Kyle woke up in the morning to light coming in from the window. He'd set an alarm, but apparently the nervousness/excitement/apprehension was too much to let him sleep for longer than—according to the clock—four and a half hours. Today was the day.

Today he left for college. Sure, he was only seventeen, but he qualified for early graduation and he'd decided to take it. In fact, Kyle had already found a good school that accepted his application and even gave him a scholarship. The school wasn't in South Park, or even in Colorado, and that was a fact that he wasn't so excited about.

He got out of bed and started getting dressed, still contemplating what today was going to be like. On one hand Kyle was excited to get out of Colorado for an extended period of time and to go to a school that might not be completely fucked up. On the other hand, he really didn't want to say goodbye to his friends, which was what he was doing with his morning before his parents drove him to the airport. Without having to think, he topped off his clothes for the day with his green hat, trying to tuck his hair as far underneath as he could get it.

Kyle left his room, stepping around the packed suitcases standing outside of his door in the hallway. Ike was at the table in the kitchen, eating. The kid didn't say anything, he just watched Kyle move around the cupboards, trying to find something that he could eat that might lessen the knot of anxiety in his stomach. Eventually Kyle gave up and sat down at the table.

"Are you looking forward to today?" Ike asked curiously as he put another spoonful of some sugary cereal that Kyle would never be able to eat in his mouth.

"I don't know. Kind of. College will be cool, I think, and it'll be nice to live outside of South Park for a while, but I still want to see my friends."

Ike nodded as if he knew exactly what Kyle was talking about, which he probably did. They weren't blood brothers but they did have a strange connection like that. "Stan."

Kyle dropped his head to the table. Stan was the biggest reason why he didn't want to leave. As soon as he'd told his best friend that he was leaving the state to go to college early Stan had gotten really quiet. He said that he was happy for Kyle, but Kyle knew that there was something wrong. In the days that followed, though Stan tried to hide it, he was being pretty clingy.

They'd always spent nearly every waking minute together, but Stan literally would not leave Kyle's side. Granted, it wasn't like Kyle gave much of a shit. He liked having Stan around and the first week after actually being accepted into the college was a little chaotic so it was nice to have someone who wasn't either of his parents who would be there with him to provide support and not talk about college for a while.

Stan would sit or lay on Kyle's bed, as Kyle sat at his desk writing and re-writing essays. They didn't always talk and when they did the conversation was mostly stunted and heavier on Stan's side since Kyle was trying to focus. Neither of them minded, though.

"Yeah, Stan's one of the biggest reasons."

"You're both going to have a hard time. I'm surprised he's not here." Kyle was, too. Stan hadn't even texted him yet.

"It's not like it's the end of the world, though. We can still talk and I can visit whenever I get the chance," Kyle reasoned. He'd been doing this for weeks, but it never seemed to help a lot.

Ike snorted. "As long as South Park isn't blown off the face of the earth by then." Kyle got up.

"I better start going around. I'll be back before I leave so I'll see you again," he told Ike as he put his gloves and boots on, slipping his orange coat on last and tugging his hat down further.

"See ya."

Kyle headed out into the cold and the snow, blinking a little. The weather was relatively nice for South Park and nothing weird appeared to be going on, yet. He went to Stan's house first, but left confused when Randy told him that Stan was out. Kyle started to walk downtown and came upon Butters first.

"Hey Butters." Maybe he wasn't one of the people that Kyle hung out with a lot, but he was friendly and had become cooler as he'd gotten older. Besides, Kenny had some weird thing for him and Kenny did happen to be one of Kyle's better friends.

"O-oh, hi Kyle! Are-aren't you leaving today?"

"Yeah. I'm just going around to say goodbye to people before I go." Kyle's mom had wanted to have a party, but Kyle vetoed the idea, protesting that he wasn't a little kid anymore and that he could handle finding his friends and hanging out with them until it was time to go.

"S-so Oregon, huh? Golly that's far away."

Kyle shrugged. "It is, but it's not too bad. It's not like I'm going out East."

"Oh yeah, I-I guess that's true. I should probably let you get along and see to the others. I-I heard Stan was looking for you. I thought that he was with you, but seeing as he isn't I thought I would tell you."

"Thanks Butters." Kyle waved and walked on. If Stan was looking for him why hadn't he texted him or come to his house? He shook his head. It didn't matter, he knew that he would see his best friend before he had to leave.

"Kyle?" Said boy turned around to see Kenny, orange hood over his head but not cinched shut so his face was visible and his words were clear.

"Hi Kenny," Kyle responded as the blond fell into step beside him.

"I thought you left already."

"No, I wanted to go around and see people before I left. Besides, I don't have to be to the airport until this afternoon."

"Whoops." Kyle didn't like the sound of that.

"What?" Kenny just shook his head and Kyle jabbed him with an elbow. "What?"

"Stan told me that he was looking for you because you told him that you would say goodbye before you left and I told him that you were already gone."

"Kenny," Kyle groaned in irritation. That certainly explained a lot. "When did this happen?"

"A few minutes ago."

"Where did he go after that?"

"Why don't you just text him and tell him to meet you somewhere or something, Jesus."

"I left my phone at home and he wouldn't text me about this. He would wait until he could call and he probably thinks that I'm in the airport or on the plane."

Kenny shrugged and Kyle pushed him again. "Dude, you know each other too well."

"We've been friends since we were two, Kenny. What the fuck do you expect?"

"Whatever. He's here in town somewhere so you'll probably run into him at some point. Just watch out for Cartman's party about you finally being gone. I don't want to deal with his hissy fit about you still being here." Kenny shrugged and made to turn off.

"Where are you going? You're not going to hang out with me for a few more hours before not seeing me again in months?"

"Nah, I've got some other things that I have to do. Besides, this is South Park, you won't be gone forever." Kyle shook his head and kept walking, parting ways with his blond friend.

"No you dumbasses! The speakers go over there and the giant cake sits over to the left! Can't you read goddamn instructions?" Kyle rolled his eyes. Speak of the devil.

He walked into a large area that was clearly being set up for a party. Cartman was standing in the center of the space, surrounded by workers, yelling directions like an asshole. According to Kenny, Cartman was throwing a party celebrating Kyle's departure from town. Part of him wanted to go and annoy the fat douchebag, but he really didn't have time and he didn't really want to engage Cartman in conversation today so he passed the party area by going around the block.

"Hi guys." Kyle called as he passed Craig and Tweek outside of Harbucks. It had been an hour at least and he still hadn't seen Stan. He'd seen just about everyone else but the black-haired teen.

"Hi Kyle." They hadn't been friends in elementary school, but Kyle had gotten a little bit closer to both Craig and Tweek after fifth grade. In fact, he was willing to bet that neither of the two hated him anymore. The major cause for this being equal hatred for Cartman.

"Gah! H-hi." Tweek was fidgety as ever, but having Craig's hand on his shoulder seemed to make him stop and breathe.

"What's going on? You look frustrated," Craig observed, the only change in his expression being his eyebrows drawing a little closer.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Everyone's telling me that Stan's looking for me and that he's been around town but I haven't seen him yet. I even checked both of our houses again. For once the ass isn't finding me, either."

"O-oh God! Maybe someone hired a hit on him! No one's safe!" Tweek's hands had found his hair and were gripping tightly.

"Tweek," Craig said firmly yet gently. The other's hands slowly unclenched and lowered, still trembling slightly. "I don't know what to tell you Kyle. Last time I saw him was yesterday."

Kyle sighed. "Thanks anyway. It was nice seeing you guys before I leave."

"See you, Kyle."

"B-bye, Kyle!"

Kyle waved and walked on. The only person at this point that he hadn't seen yet was that boy that he'd been looking for all morning. It was nearing noon and before long Kyle wasn't going to have much choice in having to leave without saying goodbye to his best friend.

"Kyle!" The redhead looked up, not caring who it was if it wasn't Stan. He started, though, when he saw the red puff ball on top of the blue hat. His surprise didn't last long, though.

"What the fuck, Stan? I've been looking for you all day. Shit, I have to leave in an hour."

The smile died a little on Stan's face, but the look turned more contemplative. "Damn, I thought I had it timed better than that."

"What? What did you time?" Kyle was suspicious and confused, but Stan just held out a hand and said.

"Come on, dude. Let's hang out." Kyle shook off his suspicions and followed Stan, letting an easy smile take over his face. He just wanted to spend his last hour in South Park with his best friend. He didn't want to think about anything else.

So Stan led Kyle away and the two best friends went off laughing toward Stark's Pond. It was exactly what Kyle needed. His tension dissolved a little bit and he was able to relax. Nothing even seemed different between this and when they usually hung out. Time kept on, though.

At the report of the latest time, Kyle made a face. "We should probably start back now, don't you think?" He looked over at his friend to see Stan's answer.

Stan shook his head. "No, I absolutely don't think that. Actually I think that we should stay right here and never leave."

"What about food?" Kyle asked, slightly amused by the dramatic tone that Stan was using.

"We won't need any. We also won't need sleep or the bathroom or anything. We'll just stay like this and it'll be perfect forever." There was a heavy sigh attached to the end of that statement. It contrasted with the relatively light mood of just before and Kyle frowned, looking over at Stan.

"Stan? Is there something wrong?" he asked cautiously. Stan's expression had changed, too. He looked a little stressed and a little panicked. His eyes were opened wider and the skin around his mouth was tighter. Kyle immediately started to worry. "Stan?"

Stan turned to him, looking distraught, and grabbed him by the upper arms. "Of course there's something wrong! You're going to college and leaving me here! You're leaving South Park and you're going to college in Oregon, and you're going to make new friends there and forget about all of us here!" Wide blue eyes bore into Kyle's startled green.

Kyle put his hands lightly around Stan's wrists and pulled his hands away. "No I won't. I'm not going to forget you, Stan. And I'm going to come back and visit as much as possible, so we'll see each other again. I know that it kind of sucks that I'm graduating early, but I can't help it. It's a great opportunity that I can't pass up and I will be back. Then, we can get a big city apartment like we've always planned."

The new look on Stan's face was conflicted. He was obviously torn between believing Kyle and letting it all work out, or continuing to go on about Kyle leaving. Kyle was pretty sure that it was going to be the latter.

Instead, Stan looked away and muttered. "That's not enough."

Kyle frowned and stepped closer. "What are you talking about?"

"That's too far away you never know what's going to happen in the time it takes for you to get your degree." Kyle was able to tell whenever Stan was trying to change the subject and this was a prime example. He barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

"Why are you so convinced that I'm going to completely forget about you when I spent my entire childhood with you? Look, Stan. I'm going away for four or five years. You'll join me after the first one, then when we both graduate, we're going to move to a big city and find an apartment and we're going to live it up while we work in the fields that we graduated in. I'm not going to be here for a year and I'm going to come back as often as I can. After that first year, you'll be out there in a neighboring college, we hope, right? This is what we've always talked about." Kyle tried to reason with his best friend as he tried to forget how he really needed to get back to his house.

"It's not that simple, Kyle. It should be, but nothing's ever as simple as it should be. Yeah, you're only going away for a year but that means different things to the two of us." Stan wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead, they'd come to a stop in their walking and Kyle watched as Stan turned and paced a few steps away, fists clenched by his sides. Obviously there was something big that he was missing.

"What do you think it means to me?" Kyle thought that if Stan explained that one, they would get farther and Kyle would be able to actually get rid of whatever false impressions Stan had.

Stan stopped his manic pacing and dropped his head to look at the snow-covered ground. "It's a trip. You're finally getting out of South Park and you get to jump right into an exciting experience. You'll be away from family and friends, but you'll visit so it won't be that bad. It's not a big deal to you."

"W-what does it mean to you?" Kyle asked tentatively, not knowing that he really wanted the answer to that question.

"You're going to be gone. I'm not going to have you around to talk to and hang out with. We aren't going to see each other enough. I'm going to be-", there Stan cut off and went back to pacing, muttering to himself.

Kyle took a step toward his best friend and stopped when Stan whirled to face him again. "Stan, what exactly is going o-" Kyle was unable to finish the sentence because he was stepping backwards to keep his balance.

Stan had lunged at Kyle, gripping the earflaps of his hat tightly and pushing his lips onto Kyle's. It wasn't hesitant and it all happened in the space of a second or two. Kyle's arms hovered in midair until he tentatively rested his hands on Stan's shoulder blades, already kissing back.

For some reason he was completely calm and he didn't have any qualms about kissing his best friend. If anything, it felt natural. Stan was the person who he'd grown up and spent most of his time with. They knew more about each other than their parents did. Kissing Stan not only felt right, but it felt long overdue.

It didn't last long. A few seconds after Kyle put his hands on Stan's back, Stan pulled away. The look that he had on his face was one of pure horror. His eyes were wide again and his mouth was slightly open. "I'm sorry. Kyle I'm so, so sorry."

Kyle frowned again. Damn Stan and his erratic behavior. "What are you talking about now?" he asked.

"You know…" Stan gestured to Kyle. "That. I really didn't mean to do that and I'm sorry. It-it doesn't mean anything. You can just completely forget about that, I'm really sorry."

Kyle stepped forward so he was standing right in front of Stan again. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong. And I can't believe that that didn't mean anything."

Stan looked shocked. Kyle just smiled and put his hands on the sides of Stan's face. Without any thought, he moved forward and gently pressed his lips against Stan's. It didn't take much for Stan to un-freeze and return the pressure and the motion. It even felt like Stan was smiling.

Once again, Stan was the one to break the kiss and touch his forehead to Kyle's, smiling and looking into his eyes. He was looking between Kyle's eyes and it seemed like he was trying to figure out what to say. Kyle smiled back and waited.

Stan just laughed and put his hands on Kyle's face. "You feel the same way. I can't believe it. You're okay with this and you're not freaking out." In his sudden burst of excitement, Stan moved forward and chastely kissed Kyle on the lips. He pulled back and was beaming again.

"That's redundant," Kyle said with a smile. "And I don't know what you're feeling or really what I feel about this, but it doesn't feel wrong, that much I know."

"Dude, that's okay. I love you, and I think that I have for a long time. I don't care that you don't know how you feel, you're Kyle Broflovski you'll figure it out."

Kyle smiled a little bit, thinking that he already knew how he felt. Then something came across his mind and he moved back a little. "What about Wendy, Stan? I thought you were still waiting for her to come back around."

Stan sobered too, and he took Kyle's wrists in his hands, moving closer. "The whole reason why I was attracted to her at all was because of how tough she was. Now that she's grown up, she's more girly and she's lost some of that. You, though, you've always been tough and angry. I think that I was attracted to that in you but I didn't recognize it when we were little."

"So you're more attracted to my anger problems than me?" Kyle clarified, not sure exactly what Stan was getting at.

"No! I'm attracted to you, Kyle. More than that, I love you. The anger and toughness are two of the few traits that you and Wendy share or shared. It didn't occur to me that I could be with you like this when we were younger, so I projected my attraction for you onto someone that was like you in a lot of ways. Besides, there's so much more about you that I like. You're smart, and handsome, and I know that I can tell you anything and-" Kyle cut him off.

"Stan, you don't have to list why you like me, I believe you." Kyle smiled a little bit. "And I'm sure that your reasons are similar to mine." Stan's answering smile was enough to make Kyle's chest swell. He tilted his head a little and Stan met his lips, threading his arms around Kyle's waist.

Kyle pulled back when he could feel his mother yelling for him. "Shit. I completely lost track of time, I have to go." He wondered exactly what time it was, but it didn't matter because Stan's face fell.

"Right, you're still going…I was stupid for thinking that this was going to change the fact that you're going to college." Stan was looking at the ground and biting his lip. Kyle could practically see his desire to mess with his hair.

"You're right. I'm still going to go to college. But, we can maybe talk more and it'll only be one year until you join me out there. And maybe I'll find a way to visit more often than I originally intended." Kyle bent down to meet Stan's eyes and he straightened as Stan looked up.

"Yeah…I didn't think of that."

"Well, there is a reason why I qualified for early graduation and why I got into college at seventeen," Kyle said with a smile. Stan scowled and punched him in the arm. Kyle only laughed. "I don't think that my parents would object to you riding to the airport with us, either."

"They might object to my final goodbye, though."

Kyle smirked a little. "They'll just have to deal with that, then. Now come on, I have to be leaving about now." With that, he reached down to grab Stan's hand and started running back in the direction of his house.

"Kyle, where have you been?" his mother demanded as soon as he and Stan showed up in the front yard. Ike was hanging around behind her in the doorway and he smiled a little when he saw Stan and Kyle. Apparently he knew—or suspected—what was going on. Kyle waved at him, knowing that Ike would take it as an affirmative.

"I was saying goodbye to my friends. Sorry I'm late, I got a little caught up with some people. By the way, Stan's coming with us," Kyle announced, swinging the car door open and sliding inside, Stan following directly behind him. He glanced through the back window and saw his parents' dumbfounded faces.

They shook their heads and made for the front of the car, though. Ike was waving and grinning again, and Kyle waved back, realizing that he was going to miss his little brother. He turned around then and glanced at Stan, who gave him a sad smile. Kyle just leaned in and pecked him on the cheek, though, before his parents got into the car and Stan brightened a little.

The ride to the airport was comfortable. Stan was like a third son for Kyle's parents, so the conversation in the car flowed steadily through all parties. Half of Kyle's mind was devoted to wondering what his parents would think about Stan's goodbye. He was pretty sure that his dad wouldn't care, but his mom might. Still, she'd loosened a bit as he'd gotten older and she realized that he was growing up, especially since he'd gotten accepted into college. Hopefully that would save Stan an uncomfortable car ride back to South Park.

At the airport, their group got out quickly, each going to the trunk and hauling out a bag. It turned out that Kyle's parents had factored a big time cushion, but because of Stan and Kyle, they were still pushing it.

"Go, go, go," his mom urged as she herded them toward the doors of the airport. As they ran to the desk to get Kyle's boarding pass and check his baggage, he couldn't help glancing over at Stan and grinning. Stan caught his eye and grinned back.

Somehow, getting the boarding pass was quick and painless and the bag check was equally easy. Then they were rushing through security. Kyle's parents and Stan wanted to see him off at the gate just as much as he wanted them to, so they went through as well. It took longer and it was a pain in the ass, but once it was over and done, there was nothing else to do.

The whole group sank into the seats at the gate and breathed. The seat numbers weren't being called yet, and there was time to sit back and slow down for a little while.

"Bubbeh, do you need anything to eat or drink?" His mom was looking at him and Kyle realized that he hadn't eaten yet, which probably wasn't a good thing. He nodded and she got up, taking his dad with her. When they were out of earshot and were barely visible in the crowd, Stan turned his head with a familiar look in his blue eyes.

Kyle quickly kissed him on the lips, still amazed by how natural this seemed, and whispered, "Stop worrying. You're giving me an ulcer."

Stan rolled his eyes a little bit, but he shook out his shoulders and gave Kyle a little—and fake—smile. Kyle sighed lightly and sat back, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to relax Stan any more. What Stan was now, was how he was going to be for at least another week. When Kyle first called, that's when Stan would finally be able to relax.

Kyle leaned closer to him again and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Maybe you can come out to visit me a few times. If you were out there we could be alone and we'd actually be able to do something together without having to watch ourselves." Apparently Kyle coming back home as often as he could wasn't enough for Stan.

The other boy looked over at him in surprise. "You know what, that's actually a really great idea." His surprise faded into a look of mischief. "Though it won't be much of a secret to your parents after you get on the plane."

"Right, forgot about that part," Kyle said. Then he had a question. "Are you worried about me being alone out there or are you just anxious about the two of us being farther apart for longer than we ever have been?" That fact had suddenly occurred to him and it seemed to make sense.

Stan shrugged. "I don't really know. I think it's a mixture of a lot of things. Those things are definitely in there. I think that it's just that I don't want to be away from you, and it's not just because I love you, but because I've been around you my whole life and now you're kind of removed. We're not going to get out of touch or anything, I know that, you're just going to be really far away and you won't be a constant in my day-to-day life, your phone calls will be." His mouth was a little tighter at the corners and Kyle could tell that he was still trying to figure it out. Kyle leaned over to say something else, but there was a familiar voice again.

"Here Bubbeh." His mom was back and she shoved a package of dry fruit into his hands with a bottle of water. Kyle could actually feel the effects of his low blood sugar now and made quick work of both while the people around him talked.

A little while later, a flight attendant began announcing boarding and started calling off seat numbers. Kyle sat in the middle section of the plane, so he had a bit more time but not the rest of it. He glanced at the others in his company to see how they felt about the fact. His parents looked a little sad and mildly worried, but it looked they were alright. Glancing at Stan made his stomach tighten a little, though.

Stan was gripping the arm rests a little tighter and his eyebrows were closer together. It was obvious that the other teenager was tense and Kyle felt bad about it, but he knew that there wasn't anything for him to do. Stan also looked sad, but Kyle was pretty sure that he was the only one who was able to tell. Stan had never showed sadness the way most people did. His eyes were brighter and the skin around them was tighter and Kyle could tell that Stan was biting the inside of his cheek. Very slightly, he leaned in closer to his best friend so their shoulders were touching.

He could feel the tension in his friend's body, but it relaxed a little when they were touching. Stan glanced over and gave him a tight smile that served as a thanks.

Then the flight attendant called the number of the section that Kyle was sitting in. The line wasn't very long, so he would be through fairly quickly. Kyle got up, picked up his carry on and turned back to his parents and Stan.

His mom stepped forward first, wrapping him in a tight hug that almost cracked his ribs. She whispered that she loved him and that she was proud of him. He smiled at her, feeling his first pang of homesickness. It was clear that she was pushing back the tears that were threatening.

Kyle's dad was next. He put a hand on Kyle's shoulder and nodded at him, looking him in the eyes. Then he seemed to change his mind because suddenly Kyle was crushed in an embrace with his dad. The last time they'd hugged was when he was still in elementary school.

When Gerald stepped back it just left Stan. Kyle smiled at his best friend sadly and dropped his carry on. They seemed to move at the same time and Kyle slipped his arms around Stan's waist as Stan slid his hands up Kyle's back to rest on his shoulder blades. Stan smiled a little bit before closing his eyes and leaning closer. Kyle's eyes closed and he tilted his head in, holding onto Stan's t-shirt as their lips met and they were suspended in that position, holding onto each other as their lips pressed together.

Kyle vaguely thought that he heard a loud gasp—probably his mother's—but he couldn't care less. He ended the kiss and moved his head only a little bit, eyes open, to look at Stan. "We're going to be absolutely fine," he said quietly, knowing that it was true. "There's nothing to worry about."

Stan smiled. It was small, which meant it was a serious smile, and it was real. He nodded and touched their foreheads together. "I know." There was something in his eyes telling Kyle that Stan was just as confident of the fact as he was.

He laughed a little bit and kissed Stan again. There was a tap on his shoulder and he pulled away, looking at his mom. She didn't look horrified or angry, but maybe fond and amused. She gestured to the line that was almost nonexistent. Kyle nodded, turned back to Stan, quickly kissing him again and squeezing him a little in a quick hug.

Kyle bent down to retrieve his carry-on and hurried over to the entrance to the tunnel that led into the plane. He turned and waved, seeing his parents looking proud and happy, waving back. Stan waved back, a wide smile on his face and Kyle felt a swelling feeling in his chest. He had it figured out now and he knew exactly how he felt about what Stan had said. He couldn't wait to tell the other boy later on.