That last chapter had a lot of drama that will continue a bit in this chapter (:
Stan makes a minor reference to "gay" in this chapter. I want you to know that it is in NO WAY meant to offend ANYONE! Please don't take it seriously if in case you find it offensive. This story is based on two male characters, after all. (;
With that out of the way, here is chapter 19 of 'Welcome Home'!
This is bad. This is very, very bad... Ford kept telling himself. Bill had just broken the Rubik's cube.
"If It's really so terrible, why don't we just fix it?" Bill suggested, shrugging his shoulders.
Ford turned to him with a glare, shaking his head. "We can't fix it." He stated with his teeth clenched.
Bill cringed at the other man's tone of voice. "Look, I figured it would be better if we just got rid of the thing and stopped the time from ticking down!"
Ford sighed and nodded. "I understand that. But it only made things worse." He said, muttering and looking away.
A small part of Bill felt guilty for messing up, but he was silently amused with what would occur in the mere future.
The walk back to the office was long and quiet. Fred looked in Joe's direction several times, but the other refused to make eye contact.
Fred sighed. "What do you think Mr. Powers is going to say?"
Joe glared at Fred and shrugged. "Who knows? But it won't be anything good."
"Well, you don't know that.." Fred tried.
Joe scoffed. "I've known him for years before he decided to take this so called 'career path', He gets mad very easily, so how do you think he will react when he hears that you gave up so easily back there? Just like that!" Joe stated, throwing his arms into the air and shaking his head in disbelief.
Fred folded his arms and sighed in defense. "He said he didn't know! What was I supposed to do?"
Joe snarled. "Investigate further! Try to look through potential lies. Don't just draw your eyes down to the floor in defeat!" He said, stomping forward as they passed the trees and into town.
Fred decided not to say anything else. He sighed and looked at the grass in remorse. Mother always said I was too good of a person to become an agent. He thought to himself. Maybe I should reconsider my career path...
After about ten minutes of silence between the two, they finally reached the office to find their boss. Joe marched up the stairs and Fred rushed towards the door, opening it for the other with a smile. Joe didn't make eye contact and walked into the building without another word.
The building was fairly large with creamy white walls. It had a long hallway past the lobby, with a variety of doors on the sides leading to a variety of sized rooms. Joe walked past Fred, still avoiding eye contact. Fred folded his arms and ran a hand through his black hair. He knew that the silent treatment was well-deserved.
The two men walked down the hallway, and stopped at the door with a chalkboard that read 'Mr. Powers office. Always KNOCK!'
Fred's right hand made contact with the wooden door, making sure to knock multiple times. Joe grabbed Fred's wrist and glared, shaking his head at how many times he had knocked.
"You only have to knock twice," Joe scolded, but was interrupted from a yell on the other side.
Fred jumped back a bit at his boss yelling for them to 'come in', and he opened the door cautiously.
Joe walked into the room and let out a sigh, trying to avoid eye contact with Powers as much as possible. The boss read the expressions quite easily and questioned them.
"Why so quiet?" Mr. Powers asked, squinting his eyes and laying back in his office chair, his feet crossed, extended on his desk. He got no response and glared over in Joe's direction. "Answer me." He pushed, his teeth clenched.
Joe ran a hand through his hair and sighed, finally looking at the boss. "I'm sorry, agent Powers. I-" He began.
"That's Mr. Powers, to you!" He shot, and silenced himself to listen to what Joe had to say.
Joe apologized, and continued. "Fred and I took a trip to the tourist trap as you commanded. We weren't there for very long, because..,"
Mr. Powers grinned. "You have obtained the object, then?" He asked, mischievously.
Fred took a small step back. Joe noticed the behavior and turned back to look at Mr. Powers. "Not... exactly," He muttered, looking down at the wooden floor.
Mr. Powers took his feet off the table and looked at Joe. "Meaning?" He asked, looking for an easy explanation.
Joe looked at Fred and glared. "Why don't you tell him, Fred?"
Fred stuttered under his breath a bit and looked back at Joe, then at Mr. Powers. He was silent, but knew he had to own up to his reaction. How easily he had given up on the case.
"Mr. Stanford Pines said he..," Fred began, his words sounding shaky as he forced the words out. "He said he didn't know where the cube was... so, I believed him." He admitted. "We gave him a warning, but.-"
Joe glared and took a step forward, cutting him off. "I gave him a warning." He stated. Mr. Powers stood up, looking at both his employees.
"Do you have any idea what will happen if we lose this item again? Show me the tracking device of the cube, Fred." Mr. powers commanded. Fred nodded and pulled the tracker from off his belt. He noticed the screen was black, so he hit the side. It made no difference. He face palmed, realizing that he had forgotten to turn it on. Fred flipped the switch to turn on the tracking device, and the screen lit up, showing a grey screen with thin, green circles.
Fred looked around the screen for where the tracker was around Gravity Falls, and he noticed a small red dot, flickering on and off the screen. He looked at it, confused. After a moment, the red dot was completely erased off the screen.
Mr. Powers glared, "I'm waiting." He stated.
Fred nodded quickly, his entire body shaking. The dot that was tracking the cube was removed from the device. "Ummm..," He started. "Do we have Wifi here?" He asked, hoping that this device was somehow connected to a Wifi source.
"What are you talking about?" Mr. Powers asked. He stood up with his fists clenched. He walked over near Fred and looked down at the screen. He squinted his eyes for a moment, not seeing the result of the tracking device. "Where is the cube?" He asked Fred.
Fred turned to look at Mr. Powers. "I-I don't know, sir." He admitted. He saw his boss's reaction and cringed.
Mr. Powers put his hands behind his back and began pacing around the room. "Do you understand how valuable this cube is? We cannot afford to lose it again," He said.
Joe looked at his boss, confused. "Again?" He repeated. Mr. Powers nodded.
"Joe, you and I both know that this object is being looked for by another man. That's exactly why we need to find it first. So that we can get rid of the tracking device, and keep what's inside safe." Mr. Powers stated, looking out a window.
Fred raised an eyebrow. "But..," He began. "Who else is looking for it?" He asked, hoping for an answer.
Mr. Powers turned to look at Fred. "The owner," He informed.
Fred's eyes widened at the information that he had been unaware of for quite some time. "Who was the owner?" He cleared his throat and looked at Mr. Powers, confused. "If this company doesn't own the Rubik's device, then... who does?"
"That doesn't matter," Powers stated. "All that matters is getting it back. We need to up our game and get that cube back in my hands. Consider it required, getting It's power to cause Grave danger to this town, rather the world."
Joe nodded his head. "I will be sure to get it back to you, sir. You can count on me!"
Mr. Powers smirked. "Good. Joe, you get a promotion. And Fred," He said, with a rather suspenseful pause. "You're fired."
Fred looked at Mr. Powers with his mouth hung open. "F..Fired?" He repeated, hoping he misheard him. Unfortunately, Powers nodded his head.
"Yes. You are fired. I don't want to see you in this building on duty again." He stated, not caring to look at his ex-employee's reaction.
Fred sighed. Sure he had messed up in the past, but what other career path was he supposed to take? He never made a for sure plan B.
He sighed once more. "Do I still get my paycheck?" Fred asked, hopefully.
Mr. Powers laughed for a moment. "Silly, silly Fred," He teased. "You know I don't pay you."
Joe opened the door to the office and pushed Fred out of the room. Looking down at the other man with one final glare, he slammed the office door shut. Fred flinched at the sudden movement from the other man. He ran a hand through his short, black hair, stressed out.
Mr. Powers stole the cube from someone else? Fred asked himself. All the information was processing in his head. Grave danger?
Fred stood up and brushed himself off. "This isn't good." He muttered. He decided to take one final trip to the Mystery shack before the other agents tore it apart in search of the Rubik's cube.
"Dipper, It's your turn." Mabel stated, as the twins were up playing Connect 4 in their bedroom. Dipper looked at his sister and nodded slowly, making his move. Mabel smirked at the poor decision and made her final move, getting four of her pieces to match up diagonally. Dipper groaned as Mabel celebrated.
"Aha! I win again!" She squealed, clapping her hands. Dipper looked away, and Mabel stopped, keeping her hands slightly raised.
She looked down, confused. "Wait," She began. "I never win this kind of stuff. Are you okay, Bro-bro?" She asked Dipper. The boy nodded slowly, not making eye contact. Mabel moved to the other side and sat by her brother. "All aboard the downhearted train!" She joked, letting out a 'Choo-choo!' with her hands raised in the air.
Dipper made no comment, and Mabel sighed. "Come on, Dipper. What's wrong?"
"Sorry, Mabel," Dipper started, clenching his torso and laying on his side. "I'm just..,"
"Scared?" Mabel asked, finishing his sentence. The boy nodded and hid his face with his hat in shame.
Mabel pulled Dipper up from the ground and hugged him tight. "It's okay, bro-bro. I'm sure Waddles has forgiven you by now." She assured.
Dipper shook his head and looked at his sister. "It's not about that, Mabel. It's about... Bill," He informed.
Mabel looked away and nodded slowly. "Yeah, he is pretty scary. But Grunkle Ford is handling him to keep us safe. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."
Dipper shrugged. "Bill tried to destroy the world a few months ago. It's not that easy to be sure that everything is okay."
Mabel sighed and looked out the window. Dipper was right, Bill tried to destroy the world. Although, she felt a bit sorry for the dream demon now that he was a human now.
"Dipper..," She started. "I think we should try talking to him."
Dipper looked up at his sister and glared. "Mabel!" He exclaimed. "Why should we do that? He could kill us both!"
"Not if Grunkle Ford is around to supervise him." Mabel stated. "If he's going to be living here for the rest of his life-however long that is now- don't you think we should at least say hello?"
Dipper shook his head and stood up. "That's a horrible idea, Mabel! We're going back to California after Thanksgiving break, anyway! There's no point in befriending him, he hates us anyway." He said, folding his arms.
"Fine, you can avoid him, but I'm a nice enough person to treat him like a person!" Mabel shot back at him. Dipper sighed, shaking his head and storming out of the room.
"Dipper!" She called out to him, unfortunately getting no response from him. She sighed, and decided to give him some space for a while.
Soos was in the gift shop with his broom, sweeping the floor as Wendy read a magazine behind the cash register. It was quiet in the room until Stanley walked into the room.
"Soos, you've been sweeping that floor for an hour." Stan stated, putting his hands on his hips, giving the handyman a look.
Soos laughed. "Sorry, Mr. Pines. I guess I'm just lost in thought today." He said.
Wendy looked up, then back down at her paper, not bothering to get involved in the developing conversation.
Stan nodded. "So am I, that's no excuse."
Wendy looked at Stan. "Excuse?" She questioned, muttering under her breath.
Stan looked over at Wendy, noticing her reaction, then looked back at the handyman. "Soos, fix the doorknob instead." He commanded.
Soos nodded. "On it!" He exclaimed, grabbing a screwdriver from off his toolbelt and heading towards the door. Stan adjusted his tie and looked into a mirror. He positioned his hat correctly atop his head and jumped backwards as the mirror shattered before him. He looked down at the floor and noticed a screwdriver had shattered it.
"Soos!" Stan exclaimed, turning around and glaring. He raised an eyebrow when the handyman ran away from the door, grabbing the broom once more.
Soos looked at Stan. "Sorry, Mr. Pines! One of those agents you told me to keep away from the shack is running right towards the shack!"
"What?" Stan exclaimed. "Keep him away, don't be afraid to knock him out!" He stated. Soos nodded and glared at the door, ready for the man to enter.
The black haired agent ran onto the porch and quickly opened the doorknob, tripping on the doormat and collapsing to the floor. His hands broke his fall as he felt a splinter make its way inside his palm. He quickly rose up at the sight of others in the room, and noticed all three looking at him.
"You need, Help, Danger, Cube, Hello!" Fred tried, attempting to form a sentence, not thinking before he spoke.
Stan glared and folded his arms, leaning against the vending machine. "Slow down buddy. We're closed for the day, you need to get out." He stated.
Fred grasped a shelf and pulled himself up, grabbing his ankle in pain. Surely this will hurt in the morning. He stood up straight and cleared his throat, chuckling in pure embarrassment. "Trust me, I'm not a bad guy," He tried, and Stan rolled his eyes. Fred scratched his neck and opened his mouth once more, "You're all in grave potential danger!" He informed the three.
Soos tilted his head in confusion. "Danger? What happened, Dawg?"
Stan gave Soos a look that the handyman chose to ignore.
"That Rubik's cube that my co worker and I were talking about? It's not just a Rubik's cube." Fred said. Wendy folded his arms and Soos raised an eyebrow, letting go of the broom and putting it against the wall.
While the other two were interested in the conversation, Stan interrupted Fred and scoffed. "It's not just a Rubik's cube!" He mocked. Wendy looked at the old man and glared.
"Hey, give him a chance to talk, man!" She told him with a glare on her face.
"Well, It's clearly not a normal ol' Rubik's cube if the company's got two gay agents comin' in and demandin' it back!" He said, clenching his fists.
Fred gasped and hid his face away from the others. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he had developed a minor crush on Joe during his time working alongside him. He cringed at the way that his co-worker had shoved him out of the office earlier in the day, and already knew that he wouldn't have a chance, no matter how much he wished he would.
"Um, As I was saying," Fred continued, looking at the three people in the room once again. "The Rubik's cube is dangerous. It holds great power that I was unaware of, that's why it needs to be returned."
Stan scoffed. "I already told ya', I don't have it. Why do you need to get it for your company so badly, anyway?"
"I got fired." Fred informed. Stan raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, now somewhat interested in what the other man had to say. "And 'our' company stole that Rubik's cube from the owner, they are only trying to keep it for themselves so they can unleash its destructive power!" He said with a heavy sigh. "I should have known earlier." He told himself, looking to the side with his arms folded.
Wendy rose up. "Hey, man. It's not your fault."
Soos nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm sure you got fired for a good reason."
The others gasped and Wendy shot him a glare. "Soos!" She exclaimed. Soos thought about what he said and mentally apologized.
Stan walked over towards Fred, and folded his arms. "So, if this thing is powerful and not needed by that company, why did you come to us?"
Fred sighed and looked at Stanley. "Because the company is planning to raid this place is they don't find it soon."
Stan's eyes widened, and he took a step back. "Seriously?" He asked, thinking to himself. Fred nodded, and Stan took off his hat, running a hand through his hair. He put his hat back atop his head. "How do I know you aren't just lyin' to us?"
"I want to help." Fred assured. "Look, I don't know exactly how I can help, but if you need something, call me." He said, taking a notebook from his back pocket and grabbing a pen form off a counter. He quickly jotted down his number and handed it to Stanley. Stan took the number and shoved it in his front pocket, almost sure he wouldn't need it. He planned to keep it anyway, in a worst case scenario situation.
"Um, I'll go now." Fred stated, turning to open the door and show himself out. The three waited until the other left the gift shop, and Stan watched him walk away, Fred's hands in his pockets.
Stan grunted. "Weird," He muttered.
"Are you sure you haven't seen that cube, Mr. Pines?" Soos asked.
Wendy nodded in agreement at Soos's question, and looked at Stan to add on to the question. "Yeah, I could have sworn I saw Ford with it the other day."
Stan looked at the two, unsure of what to say. "Look. Uh, It's complicated," He tried.
"Complicated?" Wendy and Soos asked at the same time. They both wore a look of confusion, and watched their boss walk past the Employees only door.
Bill decided to go upstairs as Ford was busy digging around in a file cabinet. He couldn't tell if the other man was trying to fix the cube, or investigate it. Either way, he saw this as a good opportunity to go upstairs now that the gift shop was closed.
He snuck out of the vending machine, looking around him to make sure no one was around. Thankfully, no one was currently in the gift shop. He snuck through the employee's only door, seeing no one in the living room. He made sure to stay quiet while walking about the house.
Meanwhile, Stan was in the kitchen and saw Dipper reading a book. "Watcha' got there, Dip?" He asked. Dipper looked up and smiled.
"Just reading." He answered. Stan nodded and opened the fridge. "Hey, Grunkle Stan," Dipper asked. Stan looked at Dipper, and he continued. "Have you seen Great Uncle Ford today?"
Stan's eyes widened, and he closed the fridge. He closed them quickly and laughed. "Yeah, he's down in the basement with that other idiot."
"Oh," Dipper said, understanding who the 'idiot' was. He sighed and folded his arms, dropping his book. "Why can't he just leave? No one likes Bill, anyway." Except for Mabel, Dipper thought, and scoffed.
Stan shrugged and looked at his nephew. "Maybe this is a good thing," Stan lied. "I mean, we all know he 'aint gonna change. My brother is just setting him up."
Bill silently poked his head into the kitchen, listening in on the conversation.
Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Setting him up for what?" He questioned.
Stan sighed and scratched his back. He wasn't very good at telling the truth, so maybe lying would pay off. "From what I've heard, he's befriending that demon so that he can kill him." He lied once more.
Bill shook his head with his mouth hung open. He glared and stormed off, not wanting to hear any more.
Dipper nodded his head at the answer given. "Are you sure he would do something like that? Great uncle Ford doesn't seem like the kind of person that would do that." He said, getting off his chair.
Stan sighed and clenched a fist on the fridge's handle. "It would be for the greater good." Stan stated, referencing an event that occurred during the summer when Mabel used those horrid truth-telling teeth on him.
"I guess so," Dipper said. "Thanks, Grunkle Stan." He said, leaving the kitchen.
"Hey, no problem, kiddo." He said, biting his lip and clenching his eyes shut at the lie. He wasn't sure of Ford's actual plan, if he even had one. But hearing about the event of the other night, he knew that Ford wouldn't plan to kill him any time soon, or at any time at all.
Down in the laboratory, Ford looked around through file after file, trying to find a way to fix the cube with a reconstructing formula of some kind. He had no luck and stood up, collapsing in his chair and facepalming. "How do I fix this?" He muttered to himself, feeling hopeless. He heard the elevator and looked over to see the dream demon walking out, fuming.
"Bill, where were you? You know you're not supposed to be upstairs without me knowing about it." He stated, folding his arms. Ford stood up and pushed in the desk chair. Bill looked straight at him with a glare plastered on his face, his fists clenched as he darted towards him. Ford raised an eyebrow at the behavior and his eyes widened in alarm as Bill interlocked his hands with Ford's, pinning him against the wall with angered force.
"Bill!" Ford exclaimed, looking into his eyes. "What's gotten into you?" He asked.
Bill shot him a glare and sneered. "Don't play dumb with me, sixer. I know how you feel about me now."
Ford's eyes widened. Have I been showing signs? He asked himself, looking away from the demon. This is all happening so quickly, why did he have to find out now? He felt his cheeks flushing, showing a pink color. He cringed and shut his eyes. Why now?
He looked back at Bill, and was at a loss of words. "Um," Ford started, and Bill squinted his eyes at him, angry. "How did you, I know It's wrong, but-"
"Tell me about it!" Bill spat, glaring once more. "You were planning to kill me all along?" He questioned, already knowing the answer.
"What?" Ford asked, now very confused. He couldn't help but be a bit relieved that it was a different situation than he had thought. At the same time, he was alarmed. "Bill, I don't want to kill you!" He assured, trying to break his hands away from the demon. Bill grasped his hands harder, showing his gain of strength boosted by his mood.
Bill shook his head and scoffed. "Sure, Sixer. You may not want to kill me, but you know damn well you should." He stated, glaring at Ford.
Ford shook his head and looked at the other man. "Bill, where are you getting all of this?" He asked, hoping for an answer.
"Your brother." Bill informed. Ford tilted his head and opened his mouth to speak, closing it before saying something. "He said you were just trying to befriend me so that you could kill me!" Bill exclaimed, biting his lip.
Ford shook his head. "Bill, I wouldn't do that. Even if I should, I would never-"
"Can it, sixer!" Bill shot back. "I know how you really feel about me now. So if your plan was to kill me, go right ahead and do it now! Put me out of my misery, Stanford!" He exclaimed, taking his hands away from Fords and backing up, extending his arms and putting his hands on his hips. "Come on! Take your best shot!" He teased, still fuming with anger.
Ford cringed at the behavior and ran a hand through his hair, clenching his fists and grasping multiple hairs on his head. What did Stanley tell him? I never once said I wanted to kill him! He's... Ford sighed. He's an old friend, I couldn't do it, even if I really did want to. Ford cringed and looked down at the ground. His stomach felt as if it were turning, butterflies in his stomach at the least. He shook his head and bit his lip. How could I honestly love someone like Bill again? He asked himself.
"Come on, Sixer! Just do it already!" Bill said, extending his arms out by his sides. He looked at Ford and noticed the lack of eye contact. "Do it, Stanford! Show me how you really feel about me!" He exclaimed, and his words were stopped in a way neither man had expected.
Ford took a quick step towards the other man, lifting Bill's chin up, and their lips collided. Bill's eyes shot open wide, caught off guard by the sudden contact. However, he accepted the kiss for a short moment, processing the situation. He knew Ford was horrible at bluffing, how come he hadn't expected something like this to happen sooner? At his point, it felt as if nothing made sense to Bill. Probably because...
It didn't.
Ford was quick to step away, absolutely humiliated by the gesture he just shown. The action he had jut given. What have I done? He asked himself. He didn't dare to make eye contact with Bill, he wouldn't make eye contact with himself if he were in Bill's situation, either. Ford put a hand over his mouth and looked down at the ground, feeling a tear forming at the corner of his eye.
"I-I'm," He sputtered. He put a hand onto his forehead, moving it up into his hair. "Bill, I'm-" He tried, letting his hands fall to his sides he sighed and shook his head. "I'm so sorry." He said, looking at the demon with remorse. Bill looked back at Ford. Flabbergasted. Shocked. Stunned. He looked at Ford in absolute confusion, his mouth slightly opened as he found himself at a loss of words.
Not wanting to react truthfully to the situation, Bill decided to laugh it off, partially hiding the sarcasm. "And you scold me for all of my failings!" He said with a smirk. Ford tilted his head to the side, unable to read the other man.
"Hey, I get it," Bill started. "You just wanted me to shut up, and you know I don't stop talking when I'm serious about something." He said.
Ford gave a look of confusion. He didn't want to dig his own grave and say that he couldn't help himself, and that his feelings were true no matter how much he wanted to deny them. "Well," Ford said. "You do speak a lot more than you should." Ford stated.
Bill glared and scoffed sarcastically. "Um, okay. Wow!" He said, folding his arms. "Yeah, Love you too, sixer!" He said, rolling his eyes.
Ford looked away at the words, suddenly finding a file cabinet more interesting. Even though the other man's words were clear sarcasm, he could tell his cheeks were reacting in a way truly unwanted.
Bill laughed. "Relax, smart guy. I'm only joking." He stated. "And yeah, I understand that what you did meant nothing, so I'm up for dropping it and forgetting that it even happened." He said, shrugging his shoulders.
In Ford's head, he didn't want to drop it. As weird as it sounded to him, that short moment meant something to him. However, if he didn't agree, he knew that it would only do him worse from this day forward. He looked back at Bill and chuckled, nodding his head. "I second that." He stated, quick to walk away before the demon could read his facial expression. He made a mental note to himself to practice bluffing.
Bill scoffed silently to himself and looked at his feet. "Still doesn't explain the fact that you might be trying to kill me." He muttered under his breath. He didn't care whether or not Ford had heard him.
Still, the two men may be a bit awkward for the next few days.
Well, at least Ford will be.
There's chapter 19! I suppose this counts as a first kiss, and Bill hardly knows it! This chapter is over 5,000 words, I'm sorry for the wait. I hope this makes up for it. I was taking a bit of time to think just how I wanted the moment between Ford and Bill to go. At first, I thought Bill would just scoff and be disgusted, and being all "You're sick, Stanford." Then, I thought maybe when Ford facepalmed in his office chair, maybe he would have fallen asleep and then after the kiss, Bill would have reacted the same way like my first original idea, disgusted at the gesture, then said something like: "Ya feel like waking up about now?"
But then I decided this may be a better way to put it, because it will be good for some future plans for this story (:
As always, I'm open to suggestions! I hope you liked how this chapter went. If not, thanks for bothering to read this anyway.
New chapter should be up fairly soon!
