Pacifica gets to know Stan better.

For what felt like the longest time (but was actually just five minutes), Stan and Pacifica, in the driver and passenger seat respectively, had remained silent during the first few minutes of the drive, awkwardly peeking at the other from the corner of their eyes. It wasn't until they hit the first bump on the trail that Stan finally spoke.

"Listen, kiddo," Stan said, "I get that I've given you a lot of bad rap during this trip, and pretty much my life...what with your money and your attitude and your spoiled rotten family..."

"Was this supposed to make me feel better?" asked Pacifica.

"It's supposed to be an explanation," Stan replied, "...no, more of an apology really."

"You're...apologizing to me?" Pacifica asked in surprise.

"Eh, in a nutshell," Stan said, "I'm not too good at it, never been wrong a whole lot in my life..."

"Well that's humble," Pacifica said facetiously.

"You want the apology or not?" asked Stan.

"Well I appreciate it, but it's really not necessary."

"Yes it is."

Both remained silent for another few seconds. And then Stan realized he may not have another chance to make things right. And so, he bit the bullet and continued.

"I've been blaming you unfairly for everything on this trip, whether you deserved it or not," Stan said, "Fact of the matter is my problems started way before you were even born. Truth is, your parents aren't so different from mine, but trust me, that is NOT a good thing."

"They used a bell to keep you in line and punish you if you didn't?" Pacifica asked.

"They kicked me out of the house for being a screw-up," Stan replied morbidly.

"Oh," Pacifica replied, "I'm sorry to hear that. Did they like your brother better?"

"Those darn kids told you about Ford, eh?" asked Stan.

"Actually Soos did," Pacifica replied, "He kinda let it slip out."

"I knew he wouldn't be able to shut his piehole about it, not after rambling to Wendy at 3 in the morning," Stan grumbled, "But in answer to your question...yeah, in a nutshell. Got praised by everybody for his big dumb brain, they even gave him some smart-people grant after college. And what does he do with it? Spends his time and money researching ridiculously freaky creatures that make an already weird town even weirder."

"And here I thought you were a full-blown native," Pacifica said.

"Funny, Dipper once said the same thing to me," Stan said, finally lightening up a bit, "When he found out I wasn't, I had him convinced that the entire town was a figment of someone else's messed-up dream, and that waking them up would wipe the town from existence. Poor kid didn't even know I read that from some nerdy video game manual for a game that HE OWNS!"

Pacifica laughed hard at something that definitely sounded like something Dipper would do. For the first time, Stan didn't hear a haughty, stuck-up laugh that was faker than Nikki Minaj's butt. She laughed like a normal child, a regular preteen girl who felt happier than she had for the longest time. And to his own surprise, Stan felt good about it.

"How is Dipper, by the way?" asked Pacifica, "Has he said anything about me? In a different sort of way?"

"Kid, he's sweet on you whether he knows it or not," Stan replied bluntly, "But if you don't say anything to him while you can, you might lose him."

Pacifica knew he wasn't talking about Candy seeking his affection. She remembered being told Dipper and Mabel were going back home after summer vacation. And that was just a couple weeks away.

"You're right, Mr. Pines," Pacifica said, getting up from her seat.

"Call me Stan," he told her, "Just without the 'Grunkle' part, that'll get weird real quick. Trust me, I've seen Soos shirtless and that ain't going away soon."

Pacifica laughed again as she started to head to the back.

"So...are we cool?"

Pacifica could tell he was being honest. She got certain vibes from him while he was scheming, and this time wasn't one of those times.

"Yes," Pacifica said, "Apology accepted."

Dipper cleared his throat as he approached an upset Candy. He wasn't expecting this to be easy, so he had cleverly written down what he wanted to say on paper, folding it into a brochure, something he hoped Candy would appreciate.

A Loser's Attempt At An Apology, it read. Candy seemed to get the gist of it.

"It's okay, Dipper," Candy said, "I think I get it now."

"You're welcome," he said, starting to walk off before he realized what she said, "Wait, get what?"

"How you really feel," Candy said.

"Agh, look, Candy," Dipper said, nervously scratching the back of his head, "You're a cool girl, and I'm glad we're friends. But I think we're better off as just that. Friends."

"I think so too," Candy replied, "Besides, after seeing you jump in front of that spider lady for Pacifica, I don't think you're meant to be the one for me."

"Wait, Mabel was stuck too," Dipper exclaimed, "Well, not really, but she still could have been eaten."

"But you didn't think twice about protecting her from that ghost at her mansion party," Candy said.

"How do you even remember that?" asked Dipper, "You were all turned to wood!"

"That doesn't mean we couldn't see or feel what was going on," Candy said, "You really care for her. A lot more than you could care for me."

"Well I, uh, I wouldn't put it like..."

"Go to her, Dipper," she said, patting his hand, "Before you lose your chance."

Candy got up and went to join Mabel and Grenda in the back room playing the Sev'ral Timez board game. Judging by their roaring laughter, Dipper knew that all three, Candy included, were feeling better. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw the blonde in question sheepishly approach him by his seat.

"Um, think I could join you?" asked Pacifica.

Dipper patted the seat next to him, saying "Hop on."

Pacifica sat next to him, brushing off her pants from the little bits of dust she ran into leaving the passenger seat.

"So," Dipper said, "How did this trip end up for you? I know it was technically supposed to be a punishment, but..."

"Well, I wasn't too fond of being chased by spider creatures," Pacifica replied.

"Yeah, not really a high point of the trip," Dipper said.

"But, um...there were some things that made it...enjoyable," Pacifica said, "Hey, Dipper...when I ran off on you at the mountain...right before all of that fountain business..."

"If you're talking about Candy, there was nothing going on," he replied, "We sorted it out."

"Right, I figured," Pacifica said, "I wasn't jealous or anything but, y'know...I worry sometimes, at the thought of not seeing you again. O-Or Mabel, but..."

"Hey, hey, it's not like we'll fall off the face of the Earth," Dipper said reassuringly, "I mean, we can trade numbers, and there's a gazillion apps for webcam conve..."

"DipperI'mcompletelyinlovewiithyouandIthinkweweremadeforeachother!" Pacifica said in hyper-speed.

She may have been talking fast enough to need to catch her breath, but Dipper heard every word she said, and it replayed in his mind in slow motion, still trying to process what he heard. Did Pacifica just admit she liked him?

"Did...did you just say..."

"Well...yes," Pacifica said, "I've...kinda had a crush on you since the mansion party...I dunno, something about you just makes me feel...good about myself. Like I'm actually more than just my money or my family name...like I'm an actual person. You make me feel special, Dipper! I just..."

Her ramblings were interrupted when she felt a light peck on her cheek. Dipper managed to slip one in while she was pouring her heart out. And of course, both preteens were blushing immediately after, yet unable to look away from each other.

"Funny you should mention that," Dipper said, "I've kinda spent this whole 'revenge trip' trying to pick up girls to forget about Wendy...which kinda worked, I haven't thought too much about her throughout all this...but I didn't forget about you."

Pacifica rested her head on Dipper's shoulder, both looking out at the setting sun visible from their window.

"I could never forget you," Pacifica said quietly.

One minute, they're both looking out the window watching trees pass by. The next, a bright flash of white got them both up, looking in the other direction at the lens of a camera phone. And only one person had bright and cheery stickers on her phone.

"That's one for the photo album!" Mabel exclaimed gleefully.

Dipper and Pacifica both wiped their eyes, weary from what was apparently a very restful nap. They both felt the RV starting to slow down, meaning they were most likely back in Gravity Falls and almost back at the Mystery Shack.

"Mmmm...Mabel," Dipper moaned, stretching his arms, "Why did you do that?"

"How could I not?" asked Mabel, as if it were the dumbest question in the world, "You two were so cute all snuggled up together!"

"We weren't snuggled up," Pacifica said, "Were we?"

"I got the photo evidence to prove it, Paz, "I don't know whether it's adorable because you're both cute snuggled up together, or blackmail material because you were drooling on Dipper's sleeve, but either way, this one's a keeper!"

"Wait, I WHAT? NO I DIDN'T!"

"It's going in the album, Paz!"

Pacifica chased Mabel around trying to delete the photo herself. But of course, Mabel was, for all her eccentricities, a fast runner, and put up a good chase. It was all for naught, though, as the small stain on Dipper's sleeve proved her wrong, but he kept it to himself.

"SWEET LORD!" Stan cried, "Aw, come on!"

As it turns out, Stan's prank victims had come all the way to the Mystery Shack to exact justice, which would not be easy to clean up. As Stan chased out the other tourist trap owners, Pacifica had finally given up on chasing Mabel down, the latter girl having run off with Candy and Grenda to gush over it in the attic. Pacifica walked back to Dipper, panting and catching her breath.

"How...how does she do that?" asked Pacifica.

"By eating her body weight in sugar and energy drinks," Dipper said, "That's how she works."

Before Pacifica could say anything else, a familiar limo started coming around the corner up to the Mystery Shack.

"I guess...this is it for me," Pacifica said, "I have to admit...it really was fun. I'm glad I was 'dragged' onto this trip.

"We all had fun," Dipper said, "For the record, I'm glad you came along too. Even after I spent half of it writing down girls numbers...which I kinda wiped off my arm after the whole Fountain thing, so I guess that much was for nothing."

Pacifica held Dipper's arm out by the wrist, pulling out a pink, glittery sharpie that was in her pocket, writing down her number.

"Maybe this one will be worth keeping," Pacifica said with a smile.

"Yeah, this one is," Dipper said, "Though I'm better off putting it in my phone and then erasing it, or else Mabel will get even more excited than she already is. That's a whole different storm I'd rather avoid."

Pacifica looked over as the limo had finally gone into park. In the first second she looked, she was checking to see if either of her parents were looking out the window. The next second, she realized she didn't care. Still holding onto his wrist, she pulled him in for a kiss on the lips, both surprising Dipper and exciting him. He wasn't expecting it to be so warm, so soft, nothing at all like his pillow. It felt like forever before she reluctantly pulled out, starting to walk off towards her family limo.

"See you soon, Dipper," Pacifica said.

Dipper watched as the blonde girl, formerly the bane of his and his family's existence (sans Gideon and Bill), walked off having given him his number, and a kiss. Once Pacifica jumped inside the limo, Dipper walked back into the shack, neither noticing Soos inconspicuously leaning against a giant tree watching their interaction. He straightened his cap with a knowing smile.

"All in a days work," Soos said, "Though that was really more than a day, so...anyhow, they're together and that's all that matters! Good job, Soos! Thanks Soos!"

Preston stared into his newspaper while Priscilla was applying yet another layer of makeup on her face. Pacifica looked out the window watching as the Mystery Shack started shrinking from their view. Her father cleared his throat as he finally put his newspaper down.

"So, how did this little trip of yours turn out?" asked Preston, "Did you learn a lesson from all this?"

Pacifica, though not facing her father, had the biggest smile on her face, staring dreamily at the triangular window where she knew Dipper had called his abode during his stay at Gravity Falls.

"Yeah," she replied, "I think I did."

I know, I know, you guys wanted this to be so much longer, kinda like the show itself, but all good things must come to an end. I must say, this was fun to write though, as it was, so far, the most reviewed, most read, and most favorited fic on my profile (possibly more than my other stories put together). Anyhoo, thanks for reading this.

And Go Team Dipcifica.