[Ch 12, ALTERNATE ENDING]

What if things... went a little differently? What if you accepted Mabel and Stan's invitation? What if you tried to heal your relationship, instead of trying to move on?

───〃𖠰

I finally make the last turn, and look up the path to the pier. My heart leaps to my throat at what-who I see. 'Nononono.' I look away, running a hand over my face. 'I'm going through enough emotions already, maybe it's just reached the point of me seeing hallucinations. "W-Why don't you get the sample, and I wait he-"

"Dipper?" My pounding heart tears me from my thoughts, and I turn to face the one who'd hurt me, and who I returned the favour to. I meet those... conflicting voids of hers, and my breath freezes in my chest.

"Dipper, please." (Y/N) says softly, walking down the pier towards Great Uncle Ford and I. "I promise to not hurt anyone."

I stand in front of my Grunkle protectively, just in case. I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. "Can't you just stay away? What has it been, a few hours?? This is starting to get really annoying, (Y/N)!!" My heart tugs every which way, and I can't organise my thoughts. I can hardly remember why I was angry, I just remember that I was.

(Y/N) looks off to the side at a bush, crossing her arms tightly and looking upset. "See? I told you this wouldn't work."

I hear a familiar voice coming from the bush. 'Mabel??' "You're doing great!" I watch as Mabel gives (Y/N) a thumbs up, before blending back in with the foliage. 'What is she doing here? She could get hurt!'

"Okay, okay, you got this." I watch as she hypes herself up. "DIPPER I AM SO SORRY I SCARED YOU YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN ME BUT PLEASE TRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT I NEVER WANTED TO CAUSE YOU HARM!!" She pants for a few moments, and I am stunned. After collecting herself, she starts again with her eyes tightly closed. "I WAS BORN WITHOUT A MAGIC THREAD BUT STILL FEARED WHAT YOU WOULD THINK OF ME IF YOU KNEW I WAS A SIREN AND I WAS KINDA RIGHT AND THAT SHARP FORM I TOOK THAT SCARED YOU ONLY HAPPEN WHEN I AM FACING A SEVERE EMOTION PLEASE FORGIVE ME DIPPER!!" She pants again, swaying from side to side. It wasn't exactly a sheepish or graceful approach, but I understand why she rushed herself.

She was trying to give me no time to get angry with her. I wish she didn't have to. "..(Y/N)," I say weakly.

"I UNDERSTAND THAT I DON'T DESERVE YOUR FORGIVENESS AND I HAVE CONTINUOUSLY OVERSTEPPED YOUR BOUNDARIES BUT PLEASE DON'T PUSH ME AWAY AGAIN!"

"(Y/N)!" I yell, trying to knock her from her spiralling thoughts.

───〃𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

"YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME AND I FEEL TERRIBLE ABOU-" My sentence is cut off as I feel arms wrap around my neck with an unmoving warmth. My eyes fly open, and I look at Dipper with my heart aching in my chest. I hug him back as tears stream from my eyes. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Please (Y/N)... breathe." I hear Dipper say softly. I tighten my grip around his waist and nuzzle into his chest, having missed that warmth. "Breathe," He says again, and I feel him lightly patting my head. I take a few deep breaths with him, feeling the synced rise and fall of our chests. "There you go, better?" He says while pulling back a bit. I look him in the eyes, wiping away my tears and smiling weakly. "I missed that pointy smile..." He says, holding the side of my face. I lean into his touch and feel my face tingle with blue. Out of the corner of my eyes, I can see clear, multicoloured bubbles floating in the air around us.

"I missed your square one?" I say softly, not really understanding what I was saying. We both chuckle lightly, and the mood is lifted. I crack my knuckles in the comfortable silence. That doesn't last long, as his expression falls. "Dipper?" I ask with uncertainty.

"I'm so sorry (Y/N), I was an idiot." He starts off strong with self-degradation. 'I thought that was my thing, but okay.' I think to myself. "You were showing me your truth, being open with me, and I shut you down. What's worse, I didn't let you explain, continuously shut you out, and tried to push you away." He runs his thumb over my cheek, and I leave my hands resting on his hips, though they tighten a little in surprise for his action. "Even if you've breached the boundary I set, I'm thankful. I don't know what I would've done if you had listened and stayed away. I might have moved on, but I would still miss you terribly, and knowing that you think it's your fault, if I-" It was my turn to cut Dipper off with a hug. I pull him close and wrap my arms firmly around his waist.

I dunk my tail over the edge of the water for a moment so I could breathe, and then I wrap it around him so I could hold him closer. "Breathe?" I say confusedly, helping him steady his breathing. He chuckles softly and takes a deep breath. I focus on steadying our shared, racing heartbeats. In, out, in, out. When I hear his breathing get more natural, I pull back. "You may have overreacted, but I should have told you earlier. From what Mabel and Mr. Stan told me, trusting outsiders has been a bit of an issue for you Pines after everything with the Eye."

Dipper nods with a small smile. "Yeah, a little bit."

"And, you may be an idiot, but..." I start, smirking slightly.

"But?" He says, grinning as well.

"You're a very intelligent idiot who I've grown very fond of." I finish tilting my head slightly.

"Heh," He huffs, holding my cheek again. "Same to you, (Y/N)." He leans a bit closer to me, and I do the same. Resting my head on his shoulder, we hug one last time, before we both pull away completely. "So... No Magic Thread, huh?"

"Nope." I say simply. "I honestly figured that you were going to piece that together. You had notes on Sirens without Magic Threads, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I just... couldn't put two and two together I guess."

"WELL!" I hear Mr. Stan's gruff voice coming from the bushes. "If all's well and good, can someone help me up? My old joints are stuck."

"I'm coming Stanley." Another older human says, approaching Mabel and Mr. Stan's hiding place. "Mabel, can you please assist me?"

"Of course Great Uncle Ford!" She says brightly. I chuckle at her sweetness, before what she said fully processes in my mind.

"Ugh, guys! We were having a moment!" Dipper says somewhat grumpily, and I look over at him with a smirk.

"You can go back to your gushy teenager moments after Ford and Mabel get me out of this hole!" Mr. Stan says defiantly.

───〃𖠰

I smile warmly, watching Mabel and Great Uncle Ford try to pull Grunkle Stan out of the bush, which he seems to be very stuck in. I'm still a little annoyed but not very.

"Wait..." I look over at (Y/N) from the corner of my eye. She seems to be contemplating something, her tail splashing into the water now and again. My heart warms at the sight, things really worked out. "Waitwaitwait! So.." She faces me, and I tilt my head in confusion. "That's-!" She looks back to the scene of stuck Grunkle Stan. "You're-!" she turns to me again, whispering. "Is that the author of that page I found? The Author of the journals??"

I chuckle warmly. "Yep, the one and only." I put my hands in my pockets, watching in amusement as fireworks go off behind those black eyes.

"Hmp!" I look back to my family. Grunkle Stan is on his feet, brushing himself off, while Mabel and Great Uncle Ford are panting. "Next time, I'll pick the bush, okay Mabel?"

"Yeah, works for me." She says in between beaks for air.

I snicker, looking at the excited-looking Siren next to me. I know exactly what's coming. "Hey Great Uncle Ford?"

The old man looks up. "Yes, Dippe- What's she doing?" He says with a tilt of his own head, standing up straight and eyeing the practically buzzing one next to me.

"It's so great to meet you, Mr. Stanford Filbrick Pines Sir!" She says while stepping forward and clasping her hands together. "I have only read some of your work, but your research is incredible! You documented magic only marine creatures can do, I didn't believe that possible." I walk up to stand next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder as she bounces on the balls of her feet. "Would you mind if I asked you a couple million questions regarding the other things you've researched??" She tries to crack her knuckles again, but winces instead. 'She didn't wait until they were ready.' I think to myself.

"Oh great." Grunkle Stan says sarcastically. "Now there's two of them." Everyone breaks out laughing, except (Y/N), who doesn't get it, and I rub the back of my neck.

"Heh, yeah..." I say while looking away, feeling my face burn.

"You too seem to be well suited for each other." I hear Great Uncle Ford say. I turn to face him with a crooked smile. "Just make sure to practise good communication skills, alright?"

I turn to look into (Y/N)'s eyes, and she does the same. I chuckle and nod. "Yeah, alright."

[Word Count: 1645]