I do not own Gravity Falls.
Prompt: Carols
Radio Mabel
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the waaaay! Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, hey!"
The music from Mabel's CD player blared throughout the house, the upbeat holiday song playing for what Stan believed to be the millionth time.
Groaning, Stan pressed the couch cushions against his ears, trying to block out the caterwauling of his niece. He loved the girl to death, and she was an extremely creative, talented child, but singing did not fit in her repertoire.
Jingle Bells was Mabel's favourite Christmas carol, and according to Dipper she would play it on repeat throughout the month of December. Stan had endured almost two days of the same Christmas song. The same dang song about bells and horses dashing through snow and more bells.
The television was playing some old Christmas movie he recalled seeing in the early days of his own childhood. But with the couch cushions blocking his hearing, he was pretty much watching a silent film. Heaving a sigh, he glanced over at his nephew.
Dipper was curled up in the armchair. A thick book was propped up against his knees and his eyes darted back and forth as he devoured the words. He seemed to be immune to the racket, but the slight quirk of his lips told him that the boy was amused.
"Think this is funny, do you?" growled Stan, reluctantly lowering the cushions and flinching as "A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a riiiiide," burst into his eardrums.
Dipper let his smile bloom into a grin. "Kind of, yeah."
"It's the same two-minute song over and over," complained Stan, massaging his temples. "How the heck do you handle it?"
"Years of exposure has built up an immunity," replied Dipper.
"Go tell her to turn it off."
"No way! If you don't like it, do it yourself. Or join Ford in the basement."
"This is my house—"
"Technically, it's never been your house. It was your brother's house, and now it's Soos' house."
"Shut up." Stan threw a cushion at the boy. "Anyway, it's partly my house and I will not be forced into hiding."
"Good luck," drawled Dipper, going back to his book.
Stan stood up and strode for the attic, where the twins resided whenever they came over to visit. The door was wide open and he walked straight into the room, where he found Mabel dancing wildly across the floor with Waddles, singing her heart out.
Shaking his head, he went over to the CD player, which rested on her bedside table. He reached out for the 'stop' button, but before he could hit it, he was startled by a sudden, "Nooooo!"
Mabel, having seen what her great-uncle planned to do, rushed over and threw herself on top of the CD player, muffling the sound in the process. "No," she repeated.
"Sweetie, there are a million other Christmas songs to play besides this one," said Stan in exasperation. "Why does it have to be Jingle Bells all the time?"
"It's my favourite."
"I know, but a guy can only take so much of the same two-minute song." Stan stared at Mabel with a pleading expression. "You've got twenty other Christmas songs on this disc. There's gotta be other ones that you like."
Mabel eyed him for a moment before giving a nod. "All right, I'll start using some variety," she agreed. "But can I play Jingle Bells for the rest of the day?"
"Why not?" conceded Stan, reaching out to pinch Mabel's nose playfully. "But only for today. After that, I don't want to hear that song for the rest of the year."
Giggling, she dropped to the floor, the song once more blaring clearly. "Love you!" she called as the opening verse began for the umpteenth time.
"Yeah, yeah."
Stan headed back downstairs, shot Dipper a 'don't-say-anything' glare, and went to join his brother in the basement lab, the only place in the house that was out of reach of Mabel's gleeful carolling.
"Dashing through the snow," he sang softly as he stepped into the office, where his brother was working on some sort of gizmo.
"In a one-horse open sleigh," continued Ford automatically.
The two paused, realized what they had just done, and burst into laughter.
