Hey guys! This story is typing itself up quicker than I thought. At the moment I'm setting the scene and establishing our characters, and what situations they find themselves in these days. The action is definitely coming very soon! I'm aiming for a more realistic portrayal of them, with all the problems that come with being grown ups. I hope you enjoy yourselves, and as always, read and review!

Also, I don't own Gravity Falls.

"And then, get this, he told me TO GO DANCE ON A PIG!" Mabel's laugh echoed around the dining room, Dipper's chuckling joining it in fast succession. He smiled in satisfaction as he took in his surroundings and reluctantly took another bite of stew. Mabel had a habit of getting bored quickly, and when not grading papers or knitting, on a weekend it seemed Mabel loved nothing more than taking a paintbrush to her home in some effort to improve it, or make more unique. A painting one of her students had given to her here, a random homemade mural there… on his last visit, she had painted the walls a deep sea blue and stencilled dolphins leaping through the waves. This time it seemed she was going through a "shabby chic" episode, which to Dipper meant "paint the walls cream and sew pink lace on everything". But amongst all the oestrogen that surrounded him, the young man chatted along with his beloved sister and pushed his beef and apple stew around the plate.

"And then I said-"

"Mabel, what's this in my dinner?"

Mabel looked up, her smiling eyes glittering. "Raisins, I thought they'd lift the taste a bit," She grinned and took a bite from the steaming bowl before her. Dipper gulped and looked down at the bowl before him, three quarters full from his valiant attempts to finish the meal that she had prepared 'especially for his return'.

Mabel could do many things. She could knit, she could decorate, she could get 30 hyped-up eight year olds to learn something about the English Tudor Family, but cooking?

The local KFC was sounding fantastic right now. Not that he'd ever tell her, of course.

"Hey bro, what's up? You've been pushing that carrot around about five times now!"

Dipper looked up and met his sister's eyes. She could always tell when something was on his mind, all through their lives together. She had even given it a name; the Twin Sense. But truth be told, Dipper didn't feel like bringing the evening down with his relationship woes and job frustrations. Instead, he took in the sight of Mabel with an air of interest. Like him, her face had stayed fairly round and childlike, probably even more so. She had put on a little weight as the years had rolled by. She wasn't fat, but she was ever so slightly cuddly, and she had kept some of the length of her thick chestnut hair. Her love for sweaters had never waned, but she had also moved onto cardigans and boleros over long slogan t shirts and dresses. But what really made her shine was her smile. It seemed to beam straight out of her and caused her cheeks to seem positively chipmunk- like. In short, she was adorable.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Mabel laughed. "Do I have something in my teeth, or what?"

"No, no, Mabel," Dipper grinned and forced another spoon of stew down him. "I was just thinking,"

"About what?" She leant forward on the table, interested.

"About how proud I am of you," Dipper beamed.

Mabel gasped and leant over the table to bat his on the head with a flat hand. "Shut UP! Don't be silly, you silly goose!"

Dipper ran his hand through his hair and leant back. "Yeah, it's true. Look at you, all successful, living in your own home and everything,"

Mabel grinned and flushed at the compliment. "I'm proud of you too, you know,"

"Wha…"

"Of course! I'm always telling my friends at work about you. My class loves hearing about Dipper Pines, the archaeologist!"

Dipper was at a loss for words. His sister didn't just talk about him with her friends, but told her class all about his job? He couldn't help but feel a little touched.

"I was thinking the other night while I was grading their papers," Mabel pointed her spoon at the young man before her. "I was thinking, maybe you could come give a talk, you know? About all your adventures studying bones and discovering lost cities!"

Dipper's eyes widened at this. Surely she couldn't think this about his crappy job? Surely she'd noticed his car, listened to his many complaining phone calls, noticed the numerous bruises and bug bits that peppered his arms?

He was about to open his mouth to deny it all. He was about to tell her that he couldn't, that he was a fraud, and was nothing more than a badly paid grave-digger, and had as much to do with lost cities as Mabel did with wearing black. But as he looked into his sister's eyes, wide with anticipation and barely contained excitement…

How on earth could he refuse?

"Alright, alright, Mabel. I'll do it. Just for you, you understand," Dipper sighed. "But what should I even tell them?"

"I dunno," Mabel thoughtfully chewed. "Tell them about history, how you excavate sites, and all that,"

Dipper swallowed, and took a drink of water. He needed to change the subject, and fast.

"So, what's going on with Grunkle Stan and the others, Mabel?" He enquired to his sister as she slurped up another spoonful.

"Oh! Grunkle Stan is great! He's still at the Mystery Shack of course. He's getting older now, so Soos has a lot more jobs now!" Mabel grinned toothily.

"Soos! How is the old bro?" Dipper rested his chin on his hands, eager to hear more about his old friend.

"He's great! He turned 38 last week," Mabel said. "I couldn't ever imagine Gravity Falls without Soos,"

Dipper chuckled to himself. It was true, Gravity Falls without Soos was almost impossible to comprehend. Then he thought of another old figure in his life. He smiled reminiscently to himself, allowing a wave of quiet to fall on the room, the only sounds being the clink of spoon against china as Mabel ate. Then, out of the blue, Mabel broke the peace.

"Wendy's good too!" Mabel's face broke out into a sly grin.

"How did you-"

"It's so obvious," She smiled. "But Wendy's doing well. She's still here, you know,"

Dipper's ears pricked up at this news. He'd love to catch up with his first crush; they had shared many adventures in the past together. But if anyone were to leave Gravity Falls, he'd have thought it would have been her. With her laid back and kind attitude to life, she had struck him as someone who would head for a city, for at least a few years.

"Still here?" Dipper scratched his chin.

"She does! She doesn't work at the moment, though,"

Ahhh. That explained it. She was obviously happily married with someone. Not that he was surprised; she'd be around 28, now. He sank a little in his seat, and absent-mindedly chewed a lump of stewed apple. Mabel continued to chat away, and Dipper found himself looking at Mabel's photographs that littered her walls. One of them as babies (his birthmark prominent even then), one of her old friends Candy and Grenda, another of Grunkle Stan, Their parent's twentieth wedding anniversary, college friends, a certificate, and…

"Who's that guy?" He found himself pointing to a photograph of a young man, around the thirty year old mark. He was smiling and holding up a large fish.

"That's Marcus," Mabel said with a little giggle. "He's my boyfriend,"

"Oh yeah! You told me about him! How long have you two been together now?"

"About a year," Mabel answered. Dipper was a little taken aback at this news; he couldn't have been absent from his sister's life for so long! He felt a little sick at the thought. Time was racing away from his grasp, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"So, this Marcus…" Dipper coughed. Mabel looked up at him, mid slurp. "He treats you good, right? He does work and bring in a paycheck?"

Mabel sighed a little. Dipper's ears pricked up at his drooping sister. It was like watching a flower wilt. "Okay Mabel, what's going on?"

"It's nothing,"

"Obviously it isn't, Mabel. What is going on?"

Mabel began staring at her bowl, as though that may give her some magical answer.

"He's been a bit distant lately. He's been at work pulling extra shifts, he doesn't visit me as often, and it's all my fault,"

Dipper's heart sank and he took his sister's hands into his own. It looked like she was holding back tears as she looked further into the bowl.

"You know, you can tell me anything, Mabel," He squeezed her fingers gently. "What's been going on?"

Mabel gulped and breathed a little.

"It's my fault," She let loose a single tear. "I went to the doctors for some tests last month,"

Dipper's ears definitely pricked up now. This was definitely news to him; she hadn't said anything to him about doctors.

"And… it turns out…" She gulped a little. Her lip wobbled. "I don't think I can have children, Dipper,"

Dipper blinked and reeled at this shock of news. No one had said anything to him about THIS! Instantly, Dipper had realised how selfish he had been, how wrapped up in his tiny life, while his sister had obviously been tearing herself up at this terrible news. Standing up and walking around the table, he pulled her up into a standing position, and silently took her into his arms. She felt so small, so delicate and fragile in his arms, that all he wanted to do was protect her. And as for this Marcus…

"It's my fault," She muffled into his armpit. "I told him and he started to take all these extra shifts,"

Dipper shushed her and began to stroke her hair, letting his chin rest on the crown of her head. He smiled despite himself, for being able to do that. He heard her take two deep, ragged breaths, felt her shoulders shake a little, and she calmed down. They pulled away slightly, and she looked up at him with watery sienna eyes. A small smile pulled the colour back to her cheeks.

"Let's go out, huh? We could go see Wendy or Soos or Grunkle, we could go out. There's an ice cream parlour nearby. Let's get ice cream!"

Dipper laughed as he recognised this woman as his sister. He wiped a stray tear away with his thumb and let go, and she reached for her handbag.

"You coming Dipper?"

The young man looked behind him at the table of bowls. He noticed that Mabel's was completely empty, and his was almost half full.

"In a second, Mabel. I still haven't finished dinner!"

When they left, both bowls were scraped clean.