Tweek

"Nurse Johnson, please report to room E1."

The vent in the room kept making a squeaking sound. It was very faint, but after listening to it for the past two hours, Tweek was very sure it was there. He knew that it was probably nothing but a loose screw, but he kept picturing mutant rats, scurrying around, their squeaks echoing down the vast network of ducts as they converged on this hospital room in particular.

He gave a convulsive twitch. His entire body protested the motion as the stitches in his cheek pulled and his entire left side ached. "Ngh-" Everything hurt, Tweek couldn't even move. He could only stare straight ahead and pray for unconsciousness once more.

To his left, he could hear the slightly labored breathing of the boy who had put him in this condition. Closing his eyes, Tweek held back a whimper. Neither of them had spoken since waking up, they'd just laid here and done as the nurses checking on them commanded. The silence in the room was thick tense.

It made sense of course, after the fight, after what they'd said to each other, Tweek couldn't even imagine what he was supposed to say. He wanted to say it hadn't been a conscious decision, letting all his aggravations and his problems pour out like that, but he'd been the one to open his mouth first and as far as he knew, he'd been the last to speak.

Really, he should probably be panicking more, but his body hurt too much to even contemplate doing something like that. Even his usual twitching had subsided, replaced with just a near constant trembling that only made the pain in his body worse. I wish I had my coffee… No, what he really wanted to do was forget all the stupid stuff he'd said to Craig. He'd called the boy all sorts of names, he'd complained about how he never spoke or smiled, but what made him feel like saying to hell with how much he hurt and running away was the way he'd told Craig that he wasn't a monster.

You know that's exactly what I needed to hear.

"Grrh." Looking up, Tweek stared at the shimmering image of Craig sitting on the grate at the end of his bed. His legs were so long they were stretched out over a third of the bed, even though he was sitting above the blond. He had his arms crossed and his head tilted to the side slightly. The worst part was the bruises.

When Tweek had been fighting Craig, that apparition of the boy had been there too, constantly cheering him on. Telling him to hit harder, yell louder, let everything out. But every time Tweek's fist connected with Craig's body, Mental Craig had showed the injury, flinched in pain. Even so, he'd kept up his encouragement till the end, right up until he'd passed out before Tweek, a smile on his bloody lips.

And even though he blond knew it was all in his head, it still made his stomach twist horribly. Because he'd been the one to cause those injuries, and even though his mental version of Craig wasn't real, the Craig sitting in the bed beside him was and those soft hisses of pain every time the Noirette shifted weren't just Tweek's imagination.

Tightening his jaw before wincing in pain, the pretend Craig sitting on the end of Tweek's bed muttered, Stop it, you're just as bruised as I am. Tweek couldn't have cared less. He wanted to scream at the ceiling, he wanted to beg for Craig's forgiveness, he wanted to break down into tears even. He didn't want to be told that it was fine because he'd gotten hit in return.

But I hurt you- Him! Tweek thought. Shifting his head, Tweek let out a soft moan as his abused muscles tried to convince him to stop. I never wanted to hurt him, not really! I just- I just wanted him to believe that I wasn't weak. I was just upset at him because he kept driving me crazy. Now we're both in the hospital!

And who knocked you out? Taking a deep breath and hissing in pain as he did so, the image of Craig fixed Tweek with a predictably deadpan expression. You've already put it out there in the open Tweek, it's not going to get any worse.

Tweek shook his head mutely, even though it made his head pound to do so. He- He thinks I hate him. Craig thinks I hate him, I can't change that. We're in the hospital! After fighting each other! His mental image of Craig had been trying to convince him to say something for a while now, but he couldn't. Tweek knew, somehow, that once he talked to Craig, his illusion of the boy would finally go back to the dark recesses of his fucked up brain where it belonged, but he couldn't do it.

Fuck, can't you just remember what was said during the damn fight? Mental Craig demanded, furrowing his brows. You aren't a wimp Tweek, you proved that already, now don't be a wimp about the. Pointing to Craig, the apparition asked, What did I tell you?

Tweek swallowed hard. That I was the exception.

Damn straight. Dropping his arm, the image of Craig wavered. So maybe believe me for once.

Before Tweek could decide whether to finally talk to Craig or not, the door to their hospital room opened and the blond twitched hard enough to upset the cuts down his back. Because following the nurse was a group of people from their grade, led by Cartman, Stan and Kyle. Tweek also noticed Butters, Wendy, and Clyde among the gathered students. Oh Jesus! Why are they here!?

Kenny wasn't there, but then again, Tweek was pretty sure he and Craig had pushed the boy into the Jigsaw cutter. Or did I imagine that?

Though he couldn't twist his neck to look at him, Tweek could tell Craig had stiffed upon seeing the boys. Shivering hard, feeling his usual fear filling him, Tweek stared at the boys, waiting for the inevitable. Smiling, the nurse left, shutting the door behind her.

As the awkward silence stretched, Stan finally said, "Hey, you guys." Neither Tweek nor Craig responded. Shuffling a little, Stan asked, "How are you feeling?" HOW ARE WE FEELING?! Tweek wanted to scream. His hands twitched over the sheets but he forced himself not to pull on his hair, for fear of ripping out the stitches. YOU JUST MADE US FIGHT! I am covered in bruises and scrapes and I'm in so much pain and you ask how we're feeling!?

"AUGH!" he half-screamed, jerking hard to one side, sending his body back into spasms of pain. As his gut ached, threatening to leave him once again breathless, Tweek tried to relax, even as his body twitched harder. Why are they here! They're just stressing me out! I can't-

"Ugh," Craig muttered, his voice sounding hoarse. At the sound of those deep tones, Tweek could feel his incessant shivering slow somewhat and his heat rate return to normal beat. It confused him, because moments before Craig had been the one stressing him out, but now, he calmed the blond, just by being there. It took him back to their first attempt at fighting, and the way Craig had smiled at him before turning and saying to hell with the rest of the world.

Frowning, Stan shifted and said, "Well, uh…" Taking a deep breath, Stan looked between the two of them and admitted, "We just came by because we have something to tell you." Tweek's mind instantly leaped to the worst possible scenarios. OH GOD! I've been suspended for fighting Craig and now we're going to get expelled and my parents are going to put me in the back room mixing coffee blends forever! Or maybe this is all in my head and no one is real and I actually killed Craig!

As Stan put a hand on his shoulder, Kyle frowned slightly and said, "Yeah." Tweek wanted to scream at them to just get over with it but he couldn't make his throat work. "See, we got you to fight just 'cause we wanted to see who was the toughest." At those words, Tweek could feel his blood freeze. For a moment, he thought he was going to be overwhelmed by the news, but then he realized that this was honestly confirming his suspicions.

Moving closer to Stan, probably without even realizing he was doing it, Kyle continued, "We made up all that stuff we said to get you guys mad at each other." Tweek shivered. Craig never said a word about me that was bad, he never said a word. All those times he'd gotten upset, it had been for nothing. Except in the end, had he really fought because of any of that stuff? No, in the end, he'd fought for his own reasons.

And if he was honest with himself, he felt better because of it.

From beside him, Craig shifted. He didn't even need to look over, Tweek knew what the boy was doing. He could just picture him, middle finger raised despite the bruises on his knuckles and the stitches in his arms. It made him feel better, even though that relief was irrational. Fuck it, I'm already irrational the rest of the time, right?

"Yes," Cartman said gravely, looking so apologetic it was sickening. Tweek wanted nothing more than to hurt the boy, but at the same time, he felt that age old fear filling him. This was the boy that had caused him pain for years, who was he to think he could fight back now any better than he'd been able to before?

"You can flip us off, Craig," the boy continued. "We deserve that." Why are you even here?! GET OUT! But all he could do was twitch violently at Cartman's frustrating words. "We just came by to apologize." Putting a hand to his heart while he turned his eyes down dramatically, the boy said, "We feel so bad."

Tweek could feel the lies, it left him with spiders crawling over him, driving him mad. "Boy, do we ever," Kyle agreed fervently, not an ounce of regret in those cold emerald eyes. Shivering, Tweek shut his eyes and swallowed back the shriek tempting to escape him. You don't regret a thing! You'd do it again in a second, stop pretending like you wouldn't! I HATE IT I HATE IT MAKE IT STOP!

With a heavy sigh, Stan finished, "So, I guess we'll be going now." Tweek could feel Craig's irritation from where he lay and he was glad that the other boys were leaving. He didn't want the tall Noirette anymore upset than he already probably was. "And we'll just have to live with the knowledge that…" He grimaced and turned away, along with the rest of the gathered kids. "You're both kind of sissies."

"WHAT!?" Tweek squeaked, even as his bruised throat begged him to stop trying to talk. Craig echoed his sentiment, though his flat voice sounded almost incredulous. Sissies? But we just fought each other! We're in the hospital! JESUS WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ?! JUST LEAVE US ALONE!

Rotating back to face them, Stan raised his eyebrows as if confused with their reaction. "Well, I mean, that's what was on the news." OH GOD, WHAT WAS ON THE NEWS!? Forgetting his stitches, Tweek's hands jerked to his head and he tugged on his hair hard, causing the lump on the back of his head that had knocked him out to scream in pain.

In a voice that held just enough anger to be dangerous, Craig slowly asked, "What was on the news?" Tweek wondered where that rage was directed and prayed it wasn't him. He couldn't take any more of Craig's anger, not now. Pulling harder, he let out a moan of terror that the other kids ignored.

With a face that was too flippant to be believable, Cartman said, "Oh, you didn't see it?" When neither of them responded, he said, almost gleefully, "Oh. Tweek's family was on the news saying what a wuss you are, Craig." Tweek's eyes flew open at that, the bruise above his eyebrow unable to keep him from staring at the boys in fear. OH GOD, SHE WOULDN'T DO THAT! NO! Biting his already split lip, Tweek whimpered.

"Huh?" Craig asked, sounding disbelieving. STOP LYING TO HIM! Just shut up and go away, don't make this any worse. I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of Craig being upset with me, don't lie to him any more! Shaking, Tweek stared fearfully at the boys as Kyle nodded wisely.

"Yeah, and then Craig's family came on and said Tweek was the wuss." For once, Tweek didn't even bother contemplating if they were telling the truth, he knew from the crawling over his skin that Kyle was lying. Craig's cry of protest helped, letting Tweek know that he didn't believe it either. "And then Craig's mom punched Tweek's mom in the hooters."

"GAH!" Sick of them and their bullshit, Tweek struggled to get up despite his entire body telling him to stop. Taking his fingers out of his hair so he could ball them into fists, Tweek yelled in the general direction of the boys come to torment them, "You son of a bitch!" Then his spine spasmed with pain and he fell back to the bed with a whimper.

Groaning, Craig bit out, "I'm gonna kick your ass." He didn't even bother to move though, he just lay there, no doubt seeing how Tweek's attempt at movement had turned out and not wanting a repeat.

From the door however, the boy's seemed to be excited. There were several cheers and Stan called, "Come on, Tweek!" before realizing that they weren't actually going to move. They still want us to fight? Fuck them!

With a grunt, Cartman shrugged. "This is lame you guys, let's do something else." Without bothering to so much as say goodbye, the crowd left the hospital room, abandoning Tweek and Craig to another stretch of silence, this one definitely more pain filled than the last.

Tweek desperately wanted to just fall back into unconsciousness. The painkillers he'd been administered weren't doing quite enough and with Craig there, no doubt thinking over what the other boys had just said, Tweek wasn't sure he'd be able to take it. He was so sick of the silence and the pain, he wanted it to all be over. Twitching, he let out a soft cry of fear.

From the other side of the room, Craig shifted before letting out a stuttered cry of, "Sh-iitt, god!" Tweek twitched hard and half expected Craig to fall back into silence, but then, the unexpected happened. Something Tweek wouldn't have seen coming in a million years.

Craig spoke to him.

"I know they made it all up, okay?"

Unable to help himself from jumping at the sound of the boy addressing him and unable to make sense of the words while his mind was in the process of short-circuiting, Tweek gasped out, "GAH! M-made what up!?"Jesus, oh god, what is he talking about? WHY IS HE TALKING TO ME?! I BEAT HIM UP HE HATES ME! Even as his throat tried to keep him from speaking, Tweek cried, "Oh god, what did I do?!"

"All that stuff about you saying I ate shit," Craig said, as if Tweek wasn't currently panicking about the situation. His twitching rattled the bed slightly. Wait, so that's what they told him?! "I know they were lying." At the words, Tweek found something inside him release. That's what he's talking about.

"Y-you never called me a chicken!" Tweek blurted out. It came out unmodulated, he couldn't even begin to stop the words. Craig's own admission had loosened something in him. Feeling some of the fear drain away, Tweek continued, "They said you did b-but I know you'd never do something like that dude."

Craig was silent for a moment, as if contemplating Tweek's words. The blond shook slightly, but he still felt better. He didn't dare risk a glance at Craig, lest his injuries hurt more, but Tweek could just see the flat, unconcerned expression that would be buried under the bumps and bruises. Is that it? Is that all he wanted to say?!

"And you know that my mom would never punch your mom, right?" Craig started again, his voice softer than before. He sounded almost troubled, Tweek clenched his fists. Why are you upset? I don't get it, stop confusing me like this! "I mean, she can be mean," Craig hurried to say, his voice still halting. "But she'd probably punch me first."

Oh…

Swallowing hard, unsure what he was even supposed to say to that, Tweek finally breathed, "I –ngh- Never thought that she d-did." At those words, the tension in the air lifted, Tweek could almost feel it breaking. Managing a shaky breath, despite the pain it caused him, Tweek pushed out, "Y-you know, I didn't fight you cause of anything they said."

Craig snorted. Not quite a laugh, more rueful than anything. "Yeah, I had my own reasons too. They were just being assholes. They're always assholes." Tweek couldn't stop the odd giggle that escaped him. He hated the way he laughed, it sounded stupid, but Craig didn't mock him. Tentatively, careful not to hit anything that was severely bruised, Tweek twisted so he could see Craig.

His face was black and blue, but Tweek had been expecting that. The nurses had given him his hat back at some point, now it was squashed on his head haphazardly, likely more comforting in its presence than anything else. But what Tweek focused on was the small, barely there smile that pulled at the boy's lips.

In later years, Tweek would deny this moment. It would be one of those things that he buried down in the back of his mind so he wouldn't have to deal with it. Even as he thought it at that moment, he was in the process of denying it. In the end though it still happened.

At the sight of that smile, Tweek's heart leaped and a single thought crossed his mind. I want to always be the reason for that smile.

"Ggh- I'm sorry for being so paranoid and not b-believing that you didn't want to hurt me," Tweek said in a rush, his jaw clenching even as the words escaped. Turning his head, Craig faced him, and suddenly, those blue eyes were fixed on him with all that power and intensity they'd always had.

"I'm sorry for being such an asshole," Craig muttered, his eyebrows knitting together in the middle slightly. Tweek wondered if he was just imagining it, but he could have sworn he saw the words I'm sorry I'm such a monster, flit through Craig's gaze.

Mouth pulling up into a slight smile, even though it hurt, Tweek twitched and said, "I-it's not your fault." And it wasn't, and he believed it with every ounce of his being. Even his crazy bits believed it, all those demons that made him doubt himself, they all knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Craig Tucker wasn't a monster. And they knew that he never would be.

A silence followed, one where the Noirette simply stared at him, as if trying to understand what he was seeing. Under his gaze, Tweek twitched, but he didn't move. He just stared into Craig's eyes and tried to convey without words all that he'd finally understood. Letting out a huff of air, Craig put his head down and was about to say something else when he suddenly jerked and let out a hiss of pain. "Ah-hh~ Fuck, Tweek, you hit hard."

Another laugh escaped Tweek's mouth at that. Even as his lungs and bruised ribs protested him, Tweek managed, "Come on, y-you –ngh- you hit harder! What if you ruptured something?!" Wait, oh god, what if he did rupture something! WHAT IF I'M GOING TO DIE! Suddenly filling with panic, Tweek screeched, "OH JESUS! W-what if you burst one of my kidneys and they didn't find it and now I'm gonna die!?"

Craig scoffed in the face of Tweek's mortal terror. "I didn't hurt you that bad dude, you aren't going to die." WHAT IF I DO!? What if something punctured a lung and the doctors didn't find it and now I'm bleeding out internally as we speak? WHAT IF THE ALIENS SMELL MY FEAR AND COME TO EAT ME!?

"GAH!" Tweek yelled, his hands reaching up to tug on his hair. "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Suddenly, his back seized up and Tweek was prevented from further movement as he whimpered and tried to relax the pained muscle. He wasn't in any condition to be panicking, really, he needed to stop.

"You'll be fine," Craig told him calmly.

In the midst of the pain, Tweek found that to be perfectly honest, he knew that Craig was right. And in that moment, he was unbelievably glad that the Noirette was there.

"So…" Craig said, breaking the silence. "Have you ever watched Red Racer?"

In his twitchy and spastic way, Tweek answered.