Heaven Fell

The truth and a truce

"Goooood morning Gravity Falls!" Mabel jumped out of bed with a smile as wide as can be. Dipper was already awake, and sitting on his star-like bedsheets.

"Mornin' Mabel." He smiled at her, and she ran over to him.

"Dipper! I thought of the best idea in the night! What if we go out and investigate some things in the book together! I've never had a mystery buddy...hey! We can be the Mystery Pals." The star listened to the young girl's ramblings and laughed slightly.

"Uh, slow down a bit, Mabel! Sure I'll go adventuring with you...but Mystery Pals? Really?" She elbowed him lightly, her grin widening.

"C'mon. It'll grow on ya, like the mold in the room!" She stared at the ceiling and winked at a green patch of mold. "Especially you, Daryl!"

"Um, Mabel? You're talking to some mold..." he smiled a little. "You're crazy. You know that, right?"

"Yup!" She jumped down a flight of stairs. "And you like it!"

"Can't argue with that." He walked down to meet her.

"Mabel! Weirdo! I made Stancakes!" A voice called from the kitchen.

"Coming Grunkle Stan!" Mabel called back. She then grabbed the star's hand, and the pair walked into the kitchen.

"Ugh, it's unnatural for people to get along like you do. Seriously, anyone would think you were twins or something." He looked notably annoyed at the word 'twins'. Dipper made a quick mental note of this, and ate a quick bite of food.

"What can I say? I'm just that likeable!" Mabel laughed as she reached for the maple syrup...and proceeded to pour it into her mouth.

This was followed by a fit of coughs.

"Argh...bad idea..."

Dipper laughed slightly. Mabel had a knack for making people happy. Her superpower would definitely be positivity...or kitten fists. The star chuckled slightly at the thought, but he suddenly remembered he was in the kitchen with Stan and Mabel, and stopped.

"Well, that was weird." Stan commented, flipping another pancake. "Hey, Mabel sweetie? I have some fireworks upstairs, would ya mind setting them up for me while I have a quick chat with our new houseguest?" He stared the star down in a menacing fashion, but Mabel didn't seem to notice.

"Sure Stan! You be nice to Dipper, though. I don't wanna see him upset again!" And with that, she ran upstairs to find the fireworks.

"If you set anything on fire, blame the goat!" Stan called after her.

"Now...let's get down to business..." Stan cracked his knuckles and slammed his hands down on the table

"What do you want from me?!" The star backed away from the man, his heart beating furiously. "You said you'd tolerate me because of Ma-"

"I know what I said!" The man snapped, staring down at the kitchen table. "But I was reading through some papers for the past few nights, 'kid'. Very interesting papers..." he stared the boy in the eyes, his face full of anger and worry. Yet his eyes still shot daggers, despite vulnerability showing through his expression. "I know who you are"

The star looked the man in the eyes, attempting to replicate his look.
It failed.
"What do you mean 'know who I am'" he tried playing ignorant. But the old conman didn't buy it for a second.

"Tell me, 'dipper'. What's your last name?" The man watched the boy stutter and smirked. "Save it, I already know." He knelt down next to the star, his grin growing. "What's the matter? Is poor Little Dipper too far from home?" His grin stopped dead as the star before him did the only thing he could.

Dipper cried. His tears fell slow at first, but more came faster. The child didn't make a sound, out of fear the old man would hurt him.

"I...I didn't..." Stan was visibly out of his depth. "A...aw jeez, how am I gonna explain this to Mabel...?" He looked back at the star, and sighed. "Look. I guess you are technically a kid...so I'll let you off the hook." The star looked up at the man, his tearful eyes holding a glimmer of hope.

"Really, Mr Pines?" The man nodded, before turning away.

"But if you lay even a single finger on Mabel, I will NOT hesitate to kill you. Is that understood?" The star nodded, his tears slowing.

"Thanks Mr Pines." He smiled, and just for a second, he seemed like an alright kid. A normal, happy child. And then the moment left and he was back to being himself.

Stan started walking away. There was something about that star that was all too familiar. He knew what it was like to have a secret that big. He knew what it was like to be alone in the world, thrown away from family. He shook the thought away and called back to the star.

"Call me Stan."