Summary So Far

Craig and Tweek's relationship is progressing ever since Craig admitted his evolving feelings. Unexpectedly, Kyle and Stan also fell for Tweek. Like astronomic bodies that feel the gravitational pull of a nearby sun, they are set to collide, and someone is bound to get burnt…

Chapter 7: In Sickness and In Health III

"What the hell are you two doing to my boyfriend?" A monotonic and deep voice suddenly called from behind, carrying with it a thinly veiled threat. Craig stood a few steps away from the group, his stance tensed, and his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were tinged white. "Let go of him. Now."

Kyle and Stan looked at each other, exchanging cryptic expressions. After what seemed to be just a moment, a green hat tilted slightly in an almost imperceptible nod. Suddenly, Tweek's direct view of his partner was blocked off by two bodies. "Look Craig, Tweek chose to sit here out of his own free will." Kyle stated in a matter of fact tone. "You should stop being so controlling."

The normally stoic boy glowered at the two boys who stood in his way. "Was it also Tweek's free will to be touch by trash?"

Kyle was about to immediately respond but paused when he noticed the two new figures joining the scene, flanking Craig from both sides. Token was casually rolling up the long sleeves on his purple shirt. An annoying sound pierced the air as Clyde sucked loudly on the straw of the drink he was holding. He shrugged and smirked like a fox at the irritated looks the other four boys were giving him. "So, are we going to do this like old times?"

This statement made Kyle hesitate, as he turned around to look expectantly at his two friends still sitting down. Cartman snorted at this. "This isn't my fight," he responded instantly. The boy hidden in orange paused for a while longer, before nodding and mumbling something in apparent agreement with the disproportionally sized boy.

"That-that's it!" Tweek suddenly shouted, pulling at his hair in stress. "Th-this is so stupid! Argh! Fighting over me or something, as if I'm not even standing right here! Like I'm just a pawn in some game! Gah! I-I swear if anyone fights here... I'll-I'll never talk to them ever again!" The messy blond boy pushed through Kyle and Stan, who were shocked at the unexpected outburst. He stomped up to Craig, who seemed more than a little proud, grabbed his hand and led him away without looking back. "We are leaving!"

Clyde shot Token a questioning look, who shrugged in response. Grinning, Clyde casually tossed his drink onto the table where the other boys were sitting. The liquid spilt all over on their food, but mostly on Cartman's black and white 'Token's Life Matters' shirt. "What the fuck!" the overweight boy yelled.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," Token scolded his friend as they both nonchalantly turned around and walked away, following Tweek's path. A clear smile betrayed his true feelings.

"You're welcome," replied Clyde.

"I swear I'll get you guys back for this!" Cartman's threat reached their ears.

Without missing a beat, they both simultaneously lifted one hand to flip off everyone behind them.

"Slow down Tweek," Craig demanded, as his boyfriend was still pulling him away at a fast pace. "Where are we even going?"

"No-nowhere. I don't know, just away from there!" Tweek exclaimed, before coming to a complete stop. He didn't turn around to face his partner, as his felt his face was still flushed red in embarrassment. "You shouldn't have interfered, you made things worse. I-I can handle things myself sometimes, Craig."

"Made things worse?" Craig repeated, letting go of Tweek's hand. He moved in front and grabbed the shoulders of the trembling boy, who had his head down, still refusing to make eye contact. "There were two strange guys touching and fighting over my boyfriend! How could I not interfere!?"

"We-well Kyle was wrong b-but Stan he – " Tweek started stammering.

"You're actually defending him?" interrupted Craig in disbelief.

The other boy's blond hair shook back and forth in denial. "I think Stan is just confused. He's like me, he needs help sorting out his feelings sometimes."

"Yeah, he looked really confused rubbing up against you like that," the normally stoic boy stated dryly. Shocked blue eyes finally met volatile green eyes. "That's right, I saw the whole thing! You didn't even seem to object!"

"Wh-what I-I did not ask him to sit so close!" yelled the smaller boy, infuriated at the other's insinuation, pulling away. "If you saw it, then why didn't you interrupt sooner!?"

The distance that now separated them only escalated the taller boy's frustration. "You just said earlier you didn't want me to interrupt, and now you do!?"

"He didn't earlier, because I told him not to do so." Token's calm voice suddenly interjected, answering Tweek's earlier question. He finally caught up, with Clyde trailing closely behind. "I thought Craig was being too overprotective lately. So, I persuaded him that it would be a valuable learning experience for you, after all he can't be around all the time."

"Yup, should have seen how Craig was jumping out of his seat just to get to you!" Clyde added somewhat unhelpfully with a little laugh, to the embarrassment of his stoic friend. Tweek's shaking slowed down at that anecdote.

"I was wrong in this case, those two weren't acting right, even in public. And Craig," Token paused for a moment to think. He decided a detailed argument won't be helpful, factoring in Craig's emotional intelligence and lack of communication skills. "… stop being so insecure. Remember he asked you to be his boyfriend."

The green-eyed boy let out a breath, the tension draining away as he processed his friend's intervention. Craig knew he acted like an ass to his boyfriend. "I'm really sorry babe. I didn't mean to take it out on you, I was just really pent up." The stoic boy looked down to the floor awkwardly. "…and maybe a bit jealous too."

"M-me too, Craig. I'm really sorry too." Tweek quickly closed the gap between them, grabbing both hands of his partner. He was close enough that Craig could feel the other's breath caress his skin as he talked. "You were right, those guys are trouble. I'll stay away from them."

Craig stood still, transfixed by those fascinating pair of eyes; whose colour was a gentle gradient of blue fading into green. "Y-yup," the raven-haired boy finally replied as he lost track of the conversation. He forced himself to turn away, to face his two friends; Token was politely looking away, while Clyde, in contrast, had clearly no such reservations with blatantly gawking at them. "I was wondering, could you guys help us?"

"Yeah duh!" Clyde continued to grin like a shameless wolf, despite being caught staring. "What are friends for?"

"You don't even need to ask." Token readily agreed. "Plus, I really want to prevent any possibility of you guys breaking up; otherwise I'll have to suffer through Clyde's annoying, non-stop wailing and crying."

"Hey! I happen to have a very manly cry, thank you very much!"

"So that's the plan, while at school at least one of us will be with him at all times." Craig explained to his two friends who sat around the café table. They decided to meet up again after school at Tweek's parent's coffeehouse, as he currently had a night-time work shift.

"It's fortunate that between the three of us we can cover all Tweek's classes." Token stated, as he double checked the printed schedules that laid scattered across the table surface. "No secret plots of revenge, Clyde. They are probably pissed off at what you have already done."

"You are no fun," whined the boy in response, still tugging on the sleeve of his straight-laced friend's purple shirt, in a failed attempt to give his best puppy dog eyes. Token continued to ignore his brown-haired friend's childishness.

"What do you mean already done?" asked the boy in blue, one black-haired eyebrow arched up in an otherwise blank expression.

"Nothing that they didn't deserve!" Clyde replied, suddenly snickering. "You should have seen Cartman's face!"

Token couldn't help but smile in amusement. "Ok, no more plots of revenge. We want to be on the right side, just in case we have to take this situation to a teacher or the school principal."

"Fine, fine." The brown-haired boy's red jumper crumpled up as he slouched in his chair, voicing his disappointment with an exaggerated sigh.

"Erm… not that I don't like you guys being here and helping me, but isn't it already getting quite late?" Tweek asked as he walked up to their table, carrying with him a tray containing three freshly made cups of coffee. Craig couldn't help but stare as his blond boyfriend handed off the warm drinks to their two friends; he looked especially adorable in his white apron, clearly in his element in this place. "I, um… I'll be ok here by myself." As the normally trembling boy made to give his partner the last beverage, Craig skilfully took the cup from him with one hand and replaced it with the other hand. Tweek didn't move to pull his hand away, as he stared back at his partner with a questioning look.

"Tweek my man! You agree with me that we should do something – " Clyde babbled on, oblivious to the sudden tension in the air.

"We were just leaving Tweek." Token suddenly got up and grabbed the collar of his clueless friend's red jumper. "See you tomorrow at school." He was able to successfully drag his brunette friend out of the shop, not without some noisy complaining.

The place became silent, besides the hum from the nearby fridge. Nobody else was here this late at night, and Tweek's dad was in the storage backroom doing inventory counts for the next day. The blond boy felt his partner lightly pull his hand down. "Craig, I still have work. You should go home." He sighed, before relenting and sitting down in an empty nearby chair. Without saying a word, Craig lifted his free hand slowly to gently touch his boyfriend's face. Tweek gasped softly as he felt his cheek being tenderly caressed. "Everything is fine. I-I'll be ok." he repeated, this time in a higher pitched voice.

"I know you will be." Craig finally spoke, moving to pull his most treasured person in a tight embrace. He continued to whisper quietly, his voice raw and vulnerable. "… I'm just afraid I won't be, if I ever lose you." Tweek had to strain to hear over his partner's racing heartbeat, or perhaps it was his own; he couldn't tell as the combined melody they played was entwined and inseparable.

"I swear to you Craig, that won't ever happen." Tweek spoke strongly and with such certainty it left no room for doubt. His partner didn't move at those words; they remained together in each other's arms, as if a single stationary statue, for a while. The blond boy was starting to wonder if Craig had heard him when finally, he pulled away and stood up. The typically stoic boy now smiled gently at him; Tweek knew this expression was only reserved for him personally. Without another word, Craig turned around and left.

Tweek sat dazed and confused at what just happened. He knew that his partner liked him, but did that have to mean exposing each other's weaknesses like that? In his mind, Tweek's imaginary construct of a strong and almost indifferent Craig shattered, and was replace by the image of something more powerful. Though if he had to say all his own fears to his partner, that would honestly take more than a while.

The messy haired blond boy suddenly stood up when he realised how late at night it was according to a nearby clock. Normally he would be finished tidying up the place by now, but his friends stayed overtime. He moved quickly to the nearest bin, tying up the large plastic lining bag neatly and dragged it towards to the backdoor. As he stepped into the empty sideway alley, the chill of the soundless night immediately bit into all his exposed skin, causing the boy to shudder.

Tweek threw the trash bag into the large dumpster bin; the resulting crashing noise was much louder than expected, reverberating through the deserted alleyway. It was cold enough he could see each breath as he exhaled at the effort. His psychologist said that according to cognitive behavioural therapy, changing his behaviour would help with his thoughts. But he couldn't stop thinking about Craig, obsessive thoughts aren't good. Groaning, he hid his face using his hands as he felt the heat rise to the surface of his uncovered skin, perhaps a physiological reaction to counteract the bitter winds.

Suddenly an external force pushed Tweek from behind towards the nearest wall. He could only manage to take in a short gasp as his face smashed violently onto the rough surface. He was stunned for just a moment, allowing the attacker enough time to cover his mouth and supress the resulting scream for help. The terrified boy struggled helplessly against the crushing strength of his assailant; he was pinned down like a defenceless bunny caught in the steel jaws of a beartrap.

"Tell me what you have done to them." The deep voice demanded in a terrifyingly calm tone.