Craig
"I swear to god Clyde," Craig muttered, flipping his best friend off as the boy cackled madly, his eyes alight with that juvenile glee that only a ten year old could manage. "If you make one more stick joke I'm going to lock you and Jimmy in a four by four room until one of you either dies, or gets eaten."
"OH MY GOD DON'T DO THAT -RRR- CANNIBALISM IS NO LAUGHING MATTER JESUS!"
"Ugh, I can't believe I'm related to you."
"Can we not kill my boyfriend maybe, please?"
"Bee, Clyde doesn't deserve someone as wonderful as you~"
"Hey! Not true, I'm the perfect-"
"Heids is right Baby, ditch his ass."
"NO!"
"Clyde, if you keep yelling like that, you're not going to help your case."
Craig rolled his eyes at the mixed bag of reactions and just ruffled Tweek's hair, calming down the shivering blond as the rest of the hiking party went back to chatting amiably, thankfully without any bad puns involved. "Don't worry, I wouldn't do that to him," Craig reassured Tweek, calming the boy down. "Besides, you know that Clyde would break down and cry before he actually ate anyone."
"I don't know if you could fit them in that small a space anyway," Tweek mumbled, his eyes trained on the ground. "You'd probably have to break a few funny bones first." Staring down at the blond for a second in surprise, Craig snorted bemusedly and pulled Tweek into a quick, one-armed side hug before letting go of him so he could grab a helpful tree to aid him in climbing over one particularly large outcrop of boulders. Turning to help Tweek only to find the agile boy was already ahead of him, Craig rolled his eyes and hurried to catch up with his blond.
"Okay, woah, no breaking bones," Annie chided, though she said it like it was routine to have to keep body parts from being subjected to destruction. "It's not his fault that his sense of humor is young, all guys are easily amused."
Tweek let out a screech of protest and Clyde whined in complaint, but Craig looked her dead in the eye and said, "Remember that next time a guy says you're funny."
"Craig, don't be an asshole," Token chided the boy softly, looking up from his field guide on Eagle's Peak so he could give the Noirette a skeptical look. Staring right back, Craig checked to make sure Bebe's parents weren't looking before flipping Token off. All his actions earned him was an eyeroll.
To be fair, he really was trying to keep his act together. For Bebe's and Clyde's sake if nothing else. They were all currently on the hiking trip that Bebe and her family had been planning for a week, so they all had to at least pretend to be civil. This was easier said than done of course, considering the fact that Bebe had invited Wendy, Heidi, Red, and Annie as well as the four boys and they didn't all exactly talk on a usual basis. So far, Craig supposed that it wasn't that bad, yet, though they'd hardly even started climbing and the girls had mostly ignored them up until that point. Perhaps when they got further up the mountain, it would start getting a little less pleasant.
Due to Mr. Stevens' ideas about preparation, everyone was carrying a backpack with food, water, and a blanket, plus other bits of things that they apparently needed. Tweek of course had added an additional metric fuck ton of things that Craig was pretty sure he wouldn't need, but at least the boy wasn't freaking out about everything. If it made the blond feel better, Craig supposed the added weight was worth it, though he was still inclined towards skepticism.
"So how long are we going to be climbing Mrs. Stevens?" Wendy asked from the head of the pack, one arm linked with Bebe and the other keeping a hold of the camera slung around her neck. Looking through the dense tree cover, Craig decided that whatever the answer was, it would be long enough.
Answering for his wife, Bebe's dad said, "Should be a full day of hiking, but we'll be breaking for lunch about halfway up. It'll be worth it in the end, trust me. I used to climb these mountains all the time when I was a child." Bebe's mom tittered and half sang a few words, something about cargo shorts, causing Bebe to turn towards the rest of them so she could pull a face, which made Clyde laugh and Heidi snort. Craig's attention drifted, and on instinct he caught Tweek's hand, even though the terrain was such that holding hands was a little impractical.
"So what plans do you guys have for the rest of the summer?" Heidi asked, as all of them maneuvered over a creek that was splashing down the mountain through its rocky cradle. "I mean-" She forwent hopping from stone to stone like the rest of the girls for simply leaping over the entire creek in one inelegant jump. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm entirely redoing my room this next month, so I'm going to have my hands full."
"My parents and I are going to Italy," Token said casually as he navigated the fallen tree that neatly spanned the creek.
"Oh my god, jealous," Annie called, giggling. "I think we're visiting my grandparents in Wyoming, as usual." Dropping Tweek's hand so he could jump over the creek, Craig watched as the blond scampered up the fallen tree that Token had used so he could dart across it.
"Henrietta and I are heading to a ghost town in Idaho Springs next week," Red threw in, stopping so she could adjust the tight braid she'd done her hair in. Walking over to where Tweek was struggling to get down from the log, Craig reached his hands out and was unsurprised when the blond all but launched himself at the taller boy. Catching him, Craig stumbled back a step, but didn't fall. "Apparently she thinks it'll be a great chance to reflect on the fleeting purpose of humans on earth and the inevitable degradation of… er- Something or other." Red shook her head. "I'm sure it makes sense to Etta."
As he set Tweek down and started after the others once more, Craig spared a few brain cells for what Red had said. The idea of his cousin hanging out with one of the Goth kids was a reality that was slowly growing on Craig, much like a malignant tumor. Honestly he didn't care one way or another, but it did make him want to roll his eyes, because all of those eyeliner-caked suicide risks were a little ridiculous just on principle.
While the other girls started whispering to each other, Craig turned towards Tweek and twitched and eyebrow up before miming a cigarette and mouthing Ugh, they're all such posers. His actions earned him a squeaky laugh, which to Craig was everything. That warm bubble in his chest only grew when Tweek attempted to yank his hair down over one eye then pull a surly, deliberately dead look. Snorting, Craig ruffled the blond's soft, very much un-goth-like hair, and informed him, "If you dye your hair black, you'll look like a porcupine dude, not a Goth."
"I c-can be dead inside if I want to be!" Tweek insisted, though he was grinning and wriggling in place of his usual neurotic twitch.
"Come on Teacup, you have to be all jaded and stuff to be a Goth," Clyde called, throwing back his shoulders as he laughed. "You know who would make a good Goth? Craig would make a good goth." Unimpressed with his friend, Craig broke off a small branch and closed one eyes so he could aim at the back of Clyde's skull. "He already thinks the world hates him, and he wouldn't even have to die his ha- OW!" Rubbing the back of his head, Clyde whipped around so he could give Craig a wounded expression.
Wendy gave a delicate sound. "I have no idea what you see in him Honey."
Bebe pulled a pout and crossed her arms. "Come on Wends, don't be so mean to him. Just because you and Stan are fighting right now doesn't mean you have to take it out on the rest of us."
"They're always fighting," Heidi commented to Token, irritably working her way over a difficult cleft of rocks before patiently helping Annie up. "It's so stupid. I think they should just break up already, but apparently I don't get to have a say because I've never had a boyfriend before."
"Though I'm hardly a psychologist," Token began, a characteristically thoughtful look on his face. "Wendy is trying to control Stan while simultaneously expecting him to do everything right himself. Their relationship just can't work."
"You see, why can't they just be like Tweek and Craig?" Annie asked, throwing her hands in the air as if in surrender. "I mean, at least they try to talk out their problems and they obviously care about each other, whereas-"
Tweek let out a shriek that was accompanied by Craig's glare and middle finger. "JESUS W-WE'RE NOTHING LIKE STAN AND WENDY!" the blond screamed, pulling at his hair with his free hand. Craig meanwhile just wondered, Why the fuck are they comparing us to Stan and Wendy, they're dating, Tweek and I are friends!
"Look it was an example don't take it personally," Annie dismissed, waving her hand as if their protests were ridiculous. "But you're absolutely right Token, I think that she'd be much happier if she just admitted that she wants to wear the pants of the relationship, because Wendy will never be happy in a traditional gender role."
Blowing out a disgruntled breath, Craig rolled his shoulders and chose to ignore them. Girls were weird. Even after dating Bebe for a month, maybe especially after dating her for a month, he was still absolutely convinced of this. Sticking behind the group with Tweek, not particularly caring to get involved in that particular conversation, the Noirette easily let the matter slip from his mind entirely.
Maybe years later, he'd look back and say that he should have paid more attention to that moment, but at that time, he simply didn't.
"So do you have any plans this summer?" Craig asked Tweek as the conversation the others were having moved on once again.
"Rrr- Not really," Tweek said, his eyes darting around as he talked. "I mean, m-my parents will probably make me work in the back room and stuff, but other than that we never really do anything." Frowning slightly at Tweek's words, having never liked the way his parents treated him a bit like a slave at times, Craig shrugged if off. Tweek's parents might have been crazy, but considering his own parents, he didn't really have room to talk.
"You can hang out with Clyde, Token and I," Craig told the blond easily, watching as he clambered up yet another steep rocky incline. Following him at a much more sedated and measured pace, Craig grabbed for cool, worn stone as he heaved himself up after Tweek. "Then you won't have to work as much."
Shivering as he waited for the Noirette to reach him, Tweek fussed with his hands before bursting out, "Jesus, th-that won't work! When it comes to the shop, they always know when I'm -grr- free." Pausing where he was crouched at Tweek's feet, Craig looked up and studied the boy. The little nicks on his hands that Craig knew he got from the work at the coffee shop, and the defeated slump of his shoulders that conveyed just how tired he was of the whole thing. Fucking assholes, putting a kid through that shit.
Needing to quell that sudden flare of bitter resentment that had welled up in his chest, Craig rose to his feet and reached out a hand, ruffling Tweek's hair gently. Under his touch, the boy at first dipped his head before leaning into the Noirette's hand, his twitching slowly slightly. As always when he played with Tweek's hair, Craig's own internal balance returned to its normal apathetic state and he was able to breathe normally again.
"I'll work with you then," Craig suggested, letting his hand drop so he could continue walking after the rest of the hiking party, which hadn't slowed. "It'll get done faster that way." Not that he'd enjoy working in that confined, almost miserable place, but if he was with Tweek, then it wouldn't really matter. It's not really work if Tweek's around, he'd make almost anything alright. Unfortunately, Tweek didn't seem to think about it the same way.
"Oh god, y-you don't have to man!" he yelped loudly, leaping back from Craig and shaking his head ferociously. When the Noirette opened his mouth to contradict the boy, Tweek gave him a wild look and tugged on his hair, even as he insisted, "It's my crazy f-family! Y-you shouldn't have to help! Why would you even -ghn- want to?"
Something about Tweek's words made Craig's insides twist in a way he hadn't expected. It wasn't because Tweek didn't believe that the Noirette would want to help, rather it was the way he'd said it. Unable to fully articulate why it had hit him like it had, Craig just squashed all of the emotions that he didn't feel like thinking about and let out a soft breath.
"Because dude, you're my friend." Deciding that this was answer enough, Craig resumed walking once more, and was rewarded by Tweek's hand slipping into his. Satisfied with this, the taller boy fell into the comfortable silence of Tweek's little involuntary sounds and the forest around them. It was a good feeling, that warmth that lingered around every interaction he had with the blond. Ever since that fantasy game they'd played had ended, Craig's entire world had brightened once again, and even everyday interactions like this left him with a bubbling contentment in his chest.
He might have worried about what that meant, but it was Tweek, so Craig knew it would be alright. I guess I've never had someone who I care about this much, and who cares about me too. It was a really good feeling, admittedly, and not one that he was used to. Sure, he was pretty sure his friends cared, and Ruby probably didn't hate him, but his parents didn't give two shits, and no one else did either. That had been fine, he'd survived perfectly well alone. At least this way, he didn't have to reach out to someone only to be hurt. He didn't have to think about how he acted or what he said, he didn't have to worry about people in general.
Except Tweek was different, he'd clung tightly to Craig and hadn't let go, even when the Noirette was an asshole, even when he made mistakes. Before this, Craig hadn't ever felt the necessity to care but Tweek had changed that overnight almost, appeared and hadn't left, no matter how bad things got. When Craig broke down, Tweek picked him back up and never treated him differently for it. In return, Craig didn't mind being the person that the boy leaned on when his own demons got to be too much.
Hell, he was glad that Tweek came to him. So what does that make me? Well, nothing good he was pretty sure, but he cared about Tweek. Unlike anyone else in his life, he really honestly cared. And as Tweek twitchily tightened his fingers around Craig's hand, the Noirette felt that ballooning joy in his heart get that much bigger. Even though it didn't show on his face, internally, Craig couldn't have been more happy. I don't think I deserve something this good, but I'm a selfish bastard, and I'm not about to let it go.
Then again, most people didn't really deserve something this good, and Craig was perfectly happy to keep Tweek close to him for as long as the boy would let him.
So lost in thought was he, that Craig hardly even noticed Mr. Stevens calling ahead of them, "I think this is a good place to stop for lunch! Let's break and take some time to enjoy the great outdoors, yes?" Pulled out of his own mind but Tweek's insistant tugging of his hand, Craig glanced down at the blond, processed the words that had been said, then reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. Snorting, he pulled several twigs out of Tweek's golden mane, and tossed them away without saying anything. He'd just worry about there being something on them.
"Oh man, I feel like I've been climbing for forever," Clyde exclaimed, flopping down on the ground so he could lean against the large rock that Bebe had taken root on. Head falling against his girlfriend's legs before he jerked it back and shot a quick look over at her parents, the brunet glanced over at Craig and Tweek, before asking, "How long has it even been? It feels like it's been a year or something."
"It hasn't been that long," Token informed the boy, taking the time to spread out the blanket that Mr. Stevens had included in all of their packs over his chosen stump before sitting down. "We've only been climbing since nine this morning."
"To be fair, my dad did choose the long trail," Bebe admitted, laughing lightly. "It's a long way up."
"I'm sorry your boyfriend is such a wimp," Wendy told Bebe, patting her on the arm. Rolling her eyes at the girl's comment, Bebe turned and smiled brightly at Craig before focusing on Tweek.
"How are you doing Tweek? Having fun?" Jumping at Bebe's words slightly, the blond boy only spent a second glancing up at Craig before focusing on the smiling girl before him.
"It's been pretty okay," Tweek said very quickly, shivering slightly. Managing a tentative smile to answer Bebe's, the boy continued, "Actually, it's -rrr- really fun. I've never been so far out of South Park, and jesus, it's not even that far! But it's really pretty and stuff." Shuffling his feet, Tweek fell silent. Using this opportunity to his advantage, Craig pulled the blond over to where Token was sitting and nudged Tweek down onto the fallen log that was beside his black friend.
"I can't believe we managed to convince you to leave your guinea pig behind for this long," Red commented, helping Annie spread her blanket at Wendy's feet so she could uncaringly tossing her pack off of her shoulders and flop to the ground. "I wasn't sure if you'd start having seizures or not."
Flipping off his sarcastic cousin, Craig shortly said, "Leave Stripe alone." Clyde laughed at that, but Tweek let out a distressed sound.
"Jesus, it w-wasn't like we could take him, w-what if he got lost?" Tweek insisted, shivering. "Besides, what could happen to him while we're away?" Suddenly, he jerked violently and screeched, "Oh god, what if he dies while we're gone? What if he gets hurt? Do guinea pigs g-get hurt?!"
"It's going to be fine, Ruby is taking care of Stripe," Craig informed Tweek calmly, before carefully extricating the panicking blond from his overly large bag. Once he'd freed him of it, Craig pulled off his own bag. Shifting closer so he could wrap his arm around Tweek's shoulder, a position that had changed slightly since the blond grew a little, Craig caught his gaze and held it, staring into those sparking green eyes until the boy stopped shaking quite so hard. Softly, he evenly reminded Tweek, "Stripe was fine when we left dude, he's not going to suddenly drop dead."
"Well, with his two dads looking out for him, he'll be lucky if he doesn't get smothered to death with love," Heidi quipped, nudging Wendy aside so she could sit next to Bebe. As the three girls attempted to navigate the rock, which really was only built for two, Bebe started to go over backwards off the other side of the rock. Letting out a yelp, Clyde awkwardly shot up and caught the falling girl in his arms, ending with them both landing in a heap on the leaf strewn ground.
"Careful~" Bebe's mother called, though she hardly seemed to mind that her daughter was sprawled out on top of her boyfriend. Bebe's dad however seemed irritated, and the moment Clyde caught sight of that, he was scrambling up and helping set the girl on her feet.
"Oh my god Bebe, you're such a clutz," Annie giggled, before whipping out her phone and snapping a picture of Clyde and Bebe before the girl could quite get her wherewithal together.
"Come on, not fair!" Bebe protested, turning pink as Annie fell into a fit of soft laughter.
"That's adorable," Red informed Annie, snorting.
"I guess they're cute," Wendy muttered, a grudging smile appearing on her face.
"I still can't believe you managed to fall off the rock," Heidi said, sliding down off of her perch so she could make sure that her friend was alright.
Blandly, without even looking up, Token said, "I guess you could say she really fell for him."
Loudly, Heidi cackled, followed by Clyde staring at Token in shock and Bebe softly chiding, "Close your mouth Babe, you're going to let the flies in." With a strangled sound, Clyde closed his mouth and leaned his head against Bebe's shoulder so he could sort of make several whimpering sounds.
Craig, for his part, just rolled his eyes as Tweek gave a high-pitched laugh. That managed to provoke a smile from Craig, who addored those small squeaky sounds of mirth that seemed to come from Tweek without the boy's permission or control. His whole family snorted when they laughed but Tweek just giggled, and Craig smiled because it meant that the boy was happy.
As the conversation moved on, Craig turned around and started digging through Tweek's bag for the coffee thermos that he was sure the boy had packed. Just as he'd suspected, there were two full thermoses of coffee at the top of the bag. Freeing one and passing it to Tweek, Craig dug around a little more out of curiosity before finally giving up and closing the back. The blond had packed enough to survive the apocalypse by his reckoning, but had he expected anything less?
His thoughts were interrupted as Clyde slid onto the log next to him with Bebe, who was still laughing and playfully arguing with her friends. "Man, I haven't been outside this much since the game ended," Clyde commented, grinning when Bebe patiently passed him a sandwich from her own bag before taking out one of her own.
"Oh my god, don't even bring that thing up," Annie complained, rolling her eyes. "I never want to have to think about that disaster again. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get zombie goo out of my clothes?"
"Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it out of my hair?" Heidi countered, rolling her eyes. "It really wasn't that bad, I mean, Cartman's idea was pretty good, it just didn't end well."
"Honey, nothing Cartman creates is good," Wendy chided, carefully eating her sandwich without dropping so much as crumb.
"As much as you want that to be true, you're not being entirely fair," Token commented, fixing Wendy with a knowing look. Despite his long friendship with the boy, Craig would never be able to quite decipher the looks the black boy tended to give people nor, he suspected, did he want to. "The fact that they managed to create such a complex game that worked was pretty impressive."
"It was s-so dangerous though!" Tweek squeaked, his eyes wide. "There were aliens and zombies and jesus, that's so much pressure!"
Nudging the boy in the side, Craig calmly reminded him, "You handled them fine dude." As Tweek's jittering slowed, Craig took the time to grab one of his own sandwiches and started eating. This was fine, he decided as everyone kept talking about the game and Tweek just leaned against him and drank his coffee. Honestly, this is what summer should have been, he was convinced of it. Tweek and the rest of his friends, just having fun. Just hanging out.
At some point, Tweek ended up getting caught in a discussion with Token, Annie and Wendy and Craig found himself almost drifting off, resting his head against the blond's and letting his mind go. The remainder of his sandwich had been tucked back into his pack, and his hat had been pulled down to keep the sun from his eyes. Around him, the others were messing around. Bebe had ended up on Clyde's shoulders at some point, and Red and Heidi were chasing them. Shrugging it off as their usual stupidity, Craig just allowed his eyes to slide closed as the warm air lulled him to sleep.
The next thing he knew he was being nudged awake by Tweek. Though he couldn't tell how much time had passed, no one had gotten ready to leave. Heidi and Red were both sitting on the log opposite now, allowing Annie to braid their hair, and Token was reading. Glancing down at Tweek, Craig raised an eyebrow.
"What's up?" he asked, straightening and stretching with small, controlled movements. Twisting his neck around, Craig flatly asked, "Where are Clyde and Bebe?"
"Oh, they were still over there somewhere," Red said dismissively, jerking her thumb to the side. Catching Tweek's soft involuntary squeak, the Noirette bumped up against him, drawing some of the natural tension out of the boy's body.
"Wanna go look for them?" he asked Tweek softly, looking off into the admittedly tangled tree cover as if he might see a flash of golden hair or Clyde's bright blue and red jacket.
"Ngh- are y-you sure?" Tweek asked dubiously, shivering. "W-what if we get lost?"
"We can take our packs," Craig reassured the boy flatly, ruffling his hair absently. "It's not like we'll go far. But someone's got to find those idiots." He didn't completely trust Clyde's sense of direction, and even though he didn't exactly have a stellar internal compass either, he knew it was better than his friend's. Probably.
"You two will be fine!" Bebe's mother called, waving one manicured hand in their direction. "It's not like this mountain is that big."
"It's big enough that it could take us days to find you if you were to get lost," Token told the two of them, his nose still buried in his book.
Tweek's hands flew to his hair. "OH GOD NO!"
"But if you walk up, you'll get to the top, and if you walk down, you'll get to the bottom." Closing his book so he could look up at them, Token said, "It's hard to get particularly lost on a mountain unless you're stubborn."
"We won't get lost," Craig said firmly, still running a hand through the blond's hair in an attempt to ameliorate the panic Token's words were causing him. "They couldn't have gone that far."
"Okay," Tweek mumbled, pressing himself against Craig's side for a moment before jerking upright and scrambling to reassemble his pack. Following suit, Craig zipped up his significantly smaller bag and slung it over his shoulder. Tired of watching Tweek struggle to do the same, the Noirette stepped forward and helped the boy get the overweight bag onto his own back.
"That thing is going to crush you dude," Craig told him, his eyebrows climbing upwards.
"B-but I need it!" Tweek insisted, clutching the straps. "You don't know what's going to happen, anything could happen! You have to be prepared for everything." Staring down into those wide, earnest eyes, Craig let out a breath and ruffled Tweek's hair.
"Well, if something happens, you'll be able to help," Craig said evenly. Instantly, Tweek's eyes lit up and the Noirette sucked in his cheeks as that brilliant green almost blinded him. Huffing, the boy put his chin down to hide the weird warmth that chose to creep over his cheeks at that moment, pulling his lips into a smile without his permission. How the hell does he do that to me? Well, it was Tweek, so what couldn't the blond do to him?
"Have fun you two!" Annie called, waving her hand at them as they started in the direction that Bebe and Clyde had disappeared to. "Look out for bears."
"Shut up, there aren't any bears!" Heidi scolded.
"There are manbearpigs though," Token reminded them, already back to his book.
"I thought they killed those!" Red protested.
"Well, what I heard was-" Rolling his eyes, Craig found Tweek's hand and pulled the blond into the trees, his eyes peeled for the familiar colors of his friends' clothing. As the sounds of the others faded into the background at an almost alarming rate, Craig quickly found his perspective broadening as he listened for anything that might hint at Clyde or Bebe. He hadn't been particularly serious about looking for them, it had more just been an excuse to stretch his legs and take Tweek with him, but he figured that since they were out there, they might as well look.
"W-what if something happened to them?" Tweek asked, his free hand bouncing spasmodically. Perhaps if Craig hadn't known the blond so well, he would have been annoyed by how quickly the boy lost faith in his circumstances, but he knew Tweek. It wasn't his fault that he was always nervous, it was just his nature, something in his brain. Over the past year, he'd learned how to work around it, and he felt like they were both better for it.
So he just squeezed Tweek's fingers and said, "Then we'll fix whatever shit broke." Maybe not the best answer, but it seemed to calm Tweek down. Looking around, Craig found himself asking, "So what did your parents think about letting me work with you at the coffee shop?"
Twitching hard, Tweek admitted, "Jesus, I n-never even asked them." Biting his nails, the boy continued, "They would probably forget man, and ack! I don't want to have to go through that m-more than once! What if they realize you're too young? What if they think I'm weird for hanging out with you then? What if they lock me in my room and I never get to see you again?! I couldn't handle that!"
Craig bumped up against the blond. "They wouldn't do that." Taking deep breaths, almost like by doing so he could make up for the fact that Tweek's were always rushed and short, the Noirette continued, "At worst, they'll realize that you're not old enough to work, and then you won't have to help out there as much."
"If I don't help, m-my dad will sell me as a slave," Tweek confided, his eyes staring at the ground. Fuck… Craig wasn't even sure how he was supposed to respond to that, so he didn't. He just reached over and gently patted the boy's head. Even though he wasn't shaking or twitching terribly, Craig knew that it would calm him down, and so he just went with it.
"I wouldn't let them do that," Craig assured the blond. "I could hide you in my bed, and they'd never even think to look for you there." Lifting his hand as Tweek's head snapped upwards, Craig found himself caught in those wide, hopeful eyes that just held too much emotion to understand and he couldn't pull himself away. All he could do was blink back, as calmly as ever, even though his insides were doing weird things.
"Are you sure th-they wouldn't be able to find me?" Tweek asked nervously, his bottom lip trembling slightly. "B-because my dad told me that even if I hid, he'd always -ghn- be able to find me and he wouldn't let me escape! I don't want to get locked in the basement!" How long has he had to live with that fear? Fuck, I hate that he's had to go through things like that.
Pausing abruptly, halfway up an outcropping of rocks, Craig turned so he could pull Tweek against him in an awkward hug that sort of smushed the blond's face against the Noirette's chest. "I wouldn't let them find you," he told the boy, his words slow and methodical. "And if they did, I'd come and let you out of the basement. And if they sold you, I'd find you and I'd bring you back."
Even though he didn't answer verbally, Tweek reached up and snaked his shaking arms around Craig's torso so he could cling to the boy tightly. Satisfied with this, the taller boy just took that moment to rub the back of Tweek's head and try to tell him without words that he would never let him go. Because if there was one thing that Craig had realized over this year, it was that the one thing he'd actually really miss if he lost was Tweek, and the blond was the one person that he couldn't replace.
Tweek's monsters could just try and fucking take the blond, Craig would be ready for them.
Abruptly, Tweek let out a giggle. "I thought we were s-supposed to be looking for Bebe and Clyde." Pulling back, Craig raised an eyebrow at the blond's words, but snorted and finally let him go anyway.
"Probably," he admitted, looking around and letting out a breath. "They're probably close by. Come on." Starting back up the rocks, Craig kept walking, Tweek hurrying after him.
Despite how easy he'd initially assumed finding his friends would be, Craig quickly started to realize that it wasn't as simple as he'd originally thought. All the trees kind of looked the same, and even when he and Tweek called for them, their voices were frustratingly muffled. It didn't really worry him, but he could tell that it was taking a toll on the blond, who was getting progressively more and more jumpy by the moment.
When Tweek said, "M-maybe we missed them!" for the third time in as many minutes, Craig finally decided that it was a lost cause finding his friends. Shit, at this rate they're probably already back at the campsite. Well, at least he'd gotten to spend time with Tweek, so it wasn't like this was a total failure.
Blowing out a breath, Craig muttered, "Yeah, I guess." Turning around, the Noirette shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess we should just head back. They're probably waiting for us."
"Okay," Tweek agreed at once, latching onto the sleeve of Craig's hoodie just like he used to do. It made the boy smile, even though he knew it meant the blond was on edge. Though he was careful not to let it show, Craig was perturbed as well. The forest had him turned around, and despite Token's comments that the fact it was a mountain should make it easier, Craig was starting to feel a little lost. Nevertheless, he pressed on, plodding back towards the rest of their party.
Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt like it was getting darker.
"What do you want to do when we get to the top?" Craig asked, half to distract himself, half to distract Tweek.
"Not fall off, jesus!" Tweek exclaimed, shaking his head. "Rrr- I mean, I'm not scared of heights but you never know man! What if something happens and someone knocks into someone else and th-they just fall off? What then?!"
"I think they'd just sort of roll down," Craig mused, wondering if there was a cliff at the top or just another slope. "They'd live."
"Oh god, I hope so," Tweek said fervently. Tugging on the Noirette's sleeve, Tweek asked, "S-so what would you do?"
Silently, Craig wondered what it would be like to stand at the very edge and hold his hands out. Maybe he could sail away into the sky, become part of the stars. Or maybe he'd just crash back down to earth. He wasn't sure, and he didn't have the courage to find out, not really. Besides, the thought vanished as fast as it had come. "I think I'd want to wait until it got dark, then I'd stare at the stars," Craig admitted, a slight smile pulling at his lips. "I could stare at them with you."
"That would be pretty cool," Tweek agreed, shivering. "I like looking at the stars w-with you." Those words, however simple, turned Craig's insides to mush. No one else that he'd shown the beauty of the night sky to had ever really… cared. Token and Clyde had just gotten bored, and his sister had told him he was stupid, but Tweek somehow got it. He didn't have the same obsession, but he still understood why Craig loved it, and he was willing to love it too.
Just another reason why the blond was perfect.
Slowly, the words sort of coming to him as he said them, Craig started, "You know… The stars have always been bright, but when I look at them with you… I don't know, I think they're brighter, somehow." Realizing how stupid he sounded, Craig tugged the brim of his chullo down over his forehead, and mumbled, "Nevermind I sound like a fucking idiot."
"No, I get it!" Tweek blurted out, his hand catching Craig's wrist. "I mean -ngh- not with the stars, b-but with everything else, when you're around, the shadows aren't as dark."
Staring at the blond for a long moment, Craig finally said, "If they ever feel dark, you can just come to me, and I'll make them go away."
Grinning, twitching slightly, Tweek squeaked, "W-well if I'm with you, your stars can make all the shadows go away, and then we w-won't have to worry about them at all."
As his breath was stolen by the boy's words, Craig found himself unable to say anything except for, "Okay." Struggling to process the emotions flying through him, the boy finally just pushed them out of his mind and just kept walking, pulling Tweek after him.
Even though he hadn't thought they'd gone very far when they were looking for Clyde and Bebe, Craig started to feel like they'd been wandering for a long time without finding their friends. And yeah, the sky was definitely getting darker, even if it wasn't much. It made him feel uncomfortable, realizing that he had no idea where they were and he was going on blind faith that they were actually headed towards the campgrounds at all. If they weren't then he would have no way of knowing.
As if picking up on his uncertainty, Tweek twitched and asked, "D-do you know where we are?"
Clenching his jaw, Craig pulled his chullo down and muttered, "Yeah." Don't freak Tweek out, then things will be even harder.
"B-because I don't recognize any of this." Shivering beside Craig, the blond insisted, "Craig, I d-don't think we're going in the right direction."
"Of course we are," Craig countered, shaking his head as if the idea that they weren't was ridiculous.
"Jesus, I th-think we're lost," Tweek whimpered, tugging instantly at Craig's hand.
"We aren't lost," Craig pushed back, more irritated with himself than anything else. Trying to keep his voice as free of frustration as possible, Craig evenly said, "We're headed right back to where we started." The words had hardly left his mouth when the ground started to vanish out from under his feet and Tweek yanked him back, keeping the Noirette from tumbling into the creek that was rushing down the side of the mountain. Blinking at it, Craig's first thought was, Where did the creek come from?
"Craig…" Tweek's voice was shaking. "W-we never crossed over a river before."
"Well," Craig mumbled, turning around in a slow circle as he looked at the absolutely foreign patch of trees they were mired in. "I think we might be lost."
Shit…
