This story was loosely inspired by a dream I had the night after Christmas.

Disclaimer: I don't own South Park or Ring Pops. However, the plotline and Kimble relatives are original creations of mine.

'Twas the day after Christmas, and the Marshes were heading out of town to visit relatives on the Kimble side of the family. Randy had decided to stay behind because he still didn't trust Grandpa not to try driving without a license again, so it was just Stan, Sharon and Shelly on the trip.

With Shelly in the front seat, Stan had the back all to himself to stretch out and savor the peaceful ride before being bombarded with hugs and kisses from family he barely remembered. He was a little disappointed that he had to leave most of his cool new presents at home, but he made sure to bring along one in particular. It was a gift from his super best friend Kyle: a friendship ring he made himself out of a Ring Pop. He had cut off the stick that held the lollipop, and in its place he hot-glued a beautiful blue stone that perfectly matched Stan's eyes. On the ring's underside, Kyle had written in permanent marker a special message meant for only Stan to see.

He spent the majority of the car ride admiring his new ring. Though it wasn't fancy or high-tech like his other store-bought presents, it was his favorite because his best friend had made it especially for him. What made Kyle's gift even more remarkable was that he didn't celebrate Christmas. In fact, of all his friends, Stan was the only one he ever gave Christmas presents to. Likewise, Stan was the only friend of his who ever gave him Chanukah presents.

When the Marsh family finally reached their destination after a long drive with no stops, Stan was anxious to relieve himself. He quickly stuffed his prized friendship ring in his coat pocket and raced up the hill to his grandparents' house.

"Stanley, slow down!" Sharon yelled after him.

"Can't—bathroom!" he shouted back. He was running so fast that the ring fell out of his pocket.

"Oh, Shelly, your brother dropped something. Can you pick it up for him?"

Shelly huffed in annoyance. As she and her mother walked past, Shelly stopped to retrieve the fallen object. "What a stupid toy! Only a dumb turd would have a piece of crap like this!" She turned it over in her hand examining it, when she saw some writing on the bottom:

Stan —
Won't you marry me this merry Christmas? ;-P
— Kyle

"What the~?"

"Shelly!" Sharon called back to her.

"Coming, Mom!" she answered as she concealed the ring from view.

…

After all the hubbub of the family greetings died down, the adults moved into the dining room, while Stan and Shelly stayed in the living room with their uncle Floyd's two sons.

"This is so boring," their 16-year-old cousin Dean complained.

"Maybe we should play a game," 12-year-old Jack suggested.

"How about we play Truth or Dare?" Shelly asked.

Dean and Jack seemed to like the idea, but Stan wasn't so crazy about it. "I don't wanna play Truth or Dare."

"Too bad, turd. We're older, so you have to do what we say."

"What, are you chicken?" Dean teased.

"I'm not chicken!"

"C'mon, Stan," Jack pushed. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"A stick up my pee hole," he mumbled.

They all stared at him wide-eyed.

"Never mind, I'll play," he sighed.

"Good, I'll go first," Shelly said. "Hmm…" she looked around the circle they'd formed for a potential victim. "Stan."

Figures, he rolled his eyes.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Shelly grinned. "Who are you in love with?"

Why are you asking me that? Stan thought. "Uh…duh. Wendy, my girlfriend. Remember her?"

"Apparently, Kyle doesn't," she held up the ring.

Stan's jaw dropped in horror. "How did you get that?"

"You don't get to ask a question until you me give an honest answer."

"I changed my mind! I pick dare!"

"OK: I dare you to tell everybody what your stupid turd friend wrote on your little engagement ring."

"It's a friendship ring!" Stan rose from the ground. "And I don't wanna play anymore!"

"Why?" Jack stood up. "What does it say?"

"Nothing! It's private!"

"Let me see," Dean grabbed the ring.

"No! It's mine!" Stan shouted.

Dean proceeded to read the message, then looked at Stan and started chuckling.

"What? I wanna see!" Jack pleaded.

"No! Give it back!"

Dean stood and passed it to Jack, who read it and stared at Stan incredulously. "Dude, you're a homo? Sick!"

"It's not real!" Stan defended. "He was just joking!"

"Is that why you never see your little girlfriend any longer?" asked Shelly as she got up.

"I see her plenty of times!"

"It's doesn't count if you're in class, turd."

"Did he give you that under the mistletoe?" Dean laughed.

"Shut up! Kyle doesn't even have a mistletoe!"

"That's right, Dean," said Shelly. "He's Jewish."

"Whoa!" Jack feigned enthusiasm. "Those yarmulkes are a real turn-on, huh?"

"Ooh…" Dean said seductively. "Did he let you spin his dreidel?"

They all burst out laughing while Stan was fighting back tears of embarrassment. "Please just give it back," he begged.

"OK," Jack said, and he gave it back to his brother.

"Dean, give it back!" Stan raised his voice.

"If you say so," and he gave it back to Shelly.

"This isn't funny!" he yelled.

The three of them began tossing it back and forth. Stan kept trying to intercept it, but he was too short to reach their high throws. After a few times, Jack made a toss to Dean that was a little too high. Dean missed the catch, and the ring hit the wall, knocking the stone out.

They all stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the broken ring. Stan stepped forward and knelt in front of it, picking up the stone and Ring Pop in his hands. His bottom lip was quivering, and a tear slowly rolled down his cheek.

Jack nervously walked up behind him. "I'm sorry, Stan," he genuinely apologized. "I didn't mean to~"

In a flash, Stan swiveled around and punched him in the groin. As Jack doubled over in pain, Stan continued his assault on his cousin's cheek, nose and gut in a blind rage. "I'll kill you!" he screamed.

"Jesus Christ!" Dean shouted.

"You're next!" Stan snarled at him.

"Stanley Marsh!" Sharon yelled from the entryway. "Stop it right this instant!"

"They broke it!" he cried.

"Broke what?"

"My friendship ring!"

"Isn't that what fell out of Stanley's pocket?" Sharon asked her daughter.

"They wouldn't give it back to me! They just kept tossing it around, and now it's ruined!"

"Who cares?" asked Shelly. "It's just a stupid fake ring."

"It's not stupid! Kyle made it for me!"

"Who's Kyle?" Uncle Floyd wondered.

"Some kid he's queer for," Dean answered.

"He's my best friend!"

"What kind of friend writes a love note for his buddy?"

"That's enough, Dean," said Floyd.

"Fuck you!" Stan cursed at Dean.

"Stanley!" his mother said.

"I hate this family!" Stan ran out the door back to the Marshes' car.

"What a little wuss," Shelly scoffed.

"That's it, Shelly," said Sharon. "You're grounded for the rest of Christmas vacation."

"That goes for you two as well," Floyd told his boys. "Dean, you can go to your room. I'll get some ice for Jack."

…

Stan sat in the back seat, weeping over his broken gift. Why didn't he just leave it in the car? Why did he have to bring it on the trip in the first place? All these thoughts ran through his head as he replayed the events that occurred in his grandparents' living room.

"Stan?" Sharon came to his window.

He rolled it down for her. "Hi, Mom. Sorry for fighting…and swearing."

"Do you mind if I come in?" He shrugged, so she went around to the other side and let herself in. "I brought your ring for you."

"Thanks," he stared at his lap.

"I'm sure we can glue the stone back into place pretty easily."

"It won't be the same… it won't be Kyle."

Sharon gave him a sympathetic smile. "He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

Stan looked up at her. "That message was just a joke, Mom."

"Are you sure?" she gently rubbed his shoulder. "Because I wouldn't be upset if it wasn't."

Stan inhaled shakily. "I don't know. I mean, I think it was a joke, but I sort of don't want it to be. But then I feel bad that I feel that way 'cause I don't wanna disappoint you."

"Oh," Sharon started crying and hugged her son. "You could never disappoint me, Stanley. I love you with all my heart, and I just want you to be happy."

"Dad would be disappointed, though."

"What makes you think that?"

"Remember? He said it last year at that meteor shower party: that I can't spend all my time with Kyle or people will think we're 'funny.'"

Sharon giggled at her husband's unique choice of words. "Oh, Stan, you know how your father is. Deep down he just worries about you and doesn't want to see you get hurt by any small-minded people out there. You really should give him more credit."

"But…Kyle's parents~"

"~would be fine with it," she finished for him. "Stan, the four of us recognized a long time ago there was a real possibility that you and Kyle could become more than just friends. We've talked about it together, and we're really all on the same page."

Stan was surprised. "You knew before I did?"

"Mothers know these things," she smiled. "And to tell you the truth, I think Kyle would make a great son-in-law."

"Mom…" he rolled his eyes.

"Sorry. So, are you ready to come back inside?"

"In a few minutes. I need a little time to take this all in."

"All right. I'll wait for you at the front door."

Stan began to process his newly realized feelings and came to a conclusion. "I guess there's just one person left to tell…"

…

The Marsh family drove home late the next day, with Stan opting to be dropped off at the Broflovski house on the way. He rang the doorbell and was greeted by just the person he was hoping, and nervous, to see.

"Hey, dude," said Kyle. "My parents told me you were coming here. What's up?"

"Uh…" Stan opened his hands and showed him the broken ring.

"What happened?"

"My cousin threw it into a wall. Can you put it back together?"

"Sure, but it's a simple fix. Couldn't you have done it yourself?"

"Well, yeah, but you made it, and…you know, I wanted to keep it that way."

Kyle smiled. "Come on," he invited him in. "I'll get the glue gun."

Stan sat anxiously on Kyle's bed while the ring was being repaired. How exactly would he tell Kyle that he wanted to be more than super best friends? And if Kyle didn't feel the same way, could they even be that anymore?

"There," Kyle finished. "Just let it sit for a while until the glue dries." He sat next to Stan on the bed. "Why did your cousin throw it anyway?"

"Shelly and my cousins were playing keep-away with it… she found it and showed them the message."

"Oh…" Kyle looked down. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have written it."

"No, I liked it…I mean, I liked that you gave my friendship ring something that only I was supposed to see…like a secret just between us."

"You liked it?"

"Yeah. It made me feel weird…but not like in a bad way; like I wanted to hold on to it all the time 'cause it made me really happy."

Kyle's eyes were looking everywhere but at Stan. "Wow…"

"Kyle, please don't hate me."

"You know, it really isn't a friendship ring."

Stan's heart sank. His worst fear was being realized: Kyle was ending their friendship.

Kyle continued, "I meant it more as a…promise ring."

"Huh?"

"You know, I just got to thinking how when people get engagement rings, they make a promise to each other… I mean, obviously, I don't wanna get married at ten years old, but I had in my mind that people make these promises, and then I thought of the ring, and, um…yeah…"

Stan was in awe. "So you really meant it?"

Kyle sheepishly nodded.

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"I guess I really noticed it when I was working at Cartman Burger. You came by in another attempt to convince me the world was shit, and as I was walking away, you told me you loved me. I felt like my heart was gonna burst out of my chest, but I also knew you were pretty wasted. That's why I added that winking smiley face with the tongue sticking out in the message, so I could play it off as a joke if your 'I love you's were just drunken ramblings."

"I remember that," Stan said.

"You do?"

"I was really upset that we weren't hanging out, and jealous you were spending so much time with Cartman. I so desperately wanted to have you back in my life, I guess I just reached down deep inside me and blurted out a secret so big I didn't even know it was there."

Kyle couldn't even blink. "So you really meant that?"

"Totally," Stan smiled.

Kyle started to cry. "I love you, Stan."

"I love you, Kyle."

The new super best boyfriends kissed for the first time. After a few seconds, Kyle abruptly pulled away.

"What is it?" Stan asked concerned.

"I was afraid you were gonna throw up."

Stan laughed and embraced Kyle, who returned his hug. "I feel fine," Stan whispered. "Better than ever." He suddenly thought of something important and walked over to his promise ring.

"What are you doing?"

"I know I said I didn't wanna change who made it, but there's one thing I need to add." He took a permanent marker and wrote lightly on either side of the band. "Ta-da! My answer to your proposal."

Kyle got up and took a close look at Stan's short but sweet response:

OK