Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

The twins were careful to be as quiet as they could when entering the Mystery Shack. They weren't entirely sure if Soos was there or not, but it was better to be safe than sorry. It wasn't that they thought he would be angry if they woke him up. They knew for a fact that he wouldn't. Actually, he would probably be happy to see them. But Soos needed his rest if he was going to make it through the day. The Mystery Shack was a little less popular after the incident, but that didn't stop almost the entire town from visiting every once in a while. Mabel found it odd that even after six years, the town still refused to acknowledge anything that had happened with Bill Cipher. She didn't blame them, of course, but she figured they would have gotten over it by now.

Either way, Gravity Falls hadn't changed one bit since she had left. Except for the fact that the Gleeful and Northwest families had moved on. Her face warped in displeasure as she remembered Gideon Gleeful and his advances. She shuddered at the memory. He was always creepy to her. But then, maybe he was normal compared to other things. She sighed softly, walking up the staircase to their room in the attic. It was almost too small for them at this point, but she didn't mind. She hoped Dipper didn't either. She also remembered Pacifica Northwest, the blonde bimbo daughter of the Northwest family. Looking back on it, Mabel had been a little jealous of her. She just hadn't understood it at the time. She just thought she was angry because Pacifica was a rude, stuck-up, snotty little…she-dog. She didn't realize her face had contorted into a scowl until Dipper spoke up.

"You okay, Mabs?" He asked. "You look a little angry."

She turned to look at him, confused for a moment before her brain caught up.

"Oh! Uhh…yeah! I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She replied, waving a hand dismissively.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

His question caught her off-guard for a moment. She had already turned back to face her bed. She stared down at the almost-too-small cot, biting her lip in contemplation for a moment before making a decision. She shook her head. It wasn't the right time. Would there ever be a right time?

"Not tonight, Dipper." She answered softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

He was silent for a long moment, so she assumed that reply had been enough to deter him. She was wrong. Dipper was staring at his twin, her back turned towards him as they both stood in silence. His sister had been acting strange since they got here less than an hour ago. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he was certain something was off. And it frustrated him to no end. He was going to get to the bottom of this even if it killed him. Well, metaphorically speaking, of course.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

For him, it wasn't really a question. It was more of an affirmation that he had always been there for her. And he always would. He would always be a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, shelter from the storm, and a shield from the cold wind. But he was having trouble putting that into words. They were a bit too impassioned for his taste. So he fell silent once again, awaiting her response. As soon as he saw her shoulders sag, he knew she had given in to his pleas.

"I know I can." She said first, turning back to face him.

Her expression shocked him for a moment. It wasn't lively, shining brightly, or full of mirth. It was a vulnerable expression, one of barely concealed fear. Fear of what, he could only guess. He slowly sat down on his bed, never taking his eyes off of hers. She mirrored his movements, taking a long, deep breath before speaking again.

"How would you define normal?" She asked.

He could certainly say he wasn't expecting that. As such, he didn't have an immediate answer. So he spent a few moments in thought.

"Well, I suppose it changes based on the person you're asking." He responded. "But I'm guessing you want my definition."

She nodded wordlessly in affirmation.

"Normal is whatever you make it." He said with a shrug.

Upon seeing her curious and slightly confused expression, he decided to elaborate.

"Normal is all about perspective. You can't define normal from any one standpoint. You have to look at it from different angles."

He held out his left hand.

"On one hand, people would say normal is the sun rising and the sun setting. The sky is blue. Grass is green."

He held out his right hand.

"On the other hand, some people might argue the sun never truly rises or sets. It's the world rotating that gives us that illusion. And someone with color-blindness might describe the sky or grass as a constant shade of gray."

His hands dropped back to his side.

"Me? I wouldn't say my life is normal. I mean, I've fought countless monsters, a god of chaos, and insane cults bent on taking over the world."

He chuckled for a moment, his eyes finding Mabel's once again.

"And now, normal is pretty boring. There are no more monsters. No more gods of chaos. No insane cults. Just regular old Gravity Falls."

He smiles.

"But I don't ever have to worry about being bored permanently. Because I have you."

For the first time, Mabel seemed surprised.

"Me?" She asked.

Dipper nodded.

"Yes, you. I don't know if I ever told you this… But six years ago when we were dealing with all the crazy stuff… It wasn't my intelligence, my luck, or even the journals that got me through it all…it was you, Mabel. Just your positive attitude about everything and really just you being there for me was enough."

Suddenly, Dipper was blinded by a mass of deep brown hair as Mabel wrapped him in a crushing hug. The air was pushed from his lungs for a moment before he was able to catch his breath and return the hug. Dipper didn't know how long they sat like that, embracing each other. And honestly, he didn't care. He wouldn't have minded if it lasted forever. But eventually Mabel did pull away. This time she was smiling and he could see tears in her eyes. He relaxed after a moment when he realized they were tears of joy.

"Thanks, Dipper. That means a lot to me."

He could hear the raw emotion in her voice as she sniffled and wiped her tears away, wrapping him in another hug. He noticed this one was much more gentle and he smiled as his arms wrapped around her waist. There was a faint whisper by his ear, and he was so distracted that he almost missed it.

"I love you, Dipper." Mabel whispered softly.

Normally, he would overthink and over-analyze that comment, but for now he decided to respond from his heart instead of his head.

"I love you too, Mabel." He replied.

Her warmth was making him tired and before he knew it his eyes were fluttering closed. The last thing he saw before he fell asleep was Mabel's brilliant smile as she, too, drifted off into dreamland.