Oh my gosh this story is almost over. Where has the time gone? This is just a little heads up for that. This story's got thirty-three chapters.
Review please!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.
Stanford could not quite believe it, but they made it back to Gravity Falls in one piece. They had survived psychopathic stalkers and their desires for eternal friendship, they had managed to elude the cops despite the numerous crimes (most of which were committed by Stanley) that had taken place, and no one was dead. It seemed like a miracle to him. Returning to his home felt like a dream. Correction, it felt like he was waking up from a nightmare. Or perhaps, the awful dream had ended, and a new, better one had taken its place inside of his head.
He had been shot at, hospitalized, harassed, pressured into talking about gateways to imaginable power with stunning regularity, and forced to deal with his twin brother and all of the crazy hair-brained schemes he had gotten up to. It was nothing like the summer he had planned out for himself, and the children in the beginning. The thought of Stanley and New Jersey had not so much as crossed his mind when he agreed to take care of Mabel and Dipper. Yet here he was, arriving back home, after nearly a month and a half's worth of misadventures.
There was a neatly-stacked pyramid of newspapers, barricading the front door. His mail-box was jam-packed with letters, coupons and junk mostly. The grass was in bad need of a trimming as well, it grew almost to his knees in height. In other words, the usual. Everything was just as how he had left it! The only thing that was missing was his car, but he knew Stanley had already taken care of that for him. He would have it back soon enough, even if he would not be in a fit state to drive for some time.
Stanford felt around for his keys, a small thrill of panic ran through him when he did not feel them in his pocket. But then he recalled he had not kept them on him since the accident. Stanley did, as strange as it was. But Stanley had been the one to claim (impersonating and bluffing his way out for him actually) and salvage his car of what few belongings remained within.
Stanley seemed to know what was going through his mind, and tossed him the keys. He caught them, and unlocked the door. His brother strode ahead, and he dropped the bags he had been carrying on the floor. He quickly turned on his heel and left, returning to the RV. Dipper cautiously stepped inside, surveying the area. Mabel crashed into him as she pushed her way through. She was cradling the pig in her arms. Both twins stood within the threshold of the front door, curiously looking around the foyer.
A brief feeling of insecurity flickered within. His house was quite modest in comparison to that of Fiddleford's. That had been one of his friend's smaller residences on the east coast too. And from what he knew, Stanley owned a mansion, that was on the coast. He had never actually been there himself, but the children had described it as "ridiculously large for one person." The man-child echoed these sentiments. He had no reason to think they were false, he knew how successful- rich, his brother was.
While exact sums were a little more sketchy and classified than that of Fiddleford's, he still knew he had to have made a lot of money. His home couldn't really compare to theirs. If didn't even hold a candle against the hotel room they had been in! It was somehow embarrassing, in a way that he couldn't quite explain.
"It's a bit of a mess, I left in a hurry." He hastily said. "Most of my research is out of the way, but there's still some lying around. So try not to touch anything."
The twins nodded along, silent. They followed him deeper into the house. He flipped on lights as they went. It was dusk just as they had arrived back home. Most of the house was dark. Only from the windows did orange light enter. It only made things in the house look darker in comparison, furniture and parts of his research cast twisted shadows across the floor and walls.
There wasn't much for him to show the children. Just most of the rooms on the ground floor, so they knew their way about. They took in everything silently, it was surprising to hear the twins being so quiet. He would have thought that his great-niece would have some sort of cheerful, upbeat Mabel-thing to say, just to make conversation. Or perhaps Dipper would ask a question about whatever one of his projects was nearest. He seemed to take interest in the dinosaur skull he had resting within a tank, but said nothing of it.
Were they judging his home, in comparison to the others? The sudden uncomfortable squirm of insecurity returned at the thought. He couldn't help but feel a little resentment, knowing that his own quality of life was... Inferior in comparison to the others they had gotten to know that summer. It wasn't easy stomaching the thought that his brother had made it rich, without so much as going to university, while he fought to pay off bills, and worked hard just to ensure that he had another grant to keep his research together. Getting those funds wasn't as easy as it had been thirty years ago.
"H-how about I show you your room?"
The change of subject did not work as well as he had been hoping it would. Stanford found himself faced with a problem when he came to the stairs... Why had he not thought to build a bungalow when first designing the house? Well, he would just have to innovate something so he was capable of getting up and down the stairs in his house. Perhaps some sort of nitrogen-powered rocket. It might be a bit of a fire hazard, and an explosive hazard, but that was a risk he was willing to take! Besides, it was not like he could keep relying on the man-child to carry him up and down the stairs!
"Let's just leave that for another time." He said, trying to laugh away the awkwardness. "We can go see if there are any more bags to unload."
There was nothing left to be unpacked. All of the childrens' things had been taken and placed by the front door. There was a small carry-on in addition this this, it contained his own things. Mainly bottles of painkillers, and the clothes his brother had given him. Stanley said he didn't want them back. (It had something to do about being afraid of catching his nerdiness, a typical Stanley fear.) The RV was idling on the drive.
Only Stanley and Soos remained, for they had dropped Fiddleford off at his own home. But he would be returning, his friend insisted that he was not strong enough to take care of the twins on his own. Stanford was not going to argue with that. The children were a handful, and confusing much of the time too. He knew that now, and didn't mind getting some aid. Even if he did not want to admit that he was not strong enough to watch Mabel and Dipper on his own. Finding it strange that Stanley had not yet parked the RV, he approached.
"What?"
"Aren't you going to park?"
"Nope. You were the last stop on the itinerary. Soos and I are going to distract those creeps all the way back to New Jersey now."
"I thought..." He went silent, finishing the rest in his thoughts. "You were going to stay."
"What?"
It was a stupid notion, Stanford did not know where it had originated from. Why would he want Stanley, the one who constantly bothered him, and was no doubt plotting revenge at this very moment, to remain in Gravity Falls? In his own house no less? He knew that Stanley surely didn't want to stick around, the man probably had much better things to be doing with his time. He would merely scoff at the idea, dismiss it and be off on his merry way.
Yet, parting ways now seemed almost, wrong, in a way that he couldn't quite explain. They had gone through so much this summer, they had spent so much time together that it was hard to imagine that they had ever been apart, not antagonizing each other. The idea was silly, there was no logic behind it, and he did the best he could to hide the conflicting emotions that ran through him.
"It was just, nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Whelp, later."
Later? That was all he was going to say? No final goodbye? No acknowledgement of the children? He had barely done so much as looked in their direction. He could tell that the twins were just as disheartened as he was. Mabel was frowning, and she kept her eyes to the ground, while her brother focused intently on the thin air ahead of them. There was anger bubbling just beneath the surface, Dipper looked ready to snap.
"Wait! You can't just leave!"
"Yes I can. Right Soos?"
"Actually, I was kinda' hoping to stop by an visit my Abuelita." Soos confessed, tapping his fingers together. "It's not every day I get to go back home Mister Pines, and I think she would love the surprise! I mean, I know I would, especially since we've been far apart for so long-"
"Alright!" Stanley crossed his arms, and he looked away from them. "Fine, we're staying here for a little bit!"
It took surprisingly little for Stanley to change his mind. It almost made Stanford wonder if he was waiting for an excuse to stick around. But never before had he been so grateful that the man-child was around to talk Stanley into something. He could have hugged Soos, if not for the fact that he was already embracing Stanley.
"Thank-you Mister Pines! You're the best!"
"Yeesh, I get it. Can you let go of me now?"
"Just a couple more seconds."
Stanley sighed, but did not try to fight the bear-hug. Soos eventually let go, and Stanley was all to happy to jump from the driver's seat.
"Soos, take the RV and visit your Abuelita. Just makes sure to get some duct tape on the way back. We've got some repairs to make."
"Will do Mister Pines!" The man-child gave him a funny salute. "See you in a bit!"
"Wait!"
"What now?"
"Your, don't you need to grab your things?"
"For what?"
"Well if you're staying here-"
"Staying, here? At your place?"
Where else could the man possibly stay? Stanford supposed there might be some room available at Soos' Abuelita's home, or perhaps he planned to stay in the RV, but at the same time, Stanford knew that he couldn't leave his brother to fend for himself. At least, if he wanted to sleep at night with a clear conscious. There was still plenty of room in his house. Not as much as Stanley was no doubt used to, but it was still a room, and a solid bed to sleep on.
"I assumed that when you said you were going to remain in Gravity Falls for a bit..."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Stanley looked up at the night sky. Stanford stared at the ground. Neither of them realized it, but they were copying the exact same actions of the younger twins: Dipper and Mabel still stared off into space, trying not to get involved with their conversation, or listen in too much. The four remained looking in opposite directions mute and slightly embarrassed. Eventually, Stanley broke the tension.
"Geeze I uh, thanks. I'll just... Grab my things."
He hastily retreated back to the vehicle. For some reason, Stanford felt his face start to hurt as he watched this. It was almost like eating a candy that was too sower. His cheeks and fillings ached, as if he had just bitten into a sugary-sweet lemon drop. Then he realized the pain was his own fault, because he was grinning so widely. Stanford schooled his face back into a neutral expression. Dipper and Mabel were both looking away, their arms crossed. He was glad they hadn't seen his no doubt goofy smile.
There weren't many things that Stanley had brought along. There was a single duffel bag, which he recognized as the one that Stanley kept most of his belongings in. Then, there was a briefcase, it was locked tight a closed handcuff with the keys in it was attached to the handle. This, he knew contained a great deal of money. Probably more than he made in a year, perhaps even too. It was for any sort of emergency they ran into on the road, at least according to Stanley. Perhaps it was just an excuse to make Fiddleford pay for everything. Stanley hadn't exactly planned to bring his friend along for the ride, so he must of had a ready source of non-traceable cash to use.
The briefcase and the duffel bag were the two things that he brought along with him. Soos gave a little wave, and then he drove off. The man-child was no doubt enthusiastic to see his Abuelita again. It was that kindness which has persuaded Stanley to stick around longer, he was secretly grateful for this.
"Come on in! I'll show you around!"
Not much later that night, Dipper and Mabel lay in their new beds. Neither one of them was ready to sleep, despite feeling exhausted from their long journey across the country. It was a strange sort of sensation. No matter how hard Dipper tried to close his eyes, they remained open, he continued to yawn, but could not find a way to fall asleep. Maybe he just needed to get used to the bed, and the new setting. That hadn't stopped him from falling asleep in the past though.
The bed was perfectly fine, Mabel had proved that, by jumping back and forth between them with ease. He might have joined in too, just for a little bit, to makes sure things were structurally sound. In fact, they were nicer than the ones at Stan's house. There you just sort of sunk into the mattress and were nearly strangled to death in your sleep. This was an improvement.
It was warm inside, but not stiffing. It would take some time for the air conditioning to kick in again. Even with the attic window closed, he could hear the sound of crickets chirping. Occasionally, an owl would hoot, and he could hear coyotes, or maybe they were wolves, howling in the distance. Their great-uncle's home was a thirty-second walk away from the forest. It surrounded them on all sides, isolating them from the rest of the town.
To him, it looked like everyone else lived in the town, together. All except for their great-uncle's house. There was something strange about the house, and all of the town actually. Dipper couldn't quite put his finger on what this was, but he knew the feeling was there, at the back of his mind. Perhaps that was the thing that kept him from falling asleep.
"Hey Dipper?" Mabel whispered.
"Yeah Mabel?" He whispered back.
"Can you asleep?"
"No. Can you?"
"No." She replied. "Do you think Grunkle Stan is going to stay for long?"
"How am I supposed to know what goes on in that guy's head?"
"I don't know. Why does he want to stay?"
"For Soos I guess."
"Then why doesn't he just buy a plane ticket and fly back? Unless, he actually wanted to be around Grunkle Ford and..."
"Hey, crazy theories are my area of expertise, not yours."
"It's just, I kind of want Stan to stay, but-"
"You actually want that?" He skeptically asked.
His sister nodded. The moonlight from the window cast her face in the shadows, he could not see what her expression was.
"Why would you ever want to spend more time with that-"
"He's not totally bad Dipper."
"You're just saying that because he helped you win another giant stuffed toy."
Dipper pointedly looked at the axolotls. They took up more space than she did on the bed. It didn't help that she had all of her other toys, and a pig who enjoyed hogging the covers on the bed with her. No wonder why his sister couldn't sleep! At least he had a bed to himself, she was barely clinging on to the edge with so many other occupants to share space her space with.
"That's not true!" She replied, hugging the toy. "Stan is-"
"A manipulative criminal who doesn't care about anyone but himself?"
"What! No! That's not true Dipper! I think Stan is just difficult! And grumpy! He's just not used to being surrounded by loving family!"
"Yeah." He snorted. "Loving."
"Really, I think he just needed some time to warm up. He changed!"
"Come on Mabel, he's not that versable in his old age."
"He's not that what now?"
"If something is versable, it can be turned, or changed."
"Well that's a dumb word! Stan changed! He-"
"Mabel don't you remember what he-"
"So he yelled at me one time! That was forever ago Dipping Sauce! I'm over it now! Stan's done tons of good things since then!"
"He's done tons of bad things too."
"It's probably a fifty-fifty split." She admitted. "But that's still something!"
"He hasn't even said sorry! Don't you think that you're being a-"
Mabel sat up in bed, staring directly at him now.
"You know what I think?" She quietly asked. "I think you're mad at Stan because you started to like him, and when you found out he did really bad criminal stuff, and-"
"He scared you so bad you wouldn't get out of bed Mabel! That's bad! That's really bad!"
"I'm over it Dipper!" She repeated. "But you're not."
"Why should I be when he-"
"Ugh, I'm not having this argument." She huffed.
Mabel flopped back on her bed. She pulled the pillow over her face, and then lay perfectly still.
"Mabel?"
She snored in response. Not a fake one, like he had expected, but a real one. It was a little hard to believe, but Mabel had actually fallen asleep in the time that she covered her face. Dipper rolled his eyes, then he turned on his side. It didn't make the bed feel any more comfortable. He was sick of twisting and turning, and so he kicked off the bed covers. Then, he knocked over his pillow.
Unable to stand it any longer, Dipper got out of bed. There was a slight creak as he stood, the house's floorboards were rather noisy. That did little to wake his sister, who continued to sleep, with her head under the pillow, surrounded by a fortress of stuffed animals. It was just like... Before. Dipper felt his hands curl into fists, and he took in a shuddering breath. Why was she just so happy to forgive and forget? Had Stan... Had their great-uncle really done that much for them? Well, maybe just for her. Because it sure didn't feel like Stan had done anything to make up for snapping at him. When was the last time they had actually talked? On the road? When they were persuading Stan to get locked in the RV? Even then, Stan didn't exactly know it was him that he was talking to. He had been through that entire, body-swap with a weirdo situation.
Dipper did not understand why she was willing to give him so many chances, sure Mabel did it with most people, but this just seemed like a bit much. He had given Stan a second chance, and a third, but the moment he let his guard down... It just made him feel like such an idiot for trusting the guy to be a decent person.
Each step he took seemed to creak louder than the last. It was impossible for him to find sound footing in the house. He may as well have been crashing through with all his might for how loud he felt. The reset of the house was listen, the only noises he heard were coming from outside. That was just wildlife as usual, nothing out of the ordinary.
Dipper winced with every step he took down the attic stairs. Why was every board in this house so squeaky? He was going to wake all of Gravity Falls at this rate. Maybe he should just turn back and go to bed. He would have to fall asleep eventually. Just then, Mabel's snoring decided that it would grow in volume. That was enough to deter him from returning. At least, for now.
He continued to walk along the second floor. He wasn't quite sure of where he was going. Ford's house was huge, and really confusing. So many of the rooms were connected that it all became one endless labyrinth. It was difficult to remember where was where. Dipper could have sworn hat it shouldn't have been physically possible for some of the rooms to exist. The outside of the place was smaller-looking than the inside.
As he approached the next flight of stairs, Dipper froze. There was someone standing there, in the hall. He wasn't sure whether or not to approach or move further back. But then again, he supposed that whoever was there had heard him coming from a mile away.
"Er, hello?"
"What? Who's there?"
Instantly, he decided to turn back, and wait out Mabel's ridiculously loud snoring until the morning. Who needed a good night's sleep anyways? That kind of thing was over-rated!
"It's just me."
"Oh."
Stan sounded just as thrilled about this as he was. The man turned his back to him, he was looking at something on the wall. Dipper's eyes were still adjusting. There were no windows in this part of the hall, meaning that were was very little light. He had to squint to see in the darkness, and even then, his vision was not very clear. He could barely make out Stan, and he was barely three feet in front of him.
"I can't believe he actually kept them."
"Kept what?"
There was a small creak as Stan jumped in surprise.
"Yeesh, you're still here?"
"I'm leaving." He defensively replied, turning back in the direction he had come.
He started to walk back towards the attic stairs. Smaller squeaks followed his every footstep. They were inescapable in the house. It actually made Dipper wonder why he had never heard Stan walking around. But then again, he supposed that the guy was a criminal. He was probably adept at sneaking around places. Heck, Stan was probably stealing something of Ford's right now.
"The pictures."
The voice behind him was so quiet that he easily could have missed it. But Dipper was certain that he had hear his great-uncle speak.
"Huh?"
"It's uh." Stan cleared his throat. "That's what I was talking about."
"What about them?"
"These, I, I guess you can't see them in the dark, but they're all from the house we grew up in. Relatives and friends of the family and such. I would have thought that Sheremy'd claim everything. From what I learned, Ford didn't do that much visiting, even after our Pop was outta' the picture. Shermy was the one who stuck until the end."
"And you didn't visit at all?"
"Twice." He grudgingly admitted. "Once after I thought I'd made enough money, and then later in the evening, on the same day."
"How much was enough?"
A raspy laugh was his answer. It took Stan a moment to collect himself again.
"Nothing was ever enough for him. I ruined my entire life to be let back into this family. And in the end, it didn't even work. Money's brought me nothing but trouble. Getting it, having it, spending it... Now, I can't even leave it all behind, quit scamming people. If I do that, there'll be thirty people minimum turning me into the police, because they'll be off my payroll."
"Oh."
"Most of the time I'd just be better off de-" Stan seemed to realize what he was saying. "Ugh, probably shouldn't be talking about that kind of stuff in front of a kid. Go to bed you."
"Y-yes Grunkle Stan."
He didn't bother to dispute it, there was no point.
