Chapter Text
The life of Mabel Pines was a tedious one, even though she was well aware she had better opportunities than most.
Since she'd graduated high school, she'd been accepted into CalArts, found an alright job as a barista to make a living, and started doing commission work to afford some luxuries. She was living comfortably, for a college student.
Still, though, there was an underlying emptiness that Mabel couldn't shake. One that started when she was 17.
Mabel's brother, Dipper, had always been miles ahead academically, and she wasn't afraid to admit that. And she was happy when he graduated from high school early. Even happier when he gained a scholarship in Portland to study cryptozoology. But, as the years went on, living got lonely. She'd spent so much of her life by her twin's side, and now they were a 14-hour drive apart, only just speaking on holidays because of how busy and hectic their lives were.
And Mabel understood, she understood well how chaotic adult life was making up to be - and how much more chaotic it must be for someone with a life like Dipper's. But she couldn't help but miss him when she had a shitty day at work, or a rough day of classes, and the only person she had to vent to was the bottom of a frozen yogurt carton.
Maybe, though, upon further reflection, Mabel's emptiness didn't just come from missing her twin. No, that was a major part of it, but that couldn't be all there was to it.
Gravity Falls had to have something to do with it.
Now, how to explain Mabel's time in Gravity Falls? To an uneducated listener, it was something of a fantasy story. Gnomes, giant robots, ghosts, and more were things of fiction, right? Mabel would agree if she'd never been in Gravity Falls.
Every day, she longed to go back to the best summer of her life. When she was living in the Mystery Shack in Gravity Falls, Oregon, it was an adventure every day, and no one day was the same. She dreamed of the spontaneity, the chaos, and the fun of Gravity Falls.
It was only in mid-June that anything in Mabel's life changed from its painful monotony.
An agonizing day of work, bogged down by her café being painfully short-staffed, ended with a rare thunderstorm that ruined the walk to her apartment. Mabel was one stubbed toe away from breaking down, and then-
A number from Gravity Falls, Oregon called Mabel's phone.
Mabel answered without a second's thought, pressing the phone to her ear and feeling excitement rush to the surface. "Hello?"
"Hey- this is Mabel, right? I think I wrote down the number Dipper gave me right..."
She could cry, almost, in the best way possible. "Soos!"
The man on the other end of the line laughed, and the sound was almost nostalgic. She hadn't spoken to him since she left the Falls - since he graduated from handyman to Mr. Mystery. "Hey, dude. How have you been?"
"Been better, been worse." Mabel kicked off her wet shoes and finally settled into her apartment. Putting her phone on speaker, she set it on her mattress and rummaged through her closet for something to wear. "What about you? I haven't heard from you in forever! Are you and Melody still a thing?"
"Hah, yeah," Soos replied, his voice getting a little warmer. "We got married a while back - and we have a kid, too. Things are good for us."
Mabel tugged on a clean sweater, pausing and lingering at her bedside and smiling at her phone. Something was unmistakably sweet about the words, and it brought nostalgia running back to her again.
"That's amazing, Soos," Mabel said, finally, sitting next to her discarded phone and curling up comfortably. "I always thought you would make a great dad some day."
"Yeah..." Soos trailed off, a sigh following. "Well, it's not all sunshine and rainbows here."
"I had a feeling." As much as Mabel wanted it just to be a call to catch up, the odds of that had been slim to none. "What's going on?"
"Mr. Pines and Mr. Pines came back to Gravity Falls, and..." Soos trailed off again, and he sounded more exhausted than he did when the call began. "Well, dude, neither of them will admit it, but something is wrong. And I need your help."
Mabel sighed, too, as the information sunk in. The weariness was almost contagious.
"Well... we've saved the world before," she conceded. "Who's to say we can't do it again?"