Winged Falls

//Chapter Ten//

"Remote?"

"Check!"

"Pillows?"

"Check!"

"Popcorn?"

"Check! Or—" Soos swallowed and looked down at the nearly empty bowl. "Oops."

Wendy shrugged. "Eh, we can raid Stan's pantry when we get hungry. Now— are you guys ready to be introduced to one of the greatest TV shows of all time?"

Mason exchanged a grin with Mabel, squished next to him in Stan's yellow recliner. "Ready!"

"Alright." Wendy pushed a button on the remote and the television flickered to life. "All-day marathon of Ducktective, here we come!"

"Woah, woah, woah! What are all of you doing here?"

Mason's head swivelled in sync with the heads of Wendy, Mabel, and Soos to where Stan stood framed in the doorway. Wendy gestured to the TV. "Watching Ducktective, like I said."

"And why is this happening in my house?" Stan asked, crossing his arms. "In my chair? With my popcorn?"

"Actually, the popcorn's all gone," Soos volunteered. "It was good, though. Nice flavor."

Wendy was unperturbed. "Soos's abuelita's house is too small for all of us to watch, and my little brothers don't exactly understand the meaning of 'privacy.' You're welcome to join us."

Stan gave the cartoon duck onscreen a judgmental look. "Pass."

Mason couldn't help but be a little relieved at that; Stan probably would have kicked him and Mabel out of the comfy recliner, and Mason didn't particularly want to sit on the floor. But then again... Wendy was sitting on the floor, barely a foot in front of him. Mason began wondering if sliding down to sit next to her would look too weird.

Yeah, it probably would be. He would just stay in the comfy chair with Mabel; it was a little strange to be sitting so close to her, squished together as they were, but somehow it felt right. Even though they'd only met a week ago, Mabel felt almost like family.

Loud quacking came from the television, but Mason didn't look up fast enough to catch the subtitles translating duck-speak to English. Stan, still lingering in the entry to the living room, frowned at the TV. "Are you kidding me? That guy's obviously the criminal. Arrest him, Ducktective!"

"Actually, he's innocent," Soos informed him. "The crook's really—"

Mabel poked him on the back of his head. "Shh, spoilers!"

"I find it funny how you spent the last week trying to get me to give you another day off, but the day you don't have to be here, you show up anyways," Stan said, raising an eyebrow at his employees.

Wendy grinned. "We just missed you so much that we had to come back."

Stan's snort of disbelief was cut off by a voice coming from the TV, although the screen was dark. "Gravity Falls... guess who's back."

The voice had a gentle southern accent, but something about it still sent a chill down Mason's spine. It was as if the speaker had put some kind of sound effect on the voice, adding multiple layers to the words. Next to Mason, Mabel tensed as it continued. "The Tent of Telepathy is opening today— I hope to see y'all there." The voice made a sound that might have been a laugh. "It's gonna be a mighty good show."

Almost in unison, Stan, Wendy, and Soos groaned.

"Of course Gideon's back in town— that's just what we need," Stan muttered. "I swear, that kid—"