[Ch 12, TRUE ENDING]

───〃𖠰

"Uh..." I walk down to the end of the pier, looking around just in case. No sign of (Y/N). Grunkle Stan and Mabel just stared at each other for a moment, both of them looked a bit upset. 'They didn't even answer my question.' I mentally comment. "What are you doing here?" I ask again, walking down the pier to the family.

"Mabel, do you want to..?" Grunkle Stan says while turning to face Lake Gravity Falls again.

"Sure, yeah... Um," I stand awkwardly in front of them. Mabel seems to be struggling to find the words. "You see... We came to visit (Y/N)." She says while shrugging. My heart clenches in my chest.

"How do you know about her?" I ask, sitting down and crossing my legs.

I stare as my twin fiddles with her sweater. "I.. maybe sorta, kinda.. Went through your things."

"You went through my-!" I stop myself and take a deep breath. 'That doesn't matter right now, stay focused Dipper.' "Okay, that's a huge invasion of privacy, but we'll circle back to that later. If you did go through my stuff, you'd know that (Y/N) is a very dangerous Siren, and cannot be trusted." I cross my arms, unsure what to do with them.

Mabel falls quiet, looking down at the pier. Great Uncle Ford sits next to me and places his hand on my shoulder. "I understand why you might think that, but you're actually very wrong in this situation, Dipper."

"What..?" I ask softly, my arms falling ever so slack. 'Nonono, they just don't get it, right? I thought everything through, didn't I?'

"He's right, you know." Grunkle Stan adds, and I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. "According to your little notebook ramblings, she never had one of those magic Siren voice thingies. It was just a misunderstanding."

I look to the side, away from my family. My heart hurts that much more inside my chest. "I... I think you.. might.. be right. I rushed to conclusions but now, I can't fix it. I told her to stay away."

I hear Mabel clear her throat, but I don't look up at her. "I figured that you'd have a hard time with that, so... I did what I think you would do in this situation." She trails off, and everyone falls quiet. A momentary silence hangs in the air, the only sounds being the birds and the soft lapping of water against the pier poles. I glance up at her, and I think she takes that as her cue to keep going. "I made an overly convoluted plan, to get you two back together..." Mabel continues. "Great Uncle Ford distracted you while Grunkle Stan and I came to talk to her, work everything out, then when you came here, we'd all hide in a bush and you two could work everything out... I just wanted to help."

I feel tears prick the corners of my eyes, and I look up at my family completely. "You were going to do all that... just for me?"

"You've... just been so happy as of late, Dipper," Great Uncle Ford starts. "And while I admit that I didn't understand why, it now makes sense. You found someone you enjoy the company of."

"Someone who can put up with your dorkiness." Grunkle Stan adds.

"And someone who loves every aspect of you." Mabel finishes.

I feel my face warm, while simultaneously tears roll down my cheeks. I wipe them away quickly and look down. "That's a big assumption, but... Thanks. So, she didn't come then?" I say half-heartedly.

"She did." Grunkle Stan says shortly. I nod slowly, having predicted that. She must've been waiting for me to come and apologise. I should've. "She came, and she told us about your time together." He continues. "She told us all about your adventures, and then..."

"And then she denied our help to heal you two." Mabel said. Willing myself to have the courage, I sit up straight and look at each of my family. I refuse to look away again, this is too important to be a coward again.

"Why? She's been reaching out to me for forgiveness, why wouldn't she take this chance?" 'I know I would've in her position...' I think to myself.

"She didn't say exactly," Mabel looks down, fiddling with her sleeves. "She said that she felt bad for scaring you, hurting you, and overstepping your boundaries." She says shakily. "She said that she-" Mabel broke off, sniffling. She leans on Grunkle Stan's shoulder.

"She said she was going to listen to you. Something about going where she belongs and staying there. She seemed sure about what she was saying, even if she was crying. I can tell she meant it, she had that look in her eyes, I think. Hard to tell, actually, but I knew she meant every word."

"She has a way with words, doesn't she?" I chuckle weakly, my expression still crestfallen. "So... She went home?" 'To The Depths at the bottom of the lake... or maybe her cave?' I ponder, heart stinging again.

"That's what I'm gathering, yes." Great Uncle Ford says gently, pulling me into a soft hug. I hold him tightly as fresh tears break free from my eyes, warm and trailing down my chin to stain my shirt. "What exactly did you tell her, Dipper?"

"I-" My voice cracks, and I sniff sharply, trying to gather myself. "It's mostly a blur, I was so... mad, so hurt, and scared. I-I told her to.. Go back where she came from, I think? To never show her face around here again, and to stay away from me and my family..." As the words leave my mouth, it feels like one of my ribs bends in, sharply stabbing at my heart.

Mabel pulls away from Grunkle Stan and wipes her eyes. "Maybe, with time, she'll come back, and we can fix things? She seemed really sweet, and she's going to such lengths just 'cause you asked her to." She says gently. "I just met her, but I think she's nice. I hope she comes back. Eventually?"

I glance over at my sister as she tries to lighten the mood, and I can't help but feel my heart drop into the cold, frozen water. I can almost hear it splash, like I expected the rock to that day. I break down in tears into Great Uncle Ford, beating myself up. "W-What have I done..?"

---Timeskip Brought to you by Smelling Emotional Issues---

I stand at the end of the pier, like every noon, every day, every year.

I deeply breathe in the salty air of Lake Gravity Falls, reminiscing on old memories. 'Those beautiful black voids...' I shove my hands into my pockets, shifting my weight from one foot onto the other. My old joints are not taking kindly to all this standing, I can nearly hear them creak.

I hear the soft rustling of trees behind me, followed by a voice. "Dad?"

"Hmm?" I look behind me, smiling at my son. "Oh, hey Stanley. Where are your siblings?"

"They're coming. Don't worry Dad, we wouldn't miss this for the world."

"I can imagine." I chuckle lightly, patting my son's head. "Did you find me a good rock?" I grin at the toothy smile he gives me. It was that smile that got him his name, so similar to Grunkle Stan's...

"You bet I did!!" Stanley disappears behind the trees, returning half a moment later, half bent over, with a rock as big as his head. I chuckle and walk to him in hopes of helping him lift it.

"This is a pretty good rock here son." He hands it to me, and I pretend it weighs more than I can carry. "Woah!" I swing the large rock side to side a bit. "What are you Stanley, and bodybuilder?" He laughs, and I carry the rock normally while chuckling.

I hear more rustling, followed by panting and an uneven shout. "Don't start without us, don't start!" I smile warmly as I watch the rest of my children come through the trees. Two of them panting and half bent over, and the third standing with his hands in his pockets, all three with different rocks in hand. I put Stanley's rock down as I went to help the other three.

"Long run?" I tease, holding out my hand for their rocks. The first to hand me their rock is my daughter. It was a round, smooth grey rock with patches of colour. It was as big as the palm of my hand.

"Oh yeah. Stanley just left us all in the dust!" She says, sending her brother a glare. He glares back, and they both burst out laughing.

"Sorry 'Cif, I just had the perfect rock in mind!" He says defensively, putting his hands up. "I saw it the other day, when we were mystery hunting with Aunty Mabel?" I watched chuckling as Eleace noticed the large rock.

"It's huge!! She says excitedly, examining the rock closely. Despite the fact that they were the middle children, they got along like Mabel and I.

"Dadda, look at my rock!" I turn as my youngest son tugs on my sleeve. Nearly six years old, Jesús takes this tradition most seriously.

"What'd you find, Soos?" I ask, pocketing 'Cif's rock and holding my hand out for his.

"Look, look!" He holds it up for me, and I smile widely. "It looks like a fish doesn't it? It even has those breathy bits!"

"Gills, Soos, and yes, it does look like a fish." He hands me the rock, and I examine the white scratches in the rock. He must've drawn them in by himself. "It looks great. What a wonderful rock."

Jesús runs off to his siblings, while I stand up fully to face my eldest, who was nearly my height now. "Where's your rock, Stanford?"

He hands me a small red rock with black spots on it, but he doesn't seem very enthusiastic. "Hey Dad?"

"Yes?" I say while pocketing the rock.

"Why do we still do this? Doesn't it hurt you?" He had his hands deep in his hoodie pocket, and as much as he tried to hide it, I saw right through his uncaring and nonchalant demeanor. He was looking down, his shoulders slumped a bit.

"It does." I start slowly. I watch as he looks up at me, and I turn to his siblings. "But you guys love it so much, and so do I. Even if she wasn't your mother, and even if I haven't seen her in years, we honour her memory in this way. I show her how sorry I am, every year when we visit."

"Isn't that cheesy though?"

I chuckle lightly at his choice of words. "Yes, but I'm hoping one day she'll see the rocks we put out for her, and we can be friends again." I go and pick up Stanley's large rock. "Alright, everyone to the pier, move it Pine Saplings!" I watch as my youngest three head down the pier and sit and the end. "To be honest, I have long since moved on from my romantic feelings for (Y/N), but I still miss her friendship. I assume she's moved on from me as well. We were very young, we had our whole lives ahead of us. And I mean, if any of my past partners, including your mother, have taught me anything, it is that I'm not much of a catch."

"I disagree, Dad." I hear Stanford beside me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "You do a lot for us, and that makes you great."

"Thanks, but I still have a point..." I chuckle lightly, turning to smile at him. We walk down the pier together and sit at the end with the others. I place Stanley's large rock next to the pier post at the side, smiling softly. "Anything you want to say, Stanley?" I look down at Jesús and pick him up to put him in my lap.

"Hmm..." He stands up and paces a bit. He stops and takes a deep breath. His siblings and I cover our ears. "Come visit us one day, okay?!" He yells out to the lake.

He sits back down, and Jesús claps loudly with a bright smile. "My turn, my turn!"

"Okay then," I say while placing his rock on top of the post. "Go ahead Soos."

He bounces on my lap and cups his hands to his mouth. "Hey nice fishy lady, my Dadda thinks you're pretty cool!! I wanna meet you!"

"Very nice, Soos." I say while patting his head. "Elise?" I ask while fishing her rock out of my pocket. I put it next to Jesús'.

"Oh, alrighty then." She clears her throat. "I've been hearing about you for years, and I think you're the only person out there who can put up with my Dad! Please come back!"

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow at her, smirking slightly.

"Sorry, Dad, gotta be honest, right?" She says with a sheepish shrug.

I sigh and nod, digging in my pocket for the last rock. 'I was right to name her after Pacifica. Same blunt, fiery attitude.' I place Stanford's rock on the pier and look over at him. "Anything you want to say, Stanford?"

He doesn't say anything for a moment, just kicking his feet over the edge of the pier. "Not this time." He says simply. "I don't know what to say." He seems down, and I sense there's something he wants to say to me in private.

"Alright Pines Saplings, why don't you get a move on to Aunty Mabel? We'll go for those Rock Day pancakes a little later, okay?" I pick Jesús off my lap. "Stanley, Elise, take Jesús back to the Shack, okay?"

"But Dad," Elise starts. "We always do this together."

"Don't worry 'Cif, Stanford and I will catch up in a minute. Head back to the Shack, okay?"

"Okay Dad." I watch as my three youngest walk off towards town, before turning to face my eldest. I wait for him to speak up when he's ready. As a comfortable silence falls over us, I look out at the lake. Think about what I always think about when I'm out here, the memories we shared, the conversations, the happy moments, the library, the day I learned the truth and lashed out, her showing me our memories in my dream. The sound of the water washes away some of the pain and guilt, offering a soothing comfort.

"Hey Dad?" I look to my side as Stanford leans on my shoulder.

"Yes?" I say gently, hugging him from the side

"What do you think (Y/N) is really up to right now?" He says softly, like he was afraid to be louder.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. I hope she's alright. Maybe she found a place where she gets the love and care she deserves. Maybe she lives in The Depths with the other Sirens, angry at me forever. Maybe she decided that... she couldn't live with her guilt, even though it wasn't her fault in the slightest." I fall silent for a moment, my own anxieties bubbling to the surface. "But, wherever she is, whatever she's doing, and however she's coping, I hope she's alright."

"I do too, Dad." He says softly. "How come... How come you never went to look for her?"

"Well, I guess I just needed to move on, to heal... But I also tried. I could never remember the words she said to get into that cave of hers, and I never got close enough to The Depths without being in danger of the other Sirens. I just..."

"I was at an impasse."

I bolt upright in my bed, looking around frantically. My chest heaves with heavy breaths. I run a hand over my forehead, collecting sweat as I take one last deep breath. "It was a dream, just a dream. I don't have 4 kids, I haven't been left by all of my partners, and I... didn't set up a tradition where I leave her rocks..." I stop talking when I hear Mabel's bed squeak.

"...Dipper?" I hear her groggy voice from the other end of the room. "You alright?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine, Mabel. Go back to sleep." I say softly.

"M-kaaay..." She says slowly. I halt all my thoughts until I can hear her soft snores.

'That thing with the rocks is genius though. Maybe I should... then maybe I'd get to apologise. The Idea just needs some... tweaking.'

---Timeskip Brought to you by Being Amazing and Ethically Ambiguous---

The cold night air is freezing! Maybe I should have put on pants, rather than my normal shorts. I pull my sweater closer around my body, clutching my rock tightly in my hand. Before leaving the Shack, I was sure to carve a message into it. "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I trust you." I read the inscription I made on the rock. "Now to find out if this will work."

Walking down the pier, I stare out at the lake. It looks so different at night. Calming and ominous at the same time. I take in one deep breath of chilled air, then another, and once I get my bearings, I throw the rock as far into the lake as I can. I watch as it soars through the air, waiting for the splash. When the rock makes contact with the water, and that satisfying sound meets my ears, I know I missed my chance.

I picture the rock in my mind, slowly sinking down to the bottom. Down to The Depths.

'I wonder if she'll even see it? What if-' My thoughts are caught off by a soft sound. I quickly turn to face the trees at the other end of the pier.

"Ow...?"

[Word Count: 3012]