Author's Note: I don't have much to say about this one. I seriously love writing Cartman and Wendy. And this whole chapter is pretty durn cute, if I may say so. My PR, who "edited" these chapters onward (He probably just wanted to read it. I edited them twice after but he doesn't know that. Science majors, pssh.) said he really liked this one and it was among his favorites. He also told me I should write more "sexy stuff" and then I showed him "Of Crimson and Water" and he shut up. It was glorious and I laughed way more than I should have. And then he demanded more of that... it's too much pressure!

Thanks for reading, reviewing, your favorites, and follows. :)

Chapter Title from "Fire, Fire" by Flyleaf.

Chapter Twenty: Almost Thought We Made It Home

Kenny had been absent from school for two days. Butters had been worried yesterday but now he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he bobbed his knee uncontrollably in class. He couldn't sit here and watch the presentations of their mid-term government class. It was too divided into liberals and conservatives and Cartman vs. Wendy even though their fights were just unresolved sexual tension.

"You're pretty much saying a perfect world is one led by white supremacy," Wendy barked from across the room at the brunette, who scoffed and rolled his eyes as he pointed at his Prezi presentation.

"You think it wouldn't be?" Cartman snapped, causing Token to groan and hit his head on the desk. "It wouldn't be a perfect world, Testaburger. A perfect world would be run by men. And there would be Shakey's pizzas in every country."

"Oh my God, you sexist pig!" She shrieked, standing up at her desk, "Look at the male leaders in charge now; how is that working out for us?! Name one female politician who has EVER made an idiot of herself!"

"Sarah Palin. Michelle Bachman. Hilary Clinton, Michelle Obama."

"Just because they stand up for what they believe doesn't make them idiots!"

"It does, Wendy, because women must realize their only purpose is to get in the fucking kitchen and make me a sandwich. Or get on their knees and suck my dick," Butters looked up at that remark, and watched as Wendy launched herself at the chubby boy in the front of the room.

"You want me on my knees, Eric?" She asked sweetly, he chuckled and went a little red as she lowered herself on the floor.

"That's right," Stan made a gagging noise and turned away from his ex-girlfriend in mortification. Kyle couldn't help but stare with a twitching eye; how were they getting away with this?

Suddenly Wendy punched his groin, causing him to fall on the floor in a loud thud. The classroom cheered as he writhed in pain on the floor and Wendy stood up, kicking Cartman in the stomach.

"I can still kick your ass, fat boy." She hissed, "you may think that's where women belong, but they really belong in the classrooms, in the White House, and on top. Don't fucking forget that," she growled, walking back to her seat.

"If that's foreplay I don't ever wanna know what goes on in the bedroom..." Clyde grumbled to Bebe who giggled quietly and smacked him lightly on the arm.

Butters settled back in his seat and looked down at his paper. He had attempted to take notes on the projects but it resulted in a doodle of Kenny's face. It was nothing but pen scribbles and angles. A knock on the door was heard as Cartman slowly stood up. A bright orange parka dragged itself into the room and Butters' heart stammered with relief.

Except as the hood pulled down there was long brown hair and a girl's face. She handed a note to their teacher and whispered quietly.

"Mhmm..." Mr. Akers mumbled for her to continue.

Butters leaned closer, trying to hear what Karen McCormick had to say, but he could only make out a few words. He grimaced and watched as she clutched her books tightly to her and she looked around the room nervously. A freshman in front of a group of juniors; she looked like a deer in the headlights.

"So should I mark him absent?" Mr. Akers said louder

"I dunno. He should have a note." Karen replied, tightening the strings as her brother did when he was nervous or scared. "I was just supposed to let you know, I'm sorry for interrupting," she addressed the class. Butters looked her over closer and felt his stomach squirm.

She had a black eye.

"Uh... uh Mr. Akers?" Butters asked meekly, Kyle's eyes snapped to him; he looked paler than he had a moment ago. The teacher turned to him, an expression of boredom on his face. "Can I... can I go to the r-re-restroom?"

"-And what about poor people, Wendy? Just like Karen McCormick, who thinks her problems are the most important thing. Well they're not. Poor people put themselves in their situations on purpose and I'm supposed to feel bad for them and think our government owes them a handout?" Wendy stood up once more and her green eyes were ablaze.

"No, not always, Eric! But you're a sociopath so you have no empathy for anyone! Imagine if you were impoverished and you had no control of your situation, wouldn't you want someone to help you get back on your feet? Do you think it's right you can get a scholarship? That's a handout from the school so you can get an education..." their bantering continued and Stan groaned in annoyance.

"Jesus Christ..." Craig hissed in the back of the classroom. Butters had waited too long for a response from the teacher and quietly walked out of the room barely noticed.

He ran down the hallway and found Karen at her locker. Her tall body looked surprisingly tiny in the long coat that covered her hands and looked almost like a dress on her. She was searching through her backpack as he tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, is e-everything okay?" He asked gently, Karen sighed heavily and flinched as he reached to her black eye. "What happened? Your lip..." he saw a split in her lower lip and she shrugged her shoulders.

"It's nothing..." she trailed off, wrapping her arms around Butters. He held her tightly and could faintly smell pot, cigarettes, and cinnamon on the cloth. "God I'm like fucking Kenny," she ran a hand through her unusually limp and slightly unkempt hair and shook her hands. It appeared as if she hadn't washed it in a few days. "Promise you won't tell a soul?" Butters nodded and she dragged him to the girls' bathroom.

"I-I can't-"

"Shh..." she whispered, going into the back stall with him after checking to make sure no one was in there. "What all has Kenny told you?"

"Well he stayed the weekend with me and we had a date Sunday. He kinda told me your dad was back and that's why he stayed. But he said it wasn't a big deal and he'd figure it out. But he wasn't here yesterday." Karen nodded. "What happened?"

"Kenny got kicked out of the house," Butters' jaw dropped. "Kevin kicked the shit outta our dad on Sunday after he woke up from his high. After we got home that night there was a big fight and Kenny got in the middle and was kicked out... I don't know if it's permanent. He slept in the truck that night and I told him to come back but he said he won't. Kevin's trying to figure out what to do."

"Holy hell..." Butters trailed off as dread pierced his heart. "What about yesterday? Where's he now?" Karen sighed heavily and lowered her head.

"Yesterday he was gone because I forced him to go to the doctor and he got his license. He's in the nurse's office now." Butters gave her a look, "he didn't get out of the house easily."

"Is that what happened to you?" Karen's eyes lowered.

"This was an accident, I got in the middle of it and I was stupid."

"Karen..."

"Kevin did it... he felt awful." Butters sighed heavily and hugged her. They remained like that for awhile and he rubbed her back. "I don't know what's gonna happen."

Butters pulled away and unlocked the stall door. She held onto his arm and followed him out of the bathroom.

"I'm gonna help out however I can," he murmured to her as they walked to the office. "You sure you're okay?" Karen nodded and smiled softly at him.

They waved at the secretary and walked down the hallway. The nurse was putting away a first aid kit and supplies.

"Where did my brother go?" Karen asked quietly. The nurse turned around and smiled a startled smile.

"You scared me, Ms. McCormick," she replied, "he didn't say, but your brothers should be more careful, dear. That cut could get infected." She smiled and laughed softly as she walked out of the room. Butters looked at her as she dragged him down the hall.

"Do you know where he is?" Karen nodded, ignoring the looks she received by dragging Butters along with her.

"The computer lab. It's bound to be fifth hour and that's his study hall." Butters nodded slowly and felt his stomach churn with nervousness; he didn't know what to expect. They entered the quiet lab, passed the newsroom, and found the blonde hunched in the back corner with his face practically glued to the screen.

"Kenny," Karen said, running up to her brother. He pulled his face from the screen and Butters wasn't sure whether he should wince or ogle him.

There was a large cut on his cheek that looked like it was, in fact, infected. His nose was swollen and crooked, which resulted in two black eyes. Like Karen, Kenny's lip was jacked and swollen and cut at the bottom corner. But he couldn't help looking passed the wounds and to his eyes.

"You have glasses." Kenny chuckled and wiggled the black frames a little. "Jesus..." he trailed off, wrapping his arms around Kenny's waist as he rested his head on his taut chest. "Ken, you got kicked out of your house. Wh-what... why didn't you tell me? I've been worried sick. What happened?" Kenny sighed heavily, "you didn't die did you?" The blonde shook his head and stood up from the desk.

"It was just a shit fest from the start. I tried helping Kevin but... I was given two options and I chose getting out of the house. I've got enough money to get by for awhile."

"But what about Karen? You need a home, Kenny. I-I'll talk to my parents, maybe you can take the guest room in the basement, or the one upstairs." Kenny scoffed and took Butters' hand in his.

"You're sweet, but I'm pretty sure your parents hate me enough as it is. Kev might get an apartment and I can stay with him. Kar, too. That was the original plan." Karen had nestled against her brother and he ran his hand through her hair.

"But... where are you staying?"

"Stark's Pond, I have an old blanket and the benches aren't-"

"It snowed last night! You can't stay outside in that weather. You'll get sick, you'll die. Let me help you. At least talk to Kyle or Stan if you won't let me." Kenny grimaced and shrugged his shoulders.

"I have to get to English..." Karen trailed off, hugging Kenny tightly. He kissed her head and held her in his arms protectively. "Talk to me at lunch, let me know what you have planned." She waved to Butters and hurried to get to her class.

Blonde turned to blonde. Butters sniffled and Kenny looked at him curiously.

"I'm sorry I worried you. I don't have my phone charger and I went by your house yesterday and you weren't there." Butters nodded; he had been at Kyle's because he was afraid of being alone in his house at night. His eyes lit up and he smiled brightly at Kenny, who shrank back at his sudden change in emotion.

"My parents are gone 'til Friday..." he explained, Kenny gave him a blank look, until the lightbulb went on and a slow grin to rival the Cheshire cat spread on his face. "You can s-stay with me until then a-and Karen too. Kevin if he w-wants. I mean the house couldn't be d-dirty and he couldn't smoke in the house but... it'd give y'all a place to figure stuff out."

Butters squeaked as Kenny squeezed him in a hug and kissed his cheek. He giggled as Kenny lifted him and swung around slowly.

"You are a genius... would you seriously let me? That'd be so great."

"Yes, of course!" Butters chirped, giggling as he caught Kenny's eyes lit in a blue blaze. Their lips locked in a chaste yet passionate kiss and he felt his lips curl in a smile against his. Butters ran a hand through Kenny's hair and sighed softly. "You look awful. Your nose is broken."

"I'll have Kyle fix it, he did it for me last time." Butters winced and carefully caressed his cheek. He felt Kenny recoil from his touch, but relax. "It's nothing, don't worry." Butters rolled his eyes and ran his hands down Kenny's body. Certain areas he touched caused him to wince or jerk, which pulled on his heart strings; he knew Kenny was probably badly bruised.

"You're not wearing your parka. Or your hoodie." He shook his head.

"I gave them to Karen, in case..." he trailed off, running a hand through his dirty hair. Butters remained silent and glanced to the abandoned computer screen. Kenny followed his eyes and took his hand as he pulled up another chair and sat down. "I was working on this project... remember I told you I like digital art?" Butters nodded and Kenny clicked on a minimized Corel document. "I had just been messing around a bit... not really sure what I was doing, that's how it usually starts. But... look."

Butters examined the unfinished piece and put a hand to his mouth.

The background appeared to be shattered eggshells pieced together. Fragments were missing, and there was a light source, creating a shadowed effect that made it look so real. In a slight silver, gold, peach, and blue tint that created an ethereal skin tone, sinewy lines created two genderless faces, almost as if they were mannequins. They were horizontal, their faces in opposite directions; their noses touched each others' chins and their lips were pressed together in a mismatched bottom to top- top to bottom kiss. The person on bottom was unfinished.

"That's beautiful... you should submit that." Butters murmured, resting his chin on Kenny's shoulder. "D'you have any others on here?"

"Are you kidding me?" Kenny laughed out loud and opened a hidden folder. Butters gawked as hundreds of working documents and finished files filled the screen in tiny icons. "This is what I've done since junior high."

Butters searched through the folder, feeling as if this was something very private, very Kenny. He felt a little intrusive as he opened certain images. Some of them were basic designs and logos, others were intricate drawings like the ones he had always marveled at on Deviant Art. But as he looked to Kenny to question if it was okay to look further, the blonde simply watched him.

There was no specific theme to his artwork. Some of it was happy some of it was extremely morbid. There were a few sexual pieces and a few extremely innocent. Some were very mature and extremely edited and others were immaturely funny renditions of people and things. As he looked through each piece, he had the sense that although there was no specific theme... there was a theme. They represented Kenny; his personality, his traits, his thoughts, emotions, goals, worries, fears, dreams... and it brought tears to Butters' eyes as he stopped on a photo.

"Are you okay?" Kenny asked, putting a hand on Butters' shoulder. Butters nodded and rested his head on Kenny as he examined the piece further.

A digitally drawn picture of a tall, lanky, blonde boy stood in front of a realistic looking mirror. The mirror reflected a young blonde child with a gap toothed grin and dirty hair and bruises. The room the boy was in was very dark but Butters vaguely recognized certain aspects of it.

"Is that how you see yourself?" Kenny shrugged and flipped to the next picture. It was a role reversal, one that was sloppier and looked as if it had been done a few years prior. A small, blonde, bruised boy stared into the same, yet sloppier mirror, and the reflection stared back at him. The reflection was of a young man, who was tall and lanky and gave a crooked grin with his arms over two shadowed people in the reflection.

"The first one I did when I was thirteen. That one I did last year... well, two years ago now..."

"Oh, Kenny..." Butters whimpered, squeezing his bandaged hand tightly.

"The texture was different... it looks worse for a reason. I did one of you and Kyle and Stan." Butters looked at him.

"Can I see?" He nodded and scrolled through his folder a bit before clicking five pictures.

"Same thing... I did the first ones when I was thirteen, and the others last- dammit, two years ago," Butters laughed out loud at the first one.

The piece was of Kyle and Stan looking into a bathroom mirror. Although their hands were in front of them, it was implied they were holding hands and laughing, from what he could tell. They weren't wearing their stocking cap and ushanka, showing that Stan had slightly wavy black hair and Kyle's was quite tame despite what the redhead thought. The mirror reflected two young boys; Stan held bunny ears behind Kyle's head and was sticking his tongue out and Kyle had his eyes closed and was laughing hysterically.

"That's them to a T," Butters laughed as Kenny grinned, "especially them being together." he nodded and smiled brightly at the slightly nostalgic picture.

"I don't remember them never being together. I do have ones where Stan looks in the mirror and sees Kyle and vice versa, though. Those are pretty sweet."

"You should give those to them," Kenny shrugged, then opened the next one. It was of young Stan and Kyle looking at each other in front of a mirror, holding hands. There was a main reflection and an almost transparent one behind it. The first reflection was of them in the same exact positions, just a few years older. The one behind it showed Kyle's head resting on Stan's shoulder and kissing his neck. Stan's hands held Kyle's and they looked totally blissed out in happiness. "I love that one... it's like... imagining what could be?" Kenny nodded and smiled adoringly at Butters.

"Here's you," Kenny opened the document and Butters gasped a little.

A petite teen stood in front of a body-length mirror with extremely bright blonde hair. He could tell from the height of the cheekbones he was supposed to be smiling. Although he was small, he didn't look delicate like Butters always thought he did. And the reflection showed that. Instead of a scared, sad, and vulnerable looking boy, the reflection was of a child who wore a face of strength and happiness.

"That's not me," Butters murmured, feeling his eyes prickle. Kenny opened the next picture. An uneasy, hunched over digital drawing of Butters as a nine year old kid looked in the same mirror, at the same older boy from the previous picture who looked completely, one hundred percent happy. "That's more like me..."

"Well, that's how you see you. And this is the how Stan and Kyle see each other..." he pulled up the second picture of them. "And how I see myself," the picture of a young Kenny crossed Butters' eyes.

"But this is how I see us... that's how I feel you are. And feel they are. And I am. That's the point." He settled on the first picture of Butters, and he heard the boy next to him whimper.

"T-th-that's how you see m-me?" He asked, Kenny nodded and rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand.

"When we were younger, yeah. You were like... really happy and sure of yourself. You always helped me, even though I know you didn't think you did. I mean we weren't always best friends but I always looked up to you." Butters blushed and rested his head on Kenny's shoulder. "And then we were best friends and you told me things and I know you doubt yourself but you carry shit on your shoulders most kids never deal with. I just see you as strong, I guess."

Butters' felt his heart stammer and he cursed at the fact they were in school. Kenny looked like a young child who had just confessed his deepest secret. The way his eyes looked staring at him and the wounds on his face made him look extra vulnerable. But the glasses perched on his nose drove him wild.

"No one has ever... said that about me." Butters murmured as he massaged Kenny's wrists. The dark blonde boy smiled adoringly at him and ran a hand through his hair.

"You're the strongest person I know, Buttercup." Butters blushed at Kenny's admission.

"I could say the same about you... but I don't have a nickname for you," both of them laughed a little and Kenny kissed him delicately.

"Call me whatever you want..." Butters smiled against him and pressed their lips together once more. "I'm not that strong, though."

"To me you are. You're my rock. You've always been this level-head cool dude, even when we were little. Everyone else was so crazy and stuff but you just saw everything as it was and were so chill," Kenny hummed as Butters practically snuggled against him. "Why does it feel like we've been dating way longer than we have been?" Kenny laughed a little and pressed his forehead against Butters'.

"Because nothing has changed in our relationship except the fact we now claim each other. So at your house..." Kenny trailed off, "if you still invite me to stay with you," he added, "do you think..."

"Yes, you can sleep with me." Kenny's cheeks flushed and he shook his head. "Oh, that wasn't what you were askin' w-was it?" The darker blonde shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you think... if Karen decides to stay... we could bring Bunny?" Butters nodded brightly; he loved Karen's dog. He had his own dog as well so it wasn't a big deal.

"Of course. You can still sleep with me."

"Duh." Butters giggled and burrowed his head in Kenny's shoulder.

"Holy shit," Kyle blurted when Kenny and Butters entered the lunch room ten minutes after the bell. They took their usual seats after talking to Karen briefly, not catching the gawking looks Stan and Kyle were sending Kenny, and Butters opened his lunch box. He pulled out a yogurt and some apple slices; his stomach churned uneasily as he stirred his yogurt slowly.

"Dude, eat a cheeseburger," Stan said, then offered one of his to Butters, who blushed and shook his head.

"Kenny, your face. What happened?" Kyle asked, internally cringing at the swollen skin and crooked nose.

"Long story, but apparently you're right about me being far-sighted and it took me for-fucking-ever to find a pair of glasses that weren't hipster or fucking John Lennon style." Kyle rolled his eyes and chuckled softly at Kenny's obvious deflection.

"No, you barely escaped death. But nice job, they look sexy." Stan gave Kyle a look as he laughed in mild shock at what his boyfriend had just said. Kenny grinned smugly, splitting his cut lip in the process.

"You mean the busted face is sexy? Ah shit, dude, you're bleeding everywhere!" Stan handed Kenny a paper towel as he licked at the blood dripping down his face. Kenny shrugged and applied pressure to his lip. The blood had surprisingly started to soak through. "Are you gonna need stitches?" Kenny shook his head.

"I meant the glasses. But seriously, what happened to you?" Kyle asked gently. Butters sent down his food as the smell of blood infiltrated his nose. It made him feel queasy.

"My dad came back home and I got kicked out of the house," he answered truthfully as he wiped the trickle of blood that narrowly missed being absorbed by the paper towel. Butters offered him an apple slice but he shook his head. "You barely have anything for you, I'll be fine," Kenny assured as he nuzzled Butters' neck. The bright blonde giggled and squirmed as his longer hair tickled his skin.

"Wait, what? Your dad kicked you out? Where are you staying?" Stan asked, unable to believe how calm Kenny was as he shared this information.

"He's done worse," Kenny murmured, voice muffled slightly by Butters' skin. "I uh... well... Kyle, can you set my nose again?" Stan narrowed his eyes on the dark blonde across from him.

"Are you working tonight?" Kenny shook his head as he stole a sliced pickle from Stan's tray. "Kay, I'll drive you to my house and then I'll talk to my dad about what to do. There are emancipation laws... maybe..."

"Great, but I've got a place I'm staying so no worries on that." Kenny chirped, squeezing Butters' hand under the table. "And I'll just follow you, I'm gonna talk to coach after school to see what he wants me to do."

"You're not staying at Stark's Pond," Kyle barked, Kenny laughed and felt Butters pat his knee. "And follow how?"

"He-he's stayin' with me, fellas. Don't worry." Butters piped up, causing the power couple to look at the two with smug, knowing, grins. "W-what it's not like we're gonna d-do anything. Karen might be there. A-and Bunny." Stan and Kyle laughed quietly together, as if they knew this super secret.

"Of course Bunny will be there," Stan joked, causing Kenny to furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

"Bunny is my sister's dog..." Kenny said slowly, Kyle and Stan burst out laughing, causing the two blondes to stare at them oddly.

"You call us Style, right?" They nodded. "Well, we've been calling you Bunny for like three years."

Kenny's jaw dropped as he blinked at his two best friends momentarily. His eyes slowly flickered to his sister's table, where she sat joking around with Ike, Ruby, and a few other freshmen he wasn't quite familiar with. His mind began to reel on the possibility that she had been in on that little name-ship with the two conspirators... and Bunny was a really weird name for a dog.

Butters, however, seemed excited they were already worthy enough for a portmanteau.

"You think of rabbits when you think of us?" Stan snickered and Kenny rolled his eyes as he couldn't help but grin at Butters' innocent question. He patted the smaller boy's back and Butters seemed happy with himself as he settled against Kenny.

"Wait, back up..." Kyle piped up, "you said follow me. You don't have a car." Kenny shook his head. "The fuck?"

"I have something better. More... McCormick." Stan rolled his eyes at Kenny as he gulped his Mountain Dew.

"What? A stolen bike?" Kenny scoffed.

"Close. Kevin hooked me up with a friend's motorcycle!" Kenny chirped excitedly. Butters grinned excitedly.

"You got your license?" Kyle asked slightly disbelievingly.

"Yep. Both the regular one and then the... motorcycle license thingy. I did it yesterday after I picked up my glasses." Kyle and Stan nodded and locked eyes for a moment. Stan cleared his throat.

"No offense dude... but where'd you get the money?" He couldn't help but ask. Kenny smirked.

"It was cheap because Kevin is his coke dealer. Shh..." Kenny whispered, causing his friends to roll their eyes, "but I've saved almost every penny I've earned. Now that I'm on my own I'm gonna need to get around somehow. And if I'm driving I'm gonna have to be able to see," he flicked his glasses. "It cost me my ass but I'll earn it all back someday. Totally worth it, it's a sexy bike." Kyle laughed a little at this and smiled happily at Kenny.

"Well, I'm proud of you!" Kyle said honestly. Kenny shrugged his shoulders and glanced to Butters, who squirmed a little as he looked at his lunch.

"Uh... Ken, I'm not hungry anymore. You can have the rest of my lunch." Kenny clicked his tongue as he examined Butters' food.

"Nu-uh. You ate like nothing." He murmured as he examined the half eaten yogurt and most of his apple slices. He looked worriedly at Butters who appeared slightly uneasy as his trembling hands held the spoon.

"Yeah, you hardly eat anymore, dude. It's been like that for... a long time..."

"Ten months," Butters mumbled under his breath. Only Kenny heard him and felt his heart thud painfully in his chest. Butters shoved his food in front of Kenny and gnashed his knuckles under the table. "Fellas, I g-gotta watch my eating habits. My dad says I'm st-starting to get f-fat and boobs and I-I'm shaped like a blobby girl."

"Bull shit..." Kenny grumbled and without shame stuck his hand up Butters sweater and felt around his chest. The blonde boy's cheeks heated in surprise as Kenny groped him in front of the entire high school. "No tits and even if you did I would not be complaining." Butters' blush darkened. "You're like a rail, Lee."

"Actually, you're the rail," Stan said to Kenny, who lowered four bony fingers as he smirked. "But really, Butters, you don't believe that, do you?" Butters shrugged and felt his stomach turn sour and fought off that familiar nauseating churn. He hunched his shoulders and felt his eyes prickle; he wanted to run. Kenny grimaced; he knew all of Butters' body language.

"If you're really not hungry," Kenny finally began, "I'll eat it. I haven't eaten since Saturday so it's tempting me." Kyle and Stan's eyes bugged out of their heads at his confession. Butters just looked at him with a sad smile on his face. "But... I'll only eat this if we go to Taco Bell after your practice is over." Butters nodded.

"And then grocery shopping!" Butters chirped and looked to Kenny as he practically inhaled the entire yogurt cup in a second. Stan looked at him with a competitive glint in his eye; he downed his fries in a blink of an eye. The two football players grinned at each other and Kenny stole another pickle.

"Cheater!" Stan cried. Kyle rolled his eyes as Kenny stuck out his tongue.

Kenny held up a finger as his mouth was full of apples and Stan was cackling across from him. Kyle shook his head and laughed a little and Butters giggled.

"You look like a hamster."

"Mmmphh mmm," Kenny said, voice more muffled than any of them had ever heard. He burst out laughing and had to clamp his mouth shut so he wouldn't spit any of the food out on the table... or Kyle. He took a large swallow and sighed. "I almost died, dude!" he turned to Stan who was still laughing. "Is a hamster a good look?"

"Your cheeks were all chubby," Butters replied, "like..." he trailed off and puffed up his cheeks with air. He squeaked as Kenny clapped his hands on either of them and Kyle tried his hardest to not fall into hysterics.

"Sorry, I couldn't not do that," Kenny murmured with a happy smile. Butters shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against him, smiling too. This was how it should have been. This was how it was always supposed to be. He couldn't help but feel giddy that he finally got to have Kenny, like this, and his friends. Everything was perfect. Even when it wasn't.

Kenny had gone with Stan to talk to their coach after school. Stan clapped his back and joined practice, leaving Kenny to fumble for words as he waited to hear if he had to stay or if he was done for good for the year. The news he had received had not been what he wanted to hear and as he slightly limped back to the school, he couldn't help but feel a little angry and disappointed.

Mostly in himself.

He walked through the halls to the auditorium where Karen and Butters' play practice was. He had never been to one of their practices, he was always at his practices, and most of the time he missed their performances due to game days. He had always heard that the South Park drama department was really good although it was probably the least popular club; Kenny was just glad his sister was able to do something she loved. Same with Butters.

He opened the doors and quietly hobbled to the front row of seats. He set his gym bag down as a leg rest and set his old backpack on the seat next to him. No one was on stage, though it was a really nice, almost professional set, yet he could hear people yelling backstage.

"Bebe, it'll be fine!" Kenny heard Karen say. He recognized the blonde's annoyed groan and clicking of heels. He leaned back in the comfortable seat and stretched out his legs as he closed his eyes.

"Fine? Bridon decided to fucking quit! As if we needed him, he's too fucking wishy washy. Dammit, Butters, Wendy, what are we going to do?!"

"Last minute auditions... Butters will have to step up to do his part because we're a week from competition and we don't have the time to teach someone the main part. He's been his understudy, Butters can you do that?"

"Y-yeah, I think so," Butters murmured, walking on stage in costume. Kenny tilted his head; he looked like he was supposed to play a little boy. He was covered in fake dirt and what appeared to be blood; Kenny didn't like it. "I just like playing Gavroche..."

"I know, sweetie. But if you're Jean Valjean it could open so many doors for you. You have the voice. You know the part so well," Bebe coaxed, he sighed heavily and bowed his head. Karen ran out, dressed in baggy trousers, a white shirt, and a trench coat and a hat with her hair tucked back. Was she supposed to play a boy too? Kenny massaged his temples in confusion. He didn't get it.

"But we were brother and sister..." Butters pointed to Karen who grinned.

"Well yeah, but we practically are in real life, anyway," She teased, causing Butters to blush, "we can see if anyone else wants to take the part of Gavroche. I think one of the boys in my class was willing to... wherever he went off to. This is a mess..." Bebe groaned at this and walked out in a beautiful gown. Wendy looked out into the sea of nearly empty chairs and ran a hand through her crazily teased hair. She caught sight of Kenny, however, and waved.

"Hey, Kenny!" Karen chirped, running up stage and sat in front of her brother. Butters snapped around to face her and grinned before running up next to her.

"Hullo," he greeted, watching with raised eyebrows as Wendy and Bebe began to gather the cast to talk. "Gueermo quit and you're taking lead I take it?" Butters nodded and rubbed his knuckles. "Congratulations. What play is this?" The two gave him a look and he shrank back a little.

""Les Miserables,"" Karen replied. "Hey, you're a middle child." Kenny nodded slowly. Butters slowly grinned.

"You can sing."

"No." Kenny said, shaking his head, "I am not... Leopold, no come back here!" he yelled, watching as Butters ran to Wendy and Bebe and pointed in his direction. Karen smiled sheepishly at him and he rolled his eyes.

"It's an easy part. You die at the end. So do I. And we'd be siblings. You get this awesome song though and you get shot like four times." Kenny shook his head.

"I can't be in a play, Kar," he mumbled with his head low.

"Oh, you talked to your coach? What'd he say?" He glared at her and stood up slowly, wincing as he felt something in his leg snap.

"I'm out for the season but I get to stay on the team..." Kenny mumbled, she jumped off the stage and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, I know you really like playing and-"

"Not really, it's just something fun to do."

"Well, this is fun too. You're great at singing... and we really need someone good to play Gavroche."

"I can't act..." Kenny mumbled as Karen dragged him to the stairs. "This is a terrible idea."

As he got on the stage, Bebe ran up to him and smiled angelically. He raised his eyebrows and she sighed heavily.

"We're desperate Kenny, I know what I did to you was bad... and I'm sorry. But, I promise I will do whatever you want if you do this for us. You can sing; you have a killer voice. We need you. Just... it's not a super main part but there is some speaking and Butters would work with you to get it down..."

"What's the character?"

"His name is Gavroche. He's this street kid who was kicked out of his house-"

"SOLD!" Kenny cried, laughing at the irony. Karen shook her head. "Sorry, continue." Bebe gave him a questioning look but sighed.

"And he takes care of his two younger brothers, they call him mom. And he helps lead the French Revolution up until he dies stealing ammo from the dead soldiers. He's also eleven."

"...I'm the tallest person in this school, I can not play an eleven year old."

"Well, you could play the main character-"

"No!"

"Then read this," Bebe thrust him a script and turned the pages until she found the audition script. "It's a song... but I've heard your voice. Read this how you would imagine going into the line of fire, fighting for the thing most important to you, and dying for it."

Kenny sighed heavily and read over the verse. He shrugged his shoulders, examined their interested faces and couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you all just going to stare at me as if I'll be performing a miracle?" Karen gave him a look and he slumped his shoulders a little bit. He stepped forward, took a deep breath, and tried not to laugh.

"Little people know, when little people fight, we may look easy pickings but we've got some bite..." Kenny didn't really know how to act like he was shot, he had only ever been shot and it fucking hurt and he didn't think it would be possible to finish a verse when shot. However, he channeled the pain and the agony of feeling the sting run through every nerve and short circuiting of internal organs and body systems. The worst was suffocating. "So never kick a dog because he's just a pup. We'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give up. So you'd better run for cover when the pup grows..." Kenny looked up, suddenly with a horrified expression. "Wait am I supposed to die here? I don't even get to finish?!"

Bebe groaned and Karen covered her face as she laughed quietly.

"Your brother hasn't even seen Les Mis?" She asked in disbelief, "yes, Kenny, you die there."

"Oh," was all Kenny said in a quiet voice before he collapsed.

Butters yelped at the sudden thud on the floor. The crew gasped and started to run forward yet Bebe stopped them.

"I haven't seen anyone play dead so well." Butters felt his heart leap as he leaned down and felt for Kenny's heartbeat. He sighed with relief when feeling a calm drumming underneath his fingers. "Okay, get up!" Bebe said, Kenny sat up and rubbed his leg a little. "Kenny, will you please be Gavroche? Yeah you're too tall for the part but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, you are perfect!" Bebe pleaded as she pouted her lower lip. He rolled his eyes and looked to Butters and Karen who wore the same kicked puppy-eyed expression. Kenny sighed heavily and carefully stood back up; he was careful not to put too much pressure on his injured leg.

"Dammit..." he trailed off, "fine..." then he winced as he was squeezed in a group hug. "I knew I shouldn't have come to watch you guys..."

"But now you'll be at practice with me!" Butters whispered excitedly, "Bebe, I'm gonna see if this fits him." Butters pointed to his costume. She rolled her eyes and gave a knowing smile.

"Be back in five."

"With such time constraints that may be possible..." Kenny teased with a wink, causing Karen to cringe. The curly blonde haired girl patted her back comfortingly as Butters lead him hand in hand to the dressing room. Butters quickly took off his outfit and handed it to Kenny.

"Practices are usually about an hour long on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Now they're a little longer. You won't have to do too much, I'll cram the lines with you. Thank you... so much!" Butters whispered as Kenny carefully took off his shirt. Butters' eyes widened as Kenny slowly lowered his arms. "Oh my God..."

Kenny looked in the mirror for the first time since Saturday night. His ribcage was black and blue. He had several welts on his chest and stomach and bruises dotted his back. "Oh, Ken..." Butters hugged him loosely and Kenny's stomach twitched as his fingers traced the puckered scar from ten months ago. "This isn't right."

"What isn't right is we're both almost naked and not doing anything about it," Kenny joked, causing Butters to roll his eyes and kiss Kenny softly. He could taste his blood; it made him light headed and he pulled away as he felt sick to his stomach once again. His muscles clenched and tears burned in his eyes when Kenny touched him.

"All... all I see is you bloody and... and your eyes. And the smell... I hate your blood. It was all over me and I wanted it. I wanted it b-because it was warm and a-all I had left of you. How s-sick is that? I'm not... I'm still grieving... and I haven't come to terms with the fact that you are here. I c-can't just switch off that pain, no matter how hard I try. They had to... to sedate me that night. I wouldn't let you go. I w-won't."

Kenny hugged him tight and held his head to his chest. He kissed Butters' hair. He felt tears leak from Butters' eyes onto his skin and he breathed in.

"You don't have to let me go... it's okay..." Kenny whispered, "it's gonna be okay... I'm sorry, Leo. I'm so sorry... it's not easy. I know I'm not back to normal... maybe I won't be, I don't know. But I'm here and I'm gonna try my fucking hardest to stay. But I'll always come back. And I'll always come back to you and only you. Because I love you. I love you, Leopold James. Being your boyfriend for three days doesn't mean shit when you've been the best part of me for seven years. I mean, it does, but it's just... I dunno. I'll be here, always. And I'll never hurt you again." He whispered, stroking the tears from Butters' cheeks with his thumbs. "But you gotta stop crying 'cause you're gonna make me cry, okay?" Butters nodded and nestled his face in Kenny's chest. Kenny petted his hair soothingly. "These are just bruises. They don't matter and they're gonna fade. It's nothing I'm not used to. But the fact that you're willing to let me and my sister stay with you for a week because of my shit means the world to me. And... think of the bruises as me getting into character or something, I don't know."

Butters wiped his eyes and laughed weakly at Kenny, who fit into the costume except the pants were too short and the shoes too small. Kenny wore it anyway, for now, because it smelled like Butters.

"I don't know h-how we're gonna g-get by having the t-t-tallest person on our cast playing the person who's s-sposed to be the shortest." Kenny shrugged and looked to Butters who had fitted himself in a fancy Victorian suit.

"You shoulda worn that for homecoming," Butters rolled his eyes and pulled Kenny close to him.

"Shh..." he put his finger over Kenny's lips and giggled when he tried to suck on the digit; he resorted to licking. "It means the world to me that you joined the play to help us. And, just so you know, we miss two days of school for our conference and district performances. And if we get first at those w-we go to state so then we can miss two more days of school." Kenny grinned, "we also get to go to a college performance of "Les Mis" next week and that's a half day."

"Why didn't you start bribing me with that instead of puppy eyes?" Kenny joked.

"Because I didn't need to, I mean, I would have. But you willingly joined before I had to bring out the big guns."

"So you did plan bribery?" Butters shrugged and blushed a little. "You're coming along nicely!" Kenny laughed as he pressed his lips against Butters. The smaller boy tangled his hands in his hair and held his hands tightly.

"I can't thank you enough..."

After practice, Kenny, Butters, and Karen had gone to the grocery store. With Karen's black eye and fat lip and Kenny's practically bludgeoned face they received double takes and side glances. The McCormicks didn't seem to mind, though; in fact, Butters would say they seemed almost excited as they talked animatedly to each other and Butters as they followed him as he did his own normal shopping. It hurt Butters' heart to think they probably hadn't had the luxury of buying little more than frozen waffles and pop tarts. He always wondered if that was true; apparently it was.

He told them to get whatever sounded good as he did his basic shopping for the next four days. He didn't have a lot on his list but he figured they'd probably want to get something ridiculously off the wall due to the fact they simply could. They looked like beaten kids in a candy store as they looked down the aisles yet they always returned empty handed.

"Guys, seriously," Butters said upon their most recent return without any snacks or odd food. "Get whatever you want. I've got more than enough money." Karen shrugged her shoulders and looked to Kenny, as she probably always did when she was nervous, who smiled impishly.

"It's okay," Kenny replied quietly and shrank back at Butters' look. "Well, Lee... this is kinda new to us. I know it's stupid, but when our parents got food stamps they usually sold them for drugs and shit. I've only been to a grocery store a few times in my life and that was for off brand waffles or stealing bread. Karen has been more, I guess, since I've been gone, but I don't really know what's good and what's not."

"And sweet stuff makes me sick... I can only eat a tiny bit so..." Karen murmured, twirling a tendril of her brunette locks in her fingers nervously. As Butters stared at them incredulously; he couldn't believe how small they looked; especially since they were both either his height or eight inches taller. He sighed heavily and felt his lower lip tremble at their admission and he smiled softly at the two siblings, who were waiting for him to say something.

"Well, is there anything you don't like?" he asked, Karen nodded.

"I don't like crunchy food. More like... I can't stand hearing people chewing in the same room as me. Ike said it's a neurological disorder or caused by a traumatic experience, but... I dunno. I just hate hearing people chew food. Especially crunchy food. I once punched Kenny when I was in the hospital because he ate one of my ice cubes."

"I'm still sorry," he mumbled, "I'm not picky. I mean, in fourth grade I ate a manatee spleen remember? And my own puke. So obviously my taste buds are fucked up." He received a dark look from a mother with her young children who stared at Kenny and Karen in slight fear. "What do you like? I'll just eat that."

Butters actually facepalmed, and brother and sister looked at each other as if they had done something wrong. Kenny fidgeted a little bit and grimaced.

"Well I don't like Dr. Pepper..." he offered uneasily. "I'm sorry." Butters shook his head and looked back up at them.

"No, I'm not mad. It just... makes me sad that this is new and s-stuff made you hate hearing chewing... and you were desperate enough to eat your own puke because I paid you..." he shook his head; he couldn't do this to himself. "So, you don't like sweet stuff, or crunchy things, or Dr. Pepper. Okay, I can work with this." He started to walk again, then stopped, "do you like chocolate?" he asked them. Karen nodded and Kenny shrugged. "Good, because I know this awesome dessert that has chocolate in it."

"Cool... but you don't need to go all out, hon." An older man shot Kenny a look as he spoke to Butters. The blonde's cheeks heated and Kenny looked at him curiously.

"That's the second time you've called me that." Karen watched them as if they were her favorite couple and Kenny shrugged.

"Do you not like it? I just... I dunno..." Butters was mildly surprised as Kenny's cheeks blushed a little, accentuating the light freckles under his eyes and on the bridge of his nose.

"No, I do, I do... I just never pegged you as the type to use endearments." Kenny shrugged his shoulders and smiled a little. "Shoot, what time did Kyle want to fix your nose?"

"I told him I'd just show up." Kenny said, then roamed the aisle as he looked for something. He returned with a box and set it in the cart. "Didn't you say you liked that stuff?"

Butters nodded and looked at the box of green tea. He shook his head at Kenny and Karen was grinning from ear to ear as if seeing them together was the only thing that made her happy.

"I'm sorry!" She said as they both turned to her, "you two are just cute and Kenny's rarely like this with anybody."

Butters continued his shopping and explained how to choose produce and meat to Kenny, or more like his parents' method of choosing the "right" kind of food. He was just about done shopping, now he was getting a couple more yogurts for his lunch, when he heard an end cap fall. He looked, dreading seeing Kenny squished under it, figuring it was highly possible, but relaxed when seeing the tall boy run from his side. He quickly lifted the end cap back in its standing position, then bent down and picked something up. A crying something. A little something.

Butters' felt sick as he watched Kenny sit down and look the little boy over. The dark haired toddler's eyes were red and he was frightened but Kenny was murmuring something to him. He relaxed a little bit and sat on Kenny's lap.

"Where's your mama?" Kenny asked gently; he was in awe at how relaxed and comfortable the child was. Usually kids were freaked out by the presence of strangers, and Kenny was definitely one of the most gruesome looking people in the store.

"I dono." Butters walked up to Kenny slowly and Karen put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Is she here?" The dark ash blonde pressed in a soft voice. The little boy nodded. "Well, I'm gonna help you find her. I bet she's awful worried, huh?"

"We play," The boy chirruped and Kenny laughed a little as he let the boy walk on him.

"You and me? Sure, buddy. What's your mama's name?" Kenny asked with a bright smile.

"Joy!" He squealed happily and Kenny lifted him by the arms and let him jump as he himself stood up.

"And what about you?"

"Spence!"

"Spencer?" He nodded vigorously as he jumped high due to Kenny lifting him. "Cool, my name's Kenny. Let's go find your mama, kay?"

"Kay." Kenny turned to Butters and Karen, "I'm gonna take him to customer service and I'll call you guys when we're done." They nodded, and Kenny bent down to be Spencer's height. "Now, you and your mama are playing hide and seek, remember? But she doesn't know you have help. And I'm the best at hide and seek... because I'm always over there, but no one can see me. So you're going to win the game, right?"

"Right!" Butters and Karen heard as they disappeared. Karen hurried to pick up the spilled items from the shelf and Butters felt a little light headed and fuzzy at what he just saw. The brunette returned to his side and smiled a knowing smile as she looped an arm with him.

"Kenny is really good with kids. All our little cousins would always go to him and listen to him when we were little..."

"Uh-huh..." Butters said, a little dazed. Karen giggled and helped him push the cart. "How many cousins do you have?"

"Well, my dad has two brothers and my mom has a brother and three sisters. So... between the times they weren't in jail or passed out high I've got like... twenty. I don't know, probably more now and we hardly see them anymore. They all got out of South Park and Colorado... or they didn't live here in the first place." Butters nodded slowly. "What about you? Do you have cousins?" He shook his head.

"Just an aunt and an uncle," he mumbled, "I had no idea Kenny liked kids." Karen nodded.

"Oh yeah, well, he just likes to make them happy. But we used to babysit for our aunt when she lived here and... don't tell him I said this but he's very motherly." Butters looked at her warily. "No, I'm serious! You'd think he was the 'let's go throw a ball!' kinda guy but he gets all mother-henny and if you get the slightest scrape he is there right away. It's like he has radar for that stuff. But he loves kids, they're like second nature to him."

As they walked up the front, Karen looked like she wanted to say something. Butters waited for her to speak yet she remained silent until they approached the counter.

"Um..." she murmured, helping him set the groceries on the conveyor belt. "I just want to say thanks for this and letting us stay with you. And... I don't want to worry you but... has Kenny seemed a little...?"

"Off?" she nodded, "a little. He told me he felt wrong. And on Saturday night he got sick and was doing that hand thing... but I bandaged them," Butters whispered to her as they waited for the person in front of them to finish paying.

"He's never been like this before. He just seems more... I dunno." Butters nodded, "but this is the longest he's been gone since he was eight. And he was weird when he came back then, too." Butters opened his mouth to ask but was interrupted by a loud cry.

"Thank you, so much!" They heard a woman sob and a few people turned to the customer service desk. Kenny was being hugged by a woman who looked as if she had been crying for hours. She held her son close to her as Kenny shook his head. He said something and the little boy reached for him. Karen turned her attention to Butters, who was watching with google-eyes.

"See? I don't know anyone else who could get..." she trailed off and rolled her eyes as Butters stared at the scene in amazement. He watched as Kenny ruffled Spencer's dark hair and his mother offered Kenny some money. He shook his head and pocketed his hands but she was adamant. She hugged him again and left with her grocery cart full of bags and her son in her arm.

Kenny must have caught sight of them because he ran up to them and smiled warmly.

"She wanted to give me 40 bucks!" he said in disbelief, "I took ten, but..." he glanced at Butters who was staring at him as if he had been star-struck. "Lee?" Karen giggled and started talking to the cashier as their items rang up. Butters just took his hand and squeezed tightly; he didn't know if he could even form words right now. His mind was in a fog and all he could think about was...

He shivered at that, and leaned against Kenny as he paid with his debit card.