For Forduary Week 4: Family
Let's just say this is a "prequel" to "Holiday Pines in Piedmont" and "Not What It Seems". For the latter fic, I had established that the two sets of twins communicated with each other via radio. This explains how the Grunkles met the parents first.
Several weeks after Weirdmageddon...
"I'll just stay in the car, Stan."
Stan snorted. "Oh no you don't! We talked about this: we're going to visit our nephew and the kids. We're gonna clear things up before we head out to nowhere in the Arctic."
Ford hooked a finger in the neck of his sweater and pulled at it. Stan and Ford had docked the Stan O'War II at Berkeley Marina over an hour ago and rented a car to drive to the house of Ben and Sarah Pines. The drive to the house in Piedmont made Ford temporarily forget his nervousness, as he bickered with his brother over his driving skills. It was a miracle they weren't pulled over by the cops. The rented car was still parked outside the modest home with the two men still sitting inside.
"I don't know what to say," he admitted. "I haven't seen Ben since Shermie and his wife moved out of Glass Shard Beach. I don't think he was out of diapers when they left."
Stan reached over to clap a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder. Ford looked at his brother; since regaining his memories, Stan seemed to have de-aged in his eyes. They spent weeks reminiscing on some childhood and teenaged memories and catching each other up on their own adventures while preparing for their trip to the Arctic, further restoring the bond that was broken all those years ago. Well, Ford mostly shared the tamer adventures he endured in the multiverse (he didn't want to alarm Stan about the time he was nearly included in the menu at the Carnivorous Plant Dimension). Stan himself could only share about the years he spent in Gravity Falls, as the years he spent on the road since he was kicked out of the house were mostly fuzzy to him. A few memories were eased out of him when he saw the box of fake IDs and random newspaper clippings. Ford had suspected that Stan remembered more but was probably keeping the worst from him, just like he was doing for Stan.
"I remember Ben," Stan said gruffly. "Good kid; kind of reminds me of Dipper, but less into the weird stuff. He spent a summer at the Shack before he went to college. He wanted to do a lot of hiking, so I had to keep him busy working at the Shack to keep him safe. Tried to do the same for his kids, but—heh—if I hadn't told Dipper to hang up some signs out in the woods, we wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be here."
Ford smiled at the mention of Dipper.
"What I'm getting at is," Stan continued. "You don't have to worry about Ben. He's a good guy; he has to be with how Dipper and Mabel turned out."
"Thanks Stanley," Ford murmured appreciatively as he smiled at him.
"YOU'RE HERE!"
The two men inside the car jumped. With a hand over his heart, Ford turned and saw Mabel and Dipper standing outside their rental car, beaming widely at them.
"Guess it's time," Ford said sheepishly as he went to open the door. The moment he straightened up, his waist was immediately hugged by two enthusiastic thirteen-year-olds.
"Welcome to California, guys!" said Dipper, looking up at Ford with a grin.
"It's gonna be okay, Grunkle Ford," said Mabel. "Mom and Dad can't wait to meet you!"
Ford blinked at Mabel's words. He looked up and spotted the man and woman standing by the front door. The man was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression.
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Ready?" Stan asked him.
Ford straightened up and took a deep breath.
"Ready."