A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! :D
Since it's the most special time of the year, I thought I'd write a cute fic to celebrate ;-) In this story, Cartman's cat has died and Kenny has a special gift to cheer him up. You can face this however you want; if you want this to be a Kenny X Cartman story, then be my guest, but I like to think of it as more of a friendship moment.
Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own South Park nor its characters. They belong to the geniuses Trey and Matt.
:::
It took a moment for Eric to fully wake up.
He blinked a couple of times to fight away the sleepiness from his eyes and slowly sat up in his bed, glaring wholeheartedly at his window as it was hit by yet another rock. The brown-haired boy looked over at his alarm clock and frowned deeper. 3.00 AM. Who the hell was waking him up at these hours?
Eric considered simply ignoring whoever it was, but this incessant chant of flying pebbles hitting the glass was just too damn annoying for him to turn the other cheek.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming, goddammit! Jesus Christ." he cursed and opened the window, shivering from the cold night air that instantly hit his face. He looked down and glowered at the boy in the orange parka standing in his backyard, who instantly dropped the rocks he had gathered in his hands as soon as Eric appeared.
"Hiya there, Eric!" Kenny greeted cheekily.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?!" Cartman demanded angrily. "I could be sleeping right now, you stupid asshole!"
"I have a surprise for you!" the blond boy said, completely ignoring Eric's complaint.
"What?"
"Come down here and I'll show you."
Cartman sighed in annoyance. He couldn't believe this douchebag. And he couldn't believe himself even more, since he had, in fact, come down to his backyard in the middle of the effing night, in his pajamas, to meet up with a stupid asshole like Kenny.
"This'd better be worth my while, Kinny, or else I'm-" Eric's tirade was cut short as a purring ball of orange fur was suddenly shoved in his face.
"Isn't she a cutie?" the blond gushed as Eric backed up a step to stare at the ginger kitten in his friend's hands. It looked like a newborn baby, with such a small stature and big and bright yellow eyes that contrasted greatly with the pitch black night. The kitten let out a yawn and blinked twice before mewling softly and staring up at Cartman, its head tilted to the side slightly.
"What the hell is this, Kinny?" the fat boy asked. Eric had been trying to stay away from cats ever since Mr. Kitty passed away, and seeing this adorable cub right now was almost enough to bring him to the verge of tears. And Kenny knew all this, and yet he still brought a cat here, the bastard.
"Why, it's a cat, Cartman."
"I know that, asshole. But why the fuck do you have a cat with you? You can't even afford cat food, much less an actual kitten."
"I didn't buy her, dumbass." Kenny rolled his eyes before breaking into a wide smile. "I've just witnessed the miracle of life! A stray cat gave birth to five kittens in the dumpster down the street!"
"And why the hell should I care?" Eric asked, crossing his arms and putting on a deadpan expression.
"I was getting there."
"Then get there faster. I wanna go to sleep."
"Well, seeing those babies with no home or warmth besides their mother's fur opened my heart. I decided to take one kitten home with me."
"And how are you expecting to take care of her?"
"I'm glad you asked, my friend!" the poor kid smirked at him, which made Cartman frown in confusion. "Since I'm poor as shit, I have no conditions whatsoever to take care of an animal. So, I thought that maybe you could look after her for me?" he raised the little kitten higher towards Eric's face.
The brown-haired boy widened his eyes before pushing the cat away from his personal space. "Wait, what? Why me?"
"Because you know how to take care of a cat, R-tard. You've had one before, after all." the McCormick boy replied matter-of-factly. Cartman's eyes were trailed on the orange ball of fur in his hands as she sniffled and turned her head to each side to look at her surroundings.
"Oh, hell no!" Eric shouted, taking a step back. "I am not taking care of your stray cat, Kinny, no fucking way!"
"Oh, come on, Eric! She has nowhere else to go!"
"Well, then take her back to her fucking nest!"
"Have you seen how fucking disgusting that place is?" Kenny shuddered. "No way, man, I'm not that evil."
"Then give her to Stan or Kahl, or one of those assholes! I'm not taking care of another pet, not after-" Eric cut himself short, not being able to pronounce the name of his beloved Kitty without breaking down.
The blond boy bit his lip, knowing fully well what the problem was, and sighed. "Look, Eric, I know you loved your cat and you're probably scared of losing another one, but dying is a part of the circle of life. It's something we're all gonna have to face at a certain point. We can't let it rule our lives, though, because if we do so, we're not actually living; we're just surviving.
"You're spending way too much time with Kahl, Kinny." Cartman rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Do you mind, I'm having a moment here." Kenny frowned and cleared his throat for effect. "As I was saying, it is normal for us to be sad when someone we care about dies, be it a person or a cat. But we have to move on eventually. Do you think Mr. Kitty would have wanted for you to mope around all the time like a little bitch?"
"Ay! I-"
"Of course she wouldn't." Kenny interrupted. "She would have wanted for you stay strong and keep living. And that's what you should be doing. Eric, you love cats; don't you miss all the happiness that came with having one? Wouldn't you like to have it again?"
Cartman bit his lip and looked down at the kitten, which stared back at him with wide, curious eyes. In those two bright orbs, Eric saw all the new possibilities and joy ahead of him should he let this new individual into his life. He realized that the poor piece of shit was right for a change; he did love cats and he did miss having a pet walking around the house. Maybe he should give this whole thing one more shot…
"You know what, Kinny" he started, reaching his hands out to take the little kitten from his friend. "I might do just that."
Kenny's eyebrows raised and his smile widened. "Seriously?"
"Yup" the cat mewled in his arms cutely and Eric found himself smiling genuinely for the first time in months. "I do love cats."
"Haha, I knew I could count on ya, buddy." Kenny chuckled and winked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He looked very pleased with himself, which was making Eric feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Now go away, Kinny, I wanna go back to sleep." he snapped in his normal pissed off manner and the blond burst out laughing.
"See ya around, Cartman." Kenny chortled as he turned around and began trudging towards the street and away from the Cartman's residence.
"Oh, and Eric" Cartman, who was just about to close his backdoor, looked up at his friend with a slightly annoyed look.
"What?"
"Merry Christmas." said the blond boy with a cheeky smile and a wave, before disappearing into the cold winter night.
A/N: Have a happy New Year, dudes! :D