The sun set on what had ended up being one incredible reunion. The twins had talked for hours. Mabel introduced her children to Dipper. They were genuinely surprised to see he was their height. Mabel made up an excuse that he hadn't grown since he was 13 due to some illness and it worked as a good cover story. Daron and Mike were still kids after all. They had no idea about the weirdness within this town which had halted Dipper from growing up. But then, Dipper and Mabel had been in the same position when they first began uncovering the mysteries of Gravity Falls all those years ago.
Melody had to go back to work the following day so she had gone to bed early. Daron and Mike were asleep too. It was only Dipper, Mabel and Soos up. Dipper and Mabel sat in the living room and talked.
"No way," said Dipper, "Hong Kong?"
"Yup," replied Mabel, "It was a lovely honeymoon destination as it turned out. I really do wanna go back there one day."
Just then, Soos returned with drinks. Two glasses of wine for himself and Mabel, and a juice box for Dipper.
"Oh, my goodness Soos you did not," said Mabel.
"Yes, it is," said Soos as Mabel grabbed one of the glasses and took a sip.
"I was missing that taste," said Mabel, "Between work, a husband who's always travelling and two kids, this is like therapy all over again!"
"I didn't know you drank," said Dipper, "or went to therapy."
"Well, for one, you've been gone for thirty years so obviously you'd not know, said Mabel, "And, let's just say, I don't do one of those two things anymore." She winked.
The three of them cheered. As Dipper drank his juice, he could hear Mabel and Soos laughing.
"What...what's so funny?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing," said Mabel.
Dipper shrugged and took another sip of his juice. Mabel and Soos laughed again.
"Okay, seriously, what's so funny?" he yelled.
"Oh, nothing dude," said Soos.
"It's just...we're drinking wine while you're having a juice box," said Mabel.
The two of them burst into laughter.
"Yeah, well, you do know I'm technically as old as you Mabel," said Dipper.
"Yeah, but legally, you're still underaged so we can't let you have any," said Soos.
"You two are already drunk," said Dipper as he rolled his eyes.
"Eh, I'm not always anymore," said Mabel, "I guess the last time I was...was back when I thought about you again that one night."
Dipper looked at his sister. She was now thirty years older but he could still see the Mabel Pines he knew and loved was still alive and well inside her.
"What happened to you Mabel?" said Dipper, "What did the last thirty years do to you?"
Mabel sighed before she took a long sip of her drink. She then looked to Soos, who nodded. Nodding back, she looked foreword to Dipper.
"It all began, on the day you disappeared."
"We looked all day for you," said Soos, "But after the third day, even the police had said the odds were bleak."
"Eventually...Grunkle Stan made the difficult phone call to mom and dad," said Mabel, "They showed up the next day and demanded answers. Grunkle Ford tried spare Stan of the blame but the two wouldn't let each other take more of it. They knew it was both their faults they lost you."
"And...where were you during that?" asked Dipper.
"Upstairs," replied Mabel, "In our room. Crying, I guess. Crying because I lost my brother. And from how severe the argument had been. I knew then that I was gonna lose Grunkle Stan and Ford too."
"We had a memorial service and everything for you the day before..."
"The day before I left," said Mabel, "Mom and dad no longer trusted Grunkle Stan and Ford. They banned me from ever going back to Gravity Falls and banned the two of them from visiting. When I said goodbye to them both at the end of that summer cut short...it was goodbye for a very long time."
"Did mom and dad improve afterwards?" asked Dipper.
Mabel shook her head, "They never really did. Even now. I didn't even call them and let them know you're here. Not until I was sure. As mad as I may be with them, I know they did it for my own safety. Even if it meant them becoming overprotective of me."
"The rest of that summer was not fun. I spent the majority of it in our room...crying. Some nights I'd stay up and just look out the window, thinking, and drinking sodas."
"How was high school without me?" asked Dipper.
"Hell!" said Mabel, "Without you to help me, I barely passed first semester. But then the next semester, I discovered my artistic talents. I was top of the class and took as many art courses the school had to offer for grade ten. But then came math."
Mabel downed her glass, "Soos, refill?" she said.
As Soos poured her another glass, Mabel resumed her story.
"Without you to help me, I failed math."
Dipper gasped, "How did mom and dad take the news?"
"Not lightly," Mabel replied, "But they let me off with a warning. I guess they assumed I flunked because I was still not over losing you. And along with you not being around, they were still a wreck. I guess that's what my therapist said too."
"Can you explain the therapist part?" said Dipper.
"Mom and dad got recommended by the school that year to take me to therapy to try and help me out," said Mabel, "I didn't want to go but they assumed it would help me overcome losing you. By then you had been declared legally dead."
Dipper looked on with a shocked impression.
"Ultimately, I think therapy was the best thing that ever happened to me," said Mabel, "My therapist was amazing and she let me open up about things I never even told you. She also helped me unlock more of my artistic side. And that year, I once again excelled in art. I made up for math in summer school. Honestly, it felt nice not being stuck in the house. It was also fun talking to people again."
"Did mom and dad get any better by then?" said Dipper.
"A little," replied Mabel, "They let me hang out with friends from school and once I got a phone, I was basically allowed to be out for as long as I wanted. But I didn't go out much. I spent a lot of my time painting and sculpting. I convinced mom to buy me a lifetime's supply of arts and crafts stuff and I converted our room into a mini studio. Your bed got replaced by my art projects."
Dipper laughed, "Thanks, I loved that bed."
Mabel laughed back, "Yeah, but I needed the space. And to be honest, I think that was the time I really began to see mom and dad start to get over the grief stage of losing you. I think seeing me paint as a hobby made them pursue their own. But mine was not going to be a hobby. I had plans."
"That was also around the time me and Melody got married," said Soos, "I invited Mabel and her parents."
"Did you go?" said Dipper.
Mabel sighed, "I really wanted to. But mom and dad wouldn't let me. Not even when I asked them to come with me. They just didn't want me to go back to Gravity Falls."
Dipper could see Mabel's eyes watering up. He handed her a tissue.
"Thanks," she said, "We had a huge fight that night about it. The biggest one since the night before they took me back from Gravity Falls. We all said things to each other we'd not normally say. I had a literal breakdown that night. I really was not in a good place that day. I even broke down to my therapist."
"It was a bummer not having Mabel there," said Soos, "But me and Melody did visit her the following summer.
"By that time, I was turning eighteen. And that's when my life changed for the better," said Mabel, "I had applied to a couple top level art schools and my first pick accepted me."
"Congrats Mabel," said Dipper.
"Thanks," she replied, "And not only that. They loved my art portfolio so much that they gave me a full-on scholarship. I ended up barely paying anything. Good thing because I spent the money mom and dad originally had saved up for my College tuition on a car. Before I left for school, I visited Gravity Falls again."
"I remember that," said Soos, "I'd never seen both Mr. Pines' cry before that."
"Oh?" said Dipper.
"Yeah, it was a bitter sweet reunion," said Mabel, "I couldn't stay for long before mom and dad would have realized I went to Gravity Falls rather than school but it felt so nice to catch up with all of them again. They had aged so much. They spent all those years looking for you."
"Me?" asked Dipper.
"Yes," replied Mabel, "They never gave up the search and kept looking for you for years after. Even if they could find anything off yours, it would have meant a lot. Perhaps give them closure. I didn't stay long before I had to get to campus. That was where I met Tim."
"Tim?"
"He's my husband," said Mabel, "He was a business student in his second year. I was an art student in her first year. It's funny how love works. I thought I understood it well as a kid but I never would have guessed how mine would work. After he graduated, I continued my studies and graduated top of my class."
"Wow," said Dipper, "Now it makes sense why Soos told me you opened a studio."
"Yeah," said Mabel, "I opened it after I graduated. I reunited with Tim as he worked in an office nearby and we both started dating. He wasn't a bad artist himself. We got married three years later."
"Awww, congratulations Mabel," said Dipper.
Mabel laughed, "You're late nineteen years Dip," she said.
"Better late than never, huh?" he replied.
"I guess," said Mabel, "Me and Tim decided we weren't gonna have kids for a while so we spent the next few years travelling a lot. I finally and properly reunited with Grunkle Stan and Ford. It felt so nice to see them again. But by then..."
Mabel started tearing up.
"What happened?" asked Dipper.
Soos whispered it into Dipper's ear so that Mabel wouldn't hear.
"How bad was it?' he asked.
"Stage four by then," said Soos.
Mabel came back around to finish the sentence.
"Stan...Stan held out though," she said, "He was in a bad state, but...but he made it to when Mike and Daron were born. It's funny, twins seem to run in the family. He and Ford were twins, you and I are twins...well, I don't know about now but...and so are them."
"What happened to Grunkle Stan after that?" asked Dipper.
"We...we lost him the next year," said Mabel with a sigh, "I convinced mom and dad to let Ford come be with us. They still held a grudge against him for what happened to you but I think in those last years, they really made amends with him."
"Did Grunkle Ford ever stop looking for me after that?"
"By then we all had accepted the fact you were gone," said Soos, "Mr. Pines left the Shack to me in his will and Ford told me I could do whatever I wanted with it before he moved to California. But I chose to keep the Mystery Shack going."
"Ford really was great to have around," said Mabel, "He and Tim really got along well. Which is funny because family like that normally never does. But sadly, that wasn't to last forever either."
"I got the call from Mabel," said Soos, "I still can't believe that was three years ago."
"It wasn't easy on any of us," said Mabel, "But, by then, I guess I'd lost far too many close relatives that recovering didn't take as long as it did last time. I'm just glad I got to bond with Grunkle Stan and Ford again. It was hard living without seeing them."
"You okay now?" asked Dipper.
Mabel smiled as she finished up her glass, "I'm better than okay now, Dipper. I got you back. Sure, you're not exactly as old as I am, but you're back nonetheless. I've missed you so much."
Mabel stood up and gave Dipper a hug.
"I still gotta get used to the fact you're forty-four now," said Dipper.
"Oh yeah?" replied Mabel, "imagine how I'm feeling? My twin brother is still thirteen."
Dipper, Mabel and Soos laughed about it until they all went to sleep.