Welcome to my newest major project! I have no self control at all.

Pairing: Mabill

Raiting: Teen

Summary: Victorian AU. Mabel Pines wasn't interested in much gossip. Though some gossip managed to capture her interest. Especially that of a Bill Cipher, who had apparently had a fall from grace. Mabel brushed it off as idle gossip, but something in her told it was true. Yet soon the idle gossip would soon be revealed as either the truth or nothing more.

"You don't exactly get a choice in life anymore, I'm the highest bidder. I win. I always win."

Chapter One: Tea with the girls

Tea time was a special occasion that Mabel had come to love as she grew up. When she was younger, the time spent sitting still, back as straight as a board as she listened to other women prattle on about idle gossip had bored her, but now as a young woman the time spent drinking tea was just about the only time she could be sociable. It was always easier to invite her friends over for a cup of tea, even if she didn't care about the gossip that spilled from their lips. Mabel had more important things to worry about than who was dating who and who lost their fortune lately.

On a pleasant Saturday afternoon, Mabel had invited her friends over for tea and pastries, even if no one would eat the pastries, and now spent her time giggling about men who were trying to court them and listening to Pacifica prattle on about the new dress she got. Mabel took another sip of her tea, which was starting to get a bit cold, listening as Grenda decided it was finally time for her to start speaking.

"Marius just set a date for the wedding. You're all invited!" Women were expected to be quiet, but Grenda had always been loud. Mabel placed her tea on the small table in front of them, clapping her hands together excitedly as Candy could hardly contain her excitement. Even Pacifica was happy, just not as excited as the other three were known to get.

"That's wonderful, Grenda!" Mabel couldn't keep the smile off her face. "You two have been courting since we were children. Did he finally pick a destination?"

Marius was like Pacifica, old money. The Pines family had only recently acquired their wealth, and would have been outside of the social status if it had not been for Mabel's friends. Once it had been known that the Northwest's daughter favored Mabel, everyone else had wanted to curry their favor, even if they were new money.

"Germany, for the honeymoon." Candy instantly said, and Mabel felt a prick of jealousy that she hadn't been the first to know. Pacifica didn't seem to mind, so neither would Mabel.

"Congratulations, Grenda. We all knew it was a matter of time." Pacifica's words held a note of finality to them, and just like that, the conversation on Grenda's wedding was put to a halt. Mabel eyed the cakes and pastries on the table, wishing she could have one, but not having one until someone else did.

"Candy, Mabel, have any of the men courting you captured your interest?" Pacifica asked, taking a sip of her tea casually. Candy flushed darkly and stared down at her lap, leaving Mabel to take up the lapse in conversation.

"No, not very much. Not enough to consider for marriage." Mabel spoke easily enough. When she had been younger she had always dreamed about who she would marry and finding her 'Prince Charming' just as the stories talked about, but growing up had forced her to face the truth. She wouldn't get much of a say in who she would marry, since the men would let her uncles know of his intent to court, and no doubt she would marry the one who was the richest out of all of them. Though she knew her uncles would never set her up with someone who was cruel.

"That's unfortunate. Your season is about to end, you might want to make a decision quickly." Pacifica stated, her voice almost flat. Mabel almost winced, but kept herself as collected as her friend was. Candy and Grenda had long since stopped looking at them, not wanting to witness whatever might come from this.

"It's not my decision to make, as you know." Mabel didn't want to fight with her friend. "I'm sure someone will come along that my uncles will approve of."

Pacifica nodded, and almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief that an argument had not broken out. Mabel busied herself with fixing the folds of her long skirt, enjoying the lapse in conversation while it lasted. Of course it didn't last long.

"Well, did any of you hear about Cipher?" The name instantly made everyone switch their attentions to Candy, who had brought up the fact. Mabel even leaned forward a little, wanting to hear about the notorious rich man.

"Oh, did something happen?" Candy's cheeks had calmed down into a light blush, which the other women ignored at this point. Candy had always been shy about who she was courting, and they had learned that if they pressed she wouldn't share at all.

"Well." Pacifica always loved being the center of their attention, and it all diverted to her since Pacifica seemed ready to start the story. "I was talking to some of the other women in town, and apparently Cipher got himself into quite a bind with money."

None of the girls bothered to hide their surprised gasps. Cipher was absolutely notorious for being cruel and the almost inhumane with the deals he made, to hear he was strapped for money came as a shock. Pacifica didn't bother to hide her satisfied smile, since Cipher had been the reason why her family had almost been driven to the poor house when she was younger.

"How did it happen?" Mabel spoke up, causing a couple pairs of eyes to flicker to her. She fiddled with the folds of her dress again.

"Apparently he underestimated someone who came to him for a deal. No one is sure who it was though." Pacifica almost sounded disappointed at the end of her statement. It left the girls wondering who this mysterious person was, and if they even existed in the first place. Gossip was still gossip, but sometimes a small bit of truth would be lodged in there as well.

The girls didn't get to talk more, as Mabel's twin brother, Dipper, finally came home. The Pines didn't just have their last name after a tree, they made their fortune by starting up a logging company that supplied wood for the masses and other factories that needed it. Often Dipper came home from long hours smelling like nature and sawdust, and while it was unfitting of his title, it showed he was a hard worker and got them more investments than they needed.

"Is it that time of the week already?" Dipper asked with a small smile when he saw the girls all there. Mabel smiled with a small nod of her head, not sure what she could say. Normally when her brother came home her friends took their leave.

"We were just talking about what happened with Cipher." Pacifica said instead, obviously not going to move. She had been staying longer than normal lately, but Mabel thought nothing of it, enjoying the time with her friend.

Dipper's reaction was a little surprising, though not unexpected for a man. Typically he let them gossip about idle things of no matter, but now he heard the news and actually laughed, walking further into the room.

"Idle gossip, I'm not surprised. You know it's not true." He actually looked surprised when the girls deflated a little. "Come now, you couldn't really believe that some mystery person managed to take down Cipher and not brag about it? Cipher probably made the rumor so others would get confident and let their guard down around him."

The girls nodded, and Candy and Grenda rose, tired of talking as they were. Mabel rose to say her goodbyes, giving each girl a brief hug before turning her attention to her last guest.

"It could be true, the rumor." Mabel ended up saying, though it was strange to comfort Pacifica on the ruin of another person. Even if he was cruel. "Maybe not the money part, but someone could have gotten control over him. Even for a second."

Pacifica brightened a little, and Mabel could see the way Dipper had to bite his tongue to stop himself from contradicting his family. Mabel gave her brother a smile, which he returned after a moment.

"I'll take my leave now as well. Thank you for hosting tea, Mabel. It was wonderful as always." Pacifica stood in a rush of fabric as her dress rustled around her.

"Of course. I'll send out an invite next week for another little meet up of ours." Mabel stood as well, just barely brushing against her brother. She took the chance to elbow him in the gut and remind him of his manners. Dipper gave a hasty now as he escorted Pacifica out of their home and to her carriage.

"You girls gossip too much." Dipper said as Mabel cleaned up tea, even though the maid was just in the other room. She hated bothering people with little problems that Mabel herself could do. "It'll bring you no good in life to sit around and gossip all day."

"Have you turned in your notice of courtship to Pacifica's father yet?" Mabel asked instead, watching her brothers face turn a dark shade of red as he struggled for words.

"We're not talking about me." He eventually managed out, calling for their maid to help clean up. "And I haven't, not like it's any of your business."

"She's been waiting for you to tell her father. By all accounts she should be married now! Don't waste time just because you're nervous." She scolded. Dipper scowled, not at her but at the floor since he knew the words were true.

"Did you accept the Gleeful's proposal yet?" He snapped back, making Mabel lean back in shock and almost drop her favorite teacup. It was a low blow and they both knew it. She had never been attracted to Gideon, but that didn't stop him from coming over and trying to lavish her in gifts in an attempt to woo her love. At the very least her uncles had ignored his offer at Mabel's request.

"Excuse me." Mabel muttered, handing the dishes off to the maid as Dipper sighed. She couldn't very well show how much his words had upset her, but he knew how upset she was just from her tone of voice.

"Mabel, don't, I didn't mean…" He let the words die down, and she didn't give him a parting glance. There was a moment of silence as only her shoes clicked on the ground before she was heading upstairs and away from her brother.

They had always been able to make an argument from nothing, and it had grown as they were older. Mabel remembered being younger and feeling out of place as their great uncle Stanford so easily took Dipper under his care. She had done her best to get over it, ignoring the way she felt twinges of jealousy, especially since she had Stan. She had always gotten along better with him anyways.

Heading into her room, she shut the door firmly but didn't lock it. She never had a reason to lock her family out, no matter how upset she was. Mabel sighed and sat at her window, looking down at the backyard. When she was younger, she had a pet pig that would often go out into the garden and steal food, but it had recently passed on. Mabel missed her pig more than anything, and she could still see the small paths he had cut in the grass so long ago. Dipper and her uncles knew better than to step there and disturb the memory.

She found herself thinking about Cipher not too long after. Even a rumor was still interesting to hear, and she couldn't help but feel in her gut that it was true. Someone had messed with Bill Cipher, messed up his life in a harsh enough way that it nearly ruined him.