Chapter Text
Mabel filled in the last empty box in the profile, glanced at the clock and her long empty cup of Mabel Juice, and found herself stretching a bit and leaning back in her desk chair. "You done good, Mabel. Now, what to do while the lovebirds flock to the nest," she hummed, tapping her chin. A sudden thought jerked her upright, almost sending her sprawling backwards onto the floor. "I got it! I'll make Mabel's Patented Super Sweet Sugar Cookies (now with extra sprinkles)!!"
With that thought driving her, as well as the energy from her last round of Mabel Juice, she snuck into the kitchen and started getting the ingredients out as quietly as possible. After all, who would be crazy enough to be awake at four in the morning? Other than Mabel, that is, who was actively rolling her cookie dough in edible glitter while singing the new Boys Generation hit.
"Mabel...?" A groggy voice called from the hallway, the owner shuffling in and rubbing his eyes.
"Hey Dippin' Dots!" she answered cheerily, dancing a little to her internal beat (and her brother's further befuddlement). "If you want some of my famous sugar cookies, you'll have to wait!"
"Mabel," Dipper started, confused and drowsy. "It's four in the morning. Why are you awake?"
The taller twin struck a pose and grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know!"
Dipper narrowed his eyes a little and crossed his arms, quirking an eyebrow in a way that only made his tiredness more obvious. "I thought we agreed you couldn't drink Mabel Juice from midnight until seven in the morning?"
Finally putting the overly sparkly cookies in the oven, Mabel set the timer for 15 minutes and turned her full attention on her brother. "I stopped at half past twelve! Plus, it's for a good cause!" She threw her arms up in exasperation. "And I thought you said you were going to bed at two!!"
To his credit, Dipper managed to look sheepish enough for both of them. "I fell asleep on the couch before I could even think about going up the stairs."
Sighing, Mabel walked over to him and put both hands on his shoulders, giving him a rare serious look. "Dipper, we talked about this. You have to get on a sleep schedule so you won't feel so tired when you wake up."
"I know, but it's so hard to sleep when I start thinking about staying awake for everything I have to do. I have an essay due in two days that I barely have a rough draft for, and that article on the theoretical psychology of a mythical creature is due next week- the newspaper is really going to suffer without it, especially since the new guy's in charge of the front page story this week- and-"
Mabel put a hand to his mouth and shushed him, giving him a concerned look. "Trust me, Dippin' Sauce, you can do all that stuff way better with a good night's sleep." Her face softened into a fond smile for a second before she jabbed her finger in his chest, scowling playfully. "Now! March up those stairs and go to bed before I pour this edible glitter down your shirt!"
"But-!" He started, stopping himself when his sister released him to reach for the glitter. "Fine! You win, I'll go."
"'Night, brobro! Don't let me catch you awake until lunch!!" He trudged up the stairs, grumbling a 'goodnight' just before he got out of earshot.
As soon as he was out of sight, Mabel sighed and relaxed. Honestly, that boy. She just didn't know what to do with him! Glancing at the counter on the stove, she made her way to the living room. She had ten minutes left, may as well work on something else!
The next morning Mabel jerked awake, sprinkles and frosting dotting her sweater and hiding in her hair. She stretched and yawned, groaning a little at how stiff her back was. No more sleeping on the couch for this girl!
Dipper stormed into the living room, blushing a dark red and holding out his phone like evidence of a crime. She realized he must have yelled her name, and nodded a little to herself. That explained being awake. "Mabel! You signed me up for Timber???"
At the mention of the familiar name, Mabel woke up a little more and sat up the rest of the way. Why was that name so familiar? "Oh right! That dating site!"
The shorter twin let out a strangled "Mabel!" and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Why would you sign me up for a dating site?! I told you I'd find someone on my own terms, if I had the time!"
Mabel clucked disapprovingly at her brother. "Bro, if I let you 'do things on your own time', you would never meet anyone!" She squinted at the screen before grinning. "And from the looks of it, you have a few potential matches!"
Dipper's face reddened even more before he found the strength to speak. "That's not the point! You used my email and personal information without my permission! We talked about that!!"
Mabel sighed and got up, going over to her brother and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Dipper. I know you just wanted to focus on work and all, but you were getting really stressed out! I had to make you eat, and then you wouldn't talk to me about what was bothering you until you kind of overflowed last night! That's not good for you, bro." She gave him a small frown. "I figured that even if you didn't meet someone you wanted to smooch silly, you could meet a friend to talk to when you're down."
Her brother opened his mouth to talk, but Mabel cut him off. "No Dipper, having classmates isn't like having friends. And social interaction is a really important part of life! Talking to someone you trust can actually help relieve a lot of stress, plus it's nice to feel loved by people other than your family. Okay? I'm sorry I used your info without asking, but I knew you'd say no!"
He sighed, giving in to her logic, and tiredly rubbed his face. "It's fine, just. Don't do it again, okay? I'd rather get to know someone before telling them about my life."
She grinned and hugged him, letting go quickly and wandering off to make breakfast. "I'm not making any promises!"
A week later found Mabel humming and wandering down the hall to peek in Dipper's room, only to see him typing away at his computer. An idea wormed its way into her head and she grinned, putting down the newly empty laundry basket and preparing for some Sister Meddling. Sneaking up behind him- of course, she made sure to make the stereotypical creeping-up-behind-someone movements- she suddenly popped up over his shoulder, cheerfully responding to his squawking with a "Watcha doin', Dipdop?".
Dipper let out a shriek that he would later swear up and down was just Mabel's imagination and latched onto his chair, stiffening next to her. "Mabel!" He hissed, hands gripping his chair. "How many times have we talked about you not popping up behind me anymore?!"
"Tons of times! Doesn't mean I'm not gonna, though”, She sung, pausing to read the screen before a huge grin split across her face. "You're using Timber! I knew it would be good for you!!"
She leaned closer to read the messages, excited and partly smug. "How's it going? Do you have any dates set up yet? Have you met somebody you liked? Oooh, that girl has a cat with her in her profile picture! Is she nice? What do you talk about? Did you just meet her?"
"Why are you reading the messages?!" Dipper coughed into his fist to make up for his voice breaking, trying to cover up a blush as well.
"Aww, Brobro, you made yourself a cute friend!" She socked him on the shoulder cheerfully, forgetting for a second about the dating part of the dating site. "Good job!" Her eyes lit upon the screen again and she gasped, immediately clicking on a flashing new message box. "This one's from a cute boy!!" She skimmed the message, ignoring Dipper's embarrassed huffing and attempts to take back his mouse. "Oh my gosh Dipper, he's asking you out! With POETRY!! You love poetry!"
The shorter twin scrubbed at his face with his hands, trying to get rid of the flaming blush on his face. Sadly, he was too obvious for Mabel to let it go unnoticed. "Dipperrrr! You totally have a crush on that guy!" She beamed, watching him groan into his hands.
"Shut up! I just think his music is really nice, and his poetry is honestly really promising, and he's really smart-" Mabel cuts him off with a sing-song response.
"AND he's a totally smokin' hot babe who wants to meet up with you!"
Dipper sunk further into his hands, managing a strangled cry of "Mabel!" while his ears turned a new shade of red.
"Dipper!" The taller twin mimicked, laughing. "You're crushing super mega hardcore on a guy who just asked you out, dum-dum. Go get your man!"
Flushing darkly, he pulled his face out of his hands and cast a glare at his sister. “Mabel, he isn’t my man. So what if I think he’s attractive? You know how I am with attractive people! Exhibit A: Wendy.” A shiver runs down Mabel’s spine and Dipper motions roughly toward her. “Exactly! I was a total creep about it, and I kept those stupid photos of her, and weirded her out!”
”But,” the other twin started, optimistic, “it ended out okay! She was really cool and you guys traded hats that summer, and you’re still friends, right?” She knew she hit the nail on the head when his shoulders slumped, and she grinned. “Stop stalling, Bro-bro! I know you’re nervous, but you’ve gotta trust yourself! Besides,” She struck a heroic pose and thrusted her index finger in the air. “If there’s trouble in the heart department, Love Doctor Mabel will save the day!”
That forced a chuckle out of her twin, and he rubbed his neck, smiling almost shyly. “You really think I can do this, huh. What’s the harm, right?” He watched her encouraging nod, took a deep breath, and stood up, matching Mabel’s pose. “I’m going on a date!”
“Love Patrol Alpha is back in business!” The taller twin cheered, flinging her arms around her brother, almost immediately shoving him back into the chair so he could read the message for himself and respond in the affirmative, in his own words of course. “Time to make plans~.” She gasped, pulling back from the chair with a sudden idea. “I have the perfect outfit in mind! Bring me dinner in an hour!”
She dashed down the hall, hurdling the forgotten laundry basket, and just as she was about to Tokyo Drift- as well as she could with socks on carpet, anyway- into her Crafts Room she heard Dipper yell “I never agreed to that name! And make your own dinner, stupid!”. She cackled and slammed the door, hurrying to lay out her supplies and get to work. This is gonna be fun.