Work Text:
Somebody told me you were leaving town
“Pine Tree!" Bill cried out, distress distinct in his tone. His heavy footsteps sent crash after crash throughout the forest, startling small game that fled even before the demon came near. It was midnight. The sky was painted in a dreamy shade of dark blue, dotted with brightly twinkling stars that provided the only source of light. The moon was nowhere to be seen, having fled from such a boring night.
Bill was worried. No, more than worried. He was quaking with fear for his Pine Tree’s safety. He called out Dipper’s actual name this time, foolishly hoping that would bring the brunette to his side.
No response.
No Dipper.
Bill hurriedly cast his all-seeing eye high above the forest to scan the whole area. Its glow shone brighter than any star in the sky, and quickly saw something suspicious deeper into the dark woods. A mangled bloody mess, out of place in the serene atmosphere of forest. As soon as Bill called his all-seeing eye back to his neck, the demon vanished with a snap of his fingers.
And reappeared at the place where he saw the blood. When Bill’s eye took in what lay before him, it was horrifying enough to make even the bloodthirsty demon cringe for a moment.
Lying on his back, a vast pool of blood bloomed from underneath his head. Like a cruel, dark red flower, beautifully melancholy. Bill would’ve rejoiced if it had been someone else’s blood, not his partner’s. A large gash ran across Dipper’s chest, short but deep and dangerously close to the human’s heart. Dipper’s left forearm had been bitten off, leaving a mess of blood and raw flesh piling at its end. The left side of his face was bruised badly, but didn’t look half as bad compared to the embellishments of bloody scratches decorating his thin legs. Like paint, the blood was smeared all over Dipper’s body, as if he was a living canvas.
Bill almost choked as he hastily rushed over to the brunette’s side, trying summoning up his healing magic as he did so. The demon didn’t have much skill in his healing, he was a dream demon, after all. He wasn’t supposed to specialize in healing. He was never meant to be a healer, a savior. But he would try anyway.
Anything to save his Pine Tree.
As he got prepared to heal the wounded human laying before him, said human croaked out in a scratchy voice that cracked Bill’s heart. It was nothing like his normal Dipper’s voice at all.
It was weak. Feeble and frail.
“Those wendigos sure are messy, aren’t they?” Dipper chuckled before breaking out into a strong coughing fit, shaking his entire body. Bill pretended that he didn’t see the blood the young man had coughed up and instead hushed him, not wanting to risk him passing out from exhaustion. The demon was trying to concentrate on healing his lover, while ignoring the fact that he could hear the sounds of pain that the brunette was trying hard to hide.
Minutes went by, and the wound was healing at a slow, excruciating rate, and Bill’s magic was almost drained. Despite his progress, the demon could tell Dipper was getting weaker and weaker by the second. Desperation began to rush into Bill as he realized his magic was quickly draining. His healing magic wasn’t working fast enough to save the human in time. Dipper’s breathing was sluggish, his heart rate was slowing down. There wasn’t much time left.
With a sudden whoosh, the already-dim fire surrounding Bill’s hands was put out, the glow going with it. It was like an invisible wind had blown across, a sadistic wind that wanted Dipper dead. Bill gasped in shock, and tried in desperation to ignite the magical fire again.
Nothing came.
Bill’s healing magic was drained.
I swear I never thought you’d be the one who’d let me down
He tried again. And again. And again. No, how could this be happening? He was a being of pure energy! Bill tried yet again. No, he couldn’t give up. He wouldn’t give up.
He refused to let Dipper down.
Dipper, through half-closed eyes, watched as his boyfriend struggled to re-ignite his magic in order to save Dipper. The brunette was smart; even he knew that he wasn’t going to pull through. With much struggle and energy, he laid a tender hand on Bill’s trembling arm, feeling the beads of cold sweat on the demon.
“H-Hey, it’s okay. I’ll be with you still,” Dipper managed to rasp, his voice barely audible. He forced a smile at Bill, even though the minimal movement caused him great pain. Bill let out a saddened sigh and urged himself to not spill tears, for the sake of his withering Pine Tree.
“I-I can’t save you, Dipper,” Bill said with anguish, through gritted teeth. He was angry at himself for not being able to save the only thing he truly cared about in all of his existence.
“I can’t save you!” Bill repeated his words again, running both hands roughly through his blond hair. The hair got tousled and messy. He fought back tears, but the grief was still clear on his face.
“Bill, it’s okay. You being here is all I-“ A hacking cough shook the brunette before he could complete his sentence, and Bill helplessly watched as more blood spattered onto the forest floor. There was nothing he could do. Except be here for Dipper. He needed to stay as Dipper departed from this world, comfort him, although he wasn’t sure who he was comforting more; himself or Dipper.
Fold, this part
Bill sat down on the blood stained grass, oblivious to the bloodstains on his fancy pants, and scooted closer to Dipper. Every breath took a handful of the human’s strength, but he promised himself he would stay alive until he was done with his very last request.
Then he would let go.
With a shaky breath, the brunette held one of Bill’s hands, and when the demon looked up from the ground to stare at him, he smiled back in assurance. Bill returned the gesture with a watery smile of his own, barely meaning it. How could he, when the only meatsack he had ever loved was slowly dying, right before him?
Still with that vivid beam, lively despite the horrid condition he was in, on his face, Dipper gave Bill’s hand a fragile squeeze that could barely be felt. The demon tried to stop him from moving too much but he had come to realize a while ago that there was no longer any point in trying to save Dipper.
You could never run but you said you’d run with me
A mutual silence followed, both lost as to what to do.
Then Dipper let out a raspy chuckle, as he reminded Bill of one of their fondest memories together.
“Remember that time we were being chased through the forest? I got shot and you had to carry me on your back,”
Bill’s fake smile gained a bit more life as he remembered what had happened. The two had decided to play with time. They had brought back the dead from past cultures and generations. British and American men and women who fought in war, Native Indians, their skin tanned and dark, the first slaves that were ever auctioned off. The soldiers were curious about the new timespan before asking to be taken back, and the slaves were confused and lost. The Indians, however, took on the idea that Bill and Dipper were invaders, and hadn’t hesitated to charge. Dipper and Bill’s vessel were close to dying by arrow while being chased by half a dozen of angry Native Indians, but they had fun. That was one of their best memories.
“You got shot by so many arrows. Dumb kid,” Bill chuckled lowly. He placed a soft kiss on Dipper’s forehead, even though it was sticky, with a thin layer of sweat coating. Dipper giggled like a child, except a child’s giggle didn’t involve gruesome gurgles of thick blood.
“You shouldn’t exhaust yourself, Dipper,” Bill carressed his partner’s face, ignoring the dried blood around his chin. He already knew what Dipper’s response was going to be, but he wanted to show his Pine Tree that he still cared for him, no matter what. After all, till death do us part, right? He would stay with Dipper till the very end. Hell, he might even stay with his corpse until it turned rotten.
Dipper leaned into Bill’s touch, his eyelids drooping slightly in comfort. Bill realized, with much amusement, that he looked like a small kitten at that moment. A kitten with blood around his mouth and light brown scruff on his chin.
“I’m already dying, Bill. It’s pointless,” Dipper smiled again, his head still cradled in Bill’s hand.
“Do you want me to end the pain for you?” Even though the brunette was smiling, Bill could tell there was agony behind those still-sparkling eyes, screaming at the pain to stop and let the sweet relief of death wash over. The dream demon would usually jump at the idea of making someone die a slow, painful death. But Dipper was not just “someone”. He was one of the only two people that Bill had ever loved truly. He was the only person that found a way to break into Bill’s nonexistent heart. Before then, the demon had only loved one other being, and they weren’t even human.
Hold this heart
“No thank you, Bill,” Dipper had a smile on his face before he coughed once, “I have a request to make,”
“Yes, Pine Tree?” Bill didn’t hesitate. He wanted to do anything he could to make sure Dipper would leave this world happy and at peace. He would make sure Dipper didn’t die with sadness. He would do anything.
“Can you take my heart?” Dipper let out his request in one breath. His eyes were hopeful and tears, that Bill didn’t notice were there before, glistened and shone as his eyes darted about. Dipper knew what he was doing. He wanted Bill to have his heart before he died. The demon had stolen his heart before, but now he wanted to give it to him willingly. The idea was even slightly amusing.
A look of horror had taken over Bill’s face, the blond’s jaw slack and his eyes widened in surprise or anxiety, Dipper couldn’t tell. After a while of struggling to get words out, Bill blinked once and closed his mouth. Dipper saw that the dream demon hesitated before he spoke in a tone that one would use when trying to soothe a wounded creature.
“Pine Tree.. you know I won’t do that,” Bill said softly, combing his pale fingers through the young adult’s hair. Dipper sighed contently, but pressed on, wanting the Bill to do this one last thing for him before he left and never returned.
“Please?” Dipper croaked out. He didn’t mean for his voice to sound this weak. The same thing went for the rest of his body. He could barely feel the rest of himself, it was like he was detached. Mind and body became separate things. With strength that was fleeting rapidly, Dipper held on to Bill’s hand while he insisted on the demon taking away his heart. The dream demon only watched on with a pained expression, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Dipper kept making up excuses for Bill to take his heart, the brunette as determined as he always was. Bill couldn’t take the pleading anymore, and pressed a firm kiss to his love’s mouth, paying no attention to the parched lips. As he held the kiss, Bill wondered how long Dipper had been out here, clawed by a vicious wendigo. It was a wonder that the young man had managed to fight it off, let alone survive for such an extended period of time.
When Bill pulled back from the kiss, a satisfied sigh escaped Dipper’s lips.
“I won’t take your heart. I won’t end your life so quickly. I love you too much to do that,” Bill said with a gentle force. Still grasping Dipper’s supple hand in his clutch, Bill lay down on the cushioned grass beside the human. The dream demon scooted over to the brunette’s body. Bill’s body radiated warmth, and with a low hum, Dipper snuggled closer to the demon’s body. But he didn’t have much to go, as Bill had already gotten as close as he could’ve to the human’s near-cold body.
Dipper’s breathing was shallow, but he turned his head anyway to gaze at his demon lover.
And I will not fall hard this time
“I love you-“
And as he started to speak, Dipper broke into a rough cough again, this time spattering more blood than ever. The brunette tried to talk again, but the attempt was met with the same result; coughing and sprays of dark blood. The amount of blood that he coughed up grew in amount with each hack. When he finally stopped, he tried getting his breath back again.
Dipper was fighting to stay alive. His breathing came in short spurts of desperate gasps. It shattered Bill’s heart into a million tiny pieces, but the demon knew he could do nothing to cease the pain that Dipper was going through. Dipper’s grip on Bill’s hand was weakening, but still he held on, like the stubborn person that he always was. He refused to let go until the very last moment. In reassurance, Bill put his other hand on top of his boyfriend’s one and squeezed gently. He waited patiently for Dipper to finish his sentence, but started becoming agitated once Dipper’s eyelids started fluttering briskly.
“Bye, Bill,”
Dipper’s eyes dimmed and glazed over as he burst out with his last gasp of air. His hand let go of Bill’s and dropped to the ground, limp.
So we will turn our backs and close the doors for the last time
Give me back what’s mine