Chapter Text
Ryan sat outside the country home on the front porch, staring out at the long driveway that led through the woods to his new home. Well, not so new now. He’d lived here for months with his new parents. Actual parents. Not the foster homes he’d shuffled between nor...he didn’t want to think about that. Before some people in fancy clothes took him from his tiny room where he slept and ate and feared he’d been forgotten again. The foster homes were better, though he barely slept and woke up from nightmares. Living here, with Mama Maple and Mama Pacica, was even better. It was a good dream in many ways. Ever since they met him, with Mama Pacica dressed like a princess and Mama Maple wearing a bright yellow sweater with a skateboarding elephant, they’d been everything he ever hoped for from...from them. They were even nicer than the foster homes. They didn’t get annoyed at him for not talking. They soothed him when he woke crying in the night. He got to eat every day, and not just one meal but three with fresh fruit and sometimes cookies. Something was always available if he wanted a snack. He wasn’t stuck in a tiny room; he had a whole forest to explore as long as he stayed near enough to see the house.
Not just the house. Close enough to see his home.
He should be happy. He should be joyful, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He still felt so tense, so worried that this all was just a dream that’d twist into a new nightmare, one where his usual nightmares grew even stronger than before. He barely slept anymore, no matter how much warm milk and honey Mama Maple made him or bedtime stories Mama Pacica told him. He always felt exhausted, and he still barely spoke, no matter how much he wanted to talk to his mothers, the people he wanted to trust loved him and would keep him. He wanted to believe that, he did, but it was hard.
Now he watched the driveway because his moms said they’d have a new set of visitors coming today to stay the week. He’d met his Great Grunkles Stan and Ford, who looked so much alike but behaved so differently. Mama Maple said they were twins, and she was one, too. Today, he’d meet her other twin and his husband who couldn’t visit before because of their job, which took them all over the place to help people against bad monsters. His uncles, his moms explained, Uncle Dipper and Uncle Bill.
Ryan hoped meeting more of his new family would help him believe this was all real. His moms loved him, his great grunkles acted like he was theirs. Maybe two more would make it all more than a fantasy he’d wake from at any moment. He kicked his legs back and forth on the porch swing, the swing swaying a bit with the momentum. Finally, he heard a car driving up the long path to the house.
His home, he worked to remind himself.
It wasn’t a fancy car like his Mama Pacica liked. It was older, bigger, and splashed with dried mud. It parked outside, and two men stepped out. One was muscular, but in a compact way, with dark hair and a face almost like Mama Maple. He glared at the second man while saying, “I know, they’re annoying. But they practically ensure the proliferation of native trees and squirrels from invasive species.”
“But they’re way too fun to torment!” The second man said. His face was sharper in a lot of ways, and his slicked blond hair was styled in stark contrast to the first man’s unkempt curls. “Plus aren’t you supposed to be against them kidnapping human girls for their ‘queen’?”
“Yes, I am, which is why I’m researching what the fuuuuuuuuu….” The first man looked toward the house after slamming the car door and spotted Ryan watching and listening. “Uuuuge happened to them.”
“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge? The fuck was that, Pine Tree? You didn’t suffer from some sort of stroke or something did ya?”
“BILL, not in front of the kid!”
“What? I was joking about the stroke. You don’t have any of that hilarious drooping humans get when part of their brain’s dying from lack of blood circulation.”
“No, no saying the F word in front of children.”
“Fuck?”
“Yes! That!”
“What about shit?”
“Bill, no swearing at all!”
“Why not? They’ll hear it all anyway.”
“Bill, we’re gonna table this for later.” The first man turned to address the child in question. “Hey, you must be Ryan! I’m your Uncle Dipper. It’s great to meet you.” He approached and crouched down, a wide smile on his face that mimicked Mama Maple’s to a tee.
“Hey, runt!” The second man, Bill, said, approaching, his sharp face and sharp ears framing sharp teeth. “Happy birthday or whatever the occasion is! Gotcha a present and everything.” Ryan didn’t know where he hid it on his person, but Bill produced a toy from behind his back. It was yellow, triangular, and had a single eye on one side. A black top hat sat on the top point, and black arms and legs dangled from the bottom and sides. Bill waggled it about, causing the limbs to sway.
A strange look of realization crept across Uncle Dipper’s face. “You really haven’t dealt with kids much.”
“Eh, you’re all pretty much larva compared to me. Can’t be much different. You gonna take it, kid?”
“And where did you even get that?”
“Etsy.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, apparently some mortals take commissions there. Gave them the rights to make more, too. Things go well, I’ll have eyes everywhere.”
“Bill, you can’t just have some poor-”
Ryan tuned out most of the argument, taking the toy from Uncle Bill with hesitant hands. When Bill didn’t try to yank it back, he clutched it tighter before anyone could change their minds. The knit pyramid plush squished in his arms, pushing against his chest. Somehow, it felt safe and real unlike anything else he’d experience in this dreamworld. It felt solid despite its softness.
It almost promised, all on its own, this was all real.
“We should probably meet up with Shooting Star and Llama, considering.”
“You know Pacifica hates you calling her that,” Uncle Dipper glowered.
“Yeah, yeah, like I care.” He ruffled Ryan’s hair as he passed. “Feel free to hang out here, kid. From the fact Pine Tree’s here, the next part’s gonna be boring as fuck.”
“Bill.”
“The fuck did I say wrong this time?!”
“BILL.”
“Sheesh, now I look forward to Llama. She’s at least straight forward.”
The two Uncles disappeared inside. Ryan didn’t follow. It sounded like they’d talk about grown up things for a bit. That scared him, especially since it sounded like those adult things involved him. He prefered to stare out at the woods and hug his new Bill Doll, even though it looked nothing like Bill.
“Teeth,” he mumbled aloud. That was his major memory of Bill. Those sharp teeth like on sharks on Shark Week. Except Shark Week ultimately showed Ryan, despite the marketing, Sharks were not that dangerous...at least if you knew how to treat them. He sat on the porch and hugged his new doll until Mama Maple called him in for supper. She made glitter waffles. She claimed they were his favorite, but it was really scrambled eggs he liked best.
He didn’t correct her. He didn’t want this to end because of edible glitter, after all. Dinner was fun. He ate quietly as usual, but Mama Pacica argued with Dipper about childcare and Mama Maple dared Bill to chug all the syrup once the waffles ran out. Bill did. It inspired Ryan to eat the sugar carafe’s contents, but apparently that was verboten. So unfair. He still vibed with energy from what he did consume.
“Okay, Ryan, how about we sit you down with a movie. You like Moana, right?” Mama Pacica asked. Ryan nodded, and she put that on the giant screen in the living room. “Your uncles and I have some grown up things to talk about, so just relax.” She grabbed a throw blanket off a couch and wrapped him in it. Snug and warm and full of glittery waffles, he felt more than ready to fall asleep as the first chords played from the Disney film. “Have fun. We’ll join you once we’re done.” Mama Pacica kissed his forehead. Ryan clutched his triangle doll as she did. The kiss felt real, like it was done out of love rather than a show of it. He settled in his cocoon and watched the waves of the ocean in the movie. It soon lulled him to sleep.
When he woke, the movie had moved on to that one about a woman marrying a hive of bees pretending to be a man in a suit. No uncles or moms were there, so he robed himself in the throw blanket and wandered toward the kitchen.
“OH MY GOD,” He heard Mama Maple whine. “Are we done yet?”
“You said you wanted a thorough contract, sis. How long do you think I spent in the Mindscape? YOU only stood a fraction of it.”
“You spent the whole day there!”
“And I would get bored watching a hummingbird flap their wings there,” Dipper glowered. “We’re making incredible process here.”
“Honestly, we are,” Mama Pacica conceded. “I’ve been involved in enough contract negotiations to know.”
“I’m taking it easy on y’all as a family discount.” Bill smirked, his feet on the table. Ryan knew that wasn’t allowed, but Bill was a grown up, so maybe the rules were different. Bill gleaned over and saw him. “Hey, squirt! Pull up a chair. Your parents decided to be boring!”
“We’re not boring, we’re making sure our child is safe!” Pacica argued.
“Sure, sure, have a seat still!” Ryan watched, shook his head, then wandered toward his room, the sound of the bee movie filling the background. “Fine, whatever, we’ll meet up later, kid.”
Ryan didn’t know what that meant. He only knew his short time on the couch would be his only time asleep, most likely. He’d have to start now to pretend to his moms he slept through the night. It exhausted him, but he didn’t want his moms returning him to foster care just because they didn’t like his nightmare screaming. It was better to not sleep at all. He didn’t know if that was dangerous, but at least he’d feel terrible with love and a full stomach.
“Are we done yet?” his Mama Maple asked.
“Nope,” Uncle Dipper answered. “If we ‘renew our vows,’ by the way, I guarantee it’s with a lawyer to review all this.”
“Oh, no. No thank you. Dipper. You have the worst idea of romance. EVER. How are we twins?!”
Ryan closed his door behind him. He didn’t bother removing anything but his shoes and socks before climbing into bed. Mama Pacica might scold him, but anything more felt like too much. He snuggled under the duvet, clutching his new yellow doll which smelled of sweetness and lavender, and fell asleep.