Chapter Text
The last thing you ever wanted to wake up to in the middle of the night was the ringing of your phone echoing through the whole house. Your hand shot out like a flash to grab it, waiting with bated breath to see if your father was woken up by the sound. You didn’t hear anything, and your clock only said 12:37 a.m., so you figured he was still at the bar.
“This better be good!” you hissed into the phone.
“Hey, kid…” You were surprised to hear your friend Stan Pines on the other line. “Look, I need your help. I went for a walk and ended up at the school, and was maybe… horsin’ around… Listen, Ford’s science doodad got messed up and I need you to come fix it.”
Your sleep-addled brain could barely keep up with what he was saying.
“Me? Why me?”
Stan scoffed
“Because you’re a hell of a lot smarter than I am.”
"Yeah, but I'm not smarter than Ford," you mumbled, throwing back your covers. "Have you called him yet?"
There was a long silence and you paused midway through pulling your jeans on.
"You do plan on calling him, right?"
“I just, eh…” You heard Stan’s sigh crackle over the speaker. “I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea… He might think I did this on purpose…”
“Well, if you don’t tell him then he’ll definitely think you did it on purpose. Call him. Now.”
You slammed the phone down with a clatter and stood up to pull on a sweater and slip into some shoes. Those twins did nothing but stress you out, but all the three of you had was each other.
-----
Your bike skidded to a halt in front of the school gymnasium and you took off for the double doors the second your kick bar was in place. Once you noiselessly slipped inside, the familiar sound of hushed bickering reached your ears. You let out a sigh of relief when you saw that Stan had listened to you and called Ford after all.
“Well, Stan, looks like you do have common sense!”
You earned an eye roll from Stan, but Ford, as usual, grew timid and quiet at your approach. You considered both Pines twins your friends, but Ford was always a bit reserved around you; especially compared to his energetic, and occasionally obnoxious, brother.
“Yeah, yeah, I knew you’d rub it in.”
Stan paired his griping with a smile, so you knew he was grateful. You approached Ford and put a hand on his shoulder as he fiddled with his machine.
“How’s it lookin’?”
Ford’s hands fumbled and he adjusted his glasses nervously, clearing his throat before he answered.
“I-It’s fine, actually. I just finished up.”
Ford finished screwing the loose grate on his project back into place and flipped the ‘on’ switch. He stepped back and let out a sigh of relief when it started running as intended again. The tension left your shoulders and Stan threw his arm around you. He hugged you to his side and you smiled, but noticed Ford casting his eyes to the floor in irritation out of the corner of your eye. You had a feeling he didn't like sharing his time with Stanley with you… it'd always been like that.
"Thanks, kid," Stan mumbled sheepishly. "If it weren't for you, I… Well… thanks."
“No problem, knuckle-head.” You broke from Stan’s hug to slug him on the shoulder before turning towards Ford. “Well, good luck with the West Coast Tech folks tomorrow. I know they’ll love you.”
“I’m sorry Stanley bothered you with all this,” Ford said quietly. Stan scoffed. “If he’d just called me first, you wouldn’t have had to come all this way…”
“I don’t mind,” you said through a smile. “Now get home, you have to be up early tomorrow! I’ll see you on Monday at graduation.”
"Yeah…" Ford said with a small grin, running his hand over the back of his neck. "Thanks again…"
"What are you waitin' for, a kiss on the cheek?" Stan complained with exaggeration, "Let's go, Sixer!"
Color bloomed on Ford's cheeks and you laughed as Stan dragged him out of the gym by the back of the collar. You followed them out and hopped back onto your bike.
“Don’t get into too much trouble tonight, boys,” you joked.
“No promises,” Stan shot you a wink and Ford rolled his eyes, face still burning with embarrassment.
You took off into the night while the twins walked in the opposite direction. You were gonna miss those dorks once school was over… You knew that Ford’s ambitions could take him anywhere he wanted to go, and Stan was sure to follow him wherever that ended up being.
You were positive that the people from West Coast Tech were gonna absolutely adore him, so it was no surprise when you got a call from Stanley the next day raving on and on about his ‘genius brother’ and how they were going to ‘live it up’ in California… It was bittersweet.
Of course, you were excited to pursue your own education too. You were off to New York to study at a small university in Albany. You’d snagged a scholarship to pursue a degree in biology, something you felt was truly your calling. You weren’t sure where your life would lead after college, but hopefully your friendship with the Pines twins would survive.
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It had been six years since high school graduation and the last time you saw the Pines twins. You still kept in touch via letters; You heard about every award, scholarship, and degree that Ford earned, and all about Stan’s… less moral escapades. But the last letter you’d gotten from them was by far the most interesting…
They wanted you to join them in Gravity Falls.
God knows what Ford was working on out there, but according to Stanley, he could use the help of a biologist. You’d just graduated with your masters, and the second that diploma was in your hand, Stan was begging you to move to Oregon to join in their research.
It didn’t sound half bad, honestly. If Ford’s letters were to be believed, the scenery was unmatched in Gravity Falls, and he was offering free room and board in addition to decent pay. Plus, you missed those goobers. They’d been your best– and only, really– friends since middle school. It didn’t take you long to pack your things and hit the road.
You could hardly believe your eyes when you saw them again. Stanley still looked like Stanley, but maybe a bit scruffier, but Ford was definitely… different. He wasn’t a twig anymore, like he had been in high school. He’d bulked up quite a bit; according to Stan's letters, they’d had more than one adventure chasing monsters around the surrounding woods, so you guessed that’s what kept them both in shape.
You couldn’t get a word out before Stan yanked you into a crushing hug. You laughed and gave him a tight squeeze back, letting him hold you at arm’s length after pulling away.
“Yeesh, you look like shit,” he teased.
“Ew, please, is that a mullet?”
“Alright, alright…”
Stan gave you a playful shove and you turned to his brother.
“Hey, Ford!” You trapped him in a hug, which made him all but turn to stone. “It’s so great to see you again!”
“R-Really…?” He adjusted his glasses with a blush on his cheeks, smiling anxiously at you as you pulled away.
He was just as shy as you remembered, and you worried for a moment that it would make sharing a home with him uncomfortable. It was a huge relief when the three of you fell into a natural rhythm fairly quickly.
A lot of the time you were left to your own devices. Your average day was spent either studying research notes with Ford or running around after beasts in the woods with Stan. Quite often, though, you were sent out to research certain creatures on your own to compile notes to add to Ford’s.
It was the dead of night, and you had just returned home after spending the entire day observing the habits of plaidypuses in the local river. You were sweaty and muddy, and made a beeline straight for the shower the second you got home. Naturally, your clean clothes were in your bedroom, so you had to attempt gracefully running across the squeaky floor to your room in a towel. At least both the boys would be–
"O-Oh!"
You froze as you turned the corner and nearly knocked Ford over in your hurry. His glasses had been knocked askew, and even in the dim moonlight from the window, you could see his wide eyes travel over your chest and his cheeks blossom with color as he readjusted them.
"Ford! God, sorry, I…" You found yourself struggling for words. Something about the expression on his face was just… "I just got back. From the woods. With the, uh… the plaidypuses–"
"Right, right!" Ford said, clearing his throat. "I'm glad, I was starting to get worried…" He flushed brighter. "I-I mean, not worried worried, I just–"
"So, what are you doing up so late?" You asked quickly, trying to save him from himself. "Don't tell me you're about to go after more of those eye-bat things…"
Ford chuckled and ran his hand over the back of his neck.
"No, no… I can't seem to sleep, so I'm giving up and going downstairs to watch something… You're… free to join me, if you want?"
Ford seemed almost afraid to ask, but relaxed at your smile.
"I should probably put some clothes on first, though, huh?"
You knew that a joke like that could very well give Ford a heart attack, but you decided that if it made him blush again it was worth the risk. He did, and it was just as adorable as the first time. You didn't stick around to hear his stammered response, you just hurried into your room to throw some PJs on.
Once you made your way back downstairs, you paused to grab yourself and Ford a few beers as a peace offering for your teasing earlier. Ford straightened his posture when you plopped onto the couch beside him, taking a beer from you with a weak smile.
“Battlestar Galactica, huh?” you said as you popped the top off your beer, “Nice choice.”
You clinked your bottles together and settled into the couch a little deeper to watch. There was some kind of marathon running, and before you knew it you were both three beers deep and talking more candidly than you ever had before.
It was unusual to see Ford so relaxed. He was laughing so freely, deep from his chest, at your jokes for the first time, and you found yourself getting addicted to the sound. You'd never really noticed how soft his hair looked, and you very suddenly wanted to run your hands through it. You knew those kinds of thoughts were dangerous, but you couldn't bring yourself to care.
"Oh, shoot," Ford suddenly mumbled, "I can't find the remote."
After a few moments of shifting around on the couch in search of it, you spotted it on the arm of the couch on Ford's side.
"Oh! There it is–"
You reached across Ford for the remote, and ended up basically pressed against his chest as you grabbed it. In less inebriated circumstances, your common sense would've told you to just point the remote out to him, but now there you were, face inches from his, body so close that you couldn’t help pausing for a moment.
You weren't sure what came over you, you were just fixated on how pretty his eyes were, staring at you with a mix of fear and curiosity. His cheeks were rosy, and you were pretty sure this was the longest he'd ever maintained eye contact with you.
Ford whimpered when your lips met his, the sound making your stomach flip. Once you were sure he had no desire to pull away, you gently cupped his cheek, running your thumb appreciatively along his stubble. You could tell Ford had never kissed anyone before… Frankly, it didn't surprise you, but hey, practice makes perfect.
You shifted onto his lap as subtly as possible and allowed yourself to run your hand through his curls. He sighed and you felt him finally wrap his arms around your waist, and you gently nipped at his bottom lip before gingerly caressing your tongue against his.
Your fingers trailed lazily down the side of his neck, and Ford barely breathed your name–
"Sixer? You down here?"
Ford basically flung you off of his lap at the sound of Stan’s approaching footsteps.
“Hey, you two. What’s up?”
You noticed Stan staring hard at his brother, a brow raised and the corner of his mouth twitching.
“O-Oh, nothing! Just… y’know, watching Battlestar Galactica.” Ford said, casually gesturing towards the TV with the remote.
With impeccable comedic timing, the theme song to Logan’s Run started playing. Stan glanced at the TV, then noticed the empty bottles of beer, and his suspicious smile grew into an all-out grin.
"Ohhh I get it! You finally made a move, Poindexter! Thank Christ, it only took, what, ten years?"
You could barely hear Ford’s muffled exclamation of Stanley’s name through him burying his face in his hands, especially with Stan’s booming laughter filling the room. Your face was burning, and suddenly the only thought in your head was finding a way out of the situation.
"It's late," you said loudly, hopping to your feet. "I need to… I really should go to bed."
"Listen, kid, I was only–"
But rather than listen to Stan's apology, you brushed past him to retreat upstairs to your bedroom, embarrassment amplified by your buzz. God, what had you just done? Since when did you even think about Ford this way? But, as you sat on your bed, deep in panicked thought, you realized that your affection for him had been growing since you moved in a few months ago.
You always knew he was a genius, but damn was his research fascinating. You could listen to him talk about his findings for hours, and enjoyed bouncing ideas off of him about the creatures lurking in Gravity Falls. In fact, you’d started looking forward to your conversations so much that your heart would flutter any time he entered the room.
Still, he was Ford. You’d been friends for ages, and now you were roommates. You couldn’t complicate the situation, that would just make things too awkward… But… It seemed like that ship had already sailed. For now, all you could do was fall into an uneasy sleep.