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aceofstars16 · 8 months

Text

Headaches

Okay so...I found this old fic...I might share it on AO3 at some point too? But eh, I'll share it here first. (I put it on AO3 now)

It's like...a four year old fic, and I'm pretty sure it was going to be part of a continuation story I had for Gravity Falls. But it kind of works as a one shot too? I edited it a little, but it still has some of my old writing style to it lol

Also, don't ask me what is wrong with Stan, I'm like...pretty sure it was part of my idea for the continuation, with Bill kind of coming back, buuuut...for the sake of this fic maybe it's just some residual effects of Bill going into his mind? *shrugs*

Putting it under a read more because it's eh a fic, so over a thousand words lol

“Another headache?”

Stan waved his hand. “It’s nothing, I’ve had hangovers worse than this.”

Ford couldn’t help but frown. He'd seen Stan wince more in the past week than in the entire time he’d been back on this earth.

“Oh don’t look at me like that, Poindexter. Come on, we have work to do.”

Trying to brush away the knot of worry in his chest, Ford followed his brother out onto the deck. Just a headache. Ford knew better than that, he'd brushed aside a headache once…never again. But this was Stan, it could just be a headache. Then again, it could be something more.

-----

“Maybe you should take it easy.” Ford was hesitant to speak, seeing as Stan only seemed to get more stubborn when he brought it up, but the quiet grunts of pain coming from his brother scared him more than he’d like to admit.

“I’m fine. Besides, you wanted to…what was it? Study the stars or something with this.” Stan grumbled as he hammered a bolt into Ford’s makeshift beacon.

“Study the paranormal activities in the universe, yes. But it can wait, we won’t reach the next anomaly site for a few days. And it looks like a storm might be coming, so waiting would probably be best.”

In reality, setting up the beacon earlier would be better, especially if the storm was related to any disturbances in the multiverse, but Ford had put his work before his family for too long. Never again.

Stan huffed but looked at the clouds forming and shrugged. “Doesn’t look like it'll be a big one.”

“You never know. Come on, I’ll cook us something.”

“Is that supposed to entice me?” Stan quipped, punching Ford lightly on the shoulder – or lightly for Stan.

“My cooking isn’t that bad…though it did get me kicked out of a dimension once…How about I just heat up some soup from a can?”

“Fine, but none of that mushroom stuff.”

Ford tried not to show his relief at Stan’s acceptance of taking a break, and nodded. “Deal.”

-----

The ship rocked back and forth as the storm raged on outside. Stan’s snores filled the air as Ford stared at the notes in his new journal. But his mind wasn’t on them. It was distracted by memories. Bloody eyes, hysterical laughter, regret, and fear that froze him in his tracks.

Shaking his head, Ford tried to reason with himself. It was just his anxiety acting up again, he was being paranoid. Stan just had headaches from being at sea for so long, or from working a little too much. There were so many other explanations for it.

But as he looked at his brother, fear trickled down his spine. What if it really was more than Stan was letting on?

Pulling out the map, Ford quickly deducted where they were at, before searching for the closest city.

-----

“What do you need in town again?”

“Just some extra fuses and parts in case anything breaks.” Ford said quickly, looking at the address he had managed to find on the computer – he still preferred paper to electronics when it came to finding things, but he had to admit computers were a little faster.

“Can’t you just fix them with what we already have? Half of the boat is filled with junk only you know how to use.”

“Just taking precautions.” Ford said, waving his hand, though he couldn’t help but feel a little relieved that Stan seemed to be acting more like himself. He didn’t appear to have a headache today, which was good. Though it could make this trip a little harder. Doubt crept into Ford’s mind. Maybe the headaches really were just something that would go away on their own. But the nagging worry in his chest kept Ford moving forward. He wasn’t going to gamble on this, not when it could hurt Stan.

Stan didn’t respond so Ford once again focused on finding the correct building. It was easier to spot than he thought, though he did notice the internet had it wrong. See, paper was better.

“Hey, that’s not a machine shop. Sixer, what is this?!?”

Ford had been expecting resistance, but he still let out a sigh. “As I said, it’s just a precaution. You’ve been having these headaches far too much for my liking.”

“You have got to be kidding me! I’m not going to some scam artist and paying them money for a headache that is just a headache!” Turning on his heels, Stan started marching back towards the ship, but Ford quickly bolted forward and grabbed his arm.

“Stanley. Please.”

Those two words stopped Stan in his tracks and he glanced back, meeting Ford’s eyes. An understanding passed between them, or maybe Stan just saw the worry Ford knew must have been brimming in his eyes.

“Fine.” Stan consented, but poked Ford’s chest. “But it’s a waste of time and when they say nothing is wrong you owe me some toffee peanuts and ice cream.”

Forcing a small smile on his mouth, Ford nodded. “Okay, though I doubt we’ll find toffee peanuts here.”

-----

They found toffee peanuts.

The doctor’s visit was, as Stan put it, a paranoid waste of time and money. And maybe he was right, maybe the headaches were just a result of stress, as the doctors said. But that didn’t stop the worry in Ford’s chest, in fact it almost seemed to be worse after the doctor’s analysis.

“Come on Sixer, cheer up. You can’t be right all the time.” Stan tossed an arm over Ford’s shoulder, a triumphant grin on his face.

A small smile touched the edge of Ford’s mouth. At least Stan was acting like himself, which was a good sign. Paranoia. Maybe thirty years in the multiverse had made him a little too suspicious of things.

-----

Days passed, and Stan seemed much better. Ford found his anxiety easing, if only a little. Yes, he still tried to keep an eye out to see if Stan was wincing or holding his head, but as far as he could tell, the headaches were gone.

“Just a little higher!” Ford called, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the beacon. The trip to town had added a few days to their anomaly trip, but now they were almost there.

“Always have to have it just right, hey Six-AGH!”

Ford froze as he saw Stan grab his head and fell to the deck.

“STANLEY!”

Rushing over to his brother’s side, Ford dropped to his knees. “Stanley?”

A groan was the only response and fear wrapped itself around Ford’s heart. He knew he should’ve insisted upon more testing, or medication, or something!

“Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Stan didn’t respond, but when Ford pulled him to his feet, he was standing mostly on his own, though he leaned heavily on Ford as they made their way inside.

Despite his own physical strength, Ford was panting as he helped Stan onto his bed – though maybe worry was a part of his fatigue. Plus, he wasn’t exactly thirty years old anymore.

As soon as Stan was lying down, Ford started rummaging around the cabin, looking for ibuprofen or any other pain reliever, along with ice and heat packs. All the while trying not to dwell on the fact that they were in the middle of the ocean, days away from the closest doctor.

“Sixer?”

Ford froze as Stan spoke and quickly rushed over with the few things he had found. “I’ve got you Stanley, here take these and you should-”

As he glanced up, the words stuck in his mouth. The world flipped and the air grew thin. Ford couldn’t breathe. He swore he could hear laughing, though maybe that was just a broken mind replaying sounds from all those years ago. From when he had felt blood falling from his eye, when Bill had used him. Only now it wasn’t his eye that was bleeding. It was Stan’s.

“No…no no no no.” It was the only word Ford could gasp out as memories, fears, total paranoia overtook him. Yellow eyes everywhere. Maniacal laughter. Crushing guilt. A mistake he could never fix. Screams mixed into the laughter, phantom pain raced through every inch of his body and there was no escaping it.

“And you thought you were the smart one, Fordsy.”

“Stanford Pines.”

“Fordsy Fordsy Fordsy”

“Sixer.”

“Outcast, just like us.”

Bill was everywhere, mocking him.

The voices blurred together. Ford could see them, he could feel them. Bill was in his head. Even though he couldn’t be, the metal plate kept him out. But he swore he could feel him.

“Sixer.”

A gasp turned into a sob was the only response Ford could make to the noise in his mind.

“Ford!”

Sharp pain shot through Ford’s head and he looked around, and he realized he was on the ship, staring at Stan – whose brow was creased with pain and whose eye was still bleeding – but who was gripping his shoulders, lifting him up from the ground.

“St-Stanley…”

“Ford, what…? Are you okay?”

“I…” His chest still felt tight, and Ford swore he could still hear Bill. It was only when he glanced at Stan again that he realized his brother was blurry through the tears in his eyes. And compared to Stan’s firm grip on his shoulders, he was shaking like a leaf.

“Ford, gosh darnit, TALK TO ME!”

“Bill…it…he…” Then a sob escaped his mouth. Ford hadn’t felt so broken in…well maybe it hadn’t been that long but that didn’t make it any less terrifying.

Arms wrapped around him and another sob escaped his mouth as he let himself hide in his brother’s embrace.

“That triangle is gone, Sixer. And if he comes back, I’ll punch him in his stupid eye. Got it?”

Ford couldn’t form a response, only a whimper escaped his mouth, but he managed a small nod and Stan’s arms tightened around him. He didn’t deserve such a good brother, after all he'd done, Stan was still there for him, hugging him when he was the one with a bloody eye and terrible headache.

“Got it?” Stan spoke again and Ford would’ve laughed if his mind and body weren’t so jumbled up.

“Got it.” Ford could only speak in whisper, but Stan seemed satisfied.

“Good.”

#gravity falls #stanford pines #stanley pines #ford pines #stan pines #sea grunks #gravity falls fanfiction #aceo writes things #was that my tag? I do not remember it has been a looong time #call this practice for when I hopefully finish timetrapped lol #have fun and enjoy the writings of little - not as traumatized and broken me

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