"Order up!"

Lazy Susan smiled as she picked up the still hot plates in her, by now, practically asbestos-fleshed hands, navigating the counter of Greasy's Diner with surprising tact. It was, after all, a walk she had now done for over twenty years.

Greasy's Diner was everything she knew, and, without fail, it was everything she wanted. It was where old friends, new friends and very old friends could come and go, where there seemed to always be pleasant old faces and familiarity at every turn.

She tapped the same old woodpecker out of her way as she roamed over to table 13, where Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Ford and Pacifica were sitting happily - the latter waiting for her shift to start, already bedecked in the uniform.

The warm hit of the sunlight, the sweet smell of maple sausage links, the sound of the milkshake mixer (Gladys, who was now on her 15th year of service and had a right arm like a redwood) and the friendly, welcoming chatter of the townsfolk, refrained by pleasant sizzling and the bubbling of coffee pots.

Greasy's was not perfect, that was for sure - but it was home, and for Susan, it was a lifelong passion. Along with yarn and cats. And her decorative plate collection displaying iconic scenes from the Austrian Killer Robot films. Albert Schwartzkopf was a hunk .

She strolled over to her favourite table, sliding the plates onto the table with a smile and her familiar, enthusiastic albeit unmistakably nasal drone. "How are we all doing todayyyy?"

"We're doin' great, sweetie. How's the joint?"

"Jointy as ever, Stanley! Always better for the sight of you at my tables, huhh?" the good natured woman replied, stroking her hand down Stanley's coarse chin.

Pacifica, Mabel and Dipper all recoiled. Ford just pulled the newspaper higher over his face and grumbled something about his brother being an absolute lunatic for even considering such a relationship.

"Ya know flattery gets you everywhere with Stan Pines, sweetheart. Not in front of the kids, huh?"

"Or me, thank you very much." Ford mumbled.

"Shut ya trap, Sixer."

Susan smiled and tusselled Pacifica's hair warmly. "So long as y'all don't distract my best waitress for too long, you've got refills on the house. Just don't be a nuisance, Stanleyyyy!"

Pacifica giggled and fought off her boss's tusselling hand half heartedly. "Hey, deputy manager, remember?"

"Well, deputy manager, maybe try eating your breakfast instead of holding hands with Dipper, or you'll end up being late to work." Susan smirked. "For all I know, you'll end up in the broom cupboard halfway during the shift!"

Ford choked on his coffee and glared, furiously.

"HA! That's frickin' hilarious!" Stan cackled, thumping a meaty fist onto the table. "I bet this place doesn't even have a broom cupboard!"

"Well, there's the generator hut round back." Pacifica corrected him.

Dipper dropped his fork and glanced at Pacifica with wide eyes. The Northwest hear cleared her throat awkwardly and went back to eating. "J-just saying."

"So that's where we gotta keep an eye out, huh?" Mabel beamed, poking her brother's arm. "You two gonna end up getting scandalous?! I've read enough age-inappropriate romantic-fiction to-"

"Mabel."

Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Ford lowered his newspaper and raised an eyebrow. "Generator? Why would this place need a generator?"

"Hey, until I linked this joint up, it was all off grid, Ford." Stan said. "I taught Suse how to hook up through the lamppost outside. Ended up in hospital for two weeks with electrical burns."

Stan sipped his coffee contentedly while Ford glared at him in disbelief.

There was an awkward pause. Susan stood there vacantly with her usual friendly, aimless smile, which only made the increasing tensions even worse. She rocked back and forth on her feet gently, before preparing to potter away back to her duties-

"This generator. A Wentworth one, I take it?" Ford asked, folding up his newspaper.

"Oh yes, Mr. Other Stanley!"

"I believe I used some Wentworth components in my por-... projects." Ford smiled, ignoring the name 'other Stanley' with surprising technique… "Your family was quite a name around these parts."

Susan beamed. "They used to say that the Corduroys, Wentworths and Northwests built this town. Mostly forgotten now, but my family's work is everywhere. The bridge, the old railroad, the church-"

"And the abandoned cake factory up North." Ford smiled. "Quite an accomplishment."

"Cake factory?!" Mabel gasped. "There's a cake factory, and you never took me there?! Whaaaat? That's like, the most Mabel thing!"

"Sweetie," Stan interjected. "You need ta choose one. A cake factory, the petting zoo, the yarn shop, the golf course and the candy emporium can't all be the 'most Mabel things'."

"I am a lady with incredible variety." Mabel replied, haughtily, sipping from her super-choco-creamo-hot-chocolate-cocoalicious as if it was a cup of fine Darjeeling tea, pinkie out and nose lifted. "I am a lady of many, many tastes. All of them super sweet, super cute, and super awesome."

Pacifica smirked. "Do you even think about what you're saying half the time?"

"Who needs to?" Mabel grinned, a spoon now balancing on her nose. "You guys worry too much about stuff. Happy-go-lucky is the best way to make sure you don't go nuts!"

"Some people might say you're already nuts." She said, snarkily.

"Those people are probably crazy, dumb, or both. Or super grumpy and cynical and repressed."

"Interesting theory."

"From the most interesting person at the table." Mabel nodded.

"As I was saying," Ford finally overtook. "The old Dinkies snack cake factory-"

Everyone paused as Susan, to their surprise, had left.

"How rude." Ford blinked.

"Yeah… that isn't like Susan." Pacifica blinked. "Like, at all."

"You think she's okay?" Dipper asked quietly.

"I'll talk to her."

Stan nodded. Pacifica found it kinda sweet how concerned he was about the woman. "You do that, sweets. And uh- hey, see if you can find out her favourite dinner date, huh? Other than Hungry Fellow meals or somethin'."

Paz nodded sincerely - before blinking and wrinkling her sharp nose. "You cooked her Hungry Fellow for a date?"

"Hey, it was the Salisbury Steak. That's pretty fancy stuff. Costs like three bucks apiece. I even added a bay leaf on each one. Or some kinda leaf, anyway."

"Ever the romantic." Ford rolled his eyes with a smirk. "You have this to look forward to, Pacifica. The Pines' idea of romance runs in the family."

"If Dipper tried to bring me a TV dinner for a romantic meal, I'd drown him in the gravy."

The family chuckled and went back to their idle conversations about any old nonsense - all except Stanley and Pacifica, who couldn't help but pause and glance over towards the Diner - where Susan was no longer to be seen. They looked at each other with a raised eyebrow and a twisted lip.

The Northwest heir realised, of course, that it meant another disruption to a peaceful day in Gravity Falls. God forbid she went a day of work without some kind of mystery or puzzle rearing its strange little head.

She huffed and finished her coffee, giving Dipper a great big kiss on the cheek, a tap of the nose and a wide smile - barely giving him a moment to speak before she slipped out of the booth to start her shift. "See you all later, guys."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"What wouldn't you do, Mabel?" Pacifica replied, flicking her hair.

"I'll think of something!" came the chipper - and far too loud - reply.

Dipper finally felt his cheeks cool down and his eyes stop following his girlfriend. He blinked as he tried to get his focus back - then glanced to Ford. "Abandoned cake factory?"

Ford smiled at his young apprentice. "I figured that'd peak your interests."