Oak Tree | BillDip

Chapter 27 - I See Stars

The henchmaniacs came back into the throne room. Some of them were surprised to see that some of the people that made up the stone throne were now free, as they recognized Wendy's family.

Dipper turned to see Wendy fixing Bill's nose and cringed as his enhanced demon hearing picked up on the crunch sound of Bill's nose being set. Bill just made a noise and flinched. Dipper would have screamed and cried if it were his nose that was broken.

"Hey, Dip?"

"Yeah, Mabel?"

Dipper studied his sister's face. She seemed reluctant—a bit unsure. She fiddled with her thumbs. She finally looked at him and said, "You love Bill."

Dipper knew this conversation would happen sooner or later. "Yeah. I do. I don't expect you to understand, though. It's fine." What Mabel was probably seeing right then was her brother loving the demon who wanted to kill their entire family at one point. But she didn't know the whole story. She didn't know Bill had changed. She didn't know the monster was vanquished when Tad turned him into a human.

"You're right, I don't understand as much as you do. I heard your conversation with him. Now I—I understand that you would do anything for him. And that he'd do anything for you. He is like your family. It doesn't sit with me right that Bill would someday be a part of our family maybe, but maybe I'd understand completely and accept that sometime too."

"He's not the same Bill as Ford and everyone else thinks he is," Dipper asserted, taking a step forward. "Something happened and he changed. I was with him."

Mabel's eyes were filled with a new determination that he'd rarely seen in her. They were so full with hope and light. "I know. I trust you, Dipper."

Dipper didn't know when he'd started to cry. He hugged her again and said, "I love you so much."

His sister squeezed him. "I love you too, bro. Be careful with...whatever happened earlier."

"What about Ford?" He let her go and eyed Stan talking to Ford. Ford was still glaring at Bill.

Mabel bit her lip. "I don't know. He was one of the only people who believed that Bill brainwashed you or something. It's obvious that he hasn't. I know so. But ever since the thing that attacked your mind..." she shook her head. "I think that might make him realize soon enough that your mind is protected."

"Yeah, I really hope so. Bill taught me how to do that years ago."

"It's a bit weird that I now have a demon brother." Mabel was taking this in easier than Dipper thought. That's good. She wasn't afraid of him.

Dipper lit a ball of yellow fire in his hand and smirked when Mabel jumped in surprise. She stuck out her tongue at him. Dipper snorted.

___

Once Mabel went to talk to Soos, Bill snuck behind Dipper and kissed his ear.

Dipper flinched with surprise and blushed, but smiled nonetheless. "Bill, I could've punched you."

Bill walked in front of him and held both of his hands in his. "Careful, Pine Tree. You wouldn't want me to end up with another broken nose, would you?"

Dipper squinted his eyes at Bill and pulled him along with him to go see the others.

Bill overheard Dipper and Mabel's conversation without meaning to—most of the refugees really didn't actually believe that he brainwashed his Pine Tree.

When we was a full demon, he wanted to. He really did want to brainwash Dipper into doing his bidding. But something in him...it was fighting hard. Bill liked to believe that it was the human soul locked up in the back of demon Bill's mind that pounded on the bars and fought with everything he had.