Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     Stan groaned as the familiar sound of the bright yellow phone in his room ringing disturbed him in his sleep, waking him from his slumber and echoing irritatingly throughout the room.

     It was almost midnight and it was one of the only nights he gave himself a break from working in the secret lab beneath the Mystery Shack. Of course someone had to interrupt the one time he could fully rest. Who the hell calls at midnight? Either somebody crazy or someone calling for some kind of freaky purpose. Or somebody died. Hopefully not the last one. He reluctantly got out of bed and quickly slipped into his slippers, shuffling over to the phone. His eyes hadn't even fully opened up yet.

     "Yello?" He grumbled into the phone, voice raspy from sleep and obviously wondering who could possibly be on the other end of the line. And then he heard it. Oh boy. Here we go.

     "Stanford Pines." The woman on the other end greeted coolly, not even bothering to say a simple "hello". He knew that voice. It was one he could go for probably the rest of his life without hearing.

     "I thought I told you and your husband to not call here anymore. What, did you two get tired of raccoons sneaking under your porch again or somethin'?"

     The woman on the other end of the call muttered something that he couldn't quite make out, but he could vaguely recall hearing the words "stupid pest" under her breath in reference to him. He just shrugged despite knowing that she couldn't see it. Figures. The parts of the [L/N] family that knew him weren't very... fond of him, to say the least. They knew he was generally a nice person other than the scams, but certain members of their family absolutely hated him for previously associating with Fiddleford McGucket.

     Or that's what they thought. They didn't know that they had the wrong guy. The wrong Stan.

     He did do a pretty good job of impersonating his brother, didn't he?

     The woman let out an exasperated sigh, probably pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation from Stan's question. "No, we're not dealin' with raccoons. Not anymore." She paused and took a deep breath. Without her even saying anything, it was easy to sense the shift in mood of the conversation. This must've been something serious.

     "Then what gives? Calling me at midnight isn't exactly the most normal thing, you know. Thought that would be reserved for your husband."

     Stan was exhausted, but no matter what, he still had the energy to be a smartass.

     " Would you just- " The [L/N] began to speak, almost snapping at him before she cut herself off and forced herself to act atleast somewhat civil. "...Okay. Okay. I have a... favor to ask for, Stanford. A really important one."

     Stan finally straightened up a little. The yellow phone chord was being absentmindedly fiddled with between his fingers, yet he paused once he heard those few words from her. His eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. A favor? He didn't say anything just yet, and she took his silence as a sign to continue.

     "I need you to take care of my kid for a while. [D/N- I mean, [M/N] could probably do better up where you are. Things aren't goin' the greatest here."

     For a moment, Stan's attention was caught by the woman's little slip up. She started to use the wrong name for her own kid. He didn't know her kid at all. Hell, he didn't even know she had a kid, so he was unaware of what had happened between them. Oblivious to how bad [M/N]'s situation was. The first thing that ran through Stan's head was 'Yeesh, this woman can't even remember her own kid's name?' However that train of thought was quickly interrupted the instant he heard the rest of the request.

     Take care of my kid for a while.

     Okay, that was what finally managed to wake him up. Goodbye only chance at rest, hello suffering for the next few hours trying to figure out what to do.

     " Take care of your kid? Hah! Really? No. I'm already taking care of two 12 year olds and... well, whatever you'd call Soos." He paused, not even bothering to explain who Soos was to the woman. "Believe me, I've already got enough on my hands. I don't need your mini me harassing me all the time while I'm trying to do my business."

     "Please. We don't know anyone else who's out of state. Everybody we know is in Tennessee. This place ain't exactly healthy for him. We need to get [M/N] out of here for atleast a couple months, so sh- he'll be safe. He'll be happier there. Just a few months, and then we'll take him back."

     Stan had to try his hardest to suppress a groan of annoyance. He really didn't need another person to take care of. He makes a good bit of money from his tourist trap, but taking care of an extra kid could drain that fast. Plus he was already exhausted running the Mystery Shack, taking care of the twins, and secretly trying to bring his brother back.

     But something in him was growing concerned about [M/N] against his will. Hearing the kid's own mother keep almost calling him the wrong thing and telling him that he urgently needed to leave the state was alarming. Now, Stan might seem to not care about anything at times, but this seemed sketchy. Was she overreacting like usual or was her son really in some kind of danger that she refused to mention or acknowledge out loud?

     It kept nagging at him.

     As much as he wanted to say no and deny it, to rest up and then eventually go about his day with no worries whatsoever, something here felt wrong.

     Something wasn't right.

     ...Dipper and Mabel could use some company, couldn't they?

     He finally caved in after a couple more seconds of awkward silence.

     "...You know what? Fine."

     "Huh?"

     "I said fine. I'll take care of your son for a while. But I better be getting paid for it."

     He could basically sense the grimace from the woman on the other end of the call after he said that last sentence about having to pay him, but she seemed too focused on the first part.

     "Oh, thank you, thank you! You don't know how much this means to us. We'll have him there later today. We just need to-"

     Stan already knew what she was about to ask him for. "You're paying for the bus ticket." He bluntly stated before hanging up and setting the bright yellow phone back down in its place.

     He stepped back over to his bed and basically just flopped back down onto it, laying there as anxiety began to bubble underneath the surface. He rubbed his face with his hands like he was trying to brush away what just happened. Maybe this was just a dream. Hopefully. He knew it wasn't, though.

     What did I get myself into this time?

🌲🐟

     Being shipped off across the country to Oregon to atleast temporarily stay with a man he'd never met right after coming out to his family was not on [M/N]'s summer bucket list. He never expected this. Especially not being woken up early in the morning in the summer to hear something that ridiculous.

     His confession that he was a trans man was met with neither acceptance nor aggression. Either of those things were kind of expected, but the reaction he would receive was completely unknown to him. He didn't know what would happen. It was like some kind of wild card that he really didn't want to know the result of.

     However, all he really got in response was a strange mixture of concern and vague disappointment. Something he really didn't know how to react to. On the outside, his parents' reactions were on the thin, blurry line between being almost supportive and disliking the news. That fake sense of acceptance where they didn't understand and didn't really want anything to change even though they acted like nothing was really wrong.

     But [M/N] knew better.

     They weren't happy. And a large portion of their town wouldn't like it, either. Including the majority of their family. Which is what led to the argument going on between him and his parents at this very moment.

     "I'm bein- What? What are you talking about?" [M/N] stuttered incredulously, gaping at his parents with wide eyes. "What do you mean I'm goin’ to Oregon later today? "

     His mother sighed, trying to figure out the simplest way to put it without upsetting their son.

     "It's for your safety, hon. Gravity Falls is a much better place for you. There's a lot less of a chance of gettin' hurt for being.. you know. It's a very pretty place, from what I've heard. You would probably like it there."

     [M/N] just sat there for a few seconds in silence, trying to ignore the sudden burst of emotions simmering underneath his skin as he stayed in his seat at the kitchen table. The place these important kinds of conversations always happened. Usually they were good news.

     But now? Right now? What the hell was he supposed to think when his parents were shipping him across the country?

     All he did was tell them who he really was. Or, in their minds, who he thought he was. What did he do to deserve this?

     He opened his mouth to speak again only to be instantly interrupted by his mother.

     "You'll be staying with an old friend of... part of our family. You'll like Mr. Pines. He's a nice man when he wants to be. He lives in some kind of mysterious shack that the townsfolk like."

     [M/N] stared at his parents like they had both lost their minds, his eyes flicking between his mom and dad every few seconds.

     The words kept repeating in his mind like some kind of broken record. You'll be staying with an old friend of... part of our family. He couldn't restrain himself from snorting in disbelief. Who sends their 13 year old son across the country with none of his family to stay with some man he's never met? For all he knew - which wasn't much - the guy could be some kind of creep.

     "And who's an old friend of this guy, exactly?"

     His mother shut her mouth. There was a brief moment of tense silence where she and her husband awkwardly stared at their son. [M/N] glared right back, arms crossed as he raised an eyebrow. He wanted an answer. Of course one would be expected. This was an insane idea.

     He didn't get one.

     His father spoke up, trying to shift the topic. "You'll be fine. The people there are kind, although some of them are just very... absentminded. And forgetful. Mr. Pines said they can't remember much of anythi-"

     [M/N] cut him off with a sharp, dry laugh. "Oh, no. No no no. Don't try and change the subject. I know what you're doing."

     He paused, trying to control the bitterness in his voice although the tense, quiet atmosphere allowed more of it to seep through while he leaned forward in his chair.

     “This is another one of those things where we have to hide somethin’ so nobody in our family gets mad, isn't it? You're doing it again. You're actin’ like you're mainly just afraid of everybody else in town pickin’ on me for it but you're only concerned about the rest of the family. You don't like me sayin’ I'm a boy and neither would they. Most of them, atleast."

     He knew it. This always happened. Anytime anything that could potentially be conflicting in the family occurred, the solution was simple.

     Get rid of the problem. Don't try and talk it through. Just get rid of it so there's no risk. And in this case, [M/N] was said problem.

     Their family was so tightly knit together because one of his ancestors had to raise her son mostly alone due to her husband moving away for purposes unknown to [M/N], so now everyone was so nervous to upset anyone or cause any fight whatsoever. Losing family to these people meant losing everything. That was the equivalent. They were raised to believe in that.

     But why did they want to fully send him away? Surely upsetting the family a little wasn't as bad as atleast temporarily losing their son? They loved him. They loved all their family. Surely they weren't really thinking that this was a good idea.

     "Isn't that right? You're gonna make me leave home so you won't risk upsettin' everyone. Make me leave my friends. You two say my problems are bad, but goddamn, all of y'all really need to go to therapy-"

     " ENOUGH!" His father intercepted, the sudden shout earning a subtle flinch from his son.

     [M/N] shrunk back into his seat by the kitchen table just slightly, barely enough to notice. His parents surely didn't. They were too busy trying to straighten him out. Too distracted to notice his arms gradually shift from being crossed across his chest to loosely wrapped around his body, almost as if he was instinctively trying to hug himself or make himself seem smaller.

     "[D/N]- [M/N] [L/N], go to your room right now and start packing your things. You leave in a few hours. I don't want to hear a word out of you, especially not a complaint. Your mom and I are going out." His dad ordered.

     His mother gave her husband an odd look, not understanding at first. They had no plans to go out today. Especially not now. But it quickly clicked in her head and she reluctantly nodded. She didn't have a chance to utter a word as her husband dragged her outside through the kitchen door, leaving their son sitting at the table all alone so they could discuss things and blow off steam.

     ...What the heck was he supposed to do now?

     Start packing his bags, he guessed. That was really all he could do.

     Great. His parents were furious with him due to his "disrespectful attitude" (atleast his dad was), he could feel his mind slipping into its typical lack of focus when he was upset and subtle shaking of his body due to the argument, and now he was having to pack his things to get up and ride a bus to some random ass state he's never been to. All by himself.

     Focus, [M/N].

     He tried his best to ignore the fuzzy and unclear sensation in his mind, paying as little attention as possible to the way time seemed like it was passing slower and faster at the same time. Now wasn't the time. He shuffled his way out of the kitchen and down the hallway to his bedroom, trudging through the door with a heavy sense of dread. He was going to be alone. As far as he had been told, there was no one else that lived with the man he would be staying with. Maybe he was just being paranoid and it wouldn't be that bad. He was just worried for his safety.

     That was all he could think about as he began packing up his things. It took a little under an hour, but eventually he had everything together and ready to go.

     The last thing he stuffed into his bag was his favorite jacket. One that he'd owned for years and believed gave him good luck. Although there really wasn't anything special about it, the only times he'd been gendered correctly by a stranger were when he was wearing it. So it typically gave him a strange sense of euphoria despite not actually wearing it that often.

     Pausing to stand in the middle of his room and wipe some sweat off his face, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, fingers combing through the recently snipped strands. He had gotten his hair cut about two weeks ago by one of his friends after coming out as trans to them. They were supportive and offered to trim his hair themselves since he couldn't exactly steal money from his parents to go get a haircut at their local barbershop. Plus he was afraid of receiving the worst pixie cut known to mankind if he went to get it done professionally. The prospect of his friend trimming it made him nervous at first, but it actually ended up being great. For the first time, he really felt like himself, especially now that his hair had grown out just slightly.

     Wait, wait, wait. My friends- Oh no.

     The memory of his recent haircut brought back the realization that he would have to say goodbye to his friends now that he was getting shipped off to Gravity Falls. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. He still had their numbers, but it wouldn't be the same as physically being there with them. The idea of leaving them stung like a fresh wound that was in too awkward of a spot to heal as quickly as you'd like.

     I know what I'm doing now. Mom and dad can wait a little longer for me to take the bus to Oregon.

     In a rush, he grabbed his set of house keys off his nightstand, almost dropping them several times as he stumbled out the door as swiftly as possible. He had to say goodbye and explain face to face. Texting would not do for something as important as this.

     As his family clung as tightly to their relatives as they could, [M/N] did the same except with his friends instead. They meant the world to him. He may not have had many friends, but no matter how long he’d known one, from a few minutes to years, he was incredibly protective of them. He was nothing if not loving of them.

     He raced down the hall and through the kitchen before practically slamming the front door behind him. His few friends lived close enough that he could just walk there. Right now, though, there was absolutely no walking whatsoever. He needed to get there fast and running helped get some stress out of his system after that argument with his parents.

     Dashing past his almost entirely leaf covered mailbox and sprinting down the street didn't take as long as he thought it would. Guess it was his nerves pushing him forward. Adrenaline thrummed through his veins as he lifted his fist to knock on the first door he visited. He didn't know whether to be swamped with guilt, grief or anger. Probably a mix of all three.

     I'm so sorry.

🌲🐟

     That familiar metallic jingle of keys rang through [M/N]'s mind as he unlocked his front door and stepped back inside his house.

     More like just mom and dad's house, he thought bitterly.

     When he walked back inside and shut the door behind him much more carefully than before, he sighed quietly and placed his keys down on the kitchen table for now.

     "Hello? Anybody home?" He called out, his voice echoing throughout the old house. He was met with silence. So his parents were still out and about somewhere talking things through. They were taking their sweet time.

     With a frustrated huff, he padded down the hall and paused in front of his bedroom door to take a deep breath and try to prepare himself for whatever was to come of today. Then he glanced over to his right to study his parents' room's door.

     Suddenly, the urge to snoop around struck him. Why was it so acceptable for them to act so secretive and stern to everyone (especially him), but when he returned that same energy, he was only met with frustration, disappointment and a week's worth of grounding? Last night was one of the only times recently he'd told them something important because he took after their quiet and reclusive nature. He told them about his identity, who he truly was, and that resulted in him standing here now and preparing to be sent across the country with nothing but some clothes and his phone.

     He didn't even do a bad job of coming out to them. He'd baked them a cake using one of those recipe boxes from the store (he wasn't skilled enough at cooking yet to mix the ingredients together himself and make it from scratch. He probably would've set the kitchen on fire somehow) and wrote a silly message on it in icing about being a boy. It was a damn good cake too.

     Better than my original plan of throwin’ a pack of Dude Wipes at ‘em both to say that I'm a guy.

     He snorted at the visualization of his previous idea. However, his attention quickly refocused back onto his parents' room.

     They've never let me inside their room before. Not since I was little, atleast. What could possibly be in here that makes them so paranoid?

     A hum faintly rumbled in his throat while he began to come up with a plan. His parents wouldn't ever open up about any family secrets, and their bedroom must've contained something important if they were this protective of it. They were still gone. He could take a peek if he wanted to.

     Wouldn't that be a huge invasion of their privacy? That's their personal space.

     ...They won't accept somethin’ as personal as who I am. They're sending me across the damn country by myself because of it, for God's sake. They're the ones being jerks. I deserve atleast a peek at whatever's goin' on here. There's gotta be a hint about why they act so crazy sometimes other than just stories, right?

     [M/N] finally made up his mind. He listened carefully for any hint of the front door reopening or any other hint that his parents were back, and once he heard nothing and knew he was in the clear, he turned their room's doorknob and stepped inside.

     Weird. For the most part, the room was just a regular old bedroom. Big ol' bed for the two adorned with old and faded curtains from a decade or two ago on the wall behind it that still remained in surprisingly good condition. He could tell that the bedsheets, blankets and pillows were pretty cheap, but they still seemed fairly comfortable just from a glance.

     Everything was strangely normal. It just looked like a normal bedroom. [M/N]'s confidence that something was going on here began to deflate and fizzle out into a sense of embarrassment.

     That was until he spotted a suspicious looking box in the corner hidden beside a bookcase.

     Huh?

     He cautiously crept forward until he was standing in the corner, carefully pushing the bookcase slightly away from the box. Too tempted to resist inspecting it, he crouched down and studied the old, dusty box. The thing looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

    He reached out and almost touched it to brush some of the dirt and light cobwebs away, but let out a startled yelp once a spider crawled out of nowhere and got close to crawling on his hand. He quickly grabbed one of his mom's shoes from nearby and smacked the spider with it. Hard enough that the sound echoed out into the hall.

     ... Okay. Yeah, well, he's definitely dead.

     He set the shoe to the side and refocused on the box again. It just seemed like a typical cardboard box, but it was so out of place compared to the clean nature of the rest of the bedroom. He blew some of the dust and dirt away, having to brush off some of the cobwebs with his fingers which earned a grimace from the boy. But what captured his attention most so far was the now decipherable sticky note in front of him.

     FHM .

     The initials only stirred [M/N]'s curiosity further and caused him to tilt his head similarly to how a confused dog would. Whose initials were those? He had no clue. Hesitantly, he reached forward and plucked the sticky note off of the cardboard, the tape somehow still sticking even after all this time. He placed it on the floor beside him and slowly opened the box.

     The contents inside were not what he expected. To be fair, he really didn't have any idea what would be in here in the first place, but it definitely wasn't this. A series of letters, photos and even a cassette tape of something from what seemed like ages ago. Probably a few decades. There were also worn banjo strings and a handful of strange microchips littered about that most likely didn't even do anything anymore as well as an unsolved "Cubic's Cube". He froze for a second, trying to decide what to look at first before grabbing ahold of one of the pictures.

     A family photo. Conveniently (not so conveniently), the glare of the sun blocked the people's faces, but he could make out what looked like a woman standing next to a young boy whose large hat and hair covered the upper half of his face. [M/N] guessed it was the woman's son. However, there was something much more odd about the picture that caught his attention.

     There was a man beside the woman with one of his arms comfortably wrapped around her shoulder. But there was an uneven, rough rip in the photo where the man's face would've been, as if someone had gotten upset and torn that part of the picture off and thrown it away.

     "What the hell?"

     What could the guy have done that made someone this upset? Based off of his presumed wife and son's faces, they all seemed content and happy with eachother. That definitely didn't line up with the rip in the photo though.

     He decided to just set it back down in the box and grab something else.

     His hand landed on the top envelope of the small stack of letters and he carefully opened it, pulling the paper out as delicately as possible so there was no way it would tear. If his parents noticed anything here was off at all he would probably be dead. He wasn't going to risk something else going wrong.

     Worn and yellow with time, the paper was a sweet letter written by someone for their partner. It seemed like it had a date written at some point but the ink was too faded to discern nowadays. [M/N] gently gripped it as he began to read the contents of the letter to himself under his breath.

"Dear Emmy,

     My research and studies up here in Oregon are proving to be successful so far! My lab partner for this project is a brilliant scientist, as well as a great friend.

I didn't even realize how much I missed him until I showed up at his front door. It was simultaneously surprising and comforting to see just how different yet similar he is to how he was back when we were roommates at Backupsmore.

I've been feeling a bit homesick but his presence soothes it. I reckon I just needed a reminder of how well we get along.

My only complaint is that he put his foot down and declared no banjo playing past 8 PM. What hogwash! It’s malarkey! The best time for a good ol’ tune is when you’re getting ready to wind down. Ramps up the nerves and then soothes ‘em when you’re all spent.

But enough about that. How are you and Tater handling everything? I hope he's not giving you too much trouble. I doubt he is. He's a good kid and you're an amazing mother. As soon as I wrap up this project with —"

     [M/N] briefly paused his read through of the letter. Right where it looked like there would've been a name, there was a thick, smudged line covering whatever was previously in that spot. Somebody must've looked through this and hidden that name after reading the letter. He raised an eyebrow and eventually continued reading through the cursive.

"-I promise I'll be back in Palo Alto with you and our son. You two always manage to occupy my thoughts during my studies. I'll be back soon. Stay safe.

                                                        Love, —"

     The end of the letter, coupled with another crossed out name. The thick smudge of black ink against the yellowed paper was grating on [M/N]'s mind. Who could this possibly be from? And who was this addressed to?

     ...

     Wait a damn minute.

     A letter about a man temporarily leaving his wife and son for a project. A picture of a family with the father's face gone. Emmy... Emmy. Who's Emmy? Wait, wait, wait- PALO ALTO?

     [M/N] had to shift from crouching to sitting on the carpet with his legs crossed and buried his face in his hands for a moment. No way. No way.

     This suspicious box in the corner of his parents' room was full of things that used to belong to the man that was married to one of [M/N]'s relatives before she divorced him.

     Emma-May, who lived up in Palo Alto, California and practically refused to talk to certain parts of her family. [M/N] didn't even know her last name or how exactly he was related to her or her ex-husband because his parents rarely spoke of them. Especially the latter.

     All [M/N] knew was that he was from her ex-husband's side of the family specifically, so he technically wasn't blood related to her, although she was still considered a family member because of just how much her situation had impacted everyone else and the way that [M/N]'s family treated eachother and clung to eachother like a lifeline. That was almost all her influence.

     And- And Tater. The son’s name in the letter rattled around [M/N]’s brain.

     He’d heard mentions of a “Tate” in their family on occasion, but anytime he asked about it, he was only given awkward silence as a response.

     "No fuckin' way..." He mumbled to himself as he dragged his hands down his face before allowing them to rest on his knees. This was crazy. This was what his parents were hiding from him the whole time? Really? Why would they even hide this?

     He glanced down at the other letters in the box and the tape as well. He didn't know if he would be able to look at everything. He only had so much time.

     Well, I guess we'll find out why. Atleast what I can of it.

     The next few letters were pretty normal. All sweet, loving notes to the unknown man's wife that talked about missing her and their son as well as discussing impressive breakthroughs in the "project" and amusing situations he got into with his lab partner.

     However, small parts of them gradually became concerning after he mentioned a run-in with a creature that inflicted permanent damage on his psyche. Certain sections of the letters were strangely paranoid compared to how content and stable the first ones had been.

     The last letter was much worse than every single other one. Much, much worse. No introduction or anything. Just straight to the point.

     "I've made a terrible mistake. I never should've let — rope me into this. This project has released a grave danger upon the world, something no one should have ever meddled with, and he's too stubborn to listen to me. Things are backwards and I can't recall what I've been doing the past week except for what happened. Thoughts are disappearing and I don't know how to get them back."

     Unlike the other letters, this last one was messy, the handwriting sharp and jagged as if written in a panic rather than the mainly collected and smooth vibe that the other letters contained. This paper was slightly torn at the edges like the writer was gripping it too tightly throughout the whole process. As disturbing as the first part of it was, the feeling of unease that [M/N] felt only ramped up as his eyes scanned the last part of the letter; an urgent, bizarre message filled with paranoia and terror.

"WHEN GRAVITY FALLS AND EARTH BECOMES SKY, FEAR THE BEAST WITH JUST ONE EYE! We must prepare ourselves for the worst! I wish to forget what I have seen, yet I reckon that's not going to be the case. Stay away. Nothing good will come of this."

     That was the last of it.

     [M/N] had no clue what to think. His only idea was a suspicion that the guy might've been going through some kind of intense psychotic episode due to trauma. As dark and worrying as the slow descent into madness documented in the letters was, he mainly just found himself concerned about the writer. This was someone related to him. His parents hid all of this. Why? On the extremely rare occasions that they brought up the subject of Emma-May's ex-husband, they only made negative comments. But nobody ever mentioned anything about any of this.

     Were they ashamed of him or something? Most of the people in the family had issues, and the whole lesson that [M/N]'s relatives practically drilled into his head was care for your family. And they seemed to have done the total opposite of that with this guy. It just seemed... sad. Yet relatable. This was someone related to him that also wasn't taken seriously by his loved ones most of the time, just like him.

     There wasn't a bone in his body that knew whether to keep searching through the box or to grab his bag and leave early to wait on the bus. Something inside of his brain was nagging at him to look, look, look , just a little more. He decided to do just that although he was still a bit disturbed by that last letter. Thankfully there wouldn't be any more reading those. He'd already gone through all of them.

     All that was left was the cassette tape. After a few seconds of fumbling his hand around inside the box around the stray microchips and banjo strings, he managed to grab the tape.

     At first he was stumped on how he was going to listen to it at the current moment. That was when he spotted a small message written in pencil on the cardboard in front of him, a different style of handwriting than the one in the letters. "Tape deck behind To Kill a Mockingbird"

     What does To Kill a Mockingbird have to do with this? Oh- Oh. Wait. Damnit. Okay.

     [M/N] mentally facepalmed as he realized he just spent the last minute trying to figure it out only to remember that he was literally sitting right next to his parents' large bookcase of old novels and stories that whole time.

     Alright. Thanks, brain.

     He stood up and stretched, letting out a satisfied sigh as he felt and heard multiple pops of his joints. That was a much needed stretch after being hunched over that whole time. Once it was over he quickly began searching for the story he was looking for. He didn't have much time to waste. His mom and dad could be back any minute and he would almost certainly get an ass whooping for digging through this stuff.

     It only took a few seconds of searching to find the book. Seeing the old, dusty paperback, he swiftly grabbed ahold of it and pulled it away from the shelf. And there it was, hidden right behind it. The tape deck. It was pretty small but seemed like it was still in good shape and condition despite its age.

     He took a deep breath to prepare himself. Hopefully it wouldn't be another paranoid rant this time. Something like what he read earlier would probably be even worse in audio form. With slightly shaky hands, he inserted the tape and listened intently to whatever was about to make itself known.

     All that played was a minute of someone strumming a banjo. From the sound of it, whoever it was had quite the talent for it. It was almost soothing and grounding to hear after all the worrying things he'd seen looking through the box.

     [M/N] didn't really like country music despite living in the south, in Tennessee of all places, but something about hearing it from a family member was nice. A familiar sound from a person that should be  a familiar face.

     He stood and listened to the whole thing, the look in his eyes softening the slightest bit and his facial features slowly relaxing. The tape eventually ended with a quiet chuckle from the banjo player and a barely audible lighthearted utterance of " Ah- Still workin' on that one." It sounded shockingly normal in comparison to how jarring the writing [M/N] read had been.

     He began putting everything back into its place. He ejected the cassette from the tape deck and placed the deck back in the bookcase behind To Kill a Mockingbird. Everything except for the last letter he read, the warning one, and the tape was back inside the box. Those two things would've been in there as well if it weren't for the sound of the front door being unlocked suddenly reverberating throughout the house.

     OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT-

     He panicked and abruptly scrambled to close the box and shifted the bookcase a tiny bit closer to it so everything was back into its original position and not any more or less suspicious than it was when he found it. All he could do was pick up the cassette tape and envelope and rush out of his parents' bedroom in record time, shutting the door behind him in an instant and dashing into his room.

     And just where did the least expected spot to hide these happen to be?

    His already packed bag.

     ... Welp, guess these are coming with me to Gravity Falls.

Chapter Text

   "[M/N]?"

     [M/N] stiffened at the sound of his mother's voice reverberating throughout the old walls of their home. He reluctantly poked his head out of his bedroom's doorway after hiding the envelope and tape in his bag, pure nervousness etched into his features.

     "Yeah?" He called out in response.

     "It's almost time for the bus to pick you up, sweetie. We gotta get goin' whether you're all packed up or not."

     He sighed under his breath and attempted to suppress the frown that tugged at his lips, shoulders slumping. This was it. Goodbye to [Y/T], Tennessee and hello to Gravity Falls, Oregon. Wherever in the state that was. He didn't even know.

     For once, it was slightly chilly outside in summer, courtesy of the mysterious rapidly changing back and forth temperature of certain places in Tennessee that didn't seem to make a lick of sense. So he turned and tugged the zipper of his bag down in order to reach inside and grab his favorite jacket before shimmying into it. He zipped his bag back up and grabbed the strap of it before exiting his room and padding down the hall to the kitchen where his mom and dad were standing.

     "Ready to go, kid?" His father asked him as he stepped inside the room. His dad's voice was still a bit cold like he wasn't entirely happy, but he didn't sound pissed like before.

     Thank God. I don't have to deal with him arguing with me and scolding me on the way to the bus stop.

     [M/N] shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be." He responded flatly.

     He was absentmindedly fiddling with the strap of his bag with one hand out of anxiety, but thankfully his parents chalked it up to him being nervous about leaving. Totally oblivious to the fact that he'd searched through their room.

     Again, thank God. He really didn't need to get his ass beat right before leaving town.

     "Then let's get movin'. We don't got much time to waste." His dad shuffled out the door and his wife followed his steps with [M/N] loosely trailing behind the two like he was just tagging along on any other day. But today was very obviously not the same.

     The tension in his shoulders multiplied as he shut the front door behind him, the noise ringing in his skull. It only solidified the uncomfortable reality that he was leaving his home, family and friends behind. Everything he'd grown accustomed to would be gone soon.

     His shoes dragged along the familiar concrete of the side of the road while they walked, almost like his feet didn't have the energy or desire to lift themselves up off the ground. The typical summer scent of his street filled his nose and caused his heart to ache and clench in his chest. An unusual yet comforting mixture of honeysuckle, freshly mown grass and petrichor sometimes accompanied with the scent of smoke. He took a deep breath of it just to get a good whiff for what could possibly be the last time he smelled it. This was just supposed to be for a little while, right? Why was he nervous like it would be the last time he was ever here? He'd be back. Probably.

     He temporarily slowed his pace so he could really take it in, but a demand from his dad to keep up made him roll his eyes and get on the move again.

     They made it to their stop and just stood there for a minute or two. Simply waiting for [M/N]'s bus.

     This is it.

     Eventually the bus rolled up on the street, coming to a stuttering halt. [M/N] glanced up at the vehicle looming in front of them. Okay. Atleast it seemed like it was in good condition. With how run down some things in his town were, he was worried that the bus would be a bit janky, but it seemed fine other than a few scratches in the paint. Then his gaze shifted back to his parents behind him.

     They didn't seem enthused by him leaving. His dad had a relatively blank look on his face, trying to hide his emotions as most fathers did, but [M/N] could tell through the faint downward tug of his lips that he wasn't happy about it. And then there was his mother. She was more visibly upset than her husband. While she was also trying to disguise her feelings, she still had that light furrow of her eyebrows that usually gave away her sadness.

     Don't give me those looks. You're the ones sendin’ me away for no reason. I would still probably be safe here! I can handle myself. So what if some old hicks hate me for who I am? I could chuck their dip cans at 'em and easily knock 'em out. Boom, tobacco to the face and passed out on the lawn! Problem solved! I'd be fine!

     [M/N]'s frustrated thoughts spiraled in his head, however the rant lacked its usual bitter bite compared to the other times he wasn't on good terms with his parents. He really was furious with them for sending him away but it was momentarily dulled by the fact that he had to say goodbye. As shitty as they could be, they were still his parents, and parting ways hurt.

     They're sending me away because our other relatives' feelings are apparently more important than my own. Than their own son's. The whole "for your safety" shtick is just a coverup. Is this really how things are going to go? Are they crazy? I'm only 13! Why in the world are they letting me go across the country by myself? What kind of parents-

     The remainder of those thoughts were momentarily silenced and the anger slowly fizzled out a little as his mom suddenly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He was doing his damnedest to cling onto his resentment, but it proved to be a weak attempt.

     He hesitantly hugged her back and buried his face in her shoulder. His heart ached.

     You're still my mom, aren't you?

     "We're gonna miss you."

     "...I'm gonna miss you guys too." [M/N] mumbled into her shirt, trying to avoid getting an accidental mouthful of her hair.

     His dad walked up to the two of them, resting his hand on his son's shoulder once his mother pulled away from the hug. "Yeah, we're gonna miss you. Just remember you can always call us if you need somethin', okay? Like if you ever need to come home for any reason-"

     [M/N] let out a weak laugh and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Call you in case of emergency." He gave his dad's hand on his shoulder a light pat before pulling his hand away.

     He stepped away from the two of them and over to the open bus doors, pausing before glancing back at his parents over his shoulder with a sad smile. "Love you two."

     They returned the goodbye and simply watched as [M/N] boarded the bus and the doors shut behind him.

     He handed the driver his ticket, which the man glanced down at with slightly wide eyes before looking back up at the boy.

     "Gravity Falls? Long way from [Y/T], huh?"

     "Yeah." [M/N] let out a nervous laugh, once again anxiously fiddling with the strap of his bag.

     "All by yourself?" The driver questioned with a concerned frown. The boy in front of him didn't seem very old, definitely not old enough to go across the country by himself. He was just worried about the safety of the other. But it was still his job to drive people places.

     [M/N] just nodded, suddenly feeling awkward about having to discuss it.

     The driver must've sensed the boy's slight discomfort, because he gave him a hint of a smile in an attempt to soothe him and thought for a moment about the best way to get him to his destination.

     "Well, it'll be a bit difficult gettin' you there because the drive's almost a day and a half long, but I'll take ya. I'll probably have to get another bus to pick you up eventually. I might be a bus driver, but there ain't no way I'm stayin' up for over a day on the road."

     That got a small laugh out of [M/N], a genuine one this time as he nodded. "Alright, thanks man... I don't think I'd wanna stay awake that long either."

     [M/N] made his way down the bus aisle and chose a seat near the middle of the vehicle, a bit away from the driver for comfort and privacy but still close enough to hear the guy. He didn't mind the man so far. He was kind. [M/N] just wanted his own space right now.

     He set his bag down on the floor between his legs and looked out the window, spotting his parents still standing outside. Although it was kind of difficult to see through the glass, he waved at them, and he spotted his dad having to squint to figure out what he was doing. Once he realized his son was waving, [M/N]'s parents waved back as the bus began to drive off.

     Here goes nothing.

🌲🐟

     The drive was almost agonizingly long and the bus happened to drive over every pothole and bump in the road that Tennessee had to offer (which was a lot), but [M/N] found ways to keep himself entertained along the way. Listening to music on his phone and the occasional song playing through the buses' low quality radio, watching the trees pass by, drifting off to sleep, counting the absurd amount of stickers and stains on the backs of the seats among other things. Thankfully the original driver had been nice enough to let him stop places to use the restroom and occasionally grab a bite to eat just because it was such a long trip.

     And like the first driver said, [M/N] did end up having to switch buses a few times on the journey there.

     Most of them were fine. He fell asleep a couple times and once one of the drivers had to wake him up with a gentle shake of the shoulder and a soft murmur of "Wake up, sweetheart. 's time for you to go," to which he responded with some tired grumbled nonsense due to being half asleep and obeyed. (That lady was probably his favorite out of the drivers just because of how sweet she was).

     But, after what felt like a century, they finally passed by a sign that read, "Welcome to GRAVITY FALLS" followed up with the phrase "NOTHING TO SEE HERE FOLKS!" and he sighed in relief. Thank the lord he was finally here. He was going to pass out as soon as whoever "Mr. Pines" was picked him up from the bus stop.

     Once the bus reached its destination, the driver parked at the stop and [M/N] stood up from his seat, giving the man behind the wheel a tired smile and appreciative nod before exiting the vehicle with the strap of his bag resting comfortably on his shoulder.

     He was finally here. Gravity Falls.

     He watched the bus drive off before turning around and patiently (not so patiently, he was exhausted) waiting for Mr. Pines to show up.

     It took a few minutes, but then there he was.

     The so-called Man of Mystery himself.

     A man dressed in a black suit and red fez with an oyster symbol walked up to him with a slightly awkward grin, as if he was trying to figure out in his mind what the hell to say to this boy he'd never met that he'd been assigned to take care of.

     [M/N] looked up and studied the man curiously.

     He had gray hair along with matching bushy eyebrows, large ears and brown eyes framed by a pair of black, rectangular glasses. As well as a seemingly permanent five o'clock shadow and he was also using an 8 ball cane. Seemingly somewhere around or in his 60s. So far he didn't appear that weird other than being unsure of what to say, but that was totally reasonable in this case.

     "Hey, kid." Mr. Pines greeted as casually as he could currently manage.

     A nervous and tired yet friendly smile appeared on [M/N]'s lips as he talked to him. "Hey. Are you... Mr. Pines?"

     Mr. Pines blinked at him in slight surprise upon hearing the boy speak. "Oh, you're a boy-" He mused to himself before realizing what he said, shaking his head as if to brush away any embarrassment and quickly moving on. "Hahah- Yep! That's me. You can call me Stan, though. You're gonna be livin' with me and “Mr. Pines” is too formal for all that."

     [M/N] was almost too distracted by the first comment to realize the last of what Stan told him, but he still caught it.

     "Huh?"

     He didn't know whether to be confused or euphoric about getting gendered correctly. He glanced down at his jacket, recalling his earlier thoughts about it being a good luck charm because somehow every time he'd gotten gendered correctly by a stranger, he was wearing this same jacket.

     Haha, it really works!

     "Ah, sorry, sorry- Probably not... the best choice of words." Stan held his hands up and swiftly tried to apologize and explain himself.

     Although the kid in front of him hadn't properly introduced himself yet, he could still tell whose son he was based off of that hint of a country accent he picked up on.

     "Your mother kept going back and forth on what she was calling you and then correcting herself when she called me about you staying here. I didn't know what to expect from you because it sounded like she either didn't know her kid or she was having some kind of stroke or somethin'."

     That last comment earned a small snort from [M/N], who shook his head and laughed to himself. Alright, well, I like this guy already. Not too bad. Way better than what I was expecting.

     "Eh, it's fine... And yeah, she probably wasn't the best about sayin' the right thing. I'm guessing she kept almost calling me "she" and some other name?"

     Stan nodded and [M/N] sighed dejectedly, looking down at the ground between them.

     "Makes sense..."

     The man before him's eyebrows furrowed sympathetically and his grin softened once he realized what exactly was going on. He might've hated this boy's parents, but he didn't mind him so far. He crouched down a little so he was closer to [M/N]'s level and comfortingly placed a hand on his shoulder over the strap of his bag.

     "Don't worry, kid. You can be a boy here. No parents, no rules, y'know? Actually- Maybe a couple of rules because somebody's still taking care of you. But you don't have to care about what your mom and pops would think while you're staying with me. You can do whatever you want here."

     Taken off guard and in disbelief yet hopeful, [M/N]'s gaze shifted from the ground to Stan's face. "Really?"

     "Really. But don't expect any less chores just 'cause of that. You're still getting as many chores as any other guy your age." Stan's hand unexpectedly moved from [M/N]'s shoulder to the top of his head in order to messily ruffle his hair.

     With a startled laugh, [M/N] swatted his hand away and chuckled. "Alright. Thanks, old man. Fine by me."

     It felt like almost all the weight had been lifted off of his shoulders knowing that he could be himself. Start anew, in a place where nobody knew him as [D/N]. He was just [M/N] and that was it. How it was supposed to be.

     Perfect.

     The corners of Stan's eyes crinkled the tiniest bit with amusement, unbothered by the lighthearted insult. "Good. You've got my niece and nephew to help you with everything, anyway."

     "Niece and nephew?" [M/N] echoed, confused. His parents didn't tell him that anyone was living with Mr. Pines.

     Conveniently, right after the question, two kids that seemed to be twins around his age or slightly younger walked out from behind a few trees a little ways away from him and Stan. They didn't seem to notice him just yet.

     "Grunkle Stan, why did we have to walk all the way here? We could've just driven here! We would've gotten here on time!" The female twin whined, however she still seemed fairly upbeat and energetic.

     She had long, brown hair that curled at the bottom and went all the way down to her hips as well as brown eyes and braces. Her outfit consisted of a knitted dark pink sweater complimented by a shooting star design, a matching pink headband, a purple skirt and black flats with white socks.

     Her brother raised an eyebrow in response to hearing her complaint. "You want Stan to drive us places? Mabel, getting in the car with our uncle is like a death sentence. You're pretty much asking to die at that point." The male twin replied bluntly.

     He looked almost exactly like his sister, to the point of being a little humorous. He had very similar brown eyes with light bags underneath and short, messy brown hair resting under an old cap. The front of the hat, minus the bill, was a light, faded tan, while the rest of the hat was a dull brown along with a matching star on the front. He wore a navy blue vest over a reddish-orange T-shirt as well as gray shorts and a pair of black sneakers with white soles.

     Stan rolled his eyes and stood up straight again, pulling his hand away from [M/N]'s shoulder and turning to face his niece and nephew. One of his hands gripped his cane and the other rested almost sassily on his hip.

     "Oh, come on! Dipper, you know I'm great at driving. Everybody's always shouting at me to show their support!"

     Dipper gave him an unimpressed look and crossed his arms. "You've almost ran over two pedestrians and broken a stop sign in the past week we've been here."

     [M/N] couldn't resist a soft snicker at that. Yeah. Y'know what, yeah, I actually think I like it here so far.

     Mabel's ears caught the unfamiliar laugh and she leaned to the side to peek around Stan. Spotting [M/N] standing there somewhat awkwardly, she gasped and she instantly gained a wide grin, briefly jumping up and down in excitement.

     "OHHH! You're the one that Grunkle Stan mentioned! Hi!!"

     [M/N] was initially surprised by her cheerful demeanor and the ridiculously high amount of energy she seemed to possess, but it almost immediately faded into slight amusement mixed in with confusion. He cracked a small smile.

     "Yeah, that's me. Name's [M/N]. Guessin' Stan didn't tell you guys too much about me, huh?"

     "Country boy..." Mabel mused to herself and placed her hands on her cheeks upon hearing [M/N] speak, seemingly amazed by something as simple as him being from somewhere different. She was going to say something else before her brother cut in and approached them.

     "No, he didn't tell us much. Next to nothing besides him saying that he hates your parents and wishes one of the raccoons under your porch would bite your dad." Dipper shrugged.

     [M/N]'s face lit up with amusement and he grinned, not minding the disdain towards his father. Especially because it was kind of deserved.

     "Hey, that happened once!"

     Dipper raised a questioning eyebrow but still smiled and chuckled nonetheless.

     Where the heck do you have to be from for people to regularly get bitten by raccoons?

     Dipper analyzed the boy in front of him curiously, attempting to figure out where he was from or any other information he could gain simply by studying him.

     [M/N] looked a little older than him and Mabel. Maybe a year at most. By the looks of it, he was totally exhausted, but it didn't really drag him down that much. He probably came from somewhere in the southeast so being tired after riding a bus to Gravity Falls wasn't unreasonable in the slightest. He had faint bags under his eyes just like him. [M/N] had short, [H/C] hair and [E/C] eyes, the color of them almost hidden by his currently drooping eyelids.

     Sleepy guy, huh?

     Other than that, [M/N] was wearing a fairly normal outfit. Dark blue varsity-esque jacket with white sleeves and a white embroidery of a fish skeleton sewn into the fabric where a breast pocket would've been if it had one. It was accompanied by a white shirt underneath, along with black sweatpants and black and white Converse. Casual and pretty simple yet it still looked nice. And he was holding the strap of a [F/C] bag over his shoulder in place. Probably because it kept trying to slip down without support.

     Dipper was snapped out of his mental observation of the other boy when Mabel piped up again. "Aww! It was trying to give your dad a little kiss." She cooed in reply to [M/N], which earned a grimace from her twin. "I'm not sure that's what it was trying to do, Mabel."

     Stan, who was still standing beside the three of them, laughed to himself as the kids discussed the event. His amusement was probably just caused by the imagery of [M/N]'s dad getting the shit bitten out of him by a raccoon in their front yard. However, he forced himself to focus and began to usher the kids in the direction of the Mystery Shack.

     "Alright, you three, come on. Let's get back to the Shack. Still plenty of customers to scam- I-I mean, market to! I need to make sure Soos and Wendy are holdin’ up alright."

     He gave Dipper and Mabel a gentle shove forward, stepping in front of them to guide them the way back while [M/N] hurried forward to walk next to the twins. He didn't know which of the siblings to walk beside. He fell into place on Dipper's left while Mabel was by the opposite side of her brother.

    All was silent except for the dull thud of their shoes against the ground for a moment and distant chirping of birds in the branches of nearby pine trees, briefly leaving [M/N] alone with his thoughts. That was soon interrupted once Mabel chimed in with a question for him.

     " Sooo, where ya from?"

     Dipper barely resisted the urge to facepalm and groan.

     Oh no, not again.

     He recognized that look in his sister's eyes and that tone of voice. This was the way things had been going the whole one week the two of them had been in Gravity Falls.

     She was boy crazy and trying her absolute hardest to experience what she called an " epic summer romance ", also known as " I'm gonna subtly (not so subtly) flirt (nearly borderline harass) with every single boy I meet until one of them begrudgingly agrees to go on a date with me ".

     [M/N], who was in his absolutely exhausted state and just wanted to pass out as soon as he got the opportunity to lay down, was blissfully unaware of Mabel's flirting as of now.

     He didn't even hear her whispered celebration of " Cute boy, cute boy! " to Dipper.

     She was clearly enthralled by [M/N]'s presence. She was just glad there was a boy around that she wouldn't only see for about 5 minutes due to them being a tourist visiting the Mystery Shack. This guy would be staying with them for an unspecified amount of time. A new friend.

     Little did she know, unfortunately for her, said "new friend" was a gay guy.

     "Oh-! I'm from [Y/T], Tennessee. Not too bad of a place. Surprisin'ly enough." He answered lightheartedly.

     The twins nodded in acknowledgement. As the four of them made their way back to the Shack, Dipper, Mabel and [M/N] kept up with the chatter, just any silly conversations that they could come up with interrupted by the occasional light scolding from Stan to "get a move on and quit yapping".

     The other kids were surprised by some of the little things that [M/N] mentioned doing back home to occupy his time.

     They were intrigued by his description of there being a way to "eat" honeysuckle flowers and drink their nectar and his promise that he'd teach them how to do it.

     Mabel was absolutely ecstatic after finding out that his dad had taught him how to safely pet bumblebees without getting stung (they're surprisingly friendly as long as you don't hurt or scare them, after all!) and begged him to give her a lesson on it.

     And [M/N] was so shocked to learn that they'd never tried sweet tea (atleast the southern style of it) that, at one point, he grabbed Dipper by the shoulders and shook him, totally concerned and demanding how in the world they'd never tried it with a look of dismay on his face as if it was a devastating revelation that they had never had it. Right after that he explained that it was basically a necessity in the southeast to drink sweet tea atleast every once in a while. Where he was from, atleast.

     They all got along comfortably well with eachother despite it being so soon after meeting. It was a massive relief.

     After a little while, they finally were almost back at the Shack. Just another minute before they would arrive and [M/N] could finally take a much needed nap. Really, he was exhausted enough to go to bed for over half a day instead of just napping, but he figured he shouldn't sleep that long. He remembered Stan's mention of a "Soos" and "Wendy" and guessed he should probably introduce himself to them before the day was over.

     He was just allowing his thoughts to swirl around inside his mind when Dipper piped up with another question, continuously kicking a rock along the way as they walked to keep himself entertained.

     "[M/N], do you actually know about anything that goes on around here? Like, did your parents tell you what it's like at all?"

     He paused to take a breath and glanced at [M/N] curiously.

     "We found out you were coming here really suddenly. Grunkle Stan thought it was a bright idea to only tell us earlier when you were already on the bus. I was just wondering if anybody really explained how stuff works around here since we didn't get to hear anything about you. Figured it was probably the same for you."

     [M/N] listened intently as Dipper questioned him, shrugging once he quit talking. "Eh, I didn't really get told anything, no. All my mom really said was that Stan owns a "mysterious shack in the woods that the townsfolk like". Basically, describin' as little as she could possibly get away with."

     Dipper rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It's not that mysterious. Everything's a fake cash grab for stupid tourists."

     Just as he finished that sentence, Stan, Dipper, Mabel and [M/N] finally made their way out of the trees, stopping in their tracks. [M/N] gaped in awe at the sight of the Mystery Shack in front of him. It was huge ! Or, well, not huge but way bigger than he was originally expecting. Bigger than his house. He thought he was going to be staying at a small, cozy cabin with Stan alone. Boy, was he wrong.

     Sweet! He internally celebrated.

     The only downside was the ridiculous number of bugs outside. If he ever needed to pay somebody in mosquitoes, this was the place to be. He would make a fortune.

     He studied the building towering in front of him, taking in every single tiny detail. Once his eyes reached the sign that read " MYSTERY SHACK " he thought about his conversation with Dipper just a moment ago and smirked at the opportunity for a stupid joke.

     "I dunno man, seems pretty mysterious to me." [M/N] told him, the flat tone of his voice a desperate attempt to suppress any laughter.

     Dipper looked at him and raised an eyebrow, not getting it. He just didn't realize he was joking quite yet with how serious he sounded. So, for a few seconds, his eyes darted around the Shack and tried to figure it out before realizing that [M/N] was staring up at the sign.

     Oh. Oh, come on-

     "Shut up, man-" Dipper huffed, punching the other boy in the shoulder. It didn't hurt that much. [M/N] snickered and lightly elbowed Dipper in return, which managed to make him crack a smile despite trying to act irritated and he playfully shoved [M/N] back. "That was a horrible joke."

     "Aw, c'monnn , it was a little funny. You know you're just jealous of my awesome joke making skills." [M/N] sarcastically accused.

     "Yeah right."

     Stan, wanting to get back inside so he could sit down in his chair and watch TV (as well as probably taking an unintentional nap) after a long day of worrying about everything going on, cut off Dipper and [M/N]'s banter. He stepped forward to be in front of the three kids and rested the end of his cane in the dirt while his free hand gestured to the Shack. He still had to properly introduce the place to their new guest.

     "Welcome to the one and only Mystery Shack! Quite the place. She's the real deal, isn't she?" Stan grinned. "Come on, let's get you-"

     Stan's introduction was interrupted by Mabel grabbing [M/N]'s wrist, who yelped when she began to sprint and drag him along with her as she ran towards the Mystery Shack.

     "Come on, come on! I gotta show you everything!" She excitedly exclaimed as they stopped a step or two away from the Shack's door. Then she gave [M/N]'s arm an experimental squeeze.

     "Ooh-hoo-hoo, okay. Alright. Little bit of muscle there." She murmured to herself and giggled, fascinated.

     [M/N]'s eyebrows furrowed in confusion after she made that comment. Her words were quiet for once and he was dead tired, but he still heard her. He didn't know whether to be puzzled or thankful. Probably a mix of both. Mainly puzzled.

     She was right, though. It didn't really look like it from a glance due to his young age, but [M/N] did have a good bit of strength. Not ridiculously so yet still noticeable when it had to be put to the test. It just didn't show up from looks alone.

     All that liftin' things for neighbors' yard sales back home in 85° weather and my dad sometimes making me chop firewood paid off, I guess. Kind of. Maybe. I don't know.

     "...Thanks??"

     Typically he probably wouldn't mind her behavior. Hell, even now he found it funny how hyper she was. But currently he had a headache from fatigue, the kind that annoyingly rested right behind your eyes and stubbornly refused to leave, so he automatically winced a little when Mabel eagerly shouted.

     "YEAH! Let's go, go, go-" Mabel dragged [M/N] inside the Mystery Shack.

     Stan and Dipper stood next to eachother on the lawn, watching the spot where the other two vanished from just a second ago with blank stares.

     "...She's gonna drive us insane like that, isn't she?" Dipper asked, eyes flicking to Stan.

     "Yeeep." Stan nodded with a sigh of defeat. "Let's just go inside before she drives him crazy first."

🌲🐟

     [M/N], in fact, did not get a tour of the Mystery Shack that evening, courtesy of Stan's warning for Mabel to "leave the poor guy alone, he's already had a rough day hopping from bus to bus". Neither did he end up meeting Soos or Wendy just yet because he was literally on the verge of passing out.

     The only "tour" of the place he got was Stan guiding him to his new room. It was away from everyone else's, and by the looks on Dipper and Mabel's faces when he first mentioned it, they were flabbergasted. They previously didn't know about it. They only found out now.

     [M/N] said a quick goodnight to Stan and shut the door of his new room with a sigh of relief. Today was a little too eventful for his taste.

     I'm finally here.

     He didn't even bother to explore or unpack his things or change into pajamas. He just carefully set his bag on the wooden floor and plopped himself down on the old couch in the room. However, he did text his friends from home to tell them that he was finally in Gravity Falls since he promised to text them when he got there. They just wanted to make sure he was safe. Right after that, though, he put his phone down and just passed out, lazily sprawled out across the dusty cushions beneath him.

     First night this far away from home.

Chapter Text

     Ah, summer break...

     A time for leisure, recreation, and taking 'er easy...

     ...Unless you're me.

     Dipper, Mabel and [M/N] burst through a sign that read " Welcome to GRAVITY FALLS ", all doing their best to not fall out of the golf cart while they screamed and the cart landed upright on the dirt path below.

     Dipper swerved all other the path in order to avoid getting caught by a gigantic unknown monster pursuing them. He already kind of sucked at driving the Mystery Cart since he hadn't gotten used to it yet, but being chased by a terrifying creature definitely did not help. It only emphasized the struggle. They drove through the woods and barely managed to avoid the trees falling to the ground behind them.

     The monster was right on their trail.

     Mabel, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to watch the huge figure clumsily rushing after them. "It's getting closer!" She exclaimed but quickly returned to be facing forwards. Probably watching the dirt road and internally praying that they would reach the Mystery Shack as soon as possible. She felt sick.

     [M/N] didn't have any room to fully sit in the Mystery Cart. With the twins occupying the seats, he was left with only one place that wouldn't immediately get him killed in an encounter like this.

     Clinging onto the back of the cart by gripping one of the poles that held up the roof of the vehicle as tightly as he could bear. His hands were both stinging and practically numb at this point from squeezing so hard.

     Okay, maybe he would get killed.

     The monster's shadow engulfed the cart and part of the path before them, yanking a scream out of [M/N] when it reached forward and attempted to grab ahold of all three kids. It almost caught him. However, luckily the creature's fingers missed him by a hair.

     " WHY COULDN'T WE HAVE JUST STOLEN STAN'S CAR?! " [M/N] yelled to be heard over the wind that nearly deafened them all with how fast they were going.

     The instant he finished that sentence, the cart flew off a rock and flipped around, roughly landing back on the ground and somehow driving in the same direction as they previously were. How? None of them knew. It was a miracle.

     My name is Dipper. The girl about to puke is my sister Mabel, and the guy hanging on for dear life is our new friend, [M/N].

     You may be wondering what we're doing in a golf cart, fleeing from a creature of unimaginable horror.

     The monster ripped a tree out of the ground, bits of dirt and grass dislodging themselves from the roots and scattering everywhere as the tree was thrown overhead.

     " LOOK OUT !" Mabel warned, but it was too late. The tree trunk landed right in their path. All Dipper could do was swerve in an attempt to not crash and unintentionally kill all three of them.

     Rest assured, there's a perfectly logical explanation.

🌲🐟

     Earlier that day...

     Where the only things that [M/N] had brought with him were some clothes and his phone along with that tape and creepy old letter from the mysterious box in his parents' room, he didn't have much to entertain himself with. He hadn't even been there for a day yet but he already knew by now that his main sources of entertainment were either watching sweaty, exhausted and awkward tourists browse the gift shop, or on rare occasions, he could sneak in some TV when Stan wasn't hogging the only chair in the living room.

     Which is why he was now sitting legs-crossed on the wooden floor of the gift shop next to the register catching up on the second latest issue of Gold Chains for Old Men Magazine that he'd stolen from Stan. He didn't want to read it. In fact, if it weren't out of sheer boredom, he probably would've never read this article or even used it as kindling for a campfire. For s'mores ! He could be doing anything else. Much better things. He would've been fine with that. He just needed something to do.

     And that was where Mabel's flirting shenanigans came in.

     He glanced up at her from his spot on the floor just as she peeked out from behind a row of Stan bobbleheads.

     "He's looking at it! He's looking at it! " Mabel excitedly whispered as she watched a boy nearby read a note he'd been given by her.

     "Uh..." The boy began to read the note. "' Do you like me? Yes. Definitely. Absolutely!!!'...? " He looked around uncertainly, reasonably puzzled by both the note itself and whoever gave it to him.

     Mabel lowered her voice and grinned. "I rigged it!"

     [M/N] couldn't resist from chuckling to himself at the silly attempt. It was difficult to be too annoyed when she was so passionate and eager about trying to get a date. It was more funny to him than anything, atleast so far.

     Atleast watching this is better than reading Gold Chains for Old Men Magazine.

     "Mabel," Dipper began to advise her while he spritzed water onto a jar of eyeballs resting on the counter and wiped it, "I know you're going through your whole "Boy Crazy" phase, but I think you're kind of overdoing it with the "crazy" part."

     His sister turned to look at him. "What?!" Mabel blew a raspberry and took a couple steps closer to them. "Come on , Dipper! This is our first summer away from home! It's my big chance to have an epic summer romance!"

     "Yeah, but do you need to flirt with every guy you meet?"

     "He's got a point. You did kinda shove a guy into a display ‘n’ onto the ground earlier." [M/N] chimed in and stood up, casually tossing the magazine he was previously reading on the counter. He stretched and winced when a few too many joints popped in all the wrong places.

     "Ow, ow- God, why does the floor in here hurt so bad?"

     The twins ignored [M/N]'s quiet complaint as he approached the two of them with his hands in his jacket's pockets.

     "Mock all you want, brother and new friend, but I got a good feeling about this summer. I wouldn't be surprised if the man of my dreams walked through that door right now." Mabel declared and pointed to the door inside the Shack that led to the gift shop, the word " MUSEUM " painted above the doorway.

     Everyone's gaze shifted to see if she was correct and she was almost instantly proven wrong. Stan walked through the door holding a couple arrow shaped signs and a can of Pitt Cola. As soon as he stepped into the gift shop he burped, but it got caught in his throat.

     "Oh! Oh, not good. Ow."

     "Aww! Why?!" Mabel cringed, fully regretting her previous statement.

     Dipper and [M/N] just started laughing at her horrible choice of words.

     "G-Good luck with that marriage, man. I think you're gonna need it." [M/N] joked in the midst of his laughter, which got an even more disgusted look and a shiver from Mabel.

     "Alright, alright, look alive, people. I need someone to go hammer up these signs in the spooky part of the forest." Stan announced, thankfully unaware of the conversation that just occurred.

     "Not it!" "Not it!" Dipper and Mabel quickly said right after eachother. [M/N] followed suit. "Not it!"

     Soos, who was drilling a shelf a couple feet away, paused to raise his hand. "Uh, also not it."

     "Nobody asked you, Soos."

     "I know, and I'm comfortable with that." Soos replied before taking a bite out of a chocolate bar.

     [M/N]'s eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, trying to make sense of the chocolate bar's sudden appearance. Soos didn't have it just a second ago. Did he?

     "Where did you even get that from?"

     Soos shrugged and Stan moved right on with the conversation. He looked over at Wendy who was sitting back in a chair across the room, dirty boots propped up on the counter while she read a magazine. "Wendy! I need you to put up this sign!"

     "I would, but I, ugh- can't, ugh- reach it, ugh..." The redhead put on an incredibly low effort act of trying to reach for the signs, her eyes never leaving the magazine pages.

     "I'd fire all of you if I could." Stan bluntly stated in his gruff voice.

     "Alright, let's make it..." He pointed between Dipper, Mabel, and [M/N]. "Eenie, meenie, miney..."

     "You." He pointed at Dipper.

     "Aw, what? Grunkle Stan, whenever I'm in those woods, I feel like I'm being watched."

     "Ugh, this again." Stan pinched the bridge of his nose.

     "I'm telling you, something weird is going on in this town! Just today, my mosquito bites spelled out BEWARE."

     Dipper pulled up his sleeve to show a ton of mosquito bites on his forearm. [M/N] leaned slightly closer to him and peered down over his shoulder to see if he was telling the truth. Sure enough, the red dots on his skin did spell out a word just as he had claimed, although it was a little misspelled.

     "...That says BEWARB." Stan commented.

     Dipper averted his gaze and scratched his arm in embarrassment.

     "I dunno. Maybe there is somethin' goin' on... I'm not too sure everything's exactly normal around here. I mean, the woods do feel a bit creepy." [M/N] piped up in Dipper's defense.

     "You haven't even been here for a day." Stan argued.

     "Doesn't mean I can't feel it. I was in the woods when you guys picked me up."

     "Look, kids. The whole "monsters in the forest" thing is just local legend, drummed up by guys like me to sell merch to guys like that."

     Stan gestured towards a particularly sweaty tourist chuckling at a Stan bobblehead.

     [M/N] shuddered in revulsion.

     Why can't the Mystery Shack get customers that are less uncomfortable to be around? I guess that's part of the whole "Mystery" thing or somethin'. Whatever it is, I hate it.

     "So quit being so paranoid!" Stan tossed Dipper the signs. The boy caught them and sighed but perked up curiously when Stan pointed at [M/N].

     "And you're going too! If you're gonna be paranoid, do it away from the gift shop. You're gonna scare off customers talking like that."

     [M/N] deflated at the idea of helping with Stan's chores. "Really? C'mon, Stan, it's my first day here. Can't ya wait until tomorrow? Orrr... y'know, maybe a little after that?" He laughed nervously. "I'm still tired-"

     Even though his questions were mainly an attempt to get out of hanging up signs in the unsettling forest, [M/N] actually was pretty tired still. He slept well the night prior but traveling across the country by bus had practically sucked all the energy out of him. Only a little bit of it was back as of now.

     Stan's voice cut through his excuses. "Uh-uh. You wanted someone to show you around, right? Well, you got it. You needed to figure out where everything's at anyways. Might as well get some work done with it."

     [M/N] opened his mouth to argue, but shut it again once Stan's words registered in his mind. That did kind of make sense. As much as he didn't want to do work, he was bored to death sitting around in the gift shop all day doing nothing. Plus, he didn't mind Dipper so far. He was nice. Very blunt, but nice. [M/N] wouldn't care to spend a little more time with him.

     So he hesitantly nodded and shared a glance with Dipper before following the other boy out of the Mystery Shack.

🌲🐟

     Dense, murky fog swirled around roots and wind from the gloomy sky blew through branches of pine needles, the current weather becoming an unwelcome addition to the already disturbing atmosphere of the forest. There was a faint chill that made the two boys' skin crawl despite it being summer. Whether it was simply from the state of the outdoors at the moment or from their anxiety over the woods, neither of them knew. But they sucked it up and went on their way to hammer up the signs anyway.

     "Ugh, Grunkle Stan. Nobody ever believes anything I say." Dipper muttered to himself as he hammered a nail into a tree and hung one of the wooden signs there. Then his gaze shifted to the boy standing beside him.

     It really only struck him now that [M/N] had somewhat stood up for him, or atleast shared some of the same beliefs as he did. Dipper had been so caught up in his grumpiness over having to do Stan's chores that he didn't even process what exactly happened until this moment.

     "...Except for you. Thanks for earlier, I guess."

     Dipper really was thankful. He was just unsure of what to say as well as a bit confused and distracted by both hanging up signs and [M/N]'s odd behavior.

     [M/N] shrugged, absentmindedly messing around with the grass below him with his shoe. "No need to thank me. I was just sayin' what I thought."

     Even with his limited knowledge about him due to knowing him for less than 24 hours, Dipper had noticed that this guy was oddly fidgety and on edge when he was alone with anyone. He was kind of that way in general though. So far there was always a subtle hint of it, but it became extremely clear when [M/N] was alone with someone. Or, really, not too noticeable unless you were analytical or overly curious. Dipper was both. He saw it when Stan started to lead [M/N] away from him and Mabel to guide him to his new room last night, and Dipper caught sight of it now that he was alone with him, too.

     It was like [M/N] was paranoid about his new environment.

     He memorized a few of the Shack's residents' footstep patterns, already able to tell who was near just by sound alone. And if for any reason he couldn’t hear as well as usual, sometimes he could still tell who it was through the way the floor shook when somebody was approaching. It was almost impressive considering how short of a time he'd been here with them.

     Although he was nice and liked it here so far, [M/N] didn't seem to linger too closely to anyone yet. Physically or mentally. He was a bit awkward, especially around Mabel, just because of her friendliness and how forward she was with it. He didn't look like he knew how to handle how close she would get. He would usually become tense even if he really was okay or enjoyed her presence.

     Sometimes he would hear small details that nobody else could pick up on. It was like he was hypervigilant in some way. Puzzlingly jumpy and jittery from things that were casual to everybody else.

     And then there was his anxious hesitancy to ask for things he needed. He typically ended up asking anyway, but there was a bizarre underlying quality of nervousness to it everytime.

     [M/N]'s questionable behavior was almost... concerning. Dipper couldn't pinpoint the exact cause just yet. He couldn't put his finger on it and he couldn’t figure out why he already cared that much, either. Most times [M/N] was perfectly normal on the outside, yet there was a persistent nagging feeling of slight worry and intrigue that haunted Dipper's brain. He wasn't going to ask about it yet. It was far too personal for the short time they'd known eachother. Maybe he’d try after a week or two.

     He came to the correct conclusion before that his new friend actually took atleast some pleasure in being in Gravity Falls, no matter how anxious he could be or how much he refused to talk about the reason why he came here.

     Oh well. Maybe I'll get whatever it is out of him one day.

     Dipper was snapped out of his internal investigation of [M/N]'s behavior by [M/N] himself. Speak of the devil. Or I guess think. Yeah, think. Think of the devil.

     "D’ya need another sign?"

     Oh, shoot! Right. The signs.

     Dipper mentally cringed as he realized he'd probably been silently staring at [M/N] for a second or two while the other boy just stood there with the signs in his arms and Dipper held the hammer and nails. He got too lost in his thoughts. He quickly shook his head in an attempt to shake off any embarrassment and gave [M/N] an awkward smile.

     "Uh... Yeah. Please. Sorry."

     [M/N] just chuckled and handed him another wooden arrow sign. Then they walked over to another tree. Dipper tried to hammer a nail into the old moss and mushroom covered tree trunk, but the nail didn't go through.

     CLANG

     Dipper and [M/N] froze, obviously caught off guard by the noise they just heard. Their eyes widened and they simultaneously questioned what just happened.

     "Huh?"

     "That's... weird."

     Their interruptions of eachother were followed by Dipper tapping the tree with the hammer two more times. And there it was again, that metallic noise.

     That... definitely is not normal.

     He exchanged a glance with [M/N] and then his hand slid across the tree trunk, wiping away some dust before his fingertips brushed against what felt like a door. His other hand reached up as well to pull the bottom corner of the door open and reveal whatever it was that lay waiting behind it.

     Neither of the boys really knew what to expect. Anything could've been in there, but they had absolutely no clue what the thing was at first.

     Resting in the secret window was some strange contraption. A mechanical box that looked like it hadn't been so much as even studied in decades. Covered with layers of dust and cobwebs, safely surrounded by the fake pine tree it was encased in.

     Dipper tested one of its control switches and nothing happened. The other one, however, made a hatch open up in the ground behind the two boys, its appearance announced by the disturbed goat right in that spot that bleated and ran away.

     "What the..." They murmured in unison.

     They both turned around and approached the hole. Upon looking inside, they spotted an old tattered book, absolutely littered with webs, dirt, and unfortunately, centipedes. Thankfully those crawled out and skittered away a second before Dipper picked it up to study it. [M/N] hovered closely to him in an attempt to get a peek at what the book exactly was, his head almost resting on Dipper's shoulder as he hunched over the slightest bit to get a better look and he blew the dust off the book's cover.

     The cobwebs were swept away in the wind, revealing a golden six-fingered left handprint with the number " 3 " written on its palm in black paint or ink.

     "Woah..." [M/N] mused under his breath. "What the heck is in this thing? It looks all... beat up 'n' torn." He was clearly confused. It masked most of his other emotions right now. Though, there was still a thinly veiled hint of curiosity in his voice and interest that bubbled just barely beneath the surface, unable to be fully hidden or contained.

     There was no way they weren't gonna check this thing out now.

     "I don't know. I had no clue this was out here." Dipper replied, whispering as if he were trying to keep their conversation secret, like if he spoke any louder at all someone would hear. He placed the book down in the grass and glanced around, scanning the area to make sure that no one was nearby. They were in the clear. [M/N] crouched down beside him and watched as Dipper opened it up to look at the inside of the cover.

     The pages were all yellowed with time, just like the mysterious letters that [M/N] had read back at his home. This journal's papers appeared to be around the same age as the letters based off of looks alone. On the inside of the front cover, there was a smaller paper taped in that read " Property of— " in very neatly written cursive, the name of whoever it previously belonged to lost since the bottom of the paper had been ripped off long ago.

     Dipper momentarily inspected the eye-glass in the book and put it down again. Next, he flipped to the next page and started to read the journal's first entry aloud.

"It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began studying the strange and wondrous secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon. "

     While Dipper read the entry, a bad feeling was beginning to settle in [M/N]'s gut. "Why would somebody hide this in the middle of the woods...?"

     Dipper slowly shook his head in a sort of "I don't know" manner and skimmed through some of the journal's many detailed entries and drawings. Descriptions of monsters such as floating eyeballs, giant vampire bats, and even things like gnomes were littered throughout the book, cryptic research that had been lost in time until now.

     "What is all this?"

     He paused on a particularly unsettling entry and repeated the words.

"Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. I'm being watched.

I must hide this book before He finds it.

Remember - in Gravity Falls, there is no one you can trust."

     Underneath the entry, there was a dire warning that said " TRUST NO ONE! " but he didn't read that one out loud. The rest said enough. He was also too busy processing what just happened to really read anything else, and he was sure that [M/N] probably was too, considering the mixture of wonder, curiosity and discomfort that remained on his face.

     "No one you can trust." Dipper shut the journal and looked straight forward.

     "Welp, goodbye to any hope of feelin' safe." [M/N] mumbled next to him.

     " HELLO !" A familiar female voice loudly greeted behind them, making Dipper almost drop the journal, having to scramble to catch it while [M/N] was startled and lost his balance in his previously crouched position, falling face first onto the grass with a grunt.

     "Whatcha guys readin'? Some nerd thing?" Mabel questioned the two of them.

     [M/N] spat out a blade of grass and sat back up on his knees, turning around to face Mabel with a slight glare. Only because he almost got a mouthful of dirt since she scared the shit out of both him and Dipper.

     Dipper quickly hid the journal behind his back. "Uh, uh, it's nothing!"

     Mabel waved her hands around. " Uah, uah, it's nothing!! " She mocked her brother's horrible attempt to act like nothing happened. Then she just laughed through her next words. "What, are you actually not gonna show me?"

     "Uhhh..."

     Behind her brother, the goat from earlier nibbled on the bottom of the journal's spine. Dipper looked back at the goat and then at Mabel again.

     "Let's go somewhere more private."

     When his sister wasn't looking, Dipper looked to the side at [M/N], recognizing that same mixture of fascination, awe and light fear of what they just witnessed that he felt on the other boy's face.

     Mabel began walking the way back to the Mystery Shack, already knowing where the best place to discuss it was. [M/N] pushed himself to his feet and stood up somewhat shakily, following in Mabel's footsteps and settling into place beside Dipper.

     [M/N] didn't know how to express his excitement verbally without alerting Mabel of what they discovered so instead he just settled on repeatedly poking Dipper's shoulder with a smile on his face. Dipper grinned as well and rapidly poked his friend's shoulder back with his free hand, the journal safely cradled in the other. It was like some stupid silent celebration of their discovery. The book they found was totally creepy yet fascinating at the same time.

     I wonder what this thing will lead us to... Dipper wondered in silence as they made their way back to the Mystery Shack.

🌲🐟

     Back at the Mystery Shack, [M/N] stood with his back facing the TV and watched as Dipper and Mabel discussed their find in the woods in the living room.

     "It's amazing! Grunkle Stan said I was being paranoid, but according to this book, Gravity Falls has this secret dark side." Dipper held the journal up to Mabel and showed her the page that read " TRUST NO ONE! ".

     " Woah ! Shut up !" Mabel shoved her brother from her spot on the arm of the chair. [M/N] just chuckled at the twins' antics from the side.

     "And get this! After a certain point, the pages just stop, like the guy who was writing it... mysteriously disappeared."

     Dipper's fascination over the journal was cut off by the doorbell ringing.

     "Who's that?"

     "Well, time to spill the beans." Mabel paused to knock over an empty can of beans. "Boop. Beans. "

     "This girl's got a date. Woot woot!" Mabel celebrated her little victory, cheering then giggling and falling back onto the chair cushion.

     [M/N] raised an eyebrow suspiciously and Dipper seemed skeptical. Getting a date in that short of a timeframe was a bit... sketchy. As well as confusing. None of them knew the town super well just yet, and Mabel going out with some random guy didn't really sound safe. Especially since they didn't know whoever it was.

     "Let me get this straight: in the half hour [M/N] and I were gone, you already found a boyfriend?" Dipper questioned his sister.

     "...I'm not sure goin' out with a guy you haven't even known for 30 minutes is a good idea. I mean, who knows what-" [M/N] tried to warn her, but he was interrupted by Mabel's silliness.

     "What can I say? I guess I'm just..." She began loosely waving her sweater sleeves around. "IRRESISTIBLLLLE!"

     The doorbell rang two more times.

     "Oh! Coming!" Mabel shouted and hopped off the couch to run and get the door.

     [M/N] watched Dipper steal Mabel's spot on the chair. Not knowing what else to do, he walked over and hopped up onto the arm of the chair beside him, gazing down at him while the other boy pulled out the journal and began reading one of the older entries.

     [M/N]'s sigh cut through the silence after a few seconds of nothing. "...I don't think I trust that. Do you?"

     "Huh?" Dipper glanced up at [M/N].

     "Her going out with some guy that none of us know anythin' about. Maybe I'm just bein' paranoid, like Stan said... I don't know. It just seems sketchy to me. Got a weird feeling."

     "Yeah... Kinda." Dipper mused thoughtfully. "It's not like whoever it is could be too terrible, right? I mean, it's Mabel. She's smart. Just... very prone to romantic distraction."

     "I can definitely see that."

     At that moment, Stan walked in and spotted the two boys sitting on the chair.

     "Whatcha reading there, slick?"

     "Oh!" Dipper nervously perked up and hid the journal beneath the chair cushion, grabbing whatever magazine was nearby and knocking the empty can of beans onto the floor in the process.

     "I was just catching up on, uh..."

     He flipped to a random page like he was browsing through and then looked at the cover.

     " Gold Chains for Old Men Magazine ?"

     Stan and [M/N] spoke up simultaneously.

     "That's a good issue."

     "Huh. Haven't gotten to read that one yet."

     Stan cast an irritated glare over at [M/N]. "Wait a second- So you're the one that stole the second latest issue!"

     "There was literally nothin’ else to read !"

     Note taken: Stan is overly passionate about his fake gold chains for ol' geezers. Don't ever steal them or the magazines about 'em.

     As Stan leaned his elbow above Dipper's head on the chair, Mabel's voice called out from somewhere nearby.

     "Heyyy, family! Say hello to my new boyfriend!" Mabel enthusiastically introduced him.

     The other three boys in the room shifted their attention to the kid in a black hoodie standing next to Mabel. "Creepy" was the only word [M/N] could come up with to describe him. Almost unnaturally pale with dark hair covering his left eye and a fang barely peeking out from under his lip. And some kind of red liquid dripped down his cheek, which wasn't doing him any favors.

     Yeah, okay. Either this guy's not human or he's way too dedicated to trying to look emo. Not a good look on him either way.

     "'Sup?" The guy casually greeted.

     "Hey..."

     "Hey dude."

     "How's it hanging?"

     Mabel continued her introduction of her new boyfriend. "We met at the cemetery. He's really deep."

     Makes sense. He looks like he just crawled out of a grave. Or from under a rock.

     "You're tellin' me you went to the cemetery while we were gone for 30 minutes, got a date, and found us outside before we found you?" [M/N] asked.

     The guy standing in the doorway of the Mystery Shack's living room was already creepy enough, but now [M/N] was just wondering how the hell Mabel had time for all that.

     Mabel was too distracted by squeezing her boyfriend's "muscles" to even process [M/N]'s question.

     "So, what's your name?" Dipper inquired.

     "Uh..." Mabel's boyfriend glanced around as if he was trying to think of something to say. He struggled to speak. "Normal... Man!"

     "He means Norman." Mabel assisted him in telling the other three boys his name.

     [M/N] squinted suspiciously. "... Right ."

     Norman received another question from Dipper. "Are you bleeding, Norman?"

     "It's jam."

     Mabel gasped. "I love jam! Look. At. This!"

     "So, you wanna go hold hands or... whatever...?" Norman offered.

     "Oh, oh my goodness-" Mabel giggled. "Don't wait up!" She said bye to the other three boys and ran out of the room.

     Norman pointed a finger gun at Stan, Dipper and [M/N] before proceeding to run into the wall several times on his way out, accidentally bashing his head against it. As well as breaking a lamp in the hall. Ouch.

     Once his sister's boyfriend was gone and he knew Stan was distracted by his magazine, Dipper's eye twitched in irritation and he tugged on [M/N]'s sleeve to get his attention.

     "[M/N], don't you think there's something... off about Norman?" He whispered.

     [M/N] nodded. "If you mean he looks like a total creep, then yeah."

     Dipper didn't reply. His only response was the new look of determination on his face as he suddenly grabbed [M/N]'s wrist and dragged him out of the room, earning a small "woah!" from the other boy as they made their way upstairs and into the attic.

     The Mystery Shack's attic was slightly unnerving and filled to the brim with dust. The wooden floor was bathed in pale red lighting cast by the sun through a strange window. A design of a triangle with an eye watched over the two boys while they sat on the seat next to it, adding onto the mysterious atmosphere of the room. Dipper partially slumped his shoulder against it while [M/N] sat on the cushion with his back facing the glass. The window sent a slight shiver down [M/N]'s spine for a reason he couldn't quite place his finger on.

     All he knew was that it felt like something was watching him. Something that he couldn't see. A piercing glare that was searing into the back of his head and refused to take its eye off of him for even a single second.

     He tried his best to ignore it and focused on Dipper, who was now scanning through the journal they found earlier. He was muttering to himself about the various entries that decorated the pages. It took him a minute, but eventually he found something.

     "Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes, these creatures are often mistaken for... teenagers?! Beware Gravity Falls' nefarious..."

     Dipper gasped. [M/N] tried to peek and see the page he was looking at, catching a glimpse of a detailed drawing of a zombie that eerily resembled Norman. He didn't get to inspect it for too long though, because he backed away as soon as Dipper screamed right in his ear.

     " ZOMBIE! "

     [M/N] cringed away from the ear-splitting noise and briefly cupped his hands over his ears to try and recover. " Ow ! What-"

     Dipper turned around on the seat to peer out the window, [M/N] reluctantly copying him. All he wanted to do right now was hide until his ears didn't feel like they were bleeding anymore.

     Outside on the grass below, Mabel was hanging out with her new boyfriend. Norman staggered towards her in a conveniently zombie-like fashion and groaned with each step.

     [M/N]'s gaze shifted from Norman to Dipper as he started freaking out, thinking his sister's brain was about to be eaten. [M/N] didn't fully believe that Mabel's new boyfriend was actually a zombie at first, despite how rough and undead the guy looked. After all, normally it would’ve been a ridiculous thought. Zombies ? Really? But Dipper's panicked screaming and how concerned he was about his sister persuaded him. And so he started yelling as well and rapidly knocking on the glass to try and grab her attention.

     That was until the two boys saw that Norman was just trying to put a flower necklace around Mabel's neck.

     Mabel was safe and, as her typical romance-obsessed self, blushing over the pretty daisies around her neck.

     Both boys turned away from the window as Dipper hopped off the cushion next to the glass. "Is my sister really dating a zombie, or am I just going nuts?" He asked himself.

     [M/N] shrugged. He didn't really know the answer either.

     "It's a dilemma, to be sure."

     Startled by Soos' sudden appearance, both Dipper and [M/N] gasped and jumped.

     "I couldn't help but overhear you talkin' aloud to yourself in this empty room."

     "Soos, you've seen Mabel's boyfriend. He's gotta be a zombie, right?"

     "Seriously! He looks like he's already got his own tombstone."

     "Hmm. How many brains did you two see the guy eat?" Soos inquired as he worked on fixing a lightbulb in the attic.

     Dipper and [M/N] looked down. "Zero..."

     "Look, dudes, I believe you. I'm always noticing weird stuff in this town. Like the mailman? Pretty sure that guy's a werewolf."

     Soos paused like he was remembering some old memory before pointing his screwdriver at the two of them.

     "But ya gotta have evidence. Otherwise, people are gonna think you're a major league cuckoo clock."

     "As always Soos, you're right." Dipper nodded, his statement followed up by a hum of agreement from [M/N].

     "My wisdom is both a blessing and a curse."

     Stan's voice reverberated throughout the Shack from downstairs. " SOOS! [M/N]! The portable toilets are clogged again!"

     "I am needed elsewhere." Soos adjusted his hat and backed away into the darkness, vanishing.

     Meanwhile, [M/N] threw his hands up in the air, pissed off about already having to clean the portable toilets of all things on his first day here.

     "I LITERALLY JUST GOT HERE!"

     Dipper couldn't contain a small snicker beside him. [M/N] just sighed and hopped off the seat by the window, turning to face him.

     "I guess I gotta go do chores for Stan. You be careful, alright? I don't want you dyin' on me on my first day in Gravity Falls, y'hear?" He teased, although the slight furrow of his eyebrows suggested that he really was somewhat worried. Dipper hadn't even said that he was going to investigate Mabel's new boyfriend yet but [M/N] could already guess that was what he was about to go do.

     He didn't want to seem like he was concerned, so he tried to distract the other boy from it by playfully tugging his hat down over his eyes. "It'd be a lot more boring if you weren't here."

     Dipper chuckled and waved him off, quickly fixing his hat. As anxious as he was about Norman, the silly gesture did help him feel a little better. "Alright. I'll try not to get my brains eaten. No promises.”

     [M/N] just smiled and laughed, already feeling some relief. Atleast he could probably see Dipper after having to do the horrible chore of unclogging the Mystery Shack's porta potties with Soos. He gave him a small wave on his way out of the attic, the wooden floorboards creaking underneath his feet.

     Atleast it's more interestin’ here than it is back home. Maybe this place ain’t too bad after all.

🌲🐟

     [M/N] had just finished getting dressed and drying his hair after a shower when he walked in the Mystery Shack's living room to find Dipper sitting on Stan's chair and muttering to himself. The other boy didn't notice him step into the room, too distracted by whatever he recorded on camera. [M/N] didn't hear most of what he said but he caught the tail end of it.

     "...guess I can be kind of paranoid sometimes and- Wait, WHAT?!"

     [M/N]'s eyes widened as he witnessed Dipper rewatch whatever he caught on camera and then scream and tip the chair over with him in it.

     "Woah, woah, woah- Dipper, what's wrong?" [M/N] rushed towards him, obviously wondering what the hell happened to make him freak out this much.

     "Oh, [M/N]- I was right! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Dipper scrambled to get up out of the chair on the floor and bolted out the door with no further explanation.

     Alarmed by the other boy's sheer panic, [M/N] raced after him, sprinting outside in time to witness him desperately trying to get Stan's attention from behind a crowd of tourists that were asking brainless questions about an attraction.

     It didn't work.

     [M/N] had no idea what he saw to make him this scared, but he wasn't going to let him go alone. Not when he was like this.

     "Dude, let's just steal Stan's car. I saw him leave his keys near the vendin’ machine earlier."

     "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE!" Dipper protested with a voice crack.

     "WE CAN LEARN ON THE ROAD!"

     Just then, the two of them spotted Wendy drive up to the Shack in the Mystery Cart.

     Dipper instantly ran over to her with [M/N] hot on his heels. "WENDY! Wendy, Wendy! We need to borrow the golf cart so we can save my sister from a zombie!" He frantically pleaded, waving his arms around.

     The redhead in question gave Dipper the cart keys and walked off with a wink. "Try not to hit any pedestrians!"

     The two boys immediately got in the Mystery Cart.

     "Why do you get to drive? You're only 12!" [M/N] complained.

     " You're only 13! You're one year older than me! Plus, you were gonna steal Grunkle Stan's car! We'd probably crash and die!"

     [M/N] pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, slowly nodding. "...Touché."

     Dipper began backing up the golf cart, only to be interrupted by Soos.

     "Dudes, it's me, Soos. This is for the zombies." He handed Dipper a shovel.

     "Thanks."

     "And this is in case you see a piñata." Soos handed him a baseball bat.

     "Uh... Thanks?" Dipper took the bat from him. [M/N] raised an eyebrow in confusion but decided to hold both the shovel and bat so that Dipper could drive properly.

     Or, well, as properly as a 12 year old could possibly drive a golf cart.

     Soos shouted after the two of them as Dipper backed up the golf cart and drove off. "BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY!"

     "THANKS, SOOS!!" [M/N] shouted his thanks back to him.

     Really, he didn't know why the handyman thought they would find a piñata, but the baseball bat would be a great weapon.

     What he did know, however, was that Mabel's new "boyfriend" was going to get his face bashed in if he laid a single finger on her. [M/N] would not hesitate to beat the shit out of a possible teenage zombie.

     The cart's tires screeched as they raced down the dirt road. And a noise echoed through the forest that instantaneously terrified and outraged Dipper and [M/N].

     Mabel screaming for help.

     "DON'T WORRY, MABEL! WE'LL SAVE YOU FROM THAT ZOMBIE!" Dipper yelled.

     They drove over the uneven path, the cart jumping with every bump in the road.

     Could they have made this path any worse? Seriously, hittin' every bump here is bound to make anybody sick.

     Eventually they wheeled into a more shady section of the woods, a deep underground tunnel with greener trees adorned by pretty mushrooms and luminescent plants.

     [M/N] probably would've found this place beautiful and mesmerizing if his new friend wasn't in danger.

     In the distance, they spotted what appeared to be a bunch of tiny little men trying to pin Mabel down. Tiny little men with beards and pointy red hats.

     Wait... Gnomes?

     Dipper parked the cart and he and [M/N] stepped out just in time to overhear a gnome that was standing away from the rest of them, just watching the rest of them try to fully capture the girl.

     "The more you struggle, the more awkward this is gonna be for everybody! Just, haha, okay. Get her arm there, Steve!"

     Mabel punched the gnome, Steve, off of her and sent him flying. He landed over by the edge of the clearing and leaned against the gnarled roots of a tree before throwing up rainbows.

     "What the heck is going on here?" Dipper questioned.

     "Dipper! [M/N]! Norman turned out to be a bunch of gnomes! And they're total jerks!" Mabel explained and grimaced when a gnome yanked on some of her hair. " Hair! Hair! Hair! "

     "Gnomes? Huh, I was way off..." Dipper took the journal out of his vest pocket and began reading the page on gnomes aloud to himself, trying to find any currently useful information or possible weaknesses.

     Watching him pull that book out of his pocket only left [M/N] with more questions. How does he fit that in there? Are his pockets just a void or somethin'? That journal is huge for a book!

     [M/N] was snapped out of his thoughts by Mabel's frustrated shouting upon being tied to the ground by the gnomes. "Aw, come on!"

     Dipper marched up to the leading gnome, fists clenched while [M/N] was right on his trail, hands tightly clutching the baseball bat they'd been given.

     "Hey, HEY! Let go of my sister!"

     The main gnome turned around to face the two of them. He became nervous as soon as he heard Dipper's demand and the look on both of their faces.

     "Oh! Haha, hey there! Um, you know, this is all really just a big misunderstanding. You see, your sister's not in any danger. She's just marrying all one thousand of us and becoming our gnome queen for all eternity! Isn't that right, honey?"

     "You guys are BUTT-FACES!" Mabel insulted them. She was quickly muffled by a different gnome covering her mouth with his hands.

     Dipper pointed the shovel at the main gnome and [M/N] winded the baseball bat back in preparation to hit a home run, glaring down at the tiny man. "Give her back right now, or else!" Dipper ordered.

     The gnome pointed at Dipper. "You think you can stop us, boy? You have no idea what we're capable of-"

     During the gnome's rant, Dipper and [M/N] side-eyed eachother, the silent question of "is this guy serious?" lingering on their faces.

     They both were waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Both had weapons pointed at the tiny man in front of them. But frustration was still boiling beneath [M/N]'s skin and threatening to spill over.

     He didn't want to hit this guy with a bat. No, this was more personal. Much, much more personal. He tried to kidnap a girl. His friend.

     So that was why he dropped the bat and cocked his fist back.

     "The gnomes are a powerful race! Do not trifle with the-"

     The leading gnome's speech was interrupted by [M/N]'s fist punching him in the jaw with as much strength as he could muster, sending him flying into the bushes.

     "Nice shot!" Dipper called out as he sprinted over to Mabel and cut the strings tying her down with the shovel. He might've been distracted by trying to save his sister, but he couldn't deny that [M/N] packed a pretty good punch.

     The three kids started running back to the Mystery Cart as soon as Mabel was free. Dipper hopped into the driver's seat, but Mabel hesitated for a split second.

     Where was [M/N] going to sit?

     By the way [M/N] paused at the same moment she did, it seemed like he had the same question, but he shook his head. He quickly hopped onto the back of the golf cart and grasped the two back poles holding its roof up for support before she could even utter the question out loud. She didn't ask about it and instead just hopped in the passenger seat.

     She felt kind of guilty about making him sit back there, if you could even call it sitting, but they needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

     The leader of the gnomes popped his head out of the bushes. Enraged by the sight of the kids getting away, he dashed into the clearing and said something, but [M/N] didn't catch whatever it was. Something about their "queen". Gross.

     "Seatbelt," Dipper simply reminded Mabel as he started to back up the cart and turned it around. Once the back of the golf cart was facing the gnome army, [M/N] angrily shook one of his fists in the air, his other hand holding onto one of the cart's poles.

     " PERVERTS !" He shouted at the gnomes while they began driving away.

     Once they got out of the underground tunnel, Mabel turned to Dipper. "Hurry, before they come after us!" She pleaded.

     "I wouldn't worry about it. See their little legs?" Dipper laughed, mimicking legs running with his fingers before waving his hand dismissively. "Those suckers are tiny!"

     They all froze and Dipper hit the brakes as they heard a loud stomping sound. They looked back to see all the gnomes stacked on top of eachother to make one giant gnome.

     "Dang." "That is one big gnome. " Mabel and [M/N] whispered right after eachother.

     The leader gnome sat on the very top, using the others' hats as levers. However that worked. "Alright, teamwork, guys, like we practiced."

     The gnome monster raised its arms in the air and roared.

     "Move, MOVE!" Mabel ordered, panicked.

     "GUN IT!" [M/N] yelled.

     The monster brought down its fist right where the cart was a split second before, its limb exploding into a bunch of gnomes. They frantically crawled back into place and reassembled.

     As they raced down the dirt path, multiple gnomes launched themselves at the Mystery Cart, gnawing on its roof and a few other things.

     Unfortunately for him, one of said things was [M/N].

     Startled, he kept an iron grip on one of the poles, clinging on for dear life while his free hand slapped the gnome off of him. It took a few tries but it worked. He could hear Dipper and Mabel up front struggling against them as well, but they ended up being fine too. [M/N] did see Dipper's star hat being swept away by the wind though and he briefly frowned.

     Aw man. That was a nice hat. It looked good on him, too.

     The gnome giant tore a massive pine tree out of the ground with frightening ease and chucked it right over the cart like a spear. It landed in the dirt directly in their path. All three of them screamed and Dipper swerved, barely avoiding the tree trunk and the rock that held it up.

     They luckily managed to not crash into either of those things, but unfortunately, the abrupt swerve caused the Mystery Cart to go out of control and it spun around in circles. [M/N] lost his grip and ended up falling off the back of the vehicle. Or more like flying off of it, with how fast they were spinning.

     The twins gasped and worriedly called out his name. " [M/N]!"

     He was flung onto the ground pretty roughly. It definitely hurt, but he could focus on that later. His main concern was the Pines twins' safety. Bruised and disoriented, he glanced up in the direction of the Mystery Shack, looking up just in time to see the Mystery Cart overturn onto its side and skid to a halt next to the Mystery Shack.

     Oh, shit!

     [M/N] gasped and did his best to push himself to his feet. It hurt. It hurt pretty fucking bad. Nothing was sprained, fractured or broken, but he was still all scratched and totally sore. He could feel scrapes burning his skin and the itchiness of the grass underneath him didn't help. Still though, he managed to get up and hurriedly wobble his way over to the golf cart with a slight limp.

     "Dipper? Mabel? Guys!" He called out to them, his voice slightly hoarse both from too much screaming and the sting he felt from his injuries.

     His face lit up with relief once he saw the twins crawl out of the golf cart. They groaned from the impact of the crash and were bruised too, but atleast they didn't look as bad as he did right now.

     [M/N] came to a stop beside the two of them with only a bit of a struggle. They both looked up and spotted him at the same time.

     "[M/N]!" They said in unison. Mabel started to anxiously check in on him. He obviously did not look very alright, but it still felt mandatory to ask. "[M/N]! Are you okay?! You were on the cart one second then boom! You went flying!"

     The boy in question let out a shaky laugh and nodded. Mainly because he was obviously not really okay. It would have to wait, though. "I-I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm more worried about you two."

     The twins stared at him like he was crazy for a second. This guy just got flung off the back of a golf cart spinning at full speed and he was more worried about them ? Yeah, they didn't exactly land in the safest way possible, but it was likely still safer than he did.

     Their little staring contest was interrupted by the gnome monster finally catching up to them.

     Dipper angrily addressed the gnomes while Mabel hid behind the cart and [M/N] simply stayed put next to him. "Stay back, man!" Dipper warned and chucked the shovel at the gnomes.

     The monster just brought its fist down on the weapon in midair and crushed it.

     The three kids screamed and the Pines twins clung onto eachother for dear life.

     "Uh, where's Grunkle Stan ?" Dipper asked, shaky with fear.

     The monster towered over them and walked closer. Dipper stepped in front of the other two and held his arms out, and [M/N] made sure to stay firmly put in front of Mabel. He may have currently been in the worst shape out of all of them, but there was no way he was letting these creeps grab ahold of Mabel again. He wasn’t going to let them get their grubby little fingers on her.

     The gnomes' leader pointed down at them. "It's the end of the line, kids! Mabel, marry us before we do something crazy!"

     It was difficult for [M/N] to stay focused. He was sure he didn’t have a concussion. He was just winded and everything felt weirdly fuzzy because of that, not in a good way. He was slightly dazed and dizzy from his rough landing as well as obviously afraid of what was going on. He didn't even really catch the conversation between the twins and the gnomes, or Mabel's plan. All he felt was Dipper eventually tugging him back by his sleeve away from Mabel. Missing context and too out of it to really argue, he obliged.

     He witnessed the gnomes' leader climb down and slide a ring on Mabel's finger. He saw her pretend to pucker up to kiss him, and then suck him up with the leaf blower. And of course her and Dipper blasting him back at the other gnomes, making the monster explode and the tiny little men scatter everywhere.

     They all walked back over to the Mystery Shack. Mabel apologized to Dipper and they shared an Awkward Sibling Hug ™️ .

     [M/N] thought he could step right past them, but he was proven wrong when he was yanked back by his jacket sleeve.

     He let out a small squeak as he was engulfed into the hug by Mabel.

     "You get in here too, man! You didn't almost die for nothing." She laughed.

     [M/N] was very stiff at first like he didn't know exactly what to do, but he ended up wrapping his arms around them and lightly squeezing them back. They let go after a minute and headed back inside. [M/N] had to lean on them for support with how he was limping, but he was able to get back inside the Shack with no problem other than that.

     They walked in to see Stan sorting a stack of dollar bills at the gift shop's counter. His eyes widened once he noticed the state the kids were in; all three bruised and exhausted with leaves and twigs stuck in their hair, along with [M/N] having a bit of blood on him and a couple visible scrapes.

     [M/N]'s parents would've torn into Stan and genuinely killed him if they found out their son ended up like this on his first day here in Gravity Falls.

     Good thing they aren't here!

     "Yeesh. You three get hit by a bus or something? Ahah!" Stan smacked the counter and laughed at his own joke.

     The kids were unamused and began walking away. They were about to reach the door when Stan caught their attention again.

     "Uh, hey! Wouldn't you know it, um... I accidentally overstocked some inventory, so, uh... how's about each of you take one item from the gift shop? On the house, y'know?"

     Mabel and Dipper momentarily interrogated him while [M/N] just squinted at him suspiciously. None of them bought the "overstocked inventory" excuse.

     Oh, what the hell. Free stuff? On the house? Way better than nothin' after everything that's happened today.

     The three of them browsed the gift shop, searching for something to take. [M/N] really didn't know what to get. He ended up settling on a small fish plushie with sewn-on googly eyes just because it was funny looking.

     He clumsily walked over to Dipper, noticing him checking out a new hat. A blue and white cap with a matching pine tree design on the front. Dipper noticed [M/N] walking up behind him in the mirror's reflection and looked back at him over his shoulder.

     "Hey, you found another hat!" [M/N] grinned tiredly, cradling his fish plushie in one of his arms. He pointed down at his jacket with his free hand and laughed. "We match now."

     Dipper studied his new hat in the mirror's reflection one more time before turning around to face his friend. [M/N] was right. Their hat and jacket were both blue and white. They weren't the same shade of blue, with Dipper's hat being lighter than [M/N]'s jacket's almost navy color, but the thought still made Dipper smile a little.

     "Huh. I guess we do."

     "And I will have a... GRAPPLING HOOK !" Mabel excitedly declared in one corner of the room.

     Stan, Dipper and [M/N] all glanced at eachother with wide eyes and blank faces.

     Oh no.

     "Wouldn't she rather have, like... a doll or something?" Stan asked Dipper.

     "This can only end badly." [M/N] sighed quietly.

     Mabel fired the grappling hook at the ceiling. The hook caught on a wooden beam and it hoisted her up into the air, knocking several things over and breaking something glass in the process.

     "GRAPPLING HOOK!"

     Stan looked up at her and grinned. "Fair enough!"

🌲🐟

     The twins went to bed soon after Stan allowed them to grab something on the house from the gift shop.

     First though, they ended up helping [M/N] patch himself up, trying not to wince at all the scrapes and the slight limp he'd temporarily gained from getting flung off the golf cart. But after they got him disinfected and Mabel slapped a bunch of sparkly bandaids on his face, they went up to their room and passed out.

     [M/N] ended up staying up for about another hour and a half. He couldn't rest. It always happened when something frightened him the day before, even if it was no longer an issue. It was like his brain and nerves were actively working against him. Traitors.

     So for a while he was just laying under his covers on his room's couch in his pajamas. He didn't really know how to make himself pass out. He was staring at the wall for most of the duration of his inability to sleep, but after a while his eyes drifted to the fish plushie he'd taken from the gift shop. Despite his tiredness, he snickered. He picked it up and shook it so that its googly eyes would move around.

     What a silly little thing.

     [M/N] was eventually lulled to sleep after a little while of gently shaking the fish. He almost didn't realize he was finally nodding off. At one point, he thought he heard some odd noises coming from somewhere inside the Mystery Shack, but he was far too tired to go investigate.

     Eh, well… It's probably nothin' anyway.

Chapter Text

     A few days had passed since the gnome incident and things were mostly peaceful. Business at the Mystery Shack was pretty great as per usual, and most of [M/N]'s wounds from getting flung off the golf cart were healed by now. He was still recovering and a bit sore but otherwise fine.

     [M/N] opened his eyes to see the familiar wooden beams of his new bedroom's ceiling. He sat up and, for the first time since arriving here, didn't panic because he didn't instantly recognize the space he was in. He was slowly but surely growing accustomed to living in Gravity Falls rather than [Y/T]. Life here was much easier for him, even if he almost died on his first day.

     Staying here really was a relief compared to being back home.

     Reluctant to wake up just yet but incapable of going back to sleep thanks to the sun beaming from the window above his couch directly into his eyes, he forced himself to stand up and get changed. Starting the day really wasn't what he wanted to do right now but he didn't really have any other choice. He would much rather just lay under the covers and doze for another hour or two. It didn't look like that was going to happen though.

     Why did the light have to be shining right where his head was when he laid on his couch? It was early in the morning, early enough for the sky to still be lavender accompanied by darker colored clouds. The day had just started. And yet the sun was already in just the right position to sear his pupils.

     Thanks, universe.

     While he was rummaging through his bag in his search for clean clothes, he came across the old letter and cassette tape from back home again. He hadn't touched them since he got here. Reading the contents of the letter once was disturbing enough. He didn't need to do it again.

     The tape, though...

     That damn tape.

     I really gotta find another tape recorder.

     No matter what [M/N] thought about the letter, whatever it was was outshined by his interest in the cassette. Questions about it haunted his brain ever since he listened to it a couple days ago. He made a conscious effort to avoid thinking about the dire warning the letter contained, but the skillful banjo strumming and unfamiliar voice residing within that tape was something that he couldn't forget. A sound he refused to let go of.

     All he wanted to do was figure out who it was. He knew that it was a man, and he remembered small bits and pieces of the story he'd been told by his parents. But not once would they tell him this guy's name or the full tale of what he did and where exactly he went. Really, all he wanted to do was listen to the tune in the tape again. Hear that voice laughing to himself at the end of it once more. It was comforting.

     [M/N] didn't know the guy's name nor did he know hardly anything about him, but for some reason he just felt connected to him in a way he couldn't explain. Maybe because he was very intentionally separated from his loved ones just as [M/N] had been in a way. He wanted to talk to him. Just once. He atleast wanted to figure out what happened between this man and his family.

     Their family.

     [M/N] was snapped out of his wistful thoughts by the sound of kids' voices ringing throughout the Shack.

     Dipper and Mabel. He recognized the Pines twins' voices with ease. They're up pretty early, aren't they?

     Hanging out with them would be much better than staying in his room and staring at the wall until he finally decided it was a good time to move. So, he hid the cassette and letter back in his bag and quickly resumed getting ready the rest of the way. He ended up settling on his typical outfit with his favorite jacket.

     He exited his room and made his way to the kitchen. Even from a distance, it wasn't difficult to pick up on the other two's conversation down the hall.

     "Are you ready for the ultimate challenge?"

     "I'm always ready!"

     "Then you know what this means!"

     "SYRUP RACE!" Dipper and Mabel excitedly announced it in unison.

     [M/N] stepped into the kitchen right in time to witness the twins sticking their tongues out and trying to see who could drink syrup first in their typical places at the table. They didn't notice him just yet, too busy cheering on their respective syrup bottles.

     "Go, Sir Syrup!"

     "Go, Mountie Man!"

     "Go! Go!"

     Mabel tapped the bottom of her bottle and the syrup finally dripped down onto her tongue. "Yes!" She coughed. "I WON!"

     [M/N] couldn't hold back a snort of laughter at the sight of her choking on the syrup. "Uh... Congrats."

     The twins brightened up a little once they heard their friend's voice.

     "[M/N]! Thank yo-" Mabel tried to thank him only to break into another coughing fit.

     "Hey, [M/N]." Dipper greeted. He noticed his friend's currently unkempt hair and raised an eyebrow, taking the opportunity to tease him. "Did you fall off your couch or something? You look like you scrubbed your head against the floor for like 30 minutes."

     The boy in question rolled his eyes and walked over to the table with his hands in his pockets.

     "G’mornin' to you too, nerd." [M/N] sarcastically greeted back but laughed and hooked his shoe around a kitchen chair's leg to pull it out further, sitting down between Dipper and Mabel.

     Dipper picked up the newspaper and something quickly caught his attention. “Ho ho, no way! Hey Mabel, [M/N], check this out.”

     [M/N] peered down at the pages in front of him, and his eyes lit up with interest at the ads in the paper. Both of them sounded pretty great. Mabel was clearly much more captivated by one of them, though.

     “Human-sized hamster balls?” She gasped. “I’m human-sized!”

     “No, no, Mabel. This.” Dipper pointed at the ad for a monster photo contest. “We see weirder stuff than that everyday! We didn’t get any photos of those gnomes, did we?”

     “Nope, just memories.”

     “And multiple injuries!” [M/N] interjected.

     “And this beard hair!”

     [M/N] shuddered and Dipper frowned and leaned away as Mabel pulled some gnome hair out of nowhere and waved it in front of her brother’s face.

     “Why did you save that?” Dipper questioned.

     His sister just shrugged and made an “I dunno” sound.

     That was when Stan walked through the kitchen doorway. “Good morning, knuckleheads. You three know what day it is?”

     “Um… Happy anniversary?”

     “Happy… Litha?”

     “ Mazel tov !”

     “Baah!” Stan lightly whacked [M/N] and Dipper’s heads with a newspaper for their incorrect guesses. “It’s Family Fun Day, geniuses!”

     “Family Fun Day?” [M/N] echoed, rubbing his head where Stan whacked it.

     Stan nodded as he moved to the fridge. “Yeah, Family Fun Day. We’re cuttin’ off work and having one of those, you know-” He paused to sniff the milk carton. “-bonding-type deals.”

     “Grunkle Stan, is this gonna be anything like our last family bonding day?” Dipper asked while he adjusted his hat.

     Mabel shivered. “The county jail was so cold.”

     “They put 12 year olds in prison ?” [M/N] inquired and received no answer.

     “Alright, maybe I haven’t been the best summer caretaker. But I swear, today we’re gonna have some real family fun.” Stan walked over to the three kids and put his arms around them before looking at [M/N] specifically.

     “That includes you too, you know. Can’t have you trashing the place while we’re gone.”

     [M/N] huffed at the accusation. “I wouldn’t trash anythin’! I don’t think I could even make the majority of the Shack look worse than it already does.” Really, he didn’t mind the thought of being included in Family Fun Day. He was just offended by the accusation that he would break something if left alone for a few hours like a little kid.

     “You’re 13. You’re bound to find something to break.” Stan deadpanned. Then he went back to his prior cheerful demeanor. “Now who wants to put on some blindfolds and get into my car?!”

     “YAY!” The twins cheered before Dipper and [M/N] fully processed what Stan said.

     “Wait, what?”

     “Oh no.”

🌲🐟

     [M/N] was anxiously sitting beside the twins in the backseat of Stan’s car, having taken the seat by the right window with Mabel on his left. Little to nothing could ease his fidgeting right now. Finger tapping, leg bouncing, humming under his breath, anything to try and distract himself from what was going on. It was difficult to keep still and stay calm when the man controlling the car and taking you places was absolutely god awful at driving. Especially when said man blindfolded you.

     Dipper wasn’t handling it very well either.

     “Whoa, whoa!” Dipper sighed when the car swerved and its tires screeched. “Blindfolds never lead to anything good.”

     “You got that right.” [M/N] agreed, muttering nervously. “ Sweet sarsaparilla… ”

     “Wow! I feel like all my other senses are heightened. I can see with my fingers!” Mabel mused and [M/N] heard Dipper laugh. [M/N] couldn’t see anything but he could guess pretty confidently that Mabel was probably poking her brother. The idea brought a laugh out of him despite how tense he was.

     Stan’s car suddenly jumped, briefly making the three kids fly into the air.

     “ Hhholy hootenanny -“ [M/N]’s hands held onto the inside of the car with a death grip, one hand hanging onto the seat and the other holding onto the door.

     He wouldn’t be like this in anybody else’s car. Stan was just horrible at driving and being blindfolded for the surprise did nothing to calm [M/N]’s current fear of crashing.

     Mabel chuckled at her friend’s choice of words. Apparently the way to bring the full southern accent out of [M/N] was to make him fear for his life.

     “Grunkle Stan, are you wearing a blindfold?” Dipper questioned, clearly concerned.

     “Haha! Nah, but with these cataracts I might as well be.” Stan held his hand above his eyes to block the sunlight and squinted. “What is that, a woodpecker?”

     He drove through a wooden guardrail and all three kids screamed. “AAAH!”

🌲🐟

     Somehow they all lived through that drive and Stan’s car remained in one piece. The vehicle was fine, albeit now accompanied with a couple branches and plenty of leaves in its grill.

     “Okay, okay. Open ‘em up!”

     Dipper, Mabel and [M/N] took off their blindfolds, opening their eyes to see the lake and a banner behind Stan reading “ FISHING SEASON OPENING DAY ”.

     “Ta-da! It’s fishin’ season!”

     The twins weren’t entirely enthusiastic about their Family Fun Day activity.

     “Fishing?” Mabel echoed.

     “What’re you playing at, old man?” Dipper interrogated their uncle.

     [M/N], however, actually seemed excited about it, gasping at the news. “Oooh, yes!! This is just like back home!” He beamed. It almost made up for how scared he was when Stan was driving. Almost.

     Dipper and Mabel glanced at him doubtfully, not understanding his interest.

     “You’re gonna love it! The whole town’s out here!” Stan gestured towards the lake.

     As Stan had claimed, quite a few of the locals were out on the lake, either fishing or just enjoying the water. Lazy Susan was trying to entice fish into a frying pan, Toby Determined was taking photos of people with their catches, and Wendy’s family (excluding her) watched and cheered as Manly Dan wrestled a fish. Even Tyler Cutebiker appeared next to them to cheer him on. Everyone overall seemed to be enjoying themselves.

     Stan grinned as he watched the townsfolk. “That’s some quality family bonding!”

     Dipper and Mabel were confused and suspicious of their uncle’s intentions.

     Dipper crossed his arms. “Grunkle Stan, why do you wanna bond with us all of a sudden?”

     “Come on, this is gonna be great! I’ve never had fishing buddies before. The guys from the lodge won’t go with me. They don’t “like” or “trust” me.”

     “I think he actually wants to fish with us.” Mabel quietly remarked to Dipper.

     “Hey, I know what’ll cheer you sad sacks up.” Stan slapped fishing hats on Dipper and Mabel’s heads, each with their name on them. [M/N] snickered at the fact that Dipper’s said “DIPPY” before Stan went on. “Pow! Pines family fishing hats! That- That’s hand stitching, you know.”

     [M/N] raised an eyebrow as his gaze shifted from the twins’ hats up to Stan’s face. As soon as he looked up at him, a fishing hat of his own was slapped down onto his head. He took it off to see if his name had been stitched on. His name wasn’t there, replaced by a nickname.

     “Goby?” [M/N] read it aloud and looked up at Stan again.

     “It’s a type of fish, dum-dum. A tiny one.” The old man informed and pointed at the fish bone embroidered on [M/N]’s jacket, although [M/N] already knew.

     “You’re part of the family until ya go back home. So you get a hat too. I mean, you can’t- Can’t go fishing without a fishing hat. It would be unprofessional!” Stan quickly tried to downplay his actions.

     [M/N] just laughed, trying to ignore the way his heart ached and he knew his expression softened a little at being told he was part of the family, even if only briefly.

     “Thanks, old man.” He thanked Stan and put the hat back on his head with a small smile.

     Stan waved it off and went back to talking to all three kids. “It’s just gonna be you, me, and those goofy hats on a boat for ten hours!”

     “Ten hours?” Dipper repeated.

     “I brought the joke book!”

     “No, NO!” Dipper cringed and [M/N]’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

     Yeesh, did that book traumatize him or somethin’? What the hell is in that thing?

     “There has to be a way out of this.” Mabel whispered to Dipper and [M/N].

     Unaware of his niece and nephew whispering to eachother with their friend simply listening next to them, Stan’s attention was caught by a certain hillbilly running up the lake’s deck towards them and a couple other locals. Panic immediately shot up his spine.

     Oh no.

     Stan promised [M/N]’s parents that he would keep the boy away from Old Man McGucket and do his best to keep him from realizing he was related to him. Really, Stan wouldn’t have a care in the world if [M/N] found out or not, only if his parents weren’t aware of Stan’s crimes and could turn him in to the cops anytime they were upset with him. He couldn’t take any big risks.

     “Uh, [M/N], how about you go grab our fishing poles for us? They’re in the back of my car. Just hangin’ out in the trunk.”

     Thankfully for Stan, none of the kids had noticed McGucket just yet since he hadn’t begun making his usual racket.

     “I gotcha! I’ll be back lickety-split.” [M/N] gave Stan a mock salute and ran off towards the car.

     “Lickety-what now?” Mabel questioned, earning a shrug from her brother and her great uncle.

     They had parked a little ways away from the lake, but it was still close enough for [M/N] to easily get to. He stopped behind Stan’s car after slightly under a minute of running. He placed his hands on his hips and examined the car with a grimace. The back of the vehicle… Well, you could say that the front of the car was much more unscathed than the back of it. It wasn’t too bad. [M/N] just wasn’t sure if it would open for all the dents in it even though he knew Stan unlocked it for him.

     He gripped the trunk door and tried to pull it. It didn’t work with a normal amount of force. The damage had practically clamped the trunk shut but somehow the front of the car was fine. He sighed and kept trying to yank it open with a little more force. After a couple more tries, he decided to take a second so he wouldn’t tire himself out trying to retrieve the fishing poles.

     That was when he noticed something on the back of Stan’s car.

     The license plate.

     STNLYMBL

     [M/N] tilted his head. “Stanley Mobile?” He read it aloud, confused and slightly out of breath from his repeated failed attempts to open the car’s trunk.

     His name’s Stanford though, right? Why does it say Stanley? I guess I’ll just have to ask him about it later… Huh.

     [M/N] shook the thoughts away with a shake of his head. Questions can wait until later. Right now he needed to get those fishing rods.

     He kept trying and eventually, with a grunt of effort, he managed to pry it open with a metallic creak that definitely could not have been good for the car. Atleast he got it open. Just relieved that he finally got it, [M/N] gathered everyone’s fishing rods and slammed the trunk shut again. Then he ran back to where the others were by the lake.

     [M/N] got back just in time to witness everyone laugh at an old man with no shoes and a beard that reached all the way down to his feet, but he didn’t catch the context. All he got a good glimpse at was the old man dejectedly walking away from everyone. [M/N] frowned in sympathy and confusion as the man passed by him but he didn’t say anything.

     As the crowd dispersed and walked away from the dock, [M/N] carefully pushed past them and stopped beside the Pines family right in time to hear Stan talking.

     “Well, that happened. Now let’s untie this boat and get out on that lake!” Stan stepped into his rowboat, which had been dubbed the “Stan o’ War” by himself, and began untying it from the dock.

     “I-“ [M/N] coughed and quickly continued. “I got the fishin’ rods!”

     Stan raised an eyebrow at the boy’s breathless and disheveled state but ended up smiling anyway. “There ya go! Thanks, kid. Just set ‘em in the boat.”

     [M/N] gave a small smile back and placed the fishing rods down in the boat. He started to step down into it as well, only to yelp when someone yanked him back up onto the dock by the back of his jacket like a cat getting scruffed.

     “What the-“ He glanced around and saw that he was back to standing next to Dipper and Mabel.

     “Wait a second! Did you- Woah, what happened to you?” Dipper started to ask Mabel something but cut himself off after seeing the state [M/N] was in.

     “Stan’s car got too many dents ‘n’ the trunk pretty much clamped itself shut.” [M/N] answered shakily, trying to regain his breath. “Had to try over ‘n’ over to pry it open. And then I had to run all the way back with the fishin’ poles.”

     “Yikes, man.” Mabel mumbled.

     Dipper nodded in agreement but went back to what he was talking about before. “Mabel, did you hear what that old dude said?”

     Mabel swung her arm in her mimicry of the old man from a minute or two earlier. “Aww, donkey spittle!”

     [M/N] snorted and shook his head but chose not to say anything about Mabel’s imitation.

     “The other thing. About the monster. If we can snag a photo of it, we can split the prize fifty-fifty!” Dipper excitedly whispered as he pulled today’s newspaper out of his vest pocket.

     Mabel gasped. “That’s two fifties!”

     [M/N] whistled. “Man, sounds pretty good to me. Wait- There’s a monster here?”

     Dipper laughed. “Yeah, apparently! Some kind of lake monster. That old guy earlier said there was one that swam over to that island.” He pointed across the water to Scuttlebutt Island. “But imagine what you could do with five. Hundred. Dollars!”

     [M/N] hummed and nodded. He knew that there was plenty to do with $500, but he didn’t have anything specific in mind. He’d just think it through later. But something was eating at his subconscious. The idea of having to leave Stan here after he went out of his way to plan everything.

     And Mabel was the exact opposite. She turned away from the two boys and fully zoned out for a minute like she was daydreaming about a specific possibility. Maybe a specific hamster ball.

     “Mabel!” Dipper snapped his fingers in her face. “Mabel?”

     Mabel snapped out of it and turned back to her brother, way more enthusiastic than before. “Dipper, I am one million percent on board with this!”

     Dipper started to walk over to Stan, but [M/N] gently tugged him back by his vest and placed his hand on his shoulder.

     “I dunno, Dip… Is this really a great idea? We were gonna fish with Stan. He planned this whole thing out for the four of us. We could probably find some other monster, y’know?”

     Dipper sighed. He understood what [M/N] was getting at, but the prospect of receiving a prize of $500 and becoming a well-known monster hunter had gotten to him and now he couldn’t stop thinking about it. “Come on, [M/N]. I know it doesn’t sound good right now, but just you wait until we win! It’ll all be worth it.” He pulled away from [M/N] and walked over to Stan.

     [M/N] sighed and mumbled to himself as he watched him go. “Yeah, I’ll wait…”

     Dipper slung his arm around Stan’s shoulders. “Grunkle Stan! Change of plans. We’re taking that boat to Scuttlebutt Island, and we’re gonna find that Gobblewonker!”

     Both the twins started cheering at the same time. [M/N] wasn’t so sure about the whole thing although a monster hunt would be exciting, but he joined in anyways. Just less enthusiastically. “Monster hunt! Monster hunt!”

     The old man from earlier raced up the dock and stopped next to them to start chanting. “Monster hunt! Monster…” He trailed off when the three kids stopped to stare at him. “Eh… I’ll go.” And then he ran off again.

     [M/N] blinked. “…Huh.”

     A loud honk was heard from behind [M/N] and the Pines family. They all turned to face the water and see who it was.

     Soos pulled up in his boat, the S.S. Cool Dude. “You dudes say somethin’ about a monster hunt?”

     “Soos!” Mabel happily exclaimed and walked up to him.

     “Wassup, hambone?” Soos fist bumped Mabel and they both made explosion noises. “Dude, you could totally use my boat for your hunt. It’s got a steering wheel, chairs, normal boat stuff.”

     “Alright, alright, let’s think this through.” Stan interrupted. “Ya kids could go waste your time on some epic monster-finding adventure, or you could spend the day learning how to tie knots and skewer worms with your Great Uncle Stan!”

     The twins looked between Soos doing the robot and Stan sniffing himself, before glancing over the lake at Scuttlebutt Island. They looked back at eachother and grinned.

     “So, whaddya say?” Stan asked, only to see the twins get onboard with Soos and quickly pull [M/N] along with them before the boy could protest.

     They sped off across the lake towards the island. Dipper, Mabel and Soos cheered, while [M/N] did his best to stay still on the boat. He suddenly felt nauseous. He didn’t have his sea legs (lake legs?) yet and the abrupt burst of speed through the water made him feel sick to his stomach.

     All of them put on life jackets and Dipper stood up on the stern of the boat, giving Soos and Mabel orders. Once Soos hoisted the “anchor” (a cinderblock) and Mabel raised the “flag” (a regular beach towel) they all began celebrating.

     “We’re gonna find that Gobblewonker!”

     “We’re gonna win that photo contest!”

     “DO ANY OF YOU DUDES HAVE SUNSCREEN?”

     “We’re gonna… go get sunscreen!”

     “YAY!”

     And with that, the boat sharply turned back towards the shore.

     “ ITHINKIMGONNATHROWUP- “ [M/N] announced in a panic as he held onto the guardrail for dear life.

     “NOT ON THE BOAT! NOT ON THE BOAT!! ” Dipper cried.

🌲🐟

     Thankfully, [M/N] didn’t throw up.

     Now that he’d recovered and became adjusted to moving quickly across the lake, they were on the boat again, back and better than ever with more sunscreen than they knew what to do with. [M/N] stood still next to Mabel and Soos while Dipper paced in front of them all.

     “Alright. If we wanna win this contest, we’ve gotta do it right! Think. What’s the number one problem with most monster hunts?”

     “Crew members forget to bring weapons ‘n’ they run into crazy people hidin’ in the woods?” [M/N] guessed.

     Dipper hummed and shrugged. “That’s… not what I was going to say, but that’s not a bad shout, actually. It happens.”

     “You’re a side character and you die in the first five minutes of the movie.” Soos’ eyes widened and he worriedly continued. “Dude, am I a side character?! Do you ever think about stuff like that?”

     “No, no, no… Camera trouble! Say Bigfoot shows up. Soos, be Bigfoot?”

     Soos posed like Bigfoot.

     Dipper started his mock act of having camera trouble in order to explain his plan to everyone onboard. “There he is! Bigfoot! Uh oh, no camera! Oh wait, here’s one! Aw, no film!” He broke character and went back to his typical voice. “You see? You see what I’m, doing here?”

     Everyone nodded.

     “10/10 actin’.” [M/N] snickered.

     Dipper ignored [M/N]’s sarcastic compliment. “That’s why I bought twenty one disposable cameras!” He began listing off places he put them and showing them when they were mentioned. [M/N] missed part of it but he caught the tail end of it. “…my jacket, four for each of you, three extras in this bag, and one… under my hat.”

     [M/N] glanced down at his bag of cameras and clutched it close to his chest. He had to do his best to hang onto them. There was no way he was going to lose one as soon as they started.

     Soos and Mabel had other plans.

     “There’s no way we’re gonna miss this. Okay everybody, let’s test our cameras out!” Dipper watched everyone test their cameras. Or their attempts to.

     Soos threw three cameras overboard and Mabel threw one at a seagull, already making Dipper a nervous wreck.

     “Seventeen! Alright! We still have seventeen camera-“ Dipper accidentally crushed one with his fist. “Sixteen. We have sixteen cameras.”

     [M/N] grinned and waved to catch Dipper’s attention. He’d tested all of his out already and put them back in the bag. “All mine work!”

     Dipper sighed and dragged his hand down his face in relief. “Ooh, okay. That’s good. Good. Thank you.” Atleast one of his crew members didn’t immediately break their investigation equipment.

     “So what’s the plan? Throw more cameras overboard or what?” Mabel held one of her cameras over the water just to mess with her brother.

     “NO! No. Okay. You’ll be lookout, Soos is on fish feeding duty to lure out the Gobblewonker, [M/N] can work the steering wheel, and I’ll be captain.”

     “What? Why isn’t Soos the one steering when he’s the oldest? And why do you get to be captain? What about Mabel, huh?” Mabel began excitedly chanting her own name. “Ma-bel! Ma-bel! Ma-bel! Ma-bel!”

     Dipper looked at his sister skeptically. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. And [M/N] gets to steer because he didn’t instantly break his cameras.”

     [M/N] piped up with a thumbs up. “I’m the best camera guy!”

     Dipper snapped his fingers and pointed at [M/N]. Mabel ignored it and kept trying to get a higher position than lookout.

     “What about co-captain?”

     “There’s no such thing as co-captain.”

     “Aw, whoops!” Mabel tossed another one of her cameras into the water, leaving them with fifteen overall.

     Dipper panicked and reluctantly agreed. “Okay, FINE! You can be co-captain.”

     Soos walked up beside them. “Can I be associate co-captain?”

     “As co-captain, I authorize that request!” Mabel permitted.

     While Dipper began discussing his plan to lure the lake monster out with a giant barrel of fish food, [M/N] walked over to the steering wheel to get in position, but he could still see and hear the others from his spot.

     “Permission to taste some?”

     “Granted.”

     “Permission co-granted.”

     “Permission steerer-granted!” [M/N] added from behind the wheel, momentarily distracted by trying to figure out the S.S. Cool Dude’s steering mechanics but he looked back at the other three just in time to witness what Soos was doing.

     “Permission associate co-granted.” Soos grabbed some of the fish food and licked it. For a second he had no reaction but then he gagged and wiped his tongue, coughing in disgust. “Dude, I don’t know what I expected that to taste like!”

     Dipper, Mabel and [M/N] all burst out laughing.

     “Oh, Soos…”

🌲🐟

     Fog was everywhere in the air as the S.S. Cool Dude approached Scuttlebutt Island, the mist almost entirely blocking every important part of their view. It was especially a detriment now because of the jagged rocks and sharp branches that littered the shoreline. Any mistake here could be dangerous. [M/N] was trying his damndest to steer carefully in order to keep everyone safe and ensure Soos’ boat stays in good condition.

     However, it wasn’t exactly easy when he couldn’t see hardly anything and the one in charge of lookout duty was busy playing ventriloquist with a pelican perched on the ship’s guardrail rather than doing her job.

     Dipper was unamused by his sister’s antics. He’d already spent half the trip listening to her unsuccessfully try to flirt with [M/N], which the boy was thankfully yet somewhat infuriatingly oblivious to. [M/N] was pretty smart in general but didn’t catch onto flirting quickly. At all. Especially when Mabel was mostly trying to keep it on the down-low. Dipper didn’t need to listen to her harass that poor pelican after that. His ears had suffered enough already.

     “Mabel, leave that thing alone.”

     “Aw, I don’t mind none!” Mabel made the pelican say, before trying (and failing) to make it look like the bird was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while she drank water. Needless to say, it didn’t go well. She ended up in a coughing fit and the pelican flew away.

     [M/N] squinted to try and see clearly through the fog past the twins, but it was still proving to be a difficult task.

     “Hey, guys, eyes on the water, please!” He called out. He just needed an extra pair of eyes so they were less likely to crash.

     After the twins heard him and Dipper interrogated Mabel about her lack of effort into her job, [M/N] glanced back over his shoulder at Soos, who was shoveling fish food into the lake.

     “Hey, Soos!”

     “Yeah?” Soos looked up from the water.

     “Everythin’ good back there? No scratches or scrapes or anythin’?”

     Soos peered down at the back of the boat. After a brief but close examination, he found no evidence of any damage. “Nah! You’re good, dawg!”

     [M/N]’s tension subsided and he was about to sigh in relief but it quickly changed to a yelp when the boat jolted to an abrupt stop, having crashed into the sand. It seemed fine though.

     “See? We’re here! I’m a lookout genius!” Mabel said as she stepped out of the boat. “Hamster ball, here we come!”

     The four of them disembarked and ventured into the foggy forest, mist obscuring their view of the woods. Dipper lead the group through the trees while holding a lantern in an attempt to dispel the persistent gloom of the island. Soon, they came across a sign nailed to a tree that said “ SCUTTLEBUTT ISLAND ”. Soos and Mabel stopped in front of it but Dipper and [M/N] kept walking.

     “Dude, check it out.”

     Soos covered the “SCUTTLE” part of the sign with his arm.

     “Butt Island.”

     “Soos, you rapscallion!” Mabel tried not to laugh. Then she walked over to Dipper. “Hey! Why aren’t you laughing? Are you scared ?”

     Dipper crossed his arms. “Pssh! Yeah, right! I’m not-“ He was interrupted by Mabel poking his nose and blowing a raspberry.

     “Yeah, you are!”

     “Hey!” Dipper dropped his lantern because his sister continued to poke and tease him. “Quit-! Stop! Mabel!”

     Everyone froze when a huge growling noise sounded in the distance. [M/N], who had gone a little ways ahead of them all, slowly backed up towards the twins. He was closer to the noise than anyone else. It was coming from somewhere in front of them.

     “What the heck…?” [M/N] anxiously murmured as he stopped beside Dipper.

     Soos walked up to the three kids. “Dude, did you guys hear that?”

     Mabel asked if the growling had been Soos’ stomach, and with the discovery that his stomach rumbling sounded like whale noises, it was concluded that the noise was something else.

     [M/N] was suddenly distracted from the conversation when something fluffy ran towards him and brushed against his ankles. He gasped and jumped back when he looked down to discover that it was a possum. “What the- Hey! Git! Git outta here! Go!”

     Really, [M/N] liked possums. But he didn’t like when they were right next to him and could give him multiple diseases. He really didn’t feel like getting rabies today.

     The possum listened to him. But it came at the cost of their one and only light source.

     Dipper gasped as the possum skittered away with their lantern in its mouth. “Our lantern! Aww! I can’t see anything!”

     “Duuude, I dunno, man. Maybe this, uh… Maybe this isn’t worth it.”

     “ Not worth it? ” Dipper repeated Soos’ comment like it was ridiculous. “Guys, imagine what would happen if we got that picture!”

     Dipper and Mabel got lost in their imaginations for a minute. After they snapped out of it, they smiled at eachother.

     “I’m in!”

     “Me too!”

     Then they both ran off together towards the noise, leaving the other two behind. [M/N] exchanged an uneasy glance with Soos before shouting “Wait up!” and racing after the twins.

     Soos looked around anxiously and then did the same. “Alright, dudes, I’m comin’!” He called after them and chased them.

     For a few minutes, all was uneventful. Soos was beatboxing and Mabel rapped over it, and occasionally [M/N] would contribute by clapping along or adding short ad libs. He was mainly doing it to distract himself from his fear and the seemingly perpetual guilt of leaving Stan behind but it ended up actually entertaining him as well.

     “My name is Mabel! It rhymes with table! It also rhymes with… glabel! It also rhymes with… shmabel!”

     “Dudes, we should be writing this down.” Soos told them and [M/N] agreed, giving a small “woo!” to cheer Mabel on.

     “Guys, guys, guys! You hear something?” Dipper asked.

     Once again the growling noise from earlier rumbled through the trees.

     “This is it! This is it!”

     Dipper and Mabel started excitedly punching eachother as they walked towards the sound. [M/N] followed suit into the fog and Soos grabbed a stick for defense and followed.

     Up ahead, Soos spotted the silhouette of the lake monster and they all ducked behind a log to hide.

     “Everyone, get your cameras ready!” Dipper urged.

     All of them turned their cameras on and, at Dipper’s command, they jumped over the log, running towards the figure in the lake while frantically snapping tons of pictures.

     But as they approached, they discovered that the silhouette wasn’t actually a monster. A small shipwreck with beavers lay ahead of them.

     “But… But what was that noise, then? I heard a monster noise!”

     The same sound happened again and they turned to see a beaver playing with a rusty old chainsaw.

     “Sweet! Beaver with a chainsaw!” Soos snapped a photo of it.

     “That has gotta be the coolest beaver I’ve ever seen.” [M/N] remarked.

     “Maybe that old guy was crazy after all.” Dipper reflected.

     Mabel agreed. “He did use the word “scrapdoodle”.”

     For the next few minutes, nothing much happened. Soos was having a photo shoot with a beaver, Mabel and [M/N] were just standing there since they weren’t entirely sure of what to do, and Dipper was sitting on a rock in the water.

     “What’re we gonna say to Grunkle Stan? We ditched him over nothing. I should have listened to [M/N].” Dipper threw a stone into the water and sighed.

     Just then, the rock he was sitting on began to shake. “Hey… guys, do you feel that?” The rock sunk and Dipper fell into the water. Startled, he tried to swim back to shore and get on dry land. “Hey, hey, whoa, WHOA!”

     The others helped pull him back up and [M/N] quickly checked him over to make sure he was okay. Dipper was fine, just soaking wet now from getting dunked into the water.

     In front of them, the silhouette of the Gobblewonker swam away. One that they were sure was the real Gobblewonker this time.

     “This is it!” Dipper snapped a photo of the creature. “Come on, this is our chance!”

     Dipper turned to see the other three backing away from him. [M/N] was trying to stay closer to him than Soos and Mabel but it looked like he was having a hard time keeping his feet rooted to the ground. They were all staring at something behind Dipper.

     “What’s wrong with you guys?”

     “Uh, Dip…?”

     “Dipper…?”

     “Dude…?”

     Behind him, the Gobblewonker rose from the lake, its eyes glowing ominously in the gloom as it towered over all of them.

     “It’s not that hard, alright? All you gotta do is point, and shoot. Like this!” He turned and aimed his camera at the Gobblewonker, only realizing it was right in front of him when the shot panned up past its neck to its head.

     It roared and Soos and Mabel immediately took off running.

     “Run!” Soos exclaimed.

     [M/N] managed to keep himself still until Dipper dropped his camera and [M/N] grabbed his wrist to pull him along before they ran away.

     The Gobblewonker advanced towards them on land, its fins carrying it over the dirt at a surprising speed for a lake monster. It knocked over a tree that nearly crushed Mabel but Dipper tackled her just in time and they both tumbled out of the way and were back on their feet in an instant. Other trees fell down, threatening to squish them at any moment. One slip up could get them all killed.

     As he was sprinting away, [M/N]’s life jacket got snagged on a low hanging branch, tugging it off of him and leaving him with his typical jacket only. All of his cameras were in that life jacket. He put them in there earlier because it was easier than carrying them around in a bag. He gasped when he lost it, but one look back at the Gobblewonker was enough to convince him to not try and grab the cameras. He just kept running and caught up to the others.

     “Get back to the boat! HURRY!” Soos shouted. The Gobblewonker snapped at Mabel and she hopped onto Soos’ back right after it missed her.

     Dipper aimed one of his cameras at the Gobblewonker, but ended up tripping on a root and dropping it. “The picture!” He started to run back to his camera.

     Soos grabbed him before he could go any further and carried him as they ran. “Dude, if it makes you feel any better, I got tons of pictures of those beavers, dude!”

     “WHY WOULD THAT MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!”

     They soon reached the S.S. Cool Dude and [M/N] immediately clambered up into it and rushed towards the steering wheel. Soos boosted Mabel and Dipper up into the boat then climbed in himself. His weight dislodged the boat from the sand. “Let’s get outta here, dudes!”

     “ON IT!” [M/N] hollered and started driving the boat backwards away from Scuttlebutt Island.

     “Alright! This is it!” Dipper tried to take a picture of the lake monster. “Cracked lens?! Soos! Get a photo!”

     Soos was throwing cameras at the Gobblewonker.

     “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

     “Oh! I still got one left! Don’t worry, dude!” Soos threw a camera to Dipper but it hit the wall instead and broke.

     The Gobblewonker dove into the water and began chasing them. It roared and splashed in the lake, sending a wave towards the boat. Everyone panicked and [M/N] gritted his teeth, trying to figure out what exactly to do. He didn’t understand all the boat’s controls yet but he could guess. He managed to steer it to face away from the Gobblewonker and pulled a lever that gave the ship a burst of speed.

     They drove past Stan and unintentionally soaked him. Then they wrapped around part of Scuttlebutt Island and were approaching the old shipwreck they spotted before.

     “[M/N]! BEAVERS!” Dipper pointed towards the wreckage.

     [M/N] tried and failed to turn the boat in time. The side of the S.S. Cool Dude crashed into the wreck and the beavers from before were launched everywhere, biting the crew and the ship itself.

     They all had to fight against the beavers. [M/N] had to repeatedly punch the one gnawing at his elbow to dislodge it. “GET OFF ME, YOU OVERGROWN GROUNDHOG!”

     Once he got it off he tightly gripped the steering wheel and went back to trying to escape the Gobblewonker. Everyone else was still occupied by fighting the beavers and Dipper was throwing them at the lake monster which dove under the water and continued its pursuit. The S.S. Cool Dude drove through a place with people fishing, and the townsfolk were overturned by the Gobblewonker swimming past.

     The lake monster swiped at the boat with its long neck and knocked off the control cabin, making [M/N] scream when the roof was easily ripped off right above him.

     Mabel pointed ahead at two men transporting a glass pane across the lake. “Aah! Look out!”

     [M/N] couldn’t dodge it in time and they ended up driving through the glass and shattering it. He winced as a shard of it flew by and lightly scraped his hand, noticing a small trickle of blood beading at the wound.

     “WHO THE HELL MOVES GLASS OVER A LAKE?!”

     They approached a dead end, surrounded by unwelcoming jagged cliffs and a waterfall straight ahead. [M/N] panicked and momentarily froze up. “Oh, sweet sassafras… I, uh… WHERE DO I GO?!”

     Dipper took the journal out of his life jacket and flipped through it. “Um… uh… GO INTO THE FALLS! I think there might be a cave behind there!”

     “ MIGHT BE?!” Mabel shouted.

     “That’s our best shot! BRACE YOURSELVES!” [M/N] called out.

     The boat went through the waterfall and crashed in a cave, sending them all flying into the dirt. They stood up and turned to see the Gobblewonker swim in after them and get stuck in the cave entrance.

     “It’s stuck!” Mabel noted.

     “Haha! Yeah! Wait… It’s stuck?” Dipper tried to find a camera but he couldn’t find one.

     Thankfully, Mabel remembered where his last one was. She lifted up his hat and there was his last camera sitting on his head. “Boop!”

     Dipper laughed and started taking shots of the Gobblewonker, even hopping around to celebrate.

     “Did you get a good one?” Mabel asked her brother.

     “THEY’RE ALL GOOD ONES!” Dipper confirmed and the twins hugged eachother.

     “WOOO! HAMSTER BALL!!”

     [M/N] chuckled and walked up next to them with his hands in his pockets. “Guess almost dyin’ paid off, huh?”

     Right after he said that, a rock landed on the Gobblewonker’s head and it fell down into the water, electricity sparking around its body.

     “What in the world…? Maybe I shoulda kept my mouth shut.” [M/N] was confused. “Is it a robut?”

     Mabel raised an eyebrow at his pronunciation. “Robot.” She corrected.

     [M/N] tried to say it regularly but failed again. “Robut.”

     “Ro bot , dude.” Soos tried to help.

     “Ro- Ro… bot? Robot.”

     Mabel grimaced. “Nevermind. You talking normal sounds weird.”

     “What the…?” Dipper ignored them and walked up to the Gobblewonker then jumped down onto its fin. “Huh?”

    “What’s wrong?” Mabel asked.

    Dipper knocked on the lake monster and was answered by a hollow metallic sound. He hummed and climbed up its side.

    “Careful, dude!” Soos warned and [M/N] worriedly watched on. If the Gobblewonker was still producing any outward electricity and Dipper slipped into the water, there was a pretty high likelihood of him getting shocked. But he seemed like he was doing just fine.

     “I’ve got this! Hold on!” Dipper climbed on top of the monster, then popped up from the other side. “Hey guys! Come check this out!”

     So Soos, Mabel and [M/N] climbed the Gobblewonker as well, stopping beside Dipper. They all looked down to see the handle of what looked like a secret hatch. Dipper turned the handle and opened the trapdoor, making everyone cough when a bunch of steam rose out of there.

     And then there was Old Man McGucket inside of the machine.

     “Work the bellows and… Eh? Aww, banjo polish!”

     “Wha- Yo- You ?! You made this?!” Dipper stuttered incredulously. “W-Why?!”

     “Well, I… I, uh… I just wanted attention.” McGucket admitted.

     “I still don’t understand.”

     “Well, first I just hootenannied up a biomechanical brain wave generator, and then I learned to operate a stick-shift with ma beard!”

     “Okay, yeah. But why did you do it?” Mabel asked.

     “Well, when you get to be an old fella like me, nobody pays any attention to you anymore. My own son hasn't visited me in months! So I figured maybe I'd catch his fancy with a fifteen ton aquatic robut!” McGucket laughed like a maniac before sighing. “In retrospect, it seems a bit contrived. You just don't know the length us old-timers go through for a little quality time with our family.”

     [M/N] was completely rigid as the old man explained himself, just staring at him with wide eyes like he’d seen a ghost. This guy spoke exactly like him in some ways, even saying “robut” the same way he did, and apparently he was a genius with mechanical engineering. Smart enough to operate a giant robotic Nessie even though it seemed like a lot of his mind was long gone.

     [M/N] remembered the dire warning from the letter he’d taken with him: WHEN GRAVITY FALLS AND EARTH BECOMES SKY, FEAR THE BEAST WITH JUST ONE EYE!

     The letter itself said Gravity Falls. Gravity Falls! Sure, it wasn’t what was entirely meant by its mention, but it was definitely proof of who this guy could quite easily be.

     Next to him, Dipper and Mabel began feeling guilty for abandoning Stan, and Soos made some joke about them being “the real lake monster”. [M/N] didn’t catch it. He was too busy listening to McGucket and watching the news articles he was projecting in dead silence. He even mentioned his wife leaving him. That was always a major part of the vague stories [M/N] had heard from his family.

     [M/N] couldn’t get himself to say a word. He was in shock, and telling a random crazy old man that he might be his long lost family member didn’t sound like an entirely normal thing to do. And what if he was wrong? The embarrassment from that probably would’ve kept him awake for a full week if it happened.

     And so he said nothing.

     He was probably wrong anyway. His parents usually said he was when he brought up problems in the family.

     They were probably right.

     Once McGucket went back to working on his death ray, Dipper took out his camera.

     “Well, so much for the photo contest.”

     “We still have one roll of film left.”

     “What do you wanna do with it?”

🌲🐟

     So they all drove back to the lake in a totally broken boat that was somehow still holding up.

     Of course, Stan wasn’t entirely happy about having been left behind, but they did cheer him up and make up for it by hanging out with him until the sun was almost down and the lake closed. Time was spent making bets on what Stan could and couldn’t do, taking tons of photos, catching fish (Dipper finally caught his first one!), and barely escaping the lake police.

     It distracted [M/N] from his earlier thoughts. That was, until they got back to the Mystery Shack after the drive home.

     “Hey, you alright kiddo?” Stan asked [M/N] as he shut his car door. He’d noticed the boy’s odd behavior and wanted to figure out was wrong. He knew the twins were distracted so now was probably the best time to check in.

     “Huh?” [M/N] mumbled absentmindedly and then jolted when he realized Stan was talking to him. “Oh-! Uh, uh… Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Sorry. Just been a bit lost in thought, y’know? Fishin’ took a lot out of me. As per usual.” He excused himself with an awkward laugh and internally winced. He did a horrible job lying just now.

     Stan looked like he knew he was lying but didn’t question it any further. “Alright. Just don’t be too hard on yourself. We need you in one piece and that includes your brain. You really look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

     “I kind of did…” [M/N] muttered to himself. Stan started to walk off, but [M/N] remembered something he saw earlier and stopped him.

     “Hey, Stan? Can I ask you somethin’?”

     “Oh- Uh, sure, kid. What?”

     [M/N] hesitated to ask the question. He didn’t know if he should or not. It was a simple question about Stan’s car’s license plate, but something about it felt… odd. Something that he had no evidence for and couldn’t put his finger on.

     “…Why does your license plate say “Stanley Mobile” instead of “Stanford Mobile”?”

     For a brief moment, Stan’s face paled and he fully tensed up. That wasn’t what he expected and it was exactly the worst question [M/N] could’ve asked next to “Am I related to that crazy old nutjob named Fiddleford McGucket?” Except this one was arguably worse in every single way possible.

    But Stan quickly shook himself out of it.

    “I tried to get the DMV to put STNFRD, but they said it was too many letters for what I could afford,” Stan explained, “so they put STNLY instead. “Stanley” was closest and it’s the next best thing.”

     [M/N] wasn’t sure if he should believe him or not. Stan was a conman. Constantly lying and scamming customers, as well as having broken multiple laws and even taught his own niece and nephew how to hotwire cop cars. [M/N] decided not to push any further though. He just accepted it. He didn’t need Stan getting mad at him and he was tired enough as is, totally exhausted and aware that he would have to clean and bandage the cut on his hand before he could sleep. All he wanted to do was pass out.

     “Right, sorry.” [M/N] nodded and replied, suddenly sounding weary. “Was just curious.”

     Stan’s expression softened in a way that wasn’t very common for him after seeing the kid’s exhaustion. He patted the fishing hat that was still perched on [M/N]’s head.

     “C’mon, let’s get you inside. It’s been a pretty long day and this guy needs a nap.” He pointed to himself.

     [M/N] just nodded again and followed him with Dipper and Mabel trailing behind, lost in their own conversation. Soos had already gone home to his Abuelita.

     Once they entered the Shack’s gift shop, [M/N] looked up at Stan. “Oh yeah, what wazzat joke you made earlier that probably ruined a marriage? I didn’t catch it.”

     Stan frowned. “I didn’t ruin a marriage! People just can’t take a joke these days.” He paused and took a deep breath in preparation for his next words.

     “Okay, here goes: My ex-wife still misses me, but her aim is getting better!”

     [M/N] snorted and covered his mouth with his hand to hide his amused grin.

     “Couldn’t you have chosen any other joke from the joke book?” Dipper questioned, having heard Stan’s repetition of his earlier joke.

     “Oh, wait! I got one! I got one!” [M/N] eagerly waved his hand in the air.

     “Oh no.”

     Stan raised an eyebrow. “Spill it, kid.”

     “My ex-wife still wants me… wants me dead!”

     Dipper and Mabel were unamused. “Booo!” “Seriously? That’s even worse!”

     But Stan burst out laughing and pointed at him like he’d heard the funniest thing ever.

     “PAHAHA! This guy!”

Chapter Text

     Dipper didn’t know what to think of [M/N] at first.

     He’d initially been paranoid and wary, of course. Who wouldn’t be when their criminal great uncle announced that someone was going to be staying with them out of the blue and wouldn’t provide any further details? He had every single right to be suspicious of whoever arrived and their intentions. Being skeptical was already in his nature but Stan’s unwillingness to share any details gave him even more reason to be.

     But when he first saw [M/N] the day he got here, almost all of his resolve to be cautious flew right out the window. It was difficult to make himself be distrustful of a guy that looked like he was two seconds away from passing out and yet was still trying to be friendly and make his best impression. Watching him be a nervous wreck trying to figure out how to interact with them was kind of funny.

     And he knew that [M/N] really had made his best impression on everyone so far. Everyone seemed to like him or at the very least tolerate him.

     Mabel was crushing on [M/N] (and liked him as a friend, too. Not all of it was just her being attracted to him), Stan would crack dad jokes with him that they both somehow found funny, Soos didn’t know him all that well but he still enjoyed his presence, and [M/N] had begun hanging out with Wendy during and outside of work. She could calm him down pretty easily when his nerves started getting to him. He’d been gradually becoming less skittish during his time so far in Gravity Falls, but sometimes he was still weirdly jumpy and no one could really figure out why. Wendy’s presence usually helped him though.

     And Dipper?

     Dipper wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about [M/N]. He warmed up to him shockingly fast compared to how his usual interactions with kids his age went and he didn’t know why.

     His relationship to [M/N] was definitely positive. That was clear in Dipper’s mind. Hanging out with him was fun and he enjoyed watching him do things that Mabel or Wendy dared him to and seeing him instantly regret it. However, there were parts of him that Dipper still didn’t understand. Anytime he asked [M/N] why he came here, what made him leave home, he would get nervous and kind of shut down or find an excuse to leave in the least rude way possible. Especially if it was anything related to his family.

     [M/N] did open up about some things from back in [Y/T], Tennessee, though. Mainly the few things that interested him in his hometown and some of the little things he spent his time doing there. Some stuff that sounded so odd but interesting to Dipper and Mabel but were very familiar to him.

     Like the things he mentioned when he first got here. Drinking nectar from honeysuckle flowers and occasionally petting bumblebees like his dad taught him to. It sounded like something straight out of a kid’s movie but [M/N] swore that he was telling the truth.

     Those were things he promised to teach them his first day in Gravity Falls. And that was exactly what was happening today.

     [M/N] was leading Dipper and Mabel through the less spooky parts of the forest on a trip to try and find the things they needed. They were following directions that Soos gave them to a place near the outskirts of another part of town, taking the long way because the easier route, the one accessible through the town itself and not the woods, was blocked by construction.

     Soos hadn’t been there himself but he claimed that the place had plenty of flowers and he only knew of its existence because his Abuelita discovered it when she was his age and used to visit it to relax and unwind. According to her, only people who were born outside of Gravity Falls could find it. Even if people who lived here their whole lives were given detailed directions to the place, they just couldn’t get there. It wouldn’t show itself to them. Nobody knew the reason why. Soos couldn’t find it since he’s always lived in Gravity Falls but he was rooting for Dipper, Mabel and [M/N] to find it.

     They’d been bouncing back and forth between different conversations along the way and eventually Dipper ended up bringing them back to the topic of the journal. It was his go-to topic when he didn’t have anything else to talk about.

     He was ranting about multiple entities described in the author’s entries, geeking out about specific ones that caught his eye. Mabel lost interest in it a while ago and had simply been secretly staring at [M/N] whenever she got the chance for a few minutes now, but [M/N] listened to Dipper the whole time with the exception of occasional glimpses down at the directions Soos gave them.

     And then Dipper accidentally struck gold by bringing up the journal’s section on ghosts.

     [M/N] could be difficult when it came to getting details about what he really liked out of him. If nothing came up that made him want to say something about his interests, then it had to be persistently coaxed out of him.

     This was absolutely not one of those cases. When Dipper brought up the author’s research on spirits, he expected the same respectful listening from [M/N] that he was receiving before. Not a fully educated discussion about ghosts that contained around the same level of knowledge that Dipper had about them. But that was exactly what he got. It’d been going on for a little while now.

     “We went through all that effort tryin’ to get there, and when we got there, the whole place was flooded!” While they walked, [M/N] was rambling on about the time he went on a trip with his friends to see if Sensabaugh Tunnel was really haunted or not. “Kids back home liked to spread rumors about it sometimes. But nobody ever told us there’s a creek that goes through it and makes it almost impossible to get in after it rains.”

     “Ughh, that’s the worst!” Dipper groaned. “Did it feel like anything was there, outside the place? Or did it just feel like a regular old creepy abandoned tunnel?”

     “The usual. It felt like somethin’ was watchin’ us but nothing ever happened or showed itself. Maybe we were just psyching ourselves out.”

     Dipper hummed and shrugged. “Yeah, that’s possible. Probably what happened.”

     “I just wanna go to one of the big haunted places back home, ya know? Or anywhere, really. Like, the ones you see people investigate on TV. The kinda locations you see ‘em go to on Ghost Harassers.” [M/N] sighed.

     Dipper almost squealed at the mention of Ghost Harassers, but he managed to keep it down. Barely.

     “Imagine being one of the big shots of paranormal investigatin’. Seein’ yourself on the screen and being able to look back on all the places you visited, everything you’ve seen and heard. And the possibilities!”

     [M/N] raved about it before he deflated a little, his thumbs fiddling with the paper containing the directions Soos gave him.

     “But… most people don’t like that kinda thing back home. Most of them don’t believe in ghosts, and the ones who do are too scared of them. Somethin’ about it going against religion…”

     Dipper froze once he had an idea, stopping in his tracks and just standing there in the shade of the pine trees towering above him.

     “…What if you could do that and not have to go back home?”

     [M/N]’s gaze snapped up from the directions in his hands, and he and Mabel spoke up simultaneously.

     “Huh?”

     Dipper chuckled. “I mean, you could be a ghost hunter with me! That’s my plan for the future anyway, start my own ghost hunting show. That way if you joined me you wouldn’t have to go back home and worry about what everybody else would think.”

     “Wait, really?” [M/N] gasped.

     “Yeah! And it sounds like you’d be great at it based on everything you’ve said so far.”

     [M/N]’s face lit up with a grin and before Dipper knew what was coming, he was wrapped up in a tight hug.

     There was more to [M/N]’s relief about not having to go back home so fast than just the dream of being a paranormal investigator. Part of [M/N] was scared to go back even though he obviously missed some parts of his hometown. Dipper knew that. He didn’t know what it was or what caused the fear, but he could pick up on that much atleast. [M/N] was homesick for a place that he wished he didn’t miss. Dipper didn’t bring it up though. It wasn’t needed right now.

     “Ohh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

     “Yeah, yeah. You don’t have to thank me. Atleast not this much.” Dipper laughed as [M/N] squeezed him.

     Mabel raised an eyebrow once [M/N] finally let Dipper go. “Dipper, are you really just inviting him to hunt ghosts with you?”

     “Yeah?” Dipper turned to his sister, confused. “What about it?”

     “I dunno. You always wanna be by yourself when it comes to all that nerdy ghosty stuff. Like a solo investigator. You inviting someone to be a ghost hunter with you feels like you’re, like, proposing to him or something.”

     Both [M/N] and Dipper flushed. “O-Oh, uh-“ “MABEL!”

     “I’m-“ Dipper faltered. He really didn’t know how to respond to Mabel. He didn’t mean it like that when he invited [M/N] to join him. All he could really do was stutter out an explanation in an attempt to explain himself.

     “I-I’m not proposing to him! I’m just saying that he can join me if he wants to. Having another person with me would be better for my safety, and also just more convenient in general. Ghost hunters do better in groups, and I’ll need backup in case I run into squatters or something. [M/N] seems suitable for everything. He’s educated enough on ghosts and I saw him punch a gnome in the face! We’d probably be safe.”

     Dipper took a deep breath before continuing his explanation.

     “He didn’t instantly lose his cameras the other day at the lake like you and Soos did. He only lost them because we were getting chased and we couldn’t go back and fetch the ones we dropped. He knows how to handle equipment! That’s one of the most important parts of paranormal investigation! And he didn’t immediately run away when the “Gobblewonker”-“ Dipper paused to do air quotes. “-popped up out of the water. He waited for me. He’s the only one who waited until I realized what was happening to run, unlike two other people I know . He just kept himself still next to me and then dragged me along once I knew. He didn’t leave me behind.”

     [M/N] was just watching him with wide eyes the whole time, looking flattered and surprised like he wasn’t used to such high praise and wasn’t sure what to think or say, while Mabel was watching her brother with narrowed eyes like she thought he was just digging himself into a deeper hole. And he really was. She was mainly joking with her “proposal” comment though. She wasn’t trying to judge Dipper too hard. She just thought it was funny.

     Seeing the looks on the other two’s faces, Dipper finally realized he might’ve rambled on a little too much. He got too focused on trying to defend himself from Mabel’s teasing. He cleared his throat and awkwardly tried to move on. “A-Anyways- [M/N], one more question before I appoint you to my team.”

     [M/N] nodded, still slightly flushed and recovering from all the compliments. “Hit me.”

     “What’s your opinion on the usage of spirit boxes in investigations?”

     The boy in question pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. It took him a second to find the words. “Hmm… I don’t like it for the most part, but it really depends. I don’t think it should be used as a common tool in investigations at all, especially not a major one. Mainly because “EVPs” you get from them could very easily be your brain mistakin’ random radio signals as words you’re expectin’ to hear. Pareidolia.”

     He stopped to think and then went on again. “They could be useful, if ya wanna play it risky. But the least sketchy way to go about usin’ it is way different than what a lot of investigators do. Ya would have to have one person asking the questions, and another with noise-canceling headphones listenin’ to the spirit box ‘n’ wearin’ a blindfold. Or just have them facing away instead so they can’t see the other person while they repeat what they hear. That way they’ll have no clue what’s bein’ asked, but even then there’s still the possibility of them experiencin’ Pareidolia. Your brain will pick out things you want to hear. It’s really not the best or most reliable thing to do but if you’re careful enough then maybe it’ll give you somethin’ right. Other than that, though? Don’t use ‘em. Bad idea.”

     Dipper and Mabel were stunned.

     Okay, apparently the way to completely activate [M/N]’s brain is to bring up ghosts. He’s totally different like this.

     The twins gaped at him for a moment, temporarily unable to react. Each of them had their own reason.

     Mabel was just surprised by the sudden switch up. [M/N] was talking like a nerd. Usually he was a bit of a dork, yeah, but never to this extent. She would’ve found it impressive if she understood atleast half the words he said. Maybe her brother really was right about picking him for a ghost hunting team.

     And Dipper was entranced by the answer he’d received. This was exactly the kind of thing he was looking for in an investigation partner! This was perfect! He didn’t even know what to say at first. He was in awe.

     He slowly shook his head in disbelief. “You’re literally… perfect for this.” He whispered, then laughed. “What- Oh my gosh, how did I not- Why didn’t I bring that up until now? I could’ve known you were like this the whole time you’ve been here !”

     A bashful smile grew on [M/N]’s face and he shrugged, hands still lightly gripping the directions and occasionally brushing his thumbs against the paper as some kind of nervous fidget. “I dunno. You’ve brought up pretty much everythin’ but ghosts somehow.”

     Dipper just laughed again in disbelief, taking his hat off for a moment to run his hand through his hair like he was trying (and failing miserably) to process everything. He started to pace in a small circle but Mabel speaking up made him stop again.

     “Sooo… You gonna add him to the team?” Mabel questioned her twin, an undercurrent of teasing hiding right beneath her genuine interest.

     “Heck yeah I am!” Dipper grinned and set his hat back on his head. He stepped over to [M/N], fully enthusiastic about the whole thing. “[M/N] [L/N], you are officially my partner in paranormal investigation! Welcome to the team, man. You should be good as long as you don’t run away and leave me to die when we’re ghost hunting.”

     [M/N] snickered, cracking up a little at Dipper’s way of initiating him. “Alright. Well, atleast you can count on me not leavin’ you to die out there. I don’t think a ghost’ll kill you but if ya do get brutally murdered by one, then I’m gonna be right there with ya. Right next to you. You have my word.”

     “Promise?”

     [M/N] nodded and held out his pinky finger. “Promise.”

     Dipper chuckled and briefly locked pinkies with him without saying anything, followed up by a quiet “aww” from Mabel.

     “This is like some kind of weird blood pact for nerds. Except with no blood and it’s actually kind of sweet.” Mabel smiled.

     [M/N] snorted at Mabel’s analysis but he wasn’t distracted by it for long. He glanced down at the directions he was holding and then up at the sun. He must’ve realized it was getting later, because his eyes widened and he started walking again.

     “C’mon, we gotta go. We should be pretty close, but I don’t wanna get there too late. Bein’ trapped in the woods overnight isn’t fun. Unless you want some kinda critter gnawin’ on your leg the whole time.”

     Mabel questioned [M/N] as she and Dipper resumed following him. “You say that like you’re speaking from experience.”

     [M/N] cringed. “Don’t ever go choppin’ firewood at sunset for your dad and his friends if you don’t wanna become a coyote’s chew toy.”

🌲🐟

     It took a few more minutes, but they finally arrived at the place Soos described to them. It was just as soothing as he said. Dipper wasn’t sure he trusted Soos’ judgment at first but his claim “Abuelita says it’s super relaxing, dawg! And it should totally have everything you need. Trust me. If you can find it, you gotta go check this place out, dude.” turned out to be right.

     The three kids stepped into the clearing, purely in awe at the sight in front of them. And all around them. Similarly to the gnomes’ part of the forest, the shrubbery and moss here were a beautiful brighter, more vivid green than everywhere else in the woods. The place was surrounded by dense bushes and different types of flowers. Warm sunlight peeked through pine branches and dappled the grass beneath their feet in a pretty pattern. Overall, this spot was gorgeous.

     But unlike the gnomes’ forest, this clearing was a lot less shady, in both ways. This place was much more tranquil and welcoming.

     Dipper looked around with wide eyes, just admiring the scenery. A setting like this was usually way more Mabel’s style but he couldn’t deny that this particular part of the woods was awesome. “Woah…”

     “We’re actually here! Man, with the way things have been going, I half expected somethin’ to try ‘n’ kill us on the way here. Either that or it wouldn’t be true.” [M/N] laughed in relief.

     Mabel, of course, was ecstatic. “Eeee! Everything’s so pretty here! Look at all the flowers!” She gasped and ran over to one side of the clearing.

     Dipper and [M/N] chuckled at Mabel’s excitement. But then [M/N]’s face lit up as well once he spotted something and ran to stand next to Mabel.

     “There is honeysuckle here! Oh, that’s good. Soos was right.” He sighed as he analyzed the tubular flowers in front of him. “Huh. So you guys have the orange kind over here. This’ll do fine, though. These things’ nectar is still edible. Or drinkable. Whatever.”

     Mabel tilted her head. “What kind did you have back home?”

     “Common honeysuckle.” [M/N] smiled. “They’re white or yellow with a little bit of pink or red on ‘em. They’re real pretty.”

     [M/N] waited until Dipper walked over to them to begin his lesson. “Now, ya gotta be careful when you look for these things. You have to be sure it’s actually honeysuckle first, of course. And I wouldn’t eat the stems or berries. They’re kinda toxic, I think.”

     The twins nodded to show they understood.

     [M/N] carefully plucked three flowers off the bush and handed one each to Dipper and Mabel.

     “Now, pinch this little green thing right here,” [M/N] lightly pinched the end of the flower, “and pull it really carefully.”

     He gently pulled on it and it slowly detached from the rest of the flower, coming out as a thin string with a drop of nectar.

     The twins followed his instructions and looked from the flower up to him with curious faces when they were done.

     [M/N] chuckled at their expressions and shrugged. “There ya go. That’s all you do. You just drink this after that.” He explained as he pointed to the flower’s nectar then sucked the nectar off of it.

     Dipper and Mabel both tried it, and although it didn’t have that much taste other than a light, floral note of sweet honey, they enjoyed it. Mabel liked it more than her brother but neither of them liked it nearly as much as [M/N] did. Dipper figured it was because they didn’t do this growing up like he did, and [M/N] already missed some parts of home. He probably had a soft spot for this kind of thing.

     “Ooo! It’s all honey-y and flowery.” Mabel noted. “Can I have another one?”

     [M/N] laughed. “Yeah, sure. Go nuts. Just don’t eat too many. Maybe like, one or two more. We don’t wanna take ‘em all.”

     While [M/N] was helping Mabel drink another honeysuckle’s nectar so she wouldn’t end up straight up eating the flower (which would absolutely happen if [M/N] wasn’t instructing her, Dipper knew), Dipper decided to explore the glade they were in a little more. He paused next to a seemingly hollow log and studied the edge of the clearing. He was mainly just trying to figure out what was up with this place by theorizing in his head, but something on the forest floor caught his eye.

     “Huh?”

     There was some kind of… well, Dipper really didn’t know what it was, partially hiding under a bush. It looked like some kind of hair. It was too thick to be human hair. It looked like it’d been there for a long time, worn and covered with something he couldn’t discern. But there was an odd sparkly sheen underneath all of whatever it’d been dipped in long ago. It looked weirdly… rainbow colored compared to any animal’s hair he knew.

     What in the world…

     Then his gaze traveled to the forest floor. Right behind the hair, there was a sharp line between the verdant area they were in and the rest of the woods, the vibrant green of the grass beneath his feet a sharp contrast to the paler grass of the regular forest. He noticed that this little patch they were in was a perfect circle. There were these clumps of some type of hair he’d never seen before methodically sprinkled throughout the clearing hidden under bushes, and they were placed right at the end of the foliage, all in a circle.

     Is that why people who’ve lived here all their lives can’t get here? Was this some kind of experiment to keep them out? Maybe someone was just figuring out what this hair is or what it would do. All of it’s covered in something. Maybe they were testing how it would mix.

     This… doesn’t seem like anything malicious. It’s just weird… It seems more like some kind of study. Maybe the journal has something about this kind of thing.

     He started to take the journal out of his vest pocket when Mabel called out to him.

     “Hey Dipper! Come look! [M/N] taught me how to pet a bumblebee!” Dipper could easily hear the grin on his sister’s face without even looking at her.

     “Yeah yeah, be there in a minute.” He mumbled back to her, distracted by flipping through the journal’s contents.

     Then he made the worst mistake he possibly could’ve made.

     He went to kneel down next to the original clump of hair he spotted in the grass to get a better look at it, but he didn’t notice that a bumblebee was pollinating a flower right beneath his knee. Luckily it didn’t sting him through his shorts but he was too focused on the sudden overwhelming sound of buzzing next to him. The realization of what happened hit him and he stood up faster than he ever had in his life.

     The bumblebee he accidentally squished belonged to a nearby hive. A nest very close to him.

     A nest that was hidden in the hollow log he was standing right next to. Filled with now very, very angry bees.

     They started flying out of the log after him and he screamed, immediately shoving the journal back in his vest and making a run for it. [M/N] and Mabel’s heads whipped around to see what was going on but Dipper was already out of the clearing. All they saw was a whole swarm of bees flying after him.

     Mabel shared a look with [M/N] and she burst out cackling. [M/N] was so close to laughing too but he managed to keep it down. Barely. His voice still cracked from amusement though.

     “Dipper! W-Wait, hang on! You’re gonna get lost-!”

     [M/N] couldn’t keep himself from laughing anymore when Mabel started chasing her brother to make sure he was okay. All he could do was snicker as he ran after the two of them.

🌲🐟

     Dipper ended up being okay. Somehow he’d gotten stung by none of the bumblebees, thank God. The most painful thing he had to face was Wendy laughing her ass off when she saw him getting chased by a whole swarm of bees. Still definitely not the best thing but it was better than getting stung atleast 50 times. Maybe better. Maybe.

     Luckily for him, he’d memorized the way back to the Mystery Shack from the clearing so he didn’t get lost without the directions. It saved him.

     He hid in the Shack for a while until he was sure that the bees were gone, just trying to calm down. He really didn’t want to go back outside right now. But Mabel dragged him back out once she knew he was okay.

     It was too late for them to go back to the forest clearing they went to earlier. Not like Dipper wanted to go back anyway. The sun was about to set, so for now they were aimlessly wandering the part of the woods closest to the Mystery Shack.

     While they were walking, they stumbled across another plant [M/N] recognized. He wasn’t entirely sure that it was what he was thinking of at first. But after plucking it out of the ground, hearing that familiar creak of its roots in the dirt as he picked it, [M/N] knew he was right. They found garlic.

     Dipper didn’t understand his excitement over the plant at first. Not until [M/N] explained to him and Mabel that he used to pluck garlic out of his yard every year for his mom to cook with after it dried out a little.

     “Awww. So you used to pick it and your mom would cook different kinds of stuff with it?” Mabel asked. “That’s sweet.”

     “Yeah, I did.” [M/N] smiled, slightly wistful but trying to disguise it. Luckily another question popped into his mind to distract himself from it. “I… don’t know what to do with it now, though. Stan probably won’t cook with it. I dunno if it would match up with his old man biz.”

     Mabel crossed her arms and shook her head. “The senior citizen diet.”

     Dipper hummed. “Huh. Maybe a restaurant would want it? I mean, it’s fresh ingredients.”

     [M/N] looked at the bulb of garlic he picked, then down at the garlic still rooted in the ground. An idea struck him and a plan began to formulate in his mind. He chuckled and started harvesting a few of the other stalks of it.

     Dipper raised an eyebrow. “…What are you doing?”

     [M/N] just smiled and held up a finger, signaling for Dipper to be patient. “You’ll see.” He hoisted the stalks of garlic he picked onto his shoulder and started carrying them back to the Shack. “Trust me. You’ll see.”

🌲🐟

     The sun was already down by the time [M/N] arrived at his destination. He carefully parked the Mystery Cart in the parking lot and stepped out of it, grabbing the bundle of garlic from the passenger seat and hauling it over his shoulder. It wasn’t that many stalks of it. Not enough to last a long time or make more than a few meals, but it would be just enough to make a batch of something tasty.

     Something [M/N] would only get to taste if Stan didn’t kill him for stealing the golf cart and riding it around town. Maybe Stan wouldn’t notice if he wasn’t gone for too long.

     All the more reason to hurry.

     He jogged over to the door of the restaurant ahead of him. Greasy’s Diner. The redwood log-shaped building loomed over him, but he took a breath and forced himself to go inside. His nerves were getting to him. He suddenly felt awkward and out of place even though this was his idea. All he wanted to do was give them something to cook with.

     God, what am I doing? I’ve never even been here! I shoulda just gone to bed. Maybe I should-

     Just as he was about to contemplate booking it and driving back to the Mystery Shack, a voice cut through his thoughts and he looked up to see Lazy Susan.

     “Hi, sweetpea. Can I getcha anything?” She asked him kindly. “We’re about to close up shop.”

     [M/N] perked up nervously. “Oh, uh, no. No thanks.” He paused and shifted the bundle of garlic off his shoulder and into his hands. “I was actually lookin’ to see if you wanted this. Y-Y’know, to cook with. I already washed it all off. I just found it earlier and didn’t wanna waste it, so I brought it here.”

     Lazy Susan narrowed her eyes - or, well, eye - in contemplation for a few seconds before smiling at the boy in front of her. “Well, why didn’t you just say so! That’s perfect! I’d be happy to take it. We’ve been so busy lately, we need ingredients now more than ever.”

     [M/N] could’ve passed out from relief. He didn’t know why he was so worried. Maybe it was because it wasn’t a regular thing for kids to bring random herbs to restaurants for them to cook with. This was a small town diner though, and Lazy Susan herself said they needed more ingredients. He handed her the garlic, ready to go back to the Mystery Shack as soon as this was over. But then Susan surprised him.

     “You seem like a nice boy. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. What’s your name?”

     [M/N] shyly smiled at the compliment and introduced himself. “Oh- Thanks. I’m [M/N]. I’m from outta town and I haven’t been here very long, so… yeah, you probably haven’t seen me.” He chuckled.

     “Well, I’m glad to have ya here, sweetie. Mr. Pines mentioned you a few times before. He comes here a lot when he can, so I’m surprised I haven’t seen you here before now.” Lazy Susan smiled. “Maybe I’ll see you again soon?”

     After she said that, she turned for a moment to grab something before facing [M/N] again and holding something out to him.

     An apron. One similar to hers.

     [M/N]’s eyes widened and he started to reach for it, only to hesitate. “Are you saying…?”

     Lazy Susan gently shoved the apron into his hands. “We need more waiters, and you seem kind enough. Much nicer than a lot of other boys in town.” She shook her head. “Last time we had a boy your age here, he put his apron in the fryer and threw chili fries at a customer when we fired him! But you seem like you might do well.”

     [M/N] felt his lips starting to twitch up into a smile, but he tried to hide it for the time being.

     “I… I really appreciate the offer, but don’t you think I’m kinda young to work here?”

     “You get paid.”

     “I’m in!” [M/N] immediately accepted and took the apron from her. “I’ll be a good waiter! Promise.”

     “Alright,” Lazy Susan said, “you start on-“

     But [M/N] was already rushing to the door, apron in hand. “I’ll be here first thing in the mornin’! G’night!”

     He waved at Lazy Susan and shut the door behind him, leaving her just standing there.

     “…But we’re not open tomorrow!”

Chapter Text

     The past few days had been surprisingly peaceful for [M/N]. Stan grounded him for a day for stealing the golf cart after sundown and driving around town, but after learning that [M/N] was making a little bit of money on his own now, he let him off with a warning. Any bit of extra cash was appreciated. They made enough money at the Mystery Shack to keep things going even without a paycheck from [M/N]’s new job, but you never know when things might get worse.

     [M/N]’s schedule assigned to him by Lazy Susan was comfortably flexible for him. She would just call him when they needed him there, but they managed to hire another person as well, so if he couldn’t make it then they would take his shift for him.

     Today he got called in since the mornings were always busy, and stayed until it was almost dinnertime so they had everything under control. Just to make sure everything was fine. Eventually it calmed back down and Lazy Susan told him he could head back home.

     Right after taking off his work apron, he walked into the Shack’s living room in time to see Dipper, Mabel and Soos cheering on the tiger from Tiger Fist.

    [M/N] stepped down onto the carpet and raised an eyebrow, chuckling at their enthusiasm.

     “Watchin’ Tiger Fist again? Thought you guys woulda moved back to Duck-tective by now.”

     “Oh! [M/N]!” Dipper greeted from his spot on the carpet. “Hey. There’s a Tiger Fist marathon going on right now. You gotta watch some with us! You haven’t even gotten to see any of it yet.”

     “Yeah! It’s amazing! You gotta see, you gotta see!” Mabel enthused.

     “Alright, alright, gimme a minute,” [M/N] laughed, “I just got here. I’ll sit down in a sec.” He walked over to the antler coat rack and placed his apron up there before grabbing his usual jacket beside it and putting it on. Once it was on, he went over to the other three and sat down next to Dipper on the carpet.

     A couple seconds after [M/N] sat down, the program went to a commercial break and he groaned, but he quieted down when Soos pointed at the TV.

     “Hey, look! It’s that commercial I was telling you guys about.”

     “Are you completely miserable?” A southern voice narrated the commercial, before it flashed to a scene of a guy sobbing in bed.

     “YES!”

     “Then you need to meet Gideon .”

     “Gideon?” Dipper echoed.

     “What makes him so special?” Mabel asked.

     “He’s a psychic.” The voice on TV answered her question, and Mabel tilted her head.

     “So don’t waste your time with other so-called “men of mystery”-“

     A clip of Stan exiting the outhouse outside the Shack played on television with him trying to shake toilet paper off his slipper.

     And, right after, a giant stamp of the word “FRAUD” popped up.

     [M/N]’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is that-“ He pointed at the TV and glanced at the other three in the room. “Is that- allowed?? That can’t be allowed, right?”

     They all shrugged.

     Their attention was brought back to the screen by the narrator.

     “Learn about tomorrow tonight at Gideon’s Tent of Telepathy!”

     The sped up subtext flashed by on the TV.

     “Wow, I’m getting all curiousy inside!” Mabel said.

     “Well, don’t get too curiousy.” Stan warned as he walked into the living room and hung his suit on the coat rack next to [M/N]’s work apron. “Ever since that monster Gideon rolled into town, I’ve had nothin’ but trouble.”

     “Well, is he really psychic?” Mabel questioned, and Dipper piped up. “I think we should go and find out.”

     Stan tried to shut them down. “Never! You’re forbidden from patronizing the competition. No one that lives under my roof is allowed under that Gideon’s roof!”

     Dipper looked to Mabel and [M/N]. “Do tents have roofs?”

     “I think we just found our loophole… literally!” Mabel held up a string with a loop in it. “Mwop mwop!”

     “Can’t wait to see how much of a fraud this guy is.” [M/N] quipped as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

     Mabel lightly punched his shoulder, earning a surprised laugh from him. “Oh, c’mon! Quit being such a party pooper! Where’s your imagination, huh? Your whimsy!” She scolded, mainly jokingly. “You gotta have whimsy!”

     “Yeah, dude! Whimsy.” Soos agreed.

     [M/N] gave an exaggerated sigh. “Fine, fine, I won’t judge. Yet. ” He was trying to act seriously irritated to go along with Mabel, but the slight quirk of his lips gave him away. “But we should probably get goin’. There might be a line.” He gestured to the door with a nod.

     “YEAHH, WOO!” Mabel cheered and ran out the door. Dipper laughed and followed her with a little celebration of “Let’s go!” and Soos quickly tagged along.

     [M/N] started to go up the few steps in the living room doorway, but he stopped and glanced back at the TV just in time to catch the end of the commercial.

     “So come down soon, folks. Gideon is expecting you.”

     [M/N] snapped out of his hesitation and walked out of the room with a huff of disbelief.

     We’ll see about that.

🌲🐟

     By the time they got to the Tent of Telepathy, the sun was beginning to set and the booths were almost full. Luckily they snagged some seats that weren’t too bad and didn’t get cheated like they very easily could’ve.

     After all, this place was run by a guy who willingly called himself a psychic on TV. That’s one of the most egotistical things that someone could possibly do. [M/N] expected nothing less than getting scammed. But so far they were scam free and they could actually see the stage. It was a miracle.

     Everyone was doing their own thing. Mabel was simply staring at the stage and waiting for the show to start, Soos was eating an empanada he got on the way here, and Dipper and [M/N] were just looking around the place from their seats. Studying everything while they waited.

     “Whoa, this place is like a bizarro version of the Mystery Shack. They even have their own Soos.” Dipper pointed off to the side at a maintenance worker that looked nearly identical to Soos named Deuce.

     Soos glared at Deuce while munching on his empanada.

    “It’s starting, it’s starting!” Mabel excitedly announced.

     The lights dimmed and the spotlights roamed around before focusing on the stage curtain.

     Dipper crossed his arms. “Let’s see what this monster looks like.”

     On stage, the shadow of what appeared to be a buff man approached only to reveal a chubby kid with tall white hair in a blue suit once the curtains opened.

     “Hello America! My name is Lil Gideon.”

     Gideon clapped and a few doves fluttered out of his hair. The majority of the crowd cheered.

     “ That’s Stan’s mortal enemy?” Dipper asked.

     “But he’s so… wittle!” Mabel gushed.

     “Ladies and gentlemen, it is such a gift to have you here tonight! Such a gift. I have a vision. I predict you will soon all say, “aww” .”

     Gideon briefly turned around and when he faced them again, he did a cute little pose with puppy dog eyes. Most of the crowd did as he “predicted” and aww’d at him.

     “It came true.” Mabel whispered, in awe.

     [M/N] cringed. “Eugh… Really?”

     Dipper wasn’t enthused by it either. “What? I’m not impressed.”

     “You’re impressed!” His sister smiled.

     Back up on stage, Gideon called out to his dad and music started playing.

     Already sensing what was about to happen, [M/N] grimaced.

     “Oh, you’ve gotta be shittin’ me...” He muttered under his breath.

     The boy on stage began dancing and singing.

🎶 “Oh, I can see what others can't see

It ain't some sideshow trick, it's innate ability

Where others are blind, I am futurely inclined

And you too could see, if you was widdle ol' me!” 🎶

     “Can somebody shoot me so I don’t have to listen to the rest of this?” [M/N] whispered. He grabbed Dipper’s hand to make him do a finger gun and dragged it closer so it was pointed to his head.

     Despite his disinterest in Gideon’s performance, Dipper couldn’t hold back an amused snort at [M/N]’s complaint and pulled his hand away again.

     Gideon giggled. “Come on, everybody, rise up! I want y’all to keep it going!”

     The entire crowd rose. Even the twins, Soos and [M/N], none of them meaning to. Or, well, Soos and Mabel might’ve meant to. Dipper and [M/N] definitely did not.

     “Wha-? How did he-?” Dipper stammered.

     [M/N]’s eyes widened as he looked down at himself. “Huh?”

     Meanwhile, Gideon continued his little song, pointing at people in the audience. He eventually approached Mabel.

🎶 “I’ll read your mind if I’m able

Something tells me you’re named Mabel” 🎶

     “How’d he do that?” Mabel was amazed, totally oblivious to her name knitted in rainbow letters on her sweater.

     Gideon went back up onstage.

🎶 “So welcome all ye… to the Tent of Telepathy

And thanks for visiting… widdle ol’ me! ” 🎶

     The song ended with Gideon standing there panting and soaked in sweat while the crowd cheered him on. “Oh… Oh my goodness.” He took a swig of water. “Thank you! You people are the real miracles!”

     Mabel clapped and cheered. “WOO! Yeah!”

     Finally, they were free to leave and head back home.

     “Man, that kid’s an even bigger fraud than Stan! No wonder our uncle’s jealous.” Dipper said as they made their way out of the Tent of Telepathy.

     “Oh, come on. His dance moves were adorable! And did you see his hair? It was like, whoosh!” Mabel praised the show in Gideon’s defense.

     “You’re too easily impressed.”

     “Yeah, yeah!”

     Dipper and Mabel started jokingly punching and poking eachother while they walked, laughing along the way. [M/N] snickered at them but agreed with Dipper.

     “Nah, nah, really. I’m gonna have to side with Dip. You’re waaay too easily impressed.” He lightheartedly agreed. “Remind me to stay away from this place.”

     “Oh, you hush! It was great and you know it.” Mabel huffed. “You know what? If you take me here again after work or something, I’ll let you have Stan’s chair for a full day. Except for when he’s in it. Then maybe you’ll learn to like it.”

     “DEAL!” [M/N] instantly accepted the offer with no further questions. He didn’t think anything of it, after all. Stan’s chair was incredibly comfortable and he rarely got to sit in it. Of course he was going to take that chance.

     “YEAHH! WE’RE COMING BACK HERE! [M/N], thank you, thank you!!”

     When [M/N] was least expecting it, Mabel stopped walking and wrapped him up in a big hug, squeezing him so tightly that he could hardly breathe.

     “AGHH, YOU’RE CHOKIN’ ME-“

     Dipper and Mabel started laughing at him, but the latter relaxed her grip on [M/N]. She still held onto him though. He coughed and rolled his eyes but hugged her back anyway before they got moving again. Mabel lead with a skip in her step and Dipper and [M/N] trailed behind, walking side by side.

     [M/N] sighed as it fully registered in his mind what he agreed to. “I really gotta visit the Tent o’ Telepathy again, don’t I?”

     Dipper looked at the boy beside him and cracked a small smile. “Yeeep.” He popped the ‘p’. “And there’s no getting out of it, either. You trapped yourself.”

     “Ughh, no! C’mon man, I don’t wanna come back! I just want dibs on Stan’s chair for once. I wish I was futurely inclined to never come back to this place.”

     Dipper chuckled at the other boy’s misery and his mockery of Gideon’s song. “”Futurely” isn’t even a word anymore.”

     “EXACTLY!” [M/N] threw his arms up in the air once they finally moved out of earshot.

     What none of them noticed, however, was Gideon peeking out of the Tent of Telepathy, watching them leave.

     Particularly, him staring at [M/N] so hard he was practically burning a hole into the back of the boy’s head. After seeing Mabel hug him, Gideon couldn’t shake his paranoia that she liked [M/N].

     Oh, [M/N]… Don’t you worry, boy. You won’t be coming back here. Ever. Again.

🌲🐟

     The day after they went to see Gideon’s show had been relatively peaceful so far. All they were doing was sitting around and finding ways to kill time. Dipper was sitting at the table in the far corner of the living room, [M/N] was leaning against the wall next to him and texting his friends from [Y/T], and Mabel was occupying herself with craft supplies, as she usually did.

     Everything was normal. Enough to allow [M/N] to rest for once.

     Sadly that wouldn’t last long.

     “Check it out, Dipper! I successfully bezazzled my face!”

     [M/N]’s gaze slowly dragged away from his phone screen up to Mabel’s face. The first thing he was greeted with once he looked up was sequins. Lots and lots of sequins.

     “Blink!” Some of the sequins flew off Mabel’s face once she blinked. “Ow.”

     “Is that… permanent?” Dipper asked.

     [M/N] sucked a breath in through his teeth. “Ooh… Might wanna get that checked out.”

     “I’m unappreciated in my time…”

     The doorbell rang.

     “SOMEBODY ANSWER THAT DOOR!!” Stan yelled from somewhere in the Shack.

     “I’LL GET IT!” Mabel shook the sequins off her face and ran to open the door.

     At first she thought nobody was there, but then she looked down and was greeted by a familiar face.

     “Howdy.” Gideon smiled.

     [M/N]’s mood instantly soured. Why is he here? Was me havin’ to head back to his show in the future not enough?

     As biased as [M/N]’s opinion on Gideon was due to his dislike for his performance, that wasn’t the entire issue he had with him. Something about this kid just felt… off, in a way that made him want to flee and hightail his way out of there everytime he was around, and [M/N] couldn’t place what it was for the life of him.

     And now said kid showed up at their doorstep to talk to Mabel.

     [M/N] needed to keep an eye on him.

     But Mabel was as enthusiastic as ever. “It’s “wittle ol’” you!” She happily stated.

     Gideon laughed nervously. “Yeah, my song’s quite catchy. I know we haven’t formally met, but after yesterday’s performance, I just couldn’t get your laugh out of my head!”

     [M/N] squinted suspiciously.

     He better not be tryin’ what I think he is…

     “You mean this one?” Mabel laughed exaggeratedly.

     “Oh, what a delight! When I saw you in the audience, I said to myself, “Now there’s a kindred spirit! Someone who appreciates the sparkly things in life.””

     “That’s totally me!” Mabel started to laugh again, but was interrupted by her own coughing.

     She coughed up a bunch of sequins that landed on Gideon’s suit in perfect formation.

     “Enchanting. Utterly enchanting.” Gideon whispered.

     Stan yelled from somewhere in the Mystery Shack asking who was there, and Mabel quickly covered for Gideon. “No one, Grunkle Stan!”

     “Yeah,” [M/N] muttered. “It’s no one.”

     Gideon must’ve finally noticed that Dipper and [M/N] were watching the two of them, because he stopped to peek around the doorframe and scowl at [M/N] specifically and clenched his fists. However, he went back to innocently smiling as soon as Mabel faced him again.

     “I appreciate your discretion. Now, Stan’s no fan of mine.” Gideon thanked Mabel. “I don’t know how a lemon so sour could be related to a peach so sweet.”

     Then he shot a pointed glance at [M/N] and grumbled, “Or how that peach could live with a pear so prickly…”

     Mabel was so flattered by Gideon’s compliments that she didn’t catch his low utterance about [M/N]. “Gideon!” She giggled.

     But Dipper did hear it, and he looked up at the boy standing beside him. The sight he was met with wasn’t a pleasant one.

     Seeing [M/N] like this was more than a little unusual.

     Sure, occasionally he was a bit ill-tempered after a long day or when too many things went wrong, but this was different. [M/N] was just standing there, glaring at Gideon with his hand clenched tightly around his phone like he hoped he could burn a hole through his skull and his too-perfect-to-be-anywhere-near-natural white hair by staring hard enough.

     Although irritation was the main emotion on [M/N]’s face, Dipper could see the worry in the furrow of his brow. [M/N] wasn’t just pissed. After a couple of glances, it looked like he was actually more concerned than anything and was attempting to mask it as simply being angry and standoffish.

     But that wasn’t the case. And whatever it was had something to do with Gideon.

     What’s up with these two? Dipper wondered. They barely know eachother and they’re already at eachother’s throats. This isn’t normal, on either side.

     “Hey [M/N], you alright man? You look like you wanna use Gideon as a punching bag.” Dipper whispered to him while Mabel was busy talking to Gideon.

     [M/N] briefly tensed up at Dipper’s voice like he’d been lost in thought, but forced himself to relax and gazed down at the other boy with a slightly softer look than before.

     “I’m- I’m good, yeah. Sorry. Just got kinda lost in thought, ’s all.”

     Dipper’s eyebrows furrowed. He knew that wasn’t all. And it was proven by what happened next.

     [M/N] heard Mabel’s agreement to hang out with Gideon somewhere away from the Mystery Shack. And, as Mabel shut the door behind the two of them to leave, he shoved his phone into his pocket and tried to anxiously rush to the door to keep up with them.

     Dipper’s eyes widened at his abrupt departure. “Woah, woah, woah- Wait a second!”

     He barely managed to stand up out of his chair in time to grasp [M/N]’s wrist and stop him.

     “Relax, they’re just going somewhere to talk. Why are you acting so… weird?”

     At first [M/N] just stared determinedly at Dipper like he was silently ordering him to let go, but after a couple seconds his face softened and he slowly gave in. He was trying his absolute best to remain adamant and assertive. But something about Dipper’s presence exposed [M/N]’s true anxious nature and made him feel uncomfortably yet comfortably vulnerable.

     It was difficult for him to be mad at Dipper. He couldn’t bring himself to be truly angry with him no matter how hard he tried.

     [M/N] reluctantly allowed him to drag him back over to the table in the far corner of the living room and make him sit down, sighing once he was there. He appeared unusually weary for how uneventful of a day it’d been.

     And despite him listening to Dipper, he still didn’t seem like he was in the totally right mind. At all. Far too fidgety and restless to believe that he was alright, almost as if his patience was wearing thin and he was unsuccessfully trying to remain calm.

     “I don’t like that kid.” [M/N] grumbled.

     “No?” Dipper raised an eyebrow.

     “Somethin’ about him is just… weird. Doesn’t feel good. He feels like a little creep to me.”

     “A creep? I mean… His performance kinda sucked, and he did show up to the Mystery Shack uninvited just to see Mabel, but I’m not sure I’d call him a creep yet. Sure, it’s kinda weird and I don’t really like him, but he hasn’t done anything wrong so far. We don’t really know him.”

     “That’s exactly why it’s sketchy!”

     [M/N] snapped and got short with him all of a sudden, but it was seemingly accidental, because his voice died down and he immediately looked like he wanted to shrink in on himself and disappear for his slight outburst. Weirdly ashamed for something so simple.

     “I mean, uh- Sorry. Sorry.” [M/N] hung his head.

     Dipper flinched a little at the swift switch in volume, but he was more bewildered and concerned by how quickly [M/N]’s mood changed. He was never this snappy unless he was super anxious or worried.

     Right now, though? Right now he was a bundle of pure nerves with too much penitence sprinkled in for his own good. Too much to be normal.

     Dipper sighed softly and looked at [M/N]. “It’s alright. I know you didn’t mean to. But… I’m confused. You said you think Gideon’s probably weird and I don’t trust him either, but you seem really… protective over Mabel. Especially around him. How do I put this-“

     His eyebrows furrowed in concentration and he momentarily looked down at the table to think before his gaze drifted back up to [M/N].

     “Don’t take this the wrong way but, are you jealous or something?”

     That surprised [M/N]. “Jealous? Why would I be jealous?” He laughed weakly. It died a little in his throat, but it was genuine. The reason behind all this, atleast on his side, wasn’t jealousy whatsoever. His brain was too much of a mess right now after his little outburst to really decipher what Dipper was getting at even though it wasn’t that difficult.

     Dipper sat there silently for a second with his hands clasped together on the table and awkwardly glanced away, only for his eyes to quickly return to [M/N].

     Because of his knowledge of Mabel’s crush on [M/N] and [M/N]’s bizarre behavior, Dipper figured he might’ve been jealous of Gideon hanging out with her. Mainly because it was the only reason he could think of as to why his friend was acting like this. But even then, [M/N] really didn’t seem like the type to get that jealous over a crush. At all. And he didn’t display any obvious signs of attraction to Mabel. Plus he was consistently protective of all his friends, just to a more acceptable extent than today.

     Dipper asked that question to determine whether [M/N] liked Mabel back or not and simultaneously figure out what was wrong. But the reason behind the question went right over [M/N]’s head.

     He had to think of an excuse without truthfully explaining or this could get way more awkward. Fast.

     “Nothing. It’s nothing. I was just wondering since it’s… the only explanation I could think of.”

     [M/N] took a deep breath and straightened up again. It looked to him like he was going to have to tell Dipper why he was like this. He wasn’t going to like describing it, but it was necessary.

     “It’s just… I dunno. How things are in my family. They tell ya to care about your loved ones so much and so intensely that it pretty much gets drilled into your head. Except mine’s with friends specifically and theirs is with relatives. It makes you worry, pretty darn badly. And sometimes we can just sense when somebody’s bad before they even do anythin’ wrong. That’s why I’m so worried about Gideon. I don’t want him hurtin’ Mabel.”

     “Okay yeah, that’s fair, but… isn’t this a little excessive? No offense.” Dipper tilted his head. “I’ll trust you on Gideon being sketchy. But I don’t know if being that hostile to him is a good idea. Not to his face, anyway. Not yet.”

     [M/N] slumped in his chair. “…None taken. I know this isn’t good, or healthy, probably. I- I promise I’m only worried. I don’t mean anythin’ bad. It’s just- different in my family. I dunno how to explain it without tellin’ ya the whole thing. But everybody’s a bit crazy ‘cause of what one guy in our family did and now they teach the same lesson to all of us, over ‘n’ over.”

     [M/N]’s face screwed up and he stared down at the table like he was contemplating something. Debating something in his head.

     After a long pause, he slowly looked back up at Dipper and lowered his voice.

     “…Actually, I brought somethin’ of his with me to Gravity Falls. And I think you oughta be the first to see.”

     Both Dipper’s confusion and curiosity piqued. “Really? What’d you bring?”

     Right at that moment, wooden floorboards creaked under heavy footsteps nearby and joints popping sounded through the hall, followed up by a groan.

     [M/N] instantly knew it was Stan and he tensed. He made a ‘shh’ motion with his hand and gestured for Dipper to follow. They both hopped off their chairs and quietly crept through the Mystery Shack to [M/N]’s room.

     The only reason [M/N] didn’t want to say anything about it around Stan was because he didn’t know whether or not the old man would believe him or laugh at him. He didn’t need someone he looked up to laughing at or mocking something that meant a lot to him. Especially not during his first time showing the letter to someone.

     First time showing this letter to someone. Telling someone about all the disturbing things he read minutes before leaving his home for God knows how long. He couldn’t show Dipper the cassette now because he needed to get another tape recorder, but that was okay. He would find one someday.

     There was no way [M/N] could chicken out now.

     Here we go. It’s now or never.

🌲🐟

     To say Dipper was dumbfounded by that letter was an understatement.

     When [M/N] described bringing one of his mysterious relative’s belongings with him and said that he wanted to show Dipper first out of anyone else, Dipper didn’t know what to expect. Maybe some worn down sweater or antique button collection or an old, long-abandoned dip can. Whatever it was was from an old man who once lived in the south, after all.

     But Dipper absolutely did not expect to read a letter depicting one of his friend’s family member’s descent into madness and a cryptic warning, and for said friend to tell him everything he could remember about the letters he found before this one.

     It was rather disturbing. And way past concerning. But to Dipper?

     Oh, Dipper was ecstatic.

     Disturbed and he’ll probably be plagued with nightmares later, yeah, of course, but ecstatic!

     The letter was so similarly written to some of the pages in the journal and based on how yellowed the paper was with age, it was most likely from around the same time frame. [M/N]’s retelling of the letters’ topics discussed this man’s tales of working with a brilliant, traveling scientist as his assistant and this last letter, the one [M/N] was forced to bring with him, even said the words “Gravity Falls”. Gravity Falls!

     If this guy hadn’t been working with the author of the journal, then it was the weirdest (and most infuriating) coincidence Dipper had ever seen. This was a massive revelation! It could be the next big step in pinpointing who wrote the journal and why he disappeared.

     And this gave him insight as to why [M/N] acted the way he did. Why he was so jittery and secretive when he wanted to be.

     For a few hours, though, Dipper was more focused on the identifying the author part of things instead. As per usual. Now with a new lead and assisted by potentially crucial information.

     However after chewing his way through six broken pens, having to rinse out six mouthfuls of ink, and brainstorming so hard he almost gave himself a migraine, [M/N] made him stop and relax (as well as gave him a couple ibuprofen for the headache).

     [M/N] got permission to borrow the journal for a little bit while Dipper rested. So, right now Dipper was laying in Stan’s chair with his eyes closed and one foot propped up and [M/N] was sitting on the living room carpet, back against the dino skull they used as a table while he skimmed through the journal.

     He was beginning to understand why Dipper kept his face buried in this dusty old book all the time. Its contents were actually pretty interesting. Of course [M/N] was drawn to the section about ghosts in particular, but everything else he read piqued his curiosity, too.

     Many of the pages were torn, burnt or scribbled out where important information used to be, but some of those messages weren’t fully hidden. Whoever did it wasn’t entirely thorough and probably not in their right mind when they tried to hide everything personal. There were a few short entries about the author’s “muse” that he could see, although most of the real details were long gone and torn apart. Only a few were decipherable.

     [M/N] whistled as he read through part of one of said entries. “Man, this guy had it bad for somebody.”

     It was almost inaudible, but he barely caught Dipper chuckling. “Yeah, pretty much. Definitely seems like it.”

     Light footsteps creaked their way to the living room doorway.

     “Hey Dipper. What’s goin’ ooon?” Mabel dangled her new nails over Dipper’s head.

     Upon opening his eyes, Dipper smacked her hand away and sat up straight.

     “Whoa, where have you been? And what’s going on with those fingernails? You look like a wolverine.”

     “I know, right?” Mabel roared and playfully scratched the air with her nails. “I was hanging out with my new pal, Gideon. He is one dapper little man.”

     Without even looking at him, Dipper could sense [M/N] stiffen and he could swear he heard him mutter something like “Of course…” under his breath.

     “Mabel, I don’t trust anyone whose hair is bigger than their head.” Dipper pointed to his head.

     “Or a kid that’s runnin’ a scam even worse than Stan’s. He’s already untrustworthy.” [M/N] added. He shut the journal and pushed himself up off the carpet.

     Dipper snapped his fingers and pointed at [M/N].

     Mabel, however, didn’t agree with them. “Oh, leave him alone. You guys never want to do girly stuff with me. You and Soos get to do boy stuff all the time!”

     “Like what?”

     “What do you mean?”

     Soos walked in with a pack of hot dogs right after they questioned Mabel. Absolutely perfect timing. “Hey dudes, you ready to blow up these hot dogs in the microwave one by one?”

     With the Gideon topic forgotten and the hot dogs taking the spotlight, both Dipper and [M/N] were immediately onboard with it.

     “Am I?!” “YES!”

     The three boys ran off which left Mabel standing alone.

     All that was heard from the kitchen was the microwave’s beeping and hot dogs popping, along with Soos, Dipper and [M/N] excitedly chanting and laughing.

     “One at a time! One at a time!”

🌲🐟

     [M/N] got a call from Lazy Susan to come to work in the early evening since they were busy with “quittin’ time”, as he called it, so he didn’t get a chance to talk to Mabel the second time she came back from her hangout with Gideon. He did get back to the Mystery Shack in time to see everyone else though.

     He trudged into the gift shop with heavy steps, wiping sweat off his brow as the door closed behind him. Waiting for all the customers who came to Greasy’s Diner as soon as they got off work took a lot out of him. He was untying his apron in the back when he heard somebody greet him and he looked up to see three familiar faces.

     “Hey, dude!” Soos was the first to say hi after looking up from his magazine and spotting him.

     Wendy was next. “Oh, hey [M/N]. Wassup?” She was working the register, as usual. If you could even call it working.

     And lastly, Dipper waved with a small but friendly “Hey!” and a smile from his spot on a barrel next to the counter.

     “Hey.” [M/N] returned halfheartedly as he took off his work apron and folded it. Seeing them lifted his spirits a little, but it couldn’t erase his current exhaustion.

     Wendy raised an eyebrow. “Quittin’ time got you again, huh? Sorry, man.”

     [M/N] shivered. “Never get a table waitin’ job unless you wanna feel like you got ran over by a family of five.”

     He was about to go put his apron in his room when Stan walked into the gift shop.

     “Hey, hey! What the jackal is Mabel doing in the paper next to that crazy pickpocket Gideon?” Stan pointed at the headline on today’s newspaper.

     “Oh, yeah, it’s like a big deal. Everybody’s talking about Gideon and Mabel’s big date tonight.” Wendy informed him.

     [M/N] went rigid at the news.

     Oh no.

     Stan didn’t like it either. Not in the slightest.

     “WHAT?! That little shyster is dating my great niece?!”

     “I wonder what the new name will be for the power couple. Mabideon? Gideabel?” Soos gasped. “Magidbeleon!”

     [M/N] scowled. “Notice how none of those work?”

     Stan exited the gift shop.

     “I didn’t know! I didn’t hear about it and plus, I told her not to!” Dipper called after him.

     Stan re-entered seconds later somehow already fully dressed.

     “Yeah, well it ends tonight. I’m going right down to that little skunk’s house. This is gonna stop RIGHT now!”

     Stan stormed out and slammed the door.

     “Dude, wouldn’t it be funny if that was a closet, and he had to come back out again and go out the real door?”

     Soos’ question was met with silence from the other three. He opened the door just to check.

     “Nope. Real door.”

     “… Why would you think that?” [M/N] asked, concerned for him.

🌲🐟

     After Mabel’s date, she walked back into the Mystery Shack’s living room to find Dipper and [M/N] sitting at the table again.

     Dipper spotted her stepping past them and looked up from the journal. “Hey! How’d it go?”

     “I don’t know…” Mabel stopped beside the fish tank and put a lobster in it. “I have a lobster now.”

     “Well, atleast it’s over and you won’t ever have to go out with him again.”

     Silence.

     “Mabel? It’s over, right? Mabel?” Dipper questioned his sister.

     Mabel finally turned around, flailing her arms. “BLAARRGG! He asked me out again and I didn’t know how to say no!”

     “Like this: no.” Dipper pointed to his mouth.

     “It’s not that easy, Dipper! And I do like Gideon as a friend slash little sister, so I didn’t want to hurt his feelings! I just need to get things back to where they used to be. You know, friends.”

     “I think if a guy intentionally pressures you into a relationship, you should just shove ‘em off a cliff.” [M/N] paused to take a sip of Pitt Cola. “He can’t corner ya if he’s got no ground.”

     “[M/N], I’m not gonna push Gideon off a cliff. That’d be totally rude and he doesn’t deserve that!” Mabel frowned. “And you do know there’s a serious limit to valid reasons for shoving someone off a cliff, right?”

     [M/N] shrugged. “Only if you let there be.”

     Dipper side-eyed [M/N] with concern written all over his face. “You worry me.”

🌲🐟

     [M/N] spent most of the next day finally giving his room a proper cleanup. The majority of it ended up being dusting since Stan only cleaned as little of the room as he could get away with before he got here, but he did do some other things as well. He finally organized his (very limited collection of) clothes into the small closet he had. He did leave the fishing hat Stan made him out on his desk though, along with the fake ID Mabel made him.

     Dipper and Mabel told [M/N] a couple days ago that he missed the discovery of Stan’s old wax figure collection, and the entire “Wax Stan Murder” incident that happened. Mabel made fake IDs for her and Dipper to enter the local bar and interrogate Manly Dan but she made sure to make [M/N] one even though he didn’t get to be there with them. Like theirs, his ID was a photo of him with googly eyes, plenty of glittery stickers and macaroni noodles and the fake name “SIR TILAPIA”. It might’ve been silly, but [M/N] still held onto it. He liked it.

     He was hiding the letter and cassette he found back home somewhere in the room when he heard Mabel screaming.

     What the-?

     Alarmed, he quickly shoved the letter and tape out of sight and rushed out the door, shutting it behind him. He was about to enter the living room but he bumped into Dipper on the way in.

     “What the heck happened?” [M/N] asked, too distracted to apologize like he usually would.

     Dipper sighed and shook his head. “I’ll tell you later. Come on.”

     Without a word, Dipper lightly grabbed [M/N]’s wrist and lead him up the stairs to the attic. [M/N] didn’t complain. He was just worried.

     They opened the attic door to find Mabel hiding in her sweater.

     “Oh no. Mabel…” Dipper said once he saw his sister on the floor.

     “Mabel’s not here. She’s in Sweater Town.”

     Dipper walked over to her. “Are you gonna come out of Sweater Town?”

     Mabel whined and shook her head.

     [M/N] didn’t know what exactly was making Mabel upset so he settled on not saying anything, instead stepping over to the twins and tilting his head.

     “Alright,” Dipper knelt down next to Mabel, “enough is enough. If you can’t break up with Gideon, I’ll do it for you.”

     [M/N] felt like melting into a puddle from relief. So that’s what this was about. Mabel wanted to break up with Gideon. Thank God.

     Mabel peeked out of her sweater. “You will?”

     Dipper nodded.

     “Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you!” Mabel scooted over to her brother, playfully punching him along the way before hugging him.

     “Alright, alright-“ Dipper smiled.

     [M/N] chuckled at the two of them. After seeing Mabel stressed and uncomfortable so often the past few days, witnessing her all happy and cheerful again was so much better.

     “I can come with you, if ya want. I mean, we dunno how he’s gonna react. Might be better to have someone else with ya.” He offered.

     Dipper sighed and looked up at [M/N]. “You just wanna see the look on his face, don’t you?”

     “Mmmaybeee…” A mischievous grin crept across [M/N]’s lips. “You know me so well.”

     Dipper snorted. “Alright, fine, stupid. Let’s just go before we’re too late to catch Gideon.”

     Once Dipper stood up and started walking out with [M/N], [M/N] lightly punched Dipper’s shoulder and snickered.

     “Wha- Hey! What was that for?” Dipper huffed.

     “That’s for callin’ me stupid, stupid.” [M/N] teased.

     “Oh, you- “ Dipper punched [M/N]’s shoulder back and they both just started laughing as they exited the attic and made their way out, Mabel following closely behind.

🌲🐟

     By the time they got to The Club , the restaurant Mabel and Gideon’s date was supposed to be at, it was already dark outside. It took them a little longer because they had to walk but thankfully they still arrived on time.

     Mabel felt more comfortable waiting outside. It was reasonable, after all. Gideon would probably try to guilt trip her into not breaking up if she was there too. It was fine. Dipper and [M/N] would do it for her.

     They entered the fancy building and spotted Gideon hidden by the extensive menu he was browsing a little ways away.

     Dipper and [M/N] walked over to his table and Dipper cleared his throat.

     Gideon set his menu down and looked at the two of them. “Oh! Dipper Pines, [M/N] [L/N], how are you two? You look good, you look good.”

     “Thanks, you uh…”

     [M/N] had to resist laughing at how Dipper didn’t bother complimenting Gideon back.

     “Look, Gideon. We’ve got to talk. Mabel isn’t joining you tonight, she uh, she doesn’t wanna see you anymore.” Dipper laughed nervously. “She’s uh. She’s kinda weirded out by you, no offense.”

     Gideon’s eye twitched. “So what you’re sayin’ is… you’ve… come between us.” His eye twitched again.

     [M/N] raised an eyebrow. “You need some eye drops or somethin’?”

     Dipper elbowed [M/N]’s side as a warning before addressing Gideon again. “You’re not gonna like, freak out or anything, are ya?”

     Gideon laughed, suddenly looking much more relaxed. “Of course not. These things happen. Bygones, you know!” He waved his hand dismissively.

     “So. Okay. Cool. Then again, sorry man, but uh, hey, thumbs up. Huh?” Dipper backed away with a double thumbs up and [M/N] trailed after him, also giving Gideon a thumbs up on the way out although his was a bit more sarcastic.

     Mabel was anxiously waiting outside The Club, but perked up when she saw Dipper and [M/N] come back out.

     “How’d it go? Was he mad? Did he try to read your minds with his psychic powers?” She bombarded them with questions.

     Dipper rested his hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mabel, he’s just a kid. He doesn’t have any powers.”

     “Unless ya count usin’ the world’s most hairspray as a power.” [M/N] added.

     Dipper and Mabel looked at eachother before their gazes returned to [M/N] and they shrugged.

     “Yeah, yeah, that’s true.” “You’ve got a point.”

🌲🐟

     [M/N] relished the feeling of being able to play with the twins again without having to worry about Gideon. Warm summer breeze messing up their hair was the most stressful thing they had to worry about. Everyone was relaxed and happy, hanging out outside the Shack with Soos and having fun.

     “Hit me, dude!” Soos said after tucking a pillow under his shirt.

     Dipper, Mabel and [M/N] all charged at Soos’ stomach, bouncing off and landing on the ground. The three kids laughed.

     “Feels good.” Soos reported.

     “I’m so glad everything’s back to normal!” Mabel smiled.

     “Yeah, I’d bet.” [M/N] sighed in relief. “Me too.”

     The telephone rang in the gift shop.

     “Your turn.” “Your turn.” “Your turn- Aww, man.”

     Dipper was the last to say it, so he had to go get the phone.

     “Ugh, it’s hot out here…” [M/N] complained then stood up and gestured to the Shack. “I think I’mma grab a drink from the vendin’ machine. Be right back.”

     Mabel called after him as he walked away. “Hurry back, jabroni!”

    “Alright, alright!” [M/N] chuckled.

     He was about to walk into the Mystery Shack’s gift shop when he heard Dipper on the phone.

     Now, [M/N] wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but he was curious and him feeling too awkward about interrupting Dipper’s conversation by walking in was a good excuse to do so. So he just silently stood there and listened.

     “Hello?”

     “Toby Determined, Gravity Falls Gossiper.”

     “Oh hey man. Sorry for accusing you of murder last week.”

     [M/N]’s lips quirked into a small smile and he laughed under his breath.

     Interestin’ conversation starter, huh?

     “Water under the bridge! Say, we want to interview you about whether you’ve seen anything UNUSUAL in this here TOWN since you’ve arrived.”

     Of course, that excited Dipper. “Oh, finally! I thought nobody would ever ask! I have notes and theories-!” He pulled out some paper and wrote down the address. “Uh huh. Uhhh huh. 412 Gopher Road. Tonight? Got it.”

     “And bring anyone else who might have any SUPERNATURAL STORIES! We need all the eyewitnesses and information we can get.”

     Toby hung up.

     412 Gopher Road?

     The address rang through [M/N]’s head and left a bad taste in his mouth.

     He knew it was probably a real place, but he’d never heard anyone mention going there. The Mystery Shack was on Gopher Road as well so wherever this location was was somewhere further down their path. But there wasn’t much down that way, and [M/N] didn’t like the idea of Dipper going somewhere that he’d never heard of. Especially not when the guy who called him and told him to go there was somebody he accused of murder last week. Toby ended up being innocent, but you never know. And since Toby asked him for other eyewitnesses of paranormal encounters, Dipper would probably drag [M/N] along.

     Why would Toby Determined interview a kid that the average Gravity Falls resident didn’t believe in the slightest? Toby’s newspaper sales were plummeting, yeah (not like they were ever up), but why would he-

     And then it hit [M/N].

     Oh, goddamnit- This is Gideon’s doing, isn’t it? He’s tryin’ to get us alone ‘n’ where nobody knows where we are.

     “412 Gopher Road…” [M/N] accidentally mumbled it out loud, and Dipper must’ve heard, because he looked up from his paper and locked eyes with [M/N]. [M/N] panicked and quickly tried to act as normal as possible.

     “Oh, [M/N]! Big news!” Dipper grinned once [M/N] stepped inside the gift shop. Thankfully, he was too excited to notice that he’d been eavesdropping on him moments before. “Toby Determined called and asked to interview me, and he said to bring anyone who’s witnessed anything paranormal. This is our big chance to talk about everything we’ve seen in this town! This is a huge opportunity! Isn’t that great?”

     [M/N] walked over to the vending machine and grabbed a Pitt Cola while Dipper filled him in on what happened. He cracked open his drink and took a sip. “Oh, wow… Yeah, that’s great! I mean, we’ve got plenty to talk about. We’d be golden.” He agreed.

     [M/N], in fact, did not think it was great. It was too good to be true and it reeked of Gideon. But he was trying to act supportive. If he tried to tell Dipper it was sketchy, there was always the chance of him getting frustrated with [M/N] and going to that place alone. By himself.

     [M/N] couldn’t let that happen.

     He cleared his throat. “Say- Where did Toby say to meet ‘em at?” He was making sure he heard correctly.

     “412 Gopher Road! He said to be there at 7.” Dipper flipped the page around to show [M/N] the location and time.

     “Alright.” [M/N] forced a cheerful act. “We oughta get goin’ soon, then. It’s getting later and it won’t be too long till we gotta be there.”

     “Yep!” Dipper walked by [M/N] and, as he passed him, nabbed a quarter out of [M/N]’s jacket pocket and stopped by the vending machine.

     “What the- Did you just rob me??”

     “Pfft- It’s 25 cents . Calm down.” Dipper brushed him off as he inserted the quarter into the machine and punched in the code for a Pitt Cola. Then he turned back to [M/N] and raised his can.

     “To success?”

     [M/N] realized he was making a toast. Even with his anxiety over Gideon possibly trying to murder them and his (mainly joking) disbelief that Dipper just robbed him, [M/N] raised his soda can as well after a second and tapped it against Dipper’s with a small clink.

     “To success.”

     Despite himself, [M/N] found himself genuinely smiling.

     Maybe this won’t be so bad.

🌲🐟

     The address they were given lead them to an old hilltop warehouse. [M/N] already found this whole thing suspicious, but seeing it was the final nail in the coffin.

     There was no way this wasn’t a trick.

     Once they stepped inside, they were met with ominous darkness, countless boxes and shattered windows. [M/N] swore he could see the silhouette of a chair in the middle of the room but nothing moved an inch.

     “Hello?” Dipper’s voice bounced off the walls.

     No response.

     [M/N] sighed. “C’mon, let’s leave. This looks really creepy.”

     Dipper agreed with a quiet “yeah” and they turned to exit.

     The door slammed shut in their faces, locking them inside.

     Panic sparked in [M/N] and he started banging on the door, Dipper soon following suit.

     Lights flickered on behind them in a path leading to the chair [M/N] thought he saw. They looked behind them and, unfortunately, Gideon spun around in his swivel chair, petting a doll of himself in his lap.

     “Hello friends.”

     “Ughh, Gideon.” Dipper groaned.

     [M/N] wasn’t surprised. Only disappointed. “Thaaat’s what I thought.” His shoulders slumped.

     “Dipper Pines. How long have you been livin’ in this town? A week, two? You like it here? Enjoy the scenery?” Gideon looked from Dipper to [M/N]. “And [M/N] [L/N], Lazy Susan’s li’l pleco. Always cleanin’ up her and Stanford’s messes. I’ve heard that you like it here, too.”

     Dipper crossed his arms. “What do you want from us, man?”

     “Listen carefully, boy. This town has secrets you couldn’t begin to comprehend!”

     “Is this about Mabel?” [M/N] grumbled.

     “I told you, she’s not into you!” Dipper told him.

     “LIAR! YOU turned her against me!” Gideon hopped out of his chair and stalked towards them, gripping his amulet. “She was my pink dumplin’!”

     “Uh, you okay, man?” Dipper asked worriedly.

     [M/N] gasped as he and Dipper were levitated into the air at Gideon’s command. He tossed Dipper into a slightly safer spot, in a pile of Li’l Gideon merchandise, and carelessly threw [M/N] onto the hard floor beside Dipper.

     “And you . ” Gideon’s shadow loomed over [M/N] and he furiously pointed at him. “You’re the one that stole my precious Mabel’s attention! I had her heart and then you stole it from me!”

     [M/N] froze, instantly becoming confused. “I’m- What?”

     His gaze flicked over to Dipper who was just sitting there, surrounded by packing peanuts and Gideon dolls, looking nervous and as stiff as a board. Like some very important secret just got revealed.

     [M/N]’s eyebrows knitted in confusion and he slowly looked up at Gideon again. Is he tellin’ the truth? Does Mabel really-

     “She spent half of one of our li’l dates talkin’ about you. She told me allll about the “ strong but sweet softhearted southerner who came to stay for the summer ”.” Gideon mocked and chuckled darkly. “She really looks up to you, you know. Too bad she’ll only be lookin’ down at you from now on. Readin’ minds isn’t all I can do. If I can get my way, you two’ll never see the light of day again.”

     “But- But you’re a fake.” Dipper stuttered incredulously.

     “Oh tell me, Dipper-“ Gideon grabbed his amulet again. “Is this fake?”

     All the Gideon merch around them began glowing and floating in the air.

     “Uh oh…” [M/N] shakily whispered.

     The merch suddenly came crashing down piece by piece, raining down like hail.

     Both Dipper and [M/N] scrambled to get up and dashed away, sprinting to avoid the wares and items that were pelting down on them.

     Gideon knocked over a cabinet right in front of Dipper. He barely dodged it by rolling out of the way, but ended up roughly hitting his head against the wall in the process.

     [M/N] was running another way, but stopped in his tracks when he caught that in his peripheral vision.

     “Dipper!” [M/N] gasped and switched courses. He changed direction to rush over to Dipper. A few mugs and plates hit him in the back, but he did his best to ignore them in favor of reaching his friend. He’d definitely have a couple dish-shaped bruises later though.

     “Grunkle Stan was right about you! You ARE a monster!” Dipper yelled at Gideon once [M/N] got to him.

     “Your sister will be mine, and she’ll never be distracted by another country boy ever again!” Gideon laughed evilly. He pulled the string on a Gideon doll, which laughed just as evilly as he did.

     Still in shock and infuriated, [M/N] shouted something without fully thinking it through and angrily waved his arms around.

     “ I DON’T EVEN LIKE GIRLS THAT WAY!! GIVE ME A BREAK!”

     Gideon was too distracted by his doll to hear it.

     But Dipper?

     Dipper absolutely heard it. He silently stared at [M/N] in surprise for a few seconds, unbothered by the news yet caught off guard, but he soon snapped out of it and took advantage of Gideon being distracted. He ripped a baseball bat out of a box nearby and ran towards Gideon when he had his back turned.

     But Gideon caught him right before he would’ve gotten whacked. Dipper and [M/N] were levitated up high again and couldn’t move hardly at all.

     “SHE’S NEVER GONNA DATE YOU, MAN!” Dipper, as always, did not sugarcoat it.

     “That’s a lie!” Gideon glanced at a package of lamb shears beside him. His eyes quickly returned to the two magically hovering boys. “And I’m gonna make sure you never lie to me again, friend .”

     The shears tore through their box and slowly floated up towards Dipper and [M/N]. They approached Dipper first, snipping threateningly, but the door to the warehouse opened before Gideon could hurt him.

     It was Mabel.

     “Gideon, we have to talk!”

     Gideon faced her and tried to act normal. “M-Mabel! My marshmella!” The shears dropped to the ground but Dipper and [M/N] remained in place. “What are you doin’ here?”

     “I’m sorry Gideon, but I can’t be your marshmallow. I needed to be honest and tell you that myself.” Mabel apologized.

     “I… I don’t understand.” Gideon squeezed the amulet around his neck.

     His grip on it choked Dipper and [M/N], both unable to breathe but [M/N]’s throat was squeezed tighter. He couldn’t utter a single word and wheezed instead.

     Dipper tried to warn his sister. “Uh, Mabel?! This probably isn’t the best time to be brutally honest with him-!”

     Mabel approached Gideon. “Hey, but we can still be makeover buddies, right?” She held his hands. “Wouldn’t you like that?”

     “Really?” Gideon’s eyes sparkled.

     Mabel ripped Gideon’s amulet away from his neck. “NO, NOT REALLY!”

     Dipper and [M/N] finally dropped to the floor, the former falling with a yelp and the latter weakly coughing upon landing.

     “You were like, attacking my brother and my friend, what the heck?!”

     “My tie! Give it back!”

     Mabel tossed the amulet to Dipper.

     He caught it and started mocking Gideon while [M/N] leaned on him for support.

     “Ha! Not so powerful without this, are you?”

     Dipper’s taunting was met with Gideon charging full speed at them and tackling them, forcing him to drop the amulet and launching all three of them out the window and off a cliff.

     “DIPPER! [M/N]!” Mabel cried.

     The three boys screamed and Dipper and Gideon got in a slap fight.

     All of [M/N]’s stress and anxiety from the past few days bubbled over and unleashed itself in the form of him harshly ripping Gideon away from Dipper and screaming a long string of southern insults that Dipper, and even Gideon, had never heard once in their lifetimes. It was only interrupted by him taking a break to roughly shake Gideon by the shoulders every now and then. [M/N] might’ve gotten choked a minute ago, but his vocal cords still worked just fine. Right now atleast.

     “-YOU TRIED TO KILL THE TWO OF US AND NOW WE’RE ALL GONNA FALL TO OUR DEATHS, YOU FUCKIN’ IDIOT-“

     “LET GO OF MY NECK-!” Gideon tried to protest when [M/N] shook him for the fifth time.

     “YOUDON’TEVENHAVEANECK!” [M/N] spat it out so quickly that it was practically one word.

     Then they all saw that they were nearing the ground, plummeting towards the grass below at a terrifying speed. They all screamed again.

     [M/N] panicked and, in an attempt to fall to his death slower, he grabbed Dipper’s wrist and kicked Gideon down further to try and give them a boost up in the air.

     “What the- ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM TOO?!” Dipper’s voice cracked.

     “I’M TRYIN’ NOT TO DIE!” [M/N] squeezed his eyes shut in fright. The anger wore off and now he was just terrified and exhausted. And probably about to splat on the grass below. There was no forgetting that.

     They all braced themselves for the impact, but none came.

     [M/N] opened his eyes again to find that Mabel saved them with Gideon’s amulet and now the three boys were just levitating.

     “M-Mabel!” [M/N] gasped and laughed in disbelief that they were actually alive.

     The girl in question floated down and landed safely on the ground next to them.

     “Listen Gideon, it’s over. I will never, ever date you.”

     “Yeah!” Dipper chimed in before Mabel dropped the three boys, each of them crashing with a small “ow!”

     And then Mabel threw the amulet at a rock, shattering it into pieces and a cloud of green smoke.

     “MY POWERS!” Gideon stood up before he began to back up, pointing at all of them. “Oh, this isn’t over. This isn’t the last you’ll see of wittle… ol’… me!” He creepily whispered and disappeared into the shadowy woods.

     Dipper, Mabel and [M/N] all just looked at eachother.

     Well, that happened.

🌲🐟

     Back at the Mystery Shack, all three kids were a total mess and on the verge of passing out. The twins were slumped back in Stan’s chair and [M/N] was laying on the carpet.

     Stan finished hanging up the sad clown painting he stole from Gideon’s dad. “I coulda had it all.” He looked back at the kids. “What the heck happened to you three?”

     “Gideon.”

     “Gideon.”

     “Gideon…” [M/N] mumbled hoarsely. Now that he wasn’t solely running on adrenaline, he realized how much his throat hurt both from getting nearly choked to death by Gideon and screaming at him at the top of his lungs.

     “Gideon.” Stan walked over to them and sat on the dino skull. “Yeah, the little mutant “swore vengeance” on the whole family. Ha, I guess he’s gonna try to nibble my ankles or somethin’.”

     “Oh, yeah. Yeah, how’s he gonna destroy us now, huh? Try to guess what number we’re thinking of?” Dipper laughed.

     [M/N]’s voice was a little too weak for him to speak right now, but his amusement shone through in the grin on his face once he looked up at Stan and the twins.

     “He’ll never guess what number I’m thinking of. NEGATIVE EIGHT! No one would guess a negative number.” Mabel smiled.

     The Pines all started laughing, along with [M/N] quietly chuckling beside them.

     “Uh oh, he’s plannin’ on our destruction right now!” Stan laughed and laid on top of the twins.

     [M/N] felt himself slowly deflate with relief as he listened to everyone bonding over their hatred for Gideon.

     Everything was back to normal. Normal, or as close as it could get in Gravity Falls.

     I think everythin’ just might be alright.

🌲🐟

     The rest of the night before the twins’ bedtime was spent watching TV with Stan, mostly Baby Fights . But eventually everyone went to their rooms and all fell asleep.

     Or atleast that’s what [M/N] thought, until he heard a knock on his door.

     The one time he almost managed to drift off at a decent time was when somebody knocked on his door.

     He reluctantly sat up on his couch with a tired groan, blinking sleep out of his eyes as he called out to whoever was there. “Come in…”

     A hesitant crack in the door revealed Mabel standing there in her pajamas holding a full glass of water. Upon seeing [M/N] with sleep-tousled hair, barely open eyes and all, a slight smile appeared on her face.

     “Hey, um… Figured you might want some water for your throat. It sounded like it was pretty sore.” Mabel whispered.

     [M/N] nodded, still half asleep. “Mmn… Yes please. Thank ya.”

     Mabel took that as her cue to walk over to [M/N]’s couch and sit down next to him. He looked totally worn out yet unbothered by her presence. Despite his initial hesitance to get too close to anyone, he’d slowly grown accustomed to how close the Pines family was to eachother, even Mabel’s clinginess. And that was something Mabel was eternally grateful for.

     Mabel handed him his cup of water and in exchange she grabbed his googly-eyed fish plushie and held it close to her.

     She really needed the comfort of the silly stuffed animal for the conversation she was about to have. She wasn’t just here for the water.

     “So, uh, [M/N]…” Mabel started as [M/N] took a sip of water. “Dipper told me Gideon said some… things earlier. About how I felt.”

     That shook [M/N] slightly out of his exhaustion. “Oh, yeah, uh… He did say somethin’.”

     Mabel winced. “Ugh… I’m so sorry you had to find out through Gideon. I just- I was waiting to tell you because you haven’t been here super long and I didn’t wanna make you uncomfortable! So I waited and waited and then Gideon did… I don’t even know what to call that. His whole… shebang .”

     “Hey, hey, it’s okay, alright? I’m not mad.” [M/N] smiled sympathetically. “I just…”

     He trailed off and awkwardly looked away. He didn’t know if he could stand to see the look on Mabel’s face when he rejected her. She was too sweet to be upset.

     “You… don’t feel the same way.” Mabel murmured.

     [M/N] cringed but made himself slowly nod. “…Yeah. I’m really sorry. I just-“ He stuttered as he nervously tried to figure out how in the world to come out in a situation like this. “You’re really, really sweet. And you’re wonderful. But I kinda don’t… swing that way, if y’know what I mean.”

     Mabel groaned in embarrassment and buried her face in [M/N]’s fish plushie. “I should’ve listened to Grunkle Stan… He said you were gay to try to keep me from getting hurt, but I didn’t believe him!”

     Ice cold dread immediately washed over [M/N] and his eyes widened. “ Stan told you that? What- What all did he say? He didn’t-“

     Now [M/N] was panicking over the possibility of Stan having outed him as trans. Being outed as gay wasn’t the greatest thing ever, but he could accept it in this case since it was to protect Mabel. But [M/N] didn’t know how many people other than Stan he could tolerate knowing he was transgender. Not after what happened with his parents.

     Mabel pulled her face away from the fish and waved her hand to calm [M/N]. “Wait, wait- Hey. Relax. That was all he said. I was talking about liking you and he was like, “Pumpkin, [M/N]’s gay,” and I was all like, “Pshh- No he’s not, Grunkle Stan! What do you mean??” ” She rambled to try and explain. “I didn’t believe him. And then he was like, “Mabel, not every gay guy wants to do 3 AM closet fashion shows and eat glitter”. ”

     Throughout her explanation, [M/N] slowly calmed down and ended up accidentally snorting at the last part. “Well, I dunno about the fashion shows. But the glitter…” He trailed off and squinted like he was seriously thinking about it.

     He was seriously debating eating glitter. This is what his life had come to.

     But he wouldn’t have it any other way.

     “[M/N] [L/N], I will get you that glitter.” Mabel determinedly pointed at him before she deflated a little and shifted back to the main topic. “But… I don’t know. I guess I’m just embarrassed that I didn’t listen to Grunkle Stan. And I didn’t pick up on it at all when I was flirting with you!”

     [M/N] blinked. “You were flirting with me?”

     Mabel carried on, brushing her fingers against [M/N]’s fish plushie for comfort. “I just wish I had the chance to tell you myself before Gideon blurted it out. You know, on my own time… When I was ready.” She curled up into a ball on [M/N]’s couch. “Now everything feels weird…”

     [M/N]’s heart ached at the slight frown on Mabel’s face. He could never stand seeing her sad. He sighed and placed his cup of water down nearby then scooted closer and gently rested his hand on her shoulder.

     “Listen, Mabel. I know everything’s all weird right now with the whole Gideon tryin’ to kill us thing ‘n’ him telling me how ya felt, but I promise it’s gonna be alright. Things are gonna feel normal again. And there’s no way you’re not gonna have more boys falling for you, you know that, right? You’re the sweetest girl I’ve ever met. Like, give-you-a-cavity-in-every-tooth kinda sweet. And the most expressive. If no boys like that, then it’s their loss! Most boys are stupid anyway. Sayin’ that as a guy that likes ‘em.”

     Mabel was starting to tear up from all the kind words. Most of [M/N]’s words were scratchy from his sore throat, but Mabel could still understand him. “You… You really think so?” She sniffled.

     [M/N] smiled and nodded.

     Mabel shakily laughed and wrapped her arms around him. [M/N] did the same, allowing her to get as close as she wanted. He wanted to make her feel better.

     How could he 100% cheer Mabel up?

     Hmm…

     …

     “…Do you wanna give eachother makeovers?”

     Mabel gasped and pulled back to look at him. “Are you serious?!”

     [M/N] hummed amusedly. “Mhm.”

     “I thought you said you didn’t like late night closet fashion shows?”

     “I miiight’ve changed my mind. Just a little.”

     All of a sudden, Mabel beamed and gently grabbed his wrist to yank him off his couch. “YES! Oooh, yes yes yes! Let’s go! Thank you for becoming a stereotype for me!”

     [M/N] playfully rolled his eyes. “You’re welco- AH!”

     He yelped when Mabel abruptly pulled him to his feet and dragged him out of his room at the speed of light.

🌲🐟

     Mabel and [M/N] stayed up almost all night giving eachother makeovers and watching cheap girly movies. [M/N] was initially afraid having his makeup done might make him dysphoric or atleast somewhat uncomfortable, but he ended up quite enjoying it. He was only having fun with Mabel. It was fine and really didn’t look half bad.

     Mabel took a photo of the two of them together for her scrapbook. It was one of her favorite things to do, after all. She got a sugar rush after they raided the kitchen for snacks and moved too fast taking the picture, turning into an overexcited, grinning blur with smeared makeup in the corner of the frame, but it was still fun nonetheless.

     She even pestered [M/N] into watching Dream Boy High with her. [M/N] fully expected to hate it, but after getting used to the animation errors, horrible lip syncing, and eye-searing color palette, it was actually pretty entertaining. And he never expected the ending.

     They tried not to fall asleep but it proved to be too difficult a task. Eventually they dozed off together sitting on the living room floor and in the morning were found cuddled up under a blanket with smudged makeup and a bowl of popcorn spilled all over the carpet. Their quiet snores were barely audible over the end credits of Dream Boy High blasting on the TV. Whoever edited the movie did a terrible job mixing the volume of the soundtrack versus the rest of the film.

     But everything ended up being alright. Nobody died, everyone was happy, Mabel was done with Gideon and [M/N] was safely out to his friends. Atleast as gay.

     Everything was okay. Something that [M/N] was slowly but surely becoming used to.