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wooden-sails · 1 year ago

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An Old Record and a Memory

A/N: hi its me wooden sails and i am making a shameless plug of my ao3 account (linked above). here's something i wrote like a week ish ago, i have a couple other snippets of different fandoms too, and a few longers ones being written right now. feel free to check it out, or don't. thanks!!

Summary: One year later, the twins have come back to Gravity Falls to spend the summer with their Grunkles. While everyone is getting ready for a movie night sleepover, Mabel and Dipper discover their Grunkles' old record collection.

Rating: Teen and Up

Content Warning: Panic Attacks

Word Count: 1.6k

Pairings: Implied FiddAuthor (it's not the focus though)

~~~~~~~~~

Ford smiled, putting the kettle on the stove. It was nice to have the twins back up at the Shack for the summer, hell it was nice to be back at the Shack for the summer. As much fun adventuring with Stanley was, he was glad to have a bit of time to relax and focus on something a little different. Ford started to look through the cabinets. Mabel wanted hot chocolate, Dipper wanted tea (neither his parents nor Stan and him would let him have coffee, especially at this hour) and he was making coffee for himself and Stan. They had decided to have a sleepover in the living room, watching movies all night. Ford was on drink duty, Stan was waiting for pizza to arrive, and the kids were rearranging the living room to make room for a pillow fort.

After a year had passed, he felt like he could finally start to relax again. The first week after they wiped Bill, Ford had spent the entire time trying to make Stan's memories come back. Theoretically, it could have brought Bill back, but it was a risk that Ford was willing to take. Once he had the chance to fully reflect, he realized how much Stan had sacrificed for him, for everyone. Even if Bill did manage to come back, they'd find another way, they'd be better prepared.

Being with his brother on the Stan o' War II was difficult at first. After being by himself for so long, Ford found it difficult to be in such close quarters with someone again. It took time, but they eventually started to flow from the rhythm of being distant relatives to the twins that they once were. Obviously, they still argued, bickered, and disagreed on things, but it wasn't as vicious as it used to be. It was... nice. He was glad to have his brother back again.

He was also glad that Dipper and Mabel's parent let them come visit again. Last year affected them all, even if it didn't seem obvious. The kids seemed to bounce back though. Stan never really liked to talk about it, he wasn't sure if it was because of Stan's memories, or if it was something else. After Ford's mind finally had the chance to realize that it was over, things almost seemed to feel worse. Everything felt foreign. He could finally sleep at a regular schedule, not having to stay alert with the idea of something being after him. He had consistent access to food, it had taken him longer than he'd like to admit to stop stockpiling things like granola bars. He could finally pursue his hobbies without the voice in the back of his head, chiding him for not trying to solve some greater, more important issue. His constant nightmares were finally starting to go away, too.

It felt like he was finally at the end of the tunnel, basking in the light.

Ford's thoughts were interrupted as the kettle whistled. He poured some into the two mugs for the kids, putting the tea bag in Dipper's cup, and mixing in the hot chocolate powder into Mabel's. While the tea steeped, he got sprinkles, marshmallows, and whip cream. By the time he finished getting their drinks ready, the coffee pot was done.

Ford grabbed the kids drinks and brought them to the living room, only to stop as he heard a familiar tune.

"Grunkle Ford, look what we found!" Mabel said, holding up one of Stan's old vinyl records. Dipper was scanning through a pile of Ford's own records.

He hummed, "I forgot that we kept these in here. If you find any you like, you can take them with you if you want."

"Not without paying you're not!" Stan shouted from the other room.

"I'll just take it when he's not looking!" Mabel whispered, winking. She giggled and set the record down.

Ford smiled and shook his head, handing her the hot chocolate. He set the tea on the table for when Dipper was ready for it.

"Hey Great Uncle Ford, what's this one? I'm assuming it's yours." Dipper was holding a plain white record sleeve.

"Ah, I remember that one," Ford blushed a little at the memory, "It's songs that I picked and etched into the record, I was going to give it to... someone but things got in the way."

Mabel gasped, "Seriously!? How did I, the master of romance, not know about your love life? I even got Stan to tell me about high school flings."

"You don't have to answer that," Dipper looked at his sister, "Anytime I even look in the direction of another girl, Mabel thinks I have a crush on them."

"Well, duh. Like ninety percent of the time you do."

Dipper crossed his arms defensively, "I do not."

Mabel turned back to Ford, ignoring her brother's protest, "Can we play it?"

"I don't mind," he put a hand to his chin, "To be quite honest, I don't remember the songs that I put on there anyways."

As Dipper switched the records on the turntable, Stan walked in with the pizzas.

"What's that?" Stan asked, putting the boxes down on the floor, next to some pillows.

"Grunkle Ford's ROMANCE record!" Mabel shouted.

Stan sat down in the sofa, "Oh, didn't you make that for Fiddlenerd?" he said, offhandedly, "I wonder what records I still have in there."

"Fiddlenerd?" Dipper said, confused.

Mabel squealed in glee, "You were gonna give it to Fiddleford!? That's ADORABLE!"

Ford gave his brother a look, mildly betrayed. Stan only looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "Hate to tell ya this Sixer, but you two were pretty obvious."

"He was married." Ford crossed his arms.

"Keyword: was." Stan turned away and continued looking through his old records.

The record had started playing, and the kids continued looking through the rest of the collection. It was nice to have a good memory leftover from back then. The more time that had passed, the sparser they became.

After the twins had grown bored of looking at the vinyl collection, they resumed building their fort. Ford helped them attach the roof blankets to the furniture, making sure it wouldn't fall down in the middle of the night. Stan was sent to scavenge for some more blankets and pillows to furnish the inside. After a bit of adjusting and moving, they finally made a fort that would be big enough to fit the four of them. Coincidentally, the record was about to finish the last song.

He thought about the large section of empty space at the end of the record. He was originally going to record a message for Fiddleford, but life seemed to take him in another direction.

Mabel noticed him staring at the vinyl, "You know, you could still give it to him."

Ford's smile faltered as the record crackled, another song starting to play. Oddly enough, it was his own voice.

"So you don't forget." Something seemed off about the way he sounded. After a few moments of silence, the sound of an upbeat piano started to play from the record. He didn't recognize the tune at first. When did he record this?

Then the melody started to play, and "he" began to sing.

"We'll meet again."

It felt like time started to stop.

"Don't know where."

The air was thickening around him.

"Don't know when."

All he could hear was his voice in his mind.

"But I know we'll meet again some sunny day!"

He was brought back to the Fear-amid. Being a statue. Being trapped.

"Keep smiling through,"

He thought of the Nightmare Realm, where perception was meaningless.

"Just like you,"

The late nights before the portal was done, constantly exhausted and bruised.

"Always do!"

Waking up to his eyes bleeding, body aching, pushed past its limit.

"Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away!"

He could feel himself shaking.

"I'm going... to go get the coffee," he managed to stammer out. It felt like he could barely walk, every step felt like trudging through sludge. The only thing he could hear was that voice ringing through his head. The chiding, the jokes, off hand comments, arguments. It rattled through his mind.

He leaned on the counter, he felt like he was about to collapse. It had been so long, why now?

Why couldn't Bill just leave him alone?

Ford continued to stare blankly at the kitchen counter, trying to shove away the voice, the memories. They were overwhelming. They wouldn't stop.

Somewhere, unconsciously, he could feel a hand, gently running up and down his back. Someone else's voice flowed into his subconscious.

"Ford, it's okay. It's all over. He's gone. He can't hurt you anymore." It soothed him, repeating the same phrases.

Slowly, the fog faded, and Ford felt more present.

"Ya with me?" It was Stan.

"...Yes." The kitchen was silent. Ford spoke quietly, "Thank you."

Stan pulled him into a side hug, "Gotta look out for my brother, y'know?"

Ford nodded, hugging back.

They broke apart after a few seconds, and Ford started for the coffee pot.

"Hm. It's gone cold."

Stan shrugged, "Eh, who needs it?"

Ford grinned.

"Are you still up for movie night?" Stan looked at him.

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"Good." Stan poured the coffee into a container, sticking it into the fridge, "Oh, and I think the kids decided to handle the record themselves."

When the two walked back into the living room, Ford could see the pair scratching out the ridges at the end of the record. He smiled. Who was he to let Bill ruin the evening?

#gravity falls #stanford pines #stanley pines #dipper pines #mabel pines #bill cipher #fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #ao3 link #ford is still affected by bill #stan is a good brother #implied fiddauthor #implied fordford

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