I do not own Gravity Falls.
Prompt: Oven
Holiday Kitchen Mishap
Mabel was well-used to operating an oven. With parents that were workaholics and babysitters who weren't very creative with cooking, she learned quickly. She'd been using the oven and stove before she was perhaps old enough to do so. But she was always careful, always attentive, and used oven mitts.
Well…most of the time.
When she was in a rush, she sometimes forgot. And as she detected the smell of burning sugar cookies, she was up and flying through the Shack to investigate. She spotted her snowman-shaped timer on the counter, ticking insistently. Her eyes swivelled to the clock stationed near the kitchen door and hissed out, "Sugar!"
Her ever reliable timer had finally failed her, some mechanism on the inside breaking so that it did not go off when it was supposed to. She hurried towards the oven, yanked open the door and grabbed hold of the metal tray without thinking.
"Ouch!"
She jerked backwards, the tray clattering to the floor and sending cookies scattering in all directions. Her fingers already red and blistering, she rushed towards the sink, cranking the tap to 'cold'. She stuck her aching hands underneath the spray of water just as Ford hurried into the kitchen.
"What's wrong?" he asked in concern.
"I burnt myself," she answered, flinching against the sting.
Ford spotted the open oven and strode forwards, avoiding pieces of broken cookie. He closed the door and turned off the heat. He spotted a pair of green and red oven mitts on the counter. "You were wearing your oven mitts, weren't you?"
Mabel shifted her eyes back and forth. "Er…I sorta lost my brain for a second. The cookies were burning and all I could think of was that I had to get them out. Then the oven bit me."
"You ought to be more careful," Ford chided. He went to stand beside Mabel and gently took her wrist, removing her hand from the cold water and inspecting her burn. "Wet some gauze and wrap it around the burn."
Mabel nodded and hurried to retrieve the first-aid item. She returned a minute later with a long piece of the sturdy bandage and doused it with water. She wrapped it around her afflicted spot and flexed her fingers experimentally.
"Feels fine," she declared with a smile.
"We'll check on it tonight. I'll help you clean up the cookies."
He retrieved a broom and dustpan from the hall closet and Mabel took control of the dustpan. Ford swept up the slightly-burnt crumbs and the brunette deposited them into the trash. She let out a sigh of disappointment. "So much for that. Guess I'll have to start from scratch."
"We can do it tomorrow. Give your injury time to heal."
Mabel perked up at his use of pronoun. "You mean you'll make them with me?" she asked hopefully.
Ford wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed affectionately. "I'd rather be around to supervise. This is the time of year where kitchen accidents increase substantially."
Though Mabel would prefer to avoid any kitchen disasters, she figured getting burnt by an oven making Christmas cookies wasn't so bad if it meant Ford would assist her with her holiday baking efforts.