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The Mystery Shack had finally come to a close after an unusually busy Wednesday. A school bus full of kids had stopped by, which was, believe it or not, the first time that had happened. The influx of younger tourists required Stan to recruit his employee Mars for help giving the tours today. He had to admit, Mars was much better with kids than he was, and since this was the first class field trip that had ever come to the Mystery Shack, it needed to go well. It had only been around fifteen minutes since all the customers left, and the silence was noticeable, yet welcomed. Stan used that time to do his end of the day checks on the museum room, making sure that none of the attractions had been damaged. Even though there was an insane number of children there today, nothing was broken, which Stan was grateful for. He decided it was time to go check on how Mars, and his other employee Soos, were doing with restocking the gift shop. When he entered the room, neither of them were there. The room was completely silent, the merchandise still looking sparse.
“Mars! Soos!” he shouted, a little agitated after the busy day. “Where are you knuckleheads, the gift shop is practically empty!” He waited for a response, but no one answered.
Stan left his cane inside and walked out the gift shop doors, scanning the area for his missing employees. He couldn’t see Mars or Soos in his peripheral vision. He stepped down away from the gift shop exit and went to wander around the rest of the Shack.
“Why on Earth would they just disappear after the busiest day we’ve had in a long while,” he grumbled. “Of course the damn gift shop would need restocking, little kids eat up that knick-knack crap...”
When he approached the main door, he spotted Mars and Soos sitting on the porch with their feet on the grass. Stan froze as he looked at his employees, unsure of what to do. Mars held his head in his hands, his body visibly shaking. Soos had his arm wrapped around Mars, holding him as close as he could, a look of melancholy on his face. Stan felt his heart drop, what if he had caused this somehow? Mars had only been working at the Shack for a few months, and Stan thought he was an amazing employee. He couldn’t afford to lose him.
“There you kids are, I’ve been lookin’ for you,” he spoke with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work, Soos just shot him a worried glance. He cleared his throat, then spoke again, maintaining eye contact with Soos. “The gift shop was picked clean. I really need you in there restocking, Soos.”
Soos’s expression of worry deepened as he glanced down at Mars. “But, Mr. Pines-”
“No buts, Soos. I want you both out of here on time,” he raised a brow, his eyes instinctively falling back to Mars. “I, uh…also wanna have a chat with Mars. One-on-one.”
Hearing that, Mars looked up through his hands ever so slightly, nudging Soos with his shoulder. Soos gave him one last pat on the back before standing up and making his way to the gift shop. Mars looked up fully and wiped away some tears as Stan sat down beside him.
“You alright, kiddo?” he asked in a concerned tone.
“Sorry, Mr. Pines…” Mars mumbled, sniffling slightly. “I didn’t want you to see me like this, so I came outside…I couldn’t stop Soos from following me…”
Stan took off his fez and set it on the porch, ruffling his hair. Mars didn’t exactly answer his question, and as someone who often suppressed his emotions, he wasn’t quite sure what to do.
“What’s got you so upset?” he questioned, letting out a gentle sigh before he spoke again. “Did I do something to cause this? If I did, I’m sorry.”
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Mars shook his head. “I actually had a lot of fun today, the kids were delightful.”
“I’ve never seen so many tiny hands touching everything in the museum,” Stan chuckled. He looked over at Mars with a smile but noticed he was still teary eyed. “I’m glad you had fun today, but, uh…do you wanna talk about why you were crying?”
“I, um,” Mars looked away from Stan, the tears returning, blurring his vision. He could feel his body begin to shake once more, his throat tightening. “I don’t want to go back home,” he finally blurted out, his tears starting to drip down his face. “I had a big fight with my family this morning…I’ve never seen them so angry before…”
Stan knew the feeling of family fights all too well. Memories of all the times he fought with his father came flooding back to him, causing his heart to ache. He pushed it away like he always did though, keeping his composure.
“Families fight all the time, it’s inevitable,” he reasoned, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sure everything will be okay when you go back home.”
“I don’t think it will,” Mars kept crying, desperately trying to wipe his tears away as they rushed out like waterfalls. “My dad blew up at me after he found one of my empty testosterone vials in the bathroom garbage. He never agreed with me transitioning, only my mom knew when I started taking it. I guess him finding out I was injecting myself with hormones was the last straw…”
Stan had noticed a slight change in Mars’s voice since he started working here, as if he’d hit puberty late. Mars’s father must not have very good ears, or pay enough attention to his kid, if it took him so long to notice. But that wasn’t the point. Mars clearly felt it wasn’t safe to return home, and that gave Stan an awful thought.
“Your dad didn’t hurt you, did he?” he asked with a furrowed brow.
“He didn’t, but he almost did,” Mars choked out. “He definitely would have if I didn’t leave the house as fast as I did. The fight was escalating so quickly because my mom wasn’t there to keep things calm. It all felt like a blur. My brother didn’t even stand up for me…”
That last part made Stan feel like his heart stopped beating. My brother didn’t even stand up for me… Immediately Stan’s mind raced back to the day he was kicked out of the house; the way his father gripped the neckline of his shirt, the way his mother had no clue what was going on and didn't know what to do. But most of all, he remembered the way his twin brother, his best friend, didn’t even try to stand up for him after he admitted everything that had happened was an accident. And then there he was, thrown out onto the street, with nothing but a duffel bag of some of his belongings and his car. The clearest memory of all was watching his brother through the window, as he desperately tried to beg for his help, only for him to turn away. Stan lost not only his family that day, but also the only friend he ever had.
“Sorry for dumping all of that on you, Mr. Pines,” Mars apologized, wiping his eyes once again.
“Woah, kid, why are you apologizing?” Stan snapped out of his thoughts, placing a reassuring hand on Mars’s back. “I’m glad you felt safe enough to open up to me like that. I’m not all that good at opening up myself, but I’ve definitely got the ears to listen,” he shot Mars a comforting smile, and Mars softly smiled back.
“Thanks,” he said, looking back down at the grass and twiddling his thumbs. “I really appreciate you.”
“You’re a fine young man, Mars,” Stan gave him a supportive pat on the back before turning his gaze to the horizon. “Y’know, you remind me of myself when I was younger. That’s one of the reasons I hired you.”
Mars looked back at Stan with a raised brow. “Really?”
“You sure do,” Stan confirmed. “You've got that same bold confidence I had when I was young. And with what you shared with me just now, it seems like you’re going through eerily similar things that I had to endure around your age.”
“Mr. Pines, are you trans?” Mars asked, unsure if that’s what Stan meant or not.
“I didn’t mean those struggles,” Stan chuckled, gently elbowing Mars. “Family fights can be a pain, but you seem to be a lot less of a troublemaker than I was. Dads can be a lot harsher than they mean to be, and if your mom has a say, I doubt your dad will kick you out of the house like mine did.”
Mars's jaw dropped in shock. “You got kicked out of your house?”
“I sure did,” Stan sighed, taking a moment to breathe and think before he spoke again. He didn't want to reveal too much of his life and unravel the lie he'd built up for himself. “My point is, I don’t want you to have to endure all this shit alone. Honestly, you and Soos are like family to me in a way, so if yours is screwed-up, you’ve always got me.”
Mars started tearing up again. “Thank you, Mr. Pines.”
“Please, kid, just call me Stan,” he laughed, pulling Mars in for a side hug. “And y’know what, if you don’t wanna go home tonight, you’re welcome to stay here. There's plenty of room in the attic.”
Mars’s mouth hung open for a moment, unsure of how to process this. “You’d really let me stay here?”
Stan nodded. “For as long as you need.”
“You’re the best, Stan,” Mars smiled, fighting back more tears. He couldn’t restrain himself, and before he could have second thoughts, he turned around to hug Stan. It wasn’t long before the gesture was reciprocated.
“Can I stay over too?”
Stan and Mars were pulled out of their hug by a familiar voice. They turned around to see Soos peeking around the corner, a grin on his face with slightly watery eyes.
“How long have you been standing there, Soos?” Stan asked, pulling out of the hug and placing his fez back on his head as Soos walked over in front of him.
“I tuned into the conversation when you said something about me and Mars being like family to you,” he said, blinking the tears from his eyes. “You’re like family to me too, Mr. Pines!”
Soos bent down and wrapped Stan in a bear hug, lifting him up off the porch. Mars laughed as Stan tried to wiggle his way out of Soos’s iron grip.
“Fine, you can both stay over if you put me down, Soos,” Stan grumbled, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Soos immediately set him down. “Yes, Mr. Pines!”
“Alright, let’s go get this gift shop restocked so we can have some family time,” Stan smiled.
As the three of them walked back into the Shack, Stan’s heart felt warm for the first time in a while. He hoped Mars and Soos were feeling just as loved as he was.