Hey folks! Been on a bit of a writing kick with some unexpected free time, so here's yet story in the same vein as all of my past "futures" fics (Always There, The Proposition, Repay) where the twins are grown, Mabel's a proud mother to twins, etc. In the aforementioned stories, Mabel's husband is very briefly mentioned, but never shown. To be honest, that was originally done because I really, really just don't do OC's. But then decided to take the lack of that particular character a little further, as you'll see.
Hope you enjoy! - SGA
When Mabel finally wed the goofy, creative-minded young man she had fallen head over heels for in college, she was completely convinced that she had successfully made the ultimate match. For the first year her marriage to Mel was everything she had dreamed of ever since she was a boy-crazy little preteen.
But then came the big surprise, or to be more exact, a pair of them. When she found out she was going to become a mother to twins, she was thrilled beyond words. Meanwhile, her husband actually wasn't quite keen on becoming a father so soon. Considering all the past times he had readily agreed with her giddy daydreams about eventually starting their own clan, it turned out that he had exaggerated a bit. Once it became a reality, parenthood was simply too terrifying a step for him to take.
To make a long and ugly story short, his growing reluctance steadily eroded the relationship. By the time she was only three and months pregnant, their opinions had become irreconcilable. When she was three and a half months, he walked out. So much for the self-proclaimed Matchmaker's ultimate triumph.
One long and painful legal slog later, Mabel now found herself at family court for what she fervently hoped for the final time. The day had finally come.
"...Divorce granted!"
The bang of the judge's gavel seemed to go off with the force of an exploding bomb, and just like that she was suddenly a Pines once again.
Mabel at first couldn't even move. The moment she had simultaneously awaited and dreaded for the past several months was finally upon her, and at first it was just too much to even begin to wrap her head around. The twenty-five-year-old woman stood rooted to the spot, feeling numb from a potent mix of shock and disbelief. She was a divorcee. Legally speaking, the babies' father was out of the picture. For a moment she was stricken with the reflexive urge to retreat into the refuge of her sweater right then and there.
"Next case!" Her head snapped upright as the announcement cut through her muddy thoughts. The young woman went on flustered autopilot, hurriedly gathering up her folder of assorted official documentation before vacating her spott.
Just her foul luck, in her haste she nearly collided with her now officially ex-husband. Mabel stepped back and lingered awkwardly. Judging by his expression, he wasn't feeling like celebrating either.
"What?" He snapped impatiently, thinking she had one last thing to tell him.
It a cruel way it was honestly kind of incredible how things had deteriorated with the man who had once publicly vowed to be with her in sickness and health, and in good times and bad. To be fair though, he was the one who had couldn't handle kids, despite what he had claimed before the fateful pregnancy.
Still, she decided this was as good an opportunity as any to make a particular offer yet again. She gnawed her lip as she worked up the courage.
"I know what the judge said….and what you've said before, but…." She took a deep breath. "If you change your mind and you ever want to….stop by and and see the babies….you can just let me know."
Truth be told, she honestly wasn't thrilled with the idea of letting him get anywhere near Finn and Gladys. Regardless, they were still his children just as they were hers. There were a couple moments of excruciatingly tense silence.
"I'm already paying support." His voice dripped with bitter annoyance, as if she had only offered up one more burden for him to shoulder. With this he stormed off, leaving Mabel cringing.
What would drive a person to say that? She still didn't understand how he could keep reducing the twins to nothing more than mere nuisances. As she pictured the little faces waiting for her back at home, the painful ache speedily started to morph. Soon it had blossomed into an angry maternal burn. If he could still stand to be so mercilessly honest on today of all days, then two could play at that game.
Mel was almost out the door when she caught up, giving him a major start. In just a few short months he had almost forgotten her talent for popping up seemingly out of nowhere. Mabel drew herself off to full height before shooting him the most withering glare she could muster. The determined mother had one short message to deliver.
"You have no idea what you're missing out on." She was surprised by how much pleasure these words gave her. However, he remained unmoved.
"Goddamn it, Mabel." He hissed, temper flaring. "You seriously never know when to stop, do you-"
"Hey." There was a sharp interruption. Mel tensed at the familiar voice, and a short turn of his head was all it took to confirm his fears.
Dipper looked informally out of place in only jeans and a short-sleeved flannel shirt, but the normally self-conscious young man didn't care. He was busy pouring all his energy into blasting his former brother-in-law with a ferocious warning glare. Mel could feel the blood chill in his veins as DIpper's eyes seemed to silently threaten no less than a dozen different punishments that he'd be more than happy to dole out if needed. Even uttering so much as one more angry word definitely seemed out of the question. Hurriedly the cowed man slunk off without another sound, leaving the twins alone together in the back of the courtroom.
"Dipper?" Mabel was rightfully surprised to find her brother there.
"Uh, hey." He quickly softened to an apologetic tone as he made his way towards her. In his rush he accidentally bumped his knee with an undignified thud, forcing him to stumble out into the aisle with a slight limp. Her head whirled.
"I told you I wanted to do this alone." She reminded softly.
"I know, I know, I know." He winced controllably. His sister had been quite clear about this when she dropped off the kids. "But...look, after you left, I gave it some thought, and...you know it really didn't seem right to-"
Mabel pounced before he could finish excusing himself. Dipper swore that he could feel his ribs bruise under the force of the epic squeeze. Against all odds, he managed to wriggle his noodle arms loose and hug her back.
"Dork. You big, stupid overprotective dork." She affectionately chided. "How long did you make it after I left? Twenty minutes?"
"Twenty-five." He answered with a slight flush, triggering a giggle out of her as she let go. A pregnant pause passed before he awkwardly explained himself with only one familiar phrase. "I mean, I really couldn't...you know….Mystery Twins."
"Mystery Twins." She lovingly tucked him in the chin. A genuine smile had spread across the width of her face, but it was quickly disrupted by a yawn. To say that she was feeling drained would have been a criminal understatement.
"You okay?" he fussed.
"Part sad, part glad, part relieved, and all tired." The young woman slapped on another smile, but made no effort to hide her weariness. "And now I just kinda want to go and hold my babies forever."
"They probably miss you too." Dipper gently pat her back. "C'mon, let's go."
Together the two headed out of the courthouse. While they head down the massive stone stairway, he offered kindly, "Hey, you want to get some ice cream or something on the way home? My treat-"
The sibling moment proved to be short-lived. She screeched to a halt and grabbed his arm. "Dipper, look!"
"What the…." He babbled. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had decided to tag along to the afternoon's legal proceedings. Down below in the parking lot, Mabel's ex-husband was backed up against a car and looking for all the world like a cornered rabbit as a lanky redhead menaced him. The twins shot one another incredulous looks before racing over.
Mel's day wasn't just going downhill; it was now speeding out of control into a fiery ditch. Having to run into his former brother-in-law was bad enough, but Wendy was a different story entirely. Even when he was still legally a part of the family, he had found her a little intimidating. Now she was the freckled face of fear itself.
"Come on," He pled wearily. "Wendy, I don't need this."
"Oh yes you do." He flinched at her snappy reply. If looks alone could kill, the hapless man would've been mincemeat already. "I'm going to keep this short so I don't have to look at you any longer than I have to. Whatever you got ordered to pay in there today, then every month Mabel gets the full amount on time, every time. No funny business. Got it?"
"Why do you think I mi-" The tough-as-nails woman silenced him with a crack of her knuckles.
"On time, every time. No funny business." She repeated. Wendy didn't need to make threats. The inferno of hatred raging in her piercing stare was all she needed to make clear that if he didn't do his part for once as a father, then there was going to be absolute hell to pay. Thoroughly cowed, he started nodding wordlessly.
She continued boring into him for a couple extra moments just for the sake of watching him squirm. Her hand shot up and he flinched. To his immense relief it was only to unceremoniously wave him away. In a flash he had piled into his car, and was tearing out of the parking lot just as the twins arrived on the scene.
"Wendy!" Mabel exclaimed incredulously.
"Hey." Her sister-in-law flashed a fat smile. "How are you holding up?"
"Well it's done, so that's….good, I guess." The brunette was reeling. She almost expected Soos, Stan, and Candy to pop out from behind a bush at any moment. Dipper of course was no less startled.
"Okay, definitely wasn't expecting you to follow along." He confessed to his wife.
"Yeah, decided to pack up and left ten minutes after you did. Where you guys go, I go." Wendy announced unashamedly. Mabel of course was moved by the blunt declaration, but the burst of gratitude proved to be short-lived when something occurred to her.
"Wait!" Panic bubbled up in her gut. "If you're both here….you were supposed to….wait! So who's with the babies now?"
"Waddles." Laughing, Mabel beelined to where her pickup was sitting parked only two spaces away. The dutiful aunt opened the door, pulled down the front seat, and revealed that she hadn't forsaken her babysitting duties in the slightest. Finn gazed up curiously from the back, while tiny Gladys lay comfortably passed out in her car seat. In between the two tots sat Waddles IV awkwardly but securely buckled in.
"Trust me, I wasn't planning on letting him even know that they were-" Her assurance was broken when Finn awkwardly reached out with a chubby arm. In no time Mabel was half-buried in the truck, and soon reemerged cradling her gurgling son.
"Hi there, hun-bun." She chuckled. "Mommy needs some Vitamin B, biiiig time."
Mabel hugged her squishy, squirmy little treasure close. As she nuzzled him lovingly, she was suddenly flooded by the first sweet burst of real relief. It was finally over. She and the kids were free. The young woman sucked in a deep rush of breath before putting on a grin that suggested she was ready to melt right there in the parking lot.
"Yeah, I thought you also might need a pick-me-up after today's court biz. You win for having to deal with the most crap today." Wendy explained, looking very pleased with her handiwork. While she pat her sister-in-law on the shoulder, she noticed the conflicted look Dipper was wearing. "What?"
"I'm pretty torn on this." He admitted flatly.
"It's not fair if you're the only one who gets to barge over." She laughed. "C'mon, you know you love it."
"More than I'm comfortable admitting right now." His cheeks went lightly flush. As much as he adored watching a certain someone get the fear of God rammed into him, he felt the strong need to point out, "I'm pretty sure at least one part about what you just did was illegal."
"You love it." The unrepentant woman affectionately ruffled his hair. Mabel meanwhile had found a way to wrestle out her daughter, and Waddles IV oinked loudly as he hopped onto the pavement with a clack of cloven hooves. Gladys whimpered sleepily before she was calmed with a couple kisses on her forehead.
"Babies, babies, babies…" She happily sang to them before passing a sheepish look to the rest of her clan. "I'd hug you guys too if I could, but my arms are too full of adorable right now."
Her irrepressible brother and sister-in-law glanced to one another, then joined her for a group embrace without any hesitation. Together they cut a picturesque sight, save for one troubling detail that soon caught Dipper's attention.
"Wendy! Seriously?" A small but thankfully sheathed hatchet was sitting strategically placed in one of his wife's back pockets. Hastily he snatched it up and tossed it into her truck bed before they attracted the wrong notice.
"Whoops." She rolled her eyes and playfully exclaimed. "Wonder how that got there."
"Okay, not that I don't appreciate what you're doing, but there's absolutely no way that didn't break at least one law…."
Mabel erupted anew with laughter as she relished her spot in the middle of the huddle. The smile that swept across her face was especially sizable in light of the day's events. Yes, legally speaking she was now officially short one husband. To say the least, things hadn't gone according to her original plan.
But as her family clustered close around her, and as she adoringly cuddled her littles one close, there honestly wasn't a single doubt in her mind; she wasn't missing a single thing.