(A/n: Taking a shot at a pet shop AU. I have never bought a pet before, I did some research but if I still got some things wrong don't hesitate to correct me and I'll fix it...along with errors if they are any.

Summary: Kenny has a heart of gold, both his friends and family knew this. But when he enters a pet shop, he finds out he's not the only one who's kind and generous.

Bleh summary I know lol Please enjoy)


Chapter 35: A Good Brother

A week. Karen's birthday is only one week away, and Kenny still doesn't have a gift prepared for her. Usually he'd always buy her sweets, since they're poor they don't have the luxuries of often eating junk food or food at all like the other kids do. After knowing which candies and desserts Karen favored the most, Kenny started only buying those for her. But now that she's a bit older the girl became quite sagacious and found out that he'd been spending his hard earned money on her, and she didn't like him doing that, although she was very thankful. Her being so solicitous gave Kenny all the more reason not to stop spoiling her on her every birthday, not even when they grow into adults will he cease.

Kenny is currently wandering through his hometown on a clement Spring day, racking his brain for an alternative present to give to his 13 year old sister. He'd gotten a few suggestions from his friends a week prior, such as throwing her a party (the least Kenny would be able to do is buy a cake), taking her out to eat (at a low-end restaurant) or celebrating her birthday at an amusement park. Kenny so wanted to do the last one, but unfortunately he's on a tight budget. He has the money to purchase the tickets - well not for the whole family, just the two of them - but Karen strictly told him that she wouldn't accept anything over ten bucks. If he couldn't find anything that went below that limit, then she was fine with only receiving a Happy Birthday and a hug from him. Kevin and their parents have been doing that to her for years now and to each other on their birthdays as well. Karen may be okay with the simple message followed by a heartfelt embrace, but Kenny isn't.

He understands that she set this regulation so that he didn't go overboard a second time, last year he bought her some new clothes and they were kind of pricy. They were a few cents over $40. He couldn't keep buying her unhealthy food that would not only eventually ruin her teeth, but also make her end up being fat like Cartman. They can't afford to go to the dentist, and Kenny wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if he were to had given her cavities as well as made her obese.

"How about getting her a pet?" A monotone voice speaks up in his head.

He stops walking, appearing contemplative. He would've long since bought Karen a pet had there not been two issues- one, is them being poor and the other is him being allergic to animals. How he came to know this was when he was 10 years old, when he'd thought to give his little sister a possum he'd found rummaging through a pile of trash near their bungalow for her upcoming birthday. At first, he assumed his fits of sneezing were due to it's filthy condition so he decided to give it a bath, catching the creature that was twice the size of his hands combined was difficult - even more so cleaning it. But even after he'd gotten rid of the grime from it's grey pelage, the itchiness in his nostrils didn't let up. Reluctantly he granted the possum it's freedom back, and with help from Kyle's big brain deduced that he was allergic to animals.

But despite that, today Kenny is going to fight through his hypersensitiveness. He'll get Karen her well-deserved birthday gift no matter what. He mentally thanks past Craig for the reminder and proceeds to walk again, this time with purpose. Several meters away across the street, he recognizes the store he's heading for: Fur and Scales, the thick capitalized letters individually colored pale green and white.

As he jogs over to the pet shop, he reaches into his pants pocket that exposes his kneecaps and pulls out a durable pale blue face mask, very glad that he brought it along. Animal fur isn't the only thing that agitates his nose amid this season. Slowing down his pace, he slips the mask on before going through the single sliding door. A warm air whishes pass him, blowing some strands of blonde hair. Various animal sounds - mostly belonging to dogs - reverberates throughout the small but wide store. Hazel eyes glance around as if they're viewing the horizon of a fantasy landscape, the teen's awestruck figure making it clear that this is his very first time coming into a pet shop.

A couple customers traversing around notice him but doesn't say anything, Kenny quickly forcing himself out of the entrancement. Fortunate that the mask is concealing the embarrassment lightly coloring his cheeks, Kenny moves further in. Right off the bat he doesn't know where to start, just like him Karen also adores animals, except she can hold and pet them benignly without having an allergic reaction at the mere smell of them. Lucky.

For now Kenny opts to just look around, maybe a suitable preference for his sister will strike him fancy after observing each and every animal. He tries not to linger in one spot for too long, but he can't help imagining himself fondling the furry animals he comes across. They're all so freaking adorable! Why must he be allergic to such loveable creatures? Just why?!

He then moves on to where the reptiles are being kept, which are at the back of the store. With a thoughtful knit of the eyebrows, he eyes a tank that housed a rather large snake, picturing Karen in possession of either a snake (not the one he's looking at), lizard or turtle. Hmm, he can see her having a turtle, they seem easy enough to take care of and are less likely to roam around the house.

Okay that's one potential pet down, but Kenny doesn't conclude his search there. There's still more animals that he has to take into consideration before he can leave. He stays in the reptilian segment for a few minutes, then wanders over to the aquatic area that's located on his left hand side a little further down.

...

"Excuse me?"

Kenny remains focused on a hamsters cage - the small chubby rodent occupied on a running wheel - until he feels two gentle taps on his shoulder. Flinching while stifling a startled swear word, Kenny whirls himself around to face the person who wanted his attention. It's a young man with neck length black hair and stunning sapphire eyes, a friendly smile plastered on his face. From his uniform alone Kenny can tell that he works here, he peeks at the name tag sticker stuck to the male's pale green polo shirt, his pants are white. Written neatly in black marker below the 'Hello, my name is_' is his first name: Stan.

"Would you like some help? You've been searching around for the past twenty minutes now."

Kenny is both flustered and shocked, he didn't realize that much time had passed. "Uh yeah, could'cha help me pick outta pet fer mah lil sister?"

It takes a moment for Stan to comprehend what the blonde asked of him, the face mask muffled his Southern drawl, making it a little hard to hear him correctly over the commotion in the background. "A pet for your little sister?" Kenny nods. "Sure, is there a certain type of animal she likes?"

Kenny scratches the back of his head. "Uh, aah think she lacs jus' about every one of 'em."

"I see," Stan hums. "How old is she?"

"13, gonna be 14 next week."

"Oh, were you considering getting her a hamster? If so, I highly recommend it. They're preferably the best choice for children around her age to have for they don't require too much to take care of them."

Kenny looks back at the cage, the slight creasing of his eyebrows conveying a small frown. "..." That's honestly relieving, he'd rather get Karen a cute little hamster than a turtle. But if he takes their living situation plus his allergies back into account, then...would it really be a good idea to procure her a hamster? No a pet in general? Karen hardly ever complained about being bored at home, her two older brothers kept her company and she sometimes hung out with her friends. So is it really necessary to get her a furry companion? Perhaps he should think this through for a few days, him wanting to get her a pet was a spontaneous decision anyways (Thanks to Craig). If it comes down to it, he'll conjure up another kind of present to bestow the girl before her birthday.

"Would you like to look around some more? I'll be happy to assist you if you'd like."

Kenny hesitates. The fact that Stan is willing to help him even though he'd been here longer than he needed to damn near makes it impossible for him to refuse. But he forces himself to decline the kind offer with the shake of his head. For once, he can't spend his money carelessly. He looks into the man's eyes, how are they so beautiful? They must be contacts. "Thanks but aah need ta think about it first." He walks pass Stan before the man can utter a word. "Aah'll come back again," he says as he makes his way out.


Kenny returns to Fur and Scales the following week, he has three days remaining until Karen's birthday. He did a lot of pondering, and came to the conclusion of asking Karen herself about the types of animals that interested her. Being subtle as possible of course. He'd only asked her two and a half questions, his third one got cut short when Karen started to become a bit suspicious of him. But her flippant answers to his previous queries were persuadable enough so here he is now, ready to buy her a pet.

Looping the elastic cords of his mask around each ear so that the cloth covers his mouth and nose, Kenny enters the pet shop, heading towards the section where the hamsters and other small rodents are stationed at. He spots Stan near a row of fish tanks, giving a family of four both his insight on the simplicities of caring for a fish and a sweet smile.

Inexplicably, this makes Kenny jealous and once he realizes this he becomes perplexed. He shouldn't be feeling envious of customers who receive Stan's captivating smile, for all he knows it's part of his job's etiquette. Quashing his selfishness with a huff, Kenny decides to kill some time by looking into a guinea pig's cage while he waits for Stan. Minutes later, someone approaches him.

"Hiya!"

This time Kenny swears, but manages to keep his voice hush as to not scare the animals similar to how the exuberant voice did to him.

"Ah, aah'm sorry, aah didn't mean ta startle ya."

Kenny looks beside him with the narrow of his eyes. Had it not been for the uniform Kenny would've mistaken this guy as a preteen, he only has a patch of blonde hair in the middle of his head and his eyes resemble the clear blue sky outside. They're pretty, but they're nowhere near as pretty as Stan's. But then Kenny sees the shorter male's name tag and acquires the urge to ask him if his parents really named him Butters or if that's just his nickname.

"Aah noticed you've been standin' here fer quite awhile," the oddly named employee states, flashing him a smile that has Kenny curious about his age. "Aah can help ya if you'd lac!"

The fact that both him and Stan practically said the same thing to Kenny must be a traditional phrase they were taught to say to customers in need. He should've figured this, but he can't help feeling disappointed deep down. "Actually, aah wanna look around a bit more."

Butters' expression droops to that of a saddened puppy. "Aww okay," but then he strains the smile back on his lips. "Whenever yer ready me an' Stan are available at any time." He walks away, slouching.

Damn, well now Kenny feels bad for turning him down. Having no choice but to move elsewhere thanks to his lie, he begrudgingly ambles out of the aisle. Not paying attention ahead of him, he bumps into someone that was passing by, they both stumble back but a pair of hands still him completely.

"Crap I'm so sorry."

Before Kenny can apologize as well, he catches a whiff of something that prickles the inside of his nostrils. Powerless to stop what's coming, Kenny instinctively raises an arm up to his covered mouth and sneezes, the hand jerks away from his other arm. Sneezing not once, not twice, but thrice, he hurriedly inches the mask back over his nose before he sneezes a fourth time. He sniffles then groans, his eyes watery. Through blurry vision, he makes out a dark haired figure standing before him, unable to see the slightly concerned frown on their face.

"Are you okay?"

Kenny wipes the wet blur away with another sniffle. "Y-yeah, an' sorry 'bout that," he says, slightly congested. Blinking his now dry eyes open, his heart nearly jumps up into his throat at the sight of Stan, frowning after his brief allergic reaction. Or could it be because he collided into him? Well either way Kenny doesn't like the awkward atmosphere surrounding them. "A-aah know what pet ta git."

Stan blinks, looking a little less worried now. "Is it a hamster?" Kenny nods. The smile that had Kenny confusedly desirous for only his eyes to see minutes ago graces Stan's features, and he beckons him to follow him towards an aisle containing vacant enclosures, first enlightening him on which hamsters are appropriate to take home. Kenny listens to him intently, something he seldom did in school. While they walk, Kenny finds himself drawn to Stan's profile, his lips moving animatedly as he rambles about the different breeds of hamsters and their behavior in certain environments as well as towards other animals. It's only when Stan looks at him, still talking, that Kenny averts his gaze elsewhere, nodding and humming every now and then to ensure Stan that he isn't just talking to himself. Throughout the corner of his eye, Kenny sees Stan's grin broadening in a pleased manner, then he faces forward. Witnessing that not only makes Kenny's face feel twice as hot, but his chest too. Thank God he's wearing a mask.

Once Kenny fathoms that not all hamsters are innocent little creatures, Stan asks him to choose a breed from the list he'd named that are fit for taking home. As they stop in the middle of the aisle that shelves cages of varying sizes on both sides of them, Kenny recalls one of the hamsters he looked at last week and picks that one, describing it in one word: round. Stan wastes not a second to disapprove his decision with the shake of his head- "That one is currently on a diet," is what he tells him and Kenny understands, though he initially thought the hamster was originally shaped like that. He doesn't want Karen to have a hard time with her pet straight away so instead, he chooses a Syrian hamster. Stan approves.

"Alright, now select a cage," the noirette says as he distances himself a few feet away from the blonde. "Since you're getting a Syrian hamster it has to be large and unfortunately, it will be quite pricey."

With a timid nod, Kenny surveys the big cages and their price tags, finding one based on Karen's favorite color (yellow) and seizing it. It's a little over $25, which exceeds his given price range, but it's fine. He's willing to spend that much for his sweet little sister, he just hopes she accepts it. Next, Stan takes him to another aisle where the animal supplies are kept, being nice enough to pick out and carry a sufficiently-sized running wheel, a water bottle, but takes a while until he finds a befitting packet of wood pulp bedding.

"Lastly, food." Once they start back walking, Kenny becomes conscious of the sound of their footsteps, they're loud enough to be distinguished over the noise all around them. Now he sees why it's just Stan and Butters working the place, they don't get many customers it seems. While they head over to where the pet rations are furnished - which is opposite of the aisle they were just in - Kenny spots Butters tending to one of the fish tanks, feeding them and smiling merrily all the while. Kenny seriously thinks he's like two or three years younger than him.

Stan stops them before three long shelves containing a variety of food and snacks for dissimilar species, and begins searching for consumables for hamsters. Kenny does the same.

"Hmm," Stan hums with a frown. "I wanna get you two packets of food pellets, but I don't wanna add more to your budget."

Kenny scoots closer to Stan to glimpse at the price, trying not to notice the close proximity. The food pellets are barely $5. But then he realizes something, and becomes extremely anxious. Even though he racked up some more cash over this past week, he's starting to doubt if he'll be able to afford all of this. They don't seem like they'll cost much, but then again he doesn't know how much the hamster itself will be, not his newly chosen one at least...

He's just going to have to wing it and hope he has enough, he's doing this for Karen after all. For her, he'll take the risk.

"It's fine."

Stan's frown deepens skeptically. "Are you sure? You can just settle for one, and once it's all gone you can feed it fruits and veggies."

If only they actually had all that at home. Kenny admires how thoughtful Stan is being, but reassures him that he can manage the additional price. Still appearing reluctant, Stan grabs two packs of food pellets and ushers him towards the checkout counter.

"Oh yeah," Stan says as he sets the items down on the counter, Kenny placing the enclosure next to them. "Can I get your age?" Kenny blinks, his heart starts beating a little faster. "Just to make sure you're not a minor that's going to pay for all these."

Of course that's the reason, why else would he ask that? "Oh, aah'm 18," that lie slipped cleanly through Kenny's teeth-err mask. He hopes Stan doesn't ask him for his ID otherwise he's screwed.

Thankfully that doesn't happen, Stan mentioning that he came here twice without his parents thus believing his fib wholeheartedly. Feeling a tad bit shameful, Kenny confirms his speculation with a mere nod of his head. What Stan doesn't know won't hurt him right? The black haired man then scurries off to retrieve a Syrian hamster, returning half a minute later with the animal cupped in both hands. He looks cuter than Butters when he was feeding the fishes earlier.

"This little guy is only $10.99, the cheapest one," Stan informs the blonde as he rounds the counter. He holds his hands out towards Kenny. "Would you like to hold him while I scan your items?"

The teen nods his head eagerly, he can touch animals but not inhale them. Extending his hands towards Stan's own, Kenny shudders when their fingertips touch then he awkwardly clears his throat. Stan lifts an eyebrow in amusement, but says nothing. The golden-furred hamster takes a barely noticeable step towards Kenny's awaiting hands, sniffing his fingers curiously. It's twitching nose and whiskers tickle him and he lets out a short laugh, then it crawls into his palms. Ogling the curious rodent as if it's the cutest thing he'd ever come in contact with, Kenny hovers it closer to himself and starts gently petting it. Stan can't help but think he looks like an infatuated child.

As Stan starts scanning then bagging four out of the five items into a single plastic bag, Kenny is far too enthralled with the hamster to watch the accumulating price. It's only until he hears the numbers being told to him that he diverts his attention away from the soft and fluffy animal in his hands, blinking at Stan's troubled face. Had he...heard him correctly? He would ask for him to repeat himself - just to hear his voice again - but he can see his total price up on the VFD customer display.

Wow, this is unexpected. He was worried for nothing, he can totally pay for this! And what's even better is that he'll have some money leftover. Balancing the hamster on one hand, he reaches into his back pants pocket for his wallet, lowering the hamster down on the countertop. He extracts the amount of cash required out of his wallet and hands the bills to Stan, who looks amazed and also relieved.

"Told ya it was fine," he says with an unseen smirk.

"Sorry I doubted you," Stan humors him, smiling as he puts the money into the cash register.

"Umm..."

After tearing out the receipt, Stan looks over at the teenager, who sheepishly averts his gaze elsewhere. He frowns quizzically. "Something wrong?"

Kenny rubs the back of his neck. "It's jus' that, well mah sis's birthday is three days away an' aah don't wanna bring all this home an' have her see it."

Stan knows what he's hinting at, even though his low-spoken words were somewhat unintelligible to make out from behind his mask. "Oh no worries, I can keep them here for you until then." Stan scoops the hamster up into his hands, to prevent it from trying to nibble on the plastic bag.

Kenny gapes up at him. "R-really?!" Stan nods, and from his attractive smile alone Kenny can discern that he was sincere. Kenny has to keep his smile to a minimum so he doesn't cause his mask to slide off his nose, but his eyes strongly portray his gratefulness. "Thanks so much!"

"You're welcome." Just as Stan puts the receipt into the bag, he hears Butters humming absentmindedly from the other side of the store. "Butters?" He calls out to his coworker.

"Yeah?"

"Come here please." Seconds later Butters is seen coming towards them. "Can you put this hamster back into his cage while I put all this in the back?" Stan asks him once he's closer.

Butters beams at the sight of the hamster. "Sure!" Kenny watches the zealous male stick out his hands, the hamster scurrying over to Butters as if he's an unsteady bridge thanks to his bouncing. After cooing and caressing the animal for some seconds, Butters turns to Kenny. "Hope ya don't mind if aah play with this lil fella."

He still feels bad for not accepting his assistance earlier so the least he can do is let him have his fun. "Go ahead." Butters lets out a pleased sound as he resumes pampering the hamster.

"Remember to put him in his cage," Stan reminds him, tying a knot on the bag.

"Aah know, aah know," Butters pouts childishly.

After grabbing both the cage and the plastic bag, Stan regards Kenny with a small smile. "See you again."

Damn, Kenny doesn't want to leave just yet, and Stan doesn't want him to either from the soft tone of his voice just now. Or at least that's how Kenny interpreted it. Unable to hide how disinclined he is to depart from them, from Stan, Kenny waves them goodbye and exits the building.


Kenny makes his third appearance at Fur and Scales that late afternoon. Today is Karen's 14th birthday, but from Kenny's giddy demeanor you'd think it was his birthday instead. Yes, a 17 year old still gets ecstatic whenever his birthday rolled around, regardless of the lack of gifts. He always appreciated his family and friends simply congratulating him on aging another year.

Entering the shop, his mask securely over his mouth and nose, Kenny instantly searches for Stan. It doesn't take him long to spot a head of black hair, the man standing in an aisle within the reptile section, he approaches him.

"Hey!" Stan's body jolts like he'd just gotten pinched, the abrupt movement doesn't faze a lizard with bright lime-green scales resting on his shoulder. Oops, did he sound too excited there?

Stan turns his head his way, giving Kenny a smile that makes his insides warm. "Hi, umm could you give me a minute?" He faintly nudges his shoulder that the lizard is perched on.

Kenny comprehends the gesture. "Sure."

Stan reaches into the tank, and his arms start moving as if he's rearranging things inside it. "You can wait by the checkout counter, and I'll bring your stuff out as soon as I'm done."

Kenny doesn't really want to be away from him. "Actually, while yer doin' that, can aah play wit it?"

Stan stills his arms, prompting Kenny to take the lizard. Stretching out a hand, the blonde beckons the vividly colored reptile to come over to him, but all it does is stare at him, occasionally sticking it's forked tongue out. It's not mocking him, is it?

"Looks like she's shy," Stan states with a chuckle.

Kenny knits his eyebrows in disbelief. "Doesn't look lac it." He tries again, inching his hand closer to the lizard, his middle finger just a mere inch away from poking Stan. But this time it scampers over to the noirette's other shoulder.

"Told you," Stan laughs, going back to what he was doing. Kenny's arm droops back to his side. "I'm just about finished," Stan then announces.

"K."

Diverse animal sounds start permeating the silence between the two males. Kenny's eyes remain glued on Stan, the older giggling whenever the lizard's tongue grazed his cheek. Kenny begins to wonder why he's drawn to him after only three encounters, is it because of his personality? He's a very nice guy, however Kenny doesn't know if he still behaves that way when he's off the clock. Like he assumed before Stan's affableness is probably a part of his job's protocol. Doesn't help Kenny's emotions since he's so damn good at it. He comes to the conclusion that he's probably not the only one to question his...attraction towards Stan if he's always like this to customers-

"Are you and your family going to throw your sister a birthday party?"

The sudden question surprises Kenny out of his thoughts, his mood plummets. "No, caint afford to."

Stan is quiet for a moment, unsure what to say. "Oh..." is the only word he can muster out.

"Yeah we're poor," Kenny elaborates with a sullen shrug of the shoulder, although he's not at all ashamed to admit it. They were worse off before, when him and Kevin were kids and Karen was a baby, but now they're doing a bit better. Both brothers can now contribute to earning money, and soon Karen will be able to as well. One day, they're efforts will pay off and they will be able to reside in a more stable house. The first step they achieved was buying clothes and shoes.

"Yet despite that," Stan utters as he gently places the lizard back into it's tank, he turns to Kenny with a frown on his face. He's not just looking at him out of pity, but also-"You've gone out of your way to buy your sister a pet as a birthday present." His lips then curl upwards into Kenny's favorite smile. "You're a really good brother." Admiration.

This isn't the first time someone's praised Kenny for his benevolence, but receiving a compliment from Stan...felt far more meaningful. "T-thanks," Kenny stammers, unable to look Stan in the eye. This guy never fails to reduce him to a shy schoolgirl.

Stan motions for them to head over to the checkout area, Kenny follows him with his heart hammering against his chest and butterflies in his stomach.

(A/n: I hope you enjoyed and the next chapter will be up soon)