NOTE: Happy Christmas Eve! (it's officially Christmas Eve where I'm at). So, this is possibly the last time I'll be able to update for about nine days! There is a chance I write before bed (like I usually do), but it depends on how long our day will be. MAJOR TRIGGER WARNINGS for homophobic language, fighting/abuse, smoking, and (just in case) mentions of incest (nothing crazy, but better safe than sorry!). If I end up not posting later, I hope everyone has a great holiday season and I'll see you in the new year!

When Tweek woke up the next morning, he was greeted with what he thought was a dream. Craig was propped up with a pillow behind his head, the only light coming from the screen of his phone. His hair was messy, he was still naked, and he was smiling at whatever was on the screen of his phone. Tweek just took some time to look at him, a smile forming on his face with a hum.

"Morning." Craig turned to look at him, smiling.

"Hey," He kissed his forehead. "Tricia says hi."

"You told her?"

"Well…not directly. I told her I got laid, but she guessed it was you." Tweek snorted.

"Tell her good morning…and to not tell your parents." Craig nodded, sending a quick text message before setting his phone aside and laying back down next to Tweek.

"What do your Christmas Eve plans entail?" Craig asked, tugging Tweek closer to him. Tweek hummed as he ran through the day's itinerary in his head.

"Well, I have to kick you out in a few hours so I can help my mom clean around the house. My grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins from out of state are coming in to celebrate before they continue on their way tomorrow morning to my other family. So just dinner and gifts with them pretty much." Craig was drawing small shapes in Tweek's back as he listened, nodding.

"I have to drive two hours to the middle of Bumblefuck to go to my Uncle Charlies." He groaned, rolling onto his back. He rubbed his eyes, sighing loudly.

"He's that bad?" Tweek propped himself up on his elbow, smiling at Craig.

"I haven't seen the man since I was eleven. He just wants to get drunk, yell, fight, and preach his bullshit all night. My mom never wants to visit her brother because they're the total opposites of each other."

"Sounds rough."

"It is! I can just smell the homophobia from here." He mumbled, looking up at the ceiling. Tweek frowned, brushing the hair off Craig's forehead.

"He doesn't approve of you?"

"He doesn't know. But I want my other relatives to know since I'm basically out here in South Park. I just…have to find a good time and place for it." Tweek bit his lip.

"Just…promise me you'll be careful? Don't go fighting your Uncle or some shit on Christmas Eve." Craig leaned up and kissed him for a moment, pulling away with a smile.

"I make no such promises, but I'll try my damnedest."

The minute Craig walked through the door, Tricia gave him a mischievous grin with a wiggle of her eyebrows. He snorted and flipped her off, heading straight upstairs to shower. He couldn't get the events of last night out of his head. Everything was sloppy and rushed and…sweet. It was fun, and besides, isn't that was sex was meant to be? After he got out of the shower, he saw his mom had laid his outfit out on the bed for him with a note.

Craig,

I know you hate to dress up for Christmas, but I figured this outfit might make it up to you. I ironed everything already and don't forget to eat before we leave at one.

-xoxo Mom

Craig chuckled, pinning the note to a corkboard he had that contained all his mother's notes from over the years. He looked at the outfit and nodded in agreement with his mother's outfit choice. The woman knew his style. He got dressed, looking at himself in the mirror after. He wore black slacks and dress shoes with a white button-down shirt. A pair of suspenders rested nicely on his chest and a navy-blue bowtie with the planets and stars on them was tied neatly around his neck. He rolled his sleeves up as he walked downstairs, blushing as his mother gasped.

"Well, don't you look dashing!" she practically squealed, rushing over to adjust his bowtie. Craig couldn't help but notice how nice his mother looked. She was always very pretty (Craig's friends always reminding him of this). Tricia looked beautiful as well, her long hair pulled half way up into a ponytail and curled for once.

"We ready?" Thomas said as he came back inside from loading the car. Laura paused.

"Craig…do you plan on saying-"

"Yes. I plan on coming out to them." Laura thought for a moment, running to the kitchen and walking out with a pack of cigarettes in her hand.

"We may need these."

"What for?" Tricia laughed.

"This might be a long Christmas Eve knowing my brother."

The ride there was relatively quiet. Everyone did their own thing, Tricia and Craig listening to music while Laura and Thomas chatted quietly up front. As they pulled up, the Christmas Eve party their Uncle Charlie always threw was already booming with relatives. Craig helped his dad carry in the food they brought while Laura and Tricia carried in the two bottles of wine. Once inside, Craig set the food down in the kitchen, immediately being swarmed by his female relatives.

"Craig! Oh, look at you! You've grown into such a handsome young man!" His Aunt Carol gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Aunt Carol."

"Oh, you have to have a girlfriend, right?!" Aunt Bethany chimed in.

"No, I don't."

"That's surprising! You know, I have a neighbor who has a daughter your age! I could give you her-"

"No no, that's okay, Aunt Bethany. I'm…kind of seeing someone."

"So, you do have a girlfriend?" Aunt Diane added. Craig scrunched his nose up.

"Boyfriend?" The three looked at each other and then back at Craig, a look of confusion on their faces.

"Huh…okay." Aunt Bethany mumbled, walking away with the other two. Craig let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. Okay, that could've been a worse reaction. Tricia leaned against the island with him, letting out a groan.

"Jackson won't leave me alone." Craig snorted.

"I always thought incest among cousins in our parts was just a rumor." Tricia punched his arm.

"Shut up, asshole. He literally keeps trying to rub up against me! It's fucking disgusting," she started putting some cheese and crackers on a plate. "How was last night?"

"What part?"

"Just in general. How was your party?"

"It was a nice time. It's always nice getting to hang with the guys since our time is becoming limited." Tricia bit her lip, sighing.

"Yeah…"

"Hey, you alright?" She looked up at him.

"I'm just…I'm gonna miss you." Craig blinked, not sure how to respond. Tricia wasn't one to share her emotions so freely. This was really the first time she admitted to Craig even leaving in eight months. He chuckled, tugging her into a hug.

"Don't write me off just yet. I'm still around for eight more months. I can do a lot of damage in that time." Tricia laughed against his chest, looking up at him.

"You can see your tattoo through your shirt." She said as she pulled away, grabbing her plate of cheese and walking away. Craig looked down, chuckling as he saw his tattoo under the thin shirt. He walked out into the living room, sitting next to his mom on the couch as she talked with her sisters.

"So, Laura…has Craig told you the news?" Diane said, sipping at her wine.

"What news? Craig's a very busy kid there's a lot of news flowing from that mouth of his."

"That he has a little…boyfriend." Bethany sneered, barely looking at Craig. Laura reached out and put a hand on his knee.

"Oh! Yes, he has told me about that." She smiled at him. Craig has never loved his mother more than in this moment (even more than that time in seventh grade when he was really sick and pampered him all weekend to make him feel better).

"And what do you think about this choice Craig has made?" Carol chuckled, twirling her wine around in her glass.

"I think he made a wonderful choice with his boyfriend. He is very kind and sweet and has brought about a light in Craig I haven't seen since he was really little." Craig blushed, giving his mom's hand a squeeze. He ignored the sneers of his aunts, looking over and practically turning to stone. There, across the room, came the cold gaze of his Uncle Charlie. Now, there was a reason Laura Tucker wanted to keep her children away from her brother: he was bat shit crazy. Charlie has done every drug under the sun, drank like a race horse (except it was alcohol, not water he was drinking), and fought everyone in their hometown. She brought them here today in an effort to try and stay connected with her siblings. But as she followed Craig's gaze and saw how coldly he was staring at her son, she knew she shouldn't have come here tonight.

Dinner was relatively quiet. The extended family made quiet conversation with the Tucker's, trying to pull out seven years' worth of information from them. They asked the typical questions: if they were doing well in school, what they were doing with life, any hobbies, sports, clubs, and, finally, someone brought up the question that rattled their aunts earlier.

"Any boyfriend, Tricia?" Tricia looked up from her plate, shrugging.

"No. I like this guy, but I haven't gotten the nerves to talk to him in a while."

"Oh! What's his name?"

"Ike. Quiet Jewish kid. Very sweet. Great kisser." Craig choked on his water as he snorted, coughing into his napkin. His sister grinned next to him, but froze as she heard her Uncle's voice.

"What about you, Craig? Any girlfriend?" Craig slowly turned to look at his Uncle, who sat proudly at the head of the table.

"Nope. No girlfriend."

"Yeah? Is that because you're a fag?" Craig's grip on his fork tightened.

"What's it to you?"

"Boy, you're in my house. You will answer any and all questions I ask." Craig shot his mom a look, her face as white as the table cloth. He mouthed to her across the table:

"Sorry," He turned back to his uncle. "I'm bisexual, meaning I like boys and girls." All eyes were on Craig at this point, some were of shock, some were of disgust. His Uncle swirled his gin around his glass.

"Why you gotta like both?"

"I just do."

"What's your god damn preference?"

"Right now? My boyfriend is my preference. He's kind and sweet and he takes care of me."

"So, you take it up the ass?" Craig felt Tricia grab his hand. Craig chuckled.

"Nope," He leaned in closer to the end of the table. "I give it." He hissed through his teeth, grinning as he saw his Uncle turn an ugly shade of red.

"You talk to me in my house like that?! Laura, don't you teach your son any manners?!"

"Don't you teach your son not to hit on his cousin?!" Craig yelled back before his mother could say anything.

"What did you just say?!"

"Fucking Jackson can't keep his dick in his pants! He's fucking harassing Tricia and won't leave her alone!" Craig wasn't sure how his uncle moved so quickly, but the next thing he knew he was pinned against the wall with a raging alcoholic in his face.

"Question my parenting skills on more time, fag. I'll be coming after your little boy toy! He won't know what fucking hit him!"

"D-don't fucking talk about him!" He gasped, clawing at his uncle's arm.

"I'll talk about him if I want to!"

"Y-you don't deserve to." Craig hissed, yelling out in pain as Charlie slammed his free hand against the wall.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I-" Craig spat in his face, gasping as Charlie's forearm dug into his throat even more. He watched his Tricia and his mom tried to pull him off of him, Craig's legs kicking as he struggled for air. He managed to free his right hand, swinging it as hard as he could into his Uncle's side. He gasped for air as Charlie stumbled backwards, ducking in time to miss a punch to the jaw. "Fuck! You little faggot, c'mere!" His uncle roared, lunging at Craig. Craig yelled out in pain as he was shoved into a book shelf, throwing punch after punch at his uncle to get him off him.

"Fuck!" He cried out after his Charlie's fist connected with his nose. He saw his mom rush into the kitchen with his dad and sister, throwing a punch at his uncle again. He felt it hit his jaw, but he was soon met with a punch to the jaw as well. Suddenly, Thomas was behind Charlie, smashing an empty wine bottle as hard as he could over his head. It took a minute, but after some stumbling around, Charlie fell to the floor, unconscious. His mom had already grabbed their things, everyone at the table looking in disgust at them. She looked at them, laughing harshly.

"And you all fucking wonder why I never bring my kids around? You fucking harassed my baby and you have the audacity to call yourselves good Christian people?! So what if he likes boys?! He's more of a decent human being than all of you combined! Get the sticks out your asses and give me a call after you've built the fire with them," she spat at her brother on the floor, handing Craig a napkin as he put an arm around her. "Come on, let's leave these people to their fucked Christmas dinner," She hissed, slamming the door as they walked out. Laura rummaged through her purse, pulling out the pack of cigarettes. She put one between her lips, fumbling with the lighter. She flicked the lighter over and over, but to no avail. "Fuck!" she sobbed, blinking as Craig held out a lit lighter to her. She inhaled with a shaky breath, nodding to her son as a thank you. She got in the car, sniffling. She held out a pack of frozen peas to Craig.

"Thanks." He mumbled, holding it to his nose with a wince.

"Mom?" Tricia whispered as Thomas drove away. Her mother exhaled out the window.

"Y-Yes, sweetie?"

"Never again." Laura Tucker finally let herself sob.

"I-I know, I-I know. I'm-fuck-I'm so sorry. I'm sorry to the both of you! But, Craig, fuck! Your face!" Craig chuckled under the peas, putting a hand on his mom's as she turned around.

"Mom…just know…even though they're your siblings…I'm glad you were the one to push me out of your vagina and not one of them," she let out a soft laugh. "You're also so much nicer and-and loving than all of their soggy corpses combined!"

"Thanks for being nice, Mom. And normal!" Tricia added, smiling softly at her. Laura Tucker felt a sense of overwhelming pride for her children, and even though Thomas couldn't look at them, he felt it too.

"I'm glad your father and I had you two, rascals."

It was almost eleven o'clock as the Tucker family pulled into their driveway, Laura immediately taking Craig upstairs to the bathroom to clean his face up. Thank God my mother used to be a nurse. He thought, sitting down on the edge of the tub.

"How is it?" he said, wincing as it hurt to move his jaw.

"Bad. Take your shirt off you're still bleeding and you somehow haven't gotten blood on your shirt yet." He nodded, shrugging his suspenders off, untying his bowtie, and unbuttoning his shirt. He yelled out in pain as his mom started using antibacterial soap to clean off the dried blood on his face.

"I'm proud of you." She whispered after a while.

"Thanks mom."

"So… I have good and bad news."

"Uh-oh."

"Good news, your jaw is only bruised, no serious damage. Bad news…your nose is broken."

"Fuck!"

"I can set it but…it's gonna hurt." Craig groaned, grabbing a hand towel and shoving it in his mouth, giving his mom a nod. He closed his eyes, tensing up as his mom touched his face. He yelled out in pain around the towel as she quickly snapped his nose back into place.

"Fucking fuck god fucking dammit!" He shouted as the towel fell from his mouth, tears falling from his eyes.

"Hey, you did it! All over!" She cheered, wiping up the rest of his face before putting a little brace on top of his nose. He stood up after she started cleaning up, looking at himself in the mirror.

"I want to say I look badass, but I look like a fucking raccoon with these black eyes." Laura snorted, tossing everything in the trash.

"Come on outside with me for a moment." Craig followed his mom downstairs, tugging a jacket on over his naked chest. Once outside, Laura held out a cigarette to him.

"What is this for?"

"I know you smoke, don't act so coy." Craig snickered, taking it and quickly lighting it up before passing the lighter to his mom.

"Thanks."

"So… you had sex?" Craig coughed as he exhaled, not expecting his mother to be so blunt about the topic.

"I…uh-"

"You can tell me, I won't be mad. Fuck, Craig, you're going off to college soon. I'm surprised you were a virgin for this long."

"MOM!"

"I'm sorry but it's true! You were such a rambunctious child." He punched her arm, causing her to laugh.

"I…yeah…"

"…was it Tweek?" she whispered, smiling a bit around her cigarette. Craig blushed even more, nodding.

"Yeah…"

"My gift idea got you laid?" Craig let out a laugh.

"I mean, sort of. You want to be known as the mom that helped her son get laid?"

"There are worse things to be known for." She chuckled, dropping her cigarette on the ground and mashing it with her shoe.

"Mom…I really do like him." Laura looked at her son, his eyes cast down to the ground. She kissed his cheek, standing on her tip toes to do so.

"I know, Craig. You look at him as if he was the moon."

"He's the sun." He admitted, blushing as he looked at his mom. She smiled.

"Even though it isn't the best idea to get tattoos about your lovers, I think a little sun would look nice next to your moon. He's been a part of your life for so long now. He's going to be around whether you like it or not." Craig nodded, but then frowned.

"Well…maybe…he committed to college…"

"…it's far isn't it?"

"Philadelphia."

"Damn." She whispered, crossing her arms.

"That's why I'm hesitant to do this…I-I don't know if I can do that distance…" Laura hummed, closing her eyes.

"Craig…you two are now bonded. You chose to have sex with him, so like it or not, he's now a part of your history forever. You will tell your children that this is the man that you slept with."

"I don't know if my kids will know the details." He snorted, wincing as it hurt his nose. Laura chuckled, hugging her son.

"He's so good to you, Craig. And you're so good to him. I know Mary appreciates that. She worries for him."

"I know. I finally know where Tweek gets all that anxiety from."

"Mary Tweak is very nice. Don't be rude."

"She's kind of hot."

"Don't go screwing all of the Tweaks." Craig let out a laugh.

"I won't, I promise." Laura looked up at him, smiling.

"I know it's late, but go see him. I think you need to breathe and get away from family." Craig blushed but nodded, thanking his mom with a chuckle as she handed him the box of cigarettes.

"Love you mom."

"And I love you. My heart to the moon."

"Tweek."

"Craig, what are you doing, it's almost midnight." The blonde whispered into his phone.

"I know, but I'm outside your door and it's cold outside."

"What?! Why-fuck! Hold on I'm coming!" Tweek hung up and rushed downstairs, being careful so he didn't wake his parents and extended family. He opened the door, looking at Craig with wide eyes. "What the fuck happened?!" He hissed, tugging him inside.

"Can we lie down?" He whispered, a look of sadness crossing Craig's face. Tweek blinked, his frustration settling quickly.

"Yeah…yeah, come on upstairs," He followed Craig up the steps, shutting and locking his bedroom door as they walked in. Craig was already curled up under the covers, his eyes looking down. "Talk to me."

"…remember how I said I could smell the homophobia?" Tweek's face fell.

"No…Craig…didn't I specifically say not to fight your uncle?" Craig nodded slowly, closing his eyes. He hadn't really processed what had happened yet. He hadn't processed the fact that his uncle beat him up for being bisexual. He hadn't processed that no one in his family helped him (except for his immediate family). He hadn't processed that he was now practically a sworn enemy to his mom's side of the family.

"Y-yeah…at dinner he just…started saying such nasty things and…I-I couldn't take it! And-and his inbred fucking son kept coming onto my sister and I called him out for that and he did not like that and…well, you c-can see what happened." He hissed out, tears falling down his cheeks. He finally let himself sob, curling up against Tweek's chest. Tweek buried his face into his hair, rubbing circles into his back as he rocked him gently. This is what Craig did every time Tweek cried or had a panic attack. Tweek felt like it was about time he took care of Craig.

"I got you Craig." He whispered into his hair, pressing gentle kisses to his hair. He let him cry for as long as he needed too, wiping his cheeks as he pulled away.

"S-sorry."

"Hey, don't you dare apologize. What you went through tonight is-is traumatizing and I couldn't even begin to imagine the fear and-and betrayal you felt," he cupped his face in his hands, giving him a gentle smile. "It's okay to be emotional. You don't have to be strong all the time. Just know I'll always catch you when you fall." Craig swallowed the big lump in his throat, nodding.

"Thank you." He choked out, burying his face into Tweek's neck. Tweek stroked his hair, chuckling softly.

"You look kind of cute with those black eyes and that sexy nose brace." Craig snickered against his skin.

"Don't push your luck." Tweek let out a soft laugh, looking at the clock and then turning back around.

"Hey…it's Christmas."

"Oh…well, Merry Christmas, Tweek." He whispered, smiling up at him.

"Merry Christmas, Craig." He pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, being careful of his nose. Even though Craig Tucker was emotionally and physically exhausted, he couldn't imagine ending this Christmas Eve any other way.