Chapter Text
“This is a good spot, isn’t it?” Bill asked, gazing over the headstone that sat in the ground. ‘Dipper Pines 1926-1990 ‘Amatur et numquam dediscor’ sprawled out in writing across it. They both knew that if they had buried him under his birth name, the man would have thrown a fit. The thought made Bill smile. The headstone was made of a gorgeous, smoky marble, gold etched into it, along with trees carved into the side and growing up the stone.
Bill had designed it himself.
“It’s perfect…Thank you.” Mabel breathed as she gazed over it, her heart aching. She knew she would join Dipper one day, and the thought scared her, but she wasn’t all afraid.
She knew what was coming next, and that she would meet her brother again. The woman sighed out and lowered her eyes, leaning her head onto Bill’s upper arm as she gently squeezed their interlocked hands. “It’s odd… to mourn him and know that he isn’t even actually...gone.” She stated quietly, her eyes soft and still bright despite the hardships of the past few weeks. The woman herself had started to get weak, and her legs had begun to ache from the hike. She braced it only to see the grave at least once though.
Bill nodded slow. “I know what you mean.” He laughed out a bit weakly, sighing out. He looked up from the stone and up towards the sky, knowing the stars that existed behind the bright blue. It was a gorgeous day, not a cloud in sight, a comforting breeze blowing.
If Dipper wasn’t already in another body, they would have expected the wind to be him, but this was somebody else’s breeze today.
Bill chuckled and shook his head. “Come on, let’s get home.” He mumbled a bit tiredly as he leaned down and scattered the same purple and blue wildflowers he and Dipper had grown to love over the years.
“You go on ahead, I want to talk to him for a minute.. Even if… he isn’t exactly listening.” Mabel said with a soft smile, patting Bill’s arm and releasing their fingers. Bill pursed his lips before nodding and staring down the hill, shoving his hands into his trench coat pockets after he adjusted his eyepatch, his thumb spinning his ring inside his pocket.
It didn’t feel right to bury Dipper in a graveyard with hundreds of other people. He didn’t like the idea, and neither did Mabel. It felt too crowded to Bill, too overwhelming.
Instead, they had bought a small plot of land and buried Dipper on a hill filled with wildflowers. Specifically, forget-me-nots. Which was a bit ironic, and Bill thought it was sweet. They got a small headstone, and it wasn’t far from Gravity falls. So Dipper could do as they always said, rest in peace, though the soul was busy, the body was sleeping.
Bill left Dipper’s ring on his hand, not being able to bring himself to remove it. He knew that Dipper would be more happy to have been left with it anyway.
“Hey, bro-bro…” Mabel started, her hand reaching out and very gently placing on the headstone. “It’s gonna be hard without you here… But knowing you’re out there somewhere makes it easier for some reason! Even though you’re a tiny baby. I’ll be joining you soon. I hope. Is that morbid to say? Maybe. Hm... Remember… that time you and I ran off to the lake because Stan wouldn’t take us to go get milkshakes at the diner, and we were young and stupid, so we thought ‘Hah! We’ll show him, this is his punishment! Spending a day without us!’ and we ran off to the lake? And we spent the day there, and even though you were a bit unresponsive, I hadn’t heard you laugh that hard in months… And it was one of the happiest moments of my life, to hear you laugh that hard. We weren’t even that old...You already had the darkest bags under your eyes that I’ve ever seen!” She called out, chuckling a bit weakly as she tried to make light of the situation.
“A-And.. by the time the sun was going down, we finally went home, and Stan was talking to the police when we got home? My hair was in shambles and you were covered in dirt and I remember how worried he was.” She sniffed and rubbed at her eyes. “I remember how relieved he looked to see us, and how we were grounded for a week after that…” She laughed a bit. “So I guess in the end, it backfired, but it was still a nice memory.” Her thumb brushed over their last name.
“I’m really glad he was able to fix you, Dip…” She mumbled. “I’ll see you soon.” the woman added, reaching into the pockets of her sweater and pulling out some glitter, and a couple daisies. She tossed them onto the grave and scattered some of the glitter. “Bwomp. There. Mabel approved.” she said with a smile, shoving the glitter container back into her pocket as leaned to press a kiss to the top of the headstone.
“I hope your new life is better, bro…”
⍙⍙⍙
Over the three years that Bill and Mabel spent together, supporting each other, they grew extremely close and often spent their days together. Soon after spending many painful days alone, Mabel moved in with Bill, back into the shack, and he took care of her when she needed it. Bill was glad to have the company, well knowing those years would've been the most painful of his life if he hadn't had her with him.
Bill watched Mabel grow weaker as well, to her own fear and dismay, though she would often joke about ‘I should just die already!’ And Bill could tell she was eager to be with Dipper again, even though the joke was a bit morbid.
She still continued to knit even though she didn’t tailor anymore. She would make scarves and sweaters and hats, whatever she needed to pass the time, pass the days. They spent time listening to the radio, and often would just talk for hours on end. Mabel always had stuff to talk about.
If it was completely silent, Bill was sure Mabel would combust.
Bill waited with Mabel, and though he was itching to start his looking for Dipper, he knew the boy was still young, and so he didn’t rush.
But he did hope that it wouldn’t take longer than twenty years to find him.
Dipper asked if he could find him in his twenties, and he would.
After holding onto each other for those three years, Bill teaching Mabel not to be afraid of her death, and reassuring her that he wouldn’t mess up the reincarnation, Mabel passed away simply, in the same way as Dipper. Heart failure.
Though he was sure that Mabel's gave out over excessive excitement instead of stress.
Bill was more than happy that she hadn’t contracted an illness.
They had become best friends, and she died as his best friend, with Bill holding her hand tightly. She wasn't afraid, and they had a long conversation in the mindscape as it crumbled. The place Bill made for Mabel was filled with daisies and the brightest flowers he could conjure, along with the bluest sky. When she passed, Bill mourned, but not for long, and buried Mabel side by side with Dipper. The process was always painful, but he tried not to think about it too much, and it was always okay in the end. He'd rather he did it than anybody else.
Only then did he start his search for Dipper.