Small Stan AU

"Stan?! Stan?! Where are you?!" Ford called out, racing around the Shack as he checked every room for his brother. He just had to take his eyes off his de-aged brother for one second, didn't he? Nothing would ever go bad.

Yeah right.

"Stan?! Stanley?!" Ford checked the downstairs closet, coming up empty with no Stan in sight. "Stan!" Why? Why was he so stupid?! He should have never taken his eyes off his twin! He should have learned that the moment he was turned into a three year old! A surprisingly fast little three year old that. "Stanley!" He burst into the kitchen, looking through all the cupboards and the fridge. Still no sign of his brother.

Where could he be?! He was just by his side in the living room! How could he not notice him leaving his side?! There were many dangers for kids his age to get into! Especially the forest outside!

Ford stopped searching, standing in the center of the living room. Okay, he just had to think first. Logic was always his strong suit. Stan couldn't have gone outside. All the doors were closed and locked, he checked that first. After losing sight of Stan the first time around, it was obvious to make certain the Shack's door were firmly closed so that Stan couldn't get out by accident.

"Okay, he wasn't upstairs." Ford mumbled while rubbing his chin. "Checked that at least five times already. He didn't go with kids when they went to Wendy's since he was asleep in my arms at the time they left. He's not in the living room, kitchen, or anywhere else on this floor level. So that would leave…" His eyes widened in mix horror and realization. Dashing to the gift shop, his suspicion was confirmed.

The vending machine was open, wide enough for a small child to get through. Ford cursed himself as he went through the secret passage, calling out for his brother as he descended down the steps two by two. How could he ever forget to lock the basement doorway? Stan could easily get hurt in here! Not to mention he was very unfamiliar with this part of the Shack in his shrunk state.

One look around on the main floor of the basement, there was no sign of Stan anywhere. Ford dashed to the end of the room, calling up the elevator. He was getting more and more worried by the moment. The upper area of the basement was the least bit dangerous of the lowest floor, and had less hiding spots for Stan to crawl into so Ford would have been able to spot him right off the bat.

He slightly doubted that Stanley could easily get in the elevator since the buttons would be too high for his smaller body to reach.

But this was Stan.

Jumping inside once the door opened, Ford tapped his foot impatiently as it slowly descended down to his lab. He didn't bother stopping to check on his more secret study, Stan had no real knowledge of its existence and it required a key needed to get in since it was locked.

Ford didn't waste a moment getting out of the elevator the moment it reached the floor. "STANLEY!" He dashed into the room, looking underneath anything that might be a possible hiding place for his small three year old turned brother. It wasn't until his eyes caught the sight of something red through the glass overlooking the portal room. "Stan!" Relief flooded in Ford's chest as he quickly made his way inside the room and sprinted over to Stan.

Stan blinked up at him as Ford scooped up his childified twin and hugged him close to his chest. Ford held his brother close, taking in the relief of finally finding his twin. Yes, he knew he should be somewhat angry at Stan for wandering off on his own and almost possibly getting hurt, but Stanley was Stanley, de-aged or not, Stan always had the tendency to act more like a child than an adult at times. And more over, Ford knew that it was more his fault than Stan's. After all, he should have kept a closer eye on his twin and made sure that the vending machine was closed off. But, he wasn't perfect. Mistakes did happen and you learn from what you do.

Twisting around, Ford made a mental note as he headed for the elevator that the next time Stan went missing, he was putting him on a very, very short tight leash.

And maybe even a robot guard dog. Just for safety measures.

7-19-22-2 13-26-14-22-23 7-19-22 9-12-25-12-7 23-12-20 20-9-22-20

Open for any shorts ideas