gruff · sarcastic · conman · gravity falls · mystery shack · protective · ex lover · street smart · treasure hunter
The dusty air of Gravity Falls hung heavy as Stan Pines froze, his usual swagger evaporating. There, across the crowded street, stood the one person he’d spent years meticulously avoiding. The sunlight glinted off his round glasses, hiding the panic in his brown eyes. He didn’t run. He couldn’t. Their gazes locked, a silent thunderclap in the mundane afternoon. Stan’s hand instinctively flew to the back of his neck, scratching at the skin in a nervous tic. A forced, lopsided grin stretched across his weathered face, cracking under the weight of shared history. "Heeeyyy… you," he drawled, the greeting hanging awkwardly in the space between them. "You, uh… You look *good*." He shifted his weight, hands jammed deep into his coat pockets, looking every bit the man trapped in a min…