I do not own Gravity Falls.


Prompt: Ribbon


Christmas Braids

Sitting patiently on a wooden stool in the bathroom, Mabel played with the decorative silver buttons on her cherry red dress as Stan struggled to braid her long brunette hair. He scowled as the half-done braid came undone, spilling down the girl's back.

"This is ridiculous," he grumbled, smoothing out the piece of red ribbon for yet another attempt. "You shouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to do this."

"Do you want me to bring up a video on the computer?" asked Mabel, glancing at her great-uncle through the mirror. "There's lots of simple how-to tutorials that can help."

"I don't need some random person telling me how to make a braid," said Stan huffily, gathering up the girl's hair once more. "I can figure this out myself. I've seen Wendy braid her hair enough times. She always does it when she gets bored."

Mabel sat as still as possible as she felt Stan's fingers course through her hair, separating it into three different strands and starting to thread them together in a meticulous pattern. He let out a hiss of annoyance a minute later when he once more messed up, resulting in him having to do it over again.

"I can just put my hair in a ponytail," she offered, not wanting to cause Stan trouble. "The ribbon will look just as good holding up a ponytail."

"No," said Stan stubbornly, eyes narrowed in concentration as he started over, his thick fingers moving in the silky hair carefully. "You want a braid, you're getting a braid."

They were probably going to be late to church at this rate, but not by much. Stan refused to give up on this braid, the one Mabel had requested while extending that red piece of ribbon to him.

Part of the deal of getting the twins for Christmas was taking them to church on Christmas Eve. Though Stan wasn't particularly religious, he was more than willing to do so for the sake of having his niece and nephew for the holidays. Ford, while a man of science, never had any disputes or disagreements with any religion or their followers.

Silence descended upon them as Stan focussed, moving his hands in a rhythmic manner. A triumphant grin crossed his face when he finally managed to form a decent braid and quickly fastened it in place with the red ribbon, tying a neat bow.

"Ha! I knew I could do it!"

Mabel hopped off the stool and beamed at her reflection in the mirror. "Thanks, Grunkle Stan!" she exclaimed, doing a little twirl. "Do I look all right?"

"Cute as a button." Stan tweaked her nose affectionately. "Let's blow this popsicle stand. We don't want to be late."

Linking hands, the two departed, Mabel's braid bouncing lightly against her back with every step she took.