Love is hard.
That sentence resonated with Craig Tucker for multiple reasons.
For one, it was hard enough with just one person. Communication was admittedly a bit of a weak point between he and Tweek, both teens not being very good with it. Though they had somewhat of a non-verbal communication, they could never really properly talk about things. Admittedly, this lead to a few problems. Like when Craig would do something that would bother Tweek and not pick up on it, but Tweek didn't have it in him to say anything. Or when Craig couldn't figure out how to bring up things that needed to be brought up with Tweek.
But he could deal with shotty communication. It's not like he'd be much better with somebody else, so ultimately, it was perfect the way it was. He could handle a little lack of proper communication, and he could handle when Tweek doubted his love in the past. He could handle all of Tweek's struggles and his own, no matter how hard it got, because he loved him. To Craig, love meant struggles, and sacrifices, that were all okay because you loved the person.
But love was really hard, when it came to loving more than one person. Especially when that other person is the person you'd call your best friend. Well, right after Stripe, that is.
The struggles of figuring out what the hell was going on sucked. It was fine when one tattoo was the platonic tattoo of his best friend, and the other was Tweek's- a romantic one even all the way back in 7th grade. But when that platonic one was suddenly more than platonic, in a way he only figured out after his confused feelings were clarified in a dream, shit got confusing.
It was a totally new concept to Craig, to love more than one person. But fuck if it wasn't what he was experiencing. He knew he still loved Tweek- fuck, he loved him to no fucking ends. He'd do anything for him- except, maybe, give away Stripe. If Tweek were allergic to guinea pigs, he'd just have to stay out of his room until Stripe died. But he also loved a second person, he was sure of it.
He spent a long time dwelling on it, and he still had said nothing. With the help of the internet he'd discovered a name for what he was- polyamorous. It was a thing a lot of people were, it wasn't rare or anything. And with that new label- that nobody really knew he was but him- he tried to figure out what to do.
Poor lack of communication skills made him hesitate to ever tell Tweek what he was, especially when he remembered Tweek's past doubts of his love.
If anybody asked, the odd assortmant of what mildly looked like X's and T's, or like a blind person had tried to draw an astertisk, was platonic. It had been there since grade school, everybody knew about it. They knew about it because he had gotten mad when Clyde didn't have his tattoo, as if he had some sort of control over it.
Nobody had control over the tattoos.
Nobody had control over who they loved.
"C-Craig?" The shaking ball of fluffy hair that now stood still under Craig's arm brought the teen back to reality.
"I-I don't want to b-be in the – aAAH- the HALL anymore-" He spoke as quietly as he could, although still basically being in the midst of an attack didn't really allow him to be quiet. Oh god, it must've been so hard for him to say that. He was bad at saying what he wanted at all, let alone during or right after an attack.
"Alright, sorry about that," Craig murmured, gently squeezing Tweek's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, before leading him to the classroom they'd already been headed to.
The teacher in this class fully understood Tweek's need to get away sometimes, and stayed in the room during his free hours in case the blonde needed to come in to calm down. The door was always unlocked, and room 203 had become like a safe haven to both boys.
Gently, Craig opened the door, causing Mr. Wyland to look up at the two.
He smiled gently and stood up, picking up his food. Without a single word, he passed slowly by the two boys as they shuffled in, giving them a small nod as a greeting before leaving and shutting the door behind him.
Such an understanding teacher- South Park needed more people like Mr. Wyland, in Craig's opinion.
Quickly, Tweek slipped out from Under Craig's arm, rushing to the corner desk he'd essentially claimed as his safe space.
Craig had learned the hard way that this meant Tweek needed space, but not to be alone. The first time it'd happened, Tweek hadn't said anything- often times he'd go entirely non-verbal, until he calmed down- and Craig had left him alone in the room. He came back to the poor guy having a total meltdown in the corner, disassociating and screaming at any physical touch. It took him an extra 3 hours to calm down after nearly half an hour of that.
Not sure how much space Tweek needed- Craig was never quite sure- Craig sat on Mr. Wyland's desk, careful to avoid any papers. He may be a dick, but he wouldn't sit on any of Mr. Wyland's shit. Some other teachers, sure, but not this one.
It was nearly 10 minutes later- way too close to the time the bell rang to get in any actual conversation- that Tweek spoke up.
"C-Craig,"
The raven looked up from his phone, having been reassuring Clyde that everything is fine, letting out a questioning hum.
Tweek motioned for the younger teen to come closer, which he did, gently grabbing Tweek's hand and placing a gentle kiss over his own symbol as was habit.
"I-I love you," Tweek whispered, knowing full well that there was only a small chance Craig would say it back. He'd started saying it in 10th grade, because he really did love the boy with the chullo hat. Craig rarely said it back, which was actually part of the reason he doubted Craig's love so much in the past. It's not like he was emotionless, despite oddly popular belief. He was just, that bad with communication. He was awkward about the word, especially after hearing the occasional "I love you" come from his parents being replaced with constant screaming matches. He was bad when it came to love, was all. And Tweek understood it now, and cherished those rare times Craig said the words even more.
"I love you, too." Craig murmured, mouth still pressed against Tweek's wrist.
He brought Tweek's wrist away, still holding his hand. He turned his hand so he was displaying the symbol to Tweek.
"I love you. And this is proof."
He ran the fingers of his free hands over Tweek's wrist. "And this is proof you love me."
Tweek smiled gently, knowing his boyfriend did this to reassure himself they'd never be like his parents. He knew they wouldn't, they couldn't end up like them. They still loved each other.
They didn't have any other romantic symbols.
"You okay now?" Craig asked, looking up from his symbol to Tweek's face.
"Yeah," The blonde pushed himself off his position on the desk, now standing next to the taller of the two, moving his hand so the two were intertwined, gently squeezing Craig's hand.
"Good," Craig leaned over and kissed Tweek's cheek, just as the bell rang.
"Let's go."
Ugh. I had some of this written and then I lost it ALL. Really discouraging. I got really upset because I'm a crybaby.
Also this is very, very far from the word count I wanted. I honestly just wanted to delve into the Creek part of the story, and I kinda lost the train of thought I had when writing it the first time, soo.. yeah. Sorry. I'll try and get a third chapter out sooner!
Guest Review Replies
S: Thank you very much! [Heart]
Guest: I'm so glad you like the idea of C4 0u0 if you want to read more, I highly suggest Reposhillo! Their C4 fic Bad Day Equals Tacos and Cuddles is actually what inspired me to start writing a C4 at all. Somehow this glorious ship never came to mind before!
I don't think I can say much about your theory without spoiling some part of this or something, since I have a few things planned out now, but I do like your theory!
Guest: Ah, thank you so much! As I said above, check out Reposhillo!Really Lovely C4 Fanfictions. uwu
oAo: Thank you so much! I hope you enoy this chapter, sorry it took me forever to get to!
Thanks to CreeperKiller55, S, AnnMarie3711, prettydeadboys, deliciouslykawaiiphantom, and all 4 Guests for the reviews!
Extra shout out to Reposhillo- check out their fics! (Originally this was a shoutout to their 2nd most recent C4 fic, but it took me a long time to get to this.)