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totallysharkycomplete · 3 years

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Waiting For You Part Six (Ford Pines x Reader) Home In Your Arms

She awoke before the dawn as usual. Under the blankets was warm. Although the boat was cold Ford’s body, which was firmly pressed against hers, provided plenty of heat. The gentle swaying of the boat would have made it easy to fall back asleep, but since the weather was supposed to be clear today, she decided to get up and watch the sunrise.

Gently slipping out of the covers, and out of Ford’s grasp, she quickly dresses into more layers before quietly stalking up on the deck. She could still hear the heavy breaths and snores coming from the cabin below. The deck was even colder than the cabin, and there was a layer of frost on the upper windows. She quickly made a cup of coffee then downed it, then leaned against the front railing, and waited for the sunrise as the clouds on the horizon turned pink.

She was lost in thought, so when someone wrapped their arms around her waist she jumped. The person behind her chuckled and she let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Ford’s lips are right next to her ears, his stubble is scratchy on her skin.

She lets out a hum, then turns around in his arms to face him. “You could still be sleeping.”

He begins to plant gentle kisses to her cheek. “Couldn’t without you.”

She giggles and places a hand on his cheek, her thumb runs over his stubble.

“Why are you up so early?” He almost whines against her skin, still leaving soft kisses on the small amount of skin exposed on her cheeks and upper neck.

She let out a content sigh. “Weather is supposed to be clear. I wanted to watch the sunrise. Would you like to join me?”

He moves his head up and presses his forehead to hers. “I’d love to.”

She leans forward the inch she needs to so she can plant a kiss on Ford’s lips. It’s soft, but conveys so many feelings. Love, affection, the sense of being home.

Ford tries to lean forward for another kiss but she quickly turns around. He lets out an exasperated sigh.

“Sorry, but the sun rises this way.” She teases.

Ford’s hand is on the back of her neck, moving the hair away from it so he can press more kisses to her skin.

“You’re in a very touchy mood this morning.” She comments, leaning her back against his chest.

“Do you want me to stop?” He murmurs, lips still on her skin.

“No,” she quickly tells him. “Just an observation.”

He leaves a few more kisses on her skin before her hand wraps around his. “Ford, look.”

The sun had just peaked above the horizon, brilliant oranges and yellow began to fill the sky, casting warm rays of light on the small sleepy fishing village they had docked near. Soon the warm rays fell onto her face. “Isn't it beautiful?”

“Not more so than you.” Ford tightens his grip around her waist and rests his chin against the top of her head.

She’s glad Ford can’t see the blush on her face. Even after thirty plus years had passed, he could still make her blush. She was about to say something modest back to Ford until she heard a burp and scratching noises.

“Ugh, get a room.” Stanley had obviously joined them on deck.

“We have a room.” She rolls her eyes. “I think you forget we share sometimes. Your memory is slipping old man.” She teases without moving from Ford’s grip.

“Yeah, yeah.” He waves her comment away before heading inside the upper cabin to the coffee she had prepared.

There's a moment of peace, you might almost call it pure bliss. To spend the sunrise wrapped in your lover's arms, their warm breath leaving them in clouds of hot air, the boat gently rocking them as the morning tide rolled in.

“Everytime I wrap my arms around you, it feels like coming home all over again, to where I belong.” Ford whispers.

She turns to face him again and cups his face with both her hands, and kisses the tip of his nose. “When did you become so romantic?”

Ford leans into her touch. “I mean it.” He pauses for a second. “I don’t think I ever told you, but when I first came back and saw you, my first thought was that I had died and gone to heaven. Being with you again is everything I’ve ever wanted and more.”

“If you had died and gone to heaven then that would have meant Stan was in your heaven too.” She laughs.

“He’s still her now.” He grabs her hand to hold it still so he can tilt his head and kiss her thumb.

She laughs even louder this time, then wraps her arms around his neck to draw him into another kiss. “I love being in your arms. I love being your home, because you’re mine too.”

The boat rocks them gently as the morning sun warms their bodies. Their hearts are full of love for one another. “Let’s stay like this forever, and just let the world drift away.”

Ford is about the respond before Stan interrupts.

“Hey love birds! We gonna explore some anomalies today or what?” Stan barks from behind them.

Ford's eyebrows furrow and he goes to turn his head to snap at Stanley, but her hands catch his chin and turn his face back to her. She kisses him passionately three times and he’s breathless. She untangles herself from Ford and heads towards Stan.

“What’s on the agenda for today co-captain Stanley?” She smiles.

Ford is left standing there speechless and in a daze.

“Are you coming, co-captain Ford?”

Ford looks over at her. She squinting her eyes as the morning sun washes over her features, her cheeks pink from the cold. He has never been more in love with her.

“Coming, associate co-captain.”

---------- By the time the sun was high in the sky he three of them had docked the boat and climbed halfway up the mountain. The town folks had told them about strange flying creatures that lived near the top of the mountain.

The sun beat down on them, and they soon found themselves needing to take off some of the many layers of winter clothes they had dressed in for the day. About an hour into the hike Stan speaks up.

“Hey poindexter, how bout a break?” He huffs as he wipes sweat from his brow.

“We’re very close to where the creatures were reported being seen.” Ford is warm, sweat gleams on his brow, but his attitude is chipper and he’s not as nearly out of breath.

“Even the kid needs a break.” Stan motions towards her.

She rolls her eyes at Stan still calling her a kid. She’s also out of breath, almost as bad as Stan. The high altitude is getting to her, but she wouldn’t voice it.

Ford places a hand on her shoulder. “What do you think? Would you like to take a short rest.”

She smiles and nods. “Let’s take a short rest. We wouldn’t want Stan passing out on us.”

Stan grunts but doesn’t say anything. Glad to finally have a break from hiking. The three of them sit on the ground and drink their water. Ford is sitting as close as he can to her. She shivers as a cold breeze blows past them, feeling a little cold now that they have stopped moving. Ford wraps an arm around her shoulder, she looks up at him and smiles a wordless thank you.

After a few minutes they stand up and begin to get moving again. She groans as she stretches, and once they start moving again she is behind both the boys on the path.

“You alight? You’re normally faster than me.” Stan turns his head to talk to her while they move up the narrow mountain path.

“I’m fine, my legs are just a bit sore.” She tells him.

They continue their hike until they break through the tree line. They can see the horizon on the sea, and far below them is the small fishing village where they left the Stan O’ War II docked.

She’s stunned by the beautiful view and almost doesn’t realise Stan and Ford haven’t stopped walking like she had. She scurries to catch up to them, until she sees a bush near her shake. Looking over she sees a small head of a rat pop out.

“Aww.” She says softly to not scare the rodent away. “Hey little fella.” She coos.

The rat scurried back into the bush at the sound of her voice, much to her disappointment. She turns to catch up to the boys, After a few steps she hears a strange sound. Somewhere between a squeak and a squawk. Turning around she sees the rat has raised itself out of the bush with a pair of wings. This must be the creature they had been looking for!

“Fascinating!” She says to herself and pulls out her sketchbook and begins to jot down a quick doodle on the animal. The sun catches on her silvery pen and flashes a light up at the rat-like creature. It squawks loudly then dives towards her.

Further up the path Ford is mumbling to himself and Stan is tuning him out. Both of them freeze when they hear a shriek. They both stop dead in their tracks and whip around to see she is no longer behind either of them. The brothers share a second of a glance before booking it back down the trail.

It doesn’t take them long to get back to her. When she comes into sight they can see she's using one arm to shield her face, the other is holding her notebook and waving it aimlessly behind her, trying to hit the creature that’s attacking her hair.

Stan is the first to her, he pulls her to his chest with one arm and throws a left hook at the creature, sending it crashing into a tree. There's a moment of silence before Ford is pulling her into his arms. Stan makes his way over towards the tree.

“What happened? I thought you were right behind us?” Ford’s hands are on her face, tilting her head around and looking for any sign of injury. Her hands rest on his chest.

“Ford, I’m okay, promise. You were both further up the path when I noticed the creature. I thought if I called to you I’d scare it off. So I tried to get a quick sketch, and I must have scared it because it started attacking my hair.” She can’t help as a laugh escapes her.

“You could have been hurt.” Ford’s voice is soft as he scoulds her.

“But I wasn’t.” She teases.

“Please promise me you won’t go off on your own again? I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt.” Ford told her seriously.

She stops smiling when she realises Ford is actually upset, not with her, but by the fact she could have been hurt. She takes his hands, which were still on her face, and holds them in hers. She leans up and gives him a soft, reassuring kiss.

“I promise.” She whispers.

“Check this out!” Stan shouts and holds the unconscious ratbird in between them by its feet.

She shrieks with surprise and jumps away from Ford. “Stanley that’s disgusting!”

“What!? I thought you like rodents!” He laughs, shaking the bird closer towards her as she takes another step back.

“I wouldn’t pick up a wild rat or bird with my hands, or let it that close to my face! Who knows where that thing has been!” She scolds him. “If it wakes up and bites you I’m not helping you.”

In the commotion Ford slipped on some protective gloves from his pack. “Hold it still please Stanley.” Stan complies and Ford gently stretches its wings open and begins to list off observations about it that she quickly sketches down. “It’s wingspan is too small to carry it far. That’s probably why it is native only to this island.” He lists other things off like teeth size and tail length.

Stan gently set the animal down. “Think that’s enough for today right?”

The other two agree and they begin their trek back down the mountain. She is in front of them now to set the pace, and so the boys can’t lose sight of her. When the path begins to get wider, Ford falls back a bit to walk besides Stan.

“Thank you for earlier.” Ford tells his brother.

Stan looks at him confused. “Didn’t do nothing.”

“You were able to get to her first and protect her from the rat bird.” Ford reminds him.

Stan waves it off. “Don’t mention it.” Stan wouldn’t admit to Ford how scared he was to see her get attacked like that, he’d rather not think about it.

When they make it back to the ship the sun is already touching the horizon. It was Ford’s night to cook and the other two went to rest in their beds. When the food was ready Ford headed below deck to find them both asleep. He wasn’t surprised Stan had nodded off. Almost anytime he wasn’t actively moving or engaged in an activity he would fall asleep. But his believed fiance would normally be reading a book or be annotating her notes.

He gently brushes some hair out of her face and she stirs. She smiles up at him and grabs his hand and brings it down to her lips to kiss his palm. His heart flutters at her sweet act.

“I fell asleep.” She murmurs, voice heavy with sleep.

“I noticed.” He leans down to kiss her. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I feel perfect now that you’re here.” She giggles and he frowns. She frowns too, but only to mock him. “I feel fine Stanford. I guess today was just too exciting is all.”

“Well, why don’t we have dinner then we can go right back to bed?” He suggested.

“You’re perfect. I love you” She smiles up at him, eyes half lidded.

“I love you too.”

They stare into each other's eye, and neither of them notice the loud snoring has stopped. There’s a loud groan announcing Stan has awoken.

“If you love him so much why don’t you marry him?” Stan teases, she rolls her eyes.

The next morning Ford is the first to wake up. His love is tucked close to his side, buried under the blankets. He turns on his side to draw her impossibly closer. She makes a noise at the movement but doesn't awaken.

The bed feels a little warmer than normal. Maybe the day will be warmer than the forecast had predicted Ford thinks. Ford lays there for a while, enjoying the silence and warmth for a while until she begins to stir.

He feels her stretch under his grasp and she looks up at him eyes still droopy from sleep.

“Good morning my dear. Would you like to join me for some coffee?” Ford murmurs into her hair.

She shakes her head no. “It’s too cold.” She tries to burrow closer to Ford to get any extra warmth.

“I’ll go turn the heater on upstairs, join me when you’re ready.” Ford moves the hair away from her forehead and kisses her there then freezes. He moves the back of his hand to her forehead, then his cheek to confirm his thought. “You’re burning up!”

“No, it’s cold.” She denies.

“You must have a fever. Do you feel alright? When did you start feeling sick?” Ford doesn’t bother keeping his voice down and clearly wakes up his brother.

Stan rolls his eyes at the commotion and makes his way to the upper deck.

Ford quickly stands. “I’m going to get dressed then go find a doctor in town. With a town this small there must be one to make house calls.”

“Ford, please, there’s no need for that.” She sniffs, still laying in the bed, pulling the covers closer around her.

“There really isn’t.” Stan grumbled, coming back down the stairs, a cup of water in one hand. The other was full of an assortment of pills. “Take these.” He gruffly shoved both the water and pills at her. She obeyed, sat up, and quickly tooked the unknown pills Stan had handed her. “Go back to sleep.” She layed down and closed her eyes, rolling over to face the wall away from the brothers.

“What did you give her?” Ford whispered, concerned.

Stan places a finger over his lips and motions towards the upper deck. They sit inside the cabin where Stan had turned on the space heater.

“She of course came prepared and packed herself cold medicine.” Stan slides the first aid box across the table so Ford can examine the medicine boxes of everything he had given her. “Almost every winter she gets a cold or two. Her legs start to hurt and she gets really tired. Should have seen it coming’ yesterday but was a little distracted by the birds. She must have noticed, but she never says anything. Thinks she can power through a fever.” Stan pauses a moment to laugh. “There was one time I caught her working on the portal shivering and sweating’ bucket. Practically had to drag her back to bed. The older we’ve gotten through, the less stubborn she’s gotten at admitting she’s actually sick.”

It finally dawns on Ford just how much Stanley had taken care of her while he was gone. Sure, she had told Ford directly that he had, but he thought she was just putting in a good word for her friend. Ford knows it to be true now. He remembers once in college she went to class with a fever just to be sent back to her dorm. If Stan hadn’t been here to make her rest when she was sick, she would have worked herself until she passed out or worse.

The cabin is silent for a moment.

“Thank you, Stan.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“No, Stanley, listen.” Ford looks at his brother and there are visible tears in his eyes. “She had told me before that you had taken care of her in my absence. I hadn’t thought much about it, since she's always been so strong and independent. I know she's also stubborn. If you hadn’t been there to make her rest… Thank you Stanley, truly, for taking care of her while I was gone.” Ford places his hand on his brother’s shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze. Stan returns the action, not commenting on the noticeable tears.

“She’d probably be happy to have you back downstairs to keep her warm.” Stan says, looking away from his brother. He doesn't want to see him cry, or he knows he will cry as well.

“I think you’re right.” Ford stands and goes to join her back in bed.

---------- Ford wasn’t exactly excited to go to the carnival on the boardwalk, but her and Stan conveyed it would be fun.

“It’ll be like the one back home! Remember when we tried to join the circus with our pet possum?” Stan laughed a deep belly laugh as they made their way past the ticket booth.

“You never told me you had a pet possum.” She's walking next to Ford, his hand is held tight in hers.

“But he told you about trying to join the circus?” Stan inquires.

“I’d argue he was more your pet than mine.” Ford argues.

They make their way around the attractions, eat some fair food, and play a few games. She has two stuffed animals they boys had won for her in her hands, and is filled with joy.

“You there, miss, would you like to know your future?” A voice calls to her, and she turns to see a fortune teller beckoning her towards their tent. The fortune teller's eyes are glassy and they don’t hold her gaze, they hold a long cane indicating they are blind. She feels an arm tighten around her shoulder.

“Fortune tellers aren’t to be trusted.” Ford tells her.

“It’s just for fun,” she comments. “There’s no way they could actually know my future.”

“I’ve traveled to different dimensions. I think almost anything is possible at this point.” Ford reminds her.

“I say we do it. I’d like to know when I get filthy rich.” Stan begins walking into the tent.

She tried to follow in after him but the fortune teller held up their hand. “Only one person inside the tent at a time please.”

So Ford and her wait outside the tent. It’s only a few minutes later when Stan exits with a huff. “You’re right, total scam, they don't know anything.”

The fortune teller exits the tent again and points over to her and Ford. “The six fingered one next.” Then enters the tent.

A chill runs up her spine. The teller was clearly blind, but to call Ford out like that. She shares a surprised look with Ford, who surprisingly goes into the tent after them.

Stan is clearly still mad about whatever he had been told, so she takes his hand. “I’m sure whatever they said it wasn’t true. Like you said, probably just a scam.”

Stan looks down at her warm smile and sighs. “You’re right kid. Just a scam. I should know.” They both share a laugh.

Ford exits the tent looking lost in thought.

“You’re next girly.” The teller holds open the flap for the tent and she makes her way in. The room looks bigger on the inside and there are two chairs on either side of a table with a fake looking crystal ball.

She sits and watches the fortune teller places their hands on the ball and thinks for a second before speaking. The ball lights up and smoke swirls around in it. “I would ask what you’d like to know about your future, but I already know what knowledge you seek. It weighs heavy on your heart. Knowing the truth might be even more of a burden. Would you still like to know?”

She thinks for a second. If the fortune teller was being honest and knew what she wanted to know, what she always thinks about, then she wants to know. “Will Ford and Stan die before me? I don’t think I could lose Ford again, and well, Stan is my best friend.”

The teller nods their head and hums. “As I suspected. Losing the ones you love is a heavy buren. Unfortunately you must bear the burden again, fortunately you only must bear it once.”

“Who?” Her voice quivers.

“As I said, losing someone you love is difficult, as you know. He cannot see his brother lost again. He will go first. You will be needed to comfort the six fingered one. This universe isn’t always fair, but it seems it will go easy on you, and you will not have to lose him again.” They remove their hand from the ball and the lights and smoke fade. “Now you know, you must live with this knowledge the rest of your life.”

She looks down at her hands and nods, then stands to exit the tent. She finds her boys standing exactly where she left them. Still looking lost in thought and a little angry. She pulls Ford into a hug and draws him from his thoughts.

“What did they tell you?” Ford asks, returning the hug.

She rests her chin on his chest to look up at him with a small smile. “That I’ll get to spend the rest of my life with you, and that’s all I want.”

“They really tell you that?” Stan grunts, clearly not happy with what he was told.

“No,” she confesses. “But they didn’t have to say that for me to know it, and-” She turns to look back at the tent and sees it's gone. She turns quickly to confirm what she sees if real. Then turns back to the twins, whose jaws are dropped.

The three share a look then agree to head back to the ship for the night.

Stan tosses and turns that night. He can’t seem to sleep. What the fortune teller had told his replays in the back of his mind and he’s still pissed about it. He throws off the sheets and puts on his coats and boots and heads to the upper deck. To his surprise, he wasn’t alone.

“Why are you up so late kid?” Stan slumps down onto the bench by her.

“I imagine for the same reason you can’t sleep.” She leans her head against her friend with her sigh.

There's a moment of silence between them. The only sound is the waves gently crashing on the nearby shore and the soft groan of the boat as it moves gently with the sea.

“What did they tell you?” They ask in unison. They both breath out a laugh.

“You first.” She says.

He thinks for a moment. “They told me I’m going to die before you and Ford. Ford, I get, he’s healthy and in shape.” She elbows him. “Not implying you ain’t! It’s just, I didn’t want to die before you is all. I’ve caused you enough suffering.”

She places her hand on his shoulder. “Stanley, don’t think like that. You haven’t caused me any suffering. You’re my best friend.”

He runs his hands down his face. “It’s my fault Ford got lost in the portal for thirty years, it’s my fault you didn’t get to start a family with him like you had planned to. It’s my fault you didn’t get to get married yet. It’s my fault that-”

“Stanley!” She shouts sternly at him and he turns to face her, surprised by the authority in her voice. She takes his hand in hers. “Stan you can’t think like that. You know I’ve forgiven you a long time ago with what happened with Ford. The rest of it… It doesn’t matter, because if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have him back. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have met the most amazing great niece and nephew ever. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be sailing the seas right now with the two people I care the most about in the world, discovering amazing anomalies like I’ve always wanted to.”

Stan’s face is turned from hers but he gives her hand that’s holding his a tight squeeze. There's another moment of silence. “What did they tell you?” His voice croaks, she wouldn’t mention how he reached his free hand up to wipe his tears.

“They told me about the same.” She confesses. “That you’ll die before me, but I’ll be here for Ford.”

Stan Turns back to look at her. “Do you…” Stan doesn’t really want to finish the thought. He doesn’t want to think about their mortality.

“I’ll go before Ford. They said it was the universe going easy on me.” She smiles up at Stan, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes.

He pulls her into a tight hug. “Should we tell Ford?” She sniffs as tears sting her eyes.

“No. He wouldn’t want to know.”

----------- “Do you hear that?” Stan asks.

Ford and her are both sitting at the table noses in a book in the upper cabin of the ship. She and Ford listen, share a glance with each other, then look back at Stan.

“No,” they chime in unison.

Stan is driving the boat towards their next destination where there had been reports of strange ocean tides. He smacks his ear with the hearing aid.

“I must be picking up radio waves again.” He grumbles.

An hour later the two bookworms are asleep as Stan still mans the wheel, this time he hears the sound again. His head feels hazy and his body feels warm. He turns the boat towards the sound and begins to follow it.

Ford and her are jostled awake as the ship hits a large wave. They’re both lifted for a second from their seats before landing back down with a thump.

“Stanley what the hell is happening?” Ford is the first to notice the situation. The weather around them is awful. Rain pounds onto the ship, the boat jumps as it passes over enormous waves, going faster than she's ever seen it go. Lighting and thunder crash outside. Stan should have seen the storm coming.

Speaking of Stan. He’s standing at the wheel of the ship, eyes glued forwards, he doesn’t even notice Ford yelling at him. Ford pushes Stan out of the way and he falls to the floor. Suddenly Stan sits up and looks around.

“Where the hell are we?” He asks, hand held to his head.

“We should be asking you that, seeing as you were the one driving the last two hours!” She barks before reaching under the chairs for their life vests. She tosses the boys theirs and secures her own, they quickly buckle theirs as well.

“I don’t, I don’t know what happened.” Stan looks lost for a second. “I can’t remember.”

Her heart hurts for her friend. She knows that must be scary for him but now isn’t the time for comfort. Ford begins to bark orders, she helps Stan to his feet.

They begin securing lines and sails, making sure all objects are secured down so they won’t cause the three of them harm.

Suddenly she hears a noise and freezes. Her head feels hazy and her body feels warm. It seems as if her body is moving on it’s own as she begins to walk towards the door and exits the cabin. A strong hand grabs her arm.

“What are you doing?” Ford screams over the rain. Stan had taken the wheel again.

Her eyes are glazed over and she tries to continue walking towards the railing. Ford begins to drag her back inside but she resits. She freezes and he stops trying to pull her. She turns and points.

“There.”

Ford turns to see what she’s pointing at, and it’s the largest wave he’s seen in his whole life. He quickly wraps his body around her and tries to make it back into the cabin before the wave hits, but he’s not quick enough. The water envelops their bodies and they are thrown against the railing. The ship pops back up over the waves again and Ford looks into her eyes.

She's over the railing, dangling off the ship, her only tether is Ford’s hand.

“Don’t let go! I’ve got you!” He shouts desperately holding onto her and the ship.

Her body is like a rag doll as it’s slammed into the ship with the waves. She looks back up at Ford, eyes still glazed, and lets go of his hand, falling into the inky water below.

The second her body pops back up from water her head clears. Her life jacket inflated when she hit the water. The last thing she remembers was she was on the ship with the boys. A wave overtook her and she pushed back under the water. When she comes back up she realises she hears Ford screaming.

It’s dark and all Ford can see is the automatic light on her life vest getting further and further from them. He’s screaming for her, and for Stan to move the boat in her direction.

She tries to scream for him but is pushed under water again. When her head resurfaces she struggles for a breath before the same thing happens again. Coming back up this time she sees the ship be covered by a wave, then herself. This time when she comes back up she sees the light of the ship are gone. She feels something grab her foot, and is dragged under the water.

Ford feels warmth all around him. His eyes fluttered open and he squints as rays of sun blind his eyes. Waves softly lap and his boots and he quickly sit up as the events that just unfolded flood his mind. He looks around quickly hoping to see his love, or his brother.

Stan isn’t far from him and Ford hops to his feet to run from him. He falls to his knees and sees he’s breathing, Ford begins to shake his brother. “Stanley! Are you alright?”

Stan’s hand comes up to swat his brother away. “Five more minutes.” He mumbles.

Ford doesn't hesitate to slap him across the cheek.

Stan is quick to sit up. “What the hell was that for?”

“Do you not remember what just happened?” Ford barks.

Stan’s eyes grow wide in horror. “She went overboard… Didn’t she?”

Ford slumps forward and his hands cover his face. “I had her, she was in my hands and she… She let go.”

“She let go?” Stan echos in confusion.

“She had the same look in her eyes that you did when we found you steering the ship into the storm.” Ford breathing is quick and ragged, the panic of what’s happened starts to over take him. “I… Oh god, I-,”

“Shut your yap,” Stan commands. “You hear that?”

At first all Ford can hear is the gentle crashing of the waves onto the shore, then he hears it. The distant call of a voice. A very familiar feminine voice.

Ford’s eyes frantically scan the beach both ways looking for the source when he sees her. She must have spotted him at the same time because she begins to sprint towards him. Ford is quick to his feet and meets her halfway. Ford pulls her into a crushingly tight hug as tears fill both of their eyes.

“I thought I had lost you.” He cries into her hair. “I don’t know what I would do if I had.”

“I’m okay. I’m okay.” She sobs. “We’re safe now.” She whimpers against his chest.”

They stay there in each other’s embrace, until Stan slowly walks over to them.

“Glad you’re alright kid.” Stan smiles.

She grabs Stan and pulls him into the hug. He grumbles something but hugs both of them. After a moment they pull back. Ford’s hands are still clutching the back of her wet, sandy shirt. Ford and her look at each other and share a breathy laugh, and begin to wipe the tears away from their eyes.

“Now that we’ve had that lovely reunion, where are we and where’s the ship?” Stan frowns.

“Destroyed, I'd imagine.” Ford clears his throat.

“Actually…” She takes Ford’s hand and begins to lead them down the beach the way she had come. “When I had gone overboard, my mind cleared when I hit the water. I saw the ship get taken over by a wave and thought the worst. Something grabbed my foot and dragged me under, but…”

They round the corner on the beach and see Stan O’ War II, unharmed, anchored off shore. Ford and Stan both notice some splashing around the ship that wasn’t like normal waves. The brothers share a look.

“How is it not damaged?” Ford is in awe of the vessel's perfect condition.

“Turns out, we’ve had a guardian angel this whole trip we didn’t know about.” She smiles.

“Who?” Stan asks.

“Mable.” She laughs as theirs another splash in the water, this time closer to the shore.

The brothers both see the end of a tail then a few seconds later, a head pops up.

“Ford, you might remember what Mable had written in the journal about meeting her friend, Mermando. Turns out she still writes to him and told him about our trip and asked him and his people to look out for us.” She waves over at the head that had popped up signaling to him it was safe.

“It’s the least I can do to repay my friend. If it wasn’t for her then I might still be trapped in Gravity Falls.” Mermando smiles. He had swum over to them as far as he could without leaving the water.

“A real mermaid, huh?” Stan grunts.

“Fascinating.” Ford muses.

“He and a few others were able to pull us to safety after we were lured into the storm.” She tells them.

“Lured?” Ford repeats.

“Yes, unfortunately two of you had been affected by a siren’s song. They’re like merpeople, only they crave violence.” Mermando shakes his head.

“We really can’t thank you enough.” She sighs, giving Ford’s hand a squeeze. “And please, don’t mention this to Mable. I wouldn't want her to worry.”

“She will hear nothing of it. You have my word. Farwell Pines!” And with that, Mermando splashes under the water and is gone.

“Darn it, I should have asked him some questions while I had him here.” Ford brings a hand to his mouth in thought.

She playfully shoves him. “I say we should be happy that we’re alive.”

“You know what I say?” Stan asks and begins stripping his clothes. “I say we have a beach day! Been forever since we were in a warmer climate like this!” He splashes into the water in just his underwear, leaving the other two behind.

“What do you say, my love?” Ford pulls her to his chest.

She wraps her arms around his neck. “Having a nice calm day after almost drowning to death? I think we deserve it.” She plants a soft kiss to his lips before pulling away and begins striping down to her underwear. “Race you to the water.”

Ford doesn’t have to be asked twice before he follows suit removing his clothes.

After hours of relaxing on the beach and playing in the water like children, the sun had begun to set. Stan had made his way back to the boat leaving only her and Ford on the beach.

Ford is laying on his back, her head rests against his shoulder. His arms are tightly wrapped around her. Her fingers absentmindedly trace the knit pattern on his sweater.

“I can’t believe out of anywhere I could be in the world right now, I’m here with you.” She whispers.

He hums and she can feel his chest vibrate under her cheek. She turns her head to look at him. His eyes are closed but there's a smile on his face.

“Are you asleep?” She giggles.

He hummed a sound to tell her no.

She breathes out a laugh and sits up. “Let’s head back before the sun sets all the way.”

He opens his eyes half lidded and smiles at her. She takes his hand and helps him sit up. His hands move to her face to draw her in for a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

---------- “Alright, there. I think that will work.” She places the tablet down on the table she and her boys are sat at.

“Are you sure you set it up right?” Ford asks.

She rolls her eyes. “I helped build an interdimensional portal. I think I can figure it out.”

“I just wanted to make sure. You remember what happened when you tried to set up our vhs to record Saturday Night Dead.” Ford reminds her.

“That was one time! It’s not my fault the vhs caught fire!” She huffs.

“Can you two stop arguing like an old married for a couple?” Stan groans.

Ford and her share a look and smile. Their attention is pulled away from each other when the tablet begins to make noise.

“Oh, it’s ringing!” She leans forward and presses the green answer button. “Hello? Kids, can you hear us?”

She's greeted with the sound of laughter. “You’re too close to the camera. Move back a little.” She moves back and the screen reveals Dipper and Mable.

“I told you I set it up just fine!” She pats Ford’s chest.

“Kids! It’s good to see you!” Stan greets.

“You guys look so cute in all your boat gear!” Mable squeals.

“Yeah you guys look really cool!” Dipper confirms.

“How has school been going!” Ford asks.

“Great! I got accepted into some senior level classes for next semester.” Dipper cheers.

Mable pushes dipper aside to hog the camera. “And I got a boyfriend!”

Dipper shoves Mabel back to get back in frame. “Yeah, and he’s actually not awful and kinda normal?”

“Congratulations to you both.” She smiles and leans her head against Ford’s shoulder.

They continue to talk and catch up for almost an hour.

“So we can come back to Gravity Falls next summer for sure?” Dipper inquires.

“Absolutely! I've been in contact with Fiddleford and he said we are more than welcome to stay with him in the old Northwest manor.” Ford confirms.

“Soos also said you’re welcome to sleep over at the shack whenever you want.” Stan chimes in.

“I can’t wait to see you two again! You’re really the best great niece and nephew ever.” She comments.

“You’re the best graunt ever!” Dipper and Mabel speak in unison, then begin to giggle and shove each other.

“See you two in a few months!” With that they end the call.

“A month and four weeks, four days, and six hours.” Ford says precisely.

“But who's counting?” She teases.

“And only a month, fours weeks, two days, and four hours until you become my wife.” Ford pulls her close, Stan rolls his eyes and leaves the upper cabin.

“Now that I am counting down to.” She plants a kiss to his cheek. “Mrs.Pines, I love how that sounds.”

“Well then, Mrs. Pines?” He kisses her forehead, then her cheek, then her lips. “Will you do the honor of being mine?”

“I already agreed to marry you, that’s why we’re getting married.” She laughs.

“I know, but I love hearing you say it. I still can’t believe you agreed to marry me.” He jokes. “Will you say it? Say you’ll be mine? Forever and always?”

Her finger came up to trace his jawline and lead his lips to hers. “Forever and always.”

#waiting for you part six #stanford pines x reader #gravity falls reader insert #ford pines x reader #please check my ao3 for all tags and warnings #a kudos and comments would be appreciated too

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fallen-gravity · 4 years

Text

awaken the stars, ‘cause they’re all around you

Stanford Pines never really believed in soulmates.

He can't imagine the idea that there's one person out there for him in the multiverse who would stop at nothing to love him for who he is, despite everything he is and everything he's done. He can't imagine that someone out there is meant for him, someone who will stand by his side until the end of time.

Or maybe he'd just been looking at it from the wrong angle.

Notes:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @stariousfalls!!!!! I can't believe we've been friends for upwards of five years now?? You've been a huge inspiration of mine from my first day in the gravity falls fandom back in late 2014, and now you're one of my closest friends. I've been spending the last week and a half working on this behind your back, because I wanted to surprise you with a gift I thought you'd love!!

7.5k words of fluff was....not my original plan, but fluff brain wanted to go feral for you, I guess.

Huge, huge shoutout to @ariasofelegance for helping me keep my mouth shut about this, I absolutely would've internally combusted without your help & support

AO3

Ford never saw the appeal of romantic relationships.

One night when he and Stan were kids, they snuck downstairs in the middle of the night after their parents were asleep to dig through Pa’s “Secret stash” of movies he thought he was good at keeping a secret. They’d thought for sure they’d be coming across bootleg cuts of action movies that were still playing in theaters, or documentaries about how all of the politicians in power were secretly aliens.

What they actually found was much more…sensual. They were both horrified, to say the least, but each time Ford had to turn away to prevent himself from gagging, he’d hear Stan beside him struggling not to laugh.

For years, Ford was convinced coming across those tapes before he was old enough to fully comprehend what was happening in them is what had turned him off to relationships altogether. It certainly didn’t help that he was never able to experience romantic relationships firsthand, as every time he tried asking someone out in high school he’d just be laughed at or called a freak.

Though college was another story entirely, his feelings towards romantic relationships never seemed to change. He went out with a girl from his dungeons, dungeons, and more dungeons club for a few weeks, a guy from his advanced physics class for almost two months, and even tried going out with Fiddleford for upwards of nine months, but he never felt that deeper connection with any of them, no matter how much he wanted to feel that connection.

It’d be forty more years before he learned the term aromantic, but when he was still in college he would brush off his parents’ questions about his relationship status by telling them he was too busy working on his thesis, which technically wasn’t all that far from the truth anyway.

Still, the faint sense of yearning never seemed to leave him be. Whenever he found gaps in his schedule, he would spend hours in his university library reading up on the science of relationships and their place in society. Though he no longer remembers most of the papers he read, one scientific study that’s always stuck with him was a dissertation written entirely on the concept of soulmates.

Everyone has a soulmate, the paper claimed. Though it may be decades until you properly meet, your path always leads to the moment that you and your soulmate are finally united. Once finally together, not a single force on earth can tear you apart. Even if you are apart physically, the stars will always align to bring you together. Weirdest of all, the paper mentioned soulmarks, which were described as “the phenomenon that a person’s very soul is marked with a piece that belongs to their soulmate, which may appear as a physical anomaly on a person’s body, such as an oddly-shaped birthmark”.

Ford had thought for sure that somebody must’ve moved a romance novel into the sociology section of the library as a joke. The only sort of anomaly he had going for him was his polydactyly, and thinking too much about how that could connect him to a single person who was destined to love him gave him a headache.

Nowadays, though, Ford tries not to give it much thought. He’s perfectly happy right where he is, watching the sunrise from the deck of the Stan O’ War II through the steam visibly rising from his coffee mug.

He sighs contently.

“Mornin’” Stan’s voice sounds beside him, gruff with sleep. When Ford turns to look at him, he’s rubbing at his eyes with one hand while he holds a steaming cup of coffee in his other. He’s already donning one of the sweaters Mabel mailed to him, a deep blue with a tropical island and a treasure chest stitched across the chest.

Ford smirks. “You’re up early”

Stan cocks an eyebrow as he sips from his coffee. “A’course I am. I always get up early when we’re docking to see the kids”

Ford blinks, the teasing smirk on his face melting into a gentle smile. “That’s today?”

“Haven’t you checked the calendar lately?” Stan tosses a second handmade sweater at Ford. This one’s the same shade of maroon as his journal covers, and pictures an angry cycloptopus squirting ink towards the bottom left corner of the sweater. “The kids are on spring break. They talked to their parents about letting us have ‘em all week”

Ford is quick to pull the warm sweater over his head. “All week?”

He can’t help sounding like a broken record, but it’s been months since the last time he saw the kids face to face. Sure, they talk over video at least once a week, but nothing beats seeing their smiling faces and having them nearly tackle him to the ground in a hug in-person.

“Heh, you miss em too, Sixer?”

As little as two years ago, Ford would’ve flinched at the nickname. But Bill is gone for good, and Ford knows that Bill is gone for good, and Stan made a promise to do anything in his power to help him reclaim the nickname. He brings his mug close to his face without taking a sip, allowing himself to take in the warmth in his hands and the steam in his face.

“Not as much as you, clearly” Ford smirks, and Stan crosses his arms over his chest.

“You bet I missed them more than you. I’d been taking care of them all summer before you showed up and fell in love with them in half that time”

Ford smirks as he finishes up his coffee and heads into the navigation room to set their course. “By that logic, wouldn’t that mean that I miss them more, since I had less time with them?”

“Hey!” Stan groans as he follows him into the room. “It does not. It means that you don’t know them like I know them, genius. Everyone knows that it’s all about how much time you’ve spent with a person that determines how close you are with them”

Ford laughs as he enters the coordinates they need to get to the seaport they were meeting the young twins at. From the looks of it, it’d be three hours before they arrived.

“Mm, and who put that study together? Was it you?”

Stan doesn’t reply with words, just a noise that sounds halfway between disgruntled and baffled. It makes Ford laugh even harder, and he wipes at his eyes with a wrist. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Stan’s overdramatic pout melt away until he’s laughing too.

The sight of it makes the smile on Ford’s face widen. It’d been decades since the two of them were able to just be like this. It’d been so long since the last time Ford heard Stan’s genuine laugh that he’d gone and forgotten what it sounded like altogether. When he was still traveling the multiverse, he searched far and wide for a shred of hope, something to keep his anxieties and nightmares from catching up to him.

What a fool he’d been to ignore his childhood memories of home.

The trip is a quiet but familiar one. Ford can’t talk much when he’s steering because he needs to be on constant lookout, but Stan remains in the room to talk at him and keep him company anyway. The sun is well over the horizon by the time they reach the seaport, and call it instincts, intuition, or something else entirely, because Ford spots the kids sitting on a bench in the near distance the moment he and Stan step foot onto the dock.

They’re squished closely together, watching a video on Mabel’s phone. Whether they’re aware of it or not, they’re swaying their legs back and forth underneath the bench in perfect unison. On the ground beside them are their backpacks, overstuffed with so many things that both of them are popping open.

Most importantly, neither of them have noticed that Ford and Stan are approaching them.

Ford exchanges an amused glance with Stan, and clears his throat to catch their attention.

The phone nearly stumbles out of their hands in shock when they look up and meet their eyes.

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel squeals, standing to sprint past Ford to knock Stan off of his feet. Ford chuckles at the sight, but not quickly enough to hear Dipper’s “Great Uncle Ford!”, and before he knows it he’s hitting the floor too. The young twins are laughing messes, and stumble over each other as they try to stand to their feet and help their Grunkles up.

Mabel spits out the hair that stuck to her mouth, and pulls a hair tie seemingly out of thin air to tie her hair up into a ponytail. It’s only now that Ford realizes that she and Dipper are also both wearing sweaters, and if Ford had to guess, it looks like Mabel made both of these sweaters as well. Mabel’s is a galaxy print with actual twinkling stars, and Ford makes a mental note to ask her later what she did to make it glow like that. Dipper’s is also space themed, though his pictures the big dipper splotched across a black night sky with a bright orange meteor shooting through the center.

“You have to tell us about everything you’ve encountered”, Dipper beams, once Stan finishes brushing himself off.

Stan cocks an eyebrow. “Two years’ worth is a lot to get through, kiddo”

“Exactly!” Mabel beams, turning to pick up her backpack and put it on. “Which is exactly why you can tell us on the way to the hotel!”

“Hotel?” Ford and Stan ask in unison.

“Surprise?” Dipper giggles. “Our parents rented us a hotel room for the week cause they figured you’d appreciate some time away from the boat”

“It’ll be like our summer in Gravity Falls all over again!” Mabel grins. “But in reverse! You’re in our territory now”

Stan laughs. “You’re the boss, kiddo”

“You bet I am!” She beams, and hands Dipper his backpack. “Now c’mon! If you tell us all of the horrors you’ve encountered out at sea, we’ll tell you about all the horrors we’ve encountered in high school!”

“I...think I remember those horrors pretty well already, thank you” Ford smiles sheepishly, adjusting his glasses. “But we’d be more than glad to tell you some of our own stories”

It’s a short walk to the bus stop, but Ford honestly wouldn’t mind if they walked all the way to the hotel on foot if it meant an extra half an hour with the kids. They’re just as eccentric as he remembers, attached at the hip but still wildly different people all on their own. Dipper’s still hanging on to every word he’s saying, and Mabel’s still skipping along like she’s in her own world.

Once they reach the hotel and check in, Dipper collapses face first onto one of the beds the moment he steps into the room, groaning.

Stan smiles. “Something bothering you, kiddo?”

He turns on his side to look Stan in the eye, his face smushing into the pillow. “Mabel didn’t let me get any sleep last night. She insisted on getting to the seaport three whole hours early because she insisted that she had this gut feeling that you guys would have the same idea and we’d magically show up at the same time”

Mabel pouts, and sits on the bed besides him. “Well it’s not my fault you stayed up late reading that dumb book of yours. Plus, would you rather have kept them waiting for three hours?”

Dipper removes his hat and places it on the table beside him, exposing just enough of his forehead through his hair to reveal his birthmark. It has the same faint glow to it as Mabel’s sweater, and Ford wonders how the two could possibly reflect off of each other.

“Their boat has beds and a fully stocked kitchen, Mabel. They can afford to wait. All we had were those strawberry pop tarts that you ate five minutes after we got there”

Ford can’t help but smile softly at their banter. He missed them so, so, much more than he could’ve ever imagined. He’s got half a mind to stow them away on the boat at the end of the week and homeschool them both himself so he never has to be apart from them again.

Apart. The word still feels like a knife twisted into his chest. There’s nothing he regrets more than trying to separate the young twins from each other two summers ago because he’d been so caught up in projecting his own fears onto the pair. He’d tried apologizing to Mabel over the whole ordeal, but she stopped him before he could even start to tell him he had nothing to worry about.

He only wishes he could learn to forgive himself as easily as she did.

“...Can we, Grunkle Ford?”

He blushes. Had he just said all of that out loud?

“Can we...what?”

“Take the boat out! Not right now, since Dips is being a grumpy-grump and insists on wasting precious time with a nap, but we’ve been talking about it all week”

From across the room, Stan snorts. “Let me get this straight,” he takes his jacket off and hangs it up in the closet. At this point Ford swears his eyes must be playing tricks on him, because Stan’s old burn scar is glowing just as Mabel’s sweater and Dipper’s birthmark are. “All the time you spent groaning and complaining about fishing every time I took you in Gravity Falls, and now you’re asking to go fishing?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of a joy ride,” Dipper yawns from under the covers. “But if agreeing to go fishing is what gets you to say yes, then sure”

He’s smirking under the covers, Ford can tell, because he inherited that expression from Stan.

Stan’s about to bite back, but Dipper must not have been exaggerating about how long he and Mabel were waiting for them at the dock, because he’s already out cold. Stan smiles at him, gently ruffling up his hair before he takes a seat on the adjacent bed, kicking his shoes off so he can kick his feet up on the bed and relax. Ford sits beside Stan, and Stan slings his arms behind him to support his head in his hands as he glances over at Ford.

“They make you wanna retire the whole ‘treasure hunting’ thing and move into the city to be closer to ‘em too?”

Ford chuckles. “I’ve already considered hiding them away on the boat twice today already.” He taps at his chin. “Though I suppose that moving in with them would go over better with their parents then taking them away to live on a boat”

“Hmm…” Stan taps at his chin as well. “Being stuck in the same stuffy high school for four years, or living on a boat traveling all over the world whenever they feel like it? I dunno about you, Sixer, but I have a pretty good idea on what the kids would prefer”

“Grunkle Stan? Grunkle Ford?” Mabel’s voice suddenly chimes in, and Ford blushes, wondering how much of that she just heard.

“What’s on your mind, pumpkin?” Stan asks.

“Well, uh, Dipper was right about us only eating once really early this morning, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to, uh” She twirls her hair between her fingers. “Cook something for us? For old time’s sake?”

Okay, it’s settled, Ford’s never letting these kids go again.

“Sure, kiddo. Soon as your brother’s up we’ll head right back up, okay?”

“Okay!” she beams, and crawls back into her side of the bed, staring at Dipper like she can will him into waking up on command.

Though Ford would’ve been okay if they’d had to wait hours for him, it’s really only about twenty minutes before Dipper opens his eyes again and nearly shrieks in surprise at Mabel’s face hovering three inches from his own. He smacks his hand into her face to shove her away, and she giggles as she rolls off the bed and onto the floor.

Beside Ford, Stan smirks. “Better get up before we leave without you and all our food goes to Mabel, kiddo. You’ve got plenty of time to crash in Ford’s bed on the ship, since he never seems to use it anyway”

Dipper yawns, rubbing at his eyes as he kicks the covers off. “I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep”

“I didn’t realize you were even capable of sleep, bro-bro” Mabel punches him in the shoulder as she walks past him to put her shoes on. He glares at her wordlessly, and Ford has to cover up his snicker with a fake cough.

This time, the bus ride and the walk back to the ship are a quiet one. Ford never really lets himself let his guard down and relax for an extended period of the time, so he cherishes any moment he can get where he finally feels like he doesn’t constantly feel the need to check over his shoulder for signs of danger. Most of the time, if you asked him about his heightened senses, he’d call them a curse. But on days like these, when he can hear the birds chirping and the waves smacking gently against the boats in the seaport, he’d almost go as far as calling it a blessing.

The kids take a seat at the dining table as soon as they enter the kitchen, and Stan grins at them from over his shoulder as he clicks the stove on. “Whaddya say, Stancakes?”

Dipper and Mabel grimace in unison. “Ewwww, Grunkle Stan, you promised lunch!” Mabel scrunches her nose, and Stan’s grin only widens.

“Ah, ah, you said like old times. That means I get to decide what to make, and you have to eat it because I’m your legal guardian”.

“Well I wasn’t even awake when you were talking about old times, so I’d say that cancels out” Dipper crosses his arms over his chest, and Ford can’t help but smile warmly at the three of them as he reaches into the cupboard for his favorite coffee mug. The younger twins clearly had just gotten two copies of the same mug, but crossed both of them out so they’d say #1 GRUNKLES on them instead of #1 UNCLE. Stan has the other one, of course, but he keeps it on his bedside to hold small treasures and keepsakes because it’s, in his own words, “Too special to waste on something as ordinary as coffee”.

Ford sits himself in the seat between the younger twins at their okay, and after some back and forth banter between the four of them, they end up settling for burgers. Truth be told, this is the first time Ford’s eaten a meal in a group larger than two since the last time he and Stan visited the young twins in the winter, and he can’t help but smile into his food at the thought. The closest he’d come even remotely close to eating with others in his research years was his very, very brief time at the truck stop diner, and the experience had soured his view of...well, other people for near decades.

Now, though, he’d burn his own research dozens of times over before he’d even consider eating alone.

Stan’s chair scraping across the floor as he stands pops Ford out of his bubble of serenity.

“Now that that’s taken care of,” Stan cracks his knuckles, smiling mischievously at Dipper and Mabel. “I think I remember a couple of kiddos finally promising their Grunkle Stan he could take them fishing”

“Promise is a strong word-” Dipper starts as he stands to place his plate in the sink, but Stan’s already placing a fishing hat on his head before he can finish his sentence.

“Course you did! You wanna take our baby for a joyride, you gotta earn it first”

Dipper turns to Ford, like he’s expecting him to back him up.

Ford chuckles. “I don’t know, Dipper. That sounds perfectly reasonable to me”.

Dipper scoffs, sitting back down at the table. Mabel laughs.

“Aww, C’mon, Dipper! Aren’t you all about the supernatural? For all we know, Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford could be harboring magical glowing bait that only attracts, like, magical talking fish men, or something!”

Dipper raises an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just receive a bottle message from Mermando last week?”

“Exactly!” Mabel flashes a grin. “That must mean that he’s in the area!”

Stan laughs. “You tellin’ me you only agreed to go fishing so you could kiss and make-up with your long-distance fish boyfriend?”

“Grunkle Stan, what kind of person do you take me for?” she gasps. “He’s married! You know I would never want to break apart such a loving couple!”

Ford’s smile only warms. Where else could he partake in such a conversation that doesn’t turn heads and result in judgmental whispers? Where else can he just be like this, surrounded by loved ones who are just as weird, just as out of the ordinary as himself? In his younger years he thought for sure his place would be among the monsters and cryptids everyone in his childhood made him out to be, but even in the weirdness capital of the country he felt more alone than ever.

“...Don’t think you’re immune, Sixer” Stan’s voice cuts into his thoughts, and before Ford can ask what he means Stan is smacking a homemade fishing cap on his head. “It may ruin your badass image when we’re monster hunting, or whatever, but we’re fishing with the kids.” Stan gestures to them with his thumb. They’re already outside, leaning over the railing to look out at the water in a perfect mirror of each other. “If they have to embarrass themselves by humoring me for a few hours, so do you”

Ford waits for Stan to join the kids outside before he takes his hat off to admire the stitch work. It’s not perfect, and nowhere near the fancy embroidery he and Stan have found in various markets across their world travels. But it’s personalized, and Ford knows it comes from a place in Stan’s mind that’s been stuck behind lock and key since he was seventeen.

Ford runs his hands along each individual letter, which reads POINDEXTER, before placing it back on his head to join the others outside.

Stan has, miraculously, already pulled out his joke book. Stan’s laughing too hard at his own joke for Ford to really make out what the punchline is, but the younger twins’ collective groans is all he needs to know about it. When Mabel notices him stepping out of the doorway, though, her expression shifts entirely.

“So…” she draws out, stepping towards him. “Is there a trick for attracting merpeople to your boat? I mean, asides from being super cute, obviously”

Ford chuckles, taking a glance behind her to make sure that Stan is out of earshot. “Stan’ll kill me if I tell you this, but they’re really attracted towards shiny things. If you tied one of his gold necklaces around a fishing pole and dangled it into the water, the boat’ll be surrounded in minutes”

Mabel offers up her pinkie finger. “I won’t tell him if you won’t”

Ford interlocks his pinkie with hers, smiling. “I think he’ll notice when a whole family of merpeople show up”

“Hmmm…” Mabel taps at her chin with her free hand, visibly mouthing a plan to herself. “Oh! I know! Come with me,” she beams, and before Ford can even open his mouth to respond she’s already dragging him back into the kitchen. She kneels down on the floor and opens the cupboard below the sink. “Got any empty bottles I can use?”

Ford blinks. “Empty....bottles”

“Yeah!” Mabel pulls a neatly folded piece of paper out of her skirt. “If I can send out my response letter the same time we throw Stan’s necklace over, he’ll never be able to tell the difference!”

“Wait, wait” Ford shakes his head. “You really are dating a merperson?”

“Listening skills, Grunkle Ford” she taps at her forehead, folding the letter back into her pocket as she continues to dig through the cupboards. “Used to date. We met at the Gravity Falls Public Pool, where he was stuck, but then I drove him to the lake in a golf cart I stole from the pool grounds because he really missed his family, and then he was my first kiss, and then we were in a long-distance relationship for like, two months, and I kept every single bottle he sent me, but then we had to break up because he was arranged to marry to prevent a big undersea war.” She picks up a bottle, shakes it, and puts it back when it’s too full for her liking. “I know it sounds, like, super complicated, but it’s all okay, because we’re still pen pals!”

Ford laughs, shaking his head. “No, Mabel, I had to ask because I, uh…” his cheeks warm, and he clears his throat. “Before I...came to term with my orientation, I...dated a merperson too”

The bottles in the cupboard rattle as Mabel’s head smacks against the doorframe. She’s rubbing the spot where her head hit, but there are stars in her eyes. “Really?”

Ford’s cheeks burn even hotter. “Yes,” he whispers, and takes a knee so he can get at her eye level. “Technically he was a siren, but yes, we dated for about a month. He promised me he wouldn’t entice anyone else while we were together, but I guess there wasn’t anything...there.” He turns to help her shuffle through the cupboard, and finds a near-empty bottle of olive oil that’s definitely been sitting down there for at least a year. He hands it off to Mabel, smiling. “I’m glad that things worked out with you, though”

To his surprise, Mabel drops the bottle and throws her arms around him in a hug. “I can’t wait to introduce you! He’s gonna love you”

Ford huffs a quiet laugh, and pulls her close as he winds his arms around her as well. The hug only lasts for a few brief moments, but it feels to Ford in those moments that time itself had stopped. Mabel stands, taking the bottle in one hand and offering to help Ford up in her other.

Mabel places the bottle in the sink and turns the water on to rinse it out before she turns back towards Ford, stretching her arms up in the air as if she were warming up for an exercise. “Alright, here’s the plan. You tell me where Grunkle Stan keeps all of his jewelry, and I’ll sneak in and take his necklace while you distract him. Got it?”

Ford smiles. “Got it”.

As Mabel splits away for Stan’s bedroom, Ford heads back out to the deck. Dipper’s leaning over the side of the boat pointing at something jumping out of the water, rambling excitedly to Stan beside him. He’s holding his fishing hat in his hand to stop it from blowing into the water, and his hair is bouncing in the breeze. It’s just enough for the edge of his birthmark to poke through his bangs, and even in broad daylight it seems to be emitting a faint glow.

“I found it!” Mabel cheers, bounding up from behind him. She’s wearing the chain around her neck, and for some reason the gold seems much dimmer in contrast to her sweater. She takes it off and hands it to him. “You wanna do the honors while I go and throw this overboard?”

Ford smiles, ruffling her hair. “Sure thing.” He walks over to where Stan and Dipper are chatting and picks up one of the extra fishing rods. Making sure that Stan’s too engrossed with his conversation to notice, Ford starts wrapping the chain along the line, and at the signal from Mabel, he tosses his line as far from the boat as he can manage.

Five minutes pass before Mabel squeals so loud that Ford’s afraid his glasses might shatter. He reaches for the gun he knows he’s got stashed in his pants pocket, but when he turns to run to her aid she’s leaning halfway over the boat wrapping her arms around a young merman in a tight hug.

“...so good to see you again!” She’s beaming. “I didn’t think you’d be able to find us so quickly!”

“Yes, well, you were easy to track down after we figured out the coordinates to the seaport” the young man says in a thick Spanish accent. “It is good to see you too! My family was so excited to meet you”

“Your family?” she gasps. “Did they all come with you?”

“Of course!” he grins. “We merpeople are very family oriented. Wherever we go, we go together”

Ford winces at the uncanny familiarity of the statement. Mabel must recognize the statement too, because she responds with “Oh, that reminds me! There’s someone I want you guys to meet! Wait right here,” she says, and comes bouncing back over to Ford. Taking his hand in her own, she starts to drag him back to where she’d just been leaning. “C’mon! He’s the one I was just talking about!”

Three more merpeople emerge from the water when she gently knocks on the side of the boat again. “Grunkle Ford, this is Mermando!” she grins, gesturing to the young merman she’d just been conversing with. “He’s the one I helped reunite with his family after they were separated by tragic circumstances.” She wraps her arms around Ford in a side-hug. “Mermando, this is my Grunkle Ford! He was also separated from his family by tragic circumstances, but I helped with that too!”

Mermando laughs. “Even when you think it’s the end, family always finds its way, doesn’t it?”

Ford laughs, shaking his hand. “It always seems that way to me”

“Awwww!” Mabel squeals. “I knew you’d get along!” She grins, and turns her attention back towards Mermando. “Before I forget, though, did you see where Grunkle Ford threw that gold necklace? If I don’t get it back my Grunkle Stan’s gonna kill me”

Mermando laughs again. “I was wondering if that belonged to any of you!” He takes off his shell necklace to reveal that he’d put Stan’s necklace on around his neck. He takes that off, too, and offers it to Ford. “I much prefer this one, anyway” he clicks his shell necklace open, revealing it to be a locket with a picture of his family inside.

Ford takes the gold necklace back, and he means to thank him, but a bell ringing from elsewhere in the port interrupts him before he can open his mouth. Mermando turns to Mabel, taking her hands in his own. “We must go. I’m so sorry we have to leave so soon, but we merpeople recognize the sounds of fishing boats very easily. We’ll try to come back later this week” He opens his arms for her once more, and Mabel wraps his arms around him in a quick hug before she watches him and his family swim away.

“I am so glad that all you were doing was hugging,” Dipper shudders as he and Stan approach Ford and Mabel. “I’m not sure my stomach could handle witnessing you two kissing a second time”

“Awww,” Mabel punches him playfully in the shoulder. “You’re just jealous that I had a boyfriend before you did!”

Dipper cringes. “If you having a boyfriend before I do means I didn’t have to be the one dating a fish, then I’m glad you were the one who got stuck with him first” He punches her back, and gestures at Stan over his shoulder with his thumb. “But anyways, I came over here because Grunkle Stan says he wants to get out on the open water before everyone else gets the idea, or something”.

Ford pockets Stan’s necklace and makes a mental note to put it away sometime later tonight when Stan is too distracted to notice. “Tell Stan I’m going to untie the rope from the edge of the dock, and when he sees me back on board we’re all set to go.”

Nodding, Dipper bounds off towards the navigation room where Stan must be waiting, and Ford steps off of the boat to take care of everything else. On the way to the bow, he traces a hand along the white painted STAN O’ WAR II, and a feeling of warmth sprouts in his chest. Once back on board, he waves to Stan as he passes besides the navigation room once more, and takes a seat on one of the beach chairs they liked to keep aboard.

Most days, Ford prefers to be the one at the wheel. But every once in a while he just wants to be. All he wants to do is lean back in one of their beach chairs and let the sun warm his face. It’s a good kind of warm, the same way spending time with the kids and heavy rain hitting his bedroom window and planning new escapades with Stan feel warm. After so, so long of only knowing unbearable burns, it feels indescribable to have a constant back in his life that heals, rather than hurts.

“Mind if we join you?” Dipper asks, and Ford glances over to see both of the young twins dragging a chair behind them.

Speaking of healing constants.

“Sure,” Ford says, and can’t help the warmth spilling through his tone. They pull their chairs up on either side of him, and curl up to enjoy the warm breeze. Dipper places his hat on his lap to let the wind blow through his hair, and Mabel stretches her arms out behind her head to act as her own pillow. Ford chuckles silently at the pair, and closes his eyes to let himself relax.

All is quiet when Stan finally finds them a spot out on the open water without a single other boat in sight. The water is nearly still, save for the occasional small wave that gently sways the boat. The sun is at its afternoon high, turning the water beautiful shades of teal and aqua. Fishing is tedious, but it’s careful work, and gives Ford something to put all of his focus into. Two whole hours pass before any of them catch a thing, and Stan laughs himself to tears when it’s Dipper who pulls up a single sardine.

Typically Ford prefers much more immersive activities, but right now there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. The sun is starting to set before they realize they aren’t going to have much luck catching anything, and instead decide to take the boat for another ride around the harbor to look for a better place to eventually watch the stars.

“...Great Uncle Ford?” Dipper approaches him shyly once they’ve anchored the boat.

“Yes?”

He tugs shyly at the edge of his sweater. “I…” he starts. “I know you’ve told me that the multiverse was dangerous, and all, but...was there ever anything you enjoyed about it?” He pauses. “What were the sunsets like?”

Ford chuckles, patting at the seat beside him, and Dipper’s eyes light up as he sits down.

“You’re right,” Ford starts, folding his hands together. “I wouldn’t wish what I went through on even my worst enemies, Dipper. It was practically impossible to get any decent amount of sleep and even harder to find food digestible by human kind. I lost some of my best years to the multiverse when I could’ve gone on to become the most renowned scientist in the world.” Ford turns his gaze away from the sun setting on the horizon to meet Dipper’s eyes, but he’s frowning, eyes cast downwards towards the deck of the ship.

“But,” Ford adds before the poor kid can get too lost in his own head, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It definitely had its perks.” He smiles. “The sun in Dimension 18.2 would emit a sound that mimicked a lullaby every night as it set. Dimension 47’23 had three moons that would shift phases before your very eyes. I haven’t told Mabel because I’m afraid she’ll try activating a portal of her own and run away, but in Dimension 25-12, everyone and everything looks like a watercolor painting. There’s danger in the multiverse, but there’s beauty in equal measure”

“Do you ever miss it?” Dipper fiddles with his hands, like he’s trying real hard not to say the wrong thing. “I mean, I know you don’t miss being lost, or having no idea if you’re ever going to see home again, but...is there any dimension...where you could’ve seen yourself staying, if you thought you couldn’t make it back?”

Ford shifts in his chair so he doesn’t have to twist his neck so much to look directly at his nephew. “Occasionally,” he muses. “I met the most friendly faces in Dimension 52, so my mind does tend to wander there from time to time” he smiles. “But rest assured, there is something in this dimension that makes it my favorite”

“Oh yeah?” Dipper’s eyes light up. “Over every other dimension you’ve passed through? What is it?”

Ford gently nudges Dipper’s shoulder. “You and your sister”

Dipper’s cheeks turn bright red, and he looks as though he’s struggling not to bury his face into the collar of his sweater and disappear. “Really?” his voice squeaks.

Ford nods. “Everything I had in those other dimensions were fleeting, Dipper. At a moment’s notice everything I grew to love could disappear in the blink of an eye. The very thing happened to me in Dimension 52. When I fell asleep, I woke up in a new dimension I didn’t recognize. Things may have been more advanced, and there may have been dimensions crafted to give you your greatest desires, but in the end nothing ever lasted.”

Now it’s Ford’s turn to divert Dipper’s eyes, gaze casting towards the floor. “Stan was cut from my life completely in the dimension that claimed to be a perfect world. I had nobody. Even in dimensions that actively worked towards my happiness, I was all alone” Ford shakes his head, and turns his gaze once more out on the horizon. The sun is still touching the horizon, but it’s dipped just low enough that some of the stars are beginning to show in the sky.

“But...here, at home, everything is consistent. I don’t have to worry about waking up in the morning to find that everyone I love is gone. I can keep everyone in arm’s lengths, even when Stan and I can only communicate with you and your sister over a video call. I’m…” Ford gently squeezes his hands to reassure himself that this is real and now. “...happy. Happier than I’ve been in decades”

Beside him, Dipper yawns, and when Ford spares a glance over at him he’s smiling at him sleepily. “We’re really happy you’re here too, Grunkle Ford” he murmurs, and his eyes slip closed. Ford’s cheeks flush pink, and he has to choke back a laugh because that’s one of the first times Dipper’s felt comfortable enough to call him Grunkle.

Ford stands, so as not to wake Dipper from his nap. A small glance to his right and he catches a glimpse of Stan and Mabel leaning against the side of the boat watching the sunset just outside of earshot of his current conversation with Dipper.

“You finally bore him to sleep with all your nerdy science talk?” Stan asks as he approaches, sparing a glance behind him at Dipper. “Was starting to think that the poor kid would never get a nap in”

“Yes, well,” Ford smirks. “I’m sure it helped plenty that you bored him to death by taking him fishing first”

Stan gasps in mock offense, and slugs him in the shoulder. “Hey, at least I’m engaging them in something they can actually interact with, unlike your kooky alien stories, or whatever”

Ford can’t help the laugh that escapes him. “Bold statement coming from the man who dedicated thirty years of his life rescuing me from said kooky aliens” he says, returning with a punch of his own. Stan opens his mouth to argue back, realizes he has nothing to say, and closes his mouth. The sight of it makes Ford laugh even harder, keeling over and slapping a hand on Stan’s shoulder to support himself. It must be contagious, because it’s not long before Stan is laughing too.

Ford removes his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes, and cleans off the lenses with the edge of his sweater. Once his eyes adjust after he puts them back on, his throat nearly catches in his throat when he glances back out towards the water. He’s just able to catch a shooting star before it disappears over the horizon, and the boat’s just far out enough on the water that there isn’t an ounce of light pollution obscuring the rest of the stars in the sky. He takes a few steps back so he can look up and admire more of them at once, and if he looks close enough he can see them twinkling.

Before he can ask the others if they’re seeing the same thing, a bright flash of light coming from somewhere on the boat cuts into his thoughts. He turns, to make sure that none of the lights in any of the rooms are on, but no, they’d turned those off when they’d started fishing. Scratching at his head, he turns to Stan and Mabel to ask if they have any idea where the light is coming from, but that question catches in its throat as quickly as it formulated.

They’re the ones emitting light.

Or, rather, Mabel’s sweater and Stan’s shoulder, approximately where his burn scar should be. Those are emitting light.

...Surely it must just be the reflection of the starlight on the water, right? That same bright light must have woken Dipper from his nap, yes?

He turns heel to ask Dipper the same question, but freezes in his tracks before he can take a single step forward. Dipper’s forehead is glowing too, the same way it has since he and Stan docked the boat this morning.

It...It can’t be, can it?

Gripping his forehead, Ford takes a number of steps backwards until his back hits the wall. Maybe...maybe he just needs to call it a night. He’s been awake since sunrise, maybe his vision is just blurring because he needs to lie down?

He waves his hands in front of his face, but no, those don’t look any different. He squints, to make sure his hands aren’t shaking, but no, they’re perfectly still.

He squints at Stan and Mabel, just to try and see if his eyes are watering, and-

He gasps.

Mabel’s sweater, Dipper’s forehead, Stan’s shoulder; they’re not glowing; they’re twinkling like the stars. It was hard to tell in broad daylight, but now that they’re surrounded by a thousand shining stars, the resemblance is unmistakable.

But...that’s not possible. If he can see them twinkling, but none of them have said anything about it, that could only be if those were…

...soulmarks.

Ford suddenly feels like he’s going to pass out.

He slides to the floor.

Is...Is that even possible? Ford thought for sure that study he read years ago was nothing but a joke. Someone...who does everything in their power to bring you two together, no matter the cost? Someone who, even though you may not meet for decades, will feel as though you’ve known each other their entire lives? Someone who will do anything for you, no matter the personal expense?

Someone...someone like Stan, who spent a painstaking thirty years teaching himself quantum physics to rescue someone that anyone else would assume dead? The man who sacrificed his very mind, his very life, so he could be spared physical torture?

Or...someone like Mabel, the first friendly face he saw after emerging from the portal? The one who forgave him so easily after he tried to separate her from her brother? The one who insists on calling him a good person, despite all of those he knows he hurt?

Or...Dipper? His kindred spirit in all things supernatural? The one who, alongside his sister, sacrificed himself as bait for the most dangerous being in the entire multiverse? Who saw memories of him at his very worst, and apologized to him for snooping?

After everything he’s been through...could things really work out that well in his favor? To not have one soulmate but three, and the guarantee that they’ll never leave, because they’ve already expressed how they love him so?

There’s a tear streaming down his cheek at the thought, but he’s too distracted by a fourth light suddenly emitting from...himself to really notice.

He spares a cautious glance downward, and notices a pulsing light emerging from his chest in perfect time with his heartbeat. If he looks closely, he notices that the light travels down his arms and ties itself into a translucent bow around his fingers. If he looks closer still, the light looks as though it’s slinking faintly across the deck of the boat and reaching towards the gentle twinkling of Stan and Mabel’s marks.

Ford places a hand to his forehead, throws his head back, and laughs his throat dry, paying no mind to the tears pouring down his face.

#gravity falls #my writing #syd #cool kid squad 2.0 #ILYSM FRIEND

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andrewmoocow · 7 years

Text

Gravity Soul chapter 2: The Stans Head to Shore, Return of an Old Foe? (originally posted on December 24, 2017)

AN: Oh hello, almost didn't see you there! Anyway, welcome back to Gravity Soul. In today's chapter, Stan and Ford return to Gravity Falls and meet the twins' new friends but something is wrong with Stan. Something...demonic. Can the kids save him before it's too late? Now let us begin.

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After many months of searching for anomalies and women, Stanley and Stanford Pines have returned home finally accomplishing their childhood dream. When they were young boys living in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey, they roamed their home's local beach in search of adventure when they got the idea of sailing across the world. They worked on a boat they found in a cave all the way up to their teenage years where an accident separated Stan from his family and forced him to try & make money.

Now decades later after they destroyed Bill Cipher and ending Weirdmageddon, the brothers finally made amends and sailed out to sea on a new boat dubbed the Stan 'o War II to the Arctic Circle. We now pick up where the story left off as they headed to shore. "Alright Stanley, prepare for shore!" Ford exclaimed pointing onward while their great-nephew and niece waited excitedly on the dock.

Finally dropping anchor, they were welcomed with open arms by their loved ones. "STAN, FORD!" the twins cried tossing themselves into Stan's arms. "Kids, I'm so glad to see you again!" the con-artist said hugging them tight. "Feels like forever since we last saw you." Ford added with a smile. "MR. PINES, YOU'RE BACK!" Soos exclaimed joining their hug. "I've hugging people to practice for your return." Then Wendy joined in. "The Shack just wasn't the same without you!"

"Okay then, I love y'all too." Stan affirmed as they all let go. "Oh hey, you're that Melody girl. How's your relationship with Soos goin'?" he asked Melody. "Great actually! We've already gotten engaged." she replied showing off her ring. Stan just looked back at his former handyman and just said "That's my boy." Then he finally turned to notice Maka and friends following close behind. "Now who are these wackos?"

"My name is Maka Albarn Mr. Pines, and these are all my friends." Maka introduced herself to the Stans. "Okay, lemme see if I got this right." the ex-con stated as he pointed to the rest of her group. "Sharkbait, Ninja Man, Ponytail, Stripes, the Twins, Pinky, Holy Cross and Frankenstein." he listed off everyone. "Well he's not half-wrong." Stein snarked.

"Who are you calling Ninja Man old fart? I'm the man who's gonna transcend God!" Black Star boasted getting all up in the great-uncle's face. "Well if you claim to be so, then can you walk on water?" challenged Stan. "Okay then, I'm a wagering guy." the arrogant ninja accepted Stan's offer and rushed onto the water. "See, I can walk on water! Who's laughing n-" He suddenly fell into the water and struggled to escape. "Someone, help me! Damn my lack of proper swimming skills!"

"Oh my gosh Black Star! Somebody help him!" Tsubaki cried. "Don't worry Tsubaki, I was a lifeguard for like a few days last summer." Wendy calmed her down before jumping in and swimming after Black Star. Finally grabbing a hold of him, she pulled him back to shore and laid him out. "Dipper, you know CPR, give it to him!" she ordered Dipper, who was reluctant to do so after last time but eventually gave in before Mabel took a picture. "Haha, more blackmail!" she chuckled.

Black Star immediately bolted right back up gasping before glaring at Stan. "YOU! Do you realize what you've just done?!" he shouted. "It was just a joke kid, no need to get so wound up about it." the grunkle said. "Oh okay, sorry about nearly getting you drowned." he apologized. "Apology accepted, but of course you realize this means war."

"Okay, settle down everyone." said Ford as he split up the two. "I think we should all head back to the Shack. Besides, we got tons of stories from our adventures to tell." The others agreed before all walking back to the house. "Hey Mabel, do you think something might be wrong with Stan?" Dipper whispered to Mabel. "I don't know. He may be kind of a jerk but he would never leave someone to drown." she replied. "I think we may need to investigate. Mystery Twins?" he suggested holding out his fist for a fist bump. "Mystery Twins." She returned the fist bump and they continued on their way.

"And then the Green-Eyed People of San Lorenzo told us about how a football-headed child and his friends saved the adults of their people from a sleeping sickness!" Ford finished telling a story of an adventure he and Stan had in Argentina. "Wow, that La Sombra guy had it coming to him!" Patty giggled sipping her cocoa. "And there was also this giant baby we found in the Arctic!" Stan followed up. "How big was it?" Death the Kid wondered. "Like ginormous! It was the second biggest baby I've ever seen!"

"Who was the first one?" Spirit asked. "My ex-wife Marilyn." Stan answered before bursting into laughter. "But in all seriousness, then it started looking at me like it really hates me or something." he added with a look of dread on his face. "But that was probably my imagination."

"So Maka, how did you defeat this Kishin Asura guy?" Dipper asked Maka. "I simply punched him with the power of courage." she replied. "Wait, a courage punch? That sounds like something out of one of those terrible My Miniature Equine fanfics." Mabel commented. "Oh, my, God! You watch that show too?!" Patty shouted getting incredibly excited. "Heck yeah I do! Surprise Party best horse for life!" The two of them high-fived while Dipper and Liz just watched sardonically. "Oh great, now we got two hyperactive sisters to deal with." he said. "Tell me about it."

"So Crona, tell us your story." Soos said to Crona. He didn't say anything. "Shy little dude, aren't ya? No wait, you're definitely a girl." he wondered. "Wrong?"

Crona quivered a bit before he finally spoke up. "O-okay then. I was born a weapon for my mother Medusa, who implanted Black Blood in my body to create Ragnarok." he explained pulling out a piece of paper from out of nowhere and drawing a picture of a young blonde woman dressed in all black with black dotted tattoos on her arms. "That's your mom? I don't see the family resemblance." Melody commented. "She tormented me for most of my life until she sent me to Italy, where I first met the girl that would become my only friend, Maka."

"Aw, that's really sweet." Wendy was touched by Crona's story. "Wow, you had a pretty terrible life dawg. At least you had a parent that was actually around." Soos stated. "My mom died when I was a little kid and then my dad just up and left after that, the only way he talked to me was with postcards he sent to me on my birthday. But don't worry Crona, we'll all be a better family for you." He then hugged the former minion of Medusa. "Oh uh, thank you." he said before Melody hugged him as well, followed by the twins, Maka and everyone else.

"Well, I'm getting' tired. Might as well hit the hay." Stan said leaving the room and going upstairs. "But where are we gonna sleep for the night?" Soul asked. "You can room with us if you want." Mabel implored. "You kids can go upstairs, I'm staying down here." Spirit said plopping down on the chair and instantly falling asleep.

Soon everybody left the living room until Dipper heard a noise, like a snake was hissing. He simply shrugged it off and followed the others. Little did he know that a snake did indeed infiltrate the Mystery Shack, with arrows covering its scales.

In the attic that Dipper and Mabel had made into their bedroom, everybody was already getting ready for bed. "I expected something a bit cleaner and more symmetrical." Kid commented on the space. "Well if you want I can try to rearrange all the mold on the ceiling, like Daryl for example." Mabel replied picking up a duffel bag. "Okay Soul, where do you want this?" she asked Soul. "How about right over there?"

She dragged it to the spot Soul pointed to before hearing a meow coming from the bag. Zipping it open, a black cat wearing a witch hat popped its head out of it. "Aw, it's a cute little kitty cat! And it's got a little hat too!" Mabel cooed picking up the feline and snuggling it. "Wait, how did she get in?!" Maka exclaimed with her eyes widening. The cat turned its head to Soul and squealed in delight.

"OH SOUL!" She jumped out of Mabel's arms, transforming into a beautiful woman with purple hair and yellow eyes, and pounced on Soul smothering her chest in his face. "What're you doing here?!" Soul cried as he was trapped in marshmallow hell. "I couldn't bare to be left alone without you back in Death City, plus I always wanted to get in on the action." the cat woman replied before Soul was Maka-chopped.

"Friend of yours?" Dipper snarked getting into his bed before Stan barged in with a broom. "Hey, what's all the racket goin' on here?!" he demanded before laying his eyes on a beautiful woman sprawled all over Soul. "Not even gonna ask." He finally closed the door. "Anyway, my name's Blair! What's your names?" Blair said introducing herself. "My name's Dipper and this is Mabel. Now can we sleep?" Dipper replied. "All right then, see you in the morning everyone." Maka said as everyone closed their eyes and finally fell asleep. "Laters." Black Star added snuggling into his sleeping bag.

Meanwhile with Stan, he was tossing and turning in his bed. His glasses rested on the sidetable near him. Suddenly his eyes burst open, finding himself in a blank white void. He examine his surroundings, not knowing where he is or how he got there until he discovered a familiar figure standing away from him. That yellow jacket, brown fedora and robust, stern stature was unmistakable. It was his father Filbrick Pines.

"Wait, dad?!" Stan shouted rubbing his eyes in sheer disbelief. The last time he heard his voice was when after he faked his own death and opened the Mystery Shack, but seeing him here now was a complete surprise. "I thought you bit the dust ages ago! What're you doing here?!" he asked his deceased father, who simply turned to him and smiled, something he would never expect from him.

"Stanley, I have to say I'm quite impressed." Filbrick said. "Impressed that you would survive being taken over by me for this long!" His voice suddenly raised an obnoxious cadence as he tore off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of golden peepers with black slits for pupils. He let out a psychotic cackle as his form contorted into a triangular shape while the void started falling apart, revealing none other than Bill Cipher disguised as his father.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe you actually fell for that!" the dream demon laughed. "Did you really think ol' Filbrick actually said that to you?!"

"Bill! I thought I smashed you into tiny pieces!" Stan exclaimed furiously. "Not quite Fezhead, there's still a little bit of my essence wandering through your mind just waiting for me to take it back!" Bill said pointing to the old man's noggin, continuing to chortle. "Well you can forget it Cipher, Dipper, Mabel and Ford will find a way to stop you just like last time!" Stan declared. "But how can you get them to stop me if you're not even in your body!"

Stan was immediately forced away by Bill out of his own mind, appearing as a projection of himself while he watched as the triangle woke up in his elderly form. "Good grief, this body smells! Have you even showered?!" the deal-maker wondered sniffing Stan's body odor before he was suddenly tackled by his victim.

"Gimme back my body you three-sided freak!" he shouted wrestling Bill for control. "Fat chance, I can't wait to see the looks on your family's faces when they learn their beloved uncle is gone!" the lying, snappily dressed monster cried punching Stan in the face with his own fist. "I swear to God, if you lay a finger on my family you're done for! They made some friends that will most definitely waste your golden posterior!"

"Mr. Pines, what's wrong!" Soos called rushing into his bedroom wielding a golf club with Melody by his side. "Oh it's nothing Soos, just some old man pains! Say, have you lost weight since last I saw ya?" Bill commented. "Soos, Melody, you gotta wake up the kids and Ford! Bill's back and he's trying to take over my body!" Stan cried trying to get their help. "Wait, you're telling me your pet gopher got a girlfriend? I'm impressed, all this time I was convinced he would've died alone!"

"You take that back Bill!" Soos roared smacking his boss in the face with his golf club. "Oh that felt good! Come on, hit me!" The former handyman hit him again, to which Bill shouted "Hit me!" He continued smacking his boss with the club while the demon continued chanting "Hit me!" while laughing like a madman. "Don't do it again Soos, you're gonna make him want more!" Melody urged her fiancee. "I know Melody, but I gotta save Stan!"

"Don't listen to her chubby, hit me again!" Bill demanded. Suddenly Stan took control once more. "Just leave you two, we can take care of him in the morning." Just then Dipper and Mabel walked in looking very tired. "Hey, what's all the racket going on?" the brace-faced sister wondered. "Dudes, you won't believe this but Bill is back and took over Mr. Pines's body!"

"Soos, it's like two in the morning. Have you been eating paste and green beans after dark again?" Dipper wondered. "Yeah kids, just go back to sleep." Bill said trying to imitate their grunkle as best as he can. "Stan's right, let's just go." Melody stated and they all left Stan's bedroom.

When the door finally closed, Stan got up and stood in front of a mirror, taking in all the bruises he received from his closest confidant and former employee. He also discovered his right eye now resembled that of Bill and his left started to show some blood. "Welp, good thing I have some spare eyepatches for situations like this." He reached into his sidetable drawer and pulled out an eyepatch, putting it on his head and hiding his Bill-eye. "That should do it."

"I don't think so Stanley!" Bill chuckled, now appearing in his reflection. "It won't be long before your kids catch up to our current situation and try to stop me. But then again, they probably won't be alive to foil my plans!" In a blind rage, Stan broke the mirror with a single punch, his knuckles bleeding. "Oh yeah almost forgot. I made a special friend who was put in the same problem as I and let's say, we made a symbiotic connection." the dream demon's voice echoed in his mind. "But all beings need their rest, all that struggling made me beat!"

The next morning, Dipper and Soul were sitting in the living room watching an episode of Ducktective. "By George Ducktective, this man is not an actual man at all!" the constable on the television gasped. "He's...a grasshopper creature!" The program's titular mallard started quacking while subtitles reading "Yes, but where could the rest of his people be hiding?"

"Of all the animals in the world, they picked a duck to be their main character?" Soul asked. "The creator actually based this off his own childhood when he would play detective with his own pet duck." Dipper explained. "That makes sense, but who would really watch crazy stuff like this?"

"Hey kids, anything you want for breakfast? I got toast, fried eggs, muffins and Stancakes!" Stan said walking in. "They're kinda like pancakes, but they probably have some of my hair in them."

"Pass." Dipper deadpanned. "Ditto." Soul replied. "Good morning everyone." Maka greeted coming downstairs. "I've been hearing noises in Mr. Pines's room last night, what was going on?" she wondered. "Oh yeah, Stan was just having a little 'episode' where he thought his body was being controlled." the boy replied, which caused Stan's patch-covered eye to act up again. "Oh sure, it was just an old man spazzing out, nothing about demons taking over his body." Stan added, his voice sounding oddly familiar to him.

"HEYA GUYS!" Black Star shouted slamming open the door. "Been working out in the forest bench-pressing some boulders and I'm starving! What's to eat wrinkles?" he asked. "Oh nothing much kid, but I'll give ya something in exchange for your soul!" Stan replied becoming more menacing. "Whoa. I know you think I'm annoying, but taking my soul? No thanks!"

"Um, I'd like something to eat please." Crona squeaked coming downstairs. "Do you happen to have any waffles?" he asked. "Sure I do, got a few frozen ones left after a bunch of handsome young men dug through my kitchen and ate them all." Stan said taking the Demon Swordsman to the kitchen. "And whatever you do, don't ask."

Sitting the little one down and sticking some frozen waffles in the microwave, the twins sat down alongside Crona. "Oh boy, waffles!" Mabel beamed. "Finally, some good grub!" Ragnarok added bursting from his meister's back. "Okay kids, they're ready!" Stan called setting down some plates with their breakfast on them. "Eat up now, I gotta go do some things later."

"Hey, anyone seen Dad or Dr. Stein anywhere?" Maka wondered walking into the kitchen. "Knowing your father, he's probably out drinking." Kid snarked. "Well, why don't we go look for him after we're all done eating?" Mabel suggested her mouth full of waffles. "Speaking of which, how's your waffles Crona?"

"I haven't eaten them yet. I don't know how to deal with this." Crona winced. "Just try 'em, I'm sure you'll like them." Dipper said. The child of Medusa just stared at his breakfast before picking one up with the fork and sticking it in his mouth, slowly chewing it before swallowing. "So, how is it?" Dipper asked. "I love it!" Crona cheered before chowing down on all his waffles. "Can I have some more Mr. Pines?"

"Sorry Pinky those were my last. But hey, least you're full right?" Stan said. "Well let's go then! You coming broseph?" Mabel said to her brother. "I think I'll pass today. Ford wants me down in the basement for something." Dipper replied. "Okay then, let's go everybody!"

Mabel led Maka, Black Star, Kid, the Thompsons and Crona out the front door as they went on their merry way into town. "Why aren't you going with them Soul?" the boy asked Soul. "Just wanna see what your other great uncle gets up to." the Demon Scythe replied.

The two left the kitchen leaving Stan all by himself. "They're onto us Wrinkles, better play it cool while you still can." Bill commanded from within his subconscious. "Fine, I'll play along Bill but you can't harm the kids while you're jacking my body. Understand?" the great uncle offered. "Okay then, geez! Y'know, it's people like you that are the easiest to manipulate."

The mid-morning summer sun dangled over the group as they walked into the town. The locals were just walking around minding their own business while Mabel searched for Spirit and Stein. "Now if I were Dad, where would I be?" Maka mused thinking about where her father could've gone to. "Maybe he ran off over there?" Black Star suggested pointing to an establishment with a neon sign saying "Skull Fracture" over the entrance guarded by a man with multiple tattoos on his body.

"Are you really sure friends? That place looks quite filthy." Kid commented. "Hey dudes, morning!" Wendy greeted them all riding up from behind on her bike. "Good to see you too Wendy. You seen a guy with red hair walk into that place?" Liz asked her. "Yeah, my dad frequents that place with all the other manly guys in town." the teen replied. "No, we're not looking for your dad. We're looking for my dad and Professor Stein." Maka corrected her. "Right, sorry about that."

"Don't worry guys, Liz and I have walked into places like this before so we can handle this!" Patty stated.

"Sorry, still don't allow miners here." the bouncer said to a miner, who just shouted "Dadgumit, not again!" and stormed off. Just then Mabel and company walked up to him. "Hello there my good sir, any room for Lady Mabelton and company?" she asked before they all pulled out fake IDs. "Whatever." the bouncer said letting in them in.

They were all greeted by the sight of several manly men inhabiting the bar, many of which were weeping while cradling their broken arms. "Looks awfully violent." Crona commented. "Oh geez, I don't wanna know what happened here." Black Star commented before he spotted a large man with a scarlet beard dressed as a lumberjack. "Yo Wendy, would that guy happen to be your dad?"

"Oh my gosh, Dad!" Wendy exclaimed rushing toward her father. "Wendy, what're you doing here? You know they don't allow minors here, but then again their ID policy isn't very good." the lumberjack said. "We're just looking for my father Mr. Corduroy. He's about yay high, red hair, blue eyes, probably accompanied by someone with a giant screw in his head?" Maka said. Just then, Stein walked out of the bathroom looking the same as always aside from a few red bumps on his hands. "Whatever you do, do not go in the bathroom. There are entire colonies of wasps living in the urinals."

"So tell me dad, what the heck happened?" Wendy asked trying to console Manly Dan. "This guy just waltzed in and challenged us all to an arm-wrestling contest, and he's winning too!" Dan explained pointing to a tall, muscular man with pointy ears, black and white striped pants, a tank-top and a distinctive red glow in his left eye.

'What, he's here?!' Kid thought panicking. "Hey, doesn't that guy look a little familiar?" Tsubaki commented. "Yeah, he looks kinda like that wolfman who worked for Medusa." Maka added. "That's because it is that wolfman! How could you not recognize him?!" the young Shinigami exclaimed. They all heard the other Skull Fracture patrons chant his name as the man took down another unlucky opponent. "So, anyone else wanna take on Free?!"

"I'll take you on!" Black Star declared glaring daggers at him. "So, the little God wannabe wants a shot?" Free wondered putting up his arm on the table. "If I win, you'll have to return home in eternal shame! But if you win, you'll get this!" He pulled a burgundy colored book with a monocle within its pages and a golden six-fingered hand with the number 3 on its cover. Mabel and Wendy knew that item all too well.

"No, that can't be!" Mabel exclaimed. "I thought we tossed all three of them down in the Bottomless Pit!" Wendy added. "Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Patti said. "That's a creepy book Dipper found last summer written by our great-uncle Ford decades ago." Mabel explained. "So did he use this to document the oddities of this town?" Stein asked. "Exactly Doc!" Wendy replied. "And speaking of oddities, I think I found your father Maka."

Spirit was currently lying asleep on the countertop surrounded by numerous shot glasses stacked on top one another while the bartender just stood there with a neutral expression on his face. "'Scuse me, is he with you guys?" he politely asked the group. "Yes, yes he is sir." Maka groaned trying to wake up her dad. "C'mon dad, you've been here for who knows how long!"

"I'm sorry Maka, even I don't know how to wake him up." Stein stated turning his screw. "Well, I do now." the Scythe Meister proclaimed Maka-chopping her father, finally awakening him from his drunken slumber. "What? Where am I, what happened last night?!" Spirit exclaimed jumping down from the counter to see his daughter standing before him. "MAKA! What are you doing here, you know this isn't a place for people like my precious baby girl!"

"Dad, you're embarrassing me in front of all these men." Maka said. "Don't worry Mr. Albarn, my brother and I came here before and the ID rules here are pretty lax." Mabel assured him grinning. "Yeah, this seems like my kinda place!" Ragnarok added bursting out of his Meister's back.

"So if you're all here, where are Black Star and Soul?" Maka's father wondered. "I'm pretty sure Soul stayed behind at the Mystery Shack and Black Star on the other hand..." He gestured toward the young ninja in the heat of his arm-wrestling battle with Free. "Don't get too cocky brat, I got more muscles than you can ever dream of!" the wolfman bragged. "Oh yeah? Well if I'm gonna transcend God, I'm gonna need to take down some sinners!"

"This ain't gonna end well." Manly Dan mused watching the fight. "Hey Stripes, you look pretty rich. You wanna pay everyone's hospital bills?" he asked Kid. "Not right now sir. Black Star may be a nuisance, but he's got a real fighting spirit within him that is just itching to break out." the OCD-obsessed Death God proclaimed. The fight continued on with all the patrons spectating and cheering on both combatants, Maka's group supporting their friends and the barflys chanting Free's name once more when suddenly, Black Star slammed Free's hand on the table, breaking it. The building went deathly silent as the man who would transcend God towered over his fallen opponent, huffing in exhaustion.

The silence was finally broken when Mabel beamed in delight before chanting Black Star's name and everyone else joined in. "Fine, you win squirt. Take the damn book." Free admitted defeat handing the journal over to the victor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go wallow in my own loss." He glumly walked away as Black Star was being celebrated. "You did great there Black Star!" Tsubaki cried hugging her partner. "Yeah, you got some killer ninja skills there dude." Wendy added high-fiving him.

"Thanks everyone, guess I don't know my own strength." the blue-haired assassin thanked, his face reddening. "Well, we all got what we came here for, among other things, so I suppose we should head back home." Kid announced beginning to take his leave. "C'mon gang, why don't you stay a while? Drinks are on the champ here!" the bartender exclaimed pointing to Black Star. "Ah what the hell! Let's all have a toast for the champion!" The other patrons cheered in agreement and the party began.

Free was now in the bathroom, mourning the loss of his winning streak with the colonies of wasps living in the urinals as his only company. He wept over his fractured arm before he started gritting his teeth with a look of pure anger on his face. "With God as my witness, I will have my revenge on that ninja brat." he declared when suddenly, his ears perked up at the squeaking of mice. A group of rodents scampered up to his feet before suddenly turning into five child-sized individuals with short pink hair, buck teeth and hats resembling that of mice. "Oh, the Mizunes! Then that must mean..."

A small frog hopped into the bathroom when she stopped at one of the Mizunes and turned into a young woman with silvery hair, black circles at both ends of her mouth and an orange hat with the face of a frog on it looking very cross. "So you lost an arm-wrestling match to one of those Academy students and gave him the book we were supposed to hand to the boss?" she chastised him. "Look Eruka, I was just too engrossed in my own hype! Please forgive me for this!"

"Forgive you for what?" a voice rang out from within the lavatory. Everything suddenly turned monochrome, signifying the appearance of none other than Kishin Cipher, looking just as mad as Eruka. "So tell me gang, which one of you idiots lost the journal?!" he roared at Medusa's former minions whimpering in fear before they all pointed to Free.

"It was you wasn't it?! Guess I should've thought twice before picking out minions to carry out my master plan." he said grabbing the werewolf by the neck. "I am terribly sorry Lord Cipher, I promise it won't happen again!" he protested. "Sorry ain't gonna cut it jailbird. Maybe you should change your name to Dead Meat."

He was about to murder Free in cold blood before he got distracted by a ringing noise. "Hang on a sec, gotta take this." he said dropping the werewolf to the ground and shifting his hand into a phone. "Yello?" he said. "Master, my partner and I have finally reached the town and are delivering the journal we found as we speak." the caller announced. "Good for you Pointy but there's gonna be a change of plans. The big furry moron just cost me Journal 3 after stupidly giving it away in an arm-wrestling match." Kishin Cipher replied. "Seriously?! Free may be incompetent, but at least he has some class unlike someone I know! Isn't that right Giriko?"

"Hey lay off me old man!" another man from the other end of the line shouted. "Simmer down, both of you!" he commanded. "Listen, I got a new assignment for you guys. Take out the Pines family, they were detrimental to my plans before and I don't want it to happen again. Understand?" The two men he was calling gulped in obedience and he finally hanged up. "Well gotta jet now! Plan on meeting up with some of my other minions so you aren't of any use to me anymore."

"Wait, why?!" Eruka cried. "I dunno, just wanted to watch over some smarter goons. Until we meet again, NOSTRADAMUS WAS A HACK, THE MOON LANDING WAS ACTUALLY A FAKE, WE ALL FLOAT DOWN HERE, BYE!" He finally vanished from the room, leaving Eruka, Free and the Mizunes utterly stunned. "So he basically just fired us? I kind of expected it to be more bloody." Free wondered. One of the Mizunes chittered in agreement. "Doesn't matter now. What we should do is find these Pines ourselves and terminate them. Hopefully that should put us back in Kishin Cipher's good graces."

Speaking of the Pines, Dipper and Soul were just wandering through Ford's underground laboratory, taking in all of the machinery created to monitor the weirdness of Gravity Falls. "So this is what your great-uncle gets up to?" Soul wondered examining the various computer systems. "Yes, and he's been at it for decades. Speaking of which, there he is." Dipper replied pointing to his great-uncle sitting under a ceiling light dangled over him. "Ah Dipper, just the man I wanted to see." Ford greeted his nephew turning his chair to face them. "And I see Soul's come along too."

"Hey Mr. Pines, good to properly meet ya." Soul greeted him. "Nice to meet you too kid." Ford replied shaking his hand. "Now Dipper, do you know why I've called you down here?" he asked his would've-been apprentice. "Was it about last night with Stan?" the boy responded. "Exactly. I've been told that he may have been possessed by an old enemy of ours. That enemy being none other than Bill Cipher."

"Wait, Bill who now?" the Demon Scythe questioned with a raise of his brow. "Bill Cipher was a dream demon that menaced our family last summer after he was summoned by a business rival of Grunkle Stan's." Dipper explained. "Years ago he made Ford build a portal to other universes that would allow him to bring about the end of the world, but thankfully we all came together to destroy him once and for all!"

"But there's one problem with that. Due to recent events, we may have beliefs that Bill has returned and he's taken over Stanley's body." Ford added. "Plus I think it may be connected to the giant baby we found in the Arctic during our journeys." As he spoke, he pulled out a journal with a golden hand and the number 4 on it. "Wait, you made another journal?!" Dipper exclaimed. "Yes, but this one I made to catalogue the things Stan and I found on our voyage." He flipped to a page depicting a gigantic infant frozen in ice.

"This was the first anomaly we spotted on our trip. For some reason it just kept glaring at Stan from its sub-zero tomb and it just wouldn't stop." the genius stated. "Huh, I think Mabel and I saw something like that last summer." Dipper commented, much to the others' confusion. "Long story, but let's say it involved Soos's birthday."

"So would Bill be like some kind of evil soul or something?" Soul asked. "No, I fear he may be even worse than that Asura fellow you encountered. That's why we must remain vigilant in case this turns out to be true." Ford said boldly before they heard something upstairs. "That must be Stan! We gotta do something!" Dipper shouted rushing back to the elevator. "Right, see ya later Ford!" Soul replied running after him.

Returning upstairs, the two boys tried to locate the source of the commotion until they came across Soos's grandma. "Oh hey Abuelita. What's up?" Soul asked. "Mr. Pines just burned himself on the stove while laughing like crazy. Overall, pretty normal." the old woman calmly said to them before walking away. "That can't be good." Dipper fretted. "Soul, you stay here. I'll take care of Stan."

Creeping into the kitchen, the boy spotted his great uncle sitting calmly at the table with a mug of coffee in his hand. "Hey there kiddo, off doing nerd things with ol' Sixer?" he greeted. "Y-yeah Grunkle Stan. Are you feeling okay?" Dipper asked him. "Oh I'm fine Pine Tree." He got up from the table to face his great-nephew and took off his eyepatch, revealing that his eye was now yellow with a black slit for a pupil. "Just fine."

"B-b-b-b-b-BILL?!" Dipper whimpered stepping backwards. "Oh come on Pines, aren't you happy to see me?! Been so long too!" Bill commented. "Now come on, give me a welcome back hug!" The boy replied by smacking him in the face with a nearby frying pan. "Oh-ho my that felt good!" he cried feeling incredibly euphoric from the pain. "Come on brat, give me another one!"

Dipper smacked him across the face a second time. "Soos has good arm strength and a great throw, but's he nothing compared to you!" the demon cackled. "Give back my uncle or else!" Dipper shouted before Soul came back with Ford, Soos and Melody in tow. "We were runnin' some errands when Soul told us what happened!" Soos exclaimed. "Guess I was right dudes."

"You guys get something to hold him down! Dipper, get away from him! I'll handle it myself." Ford gave out orders while marching towards his possessed brother. "Well well well well well well well well well! Good to see you again after so long Fordsy!" Bill greeted the very peeved genius. "Now listen here Cipher, give my brother his body back or I swear I'll-"

"You'll what IQ? Whip out that ol' memory gun on me again?" Bill interrupted him. "Well actually, it's kinda broken now." Ford replied. "Ooooh my, you just love making yourself look like a complete idiot don'tcha?!" Stanford just replied by socking square in the face, toppling him over.

"Don't think you can keep me tied down forever filthy mortals!" Bill bragged as he was tied to Stan's chair by Soos and Melody while Dipper lit nine candles around him. "Okay, is there anything we can do to stop this guy? Cause I'm just a girl from Portland who previously skewered meat which probably has nothing to do with stopping evil triangles!" Melody wondered. As if she spoke of the devil, the door opened and in walked Mabel with Wendy, Maka, Crona, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, the Thompsons, Spirit and Stein. "Hey guys, we're home!" Mabel said walking into the living room to find her great uncle tied to a chair. "Hark, is that Shooting Star and Ice Bag I see? It's almost like the whole Zodiac is coming to welcome me back!"

"Wait, what's going on here?" she wondered. "Listen Mabel, Bill's returned and he's taken over Grunkle Stan's body! We gotta stop him before he does something terrible!" Dipper cried. "Oh yeah, speaking of which when we were looking for Mr. Albarn and Dr. Stein when we found...this." She pulled the journal they retrieved from behind and handed it to her brother, who was just gaping in utter shock. "T-the journals?! But we tossed them all into the Bottomless Pit!" he stuttered. "That's sort of exactly what Wendy said!" Black Star replied. "By the way, I won it from some wolf guy and everyone had drinks on me."

"Is there anything in the book that can allow us to find him?" Maka asked. "There actually is Maka." Ford responded taking the codex out of his great-nephew's hands and skimming through it to a section about Bill. "If we recite this chant, we can be able to go into Stan's mind and hunt him down! Now everybody put your hands on his head." They all complied placing their hands on his head before he shook them all off. "Okay, that might need some work."

"Do not worry, I got this covered." Stein announced pulling out a syringe labeled "Lullaby" as he put it to Stan's neck. "Wait, what is that?" Bill quivered with his voice full of dread. "Don't worry this'll only sting a bit." the doctor calmed him with a sadistic grin on his face as he injected the serum into Stan's body, finally putting him to sleep. "Thank you Stein for the help. Now then, hands on his head everyone."

Everybody put their hands on Stan's head again, this time while he's still asleep. "Melody, I'm gonna need you to hold down the fort while we're gone." Ford said. "You got it Mr. Pines!" Melody exclaimed leaving the room. "Okay guys, there's no turning back now. Any last words?" Dipper said. "I got some," Tsubaki replied. "how did you beat this Bill guy anyway?"

"Oh yeah, we actually beat him a few times last summer!" Wendy explained. "There was the first time Bill invaded Stan's mind and this other time where I saved Dipper from being possessed by tickling him!" Mabel said. "Tickling may have kicked him out, but the mental pain is eternal." Dipper responded before turning back to Ford. "Alright Ford, go for it."

"With pleasure!" He started reading from the incantation on the journal. "Videntus omnium. Magister mentium. Magnesium ad hominem. Magnum opus." As he continued chanting, everyone's eyes glowed blue and the candles went out. "Habeas corpus! Inceptus Nolanus overratus! Magister mentium! Magister mentium! MAGISTER MENTIUM!"

Everything suddenly went blue and then, they all fell asleep.

"Ugh, my head." Dipper groaned waking up and rubbing his head. Rising from the ground, he noticed everything was grayscale sans him and the others. This was it, their great-uncle's mindscape. "So this is what the mindscape looks like?" Liz wondered. "The mindscape usually varies from person to person, but Stan's centers on the Mystery Shack." Ford explained as he led the group onward. "Now come along gang."

They all took in the monochrome scenery, everything was completely black and white from the trees, to the sky and even a nearby swing set that looked seriously dilapidated. Finally, they came across a mental recreation of the tourist trap which looked like an earthquake ran through it. "Whoa, what happened here?" Patty gasped. "Seems like deep down, Stan is still recovering from having his memory wiped last summer." Soos said. "Okay, be on the lookout everyone. Bill could catch us at any moment, so we should be vigilant." Dipper said.

Just as he warned them, the triangle himself appeared before him just as psychotic as ever. "Yeah, remain vigilant even though you're gonna die soon!" he chortled. "Bill!" they all shouted taking up arms. "This is just rich, most of the entire cast together! Pine Tree, Shooting Star, Six Fingered Hand, Ice Bag and Question Mark!" He pointed at the three Pines, Soos and Wendy.

"And I see you've brought me some fresh blood too! Scythe, Piano Keys, Shuriken, Skull, Twin Pistols, Holy Cross, Cigarette and-" He started pointing at Maka and her companions before suddenly stopping at Crona and wheezing in utter surprise. "Crona, it's been too long! It's me, your uncle Bill!"

"Wait, you know this guy?" Stein exclaimed. "Of course I know Crona doc, the two of us go way back!" Bill explained putting an arm around the child who simply tried to escape. "Yeah, and I'm still pissed off about what you did to him!" Ragnarok shouted putting up his dukes. "And ol' Ragny's here as well! If your mom and aunts were still alive, it'd be a big family reunion!"

"Seriously Cipher, how do you know Crona?" Maka demanded answers from the shape. "Oh, so you want some backstory Scythe? Allow me to demonstrate."

"This is your target Crona. Now destroy it." Medusa Gorgon, the mother of Crona, commanded with her amber eyes gazing down on her son. Crona was pitted against a black dragon that glared at him with smoke puffing out of his nose. The boy was reluctant to kill it and turned to his mother. "I can't do it. I don't know how to deal with something like this." he weeped. Medusa simply replied by taking him into a dark room. "You are a bad child and I want you out of my sight. As punishment, you'll be locked in here for a long time until you can think about obeying me."

As she closed the door, Crona begged to not be punished. "No, please pick another punishment! I promise I can do better, just don't close the door! It's super scary in here when it gets dark!" But sadly, his words went unheard when Medusa finally shut the door. "It's so dark in here. I don't know how to deal with darkness like this." he quietly sobbed before Ragnarok materialized sounding very aggravated. "Damn it Crona, you screwed up big time!" he shouted. "No Ragnarok!" He started teasing her which lasted long into the night.

The next day, Medusa opened the door once again to find her son with tears covering his face. "So then, are you ready?" she asked before he rushed up to her and hugged her leg. "Ragnarok is just so mean! He keeps beating me up and I don't like it! Please just stop him already." he sobbed.

"Come now little one, we have work to do. You will eliminate it this time." Medusa ordered leading him out of the room. "There's no way, I can't do it." he muttered twiddling with his fingers. "I still don't know how to deal with this." With a glare, Medusa just said "Vector Plate." and sent him flying back into the room. "You can stay out of my sight a little longer."

"Ugh, I don't know how to deal with a child like Crona." the witch moaned walking into her study. "If only I can find a way to make him more violent, less of a pushover." He buried her face in her hands before suddenly falling asleep.

When she woke up, she found herself in an utter hellhole of a world with buildings burning, people running for cover and a figure hovering high above everyone, laughing madly. "What is this place?" she wondered. "Why, your mindscape of course!" an obnoxious high-pitched voice answered. Turning around, she discovered a golden triangle dressed in nothing but a black bow tie and top hat taking in the chaos around him.

"What's up babe, name's Bill Cipher!" the creature introduced himself with a mocking bow. "And I suppose you must be some kinda punk rock wannabe! I'm kidding, I know who you are Medusa!" he stated pointing at her. "Who are you monster, how do you know my name?!" Medusa exclaimed. "Oh I know lots of things Snakebite. LOTS OF THINGS." his tone suddenly dropped as his form displayed images of a trio of eyes, mosquitoes, a golem and a world similar to the apocalypse they were in. "Wanna see what I can do?!" He brought forth a man on the verge of death and burned him alive, only leaving behind a still beating heart. "Here, a heart for you lady. Don't mind if it's still living, it's just what I do."

"Agh, you're insane!" Medusa cried dropping the heart to the ground. "I know I am, but what're you?" Bill snapped back snickering. "So, heard you have a problem child on your hands am I right?" he wondered pulling up a chair out of trash and seating her in it. "Yes, my little boy Crona refuses to obey my commands and I have very big plans for him." the witch explained. "Small world, I have big plans myself!" Bill exclaimed. "Hey, how's about we make a deal? I'll whip your brat into shape and you can help me with something I've been working on." he offered lighting his hand in a blue inferno. "It's a deal."

The two of them shook hands sealing the deal. "We can work out the details later but until we meet again, THE MEANING OF LIFE IS 42, UNCLE WALT IS STILL OUT THERE, ALWAYS TAKE THE SHOT BYYYEEE!"

As soon as Bill vanished, Medusa awoken from her slumber. Looking around her room, she discovered a note on her desk saying "Been nice meeting ya Gorgon! You're really quite my type. Say, you got any siblings to hook me up with?" She simply grinned manically looking it over before deciding to turn in for the night.

Meanwhile with Bill, he had found himself hovering in a bright blue sky. "Hm, kind of expected something more tormented. Eh, it'll do." he snarked before beginning to search for Crona. "Now where could that little brat be?" he wondering searching high and low for the child until he came across an orb covered in sand resembling a beach or a desert and its only inhabitant being a youth with pink hair wearing all black. "Jackpot!" Bill exclaimed soaring down to the boy.

Crona was sitting all by his lonesome on the sand with his shadow as his only companion. "So, how are you doing?" the shadow asked him. "O-okay I guess. Mommy locked me in the room again and Ragnarok just kept bullying me." the child replied. "So how are you doing?" he asked the shadow before it suddenly took on a different form. "Just fine squirt! I got a question for you. What's my name?"

Crona simply jumped back in fear, stepping backwards until he bumped into a mysterious figure. Turning around, he found Bill Cipher standing before him. "What's up kid?" he greeted the Demon Swordsman. "W-who are you?! What a-are you d-doing here?!" he stuttered crawling away from him before Bill grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him to his eye. "Easy there brat! Apologies for being so rude," he said. "my name's Bill Cipher and I'm here because your mother made a deal with me."

"Wait, you mean her?!" Crona teared up in horror. "Yeah, she wanted me to beef you up, prepare you for a bright future ahead of ya!" As he continued speaking to the child, he summoned a projection of the moon. "Looks beautiful doesn't it?" he asked. "Well it's about to get even more beautiful!"

Dragging the moon closer with a wave of his hand, the two of them watched as an older Crona absorbing a grey-skinned humanoid creature and a young man in a plaid cap with a torrent of liquid blacker than night. "See this kid, this is what your mom wants you to be! The next Kishin, the embodiment of fear! And if you don't man up, well, her plan is gonna go all boop-boop!"

"Wait, she wants me to become what?!" Crona exclaimed trembling at the thought of this possible future. "Speaking of which, what's even under those clothes anyway?! I've been told you're a boy, but you seem more like a girl to me!" Bill exclaimed rubbing his hands. "Let's see what's hidin' there!" He grabbed the hem of the child's dress and prepared to lift it up before his hands were slapped away. "Okay sheesh, best to keep things 'private'!" He giggled at his own terrible pun. "Well then Crona, I best be off! Got some other things to take care of. But until I see you again, I'll always be watching you!"

He tapped Crona on the forehead and sent himself off with a cackle, while the child began to grow a mad grin on his face.

Once again, Medusa opened the door the next day. "So, are you ready?" she asked him while his head was down. When he raised it to look at her, he was wearing that same sadistic smile and had some black blood leaking out of his nose. "Did you know my blood is black?"

"And that's the whole story!" Bill finally finished telling his history with Crona. "Though it seems one of you may have averted that prophecy by punching the Kishin in the face. But let's face it, he was kind of a weenie anyway!" He let out another crazy snicker before finally letting go of Crona.

"Well we now know the story Bill, but what does my brother have to do with this?!" Ford shouted. "Oh yeah, kinda forgot about that!" the demon responded. "Ever since he punched me into pieces, your grunkle had a bit of my essence nestled deep within his wrinkly noggin. Once I get my hands on it, I can return to my full strength." he explained. "But since you're all here, might as well kill you all so you don't interfere with my plans!" He fired a giant laser blast from his finger to terminate the gang before it was suddenly deflected by Ragnarok, who had transformed into a large broadsword with a pair of lips on the blade. "You leave my friends alone Bill!" Crona shouted preparing to fight him.

"Oh goodness would you look at the time," Bill panicked. "I gotta go...to the bathroom!" He zoomed away inside the Shack obviously just wanting to retrieve his essence and escape. "He's ran into the shack, after him everyone!"

They all ran inside the building to discover various doors all leading to Stan's memories. "Okay dudes, the twins and I have been through this place before which is how we first met Bill, so maybe we know this place like the back of our hands." Soos explained. "I say we all form into teams." Ford suggested. "Dipper, Liz & Patty go this way, Wendy, Kid & Stein go that way. Mabel, Black Star & Soul go over there, Spirit, Tsubaki & Soos can move thataway, etc."

"BREAK!" Maka exclaimed before they all split up into their assigned groups, with Crona accompanying Ford and Maka.

"Bill's essence, come out wherever you are!" Patty called as she, her sister and Dipper traversed through the old man's consciousness. "Good God, how big is Mr. Pines's head?" Liz inquired with a hint of snark in her voice. "I don't know yet, but wherever Bill is searching for his essence, we gotta get to it before him." Dipper determinedly said. "By the way, I got a question for you. What were your lives like before meeting Kid?"

"That's a funny story," the younger Thompson sister replied grinning. "we were once the Brooklyn Devils after our mother abandoned us and became serious criminals before we met Kid, who helped us see the light!" Liz on the other hand told him a more realistic version of their story. "Long before we met Kid, we were the twin daughters of the most beautiful whore in Brooklyn when she ditched us for some reason. We never knew who our father was and became more dependent on each other. Then we tried to mug Kid, who saw the good in us mostly because we were so symmetrical. And that's how we wound up here today."

"Wow, kinda reminds me of Stan and Ford's relationship," Dipper said. "Only they weren't criminals from birth and couldn't turn into guns." He then turned to a nearby door. "Hey, you think this might be one of Stan's memories?" Patty wondered opening it to happen upon a projection of Stan playing with his stomach in the bathroom. "Hey Mr. Tummy!" he greeted. "Hey Mr. Stan!" he made his gut reply before Patty abruptly shut the door. "Well, I know what I'm puttin' in my eyes tonight!"

Meanwhile with Ford, Maka and Crona, they were searching their part of the mindscape. They were in a hallway of doors all relating to Stan's past. "That part of Bill could be anywhere! We've got to find it before he does." Maka declared. "Simmer down Maka. We'll find it soon," Ford said. "but right now one of these doors could lead us to him."

Examining the various entryways, some of them were slightly ajar showing various parts of the Stan twins' lives from discovering a boat in a cave to Ford winning a science fair project. "Ah yes, I remember those days." the scientist reminisced. "Back when Stanley and I were around your ages but kind of older, I built a perpetual motion machine for our school's science fair that would've won me a scholarship to one of the most prestigious universities in the country. But Stan broke it because he didn't want us to be separated and was kicked out by our dad as a result."

As he finished, another door opened showing that fateful night where the Stan twins' father threw him out of their home. "You ignoramus! Your brother was gonna be our ticket out of this dump! All you ever do is lie and cheat right on your brother's coattails." he scolded quite harshly. "Well this time you cost our family potential millions! And until you make us a fortune, you aren't welcome in this household." The three watched this memory play out, Ford just looking away in resignation, Maka covering her mouth in shock but Crona just backed away before running off with tears in his eyes. "This is so much like Medusa!"

"Wait Crona, come back!" Maka called for her friend before racing after him and Ford following suit.

"Here Bill's essence, I totally got a human sacrifice for you!" Soos called, which echoed throughout the hallway. "Uh Soos, I don't think it can hear us." Tsubaki commented. "I mean, it's just an itty bit of some bigger monstrosity." Spirit replied. Suddenly they all heard a crying noise which came from Crona who came running up to them in tears.

"Hey, you all right there little dude?" Soos wondered wiping a tear from the swordsman's face. "Mr. Pines, Maka and I were looking through memories and I found one of Mr. Pines' dad tossing Stan out of their house, and it was just so horrible!" he bawled into the manchild's arms. "Sh sh sh, it's okay Crona. It's okay."

"Yes, our father may have been a bit rough but at least he didn't use Stan and I to further his own evil plots." Ford tried to lighten the mood before Bill suddenly appeared before them with a cackle. "Oh isn't this just precious? Someone actually caring about Crona for once!" he chortled cruelly. "Listen Bill, this is where we end this! Leave my brother's mind immediately or I swear I'm going to end you in the most painful way a dream demon can feel pain!" the polydactyl exclaimed. "That's what you think, cause I've already made a new friend during my time in the void. Say hello Asura!"

He motioned for his partner to make himself known. The Kishin Asura appeared seemingly from out of nowhere looking down upon the group with a smug grin on his visage. "Well well well little humans, it seems we finally meet again." he said. "Wait, you teamed up with HIM?!" Maka screamed in shock at the dream demon. "Oh course we did Scythe, turns out he and I had a lot in common."

"Beings of extreme power with unusual eyes," Asura said. "hatred for children, dreams of conquering the universe! It's like we're twin brothers!" Bill exclaimed. "Only difference is I make three sides look good." he added with a shake of one of his points, much to the gang's disgust. "Now then, allow us to show you what we've got now!" The pair soon began to align and finally fuse into Kishin Cipher, still retaining his manic grin. "They can fuse now?!"

"And now to destroy you once and for all!" Kishin Cipher exclaimed bringing forth Mabel, Black Star & Soul, Dipper & the Thompsons and Wendy, Kid & Stein. "Oh my God, what is that thing?!" Black Star howled. "Guys, what's going on?!" Mabel shouted to her brother. "It turns out Bill teamed up and actually fused with this Asura guy to kill us all!" Soos explained fearfully.

"Now then, which one do we start with?" Kishin Cipher wondered glaring at everyone. "How about...YOU?!" He fired a laser blast from his finger at Maka only for it to be deflected by Crona carrying Ragnarok. "Come on Ragnarok, Scream Resonance." Ragnarok let out an ear-piercing shriek from his lips and his Meister threw a mighty slash at the fusion, slicing his arm off. "AGH, what was that for?!" he cried reeling in pain. "Now's out chance! Weapons everyone!" Maka ordered as Soul turned into her scythe, Tsubaki into Black Star's shadow weapon, Liz & Patty in Kid's twin pistols and Spirit into Stein's own scythe.

All the Meisters lept forward and dealt serious damage to Cipher. "What do you suppose we can do?" Wendy asked. "This is the mindscape, meaning we can imagine pretty much anything to help us out here!" Dipper responded before firing lasers from his eyes. "Likes turning your fists into kittens!" Mabel added transforming her hands into cat heads and fired rainbows from them. "Soos Love Stomach Beam Stare!" Soos exclaimed launching a question mark shaped energy beam from his stomach. "Anything, eh?" Ford wondered before spawning a staff with a golden hand on the tip. "Let's finish this!"

Kishin Cipher was not doing fine here. Scythe & Piano Keys slashed him in the face, Shuriken blinding him with smoke bombs, Skull & Twin Pistols kept shooting him in the eyes, Black Blood had already sliced his arm off and Holy Cross & Cigarette were doing the same as Scythe. "ENOUGH!" he screamed, finally fed up with their futile attempts at fighting back. "This has gone on for far too long, so now it's time to get rid of you and conquer everything there ever was!" He hovered high above the group with his hands clasped together and between a pair of circles. "WEIRD VAJRA!"

A giant laser beam shot down from above aimed towards the heroes. "Well dudes, guess this is goodbye!" Soos began to say his prayers and bid his friends farewell. "What are we going to do?! He's going to kill us and completely take over Stan's mind!" Dipper fretted. "We're not completely hopeless!" Stein declared pulling something out of his pocket, that something being a small yellow triangle that fit in the palm of his hand. "Bill's essence? But how?!" Mabel cried. "We managed to retrieve it from one of Mr. Pines's memories. Maybe we can use it to get Bill and Asura to leave." Kid suggested.

"Are you nuts, this is Bill's essence! If he gets his hands on it, he'll regain his full power!" Ford shouted. "Hey guys, can we just give it to him because that giant laser beam is getting awfully close." Wendy said. "How long has it been since he fired it anyway?" Spirit wondered. Stein boldly stepped forward to the monstrosity and held out the triangle. "Here's your essence. Now leave here." he simply ordered him. "Good choice Stein." the villain commended him disappating the laser. "Now just give it to me and I'll be on my way!"

"Sorry, changed my mind." Stein snarked, crushing the small triangle in his hands. "NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" Kishin screamed trying to piece it back together with what little pieces remained. "Okay, I'll leave your great uncle alone!" he regained his composure. "You're all quite worthy opponents, especially the fat one."

"I still think he's talking to you." Soos whispered to Mabel. "I'll see you again soon, BUT KNOW THIS! When madness takes over and inner strength fails, the only sound left will be your wails!" he declared summoning a circle that surrounded him. Ten symbols circled him and ten more were outside of those. "Until then I'll be watching you! I'll be watching you!" With that, everything finally disappeared.

"Did we win?" Dipper asked groggily as everyone woke up. "Yeah, we saved Stan!" Mabel cheered just as Stan woke up. "What just happened? And why am I tied to my chair?" the old man asked. "You would not believe what happened Mr. Pines! You were taken over by Bill and we had to go inside your mind again to stop him!" Soos exclaimed. "Yeah yeah, more of your weird mystery stuff. Now can someone untie me? I'm starving!"

"I knew somebody would say that!" Blair called walking into the living room wearing nothing but an apron. "So then, what does everyone want for dinner?" she asked everyone while Soul fell down all bloody-nosed. "Good grief madame, put some clothes on!" Ford said covering the twins' eyes. "Yeah, I'm getting' hungry anyway." Mabel said when everybody walked to the kitchen. All except Crona. "Aren't you coming Crona?" Maka asked her friend. "I'll catch up with you later, I want to talk with Mr. Pines."

The room was now completely empty except for the swordsman and the con-artist. "So, what did you want to talk to me for?" Stan asked Crona sitting him down on his lap. "C'mon, tell me." he beckoned him. "I just want to ask you. Was your dad that mean to you?" Crona asked sheepishly. "Kinda. He may've been hard to impress and kind of a jerk, but deep down he still loved me and Ford." the great-uncle replied. "This is about your mom isn't it?"

"Yeah, when me and my friends were in your mind I came across this memory of your dad tossing you out of your house, it just reminded me too much of Medusa." Crona explained shedding a tear. "Hey, wipe those tears Pinky. At least neither of our parents used us as tools!" Stan laughed before the boy started to chuckle as well. "Listen, if you need someone to talk to other than Maka or any of the others, just come to me."

"T-thank you Mr. Pi-" Crona thanked him before being interrupted by Stan hugging him. "Please, just call me Grunkle Stan." he corrected. "Okay. Thank you Grunkle Stan." He returned the hug.

"You idiot! Do you realize how much our plans have been screwed up?!" Bill screamed at Asura from within Kishin Cipher's body. "Not only did we lose the journal and my essence, I lost a way to break back into the physical realm!"

"Oh be quiet you three-sided twit!" Asura snapped back at him. "If it wasn't for your arrogance, we would've succeeded!" Bill was quite honestly angered by his partner's comment. "Now listen here Pasty, I'm not the one to blame here! You're just thinking I'm the cause of our failure just because you're a complete coward!" he shouted turning his back on him. "Some embodiment of fear you are."

Asura finally snapped and the two prepared to fight before Bill suddenly stopped them both. "WAIT! Just because we lost two parts of our plan doesn't mean we still have the others." He created an image of a brown-haired young man with metal piercings & a pair of gloves reaching up to his elbows and a miniature senior citizen dressed in all black with a pointy nose carrying a book with a golden hand & a number 2 on it. "Time for Plan B."

And that's Chapter 2 everyone! What secrets will our heroes uncover? Can Bill and Asura be stopped from accomplishing their goals of world domination? Who will be a good parent figure for Crona?! Find out on the next chapter of Gravity Soul! Until we meet again, merry Christmas and happy holidays!

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radioactivedelorean · 7 years

Text

Dēbĭlĭto #1

Next>>

Brain Trauma AU masterpost

AO3

Dēbĭlĭto - meaning to paralyse, to weaken, to disable, to incapacitate, to impair, to maim, to lame, to cripple

Chapter 1: Set sail

Seagulls cried out above their heads, circling over the deck and the coast as the two men walked along the pier. There was the occasional flap of a seagull’s wings as one flew too close, before letting out a squawk and flying off again. The old wooden planks beneath the men’s feet creaked a little as they walked, straining under their weight. Behind them, they could hear the crashing of the waves hitting the beach, accompanied by the laughter of young children playing in the surf. The sound reminded them of their niece and nephew over in California.

“Ah, there she is!” The larger of the two men, Stanley, pointed to a small wooden boat tied up at the side of the deck in front of them. Constructed of dark oak and the hull reinforced with carbon fibre, the boat bobbed up and down on the waves. A large, wooden mast stuck up out of the middle of the cabin, numerous aerials for radio and mobile signal attached with firm steel plating. A telescope was fixed to the front of the cabin roof, already aiming up towards the stratosphere. A red banner of paint ran around the edge of the boat, just above the surface of the water and below the railing. The words ‘Stan ‘O War II’ were painted on in block capitals with white paint.

Stanley’s twin brother grinned. “Finally. I thought we would never get her finished.” The second man, Stanford was considerably thinner than Stanley, though they were of identical height and age. Ford’s hair was not confined by a hat in the way Stan’s was, being whipped around by the ocean breeze. Ford took a deep breath as the twins approached their boat. Ford was the first to step onto the deck, offering his brother a six-fingered hand to help him on.

“I’m not that old Sixer.” Stan rolled his eyes. “I can still walk fine, you know.” He reached for the hand anyway.

“It was merely a gesture of kindness, Stanley.” Ford teased lightly, pulling his hand away before his brother could grab hold. Stan chuckled and stepped over the railing onto the deck of the boat. Almost immediately, the two men found themselves stumbling, their balance thrown off by the change in stability of the ground beneath their feet. Ford managed to get his balance back considerably easier than his brother. Stan ended up having to cling to the railing for support.

Ford crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow and smirked at his brother. He said nothing, only lifting up one leg, remaining perfectly balanced. Stan shot him a glare. “Oh quit bragging. You spent thirty years on the run, no wonder your balance is better than mine.”

Ford put his leg down and walked over to his brother, offering him a hand. “Come on, you want to have a look inside I take it?”

Stan rolled his eyes and took his brother’s hand. He found it easier to walk while holding onto Ford’s arm for support. Ford led him down the stairs and through the cabin door. They were immediately placed into the saloon of the ship. On one side was a small kitchen area fitted against the wall. A booth was opposite the kitchen area, the two small seats opposite one another, a small table in the middle, resembling booths in a diner. At the bow end of the cabin was a small closet for supplies, already loaded with long-life packaged foods such as tinned and dried goods.

A very small fridge-freezer stood beside the kitchen, being powered by the solar panels on top of the boat’s mast. It was barely the size of a hotel refrigerator, but it would certainly be enough for the two men. Beside the kitchen area were some cupboards, full of kitchen supplies such as pots, pans, cutlery, plates and bowls. The cupboards were floor-level. This meant that, should there be a storm and the boat was tossed around (a likely event, considering the size of the Pacific Ocean) the plates were unlikely to smash as they were not falling from a great height.

Behind the stairs leading up to the deck were two more doors. One of them led into a small bathroom, including merely a toilet, a small shower and a sink. The other door led into a bedroom complete with two small beds on opposite sides of the room, a small nightstand between them. A second closet stood opposite the bathroom door, loaded with clean clothes and various bits of scientific equipment, as well as general boat gear such as rope.

Stan went over to the booth and took a seat. “Well this is pleasant, and this seat is really comfortable.”

“It should be. We’ve got to be sitting there for a good few months.” Ford chuckled, taking a seat opposite his twin. “At least Fiddleford was able to set up the watermaker system so we can have fresh water for both drinking and for showering.”

“Knowing how sweaty you get in the summer, that’ll be a good thing.” Stan teased his twin gently, a playful smirk on his face.

Ford scoffed indignantly. “Excuse me, Stanley, but you sweat far worse than I do. It’s your weight, you see. It makes you overheat.”

“Oh shut up, Poindexter. I didn’t have time to get all fit and healthy like you. I was too busy working!”

“I didn’t have much of a choice to get ‘all fit and healthy’, Stanley,” Ford smirked. “It was either run fast or die.”

“Well, I’m glad it wasn’t the latter.” Stan leant over to tousle his brother’s hair.

Ford swatted his hand away. “Get off!” He flattened his hair down, attempting to undo the mess his brother had made.

Stan chuckled, folding his arms on the table. “Some things just don’t change, do they Sixer? You still hate having your hair messed up. Now I know where Dipper gets it from.”

Ford scoffed as he managed to get his hair under control again. “It’s bad enough with the salty sea air messing it up without you too!”

Stan grinned and got up. “You should have bought a hat, then, Poindexter.”

“Stanley, you and I both know you didn’t pay for that hat.”

Stan gasped, putting a hand over his chest dramatically. “Me? Steal? How could you ever think that?!”

“It’s still got the security tag on it,” Ford said simply, an amused grin on his face. “Where are you going?”

“To check out the bedroom.” Stan replied. Ford got up from his seat and followed his twin to the back of the boat to the bedroom. The beds weren’t quite normal size - they were a little narrower to leave enough space in the room to move around - but they were certainly long enough. Stan took a seat on the bed on the starboard side and Ford sat on the opposite bed. Stan flopped onto his back, his arms out above his head. “Oh yes, this is nice.” He grinned.

“These mattresses are very comfortable, I agree.” Ford kicked his boots off and laid down on his own bed with a content sigh. “Then again, after thirty years of sleeping wherever I could, I’d find anything comfortable.”

“The minute your butt touched my chair you fell asleep in it,” Stan said with a smirk. “You were out like a light.”

“Your weight on it over the years softened it.” Ford retorted. “No wonder it was so comfortable.”

“Make one more fat joke and you can swim around the world,” Stan said bluntly, causing his brother to laugh. “I’m serious, Ford. I’ll make you follow me in your speedo.”

Ford snorted. “At least I can get away with wearing one, Stan. Something that can’t be said for someone your size.”

“Alright, that’s it!” Stan got up from his bed. “I warned you about the fat jokes.”

Ford sat bolt upright, scooting backwards on the bed away from his brother. “Oh come on, Stan. We both know I’m right.”

Stan simply grabbed Ford’s leg and pulled him forwards, scooping his brother into his arms to carry him in a fireman’s lift over one shoulder. Ford struggled and wriggled in Stan’s grip. “Stanley Pines if you don’t put me down right now I swear I’ll-”

“You’ll what, Poindexter?” Stan smirked as he carried his brother out of the bedroom and up the stairs to the deck. “You’ll toss me overboard? I thought you couldn’t lift me since I was so fat?”

“STAN PINES PUT ME DOWN!”

“Alright alright, yeesh. Don’t get your sideburns in a twist.” Stan tossed Ford over his shoulder and put him down on the deck. Ford sat on the deck and crossed his arms, scowling at his brother. This only caused Stan to chuckle. “You look like some pouty kid who just got told off for stealing cookies outta the jar.”

Ford got to his feet, his arms still crossed and a scowl still on his face. “Well excuse me for not appreciating being carried around like a ‘pouty kid’ by my own brother.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “You’re just lucky I didn’t toss you overboard, Sixer. I will do next time, though. Especially if you keep making fat jokes.”

Ford unfolded his arms to punch Stan’s shoulder playfully. “You know I don’t care how big you are. You tease me about being smart, so it’s only fair I get to tease you about being fat.”

“Yeah but there’s a line somewhere, Ford, and as soon as you cross that line you’re going overboard,” Stan smirked a little, shoving Ford’s shoulder gently in return. “Come on, let’s go get our stuff from the car and load up.”

Ford smirked at his brother as he stepped over the railing back onto the pier, offering Stanley a hand in return. Stan accepted the help, allowing Ford to pull him up over the railing and onto the dock once more. Side by side, the two men walked back in the direction of the dockyard parking lot. The seagulls above them continued their cries, the sound bouncing off the sides of the boats surrounding them and ricocheting into the ocean.

“So, how long do you think we’ll be out there before we’ll need to restock?” Stan asked.

“Depends on how much we eat and how much equipment is either broken or lost to the waves,” Ford replied, humming in thought. “I’d say maybe two months at sea, towards the end of which we’d have to make sure we’re near to a port.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard, they’re dotted all along the West Coast,” Stan said. “Whereabouts do you think we’ll be by then?”

“Maybe near Canada or Alaska?” Ford shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Sounds good enough to me. I know there’s a pretty large port up in Anchorage.”

“That’s the place we’ll most likely be docking at, then.” Ford nodded as they approached the parking lot. The Stanleymobile was parked at the left side, the crimson paint glinting in the midday sun. It looked just as old and worn down as its owner.

Stan unlocked the car and opened up the trunk, digging out two of their suitcases. Ford dug some of the boxes of supplies out of the back seats of the car, setting them down on the ground beside the car. Stan shut the trunk again as Ford got out as many boxes as he could carry comfortably, before shutting the rear passenger doors. Stan locked up the car and picked up the suitcases. Ford lifted up the boxes and the pair made their way back to the boat.

It took roughly an hour and a halft to get everything from the car onto the boat and then to get everything put away properly. Ford sat on the edge of the railing, his legs hanging over the side of the boat. He had tossed his shirt aside, leaving him in a plain black T-shirt. He used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, removing his glasses to dry off the bridge of his nose to stop his glasses slipping off. Stan had removed his own shirt, leaving him topless. He leaned against the railing beside his brother, panting a little in the heat. Both of them were slightly red in the face. Luckily, Ford had insisted that they both put on copious amounts of sunscreen before leaving the house, so the risk of sunburn was minimal.

Stan checked his watch. “Weren’t the twins meant to come and see us off today?”

“Yeah, they were.” Ford nodded. “They should be here shortly since they left first thing this morning.”

Stan stretched his arms out above his head with a slight yawn. The heat had drained most of the energy from both men, leaving them feeling rather fatigued. Of course, both of them were far too stubborn to admit this and instead opted for walking around on the deck to keep themselves active. Before long, they heard two pairs of footsteps running along the deck towards them. Turning to look at the source of the noise, both men grinned upon seeing their niece and nephew running towards them.

“GRUNKLE STAN! GRUNKLE FORD!” Mabel cheered as she all but leapt over the railing, directly into Stan’s arms. Stan was knocked back a few steps by the force of the girl’s hug but was more than happy to return it with a chuckle.

“Heya pumpkin! It’s good seeing you again!” Stan grinned, ruffling Mabel’s hair.

A moment later, Ford had been tackled in a hug of similar strength by Dipper. The young boy giggled a little as Ford lifted him clear off the ground, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Ford grinned at the boy in his arms. “Glad you were able to make it!”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Dipper grinned, hugging Ford tightly in return. “We wanted to be able to see you before you left!”

“Trust me, we wanted the same thing kiddo.” Satan grinned, setting Mabel down on the deck. Mabel went over and hugged Ford tightly, once Ford had set Dipper down. Dipper, in turn, went and gave Stan a huge hug as well.

“Can we have a look around your boat before you leave?” Dipper asked with wide, curious eyes.

“Course, come on in!” Stan grinned, setting the boy down and gesturing for his nephew to follow him inside. Dipper followed Stan down the steps into the cabin, swiftly being followed by his sister. Ford remained out on the deck, enjoying the sunshine. At least, he remained outside until Mabel came back up on deck and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the cabin with her.

Dipper was looking at all of the scientific equipment in the box underneath the small kitchen table. Mabel let go of Ford’s hand in favour of having a look at the bedroom, allowing Ford to kneel beside Dipper. “Anything in particular that you’re wondering about?”

“This thing.” Dipper held up a small remote-control-like device, with what appeared to be a small satellite dish on one end, attached to an extensible rod.

“Oh, this?” Ford sat down on the floor beside him. “It’s called a subsurface echolocator. It allows us to hear signals from deep below the surface of the sea.”

“Whoa, that’s awesome!” Dipper grinned, his eyes wide with curiosity and wonder.

Ford chuckled at his childlike enthusiasm and took the boy’s hat off so he could ruffle his hair. “Sometimes I honestly wish I found things like this as interesting as you do,” he said, “but thirty years of coming across this stuff daily really wears off the fascination for such technology.”

Dipper giggled a little at the gesture. “So you saw stuff like this all the time?!”

“Yep, all sorts of weird and wonderful gadgets and machines that even a mind as imaginative as yours couldn’t even begin to come up with.” Ford chuckled. “Unfortunately, some of the time, such devices were aimed at me.”

Dipper frowned, hugging Ford tightly. “That must have been really scary.”

“It was rather terrifying at times, yes,” Ford admitted, returning the embrace, “but thanks to my brother, I no longer have to face such things.”

“Are you telling your nerd stories again, Sixer?” Stan called from where he was sitting on one of the beds, chatting with Mabel. “I thought you’d already told Dipper everything interesting!”

“At least my stories are actually interesting, Stanley!” Ford retorted, earning an ‘ooooo!’ from Mabel.

Stan grumbled and got up, heading to where Ford was sitting on the kitchen floor. “I’ll have you know my stories are perfectly interesting!” He retorted.

Ford scoffed. “Not when you’ve told them a hundred times. I think I could recite the one where you escaped those drug traffickers from memory!”

“At least it’s better than adding ‘oh but in dimension XZ Alpha Q’ blah bah blah onto the end of everything anyone ever says!” Stan shot back.

“I do not do that!” Ford protested.

“Yeah you do,” both Mabel and Dipper giggled, causing Ford to blush red.

“I didn’t think I did…” Ford mumbled.

Stan chuckled. “You’re such a nerd, Poindexter.”

“So? What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing!” Stan grabbed his brother and pulled him into a tight embrace, rubbing his knuckles over the top of Ford’s head and causing his brother to yelp.

“Hey! Geroff me!” Ford protested, wriggling in Stan’s grip.

“Nope!” Stan laughed. “Kids! Get him!”

As Ford was held in place by his brother, the twins promptly engulfed him in hugs of their own, making it impossible for Ford to go anywhere. Ford wriggled in an attempt to get free but found himself thoroughly trapped by his family’s hugs. “Guuyyys!” He whined. “No fair!”

Mabel giggled, moving so she was resting on Ford’s chest, hugging him around the neck. “It is so fair! You hug us all the time and we get trapped. Now it’s your turn!”

Ford whined again, trying to get free. Stan adjusted his hold on Ford so that Ford’s arms were pinned to his sides. He put his chin on his brother’s shoulder. “I thought you loved our hugs.”

“Yeah, I do, but not when you’re hugging me like this just to annoy me,” he pouted.

Mabel just giggled, kissing Ford’s cheek. “But we love you and we like hugging you!”

Ford wriggled again. “Well if you’ll let me go I’ll be able to reciprocate the hugs you love so much!”

Mabel and Dipper both let go of Ford while Stan kept a hold of him, simply releasing Ford’s arms but keeping his own arms around Ford’s middle. Ford rolled his eyes, before bringing the twins in for a hug. The younger pair of Pines twins eagerly returned the hug, huge smiles on their faces. Ford chuckled softly, more than happy to just stay like this for a little while. All of a sudden he didn’t want to go sailing and leave the twins behind, even though he knew they would easily be able to stay in contact with their grunkles via the online video messaging system on Stan’s laptop.

Stan checked his watch. “It’s almost time for us to set off,” he said. It was clear by his tone of voice that he didn’t want to leave just yet either.

“Aww…” Mabel pouted. “Can’t you stay a little while longer?”

“As much as we’d love to, this is something Ford and I have been looking forward to for our whole lives,” Stan said. “We’ll call you on the computer tonight, though. Promise.”

“Okay.” Mabel did seem to cheer up a little bit at that, sliding off Ford’s lap and standing up. Dipper let go of Ford as well and stood beside his sister, allowing the two older men to get to their feet. Ford was standing beside Mabel a moment later, while Stan found himself stuck on the ground, his old, worn-out body stuck in that position.

Chuckling, Ford offered his brother a hand up. “It’s a good thing one of us aged well, huh?”

“Oh shut up Poindexter,” Stan grumbled as he was helped to his feet. “Not everyone can be as fit and healthy as you, alright?”

“You would be if you quit eating pizza all the time and did some exercise.” Ford murmured under his breath, giving his brother an innocent smile.

Stan narrowed his eyes. “If that was another fat joke, I swear to God Ford!”

Ford laughed, shoving his brother’s shoulder playfully. “I’m just teasing!”

“Well how about I tease you by tossing you into the sea?” Stan raised an eyebrow, though he couldn’t stop himself from smirking at his brother’s antics as the kids giggled.

“You wouldn’t.” Ford stuck his tongue out, crossing his arms. “You care about me too much. Plus you need me around to keep the boat from falling into disarray.”

“I can manage just fine on my own, thank you very much,” Stan retorted.

“So that’s why the Shack was a mess and falling to pieces when I came back?” Ford smirked.

“That was only ‘cause that portal of yours essentially turned off gravity several times, causing everything to float up in the air and get destroyed!”

“Oh sure, always blaming everyone else. So the trash in the hallway and the state of your bedroom was caused by the portal, huh?”

“Oh shut up Poindexter.” Stan poked him in the ribs playfully. “The place was a tip when I first arrived anyway. I know you were fighting … him, at that time but there was at least five years’ worth of mess there!”

“It was perfectly acceptable to have papers lying around. It was my own home and I was living on my own, so I didn’t have anybody around complaining about the mess. Apart from Fiddleford. He did bring the issue up once or twice towards the end of the portal’s construction process, when the piles of papers started to build up, but by then there was little point in cleaning the mess. Then he fell into the portal, caught a glimpse of what was going on and...you know the rest,” He finished hastily.

“Your mess was worse, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel piped up, grinning and giggling. “You left trash everywhere!”

“Only because I ‘was in my own house and didn’t have anybody around complaining about the mess’,” Stan retorted, sticking his tongue out at his brother.

Ford rolled his eyes. “You’re such a child, Stanley. I honestly think Mabel is more mature than you are sometimes.”

“She probably is.” Stan shrugged. “I won’t deny it.”

“Does this mean I can run the Shack for a day again?” Mabel asked.

“Not on your life you little gremlin.”

“Good, cause it was too much work.” Mabel pouted. “No wonder you’re so grouchy all the time.”

“I am not!” Stan protested indignantly. “I’ll have you know I can be rather joyful and a pleasure to be around, when I wanna be.”

Ford snickered. “Sure. Well, let’s just hope you want to be ‘rather joyful’ when we set off, otherwise I’ll go mad.”

“You’re already mad, Ford.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“And you call us immature.” Dipper shook his head in mock exasperation, smirking a little. Both of his great uncles laughed.

“I know, hypocrites and all that.” Stan chuckled. “Now c’mon, we’d better get you two off the boat. We’re due to set off in about five minutes.”

“Awww…” Both of the twins whined. They had forgotten that the uncles were still meant to be setting out today. They had enjoyed spending this time with them and wanted to be able to stay longer, but they both knew that it was time for Stan and Ford to go.

“We’ll call you tomorrow evening, we promise,” Ford assured them.

“Alright,” Dipper nodded. He and his sister headed back up the stairs onto the deck, followed by Ford and Stan. The twins turned to face their uncles with wide grins. “Have fun out there.”

“I’m sure we will. Within a week we will have reached a major spot for a smaller breed of hydra that isn't a threat to humans. They grow to be maybe the size of a greyhound and feed off fish.” Ford said. “We should be able to get a lot of good photos.”

“Sounds cool!” Dipper grinned.

The two older Pines twins knelt down to give their niece and nephew a final hug goodbye. Mabel clung to Stan tightly, not wanting to let go just yet.

Stan chuckled. “Looks like someone doesn’t want us to go just yet. You’re going to have to stop hugging me eventually.”

“This isn’t a hug,” Mabel said, causing Stan to frown.

“Oh yeah? Then what is it?”

“A chokehold!” Mabel swung her body around, her arms around Stan’s neck. She held him tight - not tight enough to actually choke him, but tight enough to prove that she was rather strong for her age.

Stan laughed, easily detaching the young girl and setting her down on the floor. “Alright, alright, you’ve proved your point ya little demon. Come on, off the boat. We’re setting off now.”

Both children sighed, reluctantly stepping away from hugging their uncles and climbing over the railing of the boat, dropping down onto the pier again. Stan headed up to the wheel to get the engine of the boat going. It roared to life, the engine thudding as it waited for more controls.

Ford stood at the railing, ruffling the twins’ hair one last time. “We’ll see you soon, we promise!”

“You better!” Mabel replied. “Cause if you miss that call I’ll be mad.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want my darling niece to be mad at me.” Ford gasped in mock horror.

Mabel giggled. “No, you don’t, otherwise I won’t make you any more sweaters!”

“I think ten sweaters is enough for now,” Ford chuckled. He hauled up the anchor, hoisting it out of the water and making sure the winch was locked into place. He turned to look at Stan, up on the bridge. “We’re all set!”

“Awesome!” Stan grinned. Both himself and Ford waved to the twins as he adjusted the throttle on the boat.

With a roar of the engine and a splash of water from the current caused by the propeller, the boat began moving out of the dock and into the open ocean. The twins ran along the pier, waving to them and shouting their goodbyes. Their great uncles did the same, Ford standing at the stern of the boat as he waved. The twins kept running along the pier until they reached the end, standing at the edge of the dock and waving as their grunkles’ boat got smaller and smaller. They only stopped waving once they weren’t able to see the individual shapes of Stan and Ford any more, before returning to their parents.

Ford joined his brother up on the bridge, taking a deep breath as the salty ocean air flowed through his hair and caused his clothes to billow outwards. The pair of them each pulled on a lifejacket as their boat sailed across the water towards the horizon and towards all sorts of mysterious creatures.

_______

Aaaaand here it is! The first chapter of the long-awaited fic for the Brain Trauma AU, something that has been in the works for a little while now. Notes for the AU can be found at the top of the page, and I have the following people to thank: @sixerpines @a-million-chromatic-dreams @archervale @crossroadsdimension @themindofcc @transformersg1fan271 @nour386 @witete

(I won’t tag you guys in every chapter, just this one, I promise!)

#brain trauma au #debilito #ford pines #stanford pines #stanley pines #stan pines #gravity falls #sea grunks #stan o war #dipper pines #mabel pines

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