I.

Sometimes, like tonight, Tweek will find himself at Craig's doorstep at three in the morning, usually bearing a gift in the form of a huge thermos of coffee. He never knocks, he just stands there, hoping Craig will open the door anyway. He always does, mumbling sleepily and motioning for Tweek to hurry up and come in already. Tweek thinks it's because Craig is already awake anyway and watching for him. Craig's always had trouble sleeping, his mind forever busy. He hands Craig the thermos when they get to his room and he takes it and carefully sets it on his desk, next to his hamster's cage, before flopping onto his bed face down and asking Tweek what's wrong.

"I h-had a nightma- a nightmare." Tweek says, tugging on his sleeves.

Craig rolls over and sits up again. "Jesus, dude. How did you even walk over here then? It's fucking pitch black out there." He rubs at his eyes.

"I don't know!" Tweek says, voice rising slightly hysterically. He hadn't been thinking about that, too worried about bothering Craig, though not too worried to go back home.

"Alright. You're fine, just come lay down then." Craig lays back down and waits for Tweek to crawl into bed before covering them both with his blanket, heavy and soft. He'd had to get a new blanket, his last one was slightly scratchy and Tweek can't handle certain textures. Tweek curls toward him for warmth, he hates being cold. Craig feels too tired to sleep, mind racing, so he just lies on his side, petting Tweek's hair, it's soft and smells faintly of vanilla and coffee beans, until he hears his breathing even out. Tweek always falls asleep so fast, Craig marvels. He drifts off when the sun starts to rise, burying his face in Tweek's hair as the birds start to sing.

II.

"Jesus Christ. Uh, you alright?" Tweek asks, gently touching Craig's face. Craig winces and shrugs. It doesn't happen as often as it used to, which he's thankful for. His dad can be a real asshole sometimes. And one who never acknowledges their 'little' fights. He'll beat the shit out of him for some imagined slight, or maybe he didn't like his tone or the house isn't cleaned to his exact standards. Short fuse, but half an hour later, and this never fails, he's back to being happy dad, calling him son, ruffling his hair. Ignoring the bruises and black eyes. His dad always said to never apologise for something if you don't mean it, which Craig takes as his dad not caring about hitting him. He supposes that it's better than his dad holding onto grudges, but it's exhausting to feel like you're on some kind of shitty rollercoaster, one where the track appears level and straight, then suddenly, terrifyingly plunging down a steep slope. He hates how he can be the same, learned behaviour and all. He's trying to unlearn.

"It's okay, Tweek." He says eventually, aiming for a reassuring tone. "I'm fine."

Tweek gives him a look that seems to say Bullshit, but he doesn't say anything, he just wraps his arms around him and lets Craig cry into his hoodie. If someone asked Craig to describe how feels exactly at this moment, he doesn't know if he'd be able to. A mixture of a bunch of different emotions all at once. He eventually settles on home, he feels like he's home.

III.

Craig gets his first car, janky as hell, but it's his own. He loves it, and he's smiling as he makes his way up to Tweek's bedroom. He finds him sitting in the dark, watching one of his foreign horror movies. The subtitles help him focus, he says. Craig sits next to Tweek, glances at the screen and he has no idea what's happening, but Tweek is entranced with it. His eyes are wide and in the glow of the tv light, he looks almost alien. So Craig decides to watch Tweek instead. He waits until the credits start to roll before he says anything.

"Tweek, do you wanna go do something?" His voice sounds excited and happy, he knows he's giving it away, but he can't keep a secret from Tweek anyway.

"You bought it?" Tweek asks, grinning at him. He takes a sip of his coffee and offers it to Craig.

Craig takes the cup, he's grown used to the strong taste of it, but he only drinks coffee when Tweek offers it to him. "I did. So, do you want to go for a drive, Tweek?"

Tweek nods.

The night air is warm and Craig drives slowly down a dirt road, driving through a few mud puddles, his car is getting dirty, but he doesn't really care. Tweek seems to be having fun, he's holding his hand out the window, feeling the breeze against his fingers.

Tweek occasionally turns to smile at him, Craig smiles back.

IV.

There are times when Craig wonders why Tweek is even friends with him. He doesn't think he's interesting at all, he feels like a terrible friend most of the time. Tweek is always there for him and he feels like he's never there for Tweek. He hates these moods, sometimes they make him believe that Tweek secretly hates him, even though he knows how stupid it sounds. If Tweek didn't like him, he'd say so. That doesn't stop Craig from worrying about it. So he texts Tweek, saying he misses him, even though he saw him earlier that day. Tweek always responds immediately. I miss you too. Then he'll show up ten minutes later at Craig's doorstep, wielding coffee and snacks (Doritos and salsa, Dr. Pepper and cosmic brownies as per tradition.) and movies. He loves their movie nights, they quiet the part of his brain that insists Tweek is only friends with him out of pity. At least for a little bit. He doesn't know why Tweek still hangs around, but he's really happy to have him as a best friend.


Notes: Parts are based off my own life and my best friend. Mostly Craig's parts. Review if you'd like.