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Chapter 7: LOVE - Part two
======Craig's POV======
"At least Thomas is useful for something." I say to Kyle, as I stealthily peek over my shoulder at the nurses station where Thomas is currently in the middle of reconnaissance. The plan is simple, find out Tweek's room number, and sneak me in to see him.
"He can be rather charming when he needs to be." Kyle agrees. The nurse Thomas is chatting up is a pretty middle aged blonde women, not exactly Thomas' type, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.
"So when you talk to Tweek, I recommend you lead with, I'm an asshole, but I'm in love with you!" Kyle says with a grin.
"Dude, fuck you!" I flip him off.
"It worked on me." Kyle says with a blush, while eyeing Thomas happily.
"So that's what he wrote in the card?" I ask, and Kyle nods, his grin growing bigger.
"My parents want me to study law, and I want to learn to surf, so am I crazy to be considering UCLA? That way we all get what we want." I can tell Kyle isn't really looking for an answer, he's just mulling it over, but since UCLA is in California, this has Thomas' influence written all over it.
"This was Thomas' idea?" I decide that I need to intervene. Thomas always moves too damn fast. I don't want Kyle to get caught up in his pace.
"Yeah, it was his idea, and he keeps bringing it up, but I haven't told him my decision yet." Kyle's smile drops away. "He thinks that I'm in love with Stan."
"And you are." I tell him, because he is.
"Yes, I'll always be in love with Stan, and Stan will always be in love with Wendy. Stan knows how I feel, but he pretends that he doesn't notice, because that makes his own life easy. Do you want to know why I knew that Tweek's gift was a ring box? It's because Stan forced me to go along with him when he picked out a gift for Wendy!" Kyle looks a little teary, so I pat him on the back uncomfortably. I guess I'm still not good at these heart to hearts.
"But, Dude, I have so much fun when Thomas comes to town, and I'd like to see where this might go. It just sucks that he's such a fucking player. How can I take him serious when he screws around so much?"
"Maybe he's just been screwing around because he thought he couldn't have the one he really wanted?" I give Kyle something to think about, but immediately regret it, since I'm still angry at Thomas. We let the subject drop because Thomas is heading our way.
"Tweek's in room 201." Thomas informs us, while looking up at the clock on the wall. "The evening rounds should be done by 11:00pm, that's less than a half hour from now. I say we sneak in around midnight, just to be safe."
"We go at 11:15, I'm not waiting until midnight." I decide. I want to see Tweek, and I won't be able to relax until I do. "My birthday is almost over, and I plan to spend what is left of it with Tweek."
"Then 11:15 it is." Thomas agrees. "I'm going to go grab a bottle of water from the vending machine, I'll be right back, you guys need anything?"
"No thanks," I tell him, "But Thomas, thank you."
"No problem. It's the least I can do."
"That's true." Kyle teases him.
############
Getting up from the couch. I stretch and casually glance towards the nurses station to confirm that the nurse behind the desk is absorbed in her computer screen, and not paying attention to me. It's 11:15pm and my scout unit, Kyle has already went on ahead, to watch for any stray doctors or nurses hanging about the halls. My distraction unit Thomas will cover the rear.
I start strolling calmly down the long hall, searching for room 201. Unfortunately, the moment I spot it a nurse walks out of the room, Kyle is no where to be seen, so I innocently ask for directions to the men's room, which is luckily just around the corner.
I find Kyle nervously hiding in the rest room.
"Dude, I almost got caught by a nurse, Thomas was right we should have waited." Kyle informs me.
Since we're already in the men's room I decide to make use of it, and then Kyle and I creep back down the hallway towards Tweek's room. This time the coast is clear, and we enter Tweek's room undisturbed to discover Thomas already waiting inside. Sneaky bastard!
The hospital room is darkened, lit only by the light that is creeping through a crack in the thick curtains. There are two beds, one is empty, and the other is Tweek's bed.
Thomas immediately takes up residence in the empty bed, but I wait by the door for a moment, to allow my eyes to adjust and my heart rate to calm down, before moving silently towards Tweek's bedside.
"Thomas!" Kyle whispers, "You can't use the bed, what if someone needs it, you'll get us in trouble."
"Kyle, if someone comes for this bed, we are going to be in trouble anyway, and I get the feeling we aren't getting Craig out of here until morning." He fiddles with a switch on the bed and a dim reading light flicks on granting us just enough light to see.
"You've got that right." I whisper, while staring down at my boyfriend from the foot of his bed.
Tweek is sleeping soundly, a thick square of gauze covering the right side of his forehead, and an IV attached to his right hand. I move to the left side of the bed, allowing me to take hold of his free hand. The area around his eyes is puffy from crying, and he looks so frail and worn out that it breaks my heart.
"I'm so sorry, Tweek." I whisper, and bend down to place a tiny kiss on the left side of his forehead, causing him to murmur in his sleep.
"Hey, cut that out, pervert!" Kyle growls protectively, "There will be no stolen kisses on my watch."
"It's a little cold in here." I mumble, and I release my hold on Tweek's hand so that I can tuck his blankets around him better.
"There should be a climate control around here somewhere." Thomas tells us, and starts searching around. "Ah, this should help." He flicks another button.
"Dude, how do you know all this stuff?" Kyle asks him.
"Tourette's kid, remember, I've seen my share of hospital rooms." Thomas says casually.
"Shhh..." I shush them, to remind them that Tweek is asleep.
Reaching into my pocket I pull out the ring box. Opening the box, I remove the ring that says CRAIG. I hold it to my lips and place a small kiss on it, then I lift Tweek's left hand, and slide the ring onto his ring finger. As expected it's a perfect fit. Chuckling happily, I pick up the ring that says TWEEK and I slide it on my own ring finger, another perfect fit, which makes me wonder how he got my size.
Reaching down, I untie my high tops, and slide them off. I fiddle with the safety railing on Tweek's bed to lower it, and I crawl into the bed beside him, wrapping my arms around him, while being careful to avoid the IV wire.
"Hey, now!" Kyle complains, and I flip him off. Tweek is my future husband, I'm fucking tired, and tonight I'm sleeping by his side, and nobody better try to stop me.
The bed is really small, so I wrap my long legs around Tweek, and lay my head against his chest. The sound of his heart beating against my ear is wonderful, soothing like a lullaby, and before I know it I have drifted off.
======Tweek's POV======
Even before I open my eyes, I know that I'm in a hospital bed. The smell of antiseptic is faint, but all too familiar. It's not the first time I've been to Hell's Pass Hospital, it's only the first time I've been here recently. Prying my eyelids open, I peer up at the darkened ceiling, and I try to remember why I'm here this time.
My head hurts a lot, and my eyes feel swollen, but it's my body that has me most concerned. It feels so heavy, like someone is laying on top of me... wait, someone is laying on top of me! My eyes fly open!
I start to squirm, lifting my head, and opening my mouth to scream for a nurse, only to shut it again quickly, when I realize that the person sleeping on top of me is Craig, and not some hospital room rapist.
"Gah-Craig?" I call out to him, but my throat is painfully dry, so it comes out as a whisper. However, my wriggling around was enough to wake him.
"Hi baby!" Craig greets me happily, too happily, 'Did he just call me baby?'
Perhaps I'm in the middle of one of those dreams? Craig's fully dressed, so maybe not. Still, it must be a dream, because Craig pulls himself up so he can lean on one elbow, and he faces me with a gentle smile. Craig never smiles like that.
"Aggh- hi, Craig." I greet him in a dry whisper, if it's only a dream, why is my mouth so dry, and why does my head hurt so much? It's probably not a dream. I'm really in the hospital. Looking past Craig, I spot a brown plastic pitcher of water on the bedside table, and a stack of plastic cups. I'm sure I remember the nurse pouring water for me earlier, because I was so thirsty. I point towards it now, because Craig is blocking my way, and I need more water.
Nodding he reaches over and pours a fresh cup of water.
"Drink it slowly." He says as he hands it to me. The water is room temperature, but it soothes my dry mouth. I drink slowly as commanded, and Craig waits patiently, until I've had my fill, before taking the cup from my hand. When he does I notice that he's wearing one of the promise rings that I bought for his birthday.
"Craig, am I awake?" I ask uncertainly, while studying my own hand where the partner to Craig's ring sits, but I don't remember the part where I gave Craig his present, so maybe this is a dream afterall.
"You're not sleeping." Craig assures me with a grin, and reaches up to brush a tear off my cheek. I hadn't realized I was crying.
What I do remember is... leaving my gift on the table, Thomas! Going up to Craig's bedroom, Thomas! Craig getting angry, Thomas! Shotgun, Thomas! Craig kissed Thomas! Car coming at me, FUCKING THOMAS!
"Am I dead?" I decide this makes the most sense.
After Craig stops laughing he hugs me. "You're very much alive, baby."
'He just did it again, when did I become Craig's 'baby'? What am I missing? Why is he so happy.'
"I broke up with you." I also remember that part, this makes Craig stop smiling.
"You were upset, you didn't mean it, and I don't accept it. I won't let you break up with me."
I admit I feel really relieved about that, but I'm still mad, so I pull away from him, moving as far away on the bed as possible, which sadly isn't that far, the bed is really small. I also bring out my angry glare. He kissed someone else, and broke my heart, I'm not letting him off easily.
"I'm sorry, Tweek." Craig tells me, "Um... I'm know I'm an asshole, but I'm in love with you!"
I hear muffled laughter coming from the other side of the room, but I choose to ignore it. I also stop glaring, and start crying a lot more.
"Ngh- I love you too." I whisper through my tears, and Craig reaches over and pulls me into his arms. Jesus, being held this way feels so good. He holds me for a while, in silence except for the whispering that keeps coming from the other bed. A halfway closed curtain blocks my view, but I'm pretty certain that is Kyle's voice... Is he in the other bed? Was he hurt because of me? Who is he talking to?
"So, Tweek, didn't you have something you were going to ask me?" Craig interrupts my train of thoughts, and keeps me from calling out to Kyle, when he takes my hand in his and holds it up in front of my face, and I notice that he's started smiling again.
"Oh Jesus, Craig..." I stare at him in confusion, I'm worried about Kyle now, and I've realized that the other voice belongs to Thomas, why is Thomas here? My anxiety starts trying to take over, but it's being countered by Craig's warmth. He's so close, his legs are wrapped around mine, and I feel his breath against my face as he leans into my shoulder. The room is dark, but it feels really intimate and safe, it gives me strength to ask him the thing that I most want to know.
"Did you really kiss Thomas?"
"Ah!" Craig's face falls again, apparently that isn't what I was supposed to ask.
"See what you started you jerk." Craig says and flips off the other bed.
"Sorry, Tweek, I'm really sorry." Thomas calls out, and a hand pulls back the curtain. Kyle is indeed in the other hospital bed, but so is Thomas, and they are looking pretty comfortable over there. Jesus, is that idiot hitting on Kyle now?
"Yes, I kissed Thomas, once." Craig admits to it, and I glare harder at him. My heart starts to pound in my chest and I try to pull away, but his legs tighten around me, keeping me from escaping, as he continues.
"I was nine years old, it was a tiny peck on the lips. Fuck, it can barely even be considered a kiss!"
"But you did kiss him?" I accuse. "Craig, are you in love with Thomas?"
This causes everyone in the room to start laughing, and I start struggling to get out of the bed, because I don't find anything funny.
"No, I am not in love with Thomas. Yes, Thomas was my first crush, but I was never in love with him. I only love you! Tweek, I've loved you since 4th grade, I fell in love with you the first time I held your hand." Craig says sincerely, while running a finger gently along my cheek, wiping away my tears, and smiling lovingly in a manner that I've never ever seen him do.
I blink, because I can't believe my ears, or my eyes.
"Ahhh- um, Craig, Can you say that again."
"No!" Craig tells me, "I refuse to say it again until you ask me what you were going to ask me on my birthday! You're late you know!"
I realize he's right, I still haven't wished him a happy birthday, and I know how important birthdays are to Craig.
"Oh, man, happy birthday, Craig!" I tell him. "Ngh- I'm sorry for being late."
"And, what else?" Craig asks and gestures to the ring on his finger while raising his eyebrows expectantly, and I stare at him for a second, until it hits me. The birthday present!
"Gah-Craig, will you be my boyfriend?"
Craig frowns disappointedly, "Tweek, I'm already your boyfriend."
"No, I mean be my boyfriend, like for real."
"Tweek, we've been together since 4th grade," Craig reminds me, and I can tell he's a little upset about something, but I don't understand what it is.
"I know but."
"Shh... let me finish. "Craig moves his finger to my lips. "Tweek, I am in love with you. But I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore. So ask me the other question, already!"
"I don't understand." I tell him honestly. I'm really happy, because I know he loves me now, but I'm really confused... he's in love with me, but he doesn't want to be my boyfriend anymore?
Craig is examining his promise ring carefully.
"Fuck, Tweek, isn't this an engagement ring? Don't you want to marry me?"
'OH JESUS CHRIST!" It suddenly dawns on me, Craig's totally misunderstood the meaning behind the rings!
"Craig, I'm sorry...GAH!" I panic, taking a hold of his ring finger I start trying to pull the ring off. "These are just promise rings! Ngh- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to mislead you. I'm not ready for marriage, THAT'S TOO MUCH PRESSURE!"
Craig grabs a hold of my hand, refusing to let me have the ring back.
"So you don't want to be engaged to me? Are you sure about that?"
Gah, why does Craig look so upset?
"You do realize I'm hot, right?" Craig pouts at me, and I don't mean to laugh at him, but I can't help myself, because he looks so cute when he pouts like that.
"Yeah, I kind of figured that out. Just don't let it go to your head." I tease him, while staring happily into his beautiful eyes.
"I love you, Tweek." He says with a smile. "I accept your promise ring, and we can wait to get engaged, but you're breaking it to my mother, because I already sent her a text!"
"Ngh- I love you too." I tell him. "I really love you, Craig."
"Tweek, is it alright if I kiss you?" Craig whispers, and I nod, because Jesus Christ, Craig is finally going to kiss me, I've been waiting forever for this day!
=======Craig's POV==============
Tweek's lips feel warm, a bit chapped, and so freaking awesome! I've wanted this for so long, kissing him and being kissed back. I don't want this to end, not ever! I deepen the kiss just a bit. Flicking my tongue out I run it against his bottom lip, wanting so much more, but not wanting to push too much, because this is Tweek's first kiss. I want it to be perfect.
As I start to pull away, I feel Tweek's hand at the back of my neck, pulling me back. I open my eyes, needing to see his face, and I catch his eyes wide open and filled with love. I stare into those beautiful green eyes, and place my lips back on his, only closing my eyes after he closes his.
"I love you." I whisper against his lips, and moan when Tweek's hold on the back of my neck tightens, and his lips move against mine impatiently. His tongue presses across my bottom lip, causing me to slacken my jaw, and his warm tongue slides between my open lips to wrap around my own.
'Wow!' I relax, and happily let Tweek take the lead, because he's obviously better at this than I am. His tongue is twisting and moving, one moment teasing against the roof of my mouth, the next it's flicking across my teeth, before wrapping itself in my tongue all over again. I briefly wonder where he learned to kiss like this. He's so fucking aggressive, it's wonderful, but just a little bit scary.
When I try to break the kiss, needing to catch my breath, he gives me but a second before pulling me back in. We kiss again, this time he nibbles and sucks on my bottom lip, and I take this opportunity to take control, and show him what I've learned. I slide my tongue into his mouth, copying his movements and running my tongue against the roof of his mouth, causing him to moan seductively, which sets my entire body on fire.
"Jesus Christ, Tweek!" I mumble against his lips. His hand has fallen from my neck and found it's way under my shirt, and he's caressing the skin of my back... It feels too amazing, but he's turning me on too much. We need to slow down. As much as I want to be with him, this isn't the best time or place. We're in a tiny hospital bed, with Kyle and Thomas in the bed right next door."
"Calm down, baby." I whisper to him, as he moves in for another kiss.
"I want more." He pouts at me adorably.
"Not until we're engaged." I tease him manipulatively.
"It's a promise ring, not a purity ring, Craig, besides shouldn't we sample the merchandise first, before buying?" Tweek asks teasingly, causing Thomas and Kyle to start laughing, and me to start worrying that I'm in the wrong room, because I never knew my naive little Tweek had such a perverted side to him.
"Smooth, Tweek!" Kyle tells him, "And yes, I highly recommend sampling first."
Peering over Tweek's shoulder, I see Thomas and Kyle wrapped around each other, while watching us with big grins on their faces, so I flip them off and reach past Tweek to grab the curtain and pull it closed.
"Kyle?" Tweek calls out.
"Yes, Tweek?" Kyle says with a chuckle.
"Craig loves me, man!" Tweek says happily.
"Yeah, Dude, I know." Kyle answers, "But don't let your guard down. He acts innocent, but he's been molesting you in your sleep for years."
"Ngh- Craig?"
"I don't want to talk about it!" I flip Kyle off, even though he can no longer see me, and I hide my face in Tweek's hospital gown, pretending to fall asleep.
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End of Chapter 7
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