A/N: This story was originally going to be a Stan x Craig oneshot but then I thought of all these other back stories for other characters and it evolved into a big ol' multi-chapter story! More and more I am feeling like I can relate to the citizens of South Park because I recently moved to an actual tiny little mountain town (in the North Georgia mountains) and it's so incredibly boring it has motivated me to keep writing this story which is my longest yet. A special thanks to my awesome-tastic fiancé for helping me with the research for this story and listening to my rants when I come up with ideas.
Chapter song: "For You I Will (Confidence)" Teddy Geiger
The letters had come in the mail today. Stan came across it while sorting all of the envelopes he had retrieved from the mailbox at the end of the driveway of his Vermont home. "Son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath and then hefted his briefcase from work onto the kitchen counter. Stan loosened his tie and set out to begin cooking dinner. He twisted his wedding band around his left ring finger out of habit as he glanced at the clock waiting for the pot of water to boil.
The twenty five year old man decided to go ahead and change into some sweat pants and a t-shirt before it was time to put the noodles into the boiling water. He typically arrived home before his spouse since his job as an accountant was more of a nine to five kind of thing than retail jobs tended to be. By the time he emerged from the bedroom and reentered the kitchen the water was bubbling loudly and ready to take on the dry pasta that Stan was pouring into it. Stan preheated the oven and got a tray of garlic bread ready before he made his way back to the letters he had left abandoned on the counter.
There was nothing very special about the envelopes: plain white paper and black ink print. The return address on both of them was what made him hold his breath. Typed neatly in the upper left hand corner was "South Park High School". One of the letters was addressed to him and the other was for his spouse. Stan took a deep breath and tore open the envelope addressed to him. It read:
Dear South Park High School Alumni,
It's finally time for your class' reunion at South Park High School! Be sure to save the date to come see all your classmates! Go Cows!
Where: South Park High School gymnasium
When: May 22nd 6pm
The date is April 22nd. "Really?" Stan asked out loud. "You people give us one month's notice?" he sighed in frustration. "That's South Park for you," he grumbled as he put the letter down and resumed cooking. Just as the dark haired man was draining the noodles he saw a flash of headlights out the window as a car pulled up the driveway. Stan was pulling the garlic bread out of the oven when the door leading from the garage to the kitchen opened with the sound of jingling keys and footsteps.
As soon as the door was open he heard, "Stan, I swear to fucking God we had another one of those days where all the jack offs decide to call one right after another asking for mother fucking Battle Toads!" Stan finished placing all of the plates and utensils on the counter and turned to meet a pair of frustrated grey eyes.
"I'm sorry, Hun," he said sympathetically. "You're just in time for dinner. Maybe some spaghetti will make you feel better."
"Let me get out of this uniform first," Craig Tucker sighed as he made his way to the bedroom that he and Stan shared. Stan began making two plates of food and set them on TV trays in front of the couch before going back to the kitchen to grab two beers out of the fridge. Craig came out of the bedroom wearing loose pajama bottoms and a tank top.
"I already fixed you a plate," Stan called to him before he could make it all the way to the kitchen. Craig made a turn and entered the living room seeing his tray of food and beer set up next to Stan. He plopped down on the couch and began digging into his food.
"Thanks babe," Craig said with a mouthful of noodles earning a look from Stan that was a mix of disgust and acceptance of his "thank you". Once his mouth didn't have food in it he grabbed his beer and said, "You know working at Game Stop really sucks on days like this." Stan made a noise of concurrence as he flipped through channels on the TV. "And it really sucks being the manager on duty because none of those fart faced kids know how to deal with the crazy phone calls," he continued after he had taken a swig and then returned the bottle to his tray. Stan was about to put the remote down once he found a football game he didn't mind seeing but Craig started up again. "Stan, I love you but I am not in the mood to pretend I'm interested in your football shit." Stan sighed. He thought he was going to be able to get away with it this time but apparently not. He flipped the channel over to Regular Show and the two proceeded to eat their dinner.
Once their plates were empty Craig got up and took all of the dishes into the kitchen. He was midway through cleaning up the kitchen when he caught sight of the open letter. He picked it up and noticed the unopened envelope underneath it that was addressed to him. He assumed they were both the same so he went ahead and read the one made out to Stan Marsh. As soon as he finished reading it he frowned. "Stanley," he called into the living room.
"Yeah?" Stan answered back.
"Come into the kitchen. I think we have something to discuss," Craig informed him. A moment later Stan wandered into the kitchen with a look of confusion written on his face. He saw the letter in Craig's hand and instantly knew what the discussion was to be about. "Do you want to go?" Craig asked while placing the letter back on the counter. Stan's eyes stayed trained on Craig's hand for a moment then he returned his gaze to the other man's face.
"You know I'd love to see my friends again," Stan began wistfully. "I wouldn't mind seeing my parents either," he stated. Craig looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I would like to see what friends are up to as well," Craig said slowly. "I don't think I'd run the risk of seeing my parents as long as I stay away from town where we might bump into each other," Craig broke off for a moment as he fought back the memories that were wanting to break free. His home life back in South Park had been abusive. He packed up his bags and left town right after the graduation ceremony. He went to Vermont because he had seen pictures of it and thought it would be a beautiful place to start his life over. He was able to afford a really crappy apartment and put in job applications everywhere. The first place to give him an interview had been Game Stop. He stuck with them and worked his way up to the management position he currently had.
It was at the Game Stop that he came across Stan. Craig was working when suddenly a familiar face came through the door. Out of all the customers he could have had, Stan Marsh was the last person he expected to see. As it turned out, Stan chose to go to college in Vermont. At the time Craig had no idea what Stan had meant when he said he just wanted to go someplace where no one knew who he was so he could be himself. Eventually Craig and Stan began dating. Two years later when Stan was a junior in college he and Craig moved into a house together. The night Stan graduated from college with his degree in accounting, Craig asked him to marry him. That was when Craig realized why Stan had chosen to come to Vermont to be himself. They could actually legally get married. Stan still hadn't come out to his parents or friends and Craig didn't want anything to do with his family, so the two had their silver wedding rings engraved on the inside to read "Not even death" and went to the courthouse to sign the papers. Once everything was said and done, Stan even had his last name changed. He was still a pretty masculine dominant force and didn't want to lose his own name so he made it hyphenated. Now his legal name is Stanley Marsh-Tucker.
"I'm sure it will be okay," Stan comforted. He moved closer to the other dark haired man and wrapped his arms around his waist. Craig kissed Stan's forehead and ran his fingers through the other man's hair. "Even if you do run into them they can't do anything to you in public. Plus you're a grown ass man! You aren't their kid anymore," Stan continued to reason with him.
"Hmm," was Craig's response. He then held Stan's shoulders arm's length away from him so that Stan would look him in the eyes. "And you are going to have to tell your family that you are gay," Craig told him firmly. "We are married for fuck's sake! You have my last name!" he stated exasperatedly. Stan gave him a worried look.
"I know," he mumbled weakly. "I will. I wonder what everyone at the reunion is going to say. I don't think anyone else in our class was gay. Was Butters gay?" Stan wondered out loud. Craig chuckled slightly.
"I don't know. He did follow Kenny around like a lost puppy. Maybe he had a crush on him," Craig theorized.
"Hmm," Stan mimicked Craig's earlier response.
"Well I guess we'd better put in for some days off from work and buy some plane tickets. Will your parents pick us up from the airport?" Craig asked tiredly.
"Yeah they could," Stan said. "We might as well stay at their house too so that we don't have to pay for a hotel," he said while thinking out loud.
"That's fine with me," Craig said after yawning. "Let's go to bed. We'll figure out more details tomorrow," he suggested while shuffling off toward the bedroom. Stan followed suit.
The next day Stan and Craig requested the days off from work that were needed for the trip. When Stan got home from work he put on his comfortable clothes and then sat on the edge of the bed staring at his cell phone. His parents' house number stared back at him from the screen. When Craig got home from work and entered the bedroom he found Stan still poised in that position.
"Jesus Christ, Stan how long have you been sitting there like that? Has to be for at least twenty minutes," Craig exclaimed. Stan gave him a pleading look. "Do you want me to call for you?" Craig asked impatiently. Stan shook his head violently in a "no" response. "Then fucking do it already!" Craig cried and then proceeded to put his PJ's on.
As Craig left the room to search for some dinner Stan took a deep breath and pushed send on his phone. His heart was pounding as he listened to the sound of ringing coming from the ear piece. On the fifth ring he heard the sound of a phone being taken off the receiver and his mother's voice answering, "Hello?"
"Hey," he breathed into his end. "Hey Mom its Stan." He could barely contain his nerves but was able to hold it together enough that his mother didn't suspect anything to be wrong.
"Stan!" she exclaimed in excitement. "I haven't heard from you in years! I mean, other than the birthday and Christmas cards. You never call and you've never returned my calls," she sounded almost sad for a moment.
"I know Mom I'm sorry," Stan apologized feeling guilty for abandoning his family the way he did. He really loved his parents but he just couldn't bear the thought of them rejecting him if they found out he wasn't the All American manly man he thought they tried to raise him to be.
"So to what do I owe the pleasure of my long lost son finally giving me a call?" she asked breaking his reverie.
"Oh, um," Stan tried to collect his thoughts and push his guilt aside. "I got a letter in the mail the other day," he began quietly.
"Uh huh," Sharon responded.
"And, uh, apparently my high school reunion is happening next month," he told her.
"Oh yeah! I think I remember Sheila mentioning something about that a few days ago. Kyle is supposed to be coming to town for that," she recounted. Stan was relieved to hear this. He knew his super best friend had gotten into Harvard Law school so he was afraid of Kyle deciding it was too much of a hassle to come all the way back to Colorado for the reunion.
"That's cool," he told her.
"So," Sharon drew out trying to probe for more information.
"Yeah?" Stan asked.
"Well, Stan are you coming back for it or not?" she inquired impatiently. She was too eager to find out whether or not she was going to finally get to see her son after so many years.
"Uh yeah," he began, trying to hide his discomfort with where he knew the conversation was about to go.
"Oh Stanley!" Sharon proclaimed, "I can't wait to see you, honey!" Stan could almost see how happy she was just by the sound of her voice.
"Yeah, um, do you think you could pick us up from the airport and let us crash at your place so we don't have to rent a hotel?" he asked cautiously.
"We?" his mother repeated.
"Yeah," Stan began shifting his position on the edge of the bed. "So, please don't get mad," he pleaded knowing full well that she was going to flip her shit anyways because she's a mother and that's what they do when being told this information.
"What? Why?" she asked worriedly. "Why would I get mad? What's going on?" she demanded. The line was quiet for a moment except for Stan's audible breathing. "Stan?" Sharon questioned tentatively.
"Mom," he started with difficulty. "I, uh, I got married," he finally said.
"What? You didn't tell me? You didn't invite me, or anyone else in the family for that matter? You've never even brought anyone home! What the hell, Stanley?" she shouted angrily.
"Mom!" Stan tried to interject.
"Stanley Randall Marsh!" she chastised. He winced, not being able to tell her that that wasn't even really his name anymore. "I can't believe you would do something like this!" she continued ranting.
"Mom!" Stan finally cut in. "You don't understand. We didn't want to make a huge thing out of it. It wasn't just you and Dad and Shelly that weren't included, it was everybody. All we did was go to the courthouse. There was no wedding so don't worry, you didn't miss anything," he tried to appease her.
"Oh," she said simply. "Well, will there be a wedding later?" she asked. Stan pinched the bridge of his nose.
"No, Mom," he stated firmly. "We are already married and content with that. We don't need a big deal ceremony," he explained.
"Alright, alright," Sharon surrendered. "So what's her name? She'll be coming to the reunion with you?" she pried. Stan sighed loudly.
"Mom, I have to go. I'll let you know the details of my flight later. We'll deal with all this later," he deflected.
"Fine," Sharon sighed. "I'm just glad I finally get to have my baby boy home again," she stated happily. "I can't wait to tell your father!"
"Yeah," Stan agreed unenthusiastically. "Talk to you later," he told her in order to wrap up the conversation.
"Of course, sweetie," she cooed lovingly. "I love you," she added.
"Love you too," he said. "Bye," he muttered as he ended the phone call. He looked up to see Craig standing in the doorway with a smug look on his face.
"This is why I'm glad I don't have to deal with that parental bullshit," he stated as he sauntered passed Stan to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
"Fuck you!" Stan said playfully. "You'll have to deal with them too when we arrive in South Park. They are your parents-in-law," he said matter of factly, earning a dark warning look from the other man. Stan laughed at his attempt at looking dangerous and moved to kiss Craig's cheek before preparing himself for bed.
The day of their flight was proving to be very stressful. Craig had a constant mantra playing in his head that repeated 'You won't run into your parents' and Stan had his nerves so worked up he could barely concentrate on one thing for longer than a few minutes. Craig looked up from his packing to see three open suitcases on Stan's side of the bed, each containing various items that could easily be consolidated into one suitcase. In the mean time, the anxious dark haired man could be heard futzling around in the bathroom with various toiletries.
"Jesus Christ," Craig commented quietly before heading into the bathroom to check on Stan. From the looks of it, the aforementioned young man was arranging and rearranging bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash as well as two sticks of deodorant. "Stan, what are you doing?" Craig asked in his best attempt at a comforting voice. He was growing impatient inwardly because he had nearly completed his own packing whereas Stan was just making a mess out of their bedroom and bathroom. They needed to be out the door headed to the airport in thirty minutes. Of course he had to restrain his frustrations because he could sense that in Stan's current state he would not be able to handle asshole Craig; instead he tried his best to be empathetic Craig. This particular form of Craig was a rare creature.
"Oh," Stan looked surprised at Craig's presence. "I'm just trying to figure out which of these I'm going to need," he motioned towards the bottles on the counter. It was obvious he was nearly hysterical. Stan exhaled deeply, "You know, we probably don't even need all of these. We could probably just share while we are there. That would save space in our bags," he continued to ramble. Craig moved closer to him and embraced him from behind, wrapping his arms around the slightly more built frame of the panicked man. He rested his chin on the top of Stan's head and observed the two of them together in the bathroom mirror. Craig had always been tall and rail-thin, although he was only a head taller than Stan.
"Why are you packing three bags?" Craig asked slowly, not wanting to set off the other man.
"I wasn't sure which would fit everything in it so I figured I would get them all started then see which had more space," Stan attempted to reason. Craig rolled his eyes.
"We are running out of time," he said calmly so as not to seem like he was trying to rush. "Why don't you go sit down and I will pack for you," he reasoned. Stan nodded in compliance and stepped out of the taller man's embrace to go sit on the living room couch.
"Did you pack your inhaler, babe?" Craig shouted into the other room.
"No," Stan replied weakly. "It's still in the medicine cabinet," he informed.
"Alright," Craig called back and proceeded to fill one of Stan's bags with all his necessary belongings. He did go by Stan's suggestion and only pack one set of toiletries for them to share in order for them to save space. In no time at all they were loaded up into Craig's Ford Focus and on their way to the airport. Craig offered his hand to Stan while he drove as a form of comfort. Stan gladly accepted the offer and tried his best to remain calm as he stared out the passenger window.
Once they were on the plane Craig offered Stan one of the ear buds to his mp3 player but Stan declined. He had to prepare what he was going to say to his parents and was far too distracted to pay any attention to music.
After the plane had landed, Craig awoke from his nap to see Stan staring blankly at the back of the seat in front of him.
"Come on Stan," Craig nudged him groggily. "It'll be okay. We have to get off the plane now," he stood up hoping to be able to coerce Stan out of his seat. The other dark haired man had a look of terror set in his light blue eyes.
"I'm just really freaking out, Craig!" Stan whispered fearfully.
"Well obviously," Craig snorted. Asshole Craig could not be contained forever.
"This is what I've been avoiding since high school, dude! Telling my parents I'm gay! At least you never have to go through with this. You don't give a shit about your parents but I care a lot about mine!" Stan frantically told him while being herded in the direction of the exit. Once they were off the plane and standing in the airport terminal Craig put his hand on Stan's shoulder.
"I'll be right here with you, okay? If worse comes to worse we'll get a hotel room and just stay there, but no matter what I'm here with you," the taller man whispered in his ear comfortingly. Stan turned his head back to look at the man who was now wearing a blue chullo hat and gave him a small smile. The two proceeded to walk toward baggage claim to retrieve their luggage and meet up with Stan's parents.
Randy and Sharon Marsh had only been waiting near the baggage claim for a few minutes.
"So what do you think about our little Stanley getting married?" Sharon asked her husband.
"Well if he wants to do that to himself then more power to him I guess," Randy stated nonchalantly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sharon asked hotly.
"Wha-? Oh, nothing. That's great that he's taken on more responsibility and has become a man," Randy corrected himself. Just then, Sharon caught sight of a familiar brown, red, and blue color pattern over where the luggage was being pushed out onto a conveyer belt.
"Oh!" Sharon gasped, clutching Randy's arm. "I think that's Stan over there!" she cried excitedly. Randy looked in the direction that his wife was pointing and saw the unmistakable black hair that matched his own. He also noticed that Stan was talking to a familiar blue and black clad bored looking young man. In South Park, everyone wore very distinct winter hats and he was pretty sure he had seen that blue chullo with the yellow puff ball before.
"Hey, honey," he said to Sharon. "Isn't that the trouble making kid that was in Stan's grade? The Tucker boy?" he asked uncertainly. Sharon squinted her eyes as she studied the young man in question from afar.
"Well what do you know," she remarked as recognition set in. "He must be coming to town for the reunion too and ended up on the same flight as Stan," she deduced. "No one's seen that boy since he ran away after graduating," she added.
"Yeah will I don't blame him," Randy remarked. "That Thomas Tucker is a real asshole when he drinks, which is pretty much all the time."
Stan had finally grabbed his suitcase and began walking toward his parents. Craig was still waiting on his to come out onto the conveyer belt and had taken to grumbling about "airport assholes" and how they had better not have lost his bag.
"Stanley!" his mother exclaimed as soon as he was close enough to be smothered in her embrace. When he had finally pried her off of him his father patted him roughly on the shoulder.
"Good to see you, son," he said with a goofy smile on his face.
"Thanks," he mumbled while looking at his feet. Craig had begun making his way over to them holding his bag and looking slightly less irate.
"So where's your wife, Stan?" Sharon asked excitedly. "I can't wait to meet her," she glanced around the airport for any young woman that would seem like Stan's type. Stan's face paled and he began looking nervous again.
"Mom, Dad," he began. "You remember Craig Tucker right? I went to school with him," Stan said fearfully.
"Yes, son we remember him," his mother replied. Craig had come up to stand next to Stan and placed his bag at his feet, earning a questioning look from Mrs. Marsh. Stan pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Well, um, this is my husband," he said with his eyes closed and gesturing towards Craig who stood staring blankly at his in-laws.
"Oh," Sharon said through a giggle. "Well, Craig, welcome to the family. We should probably get going I'm sure you boys are tired from your flight," she told them while grabbing Stan's suitcase. Stan had a complete look of shock on his face while Craig was ready to just roll with whatever was happening. Randy appeared unphazed at first until suddenly a look of frustration came across his face.
"God damn it!" he shouted.
"What now, Randy?" Sharon asked impatiently while turning sharply to face him.
"Now I owe Jimbo forty bucks!" he responded angrily.
"Why in the world would you owe him forty dollars?" Sharon asked irritably.
"Because!" he stammered, "Because of this!" he gestured wildly toward Stan and Craig.
"Randy you aren't making any sense!" Sharon insisted. Randy rolled his eyes.
"I almost forgot," he explained. "Way back after Jimbo and Ned took Stan and his friends on that hunting trip when they were kids, Jimbo kept telling me that Stan was going to grow up to be a queer. So I said, 'Nuh uh, I bet you forty bucks that it's just a phase'. Then he said, 'Well you're on then!' and I was like, 'Okay it's a bet.' I thought for sure I had won by now but I guess not," Randy pouted. "Well this sucks. Now I'm going to be out forty bucks."
"Christ, Randy," Sharon rolled her eyes.
"Just think of what I could have bought with that forty bucks, Sharon! Just think of the possibilities!" Randy urged. Craig face palmed.
"Wait!" Stan shouted. "So, you guys knew I was gay this whole time?" He couldn't believe this!
"Of course we did, Stanley," his mother answered. "We didn't know you were trying to hide it."
"Didn't know I was trying to hide it!" Stan was baffled. "This is some fucked up shit right here," he responded.
"Well, apparently on that hunting trip you refused to kill anything, going as far as saying you didn't want to "shoot the bunny"," Randy stated. Sharon nodded.
"Plus, all throughout your school years you only showed interest in one girl and that relationship never lasted," Sharon continued on. "There was also that time after your school football game when you decided to tell everyone at the end of your speech that it's okay to be a homosexual," she added. Stan was speechless. Craig gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. By this point they had made it to the Marsh's car and were loading up the boys' suitcases.
"Honestly," Randy started, "for the longest time I thought you were dating your little friend Kyle," he confessed.
"Dad!" Stan shouted much like an embarrassed teenager. "Kyle's just my friend!"
"What?" Randy put his hands up. "When your son is gay sometimes it's hard to tell who is just his buddy and who is his butt buddy," he defended. Stan's face turned two shades of red and even Craig shifted in his place in the back seat.
"For the love of God Randy just stop talking," Sharon said exasperated. The rest of the car ride was much more pleasant although occasionally everyone would ride in silence for a few moments.
As soon as Randy pulled into the driveway of the Marsh house Stan felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia rush over him. He had a lot of memories tied to this house. He knew Craig was probably feeling the same way just from being in the small town that they grew up in so he reached for the other noirette's hand and held it tightly. Craig shifted his grey eyes to meet Stan's light blue ones and offered a small upturn of his lips.
"Well boys, we're home," Randy announced as he shut the car off. "Go on inside and I'll grab your things," he told them.
"I'll help you with those, Mr. Marsh," Craig offered once he was out of the car. Randy swatted his hand away.
"Nah! You boys have had a long flight. I'm sure you're tired so I'll just grab these for you," he assured as he hefted one of the suitcases out of the trunk. "And don't call me Mr. Marsh! Just call me Randy!" Craig looked slightly uneasy with not being able to help out but went inside to join Stan on the couch anyways. Sharon peeked out from the kitchen after a moment.
"Are you boys hungry? It's a little late but I could make something light for you if you would like. Randy and I haven't eaten dinner yet so I don't mind," she asked.
"Sure Mom," Stan agreed to the offer. "Whatever you want to make will be fine."
"Okay Hun," she said disappearing into the kitchen again. Randy came bustling through the door with his arms full of luggage a moment later. Craig hopped up from the couch and took some of the load from Randy's arms.
"Thanks son," Stan's father said out of breath.
"No problem," Craig replied. "Stan, should I put these in your room? I assume that's where we are sleeping," Craig inquired.
"Uh, yeah I guess so," Stan thought for a moment. "I do still have a room here, right Dad?" he asked.
"Of course you do! Your mother and I left your room and Shelly's room intact. We were mostly afraid of what we would find in Shelly's room that's why we didn't touch it," Randy shivered at the thought. Craig continued standing in place with an odd look on his face.
"What?" Stan asked Craig.
"I don't know where your room is actually," Craig admitted. "I don't think I ever saw anything other than your living room when we were kids," he said quietly. Stan gave Craig a look of understanding. They really didn't hang out when they were kids. In fact, Stan and his friends were almost like rivals to Craig and his crew. There was even a time period where both groups were in such heated competitions with the other that Stan and his friends hated Craig's group and vice versa.
"Go up the stairs and it's the first door on the right," Stan instructed. Craig proceeded to carry all of their belongings up to the specified room. Stan turned to his father once he had taken a seat in the recliner on the other side of the living room. "What's Shelly up to these days?" he asked.
"Well she lives in Denver now," Randy started out. "She's married and got a kid. She's got some sort of cut throat corporate job. I dunno the details, Stanley. To be honest she bores the shit out of me when she goes on about it so I just completely zone out. What is it that you do, Stan?" he asked intently.
"I'm an accountant," Stan answered.
"God damn that sounds boring as shit!" Randy complained loudly.
"What?" Stan protested. "How does being a geologist sound any more exciting than being an accountant?" Stan argued.
"Because Stan," Randy explained, "it ends with '-ist' so it sounds important and scientific. Just do me a favor and don't ever talk about your boring job around me. I don't want to have to zone out around both my kids, that would just make me feel like a bad parent or something," he pleaded. Stan rolled his eyes. "This is great though! The two Marsh men hanging out and talking," Randy marveled.
"Well Dad, my last name has kind of changed a little bit," Stan told him.
"What do you mean?" his father asked.
"I had my last name changed to Marsh-Tucker after I got married," he elaborated.
"Oh," Randy took a moment to think about this new information. "Well, part of it is still Marsh so that's good enough for me," he concluded.
"Dinner's ready!" Sharon called from the kitchen just as Craig descended the stairs. Randy made his way to the kitchen while Stan waited for Craig at the bottom of the stairs. Stan embraced Craig in a loving hug.
"Food's ready," Stan informed him.
"Good I'm starving," Craig replied. Stan took him by the hand and led him to the kitchen to get their food. Sharon had made BLT sandwiches. Once everyone had a plate of food they settled at the table to eat.
"You know Craig," Randy said between mouthfuls of food, "I should take you and Stan down to the bar to have some beers and welcome you into the family." Craig froze momentarily. He was sure that his father frequented the same bar that Stan's dad liked to go to.
"I really appreciate the offer, uh, Randy," Craig said, still getting used to calling Stan's dad by his first name. "But I would really like to try to get through this trip without seeing anyone from my family and I'm pretty sure my," he searched for a word for a moment before painfully settling for one, "father goes to that bar a lot." Randy and Sharon shared a look while Stan placed his hand over Craig's, their matching wedding rings gleaming clearly in the light of the dining room.
"So it's true," Sharon asked cautiously. "What they say about why you left?" A dark look clouded Craig's already stormy grey eyes.
"I don't know," he said almost bitterly. "What do they say about me?" Sharon had a look of hesitation on her face.
"You have to understand I'm not trying to hurt you by asking, I was just curious if there was merit to the gossip that I had heard," she clarified. Craig nodded in understanding.
"Well obviously the one about Thomas murdering the boy in a drunken rage and burying him under the house is a bunch of shit because otherwise he wouldn't be sitting right here," Randy threw out there, lacking tact as usual. Craig looked horrified and Stan tightened his grip on his hand. Sharon ignored her husband.
"While that was one of the theories, many others sounded more likely. I had heard that he was violent toward you and your mother. He would treat you and your sister horribly and beat you. Is that true?" she asked gently. Craig looked down at the table. He was embarrassed that the whole town had been talking about him and his family since he left. He was also ashamed to admit that some of the talk was true.
"Yeah," he answered quietly. "He used to beat the shit out of me almost every day. It took everything I had in me to stick it out until I finished high school before taking off. As soon as I had my diploma in my hand I was out of there. He wasn't as hard on Ruby so I wasn't too worried about leaving her behind. I think he thought my mom had had an affair or something and then ended up with me since I didn't look like I belonged in the family. He couldn't get that out of his head so he punished us for it." Sharon nearly had tears in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"Don't be," Craig instructed firmly. "I got the hell out, ended up getting together with Stan, and now I have a great life. I just came back to South Park to see how my friends are doing. I haven't seen or heard from Token, Clyde, or Tweek since I left here when I was eighteen," he stated before finishing off his sandwich. Sharon shared a nervous look with Randy for a moment.
"You were friends with the Tweak boy?" she asked lightly. Craig nodded his head.
"Yeah, why?" he asked curiously. Sharon hesitated momentarily before she decided what she was going to say.
"No reason," she looked down at her plate. "I'm sure you'll catch up with him at the reunion." Craig found her behavior to be a bit off but decided to ignore it. "Well, we may not have seen you around as much as Kyle, Eric, or," she gave a strained look, "Kenny, but you have married our son so now you are a part of our family," she said warmly. "If there is anything you need please don't hesitate to ask," she smiled at him. Craig could feel the genuineness in her tone and gave his slight upturn of his lips.
"Thank you," he replied.
After finishing their dinner, the two young men bid Randy and Sharon goodnight and made their way upstairs to get ready for bed. Once their teeth had been brushed, Stan changed into a pair of sweat pants and an old football jersey while Craig simply wore a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. The two settled into Stan's childhood bed and flipped the lamp off.
"As a kid I never thought I would ever end up sleeping in your room," Craig whispered to Stan as he scooted his body closer to him. He settled himself so that Stan's back was pressed against his chest and he could wrap his arms around the other dark haired man's body to hold him close. Stan closed his eyes as a feeling of security enveloped him by being held in his husband's embrace.
"Yeah it's kinda crazy to think that we somehow ended up where we are now considering how we were when we were kids," Stan sighed. "I'm glad my parents are being so cool about this. They really seem to like you," he commented. Craig kissed the top of Stan's head.
"Yeah it does seem like they do like me. That's good I guess," Craig whispered back. He wasn't sure why he was whispering but he felt like since it was dark in the room and they were lying so close together it seems like the thing to do.
"Do you think all your friends will be there? Clyde, Token, and Tweek?" Stan asked quietly.
"I hope so," Craig admitted. "Did you notice how weird your parents got when I mentioned Tweek?" he asked.
"Yeah that was pretty weird. My mom made this weird face when she brought up Kenny too," Stan said. "Maybe they still live here in town or something," he guessed.
"Maybe," Craig agreed. The two were silent for a moment mulling over the possibilities of people that they wanted to see not actually being there at all.
"I sort of don't even care if Cartman is there," Stan finally broke the silence. Craig scoffed.
"Hell, I hope he's not there. That guy was an asshole, and that's coming from me," he stated. "Why were you guys friends with him?" he asked seriously. Stan considered this for a moment.
"I really don't know," he finally concluded. "I honestly have no idea. He was mean to all of us. He called me a hippy, made anti-Semitic remarks to Kyle, and joked about Kenny being poor. He did this all right in front of us!" he realized. They were both quiet for a few beats as Craig rubbed his thumb over Stan's hand. "Maybe it's because his mom always fed us," Stan wondered in such a serious tone that Craig couldn't help but snort out a laugh.
"You have the weirdest thought process, babe," Craig informed him.
"Well she did!" Stan protested.
"I believe you," Craig told him honestly.
"So do you think there will be food at this thing tomorrow?" Stan asked.
"I have no idea," the other man answered. "I really have no idea what to expect." Stan shifted his legs around and groaned as he had a thought.
"What if someone comes up to me and starts talking to me like we are longs lost buddies but I have no clue who they are? What if I can't even recognize my own friends? It's been so long!" Stan began freaking out. Craig moved and kissed along Stan's jaw to calm him down.
"Don't worry about it," he whispered into the other's ear. "I'm sure Kyle still has a Jew-fro so you can just look out for that," he joked. Stan playfully punched his arm. "I think they make you wear a name tag of what your name was in high school so that way people will know who you are," he reasoned.
"Oh," Stan said in a calmer state. "So I guess that means people won't get to see my zazzy new last name then," he stated.
"Zazzy?" Craig questioned.
"Yeah! You know, it's got zazz!" Stan explained excitedly.
"Stan, go to sleep," Craig said through a semi-smile. Stan laughed and pushed himself as close to Craig as he could. The taller man tightened his hold on him and buried his face in Stan's dark hair. "I love you," he whispered into the ear near his lips.
"I love you too," Stan smiled and let himself be overtaken with sleep.
I have chapter two completely written but I still have to type it up so hopefully I will get that done soon. I've been stuck on chapter three for a little while but I'm going to finish this story gosh darn it! I hope you like the story so far! Each chapter is going to have a song or two to go with it that describes the characters or whatnot. You don't have to actually listen to the song you could just read the lyrics… or you know be a jerk and don't pay any attention to the carefully selected songs at all, whatever. Lol! Just kidding… but seriously, read the lyrics at least. As I explained before I'm big on matching songs with scenarios and stuff.