Chapter Text
You had suspected that going on a research trip with the so called Mystery-Twins of Gravity Falls wouldn’t be a piece of cake. Almost dying, however, had not been on your bucket list.
How did you even get into this?
Your hometown had always been weird, even before you had left to go to college. But ever since your parents had told you everything they knew about the Weirdmageddon, an eventthat had apparently almost brought about the end of the world last summer, you wanted to know more.
The townsfolk hadn’t been of any help though. Everyone who recognized you was eager to ask you way too many personal questions – hadn’t you gotten a degree in the big city, what had happened to your job, why did you come back, did you really move back in with your parents – but as soon as you mentioned the mysterious events of last summer, all you got to hear was “Nevermind all that!”.
Due to your curious nature you had only one choice left: Investigating the Mystery Shack, Oregon's most iconic tourist trap. Luckily, your parents delivered you the perfect excuse. Soos Ramirez, the boy you had babysat in high school, had apparently taken on the roll of Mr. Mystery, manager of the Shack.
It was not the first time you had seen him since you left town, but it was still weird to imagine him all grown up, filling out a role once put on by the elusive Stan Pines.
You had never had much to do with the Shack. Sure, you had been there a few times. It was basically obligatory for everyone living in town and you had found the atmospheric mix between creepy and cozy quite endearing. Still, in your memory Mr. Pines was a grumpy man who ripped of tourists like it was taking candy from a baby.
He probably would have enjoyed that, taking candy from a baby. You couldn’t combine the image of Stanley Pines and lovable, kind Soos in your head.
Stanley Pines. This had been news to you as well.
“Stanford Pines has a clone!”, your mother had shouted over the telephone the first time she had told you about the two Stans, as some people liked to call them. She had always had a hang for dramatics. As it turned out, the Stanford you knew was not actually Stanford but Stanley and had taken the name of his long-lost twin until Stanford had returned last summer. This was something people were more eager to talk about, as the town basically ran on gossip for fuel. But nobody had been able to elaborate where Ford Pines had been and why Stan had taken over his identity.
Monsters, aliens, other dimensions and long lost twin brothers – all of this sounded weird enough in the movies. You couldn’t quite believe it was supposed to be real life. But you had to admit it fit the Shack’s whole business idea.
The first time you saw Soos again, you were afraid he would not even remember you. But as his face lit up as soon as he recognized you, pulling you into a big bear hug, you were relieved to find your worry uncalled for. “You’re back!”, he exclaimed. “That’s so cool, dawg. How long are you staying?”
“Indefinitely”, you replied, not wanting to elaborate, as you spotted the blonde woman standing behind Soos. “Do we know each other?”
“We don’t”, the woman answered with a warm smile. “I’m Soos’ girlfriend, Melody.”
“Fiance”, Soos corrected her, lovingly caressing her hand.
Melody blushed. “Oh, I’m so sorry. It’s not been long, I still can’t believe this is real.” She held up her hand, grinning. An engagement ring was sparkling on one of her fingers.
“That’s awesome!”, you exclaimed, sincerely happy for both of them – and glad about the welcome distraction. You chatted a bit about how the both of them had met, a story that involved out of bounds animatronics and the towns favorite twins, Mabel and Dipper Pines, whom you still hadn't met yet.
“A lot has changed here, huh?”, you asked Soos. “I mean, you’re engaged. You’re Mr. Mystery now. And there are three more Pines around than the last time I visited.”
“Yup. It’s somehow still the same, but different. You get what I’m saying?”
You nodded. Somehow, you did.
“Mabel and Dipper are great”, Soos continued. “And Mr. Pines and his brother get along really well now. They traveled the Arctic Ocean together, punching monsters and stuff. That’s why I run the shack now.” He looked proud.
“Monsters”, you repeated. Of course you had heard the towns weird legends since you were a child. But them being treated as fact, not fiction, still felt unreal.
Soos gave you a sympathetic look. “You’ll get used to that.”
You looked around the Shack’s gift shop, some sights feeling eerily familiar, but everything still obviously fake. That was soothing, at least. “So, do you live here now?”, you asked.
“We did, for a shot time”, Melody confirmed. “But… well, to be honest, I couldn’t get quite homely here. Lots of memories that I wasn’t part of.”
“I just couldn’t bring myself to change a lot around this place”, Soos admitted. “Especially in the house itself. So we decided to move to a house at the edge of the city, near the forest. Abuelita’s with us, too.”
“Does that mean the house is just empty now?”
Soos laughed. “Oh no, more like the opposite. Stan and Ford came back two moths ago. And Dipper and Mabel-”
“WADDLES, NO!”, a panicked voice echoed through the shack. Before you knew what was happening, a pig was running past you, a bunch of what looked like scribbles and notes in his mouth. It was followed a boy with brown hair and a lumberjack’s cap that looked way too warm for summer. Closely behind him was a girl in a rainbow sweater with a sparkly purple headband in her hair. “GIVE ME BACK MY NOTES, WADDLES!”, the boy shouted, chasing the pig around the gift shop.
“Dipper, please, you know he doesn’t mean it like that”, the girl called out, trying to calm him down.
“Mabel I swear, if your pig doesn’t stop with this nonsense we will have to send him to dog school.”
“But he’s not a dog!”
“Well, he’s behaving like one! Waddles, stop that!”
Following your instinct, you did something you would later find equal parts embarrassing and hilarious: You threw yourself to the ground, blocking of the pigs escape route, and caught it with both arms. “I’ve got it!”
“Oh my god, thank you!” Dipper knelt down next to you and plucked his notes out of the pigs mouth, visibly relieved. Then he stopped, giving you a quizzing look. “Wait, who are you?”
“A new friend!”, Mabel shouted excitedly. She ran towards you, kneeling down to your other side. “Hi, I’m Mabel. Nice to meet you! Waddles also says hi.” As if it understood her words, the pig oinked twice.
“What’s all this ruckus about?”, a new, grumpy voice demanded to know. You were still on the ground, looking up at a new face appearing in your field of view. “Kids, why did Waddles wrestle this random woman to the ground? I told you, if he shy’s away customers, I’ll-”
“She helped us, Grunkle Stan”, Mabel explained. “Waddles stole Dipper’s notes and she helped us stop him.”
Grunkle Stan. So this was… Stanley Pines? He looked a lot different than you remembered. For one, he wasn’t in his Mr. Mystery outfit. Instead, he wore dark jeans, a maroon shirt with some kind of pattern on it and a brown jacket. His hair seemed longer but maybe that was just because he wasn’t wearing the fez now decorating Soos’ head. He looked younger for some reason, more healthy. Did he look… good? For fuck's sake, was he wearing an earring?
You caught yourself staring and quickly averted your gaze, not knowing what to say. Fortunately, Soos decided to help you out. “Guys, this is a friend of mine. She just moved back to Gravity Falls. We used to hang out a lot when we were younger.”
I babysat you, you thought but didn’t say it. You were not about to embarrass Soos, especially not when he had given you such a warm welcome. “Yup, that’s me. Hi there. I’m sorry for falling on your floor, Mr. Pines.”
“Call me Stan, kid”, he replied gruffly. “I’m not your boss.”
Stan. Right. “Can I let go of the pig now?”, you asked the children.
“Yeah, I seem to have gotten everything.” Dipper held up the notes with a not very victorious expression, examining the drool dripping down from them.
You let go of the pig but it didn’t budge. Apparently Waddles didn’t seem to mind you holding him and had made himself comfortable on your stomach. “Aww, he likes you!”, Mabel gathered, beaming at you.
“That’s really great. I would love to stand up now, though.” You were aware of everyone’s eyes on you and it had started to get a bit much. Mabel took Waddles from your torso and you got back up, patting some dust off your shirt. “Is it like this here every day?”
“Absolutely, dude”, Soos confirmed.
You grinned. “Awesome.”
Stan watched you, curiously, then turned around to leave. Before he passed the doorstep, he took another look at you and winked. “Welcome to the Mystery Shack, kid.”
You came back, because, of course you did. After all, you were jobless and too nosy for your own good.
You got to know Wendy, who took over Melody’s job during the summer so she could concentrate on coming up with new story ideas and attractions for Soos’ tours. She was levelheaded, funny and had a good taste in music and campy horror movies. The two of you got along almost immediately.
You also met Ford, who immediately started questioning you about any oddities you might have seen when you were living in Gravity Falls. When you couldn’t tell him about any interesting observations, he concluded your mind must have been altered by the Society of the Blind Eye which, to be honest, sounded too horrifying to ask any more questions about.
Getting to know Mabel and Dipper some more, you quickly understood why they had stolen the hearts of the whole town. Everyone you met had anticipated their return during the summer holidays and you had to admit it: Gravity Falls was a brighter place with them in it. It made you feel much better about yourself that they genuinely seemed to enjoy your company.
So did Wendy, Melody and Soos which was why, after a week of you showing up to the Shack almost every day, Soos offered you a job.
This felt weird to you fort a multitude of reasons. For one, there was clearly no need for another person working at the Shack, with Stan, Wendy and Melody helping Soos out whenever he needed a hand. It was obvious to everyone, including you, that he was offering this out of pity.
You considered Soos’ career a lot more successful than your own. While you had gotten a degree you never really cared about and slaved away years of your life in an office job, he had made a life for himself. Sometimes you still imagined him as the little boy who had gifted you a sunflower as you left for college. But he was working his way up the corporate ladder of the Mystery Shack – if you could even call it that. This job felt more like a calling to him.
You had to admit it. You were jealous.
“Just for the summer”, he tried to convince you, “while you are figuring your stuff out. Business is going really well and Melody and I could use some help with all of the… numbers and stuff. You studied that, right?”
“I did”, you confirmed, “and there’s a reason why I quit my job, Soos.”
“Then help me out with the restorations in the museum. I also wanted to reorganize the storage room. Having two cashiers wouldn’t hurt, either. Stuff like that.” He took you by the shoulders and gave you an intense, pleading look. “It would be so cool if you would work here, dawg. Imagine all of the fun we’d be having this summer.”
“He’s a great boss”, Wendy chimed in from behind the counter. “Come on. It will be awesome.”
So you finally agreed. You were going hang around anyway – might as well get payed for it.
Though you almost reconsidered this shortly after, when you overheard a conversation between Soos and Stan on accident.
You went to get a Popsicle from the cooler that had been placed outside when you heard Stanley Pines agitated voice. “You can’t just go around giving a job to every stranger coming along, sticking their nose up in your business!”, Stand said. “Didn’t you learn anything from me? How can you even afford that many employees?”
“Yo, Mr. Pines, with all due respect, you need to chill”, Soos said. “I know her, she’s a good one. She’s a friend of my family. She even introduced me to laser tag. Imagine me without laser tag!”
Soos and you playing laser tag was a fond memory of yours and you found yourself smiling inspite of the awkward situation you were in.
Stand let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s just… Everything’s fine as it is, don’t you think? Why add a new ingredient in your soup when it’s fine as it is, ya know what I’m sayin’?”
“I don’t understand, Stan. This is unlike you. She seems to fit right in already. Why not give it a shot?”
You asked yourself the same thing. What on earth had you done to deserve this level of mistrust?
“Fine, fine”, Stanley said, admitting defeat. “Just don’t come running to me when this whole thing goes sideways.”
“I’m sure it won’t”, Soos reassured him. As you heard their footsteps move closer, you quickly got back inside, shoving the Popsicle into Wendy’s hand. She regarded you with a confused look, but didn’t question anything.
You probably should have taken Stanley Pines’ words more personally but you couldn’t help but feel like there was a lot more going on. Like getting him to trust you was a challenge. And oh boy, you were going to accept it.