clockworksinger:

Dipper took a drink from his beer and sighed, “Y’know, I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Henry turned to look at him, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

“That,” the demon gestured to Henry’s head, in the general area of his antlers. “The whole…Woodsman thing. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just…I couldn’t take care of Willow and protect you so I did what I thought was right. Demonic energy isn’t meant to be bottled up in a human; it does thing to them…”

"You did what you thought was right,” Henry waved his hand dismissively and took a drink from his beer. “Besides, this,” he gestured to his antlers, “is a small price to pay for my daughter’s life.”

"Still,” Dipper grunted, tossing back some more beer, “it does things to you. You may not always be able to control it and…I’m pretty sure they’ll go with you wherever your soul is. You’ll always have those antlers.”

“Eh,” Henry shrugged, nearly spilling his beer on the porch, “there are worse things in life than antlers that no one without the Sight can see. And so long as you’re around I know my family and friends are safe.”

“But I won’t always be around,” Dipper protested, drinking some more, his world fuzzing up around the edges. “One day I may have been summoned and they may be strong enough to contain me and then what?” Tears glistened in his eyes as he turned to look at his brother-in-law. “You or Mabel or the niblings might get hurt and then…I don’t think I could forgive myself…”

Henry smiled softly and reached his arm around Dipper’s shoulder, hugging him slightly. “Dipper. You are only one person. You can’t protect everyone from everything and, honestly, the older the kids get, the less protection they need. Willow can already read people like a book and she has the whole fire thing going for her. Hank could talk his way out of demon deal and then turn around and beat the shit out of his assailant. Acacia has all of Mabel’s spitfire and all of your tenacity and all of my strength and damn if she doesn’t kick ass with or without that penknife she always carries. And Mabel,” he chuckled and took a drink, “If I had a nickle for every time she beat me arm wrestling or in a race, I’d be rich. She is more than capable of taking care of herself. As for me…I have this,” he gestured to his antlers and looked in Dipper’s gold-black eyes. “So don’t be such a worry-wart, Dipdops.”

Dipper laughed. “Really? Dipdops?”

“I thought a nickname Mabel used would be a good way to lighten the mood,” Henry admitted.

“Well it worked,” Dipper laughed again and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of the ‘Alcor the Adorable’ sweater he was wearing.

“And Dipper?”

“Yeah?”

“We got this. All of us. Together.” Henry smiled again. “So calm down and drink your beer. They weren’t cheap.”