The one thing Tweek ultimately hated about himself was the intense gut feelings he ended up getting from time to time. Each one he could remember would violently wake him up from the little sleep he got and each one was the same feeling; that something very bad was about to happen.

The first one he vividly remembered having ended with his nine year old self alone in the desert instinctively knowing how to handle a bazooka to save Stan's fucked up gang when they got kidnapped by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Of course he never got thanked for saving them and once Kenny got back in their good graces, (what HAD Kenny even done for them to kick him out of the group anyway?) he had just decided to migrate back to Craig's group of friends.

Speaking of, the next time was waking up the day of Token's 12th birthday and ultimately knowing that the friends he had grown up with in elementary school no longer wanted him around. He didn't blame them. Starting in 5th grade, on the onslaught of puberty, his nervousness and paranoia increased ten-fold. There hadn't been a day where the blond could remember NOT having a blackout period where he didn't remember anything.

Which led into his last gut feeling. That one day in the coffee shop, just a few days into the summer after 6th grade ended, where the twelve year old boy had collapsed in the back from a heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital. That started the chain of events that led to the shop being closed for the summer while him and his parents were sent into rehab for meth addiction.

The rehab, the therapy (both for his mental and physical state), and the CPS classes and visits had nearly taken a toll on the pre-teen. He emerged that summer feeling more like an adult than the nearly thirteen he actually was. Still to this day, he was on at least five medications at any given time and kept his coffee drinking to a minimum, using a set combination of sugar and cream to offset the coffee intake, even though it was ultimately one of the factors that led to his hospital stay.

His parents were surprisingly given custody of him back and kept their business license and realized the second chance they got and cleaned up the shop and actually started making decent coffee that occasionally put Harbucks to shame. Home life had improved and both his parents actually listened to him and stopped filling his head with useless metaphors and worst case scenarios.

Because of the severe addiction to the meth coffee his parents made and his young age, Tweek still suffered from occasional twitching and outbursts and even with the sleep aid he was prescribed, his chronic insomnia still hit him full force more times than he liked.

Which brought Tweek to waking up at 2 am with the worst gut feeling he had ever had, one that forced the teen to hurry to the bathroom to throw up the croissant he had at the coffee shop hours earlier.

As he leaned against the cool tiled wall after rinsing his mouth out, Tweek could still feel like a knife was twisting his guts around. Something was wrong, something bad was going to happen if it wasn't happening already. And after having one of the best nights he had in a long time with one of his former friends, it felt like Karma really decided to be a huge bitch to him even more than usual.

His thoughts drifted to Craig. The question had been on the tip of his tongue the entire night, but he had promised the teen that he wouldn't ask it. He wouldn't ask why Craig Tucker was resorting to digging around in the dumpster for food. He wouldn't ask on the last time Craig had probably eaten well as he placed the third cinnamon muffin on the table the noirette had sat at after the teen had already inhaled two on top of the two croissants and the hot chocolate he knew Craig liked.

After seeing the fear and desperate look in Craig's eyes in the back alley, Tweek knew the teen didn't need confrontation. He needed a friend he could trust. And even though Tweek had repeatedly told the black haired boy he would help, no questions asked, the blond still wondered if Craig believed him on that. At least they had last night. At least Tweek was able to help, even if it would only be a one time thing. But Craig HAD invited him to sit with the group at lunch. Maybe…things were looking up despite the clenching in his guts.

Tweek still felt antsy and hot. He knew there would be no way to go back to sleep before his alarm went off for school. Grabbing his heavier jacket and an umbrella, since the rain that had began pouring since midnight slowed down to a light drizzle, the blond silently walked out the front door to walk the streets to cool off.

—

Tweek stopped in the middle of the bridge that separated the business and residential districts of town and leaned against the side, nearly in the spot where he had left Craig earlier in the night. The temperature was a bit colder than he realized and the blond shivered, pulling the zipper up on his jacket.

The teen stood there, staring at the creek as the rain plopped into the water when he was startled by a harsh coughing from underneath the bridge. His heart skipped a beat and he tried to control his panicked breathing as he debated on whether to walk away slowly or make a run for it. While he wasn't worried about being abducted, he still didn't want whoever was under the bridge to know he was there.

The coughing continued and a brief memory flashed in his head. The coughing sounded familiar. The familiar gut wrenching came back and cautiously, Tweek walked to the edge of the bridge and slowly made his way underneath.

No.

No, it couldn't be.

That shivering lump on the ground couldn't be…

"Craig!"

Tweek dropped his umbrella and rushed to the lump, calling out Craig's name as he shook the teen, hoping that he wasn't too late since he had just heard his violent coughing. The blond breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Craig weakly open his eyes and look at him.

"…angel?"

It was barely a whisper and Tweek could hear the rattle in Craig's voice with the few words the blond wasn't able to make out. Craig shivered again and Tweek wasted no time in picking up the teenager, pulling him as close to his body as he could as he made his way back up the incline, noting the two trash bags and Craig's backpack that he would come back later to get. Right now, he needed to get Craig out of the cold and warmed up.

Craig was a bit heavier than Tweek was used to lifting, especially since the teen had immediately went back to sleep once the blond had picked him up, essentially becoming dead weight. Adrenaline and determination were Tweek's fuel as he ran through the streets back to his house, his legs burning and his heart racing. He knew he'd pay for pushing his body, especially since he still technically had a heart condition, but Craig's safety was more important.

—-

Tweek noticed the porch light was on by the time he got to his house, signaling that his parents were up and getting ready to head to the shop to open. Shifting Craig a bit to grab the door knob, Tweek opened the door and slammed it harder than he meant to.

"Mom! Dad! Help!"

His mom rushed out of the kitchen and there was muffled thumping coming from upstairs, signaling that his dad would be there soon.

"Tweek sweetie, what's wro-"

His heart throbbed and his legs quivered and the world seemed to blur as Tweek saw his mom and let out a choked sob. He barely felt Craig being gently lifted out of his arms and being led up the stairs and to his room by his mom while his dad carried the unconscious noirette to their guestroom.

Tweek barely registered being stripped down to his boxers and into his barely used pajamas, trying his hardest to calm his breathing and the harsh beating of his heart and also trying to answer his mom's questions the best he could.

A few of his pills were put in his hand and Tweek quickly swallowed them, not seeing which ones they were, followed by downing the large glass of water his mom handed him. He was led into bed and tucked in, his mom brushing the hair out of his eyes.

"Mom…'bout Craig…"

"Your dad is taking care of him sweetie. It's going to be okay. Now, you said Craig might have some stuff under the bridge?"

Tweek closed his eyes and nodded, feeling exhausted and lightheaded as the concoction of pills he took began to take effect. "Cr-Craig said his home life wasn't gr-great at the moment…but I didn't think…he'd… I h-had one of my gut f-feelings…"

The gentle fingers running through his hair began to lull Tweek to sleep. "He's gonna h-hate me. Pr-promised him I wouldn't tell a-anyone…"

"You probably saved his life Tweek. He can't possibly hate you for that sweetie. I'm very proud of you. And don't worry. Everything will work out. Now get some sleep. And don't worry about school or work today."

Tweek hummed in acknowledgment as he let sleep finally take him.

—-

Even with exhaustion and his sleep aid working in tandem with each other, Tweek still only managed a few hours of sleep and as he watched his clock tick off the minutes, he finally sighed and sat up once the clock hit 8:30.

He debated getting dressed, but since he probably wasn't going out at all today and his pajamas felt super comfortable and wouldn't irritate his still sore legs as much as jeans would, he left them on. After a quick bathroom visit, the blond began walking down the hall, sparing a glance to the open guestroom door and seeing what he could of Craig sleeping as peacefully as he could.

Tweek debated on walking in the room to check on the teen, but the thought of accidentally waking Craig nagged his brain. His foot had hit the first step of the stairs when he heard Craig's harsh coughing. The blond turned around and quickly walked into the guestroom, seeing the noirette curled up in the covers, his labored breathing causing his body to shiver.

The blond wasted no time in reaching the side of the bed, sitting on the edge, and pulling Craig up into a sitting position, letting the teen lean against him. He grabbed the glass of water that was on the nightstand and brought it to Craig's lips, helping the teen as he slowly drank the water to relieve the burning in his throat.

Once he had felt Craig's breathing even out, Tweek slowly slipped off the bed and laid Craig back down, wiping his sweaty forehead with the wet washcloth that was also laying on the nightstand.

"…Tweek?"

Tweek watched as Craig blearily opened his eyes. They were unfocused and bloodshot and the blond could tell Craig was struggling to keep them open. He began running his fingers through the black hair, trying to lull the sick teen back to sleep.

"Y-Yeah Craig, it's me. Go back to sleep, okay? You're safe now. E-Everything's gonna be okay. Trust me."

There was a quiver in Craig's eyes as Tweek watched the teen stare at him for a moment, before closing his eyes again. The blond stayed for a few more minutes, gently massaging Craig's head, until he was sure the teen was fully asleep again.

—-

Tweek was surprised to come downstairs to see his father at the dining table, several pieces of paper surrounding the man as he scribbled in a notebook in front of him. The blond was slightly worried about the angry look on his face. Richard Tweak was not one to ever get mad and Tweek could barely count on one hand the number of times he saw his dad without a smile on his face.

"D-Dad? Sh-Shouldn't you be at the shop?"

His dad looked up and replaced his frown with the smile Tweek was used to. "We're opening up at noon today. Already put a sign on the shop saying we were having a family emergency after I went for Craig's things and talked to Craig's fa- that man."

Tweek didn't like the way his dad spat out the last part of his sentence. "Dad?"

"Will you be okay with taking care of Craig by yourself while your mother and I run the shop later today? It's Friday, so we'll be too busy to come check on you two. Craig will probably be asleep most the time, the cold medicine we gave him was the strongest we could find, but he might wake up coughing or need the bathroom."

"Y-Yeah… He already woke up as I was c-coming down the stairs. Gave him s-some water and waited until he went back to sl-sleep. Dad…is everything okay? You l-looked angry."

His dad pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am Tweek. I went to have a talk with Craig's father and that…bastard… told me that Craig wasn't even his real son and kicked him out two weeks ago. He didn't even care when I told him Craig had been apparently living under a bridge and could have died last night! Just…how could anyone DO that to a child?! How could anyone be so heartless to not care about their child's safety?! Especially when he had already made the decision to raise him despite not being his kid!"

Tweek's heart lurched and the teen walked over to his dad, giving him a side hug. "It…It'll be okay d-dad."

Tweek saw his dad give him a sad smile before standing up and fully embracing him in a tight hug. "You're a good kid Tweek. You know that right? There's not a day that goes by that I can't imagine what your mother and I would have done if we had lost you. The fact that our negligence didn't mess you up fully is a miracle and I'll be forever grateful we got a second chance to start over. I love you son."

"L-Love you too dad. So…what's g-gonna happen? With Craig?"

"It all depends on Craig but the first thing is him getting better. Then we can try to get him to open up on what happened. Your mom and I already talked and agreed on letting him stay here if he needed a place, especially if he's been living under a bridge for two weeks."

Tweek shook his head. "H-He'd think it was charity or p-pity on you two offering. Th-That's how he acted when I offered him a croissant last n-night. Nnngh- S-Sorry dad. I g-gave him free food last night. I kn-know you-"

"Tweek, son, it's okay! You were helping a friend. It's alright. But…knowing that, if he wouldn't accept the room for free, we can offer him a job at the shop. I still get nervous about you closing the shop by yourself after Katie left for college. Craig could be the second night person. We'd still pay him a decent wage too. Would that be alright?"

The blond nodded and his dad went back to the papers on the table. "I've made a time chart of the next few days depending on how fast Craig gets better. I want you to stay here with him and we'll handle the shop, but whenever one of us has a free minute, we'll drop by and see how you two are doing. Your mom went and picked up some groceries, just soup and sandwich fixings, but I doubt Craig would be able to handle anything heavier than that."

"Where is mom anyway?

"Laundry room washing all of Craig's clothes. She figured they'd be quite dirty after two weeks and he'll probably be grateful for clean clothes that actually fit when he gets better. Your extra set of pajamas is a bit small on him."

—–

Tweek helped his mom finish the rest of Craig's laundry and hauled it up to the guestroom, filling the empty dresser drawers with the clean clothes. He took the rest of Craig's possessions out of the bags and set them in the corner, plugging the teen's phone in the socket closest to the nightstand to charge.

He said goodbye to his parents before they left for the coffee shop and made himself some simple turkey sandwiches and made a pot of coffee and brought his lunch to Craig's room, grabbing his own phone and laptop and his computer chair from his room in the process.

He plopped on his chair nestled beside the bed and ate his lunch, surfing the internet as he kept a watchful eye on the noirette sleeping beside him.