remember in carpet diem after stan took ford’s glasses from his room he spent part of the episode just stroking them, lost in thought

and then hid them from sight and mind because he didn’t want anyone else seeing him reminiscing so tenderly over one of his brother’s old belongings

because i do

i never forgot

tw//stancest

 Based off of @dirtybroshipper’s artwork in which Ford is sucked into the portal and is dropped off back in the basement, though Stanley has aged (to his age in the actual show). [basically this au is everything i wanted and needed]

//

 “Ford! Ford, no no no, FORD!!” That’s the last thing he hears before he’s fully sucked into the portal, Stanley fading from his vision, replaced with stars and colors beyond his imagination. He isn’t sure if some of these colors even exist in their dimension. But he doesn’t have much time to reflect as he spots another portal opening and he’s quickly sucked in.

 Everything’s rushed when he’s forced out, it’s a blur and a flash of lights and then gravity feels normal and he’s landing on the ground, a grunt escaping him. His head reels from the contact of concrete and Ford knows that he definitely landed right on his tail bone because, goddamn it hurts.

 He knows he should get up, everything is a blur without his glasses and for all he knows there could be some kind of monster or alien waiting for him. He opts for staying on the ground instead, mind flashing back to the prior incident, Stanley’s terrified face ringing too clearly in his vision. He’s fucked up badly, maybe if he’d been a better brother this wouldn’t happened. Stanley wouldn’t have been kicked out, Stanley wouldn’t have been burnt by the lab machinery, and maybe he wouldn’t of been dragged away from the one person he loved.

 “You okay there, Sixer?” All thoughts of regret are thrown out the window as soon as that voice reaches his ears, all too familiar, yet so different. He sits up quickly, eyes wide open, and he almost doesn’t want to turn around because there’s no way the world it’s him, but he does it anyway.

 “Come on, don’t give me that look.” Ford feels the way his jaw practically drops, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, “Don’t ya’ recognize me?” He’s trembling, fingers curled into a fist around his lab coat. This isn’t happening, this can’t be happening, his brain can’t comprehend the science behind this at the moment because the only thing in his mind is the thought ‘Stanley?’. 

 “I finally got you back,” a wrinkled yet muscular hand stretches out towards him, “Stanford.” He stares at the hand, eyes tracing each and every wrinkle and scars, he absently notices some are burns from acids. His eyes trail up his brother’s (is this really his brother?) arm and to his face, eyes locking with Stanley’s. He opens his mouth to say something, anything, but a chocked gasp comes out and then arms are around him, gripping him tightly. 

 “S-Stanley?” The grip on him grows tighter before it loosens and his brother pulls back enough to allow Ford to see his face. A smile is brandishing his brother’s face, wrinkles helping to enunciate the grin, and thank god his brother still has his adorable dimples.

 Ford can’t stop himself from going off, asking how the heck he’s back, why Stanley is old, and how he even managed to start up the portal when he hears a faint cough from behind Stanley. He jerks and moves to look around his brother’s shoulder and he’s met with the faces of two children and a gopher-looking guy (maybe in his 20′s he guesses). 

 The boy, and he assumes the two are twins, is glancing at him with concern and susceptibility. The other one, who is very glittery, is smiling widely at him and Stanley, though he can see the trails of tears on her face. The guy in the question mark shirt just looks confused as all hell, and Ford can’t really blame him. The girl then shifts and runs up to them, looking at Stanley who gives her a nod, and then she slowly scuttles closer to Ford.

 “Hi, I’m Mabel!” She stretches her hand out to him, and he looks at it before cautiously returning the favor, part of his mind screaming at him about that goddamn freak finger. She’s the one who controls the shake, Ford’s too stunned at everything to help out to much, and then she looks down at his hand and he gulps. 

 “Wow,” her face lights up instantly, “six fingers! That’s so cool, it’s like a full finger friendlier than usual!” She giggles and he can’t help but give a tiny smirk, he likes this child. He looks up and see’s the other twin make his way up to them, he looks at Mabel and Ford before turning up to Stanley.

 “Uh, Grunkle Stan, who is this guy?” Grunkle? Ford opens his mouth to ask but Stanley cuts him off, patting the kid on the back.

 “Well, Dipper, this is my brother.” Mabel gasps dramatically and the guy in the corner mutters a ‘dude…’, but the boy, Dipper, just turns and squints at Ford. He finds himself staring back at the boy, not knowing what else to do, and the kid may be young but Ford isn’t prepared to deal with this at the moment, and thank the heavens Stanley steps in.

 “Now I know you kiddo’s have a lot, a lot, of questions,” he looks over at the guy in the corner, head tilting as if nudging him forward, “and I’ll answer those later, but uh- my brother and I need to talk.” Dipper frowns, skeptically glaring at Ford again, this time with more ‘gusto’. 

 “What if he isn’t your brother? What if it’s Bill-”? Ford makes a strangled sound, eyes twitching at the mention of the demon. Ford immediately stands up and tries to walk towards the door, he’s not safe around anyone if Bill’s around, but Stanley grasps his shoulders and pushes him away from the door. Ford’s unaware of what’s happening because oh god, he needs to get to somewhere safe, somewhere Bill can’t find him.

 “Ford!” He jolts, staring up at his brother with wild eyes. “Hey, you’re okay, you’re safe, Fordsy.” That nickname fully snaps him back into reality and he notices they’re no longer near the portal, but in some sort of bedroom. He faintly remembers the room but it’s so different, he thinks it was his old room? 

 “You had a panic attack, so I brought you upstairs, the kids are staying at Wendy’s house tonight.” He doesn’t know who Wendy is, but at the moment it doesn’t seem too important, what matters is that Stanley’s hand his on his thigh, rubbing soothing patterns with his thumb. Stanley must’ve noticed Ford’s own gaze because he apologizes and removes his hand, awkwardly resting it on his own lap.

 “S-sorry,” he stares down at his own lap, “I uh, Stanley, what happened?” His brother sighs, before launching into his spiel.

-

 “So, it’s been 30 years for you since I was sucked into the portal, but for me it hasn’t been long at all…” He looks down at his lap, Stanley’s hand rubbing his thigh again, probably a subconscious habit. “30 years… you tried to get me back for 30 years? Even after how much of a dick I was to you?”

 Stanley shifts beside him, still silent, before he grabs Ford’s hand with his own, entwining their fingers together. Ford turns to look up at him, resting his head against his brother’s shoulder before sighing. He looks down at their hands, remembers how they did this all the time as kids, and then in private as late teenagers, doing things brothers wouldn’t normally be doing.

 He flushes a bit, hell, Stanley sure as hell doesn’t feel that way anymore, certainly not after everything he’s been through, all because of Ford. Yet, he finds himself frowning, because fuck, the attraction on his end is still there, as strong as ever, maybe even stronger. He doesn’t realize Stanley nudging him until he’s almost pushed off of the bed by a strong one, he just looks up at his brother with a confused scowl.

 “You’re cute as hell when ya’ pout like that, Fordsy,” Ford’s blush picks up again, “but what’s on ya’ mind?” Ford just stares up at him, eyes traveling to Stanley’s lips, and what the hell why not. He moves forward and presses his lips against Stanley’s, desperate for anything at this stage. 

 Stanley freezes and grips at Ford’s arms, and he leaps back, muttering about how that was stupid of him and how he’ll just get going now, but then Stanley’s grip tightens. Ford’s going to have bruises in the morning.

 “As I said, cute as hell,” Ford splutters an indignant ‘hey!’ but it’s silenced by Stanley closing the gap between them, dry lips smashing against Ford’s. When teeth bite down on his lower lip Ford groans, lips parting and Stanley’s tongue bridges between them, basically fighting Ford’s own. It lasts for a minute before they break apart, both gasping for air.

 Ford chances a look up at Stanley, blushing bright red when his brother is staring at him with a dopey grin. He’s about to push Stan playfully but a yawn interrupts him, and he becomes aware of how painfully tired he is. Hell, his ass still hurts from the fall earlier, and his head feels packed from all the information he’s received in under a few hours. 

 Stanley’s smirk grows larger, but also softer, and then he’s pawing at Ford to get him to lie down. Ford glances at him before obliging, lying down on his side, ready to reach for Stanley if he tries to leave, but his brother seems to feel the same. The bed dips beside him and Stan lies down, arms bringing Ford into a comforting embrace. He sighs peacefully and buries his face into Stanley’s neck, eyes fluttering shut.

 “We’ll get through this, Ford.” Stanley’s voice is gruff with sleep and some emotion. Ford just smiles, letting his body fully relax, he trusts Stanley. They’ll get through it together, they always have.

//

 LE END~

yES YES YES!

oh my god this. And you got everything i wanted but failed to put in the comic! The kids and Soos being there with Stan, Ford freaking out at the mention of Bill, Stan comforting Ford, and most importantly, the KISS.