For a
moment, no one spoke. Dipper’s parents were just staring at Bill with blank
expressions, and Bill’s expression was hard to read because of the sunglasses.
“It is a
pleasure to meet you,” Bill broke the silence with a greeting, stepping forward
with an outstretched hand like he had seen humans do.
Dipper’s
dad awkwardly accepted Bill’s handshake while his mother just stared from Bill
to Dipper.
“Husband?”
Dipper’s mom repeated.
“D-didn’t
Mabel tell you?” Dipper asked.
“She… did
say you were with someone,” his dad responded as he ended the handshake. “But,
anyway, the important thing is that you’re okay!”
“I have
been looking forward to meeting both of you!” Bill said in an excited tone.
“Well,
we’re glad to meet you as well,” Dipper’s mom smile, the mood already lightened
and the previous awkwardness forgotten. “But, um, if you don’t mind me asking…
Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors at night?”
“My eyes
are sensitive to light,” Bill expertly lied, remembering what Dipper had told
him to say if anyone asked.
“Well, we
shouldn’t be standing around here,” Dipper’s dad interjected. “How about me and
my wife take off our coats, and then we move the conversation into the living
room?”
Inside the
living room, a plate of cookies and chocolates had been placed for the guests,
along with several mugs and a kettle of coffee. Mabel was standing in the
living room when her parents stepped inside.
“Mom! Dad!”
Mabel greeted them excitedly and ran over to hug them.
“Hi
sweetie,” her mom said returning the hug.
“How’s my
little angel?” her dad added, ruffling her hair affectionately.
“Dad,” Mabel laughed and shooed his hands
away. “Me and Pacifica are cooking tonight. Dinner should be ready in about
half an hour, so I hope everyone else has arrived at that point.”
“I can’t
wait, sweetheart,” her mother cooed before sitting down in the couch with her
husband sitting next to her. Mabel left the living room to go back to the
kitchen, while Dipper and Bill sat down in the couch opposite of Dipper’s
parents.
“So, how
did you two meet?” Dipper’s dad asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
“Oh, it’s…
it’s a long story,” Dipper let out an awkward cough before continuing. “So that
e-mail Mabel sent me was for a kind of… vacation slash matchmaking thing. I- I
had to leave pretty suddenly, so sorry that I let you all worry about me.”
“That’s
okay, sweetie,” Dipper’s mom assured him. “As long as you’re okay.”
“Well, the,
um, the ship I was travelling on crashed, and I wound up in Bill’s homeland,
and we just sort of met up and fell in love.”
“I knew
from the moment I first saw Pine Tree that I loved him,” Bill added with a
small nod.
“It took me
a bit longer to fall for Bill,” Dipper giggled.
Their
conversation was cut short when the sound of the front slamming open was heard,
followed by the sound of several footsteps.
“Oh,
Mason!” a middle-aged woman stepped inside the living room, followed by a
middle-aged man, and a young woman. The middle-aged woman nearly leapt over to
Dipper and hugged him. “We almost couldn’t believe that you had been found! We
had to come see it for ourselves! I can’t even imagine the things you must have
been through!”
“Hi, Aunt
Sharon,” Dipper said unenthusiastically. “Uncle Ron, Cousin Adina.”
“Who’s that
guy?” Adina asked with an obvious sneer, pointing at Bill.
“Is he your
friend?” Sharon asked, finally letting go of Dipper.
“No, he’s
my husband,” Dipper responded.
A hush fell
over everyone, except for Adina who let out a scoffing laugh.
“Sharon,”
Dipper’s mother said, trying to salvage the awkward situation. “It’s so great
to see you again; it’s been ages.”
“Haha, yes,
we have all been busy,” Sharon laughed, turning her attention towards her
sister. Like always, her husband seemed to have no real reaction to what was
happening, and just followed his wife and turned his attention away from Dipper
and Bill. That left Adina who was still staring from Dipper to Bill and back.
“So, like,
I assume Mason’s the girl in your relationship, right?” Adina started.
Dipper just
pinched his brow, already feeling the stress dealing with this side of his
family would do.
“Who is
Mason?” Bill asked.
“Your
husband?” Adina responded as if it was self-explanatory. “Or I guess wife is
more accurate.” She giggled at the last part.
“You mean
Dipper?” Bill looked at her with obvious confusion, despite the sunglasses
blocking off his eyes.
“I bet you
probably thought he was a girl at first, right?” Adina continued to giggle.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with feminine men.”
“… Dipper
is my husband, not my wife,” Bill said slowly, still looking very confused.
“And he is very obviously male.”
“Wow,
you’re just clueless, aren’t you?” Adina looked at Bill with a mock-impressed
expression, before turning back to Dipper. “I didn’t know your turn-ons included
idiots, Mason.”
“Adina,
could you just for once-“ Dipper was about to tell his cousin off when a knock
was heard on the door.
“I’ll get
it!” he heard Mabel shout before rushing into the living room to get to the
front door. “Hi everyone! So good to see you!” Mabel greeted everyone quickly
as she made her way through the living room. “Gotta go get the door!”
Dipper
heard the sound of the front door opening, followed by Mabel’s excited
squealing.
“Grandpa Shermy! Grunkle Ford! Grunkle Stan!” Mabel laughed loudly, and soon she
and the three elderly men entered the living room.
“Good to
see you’re alright, kid,” Grunkle Stan greeted Dipper, giving him a playful
shoulder punch that only hurt a little.
“Stanley,
be nice to the boy,” Grandpa Shermy scolded him. “He’s been through a lot.”
“Not
really,” Dipper tried to steer the direction away from all the rumors his
family had heard about his disappearance. “I-it’s just been a big
misunderstanding.”
“Who’s
that?” Grunkle Ford pointed at Bill.
“That’s my
husband; Bill,” Dipper explained. “I met him while I was away, and we just sort
of clicked.”
“It is a
pleasure to meet you,” Bill greeted Ford with a bright smile and stretched out
his hand.
“Likewise,”
Ford responded, but lacking a smile of his own. He accepted Bill’s handshake,
but lingered on it a bit too long. “So, Bill, where are you from? I don’t
recognize your accent.”
“Auldria,”
Bill replied honestly before moving over to the lie. “It is a small country in
Africa.”
“Auldria
doesn’t sound like an Africa country,” Ford continued.
“W-well,
you know British Imperialism and all that,” Dipper attempted to explain.
“Dipper,
can I speak to you in private for a moment?” Ford asked.
“Uh, sure,”
Dipper shrugged, fearing that Ford had somehow seen through his lies. He gave
Bill a small wave before following Ford upstairs into the guest room he and
Bill slept in.
“What’s
going on, Dipper?” Ford asked as soon as the door was closed.
“W-what do
you mean?” Dipper tried to sound nonchalant, but knew he was failing.
“I know for
a fact that no country called ‘Auldria’ exists,” Ford explained. “I’ve also
been looking into this whole disappearance case, and you aren’t the only who
received that e-mail and then disappeared. So tell me, what happened to the other
victims?”
“How should
I know?!” Dipper was starting to panic; if Ford thought Bill was part of a
human trafficking ring, like Mabel had, he would undoubtedly call the police.
Then it would only be a matter of time before they discovered Bill wasn’t
human. “I’m telling you, I’m fine!”
“Dipper, I
know your ‘husband’ isn’t human,” Ford finally said. “His body temperature is
too low-“
“He just
has really cold hands!” Dipper interrupted.
“Then
explain his teeth; they are way too sharp to be human,” Ford countered.
Dipper got
quiet; he hadn’t thought anyone would notice Bill’s teeth.
“What is
he?”
“He… I
can’t tell you, Grunkle Ford!” Dipper shouted. “I’m not supposed to tell
anyone, and I’ve already told Mabel, because she wanted to call the cops on
Bill! You just have to trust me when I say I’m in good hands; Bill would never
do anything to hurt me.”
“He’s a
demon, isn’t he?” Ford more stated than asked. Dipper was flabbergasted for a
moment, but his wide eyes and slightly opened mouth must have been seen as
confirmation for Ford. “I knew it.”
“Grunkle
Ford…” Dipper sighed and decided it was better that Ford thought Bill was a
demon rather than telling the truth; at least this way, he was keeping
everything a secret. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay?”
“Oh, nobody
would believe me if I did,” Ford shook his head. “I just wanted to confirm my
theory, and make sure everything’s okay with you. So, a demonic marriage?”
“Yeah,”
Dipper shrugged. “I guess so.”
Their
conversation was interrupted by the sound of yelling from downstairs. The words
were muffled, but it sounded like Grandpa Shermy. Dipper opened the door, and
he and Ford walked back to the living room.
“Why did
you invite that witch!?” Shermy was yelling at Dipper’s father when they
arrived. They noticed that Granny Alice, Shermy’s ex-wife, had shown up.
“She wanted
to make sure Dipper was alright,” Dipper’s father argued. “She’s been a big
part of the twins’ lives!”
“Stop
fighting everyone,” Mabel pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears.
“Oh,
Mason’s back,” Adina noted and stepped up to Dipper. “So, I’ve been talking to
your ‘husband’, and I can’t figure out what you see in him. But he’s black, so
it’s probably because he’s got a huge dick, right?”
“Adina!”
Dipper’s mother exclaimed.
“What? I
was just asking a question,” Adina shrugged.
“Sharon,
aren’t you going to say anything to your daughter?”
“Why should
I?” Sharon asked, glaring angrily at her sister. “She’s allowed to ask
questions.”
Everyone,
except for Dipper, Bill, and Mabel, had begun fighting now. Dipper could barely
keep track of how many arguments were going on. Dipper sneaked over to Bill and
led him out of the room. He just managed to hear Pacifica stepping out of the
kitchen to announce that dinner was ready, only to be ignored by everyone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dipper and
Bill had moved to the roof; they were lying in each other’s arms and looking at
the stars, finally in peace from the arguing downstairs.
“Sorry
about this, Bill,” Dipper said, his face tinted red in embarrassment. “My
family… isn’t the greatest.”
“Well, I
like your parents and your sister,” Bill offered in an optimistic tone. “And I
am sure I would love the rest of them if I could spend more time with them.”
“Well, then
you should probably try your damndest to convince the council to let us come
back again,” Dipper laughed, playfully poking Bill in the chest. “Because I am
not dealing with any more drama tonight.”
For a
moment they just lied in comfortable silence, enjoying the evening breeze and
solitude.
“There,”
Bill suddenly said, pointing to the sky. “That looks like the markings on your
forehead.”
“Yeah, it’s
the Big Dipper,” Dipper explained. “It’s where I got my nickname from.”
“… Dipper
is not your real name?” Bill asked, sounding slightly perturbed.
“No, Mason
in,” Dipper responded.
“So that is why those people called you
‘Mason’,” Bill said in sudden realization. “… Can I still call you ‘Pine
Tree’?”
“Of
course,” Dipper laughed and snuggled closer to Bill.
They were
distracted by the window opening up and Mabel’s head poking outside.
“Hi guys,”
she greeted them with a small wave. “Can I… join you?”
“Is
everyone still fighting?” Dipper asked and Mabel responded with a small nod.
Dipper and
Bill scooted further away from the window to give Mabel room, and sat up
instead of lying down. Bill still kept an arm around Dipper though.
“Besides,”
Mabel continued, sitting down beside Dipper. “You’re leaving in a couple of
days; I wanted to spend some more time with you.”
A couple
seconds later, a hand holding a bottle of champagne popped out of the window.
“Hey,”
Pacifica greeted them as she crawled out of the window, champagne in hand. “I’d
rather join your party than deal with the one downstairs.”
“The more
the merrier,” Dipper giggled.
Soon after,
Pacifica started passing the bottle around so everyone could get a taste.
“I’m only
getting a sip,” Dipper said when the bottle reached him. “I do not want a
hangover tomorrow.”
“More
alcohol, then?” Bill asked after Dipper had taken his sip.
“You want a
taste?” Dipper suggested. “Maybe you’ll like this one.”
Bill
accepted the bottle and took a small taste, almost immediately spitting it out.
“I hate
alcohol,” Bill complained and passed the bottle back to Dipper while everyone
laughed.
“So, you
and Bill are leaving soon, huh?” Pacifica suddenly asked, her previous laughter
forgotten as her voice took on a more forlorn tone.
“We have
to,” Dipper mumbled.
“It’s a
shame you’re gonna miss the wedding,” Pacifica responded. “Can’t you come back
for that? It’s in like, three months?”
“Yeah,”
Mabel nodded to herself, knowing why her brother couldn’t be there.
“… I will
do my utmost to make sure we will be there,” Bill swore.
“Bill…”
Dipper was about to protest, but he supposed if Bill talked to the council there
was a possibility, however small.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group
rejoined the rest of the party once they felt things had quieted down. There
were still more fights during the evening, but at least there weren’t any more
big ones where everyone in the family participated.
The only
other noteworthy thing that had happened was, when Grunkle Ford had left with
Grunkle Stand and Grandpa Shermy, he had said ‘Live long and prosper” to
Dipper. Dipper knew it was a reference to a scifi show, making him wonder if
perhaps Ford knew Bill was an alien, but had said he was a demon to help cover
for him? Dipper wasn’t sure, but in the end it didn’t make that much of a
difference.
A few days
later, Dipper and Bill had to return to the place they were dropped off, and go
back to Noulara. Dipper said goodbye to Mabel and Bill promised her that he
would everything within his power to make sure Dipper could visit Earth again.
And with that,
they were off. They were picked up at the designated time and were on their way
back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not much
happened during their three day travel back, but when they were around twelve
hours away from Noulara, and close enough to get into direct contact with their
home, Bill wanted to send a message to their staff that they would soon be
back, as well as hear how the eggs were doing.
Dipper sat
beside Bill as they made the call; he too wanted to make sure their eggs were
okay.
The screen
in front of them flickered for a moment before they could see the face and
upper body of Krolym on the screen, he being the one who was taking care of the
house while they were gone.
“Jirik
mirmi, Siheas Brhithel, Niheas Dipper,” Krolym greeted them.
“In
English, please,” Bill requested. Krolym let out a small sigh, but nonetheless
complied.
“I go out
from that you are closing on Noulara?” Krolym asked.
“We will be
there in about twelve hours,” Bill responded. “Has there been any incident while
we were gone?”
In the
background, the faint sound of doorbell could be heard, followed by someone
yelling: “Mri naroa ern!”
“No,
everything have been quiet and peaceful,” Krolym assured them. “Runaepha
reported there was an minor dispute about the building material to be used in
the new Glygliotem, but others nothing.”
“What about
the eggs?” Dipper asked.
“They have
been kept warm, and doing well,” Krolym answered before he was pushed aside and
the face of the eggs caretaker in their absence, Phofia showed up on the
screen.
“Good
evening!” she greeted them happily with a big smile. “I heard you talk with
Krolym and then you mentioned the eggs?”
“Yeah, how
are they doing?” Dipper repeated his question for Phofia.
“Oh,
lonohises! I mean fantastic!” Phofia quickly corrected herself. “I was just
about to see to them now. We can not wait on you getting home!”
Phofia left
the screen and Krolym took back his spot, giving Phofia an indignant look as
she walked away.
“That was
all we wanted to know, Krolym,” Bill laughed. “We will be seeing you again
soon.”
And with
that they signed off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they got
closer to the planet, Dipper was starting to feel sick. He asked Bill about it
while the ship was landing.
“I don’t
know what it is,” Dipper rubbed his stomach trying to quell the nausea. “I just…
really don’t feel well.”
“Maybe your
body is having a bad reaction to space travel?” Bill suggested.
“Then why
didn’t I feel sick when we travelled to Earth?” Dipper asked.
“Perhaps
due to your excitement? Or maybe you are feeling more stressed now than when we
left? If you are still feeling ill tomorrow, or if it gets worse, we will
contact a doctor.”
Dipper
smiled and leaned in closer to Bill.
After the
ship had landed, they got into the Noulara-equivalent of a taxi, which brought
them home, where a foreign vehicle was parked out in front.
Bill’s arm
involuntarily flexed when he saw the vehicle, but Dipper didn’t get a chance to
ask what it was or meant before Bill dragged him inside the house. Inside,
three Crauhlohs that Dipper didn’t recognize were, all three wearing some kind
of green uniform.
“Siheas Brhithel
Chiypherqi,” one of them said, bowing her head to Bill, with the others
following her example. “Niheas Deepurr Puiyns,” she turned to Dipper and bowed
to him, the two others also copying this action. “Waei voazor dus, hmar…” she
paused for a moment as if what she was about to say would be very difficult. “Omiez
Ishinir uru xlev morpheles.”
Dipper
understood most of what had been said, except for that last word. He turned to
Bill, who looked like he was about to pass out.
“What
happened to our eggs?” Dipper asked Bill, knowing that no matter what the
answer was, he wouldn’t be prepared for it.
“They have…
morpheles,” Bill gasped, repeating that word that Dipper didn’t know. “… Taken.”
Translations:
Jirik mirmi = Good evening
Mri naroa ern = I’ll get it
Glygliotem = A building of books and records, similar to a library
Lonohises = Wonderful
Waei voazor dus, hmar = We deeply regret this, but
Omiez Ishinir uru xlev morpheles = Your eggs have been kidnapped
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