AU where Stan somehow someway gets cursed into a brownie. Those little housespirits that live in people’s walls or whatever and supposedly help with chores and play harmless tricks on the house’s residents. So now Stan is a brownie and, somehow someway, ends up in Ford’s house.
He quickly realizes it is Ford’s house and instead of seeking help from his brother like a normal person and getting uncursed, Stan decides to just. Live there as a brownie. It seems better to him. At least this way he has a home and is near his brother, even if he’s very tiny now and his brother doesn’t know he’s there.
Except Ford, avid lover of the paranormal, does know something is there. He doesn’t know what, and it takes him a bit to catch on, but he does eventually realize that there’s something small living in his house. Stan does his best to remain undetected, but he does steal food from Ford, and other small items like socks or a scarf to make a little bed to sleep on.
Ford sets up increasingly elaborate traps to try and catch whatever is in his house. All he knows is that it’s smaller than a gnome and smarter than an animal. Stan, of course, gets pretty good at evading traps or playing little pranks on Ford like setting the traps off with something else like a stick.
They basically play a weird Tom and Jerry game until Stan gets caught in a trap he didn’t expect or, is out and about and Ford stumbles upon him. Or something else. Now Stan has to figure out an excuse as to why he didn’t tell Ford he was living in his house and cursed, something he was perfectly capable of doing since being a brownie did not affect his speech. And Ford has to come to terms with the fact his brother is a very tiny brownie that has been sneaking around his house for months and hiding from him.
Love making Stan live in Fords house rent free here around here, don't we lol.
I'm thinking Ford gets Stan by complete accident in a trap he didn't even intend to make. Like, a Ruby Goldberg esq thing that Ford did not design. Stan bumps into a pencil, it rolls into a thing, yada yada, there's magic there, and Ford opens the door to his living room to find tiny Stan trapped under a coffee mug Ford had put on top of the TV months ago and keeps telling himself he'll get around to putting in the kitchen and failed to do so. His living room is a mess and something is cursing and nudging the mug around trying to get out and it takes Ford a hot second to realize whats happened. Pounces and slams a book onto the mug, cleans up the worst of the mess, then bug in a cup uses a piece of paper to pick the mug up, flip it over, and uses a book or something to cover the top so whatever's in there can't get out. Runs around to desperately find something to hold his newest, tiny specimen so he can finally get a look at whats been living in his house.
Finally gets a glass jar of some kind, doesn't even put anything in there, so when he carefully turns the cup over, removes the book, and shakes Stan out his tiny brownie brother slams into the hard bottom. I don't think he'd realize who Stan is at first, so caught up in excitement and rushing off to get his journal while Stan groans and then tries to climb glass. Comes back, pen and paper ready to go, leans forwards with a grin and a magnifying glass and....
Hey, this tiny man looks a lot like him, huh. Is this a copy cat thing? Did it mimic Ford? Except the moment Stan yells at Ford that he's a man, not an 'it', Ford instantly clocks Stan's voice and goes through all the stages of denial and shock before slamming into anger and demanding an explanation. Just grabbing the jar and coming so close to shaking it before remembering that Stan is very small and that will def give him a concussion.
Well, Stan's not about to admit to living in Fords walls, playing tricks and tidying up his gross house a bit here and there. Definitely isn't going to admit that the only reason he didn't say anything was because he was just happy to listen and watch Ford work, and letting Ford know he was here would def lead to his brother kicking Stan out.
So he lies, obviously. Doesn't Ford know that Stan's a brownie now? He physically can't let people know about or catch him. Its been awful really (no it hasn't) trying to get Fords attention in any way he can (he's done nothing) and hah! Good thing Ford finally caught him or he might've been stuck like this forever! (Stan wishes he could have. Sure he's tiny but Fords house is so warded its safer here than most other places).
Ford believes him, because he's a sucker and not only had he lost the ability to tell when Stan's lying years ago (even before their fight) Stan's so tiny Ford wouldn't have been able to pick up any of his tells even if he did. Goes all 'oh no! Well that's an acceptable and believable answer! Fae are notoriously sly like that, and it matches what he knows of the folk lore.' Stan sighs in relief then screams when Ford starts walking around with him in a jar so he can figure out how to fix him. Stan is not about his new jar life, if Ford could let him out, that would be great.
The lie lasts way to long, and if at any point Ford catches on about it Stan disappears. He's still in the house, Ford can tell by the missing food and the fact that somehow the dishes keep getting done (and he has no idea how Stan's doing that, as all the cameras he sets up get sabotaged), and has one sided arguments where he stands in the living room and yells at Stan about being stubborn and to just let Ford fix him already so he can shake him properly and maybe punch him in the face for disappearing and giving their ma a heart attack. And for living in Ford walls and not telling him? Stan! Explain yourself! Stan!
Then while Ford does that Stan's in his study rearranging all his office supplies like he knows Ford hates.
