A Demon of the Sea - Gravity Falls

Chapter 12

Dipper was sailing on the sea, standing in the crow's nest, above the ship and above the world. The water glittered golden orange in the sunset, but it wasn't blinding, it was beautiful. The waves gently lapped against the sides of the ship, which was speeding towards the sun; westward, away from home, yet he felt content. He wished for this moment never to end.
....A hand came over his mouth. He snapped his eyes open to find he was still in the darkness of his new sleeping quarters (which weren't quite as lavish as Cipher's but still a far cry from the normal sleeping quarters, and located right next to the captain's). It was two days after the celebration of him becoming First Mate. He looked up at the person looming over him to see a pair of almost glowing golden eyes. Well, eye.
"Mmmmll?!" he said, which was 'Bill?!' muffled through the hand. Through the darkness, he could see the demon's grin grow wider. "Now that you're my first mate, wanna go on an adventure?" he whispered, though due to the circumstances, Dipper highly doubted it was a request. Reluctantly, he nodded. Cipher slowly took his hand away and put a finger to his lips, signaling a need for silence. What is this? What adventure could they possibly have on the ship? He wondered. He tugged on Bill's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "Is this... A hooking up thing?" Just before reaching for the doorknob, Bill had to put a hand over his mouth to deaden his laughter. "Not now, Pine Tree. We're going on a different kind of adventure," he whispered back once he calmed down. All the color fled from the brunette's face. Why did I say that?! Why can't I keep my mouth shut?!
      He opened the door to reveal Red, Soos, and Mabel waiting for them. "You too?! What's going on?" he said quietly. Mabel yawned and stretched before shrugging. "I'll fill you all in as we walk, let's get moving!" the captain ordered, turning and expecting them to follow. Reluctantly, they did. At least they had no idea what's going on either... Wait, was that a pro or a con?
      "So, where exactly are we going, captain?"Mabel asked skeptically. "Well, Shooting Star, some little brat named Gideon has something of interest to me. So we're gonna go steal it! Simple!" he replied cheerfully. "Alright! Can't wait to beat the snot out of that little twerp!" said Red, cracking her knuckles. The rest of them seemed relatively excited about this quest, but Dipper couldn't help but feel wary. This could very likely be some innocent, hardworking citizen they were about to rob blind. And what happens if they get caught?
They snuck onto a row boat and headed to shore, which was in sight of the ship at the time. The terrain looked familiar, so Dipper figured they must still be somewhere in the Oregon or Washington territories. He asked the captain what the location of their destination was. "We're headed to Gravity Falls, Oregon! The kid has a manor in the town, where we'll find what I'm looking for," he replied, "Unfortunately, this also has to be a stealth mission. I just needed a small team; can't move an entire crew across the countryside quietly." He looked genuinely disappointed at not being able to plunder anything. When they got on shore, they hid the boat with branches and leaves before beginning the walk back to civilization: a town not far down the beach. Dipper held back with Bill and asked a question that had been bothering him.
"Captain Cipher, if you are a demon, why do we need to go on stealth missions and avoid the navy? Can't you, I don't know, easily wipe them all out with your demon powers or whatever?" Bill smiled slyly. "Oh, so someone wants to see violent destruction, eh?" Dipper blushed as he realized his mistake. "I-I didn't mean it like that!" he protested. Cipher chuckled. "I like you, kid," he replied, "This form does have a few drawbacks, though, like getting killed perhaps? Not to mention if I'm discovered, I'll be hunted down by priests and mercilessly banished from this world!" Oh, well that did pose a problem. I'll have to defend his secret with my life, Dipper decided. Until my very last breath.
Once they got into town, a heavy anxiety loomed over the brunette, like every pair of eyes was staring into his soul and knew all their secrets. He had to let the captain do all the talking as he swindled their way onto a carriage into the countryside. Did he say swindled? More like flirted, with the driver that happened to be a woman. It aggravated Dipper like nothing else could. I'm the one the captain likes, not her! Wait, what am I getting so worked up over? He's helping us... help him, but still. This is part of the mission. Just don't let it bother- WAIT WHAT IS HE DOING?! At that moment, the captain lifted her chin with one hand so she was looking him in the eye. Dipper wanted to CLAW her eyes out, the way she was looking at his man. And how could Bill do this?! However, it did do the trick. They got a free ride, no questioned asked. But for the whole trip, he refused to look his captain in the eye.
As they neared their destination, Mabel, Red, and Soos were all taking catnaps, and Bill planted himself next to Dipper, wrapping his arm around him. The brunette hugged his knees and stared at the floor in front of him, not uttering a word in response. "What's up, Pine Tree? Somethin' bothering ya?" Cipher asked. Dipper was almost offended. Was that even a question?! How could he now know why I'm upset?! "Well, you and that woman seemed happy enough!" he spat, unable to stop himself. "You're really mad about that?" Cipher replied. Dipper sighed. "I just don't like the idea of you being with anyone else..." he mumbled. Bill tried to choke back his laughter, but it was useless. "Aww, that's adorable! You don't have to worry about anyone getting in the way of us~" he said in his painfully silky voice, nuzzling the brunette with his nose. Dipper blushed, but remained stubbornly silent. Bill sighed and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you, and only you. You're my little Pine Tree~" he said, hugging his love closer to his heart.
      Suddenly, the woman driving appeared in the back of the carriage. "Time's up!" Bill announced, practically launching himself off of Dipper and shrugging it off as a stretch. "This is as far as I go, you'll have to walk from here. Deepest apologies," she said. It seemed sincere enough, but the brunette couldn't help but think that she had possibly heard their conversation just now...
      They were at a fork in a road, one way leading down a dark, overgrown path, the other leading to a small town. After awakening, everyone thanked her before she sped off in the direction of the town.
       "Alright! Onward!" said the captain, walking in the direction of certain death. "Uh, I vote no," Red replied, raising a hand, and the others quickly agreed. "Oh, come on! We're almost there! Don't be a bunch of wusses!" he protested. "Uhh, I'd rather not die before we reach our desrination?" Soos agreed with Red. "Come on, Bill, there's probably a tavern in that town, let's just take a break for the night," Dipper suggested. Red and Soos looked a little stunned at him for being on such casual terms with the captain, despite him being first mate, but quickly brushed it aside. Luckily, Bill (begrudgingly) agreed, but as they walked he mumbled quietly to himself, "Shoulda picked a team with some backbone." Dipper pretended not to hear that remark. He didn't particularly care; honestly, he agreed with Soos, there was no point in them throwing themselves into needless danger.
      Mabel hung back with her twin. She tugged on his sleeve, frantically whispering, "Dipper, this is as close to home as we're ever going to be if we don't escape now! We should just knock 'em out and run!" He was caught a bit off guard by this. It was true; they were so close to their home he could taste it. But something made him reluctant to the idea of slipping away like this. "But it's night! We'd never survive in the woods, not to mention how lost we'd get! Plus, someone will notice for sure! Let's just... wait until the right moment, ok?" She reluctantly agreed as they caught up with the rest of the group once again.
      They had little trouble finding an inn. Unfortunately, they only had four beds available. "Oh well, looks like Pine Tree and I are gonna have to share a bed..." Bill said, pretending to be dissappointed. Dipper did his best to hide the blush forming on his cheeks, but he didn't protest. However, the two also had to share a room with Soos as well (Red and Mabel got their own room). Before Bill could snuggle up to him and make them look suspicious to their witness, he scooted as close to the edge of the bed as possible. Bill sighed as he realized Dipper's reasoning.
      They both looked over at Soos, who was blissfully ignorant to the situation. "You sure you don't want your own bed, Captain Cipher? I mean, you are the captain, dude. Pine Tree and I can chill, right pal?" he suggested, forcing himself to use Dipper's nickname. "Don't worry about it, Question Mark, he doesn't mind," he replied, then added in a slightly threatening tone, "Right, Pine Tree?" Dipper gulped hard and nodded his head violently. Soos shrugged and bid them good night, falling asleep almost immediately.
      "Now that we're alone~..." Bill whispered in Dipper's ear, slowly sliding his arm around the brunet's waist from behind and hugging him closer. It was so warm... So comforting... It sent his heart aflutter with ease. "But what if Soos wakes up in the middle of the night?! What if Red and Mabel come in the morning before we get up and see?!" he quietly screamed, the pace of his heart setting the pace of his speech. Bill burrowed his face into his back and replied, "Eh, we were both asleep, and had no control over the situation, right?" Dipper blushed, and begrudgingly allowed it, mostly because he really didn't want it to end... So soon. He knew this may be the last time he got to be so physically close to the captain, as well. As he finally allowed himself to relax, he began to drift into a blissful sleep, simply enjoying Bill's company.
The next morning, Dipper awoke to someone gently shaking him. "Uuugh, just a few more minutes?" he pleaded. There was laughter, but it wasn't Bill's, it was Red's! He snapped his eyes open. Sure enough, she was the one shaking him awake. Soos and her laughed hysterically, but Mabel looked at him with a twisted, mischievous grin, being the only one that actually knew what was going on. And, just as he feared, Cipher and him were spooning, except Bill wasn't the one doing the snuggling! He rolled away from the demon as fast as possible, ending up on the floor with a loud thud. "Agh! I knew this would happen! Why didn't I sleep on the floor?!" he said, distressed. Soos and Red managed to laugh even harder, both of them assuming he loathed even the idea of sleeping in the same bed as him (which, of course, the opposite was true). Bill shivered in his now half-sleep. "Come back here and keep me warm, ya big lug," he groaned. Then, becoming more aware of his surroundings, he shot up and looked more disappointed than horrified. "Aw man, I missed Dipper's embarrassment?" he said, genuinely wanting to have seen that moment a few seconds ago. Dipper was just plain annoyed, but he sighed in relief at the fact that the two oblivious pirates still didn't figure it out.
After a hurried breakfast and much teasing (on everyone's part), they began their journey to Gideon's manor. They stood before the towering, twisted trees, which were somehow more menacing in the light of day. It sent chills down Dipper's spine. "This is not gonna be fun, is it?" Mabel hooked her arm around her twin's shoulders. "No it's not, Dipper. No it's not."

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AN: OH MY GOSH I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS ALREAY OVER 100 VOTES!!! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT, GUYS!!!! :3

Ps- literally just found that picture ^ could it have been any more perfect?