Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As long as he could remember the color gray had defined so much of his life. It wasn’t unusual though also not common for siblings to have each other for a soulmate.

“Of course we’re soulmates, we’re twins two halves of a whole” Ford had told him when he had voiced the thought. He had followed it up with how it also made sense since they’d always have each other in their lives.

When they were younger they had their hands linked as often as they could. Nothing soothed Stan more or made him feel better than when they were linked, when he could smell the salty air and warm sand that made up his brothers soul. Every time they touched it reminded him of them just being together working on the Stan O’ War. Though of course he wouldn’t draw that comparison till they were a bit older. Before that it reminded him of their family trips to the beach. Where even their father seemed to enjoy himself. As long as he had this in his life Stan knew there was nothing that could actually hurt him, that he’d always be safe and secure.

Of course, things can never stay perfect forever. They’re about 10 when Ford gets his second mark, a brown handprint appears for a few days on his shoulder only to fade away. Their mother explains that it’ll fill back in when the soulmate it’s meant for touches it. She seems relieved and their father even looks proud. Stan finds out why when they have health class later that year. Most people started getting their marks when they were 4 or 5, it seemed he and his brother were just late bloomers.

After that Ford’s marks come in one after another it seems, On the back of his neck a brilliant pink, a dark blue one on his lower back, a forest green on his other shoulder, blood red so like Stan’s own yet so different mares itself on his cheek (Stan jokes that it looks like a slap mark), a white one on his forearm, a light blue one ends up on the opposite side of the dark blue, a black mark on his collar bone, and his final one a bright yellow on his right hand to match Stan’s red on his left.

Their father is ecstatic though he doesn’t show it much beyond a proud nod every time Ford comes to excitedly tell their parents about each new mark that appears. Stan can’t miss the looks of pity he gets either. He doesn’t understand why either. He’s probably a late bloomer just like Ford, they are twins after all.

As Ford starts to push him away focusing more and more on his grades and projects Stan tries to throw himself fully into his boxing. It doesn’t help much though, sure he’s good but he’s far from the best there is and well, his lack of marks doesn’t help. He finds out the hard way that people with few marks were seen as untrustworthy, that they’re seen as lesser than. After all, if you can’t even make deep connections, how can you succeed in life?

It makes the looks of pity both of his parents give him all the more understandable, but who cared he had Ford and that was all that mattered. Ford wouldn’t toss him away just because he was his only soulmate anyway, he wasn’t like others he understood that the amount of marks someone had didn’t define them as a person. That’s when that unfortunate day happens, he hears how Ford is planning on leaving him for a fancy school. Somewhere he can’t follow, as the principal points out they shouldn’t be surprised that Stan was never going to amount to anything anyway, after all the proof was well not painted on his skin.

It was still an accident, all he had wanted to do was vent a bit, yell at the thing that was taking his brother, his other half away from him. It had even still been working when he had left after reattaching the small grate that had fallen off. It didn’t matter though, it still broke and ruined Ford’s chances to go to West Coast Tech, and he was out on his ass with only a duffle bag and his car to his name.

What did it matter, sure he lost his home, his soulmate and was going to have to drop out of school but what did it matter. He would prove them all wrong, he’d prove that even if his blank skin argued otherwise he was worth something. He was going to make it big and rub it in all of their faces.

Chapter Text

Stan let his head fall onto the surface of the bar as he waited for his drink. He had known that this wasn’t going to be easy but it shouldn't be that hard either. He had started off with treasure hunting but quickly found out that it wasn’t all that profitable. Turns out that in populated areas there just wasn’t that much treasure to be found.

After that he had gotten into selling his own product, but that had been a failure as well. Turns out even if you cover your skin head to toe people could still tell that you didn’t have that many marks and didn’t trust anything you were selling. Well that and the quality of his products was trash, so even when he did make sales he couldn’t build a loyal customer base who could vouch for him.

That led him here, after being chased away from city after city, state after state. He was now in Texas spending the last of his cash on a few drinks in an attempt to numb himself to everything. He just wanted to not think or feel or anything for at least one night. He was grateful that this place was cheap. It was some sort of biker dive bar, somewhere most people unless they were part of that community avoided which worked for him.

“What’s a kid like you doing here, are you even old enough to drink? “ came a gruff voice from beside him as a large man with blonde hair and an impressive mustache all wrapped up in a leather biker jacket with a green snake on the back.

“Plenty old enough” he shrugged a bit, sipping his drink as it was set in front of him.

The guy snorted at that and took a sip of what was slid in front of him. He must be a regular here since he didn’t even need to order. “Sure, you are, though you’re new here, what’s your name?”

“Stan,” he said shortly. He hadn’t had a chance to get a new identity yet. He didn’t really want to give out his actual name but well that was the id he was using and he didn’t want to risk getting kicked out because he lied.

“I’m Jimmy, Jimmy Snakes” and Stan took the extended hand.

Jimmy was probably a part of a biker gang if the amount of people now coming into the bar was an indication. Great there went his quiet night. He debated just finishing his drink and going. Maybe there was another bar nearby that wasn’t going to be as rowdy.

“So tell me Stan, what brings someone like you, to somewhere like here?”

Great this guy was a talker, was it really so much to ask to just have people leave him alone so he could wallow.

“Just passing through, figuring out where I’m going to go next,” he shrugged. It wasn’t a lie, he had no clue what he was going to do next.

“Not much of a talker huh, it’s a shame you seem like you have an interesting story” the guy grinned and motioned for two more drinks sliding one towards Stan as they came. Looked like his plan on just leaving wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to turn down free drinks after all. Part of him was curious why the Jimmy guy seemed so invested but eh what was the worst that could happen.

Drinks flowed like water and soon enough he found himself in a room with Jimmy, his head was fuzzy and he couldn’t quite remember how they got there. It didn’t matter though, not as he felt Jimmy’s lips on his neck and as he ground his hips up into the others. He had known for a while that he was into both men and women but hadn’t had much of a chance to try anything with a man yet. It wasn’t exactly safe to do so most of the time and the few times it had been no one had caught his eye. Yet now he was here being pressed into a bed as his clothes were being tossed aside.

Jimmy was gentle yet firm and it was somehow everything he needed at that moment. Then oh, oh he felt a sensation blooming from his thigh, his own hand scrambling to gain purchase on Jimmy’s shoulder. Next he knew not only were they connected physically but he could feel the other's soul pressing against his. He could feel the wind thundering around him matching his pulse and the deep smell of oil and leather.

He had never gotten off so hard in his life, his head buzzing pleasantly as they came down quickly lulling him into a deep sleep. He felt safe, sated and oh so content for the first time since he had been kicked out. He didn’t even register what had happened as he passed out, looked like that was going to be a problem for morning Stan.

Stan was a bit surprised when he woke up and found that he was not alone but was actively being squished tightly against someone. Right he had gone home with a guy from the bar last night. He flushed a bit as the memories from the night before came back though fuzzy and more impressions than actual memories. That and the ache of his backside it wasn’t that hard to piece together what all had happened.

He managed to wiggle away noticing that the word home wasn’t quite right, looked like they were in a hotel somewhere and Stan wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. That didn’t matter quite at the moment nature's call was what he focused on right now.
As he did his business he let out a small cry and as soon as he could used his hands to twist his thigh to get a better look. Yep he had seen that right, there on his thigh was a dark green mark. How did that happen? He didn’t have any other soulmates, Ford was supposed to be his only one.

Taking a cloth he tried to scrub it away thinking it a prank only to find it stuck fast. Fuck what was he going to do now, he had exactly zero plans for something like this. Making his way back out to the room he gave Jimmy a tight smile noticing the other was getting up as well.
“So uh what a night” Stan said awkwardly

That made Jimmy laugh “Yeah it was, didn’t expect you to be one of my soulmates”

Stan tilted his head a bit at that “Wait so you’ve had my mark on you then? Like it wasn’t a surprise that you had one there?”

Jimmy frowned at that “Yeah, can’t remember exactly when it showed up but I’ve had it for awhile now” he was clearly confused.

Rubbing his face Stan flopped on the bed trying to process what he’d been told. So apparently even though he didn’t have the marks on him his soul mates still had a hint on theirs. He didn’t know how to process all of this.

“I didn’t, I thought I only had the one” he explained waving his right hand a bit the gray mark clearly visible.

“I see, that’s certainly unique” Jimmy hummed.

Watching the other make his way to the bathroom, Stan debated what to do. Part of him wanted to flee to get far away from all this. Another part of him wanted to stay, to see what sort of soulmates they were meant to be. Considering how they met and how intimate the placement of his mark was it could easily be romantic.

When Jimmy came back out he joined Stan on the bed shuffling close “May I, we didn’t really get a chance to indulge last night” he said his hand hovering over his mark.

Stan felt like he nodded too fast, his own hand scrambling to Jimmy’s shoulder desperate and needy for the touch. He let out a content sigh as they sank into each other, he had missed this and even if it felt oh so different from Ford it was equally as soothing.

“It’s been awhile huh? It’s okay I’m here now” Jimmy’s sooth whispered up against his, making Stan relax all that much more. They couldn’t lie in here, not with everything laid bare. “What happened to you? Came a murmur after awhile and Stan couldn’t stop himself memory after memory all but throwing themselves at Jimmy. He didn’t want to scare him off, but he needed this, needed to be cared for and needed to be understood.

“I’m sorry” he murmured as the memories tapered off, he hadn’t meant to be so needy.

Jimmy just shushed him, somehow pulling him closer to himself letting their souls merge a bit more, “How selfish he was, how could he throw you away” he snarled. Soulmates were special, you were meant to hold onto them, care for them and let them care for you. He didn’t think he had ever hated someone more than Ford at that moment but that was okay, he had Stan now and he wasn’t going to throw him away like Ford did. He’d never do that. It was a vow, a promise and in here all but a binding contract.

As they pulled apart Stan didn’t even know when he had started to cry, and as Jimmy whipped them away he couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed. He hadn’t meant to break down or look so weak in front of the other, but as if reading his thoughts Jimmy scolded him telling him he wanted him to come crying to him. Wanted to be the one to comfort him no matter what.

They spent the next few days together just learning about each other, who they were , what they wanted. Stan found that Jimmy was similar to him traveling around with his biker gang from place to place sometimes doing things like bouncer work, sometimes running drugs or doing a variety of other things to make money. He found himself quickly agreeing to come along. Jimmy had family nearby where he could store the Stanleymobile and he could ride with Jimmy.

It had been great for the first well almost six months before it started to happen. One night when they had a bit too much to drink, or Stan made a stupid mistake and bam he had a new bruise or four. He always forgave him though, how could he not when he was held so close, when Jimmy apologized and assured him he’d do better every time they indulged in their bond, and Jimmy always made sure they did after there was an incident. Slowly once every few weeks turned to once a week turned to almost every day. Stan knew he couldn’t keep doing this, couldn’t keep letting this happen to him.

It reminded him of one of the neighbors he had growing up, he remembered his mom helping her with the makeup to cover up the bruises, he remembered asking after she left why she didn’t just leave her husband, why she didn’t get away, and he remembered his mothers sad face explaining that he was one of her soulmates and she didn’t want to lose that.

That had solidified in him at the time just how important and special these bonds were, after all if someone would stay with someone hurting them so that meant they must be almost unbreakable. Now after Ford turned his back on him, and now Jimmy hurting him like he did, he understood why she stayed. It wasn’t because this bond was special, it was because the fear of being alone was terrifying. At least he already had experience being alone, being without a soulmate to bond with regularly. He knew he’d survive.

After a particularly rough night, Stan took what cash he could and made his way to get the Stanleymobile. He was lucky they had been close by though it was also part of what he had been waiting for. By the time Jimmy was awake he was long gone, he decided heading south of the border would be enough distance. He knew that with the gangs that were there Jimmy wouldn’t risk it, and who knew maybe he’d get a lucky break.

Chapter Text

How long had it been, how long had he even been at his whole Mr. Mystery thing? How long was it even before that he had come here answering his brother’s postcard? How long had it been since he had lost his brother yet again only this time to a portal that went who knows where? How long since he had started trying to fix it, teaching himself what he could from his brother’s notes?

The answer was way too long, and it was even longer than that since he had indulged in anything with a soulmate. Not since he left Jimmy, not since he fled the only other person who he was bonded to. Though only other person he had ever found who cared for him deeply at all. At this point he was pretty sure that all of his marks were just from people who were supposed to hurt him. People who weren’t really meant to spend their lives with him.

So how, just how was it there was now a forest green mark on the front of his right shoulder from his new handyman. He had hired the kid on a whim, not completely serious, just more annoyed as he had tossed his previous one out and well the kid had a screwdriver. Much to his surprise he had shown up the next day for work and well, Stan wasn’t going to turn the kid away he actually wanted to learn and it would help to have someone specifically trained on how to keep the shack up and running instead of hoping that he’d just happen upon someone. It definitely wasn’t because the kid looked sad about having to go home, or the fact he almost cried when he had messed up within the first hour about how he’d be fired.

So he was getting soft sue him, it was only a kid and well he was a sucker for kids. Which led him to now, he had picked the kid up after a long day carrying him to his car to take him home to his abuela when it happened. The kid's hand pressed against his shoulder as he carried him. Stan had to bit his tongue to keep from making a noise not wanting to disturb the kid, not that it mattered in his attempts to shift to knock the hand away having to adjust his hold and the way he was balancing the kid on his hip, and even without being able to see it he could tell there was a red mark forming on Soos’s back.
He had sunk down so they could sit against the car. He could feel how excited Soos was, this was apparently the first mark of his to get filled in. His excitement was almost overwhelming which he quickly tried to reign in, nervous Stan would break the link. Stan instead let his own happiness seep through reassuring Soos that he wasn’t upset, just surprised. He didn’t know how long they stayed there letting Soos, and to be honest himself it had been far too long to get used to the link. He couldn’t help but smile a bit, Soos’s soul reminded him a bit of the things he liked about Columbia, the smell of delicious Mexican and Mexican adjacent food, plus the warmness and faint buzzing of being surrounded by family at all times.

When he finally got Soos home he was meant with his Abulea furious it was so late, Stan didn’t even let Soos explain just telling him to go get ready for bed. He explained what had happened feeling a bit awkward as he did. Having such a large age gap between soul mates wasn’t super common and well people tended to look suspiciously at adults who had an unrelated kid as a soul mate. To his surprise Soos’s abuela took it well, more sighing in exasperation than anything.

“You are like a father to him, please take good care of my baby” she had told him, looking at him earnestly.

While he wasn’t surprised to hear that, it was still a bit of a shock to hear. Sure he knew the kid had gotten attached to him in the almost year he had worked at the shack, but a father figure him? That just didn’t seem like a good decision.

“I will, I won’t let anything happen to him” he swore instead. Trying not to think about his own insecurities about how he was terrified of this. He didn’t know how to be a good influence on anyone let alone a kid.

It turned out it didn’t matter all that much, Soos was just happy to have any sort of bond with him. It became clearer every time they bonded just how much of a father he saw in Stan even though he tried to hide it. On one of his more sentimental nights Stan even answered Soos’s questions about his other soulmates. It had been after a day at the pool, Stan had shut the shack early and drug Soos down to the community pool with the excuse he couldn’t have his favorite handyman die from the heat. He knew Soos knew exactly what he meant. The kid was getting good at reading the meaning behind the things he said. There Soos had seen the other two marks on Stan’s skin and was curious. He had managed to keep it to himself for a whole two weeks though. That was until he had come in earlier than usual finding Stan in the kitchen crying softly.

Stan had been awoken from a nightmare about Ford and had just gotten up for the day instead of trying to go back to sleep. He had been surprised to see Soos in the shack so early but as the kid climbed into his lap, though really he was more a teen now already 14 barely a kid anymore, he had happily sank into their bond. That was when Soos had asked. He asked where the other two were how they could not be near their soulmate, how they couldn’t be here for him too. That had broken Stan a bit more, he remembered when he himself had thought like that, and while he didn’t want to hurt Soos they younger deserved to know how life went sometimes.

He started with the memories of him and Ford, of them spending all their time together as kids, of how they thought they’d be together forever, then he shared the night of the accident how Ford had turned his back on him, casting him out forever. Next he shared about Jimmy, nothing too much, just the sweet kisses, the fun they had running around together, then the fights, a watered down version of the beatings and his choice to leave, his choice to want better for himself.

By the time he finished Soos was crying as well holding onto him tighter “I won’t leave you, I won’t hurt you” he cried out with his soul only for Stan to shake his head.

“I want you to be happy, even if that means you leave, sometimes you have to leave for your own good” he pushed back. He knew if he didn’t, if he wasn’t stern on this that Soos would do exactly that, would do whatever it took to stay with Stan even if it meant giving up his own dreams.

Soos nodded “I’ll come back, if I go I’ll come back” he amended. He didn’t know what he wanted out of life yet and he had years to figure it out, but one thing he did know was that he meant what he said. He never wanted to have Stan out of his life, he was a friend, a father, and his first soulmate he wanted him close.

That night Stan found himself in tears again, this time in happiness. He had been so so sure that any soulmate he was destined to have would only bring him pain but Soos, pure sweet Soos, he was undoing so much damage just by being himself. He knew he shouldn’t be putting so much of his healing on a small boy and he tried his best to keep most of it away from him Soos had a way of coaxing it out of him. He always pointed out Stan tried to help him all the time and he wanted to do the same. So Stan let him, let him into some of his smaller problems and was always surprised at just how good at emotions Soos really was.

The night of Soos’s graduation was one of the most nerve wracking experiences he ever had. Of course he had let the kid have his party at the shack paying for the whole thing even though Soos’s Abuela insisted she could pay he had waved her off, Soos was his kid too after all and he wanted to show how proud of him he was. No, what worried and stressed him out was this was the night Soos was planning on telling everyone his plan for the future. Stan had been helping him apply for colleges and trade schools for over a year. He insisted Soos at least try even if he’d probably get rejected. He needed options Stan had insisted. Now though on some level Stan regretted it, he selfishly wanted to make it so Soos would stay here with him. He knew that Soos would always come back, would make time for him no matter what he chose but this was all reminding him too much of when Ford had decided to go to college.

Imagine his shock when Soos declared he was doing online school so that he could keep working at the shack while he was in school. He claimed it was so he didn’t have to worry about student loans as much and he could graduate without debt, but Stan and his Abeula knew better, after all she had been there when Stan offered to pay for whatever he chose to do in full. Said it was because it would look bad on him if someone who worked for him didn’t graduate debt free. They all knew it was a front though, after all he was Soos’s dad in all but blood.

Stan knew he should scold the kid, should tell him to pick an actual plan, tell him he didn’t need to stick around for him, but he couldn’t not with the way he was crying. When Soos found him later and snuggled into his side, as close as he could get to sitting in Stan’s lap now that he was so much older and bigger, Stan broke down again. As their souls mingled he thanked him over and over, all while telling him he should have focused on his own happiness.

“I am happy, I’m your only soulmate and your mine, I want to stay” Soos told him. Stan had forgotten about that, that currently the only mark on Soos’s body was Stan’s own red, it had been part of the reason Stan had been pushing him to go, go find others. “I’m happy with just you, besides maybe I’m like you and my people are meant for later” he said sensing what Stan was thinking.

“Thank you, I’m sorry” Stan mumbled starting to calm as they gripped each other

“Always, I’m always going to be here for you, like you are for me, Just like family is supposed to be”

When they got Soos set up for classes, on the new laptop Stan insisted he buy him so he wouldn't have to worry about it, he found he wasn’t surprised that Soos had picked business courses. With how much he helped around the shack and the fact that Stan didn’t have any other family really it was a bit of an open secret that when he retired that he would probably give the shack over to Soos, and it was heartwarming to see he was preparing for it.

Chapter Text

While Stan was never close to the Courderoy’s he knew enough about them, after all “Manly” Dan was the one who built the shack for his brother he had found out. Finding that had been an accident,it had come up in conversation after he had changed the shack into the murder hut. He managed to play it off but he always kept a bit of distance between him and the whole clan from there on out just in case.

So when Wendy, a whole 13 tall lanky and mouth full of braces showed up demanding a job it had taken him off guard in a major way. He had even taken a few moments to blink at her and demanded she repeat herself so that he could be sure he heard correctly. Indeed this child was here demanding a job.

“Look kid no offense why would I hire a child, there are plenty of adults I could hire if I really wanted another employee.” had been his retort

“Because I need a job and I know you don’t care about child labor laws enough to turn me down”

“Look kid, you’re not wrong but I don’t really need any extra hands, why are you so desperate to work here anyway?”

He hadn’t expected her to tear up clearly trying so hard not to break down “I don’t want to be home all the time, dad keeps having me take care of my brothers I hate it, I’m not their mom” came the strained explanation

That’s right “Manly” Dan had lost his wife not long ago, only a few months at his point, and oh, of course the bulk of childcare was falling to Wendy. From what he saw Dan wasn’t doing the best to hold himself together which while understandable wasn’t acceptable. Look where it led his oldest kid here begging for a job, for a reason to not be home.

Stan sighed he always was a sucker for kids and it wasn’t like Soos was that much older when he had hired him, and everyone in town knew it too, and he knew a bunch of people thought it was sweet that Stan had taken a fatherly role in his life. Wendy still had a dad , and Stan would be a shit mom, so he wondered if the townsfolk would see it the same way. Then again he didn’t really care all that much what they thought of him.

“Okay, I suppose I could use a cashier to help out while I run tours, and I’ll talk to your dad okay, you shouldn’t be the one taking care of them” He felt like he should be embarrassed by how quickly he caved but the bright smile he got crushed the feeling quickly.

Others in town would later describe the conversation between Stan and “Manly” Dan as a full on brawl, one that made Stan thank his dad for the boxing lessons and thank his past for the fact he knew how to fight someone so much larger than him. It ended up with Wendy having full permission to work her part time job at the shack and the rest of the kids with a nanny handling most of their care. Though it seemed that when it wasn’t being forced on her Wendy didn’t mind helping out with her siblings and she willingly started to do so every so often.

Wendy had asked questions about what happened between him and her dad when she started but had gotten waved off, after all it was just a friendly chat he insisted despite the fact he had a split lip and Dan’s nose was probably broken. She had quickly dropped it when it became clear he wasn’t going to say more than that. Plus it wasn’t like she hadn’t heard the story from everyone else in town. Sure they thought they were whispering and being discreet but it wasn’t hard to over hear.

She quickly found out that Stan was an extremely lax boss, as long as she didn’t lose him money and did the bare minimum he let her do pretty much whatever else she wanted. Honestly the strictest thing he had ever done was kick out her friends and ban them from being there while she was at work, and that was only after they had knocked over and broken one of the exhibits. She found she enjoyed having a break away from them too. Sometimes she’d even pick up an extra shift or two if she wanted to avoid them. Plus being paid under the table until she was of age wasn’t a down side either. It meant she got her full checks, Stan had even helped her set up her own bank account, he insisted that she needed to keep at least most of her money for herself and her future.

Honestly she had fallen into such a routine that the day her and Stan discovered their bond had been a shock considering that it should have just been a normal run of the mill day. It was April’s Fools , a slow day since it was just starting to warm up and not many tourists were making their way to the shack. Still there was enough of a client base, mostly bored townspeople, that Stan couldn’t justify shutting down.

She had been reading a magazine at the cash register barely paying attention to what was going on around her, she hadn’t even noticed that there was a handful of older teens in the shop, let alone what they were going to do next. No all she heard was what sounded like a gunshot and Stan jumping and clutching at the wall eyes looking a thousand miles away. Before she even registered fully what she was doing she had everyone kicked out and the door locked, then she grabbed Stan by his forearm, tugging him into the house part of the shack. Wendy had never seen him react like this before but she wasn’t about to let him suffer through this alone, not after everything he’d done for her. She didn’t even notice that he had gotten oddly quiet until she had him sitting and saw a blood red mark on his arm.

That, that was her’s wasn’t it? Tambry and Robbie both had her mark on them, and it looked just like that. Did that mean that Stan was one of her soul mates? She was still trying to make sense of it when Stan gently and carefully rested his hand over hers on his arm, his own red spreading making an odd looking red on red stack.

Stan was pulled out of his panic attack by someone leading him by the arm and he would have freaked out if he hadn’t caught the red hair of Wendy in front of him. Of course she had been there when this happened. He didn’t fight as she settled him in the chair though he couldn’t place the look on her face until he looked down seeing her staring at her mark on his arm. Huh so another one then, he wasn’t expecting that and part of him wondered exactly how many soul mates he actually had and why so many of them seemed to be kids.

Shaking it off he could see her confusion and gently laid his hand over hers smiling as he felt them sinking into each other. She smelled so cold that it almost made him shiver, the smell of freshly fallen snow and ice overwhelmed his senses to the point he could even taste it.

“You’re so warm, like I feel like I'm going to melt” Wendy whined a bit making Stan laugh. He had asked Soos what he felt like once and the boy had just answered like a hot beach so her reaction made sense. Especially if she was a winter wonderland.

“Sorry nothing I can do about it, thank you, I didn’t mean for that to happen” he apologized trying to shove the memory of getting shot into the back of his head where it belonged. Wendy didn’t need to see that.

Of course Wendy never did like doing what she was supposed to and tugged at it easily bringing it forward, watching what happened wide eyed. The way he had been shot in the side, the way he had tied a makeshift bandage on it, how when he got to his car he had to dig the bullet out himself and then stitch it. Then after that a handful more memories stumbled forward each time he’d been shot or almost shot. Fuck she wasn’t supposed to see any of that, the panic attack was making it harder to hid things. To hide what was wrong and why he reacted like that.

“Who are you, this isn’t scientist stuff” Wendy murmured. What she was seeing scared her a bit, Stan was supposed to be the scientist in the woods who had a bit of a breakdown after his breakup with his lab partner and was now running a tourist trap. All this wasn’t that.

Stan let out a whimper he could hear what she was thinking he could feel her fear. ‘Stanley, I’m Stanley, ' he said. God it had been so so long since he had used his own name, had even had a chance to think of himself as Stanley. He brought forward the memories of the postcard and him coming to see his brother. Then he all but bawled as he showed her what had happened. Of Ford going into the portal and him not knowing if he was dead or alive.

Wendy took it all in, this intimate and surprising truth. Stan couldn’t lie to her, not here, not like this which meant everything he was showing her was true. It was a lot and instead of fear she felt sad, so sad, he had lost his twin, one of his soul mates and it was his fault. He was doing everything he could to fix it but it still wasn’t enough.

She found herself feeling sorry for him, not in a pitying way but in understanding. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost a sibling like that but she was pretty sure she’d be more of a mess.

“I won’t tell, my lips are sealed” she assured quickly almost too quickly and she could tell he was surprised. “I want to help, I can’t do anything to work on the portal but I can help by keeping it secret”

Stan all but sobbed; it felt good to have someone who knew, who knew his biggest sin and they just accepted it and him. He could see why she said that feeling the amount of anxiety that buzzed just under her skin. How she was just as much of a mess as he was and the fact they handled it in opposite ways. He exploded outwards, putting on a show being a master of misdirection, while Wendy iced herself over. Keeping a calm and cool persona so people didn’t even think to look deeper.

“Let me help you too, you are keeping a huge secret for me, how can I help you” he asked. He knew that this was making this all sound transactional but it wasn’t how he meant it. No, he found a kindred soul and wanted to help them before they ended up like him. So her temporary position transformed into a permanent one and if sometimes she disappeared from work to take some time for herself, well clearly Stan had no clue about the ladder to the roof. Beyond that while they didn’t do it often and silence was too much they found themselves together letting their battered anxious souls comfort and reassure each other.

He felt Wendy laugh and her soul sank deeper into his “Just let me come chill here sometimes, it’s nice to have someone who understands”

“Of course” He laughed, of course that was the answer, after all that was what he needed too.

And if one night she gets a call from Soos trying to explain how Stan now had a twin brother and the story about it, she’ll make noises of interest pretending she didn’t know all while happy that even if it wasn’t perfect Stan had him back.

Chapter Text

By the time the kids came to visit Stan was starting to adjust to having constant soulmates again. Though it was really nothing like what he and his brother had. He supposed it made sense that of course that would be its own unique bond.

When the twins had been born he’d been ecstatic. He tried to keep in contact with his family as much as he could without giving himself away, that mostly meant phone calls and any in person visits were kept brief and he wore gloves, the special six fingered gloves he’d found when he’d gone through his brothers stuff. He had broken that when he found out that he was not only going to be a great uncle but going to be a great uncle to twins. How could he not be there for their birth, to not be there for them the moment the first and most important marks they’d get appeared.

His brother and nephew had doubted it, had doubted that Stan was right that they’d have each other’s mark, after all just because it happened once didn’t mean it’d happen again. Stan brushed them both off though, after all they weren’t twins so they didn’t understand. Just as he predicted of course the twins got each other marks shortly after they were born. Like him and Ford they had colored hands, a vibrant pink and a deep blue. Stan couldn’t help but chuckle wondering what that said about what sort of personalities the two would develop. Of course he had demanded the right to hold them first over Shermie, their own grandfather, citing he clearly already knew them better after all he had predicted them to be soulmates. While pretending to be unhappy about it Shermie let him have this.

Ever since Stanley’s death his other brother acted more and more like him and he assumed it was an attempt to cope with losing someone so special to him. Shermie couldn’t deny him the right to revel in a bond just like the one he had lost. That didn’t mean he was going to let him hog them though and soon they were playfully squabbling on who got to hold them Stan demanding more time with them as Shermie tried to claim grandfather rights.

Now ,now they were here for the summer, and Stan didn’t really know what to do. While he had secretly hoped that he’d end up with both of their marks one day, they were already almost 13 and most of their marks had come and gone and it was looking like he wasn’t among them. He tried to not let it bother him, after all it wasn’t like he had anyone else from his family on him anyway. Plus it was probably selfish that part of it was the fact that he missed his own twin and hoped to get a better look at their bond.

As summer drug on he found he cared less and less about having their marks after all, he hadn’t put much stock in them for most of his life, it hadn’t stopped him from caring about anyone else before. They were slowly filling in their marks with other people important to him like Soos and Wendy and that was far more important to him. Still he couldn’t help but think it would make this whole thing easier right now.

He was literally begging Mabel to not press the button, to not let all of his hard work to bring his brother home go to waste. How he wished he could just touch her, just show her why it was so important now that his words failed him. And maybe he was lucky that she was a bit like him, someone who didn’t put that much stock in the marks and their supposed importance. She treated everyone the same no matter how many they had and now despite everything including Dipper pointing out that he was clearly untrustworthy with only the few marks he had.

No Mabel chose to trust him and now he wasn’t so sure if it had been the right choice, no that wasn’t right. Bringing his brother home was always the right choice. He was just hurt, upset that his brother wasn’t even grateful. He didn’t even care that Stan had sacrificed so much to bring him back. He didn’t even let Stan try to explain or show him. Ford had even gone out of his way to avoid Stan’s touch as much as he could, less they accidentally brush marks. Honestly it was rude and petty but he’d gone without his brother's touch for over 30 years now so he supposed it didn’t matter.

What he hadn’t expected was to wake to Dipper sneaking into his bedroom later that night. Well he supposed that it was actually early morning at this point.

“What’s up kid?”

He knew that Dipper had been looking for the author all summer and was ecstatic to have found him so he wasn’t sure what he could be here for. Was he here to criticize Stan, to tell him how much he now hated him, or something else. What Stan didn’t expect was sniffles and large tears streaming down his face.

“Hey come here what’s wrong” Stan said softly, grabbing Dipper’s arm lightly so he could pull him into his lap.

He let out a gasp as Dipper’s hand came to rest on his chest near his heart. So that’s where it was then huh, he could smell pine trees and the bubble of laughter as he brushed up against Dipper’s soul.

Dipper himself let out a noise somewhere between a gasp, a noise of delight and surprise and a larger sob.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” he cried out verbally and as his soul clung to Stan's.

Ah this was about earlier, about not trusting him and a small bit about Mabel choosing to trust Stan over Dipper.

“Hey, shhh it’s okay, I’m not mad, you made the choice you thought was right, you thought I was doing something that would hurt a lot of people. “

“But you weren’t and I was wrong, Mabel trusted you, trusted you just because you’re you, because she knows who you are even without seeing your soul, why couldn’t I do that, I know you too, I want to trust like she does”

“Because you think with your head, it’s not a bad thing” Stan assured. He didn’t know what else to say to the boy, he understood he did and yeah it had hurt a bit but he understood. Besides he had been pushing Dipper to stand up for himself and his ideals all summer, how could he be mad when he was doing just that.

Instead of saying more he just let Dipper sink into him, just silently holding him reassuring him that he wasn’t going anywhere. Soon Dipper calmed, whipping his eyes with his free hand and shifting to look at the color on his arm.

Red huh, somehow it fit his grunkle. Bright, passionate and fiery. He knew he was a dark blue and his sister a brilliant pink, it had always felt so basic to him. They were just girl color and boy color but somehow seeing his uncles red on him, a color just as basic it made him feel better. Maybe he wouldn’t be just a basic person either than.

“Of course you won’t, both you kids are destined for greatness” Stan chuckled as Dipper jumped. “Not used to this huh?”

“Just Mabel,” he admitted. While he had a few more marks he didn’t spend that much time bonding with them. He preferred going on adventures and doing things with people rather than soul bonding. Mabel on the other hand loved nothing more than soul bonding with people and as the one closest to her he of course was her first choice.

“That’s okay, I get it” Stan assured, yawning a bit “Want to stay here tonight?” It was late and now that Dipper was settled down they both needed sleep. Plus while they should probably talk on the whole thing more, he could tell the fact that Stan wasn’t made. That how much he loved Dipper hadn’t changed just because of what happened was good enough for now.

He was a bit surprised to get a small nod. Dipper was rarely the clingy one preferring to pretend he didn’t need as much comfort in a bid to look more manly. Stan, while he wasn’t obvious about it he was pretty affectionate, head pats, shoulder bumps and the like and he knew that Dipper enjoyed those, but to know he trusted him enough for his more emotional stuff was nice too.

Stan was jolted awake as he felt the tug of a new soul bond spreading on his left hand, who was here and how had they not woken him up. Sitting up the best he could without jostling Dipper he looked over only to see the smiling face of Mabel. How had they not touched hands like this before now? Then again, Stan tried to default to not having anyone touching his hands, but still not even crossing the street? He shook that off after all his marks seemed to be random at this point appearing when they felt like it without rhyme or reason.

Instead he focused on Mabel finding it a bit ironic that she was on his hand with both of their brother’s marks on their other ones almost as if they were the bridge between the two sets of twins. He didn’t know that glitter had a smell but that was the only way he could describe the smell coming from her and he could swear the whole world was twinged a bit pink. Then again Mabel was always the center of attention of course that’d be reflected here.

“You and Dipper made up” she said excitedly

“Was nothing to make up, I was never mad” he assured her, making her laugh a bit clearly she had already known.

Reaching over she gripped Dipper’s hand, he was already waking up and smiled, settling his hand back on Stan’s chest. Oh Stan hadn’t done this before, none of his other soulmates were close enough to each other to want to do this. It was an odd sensation as they three souls mingled but it wasn’t unpleasant. He could feel just how much the twins loved each other, it was a bit overwhelming but he could also feel how much they both loved him and that for some reason was more overwhelming.

“I’ve always wanted to try this,” Mabel admitted, her soul happily flittering between the other two pulling them all closer together smoothing any edges that might start a problem. Honestly she was an expert at this it seemed.

He was a bit grateful that him getting her mark was a calm occasion. He didn’t know if he could have handled getting hers if anything major was going on. Not with how bright and distracting hers was. No somehow this was perfect, that she not only got his on what seemed like her own terms but that it would be so close to her brother getting his. Even the fact that she chose for their first soul bonding session to include her brother just felt right. They stayed like that just enjoying each other's love for longer than Stan had thought, only being pulled out of it when there was clattering in the kitchen.

Stan’s old instincts flared, alerting him to possible danger before he remembered that it was probably just Ford, which wasn’t better Ford couldn’t cook unless something had changed in the last 30 years which Stan highly doubted.

“Come on before Ford burns the shack down” he said gruffly though he waited for the kids to move first. Both laughed as they did, having gotten glimpses of Ford’s previous cooking attempts before they pulled away. Running ahead they called for Ford making Stan sigh a moment taking a deep breath before following after them. He could do this, he could navigate having his brother hate him. He just had to make it till the end of summer before he could figure things out from there. Until then there would be plenty of time to indulge bonding with the twins both together and separately.

Chapter Text

Honestly Stan didn’t even know why he was surprised. Of course Ford would be responsible for the end of the world, he didn’t fully know what happened yet but he knew that it had to do with that god forsaken portal. Sure maybe he should have listened to all the warnings in the books and never restarted it, but he wouldn’t have had to do that if Ford just hadn’t built it in the first place. He supposed that it didn't matter now, and he didn’t know where any of them were to scold Ford anyway, all three members of his family were missing and he had no clue where to even start looking. The Shack seemed safe, something he vaguely recalled Ford doing , but everywhere else was a mess. He was glad he had a stash of supplies but he couldn’t just sit there doing nothing. He had started off making short trips to find extra supplies bringing back survivors with him when he came across them.

It wasn’t the smart thing to do, after all they’d go through supplies faster and made themselves a bigger target, he didn’t know just how long the protection would last but he couldn’t just leave them out there. He brought back humans and supernatural creatures alike. At some point everyone shifted to looking towards him as a leader and he was now dedicating a lot of his days to that, making plans on how to ration, escape plans in case something happened and settling petty arguments. How people could have so many petty arguments during the end of the world was beyond him.

That also meant he couldn’t go out as much during the day, so his outings to look for his family shifted to late at night. He was used to this sort of schedule from his days working on the portal but fuck if he hadn’t enjoyed the last week of being able to sleep like a normal human.

Tonight was one of the nights he had managed to slip away, he was dressed in all black thanking his experience in thieving as it helped him sneak around avoiding the eye bats and other various things that had invaded their world. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard some soft sobbing. They really didn’t have the ability to feed another mouth at the shack but well, he could always skip a few meals and it wasn’t like he had found the kids or his brother yet.

Carefully he made his way to what he now realized was the mini golf course, a weird place to hide but hey it seemed like it was working. Looking around he soon spotted the source of the crying, Pacifica had all but got herself stuck under one of the little bridges that connected to parts of the course together.

“Hey shhh it’s okay” Stan said softly as he made his way over so she wouldn’t be taken by surprise. “Where are your parents?’

Pacifica sobbed harder at that, managing to get out between gulps for air that they had been taken by Bill, Stan had no clue who that was but quickly figured out he was responsible for all this. That’s when he noticed her clothes somehow instead of her usual finery she was dressed in what looked like a potato sack. That made Stan’s blood run cold. He knew what people were capable of and the thought of something like that happening to her was terrifying.

“Hey what happened to your clothes, did someone hurt you?” he asked, voice strained.

She shook her head “Fell apart, apparently just because they cost a fortune doesn’t mean they’re quality “

Just having Stan there was not exactly calming her down but forcing her training to kick in, after all no one could see a Northwest being weak enough to cry, well not unless it was a situation they were supposed to cry but even then it was a controlled cry not this full on sobbing she was doing.

“The lilputtians made me this” she explained and Stan had no clue who she was talking about. He really needed to start paying attention to the creatures around here.

He didn’t have to wait long as a few golf ball looking people emerged from their own hiding spot looking at Stan nervously. God he wished he was a little bit of a worse person

“Alright come on, let’s get you all back to the Shack, it's safe there” he moved, helping Pacifica up frowning at her lack of shoes and picking her up and settling him against his hip. “Don’t make it a thing, you can’t walk the whole way there barefoot”

Pacifica flushed a bit, this should be humiliating, not only was she being rescued by Stan but he had to carry her, so why did it feel so safe. He was a lot stronger than he looked and she knew he wouldn’t drop her and she let out a small giggle as the remaining Little Putians also scaled Stan making themselves comfy on his other shoulder.

As they walked she started to relax feeling secure for the first time in days, she didn’t notice as her hand slide on Stan’s neck a bit only gasping as at the same time he hoisted her up. White bloomed on the back of his neck as the back of her thigh blossomed red. She felt like she was on a beach somewhere, the hot sun beating down on her, the equally hot sand under her feet and the smell of oil and wood. Though before she could sink too far into it, it was all ripped away from her.

“Fuck, well that’s unexpected, look we can figure this out back at the shack” Stan’s voice cut through her thoughts. Yeah that was probably the better option. It was safe there especially since in the distance she could hear the screams of people being hunted by the eyebats.

Pacifica had only found one other soulmate so far, ironically it was Mabel the girl hadn’t stopped until she had found her mark assured they were soulmates and well she was right. It was a bit ironic that the Pines would be so many of her marks, she assumed she had Dipper as well after all she had seen that shade of blue on herself years ago, the very people she looked down on for so long and yet they were all important to her life to her growth.

Stan let out a soft swear as they got back to the shack and set Pacifica down. He hadn’t been expecting that, what was he supposed to do with this, Pacifica wasn’t like any of the other kids he had connections with. She was rich and already had parents and other adult figures in her life she could rely on. How was he supposed to connect with her?

She didn’t seem to be willing to leave his side right now though anyway, and well he knew she felt the same ache he did, the ache to finish the bond, to sink into each other and feel the brush of someone who would understand them in a way no one else could.

He led her over to his chair, if they were doing this they might as well be comfortable and for now no one would disturb them, the bedrooms that were in the shack were more than enough for the people already there to sleep in so he had insisted they keep the living room clear during the nights. Pacifica caught on and climbed into his lap wrapping her arms around his neck as his arm wrapped around her hand resting on the bottom of her thigh.

She smelled like high end perfume and everything Stan expected she would, however there was a deep feeling of not belonging, of not being good enough, of never being what her family wanted her to be. She recoiled as those feelings seemed to just seep out, throwing themselves at Stan. No no he wasn’t supposed to see those no one was, why did her soul think it was okay to just show him those things.

Instead of reprimanding her like her parents or making fun of her, he did something she didn’t expect. He showed her his own memories of his awful parents of never being enough for them. Things like standing in the cold rain with a sigh that said “Extra Stan 3$ or better offer.” , like taking the hits for his brother from both bullies and their father because he had to protect the twin that was worth something, and of course one of his most painful memories, the memory of sitting outside the principal's office as they talked about how Ford was going to go on and make something of himself while Stan was going to be stuck there forever.

“But you made it” Pacifica all but whispered.

“I did, and you will too” Stan assured “Even if they throw you out, even if they decide your worthless to them, you have a place here, and we’ll always value you”

Pacifica felt overwhelmed, no one had wanted her flaws and all before, sure Mabel accepted her flaws but she was Mabel, Pacifca was sure that she wasn’t even capable of not accepting someone. Stan though Stan understood and had suffered for it and here he was instead of bitter and hateful like so many other people she knew was offering her salvation. Offering her an out if she ever needed it. Offering her a place to belong.

They spent the next hour sharing memories of the abuse they suffered at the hands of their parents, of the bell and the belts, of being locked up and of being thrown out. Pacifica had never felt more seen and heard, and Stan had never felt such rage towards someone like he did towards her parents. Sure he hated his father and what he had done to him but he was tough and he had survived and the last thing he wanted was someone else to suffer the same. Though Pacifica soothed that by assuring him she was fine, that she like him was strong and that she was going to hold out and take their money and make something better of herself. Of course Stan assured her that the Shack was open to her as a home for any time she needed, even if it was just as a break for a little bit.

They only pulled away as Pacifica let out a large yawn and Stan carried her to his bed tucking her in, ignoring her protests and questions of where he was going to sleep. Brushing them off saying he had his chair and he knew she probably didn’t want to share with Candy and Grenda who currently had the beds in the attic.

Tiredly he sank into his chair rubbing the back of his neck, he was glad that Ford and Jimmy seemed to be the exception to what he thought his soul marks would be like, He was glad that they were the only two who hurt him, and even happier that for the most part every other mark he’d gotten was to help a kid, he was okay with being a protector, a father figure, and an uncle to all these kids he was apparently adopting. Yeah it made him feel like he was actually worth something. It was an odd feeling, that he was worth something, that he was improving other people’s lives, that those people wanted him around but oh if it wasn’t what he’d yearned for for so long.

Chapter Text

The end of the world had come and gone but not without a price, and apparently that price was his memories, and everything that had made him him. He was slowly starting to get them back thanks to Mabel’s summer scrapbook. That and his soulmates, they came one after another over the next few days, showing him memories of them together letting him feel just how bonded they were. It was probably helping even more than the scrapbook did. Though it seemed that Ford was still in a tizzy avoiding his turn to bond with Stan always with an excuse or reason he couldn’t right at that moment. Stan could tell even the kids were getting annoyed about it. He waved them off, they would after the kids were gone, that Ford was just being shy or a myriad of other excuses. And god didn’t that sound like the excuses he had made for Jimmy. That he was just having a bad day, that Stan deserved it for upsetting him, that he did it because he was helping Stan become a better person. He really didn’t want to thing about all that. He wasn’t really sure he wanted to bond with Ford anymore anyway. If he had to defend him like he did and abusive ex would it even be healthy to bond.

That said he could have never predicted his next mark would come so soon, or really at all. The work on repairing the Shack was going well, and he had gotten enough of his memories back and had healed enough that “Manly” Dan had begrudgingly agreed to let him help out with everyone else. Stan had been pushing it as much as he could, he couldn’t let everyone else do the work for him after all.

He was on break when it happened, not voluntarily but well he couldn’t argue when he still felt like trash and everyone was insisting. Leaning against a tree drinking a Pitt Cola just watching the clouds through the trees, when someone slammed into his leg. Stan quickly reached down to steady the kid instantly recognizing the hair and with his hand on Gideons shoulder he felt a mark develop on his calf, he didn’t have to look to know it was powder blue, the same color that the mark the kid had given Mabel had been,

He was hit with the overpowering smell of hairspray, it was strong enough that it choked everything else out. He was a bit grateful when he felt how hesitant that Gideon was as well, they didn’t exactly have a great relationship everything considered but at the same time Stan knew that the kid was trying to be better now. Plus he had given Pacifica a second chance so why not Gideon as well?

Gideon’s regret for his actions was almost as overwhelming as the smell of hairspray that emanated from him. He clearly was trying to show just how hard he was working on changing.

“I believe you kid, you can’t con a conman” Stan hummed, squeezing his shoulder in comfort and the smile he got back was impressive.

“Thank you Sir” god how did his soul even sound southern.

“Just Stan, and as long as you keep this up I forgive you, hey maybe you can even help around the shack I bet you’d make some good exhibits” he joked.

“Really?!”

Well Stan hadn’t expected that the brat would be excited about it, though he supposed it made sense, the Lil Gideon ip was tarnished beyond repair and there wasn’t really a way to salvage it, but still he could tell that Gideon had enjoyed the showmanship of it, had enjoyed the thrill of conning someone in a way that was mostly harmless.

“Yeah why not” he agreed, god he really was soft for kids wasn’t he.Then again he did enjoy his rivalry with Gideon a bit, it had never been super serious for him just in good fun, it gave Gideon something to work towards and sure it had ended up going too far but well that didn’t mean it hadn’t been fun.

Gideon beamed at him, sure they didn’t know each other well but Stan had a feeling that that wouldn’t last for long. Him and Gideon didn’t spend too long together, the younger soon rushing off to brag that he had the “Hero Of Gravity Falls” mark now. Clearly it meant that he was making good progress in his bid to be normal.

Of course it couldn’t just end there could it, no as he made his way back over to help he got shifted into the same group as Wendy and her friends. He knew it was because they were doing easier work, what looked like repainting the Shack letters, and he knew that Ford had convinced everyone that Stan had done enough hard lifting today and he needed something light. He should be more annoyed about it especially since he had to work with teenagers but well, he did enjoy harassing Wendy’s friends. They were good kids overall, and he enjoyed annoying them with his old man habits.

Now if asked Stan would swear up and down that it had been the teens who had started the paint fight, and if the teens were asked they’d laugh and take credit for the chaos though everyone involved including whoever asked would know that it had been Stan who threw the first bit of paint. It had been justified of course, Robbie and his new girlfriend, Stan couldn’t remember her name, were attempting to sneak off to makeout instead of working. Robbie and Tambry would insist that they were just going to get everyone drinks but Stan remembered what it was like to be a teen and that sure they’d get drinks but also take a make out detour.

Honestly it probably would have gone on a lot longer too if Ford hadn’t decided to be a spoil sport sternly telling them all off for goofing off and threatening to not let any of them help anymore. God you would think they had almost killed someone, not just of gotten a bit of paint everywhere, which may or may not have included Ford’s hair, but that's besides the point. Either way Ford had put an end to their fun.

Robbie laid on the ground not far from Stan laughing still, covered in a ton of paint, most of it from Stan, though Stan was equally covered in paint from him. He offered Robbie his hand to help him up “We should probably go clean up before Ford gets it in his mind to spray us with the hose” he suggested, still laughing himself.

Taking Stan’s forearm, Robbie let Stan help him up both blinking a bit as they were suddenly thrown together, both of their forearms not sporting even more color, though hidden beneath paint. Gravedirt was an expected smell and something he could have seen coming but what he didn’t expect was to hear a low hum of various songs coming from the other. It seemed like he was serious about the whole band thing.

Neither quite knew what to do, they hadn’t interacted much beyond things like this, or when Stan chased them out of the gift shop for distracting Wendy. It wasn’t an unpleasant thing though, they both had a respect for each other and didn’t hate the other's company. The fact both were so unsure so confused at the whole thing flittered back and forth until they were both laughing again letting go.

“Well that’s a thing” Stan mused out loud

“Yep, want to never mention it again?” Robbie asked in turn to which Stan nodded.

Of course they weren’t going to actually never mention it again but it was definitely they were going to have to ease into. Stan was confused as to why he even had Robbie’s mark , though he suspected it had something to do with the zodiac Ford had painted in the Fearamind, which made a bit of sense, after all they were all a part of something that apparently was related to the fate of the world. That would explain Gideon as well. Well that was something that they could explore more later after all it wasn’t like the world was going to end again any time soon. Or he hoped so at least.

Chapter Text

Stan was pretty sure aside from Ford he was the least surprised to find out that Old man Mcgucket, was actually a genius scientist who had fried his own brain. Sure he didn’t know that exactly but he remembered enough from when he first took on Ford’s name and started living in his house, sometimes Mcgucket, or well he guessed he could call him Fiddleford now especially since they were living with him, would spot him some recognition in his eyes before going out of his way to avoid him. Which suited Stan since he didn’t know what this guy was to his brother but it was clear he knew enough, enough to give Stan an odd look when he was introduced as Stanford, like he wanted to say something. Hell there had even been one incident where Fiddleford had been extremely drunk and had shown up at the shack rambling and raving about how Stan was clearly and imposter, or a shapeshifter and demanding to know what had happened to Ford, before he could get any answers he had passed out only to have no memory of it the next morning.

After that Stan had taken greater care to avoid him as a whole. Now everything made sense and Stan did feel a bit bad that he hadn’t tried to help the other though Fiddleford was insistent that he wouldn’t have accepted the help anyway.

They had started to stay with Fiddleford at the former Northwest manor while the Shack had been being repaired, and then decided to stay as they got everything together for their trip. Fiddleford had wanted to help build their boat and Stan found he didn’t mind though he had been stern that he didn’t want any death rays or similar on board.

He honestly enjoyed spending time with Fiddleford, the other never pressured him to remember anything , and never called out when he had a memory lapse or made a big deal out of it. No Fiddleford was content to just sit and talk with him on any number of topics. Stan returned the favor never bringing up when Fiddleford had his own memory lapses or just plain drifted off lost in his own mind. Stan was pretty sure it was good for both of them, just having someone who understood.

Of course he had been surprised that over the months they spent living with Fiddleford that he had developed a crush, sure he had had a bit of a crush on Lazy Susan but this was different, that had been more a passing interest that went away as fast as it had come on. No this was closer to what he had felt for Jimmy and that terrified him. It had been so long since, and he hadn’t been serious about anyone since. It terrified him. He did his best to keep his crush under wraps but well that had never been his strong suit, he was an affectionate person by nature. He found himself stuttering and blushing to an obnoxious amount and it seemed the harder he tried to not flirt the more he did. It was getting so bad that he was pretty even Ford had noticed and that guy wouldn’t notice flirty if you point blank told him you were about to flirt with him.

Fiddleford didn’t seem to mind the flirting but well the guy was pretty chill and didn’t seem to mind much of anything. Plus did he even have a chance, didn’t the guy have an ex wife and a kid he was getting back in touch with. Not to mention their memories, was it even smart of either of them to get into a relationship with anyone at all with the way their minds had been shredded and stuck back together with toothpicks and duct tape. Yeah this whole thing was probably best left forgotten for both of their own good.

It seemed that fate was taking the choice out of his hands though, it had been a late night the three of them going over blueprints for the Stan O’ War 2, or well that had been the plan but at some point someone had broken out the liquor and they had settled into telling stories. Mostly Ford and Fiddleford about their college days with Stan bringing up some of his more pleasant memories, from his time on the road. He hadn’t realized that most of his pleasant ones had included Jimmy and it took him a longer moment to remember why he had left, why he hadn’t stayed with someone who had made him so happy. Both of the other’s had taken his coming out in stride, Ford mumbling something about Mabel calling him DemiSexual and Fiddleford’s snort agreeing with Stan that both men and women were pretty.

That had punched the air out of Stan something fierce and then some time during the night his impulse control must have slipped because he had a lap full of Fiddleford with the other’s lips on his. He didn’t know where Ford had gone and he couldn’t find it in him to care, not when Fiddleford had moved to kissing his neck. If his head had been clearer he might have put a stop to it, thought to say they should talk about things first. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and he was more than happy to go with the flow.

He hadn’t woken that sated in so long and had forgotten how pleasant it was, and for a moment he was back in one of the many motels curled up with Jimmy the thick scent of cigarettes in the air. He quickly snapped back to the now, sure there was the smell of tobacco but it was vastly different and the brown hair under his chin brought pieces of the night before to the forefront of his mind. Fiddleford, he was with Fiddleford right now, they had drank a bunch and ended up, well that got a groan from him, they had totally had sex right there in the living room Ford was going to kill them. He quickly shoved that thought away, he did not want to think about him right now, not when he was thinking of much sexier things. Shifting a bit to get a better look at them he grinned seeing a red handprint on Fiddlefords shoulder, so similar to the one that Jimmy had had but at the same time so different and unique.

That had him pulling away excitedly looking himself over, where was it, where was the mark from Fiddleford. He didn’t have to look far, on the hip opposite Jimmy’s dark green was a plain brown mark. It just looked right there, somehow so normal yet endearing. He was quickly pulled back down with a grumble from the other

“Early, don’t get up yet” Fiddleford mumbled against Stan’s chest having laid his head there the moment he’d gotten Stan back down.

Stan laughed softly, god the guy was cute “We need to get cleaned up, we're in the living room”.

He didn’t make any move to get up himself though, content to run his fingers through the other’s hair. He felt tranquil , and while he wanted to explore their bond more now that they were sober he found it wasn’t the burning need he’d had before. He knew they would later and that was enough for him. Just enjoying the other's company was enough. It was a bit weird for Stan, he was one to indulge in the bonds at every opportunity enjoying the reassurance that the others needed him as much as he needed them. This was different though, he wasn’t sure what had been lost to the haze of alcohol and sex but whatever had been said or done must have made him sure that Fiddleford wasn’t going anywhere. And if later they’re reawakened but a scream of surprise from Ford finding them like that, well maybe it’ll be funnier than it should be. Even if it did involve them in just a blanket getting ranted at about respect and cleanliness.

Chapter Text

Ford, Ford is guilty of many many things, honestly to many to count even more than even the interdimensional police know. Right now though his biggest sin, his biggest regret is sitting across from him enjoying a full breakfast made by one of Ford’s other biggest sins. God wasn’t it enough to ruin Fiddleford’s life, to ruin his mind, why did he have to do the same to Stan as well. He wasn’t exactly having second thoughts but part of him was even doubting if going on this trip was a good idea. Sure he was excited to finally live out his and his brother’s childhood dream but well, did he deserve it? Stan was already happy here, hell from what he had stumbled into the other morning very happy here. You would think living with someone for years in college would make you immune to finding them with someone else in their bed, he supposed it might be different when that person was your twin brother.

He felt his hand itching and frowned at it. This had been happening since he had come back through the portal, his hand would itch, his soul would ache both demanding him to go take Stan’s hand in his. He couldn’t do that though, at first it was because he was still angry at Stan, selfishly so he knew now, and now he didn’t deserve it did he. He had ruined Stan’s life yet again, he didn’t deserve to know Stan on such an intimate level. Though it was hurting Stan too. He had caught his brother more than once reaching out to him. Didn't he understand why Ford couldn’t do it? Didn't he understand Ford didn't deserve it? Well it didn’t matter, they could just ignore it right?

Of course not and when it comes to a head it does so like everything else seems to in their life recently, does the last 40 some years count as recently?. It's loud and heavy and he’s not even sure which one of them starts to cry first. Then Stan storms off, Stan is going to leave and he thinks it’s because Ford is doing this out of guilt, that he doesn’t care and how can Stan see it’s because Ford doesn’t deserve it, doesn’t deserve this? Oh he said that out loud didn’t he. He said it out loud and now Stan is coming back. It should be a good thing but why does it feel wrong? Then he’s not a half anymore, he’s whole and his soul all but hurdles itself into Stan’s who responds in kind.

No words need to be spoken of course not, they know each other, they’ve always known each other. God how had they stayed apart so long, why had Ford been punishing himself by keeping himself away. Why had he been punishing both of them? None of it made sense now, yet it did. Ford knew even without words that Stan understood, he knew because he could understand everything Stan wanted to say as well. They were both idiots but that was okay because they had figured it out now, they were together and no one was going to keep them apart again.

Fiddleford was a bit worried when he heard the shouting suddenly stop and waited about ten minutes before going to check on the two. He was relieved to see them curled around each other, hands clasped together. He covered them with a blanket leaving them alone for the night. He didn’t know how long they’d be there but he had a feeling he wouldn't see them again until the morning. That now they were going to work through all of the things that had been plaguing them for the last 40 years. He knew they’d come out stronger for it, even if part of him was anxious that they’d find something new to fight about.

Though by the end of the week it was clear that that wasn’t something that he had ever needed to worry about. It seemed since that first night that the twins were hardly not ever touching each other. Not just their bond but the shoulder knocks, the hands clasped on shoulders, even hugs and casually draping themselves over each other's shoulders. It was as if the last 40 years of separation just evaporated away. Though as much as it was like it used to be it was so different too. Now they had other people too, they had others who demanded their attention and pulled them apart temporarily. It was a good difference though, it was good to be able to function as two, to not be so reliant on each other for everything. It was good to be their own person and it was even better that they didn’t always have to be. It was what they had both craved and needed for so long. Neither was sure what the future held for them, how their trip would go, where the other bonds they made would lead but it didn’t matter because they knew they would get through it. Wherever they were going they’d go together.