Chapter Text
Ford sat at the table and looked down at his hand. He always thought that his sixth finger was what made him different, a social outcast, unlikable. If Mable hadn’t responded so enthusiastically to his hand when he first came out of the portal, he would have thought that the complete 180 in how the kids treated him was because of his hand. 12-year-olds could be mean, Ford knew from experience.
If it wasn’t his hands that were the problem, and it wasn’t that they were just nervous around him; they had seen him around. They had talked a few times, and he had seen the twins interact with the tourists without any nerves or troubles. It also wasn’t that they didn’t have any intersecting interests. Why did they not like him? Ford looked down at his lap. Maybe there was just something wrong with him.
He never had any friends in childhood except for Stanley, and they saw how that turned out. In his college years until the portal, he only really talked with Fiddleford - he hoped Fidds was doing well wherever he is now - and the portal wasn’t really conducive to making friends. So that was a grand total of two friends his whole life, both of whom left him. Stanley had no problem making friends when they were little, and Ford had no doubt that he had sprung back almost immediately after being kicked out. Fidds had Emma May and an entire friend group outside of Ford. The common denominator was Ford. All signs pointed to a problem with himself.
“Hey, poindexter, have you seen the kids around?”
Ford was broken out of his thoughts by Stanley’s question.
“They went up to their room. Dipper said he had to put away the D, D, and more D game that he and his sister were playing and then called Mabel up as well. They have been up there for the last,” Ford squinted at the clock, “30 minutes.” Wow, has he just been sitting here thinking for the past half hour? Ford needs to get back to work dismantling the portal. He abruptly stood up and tried to walk past Stan without another word when Stan pulled him back into the room.
“Hey, wait, I thought you would have wanted to play with Dipper. Mabel doesn’t like to play that stupid nerd game. If you are ignoring them, I will-” Stan was abruptly cut off by Ford.
“No, Dipper told me they had just finished playing. Also, I wouldn’t refuse to do anything with them. I do want to get to know them.” Ford said, rolling his eyes. “But they don’t want to know me, so I will finish my work in the basement.” With that, Ford pulled out of Stan’s grasp and walked out.
Stan stood there, kinda stunned. Why would Dipper lie to Ford? Usually, Stan would be okay with the kids lying, especially if Dipper did it well enough to fool Ford, but at the same time, Stan wanted the kids to get to know their newest Grunkle and have that familial connection. He also wanted his brother to have a family again, even if Ford didn’t consider him a part of it. He would have to talk to the kids about what was happening and try to fix it so that the little time they all had together before the summer ended would not be spent arguing.
~~~~~~
Dipper was pacing around the room when Mabel walked in. She sat on her bed and started to knit while Dipper began monologuing his hatred of Ford.
“-it’s just not fair. Ford is the worst. And I’d say that to his face.” Dipper said, finally stopping to breathe as he flopped back onto his bed. “I just don’t get it. Why does Ford hate Grunkle Stan so much?” Just as he said that a knock sounded from outside their door.
“Hey, kids. Is it okay if I come in?” Stan asked. After he heard two simultaneous yeses, he pushed the door open, walked into the middle of the room, and looked at both Dipper and Mabel. “I wanted to talk about dinner last night. I’m sorry, kids,” he sighed and walked over to sit on Dipper’s bed. “Your great Uncle Ford and I have some problems, but we don’t want you kids to be between us, and you shouldn’t have to listen to us argue or dig at each other. With that said, Dipper, you can’t keep treating your Great Uncle this way.”
“But why?” Dipper asked, sitting up, “Why can’t I? You have never cared how we talk to grown-ups before, and he was so rude to you.” Dipper looked at the journal he had started after Ford took his own back because even if he hated Ford, journaling was a great way to express his emotions. He was feeling a lot of new and old feelings recently. Stan signed and sat down at the foot of the bed while considering what he wanted to say next.
“Because Ford is our family and needs help whether he wants to admit it or not. He just wants to get to know you kids. He has been through a lot over the past 30 years in that portal, and that is not up to you two to fix, but it is easier to get through things like that with people who are nice to you.” Stan didn’t want the kids to think that he wanted them to try to fix Ford, but at the same time, he did want them to try to get along, but he also didn’t want to force them if they really didn’t like Ford, but he wanted to explain why he was maybe not the nicest all the time. It was a tricky balance, and he knew he didn’t hit it, but that was the best he could do. “I also don’t want your last couple of weeks here to be filled with arguing, so give it your best shot, ok?”
Dipper looked at him with a slightly frustrated face but sighed and said, “Fine, I won’t be outright mean to Ford unless he is rude to you.”
Mabel took a slightly different lesson from what Stan had said. She gazed up at Stan with a determined look and said, “Grunkle Ford just needs to be reminded what family is like. I can definitely help fix that.” Stan sighed and knew he wouldn’t be able to convince her otherwise, although he doubted Ford would want a kid around him at all times trying to teach him the meaning of family, especially if that kid went all in as Mabel tended to do. He doesn’t really care, though, its better than the cold shoulder they have been giving him.
“Okay, Pumpkin, okay.” With that, he sighed and walked out of the room.