A/N: Don't expect much more out of me for the next few years. Again. [screaming internally]
First gravfalls fic. Had a headcanon pop into my mind and this fic follow soon after.
The clicking sound was rapidly driving Mabel Pines up the wall.
She had pulled the box out of the closet and blown off the dust and cobwebs, thinking that there was no better way to bond than a family game night. And what game night would be complete without a board game?
Mabel had made a terrible, terrible choice. Dipper had drafted a full out string board for his conspiracy theory, yet again taking the mystery too seriously.
"The victim's body clearly signals the use of blunt force to induce head trauma. The gathered evidence seems to indicate that the instrument used would be the candlestick, and the cadaver was discovered in the foyer. But who killed Professor Plum?"
The twin had been muttering incessantly to himself for about twenty minutes since this round had begun. All while clicking that stupid pen.
Grunkle Stan had disappeared an hour before, claiming he'd needed a refill and failing to return after. Wendy had declined to play, validly citing "Dipper's relentless obsession with mystery" as her alibi. Soos claimed murder made him itchy and wouldn't you know it, Abuelita needed him back at the house.
Mabel blinked, startling herself out of her rage-induced catatonia before lunging at her brother, knocking over the corkboard and wrestling the noodle-armed boy to the ground.
The next morning found the remains of the Clue box among a pile of ashes in back of the Shack. No one spoke of it again.
Dipper slid down in his seat, gripping the kitchen table tightly in a fruitless attempt to contain his irritation.
His sister had no idea what she was doing and had still managed to fleece a month's allowance out of him, and a craft store shopping spree out of Grunkle Stan. He wasn't quite sure what she'd gotten out of the other players, but going by the shrewdness she'd shown while haggling with their great-uncle, it could've been first-born children and virgin sacrifices for all he knew.
Soos had skipped out half an hour before, convinced Waddles was helping Mabel cheat, and Wendy had followed soon after, sure that Mabel was hustling them all with her big doe eyes and sparkly sweaters. Stan had folded, wondering aloud if the young brunette had made any deals with a certain demon as of late. As for Dipper...
Dipper had been glitter glued to the chair after threatening to shuffle those cards where the sun don't shine.
Dipper sighed. When he'd dug the deck out of his ratty old rucksack, he'd never thought his Friday night would go to hell in a hand basket, but he figured he should've expected as much, dealing with his other half on a stormy night in Gravity Falls.
The Pines twins groaned simultaneously, then glared at each other in unison. This had been the worst idea yet.
Despite the incident that would never again be mentioned, the duo had decided to give board games another go. Making Stan the banker had been a regrettable decision.
"Okay, so that's a $783 surcharge, with an interest rate of 76%, plus a broker's fee of $397. Pay up, kids!"
Another groan had the siblings digging through their pockets for whatever colorful slips of paper were left. Did the Monopoly set even come with that much money? What were the rules again?
Dipper had just wanted to be the race car, but he couldn't even have that. Mabel had given up on her dream of owning the Boardwalk long ago. Both were sure they'd literally aged twenty years since the game had begun. They hadn't even been able to convince Soos or Wendy to come, both having wisely decided to hang up once the words "game night" had been uttered.
The older man had also taken to the nasty habit of removing his shirt and rolling around in his amassed wealth, whooping and cackling madly.
As brother and sister handed over enough play money to pay their collective tuition for a year (turns out Stan had padded the box with Stanbucks to increase the fake wealth), the siblings despaired of ever having a proper bonding night.
Mabel gesticulated wildly, undulating her torso in a feverish manner and contorting her face into all sorts of monstrous expressions. Dipper didn't even bother guessing at this point, instead leaning back on his arms and enjoying the show from his spot on the floor.
Wendy was making all sorts of sarcastic comments, but she seemed to legitimately be enjoying herself. Stan had only downed one beer, an all time low for him as of late. Soos kept naming obscure movies and dated pop songs, not at all minding the fact that his guesses never neared correct.
Overall, the enthusiasm in the room was palpable, and spirits had remained high throughout the night.
It appeared charades was the only game the gang would willingly play together. Dipper didn't mind too much, as long as Stan kept his shirt on and Mabel kept out of the Smile Dip beforehand. He lifted his cap and ran his fingers through the fluffy mop of hair underneath, laughing as the answer to the unspoken riddle popped into his mind.
"Is it 'The Eliminator 2: Electric Boogaloo'?" The room erupted in cheers as Mabel tapped her nose excitedly and Dipper rose to take his own turn.
The preteen smiled as he began gesturing and pantomiming. No death threats, no bickering, no accusations of witchcraft—all in all, he deemed this game night a success.