The noise from Northwest Manor was like the distant eruption of a volcano. A rumbling crossed between thunder and an earth-shifting cataclysmic event. In fact, if any of the kids could see over the treeline, they'd have seen an enormous shaft of light protruding from every window, every door and every seam of the manor that loomed over the other side of town.

However, whether through willful ignorance, distraction over their fiercely entangled emotions - or the process of hitting a statue with an axe - they didn't notice a thing.

Dust was still rising gently, while Jeff had escaped the scene with some of the spare change he had taken and his holographic, cat themed award.

It had been a good day to be King of the Gnomes. He'd even gotten to ruin the Nymphs' day. And that was usually something he saved for special occasions. Or Saturdays. Or both. He'd even gone away no longer thinking of his troubled past with his one-time potential queen.

He was sure the gnomes would forgive him for selling Steve to a group of tourists last week. How couldn't they? Look at his sticker!

Mabel gave her forehead a dramatic wipe, then placed her hands on her hips proudly as she admired their handiwork. They couldn't have guessed the impact it had made on their family's latest encounter.

There, at their feet, stood the Bill statue - the victim to their unbridled, and heavily enjoyable aggression - its arms broken and pulverised at its sides.

"Let's see people make a deal with that ." She said, confidently. "Nobody's shaking those hands."

Kevin chuckled as he struck one of the little stone hands with the back of his blade, knocking off the fingers. "And you're sure this will work?"

"Of course it will. Bill always has to shake hands to do a deal. If he hasn't got hands, he hasn't got a deal, right? Nobody's gonna be shaking his statue's hand if he hasn't got any."

"I mean, sure, it makes sense." Kevin shrugged. "I'm not an expert in this stuff."

"I'm a total expert. I'm a Pines. We're experts in weird stuff by nature ."

They both looked proudly at the pile of limestone gravel that surrounded Bill's cracked triangular form, crushed into oblivion with only fingers being remotely discernable in the dark grey stoney wreckage.

It was quite a thorough job.

Kevin chuckled and leant on his axe, dusting off his hands. "Man, Mabel, you handled that like a pro."

She flashed him a wink. "Duh. I'm awesome at hitting things."

A girl after any Corduroy's heart.

"Even better is literally nobody but us is going to know we did it. Apart from him, maybe. And he's, like, stuck in there." She smiled, smugly, giving the statue a boot.

The lump of triangular, single-eyed limestone fell onto its back, becoming hopelessly embedded into the earth with a cloud of soft, grey dust flying into the air upon impact.

"I wonder what's going on back at Northwest manor." Kevin mumbled.

"Knowing those guys? Probably nothing." Mabel giggled, waving the idea away casually as she started climbing a tree for no discernable reason. "Dipper has a habit of making mountains out of molehills, and Pacifica's soooo dramatic it's unreal!"

"You're the biggest optimist I've ever met."

"You're the biggest hunk I've ever met! HAWW!" Came the typically chipper reply as she hung by her legs from a branch. "This was fun. A bit weird, but fun."

"It feels a bit weird going alone without my brothers and dad." Kevin smiled, weakly, rubbing the back of his head. "But yeah, I've kinda enjoyed it."

Mabel held his shoulder, before losing her grip and falling into his arms. It prompted an outbreak of flushed giggling as she climbed back to her feet, linking arms with her pompadoured partner enthusiastically. The two started heading for home, wordlessly agreeing it was time to get back. It felt a lot more natural to walk and talk when things were beginning to get serious.

"Hey, I get it. For years, me and Dipper were, like, stapled together. This is… this is kinda the first time anyone else has really gotten… y'know. Involved. Properly involved." She rubbed the back of her head. "It sounds crazy, now, but I guess I never thought I'd finally find that one ."

For Kevin - who had never really been in much of a relationship before - the language was unforgivably vague. "What one?"

Mabel squirmed, a slight blush tuning into her cheeks as she pouted. "I mean… my Pacifica."

"Pacifica?" Kevin stopped, cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "I dunno if I can live up to the richest, most popular girl in town."

The hyperactive twin with rosey cheeks laughed. "I don't want you to live up to Pacifica. That's not really what I mean. I mean, I like Pacifica and-"

"Like, like ?"

Mabel took another moment to think as she mulled it over. She couldn't deny it had flashed through her head once or twice - but she wasn't entirely sure if it was attraction or pure and simple admiration. Maybe a little envy. Like, summer romances were meant to be her thing. It's only natural she'd have the thought that things were a little 'wrong'.

And it's not that she didn't like girls. Hell, she liked everyone. She just wasn't sure if prissy bleached blonde rich girl was in her strata of 'I like this type of person'.

She bit her lip. Did she like Pacifica? Did she ever even consider the idea of-

"N-na, she's my brother's." She replied, firmly. "I don't do love triangles. That gets cray cray. And she's like… wayyyy too fancy, not nearly enough kittens, not nearly enough spontaneous dancing. She's a complete square."

There was a pause between them. Mabel briefly wondered if she was being mean. Was that mean? I mean, it was kinda true, but-

"Don't tell her I said that, though. What I meant is more finding my perfect match, like Dipper and Pacifica have."

Kevin snorted. "I don't think Pacifica and your brother are a perfect match. More the whole opposites attract thing. I think we're far more… y'know. Matchy."

"Yeah, but that's because we're way better. And cooler. And better looking." Mabel nodded sincerely. "We're the town's top power couple!"

The young man with the impressive quiff bit his lip as they kept walking. "Are you sure you really wanna be wrapped up in my family? I mean, we're pretty crazy. My Dad scares everyone. Even the mailman, and I'm pretty sure he's a werewolf."

"Hey, look, this was gonna happen sooner or later. My family and your family. Like, my brother drooled after your sister for most of last summer."

"...Seriously?"

"Oh yeah, I mean, totally obsessed."

Kevin contemplated the idea and wrinkled his nose, plunging his hands into his pockets as he kicked along one of the pieces of limestone that had once been Bill Cipher's left arm. "Gross."