I do not own Gravity Falls.
Prompt: Relatives
Christmas With the Grunkles
The holidays were a time to spend with family. For those who lived far away to reunite with loved ones, for extended family to join together and celebrate, to create everlasting memories and bicker as only relatives can do.
Christmas had always been special for Dipper and Mabel. Though their parents worked a lot, it was the one day they managed to have off. They would open presents together in the morning, watch movies in the afternoon and have a full feast for dinner.
Now that they spent the holidays with their great-uncles, Dipper and Mabel started to notice differences in the ways that they celebrated. Their parents would always wake them up early and they would be neatly dressed. Dipper and Mabel were often the ones to wake up their great-uncles, Stan in particular, since he liked to sleep in. There was no getting dressed and the day was spent in their pajamas. Their first Christmas dinner in Gravity Falls consisted of Chinese food, something their parents would never consider.
It was much more fun spending Christmas with their great-uncles.
Ford would take Dipper on research excursions, with Mabel tagging along occasionally. The topics of their research included searching for a tribe of miniature abominable snowmen, magical icicles and crystals that could be used as an alternative source of energy. He would help Mabel with her holiday baking (even if it took a bit of insistence) and by the end they would be covered in flour, sprinkles and icing. When the wind howled and snow raged and they couldn't go outside, he would tell them tales of his time in the portal, keeping them entertained. If they happened to come down with a cold, they didn't have to fend for themselves. Ford would make them a special tea for their symptoms.
Stan would let them stay up until the wee hours of the morning, watching movies and playing video games. He would help Mabel with her holiday crafts, enduring through the copious amounts of glitter and glue. He would help Dipper create sugar-laden hot chocolate concoctions, ingredients including coconut, nutmeg, caramel and gummy worms. When the day was slow and the snow was roaring outside he would teach them how to weasel their way out of an unpleasant encounter with the cops (much to Ford's disapproval). They came up with Christmas themed exhibits together and crafted them, more often than not dissolving into laughter at the ridiculousness of it all.
Dipper and Mabel loved their parents, but their relationship with Stan and Ford was one that couldn't be replicated, was uniquely special. They knew each other's deep secrets, fears and insecurities. They knew each other's tragedies, setbacks and hardships. They went through a horrifying experience that no one would ever be able to imagine and came out of it together, stronger.
They did everything together. From getting the Christmas tree to putting up decorations to simply hanging out. Most of their evenings were spent huddled together in the living room, eating an unhealthy amount of salted snack food watching movies. Every second spent with Stan and Ford was the best time ever.
How could it not be when one great-uncle is a genius supernatural scientist and the other a professional conman?