Hello, friends! I am back with another GF oneshot! This time, some sweet Mabel and Ford bonding, because the world needs more of that.
Anyway, enjoy!
Mabel settled on the shag carpet in the Shack's living area, smiling contentedly as she began to click her knitting needles together. The rhythmic motion soon pulled her in, like it always did, and she became blind to everything else. It was soothing, relaxing, and always managed to make her cares melt away. She was so invested in her latest piece, she didn't even hear someone else enter the room.
"What're you working on, Mabel?"
Mabel jumped, startled out of her work. She looked up, a little more wide-eyed than she'd hoped, to see Grunkle Ford.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said, an awkward attempt at a comforting smile gracing his face.
"Oh, it's alright, Grunkle Ford! I was just in the knit-zone, is all!" Mabel answered, holding up the half finished pink sweater. "This one's gonna have a smiling fishie on it!" The soon-to-be thirteen year old excitedly told him.
"Oh, well, that's… unique." Ford still didn't quite know how to approach the eccentric girl. Especially after the whole… Weirdmaggedon fiasco. Her fashion style certainly was unique, though, so that seemed a relatively appropriate comment.
"Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet! I've got something big planned for the first day of eighth grade!" She stopped for a moment, thinking. "Of course, me and Dipper won't be here to show you…"
Sensing her sadness, Ford said, "Well, you can always… type a photo to us? Is that the correct word?"
Mabel giggled. "It's 'text', Grunkle Ford. And don't worry, Grunkle Stan doesn't know what it is either. There was this time when Gideon was going to text a pic to him, and he thought he was speaking another language!"
"That does sound like Stanley…" Ford said, not sure how to keep the conversation going. He really was better at connecting with the girl's brother, but wanted to make an effort to get to know her too, after neglecting to earlier.
"So what're you doing here?" Mabel returned his earlier question.
"Oh, me? Well, I just thought maybe I would check up on you kids, see if you're ready for your party in a couple days, how you're preparing for your return home, etcetera…"
"'Kids'? I'm the only one here, though." Mabel cocked her head, giving Ford an exaggerated suspicious look. "I'm on to you, mister…"
Ford chuckled at the girl's expression. She really was something. That's when her expression changed as fast as flipping a switch, to one of abject horror.
Suddenly she was rushing at him, pulling out the bottom of his sweater to inspect it. "What is THIS?" she cried out.
Ford looked down to see a small tear in the stiching of his sweater, maybe an inch and a half long. "Oh, that? I must've torn it somehow. It's nothing-"
"This isn't nothing! This is a sweater emergency!" Mabel yelled. "You stay here! I'm going to get my patented emergency repair kit!" With that, the almost-teen bolted to the stairs to the attic in a blur, leaving the older man in startled confusion.
She returned in what seemed like seconds, carrying a small plastic container filled with spools of thread and sewing needles. Before Ford could protest, Mabel was at work, intensely fixing the tear on the red garment.
It was fascinating, how naturally her hands moved with the thread, how neat the little stitches were, one after the other until the gap was closed. Within only a couple minutes, her work was done.
"Whew! That was almost a catastrophe!" She said as she tied off the fine thread. "You're lucky Mabel was here to save you."
Still speechless and trying to process what just happened, Ford just looked down at the girl and her work. Finally, he said, "You didn't have to do that, Mabel…"
"Of course I did! Every sweater deserves the love and attention of Mabel Pines! 'From the smallest tear to the biggest gash, Mabel's there to fix it fast'!" Mabel held her hand to her chest as she recited her personal mantra. "Besides… I haven't really gotten to make anything for you…"
Ford suddenly found himself beaming at his great-niece, without any real control over it. He may have been more like Dipper, but there was no denying that this girl was something special. "Thank you so much, Mabel. It looks beautiful." He patted her head. "Just like you."
Mabel grinned a huge braces-filled smile at his compliments, throwing herself into a hug with him. While he was alarmed at first by the sudden affectionate gesture, after a moment he returned her hug.
"I'm going to be sad to see you go," Ford told her. "I'm sorry for not spending time you these last weeks."
"Don't worry, Grunkle Ford. Me and Dipper will be back next summer. Then we can do everything together." Mabel said into his shirt. "And I can fix anything else that needs stitching."
Thinking of his heart, Ford said quietly, "You already have, my dear."
Welp that was probably the cheesiest ending I've ever written... hope you all liked it!