HAT: Third chapter in the destruction of Stanley Pines- er... I mean, in the process of driving him mad and maybe helping him... yeah... uh- enjoy!
Disclaimer: Do you really think that Gravity Falls would be a kid's show if I owned it? Therefore, I don't own Gravity Falls, just the plot.
Stanley had the nightmare again, but this time he wakes up in the middle of the night with tears streaming down his face and his lungs seeming to be unable to get air. It suddenly occurs to him that he might be having a panic attack (he's never and one before so he wouldn't know), but he ignores the weight on his chest and the stiffness of his limbs and reassures himself that he isn't tied down to the bed so that he can get up and go check on the two that are the cause of his anxiety. He goes to the attic and finds both children in their bed, but he can't see if they're breathing from here so he walks over to Dipper's bed and moves his hair from his face and places his finger under his nose so that he can feel the breath. He repeats this process with Mabel and relaxes immensely.
"They're safe," he reassures himself and lets out a humorless chuckle full of nerves and relief and wipes away the few tears that slipped out. "Thank God they're safe..."
After a few moments of gathering himself he kisses Mabel's forehead and then walks over and Dipper's temple- he'd buried his face in the pillow once again- and he walks to the door and pauses, glancing back to be sure they haven't disappeared, and then walks out of their room back to his.
Dipper and Mabel immediately sit up in their beds when they are sure that their great uncle is no longer in hearing range, their brown eyes looking from the door to each other.
"Did you hear that?" Mabel asks quietly.
"Yeah," Dipper breathes, recalling everything. "I think... I think Grunkle Stan's having nightmares or something... and something happens to us in them."
"That would explain why he's been acting weird."
"And I think Uncle 'Ford knows, too," Dipper murmurs, recalling the pervious day.
"What makes you say that? He seemed to be legit with his explanation."
"He made an excuse for him and probably knows Grunkle Stan better than us so he wouldn't tell us if he knows Grunkle Stan wouldn't want him to. And you saw how Grunkle Stan was the first day when he came into the gift shop and Uncle 'Ford, too."
"That would also explain what happened today..."
He observes his sister for a few seconds before he finally asks, "What happened? I want to know everything."
She waits a few moments to speak. "I told you everything."
"No you didn't... you told me most of everything."
"Promise you won't tell anyone? Not even Wendy and Soos."
He stares at her in surprise, finding this request makes the situation that much more serious. "I promise."
The girl gulps and speaks with a shaky voice, "When he was looking at me, but not looking at me... he was crying and he didn't even realize it."
Dipper stares at her in surprise and shock and wonders if he is being lied to about this. Stanley Pines- as far as he knows- hasn't cried since he was a baby when they're supposed to cry and for him to cry is something that's close to impossible.
"Really?" He asks in disbelief.
"Yes. He didn't notice that he was until I said something," she informs. "Then he came up with some dumb excuse of wanting "sympathy money" or something like that."
"We've got to get to the bottom of this... maybe if we talk to Uncle 'Ford?"
"Maybe, but for now let's get some sleep. We can't exactly do that much when we haven't gotten any sleep."
"But now's the only time we can see Uncle 'Ford without Grunkle Stan knowing," Dipper insists.
The girl observes her brother for several moments. The determination in his eyes matched the one in her own to find out what is troubling Stanley and she cannot deny that she doesn't want to do everything as quickly as possible so there would be no other opportunity.
"What if Grunkle Stan's still awake? He might not go back to sleep after whatever nightmare he had."
"You could be right..." Dipper murmurs as he leans back onto his pillow. "Maybe... we could until tomorrow when Grunkle Stan's doing a tour?"
"Sounds good... g'night Dipper."
"Goodnight Mabel."
...
They're not dead, they're not dead, Stanley thinks over and over again as he tugs at his own hair. He stopped looking at the clock after he saw that it read 2:17 AM so he doesn't know what time it is at all. He just knows that he can't fall asleep- if he does then he'll know that he'll have to go to check on the children immediately and forget that they are alive. He can't do that to himself. If he stays awake then he'll know for sure that they are alive and well.
And despite knowing this information he still trembles in his bed with his silver locks clenched in his fists and tears streaming down his face. Sorrow tears at his heart for even thinking of them being dead. He doesn't know anything more than that scene, but anything else might break his heart.
You're fine, it's just a nightmare. You've been through this before, he thinks to reassure himself. But the second time was just as unnerving as the second time and caused him great distress. He tries not to think about it, but he keeps hearing the dreaded words and seeing their mangled bodies. A realistic nightmare only happened once to him before and he ended up curled against his brother's side for a week, but he was a child back then. He can't allow anything like that to happen again. He has to be strong and tough it out.
"You had the dream again."
Stanley looks up and finds his brother standing in the doorway in his plain dark blue pajamas and a maroon robe tied close and his arms crossed over his chest. Stanley has no idea whether he should be glad at the sight of his brother or angry that he had the audacity to come into his room. After all, they disowned each other- in a way- so they naturally try to avoid one another whenever possible- though sometimes they clash together during meals.
"Whaddoyawant, 'Ford?" Stanley demands, trying to hide his face from his brother. He can't afford to look weak.
The dark gray haired man walks forward and sits on the bedside and sighs. "I want to make sure everything's okay..." He glances at his brother and sighs once again. "Looks like that's not really happening."
The silver haired man turns his face further away from his brother's vision. "It's fine, go back to bed and get some sleep."
The covers are lifted slightly and the weight shifts on the bed and then an arm rests over Stanley's shoulder. "Do you really think that after all this time I wouldn't know when you're scared? When you're going through something?"
"Get offa me!" Stanley grunts, pushing his brother away.
Stanford's eyes linger on the burn mark that on his brother's shoulder. Sure, his brother absolutely ruined his future, but he hadn't helped anything either. When he had burned his brother he truly felt remorseful for it, but he justified his anger by reminding himself that his brother was the reason he was trapped in the portal for thirty years. He held those grudges and his brother sacrificed everything despite his own grudges. Maybe Stanford should follow his brother's example? After all, despite everything he knows that he'd do anything for his brother in the end.
"'Lee," he murmurs, brown eyes holding worry and a tinge of sorrow. "Please... get some rest."
"Please, leave... don't look at me," Stanley begs tiredly.
Stanley stays quiet and jumps a little when he feels a strong six-fingered hand gently pushing him down to lie down on the bed. "Get some sleep."
The silver haired twin is shocked when he feels a protective arm get thrown over his torso. He glances back at his brother who lays on his stomach and has his eyes closed already and finds this to be the most caring gesture that his brother has made since he'd walked through the portal. He suddenly wonders how he went so long without his other half being by his side. After turning over so that he isn't looking at his brother he- with no small amount of reluctance- holds his brother's wrist to be sure that his new seatbelt stays in place. He couldn't ever verbally admit how much he appreciates his brother being there for him, but this seemingly small gesture speaks volumes. After all, actions speak louder than words.
HAT: Sibling love is the best! Alright, so it's going to take a while for this one to get updated because... still new and not as much is written as the others beforehand so you're going to have patience... soooo... since everyone's busy trying to get Soos out of a black hole- don't ask- I guess I'll be the one to day it. Review, please!