Disclaimer: I don't own the epicness that is South Park.


Butters was woken up by the buzzing of his phone on vibrate, rattling against the wood of his nightstand like a maddened hornet. He sat up sleepily. "Wha?" Who could be calling him so late, in the middle of the night?

Picking up his phone, he saw the caller ID. 'Kenny'

Hurriedly, he flipped the phone open, keeping his voice low. "Hello?"

"Hey, Butters." Kenny's voice sounded scratchy, rough. "You—" There was some coughing. "You mind opening the door for me?"

"You just hang on. I'ah'll be right down." Butters hung up, scrambling off of his bed. It promised to be one of those nights. The hall was dark as he carefully opened his bedroom door, slipping out as silently as he could. He could only imagine the hell his father would bring down on him if he got caught now.

The stairs remained thankfully quiet as Butters made his way down to the front door, padding on silent feet across carpet to clutch the doorknob fearfully and open it. A small whine left his lips.

"Oh, Kenny..."

Kenny leaned against the door frame, hood down slightly over his bent head, but Butters could still see the marks of dark bruises on his face, smudges of dirt on his dull orange jacket, his trembling, and even more worrying, the splattered blood going down the front of his parka.

Kenny smiled dimly. "Kinda cold out here, Butters...mind letting me in?"

Butters nodded rapidly and stepped aside, taking in the way Kenny limped in. Closing the door quietly, he helped the other up the stairs, stopping every once in a while for Kenny to jerk silently under a cough. Butters saw him wipe something dark on his jacket sleeve more than once.

Back up in his room, Butters locked his door, sitting the injured blond down on his bed gently while he went to go pull the first aid kit from his closet. It was fully stocked; this wasn't the first time this had happened.

Kenny always came to him after his parents beat him.

Butters sat down in front of him, a worried frown on his young face as he pushed back Kenny's hood, the weak moonlight of outside only highlighting his injuries. Taking out a couple of wipes, he started to clean off the bruised skin, skirting gently around the cuts. His fingers were tender as he took out a couple of green and blue band-aids, laying them on some of the smaller injuries.

"Ken...how long does this haveta happen? They really hurt you this time..." Butters whispered.

"Don't worry about it..." Kenny stifled another cough. "Maybe this'll teach you to suddenly start taking care of people you see wanderin' the street at night." He joked weakly, trying to call forth a bit of his strength to laugh. It didn't work. Butters didn't say anything after that.

Gauze wrapped and band-aids stuck, Butters worked on Kenny's skinny arms, covering slim fingers with soft cotton. Kenny was silent at this point but his silence seemed more tired, weak and frail as he breathed in little wheezes. But he still stopped Butters from opening the front of his parka. The little blond looked at the other in confusion.

"Just come up here, Butters...s-sit with me." A thin trickle of blood appeared between his lips, sliding down his jaw but Kenny didn't seem to notice, and Butters only put down the kit and sat on the bed with him. Kenny leaned on him, sighing in relief and Butters wrapped an arm around him, wishing he could do more to help, to heal.

"Ah...Butters, you're really warm..." Kenny sighed softly. "It was so cold outside..."

They fell silent, and the only things that could be heard was Kenny's labored breathing, and Butters' softer breaths. Kenny coughed, then spoke.

"I think...I think you're right. They really did a number on me this time, didn't they?"

Butters didn't trust himself to speak, and Kenny went on. "But I l-like this one...this one'll be my favorite...I won't forget it when I come back." His voice was getting quieter, harder to hear, and Butters' heart beat anxiously for his friend.

"Kenny..."

"Hey," The other shivered slightly, but still managed a tiny smile. "Maybe...maybe tomorrow we can go to the park or something...hang out an' all...y-you wanna" A deep, wheezing breath. "...you wanna go?"

Butters nodded, tears pooling in his eyes. Kenny smiled, his eyes closing. "Good, that's good..."

His weight seemed to get heavier on Butters, and Kenny's body had gone strangely limp. Butters whimpered. "Kenny?...Kenny?"

"...I'll be alright...I'll be..." Kenny's voice was the smallest breath, and then it faded with the last remnants of his smile, replaced by one last little sigh. Then all that could be heard was Butters' own breathing.

The little blond stayed that way for a while, gently holding Kenny close even though he was gone. He cried silently, sniffling little sobs as his tears fell on dull blond hair.

Then he wiped them off, blinking rapidly. He carefully gripped Kenny's body, pulling him up and laying him kindly on the bed, making sure the pillows were fluffed as he pulled the covers over him. He wiped away the last trickle of blood, curling up close to him as tears threatened his eyes again. It was so different at night, when he was all alone and there was nothing to make it better, nothing to help or distract him. Butters closed his eyes, taking a quivering little breath. Kenny deserved to sleep in peace tonight; Butters would give him that at least.

In the morning Kenny would be gone, and it would be as if nothing had ever happened, as if it had never existed. And maybe they could go to the park and forget all that was wrong with everything.

Until next time.


A/N: So I was feeling like doing something FILLED WITH ANGST. Yes. Indeed. But I could still type this, seeing as it's not YAOI! Haha...Lent's taking a toll on me, my dear brothers and sisters, it really is...but I am hanging on! I'm literally going through old notebooks and stuff trying to find things I wrote before I went on my yaoi craze, just so I have things to post and convince you I'm not dead yet. xDDDD Nonetheless, I'm planning to get a small Creek oneshot out soon with the glorious typing help of my sister. Woot! Anyway...I know Kenny's parents are totally different on the show, but hey, whateeeevz. ANGST IS WHAT IT IS... this was actually inspired by this lovely picture here... http:/ miimochi . deviantart . com/art/My-Little-Butters-130799339?q=boost%3Apopular%20KENNY%20BUTTERS&qo=7

I lovez it sooo...