#couldn't help but sneak my au in bfsjnej

[earako]

A/N: Jumping on the bandwagon for Shermie finds out his brothers are alive

-/-

Two.

There were two of them.

That wasn't right-Shermie was there when Ma got The Call, he was there for the aftermath and he was there when Ma collapsed in his srms sobbing about how no one showed up except for what looked like an IRS agent.

Lee Lee was gone. Six feet under. Crashed and burned in a horrific car accident.

Then For For became even more of a hermit, only really keeping somewhat in contact once the kids were born.

"Grandpa Shermie?"

"Uh-oh, Mabel go grab a chair, grandpa do I need to call 911?"

Shermie could barely hear his grandchildren past the ringing in his ears. He didn't know if it was grief, anger, disbelief, or a mix of both that rendered him frozen and staring at an old and gray pair of twins that the back of his mibd remembered acting almost as a second set of parents towards him.

Twins that taught him how to read from their comic book collection, his five fingered twin sneaking him sweets late at night, his six fingered twin finding ways to make the toys Shermie longingly stared at in the shop windows they'd pass while out with Ma.

"Hey...Sher-bear? You good?"

"Obviously not, Stanely-I told you we should have eased him into this!"

"Ford, how the heck do you ease someone into the fact that their older bro ain't dead and has been impersonating their other older bro for 30 years?"

A laugh bubbled out of Shermie, high and hysterical.

The arguing was oh so achingly familiar. Shermie had fallen to sleep listening to those two voices squabbling, and to his relief despite the arguing the voices lacked the venom laced barbs that became more common when For For and Lee Lee began to, as young Shermie said, "age backwards."

"This isn't real," Shermie managed to wheeze out. "This isn't real, I-I'm hallucinating or-or I'm dreaming, Lee Lee is dead and I've snapped or something-"

A six fingered hand gently cradled the back of Shermie's head while five fingers pulled him into a familiar feeling hug. "Sher-bear..."

"No!" Shermie yelled, wanting to rip himself out of the hug but the hands held tight and squeezed. His body instantly relaxed.

He shakily reached up and grasped the backs of his brothers shirts.

Solid.

Real.

Not a hallucination.

Shermie sobbed.

"Y-y-you asshole! Jerk! You-why didn't you tell me? No one told me! No one told me anything!"

"We know. We know and we're so, so sorry Shermie," For For's familiar, lower rasp softly hushed and cooed at Shermie while Lee Lee's slightly higher pitch hummed off key.

It was a scene straight out of Shermie's childhood.

He cried even harder.

"Grandpa?"

"Grunkle Stan, Great-Uncle Ford his he gonna be okay?"

"He'll be fine kids," Shermie heard Lee Lee say, For For adding in, "He's procrssing a lot of emotions right now. He'll be fine once they run their course."

Shermie hiccuped. He gave his brother's (alive, both of them were alive, how-when-what-he had so many questions-) one last squeeze before managing to pull back so he could properly look at them.

"Where did you both go?" He asked, feeling his 8 year old self resurface. His brothers exchanged pained glances with one another.

"...Bad brains and bad people," Lee Lee muttered. Shermie raised a brow. "Elaborate?"

"That'll take some time, I'll put on some coffee. Kids come help me."

"Make sure he doesn't burn the water!" Lee Lee called after For For and the grandchildrens retreating forms.

"That was one time!"

"One time too many!" Stan called back, teasingly. Shermie let out a shuddering breath and wiped his face with his sleeves, laughing slightly at the familiar exchange. Stan seemed to brighten up at hearing a genuine laugh from Shermie.

"Hey, there's my smily lil Sher-bear." Shermie rolled his eyes, gesturing to the kitchen. "I have grandkids."

"Still the baby."

"By 8 years!" At the sound of Stan's laugher along with Ford and the kids bustling in the kitchen Shermie felt a weight he didn't know was in his chest lighten up a bit. He still wanted answers and was definitely going to demand them over coffee.

For now, though, he was going to enjoy the fact that he had both of his safe people back.