Chapter 10

"I just know there's no escape now once it set it's eyes on you, but I won't run have to stare it in the eye,"

"I have everything you need here," Clyde said, patting the neatly folded pair of clothes in his arms. "Shampoo, conditioner and soap are already in the shower, and there are fresh towels hanging on the hook behind the door," he said gesturing to the bathroom door behind him. Kyle smiled sadly at the clothes in his arms.

"Do I have to wear new clothes? Can't I just wear my uniform?" It wasn't that the clothes weren't his style, they were actually pretty nice being black slacks and a plain white shirt, but he didn't feel right putting them on. The clothes were a lie, an illusion, a band aide, because at the end of the day he was still a prisoner in a concentration camp.

"Commandant's orders Kyle, but I am washing your uniform so it will be clean and dry before you head back so just leave your clothes in here."

"Thanks Clyde," Kyle did have to admit a clean uniform would be a nice change from it being filthy and smelly day in and day out. Clyde placed the clean clothes on the bathroom counter and sighed.

"I know this is the part where I'm supposed to say the Commandant isn't really that bad a guy, a sweet person when you get to know him. That his bark is worse than his bite," Kyle met Clyde's gaze in confusion. Clyde laughed. "But that would be a lie, he's an asshole through and through. A real jerk." The boys both started laughing and Kyle was able to relax a bit. After getting control of their laughter Clyde moved towards the door and reached for the knob. "Meet Cartman in the living room when you're done."

"Cartman? You don't address him formally?" Clyde opened the door and stepped out.

"Hell no, it pisses him off and believe me ruffling his feathers is fun," and with a wink Clyde left and shut the bathroom door behind him. Kyle understood but wasn't exactly sure he agreed. Whereas Clyde "ruffled his feathers", Kyle challenged him and defied him at every turn, showing his rebellious side he got from his mother. It wasn't so much fun as it did help keep him alive and sane; god only knows how.

Kyle turned the water on in the bath and once it was warm enough he turned it on the shower setting. He stripped and stepped in, a wave of pleasure seethed through him when he did. Not pleasure in the sexual sense, but in relaxation and bliss. In the barracks showers he only had hot water for a very short time, barely even a minute and the water pressure was laughable. This was bliss, pure heavenly bliss. Kyle gave himself this moment to relax and let his guard down for he knew he would need to have every wall up when he met with the Commandant in a few minutes.

When he entered the Villa not too long ago he had realized that Craig wasn't there and Cartman had informed him that it would just be the two of them tonight. Lovely. Tweek had assured him that Craig would look out for him while he was in the presence of the Commandant as a favor to Tweek. But now he would be all alone, a fact he wasn't sure he was comfortable with. Oh well, nothing to be done now. Besides Kyle could take care of himself, he wasn't doing this for the Commandant, or even himself, he was doing it for his family. Cartman gave him his word he would keep them safe during their stay here, but could he trust a Nazi Commandant? Probably not, but he would have to take the chance.

/

The Commandant uneasily paced in the living room of the Villa, waiting anxiously for Kyle to get out of the shower and for them to start, well, he was actually waiting for this night to be over. He had allowed Kyle to shower not out of the kindness of his heart, but because he didn't want a filthy Jew stinking up his Villa. The last thing he wanted to do was take dance lessons, and from a Jew no less. They had agreed to meet three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays after the prisoners retired to the barracks. Some nights Craig would join them, others he wouldn't, like tonight. Cartman made sure Craig had rounds of guard duty so he would be busy tonight; he didn't want Craig to see him make an ass of himself during this first lesson. He knew this was going to be embarrassing to say the least.

"Damnit, what's taking that Jew so long? I swear if he used up all the hot water in this place before-"

Cartman had turned to head towards the bathroom when he stopped dead in his tracks at the Jew entering the living room. If Cartman hadn't known Kyle by his flaming red hair and green eyes he would swear this wasn't the same Jew he had captured. His legs looked longer in the black slacks, and even though his white shirt hung off his body as if it were five sizes too big, it still made him look-acceptable. And his hair. Half wet, half dry ringlets framed his shrunken pale face-

You're staring, Eric.

Cartman blinked and noticed Kyle glaring at him with his fists on his bony hips. "Am I that revolting to you, sir?" Cartman matched his glare and gave his shoulders a shrug.

"All Jews are revolting to me Kahl," he watched the Jew cringe at the nickname and it pleased him.

"If we're going to be-" he swallowed as if trying to find the right words. "spending more time together, can you at least stop using that name? My name is not Kahl." Just the fact alone that Kyle dared to ask this made Cartman smirk in delight; the Jew had balls.

"I don't remember that being in our agreement when we shook on it Kahl. You teach me to dance and in turn I will keep your family safe. Nowhere in that agreement is there a "No nickname" clause," the pout that Kyle gave him in response made his stomach rumble in laughter.

"Can we just start this so we can finish? I do have a long day tomorrow in case you forgot." For a moment Cartman glared at him for his cheeky mouth. He licked his teeth and sighed. This was going to be a long night.

"Yeah, the less time I spend with you the better." Cartman rolled his eyes and started towards the record player in the corner of the room.

"What are you doing?" Kyle asked in a hasty manner that made Cartman whip around in irritation.

"Music Kahl, don't people dance to music?" Kyle huffed and crossed his arms, an action that really rubbed Cartman the wrong way.

"Yeah, professional dancers, not beginners. Before you can dance to music, first you have to learn to count."

"I know how to count, Kahl."

"Oh so you know how to count in time? In step? And you can do this to music? Then by all means Commandant show me," Kyle said extending his arm to the side and moving out of the way, a smirk on his face the whole time. Cartman's face flushed, in anger or embarrassment, not even Cartman knew.

"You're an annoying Jew rat you know that? I'm starting to regret giving you permission to speak freely," Kyle smiled brightly in victory, but Cartman gave him a look to say "this isn't over". "Okay Kahl, how do we start then?" Kyle looked around the room and scratched the back of his head.

"Is there a bigger room we can use? This dance requires a lot of space." Cartman shook his head.

"This is the biggest room."

Kyle nodded in understanding. "Then we'll have to make due, first we need to move everything to the sides of the room so we have more space." Cartman rose an eyebrow.

"You're seriously?" Kyle walked to one end of the couch and pointed to the other end.

"I'm seriously, sir. Now grab the other end and help me move it." Taking orders from a Jew? This was so wrong in Cartman's eyes, but what else could he do. He had to learn to dance for this meeting. So, if it meant moving some furniture out of the way then so be it. Cartman helped Kyle move the couch to the side of the room, and then several other pieces of furniture.

"Not ideal, but much better," Kyle said standing in the center of a much spacier living room. Cartman let out a ragged breath as he wiped sweat from his forehead; he wasn't cut out for labor, that was a Jews job.

"Great, now what?"

"Now we work on your starting pose and posture. Now, watch closely," and Kyle demonstrated. "Your feet must be together, your back must be straight, and your arms like so," his arms were extended as his sides, but turned inward at his elbow and his left hand was flat, his right was cupped. Kyle stayed in that position for a few moments while Cartman examined him and his position. "Now, you do it," Kyle said as he relaxed his body. Cartman pouted his lips in uncertainty but then nodded and got into the same position as Kyle, well he tried anyway. "Sir, you look like you're trying to give a bear a hug." It was clear he was trying his hardest to not laugh at the Commandant; the main reason he didn't want Craig to see this first lesson.

"Ay! I'm doing it the way you showed me asshole!" Cartman tried his best to be intimidating but fell so short that it was laughable to Kyle.

"If you were doing it the way I showed you sir I wouldn't have said you were doing it wrong now would I have?"

Cartman smirked. "You didn't say I was doing it wrong Kahl, you just said it looked like I was trying to hug a bear." Kyle gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed his temple and Cartman could swear he heard the Jew mumble "fatass". But before Cartman could reprimand him, Kyle had walked behind the Commandant and pressed his hand to the small of his back. "The fuck are you doing Kahl?!" Cartman snapped as he jumped away from the contact. Instead of seeing the Jew frightened from his outburst at the physical contact, he instead saw fire behind those emerald hues of his.

"I understand that I must be a huge eyesore for you to be in the same room as me, and I'm sure that you're disgusted even more that the likes of a Jew rat has to touch you. Hell the thought of touching a monster like you makes my skin crawl. But goddammit sir we made an agreement and we both have to put on our big boy briefs and deal with this situation in its entirety, even if that means touching each other."

Cartman was at a loss for words from Kyle's outburst. Everything Kyle had the nerve to say demanded that he be reprimanded by Nazi law. The word "monster" in itself was a personal stab to the heart and for a brief moment Cartman's amber eyes showed pain as he took in the fiery Jew before him.

Just demand that he not use that word.

Cartman shook his head. No. He had agreed that Kyle could say anything he wanted and he wasn't about to let him know he despised that word. So instead he glared and stood straight. "Boxers." Kyle blinked.

"What?"

"I wear boxers Kahl. No Commandant in charge would be caught dead wearing tighty whiteys." Kyle actually blushed at this and his irritation subsided.

"Thank you for that lovely mental image," he said, palming at his eyes. Cartman smiled.

"Anytime. Now let's get back to it. What am I doing wrong?" Cartman asked getting back into the same stance he was in a few moments ago.

"Where do I start?" Kyle began when he came behind Cartman a second time. "For starters your back isn't straight enough," Kyle placed his hand yet again on the small of Cartman's back and the other he placed on the front side of his clavicle and pressed against the other so Cartman's spine naturally straightened. "You walk around the camp with phenomenal posture, I don't see why you can't do that getting into a dance position," Cartman blushed and it wasn't from embarrassment, but because Kyle had complimented him. He highly doubted that Kyle noticed and he wasn't about to point it out, and he especially wasn't going to point out that he took pride in the compliment; thank god his back was to Kyle. "Now, your lines are too round, bring your arms back more," Kyle grabbed his biceps and for a moment he had hesitated, long enough for Cartman to notice. "Big boy boxers Kahl," Cartman reminded him of his own speech about not hesitating when it came to touching in this situation.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Returning his focus back to Cartman's posture, he pulled his biceps back slightly to align with his sides. "Now your arms straight," he said gliding his hands down Cartman's biceps and adjusting them accordingly; an action that made Cartman shiver involuntarily and if Kyle noticed he didn't comment on it and continued on. "Your left hand will hold your partner's hand, your right will be wrapped under your partner's left arm and will rest on their back. Your right arm will very in height depending on how tall your partner is. And your left will be straight in line to match your partner." Kyle stepped around in front of Cartman to examine his posture. "Much better. This is your starting stance when going into the Viennese Waltz, you should practice it as much as possible until you have it down. It's crucial that your back is straight and your lines flawless." Cartman nodded in understanding.

"Sir, you can breathe you know, you've been holding your breath the entire time I've adjusted you," had he really? He hadn't noticed at all, but did let out a breath and was surprised by how long it took to exhale. He really had been holding it in. "It's natural sir, some people naturally hold their breath when their back is straight and in an unnatural setting."

"Can I put my arms down now?" Cartman asked as politely as he could considering it was really painful holding his arms up this long and Kyle must have known because he laughed.

"Yes, sir, shake them out. I assure you for a while they will feel like jelly until you build up some upper arm strength." Cartman lowered his arms and shook them out as Kyle said and even stretched them across his chest.

"Ay! I'll have you know I have upper arm strength! I'm not fat I'm big boned and I'll have you remember that Jew," Kyle looked away and mouthed something under his breath that Cartman didn't hear. "What was that Jew?"

"Nothing sir, now keep stretching your arms and then we'll check your posture again," Cartman groaned in displeasure but listened to Kyle and stretched out his arms for a few more minutes until Kyle gave him the word to get into the starting position. "Better this time. Your back is perfect but you have to watch your shoulders and the lines in your arms. It's a normal reaction for the shoulders to come forward when you extend the arms. Work on keeping the shoulders back," and he adjusted the Commandant so. "Remember you will adjust according to your partner's height." Kyle took a step back and was about to give Cartman more direction but the Commandant spoke first.

"Aren't you going to show me?" Cartman didn't miss the blush that crept up on the Jew's pale cheeks.

"What?!" Cartman actually had to hold back a chuckle. It wasn't often the Jew was flustered, he was normally a spit fire.

"I need to familiarize myself with a partner, yes? Seeing as how you're my teacher for the time being Kaahl, that would technically make you my temporary partner," god damnit why was he saying this? He didn't want to touch the Jew just as much as he didn't want to touch Cartman. It's like Cartman was asking for misery.

Kyle and Cartman remained silent as they stared uncomfortably at each other, as if terrified of the elephant in the room. Kyle looked like he was having some internal struggle, a struggle that Cartman knew all too well. "You're right," Kyle inhaled deeply, as if meditating on what was to come. "Since you will most likely be dancing with a woman at this party, you will lead so your right hand will come around my back and rest on it. Your left hand, will be holding my right," Kyle rolled his shoulders, and then shook his arms and was readying them into the perfect stance, his right hand slipping into Cartman's-

They both gasped and separated immediately. Cartman was still not used to this discovery about Kyle.

Jews aren't supposed to be warm.

/

Nazis aren't supposed to be warm.

When Kyle shook the Commandant's hand the day before he noticed it then too and at that time it took so much for Kyle to not pull away because he didn't want Cartman to think he was pulling out of the deal. But today, noticing a second time that Cartman had warmth to him, it shocked him as if it was a charge of static electricity. As naïve as it sounded, Kyle considered Cartman a cold blooded monster, he was shocked to find that he actually had some warmth to him.

Kyle also noticed that Cartman too, had pulled away. The only reason that Kyle could come up with himself was again that Cartman was repulsed by him. So, Kyle readied to defend himself, but the Commandant spoke first. "I thought we already established this you Jew rat! I don't want to touch a Jew like you, and you don't want to touch a monster like me, right?" The tremor in Cartman's voice when he said the word 'monster' did not escape Kyle's notice. This was the third time he had noticed in fact. That word really did bother him, but Kyle couldn't understand why. When Kyle didn't answer Cartman did. "Of course I'm right. I'm not going to give up on this dance just because you, Jew rat, are too disgusted by the likes of me to hold my hand. Now I'm going to learn this dance Kahl so give me your goddamn hand and check my posture," and with that Cartman grabbed Kyle's hand and yanked him forward. Luckily years of dancing made Kyle a natural on his feet so he was able to catch himself before he collided face first into the Commandant; something he did not want to do. Damnit, why can't I be this graceful when he is shoving my face in the dirt every day? "Are you going to check my posture or not Jew?" Cartman sneered through his teeth looking straight ahead, as if he would rather look anywhere but Kyle; which suited him just fine. Kyle took in a deep breath to calm his racing thoughts and finally examined Cartman's posture.

"Your right hand," Kyle gently wrapped his fingers around Cartman's wrist. "Needs to come up higher," he said while he slid his hand up his side higher to where it was just under his armpit. "That way my arm can lay comfortably on yours, and my hand rests…" Kyle laid his arm upon Cartman's, making sure they aligned just right, and his hand gripped the top of his bicep. "…here," Kyle's slender hand gently squeezed his bicep, reaffirming what he discovered only a few minutes ago, that there was muscle there. With Cartman's build he assumed he was all fat, yes there was still chub on his arms, but there was a bit of firm muscle in his bicep. That, he did not expect at all and he didn't expect to be staring at his upper arm as long as he did.

"Jew…" Cartman warned snapping him out of his daze. "How is the rest of my posture?"

"Right," Kyle said with a bit of hesitation but assessed Cartman's stance. "Shoulders back more, but much much better sir," Cartman corrected himself as Kyle instructed and he looked perfect. No, he wasn't perfect, he was a Nazi. Even with perfect posture he wasn't perfect. Then why did he-? Kyle's heart began to pound in his chest, so fast that he could feel it in his ears; he was panicking.

"We're done for today, I should get back to the barracks." Kyle went to pull away but Cartman gripped his hand tighter.

"What?! You're kidding right Jew? We didn't do shit. All you did was show me how to stand! And who are you to be making demands?! You're not leaving until you show me some steps!" Cartman demanded angrily, his face flushing.

"I've shown you enough for one lesson. You can't take a step without perfecting your posture. Besides I've lost a lot of strength in my arms since I've been here, it really hurts to hold them up. We're done for today. Let me go, sir." That wasn't a complete lie, it did hurt to hold his arms up just the few times tonight that he did so; he had lost so much muscle mass while in the camp. But Kyle wasn't about to reveal the real reason why he wanted out immediately.

"Kahl…" it was a warning, a warning that if he left now he would be punished later. But Kyle didn't care, he needed to get away, to breathe, to think clearly because the thoughts that were going through his mind made absolutely no sense and that terrified him. Kyle tried to yank his hand away from Cartman.

"Let me go fatass!" that made the Commandant release him immediately and Kyle ran not daring to look back, if he did he would have seen a pained look on Cartman's face.

They hadn't even taken a single step in their lessons and they were already tripping over their feet.