I do not own Gravity Falls or Jingle Bells.

Prompt: Bells

I Hear Those Sleigh Bells Ringing

They were everywhere.

On every branch of the Christmas tree in the living room, nearly obstructing the glittery baubles and flashing multicoloured lights from view. They hung on every doorknob, causing a melody every time someone entered or left a room. They dangled from the random hooks embedded in the ceiling, rested on the mantle and were attached to nearly every holiday sweater Mabel owned.

Which made complete sense, considering the girl was the reason for the abundance of decorative sleigh bells.

After the first few days, Ford managed to stop jumping at every jangle and flinching at every clatter. Dozens of times a day the bells would go off, disturbed by something or other and eventually it just became a background noise that was mostly ignorable. Dipper didn't even bat an eye, which was due to nearly a decade of exposure to Mabel's enthusiasm for the holidays. Stan would try to sneak some of the bells out of the house a few at a time, but they were always replaced just as quickly.

As irritating as the bells could be, no one said anything. Christmas only came once a year and there was really no harm (besides losing a slight grip on their sanity) in letting Mabel have her fun. If Ford had to pick between wading through a swell of bells or listening to Jingle Bells being played on repeat for two weeks straight, he'd rather take the physical bells.

But when he opened the fridge and discovered a small, red-ribbon adorned silver bell taped to the light, he decided a line needed to be drawn. Snagging a bottle of juice, he removed the bell and went in search of his niece.

"Mabel?" he asked, knocking on the attic door.

"Come in!"

He entered the space, which was decked out with holly, green, gold, red and silver garland, a miniature Christmas tree with tiny ornaments and more bells. Dipper was in his bed, engrossed in his book, and Mabel looked up from her computer expectantly.

"Mabel, I have two questions for you. The first one," he began, raising the silver bell, "is where do you get all of these?"

"I collect them," said Mabel cheerfully. "Every Christmas I look for new bells to add to my collection. I've got almost two hundred. Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Indeed," agreed Ford. "My second question; why was this one in the fridge?"

"I thought it could use some festivity."

"I appreciate your excitement, but perhaps you can stick with reindeer and Santa magnets, hmm? I don't think bells were meant for refrigerators."

A sheepish expression crossing her face, Mabel guessed, "Too many bells?"

"A tad," returned Ford, moving to tickle her chin affectionately. "But I admire your Christmas spirit."

"I can relocate some of them up here if you want."

"It's fine, dear. This way I'll know where you are in this house at any given time."

"How many bells do you think Grunkle Stan has gotten rid of?" asked Mabel, knowing full well of her uncle's attempted efforts.

Ford laughed. "He hasn't thrown any out. He merely stashed them in his closet."

"Huh. I looked there. He must have a secret hidey-hole," mused Mabel. Giving her head a slight shake, she then apologized, "Sorry if the bells were bothering you."

"They weren't," assured Ford. "I just think we've exceeded the amount of space where we can put them."

"Gotcha."

"Thanks, dear."

Silver bell in hand, Ford departed from their quarters and went downstairs. He ventured into the gift shop and reached the vending machine, where he typed in the code and went through the door. He strode down the steps, pausing when he reached his lab and staring at the spectacle in front of him in slight disbelief.

There were bells everywhere.

He wasn't sure how long he gaped, but he was startled out of his trance at the sound of feet falling against the steps. Mabel soon appeared, breathless and wide-eyed. She took a nervous glance at him and at the near-endless string of gold and silver bells that dominated his workspace. They were strung around tables, cabinets, computers and bookshelves, a continuous soft jingling filling the air.

"I was going to tell you, I swear," insisted Mabel. "I just forgot. I can totally clean them up."

After a short moment of blank staring, Ford then proceeded to swing her into his arms and tickle her sides, where she broke in shrieks of helpless laughter.