AN – I wrote this as a contest entry for a writing Discord server I'm a part of. It was partially inspired by a comic I found on Pinterest. If you're curious, just PM me. :)

I hope you enjoy! :)

Happy Birthday

The first thought that was on Stanford Pines' mind as soon as he woke up was the project he was working on with his roommate, Fiddleford McGucket.

It was for a robotics class and Fiddleford was quite excited about it. And even though Stanford himself wasn't in this class as he was learning about mathematics and physics, he was alright with helping Fiddleford out. It was probably a good thing that he did anyways, seeing as how despite the fact that Fiddleford's a fellow genius just like Stanford, he sometimes gets carried away with the big picture.

As such, Stanford's main role was in helping him with the little kinks and quirks of his plans that he might otherwise miss.

It was rewarding work but also rather exhausting and they both knew it, seeing as how they often fell asleep at their desks instead of in their beds.

Neither of them particularly minded, though.

Their work often took them to the library, where a calm, quiet and thoughtful space allowed them to think and work in relative peace. It also helped that they were surrounded by books that could help them with something they needed to look up.

And it was here that they currently found themselves.

Fiddleford settled down at a table and pulled out what they were working on, as well as a small radio for them to listen to as background noise. In the meantime, Stanford pulled out their plans and blueprints as he sat down beside him.

Once they were settled, Fiddleford turned on the radio and tuned it to a station they usually listened to while they worked and then they got down to business.

However, as the time passed, Stanford eventually began to get a nagging feeling that he was forgetting something. And the more he tried to ignore it, the more persistent it became.

He grew concerned enough that he asked, "Hey, Fiddleford?"

"Hm?"

"Do we… have everything we need?"

Fiddleford furrowed his brow. "Of course, we do. We can double-check though if you'd like."

Stanford nodded and they quickly ran through their supplies and lists, only to find that they did indeed have everything.

"Well, we aren't missing anything. Does that help?"

Stanford attempted to smile but frowned again when the nagging feeling got even worse.

"Hey, you alright there, Stanford?"

He sighed. "I'm not sure… I just have this feeling that I'm forgetting something."

Fiddleford made a thoughtful sound before he smiled and told him, "Well, try not to worry your head off. It'll come to you in time."

Stanford managed a more genuine smile as he nodded and they got back to work.

It did kind of distract him and they managed to make some good progress on their project, even though the feeling never truly went away.

Eventually, twenty minutes had past and so they decided to take a short break.

This entailed of leisurely reading a book of advanced math skills and physics.

Well, for two geniuses, it was leisurely.

Stanford was beginning to wind down and was even starting to enjoy himself when he heard the song on the radio in the background.

He had just reached for his water, when he overheard the word "birthday" during the song's chorus.

This made him pause.

Wait… birthday?

He frowned again, wracking his brain as to why that word in particular stood out to him, but he wasn't quite able to figure it out at first…

And then, it suddenly struck him as his eyes widened and a pit formed in his stomach.

Oh…

"Hm? Stanford, you're looking quite pale there. Is everything alright?"

Stanford cleared his throat and shook his head to clear his thoughts and attempted to smile. "Y-Yes. Sorry, I just…"

He trailed off and Fiddleford, ever the observant one, quietly asked him, "You just remembered what you were forgetting, didn't you?"

Stanford shakily nodded. "Yes…"

Fiddleford patiently waited as he gathered his thoughts and then told him, "Fiddleford… it's my birthday today."

His eyes grew almost comically large and he suddenly grinned and exclaimed, "Well, hot dog! That sure is something!"

Stanford chuckled uneasily before gently shushing him, "Settle down Fiddleford, we're still in a library."

Fiddleford laughed, "Sorry, Stanford. I'm just a tad surprised. Has college life and all our projects and homework really scrambled your brain so much that you can't even remember your own birthday?"

Stanford let out another chuckle. "I-I guess so."

Fiddleford chuckled along with him before asking, "Well, did you want to celebrate it, then?"

Stanford forced a smile, a little uncomfortable at the thought of celebrating his birthday, especially without…

He cleared his throat as he attempted to dispel the bad memories and said, "No, I think I'm good. You don't need to get me a present or throw a huge party or anything like that."

Fiddleford raised an eyebrow. "Really now?"

Stanford nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yes. I'm too old for parties now and I can't even think of something I could get as a present right now other than finishing my classes, which won't be for a while."

Fiddleford nodded. "Yeah, that's a good point."

He paused for a moment to think before saying, "Well, how about we just have a celebratory drink tonight, just the two of us, to celebrate your birthday and that'll be it? Does that sound good?"

Stanford still wasn't very keen on the idea of celebrating his birthday today but knew that it would be rude to turn down Fiddleford's idea, especially since he was only trying to bring a brief respite to their busy and hectic schedule.

"You know what, sure. So long as it's only a drink and nothing else, I'm in."

Fiddleford smiled. "That's the spirit."

The rest of the day passed by without any incident. They went to their classes, did their homework, and worked on their project before school was over.

And soon enough, it was time.

Fiddleford got them a nice bottle of "rich people water" and poured them each a glass.

"A toast!" He dramatically declared. "To Stanford Pines and his birthday!"

Stanford chuckled, still a little uncomfortable but somewhat enjoying himself despite that.

They ate their dinner and sipped their water while talking about various subjects, such as the work and projects they were doing as well as their plans for the future.

"…and I've already asked her out." Fiddleford was saying, smiling. "I gave her time to think about it, but I'm hoping she'll say yes."

Stanford smiled. "That's wonderful, Fiddleford. I'm happy for you."

Fiddleford rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed as he blushed. "Thanks."

Soon after, he asked Stanford, "So, what are your plans for the future?"

Stanford sighed and thought for a moment before saying, "Well, I'm hoping to eventually be able to get a grant which I can use to research a subject once college is over."

"I see. And what about starting a family? Do you have any interest in that?"

Stanford chuckled. "No, I think I'll pass there. I'm not really romantically inclined. I've had some interest in girls before, but it never really worked out."

Fiddleford went quiet before asking him, "If you don't mind me asking, is it because of your six fingers?"

Stanford hesitated before nodding. "I was often picked on in school for having extra fingers."

Fiddleford solemnly nodded before saying, "I understand. I was often bullied as well, mainly for the odd way I speak sometimes and my intellect back in middle school. Still, I don't think it was as bad as you must've had it."

Stanford nodded. "Yeah…"

Afterwards, they both finished their drinks and said goodnight to each other.

This was one of the rare instances in which Stanford was actually going to be able to fall asleep in his bed, but as he laid down, he found he was struggling to calm his thoughts.

I can't believe I forgot that it was my birthday today.

He somewhat understood why. As Fiddleford had said, college life was crowding around in his thoughts and as such, he was almost always thinking about his grades, his homework, and his classes.

He never really paid much attention to life outside of his work, even though he probably should.

But it wasn't just the fact that he forgot about his birthday that was bugging him.

It was also because for the first time since he'd arrived at Backupsmore, he was reminded of his twin brother, Stanley.

Obviously sharing a birthday, this was the first time he'd spent it away from his brother.

Stanford almost caught himself beginning to miss Stanley, which he supposed was only natural. Given what day it was and the fact that he hadn't seen his brother in almost a year, it wasn't too unusual to begin missing him.

But then he remembered his perpetual motion machine, his brother's part in breaking it, and his unwillingness to apologize for doing so. And he felt the very same frustration, anger, and betrayal he'd felt that awful day he was rejected from his dream college and he confronted Stanley about it.

Was letting their father disown him and kick him out of the house overreacting? Yes, it probably was. And yet, Stanford still couldn't help but wonder sometimes what would've happened if Stanley had just been honest with him from the start and told him what had happened instead of trying to cover up his tracks when something had clearly gone wrong with his experiment.

Maybe Stanford wouldn't have gotten so angry at Stanley. Maybe Stanley wouldn't have been kicked out. And maybe he wouldn't have been rejected for something that wasn't even his fault in the first place.

Sure, Backupsmore University wasn't a bad school to go to in order to get his degree, but he still found himself occasionally wondering what getting into West Coast Tech would've been like…

He tried not to think about it too hard, as it just depressed him.

Instead, he tried to think of his relatively bright future, his friend Fiddleford, and how his teachers were all impressed with his high grades. Sure, they were most likely impressed because it made Backupsmore look good, despite being everybody's second choice for a college. But still, it made Stanford feel great, that he was doing so well in his assignments and homework.

Smiling a little to himself, he eventually found himself drifting off.

However, his sleep wasn't a very restful one that night as he dreamed of Stanley.

Some of them were memories, when they were both young boys with their whole future ahead of them and big dreams to go sailing around the world on the Stan 'o' War. And, of course, some of these said memories centered around their birthday.

Never really having very many friends, they usually didn't have any big birthday parties for themselves, but they still made the most of it, and enjoyed their big day whenever it came around.

And some of the other dreams he had were of what could've been.

His brother by his side, him becoming a world-famous scientist from West Coast Tech, making his parents proud, and even showing all of the bullies who harassed him as a kid how even a freak like him could be successful, despite how they told him he'd never amount to anything despite his intellect.

It was no surprise to Stanford that when he woke up, his eyes were glassy and his cheeks tear stained.

Taking a few deep breaths, he got up, composed himself as best he could, and prepared to get ready for the day.

He had more important things to do with his time then worry about what-if's, after all.

And so, as the years passed, Stanford paid his birthday no mind.

For the rest of his time in Backupsmore, he and Fiddleford shared a drink and a nice chat whenever his birthday rolled around but that was it. Fiddleford was a good friend who didn't push him to do something he didn't want to, and who didn't surprise him with something like a party.

For that, Stanford was only grateful.

After college, though, it was a different story.

Stanford refused to celebrate it without Stanley or Fiddleford by his side, and so he focused on his work in Gravity Falls as he researched it's anomalies.

And then, when the whole business with Bill Cipher and the portal happened, Stanford never even once thought about his birthday has he spent the next thirty years hopping from dimension to dimension.

As such, he had no time to even think about his birthday, let alone celebrate it.

Eventually, he was returned home and began to focus on taking Bill Cipher down once and for all.

Through a series of events, in which both brothers put aside their differences from the past, they were finally able to defeat Bill and prevent his reign of chaos on the world and potentially even the universe.

It was less than a month later that they found themselves on their boat, the Stan 'o' War II, finally doing what they always wanted to do and sail around the world, looking for treasure (in Stanley's case), and any kind of new discovery (in Stanford's case).

As it happened, they eventually agreed to discuss and come to terms with the various things that had happened during their forty-year separation.

Stanley talked about his poverty and the hardships he went through, Stanford talked about his experiences with Bill and then they both filled each other in on what had happened during the thirty years Stanford was travelling between dimensions.

Eventually, Stanford got curious and proceeded to ask him:

"Hey Stanley?"

"Yeah?"

He hesitated briefly before carefully asking him, "…How did you celebrate our birthday during our separation?"

Stanley paused, gathering his thoughts before answering with, "Well it wasn't easy, from what I remember. I had no money and I was basically living in my car the entire time. There were even a few times where I'd literally just woken up and remembered that it was our birthday, and went to say happy birthday to you… only to remember the situation I was in."

Stanford winced a little at that, as he was beginning to feel somewhat responsible for Stanley getting kicked out now, since he didn't stand up for him.

"But after I established the Mystery Shack, I began throwing parties there for kids and teenagers to celebrate and have fun, even if they didn't know that it was actually for our birthday."

Stanford nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, that continued for a while, although I sometimes moved the party to another date and time. Even so, it was always something I did annually and usually on our birthday."

"Hm."

They went quiet before Stanley suddenly smiled and said, "Now that we're on the subject of birthday's, I just remembered that I have something to give you."

Stanford watched in curiosity as Stanley hurried to go get something from their shared quarters and bring it up.

As Stanley handed it to him, he told him, "This was something I'd always meant to give to you, but… well, it took longer than I was expecting because of everything that happened.

When he opened up his gift, it was a fifty-dollar bill, which Stanford was pleasantly surprised at, since he knew that Stanley was very stingy about his money.

He then noticed that there was a card, as well.

Glancing up at Stanley, who nodded for him to proceed, Stanford opened up the card and read:

"Hey Poindexter."

"I realize that I should've told you this MUCH sooner, but I'm sorry for breaking your machine. I know I shouldn't have selfishly hidden what I did to it from you, even though it was an accident. And I promise to do much better in the future, and I'm going to throw us a freaking amazing party come our first birthday back together!"

"Your brother, Stanley."

Stanford smiled as he finished reading it.

"…Wow, I… Thank you, Stanley. I'm glad I got to read this."

Stanley smiled. "I wrote it our first birthday apart and I added the fifty dollars later, seeing as how I was flat broke at the time."

Stanford smiled back before wrapping an arm around his shoulders, giving him a hug. "I really appreciate this, and I can't wait to see what kind of crazy party you come up with!"

Stanley chuckled and gave him an affectionate pat on the back. "Anytime, Poindexter."

Afterwards, they continued to talk jovially to one another, happy to be truly together again after all these years.

And during dinner that night, they shared a glass of "rich people water", much like Stanford and Fiddleford did during college.

And as the sun set in the sky, creating a brilliant collage of reds, purples, and oranges in the clouds, they shared a toast and Stanley said, "Happy early and belated birthday, Stanford."

Finally feeling truly content after all these years, Stanford chuckled before smiling and said, with genuine warmth and gratitude in his voice:

"Happy birthday, Stanley."

The End

AN – Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review! :)