami tucked up under his chin, he was unmistakeable.
Adrien. Adrien Agreste, teen model, friend, and her crush since first year, was fast asleep on her balcony, his golden curls pillowed on his arm. Her cheeks boiled as she realized that she had fallen asleep next to Adrien last night underneath the stars, something she had imagined more times than she could count (or was willing to admit). And not just Adrien - Chat. Chat Noir. She had a crush on the boy who was Chat Noir. Or did she have a crush on Chat Noir, who just happened to be Adrien?
Faced with this debacle, Marinette did what any sensible girl in her position would do. She screamed.
“Fancy seeing you here,” she greeted with a playful lilt. She was promptly shushed by a boy a couple of seats down who was hunched over a massive tome. Despite the stink eye he gave her, Pacifica just raised her brows nonchalantly and turned back to Dipper.
“I thought you only studied in your hobbit hole,” she said in a quieter voice.
Dipper knew Pacifica well enough by now to know that it was an affectionate jab. He grinned as he slid into the empty seat across from her.
“I thought you said girls like you were too pretty to know about Lord of the Rings?” he teased.
She wrinkled her nose and muttered, “It’s mainstream now. Get your grubby gate-keeper nerd hands off of it.”
If I get arrested for murdering my parents, you can have everything in my apartment.
It wasn’t until a few seconds after she hit send that it occurred to Pacifica that threatening to kill her parents over text probably wasn’t the best conversation starter. She chewed her nail as she waited for a reply with a hammering heart. When his response popped up, her heart slowed a few clicks.
Even your TV?
She laughed in spite of herself.
Aren’t you supposed to talk me out of it? She fired back.
I doubt it’d make a difference ;)
Don’t worry, it’s only one more night. You can get through it! We’ll do something fun when you get back.
The promise seemed too good to be true and a smile crept over her face. Despite her excitement, her response was flippant.
Another school year, another ten months apart. Waiting,wanting, worrying it would fall to pieces before they could see each other inperson again. And it wasn’t just any school year – it was senior year, riddledwith college applications, interviews, standardized tests, and graduation.Dipper and Pacifica had felt the distance, especially when Dipper hadn’t beenable to visit Gravity Falls during winter break because of a university visitand interview. The distance had left them starving for each other.
As the valley he loved so much came into view through thewindow of the bus, Dipper’s heart beat faster. Mabel drummed in excitementagainst his arm with a wordless squeal, and he squeezed her leg inunderstanding. His nerves were positively vibrating with anticipation; today hewould see Pacifica, after months of waiting.
His butterflies felt like they were coated in tar – bitter,heavy with creeping fear. The late night video chats, the Snapchats sent backand forth, the texts and memes and phone calls – what if they weren’t enough?
The bus couldn’t reach their stop soon enough, and Dipperwas halfway out of his seat as it slowed and the waiting crowd came into view.There was Stan, still wearing that bright red sweater Mabel had given him atthe end of their first summer five years ago despite how faded it had becomewith the sea salt; Grunkle Ford beamed at the approaching bus, looking the sameas he had years ago minus the white hair around his temples; Soos and Melodywith their son Matteo in tow; Wendy, standing on the bus bench to better seethem as they pulled up; and – his heart seized up – Pacifica, looking asbeautiful as the day he left her.
Dipper followed close behind Mabel with his suitcase bumpingagainst his leg.
Once their feet hit the ground, Dipper and Mabel were caughtup in a bone-crushing Grunkle Stan hug, followed by a slightly lessbone-crushing Grunkle Ford hug. Mabel attacked Soos, Melody, and Matteo next,but Dipper only had eyes for Pacifica. He dropped his suitcase and strode overto her, his chest swelling with relief.
Pacifica stayed where she was as he approached, her armsfolded over her chest. When he was close enough to hear, she said with a bit ofannoyance, “Took you long enough.”
It was all bluster. The moment Dipper was within reach, Pacificathrew her arms around him and clutched him tight. Dipper’s arms wound aroundher middle and he buried his face into her shoulder, rocking from one foot toanother like her presence was powerful enough to knock him right off his feet. AsPacifica dug her fingers into his back with desperation, he lifted her off herfeet and swung her around, much to her surprise. Pacifica shrieked withlaughter, and once he set her down again, she pulled back just enough to kisshim hard on the cheek.
“I missed you so much,” she confessed, her voice low. Theflush of her face showed she was a little embarrassed to admit it aloud, butshe didn’t need to say a word. With her touch, all of his fears about driftingapart had been banished.
“I love you,” he replied, loud enough that the others couldhear. But he didn’t care, even as he ducked down to kiss her mouth for thefirst time since last August.
“Hey, kid, get a room!” Grunkle Stan called out.
Only then did Dipper finally pull away from Pacifica, althoughPacifica linked her fingers with his and held fast like she couldn’t bear tolose contact.
@estrelarabyss thank you so much for this prompt! Sorry it’s so corny, lol :D
The blanket of stars overhead winked down at them as they lay in the bed of Dipper’s truck, bundled up in sweaters and blankets. The early summer night was still cool, but they didn’t mind when they were so close together. Under the cover of night, the two of them were in competition to see who could find the most constellations the fastest. Dipper had found Ursa Major and Minor in the first minute, and Pacifica had followed up with Lyra, Draco, and Scorpius. Since then, it had been slow going.
“There! There’s Sagittarius!” Dipper crowed as he jabbed a finger at the sky. After a beat, he added, “At least I think it is…yeah, that’s it!”
“Ooh! Cassiopeia!” Pacifica exclaimed half a minute later, pointing off to the side.
She cocked her head and said, “Okay, so that makes you three, and I’m four…”
Dipper laughed and said, “We’re not very good at this, are we?”
“I guess not.” Next to him, Pacifica shifted nervously, and then she turned her face to him.
“Want to know a secret?” Pacifica whispered into the darkness.
The way she said it, with mischief and excitement, caught his attention.
“Sure,” he whispered back.
She sat up flicked on the small battery-operated lantern by his head. When she started to wiggle out of her sweater, Dipper’s breath caught with surprise. He could only watch with his heart hammering as she peeled away her oversized hoodie, then pulled down the back of her shirt to reveal her bare shoulder. That alone would have been exciting enough, but the mark on her shoulder was what made his jaw drop. He shot upright.
“You got a tattoo?” he squeaked.
He was staring a delicately inked image of Ursa Major - a replica of the constellation on his own forehead.
Pacifica laughed and assured him, “It’s just a temporary tattoo; I wanted to try it out. Do you like it?”
Dipper couldn’t deny that he was a little flattered that she had chosen that symbol, and chosen to show it to him, too. He reached out and traced the fine lines with his fingertips, and her skin was warm. Feeling bolder, he flattened a hand against her shoulder, framing the tattoo between his thumb and index finger.
“I like it a lot,” he said in a low voice.
Pacifica glanced up at him, and his mouth went suddenly dry as heat rushed him. This close, the reflection of the lantern made her eyes look like the ocean at sunrise, and he fell into it until his mouth was on hers. Her fingers tangled into his hair and she twisted around to face him, smiling into his embrace as his hand dragged up her neck and his fingers tucked into her roots.
The stars in the sky were no match for the stars he saw when she kissed him like this.
