This is a continuation of the storyline from my first fanfic "Cynicism Is So Gay." You should read that one before reading this (it's a one-shot, so it won't take too long).

I love reviews! If you like it, or have some constructive criticism/suggestions, please let me know ;)

Disclaimer: I still don't own South Park.

You Can't Go Home Again

Things really began to turn around for Stan when he and Gary reconnected. They spent nearly every weekday together after school, either at Gary's house or Stan's apartment. Stan usually preferred the former because it gave him a chance to see the Harrisons again. Their tight-knit unit was a welcome contrast to Stan's "broken" family, and they always made him feel at home.

Stan still wasn't sure what exactly he and Gary were to each other. He found the entire situation more than a little confusing. He knew he'd liked it when Gary had kissed him, but what did that mean? He had never thought of himself as gay. After all, he'd been madly in love with Wendy, who was technically still his girlfriend, even though they hadn't spent any personal time together since he'd gone all cynical. And if he really loved Gary now, how could he be honest about it? He wasn't ready to make that kind of statement publicly, so school definitely wasn't the place to show affection. He never tried being affectionate at Gary's house because he couldn't be sure how his Mormon family would react to seeing their son or brother with another boy (although Gary always sat as close as humanly possible to Stan whenever the Harrisons played board games). And there was no way he'd try anything around his own family or Shelly would never let him hear the end of it.

"Stan?" he heard Gary say.

"Wha~?" he was brought out of his trance.

"You were zoning out for a while. What are you thinking about?"

Stan sat up on Gary's bed. "What are we, anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are we…dating?"

"I don't know… I haven't really thought about it. Do you want to be?"

"I'm not really sure what I want. This whole thing is so new to me."

"Me too," Gary placed his hand on Stan's. "Maybe we can discover what we want together," he rubbed his thumb in a small circle on Stan's hand.

"This seems pretty good," Stan grinned.

Then Gary gave his award-worthy, national toothpaste commercial smile, and Stan couldn't help myself. He placed his hand behind Gary's neck, closed his eyes and crashed their lips together. Gary kissed back with just as much passion. When they finally ran out of breath, Stan collapsed and lay his head on Gary's lap. Stan smiled and closed his eyes again as Gary removed his red poofball hat and lightly stroked his hair.

Stan decided it was better not to overthink things. Maybe he didn't have to know exactly where things were going with Gary. All that mattered was right here, right now, he was happy.

…

Playing things by ear was working out pretty well for Stan and Gary. They had even more time to spend together over the holiday break, which they took full advantage of. Stan ended up having his first sleepover at Gary's house after Christmas. During the family game night, Gary took his usual spot right next to Stan, while the noirette looked around nervously at the Harrison clan.

"Gary?" Mr. Harrison asked.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"You and Stan sure seem to like being close to each other."

"Oh, God…" Stan put a hand over his eyes in dread.

"What don't you boys ever hold hands?"

"Huh?" Stan dropped his hand.

"We've never even seen you hug," Mrs. Harrison added.

Stan glanced at Gary. "They're surprised we're not hugging and holding hands?"

"You two are dating, aren't you?" asked Gary's big brother Mark.

Gary felt beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. "You all knew that?"

"We aren't blind, guys."

"Was it supposed to be a secret or something?" asked his older sister Jennifer.

"Well…" Stan rubbed the back of his neck. "I was afraid you might get upset."

"Why would we do that, Stan?" asked Gary's little brother David.

"I think I know what happened," said Mr. Harrison. "Stan, it's important to understand that people don't always fit every stereotype of their religion. Not all Mormons are against same sex relationships, the same way not all Catholics are."

"You're a wonderful boy, Stan," said Mrs. Harrison, "and we're proud to have you date our son."

"Gee, thanks," Stan smiled a little embarrassed over his preconceived notions.

"Yay for Stan!" cheered Gary's baby sister Amanda.

"And you boys don't have to be afraid to hold hands or show any kind of affection around us," his father assured them.

"Thanks, Dad," Gary smiled.

The whole family stared at Stan and Gary in anticipation.

"Well?" his mother pushed.

The boys looked at each other uncomfortably, then feeling the pressure, awkwardly took one another's hand.

"Hooray!" the family cheered, while the two of them blushed in humiliation.

When they were lying in Gary's bed that night, Stan was still a little shell-shocked from the events of the evening. "That…was kinda weird."

"Yeah, my family can get a little too involved sometimes."

"I guess it's still better than if they didn't accept it, though."

"Definitely," Gary agreed. "Do you think your family knows about us, too?"

"Not likely."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"I'll think about it." Stan really had no intention of letting his family know he was seeing a boy, but he wanted to give Gary a more hopeful response to hold on to.

…

Stan knew that something different was going on when he came home from Gary's on New Year's Eve to find his dad and grandpa visiting the apartment.

"Oh, good, Stanley, you're here," his mom greeted him. "We have some great news for you and your sister."

"What is it, already?" Shelly asked impatiently.

"Well," said Randy, "your mom and I talked things over, and we decided to get back together!"

"Really?" Stan lit up.

"You bet, champ."

"And your father already rented a moving van so we can go back to our old home tomorrow!"

"Dude, sweet!"

"Make sure you pack tonight," Randy told them. "We'll be leaving bright and early in the morning."

"Oh, boy!" Shelly cheered. "I have to go online and tell my dear, sweet Amir the good news!" she ran off.

"You know," Stan said, "I wasn't gonna say anything before, but now I think I'd like to share some good news of my own."

"What's that, Stanley?" asked Sharon.

"Gary isn't just my friend anymore; we're dating now!"

Randy's eyes bulged out and his mouth practically fell to the floor.

"Oh, that's wonderful, sweetie! I'm so happy for you!"

"Really?"

"Of course."

"What do you think, Dad?"

Randy stood frozen in his state of shock.

"Your father's so excited he's speechless!" Sharon covered.

"Aw, this is so great! I can't believe I was worried about how you'd react. I'm gonna go start packing now!" Stan ran to his room beaming.

"I told you Billy would turn into a poofter if you let him practice that frou-frou circus act," Marvin chimed in.

"Not now, Grandpa," Sharon dismissed her father-in-law. "Randy? Are you OK?"

Without a word, he turned and headed for their bedroom.

Sharon sighed and followed a beat behind. She found her husband facing the window, completely stone-faced. "I know it's hard to accept," she said, "but we need to be supportive right now."

"It's wrong, Sharon."

"How can we be sure of that? Gary's been monumental in helping Stan get through these past couple of months. Maybe they really are right for each other."

"Are you listening to yourself?" he spun around to face her. "We had plans for them! They were supposed to get married!"

"That was our dream, Randy. It may not be his."

"They would've been our in-laws. How awesome would that have been?"

"I know this isn't exactly what he'd hoped for, but we have to let Stan make his own choices about who he wants to date."

Randy shook his head in disappointment. "It seemed like such a sure thing, you know?"

"I know."

"I really thought they had a shot together now that he isn't hanging around that Testaburger girl so much. I mean, honestly: what does Gary have that Kyle doesn't?"

Sharon shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe Stan and Kyle were just meant to be friends."

"I refuse to believe that," he got up to leave the room. "They belong together!"

"Randy, do not get in the middle of this," Sharon warned him.

He scoffed. "I wasn't gonna do that, Sharon, I was just trying to express my feelings! Gawl!"

Randy walked into the kitchen and made sure no one was looking before he pulled out his cell phone and press the speed dial. "Gerald?" he said. "We've got a problem."