Another Ford and Mabel bonding fic. :)

Mabel bit her lip as she looked over her sheet, making sure everything was absolutely perfect. One mistake and she would have to start over again.

But thankfully, it seemed that the fifth attempt had given her luck as there were no mistakes and wrongly placed words.

She tucked the paper in her sweaters pocket and swiftly walked downstairs.

The Shack was more quiet than usual due to the multiple absences. Dipper went out with Wendy and her friends, Soos was on a date with Melody and Stanley was giving the tourists a cart ride around the Shack.

So it was just her and Waddles. And Grunkle Ford.

She grinned at the thought of her other Grunkle. She had a very special and heartfelt gift for him. She couldn't wait for him to see it.

She speed walked towards the vending machine and entered the code before heading down the stairs.

She accessed the elevator before stopping at the third floor.

Slowly stepping out of it, she saw him working on some sort of machinery.

"Yes…Yes…Come on, this is it" Ford muttered. He was currently working on a machinery that would be able to detect any anomalies that were near the Shack. Once finished, he would connect the machine to a watch he had built so that whenever there was danger lurking around the Shack, his watch would alert him.

It would definitely come in handy later on. He was about to pour oil down the see through tube that was on the back of the contraption but was startled by a high pitched voice greeting him.

"Hi Grunkle Ford!" His body immediately tensed up.

He turned around to see his niece standing there, looking innocent as ever while pulling a sheet out of her pocket.

"So anyways, I wanted to-"

"What are you doing here?!" Mabel jumped back at the sudden outburst but still kept a positive attitude.

"Well, I was just going to give you-"

"No! You can't just come down here whenever you like! Do you know how dangerous this place is?" Ford didn't want to shout at his niece but he had warned the kids to not come down to the basement unless he called them or they were in an urgent situation.

Considering Mabel walked in here with a happy and upbeat attitude, he doubted that this was an important matter.

"I'm sorry Grunkle Ford but I just wanted to give you this…" She said, handing him a piece of paper.

He rubbed his eyes as he furiously took the paper in his grasp before setting it carelessly right next to the portrait of Dipper and Mabel.

Mabel took a glance at the portrait and saw that her face had been blocked by an object and only Dipper's was visible. This caused her to wince.

"Grunkle Ford, I…" She didn't know what to say.

"Get out of here. I'm doing important work here and I don't need you startling me or causing any trouble"

She held in her tears as she barely above a whisper muttered "Yes Grunkle Ford…"

She exited the basement and let her tears free fall. She rubbed at her eyes and angrily wiped at her tears but it was no use as more came out.

In fact, she was now full out sobbing in the attic. Her pillow had become wet with the amount of sobbing she was letting out. Her pig tried to cheer her up but it had no effect on her.

"Grunkle Ford hates me" She whispered to Waddles as she slapped her hands over her face in frustration and sadness.

Ford scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. He knew he shouldn't have been so harsh on his niece but she had wandered in without a care in the world. If she had touched something, she could have caused chaos.

He knew Mabel was similar to Stanley and he knew Stanley made a lot of ruckus. He doubted that Mabel would be any different.

He finished up working on his project and smiled as the light turned green.

"Now I can be prepared for any attacks from any outside creatures. He put on the watch and smiled in relief that he had finally finished this up. It took about two weeks but it was worth it because now he could protect the Shack, Stanley, Soos, Wendy and the kids…

'Speaking of kids' He thought. He looked at the piece of paper before grabbing it gently. He had already slightly crumpled it up. He didn't want to ruin it to the point where nothing was readable.

He stared at the lines she had written before reading from the start.

'Dear Great Uncle Ford'

'I know we haven't talked to each other that much'

'That's why I wrote this poem'

'To show you how much I care about you and stuff'

'I know you've been gone for 30 years'

'And you probably didn't have anyone to rely on'

'And that makes me super sad'

'But now that you're back, you and I can have a strong bond!'

'But I see I'm a little too silly and immature for your sciencey work'

'But that won't stop me from saying it…I love you Grunkle Ford'

Sincerely Mabel :)

Ford set the paper down gently on the table and stared off into oblivion before banging his head on the table as hard as he could. He felt a twinge of pain run through him but he could care less about that.

His niece had come down here to give him a poem that she wrote so they could have a stronger bond but he dismissed her and sent her upstairs in the coldest way possible.

"Ford you idiot…" How was he going to fix this? A simple apology wouldn't be enough to cover up the emotional damage he probably caused her.

"Ugh!" He groaned as he took a nearby pen and clicked the bottom repeatedly before stopping.

He looked at the pen and the poem Mabel wrote for her.

He flipped the poem and saw that the backside was clear.

Looking back and forth between the pen in his hand and the paper, he sighed.

"It's worth a shot…"

Ford had assumed that Mabel was in the attic. He walked up the stairs and could hear absolute silence.

He frowned. If his niece wasn't in the attic, then she must have run away.

And if she ran away, Stanley, Dipper and everyone else would never forgive him knowing he was the reason why.

However, getting closer to the attic door, he could hear quiet sobs. He shut his eyes tightly before quietly opening the door.

Ford stopped as he took in the sight before him. His niece was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees as Waddles laid next to her.

He could see that she wasn't wearing her sweater. She had taken it off.

And that made him feel supremely bad about himself. He knew how much Mabel loved her sweaters. She barely took them off. When she did, it was either because it was extremely hot or she was heartbroken.

He doubted it was the former in this particular instance.

Ford let out a light cough which made Mabel turn around in shock.

She wiped her eyes but quickly resorted to hugging her knees again. She looked…afraid.

Ford gulped. She was afraid of him.

Mabel felt tears surfacing in her eyes once again and internally groaned. She expected him to go off on her again and tell her how much of a careless girl she was.

However, nothing happened. Until he cleared his throat.

"Mabel…"

She sniffed and mustered up enough strength to speak. "Yes" Ford grimaced at the way her voice sounded. She sounded like a completely different person.

Ford pulled out the sheet Mabel had given him from his big trench coat.

Mabel frowned. She expected him to rip it up in front of her and laugh at her for writing such stupid words.

But instead he flipped it over and started to read something entirely different from her poem. She raised an eyebrow while holding her tears.

'Mabel, I'm sorry for scolding you so harshly'

'I should have been nicer'

'I hate seeing you so sad since you are usually such an optimistic and cheerful girl'

'Even on the darkest and gloomiest days, you manage to make everything brighter'

Mabel felt her lips twitching into a small smile. She felt more tears pouring out of her eyes but this time for different reasons.

Ford saw his niece wearing a small smile. He used this as a confidence boost and continued with his poem.

'But I need you to understand'

'That my work is very dangerous'

'If you ever developed an injury under my watch'

'For weeks, I would feel immensely guilty'

Mabel wiped her eyes and continued to listen as she felt her Grunkle's words give her some strength.

'If within your heart, you've slightly softened'

'I want you to know that I hold you close to my heart with great affection'

'And if you feel hatred for me from now until the end of time'

'I'm sorry I hurt you… But please know that I love you Mabel Pines'

Ford folded the piece of paper and stuck it back into his coat.

He got on his knees and stuck out his arms, asking for a hug.

Mabel got up and ran towards her Grunkle, hugging him tightly and snuggling into his chest.

Ford let her sob into his chest as he laid his head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Mabel. I was in the wrong for treating you so rudely"

Mabel's tears created a wet spot on Ford's red sweater underneath his coat but he didn't care.

"No. Don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong" She said, smoothing out his hair.

Ford felt his eyes tearing up slightly. He held his tears back though. He had to stay strong for her.

Ford pulled away and took off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes slightly.

Mabel pulled his hands apart. "Hey, it's okay to cry. Everyone has feelings" Ford smiled as he took Mabel in his arms.

The two had sat in the attic, Mabel in Ford's lap and Ford braiding her hair. It was quiet but not awkward.

They were both comfortable with the silence.

From there, Mabel and Ford had done a number of things.

Mabel taught Ford how to knit, they had a drawing contest and eventually Dipper returned from his mystery hunt and joined them.

The three of them had tons of fun and Ford felt relaxed. He hadn't been this laid back for the past 40 years.

Stanley watched them with an amused grin.

Eventually, when night time approached, everyone had gone to sleep and Ford went down to the basement.

He smiled to himself as he dusted off his coat from any dirt.

Walking towards his desk, he noticed the portrait of the two kids. Mabel's face was blocked.

A frown masked his face. He moved the object so that he could see the two children's faces.

He sat in his chair and stared at the portrait. He couldn't help but think he should have given the two a proper goodnight.

He exited the basement and quietly walked up the stairs to the attic.

He opened the door and saw the two kids sleeping peacefully as ever. He walked to Dipper's bed.

He smoothed out his hair and kissed his forehead.

"Goodnight Dipper"

He then walked towards Mabel's bed. He repeated the same process but when he turned around, he heard a response.

"Goodnight Grunkle Ford"

He turned around in shock but smiled.

"Could you come closer?"

With a confused expression, Stanford leaned closer only for Mabel to prop up on one elbow and kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled and watched as the girl closed her eyes.

He pulled the comforter up to her chin so that she would be more comfortable.

He walked towards the door but before closing it, he smiled at the two kids and then whispered;

"I love you kids"

Ford went to his room and dropped himself lazily on the couch.

He closed his eyes and dozed off into a deep slumber. It was the best sleep he had in a while.

Now he finally had a healthy bond with both his nephew and his niece.

So, my original idea was to have this strictly be Mabel and Ford bonding but I decided to put Dipper in there because I feel like it would be kind of unfair if Ford started ignoring him so yeah. Anyways, tell me what you thought about this one-shot. Was it better than the last Mabel and Ford bonding fic I did? Or was that one better? Any criticism would be appreciated. :)