Work Text:
The alarm clock on an old, dusty desk littered with papers and the remnants of hope reads "2:07 AM" and Stanley Pines has not gotten to bed.
Stanley Pines has found himself sleepless for the past 30 years. While he often dozes off, whether it be during the day in his creaky recliner or at night down here in this secret basement, he hasn't gotten a full night of rest since he started working on the portal.
Tonight has been a breakthrough. His nephew, Dipper Pines, brought to his attention that he's had the third journal with him this entire summer. The final piece to reactivating the portal, a large step closer to getting his brother back.
The thought makes him want to laugh and scream; for the past handful of months, one of the largest missing pieces to this puzzle he's been trying tirelessly to solve has been right under his nose. A piece found by a twelve year old boy faster than he could in thirty years. Props to him for finding it, of course, but can Stan claim all the credit if someone else discovered such a crucial element for him?
Stan figures that now, of all times, is no moment for self-deprecation. He's been at this for thirty years. He figures he deserves this... right? Maybe. But perhaps not.
That's not the question now. The question is, and always has been, how to get his brother home safe.
Satisfied with his work, he sets the journals aside on the desk and begins to head upstairs. But then he stops at the base of the staircase and turns back to the desk, gazing at journal number three.
That journal is important to Dipper.
He pretended not to notice, but as he walked off with the journal in the first place (resisting the urge to run down to the secret room immediately, uncovering his secret operation for good) the kid sounded distraught at the thought of losing the journal. Dipper feels that currently, the most important things in his life are his twin and that book. Funny how genetics work out, then.
Stan may be a cranky old conman, but he isn't heartless, and he watches more than anyone would know. He knows that Dipper isn't as social as Mabel; it's harder for him to pick up friends, let alone getting them to stay. He's far from his home and the life he's known for twelve years, a regular fish out of water. This journal and its mysteries have brought him something to take his mind off these struggles.
And Stanley Pines would be damned if he'd willingly take something important from his family.
At the same time, he needs to keep the journal around in case he ends up missing something important about the portal. The portal is a dangerous entity, as large as a house and more powerful than any strange mystery this town has come across. One small slip up and Stan could end up just like his brother; missing or worse. Both he and Dipper need the journal. There had to be a compromise.
Suddenly, he had an idea. His eyes flick to across the room, where an old copying machine sits, gathering dust. He hasn't used the thing in a good ten years. But now seems as good a time as any to polish it up.
Stan glances at the clock. 2:11 AM. If he hurries, he'll have time. The things he'd do for family...