#bill singing this to ford instead of we’ll meet again

[goatsandpals]

Sorry, but Bill Cipher’s theme song would actually be blank space by Taylor swift. I ruined that song for myself by imagining it sung in a Bill Cipher voice. I CANT UNHEAR THAT

[iishipallthethings]

The Hunt Chapter 3

Story Summary:  Its been thirteen years since Mabel helped Dipper defeat Bill. And five years since she last step foot in Gravity Falls or even seen her twin brother. Desperate for information and help, Mabel returns to Gravity Falls in hopes of finding her Grunkle Ford but instead, she finds Wendy Corduroy, the new sheriff of the strange town. Why did Mabel leave? What is Wendy hiding?

Chapter Title: Meeting Old Friends

Pairing: Mabel X Wendy

Coffee?

This morning, the sun didn’t try to stab at Mabel’s eyes as she awoke. She stretched as far as she could, her feet and hands bumping against the couch’s armrests. Mabel sat up and rubbed the remainder of sleep from her eyes. A bed would have been more comfortable but she couldn’t really complain. She slept in far worse places in her travels, many times fearing that she wouldn’t open her eyes again. Mabel looked at the clock hanging above the television set. 4:24 AM. She doubted Wendy was up by then and began her daily exercises. She went through her fifty situps and twenty pushups before leaving the house to jog for an hour. It wasn’t enough to build up too much muscle but it was suitable to make sure she stayed limber and strong. When she reentered the house, Mabel could hear movement from the other side of a closed door and assumed Wendy was up and about. She went into the house’s one bathroom and noticed the tub was wet from a recent shower. She got in the tub and took a relatively quick shower, she would have loved to take a nice long one but apparently Wendy loved hot water as there was very little left for Mabel.

Mabel was shivering by the time she got dressed and went into the kitchen. Wendy was there, sipping a cup of coffee, smiling apologetically when she saw Mabel’s cold state. “Sorry about that.” Wendy offered a cup of fresh coffee as a gift of peace. The younger woman accepted it with a scowl but as the liquid warmed her, she found herself becoming happier, despite of the plans she had for the day.  Mabel finished the cup and set it in the sink. “I’m going out for a bit. Do you want anything while I’m gone?” The younger woman felt a little weird sleeping on Wendy’s couch and using her utilities rent-free. She could at the very least pick up some candy or soda for the sheriff.

Wendy drank the rest of her coffee and looked at Mabel. “Cool, I got the day off too so I’ll tag along.” She spoke with an expression that said she wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer. She was worried about Mabel and she wanted to make sure she was staying safe. A part of her, although she would deny it if someone asked her about it, was worried that Mabel might go after the magical creatures residing in the forests.

“Okay,” Mabel said, not putting up any resistance. She guessed that Wendy would want to come as well and figured that she would save the older woman the hassle of trailing her if she said no. At least, that’s what she would have done if she was in Wendy’s shoes. Mabel knew that the sheriff was perhaps a bit suspicious of Mabel’s feelings to the magical creatures of Gravity Falls after reading her journal. She fingered the hilt of her knife as she led the way to Wendy’s cop car. She got in the passenger seat and watched as Wendy called in sick. “Playing hookie? That’s illegal, Sheriff Corduroy,” Mabel teased.

“It’s only illegal if I get caught,” Wendy retorted, smirking as she pulled out of her driveway. “Besides, I’m the boss. Who’s gonna arrest me? Robbie?”

Mabel sat up straighter in her seat in shock. “Wait! Robbie’s a cop too?”

Wendy laughed and nodded. “Yep! He’s actually deputy now.” She glanced at Mabel and smiled at the expression of surprise still on her face. “He’s more of a pencil pusher though so don’t expect him to pull you over for speeding.” Wendy turned a right to go on the street that went through the forest. Soon, the smooth pavement became a dirt road and Wendy was careful that she didn’t push the car too much. She pulled over on the side of the road and made sure to grab a flashlight and a map in case they got lost but she wasn’t really worried about that possibility. She spent all her life in these woods and knew them like the back of her hand. “It’s about an half-hour walk to the statue,” Wendy informed Mabel. The older Pines twin simply nodded with a serious face. Wendy realized with a plummeting stomach that the old, playful Mabel was gone and deadly, hunter Mabel took her place.

The two walked in silence for most of the time. Wendy attempted to spark some conversation on how the magical creatures were faring but Mabel was too focused on scanning their surroundings, her eyes never staying on one place for long. Wendy sighed and stared straight ahead. There was nothing in these woods that would dare mess with them.

Wendy could tell they were getting close to Bill’s statue by the amount of noise. There was none. No squirrels rustling the leaves in the above canopies, no birds singing their songs, no random animal scurrying about the underbrush. There was simply their feet snapping dry twigs or disturbing the fallen leaves. “I don’t like this,” Wendy muttered, wishing she had brought along her axe. It wouldn’t be able to do much against the supernatural beings of Gravity Falls, much less Bill, but it would have comforted her.

The younger woman knew they were nearing the statue by her aches. Each scar that had come from her hunts burned with a higher intensity as the two walked through the woods. Her leg felt as if there were maggots feasting on her flesh and digging their way to the bone. She had cleaned the wound after her hangover a few days before but it felt like she did nothing to stop the maggots. Mabel grit her teeth and bared it as much as she could, regretting letting Wendy come with her. If she was alone, she could have rested but now she didn’t have that luxury. Maybe if they came across a creek, Mabel could use the excuse of getting water to halt their progress.

“There,” Mabel sighed, spotting the stone statue of the being that almost destroyed their universe. Her body was aflame from her old wounds, like the creatures were still attacking her. She grimaced at the dead grass encompassing Bill’s statue. It formed a perfect circle and Mabel half-expected it to be in the shape of a triangle. There was a skeleton of a small rodent, a mouse perhaps. From the looks of it, the poor creature only set the tiniest claw into the circle’s circumference. Mabel pointed it out to Wendy and the sheriff nodded in understanding. “Let’s get this over with,” the hunter said, pulling out the dagger she had held to Wendy’s throat just days prior.

Wendy gulped at the sight of the weapon, remembering the cool kiss it gave her. She could focus on it better now that it wasn’t threatening her life and noticed some runes carved into the steel. “What are those?”

Mabel glanced down at the markings with something of a bored expression. “These are symbols from different ancient civilizations.” She tapped the one closest to the hilt. “This is Nazar, or the Evil Eye, and like the others, it helps detect evil.” Mabel pointed the tip of the dagger to the statue. “The hotter this dagger feels, the more evil a creature is.” She carefully took a step forward and licking her lips, thrust the dagger into the circumference of the circle. Immediately, blue flame sprouted out of the steel and Mabel snatched it back towards her. The fire went out as soon as it was out of Bill’s range and Mabel laughed nervously. “That was close!”

“Um, yeah,” Wendy didn’t know what to make of the blue flames. The blade was glowing red from the fire and she didn’t want to know how Mabel was able to still hold it so casually. “Is, uh, that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“A good thing, ” Mabel answered, kneeling down to stab the knife into the soil. Tendrils of steam rose from the dagger as the damp soil cooled the blade. “A very good thing. The fact that it had such a violent reaction means that Bill is still trapped in the stone.” Mabel tugged the dagger from the ground and inspected the steel. It was cool enough to slip into the holster without it melting the leather.

“Is that all for today?” They hadn’t really done much but Wendy was more than willing to head back to the house to relax. Just being in the same vicinity as Bill, statue form or not, was enough to set her on edge. Wendy kept glancing back to the stone statue as if it would come alive at any moment. When she received no immediate answer, the sheriff felt dread. “What is it?”

“I want to visit Gideon,” Mabel admitted. “If Grunkle Ford isn’t here then he’s the next best thing.” She could tell that from the silence that she had stunned Wendy. She started to walk away from the site with Wendy following. With each step she could feel the pain leaving her body, except for the leg. Mabel would have to change the bandages soon again and her gut tightened uneasily at the prospect. “Do you know where he lives now?”

Wendy nodded, turning her head to give the Bill statue one last look before a tree obscured her view. “Yeah, but we’ll find him at that car dealership now. He became a partner in his father’s business and made a name for himself. Even people out of town come to see him and not for that psychic bullshit.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t demand full ownership,” Mabel laughed to hide the groan of pain. The foot of her injured leg hit against a hidden root and the jolt sent a wave of pain up her limb. She saw Gideon grow into a respectable man before she stopped coming to Gravity Falls but she knew that a lot can happen in five years. She’s a prime example.

The two exited the woods and got into the sheriff’s car. They drove to the once-shoddy dealership in good time. Mabel took the opportunity to massage her injured leg as discreetly as possible. It was getting a lot worse now, probably needing a visit to the hospital but she couldn’t afford it in time or money. Hunting wasn’t really profitable but at least the families tend to let her crash at their places while she took care of the monster tormenting them.

Mabel almost gasped at the sight of the cars lining the Gleeful’s car lot. She remembered them all being busted up and rusted but now their exteriors shined from care without a single scratch on it. There was even a sign on the windshields informing the customer of the possibility to test drive the car, something Bud Gleeful would have been too nervous to try before on the account that most of the cars he tried to sell were horrific. The two women exited their vehicle and Wendy led Mabel to the office when they couldn’t spot Gideon’s white hair in the crowd gushing over a mercedes. Wendy didn’t bother knocking before turning the knob and walking inside.

At the only desk in the building sat Gideon. He was typing away on a computer, the very action seeming strange to Mabel, but swiveled around when he heard the little bell at the door  ding. “How may I he- Mabel!?” Gideon jumped out of his chair, a large smile springing on his face at the sight of the older Pines twin.

The woman in question could only stare at the young man. He had changed in the last five years. He still wore the blue suit but now filled it out with more muscle instead of fat, however there was a little pudge at his stomach. Gideon sported a well kept goatee that was the same snowy white as his hair. He strutted up to Mabel, having caught her eyes looking him over, and held out his hand. Mabel took it but instead of a handshake like she expected, Gideon raised her hand to give it a quick kiss. “I never thought I would see such a beautiful woman again,” he said charmingly as he let go of Mabel’s hand.

Mabel could only blush and coughed into the hand that Gideon didn’t kiss. She thought he would have gotten over her in her absence but it seems that he didn’t. Gideon was still after her heart when she came back for her second summer and all the rest after that but instead of being really pushy and creepy, it was more of that puppylove Dipper had for Wendy. At times it was actually cute opening the door out of the shack and seeing a bouquet of flowers with a card asking how she was. “If you want to see a beautiful woman, all you have to do is look to my left.” Mabel gestured towards Wendy as if she was presenting her at an art gallery.

Now Wendy felt her cheeks start to become warm but she didn’t really understand why. Mabel just wanted Gideon’s attention off of her, that’s all. Gideon gave her a friendly grin but not with as much charisma as he showed Mabel. “Can I help you two with something?” he asked, looking at Mabel. If Wendy needed something, she would have called him or demanded that he come to the police station. Gideon was sure that it was Mabel who wanted his expertise, or at least he sincerely hoped so.

“Yes,” Mabel nodded, taking out her journal. “How much do you remember of Grunkle Ford’s journal?”

At the words, the cheerful expression melted to hesitation and a bit of fear but Gideon was quick to put on a mask of confidence for Mabel. “I must admit I’m a bit, erm, tentative to recall those chapters of my life shall we say. With all those attempts of stealing your Mystery Shack, attacking your brother, dealing with Bill, and, uh,” Gideon blushed with shame and embarrassment, “the other unpleasantries.”

“Like holding me prisoner in that insanity bubble so I would be your queen?” Mabel asked. When Gideon looked down at the floor, she was reminded of a hurt puppy and felt absurd guilt pierce her. He had turned over a new leaf but that didn’t erase all the bad things Gideon had done in the past.

Gideon brushed back his hair and grabbed his collar. From the years she known the man Mabel learned that his actions were a nervous tick, like Soos’s nervous talking. “But if truth be told, I remember everything from that journal. I have a photographic memory, you see.” He glanced at the closed door and leaned closer to Mabel, holding up one hand as if to shield the words from Wendy and jerking his thumb to the door. “Since its about those journals, I have to ask. Is the, er, other one outside?”

“No,” came the swift answer from both Wendy and Mabel. The older Pines twin pulled out her journal to show Gideon. “Dipper doesn’t know I’m here and I wish to keep it that way. The summer I didn’t come back was when I started to travel the world, finding my own Gravity Falls.” The joke made Wendy frown but Gideon didn’t know why.  

For his part, Gideon didn’t question Mabel’s motives, figuring that they must be good ones. Anything paranormal would bring Dipper running like a dog to a big, juicy steak. “As you wish, my lady. Besides, it’s so much more peaceful around these parts without him trying to poke his nose into my business, seeing if I’m still evil and whatnot,” he laughed like it didn’t bother him. He held out his hand and Mabel put her journal into it. Gideon opened it at the beginning, his eyebrows immediately furrowing as he read of her first hunt for a poltergeist. He read the pages of her first hunt quickly but skimmed through the other entries, his face paling to the color of his hair and beard. “I never even heard of some of these abominations!” he exclaimed, now only reading the dates of the entries and what Mabel was hunting at that time. Wendy really didn’t like how even Gideon didn’t know the creatures which meant that Ford, whose journal taught Gideon everything he knew about the supernatural, didn’t either. “The dates,” he whispered, going back some entries to confirm his suspicions, “they’re becoming more frequent.”

“Don’t look too much into that,” Mabel chimed. “I think I’m getting better at finding them, not that there numbers are actually increasing.”

Gideon nodded on instinct and finally landed on the last entry. If he looked scared before now he was absolutely petrified. His eyes went as wide as they could and the book almost fell out of his trembling hands. “The wendigo escaped,” he read aloud. Gideon stared at Mabel desperately, like he wanted her to say that this was all a big joke. “You let a wendigo escape!?”

“Whoa whoa,” Wendy called out, snatching the journal from Gideon’s quaking hands. “Wendigos are a thing?”  

“Yes,” Gideon’s voice was a trembling mess. He didn’t take his eyes off Mabel as he pointed an accusing finger at her. “Why would you go after such a thing? They are one of the most dangerous creatures in this dimension! Even your great uncle warned never to cross paths with one.”

“I know,” Mabel gritted out through clenched teeth. It wasn’t that she was truly mad at either of them, just saying the creature’s identity made her leg burn. She looked at Wendy who was still reading her journal but continually glanced up to look at her. “I lost its trail a few weeks ago and I wanted to see if Grunkle Ford had any idea how to track it down.” Mabel met Gideon’s eyes and talked before he could voice his objections. “I was able to corner it but it fled before I could kill it.” Her eyes narrowed as she recalled that day. “It got my leg pretty bad and I had to stay in a local hospital for three months before I could try and track it again. I found it’s trail but it led to a dead end.”

“Then it's probably dead!” From what Wendy read, she prayed that was the case but both pairs of doubtful eyes ruined that hope. “Even if it isn’t, why would you want to find that thing?” It might have been selfish, if that creature was still alive it was still killing, but Wendy didn’t want Mabel facing that thing again.

“It has her scent,” Gideon answered with a grave voice.

Mabel smiled at them sadly. “I don’t know if it's playing with me or not but I don’t want to wait and find out. That area has had twenty three fatal grizzly maulings in the past three decades even though no one has even sighted a grizzly in the surrounding area. There’s also numerous missing persons that all seem to be concentrated in that one area.” She gestured to the journal where she had written all that down. “It is probably responsible for a hundred more deaths.” Mabel gently pried the journal from Wendy’s stiff fingers and put it back in its pocket.

Gideon played with his tassel, tightening it and then loosening it a moment later. “If I remember something, I’ll be sure to tell you.” He looked crestfallen as he said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t offer more of my assistance on the matter.”

“It’s okay, Gideon,” Mabel reassured him. “Honestly, I didn’t believe that there would be much if anything on wendigos in Grunkle Ford’s journals. If there was, then the magical creatures would know and would have left Gravity Falls a very long time ago.” The words did comfort Gideon a bit and he grinned up at Mabel.

“Well, if you need a new car don’t forget to call us. I’ll cut you a good deal.”

The two women left the building and headed to the parked car. This time, Mabel couldn’t suck up the pain and ended up limping when she got halfway to the car. She slumped into her seat and met Wendy’s worried eyes. Sighing, she rubbed her leg to try to massage some of the pain away. “I know, I know. I should have told you.”

Despite her concern for the younger woman, Wendy made a grunt of agreement. “Damn right you should have. This is big, Mabel.” She chewed her bottom lip before venturing out in dangerous territory. “You don’t want to call Dipper, right?” Mabel nodded, wondering where Wendy was going with this. “Then you can’t keep stuff like this from me, especially if you’re living in my house.” Wendy raised her hand when Mabel opened her mouth. “And no, I’m not going to let you sleep in that shitty motel so you just have to deal with telling me the truth.”

Mabel rolled her eyes and patted her injured leg. “First off, sorry for not telling you. I’ll make sure to let you in on what’s happening, as long as you don’t get too involved. This is my fuckup, not yours.” Mabel winced and groaned, sagging against the seat. “Second, I was going to ask if you knew how to change bandages.” She smiled through the pain at Wendy. “It feels like that thing is still slicing into my leg.”

[impishnature]

For The Sake Of Auld Lang Syne

AO3

Rating: G

Summary: It’s New Year’s Eve and two old men in a little boat in the middle of the ocean try to have a heart to heart around an old tradition.

AN: I wasn’t going to write a New Year fic this time round but Auld Lang Syne has been stuck in my head for two days and this seemed like a good idea to get it out again ♥ Happy New Year guys! Pinging @howtotrainyournana​ and @garrulousgibberish​ because singalongs!

.

There was a quiet hum of peaceful chatter in the cabin of a small boat way out to sea, the hush of the night giving way to soft lamplight and warm drinks inside.

A small radio, quietly droning, sat next to the two old men as they talked about old times and the kids that had passed out on video chat a few hours before. Time zones were hard at the best of times but the pair couldn’t help chuckling at their dedicated attempt.

“What’s the time now, Sixer?”

“Almost time, we’ve got about 10 minutes. What do you want to do?”

Stan grinned mischievously. “Fireworks.”

“We don’t have any fireworks.” Ford shook his head, trying not to smile along with him. “Though I wish we’d thought about it now.”

“Well, neither of us actually remembered until a few days ago when the kids asked if we’d be back in time.” Stan couldn’t help the smile drooping guiltily and slightly disappointedly. If they had known a little bit earlier they could have sailed down and got to them in time for New Year’s, he was certain of it.

A hand fell on top of his as he cupped both hands around his warm drink.

“They understood.” Ford smiled knowingly. “And besides! We got to spend time with them still! This will definitely be a New Year’s to remember what with them finding a way to let us celebrate with them!”

Stan nodded, his smile sliding back. “Yeah true, was fun watching them with party poppers and dancing about. Surreal to celebrate New Year’s hours before it happens for us though.”

“Yeah, it’s too quiet now, like it’s already over and done with.”

“Nah, just means we’ve got to keep the celebrations going.” Stan stood up, grabbing a flask to tip a small amount in his coffee before offering it to Ford. “Got to toast the New Year in, don’t we?”

Ford took it without argument. “True, besides, we’ve got to come up with a good story to tell the kids.” He gestured to the laptop that had since disconnected with inactivity, though they had managed to get a few pictures of the two adamant ‘we’ll stay up for your New Year’s too!’ sleepers before the connection failed on them. “Something amazing they missed when they fell asleep.”

“I like your thinking! How about-”

The music on the radio stopped, a small countdown starting that Ford turned up quickly. They stopped what they were doing, counting down with it as if they were part of the crowd in the nearby port that were celebrating.

The small thrill of the moment took over as they glanced at one another, bright exclamations leaving them both. “Happy New Year!”

“We don’t even have party poppers! What kind of celebration is this?”

“Mabel sent us some more letters we haven’t had chance to open yet. I’m sure if we opened them it would count, who knows what confetti is inside this time. We could-”

“After last time? No thanks, I’d like to be able to drink my coffee without making my tongue glittery thanks.”

The pair burst into giggles, the sound ringing around the room and into the stillness of the night, not that it mattered, no one was near enough to hear.

They quietened down after a moment, a soft quiet hush taking over as they continued to listen to the celebrations on the radio.

“A new year, huh?” Was all Stan managed to say, quiet and poignant against the stillness. Ford made a soft noise of agreement with him as they raised their cups to one another and took a sip. They didn’t need to say much more, it was hard to think of the right way to word it anyway.

So many years had gone by without celebration, just another day in the calendar.

This felt like a better one.

Ford looked up as he thought he heard Stan go to speak and instead heard a soft hum emanating from him as he stared out of the window, eyebrows furrowed as if his mind was far away. He listened quietly for a few seconds with a smile until he realised what song it was, singing along to the melody.

“Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, for the sake of auld lang syne?”

Stan stopped his humming, a cheekiness to his voice. “You still remember that old song?”

“This isn’t the only dimension that celebrates with it, you know.”

“Huh, for some reason I hadn’t thought about the multiverse, or whatever it is, having the same songs.”

“Oh, believe me, a few of the songs Mabel threw at me were jarringly familiar and different all at once. This particular New Year’s song though doesn’t really change at all when it is present.”

The smile that had grown as Ford joined in vanished to a perplexed grimace. “You know I’ve never understood why that song is a New Year’s tradition.”

“You started it.”

“Yeah, habit, I guess. But it’s kind of sombre, isn’t it? That’s all.”

“Hmm…” Ford shrugged, taking another sip as he thought about it. “I always thought it meant remembering the good things that have happened? That makes it perfect for a New Year’s song, doesn’t it?”

“What if you didn’t have a good year though?”

Ford blinked, stomach clenching as he looked up at his brother who was still staring out the window, mildly frowning. He wouldn’t blame him if he thought the last year had more bad than good considering Weirdmaggedon and their more than frosty reunion, but he had hoped that the end of the year might have proved otherwise. It had for him, it had all been worth it in the end for him. “Stan?”

Stan shook his head slightly, turning to Ford. His eyes widened at his worried expression, his hands leaving the cup on the table to wave around as his face became alarmed. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just generally?” He shrugged, rubbing at the back of his head. “I mean good things happened sure, but a lot of bad happened too, right?”

Ford relaxed, nodding along with him. “Right, yes of course.”

“And I mean other years were… not so great.” Stan looked down at his drink again, swirling it slightly. “I never knew whether the song was telling me to forget or to keep remembering the good and the bad.” He snorted, tapping at his head as he shook off the conversation. “Whatever, didn’t get much choice in that department, did I?”

Ford gave him a scathing look for the joke before continuing. “I think the song works still then. I always saw it as – perhaps not forgetting old acquaintances, but not dwelling on them if they were bad memories. Focus on the good memories and use them to continue onwards into the New Year.”

“Yeah? You think it’s that simple?”

“Maybe not, but we can try, right?”

“What about Bill?”

Ford winced but raised a hand when Stan looked ready to apologise. “As I said, not forgetting, but just not dwelling. I’ve spent far too long focusing on… him. It’s time to start a new chapter that doesn’t involve him.”

“I’ll drink to that.”

“Alright then, New Year’s resolution, Bill doesn’t get to have a part of this one. And besides-” Ford leaned in conspiratorially so that Stan leaned in with him, eyebrow raised curiously.

“I’d rather focus on having met the kids.”

Stan laughed, a giddy sound as he nodded along. “I’d rather you focused on that too!”

“As for you.” Ford hummed thoughtfully, nodding to himself as Stan tilted his head. “A lot of bad did happen, not anything we’ll be forgetting any time soon- don’t say a word.” He glared as Stan went to speak cheekily, finger already pointed at his own head. “No. No more memory jokes. All I was going to say was that it was a tough year but we got through. You saved the world, Stan and now look at us. I’d say we ended last year pretty well.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “We saved the world.”

“If you say so.” Ford shrugged, his own cheeky grin sliding up his face. “But if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have the choice to put Bill behind me and start this New Year afresh, would I? Would any of us?”

“I thought you weren’t dwelling on all that anymore?”

Ford huffed playfully, raising his hands in defeat. “Alright, no more Bill talk. That’s it, he’ll never darken our lives again.” Stan nodded fervently, Ford sensed his moment to strike. “Cause of you.” He chuckled as Stan’s smile dropped into another endearing and exasperated eye roll. “So I hope you don’t dwell on any of it either.”

Stan shook his head with a smile. “Nah, I got you back, didn’t I? Don’t wanna forget that anytime soon.”

“No, I don’t want to either.”

There was quiet for a bit longer as they both drank some more, it felt like it should be far later than it was, a heart to heart in the middle of the night but somehow mere minutes had passed.

“I don’t think it just means remembering last year though.”

“Hmm?”

Ford continued on, not quite able to let up yet. “Well it’s talking about old times, isn’t it? Remembering better times, you know?”

Stan gave a small sad twist of a smile. Ford found himself waiting for him to look up again from his drink but Stan didn’t seem able to meet his eye. “I remember one year I found my way to a pub where everyone was celebrating. Couldn’t really join in all that much but it was nice to be surrounded by it all. It was nice, thinking about celebrations we’d had as kids, when we tried to stay up late and conked out on the sofa, that kind of thing. I remember sitting and hoping the next year would be better. Did you ever-” He laughed slightly, still not looking at Ford but the sound filtered away quickly as he coughed. “Doesn’t matter, just yeah, I get you. Good memories, the song makes more sense now.”

“I did it too.” Ford answered the question, knowing what Stan had meant to ask. “There wasn’t much to celebrate on the other side of the portal. I found myself wistfully thinking of better New Year’s whenever they came about.”

“Yeah?” Stan stared at him thoughtfully, almost doubtfully. “You and Fiddlenerd have some good celebrations at college?”

Ford punched him, rolling his eyes. “I’m not going to say no because they were good but I didn’t mean that! Even at college it was weird not having you beside me.” He took a sip of his drink, feeling Stan’s eyes on him. He gave a sigh as he realised Stan was still sceptical. “I missed you, knucklehead, even if I was angry at you. And I did the same when I was in other dimensions. Found a small celebration in a town centre to join in with and saw kids running about the crowd, made me think of that year Ma took as to see the fireworks and we got told off for getting too close.”

“I remember! Cause you wanted to see how they were made and how long they took to go off!” Stan beamed, amused by Ford’s indignant reaction.

“If I recall correctly, you wanted to set one off!”

“For science, Poindexter.” Stan straightened his back, trying hard to look serious and not dissolve into laughter.

Ford choked on his drink. “For science! Yeah, right! Ma didn’t believe you then and I sure as hell don’t believe you now.”

“Well, what you wanted to do was for science.”

Ford huffed playfully as they fell into companionable silence again. The song rang through his head and he couldn’t resist continuing it as they sat, Stan more amicable to the song now.

“We two have run about the slopes. And picked the daisies fine. But we've wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne.”

“I get it, I get it, you can stop singing now.” Stan shook his head in amusement. “Remember good old times, don’t dwell on the bad, got it.”

“Not until you sing along with me.” Ford stuck out his tongue cheekily before continuing.

“We two have paddled in the stream. From morning sun till dine. But seas between us broad have roared, since auld lang syne.”

“Well unlike a nerd I know, I don’t know all the verses.” Stan rolled his eyes. “Besides, it’s kind of the sea that’s brought us here so we probably shouldn’t blame her for anything. I’d rather not get the boat wrecked now.”

“You’re no fun.” Ford whined, flopping back in his chair.

“When did you get so sappy and sentimental anyway? All this talk of memories.”

Ford snorted, resting his gaze back on Stan. He didn’t point out that memory was a particular sticking point this year as it was. “Says the one that asked all the questions in the first place tonight.”

“Hey! I just wanted to know what made it a good New Year’s song when it’s talking about the past and not about the future.” Stan held up his hands as Ford went to protest again. “Yeah, I get it now- ‘cause an old sentimental nerd has explained it to me.”

“It’s about making sure the next year is better.” Ford managed to get out before Stan could stop him, preening as Stan sighed in defeat and went back to his drink. “Not dwelling on the things we can’t change now but focusing on what we can do to make this next year better.”

“No use crying over spilt milk?” Stan looked up at him again, face warring with whether he should say anything more.

Ford knew what he wanted to ask though, about old grudges and arguments, things that went wrong when they needn’t have. But that wasn’t what New Year’s was about. It was about new beginnings and remembering those things, but not dwelling on them. Looking towards the future with hope.

“For auld lang syne, my dear. For auld lang syne. We’ll take-” Ford grinned, chinking their cups together where Stan still held his against the table, making sure he was looking back up at him. “-a cup of kindness yet, for the sake of auld lang syne.”

“Heh. For the sake of auld lang syne.” Stan smiled into his drink as Ford’s own seemed to grow at his response. He raised the cup for long enough to take a sip before cradling it again.

“You think we’ll be able to see any fireworks from here?”

“Always worth a look.” Stan stood up as Ford beamed, scurrying out of the cabin on to deck, a childish gleam to his eyes. Stan couldn’t help the chuckle that left him, shaking his head as he grabbed his hat and followed suit.

He paused at the door, glancing back at the cabin with a soft little smile, his mind still on the last few New Years he’d had. “This year’s already looking up.”

“What was that? You coming or what, old man?”

“Oi. Look who’s talking.”

“Oh! Stan! I’m sure I just saw one! You’re going to miss them, come on!”

“Alright, you big kid, I’m coming, I’m coming.” Stan laughed, shaking his head as he closed the door and joined his brother at the railing to see the New Year in.

.

AN: Not a universal tradition but uhh- I thought it had a good message, especially with how last year went for a lot of us.  I also might interpret the song a bit differently than it’s meant to be but I hope you guys liked this! I thought it might be fitting that was all c: