(A/n: Yet again, I craved to write another stenny one-shot since it's going to be awhile until this pairing becomes a thing in my other fic *ahem, Consuming Darkness, Arising Light*. Slow-burn is kinda torture when it comes to your fave ship lol Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. South Park doesn't belong to me)
Today is a gorgeous day, which is the norm in Arcana. Currently, it is Spring—a season that brings out the best in nature. The sky is blue with noticeable tints of pink, and the yellow sun is so bright that it's making the clouds and the pink tree leaves below sparkle.
Kenny is outside, enjoying the nice weather in the courtyard of the prestigious academy he's been attending for six months now. He's lying against a tree trunk with his hands behind his head of short, blonde hair and his leg crossed over his knee, his eyes closed. A red earring is in his right earlobe and an orange earring is in his left earlobe. His black uniform blazer is across his shoulders, the top button to his white dress shirt is undone, exposing a part of his well-toned chest. His pants and formal shoes are also black. The air is so refreshing that it knocked the boredom right out of him the second he stepped out here. What makes this even better is that he's alone. Classes are in session, but since he's one of the strongest students in Mystics Academy, he felt no need to attend his class.
He prefers to utilize his magic with his own knowledge, it's more fun and fulfilling that way. Just two days ago, he learned how to change the color of his flames, which are what his earrings represent. He opens his eyes, the pink tree leaves glinting in his hazel irises. He removes a hand from behind his head, and produces a small orange flame from his palm. He makes it slightly bigger while changing its color to red. Altering his fire's color doesn't affect their heat; well, not as far as he knows. "Hmm..." He actually wants to test out the possibility. The problem would be finding tougher material than the ones the academy have them use during training. Perhaps he can get a friend to help him, but who, he wonders.
While he thinks of a fitting candidate, he bounces his flame without letting it touch him, simultaneously switching its color from red to orange. He stops what he's doing when he notices someone walking on the breezeway. No, make that three people when he focuses on them: a male student he doesn't recall ever seeing before, despite there being a lot of dudes with black hair here, and two administrators—one a man and the other a woman. They're most likely taking him to the assessment room. Kenny crushes his fireball, hoping it wanted noticed.
"Avoiding class yet again, Kenneth," the man says as he keeps on walking, sounding as if it's a normal occurrence. "You better not be out here when we come back this way."
Kenny waves him off. "Yeah, yeah." Once the trio enter the other part of the large building, he resumes his train of thought. He's so engrossed with trying to figure out who could be a reliable training partner that he almost misses the sound of the bell.
Wow, time flew by fast.
He gets up stretching, then dusts off his pants. He decides to go to his next class, only because it's a class he likes, plus most of his friends are in it. Stuffing his hands into his pants pockets, he ambles to the left-side building.
There are a few classes that teach students no matter the element they possess, and that just so happens to be a class Kenny is heading to right now. The rest of the classes are designed based on an element, and only students with that specific element are allowed into that class.
All students have a badge and are required to keep it on their person, they indicate a student's rank and element. The shape of a badge varies; it depends on the students rank, which is calculated based on their magical strength. Kenny's flame badge is shaped like a diamond, depicting the highest rank in the academy: Adroit. The last three ranks and the shape of the badges that follow (in order) are Experienced (triangle), Trainee (square), and Novice (circle).
As soon as Kenny is inside the building, a brunette pushes himself away from the wall he was leaning against and approaches him. His rock badge is square-shaped. "Hey, did you hear about the new guy?" Clyde asks, walking alongside the tall blonde.
"No, but I have seen him," Kenny answers. The new student has become the hot topic for today so quickly. He must have a unique element or something.
Clyde rolls his lavender-colored eyes with a small smile. "Figures you did since you're always skipping."
"Not always, I'm going to class right now."
"Well anyway, word is, the guy can use two elements."
Kenny widens his eyes at Clyde. "Are you for real?"
"Yep. There's even gonna be a class made just for him today."
"Lucky bastard," a deep, monotone voice grumbles. "Wish I could have a class to myself."
"Aww, don't be like that, Craaaig~" Clyde coos, scurrying in front of Kenny. He wraps his arms around Craig's neck, who lets out an annoyed groan. The noirette is in the same rank as his boyfriend, he never really cared about the ranks and their special privileges even though he was born with one of the strongest and fearsome elements: Lightning. If he can't share them with Clyde, then there's no point.
"Ew, take that gay shit somewhere else," says an irritated Cartman from behind Kenny. His skills with Wind magic got him into the Experienced rank.
Clyde and Craig flip him off. "Why don't you take your fatass somewhere else?" Craig retorts.
Clyde unwraps an arm around Craig to walk beside him. "Yeah, like to the cafeteria," the brunette quips.
"Don't start, you guys," says Wendy, tone stern. She and the rest of the females wear a skirt with their blazer, though she hates having her legs be bare, so she wears thin, dark leggings. She's also in the Adroit rank, Crystallization is her element.
Craig locates where she is and flips her off too. "He started it," Clyde mutters.
"Shut the hell up, Wendy," Cartman snaps.
"Don't talk to her like that, you huge pig," says Wendy's best friend, Bebe. She's just a rank below Wendy, her element being Light.
"Butt out, you fuckin' ska-"
"You better not say it," Bebe warns, her indigo-purple eyes narrowed.
Cartman smirks and crosses his arms. "What you gonna do if I do say it, huh? Blind me again?"
"Alright, I'm gone," announces Nichole. She walks away from the group.
"See ya later," Kenny and Clyde say in unison.
"No one cares," Cartman says derisively at the same time as them before tuning back in to what Bebe said to him.
Kenny shakes his head, laughing quietly as his friends continue to argue and call each other names. They get along so well...at least nobody ever tried to kill the other. He waits for the bickering to be put to an end by a certain redhead in the same rank as him. Though, surprisingly, it doesn't happen. They're almost to the classroom.
Kenny nudges the walking teen next to him. "What's got you in deep thought? Worried about a test, or are you thinkin' about your boyfriend?"
"Psh, when have I ever stressed about a test?" Kyle responds as if he'd been asked a dumb question. "And no, I'm not thinking about Tweek." He smiles. "I'm going to see him soon anyway."
Kenny rolls his eyes. "Alright, loverboy brainiac, then what is it?"
Kyle's smile drops into a slight frown. "It's about the new student. There was...something strange about him."
"You seen him too?" Kenny asks, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, while I was on my way to the library. Heard Mr. Sunny and Ms. Weathers talking about you, by the way."
Kenny just shrugs his shoulders indifferently. Him and his rambunctious friends along with a dozen more students walk into the spacious classroom, there are six long tables on each side going downward and approximately seven chairs behind each table. The last row stops not too close to a ledge with a low wooden gate. About several students are already sitting in their seats. The teacher, Mr. Woods, is standing down in the pit, ready to begin his lesson once everyone is seated, as well as quiet.
Kenny and Kyle head over to where Tweek is, who is conversing with Jimmy. A pair of crutches are placed against the wall beside Jimmy. He and Tweek are in the Experienced rank, thanks to Kyle's tutelage. Despite his element being Poison, his understanding of Earth and Wind magic made his explanations simple and forthright for them to grasp almost with ease, putting shame to most of the teachers' teaching methods.
"Hey, Tweek," Kyle whispers in his lover's ear before sitting down, chuckling at the shriek he elicited from Tweek. He then greets Jimmy with a wave. Kenny does the same, and Jimmy happily returns the gesture to both of them.
"H-hey, guys," Tweek says, blushing.
"H-have you t-two h-heard about the n-new s-student?" Jimmy asks.
Who hasn't at this point, Kenny thinks. "Yeah, me and Kyle have even seen him."
"And I can confirm that the rumor about him having two elements is-"
"Quiet down, everyone," Mr. Woods calmly demands.
"-true," Kyle finishes saying.
As the voices gradually become silent, Kenny asks Kyle, "So is that what you meant about him being strange?"
Kyle shakes his head. "No, I was referring to his appearance."
"Is he ugly?"
"Far from it, actually." Kenny's interest has peaked even more. "Wait, I thought you said you'd seen him."
"I just didn't see his face."
"Well let's stop talking about him, Tweek is literally sitting right next to me."
"Oh, relax. You and I both know he doesn't get jealous easily."
"Yeah, but still."
Rolling his eyes, Kenny looks around for the student that intrigued probably everybody within the academy, almost mistaking Craig as the guy when he sees him on the opposite side of the classroom. He's left feeling a bit disappointed when he finds out that the new student isn't in this class.
Well, lunch is in the next half hour. He'll undoubtedly see him again then.
The large and luxurious cafeteria is abuzz with chatter regarding the first student to possess two different elements. But the person in question is nowhere to be seen.
Kenny isn't going to let this opportunity slip by him, he turns to leave.
"Kenny!"
Shit.
Being a popular figure himself, Kenny struggles to get away from the fangirls and fanboys that surround him. The smile he gives them is obviously forced, why can't they ever tell?
"Sorry, guys and gals, but I got someplace to be."
"Oh? Like where?" A girl asks languidly.
None of your damn business. "The restroom." Kenny takes a step forward, but no one moves. They completely ignore his excuse and start rambling about, of course, the new student.
Kenny may be a nice person, but these people are pushing it. What if he really did have to use the toilet? For once, he would like for a teacher to come and disperse them all. Shame he can't count on his friends to help him, not with some of them being a couple and the others just don't care enough to intervene like they used to.
Cartman snickers at him, carrying a plate full of food. "That's what you get for always being an attention whore." He walks to a table.
Before Kenny can retaliate with a snappy remark, he feels someone tap his shoulder. He looks at them with a glare, though his annoyance alters into slight shock once he realizes who they are. Tolkien Black, an Adroit ranked student that harnesses the power of Nature.
"Mrs. Alloy wants to see you in her office."
Everyone, except Kenny, grimaces. "Yikes..." a male student murmurs.
Kenny stares into Tolkien's navy-blue eyes, trying to discern if what he said was the truth or a lie. He really doesn't want to pay that stone-cold woman a visit. Just like Craig, Tolkien is pretty hard to read. Until he winks, then walks away. Kenny contains a sigh of relief, instead he frowns, making it seem as if he dreads going to Mrs. Alloy's office. "Ya heard 'em."
Reluctantly, the crowd scatters, allowing him to finally leave.
He strolls down the empty hallway, wondering where the new student could possibly be, if not at lunch. Perhaps in the newly created classroom still? It's worth checking.
After walking for awhile, he eventually comes across an elegantly-made sign with the words 'Dual Elements' above a door. He expected a more...creative name for the class.
He nears the classroom, the door was left open a crack. He peers inside, catching a glimpse of a single figure sitting at a desk. He inches the door open a little more, glad it doesn't make a sound. He's never seen a classroom look so unembellished; it's small and aside from the student desk, there's also a teachers desk, which is in front of the male. He seems to be looking down at something on his desk, Kenny thinks it's probably a book.
Kenny decides to walk in, wouldn't want to be spotted by an administrator. He approaches the noirette, purposefully making his footsteps heard. But the teen doesn't acknowledge him, just like when he was passing by the courtyard half an hour ago.
Stopping beside the desk, Kenny looks at what is holding the noirette's attention, which is indeed a book like he assumed.
Right away, he knows what it is about thanks to a picture of a winged dragon on one page. The other page has three paragraphs, describing the creature. He checked out this book once before from the library, and learned quite a lot from it.
"You interested in Elemental Beasts?"
His voice startles the noirette. When he raises his head, Kenny is instantly enthralled by the color of his eyes. The left is a deep blue while the right is a paler shade of blue. There's nothing strange about this guy at all, if anything, he's-
"Um, hello?"
Kenny blinks, snapping out of his short-term daze. He notes the faint blush on the black-haired teen's cheeks. He smirks, a bit flirtatious. "What? Like what you see?"
The noirette scoffs. "I think I'm the one who should ask you that." It's Kenny's turn to blush. Slightly amused, the other male returns his attention to his book. "You didn't hear my answer to your question, did you?" He turns the page.
"Ahem, to be honest, I didn't. But can ya blame me? Your eyes are beautiful!"
"...Thanks..."
Kenny can't tell if his compliment made the teen uncomfortable or bashful. "What's your name?" He asks, ambling towards the teachers desk. "I know you know mines thanks to Mr. Grouch, but I prefer Kenny." He sits down in the chair.
"Stan."
Then they are engulfed in utter quietude. Kenny inspects Stan's badge, pleased to see that he's also in the Adroit rank, and is intrigued all over again by the elements he can manipulate: Water and Ice.
Wait, an Adroit student who can use Ice magic...Kenny believes he's found a suitable training partner that can assist him with his recently developed ability.
"Hey, can I ask you for a favor?" When he perceives the uncertain frown developing on Stan's handsome face, he quickly adds, "It's nothing big. I just need your help with something."
Stan's expression remains the same when he looks at Kenny. "What is it?"
Kenny gives him an affiliative smile. "I'd rather show you, so meet me in the training field this evening?"
Stan eyes him for a moment longer, then drops his gaze back to his library book. "I'll think about it."
Kenny expected to hear that kind of answer, but his smile doesn't waver. "Hope to see you there."
The evening sky is colored in soothing hues of oranges and yellows. Some stars can already be detected in various areas around the clouds. The gentle wind still feels oh-so-nice.
Kenny is waiting for Stan in the training field behind the right-side building of the academy, known as the dormitory. He's in casual clothes and sneakers.
It isn't long until he sees Stan coming his way, he's still in his uniform. Once he's close, Kenny waves at him.
"Glad you decided to come."
"Even though we just met, I couldn't be an ass and turn down your mysterious favor," Stan says.
Kenny is touched by his thoughtfulness. "Let's get right to it then." He points off to the side. "I want you create a sturdy ice wall."
"Okay." Stan walks a few steps in the direction Kenny is pointing at. He gets down on one knee and places his palms against the sandy soil. As the warm air around them becomes cold, a bluish-white mist manifests an inch above the ground. A solid chunk of ice rises out of the haze, stopping at five meters tall.
Kenny whistles, impressed.
Standing up, Stan turns to face him. "I'm guessing you plan to melt this with your flames?"
"Yeah, there's an ability I wanna test out." Stan moves off to the side. Kenny generates an orange fireball from his palm, changes its color to red, poses like a baseball pitcher, then throws it at the wall of ice.
The instant it touches the frozen block, it fizzles out.
Kenny blinks, dumbfounded. "Wow, it didn't even scorch it."
Stan raises an eyebrow. "Um, that ability you mentioned..."
"Yep, it's just as you saw." Kenny holds out a hand, bringing forth another ball of orange fire. He once again switches its color to red. "I can change the color of my fire."
"How do you do that?" Stan asks, curious.
Kenny blinks again, mildly surprised that he suddenly captured Stan's interest. "Oh, I just think about the color I want to change it to. It's possible with a vivid imagination, or you can use things as references. So whenever I want to change my flame to red, I think about blood."
Stan gapes at him. "...That's...pretty morbid." Kenny chuckles at his baffled response. "But I understand the procedure. So, are you gonna give it another go?"
Kenny answers by hurling the scarlet fireball at the ice wall, failing to do anything to it yet again. He keeps at it until the sky is dark blue. There are more stars and the setting sun was replaced by a full moon. The air has gotten a little cool.
"Damn," Kenny pants. "Y-you...didn't have to make...your ice wall that sturdy." The unmelted ice shows that he didn't make any progress.
Stan opens his mouth, but a yawn comes out. Kenny takes a deep breath and straightens his posture, his breathing stabilized. He looks over at Stan, who appears equally bored and tired. He feels bad for keeping him out here for so long. "I'm done for tonight."
Stan observes his ice wall with dull eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. We got classes tomorrow, and I'm pretty beat."
Stan nears his indestructible barricade and puts a palm against it. His touch turns it into clear water. He and Kenny saunter out of the training field.
"Thanks, Stan," Kenny says, appreciative. "Never knew ice could be so tough to melt."
"Really?" Stan asks.
"Yeah. You're the first person with Ice magic to be in the Adroit rank, the rest are either a Novice or Trainee." Though it is unclear whether Stan is stronger than Kenny. Kenny wishes the ranking system was more precise.
Stan is shocked by what the blonde just told him, though he doesn't show it. "Huh, interesting." He yawns again.
They enter the dormitory, a few students are roaming the halls. There are six floors; the females' rooms are on the first, the males' rooms are on the second, and the sequence continues to alternate from the third floor and onwards. Kenny and Stan make their way up to their separate rooms on the second floor. Once there, they discover that their rooms are right next door to each other.
Kenny smirks. "Goodnight, neighbor."
Stan gives him a small smile. "Goodnight." They both open the door to their respective quarters, however Stan stays in place, his lips dropping into a line. "Actually, can I give you a piece of advice?"
Kenny pauses to look at him. "Sure." He normally wouldn't agree to something like this because of his ego, but since it's Stan...he'll make an exception.
"Focus more on your flames' strength, and less on its appearance." Then Stan goes inside his room.
"B-but I did..." Kenny pouts before walking into his own room.
It takes nearly the end of the week for the fascination towards the new student to dwindle. However, that didn't apply to Kenny, because he spent every day with Stan, well as much as he could with him since they didn't have not one class together.
The next morning, Kenny found out Stan disliked crowds.
Kenny was hoping to eat breakfast with the noirette, and perhaps introduce him to some of his friends - the tolerable ones. But it turned out that Stan had already left his room when Kenny knocked on his bedroom's door and got no answer. Unable to hide his disappointment, Kenny had to go to the cafeteria with his posse. Upon arriving there, he saw Stan sitting at a table all by himself. No one else was in there with him until people started entering. That's when Stan got up and began to walk out, leaving his empty plate on the table. He was polite enough to greet those that spoke to him first, but that was it. He did not stop to engage in any conversations. Kenny could tell right away that he desperately wanted to leave. He followed him, ignoring the scant questions a few of his friends directed at him. Only Kyle knew the reason why he trailed after the dark-haired male.
Once Kenny caught up to Stan in the corridor, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Stan slowed to a stop, and so did Kenny. "I...don't do well around a lot of people," was Stan's reply.
Kenny never thought Stan could pull off a timid expression with a handsome face.
He looked so cute, in a helpless sense.
Kenny fought to keep his composure at the tingly feeling that blossomed inside his chest. "The cafeteria can get obnoxiously rowdy at times, so I don't blame you. Buuut," his lips spread into a warm, hopeful smile. "If you don't mind, can I join you every breakfast?"
Stan gave him a look of disbelief, but his amicable mien expressed his sincerity. Stan couldn't help but smile a little. "If you can wake up early, sure."
"Heh, that'll be easy." Kenny knew damn well that it wouldn't, he always struggled to get out of bed before the bell rang for class. He only woke up a little earlier than usual today because he wanted to eat breakfast with Stan, though that sadly didn't happen.
Since then on, Kenny had to force himself to get up just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Though whenever he saw Stan waiting for him out in the hall, he would literally perk up like a puppy, his very existence knocking the drowsiness out of him.
It wasn't just the mornings Kenny and Stan hung out together; in the afternoons, during lunch breaks, they would have their lunch in the courtyard. Kenny made sure it would always be just the two of them there, of course keeping his threats discreet, so Stan wouldn't scold him. The courtyard quickly became Stan's favorite place. In the evenings, Stan would help Kenny cultivate his 'Flame Customization Technique', a name the blonde came up with himself. He had yet to melt even a small portion of Stan's ice wall, but he never showed an ounce of discouragement.
Stan really admired his resolve.
"So when are you gonna ask him out?"
Kenny shoots Kyle an incredulous look. It is the weekend, so there are no classes. Kenny was on his way to Stan's room until he was spotted and abruptly stopped by Kyle's random query.
"Dude," Kenny hurriedly ushers Kyle away from Stan's room. "It hasn't even been a week yet."
Kyle shrugs. "And?"
His nonchalant utterance takes Kenny aback even more. "What do you mean 'and'?!" He asks, raising his voice a tad bit. "I just can't ask him out outta nowhere."
The emerging grin and eyebrow raise denotes Kyle's smugness. "Oh my, is the 'Almighty Kenneth McCormick' getting cold feet?"
Putting a hand up to his face, Kenny heaves a sigh. He is so glad nobody else is in the hallway. "Fighting and confessing are two totally different things."
"Not necessarily," Kyle says, striking the pose of a sensible adult. "Both require courage and-"
"Yeah, I don't care," Kenny deadpans. "Weren't you going to see Tweek anyway?"
"Yes, until I realized our date is in an hour." Kyle's lips curl into a teasing smile. "Wish you could do that with Stan, huh?"
Kenny glares at him, wanting to refute his assumption but the right words don't come to mind. He didn't think he would regret introducing him to Stan so soon. "S-shut up." He walks away when Kyle laughs, heading towards Stan's room. "If you wanna bug someone, go bug fatass."
"And have him ruin my day? No thanks."
"Then how about you don't ruin mines?" Kenny stops in front of Stan's door.
Kyle rolls his eyes with the cross of his arms. "How could I possibly do that?"
"By not ever mentioning me confessing to Stan."
"What?"
Kenny's eyes go big. Slowly and stiffly, as if he's in a scene of a horror film, he turns his head. He meets a pair of mesmerizing yet confounded bicolored orbs, the owner dressed in stylishly casual clothing. "U-uh..." Kenny stammers nervously, his brain going into overdrive trying form the appropriate words to save him from this sticky situation. Kyle silently makes his exit out of the dorm.
Stan patiently waits to hear Kenny's excuse. The longer he splutters to get a complete and coherent statement out, the more difficult it gets to keep a straight face.
After close to a minute, Kenny gives up and lets out a heavy sigh, his attention to his feet. His face feels as though he's suffering from the heat of his own fire, cognizant of the blush painting his cheeks. He's never been so embarrassed, he wants to use his fire to burn himself alive...Okay, that's too excessive.
"Sooo..."
Kenny hesitantly looks back up at Stan. Despite his awkward tone, there's a hint of amusement in his eyes. Kenny scratches the back of his head, breaking eye contact again. "Fuck...Um, well," he sighs again as he drops his arm. "There's no point keeping it from you since you...heard what I said."
"You and Kyle, actually."
Kenny is so going to teach that blabber-mouthing jerk a lesson later. "Sorry, if I've, like, weirded you out. I'd completely understand if you-"
"Wanna go for a walk?"
Kenny snaps his head upwards, his earrings dangling back and forth, caught off guard by the sudden proposal. "But-" Stan's calm yet serious countenance makes him think against questioning the noirette. He meant what he said. "O-okay," Kenny says, voice almost a whisper.
Stan walks out, closing the door along the way. He leads them down the opposite end of the hallway until they reach the double doors, sunlight beaming through the windows and reflecting off of the floor. He pushes one of the doors forward, allowing Kenny to step out first. How gentlemanly, Kenny thinks.
Now outside, he and Stan stroll side by side down a walkway. Kenny knew Stan would discover the garden here one day, though in his opinion, the courtyard is far more serene. He doesn't have to worry about any insects pestering him there.
They aren't the only two over here; further down is a boy with a tuft of bright blonde hair tending to some of the pretty flowers, humming merrily all the while. At the sound of their footsteps, he stops what he's doing to see who else are here. The smile that graces his lips just about reach up to his eyes.
"Hi, fellas!"
Kenny and Stan try not to wince at the increased brightness. "Hey, Butters," they greet back.
Re-humming the same tune, Butters resumes his self-given task. Still to this day, Kenny thinks Butters should've came into this world with Nature magic instead of Water, or at least have both elements. He not too long ago advanced to the Trainee rank. It's not because he's inexperienced with his magic, he, too, doesn't care much about his rank, even when he used to get picked on for being a Novice. The bullying ceased completely when Kenny threatened to incinerate anyone who dared to harass Butters.
Once they're a good distance away from the kindhearted boy, Kenny asks, "So you're not disgusted with me?"
Stan first gives him an 'Are you serious?' look, then answers, "If I was, I wouldn't be walking with you."
Kenny lets out a sheepish chuckle. "Yeah, fair point."
There is a long moment of silence, Kenny in the midst of getting his thoughts in order as Stan observes the variety of plants.
Kenny still isn't ready to confess. It's too soon and he highly doubts Stan sees him as anything other than a friend. He disregards the ache in his chest. These past few days, his feelings slowly strayed from the path of friendship. Initially, Stan being able to use two elements was what captivated him, then his looks, then his personality. Realizing this, Kenny thinks, how can anyone not fall for someone like Stan? Unless his disposition was similar to Cartman's (thank God he's not anything like him), it sounds impossible. Kenny knows he's very much attractive himself, but Stan? He's like a unique breed.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?"
Kenny flinches at the sound of his crush's voice. He blushes. "Oh, uh-"
"Surely, not how to confess, right?" Stan smirks.
Kenny frowns and stops walking. "No, it wasn't that."
Stan turns to face him after taking one more step, copying his expression. "Be honest, you like me, don't you?"
Kenny presses his lips into a line. "I do."
"Then why not just say it?"
Kenny fixates his bemused eyes on Stan. The tone he asked that question in seemed as though he didn't understand why Kenny was acting so tentative on this matter. Perhaps Stan... "Do you like me the same way?" Kenny asks.
He already knows what Stan's answer is going to be thanks to the arising blush. "Y-yeah..."
"Since when?" Kenny asks, genuinely curious, and also happy.
"It wasn't when you first came up to me with a random favor, if that's what you were hoping for," Stan says, a cheeky grin on his face.
"Damn," Kenny curses in jest. "Well, my approach was lame anyway." Stan rolls his eyes. "But I still think it's too soon to, ya know, start going out."
"How come?" Stan asks, clearly letdown.
"Stan, it hasn't been a week. Don't get me wrong, I would really like for us to start dating, but the timing...wouldn't make it feel right."
Stan sinks into his thoughts, appearing as if he's trying to comprehend the reasoning behind Kenny's reluctance. When more than several seconds elapse, Stan utters, "That...shouldn't matter. Even if we'd developed feelings for each other the day we met, as long as we share the same feelings, things such as timing shouldn't stop us or anybody else from dating." Kenny is about to say something until Stan asks, "Have you never fell for anyone before?"
Kenny blinks. To think Stan would beat him to the punch. "I have once, but have you?" Though he never pursued them, because he later found out that their personalities did not clash well.
Stan's facial features soften. "You're the first...and probably the last."
Kenny is rendered speechless, but on the inside, he is ecstatic, his heart racing madly in his chest. Stan chuckles at his reaction, and takes a step towards him.
Warm, soft lips touch Kenny's own. He doesn't move a muscle, afraid he would collapse due to the flood of emotions surging through him. This...is his very first kiss. With how close they are, he is sure Stan can hear his heart pounding amidst the silence. They kiss for one more second longer, Kenny gawking into the eyes that enamored him at first sight.
"I like you, Kenny. Please go out with me."
Not trusting his vocal cords, Kenny accepts by kissing the personable noirette again.
/
That night, Kenny and Stan spend their first date in the training field.
Stan creates a big heart out of ice.
Kenny, though he has his doubts, refuses to attempt to melt it. Instead, he nears the beautiful creation while conjuring up a fireball from both hands: one orange and the other red. He tosses them high up into the air, then snaps his fingers, detonating them. Tiny orange and red embers drizzle down to the heart.
The couple watches the enchanting display in each other's arms.
(A/n: I have one more one-shot in mind, sadly, it's not stenny)