"WooHoo!" exclaimed an excited young Mabel from the window seat of the bus is it pulled up in front of the familiar, ratty, shack in which she and her bother spent their summers. The twins Dipper and Mabel would be turning fifteen by summers end. Mabel was especially excited this year on account of having finally had her braces removed.
"I can't wait to show Candy and Grenda." Mable squealed as she climbed over her brother and hopped out into the isle. The pig she had stuffed into her backpack protested the sudden movement.
"Hush Waddles. You gotta stay quiet till we get off the bus." Mable whispered into her backpack.
Dipper, who had been jotting something down in his personal journal, punctuated his note before closing it and tucking it away in the pocket of his over shirt. "I can't wait to show gruncle Ford the projects I've been working on." Dipper enthused as he picked up his own bags and followed his sister down the isle.
Once they were outside Mabel freed Waddles to stretch his stubby legs on the lawn. The twins were greeted by the Mystery Shacks manager and an old Hispanic woman.
"Soos!" They exclaimed in unison. The tubby man in the little, red fez reached out to engulf them both in a great big bear hug.
"It's so good to see you guys it's been, like, forever." He exclaimed while simultaneously squeezing the air out of poor Dipper.
"It's been a year Soos," Dipper choked as he pried himself free. "And a year before that,"
Soos payed him little mind as he continued to fondle Mabel, tussling her hair about playfully. "Looks like someone's become quite the lovely young lady while they were away."
"I am rather lovely aren't I?" Mabel boasted as she struck a sexy pose. A pose which was rather ruined by her baggy sweater. A sweater which hid a truly lovely petite figure.
He sister had been growing up, filling out. It was hard not to notice. It's not like Dipper ever had even the remotest interest in sexualizing her, but teenage hormones are a powerful thing and every once in a while he'd find her bra somewhere or worse, her panties... It was for that reason that they're parents had decided they were to old to share a room. Dipper figured they were right, and although he always loved being with her, the new personal space was a blessing that made things a lot less awkward.
Dipper laughed and shook his head at Mabel's antics. "Hey where are Stan and Ford?" He asked excitedly, although a tad disappointed they hadn't met them at the bus stop.
"Oh, those two dudes haven't got here yet." Soos explained.
Mabel deflated. "Whaaat! But they're always here on time."
"That was last year Mabel the year before that we didn't meet gruncle Ford till halfway through the summer and Stan stood us up on the first day." A rather disappointed Dipper corrected.
"Ah good times, good times." Mabel mused.
"Hey don't worry dudes I'm sure they'll be here real soon." Soos assured as the twins both stood on the lawn looking rather dejected. "Oh, hey Mable you're parents told me about the room thing so we set up an airbed for you an abuelita's room i'sat cool?"
"You mean I get to share a room with this sweet young thang!" Mabel enthused as she rushed over to hook arm's with Soos's grandmother. "Com'on giiirl lets go get crazy!"
"Oh you're too sweet." The old lady said softly before heading up to the shack with Mabel.
"How did I get stuck carrying all the bags?" Dipper gripped.
"Oh here, let me help you out with that dude." Soos said as he took up a couple of Mabel's bags. "And don't worry about Stan and Ford, I know they wouldn't keep you guys waiting unless it was real important."
"You're probably right."
The first day seemed to fly by with visits from Wendy and the gang. Even McGucket game by for a bit only to be chased off by Soos' abuelita with a broom. It was fun seeing all their old friends again. But still no Stan or Ford. The day was winding down, abuelita had already gone to bed and Mable and Dipper sat on the living room floor watching Ducktective with Soos. Stan always loved watching this show with them but his seat remained empty. Soos was the Mystery Shack's manager now but he still felt weird about sitting in Stan's chair so for half the year the chair remained untouched.
"Man that duck is a genius," Soos said.
"Shhh, they're just getting to the best part." Dipper hushed.
Just then the door to the gift shop could be heard followed by heavy footsteps. Dipper and Mable both rushed out to investigate. Sure enough there was gruncle Stan at the door.
"Gruncle Stan!" the shouted in unison as the rushed to hug him.
"What took you so long?" Mable complained with a smile as she proceeded to bury her face in his chest.
"Alright kids, it's good to see you too. That's enough." Stan brushed them both off.
"Where's great uncle Ford?" Dipper asked excitedly looking out the door.
"Oh, uh, he'll be along. It's a long story I don't wanna get into it right now." Stan dismissed with a wave of his hand. Dipper noticed his hands were bandaged. The bandages didn't look very clean either. For that matter Stan himself was disheveled looking and it looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"What happened to your hands?" Dipper asked with a mixture of concern and suspicion.
"Oh this?" Stan chuckled nervously, "Got my hand stuck in a machine or something."
"Or some-" Stan cut him off before Dipper could finish.
"Look kid's I've had a long day so I think I'll just tuck in for the night."
"But gruncle Stan you just got here," Mable whined. "There's a new episode of Ducktective on in the other room, we recorded it so we could watch it with you but you were so late we had to start without you."
"Look, kid that show should have ended two seasons ago. I'm tired OK, I'm old it happens. We'll hang out some more in the morning ok?" Gruncle Stan Rambled as he made his way towards the vending machine. The spare room with the body swap rug had become Dippers summer room while the basement lab had been partially converted into a guest suit for Ford and Stan to share during their summer vacations. Something wasn't right. Stan was hiding something, Dipper could feel it in his gut and it made him furious.
"I thought we were done keeping secrets." He grumbled and crossed his arms.
"What are you talking about Dipper?" Mable asked innocently, "He's just tiered, just leave it be."
"Come on Mable you know his tells as well as I do." Dipper replied.
"You're just being paranoid Dipper, what could he possibly have to lie to us about?"
"I don't know but I know he's hiding something from us." Dipper started pacing across the gift shop.
"You think he got in a fight with Ford again?" Mable suggested. A sensible suggestion Dipper figured.
"You're probably right," Dipper sighed. Trying not to worry to much. "You know I think I'm gonna call it a night too."
"But dipper, you're gonna miss the end of Ducktective."
"Hey dudes you just missed the big reveal it was incredible, see it was actually..." Soos stopped for a moment as he registered the twins unhappiness. "Did I miss something?"
It was hard to sleep that night. Dipper couldn't stop thinking about Stan's strange behavior, wondering where Ford was. It was hard to convince himself that the answer was something simple and innocuous. Eventually he shot up from his troubled sleep to find a gruff hand on his mouth. He would have screamed but couldn't.
"Hey easy there kid," Came a familiar voice. Dipper looked up to see his great uncle standing over him. Stan removed his hand.
"Gruncle Stan?" Dipper said with tired confusion. "What are you doing in my room," Dipper caught a glimpse of the clock on his nightstand. "It's three in the morning."
"Just relax kid, we're gonna play a little game."