3 years ago (2 weeks after last flashback)...

Stanley Pine rubbed his hands together, grinning up at the freshly painted sign. Mystery Shack. Soos was up on the roof doing the finishing touches. Stan took a few steps back, double checking in his head to make sure it was spelt correctly.

"Great job Zues!" he said, giving the boy a thumbs up.

"Actually, it's Soos." Soos readjusted the cap on his head and put the paintbrush back in the paint bucket.

"Right." Stan nodded to himself, repeating the name over. He had just about memorized everyone's names by now, and knew a good chunk of everyone's story. And to be honest, Stan was kind of enjoying posing as his brother. When before he had been living on the streets, shunned by the world and the target of multiple gangs, now he had a roof over his head. People actually cared about him. He wasn't an outcast, but people looked up to hm with pride. Pride an acceptance he had been chasing his whole life. Even. If it was all built on lies and his brother's hard work, it still felt nice. For the first time in a long while, he felt loved and had a purpose.

He was certain no one could figure out his secret. Pretty much everyone trusted him.

All except one.

"Dad?" a squeaky puberty voice came from behind. Stan spun around to see Dipper, nervously fidgeting with his thumbs.

"Hey kiddo! What do you think?" Stan threw his arm around Dipper's shoulders and grinned. It was nice to see the kid come out for a bit. Stan was sure he had been avoiding him. Maybe he had been onto him, Stan had thought, but then again maybe he was just a weird introverted child. Would make sense with him being Ford's son and all.

Dipper looked at the sign blinking a few times."Y-yeah, it's great, or whatever. Dad... I need to talk to you." He took a deep breath, unable to look Stan in the eyes.

"Sure, kid, anyth-"

"Hey, Mr. Pines!" Wendy interrupted from behind. She held a plank of wood over her shoulder, swinging it around as she spoke. She would've hit Dipper in the head with it if he hadn't ducked. "Are you using it and if not may I have it?"

"Why would you- You know what, never mind. Let me go check if it's needed." Stan began to walk back into the house, which was now a shop, but Dipper stopped him.

"Dad, I REALLY need to talk to you! Now!" Stan was taken back by how stern the boy spoke. He must of noticed it too because immediately his cheeks turned pink. "Now. In private. Please." He stared at the ground.

Stan looked between Dipper and Wendy. "Ya know what, I'm just gonna take this," she said, stepping away.

"Dipper, what's up?" Stan spoke once the girl had gone.

"Could we maybe talk inside?"

...

Stan and Dipper made their way to shack kitchen and talked.

"Dipper, what's up?" Stan watched the boy, who was hesitating. Stan watched Dipper's eyes move towards Stan's hands. The kid's eyes moved up and down, almost like he was...

Oh no. Counting.

Once Stan realized what Dipper was doing, Stan cleared his throat and put his hands behind his back. Dipper shook himself and took a deep breath. Then he stared into Stan's eyes, almost in an uncomfortable way that made him want to run away. That look you mom gives you when you and her both know you did something wrong.

"You're not my dad, are you?"

Stan froze. His mouth gaped open, trying to find words, but nothing came. He new he couldn't keep the act up forever, especially with Ford having a son, but he hoped to at least keep it up for more than a month. Dipper was smart, something Stan hadn't accounted for.

" You are not Stanford Pines." The boy narrowed his eyes, making Stan want to shrink back even more. "Who are you and where is my dad?"

Stanley was panicking on the inside. What would he say? What could he say? This wasn't a situation most people ended up in. It wasn't like there was a book called, "How to tell your nephew, who you didn't even know existed until recently, that you're not really his father for dummies."

"Where is my dad!" Stan jumped at the boy's shout.

"I- I don't know," was all he could make out.

Dipper stopped, his eyes widening. As if it caught him off guard that he had been right. In an almost whisper, he said, "You really aren't my dad." Stan couldn't read Dipper's expression as he stared at the ground. Stan's heart was pounding in his chest. "He was right."

"He?"

"Who are you?"

"How long have you known?" Stan said, ignoring Dipper's question.

"Where is my father and who are you?"

Stan sighed, smiling sadly at the boy. "I'm Stanley Pines... your uncle."

Dipper shook his head, and Stan noticed the kid's eyes begin to water. "No. My father doesn't have a brother named Stanley."

"Look, I understand why your dad wouldn't talk about me but..." Stan raced his mind for something to say next, but nothing come out. He reached his hand out to Dipper, but he flinched away.

"No! Who are you and where is my dad!" Angry eyes glared up at Stan. He hadn't meant for this. He hadn't meant for any of this. But it was too late.

"I just told you! I'm your uncle and I don't know where your dad is, okay? I'm sorry." Stan's voice cracked a bit, and his gut sank. This kid would probably never see his father again. And it was all his fault.

"What does that mean? What happened to him?" Dipper scrunched up his face, fists clenched.

"I... I'll show you."

Stan led Dipper to where they had set up the main part of the gift shop. Since they were so close to the grand opening of the Mystery Shack, pretty much everything was set up on the shelves and displays. Stan had installed a vending machine and had told everyone it would bring in a younger audience. But the real reason was to cover the entrance to Ford's bunker. Stan had intended not to use it for a while. But here they were.

Dipper watched Stan with an angry and confused look as he typed the code into the keypad. There was a hiss as the secret door released pressure and opened. The distant sounds of Wendy and Soos outside made Stan hesitate before entering. What would they think of all this? Would Dipper tell them? Some part of Stan hoped he would.

They went down in a rickety elevator, eventually ending up in the room with the portal. Dipper stepped into the open space, taking it all in with amazement. Stan raised an eyebrow. Didn't he know? Didn't Ford tell him about this place?

"What is this?" There was still that angry tone in his voice.

Stan took in a deep breath, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Ford called me down here wile you were on your... trip. He wanted to show me this, and gave me part of the blueprints. He told me to get as far away as possible. But..." How could he possibly explain what happened next?

"H-He never showed me this." Dipper's eyebrows knit together in thought. "He was trying to get me out of the way for when you came. He tricked me!" He turned away from his uncle, staring up into the portal's middle. "What happened to him."

"The portal turned on... And he accidentally fell through." Stan had twisted the truth hundreds of times before. But for the first time, he actually felt guilty for it.

"He tricked me and you lied to me!" Dipper spun around and glared at Stan. Tears were in his eyes, and Stan couldn't help but feel responsible. "You lied to everyone! My father is gone and you felt comfortable taking his place!"

"Kid, I never meant for-"

"How long were you hoping to keep this up! How long! How long were you going to leave me in the dark! My dad is dead! And you lied about it!" Tears rolled down Dipper's cheeks, leaving Stan empty inside.

Stan could find no words. Nothing he could ever say could make up for what he did. He couldn't look his nephew in the face. There was too much pain, too much anger there.

"How could I ever possibly be related to you." Dipper was right. Stan would always be a useless nobody that everyone shunned. He was a worthless cheat.

Dipper took off running before Stan could stop him. He doubted the boy would want to ever talk to him again. He was probably running to go tell Wendy and Soos, to tell them that the man living in this house wasn't the noble Ford, but the disgraceful Stan. And Stan knew deep down he deserved it. All he ever did was push people away.

A/N Hey guys! This is the first update of 2021 so Happy late New Year! Updates are still on Fridays, I just forgot to update yesterday. Thanks to all your support on this story! Also, I started a contest on Wattpad called The Hiraeth Awards! So please go check it out if you have an account on there, and maybe even enter. Please. Thanks again for reading and thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites!