Alice wasn't sure what to expect, not with Mabel standing on a stool and readying two plates of food, the contents she couldn't hope to see yet due to her mass of hair and Dipper's hat. Ford waved at her from across the table, and Alice turned to him, leaning forward so he could whisper to her.

"Do-" He started, hesitating only for a moment. "Do you have any idea what's going on over there?"

"She has a bowl of jelly beans," Alice replied the corner of the bowl in her vision. "So whatever happens, I'm eating all of those."

"Oh really?" Ford asked her with a challenging look. "Not if I get to them first."

Alice shot him a playful glare, eye contact in the name of rivalry before she started to laugh. Ford grinned, shaking his head as Mabel whirled around and hopped off her stool. She brandished two glasses of something disturbingly pink, setting them down on the table with a flourish.

"Ta-da!" She grinned her metal grin between Alice and Ford. "Two tall glasses of Mabel Juice!"

Alice turned her smile to the drink and tried to keep it there when she saw two plastic dinosaurs floating in her cup. She'd had a daughter, she knew how to handle this.

"Oh! Such a delicacy!" Alice beamed, picking up her drink and swirling in her cup, trying to pretend she was at a wine tasting. She glanced at Ford, giving him the face of  'please god, play along. Do not leave me alone in this. "What ingredients do you use?"

"Uh- oh! Yes!" Ford seemed to catch onto her face because he peered intently at his cup. "Mabel, this looks truly exquisite! Pray tell, what's your method?"

"Are plastic dinosaurs and monopoly pieces just decoration?" Alice asked as seriously as she could manage. Mabel was too busy giggling at their answers, and she didn't seem to notice that neither touched their drinks. Ford was too busy smiling at her from across the table as Alice asked about the ingredients and her process. "-This is a true work of culinary art!"

"Anyway-" Mabel giggled, turning back to the stove. "Onto the main course- Voila!"

With a flourish that would have rivaled Gourdon Ramsey, Mabel placed two covered plates on the table, one in front of Ford and the other in front of Alice. Stretching across the table, she managed to pull both clothes off the plate at once. 

What awaited her on the plate was... Horrifying, to say the least. Alice glanced over the burnt dinosaur chicken nuggets, the half-wet, half-dry noodles with a slice of cheese draped over them, and the handful of jellybeans. Ah yes, a not-so-secret ingredient.

"The Mabel Special!" Mabel grinned, puffing her chest out with pride. "I'm not a fancy cook. I'm just a cute little girl! But I slaved away at this romantic dinner for the two of you, dang it!"

"Mabel-" Ford started, hesitant his eyes flickering to Alice, panicked. "I- Uh, this looks..."

"I'm not sure where to start!" Alice said, as enthusiastic as she had been over the Mabel juice. "So many choices!"

"I'd suggest 'cleansing your palate' with those jellybeans first, then digging right into the mac n' cheese," Mabel leaned into Alice, half whispering. "I got that bit from one of those cooking shows Grunkle Stan left on the TV when he fell asleep."

"Now that's an idea I can get behind-" Ford sighed, then straightened. "The- The jelly beans, I mean."

"Not if I eat them first-" Alice challenged.

"You can take my jelly beans, alright-" Ford arched his brow at her, grinning at the challenge. "Over my burnt chicken nuggets."

"You're on-" Alice grinned as she dug into the beans, going as far as to try and spear them on her fork to play along with Mabel's dinner experience. She watched as Ford relaxed as the dinner continued, but once the last bean was eaten, they both fell silent.

There were consequences to eating all the jelly beans first.

Ford glanced between Alice and the remains of his food, swallowing hard.

"Oh!" Mabel suddenly gasped. "I forgot the sauces and stuff! Silly Mabel."

Mabel turned, with enough time for Alice's eyes to go wide and for her to whisper 'sauces??' at Ford. The fridge door slammed behind Mabel as she placed bottles of ketchup and mustard on the table, next to a bottle of blue glitter.

"Didn't we use those on the cupcakes?" Alice asked, sucking in a breath as she spoke.

"Yep!" Mabel grinned at her. "You're lucky there's still some left!"

"Why... is it here?" Ford asked, looking just as shocked as Alice felt.

"Garish, silly!"

I know what I have to do- Alice picked up the glitter, once again resigned to her Mabel-signed fate, and shook it onto the burnt nuggets. They were blue and shiny, the glitter hid most of the burn bits and made the nuggets look a little more fabulous.

"Why-" Ford asked quietly, staring.

"They're pretty now-" Alice shrugged, holding the bottle out to Ford.

"Add a little glitter, and anything is possible!" Mabel agreed as Ford chuckled, taking the bottle.

"Join me with my pretty nuggets-" Alice insisted, a smile cracking across her lips.

"If you say so-" Ford shook his head with a smile as he decorated his nuggets with glitter, each respective plate shining under the kitchen light. Mabel stared expectantly, like they were going to chow down into them now they had been appropriately sauced up.

"Eat up!" Mabel insisted. "You've still got a lot of food left."

Alice took a deep breath, gingerly picking up one of the nuggets and taking a very small bit out of the edge. She tried not to wince, it was crispy and burnt, but edible, to some extent. She swallowed the bite, followed quickly by a sip of the too-sweet drink. Her gaze flickered to Ford, only to find he was staring at her in awe as if she'd just defeated a Gremloblin with a single hit.

"You..." He started, mouth still slack-jawed before he managed to collect himself. "You have glitter on your... mouth."

"Oh, I do?" Alice grabbed a napkin, dabbing at the corners of her mouth. But his hand was suddenly there, his thumb gently wiping the blue glitter from her bottom lip. Alice flushed, sucking in a breath at the gentle contact- especially since all the while, he was gazing down at her mouth.

"Th-there." He muttered out, suddenly leaning back in his seat. "Got it."

Alice followed his lead, leaning back in her chair and avoiding eye contact until she felt the heat leave her face. She could hear the long 'squeeeeee' sounding from Mabel in the corner, her hands clapping quietly together. The girl was as bright eyes and bush-tailed as ever as if she'd been waiting for some magic to happen. Alice swallowed nervously, glancing back at Ford as she cupped her hand over her mouth, hiding her words from Mabel's eyes.

I have an idea- She tapped the side of her head with her other hand, trying to express her idea further, and he seemed to notice. Ford nodded, gesturing across the table as if to say the floor was hers.

Alice lowered her hand slightly, fanning her face as she sat upright in her chair.

"Oh no, Alice," Mabel started, her face twisting in worry. "Are you too hot? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine-" Alice breathed out, continuing to fan her face. "It's just hot in here, Mabel. Do you think we can turn the thermostat down, please?"

Ford nodded, theatrically pulling at his collar, "Yes, Mabel. It is exceedingly warm in here. Can you please go turn down the heat?"

"Of course! Anything to make you two lovebirds comfortable!" Mabel grinned, Ford's red face must have convinced her. She hopped down from her stool, snapping her fingers at the pair with a grin. "No canoodlin' while I'm gone, okay?"

Alice felt her face heat, for real this time, as she skipped out the door. Ford turned to her, a smile nervously playing across his face.

"Alice, I'm, uh, I know Mabel tried her best, but..." He stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not... accustomed to the dating... game? As Stan calls it? For the first time in a while, I don't know what to do. Do you?"

Alice took a breath, she didn't know what to do either. She hadn't been on a date in almost twenty years. But then, she'd been worried that something might have gone wrong, what had Dipper told her? Be herself. No time like the present-

"Alright, but we have to act fast-" Alice nodded a him, a smile crossing her face. "Watch my movements."

Alice picked up her plate- struggling not to laugh as Ford mimicked her almost perfectly-  and shoveled her dinner into Waddles' mouth. The pig snorted happily, chewing, swallowing, and nuzzling at her leg.

"Really?" Ford asked and Alice shrugged.

"According to Dipper, Waddles will eat anything." She responded, almost matter-of-factly as footsteps sounded in the hall. "You give him yours too. It'll look like we ate. Quick!"

Alice gently pushed the pig toward Ford, who fed him the rest of the dinner. Waddles snorted happily, settling between Alice's feet, seemingly content and full.

"And I'm back!" Mabel grinned at Alice's shoulder. "You guys were just kiddin' around! What did you think of dinner?"

"Perfect," Alice smiled as Waddles let out a content grunt. "Couldn't have imagined anything better."

"Absolutely delicious, Mabel," Ford agreed with a nod, a grinning Mabel's feet tapping against the floor. "You're quite the chef, y'know."

"But-" Alice interrupted, her hand held in front of her. "Can we take dessert to go? I want to take Ford somewhere."

Ford glanced at her, a sheepish smile crossing his face as Mabel gave a grinning nod, waggling her brows.

"You sly dog-" Mabel grinned. "Of course."