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Description
The first night was hard for Ford, the male refusing to sleep even though his brother and Fiddleford begged with him until eventually they went to sleep. Ford used this time to look around his vastly expanded home, most of it the way he had left it all those years ago, save for several machines he had never seen before scattered about here and there and the large expansion where his old lab had once been. From what he could tell it was due to the two children that now lived on the upper level, Ford picking up a framed picture that showed Stanley, Dipper, Mabel and Fiddleford all smiling at the camera covered in snow. He placed it down and went out the slightly damaged front door, the entire building going to be needing some repair from the damage his machine had caused hours ago, Ford placing his hoodie back up as he disappeared into the darkness. The creatures whom he had befriended in days long by now were wary of him, even the gnomes who had been some of his longest friends not sure what to think of the man who had stepped back through the portal, the silent male walking until he found himself on a rocky outlook that gave him a fair view of the entirety of Gravity Falls. Taking a seat Ford pulled out his worn notebook that now never ran out of pages thanks to a little device he had picked up in some dimension years back, and began to draw the entire valley in as much detail as he could muster.

Dipper found him there hours later, some of the Manotaurs having pointed him out after a slightly panicking Stan and Fiddleford spent the morning tearing up the woods around the house.

“Great uncle Ford?” He wrung his hands as he cautiously approached the other male, who hadn’t even acknowledged Dipper’s presence as he continued to draw. The twelve-year-old stood behind him and watched him, texting Stan that he had found his brother and he was fine. Looking up from his phone Dipper yelped as Ford had moved in front of him and was looking at the device with a curious look without making a single sound, almost dropping the device has Ford not caught it. “Geeze!” Ford again didn’t acknowledge Dipper’s response, examining the phone in his hand and raising an eyebrow when it lit up to his touch and prompted for the login. Wordlessly he handed it out to Dipper, who slowly took it back as he looked at his second uncle.

“Are you okay Uncle Ford?”

“No…” He wasn’t going to lie to this child he could see little resemblances to himself and Stanley, sitting back in his spot without a sound.

“Well…Gruncle Stan is waiting for you at home…if you want to come back that is.” Dipper awkwardly said, pulling a blanket out of his bag and placing it beside his uncle before leaving back for his home, glancing back to see Ford hadn’t moved. Ford moved to put the blanket over himself when he was sure Dipper was gone, fingers running over the familiar fabric which had gone through the test of time since his farewell all those years ago rather unchanged. Time had no meaning as Ford continued to draw and sketch the sleepy town which was never that lively even during the day, glancing up when he heard the crunch of someone walking through the leaves and gravel behind him and stop just behind him.

“Come on poindexter, you need to eat.” Stanley grumbled, placing a thermos of coffee and a small bowl of chicken noodle soup on top of his journal before sitting down beside him. Ford glanced at the food before placing his book aside and beginning to eat rather voraciously, having been accustomed to not eating for rather long periods of time if he was in a bad spot. Stanley looked out over the valley as his brother ate, silent until Ford had stopped and looked out over the same view. “You really need to talk to me if you’re gonna up and leave the house. You really scared Fiddles, and do you know how long it takes to calm him down?” Ford glanced over, Stan shaking his head.

“After you…left, Fiddles had a mental breakdown. He literally almost tore the place down had I not stopped him, and I had to break his gun.” Stan shook his head, memories of Fiddleford being a sobbing wreck still fresh in his mind even thirty years later. “It took him a while to start helping me with the reconstruction of the portal. Now, you ready to come back or what?” Ford looked down at his notebook before closing it and placing it back into his bag, Stanley getting to his feet first and watching as his brother did the same, thermos in hand as he started off back for his former home silently. The younger twin sighed as they trekked back to the Shack, where Dipper and Mabel were playing some sort of game in the front part of the house with some fairies flying about the two. Fiddleford was reading a book on the porch, perking up a bit when the two entered the clearing, Stanley greeting the kids while Ford watched silently from under the shade.

“Oh Stanley you’ve been gone for quite a while; I was beginning to get worried.” Fiddleford smiled at the younger twin, who shrugged and motioned for Ford to follow him back into the house. Ford instead stared at the mechanic who stared back, albeit uncomfortably under the scrutinizing stare before Ford broke eye contact and went into the home without a word.

“Well he’s chatty.” Dipper broke the silence, wanting to follow the man he now knew to be the Author he had wanted to meet for so long but at the same time found himself apprehensive. Bill had done something so terrible Ford was no longer the person his grunkle and long-term family friend had known, and this scared Dipper. He knew Bill was evil, but had no idea how evil he really was until Ford came back as living proof that demons existed and Bill was extremely dangerous, the whole game they had been playing no longer cat and mouse, but life and death.

“Give it time kid…give it time.” Stan grumbled, watching as Fiddleford went inside quietly without the kids noticing. “Come on, let’s go get some ice-cream huh? I’ll even pay this time.” The twelve year olds grinned and raced each other to the car, Stan taking a last glance at the house before following after, yelling at them good-naturedly. Ford was sitting in the middle of the living room when Fiddleford came across him, the male methodically taking off his various gear and coat to reveal the torn and worn shirt and pants he had for the last thirty years. On the shirt were long jagged claw marks, which showed even more scaring that had been hidden up until that point much to Fiddleford’s horror as he slowly stepped closer to the twin. Ford paused as he heard the soft footsteps which stopped right behind him, not even reacting as the mechanic kneeled down and gently touched one of the long, almost intricate scars that ended just above his lower back.

“Oh Ford…I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t.” He shook his head, watching as Fiddleford moved to be in front of him, those big brown eyes shining with concern and regret. Ford slowly reached out and gently caressed his face, thumb running over the short but well-groomed beard he had grown over the years. “My fault…”

“You’re not all to blame, the three of us were all caught up in trying to be at the forefront of our field. We were all blinded….” Ford shook his head again, Fiddleford sitting in front of the researcher with his hands clasped.

“I…summoned. I…was greedy…” Ford hadn’t spoken in a very long time, not since he had been last tortured almost twenty-five years previous and even then his screams had done lasting damage to his vocal chords that would take a long time to reverse, if at all. “I paid…”

“No, you were taken advantage of Ford. That…thing took your hopes and twisted them into something for his gain. You were tricked, its all of his fault, not yours.” Fiddleford said sternly, taking the other six-fingered hand into his own and pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. “It wasn’t your fault at all.” Ford looked like he was about to argue the point but kept silent, merely enjoying the feeling of Fiddleford’s hands on his own and the loving way he pressed little kisses as if stopping would cause Ford to vanish. Fiddleford looked up when he felt Ford’s hand go slack, the researcher fast asleep still sitting up and holding onto the mechanic who merely smiled and helped him lie back in front of the cozy fire that was keeping the room nice and warm despite the summer day. Dipper, Mabel and Stan returned to find the two fast asleep on the floor, Ford curled around his former partner with an almost possessive grip as if Fiddleford would disappear during his rest. Mabel placed some pillows under their heads as the three left them to sleep for as long as they desired.

Ford for once had no nightmares, though this wouldn’t be for long.

Description
The first night was hard for Ford, the male refusing to sleep even though his brother and Fiddleford begged with him until eventually they went to sleep. Ford used this time to look around his vastly expanded home, most of it the way he had left it all those years ago, save for several machines he had never seen before scattered about here and there and the large expansion where his old lab had once been. From what he could tell it was due to the two children that now lived on the upper level, Ford picking up a framed picture that showed Stanley, Dipper, Mabel and Fiddleford all smiling at the camera covered in snow. He placed it down and went out the slightly damaged front door, the entire building going to be needing some repair from the damage his machine had caused hours ago, Ford placing his hoodie back up as he disappeared into the darkness. The creatures whom he had befriended in days long by now were wary of him, even the gnomes who had been some of his longest friends not sure what to think of the man who had stepped back through the portal, the silent male walking until he found himself on a rocky outlook that gave him a fair view of the entirety of Gravity Falls. Taking a seat Ford pulled out his worn notebook that now never ran out of pages thanks to a little device he had picked up in some dimension years back, and began to draw the entire valley in as much detail as he could muster.

Dipper found him there hours later, some of the Manotaurs having pointed him out after a slightly panicking Stan and Fiddleford spent the morning tearing up the woods around the house.

“Great uncle Ford?” He wrung his hands as he cautiously approached the other male, who hadn’t even acknowledged Dipper’s presence as he continued to draw. The twelve-year-old stood behind him and watched him, texting Stan that he had found his brother and he was fine. Looking up from his phone Dipper yelped as Ford had moved in front of him and was looking at the device with a curious look without making a single sound, almost dropping the device has Ford not caught it. “Geeze!” Ford again didn’t acknowledge Dipper’s response, examining the phone in his hand and raising an eyebrow when it lit up to his touch and prompted for the login. Wordlessly he handed it out to Dipper, who slowly took it back as he looked at his second uncle.

“Are you okay Uncle Ford?”

“No…” He wasn’t going to lie to this child he could see little resemblances to himself and Stanley, sitting back in his spot without a sound.

“Well…Gruncle Stan is waiting for you at home…if you want to come back that is.” Dipper awkwardly said, pulling a blanket out of his bag and placing it beside his uncle before leaving back for his home, glancing back to see Ford hadn’t moved. Ford moved to put the blanket over himself when he was sure Dipper was gone, fingers running over the familiar fabric which had gone through the test of time since his farewell all those years ago rather unchanged. Time had no meaning as Ford continued to draw and sketch the sleepy town which was never that lively even during the day, glancing up when he heard the crunch of someone walking through the leaves and gravel behind him and stop just behind him.

“Come on poindexter, you need to eat.” Stanley grumbled, placing a thermos of coffee and a small bowl of chicken noodle soup on top of his journal before sitting down beside him. Ford glanced at the food before placing his book aside and beginning to eat rather voraciously, having been accustomed to not eating for rather long periods of time if he was in a bad spot. Stanley looked out over the valley as his brother ate, silent until Ford had stopped and looked out over the same view. “You really need to talk to me if you’re gonna up and leave the house. You really scared Fiddles, and do you know how long it takes to calm him down?” Ford glanced over, Stan shaking his head.

“After you…left, Fiddles had a mental breakdown. He literally almost tore the place down had I not stopped him, and I had to break his gun.” Stan shook his head, memories of Fiddleford being a sobbing wreck still fresh in his mind even thirty years later. “It took him a while to start helping me with the reconstruction of the portal. Now, you ready to come back or what?” Ford looked down at his notebook before closing it and placing it back into his bag, Stanley getting to his feet first and watching as his brother did the same, thermos in hand as he started off back for his former home silently. The younger twin sighed as they trekked back to the Shack, where Dipper and Mabel were playing some sort of game in the front part of the house with some fairies flying about the two. Fiddleford was reading a book on the porch, perking up a bit when the two entered the clearing, Stanley greeting the kids while Ford watched silently from under the shade.

“Oh Stanley you’ve been gone for quite a while; I was beginning to get worried.” Fiddleford smiled at the younger twin, who shrugged and motioned for Ford to follow him back into the house. Ford instead stared at the mechanic who stared back, albeit uncomfortably under the scrutinizing stare before Ford broke eye contact and went into the home without a word.

“Well he’s chatty.” Dipper broke the silence, wanting to follow the man he now knew to be the Author he had wanted to meet for so long but at the same time found himself apprehensive. Bill had done something so terrible Ford was no longer the person his grunkle and long-term family friend had known, and this scared Dipper. He knew Bill was evil, but had no idea how evil he really was until Ford came back as living proof that demons existed and Bill was extremely dangerous, the whole game they had been playing no longer cat and mouse, but life and death.

“Give it time kid…give it time.” Stan grumbled, watching as Fiddleford went inside quietly without the kids noticing. “Come on, let’s go get some ice-cream huh? I’ll even pay this time.” The twelve year olds grinned and raced each other to the car, Stan taking a last glance at the house before following after, yelling at them good-naturedly. Ford was sitting in the middle of the living room when Fiddleford came across him, the male methodically taking off his various gear and coat to reveal the torn and worn shirt and pants he had for the last thirty years. On the shirt were long jagged claw marks, which showed even more scaring that had been hidden up until that point much to Fiddleford’s horror as he slowly stepped closer to the twin. Ford paused as he heard the soft footsteps which stopped right behind him, not even reacting as the mechanic kneeled down and gently touched one of the long, almost intricate scars that ended just above his lower back.

“Oh Ford…I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t.” He shook his head, watching as Fiddleford moved to be in front of him, those big brown eyes shining with concern and regret. Ford slowly reached out and gently caressed his face, thumb running over the short but well-groomed beard he had grown over the years. “My fault…”

“You’re not all to blame, the three of us were all caught up in trying to be at the forefront of our field. We were all blinded….” Ford shook his head again, Fiddleford sitting in front of the researcher with his hands clasped.

“I…summoned. I…was greedy…” Ford hadn’t spoken in a very long time, not since he had been last tortured almost twenty-five years previous and even then his screams had done lasting damage to his vocal chords that would take a long time to reverse, if at all. “I paid…”

“No, you were taken advantage of Ford. That…thing took your hopes and twisted them into something for his gain. You were tricked, its all of his fault, not yours.” Fiddleford said sternly, taking the other six-fingered hand into his own and pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. “It wasn’t your fault at all.” Ford looked like he was about to argue the point but kept silent, merely enjoying the feeling of Fiddleford’s hands on his own and the loving way he pressed little kisses as if stopping would cause Ford to vanish. Fiddleford looked up when he felt Ford’s hand go slack, the researcher fast asleep still sitting up and holding onto the mechanic who merely smiled and helped him lie back in front of the cozy fire that was keeping the room nice and warm despite the summer day. Dipper, Mabel and Stan returned to find the two fast asleep on the floor, Ford curled around his former partner with an almost possessive grip as if Fiddleford would disappear during his rest. Mabel placed some pillows under their heads as the three left them to sleep for as long as they desired.

Ford for once had no nightmares, though this wouldn’t be for long.