The first thing Craig did when he got home that night was get a shower. He needed to wash the blood off his face and he needed to clear his mind. Leaning his forehead against the wall of the shower, he closed his eyes, thinking about what Tweek must be thinking, doing, feeling. He was so worried for the blonde. He couldn't imagine being thrusted into a new environment already, and who knows what the fuck this Luis guy is making him do in Denver. Turning the water off, Craig stepped out, grabbing his towel and drying off quickly, staring at himself in the mirror. It was still strange seeing himself with red hair, but he did enjoy the undercut. He let out a sigh as he poked at the bruise under his right eye, wincing a bit as it hurt. He expected the pain, but it was somewhat distracting him from his restless thoughts about Tweek. God, he missed him. He missed the feeling of him against his chest and the feeling of his skin underneath his lips and the feeling of those nails of his digging into his back. Craig grunted at the thought, trying to push it out of his mind. He needed a better distraction. Walking down the hall in big strides, Craig reached his room in no time, shutting his door behind him. He tugged on a pair of sweatpants and a crop top (yes, Craig Tucker had a crop top. Tricia made it for him for his sixteenth birthday. It had the Rush logo on it) before flopping onto his bed. Craig tugged his bedside drawer open, rummaging around it before he found what he was looking for: his weed stash. Now, Craig doesn't smoke weed very often, but he does enjoy the way he feels like he's floating and how relaxed he gets. No one was home, anyways, so he might as well have a little fun while he sat alone in his thoughts. He grinded some up before grabbing some rolling paper, using a textbook that was nearby as a flat surface on the bed. After he finished rolling up the joint, he plopped down onto his beanbag chair after putting some music on (Craig could feel the vibrations through his feet, often walking around barefoot in the house to feel the vibrations of people walking and sounds from the TV and his music). The light thumping of the bass of the rock song tickled the bottoms of his feet, but it was sensational to him. Craig leaned forward, tucking the joint behind his ear as he rummaged through his video games. He settled on Grand Theft Auto since that game required the least amount of thinking for him, pushing the disc into his Xbox. Reaching for the zippo lighter on his dresser (which was his favorite lighter), he tugged the joint out from behind his ear, flicking the zippo to life and inhaling deeply as the joint lit up. It burnt like a mother fucker, but it was doing its job in distracting Craig. He exhaled, coughing a few times as he started up the game, losing any sense of time and reality as the pot coursed through his body. After about his fourth hit from the joint, Craig started feeling that floating sensation, a lazy grin on his face as he played his video games and let the bass of his music dance along the soles of his feet. He hadn't even thought about Tweek for a good forty-five minutes. That is, until he noticed a soft glow coming from his dresser. Craig furrowed his brows, thinking it was just his imagination, or, considering he was very high, it was the weed. The light only grew brighter, Craig pausing the game and his music as he stood and walked over to his dresser. It was the conch shell Tweek gave him. Grumbling, Craig lifted it to his ear, blinking as he heard Tweek's voice.

"-just miss you, alright? I know you're probably doing something with your family or-or even moving on from me, which is okay! I just…hope you know how much I like you and enjoyed our time together…" Craig blinked, his head spinning as he sat back down in the bean bag chair.

"I like you too…" There was only breathing on the other side for a few moments.

"You can…hear me, Craig?"

"Yeah…'m I…imagining this?" He said slowly, lulling his head back into his bean bag chair. His eyes were stinging, so he squeezed them shut and rubbed his left eye with the heel of his hand.

"No…it…it's me…are you okay?"

"I'm very high." He chuckled, looking at the glow stars on his ceiling. No wonder why he felt like he was floating: his room was literally space themed.

"I don't…know what that means…but…you don't sound hurt so…"

"'m fine, Tweek. How…can we talk? I thought…we had to be near each other…?"

"If I'm being honest…I don't…really know. I-I don't even know where I am." He breathed out, that sound resonating within Craig.

"You're in Denver. About…two hours away from us? Yeah…two." Craig giggled a bit, rolling onto his stomach on the bean bag chair. He even kicked his legs in the air as he listened to Tweek continue on.

"Okay…I…fuck…this is the worst birthday ever." Craig blinked, blushing as he remembered it was Tweek's birthday.

"Happy birthday, Tweek." He whispered, his eyes closing. What he would do to have Tweek here with him.

"Thank you, Craig…eighteen sucks so far." Craig snorted, drawing shapes on the ground with his finger.

"It'll get better…I promise. We're…gonna come and getcha."

"Who's we?" Craig grinned slowly, glancing at the group picture he had on his bedside table.

"You'll see."


Their first trip to Denver came on Friday immediately after school, which means Craig had the longest week of his life. Classes were unbearable, socializing was the most difficult thing of Craig's life during the week, and even trying to sign to his family was exhausting. As the last bell of the day rang, however, Craig felt a jolt of energy as he rushed to his locker, grabbing everything he needed for the weekend. They all met at their cars, most of them carpooling. The first car contained Token, Jimmy, Cartman, Clyde, and Kenny. The second car (which was Craig's car), contained Kyle, Wendy, and Stan. As they hit the road, Craig was relatively quiet, glancing back into the back seat to see both Stan and Wendy flirting. This was actually the first time he's seen Stan reciprocate the flirting, which surprised him. Wendy and him "dated" as children, but once they got to middle school, Wendy went her way and Stan went his. Craig things Wendy has never stopped loving him, but he could be wrong. He glanced over at Kyle, who was staring out the window with a content look on his face. As he turned his attention back to the road, Craig reached over and gave his knee a squeeze, giving him a thankful look as Kyle turned to look at him. He knows this is killing Kyle, and he feels terrible for it, but he's still thankful to him for all of his help. Kyle put his hand on top of Craig's, smiling a bit as he turned his attention back out the window. The drive was relatively quick despite it being a Friday evening, all of them arriving at the aquarium around five o'clock. It was definitely larger than South Park's aquarium, so they'd have to look through the entire building probably until they found Tweek. After paying, they split up to search for Tweek: Jimmy and Token together, Cartman and Kenny together, Stan and Wendy together, and Clyde, Craig, and Kyle together. They were only separated for about twenty minutes when Kenny texted their group chat.

Second floor. The performance tank.

Craig's heart clenched as he read those words, Clyde biting his lip as they rushed to the second floor. They saw Eric and Kenny standing right in the entryway of the performance tank, Craig's heart stopping momentarily as they had Tweek performing for people now. He looked miserable. Well, he had a smile on his face, but Craig could feel how miserable he was. They had put some stupid head dress on him, the shells on it shimmering with the same silvery purple tint that his scales gave off. He did stupid tricks and showed off his powers, which made Craig even angrier. Kenny blinked as he watched Tweek twirl his arms around, a trail of water lifting him out of the water. It surrounded his tail still, his hips moving to show off his tail in the water. Kenny assumed he was moving to keep himself in place. He also noticed the slight bubbling of the water. Is it boiling? He glanced over at Craig, remembering how when Craig cried and felt Tweek's sadness. Well, Craig looked angry. Wendy rushed up with Stan behind them, blinking as she saw the boiling water as well.

"Is he-"

"No." Kenny murmured, nodding his head towards Craig. His fists were clenched at his sides as Wendy glanced over at him, blinking as she saw Tweek struggling to keep the fake smile on his face. Shit.

"Craig," She put a hand on his arm, his skin hot. "Craig, look at me." She placed her hand on his jaw, guiding his head to turn to look at her. His eyes showed nothing but anger.

"Why is he doing this?" He hissed between his teeth, chest heaving as he tried not to let his emotions consume him.

"I don't…I don't know. But you can't get mad. It's effecting Tweek." She whispered, Craig furrowing his brows.

"I don't…," Kyle moved behind Wendy, signing slowly to him as he tried to remember the hand gestures. Craig blinked, glancing out at Tweek. He finally noticed the boiling water, blushing a bit. "O-Oh…" He cleared his throat, moving out of the room to calm himself. Looking out the window, Craig started thinking on what to do. He couldn't leave Denver knowing Tweek is being used as some puppet to bring in money. It made him sick. He saw everyone else's reflections appear behind him, swallowing hard as he turned around.

"You okay?" Clyde asked, seeing the look on his friend's face. Craig nodded slowly, looking at his feet for a second. He sighed, looking back up.

"We do it tomorrow." They blinked.

"What do-" He didn't let Wendy finish.

"I can't…I can't leave him here. Not when this fucker is using him as some toy to get money." He hissed, everyone glancing between themselves. Kenny shrugged eventually.

"What the hell. We already have all the stuff in Craig's trunk." They nodded slowly, everyone eventually coming to a general consensus: they weren't leaving Denver without Tweek.


The layout of where they kept Tweek was relatively simple. He stayed in the performance tank, which wasn't awful for Tweek because it was definitely more spacious, and he had Pluto with him. There was a set of steps that led up the side of the tank and a small walkway, much like at South Park's aquarium, to the side of the tank. The room itself didn't have a lot of security, surprisingly, but they would still need to distract the security guard watching the cameras. As they took one last look around the room, Craig walked up to the glass tank, enjoying the way Tweek's eyes lit up as he rushed over to the tank. He grinned slowly at him, blowing him a quick kiss before signing to him.

"We're getting you out of here tomorrow. Can't talk now. But have everything you want to take with you." Tweek nodded, his cheeks a light pink as he waved to everyone and Craig. As they walked out, Tweek grinned. That's who he meant by "we". He thought, giggling softly as he swam down to see Pluto. He scooped him up in his arms, kissing the top of his head.

"They're here, buddy. They're gonna get us out of here." He whispered against the slick skin of the octopus, the creature wriggling happily in his arms. Tweek grinned, putting on one last good performance that evening. He gave it his all, only because he knew, but Luis didn't, he was closing up shop.


After everyone called their parents to say they were spending the night and a good night's rest in a nearby hotel, they woke up ready to go. Kenny and Clyde walked over first, both boys being the look outs at Tweek's tank. Wendy and Stan were the next two to move in, both hiding a bunch of supplies under their jackets as they walked in. They decided to wander around to not draw attention to themselves. Eric, Token, and Jimmy were next, and they were the distraction of the security guard. They were pretending to be Jimmy's cousin and saying that he was dying and his wish was to give a stand-up bit to a blue collared worker (it was total bullshit, but by the looks of the guy they saw leaving the office yesterday, he'd believe it). Last was Kyle and Craig, who came in holding hands to just look like a normal couple visiting the aquarium. They wandered around for a bit, meeting up with Stan and Wendy after a good fifteen minutes. The four continued to walk around until their Craig's phone buzzed in his pocket. He tugged it out, smirking as he saw Token's text.

The eagle is distracted.

Craig gave a nod to the three of them, all of them making their way to Tweek's tank. Clyde and Kenny were standing outside the room wearing fake security guard outfits, nodding to the four of them as they walked past. They had kept anyone from entering the room, saying they were doing a routine cleaning of the tank and it would be open later. As they wandered in, Tweek was swimming around aimlessly in his tank, his eyes lighting up as he saw them. He quickly swam to the surface of the tank, tugging himself up onto the walkway. Pluto wasn't far behind him, using Tweek's tail that hung into the water to crawl up onto the walkway. Craig knelt down next to him, grinning slowly.

"Ready?" He whispered, Tweek nodding his head furiously.

"Absolutely." He breathed out, Wendy tugging a bunch of supplies out from under her jacket. Stan tugged a long brown wig out from his jacket, handing it to Craig. Kyle was waiting for them at the bottom of the steps with a wheelchair, which they would use to push Tweek out of the aquarium. Craig placed the wig on Tweek's head, pushing back any blonde curls that poked through. He ran his fingers through the wig as Wendy started to quickly apply makeup to him, only putting on a little blush, eyeshadow, and lipstick. She finished brushing out his eyebrows and tugged a long maxi dress out from her pocket, Tweek lifting his arms up as it was tugged over his head. Before they pulled it all the way down, Pluto stuck to his stomach, his head being used to make a fake baby bump. The dress obviously didn't cover all of Tweek's tail, but they had blankets waiting at the bottom of the steps with Kyle. Craig blushed a bit as he looked at Tweek. He was adorable, and the bright red lipstick did wonders for his green eyes and pale skin. He scooped him up, walking towards the stairs. Before Wendy followed, she took a jar out from her other pocket, taking a jar full of salt water for the ride home. As they made their way down the steps, Kyle tugged the blankets off the wheelchair as Craig placed him in it, Tweek tucking his fins up into the skirt of the dress a bit. It didn't hurt his fins, it just felt a little uncomfortable. They draped the blankets over his lap, tucking them around the end of the dress so they didn't run the risk of his fins flopping out. Stan tugged a white floppy hat out of his jacket as well, placing it on Tweek's head and angling the brim down so his eyes were covered a bit. Wendy gave Tweek's hand a squeeze as she chuckled.

"I'm…convinced. And Pluto makes a good bump." Stan snorted, glancing at Kyle.

"You guys ready?" They all looked at each other, Craig nodding.

"Call them." They started making their way towards the exit, Tweek taking a few shaking breaths as he rubbed Pluto's head to calm him and to make it look like he was rubbing his very "pregnant" belly. The black of the dress hid any wet marks that Tweek may have forgotten to dry off with his powers during the process. As they approached the door, Stan held the phone to his ear.

"Meet us at the car, ASAP." He murmured, hanging up as he finished the brief call to Token. Kenny opened the door for them as they walked out, both him and Clyde taking the security jackets off and holding onto it as they joined the four of them as they walked towards the door. Craig glanced down at Tweek as he pushed him, noticing his shoulders shaking. He rubbed his thumb over his exposed shoulder gently, feeling the muscles relax under his hand as they continued towards the door. They saw Eric, Jimmy, and Token waiting at the car through the glass, but they were soon cut off by Luis, who talked to someone right in front of the door. Wendy grabbed the pair of sunglasses out of her pocket and tugging them on before he could notice it was her. Craig kept his composure as he took his hearing aids off and stuffed them in his pocket, swallowing as the man turned to look at them as they got closer.

"Have I…seen you before, kid?" He practically purred, making Craig want to vomit. Why did he have to be such a pompous asshole?

"Don't think so."

"Really? Because your…hair…seems familiar." Craig snorted as he processed what he said.

"There's plenty of red heads in the world. Hell, there's one next to me." Kyle gave a shy wave, Craig keeping one hand on Tweek's back to calm him. Luis narrowed his eyes.

"Mmm. I see…and is this young lady here your…?" Craig nodded, not really knowing what he said, but he assumed it was about Tweek from the way his eyes slowly dropped to the mermaid in the wheelchair.

"My girlfriend."

"Aren't you a little young to be a dad?" Craig narrowed his eyes after he finished reading his lips.

"None of your business."

"Why does she need a wheelchair?"

"Again…none of your business. But, if you must know, she's due any day and it's hard for her to walk around." Luis hummed, taking a small step forward. Tweek needed to act fast, moving his eyes down to the water dripping on the ground. Wait. He quickly concentrated on the water still clinging to his tail, forming a small ball of water by the seat of the wheelchair and letting out a yell as he dropped it. Wendy jumped, but knew what he was going for.

"Oh! Her water broke! We have to go!" Luis blinked, watching the water run down the floor.

"Nice meeting you!" Clyde called out as they rushed past, Luis blinking as he watched them go. He furrowed his brows, but shook his head as he called for a janitor on his radio. They ran to Craig and Token's cars, everyone getting into their respective cars as Kyle offered to drive Craig's car so Craig could sit with Tweek in the back with Wendy. Wendy got in on one side, helping Craig guide Tweek in by tugging him in by his tail gently. Craig shoved the wheelchair aside, climbing in and letting Tweek sit in his lap. It was way too cramped in the back of the car with Tweek's tail taking up most of the space, but as they pulled out of the aquarium parking lot, both boys looked out the back window with grins on their faces as they watched the building grow smaller and smaller. Once it was out of sight, Tweek let out a sob, but he was grinning as he did. Burying his face into Craig's neck, he finally let himself sob tears of joy. They had done it. They freed him. Tweek was finally free.


The car ride was full of excitement as Stan and Kyle asked Tweek questions, both Craig and Wendy periodically rubbing saltwater onto Tweek's tail and onto Pluto (who sat excitedly in Tweek's lap). Kenny called Stan at one point, explaining to them that they were going to go to the diner to celebrate the successful heist (if you could call it that). Craig, however, just wanted to get Tweek safely home. It was already late when they pulled up, almost midnight, so he knew he'd have no trouble taking him inside. Kyle pulled up at Craig's house, everyone getting out to help with the process of getting Tweek out. It wasn't too difficult, but once Craig had him in his arms, Wendy walked up to the door with them to unlock the door for Craig. Once the door was opened, Craig turned to look at his friends, smiling wide.

"Thank you…for everything." He murmured, blushing a bit. Tweek nodded in agreement, his arms securely wrapped around Craig's neck.

"Yes…thank you all so much." He giggled, all three of them grinning.

"It's no problem." Stan said, Craig blinking.

"I…I heard you!" They all blinked, looking at Tweek. He blushed, looking down.

"I, um…I guess I'm so happy my powers are just…going crazy." He admitted, Craig letting out a soft laugh.

"It's our pleasure, guys." Kyle said, his voice making Craig's heart flutter. It's been so long since he heard his friend's voices. When they met, his hearing hadn't fully gone, so he had some idea as to what they sounded like in his head, but man, hearing them now? Game changing. They bid them a goodnight, the three walking towards town to meet everyone at the diner. AS Craig kicked the door shut and quickly locked it, he quietly made his way up the steps, thanking whoever used the bathroom last kept the door open. Once inside, he set Tweek on the toilet seat lid, shutting the door behind him. Flicking the light on, Tweek blinked, glancing around the room. He froze as he saw the mirror.

"Is that…a mirror?" He asked, eyes full of wonder.

"Yeah."

"Can I…?" Tweek leaned forward a bit, Craig catching him as he lost his balance. He chuckled, scooping him up again so he could see his reflection. He still had the makeup and disguise on, but Tweek hadn't seen his reflection in a long time. He was chubbier than the last time he saw himself (which was five years ago, and thank God he finally put some meat on his bones) and had more freckles as well. His hair was starting to poke out from under the wig and it was definitely longer since he last saw it, too. Setting the hat aside, Tweek pulled the wig off, gasping as he saw his hair. Yeah, definitely longer. He poked at his cheeks, noticing the roundness of them. It was cute. He giggled a bit, poking at his red lips and tilting his head from side to side as he looked at every angle he could of his face. Craig watched with adoring eyes, chuckling softly. He set him on the ledge of the sink counter, turning his attention to the bathtub. He started filling it with water, keeping it lukewarm since he wasn't sure how hot or cold Tweek needed the water the be. He rummaged through the cabinet under the sink, finding the salt they kept there for when they needed to gargle saltwater. He started sprinkling a hefty amount into the water, using his hand to mix it in. After about five minutes, the tub was ready. He glanced over at Tweek, who was tugging at the skin on his stomach and face. Craig chuckled walking over and digging through the cabinet again to find baby oil and a makeup removing pad. He put a little oil on the pad.

"C'mere." He murmured, tilting Tweek's head to face him. He started gently wiping his face off, grinning slowly as that familiar shade of pink that is Tweek's lips appeared and the slight purple of his eyelids appeared. Once his face was all clean, Craig couldn't help but drop his face into Tweek's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his waist. Running his finger-tips up and down his back, Craig couldn't help but place gentle kisses to the pale skin under his lips. Tweek let out a soft sigh of content, giggling a bit as Pluto climbed into the tub of water.

"He's making himself at home." Tweek murmured, tilting his head back a bit as Craig kissed up his neck.

"Good," Craig leaned their foreheads together. "As should you." He pressed their lips together, both boys sighing softly as this felt…right. It felt right to be here. It felt right to be kissing each other. It felt good. They kissed lightly for a good five minutes, reveling in the fact that this was actually happening. Craig pulled away slowly from the kiss, needing to break himself away before he became drunk off of Tweek's kisses.

"Will I ever get to see your room?" Tweek whispered, Craig letting out a soft chuckle.

"Tomorrow. Sound good?" Tweek nodded, Craig lifting him gently and placing him in the tub of saltwater. Pluto instinctively climbed onto Tweek's stomach, curling up there to sleep. Craig stared at Tweek for a moment, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead before standing back up. "Goodnight, Tweek." He whispered, Tweek humming in content as Craig tucked a rolled-up towel under his head as a make-shift pillow.

"Goodnight, Craig." He whispered back, Craig tugging the shower curtain closed. Tweek heard the door click shut as he left, but he wasn't sad. Tweek was everything but sad. He was happy. He was relieved. He was tired. He was calm. He was…in love. He grinned slowly as he thought about the boy down the hall from him, his eyes fluttering shut as his mind danced with images of him. Meanwhile, down the hall, Craig had similar images swimming through his mind of the boy in his tub, a grin on both of their faces as they drifted off into their first restful night of sleep in weeks.


NOTE: I apologize for any mistakes, I am very tired and didn't finish re-reading all of this chapter whoops! BUT THEY DID IT! Next chapter will be interesting ;) Because you can only hide a mermaid in your bathtub for soooo long. I hope you enjoyed the break out (ya'll have no idea how long I've had this planned. It's so simple, yet, obviously, effective) and, as always, any and all feedback is appreciated! If you haven't followed me on tumblr yet, go ahead and do so! crowded-skies is my username!