Go Fish - Parapines

Go Fish - A Parapines Oneshot

(Parapines: Pairing between Norman Babcock of Paranorman and Dipper Pines of Gravity Falls)

“Uhm, so… Got any fives?”

Norman glanced down at the cards in his hands, and then back up at Dipper.

“Nope. Go fish,” he replied. Dipper sighed, leaning over to grab another card from the pile.

“Ugh! I can’t lose anymore! I’ve already got most of the deck in my hands,” Dipper complained, struggling to keep the multitude of playing cards contained. Norman smiled,

“Maybe I’m just good at this game,” he noted innocently.

“Yeah, sure. Just ‘cause there’re zombies on the cards…” Dipper remarked, shuffling some of his cards around.

Norman looked down until he heard someone behind him. He glanced back, only to realize it was his grandma. Or rather, his grandmother’s ghost. He waved silently and turned back to his cards, asking,

“Got any Jacks?”

Dipper frowned playfully,

“…yeah, here.”

He threw the card at Norman, rearranging the cards in his hand again.

“Whatcha’ playing now?” Norman’s grandmother asked, hovering next to him. He turned to her,

“We’re playing Go Fish,” he said quietly, “And I’m winning.”

Dipper snorted, and asked,

“Who are ya talkin’ to?”

Norman turned back to Dipper,

“Just my grandma.”

Dipper smiled, turning to the spot next to Norman,

“Hi, Norman’s Grandma!”

He smirked and went back to rearranging his cards.

“Just don’t use her to cheat or anything!” he told him in an afterthought.

“Like I’d even need to,” Norman remarked. Dipper laughed,

“Alright, got any…nines?”

Norman shook his head, and Dipper sighed loudly.

“Ugh, this is ridiculous…!”

“Your friend is a nice boy.  What’s his name again?”

Norman looked at his grandma, only to realize she was watching Dipper with a smile.

“Dipper.”

Dipper glanced up at him,

“What?”

Norman flushed,

“What? N-no, I wasn’t— I was just talking to— m-my grandma asked— uhh…”

“I get ya,” Dipper waved him off, picking up another card from the deck.

“Yes, a nine! Finally!” he exclaimed, matching the cards and laying them down.

Norman watched as his grandma floated over, watching Dipper work so diligently.

“Oh,” she muttered, looking at Dipper’s hat.

“What?” Norman asked.

“There’s something on his hat. I’m not sure what it is.”

Norman sat up, trying to see, but he couldn’t. Dipper shuffled through his cards again,

“Oh, wait, I have another five right here!” he remarked, taking the cards out, “Duh, Dipper,” he laughed to himself.

“Looks like a bug, or something, Norman,” his grandma noted, pointing at Dipper’s bill.

Norman still couldn’t see whatever it was, and scooted forward a little, but as Dipper looked down at his cards, he saw it.

“What is that?” he wondered aloud, and slowly scooted forward, reaching out to grab it.

He crawled forward and picked it up, holding it in his fingers. It wasn’t a bug, but a sticker. It probably got caught on his hat earlier that day when Dipper’s hat got stuck in that tree. He smiled, just flicking it across the room.

When he looked back at Dipper, he was suddenly aware how close he was and the look on Dipper’s face made it all that much worse. He flushed, his entire face going red, and he quickly scrambled back to where he was supposed to be. Norman glanced back up at his grandma, who was laughing, and then at Dipper, who was trying to shuffle his cards inconspicuously.

His eyes went straight to the floor, only to realize he had destroyed the pile of cards. He attempted to play it cool and pick up all the scattered cards. His grandma popped over,

“I was expecting you to make a move, young man,” she smirked.

“Yeah, well, that’s not gonna happen,” Norman replied harshly, keeping his focus on the stack of cards.

“What? Is this a bad time?” she asked, a sound of mocking in her voice. Norman picked up the cards, shuffling them in his hands and narrowing his eyes.

“Could you, like, go downstairs and watch TV, or something?” he asked, hushed and urgent.

“Oh, fine,” she replied, “But I expect to hear about it later…”

And with that, she phased into the floor with a wink.

Norman breathed shakily, and glanced back at Dipper, who was staring right back at him.

He swallowed.

That’s not gonna happen.