#old!ford

He really didn’t know what had caused it, but one second he was leaning back against the counter, a fresh cup of coffee in hand, teasing Stan about some tv show or cartoon he had caught the other watching long after the kids had left the shack for California, when his stomach gave an uncertain lurch, washing itself over with nausea and then…he was blearily opening his eyes, the side of his face stinging and everything in a familiar blur that his eyes naturally adjusted to once glasses were gone.

The first few days that he was back in the house (Shack?) was…strained at best. Coming through the portal the way he had-and the subsequent bouts of paranoia that he was hearing things certainly didn’t help.

He hadn’t explained in full what all had gone on yet, and part of that was just pure exhaustion. He knew he needed some semblance of sleep, it wasn’t that Bill was inside his head, that couldn’t happen anymore, and he knew the difference, but the night terrors were just endless.

Hearing that come from Stan though…and at this hour…he must look like absolute garbage. “…I’ll make do. You don’t need to sacrifice a night of sleep over it.” He murmured, trying to not seem hostile or short, that was the last thing he wanted.

Ford Pines would be lying to himself if he said that he hadn’t really ‘dated’ before. He had, especially in college, but those were best left to the dusty rooms in the back of his mind. Still, if asked he would shrug and make some non-committal answer.

...then there was Bill. Somehow throughout the years he had developed a strange-and more than likely unhealthy-dependence on the demon. Whether it was for reassurance or something to fight against, Bill was without a doubt the most...consistent thing in his life.

So after a few months without the demon he found the relief that he had originally had...was gnawed through by a deeply-rooted ache of loneliness, which only grew worse at the sailing trip. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed himself, he hadn’t felt that happy in decades...but there was still this ache...as soon as they returned back to the shack he went straight for the woods...a stupid idea forming in his mind.

Not soon after Bill Cipher was back in the land of the living. It took time...but they had somehow reached an agreement-and while Ford knew somewhere that it was probably forced-see completely faked-but he couldn’t help himself. Stan had begrudgingly accepted-without really knowing WHO ‘Billy’ truly was, but when it came to the kids...and them coming by for an extended visit without him realizing...he couldn’t help but panic. 

The moment he heard a mixture of yells of Grunkle Ford-one voice cracking but still managing to deepen-he practically choked on the damn swig of coffee from the umpteenth cup of it for the day. Eyes moving upstairs and instantly turning to the other in the lab, today looking more punk, of which he would rather keep his excitement about that as hidden as possible, worry however was clearly settling into his system. 

“...what do I do?” He finally asked, his meaning probably not as clear as he hoped it would.

@bannedinmoststates

It took the older Pines twins nearly a year to get out to sea. In between planning and finances and unforeseen issues that typically popped up in daily life…it took time to make sure everything was right.

And right it was, two sixty somethings out in a sailboat by theirselves…it should have been the perfect way to bond again. Things might not be able to be fixed from well over 40 years of bitterness…but it was a start.

They had been out maybe two weeks when things got a little…tense. To be fair-Ford couldn’t even remember what the argument was ABOUT. Something in the back of his head said direction-and that wouldn’t surprise him any.

Which was exactly why he was sitting on the deck just watching the waves break against the side of the boat. He didn’t sleep often anyway…and Stanley’s horrendous snoring-which he would have thought would get BETTER with age instead of the other way around-could only be tolerated so much.

It would be his luck that the ONE night he was the only one not deep in a REM cycle that a less than usual creature or four-he lost count-would be interested in their little boat. The first head that popped up not mere inches from his hand practically made the old scientist jump out of his skin-a strangled yelp of surprise making it’s way out as he jumped away from the edge, thumping rather harshly on the wood...that would be a bruise.

A sharp toothed grin poked put of the water at him, set on what would normally be a rather pretty…but half staved looking…woman’s face.

Ford understood a kid’s need for cash during weekends. He really did, so, when Wendy asked Stan to work doing whatever during the school-year he vouched for her, or tried too anyway. They had gotten the sailing out of their system, and weren’t doing anything substantial anyway…having another hand around couldn’t hurt. 

It worked well, atleast he thought it was anyway. Even if it wasn’t ‘peak’ Mystery Shack season, he tried to find things for the red-headed teen to do, Soos had the ‘attraction’ under control. Just small things, helping clean this or organize that…finding things that had been stuffed into closets…

Speaking of things lost to the maze of a shack, the man had been feeling slightly antsy as of late…for the longest he couldn’t figure out why. He had been spacing out time with people and time alone, sleeping and eating on a decent enough schedule…but then he realized that he hadn’t been able to curl up with some music.

So, he made it his sworn duty to find his old record player and vinyls. Wendy had all but snorted…old man music after all and you can just go online, etc, etc. And he could but…he liked the crackling noise that a record player made, he was not just being a ‘stubborn old-fart’. 

It had taken HOURS to find the stupid thing, and even longer to hook everything back up the way it should be, rewiring it to not spark when plugged in..that sort of thing. He put on the first record they found and settled down deeming it a success. And true, the teen seemed a bit more drowsy than usual, but he hadn’t thought much about it until she curled up and promptly passed out, head in his lap.