AN: Hey guys! I've been wanting to write this scene for yeah, like 2 years lol. I wanted to get a little closure? Kinda? On what exactly everyone was feeling after the Reunion Second. There IS some blood in this scene, so warning for that!
I tried to capture the feeling of grief but not-grief at the same time. Just a confused muddle of traumatized feelings, which does really fit here. But in the end, the worst is over and everything turned out alright and this story reflects that.
Song for this chapter: Your Bones by Of Monsters and Men
It had been three days since the rediscovery of Eins, Zwei, and Drei, and it was three days until the younger pair of twin's birthday. While there had been builders and plumbers and other people coming and going to fix the Shack, overall everyone had been relaxing. Well, they had been trying to, at least. It was less like relaxation and more like recuperation; though none of them truly had any serious injuries, they were all haunted in their own ways and needed time.
Time to do what? Nothing, for the most part. There was also a lot of movie and TV show watching, usually things they had all seen before and knew had happy endings. Mabel's tapes were good for that.
One thing that had changed is that the three brothers preferred to sit in a huddle, touching somehow, whether that be shoulder to shoulder, back to back, or just leaning on each other. Who could blame them, really? Dipper would check that Mabel was still in the room at least once every ten minutes, and Mabel would call Stan's name sometimes just to hear him respond, proving that he still knew his own name. Ford's eyes regularly darted to the windows to check the color of the sky outside.
They all had their mental scars. Of course they did, everything about Weirdmaggeddon had been… Horrific, to say the very least.
"Hey, uh, what do you guys want for dinner?" Stan's voice was the first to break through the chatter of the TV, chair creaking as he eased himself up.
"Grilled cheese?" piped up Mabel, looking at him with a smile that looked more tired than her usual.
"We got cheese, we got bread, and we got butter," Stan replied, counting off the ingredients on his fingers. "I'd say that's just enough for grilled cheese."
"Yay!" cried Drei and Mabel in unison. There wasn't as much oomph in the reply as there usually was, but it was good to hear none-the-less.
Dipper chuckled. "Yeah, sounds good to me." He drew the blue blanket more tightly around his thin shoulders, sitting between Drei and Mabel. After a moment, he leaned his rather unsubstantial weight onto Drei's arm, and the construct looked down and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
Dipper no longer cared about how 'manly' he appeared. He'd fought a demon and won, no matter how scarring the entire experience had been. Now, he just wanted the comfort of his family. And besides, no one else was here to see.
"Yeses," agreed Drei, nodding, then readjusting his monocle as the motion nearly dislodged it. "Am hungries."
"Will you need any help, Stanley?" Ford looked up from his chair, where he'd been reading a book.
"Nah Sixer, I got it. It's grilled cheese, not too hard to make."
They'd gone to the store while the builders had been fixing up the most important parts of the Shack. After starting with the essentials, they'd splurged just a bit as a victory celebration for preventing the end of the world and for the brothers being alright. And also celebrating the fact that the fridge had been repaired.
"After dinner we can all have banana splits too," Grunkle Stan offered with a grin that was a bit more 'him' than it had been yesterday. Everyone could see it and it made them smile too.
"I am rather partial to bananas and chocolate," Eins offered with a tired smile of his own.
"Same here," Mabel said, reaching over to poke his shoulder.
"Is coffee a viable topping to add?" Zwei asked, leaning back against the couch.
"Alright you lot," Stan said, laughing. "We gotta get through dinner first, then come talk to me about weird ice cream toppings."
"Coffee isn't a weird topping!" Zwei looked scandalized, but Stan had already retreated to the kitchen.
"I know he said he doesn't need help," Mabel said, patting her brother on the shoulder and standing up. "But I wanna go help anyways!"
"We'll stay here as backup, sis," Dipper said with a chuckle, closing his eyes. He still had black circles under them, but those were improving little by little. He was getting some sleep as opposed to none. Naps during the day helped too; he was less likely to have to deal with bad dreams then.
"Yeses. Don't wants too much people trying to helps!" Drei agreed, stretching out his legs in front of him.
It wasn't long until they were all in the kitchen, crowded around the rather cramped dinner table. Dipper traced the wood grain in the table with one hand while the other was holding his grilled cheese.
"I forgot how good food like this tasted," Ford mumbled, almost to himself.
"Didn't have grilled cheese in the portal?" Mabel asked sympathetically. Ford laughed a bit, wiping his hands, sandwich gone.
"No, I ate what I could find, and also rations I got from friends." They knew about the allies he'd made in the other worlds. "Cheese was a rarity, that's for sure."
"Did they have space cows?" Mabel asked, face lit up in wonder.
"Something like that, most likely," Ford said, tapping his chin with a finger.
"I's done grill cheeses," Drei said then. "Cans ice cream be happening now?"
"Hold your horses, kid!" Stan said, ruffling his already messy hair. "We gotta clean up a bit, then yeah. Ice cream time."
With everyone working together, cleaning the kitchen went much quicker than usual. Unlike cooking, cleaning usually did work better with more people. In no time they were sitting around the table once more, each with a sundae made to their own liking. Mabel and Drei went for lots of chocolate, the latter ending up with chocolate on his face that blended into the ink spot tattoos currently on his cheek. Zwei went for coffee and and extra banana, causing Stan to elbow him and say 'two bananas' without elaborating. He got glared at by Zwei, Ford, and Eins for that.
Dipper opted for caramel on his sundae, as did Ford. Eins ate his with no toppings, earning a good-natured ribbing from the middle brother about how boring and 'vanilla' his ice cream tastes were. Stan added a bit of everything.
And, after that, it was time to sleep. No one wanted to admit to themselves that they'd been trying to put off sleeping, but they collectively had decided to procrastinate on the basic human need.
No one wanted to take the chance of witness what might be inscribed on the other side of their own eyelids.
Each had their own burden to bear.
But it was nearly midnight and every last one of them was rather sleep deprived. The mood tapered off into vague, fuzzy unease as they mumbled their goodnights. Actually, it wasn't so much unease as discomfort, like they'd all realized their skin didn't feel quite right, or the colors of the world were slightly off.
In actuality, nothing was wrong with the world at large. It was simply the memories creeping back.
They all knew this.
But as the twins and Drei headed up the rickety, splintered steps, Dipper thought to himself that if his brain was halfway convinced of the wrongness of things, did the right really matter as much?
Shoving a piece of wood aside, Dipper coughed. There was a fine layer of black soot on his skin, and it smeared as he rubbed a forearm across his face. Just a moment ago he'd been in the bell tower with his great uncle and the three construct brothers… But now he was alone.
Where had they gone? The blast hadn't killed him or even seriously injured him, but there was no trace of the others. Dipper didn't even see Bill and his cronies any more. There was nothing but him and a wind that blew around debris and the smell of the world burning. The light streaming from the portal above seemed to wiggle in midair in a way light shouldn't as he spun in a circle, then peered down from the ruined tower.
His suspicions were confirmed. It was just him.
Until it wasn't. A feeble cough suddenly came from behind him and he whirled again, nearly toppling over as a wave of dizziness hit him. He had been alone moments before. He had checked everywhere.
But now, he was staring at Drei, crumpled in an ashen heap, shards of wood sticking out of his chest.
"DREI!" Dipper screamed as he ran the short distance and scuffed his knees collapsing by Drei's side. The pale yellow eyes flickered open, still squinting as if the young construct could hardly see him. Perhaps the weird light hurt his eyes. Thick, sticky black liquid was dribbling from his mouth, and his throat tried to swallow.
"D-Dip?" Forming the words cause some black blood to splatter.
"Oh no, no no no Drei," Dipper said, voice almost a panicky whine. He had no idea where to put his hands. He knew removing the wood would make it worse but leaving it in meant he couldn't put pressure on the wounds, and…
He settled for trying to pull Drei's head and shoulders into his lap so he could hug him. "I… I'll fix this, man! I'll fix this… You'll b-be okay… You'll be okay." He was babbling at this point. Those alien eyes hadn't left his face even as Drei struggled to draw breath, blood dripping down the side of his neck to land on Dipper's ankle.
And then Drei tried to smile, but it broke off in a cough. His hands, shaking, slipped from his sleeves to grasp weakly at Dipper's vest, leaving small smears of black. Dipper hugged him closer, infinitely careful but also fiercely protective, trembling with the force of holding back his grief. He couldn't mourn. Not yet. He had to be here for Drei.
"I-is okay," the youngest construct breathed, voice so small. "I s-scared but… Y-yous here."
And Dipper's heart broke.
He hadn't had any friends before coming to Gravity Falls, aside from his sister. Drei was the first. And Dipper was losing him. He was scared and Dipper couldn't save him.
He squeezed his eyes shut, but the tears still managed to fall. Squinting again, Dipper looked down at Drei. The gold and orange light that shimmered and danced like an oil spill was reflecting off the monocle, brighter than it should have been, and off Drei's uncovered eye that was beginning to film over.
The shoulders Dipper was holding shuddered, and Drei managed to speak once more, blood bubbling on his lips and in his nose. "G-goodbyes… Vier…" Stillness.
From the few words of German that Drei had taught him, this hit Dipper like a punch to the gut. Vier. Four. In his own way, Drei had just called Dipper his brother.
And then the floodgates opened and he was sobbing, curled around Drei and not planning on letting him go any time soon. He didn't even notice the blue flames creeping up on them both, licking at Drei's clothes and devouring the bloody patches. All he could focus on is that he had missed out on telling Drei he was family again, even though Drei had said it this time.
Wait, again?
And, with that, Dipper sat upright in his bed, rising immediately like he'd been spring loaded. His chest felt too strangled to speak, and without even truly taking in his surroundings or letting his eyes adjust, he ran to the bathroom. He was in the Shack at night, not in a ruined tower at the end of the world, and that was enough for him at that moment.
Not enough to keep him from throwing up, though. He had enough time to cling to the toilet, fingers white-knuckled on the rim, and he was cogent enough to be thankful he'd have no mess to clean up. When the heaving passed, and he was able to straighten up again despite being wracked with shivers he was unable to stop, he took a breath. Seeing his image in the mirror, he was unsurprised to see his eyes red and watery, though he didn't know when he'd began to cry.
"Why me?" he mumbled to himself, voice small. Was he doomed to see his best friend die a different way every night? Why had that been so realistic? Why had Drei called him brother? Why had his mind come up with that? Was it because Drei had taught him to count to ten in German?
These weren't the only questions spiralling in Dipper's head. As more and more made appearances, Dipper's breathing sped up, and fresh tears spilled from his eyes until he was sobbing once again, though his cries were mostly silent. It was all his fault. For a split second, his eyes opened again and saw the mirror and he felt a burning hate as he looked at himself. Swinging one fist back, he struck out at the mirror, one strangled cry escaping his closed throat.
He stopped with his hand a centimeter away from the glass, shaking, knowing he'd have a lot of explaining to do if he shattered a mirror. He also didn't need any more risks of bad luck in his life.
The fight drained from him in an instant and he was left a sweaty, trembling boy who was dealing with more trauma than his small frame knew what to do with.
His best bet, he thought, was going back to sleep. It was the only thing he could do, right? He'd take a shower when he got up for real; he was too fatigued to bother with one now, and he'd only sweat more in his sleep. Dipper wanted the peace that sleep would bring, but didn't want to risk more dreams, but… What else was there to do?
His shaking had finally subsided to a manageable point, so he spun, heading out of the bathroom and back to the dark attic room. The night was muggy and almost velvety, and yet even the softness of the air itself wasn't enough to fully reassure him. The first thing he saw was his sister, who had fallen asleep splayed on her back in the middle of knitting a sweater. He couldn't see what color it was in the dark. She was snoring, and didn't seem to be having the same issue that he did.
His eyes drifted to the floor where Drei slept. The construct wasn't there. In his place was the rumpled sleeping bag, thrown open haphazardly.
His breath caught in his chest again.
He knew it wasn't real. He really, really did. But that didn't stop him from nearly falling to his knees, whole body wracked with tremors, breath sticking in his throat like a clod of wet paper. A small, strangled noise escaped from his chest before he turned and fled down the stairs, still managing to step quietly.
He'd planned to run to Stan, to beg the man to tell him he was still dreaming. It turned out that he didn't have to, because, in the light of the flickering TV, he saw the three brothers cuddled together, Drei in the middle. Eins and Zwei had been sleeping on air mattresses in the living room, and they currently had those pushed together and had the blankets wrapped around all of them.
Dipper froze in the doorway, not wanting to intrude. Drei was looking like he'd just finished crying, salt tracks on his cheeks. The TV's volume was so low that whatever was being advertised just sounded like a low murmur, and Zwei's eyes were shut as he rested his chin on Drei's head. Eins was still actively crying, though he was silent. As Dipper watched, he tucked his head into Zwei's shoulder, moving closer.
Suddenly Drei's eyes flashed as the young construct locked gazes with Dipper. "Dip," he squeaked out, voice a little hoarse. "What you d-doing up?" He swallowed in the middle of the sentence; all of the crying had left his throat a little dry.
Eins and Zwei looked up when they heard Drei speak, and Zwei smiled. "Come to join our pile of trauma?" Eins nudged him, but his heart wasn't in it. "What? That's what it is." Zwei's normally melodious voice was rather shaky but he acted like he was fine.
"I was scared because I woke up and Drei was gone," Dipper admitted, voice a whisper. He stood there fiddling with the hem of his shirt, unsure what to do, until Eins stood up. The much taller man walked over and gently took his hand, leading him back to the others. Drei opened his arms and drew Dipper into the group hug, the small boy instantly wrapped up in the blankets.
Drei knew what that fear was like. His nightmares had been bad as well. He'd woken screaming in Caesarian, crying out "QR! Frph edfn! Grq'w ohdyh ph khuh dorqh!" For a moment, he had wildly debated about if he should wake Dipper before he'd run downstairs to his brothers.
They'd been up too. Eins had been softly talking to Zwei and comforting him.
Now Drei softly patted Dipper's hair. "Is okay. Yous with us now."
"Yeah I suppose I am," Dipper said with a noise that was half laugh and half sob. He was feeling much better, warm and protected as he was. He sniffed, clinging to Drei's sleeve as Eins rubbed his back gently. "Thanks, guys…"
"Don't mention it." Eins' voice was soft, comforting, exactly what Dipper imagined a kind older brother to sound like…
"Oh… Hey? Drei?"
"Yeses?" Drei's luminous eyes met his. This close, Dipper could see that while Drei didn't have pupils, the center of his iris was a slightly darker shade of yellow.
"In… In my dream, you got… hurt, and called me 'vier'. Like…. Four." Releasing the pajama sleeve, Dipper looked away. Why was he asking about this? "Did… I know it wasn't real, it was just a dream, but… Were you calling me your brother?"
Drei blinked, looking stunned for a moment, mouth open like he was about to speak. "Yeses… If I'd ever been callings you thats, I would mean yous is my brother…" Then he smiled, eyes shining. "Yous is my little brother!"
"Aw you're the best, man." Dipper hugged his best friend-slash-brother close, voice catching again.
"Awwwww! You guys are so cute!" There was a tired voice in the doorway, which turned out to be attached to Mabel as she leaned on the frame, rubbing her eyes. "I woke up after dozing off while knitting you sweaters! But I woke up again and felt like making some cocoa."
Dipper normally would have told her that it was too late (too early?) for cocoa, or that it was the middle of summer, but a warm drink sounded nice.
"Hi," Drei said, voice cracking a little.
"Oh! You sound like you need cocoa too," she replied, nodding. "Cocoa for everyone! That'll help with the bad dreams and stuff. I know you guys are having them… I'm having some too but…" She broke the sentence off, knowing that what they were seeing when they closed their eyes was probably a very specific brand of horror.
"Bad dreams suck all around," came Dipper's voice from the cluster of blankets and brothers. "Cocoa for everyone is perfect."
It only took about two minutes for the water to boil with the electric kettle Ford had gotten for his coffee so the five were sitting on the air mattresses drinking the cocoa in no time. They kept their voices down, but soon no traces of tears were left. There were hushed jokes and giggles, and Mabel and Dipper even tried their best to remember some internet jokes to share.
Dawn was just starting to tint the sky, as it had three days ago when the two sets of twins had set off through the woods, a funeral march to honor the fallen, the hushed birdsong a quiet requiem.
This dawn didn't seem quite so bad. In fact, as Dipper spared a glance to the window to see the light bleeding into the sky, the future was actually looking bright.