Finally, after a month of the apocalypse, Stanley got a chance to rest. Normally he would despise hours of nothing to do, but, after everything that had happened, he was ready to just crash and veg out for a while. So he sat flumped in the recliner in the living room, eyes shut, hands cradling the back of his head, not even bothering to turn the TV on.
He shut his eyes, breathing the clean air in deeply. For the first time in a while he could enjoy fresh air, contrary to Weirdmageddon's chemical infused musk. He scooched deeper into the chair and breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes it was nice to just get a bit of time to yourself. No family members causing the end of the world, or coming to you with problems or questions...
"Stanley? Can you help me with something?"
Stan opened one eye and looked up at his Grunkle, a bit miffed, but once he saw how dreadfully nervous Ford looked he softened. That expression in and of itself started making him nervous. This was the Author of the Journals! The guy who had half-defeated Bill! The guy who had lived in the Multiverse! What on Earth was making him nervous?
"Uh... Sure." The boy answered, straightening in the chair and stretching his arms out, "What's up Grunkle Ford?" To his lasting surprise, Ford glanced at the entrance of the room like something dangerous was going to poke its head out, his eyes weary. "Stanley... Listen. You need to keep this a secret..." He swallowed and adjusting his glasses.
"Just in case."
Dipper grabbed an old piece of cardboard. He half-smiled at the words Who is the Author? written at the top and folded it in half. It was hard to think that once upon a time he had never even heard of Stanford Pines. The memory of thinking that Old Man McGucket was the Author came back to him, and it suddenly clicked how important that adventure had been.
If he hadn't been so focused on getting McGucket's memories back they would never have gotten the memory ray. Which, in turn, would mean that they would never have stopped the government agents, and they would never have defeated Bill. Without that memory ray... they'd be dead. Thank goodness for that then.
Realizing that he'd been holding the same piece of cardboard for a straight minute, he stuck it in the small wastebasket next to his bed. He'd have to thank McGucket again before he left town for Piedmont. Then the reality of the situation set in again. He'd be going back to Piedmont. He'd be leaving everything behind.
"Dipper?" The voice of his great-uncle sounded from the door, sounding... a bit nervous. Dipper turned around and saw Ford standing in the doorway, looking mildly uncomfortable. There was an odd red tinge to his cheeks that set Dipper on edge. "May I ask something of you?"
Dipper nodded glancing at the trash can and at the word Author. "Yeah, sure." He said, and Ford took a steadying breath. "Alright," he said, stepping into the room and wringing his hands together. "So I've already asked Stanley..."
It was the boys' birthday. The entire town had gotten together to make this celebration the most memorable one ever, just like Soos had said. Mabel got to stand up on the porch behind the boys, next to Ford, Soos, Wendy, Candy, and Grenda. They all sang Happy Birthday to the boys, and the two of them blew out their candles. Cheers broke out from the crowd, and Mabel placed a hand on both of the boys' shoulders.
She took a step back once the kids started to unwrap their presents, a large smile on her face. She was too happy for her nephews to worry about what she would do with herself that winter, with the Mystery Shack gone. Of course, she'd spend time with Ford, but not working at the Shack would be sad. Right then it was only supposed to be happy. It was the boys' birthday!
"Mabel," she felt a hand land on her shoulder, and she looked over at her brother, who had a serious expression on his face. "I need to talk to you."
Mabel nodded, and said, "Go ahead." Ford glanced at the boys, halfway done with the pile of gifts. "Privately." He clarified, and she breathed an "Oh." Ford gently, but firmly, pushed her around the side of the building, away from view, and sighed deeply.
"Mabel... I didn't want to say this in front of everyone else..." Mabel looked at her brother in confusion as he turned towards her. The trees above shadowed them, and a small breeze ruffled their matching hair. "Weirdmageddon has been contained, but I've been detecting some strange new anomalies in the Arctic ocean." Mabel nodded, and suddenly it made sense.
"You want to go investigate, don't you?" Mabel asked, and Ford nodded. "Yes." He stated, and Mabel felt her heart constrict. After all these years she'd gotten her brother back, lost him briefly, regained him again, and now she was losing him. To an ocean! "I understand." She mumbled, looking down at the ground, fighting hard against tears that wanted to build up.
Ford ran his fingers through his hair, and Mabel began to notice how uncharacteristically active he was. It was like he couldn't stop moving. He must have excess energy he needed to get out of his system. "Mabel," he began again, and she nodded, watching him silently, "Remember when we were teenagers, and you said you couldn't wait until the day someone... Well..." Ford rubbed the back of his neck, a look of unsurpassed discomfort passing over his features. "Mabel..."
He reached out and grabbed her hands with his left, and before Mabel knew what was happening he knelt down on the ground in front of her. Her previously confused mind suddenly screamed HOT BELGIAN WAFFLES! Is he proposing to me?! All that was missing was a box... and there it is. Ford reached into his coat with his free hand and pulled a small box out of his pocket, which he flipped open one-handedly, revealing a small roundish looking... die?
"Mabel, I know I'm not much... Not anymore. But there's no one else I'd rather go with... Will you come with me to the ends of the Earth?" All Mabel could do was stare at her brother, kneeling on one knee in front of her. She'd longed for a guy to do this to her for almost all of her life, but she'd expected like... Literally anyone else.
"Mabel... You can say no." He said, looking slightly defeated at her silence. Mabel gently pulled her hands out of his, then clasped them over her mouth. A small squeal erupted from the back of her throat and she laughed once before exclaiming, "No! Of course not! I'm coming with you!" She grabbed Ford's hands again, this time enveloping his with hers. "You... I just... What?!"
Ford's face broke out into a smile and Mabel exclaimed, "You just proposed to me... To me!" She laughed, sounding slap-happy. "Oh my goodness! That- You want- I don't... How?" A series of giggles shook through her, making her feel young again. "YES! A million times yes! I'd love on an adventure with you!"
The sound of a loud Click gained their attention before Ford could respond. The two of them looked over at the brush and saw a yellow and blue camera pointed right at them. "Jackpot!" Stanley exclaimed, "Told you it'd work Grunkle Ford! I never miss a Scrapbook-ortunity!"
Mabel and Ford were too embarrassed and happy to chase after the kid, who ran shouting to the crowd, "SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES! My Grunkle just proposed to his sister, and she said YES!"
Ford got back to his feet and ran a hand down his face. Mabel chuckled and shook her head. "You got yourself into this mess Broseph, now you get to get yourself out. And trust me, I'm not going to let you."
September 1st found Mabel sitting in the kitchen, a catalog in front of her, one that she was flipping through and scowling at. There was a glass of Mabel-juice in her hand, and she had the book propped open against the table. With her short hair and focused expression she could pass for her brother any day. She turned the page just as said brother walked inside, a rolled-up blueprint in hand.
"Good... Afternoon Mabel," Ford said, checking his watch to tell what time it was. "How was your morning? Did you get my note?" Mabel glanced up at him, a small smile on her face. "Yeah," she answered, her eyes drawn to the blue paper that he was gripping. "How was the mansion?"
"Expansive," Ford stated, moving over to the table and sitting down. "What are you reading?"
Mabel glanced at the catalog, then said, "Oh, just the prices of boats. The one I have isn't... Well... It's really tiny..." She bit her lip and sighed. "I hope I have enough saved up..."
She was cut off by her brother making a short bark of laughter, and she looked up at him with a confused and appalled expression. Ford shook his head at her, in semi disappointment, a saddened grin on his face. "Mabel," he said with a bit of a lecture in his tone. "We're not going to buy a boat, we're going to build one." Mabel couldn't help but blink at him, and open her mouth to rebut the statement, but it never came. "We are?" She asked instead, and Ford nodded.
"You. Build a boat." She stated, pointing at a picture of said vessel. Ford rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yes I am. Well, we are. I built the portal, and my quantum destabilizer, and I figured out a few alien vehicles in my time." He cocked an eyebrow at her, who narrowed her eyes at him. "Alien vehicles? Where did you go? Mars?"
"Yes actually, there's an alternate timeline where humans inhabit Mars instead of Earth... It's rather difficult to explain." Ford shrugged his shoulders while Mabel gaped at him. "Oh..." he said quietly, "You don't remember. Remember when I had to go through the inter-dimensional tear to save Stanley?" Mabel nodded, still dumbfounded.
"I was trapped in there for... well... Thirty years." Ford explained, and Mabel's eyes widened even further. "That... I... How? How did you get back?" She asked, slamming the catalog onto the table and running a hand through her hair. Ford smiled softly, then rested his hand on top of hers. "A very special woman loved me." He stated, and Mabel looked down at his hand.
There was a moment of silence, then Mabel breathed, "Me?" Ford nodded, then said, "And that's why I owe traveling the world with you. You saved me."
"And our heroes return victorious! And everyone crowns them king and queen of America!"
Ford looked up from his book at his sister, standing on the bow of their ship, waving a wooden sword in the air. Their mother had forced her to wear a short-sleeve shirt that day, as she was tired of having to clean all the sand out of Mabel's sweaters. But her purple shirt was just as colorful as one of them, with a tiara stitched into the front.
"Actually," He said, smiling at her as she chopped away at imaginary foes, "America is a democracy. In order for us to be the queen and king it would have to be a monarchy, and we threw the British off in the 1700s..." Mabel laughed, spinning around and pointing the sword at her brother's chest. "That's why you're the king Broseph." She stated, thrusting it lightly into the collar of his jacket. "Because as soon as they see how smart you are they'll realize that they need you to lead them."
"No thanks," Ford muttered, shoving the stick away playfully. "I'm not brave enough for politics." A wacky grin spread across his face, and he added cheekily, "But perhaps... Being the queen's advisor would be nice."
After the two giggled for a while Ford sighed. "You know, my first piece of advice would be, 'Boats are more fun with water'." He stared longingly out over the sand, and Mabel joined him with her own sigh. "Yeah," She mumbled, watching a seagull cough up yet another piece of glass. "Come on Bro-bro." she said, and hopped off of the boat, "It's been a few hours and we're going to need to get home."
Ford followed her a moment later, and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, we don't want to worry..."
"Stanford and Mabel Pines!"
The two of them froze, their father's voice sounding upset. Something was wrong. "Coming!" The two of them responded, spinning around to follow their father. Filbrick didn't say another word to them, instead motioning for them to follow him to the boardwalk.
This wouldn't end well...
Ford had forgotten how long it'd been since he'd been at a dock. Growing up less than ten minutes from one had given him the luxury of the ocean without the annoying drive. And even though Gravity Falls' lake wasn't at all the same size, or level of saltiness, it still was a larger body of water than what Ford had been around recently.
When he'd been documenting Gravity Falls he'd mostly spent time away from regular citizens. The nature of the lake was what he was there for, not the experience of it. And, after having settled his quarrel with the Sirens (thanks Stan), he was finally allowed back inside.
The basic framework of the ship had already been completed. It was a decent size ship, with a few bells and whistles, and it would make a modest home for however long they'd be staying. Soos had promised to help out with taking the boat to the ocean once Ford and Mabel were done with it, and they had eagerly accepted his help.
The water was peaceful, the sun wasn't too bright, the breeze was pleasant. Ford knew it wouldn't stay this way, and it would be nowhere near as warm as here in the arctic. He'd taken the time to research how much extra protection they'd need to put on the hull to make it durable in the harsh conditions, and eventually just decided to just go with his gut.
Mabel stared at the boat, a soft smile on her face. Ford let his own smile develop and walked over to her, placing an arm around her shoulders. Mabel glanced over at him, and her smile brightened tenfold. "What shall we call it?" she asked, and Ford was about to laugh, when he realized she was being serious.
"You don't remember?" he asked, and her smile dampened. "Oh." She mumbled, and Ford shook his head. "Mabel, it's perfectly fine if you don't remember things." he assured her, and she nodded. He briefly considered telling her another name, but went for the truth instead. "You and I are co-captains of the ship Love Patrol Alpha." He said in a serious tone, and, to no one's surprise, Mabel burst out laughing.
"Love Patrol Alpha?" she asked, sounding absolutely thrilled with that title. "You named our boat Love Patrol Alpha?" She broke into giggles, and Ford spared her his own chuckle.
"No," he said, shaking his head, and his shoulders for that matter. The two of them shook as they laughed, and the scarce few people around them looked over at the two siblings. "You named it that. We were twelve." Mabel threw her head back and wrapped her left arm around his middle, "Oh my goodness... That's amazing."
"Yeah," Ford replied, leaning his head against her. "Yes, it is."
Hello everyone! I'm back! With more Gravitivity Falls! Whoo-hoo!
So... Stanley and Mabel are going to tease Ford about his proposal forever. Honestly, if one of my brother's proposed to me... I don't know what I'd do.
For the record, it was Stan's idea. Need to ask the lady you care about the most to spend the rest of her life with you? Get down on one knee with a box of jewelry (which is the infinity sided die BTW). She's your twin sister? Do it anyway!
Oh man, I was slap-happy when I came up with that.
And Love Patrol Alpha makes a return! Oh man I love the name of that boat. Just the idea of Ford being perfectly comfortable just saying it makes me laugh.
I hope you guys enjoyed this! Have a great rest of your day!
-BrilliantLight