Chapter Text
The amount of pure emotion in the air here was simply… intoxicating . The source of it all was, predictably, in Gravity Falls. Why was he not surprised?
As he fed from the culmination of negative and positive energy, he couldn’t help but want more. So much more . He knew he shouldn’t fiddle with humans’ lives, but he just didn’t care.
He wanted chaos and drama, but that would only create negative emotions. What he loved the most about this spot was the blend of negative and positive, so what could he do to create that.
He decided to sift through past moments where there were surges of both energies, and after a while he finally had a plan. Something that would create a whirling mix of emotions.
Now to simply put it into action.
Mornings were worst things to ever exist in the history of the universe, and nothing could convince Stanley of otherwise. As he lay in bed, glaring at the ceiling, he wondered if he should even bother leaving his room today. But he knew that if he didn’t, Mabel would be crushed.
Last night Ford had asked the kids if they wanted to go out on a "Monster Hunt", a thankfully safe one, and of course they'd said yes. He'd expected that. What he hadn’t expected was Mabel squealing out of nowhere and turning to Stan with wide eyes and a giant grin that only spoke of trouble. Oh, no.
"Grunkle Stan, we should make this a family trip! You could come with us, and maybe Soos too! Ooh, maybe even Wendy ." She'd said, turning to Dipper with a wink when she'd mentioned his teenage employee. But Stan had barely noticed.
"Uh, sorry kid. But I've gotta run the Shack, you know that.” Stan stubbornly ignored the way Mabel’s face fell, but he could feel a spark of guilt flare in his chest. “You can take Soos, sure, but Wendy's gotta stay here and work the register." Stan felt terrible at the twin looks of disappointment he received, but he really did have work to do.
That’s when he caught the look of relief on his brother's face, and Stanley was speaking before he even realized it. "Actually, maybe I need a break from the Shack. I don't get to do much with you kids, so why not? And yes, Dipper, we can take Wendy." Even now, the next morning, Stan grinned fondly at the memory of their excited smiles… And Ford’s scowl. He couldn’t let them down after agreeing to go, right?
So with a grunt, he jerked up and was immediately hit in the face with hair. Stanley froze, confused and a little shocked because there was no one else in the bed with him, and his hair was pretty short last he checked. So who's hair was hanging in front of his face and falling over his shoulders?
"Uh..." He mumbled, and staggered out of bed. Where were all the usual aches and pains? Not that he was complaining really, it was just concerning. First the hair, then the lack of old man pain. Something was up.
Stan gave the hair an experimental tug to confirm it was his own, and then called out for his niece. "Mabel, could ya bring your Grunkle Stan a hair tie or somethin'?!"
Without waiting for a response, he turned towards the full-body mirror in the corner of his room, fully intending to see what was wrong. Then he hesitated. Stan wasn't sure why, but he felt a flash of dread over what he would see in the mirror. So he stood awkwardly by the side of his bed as he tried to gather the courage to move.
After only a moment or so, irritation at himself reared it's ugly head, and Stanley sneered. "Don't be a wuss." He told himself, and stomped over to the mirror. There was nothing wrong, and he was just being paranoid...
Except he wasn't, and the reality of it crashed down on him like a pile of bricks.
In the mirror stood a muscular young man with long brown hair that didn't belong, and wide eyes with dark bags under them. His face that was supposed to be old and wrinkled was smooth and had an unhealthy gray tinge to it. Familiar broad shoulders were no longer slumped with age, but instead were slumped and shaking with despair and resignation. There was a nasty feeling curling in Stan's gut as he stared at his reflection from thirty years ago, and he knew exactly why it was there.
It was all a dream.
Not the young face in the mirror. Not the long hair brushing Stanley's shoulders. No, everything important . Mabel and Dipper coming to stay for the summer. Soos and Wendy working in the Mystery Shack. Ford . It was all a dream, and he knew this for sure because he'd had other dreams like this. Ones where he'd rescued Ford from the portal. And while this one was more realistic and detailed than the others it was still a dream. The face in the mirror was proof.
"No..." Stanley whispered, and his legs turned to jelly. His knees hit the wooden floor with a loud thunk , and he had to swallow back bile. It had to be real, but he knew it wasn't, and he was falling apart. He couldn't survive another thirty years, even if the past ones had been all in his head. His ears were ringing, but it sounded like someone was murmuring on the edge of his hearing.
"...kle...an?" What? Someone was talking, but he couldn't place the voice. It’s not like it mattered anyway.
"Are y...kay? Wha...appen...?" Stan must've been dreaming again because the voice that was talking to him sounded so much like Mabel that it hurt.
" Grunkle Stan !"
Mabel hummed to herself as she stuffed a box of crackers in her backpack to join the block of cheese, the bag of grapes, the bag of sandwiches, and the water bottles. The only snack left were the granola bars, and Mabel couldn't help but giggle at the weird brand name. "Probably-Granola-But-Maybe-Not Bars?" She asked herself as she shook her head in wonder. The snacks were for the Family Outing they were having today, and Mabel had never been so excited in her whole life! Okay, maybe she has, but that didn't matter. Soos and Wendy were waiting in the gift shop, ready to head out once Dipper grabbed Great-Uncle Ford from the basement and Mabel dragged Grunkle Stan out of bed.
Speaking of her Grunkle! Just as Mabel zipped up her bag, she heard a rough call from upstairs. She paused, and her nose scrunched up in confusion. "Did... Did Grunkle Stan just ask for a hair tie?" She whispered, but got over it quickly. Mabel set her bag down by the door, and then scampered up to her room to find a hair tie. It only took a few minutes, but she hurried over to her great-uncle's room anyway.
"Grunkle Stan?" She called as she opened the door. She looked to the bed first, but it was empty. Then she heard panicked breathing, and jerked her gaze over to the opposite corner of the room. "Oh my gosh..." Mabel mumbled, her eyes wide in shock. In front of Grunkle Stan's mirror, a young man was slumped on the ground. He had his hands cupped over his ears, and his entire body was shaking. He had long brown hair with a curl at the end that Mabel instantly recognized as a Pines family trait. Then she saw he was wearing her Grunkle’s undershirt and boxers. So that meant...
"Grunkle Stan?" She called again, and the young man twitched. It had to be him, but what was wrong? Why was he shaking so much, and why did he sound like he couldn't breath? "Are you okay? What happened?"
No answer, but Grunkle Stan started breathing faster and harder. Mabel hesitantly stepped around him so she was beside him, and his appearance from this angle was even more worrying. His face was ashen, and his eyes were wide and blank. Stan was biting his bottom lip hard enough that a few drops of blood dribbled down his chin. Something was definitely wrong, but he wasn't responding. Did she need to be louder? Because Mabel could be loud.
She took a deep breath, and then wailed as loud as she could. " Grunkle Stan !" The response was instantaneous. Stan jerked back in alarm, and he had to slam his hands on the floor to keep from falling over. His wide eyes met Mabel's, and for what felt like hours and was probably only seconds, they stared. "Are you okay?" She asked her great-uncle in a hushed tone, and apparently he wasn't because instead of answering he just continued to stare. Even as tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks.
He was crying, and Mabel had never seen him cry before. Something was really wrong.
"Are you," Stanley started to ask, voice rough. "A-are you real?"
Mabel wasn't entirely sure how to answer that, so she glanced around before hesitantly saying, "I'm pretty sure, yeah. Why?" She could hear the thudding of footsteps up the stairs, and she wasn't surprised. She had screamed pretty loud.
"Mabel!" Wendy's panicked voice drifted in through the door just before it slammed open to reveal both of Stan's employees. They froze, and Stan jerked around to stare at them.
"Guys, Grunkle Stan got turned young." She said bluntly, and glanced beside her to see her great-uncle shaking even harder.
"Mr. Pines?" Soos asked hesitantly, wringing his hands as he tried to catch his breath. "You okay, dude?"
"I..." Stan choked out. "I don't... Please tell me you're real. Please ." He whispered, and it ended in a sob. Wendy was still frozen in place, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. Not only was Grunkle Stan not Grunkle aged, but he was crying and saying please. Mabel was amazed at how levelheaded she and Soos were being. Soos especially.
He was staring at the man he saw as a father with a calm that Mabel had never seen before. He stepped into the room, and sat down in front of Grunkle Stan. "We're real, Mr. Pines. I'm your handyman, and Wendy works at the cash register. Mabel is your great niece, and her twin Dipper is your great nephew. And your mysterious twin brother is down in the basement with Dipper. We were going out on a family trip today?" A hint of hope broke through the calm demeanor, and Soos started wringing his hands again.
Mabel shuffled a little closer to Soos so she could fully see her great-uncle’s face, and her heart broke at his expression. Stan was obviously trying his hardest to hold back tears and keep quiet, so Mabel slowly leaned forward to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders. She made sure to move extra slow, just in case her Grunkle didn’t feel like hugging, but he barely moved an inch. Taking that as encouragement to go on, Mabel rested her chin on his shoulder, and quietly told him, “It’s okay to cry, Grunkle Stan. None of us will judge you. I promise.”
After a moment of tense silence, Mabel thought that he hadn’t heard her. Maybe he was zoned out again. Suddenly there were arms around her, squeezing like she might just vanish into thin air. Then came the sobs.
They weren’t loud or dramatic. They were carefully quiet, harsh, and so utterly Stan . Of course he wouldn’t totally let himself go, but he was at least trusting them with this much, and it meant the world to Mabel. Taking her duty as comforter seriously, Mabel patted her great-uncle’s head with one hand and his back with the other.
“It’s okay, Grunkle Stan. You’re safe, and we’re here, and we love you.” She said with a smile, and Stan somehow hugged her tighter. She felt one of his hands shakily pat her back in return, and Mabel positively beamed. She wasn’t really sure what was wrong, but maybe Ford would.
She only hoped he’d be willing to share and, dare she even think it, help .