"Now James, remember what I told you? My family is literally the greatest but-"
"But nothing, they raised you, so I know they will be every bit as amazing as you are," James said as he placed a tiny kiss on Mabel's nose, causing her to give that quiet giggle that James loved so much.
Mabel took a deep breath and reached to open the door to the shack, only for Stan and Ford to open it first and bombard her with tight hugs. They were both older now, and while they had been advised to not do as much heavy lifting as before they couldn't resist picking the young woman up in their arms and swinging her around, so she would give that laugh that seemed to make the whole world brighter.
James smiled at how much the girl clearly loved her "grunkles". He had to admit when he heard that she was raised by family members who in typical families are very distant (he had only met his own great uncle twice and it was a pretty dull experience) he doubted how close they could really be, but in that moment he realized the family bond was real and strong.
He was about to extend his hand to greet the elder men, when suddenly a boy Mabel's age barged through the front door and gave his twin sister a tight hug. They then proceeded to preform a handshake that had far too many moves, and burst into laughter. James smiled again, Mabel had told him all about her twin brother and best friend and he was eager to get to know all of them. After all, he knew after only a short time of knowing each other that this girl was special to him, so he wanted to make a good impression on them.
Stan, Ford, and Dipper finally left Mabel alone and turned their attention to the boy expecting a handshake, instead he was forcefully grabbed by the three men and brought into the kitchen where they already had a chair out for him.
They plopped him down and shined a bright light in his face, "Whoa, what is this? Some kind of interrogation?" James asked playfully. Meanwhile Mabel was blushing wildly. She knew her family well enough to expect this, but that didn't make the whole thing any less embarrassing.
"Well, at least we know he's not an idiot!" Ford commented.
"Alright sonny, we'll start with real simple questions…. full name?" Stan said in a voice that intimidated the boy.
"James Ryan Smithson sir!" the boy answered quickly.
"Age?" Ford continued.
"Twenty-five…. just like Mabel," the boy said.
"Don't bring Mabel into this sonny, we know her already!" Stan stated.
"Guys…. this really isn't necessary…. can't we talk about this over dinner? Like a normal family?" Mabel pleaded.
The guys ignored her and continued questioning the poor guy.
"Occupation?" Dipper asked.
"Freelance composer and author,"
"Oh an artist…. I'll bet that brings in quite a living…." Stan said rolling his eyes.
"Grunkle Stan! I'm an artist too!" Mabel said putting her hands on her hips. She should probably be angrier with her family for their behavior, but she had expected it, and she had warned James about them. Regardless, she hoped that tonight would not end with her getting dumped.
"Actually sir, I've been able to make a pretty good living out of it. In fact, my orchestral pieces have been used in the Portland Symphony Orchestra many times…that's where I met Mabel. The group was preforming an event at one of her art galas, and well our eyes met and…."
"Save the mushy stuff Romeo!" Stan scowled.
Ford and Dipper appeared intrigued, however, and seemed to let up off James a bit. Stan was nowhere near as easily swayed, but at Ford's urging he figured that he could at least pause the interrogation long enough for them to eat dinner.
It was Stan, Ford, Dipper, Wendy, Mabel, and James at the table for dinner. Mabel's beloved elderly potbelly pig Waddles sat under his owner's feet. James was able to at least win the pig over right away by offering him plenty of scraps from the table.
"So James….I want to apologize about the…ummm unconventional greeting we gave you this evening. We are just protective of our Mabel," Ford said poking Mabel's nose with his finger.
"I understand perfectly sir….it was actually quite an honor to be interrogated by you!" James said with a genuine smile.
"Whatcha talking about boy?" Stan said confused.
James smiled, "well while my true passion in life is the arts, I adore dabbling in the works of Stanford Pines and his studies of the supernatural. I hope you won't take offense to this sir, but reading your non-fiction accounts of such fantastical lands and creatures gives my creative mind plenty of inspiration," James said with a smile.
"Well, thank you James, I'm flattered," Ford said with a smile.
"I'm not….I've been around the block and I know how to kiss up and that's a pretty lame attempt," Stan said plainly.
"I suppose that's good sir, because I'm not trying to be a kiss up, I give my compliments genuinely," James smiled as he turned his attention to Dipper, "and speaking of genuine compliments, every time you get a new article published in a medical journal of any type Mabel will show me….I think she even has some pages in her scrapbook dedicated to it, and from what I've seen I can't wait until you start writing your own full length books. You are very talented as well,"
Dipper blushed partially at the compliment and partially at the fact that his sister delighted in his work so much. He delighted in her work too, but he figured he could make more of an effort to support her the way she supported him.
"So Wendy? What's living with my brother 24/7? It's a pain right?" Mabel said, hoping to steer the conversation away from James for a moment.
Wendy gave a laugh, "it's actually pretty nice….though it would be nice if he folded his socks, or at the very least didn't leave them all over the floor!" she said getting a nice laugh out of everyone.
Throughout the meal James and Mabel kept their eyes focused on each other. They appeared lost in their own world, and not incredibly eager to leave it. Ford and Dipper seemed pretty won over by James' charm, but Stan refused to fall for it that easily.
"so umm pumkin, they are having a re-run of old ducktective episodes tonight and I thought we could…." Stan started.
"Oh Grunkle Stan I'm sorry! I promised James we would go on a walk in the woods tonight. You are more than welcome to join us!" Mabel said as she flashed that sweet little grin.
Stan frowned, "No, that's ok….I'm too old for those things….you guys have fun, and James….don't you dare leave her side!" he said giving a threatening glare.
"I promise sir!" he said with a genuine smile as he and Mabel merrily walked hand in hand out the door as Stan watched trying not to let his heart break.