In My Corner

Part 1 of the Boxing AU

Chapter 1

Not beta-read.

Stanley and Stanford - Age 12

"Stan?" Ford whispered into their room. The lights were off, but instead of turning them on, he slipped in and carefully felt his way to their beds. Eventually, he reached the bottom bunk and sat down. "Stan, are you okay?"

The sheets shifted underneath him.

"I'm fine," came a muffled reply.

Stanford sighed and laid a hand on the lump on the bed. "You don't sound fine to me."

The lump wriggled and Stanley's head popped out from under the sheets. Although Ford still couldn't see his brother, his voice was no longer stifled by the blankets.

"I'm not going to the boxing gym anymore," Stan said with a sniffle.

"What!" Ford exclaimed, then slapped a hand over his mouth. Once he was sure their parents weren't coming, Ford continued, "Why?" He whispered.

"No reason…" Stan mumbled.

"Stanley…" His brother could be stubborn at times. Ford sighed again, then gently shoved his brother. "Move over."

His twin obliged, scooting closer to the wall so Ford could lay down next to him. This close, even in the dark, Ford could make out the features of his brother's face. His melancholy was palpable, especially with the sniffling.

After a stretch of silence, Stan started speaking again, "Dad says he'll only let me go if you wanna go too, but I don't want to force you to go." Stan admitted. Ford shuddered at the thought of having to go back. He still had a black eye from the last boxing lesson. "So I won't go anymore," Stan finished.

"Stan-"

"It's fine, Ford. I don't need to be a boxer. After all, we're going to be treasure hunting adventurers, aren't we?" Stan asked.

"Of course, Stan, I-" Ford paused. It wasn't that Ford didn't want that life for them, but.. "I don't want you giving up on something that you enjoy just because of me."

"Ford-"

"No," Ford interrupted. "You know what, you don't need to go to a gym to be a great boxer. You have everything you need right here."

"What are you talking about?" Stan said, confused.

"The legal age to start doing matches is eighteen right? Then we can just have you training the basics until then. I could be your coach!" Ford whispered excitedly. "I could look up techniques, and help you with fitness, and, I could figure out cool finishing moves for you! That way I don't have to box, but you can still join the gym."

Stan was silent for moment. Then, "You're willing to do that, Ford? For me?"

"Of course," Ford said.

The bed creaked slightly as Stan nodded. "Then let's do it, Coach Sixer. You've got the brains-"

"And you have the punching," Ford finished.

-000-

In the years that followed, Stan and Ford both committed themselves to making this promise into a reality. They would peek into the windows of the local boxing gyms and watch any matches that were showing on television. Ford had fun creating regimens and refining techniques for his brother to try. Stan in turn, made sure to always help carry Ford's things and tried to do push-ups with his brother sitting on his back for strength training.

While Ford was never really interested in some of the 'normal' sciences, he found himself eager to do any research that might help his brother. And Stan was always willing to test out his theories, even some of the stranger ones (they would never again mention the experiment with the potato).

In a way, Stanford was.. relieved that his twin had something to call his own. As he got older, he sometimes worried about Stanley. They were so close, but they couldn't stay that way forever. Especially when they were so different. But now, his brother had boxing, and Ford would gladly dedicate himself to helping out Stan however he could.

They had kept their practice a secret so they could later surprise their father with Stan's new abilities at the right time. However, as a result, Stan never got to test his abilities against anyone.

Until...

-000-

Stanley and Stanford - Age 15

The four Pines were seated at the dinner table, enjoying their evening meal when Filbrick Pines had made the announcement. Ma Pines had looked a bit annoyed, but resigned. Stan had stopped eating. And Ford had asked his father to repeat himself.

"An amateur boxing tournament," Filbrick said again. "Bobby needed a couple of spots filled so I signed you two boys up."

"Hey," Stan snapped. "Why didn't you ask us beforehand, Pops?"

Filbrick's expression started to darken, but Ford quickly interrupted, "It's fine, Dad. We were just surprised. Weren't we, Stan?"

Stan blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah. Surprised," Stan agreed quickly.

Filbrick seemed to be pacified with their response and began to relax. "Good," he said, gruffly. "It's this weekend and I'll take you boys there myself."

-000-

"What was that all about?" Stan asked, when they had gone back to their room. "I thought you didn't like fighting?"

"Don't you see, Stan? This the chance that we've been waiting for! You can finally test your boxing skills," Ford said, excited.

Stan's eyes widened, "You mean…"

"Yes! Stan, if you show him how talented you are, Dad will have to let you box!" His twin exclaimed. Granted it was a bit earlier then Ford was expecting, but Stan really had improved. As long as Stan showed off his abilities, their dad would have to let Stan continue boxing.

"I- I dunno, Ford," Stan mumbled, turning away.

Ford gently turned his brother so that they were face to face. "Hey," Ford said. Stan eyes were downcast, and his shoulders were hunched. Ford placed a hand on each of his twin's shoulders and gave him a gentle shake. "Come on, Stanley. Look at me. Please." Stanley finally looked up.

Stanford made sure to look Stanley straight in the eye and said, "I believe in you, Stanley."

A grateful smile, bloomed on Stan's face and his cheeks pinked. For reasons only known to them, they started to laugh. Stan pulled Ford in for a noogie. His brother playfully fought against his hands, but laughed louder when Stan messed up his hair. When Stan finally let go, Ford punched his shoulder.

Then Stan frowned when he realized that they didn't talk about Ford's participation in the boxing tournament.

"Uh, but what about you, Poindexter?" Stan asked, worried. After all, he was the muscle between the two.

Ford was still chuckling, "Don't worry about it. I've been studying with you this whole time. In fact, I'm a little curious about how much I've improved," he admitted.

"If you say so," Stan said. He would just have to trust that Ford knew what he was doing.

-000-

The day of the tournament, the twins were sitting on the bleachers with the other boys and their coaches. Stan triple-checked Ford's gear. "Your wrappings are on tight, right Ford?" Stan asked for fifth time that day.

Ford rolled his eyes at his brother's over-protectiveness. "For the fifth time, yes, Stan. All my gear is fine. I checked, you triple," his brother poked at the wrappings, "quadruple-checked. Don't worry about me, think about yourself!"

He glanced at their father who was on the other side of the ring. Stan didn't reply and started to nervously tapping his leg. Ford sighed fondly. He should have just let Stan fuss over him if it meant that he was less nervous.

Before Ford could say anything, he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"As you boys may know, I am Coach Weave, and this here is a small amateur tournament." He said, gruffly. "However, there is no headgear, we'll be using regulation gloves, and there will be no foul play. It may be practice, but treat these like a real match. Four rounds max, normal rules. We'll be going by brackets. You lose, and you're out of the competition. Be the last guy standing, and you're the winner. We'll be starting now. First up, Stanford Pines and James Goodwin."

Stan's eyes widened comically at hearing his brother's name. Ford chuckled, "Well, I guess I'm up first."

"Ford," Stan started. "I-"

"Hold my glasses for me, will you?" Ford interrupted, and plopped his glasses on Stan's head.

"Ford-"

"Don't worry, Stan. I'll be fine," Ford said, reassuringly. Stan grimaced, but nodded. They walked up to the ring and Stan lifted the ropes for his brother. Ford flashed him a grin and Stan reluctantly went to sit down.

"Get ready, boyos!" The coach called out.

Ford brought his fists up and the bell rang.

-000-

"Winner! Pines!"

Four rounds later, Stan let out the breath that he was holding. He hopped onto his feet to grab the ropes for his brother.

Ford was grinning widely at his brother, when he stepped out of the ring. "Did you see that, Stan?"

"Yeah, I saw it nerd," Stan said with a smile, handing back his brother's glasses.

However, inwardly Stan was trying to calm his racing heart. Ford had won that match with nothing but his wits, reflexes, and techniques. He had managed not to get hit (and boy, did the opposition try), and had managed a few counter punches that caused the other guy to get off-balance and touch the mat.

But now that the other guys had seen Ford's abilities, they weren't going to go easy on him in the next match.

"Oh look, we're on opposite sides of the tournament brackets," Ford pointed out. "If we fight each other, it would be in the finals."

Stan followed Ford's finger to the chalkboard. "Well, that's a relief," he said softly.

"Just look," Ford continued, "All you have to do is win four matches and you'll be the winner of the tournament."

"Well," Stan looked at his twin's hopeful face and said, "If you think I can do it, then I'll win it."

Ford gave Stan a brilliant smile. "That's the spirit, Stan."

"Up next: Stanford Pines and Andres Martinez!"

"That's my cue," Stan said.

-000-

Four wins later and Stanley Pines was declared the winner of the boxing tournament.

"You did it, Stan!" Ford exclaimed.

Stan was still breathing hard from the last match, but he managed to gasp out, "I did it."

The last match was a bit of a blur for Stanley. Hell, so were the other two matches before that. After Ford had gotten a black eye from his second match and lost.. well, there was nothing in the world that was stopping him from winning his bracket and beating up the guy that had hurt his twin. He smiled and slung an arm over Ford's shoulder. Honestly, he was so happy because Ford was happy.

Ford on the other hand, was so proud of his brother. "You were amazing-"

"Yeah, you weren't too bad, kid." The twins whipped around to face Coach Weave. They remembered him from their earlier lessons at the gym as a kind, but rather strict coach. He was smiling at them now. Or more specifically, he was smiling at Stanley.

"Granted most of the boys here were just as green as you were, but I was expecting more out of them. Stanley, you thinking about joining the gym again?" He asked.

"Well uhhh-" Stan stuttered. Ford silently encourages his brother to be strong and say-

"Yes." Both the boys' heads looked towards the new voice. It was their dad.

"If you think he has potential, Bobby.." Filbrick continued.

"I think I could make something out of him, Filbrick," Coach Weave said.

"Stan has tons of potential," Ford chimed in, then elbowed his brother.

That shook Stan out of his stupor. "Uh, yes. I would like to join the gym again, sir," Stan said.

The adults nodded and the twins looked at each other to share a smile.

Author's Ramblings - This AU has been on my mind for awhile. I always liked the idea of Stanley being able to be successful in something he enjoyed and I wanted to show a universe where that happened.

Originally, I wasn't going to make this outright Stancest. it's a pairing I enjoy because I want the two to be happy together, but I didn't necessarily need them romantically paired. But tumblr has warped my mind (you know who you are) and now I will do my best to add to this pairing.