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The summer wind greets ford when he exits through the screendoor of the backyard.
"Heya sixer" stanley greets ford with a smile.
Ford sees stanley sitting in the couch, relaxed with a can of pitt cola in his hand. Wearing his wifebeater and boxers like usual whenever they are closed or during the weekdays.
"Watchu' doin' out her-"
"Stanley"
Fords words are cold, directly cutting off stan, who is now suprised by the sudden tone of his twin brother. Stan's laxed posture suddenly stiffened and sweat slowly build up at the crease of his forehead, maintaining his usual bravado while trying to think of what have happened to make his brother like this
"H-hey, if your talking about that possum slash turtle slash fish taxidermy this morning, maybe you should, i dunno, chill on that? It eats up the dumbasses' wallets" stan rambles, somewhat nervous of what Ford is entailing about
"You should making one sometime, it could be fu-"
"Stanley, let's talk"
Crap what'd i do this time stan thinks
"I've been meaning to.... talk to you for a while now since I've been back to this dimension" the words felt raw in Ford's mouth. He knows this is definitely his dimension, yet somehow he's still not used to all of it.
30 years of running into many dimensions. Seeing a few being identical to his original dimension but with slight variations, all the way to entirely different ones where he would've have studied in West Coast Tech.
His dimension, his own home, his research now used as props for a tourist trap. His brother.
"W-whatcha wanna talk about Poindexter? If its still about the dea-"
"Its not about the deal stanley" Ford corrects him
"Oh, so what is it then?"
Ford pauses for a second "When I've heard about you slaving away 30 years, 3 whole decades of learning theoretical physics and engineering, just to fix the portal and get me back, it really questions me why" Ford asks Stanley.
Stan's head tilts slightly to the side, making a dumbfounded face as if his brother asked him a basic 1 + 1 arithmetic question
"Why i wasted 30 years of my life just to save my nerdy and hardheaded twin brother? It's because you're family!"
"And that was risky of you! You saw the warnings yet you've still pushed through and put the whole world in danger!"
"And i will put it in danger again if it means saving your dense ass again!" Stans angrily replies. They already done this singsong dance before, he wonders why his brother is bringing it up again
"And thats not all! You've wasted practically your whole middle adulthood just for one person! Im not worth the whole worl-"
"Shut the fuck up if you think your not worth it at all sixer" Stan cuts him off. Although he's angry, he'd rather relax under the setting sun in the couch with his twin brother than hear any self-deprecating words from his own brothers mouth
"Thats what I want to talk about" Ford resigns with a sigh "any normal family member would just leave behind all of this after a year or so, but you still kept on going and used up 30. Whole. Years. Just to get me back"
"...what are you trying to say sixer?" Stan is much more confused with what his brother is implying. He's also isn't comfortable with where this conversation is heading.
"Stanley" Ford spoke, much firmer now, with much more resolve.
"I want you to answer me honestly. Don't try to run or deflect it this time"
Stan is much more nervous now. If he isn't sweating his undershirt before, he's definitely is getting it wet around the neck area and pits now
Stanley brings the can near his mouth, trying to wet his now drying mouth from the awkwardness "H-ha, what's with the serious face poindexter? You look like your about to ask me if i killed anyone yet? For your information i haven-"
"Do you love me?"
Stan chokes on his pitt cola "w-wha?"
"Answer the question Stanley"
"Of course i love ya, you're my brother, why wouldn't i-"
"I don't mean it in a familial or brotherly way. I'll repeat myself, do you, or do you not love me? Not as a brother, but as another man?"
Stanley's eyes are now darting anywhere other than his brother's own eyes, anywhere from the screen door, to the trees, even the wooden support beams that are now slightly covered with rot and dents from years of holding up his home. Ford home. Their home
Stan tries to think of something "H-ha-hahhaha funny joke Ford. Did mabel forced ya into this? Is this like a dare? Like a-a prank? If so then whatever you're doing it's definitely wor-"
"Please don't insult my intelligence Stanley. I may be socially inept when it comes to making new connections with other people, but im not that dumb to not notice it" Ford pinches the bridge between his eyes, not out of annoyance, but rather a look of resign and maybe a bit of exhaustion
"Besides, I've known about it since we were kids Stanley. Don't think I wouldn't notice those looks and glaces you've thrown at me when we were 15."
"....what are you trying to get out of this Ford?" Stan speaks defensively, in a slightly quiter tone "What would you benefit from asking me that?"
"You could've gotten yourself a family Stan. You couldve, what? Got yourself another man instead to explore the world in a boat."
"....you really are a dense fucker aren't ya?"
Ford's mouth is slightly agape by Stan's statement "e-excuse me?!"
"You should've learned by then that it isn't about the boat sixer" Stan speaks, now with much more exhaustion. He wonders for a second if he should keep on continuing this
"It was about us, us two against the world"
"B-but it doesn't make sense! You know how I've treated you before! You know i could've stopped pa from kicking you out!" Stan slightly winced from the mention of their father. I'd rather not think about him right now
"So why!? Why go all of that-"
"Because I love you Ford"
.
The silence stretches far longer than they're are comfortable with. Stanley, the ever initiator between the two started slowly with a voice slightly louder than a whisper spoke "..it's because love ya you nerd"
Ford blinks at the revelation "..as a brother?" He asked, not because he didn't heard it the first time, but out of confirmation.
"As another man" Stanley sounding much more defeated and tired. He wonders why his brother is asking him this now. Why couldn't he just let go and move on with their lives, with his other twin not learning about this secret from him at all.
"B-but your my brother Stanley. Your my other half, my flesh and blood relative, so why-"
"I love ya, S' simple as that!" Stanley spoke, much louder this time. Why can't i catch a break anymore
"B-but theres nothing notable about me. Everyone sees me as-" Ford glances at his fingers, clenching them tightly "-as a freak.."
"Ha, if it makes you feel any better, then im also a freak for having romantically incestuous feelings for my own flesh and blood of a brother" Stanley jokes. He knows it isn't a good time for it, but he doesn't know what else to say in this kind of situation.
"....i have to go" Ford tries to turn away, reaching for the screen door when suddenly something grabs hold onto the other sleeve of his trench coat
"Sixer please wait, at least let us tal-"
"Please let me go Stanley" Ford said, matter-of-factly. He didn't mean it to sound cold, but he's still processing the information in his head. "Let's talk about this another time" or never at all
The hurt in Stan's eyes are visible. With an audible sigh, he Let's go of his brother "....alright"
Ford quickly opens the screendoor and walks toward the vending machine. He closes the machine behind him and slowly slumps to the floor, his back behind the wall.
He sighs, slowly taking out something from the inner pockets of his coat. He unfolded a faded picture of him and Stan when they were kids, playing on top of the stan o' war
It was never about the boat
Ford sighs what couldve been his 50th sigh this week and folded the picture again, sliding it back into the pockets of his coat. The picture held a significant meaning when he was stuck in the other side, keeping him grounded whenever the situation got harder. Now it held a completely different meaning with his newfound information, making the faded and wrinkled photo harder to look at.
-
-
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Stanley still looked shocked by what has happened. Granted it's still within the realm of being bearable, but it doesn't make it hurt any less.
He still watches the door, hoping that Ford will come back through and apologize, maybe for being too straightforward with his questions and asking about his sexuality. Maybe about how he has treated Stanley these past few days. Maybe even reciproca-
The sound of a click from the vending machine took Stanley off from his trance-like state, only now having reality set him in with what has just transpired
He's disgusted with me
He hated me
He'll live me all alone again
Stan tries to shake these feelings off. Of course his brother wouldn't be like that
Wouldn't he?
Oh god what have i done
Slowly he rises off the couch after sitting for what have felt like hours. He threw the half-finshed can into the nearby bin, missing it entirely, and made his way through the stairs.
The kids have been out to have a sleepover at soos, so he doesn't worry about making dinner, knowing he wouldn't have the appetite for it now
And not like Ford would want me to barge in again into his lab Stan thought to himself maybe he doesn't want me near him anymore at all, thinking I'd do things to him and
He knows he shouldn't have these kinds of thoughts. He knows he isn't that kind of person. He knows Ford is forgivi
Is he though?
He hasn't said sorry about the time he punched Stan in the face when he came back through the portal. He hasn't said sorry about the time the kids used the mind-controlling tie on him. He never said thank you, even when he called him in to bury his crappy research journals all those years ago
Stan opened the door to his room and slumped into the Single-sized bed. He willfully blinks away the prickling sensation thats slowly blossoming behind his eyelids
What is wrong with me
Why am i such a freak for being in love with my brother?
Im already a dumb, idiotic, no-brainer screw up
Where have things gone wrong?
Was it me?
Maybe i shouldn't have been too close to him
Maybe i shouldn't-
He lied on his side and slowly curled up, silently sobbing and letting tears flow down to his cheeks, all the way to the pillows. He slowly dreamed a dreamless dream. Dreaming about nothing.