A/N: Hey all! Sorry this came later than usual… fanfiction was being a jerk, but it's here now! And one my personal favorite chapters! :D This relationship is probably moving too slowly for some of you, but we want to emphasize that Cartman/Kyle is by NO MEANS an easy pairing to write about – if it's easy, they're probably ooc, to be honest, and we don't want that. There's a lot of history and problems to work through, and a lot of conflict. But that's what makes it more rewarding in the end when it works out, right? :D
Disclaimer: Neither of us own anything South Park related besides merchandise.
…
Part Ten – Friday, July 2nd
It had been almost a week since Kyle spoke to Butters and confronted Cartman. Almost a week since things escalated and did not go as planned in the least.
After… that thing that happened, they had both fallen asleep, only to wake up a few hours later to what can only be described as the most awkward moment of Kyle's life. It was a nice nap while it lasted. He couldn't deny that he felt comfortable in Cartman's bed. Fuck, it would be useless to deny anything at this point. Once you let someone touch your dick, you don't really have a leg to stand on if you try to deny any kind of attraction.
Despite that, though, it was difficult for Kyle to come to terms with letting things go so far so quickly. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But, in retrospect, he knew he should have taken things more slowly, especially since Cartman had given off the impression that he was emotionally invested in this. But then, it had always been hard to control himself around Cartman. It was just… not as big of a deal when he was just dealing punches.
He avoided Cartman all week after what happened, but it kind of seemed like Cartman was doing the same thing. So it was ok.
Now, though, he was in Cartman's car yet again, heading for an unknown destination in town. The brunet had been pretty adamant about taking him out… as much as Kyle really didn't want to. It seemed like a date. How could it not be? You make out with someone repeatedly and they offer to take you anywhere… it seemed like the only word for this was DATE. And Kyle was rather opposed to the idea of dating Eric Cartman. Hooking up with? Fine, he could handle that. But dating? That was just too weird.
"So… where are we going?" he finally asked from the passenger seat.
…
"I think you'll like it," Eric explained as he turned the corner into the heart of town. "It's pretty hipster and hippie-like, but they make a MEAN white hot chocolate." He peered over to Kyle. Eric knew that he had been a little more than shocked by his behavior when they had last seen each other, but it's not like he didn't like it.
Lord, Kyle was the one who agreed to have Eric finish him off in the first place. So Eric essentially ignored his Jew Princess behavior and reached out to boldly grab his thigh. "It seems like the kind of place that you'll go to once you get to New York." He cracked a teasing smile. "The kind of place your hipster boyfriend would take you in that situation I conjured up the last time we went out."
He gave Kyle's leg an affectionate squeeze and drove around to park his car in the back. "You've never heard of this place? It's called The Pour House… kind of a play on words…." Biting his lip, Eric blushed a bit as he mentioned, "And as I said, you can get anything you want. My treat."
…
Kyle blushed, not sure how to respond to the boyfriend comment. What was Cartman playing at? Was that a round-about way of accepting that Kyle wanted this whole thing to mean nothing? Cartman was the one who seemed to want something more out of this. He shouldn't be mentioning future boyfriends. And why was Kyle even thinking about this anyway? He should be more than glad that Cartman implied this was by no means a long-term situation.
"Of course I've heard of it, asshole," Kyle said, ultimately deciding that the boyfriend comment was not worth responding to at all. "I just didn't know you were taking me here."
While they walked toward the building, Kyle found himself feeling really conflicted about Cartman's choice of place. On the one hand, it was sufficiently laid back. Not necessarily date-like. At least not compared to the German place. On the other hand… there would undoubtedly be people they knew there, as Craig and all of his friends worked there, and South Park kids loved to go there. He knew for a fact that Stan and Wendy were there almost every fucking day, so he hoped to God they were in a fight or something.
"Is there a reason you're taking me to a place where everyone and their mom hangs out?" he asked bitterly as they approached the building.
…
"Because this is 'nothing', right?" Eric joked as they walked past the outdoor patio where most people sat in the summer. "If this bothers you too much Jewboy, you should really ask yourself why."
They went up the walkway to the back entrance and Eric held the door open. "I mean, we can always say we're waiting for others if they ask," he said, lowering his eyelids skeptically. "Unless you just want to come out with it and say we're-"
…
"We're waiting for others," Kyle said, cutting Cartman off before he could finish his sentence. He walked through the doorway, rolling his eyes at Cartman's unnecessary attempt at common courtesy. "If anyone asks."
Before they approached the counter, which had Craig and Tweek working the registers, he stopped Cartman in his tracks. "I'm paying for myself," he said under his breath, meeting the other boy's gaze with a look that said not to argue. "I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea."
…
"Fine," Eric replied, approaching the counter first as he eyed a very confused looking Craig. "Sup, just want the regular." He ordered, implying that his usual drink preference was already known by the staff.
"Yeah yeah," Craig said dismissively, glancing over to Kyle with a slightly bewildered face as he started to pour the milk for the hot chocolate. "Haven't seen you here in a while though, fat boy… got uh…" He looked back to Kyle for a brief second. "Other priorities?"
"Nothing much," Eric replied nonchalantly, giving Kyle a passing glance as well. "Just enjoying the summer after a stressful semester."
"YOU DON'T KNOW THE HALF OF IT!" Tweek exclaimed, suddenly barging in from the kitchen only to rush to the cash register. "Apparently everyone's been stressful because we've been BUSY AS HELL and my parents have me working OVERTIME EVEN THOUGH IT'S SUMMER." He slammed his fist on the button to open the register drawer and then gripped his hair in a frenzy. "THE WHOLE TOWN HAS SOME SORT OF CAFFEINE ADDICTION! IT'S AN EPIDEMIC!" He pushed a couple of buttons before gritting his teeth to mutter, "3.70."
As soon as Tweek muttered his amount Eric slipped him an additional five. "Cover Kyle's too."
"WHAT!" Tweek exclaimed as he took both bills, eying Kyle, who was still looking at the menu. "Um…. Okay?" He flinched as he put both fives in the cash register.
...
Once Cartman was finished ordering, Kyle approached the register. He was confident that, now that he was paying for himself, being out with the fatass looked as casual as it could possibly look.
"I'll just have a regular coffee… hazelnut if you have it. With cream," Kyle said, not wanting to be too much of a bother for the already clearly stressed blond.
"SURE, NO PROBLEM!" exclaimed Tweek, causing Kyle to wonder how the kid would ever hold down a job once he wasn't working for his parents anymore. Craig, who had just delivered Cartman his drink, peered over to the register's screen to see what Kyle had ordered. While he set to work getting Kyle's coffee, Tweek simply began to take change out of the register without telling Kyle what he owed.
Then the blond handed Cartman the change and told them to have a good night. Kyle felt like strangling everyone within five feet of him. How dare that asshole ignore me like that? Once he got his own drink and Craig and Tweek went back into the kitchen, he turned to glare at the brunet.
"What the fuck is your problem?" he whispered furiously.
...
"What, Jew?" Eric chuckled before dismissively taking a sip of his white hot chocolate. He pocketed the change and bumped Kyle playfully. "Just take your free drink and calm the fuck down."
He laughed as he looked around, "Okay, where do you wanna sit?"
...
"I don't know, over there I guess," Kyle said, nodding to a table in the far corner. He took his coffee and started to walk over, not giving Cartman a chance to object – asshole wasn't getting that right after the stunt he just pulled.
Once they sat down, he resumed his glaring. "I told you I wanted to pay for myself," he said, frustrated with the brunet's lack of discretion. "What the fuck, Cartman? Now they're going to know something's up. This was such an awful idea…"
...
"Yeah yeah, just as 'awful' as all the other stuff we've been doing right?" Eric scoffed. "Well, you're welcome Kyle, even though this dank corner can't compare to how nice it is outside." He looked out the window, eyeing the gazebo, which was decorated with Christmas lights.
The corner Kyle chose was in the back where the fireplace was, but it had the advantage of having tables set up like chess boards, complete with game pieces. "And fuck them anyway, I think it's about time you started to enjoy your… 'fabulous' lifestyle," he said, peering back at the frustrated looking Kyle before taking another sip of his drink. "It doesn't make sense that you're so secretive about it. I mean… what are you going to do once you get to New York?" He rapped his fingers against the table and leaned forward slightly.
...
Kyle raised an eyebrow at the brunet. "You really think that's it?" he asked, honestly surprised. "Jesus, Cartman. I'm not ashamed to be gay. I'm not trying to hide it. If anyone cared to ask I'd tell the truth… so it's no secret. My parents don't know, for now, but Ike does. Stan does, Wendy does…"
"It's you. I don't want people to think I'm with you," he paused, realizing how rude that sounded, regardless of how true it was. "It's just… too fucking complicated and having to explain all this bullshit to people isn't something I want to deal with right now. I thought you understood that."
...
Way to harsh a boner. Of course Eric knew that Kyle didn't want people to get the 'wrong impression', but he could see that Kyle was trying to 'cover up' for things. "Kyle, you don't have to be such a dick about it," he combated with a heavy amount of venom in his voice. "Yeah I know you're less than thrilled about our little 'thing', but I disagree about your openness… I mean…" He eyed the bag of chess pieces at their table before reaching out to grab them. "I don't see you making passes at anyone else…" Thank God.
...
"Cartman. Being openly gay is not the same thing as prancing around with a fucking lisp, announcing your sexuality and getting on your knees for anyone with a dick. Grow up. There's such a thing as being tactful, you know, and not everyone's a stereotype," Kyle said irritably before taking a sip of his coffee. He watched the brunet dump the chess pieces out on the table.
"So of course you don't see me making passes at people," he added, smirking a bit. "But that doesn't mean that I don't."
...
Eric's face immediately grew stone cold and he frowned with immense dissatisfaction. Mechanically placing his black pieces on the right spaces, the brunet glared up at the smug-looking Jew before growling, "Who?"
...
"I really don't think it's any of your business," Kyle said as he finished setting up the white pieces on his side of the board. "Seeing as this is nothing."
Smiling at the brunet, he moved one of his pawns forward.
...
"Oh, okay then," Eric said as he eyed the first piece Kyle moved forward. "Does this person… say…" He paused as he sensually fingered his knight. "Know about… certain…habits you have when you're in a particularly…" He moved the knight forward. "Rowdy mood?" He took his eyes off the board to suggestively gaze over at his defiant redhead.
...
"Habits?" Kyle asked as he made his next move.
...
Eric chuckled slightly as he offhandedly moved a pawn forward. "Don't think I don't notice the little things you do when we're going at it…like how much you just LOVE to grab to my shirt collar when you find yourself in the heat of passion."
Leaning back in his chair, Eric eyed Kyle down, essentially undressing him with his eyes. "Bringing me in closer as though you feel like just melting into the kiss…" He narrowed his eyes and cracked a devious smile, his pants growing tighter as some of those pleasant memories resurfaced.
...
Kyle felt his cheeks go red. Fucking asshole.
"This is a completely inappropriate place to be talking about that," he chided, moving one of his knights out. "And like I said, it's none of your business what I do."
...
"None of my business?" Eric exclaimed as he moved his bishop to take out one of Kyle's pawns. "My shirt's the one being grabbed while you're kissing me and it's none of my business?" He laughed incredulously as he glanced over at his Jew's reddening cheeks.
"Our thing is my business, and besides…" he dared to insinuate. "It's not like you don't want it to be. After all…" He paused, taking the pawn in hand to claim it as his own. "You did say that you think about me when you, um," he chortled, passing Kyle a mischievous glance. "You know."
...
Kyle took a sip of his coffee. If Cartman was so intent on embarrassing him, then so be it. He could play games too.
"How do you know I don't just say that to everyone?" he said in a low voice, moving his first pawn to grab the one Cartman had sent out. "I mean, it works right? Me saying that I think about you that way… it really got you going. As I recall."
...
Eric gritted his teeth in frustration, not because Kyle took his pawn away but because he really got him there. "What do you mean 'to everyone'?" he snapped, moving his knight forward again. "By the way you were acting that night I could tell that it was your first time."
He crossed his arms defensively, not really knowing at all if it was Kyle's first time doing that. It was, after all, his first time doing anything sexual as well. "Besides, who else would want to do anything to a scrawny Ginger Jew like you anyway?" he grumbled, obviously bent out of shape that Kyle would insinuate that there have been 'others'.
...
"Who else indeed…" Kyle said as he idly moved another pawn forward one space. He was exceedingly proud of himself for keeping his cool. It was obvious he was getting to Cartman, and he couldn't have been more satisfied that he was winning at this particular mind game.
"Besides," he continued, sipping his coffee. "You didn't seem to think I was so terrible to look at when you were calling my body… what was the word? Oh, right, majestic."
...
Eric spit out some of his drink before slamming his cup back down. He then shoved another pawn forward to block Kyle's as he snapped, "Well well well Kyle, you've got yourself a point." He rolled his eyes, but then smirked and looked at Kyle maliciously. "I did call you that didn't I? Majestic? How'd that make you feel though, hmm?"
He perked his head up slightly, his eyes looking crazed as he muttered, "Your arch nemesis grasping your dick and you releasing onto yourself all while I watched from overhead?" He then lowered his eyes and reached down to stroke the King piece suggestively. "You loved it, didn't you? Well, that much is obvious."
He brought his mug up again to take a sip before growling, "Because not even this white hot chocolate tastes as sweet as your white hot cum did." He brought the cup back down, allowing a drop of the white substance to roll out of the corner of his mouth before knowingly wiping it away.
...
Kyle grimaced slightly, unable to ignore the obvious suggestion in Cartman's actions. Completely disgusting. Is there nothing he won't say? Or do?
Regaining his cool, he moved one of his pawns to take the brunet's knight. He'd have to step it up if Cartman was going to play it like that. He couldn't just call him gross and change the subject, as much as he wanted to. "I did love it," he said quietly, moving his eyes up to meet Cartman's. "But you know what else I loved? The fact that you were so fucking hard for me and I didn't even have to touch you. It doesn't take much, does it? Or am I just that good?"
...
"You know you're that good. We both know that," Eric agreed, daring to bring his queen piece out. "But who brought that out of you, Kyle?"
His voice grew to a lower timbre, the sound essentially reverberating off their little corner as he moved the queen dangerously close to Kyle's king. "Who gave you that fire which ignited you so passionately?" He dared to shift his hand over to grasp Kyle's. "I'm not willing to take all the credit of course, I like the fact that your personality calls for such… eccentricities but…" He grasped it harder, tracing his finger over one of Kyle's delicate bones before cupping the smaller hand into his palm possessively. "I know for a fact that if it wasn't for me…" Eric then moved his devious brown eyes off of their connecting hands to peer up at Kyle's. "You would have never known you were that fucking good."
"Check," he added at the last second.
...
"Dude!" Kyle exclaimed, yanking his hand away from Cartman's. "What the Hell?"
He looked around the room quickly to make sure no one saw what just happened before looking back to glare at the larger boy. "You can't do that here," he whispered harshly. "We're in public, Cartman! Talk all you want but do NOT touch me."
He took a sip of his coffee, trying to seem as normal as possible to anyone who might glance over to their table.
"Let's just finish this," he muttered, putting his coffee down. He then moved his bishop one space to block Cartman's queen.
...
"Pussy," Eric jabbed as he killed the pawn in front of his own with his unmoved bishop. "I would have thought that someone like you wouldn't care about what other people thought." He rested his head on his hands and sneakily rubbed his foot against Kyle's leg. "I mean, you are confident in your choices, aren't you?"
...
"I don't know anymore," Kyle replied, moving his knight over to take down Cartman's bishop. "I still think I must be crazy for being here with you."
...
Eric noticed that Kyle didn't move his leg out of the way, so he continued to rub it. "Yeah you're crazy alright," Eric said as he backed up his other Bishop a space to avoid Kyle's knight.
"Crazy about me..." he joked, knowing he sounded corny as all hell.
...
"No, just crazy," Kyle said, smirking. He casually moved his bishop across the board to take down Cartman's queen before coyly looking up at the boy. Moving his leg over, he added, "I think you're the one who's crazy for me."
...
Scoffing at the board, Eric nearly stepped on Kyle's foot as the Jew Princess so sassily carried off his dead queen. Gritting his teeth in rage, the brunet haphazardly carried his distant bishop to off one of Kyle's pawns. "Fucking queen killer… well I'm not crazy about you now!" he seethed, resisting the urge to throw the whole table over.
...
"Now who's the one who needs to calm down?" Kyle asked silkily. He took the black queen in hand again and teasingly tapped it against his cheek in mock concentration. Then, smiling, he picked up his unmoved knight and moved it in front of one of his remaining pawns. "It's only a game, Cartman."
...
After shoving his rook over to defend his open King, Eric gazed up at Kyle, who was toying with his little prize. "Yeah yeah, it's only a game," he mocked, tapping his fingers on the table impatiently. "That's why you're mocking me with my lost queen..." Then he suddenly imagined that it was something else in Kyle's hand poking against his cheek.
...
Completely unaware of what was going through Cartman's head, Kyle continued to scan the board for moves he could make. There were a few things he could do that were risky and would take a couple turns to finish, but no surefire, quick checkmate that he could see.
"Was I mocking you? I'm so sorry," he said absently as he moved his first knight in front of the other boy's rook.
...
"Oh, don't act so fucking innocent," Eric argued as he happily killed Kyle's knight with the rook. "In a little while there will definitely be something else in your hand poking against your cheek." He grinned and leaned into the table, eying Kyle determinedly.
...
"Must you?" Kyle said with a sigh, though he couldn't keep himself from blushing. He knew Cartman had always lacked tact, but he still wasn't used to it being in such a sexual way. The good news, at least, was that Cartman had made the move he wanted him to, so he gladly moved his queen forward three spaces without making eye contact with the other boy.
...
"Don't pretend you don't like it," Eric combated, moving his rook all the way down to Kyle's side of the board. "How about this? Whoever wins the game gets to um, 'pay the tip'?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively as he kept firm eye contact with the Jew across the table.
...
Kyle smiled as he moved his queen all the way to the far corner of the board. "Check," he said, looking up to meet Cartman's eyes. "And, wouldn't it make more sense for the loser to have to pay up?"
...
Eric's eyes widened and he quickly moved his King one space over diagonally. "That's what I meant, Jew," he grunted as he gripped onto the table apprehensively, growing slightly nervous about his own proposition. "I'm just… distracted." His temples started to bead with sweat against his will.
...
Smirking, Kyle picked up his unmoved bishop and brought it over to rest right next to his other one.
"Check," he said again, grinning devilishly at the brunet.
...
With his sweat very noticeable at that point, Eric hurried to carry his King to the space above his pawn as he choked, "On second thought, lets…" He gulped down a lump of anxiety and laughed to mask his fright. "Let's not let ourselves get carried away."
As soon as he finished that statement, his leg started to shake nervously under the table.
...
"You seem to be awfully concerned about something, Cartman," Kyle said, trying to keep his expression serious. "What is it?"
He moved his queen over one space. "Check."
...
"Oh don't you start getting namby pamby with me, Jew!" Eric shouted as he hurriedly moved his King up a space. "I'll fucking wipe that smirk of your face!" He knew his threat was pathetic and he began to curse at himself internally. FUCK, WHY DID I DECIDE TO PLAY AGAINST ONE OF THE SMARTEST KIDS IN THE CLASS AGAIN?
...
"Namby pamby? What does that even mean?" Kyle asked as he moved his first bishop forward two spaces, taking out one of Cartman's pawns. "Check."
...
"SHUT UP!" Eric yelled out, essentially out of witty lines. He sheepishly moved his King directly next to one of his remaining pawns. "You're fucking loving this, I can tell!" He pointed to Kyle with an accusing finger.
...
"After what you've been putting me through the past month and a half?" Kyle asked before taking a sip of his almost-forgotten coffee. "Yeah, I rather like seeing you squirm."
He moved his queen over one space. "Check."
...
Eric moved his hand to hover over the board, but he knew that there were little to any spaces left for him to run to and the fact that Kyle had his queen wasn't a good sign for his hopeful victory.
However, right as he was about to make his next move, a familiar voice popped up from nearby, "Locked in a pretty tight game, huh? Who's winning?"
Eric swung his head around to see Kenny walking closer to them with this little knowing grin on his face. "I have a pretty good guess though… from the way you look, fatboy," the blond said, kicking at Eric's chair slightly as he stood over the table
"And I was right," he commented, noticing that the black King was essentially cornered by Kyle's pieces. He placed a proud hand on Kyle's shoulder. "Nice going, Kyle… so, um…" He peered at both of them with pursed lips, taking a second to think about his next sentence.
"What are you guys doing back here?" he asked, furrowing his brow questioningly.
...
"Oh, um," Kyle said, putting every ounce of energy he had into not blushing. "I kind of tutored the fatass this semester, and he dragged me here in a lame attempt at thanking me."
He gently pushed the black queen on her side and rolled her halfway across the table. "Free coffee and a chance to kick his ass at chess… who am I to say no?"
...
Eric growled to himself not only because Kenny had kicked his chair, but because Kyle was STILL rubbing it in his face that he had captured his queen. "And Kyle's shown me SO MUCH appreciation for it let me tell you, Ken…" he said sarcastically as he grumpily leaned back into his chair. He continued to glare across the table at the coy little Jew, who was still fidgeting with that damn piece of plastic.
Obviously sensing something else going on here, Kenny took a step back and nodded. "Huh… tutoring you say?" he asked, looking to Kyle. "How's that going? He actually wanted help with his schoolwork? From you? Hard to believe that you agreed…"
...
Really not liking the way Kenny was looking at him, Kyle quickly stopped fidgeting with the chess piece. "Well I thought it would look good on college applications," he replied somewhat defensively. "I mean, what school would say reject someone who helped him improve?"
...
"And is he improving?" Kenny asked, looking over to Eric rather suspiciously.
Eric sighed in relief once Kyle took his hand off the queen. "Yeah," he responded, peering up Kenny now that he felt a tad more relaxed. "Two A's in my history and methodology classes." He looked back at Kyle with a genuine smile. "And two B+'s in math and science."
"Wow!" Kenny exclaimed, eyes widening in bewilderment. "Didn't you fucking say you were almost failing those two?" He rested his hands on the table as he eyed down Eric with an expression of sheer shock.
"Yup," Eric closed his eyes and smiled boastfully. He then cracked them open ever so slightly to gaze at Kyle with a teasing expression. "Kyle is really just… that good." He laughed to himself.
Kenny took one look at that look Eric was giving Kyle and immediately shifted his focus back to the redhead. "Huh!" he puffed, still wildly confused. "You… you really helped him, didn't you?"
...
"I guess so," Kyle said, tearing his eyes away from Cartman's to look up at Kenny. "I guess I just really know how to… get to him. Get through to him, I mean."
...
Looking back at Eric's devilish expression, Kenny took another step away as he began to piece together what was really going on. Ho-ly…
"Oh! Okay!" he chirped, nodding to himself. "That… that makes sense. I mean…" He looked back to Kyle, who still wore an overtly calm expression. "If Cartman would pay attention to anyone it would be…you." He then looked back to the larger boy and added with a sheepish grin, "Congrats."
"Bye, Ken," Eric dismissed without taking his eyes off of Kyle for a second.
"Yeah, um…" Kenny darted his eyes back to Kyle with a concerned expression and brought his hand up to his ear to make a quick 'call me' gesture. "Bye," he called out unsurely before exiting the room in a rush.
...
The moment Kenny left, Kyle put his head in his hands. "Oh God, he knows," he groaned, making a quick mental note to get better at covering this up. "He fucking knows. We were so obvious it wasn't even funny. Anyone could have seen through that act. Fuck."
He sighed and quickly began putting the chess pieces back into the bag they came from. "We should go. We've been here too long anyway."
...
Eric watched in confusion as Kyle dismantled their whole game. "Whoa, whoa, hold on!" he cried out, rushing to stop him. He grabbed onto Kyle's wrists and carried them closer to him. "Don't get so paranoid! It's just Kenny!" He laughed a bit, shaking his head. "And as you said this is 'nothing', right? If he says anything about it, just keep saying you're helping me!" Letting go of his Jew's wrists, Eric started to help gather up the chess pieces. "What's he going to do anyway?"
...
"Ask questions, tell people, act all concerned for my safety… I don't fucking know! It doesn't matter! I didn't want to go out in public but I went along with it and this is what happens," he said frantically. "I told you. I told you I didn't want this. We should have just gone to your house and had coffee there. We could have played chess, even."
He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. It was bad enough when it was Craig and Tweek giving them weird looks. They barely knew them in the grand scheme of things. Kenny… Kenny had been a good friend to both of them for as long as he could remember. He could surely see right through their stupid act. And what if he told Stan something was up? Stan would come running in threatening Cartman and there would be a big scene and then Wendy would get involved and it would be a total nightmare.
God fucking damn it. "Can we leave? PLEASE?" he begged before realizing they were still in South Park. "Oh wait no, whatever, you can stay. I'll just walk home."
...
After throwing the bag of chess pieces back onto the window sill, Eric hurriedly threw on his black jacket and black cap as he desperately cried, "Kyle! For God's sake, calm down!" He resisted the urge to pull Kyle in closer to him as he also stood up.
"Kenny wouldn't do any of that stuff before talking to you first!" he assured, looking around to make sure no one else was watching before meekly grasping Kyle's hand. "You have nothing to worry about, I'll make sure of it."
Then his eyes blackened and he added darkly, "Nothing will ruin this, NOTHING."
...
Kyle quickly took his hand out of Cartman's grasp. You can't promise that, he thought to himself.
"There's nothing to ruin," he said as he expertly regained his composure. "I just don't want people making a big deal."
Then he turned and made his way out of the coffee shop with Cartman trailing behind him.
...
Once outside, Eric noticed that Kyle was practically speed walking to the car to avoid attracting anyone else's attention. Seeing his Jew so bent out of shape because of this was really starting to wear at his nerves, so he exerted himself to catch up.
"Listen Kyle, I have no idea why you're going crazy over this," he stated, heading towards the car with the same pace as Kyle. "But it's really irritating because I know you like being with me, but you're giving off this impression that you're not man enough to admit it." He shoved his hands in his pockets.
"So do it," he pressed, narrowing his eyes to gaze down at his Jew. "Tell me that you enjoy being in this whatever-this-is with me."
...
Kyle had his hand on the car door's handle, but made no move to open it as he looked up at Cartman.
"I do," he said quietly. "I don't know why, but I do. I just… why can't you accept that I want to keep this secret? Don't you understand what will happen if people find out? The whole town will go up in flames and Stan and my mom will take turns killing you."
"Haven't you even considered that maybe I want to keep this between us because I actually sort of like being with you?" he breathed, taking a small step closer to the larger boy. "Because fuck, Cartman, if you want to keep being able to see me you'd better hope people don't find out. Have you no sense of foresight? If this gets around, my mom will literally do whatever it takes to keep me away from you."
...
Hearing Kyle's response made unpleasant chills run up Eric's spine, but at the same time his heart did amazing flips when he heard his Jew actually admit that he liked being with him and wanted this thing to continue. With a sad smile, Eric took one step to close the space in between him and his precious redhead, backing Kyle up against the car.
"I have an amazing sense of foresight Kyle," he informed. He didn't want to reveal the truth behind Butters' NYU claim, but he still want to comfort his Jew, so he lowered his head to brush his lips over Kyle's. "Just know that I will do anything to protect what we have." He ended his promise with a small kiss before walking around to the driver's seat. "Let's go home."
...
Kyle only nodded in response before turning to open the car door. Once they were both settled in and Cartman started the car, he realized that this whatever-it-was just became something that certainly wasn't nothing. He wished he could maintain the same level of detachment in real life as he could while they were playing chess. But, that was just a game. And he was very good at escapism. But this was real life, and in real life he was terrible at watching his mouth when it came to his emotions. And he couldn't take back what he just said.
As they drove, he looked at Cartman. It was strange that this person, who had devoted years of his life to destroying Kyle, was now vowing not to let anything get between them. He knew he shouldn't feel safe with this boy, and most of the time he didn't, not entirely. But at that moment he did.
"Happy birthday, by the way," he said after a minute or two, realizing that it was the day before.
...
Eric actually perked up at that comment, remembering last night when his mom cooked his favorite meal and gave him a large sum of cash. "Right. That was yesterday… Thanks Kyle… but you could have called me you know…" he teased. "but don't worry about it, seventeen's not that eventful anyway. Next year's the BIG year." He relaxed into his seat as he placed his hand on Kyle's leg to stroke it once. "That's when I'll throw a party or… something," he puffed as he turned onto Kyle's street. "Invite all two of my friends."
...
"What, no ridiculously huge party and present assignments for everyone at school?" Kyle joked. "So that must mean… either you're losing your touch or your mom finally learned to tell you to fuck off. I hope it's the latter. You were always such a brat to her."
...
"Yeah, once I realized she wasn't as much of a bitch as yours I backed off some…" Eric jabbed back, stopping in front of Kyle's house. "Anyway… so, um…" He anxiously tapped his fingers against his steering wheel.
"Thanks for agreeing to come out with me tonight," he laughed nervously. "Best birthday present ever…"
...
"Hmm, if I had known this was a birthday thing, I would have let you win the chess game," Kyle teased as he looked toward his house to see if anyone was hovering by any windows.
When it seemed like the coast was clear, he quickly turned around and leaned over to kiss the brunet – though it ended almost as fast as it started, as lingering meant a greater chance of discovery. Then, mumbling a quick goodbye, he opened the door to get out of the car.
...
As soon as Kyle hinted to what he thought he hinted to, Eric turned his head around excitingly to catch Kyle's quick kiss. But he barely got his tongue in before the Jew broke off with a nearly non-existent good bye.
As he watched Kyle slam the door and run up to his house, Eric suddenly felt a different kind of warmth invade his heart. He thought he had "loved" Kyle before, but now he realized that his previous brand of "love" wasn't really… real. It was just, possessiveness; his obsession telling him that he loved Kyle.
Because as he watched Kyle open his front door, making sure to shoot Eric a quick teasing glance before closing it behind him, he felt something he had never felt before. Something so amazing, so thrilling, so unbelievably wonderful that he knew that it could only be one thing… and Eric wasn't quite ready to truly and honestly place that feeling without knowing Kyle felt the same way.
…
A/N: Yayyy! Seriously, I hope you guys loved this chapter, because we LITERALLY played chess online to make that game real. None of the moves were planned out, it just happened to work out *perfectly*. So much love for this chapter, omg. So hopefully you all loved it too! :D