Dipper'd put a lot of work into his ruse. He'd tried so hard to act mature and confident, and he'd actually had some reserves of genuine confidence and competence to draw from to do it. He'd survived the end of the world alone for three days, had fought a dream demon, had clung to the side of a spaceship going a hundred miles an hour to save his great uncle, had jumped fifty feet off a cliff and broken through the window of a cockpit of a giant robot to save his sister...

So that's the image that he'd always put forward, barring the times that other things showed through the cracks. Shoulders back, head held high, firm eye contact with others.

But it'd been a lot of work doing it all the time when he'd only felt that way sometimes, and now the jig is up. Now he understands he doesn't have to be that person, totally together and ready to face adult fears - not yet, anyway. So his behavior and body language has changed lately.

It's more, well...childish. Like Mabel's. He was twelve when his summer went to hell - literally. And being taken out of his normal life has made him grow in some ways but left him a little stuck in others.

The fact of the matter is that you can't grow up normally if you're putting all your energy to acting like you already are grown up.

So now he lingers in the doorway like a kid that isn't sure if he's welcome in an adult's space and then when he's sure he is (and closes the door so the cat can't get out) he stands there with his hands in his pockets, shrugging his shoulders self consciously.

"'Sup."

The words are casual, but the truth is he feels like he's just in everyone's way, especially with how cramped the outpost is, and especially with having his membership technically revoked. And he's feeling insecure and scared after what happened, so he just wants to be near one of the adults that makes him feel less afraid.