Chapter Text
The cold air nips at your cheeks as you exit the shack on the outskirts of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Today marked four months since you had first started living here, at the request of none other than Dr. Stanford Pines himself. Back when you still lived in the town, you had heard whispers of the reclusive man who lived in a shack in the woods and only ventured into town for no more than twenty minutes at a time. Your neighbors said he was conducting “weird” research—something to do with “anomalies” in the town. After that, your interest was piqued—you had noticed more than one unexplainable phenomenon in your time living here, something your inquisitive brain wouldn’t forget. If he truly was researching the inexplicable, you had to join him! How else would your questions be answered, both about the strange scientist and Gravity Falls itself?
After that, catching glimpses of Dr. Pines made your day—even your week. You dared not go up to him when you saw him in public, due to both your apprehension and his consistent avoidance of attention. He looked disheveled; even haunted at times. His face was often grim, with dark eye circles giving him the look of a sleep-deprived raccoon. Yet, you found yourself reluctantly admitting that there was a handsomeness behind those tired eyes. His soft brown hair, glasses, and business casual clothes were charming in an academic sort of way. Yet, he had a ruggedness only found in the type of man who enjoys living in a shack in the woods.
You caught yourself thinking about Stanford Pines more than you would have liked to admit. What was his favorite subject? What research was he currently doing? What sort of tools did he use? Did he enjoy being outdoors? Was he a reader? What did the inside of his shack look like? All these questions and more filled your mind, and eventually, you snapped and decided to find out for yourself, by asking him in person. With high ambition, you decided to offer yourself as a research volunteer, paid or unpaid. The wealth of learning more about Dr. Pines was enough for you—you could make ends meet elsewhere.
When you first approached Dr. Pines’ shack, ready to give the spiel of your grades, former research, and overall enthusiasm, he chased you away three times before finally hearing you out. The first: literally chased away by the man insisting that you would “steal his eyes”? You barely had a chance to take in Dr. Pines, let alone his house. Not to be deterred, you approached him a second time. It might’ve been your imagination, but he looked slightly embarrassed upon recognizing you- and therefore his outburst- during your first meeting.
“Sorry, I don’t take visitors,” he sighed, voice gruff. “Can’t you read the sign? I mean no harm, but I would really prefer to not draw attention to myself or my work. I sincerely must ask you to leave.” Despite his rudeness, you found yourself blushing at his appearance up close. As he closed the door on you, you were certain you counted six fingers on his hand. How intriguing! You immediately decided to pay more attention to his hands at your next meeting. You wanted to see him more, hear him more. You absolutely had to come back.
The third time you showed up at Dr. Pine’s doorstep, it took him a few minutes to answer your knocking. When he finally opened the door a smidgen, you saw the poor man looking more tired than ever. He gave you a once-over, then looked you in the eye.
“You again?” he questioned. “But why? State your purpose.”
As you quickly rushed out your rehearsed sales pitch on your skills and experience, you struggled to stay on track as you took in the sight of the elusive doctor. His tie was untied and his shirt unbuttoned, his hair sticking up in strange ways. Yet, even half-asleep, his eyes were boring into you as he took in the information you were spewing at him.
“And, might I add, Doctor—I was able to read through some of your published works thanks to the library. You do have a magnificent mind. Although I could never hope to compare with you, I hope that I can provide you with assistance with this incredibly fascinating research. I have experience as a long-time resident of Gravity Falls, which would surely be insightful. Not to mention, maybe you could use some time to yourself and leave some of the busy work to me?” you added hopefully. As the silence set in, you mentally kicked yourself. Flattering him and insinuating he looks overworked within two sentences of each other? You might as well just run away now.
Yet, as Stanford Pines continued to look at you and not slam the door in your face, you felt a spark of hope grow to a flame inside you. Please, you begged whatever divine being was looking over you right now. Please, I can’t miss this chance .
As if on cue, he smiled, just a tiny bit. Your insistence and enthusiasm must have charmed him, or he ran out of energy to fight you. He then spoke, more gently than you had ever heard him before: “I know I’m in no state to be receiving guests, but please, come inside. Let’s discuss this over tea.”
Your first official meeting—or what you consider it—happened thus, over one of the best cups of tea you’ve ever had.
The inside of the shack was more magical than you had pictured it. Cluttered and disheveled in some places, expertly organized in others, it was nothing less than what you’d expect from a “mad” scientist. As he served you your tea, you pinched yourself to ensure you weren’t dreaming.
“Thank you very much, Dr. Pines; you’re very generous, and this tea is delicious. Where’d you get it? They don’t have stuff like this at the general store,” you say, hoping to break the ice.
He smiles again, fixing his shirt. Sure enough, you saw them in the flesh: six fingers on each hand. You try your best not to stare, not wanting to let your curiosity get the better of you on your first real meeting.
“Please, call me Stanford—or just Ford, if you like,” he says. “And you’re correct, the tea is from out of town. It’s a blend that my assistant makes me.”
Your heart drops. Of course, Stanford Pines already has an assistant! And probably an excellent one too. You’d been a fool to assume you could just waltz in here and start working with him.
He raises an eyebrow. “You’re surprised? Perhaps you thought I didn’t willingly talk to other people?” He laughs. “You’d be mostly correct. However, my assistant is my lifeline to sanity these days. It’s amazing what he tolerates; I’m quite thankful to have him working with me. Now, you say you’re interested in joining me as well?”
Hesitant, you nod. “Yes, sir. I feel I would be valuable to you and your assistant’s efforts.”
“Good, because I find myself in agreement, despite my inclinations. Our research has been remarkably slow and lacking in the past few weeks, due to circumstances both within and outside of my control. Incredibly frustrating, to say the least, and I do feel that we’re in need of a fresh start,” he says.
Breathless, you nod again, not daring to say anything.
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but if everything ends up working out and you join our team, I would highly prefer if you were to live here, in my house. I find that living in proximity to nature expands one’s connection to it. Not to mention, fewer distractions and questions from the townsfolk,” he explains. It takes everything in you for your jaw not to drop. Living in Stanford Pines’ house? It’s all you’ve dreamt of and more.
“Naturally, I can understand why you would be hesitant about this,” he says, taking your silence as trepidation. “Therefore, for the first week, at least, you will be commuting. Then, we’ll make a decision as to if you’ll be staying. Of course, it’s a large house, larger than I require for my needs, so you’d have your own room. And I won’t charge rent, as I’m requesting you to live here. Actually, come to think of it, if you join us permanently, I’ll pay you an income so you won’t feel dependent on me or the house. In exchange, you will live here with McGucket—my assistant—and me; you will perform research and other necessary tasks to the best of your abilities, and your schedule will remain as open and flexible as the work demands. Does this sound like an acceptable offer?”
It was the easiest question you had ever answered in your life. Four months later, the offer was still acceptable.
***
The woods surrounding Gravity Falls are full of their fair share of secrets, but your confidence has been ever-growing since first joining in on Ford’s research. Lately, Ford has been entrusting you with more and more fieldwork. Whenever you're on a mission, he and Fiddleford work on tech in the basement laboratory. Sure, sometimes you feel insecure compared to the two much more experienced scientists. However, you never felt like your contributions weren’t valued. After all, someone had to continue the exploration of Gravity Falls’ anomalies while the boys were holed up inside.
Not to be outdone, Ford always writes clear, if not downright micromanaging, instructions for your daily fieldwork. You’re flattered at his placed trust in you, knowing Ford's proclivity for the good old saying, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” You think back to how hard it was for him to open up to you just a few months ago and to believe you genuinely wanted to help him at first. Approaching that strange scientist’s shack in the woods may have been the best decision you ever made, and not just for the chance to truly study the bizarre phenomena of this town that captivated you. No, you had also come to gain a soft spot for the stern and often sleep-deprived Ford Pines, as he slowly became more and more comfortable with you, no longer hiding his unique hands or remarkable journals. To say he was emotionally repressed was an understatement. However, you treasured every moment that you got to spend with this fascinating man.
However, there was another part of your experience working for Ford that you hadn't expected to enjoy so much. On that same fateful day that Ford accepted you as his new assistant, you had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of one Fiddleford McGucket: the lanky, nerdy mechanic with a southern accent that was as sweet to your ears as honey. You feared he might be jealous of a new assistant joining the crew. Fortunately, though, the look on his face when Ford introduced you showed that he was glad someone else was there to witness the regular chaos surrounding Ford’s work.
Despite your attempts at being a serious, no-nonsense scientist, you found yourself effortlessly charmed by Fiddleford. More often than not, you were amused by his unusual vocabulary or singing along to his rather skilled banjo playing. In addition to the entertainment, you were frequently impressed with Fiddleford’s sheer knack with machinery. You knew to stay well out of his way when the torch and welding mask came out, but that doesn't mean you didn't compliment his work as soon as he was done. Fidds also has been the savior of both you and Ford while working on tough equations, often dropping a suggestion that makes both of your lives easier. Overall, Fidds was an invaluable member of the team, and it's not your fault if you blush sometimes when he returns your compliments.
The three of you made quite a team and were making some great progress, but, of course, the world had more chaos to throw at you. You first met the character known as Stanley Pines on a cold night when you thought everyone was asleep. You were awoken by the sound of loud voices and doors slamming. Has someone come to put a stop to Ford’s research? Were they government agents? Were they going to make you abandon your work? You knew about the dangers of the portal and the weirdness surrounding Gravity Falls. Still, you didn't remember Ford telling you about any enemies, government agency-related or otherwise.
After a very long night, not without its share of fighting, you gleaned some information: that the argumentative visitor was none other than Ford’s estranged twin brother, Stanley Pines, whom Ford had previously convinced to run away with one of his journals. Eventually, Stanley couldn’t ignore the nagging voice that told him to go check on his brother. He returned back to Ford’s shack and insisted he wouldn’t leave until he knew Ford would be safe from any interdimensional danger. Ford was furious, more emotion spilling from him than you had ever seen on anyone, let alone him. He clearly didn’t believe Stanley could protect him. If that was true, were you in danger too?
Safety in numbers , you thought to yourself. While you knew about the existence of the demon Bill Cipher and other dangerous beings that Ford had encountered, your knowledge was often limited to what Ford told you. If you didn’t have all the information on these beings, how could you be expected to fight one? And what if one caught you alone? No, you didn’t dare think about it. If this Stanley Pines was to be trusted, you could see the benefits outweighing the costs of him staying. It’s not like Ford didn’t have the space.
After that incident, the following days were a whirlwind for you. The revelation of Ford having a long-lost brother that he hadn't talked to for 10 years was making your head spin. As it turned out, Stanley didn’t believe that Ford would have been able to dismantle the portal by himself. In actuality, he was half correct: Ford had been determined to destroy the portal, ultimately betrayed by the demon Bill Cipher and his false promises. Yet, Ford and Fiddleford hadn’t come up with a way to safely dismantle the portal. Stan’s mechanical expertise and fresh perspective had made him a natural addition to your team, despite Ford’s almost comical amount of reluctance.
Naturally, the twins’ reunion was awkward, and emotions ran high more often than not. However, with time and effort, the twins slowly stopped seeing each other as the enemy. Although you didn’t quite understand the complexities of their relationship, you hoped they both would realize that they meant more to each other than they thought. Slowly, the knots in the relationship started to untangle, and you witnessed the changes yourself: Stanley became less and less ill-tempered, and Ford became less and less standoffish, both of them managing to have real conversations every once in a while. Slowly, more and more of their true personalities started to shine through.
Nothing had surprised you more in life than meeting and befriending Stanley Pines. To put it lightly, the man looked like trouble. Despite having the same face as Ford, Stan seemed much more weathered by life. There was a glint in his eye that told you that he was smarter than he let on, that he wasn't easily fooled. He was intelligent in a unique way, despite his rough and disheveled appearance. You had always been rather intrigued by his dirty clothes and greasy hair ever since he first came to the shack. It made you want to ask about the life he'd been living. Once you found yourself listening to his stories, and once he'd cleaned up a bit, you found you almost couldn't pull away from him. Stan was magnetic, from his loud personality to his broad frame to his mullet that you surprisingly didn't hate. Even worse, you had begun to realize that he was an awful flirt.
You thought you had prepared yourself for any flirtatious advance, especially from men such as Stanley, who were so open about it. Never before had such things fazed you, but you found yourself blushing red when Stanley would add a cheesy pet name to the end of any request, calling you “doll” or “toots” as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Plus, how he smiled at you—like he knew the effect of his words—should have made you angry, but instead, you found yourself more embarrassed. Why would you react in this way? What was different about him? You couldn't escape him if you tried, whether you were getting distracted by him lifting heavy parts around the lab or finding yourself under his fearless protection whenever you needed to head into the woods. You were in over your head working with these three men, but that didn't stop you from doing your best work every day. After all, why else would Ford have kept you around?