So on the back of Manly Dan's truck is a suicide awareness ribbon. And since the fandom right now is filled with stories all about the two Stan's, I thought some of you guys might want something different. This takes place just before AToTS, so no spoilers.

Rated high T for mentions of suicide. Wendy and Soos bonding :)

I don't own Gravity Falls.

GENERAL POV

"Good night Mr. Pines!" Soos called to his boss cheerfully, setting his broom and dustpan behind the counter and strolling out the front door of the Mystery Shack. "See you tomorrow!"

A grunt came from the storage closet, meaning that Stan had probably heard him, and Soos whistled absently as he wandered around the side of the Shack, heading for his battered old pickup truck.

He slowed his steps as he neared the back porch, his eyes studying the still form of his coworker Wendy Courdoroy. She was sitting on the back porch steps, her elbows resting on her knees and her hands clasped together as she stared at the ground.

"Uh...hey Wendy," Soos said cautiously, approaching her. "Do you need a ride home?"

Wendy didn't even look at him when she shrugged. "I um...yeah. That would be nice," she mumbled, getting to her feet and rubbing her upper arms slowly. Her gaze stayed to the ground but Soos didn't question it, leading her to the truck and opening the door for her.

As soon as she had climbed into the truck, he scrambled over to the driver's side and stuck the key in the ignition, glancing sideways at his friend. The engine turned over rather smoothly for the old heap of metal, and they rumbled down the dirt road easily.

Soos bit his lip as he drove, trying to think of a way to lighten the mood. For whatever reason, Wendy was just staring out the window. She hadn't said a word since she had gotten into the car, and Soos couldn't help but wonder if she was okay. In an attempt to ease the stillness of the car, he flicked on the radio.

The first song that he turned to was an old Michael Buble song, and Wendy stiffened in her seat, immediately reaching over and smacking the radio off again.

"Woah, dude, what was that about?" Soos yelped, nearly jerking the vehicle off course.

Wendy shrugged and leaned her forehead against the window. "I just...don't want to listen to the radio," she finally said. Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence and Soos frowned. Without much thought, he pulled to the side of the road and shut the car off, glancing over at Wendy.

"Okay dude, what's wrong? I know something's up," he said softly.

Wendy flinched. "Nothing's wrong, Soos. Can you just please take me home?" she pleaded, her voice breaking once more.

Soos looked over at her again and realized with a start that she was crying, wiping discreetly at a trail of tears that were making their way down her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and Soos wondered how he had missed it before.

"Are you uh...are you sure Wendy?"

She nodded, swallowing hard and turning her head away from him. With a sigh, Soos started the car back up and pulled onto the road again, glancing both ways to make sure there was no traffic.

"You know," he said after a moment of silence, "if you uh...if you want to talk dude...I wouldn't tell anyone. I mean, I know we aren't like SUPER close, but I'm always here for my friends."

Wendy sniffed and glanced at him, a small smile on her face. "Thanks Soos. Uh...it's just that today is um...the two year anniversary of the day my mom died and I uh...I've been having a rough time with it. It's why Stan went easier on me today, I think. Not giving me so much to do and stuff. And that song that came on was like, her favorite."

"Oh dude, I'm really sorry," Soos said seriously. "I didn't know. Uh...if you don't mind me asking...how did she pass?"

Wendy looked down at the floor, jolting forward a little in her seat as Soos stopped at a traffic light. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and pressed her palms together. "She um...she uh...commited suicide," the girl finally whispered.

Soos shut his eyes for a second and swallowed hard, jumping a little when the car behind him started honking as the light turned green. "Geez, Wendy," he murmured, turning down Main Street. "I'm really sorry. Are you and your brothers...doing okay? I mean, can I do anything?"

Wendy stiffened. "I don't want to talk about my brothers," she finally hissed, startling Soos more than he cared to admit. "They're selfish little pricks who deserve to-"

"Woah, woah, woah, okay. Forget I asked."

Wendy sighed, twisting a strand of hair between her fingers so tightly that Soos was afraid she would rip it off her head. "Sorry, Soos. They just...they didn't understand that she had depression. Or, maybe they did. But they always taunt her and call her weak for doing it and my dad doesn't even talk to us this day of the year, so I have to put up with all their crap."

Soos chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. "Want to stay at my house tonight?" he finally asked. "My abuelita won't mind, and you can stay in the guest room."

Wendy looked at him with a raised eyebrow, brushing the last of the tears from her face. "You serious man?"

Soos nodded and Wendy smiled widely. "That would uh...that would be great. Can you stop at my house so I can grab a couple of things?"

Soos obliged, turning down the road to Wendy's house and pulling into her driveway. "I'll just wait here," he assured her as she clambered out of her seat.

Wendy nodded and darted into her house, leaving Soos to contemplate everything. He scanned the yard, noticing that Dan's truck was further up the driveway. His eyes fell to the bumper and he blinked in surprise when he noticed the yellow ribbon that symbolized suicide awareness plastered to the back of the truck. How had he never noticed that?

His eyes were drawn back to the front door as Wendy hurried out, a phone charger clutched in one hand and a small backpack slung over her shoulder. She ran for the car and slid inside, slamming the door shut and shivering against the seat.

"Woah, hey, are you okay?" Soos asked in concern, reaching a tentative hand out.

Wendy shuddered and shook her head, buckeling up. "They're jerks," she rasped out hoarsely. "Just drive. Please."

Soos didn't question the demand, merely sent a glare towards Wendy's front door and floored the gas pedal, pulling them away from the house. They reached Soos's house in record time and he shut off the engine, sliding from the truck to escort Wendy to the door.

"Abuelita, I'm home! My friend Wendy is going to stay in the guest room tonight!" he called over his shoulder as he quickly ushered Wendy up the stairs.

His grandmother called something back in Spanish, probably an affirmation, but Soos wasn't paying attention. He pushed open the guest room door and led Wendy inside, letting the girl drop her bag on the bed.

She swallowed hard and looked up at Soos gratefully. "Thanks man," she whispered, her voice cracking with every word.

Soos nodded and then hesitantly spread his arms. Wendy's lower lip quivered and she accepted the hug, sobbing quietly as he awkwardly rubbed her back. "They're such little tools," she gasped. "As soon as I got there...they started asking what I was doing, asking me if I was dumb enough to kill myself like Mom, or cut myself like she had and I just...I almost socked them."

Soos grimaced and tightened his hug. "You probably should have," he admitted.

Wendy let out a harsh snort and pulled away, wiping at her eyes in embarassment. "Maybe. I'm sorry to dump all this on you Soos. None of the people I hang out with are...I don't quite trust them enough to..."

Soos nodded. "I get that," he assured her, thinking of his father. "Wendy you uh...you haven't like thought of doing that stuff...have you?"

Wendy wrinkled her nose a little and glanced down."Not seriously," she finally said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and chewing on her thumb.

Soos bit his lip and sat next to her. "You know that if you uh...if you ever feel that way or if your brothers ever start to get to you again, you could uh...just give me a call. It's no problem."

Wendy gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Soos. That means a lot."

Soos nodded. "So you told Mr. Pines all of this?"

"I didn't have to," Wendy said with a shrug. "He came to her funeral, offered me the job there on the spot. I think he has probably lost people before, understood that I would need something to take my mind off of it. As jerky as he can be, he's a nice guy."

Soos agreed with that sentiment, and then stood. "I'll leave you be. If you um...if you need me dude...my room is right down the hall. Bathroom is right next door to you."

Wendy fiddled with the hem of her plaid overshirt and smiled sadly. "Thanks for everything, Soos. I appreciate it."

Soos paused in the doorway and tilted his hat at her. "Any time, dude."

Soooo sorry if either of them were out of character. But with that last episode I REALLY wanted to do some Soos and Wendy friendship things.

*Edit: we know next to nothing about Wendy's brothers. We don't even know their NAMES. So they literally can not be out of character in this story because none of them HAVE a developed character. I'm worried about whether or not Wendy and Soos are out of character, NOT her brothers. So if you're going to comment on how you don't think they would act that way, save it. Because it hasn't been proven either way and I don't want every review to shut me down for making her brothers jerks. Newsflash: that's NOT helpful criticism, its just ignorant. If you think they're nice boys, fine. But in this story, they're not, so get over it.