Chapter 34 - Chapter 27: Forever Alone

Summary: Steven tries to help Dipper unwind by fusing with him. But can Stepper find a way to stay together when both of his halves are so drastically different?

Lion let out a lazy yawn, perfectly content to lay sprawled out on the floor of the shack's den. Despite the pair of busy, noisy "stylists" tending to his fluffy pink mane.

"I can't believe we haven't done this sooner," Mabel grinned as she finished clipping another braid in place. "By the time we're done, Lion's mane is gonna be the prettiest portal to a secret magical tree that's ever existed!" 

"Yeah!" Steven excitedly agreed. "And he'll be even prettier after we add some-"

"Glitter!" the pair proclaimed as Mabel held the shiny jar up. 

"Aw, this stuff reminds me of Maven," she said with a fond smile. 

"Yeah, we were pretty sparkly," Steven chucked. "You know, that's got me thinking. I've already fused with you and Connie… but I wonder what it would be like to fuse with-" He stopped short at the sound of footsteps rushing down the nearby steps. "Dipper!" he greeted, smiling as the other boy ran by them. "Hi!" 

"Hey, Steven!" Dipper called as he rushed into the kitchen. "I can't talk right now; I'm super busy."

"Oh, wow; looks like somebody finally crawled out of his 'conspiracy cave' to get some fresh air," Mabel teased. 

"Ha! As if there's even time for that." Dipper emerged from the kitchen with an armful's stash of Pitt Colas. "I only came down here to refuel. I feel like I'm on the verge of uncovering something huge and if I don't keep going, I might lose it completely!"

"Oo, that sounds exciting," Steven leaned forward, intrigued. "What are you working on anyway?"

"Steven, don't ask him that," Mabel groaned, exasperated. "You're just gonna set him off on another one of his nerd rants about his boring research."

"Hey!" Dipper protested. "This research isn't boring. It's actually really important! You guys remember what Peridot said at the Kindergarten the other week, right?"

"'I'm reporting this, you CLODS!'" Mabel exclaimed, throwing her voice to sound more like Peridot's. 

"No," Dipper shook his head. " Before that. She said she was there to 'pick up where we left off'. What does that mean? Who's 'we'? Homeworld? Someone else? What was Peridot really doing at the Kindergarten? What was that underground control room for? Why-"

"Ok, ok, we get it!" Mabel interrupted, annoyed. "So there's a lot of questions we don't have answers for yet. That's fine . The Gems have totally got that mystery covered, don't they, Steven?"

"Um… not really," Steven admitted. "They've been kinda busy with other missions lately; they haven't had a lot of time to look into the whole Peridot thing."

"Which is exactly why I'm doing it for them," Dipper said with a determined grin. "I've been studying the journal, looking for anything that might help. Once I find it, I'll figure out whatever Peridot is up to so we can stop her once and for all. And then, Gems will be so impressed by all my hard work that they'll have no choice but to take me seriously from now on."

"Dipper, you don't need to prove anything to the Gems," Steven reasoned. "They already take all of us seriously."

"Steven, we almost froze to death outside of the warp stream just because the Gems didn't take us seriously, remember?" Dipper dryly asked. 

"Oh yeah…" Steven frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "W-well, hey! You sound like you could really use a break from all that researching. Why don't you hang out down here with us for a bit?"

"Yeah!" Mabel enthusiastically agreed. "We're giving Lion a makeover! If you stick around, we'll even let you put the bow on his tail."

"As… tempting as that sounds, I think I'll pass," Dipper said, wincing when Lion shot him a warning glare. "Besides, I've got to get back to work. I've already wasted enough time just standing around here talking, and every minute I'm not upstairs is another minute we still don't know what Peridot's planning. This is serious stuff, you guys, and if I were you, I'd be taking it every bit as seriously as I am."

"You know what I'm taking seriously?" Mabel asked as she playfully pressed her hands against Lion's cheeks. "Lion's cute face! Isn't that right, Lion? Isn't that right?" 

Dipper, on the other hand, was nowhere near as charmed. Instead, he simply sighed, shaking his head as he turned to head back upstairs. Still, Steven heard him when he sullenly muttered, "Sometimes I don't know why I even bother…"

As soon as he was out of earshot, Steven let out a fretful sigh of his own. "I'm kind of worried about Dipper," he told Mabel. "I know he likes researching stuff, but he sounded stressed about everything and he looked so tired…"

"That's just how he is when he goes all 'obsessy' like this," Mabel said with an irritated scowl. "He gets all grumpy and turns into a total loner, spending all his time with his dumb books and notes. Every time I try to get him to ease up, he just says, 'Cut it out, Mabel, I'm busy!' or 'Go away and leave me alone!'. Then he usually just ends up crashing after a few all-nighters because he totally wears himself out. Happens every time." 

"Well… maybe we can help him take a break before he wears himself out," Steven suggested with a hopeful smile.

"Good luck with that," Mabel scoffed. "I'm telling you, Steven. Anything we might try to get Dipper to loosen up won't work. He's one of the most stubborn people I know."

"But there has to be something we can do," Steven pressed. "Even if Dipper can be stubborn sometimes, he's just trying to help us all by looking into what Peridot is up to. We should show him how much we appreciate all his hard work by helping him unwind a bit."

"I don't know how you'd even start," Mabel said, crossing her arms. "It'd take nothing short of a miracle to get Dipper to-"

"Oh my gosh! That's it!" Steven cut her off with an excited gasp. "I know the perfect way to get him to relax and have a little fun–no, the most fun he's ever had!" 

"Uh… how?" Mabel asked, confused. 

Steven's smile only grew as he looked in the direction Dipper had gone. His idea was a daring one, but if it worked… he had no doubt it would be a wonderful experience for them both. An experience he couldn't wait to begin as he eagerly said it aloud:

"Because Dipper and I are going to fuse."

Steven's plan was a simple one, and despite Mabel's doubts that it would actually work, she was along for the ride all the same. They made quick work of setting things up outside: snacks and balloons and a CD of tunes they knew even Dipper wouldn't be able to resist. Really, the hardest part would be luring him away from his precious research in the first place. 

Fortunately, they knew the perfect pink cat for the job. 

They sent him up to the attic with the orders to slip in as quietly as possible. As engrossed in studying the journal's blacklit secrets as he was, Dipper didn't even notice his approach until it was too late. But by then, Lion had already chomped down on one of his many notebooks and was already making off with it. 

"Hey!" Dipper hopped off the bed and hurried after him. "Lion! Get back here with my notes!" Of course, Lion was much faster than he was, making it to the bottom of the stairs with a single, graceful leap. As Dipper gave chase, Mabel was left with the perfect opportunity to sneak into the attic and swipe a certain journal, entirely unseen. 

She made it back outside via the gift shop, just in time for Lion to come trotting out into the yard with the notebook still in tow. By the time Dipper came angrily running after him, the journal was well-hidden under the porch steps. Without it, there'd be nothing to distract him, nothing to keep him away from the-

"Surprise!" 

Dipper stopped short just outside of the door, caught off guard by Steven and Mabel's happy cheer. To their credit, he was certainly surprised by what awaited him. The shack's lawn had been brightly decorated with streams, balloons, and other party favors, all alongside a sizable snack table. Aside from that, they'd roped off a wide open area, marked as the 'Dancing Zone' thanks to the colorful sign Mabel had made for it. Even so, Dipper still found himself quite confused by all of it. 

"Um… what's all this?"

"It's a party!" Steven ran up to him, grabbing him by the arm to pull him over. "For you, Dipper!"

"For me?" Dipper echoed, yanking his arm free. "But why?"

"To finally get your head out of all that lame research, that's why," Mabel said, crossing her arms. 

"What she means is you've been working really hard lately," Steven explained much more earnestly. "If there's anyone who's earned the chance to kick back and relax, it's you!"

"So we rounded up a bunch of decorations, all your favorite snacks, and listen!" Mabel held up a boom box and pressed play to an Icelandic pop tune. "We even found one of your BABBA CDs!"

"So, what do you think?" Steven asked with a wide smile. "Do you like it?"

Dipper hesitated, trying his best not to sound too harsh when he said, "I think… I'm going back inside."

"What?" Steven exchanged a panicked glance with Mabel. Their plan hadn't even gotten off the ground yet, and it was already starting to fall through. Still, Steven wouldn't let it, not yet, not until Dipper had at least a little fun. He dashed past Dipper, wedging himself squarely in the doorframe to block his way back inside. "You can't leave yet, because… uh… b-because…"

"'Cause how are you gonna get any research done if you don't have your journal?" Mabel piped up. 

If nothing else, that was more than enough to catch Dipper's full attention. "What do you mean…?" he asked, warily looking back at his sister. 

"Ha!" she let out a triumphant laugh. "We got you! While you were chasing Lion around, I snuck in and stole the journal, and I've hidden it somewhere you'll never ever find it!"

"You what?!" Dipper exclaimed, alarmed. "That's not funny, Mabel! Give it back!"

"Oh, I'll give it back," Mabel began, grinning. "Only after you enjoy this super fun party we made for you."

As aggravating as it was, Dipper knew he couldn't say no. Not when he knew nobody was as good as hiding things as Mabel. He could spend all day searching for the journal and still not find it. Which meant that, unfortunately, the quickest way to get it back was… "Ugh, fine ," he groaned, turning back to the party. "I'll stay, but only to get you two off my back."

"That's the spirit!" Mabel obliviously cheered. 

"You don't have to stay that long," Steven assured. He took the next part of the plan and ran with it, even as his face began filling with warmth he couldn't quite place. "How about… just one dance? Then you can head back inside, I promise." 

"A dance?" Dipper froze when he noticed the hand Steven was extended to him. His eyes widened as he realized what Steven was asking him, all without words. Still, he unsteadily managed to ask, "W-with you?"

"Y-yeah," Steven nodded, his blush only deepening. "Is… is that ok?"

"Steven, I… I don't really dance," Dipper shied back a bit, rubbing his arm.

"That's ok! Connie didn't either when we-" Steven quickly cut himself off. The last thing he wanted to do was to ruin the next surprise too soon. "Uh, I-I mean… it's ok," he continued on a different track. "I can lead, if you want."

Steven's hand stayed where it was, and for the longest time, Dipper could only stare at it, at him . It hadn't even dawned on him that his own face was starting to turn every bit as red, not that it mattered when he had no idea what to say or do. A stern, nagging voice at the back of his mind screamed at him to say no, that this wasn't right or proper or something he should ever even think about doing–

But then there was his heart, begging him to say yes. And, for once, just this once, he let his heart win out. 

Which was why Dipper rested his trembling hand in Steven's and softly said, "O-ok." And just like that, they were off. 

Mabel barely stifled a cheer as she stood back, letting them take to the makeshift dance floor on their own. Steven chuckled as he led Dipper along before taking both of his hands to pull him into a starting spin. Dipper held on tight, if only because he knew that if he didn't, he might just let go and end this entirely. Somewhere in the background, BABBA's "Disco Girl" began playing, but Dipper couldn't focus on anything other than the way Steven was smiling at him. 

Nobody had ever smiled at him like that before. It chased the last of his worries away until his head and heart were both as clear as the bright blue sky above. And as he continued basking in the warmth of that smile, it wasn't long before he found himself smiling right back. 

Steven's own heart skipped a beat when he finally saw Dipper smiling, when he finally heard him laugh. Really, the plan was the last thing on his mind as they twirled in perfect time together. All he could think about was just how glad he was to share even a bit of joy with Dipper, how lucky he was to be the one to make him so happy. It made him want to keep that happiness going, to ensure that would never end, to find a way to share this moment, this feeling with him forever. 

Maybe that feeling couldn't last forever. But it was more than enough to bring them both together now. 

The pale pink light starting to flush from Steven's gem was lost on them both. Instead, they kept on laughing, blissfully spinning faster and faster until their dance reached its peak. Just as that light overtook them both, Steven swept Dipper off his feet–literally. What happened next, no one saw–the light hid it, and them, from view. And when that light faded–

He was all it left behind. 

A blissful smile still hung on his face, but it faded as soon as he opened his eyes. It hit him suddenly, just how… strange everything felt, inside and out. It wasn't a bad kind of strangeness, but it still rippled through him, like waves on a pond, sparking something new and unknown every single second. His brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of it, only to realize something else entirely–

He was standing there alone . 

"W-where did you-" He slapped a hand over his mouth. The voice that came out of it wasn't his, it wasn't any that he recognized. But when he tried to speak again, it was all he heard. "W-what's going on with my… voice…?" He trailed off when he looked down, only to find Mabel staring up at him, her jaw dropped in awe. "Mabel? What's wrong?" he asked, anxious. Unsure of how to answer, she simply pointed at his arm, her amazed expression unchanging. It took him a moment to get what she meant. "Huh? My arms? What's-"

He starkly fell silent the second he looked down at his arms. He expected to see just two–but nothing could have prepared him for four . 

He screamed before he could stop himself, reeling back in sudden panic. His upper arms gripped both of his lower ones, resting just beneath his proper pair. He tried to yank them off, refusing to believe they were even real at all, but sure enough, they were. He could see them, feel them, move them–like it or not, they were his , every bit as much as his new voice was as he frantically asked, "W-what's going on?! How did I– Where did these even–Aren't they cool ?! What? No! They're weird and unnatural and– long , oh my gosh, so are my legs! Wait a minute-" He drew in a gasp, eyes wide as the realization struck him. Or at least, it struck half of him. "It worked !"

At last, Mabel managed to shake her own speechlessness off to confirm it. "It worked! You actually did it!"

"Did… what?" he asked, completely lost, if only for a second before another smile spread wide across his face. "Yeah, we did! How do we look?"

"Oh, you guys look totally awesome together!" Mabel exclaimed, beaming. 

"T-together?" he frowned as he looked down at himself once more. Only as he stared down at his ( four ) arms, half trembling with fear, the other half trembling with excitement did he finally manage to piece what he was. "N-no," he froze, his voice catching in his throat as terror shot through his chest. "No, we didn't… We couldn't have–We did!" Joy suddenly sprung into the place fear had once filled, rushing through him without warning. "We FUSED!" 

His upper arms enclosed him in a tight, happy hug, while his lower set hung stiff at his sides. His breathing quickened as panic overtook him all over again, practically going to war with the elation he was also somehow feeling. Together, they left him constantly flipping between delight and distress, unable to speak, unable to move, unable to even think until-

"Uh… hey?" Mabel snapped her fingers up at him. Given how much he towered over her now, she had to stand on her tip-toes and even then she still couldn't reach his face. "You guys ok in there?" 

He shook his head, but that hardly cleared the cocktail of conflicting emotions flooding his shared mind. "Yeah, of course I am! This is great! This… this is wrong . This is really, really wrong! W-we can't stay like this! We need to split up right now ! No!" He wrapped his arms around himself–the lower set this time–desperate to soothe himself, to calm himself, to keep himself together in any way he could. "It's ok! You're fine! We're fine! Nothing about this is fine! We have the same body, we have the same mind, we're the same person and we're-"

"A-and you look so cool!" Mabel suddenly cut in before he could spiral too far out of control. Before he could split mere moments after his very existence began. 

"What?" he blinked, caught off guard. 

"Here, I'll show you." She grabbed one of his lower arms, leading him back toward the shack. Despite his longer legs, he was hardly unsteady on them, at least not as unsteady as Maven and Stevonnie had been when they first tried walking. Even if he was much more unsteady on every other front.

Mabel took him up to the attic, where the floor-length mirror awaited. She gently urged him to stand before it, and despite his misgivings, he did, only to find someone he didn't recognize–and someone he knew so well–staring back at him all at the same time. 

All four of his arms were apparent, but they weren't the only things he noticed. His face was surprisingly pleasant, his eyes (only two of them, fortunately) bright and captivating in a completely different way than Maven's had been. His hair, short, dark and curly, peeked out from under a pine tree printed cap. A dark blue vest sat over a pink star shirt, both with new holes and sleeves meant to accommodate his extra arms. The pink gemstone on his stomach, long jeans and a pair of flip flops capped it off, and as he slowly took it all in, he realized something he couldn't help but admit out loud. 

"We… we don't actually look all that bad…" he said, trying his best to ignore the extra arms, even if he couldn't. "Yeah, we look great! In fact, we–whoa." 

He cut himself off as he caught sight of something in his reflection. He leaned forward, beginning to push his bangs back to get a better look at his forehead and the peculiar mark upon it. He barely got a glimpse of it, however, before one of his lower hands yanked the one skimming the mark away. "D-don't look at that! Why not? What is it?"

"Oooh, it must be Dipper's birthmark," Mabel said, grinning. 

"No way! You have a secret birthmark?" The fusion gaped back at his reflection. Despite his amazement, an embarrassed blush also dusted his cheeks. "N-no! No, I don't! Can I see it? Please? Pretty please?" He put on as much of a convincing, pleading smile as he could muster. And even if that smile was on his own face, it still proved enough to make him cave. "Alright, fine, just… just don't laugh, ok? Don't worry, I won't."

And sure enough, he didn't. If anything, he was amazed by what he saw when he finally brushed his bangs aside to see it. "Oh wow ," he gasped, stars in his eyes at the sight of the "stars" on his head. "It's the Big Dipper, just like the constellation! Wait, is this where you got your name from? Uh… well, it's-"

"Dipper isn't his real name," Mabel candidly pointed out. "It's just a nickname."

"Would you please stop telling him things?!" he snapped, frustrated, then dumbfounded. "Whaaaaat? I've known you this long and I don't even know your real name?! No, you don't and you don't need to know it either. Why not? I promise I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. That's not the point! I already let you see the birthmark, there's no way I'm going to let you know that too."

"Sheesh, it's not even like your real name is even that embarrassing, Dipper," Mabel huffed. "But speaking of names, that reminds me. You don't have one yet!"

The fusion's annoyance lifted into confusion as he looked over at her. "Uh… yes, we do?"

"No, I'm not talking about Steven or Dipper, I'm talking about you ," she elaborated. "Their fusion! Stevonnie and Maven both had super cool combo names, so you need one too!"

"W-why would we need a name if we're not going to stay–Oh my gosh, you're right!" he interrupted himself. "I can't believe I hadn't thought of that yet! Got any good ideas, Mabel?"

"Hm… let's see…" Mabel thoughtfully perched a hand to her chin. "How about… Stedip?"

"Oh, absolutely not ," the fusion cringed. "Yeah, that's not really a great name for a fusion, but might be a great name for something else! Like a boat or a ship or–"

"Oh! I got another one!" Mabel chimed in. "Dipven!"

"What? No," he scoffed, crossing his upper arms before asking, "Got anything better?"

"Hey, cut me some slack," Mabel said. "It's not like it's as easy as tossing Steven and Dipper together and getting-" She stopped short, gasping as she grabbed the fusion's lower hands. "I got it, for real this time! You're the one, the only… Stepper !"

"...Stepper?" he echoed, incredulous at first. It wasn't long before stars showed up in his eyes as he drew in a dazzled breath. "Stepper! I love it! It's perfect for us! F-for us ?" He looked back at his reflection, intentionally stepping away from it as his blush only deepened. "There is no us–there's no… this ! Huh? I-I don't understand…" He frowned at his reflection, struggling to see what the problem was. "Aren't you having fun?"

Stepper scoffed, forcefully turning away from the mirror so he wouldn't have to look at himself for one more second. " Fun ?! We have four arms! I feel like I'm barely even here at all but there's so much more of me than there's supposed to be! I can't focus, I can't think straight, I can't do this ! Yes, you can! It just takes a little getting used to! Right, Mabel?"

"Uh huh," Mabel nodded. "Then again… it took us almost no time at all to get used to being Maven, so… maybe you just need to be a little patient?"

"I don't want to be patient! I don't want any of this!" Stepper snapped, half of his hands curled into tight fists. "But… but the plan–Plan? What plan?"

"Um… Well, y'see…" Mabel rubbed the back of her neck. "We wanted to help you–uh, the Dipper half of you–relax and unwind and Steven came up with the idea that maybe you could if you guys, uh… fused?"

For a moment, Stepper was so appalled by this news he was stunned speechless. But it wasn't long before the storm brewing inside of him loudly raged on. "You wanted this to happen all along?! I-I did, I thought you'd like it–like Mabel and Connie did! Why would I ever enjoy being like… like this !? B-because it's–No. Like I said before, we need to stop this, we need to unfuse, right now !"

He closed his eyes, trying to tear himself apart by sheer force of will alone. But instead, he remained, desperate to let go and desperate to hold on, all at the same time. "P-please…" his voice broke a bit as he quietly pleaded with himself. "Don't…" 

Mabel stood by, unsure of what to say or do to help this fusion, so unlike the one she'd been a part of. Even Stevonnie, for as anxious as they might've been, had been united about staying together. But as for Stepper… 

He couldn't be any further from what a fusion was supposed to be. 

"Please…" he said again. He lightly rested his lower hands against his upper arms, trying anything he could to calm himself down. "I know this is a lot for you, but… just give it a chance. W-why should I? This feels so… so weird and confusing and bad –I know." He took in a slow, steadying breath as he closed his eyes once again. "I can feel all of that too. But… I know how good it can feel."

"That's right," Mabel finally spoke up. "It feels like the best thing that's ever happened to you! Or at least, that's how it felt for Maven."

"And that's how it felt for Stevonnie too," Stepper agreed. "And… well…" his small smile turned a touch sweeter as he gave his arm a slight squeeze. "That's how I want it to feel for us too… But why? Because," he couldn't help but warmly laugh. "You deserve it. You deserve to have some fun, to feel so wonderful, so happy . I… I want to be the one who makes you that happy…" 

Stepper stiffened, his eyes wide and his face flushing as he honed in on what just came out of his mouth. It should have been the breaking point, enough to split them up, just like he wanted. But it only ended up having the exact opposite effect on him instead. It made him want to hold on to this, even if almost every part of him was screaming that he shouldn't. 

It made him want to hold onto him in all the ways he'd never thought to before. 

He fell into a rare sort of silence at this as he stared down at his arms, at himself. Dread still hung heavy over him, but something else was just starting to shine through it. It felt like peace, like comfort, like hope . It wasn't the kind of unbridled joy half of him was waiting for, but it was still something good. Something that was worth chasing until he finally found it–until they finally found it, together. 

"Ok," Stepper said, forcing himself to accept that choice, however uncertain he might be of it. "We… we can stay like this. Really?! Yeah, b-but only for a little while! After all, I don't want the same thing that almost happened to Maven happening to me."

Mabel stuck her tongue out at him, but she was quick to perk up all the same. "Oh, I'm so excited for you guys!" she exclaimed, beaming. "You're gonna have so much fun together, you'll see! What do you want to do first? Go into town and show everybody how great you are?"

"Yeah! We should totally–Oh no, there's no way we are letting anyone else see us like this," Stepper quickly curbed his own enthusiasm as he shot such an idea down. "But why not? Everyone would think we're so cool! Oh, yeah, sure and they definitely wouldn't go running the second they see all four of our arms. Oh, right… almost forgot about that."

"So if you're not gonna go out on the town, what are you gonna do?" Mabel asked, disappointed. 

"We're gonna have some fun!" Stepper exclaimed, smiling. "After all, that's the whole reason why I wanted to fuse with you in the first place. I don't know how you expect us to have any fun as long as we're like this."

"Well, maybe you could if you'd just loosen up and chill out for a change, Dipper ," Mabel said, pouting up at the fusion. 

"Hey, I can loosen up just fine!" Stepper raised his upper hands defensively. "I'm just not so sure this is helping anything on that front. I-it could, if we… um… hm…" He lay back on the bed, equally at a loss over how to spend his precious, fleeting time together. "We should go somewhere, do something , but… No, I told you, I don't want anyone seeing us. Not even the Gems?" 

Mabel gasped, taken with the suggestion the moment she heard it. "Oh my gosh, Stepper, that's a great idea! Let's go show you off to the Gems!" 

Before Stepper could even agree or disagree, Mabel grabbed him by the arm, yanking him up off the bed. "Mabel!" he yelped in protest as she dragged him back downstairs. "W-wait! No, it's ok! The Gems will love us! B-but what if they don't? What if they think we're-"

"Quit stressing so much!" Mabel encouraged as they left the shack. "You'll make a great first impression, just like Maven and Stevonnie did. All you need is the perfect intro–and you can leave that to me!" 

Stepper offered her a shot-lived smile, soon wiped away by the constant worry he couldn't seem to shake. It was more than just worry, really; it was fear . Fear of what others might say, what they might think, who they might tell about what he was, what he was doing, how he felt. Staying like this in seclusion was one thing, but showing himself–and who he was made of–off to the world wasn't what he'd bargained for in the slightest. Revealing himself to anyone, in any way would be terrifying . 

Still, he hoped that if there was anyone who might understand, it'd be the Gems. 

By the time they made it up to the temple, Stepper was nearly on the verge of dashing back down to the shack to hide. He only narrowly managed to ground himself, standing by to anxiously wait for his cue as Mabel headed inside. Fortunately, the Gems were all on hand, relaxing on the couch as she ran over to greet them. 

"You guys! The most amazing thing just happened–you'll never believe it!" she threw her hands down on the coffee table. "Now, I bet you're all wondering: where are Steven and Dipper?" 

"Why, yes, I was wondering that actually," Pearl nodded. "Are they still down at the shack?"

"Nope," Mabel shook her head. "They're right here !" She threw her hand out at the door, but it stayed shut, even when she tried again. "I said, they're right here…" She glanced back at the Gems, briefly regarding their shared confusion before she said, "Give me a minute." 

The Gems stayed where they were, exchanging a glance as she headed back out onto the porch. There was the brief, muffled conversation, cut short when Mabel shoved Stepper into the temple, right into the Gems' view. He gasped as he caught himself, eyes wide with panic as he met their equally surprised stares. The second that panic passed, he folded into a bright, cheerful smile as he raised one of his lower hands to wave at them. 

"Hi, guys!" he exclaimed before he pushed his hand away. He blanched, suddenly anxious as he forced himself to turn on his heel toward the door. "O-on second thought, maybe this was a bad idea-"

"Oh, no, you don't," Mabel blocked his way out before pushing him back over to the Gems. "Everybody, I'd like you to meet Stepper!"

Stepper said nothing. Instead, he only stiffly waved at them once again, too petrified to do much of anything else. At first, the Gems were just as stunned into silence–until Amethyst broke down laughing.

"Oh, this has gotta be the best one yet!" she practically howled. "I told you guys we should have been placing bets on when this was gonna happen!"

"You know I would have won," Garnet said, shifting her shades. 

"And man, just look at you!" Amethyst hopped up and hurried over to the fusion. "Steven, I gotta hand it to you; first Connie, then Mabel, and now Dipper? You really get around!"

"Amethyst!" Pearl sharply scolded. For his part, Stepper had already been taken aback from the moment Amethyst started laughing. But that remark alone was more than enough to turn his face several shades redder than it already was. 

"Hey, check me out!" Amethyst continued to tease. She shapeshifted a second set of arms, just under her usual pair, playfully waving them around. "I'm pulling a Stepper!"

"Could you please stop terrorizing them?!" Pearl rushed over to push Amethyst away. She paused to steal a curious glance at the fusion for herself. "S-so, Stepper, was it? It's actually quite fascinating that you'd have four arms, seeing as how you're technically 75% human!" 

"Fascinating?" Stepper raised an eyebrow. When his mood shifted, he made the effort to try and hide his extra arms behind his back as he asked, "You mean it's weird, don't you?"

"Oh! No, I didn't–I was just implying that your additional arms are unusual when you consider the already improbable chances of your existence as a fusion!"

"A-are you saying I shouldn't exist?" 

"No, no!" Pearl adamantly shook her head. "What I was trying to say was–W-well, you see I–Oh, why is it so hard to talk to these new fusions?"

Fortunately for her, Garnet stepped in at just the right time. "I'll take it from here, Pearl."

"Good idea…" Pearl muttered, shrinking back in embarrassment.

Stepper remained wary, even as Garnet approached him. He wasn't sure what he was expecting her to say, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to be good. So he figured he might as well beat her to it as he let out a small, sad sigh and said, "Some 'experience' I am, huh, Garnet?" 

Garnet drew in a sharp breath when she heard this, but otherwise, she stayed silent. She studied him for a moment longer, before ultimately placing a gentle hand under his chin to guide his gaze up to meet hers. When she finally spoke, what she told him was nothing less than the brutal truth. "Stepper, you… are an unstable fusion."

Of all the things she could have said, Stepper hadn't expected that . He backpedaled away from Garnet, shaking his head while he anxiously asked, "I-I'm what?"

"Unstable. Out of sync. Unbalanced-"

"I'm wrong ," Stepper cut her off, shuddering. " All of this is wrong! I told you that from the very beginning! N-no, that's not–We can't stay like this! Not for one more second! We were never supposed to be this in the first place! We need to unfuse before we-"

"Stepper!" Garnet grabbed him by the shoulders to keep him from spiraling any further than he already had. "Listen to me. Nothing is wrong with you or about you."

"B-but you just said-"

"I know. You may be unstable, but you are not a mistake," Garnet firmly assured. "Please, don't think for a second that you are." She caught him off guard when she pulled him into a comforting hug. "Believe me when I tell you that you are everything you are supposed to be." 

He wanted so badly to believe that, so badly that it nearly hurt . He wanted to, and yet… "B-but something's still not right about us… about me… " he muttered, despondent. 

Garnet pulled back, still keeping her hands on his shoulders to keep him from falling apart again as she began to explain. "Fusion is a state that requires a bond of complete and total trust between two Gems–or more. For a fusion to be stable and healthy, the sum of its parts must be united in every way there is. Both halves have to want the same thing. That's the very foundation that fusion is built upon. And you, Stepper… you don't have that foundation."

"How can you tell?" Stepper pressed, frowning. "Can you, like, feel it or something?"

"Don't need to feel it," Garnet shook her head. "I can see it."

"Yeah, it's kinda obvious you're a nervous wreck," Amethyst plainly pointed out. "No offense."

"You two… do seem rather unsteady," Pearl couldn't help but agree. "B-but what fusion isn't their first time around?"

"Maven wasn't!" Mabel piped up. She quickly changed her tune, however, upon noticing just how distressed Stepper truly was. "I-I mean, we were totally unsteady, just one big, awkward, four-eyed disaster!"

"No, we weren't," Stepper corrected, shaken. "Maven was fine. Better than fine–they were perfect ! Stevonnie was perfect! I'm…" he trailed off, staring down at all four of his trembling hands as he fought against the cold feeling creeping up inside of him. "I don't know what I am…"

"Stepper," Garnet caught his attention again. "Even if you are unstable, that doesn't mean you're not sustainable. After all, you've already managed to remain fused for this long. Something in both Steven and Dipper wants to keep you together, to see this work out."

"I do want this to work out!" Stepper stressed. "I want us to have this, I want it to be something special for us both." He drew his arms in close, curling in on himself as he tightly whispered. "I… I think I want this too, but… I can't–You can ," he smiled. His eyes were only starting to turn wet, but he wiped the tears away before they could come. "It's ok. You can let yourself have this. You should let yourself have this. Please…" He closed his eyes as his upper hands came to rest just over his–over their –heart. " We can have this. But we can only have it if we're together . So…" 

He took a deep breath, pulling himself to his full height as he opened his eyes to face the others. "How do we become stable?" he asked Garnet, calm and resolved. 

"You're already making progress," she acknowledged, proud of what she'd just seen. "But to be truly stable, you need to find the harmony between yourselves. You have to meet each other on common ground and allow a connection of true trust to grow between you both. And once that connection has grown, you'll find the harmony you're looking for."

"That's… vague," Stepper noted. "B-but I think we can do it!"

"So do I," Garnet nodded, finally smiling. "It won't be easy, but if you both believe in this, if you believe in each other, then the experience you end up having together will become one you'll never forget. Trust me." 

Stepper also smiled, and this time, it didn't fade away so quickly. While doubt and dread still ate away at him, that same sort of hope he'd felt earlier was starting to settle back in. Hope that their fusion could mean something, that it could be something better, that it could be something more wonderful than either of his halves could even imagine. But whether or not that's actually what happened… was entirely in his hands now. 

How lucky he was, then, to have four hands to rely on instead of only two. 

"Alright then," he said, resolved. "Let's figure this out. And let's do it together!" 

"That's the spirit!" Mabel cheered him on. "I can help you guys with this whole harmony thing! Thanks to Maven, I know everything there is to know about being a super-stable fusion, so my expertise is bound to come in handy."

"Expertise?" Stepper raised an eyebrow. "You've only fused once ."

"Hey, so have you, Ste-bro," Mabel countered. "Or at least, half of you has. The other half has fused three times now, so you're already off to an even better start because of that! Now come on!" She grabbed Stepper by the arm to pull him along again as she headed for the door. "We've got some harmony to find!" 

"Yeah, we do, and it's gonna be great !" Stepper excitedly agreed. Just as quickly, he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly uneasy as Mabel shoved him outside. "Or it'll end up being even more of a disaster than this has all already been. But even disasters can be fun sometimes! Well, this one sure hasn't been so far…"

The fusion's one-sided conversation only continued, until the Gems could no longer hear it. Once the kids were out of earshot, Pearl voiced the question they were all undoubtedly asking themselves. "Are you sure he'll be alright, Garnet? He seemed rather, well.."

"He's a wreck, just like I said," Amethyst simply shrugged. 

Garnet only adjusted her shades. Her future vision offered up many possibilities for what might happen here. But in the end, she knew that only Stepper could decide which one became a reality. Which was why the most Garnet could tell her teammates was, "All we can do is wait and see."

"Ok, boys," Mabel zealously tapped the chalkboard she'd set up in the shack's den. "Operation Find the Harmony is a go!"

"Ok… and you wrote that on a chalkboard for some reason?" Stepper tilted his head, confused. 

Mabel paused, glancing between him and the chalkboard before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, I guess I did, but that's not what matters here! Stop asking so many questions, Dipper , and focus on the mission here!"

"Hey, that wasn't me this time!" Stepper argued before he sheepishly raised a hand. "He's right. That was me this time."

"Oh! That's good!" Mabel exclaimed, excited. "That means you two are starting to rub off on each other! Quick, the Dipper half of you: say something Steven would say!" 

"I… don't think that's how this works…"

"No, no, no!" Mabel scolded, shaking her head. "I said something Steven would say, not any of your usual 'Doubtful Dipper' stuff."

"Ha! Doubtful Dipper! That's a good one!" Stepper chuckled, though his humor quickly drained into annoyance. "Ok, are we actually going to be serious about this whole harmony thing, or are we just here to mess around? Aw, we're just having a little fun. That's the whole point, remember? You may be having fun, but I'm sure not. Then we have to fix that! Um… Let's see… we could always start with-"

"Kids!" 

Stepper and Mabel both gasped, startled, as Stan's voice rang through the shack. Before he even entered the den, Stepper was on his feet, scrambling to hide, to keep anyone else from seeing him, from knowing what they'd done. In his panic, he hunkered down and hid behind the first thing he could find–which just so happened to be Mabel. 

"What in the name of that's all that's worth money is all that junk you runts left in the yard?" Stan stepped into the room, scowling. "That dumb pig and that crazy lion got into all those snacks and left a huge mess that somebody's gotta clean up, and it sure isn't gonna be-" He stopped short the second he spotted Stepper, trying and failing to hide with Mabel providing him barely any cover at all. "Uh, Mabel? What's with the four-armed freak back there?"

"F-freak?" Stepper squeaked as he clumsily fell flat onto the floor. 

"Aw, Grunkle Stan, you scared him!" Mabel scolded as she helped Stepper up. "Look at him, he's got that deer-in-the-headlights look and everything!"

"N-no, I don't!" Stepper protested, flustered. "Yeah, it's ok, Grunkle Pines. You may have startled us a little, but I know you didn't mean to!" 

Stan simply stared at him, completely confused for a moment. His face swiftly fell back into a scowl as soon as he got a better glimpse at the fusion, letting him quickly put together exactly what he was looking at here. "Oh, great, another one," he rolled his eyes. "Let me guess… it's Steven and Dipper this time, isn't it?"

"Um… W-well," Stepper glanced away, unsure of how to explain himself to someone like Stan. To someone who may not be as receptive to him, to this, as the Gems were. 

Fortunately, Mabel jumped in to explain for him. "Yep! Grunkle Stan, meet Stepper! Isn't he great ?"

"Well, he sure is something , pumpkin," Stan noted as he curiously circled the fusion. "To be honest, I didn't think either of them swung that way, but whatever floats their boats, I guess."

"I-I didn't mean to!" Stepper suddenly blurted out, eyes wide with fear. "It was an accident! We were just dancing a-and this just happened and… and–It's ok, please, just–N-no! No, this is bad . We shouldn't have done this! Mr. Stan, please don't be mad! We'll unfuse, we'll-"

"Hey, hey! Slow down there, motor-mouth!" Stan cut in. He rested a hand against the fusion's back, concerned by just how fast and frantic his breathing was. "What's got you so worked up anyway? What makes you think I'd be mad about," he vaguely gestured up and down at Stepper. "Any of this?"

"B-because we fused," Stepper muttered, deeply ashamed. "We fused and we're both… you know… boys ."

Stan's eyes widened when he heard this. He didn't have to think too hard about which half of the fusion that shame was coming from. And what–or rather who –was the one behind that shame to begin with. He swiftly stifled the rage rising in his chest at the very thought of her, in favor of focusing on the distraught fusion standing in front of him instead.

"Look," he let out a steadying sigh. "I'm not mad, not even a little. As far as I'm concerned, you can, uh… 'fuse' with whoever you want. Boy or girl, doesn't matter. We're all still people at the end of the day, aren't we?"

"Um, actually, Steven's half-Gem," Mabel pointed out.

"Aw, you both know what I mean," Stan scoffed with a wave of his hand. "Point is, you're fine," he rested a hand on Stepper's shoulder, offering him a genuine grin. "Or at least, about as fine as someone with an extra set of arms could be."

"Wow, thanks, Grunkle Pines!" Stepper said, finally managing a smile himself. "Yeah, uh… thanks. I guess… I was just worried you'd be like-"

"You don't have to worry," Stan firmly assured. "I'm about the furthest thing from her you're ever gonna get."

It didn't take long for Mabel to pick up on who they were talking about. She joined in on the moment, hugging Stepper's leg tight, to silently tell him she was on his side every bit as much as Stan was. It made him feel the same way Garnet had earlier, that he deserved to exist like this, that he wasn't wrong for being together, for wanting to be together. 

It made him feel as though finding the harmony, finding himself might not be as hard as he thought. 

For as sweet of a moment as it was, it was soon broken as Soos and Wendy wandered into the den, curious to see what all the fuss they'd heard from the gift shop was about. "Uh…" Wendy stopped short, surprised by what they found. "Are we interrupting something?" 

"Whoa," Soos stared at Stepper, fascinated. "Nice extra arms, dude."

"Um… thanks!" Stepper tried hiding those arms, only to end up waving them instead. 

"Oh! I'm glad you guys are here!" Mabel hurried over to the pair. She threw a hand out at Stepper, cheerfully introducing him. "I'd like you both to meet Steven and Dipper's soon-to-be super-harmonious fusion: Stepper!"

"Mabel, come on…" Stepper groaned, hiding his face. "I told you I didn't want to show myself off to everyone. Aw, it's not everyone, it's just Soos and Wendy! They're cool, right, you guys?"

"Not as cool as you are, dude! Dudes? Dude," Soos nodded, satisfied that he got it right. "Still, I gotta admit, I'm a little disappointed… I mean, you look totally awesome, don't get me wrong, but you don't look anything like my design for a Steven-Dipper fusion!" 

He pulled his 'fusion folder' out, showing Stepper a drawing that bore a striking similarity to him. Or at least, half of him thought so. "Soos, what are you talking about?" Stepper raised an eyebrow. "That looks exactly like us. Mm… I don't know. I mean, it's a great drawing, Soos, but it doesn't really look much like us at all… Seriously?" 

As his one-sided debate fizzled out, Wendy stepped closer to the fusion, curiously looking him up and down. "Huh," she said, impressed. "You guys seem a lot different than Stevonnie does, and I'm not just talking about the whole four arm thing. How are you feeling?" 

Stepper took pause, unsure of how to answer such a question. Mostly because he had far too many answers to it to even count. "I feel great!" He stopped himself, shaking his head. "And weird . B-but it's fine! We feel fine! No, I feel… I don't know, uncomfortable? Overwhelmed? Excited! And scared … It's… it's kind of a lot… "

"Uh… are you guys ok?" Wendy asked, suddenly concerned. 

Stepper looked up, not even realizing just how much he'd paled, how almost all four of his hands were trembling. "Yeah, no, like I said! We're– I'm fine," he assured with a forced laugh. "I'm… Y-yeah… W-what he… what I said…"

Stan suddenly stepped into the space between his employees and the fusion to put an end to this awkward exchange. "Alright, quit gawking at him already. It's not like they're any less of an annoying smart-alec or a happy-go-lucky goofball like this than they are when they're apart. Though speaking of gawking…" He smirked back at Stepper in the hopes of lightening the mood a little. "Those four arms of yours do have some potential. I think folks would pay good money to see that many arms not glued onto a person, but on a real… sort of person instead."

"Wait… what?" Stepper asked, confused at first, then delighted. "Oh my gosh, Mr. Stan! You really want to make us an attraction here at the Mystery Shack?" 

"Eh, sure," Stan shrugged, still grinning. "Seeing as how you're half-family, that means I'd only have to half-pay you. Or I just won't pay you at all. Works even better, if you ask me."

"Oh wow! Yeah, of course, we'll– No !" Stepper fiercely cut himself off. "No way, Grunkle Pines! We are not headlining as any kind of attraction just for people to point and laugh at us! I'm sure they wouldn't laugh! They'd probably think we're really cool and–Are you serious ?" 

"Whoa, uh, hey," Stan tried to cut in when he noticed the turn for the worse things were taking. "I was just joking-"

Stepper ignored him. Instead, he held his arms out wide, glaring between them with disgust and disdain. "Just look at us! We're a mess–a freak ! No, we're not! Yes, we are ! Why won't you just admit it already? The reason why we're so unstable is because we're not even supposed to be like this in the first place! N-no," he hugged himself even tighter, tears brimming in his eyes as he begged , "We just need to find the harmony, like Garnet said! If we come together, then this won't be so–I don't want to come together! I don't want to feel like this anymore! I don't want to be this! I just want to be myself–"

He cut himself off with a sharp scream that echoed through the shack. As it did, his entire body was enshrouded in sudden light that poured out from his gem. Soos and Wendy gasped and Stan froze, his eyes wide with alarm. Still, Stepper kept on screaming, the silhouette of his limbs desperately flailing from his wavering form. Mabel was the first to jump into action, knowing what was about to happen here. From somewhere within the light, she found the fusion's lower hands, holding tightly onto them before they could disappear entirely. 

"Stepper!" she cried. It shook her, when she heard his singular voice begin to split; when she realized she could hear Steven and Dipper's voices screaming instead. He– They were in pain, she realized; even if it wasn't physical, it was agonizing in a way that anyone could hear. And as far as Mabel knew, there was only one way to make that pain stop . "You guys gotta stick together!" she encouraged. "Remember what Garnet said! Operation Find the Harmony isn't over yet! You guys can still turn this into something good! Don't give up on each other yet, please !" 

The fusion, or whatever was left of him, jolted when he heard this. Her words seemed to inject him with something he so sorely needed. He pulled his lower hands away, locking those arms around himself in a tight, desperate hug. His upper arms soon followed, his screams finally dying out as his voices merged back into one once again. He had to stay together, he had to . He needed this , even if he refused to see it. But he'd show him, he'd make him see. 

He'd keep them together. He had to. Whether he wanted it or not.

After what felt like an eternity, the light slowly faded, and Stepper was still there. A wave of exhaustion passed over his face, the toll of such a strain weighing heavy upon him. Just as he began to sway, Stan rushed in to catch him, barely keeping the taller fusion steady enough to keep standing. Still, Stepper recovered from the ordeal quickly enough. He took in a deep breath as he pulled himself back onto his feet, squaring his shoulders as he refused to meet any of the concerned stares he knew he was getting. With his lower arms still clinging onto himself, he simply turned and walked out of the room without another word. 

"Stepper!" Mabel called, running after him. "Wait up!" 

A beat of awkward silence filled the den once they were both gone. Stan quickly broke it as he let out a playful scoff to break the heavy tension in the air. "Yeesh, talk about your split personality, huh?"

His attempt at humor was completely lost on Wendy as she asked, "Uh, should we be worried about Steven and Dipper?" 

"Yeah," Soos agreed, frowning. "They just kinda had a major meltdown there…"

"Oh, they'll be fine," Stan waved his hand, pretending not to care. "But I'll tell you what you two should be worried about: getting back to work!" He pointed them to the gift shop, and they hesitantly left, still sparing a fretful glance at the door Stepper had left through. 

As soon as they were gone though, Stan couldn't hold back his own troubled sigh any longer than he already had. "I hope you kids know what you're doing…" he muttered to himself with worry that had been weighing heavy on him for a while now. Worry that he couldn't seem to shake any time he saw the twins entangle themselves with Steven and the Gems. 

Worry that would only remain the closer they continued to get.

"Stepper!" Mabel hurried outside after the fusion. He finally stopped in the yard, but he didn't turn to face her, his head hung and his lower hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. He made a point of averting Mabel's gaze as she ran up to check on him. "So, uh… Operation Find the Harmony may have hit a bit of a snag back there, but that's ok! You two still managed to pull it back together, which means there's still plenty of things we can try to-"

"What's the point?" Stepper spoke up, sighing. "We can barely stay together as it is. How are we ever going to find a way to be stable when we're just so… different ?" 

"Aw, don't sell yourself short!" Mabel encouraged, eager to cheer him up. "If there's anyone who can do this, it's you two. All you need is a really good bonding experience to get you help you both singing in perfect harmony!"

"Well… I do like singing…" Stepper acknowledged, before flatly countering, "She didn't mean that literally. And besides, isn't this ," he broadly motioned at himself. "The very definition of a 'bonding experience'?"

"Well, yeah , fusion is a great way to bond, but you guys are still having a little trouble with it," Mabel said. "So you've got to take it a step further than that. You've gotta do something you both enjoy. Like… Oh! I know! Dipper, you like mysteries, right?"

"Um… yeah, I guess so?"

"And Steven, you like adventures?"

"Oh! You know I do!" 

"Then there's one sure-fire thing that'll make you as stable as a Stepper can be," Mabel concluded, grinning. "A mystery-adventure ?"

"A… what?" Stepper frowned, confused. 

"A fusion, between a mystery and an adventure!" Mabel explained. "It's pretty fitting, don't you think?"

"So… you want us to go on an adventure and solve a mystery?" Stepper inferred. "I guess there wouldn't be any harm in that. And it might even be fun! Uh… yeah, well, I don't really know where you expect us to find a mystery to go adventuring for without the–" He cut himself with a sharp, sudden gasp. "Oh my gosh! The journal! I almost forgot about it with all this fusion stuff going on!"

He tensed at his own realization, and another soon struck him. Namely that for as much as the journal had indirectly been what had brought him together, it could just as well end up tearing him apart too. "O-oh, well… w-what do we really need it for anyway?" he forced out an awkward laugh. "It's not like it has any answers about how we can find harmony. Maybe not, but it does have other notes about fusion that might help. The only problem is, I don't know where it is because somebody felt the need to hide it earlier."

Mabel readily returned the irritated scowl Stepper sent her way. "Hey, don't look at me! It was the only way we could get you to stay out here. And aren't you glad you did? You guys would have never fused at all if I hadn't hid that journal!" 

"I know…" Stepper sighed, glancing down worriedly. "I-I still don't think we really need it. But you know where it is, don't you? I-I do, but… But what? Just show me where it is so we can get on with this?"

"So we can finish this," he could practically hear himself saying. "So there won't be any reason for us to stay like this anymore. So we can split up and never, ever be together again."

"No," he said, his eyes wide with sudden panic. "No? Why not? B-because we… Y-you can't…I-" He trailed off, closing his eyes. He needed something , anything to distract him, to steer his thoughts as far away from the journal, as far away from splitting up as possible. 

Fortunately, his gem just so happened to have the perfect distraction to give him. 

Stepper gasped, startled, when the stone on his stomach suddenly started to glow again. All four of his hands flew away from it, especially when an unknown shape projected from it. "W-what's happening?!" he asked, alarmed. "Oh! It's ok! I think it's just our-"

He stopped short when the light faded from whatever his gem had materialized. It almost fell to the ground until Stepper caught it with his lower arms. His confusion only grew when he held it up to see what it really was. "Is this… the journal?" he asked, incredulously staring at the book. "No, it's… It looks… What is this thing?" 

While the book in his hands was roughly the same shape and size as the journal, the resemblance stopped there. Its dark pink cover almost seemed to shimmer and its pages were much more pristine than the journal's worn and tattered ones. The emblem on the front of it was by far its most striking feature though: a deep blue Big Dipper against a bright yellow star. A fusion, every bit as much as the one holding it was. 

"Whoa," Mabel chimed in, dazzled. "Looks like the journal got an upgrade! It's way prettier and shinier than it usually is!"

"Hm… I think…" Stepper honed in on the peculiar, yet strangely familiar energy the book was putting off. "This is our weapon…"

"Huh?" Mabel asked, confused. "How is a book supposed to be a weapon? Are you just supposed to throw it at monsters or something?"

"I don't know…" Stepper turned the journal over in his hands. "Maybe there's something inside of it that-"

"Oh! Good idea!" Mabel pulled it away from him before he could stop her. "Let's see here…" She began flipping through it. "Well, there's no secret knife hidden in here like Grunkle Stan has in some of the books at the shack… What if it's some kind of magical spellbook instead?"

"Oo, a spellbook could be cool!" Stepper grinned as Mabel handed the journal back over to him. "I guess it would be better than nothing, but–wait." He paused, taken aback by what he noticed about the actual contents of his journal. "Is this all about… us ?!" 

Sure enough, it was true. Every page was filled with details and drawings of Dipper and Steven, split squarely down the middle between them. From likes and dislikes, fears and frustrations, even memories–both recent and forgotten were meticulously logged onto the journal's magical pages. It might've been impressive… if it didn't feel so utterly unnerving .

"H-how did all of this stuff get in here?!" Stepper asked, rapidly flipping through the book. "Who knows? But isn't it awesome ?! We could use this to learn so much about each other! Like this!" He grinned eagerly as he stopped on a particular page that held the answer to a question that had gone unanswered earlier. "It says here that your real name is actually Ma-"

With one set of arms, he slammed the journal shut before using his second pair of hands to cover his mouth. His entire face burned hot with the embarrassment he'd already been feeling all day, of having his secrets laid so bare, of having his privacy torn to shreds, of having someone peering at him straight down to his very soul. It was intrusive, unwelcome, unwanted , to the point that he wasn't sure just how much more of it he could truly take. He wasn't sure if finding the harmony, however good it might feel, was worth all of this. 

He wasn't sure if he could hold on any longer than he already had. 

By now, Mabel had snatched the journal away from him again to get a better look at its pages for herself. "Ohhh, I get it! The journal's 50% about Dipper, 50% about Steven, and 100% about you , Stepper! It makes perfect sense!" 

"It doesn't make any sense," Stepper took the journal back, glaring distrustfully at it. "Why is this book about us and nothing else? Maybe because it's a magical fusion weapon? This thing isn't even a weapon at all! There must be something we're not seeing… No, we've seen all of it and it's useless !" 

With that, he threw the journal down, turning his nose up at it as it disappeared in a burst of light. "What did you do that for?!" he asked himself, frustrated. "If we'd taken a better look at it, we could have figured out what it can really do! It's a book for crying out loud. It can't do anything! Well, maybe it could if you'd just give it a chance! And maybe while you're at it, you could give this a chance too!" 

"Guys!" Mabel attempted to intervene. "Don't fight! Remember Operation Find the Har-"

"I am giving this a chance!" Stepper hotly exclaimed. "I've been giving this a chance all day, but it's getting harder and harder to accept things like four arms and a creepy journal and all of these feelings that I can't control!"

"Stepper-" Mabel tried again, only for the fusion to drown her out once more. 

"I keep trying to tell you, you'll get used to all of that!" he pressed, his upper arms tightly gripping his lower ones. "You keep saying that, but it's not happening! Because you won't let it happen! Well, maybe I would if you'd stop trying to force us to stay like this!" He paced around the yard, his voice only raising more and more as his arguing escalated. It had gotten to the point that all Mabel could do was stand by and watch in worried silence as Stepper continued fighting with himself. As he continued unraveling more and more with each passing minute. 

"I'm not forcing anything! I just want to help you! Help me what? Feel like I don't even know who I am anymore? Because if that's what you were trying to do, then great job! It definitely worked! Ugh, how do you still not get it?! The whole reason why I want this to work out so badly is because I-"

The tension between him was sliced straight through as a brutal crash rang through the air. The ground trembled in its wake, sending Mabel falling to the ground. Stepper only barely managed to maintain his footing, glancing to the woods where the sudden commotion had come from. 

"Whoa, what was that?" Mabel asked, standing. She was admittedly grateful for the interruption, for the way it distracted Stepper away from himself and his anger. "Come on, let's go check it out!"

Stepper tentatively followed her into the forest, to the spot where the ongoing mechanical clatter was leading them to. They peered through the trees to find an alarming sight. An entire clearing had been decimated by a pod of metallic green orbs, much like the marbles Peridot had sent a few weeks ago, but much larger and more menacing. They stormed through the area on stout, sturdy legs, almost as if they were searching for something. Stepper and Mabel made sure to remain out of their sight, even as the Gems arrived to confront the imposing pack of machines. 

"Whoa! Look at these crazy things!" Amethyst narrowly dodged one of them when it tried to kick her. 

Pearl sent her spear flying at another robot. "I can't believe Peridot's still sending her pesky robots here."

"Believe it, you Crystal Clods!"

One of the marbles rose up higher than the others to reveal a screen, showing none other than Peridot. She flashed her foes a broad, smug grin, content to let her robots do the dirty work for her. "You three must think you're soooo on top of things after that stunt you pulled back at the Prime Kindergarten. But you failed to anticipate that your traitorous behavior would go unpunished. I'm not about to let you defective rebels interfere with my assignment again. So I'll just take you out the easy way and then simply proceed as planned."

"So what? Are you just gonna bore us to death with all this 'revenge' talk?" Amethyst asked, rolling her eyes. "Or are we actually gonna fight?"

"Hmph! See? This is exactly why you Crystal Gems deserve to be taken out!" Peridot snapped, annoyed. "You're just a bunch of impetuous lumps!"

"Takes one to know one," Garnet coolly retorted. Behind her, Pearl and Amethyst shared a laugh, setting Peridot off even more than she already was. 

"We'll see who has the last laugh when my attack robonoids are through with you!" she shouted, tapping away at her screen to call her machines to action. "Go! Shatter them so I can be rid of their aggravating meddling once and for all!" 

She let out a vengeful laugh as her robonoids got to work. Long, sharp tendrils burst out of their round bodies, besetting the Gems on all sides. While they held their own at first, it was clear they were already outnumbered and outgunned; which meant it wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed entirely. 

"Oh no!" Mabel exclaimed. "The Gems are in trouble! We have to get out there and help them! Come on!" She darted forward, though she quickly stopped short as soon as she realized she wasn't being followed. "Uh, Stepper? Aren't you coming?"

Stepper flinched, tearing his gaze away where they had been–on his hands–to focus on her instead. "Uh, give me a minute," he said, stepping back a bit. "I'll… I'll be right behind you."

"...Ok," Mabel hesitantly agreed. "I'll see you out there, I guess."

Stepper said nothing as she ran on ahead. He watched her join the fray alongside the Gems, despite the grave danger they were facing. Normally, he would have been the first to do the same, they both would have, but…

"We need to go help them…" he shook his head. "I know, but… we can't… Not like this…"

He took another step back into the shade of the trees as an appalled scoff escaped him. "Are you really that embarrassed about being this that you can't even let it go during an emergency like this? I'm not embarrassed, I-I'm just–Yes, you are! I can feel it! You're embarrassed by our arms and our journal and… and by me ."

He stiffened as the shadows of the forest only seemed to grow darker around him. Sunlight still spilled out from the spaces between the branches and leaves, but he hardly noticed when the color of that light seemed to shift. When it turned to vibrant, contrasting shades of pink and blue that painted his entire body. 

"I-I'm not… embarrassed by you," he said, and it was true. He wasn't the problem; the real problem… was something that went far beyond them both. "I just… I can't shake the feeling that this is something we shouldn't be doing. Why shouldn't we? There's nothing wrong with fusing! There is when it's like this… ."

He stared down at his arms, at the colors clashing on them, staining them in two entirely different shades. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong? Why you're feeling like this?" he implored, desperate to figure out what was keeping them apart, even when they were together. To know why they both still felt so alone . "You wouldn't understand…" he muttered, loosely hugging himself. "I could try, if you'd just let me in. I want to… I want to so badly , but…I can't -"

"You mean you won't ," his tone suddenly turned sharp as a bitter realization struck him. "Even now that we're together, you still keep shutting me out. I-I'm not, I just–You are . You think you always have to be alone, but you don't . I want to be there for you, I want to show you just how much you mean to me! But…" He found he couldn't hold back a heartbroken sob as he forced himself to admit the truth, no matter how devastating it might be. "But you don't want me ."

He hung his head as his tears kept flowing; neither of his halves had it in him to stop them now. "That's why we can't find the harmony. There is none between the two of us. We don't belong together, we never will. We're just… too different…"

The second he said this, the colors covering him seemed to split. Pink and blue enshrouded him evenly on either side, with a clean divide between the two. Just like the clean divide between the two halves of his heart. "I… I wanted this to work out too, you know," he admitted brokenly, bitterly. Anger slowly began to fill in the space between his tears as he refused to let him pin all of the blame solely on his shoulders. He wasn't the only thing wrong with their fusion. They both were. 

"You sure aren't acting like it," he returned just as crossly. 

"I do–or at least I did!" he shot back fiercely. "Until you decided you were going to force us to stay together, no matter what I wanted!" 

"T-that's not–I didn't-"

"Oh, yeah you did! I can feel it–It drives you crazy that we're not as stable as Maven and Stevonnie were, that I can't give you the same feeling Mabel and Connie did!"

"No, I just–" he cut himself off, running a hand through his hair as he let out a defeated sigh. "I just wanted to feel that way again…"

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not good enough to make you feel that way!" he tearfully snapped. "All I've been making you feel is all of the stress and confusion and guilt I've had ever since any of this began, right ?!"

"Hey, that's not my fault that you feel like that! We can stop any time you want-"

"No, we can't because you won't let us !" His voice was echoing through the forest by this point, but he could hardly care less. The storm, the war, the divide–they all raged on, determined to rip him apart. 

And right now, he honestly hoped that they did. 

"I tried letting go when we nearly fell apart at the shack earlier," he continued, distraught. "I wanted to let go, but you… you just pulled me back in." He drew in a sob as he stared up at the colors spilling upon him, desperate to stay together and desperate to escape. "You didn't ask whether that's something I wanted or not. You didn't even care …"

He gasped, his eyes going wide with shock, as if he'd been struck by what he'd just said. "Y-you're right…" he barely managed to whisper. Guilt washed over him, practically drowning him as the colors began to fiercely pull away from each other. Their tug only worsened when he realized exactly what he'd done… and exactly who he'd hurt. Who he was still hurting, every second they stayed together. "I didn't care… I didn't even think about… a-about what you might've–"

Without warning, the colors violently snapped apart. And with them, so did Stepper. 

The forest resumed its normal hue as they hit the ground away from each other. Somewhere in the distance, the din of the Gems battling Peridot's robonoids still echoed, but they hardly heard it. Instead, Dipper slowly sat up, nursing a hand against his throbbing head. "Ugh, why do I have such a–" He stopped short at the sound of his voice, his own voice, at the sight of his own short legs and his own two arms. "Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed, relief flooding through him. "W-we're back! It's just me again! And–Steven!" He spun around to look for him. "Steven, we un-"

"Yeah… I know…" Steven sat only a few feet away from him, his knees pulled to his chest and his face buried in them. From the way his shoulders were shuddering, Dipper could easily tell he was still crying. He absently skimmed his own face to find it was still wet with tears–with Stepper's tears, lingering even still. As he took another look at Steven, it took all he had in him to keep fresh tears–entirely his own this time–from falling in their place. 

Unsure of what else to do, Dipper slowly took a seat on the ground beside Steven. They sat together in silence for a moment or two, only broken by the soft sound of Steven's despondent sobbing. There was so much Dipper wanted to say, but he figured it'd be best to start with, "Steven, look, I'm-"

"Dipper," Steven spoke up, his voice small and full of shame. "I'm so sorry…"

"What?" Dipper frowned, confused. "Steven, no. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me-"

"No, it should be me !" Steven finally lifted his head. His expression, so rife with guilt and grief, was nearly enough to shake Dipper to his core. "I didn't just trick you into fusing with me, I forced you to stay like that, even though I knew you weren't comfortable! I wouldn't listen to you, all because I wanted another 'perfect' fusion. But Stepper wasn't perfect, and I couldn't accept that. So I just kept pulling you back in, without even giving you a choice about it! I-I made you feel–"

"Trapped," both boys finished together. They exchanged a glance, and for the first time all day, they were exactly on the same page about just how remorseful they both truly were. 

"Steven…" Dipper sighed, unsure of where to even start with his own apology. Except Steven still wasn't finished with his. 

"You know what the craziest part is?" he let out a small, bitter laugh. "This all started because I wanted to help you have a little fun. A lot of good that did. I only ended up making things even worse , all because I had to go and take it too far."

"You only had to do that because of me !" Dipper protested, adamant. "Every time you tried to reach out to me, all I did was push you away! A part of me really did want to give it a chance, but every time I did, I just… I couldn't stop thinking about how it felt like something was wrong with us a-and with me for feeling that way about…" He trailed off, his face turning red when he met the earnest look Steven was sending his way. 

"A-about me?" he finished for him. His brow furrowed in confusion, even as a soft blush began to dust his own cheeks when Dipper hesitantly nodded. "I still don't understand. Why were you so scared about us being together?"

 "Oh, come on," Dipper forced out a laugh. "Don't tell me you didn't feel a little awkward about it too. I mean, I'm not exactly like Mabel or Connie."

"Um… I know?" Steven raised an eyebrow, still not following. 

Dipper groaned, covering his face in embarrassment as he finally said it plainly. "Steven, we're both boys ."

"Yeah? And?" 

"A-and we shouldn't–I-it's not right for us to-" Dipper cut himself off. It suddenly struck him, just how silly all of the arguments he could have made actually sounded. Just how little sense everything he'd ever been told truly made, how little it all seemed to matter now. How could anything, when weighed against the way felt when he looked at the boy sitting by his side, smiling at him like he was the most important person in the entire world? 

How could anything about this be wrong when it felt so right ?

"It's… o-ok…" he said, trying to help himself believe that. He didn't yet, not entirely, and maybe he wouldn't for quite some time. But with someone like Steven by his side, maybe someday, he could. "There's… there's nothing wrong with us… with me …"

"You're everything you're supposed to be," Steven finished. His smile turned a touch fonder as he rested his hand over Dipper's, giving it a gentle, affirming squeeze. "Just like Garnet said."

If Dipper was already on the verge of breaking down before, that's what pushed him over the edge completely. He threw his arms around Steven, sobbing against his shoulder with a smile so full of joy and relief it was almost overwhelming. Steven shared those feelings as he held him close, patiently waiting until Dipper was ready to speak again. When he did, his voice came out soft as he admitted, "We're really different…"

"I think that's a good thing," Steven returned just as gently. 

"Do you think… we're too different?" Dipper pulled back to wipe his eyes dry. "I mean, you're used to fusing, but… it was just too much for me. It's so easy for you to let others in, but… it's nowhere even close to easy for me…"

"That's ok," Steven took his hands again. "I should have never expected you to just get used to it like that. I just… I wanted to feel that good again, yeah, but I wanted you to feel it too! When you fuse, and when it's just right… it's incredible . There's nothing in the world that can bring you down from that."

"But I wouldn't let us feel like that," Dipper said, sighing. "I was so wrapped up in how bad I was feeling, I couldn't even imagine the way you wanted us to feel. We could have had such a great time together, but… we didn't…"

"Well," Steven said, casually leaning his shoulder against Dipper's. "We still could… If you want to…"

 "Hm," Dipper smirked as he pretended to mull the offer over. Even if he already knew exactly what his answer would be. "Well, Mabel and the Gems do still need our help taking on Peridot and her machines. I think I know someone who might be able to lend them an extra hand or two… or four."

Steven's smile brightened as he stood, extending a hand out to Dipper to help him up. "I don't know anyone better for the job."

Dipper didn't even hesitate to take Steven's hand this time–after today, he was sure he'd never hesitate again. "Neither do I," he said, just shy of pulling Steven into another dance. 

There wasn't a single note of music, but their shared laughter was more than enough of a soundtrack to accompany their joyful dance. As it reached its crescendo, they drew in close, foreheads almost touching as a warm, welcome light enveloped them both. No one was around to see it–not that anyone could have anyway–when within that light, one of them lightly kissed the other's forehead, right in the center of his birthmark. 

It was more than enough to bring them back together again. 

"Whoa," Stepper gasped when he opened his eyes. He looked down at himself, shaken by just how different this was than it had been before. By just how complete he finally felt. "Is… is this... Yeah, it is," he smiled warmly, proudly. "This is how it's supposed to feel."

He couldn't hold back the laughter bubbling up inside his chest. It rang through the trees, free and clear as both sets of arms wrapped tightly around himself. He let himself fall backward into the soft grass, practically glowing with just how right this was, by how beautiful it was, by the harmony he had finally found. 

But it didn't stop there. He sat up with a gasp when he noticed his gem glowing, summoning something unbidden. The same bizarre journal from before flashed into existence, but this time, it didn't fall. Instead, it hovered in the air, its cover opening entirely on its own accord as its pages rapidly turned. Stepper could only watch, fascinated, as it stopped on the book's center pages, where an intricate drawing of Steven's shield spread in full, vivid color. Curious, Stepper rested his lower hands under the book as he rested an upper palm against those pages. And as he lifted his hand up, he conjured a smaller version of that very shield into existence, entirely out of nothing. 

"Wow…" he muttered, stunned by the sheer power ringing through the book in his hands. By the kind of incredible magic he could only do together . "Well, what do you know?" he grinned as he sent that shield flying fast through the trees. "I guess a book really can be a weapon after all." He turned his attention back to the battle he knew was raging just behind the trees. A battle he was finally ready to make his mark on. "And I think I know the perfect way to test it out…"

As much as they didn't want to admit it, the Gems weren't doing well. Peridot's robonoids were much sturdier and more aggressive than they could have anticipated. Even their strongest attacks barely managed to put a dent in them. What's more, the fight had only gotten more tricky when Mabel rushed in to try and help, only to end up in every bit as much trouble as the Gems were. It had gotten to the point where the robonoids basically had them pinned, trapped, or tied up, all while Peridot held her incoming victory over all of their heads. 

"Struggle all you want," she sneered, smirking from her screen. "None of it will matter once you're all broken to itty-bitty bits!" 

"Not if we break your insipid robots first!" Pearl snapped as her spear just barely missed the nearest robonoid. 

"Ha! Like that will ever happen," Peridot let out a mocking laugh. "You all might as well face facts: you're about to face an agonizing and crushing defeat at the hands of a far superior Gem! I'm so excited about it, I can hardly contain myself!"

"Hmph! Contain this !" Mabel yanked one of her shoes off and threw it straight at Peridot's screen. 

"Hey!" Peridot scolded. "Your gravity connector cover scuffed up my robonoid! Just for that, I think I'll finish you off first, you 'Mabel'!"

As wrangled and hoisted high by the robonoids as she was, there was little Mabel could do but gasp, terrified, as another tendril came rushing right for her. But it never hit her. Instead, something flew in to slice it in half just in time. Another pink blur followed, cleanly cutting the coils keeping Mabel trapped, allowing her to safely fall back down to the ground. 

"What?!" Peridot gawked, baffled. Likewise, Mabel and the Gems were every bit as surprised to see exactly who had come to their rescue. 

"Stepper!" Mabel exclaimed, excited to see him, especially the way he was now. He stood tall, far more confident than ever before, with his newly-dubbed shield journal hovering over his hand. Floating just above it, a small shield hovered, raring and ready to go as Stepper met Peridot's shocked look with a stern and steady glare. 

"Peridot!" he boldly shouted, entirely unafraid. "Let them go! Or else."

For a moment, Peridot simply stared at him, completely dumbfounded, before she caught herself with an irritated scoff. "Oh, please . Why would I ever do that when I'm so close to winning ?"

"Fine," Stepper shrugged, smirking. "But don't say I didn't warn you." 

With that, he sent his first shield flying. It cleanly sliced through the coils ensuring the Gems before it slammed straight into one of the robonoids, cutting deep into its hull. As the Gems fell, they could only watch, bewildered, as Stepper rushed past them, straight into the fray. 

"Boys, wait!" Pearl called, alarmed. "You can't fight like that! You're unstable!"

"Not anymore," Garnet countered, smiling proudly. 

Sure enough, Stepper seemed far from unstable as he launched another shield straight at the nearest robonoid, all but tearing it in half. He leapt off its remains to plunge another shield into the machine beside it, sending it crashing hard into the ground. All the while, he easily dodged out of the way of the tendrils racing for him, blocking their approach with the shield journal and his own quick thinking. 

After watching a third robonoid explode, Peridot let out a frustrated shout as she pushed her remaining machines harder than ever to stop him. "Who do you think you are, you interloping, four-armed… whatever you are?!"

"Who am I?" Stepper echoed with a coy grin. He repositioned his shield journal, readjusting his hat as he held his head high. "It's funny; I've been trying to figure that out all day. But now, I know for sure who–and what–I really am." He cast another shield to easily deflect the coils Peridot sent speeding for him as he proudly proclaimed. "I'm Stepper, and as long as we're together, then I'll never be alone."

"...Huh?" Peridot raised an eyebrow, not following. Stepper didn't bother explaining it; he didn't need to. Not when he knew he was everything he was always supposed to be. So instead, sent even more shields speeding at the remaining robonoid, causing substantial damage in his wake. Still, even he didn't notice one of the coils coming in from behind until it was too late. It latched tightly onto one of his upper arms, just as one of his lower wrists was tightly trapped. The shield journal fell out of his other upper hand as it was restrained, pulling him high into the air as it pulled all of his captured limps tight. Stepper stifled a pained cry from the strain of it, not losing face even when Peridot drew in to taunt him. 

"Well, it looks like you're all out of options, you 'Stepper'," she goaded, grinning smugly. "So what now?"

"Oh, gee, it looks like you've really got me, Peridot," Stepper put on a fake pout. "I'd almost say you won, except…"

"Except what?"

Stepper smiled as he swiftly turned the tides back in his favor. "You forgot my fourth arm." 

He pulled it out from behind his back to reveal the small shield still hovering over it. He threw it hard at Peridot's robonoid, watching in satisfaction as it tumbled back, badly damaged. The other robonoids under its control followed suit, collapsing to the ground as the connection between them was suddenly severed. Stepper wrenched himself free from their coils, landing squarely on the ground just in time to watch Peridot try and fail to salvage her flagging plain. 

"Augh! No!" she shouted as her screens blared with countless errors. "You overly-limbed, malformed abomination of a clod!" she snapped at Stepper, furious. "I'll make you wish you never came out of the ground! This isn't the last you'll see of me! I'm going to complete my mission, no matter what I have to do! Even if I have to come to that miserable planet of yours myself, I'll-"

Peridot's threats were ultimately cut off as her robonoid finally exploded, ending her transmission altogether. In the newfound silence that followed, Stepper could only smile at his handiwork, amazed that he'd managed such a feat. And if they could accomplish something like this… there was no telling just what else they could do when they were together, as one. 

Still, Stepper loosely hugged himself as he slowly, easily unfused, at least for now. As the light faded from them, Dipper and Steven exchanged a brief, dazzled glance. They didn't get a chance to say a single word to each other though, before Mabel eagerly pounced upon them both. 

"Oh my gosh, you guys, oh my gosh !" she nearly screamed as she pulled the pair into a tight, triumphant hug. "That was so awesome ! You totally kicked Peridot's butt! Well, not her butt, but her robot's butts. Wait, do robots have butts?"

"I think what Mabel is trying to say is that you both did a fantastic job!" Pearl enthusiastically praised. "Both of you should be very proud of yourselves."

"Yeah, you guys totally bailed us out!" Amethyst added, grinning. "Who knew that all it took to beat Peridot's dumb robots would be four arms and some freaky shield book?"

"I guess we did," Steven said, chuckling. 

"I gotta say," Dipper began with a wry smirk. "The look on Peridot's face when we flung that last shield at her? It was-"

"Priceless!" both of the boys finished, sharing a warm, cheerful laugh. 

When it was over, Garnet stepped in to rest a hand on each of the boys' shoulders, smiling down at them both. "It looks like you two managed to find the harmony after all," she noted, pleased. "And maybe even a bit more than just that…" She laughed softly as Steven and Dipper exchanged a startled gasp, both of them brightly blushing. "I never doubted that you'd come together," Garnet continued. "You know, some of the strongest fusions are made up of two halves that may seem like total opposites, but they often have more in common than they think they do. Take it from me," her smile turned a touch more mysterious as she coolly shifted her shades. 

"This is so great!" Mabel exclaimed as she looked between the boys. "Since you guys are totally filled with harmony right now, you should totally form Stepper again! I'd love to see all the cool stuff your fancy journal can really do! Please?"

"Eh, I think we've had enough of Stepper for one day, Mabel…" Dipper said with a small, tired smile. 

"But I'm sure we'll see him again soon," Steven assured. "Right, Dipper?"

"I know we will," Dipper firmly, wholeheartedly returned. "But for now, I think there's something really important I need to get back to…"

"Let me guess…" Mabel heaved a sigh. "More researching?"

"Nope," Dipper shook his head as he threw his arms around Steven and Mabel's shoulders. "Hanging out with you guys." 

"Aw, Dipper!" Steven exclaimed, stars in his eyes. He didn't hesitate to pull both of the twins into a tight, happy hug, one that the Gems were glad to join in on. 

Even after it was over and everyone began to head back through the woods, Steven and Dipper lingered close, walking in step with each other. They didn't say much, content to listen to Mabel go on about how impressive Stepper had been in battle. But when no one was looking, Dipper slowly and silently took Steven's hand, lightly linking their fingers together. Steven smiled as he softly squeezed it, meeting Dipper's fervent, flustered gaze. 

Something was starting here, something neither of them were sure they could even really explain. But they couldn't help but think that for as much as things might've changed today, they'd both been changed for the better. They'd both been changed for good. 

And so they walked through the woods together with their hands held tight. They walked together with their hearts filled with hope and harmony. 

They walked together, so happy to know that from now on, they'd never have to walk alone.