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brightdrawings · 1 year

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Crystal Meet Cute

My secret Santa gift for @mother-ofthe-universe. They wanted something to do with their Stanley Universe Au. And my fiddstan heart felt kinship for a scene they described. They enjoyed it so I hope you all enjoy it too (and be sure to check out their work too, they have some really fun au's)

(also on ao3!)

Fiddleford gave a heavy sigh. Greasy's diner wasn’t the best place to eat. As is the name, the food was greasy, and the coffee was too watery. Then again, that isn’t why most people came out to this diner in the middle of the town. At least Fiddleford dearly hoped no one was coming out to Greasy’s for the food. For most it was a convenient and criminally cheap place to eat.

But for Fiddleford McGucket, a visit to Greasy’s in the morning was a chance to socialize. Working with Stanford Pines wasn’t bad, he was his best friend after all. However, knowing Stanford as well as he did, he knew the man was averse to meeting people, and heaven forbid he spoke with them. And while he did love his friend dearly, there was only so many times he could talk about their latest research notes or their next DDmD game plan.

Fiddleford needed to talk to people, different people, new people. And while the townsfolk were odd, they were at least interesting for conversation. From the fellow southerner who ran the car dealership, to the loud lumberjack, even the aspiring news presenter entered through Greasy’s always open doors. Everyone had their own lives with their own stories to share. And Fiddleford enjoyed listening to each and every one. He was more than eager to share some of his own. It helped break down the confusion surrounding Stanford and his research, and in some instances made it worse.

Unfortunately today was shaping up to be a rather quiet morning. Winter in Oregon was harsher than some places. And this morning seemed worse than usual, 6 inches of snow with more expected throughout the day, made it no wonder as to why the diner was empty. It seemed that most of the town was taking their time in getting out of bed. Fiddleford wasn’t afforded that luxury as his roommate and employer had a strict schedule for observing nature, and any desire to avoid frostbite was considered irrelevant.

He was ready to pick himself up, and leave the empty diner when the door opened. Working for a few months in Gravity Falls had gotten Fiddleford used to the locals, even to the oddities that tried to blend in among them, but the man who walked through the diner door was not something or one he had seen before. He had long curled hair that reached his back, a familiar square jaw and a cheeky grin. But the oddest part, from where Fiddleford stood at least, was the fact that the man was walking around in a T-shirt in this blistering cold.

“Heya Susan!” the man called in a gravelly voice. “Give me the usual. With extra sugar.”

“Comin’ right up Stan.” Susan called back with her usual cheerful tone.

He walked into the diner, taking a seat a couple of booths down from Fiddleford. Looking down at his coffee, Fiddleford felt a wave of curiosity and sympathy wash over him. He picked up his mug and made his way to this ‘Stan’. He stopped next to the booth before speaking. “Mornin’ Stan.” Fiddlefod said with his friendliest smile. “Is this seat taken?”

“Mornin’ to you too Mac, how’d you get my name?” Stan said, he reached a hand into his pocket and gave Fiddleford a quick once over.

“Hard to miss it with Susan yellin’ it across the diner.” Fiddleford chuckled. “I don’t have time to come to town for long, so I try to talk to anyone I can before I have to go back to work.”

“Yeah, yeah. take a seat if you want.” Stan withdrew his hand from his pocket and pointed to the seat opposite him. His attention engrossed in the worn out menu in front of him.

“What’s your usual? If’n you don’t mind me asking.” Fiddleford took his seat, placing his coffee on the table.

“Black.” Stan said flatly.

“Smart, smart. The coffee here don’t taste too good if you ask me.” Fiddleford spoke behind his hand. Not wanting to hurt Susan’s feelings with his words.

“Like having sex on a canoe.” Stan rolled his eyes. “So what’s your name Mr. Talks-a-lot.”

“My name is Fiddleford Hadron McGucket.” Fiddleford proudly offered his hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Nice to meet you too, Fidds.” Stan hardly looked up from his menu. Fiddleford could see that the other man was scanning through the page quickly. His eyes went from price then to menu item. Watching someone else in a similar situation to him when he was in college hurt Fiddleford’s heart. He was about to say something else when something on the back of Stan’s menu caught his eyes, and an idea sparked to life in his mind.

“Susan!” Fiddleford called. “Can I get two plates of waffles please?”

“Comin’ Right up Fiddleford!” Susan replied

“You sure a string bean like you can eat more than one?” Stan smirked.

“Oh one’s for you Stan.” Fiddleford smirked.

“Hey hey, I ain't got the dough for something like that.” Stan said quickly. He placed both hands on the table.

“No no! Don’t worry. This is on me.” He flipped over Stan’s menu and pointed at a post-it note that had a ‘2 for 1’ deal written on it.

“The hell’s this?” Stan scoffed.

“Just between us, but I heard a rumor that these menus were real pricey for Susan to get printed. So when she has specials and people don’t read the board, she puts notes on the menus to get more people buyin’ food.” Fiddleford whispered behind his hand.

“How do I know you didn’t stick this one when I wasn't looking?” Stan raised an eyebrow. “You were the only other guy here before I walked in.”

“How would I know which booth you could sit in and plant a note there?”Fiddleford asked. “What am I Psychic?”

“I know a couple, that’s more likely than you think.” Stan squinted.

“There’s an easy solution for this.” Fiddleford turned to the window to the kitchen. “Susan, is the 2 for 1 still available?”

“Yessire!” Susn replied cheerfully. She waved her spatula at Fiddleford to punctuate her cheer.

“Right. Yeah okay. So long as I don’t gotta pay for nothin’ I guess I don’t mind.” Stan slipped back in his seat. He turned his gaze away from the cheerful southerner.

“Trust me, the food might live up to the name and the coffee might not be great but they’re better together than alone.” Fiddleford said.

“I heard that Gucket.” Susan said bitterly from the kitchen.

“Sorry Susan.” Fiddleford said, his ears turning red while Stan chuckled at his embarrassment.

The pair sat together, patiently waiting for their food to arrive. As expected it was greasy and would have been much better if made at home. But a full stomach of greasy waffles was preferable to an empty stomach. There was also that added benefit of losing some of the tension Fiddleford felt surrounding Stan like a protective mist. Once their food was eaten, their watery coffee drank and their bill paid, the pair left the diner together.

“Don’t you got some job you gotta go to?” Stan asked as they walked through the town. Several stores had lifted their shutters and were finally opening their doors to customers.

“Why do you ask Stan?” Fiddleford wore a cheeky grin. “Eager to get rid of me?”

“No but I don't want your boss to give you any shit for being late or nothing.” Stan said. He chewed his cheek.

“Don’t worry about that. If my ‘boss’ gets upset about me talking with people in town then he should get off his high horse and finally take a break.” Fiddleford bumped Stan’s with his elbow.

“Sounds like he’s got a stick up there.” Stan smirked.

“He does sometimes.” Fiddleford nodded.

“Reminds me of someone.” Stan sighed.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“I’m nowhere near that cheap,” Stan said with a small smirk.

“I’ll make sure to save up for next time then.” Fiddleford smiled in return.

The pair walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Fiddleford came to a complete halt.

“You okay string bean?” Stan asked.

“Stanley, could you wait a moment?” Fiddleford didn’t wait for the other man’s response. Instead he dashed into a store a few places in front of them.

It took a few minutes but Fiddleford soon returned, with a large paper bag in hand and a wide grin on his face. He looked around and found Stanley leaning against a tree, hands in pockets and eyes in the sky. Fiddleford was quick to walk over to Stanley and handed him the paper bag.

“What’s this?” Stanley asked. “I already told you Fidds I ain't got dough on me.”

“You’re walking around in a T-shirt in the middle of winter.” Fiddleford put his hands on his hips. “I know that some men say that they don’t ‘feel the cold’ when they reach a certain age but my Ma don’t believe in such a thing and neither do I.”

“That’s nice and all, but I still can’t pay you back.” Stan repeated.

“It’s a gift.” Fiddleford said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I dunno, feels kinda weird.” Stan said.

“Did ya turn down gifts from Santa?”Fidds asked

“I’m Jewish”

“Did you turn down gifts from your family on Hanukkah?” Fidds insisted, unwavering in his generosity.

“Alright alright!” Stan rolled his eyes. “Just don’t make a scene.”

Fiddleford watched eagerly as Stan opened the paperbag and removed his gift. It was a thick jacket with red sleeves and a hood. On the forearm of each sleeve was an orange fin. There was a long fin that ran along the back and on to the hood of the jacket. The hood also had a pair of large cartoon-y eyes. The chest of the jacket had a gradient that went from purple to blue. The fabric all over had a scale pattern, bringing the fish look of the jacket together.

“What the hell am I looking at?” Stan asked, unable to stop himself chuckling.

“That store has some of the best novelty outfits and stuff you can find.” Fiddleford said with an ear to ear grin. “I bought my boss a pineapple Hawaiian shirt with a pair of pink palm tree sunglasses to match from that store.”

“That sounds awful.” Stan chuckled.

“He said the same thing.” Fiddleford said. “So, do you like it?”

“Let me try it on first.” Stan said. “Gotta make sure the teeth aren’t inside to stab me.”

“I think that’s the role of the zipper.”

Fiddleford watched as Stanley slipped the jacket over his thin T-shirt. It hung a little loosely on his body, but Fiddleford could see a small smile spread across Stan’s mouth as the warmth of the jacket began to spread across his body.

“Weeell?” He asked, unable to hide his giddy grin

“It’s nice.” Stan said in a quiet voice. “Real nice.”

Fiddleford gave Stan a firm handshake and wished him well. He quickly made his way to his car to return to his work. What he didn't see as he pulled out and waved one more goodbye to Stan was the man desperately trying to hold back his tears at the first real gift he’s received in years.

#Gravity Falls #Gravity Falls Fic #Stanley Pines #Stan pines #fiddleford mcgucket #Fiddleford Hardon McGucket #Old Man McGucket #Fiddstan #Fiddlestan #Stanley Universe #Grunkle Stan #Stan isn't exactly his mullet age in this #but a little younger #Fidds really needs to force Ford to get out more #hope y'all enjoy

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