Chapter Text
“Mr. Cipher, what do you do all day?” the child asked, skipping along happily beside his friend.
The tall man smiled pleasantly down at the boy. “I travel.”
“Where do you go?”
“All over. Wherever I want.”
“Because you're magic, right?”
“Yep.” He paused as the boy knelt to turn over a rock, always curious. “I can just teleport wherever I want to go.”
“But you like Gravity Falls, right?”
“Very much.”
“I can tell, because you keep coming back. I like it here too.” The boy huffed at finding nothing of interest beneath the rock, straightening up and continuing to walk. Mr. Cipher followed closely behind him. “What do you do when you travel?”
“Oh, this and that... many different things. It just depends on what mood I'm in. I like to read. I like to meet new people. Just whatever.”
“I like meeting new people too.” The child turned and took the man's hand. His big brown eyes twinkled. “Like you!”
“Heh, and am I glad we met. You'd be getting into a lot of trouble out here if we hadn't.” As he spoke, the man had to sweep the child off his feet to keep him from being bitten by a strange, feathery snake that was slithering by. Realizing what it was, he shielded the other's eyes and stomped on it, killing it instantly.
“What was that?” the younger yelped, trying to see.
Mr. Cipher lifted his hand. “A basilisk, young one. It would have turned you to stone if you had made eye contact with it.”
“Oh. Thank you!”
Mr. Cipher put him down. “It's getting late. You should be returning to your home.”
“I'm almost ten,” the boy boasted. “I can stay up as long as I want!”
“I don't think so, young man. It's just going to get more dangerous out here with each passing minute. Come on.” He held out his hand, and the other took it again.
“You're magic, you can protect us,” the child muttered.
“That's true. But you need your rest. And I'm sure your mom has dinner ready.”
“Fine.”
They were quiet for a while, the younger sometimes glancing up at his companion, full of childish wonder. His friend was tall, taller than his dad. His skin darker than any other person he's ever seen. Black hair often pulled into a ponytail, sometimes under a top hat, sometimes not. Strange eyes, one of gold and the other intense blue. Both very intelligent and humorous. Mr. Cipher liked to wear yellow and black. His clothing style varied, sometimes formal, and sometimes casual. He was very weird. But the child liked him even more for it. The man was his protector and best friend. He had found him when he got lost in the woods four years ago and Mr. Cipher had led him to safety, staving off the animals that otherwise would have attacked him. The man may look unusual, especially with his too-pointy ears and sharp teeth, but he was friendly and good. Anyone could see that. Maybe he was human, maybe he was one of the monsters himself, but... he wasn't one of the bad ones. And that was all the boy cared about.
“We'll always be friends, right?” he asked.
Mr. Cipher smiled, brushing his hand over the other's forehead to move his hair out of the way, allowing him to see the birthmark that formed a constellation on his skin. The constellation that he had named himself for. “Of course.”
The lights were low and the music was pounding. The surface of the table vibrated under Bill's arms as he leaned on it, downing the rest of his drink. The show should be starting any minute now and he was excited to see the new talent that had supposedly been hired recently. This would be the dancer's first debut here and so far no one really knew what he was like. There have been rumors, of course. Thick, curly brown hair you could wind your fingers into. Beautiful and intelligent russet eyes to gaze at. Fair skin that just begged to be marked. Hips that didn't lie. All that nonsense.
Well, whatever. Bill could always count on quality here. Whatever the newcomer looked like, he was sure he would like them. He called for a margarita, and was given one within seconds. He plucked the lime off and tossed it in his mouth. He loved this place. Gravity Falls may be a small town, but it had a fantastic dance club. This was an ideal location for a creature like himself to seek out a partner for the night.
The rest of the music in the room quieted. The lights nearly went off completely, except for the center stage, which was bathed in violet. He could almost feel the tension in the room, sense as the other patrons held their breath in anticipation...
The music started with almost no build-up, as did the lyrics, startling everyone.
But as quickly as the words sounded, he appeared, spinning down the pole, the light reflecting off him dramatically. He wore only crimson red sequin underwear and a matching ribbon that flared out as he spun.
His bare feet were hitting the stage as the song reached the end of the first line.
And no red lights
Down to ride all night
Tell me that you're ready,
'Cause I don't want to hit and run
The dancer was up, hands on the pole as he swayed around it, hips moving sensually and almost aggressively to the beat, hooded eyes glinting down at his transfixed audience. Bill was sitting up straight, unable to look away.
The young man moved easily to the beat, muscles rippling under lightly tanned skin. He was lithe, but clearly had strong legs and a toned upper body, and he was very much aware of how captivating he was. He tossed his head, making the strings of the ribbon fly up, as the song continued.
Excuse me, can I lift you up
And take you there
I set the mood right
When I light it up
L-light it up
Bill was already entranced by the confidence of the other, amazed by the graceful way he leaped around the stage, occasionally grabbing the pole and grinding himself against it, chin lifting, as the violet light now began to move with the rhythm as well, additional hues joining it; deep flickering reds and even the occasional burst of orange that seemed to fill the room and draw all eyes over to the stage. The dancer had short hair, a bit above shoulder length, but it certainly looked thick, and Bill could definitely tell it was curly. The man ran his fingers through it every so often, fluffing it out. No doubt everyone in the house wanted to touch it.
When the song reached the chorus a second time, pinpricks of light shone onto the dancer's body, covering him in stars. He was dazzling, and he only moved more energetically with the bright sparkles on him, skipping along the edge of the stage as he twirled and tapped his feet. He kept leaning down to caress people's faces, smiling and offering words that only they could hear, beaming as money was tucked into his waistband or ribbon. Some of them, he even kissed, each time to approving whoops from the others.
Bill's heart pounded. He took a gulp of his margarita and smoothed out his clothes, then returned all his attention to that sensual young man who had so quickly captured his desire. He already knew who he wanted to go home with. He didn't even know his name but he wanted him so bad, the mood had him almost shaking, the bass sending a thrill through his body, making his cock hard. One way or another, he was getting off tonight.
The other was getting closer. He was only a few feet away. Bill could probably lean out and touch him if he wanted. That hair was so lush, eyes bright and clever, such a familiar shade of brown, and as the man swung his head to the side to look over at him, his hair shifted enough to reveal small reddish dots on his forehead in a pattern Bill could draw in his sleep...
“Dipper?” Bill asked, shocked.
The dancer's eyes widened. It was barely perceptible, and he covered it up immediately by tilting his head another way, but he soon looked back at Bill. He swung himself down from the stage, to excited gasps from the audience, and went around Bill's table. He firmly pushed his chair back so he could slip onto his lap, gyrating his hips and grinding down against him.
“Gh, Dipper...” Bill leaned in, and the other tilted his head, allowing Bill to hide the movements of his lips in the other's hair. “Is that you?”
“Yes,” the human breathed back, hands gripping Bill's shoulders for support as he moved on him. Still following the song, even as he spoke. “Fancy seeing you here, Mr. Cipher.”
“Last I saw you, you were just a kid,” Bill said, placing his hands on Dipper's hips, rubbing them, resisting the urge to feel under his waistband. “You were nine, and... one day you left. I haven't seen you since. It's been what, twelve years?”
Was it just the lighting, or did Dipper look guilty? “I'll tell you about it later.” He pushed off of him, casting a naughty smirk back his way and blowing him a kiss. He jumped back onto the stage with little effort and resumed dancing, as if no conversation had happened.
Bill swallowed, hands fumbling to take out his wallet. He couldn't believe it. The bright-eyed kid he had befriended so long ago, who had asked so many questions and had such an imagination, who was really shy until he got to know someone... now grown up and a dancer. Moving his body to a strong beat, showing off his skin, confident and bold.
Of all the ways to run into someone after twelve years...
Bill didn't know why he left. All he knew was that one day Dipper had stopped showing up at their usual meeting spot. Neither he nor his sister Mabel came to find him. When he went to check their house, he found it empty, with a for sale sign. They had moved away. Listening in on conversations at their great uncles' tourist attraction, he had figured out that Dipper's parents had been offered a higher-paying job in California and had decided to take it. And it would be better for their kids, they claimed. They would be closer to prestigious colleges, and they would have more to do, and more friends to make.
They never came back to visit as far as he knew. The uncles went out to visit them. Bill had been hurt at first. How could they have just forgotten about him? Weren't they friends? But over time, he had put it out of mind. He hadn't told Dipper exactly what he was, but the boy had known he wasn't human. Might have even suspected he was a demon. Maybe Dipper convinced himself that Bill wasn't real. Or that if he was, he would do better to just stay away from him.
Whatever the reasons were, perhaps Bill could finally find out.
Despite having known Dipper as a kid, Bill found it all too easy to think about what he looked like now. He had grown into quite the man. If anything, he was even more aroused. The song was fading out, and Dipper was making a final trot around the stage, collecting money. Bill personally handed him a twenty, smiling at him. The other winked. Then he disappeared back behind a curtain as the music ended. The room burst into applause as the lights came back up.
An announcer called, “And that was our newest member, Pulsar! We hope you enjoyed, and if you did, make sure you come back and see him again.”
Pulsar, huh? Well he was definitely good at making things pulse. Bill stood, passing his empty margarita glasses to a server before casually making his way through the room, finding the doorway that said 'employees only' and had a red curtain draped in front of it. He slipped through it, a simple spell making him invisible.
He crept past servers and dancers, checking out the finer ones, but he was on a mission. It wasn't long until he had found Dipper. The man was being complimented by other dancers and by what seemed to be the owner of the club. Bill bounced impatiently. After what felt like forever, Dipper was able to get away from them, though not without hearty cheers and slaps to the ass. He took it all in stride, and was laughing as he returned to the dressing room. Bill slipped in there with him, but there were other people around, so he couldn't reappear yet. He instead slinked over to Dipper, whispering in his ear, “There are rooms for private dances. Go into one of them, so we can talk.”
Dipper stiffened a bit, then nodded. He straightened up, saying to one of his coworkers, “Sorry, I forgot something.” He walked back out. Bill followed him through the building, back out into the main room and then over to the hallway that led to the private rooms. He found an empty one and went inside. Bill joined him, closing the door and locking it before turning visible again.
“Well, it's good to see you again,” Bill said, getting close to him. He found that Dipper wasn't that much shorter than him. The top of his head was probably level with Bill's chin. And the man was standing quite confidently, almost raised up on his toes, chin back to make direct eye contact.
“You too,” Dipper replied. He was blushing lightly. “It's been a long time.”
“Twelve years.” Bill brushed the hair away from Dipper's forehead, looking at his birthmark. “So... Pulsar, huh?”
“Yeah. I love space, so... it seemed fitting.”
“It is fitting. A rapidly spinning celestial mass, emitting bursts of energy... it's a perfect stage name, really.”
Dipper nodded. “Thanks.”
“You're welcome. So, I heard you moved to California?”
“Oh, yeah.” Dipper rubbed the back of his neck. “Mom and Dad were offered this really good job, they were going to be making like $20,000 more a year, so they pretty much immediately packed us up and moved. I didn't want to go, but I was like... 9. I couldn't tell them no. I really missed you, but I guess I kinda... started thinking you were just an imaginary friend. Guess you weren't.”
“Nope, I wasn't. How come you didn't visit?”
Dipper hesitated, then said, “Actually... me and Mabel did see our grunkles occasionally. We just... stayed around the Mystery Shack to help out there. Sometimes I'd go out with Ford and investigate things, but I never saw you around. Sorry.”
Bill stared at him, then sighed out lowly. “Fair enough. I understand, you grew up, you had other things to think about then someone who might not have even existed.” He stroked through Dipper's hair. “Did you ever figure out what I was?”
“No. I mean I guess you're a demon, judging from what I've read about them. As for what kind, I have no idea. You're good with magic, especially fire. You have powerful protection spells. But...” He gazed at Bill, then shook his head, chuckling. “No clue.”
“Let me give you a hint.” Bill slid an arm around Dipper's back, dipping him and whispering into his ear, “I prey on humans and I'm very seductive. I have a voice that can entice almost anyone into obeying me. I am both feared and desired. What would you say I am?”
A shiver went down Dipper's spine, face heating up at the other's tone. He never noticed this when he was younger, but Bill was incredibly attractive. Sharp jaw, beautiful eyes, perfect smile... and Dipper had gotten up close and personal with him. He had given him a lap dance. His old childhood friend... now quickly becoming a flame. He knew what he was. It was obvious. Maybe not when he was younger, because the other didn't have any power over him then. But he did now. And Dipper has studied the supernatural enough to recognize Bill's influence.
“Incubus,” he said.
Bill smiled. “Bingo.” His lips hovered centimeters from Dipper's, so close he could feel his rapid breaths. The human was already overwhelmed. Good. “I don't know if you remember, but my first name is Bill, and I'd prefer if you called me that. Care to take me home tonight?”
“I... I don't know, it's been so long since we've seen each other and it feels like I hardly know you...” Dipper was so flustered, making no move to stand up again, just letting Bill hold him. His arms were drawn close to his chest, playing with the ribbon around his neck.
“We can get to know each other on the way. You can tell me about how you got into doing this, and I can let you in on the things I couldn't tell you when you were younger.”
“W-well... okay.” Dipper finally stood, turning back toward the door. “I really need to get back to the dressing room, before they worry... nn...” He huffed at the little kisses Bill was placing on his neck. “Are all incubi like this?”
“Yes,” Bill said without hesitation. “In fact you're lucky I'm one of the patient ones. I was considering doing you right here but I didn't want you to get in trouble on your first day.”
Dipper blushed a bright red and quickly unlocked the door. “Thanks. Listen, I get out of here at 3 AM. Just... meet me then, and we can talk on the drive back to my place, okay?”
“Got it.” Bill walked out, watching the human hurry off through the crowd and back into the employees only section. The incubus chuckled and leaned against the wall. What a lucky day.