Title: A Good Person
Summary: Kenny says Leo is a 'good person,' but Stan doesn't know how much he can believe that. After all, Leo is a super villain.
Rating: T
Ships: Stenny, Bunny, Stutters, Sunny (I think that's what that polyship ended up being named)
Content Warnings: Mentioned/discussed child abuse in later chapters
Other: You know that thing where you read two posts before you pass out and then wake up at 3 am with a combined idea of them? Yeeeeeeeaah. That's what happened here.
Super hero au
Kenny slipped silently through Stan's front door.
He rubbed his lower back, the phantom memory of the stabbing knife, still played through his healed skin. The moment the mugger's blade struck him instead of her target, she looked up to see Mysterion's dark, piercing eyes glaring over his shoulder at her. The color drained from her face in horrified realization.
She dropped the knife a moment later and tried to flee, but Mysterion's dark whip coiled around her ankle and tripped her face first into the cold, hard sidewalk.
Of course, that mugger had served no challenged to Kenny's alter ego, Mysterion, the great and immortal hero. They never do.
Kenny stretched to the side, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He heard his spine pop — though that was more a result of sleeping on an old mattress than his hero activities.
At least tonight he got a reprieve from that inconvenience.
Stan looked up from his meal, a spoon of mash potatoes inches from his lips.
"You're late," He commented before shoving the potatoes in his mouth. Around them, he continued, "Everything alright?"
Kenny strolled over to the silverware drawer as he spoke.
"Everything is fine." He said. That was not quite a lie. Everything was alright—now at least.
He picked up a spoon before heading over to the table. Sitting on the table top, he scooped Stan's bowl right from in front of him and began to chow down on the instant spuds.
"Is this all you're having for dinner?" He asked.
"Not dinner." Stan pointed to the oven clock. "Midnight snack."
Kenny choked.
He beat his chest a few times before swallowing hard. He shoved the bowl across the table as his cheeks began to burn. It hadn't taken that long to bring the mugger in, had it?
"Shit, Stan, I'm sorry. I got caught up at work and—"
"It's cool, dude," Stan took his bowl back. "I told you, you don't have to lie to me about spending time with your other boyfriend. If you want to spend time with him after work, do it. Just give me more of a heads up next time."
'So I don't worry.'
Those words hung unspoken in the air between them. Guilt wrapped around Kenny's stomach and squeezed. For all of Stan's bravado about being the epitome of uncaring nihilism, Kenny knew full well he was one of the most caring souls around. A caring that came from a place of true empathy instead of a feeling of duty or justice.
A caring like that was rare.
Kenny reached over and set a hand on Stan's. He smiled softly.
"Sorry. I'll do better. Promise." Kenny decided it was better not to correct Stan that he really was late because of work. This time, at least, Leo didn't have anything to do with his tardiness.
He hopped off the table then offered out his hand. "Bed?"
Stan eyed the mostly finished bowl then shrugged. He would probably deal with it later. Stan took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled from his seat.
On the way to the bedroom, and the softest mattress Kenny had ever slept on, Stan asked, "So, speaking of your other boyfriend, will I ever get to meet him?"
Kenny was glad he took the lead so Stan couldn't see him wince. A heartbeat later, he coughed a laugh.
"I don't know. Maybe? Leo's very selective with the people he let's know about our relationship. You know how people are, Stan."
Again, not a full lie...
He continued, looking over his shoulder with a cheeky smile, "Are you sure you're not asking because you plan to steal him for yourself?"
Stan chuckled then used their combined hands to gently shove him forward. His side hit against the doorframe.
He bounced off the frame then shouldered open the loosely shut door. Taking three steps, he fell face first into the mattress, nearly pulling Stan down with him.
"God, I love your mattress." He mumbled through the layering of thick blankets.
"Sometimes I think that's the only reason you're with me." Stan laughed. He took hold of the top blanket and yanked it out from under Kenny. Kenny rolled to the middle before sprawling out his arms and legs.
"Yup, totally, the first chance, I'm going to elope with your mattress," He teased before climbing off the bed to strip out of his jeans and shirt. He folded them up before dumping them in the hamper near Stan's guitar. He plucked a string a few times, earning a chuckle from Stan.
"My offer to teach you to play still stands," Stan reminded as Kenny headed back towards the bed.
"Nah. I already have to beat admirers off me with a stick, knowing how to play the guitar would only bring more of them." He winked, lifting the covers, before slipping in. Only from his nose up peeked out.
Stan rolled his eyes, dropped the blanket at the end of the bed, then hit the lights.
Kenny heard Stan's feet as he padded through the dark. The blankets lifted as Stan crawled in, pressing his back close against Kenny's side.
"Night, Stan," Kenny muttered, pressing a kiss to the top of Stan's head.
"Hmm, night," Stan muttered back.
The ambient noises of the suburb filled the night: The distant rumbling of freight trains and mumble of the wind as it played along snow-covered rooftops.
Just as Kenny began to doze off, Stan whispered, "You've never shown me a picture of him before. Leo, that is. You just tell me about him."
Kenny pulled his arm from behind the pillow under Stan's head then turned. He wrapped an arm around his waist, nuzzling into his hair. It was greasy, but Kenny had grown used to that.
He laughed quietly.
"That's because all the pictures I have of Leo are from the waist down."
Stan chuckled. "Wow, Kenny." The conversation seemed to end after that as Stan's breathing becoming deeper until he drifted off.
Kenny sighed.
How many half lies had that been in the span of ten minutes? Three or four?
Three, Kenny finally decided. Three half lies, not counting his lie of omission about his reason for being late.
One that everything was fine when Kenny had been stabbed less than an hour ago.
Two, that Leo was particular about whom he let in on their relationship. He didn't care if people know Leo and Kenny were together.
Three, that he didn't have any pictures of Leo's face.
Technically, Kenny didn't have any pictures of Leo's face, but he had plenty of Professor Chaos'.
Toolshed looked over the city. Both bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun. The night would be upon them soon, and with night came the low lives that crawled from the dark corners.
Toolshed always felt a pang of pity for the criminals he apprehended. Something in their lives pushed them to break the law. Be it their parents, their spouses, or society itself, something had failed to give them the strength to carry on the law-abiding path.
Or that's what Toolshed liked to think.
Whenever the discussion of if people are born evil or become evil came up, ToolShed would always say that people were inherently good, at least at the start.
He hadn't always thought like that. When he was younger, he was sure no one born was good; however, the years of hero work and being around truly good people had changed much of his views.
Using his tape measure grappling hook, Toolshed swung off the top of the building. He backflipped off the side of an old apartment complex and landed on the sidewalk.
A round of clapping came to his ears.
He turned to find his teammate, Mysterion, melting out of the darkness of an alleyway.
"Seven out of ten, since your landing was a little wobbly," He said in that overly gruff voice that ToolShed just knew was fake.
He smiled proudly. "I'll take it," ToolShed said.
Mysterion chuckled, strolling over. "Got patrol tonight?"
"Yuuuup." ToolShed popped the 'p' at the end. "Tonight and tomorrow. What about you?"
Mysterion shrugged. "I'm done for the day. Finally get to head home." He paused then chuckled, "Or, to my boyfriend's home, anyway."
ToolShed nodded at that but didn't pry. Of all the heroes, Mysterion kept his civilian life the closest to his chest. He never talked about his home life or work.
Except for brief mentions of it to ToolShed.
ToolShed viewed it as an honor that Mysterion trusted him enough to divulge any information about his personal life to him, even something as small as that he had planned to spend the night with his boyfriend.
"I wish I could say the same," ToolShed admitted. "Mine has to stay home without me tonight."
"What an unlucky bastard," Mysterion shook his head. "If it were me, I'd go kick Tupperware's ass for scheduling you for the night shift."
ToolShed stiffened for a second at the comment. He hoped Mysterion hadn't noticed.
Even before he obtained his control over all power tools, Toolshed had admired the hooded hero: Mysterion, the brave vigilante who, at the risk of his own life, tried to better the world by sweeping up crime off the city streets.
There was something just so amazing that a person his own age could change the city so much that stirred a fire in him to do better, try harder, and be a good person. Stories of Mysterion's valor and bravery were part of what kept him going through the worst of his depression as a teenager.
Then, when Coon and Friends recruited them both and he finally got to meet his personal hero, he found that Mysterion was an even braver person than the stories made him out to be. He was kind and caring, strong and stable, humble and yet rightfully proud of what he had done. A bit like Kenny, if he thought about it. Though, Mysterion was much more reserved and quiet than Kenny could ever be.
Well, Wendy used to tease him that he had a type.
He would never admit it to any of the other heroes, he had a little bit of a crush on Mysterion. If he knew Mysterion was single and willing, he would asked him on a date in a snap.
He wouldn't dare try anything, though. The way Mysterion spoke about his boyfriend, he clearly cherished him deeply. It wasn't ToolShed's place to interfere.
Besides, he didn't even know if Mysterion was into the idea of an open relationship and the awkwardness of asking was too great of a deterrent to find out.
Maybe someday he'd find a way to bring up the topic in casual conversation.
ToolShed ran a hand through his hair, careful of his goggles. "Yeah, well, knowing him, he'll make up for it soon enough."
Mysterion smirked. "Sounds like my kind of man, 'Shed. You got yourself a good one there."
"I'd like to think so." ToolShed grinned. Before he could say anything else, his crime alert buzzed on his hip. He whipped it out.
"Robbery. I gotta go." He pointed over his shoulder.
"Need help?" Mysterion offered.
"No, it's fine." He shot his grappling tape out. "Go home, dude. Enjoy your evening."
"If you're sure." He turned on his heels and began to walk back into the darkness.
With a nod he knew hadn't been seen, ToolShed took off into the night.
The robbery wasn't nearly as bad as the crime alert had said. It turned out to be only one man holding up a liquor store with an empty pistol.
It took Toolshed all of two and a half minutes to sneak in, knock the pistol from his hand with a screwdriver, before tying him up with his indestructible chalk line.
As he waited for the police to arrive, he asked the man why he'd done it, only to receive a babbled, nearly incoherent, reply. When the police arrived moments later, ToolShed set a hand on his shoulder and wished him good luck.
He didn't know if the man understood him or not.
After all that, Toolshed crouched on the top of a Burger King, quietly shoving fries from a greasy cardboard holder into his mouth.
He didn't care much for Burger King's fries— Sonic's tater tots were better— but the workers here were used to heroes landing by the drive-through window thanks to how often Mosquito and the Coon get their mid-shift meals there.
He even got a free cookie.
As he polished off his fries, something swift and orange caught his eye on the street. He turned, dropping the fry container into the paper bag with his other trash, to check it out.
Kenny stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the light, hopping from one foot to the other. He had something rectangular in his hands, but ToolShed couldn't tell what it was.
He raised an eyebrow. Kenny told him he would be getting off early tonight and going to bed to catch up on the sleep he'd been missing working late. They were supposed to go out to eat a late breakfast tomorrow.
What was he doing out here?
Kenny dashed across the crosswalk. He shoved his hand in his pockets while he carefully held the rectangular object with the other. He was trying to look casual, but ToolShed knew it was an act.
Something wasn't right.
After making a note to himself to come back and properly toss his trash away, he quietly began to hop from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit. He contemplated a few times dropping down and questioning him as ToolShed, but decided against it each time.
Kenny was smart and knew him too well. He would be able to see through his hero persona with ease, and that was something he couldn't have happened. Kenny loved him for who he was as Stan, not as ToolShed. He didn't want Kenny idolizing him for his hero work or, worse, worrying about him all the time.
Kenny paused near an abandoned factory. He crept quietly to the gate and began to fiddle with the padlock that held the chain closed.
Was he breaking in? Why? What did a factory that hadn't been used in nearly a decade hold for Kenny?
The chain dropped with a heavy clatter to the ground before he pushed the gate open. A high pitch creak echoed around the desolate space. He didn't shut the gate behind him, instead hurrying up the stairs to one of the open cargo doors. He slipped inside and disappeared.
Toolshed waited a few minutes, just in case he came back out, before hopping off the rooftop and scampering over to the gate.
He stooped down to inspect the padlock, expecting to find it broken, but it was still complete. Either Kenny had the key or he picked the lock.
Keeping to the dark edges near the fence, he snuck closer to the door. As he neared, voices carried from within.
"..can't stay for long," Kenny was saying. "I told Stan I'd be home when he gets back. His boss gave him weird hours today and tomorrow."
"Ah, that's too bad," Another, far too familiar, voice replied.
ToolShed stiffened, eyes wide. Steeling himself, he crouched down and peeked into the factory. He could barely see it, but farther in, sitting on the edge of a platform, were two figures, illuminated by a single light on the wall.
The smaller figure was Kenny. He knew that messy outline of hair and laid back posture anywhere, but the other, the taller more resigned one, almost resembled the evil super villain Professor Chaos.
ToolShed shook his head. No, no, that couldn't be right. What would Kenny be doing with a super villain?
Spying a barely illuminated catwalk above them, Toolshed took a step back and looked up the side of the factory. There was a small window about as high up as the catwalk. Maybe they connected.
With his grappling tape, Toolshed hurried up the wall and to the window. By some stroke of luck, the window was unlocked. He carefully pushed it open then climbed through.
The old catwalk groaned under his weight. He froze.
"Did you hear that?" Kenny asked.
Just as Chaos began to push himself up, something brushed against ToolShed's ankle.
ToolShed swallowed hard as whatever it was pulled at his jeans. Something that felt like tiny hands pressed against his leg. The feeling reminded him of a small child trying to make their parent listen.
In the faint moonlight from the window, he caught sight of whatever was trying so desperately to get his attention.
Three small raccoons.
ToolShed had helped rehabilitate raccoons before, and these couldn't be more than a few months old. Their mother was probably around somewhere.
"I think it came from up there." Chaos walked towards a ladder that would take him up to the catwalk.
ToolShed swore to himself then kicked his leg out gently, but the raccoons kept coming back trying to crawl up his pants. They reached up with their grabby, little paws, though they didn't seem malicious.
These were wild animals. They shouldn't even want to come near him — unless a human had been feeding them.
Now ToolShed understood what they wanted.
He hated to do this, but he had no choice. This was the only way to get them to leave.
"Here, get lost," He hissed. Reaching into his pocket, ToolShed took out his free cookie and tossed it. One of the raccoons snatched it from the air and darted down the catwalk with the others on its tail.
They bound to a tangle of pipes on the wall then hurried down.
Chaos jumped back, nearly falling over, as the raccoons raced by his feet.
"Oooooh, that's what it was!" Chaos chuckled. "Just the babies."
A sigh escaped his lips before ToolShed scooted across the catwalk until he was right over the top of them. He crouched and looked down.
While Chaos sat back down, Kenny pulled the object he brought with him into his lap.
"They're not going to steal the food I brought again, are they?" Kenny asked, taking a sheet of shiny foil off the object. Now that ToolShed was closer, he could tell it was a baking pan.
"I wish you hadn't let Disarray feed them." Kenny offered the pan and Chaos took it. The smell of chocolate floated up. Brownies.
"I didn't know he was!" Chaos defended.
"Hopefully, they out grow the habit before they get in trouble with animal control," Kenny said.
Professor Chaos kicked his legs out like a child, with the pan of brownies in his lap. He dug one of the brownies out and began to eat it.
"Mmm! You make some good brownies!" Chaos complimented.
"Thank you. It's a recipe from my dear aunt, Betty Crocker." Kenny joked, taking a brownie for himself. "Though the pan is actually Stan's, so we can't eat them all. It wouldn't be fair if he didn't get any."
Chaos nodded, swallowing his brownie. "Speaking of, how is he doin'?"
Toolshed tensed.
"Good, he's doing good. Though, I don't know how much I'll be able to see him, with summer coming back up." Kenny wiped his hands on his jeans. "He volunteers at the animal shelter and stays for hours helping out. He's very passionate about rehabilitating dogs, especially, I've saw him help with kittens and even a calf last year"
"Well, then, why don't you volunteer, too?" Chaos asked. "You can rehabilitate dogs together."
Kenny hummed. "I don't know. Sometimes dogs can tell what I am and don't like to come near me. I think I'd just be in the way."
ToolShed had seen dogs act strangely around Kenny before. Their tails would go between their legs, and they would back into the corners of their pens, whimpering and whining like some beast at walked into the shelter.
When he said 'What I am'? What did that mean? Yeah, it was weird that some dogs were scared of him, but Kenny was just a normal person.
"Ah, so you still ain't told him?"
"Nope."
Told me what? ToolShed thought, narrowing his eyes.
Kenny paused then turned his head to the side. He tapped his chin.
"You got something riiiiight..." He leaned forward, kissing Chaos right on the mouth. Chaos didn't push him away, instead turning his body towards him, one leg pulled up on to the platform.
ToolShed barely stifled a gasp. A pang of betrayal hit his stomach. So, Kenny was cheating on him and Leo with an evil supervillain bent on the city's destruction.
He gritted his teeth until his jaw began to ache.
Kenny pulled away. "Got it."
Chaos chuckled. "Thanks." He leaned back on his arms. "So, if not about you, you've told him about me, right? You think I'll ever be able to meet him?"
Kenny took a breath and let it out noisily through his nose. "He knows about you, and maybe one day you can meet him, but it has to be as Leo, not as Chaos. I don't think he can ever know about Chaos. He wouldn't be able to understand."
ToolShed's eyes snapped wide.
No, no, no way...This couldn't be possible. The 'Leo' Kenny had described as a friendly, kind-hearted person was Professor Chaos? That couldn't be right. He had to have misheard!
Chaos took another brownie. "He sounds like a really swell fella, and really handsome if those pictures you showed me ain't lying."
"Oh, they ain't—aren't." Kenny laughed. "He really is good looking. Maybe, if you two hit it off and like each other, we can all just be one big triad. I sure wouldn't have anything against it." He pulled both his legs up until he was on his knees, before resting his forearms over Chaos' shoulders and going in for another kiss, deeper than the one before.
ToolShed suddenly became very aware of his own lips. He winced as he realized he'd shared second-hand kisses with Freedom Pals' greatest enemy.
A rage boiled inside him, and it took everything he had not to jump off the catwalk and demand answers from them both.
He had seen enough
By some blessing, however, ToolShed was able to sneak back to the window undetected.
He shot out his grappling tape to hook on the lip of a window of a building. He balanced himself on the edge of the building then slammed shut the window and left.
He hoped they both heard it.
The bedroom light shone through the window when Kenny walked up towards Stan's apartment. He frowned. He didn't remember leaving it on, but he must have unless Stan came home early.
If Stan was home, hopefully, he was in his room so Kenny could leave the half-pan of brownies in the oven. He didn't have a good excuse to why he ran outside with them.
The door was unlocked when he got to the top of the stairs.
No doubt, Stan was home.
He shouldered open the door and peeked in.
Every light was off, save for the bedroom. Sneaking into the kitchen, he hid the brownies in the oven then headed towards the bedroom.
"Stan! You here?" He poked his head in through the bedroom door.
Stan sat on the bed, a pillow hugged to his chest between his knees. His face was buried into the blue-green pillowcase. The moment Kenny stepped in, Stan turned his head up just enough to see his eyes, and Kenny froze mid-step.
A redness ringed his eyes; eyes that were angrier than Kenny had ever seen them. Each shot daggers right at his face.
He slowly lowered his foot.
"Stan?" He said calmly and carefully, like he was talking to a cornered animal. "What's wrong?"
Stan's glare never wavered as he shoved the pillow to the side. "Fuck off."
Kenny flinched back. "W-what? What did I do? Are you mad I wasn't home? I just went out to grab some smokes from the gas station."
"Ha! Fucking Liar! I know what you do when you're late now, you bastard!" Stan spat. For a second, Kenny was sure he planned to dive off the bed and strangle him.
Then the words clicked.
The color drained from Kenny's face. Stan couldn't know. There was no way he could know that Kenny was Mysterion. He just couldn't! Kenny was extra careful at all times to keep those two lives as far from each other as possible!
A cold sweat started across his body. Stan of all people wouldn't be mad that he was Mysterion, right? He spoke so highly of Kenny's alter ego, claiming him to be his favorite superhero. Was he mad that Kenny had been lying about it? He had to know the dangers that came with superhero life and that Kenny didn't want him dragged into that, didn't he?
No, Kenny had to calm down. He didn't even know if Stan knew yet. Play it cool. Play it cool.
"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Kenny shook his head.
Stan slammed his hands down against his legs. It must have stung, but he showed no sign of feeling the pain. "Bullshit! Yes, you do! I saw you tonight! I followed you to that factory!" He swung his legs off the bed and jumped to his feet.
Kenny's heart stopped dead in his chest.
Half the walk to the factory he'd felt like someone was following him, but shrugged it off as paranoia, especially after the incident with the raccoon.
He had been so, so wrong.
Stan knowing about Leo's secret was even worse than Stan figuring out he was Mysterion, by a mile.
"Stan, please, let me explain." Kenny tried to keep the desperate pleading from his voice.
"Explain!? How can you explain that?! The 'Leo' you talk about as one of the 'kindest,' and 'sweetest' people you've ever met is fucking Professor Chaos!" Stan yelled, marching up into his personal space. "You're dating a supervillain and didn't even tell me!"
"It's complicated, Stan! I can't explain everything, but I promise you aren't in any danger," He promised.
Stan eyed him critically then worry mingled with the rage on his face.
"Are you only dating him because he's making you? Is he blackmailing you?"
Kenny choked on a laugh Then told another half lie, "What? No!" He ran his hands through his hair. "Look, dude, I'm just trying to help him. He needs someone to support him."
"He's a super villain! He nearly blew up the museum last month!"
"You think I don't know that?!" Kenny shouted. "I know he's done terrible things! I watch the news. I talk to people. I know!" His shoulders slumped. "I know, man, but...he's getting better. His evil deeds aren't as evil as they use to be, because I'm helping him."
"How?" Stan took a step back, and Kenny took a breath he didn't realize he needed.
"He needs someone there to support him. Someone to tell him it's alright and he doesn't need to act out to fix what upsets him," Kenny explained as best he could. Leo trusted him not to spill his secrets, and that was a hard-earned trust Kenny planned on keeping.
"'Acting out' is buying a sports car or getting a tattoo on your ass, not covering the mayor's office in honey and unleashing bees." Stan countered.
Kenny winced at that memory. It was the second time he'd been killed by bee stings and was no more fun than the first. On the plus side though, it did increase the bee population around the city.
He decided this was not the time to point that out.
Kenny started to rub the knuckles of his left hand with the fingers of his right, a habit he'd picked up from Leo. "Stan, this is way more complicated than you can understand right now. Trust me, under the monologues and hokey evil laughter, Leo is a good person."
Stan gritted his teeth so hard the vein in his neck started to bulge. He squeezed his hands into fists at his side.
"I'm not letting you stay in danger." He spat.
"I'm not in danger!" Kenny threw back. "He can't hurt me! He wouldn't!"
"Yes, he would!"
"No, he fucking wouldn't!"
Kenny felt his Netherborn side, the beast inside him that was Mysterion's power, start to churn and to feed on his anger. It loved this stress and rage and chaos of emotions. He needed to de-escalate the situation soon. That primal power might be useful in the middle of a life or death battle, but not an argument with his boyfriend.
He held up his hands placatingly. "Please, just, I don't know...do you want to meet him? I can set something up. You can see he's not a bad person."
"He is a supervillain, Kenny. I'm not going to ever meet him. I'm going to call the police and Freedom Pals!" He snatched his phone off the bed stand.
Kenny's stomach dropped to the floor. No, he could not let that happen! For both his and Leo's sakes, he had to stop Stan from dialing.
He stole a step forward, body tense and ready to pounce. Stan noticed this then scrambled to climb on the bed. He got to his feet, just as ready to leap to either side if Kenny tried anything.
Frustration fed the Netherborn, giving it more strength to crawl farther and farther up into Kenny's conscious mind. If it took over, Kenny didn't know what it would do to get him out of the situation, but it definitely wouldn't be calmly talking things out. Kenny tried to force it back down but struggled greatly. He had to keep focused on Stan at the same time. If he put too much energy into one or the other, he would be royally screwed.
Stan pressed the nine, then went for the two ones, and Kenny pounced onto the bed. He shot himself at Stan, only for Stan to leap over him, landing in a heap on the floor at the foot of the bed. Kenny rolled over as Stan hurried to his feet.
Stan swore as he backed towards the door, eyes watching Kenny like a hawk, and went to press the call button.
No, Kenny had to stop him. He couldn't break his promise to Leo!
In his panic, the Netherborn took over. He felt the flush of power before he threw out his arm. His dark whip knocked the phone from Stan's hand. It snatched it from the air before throwing it against the wall.
The phone broke apart, the case and back landing near the dresser, the battery sliding under the bed, and the rest of it skidding under it to hit Stan's guitar in the corner.
Stan's mouth hung open in pure shock.
Shit, shit, SHIT! This was the worst way this could go! Now there was no way Stan didn't know he was Mysterion! What was Kenny going to do? What was Stan going to do?
Once the shock wore off, Stan was going to be terrified.
Kenny fought the Netherborn back down for a second, trying desperately to hold on to any rational thoughts before all his fears came flooding back in full force.
No matter how much Stan idolized Mysterion, Kenny had still attacked him. They may have been dating for coming on a year now, but Kenny was still a creature of otherworldly power, granted to him by the epitome of the greatest and most primal of human fears. He wasn't a normal person, but a monster. Stan wouldn't want to spend his life with a monster who was only alive thanks to long dead and sleeping gods.
Stan would leave him! Stan would be scared of him! Stan would hate him for this!
Kenny couldn't stand the idea of the inevitable look of fear on his boyfriend's face.
He had to get out! Get away!
Escape! Escape! Escape!
Kenny rolled to his feet and bolted towards the door. In a role reversal, it was Stan this time who made a grab for Kenny. His arms wrapped around his middle, trying to pull him to a stop. Instead, they both began to fall forward.
Kenny began to let himself be pulled into the space between dimensions so he could turn into purple smoke and ghost away, but forced himself to stop. If Stan touched him while he did that, he would accidentally drag him along with him between worlds. Unlike Kenny, Stan couldn't survive in such a place.
Instead, he shoved the Netherborn back down with all his might and let himself fall forward into the carpet. It smelled like dirt and body spray. He didn't even try to resist when Stan crawled off him only to straddle his back and place his hands on his shoulders.
Kenny clenched his eyes shut.
"Fuck," He breathed.
Stan panted above him. "You're...you're Mysterion."
Kenny didn't reply more than a small nod.
He took one hand from his shoulder to place on his face.
"You are Mysterion." He sat back, his full weight on Kenny's lower back.
"Yeah, I am," He mumbled into the carpet. Steeling himself, he asked, "Stan, can you get off of me? I promise not to try and run away," a heartbeat later, Kenny added, "or hurt you."
Stan's remaining hand slipped off his shoulders. A moment passed in silence before he swung his leg up over him. Kenny pushed himself up but didn't dare look at Stan. The terror of what he might see clung to his every thought.
The two sat for untold minutes, only punctuated by Stan's 'you're Mysterion' mumbles, until Stan finally pulled himself up. Kenny watched his back as he lumbered to the bed and sat. He took a breath then slowly stood himself.
He walked over, hands in his pockets, to stand in front of him.
"Stan?" He asked softly. "Are you ok?"
"You're Mysterion."
"We've established that, yeah." Kenny sighed. "Look, man, I'm so sorry about that. I panicked. It's no excuse, and I wouldn't ever do it again. Please don't," he choked on the words, "please don't be scared of me. I love you too much to hurt you."
Stan shook his head without raising to face him. "You're Mysterion...You're fucking Mysterion!" He snapped his head up and Kenny nearly stumbled back. His boyfriend wasn't scared. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't even in awe.
He was annoyed.
"What the fuck!?" He threw out his hands. "You're supposed to be the smart one between us! How the fuck can you be Mysterion?"
"What?" Kenny furrowed his brow. "I am smart."
Stan held his hands, palms up, and shook them side to side at him with his own eyebrows knitted together and lift half raise . "Clearly not!" He accused. "Because if you were, you would have figured it out!"
"Figured what out?" Kenny groaned. He almost preferred their heated arguing over this.
"That I'm ToolShed!" Stan threw his hands up. "Good God, Kenny! I don't even change my voice like you do—which, fucking called that! I mean, fuck, dude, Call Girl figured it out a week into our relationship!"
Kenny blinked once, his brain slowly starting to process that information. He stared hard at Stan before bringing up ToolShed in his mind's eye. Maybe they did look a little similar, same nose, cheekbones, and square jaw, same toned arms, greasy head of hair, height and build, but Stan Marsh could not be ToolShed. Stan Marsh was just a normal person, while ToolShed was a super-powered hero. They had to be different people.
And yet...
All at once, everything started to fit together. How many canceled dates happened at the same time an emergency called upon the Freedom Pals to jump into action? How many times did ToolShed have patrol happen whenever Stan had to 'work weird hours'? How many times had he seen that familiar look of compassion cross ToolShed's face?
Hell, Kenny even had to remind himself to hold back any flirtatious comments he had when he was around ToolShed as Mysterion. He'd always chalked that up to just feeling comfortable around his fellow hero, but if ToolShed and Stan were the same person...
A thousand responses rushed through his head. He could turn Stan freaking out about him being a superhero back on him. He could be angry that Stan never told him. He could admit it was obvious that Stan was ToolShed.
He could have said anything, but the first words to come out of his mouth were, "You got to bone Call Girl? How was that?"
Kenny felt his face flush. He opened his mouth to fumble out an apology, but Stan burst into laughter. He howled, doubling over. The tension and frustration that clung in the air began to lessen and Kenny joined in.
"Ok, sorry, I don't know why I asked that," He apologized around giggles.
"No, no, it's cool," Stan shook his head. "Also the answer to that is 'really good'. I can't say more, or Wendy will leak my whole search history to the world."
"Wendy's their name? I never knew that. Either way, nice," He let out a low whistle then asked, "Dude, can I sit down?"
"Yeah, go for it."
He sat next to him, forearms rested on his thighs. He chewed his lip.
"So, what now?" He asked.
Stan shrugged then fell backward to the mattress. "You explain what exactly your plan is with Chaos would be a good start." He pushed himself up on his elbows. "Seriously, what is up with that? It's Professor Chaos. How did you two even start dating? Does he...know? About you being..."
Kenny sighed then fell back himself. "He does. I know his real name. He knows mine. It's an insurance policy I offered him when we first started out. If I tell the police his identity, he tells the criminal underworld mine."
Stan cringed, looking away, and Kenny continued, "Don't worry. At this point, I'd have to be the one to betray him for my secret to slip."
"You're sure about that? How do you know he's not just waiting for the right moment?" Stan asked, setting a hand over the top of Kenny's.
Kenny press his lips into a line before letting out a low breath.
"He just won't. Just know that he wouldn't sell me out unless I sold out him first."
That was the truth. They had gotten well passed the point in their relationship that that sensitive information was anything to worry. Neither would dare use it for his own gain now.
Chaos would never do anything that would hurt Kenny, likewise Mysterion would never do anything that would hurt Leo.
Stan opened his mouth but Kenny quickly went on, "Remember that honey thing? That's how it all started."
"I remember you just came back to life after being stung to death and then dove into the middle of his honey coating machine and got trapped with Chaos." Stan frowned. "It took us nearly two hours to break through it all and he escaped in the end."
"Yeah, well, in that two hours, Chaos and I had a long talk." Kenny shut his eyes. "And I confirmed something I already suspected: Chaos is a good person; he's just scared of what he can't control, like everyone else."
In his mind's eyes, Chaos' terrified face looked back at him from across the cockpit of the honey machine, illuminated by only the lights from the control panel.
"Chaos doesn't want to hurt people. Even if his views are misguided in their execution, he really thinks what he does is for the greater good in the end."
"Even if he 'doesn't want to', he still does! He is a supervillain, Kenny." Stan shook his head. "Does he even actually care about you?"
Kenny turned, his eyes opening enough to show narrow slits. "Yes, he does." His voice came out darker than he meant it to, but he kept the tone as he went on, "I am important to him. He is important to me."
"I see."
Kenny turned his face toward the ceiling. "Haven't you noticed how he hasn't been as active lately? How his crimes aren't as extreme? Having a support system, he has someone to come to when things get too out of hand, when he gets scared, so he doesn't take it out on the city."
Stan thought on that a moment.
"You really think you're fixing him?"
"Not fixing. It's not my job to fix anyone. I'm helping."
"Ok then." Stan breathed through his nose. "I trust you. If you think you can turn Chaos, Leo, from evil, then do what you need to. I'll support you."
Pushing himself up, he turned to Stan, eyes wide. "You mean that? You'll keep this a secret?"
He nodded. "I promise I won't tell unless I think your life is in actual danger."
Kenny examined Stan's face for any falsehoods. He had to make sure that Stan wouldn't go straight to Doctor Timothy the second Kenny wasn't looking.
When he found none, a weight fell of his shoulders.
Happy tears pricked the corners of his eyes. Before Stan could react, Kenny pounced, arms wrapping around his shoulders and pinning him to the bed. Stan pulled a hand up and petted the back of his head.
He pressed a kiss to his temple then muttered, "But, if he betrays you, know that I will personally strangle him myself."
There was not an ounce of hesitation in his voice. Kenny knew he meant every word of that.
AN: next update will be next Wednesday