Hello there! Sorry for the wait. I've been treking through Europe. Actually wrote this on the Eurostar to Paris.

-----------------------

Fog draped over the town like an enormous grey veil. The clouds had repeatedly blossomed and dissipated this week, creating a presentiment of silent turmoil and romantic chaos that hung in the air like electric static. It was about that time of year when fall slowly rotates on its axis and, reluctantly and creaking, drops into winter. For the "quiet" village of South Park, it was just enough to drive it's residents mad with anticipation.

It was now well into November. Halloween had passed without any significant destruction, only the usual antics. Cartman's scheme to poison the chocolate candies and the hold the antidote for ransom in the town hall had failed massively due to some stupendous infirmity on Eric's part. Kyle Broflovski had no idea what had occurred, and frankly, didn't care. It wasn't as if the townspeople were going to do anything anyways. The notion of punishing Eric Cartman for his crimes was decidedly inconceivable to them.

As of the moment, fine mist swept through the streets, dusting blades of grass with beads of dew. Kyle though it was lovely as he observed a spider web sag and crystallize in the fog. He was sitting on his windowsill, bare feet dangling, ankles grazing the icy concrete of the house's exterior walls. A strong gust of air sped past and the redhead pulled the edges of the blanket tighter around his shoulders, shivering uncontrollably for several seconds. He frowned. Beautiful as it was, he definitely missed the French countryside- the sun's warm smile, the gentle creeks, the fields of spices that ran as far as the eye could see. And, of course, the shopping. Kyle dearly missed the shopping.

Another gust of wind arose and the teen groaned in frustration. Even his expensive long-sleeved silk-wool blend tunics couldn't keep him warm in this godforsaken town. And South Park smelled nothing like lavender.

With a heavy sigh, the redhead pushed himself back through the window and into the room. There were cardboard packing boxes, tissue paper, and Styrofoam peanuts scattered in layers up to four inches thick across the carpet. Not to mention the large sheets of bubble wrap messily folded atop the cabinet. He had promised those to Ike for later.

Pushing his sleeved up, the redhead began to methodically sift through the wreckage. After several hours, his carpet was once again visible and the sound of the water taps could be heard.

Kyle swiftly undressed. The steam from the shower was sweltering but the tile was bitterly cold. The contrast made his skin crawl with goosebumps. Stepping into the shower, the teen let the stream of pounding water wash away the tension in his body. His shoulders dropped and his thoughts turned to Stan Marsh. The brunette had been the topic of his musings for some time now. Even the name made his chest ache. What had happened to their super best friendship? Had it really been reduced to this? Kyle suspected he could probably count on one hand the number of times he had actually seen the brunette. Two hands to count the number of words exchanged between the two. No matter how much he contemplated on it and tossed and turned in the late hours of night, he couldn't understand it. Not one of the infinite scenarios he had conjured in his mind would tell Kyle what he had done to fuck up their relationship. The guilt and the pain were so heavy at times that the redhead feared it would break him. It was so obvious that Stan hated Kyle. He hadn't even come down to greet him the day he had returned to South Park. It wasn't as if he couldn't see the brunette through Tweek's open window.

The teen dropped to the floor of the shower and curled his knees into his chest. The teen bit his lip in a valiant effort to hold back tears of discontent. He was so angry. He was so hurt. Even after all this time the brunette hadn't forgiven him. It was incomprehensible. Before the fire, he had timidly reached out countless times to console Stan and to apologize only to be batted away. Kyle had no idea what he had done but would have submitted to anything in order to atone for it. And now he was here. Sobbing pathetically in the shower over someone who had clearly forgotten about him a long time past. Why was it that Kyle was here while Stan didn't seem to be fazed at all? For that he hated the brunette. It wasn't fair.

The hot water was slowly dwindling now and Kyle reached out to shut to taps off. He watched as the currant flowed leisurely into the drain. His face was stinging from tears. He felt like such a girl. Standing up, he wrapped a white towel around his slender torso. In the mirror his eyes were red and watery and his face was a most attractive shade of tomato red. Geez, he hadn't cried like that since… well since he had last been in this town. Before the fire. Of course it had been over Stan those times as well. He sighed in despair. Kyle just didn't have anyone else like Stan. He wasn't capable of getting that close to another person like Stan was. He could feel the cycles of self pity start up again and quickly put a firm stop to the nonsense. This was probably good for him anyways, discarding their relationship. It wasn't good to be attached to anyone like he was to Stan. It was a matter will, that's all. A test to himself and a measure of self worth. He would get over Stan right fucking now.

It was a lie of course. He knew that immediately. He couldn't stay mad at the brunette ever. Even after Stan had abandoned the redhead, Kyle still couldn't let him go. But what could he do? The other hated him now.

Suddenly he felt suffocated in the stuffy bathroom. He felt as though the water vapor in the air was drowning him in some feverish wet hell. He choked on absolutely nothing at all except claustrophobia. He left the room and padded over to his window, inspecting the web.

In the distance, where the clouds broke and parted, he could see the final citrus rays of the sun as it descended behind the mountains.

"Beautiful…"

-------------

A while later, Kyle was downstairs at the stove, heating the kettle for tea. In the discouraging absence of nothing to do on a Friday afternoon, he let his thoughts wander off to various destinations. He briefly contemplated inviting Kenny over, but decided against it. He felt emotionally and mentally exhausted. Besides, if Kenny wanted to come over at all, he would just waltz right through the front door, uninvited.

The kettle was screaming now and Kyle carefully transferred the hot water into a porcelain teacup. He selected a jar of honey from the pantry, picked up his cup and silver teaspoon, and headed for the couch. He could hear the muffled voices of melodramatic dialogue emitting from the television. Funny. He didn't remember turning it on…

At the sight of Kenny sprawled out on the couch, Kyle nearly dropped his mug.

"Hey man." Kenny announced casually, acknowledging the redhead's presence. He never turned his head from the screen.

"What the… Dude. What are you doing here?!" Kyle demanded to know. Not that he should have been surprised.

"Hmmm…? Oh. Yea the front door was open. I let myself in," Kenny stated, disinterested and picking at something between his front teeth with his fingernail. "Do you have any of those otter pops?"

"What? Why would you want- no never mind." the redhead shook his head in annoyance and took a seat next to the blond. For several minutes the two watched the corny daytime drama in silence, interrupted at random intervals by Kyle's sipping. Kyle had never seen the show before, but the exaggerated acting and tasteless plotline was just enough to keep his interest at a low simmer. In the redhead's almost boredom, he picked up the jar of honey and began dipping his finger in. Kenny didn't seem to care as Kyle proceeded to lick the sweetness from his fingers.

Just as Jason was about to hook up with his ex-wife's sister, Kyle muted the television.

"Dude!" objected the blond.

"Why are you here?"

"Do I have to have a reason to see my friend?" asked Kenny dubiously. He sighed. "I was walking around, saw your house and popped in" he explained blandly. He knew the redhead would just keep commanding an answer otherwise.

The two friends headed up to Kyle's room.

For a while they conversed discursively about various things- Mrs. Smith, their bitch math teacher, Clyde and Powder's hook up last weekend, the strange weather, Cartman's friendship with Wendy.

"It's so weird! I would have never seen that one coming," stating Kyle, amused.

"I don't know man. They are kind of compatible in their own weird way. Remember their debate team in fourth grade?" asked the other.

"Yea… Anyways, what does Stan think of their friendship? I mean he was obsessed with her for like ever…" the redhead trailed off sadly and Kenny noticed.

"Yea well. He's kinda dating Bebe now… or something. That kid has a new one every couple weeks. He's so…" Kenny shook his head and chuckled, but neither found it all that funny.

"Stan just doesn't quite know what he's looking for," announced the blond. "He's pretty wild and he likes to have fun and he's got a lot of girls…but, you know, he just can't keep his interest in them. He just goes back and forth."

Kyle raised his eyebrow. "He's gonna have a lot of people hating him one day."

Kenny eyed Kyle and grinned. "Naw. He'll find it soon."

Kyle opened his mouth but Kenny interrupted the redhead before he could talk. "Just got a feeling man. In my gut." He laughed at Kyle's perplexity.

The redhead sighed miserably. "He hates me. I know he does. I can't figure out what I did."

Kenny looked extremely startled. "Dude, what are you talking about? He doesn't hate you, he just… I mean its complicated with him… or so I think," he added quickly.

"Has he said anything to you?"

"Uh, no. Not at all. I have no idea whats up." It wasn't exactly a lie. Stan really didn't tell Kenny anything.

The blond got up from the bed and walked to the window. "I never noticed. You got a nice view from here man."

Kyle nodded absent mindedly.

"Holy Christ!" shouted Kenny. "Speak of the devil." He slide the glass up.

"STANNY! STAN MARSH! Hey man!" Kenny screamed from the window. Stan gazed upwards and was about to greet the boy until he realized exactly whose window the blond was shouting from. A look of utter dread consumed his features. Back in the room, Kyle was panicking on the bed.

"KENNY!" the redhead whispered. "Don't you dare… Please Kenny!"

The blond completely ignored Kyle's pleas. "Stay right hear," he commanded, as he ran from the room.

The redhead whimpered, fell backwards onto his bed, and slammed a pillow over his eyes.

-----------------------

Outside in the ice, Stan Marsh was frantically scouring the terrain for an escape route. Fucking Christ Kenny he thought furiously.

Stan knew exactly what this was. This was Kenny's ploy to get Stan and Kyle in the same room so that the blond could examine their every encounter and formulate a psychological analysis of the situation. From there, Kenny would probably fuck with both their heads for several weeks for his own entertainment, then drop the two like rocks to work things out themselves.

Personally, Stan couldn't imagine a worse hell. But he couldn't bail again. He didn't want others questioning his manhood. Cartman had already sent around some rumor that Stan was afraid to see Kyle. How ridiculous! Stan wasn't scared. Ever. The redhead just made him really really upset and what man didn't flee from his emotions? Geez.

So Stan stood his ground. Seconds later, Kenny raced up to him with maniac excitement in his eyes. The brunette rolled eyes and the two headed into Kyle's house without a word. They settled in on the couches and immediately started chatting.

Kyle, meanwhile, was preoccupying himself in the kitchen, fixing another cup of tea and desperately wishing he was anywhere in the universe but there. After stalling as much as appropriately possible, the redhead slowly treaded into the living room. Stan abruptly stopped talking, cutting himself off mid-sentence. Kyle fell into a chair and began to sip his tea, looking pointedly in any direction but Stan's.

Kenny looked back and forth between the two with decisive curiosity. After a few seconds, he leaned back into the couch.

"Very interesting," he mused to no one in particular.

The brunette and redhead cringed simultaneously. That meant inescapable intervention on Kenny's part now.

"Anyway," started the blond, "did you hear about those kids up in Middle Park?"

"…Yea. I heard they were quarantining the area or something," Stan drawled.

"Yea. They can't figure out why they're sick," mused Kenny. "Hopefully it doesn't get down here. You know, I think-"

Both Stan and Kyle zoned the blond out and turned to take a peek at the other. Their eyes locked for a fraction of a second, and Kyle was suddenly nervous. He looked away and let out a silent, shaky breath.

Stan grinned slightly in some small sense of triumph.

---------------------

Half an hour later, the blond was still prattling on, with the other two chiming in at random moments. Sometime during this, Kyle had picked up the honey jar and had resumed his finger-dipping.

Stan was entranced. He watched the redhead run his tongue along his finger, then slide the entire digit into his mouth. Stan was so…disgusted. It was just so disgusting, he thought. He watched in sick fascination as the redhead closed his eyes momentarily as he sucked on his finger, then opened them slowly as he pulled it out. Stan's heart was racing in utter repulsion. How was Kenny not noticing this? Kyle dipped his finger in again and watched the sticky substance gradually trickle down his index digit. He then tilted his head and brought the hand to his lips, dragging his tongue from the base of his finger to the tip. He slid the tip of his finger into his mouth again and closed his eyes, before pulling it out and repeating.

This was the tortuous ritual that had captivated all of Stan's attention for the past fifteen minutes. It was so disgusting! Stan couldn't honestly think of anything more sickening than this. Kyle looked to be in bliss right now and it made the brunette's insides twist with electricity. Why was it so hot in this room?

Kenny's voice droned on in the subconscious of Stan's mind. Eventually, Kyle set the glass jar down and Stan felt like he had just woken from a dream.

"Let's go," Kenny's voice commanded.

Stan looked up, dazed.

"…Wha?"

Both Kyle and Kenny turned to look at Stan.

"Dude. Have you been listening at all?" asked the blond. "Were gonna go see that new Keanu Reeves movie. I already invited Cartman."

Stan sat up and reached into his pocket for his cell.

"Don't even think about inviting Bebe. You will not be going off into the bathrooms to fuck her. This is quality time for the four of us…or something equally as gay." Geez. Kenny could read Stan like a book.

Kyle sprawled a note on the fridge for his parents and Ike, informing them where he was going.

As the three set out, Stan passed by the honey jar still resting on the coffee table. He shuddered.

"Disgusting…"

------------------------

TBC. By the way, the voices of the SP boys is French is so different and not nearly as incredible. But you should still look it up and see.