Stanuary week 1: Love
Ok yes I'm late excuse me I'm trying to make grad school application deadlines.
Takes place the night after the birthday party before Dipper & Mabel leave for California the next morning.
Stanley found Mabel sitting at the kitchen table, her brow furrowed thoughtfully as she stared down at a little notepad. He didn't like to see her looking so serious, and it had become way too common over the last couple of weeks.
"Hey pumpkin, something the matter?" He asked, taking a seat beside her.
"Oh, hey Grunkle Stan!" She greeted him, her expression brightening, but still thoughtful. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking."
"Looks like you're thinking pretty hard. Careful, you'll end up like your brother."
"Or your brother?" She asked wryly.
"Heh, yeah." Stan gave a short chuckle. "So what're ya thinking so hard about?"
"Well…" She trailed off, trying to formulate her chaotic thoughts into words. "Dipper and I are leaving tomorrow, and… I just don't want things to get crazy bad between our family like they were when the whole Weirdmageddon thing went down. I'm trying to think of ways to keep us all from falling apart again. I know that's kinda what got me into the rift mess to begin with, so I'm being careful to think of things that'll work for everyone, and not be like I'm trying to force it."
"I don't think you have to worry about that, sweetie." Stan assured her. "We all learned from our mistakes."
"I know, but if we don't change what we're doing, we'll just keep on making the same mistakes eventually!" Mabel said emphatically. "Learning a lesson doesn't do a thing if you don't change!"
"What kinda changes are we talking about here?" Stan asked, looking over her shoulder at her notepad. It was full of ideas. Several, like Eat the same meals were crossed out, while others like tell each other what they do well were underlined. One was circled and underlined. Twice.
"Tell each other 'I love you' every day." Stan read aloud. He grinned. "Sappy, but effective, I guess. That'll be good for you two if you can get Dipper to go for it."
"I already talked to Dipper about it, he said it's fine as long as he doesn't have to do it in public. But it's not just for me and Dipper." She looked at Stan seriously. Cripes he hated to see her so serious.
"Y'mean me and Ford?" the old con man asked innocently, as though it wasn't already obvious. Mabel nodded sagely. Stan chuckled. "It's not that I don't think it's a good idea. Like I said, it'll be good for you and your brother. But it's different for us. We're a couple of crotchety old men."
"But Grunkle Stan, think about it! When Grunkle Ford came back, you felt like he didn't love you anymore, right?"
Stan was taken aback by how blunt she was. He'd felt that way a long time before Ford came back, and his twin's actions upon his return did nothing but cement that feeling.
"Actions speak louder than words, kiddo."
"I know, I know, but it still would've helped to hear those words, right?" It would have. "And maybe those words would have even changed some of those actions. And I'm sure there were times when Grunkle Ford needed to hear those words from you."
A certain memory that had first resurfaced after a heart-to-heart with Ford in the hospital after Weirdmageddon suddenly reared its ugly head again. It was an accident! But hey, maybe there's a silver lining! Treasure Huuuuunt?
"Yeah." Stan agreed. "But… it's not that easy, alright? A tough guy and a super-genius from Jersey? We just don't say stuff like that. It's… awkward."
"The more you say it, the less awkward it'll be." Mable reasoned. Then she gasped in horror. "Oh no, I'm trying to force it! I'm so sorry Grunkle Stan, it was just an idea, you don't have to say it if it's too awkward for you!"
"Hey, no, you're not being too forceful or anything!" Stan reassured her, "You're just trying to help, I can appreciate that."
Mabel still looked distraught. It only took a second for Stan to think of a way to cheer her up. He pulled her into a big hug. "I love you, ya little gremlin."
Mabel gasped and looked up at him with stars in her eyes. "I love you to, you smelly gross old man!"
"So, uh, I was talking to Mabel earlier…" The kids were now in bed, and now Stan was trying to figure out how to breach the subject of Mabel's idea with Ford.
"Mmmhm." Ford hummed from where he was writing in the Journal Dipper had rediscovered a few days ago.
"Guess she's worried about us having a falling out again."
Ford looked up, frowning deeply. "I'd like to say her fears are unfounded, but… after the way I behaved, the way I treated you… I understand why she's worried. Stanley, I was a fool-"
"OK we don't need to have this conversation again." Stan rolled his eyes. He'd already heard three variations of Ford's overdramatic 'I Was A Fool' speech today, he didn't need a fourth. "She had this bright idea that we should say 'I love you' to each other every day."
Ford grimaced. "And… uh… did you tell her that would be potentially… er… awkward?"
"Yeah."
"I'm not saying she's wrong, it's actually quite a brilliant idea. It's just… I don't know if it'd work for us."
"I know, but… I think I might've found a way we can make it work." Stan smiled. "I love you, you ginormous nerd."
Ford grinned back up at him, immediately catching on to his brother's plan. "I love you too, you reckless, stubborn, dinosaur punching Xenon."
Stan raised an eyebrow. "Xenon?"
"Yes, it's an element, one of the Noble Gasses, actually. It doesn't react with other elements, so it represents stubborness."
"I know what Xenon is!" Stan cried in mock indignation, "But who says that?"
"I'm sure some people say it."
"No Ford, not even other science nerds say that."
"It is so a thing people say! Perhaps it was from one of the dimensions I encountered…."
"No, I refuse to believe that anyone says that, even in other dimensions!"
Many months later:
Stan was getting lunch ready aboard the Stan'o'war II when he heard the laptop he shared with his brother sound out a series of notifications. He checked it, and sure enough, there was a sting of emails, each one with an audio attachment.
"Hey Ford, get in here, it's that time again!" He called to his brother up on deck. The old researcher pounded down the stairs and into the galley. Stan pressed play on the attachment from the first email.
"G'night Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford! I love you!" Mabel's voice rang out of the laptop's tinny speakers.
"I love you two too!" Dipper's voice joined in.
"Pfft, you said tutu." Mabel giggled.
"Mable! You know what I-" the recording stopped. The two old men shared a laugh and proceeded to listen to the rest of their messages.
"I love you doods, stay safe!"
"Don't ferget I love y'all!"
"Love you dorks. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"We love you! EEEEEEE!"
Ford opened up the voice recording app on their laptop and pulled out a little microphone. He insisted the one built in was deficient.
Mabel had been right. Saying I love you every day made a difference, and while it had certainly been awkward at first, Stan now found himself at a point where he could say 'I love you' without even having to soften it with an affectionate insult. Sure, it was still sappy, but it was the kind of sappy that made him feel good. He reached down clicked the record button.
"Hey kids. I love ya. Sleep well, and don't hesitate to call us if you have any nightmares or anything."
"I love you too." Ford added. "And let me know if any anomalies give you trouble, I'll do my best to find a solution."
They saved the recording and attached it to an email, then forwarded it to the kids and everyone else Mabel had put on the list.
"While you're in here you might as well eat." Stan suggested, pulling out a loaf of bread and some shredded fish he'd caught this morning. "Chowder'll be done in a minute."
"Thanks." Ford took the bread and spread a good helping of mayo onto it before heaping flakes of fish meat onto it.
"Oh, and Ford?"
His brother looked up.
"I love you, ya knucklehead."
Ford looked back down at his sandwich and smiled. "I love you too."
It was getting easier every day. Someday, they'd be able to look each other in the eye and say 'I love you' without the good natured ribbing. Someday soon.