The next week was a little better.

The following Wednesday, Tweek found himself in the same rolling stool he was in last week, with Craig sitting in the same cushy chair as well. It was something he was going to have to get used to, but he didn't mind. Not one bit. Because Craig would do that same for him. Currently, they had a small cooler on the floor filled with popsicles, both sucking on one as they tried to kill time.

"Okay, favorite movie." Tweek said, lips currently tinted purple from his grape popsicle. Craig thought a moment, licking his lips with a very red tongue.

"Inglorious Basterds."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"What about it do you like?"

"Well, for starters, I just love Tarantino movies in general. I always watched them with my dad. Second, it's the ending to World War two that we wanted. A bunch of Jewish soldiers that called themselves the Basterds kill Hitler. It's almost like retribution in a way." Craig explained, taking a bite of his cherry popsicle. Tweek hummed.

"Maybe that's why Kyle really likes that movie."

"Have you seen it?"

"Nope." Tweek said, popping the 'p' for emphasis. Craig grinned slowly, teeth tinted red.

"You should come over later and watch it."

"Okay, Dracula." Tweek laughed, Craig shooting him a glare as he smirked.

"At least I don't look like I just ate out the purple Teletubbie." Craig snickered, Tweek slamming a hand over his mouth.

"Oh my god, Craig!" He laughed behind his hand, Kelly walking over.

"How we doing, boys?" She asked, checking the needles and bag as per usual.

"Doing great." Craig chuckled, reaching into the cooler and handing an orange popsicle to Kelly. She grinned, humming.

"Thanks, Craig," She said, taking a bite off the top. "Everything looks good. Keep eating popsicles. They seriously do wonders for the nausea." Tweek had called Kelly last week (who so kindly gave them her number in case of emergencies) and explained that Craig's nausea was preventing him from eating. She recommended to bring popsicles next time, apparently something about it helping patients with their nausea. Craig nodded as she left, reaching into the cooler and grabbing a blue raspberry popsicle this time.

"What's your favorite movie?" Craig asked, tugging the wrapper off the popsicle. Tweek thought a moment, humming.

"Dirty Dancing."

"You're shitting me." Craig chuckled, Tweek kicking his leg gently.

"Don't be rude! I didn't judge you for your movie choice!"

"Yeah, but Dirty Dancing?"

"Listen, Patrick Swayze is the reason I questioned my sexuality after I discovered pictures of boys kissing on the internet."

"…okay I can see that." Tweek snorted, reaching into the cooler for an orange popsicle.

"How…how did you find out you were gay?" Tweek asked, Craig chuckling as he thought.

"I had dated a few girls in high school and did the whole shebang with them."

"Shebang?" Tweek giggled, Craig rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, kid," He teased, taking a bite of his popsicle. His mouth was turning purple from the red and blue mixing. "I did everything with girls. Sex and all. But…one night senior year I was dared to kiss some guy at a party, and it…changed everything. I felt things deep inside me that I didn't feel when I was with a girl. So, come college, I started fooling around with guys, and it was so much better to me. That's when I knew."

"I thought you said you lost your virginity freshman year of college?"

"Well…with a guy. That's when I really count it, honestly. The few girls I slept with were nice, but again, it didn't quite feel the same." Craig said, tossing his popsicle stick aside. Tweek hummed, nodding slowly.

"Is that why you're good at eating me out?" Tweek purred, Craig's eyes widening slightly at his bluntness.

"Jesus Christ, kid." He breathed out, laughing softly.

"Well you had practice on girls. You know how to work your tongue." Tweek giggled, loving the fact he was able to catch Craig off guard. He very rarely gets to do that, so whenever he does, he cherishes it.

"Did you enjoy it that much?"

"Considering the fact the last guy who gave me a rimjob just spat a lot, I'd say yes."

"He spat a lot?"

"It was atrocious, Craig." Tweek laughed, pushing his legs out to roll the stool back a bit. He started spinning on it, Craig snickering.

"I feel like I'm watching my child."

"Well, daddy, I'll behave if you want me to." Tweek grinned over his shoulder, giggling as Craig's face turned a dark red. Sputtering, Craig grabbed the Tweek's shirt and tugged him closer, grabbing his chin once he was close enough.

"Don't make me horny while I'm forced to sit here for another half an hour, kid." Craig practically growled, smirking up at him. Tweek whimpered softly, pressing a quick peck to his lips. He could taste blue raspberry with a hint of cherry.

"Sucks to be teased, doesn't it?"

The next day, Craig's nausea wasn't as bad as it was last time. It came and went in waves, but it was definitely more manageable than last week. Friday, he felt worse for some reason. He ended up cancelling his two classes, his stomach doing flip flops the entire day to the point where he couldn't leave his bed without having to run to the bathroom. He didn't eat at all, unable to stomach anything. It was getting close to six o'clock and Craig had only managed to get water down (which tasted like metal to him now, another side effect of chemo). Clyde was so kind to bring him flavored waters around seven, answering Craig's SOS text almost immediately. Trudging over to the door, he opened it slowly for Clyde when he knocked, his friend wincing when he saw him.

"Shit, dude, you look fucking awful." He mumbled, Craig scoffing.

"Thanks, Clyde." He mumbled, grunting as he quickly (well, as quickly as he could) made his way back over to the couch, curling up into a ball in an attempt to stop the nausea. Clyde frowned, biting on his lip as he walked over to sit at the other end of the couch. Normally, Craig's six foot five frame would take up the entire couch and then some, but not today. Not with him curled in on himself in pain.

"Here, do you want lemon or watermelon?" Clyde asked softly, noticing Craig was shivering. He grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch, draping it over him gently.

"Lemon." He grumbled, holding a shaky hand out to him. Clyde opened the water and passed it over to him, Craig sitting up just enough to take three long gulps of the fruity water. It was definitely better than what he's been drinking today, which was just plain water that now tasted like metal.

"I know chemo is strong shit but…I didn't think you'd be this bad…" Clyde admitted, Craig sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. He tensed as he brought his hand back down, both Clyde and him staring at the hair in his hands.

"Yeah…it's strong shit." He sighed, grunting as he stood up to quickly toss the clump of hair out. Once he laid back down, Clyde swallowed hard.

"How…when did that start…the hair, I mean…?" He said slowly, trying to comprehend that his best friend of twenty years was sitting in front of him with cancer. Clyde looked up to Craig, admired his work ethic, admired his strength, determination, and dedication. But this Craig in front of him was not the Craig he met nearly twenty years ago in the fourth grade.

"Yesterday…when I got home from work…" Craig sighed, curling back up into a ball. Clyde swallowed hard, closing his eyes.

"I hate seeing you like this, man…"

"I…I know, Clyde."

"You told that kid, Tweek, right?"

"Yeah…"

"What about the hair?"

"Didn't tell him that yet…" He said, glancing down at Clyde. The blanket was tugged up to his nose, only those different colored eyes of his peeking out. They weren't as bright as they usually were, Clyde noticed.

"You should…you can't hide that forever from him…" Clyde said, tugging his legs up to his. Craig hummed, closing his eyes.

"I will…he's coming over tomorrow afternoon for a movie day."

"That's romantic."

"Shut up." Craig chuckled, kicking his leg out to hit Clyde with his foot. Clyde smiled, grabbing one of the flavored waters and opening it.

"I met up with that Bebe girl."

"Bebe Stevens? As in my student?"

"You don't have room to talk when it comes to student relations." Clyde laughed, Craig rolling his eyes.

"Touché."

"But we got dinner and drinks. It was so easy talking to her. It hasn't been that easy with someone in a long time, ya know?" Clyde sighed, taking a sip of the water. Craig hummed, glancing over at his phone that buzzed in the coffee table. He reached out, smirking when he saw the text was from tweek. It was a mirror picture of the blonde sitting in his desk chair, only in his underwear with the caption "Hope you're feeling somewhat decent today!" Craig smiled at the image, locking his phone and holding it to his chest.

"Yeah…I know what you mean."

Tweek showed up at Craig's around two o'clock on Saturday, a bag full of movie treats in hand. Candy, popcorn, sodas, chips. Things that Tweek liked and things that Craig liked. He entered the code to Craig's apartment complex so he didn't have to get up to answer the buzzer, making his way up to the sixth floor. He knocked on the door gently, hearing shuffling from the other side. When Craig opened the door, Tweek had to stop himself from frowning. His face seemed hollow and his eyes were tired, shoulders hunched as a blanket hung from his frame.

"Hey kid." He croaked out, turning and making his way back to the couch. Tweek shut the door behind him, keeping his eye on Craig as he patted Venus' head when she trotted up to greet Tweek.

"Hey you." Tweek breathed out, eyes not leaving the back of the couch. Walking over, he sat down at the foot of the couch, smiling sadly.

"You brought goodies." Craig mumbled, smiling back.

"I did! I have popcorn, snacks, candy, soda."

"Do you have Ginger Ale?"

"I do." He hummed, opening the can of soda and passing it over to Craig. He sat up slowly, sipping slowly at it. Tweek stood up, going to the microwave to put a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

"How was your day yesterday?" Craig asked from the couch, trying to focus on a spot on the wall to distract himself from his nausea.

"It was fine! I didn't close yesterday since they hired someone new so I don't have to close every Friday. That's why I sent you a picture near eight. I was home around seven." Tweek explained, humming softly as he looked for a bowl for the popcorn.

"Clyde came over yesterday."

"How's he doing?"

"He's fine…all the guys are fine…handling everything one day at a time. Just like you and me." He sighed, Tweek biting his lip as he glanced over his shoulder at Craig.

"How did they all take that news?" He said, tugging the microwave open when the popcorn was finished. Craig thought a moment, closing his eyes as he spoke.

"Token was shocked. He was definitely not expecting it, Jimmy as well. They all know of my mom's history with breast cancer, but they never thought her son would end up getting it. Clyde…he was a mess. He cried, but Clyde is a big cry baby. I love him to death, though. He's in shock currently. When he came over yesterday…I don't think he knew how to handle seeing me so…weak." Craig's voice trailed off near the end, Tweek sitting down next to him.

"Hey," He brushed the hair off of Craig's forehead, which made the older man tense up. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You're one of the strongest, if not the strongest, person that I know. This isn't going to be easy, but just remember you have a team of people around you willing and ready to support you." Tweek whispered, Craig staring at him with wide eyes. He nodded slowly, swallowing.

"Um…what-uh-what do you want to watch first?" Craig said, Tweek thinking a moment.

"Why don't we start with your movie first? Start with the hard hitting shit before moving onto Dirty Dancing." He suggested, Craig chuckling softly.

"Sounds fine with me." Craig turned on the TV, flipping through until he got to the Netflix app. Tweek grabbed his hand suddenly as he hovered over the movie title.

"Wait, Tarantino."

"What about him?"

"Gore. He-he makes gory movies…right?"

"He does, but I can assure you, this movie is pretty tame surprisingly. It isn't too bad."

"Will you warn me if there's gonna be shit?" Tweek asked, Craig chuckling softly. He turned his hand so he could grab Tweek's hand that was holding his wrist, giving it a soft squeeze.

"I promise, kid." Craig slid his hand from Tweek's, draping it around his shoulder. The blonde blushed a bit, nodding as he scooched a little closer to the man next to him, cuddling into his side. Having Craig there during the movie was definitely helpful. He was right, it was definitely more tame gore wise than some of the stuff he's seen his dad watch. Overall, Tweek ended up really enjoying the movie, despite feeling anxious the entire time. Craig explained afterwards that that was what Tarantino was trying to do: make the audience anxious. They paused between movies to stretch their legs and get something to drink, but as soon as Craig stood up, he groaned and made his way to the bathroom. Tweek bit his lip, wincing as he heard the bathroom door shut. Craig hunched over the toilet, the Ginger Ale doing shit for his upset stomach. When nothing else would come up, he stood slowly, flushed the toilet, splashed water on his face, and rinsed some mouthwash around his mouth. Looking up into the mirror, Craig winced when he saw his reflection. He could barely recognize himself: usual olive skin lacking it's natural glow, eyes sunken in and not as bright as they normally would be, cheek bones protruding more so than usual due to his inability to eat the past few days. He leaned down, pulling the bathroom scale out that he had tucked between the sink and door. He set it down, stepping onto it and letting the numbers dance across the screen. Finally, when it settled, he licked his lips. He had already lost five pounds. Two days without eating substantially, and he's down five pounds. With a grunt, Craig stepped off, tucking the dusty scale back into its place.

Turning back to the mirror, Craig ran his hands down his face, letting his lower eyelids drag and then snap back into place as his hands fell. He was dehydrated. He didn't have to pinch the skin on his hand and watch it slowly sink back into place to know that. He glanced up at the few strands of hair hanging in his face. Slowly, he reached up, running his hands through his hair. When he pulled them out, dark black hair sat in his hands. Craig knows the expression is the straw that broke the camel's back, but in his instance, it was the hair in his hands that broke his. Clenching his jaw, he pushed the hair off his hands into the trashcan, marching back out into the kitchen. Tweek jumped when he saw him, eyes widening slightly as he saw the look on his face.

"Craig?" he asked softly, moving out of his way as he started tugging kitchen drawers open. His breath was shaky, which was unusual for Craig. He grunted when he finally found what he wanted, and Tweek blinked when he realized what they were: scissors. Craig made his way down the hall back to the bathroom, Tweek quickly following him. "Craig, what are you doing?" He asked once more, Craig tugging his shirt over his head. Taking a fistful of his hair as he looked at himself in the mirror, Craig cut into it as if there was nothing holding him back. He let the hair drop from his hands into the sink, angry tears filling his eyes as he ignored Tweek's worried reflection. Taking another fistful of hair, Craig continued cutting. He kept cutting at his hair, doing a piss poor job at keeping it neat, but he didn't care. He was in control. Craig had control over this. Cancer didn't. He was choosing to do this. He had the power. He was in control. He was- "Craig," Tweek's hands settled on his shoulders, Craig inhaling sharply through his nose as he snapped out of his daze. He blinked, hot tears rolling down his cheeks. Looking up, he stared at the mess he made, nostrils flaring as he tried not to cry. He couldn't. Not with Tweek here. Gently, Tweek slid his hand down the length of Craig's arm, grabbing the scissors gently from his hand. "The back still needs to be cut," He whispered, Craig's gaze drifting over to the blonde's reflection. His face softened, mouth opening slightly as if he wanted to say something, but he quickly snapped it shut, for Craig knew that if he spoke, he'd cry. Tweek hummed softly to him as he cut the hair on the back of his head, dropping the hair into the sink with the rest. Craig looked back at his own reflection. The cutting of his hair solidified that Craig, in fact, had cancer, and he let it control him once more through his emotions. Once Tweek set the scissors down, his chest started to heave as he looked at the finished product. It was as close to a buzz cut as they could get with scissors, but Craig still felt so exposed, like a nerve ending. Tweek smiled sadly at him, putting a hand on his lower back. "I'm here." He whispered, and that's all it took to break Craig Tucker down. Letting out a cry, Craig dropped his head to Tweek's shoulder, the blonde running his hand up and down his back gently as he just held him, letting him cry for as long as he needed. The older man gripped at Tweek's back, trying to ground himself. He felt like he was floating. Maybe it was from the lack of food. Maybe it was from the lack of water. Maybe it was all in his head. He wasn't entirely sure at this point. Reaching his hands up, Craig tangled his fingers into Tweek's hair, chest continuing to heave as he sobbed.

Pulling away suddenly, Craig stared at Tweek with wide eyes. Tweek cupped his face in his hands, smiling sadly. Before Tweek could speak, Craig lurched forward, pressing their lips together. It was rougher than he intended, but neither cared. He let one hand drop from Tweek's hair, wrapping his arm around his waist to pull him closer. Taking a few steps forward, Craig made sure Tweek was against the wall before pulling away, leaning his foreheads against his. Swallowing hard, he searched Tweek's face, looking for a sign. The little quirk of Tweek's lip that slowly formed into a smile, that same smile that made his right eye crinkle just a little more than the left and his nose scrunch slightly…yeah, that was the sign Craig was looking for.

"I love you."

NOTE: I've had this particular scene planned out for so long and it finally happened and it hurt like a bitch to write, but Tucker grew a pair and said those three words! As sad as it is, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's a sweet image if you think about it, Tweek being supportive no matter what. 3 Thank you so much for reading, and, as always, any and all feedback is appreciated!