Fun in Vegas: Part 1

It was a pretty awesome birthday gift, really. Definitely not something he had expected. Even if an eighteenth birthday was supposed to be amazing, he didn't think his family would have gone this far for him and his twin sister.

"AH!" Mabel almost screamed as she saw the lights of a city in an otherwise plain stretch of desert. "Is that what I think it is?!" She actually dove into the front of the car, looking out through the windshield.

Dipper pointed at a sign as they got closer. "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas."

"AAHHH! VEGAS! OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! YES! BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" Mabel fist pumped and leapt back into her seat, putting her seatbelt back on and grabbing her pet pig, who had been asleep on the floor. "WADDLES! WE'RE GOING TO VEGAS!"

He gave a tired oink, but licked her face when she hugged him to her chest.

"We figured we would set you up in a nice hotel for your birthday," their mother said, turning around to smile at them. "You can find lots of fun things to do during the weekend."

"Yeah! We can walk around and look at the awesome sculptures and..." Mabel gasped and turned to grab Dipper now, shaking him. "WE CAN GAMBLE! WE'RE EIGHTEEN!"

"Wow, yeah! We can go to the casinos!"

"And we can hit the clubs! Find some cute boys! Eh?" She nudged him.

"Sure..." he replied, rolling his eyes. She's been trying to play matchmaker with him. He hasn't had much luck with dating and had given up on it, and hasn't had a real crush on anyone since that summer he had spent in Gravity Falls when he was twelve, and he had liked Wendy. But she wasn't interested in him the same way, and had let him down easy. He had moved on, but hasn't found the same spark in anyone else.

After trying and failing to get him with a girl, Mabel had become convinced that he needed to get with a boy then. Someone, at least. She didn't want him to spend the rest of his life alone and die a loser. He supposed he appreciated the concern... but her persistence was getting annoying.

Deciding to change the subject, Dipper said, "Thank you so much, Mom and Dad. I can already tell this is going to be awesome."

"No problem, honey," Mrs. Pines replied, reaching back to ruffle his hair. "You two have been such wonderful kids... you deserved something great. I want you to have fun, but stay safe, okay?"

"We will," Dipper promised.

Mabel repeated the promise, and then grabbed his arm and pointed out that they were now in the city, and look at how cool everything was! So much neon! People in weird outfits! Replicas of famous monuments and the most bizarre architecture you could think of!

They were completely engaged, to the point that they didn't realize they had reached the hotel until the car stopped in front of the lobby, and Mr. Pines ran in to get their room keys. He had reserved the rooms in advance, but was only now going to find out which ones they had gotten.

When he returned, he passed them out. One set, he kept for himself and his wife; they had a room on the fifth floor. And Dipper and Mabel got separate rooms on the sixth floor, though they were right near each other. The rooms each had only one bed, but they were supposedly huge. And the rooms were actually suites, so they each had separate living rooms, and large bathrooms where the bathtubs were installed with water jets, and kitchens that included not only a microwave and refrigerator, but an actual stove and sink and dishes. There were balconies for each room as well, giving you amazing views of the city.

They were all in awe as they went inside, carrying their luggage and looking around the spacious lobby.

"The dining room is over there," Mr. Pines said, gesturing toward it. "I think that way is to the pool and gym, and I wanna say there's a bar somewhere... maybe even an arcade. We can look later, but first, let's put our stuff in our rooms."

They ended up spending about twenty minutes just admiring their suites, trying to determine who had the better balcony view, testing the furniture to see just how comfortable it was (it was all perfect) and generally relaxing after the long car ride. Mabel had a bit of trouble getting Waddles through the building; no one liked seeing a pig inside a fancy hotel, and there were complaints. But pets were allowed, and one could tell he was clean just looking at him, so there wasn't anything they could do about it.

Finally, they decided to go out to eat lunch and see what they could get up to in town for the rest of the day. As they returned to the car, the twins just knew they were in for a great time.

"Man..." Dipper groaned as he walked out of the nightclub, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead. He had a really bad headache. He wasn't sure if it was the volume of the music, or the strobe lights, or what, but it was really getting to him. Wasn't there some kind of limit to how much noise you could be exposed to at one time? Especially loud noises? He may have permanently damaged his hearing. He wouldn't be surprised if he did.

He needed fresh air and some quiet. He wasn't going to get much of either in the middle of Las Vegas, but it would be more than he had in there. The neon actually seemed tame compared to the flashing, blinding lights inside. He gazed around, letting the warm, dry air of the desert waft across his face. It wasn't so bad once you got used to it. He had grown up in California, he was used to heat. And it was getting dark, so it was cooling down a little. Weren't fireworks usually launched every night? He would have to keep an eye out for that.

Deciding to go for a walk, he set off. His exit had gone unnoticed; Mabel was still partying inside with some college students that he was pretty sure were drunk, but he knew better than anyone that she could take very good care of herself. She was quite formidable in a fight; their adventures in Gravity Falls together had done them well, and neither had let themselves lose their abilities in these past years. They have visited since then, and at home have stayed fit. Mabel was even taking a weight training and conditioning class in school this year, and she was already getting stronger from it. She'll be fine.

He texted her, though, to let her know that he was out for a walk. He didn't want her to try to look for him and then panic when she couldn't find him. She didn't reply, but he doubted she could hear her phone. He pocketed his phone and looked around for something else to do. Maybe he could look at some of those monument replicas.

He wished he had his car, but they had all come in their parents' vehicle. And they were currently out at some restaurant somewhere having some alone time, away from the kids. He couldn't blame them for that.

His headache wasn't going away, so he decided that it could be because of dehydration. He hasn't really drank as much as he should have today; he had been too distracted with everything he wanted to do. And what he did drink was mostly soda; definitely not good for staying hydrated in the heat.

Finding a vendor was easy, and he bought an overpriced bottle of water that turned out to be lukewarm. Oh well. It'll go through his system more quickly like that, at least. He opened it and drank it while he walked, and had drained it within minutes. He tossed it into a trashcan, then went to look at replicas of the pyramids of Giza. They were maybe one-third the size of the originals. Not bad.

He was considering snapchatting a picture to send to Mabel (he had an urge to draw an eye on one just to see what her reaction would be) when someone suddenly spoke behind him in a hauntingly familiar voice.

"Oh, you like Egyptian architecture, eh? Nice, I'm also quite fond of pyramids. And for good reason."

Dipper spun around and found himself face to face with a man who was a little taller than him and quite lanky, with dark skin and sharp features reminiscent of artwork he's seen of ancient Egyptians. The man looked young; he had to be only twenty or so. He had blond hair that was a startling contrast to his skin, triangle-shaped earrings made of bronze, and was dressed in a sharp, well-fitted, bold yellow tailcoat that had a brick pattern on the sleeves, reminding him of the pyramids he was just looking at. His dress pants were also that same yellow, and his black loafers were shiny and the toes had what seemed to be gold on them.

A simple black bow tie was around his neck and a top hat was upon his head, and his appearance was so jarring and eccentric and completely at place in this city. But he had Dipper's attention more than anyone else, because when he made contact with those vivid gold eyes that glinted from underneath thick lashes, he knew instantly who he was looking at, and it left him speechless.

"Surprised to see me, Pine Tree?" Bill Cipher said, grinning a grin that was much wider than necessary.

"Bill!" Dipper yelped, backing away. He hit the railing that separated him from the monuments, and quickly looked around for an escape route while the other approached.

"Yep, that's my name, don't wear it out." Bill took his arms out from behind his back, and Dipper flinched, but he was only carrying a short cane, which he began to spin around for no apparent reason.

"You... I thought you were gone, when we..." Dipper was too surprised to speak coherently.

"Me, gone? Hardly." Bill laughed and nearly hit Dipper with the cane, but he effortlessly made it miss his face by centimeters. "You banished me from Gravity Falls, kid. No more. You really thought you had defeated a demon? And one that rules in the plane of the mind? Hah! As long as there are still minds out there capable of dreaming, I will exist. And I'll still have power wherever you meddling humans haven't managed to seal me out. Ah, Vegas. I've had some good times here... You won't believe the kinds of deals people will make to get money!"

Regaining his voice, Dipper said, "So, have you been... following me, or something?"

"Oh, I've been keeping an eye on you. Ha, see what I did there?"

Dipper slapped his face with his hand.

"Anyway, except for when you went to visit Gravity Falls, I did keep observing you and good ol' Shooting Star. My, what a lady she's turned into, huh? But still so eccentric, let's hope she keeps that energy. Humans are so boring when they start slowing down, and then they start blaming the younger generations for their problems, and blah blah blah... who needs all that noise? I don't care for it. I mean, so many people would probably give me good offers to win big in one of these casinos around here... but here I am catching up with you."

"Why? I would have thought you hated me after everything I did."

"Hated you? Nah. I'm immortal. My life is way too long for me to hold grudges on mortal creatures like you. In at most a century, you'll be dead and no longer an interest to me. Why spend the time when I can watch you hating you?"

"I guess that makes sense... but why show up now? And where did you get this body, anyway? Did you make it? We don't seem to be in the dreamscape..." Dipper looked around just to make sure, but while it was getting dark, it was obvious that there was still plenty of color in the world around them and time was moving as it should.

"Nope, we're in reality. Anyone walking by can see us talking to each other. As for this body, I didn't make it. I can't create something like this, not if I want to fully interact with reality with it. I had it made for me." At the look of disgust on Dipper's face, Bill went on gleefully, "I told you, humans will make any sort of deal if they think they can get something good out of it. I managed to find someone who was willing to create a vessel for me. I wanted to spend more time in a body, but possession is always so annoying with the host screaming at you to get out... so I wanted a body without a mind. Something that was essentially an organic puppet, that would only move once my mind told it to. And I convinced one of your scientists to build this. For all intents and purposes, a human with flesh and blood, but no soul. It never had one."

Dipper became more horrified as Bill's explanation went on. "That's awful!"

"Isn't it? Wanna know what I did to him afterward?"

"I really don't want to know."

"But it's great, it involves a crocodile and about twelve butter knives, come on!"

"I would prefer not to hear that."

"Pfft, lame." Bill came even closer to him, and Dipper jolted as the cane hooked around his neck and pulled him forward, so he was uncomfortably close, eyes staring up into Bill's. They almost seemed to resemble the singular eye he had in his demon form, if he looked at them in a certain light... "Anyway, he did provide me this body. And I was pleased. I can talk like myself and everything. I could pretty much accessorize it however I liked. Speaking of that, like my earrings, kid?"

Dipper glanced over at one of his ears, seeing now that the triangular earrings had little Eyes of Horus on them. "That's... cute?"

Bill beamed. "Of course it is! Wow, I can't get over how good I look! I looked good before, of course, but now... oh, the humans love me! Apparently this body is attractive. What do you think?"

"Uh... this is getting awkward. Can I just... go?"

"Nope, not yet. So, it's your birthday, eh? Having fun?"

"I guess. At least, I was until you showed up."

"Rude, Pine Tree. I offer you my company and this is how you treat me? You know, some people would pay to be in my company. Literally, like... I could go into that club you had walked out of and they'd probably be throwing money at me. I'd make it rain."

Dipper did not need that mental image. "Why are you even still following me around, am I really that fascinating to you?"

"Anyone who's able to 'beat,'" Bill did air quotations, "me is fascinating. You're an impressive human. I always watch humans that do impressive things. All throughout history, I've been alongside great people, just watching. You, about seventy percent of U.S. Presidents, Celine Dion, that Hitler guy..."

"Uh-huh... so go talk to a famous football player or something, leave me alone."

Bill just continued to smile, not bothered. "Oh, trust me, I have been in the company of plenty of people since the last time we met. But you've always had something special about you. Something that I want to understand." He carefully unhooked the cane from around Dipper's neck and slid the curve of it through one of his belt loops. Then he placed his hand on the other's neck.

Dipper inhaled; he was very warm, and as his fingers fanned across the skin and put just the smallest amount of pressure on him, he found himself sighing. For a few moments, he stayed where he was. Then he shook his head and jerked away. "Don't touch me."

"No, come here, Pine." Bill grasped both sides of his neck this time, and as Dipper struggled, he moved his hands up to his cheeks, watching curiously as the other blushed even as he swore at him. "It's hilarious how your faces change color. Lemme tell you, I may have been around humans for a very long time, but it seems I'm always learning something new about you guys. Like how much you'll deny something even if the truth is right in front of you."

"Can you stop touching me?" Dipper had given up on trying to pull away, deciding that he had to just let Bill get bored with these antics and move on to something else.

"Oh, but the sense of touch is such a wonderful thing. I never tire of exploring it. And now, I'd like to try a kind of touch I haven't yet."

"And what would that-" And then Dipper was cut off by Bill's lips suddenly pressing to his own.