#(somewhere suitably creepy and wild for a vampire and werewolf)

[thelastspeecher]

So @nour386 wrote an amazing ficlet that takes place in the Werepire Stangie AU (aka the glorious AU where Stan is a vampire and Angie’s a werewolf and they end up on a road trip together before making their way to Gravity Falls due to the “weirdness magnetism”).  Nour’s ficlet has Stan getting closure with his ex-boyfriend/person who turned him into a vampire, Jimmy Snakes.  And in the ficlet, Stan making up with Ford is mentioned.

And I realized that I needed to write that particular scene right away.  So here, have Ford and vampire Stan coming clean with each other and burying the hatchet.

              Ford opened the door leading to the back porch.  He looked over at the couch that Angie had dragged there a few months ago, insisting that the single wicker chair wasn’t enough seating.  Sure enough, Stan was sitting on the couch, clearly deep in thought.  He idly spun a small box in his hands.

              “Stanley?” Ford said cautiously.  Stan startled and dropped the box.  It fell just beyond the extent of the porch’s shadow.

              “Dammit,” Stan muttered.  He reached for the box.  The moment his fingers edged into the sunlight, he let out a hiss.  He jerked back instinctively.

              “I’ll get it.”  Ford picked up the box.  He handed it to Stan, who thanked him with a wordless grunt.  “It’s from that jewelry store Angie likes.”

              “Yeah.”  Stan looked down at the box.  “Bought it the other day.”

              “It looks like one of those boxes that holds engagement rings,” Ford said. Stan nodded silently.  “Are- are you planning on-?”  Stan scratched behind his ear.  Ford wondered for a moment whether Stan had picked up that behavior from his werewolf girlfriend.

              “Uh, yeah.  I’m, um, I’m gonna…”  Stan trailed off.  He took a breath to gather himself.  “I’m gonna propose to her tonight.  Just trying to figure out how to do it.”  Ford sat next to Stan on the couch.  “The, uh, the guy at the jewelry store looked at me like I was nuts when I told him my budget and said I didn’t want a silver engagement ring.  But I managed to find one that wouldn’t burn Angie.  Or me.”  Stan opened the box.  The ring was simple; a rose gold band with a single pearl set in it.  Stan stared down at the engagement ring.  “I wanted to get her one with diamonds.  I mean, that’s the kinda ring she deserves.  But…”  Stan sighed. “Couldn’t afford it.  And it’s not the easiest thing to rob a jewelry store if you’re allergic to silver.  Just bein’ in there made me break out in hives.”

              “She’ll love it,” Ford said solemnly.  Stan managed a weak grin.  “Are- are you worried she’ll say no?”

              “I don’t know.”  Stan closed the box.  “It’s a damn miracle she’s stuck with me this long.  I just- I keep expecting her to finally realize she’s too good for me.”

              “That’s not how she feels.”

              “Oh, like you’ve been spending time with my girlfriend,” Stan scoffed.  Ford rubbed the back of his neck.

              “Actually, I have.  Angie agreed to let me study her for my research.  I don’t have much data on werewolves.”

              “Really?  She let you do that?”

              “I mean, she is a scientist,” Ford pointed out. Stan grunted.  “But while I’m taking notes on her, she asks about you.”  Stan stared at him.  “She, um, she’s concerned about your self-esteem.  She wanted to know if you’d been like this when you were a child.”

              “What’d you tell her?”

              “The truth.  That you were one of the most confident people I’ve ever known.”

              “Heh.  Guess I was pretty confident back then.”  Stan looked away.  “Getting kicked out before you even graduate from high school, your boyfriend turning you into a vampire, and landing a girlfriend with a goddamn master’s degree, though, that’ll mess you up.”  Ford frowned.

              “You got turned by an ex-boyfriend?”

              “Yeah.”  Stan toed the wood panel of the porch, refusing to meet Ford’s gaze.  “Didn’t work out.”

              “Clearly, given that you’re planning on proposing to someone different.”

              “Angie’s pretty much the opposite of Jimmy, for sure.”  Stan sighed.  “I’m lucky as hell that I found her.”  A tentative silence fell.  “So-”

              “Is-” Ford started, speaking at the same time as Stan.  They stopped and shared a wry grin.  Stan nodded at Ford.

              “Go ahead, Sixer.”

              “I think this is the longest conversation we’ve had since you arrived in Gravity Falls,” Ford said.  Stan shrugged.

              “Eh.  Maybe.”

              “At the very least, it’s the most civil.”

              “Can’t argue with that,” Stan muttered.  He fiddled with the hem of his hoodie.  “It’s…nice, talking to you without wanting to strangle you.”

              “I’m flattered.”

              “Being angry at you all the time takes up a lotta energy,” Stan continued, ignoring Ford.  “I miss it being like this.”

              “I concur.”  Ford leaned back.  “Heh. Back when we were in high school, there’s no way you would’ve even thought about proposing to a girlfriend without telling me.”

              “Yeah.”  Stan chewed his lip.  “Look. We- we both fucked up.”  He coughed.  “I, uh, I think I fucked up a bit less than you, but I really- I was a dumbass in high school.  I shoulda told you right away when your machine thing got broken.”  He met Ford’s eyes.  “I didn’t break it.  But I was there when it was broken.”  Ford nodded silently.  “I’m- I’m sorry.”

              “It’s okay.”  Ford cleared his throat.  “Like you said, we both fucked up.  I shouldn’t- I should have given you time to explain, instead of accusing you of actively sabotaging me.”  Stan nodded. “I’m sorry.”  Ford waited for the weight to lift from his shoulders.  But it remained as heavy as ever.

              “Dammit,” Stan sighed.  He slumped back against the couch.  “One of the few times I’ve ever apologized, and things weren’t magically better.”

              “There’s still a lot of bad blood between us, I suppose,” Ford said softly. “It’ll take a while before things get back to normal.”

              “You did try to kill my girlfriend when you found out she was a werewolf.”

              “I didn’t- that was a misunderstanding and a mistake!” Ford protested.  “I swear, I wasn’t trying to kill her.”

              “You could’ve, though.  You shoved wolfsbane in her face.”

              “I apologized for that.”  Stan shrugged.  Ford sighed. “At least I can tell Fiddleford I spoke to you.”  Stan straightened his posture.  He frowned at Ford.

              “Hang on.  Did you just say all of that just ‘cause Fiddlenerd told you to?”

              “Fiddleford.  And no, he just promised to harangue me until I bit the bullet and spoke with you.”  To Ford’s surprise, Stan nodded.

“Yeah, Angie’s been getting on my case about it, too.”  Ford managed a weak smile.

“Like you, I’ve missed this.  I’ve missed having my twin brother around. Well, around and not ready to kill me at any moment.”

              “Eh.  I wouldn’t have killed you.”  Stan scratched his nose idly.  “Except for when you were messing with Angie.  Then I might have.”  Ford chuckled softly.  “That’s not a joke, Sixer.  I’ve done it before, I’d do it again.”

              “You’ve killed someone?”

              “I’m a damn vampire, of course I’ve killed someone.”

              “…Oh.”

              “But like I was saying, I’m not gonna kill you.”

“Thank you.”

“Not gonna kill Fiddlenerd, either, no matter how annoying he is.  It’d upset Angie.”

              “You really care about her,” Ford said.  Stan punched him playfully.

              “Duh!  You saw the ring I bought her.”  Ford cracked a smile.  Stan returned the expression.  After a moment, Stan rubbed the back of his neck.  “I should get going.  Still gotta figure out how I’m gonna propose.”  He shoved the box containing the engagement ring into his hoodie’s pocket and stood.  Before he could walk away, Ford spoke.

              “Stan?”

              “Yeah?”

              “Tell me what she says.”  Stan grinned, flashing his inhumanly sharp teeth.

              “You got it, Sixer.”