Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Danny knew he’d crossed over the border of the town when he coughed out a huge plume of his ghost sense. Despite having been traveling to supernatural towns across the world for a little over a year now, starting just after his 10th ‘Deathday’, he would never get used to the sheer amount of cold air that would force itself out of his lungs.

This particular town had been on his list for a while, but seeing as it wasn’t having any immediate issues he put it off, traveling to places that were in the middle of a series of attacks first, and you’d be surprised how often that happens.

Gravity Falls, a peaceful Oregon town, nearly 20 miles to the nearest mall. It had grown a reputation for the supernatural woods that surround it, but of course nobody outside the town actually believed any of the stories, it was a small town trying to drum up business. Most supernatural hotspots were like that.

The half-ghost’s stomach gurgled in disapproval of it’s emptiness, and he changed his route to a log-shaped building with a large sign declaring it “Greasy’s Diner.” He could refuel and ask some locals if they already had someone to keep the peace between the townsfolk and the supernatural creatures that were sure to be in the surrounding woodlands.

A small bell rang as he entered, and a few people gave him a quick glance before returning to their food. Danny slid into a counter seat and set his backpack down by his feet, smiling at the waitress as she approached,

“Well hey there!” She smiled right back, her open eye shining, “What can I get a handsome guy like you to drink?”

“Coffee.” He answered immediately, and the waitress - her name tag identified her as ‘Lazy Susan’ - gave a goodnatured laugh, set down his menu, and started back towards the kitchen, calling a quick “Coming right up!” over her shoulder.

When he was wrapping up his meal - pancakes, as suggested by Susan, and she was right, they were fantastic - and they were exchanging the customary “Can I get you anything else?” “No, I’m fine.”s, Danny asked the question he came into town to ask:

“Hey, I’ve heard a bunch of stories about the supernatural in this town, and I was wondering if you had any local experts that deal with that sort of thing?” and he got a surprising answer,

“Oh, you must mean Dipper Pines! He lives at the Mystery Shack, just follow the signs. He comes into town often, making sure both human and nonhuman are keeping the peace, he’s a great guy like that.”

In all his travels, Danny had never met someone who also checked up on how the humans were treating the supernatural. He decided he had to meet this Dipper Pines guy.

“Thanks,” the halfa stood, sensing a rant coming, absentmindedly paying for his meal - lunch, he supposed by the height of the sun - and swinging his backpack over one shoulder, ducking out the door with one last wave, hopefully before the waitress found out that was not enough money. Hero-business has never paid well, he felt bad about how often this has happened, but slowly accepted it as a part of half-life.

There were lots of signs for the Mystery Shack, some not even 5 feet apart, but they all looked at least 10 years old. The Shack itself could only be described as a tourist trap, the ‘S’ had even fallen off the sign so it said ‘HACK’, and the half-ghost couldn’t help a chuckle. He walked up the steps to the front door - he was pretty sure it was the front door - and gave 4 quick knocks,

The man who opened the door had messy brunette hair and a matching goatee, and wore tough jeans with a flannel shirt. Danny snapped out of his staring, “Dipper Pines?”

“Can I help you with something? The Shack’s closed.” Dipper gave the raven-haired man a lookover, not unlike the one Danny gave him.

“I heard you were the peacekeeper around here?-”

“I swear to god if it’s the gnomes again-”

“No, no, everything’s fine, I’m actually a supernatural expert myself, and I’ve been traveling to various hotspots to check in with any other experts in the area.” Danny explained and Dipper opened the door wider, “Please, come in.”

The inside of the shack only cemented Danny’s belief that this was a tourist trap, and he was holding in giggles. There were all sorts of knick-knacks available, signs for tours, and a curtain leading into a room filled with exhibits that were so obviously fake and ridiculous it was almost impossible for the half-ghost not to laugh. If it weren’t for the completely exasperated response about gnomes he would have felt discouraged that this all really was a business scam.

“So you said you were an expert?” The brunette asked as he led Danny deeper into the Shack to the living space,

“Well, more like I have quite a bit of experience.” Dipper gestured to a seat at the dining room table, and Danny took it, making a short hand motion to decline when his host lified a coffee pot, “I had quite the history with the supernatural in my teen years, I’m traveling to towns like my own to make sure they have, well, protectors. People like me or you making sure the two worlds are existing peacefully.” Dipper took the seat opposite of the speaker, wrapping his hands around his mug.

“Sounds like my own childhood, I came here to stay with my great uncle in this shack when I was 12, just for the summer, with my twin sister Mabel. We came back every opportunity after - winter break, holidays, you name it - and on our 18th birthday he gave us the deed to the shack, that was 5 years ago. Not to be rude or anything, but if you’re the ‘protector’ of your town, why are you here instead of there?”

“Something… came up. I left Amity in good hands, I just… had to get away from all that responsibility for a bit, you know?” Dipper gave an understanding nod, sipping his coffee.

“I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think I could ever leave.” At the raised eyebrow of his guest, he gave out a sigh, “My… boyfriend, he can’t pass through the barrier at the edge of town, it’s meant to keep all the supernatural contained to the town and surrounding woods.” Danny gave a nervous laugh at those words - Would he be able to pass? Was he stuck here?!

“Do, uh,” The halfa cleared his throat, “Do you think you could show me this barrier? I’ve never run across something like this before.” Dipper raised an eyebrow at the nervousness, but stood, finishing off his coffee, and putting the mug next to the sink,

“I’ll bring Bill along.”

The whole way to the barrier, Danny was nervous and twitching, worries and worst case scenarios running through his head.

“I meant to ask earlier, but why are you so nervous?” Dipper asked, interrupting the increasingly anxious thoughts running through the half-ghost’s head. He opened his mouth to answer, probably along the lines of denial, when Dipper’s boyfriend - Bill was it? - answered for him.

“He’s afraid he won’t be able to get through because he’s a hybrid.”

“Wow, really?! That’s so cool! Of what?” The adventurer asked, eyes practically sparkling. Danny attempted to sputter out more denial, but as it was made clear that he wasn’t going to get an answer from the halfa, Dipper simply turned to the well-dressed blond that was his boyfriend.

“How about this? Since I know how much you love mysteries, I’m not gunna tell you. You have to deduct it. How’s that sound?” Dipper answered in the positive, and too shocked at being outed, Danny simply nodded.

“How did you know?” he finally managed to breathe, and Bill gave him an amused look, “You know that symbol, ‘the all-seeing eye?’”

“... You’re the eye of providence? … You would think I would stop being surprised at this point.”

That was when the three finally made it to the barrier, a couple of large rocks on the side of the road the only markers. Dipper walked through them harmlessly, gesturing to himself like an example, then back over to Bill’s side. The blond rolled the eye not under an eyepatch, and put his hand up to the invisible wall of magic confining him to Gravity Falls, and it shimmered under his touch, revealing itself to the watchers. Both turned to look at the hybrid, prompting him to reach forward hesitantly.

When Danny touched the barrier, he gave a visible violent shiver, and pushed. It let him through slowly, like it was unsure, before he finally stumbled out the other side. He continued to shiver in discomfort, “It feels like walking through jello.” He explained. He turned around and walked back into town, the barrier giving him no resistance. It was meant to keep the supernatural in, not out.

“I can leave, that’s… good, but if it’s ok with you, can I stay a bit longer? I just met you, and you already know my secret, that doesn't quite sit well with me. Plus,” Danny added, “you still gotta figure out what my other half is.”

Dipper looked surprised for a moment, then grinned at the halfa. Danny wouldn’t admit it to himself, but he may be beginning to like the brunette.

Chapter Text

After a few weeks at the Mystery Shack, Danny was comfortably settled in, even working shifts in the giftshop. He heard a few stray whispers about him, but rumors were bound to happen, and he knew if he kicked up a fuss it would only make things worse - he’d been down that path before.

He went ‘adventuring’ with Dipper - partially for his hero complex, partially to learn more about the specific supernatural entities of the town - checking up on friends, making diplomatic decisions, gathering supplies for spells or potions, those sort of things. He particularly liked Dipper’s visits to Multibear, they were a lot more calm then some of the situations they found themselves in.

~Linebreak~

"Jesus, Dipper!" Yelled Danny as he leapt over another root, "What did you do to piss the gnomes off this much?!"

"They kidnapped my sister!" The human cried back incredulously.

"That doesn't answer my question!" The halfa called back, a bit irritated at having to run for his life on a 'routine ingredient run.' They had managed to keep the little men from forming the not-so-little creature Dipper had dubbed 'Gnomezilla' by running through the thick forest, but that didn't stop, or even slow, the angry horde of forest gnomes.

"They kidnapped my sister, I saved her, they tried to kill us. They probably want to finish the job!"

Danny slowed to a stop at that, startling the creatures chasing them into stopping as well.

"Let's get this straight," the half-ghost spoke loud enough for the gnomes behind him to hear, turning around and releasing a wave of energy that chilled all that felt it in fear and awe, "you don't touch this human. Am I clear?"

The tiny bearded men shifted in discomfort, a few of the more cowardly ones scurrying away.

 "I said," another wave of energy, "are we clear?" and all of the forest creatures bolted in the opposite direction.

 Danny turned back towards Dipper just in time to see the human flinch, and his face softened, the electric green glow in his eyes fading.

 "What the fuck was that?" Dipper practically breathed.

 "What do you mean?"

 "It was like, you sent out this wave, and you forced me to feel fear, and awe." Danny perked up.

 "That sounds like a Haunting Aura, but only the strongest of-" suddenly the hybrid groaned, "of freaking corse."

 "What?" The brunette asked.

 "Nothing, would give it away."

 ~Linebreak~

 Dipper was getting closer to figuring out what Danny’s other half was, asking questions constantly. As time wore on, Danny was finding he was getting more and more amused by the human’s questions. It was hard to get exasperated with that face.

 One morning in particular, with the three of them watching TV while eating breakfast, Dipper whispering questions to him every commercial break, showed just how settled in Danny had become, and Bill… Well, Bill had this way of cutting through the bullshit. The other two liked to think it was his way of spending as much time doing fun things with them as possible, a sort of ‘We only have so much time together!’ but in reality it was probably because he cared little about others feelings, and would cut straight to the point where he benefited. It was a demon thing. So when Bill blurted something it didn’t surprise Danny much, he just mentally strapped on his seatbelt and got ready for change.

 “It’s just as we’ve always wanted, Pine Tree!” Dipper looked confused for a moment before facepalming, “No, no Bill, we aren’t- we aren’t actually-”

 “What does he mean by that?” Danny decided to ask, because when Dipper got this exasperated with Bill it was best to get context so he could act as mediator.

 “We’ve been looking for a good person to complete a triad, but - Bill, we aren’t actually dating Danny,”

 “Why not?” the halfa interrupted, earning a very intelligent sounding ‘huh?’ from the brunette, “I’m willing to try dating you two… my, other species, have never been much for monogamy anyway. Besides, if we’re being honest to ourselves, we pretty much act like we’re dating anyway.”

 “... I’m never getting normal boyfriends, am I?”

 “Was that something you wanted?”

 “... Would have been boring anyway.”

 ~Linebreak~

 “You’re half-werewolf, aren't you?”

 “Nope, Although funny you would say that, I once had a friend that was a werewolf, he only spoke Esperanto…”

 “... I’d ask, but… I’m not sure if I want to know.”

 “Vi vere ne.”

Chapter Text

It was around the 2 month mark that Danny realized he’d been gone too long. He was starting to get hungry. It wasn’t the normal kind of hungry that you could fix with a couple of sandwiches and a coke, oh no, this was different.

He probably hadn’t realized for this long because he hadn’t shifted to his ghost form since his arrival at Gravity Falls - he hadn’t had a reason to. But if he was starting to feel his ghost hunger in human form, it was bad. And since Gravity Falls didn’t have any non-sentient ghosts, he had one option.

He had to call Jazz.

“shitshitshitshitSHIT!” Danny paced back and forth in his bedroom (the attic, Dipper had told him stories of how him and his sister stayed in here their first summer in Gravity Falls), head in his hands, trying to convince himself that there was some other option.

“Danny?” Dipper poked his head around the doorway, concerned. He hadn’t heard Danny swear before, ever. “What’s wrong?”

Danny sighed, stopping his pacing in favor of sinking onto the edge of the bed, “I… Need to call my sister.” Dipper moved from the doorway to sit next to him on the bed, urging him to continue.

“Dipper, I… “ Another sigh, and Danny threw himself back so he was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling of the shack, “I’m a hybrid, a mesh between two things that were never supposed to meet, and because of that… Well, I guess you could say I need constant maintenance. I need to call my sister.”

Dipper nodded, soaking this information in. “I’ll go get the shack’s phone, you… Start composing what you’re going to say.”

~Linebreak~

After a very unpleasant ‘phone conversation’ (it was mostly Jazz interrogating him), the Fenton children agreed that Jazz would drive over in a moving truck full of Danny’s things, with a Fenton Thermos full of ectoplasm, and stay the weekend to meet Bill and Dipper.

Yeah, she was not happy that the hybrid had not called her in almost 3 months, and when he finally does it was ‘Hey, I kinda need you to bring me some ecto so I don’t starve, oh! I also have two boyfriends now!’

On Friday, 3 days after the call, Jazz drove up to the shack in a moving truck, and Dipper and Danny walked out to meet her - well, Dipper walked anyway.

“You got it?” Jazz answered by holding out the thermos to him, which he immediately snatched before booking it into the woods.

“HEY! No thanks?!”

“THANKS JAZZ, YOU’RE THE BEST SISTER EVER!” and the halfa was gone, disappeared into the infamous Gravity Falls forest.

Jazz huffed just as Dipper made it to her, “If he wasn’t so hungry I would’ve smacked him for that…” she mumbled. Dipper did a quick scan of her while she was still distracted; she had long orange hair pulled back into a ponytail, a loose blue shirt that brought out her eyes, and Dipper noticed she and Danny shared many similar features.

“Hey,” he started when she turned to him, the brunette stuck out a hand for her to shake, “I’m Dipper? I own the shack, watch over the town’s happenings.” Jazz gave him a quick look over, an unreadable expression on her face,

“What are you?” She finally asked, and Dipper blinked for a second before understanding her question.

“Oh! I’m just human, I am a magic user though.”

Jazz glanced towards the direction her brother sprinted, “Well, he won’t be back for at least an hour, shall we start bring boxes to his room?”

“Sure, Bill should be up any minute to help.” Dipper said checking his watch before opening up the back of the moving van, and each grabbed boxes to bring up to the attic.

“So are you a hybrid like your brother?” Dipper asked gently, not wanting to accidently hit any nerves. Jazz just raised an eyebrow though,

“You mean he hasn’t told you?”

“Ah, I should clarify… I love deducting things - I almost became a detective - so we’re playing a sort of guessing game, for me to figure out what Danny’s other half is.” Jazz gave him a decidedly older-sisterly look, “What? It was Bill’s idea!”

“This Bill guy sounds like a bad influence.”

“Of course I’m a bad influence!” They heard from down the hall and they looked up just in time to see a blond head pop out of a room, “I’m a demon! Give me a minute and I’ll distract you from those boxes!” The head disappeared, and they turned back to each other,

“Demon, huh?”

“Yeah, just don’t agree to any deals and you’ll be fine.”

~Linebreak~

The next hour was spent bringing the rest of Danny's belongings up to his room in the attic (the triad agreed to separate rooms, it worked better that way) and Jazz generally being Jazz. She could totally see her brother falling for Dipper - he was sweet, accepting, and overall a huge nerd - but Bill was another story. In her expert opinion, Bill was insane. He even admitted it! It wasn't until she actually saw Danny and Bill interact that Jazz realized how the two meshed.

Jazz and Dipper were finishing up their coffee (Bill despised coffee, being a dream demon and all, but dating Dipper had taught him to tolerate it), the three having finished moving the hybrid's stuff, when the halfa himself arrived.

Danny drifted in in his usual "after eating" half-content, half-guilty haze, flopping down belly first onto the couch so his face landed sideways in Bill's lap. The demon didn't even falter in his sentence, absently running his fingers through the raven hair, other hand rubbing just the right spot in-between the half-ghost's shoulders.

Jazz watched her brother relax for the first time in about a year, guilt fading into contentment, even giving a quiet 'hmmm'. She kept an eye on him through the conversation, snickering quietly when he started to make a sort-of purr noise, product of a humming ghost core. Dipper leaned forward in interest, seeming to file this away.

The three of them really went well together.

Chapter Text

“Danny?” Jazz knocked on her brother’s bedroom door politely, it was her last day up in Oregon and she wanted to spend it bonding. After receiving no answer, she carefully opened the door, only to see her brother sitting - well, he was hovering a few inches above the floor, but the concept still stood - in the middle of the room, eyes glowing a faint green. “Oh, bother.” she huffed, disappointed but understanding. Leaning against the door frame, she crossed her arms, rethinking her plans.

 “What’s up?” Dipper hovered, poking his head into the room to see what had the halfa’s sister pouting. Jazz simply pointed to her brother, and Dipper let out a breath, whispering “Is he… meditating?” Jazz strode straight over to her brother, silently giving Dipper permission to approach. “Go ahead and speak normally, you won’t interrupt him.”

 “Is this because he’s a hybrid?” The brunette asked carefully, sliding his hand in the space between Danny and the floor. “Yeah, Danny gave you the whole ‘maintenance’ speech, right?”

 “Sort of.” Dipper sat on the floor, Jazz following his lead, so that Danny, Dipper, and Jazz formed - ironically enough - a triangle.

 “That thermos I gave him, think of that as hardware maintenance.”

 “You said he was hungry.” Dipper supplied, beginning to connect some dots.

 “You know how people say we are like computers...?”

 “He’s running software checks.” Dipper realized, glancing towards his boyfriend.

 “Being a halfa puts a lot of stress on both his body, and his mind.” Jazz explained, gazing sadly at her ‘baby brother’. “I help him the best I can, but…” She trailed off.

 “Jazz,” the adventurer called softly, “Danny once told me, he was ‘a mesh between two things that were never supposed to meet.’ Exactly how many ‘halfa’s are there?”

 “That we know of?” Jazz said a bit quietly, eyes still on Danny, “Three. And no, I’m not one of them. But that doesn’t mean that some days I don’t want to be, if only to understand him better...” Her baby brother, who had grown so much through the years…

 “C’mon Jazz,” Danny piped up, startling the other two in the room, “You know me better than I know myself some days.” Looking over just in time to see the hybrid drift slowly to the floor, Dipper could see just how much love and gratitude was shining in his smiling blue eyes.

 “There’s a difference between knowing and understanding, and you know I could never understand, not truly…” The older Fenton frowned at the floor, frustrated and sad. Danny leaned over to lay his hand on her knee, drawing her gaze up towards him. The warmth in his eyes never faltered, and he drew her into a hug, trying to express just how much she meant to him, “It’s enough that you try.”

 Dipper smiled at the sibling’s moment, thinking of his own sister, how he hadn’t seen her since she went off to college to get her degree. Maybe he should invite her over soon, to catch up, meet the new addition to the shack… Yeah, that sounded nice.

 The Fentons pulled away from each other, the red-head embarrassingly wiping at her misty eyes. “So, um, did you wanna show me around town.. or something…?” Danny chuckled, knowing exactly what she wanted.

 “Sure thing.”

 ~Linebreak~

 Dipper peeked his head into Bill’s room to check on him - or at least his vessel, he was still in the Dreamscape - before going down the hall to the landline to make a call. Danny had taken his sister into town to spend their last day together for a while bonding, and it had Dipper craving the familial love his sister and he shared.

 The adventurer punched the number into the outdated phone carefully, listening for the ringing to end.

 “Hello?”

 “Hey Mabel.” Dipper smiled, even though she couldn’t see it. Mabel just had that effect on people.

 “Hey Brosif! How’s it swinging?”

 “It’s been… busy. I was wondering if you wanted to come down and meet the newest addition to the shack.”

 “Ooooo~ooooh,” Mabel sang, teasing, “Did you finally find someone both Bill and you like?”

 “More like he found us.”

 “And is he all supernaturally?” Only Mabel would use that word.

 “Sorta, He’s a little.. half and half.”

 “He seems perfect then, I can’t wait to meet him.”

 ~Linebreak~

 “...Are you half Vampire?”

 “Pfft, no, no, nothing like that.”

 “... Mabel will be disappointed…”

Chapter Text

It was dark, and his footsteps echoed as he weaved around some of the cables. He had a feeling, deep in his gut, that something was about to go wrong, but he pushed it further down, finally gaining the confidence to look up, but kept a hand on the wall just in case. The inside of the portal was impressive, and in his momentary distraction, he tripped, hand braced against the wall. He felt something give, and pulled his hand back. ‘ON.’ The walls of the chasm lit up one by one, an unnatural green colour.

Danny knew that even if he turned and ran, he wouldn’t make it. So he did what his heart told him to do, turning to block more of the blast from being released into the room his best friends were in, just beginning to realize what was happening. What he was certain was going to be his final thought, ‘not them, gotta protect them.’

And then the pain, his friends screaming his name like it would save him…

And then sweet mercy.

Danny opened his eyes slowly, even if he was fully conscious, to stare at the ceiling. Even if he knew why he had that dream last night, it didn’t diffuse the phantom pain…

Samhain was just around the corner. Known by humans as Halloween, it was an important time for ghosts. As the veil thins, ghosts can sense the human realm much more clearly, and as such, their hold on their obsession - especially those of which pertained to the human realm in any way - tends to slip.

Danny… does not like this feeling. It was like the closer to the holiday it got, the more his ghost half starts to separate itself, taking the wheel, and as it veil strengthens itself again, he is left with a hollow ache. He hopes his boyfriends might help a bit, this year. The first couple of years were a mess.

Just over a month of being a halfa, His new instincts and obsession went out of control. As it waned, he apologised profusely, and the trio assumed it was because he was still not used to all the things that came with being a hybrid. And if it just so happened that these events transpired around Halloween, the day of ghosts and ghouls, oh well, it was probably a coincidence. When it happened again the next year, the girls broke out the books while Danny took Tucker out to the Nasty Burger to apologize for literally wrapping him in bubble wrap. Sam found a passage on the old pagan holiday, the origin of Halloween, and it became their lead theory.

Of course, it helps that they actually had allies that year, when they remember to ask them. Clockwork gave him a brief crash course on Samhain and how it would effect him, which lead to practically monthly meetings because “Really Danny, you need to know these things!” That’s also how Team Phantom caught the halfa’s ghost hunger so fast - Danny accepting it however… well let’s say the next few years were filled with overbearing friends and quite a bit of self-hatred…

Danny shook himself of these thoughts and got ready for the day. He had a feeling in his gut, much like the one in his dream, but he knew it was probably his own anxieties about the next month, and so he pushed it down.

~Linebreak~

It was a combination of things really, Dipper had just had a late night, which turned into a bad morning, plus he really missed Mabel, as she wasn’t able make time to visit until Thanksgiving Break. And Bill tried to distract him, he really did, but the moment it had developed into a full-blown panic attack, Bill had reluctantly left the room. They had talked about this the first few times it happened, and it was just Bill really wasn’t fit for these situations, as he usually said things that unintentionally made Dipper panic more.

As the brunette tried his best to calm his breathing, Bill had one of his rare wonderful ideas (it was a pretty short list considering how old he was), and went to fetch Danny.

“Hey,” the demon popped his head into the attic room to see the half-ghost finishing up his morning routine - he too, had a late night, and his dream was making him sluggish - “You should talk to Dipper.” Dipper not Pine Tree, big warning sign.

“Why? Is there something wrong?” Danny tried not to sound too concerned - it didn’t quite work - as he followed his boyfriend to the adventurer’s room.

“I’m not allowed.” Bill pouted, “I always make it worse.”

“Make what wors-?” The halfa froze in the doorway, seeing Dipper huddled up against the side of his bed, clutching his head, as if to protect himself. ‘thrEAt.’ his ghost half screamed.

Dipper heard their approach, but didn’t look up until he felt someone crouch near him. It was Danny, eyes glowing green - sclera and all, Jazz had said it used to just be his iris, but he got a major power boost several years back - and the sight calmed him slightly, that colour being so distinctly Danny. He opened his arms tensely for a hug, one that the hybrid gladly gave, face gently nuzzling his neck as if to say ‘It’s okay, I’m here.’ It was familiar, so Dipper relaxed as he attempted to breathe in sync with the soft puffs on his neck.

It wasn’t until Dipper, completely calm, let go that Danny’s eyes faded back to blue. He looked a bit surprised, and just as the adventurer was about to ask what it was, Danny spoke.

“Wow, Okay, that wasn’t exactly me.” Dip immediately began more deductions.

"What do you mean?”

“There’s an old pagan holiday called Samhain, humans know it as Halloween. It’s when my instincts are strongest, and with it so close...”

“Instincts to comfort?” Danny blushed a bit, embarrassed as always to talk about his obsession.

“Instincts to.. protect. My humans.” Danny coughed a bit to try and dispel his embarrassment. Bill glanced around the doorframe to see a much lighter environment and the perfect opportunity for teasing.

“Everything’s good I see. By the way,” a grin creeped onto the demon’s face, turning toward the half-ghost, “there was a messenger here, not too long ago, looking for the princeps?”

Danny went pale, standing to leave the room, hoping to avoid this for as long as possible. Dipper’s jaw dropped, eyes following his retreat.

“B-But that means-”

“We don’t talk about this.”

“But that’s latin for-!”

“Nope!” Danny slammed the door, wanting to hole up in his room for the rest of eternity. Clockwork help him.

~Linebreak~

“Are you half-ghoul?”

“That’s… pretty close, actually.”

Chapter Text

“It’s only Thanksgiving, and I’m already sick of the Christmas displays in the stores.” Dipper grumbled, setting the plastic bag with last minute necessities on the table. “I’m not even Christian!”

“That doesn’t stop a lot of people.” Danny said from his spot in the kitchen, checking the progress of the potatoes before opening the oven a crack to do the same to the turkey. “Though, I’ve found the only place complaining gets you is trapped in a poem.”

Danny and Dipper had woken up early - the former a lot more reluctantly - to cook Thanksgiving dinner together. It would have been a group affair, had Bill not been banned from the kitchen… The others could still hear his cackling echo in their heads.

Dipper eagerly awaited the arrival of Mabel, and Danny had plans to Skype with Sam and Tuck - who had been forced to spend their Thanksgiving with their parents - and Jazz - who was spending the holiday with her significant other - later. They had a bet running if Jack and Maddie even remembered what today was.

After nearly 10 years of being hunted by them, the halfa’s relationship with his parents was… strained, to say the least.

Still, it was a happy time. Time spent with his family of choice, rather than blood. Danny even had a reliable source that Danielle was spending Thanksgiving with Frostbite in the Far Frozen. The yetis had little idea of the harvest festival, and she had offered to teach them, having seen a few different versions in her traveling the country.

There was a loud and energetic knocking - coming from the gift shop door, Danny realized - and Dipper nearly tripped over a chair in his rush to answer it. Okay, he DID trip, but he managed to correct himself afterwards.

“This isn’t the front door, silly!” Dipper greeted his twin with a grin, and she laughed joyously,

“This will always be the front door to me!” Dip looked behind her only to see her car parked around the side, empty.

“No boyfriend this year?” he joked, and Mabel slapped him lightly on the arm, pulling him into a hug he gladly returned.

“This year is all about YOUR boyfriend! I mean, I haven’t even met him yet! Rude.”

“You were off at college, doing artsy-fartsy things!”

“Brother, I am offended! to refer to the Arts in such a way… It can’t go unpunished.”

“Mabel… Mabel, no. Please, anything but what I know you’re thinking.” Too late, Mabel gave a viscous grin and launched herself at her twin, chasing him when he dodged. The adventurer got all the way to the living room before he was tackled to the floor and tickled.

“HAHAHAHA, OK, O-HA-K! YOU WIN! I CALL GRUNKLE!”

Danny watched the exchange amusedly from the doorway to the kitchen, having found a brief lapse in his cooking. Dipper’s twin was entertaining, her look reflecting that. Wearing shorts that revealed at least 3 band-aids on each leg, a sweater, and more jewelry than Danny thought could be worn at the same time, it almost took away from the fact she had shaved one side of her head to a buzz, leaving the rest long and poofy. Somehow, she pulled this off.

“So this is the infamous twin, Mabel.” the hybrid greeted, “It’s a pleasure.” Mabel shook his hand with a strength and precision of an artist used to many hours’ work at a time.

“Hey! It’s Danny, right? Dipper’s barely told me anything about you, which is a crime. I would’ve interrogated him, but now that you're here…” The artist gave a look that Danny definitely didn't like directed at him.

“Mabs, don't scare him off! This one can actually leave!” The adventurer laughed good-naturedly, and Danny smiled. It was good to see Dipper so relaxed, and from what he could tell, this was Mabel’s first break in a while. To see them complete each other, be that close; it reminded him of Team Phantom. And Dipper and Mabel were a team, no amount of time apart could change that.

“Am I the only one who’s remembered the cooking?” Danny finally asks, and Mabel immediately perks up, opening her mouth to-

“Mabel, no.”

“Mabel yes!” The artist cheered in response, and her twin pinched the bridge of his nose.

“... Okay, fine,” He reluctantly agreed, “Just no glitter.”

As it was, the halfa was assigned the turkey and gravy, Dipper the carrots and stuffing , and Mabel the mashed potatoes and yams. They all chatted as they worked, and Mabel somehow managed to sneak glitter into the mashed potatoes, and the yams became marshmallow-sprinkle. The adventurer gave an exasperated sigh and eyeroll, but Danny could see the tiny smile he had.

Bill showed up again just as the two-and-a-half humans were making the final preparations, done with whatever it was he was doing to keep himself occupied. The artist tried to berate him for not helping them cook, but Dipper gave her a small head-shake.

“For the time being, Bill has been banned from the kitchen.” Danny explained, and the demon gave a small cackle, probably answering her question of why.

They ate nearly everything, catching up - and in the case of the artist and halfa, getting to know each other. Mabel revealed she had brought pie, but no one wanted to go get it from her car, so they all settled in to watch whatever specials Gravity Falls Cable had to offer. Within the hour, Danny had fallen into a food coma, snuggling into Bill’s side, Dipper not far behind.

The twins finally pried themselves from the spot when 8 rolled around. Bill, still trapped under his half-ghost boyfriend, gave Mabel a quiet goodbye from the couch. After retrieving the pies from her backseat (pumpkin and apple crumble), the twins hovered by the door.

“I approve.” Mabel said semi-seriously, and the adventurer whined at her, but she only laughed it off, pulling him into a warm and inviting hug that he melted into. “But really, keep him. He seems good for you.”

“Yeah, well, don’t be a stranger. Stop by anytime.”

“Haha! I will.”

~Linebreak~

“Are you a Wendigo??”

“Dip, you’re focusing too much on the hunger, you need to back up a bit.”

“Yeah, It was a long shot anyway…”

Chapter Text

Danny expected today to be fairly ordinary. Then again, this was him, and this was the Mystery Shack. He was chatting with Dipper, planning dinner for that night, when his ghost sense went off - for the first time in months, as the only ghosts in Gravity Falls were all the way at the Dusk 2 Dawn.

“What’s that?” The human asked, watching the cloud dissipate.

“Wait a minute. I know that signature…” The halfa’s face broke out in a broad grin, and he rushed outside, Dipper following after him. “Ellie!”

“Parens!” Danny scooped up a little girl - from thin air, was she invisible? - that looked remarkably like him, spinning her around a few times before putting her down, both laughing loudly. With unkempt raven hair, sparkling sapphire eyes, and a way-too-big blue sweatshirt, she looked like a 12 year old Danny might have looked, had he been a girl.

“What are you doing here? How did you even know where here is?"

“Aunt Jazz told me! And I wanted to meet the boyfriends you had talked so much about!”

“Uhhhhh….” The adventurer started, having a might bit of trouble processing all of this, “Danny…?”

“Oh!” The hybrid snapped to attention, maneuvering so the girl was in front of him, facing Dipper, with his hands on her shoulders, “Dipper, this is Danielle, my daughter.”

There was a beat of silence.

“... Is this a halfa thing?”

~Linebreak~

Danny had volunteered to make dinner, soup, leaving Dipper to get to know Danielle (read: milk information from).

“So wait, if Danny is your father, who’s your mother?”

“.. Danny…?” The pre-teen replied confusedly, “Look, everything you learned in biology class, forget that. For all intents and purposes, I’m Danny’s… Clone? Um, more like…” she trailed off, looking to the ceiling, “Okay, you know how I said forget everything you learned in Biology class? Don’t. It’s like asexual reproduction. Um, Danny?!” The half-ghost looked over from his cooking for a moment, “What’s the term you usually use when explaining this?”

“Budding?”

“Yeah, budding!” Danny turned the stovetop down, allowing the soup to simmer, sitting down next to Danielle. “There’s a reason I can him ‘Parens’, instead of ‘Dad.’”

“Parens means parent.” Dipper remembered, “Huh.”

“So there are three halfas that exist that we know of,” Danny started, waving his hands around in gestures to aid his explaination, “Me, Danielle, and Plasmius. Plasmius tried to clone me, but the… non-human genes, triggered the sample cell to create a new halfa - similar, yet different - as a sort of defense. Another effect of this is Ellie’s age. Her body can’t age naturally. We don’t know how exactly that works, but think it has something to do with her being ‘born’ a halfa, instead of becoming a halfa, like Plasmius or I.”

“I’ve been 12 for like 10 years now.” The girl added helpfully. “To be honest it kind of sucks. Remember when you were 12?” The adventurer almost visibly cringed, “Imagine being stuck in that body for the rest of your life.”

“Although,” Danny interjected, giving Danielle an affectionate noggie, “Over the years, as the age gap widened, our relationship grew from an almost brother-sister one to a more parent-child one. So it’s not all bad.”

“But you’re such an overbearing parent!” She cried, “I can take care of myself ya’know!”

“Danielle Jasmine Fenton-Idolon! Refraeno!” Ellie put her hands up, eyes wide, as Danny huffed. “I am going to feed you, you are going to spend the night, and there will be no whining. Do I make myself clear?” The girl nodded her head vigorously, and Danny took that as a sign that he could go back to his cooking.

“He can be terrifying when he wants to be.” Ellie said after a moment, still a little quiet in fear of retribution.

~Linebreak~

Ellie meeting Bill was... interesting, to say the least. Danielle’s nativity had grown into scepticism through the years (though she still kept her upbeat attitude, Danny was relieved), So while they got along…

“You’re telling me you already know all about me? No way.”

“I already knew all about your Parens when I met him. I know a lot about a lot of people. I’m in your wallet.”

There was a moment where it looked like Ellie wasn’t sure if the demon was duping her, or legitimately crazy. Bill was loving it, trying to hold in laughter.

“He means he’s the Eye of Providence.” The older halfa finally piped up, “That triangle with an eye on the back of dollar bills.”

“Dan~ny!” The blonde whined, but his boyfriend only laughed, and so he shoved another spoonful of soup into his mouth to hide his pout. “Why can’t you ever just let me have my fun…”

~Linebreak~

Danny smiled, tucking his daughter into his bed, flicking off the lamp before leaving to go sleep in Dippers room. His smile turned sad as he thought of how long it must have been since she had a full meal and warm bed. He knew she could take care of herself, but he still worried. He wouldn’t tie her down for that though, she never was able to see the world with Vlad, and he didn’t want to be that kind of parent.

“She’s asleep?” The human asked,

“Out like a light.” Danny responded, climbing under the covers next to him.

“We should probably go to sleep now…”

“Yeah,” The halfa gave Dipper a sweet kiss, and the adventurer rolled over to press his back against his boyfriend’s front, receiving arms around his torso for his efforts.

“‘Night.”

“Bonum nocte.”

Chapter Text

“Dipper?” Danny asked, every fiber of his being telling him to grab his human and leave, “Are you sure this part of the woods is… Safe?”

“Perfectly,” his boyfriend assured him, “There aren't even many creatures out here.”

When the adventurer told him there was something in the woods he wanted to check out - from the 1st journal - and he thought the halfa might be interested, Danny saw no problems. But as he drew closer and closer to the spot Dipper was leading him to, the more nervous he got. There was a sort of charge in the air, the half-ghost felt it was the reason no supernatural entities were in the area. He sure wanted to leave.

“Dipper, I really don’t think-”

“Here it is!”

A large crystal, shoulder height, looking like Quartz. Danny immediately panicked - after his run in with Freakshow, he began researching the effects various crystals could have on ghosts; the results were a frighteningly large amount - but the energy in the small clearing, stifling at this point, had already caught him. It forcibly dragged him by his wrist until he was dangling above the concerningly sharp point of the magic trap.

He let out a cry as he could feel his core being ripped out, dividing him in half. It ended in a bright flash of light, and he could feel the magic let go of him, blowing him across the clearing in the opposite direction of his newly separate ghost half.

~Linebreak~

Dipper was horrified. He had just wanted to show Danny the crystal, a nice safe adventure. He had expressed an interest in how science and magic mixed, and the giant Quartz spire was a great example. He hadn’t expected it to react to his boyfriend!

The hybrid’s scream echoed around him, pained and haunting. The Quartz spire let out a bright flash of pure white light and the brunette had to resist the urge to cover his eyes, trying to see what was happening to the hybrid. Two figure were thrown in opposite directions, both hitting trees.

The first figure Dipper saw was the one that was thrown to his left, back presses to the tree he hit, but there didn't seem to be any branches holding them up. When green eyes snapped open, his breath stopped. That was Danny’s green, the green that somehow inspired both chills and comfort.

This Danny scanned the clearing, eyes landing first on the other figure lying at the base of his tree.

“Fenton!”

The white haired figure shot forward to land in front of-

“Danny!”

His boyfriend, raven haired Danny, unmoving.

The adventurer dashed forward, kneeling down to check on the - thankfully only unconscious - man. His breathing was deeper than his usual, but he was alright.

His gaze snapped up to the other figure when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. Sharp eyes - Danny’s eyes - criticized the clearing. Apparently seeing what he wanted, this strange white haired version of his boyfriend heaved the unconscious one onto his back, grabbed his wrist, and started to run in the direction of the Mystery Shack.

The trip through the woods was much shorter than usual. Danny(?) hissed at any rustling bushes, the scent of blood from the head wound drawing out predators. None dared to come close. Dipper attempted to ask questions, but his ‘guide’ was wound up so tight he could only speak in quick, panicked Latin. With his limited knowledge - Magic Latin was a bit different from speaking Latin - the only thing the adventurer managed to catch was something about ‘protect’ and ‘humans’, which led him to believe that this was Danny’s other half. His instincts.

The crystal in the clearing separated his boyfriend’s supernatural half from his human half. Fascinating as that was, Dipper knew that must have been extremely painful, and was feeling, above all, guilt. He was the one who ignored Danny’s anxiousness, he got them into this mess.

He also didn’t notice they were already at the Mystery Shack until he felt someone lick the tears from his cheek. It was the white haired Danny, unnatural green eyes shining with concern. He nuzzled the mage’s neck, purring a bit to try to get him to calm down. Dipper was a bit ashamed to admit it worked, and he let himself be led into the shack.

Danny(?) gently lay his human half down horizontally on their couch, inspecting the gash on the back of his head. It was fairly shallow, but it was bleeding quite a bit. The supernatural entity nuzzled part of the human’s neck, whining a bit in an attempt to get him to wake up. When that didn’t work, white-haired Danny hovered over him to carefully watch his condition, spectral tail forming only to flick agitatedly.

“You guys back already?” Bill’s voice approached, “What, did you forget-” the demon cut off, taking in the sight of his boyfriends; one literally split in two, the other in a daze, tear tracks down his face. “Something…” He finished lamely.

Danny(?) jumped forward to put himself between his humans and the demon, giving him a weak growl before seeming to recognize him. He carefully smelled the demon, almost like a cat would, to confirm it. Circling around the blonde once before pushing him towards the unconscious form on the couch, green eyes flicked from the dream weaver to the other Danny and back again. Dipper noticed that Bill seemed to observe the other for cues, only doing what the unknown supernatural being deemed appropriate.

The demon summoned something - Dipper couldn't see from this angle - and the white haired Danny nipped in his direction at the unapproved use of magic. Bill placatingly lifted his hands, showing him the roll of bandages, and calmly said something in Latin. The adventurer only recognized the word for blood. When no further action was taken against him, the blonde slowly moved to wrap the human’s head wound.

When he finished, Bill inclined his head toward Dipper. Danny seemed to approve and nuzzled the demon’s shoulder as thanks.

“We may just need to call off that guessing game.” The dream demon started. Dipper had no arguments.

“Why are you being so… Compliant, with him?”

“Kid, he isn’t the whole Danny - just his protective instincts.” The blonde explained, “He wouldn't hesitate to fight me if he thought I was trying to hurt either one of you. And he’s powerful, arguably more so now. That’s not something I wanna tango with.”

“Exactly how powerful is he?” Dipper asked, a bit breathless at the admission - if Bill “being of pure energy with no weaknesses” Cipher didn’t want to risk a fight, the halfa had to be able to do considerable damage.

“He won the title of prince when he was 14. The only reason he isn't King yet is because he doesn't want to be.”

Dipper was going to ask more, but they were interrupted by groaning from the sofa and another “Fenton!”

“Ph’nt’m?” The human Danny slurred, most likely from a concussion, and scrunched his face up as the green eyed entity immediately started peppering his face with kisses, “Nuuuuuuuu, whyyyyyyyyy?”

“Kisses make everything better!” Phantom chirped, as if quoting someone. At least he was finally speaking English.

“Danny…?” Dipper trailed, seeing his problem as both halves turned to look at him, the human giving a short “Yeah?” and the other making an interesting trilling noise. Scratch that on the English.

The adventurer gave his demon boyfriend a mildly distressed/mostly confused look, and the blonde took that as his queue for introductions.

“Pine Tree, this is Phantom, Danny’s ghost half.”

“Ghost.” He groaned, feeling like an idiot as it all clicked into place, “That makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking.”

“What were you thinking?” Fenton asked genuinely.

“Grim Reaper.”

“There are two general classifications of ghosts,” Bill continued as if he wasn’t interrupted, “Vengeful Spirits, which is the kind you hear about most - I believe you’re familiar with the type?”

“Ma and Pa from the Dusk to Dawn.” Dipper nodded vaguely.

“And Protective Spirits; less common but usually quite powerful in their own right, as they draw off positive energy. It’s the reason Danny and I have both been able to stay at the Mystery Shack so long without upsetting any balances - we draw off opposite energies. You don’t hear about Protective Spirits nearly as often as their work is overlooked, or credited to ‘Guardian Angels’, which is absurd; Angels are stuck-up, selfish, pretentious ass- ” Fenton cleared his throat loudly, cutting off what would have probably been a long rant about how the demon didn’t like various supernatural creatures.

“Anyways,” The adventurer interjected into the now silent room, “Why did this happen? And how do we get the two back together? I assume this isn’t good for them.”

“Most definitely.” Bill agreed, “What exactly happened that they ended up like this?” Dipper explained the page from Journal 1, the Quartz spire, and the halfa’s increasing nervousness as they approached the clearing.

“Kid, Quartz is a stone of purification.  It was probably created by a tribe of Mages from Gravity Falls early years for use on a possessed individual. The magics of that area probably thought Phantom was possessing Fenton, and separated them.”

“So it’s reversible?”

“Magic pulled the two halves apart, it can likely fuse them back together.” Bill rubbed his chin, considering the twin interested looks he was getting from the couch. “I can put something together, but it’ll take a few days, and it’ll definitely take two users. That means you’re helping.”

As it was, a few days were more than enough for the franticness to subside, and Dipper allowed himself to observe the newly separated facets of his boyfriend. It only made him fall deeper for the whole version he had come to know.

Phantom was cuddly, almost cat-like in his noises and actions. He cared for his humans to a fault; the adventurer ended up having to close the shack up for the interim, after a customer got a bit more aggressive with Dipper than the spirit liked. While he understood English fine, the ghost only spoke Latin, and mostly to Bill. The human often caught him calling the demon by a title that made the blonde’s ears flush - from what he could gather, it roughly translated to ‘Lord of Dreams’.

After the concussion subsided, Fenton was found to be lax, with a notably different fashion style from before - looser, more punk-rock. He gave off a sort of “I don’t care” vibe, and Dipper had to admit it was pretty hot. It seemed this half was what Danny would have been if he had not become half-ghost.

Low and behold, just over 3 days later, the preparations were complete. A massive magic circle had been drawn in white chalk just outside the Mystery Shack, the two smaller circles contained within overlapping like a Venn diagram. An absurd amount of runes had been incorporated, but the brunette only recognised a handful of symbols. Bill had given Dipper the Latin required, and the Mage had spent the afternoon memorising it. Phantom had been a helpful study guide, naturally speaking Latin himself.

While Fenton had simply shrugged and stood where directed, Phantom had to be more or less coxed to stand in his spot. The two outside the circle shared a nod, and began to perform the spell. Dipper recited the Latin, watching as the two forms began to bleed together. Instead of the harsh white light emitted by the Quartz, the circle was bathed in a soft green glow, and eventually Dipper couldn’t tell where Fenton stopped and Phantom started.

As the words tapered off and the light dimmed, only Fenton stood in the place where the circles overlapped. Danny(?)’s knees buckled, and Dipper barely waited for the demon’s okay to enter the circle and help the other up into a vaguely vertical position.

“... Danny?” The adventurer asked hesitantly, aware of the deeper meaning behind the questioning.

“Grim Reaper, huh?” The halfa questioned jokingly, holding back a wince at the waves of memory.

Dipper couldn’t help his startled laugh.

Chapter Text

“Dipper?” Danny called through the brunette’s door, knocking lightly with two knuckles. When he heard no response, he opened the door wide enough to peek his head in.

If he had not spent years of his life fighting actual aerial dogfights with invading ghosts, he might have called it chaos. At least a dozen piles of reference books, one of which precariously balanced a laptop upside-down. Probably to compensate for the ridiculous angle the owner of said laptop was sitting in the room’s loveseat, chewing on a popsicle stick.

“Writer’s Block?” The halfa considered carefully tip-toeing around the stacks of papers and journals, but ultimately decided it would be a losing battle and simply turned intangible. He brushed aside a pile of wood that could barely be recognized as the brethren of the stick in Dipper’s mouth, and sat next to his boyfriend. “And do I wanna ask about the wooden popsicle sticks? What did they ever do to you?”

“It used to be pens before I switched to digital.” The upside-down man muttered distractedly, glaring at the text already on the screen as if it might yield and relinquish more words to him.

“Real talk, when was the last time you drank water or ate something that wasn’t wood?”

“... What day is it?”

Danny sighed, standing whilst pulling the human up by his armpits to stand right-side-up with him. “Alright, forced break time. You’re gunna eat even if I have to strap you down. And the answer to your question is Wednesday.”

The halfa turned Dipper intangible to pull him through the disaster of a room without disturbing anything, hearing a faint “Oh, tingly…”

“Intangibility or head-rush?”

The brunette considered it for a moment before just setting for “Yes.”

Bill looked up from his spot on the couch when the two passed through, “Forced Break Time?”

“Forced Break Time.” Danny confirmed, “Any chance there’s more of that?” He asked, referring to the almost-gone bowl of leftover soup in the demon’s lap.

“Nope.” The hybrid sighed,

“I’ll just make an early dinner then, if you're hungry later there’ll be pasta in the fridge.”

Danny continued to drag his human to the kitchen, barely catching the blonde’s “‘Kay.”

Settling the writer down at the table, he set a cup of water down for his boyfriend to sip at, “And when did you last take your anti-anxiety medication?”

“Monday.” Dipper answered, much more sure of this question than the last. Danny sighed again, rolling his wrist, and the newly summoned orange pill bottle fell into his hand. He set it forcefully in front of the Mage, who was mildly surprised he was even able to summon it at all, and gave him an expectant look before shifting his attention to the now-boiling water.

After taking his medication and eating real food, the halfa set him up on the now-vacant couch with a mug of tea. The writer wanted to ask what it was for, but one stern glare from the half-ghost got him to shut his mouth without any of the words escaping.

Half an hour later, Bill walked back in to see Danny draping a blanket over the sleeping brunette, TV off.

“Chamomile?”

“Chamomile.”

Chapter Text

Danny grinned to himself. If anyone had been around to witness that grin, they might have called it stupid. Because it was.

It was Valentine's Day. And while he didn't understand the point of most human holidays - spring came whether a groundhog saw its shadow or not - this one was special. Especially when he had a human partner.

The halfa was currently sifting through the tiny closet of his attic bedroom, trying to find the perfect outfit for his, Bill, and Dipper’s date later. It was sweet that the human wanted to spend Valentine's Day with both of them; dates between the three of them were occasions.

His hand stopped as he saw the perfect thing, and his grin grew even more stupid - he was glad he finished unpacking the other day, so he could wear what may be his favorite outfit.

~Linebreak~

Bill and Dipper were waiting by the door, chatting casually, when their boyfriend came down the stairs. While this wasn’t shocking by any means - they were waiting there for him after all - what he was wearing caused the brunette's brain to short-circuit.

A dress. A really pretty one too, black but dotted with stars, and it accented his naturally slimmer waist. Pale shoulders were gently covered by a sky blue sweater-jacket (legs covered with matching leggings) to accommodate the chill still lingering. Black shoes with a small heel clicked on the stairs.

“Hey, you guys ready to go?”

“Uhhhh…” Dipper replied intelligently.

“Yeah, just waiting on you.” Bill supplied.

Dipper followed the two supernatural entities into town in a sort of daze. It wasn’t that he didn’t approve of his boyfriend’s outfit, it was just really… surprising. Gender roles were something so deeply ingrained into society, to see it broken so casually left the human feeling off-balance. The adventurer had to remind himself that Bill and Danny weren’t humans, of course they didn’t follow an unspoken rule that was admittedly silly if you thought about it.

That thought had the brunette relaxing just a bit. Gender roles were silly, weren’t they? That something so diverse, and meaningless in the long run, as gender dictates what color and shape of fabrics one can wear? It makes so little sense…

This must be the way they think of it, he thought to himself.

The date went pretty good; they did get a couple of stares, but in the case of locals it was paired with grins. Apparently the three of them were the town “celebrity couple”.

They went to see one of the newest movies at the theater, and then got ice cream at the new sweets shop. The date officially ended when they got back to the house and Bill retired, as his vessel was still easily fatigued from what they were calling “The Double Danny Incident”. Dipper and Danny, however, took the opportunity to sneak off to the roof like a couple of teens to stargaze.

“Ya’know,” Danny started when they were comfortable, “before the whole half-ghost thing, I wanted to be an astronaut…”

“Really?” His human asked, not having heard this story before, “Why?”

“The zero gravity in space stations… I thought it was the closest to flying I’d ever come.”

And seeing the man lying next to him, stars reflected in his wonder-filled eyes matching the dress he was wearing, with that tiny smile on his face, Dipper decided he hadn’t seen him any more beautiful.

Chapter Text

Bill and Dipper had pretty much always fought. Whether as enemies, friends, or boyfriends, they had always needed some type of mediator. Opposites attract, but it caused for lots of disagreements. For a while, Mabel had acted as mediator, but when she went off to college - Dipper had decided against leaving a chaotic dream demon alone that long - they were left without their peacekeeper.

The two decided they would attempt polyamory, so that they would have that third party. It was actually Bill’s idea; he didn’t particularly want to share, but accepted that they should at least give it a try because it was admittedly their best option. Dipper wasn’t polyamorous by nature like the demon, but was open to the idea. Ironically, this was the one thing the human could remember them agreeing on.

It was frustrating, as their arguments didn’t cease or even slow in the meantime. If anything, they fought even more. Mabel eventually had to make a rule about calling her about fights (“Not unless blood was drawn, guys.”). When Danny arrived, it was amazing how fast he settled into that role.

Dipper should have guessed that it was because he had prior experience.

~Linebreak~

“Hey! It was nice of you guys to make time to see me, I know you both have school.” Danny hugged the two humans as soon as they stepped out of the car, both looking frazzled.

“Yeah, well, it’s been awhile - and after semester finals we get a small reprieve, so why not recharge with some fresh air?” The goth girl - Sam, the adventurer remembered - gave a tiny grin. It was simultaneously mirrored by a scowl on the other visitor.

“Awful internet signal, that’s why not. It’s not that I’m not glad to see you man, but I’ll die out here without tech!”

“Don’t worry Tuck,” The halfa chuckled, “There’s stuff for you here too. I think you’ll love the basement.”

Danny and the three humans (but mostly Danny) carried the visitor’s bags to the rooms they would stay in - Sam in Bill’s, and Tucker in Dipper’s. The triad agreed that they could share a room for the weekend; Sam and Tuck would need separate rooms, and they only had three.

Dipper was feeling a bit nostalgic about staying in the attic again, instead of Stan’s old room. Bill was looking forward to seeing Sam’s face when she saw all of the occult stuff he had kept in his room from when it had belonged to Ford (his argument being that he gave Sixer half that stuff anyway). Danny was just glad Sam and Tuck managed not to kill each other during the 30 hour car ride it took them to get here.

“So did we want to fire up the grill now? Or wait for everyone to settle in?” The hybrid asked his partners, more for a second opinion than anything else.

“May as well,” Dipper stood from the couch, turning off the T.V. that they had on for background, “It’s about 5 anyway, if we start now, everything should be done by the time your friends are ready.”

“I’m all for fire,” Bill started, and the other two rolled their eyes at the absolute Bill-ness of that statement, “But why exactly did you decide on barbeque during the rainy season?”

“Because,” Danny opened the freezer, “I managed to find these at the grocery store.” He held up steaks in one hand and tofu burgers in the other; it only furthered his boyfriends’ confusion.

~Linebreak~

After being forced to listen to a mix of techno and pop-rock (techno was bad enough, but those fake rock bands with their catchy, corporate-made songs made Sam irrationally angry ) for half of the ride here, the goth was quite irritated, in a way that even the gorgeous occult pieces in the room couldn’t completely diminish.

After being forced to listen to angsty screamo and hard rock (how could she even listen to that at full volume and not have her ears bleed - the lyrics didn’t even make sense!) for half the ride here, the tech geek that was Tucker Foley couldn’t get rid of his headache, even in the masterful cave that would be his temporary room, with it’s strange, scattered, supernatural devices that ran off what appeared to be Norse runes.

In short, the two were one conflict away from throttling each other.

The universe seemed determined to make this happen.

“Is that tofu next to my steak?” Tucker cried when he saw Danny at the grill, midway through cooking.

“Oh is that so terrible?” Sam asked angrily, “At least I’m not eating innocent creatures!”

“Hey, guys chill; it’s fine! I’m being really careful about keeping them separate.” The halfa tried to calm them, but the two were too far gone. The goth glared with a ferocity that made even Bill uneasy, trying to hold in her anger, the object of said anger making snarky comments the whole while.

Sam exhaled heavily through her nose and Danny decided to intervene before the tech geek lost an eye.

“Okay!” He yelled, and formed two duplicates that led his friends in two opposite directions - Sam into the forest and Tuck towards the house to explore the basement, grabbing Dipper along the way. “Obviously I’ve left you two alone for too long.”

The Mage shot questioning looks to the Danny next to him, then the one at the grill, to the one quickly leaving with goth in tow. He finally settled on the one dragging him and Tuck. This Danny shot him a look that decidedly said ‘ later’.

~Linebreak~

“And you used to be self-conscious to use your powers.” Bill cooed at the Danny still tending to the grill - the original.

“Yeah, well, that was near the beginning, before we fell into that cute domestic routine.” The demon made a face of horror, as if only just realizing his fate, and Danny laughed.

“ Ugh, I’m Domestic. ”

Chapter Text

After reassuring his friends that yes, he was safe dating a demon, and yes, said demon wasn't a danger to the humans around him, the two visitors had reluctantly left, under the condition that Danny would keep in touch with the phone they dropped off with him. (It was actually really nice - an ectoplasm green iPhone with a matching case, a couple generations behind but not yet outdated, filled with all the music and contacts that had been on his computer.)

The halfa supposed that he should use said phone to- y’know, talk to his friends about how he was doing, but he always did have a nasty habit of bottling up his frustrations…

Until he lashed out…

At himself…

As frustrated as he was, he could never, ever hurt the people around him.

As it turns out, staying in one place for almost a year with a steady source of income meant that several people had managed to find him, and kinda wanted the money he owed them. No one was truly angry, as he helped every one of them, usually with their supernatural problems, but debt was still debt, and Danny felt obligated.

This got the halfa thinking about all the people that hadn't managed to find him, and how they probably also wanted their money back. So he had taken up the task of tracking down as many of them as possible, no matter how small the amount he owed.

He blamed his obsession. The frustration was almost enough to overcome it, and that's saying something. Dipper and even Bill were getting concerned, so the adventurer decided to bring the hybrid on an impromptu trip into the Gravity Falls forests, hoping to get him to clear his mind and relax.

Unfortunately, Danny’s anger only seemed to grow; every little irritation adding to the pot until it boiled over. The brunette, trying to find something defuse him, attempted to talk with him. Finally, the halfa just cracked, biting into his left wrist and grinding the teeth down to muffle a yell of frustration more than pain. Dipper cried out like he was the who was hurt, stepping forward with his hands drawn like he wanted to pull the arm away from the teeth digging into it’s flesh, but thought better of it.

When the teeth finally released the hybrid’s wrist, he seemed much calmer, the little anger left quickly fading. The writer stared in horror and concern at the red-tinged-green blood that trickled down his boyfriend’s hand.

“Why on earth would you do that?” he just barely heard himself breathe.

“So I wouldn’t end up lashing out at you.” Danny answered simply, and Dipper’s expression softened a bit with understanding.

“C’mon, let’s go bandage you up…” The mage gently held the elbow of the injured arm to guide them in the direction of the shack, feeling it’s trembling. The halfa didn’t even seem to notice, hazily drifting in whatever direction he was led.

When the hybrid was led through the living room, Bill looked up from whatever it was he was doing, immediately noticing the obvious self harm.

“Danny?” The raven haired man looked up, extremely startled, and he looked around for the source of the voice for a couple of seconds before spotting his demon and putting the pieces together, reaction time severely slowed.

“Hey, hi…” He replied, not quite able to focus on the blonde. His two partners shared a look, and Dipper led him off to the bathroom, trusting Bill to do the rest. The human carefully cleaned and bandaged his boyfriend’s arm, sneaking occasional glances at the glazed blue eyes that couldn’t seem to focus on him for more than a second at a time.

When he was done, he gently eased the halfa up from where he was sitting and walked him back to the living room, settling him down next to their shared partner on the couch. From his left, the dream demon handed Danny a cold glass, condensation already sticking to the outside. His left hand shook as he held it, but he seemed amazed at the sensation, getting so lost in the feeling of a drop rolling around his thumb that when Dipper picked up his other, uninjured hand to hold, he jumped and nearly upset the drink.

The brunette gave him a reassuring smile, squeezing the hand he was holding gently. The hybrid relaxed, leaning against Bill next to him, and took a small sip of the drink he was given. It tasted familiar, like pepsi but sweeter, and the cold helped ease something primal in him. He caught movement in his peripherals, and realized the demon next to him had started a movie.

He focused on these senses, the feel of cold liquid and his partners, the smell and taste of the drink, the sight and sound of the movie. Danny then worked his way back to the smaller sensations, the breathing on either side of him, the texture of the things he was touching; smooth, cool glass, the soft fabric of Bill’s shirt, Dipper’s calluses.

When he finished the soda, he laid back into the blonde’s lap, injured hand tucked into his chest and uninjured one still holding his human’s. Letting the dream demon pet his hair, Danny focused on these sensations until they felt like his again.

~Linebreak~

Bill eased the halfa back onto the couch, pulling a blanket over him before leaving him to his sleep. From there, he strode confidently to his room, the writer following dutifully behind him, already having retrieved the notebook and pen he usually used when story ideas hit him suddenly.

The All Seeing Eye settling in the middle of the room, right over the top of a carpet with his visage, and began to meditate, calling out names and numbers to Dipper as he followed his eyes through Danny’s journey across the globe.

Chapter Text

Dipper - the first up and thus making breakfast - paused pouring his coffee when he felt the room cool just a bit. Taking out his boyfriend’s favorite mug, he resumed pouring coffee for himself and the halfa.

It occurred to him that most people would be unnerved, but it was all too normal for him; Danny didn’t have the concentration or mental energy to control his powers this early in the morning, so he acted a lot more like you would imagine a ghost would be like, chill included.

The raven-haired man himself shuffled in - several inches off the floor, but looking completely unaware - a moment later, grumbling something that would’ve been gibberish even if it wasn’t in latin, and practically collapsed at the kitchen island. The writer passed him his coffee, and he cradled it gratefully, giving it a gentle blow to cool it-

“I should really go see someone about that…” The hybrid murmured, tapping on the block of brown ice that had been his coffee with a nail before passing the mug off to the mage to microwave, letting his head hit the counter with a small thud.

“Who would you even go see for freezing breath ? The Powerpuff Girls?” Dipper snarked, turning back just in time to see his boyfriend straighten up. “Oh no, I know that look, that’s your ‘I’ve had a brilliant idea’ look; but let me tell you- it’s never a brilliant idea!”

“How would you like to visit a parallel dimension?” The adventurer pursed his lips at the dazzling grin on the halfa’s face, not quite falling for it. Oh, but parallel dimensions…

“... I refuse to retract my statement until we return home in one piece.”

~Linebreak~

The human-and-a-half spent the rest of the morning both getting ready for the trip and waiting on Bill. They knew that he would already know of the trip, undoubtedly watching their previous conversation from the various images of him littered throughout the shack. Again, should be unnerving, but they were too used to it.

As expected, when the demon emerged from his occult cave, he was dressed in his winter clothes. And as usual, he was yelling.

“MY MEATSACK REQUIRES SUSTENANCE!”

“That reminds me, we should probably pack food, yeah?” Dipper directed at the half-ghost, placing a plate of pancakes and eggs in front of the demon to quiet him. Danny paused washing the breakfast dishes and made a face somewhere between a cringe and a fond smile, remembering Frostbite’s habit of throwing him a feast every time the hybrid visited.

“Don’t bother.”

“So how are we gunna get there?” The human asked, taking out a towel to dry the clean dishes that the halfa would pass to him.

“I have… a particularly strong connection to the ‘Zone. I can summon portals into any part of the realm from anywhere in this dimension, and vice versa.”

“That is so cool! Have you ever used these portals just to travel long distances across one plane?” The adventurer paused his drying to look up to his boyfriend with a look that revealed nothing but innocent curiosity. Danny chuckled.

“You sure are full of questions,” the brunette ducked his blushing face to continue drying the plate he was given sheepishly, “but yes, frequently. When I had my tour of the world that was often the only way I could travel. Luckily, supernatural hotspots act a bit like magnets, and so natural portals pop up more than usual, making the veil in these places thinner. Makes it a lot easier to find the corresponding dimensional energies. It's a bit difficult to explain how it works, as it’s an entirely different sense.”

“I mean,” Dipper started, “Being at least part supernatural entity, I would imagine you would be more sensitive to it, but I kinda get what you’re saying, as certain magics are the same way.”

There was a comfortable silence as they both mulled over the other’s words, before Bill dropped his plate noisily into the sink, dashing off before he was roped into helping. Both the Mage and the half-ghost laughed.

~Linebreak~

“You both bundled up?” Danny waited for confirmation from both before quickly transforming - he had long since given up the catch phrase - and gently tearing a hole through dimensions.

“Now if only I had that power naturally…” The dream demon muttered (pouted) to himself. Both his boyfriends ignored the implications of the statement, and the hybrid guided the two through the portal before letting the energy he had set up to hold it open dissolve. Those that didn't have ghostly bodies shivered and hugged themselves through their winter coats.

“It’s a frozen wasteland!” The human exclaimed, gazing about the endless white only interrupted by a ectoplasm green sky, and the halfa chuckled.

“This part of the ‘Zone isn't called the Far Frozen for nothing. Watch out for Yetis, they’re who we’re looking for.”

“How are you not the least bit cold?” Dipper asked, untucking his head from his chest just long enough to look at the floating figure of Danny wearing no winter gear before shivering and ducking against the gentle breeze whose temperature must have been in the negatives.

“This is comfortable to me!” The half-ghost laughed, and a few figures emerged from the white in front of them.

“Oh Great One!” The front most figure bowed, followed by what must have been guards behind him.

“Ah, Frostbite, you know you don't need to do that; it's embarrassing…” Danny blushed an interesting shade of green.

“Apologies, my King,” the Yetis rose to full height, and the adventurer had to admit he was intimidated, especially when the front most one bared his yellowed fangs in a- smile? “But you'll always be the Great One to me. Who are your guests?”

“Ah, these are my mates, I believe I told you about them my last visit? We should probably get to the village, human bodies can't handle these temperatures for long.” The group of Yetis all turned around, and the halfa waved his boyfriends forward, “Come on, you'll be warmer in some furs.”

“So what brings you back so soon, my King? You do not usually visit us so often in a year.” Frostbite started conversationally, but kept quick pace towards the village.

“Ah, sorry I don't come see you more, I tend to avoid going into the Ghost Zone as often as possible. I was hoping to get some pointers on one of my newer powers, I can't quite control it yet…”

“And what power might this be? I would assume a variant on your Cryokinesis, since you came here.” Torches started appearing in the snow, and the guards that accompanied them began to shed off to stand in position.

“Freezing breath- is that something you've encountered before?” The halfa asked just as they arrived at their destination, a cave that was surprisingly warm. Those that had been in danger of freezing made quick work of putting on the bundles of fur hung up near the entrance.

“It’s not common but unsurprising given your physiology, Great One. Tell me, how often has your ‘Ghost Sense’ been going off?”

“Not at all recently,” Danny answered, yet seemed surprised at the revelation, “The area I’m living in now is relatively ghost-free…”

“Ah,” Frostbite led them deeper into the cave, and Dipper was surprised to find computers and medical equipment, “And I assume you’ve been using your powers more often in human form?”

“Yeah…” The hybrid turned to check on his boyfriends - but mostly Bill - who had been quiet concerningly long. The human was looking around in wonder, which was about what he expected, but the dream demon had snuck back to one of the walls of the cave and had begun etching his symbol onto the scarce rock found there. The blonde shot him a dazzling grin, but didn't stop. Danny knew he would regret it, but let the demon continue anyway.

“Then the solution is quite simple, Great One.” The yeti ghost started to type into a computer, an interesting sound with his claws, pulling up a diagram that was blatantly Danny-shaped. “While the ectoplasm in your cells allows your human form to withstand colder temperatures, it cannot handle the build up of cold that form with excessive use of your ghost powers.” The diagram showed a dark teal spot on the right side of the halfa’s chest, “And by not switching forms, you have allowed the cold to build up to a degree that, as self-defense, your core is pushing the cold out through your lungs.” The animation finished by a light blue moving to exaggerated lungs, out the esophagus, and forming the freezing breath that the triad had grown familiar with over the last 6 months.

“Ok, how do I control it?” The half-ghost asked, and Frostbite looked in amusement at Dipper, the writer who was frantically looking for something to write notes with - even Bill paused his carving to watch the brunette fumble to find his notebook through the thick furs he was wearing.

“To recreate it, you simply consciously direct the cold through your lungs. As for prevention, don’t let the cold build. It shouldn't be too much - as I understand, it is the beginning of the warmer months of the human world - but if it still bothers you, spend more time in ghost form to let the cold disperse.”

“Thanks a lot, Frostbite, you’re the best at this sort of thing.” Danny said, but the yeti was more focused on the mage who had managed to get his notebook out of his many layers and was now writing in it as fast as he could before he forgot anything. The hybrid supposed that he should be curious as to why Dipper had been taking so many notes on him and his ghost half, but Dipper took notes on a lot of things and scrapped most of it, so he mostly chalked the interest up to the fact that they were dating. “Sorry we can’t stay longer, but we should get going before the royal guard gets here…”

“Very well, it was an honour as always, Great One, and a pleasure to meet you as well, Dipper Pines and William Cipher.” Frostbite gave a large sweeping bow and the halfa cringed in embarrassment, but returned it. The human and demon both left the furs they had worn with the others by the door, before following their boyfriend out to the edge of the village for a more open space to open a portal.

“Oh, Great One~!” Bill smirked, pointing towards a pair of rapidly approaching skeletons in the distance.

“Oh geeze…” The half-ghost threw open a portal a lot less carefully than the one before it, practically pushing his companions through before literally diving after them into the human realm. Transforming back from his place on the floor, Danny rolled over to address the ceiling, “Ok, I will now take questions.”

Chapter Text

Danny’s first meeting with Dipper’s Great-uncles (Grunkles?) didn’t go nearly as well as his first meeting with the brunet’s twin.

As it turns out, the older set of twins took a break from their travels on their ship, the Stan-o-War II, every other year to visit Gravity Falls sometime in the summer; this was the reason the halfa hadn’t met them yet. Unfortunately, such constant travel meant that communication was a little difficult, and thus they had learned nothing of Dipper’s new partner. So when they came for a surprise visit for Dipper and Mabel’s Birthday, neither was expecting the other.

~Linebreak~

Danny stumbled down the stairs earlier than he had ever considered getting up, fully intent on finishing breakfast before Dipper could wake up. He wanted to make his boyfriend breakfast in bed, damnit, even if he wasn’t even awake enough for human form yet.

The half-ghost started to take out ingredients for pancakes - skipping coffee for now, the smell would wake the adventurer - when he paused, the little white hairs on the back of his neck bristled as he realized something was amiss in his territory. He heard as well as sensed the front door open and a couple of humans tiptoe into the shack, exchanging small whispers.

Gently gliding through the air, Danny turned invisible, figuring it might be Mabel and her boyfriend or something, also planning birthday surprises. When he was instead met with two unfamiliar buff men, the spirit’s instincts went haywire. At the same time, a small box on one of the two’s hip started buzzing. An EMF detector. The halfa decided he didn’t like them.

Letting his invisibility fade and his aura flair, he hoped he could scare the two away without disturbing his human down the hall.

“I thInk yOU shOUld lEAvE.” Danny towered above them, letting his voice’s supernatural echo fill the room.

“Funny,” one man stepped forward, the one with the EMF on his belt, “I was just about to tell you the same, ghost.”

The half-ghost teleported back into the living room suddenly to avoid the amulet shoved towards him, not wanting to find out it's effects, and was struck with the feeling of his molecules ripping apart just to form back together elsewhere. Still being half-human made it uncomfortable at best. Oh well, at least it probably looked cool.

“Don’t worry, Lee,” the man holding the amulet told his partner, as Danny noticed the extra fingers on his hands and everything clicked into place, “As long as I hold this, it can’t come close enough to possess us. Looks to only be a Category 6…”

“Listen, there seems to be a- wait, Category 6?!? Oh, you have no idea who you’re talking to; if you only knew what I was capable of…”

“What are you going to do, spirit? You can’t touch us!”

“You know what, forget this. I’m going back to making pancakes.”

As he approached the two to return to the kitchen, a handful of something was thrown at the halfa, and he looked down at it as it ricocheted off his body slightly and skittered across the floor. Rock salt. He looked up slowly at the two men frozen in incomprehension and horror, the man in the back (Stan) with his arm still outstretched from the throw.

“Wow, that kind of itched, good for you. Now if you excuse me, I’m trying to make your nephew breakfast.” Danny drifted back into the kitchen to resume his task, pausing when he heard a small “oh.” from behind him. Dipper had emerged from deeper in the shack, staring at his Grunkles who were holding up the amulet and mid-salt-throw, and his boyfriend stirring a bowl of pancake batter.

“Mason Pines,” Oh that was not good; nobody called Dipper by his real name ever . Danny had only heard it used outside legal settings once, when Bill was chewing him out for going on a hunt alone.

“Great-uncle Ford.” The mage answered casually, but anyone could see how nervous he was. The six-fingered man took another step forward and the halfa could see his boyfriend’s nervous gulp from across the room. If the man took even one more step towards his human, Great-uncle or not, Danny vowed there would be hell to pay.

“Why is there a ghost in our house, and why is it making you breakfast? You’re not practicing necromancy again, are you?”

“What?!? No, he’s my boyfriend!”

“Really, kid?” Stan asked from behind his brother, “What is with you two? Why do you gotta keep sticking your dick in the supernatural?”

“Dipper,” Ford clasped both of the mage’s shoulders, ignoring his brother, “You know spirits are dangerous and volatile. What if something happens, and it hurts you?”

“Ok, one;” Danny spoke up so that he was sure he had everyone’s attention, “HE can hear you, and two; right now you’re the only one cruisin’ for a bruisin’. I’m a protective spirit. I literally couldn’t hurt Dipper, even if he wanted me to.”

“Regardless,” Dipper shot both the halfa and his Grunkle a look that clearly meant to stop talking about their sex life, “He is my boyfriend, and I love him.”

“Really though; Bill, a dream demon, and now a Category 6 ghost?”

“Category-?” The younger started, before breaking down in a fit of giggles, “Category 6, oh that is rich…”

“I’ll have you know I am greatly offended by that-” Danny shot back from his place at the griddle, “I am not ‘Only a Category 6’!”

“Danny, a Category 6 is a ‘Phantom of Pain’.”

“I’m about to be a Phantom of pain! Stanford Pines, Author of the journals, what is the highest Category of ghost?”

“10, but-?”

“That should mean I am at least a Category 20.”

The half-ghost gave his boyfriend a little wink, and Dipper heaved a great sigh, as if this was the task of a lifetime, before stepping forward and bowing, gesturing over-exaggeratedly to the still-cooking man.

“Stanley and Stanford Pines, may I present to you, Daniel James Fenton-Phantom, the Prince of all ghosts.” Ford startled at the title, scrambling to get both him and his brother bowing, despite Stan’s protests.

“My deepest apologies, your highness, we had no idea whom we were speaking to, please forgive our ignorance and callous attacks.”

“Nah, we cool.” The six-fingered man blinked at such casualness, looking up to find that the prince had already turned around to check on the pancakes. Turning towards his nephew for explanation found that Dipper was practically dying holding in his laughter. “Why don’t you three sit down and catch up, I’m almost done with breakfast anyways.”

The adventurers all sat down at the table in the kitchen, and Dipper gave explanations as Danny switched to his human form. This eventually led to the two geeks exchanging stories as Grunkle Stan talked a bit to Danny, no doubt evaluating if he was good enough for his nephew.

“If, you don’t mind me interrupting,” Danny stepped in, setting down the now finished, if a bit salty, pancakes, “Happy Birthday Dipper; I hope you like it, even if this was supposed to be breakfast in bed.”

Chapter Text

Danny and Bill didn't really get along at first.

Ignoring the fact that the demon didn't even attempt to make himself the least bit likable, he was the one that knew of the halfa’s status, and divulged that information to Dipper. This led to a mild act of retribution that snowballed into the greatest prank war of the century.

It was kind of fun, being able to let out his mischievous side, and Bill appreciated a victim who didn't flip out too much at animal carcasses and blood messages on their walls, so it continued even after the triad got together. Somehow though, neither ever really found the line, instead escalating and escalating their pranks.

Running through the shack one morning, possessing the dream demon’s vessel and trying to flee his red-hot presence, Danny figured he’d finally found the line.

“Dipper- Dipper, help-”

“Danny?” The human took in the snickering form of what would usually be the dream demon - bright green eyes gave away the true inhabitant - dashing for him, “Why are you overshadowing Bill’s vessel?”

“He’s so mad.” The halfa snickered childishly, but quickly squealed as he felt the hot, angry aura of Bill behind him. He quickly bailed out of the body, knowing how messy it could get when two supernatural entities possessed the same vessel. The demon hopped back in before the empty body could hit the ground, and both supernatural creatures ended up on the living room floor, the blond on top of Danny.

Gold eyes pinned him in a glare, and the hybrid tried to suppress both his giggles and terrified purring.

“Give me one good reason I shouldn't reprimand you right here.”

“Because I love you very much and can take you to visit places outside of Gravity Falls.”

“Are you suggesting a vacation? So close to Samhain?” Bill teased, making the half-ghost huff.

“I can control myself-”

“You licked me the other day for no reason.” The dream demon deadpanned.

“-mostly.” The halfa amended, “Besides, if we're gunna go anywhere decently far, this is our last opportunity for a good while.”

“Well I know what my vote is.” Dipper declared -startling the others as they were reminded of his presence - and pulled the demon up off Danny on his way out of the room, “Choose somewhere warm - we didn't get to swim this summer and that is just a crime.”

Both supernatural entities watched their human walk off further into the shack, most likely to prepare. The blond snapped out of it first, offering a hand to help the other up.

~Linebreak~

Deciding to go on vacation was one thing, deciding where to go was a whole other affair.

“C’mon, Cairo, the pyramids, the last wonder of the world!”

“That's your ego speaking.” The half-ghost said, finishing the ‘Closed For Today’ sign and hanging it on the gift shop window, “I've been there, it's not so great. And not very tourist-friendly.”

Bill pouted, but conceded the point, watching his boyfriend create an identical sign to hang up at the shack’s other entrance. Danny hummed thoughtfully for a moment,

“How about Hawaii?” He finally said, and turned to the dream demon, face neutral but eyes sparkling, “I went there as a kid - my family's only normal vacation - and I still remember how much I absolutely loved Honolulu.”

It wasn't as great, in Bill’s opinion, but looking at his boyfriend, happiness shining in his eyes, excitement palpable even though his meat-sack’s dull senses, he couldn't argue. Besides, he had to admit-

“That does sound like fun.”

“I'll go tell Dipper!” The halfa grinned, actually flying through several walls to tell their human the news. Bill smiled a bit, and admitted to himself that, yeah, he was going a little soft, but only for those two.

~Linebreak~

After all three of them changed into the appropriate clothing, and the half-ghost had thoroughly smothered Dipper with sunscreen and concern, he opened a portal into an unclaimed section of the ‘Zone, and from there, found a suitable spot for a portal to open on the human side.

“Woah,” the mage said as he stepped from the strange chill of the ghost world into a shady but hot grove of palm trees, “This is indeed swimming weather.”

“Then let’s swim!” The demon exclaimed, grabbing both of his boyfriends’ wrists and dashing out along the beach.

“Waitwaitwaitwaitwait- Clothes!” The hybrid warned, and the blond dropped both of their arms in order to strip his shirt and shorts, never stopping his sprint towards the ocean, “Careful!”

Danny and Dipper slowed to a jog, stopping to pick up the other’s clothes and shoes, and set a base up a decent distance from the ocean. When the brunet had put down the alarmingly yellow flip-flops next to the equally yellow towel laid out next his blue and Danny’s black ones, he stripped off his own shoes and shirt - careful of his necklace with the triangle, pine tree, and DP charms - and shot the ghost a grin before joining his other boyfriend in swimming.

The halfa gave a small smile at the playful excitement and joy he could - for lack of a better word - taste. While the tiny chance of danger made him itch to be closer to his human, he knew the salt water would also itch, so he contented himself to sit under the large sun umbrella they had decided to steal from a hotel for a few hours. After a while, the itch got to be enough that he couldn't sit still, even with his human is sight, so he wandered further down the beach towards more people, and therefore alcohol.

When he returned with drinks (a piña colada for him, a margarita for Bill, and a beer from a local brewery for Dipper), he found the blonde laid back on his towel. A quick look around revealed their mate combing the beach, most likely for seashells to bring back for Mabel.

“You're gunna get burned if you don't put on some sunscreen.” The hybrid told the demon as he handed him his drink, but the other just gave a shark-tooth grin,

“I've found this body doesn't get burned by solar radiation, but rather freckles and tans.”

“Lucky.” The mage whined as he joined them on their towels, setting down a small cloth bag as Danny passed him the beer. He took a drink, nodding in approval at the low level of hops.

“Find anything?” The dream demon asked, taking a sip of his own drink and settling more on his side to face his boyfriends.

“Mostly little ones, I’ll use them for spells- but I did find this.” The writer remarked, pulling out a shell a little bigger than his palm, light brown on the outside but shimmering pink and lavender on the inside.

The three chatted and drank until they decided that they were hungry and headed into town, dropping the umbrella off on the way (no one even noticed it was gone). After a lot of debate, they settled on sushi for lunch, but they would come back to a strange pig-in-a-blanket style hot dog place that had caught Dipper’s eye for dinner. Bill showed off his “infinite knowledge” by ordering bento boxes for them in Japanese, and Danny surprised everyone by being at least conversational in it. They did a little shopping and the halfa even snuck them into a hotel pool area so he could swim with them without the salt water itching him.

They were walking back through town, basking in the sunset, tired but content, when the performers started. It was an informal sort of street circus, good enough that people would stop and throw a few dollars into their hat, but not enough that it really drew a huge crowd.

The trio had just started to pass in front of a man standing on a painted wooden box and juggling flaming knives - honestly the most interesting one there - when the crowd gave a mix of gasps and screams, and the half-ghost snapped his gaze up to see that the juggler had miscalculated and the knives were now dropping out of the sky towards them. He managed to pull his human out of the way, but the blonde was too far ahead of them.

The hybrid gave a panicked shout, something in Latin, and the demon turned just in time to catch the knife that would have sliced through his right eye. Everyone watching let out the breath they had been holding.

“NOT TODAY!” Bill yelled at the top of his lungs, throwing the knife down to join the others at his feet, fire starting to die down, “NOT FUCKING TODAY!”

Bill screamed some more, the crowd slowly dispersed, and the performer eased down from the anxiety attack. Danny decided it was time to go home.

Chapter Text

It had been an immensely busy year, even when it seemed that it had flown by so quickly.

Danny once again found himself trying to stealthily make breakfast for his significant others (it was sometimes hard to believe that they had only been together for about a year and a half - the halfa had offered much more of himself to them than to any of his previous relationships). It worked about as well as last time, only he was caught by Dipper rather than his relatives.

“Mabel’s rubbing off on you, eh?” The brunette mumbled into his shoulder, letting him flip the somewhat-glittery pancake on the griddle before turning him around for a gentle kiss, goatee tickling his chin. The half-ghost ducked his head a bit - not the greatest method to avoid eye-contact with the shorter man - absentmindedly noticing that the mage was wearing the pine tree and deer printed pajama pants that always made Bill giggle a bit.

“She left it from Thanksgiving this year; I found it when I was looking for the baking powder and it seemed festive.”

Dipper chuckled a little, but any more teasing was cut off when their other partner slammed open his door down the hall and came strutting in, already dressed for the festivities to come - black slacks tucked into high-heeled boots, eyeliner done up in a Eye of Horus style with golden eyeshadow to match his golden vest, and a heavy black coat thrown over one shoulder, the inside enchanted to show stars that shifted with his movements.

Both spectators suddenly remembered that they needed to breathe when the dream demon started to swing his cane around, amused with the their wide-eyed staring.

“If you two don’t hurry, we won’t be in time to pick Shooting Star up from the airport.”

“Ah- Yes- Food- Eat,” was Danny’s flustered response, hurrying to get the last pancake off the griddle. It still got burnt, but it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would turn out. The three of them ate, Bill snickering at the silver glitter, and the human-and-a-half quickly threw on some civvies, electing to get ready for Gravity Falls’ Yule Festival later.

They took Dipper’s (massively under-used) car to the edge of town, where both supernatural entities got out, allowing the human to drive through the barrier without any harm. The halfa felt the fabric of dimensions around them, guiding the demon to the weakest point on this side of the barrier - the ‘Welcome to Gravity Falls!’ sign - where he made a portal into the ‘Zone, and from there, a portal to the human world that would take them to just on the other side of the barrier.

That was the most interesting point in their 45 minute car ride to the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport- but not the funniest, that had to be when a disco song came on the radio and Bill slammed the button to change the channel so hard that it got stuck and he had to listen to 7 whole minutes of ‘synthesized music’ before the brunette was able to stop laughing long enough to turn the radio off.

When they finally arrived and the mage pulled into a space at the temporary parking area, they had all had time to calm down from that emotional journey, the triad managed to make it to the baggage claim area on time to pick up mabel. The dream demon, of course, got quite a bit of attention for his outfit, but he didn’t mind at all, even obliging those brave enough to ask for a picture.

Mabel appeared in her usual burst of colors and glitter that you’re never quite sure is real or just her aura, running straight for them for tackle-hugs.

“You’re wearing the sweater I made you!” She exclaimed in Danny’s ear, her braid-bun jabbing itself into his eye, and sure enough, he looked down to see he had thrown on the black sweater that was just a bit big on him (“It just makes it all the more adorable!”), with a cartoon ghost with light blue eyes, that the soon to be Art-Major had given him last Thanksgiving.

“So I am. Have all your stuff?” Mabel held up a suitcase covered in duct-tape of probably every color and pattern offered.

After dragging the blond away from his adoring fans, who’s slightly dazed look suggested that the demon’s coat was probably also enchanted with a slight hypnotic ability, everyone climbed into the car, ready to head back to the shack to get ready for festivities.

“I’m thinking for Spring Equinox I’ll dye my hair rainbow; for being absolute jerks, the Gnomes throw great parties.” The female twin explained from her spot in the front seat, sticking googly eyes to the roof.

“I’m surprised you haven’t already.” Dipper replied, the clicking of the turn signal naturally filling the silence between responses. The halfa was taking advantage of being in an area with service to message his friends in Amity, finalizing plans to come over later that week for their own winter celebrations. Bill was making faces at passing cars.

“I keep losing bets with my roommate, so I’m not allowed to dye my hair until the end of winter quarter.” The mage allowed a tiny smile- that did sound like her.

Conversation lulled, so Mabel turned on the radio. Disco blasted. It was almost covered up by the following eldritch screeching.

~Linebreak~

Everyone looked great.

Danny had elected to stay in human form, but wore an outfit given to him by Dora. Black shirt, pants, cloak, and heavy boots, with a white tunic with his symbol on it. Accessorize with silver cuffs and ice crystals in his hair via ice powers, and he looked like some ethereal spirit that would lead you into the woods to never be heard from again.

Dipper had planned better than anyone, covering his tunic with furs, but had not left out the accessories, wearing a crown of holly leaves, a silver choker, and strapping an antler-handled knife to his wide leather belt.

Mabel had taken her hair out of it’s braid, leaving it more wavy than usual, and convinced the half-ghost to put ice crystals in it, making it glimmer at every movement. Her dress was styled similarly to a tunic; long, flowing, and stark white. Her silver head-crown was similar in design to her brother’s choker, and she had matching bracelets.

At sunset, they walked into the woods with a couple of bottles of apple pie moonshine, fully intent on partying well into the night.

~Linebreak~

A bonfire raged in the center of the clearing, though no one felt uneasy. There was a huge feast set up on one table, and an equally large table to hold all the alcohol that had been brought. All sorts of creatures were there, some only coming out for these celebrations, and even sworn enemies sat at the same table. The half-ghost was reminded of the Zone’s own Christmas Truce.

The twins were far from the only humans to show; more than a third of the town was present, and more seemed to trickle in, some dressed for the occasion, some not, but all were welcomed.

Small scraps were thrown in the fire by many, sacrifices to whichever deity they worshipped.

Instruments were also brought by people of all sorts, some that others didn’t recognise, but their playing was beautiful all the same, and soon dances started. For those of which alcohol had an effect, the booze was shared among friend and stranger alike, and new friends were made.

Danny wanted to personally thank whoever had brought the ectoplasmic rum; since there were no other sentient ghosts that were likely to come, that meant that someone had brought it with him in mind specifically, and it was most certainly the result of a trade.

Mabel performed a beautiful dance with some Dryads, and was given a beautiful piece of fairy quartz in return. She was also given a kiss or two by the look on her face, although it could have also been the mead.

The feast and booze table never faltered, empty bottles or dishes quickly being replaced by a full one by latecomers. Slow-cooked meats, breads, fruits and vegetables that shouldn’t have been available at this time of year, everyone had put a lot of effort into what they would bring, and it showed.

The festivities lasted so long that many had to take a rest, or even fell asleep to the music and cheers, but there was always people playing, people dancing, people cheering.

As the longest night hit it’s peak, even those that would not have felt it knew, just based on the excitement of those that could. From here on, things would improve - the weather would slowly get better, the days longer. It was new beginnings.

Many stayed to dance and drink and feast for the entire night, if not sleep right there by the bonfire, but by about 3:30 am, Bill, Dipper, Danny, and Mabel had decided that they were done for the night.

They went around and said their goodbyes, sometimes being given gifts, but it was still almost 5 by the time they got home. Thanking their past selves for having the foresight to set up the pile of fluffy bedding in the center of the living room, they dumped anything not suitable for sleep onto the couch, including their gifts.

Snuggled together in a big pile of warm blankets and limbs, they slept comfortably well into the afternoon.