Dynamic Duo
There wasn't a sunrise in the camping car as it seemed to always be late dusk, so Stan and Dipper slept until they both felt well-rested. As they got up and prepared for the day, filling up some spare camping packs with supplies, Dipper finally noticed that his number had decreased.
"Hey, Grunkle Stan! Look!" Dipper said, holding out his hand to show off the number. "My number went down!"
"How about that…" Stan replied before looking at his own hand. "Mine did too. I wonder what caused it…"
"I think it must have been our talk last night," Dipper replied, writing his thoughts down as he spoke. "The conductor did say that this place was supposed to help with our problems and I guess talking helped."
"So the only way to get home is to be all touchy-feely? Great…" Stan groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "I've never been good at expressing my real feelings, especially since doing so only got me in trouble…"
"Guess this means you'll have to be honest how much you love Mabel and I," Dipper replied with a grin.
"Never gonna happen, kid," Stan said, waving his hand dismissively. "In fact, it's best if you pretend last night never happened."
Stan - 1402
Both Stan and Dipper stared at Stan's hand for a moment, having seen it go open before Dipper laughed and Stan did his best not to curse.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Stan grumbled before heaving a big sigh. "Fine! Fine! I care about you kid! I meant it when I said I loved you! You kids are the best thing that ever happened to me!"
Stan - 1329
"I care about you to Grunkle Stan," Dipper replied as his snickers subsided. "And I guess you really mean it."
"I'll deny it if you ever repeat it to anyone else, but yeah," Stan teased, pulling Dipper in for a noogie. "I've been head over heels for you two ever since I got to hold you in my arms when you were born. You and your sister may cause a lot of headaches, but I would not trade this summer for anything."
"Me neither," Dipper agreed, escaping from Stan's hold. "We better find Mabel so you can tell her how much you love us too."
"If I must…" Stan complained good naturally, slinging on his pack. The two-headed onto the next train car. They passed through several cars, working together to get through them very easily. They were currently taking a hot air balloon across to the next door, though it would still be a while before they'd get there at the leisurely pace the balloon was moving. The two were just watching the clouds go by and enjoying the peaceful ride.
"I hope Great Uncle Ford isn't too mad that I'm going to turn down his apprenticeship," Dipper eventually said. "He was so excited when I accepted…"
"He'll get over it," Stan replied shortly, before giving Dipper a smirk. "And if he gives you any trouble, just remind him that he'd have to explain everything to your parents."
"Yeah…" Dipper grimaced. Dipper loved this summer and all the adventures he'd been on, but there's no way anyone would believe him if they'd tried to explain everything. Dipper isn't even sure he'd believe it himself if he hadn't lived through all it. Sure Mabel had been sending their parents letters, but it was obvious to Dipper last time they called that his parents thought Mabel was letting her imagination exaggerate things. How in the world did Dipper think his parents would just let him stay with a strange uncle that they'd never met?
"See it'll be fine," Stan assured, nudging Dipper out of his thoughts. "Sure he might sulk for a bit, but Ford won't stop you from leaving with Mabel."
"Okay…" Dipper said, feeling a bit better before something occurred to him. "Are you two going to be alright without us? I know you guys haven't exactly been… getting along…"
"That's putting it nicely," Stan snorted, refusing to think about just how broken his and Ford's relationship was. "But we'll be fine kid. We're both adults and we'll be able to work things out. You don't need to worry."
Stan gave Dipper a confident grin and Dipper returned it with a small smile of his own. The ballon arrived at the door by this point, so Dipper dropped the subject so they could focus on the next car. Stan was glad Dipper hadn't pushed the subject, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep lying for long. He couldn't let the kid know that he was being kicked out of the shack by Ford. Come to think of it, they might not even be able to get off this train. If they can only leave by talking things out… well… it could take a very long time…
They passed through several more cars, including one full of ducks and a corn maze. After stopping for lunch in the Luau car, they soon came to a new car that seemed to be a stand-up comedy car. The car was dim with lots of tables and chairs spaced evenly across the floor and a bright light shining on a stage. There was an audience full of humanoid creatures whose entire heads seemed to be giant mouths. Stan and Dipper couldn't see who was on stage from where they were, but they seemed to be doing terribly. The whole audience was booing and grumbling.
"I have a feeling Ford's up there," Stan shook his head in bemusement. "Figures he'd be stuck in a car like this."
"Wait you really think Ford's up there?" Dipper asked, trying to peer through the crowd to get a look at his Great Uncle. "What should we do?"
"Just stay here and I'll take care of this," Stan replied, straightening his tie and putting on a big showman's grin. "After all if anyone can handle a crowd like this it's Mr. Mystery."
