if they do
Mabel wakes up with a start as something jostles her. She blinks and rubs at her eyes, disoriented by the sensation of motion. It takes her a second to remember she's in Soos' truck. Wendy has taken the wheel and Soos is slumped against the window, hat pulled low as he gently snores. Mabel is sandwiched between them and the shared heat makes her want to drift off again.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Wendy says. Her voice has the odd muted quality of a long car ride, the constant droning of the engine and the road beneath the tires deadening ears. "You crashed hard, man."
"Worth it," Mabel mumbles. She yawns and stretches as best she can.
Wendy shoots Mabel a sly smile. "Hey, cover your mouth and then look in the back."
"Cover my mouth?" Mabel repeats.
"Yeah, so you don't squeal."
Mabel manages to tuck her legs underneath herself and tugs at her seat belt until it's loose enough for her to turn around. She peers over the top of the seat. Dipper and Pacifica are both asleep, which isn't unexpected. Dipper is resting against his door and Pacifica is prone in the remaining space. Pacifica isn't lying on him or anything like that. Mabel is about to ask Wendy what the big deal is when she sees it.
Dipper's right arm is on the arm rest, but his left drops limply down behind Pacifica's hair. It isn't until Mabel looks more closely that she realizes his arm is in her hair, draped over her neck, and his hand is by her chin. Pacifica's left arm is serving as her pillow; her right arm lies on the seat in front of her and her hand is tangled with Dipper's.
Mabel claps both of her hands over her mouth and shudders violently with the force of her unvoiced excitement.
She takes in the sight for a few seconds longer, committing it to memory, then spins around and slides down onto her seat with an enormous grin on her face.
"I just noticed a few minutes ago," Wendy says.
"Oh my gosh, they're so cute together!" Mabel squeaks with glee. "Where's Soos' camera? Soos!"
"Don't wake the big guy," Wendy cautions. "Dude's put in some serious driving time."
Mabel calms somewhat. Wendy has a point. Dipper won't want her to take a picture, anyway. Neither will Pacifica, for that matter. They're both selfish for not wanting to share their cuteness with the world, but that's an argument for another time.
"So, what's the deal?" Wendy asks. "I mean, I know Dipper is all about helping her out—and I'm still on board—but since when were they all cozy?"
Before answering, Mabel scrutinizes Wendy for any sign of jealousy. Sure, Wendy had gently turned Dipper down and hadn't ever reciprocated his feelings, but it might be different with another girl in the picture. However, as Mabel presumed, Wendy isn't like that; she doesn't look jealous, just curious and even excited.
Mabel is also excited. Probably too excited, given that she blurts out, "Pacifica was in his bed!"
Wendy's hands slip down the steering wheel as her eyes go huge. "Whoa-ho, Dipper! Zero to sixty, man!"
As hilarious as Wendy's reaction is, Mabel knows she needs be more specific if she ever wants Dipper to speak to her again. "She just fell asleep after they talked about serious stuff," Mabel admits, even though it makes the story so much less interesting.
"If it was anyone but Dipper, I probably wouldn't buy it," Wendy muses. "Lee tried that on his mom one time when he got caught with his girlfriend. You can guess how that went over."
Mabel leans towards the other girl conspiratorially. "Okay, so maybe they weren't up to anything like that, but Dipper was pretty awkward and sweaty for someone just trying to help a 'friend.'"
Wendy rolls her eyes. "Heh, come on, goof. When is he not?" She looks in the rearview mirror again. "Still… there's gotta be something going on there if they're holding hands. Unless you guys forgot to tell me we have a buddy system."
Mabel immediately grabs Wendy's right hand off the steering wheel. "Buddy check!"
Wendy laughs and tugs her hand away. "I need that to drive, bud." She sobers slightly. "Mabel, I know you've got, like, cartoon hearts for eyes right now, but you might want to lay off your bro. Whatever's going on with him and Pacifica, that's kinda their biz."
"What?! Pfffftttt!" Mabel blows a raspberry loud enough to cause Soos to snort in his sleep. "Wendy, it's Dipper. He needs my expertness, he's hopeless with girls."
Wendy shrugs easily and glances at the rearview mirror again. "Looks like he's doing alright to me. I'm just sayin', go easy on the guy."
"You don't go easy on Dipper. You gently push him until, like a majestic snowball, he rolls on his own."
"Mabel—"
"Majestic."
"Mabel," Wendy begins again, looking skeptical, "I know you were pushing him to talk to me. I'm not blind and deaf."
"He got it off his chest and everyone felt better," Mabel says airily, hoping to move past that little misadventure.
"Dude, you locked us in with a shapeshifter just so he'd fess up," Wendy says, not moving past it at all. "How is that 'gentle?'"
"I thought it was a closet!"
"That's not the point. You literally pushed him." Wendy sighs. "It's not just you. I know I could have handled that better. I thought that he'd get over it, you know, take a hint when I hooked up with Robbie. I think I did okay when it came down to it, which is great because I was so bummed out thinking that he might be weird the rest of the summer, but… really, I put it all on him. He was afraid of getting rejected, but I was afraid of screwing up this awesome friendship that came out of nowhere. Man, I wish you guys had come to Gravity Falls years ago. Maybe we could have met before puberty got all up in our junk."
Mabel's always loved her summers, but in retrospect it's true that she can't help but think of every previous one as a wasted opportunity.
Wendy continues, "It all worked out and that's awesome, but at the same time, it's like, did 'pushing' him ever make it easier? I'm not saying you don't want what's best for him because I know you do, but did you ever really think he had a chance with me?"
Mabel is a hopeless romantic, but she's not an idiot. "Not really. I just wanted him to stop making himself all crazy about it."
"Well, it looks to me," Wendy says, jerking a thumb over her shoulder, "that he actually might have a chance this time. Who knows?" She shrugs again. "I don't. They probably don't either. But Pacifica isn't me, like, at all. If you lock her in a closet with him, she'll, I don't know, strangle him or something."
Mabel purses her lips contemplatively. "So you would suggest a different approach…"
Wendy rolls her eyes and laughs with more than a bit of exasperation. "At least I can tell Dipper I tried. You're Mabel: You won't stop until you're bridesmaid."
"Wendy, I get what you're saying. And I am so sorry you almost ended up shapeshifter chow because I wanted Dipper to stop being a butt. But may I point out that Dipper still wouldn't admit it even when you were about to become shapeshifter chow?" Mabel counters.
Wendy shudders slightly. "Dude wouldn't 'fess until he thought I was dead. Okay, point taken."
Soos suddenly shifts in place against the window and sits up with a yawn. He takes off his cap and runs a hand through his hair, blinking against the sunlight. "Wow. Where are we?"
"Morgan Hill?" Wendy says uncertainly, peering at nearby signs.
"It's not too much further to San Jose and then we'll be back in the Bay Area," Mabel says. She's not exactly a geography expert, but she knows the area around Piedmont fairly well from family trips.
"You wanna tag out?" Soos asks Wendy, holding out a hand.
"Nah, I'm good. Stay fresh for the second leg back," Wendy tells him.
That makes Mabel remember that Wendy and Soos will be leaving again all too soon, and that's not something she wants to consider. Instead, she ponders what will be awaiting them back in Piedmont.
It's not that she hasn't given it any thought at all. She had just been so swept up in the momentum of Dipper's sudden rescue mission, a grand gesture of friendship that took them six hours away into the unknown. It's a worthwhile pursuit even without concrete outcomes. It's adventurous. It's like summer again. Wendy and Soos are here and there's nothing but the open road ahead. Mabel honestly hasn't cared much what the end game might be. They were going to get Pacifica and spend time together in the process, and that was all the plan she'd needed.
Still, the question had bounced around the back of her brain a few times, most notably once they had found Pacifica. And now that they're on their way, Pacifica safely ensconced in the back seat with Dipper (so cute so cute so cute), the question has become immediate. Now what? What's the next step? What's going to happen?
She needs to talk to Dipper. He always has a plan; or if he doesn't, they can work one out together. She's spent considerable effort intentionally wrecking some of his plans just to get him to loosen up and embrace spontaneity, but not this time. This time she could use some of that old-fashioned obsessive Dipper list-making.
They're in over their heads. Which seems like such an absurd thought because, what, they weren't in over their heads when wax statues were coming to life or they were a bazillion years in the future competing for a time wish? But that was before. Now they are in the land of adults. There's no use for a grappling hook or a journal of the supernatural. These are problems that can't be beheaded with a fake candle or overcome with a little ingenuity and cheating in D&D&MD.
Mabel can fix a torn sweater or a ripped sock, but she can't fix someone's life.
Doesn't mean she's going to stop trying. Because—and this is a new thought, one she's just beginning to poke at—maybe that idea, the 'land of adults,' is partially an excuse. Maybe now that she's back home and under her parents' wing, she's letting go of her summer momentum. Maybe she was proactive and capable in Gravity Falls because Grunkle Stan let her live in such a loose orbit. Things were different there, obviously, she's not stupid. The world outside of the summer isn't the same. But accepting that shouldn't mean feeling helpless.
"So, is Pacifica going to crash with you guys? 'Cause there's room at the Shack, but that's like, way far away," Soos says. He's just thinking out loud, but sometimes Soos has a way of illuminating things in his own inimitable fashion.
"I think that's kind of up in the air," Wendy is saying.
Mabel jumps in. "Of course that's what's happening! In fact, you should all spend the night!" She wraps her right arm around Soos' neck and flails her left around until it lands on Wendy's shoulder. "SHACK CREW SLEEPOVER!"
"Yes!" Soos instantly exults. "I'm gonna eat so many s'mores!"
Wendy is more hesitant. "Uh, is that gonna fly with your folks?"
"Wendy, Wendy—come on. This girl knows how to get a sleepover going," Mabel casually assures her.
Wendy casts a fond glance her way. "Hey, if it's happening, you know I'm down."
"Oh, it's happening," Mabel states.
And it definitely is, because she is extremely motivated. She will do whatever it takes to stretch out every possible second with Soos and Wendy, and if that means utilizing every trick in her sleepover-getting arsenal, then that's what is going to happen. She's talked her parents into allowing sleepovers with far less on the line. She's not failing now.
Besides, it gets Pacifica's foot in the door. Mabel doesn't know what Dipper has in mind, but she'll do her part.