There are light mentions of blood in this chapter. I will also be posting new cover art for the next chapter. At first the cover design was going to be based off one of the events of the next chapter, though I'm considering doing something else entirely and making it based off the chapter after the next one. (Which would be chapter 44, I believe.)
Also, I have recently realized something that I don't believe I've actually mentioned before. I have a headcannon that I go along with for this story where the characters don't notice who Bill is until they both make eye contact with each other. For example in a previous chapter when Wendy had looked at Bill whilst he was looking away, she didn't notice anything abnormal. However when they both looked at each other in unison, that's when she recognized Bill and freaked out. However if it is someone who doesn't know Bill all that much, they see nothing wrong. Only those who have been deeply affected by him from the past can tell the difference. Which would be the main characters/cast. I apologize if I didn't clear all of this up earlier...
With that out of the way, here is chapter 42 of Welcome Home!
The next morning was a quiet one. It was the weekend, meaning Stan had an excuse to lazily keep the gift shop closed. That and the fact that the twins only had three days left until they were to return to California. Stan was regularly lazy throughout the week, however Saturdays always served as the laziest. Ford would typically have a complaint about Stan's laziness, comments Stanley often chose to ignore. So as he sat in the living room, mindlessly watching a television program, he was taken aback when a hand reached for the remote on the arm rest.
"Wh- hey!" Stan exclaimed in annoyance, looking up at the blonde who stood beside him. "I was watchin' that!" He stated.
"You were?" Bill asked, his voice in a tone that appeared to be a clueless manner. "I had no idea." Bill lied with a smirk.
"Oh, right." Stan grumbled, folding his arms and rolling his eyes. "Well if you're so clueless, why dontcha' give the remote back and go annoy my brother for a while?"
Bill just laughed. "As grumpy as Fordsy can be on Saturdays, there's no way I'm gonna mess with him." He said with a shake of his head.
"Why not?" Stan asked. "You do it all the time."
"Not anymore." Bill muttered. "Hate to break it to ya', Stano, but Sixer can't stand me." He said.
"He never has," Stan replied. "What difference does it make?" He questioned.
Bill frowned in a pestered manner. "You know, fez, you can be really stubborn sometimes!" He said, placing his hands on his hips.
"Speak for yourself." Stan grumbled, motioning towards the remote control in Bill's hand that he was yet to give back. Bill sighed and gave the remote back to the conman with a huff. He heard a group of voices from over in the kitchen and poked his head out of the living room out of curiosity.
Inside the kitchen, Dipper seemed to be beaming at his uncle. Bill could tell that the boy had a large smile on his face as he spoke.
"This is gonna be great!" Dipper said, overjoyed. "Mabel is going to love this." He added with a nod of his head.
"Yes, I do hope she's not too upset about the events of yesterday." Ford said in a muttered tone.
Dipper tilted his head. "What happened yesterday?" He asked. He looked on and noticed that his uncle's glasses were a bit more cracked than they usually were. "And what happened to your glasses?" He questioned .
Ford adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Oh, the lenses just cracked after an experiment attempt. Nothing to worry about." Ford assured. "And as for your other question, well... Mabel had some misunderstandings of events yesterday." He answered carefully.
Dipper hummed. He was quick to nod, as the answers were easily believable.
Bill rolled his eyes from the living room. "Misunderstandings, right." He grumbled.
The demons annoyance with Ford's second answer was silenced momentarily as he felt the presence of someone behind him. He considered turning around, however he felt a tiny finger poking at his back before he could move. Bill sighed at the giggles coming from the person behind him and knew that it could only be one person.
"Hello!" Mabel greeted with a wide smile. Bill turned around to look at the girl and gave a faint smile in return.
"Hey there, Shooting Star." Bill responded. "What's the word?"
"Well," Mabel began. "Grunkle Ford said that it's gonna be a while until we leave for the adventure, so that should give us some time to work on the sweater." She responded.
Bill hummed. "You sure that sweater will be done in time?" He asked. "I mean, you've only got three days left, kid."
Mabel nodded with an even larger smile than the last. "As long as you believe, anything is possible!" She said.
"I beg to differ." Bill retorted in a mumble.
Mabel decided to ignore the demons statement. "Old man McGucket offered to help us!" She beamed with a smile.
"What?" Bill blurted out, a small tone of complaint in his voice. "But I thought that was our thing! For Sixer!" He said.
Mabel hummed at this. "Yeah... You do have a point." She agreed, looking away.
As if on cue, McGucket rushed down the stairs and headed into the living room. "Heya fellers!" He greeted. "I jus' found some ol' travel supplies in the floorboards!" He announced with a wide grin.
From in the kitchen, the group could hear a muffled shout from Dipper, saying, "Those are mine!"
Bill just smirked. "Well, finders keepers, right?" He shouted back.
Dipper groaned in annoyance from the other room, causing those in the living room to chuckle in unison.
Within the hour, Mabel, Dipper, McGucket and Ford had left to go on their adventure. Stan was still on the couch, and Bill had decided to go down to the laboratory. If he couldn't work on the sweater, he had another idea to help Ford. If he could just find the dagger, and if Bill had enough memory of the sharpening spell, he could potentially enchant it for him.
Sixer's been trying to figure out that sharpening spell all week, Bill thought to himself. Maybe he just needs a little help! Help that he's too stupid to ask for.
Bill looked around the laboratory. To his surprise, the dagger was fairly easy to spot. Ford had left it on his desk over by the large window by the portal room. Bill grinned at this and rushed over to the desk. He grabbed hold of the pointy dagger, running a finger along the side of the blade. He hissed in delight as the blade drew a bit of blood from his finger.
The blade is pretty sharp already, Bill observed. I can only imagine how powerful it'll be once I get this sharpening spell cast upon it!
Bill took the dagger and placed it flat down on the desk. There were some notes beside the dagger on the desk, as well as a glass vase. Bill looked through the notes, reading off both the notes that Ford had taken in the past, and his recent ones.
There was one section of the recent notes that caught Bill's eyes. 'I am very close to cracking this spell. I have continuously broken glass vases throughout the project, and I am afraid that if I move the vase before experimenting, the spell may shatter the large window in front of me.'
Bill hummed at the notes. "A smart hypothesis," He muttered aloud. "But you forgot one thing, Sixer. It's that you can't perform the spell around any glass objects."
Bill read on. 'I had attempted to perform the spell in another room, away from all glass objects. Even then, I found, the sharpening spell wouldn't perform. I had broken my glasses that I had forgotten I was wearing. Luckily I have another pair around somewhere, however I cannot continue this project without my glasses. It would be too risky of a situation.'
"So that's why his glasses were cracked more than usual!" Bill said. He snickered and shook his head. "Fordsy, you idiot."
Bill looked down at the dagger and hummed once more. I guess there's no point in waiting. Just standing here won't do anything. Bill thought. He looked around the laboratory once more whilst standing in place. His best bet would be to go into the bedroom if he were to perform the spell. With that, Bill took the dagger into the laboratory bedroom, placing it on the dresser.
He checked around the room for glass. There was a snow globe, which he was quick to discard. He looked inside Ford's other dresser in which he kept his clothes and saw a strange glass shard wrapped in a velvet cloth.
Why would he have a random shard of glass? Bill asked himself. When he picked up the object, bits of sand were apparent on the object. There was very little sand, which served as a good thing as to not make a mess. Bill took the shard of glass and put it outside the room along with the snowglobe. He looked back into the bedroom.
Light bulbs are glass, right? Bill wondered. He figured that it would be best to take out the light bulb from the lamp beside the bed, in case it was in fact glass. Bill huffed at the fact that he could remember a bit of magic spells and capabilities, yet he couldn't crack 'simple knowledge' as Ford had called things such as this.
Bill walked over to the lamp and wondered how to take the bulb out. He looked down at the bulb and couldn't seem to find a way to take it out. He wondered if turning it on would be a good idea. He shouted in surprise and pain when the light shined straight up into his eyes.
"Gah!" Bill exclaimed, jumping back and rubbing his eyes. "I guess I should have expected that." He groaned. This pain certainly was not delightful.
Bill followed the cord of the lamp down towards the outlet and yanked the cord out. He grabbed the lamp, took a few quick steps towards the door, and tossed the entire lamp out of the room. After making sure that all glass objects were out of the room, Bill shut the door.
"Alright..." Bill muttered to himself. He grabbed the dagger off the dresser beside the door and placed the sharp object onto the floor. He needed not to look back at the notes, as reading over them the first time had been all he needed to remember them.
Bill knelt down beside the dagger, hovering his hand above it before saying the phrase aloud; "Vkcus cv c qhhgoh, vkcus cv c qhhgoh..."
Bill's eyes shined a bright, vivid yellow as his slit pupils disappeared. The light from his eyes began to shine against the dagger's blade. The light reflected nearby, though it didn't have any glass to break, which was a good sign. He could feel the heat from his eyes growing stronger nd hotter. Bill shifted slightly as the power began to make him lose his balance. Cautiously, Bill got down on one knee, kneeling as he continued the process.
After a moment, the light from his eyes ceased its glow. Bills slot pupils returned back to him as his eyes became their regular state.
Bill looked down at the dagger. Did it work? He asked himself. Hesitantly, he grabbed hold of the dagger, holding it up slightly. He took his spare index finger and ran it along the side of the blade, groaning in pleasure at the deep stinging sensation. He knew that this simple cut had been much more effective than the last, which meant that his attempt at the spell had been a success.
Holy crow, it worked! Bill thought to himself with a wide grin. Sixer is gonna love this! He added. Bill looked down at the dagger, noticing a small shimmer on the dagger courtesy of the spell.
Moments later, after Bill had put all of the glass objects back in the laboratory bedroom, (Including the lamp, though he forgot to plug it in) And stashed away the now enchanted dagger, he went upstairs to see if the others had returned from their adventure. The house was quiet, save Stan laughing in the kitchen.
Is someone else in the kitchen? Bill wondered as he stood in the living room, pondering the thought. Or is Fez just laughing to himself like a loner again?
Bill's curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to check what was going on in the kitchen. He walked out of the living room, peering into the doorframe and looking as Stan sat comfortable in a kitchen chair, laughing as he counted the money in his hands. Bill walked into the kitchen and folded his arms.
"Dontcha' have enough of that stuff?" Bill questioned.
Stan looked at the other and shook his head with a smirk. "You kiddin'? You can never have too much money." He stated.
Bill just shrugged. "Fair enough." He said. Stan set the money down after counting it. "Did you happen to hear when the kids and Ford would get back?" Bill asked.
"Nope," Stan admitted. "My brother don't tell me nothin'." He said.
"Yeah, me neither." Bill muttered.
Stan looked at Bill and noticed that the demon looked even more tired than the day before. "You alright?" He asked.
"Hm?" Bill hummed, raising an eyebrow.
"Ya' look like you could crash at any second." Stan pointed out.
Bill ran a hand through his hair and leaned on the doorframe with his arms folded. "I'll be fine." He murmured.
Stan narrowed his eyes at this. "When was the last time ya' slept?" He asked.
Bill shot a glare at the conman. "Why do you care?" He hissed.
"Because I've seen this before," Stan muttered. "Look, I normally don't care, so why don't ya' just answer the question?" He said, folding his arms.
Bill sighed and looked over at the clock. He looked down at his hand and began counting. Stan looked at the demon in confusion as he looked back and fourth from his hand to the clock.
"I'd say..," Bill began, "Almost three days ago."
Stan's eyes widened. "You kiddin'?" He asked, a shocked look on his face. Bill nodded slowly, though he seemed a bit unsure of his calculations. Stan ignored Bill's questioning look and stood up. "Well go get some sleep, you don't wanna be a zombie, do ya'?" He asked in a sarcastic manner.
"Is that an option?" Bill asked, suddenly curious.
Stan rolled his eyes. He too knew the pain of being awake for a long period of time with little to no rest. He was aware that such situations could never lead to anything good.
"Why can't ya' sleep?" Stan asked, folding his arms and tilting his head.
Bill just groaned. "What are you, Fez? My therapist?" He asked. Stan gave the man a deadpan look, which seemed to have persuaded Bill to speak; a technique in which Bill couldn't seem to understand. "I don't know why I can't sleep," He admitted. "I've just had a lot on my mind..."
"Eh, that makes two of us," Stan said with a nod of his head. "I mean, I'm not havin' sleeping troubles, but I've been thinkin' a lot." He said, muttering the last bit.
"What does that mean?" Bill asked.
Stan sighed. "Look, you're not a horrible...person," He began. Bill huffed at the label given, however Stan continued to speak. "And I know Ford's been upset at ya' about what you did to Soos' kid. But I'm startin' to think my brother's bein' so harsh for other reasons, too." He stated.
Bill put his hands on his hips. "You don't say?" He asked with a slight eye roll.
Stan chose to ignore the statement. "What I'm tryin' to say is, what you did was sick." He began. "And Ford has every reason ta' keep a grudge about it for a while. Hell, I'm still upset about it." He said, cracking his knuckles and glaring at the thought. Bill looked at the motion Stan did with his hands, a gleam of fear in his eyes. With no one at the house but himself and Stan, no one would be there to help him if he were to get hurt. And he knew well that Ford wouldn't bother to help him even if he were at the shack.
Stan saw the look of fear Bill was trying yet failing to hide, and folded his arms. "But," He continued, "He's been overreactin' about a lot of other stuff you've been doin' recently. I can tell." He said.
Bill didn't know how to respond to this. What was he supposed to say? Hesitantly, he opened his mouth to speak. "How did you know that?" He asked.
"It's obvious," Stan responded. "Also because Mabel told me about it." He added. "She said somethin' about you trying to get my brothers attention?"
Bill shifted. "Uh...yeah," He muttered, "I've been trying to do good things, but every time I try, I mess everything up." He admitted.
"Did ya' miss the part about me sayin' my brothers been overreacting?" Stan asked, putting his hands atop his hips.
"No," Bill began in a bitter tone. "Just because he might be overreacting, that doesn't mean he isn't right. I mean, how can you expect that someone like myself will try something without screwing it up?" He asked. "I may be awesome, but I'm still terrible. Horrible. Unpredictable." He said with a sigh. "Ford's made it clear that that'll never change."
Stan frowned . "Maybe in his mind all you're doing is makin' mistakes, but you ain't all bad." He said.
Bill just scoffed. "Right." He doubted, folding his arms and looking away.
"You've done horrible things, but you've done a fair amount of good, too." Stan said. "You brought Melody back to life... Somehow." He said as an example.
"I took her child." Bill shot back.
"You drove Mabel to the hospital when no one else coulda'." Stan continued.
"It was a false alarm." Bill grumbled.
"But could ya' tell the difference?" Stan asked.
Bill was taken aback by the question. He scratched the back of his neck. "No..." He admitted. A part of him wondered why Stan was acting so understanding. "If I'm being honest here, Fez, a part of me wishes Sixer would-"
"Have your attention?" Stan finished, raising an eyebrow. Bill gave a look of unease at how Stan was able to sense how he felt in this situation. Regardless, the demon nodded his head slowly.
Stan shrugged. "Wear red." He suggested.
"Red?" Bill repeated, tilting his head.
"Yeah," Stan confirmed. "Ford likes red. He's outta pay some attention to ya' then." He stated.
Bill hummed. He recalled a time when he had wore one of Ford's maroon sweaters. He was reminded of the manner Ford had reacted to the action. Bill wondered if he could get a similar reaction from the man if he were to do it again. He left the kitchen without another word. Stan watched the other leave, not bothering to ask where he was going. He had a good idea of what the demon had in mind.
Bill rushed into the gift shop, entering the code on the vending machine and heading dowstairs, forgetting to shut the secret door behind him as he descended down the stairs. Bill was quick to enter the elevator, as he had no clue when the others would return from their adventure.
When he entered the laboratory, he wasted no time walking over towards the bedroom. He opened the door and walked inside. In the corner of the room, Bill saw the dresser. He headed toward it and opened the sweater drawer. There was a maroon sweater on top, which was relieving, as that meant Bill wouldn't have to dig through said drawer.
Bill was quick to grab hold of his top garment that he currently wore on his torso. He discarded of his yellow T-shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Bill took the maroon sweater and placed it above his head, putting it on. The sweater brought warmth to him. It was a comforting feeling, really. He wasn't bothered by the warm temperature outside, as it was regularly rather chilled in the laboratory.
The sweater had a bit of a relaxed fit on Bill's slim torso. He didn't mind this feature however; if anything, he had seemed to have a sudden liking for the fit of the garment.
The group on their adventure were currently walking back to the Mystery Shack. Mabel looked in awe at the glass jar in her hands as she held it close to her face. There was a unique butterfly inside the jar with beautiful wings with yellow and purple coloring.
McGucket looked at the jar, and the butterfly inside. "Thas' a rare wing color ye' found on that there butterfly." He said with a smile.
Mabel nodded with a grin. "Isn't he perfect? I named him Jimmy." She said with a giggle.
Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Mabel, you're gonna free the butterfly, right?" He asked.
"Of course!" Mabel said with a nod of her head. "But first I want him to meet Waddles!" She said with a wider smile.
Dipper groaned and face palmed. Ford gave a faint chuckle at the girl's eagerness to potentially give the insect a friend.
Their adventure hadn't been too long, however the time didn't seem to make a difference for the twins, as they had enjoyed every second. Dipper and Mabel both knew that they would miss Gravity Falls, and they hoped that they would be able to visit sometime again. Perhaps in the fall their parents would allow them to visit once more to see all of their friends again.
This summer had surely been a strange one. Wendy had been off with her family at a logging camp for a part of the summer, from what Dipper had been told, and with Soos becoming a father, he hadn't been around all that much either. The twins could understand this- as they knew that it must be difficult for their friend, as well as Melody.
The Mystery Shack wasn't much further. It had only taken a walking length of three minutes to return. When they had returned, Stan greeted them from the kitchen.
"Hey there, nerds," Stan said with a snicker, walking out of the kitchen to greet the others.
Dipper accepted the remark in which he took as a compliment and gave a smile. It faded slightly when he noticed his uncle holding a large pile of money in his arms. "Uh.. Grunkle Stan?" He addressed, tilting his head as he questioned.
"What?" Stan asked. He saw that Dipper's eyes were focused on the money in his arms, and laughed. "Oh, right." He began, "Ya' think you could lend your pair of hands and help me carry this cash down to my safe in Ford's basement?" He asked.
Ford raised an eyebrow. "Your safe?" He repeated. "Since when do you have a safe in my laboratory?" He asked.
"Since 1982!" Stan exclaimed with a wide grin.
Ford's mouth hung open. "H-How?" He sputtered. "I've never-"
"It's under the bed." Stan said with a simple shrug. "Keeps it in good hiding."
Ford pinched the bridge of his nose. "Stanley, the laboratory is hidden to begin with." He pointed out. "I don't see a safe being considered necessary to ensure safety upon the money." He added.
"Well, I might as well move it now that you know where it is." Stan grumbled as he dumped half the money in his arms into Dipper's. Being that the young teenager's arms were smaller, Dipper didn't succeed in catching all of the money.
Mabel offered to help Stan take the money down to the lab, which the conman was completely unopposed to. While the others headed towards the lab, Ford and McGucket were left alone. They both opted to head into the kitchen, each grabbing a glass of water.
"So," Fiddleford began. Ford looked at his friend and raised an eyebrow. "Are ye' doing anything special for the twins' birthday?" He asked. "If I ain't mistaken, their birthday should be right 'round that there corner, if'n they're due back in California in a few days." He said.
"Well, yes." Ford began. " Dipper and Mabel's birthday will be soon, however they will celebrate in California rather than Gravity Falls." he informed.
"Did their parents want 'em back home for it?" McGucket asked.
"Yes and no," Ford said. Fiddleford tilted his head in confusion, and Ford continued. "You see, the twins came for summer near the same time they had last year, except this year their summer has been shortened."
"Las' time I checked, days didn't shrink er' have growth spurts, Stanford." Fiddleford joked with a grin.
Ford chuckled. "Well, the twins parents took a trip to Vegas for the summer. And while their father wished to stay for the entirety of the summer gambling and meeting new people at the casino, their mother didn't wish to let their father bankrupt them." He said.
Fiddleford hummed. "So they're takin' half the summer here, and the other half in California?" He asked.
Ford nodded in confirmation. "Yes." He responded.
"So does that mean I should move out, too?" McGucket asked.
"Only if you're comfortable with doing so," Ford began. "You're welcome to stay as long as you need. I know that feeling of being paranoid, and you have every right to be." He said.
"I-I don't know yet," Fiddleford admitted. "It's hard ta' brush off the feelin' that he's still out there to get me." He said, shivering at the thought.
"We haven't heard anything from Mr. Powers since the stunt Bill pulled in Crestfallen Cavern." Ford reminded. "And while that doesn't guarantee your safety entirely, it is certainly a good sign that he won't be there to bother you any longer." He reassured, resting a hand atop the others mans shoulder in a reassuring manner. Fiddleford gave a small smile at the gesture.
"Speakin' of Bill..," Fiddleford began hesitantly. "Where's he been all day?" He wondered.
Ford thought about this question for a moment, however he couldn't seem to find an answer. "I'm... Not sure." He muttered.
"Aren't ye' worried?" McGucket proceeded, raising an eyebrow.
Ford adjusted his glasses. "I'm not too worried," He began with a shrug. "Bill is fully capable of performing actions himself. He doesn't need help." He said.
"You've been distant with im' lately." Fiddleford pressed. "M-Maybe the two of ye' should talk. Have a good conversation and try ta' understand each other a bit more about recent actions." He advised.
Ford took a long pause before scoffing at the advice given to him by his friend. "Are you kidding?" He shot back, "Why on Earth would I speak to someone such as Bill when he tried to kill me just yesterday?" He asked, placing his hands atop his hips.
"I reckon it was an accident," Fiddleford muttered, looking away. His tone of voice was loud enough for Ford to overhear what he had said.
"I beg to differ," Ford protested.
Fiddleford looked back at his friend, a his facial features becoming slightly firm. "An' how would ye' know the difference?" He asked.
Ford was taken aback by the sudden remark. He wondered why Fiddleford was so insistent for him to speak with Bill. Even more, he wondered why Fiddleford had been so protective of Bill in the first place as of recently.
"Fiddleford," Ford began. "I can't help but notice that you've been rather protective of Bill recently." He said. "Mind explaining why?" He asked.
McGucket was hesitant. He looked at Ford, who looked back at him with an expression that wanted an answer. "Well..." McGucket began. "Stanford, you know I'm not the biggest Bill Cipher fan out there," He continued. "But don't ye' think yer' treatin' him a bit unfairly?"
"Absolutely not," Ford answered with a shake of his head. "He has done nothing but prove over and over again how terrible he can be." He said.
Fiddleford hummed. "If I recall correctly, you were the one tryin' ta' prove that Bill wasn't such a bad person" He reminded.
"I-I was foolish," Ford stammered suddenly. "In the last week, he's wrecked the car, put Mabel in danger with his driving, broken hospital rules, gotten chased down by the police, and tried to kill me with overly-salted cookies!" Ford exclaimed with a huff.
Fiddleford sighed. He knew that Bill didn't mean to do those things. He was sure that Bill didn't know how to drive, and he was convinced that he had mistaken the salt for sugar in the cookie recipe. Regardless, he didn't wish to argue with Ford about it much longer.
"Well," McGucket began, taking in a breath before speaking. "Ye' might want ta' talk to 'im, anyway. We both know how Bill can be. What would ye' do if he did somethin' crazy er' irrational?" He questioned.
"Bill wouldn't," Ford said with a shake of his head. "I hate to tell you this, Fiddleford, but the only thing irrational here is your absurd statements." He said before walking away. Fiddleford watched the man leave with a suspicious look on his face.
Meanwhile down in the laboratory, Stan and the twins had finished storing the money down in the safe. Bill had hidden from the others, as he didn't wish for them to see him in Ford's sweater. He hid underneath Ford's desk by the portal window and watched as Stan and Dipper walked towards the elevator. He became suspicious when he didn't see Mabel. He assumed that the girl was still in the bedroom.
Little did Bill know, Mabel sat right beside Bill in a silent manner. She looked at the demon and grinned, yelling, "Hello!"
"G-Ahhh!" Bill exclaimed, eyes widening as he nearly hit his head on the bottom of the desk in surprise. He met Mabel's grin with a small glare. "Kid, what are you doing?" He asked.
"You look so adorable in Grunkle Ford's sweater!" Mabel beamed with a wide smile that showed off her braces. "Also, you forgot to close the vending machine on your way down here." she added with a giggle.
Bill shrunk slightly and hid his face in the sweater to where his eyes could still be seen. Mabel gasped at this and only beamed harder. "Oh my gosh! Grunkle Ford has to see this!" She said. "Scrapbooker-tunity!" She said.
"N-No!" Bill exclaimed, extending an arm out as Mabel came out from under the desk in an attempt to run towards the elevator. Mabel turned around and looked back at Bill with an eyebrow raised. Bill shook his head. "Don't get a camera." He mumbled.
"Fine," Mabel said, walking back over. Bill sighed in relief, only to be surprised with a bright light that flashed before his eyes so suddenly. Mabel giggled as she held a camera in her hand.
"Shooting Star!" Bill groaned. "You said you wouldn't go to get a camera!"
"I didn't!" Mabel said. "I keep one under my sweater!"
Bill gave the girl a dumbfounded look. "Why?" He asked.
"It's useful!" She said with a smile. She walked over to Bill and handed him the photograph. Bill looked at it and sighed. He held the top of the photograph as if he were about to rip it in half. Mabel's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically. "No!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Bill asked, looking at the girl who snatched the photo from his hands.
"Please can I keep it?" Mabel asked, giving the demon puppy eyes. "For memories!" She reasoned.
Bill huffed. He made the mistake of looking at the girl for more than two seconds, which persuaded him to agree. "Fine." He muttered.
Mabel squealed in glee and gave the blonde a hug. Bill sighed and looked at the photograph once more. At least I look good. He thought to himself. Mabel let go of the demon and waved a goodbye as she rushed towards the elevator. Bill copied the girl's gesture and came out from hiding under the desk. With Mabel running to put the photograph in her scrapbook, he felt that it would be best to stay downstairs for a while. There was nothing interesting upstairs, anyway.
Bill was taken by surprise not five minutes later when he heard the sound of the elevator coming down. He gasped and ran back over to the desk, hiding underneath it once more. He pressed his knees up against his chest like he had earlier to keep his feet from poking out from the desk. Under the desk had a bit of a shadow over by the elevator's view, so Bill hoped that he could remain hidden with the help of the shadow.
He looked at the elevator doors as they opened to see the owner of the laboratory walk out. Ford had a pen in his hand, which he was quick to store in his lab coat. Bill drew in a sharp breath and watched as the man approached closer. He was relieved when Ford walked over towards the laboratory's bedroom rather than his desk by the portal window.
Ford walked into the room and set down a unique pebble he had found atop the shelf by the door. He looked over by the dresser and caught sight of Bill's yellow short sleeved shirt lying on the ground. He hummed in suspicion and approached the garment. For a moment, Ford took a quick glance at the bed in case there had been a form of intimacy Bill had performed with another person while he had been gone. It was the only explanation Ford could possibly come up with, as he had no idea what other circumstance it could have been. He was somewhat relieved when he saw no evidence to prove his claim.
Ford picked up Bills shirt from the floor and walked out of the room. He looked around the laboratory in suspicion, the demon no where to be seen. He figured he should return the shirt back to where it belonged.
Bill watched as the scientist headed back towards the elevator, and saw this as his chance. Hesitantly, he crept out from under the desk and headed towards the man. Bill wore a wide grin as he put his arms out, wrapping them around Ford's torso from behind with a tight grip.
Ford gasped at the feeling of a possible attack and lifted an arm up, elbowing the person behind him with force. The authors elbow hit one of Bills eyes, as well as the side of his nose. He shouted in pain that he couldn't seem to find humorous as he lost his grip around the other man, stumbling down to the cold floor.
Bill held his eye with his hand, hissing at the stinging as he supported himself up to a near sitting position with his other arm. He felt a small crimson liquid trickling down his right nostril. Bill groaned at this and used part of the sweaters sleeve to wipe it away.
Ford turned around and looked down at the supposed stranger. He was surprised when he saw Bill atop the floor in a half sitting, half laying position.
Bill noticed the glance and shot a glare at the man standing above him. "What the heck was that for?" He asked.
Ford adjusted his glasses. "One of the many survival instincts that grew on me over the years of travel." He responded.
Bill stood up, holding his eye with his hand as he used his other to look at the man. "Well why'd you use it on me?" He questioned. As he looked at Ford, he began to wonder if he even realized the matching turtleneck he was wearing.
"I can never be too careful." Ford muttered.
Bill smirked. "Are you saying you're afraid of me?" He asked.
"Oh, please," Ford scoffed with an eye roll. "I have no reason to be." He stated.
Bill narrowed his eyes. "Hey, be careful what you say there, Fordsy. Remember who you're talking to right now." He said, folding his arms. Ford tossed the yellow T-Shirt in his hand to the other man, the garment landing on Bill's shoulder. Before Ford could leave, Bill called out to the man, grabbing hold of the scientists wrist.
Ford stopped and looked down at the hand gripping into him. He shot a warning glare at Bill and pulled his arm away. "Cut the physical contact, Cipher." He warned.
Bill huffed at this. His annoyed facial expression turned into a smile. "Did you see?" Bill asked.
"See what, exactly?" Ford questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Bill extended his arms out by his sides and looked at Ford with the same smile. "Look, we're matching, see?" He asked.
Ford bit his lip and looked away. "Yes, I see." He murmured, about to walk away once more. Bill frowned and grabbed the man's wrist once more to prevent him from staying.
Ford growled and put his hands behind his back, turning around and narrowing his eyes at the man once more. "Would you cut that out?" He asked.
"Once you answer something." Bill responded with a cheeky snicker.
Ford sighed. "What?" He asked, very unamused now.
Bill smirked and made a pose, putting one hand on his hip. "Do I look cute in this, Sixer?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Am I cute?"
Ford's cheeks flushed at the question. He face palmed in hopes of hiding his expression. To his surprise, his acting had worked and he seemed to have fooled the demon.
Bill frowned slightly at this after seeing Ford's apparent distasteful expression and answer. "So... is that a-?" He began, but was cut off by Ford who put a hand up.
"Please get out of that." Ford requested. "You're practically drowning in it."
"So it's a little big," Bill began. "What difference does it make?"
"The point here is that it is my sweater, and I don't want you toting around in it." Ford said, putting his hands on his hips.
Bill sighed and looked at the other for a moment. He raised a finger and motioned it closer to Ford as he spoke. "But we're matching!" Bill retorted, poking the man's chest as he said so. He regretted doing this small action when Ford glared at him, grasping onto his skinny wrist tightly.
Ford pulled Bill closer to him. Bill would have liked the gesture had Ford not had such a cold glare on his face, and such a rough grip on his wrist.
"Bill Cipher, if you touch me one more time, you'll be sure to regret it." Stanford vowed with a look that was truly worrying.
Bill looked into the mad, brown eyes for a total of three more seconds before pulling away from the stronger man. Bill folded his arms and sighed, taking a step back before looking Ford in the eyes once more.
"What would you do?" Bill asked. Ford was taken aback by the question. "You gonna hurt me? I can take it." Bill said. "I get your boundaries and all, but ya' don't have to threaten me." Bill stated, somewhat offended. He didn't see Ford as the type of man who would physically harm him.
Ford huffed. He knew that Bills sarcasm was correct. Ford wouldn't do anything to hurt Bill unless it was truly necessary. He felt like taking his last statement back, though he knew that if he did so, Bill would just see it as yet another opportunity to walk all over him. So, he opted to take a step back.
"I have something else to show you." Bill said.
Ford sighed. "What could that be?" He asked, clearly annoyed.
Bill rushed over to Ford's desk over by the portal window. He grabbed the dagger and hid it behind his back. Once the enchanted dagger was in his hands, Bill ran back towards Ford.
"Look!" Bill exclaimed, presenting the dagger suddenly as he ran dangerously close to Ford. The scientist gasped and dodged the daggers blade. Bill stood in place and held the dagger out straight forward for Ford to take.
Instead of thanking Bill when he grabbed hold of the dagger, and instead of explaining how happy he felt that the dagger had been enchanted, Ford looked at Bill with a small glare still apparent.
"Watch where you swing that blade." Ford instructed.
"Are you happy?" Bill asked. "I got it enchanted for ya'!"
"You're positive that this is the sharpening spell?" Ford questioned Bill in a suspicious manner.
Bill nodded. "Yeah, it is. I checked." He informed with a nod of his head.
Ford hummed and grasped into the dagger he held in his hand with a bit more force. Ford tossed the incredibly sharp blade onto his desk on the side of the lab before looking back at Bill.
"Change." Ford commanded, looking up and down at Bill's torso and the garment he was wearing before turning around to walk away. Bill did nothing to stop the man from leaving. Clearly Bill's efforts meant nothing to him. All of his work meant nothing to Ford. Bill sighed when Stanford departed into the elevator to leave the laboratory. He removed the sweater and grabbed his regular yellow shirt that he, at one point, had dropped on the floor. Bill was quick to put his normal shirt back on, picking up Ford's sweater and throwing it across the laboratory with a frustrated growl.
Ford came out of the vending machine, fists clenched. He was glad to have gotten out of the lab before it was too late. He knew that Bill would have tried to pull something preposterous had he stayed any longer.
He looked down at the gift shop floor to see his great niece with Waddles as she held up the butterfly she had discovered in front of her pet pig.
"Waddles, meet Jimmy!" Mabel introduced with a wide grin. Waddles oinked in response, putting one of his front pig paws atop the jar. Jimmy flew around the jar in response, flapping his unique wings. Mabel squealed in response to the already friendly interactions between the two.
Mabel looked up and saw a small smile on her great uncles face. "Hi, Grunkle Ford!" She greeted with a smile.
"Hello, dear." Ford responded, softening up a bit and taking a step closer to the girl, kneeling across from her.
"Jimmy and Waddles are already getting along so well!" Mabel beamed. She gasped. "Do you think Gompers and Waddles could adopt him?" She asked.
Ford shrugged at the question. "That would be unlikely," He responded. He caught Mabel's small frown and offered the girl a smirk. "But not impossible." He finished.
Mabel grinned at the response and hugged Waddles as he climbed into her lap. "They could be one happy family, just like all of us!" She said. Ford's smile faded slightly at this. The reaction didn't go unnoticed by Mabel. "Well, maybe not Bill..." She muttered.
"Why not?" Ford asked. Though he agreed with his nieces statement, he wondered why someone such as herself could say something such as that.
"Well, Bill doesn't like being called family..." Mabel answered in more of a mutter, looking away. "I think he is, but no one else does." She said with a sigh.
"Well, it is logical," Ford said with a shrug. "Bill isn't exactly as close with all of us as we are with each other." He said.
Mabel looked at Ford with a small frown. "...Grunkle Ford?" She addressed.
"Yes, Mabel?" Ford responded, raising an eyebrow.
Mabel was hesitant before speaking . "Are you and Bill...friends?" She questioned.
Ford went silent at the question. He thought about it for a moment, and looked at his niece before answering the peculiar question. "Well, sure we are." He said with a slow nod of his head. "Why do you ask, my dear?"
"You don't act like friends," Mabel muttered, looking away. "You act like an old married couple." She continued.
Ford's eyes widened at the statement. He felt his face flush in front of his niece to his intense distaste. Once again, this reaction didn't go unnoticed by the girl. She had caught the blush before Ford could look away. Mabel inhaled sharply as her eyes widened.
"Wait-!" Mabel began with a grin. "Oh my gosh! Grunkle Ford, do you love Bill?" She asked, cupping her hands together as her pupils enlarged.
Ford only felt his facial reactions becoming worse. He looked at his niece with a mortified look. "M-Mabel, no," He stuttered, putting both his hands on his nieces shoulders. "That is an absurd assumption." He stated.
"So you don't love Bill?" Mabel asked. Ford paused at the question and looked down at the floor for a moment. His hesitancy lasted long enough for Mabel to believe she had her answer. She smiled. "Ah! I'm gonna have another Grunkle!" She exclaimed.
Ford looked up at the girl once more. "Mabel, I-I never confirmed anything." He reminded in a firm manner.
"You're not denying it!" Mabel sang, giggling.
Ford took his hands off Mabel's shoulders and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. He wished he could form the right words to his niece that he was trying his best to move on from Bill. After all he had done to Ford, and the danger he had put Mabel in as of recently, he couldn't simply let all that go. He just wished Mabel didn't have to find out about there possibly being something more between them like this.
"Mabel, listen to me." Ford began, folding his arms as he sat down rather than being on one knee. "Please understand that there is nothing-" He tried to explain, until he heard the sound of the 'Employees only' door being opened. Ford and Mabel looked at the door to see Dipper and Stan emerge into the gift shop, Fiddleford following behind them.
Dipper walked over to his sister and sat down beside her, looking at the jar that held Jimmy.
Mabel looked at her brother and smiled. "Dipper, I made Waddles and Jimmy best friends!" She said.
"Best friends?" Dipper repeated. "That was fast." He commented.
Mabel nodded. "Getting people and creatures together is my specialty in life!" She said with a smile. She looked at Ford with a sly smirk and nudged him gently in the arm. Ford just looked away.
Stan ignored the strange exchange between Mabel and his brother. "Hey Pointdexter, did ya' see Bill?" He asked, laughing.
Ford stood up and huffed. Stanley knew about this? He asked himself. Regardless, he nodded slowly. "Yes, I did." He muttered in an annoyed manner.
"You've gotta admit- he looks good in red!" Stan said with a shrug. "Unless it's just Mabel's photography talent blurrin' the image." He added. Mabel smiled and thanked her uncle for the compliment. Ford didn't respond to any of this.
Mabel stood up, grabbing Jimmy's jar and looking at Ford. "Grunkle Ford, where is Bill?" She asked. "I want him to meet Jimmy, too!"
"I'm not sure now is the right time, sweetie." Ford retorted. He admitted to himself that his main reason for saying this was because he didn't want Mabel sharing any of the information she had recently picked up on. More importantly, he didn't want Bill to get any ideas.
Mabel tilted her head in confusion. "Then when?" She asked. She gave a short chuckle at her rhyme before focusing on Ford once more.
"Well, there are some things I wish to speak to you about before you go speaking to Bill." Ford answered.
Dipper raised an eyebrow, chiming in to the situation. "What happened?" He asked, clearly confused. Ford looked at Dipper as he continued. "Did Bill do something wrong?" He questioned.
Stan snickered. "Doesn't he always do somethin' wrong?" He asked, his laughter only increasing. Ford looked over at his brother and noticed that his laugh didn't sound sincere whatsoever. If anything, it sounded like sarcasm.
McGucket watched as Stan continued his laughing fit before speaking. "What're ye' talkin' about, Stanley?"
Stan slowly ceased his laughing, though he still have faint chuckles between his words. "Why dontcha' ask Pointdexter over there?" He responded. Stan seemed to be unusually outgoing with his laughter, and for a moment Fiddleford began to wonder if Stan was drunk. The others, however, were used to this typical behavior from the conman.
Ford raised an eyebrow. "Whatever is that supposed to mean?" He asked, standing up now.
Stan looked at Ford. His laughter stopped, and the room went silent. "Well, if ya' haven't noticed, you've been gettin' at Bill's throat for everything he does." He stated.
"I do not." Ford retorted, offended.
"Yes you do!" Stan, McGucket, Mabel, and even Dipper said in unison.
Stan took a step closer to Ford, putting his hands on his hips. "Look bro, I don't mean to pick sides here," He began once more. He chuckled to himself for a moment. "Ah, who am I kiddin'? Or course I'm pickin' sides." He said.
Ford gave Stan a deadpan look. Stanley looked at his brother again, standing in front of him before speaking. "You think Bill's the big bad wolf here, don't ya'?" Stan asked. "But did ya' ever stop to realize the good he's done, too?"
Dipper would have argued with Stan's statement, had he not remembered that Bill had followed an instinct and has risked his life to help save his sister. After remembering this, he quickly shut his mouth.
"C'mon, Stanford. Use your head! He made ya' cookies," Stan reminded.
"I-In an attempt to kill me." Ford retorted.
"He brought Melody back to life so that Soos, Brock and her could be a family again!" Mabel added with a smile.
"He took Melody's ch-" Ford tried, before being cut off.
"Cipher made sure that Brock wasn't a'cursed." Fiddleford stated.
"He wouldn't have had to do so, had he not-" Ford tried again.
"F-False alarm or not, he... he risked his life to save Mabel." Dipper said, stuttering a bit as he talked back to the author.
"He ruined the car." Ford reminded his nephew.
Stan growled in sudden anger, putting his hands on Ford's shoulders. "You serious?" He shouted. "Are you tryin' to tell me that the car means more to you than Mabel's life?" He asked.
Ford was quick to shake his head. "Stanley, of course not-"
"Stop bein' such an idiot, ya' idiot!" Stan chided with a glare.
Everyone in the gift shop turned to look at the vending machine as it opened. Bill stepped out in minor confusion at all the blank looks he was being given, but that didn't stop him from giving a grin.
"I was summoned by the sound of ridicule!" Bill said. "Who's the source?" He asked. Bill looked around at the group of people in minor confusion. The blank, silent stares he was still being given gave Bill a feeling of unease. "Oh." He blurted out, realizing that he was the reason for all the muffled arguing that could be heard down from in the laboratory.
Stan looked at his brother once more, tightening his grip on Ford's shoulders. "I think you've got somethin' to say." Stan said. Ford remained silent. Stan furrowed his brows at this and backed Ford up against the side of the vending machine in a forceful manner. Ford groaned at the pain in his back and glared back at Stan.
Ford took his hands and placed them on Stand shoulders, pushing his brother off of him. Stan nearly stumbled backwards at the sudden move, however was able to keep his balance by putting a hand on the wall.
Ford clenched his fists and looked at the others who had all seemed to turn on him. Bill put a hand on the vending machine door, taking a slow step backwards in hopes of heading back down to the laboratory. When Ford began to speak, Bill stopped and stayed frozen in place to listen in.
"So," Ford began, looking at the others. "Each of you are convinced that I'm the bad guy in this situation?" He asked. Though a couple of the others wouldn't go as far as to call him a bad guy, no one decided to speak nor say otherwise. Ford waited for a moment, only to be greeted by silence. Stan folded his arms and leaned the side of his arm against the wall.
Ford scoffed in disbelief. "You're wrong." He muttered. "You're all wrong!" He shouted with a growl. Ford turned around to go down to his laboratory, pushing Bill out of the way before pressing a button on his watch to close the vending machine behind him.
Stan noticed the silence filling the room and finally said, "I told Wendy that Ford's salty on Saturdays." He said with a short laugh. The others in the room gave forced chuckles in hopes of relieving the tension in the room.
Bill awkwardly walked over to Mabel, sitting down beside her. "When did you find that thing?" He asked, pointing at the butterfly in the jar beside her.
Mabel grabbed hold of the jar and held it close, looking down at the floor. "Grunkle Ford said that I'm not supposed to talk to you..." She muttered.
Bill gave a sarcastic smirk, rolling his eyes. "Of course he did." He murmured.
"Sweetie," Stan began. Mabel looked up at her uncle. "Ford's bein' an idiot today, I'm sure whatever he told ya' not to do isn't important." He assured.
Mabel gave a slow nod and held up the glass jar for Bill to see. "This is Jimmy." She introduced. She looked down at the jar and gave a small smile. "Jimmy, say hi!" She said. Jimmy flapped his wings, which Mabel assumed to be a greeting. The others in the room gave a small smile at Mabel's ability to stay positive before leaving the gift shop to depart to the other parts of the house.
"What are you going to do to ol' Jim?" Bill asked after noticing that the others had left.
Mabel shrugged. "I'll set him free. He's met everyone already, and he's made a lot of new friends!" She said with a smile.
Bill hummed. "You sure ya' don't want to keep him?" He asked.
"Nuh-uh!" Mabel said with a shake of her head. "He might have friends in the forest that miss him!" She added. She figured that Gompers and Waddles didn't need to be spoken to about potentially adopting animal or insect children yet.
"I didn't know butterflies had friends." Bill muttered.
"Of course they do!" Mabel said with a smile. "Hey, after we set Jimmy free, do you wanna finish the sweater?" She asked.
Bill gave a hesitant shrug. "I don't know, Shooting Star. I'm pretty sure that all Sixer is gonna do is be negative about it." He stated.
"How can he be negative about a sweater?" Mabel asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bill opened his mouth to speak, but shut it after a moment. He figured it wouldn't be wise to bring up the previous situation about Ford's sweater from down in the lab.
"He'll find a way," Bill muttered. "He's smart like that." He reminded, folding his arms.
Mabel sighed. She had mixed feelings about all of this. They both have chemistry with each other, but their arguments and bickering get in the way of that! I don't understand why Grunkle Ford is being mean to Bill, didn't it used to be the other way around?
Mabel looked over beside her at Bill as he tapped the glass of the jar, making the butterfly fly around the jar helplessly. Mabel frowned at the sight of Bills current state. He's sleep deprived and sad! How do I fix this? Can I fix this? If I'm not a good matchmaker, what am I?
Mabel sighed once more, burying her face in her hands. This isn't good... She thought to herself.
Huzzah! I finished the chapter! I apologize that it took nearly two weeks to get this chapter out. I had a bit of trouble getting past a small talk scene towards the beginning, which delayed the process for a few days. Thankfully I found a way around that troubling situation and was able to proceed with writing. I ended up writing 1/3 of the chapter last night. I was glad to have been able to write to where I could finish. :D
So, what's your current opinion on Ford? I would be curious to know if anyone has an opinion. If not, no worries! c: I personally have found it quite hard to write Ford acting so bitter and cruel about nearly everything that Bill does. This isn't the way to move on, Ford.
If you follow my Tumblr, you'll understand what I mean when I say that the next chapter is the one I had been stressing about. I'm still stressing a bit, honestly, as I'm fearful of the readers potential negative and/or distateful reactions.
I also changed my Fanfiction profile picture. The previous art displayed as my profile picture was old, and it didn't look like my art from nowadays at all. I hope you like the updated redraw of it. c:
The next chapter will be... Very intense. It will be up soon.
