Stan didn't like driving at night. He avoided it when he could, which was understandable because a good portion of the country paths in Gravity Falls were not well lit, and at any moment an unsuspecting deer or other animal could dart right in front of a car. To make things worse, whenever he drove at night, Stan found himself drifting off to sleep, which was not at all helped by the fact Stan knew the streets so well he probably could drive them with his eyes closed. All in all, Stan figured that night was not the time for driving, but for sleeping. Even so, the old man found himself steering his long red car down a dirt road under the clear starry sky.
The moon glowed a solid white and cast its beams on the thick forest guarding the street and reflected distractingly off his glasses. The road had become hard to see as the trees cast their long shadows across the path, and a pair of headlights could only do so much good in determining where the fine line that separated the road from the off-road met. Reluctantly, the old man slowed his pace to just under the speed limit, a motion not often practiced by the slick businessman, but in this case, he was carrying precious cargo.
Stan placed his hand on the passenger seat as he took a turn to steady a box full of curious objects that threatened to tumble over. Jars full of who-knows-what and boxes full of old junk littered the right side of the vehicle, and almost completely filled the backseat. Every so often, when business was slowing down, Stan would venture out to the town junkyard and take home a wealth of useless garbage, which he had an unmatchable ability to turn into exhibits for his tourist trap. Chicken bones became skeletons of mythical creatures, and dingy silverware became ancient tools for worship. Most of the attractions as the Mystery Shack were laughable to anyone who paid close enough attention, but to the projects Stan put his mind to, even a historical expert would have to admit his creations were pretty impressive looking and the stories he told were almost convincing despite the glitter and glue. Unfortunately the remarkable exhibits did not show up very often in the Mystery Shack, but more and more often, Stan had found himself putting a little more effort into creating his masterpieces, for reasons he wouldn't dare to admit.
Stan glanced in his rearview mirror, eyeing all the soon-to-be famous attractions in his museum, but his eyes fell on what was occupying the middle seats. Dipper had fallen asleep, resting his head against a broken grandfather clock, and his twin sister slept leaning snugly against him. Both of the twins, especially Dipper, protested against his fake attractions when they first arrived in Gravity Falls, but as the weeks went by, they began to go along with it, and sometimes help create the new tourist grabbers. It was amazing the oddities Mabel could create with nothing but scrap and a hot glue gun, her very first being the now decapitated wax figure of her great uncle. She had a knack for creating the impossible, sometimes to a laughable extent. The Tomato Soup Can Monster was a hit in the Shack, as well as the Frog Trumpet and the sculptures she made entirely out of Chap Stick. Dipper was more of the brains of the operation, and he had quite the imagination. Stan had to pretend not to be impressed at how detailed his stories became about strange and mythical creatures in Gravity Falls, and how lifelike he could make the stories about the oddities become. He knew Soos believed every word the 12-year-old said, and Stan could see that even Wendy bought some of it, but the old man himself could not be convinced.
It was their sheer talent in creating these attractions that led Stan to bring them along on the trip in the first place, at least, that's what he said. It took some persuasion to get the twins to come along on a trip where they would gain materials for fooling other people, but after Soos spoke up about some legend involving a monster in that area, the kids quickly jumped in. Perhaps it wasn't as fun as they thought it would be, but the longer they worked, rooting through piles of potential money-makers, the more they seemed to enjoy it. Mabel would yank something out of a stack and begin carrying on about exactly what creation she had in mind for that piece of junk and would immediately find other things and begin piecing them together. Dipper would look for smaller things, things he claimed reminded him of his adventures over the summer, or that resembled some magical creature he encountered. Either way, they both wore a smile by time the sun set and they began to head back. They two were blabbing on about their finds and it seemed like forever before things went quiet in the back. Small wonder they fell asleep, it was far beyond the time they usually went to bed, and it had been a long and exhausting day.
Stan smiled to himself, looking one more time into the rearview mirror. They looked so young, so peaceful as they slept on, dead to their surroundings. Somehow, Stan couldn't help but feel glad they came over for the summer. At first, he only thought of the advantage of a free pair of hired hands, but as the days rolled by, more of his time became devoted to those two kids. He tried to hide his intentions behind building attractions or simple things like fishing or camping out together, but in truth, Stan was beginning to enjoy every moment he was around them. He made excuses to work with them on something, and every once in a while, do something fun with them. He was careful they didn't catch on, but Stan felt he had really grown close to his niece and nephew, like something would be missing if they weren't there. Stan turned his eyes back to the road, a slight smile playing at his lips. Summer wasn't going to last forever, but in his cranky old man heart, he secretly wished it would.