Mabel tugged the sheets up to her eyes and held her breath. On this particular night, the Mystery Shack felt more animated than usual. Her senses felt hyper-aware; the sudden jolts of creaking wood, the window sill casting moving shadows in the far corner and not to mention her brother's snoring practically vibrated the closed in walls of their tiny attic.
Trembling, she quickly retreated under the safety of the covers and hugged her pillow close to her chest. She did not bother checking the time, for she had not got an ounce of sleep and knew it would only be a couple hours till sunrise.
Mabel hadn't had a night like this in a long time. As much as she wished she was a "big girl" now, the fear of the dark still managed to resurface in her mind. When she was younger, she remembered waking her parents up in the middle of night. They would rush into her room and with a flick of the light switch, they would see little Mabel peeking out from the covers with tears streaming down her cheeks. They would rush to her side and soothe her with soft whispers of comfort but her short bursts of sobs would continue. Not even the army of stuffed rabbits and bears that scattered her bed could convince her that she was protected from the monsters that lurked in the closet or resided under her bed. Dipper tried to comfort her as well, but his idea of reading paranormal bedtime stories didn't particularly do well for the imagination.
For most children, a simple nightlight would have done the trick, but Mabel wanted to get a bit more creative. Instead, she used her most signature option; glow-in-the dark stickers. At home, the walls of her bedroom would illuminate with stars and planets that chased away the darkness and helped her sleep in peace.
But she wasn't at home. There weren't any glow-in-the-dark stickers on the wall or even a nightlight for that matter. No, she was supposed to sleep in this attic for the rest of the summer and the thought made Mabel uneasy.
Blargh! I'm twelve years old and still afraid of the stupid dark! Mabel, you are such a basket case, she thought angrily to herself. Hah, at least there's not a clay monster hiding around or something. Now that'd be a load of baloney.
Eager to get some sleep, she quickly shifted out of her bed, her blanket tightly wrapped around her, and shuffled across the room to her brother's side.
"Hey, Dipper…" Mabel whispered as she lightly probed his shoulder. Dipper didn't budge an inch, his drool slowly seeping into his pillow. She nudged him roughly this time and he immediately shouldered her away, completely unaware of her presence. She caught sight of the papers and books cluttered between the folds of the sheets and some of his clothes skewed carelessly on the foot of his bed.
Mabel rolled her eyes and thought to herself, he must have been up all night. Ever since he found that book yesterday, his eyes have been hot glued to the thing!
Given up on waking her brother, Mabel quickly thought on what to do next. She certainly wasn't going to retreat back to her bed and stay awake for the rest of the night. Perhaps she could sleep on the couch downstairs and leave the television on.
Good idea, Mabel, she thought happily and on the count of three, she hurried out the door.
She immediately found herself deeper in the dark, the hallway like a void of nothing but pitch black. She slowly began to walk forward when suddenly she snapped frozen in place when she heard the sound of shuffling sandals.
Creeeaaaak.
Mabel flinched and fell a step backward. The heavy beating of her heart pounded her ears and she tightened the edges of her blanket to cover most of her face. Next thing she knew, the lights flickered on.
"Mabel!" exclaimed a familiar, gruff voice.
"Grunkle Stan?" Mabel said in utter surprise, her eyes squinted as she adjusted to the sudden flash of light.
One hand still lingered on the light switch and the other pinched on the bridge of his nose, Stan said tiredly, "What are you doing out here, kid? It's late."
"I uh…couldn't sleep," she admitted and added, "I got scared."
"Heh, guess the night is haunting the both of us."
Before Mabel could question what he meant, Stan reached over to the top of the stairs and gestured her to follow him.
They walked into the kitchen, the only sound was their footsteps on the tile floor and the ticking of the cuckoo clock. Mabel took a seat on the kitchen chair and watched Stan as he rummaged through the fridge.
"Your great-grandma used to make us warm milk when we didn't want to sleep. Heh, I thought it was some sort-of witchcraft at first. She wasn't really the type to sing to us lullabies."
Stan placed down a carton of milk on the counter and he reached up the cabinet for a saucepan.
"Warm milk? You?" Mabel laughed, "Well, aren't you a softie, Grunkle Stan!"
"Yeah, yeah," Stan said off-handedly as he poured milk into the saucepan and heated up the stove. "Don't think I'm gonna be soft on you tomorrow."
Mabel smiled and kicked her legs back and forth under the chair as she watched him stir the warm milk on the stove. She found it amusing to see Stan practice a mundane task such as this and be the great uncle she had always imagined him to be. Despite his outwardly stubbornness, Mabel always knew, right in her heart, that he's a very good guy. At the thought of this, she was instantly brought back to a certain conversation on a bus ride.
"Dipper! Look! We're here!" Mabel said excitedly and shook her brother's arm. Dipper looked up from his book and turned his attention toward the window. The bus speedily rolled past a sign that read 'Welcome to Gravity Falls!' and not long after, a small town came into view.
"What do you think Grunkle Stan will be like?" Mabel suddenly asked as she took in the scenery before her.
Dipper shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Dunno. I mean, we're talking about a guy who doesn't even show up for Thanksgiving. Or send us Hanukkah cards for that matter."
"Well, maybe he's just a really busy, old man," Mabel suggested and gasped, "What if he's just lonely? What if he doesn't think our family will accept him!?"
"Maybe," Dipper said, "Well, obviously our parents trust him enough to let us stay with him for the summer."
"I'd say we give him a chance. Maybe he'll be that crazy yet lovable uncle character in the movies!"
Dipper chuckled and added, "Yeah, and not the one that pinches cheeks."
They both shuddered and laughed.
Mabel was brought back to the present when a glass of warm milk was placed in front of her.
"There you go, kid," Stan said and took a seat for himself on the opposite end. He immediately gulped down his glass of milk, slammed it down on the table and said with a satisfactory sigh, "Yup! Now that sits right in the stomach."
Mabel giggled and drank down half of the mug.
"Mmm…this is…," Mabel looked back up at him with a white stained mustache on her upper lip, "... magnifique!"
Stan laughed at this and Mabel mentally fist-pumped in the air, always loving the feeling of making someone smile. Once she finished her glass, she heard Stan suddenly asked with a scratch behind his head, "So, uh, what got you scared?"
Mabel, jolted by the question, slowly placed her mug down and replied, "Don't tell Dipper this…but it's the dark."
"What? Don't kids your age get passed that by now?" Stan blurted in response which made Mabel slightly cringe inside.
"Yeahh…" Mabel drawled out awkwardly and dropped her gaze, "can't we just get a nightlight?"
Stan responded back with a raised eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something but stopped in mid-air before he slowly said, "Listen, sweetie, I know the shack can seem…" Stan paused for the right words, "…kinda creepy. But a nightlight isn't going to do any good. What you need is your good ol' great uncle Stan to beat the monsters up!"
Mabel swung her gaze back to him in surprise. "Huh?"
"Yeah! I'll march right in there and knock those suckers right outta of the closet," Stan boasted, putting up his knuckles, "I'm not gonna let nothing get to my niece."
He then looked at her straight in the eye and said seriously, "Just trust me, Mabel. You've got nothing to be afraid of."
Mabel grinned brightly and replied, "I trust you, Grunkle Stan."
"Good," Stan said and smiled back reassuringly. He took her empty mug and ruffled her hair as he headed toward the sink.
"Alright, time to get some sleep. We've got a whole day tomorrow to put up with your brother's shenanigans," Stan joked and turned around, only to find that Mabel had fallen asleep on the kitchen table.
Huh, well that was fast, Stan thought at the sight of his niece snoozing. He gently picked her up in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder and felt her small hands grip the fabric of his white tank top. He slowly made his way up the stairs, careful to be quiet with his every step, as if he was walking on air. He couldn't see the growing smile on his niece's face.
He walked right into the twins' bedroom and steadily placed Mabel on her bed. He covered her with her soft, pink blanket and lightly tucked her hair behind her ear. With that, Stan left the room, making sure the door was slightly ajar and left the lights on in the hallway. As he retreated back to his private bedroom, Stan couldn't help but repeat the words that lingered in his mind.
I trust you, Grunkle Stan.
And that was all he needed for a good night's rest.
A/N: I absolutely adore the bond that Grunkle Stan and Mabel share, especially in the episode 'Land Before Swine' and most recently, 'Not What He Seems'. It reminded me a lot of how of my dad and I interact with each other, thus the inspiration for this little piece.
The most challenging part for me was Mabel, as I find her character the least comfortable for me to write. Hopefully I didn't do too bad. Let me know what you guys think!
Fun fact: Before my family and I moved out of our old home, my room actually had glow-in-the-dark stickers of the solar system on my ceiling that my mom had decorated. It was the coolest room ever and now that I think about, I really miss it ;(
Reviews are greatly appreciated!
~HarperLace