In the Scheme of Things (Discontinued)

Chapter 20

Dipper held on to Bill tightly. He was worried about what Alexander could and would do. He had a rough idea of who Alexander really was. The knowledge he knew about Bill, as well as Bill's silent reaction to him told him enough.

Bill could tell that dipper was scared. He knew he had to act tough for his boyfriend's safety. The slightest hint of weakness could mean the end for them. And he wouldn't let anything happen to his Sapling.

"So, Cipher. I must say, I'm surprised to see you here. And as a human no less. Do tell me the story. Leave nothing out."

The smirk on Alexander's face was one that annoyed Bill as well as put Dipper on edge. Bill glanced back at Dipper before turning to keep his eyes on the demon in front of him.

"Not much to say, really. I'm sure you know better than anyone how our past has a bad habit of sneaking up on us when we least expect it."

Bill reached back, holding on to Dipper's arm. He knew all too well what Alexander could do. And he also knew that he was targeting Dipper just to mess with him. Bill didn't want to admit it, but it was working.

He had known Alexander for longer than he could even remember. They had just always known each other. Which meant Alexander knew just which buttons to push to get to Bill. But Bill knew he could do the same.

Before he could say anything to the other demon, Mabel came out, looking for them.

"There you are. Oh, hey Bill. When did you get here? Anyway, Grunkle Stan just called me. Grunkle Ford is looking for you. Something about research and protection..."

Dipper looked from her to the stare down going on between Bill and Alexander. Bill was the first to look away at the brunet teen. He didn't want to turn his back on the other demon, though knew that getting him to Ford would be the best choice of action.

"Alright. We're right behind you, Mabel. Kryptos..."

Bill gave the other demon a nod before wrapping his arm around Dipper's waist, keeping the teen close to him. He did not want to give Alexander any chance to take his Sapling away from him.

They got lucky as the three walked away. Alexander didn't try to stop them, just watching with leave with a frown on his lips.

While the small group walked back to the shack, Dipper kept close to Bill. He held on to Bill's hand, keeping the demon's arm around him. Under any normal conditions, Bill would've been glad that Dipper was letting him keep his arm around him. Yet, he knew the only reason the brunet was allowing this was because he was nervous.

Bill pulled the teen closer to him, kissing his head. He wanted to help calm him, though knew that wouldn't happen until he was safely hidden away.

"Hey, Bill... When we get back, could we start looking at apartments... I know it'll take a while for us to find somewhere. I want to distract myself, and I'm actually looking forward to us living together while I'm at college..."

"Of course, Sapling," Bill said, smiling softly to the teen. "We can see what's close by, what would work best for you while you're in school and out..."

"Wait, Dipper, were you serious about moving out Bill?" Mabel asked, having stopped in front of them, her hands on her hips.

"Well, yeah... I mean... I'd have to move to live close to school anyway, and there was no way I'd go back to living with our parents. Not that I could with the school I'm going to..."

"And I've got enough money to take care of us. So he doesn't have to worry about getting a job." Bill added, the grin on his face was nothing more than pure happiness.