#if none of this make senss ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[shanklin]

"What if Stan gives Shanklin a Mini Mr. Mystery outfit? The two be twinning!"

Dear 500-word-ask!anon from my inbox. Have my answer for the first 14 words.

Selfish Shellfish AU - Masterpost

Shanklin found him. Somehow, hundreds of miles away from home, Shanklin found him.

Soos almost ran him over on accident but Stan took the steering wheel at the very last second and turned it around.

The sudden drift and following emergency brake had them almost break right through the windshield, but Stan didn’t care about his bruised shoulder and bleeding head. He recognized that screeching grin anywhere.

He threw himself out of the car and stumbled onto the street, frantically looking around for his friend.

“Shanklin! SHANKLIN!”

It wasn’t just his imagination, right? Stan was certain he saw his little possum. Stan turned around and ran back to the car. Did they hit him? Did he kill another member of his family? 

Stan sank to the ground. Please please don’t let it be true. Not Shanklin. Stan closed his eyes tightly and tried to block out the world around him until he felt little pricks on his thigh, little claws scratching his pants and the skin underneath.

A tiny furry body squeezed itselfs into a gap in between his curled up body and nestled comfortably on his lap.

Stan cradled the possum into his arms, hid his face in the scruffy fur and wept silently. Shanklin came back to him. For him. 

Soos suggested Shanklin might be magical, some sort of animal wizard or something, and Stan couldn’t help but agree.

“You really are magic, aren’t you? The smartest, most mysterious possum the world has ever seen!”

In response, the banana piece Shanklin was messily chewing on fell out of his mouth and he bit on the fabric in Stan's hands instead.

“Hey, that’s for the show, stop that! HEY!”

It took much more effort than expected to get Shanklin into the Mini Mr. Mystery outfit. For a super smart magical wizard pet he sure acted like a wild animal sometimes.No matter, Stan had succeeded and Shankling looked, quite honestly, really damn cute. Stan had been hoping for a more cool aesthetic, but the little hat, tie and suit combo was just adorable and matched his own perfectly.

Stan tried not to think about how much Grauntie Mabel would love it. How proud she would be, if things were different. She had taught him all about making comfortable clothes for animals, when Ford had kicked him out of their shared room in the attic that one time.

He, Fidds and Grunkle Dipper needed more space for an all night DD&mD extravaganza, so Stan had to go.

Back then Stan had tried to ask if he could join but chickened out at the last minute. 

“Stan, don't touch that. Those are some highly advanced calculations for later game play. I don’t want them all messed up. You wouldn’t understand”

Stan took a look at the sheets and it was true. Nothing on them made a lick of sense, but he had hoped they could just do the math for him and he could still be there for the fun bits.

The fun bits being the times when Stan heard them laughing and screaming in delight. The ones that became inside jokes that no one explained to Stan. And if he would asked them to, they’d just laugh harder.

But they were right, Stan wouldn’t understand. He’d just mess everything up.  

So he went downstairs, where Grauntie Mabel made him a warm chocolatey Mabel Juice variant and taught him all about how to sew in an emergency, in case you see a cute animal that would be even cuter in a little blazer. 

Sewing and creating miniature outfits was surprisingly fun and when he heard laughter from above and Grauntie Mabel put her arms around him in sympathy, he felt not as alone as usual.

“I know it’s hard,” she told him looking pained, “but we need to let those nerds do their own thing. If we go and force them to do stuff they don’t want to, it will just end badly for all of us. I’ve been through it before and trust me. This is for the best.”

Stan leaned into her and let himself be comforted by her warmth.

Stan did not tell her that he just wanted to play with them and not force them to do something else.

And he did not ask her why she constantly agreed with Dipper's plans then, even though she clearly didn’t want to. 

“Okay, I trust you.” he said instead and got rewarded with a kiss on his head and a cuddle. 

Mini Mr. Mystery was a blazing success! 

Everyone loved Shanklin, even if he almost ate his hat halfway through the show. 

If his luck streak continued, Stan would soon make enough money to pay Soos back for all that he had wasted on him.

Stan took a bow and held Shanklin out to the crowd who squeaked in protest.

The “awws” in response were justified. His Shanklin was adorable!

“Look at you and your twin!”

Shanklin started to squirm. Stan held him tighter and forced a grin.

“Almost identical. You can barely tell them apart.” 

oh don’t be silly. it’s easy. the freak with the glasses is the smart one and the one who looks like he can’t count to three is the spare

The crowd laughed.

mocking laughter, red cheeks, six fingered hands hiding away

“So if you’re the creative one then that must make this little guy the smart one right?”

don’t you ever call him that again

Stan's grip loosened and Shanklin attacked, jumping right onto the worst offender, scratching and biting. 

or i’ll make sure you won’t live long enough to regret it

The crowd jumped and screamed as the possum ran through, attacking everyone that looked like a threat. In midst the panic a path formed and Stan ran until his legs gave out.

Shanklin was still by his side when he finally collapsed and cuddled up next to him. Stan pet his head, now free of the fez.

Maybe Stan just wasn’t cut out for this twinning thing.

Later Soos would find them both fast asleep under a park tree. He swore up and down that Shanklin showed him the way and Stan swore that he never left his side.