Chapter Text
December 23, 2012
Snow was falling gently as Stan Pines stood shivering under the overhang of the bus station roof. He felt his heart rate began to rise with anticipation as the rumble of a distant bus grew louder.
As the vehicle turned the corner into the station, two faces could be seen pressed up against the windows. Almost as soon as the bus shuddered to a halt, Mabel and Dipper burst through the doors and came barrelling into Stan.
“Grunkle Stan! We’re so happy to see you!!” Mabel squealed as she threw her arms around the old man.
Dipper wasn’t far behind, enveloping both his sister and his great uncle in his arms as soon as he reached them.
Stan felt his whole body grow warm with the happiness that flooded over him at the return of his family. When he’d extended the offer to their parents to let them visit for Christmas, he’d tried hard not to let his hopes get up. It was one thing to spend summer vacation away from home, but he hadn’t known how a Christmas away would appeal to the kids’ parents.
Stan had put on a brave face at the time, but in reality it had been very difficult for him to let the kids go at the end of the summer. On the day they’d had to leave Gravity Falls, Ford had opted out of coming with them to the bus stop, probably because he was too stoic and feared he might show some inkling of emotion at the departure of his great niece and nephew. So, when the bus had pulled away, Stan couldn’t help but feel the creeping return of loneliness, that old familiar beast. Sure he had his brother back, but it was a lot different around the house now without the bustling energy of two kids running around. And he couldn’t help but feel that Ford was increasingly uneasy about something, though what it was Stan couldn’t muster up the courage to ask…
But that could all be pushed aside for now. His great niece and nephew were here, and it was Christmastime!
Stan rose from the crouching position he’d assumed in order to hug the twins, and a bittersweet feeling crept over him as he noticed that they’d each grown a few inches since he’d last seen them.
“Heh, look at you two, you’re practically giants!” he commented softly. “Did I miss some pages of the calendar or have you really grown so much in just a few months?”
Dipper beamed. “I know, isn’t it great! I’m finally getting to the point where people don’t think I’m in fourth grade!”
“Haha yeah, mom’s mad that she has to keep buying him new pants every five weeks!” Mabel jibed. “Plus he’s like, a whole inch taller than I am now, so I’ve been drinking a TON of milk to try and catch up!”
Stan picked up their bags and they headed to his car. “Yeah, those growth spurts can be wild! I think Ford and I grew one foot in a summer when we were teenagers!”
Once settled in the backseat, Dipper leaned over to Mabel. “It’s weird to think of Stan and Ford as teenagers,” he whispered. “I know they’re technically twins, but it’s crazy to think about them looking the same age!”
Mabel felt a blossom of sadness grow in her chest. Dipper had never had the opportunity to see Stan and Ford when they looked the same age; it really had been remarkable how similar they had appeared.
As the snow-covered forest flashed by on the drive to the Mystery Shack, Mabel’s thoughts wandered back to her experience this summer. Right after she and Ford had appeared in 2012, she had of course told Dipper about everything that had happened. But just because a story is shared between people doesn’t mean the experience is, and Mabel had a tough time accepting that she’d always have to shoulder her time travel happenings without her brother.
She shook these sad thoughts from her head as the Shack came into view. The big letters atop the roof had been lined in blinking holiday lights, and several snowmen lined the path to the gift shop, all adorned in various merchandise.
Shaking the snowflakes from their shoulders, the trio bustled in through the back door and into the warm indoor air. Stan rushed to hang up his coat.
“Hey kids, make yourselves at home, I just got one final tour to give before we close up shop for Christmas,” he said, glancing into the hall mirror to make sure his fez was on straight. “You know where to find anything!” he said over his shoulder as he rushed past them into the gift shop.
Shrugging out of their own coats, the twins took a look around the old place. Not much was different, save for the increase of blankets strewn around and the thermostat cranked to to top setting.
The footsteps of a crowd of tourists could be heard traipsing through the Shack, most likely a herd of travellers passing through on their way to their various holiday destinations. Mabel tugged on her brother’s shirt sleeve, pulling him toward the hallway. “Let’s go see if they’ve made up any new attractions since we’ve been gone!” the girl bounced excitedly.
The two snuck around to where the end of the tour would be held, ducking behind a shelf just as Stan led the crowd around the corner.
“Well, time sure does fly when you’re having fun, am I right folks?” Stan boomed with a theatrical lilt to his voice. “Yeah yeah, time flies alright, but I think I’d like to turn some of it back…”
There was a confused and speculative murmur from the crowd as Stan made his way to a curtain suspended in the corner of the room. He turned around briefly and adjusted his eyepatch before ducking behind the curtain with a showy grin.
“I don’t remember this part of the tour,” Dipper whispered, intrigued.
With a flourish, the curtain fell to reveal what appeared to be a de-aged version of Mr. Mystery himself; his hair was now thick and brown instead of silver, and his face was smooth and wrinkle-free.
The crowd all gasped and cheered as this younger man paced around the room, bowing here and there at the applause. No one seemed to notice the extra finger adorning each of his hands.
“Holy moly, it’s Ford!” Mabel exclaimed quietly, shaking her brother.
“Thank you for your patronage, you’ve been a lovely crowd!” Ford’s voice soared over the collective awe of the audience. Quickly, as if he’d almost forgotten to say it, he threw in “Be sure to take a trip through the gift shop to pick up any last-minute holiday gifts!”
With that the crowd was ushered through the doors into the adjoining gift shop, while Ford sneakily made a beeline for the living quarters of the house.
The young twins popped out from their discreet hiding place just as Ford was passing. The man jumped back for a moment, startled, and then a grin broke across his face. “Kids! I didn’t know you were in here!”
“Great uncle Ford, that was amazing!” Dipper exclaimed as they followed him into the living room.
“Yeah, I thought you didn’t like being involved with the tours!” Mabel followed up. Over the summer, they’d tried to get Ford to join in on Mystery Shack shenanigans directly, but to no avail. He’d occasionally offer his services in designing machinery for a new exhibit or adding pyrotechnics to an existing gig, but he always refused to show up in person.
“Eh, what can I say, Stan got this idea into his head and wouldn’t let up until I agreed to do it at least a few times,” Ford shrugged sheepishly. “But how he wears this blasted suit all day is beyond me, and I feel like I’m losing more depth perception by the minute with this eyepatch!”
“Well it looked really cool, you guys make a good team!” Dipper affirmed, with Mabel nodding her head in agreement.
Ford’s smile wavered the slightest bit, his eyes darting to the side for a quick second before he recomposed his face into a happy grin. “Tell you what, I’ve got to change out of this stuffy getup; why don’t you two go get settled in the attic and we’ll reconvene in the living room while Stan closes up shop?”
They all agreed, and went their separate ways.
______________________________________
By the time the last of the tourists was gone and the final count had been done on the day’s earnings, what little daylight there had been was well on its way out. Stan walked into the living room to find Dipper and Ford deep into a game of “Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons”, and the sounds of Mabel messing around in the kitchen clamored every few seconds. He stood in the doorway for a moment and felt himself smile as he took in the sounds of everyone he loved most in the world back under one roof.
Dipper glanced up from his graph paper. “Hi Grunkle Stan! All finished with the tourists?”
Stan moseyed his way to the armchair and sank into it. “Yep, not a bad crowd, bought tons of merchandise!”
Mabel popped her head in the living room at the sound of all of them together. “Oh good, Grunkle Stan, you’re just in time!”
“In time for what, sweetie?”
Mabel gave an enormous, braces-filled grin. “My latest concoction! Hot holiday Mabel Juice!!” She whipped out a tray containing four mugs with a suspicious amount of glitter lining the rims.
Dipper groaned while Stan suppressed a shudder. “Come on, Mabel, I think I’ve had enough of that stuff to last me a lifetime,” her brother griped, rolling his eyes.
“Uh, I think I’m missing something… dare I ask what’s Mabel Juice?” Ford hesitantly inquired.
Mabel sauntered over to where everyone was sitting, handing out mugs to each of her family members. “It’s my own special recipe, it’s delicious!” she sang out.
Ford eyed the contents, unsure. With a shrug, he held out his mug to his great niece, who clinked it against her own. “To our health…” he toasted skeptically before taking a swig.
His family looked on at him, anticipating his reaction. Ford smacked his lips together a couple times, and then grinned. “Hm, not bad,” he affirmed, taking another gulp. Stan and Dipper gazed at him in shock, as Mabel bounced up and down with excitement.
“So you actually like it?” Mabel beamed.
“I’d hate to know how much sugar is in it, but I can already feel myself buzzing with energy! I wish I’d have had this stuff in college, finals week would have been a piece of cake!”
Mabel shot an I-told-you-so look at Dipper. “I knew that someone in this family would appreciate culinary perfection when they saw it!”
They all laughed and spent the rest of the evening catching up on the past few months. Mabel and Dipper informed their grunkles on the trials and tribulations of the eighth grade, what new movies were worth seeing and which could be skipped, and how Waddles was adjusting to the California climate.
Eventually the clock chimed the late hour, and Stan suggested it would be a good idea to hit the hay. As he stood up from his chair, a couple of his joints popped and he winced. “Darn cold weather, eh? Here’s a word to the wise kids, never get old!”
Dipper and Mabel laughed along with Stan at this, but Mabel spied out of the corner of her eye that Ford just looked away uncomfortably. She turned to get a better view of this behavior, but Ford stood up and turned away before she could get a good read.
They all bid each other goodnight, and the younger twins made the familiar trek back up to the attic. Dipper walked over to the bedside table and took down a contraption that Ford had left for them, a space heater that when operational warmed the room to a comfortable temperature almost immediately.
Mabel popped open her suitcase and retrieved two brightly wrapped parcels, quickly sliding them under her bed. They left a faint trail of glitter that she and Dipper had to team up to blow away. “I really hope Stan and Ford like my presents for them,” Mabel worried aloud when the task was complete.
Dipper climbed into his bed, pleased to see that his legs were almost long enough to reach the end now. “I’m sure they will, Mabel. Ford wears sweaters all the time, and when have you ever known Stan to not like something you made for him?” He gave his sister a reassuring smile.
“Thanks bro-bro,” Mabel smiled back. Flopping back onto her own mattress, she let out a happy sigh. “Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve! I’m so excited, I don’t know how I’ll sleep!”
“Eh, that’s probably just the Mabel Juice talking,” Dipper joked, and ducked laughing when Mabel chucked a stuffed animal at his head.
They each settled down into their beds and cut the light.
“Goodnight Dipper!”
“Goodnight, Mabel!”
_________________________________________________
The next day began bright and early, with Stan flipping pancakes and Mabel reheating last night’s Mabel Juice for herself. Dipper sat at the table reading through the Gravity Falls newspaper in an attempt to be more of an adult. Around 8:45, Ford shuffled into the kitchen in pajama pants and an old t-shirt, brown hair sticking out in every direction.
Everyone knew better than to try and talk to him before he’d poured himself a cup of coffee; ever since he’d been living with his brother, Stan had tried to get him to regulate his sleep schedule. It had worked to some extent, but now that he didn’t have any earth-shattering work to keep him up at late hours, it seemed he was using his time to catch up on all the sleep he’d missed during years of intensive research.
After a few sips of his coffee, Ford began to liven up. He glanced over to where his niece was sitting and writing out a list of some kind. “What’s that you’re working on, Mabel?”
Mabel finished what she was scribbling out and held up the notebook for all to see. “It’s a list of all the Christmas Eve activities we have to accomplish today!” she exclaimed, and began to gloss over the itinerary. “There’s a marathon of Christmas movies on today, including the Ducktective Quackmas Special…there are cookies to make and decorate, gingerbread houses…oh, and Grunkle Stan, we need to put up your Christmas tree!”
“Uh, we could run into a problem there…” Stan grabbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
“What’s the matter?” Mabel asked, concerned.
“Thing is, I don’t have a Christmas tree,” Stan turned around to look at her. “I mean, I haven’t really had anyone to celebrate a Christmas with in forty-odd years, so it was just never something I bothered with.”
The room was quiet for a moment, its occupants speechless from this somber explanation.
“I can go into the woods and find a good tree for us today,” Ford offered gently from his position across the room.
Stan smiled at the suggestion, lightening the mood considerably. “That solves it then, tree is taken care of!”
“Okay then, so left on the list is…” Mabel continued reading out tasks, ignoring the uneasy feeling in her stomach when she saw Ford silently step out of the room.
“Well, that’s quite a list you’ve got there,” Stan chuckled when she was finished. “Sound’s like we’d better get crackin’!”
After spending a good part of the morning preparing stacks of gingerbread, Stan, Dipper, and Mabel set up a construction station in front of the tv in the living room so they could watch the Ducktective special while they made their gingerbread houses. They were hard at work when Ford peaked into the living room from the hallway, now dressed for the day in black pants and a sweater.
“I’m headed out to get that tree,” he announced over the volume of the tv. Stan and Dipper were busy concentrating on attaching the roof of their gingerbread house to the walls, and wished him luck without even looking up. Mabel glanced up into the hallway where Ford was pulling on a coat and hat, and then back at Dipper and Stan. It had turned out that gingerbread house- building was an activity that they both enjoyed with a passion, and they’d quickly begun to collaborate on a single project. It made her happy to see them working together so nicely.
The door shut behind Ford and she saw him pass by the window on his way to the woods. In that instant, the girl made a snap decision. Being careful not to upset the table tray that Dipper and Stan were building upon, she stood up and made her way toward the hallway. “I’m going to go out with Ford, to make sure he picks out a good tree and everything,” she rushed, pulling on her snow boots and coat.
“Have fun, sweetie,” Stan shouted over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off their work. The old man and the boy went back to talking schematics for the structure, and Mabel smiled as she pulled on her earmuffs. Turning around, she quickly scampered out the door to catch up with Ford before he disappeared into the woods.