Chapter Text
South Park almost seemed to not really change no matter how much time went by. Sure, it wasn’t entirely the same as it had been when they were all kids. But, other than expanding a small amount due to more job opportunities popping up, it still had the same energy it always did. As if it was still a small town. It was pretty easy to argue it was no longer small, however. A couple stores, restaurants and other businesses later, South Park had to add an apartment complex along with more housing to keep up with the demand of the citizens working there.
Butters had only been back in South Park for roughly 7 months after leaving for college 4 years prior. Arguably the minute he had turned 18, his parents were already sending him off to California for a university of their choosing. He didn’t really mind, however, since in the end it got him away from them anyway. Now he was grown up, graduated with a degree he is never going to use, and ready to live on his own.
And yet, he found himself coming back to South Park regardless, his attachment to this little town he grew up in far too strong for him to imagine living anywhere else. Luckily for him, a lot of the kids he grew up with had the same idea. Even luckier still, his best friend still lived there too.
It was still uncertain to Butters if he was feeling surprised or not that Tweek Bros. Coffee was somehow still standing after all this time, and on the same coin, Tweek was still working there. In fact, Tweek was the owner of the shop now. Ever since his parents were arrested for putting ground up meth in their coffee, Tweek took ownership of the shop. Minus the meth.
The fact Tweek was still here made it pretty easy for Butters to know Craig was still living in South Park as well. That is, if he and Tweek hadn’t already been talking while he was in college anyway.
Tweek and Butters had become pretty close while growing up over the years, often confiding in each other for basically everything. However, Tweek always had Craig to be there for him when he needed it, so it was more often than not simply Butters coming to Tweek. Regardless, the two have talked every day since they were kids, and since Butters’ return to South Park, he often visited the coffee shop when he wasn’t at work to keep Tweek company.
Or was it just to give himself company?
After all, Craig worked at the same coffee shop, which would give Tweek all the company he needs, right? Butters hated to think about how lonely he often was, even now. It was hard to deny how much he felt like a third wheel when he hung out with Tweek, even with Tweek being his closest friend.
Butters wasn’t entirely sure what the rest of the boys were up to. He knew that Kyle and Stan were living together somewhere in South Park, as he’d run into them a couple times since he’d gotten back. They seemed to all graduate around the same time, although Kyle said he wasn’t entirely finished with school yet, which was unsurprising to Butters. From what he could tell Eric was nowhere to be seen, thankfully. He kinda hoped it would stay that way... and then there was Kenny.
Kenny was someone who he would definitely consider a friend, but when Butters had to leave for college he had lost contact with him. They weren’t very close until high school, when Stan and Kyle had started dating. Something about that seemed to rock their group dynamic and Kenny began to hang around Butters more often during that time.
Butters found himself missing Kenny more often than he could ever admit.. to anyone that wasn’t Tweek, that is. Kenny was always the nicest to him compared to the rest of the kids growing up, and Butters couldn’t deny the weird feelings he used to get in his gut when he was around him.
He had no idea where Kenny was. Was he even still in South Park? The McCormick’s old house was demolished years ago to be replaced with new housing, after all. Every attempt Butters has made to try texting Kenny’s old number was always met with nothing in response. Butters’ was beginning to wonder if Kenny changed his number at some point or if he just didn’t want anything to do with him now that school was done.
Butters really hoped it wasn’t the second option.
When Butters wasn’t so busy thinking about how lonely he was, he was usually either asleep or at work. He got a quaint job at one of the many new restaurants added to South Park as a dishwasher. It wasn’t the fanciest job but it paid the bills and that’s all he could ask for. He had managed to get himself a second floor apartment that was barely a block away from the aforementioned restaurant, so he could just walk. Not to mention, Tweek Bros. Coffee was within walking distance as well.
Butters had just got off another long shift of washing dishes all day, only making a small trip to his apartment to change and shower before heading right back out and towards that old coffee shop.
Ring-Ding
The small bell above the door chimed as Butters pushed it open, prompting the blonde haired man behind the counter to look up quickly.
“Welcome to Tweek Bros. What can I- Gh ! -Oh! Hey Butters.” Tweek gave him a smile, letting himself quickly relax.
“Hey Tweek, slow day?” Butters asked cautiously as he stepped towards the counter, taking Tweek’s shocked reaction to the bell ringing that he hadn’t had a customer in a while. Giving the small shop a quick glance told him Craig wasn’t here either, unless he was in the back and just didn’t bother coming out.
“Ah, yeah, I’ve only had a few customers today. I’ve been sooo bored.” Tweek groaned a little before giving a small chuckle right after. “Did you just get off?”
Butters nodded, “Yep! Many dirty dishes met their fate with these hands today.” He raised his hands up as he spoke, a grin on his face. “Well, these hands, but covered with gloves, that is.” He decided to add.
This made Tweek laugh a little again, “Oh, I believe it. Sounds like more fun than standing here for hours.” Tweek spoke calmly. The blonde had made a lot of progress on recovering from the consequences of how his parents had raised him on that laced coffee. But a lot of therapy and medication helped a lot, it seemed. He still had his moments, but Butters was always very proud of his friend and how far he’d come already.
“Is Craig here?” Butters couldn’t help but ask, becoming genuinely curious.
“No, he’s off today. He’s at home getting some well needed sleep. So, it’s just been me here today.”
“Oh, well good for him!” Butters commented happily, hoping it didn’t appear obvious he was happy to know he had his friend to himself, as selfish as that seemed. “Gee, I can’t wait to get some sleep, I’m exhausted. But I can stick around for a while before I head home just yet.”
“Well, don’t stay too late then, but I’m not going anywhere.”
The pair chatted about everything and nothing at all for a good hour or so, only a single customer coming in during that time.
-
“It’s about to be March, isn’t it?” Butters suddenly observed from the table he was sat at after a brief moment of silence between the two of them. He heard Tweek only hum in agreement from where he was busy cleaning one of the machines and Butters found himself pulling his phone out as if to double check the date.
Soon enough he found his fingers tapping away to his messages, scrolling through them until he found who he was looking for. March… It was almost Kenny’s birthday. He hesitated before going to start typing, only to flinch and stop when a voice stopped him.
“Are you trying to text Kenny again?” Tweek questioned, smart enough to put two and two together and figure out why Butters asked about March in the first place.
Butters held his phone against his chest as he looked up at him, trying to hide the screen from view. “Well-” He hesitated, feeling heat rush to his face out of embarrassment. “-Maybe. It’s almost his birthday again. I just wanna be able to tell him happy birthday, that’s all.” Butters tried to explain, before looking back down to his phone again, hovering his fingers over the keyboard. “Even if he doesn’t answer, maybe he’s actually getting the messages.”
Tweek watched him, giving him a look that was probably pity and sighed, “If he’s never responded over the past 4 years you’ve been trying though, isn’t it like you’re just talking to a brick wall?”
Butters frowned as he stared down at the bright screen and listened to Tweek’s reasoning. He reluctantly locked his phone and put it back into his pocket with a sigh, looking back up towards Tweek again. “I wish I knew where he was.” He quietly admitted.
“I know you do. I’m sorry, Butters, but you know none of us have seen him since we graduated.” Tweek cautiously reminded him.
Butters could only nod, still frowning. “Ya, I know.”
-
Butters didn’t stay at the coffee shop much longer, his exhaustion beginning to catch up with him. With one glance to his phone as he stepped out into the snow, he saw it was almost 10pm. Yeah, definitely time to go to bed.
He shoved the phone back into his pocket, making sure to put his hands in his pockets as well. It was extra cold nights like tonight that he wished he would just drive places, but walking was often more convenient. It was also just nice to walk in South Park, especially at night.
He recalled when he used to sneak out at night to play games with the other boys, with not a single care in the world. He always finds himself missing that. Being a kid was so much simpler. Or maybe it was the other way around.. Being a kid was so much more interesting. Being an adult was too simple, he could say. Too.. boring. Painful? Tiring.
Butters let out a soft sigh, watching his breath fog in front of him then looking down to watch as he dragged his feet through the snowy sidewalk. He couldn’t help but think about what Tweek had told him about talking to a wall. But, he also found he couldn’t bring himself to care. Even if Kenny was getting his messages, the least he wants is to think he is reading them. But, maybe Tweek was right. He’s basically clinging onto nothing at this point.
Nearing his apartment, Butters as usual found himself pulling his phone out again, ignoring how cold his hand immediately felt in the open air. He unlocked it with one hand and watched as it opened to the message screen it was left on, with an unfinished message that simply said ‘Hey’.
As Butters continued to walk, he tried to think of something to type, not noticing when he passed by someone as he came up to his apartment complex. He was only pulled from his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice speak up behind him.
“Leo?”
Butters felt his body tense and immediately stopped in place, tightening his grip on his phone. There was only one person who would ever use his real name like that. He turned around to face the voice, his stomach suddenly tied up with more knots than he could count, and all the heat in his body rushed to his face, leaving him almost shivering. But he couldn’t be bothered to care about that right now. “Kenny??” Butters questioned quietly in disbelief at the sight in front of him.
The blonde in front of him shot him a large grin paired with a chuckle as he nodded. “In the flesh. Hey, Buttercup.. it’s been a while?” He spoke cautiously, obviously unsure what their standing was after so many years of not talking.
Butters wasn’t sure what to say, and was worried this was yet another dream he would wake up from within minutes. But, the pain he was feeling on his hand from the cold was telling him otherwise. His body seemed to move on it’s own, quickly stepping closer to him so he could give him a hug, a large smile making its way to his face.
“It really is you, Ken!!” Butters spoke excitedly, quickly stepping back after a short second. “What are you doing here? Where have you been?” He found himself quickly asking, just wanting to know where the hell he was this whole time.
“I just got back.” Kenny gave another chuckle, raising a hand to softly pat Butters head as if it’ll calm down his excitement. “When my family’s house got torn down we had to leave, but you were already gone by that point. Did you change your number?” He suddenly asked, raising a brow.
This made Butters tilt his head, “Well, when I moved to California, yeah. But, I texted you!”
“Oh, I guess we both changed our numbers then, huh?” Kenny concluded then, almost laughing at how sad this situation seemed. Would they have been talking this whole time if only they had each other’s new numbers? “Well, I am here now. So gimme.” He said, pointing to the phone still in Butters’ freezing hand.
Butters blinked and glanced down to the phone in his hand, the feeling in his stomach still making him almost feel nauseous right then. But he quickly and wordlessly opened up Kenny’s contact settings so he could change the number, handing his phone over to Kenny. “So you… live here again now?” Butters felt like he needed more assurance still.
Kenny hummed as he entered his new number, nodding. “Sure am! I’d imagine probably until I die.” He laughed, almost to himself, before handing the phone back over and already reaching for his own.
Butters quickly put his number into Kenny’s phone when it was given to him, handing it back over and looking up at him again. “Well, I sure am really glad you are back, Ken. I missed ya a lot.” He confessed softly, keeping the smile on his face.
“I missed you too, Buttercup. I’m sure we have a lot of catching up to do, eh?” Kenny grinned back at him and pushed his hands into his parka’s pockets. “Well, I was heading to work so I should get going. I’ll see you around?” He asked as he already began to turn to leave.
“Of course! I’ll be sure to text you.” Butters quickly promised, giving him a small wave as he finally turned and started walking. He wouldn’t admit how long he probably watched him walk right then, but how cold he was feeling finally caught up with him and he was quickly heading into his apartment like he had planned, already eager to start texting him again. For real this time.