Fic Open Season Prompt: Dipper and the extended Family on Henry's side.

Sort of skewed into Henry's reaction to his parent's reaction to Dipper.

Henry was doing his best to shield Dipper and Mabel from his extended family, save for the branch in Gravity Falls.

Then again, Manly Dan and his clan were already considered just as much black sheep as Henry was. Little wonder they accepted Henry, Mabel, and Dipper as well as they did. Living in Gravity Falls was enough for the rest of the family to be estranged from them, despite them being 'proper' Corduroy Lumberjacks, even before they put Uncle Tyler into the mix.

And really, Henry preferred it that way. And if he were being honest, it was for Mabel and Dipper's sake, not his family's, that he'd kept them separate and begun cutting ties with most of the people he was (unfortunately) related to.

It wasn't until they started to talk about the wedding that Henry's parents came up in unavoidable conversation.

"So I know my parents want to come up for the wedding, even though Dipper still creeps them out. We're still summoning him for it, I don't care. He's my bro-bro, yanno? He's been there for me more than them." Mabel paused in her rambling to glance over at Henry. "You did know we need to have him there, right?"

"Can he be in the church, or should we have it outside?" was Henry's practical concern. "Uncle Dan can set us up with a pavilion outside so we can be sure he'll be there. I was going to ask him to be my best man, so it's kind of important he can attend."

Mabel grinned, grateful, at the easy acceptance of Dipper being part of the wedding. "…I never heard you mention if your parents were coming. Are they?" she asked, glittering another invite.

Henry winced. "Yeah, but…fair warning. They're not happy."

"Let Mabel work her magic!" his fiancee chirped. Henry winced again.

"They…aren't nice people anymore, honey," he said. "They weren't the nicest before, and they just got worse after the Transcendence and I made it clear I wasn't going to take a stand against the supernatural and come home to be a 'proper' Corduroy."

Mabel grimaced, and he kept talking. "I…think I need to talk to them before the wedding, to make sure everything goes smoothly. I…guess if you want to come along…"

…this was a mistake, Henry thought as he watched his father continue his monologue, one that would sound fine to an outsider but was actually a vicious barrage of abuse directed mostly at Mabel and Dipper. Between it and his mother's constant fondling of her crosses, her quiet, fervent, hissed in a barely audible (but quite nasty, Henry was sure) prayers, and her offers of holy water laced beverages, they'd already driven Dipper from the room (Henry wasn't sure, but he thought there had been a faint glimmer of gold demon tears threatening to spill from Dipper's eyes, despite how hard he'd been trying to look human) and were close to driving Mabel to do the same, and he had to do something.

No one hurt his brother or his fiancee. Not even his parents.

Especially not his parents, or his brother's parents. No one.

"That's enough," he said, quiet and calm, cutting though his father's verbal assault. "It doesn't matter what you think of this. Mabel and Dipper are my family now, and we're formalizing it a month from now. Come or not, it doesn't really matter. If you do, though, then I want you to know that Uncle Dan will be there, and he'll remove you if you so much as breathe wrong towards my family. He'll probably enjoy it. I'll be too busy sharing the day with the people who actually matter to deal with you. Then, or now."

He shoved back his chair and stood up, taking Mabel's hand. "Now I'm going home with my family. C'mon, Mabel, let's go find your brother."

They left, Rita's faint "I'll pray for you," drifting after them.

Outside, Henry leaned against the wall, Mabel clinging to him tightly.

"You weren't kidding," she said, muffled against his shirt.

"Sorry," he said, squeezing her close. "I meant all of it, though. C'mon, let's go find your brother. I think he needs us right now."

Dipper had retreated to the Mindscape, despite their earlier deal having granted him more time on the physical plane then he'd used, and Henry couldn't blame him. He father was vicious when he got going, and there were some things no one should be asked to endure.

Mabel coaxed Dipper back onto their plane with soup and promises of hugs, and now, bracketed between twins, with a head on his chest and another on his shoulder, an arm around each, watching one of Stan's old movies for comfort, Henry resolved – he might not be able to protect them from physical threat the way they could him or each other, but it didn't mean he couldn't be there for them no matter what.

He squeezed them a little closer, Mabel squeezing back and Dipper nuzzling closer, at the very edge of sleep.

Yeah. His family. A lot smaller than the old one, and a bit broken, but the one he chose.

And to hell with anyone who tried to take it from him.

A/N: Henry will not stand by while people hurt his family. Not now, not ever.