Author's note: Hi, everyone! After finishing The Arrogance of Power, I wanted to write something lighter as a breather before plunging into another long-form story. Consider this a semi-sequel to that fic and a lead-in to the next. Thanks for your reads, reviews and support!

July 20th, 2018

1:15 pm

Neither Dipper nor Wendy understood why Mabel made such a big deal out of a double date. For one thing, it had only been three days since Dipper and Wendy decided to turn six years of friendship into something more. For another, they were still unwinding from an arduous investigation involving government conspiracies, mind-numbing historical research and harassment by all manner of goons. And besides, as Wendy pointed it, it seemed pointless.

"Mabes, I know you love this stuff," Wendy groaned as she leaned back in a chair at the Shack. "But really, hear me out. One, we've already been friends for years, this won't be a huge deal for anyone here. Well, maybe you and Charlie, but you've kinda been a thing for awhile anyway. Two, it's summer time. We can see each other whenever, we don't need to make a big deal out of it! Why do we need to have some kinda fancy night out when we could go watch movies or hang out at the lake or, I dunno, maybe chase monsters?"

"Because it needs to be a special occasion!" Mabel insisted, practically jumping up and down. How could they not get it? "I mean, just hanging out with people isn't really a date, no matter what you guys did on that beach..."

"We didn't do anything on the beach..." Dipper interjected with exaggerated indignation.

"Plus it's the first time that we'll be together in public as couples," Mabel said. "Think of it as our debut! Sure, maybe our closest friends and dearest grunkles already know, but now we can announce it to the world that we're all together! And that is a special occasion."

Wendy and Dipper looked at each other and sighed at once. Once Mabel was on a roll there was no point in arguing with her.

"I mean, I guess it might be fun to go out as a couple," Wendy said with a shrug. "I don't think anybody's gonna judge us about it, or anything." She slipped her hand onto Dipper's knee, instantly causing him to quake with anxiety.

"N-n-no, of course not!" Dipper said. "It's just, I mean...I'm not big on making a spectacle of myself, you know? The whole fancy date thing isn't really for me."

Wendy bit her lip and nodded. "I think Dip has a point," she admitted. "I don't like dressing up ultra-fancy unless I absolutely have to."

Mabel seemed crestfallen, looking down at the floor and shifting in place, sad and annoyed. Wendy felt a stab of regret, then looked at her friend and smiled.

"Although...I wouldn't mind eating at a nicer restaurant than Greasy's Diner for a change," she said, and Mabel perked up hopefully.

"So it's agreed!" Mabel said. "This is going to be the best, most exciting evening Gravity Falls has ever seen!"

Dipper rolled his eyes, but Wendy laughed at her young friend's enthusiasm.

"Come on man, if anyone knows how to have a good time it's your sister," Wendy said, ribbing her boyfriend. "Besides, after keeping me on the hook all those years, you owe me a decent dinner."

"I owe you for...?" Dipper sputtered incredulously. "Come on, Wendy..."

"Just messing with you, dude!" she said, pressing Dipper's cap down over his head. "Chill out!"

"Save it for the date, love birds!" Mabel chided, smiling her Mabelest smile. "There's gonna be plenty of time for that later! Now we need to plan!"

And so Mabel, with her usual energy, enthusiasm and thoroughness, started bouncing ideas off Dipper and Wendy at pinball speed. It was all they could do to keep up! Her excitement proved infectious, and soon Dipper and Wendy seemed almost as excited about Date Night as Mabel. Yet Mabel recognized, even as she pit out contingencies, that she still had one person to convince: Charlie.

Before this summer Charlie Huston's love life was, if possible, even less existent than Dipper's. He had never dated a girl in high school, only pined awkwardly (and some might say creepily) from afar at the cute girl on the soccer team and who may have inspired him to take drama even though he was terrified in public, only to prove really good at acting. He'd had a few crash-and-burn dates in college that went nowhere, had tried repeatedly to turn his friendship with Isabel Mercer into something more, only to be rebuffed and planted firmly in the Friend Zone. (Which, in retrospect, he didn't mind so much...better to be clear about boundaries than not.)

Suffice it to say, he wasn't at all prepared for Mabel Pines coming at him with the full force of a hurricane. So far it had been exhausting and exhilarating and occasionally fun; after their talk the other day, Mabel convinced him that she didn't care about his neuroses and weaknesses and fears about the future, that she recognized him as a kindred soul in Weirdness even if their specific interests didn't exactly match. And that mattered more than anything else.

So when Charlie received a phone call during his lunch break, he was still excited just by the prospect of talking to Mabel and having someone like her interested in him. But when he heard what she was calling about, his enthusiasm waned.

"I mean, I'm not really the dating type," Charlie protested. "Getting all dressed up and having to act all formal and, you know..."

"Geez, why do I hang out with such dummies?" Mabel wondered aloud. He could practically feel her smirk over the phone. "What's wrong with dressing up? And acting formal? Charlie, this is about having fun with your friends, as couples. You're not like becoming Ambassador or anything? Do I have to smack all of you in the head and force-feed you Mabel Juice until you all see the light?"

Charlie hadn't yet been exposed to Mabel's sugar-and-dinosaurs delicacy, but he recognized that she was worked up enough that she couldn't possibly take no for an answer.

"All right, sure," Charlie muttered unenthusiastically. "I'll try and get some discussion topics ready for tonight. You know, so I don't bore everyone."

"Sheesh, you really are just like Dipper," Mabel teased. "Maybe that can be one of your amazing topics! Anyway, meet you when you get off work?"

"Of course," Charlie said.

"All right, love ya!" Mabel hung up.

If Mabel hoped it would be a swanky night on the town, she'd be sorely disappointed. For from the moment Dipper and Wendy agreed, they started talking her down from her extravagant plans.

"We can't eat at The Club," Dipper said, shooting down her first suggestion.

"I'm with Dipper," Wendy agreed. "Food isn't bad, but it's $40 for a steak! Besides, I'd rather not go places that remind me of my ex."

"That and I seem to recall Gideon..." Dipper said.

"Gideon was a million years ago!" Mabel reminded him, more than a little annoyed. "Plus, going with someone who isn't a creep might help me live down that experience."

"I've got an idea, Mabes," Wendy said. "There's a place along the interstate about five miles outta town. It's called Baker's Grill, or something like that. Went there with my dad and brothers a few times, it's pretty good. Good bar food, plus steaks and seafood and junk like that if Charlie's feeling fancy."

"Besides, it's not like you enjoy eating daintier foods anyway, sis," Dipper reminded her. "Remember that time you tried eating lamb? Didn't even get through two bites before you spit it all over the table!"

"Only because who would eat a cute little lamb?" Mabel said. Then she smiled and mussed his hair. "It would almost be like eating you, Bro-Bro! Mwap!"

"All right, guess I brought that on myself. But still, we don't need to be super fancy. Nobody's getting married."

Mabel glowered thoughtfully. "Well, I guess we don't have to do suit-and-tie kinda stuff for our first couple's date," she admitted. "And I could go for maybe a good half-classy burger or something like that."

"Attagirl!" Wendy cheered, before smiling mischievously. "Plus they've got beer on tap, and someone here's 21!"

"Not all of us are!" Mabel said in a sing-song voice, wagging a finger. "Besides, Charlie doesn't drink."

"Wait, he doesn't drink? And he's 22, right? What kinda square are you dating, Mabel?" Wendy stared at her as if she'd said Charlie was a Martian.

"One who didn't wait six years to admit his feelings for me," Mabel insisted. "Oh, someone call the burn unit!"

"Fair enough," Wendy chuckled, watching Dipper huff and cross his arms. "All right, we've still got a few hours. I don't think they take reservations, so we'd better go pretty early coz they tend to get packed on Friday nights. When does Charlie get off work?"

"Usually around 5, I think," Mabel said. "But he says they let him leave at like 4:30 on Fridays, if it's slow."

"All right, cool," Wendy said.

"Great! I'll throw together my nicest outfit," Mabel said. "Maybe I can call Isabel and knit something..."

"Mabel," Dipper said, shutting her down with an impatient glare.

"Okay, nothing too nice," she pouted. "Course, I can't help wondering if that's just an excuse for you not to get outclassed by me and Charlie!"

"Mabes, you'll win that one any day," Wendy said. "Anyway, I should head back to my place for awhile. Got to clean up my apartment a bit before the weekend starts. Hate dealing with laundry and dishes and mess on a Sunday night, you know?"

"Oh yeah, weekend chores are the worst," Mabel agreed, pretending to gag. "Well, have fun with that. I've got a sweater to pick out. Ooh, or maybe make a new one from scratch! But what pattern would be appropriate for a first date?" And she bolted upstairs to grab her sewing supplies.

"Keep an eye on your sister, all right?" Wendy told Dipper. "Make sure she doesn't, like, explode before tonight."

"I'll try," Dipper said. Wendy couldn't help noticing he still seemed a little uncertain.

"What's wrong, man?" Wendy asked.

"I dunno. I mean, I don't get me wrong, I'd love to go on a date with you, but doing it with Mabel and Charlie...Not sure it will seem special."

"Maybe," Wendy shrugged. "Depends on what you mean by special. Any night with your sister is special." They both saw Mabel already comparing swatches of fabric under a light.

"Yeah, I guess, but I mean...special for us."

Wendy smiled. "Well, there's no reason it can't be," she assured him, kissing him on the cheek. "I mean, dinner should be fun at least, and there's nothing that says we have to spend all night with Mabel and Charlie..."

Dipper certainly perked up at that, though he could scarcely believe his ears. "Um, do you mean...?"

"I mean, I've rented The Night of Horus from the video store," she said temptingly. "Really crazy '70s horror movie about an Egyptian god seeking revenge on some jerk archaeologists. Stars Peter Cushing and what's his name, that monkey from the old Planet of the Apes?"

"Roddy McDowall? Maurice Evans? Be more specific," Dipper insisted.

"Roddy McDowall, that's it!" Wendy said, snapping her fingers. "Didn't even need to look it up. Anyway, I dunno about Charlie but I'm thinking that movie might be a bit intense for Mabel. So...we could always watch it at my place."

"Y-y-yeah, your place!" Dipper said, smiling. "Why not?"

"Later, dork," she said, kissing him again and then exiting. "I'm not gonna like, wear a dress or anything, but I'll try and make sure I look nice at least. No reason to look like crap."

"Well, I mean, just dress up like you'd usually dress up for this kinda place, right?" Dipper asked. "Whatever that is?"

"We'll figure something out," Wendy said before walking out. And Dipper stared after her, wondering if this evening might prove even more exciting than even Mabel could have anticipated.