"Stanley." Ford stood dumbfounded. He gawked to and from Stan and the little girl standing next to him. "Wha- I- uh... I wasn't expecting you."
"I know." Stan said as he struggled to keep eye contact with Ford's wide eyes. "We need to talk."
Ford looked down to the girl who stared at him with puppy eyes. She looked ragged; her long brown hair lay matted with tangles, and her skin was rusted with dirt and scars. A large dirty coat lay on her body covering her form and clothes.
In lack of a response, Ford opened the door further and stepped out of the way to allow the pair to enter.
The girl was the first to enter. She almost bolted ahead of Stan as she stared at the interior as if she's never been inside a house before.
'Poor girl' was all Ford could think as he watched her enter.
Next was Stan. He entered with his head down. Ford noticed Stan slip in a few quick side glances as he walked beside him into the living room.
"Stan, look." The girl cheered walking up to her guardian. She held up a maroon colored cap with a golden symbol stitched to the front.
"Mom's hat." Stan whispered as he slowly took it from her hands. She Smiled a bright braces filled smile to his response.
"She wanted you to have it." Ford said. Stan's eyes darted to Ford, not expecting him to speak. "She said if she would ever see you again, the first thing she would do is give it to you; after giving you a hug, of course." He halfheartedly chuckled.
Stan responded with a heartfelt smile as Ford did the same, but it quickly formed to a saddened frown.
Ford forcefully coughed as he tried to gain his brother's attention. "Um, Stanley would you mind helping me grab some warm drinks in the kitchen?" Stan immediately began his course to the kitchen and stopped at the doorway as he waited for Stan.
Stan stood unsure as he hesitantly looked to the girl. She stared back at him before nudging her head with a comforting smile.
"Ok-um, just stay put." Stan whispered.
"Ok." She complied as she sat down on a wooden chair positioned far across the room.
Stan and Ford shared a glance as he walked through the walkway to the kitchen. Ford watched as the girl sitting in the chair happily swung her feet before following Stan. Once they reached the kitchen, and out of ear shot of the girl, Ford stopped Stan.
"What do you need?" Stan asked.
"I'm sorry but I had to speak to you in private. What are you doing here?" Was all Ford could ask. "Wait, wait. First of all, who in the heavens is sitting in my living room?"
Stan's stare immediately hardened. "Are you serious?"
"What?"
"You we haven't seen each other for over ten years, and that's the only thing you can ask me? No, 'hello brother, how's ur shitty life been these past few years'?" Stan huffed in disappointment.
"Excuse me for wanting to know how you found my house."
Ford spat as he placed a cup of hot chocolate in the microwave. "And now you have a girl with you." He paused before heaving an exhausted sigh. "Look, Stan, I already have enough problems I have to deal with, and I really don't need-"
"Another problem?" Stan interrupted. "Is that what I am to you?"
"No. Stanley, of course not. I just... I really cannot be distracted right now."
"I can't afford to do that."
Stanford didn't respond. He silently poured two cups of steaming hot coffee. Stan approached his brother as they glared each other down.
"Do you know what I went through to get here? Everything I've lost?" Stan growled. "I have nothing left, and now you're just gonna push me off to the side? Again?"
"Stanley, I'm not accountable for you and what you've done. All I'm saying is that I don't want you on the bad end if the stick when this ends, so I advise you take the girl and leave as quickly as you can manage."
"I can do that, but the girl stays." Stan said emphasizing his sentence with his stare.
"Pardon me?" Ford objected. "You can't just show up at my house and abandon your child. That's not how it works."
"Well, maybe if you'll just hear me out I won't have to-"
"My god- Stanley, you're just the same. After ten years you haven't changed." Ford interrupted. "You still only care about yourself enough to leave your priority; your responsibility in my hands to clean up. You've been making me clean you're messes all my life and now you come back just to do it again? Well, not anymore. I'm sorry Stanley but you're on your own." He grabbed the hot chocolate out of the microwave and placed it next to Stan's cup of coffee.
"Fuck you, Stanford." Stan spat staring Ford down with a grim glare. Was that really what his brother, who was once his best and only friend, had always thought of him? Stan couldn't help but feel hurt, but all he could show for it was anger.
Ford's eyes widened in disbelief. Those words have never been directed to him before. Stan would cuss out those who tried to pick fights with him and Ford when they were younger, or to those who harmed the two in any way, but never in his life would he have imagined Stan would say it to him.
"You think I wanna be here? To be shunned from you; again? The only reason I'm standing here in front of you is because of that girl in your living room." Stan said lowering his voice so she couldn't hear the conversation. "Now if you'll just shut the hell up and let us explain, maybe this girl and I won't be in your hands for too long."
Without another word, Stan aggressively picked up the two mugs for him and Mabel and began to make his way back to the living room. "Come on." He said just as he left. "We all need to have a talk."
Mabel waited patiently as her grunkles chatted. She could hear small whispers and the mumbles of their voices but no word was made out. And although the conversation didn't last more than 5 minutes, Mabel felt as though she had been waiting for hours. Her heart beating fast pace, and the room becoming stuffy from anxiety didn't help either.
Finally she heard Stan walking towards her.
"Hey kid. Come here." His voice boomed.
Mabel stood up and hastily made her way to Stan's side. He handed her a warm mug of hot chocolate that made her numb fingers tingle. She smiled at him and took a nice long whiff of the drink before gulping it down. Mabel was halfway done with the hot chocolate when she saw Ford walk into the room. She picked her head up and stared at him as he struggled to say something.
"Well." He finally said. "Let's get this 'meeting' started."
Dipper's side
He found it strange that someone would come down this road in this weather. Or in general, which caused him to fasten his pace, but he can only go so fast when the wind is blowing him back so fiercely.
It was horrible outside. How could anybody learn to live in this weather? Sure it would be nice once he's inside, but he can't even see the shack yet. It's seemed so far away.
Finally, the shadow of the shack came into view. And sure enough, there was a stranger's vehicle at the side of the house. Who could it be? No one came to this place. Not even the government Dipper supposed.
It wasn't until he reached the entrance of the shack that the wind stopped nipping at his exposed skin. He stomped up the wooden porch in an attempt to shake the compounded snow off of the soles of his boots, and reached for the handle of the door.
"Dang it, where did Ford say the key was again?" Dipper said to himself after realizing the door was locked. "I swear, he needs to stop relocating it."
"And of all days to send me out, he chooses to send me out on the day of a snow storm." Dipper continued complaining as he searched for the key to the house. "Wasn't forecast invented this time in history?" His eyes swept the ground looking for anything that could be buried under the snow when indentions in the snow caught his eye. There lay two pairs of footprints, that concluded his theory of guests that were indeed inside the house.
With his mind still focused on who might be inside, he lifted a stone gnome decoration to find a brass key.
He gently smiled at the thought of finally being warm inside the house as he lifted the key into his fingers and slipped it through the slot. He twisted the key, and with a click the door unlocked.
Dipper twisted the knob and pushed the door open. He was met with a warm gust of air; melting some of the frost that was accumulating on his face. He stepped into the shack and closed the door behind him, which immediately brought the howling wind to a silent growl. And as he locked the door, he could hear mumbles coming from the other room.
Mabel's side.
"Go on, kid." Stan said as he crossed his arms and sat comfortably in a chair beside her. Well, as comfortable as he could get.
Mabel stared at Ford who sat in front of her. He sat waiting for words to come out of her mouth, but for once, she couldn't say anything. It was as if every word of the English vocabulary had never even been taught to her. Now she knows how it feels to be Dipper.
"Umm- I- well... I'm sorry." Mabel huffed and slid her hand into her face in embarrassment.
"Hey," Ford said. Mabel lifted her head to see Ford staring at her with empathetic eyes. "It's okay. Let's start out with our names. I'm Stanford."
"I know." Mabel said.
"And what's your name?"
Mabel's heart began pumping. She didn't understand why she was so nervous. It wasn't this bad when she told Stan, and then she had more to lose. Perhaps it's because she has come this close, and she doesn't want to lose it all.
"I'm Mabel." She was able to finally say through a crackling voice.
"Mabel?" A voice echoed from behind her. The voice almost seemed unrecognizable but it had a familiar tone. Mabel and Stan turned their bodies to face a small figure covered in white specks of snow. His mouth was buried into his coat. He was carrying a plastic bag in which dropped to the floor as the contents spilled out of it, including a hat with a pine tree printed on the front.
Mabel stood up as the two stared at one another in shock. "Dipper?" He pulled down the coat to reveal the rest of his face, and sure enough, it was the face she remembered.
A large smile overcame her face as she ran towards him. Stan and Ford shared a curious and surprised glance before turning their attention back to the kids.
Mabel wrapped her arms around her brother as he did the same. The snow on Dipper's coat melted on contact to Mabel's face but she didn't care. Mabel let go to wipe off some tears that were gathering at the edges of her eyes.
"I'm so sorry." She cried. "I-"
"Mabel," Dipper cut her off as he took his coat off of his body. "It's okay. It's okay. How'd you get here?"
Mabel smiled and pointed at Stan who looked at the kids with a puzzled expression. "Look who I found."
"Grunkle Stan?" Dipper awed as he gawked at the man in front of him. His face was beaten and he looked as if he'd been living underneath a dumpster all his life, but Dipper saw through these flaws and only recognized the old man he'd remembered. Dipper ran to him and gave him a hug without hesitation. Surprised, Stan tensed to his unfamiliar touch, which Dipper picked up on.
"Kids," Ford said. "Why don't you-uh- catch up in the other room. I have something to discuss with Stanley.
"Come on." Dipper said as he walked towards the kitchen. Mabel gracefully followed as Dipper lead her through the kitchen and up the stairs.
"Woah." Mabel gawked as they reached the attic. "It looks almost the same to when it did in our time."
Dipper closed the door behind him. "I know, I kept thinking I was home, but..."
The two fell silent as they sat down on the edge of the mattress in the corner of the room.
"Stan. You've told him?" Dipper asked.
"Everything that I know, yeah." Mabel looked to the dust covered ground. The room was unused, and vacant. She wasn't used to this feeling. A feeling of emptiness longed in the pit of her stomach, even though her brother stood in front of her. It all felt surreal. Shouldn't she feel completed now that she's found a missing piece? "What happened? Where'd you end up?"
"Here." Dipper answered. "I found myself lost in the woods and almost froze to death, but that's when I found the shack." Dipper stared at the floor before looking back up to Mabel. She pulled her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear when Dipper noticed a large scar across her cheek. He stared, shocked as he wondered how he hadn't seen it when he first saw her. The bruises and scars were everywhere! Perhaps he was too overjoyed to notice her injuries.
"Mabel, oh my gosh, how'd u get all beat up?"
"Oh, yeah." Mabel gently touched the scars as she barely remembered they were there. "It's... it's nothing. We just got in a small accident on the way up here."
The room fell silent.
Dipper finally found to courage to finally take a good look at his sister. She sat in rags with messy hair and ragged clothes. And let's not forget the injuries she's sustained. She looked like she's been through more than he'd wished. All this time, he thought he was the only one in trouble. He thought she was home; safe. But she was here all along. He'd done this to her.
"Mabel," Dipper interrupted the silence. "It's been a while for me, but I couldn't stop thinking about the last things I said to you. I'm real sorry. I didn't mean any of it."
Mabel stared with watering puppy eyes before looking away. She had thought she didn't care about that fight anymore. As long as she got to see him again, but now that he brought it up, she couldn't help but feel what she had felt then. Hurt. She didn't want him to see her cry. She was supposed to be happy, but to her, the memory was recent and still fresh.
"I don't know what else to say. I was being a real jerk. No excuses."
Mabel left Dipper to his words with no response. He waited for her to say something as he wondered if an apology was enough to fix what he had said. After all, even his own words hurt him.
"It's okay, Dipper." Mabel finally said through a small sniffle. She looked up at her brother to show tears pouring down her scarred cheeks. Dipper couldn't tell whether her tears were of sadness or happiness, but they were there, and they wrenched at his heart in what felt like even more guilt. Good or bad, he made her cry. "I can't say I'm any better." She smiled. "We can be pretty crummy at times, can't we?"
Dipper smiled in a response. "We have our moments." He held out his fist to Mabel. "So what do you say; Mystery Twins?"
Mabel stared at his fist for a long second before holding out her arms and wrapping them around Dipper in a tight hug. "Mystery Twins."