A/N I don't like where things between Dipper and Mabel are going so I have to fix it! Which means that the curse of the evil plot bunnies have struck again! Having hit a snag with some major edits in "Mabel's Choice" and "Made Me Realize" I've been procrastinating and have come up with this. I think I need to get it out of my system or something... Alex! Why must you hit me in the feels? Dipper and Mabel...Mystery Twins for life man, Mystery Twins for life! Anyway, I don't expect it to be very long, maybe four chapters or so? But knowing me it will probably end up being longer. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy!

Sting

Mabel sighs as she stares at the ceiling, having given up long ago on trying to fall asleep because even though she's really tired, she can't seem to turn off her brain. Something about the quiet of the night and the solitude that comes with it, makes all the little things, small changes that in the hustle and bustle of the daytime had been easily dismissed as insignificant take a more profound and important meaning in her mind. So she stares at the ceiling and allows herself to get lost in her thoughts.

She doesn't like this thinking and worrying business. She's normally the type of person who doesn't sweat the small stuff, far too happy and content with her world to worry and overthink things. That's Dipper's department. Her philosophy is that most things will work themselves out if they're meant to so long as she remains positive. Not that she chooses to ignore her problems, because she'll deal with them if she needs to, but she's not normally the type to lie awake worrying about them. She'd rather just do something about it than fret over it.

Besides, she knows that most of the things she tends to worry about are actually pretty silly in the grand scheme of things. Like worrying that she won't find a boyfriend and have the epic summer romance she really wants, it's kind of trivial in the long run. She's only twelve. And now she's worried that she and Dipper will drift apart or have some major falling out like Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford did. Dipper even said it was stupid to think they would, because they're best friends and that won't change. Maybe he's right. He is right about them being best friends, but so were Stan and Ford and they can barely stand to be in the same room…

We're not them, Mabel thinks, we're not stubborn like they are, when we have a fight we talk things out so it's silly to lose sleep worrying about this.

She closes her eyes and rolls onto her side, Dipper and I are fine, there's nothing wrong with our relationship. If anything, this summer has brought us closer.

Mabel grins, snuggling into her pillow and tries to relax. But as she lies there she still can't sleep, she still can't shake this intangible sense of dread that something is wrong. If everything is truly fine, then why am I still so worried?

/o\

The next morning Dipper, Stan and Ford are having breakfast. Ford had bragged about making a wicked omelette and Stan told him to prove it, because he was pretty sure his were better. "Dipper, where's your sister?" Ford asks, "She's not going to want to miss this, because these omelettes are pretty amazing."

"I'll get her," Dipper shrugs, leaving to go get her but he runs into her at the stairs, "Good you're up, Ford's almost done making breakfast and—whoa, what happened to you?" he asks when he sees just how exhausted she looks, with circles under her eyes to rival his own.

Mabel yawns, leaning heavily on the banister as she heads down the stairs, "Didn't sleep well last night."

"Again?" Dipper frowns, "This is the third night in a row! What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Mabel grins, brushing off the question because when she sees the sincerity and concern in his eyes, she knows she was being silly to stay up all night worrying that something was going on between them. Clearly it was all in her head. "Just couldn't sleep. Silly stuff."

"Want to talk about it?" Dipper asks.

"Nah," Mabel giggles, "there's really not much to talk about. Just couldn't sleep is all, not a big deal."

Dipper shrugs and leads the way into the kitchen. Mabel goes straight for the Mabel Juice, a concoction that Ford has mentioned more than once he wants to analyse on a deeper, more scientific level. One glass and she's back to her normal self, one would never know she's actually running on only a couple of hours a night sleep at most over the past week or so.

"Seriously," Ford says, "what is in that stuff? It tastes like an abomination, but works better than coffee!"

"That Grunkle Ford is a secret I'm taking to my grave," Mabel retorts ominously, before laughing, "but maybe I'll make an exception for you if you tell me the secret about these fabulous omelettes!"

"Oh that's a secret too big to even dare record in my journals…but you might have a deal, kid," Ford winks at her and Mabel giggles.

"They're good," Stan grouses reluctantly, "but we all know mine are better."

"You keep telling yourself that Grunkle Stan," Dipper teases, "These are awesome! High six Grunkle Ford!" he holds up his hand and Ford slaps his hand with gusto.

Stan watches the exchange and Mabel watches his expression shift. Before he was just a little cranky, but Stan looks almost hurt watching his brother and Dipper bond. It's not jealousy, at least not entirely, rather it was a feeling of being left out, like you no longer matter as much as you used to. Like you've been replaced.

"It's OK Grunkle Stan," Mabel says, understanding how he must be feeling because she kinda feels that way too, "yours are really good too."

"But mine are better!" Ford laughs and Dipper joins him, clearly still awestruck by his idol. "Hey Dipper, you ready to help me out with…you know, the Thing?"

"What thing?" Mabel asks as Dipper enthusiastically agrees.

"Oh, it's nothing," Dipper says dismissively, "You wouldn't understand it anyway."

Mabel knows he doesn't mean anything by it, but his words sting nonetheless, a little more than they usually would. "Oh, yeah sure," she nods, grinning weakly, "it's probably just some weird dork stuff anyway, right?"

"Yeah," Dipper agrees, "something like that."

"Come on, let's go," Ford starts to leave, motioning for him to follow.

"Not so fast kiddo," Stan says as Dipper starts after him, "it's your turn to clean the kitchen."

"But…" Dipper whines, looking at the mess on the stove and counters and then looking at Ford.

"And you promised to help Soos with fixing the roof," Stan continues.

"But…" Dipper sighs, looking disappointed. Soos wasn't due for another hour, but if he had to clean the kitchen that would leave no time to help Ford.

"Come on Stanley," Ford gestures to the messy kitchen, "he already helped me make breakfast, give the kid a break. We're working on something down there, he's learning a lot."

"Nothing dangerous, right?" Stan narrows his eyes suspiciously.

"Of course not," Ford replies.

"Well, you can work on it when he's done in here, it's his turn."

"But Grunkle Stan…"

"Come on Stanley, be reasonable..."

"No Ford, you be reasonable!" Stan snaps, "You're nothing but a bad influence on the boy!"

"I'm a bad influence? You're the one who's been living a lie and running some scam tourist trap in my home while I was gone. At least I'm teaching the kid valuable lessons that's going to help him actually get somewhere in life! What have you taught him? How to lie? Cheat?"

"I'm teaching him not to shirk his responsibilities Stanford!" Stan hisses.

"Ironic coming from you!" Ford retorts.

Mabel flinches, glancing at Dipper as the elder Pines Twins raise their voices to the point of shouting. Dipper's eyes meet hers briefly, and it's clear that he's unimpressed about being thrown in the middle of their feud but it's also clear whose side he's on. Ford.

"Hey," Mabel cuts in, "it's OK. I've got it. I can clean the kitchen, it's no problem."

"Stay out of this Mabel…" Stan warns.

"Really?" Dipper exclaims happily, speaking over his Grunkle.

"Yeah, it's no problem bro-bro," Mabel grins, trying to ease the tension, she turns to Stan, "he can do it tomorrow when it's my turn."

Stan sighs, patting her on the back, "All right," he glares at Ford, making it obvious that it wasn't really about who has to clean the kitchen.

"Thanks Mabel!" Dipper says.

"Well, you're always willing to help me out when I need it, so it's the least I could do!"

"Well, technically the least you could do is nothing," Dipper states as he and Ford start to leave, "but you're the best! I owe you one!"

"How about we all hang out tonight? Have a movie night or something?" Mabel suggests, calling after them.

"Yeah, sure! Sounds like a plan!" Dipper agrees with a wave as Ford gives a non-committal shrug, neither bothering to turn around, both clearly already more focused on whatever it is they're working on in the basement than Mabel's suggestion.

Mabel sighs, trying not to read into it too much because whatever it is, Dipper's clearly excited about so it shouldn't be much of a shocker that his mind would be elsewhere. Besides, it's not like they said 'no'. Pines family Movie Nights are always fun, so she's already switching gears planning it out in her mind. Since it would be Grunkle Ford's first Movie Night, it would be a perfect opportunity to bring the family together.

"Are you in, Grunkle Stan?" Mabel asks.

"I'll have to think about it, sweetie," Stan shrugs, watching them leave with a frustrated glare in his eyes.

Determined to remain positive Mabel continues, "It's going to be fun! Grunkle Ford has thirty years of movies to catch up on watching and…"

"Yeah, yeah," Stan says, "fun."

Mabel frowns, watching Stan head for his office. She starts grabbing everyone's plates, humming to herself as a distraction. She tries not to let it get to her, the fact that her two Grunkles are still not getting along, neither are even bothering to try, and the fact that Dipper has spent most of his free time with Grunkle Ford and has ever since become more and more distant.

We're not going to end up like Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford, we're not. We're not drifting apart, I'm just being paranoid, which is silly—that's Dipper's job. Everything is fine. Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford will come around and start getting along eventually, and just because Dipper's spending all his time with Grunkle Ford doesn't mean he doesn't want to spend time with me anymore. I've got my friends, I should let him have his. No big deal. And tonight is going to be the perfect opportunity to get us all one step closer to being a happy family again! Stop worrying so much Mabel, you're being stupid. Everything is fine.

As she washes their dishes she chuckles weakly to herself, "Everything is fine."

/o\

"What's the matter, Hambone?" Soos asks later on, as Mabel helps him with the roof. When Dipper said that he and Ford were in the middle of something and couldn't really walk away from it, Mabel volunteered to help Soos out instead.

"You're the best Mabes, I owe you one!" Dipper had said.

"No problem," she told him, "so what are you two doing down there anyway?"

"Nothing!" he replied, "Just dork stuff, you wouldn't understand!"

Mabel didn't push it, and tried not to let his words bother her because he was right, she wouldn't understand what they were doing. I'm just reading too much into things, she thought to herself, no big deal.

"OK," she said to him, "well, can't wait for Movie Night tonight! See you then broseph!"

"Yep!" Dipper had replied with a nod, but it was clear he was distracted, his mind still with the mystery project in the basement.

Mabel sighs, glancing at her friend as she hands him a nail and he starts hammering. "It's nothing Soos, I'm just…being stupid."

"Why do you say that?" Soos asks.

"It's Dipper," she explains, "he's been spending all his time with Grunkle Ford now, and hardly spends time with me anymore! And he won't even tell me what he's doing, like it's some big secret! We never keep secrets from each other, and now… I know it's not a big deal, and I'm glad he's bonding with the Author of the Journals, it means so much to him, but I'm…I guess I'm worried that…that…" she sighs, shaking her head, "I'm just being stupid. Everything is still fine between us, I just…kinda missed what we had going on before… Grunkle Ford coming along, it changed things so much. I don't know why it bothers me like it does. I think I'm just being stupid and selfish..."

"You're afraid that you two are growing apart," Soos says, "I get it. I think it's OK to feel that way, but just because Dipper has a new friend to hang out with…" Soos pauses and sighs, "it just means that things have changed, but I don't think you have anything to worry about, Hambone, having a new friend doesn't mean he's going to forget his old friends, or his sister."

"You miss him too, don't you?" Mabel asks and Soos nods.

"But I'm not too worried," Soos adds, "he'll come around. He always does, dude."

Mabel laughs, "Yeah, that's true."

"We just gotta be patient."

"You're right Soos," Mabel grins, "Thanks."

But as she looks away her smile fades, But everything's suddenly so different now…what if he doesn't?

/o\

Later that day Mabel quietly sings some random pop song she's got stuck in her head to herself as she finishes getting the popcorn ready. She has five movies picked out, just her top choices for movies she thinks everyone will enjoy, but ultimately she's going to let Dipper decide. He knows Grunkle Ford best right now, and since this will be Ford's introduction to modern cinema, she figures it would be good to watch something catered to his tastes. It's all part of her plan to bring the family together.

"What are you doing?" Stan asks as Mabel starts to set up the living room. "Baby Fights" is on and he strains to watch with her constantly getting in his way.

"Movie night, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Stan says, "What are we watching?"

"I don't know, I'm letting Dipper pick. I figured he'd know what Grunkle Ford would like best, and since this will be his first movie in, well, forever…"

Stan stiffens in his seat, frowning, "Sorry kid, if he's gonna be there, I'm finding something else to do."

"But Grunkle Stan!" Mabel protests as he turns off the TV and climbs out of his chair, "Why can't you two just hug it out already? Can't you put your differences aside and move on? You two were best friends! Why can't..."

"It's not that simple kid," Stan gives her an affectionate pat on the head, "but you guys have fun." He starts up the stairs but stops, poking his head around the corner, "Oh and Ford is not allowed to sit in my chair."

Mabel groans in frustration. She's disappointed but she's also determined not to let it get her down. Fine, she thinks, then that means I'm sitting in the comfy chair! She puts out popcorn and other various snacks on the table, and three cans of Pitt Cola and leans back and waits for Dipper and Ford to arrive. OK, so Stan's not joining us, but maybe this will be a good chance for me to connect with Grunkle Ford and get to know him better. Maybe that's been the problem all along. Maybe if I can bond with Grunkle Ford like Dipper has, maybe this stupid fear of Dipper and I growing apart will go away...

They agreed to meet at 7:30 but fifteen minutes later she gets tired of waiting for Dipper and Ford, she heaves a sigh and heads for the vending machine and opens the door, "Dipper!" she calls, "It's movie time, remember?" she heads down the stairs and down the elevator. The door opens and she's met with a blinding blue light. She shields her eyes, "Dipper!"

The light suddenly dims and Dipper comes running, wearing dark tinted goggles and rubber gloves that go to his elbows, Ford is close behind, similarly dressed. He lowers a curtain, hiding whatever it is they're working on from her prying eyes, "Mabel!" Dipper hisses, "What are you doing? You're not supposed to be down here!"

"Does Grunkle Stan know you're working with dangerous stuff?" Mabel frowns.

"It's perfectly safe," Dipper huffs, "What do you want?"

"Uh, movie night, remember?"

"Oh crap, I forgot," Dipper sighs, and to his credit, his remorse for forgetting is genuine, "Rain check?"

"But…you promised," Mabel stammers, "remember? I did your chores for you and stuff and…"

"But this is really important," Dipper gestures to the curtain.

"What are you even working on?"

"You know I can't tell you," Dipper says, "You wouldn't understand it anyway. Please Mabel? Tomorrow, OK?"

Mabel's shoulders sag and she sighs, "Whatever." She turns to leave and Dipper stops her with a sigh to rival her own.

"Fine, fine, I guess we'll hang out then."

"Please, try and hide your enthusiasm," Mabel rolls her eyes, "I can tell you're really excited for this."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Dipper asks defensively, "I'm busy, is it such a big deal that we can't postpone it one night?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Don't you see how worried I am that we're drifting apart? Don't you realize how important this was to me? It wasn't just some random Movie Night, not for me.

"What's to get?" Dipper asks.

"Forget it," Mabel bites her lip, trying to keep from crying, "just…whatever."

"All right, all right, we'll hang out!" Dipper starts to follow, tearing off his gloves and goggles, glancing at Ford apologetically.

"No," Mabel replies, "movie night is cancelled. If hanging out with me is such an inconvenience…"

"Aw Mabel, don't be like that!"

"Like what? I was looking forward to the four of us spending time together as a family, two generations of Mystery Twins putting our differences aside for one night of fun. I was hoping maybe this would… I don't know…" Help mend Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford's relationship, prevent us from drifting apart… Mabel manages to keep her voice even, but the feeling of betrayal still rings loud and clear, "Doesn't matter anyway because Grunkle Stan's not interested, you're not interested and Grunkle Ford, what about you?"

Ford shrugs sheepishly, "Sorry Mabel, but there's a lot to do down here."

"See? So it's cancelled," Mabel frowns, "Excuse me for feeling disappointed."

"Look, I'm really sorry, OK?" Dipper asks, "We lost track of time, you know how I can get when I'm really into something."

"Yeah…" Mabel concedes hesitantly, because he does have a point.

"You're overreacting," he says, not noticing her bristle at that, "why don't you call Candy and Grenda, maybe they can watch a movie with you and we'll hang out tomorrow, deal?"

She heaves a deep sigh, and turns to leave, waving dismissively, "Sure, OK."

When she gets upstairs Mabel closes the vending machine and leans against it trying not to cry as emotion filled moisture builds at her eyes. You don't get it, you don't see it! Ever since the Portal opened…ever since Grunkle Ford… she wipes her tears away before they can fall, I don't know, am I overreacting? Everything feels so different now, and I'm so scared about where things are heading, but…is it all in my head?

Mabel groans in frustration and puts everything she had out for the movie night away, leaving the popcorn on the kitchen counter and covering it up with plastic wrap. Her movements are quick and jerky, because even if she is overreacting, it doesn't change the fact that she's upset. Even if their relationship isn't ruined by this, her night certainly is. When she looks at the time and realizes it's eight o'clock, it gets her even more worked up because Dipper and Ford had been down there all day, only coming up to eat and they couldn't even give her two hours? And they wouldn't even say what they were working on, not even a vague hint even if it's just to shut her up.

Maybe they're playing that stupid math game again, she decides, but she knows that's not true. At least not when she went down there. If they were, she's certain they'd say so because it's not like its a big secret that they love it, even after their little adventure.

Then it dawns on her. The one truth she's been denying this whole time.

Dipper doesn't trust me anymore.

The thought stops her in her tracks, and she wraps her arms around herself shaking her head trying to push that idea out of her mind. But now that it's there, floating around demanding her attention, she can't unthink it.

Dipper doesn't trust me anymore.

She starts to chew on her hair as she paces back and forth, her pulse quickening as she tries to suppress and deny the fact. When have I ever given him reason not to—?

It's because I didn't press the button, isn't it? Because I chose to trust Grunkle Stan…

She shakes her head because that can't be right. Sure, he wanted her to shut down the machine, and with good reason, but she just couldn't deny Stan who was pleading her to trust him, and as it turned out she made the right call. Stan got his brother back, Dipper got to meet and is now bonding with the Author, so it was the right call. Surely that's not what she did to break his trust, was it?

But that was when it first started…

No, it's when I first got worried that we'd get all stupid like our Grunkles did…maybe it is all in my head…

Mabel releases a frustrated growl, deciding to go for a walk or something to clear her head. It's a beautiful, starry night out so maybe a walk, or even just some fresh air is exactly what she needs. Maybe for once she'll get a decent night sleep. Dipper thought it had only been a few nights, but clearly he didn't realize how many batches of Mabel Juice she needed to make just to function ever since Ford returned.

She hates this worrying business. She hates not sleeping, she hates worrying about something that might not even be a big deal…but what if it is? Maybe they're best friends now, but they have different interests, different tastes which could very easily set them on different paths. They're growing up and now someone has come along who is like Dipper in so many ways. Grunkle Ford's become a mentor to him and it's great, she should be happy for him, and she is, truly she is, but…ever since he's been shutting her out. Keeping secrets. Maybe it's all in her head but what if it's not?

No! We're not drifting apart, we're not, we're not, we're not! You're being stupid Mabel!

She just wants everyone to be happy darn it! Why can't things be like they were? Why did Ford's arrival have to ruin everything? His arrival should've made everything better, not worse! She thinks about the conversation she overheard between Stan and Ford where she learned that Ford was planning to kick out Stan as soon as they left for home at the end of the summer, and Stan basically disowned Ford as a brother. It broke her heart to hear it.

Yeah, their two Grunkles had their problems in the past, but from everything she's heard, it was one big, tragic misunderstanding. Maybe Stan screwed up, made some mistakes in the past and did some questionable things, took huge risks, but it was all to save Ford, and Ford couldn't even be grateful for what Stan did to save him? And couldn't Stan just see what Ford had been through? Couldn't they see they both made mistakes and both went through so much? They had been best friends and now they can't stand to be near each other. If they could just learn to get along…

What if we do become like them? Dipper seemed so annoyed at the very thought of hanging out with me tonight… maybe it really is because he's so caught up with his top secret mystery project with Grunkle Ford, and I really am reading way too much into things, but it has to start somewhere right?

"I can't let things get that way," she says out loud into the night. She sighs, leaning against a support beam on the porch, suddenly no longer having the energy to go for a walk. She yawns, feeling her insomnia catching up with her. She hopes that maybe tonight's the night she gets some actual sleep, but even though she's exhausted, she knows that unless she can do something to banish her stupid and probably completely unfounded worries from her mind, no amount of tiredness is going to help.

Dipper doesn't trust me anymore.

She simply can't get that thought out of her head, and she shudders to think of all the implications behind it.

Suddenly she hears a buzzing near her ear and flinches, spotting the biggest bee she had ever seen. Or maybe it's a wasp. She's always had a hard time telling the difference. Either way, it's huge, about an inch and a half long, maybe even bigger. The sight of it startles her and she swats it away in panic. "Ah! Get away!" But it buzzes around her and as she tries to move away from it she suddenly feels a sharp pain on the back of her right shoulder.

"Ouch!" she gasps, realizing she's been stung. She gives it a fierce swat and it slams into the wall before hitting the ground, either dead or stunned. Her hand goes to the place it stung her feeling the poke of the stinger sticking out of her sweater and plucks it out.

That's when the first wave of dizziness strikes. She glances at the stinger, horrified by the length. It's at least half an inch, Do stingers even get that long? She wonders as things suddenly go topsy-turvy. She grasps the wooden post she had been leaning against for support as she's overwhelmed with weakness. She staggers over to where the oversized insect had landed and notices that it's unlike anything she had ever seen before. Similar to a bee or wasp at first glance, but the colour is wrong, more like black with green and purple stripes and the shape is slightly off.

What is that? She wonders, blinking heavily when her vision doubles and blurs. Her skin suddenly feels cool and clammy, her chest aches with pressure and she can hardly breathe. Her limbs feel like jelly as she stumbles to the door. Oh no, oh no…whatever that thing was, it's not natural…

Her mouth goes dry and she can't seem to swallow, and even when she closes her eyes the dizziness and vertigo won't abate.

Her trembling hands struggle with the doorknob as she tries to push her way in. "H-help…" she tries to call out, but she can't seem to speak louder than a whisper, and the attempt scratches at her tightening throat, making her choke and cough.

Dipper…he and Grunkle Ford will know what that was, they'll know what to do…

She staggers to the Gift Shop, grabbing hold of the walls and furniture to keep from faceplanting and passing out on the floor, fighting the overwhelming weakness that's trying to take over her. By the time she reaches the vending machine she can hardly see, her vision is wavering in and out of focus, and she's pretty sure she's seeing four of everything now. She falls heavily into the vending machine and doubles over. Her entire right arm is numb, and her shoulder where the thing stung her burns with an intense and painful heat and she's shaking so much that she can barely reach the buttons.

She presses her forehead into the cool glass of the vending machine, closing her eyes to help her focus, trying to rely on her sense of touch to enter the passcode to the vending machine. The machine beeps as she gets it wrong so she shakily tries again, getting it wrong a second time. The thought briefly crosses her fading mind that they changed it on her, angry that she interrupted them as they worked on their top secret project but they wouldn't do that, would they?

Come on, come on… she whimpers, terrified now as she tries to enter the passcode once again but just the act of pressing one button is taking up way more energy than it should. She apparently gets it wrong once more so she tries again, managing to press three buttons before her knees give out and she sinks to the floor, depleted of strength. What's happening to me?

"Dipper!" she whispers hoarsely, weakly pounding on the vending machine, knowing he's not going to hear it, even if she could bang on it properly. They're too far down in the basement to hear anything.

She tries to swallow but can't. She can't breathe or focus her eyes enough to see anything but wavering blurs of colour. "Grunkle Stan…" she moans, hoping maybe she can get his attention somehow. But he's upstairs in his room and the thought of making the journey even to the next room is daunting, but there's no way she can get Dipper and Ford's attention so maybe she has a better chance with him.

Just…gotta rest a sec, she thinks breathlessly, closing her eyes as unconsciousness slowly settles in.

A/N Why do I always seem to end up putting Mabel in peril in my stories? Or at least the ones I end up posting. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think, good or bad! Should I continue? Reviews help the muse work faster! Hint hint! ;D