Eyyy sorry for taking forever on this one- I've had three pages of this written for at least a month now but this chapter just feels so cluttered that I just wanted to keep fixing it to no avail. In the end, I just decided to fix what I could and keep going.
Upon arriving at Tweek's house, the duo made their way to the kitchen to get the blond's coffee fix. Craig noted the pleasant mixture of coffee and cinnamon in the air... it made their house smell oddly inviting. He watched the pair of olive eyes dart to him.
"... Nngh- want some coffee?" Another twitch from Tweek, likely from waiting so long in between mugs of coffee. Craig paused before nodding. The blond didn't hesitate before preparing what he would usually make for his boyfriend- the raven barely understood any of it, but he trusted Tweek with coffee. He was handed the peppermint latte, which seemed pitifully diluted with milk compared to the blond's regular black medium roast. Craig noticed the expectant glances from Tweek as they left the kitchen to go to the latter's room, and taking the hint he sipped at the coffee.
"... S'good. Like usual." The raven had no idea how to compliment, but he did his best. Tweek Bros. Coffee, generally speaking, tasted terrible. Tweek knew it, Tweek's parents probably knew it; however, Craig found that the blond had spent so much time around coffee that he was able to make it taste as good or better than Harbucks. Regardless, after drinking a cup the raven was almost able to relate to Tweek with his jitters and, to an extent, his paranoia. What was in that stuff? Craig turned to the blond once they got to his cluttered, lego-infested room. He had retrieved a brown paper bag, sitting down on his bed and motioning for him to come over.
"What's that?" his deep blue eyes glanced over the bag curiously as Tweek pushed it into his hands.
"... Open it, dude." He had a smile on his face, but a very hesitant one. Getting a little worried by this, he opened the bag and looked inside: what looked like pieces of machinery and a few bottles with pipette lids. Inspecting the bottles, Craig found that they were labeled 'menthol', with milliliter measurements and 'vape juice' listed under the brand name.
"... You bought me a vape?" The thin boy nodded.
"Y-you don't have to- erk- use it... but I figured you could, y'know, try it out? J-just to see if you liked it...!" Tweek was starting to get into another spasming state, so Craig nonchalantly wrapped an arm around the twitching, shuttering boy's shoulders. The raven took some level of pride every time he felt Tweek's shakes and spasms fade upon doing this. He knew his smoking worried the blond profusely, but he'd never really had enough money for this sort of thing before. What really confused him was how Tweek even knew what to buy- and who the hell was willing to sell eCigs to someone underaged?
"Of course I'll use it, babe... Where'd you get it, though?" The blond's tired eyes shifted curiously.
"What do you mean? I bought it at a vape shop..."
"... I thought those places didn't even let anyone in without IDing? And what about money?" Craig was surprised by his own capacity to give a fuck in this particular moment.
"I work my life away at my parents' coffee shop, I-I get some money in return... And as far as age goes," Tweek paused to pull at one of his own eyes a little, "... I guess they assume most seventeen-year-olds don't have dark circles like this..." The blond laughed somewhat, but Craig didn't like when Tweek put himself down. Even as a joke. The raven decided to drop it, however, returning his eyes to this new instrument. turning to sit cross-legged on the younger boy's bed, he emptied the contents of the bag and began carefully assembling it. The blond turned to watch him, their knees touching yet again.
"There." Once the eCigarette was assembled, Craig loaded it with the menthol juice. "... Mind if I try it out in here?" Tweek shook his head.
"That's the point of the vape... no smoke, no worry." He shot him another smile, this time a little more confidently now that he knew Craig liked his gift. The raven gave a small nod before clicking the button and inhaling the nicotine-infused vapor. Without thinking about it, he blew the vapor in Tweek's face, like he'd done with his cigarette smoke on their first day as a 'couple'. The pair of olive eyes across from his widened in surprise, but he started to laugh lightheartedly. With how seldom he saw Tweek laugh anymore, Craig found it infectious and started to giggle as well. Clutching the vape in one hand the raven flopped back in Tweek's bed, shifting to put his head on the pillow. Tweek merely flopped backwards next to him, not bothering to uncross his legs.
"... Can I ask you something, Craig?"
"Yeah?"
"... What happens at a make-out party?" The raven closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to every piece of information about said parties he'd gathered from friends, sitcoms and the internet.
"... I guess like spin-the-bottle, seven minutes in heaven, stuff like that?" Tweek didn't need to think hard on that before responding.
"Ngh, what's seven minutes in heaven?"
"It's like... making out. But timed. In a closet." Tweek narrowed his eyes. On second thought, that probably does seem like an odd concept to someone who'd never heard of it.
"Seven minutes is like- erk- a long time though! Christ!" Craig shrugged it off.
"It probably doesn't seem like long when you're doing it, but then again I've never really timed that sorta thing." Tweek fell silent, lost in his worries about the party. The blue-eyed boy thought on this a moment before pulling out his phone, setting the timer for seven minutes and rolling onto his side to face the blond.
"... Wanna do some more practicing?" Tweek bit his lip, mulling it over for a moment before giving a sheepish nod. Neither of them bothered to sit up, the blond just turning to face Craig, who was propped up lazily on his arm. He leaned in slowly to the coffee-scented boy's face, watching his eyes a little. They weren't squinted closed like last time, but were only as relaxed as the spazzing blond could be. Their lips touched, but only for what seemed like a second before they heard someone stomping up the stairs, as if purposefully alerting his presence. They separated and sat up, Craig shoving the vape in his pocket just in time for Tweek's dad to barge into the room.
What were they just doing? There's no reason to practice, if they were chosen to play seven minutes in heaven they could easily just sit in the closet and chat or mess around on their phones. If people started breaking off to suck face, he could easily hide out in Clyde's room with Tweek to keep people from being suspicious... None of those things occurred to Craig until now. This was all starting to feel too natural to him, which disturbed the raven.
"Tweek- oh! Craig's here! Hello, Craig." The raven had to keep from flipping Mr. Tweak off everytime he heard the elongated 'A' pronounced in his name that shouldn't be there. Tweek knew how to pronounce it, Mrs. Tweak knew how to pronounce it. But this guy...
"Hello, sir." Craig managed to keep his tone as neutral as ever, despite his many frustrations. Tweek was groaning at the mere presence of his father.
"Now son, what did I tell you about making a fuss when friends are over?" This didn't stop the groans, unsurprisingly. "Dinner'll be ready in a second, why don't you boys come downstairs and have a little chat with us in the meantime?" Though Craig was usually one to rebel, even he knew in front of his 'boyfriend's parents was neither time nor place to do so. Standing up, he reached for Tweek's hand, as per usual. The blond took the raven's hand, shaking much more than he was a few minutes sighed. He never understood why Tweek's parents put him on edge so much, but it made it difficult for him to treat them kindly in response.
"Hi, boys!" Once they got downstairs, they were greeted by the sing-song voice of Mrs. Tweak. Tweek's eye twitched harshly.
"Nnngh... H-hey, mom." Craig gave the blond's hand another squeeze, trying his best to calm the younger boy down. Tweek sat down in his usual spot, which now had a second chair pushed close to it. After a moment of hesitation, the raven took his spot next to the twitching blond. Mrs. Tweek set a coffee mug in front of her son, who gulped the scalding liquid obediently, before turning to Craig.
"Would you like some coffee, Craig?" The raven shook his head, trying his best to be polite despite feeling somewhat anxious- presumably from the last glass of Tweek Bros. Coffee. How was Tweek even alive?
"No thank you, I had some earlier." He felt his middle finger twitch against Tweek's hand when the older woman gave him an odd look, causing the blond to twitch and stare in his direction curiously. Craig chose to ignore the glance in an attempt to play his aggression off. The pair were then left alone at the table while Tweek's parents finished preparing dinner. The raven didn't let go of the blond's hand for the entirety of the wait, now feeling the need to get comforted himself. Despite seeming calm and affectionate, Mr. and Mrs. Tweak just seemed... fake. No wonder Tweek was nervous around them.
Once dinner was served, Craig still refused to let go of Tweek's hand... not that the blond tried to retract it. Tweek was right-handed and Craig was a lefty, so it didn't get in the way of them eating; however, Tweek still seemed to be having trouble. The raven turned to face the sound of clinking ceramic, only to find that the blond's hand was shaking so hard he could barely use his fork, instead letting it repeatedly tap the plate. Craig gave his hand another squeeze, but his boyfriend's attention didn't leave the table... he looked even more messed up than usual. Before the raven could ask what was wrong, Mr. Tweak cut through the silence.
"So, Craig," he started, as usual mispronouncing his name, "have you made plans for college yet?" The raven in question grunted a little. Why'd he need to know that? He simply shook his head.
"Not yet, sir." Craig was secretly very thankful for his monotone voice- it made it easy to sound polite when he really, really didn't want to. Mr. Tweak simply chuckled.
"Maybe you can work at Tweek Bros. with Tweek here- take over the family business!" Craig turned to the blond again. Was he really planning on going straight out of high school to work at the coffee shop? ... By the sudden, somewhat too-tight squeeze the raven's hand received, he assumed not.
"Y-you're putting too much pressure on me! I want out!" Tweek's parents didn't bat an eye as they watched their son spasm before slamming his face in his plate and groaning again.
"Honey, Tweek's out of coffee." The nonchalant tone in Mr. Tweak's voice pissed Craig off, and he quickly stood up, dragging Tweek with him.
"May we be excused? Thanks." The raven wasn't about to wait for a response as he rushed out the front door with the dazed blond. Closing the door and pressing his back to the wall outside, Craig let out a loud groan and turned to Tweek and snapped. "How the hell do you put up with them?" The blue-eyed boy wasn't typically one to lose his head about things, but in this moment he was seething. Unsurprisingly, the blond automatically assumed he was the target of his boyfriend's frustrations.
"I-I'm- erk- sorry...!" His olive eyes clearly displayed his fear and his lip quivered somewhat, stopping Craig's anger in its tracks. The raven scooped Tweek into his arms, holding his shivering body in a tight embrace.
"Don't apologize, babe, I'm not mad at you... but I'm gonna teach you how to be more assertive." The older boy wasn't really affectionate, or supportive for that matter- but with all the time spent around Tweek, he'd chosen to give in and help him calm down however possible. This didn't go unappreciated, as he felt the blond's small frame slowly stop shaking yet again.
"I-I don't think I'd be able to, though... They never listen to me!" He was now gripping the taller boy's sleeves tightly, squeezing at the fabric like a stress ball. Craig allowed him to do so, merely shaking his head.
"You also didn't think you could act- look at yourself now, honey." He watched as the blond furrowed his brows before cracking a small smile.
"Nggh... Yeah, I guess that's true..." The raven chuckled a little under his breath. Yet another crisis averted by 'Super Craig', he supposed.