Summary: Based off of the real original plan for the final episode of Gravity Falls, as revealed by Alex Hirsch in his commentary on the Gravity Falls box set, this story follows Dipper and Mabel on the day before their 13th birthday, as they're packing up to head home. But when a chance encounter with one final unusual Gravity Falls anomaly takes them back to the past, both twins learn why saying goodbye is so hard for them, and just how much they've grown because of it.
"It won't fit Mabel! Put it in my suitcase," said Dipper.
Mabel sighed, "You promise not to break it? I spent ages crafting it."
"Your Clay Gummy Kola will be fine. Trust me."
Mabel laughed, "Ironic of you to say that given all this summer you lived by trusting no one."
He rolled his eyes as she gave him it to pack.
Dipper and Mabel were packing their bag as their summer drew to a close. It was warm August 30th morning. The twins wanted to get their packing done now so that tomorrow they could spend the whole day, their final whole day in Gravity Falls and their birthday, with those they cared for and loved.
As Mabel took the last of her posters down, she let out a sigh.
"Remember when I put up my first poster and then told you to check out all the splinters, I got from it?"
Dipper laughed, "Yeah. I was a bit too occupied with the fact Gompers was on my bed."
"I'll miss that goat. But I know Waddles will miss him the most. The two of them were supposed to go on their honeymoon next month."
The two laughed as they looked at their nearly empty room. It looked just like how it did when they first walked into it.
"Man, it feels weird knowing we'll be gone from here in a day," said Dipper.
"I know right," replied Mabel, "It's like only yesterday we were moving in here for the first time. I'm seriously gonna miss Gravity Falls. I mean, I feel more ready to say goodbye than I was before that whole Weirdmageddon junk...but then, I don't really wanna at the same time."
"Yeah. I almost don't even want to leave either. It feels kind of scary to think we'll be heading home to California soon. I guess, I just don't fully feel ready to deal with that yet after settling down here over the summer."
"I know right," said Mabel, "I guess I'm just saying this cause of nostalgia, but sometimes I still really wish this summer could last forever."
"Honestly, I get that feeling too now," said Dipper, "I'm gonna miss this place. We've made so many memories here and I don't want them to end either."
"Trust me Dipper...I know. I've filled up a suitcase full of scrapbooks to prove it."
Dipper laughed, "You and that Polaroid of yours."
"Hey, I play it old school," said Mabel, "Eighties music, eighties party fashion, eighties camera...you name it."
As the twins resumed packing, they heard a knock downstairs.
"Wonder who that is?" said Dipper.
The two walked down and opened the door. To their surprise, it was their old foe turned friend, Blendin.
"Oh, hey Blendin," said Mabel, "What's up?"
"Oh. H...Hey Mmm...Mabel. Not much a...at all," he said, "You two?"
"Same," said Dipper, "It's just a quiet day full of packing for us."
"Oh good," said Blendin with a sigh, "I...I came to warn you...you two about these time bubbles floating around here."
"Time Bubbles?" said Dipper, "Don't you mean weirdness bubbles?"
"Yeah," added Mabel, "Those are all gone along with the giant one I was stuck in."
"These are diff...different," said Blendin, "Time Bubbles occur when time is stopped for too long. Bi...Bill stopped time for several days which created many in th...this valley. They'll disappear soon, bu...but I...I just wanted to warn you...you guys given I...I know you."
"Aww. Thanks, Blendin," said Mabel.
"Don...don't take it the wrong way," he replied, "I...I'm still on the run from those time agents for my deal with Bill. I needed to get them off my tr...trail for a while so I ca...came here given the bubbles. See you guys later."
Blendin ran off into the woods as Dipper and Mabel looked on.
"You think we'll ever see him again?" asked Mabel.
"Perhaps," said Dipper, "I mean, he is a time traveller after all."
----
Later that day, as Dipper and Mabel were packing, Dipper spotted something out the window.
"Uh. Mabel?"
"What?" she said.
"You gotta see this."
Mabel walked over to the window and looked out. The two of them both looked out and down at a huge bubble floating around the Mystery Shack front yard. It was dark blue and had yellowish glow coming out of it. The two ran as quick as they could downstairs and out the door. They paused directly in front of it.
"This must be one of those time bubbles Blendin was telling us about," said Mabel.
"Yeah," said Dipper, "We better stay back from it. Who knows what maybe inside?"
As the twins walked back, Dipper accidently tripped on a stone that was pointing out of the ground.
"Dipper!" yelled Mabel, as she tried to grab him.
But their combined weight and loss of balance made them trip. They fell straight into the bubble.
----
May 31st, 2012
Gravity Falls, Oregon
"This attic is amazing. Check out all my splinters!" said Mabel as she finished putting a poster up on her wall.
Dipper walked up to his bed and was surprised by what he saw on it.
"And there's a goat on my bed," he said.
Mabel walked up to Dipper's bed and looked at the goat.
"Hey, friend."
The goat began to chew the sleeve of her sweater, "Oh! Yes, you can keep chewing on my sweater."
Dipper didn't seem as amused as Mabel was at the situation.
"Alright, goat! Get off my bed!"
Dipper chased the goat out of the room, but not before tripping on a loose floor board.
Mabel laughed, "Well, I'll remember not to walk there."
"Ha, ha, very funny," said Dipper, "I don't even think this room has air conditioning."
"Well, we have a window," said Mabel, as the window cracked, "Well...we had a window."
Dipper sighed, "This is insane. What were mom and dad thinking when they planned this for us? Okay, I get it...I play too many video games! But was sending us to some rustic old town to stay with a family member we barely know the best form of punishment they could think of?"
"I honestly feel the same," said Mabel, "I don't get it. I mean, this place is falling to pieces. And then there's Grunkle Stan. Have you seen the size of his nose?! It looks like a...like a...well I can't think of what it may look like right now, but I'll let you know when I remember."
"I actually hate it here! Our summer's ruined!" yelled Dipper.
"Don't say that," replied Mabel, "You know mom and dad were tight on cash this year."
"I know that. But why not just let us stay in our rooms. I mean, didn't your friends say they were gonna do that?"
"Well, Candice said she was gonna stay home and binge watch all those summer cartoons coming out, Polly said she was just gonna eat potato chips on her couch all month long before moving to cheese puffs, and Addison said she was gonna watch Isney's Heatwave three for the fifth time...no wait, fiftieth time. I don't know about the others though."
"See! If they're staying home, then why couldn't we have. We get fresh air! I mean, we have windows in our room!"
"Yeah, but you gotta admit," said Mabel as she took a deep breath in, "The air here feels much more breathable."
Dipper sighed, "Don't you miss home even a bit?'
"Well of course I do! I miss the cat, my friends, who I actually was planning to go with to the park tomorrow, and of course, I miss the A/C! But I'm trying to look on the bright side of things. Who knows what maybe in store for us here? We should at least keep an open mind. We may end up really loving it here."
"Well, I'm having a hard time believing that this place can make me love or miss it by the time we go home. Get ready for the most boring and wasteful summer ever."
Mabel laughed, "You mean, the most awesome and unexpected summer ever."
"Eh," said Dipper, "Your easily impressed. But Gravity Falls is a dump compared to Piedmont. I'm sure by Monday we'll be begging mom and dad to let us go home."
----
From their hidden viewing point, Dipper and Mabel watched their past selves arguing about how much they hated being in Gravity Falls. Both were pretty shocked.
"Was I really that mad about coming here?" said Dipper
"I guess," said Mabel, "I'm surprised by both of us. It's like we were dying to go home so quickly."
The two sat and pondered about the events in front of them for a while before Dipper spoke.
"It...it's like the way we felt about coming to Gravity Falls..."
"Is how we now feel about leaving Gravity Falls," said Mabel.
"We don't wanna leave it."
The bubble began to move, which made the twins fall right out of it. They watched as it floated away into the woods.
"Are we really feeling that nostalgic about leaving Gravity Falls, Dipper?" asked Mabel.
"I guess so," he replied, "I mean, it's the exact opposite to how we felt about being here apparently. I know for that reason, I don't wanna leave this place anymore than you do."
"Yeah, I get it. But look at how much we've grown up. We went from hating this place to loving it with all our hearts."
"Yeah, true. I guess this whole summer in that sense has been a learning experience. We both grew up a bit in some way thanks to it."
"Yeah. I guess...we're more ready for the future now than we were before. Thanks Gravity Falls."
"You know you're saying thank you to nothing, right Mabel?" said Dipper.
"Don't ruin the moment!" she yelled
Dipper and Mabel looked up at the sky above them. It was already the evening, and as the summer days began winding down, the sun would be setting much sooner than normal.
"Hey," said Dipper, "I was thinking. You wanna go watch the sunset one more time before we go home? For nostalgia's sake."
Mabel smiled, "Of course bro, bro."
The two got up and started for the woods.
"I know this great place Grunkle Ford took me to one night a few days ago which has a great view of the town."
And so, Mabel led the way as she and Dipper headed up to Lookout Peak, the place she and Ford had visited only a few nights earlier, to watch the sunset one final time before they'd be heading home as their summer in Gravity Falls came to an end.
A summer which started with so many unknowns and fears, now was ending with more nostalgia and memories made that would last a lifetime.
This story is based off of this part of the GF box set commentary