Reader Inserts (Requests Closed)

Stan x Older!Reader

Requested by KittyKatBella

Stan Pines was clearly not a man used to the idea of commitment. If he was, you wouldn't be sitting at the Shack's kitchen table, having a hushed conversation like parents trying not to wake their child. The hour was late, probably somewhere between 3 and 5 AM. Both of you were far too old to be staying up this late. Stan had been avoiding eye contact with you while you stared him down past the rim of your coffee cup. He had to own up to his past mistakes. 

"Stan," you finally said, your voice loud. "You need to give me an answer." 

His eyes finally met yours; of course there was nothing but fear in them. He was probably trying to disguise it. 

"I don't know if I can," he admitted quietly. "You're asking for a lot." 

Placing your coffee cup back down, you crossed your arms. Your joints were not quite as agile as they used to be in your young age. If there was a hell, it could be found in the new challenges of getting old. 

Still, it did not hinder the fact that you needed an answer from Stan. You thought your question was simple enough: do you want to commit? He was too old to be deliberating the answer as if it was a matter of life or death. You weren't a pair of 16 year olds falling in love for the first time. Stan was a 69 year old man and you were somewhere close behind. You'd both learned that both parties had been experienced in relationships; you had been married more than once in your lifetime, but those men were gone. Stan was your best chance at a relationship again. You loved him, and he knew that. Stan, on the other hand, had swindled and slept with plenty of women in his prime years, never once committing to them despite what he may have said or done. Yet, you knew that Stan was in need of a real relationship, otherwise he wouldn't have even given you a chance. 

"I want to," Stan finally said, his voice increasing in volume. "And it's nice to have someone want me after all this time, but-" 

"But what?! Stan, we're not 16 year old children deliberating whether or not we'll go steady after the prom. We're grown adults with one last chance at love." 

He leaned back in his chair. "I know we're older, which is why-" 

"Which is why nothing! I love you, Stan. We don't have to get married or anything like that, but courtship is not a thing at our age." 

Stan raised his eyebrows. "You sure you can handle me?" 

"I handled you for a year and a half in this on and off thing we had going on." 

He sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Alright. You win." 

You sighed and stood up. "Good. Now, let's go to bed. Lord knows we need our sleep." 

"Damn straight," Stan said, placing a hand on your back. 

Once you got to bed, you both crashed down together. The bed was familiar, and you hadn't been here in at least a month. It felt good to be under the world's thinnest sheets and lumpiest mattress. The conditions may have been hell on your body, but your mind couldn't ignore the overwhelming sense of relief upon being back in his bed. You and Stan laid across from each other for a split second before he sat up, reaching over to light a cigar. You glanced at the clock. 4:46 AM. 

"You're lighting a cigar at five in the morning?"

"Celebratory," Stan replied, taking the glorified cigarette out of his mouth to blow out the smoke. "For finally doin' something with my life." 

The smell of his cigar smoke was familiar and made you feel kind of tingly, though you had the strict belief that you were too old for tingly feelings. If your joints weren't holding you down, you would have sat up and had a cigar with him. But instead, you just glanced up at him. A warm smile similar to that of a grandmother's crossed your face. Eventually, sleep called. You couldn't ignore it despite the nap you had taken in the middle of the day. 

Eventually Stan snuffed out his cigar and laid down next to you. You were sound asleep by then, so you couldn't hear him say that he loved you back. He said it hesitantly, and uncertainly, but it was good that he said it. The words were now out in the air. As he fell asleep, the only thing he could think about was what Mabel would have to say about her uncle's new relationship when she came to visit next summer.