"Whoa, what happened to you?"

Y/n let out a huge yawn as she trudged towards the living room. Even a single cup of coffee was useless to the hours of sleep she lost, so now she was on her 8th one. She faced Stan who was giving her a concerned look. "I had to stay up."

"And do what?" He raised an eyebrow at that.

"I was trying to come up with plans– you know, we really shouldn't talk about this in plain sight. Someone might hear," she said, lying on the yellow recliner as she closed her eyes. She placed the white mug on her lap, the heat not even affecting her. It was already 12 noon because she fell asleep at 7am.

Stan gave up. "Alright, fine. We'll talk about it later. Just look alive, your old man's trying to run a carnival around here."

Oh, yeah. The Mystery Fair.

https://youtu.be/X2DUpDxFJyg

A week after Pioneer Day, Stan realized that throwing a party wasn't enough. He needed more money, and what better way to get it than to entertain the locals with an amusement park? Not only were half of the games rigged, but the majority of the rides were rickety and scuffed, so Stan is taking a risk here because an accident could result in someone suing him, causing him to lose a lot of money.

Speaking of Pioneer Day, the event was excruciatingly painful for both Stan and Y/n, but the twins kept it interesting. Dipper was determined to humble Pacifica's entire family after she made fun of Mabel in front of everyone.

It was difficult to remain clueless, and Y/n had no idea how she managed to do so in the first place. She accompanied them as they investigated the clues and deciphered the codes that Mabel's silliness had unintentionally solved. It eventually led them underground, where they discovered Quentin Trembley, the 8th and 12th President of the United States.

The bunker held secrets that Y/n had never known about. After years of being uncrackable, the historical document was cracked thanks to the twins, until they were pursued by cops. Y/n was terrified by the sight of the police. She doesn't want anyone, especially the government, interfering with her portal plans.

"Oh, Y/n," Stan spoke, taking her out of the flashback. He took out a clipboard of papers before tossing it in her direction. "I almost forgot, go slap these certificates on the structures outside at the fair. The twins are already doing that."

"If they're already on it, why do I need to do it."

"Because they might suspect that you get a free pass at everything. Act like you work with them."

Y/n grumbled something under her breath as she used the clipboard to cover half of her face. She closed her eyes for a brief moment once Stan left the room. She let out a deep sigh as she mustered the strength to follow through Stan's advice. With one final exhale, she stood up and walked outside the backdoor to see the ferris wheel. Now where did he get the budget to get that? She thought they were out of money.

"Y/n, hey! Did you just wake up?" Mabel ran towards her with a huge smile on her face.

"Can you tell?" she answered. She had already washed her face and all, but it all really fell into the deep bags under her eyes. She yawned. "What's happening?"

Mabel gleamed. "Oh, well the fair is about to open! Wanna come with me and buy some cotton candy?"

"Sure. Where's Dipper?" she asked while the two were on their way at a cotton candy stand.

"Oh, you know. He's with Wendy, getting all romantic at the fair," she replied, wiggling her shoulders.

As if on cue, Y/n saw Dipper and Wendy talking with mystery dogs in hand. The way they laughed and enjoyed each other's company made her feel something she's never felt before.

"Could you be any more obvious?!"

Y/n snapped out of her thoughts, face turned to Mabel who was giving her a look. "What?"

Mabel didn't even pause or hesitate. "You have a crush on my dorky brother over there!"

"I don't think he's dorky. I actually think he's really intelligent," she noted, not even noticing the way she's speaking or acting right now.

"Oh, Y/n. You're head over heels in love with him!"

"What does that even mean?" Y/n asked, "I just said that he's smart. It's not like I spend most of my time thinking about him! and his eyes... his unkempt hair... and his... unwashed clothes...."

Mabel laughed uncontrollably, wiping the tears that were coming out of her eyes. "Oh, you're too sweet, Y/n! And for the record, Dipper is a dork! He's as dense as a rock for not even seeing the way you look at him."

She felt her knees going jelly. Slight panic went over her. "It really is obvious, huh."

Reassuringly, the other twin draped her arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, but not to him! Guess he's obsessing over someone else for him to notice."

The two watched as Dipper and Wendy laughed at another joke, making Y/n hum.

Mabel frowned. "I'm... I'm sorry, Y/n," she said dejectedly, patting her back. "It's gonna be alright, but cheer up!" She leaned down and brought her voice into a low whisper. "Don't tell anyone this, but you and Dipper are a more perfect match than him and Wendy anyway! You both share the same nerdy interests!"

Y/n wanted to shake away Mabel's futile attempts of trying to cheer her up. She doesn't like this emotion that felt so foreign to her. "Thank you, Mabel, but it's fine. It's just a silly summer crush. I'm sure I'll get over it soon."

She didn't believe that statement for one second. "Don't worry, Y/n. Whatever happens, I'll be right here, supporting you every step of the – OH MY GOSH, A PIG!" Mabel screamed in delight, quickly sprinting towards the sign and following its arrow, leaving Y/n in the dust.

"But what about the-?!" Y/n called out to her, but she was long gone.

"Your cotton candy, miss." The man handed her two orders, but the other was supposed to be for Mabel who has since disappeared. She can't eat all of these by herself, not when she hasn't even had a proper breakfast yet.

Her feet led her to Dipper, who, after dealing with Robbie's annoying attitude, was feeling a little bit shaken. "What was that about?" Y/n asked after Robbie made his leave. Wendy was nowhere to be seen.

"Ugh, it's Robbie," he spat out his name like it was venom. "He kept blabbering about his new ripped jeans like it's worth a Nobel prize. I got to get him away from Wendy somehow."

Y/n pondered. "Well, I'll leave you to it then." She handed him the other cotton candy. "Good luck, Dipper."

She left him alone after that. After walking a few steps, she saw a toddler walking around and decided to give him the other stick that she had. Her appetite wasn't in the mood for sugary sweets anyways.

Meanwhile, Wendy finally returned from cleaning the mustard stain off her sleeve. The two walked around the fair, until the redhead noticed a huge stuffed toy by one of the game stands. It was one of those hit the bottles kind of games, but Wendy was more interested in the prize. "I don't know if it's a duck or a panda, but I want one."

Dipper's brain geared at the sound of that. The thought of him getting Wendy something would sound as sweet as the cotton candy that he just ate. That really gave him such a rush. He brought out a ticket and gave it to the man. "One ball please."

"You only get one chance."

He turned to Wendy, who gave him a thumbs up, and that's all he needed to want to win this game. He couldn't wait to see her smile after he got this prize. "And a-one, and a-two, and a-" he threw the ball with all his might.

It didn't hit any of the bottles. Instead it bounced off the wooden table and flew towards Wendy, hitting her right eye.

"OW! My eye!"

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Wendy, are you okay?"

She breathed. "Does it look swollen?"

Her eyelids were closed as it formed a bruise, giving it a painful dark purple hue. Dipper tensed up, panicked. "Everything's going to be fine!" He didn't know whether he was assuring Wendy or himself. "Don't worry, I'll– I'll go get some ice!"

Dipper ran in the other direction, going to where he knew there would be ice, which was at the entrance of the gift shop where there was a cooler beside the door. He quickly opened it, taking a bag of ice and was back to running again.

He glided around the crowd. "Where is she, where is she?" He muttered under his breath. He finally saw her within meters, until he suddenly bumped into a rather large man wearing a gray jumpsuit. The two collided against each other, making Dipper drop the bag. Ice scattered all around as he scurried to pick them up. He glared annoyingly at the man he bumped into. "Hey- watch where you're going, man!"

The guy didn't say anything, just picked something up before dashing away.

It took a moment for Dipper to pick all the ice back into the bag before lifting it up and carrying it towards Wendy, but she wasn't alone anymore.

"Alright, ease your eyeball into that freezy cone."

Robbie's voice filled Dipper's ears, making him freeze.

Wendy smiled gratefully. "Robbie, thanks. It's really sweet; the gesture, and the flavored syrup."

"Yeah, I was just here in the right place and the right time."

Dipper felt immense guilt upon hearing that, and he clutched the ice bag tightly.

Robbie began fiddling with the string of his hoodie. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you. We've been spending a lot of time together, and I was wondering if...maybe... you wanna go out with me?"

The boy was trickling with anxiety. He felt cold; not just from the ice bag close to his chest, but also the nervousness that coursed through his veins.

Wendy contemplated for a bit before answering with a, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Sweet!"

Dipper was frozen in horror as he felt his heart-shaped balloon pop, which was the game behind him. "One more balloon, miss!" Someone said, but Dipper couldn't hear anything. It was deafening silence as his pupils dilated and his mouth was agape.

"Look, Dipper, I won my pet pig!" Mabel arrived with the chubby mammal in her arms. "His name is Waddles. I call him that because he waddles! Waaaaddlesss!"

"Everything is different now."

Mabel, who was always unconscious to what else is happening around her, asked, "What are you looking at?"

Dipper weakly pointed at the new couple who were on their way to the Tunnel of Love and Corndogs.

"Oh..." she trailed off. She looked at Dipper to see if he was okay. He was pretty much still out of it. It felt pretty devastating to watch your crush accept your rival's halfhearted confession.

He had laid at a slopey toss game for the whole afternoon, sighing defeatingly every once in a while. Mabel was the opposite, raving to her brother how she was so lucky to have won her new playmate (and soulmate) Waddles.

"I mean Wendy only went out with Robbie because he was there with the ice," he began to ramble, "and she only needed ice because of the baseball, and I would've had the ice if it wasn't for..." he gasped once he saw the familiar guy from earlier, "that guy!" He walked towards him. "Hey, you! Toolbelt! You ruined my life!"

"Huh?" the man turned around, acting confused.

Dipper pointed an accusatory finger. "Don't 'huh' me! I've seen you before! What's your deal? Are you following us around?"

"And why are you bald? What's that all about?" Mabel asked, following suit.

The gray jumpsuit-wearing man was startled, panic settling in his veins. He screamed momentarily. "My position has been compromised! Assuming stealth mode-" he started pressing buttons on his watch, making his suit change into different backgrounds. "Color match! Initiating color match!" His suit glitched, and couldn't seem to follow what he wanted. "Come on, dang it!" He gave up, taking out a red screwdriver, and tried to fix it.

"That's amazing!" Mabel said with a large grin. "Are you from the future or something?"

The guy introduced himself as Blendin Blandin, Time Anomaly Removal Crew year twenty sñeventy-twelve. He was here for the mission to stop a series of time anomalies that are supposed to happen at this very location, but he couldn't seem to find it.

Dipper eyed the tape measure looking device that was supposed to be Blendin's time traveling mechanism. He wanted to borrow it, but he had been rejected, so he had to find another way.

He watched as Blendin tiredly wiped the sweat off of his bald head. His hair was burned off from traveling through time too much.

"You know, you sound like you could use a break," Dipper suggested.

Thankfully, Mabel understood what her brother was trying to do. "Definitely, definitely. Might we recommend one of the various attractions at the Mystery Fair?" She presented two tickets.

After much contemplation, Blendin stood up with pride. "You know what? What the heck! I'm worth it!" He was still eerily suspicious of the twins knowing that they're after the time tape.

He approached one of the rides. Rusty Barrel Rodeo. Blendin gave his ticket to Soos, but Soos stopped him from going. "Uh, sorry dude, but you're gonna have to take your belt off for the ride. One of your tools might fly off and accidentally fix something."

Blendin felt slightly aggravated having to leave his utility belt to this random guy, but he really wanted to ride this so he took it off and placed it on the barrel. "Guard it with your life."

"I will watch it like a hawk, dude."

Blendin got on the ride, having the time of life, while the belt that Soos was supposed to be guarding had disappeared.

Meanwhile, Dipper and Mabel were at the dining table, gazing at the gadget laid on it.

All the possibilities lie on this very simple accessory. If they change the past, they can change the future. Even the slightest amount of revision can result in a disaster– or a good thing. Is it a risk that they're willing to take?

For Dipper, his sole focus was to prevent Wendy from going out with Robbie. Mabel, however, plans to spend more time with Waddles, and if possible, string Y/n with her.

It was easy operating the gadget. You just pull the tape to a number of hours you prefer, and let it go– like a common measuring tape. Dipper did exactly that, and the two were sent back to 6 hours ago, when the carnival was recently opened.

The two blinked their eyes, adjusting to their surroundings. Nothing changed. They strided to the door and opened it, the sun shining on their faces. Stan had just announced over the megaphone that it's 12 o'clock. Dipper and Mabel looked at each other with knowing grins.

"Do over?"

"Do over!"

They both ran off to their respective goals; Dipper's being wanting to win the game for Wendy, and Mabel's being wanting to win Waddles.

Meanwhile, Y/n glanced around her surroundings, trying not to appear suspicious. She's been winning games easily, giving away the prizes to little children. She had been eyeing a particular stuffed animal for a while now, but she's saving it for later.

The coast was clear, and she made her move. As casual as possible, she walked back to the Shack. She could still hear Stan's mocking laughter echoing in her ears when she entered through the back door.

Her eyes wandered around the rooms. No one had an appropriate reason to be here anyway, so she nimbly tip-toed up the stairs until she reached the second level. She gazed at the wooden door that led to the attic, her palm wrapped around the knob.

Opening it, her look immediately fell on the twin's bed. Naturally, it should be lying there, specifically on Dipper's bed, but it wasn't. Y/n stepped inside completely, closing the door. She glanced back briefly, hoping that no one barged in.

That would be embarrassing.

She quickly scanned the entire bedroom, careful not to touch anything. Mabel could care less if her side was messy, but Dipper could be different. He could be very observant, he could notice the slightest change.

Y/n crouched down, peeking under the bed. She wondered if it was there. If she was Dipper, where would she hide it?

After minutes of searching, she figured she should make her escape before someone would notice her. Before leaving, she looked around one last time.

She closed the door with a sigh. The journal wasn't there, her search was thorough. Unless there was a secret hatch in this house that she doesn't know– which is unlikely. She's the only one who knows the insides of this Shack.

Dipper's heart soared as he and Wendy laughed, having finished another round of The Tunnel of Love and Corndogs. "That was even more awesome the third time around!" She gasped and pointed at a random stall. "Funnel cake! Let's go get some, Dipper!" She ran off. Dipper began to follow until he heard screaming from a distance.

"AAAAAAA!" Mabel frantically waved her hands.

He paused. "What's wr-"

"AAAAAAAAAA!"

"Mabel, wha-"

"AAAAAAAAAA!"

"I'll just wait until you're done."

"I'm done." Mabel frowned.

"Okay," Dipper started, "what is wrong?"

"We messed up the timeline! Pacifica saw the flier and won Waddles before I did!" the other twin rambled, "she took Waddles, Dipper!"

"Oh, Mabel, I'm sorry." Dipper genuinely felt bad. It's a rare occasion to see her sister getting sad as she always managed to fix everything with a scratch-n-sniff. But this is something even a sticker couldn't fix.

Mabel sighed, feeling tense. "It's okay. We just need to go back-" she grabbed the time device from Dipper's hands, "-and do things differently."

"Mabel! Wait," Dipper snatched the time machine back. "Look. I did the math. In any other timeline, Wendy ends up going out with Robbie. I can't mess up this day again!"

"But if we don't go, then I'll lose Waddles forever!"

The twins fought for the time gadget, trying to pull it apart, causing the tape measure to fall and get caught inside the moving corndog car. The tape was pulled a long way before it was withdrawn back to Dipper and Mabel who fell on the ground.

It brought them back to the early times, approximately 150 years, and the next destination was an even earlier time when dinosaurs were still alive. Still fighting for the time machine, the two accidentally sent themselves to the future where there was this great apocalypse. Mabel got a hold of the time gadget, finally, and tried to run away from Dipper.

She pressed the buttons and it only sent them back to previous occasions in the summer. One was when they went fishing, the next was the wax museum, and the next was the gnome tragedy. The same shack with snow falling around it was the last place they landed in when the time device was overheating.Mabel juggled it around like it was a hot potato.

"What did you do?!" Dipper accused.

"I don't know!" Mabel answered honestly. The tape measure emitted sounds like it was about to explode, and suddenly bright blue electricity had burst, zapping the two back.

Someone went to his front door after turning on the lights. He opened it to find nothing but the same expanses of snow that covered the woods. He took another look around before closing the door completely.

The twins found themselves in a very dark place. All they saw was black. They began screaming, panicking because they thought they were transported to the end of time.

"Wait, why does it smell so bad in here?" Mabel asked out loud.

She reached in front of her and felt something. She pushed the wall and it opened. Turns out, the twins were inside a porta-potty all this time.

They adjusted their eyes to the bright sun. "Hey, look, we're back in the present!" Mabel said.

"But which present?"

Looking around, they saw Wendy still gushing over the stuffed creature. "This is the best present ever!"

Dipper beamed, "Yes!"

Meanwhile, Pacifica was struggling to pull poor little Waddles by the leash as the pig squealed and thrashed around.

"No!' Mabel exclaimed before attempting to get the time machine back. The two ran around until Dipper stood on top of the porta-potty and Mabel was unable to reach him. "Give it back, Dipper!"

"It's over, Mabel! Give it up! I've worked too hard to lose this!"

"But what about Waddles? He was my soulmate!"

Dipper pulled his brown hair in frustration. "You said that about a ball of yarn once! Do you really want Wendy to date Robbie?"

Mabel looked up at him with a conflicted expression, her eyes brimming with tears. "I don't know," she muttered weakly. Shakily, she brought up the polaroid of her and Waddles before silently walking over to the giant totem and placed her forehead against it.

"You're not guilt tripping me, Mabel. Not this time."

She didn't pay no heed, just continued banging her head against the wooden pole.

Dipper tried to pull her out of it, tried to coerce her, but nothing had work. Even if it took a day, a week, an entire month! (He used the time machine to prove it.) Mabel was still found standing there as her body was slowly getting crawled with weeds and vines.

He watched with furrowed eyebrows. The pig really means this much to her. He could stand missing this chance with his crush but not so much seeing his sister get depressed for the rest of the summer.

So with a defeated sigh, Dipper pulled back the tape, stopping at the specific time before letting go.

Dipper and Wendy walked towards the fated game.

"I don't know if it's a duck or a panda, but I want one!"

He sighed, anticipating the expected outcome. "Wendy, I just wanted to say that," he began. He wanted to utter his final words before he lost her, "well I just wanted to say that people make mistakes, and when they do, you should forgive them. And also that tight pants are overrated."

"Dude, you lost me."

"I know," Dipper sighed out again. He turned to the carnie and presented his ticket. "One ball, please."

"You only get one chance."

This time, Dipper lamely tossed the ball without any effort. Because no matter how many tries, it always ended in the same result.

Wendy yelped again, the ball having hit the same right eye. "Ow, my eye!"

And right on cue, Robbie the disease entered the scene. "Hey, Wendy, are you okay? You know this is the perfect time for me to ask you something..."

Dipper looked away. He couldn't bear to watch. "It is done."

Someone cleared his throat behind him. He turned around and saw Y/n with her hands behind her back. "Hey," she said, smiling.

"Hey," Dipper replied, trying to mimic her smile, but with the heartbreak, he just couldn't have the strength. "How's it going?"

"I won you something."

She brought her hands from behind and tossed a stuffed animal his way. He caught it with ease and gazed at the creature. "A stuffed owl? I- I love owls." He looked up at her. "Y/n, you shouldn't have."

"Well, considering I've been winning the rigged games for the sad kids who couldn't win... you don't have to thank me."

She had seen this exact scenario in her mind. Her giving this stuffed owl specially for Dipper In fact, she's imagined it over and over. She always meant to give the toy.

All of a sudden, Dipper was tackled by his twin's brutal hug. "Dipper! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" Waddles was sitting beside them, letting out a happy sound. "He's saying thank you in pig! Aren't you, Waddles?" Waddles repeated the same noise.

Y/n watched with an amused grin. They could be so silly sometimes, but no one could mistake that they are the sweetest pair.

"I couldn't break your heart, Mabel," Dipper said. He kept the owl from touching the dusty ground. "Besides, there's no way Wendy can date Robbie all summer, right?"

"YOU TWO!"

The trio looked at the bald guy who was pointing an accusatory finger specifically at Dipper and Mabel. His yell was so deafening that it made them scream in fear. He snatched the time machine back.

"Do you have any idea how many rules you just broke?! I'm asking; I wasn't there with you... it was probably a lot, right?"

"Blendin Blandin..."

Two men appeared behind him in a flash. Their outfits looked high-tech, like they were from the future.

Blendin let out a hysterical shriek. "The Time Paradox Avoidant Enforcement Squadron!"

"That's right, and our phones have been ringing off the hook! There were settlers high-fiving in the 1800's and calculators littered through eight centuries!" The guy, whose name was Lolph, scolded.

Dundgren spoke next. "You're under arrest for violation of the Time Traveler's Code of Conduct."

The two grabbed Blendin, who was scrambling for an explanation. He shakily yelled, "I-It was those kids! And their leader, Waddles!"

"That's a pig, Blendin."

Blendin turned to the twins with vengeance in his eyes. "I'll get you for this! I'll go back in time and make sure your parents never meet!"

Dipper clutched the owl closer to his chest as he grinned to his sister. "Well, we're still here."

Mabel smiled back. "Guess he forgot to go back. Aww, look, Dipper! I'm booping Waddles' nose to your owl's nose!"

"Hey!" He pulled back, wiping the residue off the felted toy. "Aw, man. Now his nose is wet."

Mabel narrowed her eyes. "Wow, this stuffed animal really means a lot to you, brother," she said, raising her eyebrows knowingly at the person behind him, who was slowly getting flushed.

Y/n repeatedly made a 'cut it out' motion as her gaze was tense.

Dipper ignored Mabel's teasing as he gazed at the owl's purple eyes, a dorky grin on his face. It was such a rare occurrence that he received a gift, yet his heart skipped a beat at the thought. He'll cherish this gift forever.

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 13!

kimmiepines
originally published: december 3, 2022
4431 words

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