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Chapter Text

Stanford came into the cabin after spending the last half hour under the rain making sure everything on deck was well tied up if the storm turned for the worst during the night. He shook himself off and lifted his wet bangs from his eyes. Stan was currently at the stove, cooking something that smelled delicious. Stanford’s stomach grumbled at the aromas. 

“Hey, you’re back! Everything okay out there?” Asked Stan. He kept stirring the pot, not looking into his twin’s direction. 

“ Yes, everything is tied up. What are you cooking?” Stanford deposited his coat on the hanger next to the door and walked towards his brother. 

“No!” Came a little voice under him. Stanford looked down and found a pair of bright green eyes looking at him. Little A was standing between him and Stan. She had her little toy soldier squattered in an arc around Stan’s feet. “Ya can’t talk ta him now!” 

“I’m sorry?” Ford raised an eyebrow and looked at his brother for an explanation. Stan just shrugged his shoulder and kept his attention on his cooking. Ford noticed a smile creeping on his twin’s lips. 

“Ya can’t talk to ‘Tan now ‘cause imma talking to ‘Tan now. “ The toddler was looking seriously at Stanford, leaving no room for argument. Her ears tucked back.

“Well, little one, Stan is my brother and if I need to talk to him I can. He can also talk to me if he needs to.”

“Ya can’t talk ta him now ‘cause ‘Tan is not your bwother. He the general!”

Stan shot a mischievous grin at Ford “ I’m the general now!”

“See! He playing with me! So ‘ust ‘tay wight there now.” She pushed Ford towards the living room and forced him to sit on the couch. Once he sat down, Little A went back to her toy soldiers and sat down.

Ford turned around to look at Stan for help. His twin’s had his back turned to him, but he could see his shoulders shake from where he sat. He tried to stand up to come to the kitchen. 

“No! Not done playing! Ya ‘tay there!” Little A reprimanded him. Ford sat back on the couch and grabbed a book resting near by. Might as well get his mind busy if he can’t move for now.

Chapter Text

They were all seated at the kitchen table eating their late night meal. Neither of the brothers had thought they’d be eating this late and had scramble to make a hasty meal. They made some hasty sandwiches with whatever leftover meat they managed to find in the fridge. They were all sitting in silence and Stan had just finished his own meal when he noticed something about Little A. 

He chuckled and got his brother’s attention. “Stanford!” He whispered. Stanford looked up from the book he had been reading and eyed his twin. “Look at that.” He pointed toward Little A currently slowly eating half of her sandwich. 

Stanford frowned. “What? She is eating her meal. what’s unusual about that?”

Stan huffed in frustration, his brother can be slow at times to catch up to things. “Ya know for a genius, you are kinda slow sometimes.” Stan deadpanned. Ford huffed in indignation and was about to retorque somethings, but Stan cut him off. “She’s asleep.”

Ford blinked and looked at Little A closely. “No she can’t be… She’s eating.”

Little A was sitting upright like normal, she was leaning a bit backward but not enough to throw her off balance. 

Stan rolled his eyes. “She is eating, but look closely. Her eyes are closed, her breathing is slow and she is chewing very slowly on her food.”

Stanford leaned forward on the table and inspected their little friend. She was asleep. “Interesting. Why do you think she fell asleep?”

Stan chuckled. “ ‘Cause she’s tired? She is usually already in bed at that time.”  He looked at the clock on the wall. It was near eleven. He snorted and looked at the half sandwich resting in the plate in front of Little A. “Ya think she’s gonna finish that?” He pointed to the sandwich. 

“She is sleeping, but I’m not sure...” 

“Then it’s mine!” Stan grabbed the other half of Little A’s sandwich and gobbled it up. 

They returned to complete silence until Little A finished eating. She swallowed her last bite and opened her eye, blinking a couple of times. She looked around for a moment before setting her gaze on her empty plate. She quirked her head to the side and looked at the twins. 

She frowned “Whe’s my Thanwich?”

Stanford burst out laughing while his brother raised his hands up and tried to explain to the toddler why her sandwich was gone.

Chapter Text

Stanford was cleaning up the last of their dishes when he heard the sound of cupboards doors being close and open repetitively. He paid it no mind and concentrated on his task at the moment. He scrubbed the plate he was holding, dislodging the last remains of filth. 

He felt a little tug on his pants. Ford looked down and saw Little A frowning at him. 

“Hello, little one.” Ford said to the toddler a soft smile on his lips. 

“Hi...” Little A looked annoyed at something. 

“Is something bothering you” Ford deposited the plate he was holding on the drying rack and rested his towel over his shoulder before crouching down to be at eye level with the toddler.

Little A turned her head towards him. “ I wan’ one more cookie.” She was speaking in a lower voice, trying to be as quiet as possible. Ford guessed that it must’ve been because his twin was taking a nap in their little living room. 

“You do?” Little A nodded. “You can’t have a cookie, we just ate.”

“ok… buh wha’ if I wan’ a cookie?” 

“Well you can’t.” Stanford was keeping his voice low. “We don’t always get what we want, little one, the same goes for cookie.” He explained to the toddler. 

“Ok, buh I wan’ one.” She wasn’t asking for the cookie in a demanding way. She was just stating the fact that she wanted a cookie. 

Ford looked around him for a solution. “ Well… We don’t have any more. You ate all the cookies.” He blurted out.

Little A scrunched her face. She wasn’t convinced. “I smell cookies, I ust’ can’t find ‘hem.”

Ah yes. Stan had taken upon themself to hide the cookies somewhere in the kitchen to prevent her from helping herself. “But what if I don’t know where they are?” Ford asked the toddler, raising an eyebrow. 

The young ginger girl giggled and shoved him slightly. “Sisser knows where they are, ya da one tha’ put ‘hem away afta lunch!”

Ford sighed. He had been the one to take the cookie jar away from the table the last. He closed his eyes for a moment.

“I wanna cookie, pwease?” Stanford opened his eyes to see two huge green puppy dog ones. He stood up and motionned to the toddler to cover her eyes. She giggled some more but did what he asked. Her tail happily wagging behind her. He turned around and opened another cupboard where he had hidden the cookies. He picked a peanut butter one and waved it in front of the toddler. She sniffed at it before removing her hands from her eyes and grabbing the cookie. She munched happily on it before looking at Stanford with a bright smile. “Thank you!” She turned around and went to eat it in the corner of the cabin, right under his work desk. 

Ford chuckled to himself and went back to cleaning the remaining dishes in the sink. He mumbled softly to himself but froze when he heard his twin’s voice. “Sixer, ya better not giving her a cookie! She asked me and I already said no.”

“I didn’t Stanley!” He Hoped Stan didn’t notice the nervousness in his voice. He understood why Little A had spoken quietly now.

Chapter Text

Stan was sitting on the couch watching TV absentmindedly, zapping endlessly in search of something interesting. Ford was sitting at his desk and noting down his latest observation and Little A was sitting in front of his feet playing with her Orcas plushy. Everything was peaceful for the evening ahead. Stan had in mind to put the toddler in bed in a few moments, when she’d be down to four yawns a minute. 

Stan had zoned out for a moment because he didn’t realize Little A was now standing in front of him and inspecting him. He turned the TV off and looked at her. “What’s wrong, sweet pea?”

“Ya small.” The toddler said, resting her hands on her lips. 

“I’m sorry?” Stan hunched forward, resting his elbow on his knees. 

“Ya small.” She repeated. 

“Look, I know I’m hunched, but I’m still six feet tall. I’m above average!” Despite himself, Stan finds it a bit insulting to be told he was small by someone who barely reached above his knees. 

“Na, ya small. Ya don’t reach the ceiling.” She pointed to the ceiling above their heads. 

Stan heard a snort from behind his back and looked to see his twin holding a laugh by resting a hand over his mouth. “Ya got somethin’ ta say, Sixer?”

Ford shook his head. “No nothing… Little brother.” He shot Stan a mischievous grin.  

Stan grumbled “Only by fifteen minutes!” Stan turned away, but Ford still burst out laughing. He sunk into the sofa and crossed his arms over his chest “Beside, heights have nothing ta do with age! You’re only older than me because ya came first!”. He shot a stare at Little A, who just giggled at his antics. “I don’t like this conversation.” He looked away and sulked.  

Little A climbed the sofa and seated herself directly into his line of sight a bright smile on her face. “being short isn’t bad” 

“How so?” Stan raised an eyebrow. 

“Is perfect ta do this!” She climbed on his belly and nested against his chest, curling into a ball. Stan found himself being dumbfounded and not knowing exactly what to do. He heard a deep sighed and felt her breathing even out.

“What’s that supposed ta mean?” He cracked his head, trying to get a look at his twin, but his twin just shrugged. 

Little A stirred and answered sleepily “ Is perfect pillow size…” She fell asleep by the end of her sentence. Stan just smiled and patted her on the back. Prehaps he was the perfect pillow size. 

Chapter Text

Stanford was entering their coordinates in the captain log book they had bought for their trip. He wasn’t the designated captain, per say, but he was the only one who kept track of their travels. He looked up at the clock across the room. It was close to midnight. 

He sighed. Stan had been asleep for at least an hour before him and Little A was put to bed around nine O’clock. He’d get chewed on the next morning if he kept this up. Ford pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands. He was getting tired. 

Ford closed the log book and was about to head for his bed when he saw a pair of green eyes looking at him. Little A had gotten out of bed and came up to him. He noticed that she had taken her pajamas off and was only wearing her underwear. She looked half asleep, her tail was limping behind her and her ears were drooping on the side of her head. 

Ford felt his cheeks get warm at the sight, even if it wasn’t uncommon, but he did tend to let Stan handle giving her a bath. He cleared his throat and spoke softly to the toddler “ What are you doing up so late, Little one?”

Little A rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly. “I wanna stowie” She came up to him and rested her head against his knee, already falling back to sleep. 

“I think it’s a little late for a story. You should be in bed.” Ford stood up and carried the toddler in his arms back to their room. “Let’s put your pajama back on tucked you back in bed”

The little girl stirred weekly in his arms. “No… Imma naked and I wanna stowie”

Ford raised an eyebrow. “How come being naked allows you to have a story?”

Little A looked at him with sleepy eyes. “  ‘Cause it make me tha boss.”

Ford stopped walking and looked at the toddler in the eyes. "Excuse me?” 

She shrugged. “Being naked make me tha boss so I wanna stowie.” She yawned again and Ford could see her little fangs poking out. 

“Where did you get that?” Ford shook his head. 

She mumbled her next answer. Stanford didn’t really hear it, but he was pretty sure it was something like “I don’t know. ”

Ford had a pretty good idea where she got it from, but didn’t want to go there, not this late. Little A gently tapped on his chin to get his attention back. “ I still wanna stowie, please?.”

Ford sighed and shifted her in his arm. “All right… If I tell you a story, will you let me put your pajamas back on?” She nodded her head against his chest. “Did Stan ever tell you when him and I went looking for the Jersey Devil?” She shook her head. “Well, it all started on a summer day…”

Chapter Text

Little A woke up and looked at her surroundings. She was resting half on the floor and half on her cushion. She sat up and shook her head to settle her bed hair down. Little A did some stretching and yawning to completely clear the last remaining sleep from her mind.  

The toddler took a moment to look around her. The sun was just starting to rise, soft light coming into the room through the window. Her eyes landed on the bunked bed across the room and to the two shapes sleeping peacefully in it. She was once again the first one to wake up. 

She stood up and walked to the lower bunk of the bed. Stan was still asleep. Little A braced herself and jumped onto his bed, pulling the sheet with her in the process. Stan stirred a little but didn’t wake up and pulled his blanket up more. She climbed his belly and laid on it. Because she was resting on his stomach, she was going up and down to the rhythm of his breathing. She giggled at the movements. 

After a few moments of this and Stan still not waking up, she crouched closer to his face. She got her legs under her and prepared herself to jump, a cheeky grin on her face. She wiggled her hips, taking in the rhythm of Stan’s breathing and waited for the next time he would inhale. 

Then she bounced off his chest and landed on his face. For a brief moment nothing happened. Stan stood still under Little A. She kept smiling. Once she felt him stirred under him she wagged her tail happily. 

“Mornin’ ‘Tan!” She greeted him. 

“Sweet Pea, let me sleep… it’s too early….” Stan’s voice was muffled by Little A weight on his face. He raised a hand and grabbed the back of her pajamas, raising her above his head. She smiled brightly at him and he had a frown on his face. “Why are ya so awake this early?”

Little A just shrugged and kept smiling. “Imma early birdie?” She’d heard Stanford and Stan saying these words from time to time. She wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but it had something to do with her being awake really early. 

Stan sighed deeply and turned to his side, tucking Little A under his arm like a teddy bear. The toddler squirmed, but Stan’s hold was too strong for her to move away. She sulked. “Wha’ imma ‘appose ta be? A pwushie?" 

“Yer the one who…(yawnes) wakes up too… ” Stan was back asleep before he finished his sentence. 

Little A looked baffled before trying to escape again to no avail.

Chapter Text

“Alright, since ya can’t let me sleep, go bother Ford.” Stan lifted Little A in his arms and deposited her on Stanford’s bunk bed before returning to his own.

Little A peered down at Stan, but the old man had fallen back to sleep and was snoring loudly. The toddler frowned and stuck her tongue out. She turned around and looked at the other form snoring quietly next to her.

Stanford was usually an early bird like her. She remembers the first mornings after being taken by them. Stanford would always be already prepping breakfast before she was awake. But after a few days of taking care of her, he was beginning to feel more exhausted and would wake up after her.

She looked at him. He was sleeping peacefully. Unlike Stan, Stanford didn’t snore loudly when he slept. He barely ever made any noise, like he was trying to disappear and not being seen.

Little A giggled to herself. He made her think of the deers that lived in the forest where she and her mamie used to live.

A thought crossed her mind. She crouched down on all four, staying low on the covers.

« Imma boop it on da noise! '' she whispered excitedly.

She crawled slowly up on Stanford’s covers, making no noises. Ford stirred a little once she got close to his chest but didn’t wake up. She walked around without any more hiccups.

She got up close to his face, leaving only a few inches between them. Her tail wagging happily behind her. She raised her tiny hand up and gently poked Stanford’s nose with her finger.

« Boop! »

Ford stirred and opened a sleepy eye. He squinted and tried to focus on what was in front of him but without his glasses all he managed to see was a little orange fog a few inches from his face.

« Wha…? » Stanford tried to form a sentence but his sleepy mind couldn’t come up with a coherent thought at the moment.

« Boop! » Little A bopped him on the nose again and giggled.

Ford squinted and managed to focus on Little A. « What are you doing up here, Little One? » He reached a hand to grab his glasses and put them on his nose. « How did you get here? » he asked in between yawns.

« ´Tan put me here ‘cause Imma early birdie! »

« Did he now » Ford peered down his bunk to glance at his twin. Stan was lying on his back and snoring loudly. « What time is it? » He turned and grabbed his wristwatch to check the time. The electronic cadran showed that it was 6h15 am. Ford sighed. He had tried to get more sleep during their voyage but the toddler was indeed an early bird.

Little A didn’t pay him anymore mind and was happily making popping noises with her mouth. A gurgling sound erupted from her stomach. She rested her hand on it and looked at Stanford with huge green pleading eyes.

« My tummy is hungwy. »

Stanford leaned on his elbow and eyed the toddler. « Is it now? » He raised a skeptical eyebrow, playing a little with the young girl.

Little A nodded « Huh huh. My tummy is speaking ta me and tell me so. »

« Well let’s feed it. How hungry is it? » Ford asked while taking the toddler in his arms and jumping down from his bunk and heading for the kitchen to get started.

« Like a wolf! » The little girl exclaimed, raising her arms up in the air.

« Quiet ya two! Not everyone is an early bird like ya! » Stan’s voice came from the bedroom behind them.

Stanford and Little A both laughed quietly and started to work on preparing breakfast

Chapter Text

Ford, Stan and Little A were walking down the road after a nice meal at a local pizzeria, nothing fancy but it did wonders on their hunger. Little A was happily talking to herself just in front of the twins. 

The elder of the Pines twin then noticed something golden and shiny in the toddler's hands. She was twisting it around and examining it from every angle. He frowned and leaned against his brother. 

« Stanley? Did you gave your golden chain to Arthuria? » he whispered. 

Stan raised an eyebrow. « No… Why would I do that? »

Ford nodded toward the toddler « Then who’s chain is that? » 

Stan shrugged and walked up to the toddler. He crouched down and picked her up, setting her in his arms. Little A didn’t mind and just settled comfortably against him. The golden chain in her small hands. Stan raised his own, carefully took it from her, and took a closer look at it. She made little whining noises and tried to grab it back. 

« This looks genuine. » he said to his brother. « Hey, Sweet Pea, where did ya get this? » Stan asked the toddler while giving it back. 

Little A took the chain back and shot Stan a bright smile. « I ´tole it! » she said and held the chain proudly above her head. « From the old lady at the ´estauwant! » 

Ford made a strangled noise and shot his twin an incredulous look. 

Stan just barked up laughing. « Well, ya got yer answer, Sixer. » 

« Shouldn’t we bring it back? » Ford said while reaching for the gold chain. 

Little A saw him coming and tried to put as much distance between him and the chain. A soft warning growl escaped her throat and she glared at Ford. 

« Yeah, good luck taken it away from her, Ford. » Stan looked down at the toddler clutching her trophy close to her chest. « Once a thief always a thief. »

« I guess so… » Ford conceded. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking with his twin. 

Little A smiled. « Imma king of thief! » she exclaimed to the world.

Chapter Text

“Am not!”

“Yes you are.”

“Is not!”

“I’m just stating a fact…”

“Sisser is lying!”

“I am not lying!”

“Yes, you liar!”

“All right, enough…”

“Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar!”

Ford’s patience was starting to run thin. He didn’t understand why Little A was so adamant on keeping this ridiculous argument going. He pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath and stared as calm as he could at the toddler. 

“Look, it’s okay. You just made a mistake. It happens to everyone. Even I made mistakes.” He explained calmly. 

“Did not!” The toddler exclaimed while stomping her little foot on the floor in the kitchen of the Stan O War. Her ears were tucked behind her head and her tail was puffy and standing up.  

Picking up a piece of paper from the little girl’s hand before it could be crumpled by her tiny fist. He held it up before her. 

“Look, you coloured your sun green and your clouds were red. It’s okay, you just picked up the wrong pencil colours.” He said with a soft voice. 

“I did not…” The lower lips of Little A wobbled and tears started to accumulate in the corner of her eyes. “That how they look…” her voice quivered. 

The toddler scrunched up her face, desperately trying to hold her tears but to no avail. Soon enough two wet tracks rolled down her cheeks. Her tail fell down and hung limply behind her. She raised her little hands to her face and tried to make the tears go away. It didn’t work and she started to sob. 

Stanford didn’t know how to react. He hadn’t meant to make the little girl cry. He blinked owlishly, his hands hovering over her shoulders. His niblings and he always had their siblings to comfort them when they were upset, this little one had nobody and the only other person in the room was the one that had upsetted her. 

His salvation came when his own twin walked into the cabin with a few groceries supplies for tonight’s dinner. He raised an eyebrow at the scene before him, dropping the loaded bags carefully on the floor. 

“What is happening here?” He asked.  

In an instant, the little girl dashed from her spots, passing Ford in a blur of orange and blue to hide her face into Stan’s jeans. Her little shoulders and frame shook with each of her breaths. The younger twin rested a hand over her head, ruffling her hair slowly while staring at his brother for an explanation. 

Slowly rising to his feet, Stanford walked back to the little group and handed the paper to his brother. 

“She drew this and… I just pointed out that she didn’t use the right colours for her sky.” He said as Stan took the paper. 

Stan raised an eyebrow and looked at the paper. It was a cute little drawing of a boat with two stick figures and a sun. The sun was a neon green and the clouds a deep maroon red. He looked between the little girl, the drawing and his brother until something clicked in his head and his eyebrow rose to his hairline. 

“Oh sweet Moses.” He said. He crouched down to pick up the little toddler who kept her face hidden in the crooks of his neck. “I completely forgot… because of the… memory…”

Ford was immediately interested. “You remembered something?” He inquired of his brother. 

“Yeah… she’s colour blind.” 

The old scientist's mouth shut with an audible clap. A punch to the gut would have hurt less. The possibility of their little friend being colour blind never crossed his mind. 

It explained why some of the choices in her wardrobe were questionable to say the least and why Stan always helped her pick up her clothes. 

Suddenly, Stanford felt as the biggest jerk on the planet. Instead of thanking the little girl for her drawing he had questioned her choice in colours. He should have known better. His own niece used the same colour palette in some of her artwork. 

He passed a hand over his face and groaned. When he looked up he saw in Stan’s arms Little A half turned and side glanced at him. 

Her eyes were still watery and red but she had stopped crying and only sniffed once in a while. Her ears were tucked but no longer glued to the side of her head, she had significantly calmed down. 

Stanford took a deep breath and offered one of his hands to the toddler who shrunk away and hid in Stan’s chest. It made his shoulders drop. 

“I am sorry Little One, I never meant to hurt you. Will you accept my apologies?” 

Little A extracted herself from Stan and glanced at the old scientist. She passed a hand over her nose and was about to shake Stanford’s hand when his brother whispered something in her ear, stopping her movement. The ear twitched curiously and leaned toward the older men.  

She frowned and eyed the men holding her with a doubtful expression. The old conman just smiled and motioned her to talk. Arthuria turned to the scientist. 

“Okay. O’ one condition.” She said, clutching Stan’s shirt tightly in her hands. 

“Of course! Anything you want.” Ford said eagerly. He would do pretty much anything to be in the little girl favours again and put this whole ordeal behind them. 

“Sisser has ta sing a song.”

Chapter Text

Stan had a hard time containing his gleeness as he set the little camera recorder their niblings had given them. What he was about to witness didn’t need to be recorded but he would be damned if he didn’t. Besides, Mabel and Dipper would love to see this. 

He sat on the couch in their small living room making the last adjustment to the camera that needed to be done. Once satisfied he turned around and rested his arm on the back of the couch to have a better support and not shake too much. He aimed the camera toward their bedroom where his twin was getting ready for his song and waited. 

There was a little umph beside him and suddenly their young friend was leaning over the sofa next to him in her purple pajamas holding her favorite plushy in her hands. Her short tail wagging happily behind her as she waited with Stan for Stanford to come back. 

“Do I really have to?” Came the elder twin’s voice through the door of their bedroom. 

“You did say you’d do anything, remember!” Stan answered the still closed door. “Beside it’s not up ta me!”

“Sisser has ta do the song!” She said eagerly and started to jump up and down the couch. 

“You heard her!”

There was a sigh and the door opened to reveal Stanford wearing an oversized nightgown in bright neon green and purple colours with the words Dumb Nerd and an arrow pointing to his face, purple shades with palm trees on each side and a yellow polka dots melon hat. 

Instantly, Stan covered his mouth with his hand to stop him from laughing too hard at his brother’s outfit. Little A giggled and hid her face in her plushy. 

His brother raised his arms helplessly on each side. “Go ahead, laugh it up. Get it out.”

The old men and the little girl burst out laughing, leaning against the back of the couch to keep themselves from falling over. It only worked for Stan as Little A leaned too much and fell on the other side. She didn’t stop laughing. 

After a few minutes, Ford rested his hands on his hips and frowned at the two goof balls. 

“All right, that's enough. You had your laugh, now let’s get this over with, shall we?” He sighed. 

Stan managed to catch his breath, whipped the mirth from the corner of his eyes and pressed the record button on the camera. He didn’t know how but the camera wasn’t shaking as much anymore in his hands. “Whenever you’re ready, Sixer.”

Little A settled on the floor, her feet taping happily as she waited for the next part. 

Ford took a deep breath and sang. 

“Incorrect in every way,

This is Ford here to say… 

I was wrong, so very wrong

This is the Ford Wrong Song…”

It wasn’t as long as Stan would have wanted but there was no point in prolonging his brother’s misery. His own song that Mabel recorded was about the same length. 

He was about to close the recorder when he saw Little A rise from her spot and ran at full speed into Ford’s legs. The movement caught the elder twin off guard as he stumbled to keep his balance. Probably he didn’t see the little girl coming at him without his glasses. 

“Thank you.” She whispered. “Apowogie ‘cepted.” 

Stanford stood still for a moment before resting a hand on Little A’s head and softly ruffling her hair between her ears. 

“Thank you Little One. And I’m sorry.” He whispered back before scooting the toddler into his arms. She nestled against his chest and yawned. 

Stan was happy he had left the camera rolling. 

Chapter Text

As Stanford, his twin brother Stanley and their little companion Arthuria sailed out of Saint-Petersburg toward their next stop Helsinki they spotted a group of seals swimming off in the distance, looping in and out of the waves and playing. The old scientist smiled and gave the bar to Stan as he ducked below the deck where their little friend was kept. 

It was pretty cold outside and neither brother wanted to risk the young toddler to fall down in the cold water, not after the orca incident. 

Climbing down the short steps that lead to the inside of the Stan O war II, he quickly spotted Little A, as the twins affectionately named her, playing with her orca plushie in front of the couch. She had tossed the coussin on the ground to build a small fort that turned out to be a dunked ship if her dialogue was any indication. Stanford cleared his throat to get her attention, which he quickly got as she whipped her head back toward him, her wolf ear perking up. 

“There’s something near the boat that you would like to see, Little one.” He told her as he picked her coat from the rack and motioned for her to come closer. 

She obeyed, leaving her toy behind and allowing him to dress her. “Orcas?” She asked eagerly as Ford placed a heavy winter coat on her head. 

“Not quite. Those are a bit smaller.” He chuckled and picked her up in his arms to take her outside. 

As soon as she was in his arms, Little A squirmed and climbed on his shoulders to rest her head on his charcoal hair, her favorite spot to perch. Ford smiled and let her settle as he rounded the cabin to come next to his brother at the bar. 

“They’re still there” Stan said as he maneuvered the boat a bit closer for a better look.

He grabbed the pair of binoculars, adjusted them and passed them to the toddler while pointing out toward the sea. 

Ford nodded “Look Arthuria, toward the coast.” He instructed the young girl. 

Arthuria did as she was told and gasped when she spotted a couple fo brown head popping in and out of the water. 

“Fucks!”

The deck of the Stan O War II felt deadly quiet. Both twins felt silent after their little friend’s enthusiastic response to the colony of seals in the distance. 

Ford swallowed nervously. “Wh-what did you say, Little One?”

Arthuria presented him the binoculars and pointed in the distance. “Fucks! On the rocks!”

Glancing a worried look toward his brother, Ford was somewhat happy Stan seemed to be as surprised as he was by their friend’s vocabulary. 

“Stanley..?”

“Don’t look at me, Sixer! I don’t cuss in front of the kids! Not since Mabel and Dipper came over the summer!” Stan defended himself, raising his hands momentarily from the bar before gripping it tightly when they started to drift to one side. 

Ford sighed. “Well it isn’t from me either… I don’t think I ever cussed in my life… Out loud that is” he quickly added. 

Beside him, Stan snickered. “Of course you never.” He pointed with his chin. “Hey, sweet pea, where’d you get that word?”

“Huh?” Was the toddler’s response. 

Stanford grabbed Arthuria under her armpit so that she was facing them both. “Whe-where did you hear that?” He asked again gently. 

Little A smiled proudly. “At the Pier!"

“What?!” Both brothers exclaimed, confused. 

Tilting her head, the toddler explained “At da town. Two old ladies pointed ta ‘hem and said: fucks!” 

After a moment of silence Stan burst out laughing and ruffled the young girl’s hair. He laughed even harder when he made eye contact with Stanford, who was still swimming in the dark as to what was happening. 

“Oh, Sixer never change, please.” Stan said between breaths. 

“I’ll try Stan, but I would like some explanation about what is going on?” Ford frowned, not enjoying being left out of the loop. Stan clearly knew what Arthuria was referring to.  

Ending his brother’s misery, Stan placed a hand on his shoulder. “Back in Saint-Petersburg, at the pier like she said, while you were out shopping for some nerd stuff-“

“Good sailing equipment isn’t nerd stuff, Stanley” the elder cut.

Stan just waved him off and continued “we stumbled upon some tourists feeding bread ta some seals. They used the word Fuck to describe them. But I’m guessing it means seal in their language.” He chuckled. 

That last part got Stanford thinking and he snapped his finger when he figured it out. “They were probably french!”

“Probably, I didn't ask.” He poked Little A on the nose and the toddler retaliated by trying to bite it. Stan’s finger escaped her fangs shortly. “That’s where she got it from. She knew it was a naughty word too, I bet.”

“Whassa naughty word?” She asked innocently. 

“You are.” Ford answered.