Chapter Text
The summer continued to chug on and before they knew it, it was already half way through. What they thought would be a quiet, if not boring, summer was anything but that. Mabel ended up going on another disastrous date (this time with an actual human, unless a secret twin was hiding in the kids large, white pompadour) that Ford chased off again, they went to an abandoned convenience store with Wendy, the daughter of Ford’s friend whom he hired for the summer to help organize and catalog his research to keep her from going to summer camp (and who Dipper instantly developed a crush on) that ended up being haunted (Mabel was possessed until Dipper did the lamby dance to appease the ghosts).
Dipper also briefly lived with a group of manotaurs, and together with Mabel, even managed to uncover a hundreds-years-old hidden national secret.
Also, Mabel was a Congress woman now and proud pig owner.
It was the best summer of their lives, and they still have over a month left until they had to return home.
The twins had their ups and downs over the course of that time, but whatever "off-periods" they had was brief and they managed to get over whatever their disagreement was about. Ford's words, the regret for his brothers, was like a worm in their ears.
Several nights ago, after the kerosene lamp had been switched off (who even still used those?), Mabel's bed squeaked as she turned over.
"Hey Dipper?" she asked, her voice quiet. Used to her constant loud excitement, even at night, the contrast immediately told Dipper something was wrong.
"Yeah?"
"We're not gonna get all stupid when we get older, right? Like Grunkle Ford and his brother?" Mabel asked.
"Of course not," Dipper said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. Mabel sounding so vulnerable and sad was so out of the ordinary, he had to try to lighten the mood.
"I won't get stupid if you don't, stupid." he teased.
Mabel laughed. It was dampened, not her usual unabashed laugh that he was used to, but it was a start.
"Ha, yeah..."
Dipper bit his lip before rolling over to face her side of the attic. In the dim light of the room, he could just barely make out her face.
"Mabel, there's no way that will happen to us, alright?" he said, "Grunkle Ford and his brother didn't get a chance to talk it out because their dad kicked Stan out.
"You know our parents would never do that and besides, we always sort out our 'blarg' so we may disagree, but you'll never stop being my sister."
A quiet sniff could be heard from Mabel's bed. Her hand emerged from under the covers to wipe at her face.
"Thanks, bro-bro."
Dipper smiled. Her voice, though still quiet, sounded more relieved.
"You feel better now?" Dipper asked.
"Yeah, I think so. I'll be alright." Mabel replied.
"We both will."
"Good night, Dipper."
"Good night, Mabel."
As the twins drifted off to sleep, Ford silently crept out of his room, stepping over floor boards that would give his movements away.
He made his way through the house and opened the door to the garage. Checking behind him, he closed the door once he saw the coast was clear.
He spared one glance at the El Diablo, its coat shining from moonlight streaming in from the window, before going to the door against the back wall.
Pulling back the panel, he pressed a finger against the screen beneath. A green light reflected off his glasses as the scanner read his print and unlocked the door. With one last check, just to be safe, he disappeared into the door and closed it behind him.
Over the years, he had upgraded the elevator to be more up to date. Trips down to his research study didn’t take quite so long, and he even managed to lock the floor the Incident had occurred in so he wouldn’t have to see it.
30 years had passed. Some things had gotten easier with time. Sleeping wasn’t quite as hard as it used to be, and while he still had nightmares, they had decreased in frequency. Yet his reaction to the room hadn’t lessened any. He could swear that the smell of burnt flesh and hair still clung to the walls that echoed with Stan’s Bills? Screams. It had been years since he stepped foot inside, having moved anything he’d needed down to the second floor, but even the last time he’d been down there, he’d been convinced that he’d go to the furthest room and see Stan’s corpse on the steel table.
At least the portal room hadn’t been quite as bad. Ironically, the portal had been his biggest mistake for so long and just standing beneath its behemoth shadow had drowned him in guilt. Yet with every remnant of the portal cleaned away, he found that he could stand to be in there more so than his old study. As the years passed, even that had gradually faded until it only ever affected him on bad days.
Still, he preferred the second floor now. There were no hurdles to overcome when it came to just being in the space, and he needed all the concentration he could get that he’d rather just stay where he could focus on his task at hand.
For 30 years, he’d kept part of his promise to Stan. He hadn’t given up. The radios had stayed out and on, becoming just another part of his normal everyday life. He’d removed a few in preparation for the children, but the constant droning static had become just a part of his life that faded into the background on most days.
He also continued to research new ways and ideas to bring Stan back. With the invention of the internet, it became easier. Kids these days were into some strange things, he’d come to realize. Things that would have taken him months to track down or research by book were now available at the click of a mouse, whether it was published online, or could be purchased.
It was truly remarkable.
Yet none of it had been any help. Nothing he’d tried had even brought him a flicker of hope. Year after year, nothing changed.
There were days when the despair threatened to swallow him, when the hopelessness tightened its grip and threatened to drag him under. 30 years, and what did he have to show for it?
It didn’t take long to realize that maybe Stan had a point. He had to live his life, at least somewhat. Maybe he couldn’t-- wouldn’t-- forget or give up on him, nor was he willing to, but he had to find a balance even if just to keep that dark hopelessness at bay.
So he wrote and published his book. He told Stan’s story to the world.
He thought it was pretty self explanatory from his preface that it was a true story, but it seemed like his readers assumed that was part of the story. So he’d done interviews, trying to assert to the world that what happened to Stan was real.
There were still disbelievers, but there always will be. Ford had seen, online and in person, that there were people who were 100% convinced that Stan and his sacrifice was real and that was good enough for him. That could make up for all the people who approached him, thinking that he was just a grief-stricken man who couldn’t cope with the loss of his twin, or the people who thought he was lying to sell more books.
He’d also tried to return to his research.
The Grand Unified Theory of Weirdness left a bad taste in his mouth, so he’d found joy in the simpler things. There were always new things to research and discover when it came to Gravity Falls and he found that going back to what he knew best was the best therapy.
And once he’d reconciled with Fiddleford (and once Fiddleford had recovered enough to feel safe enough), he and his friend would sometimes go on expeditions together, or spend an afternoon on a new invention just like old times.
Of course, Ford also made time for his family as well. Oftentimes, he’d visit Shermie and spend time, whether just because, or for holidays and birthdays. They’d managed to get Ma up several times as well. The first time had been the hardest. Ma had wanted to know more about Stanley. Ford took her to his house, showed her where he was living, as well as where Stan rest.
It had been an emotional experience for the three of them since Shermie came along so Ford didn’t have to do it alone, but the visits after had been pleasant. Sometimes she’d bring tapes or photos that she’d found in the house, or other trinkets from their childhood that she’d managed to keep safe after all these years.
Those had been what he’d cherished the most. To have more pieces from the time he’d tried so hard not to think about for so long had helped him get that piece back.
Pa hadn’t come to visit, nor did Ford want him to. Ma never brought it up, and Ford never asked. He didn’t want to think about the man that had kicked his child out. If that hadn’t happened, maybe it would have been easier for Stan and Ford to make up and Stan wouldn’t have had to be homeless.
All in all, it did help. Once he got a system down, Ford found he could be more productive.
And it didn’t hurt to finally get a chance to live his life. He had Shermie and his family, he regularly called his mother and saw Fiddleford. Eventually, he met Soos and somehow, he decided to stick around. He became a huge help around the house. Ford offered to cook him meals when he’d be over during lunch or dinner, and somewhere along the line, it became a regular occurrence.
He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve Soos, but the young man truly had helped him over the years.
His system did a lot to help him cope, but it wasn’t fail proof. Sometimes he’d wake up and the weight of everything would be too much. Getting out of bed seemed an impossible task at times, and even if he could manage that, doing much else wasn’t always possible.
After he and Soos had developed an unspoken routine, Soos came over during one of these days. He’d said later that something had seemed off and he looked around to check on Ford to make sure something bad hadn’t happened. Instead, he’d found Ford despondent in a dark room, his eyes blank despite Soos’s words.
Most people would have left. They don’t want to deal with the hard times or be drug down under with them. But Soos had stayed. He’d sat with Ford and talked to him, even when Ford didn’t respond back to him. Eventually, it did encourage Ford to reply, but not by much. Little by little, Soos led him out of that pit until Ford felt better.
Ford had been mortified the first time, but Soos had waved it off. It wasn’t a big deal, and Soos didn’t seem to think any differently of him afterwards.
Eventually, Wendy had joined them as well. Manly Dan had remained a casual friend to him in the years since building his house, especially after investigating the ghosts in his cabin and helping him get rid of them.
He’d gotten to know his kids as they were born, and he’d helped to watch over them when Dan’s wife was in the hospital, and when she did pass, he did what he could to help.
When he’d heard Wendy complaining to a friend in town that her father was going to send her to camp for the summer if she couldn’t get a job, he offered to hire her for help organizing and cataloging his research. Really, she did that maybe half of the time she was here, and read magazines or texted friends, or goof off with Soos the other half, but it was ok.
Ford hadn’t really needed the help anyways and the company was nice. He hadn’t minded the static of the radio, but the sound of laughter amongst friends was much better.
For some, the temptation to forget about Stan and move on may be too tempting. Most people go through all six stages of grief and reach acceptance. Maybe Ford hadn’t, or maybe he’d accepted what had happened but was determined to change it, but he couldn’t move on.
His life was rich with so many good people and good things, but it only made him want to share it with Stan more, and it fueled him to keep trying.
So he returned to the basement, year after year, night after night. No matter how many dead ends he reached, he looked for new avenues to explore.
He may never find a way to bring Stan back. It was that possibility that usually sent him into a spiral, but no matter if that was the case, then he’d be more than willing to die trying. When he met Stan again, if there truly was an afterlife, then he’d be able to feel comfortable in knowing he did all he could.
And, he technically did all that Stan asked him to do, other than move on. His life was full, and that’s probably all Stan wanted for him anyway, so it’s not like Stan could be too mad about that.
He might get mad about the lack of sleep Ford got, especially while trying to keep up with two rambunctious twins. But if that was all Stan would be upset about, Ford would take his chances.
Ford’s mouth gaped in a yawn as he sat in the front seat of Soos’ pick-up truck as it bumped down the town street.
“Where are we even going?” Dipper asked from the back seat.
“Oh, you dudes are gonna love this!” Soos said, mid-chuckle. “This is one of my favourite places in town.”
His truck slowed down along the curb as he parked. Once they came to a stop, the group clambered out of the car and gathered on the sidewalk.
“Ta da!” Soos exclaimed with a gesture at the sign that read ‘Big Gunz Lazer Tag’.
“Woah!” The twins gasped. “Laser tag! But-- I didn’t think they allowed adults in there.”
The rapid glance from Dipper, Mabel and Wendy in Ford’s direction tugged a smile on his lips. He’d have to agree, he thought the same thing and had raised that concern with Soos, but considering he was supposedly a card holding member, that must not be true.
Hopefully there wasn’t an age limit, but surely Ford was above it at this point.
“No dudes, laser tag is for everyone!” Soos exclaimed.
“If you say so,” Wendy shrugged.
“Hey!” Ford said with mock indignation, “Don’t think just because I’m old doesn’t mean I’m down for the count.”
“Wouldn’t count on it, old man.” Wendy teased, “I was going to call having you on my team anyway.”
“Oh! Oh! Does that mean Dipper and I can be with Soos?” Mabel asked.
“Sure dawg!” Soos cheered as the party turned to go inside.
“Welcome to the year 8000. Society: Collapsed. Fog Machines: Everywhere,” an announcer's voice dramatically said through the speakers as they glanced around the space.
Wendy raised an eyebrow, “Are these walls just mattresses spray painted purple?”
Ford rubbed his chin with a finger in thought, “I think this place used to be a mattress store.”
As the bell rang for the first game to start, the party split with a battle cry and disappeared into different parts of the map.
“You know, for a mattress store, this course isn’t half bad.” Dipper said.
“Yeah, the effects here are a lot better than I imagined.” Mabel replied as she and Dipper ran through a brightly lit doorway. The space inside the room was even brighter, and surprisingly white in contrast to the poor neon paint job the rest of the place had. Before them stood two tall men in imposing space-like suits.
“Woah!” Mabel said in awe, “This is even cooler than I imagined! Look how real these lazer guys are!”
Mabel wind back and sent two hard kicks at one of the statues crotch.
“Kick deflected!” a robotic voice droned with accenting glows from where she had kicked, “Thank you for buying digicod, the smart codpiece.”
“Wait,” Mabel said as the twins realized something seemed off, “What?”
“Oh no!” Dipper gasped as he whipped around. The doorway they had come through, now blocked with bars, started to shrink. Soos, just on the other side, but unfortunately not looking in their direction, closed away, leaving the twins trapped.
“Soos!” Dipper cried as he ran to the wall where the gate had previously been with Mabel not far behind him. She kicked the wall several times, to no avail.
“Nice try, but that’s solid time-tanium, kid.” one of the men spoke. Despite his words, Mabel didn’t stop kicking at the wall, “There’s only one way out of here.”
“Through me,” a familiar voice dramatically said. From where, Dipper couldn’t tell.
Until he noticed a floating head and arms not too far from where the men were standing.
“Oh!” the man, who Dipper recognized, said as he glanced down and realized he was just hands and a head, “Uh, sorry.”
With a twist of a dial or something on his watch, the suit he was wearing flickered through scenes of various places around town.
“Come on!”
With a fist to the watch, his usual white suit appeared.
“Through me!” He posed dramatically. For a moment, “And that's what it would have been like if I’d just gotten it right the very first chance, but it’s still as effective.”
Dipper and Mabel gasped.
“The time traveler guy!” Mabel pointed, “What did you say your name was again? Blendo? Blondin?”
Dipper snapped, pointing at Mabel with realization, “Blar-Blar!”
“There it is!”
“It’s Blendin! Blendin Blenjamin Blandin!” The man cried in exasperation, “How could you not know my name after you ruined my life!”
Mabel and Dipper shared a look of confusion.
“Initiate flashback!” Blendin cried dramatically with a twist of his watch.
Images from the day Mabel had won Waddles flashed forward. The two men, now seen grabbing Blendin at the fair and dragging him away played on as Blendin narrated.
“It was after you stole my time device to win your stupid pig!” Next, Blendin and the suited men were in some weird, futuristic room. Blendin’s name tag was ripped away from his suit as he continued, “I was cast out of the time anomaly removal crew.”
His white suit morphed into a white and black striped uniform, “My whole life’s purpose!
“And then I was given ten squared life sentences in time prison,” Blendin said as he moved up in line in some weird space-esque prison. He held his tray out as a strange jelly-like substance was flopped onto his tray.
“I’ve spent every day since then planning my vengeance.” At his table, Blendin was meticulously sculpting his slop-food into the shape of Dipper and Mabel’s faces before smashing a fist against it and smearing the food around his tray.
The flashback faded to Blendin’s watch, “And now, finally, it has come!”
“Look,” Dipper said, “We’re sorry about all that, but we’re in the middle of something really important right now.”
Mabel joined Dipper’s side, “Yeah! We were playing laser tag and if we’re not there, Soos is going to be by himself against Wendy and Ford and that’s like, totally unfair odds!”
“What? You think some dumb game matters right now? Do you know where you are?” Blendin pointed to the opposite wall where the two stoic looking men now stood, “Welcome… to Globnar!”
The wall fizzled back to show, between bars, a giant space-meets-Roman-Colloseum where a woman ran past on fire and a man infinitely fell through two portals. Beyond them, a man was fighting a strange alien blob creature with a spear while two men fought with glowing swords. When one of them hit the other with the sword, one transformed into an old man, and upon striking the other, they turned into a baby.
“Is this a reality show?” Mabel asked in wonder, “Are we in Japan?”
“It’s gladiatorial time combat!” Blendin cried, “The winner gets a precious time wish and then decides the loser's fate!”
Beyond them, the winner of a match rose on a pedestal and was given his time wish. The man below him begged him, but as the winner pointed a thumb downward, a pink ray enveloped the loser, disintegrating him as his screams faded.
Dipper and Mabel’s jaw dropped, completely speechless and horrified by what they had just seen.
“And the two of you are officially challenged.” Blendin said before turning away from them. “Dundgren! Get me my war paint!”
“Dipper!” Mabel exclaimed, “We need a way out of here! But how!”
Dipper glanced at the man standing guard of the doorway, spying the time tape on his belt.
“I have an idea.” he murmured quietly.
A few moments later, Mabel approached the man as she cleared her throat to get his attention. The man glanced down at her, mouth set in a firm, probably permanent, frown.
“Oh my stars! Could it be my little, um,” Mabel paused uncertainly before squinting to look at the name tag on his chest, “Lolphy! It’s me! Your great-great-great-,” she uncertainly continued, glancing behind him to where Dipper was motioning her to continue, “-great-great-great-great-grandmother! From the past times!”
The man’s stare seemed to only grow more intense and stoic, filling Mabel with a sense of dread. At long last, his eyes widened and filled with joy, “Gam-gam?”
As Lolph took the bait, Dipper carefully lifted his time tape off his belt.
“Yeah, neon green is good. This is a good colour for me; it’s fierce,” Blendin said distantly in the background. His gaze drifted over to the twins just in time as Dipper pulled the time tape free, gasping loudly. “Who? What? No! You can’t let them escape!”
Clutching the tape tightly to his chest, Dipper and Mabel took off running.
“Stop them!” Blendin cried, leaping for them just as the other man did. The two collided and fell into a heap on the floor as Dipper and Mabel continued to make a run for it.
“Gam-gam! How could you!” Lolph cried, sounding utterly betrayed.
“I ain’t no one’s Gam-gam, sucka!” Mabel twisted around to yell as she continued to run, “You just got time tricked!”
“No!” The men and Blendin cried.
“Hurry! Back to lazer tag!” Mabel cried. Dipper pulled the tape back, squinting as he ran to check.
“I think… I’ve… got it!” He lets go of the tape and links arms with Mabel. In a flash of light, the white room disappeared and they were freefalling in the air.
Their cries were cut short as they landed and bounced off something soft.
“Uh… are we back?” Mabel asked, as she sat up. Around them was a mattress store.
“Mabel! The laser place is a mattress store!” Dipper cried, “We went too far in the past!”
“Time travel!” Mabel huffed, “Maaaan, why you gotta be so complicated!”
A bright flash occurred behind them, causing them to scramble and leap from the bed they’d landed on and hide beneath it.
“Looks like they overshot their destination by 10 years!”
“I don’t see them.” Blendin said, now accompanied by a pair of glowing pink handcuffs, as he looked around, “You better find those kids!”
“You’ll get your justice, Blendin.” Lolph told him.
“I’m gonna keep stammering until you find them.” Blendin retorted. He leaped off the bed, stammering as he proceeded to leave the store.
“Ugh. I hate that guy.” Lolph groaned.
“Let’s move.” Dundgren said.
The pair dramatically jumped from one mattress to the next, and finally to the door, accented with needless flips. Once both were at the door, they fist bumped before turning around and calmly leaving the store.
“Ok,” Dipper said as he crawled out from under the bed and offered a hand to help Mabel up, “We just have to go forward ten years. We can be back before Soos even realizes the odds are against him.”
The twins briefly glanced around for the time tape.
“Oh no!” Mabel cried, finally spotting it on the floor. It was crushed, and electricity fizzled over it, “The timey thing! It’s busted! Can you fix it?”
“Maybe,” Dipper replied as he took the time tape, “I’ll need some tools. And I think I know where to get some.”
The twins left the store and began to make their way through town towards the cabin. As they went, Dipper folded his arms over his chest. So much was the same, yet so much was different. People they knew now in the present, now ten years younger, were still frequenting the street. They were vastly different people, even at a glance, to the people they knew in the present.
“Let's try to lay low,” Dipper said, “We don’t want to change the future, or cause the future. I forget how this works exactly.”
“Wow! Ten years in the past!” Mabel marveled, glancing at the town around them, “Everything is the same-y, but also different-y.”
As they reached the corner, a building with large panes of glass revealed Toby Determined doing some sort of dance number inside, scatting as he moved.
“Yeah!” he exclaimed as he striked a pose at the end of his routine. He turned to a mirror behind him, pointing at himself, “Look out Broadway, here I come!”
Mabel banged on the glass with an unamused face, catching his attention, “This dream goes nowhere, Toby!”
The twins turned and continued down the road as Toby shook his fists in the air before sagging in disappointment, “Aww, marbles!”
As they turned the corner, two children on small pedal bikes skidded to a stop, just barely avoiding hitting them.
“Woah!” Dipper exclaimed.
“Oops. Sorry,” the first girl with purplish-reddish hair (her hair was naturally that color this whole time?) said.
Her friend, clearly a younger version of Wendy judging by the bright orange hair and plentiful amount of freckles, leaned over and whispered something into Tambreys ears.
“My friend thinks you’re cute!” Tambry exclaimed, pointing to Dipper.
“Oh my gosh! Tambry! Shut up!” Wendy cried in embarrassment as she shoved Tambry off her bike.
Dipper laughed, his cheeks flushing, “Thank you. I mean… you’re super young so this is weird.”
Mabel laughed and elbowed her brother, “Now you know how she feels, creep.”
The two younger versions of Tambry and Wendy continued to pedal down the street as Mabel continued on. “Haha,” Dipper laughed nervously, “Yeah, I… huh.”
Perspective slammed into Dipper as he realized the truth in that. Took a dose of his own medicine, if you will.
“Wow.” he said. Firmer this time, he said it again. “Wow.”
They were able to make it to the cabin without any incident. As they hid behind one of the trees that bordered the house, they peaked around the outside. Out front, Ford must have pulled the Stanleymobile out of the garage and was at work cleaning it. While he was focused on cleaning the interior of the car, Dipper and Mabel pulled off their vests from the lazer tag place.
“All right, the coast is clear.” Dipper said.
“Now’s our chance!” Mabel said, making a mad dash across the lawn while Ford was distracted, with Dipper trailing close behind.
Ducking behind a portion of wall, Dipper carefully pushed the stained-glass window pain open and leaped through. He landed on the floor as Mabel started to climb inside behind him.
“Ha!” Dipper exclaimed as he turned his head to spy a tool box on the shelf in the garage. “Bingo!”
He picked up a screw driver and pulled out the time tape, starting to fiddle with one of the screws on the corner. “Alright, now let's see…”
As Dipper worked on the time tape, Mabel glanced around. The garage looked pretty similar to how it did in the present day, apart from a trash can in the corner by the garage door overflowing with various bottles. Curiosity peaked, and boredom set in, Mabel went to get a better look.
She wished she hadn’t. The recycling bin was nearly full with various alcoholic bottles. In the several months she’d been with Ford, she’d never even seen one. Heck, she hadn’t even seen him drink anything at family gatherings, even when other family members usually had a can or two of beer.
It unsettled her to see this many, especially for one guy.
“Alright, I think I got this thing working,” Dipper called over to her.
When Mabel didn’t respond back, Dipper turned around, looking around the garage for her, “Mabel?”
When he spotted her by the garbage can, he made his way over.
“Woah,” he murmured quietly, taking in the sight of the bottles. Like Mabel, he hadn’t pegged Ford for a guy that even liked alcohol, let alone drink this much.
“Dipper…” Mabel started, uncertainly, “This isn’t normal, is it?”
“I don’t think so, Mabel. But… why?” Dipper couldn’t grasp his head around why Ford would have so many bottles. His parents might have one or two on occasion, and it was usually for a celebration.
“Dipper, look.” Mabel said, seeing the lid to the trash a jar. Sticking out the edge was a card. Carefully, she pulled it from the can and opened it.
“‘Dear Stanford,” Mabel began reading, “‘Happy birthday! I’m sorry we couldn’t make it up this year to see you, but hopefully next month will work for the both of us. I know this day is still hard for you, but please remember that I’m always a phone call away. I love you, little brother. Take care.’”
“Grandpa Shermie signed it.” Dipper said, noting his signature at the bottom.
“So did Grandma and Dad,” Mabel pointed out.
“So, all of these bottles were because of Grunkle Ford’s birthday?” Mabel asked, “But he was by himself.”
The sentiment weighed heavily on the both of them. Being twins, they’d shared every birthday together. They couldn’t imagine how awful it would be to share a birthday without the other, especially in the case like Ford and Stan.
With that, realization dawned on Dipper, “Mabel! We went ten years back into the future, right? This would have been the 20th birthday Great Uncle Ford spent without Stan!”
“Twenty years?” Mabel asked. She wasn’t even 20 yet. That was a little over double her entire life, “That’s awful! No wonder he was so sad.”
“This way!” Blendin’s voice sounded from outside, approaching the garage. Dipper and Mabel gasped and shrunk against the wall behind the trash cans.
Footsteps approached until finally, Blendin escorted by the two time officers came into view.
“I think I heard them!”
“Trace their chrono-signatures!” Lolph directed. Both pulled out some strange futuristic device with an antenna sticking from the front. Lolph walked off, scanning parts of the yard while Dundgren stayed with Blendin to scan.
“Man, the sooner I defeat those kids in Globnar, the sooner I can win my time wish!” Blendin mused aloud.
Dundgren turned to face Blendin, “Tell you what I’d do if I had a time wish. Retire early. Spend more time with the kids.”
“Nyah-nyeh-nyah-nyeh with the kids!” Blendin angrily mocked him, “Don’t you know a time wish could do literally anything? Any impossible problem solved, just like that! I mean imagine the possibilities!”
A lightbulb flashed in Dipper’s mind. “Wait, Mabel!” he whispered in quiet excitement, “That’s it! The time wish!” If we defeat Blendin in that space battle--”
“Then we can wish that Stan never died!” Mabel finished, “But do you really think we can win Globnar?”
“It’s the only chance we have.” Dipper said. “Besides, it’s for Grunkle Ford. He would do the same for us.”
With matching determined faces, Dipper and Mabel nodded firmly at one another.
“Here we are, Blendin,” Dipper said as he and Mabel calmly came out from the garage with their hands behind their heads, “We surrender.”
When the five of them materialized in the center of the Globnar ring, the crowd was chanting “Globnar! Globnar!”
Above them, a giant screen broadcast the arena, revealing a shocked Dipper and Mabel.
Stones on the floor began to vibrate as the sound of giant footsteps thumped beneath the ground. A platform before them slid back and a giant shadow overtook them.
Only to reveal a giant, floating baby with a neon hourglass on his forehead.
“Silence!” the baby boomed.
Instantly, the previously rowdy crowd fell silent. Apart from one spectator who cheered.
The babys eyes narrowed and glared at the man. He didn’t even twitch as a red laser shot from his eyes and disintegrated the man who didn’t follow his orders.
Dipper and Mabel both looked on in shock.
“That is one big baby.” Mabel murmured.
“Welcome, Globnar tributes!” The baby continued, “I have a very important nap to get to, so let's make this quick. You each have the chance to settle your time-fued through gladiatorial combat.”
With the raise of a pudgy fist, holographic weapons materialized behind them.
“You will have until time baby finishes drinking the cosmic sand in this hourglass.” A robot directed as he held up a giant bottle that was filled with what appeared to be a galaxy.
Upon being offered the bottle, time baby stubbornly turned his head, “No!”
“Come on.” the robot drawed on, poking time baby’s cheek with the lip of the bottle, “It’s good for you.”
“Get ready, kids,” Blendin said, turning the twins' attention back to him, “When I get that time wish, you’ll wish you were never born. Or rather, uh, you’ll wish you were born, because I’m going to wish you were never born!”
“Dream on!” Dipper replied. “There’s two of us.”
“And we have hair!” Mabel added.
“O-Oh-Oh yeah! Well I have training!”
Blendin took a spear and expertly spun it around him before pointing it at them, “What do you think I did in prison all that time?”
“Uh oh.” Mabel gulped.
“Let the Globnar begin!” Time Baby announced.
A score board hanging overhead puzzled as the handcuffs around their wrists fell away.
Many, many, many games (and what felt like an eternity) later, the score was nearly tied.
764 for Blendin to 763 for Dipper and Mabel.
“Blendin for the almost win!” Blendin cheered.
“There is only one final challenge to Globnar!” Time Baby announced, “An ancient game, thousand of years old, chosen for its exemplification of pure strategy! The ancient art of lazer tag!”
A laser tag course materialized around them. Beyond, a set of stairs led to the coveted time wish.
“The one who touches the victory orb first will win!”
“Laser tag? Seriously?” Dipper said, purely shocked.
They’d just spent who-knows-how-long doing strange, futuristic challenges, usually involving some sort of weird time-themed monster. Laser tag seemed… so average and anti-climatic.
“Oh, I know it doesn’t seem that challenging now, but just wait until they turn on the fog machine. You’ll be done for! You just wait until you--”
“Hit!” A robotic voice declared as a laser hit Blendin’s vest dead on, cutting off his monologue.
Slowly, out of shock, Blendin dropped his hands as Dipper continued to fire at him, standing dead in front of him, not even five feet away.
“Hit! Hit! Hit! Hit!” the robot voice continued to say.
“Aw man.” Blendin sighed.
“Mabel! Grab the orb!” Dipper called over as Mabel was already halfway up the stairs.
“Got it!” she cried as she reached the top and grabbed the orb. A bright light emanated from the orb until it grew so intense that it blocked out nearly all else on the course.
Just in time, Time Baby finished his bottle of cosmic sand. “It is finished!”
The crowd went wild, cheering and shouting.
The scoreboard beeped as the final score rang out 763 to 999, with Dipper and Mabel as the winners.
“No!” Blendin cried, “No! No! No!”
“Yes!” Dipper and Mabel chorused as they high fived.
“You have made victory in Globnar!” Time baby announced as his chair levitated closer to them, “Before I give you your time wish, tell us! What fate do you decide for the loser?”
“DEATH!” Mabel immediately cried.
“Mabel!” Dipper whispered sharply.
“Sorry! Got carried away.”
Dipper turned to Mabel, “So Blendin did try to wish us out of existence, but it was kind of our fault for ruining his life.”
“Yeah,” Mabel agreed, “And he’s kind of too sad to be a real bad guy.”
“Maybe if we treat him right in the present, he’ll turn out better in the future.” Dipper suggested.
The two turned to face Time Baby, “Okay! As long as you keep an eye on him, we’d like to set Blendin free and restore his position at the Time Anomaly Correction Unit.”
“And give him pretty hair!” Mabel added.
“So be it!” Time Baby boomed as he stretched a glowing hand out towards Blendin. His chains glowed before finally falling away from his wrists.
“What? You’d do that for me?” Blendin asked in shock.
Before their very eyes, hair sprouted on his head, “I got my job back! I feel like hugging somebody!”
Blendin turned to Lolph who didn’t break expression as he said, “I can kill you in eight different ways.”
“Yes sir!” Blendin quickly said, turning away from him.
“Now children,” Time Baby said, rubbing his cheeks. The green hourglass on his forehead glowed gold as the glowing time wish floated down in front of them, “What is it that you want for your time wish?”
“Thank you, but this wish isn’t for us.” Mabel told him.
“Not you?” Time Baby asked, clearly shocked. “But then who? Who is worthy to receive such power?”
Back at laser tag, Ford slowed to a stop, putting a hand on his chest.
“Maybe I am too old for this,” he said. He’d agreed to come because Soos had asked him to and said the kids would love it if he joined, but he hadn’t even seen the twins since they came in. “I’ll sit the rest of this round out.”
As he started for the door, another kid shot a laser at him. Strangely, the lazer seemed to slow to a stop mid-air, as did the kid.
“Huh?” Ford asked, eyebrows furrowing in question. He approached the kid, who appeared to be frozen, despite being mid step and off balance.
“How strange.” he mused to himself.
A bright light, accompanied with a high pitched ring, flashed behind him. Turning around, he spotted Dipper and Mabel (along with an unfamiliar man in a white jumpsuit) looking rather scuffed.
“Grunkle Ford!” They cried out in excitement.
“Kids!” Ford replied, dropping to a knee as they ran up to him, throwing their arms around him in a hug.
“You’ll never guess what happened! We got caught up in this time travel junk!” Dipper rambled off.
“And there was a time cyclops!” Mabel added.
“And don’t forget about the--
“Time race!” Dipper and Mabel finished together.
“Kids, kids, calm down,” Ford said, pulling back to place one hand on either of their shoulders.
“The point is,” Mabel replied, “We went back into the past and we saw how upset you were about your brother and we think we have a way you can fix that!”
Ford froze. A million questions buzzed in his head. How far back into the past did they go? Oh good lord-- what did they see? The possibilities were numerous and all horrifying for his young great niece and nephew to witness.
Beyond that, how in the world did they think they could fix it?
“Behold!” The man finally spoke up after a few uncomfortable moments of silence as Ford processed what the kids had told him. He touched a dial on his wrist and a glowing gold orb with an hourglass symbol appeared, floating above them. “Your time wish!”
Slowly, the orb floated down between Ford and the kids, basking them in a golden light. “The power to alter time, paradox-free, in any way you choose.”
The implications of this dawned on Ford as a look of shock set into his features.
“We know you’ve been upset about your brother since it happened, nor have you given up on him.” Dipper explained.
“But the choice is yours.” Mabel added.
“So you mean,” Ford said hesitantly, not wanting to get his hopes up if his understanding was false or this turned out to be a hoax. He knew the kids would never do that to him, but he didn’t know this strange other man. The disappointment and devastation he’d have to deal with if this turned out to be a cruel joke on his part wasn’t something he wanted to deal with, especially while the kids were here, if he could help it.
“I could finally bring Stan back if I touch this thing?” Ford asked, “And you guys battled through time and space just to get this for me?”
“Yes!” Dipper said.
“We’ve always wanted to meet Grunkle Stan as well. Plus, maybe you won’t have to be so sad anymore.” Mabel said.
A quick glance to the man behind him showed nothing but truth in his eyes as well.
Hot tears welled in his eyes. Pressing his lips together, he nodded to them.
“Alright,” he said, taking a breath to steel himself. “Here goes nothing…”
With just a moment of hesitation, he reached out to touch the orb. The already glowing light grew stronger, enveloping all of the room in its blinding light. Ford held his hands up to shield his eyes from the light.
The sound of electricity echoed in the room as the light faded away, leaving a shadowed figure where the orb once hovered.
Ford’s hand slowly lowered as he squinted to see the figure.
Finally, he could make out his features.
It was like looking in a mirror.
“Stanley!” Ford sobbed, rising to his feet and rushing towards his twin.
‘Please, oh please, don’t let this just be a cruel joke.’ Ford thought briefly.
But as he wrapped around his brother and felt how solid and real he felt, he knew it was real.
“What? Stanford?” a voice, gruff and confused, sounded in his ears.
A sob broke loose as he tightened his grip on his twin, fingers tightly gripping into his shirt.
“It’s me, Stanley.” he whispered, not trusting his voice to be any louder.
Slowly, the tenseness of Stan’s shoulder relaxed as hands rose to envelop him.
“But--” Stan asked before stopping, sounding utterly confused and shocked, not that Ford could blame him. He was just as confused as to how this was all real. Sure, the kids described some wild futuristic space game with an impossible prize for winning, but he couldn’t wrap his head around how they had given this to him or how Stan truly was back after decades of no luck.
“It’s ok, Stanley. It’s real.” Ford said, his voice quivering. Unable to hold it back any more, he sobbed, burrowing his face into Stan’s shoulder, “You’re back!”
Fingers dug into his back, gripping the fabric of his shoulder. Stan’s face similarly burrowed into his shoulder.
“You look old as shit,” his voice whispered close to his ear, sounding strained and choked up.
It was such a Stan thing to say, especially in this moment. God, he had missed that.
A laugh bubbled out of his lips, “You should see yourself.”
“Please tell me I don’t have a mullet.” Stan pleaded playfully.
“That was the last thing I was looking at; I don’t even know.”
Stan hummed and reluctantly loosened his grip on Ford’s shirt as he pulled back. Ford followed suit, letting Stan’s hands guide him as he rested two large hands on his shoulders, grounding him in place.
Finally, they were able to look each other in the eyes and actually see each other.
Stan had a point, it was like looking in a mirror. Much of their features were pretty similar, but the subtle differences were there. Stan did indeed have a mullet of some sort, only instead of the mouse-brown color of their youth, it was silver. His jaw seemed somewhat wider than Ford’s and dusted in a light scruff.
Interestingly, Stan seemed to need to squint to look at Ford. If Ford’s theory was correct, much of his appearance was the same, right down to the clothes he was wearing (man it was strange to see that red sweatshirt again after all of these years). He’d simply been aged up by whatever forces had been responsible.
Stan had needed glasses in his youth but had often refused to wear them. Ford hadn’t found any glasses in Stan’s belongings, so with Stan being aged up, the need for glasses was more evident now.
“Hang on,” Ford said, tilting his head down so he could remove his own glasses. The world softened and got blurrier without the help of his prescription but he could make out enough to set the glasses on Stan’s face.
“Oh,” Stan said, surprised. “Wow that's-- that’s a lot better.”
His voice tilted off as he finally took in how his twin had aged in thirty years.
“While you have those on, there’s a few more people you need to meet,” Ford said as a soft smile tugged at his lips. Putting a hand on Stan’s shoulder, he gently turned him around to where the twins were patiently watching behind them.
Stan gasped sharply.
“Ford, are these--” Stan trailed off in shock.
“This is Dipper and Mabel. They’re Shermie’s Grandkids.” Ford explained with a chuckle.
“I have a great-niece and nephew?” Stan asked in shock. Ford squeezed his shoulder.
He could only imagine how this was a huge shock for him to take in all at once.
“They’re here because of you,” Ford explained, subtly motioning for the kids to come closer, “They won a time wish that could do anything, and they chose to give it to me to bring you back.”
Stan’s shoulders were tense in a way that Ford knew was his brother doing his best to keep his emotions in check. As Dipper and Mabel slowly approached Stan, he could just barely make out a smile on each of their faces.
Stan’s shoulder fell out of reach as he got down on a knee to be at eye level with the kids, “I don’t know what to say-- you really did all that?”
Dipper’s body language, even with Ford’s blurry vision, was clearly bashful as he rubbed his arm, “Well yeah. Grunkle Ford never gave up on you.”
Ford winced, knowing that Stan would have a fit about that one. Maybe he could quickly message Fiddleford and tell him to turn off all his radios, but even if his friend could get back to his house and have enough time to turn them all off before he got there, there was still too much for Ford to have to hide to avoid that conversation with Stan.
“And besides,” Mabel added, “You’re family. What better reason is there to use a time wish on?”
The twins closed the difference between them and Stan and threw their arms around him in a hug. Stan seemed to briefly recoil, shocked by the hug, but quickly threw his arms around the twin, whispering something in their ears that was too quiet for Ford to hear.
Smiling softly, Ford dropped to his knees behind his brother, smiling at the twins as they opened their eyes for a moment, and wrapped his arms around the three of them.
“I’ve missed you, Stanley,” he whispered. “Welcome home.”
Introducing Stan to Wendy and Soos had been strange, to say the least. Both of them had to be completely caught up with everything that had happened with the twins before they could even accept that Ford’s long-dead brother was suddenly alive and walking out of lazer tag with them.
Luckily, having lived in Gravity Falls, they were used to weird so they took to it quite quickly and tried their best to help him feel at ease.
After bringing Stan back to the house, Ford quickly recovered his spare pair of glasses to permanently give to Stan, promising that he’d get him glasses in a style he’d like with his own prescription as soon as he was up for it.
Seeing Stan’s uncomfortable posture as he stood in the center of Ford’s living room, looking very out of place, Ford put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a smile before leading him towards a quieter part of the house. Behind him, he could hear Soos and Wendy preoccupying the twins so Stan and Ford could have some alone time.
Taking Stan to his room, Ford closed the door behind them and went to shut off the radio.
“The kid really wasn’t kidding, huh? I thought I asked you to let all of that go.” Stan said, crossing his arms over his chest with a disapproving expression.
Ford awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “I know, I know,” he said, “But-- come on, Stan! You didn’t really think that I could just-- give up and move on, did you?”
“Yes!” Stan exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation, “Most people do that when someone dies. It sucks, but eventually they accept it and move on.”
“Stanley, you sacrificed yourself because of a mistake that I made! You think I could just-- leave it at that? Accept that I had no power to do anything and not at least try to do anything to help you?” Ford retorted, finding his volume growing as he went on.
“I was gone, Ford! I just wanted you to live your life.” Stan said.
“I did!” Ford exclaimed, throwing his hands up, “I did live my life! I got involved with the family again! I repaired my old friendship with Fiddleford and made new ones! I studied the things that I loved and did things that made me happy. I lived my life Stanley, and what did you have?” His voice cracked drastically, causing him to swallow around the growing lump in his throat.
“You gave up any chance at having your own life for Shermie and I, for the whole world. You were homeless for years because I was too stubborn to even consider that it had been an accident, that maybe I shouldn’t let this one thing affect my relationship with my own twin brother. I made a horrible mistake, and you paid for it. I got to live my life, but what life did you have?”
By the time Ford finally finished, the tears burning his eyes finally started to fall. His shoulders hunched around his ears as he pulled his arms in on himself.
“I thought you ruined my life, but in reality, I ruined yours. I stole it from you completely. I couldn’t-- I couldn’t just not try to bring my twin back. I missed you.”
“Woah, woah, hey!” Stan said, closing the distance between them to grab onto the top of Ford’s arms, “Relax, ok. I’m sorry. I know-- I would have done the same if I was in your shoes. I didn’t mean to upset you; I just-- I was worried the rest of your life from then until now was ruined because of me.”
Ford firmly shook his head, “No-- I’ve had a great life, because of you.” he said, “I- uh- I had some rough times, as you can probably imagine, but I promise, just because I didn’t give up on your doesn’t mean I didn’t also live my life.”
Stan smiled in appreciation, “That’s all I ever wanted for you.”
“All I ever wanted was for you to be back. I still-- I can’t believe you’re really here. It feels like a dream-- like I’ll wake up and you’ll be gone.”
Stan laughed, “You’re telling me! As far as I’m aware, yesterday was 1983 and I was a ghost stuck with a mullet for eternity.”
“I hate to disappoint you, but mullets are definitely not in right now.” Ford laughed.
Stan tipped his head back and groaned loudly.
“You want a haircut? Maybe a change of clothes?” Ford asked.
“Change of--?” Stan pulled back and glanced down. He took in the sight of his old, weathered red jacket and groaned again.
“Yes. All of the above. I can’t believe you let me walk around looking like this.” Stan paused, a look of horror taking over his face, “I can’t believe you let me meet the kids looking like this!”
He pulled his arm back and playfully punched Ford’s arms.
Forty plus years they’d been separated, yet one simple gesture instantly transported Ford back to being a young boy messing around on a beach in New Jersey.
“It’s not my fault you thought the mullet was a good choice at one point.” Ford retorted, returning the playful punch.
A grin instantly lit up on his brother's face.
“Besides, I got some spare clothes you could wear until we can get you some new ones, and I do have a pair of scissors.” Ford added.
“No shit?”
After setting Stan up with some fresh clothes, and spending some time reminiscing on old times as Stan’s silvery locks fell into the sink, Stan went to take a shower.
Leaving Stan to enjoy the hot water, Ford went back to the living room, where the sound of the kids laughing with Soos and Wendy grew louder. As his footsteps neared the entryway, he could make out quiet sushing as their laughter tapered down.
As Ford turned the corner, he found four pairs of eyes instantly fixed on him, yet he only had eyes for two of them. He wasted no time in crossing the room towards the twins, crouching down and resting a hand on their shoulders.
“Thank you,” he whispered quietly, looking between either of them with a look that he hoped portrayed everything he was thinking. How does one even properly thank two twelve-year-olds for bringing his previously-dead twin back?
There weren’t words for those kinds of things.
Tears pricked his eyes as they looked up at him, “I truly cannot say thank you enough. I’m just-- I can’t--”
The twins smiled at him before reaching up, throwing their arms around his shoulders.
“We know, Grunkle Ford,” Mabel murmured quietly in his ears.
“We’re glad he’s back too.” Dipper added.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Ford wrapped his arms around the two, holding them close. He couldn’t find the words to properly explain the complex whirlpool of emotions he felt, but he hoped if he poured his heart into a hug, he’d be able to show it.
Ok, a hug, and maybe unlimited ice cream and no bed-time for the rest of the summer.
Distantly, the sound of footsteps grew louder. Stan’s gruff voice, finally free from the sound of crackling radio static, called into the room, “Hey, Ford? Ya in here?”
Stan turned the corner and abruptly stopped in the doorway, "Oh--" his eyes flickered to Soos and Wendy still nearby, the gears in his head turning to determine if he was walking in on a private moment.
"Don't you dare think about turning around!" Mabel shouted, pulling back from Ford (thankfully. Her voice still pierced his ears but at least she hadn't yelled directly into it).
Stan froze. For a man that had just come back from the dead and was meeting his family for the first time, he was very perceptive to know to do as Mabel said right now.
"You're not going anywhere!" Mabel exclaimed, pulling back from Ford. Stan's eyes briefly flickered to Ford's, who barely refrained from snickering at the deer in the headlights look in his twin's face. "Until you get a proper Mabel hug!"
With dramatic declarations out of the way, Mabel ran over to a motionless Stan, obviously too shocked to do much else other than stare and try to comprehend.
At the last moment, Mabel leaped up with a mighty cry. Poor Stan didn't stand a chance; he and Mabel fell in a heap on the ground, with Mabel's arms quickly surrounding him in a hug.
"Easy sweetie!" Ford called over, allowing himself to smirk as Stan looked over at him with an expression that seemed somewhere been a mixture of confusion, 'help-me' and 'this kids weird; I like her.'
Dipper turned to look at him with a questioning expression, to which Ford nodded. With permission granted, Dipper also scampered to the pile and threw his arms around Stan.
At last, Stan's will seemed to fade away as he melted and wrapped his arms around the kids in a hug.
"Yeesh, that's a hell of a hug you pack there, sweetie," Stan said.
"Language, Stanley." Ford chided.
"Oh shit-- I mean-- oh... shoot.." Stan eventually corrected.
"Good enough." Ford shrugged.
"Of course I do," Mabel replied, "I've got 12 years of hugs to make up for; you best believe I've gotta make it worth your wild."
Stan gulped, realizing that his fate was already sealed.
"You might as well get used to it, Stanley. Shermie and I have about 40 years to make up."
As that realization sunk in, Stan looked horrified, "You told Shermie already?"
Ford laughed, "No-- Shermie lives about 8 hours away. If I'd told him, he would have broken the sound barrier to get here by now. I was going to wait until maybe later on tonight or tomorrow and let him know. Any later; and he'll have both of our heads."
"Guess you're right," Stan replied. Ford chuckled.
The crew eventually settled in for the rest of the evening, finding various places around the chair and the floor to congregate together. Warm laughter filled the air as stories were swapped and jokes were told.
As the sun crept low beyond the horizon and the moon climbed in the sky, the excitement of the day finally wore off, one by one, droopy eyes could no longer resist the pull of sleep.
Ford could feel the adrenaline of the day wearing off, but he fought the pull of sleep as he glanced around the room, feeling a swell of warmth in his chest.
Mabel and Dipper had somehow ended up curled around Stan’s side from where he sat in the chair. Stan’s head had tilted over Mabel’s head, and both of his arms were firm in their grip around them even as he slept. Soos and Wendy were sleeping against either side of the chair.
For so long, he had wished and longed for this. He may have been able to find some semblance of moving on, at least in terms of enjoying his life as best as he could, but there had still always been a large Stan-shaped hole in his heart, and in his life and a longing for his other half that nothing could ever ease.
A hole that was finally filled, if not bursting, and a longing that was now satisfied as he took in the sight of his family resting after having embraced Stan back into the family as if he had never been away.
A smile tugged at his features as he grabbed a blanket to spread over each of them. As he spread the last blanket over Dipper, Mabel, and Stan, his brother’s eyes blinked open. The sleepy haze vanished as Stan took in the expression on his face, and a mirrored warm expression crinkled his eyes and tugged at his lips.
“They really are somethin’, Ford.” he murmured quietly (or as quietly as he could. Old age hadn’t made whispering any more attainable).
“That they are. They wanted to know all about you.” Ford whispered back.
Stan chuckled warmly.
“I’m still-” Stan tapered off. Thick, white eyebrows bunched in thought before he continued, “I still can’t believe they really did that. Find a way to bring me back, ya know?”
Ford nodded. He did. He really did know.
“I can’t either. But Stan–” Ford also paused. How did one even properly find the words to express the magnitude of what he was feeling? There was none, “I’m so glad you’re back. I was a fool, before. I’m going to make it up to you, somehow. You just have to promise me, no more grand gestures of self-sacrifice for the fate of the universe, ok?”
Stan did his best to keep his chest from shaking as he laughed, and marginally succeeded.
“Fine, I promise. Just as long as there’s no more universal threats lying around here.”
“We won’t have to worry about that. The only thing we have to worry about is whether or not we catch a big enough fish for dinner.”
At Stan’s shocked expression, Ford couldn’t help the stab of uncertainty. Sailing across the world may have been their dream for so long as kids, but maybe Stan was more interested in sticking around to spend time with his new family, or maybe he didn’t want to be stuck on a boat with the brother that had abandoned him for so long.
“That is–” Ford interjected quickly, “If you’re still interested in sailing around the world looking for adventures, treasure, and babes with me.”
A look of pure disbelief had spread over Stan’s face as he finally smiled, “Still interested? Are ya kidding! Of course I am! You’d really want to? You’re not just sayin’ that out of guilt or some shit, right?”
“Language, Stanley,” Ford teased, flicking his eyes purposely to the kids still sleeping against Stan, “And of course I’m sure, and no, it’s not because of any guilt. I want to sail around the world, and I want it to be you by my side.”
“Then it sounds like the Stan o’ War II is going to be hitting the seas!”
The twin’s shared a warm chuckle as the plan was set into motion.
Ford could scarcely believe it. He hadn’t dared to imagine what he and Stan would do if he ever could bring him back. It had simply hurt too much. But in those rare instances when he would allow himself to dream, it was with visions of waves lapping against the side of the boat, charts spread across a table, coffee shared in the soft light of dawn, quiet evenings spent with lures down in the water, and anomalies and new memories to be found.
It was still too good to believe. Any moment, Ford expected to wake up to find out it was all a dream, but they still had plenty of time left of the summer for it to solidify as their new reality, as well as plenty of time left for Stan to enjoy spending time around his new family while they made their plans. No doubt, in a few days, Shermie would join them as well, and then all would finally be right at last.