Hello, and welcome to my brand-new Gravity Falls fan-fic.

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. They mean a lot to me, especially since this my first Gravity Falls fic :)

This story is set before Not What He Seems.

All characters belong to Alex Hirsch/ Disney
Story belongs to me

Young Grunkle

"Okay Stan, you know what to do, right?" Wendy asked as she watched the small boy hop towards the door.
"Yeah, I got it. I will make our uncle proud." Stan grinned from ear to ear. Mabel gave the young boy two thumbs up while Dipper leaned on the counter next to Wendy. Soos quickly made sure the items weren't skew before he opened the door.

"Welcome everyone to the Mystery Shack!" Stan exclaimed with pride. The small group of tourists wore confused expressions when they noticed the small boy wearing a fez and holding a cane in his hand.
"Um, is this the actual Mystery Shack? I heard Mr. Mystery was supposed to be here." an elderly lady asked as she looked down at Stan.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Mystery is not here to give you a tour around the Shack, but don't fear! I am Mr. Mystery Junior, his nephew. I will show you around!" Stan exclaimed with pride as he pointed at himself.

For a moment, the tourists looked doubtful.
"Okay sweetie, please show me what this Mystery Shack has." an elderly woman spoke in a syrupy tone as she leaned down to be at Stan's eye-level.
"Sure. follow me! Um, please!" Stan proudly exclaimed as he gestured the tourists to enter the Shack.

"Wow, guess Stan was never shy as a kid." Wendy smiled as she watched her young boss stand next to the Grizzlycorn and the tourists watched as he was deep in thought for a moment.

"This Grizzlycorn is a lot more dangerous than the normal bear! You want to know why? He poops glitter and rainbows that are toxic! If you see this fella, run away as fast as you can!" Wendy heard Stan exclaim, and she couldn't help but chuckle at her young boss' warning.

"Yeah, and not as grumpy either." Dipper pointed out as he watched his young great-uncle lead the tourists to different attractions and give child-like explanations about what these creatures could do. He noticed that Mabel and Soos were hiding in-between the tourists, ready to help Stan. SO far, they didn't need to help the boy yet.
"Really? I always imagined him as a wet blanket."
"He's actually a lot like Mabel. No wonder he gets along with her so well."
"Well, I can't wrap my head around the idea of him acting like Mabel. Hey, how about we all go to town after we are done with the tourists? That way, we can see how Stan really acts when he's a kid. Maybe even take some photos for blackmail?"
"That's a great idea! Maybe we can get something to eat besides cornflakes and toast." Dipper agreed.

"-and this is the unicorn mermaid!" Stan exclaimed with pride as he stood at the last attraction.
"What can it do?" one of the tourists piped up.
"Good question, sir! You see, it can do lots of things! Those legs makes it run as fast as lightning, so you can never outrun it! those wings help it fly so high that it could reach the moon! Its body helps it to burrow so far that it can dig all the way to the other side of the world in two minutes! Its tail helps it swim so fast that he can swim all the way to China in a minute! Its antlers makes it so strong that it can lift an elephant without effort! Its jaws are so strong it can bite through um...the toughest thing in the world! So, never try and anger the unicorn mermaid!" Stan exclaimed.

"-and that's it for the tour. If you want to buy any souvenirs, now's your chance." Mabel announced when she noticed Stan looked a bit confused when he noticed that there were no more attractions inside of the Shack for him to show off.
"Wow, he's good. He actually acted a lot like his uncle." one of the tourists whispered to his wife as they were checking the shirts out.
"Pity we couldn't see him and his uncle in action. That would've been so adorable!"

After an hour had passed, the last tourist had finally left.
"Did I do okay?" Stan asked shyly, which surprised Soos, Wendy and the twins.
"Dude, you were great!", Soos cheered, "High five!"
"Yeah, not bad for your first time." Wendy gave a thumbs up.
"Yeah, so we are going to town to have breakfast and have fun to celebrate." Dipper smiled as he patted his great-uncle on his back.
"We're going to have so much fun, Stan! We're going to go to the game arcade and might even go on a boat, if you want." Mabel cheered as she hugged the young boy. No one noticed Stan's pained expression for a moment before he forced a happy grin on his face.

"Okay, let's go, dudes! I'll lock up when everyone's in the car." Soos explained as he got outside, Dipper and Mabel followed behind. Wendy still sat in her chair as she quickly texted a message to her friends that she's going to town. Stan stared at her with sad eyes for a couple minutes.

"Can I admit something to you, Wendy?" Stan asked.
"Sure, go ahead." Wendy smiled, expecting him to admit that he stole a couple of coins from the cashier when she had her back turned.
"Please don't tell Mabel, Dipper or Soos anything about what I'm gonna say!"
"My lips are sealed, Stan."

"I know they don't want to say anything, but I know what happened." Stan struggled to keep his voice even.
"Oh?", Wendy was confused, "What happened, Stan?"
"I always had a feeling Pa preferred my brother over me, but to just dump me to some relative I don't even know? Ma and Pa didn't even bother to pack any clothes for me." Tears threatened to gush from Stan's eyes.
"Oh, Stan. No, it's not like that at all!" Wendy tried to reassure him as she leaned down to be at her boss' eye-level.
"Really? Then how come I had a weird dream about Pa kicking me out and not wanting me back?" Stan grumbled in anger as he wiped his eyes.

Wendy felt lost. What should she say?
"It's true, isn't it? I always had a feeling Pa hated me. I always excused his treatment of me because I thought he wanted to make me tough."
"Oh, Stan-"
"I know I am the dumb twin, but I can't help it if Poindexter has all the brains. I can't help it if everyone likes him more than me."
"Oh Stan, I don't know what to say.", Wendy admitted, "But, you are not dumb. Dipper, Mabel, Soos and I care about you."
"What about our uncle?"
"He's a grouchy ol' man that pretends he hates everyone, but he has a big heart." Wendy smiled.

"Thanks, Wendy." Stan smiled.
"You're welcome, Stan. Now, let's go to the car and have fun."
"Okay. Please don't tell them what I told you."
"I won't, Stan. My lips are zipped."

"Hey dudes, are you ready?" Soos called as he knocked on the front door.
"We're ready, Soos." Wendy called as she gave her young boss a small smile before they left the Shack to go to town.

To be continued...

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