"…but when the summer's over, you give me my house back, you give me my name back, and this Mystery Shack junk is over forever. You got it?"
Stan looked taken aback, which irritated Ford even further; honestly, what had he been expecting? That he'd be happy about coming home to find that his entire identity had been stolen and turned into a freak show? That was ridiculous even for Stanley. So it was better to get things straight with him now, and then once summer was over Ford could start getting his life back on track-
"No."
It took Ford a moment to register what his brother had just said. He blinked for a taken-aback second, and stared owl-eyed at Stan, whose expression had turned from surprised and hurt into something far more stubborn.
"No?!" he finally spluttered. "What do you mean no?!"
"It's the opposite of yes. I thought you remembered that from English class, Stanford." Stan's calm, quiet tone only infuriated him further.
"You can't tell me no! I'm telling you that I need-"
"I heard you the first time. And I'm telling you that I'm not doing that." His position shifted faintly, until he looked like he was bracing himself for another fight. "I'm not giving up my house or my job. Not ever again."
"This is my house!" Ford snapped. "I have every legal right-"
"Who's gonna believe you over me?"
Ford froze, and made a sound like a kind of strangled snarl in the back of his throat.
Stan just glared at him, not looking smug so much as…resolute. "Everyone in this town knows who I am, knows that this is my place. And they don't know you from Adam. If things got legal, you wouldn't stand a chance."
"Then I'll-"
"You'll what?" Suddenly Stan was right in his face, forcing him to take a small step back. "Beat me up some more? Shoot me?" Even closer, until they were practically nose to nose. "Go ahead."
And then he pulled away and marched for the stairs, leaving Ford seething in fury and disbelief behind him.
Stan's stomach twisted with an uncomfortable cocktail of rage, hurt and guilt.
Had he really just said all that?
Had he actually threatened to steal Ford's identity again, but for real this time?
This was a mistake, he'd gone too far and he knew it, he should just turn back now and-
And what?
It was far, far too late to apologize. Besides, Ford had made it pretty clear what Stan's desire to fix things was worth to him.
With a sinking heart he continued heading upstairs, to try and get away from the mess that was all that remained of his greatest achievement.
