His relatives

Sunday (day 14)

Beware! Stan ends up in a dark place mentally at the end of this.

"Thank you all, and come again soon!"

As Stan waved at the last tour group of the day as they exited the Shack, he sighed a breath of relief. With the increase in exhibits and the signs along the roads, the Shack had picked up business again through tourists. Alex was getting more comfortable around people, and the 'Snack Shack' plans would soon get off the ground. Hopefully, he would soon be comfortable enough with people willing to trade off tours with him and let him have more breaks and time to work on the portal.

He already had a few ideas with Handwitch about a few dozen appendages from multiple creatures manning the Snack Shack if Alex did take up that offer.

He flipped the sign on the back door from "open for mysteries" to "out exploring the unknown" and closed it behind him. Stan then went over to the kitchen and plopped a TV dinner in the microwave. After it was done, he removed it and collapsed it into his new yellow recliner in front of the TV.

Alex was currently with Handwitch as the two picked up those casino supplies his buddy provided, and Alex was pretending to be him; he was on his own. As much as he liked their company and spending time with Mary during her daily tours, there were times when he preferred being alone.

Such as his weekly ritual of watching TV over dinner on Sundays.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Stan sighed and yelled at the door.

"We're closed for the day! Come back tomorrow!"

Stan went back to deciding what show to watch.

What should I watch tonight? Politics where I can mock the people in charge? Boxing because violence is funny when it isn't happening to you? The History Channel so I can watch that funny show about how aliens made the pyramids that will be canceled before the year's up?

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Stan scowled at that before stomping towards the door. He was brandishing his bone cane in one hand and the lantern in the other.

"You'd better have an excellent reason for interrupting my dinner, or I will commit my first felony in Oregon."

He then hung the lantern on a hook to the side of the door before slamming it open.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

Stan then froze when he realized who was standing in front of him.

"Ma? Pa? Shermie?"

He couldn't believe who was standing before him. His ma's hair was a little grayer, and her face had a few more lines, but it was staring at him with a love he hadn't seen in ten years. His Pa was unchanged, still as stone cold and unmoving as a statue. Shermie was standing behind them, and Stanley thought he might have seen gray hair on his head.

Pa was the first to move, deciding he needed answers more than his family needed an emotional moment.

"Yes, it's us. Now, where is your brother? Why are you sitting around here and not out trying to find him? First, you mess up his chances at West Coast Tech, and now you mess up his search?"

Stan's anger began churning once again, only to be stopped by Shermie placing a hand on Filbork's shoulder and pulling him back. Ma then took the opportunity to rush forward and wrap Stanley in a hug.

"Oh, my baby! I missed you so much!"

Stanley was ridged when she first put her arms around him, but he soon began to cling to her like she was a life-preserver, and he was a drowning man.

"I missed you too, Ma."

Shermie then walked around behind Stan so he and Ma could hug him at the same time.

"I missed you too, Stan. And as soon as we're done hugging you and finding Ford, I'm going to kick your butt for not coming to me when you needed help. I don't care where I am in my life; there will always be a place for you and Ford in a guest room if you need it."

Stanley just stood there and let himself feel unconditionally loved for the first time in a decade.

Of course, Filbrook decided that the mushy stuff had gone on long enough.

"Ok, now can we stop with the pointless reunion and get on with trying to find Stanford?"

All three of the Pine's in the group hug shot him stink eyes, but Stanley sighed and untangled himself from the group hug.

"Ok, I'll have to come clean now. Ford IS missing, but I know where he is."

While his Ma and brother looked at him in confusion, Pa stared at him with passive disapproval. Stan sighed and ran his hand down his face.

"Look, how about we go into the basement? I can better explain what happened down there. There is also some stuff there I can use to prove I'm not lying."

Ma smiled softly at him. "Don't worry, Stanley; I know you won't make up anything about something this important."

One trip to the portal and an explanation of what happened to Ford later

"Stanley Filbork Pines! How dare you make up something this ridiculous when your brother is out there!"

Stanly just sighed as he let his mother rage against him. He should have seen this coming; people had an easier time believing things closer to what they either already accepted as 'fact' or 'true' or wanted to be 'fact' and 'true.'

Ma could see two possible reasons for Stan's story right now. 'Ford being lost in another dimension, and the documents needed to return him have been split up and hidden' and 'Stanley lying about what happened to Ford to avoid getting into trouble and possibly get back into the family.'

One was terrifying, challenged her understanding of how the universe worked, and meant that Ford might not return until they found two books hidden in a valley. The other only meant that all they had to do was convince Stan to tell them the truth before they could fix it.

"Ma, I'm not lying. I know several people who can confirm it. If you are willing to wait, they should be arriving soon."

Shermie then threw his hands into the air in exasperation.

"Who?! Alex, the shapeshifter your brother hatched and you rescued from a secret lab hidden below a tree? Handwitch, the witch that can tell the future and summon an army of disembodied hands to do her bidding? The Molemen, who are not only making a literal underground casino but are also maintaining a massive underground network of tunnels below this valley made the Cheyenne Mountain Complex? You do know mole men is just a stereotype made up to dehumanize the homeless, right?"

Stanly narrowed his eyes at them.

"One, I spent the last ten years homeless! I know more about those communities and what they see as insulting than the rest of you combined! Two, I am telling you these are actually human/mole hybrids covered with actual moles on their skin."

Ma, Shermie, and Stan all looked ready to enter into another family-splitting argument before it was defused by the last thing anyone expected.

"I believe him."

At that, everyone in the lab turned to look at Filbrock in disbelief.

The man that decided to kick Stan out of the house always sided against Stan when he was in trouble and didn't acknowledge he existed until nine days ago was siding with Stanley.

"Pa?"

"Filbrick?"

"You believe me?"

"Look at that thing! The quality of the craftsmanship and the value of the materials, and consider the effort in getting it and its parts here. If Stan had the money and resources to do this, he wouldn't have needed to lie to us about Ford. He could have just brought us the truck full of cash, and I would have welcomed him in with open arms.

"That means the only explanation is that he thinks he's telling the truth."

The rest of the family continued to stare at him with shocked expressions. Stanley's face was grinning as it looked like his Pa was on his side and supporting him for the first time since he started boxing!

Then he turned towards Stan with an accusing glare behind his sunglasses.

"So he found Ford here, they had another fight where Stan killed him, then had a mental breakdown where he decided it would be easier if he just 'accidentally sent him far away, but I can still get him back.'"

Stanley's face dropped further and further, as Fildbrick continued his accusation.

"WHAT! Pa, you can't believe that!"

Filbrick marched right up to Stanley and stared him in the eye.

"You have always been jealous that he was the better brother between you. He was going places and had a future. You were only fit to clean the side of the piers. Your last attempt to drag him to your level failed, so you tried again."

"It was an accident, Pa!"

"Ford gets desperate enough to ask you for help; you come up and try to take advantage of him."

"No, it wasn't like that!"

"He shuts you down, maybe threatens to call the cops on you. You fought down here, and you killed him."

Stanley's eyes were watering now. "PA! Please believe me! I didn't kill him!"

Filbrick continues without acknowledging Stan's response. "You then realize that you needed to cover up what happened. So you come up with the 'he was gone when I got here' thing and use that to cover your tracks! You also develop this deeper story so that if people poked holes in your first one, they wouldn't think to look further."

"WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?"

"You did it before!"

Stan froze as Filbrock continued. "You constantly lie and then lie more when your lies are discovered. You only do what is in your interest, and damn what happens to anyone else.

"I had three sons; now I only have Shermie."

Stanly felt his heart break once more as his Pa turned his back on him and walked away; Ma and Shermie trailed after him.

He collapsed to the ground and shut his eyes to try and prevent the tears from falling. He knew his Pa wouldn't think the best of him; he never had and never would. But his Ma? Shermie? They always gave him the benefit of the doubt.

When Pa kicked him out that night, Ma was the only one to stand up for him. When it was revealed, he used Pa's most expensive necklace as a Father's Day gift and 'ruined it'; she was the one to talk him around to keep it as is. Even when he was on the road, she made sure to send a little bit of money now and then to him to try and help him out. She even ensured he constantly knew Ford's number, hoping the two would one day reconcile.

Shermie was a better father figure to him than Filbroke was growing up. He was there when Stan and Ford had fights and needed a neutral 3rd party, he helped Stan with his homework when Ford wasn't around, and he was there when Stan was having a crisis about being bisexual. The only reason he didn't try to stay with Shermie or ask him for help before was because Shermie had a family of his own to care for. He didn't need a brother crashing into his guest room without anything to contribute.

But now, he had no one left to support him, not even in the distant sense like he had for the last ten years. All his family had finally decided that he wasn't worth the trouble anymore. He could see the three heading to the elevator, leaving him abandoned and alone again.

rumble*

He was a screw-up who ruined everything he touched. If it wasn't for him, Ford would have gone to West Tech and never come to Gravity Falls. If it wasn't for him, Ford would have made millions and been able to support the family enough for them all to leave Glass Shard Beach. If it wasn't for him, Ford wouldn't be stuck in another dimension.

"What are those!?"

Looking back, he couldn't see one worthwhile thing he had done his entire life.

"Who are you?"

Would anyone care or notice if I just disappeared?

"Stanley?"

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I have decided to cap this series at 29 chapters, that way it will end with the year. I am not 100% happy with the in universe pasing and how I have been jumping from one idea to the next with no break, so when I do this again, I plan on setting up a timeline and outline from the start before writing my first chapter.

I have them all written up, and the final chapter is over 6k words.

I have a if you want to support me and my New Year's resolution of posting one fanfic of 2k words or more weekly. This is also being posted on , AO3, and Tumbler.

Remove all the spaces from the URLs to get them to work.

: : / / w w w . user?u=10132890

. c o m : : / / w w w . s/14051718/1/luz–appreciation–week–2022–from–1228248

AO3: : / / works/52823413/chapters/133608991

Tumbler: : / / w w w . blog/brianedner

I am also doing fanfic info dumps, like wiki articles that go one episode at a time, with some compilations at the end on specific topics sorted by episode.

Fanfic info dumps here: : / / w w w . 1228248/gallery