Craig woke up from a not-so-gentle knock on the door and Tricia yelling, "Food, fuckface!" before running down the stairs loudly, two steps at a time. Craig could hear a muffled curse and smirked as he guessed that she probably almost missed a stair and fallen.
Tweek jumped up and away from Craig at the noise, a hand pressed over his pounding heart. "Fuck," he whispered. "I hate loud noises."
Craig nodded, still laying down. "Same." He waited a few more seconds, then sat up and yawned, rubbing at his eyes. This had probably been the laziest, yet most eventful, day in his life. "You ready?"
Once he calmed, Tweek nodded, tugging nervously on his fingers. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Craig kissed him on the cheek and stood up, holding his door open for the other. Tweek smiled slightly as he walked past him into the hall, the simple gesture raising his confidence. They walked together down to the dining room, Craig leading the way.
"Hey, guys. Dad, you remember Tweek?" he said, gesturing vaguely to his side.
Thomas nodded. "I think I do." He smiled at the boys. "Haven't seen you around in a long time, Craig doesn't have many friends over, other than that Clemen boy."
"Clyde, dad."
"Right. Clyde." By the way his eyes glinted, Craig knew he was joking to try for a relaxed mood. He wasn't sure if he was liking it or not.
"How are you doing Tweek? I heard you were sick?" he continued, Craig putting a hand onto Tweek's shoulder, thankful that his father was sitting and smiling softly instead of standing at full height.
"Yes, sir," Tweek said nervously. "Thank you for allowing me to stay here."
Thomas nodded.
"You're always welcome to stay, Tweek honey," Laura chimed in, smile as bright as it was happy. "Why don't you sit down, boys?"
Craig nodded. "Thanks, mom."
Tweek sat slowly, gripping his knees tightly under the table. Laura set a plate in front of each of them, then asked Tricia how her day was.
He couldn't help but notice how odd he looked here. The Tuckers were easily talking and laughing, enjoying a meal, while he sat hunched in his seat, not touching his food. He was struggling to really process his situation. He hadn't eaten dinner with his parents, or anyone, in years, and when they had eaten together, it was silent and cold.
Meanwhile, Craig did his best to get the attention away from Tweek. He already looked uncomfortable and Craig doubted he wanted to talk about anything at the moment. His family seemed to catch on but eventually it was going to happen, and his mother turned to address Tweek.
"Tweek, if you don't feel well enough to eat you can go up to Craig's room if you'd like. I'm sure it's less loud and more comfortable than sitting here." She smiled and Craig shifted in his seat, catching his mother's eye and glaring at her. She caught it and understood fast enough to add: "We won't be angry or upset about it. Being sick is not something to take lightly, after all."
He flinched slightly at the sudden attention, looking down at his plate. His stomach twisted with guilt. Even if they said it was okay, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being extremely rude by not even touching anything she had given him.
Craig took his hand under the table so no one saw and squeezed it gently. "Wanna go upstairs?" he asked lowly, Laura patiently waiting for Tweek to answer.
"Gah," he grunted, twitching from nerves under Laura's gaze. How was he supposed to make a decision just like that? It was way too much pressure!
"Don't pressure the poor guy like that." The surprising help came from Tricia. She sighed in an overly dramatic fashion. "Just go upstairs, asshole, he's basically vibrating." She mumbled some more insults about how dense Craig was and Craig flipped her off and rolled his eyes, taking Tweek's hand and pulling him up.
Craig was irritated but thankful because he had been so focused he had overlooked just how much that single question had stressed him. "We're going upstairs. Thanks for the food. Night." He pulled Tweek after him, flipping Tricia off one last time with his free hand before disappearing up the stairs.
"Does he always hold hands with his friends...?" Thomas asked, a bit dumbfounded and confused by the quick events. Tricia snorted into her food, earning a glare and a middle finger from her mother.
"Patricia Evelyn Tucker, how often do I have to tell you not to spit into your food!"
Once back in the safety of Craig's room, the door firmly shut behind them, Tweek let out a relieved breath. "Sorry," he said, picking at his bandaids. "I just got a bit overwhelmed."
"I told you we could just go, no one was angry." Craig squeezed his hand and half-smiled. "Sorry I didn't notice earlier. Tricia saved my ass there."
"No, no, it's okay," he assured.
Craig let go of Tweek's hand, making his way over to his desk and started rummaging through its contents. "You hungry?" he asked.
"Uh, not really," he said honestly, hugging himself. "Sorry. I don't really eat a whole lot."
Craig frowned. "I know. You haven't eaten in two days now, though..."
Tweek blinked. "Oh... I guess I probably should then," he relented. He didn't feel hungry, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew he needed to eat to survive at least a couple times a week.
Craig pulled a package of crackers out of the desk. He didn't say anything while passing them to Tweek, looking lost in thought and somewhat far away.
He took the crackers, nibbling on them quietly for a few minutes before asking, "What are you thinking about?"
"Hmn..." Craig mumbled something unspecific before his focus returned to Tweek. "How often do you eat?"
Tweek thought for a moment. "Uh... often enough to not die? Slightly more often than Kenny?"
Craig tapped his fingers against his cheek, still thinking. "I know you said you don't really have a favorite food, but is there anything you at least kind of enjoy eating?"
"It depends. I have this weird thing about textures in food. I don't really know how to explain it," he said nervously, looking at the crackers in his hands.
"Try me," Craig replied, leaning against his desk.
"W-Well, some food just... feels weird?" he attempted. "Like, pineapple feels weird. And oranges. Um... some kinds of candy, or some kinds of noodles do too?" Tweek wasn't sure if anything he was saying made sense. To him, he knew exactly what he meant, but he wasn't sure if his experience was a universal one or not.
Craig tilted his head. "I guess pineapple and oranges make sense. They're really sour and my tongue always hurts after eating pineapple. What do I have to look out for in candy?"
"It's not really the flavor that's the problem," he said, picked at his band-aids again. "It's the actual way it feels in my mouth. I hate it, so I can't eat it. But I like orange juice, so it's not the flavor."
"Okay... can't say I relate to that, but I think Token mentioned something about texture in food once. I'm not judging." He tapped his fingers on his now crossed arms. "What kind of texture do you absolutely hate?"
"Uh, stringy stuff. Like celery, pineapple, oranges but also grainy stuff like wheat noodles."
Craig made a disgusted face.
"Ew, wheat noodles... Yeah, never gonna find those anywhere near me. Okay. No stringy or grainy stuff. What about gummies?"
"That, nng, that one also depends..." Tweek blushed, looking at the ground. "You don't have to worry about it, Craig, really. It's a big pain for other people to have to look after, I'll just know what I don't like and keep away from it."
Craig shrugged. "If you say so. But at least tell me a specific thing you like to eat?"
"I don't know about really liking to eat it, but something that I never get sick of is just simple things like grilled chicken," he said quietly, his cheeks turning pink. It was weird to talk so much about himself…
Craig nodded. He could work with that. "Is it the same with drinks? You mentioned orange juice," he said as he went over to the bed and sat down to lean back on the board.
"Not that I've found," Tweek said, standing awkwardly in the middle of his room.
Craig nodded again and patted on the bed to invite him over. "Cool. Cool."
He joined him, sitting on the edge a bit away. Now that he was more aware of himself, he couldn't just move closer or relax. What if he annoyed Craig by being clingy?
Craig solved the issue by lazily flopping to the side and wrapping an arm loosely around Tweek's waist, landing face first in the blanket and looking very uncomfortable. But his head was pressed against Tweek's side, so he wasn't complaining. "What are things you like to think about?" he mumbled into the blanket, looking ridiculous.
Tweek blinked down at him. Without thinking, he grabbed him and shifted his position so Craig's head was resting on his lap rather than it's odd angel, putting a hand lightly on his back between his shoulder blades.
Craig hadn't expected that move, completely content with the weird position he had before. He felt the butterflies go wild again and wondered if he should name them some time since they seemed to be a permanent thing now. Tweek's hand felt warm and comfortable and he couldn't help but relax into the touch a little.
"I don't know..." Tweek murmured. "Most of the stuff I think about isn't fun or happy."
"Well, tell me about the very few things then."
Tweek blushed. No way would he tell Craig that he was one of the few things he thought about to feel happy. He wracked his brain to think of something else. "Uh... sometimes I try to come up with new recipes or songs," he finally said, his hand subconsciously rubbing small circles into Craig's back.
Craig hummed happily. He did that exact motion with Tweek a lot, sometimes he even got a bit touchy with Clyde when his best friend was especially upset and touch starved, but he couldn't remember a time someone had actually done it back for him. Partly because most expected him to not need that, since he was a guy (a stupid prejudice,) stoic, and could come off as cold, and partly because a lot of the people thought he just didn't like body contact. Which wasn't true. But he definitely would never ask for it.
Ever.
He could feel his muscles go slack. His reply came out in a slight drawl, not tired but definitely comfortable and lazy. "You still write songs?"
"Yeah," Tweek said. "I never stopped. Just, gng... don't really have the confidence to share them anymore." He watched his reaction to his light touches and couldn't help but smile.
Craig closed his eyes halfway. "That's too bad. Bet you're great at it..." He hoped Tweek wouldn't stop anytime soon because he was at ease and felt like he was about to melt into his bed. Lucky for Craig, Tweek didn't plan to. Craig was always doing nice things for him, and now that he could see he had a definite way of returning the favor, he intended to continue for a long time.
"That feels awesome..." Craig mumbled, shifting a bit so that he could lie his head into a better position without his neck getting stiff.
"Yeah? I'm glad. I like being able to do nice things for you."
"Mn, best boyfriend..." Saying it out loud, the word felt weird in his mouth but not in a bad way. Rather because he had never used it like that before. With a sudden rush of affection, he turned so Tweek still had access to his back but also so that he could bury his face against Tweek's stomach.
Tweek wasn't sure what to think of this, though he ultimately let it go as it wasn't uncomfortable, and Craig seemed happy. His other hand came up naturally, running lightly through Craig's hair. This all seemed rather intimate to Tweek but for once, he didn't feel like he needed to get away. Instead, he felt comfortable and relaxed in the small bubble the two shared.
A shiver ran down Craig's spine. He wrapped his arms around Tweek's hips in a weird hug. Craig couldn't remember a time he had wanted to be close like this with anyone else.
"I hope you know that you're one of my best friends," he said against Tweek's shirt.
Tweek blushed. "Ah, thanks," he said softly. "You're my best friend." Not that that was a hard slot to fill, he didn't really have a ton of people jumbling for it. He couldn't say he minded, though. He was happy to have Craig.
Craig smiled. "Don't think I'd be this comfortable with anyone else," he added to the nod he gave Tweek in thanks. He squeezed him, a bit harder than intended but not painfully so. Tweek didn't mind, but with their position, he couldn't exactly hug him in return, so he did the next best thing. He pressed a soft, shy kiss to Craig's temple.
Craig made a surprised noise but didn't look up. "You are so fucking cute, I can't believe this," he almost-whined after a short pause.
"What? How am I cute, I'm not doing anything," he protested. "You're the one being cute."
"Shush, you just did that kiss thing. And you giggle. And you get all red and flustered and stuttery when I do something nice or say something to compliment you." He poked him in the side, a bit too hard for it to tickle. "You're cute. End of story."
He swatted lightly at his hand. "W-Well, so are you!"
Craig snorted and kept poking. "No, no, no. I am cool." He stressed the 'I' and the 'cool' while using his typical tone, grinning like the idiot he knew he was.
Tweek whined, wiggling under the poking onslaught. "D-Don't make me take you down, Tucker!" he warned.
"Mn, I'm prepared this time." Craig turned his head so that he was actually looking at him, still grinning. The other's eyes narrowed slightly. Well, now it was a challenge.
"I could tell you exactly what I am about to do and you'd be powerless to stop me," he said lowly, his hands going to Craig's shoulders. "Do you really want to be owned three times in one day?"
Craig snorted. He was a bit hurt in his pride from the first two times now that he wasn't focusing on not getting boner. It did bother him, even if he knew that Tweek was good. He poked him again, this time intending for it to tickle and distract him.
It worked. Partially.
Tweek squealed and wiggled, then shoved Craig off his lap onto the floor with a thump and an 'Oof' as the air rushed out of his lungs.
"Ow." Craig sat up and looked up at the bed, offended.
Tweek pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, pouting at him. "That's what you get," he huffed, embarrassed.
Craig looked at him for another second before he started laughing lightly, not quite a giggle. "Guess I should've seen that coming."
"I swear to God, I'm going to kick your ass some day," Tweek muttered, turning away from him, face feeling like it was on fire.
"Can't wait," Craig replied though his last few chuckles. He crawled back on the bed, sitting across from his boyfriend. Tweek glared at him from the corner of his eye, but with his puffed cheeks and blush, he looked less than threatening.
Craig tried his best not to look amused. His best wasn't good enough. "Why do you look so offended?" he asked through his hand which he was using to try and hide his amused expression.
"I-I don't look offended!" he protested. "You look offended!"
Craig snorted. He flopped down sideways so he could still look at Tweek. "Best comeback ever."
"Don't make me kick you off again."
Craig barked a short laugh. He didn't reply to that but simply lay there, watching Tweek through half lidded eyes. He felt calm and at peace.
Tweek sighed, returning to picking at his band-aids. "I guess I'll be going back to my house tomorrow."
"You can come and stay over whenever you want to," Craig replied, feeling his good mood worsen a bit.
"..." He looked up at him for a moment before dropping his eyes again. "If you want... you can always stay at my house, too..." he said softly. "It's okay if you don't want to though, I get it. Your home is way better."
Craig nodded. "I mean, your parents aren't there anyways so it isn't really different from here." He stretched, chewing on his cheek a bit. "What would they say if they knew that we're... you know, a thing?"
Tweek curled into himself tightly. "It would depend on if dad thought it would be good for the business or not," he whispered. "If it was 'helpful' to have a gay son, he'd be extremely supportive, but if it hurt the cafe, he'd hate me and do something... drastic."
He growled at this. "I'll punch him if he does." He realized a millisecond later that that might make Tweek more anxious, so he added, "Mentally if you don't want me to." He puffed out a breath. "Seriously, fuck his dumb expectations."
Tweek's lips twitched slightly into a smile. "That... that might be nice," he admitted.
Craig was surprised but definitely satisfied by that answer. "It really would be." He smirked, having imagined doing so quite many times.
"What about you?" he asked. "What do you think your parents would say?"
Craig fidgeted with his fingers. "I think mom wouldn't have any problems with it. She'd probably be happy to welcome you in the family even more." His face didn't change, but he sounded more concerned now. "I don't know about my dad, though. I mean, he knows you and likes you and is totally on your side of the 'how the Tweaks raise their kid' discussion, but he says things sometimes that make me... worry a bit." He was quick to slid closer and take Tweek's hand to emphasize his next words. "But don't let that ruin anything for you, please. I want to be with you, nothing will change that."
Tweek looked down at their hands, squeezing Craig's lightly. "If he doesn't like it when he finds out, I'll understand if you want to end things," he said softly. "I won't hold it against either of you."
Craig felt queezy at the thought. He really hoped he hadn't upset Tweek but he hadn't wanted to lie. He leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss against Tweek's lips. "I won't. I promise. I want this. Us. Uh, yeah. I won't quit over his internalized homophobia."
He turned pink, but shyly returned the kiss. "I'm glad," he murmured.
Craig looked at him, about to say something, but realized he had kind of run out of words. And that he was tired. He looked at the clock. Half past eight was pretty early to sleep. "Anything you wanna do?" he asked.
"I need to do my homework, actually," Tweek sighed. He stood up and went to Craig's desk where their school bags rested side by side. He picked his up and unzipped it, digging around its contents.
"Mn." Craig knew he should, too, but he felt too tired. He flopped down and went through his phone to look at the information Clyde, Jimmy, Token, and Red had sent him from class. "Cursed..." he mumbled while staring at the idiotically long list of things to finish.
Tweek gasped suddenly. "Oh, no!" he groaned. "I have to turn in my idea for my Latin project tomorrow, but I still haven't decided what I want to do!"
Craig perked up, other people's homework being way more interesting than his own. "What is the project about?"
"I told you, we have to make a mosaic out of tiny bits of paper," he said, already sounding exhausted. "It has to go on a poster board, and we have to cover the entire thing."
"Oh, right," Craig hummed thoughtfully. "Probably has to fit Latin or Rome or something, right?"
"No, it can be anything. But that's the problem, that's way too much to pick from!" he wailed in despair. "How am I supposed to pick from literally anything!? What if I pick wrong, but don't realize it until it's due and I end up failing and flunking out?!"
Craig didn't get into his what ifs and instead asked, "What do you enjoy?"
"What does that matter!?" He began to pace in agitation. "I don't like the people in my class enough to share something I like, but I don't want to spend a ton of time on something boring that I'll hate either!"
"Don't share then. You don't have to say anything about it, do you? Use something you're passionate about. Don't explain it. It makes it more fun for you." Craig stretched but watched Tweek.
"But what am I passionate about?! I don't even know!" He dug his fingers into his hair, pulling on it and groaning in despair.
"That's what I mean. You doodle a lot. What do you draw the most?"
Tweek froze, looking like a deer in headlights. No way could he tell Craig the thing he drew the most. Seeing as it was Craig himself, that would be weird.
Craig waited patiently but grew more and more nervous that he might have overdone it and instead should have tried to calm him down first. "Babe?"
There was a long pause, then Craig heard a quiet noise that slowly got louder. For a moment, he couldn't place it, then he realized, Tweek was screaming. "...aaaaAAAAAAAAA!"
Craig jumped up from the bed in one movement, which probably would have impressed him himself if he wasn't lowkey panicking. He was at Tweek's side faster than expected and held his hands on the sides of his face, a cupping motion but not actually touching him so he wouldn't possibly make it worse.
"Tweek, babe. Calm down." His tone was calm but his voice quivered a bit while he tried to ignore his own panic.
"WHAT AM I GOING TO DO, CRAIG!?" He heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, likely one of Craig's parents coming to check on the two. Craig quickly held Tweek's ears closed since he didn't seem completely overwhelmed yet, as he was still specifically talking to him.
"WE'RE FINE!" he yelled towards the door and added, "TWEEK'S JUST ANXIOUS!" hoping whoever had decided to come upstairs remembered how it used to be when Tweek came over regularly and let go of Tweek's ears immediately after. The footsteps paused, then retreated, leaving the pair alone.
Tweek, surprisingly, grabbed his hands and squeezed one, placing the other against his cheek and closing his eyes, taking slow, even breaths to calm down. Craig went along with it without asking questions. He squeezed Tweek's hand back and leaned their foreheads together. He breathed in and out at a slow, steady pace in case Tweek needed the sound to help him focus. Doing this clearly helped, Tweek's ragged breaths soon evening out.
"T-Thanks, Craig," he murmured, opening his eyes. He didn't flinch from the closeness or try to move back. "Sorry for getting so worked up. I'm okay."
"It's fine. Just glad you are." He didn't want to let go first in case Tweek felt like he scared him off. He kissed the tip of his nose and moved the hand on Tweek's face to his hair, gently running his fingers through the strands. Tweek made a soft, contented sound, relaxing a bit. He didn't like people touching his hair, his constant pulling on it making his head sensitive, but when Craig did it, it felt extremely nice, so he had no intention on making him stop anytime soon.
"Want me to suggest some things for the project?" Craig asked and put a bit more pressure in the petting, since is obviously helped him relax and he seemed to enjoy it.
"Uh... yeah..." he said, his thoughts jumbled from the state of peace Craig had so easily coaxed him into.
"You could take the coffee you hate the most from your shop. That way no one will have something to look at that you care about, but you can still put passion behind it because you hate it." He twirled a few strands between his fingers, softly pulling but in no way that it would feel like more than the tiniest bit of pressure. "Or you could take a monument in Italy that you want to see and we can hang it up once you get the project back, graded, as a plan on what to look at when we go visit. Like a map. But different." He barely paused but kissed Tweek's nose again quickly. "Or you could do Stripe #4. I still have pictures of her."
Tweek blinked a few times from the kiss, too at ease to get flustered at the moment. "Stripe... Yeah," he agreed. "I'd like to do her. It's simple enough, I can enjoy it, and no one will look at it too much. It's perfect!" He smiled sweetly. "You're so amazing, Craig."
Craig pulled an over-exaggerated, snobby face and hummed. "I totally am. The most amazing. That's me." There was a slightly sarcastic undertone swinging in the sentence.
He giggled lightly in response. "You're silly but right, so I guess you win this time."
Craig felt a lazy smile stretch over his face. "Hey, Tweek?"
"Yeah?" Tweek looked up at him.
He swallowed, not nervous but resisting the urge to kiss every inch of Tweek's face instead of answering. His smile stayed as he answered. "Being with you makes me sooo happy." He knew it was somewhat of a catchphrase by now but he couldn't help it. The way of pronouncing it actually came from his early childhood when his mother would do something similar every now and then and he just picked it up unconsciously.
"Being with you makes me happy, too," Tweek replied, his cheeks getting a light pink dusting.
Craig suddenly felt too warm. "That's good. Very good." He rubbed at his cheek for a second before asking softly, slightly concerned, "Are you?"
"Am I what? Happy? Yes, I really am happy," Tweek assured. "You make me happy. You help me feel like it's okay for me to want things and give me the courage to try and do them even when I'm nervous."
"Good," Craig repeated, the lazy smile back on his face. He kissed Tweek again, a little stronger than before, but nothing too deep, then sat back. "Should I go get the pics of Stripe ?"
"S-Sure," he agreed, his blush deepening at the kiss.
"Okay." He straightened up and went to his desk, pulling out an old folder titled "Pictures" in almost unreadable handwriting and bringing it back over. He let it flop on the bed and pulled out some lose pages from his cupboard, throwing them back since they didn't contain what he needed.
Tweek watched him, moving closer. "What's that?"
"An old photo scrapbook. I used to make these all the time as soon as I knew how to hold a camera properly." He wiped the dust away from a few of the photos. He hadn't looked at these in years. "It's dumb."
"I don't think it's dumb." Tweek looked at the handwriting and smiling lightly. "It's cute."
Craig chuckled. "Thanks. But these are just bad." He flipped it open and pointed at the first picture he saw. "Look at this. Terrible." It was a shot of Clyde intensely playing Legos, the sun was shining into the lens, making the colors seem mismatched and too bright, as well as being more than a little blurry.
"I dunno, that's what all of my picture look like now," Tweek said. He pulled his phone from his bag, unlocking it and going to his gallery. He held it up to his boyfriend. "Scroll through." He hadn't been making it up, every single picture was a blurry mess. On most, it was almost impossible to even tell what he had been trying to take pictures of, and in the few that he had managed to get a relatively clear shot, the lighting was either so bright the colors blurred together, or so dark everything was just a vague outline.
Craig frowned, looking at the blurry shots. "How do you even do that? Or is that a new form of art now?"
"Ah, it's uh..." He held up his shaking hands.
"Oh, yeah. But some phones have stabilizers. Does yours not?"
"I have no idea. I've never heard of that before."
"Here." He picked up his phone and opened the camera, passing it to him. "Take one. It's a bit like cheating so I usually don't take pics with my phone if I can take them with a camera."
Tweek looked down at the screen, frowning slightly. "What should I take a picture of?"
"I don't know, anything. Just so I can show you that function." He shrugged.
He thought for a moment, then snapped a picture of Craig.
Craig chuckled and took the phone from him again. The picture wasn't as sharp as it could've been but it was clearly visible. He was making a stupid expression since he had been about to suggest something, mouth open a bit and eyes trained on the camera.
"Look." He turned it around to let Tweek see.
"Yeah? It's all shaky and blurred," he said, though the expression on Craig's face made him smile.
"Not all shaky. It's just slightly blurry, dude." He looked at Tweek's phone again. "I bet yours has that too. I'm surprised it's not actually turned on, usually it's a default setting."
Tweek handed him his phone. "You should turn it on. I don't like to go into the settings, I always end up hitting a million different things and it takes forever to get it back to how I like."
Craig nodded. "Kay." He opened the settings and scanned through the different options, brows furrowed in concentration. He took him a few minutes to find the right one but ultimately succeeded.
"There," he finally said. "Now you'll be able to actually look at what you took a photo of, without having to guess."
"Thanks." He looked down at his phone, still frowning.
"Is that okay?" Craig asked, suddenly not sure anymore if Tweek actually wanted this or if he hurt him with something he said.
"Yeah, it's fine. It's just annoying that I couldn't make it work myself, I needed someone to help me just click a few options in the settings." He sighed, tossing the phone back into his bag. "I know it's frustrating to have to constantly be helping me with little things like this," he added quietly, "but I appreciate the effort you go to for me."
Craig looked at him for a moment, very obviously surprised. "Actually, I don't think of it as that. It's not something I see as a burden or anything. I just know how to do something that you don't. So I help. No big deal." He grinned. "Do you have any idea with how many things Clyde needs help with? You're definitely not the last in line here." He could almost hear the whiny "Dude! Weak!" Clyde would've thrown at him had he heard that.
This seemed to help Tweek feel better, earning Craig a full smile. "Let me know when I start to annoy you though, okay? I can back off."
"Sure," he answered and he would. Craig was honest and known for that. So far, Tweek had seldom done anything to annoy him, though. He raised his phone and snapped a shot of Tweek smiling.
Tweek blushed and squeaked, covering his face. "W-Why did you take a picture of me?"
Craig looked at his phone while he answered truthfully, a neutral expression on his face. "Cause you're one of my aesthetics."
His face turned scarlet. "C-CrAig!" he screeched, pulling on his hair in embarrassment.
Craig grinned, put down his phone, and took Tweek's hands so that he wouldn't hurt himself more with the hair pulling. "If I knew it would get this reaction, I would take pictures of you all day." Craig shrugged, watching him closely.
Tweek whined, lightly hitting his fists against the other's chest. "Meanie!"
He barked a laugh. "You're so fucking great, I don't even know how to deal with that," he told the other, the corners of his eyes crinkling with affection. This flustered the poor teen beyond words, leaving him a stuttering mess as his arms went limp in Craig's hold.
The swelling feeling in Craig's chest that was probably love or affection wouldn't go away, so he let it be for the time being. To maybe get it to ebb down a little, he pulled Tweek closer, lifting him by his hips between his legs, so that they were still looking at each other. He didn't interrupt him, even if he didn't understand anything Tweek was saying, just watched him, trying to memorize every little detail about his face.
Tweek gasped and squeaked in surprise. They were close enough now that Craig could feel the heat radiating from the his face. His eyes were huge, but he clearly wasn't afraid and could back away if he wanted. Craig smiled softly at the noises, calm and somewhat at peace. He ran his hands up Tweek's back, still watching him, then back down again, repeating the motion.
"What are you doing...?" he asked softly. He wasn't upset or disliking Craig's actions, just befuddled by them. He wrapped his arms around his waist in a loose hug, nuzzling his face lightly into Craig's neck with a hum. It was a nice, relaxing sensation on his back, and he wasn't complaining.
Craig felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and shivered a bit at feeling Tweek's breath against his skin and the warmth radiating off of his body. "I don't know..." he finally answered. "It just felt right. I like touching you. And having you near me."
"I like being near you too," he murmured.
Craig smiled and wordlessly slipped his hands under Tweek's shirt, sticking them up far enough so that he could rest his hands on his shoulder blades. He shivered slightly, Craig's hands a bit cold. Tweek wasn't sure what the other was really doing, but he didn't mind. He trusted him and knew Craig wouldn't hurt him.
Craig sighed, content with the situation. Tweek's skin felt hot but smooth against his palms and he could feel every breath he took. He balled his hands a bit, not really clawing at his boyfriend's skin, but holding tighter.
Tweek leaned a bit closer and laid his head on Craig's shoulder. He felt so calm, it was incredible. He never allowed people this close to him, and if it was anyone else, he would have long since started screaming and throwing punches. But he knew he didn't need to worry. He was with Craig, and Craig was safe.
After almost fifteen minutes, Craig had to hold himself back from falling asleep, so he yawned once and then pulled him back from his shoulder gently so he wouldn't feel rejected.
"We still need to get the picture of Stripe," he remarked, pointing at the almost untouched folder next to him.
"Hmm, I guess you're right," he agreed quietly, untangling himself reluctantly from Craig's hold. "Can you help me?"
"Sure. Turn around." He made a little spin motion with his index finger to motion for Tweek to turn. He gave him a curious look but did as he said. Craig folded his legs so that Tweek was still sitting between them, a bit like in a nest. He snaked his arms around him, pulled him against his chest and then snatched the folder and handing it to Tweek.
Tweek blushed and yelped softly, looking over his shoulder at the other in surprise. Craig looked back at him with raised eyebrows and then nodded his head towards the binder.
He let out a breathy giggle, then shook his head and turned back to look at the folder in his hands, flipping it open.
The first page was the blurry, off colored picture of Clyde playing Legos again. Craig turned the page to the next one which held three pictures. One of them was of the Tucker residence, the recognizable form of his father on the roof, fixing some tiles. The other two were a group shot of his family, Craig only in one of them with the other only showing half of him and hiding his mother behind him, obvious that he didn't get to the others fast enough before the camera snapped the picture.
Tweek smiled at this picture, brushing his fingers over it. "You're cute."
"I was ten. Of course I was." Despite his words he felt somewhat flattered by Tweek's words.
He looked over his shoulder and grinned. "I didn't say 'was'."
Craig grunted in surprise and then narrowed his eyes. "You smooth fuck," he said softly. Feeling a bit bolder, Tweek leaned back and pressed a kiss to Craig's nose, then turned around to continue looking through the photos.
He replied with a soft intake of his breath and then grumbled something, before looking at a picture set of Tricia's old cat and his sister holding her. They never got her back after the weird cat pee incident. Tricia still missed her. He turned the page quickly, jumping over a few of wobbly landscape shots and stupid faces from Clyde. The next picture he could make out was Token and Clyde, talking over a cup of tea in school. Ten-year-old Tweek was there too, looking at the camera and saying something with a suspicious expression. Jimmy's hair was blocking the lense, clearly showing that he was sitting next to him. Craig snorted.
"Oh, I remember this..." Tweek murmured. "I thought you were taking surveillance photos or something like that. Whatever you were doing, I was sure it was nefarious."
"Mn, I always take pictures for the government. Right after I tell them all the bad things I've done." He grinned into Tweek's hair. "You should respect my religion, babe."
Tweek snorted and burst into a giggling fit, putting a hand over his mouth in an attempt to stop it.
Craig grinned victoriously, and he wondered if Tweek knew that he really had done this before. It was before they were as good friends as they were now but the guys might have told him.
"Oh my God, I'd forgotten all about that!" he managed to say through his giggles, wiping his tearing eyes.
So he did remember.
"I haven't. The one time I actually listened to something Butters told me." He turned the page, his hand going immediately back to Tweek's stomach. It was another group shot, but of Craig and his friends. Seemingly he had managed to set the timer right, because he had his arms crossed, a stoic expression on his face and stood behind Clyde and Token, who had tried and failed to make cool poses. Jimmy was lying on the floor in the front of them, making a dirty gesture with one of his hands and his tongue. Tweek was in it, too, but half turned away from them shouting at someone, probably Cartman, while still holding his arms out in the presenting gesture he had held before.
Craig snorted with laughter; the shot was absolutely ridiculous but caught their gang chemistry so well, it was terrifying.
Tweek felt sadness grow in his heart. In elementary school, they had all been so close, getting into trouble and playing. He had missed his friends so much…
Craig kissed his head. "Look at this bunch of assholes. And me." He grinned. "We were so tiny. But we weren't any less idiotic, huh."
"I don't think I've changed much," Tweek murmured.
Craig thought about it and felt heat crawl up his neck as he mentally listed the things that changed. "Well, you still look similar, but you definitely changed some."
"Oh, yeah? Like how?" he sighed, leaning back into him.
"Well, you got a bit taller at least. Not as much as I did but still taller." He tapped his fingers against Tweek's skin. "And you got uh, lankier? Is that the word? And definitely more pretty. You were already cute back then but now you're really b-pretty. Very pretty. Super handsome. L-love your face." Craig buried his face in Tweek's shoulder.
Tweek blinked, a blush coating his cheeks. He shook his head slightly, grinning crookedly. "Oh. Well... I love your face, too."
Craig chuckled into his shirt. "Thanks." He waited a bit before speaking again, simply breathing in Tweek's scent. "This picture is actually in the back of my locker."
"Really?" he asked in surprise. "I didn't know you where the sentimental type."
"I didn't know how much you actually seem to like affection, so I guess we both learned something new." Craig shrugged, still talking into Tweek's shoulder, making it sound muffled.
Tweek rolled his eyes. "Alright, buddy, don't make me revoke your privilege," he teased.
"As if," Craig replied deadpan. "Turn the page, honey."
To mess with him, and be a rebel, Tweek shut the binder instead, tossing it lightly away from them. Craig made a small noise that sounded like a mix of laughter and the word "Hey!" and tried to reach the binder again.
Tweek moved fast. He turned completely around, straddling the other and putting his palms flat on his shoulders before pressing back, pushing Craig back onto the bed, looming over him. He grinned and giggled once they stilled. "Got ya again, Tucker."
Craig had waited for that all afternoon, since they kissed for the first time, already planning since he was allowed to do so now. He pulled Tweek down by his shirt and practically smashed their lips together, in a somewhat awkward angle but not completely off. If he was right and Tweek got surprised, he could maybe turn this around.
He was perfectly correct, and the sudden kiss and pull down made Tweek's eyes open wide and his body freeze.
Craig, with some effort, managed to flip them over so that he was on top and backed off as soon as he had, fearing he might have overdone it and scared Tweek.
"I won?" he asked out of breath.
Tweek blinked slowly, then nodded, too taken off guard to form words.
Craig laughed, nervously. "Sorry? I was hoping to try this. Are you okay?"
"Uh..." he said. "I'll let you know..."
Craig took a sharp breath in and quickly got off of him, taking his hand instead. "Really sorry, should have guessed it would be a bit too much." Tweek didn't say anything for a moment, then gripped Craig's hand and yanked him down onto him, rolling to pin him.
"Fuck!" Craig yelped in surprise, staring up at Tweek with the widest eyes, not able to grasp what had happened.
"What the fuck, Tweek," he finally wheezed.
Tweek grinned down at him. "Pinned," he declared.
Craig stared at him dumbfounded, feeling his entire body run hot. "Fuck, that's hot," he said, finally, breathless and reeling as he tried to understand what the hell had just happened.
His boyfriend blinked. "What is?" he asked.
Craig sputtered. "What- THIS is!" He pointed at the two of them vaguely, making gestures that didn't actually make sense and tried to find the words to explain himself, not very successfully. He was going to die of heat stroke, he just knew it.
Tweek looked at him in confusion for a moment, then seemed to understand. "Oh, sorry," he said, moving away. "I guess I am a bit warmer than other people, I didn't mean to overheat you or anything."
Right over his head.
Craig held his arms so he wouldn't get off. "No!" He cleared his throat right after the panicked word. "I didn't mean you're hot temperature wise. But... Uh. I find you-" Craig stopped mid-sentence. Would it make Tweek uncomfortable? He hoped it wouldn't, maybe he'd never do this again then, and Craig actually really enjoyed it. It was almost like play fighting.
He paused, staring down at Craig, still sitting on his lap. "What?" he asked curiously.
Craig gritted his teeth together. "I meant hot as in attractive. Like when Clyde looks after someone and goes 'hot ass shit dude' and you just stand there embarrassed for him. That kind of hot." He looked away from Tweek, too humiliated by his bad description to look him in the face, but still holding his arms.
Tweek blinked, then flushed. "O-Oh," he said, coughing. "Uh... Thanks, I guess? I don't know if you meant it good or bad." He bit his lip, looking at Craig's hands on his arms. He wanted to make sure he knew he wasn't upset or anything, but with his arms basically trapped, he had to get closer. He slowly lowered himself so he was practically laying on top of him, then pressed a soft kiss to his jaw line.
"Tweek!" Craig's voice was a bit shaky when he said his name. "It was positive but I swear, continue this and I will pop the biggest boner ever, and that will be awkward for both of us." He felt the need to scratch his face but he was still holding onto Tweek. "I really don't want to make you uncomfortable." He felt way too warm and Tweek lying on top of him really made it hard not to think of anything related to his dick. He was relieved that he hadn't scared Tweek off with his confession, though.
In the meantime, Tweek turned even darker, scrambling to move away. "Sorry!"
Craig let go of his arms to hide his face in his hands. He mumbled a string of incoherent curses, saying "sorry" every now and again.
An awkward silence descended over them, neither really knowing what to do or say now. After a few more moments, Craig couldn't stand the silence anymore. "Let's keep looking for Stripe pics."
Tweek nodded, getting up to pick the binder off the floor. He sat beside Craig on the bed, opening the binder between them, figuring Craig would want space. Craig kissed him on the cheek and took his hand to show him touching in general was okay at the moment.
They flipped through a few more pages, then landed on a perfect close up of a white and brown guinea pig, curled up asleep on a cushion. Tweek recognized her instantly and couldn't help but smile.
"There she is."
Craig felt a little pang in his heart. He missed all of his guinea pigs when they passed but the original Stripe and Stripe #4 would always have a special place in his heart and it would always be somewhat painful to remember them.
"Yeah. The best girl."
Slowly and carefully, Tweek pulled the picture out. He looked over it fondly, letting out a soft sigh. "She was fantastic."
Craig smiled. "She sure was. And she had a good life, too." He gently pushed Tweek's shoulder with his own. "We were pretty great dads, huh."
"I think so. I loved her a lot," Tweek agreed. "She was the cutest thing, and a fantastic sidekick."
"Always there in times of dire need." Craig's voice had a slightly heroic narrator voice to it. "Like Rufus from Kim Possible."
"Craig, don't compare our fluffy daughter to a naked mole rat," Tweek said, giggling. "She was ten times cooler, and probably way healthier than he was."
"Dude! Rufus was living the life!" He snorted. "But she was definitely healthier, you're right about that."
"She was perfect in every way," Tweek agreed.
"Worthy of a portrait." Craig grinned. "But don't stress, I tried to draw her once and it looked like a potato so whatever you do will be better than anything I ever managed."
"Oh, God, we'll see," he sighed, scruffing his hair a bit. "Now you need to get started on your homework, mister."
"Nooo," Craig whined unenthusiastically. "I don't want to." He flopped down on his bed.
"Craig," Tweek said warningly, taking the binder and moving it to the desk. He picked up Craig's backpack and walked back to him. "You need to do your work."
"I can do it in the morning," he sighed, really not up for doing it today. He buried his face in his hands.
"Or, get this, you could do it now," he said, mock amazement in his voice.
His eyebrows shot up. "Tweek Tweak, using sarcasm? On me? The humble Craigory Tucker?"
"More like Craigory McFucker."
"Wanna come say that to my face, TWIG?"
"Ooo," he said, grinning. "That's bold of you, considering how apparently this 'twig' has been making you all hot and bothered every time I own your ass."
Craig bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Low blow, Tweek. Low blow." He took his hands from his face to gesture. "Not my fault if the police didn't arrest you for being so God fucking great yet."
"Don't worry, they'll catch up to me in time." He tossed the bag onto Craig's lap. "Come on. I'll help you. The faster we do it now, the sooner you can go to bed and the longer you can sleep."
"Urgh, fine." He snatched some of his books and papers, opening his messages again and searching the needed texts. "Ew."
"Don't be a baby," Tweek said, leaning over and booping his nose. "You'll get through this."
"Thanks for believing in me," he deadpanned, scribbling down notes to the math problem he had to work on.
Tweek set into his own homework, his books and notes scattered around where he sat on the floor.
Finishing the work took a while and a few questions to Tweek every now and then. When Craig finally looked at the clock the next time it was close to eleven.
"You done, babe?" he asked, peeking over the edge of the bed.
Tweek was chewing on his pencil, which already had plenty of white teeth marks in the plastic. "No," he huffed.
Craig puffed up one of his cheeks. "Anything I can help you with?"
"I'm about two seconds from just saying fuck it and using Google translate," he grouched, picking up his text book and showing Craig a paragraph in Latin. "I'm supposed to translate this into English."
Craig made a face. "Use Google. I can't remember more than veni vidi vici and alea iacta est. And those only because of comics my dad has."
Tweek groaned, dropping his head against the side of the bed. "These charts are going to haunt me forever. Bo ba bis, bimus bitus bunt."
"That shit sounds like a sickness. Or like someone was talking around a dick in their mouth. What the hell, Latin," Craig huffed, furrowing his brows.
Tweek snorted. "Wow, Craig. You know what it sounds like when someone talks with a dick in their mouth?"
Craig looked at him in mock surprise. "You don't?"
"Can't say I do, man," he said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Seems pretty gay."
"Nah, only if you don't wear socks, dude. I made sure to say 'no homo' first. Can't have being gay, can we." Craig shrugged and made a vague 'meh' gesture with his hand.
Tweek nodded sagely. "But of course. The all important 'no homo' rule."
Craig bowed his head. "You still have a lot to learn, young padawan." He brushed his hair back with his fingers in a dramatic movement. "I can teach you the ways of the secret gays."
"Bold of you to think you're the master when you were the one in denial," he said challengingly.
Craig rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed but feeling his face heat up. "Pft, I just wanted to let you think I was. Duh. That's what masters do."
"If that's what you need to think to sleep at night."
Craig snorted. "I sleep fantastically, yes, thank you."
Tweek shook his head and laughed, turning away from him.
"So... Google translate? Or do you need a dictionary? I think mom has one."
"Nah. I don't think I care enough at this point to do it correctly. I'll just slap it in the translator."
"You can still correct the grammar if it comes out sounding stupid, so it doesn't look like you just copied it," he suggested with a shrug, and rolled back onto the bed, closing his bag.
Tweek worked a while longer, then tossed his book down, finally finished. He straightened his back and stretched his arms up, his spine cracking loudly. He sighed happily at the nice feeling.
Craig looked down in concern at the crack but when Tweek didn't look hurt he went back to his phone. "Well, look who's done."
"Mhmm," he hummed, nodding and get to his feet, his legs cracking as they finally unfolded.
"Wow, your body sounds rusty," Craig commented but stretched as well. He patted the bed on the side Tweek had slept in the night before.
"That's what happens when you're actually a million years old. Your joints don't work as well." He looked over at his boyfriend and grinned. "They also tell me it's going to rain tomorrow."
Craig frowned. "Man, gotta find my umbrella then." He grinned, thinking about his next sentence. "But I always knew you had to be an angel or something."
"Nope. I'm an imp."
"So one of those prankster demons? Figured."
"Beware, Tucker. I'll put a curse on you," he said, packing everything into his bag once again. He left the picture out but close by, not wanting to damage it. Craig patted on the spot next to him again and without his usual resistance, Tweek crawled in beside him.
Craig wrapped his arms around him and hugged him closer. "I shouldn't get used to this but I wish I could," he said matter-of-factly, nuzzling his nose into Tweek's hair.
Tweek let out a breath, leaning in to him. "I mean, you could," he murmured.
"Are you sure? Wouldn't it bother your parents if I stayed over or you did all the time?" He thought about it for a second, frowning. "Actually, whatever. They usually don't care about what you do so they aren't allowed to now. I'm sleeping over tomorrow."
He had opened his mouth to answer, but Craig's addition made him close it and blush. He didn't argue, nodding in agreement. Craig studied him for a moment, to see if he was really okay with it.
Tweek glanced up and met his eyes. "I already told you," he said softly. "They won't even notice you're there. And even if they did, I doubt they would care or even bother to say anything. Maybe ask you something about-" He cut himself off and turned over so his back was to Craig.
"Never mind," he whispered, not wanting to talk anymore.
Craig itched to know what he was going to say but Tweek's body language was self-explanatory. Besides, it probably would just end up making Craig upset anyways since nothing Tweek's parents did or said was good. He pulled Tweek flush against his chest, pressing a kiss to his shoulder and slinging his arms around him. "Don't leave without me in the morning, alright?"
He felt the air slowly leave his lungs, then heard Tweek say softly, "I won't."
"Thanks." Craig took one hand away from Tweek's stomach to run his fingers slowly through his blond locks, amazed by how familiar the gesture already felt. He put some more pressure into it so he was rather massaging than petting. Tweek made a little, pleased sound in response, relaxing under the touch.
Craig's heart beat faster when he thought about how comfortable Tweek seemed to be around him and how he was his boyfriend and no one else would ever be able to touch him like that. It made Craig proud in a way. He concentrated on getting some knots out of the spot where Tweek's neck and shoulder met, running the fingers of his other hand over Tweek's stomach.
Tweek shivered, putting his hands on top of his to stop him. "I'm too tired for tickling," he said, looking sleepily over his shoulder.
"Sorry," Craig answered, stilling his hand. "I wasn't actually trying to."
He hummed softly, turning back. "It's okay." He shuffled back to be closer to Craig, keeping his hold on his hand.
Craig yawned and settled down until their bodies seemed to melt together perfectly. Tweek being smaller than him made him really happy but he wouldn't tell him that. He knew he wasn't thrilled about his height. With one last yawn he felt himself slipping under.
"Goodnight, babe."
"Goodnight, Craig."
