Chapter Text
It’s been a few months since Wendy started working part-time in the Mystery Shack, and she finds it insanely boring. Every weekend is the same: sit by the cash register, ring up the occasional tourist or bored townsperson, roll her eyes at the amazed oohs and aahs of the visitors being toured around, hear the ringing of the door opening and closing, repeat. At least she doesn’t have to pretend to be paying attention, since she’s pretty sure her boss couldn’t give two shits if she’s doing her job well or not as long as money is coming in.
Speaking of her boss, Stanford Pines might just be the weirdest part of this place. The old man ran the shack in a way that’s definitely not ethical, scamming dumb tourists out of their money pretty openly, and with how suspicious he is of any policeman or government worker Wendy is pretty sure he committed a crime or two. At least three. Probably.
His shadiness works mostly in her favor though, seeing as he had no issue hiring her on the spot when she applied, not bothering to check her age or anything, just handing her a name tag and telling her she could start right then. And it’s not like Stan is a bad boss, quite the opposite, really. He always pays her in time, and takes the time to check if she’s not hungry or tired or anything, even if he grumbles and pretends that it’s just because he can’t have the cash register left abandoned. It’s weird in a sad, emotionally constipated old man way, but she finds it nice of him. Doesn’t mean she’ll actually do work, though.
Right now she’s reading some teen magazine she stole from the convenience store, snickering at the sheer absurdity of this week’s speculation over some new boy band she heard on the radio once, Sev’ral Timez, or some dumb name like that. It’s definitely not something she would normally enjoy, but it gets her mind off of things, so she won’t complain. At least she was reading, until Stan started yelling from somewhere outside the shack.
“Soos, Wendy, need some help out here!” He shouts, and Wendy hides her face in her magazine, sighing loudly. She turns to Soos, who is currently messing with the wiring of some new attraction Stan built, probably in an attempt to make it stable enough so that it doesn’t end up electrocuting someone.
“Soos, can you go?” She asks, hoping for the best. “I already went last time, plus it’s freezing outside.” She’s not lying about that, winter is nearly over but it’s still too cold to go anywhere without at least two layers of clothing. She’s honestly surprised that customers are still coming to the shack.
Soos raises his head from where he’s crouching, and gives Wendy an apologetic look.
“Sorry dude, but I really have to finish this quick,” He motions to the mass of tangled wires. “These things are too dangerous to leave exposed even for a bit, don’t want anyone to get shocked while no one’s looking.” He tells her, and she groans, irritation starting to bubble up inside her
“Ugh, come on man, are you sure it can’t wait just a bit?” The last thing she wants to do right now is go out in the cold, and she’s probably acting off, because Soos seems to frown at her sudden anger.
“Woah, you good, Wendy?” He asks, and she puts her magazine down, leaving her chair and moving towards the door. “Hey, I can go if you’re feeling down, just give me a second to close this up–”
“Wendy! Soos!” Stan’s voice cuts him off, louder than before, and Wendy sighs.
“Nah, it’s fine, man, I’ll go.” She grabs her jacket and gives Soos a thumbs up, exiting the shack.
The second she steps through the door she is hit by a cold gust of wind, and immediately regrets everything. The leafless trees and lack of sunlight make the woods around the Mystery Shack feel even colder, and at this very moment all the girl wants to do is go back inside.
Looking around she spots Stan nailing some signs on the ground just outside the main road. He’s wearing his signature suit, but he’s wearing a very worn out red jacket on top of it. Wendy walks up to him, and he acknowledges her in his usual, disgruntled way.
“Took you long enough.” She rolls her eyes at him. “Now that the snow’s all melted off we can finally start putting these around again.” Stan offers her a hammer and points towards a stack of signs on the floor. “Help me put these around, will ya.” He swings the hammer around gently, and she takes it from his hand somewhat aggressively.
“Sure, whatever.” She grumbles, picking up the signs and starting the job. Stan looks taken aback by her reaction, but doesn’t comment, going back to the sign he was hammering down.
They work in silence for some time, but Wendy can feel Stan’s worried stare from time to time, and she’s trying her best to ignore it. She has a lot in mind already. She’s nailing another sign to a nearby tree when it eventually happens. Being out in the woods at this time of year just reminds her of bad times. Her dad insisted on taking her out of the house nearly every day when her mom started getting worse, and the biting cold of the wind only made her miss the warmth of her lap even more. Wendy misses her so much.
A sharp pain in her thumb brings her back to reality, and she yelps, dropping her hammer. “Shit!” She hisses, bringing her hand up to her mouth in an attempt to soothe the pain. The sound alerts Stan, who quickly turns towards her, and seeing her clutching her hand to her chest and the hammer on the floor quickly puts together what happened.
“You alright over there, Wendy?” He asks, putting down the sign he was holding, the same worried look from before back, and she quickly nods, turning away from him. She crouches to pick the hammer back up, still careful with her bruised hand, and goes back to what she was doing.
Stan looks at her with concern, and she can tell he wants to say something. He ponders his options for a few beats, and eventually decides to walk over to Wendy, clearing his throat.
“Uh, hey kid,” He begins, unsure, “You look like you got something on your mind. Wanna, uh, talk about it maybe? It might help.” He asks somewhat awkwardly, and she sighs.
“It’s nothing, Mr. Pines,” she mumbles, dejected. She then ponders if she should tell him or not. Stan seemed to care enough to ask if she was doing fine, so it probably wouldn’t hurt. Sighing again, she turns to face him, while still avoiding eye contact.
“It 's just that…” She begins, swallowing the lump forming on the back of her throat. He gives her a reassuring look, or the closest to that he can form, and after a deep breath she continues. “...march is nearly over, and… yeah.” she finishes, hugging her arms and looking away again.
Stan stands there processing this information, and she can tell he finally gets it when his expression softens, giving her a look of sympathy. Wendy lowers her head, tearing up. She knew he would get it. She remembers seeing him at her funeral, seeing as pretty much everyone in town (except the Northwests, of course) came to mourn her. The Corduroys have always been a very well liked and respected family in Gravity Falls, and the news of her mother’s passing saddened the whole town. Her brothers might have been too young when it happened, but she remembers it clear as day.
She feels a hand on her shoulder, and looking up she sees Stan giving her an understanding look.
“I get how you feel, kid.” He begins, reassuringly. “These things never get easier, and anniversaries always hurt like a bitch.” She laughs at that, nodding. “But what I can tell you is that even though time won’t stop for any of us, your love for her and her love for you will always be there.” He gives her shoulder a squeeze, and lets go.
Wendy smiles, wiping away at her eye. She didn’t know Stan could be this soft! She’s very grateful for it, though. God knows her dad wouldn't know what to say at a time like this.
“Didn’t know you were such an expert at this, old man.” She teases, easing back into her normal self. Stan’s expression changes for a split second, then goes back to his usual boss persona.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t get used to it.” He replies, and she laughs. “Now get back inside, the wind is getting colder and I can’t have my employees missing work ‘cause they’re sick.” He ushers her towards the door, and she rolls her eyes but goes back in anyway.
Back inside the Mystery Shack, Wendy goes back to her chair, picking back her magazine. Soos sees her come back in and gives her a thumbs up, which she reciprocates, then goes back to fixing whatever is broken now.
As she goes back to her reading she sees Stan pass by the cashier, and he stops to talk to her.
“Hey, Wendy?” She looks up at Stan, who looks hesitant. “If, uh, if you ever feel like your house is too much, be it too quiet, too loud, or whatever, you’re always welcome here at the shack, ‘kay?” he tells her.
Wendy is taken aback by the kindness, but smiles nonetheless, warmth spreading across her chest.
“Thanks, Mr. Pines.”
“You’re welcome, kid.” Stan smiles, and just as quickly goes back into his usual self. “Now back to work!” he snaps and exits the room. Wendy rolls her eyes again and goes back to reading her magazine, not doing any work for the rest of the day.
(Soos offers her a ride back home that evening, claiming it’s too cold for her to bike back home, and she has a sneaking suspicion that Stan told him to do so, but she feels grateful nonetheless.)