In the Scheme of Things (Discontinued)

Chapter 23

     Mabel was bored. She hadn't seen Dipper, Bill or Ford all day, her parents had gone into town to get a few things they all needed and Stan was busy with the shop. She had tried calling up her friends, but only Pacifica answered, and she was busy getting ready for a trip.
     She had wished that Dipper and Bill had waited for her before they went out for the day. Though, as she thought about it, figured that they had likely gone out on a date of sorts. Dipper had probably just wanted to get away from their parents. She couldn't blame him. She had been hearing all their comments about him since he had left. It saddened her that they couldn't see him for the amazing person he was.
     A door opening startled her, as she hadn't been expecting anyone to be back so soon. As she looked over, she saw Ford walking over to her. Though the older twin was able to keep his face unreadable, she could still tell that something was on his mind.
     "Hey, Grunkle Ford. What's on your mind?"
     She normally didn't ask, though knew anything would be better than being as bored as she was now.
     "Morning, Mabel. And I'm just thinking about something Bill said to me this morning. I don't believe he is unknowledgeable about this town as I first believed."
     "You saw Bill this morning? Was Dipper with him?"
     "Yes, and yes. They were just coming back from the forest. I saw them head upstairs, though I went downstairs soon afterwards. Do you know if they're still here? I'd like to speak some more with Bill."
     Mabel frowned. Had her twin and his boyfriend been home this whole time?
     "I haven't heard anything from their room. I just figured they had gone out. I can check if you want. And if they are out, I can give Dipper a call."
     Mabel got a nod from her great uncle before she ran upstairs to her brother's room. She had been inside the room a few times, though never really looked around. As she opened the door, she did so for the first time. She was surprised by just how much bigger the room felt.
     At first, she felt jealous about the room. Seeing that Dipper almost had his own apartment up here. However, her feelings shifted when she remembered that Dipper had given up his space to Bill. And looking around, she knew that the room set up was nothing like her brother. She realized Bill must've put the room together in thanks.
     Forgetting herself for a moment, she walked over to the small living space in the room. She sat on the blue couch, noticed just how soft it felt. Glancing over to the TV, she noticed a set of movies next to it. Though she wanted to turn the TV on, she figured it would be best if she didn't, though also figured that nothing would appear. It was likely just for the two to watch movies in private.
     Getting up, she went over to the desk, seeing all the notes scattered about. Right away, she recognized her brother's handwriting. She rolled her eyes at his unchanged behaviour.
     As she turned, she saw for the first time the large bed that took up the opposite side of the room. She wondered for a moment how she could've missed this bed, only then thinking that she hadn't wanted to look at it. Though now that she was, she could make out two shapes under the covers.
     Raising a brow, she walked over, seeing both Bill and Dipper hiding under the blankets. Rolling her eyes, she reached over, shaking her brother. He moved slightly, though that was mostly to try to get away from his sister.
     "Come on, DipDot, you need to get up. It's mostly noon..."
     Dipper let out a groan, rolling over to face Mabel. It took him a moment to realize that it was Mabel in front of him, causing him to quickly sit up, covering himself.
     "Geez, Mabel. What are you doing here?"
     "Grunkle Ford is looking for you both. I thought you had gone out. I can't believe you've been in here sleeping the whole time." She crossed her arms in annoyance. Dipper frowned, moving so that he was facing his twin.
     "I'm sorry, Mabel. We didn't plan on going back to sleep. We were actually just gonna watch movies all day."
     Mabel dropped her arms, though still smacked her twin on the arm. Dipper rubbed the spot, though he was glad to see a smile back on his sister's face.
     "You owe me one, Dipstick. Get dressed. Like I said, Grunkle Ford wants to speak with you and Bill."
     With that, Mabel left, heading down to let her great uncle know that she had found the two male teens. As she reached the bottom, she looked around, though, in the end, she heard rather than saw Ford in the kitchen.
     "They were sleeping, Grunkle Ford. They should be down soon."
     Just as she said that she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. As they got closer, she was also able to hear some hushed voices.
     "He's barely looked at me the whole time he's been back, why do you think he wants to speak with me now?"
     "I don't know, Bill. Though I'm sure it's nothing serious. Might just be about..."
     "Do you think he's kicking me out...?"
     "What? No. Bill, he has no problem with you being here. You've even done some work around the shop, and let's not forget, you're still the one buying all the groceries. You've earned your stay, Bill. Don't worry."
     Mabel looked over at Ford. Hearing what the two had to say made her nervous as well. Ford though, had his head down, looking at his journal. Mabel could tell that he was actively trying not to listen in on their conversation, though knew that it wasn't working.
     "Grunkle Ford...?" Mabel's voice was soft, not wanting her brother to hear.
     "I'm not kicking him out, Mabel. Dipper has valid reasons as to why he can stay. Though, I am curious as to why he doesn't have his own place to return to. Even more so since he clearly has more than enough money on him..."
     Mabel and Ford were still thinking on the matter as Dipper and Bill walked into the room. Ford didn't need to look up at the two to know they were both nervous and confused.
     "Hey, Grunkle Ford. Is something wrong?" Dipper asked, sitting across from his great uncle.
     Bill sat next to the teen, in the seat furthest from the man. He didn't know what the older twin was thinking, and that scared the demon more than anything. Ford noticed for the first time how nerves the blond was, though said nothing about the matter.
     "I was just curious about a few things. And I was hoping you two could help clear up some topics."
     Dipper and Bill looked at each other for a moment before nodding. Neither seemed in too much trouble yet.
     "Well, first off..." Ford turned to look at Bill. "Bill, could you explain to me your living situation. You claim not to have a home, yet you seem to have quite a fair deal of money."
     Bill looked over to Dipper, who in turn gave him a soft smile. The teen took his boyfriend's hand, rubbing his thumb over the demon's knuckles to try and calm him.
     "I've... I've always been rather well-off... More than enough money for anything and everything I wanted to do... And, I don't have a place cause... Because I was basically just dropped off here without any real direction... I'm just glad that Dipper allowed me to stay here. Thank the gods..."
     Ford raised a brow at this, though said nothing about it. If he truly had nowhere else to go, he could understand why Dipper had allowed him to stay. Though he didn't like it, he had to admit that Dipper had done a good thing.
     "I see... Another question I have is how long exactly have you two been friends? You both have told me 'a while', yet that's not a real answer."
     Bill and Dipper looked at each other, and though neither said anything, Ford got the feeling that they were silently getting their story straight.
     "Well, that's a little hard to answer... Bill and I have known each other longer than we've been friends..."
     "Wait, Dipper, didn't you say yesterday that you've known Bill for six years?" Mabel said, having just remembered this bit of information. "That would mean you met him our first summer here. But, I don't remember you making any friends. You were too wrapped up in the journal..."
     Dipper and Bill didn't meet her eyes. Sure, she was just stating something she had overheard, but both boys knew that Ford was smart enough to put the facts together. And since both had their heads down, neither saw the look they were getting from Ford.
     "Well, I wasn't around for much of your first summer here, though, I have to admit, when I think of then, the only Bill that comes to my mind is..."
     Ford looked at the two teens again, then over to Mabel, who was also thinking about their first summer. While they were distracted, Dipper reached over to take Bill's hand. He could feel the demon shaking, and hoped that he wouldn't put two and two together.
     Dipper rubbed his thumb over the demon's knuckles, trying to calm him. He knew that if anything gave Ford even the slightest hint of who Bill really was, they'd have problems. Though, the fact that this was happening right after the two had bonded to each other wasn't far from Dipper's mind.
     "Bill, you said you were just left here, does that mean that your parents live outside of Gravity Falls?"
     "We've lived just about everywhere... I don't know why they chose here, though, I don't mind. I actually enjoy the town."
     Bill gave Dipper's hand a soft squeeze, getting a smile from the brunet. Ford noticed this, looking between them for the first time to notice the hand holding. Though Ford said nothing about it, he did note that it was odd, as he was only asking simple questions so to better know the blond.
     "Just one more question. How much do you know about this town? You made it clear this morning that you knew more than I had thought, and now I'd like to know just how much you know."
     Bill raised a brow at the man, turning to look at Dipper. Dipper was frowning, not knowing what to say to the demon. Without any further though, Bill turned back to the elder twin.
     "Back when I met Dipper the first time, we were in the forest. I was... I was just following him, wanting to know why he was reading from some old book while walking into the forest. We ended up running into a creature, and I ended up making things worse."
     Dipper had to laugh. He knew what Bill was explaining. It hadn't happened six years ago, but rather just a few months ago. And though he knew Bill was stretching the truth, he still found it funny that Bill was telling this to Ford.
     "It's not funny, Dipper..." Bill pouted, looking away from his boyfriend.
     "Aw, Bill. I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you..." Dipper lend over, putting his chin on the demon's shoulder.
     Mabel couldn't help but grin at the two. She thought they made the cutest couple and knew that they were great for each other. Ford, on the other hand, was in a slightly different mindset about the two's relationship. Though he could tell that the blond was making Dipper happier than he had seen the teen in a long time, he couldn't get passed this odd feeling he often had around Bill. As though he shouldn't be there.
     Ford didn't pay the boys much attention as Dipper tried to cheer up his boyfriend. Instead, he wrote down some of the information he had learned about the blond. And though he wasn't trying to listen, he couldn't help but look up upon hearing Dipper whisper something.
     "We can spend the day practicing in the forest. We haven't done that in a while..." Dipper hummed into the demon's ear, getting a reaction from the demon. Neither seemed to notice Ford now watching them closely.
     "Are you sure? Didn't you say not to while Sixer was around..."
     Ford was confused for a moment, not sure if he had heard the blond correctly. It was only when both Bill and Dipper turned to look at him did Ford know that he had.
     Ford quickly jumped to his feet. But even with how fast he was, Dipper was faster. He stood between Bill and Ford, keeping the demon safely behind him, knowing that Ford had just made the connection.
     "Dipper, get out of the way. That's no human. That's Cipher."
     "I know, Grunkle Ford."
     Ford and Mabel just stared at the brunet. Upon learning that Bill was indeed Bill Cipher, neither expected to learn that Dipper had known this whole time. Ford looked past his great-nephew at the demon.
     "What do you want with us, Cipher?"
     "Don't start this, Grunkle Ford. Bill isn't a threat over to us. Trust me. I wouldn't have let him stay if he was."
     Ford turned his focus back to Dipper, frowning at him. He knew his great-nephew meant well, and though he said he knew who Bill really was, he had no way of knowing how long that had been.
     "Look, can we please just sit and talk about this. I promise, Bill won't do anything to harm any of us."
     "Grunkle Ford, I think you should trust Dipper about this. I know Bill has been hanging around with Dipper for a few months now. If he was going to do anything, don't you think he would have by now?"
     Ford looked back and forth between the two teens before sitting back down, crossing his arms while glaring at Bill.
     "Alright, explain this to me."
     Dipper and Bill sat back down, both trying to figure out where to start. With a sigh, Dipper moved closer to the table, figuring to just explain everything from the beginning.

A/N: I was rereading this story to remember everything that happened, and I realized I've kind of just felt a few plot threads just hanging. Would you guys like for me to go back and add them all back in, or just leave it as it is? The main plot-points, DipperxBill and Alexander Kryptos will of course stay. Thank you all for reading this, and I truly hope you're all enjoying this story.