It's been a while since I've put up anything that takes place in the present day - here's a quick sibling fic! - SGA

"...Mabel?"

Ever since he had the first faint sounds of weeping some ten minutes earlier, Dipper had been scouring the Mystery Shack for his twin sister, checking every corner and nook in every room.

"Mabel? Mabel?" He ceaselessly repeated her name like an incantation that would eventually summon her to his side.

She was definitely nearby. Every now and then he could distinctly hear a semi-audible whimper of distress. Yet no matter how meticulously he looked, he couldn't find a single trace of her. After checking the attic bedroom for the third time, he took a break to try and figure it out. There was no way was going to let himself get stumped. If he could deal with a wide array of monsters and ancient secrets on a daily basis, then he could definitely crack this little mystery.

"Definitely not in the basement..." The boy mumbled to himself. "Doesn't seem to be downstairs...can't find her up here...where else could..."

He facepalmed as soon the answer hit him. It was no wonder that he couldn't find her anywhere inside. The boy hustled downstairs into the gift shop, then shimmied up the "secret" ladder leading to the top of the Shack. All that was left was a quick trip across the roof to Wendy's secret perch, and there she was.

Unfortunately it was as dire as he feared. He found Mabel rocking back and forth in a makeshift woolen cocoon. This was going to take some skilled coaxing to bring her back.

"...Mabel?" He started off delicately.

"Mabel can't come to the phone right now. She's in Sweatertown. Please leave a message at the sound of the sad." Mabel ended her sullen reply with a pitiful whimper.

"C'mon. What wrong?" Dipper took a knee, tugged down the neck of her sweater and found himself staring into an absolutely flooded face. Rivers of tears continued to trickle unchecked out of red puffy eyes and gush down her rosy cheeks. Even for a Sweatertown episode, this looked bad. Try as he might, he seriously couldn't recall the last time that he had seen her so upset.

"No. I...I don't wanna..." Mabel croaked hoarsely.

"Mabel, please." He pled. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Nooo...I don't...I-I don't-" The girl didn't get much further with her half-hearted protest when he gently lay a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. Mabel, it's just me."

The loving persistence quickly won out, and her resistance finally crumbled. She wiped her nose, sniffled loudly and started to stammer, "He...h-he...he..."

The thought of someone possibly messing with her immediately sent a sickening surge of dismay rushing through his body. "Who?"

"He…he s-s…s-s-s…" The girl struggled to force out the terrible truth.

"Who?" Dipper's fists clenched involuntarily. He could feel the fury rising. If someone out there was making his sister's life miserable, then there was going to be hell to pay. "Who's been-"

"...He...h-he saw me! Waddles SAW ME!" Mabel cried despondently.

"...Waddles? Wait...you mean your Waddles?" All the fear, worry and anger that had been bubbling in his gut was extinguished in an instant. This certainly wasn't going as expected.

"He saw me, Dipper! I...I was only getting a snack...th-the leftover pizza we had from last night." The tale of woe gushed out in disjointed fragments. "I was only gonna have one quick slice but...I-I-I couldn't help myself! D-Dipper, you can't stop at just one piece! Leftover pizza is the b-best kind of pizza! Everybody knows that!"

"Okay..." Her bemused twin couldn't do much more besides try to follow along and try to make sense of her grief.

"I had just f-finished off the second slice, when...w-when I..." She hesitated, as if the next part was too horrible to even mention. "I swear, I-I didn't know he was there! By the time I saw him, Waddles had already watched me eat three whole pieces of pizza! Three! One r-right after the other!"

"Uhhhh...all right…" Dipper failed to see what was so tragic about any of this. Nevertheless, he tried to take an educated guess. "So...what, did you forget to share your crusts with him? Is that it?"

"NO! Dipper, don't you remember?" The remorse-stricken girl grabbed the sides of his head and yelled directly into his face. "It was pepperoni pizza! It was pepperoni pizza, and I ate it! I ATE IT! I ate it right in front of him!

"Whoa!" He squirmed helplessly in her freakishly strong grip. "Mabel, calm down!"

"Calm down? How can I calm down? It's like... like if I ate a hot dog right in front of you, but...but a hot dog made out of Soos! Or Grunkle Stan! Or mom, or...or anyone! This was an atrocity! My own pig sat stood there and watched me eat his own kind, like...like some kind of a….a monster! I acted like a monster!"

"But-" He literally only got one word in. Finished with her confession, she let go and hurriedly yanked the neck of sweater back up. The sound of muffled whimpering filled the air again.

Dipper needed a moment to mentally digest the current situation. The boy then sighed, gazed wearily upon his regret-wracked twin, rose to his feet and unceremoniously left. Mabel didn't even notice. She was completely consumed by the toxic cocktail of shame and horror. The girl lay curled up deep inside the confines of her knitted garment, all alone with her grief and shame for what felt like an eternity.

In reality though it was only five minutes before her brother reappeared, huffing and puffing from his second climb of the morning. After wiping off a sweaty brow, Dipper had to shake her shoulder to grab her attention again. "Mabel?"

"Mabel's not here." Whimpered the inconsolable tween. "She's still in-"

"I know, I know. But if you won't come out of Sweatertown for me...how about this guy?" On cue, her brother's request was followed up by a snuffly grunt. Like a turtle emerging from its shell, she cautiously poked her head out just far enough to meet the gaze of her beloved pig.

"I'm sorry!" She retreated halfway back with a whine.

"Whoa, hold on!" Dipper gestured for her to stop. "Look, let me just ask you one thing, okay?"

"...What?" She tried not to make eye contact with her pet.

He paused to take a couple deep breaths and wipe again at the sweat still dripping from his brow. Carrying a pig up to a rooftop had been far more tiring than he expected. "Does he look upset with you?"

It took her a couple seconds, but Mabel successfully marshaled up the courage for a good hard look. Lo and behold, Waddles looked just as perfectly content with the world as he always did. If anything, he only got even happier when she finally met his gaze, and his pink rump wriggled with delight. The innocent joy in his eyes immediately cut her grief by half, and before she knew it a faint smile was creeping to life on her tearstained face. "N-no..."

"So let's be honest. Is this someone who looks betrayed?" Dipper asked.

"No." She wiped her eyes on a sweater sleeve. Her brother had a point. Waddles didn't seem to be ruffled one bit. The sting of her guilt continued to noticeably lessen by the second, much to Dipper's relief. He pressed his gentle attack.

"Does this look like someone who never wants to see you ever again?" He poked the little pig's snout up against her ruddy cheek. "Is it?"

"No. Hey, I said no!" She managed a weak laugh as her brother gently forced another pig-kiss on her, followed by another. Soon she was quaking gently from a minor fit of the giggles. Dipper was now wearing a grin as fat as hers.

"I'm pretty sure that he forgives you."

Mabel couldn't deny the visibly anger-free and adorable face hovering before her, and quickly concluded that perhaps she'd been a little bit too hard on herself. She thrust her arms through her sweater sleeves and snatched the little animal out of her brother's grasp and into a tight hug.

"Never again." She vowed solemnly. "I promise, I'll never do that ever again, okay? Never!"

Waddles oinked. Dipper wasn't sure exactly how she interpreted, but it seemed to be exactly the words she needed to hear. Mabel squealed with joy and started to furiously cuddle him.

"Thank you!" She was now beaming brightly enough to outdo the shining sun above. Like that, the crisis of the century was already nothing more than a mere memory. When it came to recoveries, very few people could bounce back as fast as she could. While she practically glowed with joy, Dipper silently thanked the heavens that the crisis was over. He was mighty grateful to have his sister back.

"So, want to come down?"

"Okay!" She zipped to her feet. "C'mon, Waddles!"

Together the two trotted up the tiles and across the roof. As they passed over the peak, he asked half-jokingly, "So, no more pepperoni for you from now on?"

"Whaaat?" She shot him an incredulous look. "Give that all up? Bro, you're cray-cray! Pep-"

Mabel glanced to her blissfully oblivious pet and then censored herself. "I mean...p-e-p-p-e-r-o-n-i pizza is too good to give up forever. I'll just be a lot more careful next time."

Dipper laughed. "Mabel, Waddles doesn't care-"

"But I do. You try to eat while he looks at you with that sweet innocent piggy face. I'm telling you, it's just an instant trip to Guilt City, population you." She gave her pet a shake. "Beware his adorably innocent stare. Bewarrrre!"

"Okay," He chuckled as the siblings climbed down together into the gift shop. "I'll make sure to keep that in mind..."

"...Perfect!" The boy grinned proudly at his meticulously crafted culinary creation. A small stack of sliced ham, complimented with a couple leaves of crisp lettuce, a slices of ripe tomato, and practically dripping with generous globs of mayo and mustard.

After stowing everything back in the fridge, he took a seat and readied himself for that first magical bite. But right before he chomped down, he realized he had company . Over in the kitchen doorway a familiar snout-nosed face curiously peered inside. Waddles let out a friendly oink, trotted right over to the kitchen table, and took a seat on his chubby haunches. The little animal gazed up trustingly through soft coal-black eyes.

Mere seconds later the boy was dumping his sandwich into the trash. Dipper glanced back to the pig and flashed an apologetic frown.

"You know what, I think I'll just have a PB&J instead..."