Chapter Text
I woke up with a lingering sensation of warmth in the heart, why... was it dream? couldn’t remember it very well, but it must have bee a good one… was barely awake when the scream of Mabel in awe reached my room. No wonder why she was so excited, this was the day we were finally going back to the place our life truly began, the mystery realm of Gravity Falls.
“What the hell are you doing Mabel?”
Her room was a mess in ways only her could achieve, colorful clothes everywhere, a bunch of our “souvenirs” from our previous trips scattered all over the bed, the infamous grappling hook stuck on something sparkling on the ceiling… was that a the site of glitter bomb explosion?
“I wont even ask how you managed to do that,”
She grinned and placed one hand behind her head, “Did you hear my scream earlier? Yeah…. Just ignore that for now”
“When did you make that bom-”
“Now help me chose what to bring with us” she interrupted and kept talking “we will probably need everything, but since its too much, some must be left behind… alone… in the secret stash that no one else but us know... God dammit! I’m taking everything!”
I laughed at how silly she was being “Stop being so dramatic, just leave the heavy and not very useful ones, unless you rather trade some of your cute little clothes for their lives.” I said in an ironic tone while grinning back at her
“My sweaters are life!” She screamed with a terrorizing voice while holding a whole bunch of them.
“Fine Smeagle, I’m choosing them for you!”
I started sorting them just by size and weight since my memory wasn't really helping.
“whats with the long face?” Said Mabel when I stopped the sorting and stared blank at the messy bed.
“It has been so long, I can barely remember… all this stuff.”
She hugged me off the ground with a big smile and said “Its a good thing we are coming back to make more memories then!”
Her cheerful hug made the trip hype fill my mind instantly “Alright then, lets find a way to close these dam bags and get ready to leave, sister!”
After a lot of pushing and tetris action, we were able to fit everything in the now bursting purple bag.
“What about you?” She said while tilting her head a little
“You mean my bags? HA, I'm ready to leave since yesterday”
“Aren’t you missing something though?” She said pointing at my head.
“I'm 19 now Mabel, Its not like I need that hat.” I said proudly
“But you still need that hair over you birthmark” she said with a warm smile while lifting the hair over my forehead.
“That has nothing to do with it!”
“You can’t fool me bro bro”
She was so right, If it wasn't for the bratty smile she pulled while saying that, I would have felt angry at the situation, my own sister exposing how I still couldn't properly face some things.
“just finish packing the rest of your clothes, FAST.”
After leaving her room I gathered everything in mine and headed downstairs. Mom and dad were eating some leftovers from yesterday party at the dinner table.
“Morning, mystery twin Nº2” Dad said in a mocking manner.
I could barely hear Mom say good morning over her chewing. That feast our neighbors pulled off was really something after all.
“I hope you are only referring to the 5 minutes head start, Dad”
He laughed loud “where is my firstborn anyway? She does realize we are leaving in 15 minutes, right?”
I made my way to the garage, finished the careful organization of my luggage in the trunk for the incoming Mabesbags to fit, then went back to the dinning room to grab some food.
“So, how is your sister? she seemed kinda down yesterday.”
“My almost broken ribs proves she is perfectly fine, I have no idea what you talking about, mom”
“She can still hug you off the ground? Hahaha, at least now you can too right, right?
“Cmon Dad, of course I ca pro ly...”
“what did you say? You are talking while chewing just like your mother”
“Hey enough of this you two, Dipper, finish this and go help your sister or we are never getting in time for our date at the mall”
“Why you two need a lift to that far far away mall anyway?”
“Did you even saw that ad about the grand opening? We MUST get those discounts.”
“But how are you two going to get back, I'm taking the only working car all the way to Oregon, remember?”
“You fool! We are coming back with the material truck of course! Less money spent on fuel, how do you kids say nowadays? Strongs! or something like that” Mother dropped her head on the table and let out a loud sight at the situation, she was probably hoping for a good date with dad after all.
“Its Stonks Dad, Stonks!
A muffled screaming could be heard from upstairs “Where is my grappling hook?!”
“her what?”
“Ermm… dont mind her, I'm going over there or this is never gonna end”
He room was messy again, the grappling hook now trapped over the wardrobe.
“You know what I'm done, take the bags the way they are, lets go”
“Didn't you hear...”
I grab the chair
“...my scream of pure pain...”
place near the wardrobe
“….how could you igno..”
Retrieved the hook
“Don't even ask” She said squinting her eyes
“lets-go-NOW”
With everything out of the way, everyone got into the car, me and Mabel on the front since our parents would be leaving at the mall, It felt kinda weird.
“Now drive! my loyal four-star Uber!” Dad said
“If that doesn't change to five by the end of the trip, I'm taking this car for good”
“But you are, for one month, but I must make you remember that any changes in our contract will end in the termination of you driving rights permanently”
I could see Mabes trying to hide her laugh
“Don’t laugh Mabel, this applies to you as well, I’m not driving this all the way to Gravity falls alone.”
Even the previously annoyed Mom began laughing as well, it was such a good moment, we were all laughing again, after all that crap we all had to endure last year, it sure felt like we needed that.
After an hour on the road, we arrived at the biggest mall I've ever seen, There were so many people on the entrance, but it was so big that it didn't looked crowded at all. Mabel and I ended up getting inside as well. Truth be told, after seeing in person, we couldn't resist missing the grand opening either.
After packing the back of the car with some more discounted snacks for the trip, we said our farewells to our parents and hit the road again.
Some quiet minutes passed as Mabel was still eating a lot.
“So…. I just realized I screamed about the grappling hook back home”
“Don’t worry, neither had weird thoughts about it… yet. They probably know we had some kind of adventures and brought some stuff back anyway”
“I doubt they even imagine we actually saved the world that summer thought”
We both laughed at how insane yet real that was.
“What?” She asked as I stared at her.
“I’m just glad you look like your usual self again”
She blushed but didn't said anything.
“I missed this version of you too Bro Bro. You looked like shit yesterday.”
“I guess Gravity falls can work wonders after all, and we didn't even crossed into Oregon!”
She fixed my hair before placing a hat she was hiding in her backpack.
“You found it...”
“Cleaned and fixed some damage too” She said with a bright smile, then went back to chewing the shit out of those snacks.
I returned the smile “Give me some of those MM’s”
The trip was relatively calm and without much talking, were listening to the radio and singing some songs together. It was afternoon when we stopped at a nice viewpoint in the mountains so we could eat the our lunch, it was perfect, since we wouldn't be seeing a cool outdoor place with tables like this anytime soon.
“You think everyone is still living there?”
“Some must have moved, nothing stays the same forever, Mabel. Most kids we met probably had to after high school, if they wanted a college degree I mean”
“Yeah, I know… I’m only hoping for them to be visiting, like us...”
We finished eating without much more talking, I could still fill that things weren't really the same after all.
“I’m driving now, so just sit back and rest a little, we can change again in 2 hours as we agreed.” She said after eating and heading back to the car.
As hours passed, the pleasant light of the sunset hit our eyes, I couldn't help but yawn, Mabel looked at me with worry eyes but didn’t say anything.
It was pitch black now, the car light only revealing part of the road and trees, I couldn't even realize but I was snoozing off when suddenly Mabes screamed “Are you crazy, stop this car! and don't even try to change my mind” My hands wiggled with the steering wheel with the surprise.
“Don't frakking scare me like that, did you see the wheels wiggled like snake now?”
“If it wasn't for me those wouldn't be even rolling right now, you were sle-”
“I wasn't sleeping! It was just...”
“THERE. There has to be hotel over there”
Some light in the distance got close as I realized what it was.
“That's a Motel, Mabel” I said while slowing the car down to consider my options.
“Why are we taking so long anyway, you must have messed up this mountain route of yours!”
There was a moment of awkward silence, but we both knew it was kinda foolish to ignore that option. We were both reaching our limits.
“Why are we taking so long anyway, you must have messed up this mountain route of yours!”
“That can't be helped now, ok? Let me do everything and meet you outside with the keys” I said while stopping the car on the Motel Parking lot.
“Why does it have to be you? It will sound even more awkward.”
“What? How would that be wor… you know what FINE! Just get the cheapest one, we aren't exactly rich right now. I’ll be waiting here” I immediately regretted getting kinda angry over such thing. But maybe was the lack of sleep talking and the situation wasn't helping either. My over-analytical mind was just tired as well.
There was some light flickering on the motel sign that was basically the only illumination in the parking lot, coupled with the fact that it was a really cold night, it almost felt like a beginning of a terror movie. If wasn't for my trusty jacket I would have frozen on the spot, my thoughts then shifted to my sister
“I hope her sweater is as warm as it is colorful”.
Mabel arrived moments after.
“here, I was able to get a cheap and decent room, but...” She said in a concerned manner and with a red face.”
“oh god… its a double bed isn't it? well of course it is, this is a motel after all.”
He face got even redder as she faced mine, I’m sure I got a little red after seeing her like that.
“what? Its not like we never slept in the same bed before, Mabel” I said that while walking to the room.”
After I opened the door, I started to understand why my sister was so red after all, it was a room alright, but with all the romantic stuff you can probably find on motels, heart shaped bed, red blankets, some unlit scent candles...
“how is this a “decent” room Mabel, and more importantly, how was this the cheapest one?!”
“It was the best option, okay? Money wise I mean.”
“I don't even wanna know how much did it cost us”
We dropped our backpacks on the floor near the bed and sat on it. We begin to look around a little more.
“Look, Its just a cute and beautiful room, with reddish colors and stuff, nothing weird.” She said in a more comfortable manner.
“well, that's a nice way of putting it”
After taking a closer look it did seemed like a normal room, nothing obscene or weird stuff, it was just a room with some romantic decoration after all. And there was no sounds coming from our neighbors, which was my biggest fear.
I was getting lost in thought when I saw Mabel staring with a confused expression at the ceiling.
“Oh great, a mirror... over the bed….just when I was changing my mind about this room”
“Why is there a mirror there, bro bro?”
“I.. humm.. not sure. Lets just try to get some sleep.”
I actually didn't knew for sure, I always assumed it was something dirty because I saw a movie of a guy wanting something like this on the room he was renting with his date. But I never stopped to really think about why, maybe it was just a narcissistic way to have sex.
We were stuffed from all those snacks and pretty tired so after changing our clothes we went straight to bed. Sleeping proved to be rather difficult though, at least for me.
“I cant sleep” Mabel was beside me facing the other way when she heard my muffled complaint.
“Try to ignore everything but the sheep jumping over the bed and maybe you will fall asleep faster.”
“I can’t… my god even when I look at the ceiling… this damm mirror is just weird. Wait, what? Jumping over the bed? Wasn't they supposed to jump over the fence or something?”
“I always try to imagine like this, it helps!”
“I wonder if they look at that mirror when they jump...”
She then turned over, facing the ceiling, probably trying to imagine what I just said
“ok, this is kinda weird”
We were looking at each other trough the reflection.
“Hey, Mabel, remember that time we couldn't sleep in that cabin? You started a pillow fight that made us so tired that mom and dad found us fainted on the floor”
She then smirked deviously, grabbed her pillow and hit my belly.
“Oh… it’s on!”
We started a feud in the bedroom, she started grabbing all the extra pillows in the room and threw at me like her rapid fire mode just activated.
I blocked the attack by lifting part of the mattress for cover, then launched my pillow straight at her head for the counter attack.
“Ouch, my eye!”
“Shi...! are you okay?
As I approached her, she grabbed me like a mexican luchador and jumped in the bed.
I was pinned down on the center of the bed with her atop of me holding my wrists
“I won” She said with a proud smile on her face
“How the hell are you this strong with such a small body?!”
“hehehe, you were deceived again”
“That was just low, Mabel. I suppose I didn't even hit your eye then”
“You did, it just didn't hurt”
I glanced at the mirror, her bottom pajamas were a little low by all the fighting and her buttcrack was showing.
“So that’s why”
She rapidly turned her head a little to look at the mirror and immediately understood what I just said.
“Oh” she said with a red face, while pulling the pajamas back into place.
She then moved back into my side in bed and we were again both facing the ceiling, wide awake.
“Sorry, but it wasn't my fault, that thing is too distracting”
“I really hope you are not talking about my butt”
“WHAT? I was talking about the mirror of course!”
She laughed, proving she was just teasing me.
“You won the fight by cheating again, some things never change”
She then faced me and said “Some things does change, don't think I ever saw you this flustered over my sillyness”
I stayed in silence, didn't really knew what to say anyway
“Are you still a virgin too Dipper?”
“what in the… why are you asking me that, and now, of all times”
she turns back at the ceiling to face my reflection and said “Well, look at our situation, it cant get more awkward, so I figured it was time to finally found out”
She was making this astronomically more awkward, but what the hell, she admitted she was still a virgin with that question, I might as well do the same. Can’t say I wasn't interested in finding that out, but I was always too scared to ask.
“Since you said about yours, I will say about mine, Its… sadly… intact”
She looked at me surprised at the revelation, I was expecting some bullying level jokes but that was far from it.
She smiled and said “I'm glad we are both the same in that matter then”
“why?”
“It would have been even more awkward if one of us wasn’t”
“I thought you said that was impossible”
“Also because, I wouldn't like someone shitty getting that level of intimacy with you”
I couldn't hide how surprised I was with what she just said, so surprised indeed that I couldn't even talk
“What? you think only brothers are allowed to feel protective about their sibling?”
“I guess you can feel that too, but why you assumed it was someone shitty?” I let a nervous laugh
“C’mon Dipper, I know about your ex-girlfriends, they made Wendy look like a princess.”
“They were never “girlfriends”, those relationships barely lasted 3 days, all 5 of them….”
“Well that's good, but you don't deny their personalities were crap, do you?”
“I’d rather not talk about it… no one felt right. What about you? I heard from mom that you had a few “experiences” while I was living in San Francisco”
“AAARRHHG There’s nothing to be said, they were all crap as well, ok? And it was only 3 guys, nothing beyond making out”
“Making out...What did they do to you?”
“It was nothing major, just some fun when we kissed”
“But how many times that even happened… you know what, its better if I don't know”
She laughed at my angry face “I’m sorry, I wanted to know how would you react. I couldn't’ resist. We only had a couple of kisses, we barely even touched, no one felt right for me either”
“Frakk sake Mabel, don't joke about that stuff, I was already formulating a plan to destroy them all!” I let out a villain laugh after making my statement.
We both started laughing, then she faced me again and Said “I'm glad to see you still have the hero brother inside of you”
I was now facing her too “I would never let, anything bad happen to you”
“I missed you… I missed you a lot, Dipper” She then hugged me
I hugged her back, her head below my chin, she turned her head up placing her ear right on my heart “You were so far away, even before you moved to San Francisco to sell that invention of yours. I thought you didn't care anymore”
“I’m sorry Mabel….”
“Why did you pulled yourself away from me so much back in high school? I know we both were doing our our things, I was hanging out more with my girlfriends, attending some art classes, but you were just… far.... I cant remember when we last did something together”
“I...”
The memories that I tried to push back into the corner of my head all started to come back, she was telling the truth, I was basically making it worse for her… what a moron I was… pushed my own twin away over some stupid stuff.
“I was too scared…”
She detached from the hug moved back and looked me in the eyes “Scared of what?”
“I.. look...All our life we were so close. But when high School began, I realized that I was getting too dependent on you, on you presence, on your support… I was too scared that in the end we would be parting ways, and would be in too deep to be able to let you go. So I made up my mind to get far from you as possible to prepare for it. I was a dumb ass kid, Mabel I that didn't knew any better.”
I couldn't face the now watery eyes after I said that.
“Did you move to another city in order to finally complete that STUPID mission?”
“It seemed like the only way...”
“How could you… how could you forget that promise!” she started throwing weak punched on my chest, almost crying.
I only remembered after getting hit, the promise I made when everything was falling apart, when the world seemed to be ending. We were supposed to grow up together… how could I forget that.
It was only some years that we lost, but even so, I missed her all the way. And after coming back I was determined to reunite with her, that's what this whole trip was about, I had to put an end to that stupid version of me. But I couldn't imagine how much she was suffering, all this time…
How selfish had I become.
“I’m truly sorry, I realize now that you are the part of me that I can never let go, that I will never let go. I love you Mabel”
“I love you too bro bro, you are that part of me too”
We both bursted into tears, hugging tightly as never before. All that bottled up emotions we tried to suppress when we reunited yesterday was coming forth in full speed.
“I’m never letting you go again, no matter how many crazy ass inventions you must promote, I’ll just tag along, I can sell my stuff anywhere there is internet anyway.”
“There’s no need for that for now Mabel, I’m here now, but I must say, I kinda like the idea, we traveling around the world, entrepreneurs during the day, mystery twins in the darkness of the night.
“YEESSS the mystery twins are back!” she said with a closed eye smile while facing me.
We touched our foreheads as we fell asleep in a most comfortable manner, It felt so nice to finally letting all of that go.