Chapter Text
When Kyle wakes up the next morning, he almost kind of wishes he hadn't.
He pushes himself up with a groan, sitting on his bedroom floor. He's got a splitting headache and his shoulder kind of really hurts from where he'd been lying on it all night. It takes him a while to gather his bearings, to remember why the hell he's been sleeping on his floor.
Flashes of the nightmare he had from the night before start to invade his memory. Mysterion, coming in through his bedroom window. Mortally wounded, linking their pinkies together like he wasn't choking on blood. The sounds of his ragged breathing, and how painful each slow breath must have been. Kenny's soft, blonde hair under Kyle's trembling fingers. The last stuttering breath he let out as his hand fell limp, letting Kyle's go. The grotesque sound of a body plummeting to the ground. It all felt so real...too real.
Wait.
Kyle scrambled over to his window, still ajar, and peeked out into the snow.
There's nothing in the snow other than staggered footprints coming from his front yard leading to the back, right up to the side of his house. There's no indent in the snow from where a body would be if, hypothetically, it had fallen from his window. And even if a fresh snow had fallen overnight to cover it up, then why would just the footprints still be there, clear as day?
Kyle surveys his windowsill and the carpet underneath it. There's not a speck of blood in sight, but there had been so much of it. A nauseating amount.
He gets up on shaky legs and rolls his shoulder out, fishing around in his backpack for the cellphone he'd left abandoned in it the day before. He took it off of "do not disturb" mode and watched as the notifications flooded in. Some from Stan, some emails and even weather notifications. But nothing new from Kenny, other than a message from last night saying that he'd probably be stopping by later because he suspected that the job he was working would be finished before midnight.
His thumb hovered over the call button, his pinky tingly from remembered promises. Ones that felt like they were part of some horrible nightmare, but it was just too real. He couldn't shake the feeling that what he'd seen had really happened, and the footprints proved it. Otherwise, he would remember Mysterion coming into his room in one piece. Would've taken the time to step away from his computer to celebrate with him that the perpetrator had been caught and locked up, awaiting trial. Would've watched him head back out and leave a second set of footprints in the snow alongside the first set.
Kyle finally hit the call button and held his breath as the phone rang.
And rang.
And kept ringing.
He thought he was going to get sent to voicemail and was fully prepared to accept that maybe he was just finally cracking from all the stress of school and going crazy before he heard the line pick up.
"Hello?"
Kyle let out his breath in a heavy sigh, knocking his head back against his wall from where he now sat on his bed. Ow, maybe that was a mistake. He still had a headache. But that doesn't matter right now. Kenny's voice is a godsend, because even if this was all just a dream, he's never felt so relieved in his life.
"Hey, dude. You okay?"
"...Yeah? Are you? You don't sound too great." He didn't? He hadn't realized his voice was giving anything away.
"Yeah, I'm...well. I don't know," he answered honestly. He wasn't sure what the fuck he was feeling but it definitely wasn't "great."
"Can you get your ass over here?" Today was Saturday now, right? Kenny usually doesn't have work on Saturday mornings since he liked to sleep in. Come to think of it, he probably took a while to answer because he'd just woken him up with his call. He's not sure he has it in himself to feel guilty about that, even if it was just a dream. Deep down, he's positive it hadn't been. But he needed to squash this before he could go about his day or it would just continue to eat at him.
"Uh, yeah. For sure. Do you need me to like, bring anything? You really don't sound good."
Kyle was about to ask him what he meant by that when he felt the urge to clear his throat. Oh, so he was a little hoarse. Maybe from crying so hard in his "dream"? Maybe from crying so hard out loud, in real life? That's probably it.
"Just yourself. I gotta ask you something. And hurry up."
"Alright, alright. So needy. Lemme just get dressed and I'll be on my way."
"Cool." Kyle hung up and he let his phone roll out of his hand as he dropped his arm to his side, closing his eyes. God, his shoulder really fucking hurts.
--
It's not long before there's a knock at the front door. Kyle has settled himself down on the couch, still dressed in his clothes from the day before. He wouldn't ever be caught sleeping in jeans but apparently it'd happened against his own will. Another sign pointing to things being too real for comfort.
He gets up and opens the door, taking in the sight in front of him.
Kenny is standing there in casual clothes, a baggy hoodie and sweatpants that were probably hand me downs from his brother because he was swimming in them. He can see his face now that there's not a mask in the way, can see the way his face is flushed from the brisk winter morning. The way his eyes are bright and focused, not struggling to be kept open.
He looks so very alive.
"Hey, Ky. What did you want to see me f-"
He's not able to finish his sentence because Kyle moves on autopilot, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him close so fast it knocks the wind out of the both of them. He winds his arms around him tightly, feeling himself crumbling all over again. If he's freaking Kenny out, so be it. He'll deal with that later. Right now, he needed this. The confirmation that Kenny was okay, that he was alive and that all of his blood was in his body like it's supposed to be.
Kenny blinks and tentatively rests his hands on Kyle's shoulders, looking down at his unruly mop of red hair with his face mushed into his shoulder. "Um..." He felt his face growing a little warm, unsure of how exactly he's supposed to approach this kind of situation. This wasn't how he expected to be starting his day, but something is clearly bothering Kyle and he's starting to feel a bit concerned. "Hey man, what's up? Not like you to get all touchy feely with me."
"You were in my room last night," Kyle starts, not emphasizing whether or not he was talking about a dream.
"...I was." Normally, Kenny would find himself lying to say he was places that he knew he wasn't after he died. Or, he'd deflect with humor, try to crack a joke or flirt as a way to diffuse tension and make people drop the topic. The latter was a fail-safe, it always had people scoffing and not wanting to push any further. He could totally crack a joke about how suggestive Kyle's words sounded. But there's something tugging at his gut telling him that he shouldn't be fucking around right now.
"You had a job as Mysterion," Kyle continues, trying to fight down the way he could feel himself starting to shake. "You finished that job, didn't you? I saw on the news they had the guy in custody. They didn't talk about you, but it had to be your work."
Kenny chuckles, but there's a nervous undertone to it. "Yeah, finally. He was a real slippery son of a bitch, but we took him down." We, because Kenny wouldn't have been able to do it without Kyle's help.
"You made me promise you something once it was over and done with. What was it?" Kyle can feel his voice starting to crack, squeezing his eyes shut to stave off the tears.
There's a long moment of silence as he feels Kenny freeze up under him, and he can practically hear the gears turning in his head as he figures out what to say.
"Kenny." He tries his damned hardest to harden his voice. "What the fuck did you make me promise you?" If this was all in his head, if it was just his mind playing tricks on him then surely Kenny must be confused as hell. He'll ask him what he's talking about, that he's freaking him out and that maybe he should get him something to drink or-
"...I asked you to throw me out the window," he whispers.
That's his breaking point. Kyle crushes him tighter and he vaguely hears Kenny curse under his breath but he doesn't care. Kenny is here, he's alive, and oh my god it wasn't a dream. Unless this is also another dream? If that were the case, he'd definitely need to book an appointment with the family doctor.
"I keep my promises, Ken," Kyle stutters out, tears fully spilling out all over Kenny's shoulder.
Kenny can't believe what he's hearing right now. Now he's the one thinking he's going crazy. He shouldn't be remembering any of this. He shouldn't be crying into his hoodie like this when he's never batted an eye when Kenny shows up to school acting normal. Like he hadn't been struck by a rogue vehicle driving up onto the sidewalk while they were at the bus stop the day before.
"You...remember." It doesn't come out as question, but it's meant as one. He musters up all of his strength to push Kyle back enough that he can look at him. Kyle's pretty green eyes are so red and so tired and so full of anguish that it feels like a knife has been stuck in Kenny's gut and is being twisted around. And if anybody were to know what that feels like, it'd be Kenny.
"This whole time, I thought you were kidding!" Kyle laughs, and he realizes he might sound a little manic right now. He doesn't give a single fuck. "That you were messing around, because there was no way any of us could possibly forget seeing you fucking dying. But it makes so much sense now." He's rambling, his words tumbling from his mouth faster than his brain can keep up with. "The way you would skip school, but nobody ever seemed to remember that you weren't there at lunch. Nobody ever questioned any of it but I remember you not being there in class, I remember you leaving in the middle of doing something you really enjoyed, because that wasn't like you. Nobody else would get what I was saying when you would bail on us when we still did our superhero bullshit together, because I tried to tell them something felt wrong and nobody thought anything of it. They said you were there but you weren't. I remember the sound of a gun going off. Constantly. Something was really happening, but I couldn't fully piece it together."
Kenny's not even sure he's breathing at this point, his eyes growing wider the more Kyle speaks. "But I remember last night. Every second that I had to sit with you knowing that I couldn't do anything other than believe that you'd be okay."
Kyle paused with his rambling and reached a hand up to brush away a rogue tear that had started to drip down Kenny's cheek, making Kenny flinch slightly. When did he start crying? But Kyle doesn't pay any attention to the movement, a small smile starting to form on his lips. "You're okay, right?"
Not when his world has been flipped upside down.
Kenny starts to speak but he chokes on a sob, bringing a hand up to clamp it down over his mouth. His mind is reeling, he can't believe that this is actually happening. Somebody finally fucking remembers, and he doesn't just remember last night. Kyle didn't fully realize that Kenny had been dying this whole time, but he noticed way more shit than anyone else had. He should feel happy that somebody actually remembers for once, but after having seen the panic in his friend's eyes last night, seeing him crying right now...all he feels is guilt washing over him in waves.
He got his wish, but it caused Kyle so much pain in the process. Maybe it wasn't worth it.
Kyle stepped away to close the front door that was still left open from when he'd yanked Kenny inside before going to take his hand. He tugged him over to the couch, feeling Kenny starting to shake as he tried to keep himself pieced together. But he can't. The second they're both seated, he's the one pulling Kyle in and hiding his face in his neck.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry," he whispers, shaking his head. He'd been so selfish. All those times, seeking his comfort when he knew he'd soon be knocking at Death's door. It finally caught up to him and he feels so much guilt over it. "All this time, I just wanted somebody to remember. But if I knew how much it would hurt you..." He can't finish his train of thought, another sob bubbling up from deep within his chest.
Kyle rubbed his hand along Kenny's back, the other coming up to run through his hair. Like last night, he muses. He doesn't have anymore tears of his own to shed, but he lets Kenny slump against him and cry it all out. "Shh. It's okay. It's...so crazy. To think that you've been suffering by yourself this whole time. I...can't even begin to believe how much pain you've had to experience if this happens to you all the time." Kenny whimpers softly, and Kyle keeps talking. "But you don't have to deal with it by yourself anymore, okay? We can like, share this burden together if that would help."
Maybe later, once Kenny's all cried out, they'll be able to talk about it more. He can explain the bits and pieces of his curse that he's managed to learn about over the years. They'll be able to laugh about the deaths that were so ridiculous that they left Kenny waking up feeling embarrassed about it the next day. He'll tell Kyle about how Death himself always comes to pick him up, and he always hears him grumbling about how it's such a waste of time and paperwork because unless he's killed by another immortal, he's just going to be sent back to the world of the living anyway so what's even the point of keeping him in limbo like it's a holding cell and now he's going to fall behind with all of his scheduled appointments for the day.
But right now, he just needs to keep feeling Kyle running his fingers through his hair and giving him the comfort he's so desperately craved his whole life.
Kenny nods meekly, gripping Kyle like the lifeline he's now become. "Y-yeah...yeah. I'd like that. Pinky promise?"
Kyle smiled and took one of Kenny's hands in his own.
"Pinky promise."