Reassurance (Stan, Ford and Fiddleford)

“Stanley, HELP ME!” Stanford screamed in terror. Wide blue eyes locked on his brother as he felt the portal pull him into whatever lay beyond, the last thing he saw being his twins face before everything turned white.

Stanford felt breathless when his eyes snapped open, heart thudding in his chest as if trying to free itself from its confines. It took Stanford a moment to realize he was home, in his bed safe and sound as opposed to being stuck in some strange dimension out in the cold, the man panting lightly as he realized something warm beside him was moving.

“Stanferd?” A groggy voice asked, its owner blinking tiredly as Stanford ran a hand through his greying hair with a barely repressed sob beside them. The tired person was none other than Fiddleford McGucket, the southerner turning to face Ford when he realized something was off. The terror-ridden eyes that looked into his all but confirmed things for McGucket, the inventor gently wrapping his lanky arms around the shaking man beside him with a soft coo. “Ssh, it’s alright…” He wasn’t surprised to feel Ford hug him close, his grip tight as if letting go of them man gently murmuring sweet nothings into ear would make him vanish.

“I…don’t make me go away.” Ford whimpered into the crook of Fiddleford’s neck, tears beginning to leak from his eyes as he clung to the man he loved and had loved for over 40 years. “Please don’t make me go away…”

“I wouldn’t think of such a thing.” Fiddleford whispered, the sobbing man being cradled in his arms unaware of the inventor slyly texting someone on his phone that he always kept under his pillow for such occasions like this.

”Come quick, Code P.” This was the text that woke Stanley Pines at three in the morning, the man grunting as he grabbed his glasses and read the message, cursing slightly as he grabbed some jeans from a nearby chair. His annoyance was gone and was replaced with worry as he grabbed his car keys and snuck out of the house, not wanting to wake the young pair of twins sleeping in their room on the floor above. It took him less than 10 minutes to get to McGucket Manor, the younger twin ascending the rather impressive staircase with a yawn and down the hall towards the master bedroom McGucket and his brother had taken for their own. He was a bit pleased to see that Ford wasn’t hiding under the bed this time, his brother and McGucket sitting up on the bed with mugs of what was most likely coffee in their hands, one sitting aside on the bedside table for Stanley with some steam curling up from the heat.

“I’m awful sorry fer wakin’ ya.” Fiddleford apologized, unable to get up and greet Stanley due to the fact there was a slightly shaking arm wrapped around his waist.

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” He shrugged, sitting beside the hillbilly while taking a deep sip of the caffeinated liquid. “I ain’t gonna be open tomorrow, so I can just sleep in late or somethin’.”

“I could watch the kids for ya, so little Mabel don’t cover you in glitter.” Fiddleford chuckled, the two falling into an easy conversation while Ford listened quietly. It took Stanford a considerable time to ground himself after such a vivid night terror, and both Stan and Fiddleford had found that simply letting him cope while they talked to fill the silence helped. Stan paused mid-sentence when Ford looked up at him, his eyes swirling with lingering terror and uncertainty.

“How’s your back?” Was his first question, Stan a bit befuddled before realizing what his brother was mentioning.

“It doesn’t bother me much anymore, though thanks for that rug.” He nodded, referring to the nice rug Ford had made with Mabel to cover up the large protection sigil he had carved at the center of the house, just as a precaution for the future. Another bout of silence passed as Ford tried to make some sort of rational train of thought from the tumultuous storm his thoughts were at the moment, though found himself failing once more.

“Thank you for bringing me home.” He croaked, Stan’s heart skipping a beat as brother stared at brother. Ford had thanked Stanley every day since Weirdmaggedon, but it was times like this where the weight of those words hit Stan like a bus. Maybe it was how his voice wavered as if awaiting some negative response, or maybe it was the fact that Stanford seemed so afraid of what he would say, but Stan found himself awkwardly hugging his brother, his free arm patting his brother’s back.

“I just fixed what we both caused.” Stan assured, the faint voice of their shared therapist niggling in the back of his mind. “Don’t blame yourself, and I won’t blame myself.” He joked weakly, considering it a victory when a faint smile tugged at Ford’s lips at the bad joke. It was an even bigger victory when Ford’s grip on Fiddleford relinquished a bit, though Fiddleford refused to move from Ford’s side as Stan told some story from his early days of being Mr. Mystery, prompting soft chuckles from his elder brother. It was staggering how much their relationship had strengthened over the course of just a year, and Fiddleford found himself staggered more and more as he watched their interactions become more like their younger twin counterparts. Sure, they weren’t perfect, by golly Stanford had PTSD and he still reacted to things as if he was still travelling in the multiverse, but they made it work. By the time Stanford had fallen back asleep the sun was rising over the distant mountains, Fiddleford amused as Stanley had also fallen asleep at the end of the bed, having muttered something about leaving when the inventor asked if he was tired before falling back on the soft bed and immediately passing out.

“Y’all are the craziest things I ever did meet.” He chuckled under his breath, having never thought that he would be dating an inter-dimensional traveler and inheriting the responsibilities of dealing with his younger brother who was a professional conman, but then again Gravity Falls was never one for having the most normal (or sane) of people, that was for sure. Ah well, such thought fer another time, he had some twins to go gather, and Stan did leave his keys in his reach….