A/N: I decided to add another chapter to this story for two reasons: (1) Because a good friend asked me to :c) and (2) Because this story got completely inside my head when I first wrote it, to the point that I was thinking about it and coming up with dialogue and scenes for it even when I was nowhere near my computer. I was so into this 'verse that I felt like it could have gone on a little longer. So…enjoy the results of my obsession! Comments are love…

Chapter warnings for sexual situations (including dubious consensual) and violence.

0-0

"You know, I feel like kind of a jackass," Kenny said, speaking into Butters' hair as they cuddled under the blankets. It was early Monday morning; Butters had to get ready for work in an hour, and neither of them could sleep. "I've lived here one whole day now, and I never even asked you what kind of work you do."

"Aww," Butters replied from his new favorite place, next to Kenny with his head on his chest. "You're not a jackass, Kenny!"

Kenny waited for him to continue, and when he didn't, he said, "You still haven't answered my question."

"But you didn't ask me one."

Kenny's eyes narrowed. "Sure, I did."

"No…you made a statement." He was trying not to laugh. "You said that you felt like a jackass, because you never asked me what kind of work I do."

Kenny replayed the last fifteen seconds of their conversation in his mind and realized he was right. "Oh…so that's how it's going to be, huh?" Kenny moved his hands down Butters' ribs as if to tickle him, making Butters finally laugh, and Kenny added, "Never mind; you must be a lawyer."

Butters grinned. "Nah…I'm an accountant! Or, well…I work for an accounting firm. Right now I just crunch numbers for them, but I've been studying for my CPA license, and I probably could have taken the test and gotten it three months ago. One of the senior partners there says that once I do, I could probably be a junior partner in just a few months."

Kenny moved his hands up Butters' back, rubbing his fingertips up and down his spine. "That sounds like it could come with an awesome pay raise. What are you waiting for?"

"Um…" Butters looked down, suddenly sounding nervous. "I-ah, didn't think I was going to be alive in twelve days. I—I kind of didn't see the point."

"Oh…" Kenny ran his fingertips through Butters' hair. "Well…since your plans have changed—" there was a slight question in his voice. "Maybe now you should go for it?" Butters hummed and nodded agreeably, turning his head to place a kiss on Kenny's chest. He added: "I don't know much about the subject, but I'll help you study."

"Okay." Butters chuckled. "You know…that guy seems to mention it the most when I'm wearin' pants that are a little too tight on me."

Kenny laughed. "Showing off your, ah, assets to the boss, huh?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so!"

"Well…sometimes you gotta know how to work that ass Butters, to get ahead in life."

Butters set a fist on Kenny's chest and rested his chin on it, looking up at him. "I s'pose so. I just kinda wish I could get ahead because I know how to work a calculator!"

They laughed and cuddled quietly for awhile. Butters finally looked over at his clock radio: 8:10. "I better go get ready for work."

"Ooh, sounds like crunching numbers is a nine to five job."

"Nine to five Monday through Friday, and sometimes later." He hugged Kenny once more, then pushed the blanket off himself and sat up, reaching under the bed with a foot for his slippers. "Especially during tax season." He scowled. "Yuck. What about you, Ken?"

Kenny sat up next to him. "My schedule changes all the time. I have to go in at two o'clock today and stay until closing. I probably won't be home tonight until about ten."

"How're you going to get there and back?" Butters sounded worried.

"I'm a lot closer to work now than I was before." They got up and started gathering clothes, Butters from his closet and Kenny from one of the trash bags in the corner beside the desk. Butters made a mental note to clear a dresser drawer and some space in the closet for him this evening before he got home. "It's only a couple miles away from here, so I can just walk, and there's a guy that gives me a ride home every night after we close. He's going to love not having to take me to that trailer park anymore."

"Well, if you can't get a ride home, you call me, mister!" Butters poked his arm with a finger. "I don't want you walkin' home at night."

Kenny nodded. "Okay boss."

Butters carried clean underwear and a tee shirt into the bathroom and quickly stripped off his pajamas, excited at the idea of Kenny walking in behind him and seeing him already naked. He turned on the faucet and adjusted the water temperature until steam was rising from the floor of the bathtub. Kenny came in just as he stepped under the warm water, giving Butters an appreciative leer. Butters couldn't help but stare as Kenny took off his boxers and Flogging Molly tee shirt and stepped into the shower next to him.

They wrapped their arms around each other while steam rose around them. Kenny picked up Butters' bottle of Axe and poured some into his hand, reaching around to lather Butters' shoulders and back. Butters hummed happily, enjoying the sensation of Kenny's slick hands as they moved over his sides and down his legs as Kenny knelt in front of him.

"God, you're so beautiful," Kenny moaned, taking Butters' cock in his mouth, all the way until his nose was pressed against Butters' pubic hair and bobbing his head vigorously. He was an expert at this; in less than a minute, Butters groaned loudly and came, Kenny's hands molded against his slick buttocks as he rode out the aftershocks, leaning against the tile wall. He looked down at Kenny, still kneeling worshipfully on the floor in front of him.

"It's your turn, mister," Butters said, crouching down in front of him and urging Kenny onto his back. There wasn't a lot of room, but they managed to make it work. Butters knelt between Kenny's bent knees and went to work while hot water rained down over them. Kenny leaned his head back with a whimper and came, Butters making sure he was finished before pressing his face into the inside of one of his thighs.

"Jesus, dude," Kenny moaned. "How'd you get so good at that?" They finally stood to finish their shower, Kenny rubbing Butters' chest with a soapy washcloth. Butters still couldn't take his eyes away from the sight before him.

He thought Kenny's body was one of God's marvels. Several years of better living away from the poverty of his childhood had filled him out, and hard work had added a lot of lean muscle. Especially his ass, which he reached around to cup in his palms as he pulled him close. He especially loved the dimples on each side just behind his hip bones. Butters had held his hands against them last night in bed while Kenny was on top of him, rutting into his mouth.

Just above the dimple on his left side was an old, almost completely faded bluish-yellow bruise. Butters had been wanting to ask him about it, and he rested his fingertips against it tentatively.

"How'd you get this, Ken?" He dragged the back of his nails gently along the slick flesh and over the discolored skin, carefully in case it was still tender.

Kenny twisted around to see where Butters was pointing. "Oh, that. I, ah, slipped on some spilled canola oil at work a couple weeks ago and fell."

Something about his answer didn't quite ring true, but Butters decided not to push it.

After they'd toweled each other dry, Kenny stayed in the bathroom to get dressed while Butters went back to their room. When Kenny rejoined him five minutes later, he gave a loud and exaggerated wolf whistle.

Butters turned his head away from the mirror where he'd been combing his hair, grinning. His ass was molded nicely inside a pair of snug-fitting tan slacks; brown dress shoes, a dark blue shirt, and a necktie with simple red and blue stripes completed his outfit.

Kenny smiled back. "Nice assets, dude!"

Butters smiled. "Thanks! I thought I'd ask Mr. Sheffield about takin' that test today, and figured it couldn't hurt to wear these pants when I did." Butters turned back to the mirror, and Kenny's cell phone rang from Butters' nightstand. He strode across the room to answer it.

"H'lo?" His eyes narrowed. "Oh, hey!" He suddenly seemed all-business. "Uh huh." He listened quietly for several seconds; Butters was watching him in the mirror curiously. "Oh wow…okay, sure. Ah…if I can get a ride, I can probably be there in about twenty minutes." His eyes met Butters' in the mirror.

"What's up, Ken?" Butters asked, turning around.

"It's work. They need me to come in early today. Like, right now."

Butters glanced at his watch. "Where do you have to go?"

"It's the Olive Garden on Grand Avenue, across from the mall?"

"That's right on my way, Kenny!" It was actually two miles out of his way, but Kenny didn't need to know that. He turned back to the mirror, giving the knot in his tie a final adjustment, and Kenny realized at that moment that he was falling in love with Butters. "I can have you there in ten minutes."

Kenny looked at him fondly before replying, perhaps for a few seconds too long. In the thirty hours since Kenny had first arrived here, Butters had already demonstrated that, once he relaxed, he was capable of being an absolutely delightful freak in bed (and in the shower!). But he was also a great companion the rest of the time they were together, often making Kenny laugh with an off-the-wall observation or comment about something they were either doing together or watching on television. And good God did he love to cuddle.

Kenny finally looked away and pressed his phone against his tee shirt. "Are you sure, man?"

Butters nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I drive right by there on my way to work."

Kenny held his phone to his mouth. "Okay…looks like I'll see you in twenty minutes." He listened for a long moment. "Oh…all right…ah, thank you sir!" He ended the call.

"Our head cook up and quit today," he said. "No notice or anything. My boss just told me if I do good taking over for him, I can have his job." He was grinning happily, obviously excited. "This could be a really good thing for me!"

Butters dropped his hairbrush on the dresser and rushed across the room to hug him. "Congratulations, Kenny!"

They quickly finished getting ready for work, climbing into Butters' car and driving off five minutes later. Butters had never paid much attention to the Olive Garden restaurant just a few miles from where he worked before, but as he drove into its parking lot he thought that this might be a nice place to go for lunch sometime soon.

"Drive around back," Kenny requested as they approached the building. "The employee entrance is back there, and we might be able to get a few minutes alone together." Butters did as he asked, parking next to the back door of the restaurant and shutting his car off. There was no one else in sight, and they quickly wrapped their arms around each other across the center console.

"Good luck today, Kenny!" He almost added I love you and stopped himself at the last moment. It might be too soon for that; Butters didn't want to pressure him. He added instead, "I know you're gonna do great today."

Kenny smiled at him. "I'll see you tonight." He looked down for a moment, contemplating telling Butters how he felt as well and added instead, "Thanks for everything, dude. I, ah…I'm glad we ran into each other."

Butters leaned across the console to kiss him. "Me too, Kenny."

Kenny kissed him back, then sat up and opened his door. He reached across the car to adjust the knot in Butters' tie, not that it needed it. They smiled happily at each other.

"I'll see you tonight dude," Kenny said, brushing his fingertips down Butters' cheek. Butters nodded and watched Kenny get out of his car. He didn't start his car again until Kenny had gone inside and the door had closed.

0-0

The rest of the week passed mostly uneventfully while they learned each other's habits, schedules, and what it was like to live with each other. They didn't spend much time together during the day, Kenny's job keeping him out until after 10:00 every night. Butters made a simple dinner for them Monday night and kept a plate warm for Kenny, but when he came home with several take-out boxes of wonderful-tasting leftover food and announced that he'd gotten the promotion and he'd be able to bring leftover food home every night that he worked, dinner became one of Kenny's regular contributions to their household.

Butters' favorite time of day was when they were in bed after they'd made love, and Kenny was spooning him from behind while they drifted off to sleep. Lying with his back pressed against Kenny's chest and an arm around him holding him close allowed Butters to sleep better than he had in years. By morning they would be on opposite sides of the bed, but waking up with Kenny just an arm's reach away, their combined heat beneath the blanket, was closer to perfection than Butters ever thought he would get.

Early Thursday morning, Butters was awakened from a deep dreamless sleep by Kenny thrashing around behind him and crying out. His eyes flew open in the almost-dark room and he quickly turned over, reaching out for him. "Kenny?"

He gasped. "Oh God…I'm sorry, Butters! I…just had a really bad dream."

"Aww…" Butters ran his hand over Kenny's shoulder, feeling his way down Kenny's body in the dark. "You're safe now." He scooted closer and put his arm around him. "C'mere."

Kenny gratefully melted into Butters' embrace. They lay quietly together; Butters could hear Kenny's racing heartbeat, which slowed at he felt Kenny's body relaxing.

He reached up to brush the hair across Kenny's forehead. "Are you okay now?"

He felt Kenny nod. "Uh huh." He sat up in the dark. "Gonna go pee though."

Butters moved his arm away and Kenny slipped from the bed and made his way to the door. Butters rolled over onto his back, looking up at the ceiling. The only light was from the one in the bathroom; Butters left it on and the door open a couple inches for a nightlight. The bedroom brightened for a moment and then went dark as Kenny went into the bathroom and quietly closed the door.

He heard the toilet flush a minute later, and smiled as the light returned, just as it had been before. Kenny had thoughtfully put the door back just the way Butters had left it.

Kenny's shadowy form moved through the darkness toward the bed, pausing to stand beside the mattress. "Hey, Butters?" He seemed smaller somehow, standing beside the bed, silhouetted by the dim light from the hall. "Can I be the little spoon for a while?"

It took Butters a moment to understand the question. Then, "why…sure, Kenny!" He moved back to his side of the bed and rolled onto his side facing him, holding the blankets up. Kenny crawled under it, facing away and moving closer until they were pressed together, Butters' arm wrapped around his chest.

"That was a really scary dream, huh Ken?" He felt Kenny nod next to him.

They cuddled quietly. Butters finally whispered, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Kenny paused, and hesitantly replied. "Ah…not really."

Then he thought about it, remembering the nightmare that had awoken him. Maybe he did want to talk about it, at least a little. The dream had been of his former life as a rent boy, and even as the memory of the nightmare faded, the event that had triggered it was as fresh and raw as ever.

The man had pulled his disgusting penis from Kenny's mouth and punched him in the side of the head, sending him sprawling naked on the filthy motel room carpet. As Kenny lay moaning in pain and trying to protect his face, two swift kicks to his side sent him into realms of pain he had only felt before during a violent death. He looked at the stained rug through pain-lidded eyes hoping the beating was over, and when several $100 bills fluttered to the carpet from above, he knew that it was.

"Yes." He amended the answer he had given seconds ago. "I guess maybe I do. I was dreaming about that…other job I used to have. There were a couple of older men who liked it rough. There was this one guy; it…it was like he couldn't beat up his wife, so he found me and beat me up instead. But he paid really good…and I needed the money for Karen…" He wrapped his hand around Butters' wrist. "I had a dream about him."

"Aww…you're okay now." Butters kissed the back of his neck, making sure Kenny could feel his breath against his skin. "I'm glad you don't have to do that anymore."

Kenny rolled over, wrapped an arm around Butters to pull him close, and decided it was time to take the plunge. "I love you, Butters."

Butters' eyes widened in the darkness. "Aw, Ken! I—I love you, too!" He wrapped his arm tighter around Kenny and pulled him as close as he could. "I think I fell for you before you even moved in here, right about the time you offered to come over and make me dinner for my birthday." He took a deep breath and continued. "I wanted to tell you that for a while now, but I was afraid it might be too soon. I…I didn't want to pressure you."

"Ah, Butters." Kenny moved his hands down Butters' back, reaching inside the bottom of his pajama shirt to rub his back. "I can tell you the exact moment I fell in love with you: It was when you were fixing your tie in the mirror this morning. You just…you looked so perfect, standing there. And you've always been a good friend to me. Even when we were kids."

Butters sighed happily and closed his eyes. This time when they fell asleep, they did so facing each other, arms entwined around each other's back.

On Friday morning, just like they had for the past four days, they left the apartment half an hour earlier than Butters needed to drive Kenny to work. Butters arrived home that evening just before 5:30; when Kenny finally walked in the door five hours later, he looked exhausted. As he melted into Butters' embrace, Butters whispered in his ear, "Oh geez, Ken, you look really tired."

"My boss said the same thing when I was leaving tonight," Kenny replied, nuzzling into Butters' hair. "He finally noticed today that I've worked almost sixty hours in the past five days. He promised to hurry up and hire someone to fill my old position…and gave me the weekend off."

"Ah…good!" Butters took a step back, holding Kenny at arms' length. He rested the fingertips of one hand against his forehead and closed his eyes. "I sense…a lot of sleep tonight in your future. And…and a marathon of TV watching tomorrow."

Kenny laughed. "Dude…that sounds perfect."

Kenny kept nodding off all through dinner, and finally Butters stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Kenny. Off to bed with you."

Kenny nodded and allowed himself to be led from the kitchen down the hall to their bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the bed. Butters knelt on the floor and untied his shoes, pulling them off and then peeling his socks off.

"Geez," Kenny moaned, struggling to stay awake. "I hope my feet don't stink too bad."

"I don't care if they do." Butters sat up and eased Kenny onto his back, reaching down to unbutton his pants and pull his zipper down. Kenny closed his eyes as Butters pulled his pants down and off his legs, crawling onto his side under the blanket wearing just his boxers and tee shirt. Butters lay down behind him and tucked their blanket over them, wrapping his arm around Kenny's chest and once again making him into the little spoon. "Just go to sleep."

Butters tickled his fingertips up and down Kenny, tracing random patterns across his shoulders and back until long after he had fallen asleep. Once Kenny had been snoring for awhile, he cuddled up behind him and closed his eyes. The living room and kitchen lights were still on and there were dishes that needed to be rinsed off and put in the dishwasher, but Butters didn't care. He only knew that the man he worshipped was sleeping next to him, and he was no longer lonely.

It had been the happiest week of Butters' life.

0-0

The next day, Kenny slept in while Butters quietly puttered around their apartment. He ate three Olive Garden breadsticks and a piece of lasagna Kenny had brought home the night before, finally settling onto the couch with a clipboard and practice CPA license test. He was growing bored and restless when Kenny finally wandered into the room, rubbing sleep from his eyes and looking rested.

Butters looked up from his practice test. "Oh, look who finally decided to rise and shine!"

Kenny walked up behind him, placing his hands on his shoulders and nuzzling into the top of Butters' head. His hair was just beginning to thin across the top of his scalp; Kenny thought that in ten years a balding Butters would still look just as adorable. "I may have risen," he said, planting a kiss against Butters' scalp. "But whether I actually shine or not remains to be seen." He sat down next to Butters.

"You always shine, even when you're sleeping."

Kenny chuckled. "So do you, dude. I've watched you sleep a couple of times too, you know." He picked up a breadstick from the plate on the table and bit into it. "So…what's on the agenda for today?"

"More breadsticks…lots and lots of them," Butters replied, and they both laughed. "You've brought home enough of them to feed an army. We have to either eat them, figure out a way to make croutons or something out of them, or carry them outside and feed the birds."

They ate a dozen more breadsticks between the two of them, and by late afternoon they were curled up together on the couch watching a rerun of The Big Bang Theory and feeding each other popcorn from a bowl they were holding between them. Just as the show went to a commercial, Kenny's cell phone rang.

"Huh. I hope that isn't work calling me in." He picked his phone up from the table and answered. "H'lo?"

His eyes narrowed, and he sat up straight a moment later, "Nope! I'm not doing that anymore." He paused, then said angrily. "No, you need to fuck off!" He ended the call.

Butters had sat up and was looking at him, concerned. "Ken?"

"That…" Kenny closed his eyes. "…was an old client…and if I never see him again for the rest of my life, I can die happy."

"Oh, geez…" Butters put his arm around Kenny's shoulder. "I'm awful glad you don't have to—"

Kenny's phone rang again, interrupting him. Kenny answered, looking at the caller ID this time. "Listen, asshole, I just told you…" he trailed off, then added more softly: "What?"

Kenny held his phone away from him, looking at the screen. Someone had sent him a video, and as they began to watch it, they both gasped at the same moment. Neither of them could take their eyes away from the scene on the phone's tiny screen: Kenny, naked and on his knees, blowing a much older and obese man standing in front of him. The man's head was above the camera's field of view and he had his hands tangled roughly in Kenny's hair and was grinding into his face, and from the strangled sounds coming from the phone it was clear Kenny wasn't enjoying himself. It was a short video; after only a few seconds, the man grunted in the throes of orgasm, then withdrew and punched Kenny in the side of his head, sending him sprawling onto his back. The man disappeared for a moment, then stepped back in and kicked Kenny viciously in the side twice, making him scream in pain.

Butters now knew where the bruise he had noticed on Kenny had come from.

"Fucking whore!" the man said, his voice tinny in the little phone speaker. He dropped several bills on the floor next to Kenny's head and left, leaving Kenny gasping and moaning in pain on the floor. The video abruptly ended.

"Oh, Kenny!" Butters cried, throwing his arms around him and pressing his face into his hair. For a few moments, while he was watching that disturbing video, Kenny had forgotten he was even there. "Why would someone send you that?"

Kenny was as white as a sheet. "That…that was the guy I told you about; the one that likes to hurt me? He…he said if I didn't meet him tonight, he would send that video to my boss at the Olive Garden." The phone slipped from his hands and landed on his leg.

"Oh God…" Butters hugged him, hard.

"I don't know what to do!" Kenny moaned. He began rocking back and forth, Butters still holding him and moving with him.

"We can…we can go to the police…"

"I don't even know his whole name, Butters! I don't know anything about him, except his first name is Bill and he's some rich guy. And…he said if I tried anything like that, he'd kill me! Oh God…" His voice faded to a whisper. "I don't know what to do…"

"Kenny…you can't go anywhere with him! We'll figure something out, we'll—"

Kenny's phone rang again from his lap.

"I don't…I don't think I have a choice, Butters. I'm…going to have to go with him, or he's going to ruin my life."

Kenny answered his phone. "Hello." He sounded completely resigned, bowing his head as he listened. "Okay. But just one more time and then we're finished. I mean it." Kenny rubbed his eyes while he listened for a long moment. "No, I don't live in that trailer anymore….I'm at the Carlton Arms Apartments, building C. And you're not coming in my house; just park when you get here, and I'll come out." He wiped a tear from his cheek; Butters pulled him closer. "Okay." He closed his phone.

Butters was watching him intently. "Ken?"

"He says he'll be here in ten minutes. And that I was getting too old for him anyway, and that this will be for old times' sake." He shuddered, not wanting Butters to know why that frightened him so badly, but he was pretty sure Butters understood anyway.

Kenny was afraid that tonight might be the night "Bill" went too far, again. The videoclip he had sent Kenny was mild compared to some of their other times together. Bill had once, in a cocaine-fueled rage, beat Kenny's face until it was no longer recognizable, then pounded the back of his head against the floor so hard he'd died hours later, alone in a dingy motel room. Kenny wasn't afraid of dying so much as he was afraid of what would happen when he came back and the world reset itself the next morning. Butters knew Kenny was leaving with Bill and what they would be doing, and that meant that if Bill killed him tonight, Butters would have to forget Kenny had gone with him. Kenny realized he might wake up again in that drafty old trailer with Butters having forgotten everything about the past week that they'd lived together.

But even that wasn't Kenny's greatest fear, and as Butters pulled him against his chest and held him, he gave voice to it. "Hey…you still love me, right?"

"Ken…of course, I do!" He kissed the top of Kenny's head, brushing his fingers through his hair. "Nothing's ever going to change that."

The ten minute wait felt like a lifetime. They finally heard a car drive up into the parking lot, and they both looked out the living room window. A black sports car had just turned into their parking lot and its driver was looking for a place to park.

As they stood together, Butters asked, "Kenny, are you sure you have to go with him? There's got to be a way; I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt."

"I'll be okay, Butters. He'll ruin my life if I don't go with him…and he's never really hurt me too badly." And I hope you can't tell I'm lying to you. "This will be the last time I'll have to do this." He hugged Butters, hard. "God, I love you."

Butters brushed his fingertips down Kenny's cheek. "I love you too, Kenny. Oh geez, I wish there was some way…"

Kenny shook his head sadly. "I'll be all right." But as he opened the door and walked away, his head was down and his shoulders were slumped in defeat. He had the look of someone walking toward his own execution.

Butters looked out the window anxiously, watching Kenny approach the shiny black car in the parking lot. He would gladly take Kenny's place if he could. As Kenny approached the car, Butters' eyes suddenly widened; it wasn't just any sports car, it was a shiny black Ferrari, and even if he hadn't spotted the vanity plate on the front of the car (MONEY1), he would recognize that silver-grey head of hair on the driver anywhere.

"Oh…hamburgers," he whispered, watching Kenny walk up to the passenger door and open it. "Oh, no, no…"

He felt the world he had built for himself starting to crumble around him, and also knew in the same moment exactly what he needed to do.

He looked frantically around the living room for his cell phone, spotting it on the dining room table. He quickly retrieved it, and grabbed a pair of scissors from the junk drawer in the kitchen, carefully pushing the tip through the fabric over his shirt pocket, taking care not to stab himself. He was ruining a forty-dollar Van Heusen dress shirt, but didn't care. He clipped a small hole in the shirt pocket, turned the phone's camera on and slid it into the pocket, its lens perfectly centered behind the hole he had made.

Dropping the scissors on the counter, he hurried out of his apartment, the slamming door echoing up and down the hallway as he ran outside.

0-0

Kenny slammed the car door way too hard, enjoying the feeling of rebellion that simple act gave him, settling into the passenger seat and staring glumly at his knees. Bill stared at him menacingly; he was obviously in a dangerous mood, and his wild eyes made Kenny aware he was flying high on cocaine.

"How've you been, Ken?" he asked, their usual opening line.

Kenny just grunted, refusing to answer him. Bill continued to stare, clearly relishing Kenny's fear.

He finally started his car and leaned his elbow on the window as he backed out of the parking space and whipped the car around. He started to drive off.

Kenny looked up sharply as Bill suddenly slammed on his brakes, throwing him toward the fancy leather dashboard. Butters was standing three feet in front of the car, his hands balled into fists at his side. He clearly wasn't about to move out of the way.

Bill's eyes widened. "Mister Stotch? What are you—"

"You're the one that's blackmailing my boyfriend?" Butters shouted angrily, his voice rising, while he moved closer to the car, resting his fists on the hood and still not getting out of the way. He clearly didn't care if any of the neighbors overheard either. "And—and beating him up…and hurting him?" He banged his fists against the hood and strode angrily to the driver's side door and glared into the car.

Kenny watched Bill's eyes narrow calculatingly. He didn't know what was going on here, he only knew that Butters was trying to help him somehow, yet this evil man seemed to hold all the cards.

"Mister Stotch," he said menacingly. "This has the potential of getting badly out of hand, and if it does I can promise you it won't go well for either of you. You can lose your apartment and car and everything else in a heartbeat if I fire you." Kenny listened to this and wondered what Butters could have possibly been thinking.

"And yeah, I've done those things to your whore boyfriend, and if you try to do anything about it, it'll be your word against mine." Only then did he spot the hole in Butters' shirt pocket and the camera lens behind it.

"Oh, I don't think so mister!" Butters said triumphantly. He took a step back from the car and reached into his shirt pocket to remove his phone, holding it confidently with both hands now and aiming the lens directly at Bill. Kenny's eyes widened as he watched Bill stiffen in anger and then slump in defeat in the space of about three seconds.

"Oh…" Bill said quietly, all the menace gone from his voice.

Kenny realized the balance of power had shifted, even though he wasn't completely sure why. There was clearly some kind of standoff going on here as Butters stared at Bill, all the while aiming the camera of his cell phone at the driver's side window.

"Go ahead and get out of the car, Kenny," Butters commanded, still staring at the viewfinder of his phone and holding it steadily, and Kenny was only too happy to obey, climbing out and slamming the door even harder than he had a minute ago and relishing the feeling. He walked around behind the car, joining Butters in staring into the car.

"Okay," Bill said. "This doesn't have to…"

"Shut up!" Butters snapped, still glaring angrily.

Kenny watched them stare each other down for a moment and finally asked, "Butters?"

"This is William Sheffield," Butters replied. "The senior partner I told you about, who says I could be a junior partner at his firm someday, while staring at my butt," His eyes never wavered. "And you're right." He was speaking to the man in the car again. Butters was still furious; Kenny could only stare at him admiringly. "This video doesn't have to show up ten minutes from now on youtube, or get sent to all three local networks' news departments, a-and emailed to all the other partners…and your wife. That is, if you leave right now and never bother him again. And don't even think about giving me any trouble at work, either."

Holy fuck, Kenny thought, struggling not to smile. Remind me never to make an enemy out of him!

Bill nodded slowly, staring into his lap, utterly defeated. His hand moved toward the gearshift when Kenny threw in a condition of his own.

"And you can also fast track Bu…Mister Stotch… into that junior partnership position."

Bill appeared to have aged ten years in the past minute. "And if I do…"

"Then no one else will ever have to know about this," Butters told him. "All this will just go away, except for one thing: I'll be keeping this video. Call it…insurance."

Bill nodded, still not looking up. "Dude," Kenny told him, relishing the moment. This was much better than the fantasies he'd had of beating Bill to a pulp. "You need to cut this shit out. You're going to get busted someday if you don't. Go home...and buy your wife some flowers on your way."

Bill drove off. They watched the black Ferrari drive away and pull out onto the street and speed off. Kenny finally gave in to the shuddering laughter he'd been holding back, leaning against the trunk of the nearest car to support himself.

"Holy shit, Butters!" He was laughing hysterically, but looked like he could start crying with relief at any moment as well. "Oh my God…that was amazing!" He was on the verge of hysteria.

Butters put his arm over his shoulder and stood next to him, wondering just whose car they were leaning against and hoping whoever they were, they weren't looking out their window. "Yeah…it's even more amazing because my phone only takes still pictures. It doesn't even do videos!"

Kenny froze, staring at him as if he had just witnessed a miracle, then started laughing even harder, and now he was crying as well.

"Oh my God!" He sputtered. "Oh God, Butters…I love you!"

Kenny realized he wasn't going to get hurt or die tonight after all, and a million thoughts tumbled through his mind at once. And we make an awesome team, and you're an amazing person and a wonderful friend, and we should have gotten together back when we were in high school, and if we had things would be completely different for both of us now. All these things were on the tip of his tongue, and he finally pulled himself together for a moment to say instead, "So…it's official? I'm your boyfriend now?"

Butters smiled. "I thought under the circumstances it would sound better than if I'd told him you were my roommate."

Kenny started laughing harder, on the verge of a complete meltdown right here in the parking lot.

"Come on," Butters said, grabbing his elbow and leading him across the parking lot toward their apartment building. Kenny managed to mostly keep it together until they were back inside their apartment; then he sat down hard on the floor, laughing and crying with relief and unable to stop, completely unembarrassed to be seen this way in front of Butters, who sat down on the floor next to him and slung his arm over his shoulder.

Kenny had no doubt now that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this man. He wasn't sure how they would deal with his habit of dying occasionally, nor what he would do when Butters inevitably died forever someday, hopefully a long time from now, while he continued to live on. But these were bridges they would cross when they came to them.

"Butters," Kenny said, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "You totally bluffed him, dude! That—" he gasped and sobbed and laughed. "That was fucking awesome! Holy shit, man…remind me not to ever play poker with you!"

"Aww…" Butters feigned disappointment and pulled him closer, embracing him and rocking him slowly from side to side. "I was just about to ask you to play strip poker with me!"

THE END

(I think…)