Time Bound - Yan!Stanford Pines x NB!reader

Building trust

1978 - Winter, 2:35pm

Y/n had been staring up at the ceiling for a long time. They just kind of zoned out once Stanford left the room. They didn't want to do anything. They were still exhausted, but if they went to sleep they'd see Bill again. Bill had shown them a possible future that'll happen if they stay here. One where Stanford kept them here against their will. Bill had told them this could happen if the time travel device doesn't get fixed quick enough. A knock was heard on the door which made Y/n jump slightly. They calmed themselves down before answering

"Come in!"
They called out. The door opened to reveal Stanford walking in. A small smile present on his face. This man couldn't be capable of keeping them here... there must've been a good reason for doing so.

"Are you alright?"
He'd ask while closing the door behind him. When Y/n didn't answer he took a small deep breath before continuing.
"We could go look for the device.. it's safe to walk outside with the proper equipment!"
By equipment he means a coat. Y/n took the blankets off of them as stood up. They cleared their throat before talking.

"Do you have a spare coat for me to wear?"
A nervous smile spread acrossed their face like wild fire. This was just so awkward for them... especially since they know a possible future that might happen.
'Might... it has a small chance of actually happening. There's infinite possible futures that might happen.'
They felt their body relax slightly, they hadn't realized that they were even tense.

"I should have something.. come down stairs, and I'll get everything ready!"
Stanford spoke with a sweet tone. Even though he's not used to guests he knows how to talk to people... barely. He walks out the room, his heart pounding in his ears. Why was he acting like this? Why was talking to them feel so... different?
He was holding his breath, what is going on with him? He let go of his breath and tried to breath normally as he walked down the stairs. He already had everything out and ready. As he walked closer to his clothes his heartbeat started beating normally and he was calmed down.
'What is this..?'
Stanford was confused. He's never felt this way for anyone before. It was some kind of warm feeling in his chest, He didn't like it. He shook his head trying to remember what he was doing.
"Right.."
He took a deep breath before walking back upstairs. He saw Y/n exit their room. He gave them a small smile as he walked past. He went into his room and looked in his closet. He hasn't been in here for awhile. He's been too busy with the portal to get a change of clothes. It's pretty empty, spare for some causal clothing he doesn't wear and a extra coat. He grabbed the coat, removing it from the hanger. He walked downstairs to see Y/n standing by the front door holding themselves. Stanford held the coat out trying to ignore that weird feeling again.

"Thanks!"
Y/n smiled as they took the coat from Stanford's hands. Their fingers brushing over Stanford's. A blush lightly coated his face going unnoticed by Y/n. They put the coat on, they hesitated at the door a moment before Stanford opened it, the cold winds blew into the warm cabin. Stanford pushed his way past the winds, Y/n following closely behind. It was still pretty windy outside. The snowflakes hitting both of their faces, causing them to sting slightly. They walked quietly along side each other. Y/n leading a few steps ahead of Stanford. It was quite a long walk.
'How long was I walking out here for..?'
Y/n shivered under their coat. Even with the warm clothing the cold, harsh winds still affected them. Stanford just followed Y/n, he would catch himself staring occasionally. Which would make him dart his eyes down to the snow beneath his feet.

"H-how far is your house?"
He finally spoke up, he forced his head down towards the snow. Y/n thought about how long they walked to Stanford's house. They stayed quiet as they thought back. Stanford waited for them to answer, he caught himself staring again.
'Stop!'
He started to fidget with his hands as he walked. He couldn't stop this stupid feeling. It felt so weird having it just race through his body when he's near Y/n.
'You just met them yesterday! What is so special about them..?'
He began to think about why he was acting like this before Y/n spoke up.

"I'm not sure."
They began as they reached the lake. Some spark of hope shined in their eyes.
"We should be pretty close! I didn't live far from the lake."
Y/n pointed towards the frozen over lake. They hugged themselves as the cold winds hit them again. Stanford hummed a response. When he caught himself staring again he didn't stop. What is t he point of stopping himself if he's just going to do it again? Finally they arrived to where their house would've been. It didn't take long for the device to show itself. It was buried under snow, but with the small source of heat within it kept it barely visible.

"Is that it?"
Stanford spoke up pointing towards the glint in the snow. Y/n went over and bent down to brush the snow off of it. Once they saw the familiar measuring tape shape a smile grew on their face.

"Yes! It is!"
Y/n celebrated quickly before picking it up.
"Let's get back into the cabin. It's fucking freezing out here."
Y/n complained as the wind picked up. It was loud making Y/n barely audible.

* * *

Y/n shut the door behind them as Stanford took his coat off. They made it back to the cabin in one piece. Y/n soon followed suit and threw the coat off of them. They walked over to the fireplace in hopes to start it back up. Stanford walked over and watched them struggle to start a fire.

"Do you need help?"
He offered, his tone gentle and Y/n groaned softly. They rolled their eyes as they continued to struggle.

"...Yes.."
Y/n huffed out their response. They moved back to give Stanford some more room. Stanford scooted closer to the fireplace. He grabbed the fire poker from Y/n. He used the fire poker to move the chard pieces of wood to the side. He stood up and looked for the matches. He found them laying on top of the fire place. He picked them up, opened them, took a match stick out, and lit the match. He tossed it in the fire watching it slowly catch the wood a blaze. He grabbed the small container of fire starter gasoline, splashing a small amount onto the fire, this made the fire roar and actully warm the cabin up. Y/n scoffed playfully, nudging Stanford slightly.
"I could've done that if you gave me a little more time."
Their voice sounded so sweet, and that smile was intoxicating.

"Well I've been setting this fire for a while now so it's just second nature for me."
He added, his grin staying plastered on his face. Y/n smiled back at Stanford before looking at the fire. They hugged their knees close to them in hopes to get more warm.
"We could start fumbling with the device later.."
Stanford started to speak, Y/n listened quietly. They were finding themselves drawn to him.

'No! Stop.. you need to get back home.. Falling for someone in the past isn't going to help you get back home Y/n!"
They scolded themselves, but they kept listening to Stanford. They yawned slowly, rubbing their eyes, speaking up.
"Walking seems to exhaust me quickly."
They let out a tired laugh, their hands still rubbing their eyes.

"O-oh! Well I could just work on it. I forgot that others can't stay up as long as I do."
He laughed nervously as he stood up, offering a hand for Y/n to take. A shy smile spread across Y/n face as they took it.

"Is that a challenge?"
Y/n's tone was daring. A challenging smile now replaced their shy one. As they stood up they saw Stanford with a raised an eyebrow, a smirk now on his face.

"You wouldn't be able to keep up with me."
His voice was low and carried a weirdly suggestive tone. This made Y/n's face flush. They looked away, their mouth covered and eyes wide.

"Goodness Stanford.."
They giggled softly as they return their gaze back to Stanford.

"Ford."

"What?"

"Call me Ford. It sounds better, and it's quicker."
His voice returned to normal as if he didn't have that dangerous tone earlier. Y/n was taken a back a little by the sudden change.

"Oh, well ok Ford."
Y/n smiled.
"Let's see if I can keep up."
Y/n switched their tone back to a challenging one. They probably knew they'd fall asleep first but this sounded fun. Plus they didn't want to deal with Bill just yet, if Bill showed up. They didn't want to take that chance right now.

(1574 words)