Chapter One – Adoption

The only sound in the room was the light drumming of a short brown haired girl's finger tips on a black coffee table. Her twin brother sat beside her, messing with one of the many children's books scattered about the room.

This brother and sister went by the names of Mable and Dipper Pines.

They were only six years old and have already been through twenty different foster homes.

Dipper shuttered at the memories. Some houses were nice and the people living in them showed kindness and compassion, until they had kids of their own; that just made Dipper and Mabel dead weight that needed dealing with. Other houses were…. In lesser words… Terrifying… Filled with abuse and neglect. Mabel and Dipper had to think of plans in order to escape the terrible houses.

Dipper had ended up being molded into a very shy, self-conscious, paranoid child. Mabel did her best to be bubbly and out spoken, but sometimes, she has an episode. By that I mean, she doesn't talk, she doesn't smile, she doesn't laugh; she just goes throughout her day like a gray, lifeless, robot. The only people they trusted were each other, and only each other.

A woman approached them. She was short, chubby, and had a dress shirt on with a skirt that stopped at her knees. She smiled at the two of them "Mabel and Dipper Pines?" she asked, gaining the twins' attention. They looked up at her with big eyes and their eyes filled with curiosity. The woman chuckled at their expressions "My name is Natalie. I would like for you two to follow me," she said. Dipper and Mabel stood up and followed the woman down a long hallway.

After passing countless doors, they stopped walking. Natalie opened a door to a room and stepped in, gesturing for the kids to follow. They did as instructed.

In the room stood two men who were in their fifties. One of the men was wearing a dress suit with a maroon fez that had a strange, golden symbol on it. The other was wearing a red sweater with dress pants. Both wore glasses. Dipper noticed how they looked very similar. Mabel noticed the small crack in the side of one of the men's glasses.

Stanley and Stanford where the names of these two men. More so known by Stan and Ford.

Ford was a very kind and gentle man. He had seven P.H.D.'s, and had to get surgery to have a metal plate put in his head, but that story is for another time. He was smart, and pried filled.

Stan, much like Ford, was pride filled; however, Stan had little to no education; he only finished high school (barely), and was one of the best conmen out there.

Both lived in a small town called Gravity Falls, Oregon. Stan ran a tourist trap known as "The Mystery Shack", with the help of a few others. Ford spend most of his time in the basement doing research while Stan made money off the "suckers" (as Stan called them) who were dumb enough to fall for this "mystery business."

Mabel approached the two men, a smile on her face. Dipper ducked behind her, poking his head out slightly. He was still unsure about these two men. Ford, along with Stan, gave them both a small, soft smile. Ford knelt down and outstretched his hand "Greetings," he said. Mabel smiled wide and shook his hand. Her eyes widen with delight "Wow!" she exclaimed in wonder "Six fingers!" Mabel looked down at Ford's hand, which was still holding hers, counting his six fingers "That's a full finger friendlier than normal!" she chirped with delight. Ford chuckled and looked up at Stan "I like this kid. She's weird," he said. Stan nodded in agreement.

Natalie smiled softly at the scene "I wish you the best of luck," she said.

Stan rolled his eyes "Luck. Right…" he grumbled. Ford stood up and elbowed him in the ribs "Stan! Don't be rude," he snapped through clenched teeth. Mabel giggled "Are you two married?" she asked, staring up at the two men. Dipper's eyes widen in terror. He tugged at Mabel's sleeve of her old gray sweater "Mabel! You can't just ask that!" he said. Ford held up his hands in reassurance "No, no, it's quite alright. She'd be right. We are married," he said, showing his hand to them and exposing the plane silver ring on his ring finger. Stan's cheeks got a pink tint in them "Tell the whole world why don't you, poindexter," he huffed, rolling his eyes.

Natalie folded her hands behind her back, a small smile on her face "Would you like copies of the adoption papers?" she asked. Stan nodded as a reply.

Mabel looked in Natalie's direction and tilted her head "Wait… These men are going to adopt us?" she asked. Natalie nodded, smiling wider "I'll let you get to know them while I run to go get copies," she said, turning to go run and grab copies of the adoption papers. Mabel turned back to Ford and Stan. Dipper swallowed a lump in his throat. Ford smiled wide "My name is Stanford," he said. He gestured to Stan "And this is Stanley. If I'm right, your names are Mabel and– " Dipper cut in "Call me Dipper," he said quickly. Stan raised an eyebrow "Why do you want us to do that?" he asked. Dipper rubbed the back of his neck, his face going red from embarrassment. Mabel giggled "He's got this birthmark thing on his forehead that looks like the big dipper." Dipper's blush deepened and he hid his face in the gray sweater he was wearing that matched Mabel's. Stan smiled lightly "Hey, kid. Don't worry about it," he said in a comforting manner "Ford and I have no room to judge. He's got six fingers for crying out loud," Stan said, using his thumb to point in Fords direction.

"Oh, I was meaning to ask you two… Would you feel comfortable if we also had your last name?" Ford asked. Mabel tilted her head, curiosity filling her eyes "Like… You would get your last name changed to Pines?" she asked. Stan and Ford nodded in unison. Mabel's eyes lit up "That sounds cool!" she chirped. Mabel turned to Dipper "How about it, dippingsauce?" she asked, nudging him lightly in the arm with her shoulder. Dipper pocked his head out of his sweater and nodded "I'm okay with it…" he mumbled.

"Oh! Also," Stan pipped up, gaining the attention of Dipper and Mabel "You don't have to call us mom or dad or whatever. I'm pretty sure we're too old to claim either of those titles. You can just call us Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford."

"Grunkle?" Mable asked.

"It's a combination of "great" and "uncle,"" Ford explained.

Mable nodded in understanding "Cool," she chirped.

Natalie entered the room with a stack of papers in her hand. She pulled out two of them and hand them to Stan and Ford "Here you are," she said. Ford took the papers and looked them over. He nodded and looked down at the kids "Well… Looks like we'll see you two tomorrow then…" he said. Mabel had a smile plastered on her face. Dipper averted his gaze, filled with worry.

-O-O-O-O-

That night, Mabel and Dipper laid in their separate beds in their room in the orphanage. Mable seemed to notice that her twin was worried and sat up "Dipper, what's wrong?" she asked. Dipper turned on his side so he was facing her "What if they take us back? What if they're not as friendly as they made themselves out to be? What if they hate us? What if they have a child of their own?" he asked, tears prickling in his eyes. He didn't want to move again. He wanted to find an actual home; one that would actually keep him and his sister. He wasn't ready for another disappointment.

Mable got up out of her bed and walked over to her twin. Dipper moved over and Mable climbed onto the bed "Dipper…" she began. Dipper sat up and stared at her, waiting to hear some sort of reassurance "You might be right… But… I'm sure everything will be fine. I mean… They can't have babies because they're both guys, and they did seem really nice. I don't think they hate us. Grunkle Ford even said that he liked me." Dipper rolled his eyes "You're really going to call them that?" he asked. Mable shrugged "Why not? It seems pretty fitting," she said. Dipper sighed "It's just… I hope that… They'll keep us…" he mumbled, holding his knees close to his chest. Mabel frowned and placed a hand on her brother's shoulder "Hey… It's okay… I'm sure that everything will be fine." Mable ruffled Dippers hair "Now let's get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow," she said, laying down on the bed. Dipper raised an eyebrow "You're not going to sleep in your bed?" he asked. Mabel smiled "I can't leave my twin like this! We have to be there for each other. I would have thought you'd figured that out by now," she said, smiling softly. Dipper returned the smile and laid down "Goodnight, dumb-dumb," Dipper mumbled sleepily "Goodnight, stupid-head," Mabel replied, her eyes growing heavy.

-O-O-O-O-

The two kids stared up at the shack in front of them. Natalie, who drove them there, seemed hesitant to enter the very unsafe looking house. She would have double checked if she took a wrong turn had it not been for the massive sign that stood on the roof. The sign read "Mystery Shack." Mabel looked at her twin, giving him a smile "This place seems fun," she said, looking on the lighter side of things.

Stan walked out of the shack and waved, smiling. Mabel returned the smile and wave "Hey, Grunkle Stan!" she greeted. Stan chuckled as he walked up to the two kids "Already using the nicknames, I see." Natalie smiled nervously "Uh… Is that house… Safe?" she asked, shifting her gaze form Stan to the house. Stan nodded "Yes! Perfectly safe!" he said, a grin on his face.

Just before he could turn around to show them inside there was a loud boom from inside and the letter "S" on the sign that read "Mystery Shack" fell to the ground "Perfectly safe," he repeated, still grinning.

Ford came running through the front door. His face had smoke coming off of it. He skidded to a stop beside Stan "Hello!" he greeted "Sorry I couldn't come out sooner! I was dealing with… Something." He mumbled the last part to himself. Natalie swallowed nervously "Uh… Are you sure this place is safe?" she asked. Stan nodded "Yep!" he said, still grinning. Ford turned on his heels "Well, I guess we'll show you around then," he said. Stan tilted his head as if saying "Follow us."

Dipper, Mabel, and Natalie followed the two men in the shack. Mabel's eyes widen in wonder "Oooooo," she said in aw, looking around at all the items in the room "What's with all this stuff?" Dipper asked, looking around as well. He spotted a hat with a pine tree on the front of it. Stan smiled "I'm glad you asked!" he chirped "I run a tourist trap known as The Mystery Shack," he said. Ford chuckled lightly "You two can take something if you'd like," he said "Just one thing!" Stan corrected. Ford glared in his direction. Stan replied with a shrug "I'm going to show my true colors," he muttered so only Ford could hear.

Dipper looked back at them "What's the catch?" he asked. Stan frowned "The catch is take something before I change my mind," he replied, crossing his arms. Ford elbowed him in the ribs.

Dipper picked up the hat he had noticed earlier and put it on. It was a little too big and caused his eyes to be covered. Ford smiled lightly "One size fits all," he said. Mabel dug through a box. Her eyes widen in delight as she pulls out a grappling hook "GRAPPLING HOOK!" she exclaimed. Natalie's eyes widen in fear. Stan and Ford exchanged questionable looks. Stan looked in Mabel's direction "Uh… Wouldn't you like a doll or stuffed animal or something?" he asked. Mabel's smile widened "Grappling hook!" she yelled. Natalie bit her lip "That's uh… That's a fake, right?" she asked. Stan raised an eyebrow "Whatever helps you sleep at night," he replied.

Ford and Stan continued to show the kids and Natalie around, finally stopping in the attic, which is where the twins will be sleeping.

"So, what do you two think?" Ford asked. Mabel walked up to one of the beds "This place is so cool! Not to mention cozy!" she said. Dipper hesitantly moved around the room, looking it over "Its… Um…" he trailed off. Ford frowned "We could change things around if you want," he said. Dipper shook his head "No… Um… It's good," he managed to say, staring out the triangular shaped window.

Natalie sighed "Well… I suppose everything somewhat checks out," she said. Stan grinned "So, they can stay?" he asked. Natalie nodded "Yep! I'll go down and get their bags," she said, exiting the room.

Mabel was exploring the room, looking around every nook and cranny "This place is amazing!" she chirped. Dipper continued to stare out the triangle shaped window. He was somewhat in aw about how much it looked like a thing he saw in his dreams. He doesn't remember much about said dream, but he remembers the yellow triangle with one eye vaguely.