Back To Gravity Falls: Beware the Beast (Multiverse Crossover)

The Hills Have Pines

Full title name: The Hills Have Pines (and Other Assorted Greenery)

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The bus driver arrived at Gravity Falls well after sunset, standing from his chair with a heave, he looked upon the sleeping teens. He hadn't planned on arriving this late, or glazing over the original plan of stopping every few towns for breaks, but the traffic had been hectic- even for the current time of year- and he'd been forced to make more pit stops and re-directions than planned. Fortunately, his passengers slept through the worst of it all. He walked to Mabel, who laid closest to him and shook her shoulder gently.

She woke easily, smiling, "Are we here?"

"We're here, kid. Gravity Falls. If you wake everyone up, I will take the bags outside for you all. I am sorry I can't take you guys to your places, but it's already so late." He smiled.

Mabel didn't know it, but she reminded the aging driver of his daughter, who was waiting at home. The similarity was especially close when Mabel yawned and stretched her arms above her head.

"You're very nice, sir. At worst, we can all stay at a friend's house for the night," Mabel told the man, thinking of Wendy and the woman's abnormal sleep schedule, before moving her bag to the seat for him to take.

Mabel whispered something quietly in Dipper's ear, causing him to wake with a screech.

"MABEL! YOU KNOW I HATE BREATHY WHISPERING!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" She smiled coyly, Norman waking with a jump and a sour expression at Dipper's screaming in his face.

Coraline woke up shortly after, whispering something to wake Wybie, earning a joking whine from him.

"Clingy," Coraline mouthed with a blush in Mabel's direction.

"Mr. Bus-Man has got most of our bags outside, so let's go." Mabel instructed, leading everyone off the bus.

"I thought he was driving us all the way," Coraline huffed, taking her purse off the ground as the bus went a side-road to loop back to the highway.

"It's really late, and he probably has a family to get home to," Wybie soothed, taking Coraline's luggage from the ground.

"We can stay at my cousins' for the night, probably," Norman offered. "He runs an inn-slash-bookstore off the corner of Fern Drive."

"That would be awesome," Dipper muttered after hefting his bag, yawning before glancing at the clock on his phone, "Seeing as it's almost 11."

"Wow, must have been some traffic." Mabel muttered to herself, yawning too.

"No kidding," Coraline rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Even Wybie's grandma would be asleep by now. Either way, we should all get in contact before we get settled in case anyone is waiting up."

"Good point, and I have to call my cousin to make sure it'd be okay. No doubt he's watching some noir film at this time of night." Norman muttered to himself, calling his cousin.

...

Wirt picked up on the second ring, "Norman, you're really late, everything alright?"

"Yeah but me and a couple of other kids from the bus need a place for what's left of the night. We haven't really eaten and I'm guessing none of their respective caretakers are up this late." Norman replied, watching Coraline and Wybie share a phone and Dipper taking the reigns contacting the Mystery Shack.

"Good call, I could pick you all up in the book van if you want?" Wirt responded, the sound of hokey acting muffled through the receiver.

"If you wouldn't mind. We'd really appreciate it."