A Demon of the Sea - Gravity Falls

Chapter 9

      Dipper couldn't end up finding his twin until the next morning at breakfast. The men and women's living quarters are separated, which was part of the difficulty. Finding her in the dining area was almost as relieving as finding out she would live, because this only strengthened that fact. Well, technically, she found him. He was going to go get food, but before he could get in line, she had put down her own tray and practically tackled him to the floor with a hug. It felt good to finally hug her for real, not just through bars when she couldn't even hug back. They had been inseparable since birth until he went off to find a job at sea, and he didn't realize how much he missed her.
Dipper spotted Red and Soos at a far table. "Hey Mabel! There's some people you should meet!" he said, motioning towards their spot. "Mabel, meet Red and Soos. I probably wouldn't be alive, or sane, without them," he said upon arrival. She put her food down and waved violently. "Guys, this is my twin sister, Mabel."
"Waddup dude," Red replied, both her and Soos bumping Mabel's fist. "Dude, you didn't tell us you had a twin!" Soos said to Dipper. Mabel punched his arm. "Owww!" he complained. "You didn't tell them about me?! Foreshame, Dipper!" said his twin. They all shared a laugh.
"So Mabel, what name did the captain give you?" asked Red as they ate. "Oh yeah, so apparently my name is 'Shooting Star' now?" she said with an eyebrow cocked as she shrugged. "Well, at least it's not as bad as Pine Tree!" Soos chuckled, pointing at Dipper. Mabel looked at her brother and put a hand over her mouth to hide her giggle. "Pine Tree?" Dipper sighed and said, "Yeah yeah. Look, we all know Red is the only one that got a cool name." She rested her hands behind her head, leaning on two chair legs and balancing with her feet on the table triumphantly as she replied, "Boosh! Eat it, suckas!"
They continued to eat and chat for as long as an hour. Now that Mabel was here, it felt more complete. He didn't have to worry about her not knowing if he was alive anymore, as well. There was a painful twinge in his heart as he thought to himself: wait, why do we have to leave? Can't we just stay here? An image of Bill flashed in his mind. How am I supposed to pry myself away from him? I only just began to realize that... Well, I'm in love with him! He remained quiet after that, watching the conversations between three of his favorite people rather than taking part in them.
       After they all parted ways for the day, Mabel followed Dipper to the uppermost deck and to the wooden railings. He sighed and stared out onto the sea, glittering in the midday sunlight. "What's up, bro bro? You seem more wistful than usual," she pointed out. He was unable to hold back a sigh as he thought of Bill again. His sister's face lit up. "Ooh, I know that look," she said smugly, "Somebody's in loooove~" His face flushed bright red. "W-what?! How did you know?!" he asked frantically, genuinely concerned that it was this obvious. "Dipper, I am a matchmaking genius, I know when something's up," she replied simply with a big grin.
       "Sooo, who is it~? It's someone in the crew, right?" she asked mischievously. He considered this carefully. Should he lie? How could he admit he was in love with an insane, murderous demon pirate... Out loud? And to his sister, who would surely never let him forget it? "Honestly, I don't even know if you would believe me," he blurted out. He covered his mouth. That would only make her more prod more on the subject. "Tell me!!!! Dipper, you haaave to tell me!!!! Please?!" she begged. "Yeah, Pine Tree, pleeeease?" said a familiar voice. Dipper felt a pair of hands put on his shoulders from behind, as well as a head resting on his left shoulder. His heart dropped as he looked at Cipher, their faces separated by no more than a few inches at most of space. He looked at the brunette with a sly expression. Mabel's own expression darkened a bit at the sight of him, the captain, the man with the power to throw her overboard with the wave of his hand. Yeah, telling her may not be the best idea...
      "Too bad, no getting out of it now!" exclaimed Bill, reading his mind, "Pine Tree and I are in looove~" Dipper buried his crimson face in his hands in embarrassment. Mabel's eyes widened in shock. "Y-you?! And him?!" she said, dumbfounded. Then, a miracle happened, something her brother never expected in a hundred years. Her smile widened from ear to ear and she squealed. Her fear of the captain was immediately forgotten as she saw he had the capacity to love and be loved by her brother. "Aaaaaaah! That's amazing, Dipper! Good job, you got a real hunk!" she exclaimed. Her twin was silently praying to god that no one was actively listening in to this conversation. "Didn't he, though?" the demon said smugly.
"Captain Cipher! We need a hand with navigations!" yelled a crew member who came up to them as they were talking. Dipper stepped to the right to get out of Bill's grip and stood uncomfortably next to his sister, who was doing everything she could to contain her excitement. "Agh, can't you do it yourself?" he grumbled. "No, sir, this requires your expertise, I'm afraid," the man replied, unsure of just how fearful to be of the captain's wrath. Bill sighed and reluctantly agreed to go.
Mabel punched Dipper in the arm, harder than he was expecting this time! "Ouch! What the heck?!" he exclaimed, massaging his arm and genuinely confused. "I've been worried sick about you and you've been having the time of your life here?" she said half sarcastically with a heartfelt edge. "It hasn't exactly been all fun!" he protested, remembering the ghosts. She considered this for a moment. "So, that means I had a right to be worried sick about you?" she said seriously, her face darkening, "Just what has happened in the short amount of time you've been on this ship, then?" His eyes darted around to the many listening ears around the ship. "Let's go somewhere more private," he said finally.
Once they found a quiet corner of the ship, Dipper reluctantly told the story of when they encountered the ghosts, but said nothing of the captain not being human. He could trust his sister with anything, but he felt obligated to keep Bill's secret. Once he ended his story, Mabel ran her fingers through her hair. "Bro, this is serious stuff. We definitely can't stay here forever, we'll die before we're in our thirties!" she said, a bit frightened. Dipper's heart ached. "I know, but... What about Bill?" he said quietly as he shut his eyes tight and clenched his fists, already knowing defeat was imminent. His twin looked at him with sympathy. She didn't know what to say; nothing was going to make him feel better, nothing she said would comfort him. All she could do was wrap her arms around Dipper, who was at a point near tears and putting all of his focus into keeping the rain from falling. She hugged him tight, and he eventually wrapped his arms around her and embraced her as well, the painful sting of heartbreak digging away at his soul.
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AN: *sighs* don't you just hate writer's block?