From TwistingMoonbeam: "If you wouldn't mind, I have a request, if you're still taking them: A dabble about Grunkle Stan accidentally stumbling upon Dipper getting bullied, and defending and comforting him?"

*screeches in joy* Yes! More Stan & Dipper! I may or may not have gotten carried away with this idea (sorry not sorry)

Enjoy this one-shot!

Stand

One thing Gravity Falls didn't have, unlike his home in Piedmont, was the variety of bullies. Dipper and his sister weren't the most popular or the best-looking kids in the school; in fact, they were more well-known as the "weird" kids. Mabel's occasional odd behaviors rewarded her with some taunts and whispers behind her back, while Dipper's brains and preference for solitude during recess earned him some shoving and name-calling. The more frequent of the bullies grew to learn that if you messed with one twin, you offended the other, so that was normally all it took to persuade them to leave. Sometimes, unfortunately, this was only encouraging and caused both siblings more heartache.

Here in this small town, however, he hadn't experienced much bullying (unless you counted Robbie and the name-calling from Pacifica to Mabel). That was part of the reason why he loved Gravity Falls so much. For one summer, he didn't have to worry about running into his classmates and trying avoid human contact as he read his books alone.

Until one of the last days of July, that is.

Dipper had been reading his journal, studying the pages involving some sort of hybrid cross between a beaver and a pig (Mabel would love this, he thought to himself with a smirk) as he sat in the park. Mabel and Wendy had decided to have some girl-bonding time, and Soos had to stay home to take care of his grandmother who had a high fever. Who knew where Grunkle Stan was - probably shoplifting or swindling tourists - so the preteen had decided to have some time to himself for once. Besides, it was a beautiful day outside. There was no use being cooped up indoors when the sun was shining.

Just as he noticed a new cryptic message on the bottom of one of the pages, something slammed into his left shoulder hard. He cried out in shock and pain, dropping the journal onto the ground. Dipper looked down and saw that the missile had been a baseball.

"Hey, sorry about that! Didn't see you there, dork!"

Dipper winced at the name, picking up the baseball and meeting the eyes of three boys a little older than he was. He tossed it back and rubbed his aching shoulder to try and relieve the pain. "That's okay. I probably should have been paying attention."

"What's this? Is it yours?"

The boy glanced over to see what the tallest was holding and his heart thundered in his chest in panic. The journal.

"Uh, y-yes. Can I have - ?"

The trio snickered as they saw what he was reading about. "What is this? A Peaver?" teased one with shaggy blond hair. "Sounds like some sort of fantasy junk."

Dipper stood now, trying not to acknowledge the growing lump in his throat. "I, um, I was just reading. Can I have my journal back now?"

"Can I have my journal back now?" mimicked one of the boys quietly, earning more laughter at his behalf. "Gee, dork, you sound like it's your security blanket! What, is your mommy going to hurt me if I don't give you it?"

"H-Hey, please - !"

The tallest boy shoved him lightly, although Dipper knew immediately that he could have definitely shoved him much harder. "What are you gonna do, nerd? Huh?"

Dipper narrowed his eyes as the tall kid waved his beloved book above his head, a good foot or two out of the younger boy's reach, anger slowly settling in. He recalled a similar question asked in a similar fashion by Gideon and his blood boiled.

"Look, just give me my journal, okay?"

The group snickered louder, not intimidated by his words or tone.

"What are you gonna do? Punch us?" jeered the blond, a cruel smirk on his face.

"With those noodle arms?" laughed the tallest boy. "I doubt it!"

"Leave me alone!"

Dipper's outburst made the trio go silent, all staring at him as he breathed heavily, trying to calm down. He had forgotten what it was like to deal with bullies, how easily it was to make his temper flare.

"Ooh, someone's got some bite," sneered the tall kid, still holding the journal over his head. "I don't see you doing anything about this stupid book of yours though, nerd. I guess you don't really want it."

He tossed it to the third boy, who dodged Dipper's reaching hand and shoved him hard onto the dirt. Dipper grimaced at the sound of laughter and made to get up, but a foot on his back pushed him back down roughly.

"What are you gonna do, huh?" crowed the blond, whose foot kept him in place. "Look at how stupid you are. Did you really think we were gonna give it back, dork?"

"You will if you don't want me to call your parents."

The low familiar gruff voice made Dipper freeze, and the foot quickly removed itself from his back. The journal was tossed down at his face unkindly as the tallest boy said under his breath, "Don't think your grandpa can defend you everywhere, dork."

The sound of footsteps hurrying away across the grass let the preteen boy know it was okay to stand once more, and he avoided eye contact with his great-uncle, whom he knew was standing behind him. He brushed the dirt and grass off of the journal, shoving it back into his vest.

"You alright, kid?"

Dipper flinched involuntarily at the question, not turning to meet Stan's eyes still. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He hoped that would deter the old man enough from asking more, but he had no such luck. A hand - surprisingly gentle - landed on his left shoulder and he cried out softly in pain as he remembered the baseball's blow. Stan lightened his grip on the shoulder a little at the realization that his family was in pain.

"Did they hit you?"

"No, their baseball did. It was an accident." He didn't know why, but he felt more defensive of the bullies now that they were gone.

There was an awkward tense silence in which Dipper shrugged the hand off of his shoulder and rubbed it as inconspicuously as possible. He couldn't help the stinging of tears in his eyes or the pink flush to his cheeks. He had embarrassed himself in front of Stan, and now he probably thought he was related to a pathetic wimp. Awesome.

"Do they do this?"

Dipper frowned, glancing back to see Stan's unreadable expression looking down at him. "Huh?"

"Bullies back home. Do they push you around too? Call you names?"

He couldn't stop himself from gaping at his great-uncle for a moment before he came to his senses and shut his mouth quickly. "I d-don't know what you're talking about," he lied quietly.

Stan's gaze softened, surprising Dipper even more. "Kid, I'm not dumb. I know when someone's been bullied before."

It took another moment or two for the preteen boy to process the statement and realize what he meant. He remembered his great-uncle's mind, the memory of being bullied at school as a child coming to light. Oh. Of course he knew what being bullied was like. Dipper turned away and said nothing.

"Look, Dipper," Stan knelt down, resting his hand on the boy's right shoulder, the one that didn't throb in pain. "I, uh, I know you probably have dealt with these things before but... ah..." The man groaned inwardly; he had never been good at these sort of talks.

Dipper didn't respond, merely listening half-heartedly to whatever his great-uncle was struggling to convey.

A sudden idea came to Stan, one that made him both hesitant and determined to go through with it.

"Tell you what: tomorrow morning, I'll teach you how to box."

That got the tween's attention. He whipped around in shock, eyes wide as golf balls.

"Wh-What? Why?" He then frowned as suspicions of what this implied danced in his head.

"Wait, you're only giving me a lesson because you think I can't handle myself, aren't you...?"

Stan's eyes widened now. "What - ? No, no! Kid, I know you can handle yourself. Your sister told me all about that fight you had with Gideon with his robot. I'd have to be crazy not to say that you can."

Dipper's blush was from both embarrassment that Mabel had told Stan about that incident and due to the fact that he may have just been complimented by Stan of all people. "Um, th-thanks...?"

"What I'm trying to say," the elder man continued, trying not blush himself out of slight embarrassment, "is that I know you can handle yourself around these bullies. I just think you could handle it better. My old pop made me learn how to box, and it actually helped me out in time. Maybe it'll help you too."

Now the twelve year old was really blushing bright pink. "I... Alright."

Stan coughed awkwardly after a moment, standing and rubbing the back of his neck. "...Right. Well, we'd better head back to the Shack. I think it might rain later on."

As the older man began to walk away, his great-nephew hesitated to follow. He thought over Stan's offer carefully, remembering how Gideon and he had fought not so long ago in that robot. Maybe boxing wouldn't be that bad of an idea...

"Hey, Grunkle Stan?"

Stan stopped and turned around, his brow knit together in confusion. "Yeah?"

Dipper hesitated once more before allowing a small smile onto his face. "Thanks. For, um, helping me out back there."

It was amusing to see the con man flap his mouth uselessly for a minute as the boy began to walk towards the Shack, no longer waiting for his great-uncle. Of all the things to come out of the kid's mouth, for some reason, those particular ones touched something deep in his heart.

Stan finally smiled himself and chuckled before hurrying after Dipper. That kid was starting to grow on him.

Fighting back...

I added far too many references to Dreamscaperers, and I regret nothing. :)

Any requests?