Playing with Fire [Gravity Falls Fanfic]

Ch. 8 I will take good care of you

Pretending to be his older brother, Stanford Pines, is going to get tougher for Stanley Pines now that he has three young relatives living with him at the Mystery Shack.

Stan has been able to pull off being his older brother for several years after the original Stanford Pines disappeared through a mystical portal. However, he is worried that his three young relatives will see through his mask and would call the authorities on him for impersonating someone else.

Sometimes, Stan wonders if it was an excellent idea to let his nephew, Franklin Pines, send his children to Gravity Falls.

Stan has never been a fatherly figure to anyone before. So, he is scared to mess things up. Even though Soos sees him as a surrogate father, he is worried that Soos doesn't want him as a father when he someday reveals his true identity to the young adult when the real Stanford Pines appears.

" Even though scamming people is terrible, if you are doing it for the right reasons, maybe it's not that bad," Talulla's voice echoed in the back of Stan's head.

Stan hummed when he remembered meeting Talulla for the first time when she got out of the truck. When he held his Grand-niece's hand, he was shocked that she had the same six fingers as his older brother.

' I wonder if Talulla's six-fingered hand can open the portal,' Stan internally speaks.

Stan didn't want to take advantage of Talulla's trust. So, he decided it was best to get to know her and let her do whatever she wanted. That way, when he tells her about the real Stanford Pines, she will agree to help him when the time comes.

However, Talulla's younger siblings could tamper with his plans. They could persuade their older sister not to work with him, finding him a creep.

A ringing sound grabs Stan's attention. His chocolate brown eyes blinked when he realized he was standing in front of the snack machine. He looked at his surroundings, seeing no one.

' Who is coming here at this hour?' Stan internally speaks. He turns around and walks towards the front door. He opened his door, and his chocolate brown eyes widened when he saw Talulla outside holding a wooden Moses-style basket in her grasp with a diaper bag on her right shoulder.

' That's right. I let Talulla go out with Wendy,' Stan remembered.

Stan's chocolate brown eyes blinked when he saw Talulla looking scared and worried.

" What's wrong?" Stan asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

" My Dad," Talulla stuttered. She looked at her surroundings as though she was worried someone would pop out and take away whatever she had in her hands.

Stan raised an eyebrow. His chocolate brown eyes blinked when he heard babbling sounds from the wooden Moses-style basket. He looks down and freezes when he sees a baby boy with blonde hair and doe-like chocolate eyes that resemble his and Talulla's eyes staring at him curiously.

Stan looks at his surroundings, seeing no one, and he lets Talulla and the baby boy inside the house.

" Why do you have a baby with you?" Stan asked, watching Talulla place the wooden Moses-style basket on the coffee table.

Talulla stared at the baby boy and then at the wooden Moses-style basket. Her chocolate brown eyes spotted the name Bartholomew etched on the fabric.

" He's my baby," Talulla explained. She carefully grabs the baby boy from the wooden Moses-style basket and turns to look at Stan.

Stan looks at Talulla in disbelief.