#fiddauthorgiftexchnage

[siodymph]

“The Gift to Keep on Giving”

Hey there @the-ill-doctor ! I’m sorry this is getting to you so late but at long last here’s your gift! I had a lot of fun working on your prompt. It was so sweet, it got me right into the holiday spirit lol I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! And Happy New Year!

Feel free to read your story under the cut or over on my AO3!

There were a few subjects Stanford didn’t think about when moving to Backupsmore. Or at least things he tried not to think about. The holidays was one of those subjects.

While everyone was packing up their dorms for the semester Stanford honestly didn’t know what he was going to do. He hadn’t gone home during Hanukah. The most he’d done was send the Pine’s family a few cards and some presents to give to Shermie. He knew he wasn’t in hot water with his parents, at least not as much as Stanley, but since he hadn’t made it into his dream school things still felt weird between him and his father. If he were to go back to New Jersey for his holiday break he’d be happy to see his mom and Shermie, but he’d be stuck under the same roof as his dad again.

And if he was honest with himself, Stanford didn’t even want to go home for Christmas. Having it just be him, his parents, the baby, all stuck in a quiet house...

He tried to rationalize his decision with extra evidence. He could better optimize his work if he didn’t waste the time and money going back to New Jersey. He could use the break to study for next semester. Perhaps get a head start with the research program he got into. Maybe even begin writing a paper on theoretical physics for the Backupsmore Science Journal.

But he knew the bigger reason why he didn’t want to go back home. Even if he never said it out loud.

He told himself he was fine, therefor he was fine. He’d spend the winter break at school. Doing work. Doing important work. And he’d be fine.

So when Fiddleford McGucket practically demanded he pack a suitcase and come to Tennessee with him it practically ripped apart his original plans.

“No way I’m letting you stay out here in California by your lonesome!” He’d called out as he shoved the last of his coats and shoes into a duffel bag. “You’re my friend!”

“But I don’t even know your family!” Stanford groaned from his bed. Watching Fiddleford race around their dorm like a headless chicken. “Hell, I’ve only known you for four months! Isn’t that weird?”

Fiddleford actually had the gall to laugh and looked over his shoulder. “Stanford Pines! A friend’s a friend, no matter how long you’ve known’em! Besides, if you knew my folks you’d know they love having guests. They’ll take any excuse they can get to throw a party.”

“And you don’t think they’ll find me… Odd?”

Pausing, Fiddleford turned back from his bags to give Stanford a sincere look. “Trust me, you’ll hardly be out of place. I’m sure they’ll love ya!”

“You really think so?” Stanford asked.

“I know so!” Fiddleford declared.

“I don’t even celebrate Christmas, I’m Jewish.”

“Still no excuse to leave you all alone here. Especially since break goes through all of December and New Year’s.” Fiddleford called back. But he stopped for a moment, talking a little slower. And sighing “Ok wait, hold on. If you don’t wanna go, I shouldn’t be forcing ya like this…”

“What? You seemed so keen on me going with you just moments ago.”

“I know, and I want you to. I mean, I don’t want you feeling left out is all. But if you wanna come or not, it’s entirely your choice.” Fiddleford replied.

As he went back to packing Stanford found himself faced with a difficult choice. Continue with his original plan of staying at Backupsmore? Or go with Fidds?

It was true that he’d only known the other man for four month now. But he was also one of the only friends he’d made at school besides one girl and guy in his history class, and his roommate… Kinda. But of everyone he’d come to know it felt like only Fiddleford ever had the patience to actually talk with him. To talk about the things they liked, and with so much in common between them they hardly ever sat in awkward silence.

And despite not knowing one another long Stanford found that he really enjoyed Fiddleford’s company. Together they felt like this unstoppable duo, that they could do anything if they only set their minds to it. And no matter what they’d always have one another to support their endeavors and have each other’s backs.

Stanford hadn’t had a person like that in his life since he and Stanley were kids…

But would it be worth it to leave school, abandon all the plans he’d made, just to spend more time with Fidds?

Fiddleford actually jumped with a tiny squeak when a duffle bag was suddenly dropped next to his.

“Alright buddy, count me in!”

Fiddleford’s eyes lit up. “You mean it?”

Stanford shrugged “Eh, might as well do some traveling. I’ve never been to Tennessee after all!”

Before he could back up, Fiddleford tackled him in a hug. “Aw, thanks for doing this! You’re gonna love it! And just wait until you meet my family!”

“I hope so…” Stanford said with a sigh. He wasn’t completely sure he made the right choice but at least now Fiddleford was happier once again.

“Let me just call my Ma so she knows I’m not dead and I’ll start packing!”

A few days later Stanford found himself on a cross-country bus alongside his best friend. The ride might have been dull had he been traveling alone. But with Fiddleford there trip was much more enjoyable. It didn’t feel any shorter, but at least there was banjo music, talks of science, stories and plenty of good books to keep both of them busy.

And as soon as they left the station after two days of near non-stop traveling, the McGucket family clan was there to greet them with open arms.

After that the next few days became a blur. The McGuckets treated every Christmas like a family reunion so the old farmhouse was packed to the gills. It was a little claustrophobic at times but in some strange sort of way Stanford found himself almost enjoying the chaos of it all.

True to his word, Fiddleford’s family seemed genuinely interested in him. In such a crowded house people seldom even noticed his hands. And even when he did most of the McGucket’s seemed more interested in his hands than disgusted or disturbed. Though sometimes he did find himself uncomfortable around Fiddleford’s grandmother when she started commenting that perhaps he had been marked by a devil. But Fiddleford could shoo her off easily enough.

When Christmas Eve finally came Stanford honestly didn’t know what to expect. In his house they’d barely cared about the christian holiday. The most interest Stanford and his brothers had in it had been all the presents and the candy and the comfort food. But he’d always seen it on television and advertisings. From what he’d gathered as a kid the rest of America seemed to care about Christmas a lot.

And sure enough Christmas Eve proved to be the big red and white party he’d always seen in movies. Funny enough though Stanford expected Fiddleford’s family to be even wilder than the ones he saw on TV, seeing how excited they’d been already. But come Christmas Eve Stanford swore the McGucket clan actually seemed slightly more subdued than they had every day leading up to it.

They did insist on doing a lot of baking though. All day it seemed like there were people working in the kitchen. Roasts, pies, casseroles, cakes, salads, unique recipes Stanford didn’t even know how to categories! And it seemed like everyone was contributing to a massive dinner platter over-flowing with cookies by the end of the night. All for Santa supposedly. It seemed rather excessive but let the family continue doing it, not wanting to spoil all their fun.

Fun… that was probably the biggest feeling he’d gotten from the McGucket’s Christmas Eve. Everything seemed to be so much fun to them. And when he saw the joy that seemed to radiate off Fiddleford he couldn’t help but agree and smile back.

And later as he got ready to go to bed he couldn’t help but think about it still.

“I know that look.” Fiddleford said with a smirk. “Wha’cha thinking about, pal?”

“Not much, buddy.” Stanford answered back, keeping his voice low. With such close quarters not only was Stanford rooming with Fiddleford, but also three of his other cousins as well and they were already fast asleep.

“I guess it’s just… you and your family are a lot different from my own.”

“You think so?”

“My family is nothing like this, I’ve only seen some of my relatives once or twice. And never all at once like this. They just tolerated each other. But you, you and your family, you all seem so close.”

“I think that’s all thanks to my Dad and all his siblings.” Fiddleford said, looking over to a few of his cousins. “They always believed that family owed it to one another stick together through thick and thin. And if it weren’t for them sticking like that, I doubt I’d see these guys nearly as often. If ever.”

“What family owes?”

Fiddleford shrugged. “You know. Looking out for one another? Caring about everyone? My Granny was sure to hammer that int’a everyone’s skulls.”

“It’s a bit ironic,” Stanford realized. Trying to ignore the bubbling guilt in his gut the more he thought about his family and his brother. “Despite being people with such similar interests our home lives couldn’t be any different. I… don’t really like being around my family that much. I didn’t even go home for Hanukah this year just because I didn’t want to see them so soon.”

“Well next year put it on the calendar! Whether we go to New Jersey or not I wanna celebrate Hanukah with you!” Fiddleford declared. Quickly putting his hand over his mouth when one of his cousins grumbled in their sleep.

“You would?” Stanford whispered in disbelief.

“Of course!” Fiddleford declared, trying hard to keep his voice still a whisper. “It’s been so nice havin’ you here. It’s the least I can do after dragging your butt out of sunny California here in the dead of winter! And I’d love to celebrate more things with you. It could become like a little tradition if you wanted.”

“I think I’d like that very much.” Stanford agreed. “And you know there’s more than just Hanukah… I could show you all our other holidays if you like.”

“I’d like that very much.” Fiddleford said warmly. Then he stood up out of his bed and went to put back on his shoes.

“You aren’t going to bed yet?” Stanford asked, stifling a yawn. Usually when they’d slept over in one another’s dorm Fiddleford had always been the first to fall asleep.

“Oh, I was just gonna go help my Pa out in the stables. Apparently the horses are givin’ him trouble settling down.” Fiddleford rushed to say.

Stanford could hardly hear any commotion outside, not to mention hadn’t seen Fiddleford talk to his father once, but he didn’t think much of it. Yawning he snuggled deeper into his blankets. “Alright then, goodnight whenever you do go to sleep.”

“Night buddy.” Fiddleford said before padding quietly out of the room. “And merry Christmas.”

Wondering what would happen the next day, and already dreaming of what it’d be like the celebrate Hanukah with Fidds, Stanford let himself drift off…

If Christmas Eve had felt like an ordeal at the McGucket household, Christmas day completely blew him away.

When he got up the next day it was like he’d stumbled into a completely different house. There was even more decorations placed along the walls and in every nook and cranny of the house. There were so many gifts placed under the tree they took up an entire half of the living room floor. And somehow during the four hours he’d actually slept someone had managed to eat the entire platter of cookies left out by the chimney. And when Stanford tried to ask who did it, he got the same answer the adults gave the kids.

“It was Santa silly! He sure loves his cookies!” Fiddleford declared.

“But I mean who really ate them all?” Stanford tried again. Keeping his voice low just in case any of the children there heard.

Fiddleford looked at him blankly. “… Santa!”

“Ok fine keep your secrets!” Stanford said. “I just wanted to know who could eat all those cookies. And I doubt they just threw them all out, that’d be a waste!”

“You really have no idea how Santa did it?”

“No and this is going to drive me crazy for the rest of the day. You’d have to be in diabetic shock after eating so many cookies at once!”

“Fine! I’ll let you in on a secret.” Looking around to make sure there weren’t any kids, Fiddleford pulled him aside back to his room and pulled out a cookie from his coat pocket. Letting it fall into Stanford’s hands. He couldn’t believe it.

“Wait, you did-”

“It’s a team effort.” Fiddleford replied in a hushed whisper. “Most the grown-up’s stay up to go decorate the house and along the way we clean off the plate.”

Stanford immediately blushed. “I uh-”

The longer he stayed quiet the more Fiddleford’s face fell. “Did you- Did you think only one person was allowed to eat those?”

“I… I hadn’t considered it.” Stanford replied in a quiet voice. He really hadn’t thought of that.

He could tell Fiddleford wanted to laugh really badly, but the man just clapped him on the shoulder, struggling not to fall over and cackle. “Stanford Pines! You’re a genius but I swear you got the perception of a- of a… I don’t even know!”

While Fiddleford found the situation hilarious, Stanford wanted to crawl away somewhere and hide. How had he not figured that out? He was on track to finish his bachelor’s in two years and yet he couldn’t figure out that more than one person could eat the cookies. Fiddleford thankfully didn’t mock him for long before taking him by the elbow and dragging him back towards the dining room.

“Don’t worry though, your secret’s safe with me!”

“I hope so.” Stanford grumbled. “A mistake like that could ruin my reputation…”

Fiddleford shook his head, “Aw don’t be so hard on yourself it happens to everyone! You look too close at the details and you’ll forget what the big picture’s supposed to be!”

Even with Fiddleford’s reassurance he still couldn’t help but feel foolish. Hopefully this was something he’d keep in mind once he went back to school…

He was pulled from his thoughts when someone called out “PRESENT TIME!” and they were all dragged down to the living room where the tree and all the gifts were. It was quite a scene to watch. There were children all over the floor and adults began handing out presents one by one. Everyone seemed to just buzz with anticipation as the kids began ripping into their presents.

Stanford got so caught up watching everyone else he almost jumped when a present was dropped into his own lap.

Fiddleford was quick to apologize, laughing nervously. “Oh dear! I wanted to surprise you. Not startle you.”

When Ford looked over the package he wasn’t quite sure what to say at first. “Fiddleford I- Well, thank you, but I couldn’t possibly-”

“Aw, don’t you worry none. I already got plenty of gifts from all my folks.” Fiddleford said quickly. “I know you don’t celebrate… but I wanted you to feel included.”

“But I wasn’t able to get anything for you. Not to mention the rest of your family.”

“Hey, that ain’t what the holidays are about.” Fiddleford replied. “I got you a gift cause I wanted to give you one, not cause I expected you to do anything in return.”

Stanford still looked unsure, but he decided to let it go for now. And instead went about unwrapping the gift. For all of Fiddleford’s talent and skills, wrapping was not one and Stanford found himself navigating a strange puzzle of weird folds and a ridiculous amount of tape. He was pretty sure it was a book of sometime. Probably a textbook. It was certainly heavy enough. And he could feel a hard cover of some kind under his fingers.

When he finally pulled back all the paper and could read the cover. It was all navy blue with golden trim with a strange looking beast on the front that seemed almost unreal.

 “Anomalous Phenomena”

 “I thought you might like it. Since you always seem so interested in genetic anomalies. Plus when you mentioned trying to find the Jersey Devil as a kid...” Fiddleford said quietly.

“Fiddleford…” Stanford breathed. “I… I love it! Where did you even find a book like this?”

“Saw at school when they started discontinuing a bunch of books. It seemed like something right up your alley. Thought it’d be a shame if such’a interesting book like that disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Stanford remembered hearing about the library being clear out, but that was weeks ago. Fiddleford had been holding onto this the whole time? Just waiting for the holidays to come, waiting until now to give this book to him. He really thought that much of Stanford Pines?

Ford felt his cheeks start burning the more he thought about it.

“Thank you Fiddleford. I mean it… Truly. For everything.” Stanford said slowly, running over the book cover with his hand. Letting all six of his fingers brush over the golden trim “I think you may be one of my dearest friends.”

“Aw shucks.” Fiddleford said with a light chuckle. “It’s nothing really.”

“Not to me it isn’t.” Stanford replied. He could still feel himself blushing and hoped no one noticed. “No one’s ever done something like this for me Fidds. You, you probably don’t realize what this means to me. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Well once or twice is good enough for me.” Fiddleford said back with a smirk.

Stanford wanted to say more but one of the McGucket youngsters ran up to them and started pulling Fiddleford away for more presents.

“Sorry Stanford, but duty calls!” He said, pretending he was heavier than he was while his younger cousin dragged him back over to the tree to open more gifts. All around him a few more of his siblings and cousins laughed at his antics before they all settled down back under the tree and Fiddleford began passing out more gifts to the rest of his family.

For those few moments it all seemed so perfect. The whole family there. Together. Happy. And Fiddleford near the center of it all, practically glowing with a beautiful smile, golden brown hair and sharp blue eyes that never missed a thing.

Stanford had always thought Fiddleford was a handsome-looking fella. Sure, he’d never said it to the man’s face but he’d always thought it. But in those few moments as he watched him, practically brimming with Christmas spirit, Stanford thought he was absolutely beautiful.

A soft smile fell onto Stanford’s face as he started trying to formulate the perfect gift to get Fiddleford once they went back to school. Part of him still felt obligated, he had to return the favor. But Ford also found himself holding onto Fiddleford’s words. He wanted to give Fidds a gift because he wanted to give him something nice. But what could he possibly give the other man? A man who was quickly becoming one of the most important people in his life currently.

A book? Perhaps something about robots? He was certainly an admirable engineer…

Stanford also made sure to get a couple extra jars of Mrs. McGucket’s fruit preserves and save them for whenever he noticed Fiddleford getting homesick once they were back in school.

[fiddauthorgiftexchange]

Assignment Day!

Ok everyone, I just want to say thank you so much to everyone to participating! And now everyone will begin receiving their assignments, so be ready to receive either a anonymous ask or pm about your assigned gift! Good luck and have fun!