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Chapter Text

“Stan! Lee! Come look at this!” Ford excitedly yelled, ushering Stan to look at the glowing lines on the radar. 

“Do you see this?” He pointed to a curved line on the screen. It was red, just like all the other ones, except it was twisted, contorted to point into the opposite direction of the other synced lines. You could easily spot the obvious difference. “This might be the anomaly I’m looking for! It resembles a bright, color changing cuttlefish, but what I’m more interested in is its unique defense mechanism.” 

Ford rambled on while Stan tried his hardest to keep up with his pace. When Ford was interested, he would talk faster and faster till your brain would start to hurt from his unstoppable speed. “The cuttlefish creates a small rift between dimensions, allowing it to escape from potential predators. Isn’t it fascinating?”  

He nodded. “So, are we chasin’ it down?” Stan elbowed his brother with a smug grin, grabbing the steering wheel. “Well, not quite. We can’t be too harsh as to not spook it. I want to get a sketch on it, so we’d probably have to fish it out of the water.” 

“Alright. You go get the equipment and I’ll get us going in the right direction.” He lowered the speed of the boat and gently turned the wheel to steer towards the curved line. If they were lucky, they could catch it before it got away.

“I got something!” Stan grunted as he reeled the line closer. The rod bent low, Stan was clearly struggling. Ford quickly grabbed the net beside him and waited for Stan to pull up his catch. Despite his efforts, Ford couldn’t contain his excitement, his unfiltered emotions clearly displayed by his huge grin. 

He peered down the edge of the boat, barely able to wait. Suddenly, a blurred, sage green shape appeared in the water. Ford lowered the net and swiftly caught the fish, pulling it up to the deck. It was much larger than a normal cuttlefish, and judging by the color it obviously wasn’t natural. “Lee, this is it! You caught it!” Ford loudly exclaimed, handing his brother the net.

The volume of Fords voice clearly spooked the creature, as its color changed from green to a bright red. The cuttlefish started to glow slightly. “Ford. Why is it glowing?!” 

Before he could even answer, a flash of light blinded him. 

The boat gently rocked against the cruel waves. The shock made it sway harder before it eventually settled down. A net hit the hardwood floor of the boat. 

There was nothing.

Chapter Text

It was dark. So, so dark. He kicked, screamed as loud as he could, but to no avail. Stanley was trapped, trying his hardest to breathe. He couldn’t suck a single breath in, the panic was setting in. It was tight, and dark, and hot, but the worst thing was, it hurt. It hurt so much. Before he was stuffed in the trunk, he was beaten badly by Rico and his goons. He needed to get out. Hyperventilating was obviously not helping.

Realising he had no other choice, a primal instinct kicked in. Stanley braced himself and positioned his back teeth to the metal, biting down as hard as he possibly could. When his tooth cracked in half, Stan started to shake even harder, blood poured down his cheek. His vision was getting blurry. It was so hot. 

The walls of the trunk seemed to get tighter and tighter, Stanley sobbed and hiccuped, desperately banging on the metal door. Just when he thought he was dead, it popped open. Fresh air flew in as he gasped for air, still hyperventilating. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. What just happened scared him, but the silhouette standing in front of him terrified him. 

They’re back. They’ll kill him. Stanley flinched back as a hand reached to him, closing his eyes shut tightly. He was expecting a punch, a shake, some kind of blow. What he wasn’t expecting was a gentle hand being placed on his shoulder. 

He felt the fingers tighten, not enough to hurt, but enough for him to realise.

One, two, three, four, five.. 

Six. Six fingers.

Stanley opened his eyes to see his twin. But.. older? It was obviously him, but it wasn’t right. How was he so old? “Ford..?” Stanley pathetically stuttered. He was shaking so bad he could barely speak.

”Yes! Yes, it’s me Stanley! It’s okay, breathe.” Stan hiccuped, and with Fords support, barely climbing out of the god forsaken trunk. He launched himself onto Ford, burrowing his head in his chest. Stanford help him tight, gently lowering them both so they were sitting down, Ford leaned against the car with Stan in his lap. 

“It’s alright. Can you follow my breathing, Stan?” Ford cradled Stan, rubbing slow circles on his back. “In for 4, hold for 7 and exhale for 8. Can you do that for me, Lee?” Stan nodded, still shaking like a leaf. 

He tried his absolute best to comply to his brothers request. Stanley failed miserably the first couple of times but slowly his breathing started to pick up a normal pace. It unfortunately didn’t stop the shaking. Ford kept a firm grip on him, whispering reassurances in his hair as he desperately clung onto him.

Once he was calm enough, Ford looked at him. There were tears still streaming down his stupid, pathetic face. “How about we try to get up?” He nodded, shuddering as he let out a long breath. Slowly, but surely, they stood up. Stan didn’t let go. Not yet. His legs felt like jello, barely keeping him upright. Ford seemed to notice this, as he kept a steady hold on him. “I know.”, Ford gently ran a hand through his greasy hair. 

He was disgusting. He didn’t deserve the comfort he was getting, but having someone hold him like this after years of physical touch just being pain made him feel so safe.

He sobbed into his brothers shirt, not intending on letting go.

He woke up. A sharp, piercing pain sent shocks through his hand. To his horror, he found a nail driven through his left hand and a hammer in his right. With a sob, he dropped the hammer and clutched his hand to his chest, curling up in the corner of the kitchen. It hurt. Everything hurt. Stanford was so focused on the pain he didn’t even notice the door creaking open. 

“Poindexter?” He flinched back involuntarily, curling even tighter around himself. Looking up, Stanford spotted.. Stan? It looked like the man he’d seen on those horrible commercials, just.. much older. 

It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s obviously not real. Ignore it. Ignore it. The man approached slowly, setting a gentle hand on Stanford’s knee. He flinched so hard he practically jumped. “I’m sorry bud. It’s Stanley. Can I.. can I see the wound?” 

Stanford shook his head, trembling. “I won’t hurt you, Ford. I just need to look at this. I want to help you, okay?” He stared at him, trying his hardest to hide his hurt hand. 

“Please, Stanford. I need to see it.” It’s not safe. His mind pleaded, “What do you want from me, Cipher?” He hiccuped, interrupting himself, “Just kill me already! Just fucking kill me!” Stanford screamed, he was so tired. Tired of everything. It hurt so much. He’d rather be dead than continue with his torture. 

“Just fucking kill me.. Fucking do it, kill me..” the screams turned into whispers, hot tears continued to stream down his face. Instead of the pain he was expecting, Stanford was pulled into a hug. It was gentle, reassuring, grounding even. He still clutched his left hand to his chest, protecting it as best as he could. He wailed and sobbed, shaking, terrified. He felt a hand slowly rubbing circles on his back, while another reached up to his hair, trying to untangle his unbrushed hair. “‘S okay. I’m right here, poindexter.” A gruff voice whispered. He’d recognise it anywhere. It was real. There was no way it wasn’t. Just how the older version of Stan ended up there was something he could ask later. Right now he just wanted to rest. 


He was so tired. It would be so easy to just.. but he can’t fall asleep, he can’t. He’d come back. At that moment, Stanford wished to be dead. There really was no point in holding on. But the man holding him, cradling him and gently rocking him back and forth, trying to comfort him made him reconsider. 

I can still do it. He tried to reassure himself. 

Ford spared a glance at the passenger seat. Stanley was staring out the window, eyes still a bit glossy and unfocused. His arms were drawn up, holding his elbows protectively. 

He cleared his throat, trying to get his brothers attention, “Lee?” Stanley hummed in acknowledgment. “How about we get a motel room for the night? You should rest.” 

“‘M okay.” He didn’t even turn to look at him, Stanley just kept staring out of the window. 

“Stan. You’re obviously not okay, we need to get a place for you to rest.” Ford prodded, trying to keep his eyes both on the road and on Stanley. A pause. “Are you worried about the money?” No reply. Stanley looked ashamed, trying to hide his face.

“Don’t worry, Lee.” Ford reassured, “I can pay for it.” Never in his life had Ford been more grateful to keep his wallet on him at all times. 

Now that made him turn to face Ford. “You-But…You don’t..” Stanley struggled, “I don’t.. I don’t wanna leech off you.” That stung. 10 years and his brother was still worried about that. 

“You’re not leeching off me.” Ford simply replied, “I was the one who offered to pay. You’re not a burden, Lee.” That seemed to convince him, as Stanley mumbled something into his jacket and turned back around to stare out the window.

The two eventually reached a motel, Stanley grabbed his duffel bag and stood close to Ford. As much as he hates to admit it, he’s terrified. He knows when Rico finds out he escaped, he’ll come back, hunt him down to personally boil him alive. He would just give up but the problem is, Ford is with him.

If Rico finds Ford with him, he’ll definitely hurt him too. “Stan?” Stanley snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to stare at his brother. He hadn’t been paying attention at all. They were inside of a motel, at the front desk stood a tired, half asleep looking woman. She handed him the keys expectantly. Stanley grabbed the keys and muttered a thanks under his breath. 

They made their way to the designated room. It was.. not bad, actually. The room itself was pretty decent, it was actually clean and hadn’t been infested by some rodents or cockroaches. It wasn’t big, sure, but to Stan, it was heaven. 

“You should clean up. We can discuss the whole.. situation.” 

“So.. how exactly did you end up here?” Stanford was holding his, now bandaged, hand, staring up at him expectantly.

“Well, older you was tryin’ to catch a ‘dimension hopping anomaly’” Stan interrupted himself with a chuckle, “caught it on the line and it accidentally brought us here.”

”Interesting.” A look flashed on Stanfords face, “Wait, your Ford is here too?”

Stan nodded, “Well I think so. We were both pretty close so chances are he also got dragged here with me.” Stanford hummed in response. “What year are you from?”

”2013.” 

“How do you intend on getting back to your dimension?” Stan sighed, “No clue. But I figured since Poindexters here he might try to find me. Our best chances of getting back together are if I stay somewhere he’ll know where to find me.”

Stanford grimaced a bit, but to his credit, tried his best to keep his composure. “Alright. You’re welcome to stay here until you can find a way to get back to your original dimension.” 

A pause. “You… do know about my current situation, do you?” Stan put his hand on his brothers shoulder, “Yeah. Ford and me will help you deal with him.” 

“Ford and I..” he mumbled, to which Stan laughed. “Alright, alright. I’ll make sure to keep track of that next time.” Stanford smiled (although it didn’t look too sincere).

”Thank you, Stanley.”

”Of course, Poindexter.”

Stanley sat next to Ford on the bed, finally relaxing. He had finally gotten to shower, and honestly, after all of that he was exhausted. That didn’t stop his many questions.

”How’d ya get here even? It’s not like you’d see an older version of your estranged twin everyday.” Ford chuckled, “Well, I was looking for an aquatic anomaly with Stan.. well, my Stan. Due to me spooking it, it activated its defense mechanism, teleporting itself to another dimension, accidentally bringing us along with it.”

As Ford babbled on, he couldn’t help but interrupt, “Wait, so, why was I with you?”

He saw Ford stop to blankly stare at him before he realised what Stanley had meant. “Oh! Right, yes. We are together on the Stan o’ War II. After defeating Bill, we decided to fulfil our childhood dream and sail around the world, looking for anomalies, much like this one.” 

“Bill?”

Silence. “That’s.. something you’ll need to know later.”

Cryptic, alright. Stanley thought to himself. A beat of silence passed.

“..Do you think my Ford and me will end up like that?” 

“I’m sure you will, Stan.” Ford smiled warmly. “I’m sure you will.” 

Before he could even process the information, Ford continued to speak, “Now, what we’ll need to do is make our way to Oregon. If I ended up with you there is a very high chance my Stan ended up with younger me. It’s important that we make it to Gravity falls as soon as possible considering my current state.” 

Ford paused, “Have you received a postcard from me yet?”

”You?” He was confused, “No, I haven’t heard from you in…” Stanley trailed off.

”Ah, I see. We still have some time, then.” 

“What do you mean by ‘my current state’?” Ford grimaced.

”Well.. I think it’s best if Stanford explains the situation to you. You’ll know once we get there.” 

He couldn’t stop the sigh leaving his throat. “Alright, alright. Where is this gravity falls?”

Chapter Text

“We’ve been driving for a good while now.” Ford hummed, “Let’s take a quick break. When was the last time you ate?”

He shifted in his seat. Today was.. Friday? Last time he ate was about 2 days ago, which was essentially just a bag of potato chips. “‘M not that hungry.” 

“Stanley.” 

It was like Ford could sense his lies. “Alright, fine. We can stop.” He grumbled.

The car tires screeched to a stop, parking in front of a greasy old diner. The two entered, sitting down (as Stanley insisted) in the far corner. He scanned over the menu, It’s too expensive. Stanley thought to himself, I can’t make Ford pay for it again.

A pretty waitress approached them. Stanley took his time to scan her over. She had messy black hair, tied back into a bun with a pink hair tie. Could’ve possibly been in her mid thirties, maybe even younger. She was wearing the diners uniform, a teal, formal dress with a white apron, and on her chest there was a name tag attached, Rosie. She looked tired, but still tried to remain her obligatory cheerful expression.

”Well hello there! Welcome to Antonio’s. What would you like to order?” She spoke in a soft, cheery voice.

“Coffee. Black, no sugar, no milk. Could I also get a cheeseburger with that?”

Rosie smiled warmly, “Of course. And for you, sir?” She turned to him expectantly.

“Just that, I'm alright.” Ford gave him a concerned look, probably not commenting on it considering their waitress was still there.

”Are you sure?” She was fully focused on Stanley now, “If anything I could bring you a glass of water.”

”No, no, it’s okay.” He gave her his best conman smile in hopes of convincing her. That, thankfully, seemed to do the trick as she nodded, “Alright! I’ll be back with your order soon.” 

“Stan.”

He looked over at his twin, humming. Ford didn’t look too happy. 

“Why didn’t you order anything?” Ford seemed genuinely concerned.

”Eh, I told you before I wasn’t hungry,” A complete lie, but he just had to hope Ford would buy it, “I’ll be fine, Stanford.”

A sigh erupted from his brothers chest. “Alright.” 

They stayed like that until Rosie came back with Fords order.

”Here you go, enjoy your meal!”

Once she left, Ford did his best to split his cheeseburger in half, miserably failing. He pushed the bigger piece and his fries to Stan.

”Wh-Ford!” 

“No. You’re eating this.”

Stan scoffed, “But it’s your meal I can’t just take it like this!”

”I won’t be able to eat that much. Besides, it’s better for you to take it than for it to go to waste.” He groaned. It was too tempting to pass up.

”Fine. I’ll take it.” He obviously hadn’t realised how hungry he was considering Ford was only halfway done when he finished his part. Ford seemed to notice that.

For some reason this Ford noticed everything. Stanley wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he realised Ford was talking to the waitress.

”Could we just get the pancakes? Oh, and the check, please.” He could see Ford smile. Odd.

Ford was never good with social interactions, so him talking so fluently to other people really surprised him. Just how much did he change?

”Sure thing! I’ll be right back.” Rosie wandered off again, coming back in what seemed like an instant. 

“Here you go! Your total is 6 dollars.”

Ford handed her two crumpled dollars to paired with a small thanks as Rosie set down the pancakes.

Once she left to work at the counter, Ford slid the pancakes over to Stanley.

“And before you say anything.” Ford immediately added, “These are for you, so either you eat them or we throw them away, because I will not be eating them. Understood?”

“Can you stop that?” He spat. Ford immediately made eye contact, opening his mouth to speak but stopping himself. “What?” He should stop. There’s nothing to gain from this.

But he doesn’t.

”Stop treating me like I’m a kid. I can take care of myself no matter how dumb you think I am.” He unconsciously clenched his fists under the table. 

“Stanley, that’s not what I meant. You know that’s not what I meant.” Ford, to his credit, tried his hardest to keep his cool, “and it’s not my fault you’re acting like one.”

Stanley had barely caught the last part. “The fuck did you just say?” He huffed.

Fords eyebrows furrowed, “I’m saying you’re being childish as always!” Ford exaggeratedly threw his hands up above his head. Luckily, not many people were in the diner. “You don’t even try taking care of yourself properly but when I try to help you, you end up pushing me away! I don’t understand what you’re trying to do, Stan!”

His frown turned into a scowl, deepening with each word. He should stop. But he can’t. Once he was too far in, there was no stopping. Stanley had always been stubborn. “Well what am I supposed to expect from you?!” His voice was so loud it was borderline yelling. Rosie uncomfortably glanced at the two from afar, but decided not to further inspect the situation.

He felt a bit bad, he had to admit. She was sweet, she didn’t really deserve to hear all of this, “You were the one who left me behind! I asked you for help and what you did was close the curtains.” Sadly, she’d just have to bear with it for a moment.

“How do you expect me to think you won’t just leave me again?” Too far. Stanley thought to himself. Well, it was too late to take anything back now.

”Stanley.”

”Forget it.” He stood up, exiting the booth, “Good luck with your happy little dimension horseshit. Figure it out, Stanford. You’re the smart one.” Stanley turned to leave. “I don’t need you, I don’t need anyone.” He added, nearly sprinting to the exit. If he was being honest, he didn’t want to go. But his mind demanded space. He needed some space. 

“Lee, wait.” Ford tried to call behind, but he decided to promptly ignore him as he practically slammed onto the door of the diner. He would not cry. He just needed to get to his car and drive away.

Again.

He’d be fine on his own. He’d always been. Stanley made it this far without anyone, so who’s to say he can’t make it even further. 

He reached into his pocket, fumbling for the keys when a voice called out from behind him.

”8-ball. Just the guy I was looking for.” 

Stanley froze. He recognised the voice. He knew damn well who it was. Slowly, he turned to face the shadowy figure.

”Rico!.. Long time no see, huh?” He chuckled sheepishly, attempting to lighten the tense mood. Maybe if he could distract him long enough, he’d have some time to get away.

”Well, a day isn’t much of a long time, is it?” Four more men approached. They were all armed with at least one weapon. “Wasn’t expecting you to get out of that trunk. I have to say, it’s pretty impressive what you did there. You always were a slippery little shit, you know.” He slowly stepped closer to him, the men following close behind.

Stanley tried to put on a smile. Well, tried. He raised his hands up, “Look, how about you give me another month and then I can pay you back. I’ll have the money this time, I swear!” With all the times he said the words ‘I swear’, he was as good as gone. Those promises were never fulfilled, and he was pretty sure both of them knew that.

“Agárralo, no lo sueltes. Y sujétalo bien esta vez, por Dios.” He caught most of that.

Well, he had a good run. Two of the men nodded to each other and stepped closer to him, grabbing him under his armpits and hoisting him up, shoving him onto the hood of the car. He didn’t notice it before, but the other two were suddenly gone. He wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

He didn’t have much time to think about that though. Ricos fist slammed into his face. It made a sickening crack, making blood pour out of his nose. Rico sure did wear a lot of rings. It was like a substitute for brass knuckles, just much more subtle.

”That kidney we took wasn’t even half the money you cost us.” Rico was seething with rage, he leaned in even closer. “I’ll make you pay us back, one way or another.” Rico, with an unamused expression leaned back, staring daggers into him. He laughed at the lack of response.

“¡Hay otro con él aquí! ¿Lo llevamos también?” One of the goons could be heard from the side. Stanley didn’t even bother to look over.

”Dámelo.” Rico, seeming amused, turned back to him. “I didn’t know you had family here, Andrew.”

His blood ran cold. “Wait, wait, wait-“ Stanley raised his head up to see Ford struggling, mouth covered and hands restrained. Rico kicked the back of his legs so he’d fall down to his knees. To Stanley’s shock, Rico shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled something out.

At first, it was too dark for Stanley to figure out what it was. When he looked closer though, he froze completely. 

He had a gun. A gun that he was currently pointing to the side of his brothers head. 

“Rico-hey, wait.” Stanley tried his hardest not to sound too panicked, but with the situation at hand, it was nearly impossible. “He’s not a part of this. Let him go.” 

The tighter Ricos finger wrapped around the trigger, the harder Stanley struggled against the two (much larger) men holding him down. 

“Let him go, please! He doesn’t deserve that, he did nothing wrong!” He was getting desperate. Rico seemed to notice that, taking advantage of it immediately.

”Since he means so much to you..” Ricos hand tightened on Fords shoulder, firmly holding him down with the help of another one of his men, “How about you repay us with him instead?”

Fords eyes widened. He kept looking at Stanley. He looked so scared. He didn’t deserve this happening to him. It was all his fault. That look made him want to cry.

”Rico, wait please!” His pleas were getting louder, “I’ll pay you back! I’ll pay you back!” He yelled, thrashing wildly, trying to desperately stop him.

Ford, with his glassy eyes, looked at Stanley one last time.

Rico pulled the trigger.

The gunshot rang out from the alley. “STANFORD!” He didn’t yell, not even scream, he screeched. His twin dropped to the floor as Ricos grip released. The whole moment didn’t feel real. 

It was that feeling when something so horrible happens, you can’t believe it’s even reality. That feeling when your brain tries to convince you it’s not real, that it’s just a bad dream or a disgusting hallucination. But it never is.

A beat of silence passed. Stanley couldn’t speak for a good few seconds, couldn’t even breathe. “YOU CRUEL FUCKING BASTARDS.” Tears streamed down his face, staining his cheeks. He’s never cried in front of Rico before, not even once. It obviously gave the man a sense of sick satisfaction. 

“ILL FUCKING KILL YOU. EVERY ONE OF YOU. YOU- I’LL..I’ll..” His screams died down. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Ford and the pool of blood surrounding him. It had felt so unreal. It couldn’t be real.

And yet it was.

”Maybe next time, you’ll be more careful with your job, Alcatraz. Take this as a lesson, will ya?” He chuckled. “Sadly, you never learned. And you never will. Youll be with him soon.” 

Stanley didn’t bother to fight back as a wet cloth was shoved over his mouth and nose. He just couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

It was his fault.

Ford, the only one that still cared was dead, and soon, he would end up just like him.

“Ford, you know you gotta let me see it. It can get infected if we leave it unattended.”

“I can deal with my own injuries, Stanley.” Stanford bit back, taking one step back.

”Well clearly you can’t.” He was met with an irritated gaze, “Ford. I’ve been living with you for a full year now, I think I know what’s gonna happen if I let you ‘deal with your own injuries’”

Stan sighed, “Just- Let me change the bandages and you can do whatever.” 

Stanford hesitated for a moment before quietly slipping his hand to Stan. “There. Not that hard, huh?” Stan chuckled to himself.

Stanford clearly wasn’t happy with that comment, but there wasn’t really much he could do. Despite growing out of his scrawny phase, he was still much smaller than Stan, and in this state, the worst he could do was pass out after a hit.

Stan carefully removed the bandages.

The wound hadn’t looked too bad. It thankfully wasn’t infected, but it hadn’t started scabbing yet.

He grabbed the bottle of saline from Stanfords medical supplies and slowly poured a bit onto the injury, disinfecting it. Stan wrapped some fresh bandages on it and stood. 

“Alright. It’s not so bad, not infected. More important matter, you have practically nothing in your house. When was the last time you went into town?” Stan looked to Stanford.

Silence. “Okay, that’s fine. What we need to do now is get you to sleep. You look like you’ll pass out on me any second now.”

”But I can’t-“ Stan shushed him, “I know, I know, the whole Bill situation.”

Stanford seemed to quiet down, prompting to listen to Stan. “We need to get you to sleep safely. Any ideas?”

“This is the first and last time I’m ever doing this.” Stan grumbled as he tightened the knots around Stanfords wrists.

“You think I also want to be doing this? It’s just as frustrating to me as it is to you, Stanley.” Stanford flexed his bruised knuckles when he moved away from the finished knot. 

It was tight enough to restrain him, but not tight enough to actually dig into his skin. The ropes were thick and would be very hard to break, especially with Stan on watch. “Comfortable enough?”

”Well..” Stanford hesitated, “as comfortable as I could be.” 

“Good enough.” Stan grabbed a book he had saved for this and sat down on the couch. It was the least sciency book he could find on Stanfords bookshelf. Firestarter. Even if it was science fiction, it was also a horror. 

He’d always liked the genre, so small miracles, I guess. He looked over to Stanford, only to find him dead asleep.

Poor guy. Stan had known it was bad, but he’d never imagined it was this bad. At least he’s getting some sleep now.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Stanford propped his head up. He blinked his eyes open slowly.

They were yellow, black slits alike cat eyes replaced Stanfords usual round pupils. “Well he-llo! Man, you’re even older than I thought you’d be! What are you? 100? 105?”

Stan couldn’t help but groan. He was expecting Bill, of course, but he didn’t expect him to come that quickly. 

“What do you want?” Stan made no move further, just observing his brother. No, his brothers body. 

”Yeesh, not even a simple ‘Hi’.” Bill remarked. The grin plastered on Stanfords face looked too unnatural. He hated every second of this already. “Well, not like I expected much from you. From what I’ve seen in Sixers memories, you were always a buzzkill. I guess some things never change.”

”Well, I’m not dealing with your bullshit.” Stan opened the book and started to read. Well, he tried to read. “Awh, come on! You’re not even gonna look at me?”

Stan ignored Bill and tried his best to focus on the words. Not long after, Bill started to fuss, “Hey, come on. Can’t you just.. oh, I don’t know… make a deal?”

”You know how annoying your voice is, right?” Stan deadpanned, not even bothering to look up, “It’s like a cheese grater grinding against a heap of rocks.”

“Hey now, you can’t just be making those comments when you’re as dumb as said heap of rocks.” unfortunately, Stans attempt at angering Bill into leaving him alone did not work, “You know what you could do?”

”You should make a deal! Just shake my hand and you’ll instantly become as smart as Fordsy. Hell, I could even make you smarter!” Bill somehow managed to smile even wider.

”No, I’m alright.” Stan waved him off, rolling his eyes, “Don’t need to be smart when you got Ford around.”

He seemed to notice his tactic wasn’t working, so Bill decided to change it. “Huh. I guess Sixer was right about you. You are insufferable!” Dont listen to him, Stan. He told himself, you know what he’s after.

“Uh huh.” Bill huffed out a sigh and Stan could’ve sworn his eyes turned red for a split second, “Well, how about this;”

”Don’t wanna hear it” Stan yawned, looking back to his book, “I think you’ll want to hear this one, spare.” The nickname stung a bit at first, but when Stan remembered who it was coming from, all of the pain from it ceased.

Maybe he should humour him a little.

”Alright, fine. What do you want, Bill?” Bill seemed ecstatic to see Stan pay attention to him. Interesting. “How about you go downstairs to the basement and turn on the portal. You know how to do that, right? Or am I gonna have to dumb that down to your level?”

”No, no, I know what you’re talking about.” Stan chuckled. As if he’d ever listen to Bill of all people, “What’s in it for me though?”

”I can make him love you again.”

Stan stopped. His smile dropped and he looked up at Bill. He just had to keep his cool, that’s all he needed to do, “What are you talking about?”

”I think we both know what I’m talking about.” Bill spat out a laugh, still staring at him, unblinking, “Sixer here’s never loved you. I can change that. Just go downstairs there and turn on that portal for me!”

”Didn't you say you could make him love me ‘again’?” Stan rolled his eyes, unamused, “So if he loved me before, how could he have never loved me? Get your story straight and then you might have a chance.”

Bills smile dropped. His face crumpled and was immediately replaced with rage “Alright! Fine! I wanted to give you the easy way out but apparently that’s not good enough for you!”

He twisted Stanfords shoulder, using the ropes to try and dislocate it. Stan hurriedly rushed over, holding Bill in place. Luckily, with Stanford being sleep deprived and likely not having eaten in days, he was pretty easy to wear out.

Bill huffed repeatedly, seething. “This isn’t over, Stanley Pines. Or Hal, or Andrew, maybe even Stetson. How’s Jimmy by the way?”

”Don't you fucking dare.” Stan blurted out. Bill realised he was pushing the right buttons.

”Ohhhhhh! I see! Parted on bad terms, huh? Didn’t treat ya too well? Awh, poor Stetson, am I right?” Bill mockingly sniffled, “If only he hadn’t-“

”Oh, shut it. It’s in the past. Don’t care about it anymore because there’s no need to care about it anymore.” Stan calmed down, thankfully. Had he shown any more emotion it probably would’ve ended badly. As long as he didn’t get too mad he should be fine.

Bill growled in frustration, “FINE! FINE, BE LIKE THAT THEN!” Bill sighed, trying (and failing) not to look too irritated, “You win this time, but I’ll be back for you, spare. I’ll ruin your life. Mark my words.”

And just like that, Stanfords head dropped back down, his chin hitting his chest. His breathing evened out as he finally started to peacefully rest. 

That.. could’ve been better. It could’ve been worse, too. He’s just glad Stanford didn’t get hurt.

Stan just had to hope it stayed that way.

Chapter Text

Stanley slowly pried his eyes open. The last thing he remembered was… well. He’d rather not think about it. No matter what he did the sound of the shot still lingered in his thoughts. What did confuse him however was the fact he was still alive. 

When threatening someone, most people just bluff on empty promises. Rico, on the other hand was a different story. He’d always stay true to his word, no matter what.

Either he was dead already or something might’ve happened while he was passed out.

This wasn’t exactly Stanleys first time waking up in another place. He needed to figure out where he was. He looked around the room. He was laying on a white bed with yellow covers. The room was painted with white popcorn walls, beside him was a nightstand with a lamp on it. There was a door leading into another room (possibly the bathroom) and the exit. There was also a window to his left. 

What he also noticed was a person sitting near it. It was too dark to properly see them, but whoever it was was likely after him. Stanley’s heartbeat skyrocketed, he leapt onto the floor, tripping over something, maybe books? He didn’t know. He couldn’t see it. 

Whatever it was made enough noise for the person to notice him. “Stanley?” 

He knew that voice. He’d recognise it anywhere.

“Stanford?”

“I’m here, Stan.”

Stanley reached over to where he saw the lamp and with a quick flick of a switch, a comfortable, nostalgic orange light filled the room. There he was, sitting cross-legged on the dirty, possibly flea ridden carpet, fiddling with his cracked glasses.

“You’re alive.” It sounded much more like a question than a statement. “How?”

“Well, I had a metal plate installed in my head after..” Ford trailed off, “Well, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we’re both okay.”

Ford paused, “We are both okay, right?”

He couldn’t speak, just stood there with his mouth hanging open like an idiot. He’d answer, but honestly, he had no idea what to say.

“Stanley?” Ford stood up and cautiously approached him. Even though they were roughly the same size, Ford still seemed to tower over him. He’d forgotten how intimidating he could be. “Are you alright?”

That was it, the straw that broke the camels back. Tears welled in his eyes, ones he desperately tried to hold back. He didn’t need Ford to see him cry again.

Only wussies cry, man up, Stan. A very familiar phrase lingered in his mind. 

He would’ve cared had the situation been different. “I though.. I thought you…” thick tears streamed down his face, dropping onto his shoes. Fords hand twitched, like he wanted to reach out but was hesitant.

”Lee, it’s okay. I’m okay. It’ll be alright.” Ford stood, a bit awkwardly, for that matter. Stanley didn’t care. He didn’t care at all. What he cared about was Ford. 

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten mad a-and I should’ve been more careful.” He hiccuped, “I didn’t mean to, I swear. I didn’t know they’d be there. They’ll go after you too now. I’m sorry.”

Ford pulled him into a hug, squeezing him slightly. “It’s alright, Stanley. I know you didn’t mean it. You don’t have to worry about them anymore.” He gently rubbed his back, Stanley would’ve questioned the cryptic statement had he not just realised his brother wasn’t dead. Dead with a bullet in his head.

”If anything it was my fault. I should have been more careful.” 

Ford moved one hand a little higher, reaching close to Stanley’s shoulder blade. “Once we get to Oregon, it’ll get better.”

”I’m sure of it.”

Stanford groaned, trying to blink away the grogginess from his eyes. Panic hit him like a truck once he realised he was waking up. He instinctively started to check for injuries when he noticed the ropes. 

Had Stan not stepped in, Stanford was pretty sure he would’ve had a heart attack from the amount of terror that had just flashed through him. 

“Jesus Christ, finally.” He could feel the rope loosen around his body, sagging down. Stanford shook it off, standing on wobbly legs Stan had attempted to support. 

“Easy there, Poindexter. You should sit down.” God was he annoying. Just because he allowed Stan to stay doesn’t mean the project and the decade apart never happened.

”I’m fine. Just let me do it on my own, Stanley.” Stanford grumbled shaking Stans hand off his forearm. “Alright, jeez. Calm down.” 

He felt… well. Much better than he usually did after waking up, that’s for sure. His shoulder hurt a bit when he moved it, but that was about it. Nothing too serious to worry about. The idea had worked after all.

“Ford, what happened to your eye?” Stan came closer, hand outstretched, “Why is it bleeding?”

”It’s fine, just leave it alone.” He grumbled taking a step back. He was really starting to get frustrated. When would his twin finally understand that some things are stuff he doesn’t want to talk about?

”Sixer, I need to take a look at that.” The nickname struck him, unexpected and abrupt. “Don’t you dare call me that.” He bit back. 

“What? What the hells going on with you Ford?” Stanford couldn’t take it anymore. “God, you are just as insufferable as I remember you!” 

“What the hell did you just say to me?” Stan muttered, clearly in disbelief. “No, take that stupid expression off of your face! I’m sick and tired of you constantly doing that!” 

“You’re so clingy it’s suffocating just being around you!” He stepped closer, jabbing a finger into Stans chest. “There are things you should just drop, but apparently that’s never getting into that thick skull of yours!”

Stan didn’t flinch. Didn’t even react. His face remained the same, eyebrows stuck in a furious look. “You knucklehead cost me my entire future, and here you are acting like everything’s fine between us.”

Stanford was seething, not even trying to hold back anymore. “Well they aren’t! The only reason I haven’t said anything sooner is because I need help that you aren’t providing!”

”You're just the useless, childish imbecile I’ve always known. You haven’t changed one. Bit.” He spat, shoulders just about raised to his ears.

”If you didn’t want me around you could’ve just said so, Stanford.” Stan didn’t even look too surprised, “Just because we make up in the future, doesn’t mean I’ll always stick around for you. Had my Ford came here yet, you would’ve gotten the ‘help’ you wanted. The help you clearly don’t deserve.” 

Stan turned around, grabbing his discarded jacket. For some odd reason it made his stomach churn. “Good luck with your bullshit. I’ll get out of your hair. And don’t even bother thinking I’ll come back.”

”Wait, Stan, I didn’t mean that! Please don’t leave.” 

Please don't leave me alone.

He had gone too far, the door shutting in his face had proven that. Stanford didn’t want this, he just wanted space. 

Space that had driven everyone away from him. Stan was his last hope, so what was he supposed to do now?

Regret circled in his chest, but it was too late to take it back. It should have been predictable, it always happened.

Stanford was alone. Again. With Stan out of the house, he had gotten back to square one. 

There really was just no winning with him, was there?

He should just face it, Bill already won. He always did.

“Fucking prick.” Stan muttered under his breath as he walked away from the cabin. He knew he probably didn’t mean it. Ford had apologised to him multiple times for how narcissistic he could have been in the past. Now, Stan was experiencing it firsthand. 

He wasn’t really going to leave, no. Firstly, he wouldn’t just leave Stanford like that. Secondly, where the hell would he even go? It’s not like he had a place here. And thirdly, Stanford had absolutely nothing in terms of supplies. The fridge had been empty except for a spoiled carton of milk and an experiment or two. Cabinets were filled with dust and cans that somehow expired in the 60s (no idea how Stanford got his hands on those considering they were both in New Jersey during that time) and they had just used the last of Stanfords medical supplies, so a trip to the grocery store had been a must.

He might as well get that over with now. Stan wanted to get away from Stanford, just for a bit at least. 

He didn’t even notice the grocery store appear before him. Stan was so caught up in his thought he didn’t even notice the fact he had already gotten out of the woods. It was a good thing he’d lived in Gravity falls before. His legs just automatically brought him to where he wanted to go. Pretty neat if you ask him.

A bell jingled above him as he entered the dusk 2 dawn. From what Stan knew, Stanford needed just about everything.

This was gonna be a long trip.

“Turn right there.” Ford pointed out the window to a road. They had arrived in Gravity falls, so they just needed to reach the house.

A familiar figure appeared in front of the grocery store. They were carrying 2 full bags of groceries, shifting them in their hands to hold them more comfortably. 

“Stan, stop the car!” He nearly yelled, startling Stanley which caused him to slam on the brakes.

”Ford, what the hell?” The car hadn’t even fully stopped before he was running across the street.

”Stan! I knew you’d be here!” Stan looked up, his eyes practically dilating. 

“Stanford?” He smiled, walking to Ford as fast as he could with the heavy bags. When he finally reached Stan, he pulled him in a soul crushing hug.

”Alright, alright, jeez. Don’t get all sappy with me Poindexter.” Stan dropped a bag and ruffled his hair, which Ford, being honest, didn’t appreciate. He let it slide, not making a move to comment on it. 

“I’m so glad I finally found you.” Ford started excitedly, “Stans waiting in the car.” He could see Stan grimace slightly.

”Ah. I hope he didn’t get you in too much trouble.” He shook his head.

”No. Well, at least not purposely.” Ford put his hands in the air in an attempt to stop Stan from murdering his past self, “But we’re both fine! If anything, it’s honestly been pleasant to be around him these few days.”

“How’s it going with Ford?” 

Stan sighed, “Well, he started an argument for absolutely no reason after waking up, got mad at me for asking why there was blood running down his face.” 

“Wait, he fell asleep?!” Ford instinctively started checking Stan for injuries.

”Okay, Ford, you don’t need to do that.” Stan gently pushed his hands away, “I made him do it. Made sure he couldn’t hurt me or himself. You don’t gotta worry.” 

“Well, if that’s the case..” He trailed off, taking a small pause to figure out what to do next. “We should go, Stans still waiting.” 

Jesus, had Ford scared the life out of him. Stanley swore he’d strangle him once he was done and back at the car.

He almost instantly took it back when he realised who was standing at the door of the car. 

“Man, I do not age well.” Stanley muttered. 

“You can’t tell me anything. You look like shit.” Stan jokingly replied, obviously not offended. “Alright kid, how about I take the wheel? The road to Fords house is a bit tricky. I’d let Ford drive but I don’t want an accident.”

”What? Hey!” Ford tried to seem mad but couldn’t suppress his smile, “As a matter of fact, I drove his car without crashing the Stanleymobile.” 

“I’m still not trusting you with this. Adults in the front, c’mon.” Stan smugly snickered, patting his shoulder.

With a roll of his eyes, he half-heartedly sighed and got out of the car to let Stan in. Stanley climbed into the back, putting his seatbelt on.

“We need a plan.” 

“You’re right. We can’t just leave Ford with Bill like that.” Ford concluded from the passenger seat.

”I was thinking we could get the hair from those horses Mabel beat up or whatever.” Who was Mabel? 

“The unicorns. That’s genius, Stan!”

“Unicorns exist? Jesus where even are we?” Stanley commented from the back.

”Gravity falls is.. a peculiar place, I must say.” Ford leaned back to make eye contact. “You’ll see when we get to the forest. It’s filled to the brim with anomalies.”

Huh. No wonder Ford was there.

Stanley decided not to continue his part in the conversation, opting to just listen to what they had to say.

It was kind of weird having his future self in the car, just sitting right in front of him.To be fair, the last 3 days have been weird. He had to admit, it was nice to see him and Ford get along so well. 

Well, Stan and Ford. He just had to hope he could be like that with his Stanford in the future.

About four hours had passed since Stan left the house. Stanfords last glimmer of hope was shrivelling up to nothing but dust. At the moment, Stanford didn’t really believe Stan would actually leave.

The fact he wasn’t returning most definitely didn’t help. A deep sense of dread filled him like a ticking time bomb, worsening with each hour. No, each minute. The stress was starting to get to him, but he remained logical.

Stan wouldn’t just leave. At least not like that, no. Firstly, there was the whole dimension situation. There was no way someone like him was getting back to his own time and universe by himself.

But he made up his mind, now did he? Stan was exceptionally stubborn, once he made a choice there was no taking it back, no matter what. Although that may have been true, Stanford himself had to admit that despite being a complete moron, Stan had always been extremely loyal. 

In any situation, especially like this one, he wouldn’t leave him to suffer on his own.

Unfortunately, he had to remind himself that he didn’t actually know Stan. He knew Stanley, and much can change in 40 years of time. This was a completely different person, one he had barely even met, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

He could be a completely different man for all he knew. Stanford hadn’t even realised he was pacing around his living room until a sharp knock came from the front door.

”Stanford? Look, I’m sorry about what I said. I bought some groceries ‘cause I noticed you don’t have shit in your house. Also, it’s cold as hell here, so could you please open the door?”

An apology. That was new. It was so unexpected it caught him off guard. Was this really Stan? Stanford began to doubt himself when he reminded himself of his previous point. A lot changes in 40 years, and if he was being honest with himself, as insufferable as Stan could be, he didn’t want to be alone anymore. 

Stanford hadn’t even realised how lonely it got until he had someone around him. So he, reluctantly, opened the door. Not fully, just enough to peek through. 

Sure enough, Stan was standing there, carrying grocery bags. With a sigh, Stanford slowly pried open the door. Wasn’t this locked?

Stanford didn’t even have time to process that information when another scenario hit him harder than the intense cold from outside. Instead of just Stan, he saw two other people next to him.

The thought slowly drilled its way into his head. “Oh my god.” Stanford was staring right at himself, but as absurd as it was, that wasn’t even the worst of it.

He was face to face with Stanley. His estranged brother, one he hadn’t seen in a decade. One he hadn't wanted to see in a decade. Was that really true or did he just want to keep his pride?

He gained some composure and stepped aside, gesturing for them to come in. Stanford really didn’t know what to say. All he could think about was the fact Stanley was here. It was so surprising he wasn’t even phased by his literal self standing right next to him.

”Stanley, how about you go and help Lee with the groceries?” Both Stans turned their heads, “Uh.. Maybe we should decide your names? How about my Stan will stay Stan, you can be Stanley.” Ford automatically decided.

”Same goes for us. I’ll stay Ford and he can be Stanford. Does that make sense?” 

“I feel it’s a must, yes. It’s highly illogical and confusing for all of us if we use the same names. I’ll stay as Stanford then.” He quickly replied, a little intimidated by Ford. Stanford was a little jealous for not thinking about the idea earlier, but to be fair, his thinking had been a bit fuzzy ever since Fiddleford left. 

He really missed him. 

That didn’t matter right now, though. What mattered was to get to work. Before he could trot off to possibly try and find a way to fix everything, “Stanford, wait.” a voice stopped him in his tracks.

He couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit of fear, hiding his hands behind his back as he turned around. It was a nervous habit, really. He knew Ford would notice it, it was himself and he knew himself best. He just hoped Ford was understanding enough not to comment on it.

Luckily, the tick was ignored. “Could we talk?” That phrase never meant anything good.

”Uh.. yes, yes of course. Is there a problem?” For some reason, Stanford felt attacked. Exposed, vulnerable, if you will. He knew exactly what had happened to him, that and what was happening. 

“I just.. I felt the need to discuss some things with you.” The switch from the comfortable intonation he used with friends and family to the professional talk he only used in serious situations was very off-putting. Stanford didn’t know how to feel about that. 

They both sat down next to each other on the dusty old couch. “Ask anything you’d like.” 

“How do you feel about Stan?” Ford began. “I remember having.. certain feelings about him in the past. I need to know your genuine opinion, so don’t hold back.”

He sighed, attempting to ease down. “Well, I’m not really too.. happy about him being here. Especially not Stanley. The younger one is the one we use Stanley for, yes?”

Ford nodded. “Continue.”

Stanford didn’t necessarily want to talk about this, but the pressure that Ford put on him was inhuman. With the intimidating stare he had locked onto Stanford made him feel like he had no other choice but to admit to everything. “I just.. I don’t find him very…” he trailed off.

Oh, to hell with it. It’s not like he’s telling this to Stanley directly, he’s telling himself something important. “He’s insufferable!”

”He’s just a selfish, arrogant, obnoxious jerk that constantly rides off my coattails! He didn’t even try to apologise for ruining my future, let alone try and fix it. He ruined everything for me! Now he thinks he can just get away with it like nothing happened! He clearly doesn’t care. He never has. If he did care he would’ve called. Would’ve said sorry. But he just left! Left without coming back! I was so sure he’d come back after a week or two and that would be the end of it but he never even showed up in Glass shard and he just disappeared, didn’t try to call and he left me! Left me to rot in backupsmore!” Stanford was talking faster and faster, it was like commas never existed.

He was really starting to get frustrated, so much so Stanford didn’t even care about the repeating ‘ands’ in one sentence. Grammar didn’t matter to him. Not right now.

“He never cared about me, so neither will I.” Something shifted inside him. It actually felt kind of nice to get all of that out, as embarrassing as it was.

“I know you miss him.”

He kept quiet, avoiding eye contact. To be honest, Stanford had no idea what to say to that.

”Stanford, listen to me, please.”  He turned to look at Ford. He didn’t look mad, not at all, like he understood where he was coming from. “You need to think about Stanley’s situation first.”

”The mistake that ‘cost us our future’ also cost Stanley his. He never called because he was afraid he’d wrap you up in his own personal struggles.” Ford looked sad, like he was mourning something.. maybe even someone. “Do you know where he’s been living this past decade?”

”Uh..” The question caught him completely off guard. Why would it matter where he lived? “I’m unsure.” 

“Jesus Christ, was I clueless back then.” Ford muttered under his breath, a sentence Stanford decided to ignore fully.

”Stanford. He’s homeless.” 

The words caught him by surprise. He stopped breathing for a second. The thought was absurd. There was just no way.

”What do you mean? He’s not homeless!” Stanford denied Fords claim. He knew Ford wouldn’t lie about something like that but.. no, that wasn’t true. It had to be a lie.

”He.. he isn’t, is he?” Ford looked away.

All of a sudden, it all came crashing down on him. He let his brother get kicked out. He thought he was doing fine, that he didn’t want to contact them because he didn’t need them anymore. Didn’t need him anymore.

“I had no idea.” 

“I know. What matters is that you know now.” Ford took a deep breath in, possibly to focus. His older self was a lot harder to read than he thought he would be.

”Stanley didn’t mean to do that. Trust me, he’d never want to harm you in any way.” Ford paused for a hot second, “You need to understand his situation. Yours might be bad, yes, but that doesn’t mean his isn’t. You need to start thinking about others too, Stanford. I don’t want you ending up like we did.”

”Wait, what do you mean by that? Is he.. is he alright?” Stanford cautiously asked, afraid of the answer. Instead of getting one, he was greeted by Ford dodging the whole question completely.

”Can you promise me something?”

“Promise you what?”

”Promise me you’ll talk it out with him. And I don’t mean for you to argue with him. I want you to think about how he’s doing right now and I want you to try and work things out with him. Can you do that for me?” Despite his serious look, Stanford noticed a tiny bit of hope in his eyes.

”I can assure you it’s not too late to change things with him. Please. I don’t want you making the same mistakes I made.”

Stanford hesitated. He still wasn’t very sure about reconciling, but the things Ford had said were worrying. He wasn’t sure what to do.

”I.. I promise. I’ll try my best.”

“Alright, listen up, kid.” Stanley stopped shoving perishables into the fridge to look at Stan, “Ford and I agreed changing something here won’t murder us so I’m gonna try and help you out here.” 

“Help me out how exactly?” His body involuntarily curled in on itself as he reluctantly replied.

Stan sighed, trying to find the right words. “How are you feeling, bud?”

The question had really caught him off guard. Nonetheless, he replied, “Uh.. Well I’m doing fine.”

”What do you think of Stanford? Not Ford, but Stanford.”

”Yeah, yeah, I know what you meant. I’m not that dumb. Also, shouldn’t you already know how I feel about him?”

”See? This is exactly what I’m talking about”

”What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Stan had a strange look on his face, one he couldn’t really figure out. 

“You always deflect on every question you’re asked, even when it’s obviously bothering you just so you can save your pride. I know you don’t like talking about your feelings or whatever, but if you want to end up with the best outcome, you’ll just have to deal with all the sappy bullcrap. And trust me, you don’t want to end up dealing with what we dealt with.” Stan had a faraway look to his eyes, his whole face filled with regret.

His grimace was short-lived, though. “I think you should apologise to him.”

If that didn’t make his blood boil, Stanley didn’t know what did. “You want me to apologise to him?”

“I can’t believe he still wants an apology for that! It happened a decade ago and it ruined my whole life! So why should I be the one apologising for a mistake while he doesn’t have to apologise to me for letting me suffer? He turned out well, went to college, got 12 PHDs, built a comfortable cabin in the middle of the woods. What do I have? A car and a duffel bag with one set of spare clothes! I was out there, fighting for my goddamned life while he was hoarding his money in butt-fuck nowhere Oregon like the selfish asshole he always was! I didn’t even finish high school for christs sake! What am I supposed to do when no one wants to hire me because I’m too stupid? The only reason I held on was that stupid apology I hoped he’d give me. Every god damn day I waited for the phone to ring. He never even tried to call. Just shows how much he cares.”

”You know about all the shit I went through. What we went through. And you’re telling me to apologise to him? Well, news flash, we’re not actual brothers like you and your Ford are! As far as I’m concerned, I mean nothing to him. He doesn’t even wanna see me, let alone talk to me again. That little apology you want won’t do shit. He’ll just dismiss me and kick me out again.”

He huffed, the fight slowly leaving him. He pathetically leaned his back against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position with his knees up to his chin. He always did that whenever he felt he was going to be left behind. Stan sat down next to him and put his hand on his shoulder. Stanley half expected him to strike, do something, but instead, Stan just gently squeezed it. “Stanley. You gotta know I was you and I went through the exact same thing you did.”

”Stanford won’t kick you out. I’m sure. I know he still cares about you, but he doesn’t know how to show it. He might be mad now, but there’s still a chance to fix that.” He wouldn’t meet his eyes, he refused to meet Stans eyes. “If you want to be his brother again, you have to apologise. Once you do, I’m sure he’ll apologise as well.”

“You know, once I got my Ford back, things weren’t all that good as you might think they were. When he came back, he punched me straight in the face.” Stan chuckled, “We made up in the end though. Took a while. You wanna know why?”

Stanley looked back to him, nodding his head slowly. Stan put his hand on his other shoulder, pulling him closer into some kind of a side hug. “‘Cause we didn’t know what we were doing wrong.”

”We both expected us to read each others mind which lead to fights. If you tell him what you told me, you’ll fix it, even before we did.”

”So, what about this? You try talking to Stanford without starting an argument.”

He took a deep breath in, “Yeah, sure. I’ll try.” 

“You can do it, champ.” Stan grinned mischievously, suddenly forcing him closer only to then ruffle his already messy hair. It caught him off guard, to say the least. He tried to swat him away but he couldn’t help but snort.

”Alright, old man. I’ll do my best.” 

“How about we go back to those two?”

He nodded, giving Stan a hand once he stood up. If Stanley was honest, Stan wasn’t all that bad to be around. 

“So, Stan and I were thinking we could visit the unicorns and potentially grab some hair. We could use that hair for a ritual to permanently keep Bill out of your head.”

”You two can stay back. I assume you both have a lot to catch up on.” Ford concluded. He decided to ignore the surprised expression on Stanley’s face and intense glare Stanford had given him.

“We can actually go now. If we start now, we can get back in the evening.” Stan suggested.

”Great. Stanford? Could we borrow some things from you?”

”Go right ahead, I don’t mind.” Stanford sighed. The attitude was thankfully gone.

Ford ushered Stan to follow him. They had to be as quick as they could.

Chapter Text

The door slammed shut with a satisfying click. Stanford and Stanley were left alone, sitting on the old couch. Each of them were on opposite sides, waiting in awkward silence.

He decided to break the silence. Sitting by around doing nothing would just waste their time. They had a lot to talk about. “Stanley?”

Stanley hummed, acknowledging him. “Can we talk?” The words barely left his mouth. Why was it so hard to simply talk?

”Sure. What do you wanna talk about, Sixer?” Ford froze up.

Sixer.

“Don’t you dare call me that. Don’t ever call me that again.” The name sent shivers down his spine. He hated that name. He hated it so much.

”Jesus, okay! What? Am I not good enough to use that nickname anymore?” Stanley raised his hands up, clearly offended.

”No. The name just..”

‘It’s a deal. From now until the end of time.’

’Just let me into your mind, Stanford!’

’Please, call me..’

A friend.

He doesn't want to think about it that. “It doesn’t matter, Stan.” If only he could get rid of that memory.

”How stupid do you think I am?” The question had caught Stanford off guard.

“I don’t know what you mean, Stan.” 

“Don’t play dumb with me.” And then there was that tone.

“No, I really don’t know what you mean. Care to elaborate?” He scowled. Even after letting him stay here, he was still as ungrateful as ever.

”I know you’re just waiting to throw me out! It’s so obvious you want to get rid of me!” Stanley stood up, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

“Stanley, that’s obviously not my intent. Or are you just not smart enough to get that?” He bit back, not amused by Stanley’s outburst.

”Oh, and there we go again! Acting like you’re better than me because you’re smarter!”

“You ruined my future!”

”You're still holding that grudge? Well, I don’t know if this ever came to you but it ruined mine too!” Stanley huffed, “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but you seriously didn’t end up all that bad. Look at you! Living it up in a fancy little cabin, living your dream by studying those anomalies. Do you know what I’ve been doing? I’ve been to prison in three different countries, I once had to chew my way out of the trunk of a car! You think you’ve got problems? I’ve got a mullet Stanford!”

“Well it’s not my fault you broke my project! You did this to yourself, you ruined your own life! Just because my life doesn’t look all that bad doesn’t mean it isn’t!” Stanford practically screamed at him. He was furious, to say the least. 

”I thought maybe you’d change, but you never did. Some brother you turned out to be.” Stanley looked furious. “You don’t even care about me, do you?”

”Stanley. That’s not what I meant.” Stanford stopped himself. He stopped fighting, stopped screaming. Why was he even doing this? 

“And what did you mean?”

Stanley didn’t mean to do that. Trust me, he’d never want to harm you in any way.

Promise me you’ll talk it out with him. And I don’t mean for you to argue with him. I want you to think about how he’s doing right now and I want you to try and work things out with him.

Stanford. He’s homeless.

Homeless. Now that he looked at Stanley, actually looked at him, he noticed he wasn’t looking too well. He was pretty pale, his clothes old and worn. He was much skinnier from when he last saw him. 

“I..” He was at a loss for words. Stanford didn’t know what to say. Maybe he’d been looking at it differently. 

He thought he was in the right, but instead, it was the complete opposite. He let his brother get thrown away like he was nothing. He foolishly believed he was doing just fine.

”Stanley, I’m sorry.”

Stanley’s whole face dropped, going from rage to shock. His hands immediately dropped down, loosely hanging by his sides.

”I didn’t know. I assumed you were doing fine, Ma told me you were doing fine.” He shouldn’t have trusted her. Caryn was a pathological liar, he knew that. He should’ve called.

“I thought you were doing okay. That you didn’t call because you didn’t want me anymore. Didn’t need me anymore. I was so blinded by my pride I never thought to ask myself how you’ve been. I had no idea you were homeless.”

Both of them stood there for a bit, not saying anything. 

”Stanley, why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I thought..” Stanley trailed off. “I thought you didn’t want to hear from me.” 

He stepped closer to Stanley, “Of course I wanted to hear from you. I was angry, yes, but if you just apologised..”

Stanley didn’t look angry anymore, not at all. Maybe they could still fix this.

”I’m sorry. I didn’t really mean to break it. I hit the table it was on and a piece popped off. I fixed it and when I turned it on it was working, so I left, thinking nothing of it.”

Stanley sat back down, refusing to make eye contact. “I didn’t mean to ruin your chances, I just didn’t want you to leave me behind.”

Stanford sat down as well, this time sitting next to him. He put a hand on Stanley’s shoulder. “I won’t leave you behind again.”

He smiled, attempting to lighten the mood. “I promise.”

“So, what do you think they’re doing now?” Stan elbowed him, a slight smile strapped on his face.

”Well.. I’m not really sure. Either arguing or making up. Hopefully making up.” Ford sighed. “I don’t want them to go through the portal incident as well.”

Stan grimaced, looking away. “Hey, Ford?”

“Hm?”

”What happened to your head?” Stan pointed to his temple. It had been healing pretty well, the stitches were holding up nicely.

”Ah.” Should he really tell Stan about what happened? 

To be fair, they had agreed not to keep secrets from each other anymore. Ford sighed.£/9

”Stanley and I, we got into a fight. He left the diner we were in but when I followed him out, there were people outside. Rico, if I remember correctly.” Ford stopped, trying to find the right words. “Rico.. may or may not have shot me. Metal plate stopped the bullet.”

“Stanford.” Stan didn’t say anything else.

”I know, I know, I should’ve been more careful. The only thing it really did was give me a concussion.”

He could recall the terrified faces of Rico and his goons once he stood back up. They were hauling Stanley into the backseat of a black car. He didn’t really remember what had happened at first, but the time he spent travelling the multiverse had served him well. He immediately grabbed his gun and fired. It had left a circular hole in Rico’s chest. He dropped to the ground instantly. The goons weren’t much of a challenge either.

Stan grabbed him by his shoulders to stop him. “Ford are you okay?! This is.. Outrageous!”

”I can assure you I’m fine, Stanley. Like I said, it’s just a mild concussion. I had to use my gun on them though.”

Stan’s whole face paled. He gave him another small shake, “Stanford. Which one?”

”Uh..”

He had stolen the gun from an alien during his travels. He’d only used it for emergencies, but he kept it on him, no matter where he was. 

Sometimes, if things got a bit carried away, he’d use it on anomalies and such.

“You remember the one I used on the giant squid?” Ford sheepishly smiled.

“Stanford!” Stan’s eyes widened, “The circle one?!” Ford nodded. He could feel the hands gripping his shoulders release him.

”Ford, you shouldn’t have used that on them! Why would you use that on them?!” 

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think there really was another option.” Ford concluded, “Also, they deserved it.”

Stan’s jaw dropped, he looked like he was about to murder him. “You can’t just go shooting people with sci-fi alien weapons, Stanford!”

“Look, Stan, if I hadn’t done anything about it they would’ve murdered both me and Stanley.”

That seemed to calm him down. Stan was about to say something, but Ford cut him off, “Stanley, look!”

Their conversation was cut short. The snow that had enveloped the ground like a thick blanket was slowly fading. The twins could see unnaturally bright green grass circle the environment. It looked like a scene straight out of a fairytale. 

“We’re here.” Ford muttered under his breath. They were in for a long, frustrating encounter. 

Stanford stumbled into the bathroom. Dried blood covered everything. The walls, the floor, the sink, the tub, even the mirror. He didn’t even know if it was his. With the obscene amount, he didn’t know if it was possible for it to be his.

His hand burned. Stanford tried his hardest to ignore it, which made him completely forget about it. It had gone completely numb after a while, so it slipped his mind to treat it. It wasn’t until it started to swell under the bandages did it really start to remind him. 

It hurt badly when it was fresh, only a dull throbbing, but now, the pain was unbearable. He couldn’t move his fingers without the pain spreading. Stanford’s hand was shaking so badly he could barely keep it straight. 

The entirety of his back palm was burning, Stanford could feel the pain spread through his nerves. It was agonising. Fresh tears brewed in his eyes, threatening to spill. He’d always had a high pain tolerance, but this was something else. Bandages were ripped off to reveal the injury. 

Stanford gagged once he saw it. The skin around it was red and sticking out, it almost looked like it was spreading. Thick, cloudy pus trickled down his fist. He turned his head upwards to stare at the ceiling, the sobs he choked down escaping him fully. 

He didn’t know how long he stayed there. “Stanford? You okay?” A knock came from the closed door. He didn’t move, didn’t even speak. All he could think about was how much it hurt. He let out a soft whimper. “Ford? Can I come in?”

He didn’t reply. He didn’t think he really could. “I’m coming in.” The door whipped open. Stanley was standing in front of him. He looked horrified. “Stanford, what happened?” Stanley cautiously came closer.

He involuntarily curled in on himself, clutching his throbbing hand close to his chest. Trust no one. “Ford, hey, let me see it.” Stanley outstretched his hand, similarly to how you’d reach out to a scared animal.

When he backed away even further, Stanley, despite the bloody mess, kneeled down on the floor, directly facing him.

”Hey, c’mon. I gotta see it. It’s gonna get worse if we don’t fix it.” The tone was unexpectedly familiar and oddly comforting. Reluctantly, Stanford slowly and shakily willed his arm to Stanley.

”That’s it.” Stanley grimaced at the sight of the wound. “It’s bad, Ford. When’s the last time you changed those bandages?” The best he could manage was quiet sob. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t remember. He doesn’t remember anything.

“It’s okay, Poindexter. Just wait.” Stanley seemed to come back instantly, now wielding a first aid kit. 

Stanley tenderly took his hand. He wet a towel and started to gently dab the infected wound. His whole hand felt like it was on fire, but he tried his hardest to stay as still as possible. “I know it hurts, bud. Do you have any antibiotics?”

He nodded, it made his whole head spin. He was so dizzy. It was getting harder to breathe and he felt so hot. The whole ordeal passed in a blur, and suddenly, Stanford’s hand was fully bandaged, while Stanley had his palm up against his forehead. 

“You’re burning up. C’mon, we can’t stay here.” He was shaking like a leaf, he tried so hard to move but he just couldn’t. “Ford?” His heart was pounding, he couldn’t even breathe anymore, it was just short, shallow breaths. Stanford was getting dizzier by the second. The tears that littered his face just got heavier and heavier to the point he couldn’t even see properly. 

“Ford, hey, what’s going on?” Shivers wracked him, his whole body shaking. He couldn’t control himself, he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t breathe couldn’t breathe couldnt breathe couldn’t breathe couldn’t breathe-

Stiff arms wrapped around him, ones that seemed to relax once they grabbed him. They were cool to the touch, grounding, if you will. It gave him something to focus on. His cries were muffled once he buried his face in the crook of Stanley’s neck. Stanford gripped his grimy shirt so hard he could barely feel his fingers.

”I’m gonna need you to breathe, Poindexter.” Stanley slowly started to move his hand up and down, gently rubbing his back. 

He tried, he tried so hard. Harder than he’s ever tried before. This wasn’t his first panic attack, definitely not. He knew what to do, but the fog in his head and the blood surrounding him wouldn’t let him think clearly. Memories were shuffled around, and he found himself struggling to remember anything. 

With each passing minute, his breaths got longer and deeper. Stanley didn’t let go. He doesn’t know how long they sat there like that. Together, after a decade apart.

A long, thick silence lingered. “..Feeling better?” Stanley carefully asked. 

“Mhm.” He actually was feeling better. Usually his hysteric little attacks would last longer. He wasn’t feeling too well though, possibly sick from the infection. His skin felt too hot and grimy, and it was at that moment when he realised just how bad he smelled. All he wanted was a hot shower.

”That’s good. I’m gonna need you to explain why you have an infection on your hand and what the hell happened to your bathroom.” That was fair, he had to say.

He sighed. “Can.. can we do that later?” His fingers were still tightened around Stanley’s shirt, he didn’t want to let go. Not yet, at least. What was he even doing? He was acting like a child. Too needy.

”Alright, buddy. How about we move to the living room though? Or do you have a bedroom or something you can sleep on? You’ve got a fever, you need to rest.” 

He shook his head quickly, “No, no sleeping. I can’t..” Stanford closed his eyes and exhaled shakily. 

“Ford, you look like you haven’t slept in days. What’s going on, Six?” His voice, filled with concern, made him hesitate.

”I…” Stanford swallowed, nearly choking on nothing. He let out a shaky, albeit strong breath. “I need.. I need help.”

“And what do you think you’re doing here?” A majestic being stood before them, her voice impossibly high. She glimmered in the warm rays of the sun. Now that he really looked at it, it was much warmer here, unlike the cold, harsh, Oregon winter they were tramping in. 

Her sparkly eyes shone brightly, piercing through them both, while her mane, perfect as ever, gleamed, the bright colors nearly giving them each a headache.

“I apologise for intruding, Celestabellebethabelle, but we came here in need of some of your.. hair.” Ford sighed. He sounded so stupid, but Stan and him had both agreed on asking before resorting to violence.

He knew it wouldn’t work. The question was really just something to give him time to mentally prepare for whatever circus act the unicorn grove was about to turn into.

”Must I say this again?” Celestabellebethabelle flipped her shiny mane, thrashing it around. He could’ve sworn some kind of glitter fell out. 

She snorted, stomping her front hooves on the ground, “I’ve already told you, you are not pure of heart!” Ford groaned. Before he could say anything, Stan was already talking.

”Look, Celesta…” Stan trailed off, “whatever your name is, we both know the whole ‘pure of heart’ thingy is a sham. Just give us the hair. It’s important and I really don’t feel like dealing with your horseshit right now.” 

“How. DARE. You?!” Celestabellebethabelle was fuming, her whole face was turning a bright shade of red and the unnaturally exaggerated spark in her eyes seemingly disappeared.

He just had to hope Stan could distract her long enough. “You think this is a scam?! Well, for your information, this is completely legitimate!” She neighed. Her stomping was making it difficult to get closer to her, but if Ford was being honest, he’d dealt with worse.

Slowly, he moved closer and closer. Thankfully, Stan knew exactly how to purposely press people’s buttons. “Uh huh.. look, from one conman to another, you really gotta up your game.” Closer. “I mean, come on, pure of heart?” Closer. “No one is actually pure of heart.” Closer. “What does being pure of heart even mean?”

She scoffed, offended. Just when Celestabellebethabelle was about to reply, Ford lunged at her, tightly wrapped his arms around her neck and held on for dear life. 

She screamed, violently thrashing around in an attempt to get him off. He wasn’t really sure what he was doing, because strangling a shiny horse with a sharp stick on its head definitely wasn’t on his bucket list. Nonetheless, he held on, hoping- no, praying Stan would do something. 

As if on cue, Stan threw a punch at her. Unsurprisingly, she was still standing, choking a horse with your bare hands would be impossible. 

“GET OFF OF ME YOU FILTHY PEASANT!”  She bucked and squirmed, but Ford held tight, tighter than he thought was possible.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Stan run off into the thicker parts of the grove. His heart sank. Fords grip loosened slightly, which nearly made him fall off. “Stanley?!” 

As quick as he left, he came running back, now wielding a thick branch. Light enough to swing, heavy enough to hit hard. Stan smacked Celestabellebethabelle with it, putting in as much force as he could.

Ford quickly went tumbling down to the ground, along with Celestabellebethabelle. Thankfully, he landed on top of her. She would’ve likely crushed him had she fell onto him. Ford tried not to think about that.

His heart was beating fast, Ford tried to regain his composure as the adrenaline left his body. 

Stan, with shaky hands, took the scissors from their backpack. With one quick motion, most of Celestabellebethabelle’s hair was gone. “Stanley! We don’t need that much!”

Stan pocketed the long, luscious hair he’d chopped off, shrugging at his scolding. “Eh, like she was using it for anything anyway.”

He sighed. “I suppose you’re right. We should get going, we have to make it back before dark.”