Chapter Text
Westcoast Tech... that had been one six-fingered man's dream college as a teenager. Now he knew more from his travels and adventures than he could've ever learned at any school. There were so few things left, he almost had the secrets of the universe, but his mind still ached for more knowledge or.. or something he just couldn't place.
He had tried asking his twin brother, but even after everything, he was still the skeptical, narrow-minded old man he always was. Good ol' Stanley.
The man's mind flitted back to Gravity Falls; that little town in Oregon. He thought of the limited time he had spent with the grand-niece and nephew he'd never known he had. It was a shame he hadn't had a proper apprentice (his own brother certainly didn't, and still doesn't, count)... and then it came to him: the truth of the unknown ache he had.
He needed to share what he had learned, what he knew, with young minds eager to learn for themselves! It was perfect: become a teacher. Where? That was a good question... go back to Gravity Falls and teach at the high school? That wouldn't work.
The high school minds of that town would never listen; there was also the Nevermind All That act Mayor Tyler had passed... there had to be another way.
He opened the laptop they had brought onto the boat; oh, the internet truly was a wonderful thing. There was still so much to learn about his own dimension (he was gone for thirty years), and this provided the perfect method to learning. He began searching, using the wi-fi router he made to supply a strong, fast internet connection for their little boat. He had to make sure his brother was busy; there would be no interruptions, no distractions in his search.
Surprisingly, it only took seconds to find what he needed (of course the first result was West Coast Tech, but he found he wanted something a little smaller). The next one, however... that was different: "The University of What It Is," he said quietly to himself. There was something ominous about it, but it held a certain truth to the title he certainly liked. He clicked the link and read the articles. Well this is promising, he thought with barely contained delight. And they're looking for teachers! Oh this was perfect. He quickly sent them an e-mail with a rather extensive list of the reasons he was qualified (his twelve Ph.Ds were included of course, as well as a detailed individual description of each one). The man waited.
Any possible concern his brother might have hadn't even occurred to him until-- "Hey, what's the word, Sixer?" Ford nearly jumped in his chair and looked behind himself, sighing when he saw his brother.
"Woah, calm down, don't have a heart attack," Stanley teased. "What are you doing in the dark, you're like some sort of vampire, or... somethin'."
"Stanley, what have I told you about knocking?" Ford scolded, sighing at his brother's antics.
"Eh, knocking, schmocking," he replied with a shrug. Even for someone his age, Stanley was still the most immature man Ford knew (not counting Fiddleford of course). "Anyway, what are you up to?" He asked again, leaning against the far wall.
"Just doing some research," Ford replied, turning back to the monitor. Annoyingly, Stanley had approached him and began reading over his shoulder.
"University of What It Is?" He read aloud. "What kind of nerd name is that?"
"It's not a nerd name!" Ford protested, sighing. "I've... been thinking of becoming a teacher." His brother frowned, yet Ford continued, "it's not as prestigious as West Coast Tech, but it's darn close. I just want it as a part time job, for a little while."
"You're not still mad at me over that whole science project thing, are you?
"Wha-- No! Of course not, I just think it would be a great opportunity for a while. Look, you can accompany me if you want."
Stanley frowned, seemingly in deep thought. "How long?"
"Maybe a few months, or longer if they need trips to be made to gather data." Now Ford frowned. He felt so bad for leaving his brother again, but he really wanted to do this.
"Fine, fine, cut the trip short, I'll join you for a while, then I'm out," Stanley replied, trying to seem calm. Ford sighed in relief and gave his brother a side hug. "Hey, we might be able to hit more beaches and babes along the way back," Ford added to lighten the mood.
Stanley gave a small smile at this and left the room while Ford gathered his thoughts.