"...always make sure you have enough gas in the car, you have a GPS in your phone that can help you with that..."

"Mom, I know."

"...and while your at the gas station, make sure you get snacks in case you or Mabel get hungry..."

"Mom, we're stopping for lunch around two, and we'll be there by eight. I think we'll live."

"...and speeding, make sure you don't speed, or so help me..."

"Okay, Mom, I'll obey the speed limit!"

"...and also..."

"Honey," Jason Pines finally chimed in, "Dipper's been driving for two years and he hasn't even gotten a speeding ticket! I think he'll be okay for a ten hour drive up north."

Kristen glared at her husband, then huffed out of the room. Jason laughed and clasped his son on the shoulder. "Seriously, though, keep an eye on the speed limits when you cross the state line. They like to set up speed traps there, and they make pretty good money."

"Alright, thanks Dad."

"No problem. Now run upstairs and help your sister with her bags, would you?"

"Yeah, sure thing!"

Dipper walked out of the living room and headed up the stairs towards Mabel's room. Please don't still be packing, Mabel, he thought to himself, we're running late as it is!

"Mabel," he said after reaching the top of the steps, "are you ready to go?"

"ONE SECOND!"

Dipper groaned as he twisted the doorknob. "We don't have a sec..."

After seventeen years of living together, Dipper had grown to expect the unexpected when walking into Mabel's room, so he wasn't all to surprised to see her covered in grease, trying to stuff Waddles into a cage that he had clearly outgrown a while ago.

"C'mon, Waddles, you have to suck it in a little!"

Dipper face palmed. "Mabel, what are you doing?"

"Well," she grunted, while trying to push her precious pet pig into his pen, "since somebody won't let Waddles sit in the back seat, and I'm definitely not leaving my baby here..."

He sighed. "Alright, fine, he can sit in the back, just... put a diaper on him and hurry up!"

"WITH JOY!"

Mabel excitedly bounded toward the closet where, for some reason, she already had pig-sized diapers. Dipper sighed as he shuffled into his room, grabbed a backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He went to leave his room, but stopped to give himself a once-over in the mirror. For all intents and purposes, he thought, he's definitely looked better.

His thick, brown locks sat unkempt under a battered lumberjack's hat, heavy bags sat beneath his chestnut colored eyes. His red flannel was wrinkled, as was the blue shirt underneath, and his jeans were almost as battered as his black high-tops. I need a haircut, a new pair of shoes and a weeks worth of sleep. At least, he thought, he wasn't a twig man anymore. He wasn't going to be entering any bodybuilding competitions, sure, but he'd worked really hard over the past year to build up his cardio and develop some level of muscle tone, and it had paid off.

"Alright, Dipper, I'm ready to go!"

Dipper gave himself a last once-over and closed the door of his room, meeting Mabel in front of the stairs and grabbing one of her bags.

"Well, Mabel, are you ready to head back to Gravity Falls."

"Heck yeah I am, and so is my widdle bitty baby-schnoocums!" She held up Waddles who, on top of being garbed in a diaper, also had a bonnet and a bib on. He grunted in content. Dipper laughed as he headed down the stairs, out his front door and to his trunk. He'd placed the bags in and, after helping Mabel organize everything so it would fit, closed it. He looked up and saw that Mabel was in front of the car, talking with their parents.

"...and make sure you call us the second you get there, so we know you're okay! If you don't have reception, your Great Uncles Stan and Ford should still have a landline."

"Okie dokie, artichokie!" Mabel said with a giggle.

"Alright," Dipper said to Mabel, "you ready? We're already running late!"

"Dipper, it's only 9:50-something. We're not supposed to leave until ten!"

"Yeah, but we're... wait, it's only 9:50?"

Jason laughed as he walked over to his son, and put his arm around Dipper's shoulder and looked at his wife. "Does he remind you of anyone, honey?"

Kristen rolled her eyes, causing Dipper and Mabel to laugh. Jason chuckled a bit, too, before looking at his kids.

"Would you look at that," Jason said with a smile, "my beautiful kids all grown up and going out into the world on their own."

"Aw, c'mon Pop," Mabel said, "we're just going to Gravity Falls for the summer. We'll be back in time for Fall semester."

"Yeah, but you're going cross country, traveling, exploring the world! You know, I did the same thing when I was your age..."

Dipper groaned. "Dad, you've told us that story a million times..."

Kristen walked up to her husband and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "And I think we all remember how that story ends."

Jason grinned, and the two parents turned to face their children.

"Seriously," Jason said, "call when you get there, or your Mom'll be worried sick!"

"And you won't be?" Mabel said sarcastically.

"Psh, no way! I know you two'll be fine!"

A few hugs, a couple tears and a couple laps around the yard to catch Waddles later, and the Mystery Twins were on the open road...

xoxoxoxoxo

"Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew..." Mabel chanted as she ran toward the trash can, a freshly-used diaper in her hands. She was forced to re-evaluate just how cute Waddles' outfit was as she dropped it in the trash can and fished a bottle of hand sanitizer out of her pockets. Once she felt they were sufficiently cleaned, she walked back and got in the car.

"Alright, that gross business is out of the way, let's get back on the highway, Captain Dipper!"

"Mmm-hmm." Dipper grunted as he backed the car out and got back on the highway.

"What's wrong, bro-bro? You don't seem that excited?"

"Just tired..."

"Dipper," she said, scooting to face him, "I've been your sister long enough to know when you're just tired. What's bugging you?"

Dipper sighed. "I don't know, I just worry that everything'll be weird when we get there. I mean, I haven't been back there in five years."

"Of course it's not gonna be weird, Dipper!"

"That's easy for you to say!" He half-scoffed, "You kept your promise, y'know? You've been back every summer, I let myself get caught up in all sorts of advanced programs and stuff..."

"And that's important to you, Dipper." Mabel said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And everyone understands that, and everyone's super proud of you for doing such a good job! You graduated top of your class, for Pete's sake!"

"Yeah, but what if everything's different? Five years is a long time, Mabel, and everything's weird enough right now!"

"Whaddya mean?"

Dipper sighed and stared out of the window for a minute. "Mabel, this is our last summer before we're officially adults! After this, we have to go to college and start working on what we're gonna do for the rest of our lives!"

Mabel's eyes dropped a little, and her bright smile sagged to a frown. "You've been stressing out about that too, huh?" Her eyes darted toward her feet as she started to fiddle with the sleeve of her sweater. "I've been worrying about that a lot, especially in the couple days since we graduated." She looked back up at Dipper and smiled. "But you know what? We can worry about that later!"

"Mabel, I can't..."

"Yes you can! College isn't for another three months, and we're gonna be back in Gravity Falls with all of our friends again! I don't know about you, but I'm not gonna let some stupid classes ruin that for me!"

Dipper smiled a little. "You know what, Mabel? You're right! I'm not going to let my anxiety ruin my summer!"

"That's the spirit, Sir Dipping-Sauce! Now, pop in that Babba CD you have, Mabel feels like singing!"

xoxoxoxoxo

Welcome to Gravity Falls

Dipper smiled as he drove past the old, wooden sign; he was finally home!

"Hey Mabel, we're..."

He looked over and saw Mabel was fast asleep, her face smushed against the window, and he laughed before flicking his eyes back toward the road. His grin subsided, though, and he exhaled deeply. He didn't want to be anxious, but he couldn't help himself. Five years is a long time, and he hadn't exactly been the best at keeping in touch with everyone. Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford called he and Mabel a few times a month, but other than that, he'd really dropped the ball. Sure, he tried to tell himself, he had been really deep in his studies, but he still could have made an effort to call Soos more than once a semester. He still could have shot a text to Pacifica, or Gideon, or...

"Wendy..."

Dipper tried to recall about how long it's been since he'd heard from his lumberjill friend... six months? Eight? He groaned as he realized that he couldn't quite remember, which meant that it had been way too long. Yeah, advanced chemistry had been a time consuming course, but he still could have spared a few minutes to send a text or an email or maybe even give her a phone call. His stomach panged with guilt as he saw the Mystery Shack on the horizon. He took a few deep breaths as he drew closer, and tried to mentally prepare himself for the awkward situation he could be walking into.

"Hey Mabel!" Dipper said, taking a hand off the wheel to nudge his sister. "Mabel, we're here."

"Hmm?" Mabel yawned as the car came to a stop. Her eyes opened and, as soon as she saw where they were, she let out an excited squeal. "Dipper, we're here! WE'RE HERE!"

As soon as the car was in park, the car door flew open and Mabel excitedly darted towards the entrance of the gift shop. Before she could reach the door, though, it opened and an old man in a suit and fez came out.

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel jumped toward her Great Uncle and wrapped her arms around him in a massive hug. A loud pop could be heard a second later.

"Yep," Stan grunted, "pretty sure that was my hip."

"Sorry!" Mabel released the hug, but Stan pulled her right back in with an "oh no you don't" and the two started laughing. Dipper grinned as he finally opened the car door and got out.

"Was wondering if you were just gonna sit there!" Stan said, walking toward him and greeting him with a hug. "How was the drive, Dipper?"

"Oh, you know. It was a drive."

"Yeah, fair enough!" Stan let go of the hug and stepped back a bit, giving his Great Nephew a once over. He grimaced. "Yeesh, you've really let those tests get to you, huh?"

"Yeah," Dipper rubbed the back of his head, "but it all paid off, right?"

"You're darn right it did, and I'm proud of you, kiddo!"

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan. Hey, where's..."

"GRUNKLE FORD! SOOS!"

Dipper looked up and saw that Mabel was the connecting piece in a very big group hug.

"Mabel," Ford said, "it's so wonderful to have you back!"

"Yeah, we missed you hambone!" Soos added. He released the hug and looked over to see Dipper. "Dude, Dipper, you're all grown up!"

"Well, yeah," Dipper said, walking toward his friend and seeing that he was only two or three inches shorter than him now, "did you think I was gonna stay small forever?"

"Eh, stranger things have happened. My cousin Reggie knows a guy that turned into a gopher!"

"Right..." Ford looked at Soos with a puzzled expression before turning toward Dipper and poked at his bicep. "Your sister certainly wasn't kidding when she said that you'd started taking your personal fitness seriously."

"Well, yeah. Need to make sure I'm in top shape if I'm going to be your lab assistant over the summer, right?"

Ford smiled and wrapped his arms around Dipper. "I'm so happy to have you back in Gravity Falls, Dipper!"

"I'm really happy to be back, Grunkle Ford."

"Yeah, it only took you five years!"

Dipper let go of the hug and he and Mabel looked toward the door to see Pacifica standing there, with Candy and Grenda standing behind her. Mabel squeeked loudly!

"MY GIRLS!"

She ran forward and threw herself in a huge group hug.

"We are very happy to have you back, Mabel!" Candy said, while Grenda screamed "Everything's super boring without you!"

After a few more moments of conversation, the group helped the twins grab their bags and get settled in.

xoxoxoxoxo

"...so I got down on one knee and said 'Melody, would you marry me?'..."

"And I totally said yes!" Melody sang, wiggling a finger with a small, silver band with a modest diamond on it!

"AAAAAWWWWW!" Mabel squeaked loudly. "That's so CUTE!"

"Man," Dipper added, "sorry the thing with the fireworks didn't work, though."

"It's no problem, dude. At least the only thing that caught on fire was my hat!"

The group laughed and continued chattering about, but Dipper excused himself to head outside to catch some fresh air. He stepped out and sat on the porch, taking a deep breath and looking out at the sunset. Thankfully, he thought, Mabel was right. Nobody was upset with him, everyone was super proud of him, everything was cool! Things were as great as they'd ever been between he and Stan and Ford and Soos and Pacifica and...

"Wait... where's..."

"BOO!"

"GAH!"

Dipper nearly shot out of his skin and his ears were flooded with an all too familiar laughter.

"Oh, man, that was too good!"

He turned back and saw Wendy, doubled over in laughter, and his jaw dropped a little. She looked almost the exact same as he remembered! Sure, she was a little taller and a bit less lanky, but other than that, from her long red hair to her pale skin to her bright, life-filled green eyes, she was still so... gorgeous.

"Dude, I cannot believe that worked."

He grinned. "And here I thought you weren't going to show up tonight!"

Wendy shrugged. "Hey, man, I wasn't gonna miss this for the world! I just got caught up in traffic coming back from my dads."

"Wait, traffic? Doesn't he live just outside of town?"

"Dude, has it really been that long?"

"What do you mean?"

Wendy laughed. "Alright, so get this! You know how a while ago I told you that I had an uncle or something that wasn't doing that hot?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he ends up passing away..."

"Oh man, I'm really sorry..."

She waved her hand. "No, dude, it's totally cool. I didn't know the guy that well. Anyway, so he ends up passing away, and it turns out that he left my dad a lot of money!"

"No way!"

"Dude, it gets better!" The two moved to the couch sitting on the porch and sat down. "Right, so right around the time my dad gets all this money, he finds out that the owner of the logging company he works for is selling the company, so he buys it!"

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Yep! So he lives in Portland now where the offices are, and that's not even the best part!"

"How can it possibly get any better than that?"

"Guess who dad gave the old house to?"

"No way..."

"Way!"

"Wendy, that's awesome!" Dipper beamed.

"Right?! Dad knew that Soos paid well enough at the Mystery Shack for me to afford all the utilities and junk, so he let me keep living here!"

"Man, that's so cool!"

"So, that's my life in a nutshell," Wendy half-smiled, "now what's been up with you? What gives, man? I haven't heard from you in a year!"

Dipper felt as if ice water ran through his veins after he heard Wendy say that. "It-it-it's been a-a year?" He stammered. "Wendy, I'm sorry... I mean, I-I-I didn't mean... I just got busy, and..."

She giggled. "Relax, dude, I'm just yanking your chain! I know you've been super busy with your super smart person stuff!"

"I know, but I still..."

"Look," her tone got a little more serious, "it's fine. With everything that's been going on, I got pretty busy, and it's not like I was rushing to call you first or anything."

"Wendy, I'm sorry..."

"Dude." She looked him deep in the eye, which caused him to stop stammering. "Seriously, it's fine. You're here now, and that's all that matters to me."

"Really?"

She tugged his lumberjack hat down over his eyes. "Yeah, man, really! I missed having my best friend around."

Dipper pulled the hat out of his eyes and smiled at her. "Yeah, well I missed having mine, too."

"You dork!" She laughed as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in. He was more than happy to oblige, and the two sat there for a while, each happy to have their best friend back...

xoxoxoxoxo

A/N: Alright, new long-term series! So, this story will basically be me trying to re-do my last big story, Winds of Change. I considered just continuing that story but, after re-reading everything, I realized that it didn't quite reach the standard I'd set for myself. In short, I think I can do it a hell of a lot better now! I've taken the time to sit down and map out exactly what I want to do with this story pretty much from start to finish, with a few points here and there I still need to flesh out (Or maybe I'll just improvise it? We'll cross that bridge later.)

So what's carrying over from Winds of Change, and what's changing? Well, I don't want to go into too much detail, lest I spoil everything in the first chapter's AN. One thing I can say that the Wendip elements'll still be there (Although it'll be a much slower burn and it won't be the focal point of the plot... one of the focal points, absolutely, but not THE focal point), so if you were a fan of the fluffier elements of Winds, fret not! There will be an abundance of fluff and romance, as well as action, adventure, drama and a goat named Gompers!

As a closing note, let me know how I'm doing, and what you want to see out of this story! I'm pretty open to suggestions for scenarios and monsters of the week and all that junk.

See you kids at the barbeque!

~Mega Man's Uncle Gus~