"Mabel, wait! You don't just get to walk away, okay?! We need to actually talk about this, it's big and it'll affect both of us, and I came up here to talk about it with you, so come back here and sit on your bed!" he shouted after her.
She stopped moving, squeezing her shaking fists tight. "What's there to say?" she gritted out. "You want to leave me behind, so that you can go on your nerd adventures with Grunkle Ford instead of having a birthday party with your too-dumb-to-hang-out-with sister. Did I get it right?"
"Not in the slightest." he shot back. "I want to go on adventures with you, I want to stay with you forever. And you could stay with me, here. We both didn't have many friends back home, it was always just us against the world. But here, I feel like I belong. I feel like we belong! You have Candi, and Grenda, and Pacifica, and I finally, finally have something that is hard, that isn't boring. There are so many mysteries here, and I want to solve them with you. I don't see why that's so bad!"
"Our life in Piedmont was boring?" she asked quietly.
"No, school was. I loved everything else, you know that. I loved our life, but i love our life here more. I love solving mysteries and fighting monsters with you. I love befriending creatures and learning how to use magical stuff to help our friends."
She spun around, tears flying off of her face with the force. "You always seem so angry with me. Whenever I try to find happiness with a guy, you get angry at me, and I don't get why!"
"You commit to doing something with me, and then you break those commitments as if I'm less important to you than the latest guy, and that hurts."
"You're not less important at all! I- I'm so sorry, Dipper. I didn't realize that was happening, oh, my god, that's why you were always so angry at me! Oh, Dipper, I feel so awful, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, practically tackling him in a hug as she sobbed.
Dipper smiled sadly, petting her hair gently to calm her down. "It's okay, Mabel, I forgive you."
"I want to stay here, with you, doing all of the stuff you were just saying, I just didn't think it was an option! Oh, Dippin' Dots, I love you." she cried, squeezing him harder.
"Oof, too tight, love you too, Mabes. I'm going to go downstairs and give Ford my answer, d'ya wanna come with? If he says that you can't stay too, we're going back. Together forever, yeah?"
"Yeah. Let's go." Together, the Pines twins went downstairs, to find Stan and Ford going at it again. "Ugh, can't they just stop? We get it, they hate each other, can't they just... do what us girls do?"
"Hate each other in secret?" Dipper guessed, a small smile on his face.
"Yeah! Hate each other in secret! No yelling matches, just avoidance and pointed comments. It's so much less noisy."
"Yeah." Dipper squeezed his sister's hand, then turned back to the Grunkles. "HEY, LOOK, I'M ABOUT TO DRINK A QUART OF MABEL JUICE!"
"What?!" Ford yelled, whirling around, the same time Stan turned and yelled, "Don't! It's not worth it!"
"Great, now that we have your attention..." Mabel trailed off, glancing pointedly at Dipper.
Dipper cleared his throat. "First, we would like to ask you both to not yell as much, please, you're scaring Waddles. And second, what are you too fighting about?"
"He's crazy talking, spouting nonsense about wanting to split you two up, and how I need to call your parents, and stuff!" Stan shouted.
"I was just telling him about the apprenticeship I offered you, and he blew up at me!" Ford shouted back.
"That's, uh, actually what we came down here for." Mabel offered, tugging on Dipper's vest.
Dipper fidgeted nervously with his leather bracelet. "Yeah. I've made a decision, Grunkle Ford. Either Mabel and I both get the apprenticeship, and go to school here, in Gravity Falls, or we're both going back to Piedmont. Either you take both of us, or neither."
Both Grunkles stared at the twins for a second.
"Dipper, are you sure? You want her tagging along with us as we explore the woods?" Ford asked.
Dipper's eyes narrowed. "She wouldn't be just 'tagging along', Ford. She's just as smart as I am, and much stronger. She's my other half, we're in this together, or not at all."
Ford sighed. "Fine. Let's call up your parents and get them to agree."
"Wait, you two are staying, just like that?! If you two are staying here, then you need two guardians. I'm staying here, too." Stan interjected, fists half closed as if he was still expecting a fight.
"What? No, why would you want to stay? You've never taken responsibility for anything else before." Ford sneered.
Stan finally loosened his grip. "I've been trying to. You- for being so smart, you can be really stupid sometimes. I tried to fix your machine, and I was about to call you to tell you about me breaking it, but the night security was coming. Then, I tried to tell you when I got home, but you shut me up, saying that whatever it was could wait, then went to bed. I slept in accidentally the next morning, and you were already gone when I tried to tell you that I had broken it. I tried to apologize, but instead Dad just tossed me out. I tried to call you to apologize, but you wouldn't take my calls. I've been trying to make up for it this whole time, tried to get my brother back, and then you yelled at me for wanting you back. And now you're mad at me for wanting to stay by my family, the one thing I could never do with you. I swear, there's no winning with you, is there?"
"Stanley, I-"
"We're staying." Mabel declared. "You two can and will sort out your issues while we're here. I just got off a video chat with Mom, and she agreed, as long as we call once a week."
"Well, that settles it." Stan said, walking over to Mabel and giving her a hug. "We're all together."
Ford grumbled. "Alright. Let's get you two registered for school, and then work out sleeping arrangements."
"Yeah!" the twins cheered, and all was right with the world.
"Well, well, well. That's interesting." he mused, watching the events unfold from within the Mindscape. "That's interesting... Yeah. That could work."
His triangular body was enveloped in a strange golden glow, and transformed, becoming human in appearance. "Let's do this, instead."
Silver chains wrapped around each of his wrists, and he gave his most pathetic look, a large mirror appearing in front of him.
He grinned, showing sharp canines. "That'll do."
"That'll do indeed."