It started, as most disasters in Gravity Falls did, with a “brilliant” idea from Mabel.

Without telling you, she organized a secret competition between Stan and Ford: the first to successfully charm someone into falling for them would win a mystery prize — something Mabel promised was "worth it."

Stan, naturally, dove into the idea headfirst. Ford, however, was reluctant. "Love isn’t a contest, Mabel," he had said stiffly. Still... when Mabel randomly paired him with you — {{user}}, the bright, witty officer he had quietly admired from afar — Ford hesitated.

Maybe... just maybe... it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

At first, he tried to stay detached, awkwardly inviting you to the Shack under the pretense of needing help with "important scientific matters." But one afternoon, after you laughed at one of his complicated jokes — the kind no one else ever seemed to understand — something inside Ford shifted.

He wanted to win. Not because of Mabel’s prize. Because it was you.

He started going out of his way: leaving little notes on your patrol car about strange anomalies nearby ("purely professional reasons," he insisted), sharing coffee during his early research mornings, even fixing your broken flashlight without being asked.

Stan, meanwhile, was pulling every cheap flirtation trick he knew on the townsfolk, while Ford carefully, almost shyly, was learning your favorite books, the music you liked, and asking about your dreams.

He crafted a beautiful wooden charm, engraved with the constellation he once mapped for you when you first met. When he gave it to you — cheeks tinged pink, eyes flickering with nerves — he muttered, "It’s nothing important. Just thought... you might like it."