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"Pay attention when you try to convince someone else of anything you are really trying to convince yourself." - Claire Louise Hay.
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Kyle Broflovski was convinced he was in love with his best friend, Stan Marsh. He was sure that it was love, and he was sure that he wasn't mistaking Stan for Eric Cartman, his past enemy-turned-friend. It was always Stan and Kyle, right? The super best friends who went through everything imaginable together. It was almost fate that they ended up together in the end, and the redhead was sure of it. Stan was everything he wanted and desired. He was caring and mature. Smart, and compassionate. He was skilled in sports, loved animals, and cared deeply for everyone around him. A picture-perfect child in the eyes of all of his peers and elders.
The redhead knew that he desired Stan, but couldn't help but feel like he was unhappy with the noirette. Now, Stan was a gentle lover, mind you, but Kyle just felt like he was too willing to do things for him. He wanted a challenge. Passion. A lover who wouldn't be afraid to be honest and give their opinion on a subject. If Kyle had taken time to think of someone like that, he'd admittedly think of Cartman. To him, and probably many others, this is a problem. The jew and the resident nazi, together? Wrong. It would end chaotic. That's what the emerald-eyed boy tells himself. You can't put a jew and a nazi together and expect it to end pretty.
So Kyle is with Stan. They belong together. They're perfect for each other, and a healthy couple. Kyle convinced himself that this is right, and this is who he's supposed to be with.
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It was fall, and Kyle was impatiently awaiting customers in his brand new flowershop. He expected people to come in, asking for his best bouquets representing apologies or love. Roses and carnations were perfect for both of those things. But that's aside from the point. Fall is the season where most people make an attempt to find love so they have someone to bring home to their families, and it surprised Kyle how no-one had even glanced at his shoppe yet.
Kyle sighed, and decided to just tidy up the store a bit more. The redhead had always found himself wanting to clean up and make sure that any surface he owns is clean in his spare time. "OCD is a curse and a blessing at the same time," he thought out loud.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Kyle jumped at the action, and turned to see who came in. To his surprise, it was none other than Eric Cartman. Of course. "Hey jew. How's the shop going?" he taunted playfully. The emerald-eyed man just chuckled and shook his head in response. "I'm assuming not well then?" the hetero-chromatic brunette softened. "I planned it all out, Cartman. I don't know what happened. Nobody wants flowers." the redhead sighed, retreating to a nearby table and motioning Cartman to sit down as well. Cartman followed his motions, and sat down. They both stared off into space for a while, until the brunette slammed his hands on the table, gasping. "I've got it! You just need some shitty hippy-ass advertising!" Kyle laughed at the other man, hoping that it was a joke.
"Let's face it, the sales industry doesn't get their profit from being fucking genuine, they get it from sugar-coating their products to get r-tards to buy that bullshit-- Stop laughing Kahl, I'm seriously--" the larger man continued. "Cartman, you do know that I'm not a sellout, right?? Sugar-coating these flowers would be lying to people, and it might come back and bite me in the ass." Kyle reasoned, hesitant on the sugar-coating plan. "I'd bite you in the ass," Cartman grumbled. "What?" the redhead sputtered out. "Anyways, jew, if you don't want to load your shit with advertisements, then just let me make you decent advertisements that you'll be okay with," he replied, avoiding the subject of his previous remark. Kyle sighed and submitted to the fact that the other male wouldn't explain himself. "Fine. But you better be sure about it getting me customers, fatass." The two men just gave each other a knowing look, until Kyle felt his phone vibrate.
"Let me check that," he said, taking his phone out. It was a text from Stan.
marshtastic: hey dude, can i come to the shop? i'm on break.
BROflovski: yeah, sure. the fatass is here though.
marshtastic: i bet that's insufferable. omw.
BROflovski: actually, it isn't that bad. [ DELETED]
BROflovski: i'm slowly dying every minute he's here.
marshtastic: bringing butters and kenny btw.
BROflovski: the more the merrier, lmao.
"You almost done being gay with your boyfriend, carrot cake?" Cartman cooed. "Shut up, fatass." Kyle cooed back. "Anyways, where'd you come up with 'carrot cake'?" the man quickly added. "I dunno. I just kinda looked at you and saw a carrot. But of course, carrots are too manly for you, so you're a carrot cake. Nice 'n creamy." the brunette purred. Kyle sputtered again, feeling the tips of his ears and his neck flush at the joke.
Feelings suck, Kyle decided to himself.
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A while went by, and Stan, Kenny, and Butters eventually arrived. "Hey fellas! It's so lovely out today!" Butters had greeted cheerfully, but Kyle hadn't been paying attention. He noticed that Stan had looked upset, and took him outside to the side of the building.
"Dude, are you okay? You don't look very happy." Kyle cooed to the noirette softly. Stan stayed quiet for a minute, until quietly responding with a question. "Kyle, are you.. unhappy?" the redhead felt like his heart had stopped in that moment. "Why are you asking, Stan...?" the other man gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so. "Well, I have to be honest here, don't I?" he sighed before continuing. "You've just been kind of distant lately, Kyle. You normally yearn for a bit of space, but you just haven't been responding to anything dude. I'm not mad, but maybe we should just split up for time to think." Kyle didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he could even say anything.
Kyle choked back tears. "I really love you, Stan. I'm just so confused. I'm really happy when I'm with you but I just don't know and--" he couldn't finish. He couldn't hold back the tears at this point, either. Stan too found himself shedding tears as he pulled Kyle close. "I love you too, but maybe we're just not made to have a relationship. It may seem like it, but I can tell you're unhappy, and if you're in love with someone else, I want you to prioritize them and not worry about me."
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Though the two had decided to part ways, they still promised to remain friends. Perhaps it was truly fate that they stayed friends, and not lovers. But at this point, that didn't matter. Kyle knew now that he had been mistaken, and the nazi and jew DID belong together in the end. He just needed a way to tell the brunette about this epiphany.
He sat and thought about it, until he realized that he could give him flowers. It sounded odd, but it was the best Kyle could do, and he had a knack for symbolism anyways. He decided that a bouquet of gardenias would get his point across well.
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When the redhead got the bouquet to the brunette, he knew that they were supposed to be together. Because in the end, he knew that the truth is always waiting around the corner, and you must come to face it.
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