Chapter Text
179 Days
Dipper thought about the number as he scribbled it into his notebook absentmindedly amid various sketches and the occasional equation. Eighth-period geometry was working its usual “charms” on him. Dipper genuinely tried to pay attention, but it was hard to be invested in finding the areas of rhombuses when he practically knew the material by heart. Pair that with the teacher's droning, monotone voice, and Dipper couldn’t help but daydream about something he actually cared about.
Leaning his head against his left hand, he sketched a passable likeness of the Mystery Shack into the margins, right below the doodles of Grunkle Stan and Soos.
A place he’d rather be, people he’d rather see.
179 Days.
Dipper quietly sighed as he put the finishing touches on the shack’s lettering, including the fallen “S” in its proper place on the steep roof. Even months after he’d last seen the Shack for himself, its appearance was still clear as day to him. And to think he’d once been worried he’d start to forget!
The past summer, the Mystery Shack, the adventures he and Mable had, it had practically never left his thoughts in the months since. And there wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t miss it.
Hell, Dipper had saved the world back then, how on earth was he supposed to move on from that? Treat it like just some vacation?
It was the people that he missed the most though. Grunkle Stan, with his grumpy exterior and kind inside, Soos with his heart of gold, Grunkle Ford, the one person Dipper could relate with most of all. He even missed Candy and Grenda (as much as they could bug him sometimes). And then Wendy…
Dipper smiled lightly as he decided on the subject of his next doodle. Absentmindedly, he stroked the ear of the trapper hat he’d gotten from her just before he’d left Gravity Falls. His favorite reminder of his favorite person…
Favorite person
Dipper sighed again. More of his thoughts of Gravity Falls were centered around Wendy than he’d like to admit. And he couldn’t fully explain why. He knew it was pointless to keep crushing on Wendy. He’d known it when she’d turned him down after they fought the shapeshifter. In his heart, he’d kinda known it even before that.
He knew it was completely illogical—probably a bad idea too.
And yet, he couldn’t help but dream. A dream held together by spit and tape, and the hat keeping him warm. A dream that somehow, by some miracle, things could change.
179 days…
BRRRRING
Dipper was startled out of his daydream as the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Hastily, he shut his notebook and packed up his stuff. He had an appointment.
“Don’t forget to bring in your calculators for tomorrow!” The teacher called out as Dipper walked past, melding into the stream of students heading for the exits.
(…)
Dipper found Mable waiting for him at the usual spot, a small grouping of pine trees just outside the school’s doors. The moment his sister saw him, her smile became even more glowing, and she raised her hand.
“Dipper! We did it! I got A - on my bio test!”
Dipper couldn’t help but cheer as he gave Mabel a high-five. He’d spent the past week helping her prepare for that test, and he couldn't help feeling a little pride in her success.
“We have to get ice cream!” Mabel continued “These kinds of things need celebrating!”
As much as Dipper wanted to join Mable’s enthusiasm, he knew he had to burst the bubble. After rubbing his head for a moment, he spoke.
“Mable, did you forget? Today’s the first Tuesday…”
His sister's face instantly dropped as she remembered.
“Awww man! We can’t skip it? Just this once?”
Part of Dipper was tempted to say yes, but in this case, he knew better.
“You want to make the government angry?”
Mabel frowned for a moment, then rolled her eyes.
“Fiiinneee, let’s go.”
They found the agents waiting for them in the usual spot, a few streets away from their school. They’d been offered a pickup right from the front doors, but neither Dipper nor Mable had found the idea of an unmarked SUV whisking them away in front of all their classmates very tempting.
As they approached the car, one of the windows rolled down, revealing a clean-cut man wearing dark shades (never mind the fact that it was overcast).
“I'm Agent Chalmers. Name?”
Dipper rolled his eyes.
“Oh come on! You know who we are!”
“Name?” Chalmers repeated the question in the same, stern tone.
“Mason Pines,” Dipper grumbled. “Also known as Dipper.”
“Mabel Pines.” Mabel followed. “Also known as the Mabester ! Hey-oooh! ”
She raised her hand for a high-five, but the man in the car was unmoved.
“Just get inside.” He ordered then rolled his window back up. The rear door of the car opened automatically.
“I’ll get him eventually,” Mable promised, still smiling as she hopped into the backseat followed closely by Dipper.
Once they were inside, the car door quickly shut itself, and they sped off toward…wherever the CIA did its business in Piedmont. The windows in the back of the car were completely blacked out, and a heavily tinted divider separated them from the front. Dipper had given up trying to figure out where they went to a long time ago.
“You know the drill, Pines.” Agent Chalmers spoke sternly. “Phones in the slot. You’ll get them back after.”
Quickly, Dipper and Mable deposited their phones into a slot on the divider before them, then sat back in silence. This wasn’t their first time being whisked around by G-men, but the situation still had a way of making them ever so slightly uneasy.
It was Mable who broke the silence.
“Can I do my homework?”
When no response came from the front, she smiled.
“I’m taking that as a yes!”
“Homework? In here? ” Dipper raised an eyebrow as Mable pulled out a worksheet, awkwardly spread it out on the armrest between them, and started to complete it with a rainbow-colored, glitter-covered pen.
“Why not? It’s boring anyways . More time for fun later!” Mable replied, and Dipper couldn’t argue. He wasn’t in the mood for schoolwork, though, so he turned to the window, looking towards the nonexistent view as he thought about their situation.
It always made him just a little paranoid knowing how closely the government was probably watching them. When the CIA had first paid them a visit back in September, they’d assured him and Mable that it was for their safety. “Checking for lasting effects of the Gravity Falls Incident” they’d said. But Dipper had suspected from the beginning they had an ulterior motive.
He assumed wasn't a coincidence that a maniacal triangle-shaped demon nearly ending the world hadn’t made national headlines. Dipper hadn’t believed at first that the whole thing could just be covered up. This wasn’t some little incident, it was Weirdmageddon for Christ’s sake! In an age with phones, cameras, the internet , there was no way word wouldn’t spread.
And yet it hadn’t. No headlines, no videos, no articles. Gravity Falls was still a relatively obscure town in central Oregon. And Dipper guessed the two government agents that picked them up from school the first Tuesday of every month were part of the effort to keep it that way. And he suspected trying to go against that wouldn’t end well for him.
With nothing to do, he turned his thoughts back to Gravity Falls itself. Back to Wendy…
He wondered if she had to put up with the agents like he did. Despite the hassle, Dipper kinda hoped she did. He wasn’t really supposed to bring the subject up to anyone not in a similar situation. Then again, Dipper knew Wendy could keep a secret.
(…)
Ugh, math class.
Wendy had never been much good at math to begin with, and pre-calc was really making her feel like the education system was turning the screw.
One more time, she looked up to the board, trying her damndest to make heads or tails of the work the teacher had written out.
To the third power…
Factor it out…
Quadratic formula…
Intercepts…
For a few minutes, Wendy tried following the process, writing it all down. Finals were coming up, and this was one she couldn’t afford to bomb. Her grades were shaky as it was ; flunking out of math was the last thing she needed right now. Almost desperately, she kept scrawling down the work.
Finally, as the teacher started to take questions, Wendy looked down at the notes she’d taken.
Just as unintelligible as it had been before.
The redhead groaned quietly, leaning her head against her fist.
God I miss the summer.
Sitting there in the drab, beige-toned classroom, it was almost painful to think about the life she’d been living only months ago.
Even with her sucky job at the Mystery Shack, the relatively frequent encounters with nightmarish abominations, and, worst of all, her embarrassing stint with Robbie, Wendy couldn’t help but look back fondly on the past summer . Especially in moments like this.
The mysteries, the adventures, the friendships, it had all been truly special to her. She’d even go as far as saying her times with the Pines family were some of the best moments in her life.
Of course, that was all over now. The Pines twins and their two grunkles had all skipped town for the time being, off to bigger and better things.
And here she was. Sitting in the same classrooms as the year before. Taking the same mind-numbing classes. All but counting down the days until she could see them again (179 to go!).
Wendy sighed as she reminisced about the awesome (if slightly eccentric) family that had wormed its way into her heart and left a hole in it the moment they were gone. A hole the occasional text message just couldn't fill.
She missed them.
She missed Dipper .
Wendy smiled to herself.
It was only with Dipper that she could be herself. With Dipper, she could talk about geeky stuff, investigate mysteries, watch cheesy old movies, and do whatever else to her heart’s content. She could vent about her family, school, life in general. With Dipper, she didn't need to pretend she was always cool, indifferent, above it all.
Their connection had been… special . In a way she’d never experienced before. Or since, for that matter.
Wendy knew Dipper had felt it too. Maybe even more than she had...
For what felt like the hundredth time, Wendy thought back to her and Dipper’s escape from the bunker, to their… talk about Dipper’s feelings.
It hadn’t been easy to let him down. She’d known about the crush, of course. Dipper wasn’t exactly subtle about it, despite his best efforts. Wendy had even told herself that she’d talk to him about it.
But she hadn’t. She’d made excuse after excuse to herself.
It just wasn’t the right time.
She didn’t know what to say.
It could wait a bit more.
Over and over, she’d put it off, until reality had finally forced her hand. Dipper had confessed his love, full-on love , right in front of her. Wendy couldn’t procrastinate after that. She had to put a stop to it.
What else could she do?
Still though, something about the whole thing kept it fixated in her mind, even all these months later. Replaying over and over, like a broken record.
She'd done what she was supposed to, and Dipper was totally cool with it. He'd moved on from the whole thing.
So why couldn't she?
She replayed the moment over in her head. Dipper, before what he thought was her body, tearfully confessing that he was in love with her.
The sincerity and emotion of the words had taken her off guard; so much so that it had taken her a few moments to put together why a copy of herself was laying before Dipper.
Obviously, the evil, bloodthirsty shapeshifter had taken precedence back then, but in the months since, she’d had a lot of time to think about those words. About how she’d felt in that brief moment after Dipper’s confession…
“Wendy? Hello ?”
Wendy snapped back to reality as she realized the teacher had called her name. She’d been completely spaced out.
“Umm…can you repeat the question?”
The teacher frowned ever so subtly.
“Can you please tell the class what you got for question C?”
“Oh…yeah…umm…”
Wendy tried to buy a few precious seconds as she glanced around her, trying to somehow get the answer . Her eyes settled on two big numbers written on one of her classmate’s papers.
She gave the teacher a smile.
“ Three and seven .”
The teacher raised an eyebrow.
“That was the answer to question B, as we just discussed .”
“Oh…yeah. Sorry.” Wendy cringed internally.
Kill me now.
(…)
“Tell me more about this…Mabeland”
Agent Chalmer's flat voice threatened to put Dipper to sleep, but he forced himself to stay focused. The quicker he could answer the latest batch of questions about Weirdmageddon, the sooner he could leave.
Looking down at the bare concrete floor, Dipper recalled the faux utopia Bill Cipher had created to keep him and Mabel trapped forever.
“Well…it’s like I was saying before. It was this magical world; it knew what your dreams were. It was filled with…like…rainbows, and sweaters, and cutesy animals and stuff.”
“I see.”
As always, Chalmers appeared completely unbothered by the bizarre stories Dipper recounted.
“And what purpose did it serve?”
“It was meant to keep you trapped there. Fulfill your biggest wishes…you don’t want to leave…you know?”
Dipper remembered Bill’s prison all too well. He’d watched all his friends fall for its charms. He’d nearly been taken in by it himself…
“And that was your dream, then? Um…cute animals, you said?”
Dipper's eyes widened slightly.
“Oh…no. No . That was all for my sister. It was all…built for her first, I guess.”
“Mm.” The agent typed a few more notes into his laptop.
“So it was for your sister? It didn’t show you your dreams?”
Dipper couldn’t help but tense slightly.
“No…it did.”
Please don’t make me talk about this.
A few moments of silence passed by. Agent Chalmers looked up at him expectingly.
“Pines?”
Despite his best efforts, Dipper felt his cheeks redden. He sighed quietly. He supposed that of all the people he could admit it to, this was one of the better options. These agents were supposed to keep things secret, right?
“Well…you see...” Dipper shifted in his chair. “There’s this girl I liked…well still like. But it's kinda weird and she doesn't...well… ahem .”
His eyes were glued to the floor as he said the words.
“Anyways, in the world…Mabeland, I mean, she told me that she liked me back, and would date me if I was older. I almost fell for it too. Guess I wanted to believe it. But I knew deep down it was all fake.”
After a moment, he muttered to himself.
"She'll never like me back."
“I see.” A few more seconds of clicking from Agent Chalmers’ keyboard.
“Anyways, this girl you like. She lives here?”
Dipper raised an eyebrow.
“Why does that even matter?”
“It’s for our records. Standard procedure.”
Dipper sighed. It was the same canned answer he got whenever he asked why the CIA wanted to know anything from him.
“No. She’s from Gravity Falls.” He finally explained. “Her name’s Wendy.”
“ Corduroy ?”
Dipper’s eyes widened.
“You know her?”
“She’s in the system.” Agent Chalmers explained, typing a few more notes. "We've got pretty much everyone from Gravity Falls."
Yet more creepy insights.
Dipper kept the thought to himself.
“Well, Pines, that's all we have for today."
Finally .
“As always, call me up if there are any… concerns regarding your time in Gravity Falls.” The agent went through the usual list of closing statements as he packed up his stuff. “You have our number.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Dipper said absentmindedly. He was just glad to be out of here. The bare, windowless room always gave him the creeps.
"After you, Pines." Chalmers gestured to the door as he stood up, letting Dipper go ahead.
In the hallway outside, he was quickly reunited with Mable as they were both led back towards a car.
“Dip-dip!” His sister called out, her usual smile instantly returning upon seeing her brother. “I hope they were nice to you!"
“It was fine, I guess,” Dipper replied. “Just kept asking me about Bill and Weirdmageddon, like usual. They were asking me about Mabeland this time.”
“How come you get all the cool questions?” Mabel made a pouty face. “ I want to talk about my cursed evil fantasy paradise.”
Dipper chuckled his head as they climbed into the backseat of the SUV.
“They asked me about Wendy too. It was really embarrassing.”
Mabel giggled.
“ Aww …even the government wants to know all the juicy details about your crush, huh?” After a moment, his sister gasped. “Did they ask if you two were getting together? ”
“Mabel!” Dipper groaned, pulling his hat over his eyes. “You know it isn’t… like that anymore.”
“When it comes to love, never say never ! That’s what I always say. I mean, you still like Wendy, don’t you?"
When Dipper didn’t reply, her smile grew wider. She turned toward the agent who had just climbed into the driver's seat.
“Am I right or am I right?”
Dipper could swear he saw the driver roll her eyes behind her sunglasses.
“Seatbelt on , kid.”
(…)
Wendy breathed a sigh of relief, closing her eyes as the chilly December air hit her skin. Maybe it was all the lumberjack genes in her, but she just couldn’t feel at home in stuffy, modern buildings like her high school. She’d take cool air, wood cabins, and tall, dense trees any day.
“Wendy!”
Her eyes snapped open as she heard Tambry approaching from her side.
“Tambry! Hey.” Wendy smiled as she turned to face her friend. Tambry was on her phone like usual but seemed particularly excited.
“Did you see this ?”
She pointed the screen towards Wendy. The weather app was opened, showing some kind of alert.
“This huge snowstorm is supposed to be coming in tomorrow. They’re so gonna have to, like, shut down the school!”
Wendy couldn’t help but smile at the news.
“A snow day? That’s totally awesome!”
“It’s gonna be, like, really big ,” Tambry explained. “It says the power might go out.”
“Oh.” Wendy blinked. “That’s…less awesome.”
“I’m gonna be at Robbie’s.” Tambry continued, grinning. “We’re gonna spend the time writing music and stuff. His house has a big fireplace too, it’ll be super cute.”
She showed off a picture of said fireplace, sandwiched between some sappy texts from Robbie.
“Yeah…uh…that sounds... really fun.” Wendy did her best to offer a smile, despite the bitter feelings rising in her.
“Oh, he just got here. We’re gonna go buy, like, supplies and stuff.” Tambry gave Wendy a quick hug. “I’ll text you later. If we still have power.”
“Okay, sure. Bye. Have fun.” Wendy gave an awkward as she watched Tambry walk away towards Robbie’s waiting car. For a moment, Wendy caught her ex’s eye. She gave him the stink eye, then looked away.
Well, shit.
Wendy would never say she was against the idea of a few days off school, but this sounded pretty serious. Being trapped inside her house with her rowdy family for days wasn’t exactly her idea of a fun time.
She stood by herself for a few moments, trying the shake the oddly bitter feeling her conversation with Tambry had caused. Looks like a mention of Robbie could still irk her, even all these months later. Or maybe it was the fact that she didn’t have anyone to hunker down with for a snowstorm.
In the months since she’d broken up with Robbie, she hadn’t achieved much on the romance front. Sure she'd texted with a few guys, and had a (bad) date with one or two, but nothing had stuck. None of it had felt…real. There was just no connection. Things felt different after the summer.
Maybe Robbie had left a bad taste in her mouth, with the hypnosis and all that . Maybe she just wasn’t ready for another boyfriend. The thought of spending a few days cooped up with any of the guys from her classes made her cringe.
Then again, she could easily think of someone she’d spend the time with…
Nope. Not thinking that.
Wendy shook the thought from her head as quickly as it had arisen.
No, she'd just have to find something to do to distract her from her brothers. Usually, when she needed to kill time, she’d pick up a bunch of discounted old DVDs, but if the power went out…
Wendy looked down the street to the Gravity Falls library.
A few magazines and a novel or two to take her mind off things. That couldn't hurt, could it?