Chapter Text
It was hard to do much of anything for the first few days. Bill tried his best to follow Orion around and do chores, something that was part of his punishment, but it became harder and harder to do. Eventually he just stayed in his cave, curled up while blowing bubbles to pass the time.
Usually when the weather got cold the entire pod would start to sleep in the common area to keep warm, but Bill didn’t really sleep much, so he was content with keeping to himself at night. It made the others whisper about him even more than they already were. Once the truth came out, quite a few of them flat out shunned him, and most just avoided him. Yet another reason to keep away from the common area.
Orion seemed to be the only one who bothered to make sure Bill was even still alive, and occasionally prompted him to eat a few times, but Bill would claim that he already had then turn him away. It was nice that someone cared, but Bill knew he didn’t even deserve that kindness. He had messed up, and he knew he couldn’t fix what he had done. Not all the way. Dipper was healed and the spell was re-cast with his wants in mind, but the emotional hurt was still clearly there.
It became pretty clear to Bill that Dipper was done with him when the second week came to an end. Bill had seen Mabel twice in that time, once out of idiocy, asking if he could come see Dipper, then the second time to ask her how he was doing. She told him he was doing alright. He was getting healthy again, but was all over the place emotionally, which was understandable.
He started to lose track of time and rarely, if ever, left his cave to actually get food. Even when he did eat though, it was barely anything. He just couldn’t stomach much while upset.
A night came when Bill began to wonder how hard it would be to just start swimming and never look back. Leaving his pod could be dangerous, and he likely wouldn’t survive long on his own, but it seemed like a better option than sitting around and withering away. Dipper didn’t want him, his family didn’t want him, why not leave?
It was a tempting idea, and Bill thought it over while sitting in his cave, scratching at the wall because he was yet again unable to sleep. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Maybe him leaving would be the best for everyone.
Just when Bill was building up the courage to do it, a small school of fish came rushing into his cave, splashing around him frantically. When he looked to the opening to see what they had swam away from, he flinched back and pushed himself up against the wall.
It was Dipper.
“Eat. I know you probably haven’t in awhile.” He blocked the entrance so that the fish couldn’t swim out, and crossed his arms, staring Bill down.
Bill stayed pressed up against the wall and looked away from Dipper. “I’m not hungry.”
Dipper sighed and plucked one of the fish from out of the water. “I went through the trouble of getting them here, you can eat a few. Besides, Bill… You look sick.”
“I’m fine.” He almost wanted to tell Dipper to go away. It was painful to see him, and he was sure that he was just there to officially break it off, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle that.
“Look. We need to talk.” Dipper lightly tossed the fish towards him. “But I won’t unless you eat.”
He finally got the nerve to at least look at Dipper, and saw that he too was pale and sickly. He was wearing glasses that made the bags under his eyes look even bigger, and it hurt to see him in that condition. Bill had done that to him, he didn’t deserve any kind of forgiveness.
“I-if you’re here to tell me what I think you are, please just go. I can’t bear to actually hear the words.” He grabbed a fish that swam by him and looked at it, still not sure if he even could stomach anything.
There was a long pause, one that made Bill looked back at the wall. He didn’t want to watch Dipper leave just as much as he didn’t want to hear him say that it was over.
“I’m not leaving you.”
Dipper’s voice was so sudden and loud that Bill looked over at him in shock.
“Wh-what?”
He nodded at the fish in Bill’s hand. “Eat and I’ll talk to you.”
Bill eyed the fish for a moment, then lifted it to his mouth and bit the head off, chewing only for a moment before swallowing it, and the rest of the fish whole. Dipper cringed a bit at it, but seemed happy enough about it.
“There. I ate.” He looked away again and crossed his arms, hoping that Dipper was about to explain what he meant about not leaving him.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” Dipper started, “and I realized that I can’t let you go. I still love you as much as I did before I knew what you were doing.”
“You do?” Bill looked at Dipper and blinked away the tears that had started to make his eyes sting. “Why?”
Dipper looked down at the water and lightly chewed at his bottom lip. “You’re still you, Bill. You always have been. It’s really hard to fall in love with someone and then just let them go. So even after what you did, I’ve decided that I don’t want to stop seeing you.”
A half laugh half sob left Bill’s lips and he rubbed his eyes to stop his tears. “You deserve so much better than me, Dipper. I hurt you and you should leave me.” It hurt to say, but Bill knew he was right. He desperately wanted to just swim over and hug and kiss Dipper, accepting that he had just said that he wanted to stay, but he knew it would be wrong. He really didn’t deserve Dipper.
“Most people probably would. What you did was pretty terrible. But,” he added, “you were doing what you thought was right. From your point of view, a siren’s point of view, what you did would be okay. I was the enemy, and you thought I needed to be taken care of to help protect your family. And when I started seeing you, I should have kept that in mind. I trusted you all too easily, but it was because of my hope for us to understand each other.” He paused and looked back up at Bill.
It was hard to see him upset and he wanted to comfort him, but Bill stayed put, not wanting to push any boundaries that were probably about to be set.
“And I think having this happen, though it sucks, did help us understand each other better. I learned how cruel us humans were being, and how badly it was affecting you and your family. It was bad enough to drive a good person like you to do something bad.”
Bill scoffed. “I’m not a good person.”
Dipper moved closer to Bill and smiled weakly. “I know you well enough to know that’s not true. You always talked about how much you care for your family, even though you’d never admit it to any of them. And only someone who felt truly bad for what they’ve done would become this sickly over it. And… Mabel told me about the docs. I know you love me, and I know what lengths you would go to for me. I like to think that you’ve felt this way about me for as long as I have you, and that you were just denying it to yourself.”
“You think correctly then,” he laughed. “I thought for so long that I just couldn’t be feeling warm and fuzzy for a human. That my crush on you would go away if I willed it to. But it didn’t. It got worse and worse and then I found myself missing you whenever we were apart, and wanting to hold you and kiss you, and just be with you, and-” He stopped himself when he felt tears roll down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Dipper,” he added quietly.
A hand was suddenly on his shoulder and then Dipper was next to him, tears of his own running down his cheeks. “I know,” he whispered.
Unable to hold himself back, Bill pulled Dipper into a tight hug, wrapping his tail around the other’s. He was so warm that Bill couldn’t help but shiver and bury his face in the crook of Dipper’s neck.
“Bill, you’re freezing,” Dipper said as he returned the hug. “Why are you even out here so late anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be with the others?”
“I don’t think I’m welcome anymore,” he sighed. “Being technically half human is kind of a deal breaker.” He laughed a bit and wiped his tears away as he moved back a little from Dipper, still keeping their tails together.
The two stared at each other for a moment, Dipper’s soft glow being the only light since the moon was no longer high enough in the sky to provide any.
“How about we just… start over. Do this all the right way.” Dipper pulled him close again and rubbed his arm to help warm him up.
“What do you mean?” He welcomed the embrace and for the first time weeks was able to get his body to use his healing vibrations.
Though he wasn’t sure how he knew how to do it, Dipper started to use his own as well, and it made the ache in Bill’s body start to fade.
“Let’s introduce each other to our families for real this time. No more secrets or hiding. And this time we can really appreciate each other’s cultures by going out and exploring. We can be open about it and not have to worry about what others will say.”
“That sounds… Are you sure? What will we do if others don’t accept us? I’ve made such a mess, everyone was put into such a strange place because of me. What if they don’t want a truce, and they start fighting again?”
Dipper’s stopped rubbing his arm and sighed. “Then we fight it. I honestly don’t think it will come to that, though. I think, though it will take some time, both sides will start to understand each other, and realize that life will be so much better without having to fear one another. We just have to try, and hope that I am right.” He lightly traced over Bill’s birthmark with his index finger and smiled. “So, will you try? Will you start over and be open with me?”
Bill sniffled and laughed. “Yes. I’ll do anything for you, Dipper.”
“Good. Then as soon as morning comes, we’ll get started.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun had just barely come over the horizon, lighting the sea up with its golden glow. Dipper stared out at it for a moment while he thought, trying to get his nerves about what he was about to do to go away. He took a deep breath of the salty air and closed his eyes. This was going to make things better, he had to just do it. No more worrying.
He opened the door to his home, stepping inside quickly before he psyched himself out. He was going to talk to his family, and he was going to do it with a strong voice, even though he was emotionally and physically exhausted from going to see Bill.
When he was swimming over to talk to Bill, he had every intention to yell at him before telling him that he still wanted him. To let out his frustrations and maybe feel some sort of victory because of it. But when he saw how hurt and broken Bill was, all of his anger vanished and instead he only felt sad. He had figured that the other hadn’t eaten, which was why he brought the fish, but he had no idea Bill would be in as bad of shape as he was.
So, instead of yell at him, Dipper did what he knew was the right thing to do. He spoke calmly and explained to the best of his ability what he was feeling. He had been hurt, but he still understood why Bill did it, and he was willing to try again. He knew Bill loved him, and he loved Bill, so there was no reason not to, in his mind. It was something that he just accepted then, and after how good it made him feel to hug Bill, he didn’t want to question it.
He knew his family would understand, or at least would just accept it, so he was ready to tell them the same.
With a deep breath, Dipper entered the dining area, where his family was all eating breakfast.
“Dipper! I was hoping you’d be back soon!” Mabel stood up from her chair and pranced over to him excitedly. “How did it go?”
“Well,” he smiled as he pushed up his borrowed glasses. “It went well. I’m actually here to talk with you all about it.”
“What is it that you’d like to share?” She grabbed his shoulder and lead him over to the table, sitting back down while looking at him expectantly.
Ford and Stan exchanged a glance at one another before turning their attention back to Dipper, who was biting at his lips nervously.
He knew they were at least accepting of him, but he really wasn’t sure how well they would react to meeting Bill. It was a little frightening to wonder what their official meeting would be like. “I want you all to meet Bill. I’ve decided to stay with him, and I want you to know him.”
A tense silenced passed, Ford growing tense and tapping his fingers on the table. Mabel and Stan just looked to each other, having a silent conversation that Dipper hoped was about good things.
“I’d love to,” Mabel said to break the silence. “And I’m sure Ford and Stan agree.” She looked over to Ford, giving him a stern stare. “We are meant to make peace with them, after all.”
Dipper gulped as he watched Ford look up at him. Neither of them said anything, and the silence between the four of them was becoming unbearable. It hurt Dipper to know that Ford wasn’t willing to accept the situation, but he also understood how hard it was to just switch mindsets about something so big. Both sides had done so much wrong, so much killing, that he was almost shocked that either of them had come as far as they did.
“For Christ’s sake, Ford, just say you’re sorry to the kid!” Stan blurted out. “You’ve been mopey about this for a week, you have’ta learn to start doing that ‘accepting’ crap Mabel explained. We can’t change what’s happenin’ so deal with it like a man.”
Ford glared at Stan and scoffed. “I’m simply trying to find the right wording for what I wish to say.” He looked back over at Dipper and let out a long sigh. “What I did wasn’t right. I hurt you, and I’m sorry for it. I just… I will need time to adjust to this big change.”
“And that’s okay with me,” Dipper smiled, despite the weight in his chest. “I understand it is a lot. As long as you’re willing to try, I am as well.”
They held each other’s stares for a moment more before Ford gave a short nod. “I will try, Dipper.”
He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and a genuine smile pulled at his lips. “Thank you. I’m going to grab him some clothing then I will be back with him.” Dipper excitedly stood and left to go up to his room, quickly maneuvering through the house so that he didn’t make Bill wait too much longer.
With the clothes in hand, Dipper nearly sprinted to the cove. He wasn’t sure if he was being fueled by his nerves or excitement, but hoped it was the latter. Not having to hide anymore was going to be nice, but things would be tense for a little while, probably to a point of having to leave the house occasionally. He only hoped that it would pass quickly and never get to a point of anymore fighting.
“So, how’d it go?” Bill was already dry and was laid out on the sand, his figure already looking more lively. Dipper leaving him seemed to have been a great stress on Bill, and though a part of Dipper was still upset, he was happy to see his boyfriend in a better mood.
“They’d like to meet you,” Dipper said as he tossed the clothes to Bill.
He stood and brushed some sand off of himself, fighting with the clothes to put them on correctly. “They’d like to, or they feel like they have to?”
Dipper shrugged. “Does it matter? Either way we’re getting this out of the way. We need to take these baby steps.” He stepped closer to help Bill put the shirt on since the blond was trying to put it on backwards.
“I suppose.” Once Bill’s head was through the shirt he began to work with the pants, getting them on without help from Dipper. “I just hope they take it well. Mabel is fine, but…” He looked down at his hands and sighed. “I’m a little...scared…” he mumbled.
Pulling the smaller man into a hug, Dipper hushed him and rubbed his back. “It’ll be okay.”
Bill returned the hug and the two stayed in the embrace for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth of the other.
Dipper missed the physical contact, and was glad that he was able to have that moment with Bill. He was just as afraid of this whole thing as Dipper was, and that was somehow comforting. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be there. Nothing bad will happen.”
“I should be the one comforting you,” Bill sniffled. “You’re too good to me, Dipper. I don’t deserve you, I really don’t.”
“Let’s just focus on getting this day over with. It’ll be the rough patch before you and I get to talking you out of saying those kinds of things. We’re both imperfect, okay? Let’s just go to my house.”
Bill nodded and pulled away from the hug. “Help me walk?”
He took Bill’s hand and smiled. “Of course.”
~~
The manor seemed even more menacing than it had before, and Dipper stood at the door, holding onto Bill’s hand tightly. He knew he was supposed to be brave and face this, get all of the hard parts out of the way so that they could start on their road to recovery, but it was proving to be more difficult than he thought it would be.
“Alright. Here we go,” he said with a shaky voice as he pulled the door open.
The two were met with Mabel immediately pulling them into a hug, her poofy dress nearly covering them both.
“I have tea waiting for us!” She grabbed their joined hands and pulled them behind her, ignoring Bill’s occasional tumbles while she lead them to the sitting room where Stan and Ford were likely waiting.
Dipper held his breath as the three entered the room, just waiting for something bad to happen. His nerves were nearly fried when his gaze met his grunkle’s faces, and he couldn’t bring himself to exhale just yet. And he likely wouldn’t until someone said something, other than just stare at each other like they all were.
“Grunkle Stan, Ford, this is Bill,” Mabel smiled. She lead them over to sit down on one of the cream colored chairs and tried to break the tension in the room with a laugh. “It’s nice to have you around with some pants on.”
Bill smiled weakly, but his eyes never left Ford’s. “They’re not very comfortable,” he mumbled.
“Tails are hard to get used to at first, too,” Dipper said in hopes of keeping the conversation going. It was stale and awkward, but it was better than the silence.
Stan chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “I bet Mabel could make you a pair that would fit better. For a big fish, yer pretty small. Dipper is nearly a foot taller than ya!” He laughed and slapped his knee, earning a small laugh from everyone but Ford.
“I’ll get to making some tailored clothes for you soon, okay Bill? That way you can have a wardrobe here for when you come up.” Mabel eyed him for a moment, snapping her fingers as her eyes went wide. “I’ll make things to match your scales! That way it feels a little more like your normal self.”
“Thanks,” he said quietly.
It was hard for Dipper to see Bill being so quiet. So…not himself. He wanted to smash the tension in the air with a hammer.
“Ford.” Dipper cleared his throat. “Despite things, Bill makes me happy. Things are going to be bumpy, but-”
“Dipper, it’s okay. I know. I’m still just...adjusting, is all. I’ve not seen one with legs before. I’m trying to be scientifically fascinated over being mad. Perhaps one day Bill and I could discuss how he did this?”
Everyone looked to Bill, who was then clinging onto Dipper like a lifeline.
“S-sure. It was just some magic. Kind of hard to do, but…” He shrugged and looked down, his grip loosening on Dipper. “But I pulled it off. I’m pretty good with magic.”
The mood lifted quite a bit when Ford went into one of his lectures on magic, talking quickly about his research on just how much magic sirens could do, and what creatures could use it better than others.
They all sat and listened as his words helped melt away the tension. Bill would occasionally butt in when he would correct Ford, slowly acting more and more like the stubborn person Dipper knew him as. He even eventually relaxed his grip and leaned forward to talk more excitedly when Ford asked him a question.
It was nice. There was still some heavy air, but he could see how much everyone was trying. He only hoped that things would continue to go smoothly, and that they could have more days like this.
The time came to say goodbye, since he and Bill still needed to have Dipper meet his family, and they all stood to give their quick goodbyes.
“Look, this has been weird and a little confusing, but I’m proud of ya, kid.” Stan ruffled his hair and looked at Bill, his eyes narrowing. “Hurt my nephew again and you’re a dead fish, got it?”
Bill just nodded and grabbed Dipper’s hand again.
“Glad you understand. Have fun doin’ your fish stuff. I’m gonna go finish some paperwork. Ford should be right behind me, so don’t keep ‘im too long.”
“Okay grunkle Stan.” Dipper smiled and waved him off, then looked to Mabel. “I’ll be back in a little while, okay? Then we can maybe read a book together before bed like we used to.”
She nodded and pulled them both into another bone crushing hug. “I love you both. And I can’t wait, bro-bro. I get to pick the book though! None of your nerdy stuff!”
“Fine,” he laughed. “See you in a little while.”
Mabel moved back from the hug and smiled at them. “See you in a little while.”
With only Ford left in the room with them, Dipper squeezed Bill’s hand and looked to his grunkle.
“I’ll get the process started for you to get some better fitting glasses,” Ford said quickly. “Ones that might be easier to see with. And I’ll be sure to remind Mabel to get Bill some better clothes.”
“Thank you.” Dipper smiled at him, and he smiled back. Things still felt awkward and forced, and it wasn’t anywhere near where he wanted to be, but it was something. And he and Ford silently acknowledged that while they held each other’s stare. Some progress was better than none.
“I’ll be off then. It was...nice to meet you, Bill.” He held out his hand and waited patiently for Bill to shake it.
Bill stared at it for a moment before reaching out his own hand, a little startled when Ford shook it. “It was nice to meet you as well.”
Ford left and they made their way out of the house, still tightly holding hands even though there wasn’t as much to be tense about. In fact, things felt much lighter. He could accept that it was going to take time, and he was willing to wait. Because once everything was settled, life was going to be great. And his next step to having things settled was to meet Bill’s family.
~~
It was Bill’s turn to wait nervously by the opening of his home, and Dipper did his best to reassure him that it would be okay.
“It’s just a quick swim to Orion,” he said as he rubbed Bill’s back.
Bill wrapped his tail around Dipper’s and pulled him closer. “I haven’t faced any of them in days. I don’t know what they’ll think of me.”
“Ignore the ones who are rude, and be nice to the nice ones. Simple.” He pushed Bill back a bit, wanting to get things moving. “Now let’s go. The sooner we do this, the better.”
“Yeah, okay.” He moved away just enough to swim freely, still not letting go of Dipper’s hand.
Every single siren they passed stared after them, quiet whispers and clicks being shared about them. Dipper chose to ignore them, but he could feel Bill holding himself back from snapping at them. Talking to any other sirens would have to wait until this were cooled off more. For the time being they just needed to make it to where Orion was to finish up the hard part of their day.
The group of sirens thinned out as they entered the cave system, eventually leaving them alone with Dipper’s soft glow to light their way.
Bill lead him into a large cave where Orion and Tad were talking, both immediately stopping when they saw the two of them.
“Bill, Dipper, it’s good to see you,” Orion greeted. “I was worried you two wouldn’t show up again. I’m glad you’ve decided to come say hello.”
“Yeah…” Bill bit his lip and looked to Dipper. “We wanted to come introduce him to you more formally. I’d let everyone else say hi, but they seem...not happy with me.”
Orion laughed and shook his head. “They’re all just concerned right now. They’ll understand how this is a good thing soon enough. Once we’re able to sort out our terms of peace, both sides will become aware of how beneficial our alliance will be. Speaking of, Dipper, do you think you could pass along a message to your uncles for me? Just a simple one.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Tell them I’d like to meet in three days, at noon on the docks. Just to talk. Do you think that will be alright?”
“Just talk about magic and Ford will agree to whatever terms you have,” Bill chuckled. “He seems fond of it.”
“It should be fine,” Dipper smiled. “They’re both trying, just as everyone else is.”
The silence between them was much lighter than the one between Dipper’s family had been, and he relaxed against Bill. It was refreshing to have someone calm and collected as Orion seemed to be about the situation.
“Perfect. Well, I do appreciate you two coming to say hello, and I’m glad that you seem to have worked through some of your problems. I look forward to seeing you again, but for now I have business with Tad and the other hunters to attend to.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you as, well, me,” Dipper laughed.
“The pleasure's all mine, Dipper.” He smiled and looked to Bill. “Do not think that this will lessen your chores. I expect you to be up tomorrow morning to help, alright?”
Bill gave a short nod and rolled his eyes. “Of course.”
With another quick smile, Orion began to swim away. “Come along, Tad.”
Tad started to swim after him, but paused when he got close to Dipper. “Could you also pass along a message to Mabel for me?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Tell her I am looking forward to our meeting. And that I will be bringing her a surprise.” He scratched at his arm and looked away from him. “Also… I’m glad you’re... both okay.”
“I will let her know. And, thank you, Tad. We’ll see you around.”
Bill just gave a small nod, letting Tad swim by without saying anything.
After a moment, they followed them out and made their way to Bill’s cave, swimming in silence.
Dipper wasn’t entirely sure where to go from there. Both meetings had been easier than he thought, especially the one with Orion, and he couldn’t quite piece together what the next step was. He knew he and Bill still needed to work through their own issues, but that was going to take time, and he didn’t know what to do right then to start the process.
“You think everyone will actually make this work?” Bill asked as he laid on the bottom of his cave. He looked up at the opening above them, the orange sky making the water look gold. It reflected off of his scales in a way that made it look like they were both glowing, lighting the cave in a mix of gold and blue.
He laid next to Bill, watching the water ripple above him in golden rings. “Right now we can only hope. They all seem to be doing okay with it.”
Bill turned on his side and looked at Dipper, his mouth pulled into a worried frown. “What if they don’t, though? What if it all falls apart?” He gulped and looked away from Dipper. “What if we fall apart?” He added quietly.
“Bill,” Dipper started as he wrapped his arms and tail around the blond. “We may have a lot to sift through, and I can’t promise that I will be this forgiving every day, but I’m going to try as long as you will.” He kissed Bill’s forehead and sighed. “As for everyone else, well, we’ll just have to face that as it comes. But if we do it together, I know it won’t be a problem for long. So the real question you should be asking, is if you’re willing to stick around, even if things get messy. Because they might, and it has the possibility of being really bad.”
He shifted a bit in Dipper’s arms so that he could look him in the eyes. “I’ll stay if you stay.”
Dipper smiled. “No matter how bad things get, we’ll do this all together then.”
Bill smiled back and tightened the embrace. “Together.”