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Fiddleford sat on his couch. It had been 3 months since his wife kicked him out. After the whole memory gun incident he had forgotten too many important things and she was done with him. He tried his hardest not to use it anymore but he also knew she probably will never take him back. It wasn’t even just about losing her, he also had now lost his son. His proudest achievement, his own blood, and now it was all gone. He let a tear roll down his face as he took another sip of bear. At least his memory had been getting better? The alcohol didn’t help much but it was also the only thing keeping him alive at this point. He reached for his remote but paused when he heard a knock on his door. He didn’t have anyone coming to visit and often door to door salesmen didn’t come by because he lived in an apartment. Granted it was the ground floor so there’s always a chance. He stood up and walked over to the door, begrudgingly opening it.
There stood a man, a familiar man. An old friend of Fiddlefords thought he was bigger and stronger looking and had a mullet? Before Fiddleford could fully grasp the situation the man spoke “Hello there my name is-”
“Ford? What in tarnation do you think you’re doing here?” Anger filled Fiddleford’s voice, this was his old research partner, his old best friend who had told him he was a no good hillbilly. Now he was somehow back and at his door. He slammed the door and turned around, what was happening, how did he find him?
There was another knock at the door. He wanted to scream, it was like everything awful was coming back to haunt him. He turned around and opened the door. “Stanford please just leave, I don’t get how you think it’s appropriate to come see me in my own home.” He tried to keep his cool, he just wanted this to be over.
“You know Stanford?” Fiddleford suddenly was confused, the man who looks practically the same as his old roommate, wasn’t? He looked at the man who also looked just as confused.
“Yer not Stanford?” They just stared at each other for a second. Fiddleford immediately felt embarrassed, maybe he was remembering Ford’s face wrong? But how did this guy know Stanford? Maybe it was a different Stanford?
“I’m not but he’s my brother, twin brother to be exact. My name is Stanley, I’m just a salesman right now.” Ohhhh this makes more sense, Fiddleford had remembered Ford mentioning a brother but it seemed like a touchy subject so it wasn’t brought up often. What an odd chance of fate, now this man was on his doorstep.
“I’ve actually heard of you before. I’m Fiddleford, your brother’s college roommate.” He suddenly found himself feeling nervous, had this guy heard of him before? Did Ford tell him awful thing about how he’s a terrible scientist.
“Seems like you two had some falling out though, mind if I ask about it? I haven’t exactly had contact with him in quite a few years and I just wanna know what’s up with him.” Stanley seemed a bit more nervous as well. This was some kind of strange coincidence but it was nice to have someone else to talk to.
“Yeah I can tell ya lots of stuff. Would you like to come inside?” Fiddleford opened the door a bit more. Maybe it was a bad idea to invite a stranger in but it’s not like he had any valuables inside and if he was somehow murdered nobody would mind.
“Sure, thanks.” Stanley walked inside and the two sat down. They talked for a bit, mainly Fiddleford explaining the portal and also some stories from when he and Ford were roommates. They laughed a bit and Stanley even talked about what had happened a bit. They both found a sort of comfort in each other's presence.
“Would you like a drink, Stanley? I only really have water and beer.” Fiddleford stood up, being able to talk had been really nice and he didn’t want his new friend(?) to leave.
“If you're offering I’ll definitely take a beer. Also feel free to just call me Stan.” He smiled at the hillbilly. Fiddleford felt his heart skip a beat, the way Stan had smiled at him and the way he spoke was so mesmerizing. He immediately walked into the kitchen, mentally scolding himself. He knew there was a time where he had a crush on Ford but his brother? They look similar so he’s probably just imagining it’s Ford, even if Stan is much more attractive and charming and somehow so similar but also so different. He grabbed two beers out of the fridge. Maybe he was going crazy, whatever it was he’d get over it.
He walked back out to the living room and handed Stan one of the beers. He sat down again and they both opened their respective drinks. “So what brings you to Tennessee?” Fiddleford asked, genuinely curious how this man ended up on his doorstep.
“Well like I said, I’m a door to door salesman so I travel to lots of different states.” Stan explained, taking a sip of his beer. Fiddleford tried not to stare but he found himself so transfixed on the man in front of him.
“Got a hotel around here then?” Fiddleford asked, what a weird question, why would he say that?
“Well not exactly, I’ve been living out of my car for the past few months. That reminds me I should probably leave soon, it’s getting kinda late.” Stan seemed a bit embarrassed of the predicament, probably not feeling so good about the obvious lack of money.
“Would you like to stay here for the night?” Another dumb question from Fiddleford. Why would he ask someone he just met to stay at his house? He probably thinks Fiddleford is so weird, why would he do that?
“Really? I mean I don’t want to intrude on your space.” It almost seemed as though there was a spark of happiness in Stan’s eyes. Fiddleford released the tenseness in his body he didn’t even know was there.
“I don’t mind. I get pretty lonely here anyways. You can just sleep on the couch if you don’t mind.” Fiddleford spoke, he felt a sort of excitement that Stan might stay with him. Stan smiled and accepted.
So that started a new friendship. Stan had gone to leave the next day but Fiddleford insisted he could stay as long as he liked on the one condition that he tries to get a better job. So here they were, having lived together for a whole month. Stan would sleep on the couch while Fiddleford slept in his bed. They both had recently gotten jobs, Stan worked at a movie theater while Fiddleford decided to get a job at the local library. He was sure he could have applied for something much more prestigious but he liked the idea of something simple and calm. It was a nice life just the two of them. Well when you put it that way it sounds romantic but it was 100% just two friends sharing a house.
Fiddleford sleepily opened his eyes, adjusting to the faint light coming in through the window. It must have been pretty early. He went to sit up and then noticed a pressure on his body. Oh, that’s right. Stan had been having trouble with the couch hurting his back so instead of spending more money on another bed they decided to just share a bed for the night to try it out. Honestly it was the best sleep Fiddleford had in a while, part way through the night Stan had ended up spooning the other man which was pleasantly comforting. Not in a weird way, it was just nice to be held. The arm around his waist suddenly started pulling away.
“Is it morning already Specs?” Ah the nickname that Stan had given Fiddleford that definitely didn’t fluster him every time he heard it.
“Yep, pretty early though it seems.” Fiddleford sat up and looked out the window, it seems the sun had risen just a little while ago, it was probably around 7. Stan groaned and rolled over, not seeming very willing to get up.
Instead of spending valuable time trying to wake his housemate up Fiddleford headed to the kitchen to make coffee. Trying to ignore all the thoughts in his head, the ones about how he had just spent the entire night being cuddled by the hottest man he’s ever seen. He knew that it wasn’t anything special, it was just two friends sharing a bed because they didn’t have a ton of money and it was more effective. He tried to clear his head as he boiled some water and brewed the coffee.
It wasn’t very long til Stan could smell coffee from the kitchen and reluctantly pulled himself out of bed. He sleepily walked to the kitchen and was greeted by Fiddleford making coffee, he was wearing a big shirt that he frequently slept in and a pair of pajama pants that made his ass look damn good. Stan tried not to stare, he was so lucky that he had met someone kind enough to let him pretty much move into their apartment but it was also unfair that this someone was incredibly cute.
“Finally awake I see?” Fiddleford said, setting one of the cups in his hand in front of Stan who didn’t reply and instead just took a sip.
“You have the weekend off right?” Stan asked, watching as Fiddleford sat down across from him and took a sip from his own coffee. While Stan’s only had a touch of sugar Fiddleford tended to put in quite a bit more as well as some creamer.
“Mhm today and Sunday I’m free.” He replied, happy to have some time away from the library, even if he did love it.
“I have an idea for tonight then.” Stan smirked as he set down his coffee. He had been waiting for a time he could ask this and now was his perfect chance.
“Oh? I don’t have anything planned for myself so I guess I’ll consider it. What is it exactly?” Fiddleford took another sip, curious about what his friend had planned. His mind briefly wandered before he pulled himself back to reality.
“I was thinking we could go to a nightclub.” Stan smiled and watched as Fiddleford nearly spit out his coffee in shock.
“You’re not serious are ya?!” Fiddleford was shocked, surely Stan wouldn’t want to take him somewhere like that. He looked at Stan's face and was only met with a smirk that nearly made him blush. “You are serious.”