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He rolled his eyes. “They’re definitely gonna break up- remember fourth grade? The two of them didn’t last a week together!”
Kyle listened to him go on, his head tilted, pretending he was listening to his incessant rambling. “She’s an idiot for getting back with him,” Kenny muttered finally, gripping the strap of his backpack. “He hasn’t changed since 4th grade. At all. He’s still a dick, and she’s gonna get her heart broken over and over again when he manipulates her and- ”
“Who? Cartman?” Stan said from behind Kyle, just now leaving the classroom. Kyle jumped, turning around and smiling when Stan’s eyes met his own.
Kenny sank back against the lockers. “Yeah, didn’t you hear that they’re getting back together? It’s stupid.”
Both of them ignored Kenny entirely- he had a crush on Heidi since eighth grade, and it was definitely showing. Kyle stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Stan. “Hey..” he whispered, letting his chin rest on Stan’s shoulder. “You still want me to come over?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Stan asked, pulling away to look Kyle in the eyes. “You feel okay, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. I do. Uh, let’s go- bye, Kenny!” he shouted, starting to walk away, leaving Kenny all alone in the hallway. “What’s your mom making for dinner again?” he asked, reaching for Stan’s hand as they came closer to the double doors in the lobby. Stan and Kyle hadn’t been dating for long- a month, maybe, but they made each other happy.
Surprisingly enough, Stan mustered up the courage to ask Kyle out… with Kenny’s help. “She’s doing Asian food again… uh, potstickers? She might make rice on the side, that’s what she tried last time you came over,” Stan guessed, not really caring what his mom made every night. It all tasted the same to him. Sharon burnt the potstickers and egg rolls last time, though, and was determined to get it right.
Kyle nodded, pushing open the double doors and cringing when his face came into contact with the crisp, piercing air. Even after sixteen years of living in South Park, the temperature still caught him off guard every once in a while.
The two of them walked in a comfortable silence, hands still clasped together. Kyle was making a face- not his usual disgusted look, it wasn’t even angry or uncomfortable- it was an expression that Stan couldn’t decipher, one that he had never seen before. He knew it wasn’t from the cold, either- was he in pain or something?
Stan wondered if it was Heidi and Cartman getting back together that was bothering him. But it didn’t make sense- that topic had already passed, and Stan couldn’t see Kyle being concerned over something like that.
Something else.
Kyle shoved his hands in his coat pocket, increasing his pace. Snow crunched from somewhere behind them. Stan turned around, his heartbeat increasing, before realizing that it was Craig. He turned back to look at Kyle.
Why was he so paranoid?
Stan pushed the thoughts away. They were almost at his house, and even if things felt a little off with Kyle right now, it would resolve itself. Hopefully.
-
“Oh, fuck you, dude. Fuck you,” Stan muttered, shaking his head. Normally he was pretty good at video games, but Kyle was totally beating his ass right now. He sat his controller down and checked his phone. “My dad is gonna be home in like.. thirteen minutes.”
Kyle nodded and stood up, knowing that meant dinner would be ready soon. “Kay,” he said blandly, crouching down to turn off Stan’s PS4.
He put his phone back in his pocket, looking down at his bedsheets, noticing they were covered in blood.
Holy shit. Stan knew from the looks of it that Kyle had started his period- which was the worst timing ever, but he didn’t want to make Kyle feel embarrassed. “Dude?”
“What?” Kyle stood back up and turned around to see the blood-stained sheets, his eyes widening in horror. “Oh shit. I thought it was, uh, discharge.. I’m really sorry, Stan- uh- I can go home if you want me to,” he said quietly, still staring at the sheets. “I didn’t know, I just thoug-”
“No, no… go in the bathroom, okay? I’ll run to your house and get a pad or something. Um, and a new pair of pants and stuff. Don’t worry about the sheets, I’ll take care of those, just go.”
Kyle stared at him. “Stan, no.. I’ll just bleach your sheets and go home. You don’t have to.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You want to go home? If you feel sick, then yeah, go home- but I want you here if you don’t,” Stan said, unintentionally pouting. “Go in the bathroom. Hurry.”
“Fine,” Kyle murmured, leaving the bedroom and standing in the hallway. “Uh- can you grab the- a bottle of Midol or those anti-nausea pills I take? Please? They should be in the upstairs bathroom in the medicine cabinet.”
Stan threw his comforter off of his bed and stripped his sheets, throwing the sheet in the closet to hide it from Sharon and Randy. “Yeah, dude. I’ll get it for you.” He shut his closet door and spread his blanket back over the bed in an attempt to hide the fact that his sheet was temporarily gone, thankful that Kyle’s blood only stained the sheet and not the mattress.
Kyle smiled faintly, disappearing into the bathroom. Stan closed his bedroom door and ran down the stairs. “Mom! I’m gonna go grab- uh, something for Kyle! I’ll be right back!” he shouted, slamming the front door shut and making a run for Kyle’s house.
-
He returned to Kyle and gave him the things he promised, glad that he was able to grab everything and get back before his dad got home. Stan didn’t want to deal with him asking questions.
While he waited for Kyle to change and take his pills in the bathroom, he put a new fitted sheet on his bed, struggling with the final edge of the mattress but managing to get it on somehow. “Boys! It’s ready! Shelly?”
“Okay, Mom!” Stan shouted, knowing she probably wouldn’t hear him anyway. He left the bedroom and knocked on the bathroom door.
“What?” Kyle yelled from inside the bathroom.
Stan heard glass clinking. Probably just finished taking his pills. “Dinner.”
“...Okay. What do I do with the um, bloody clothes?”
“Do you like them?”
Kyle groaned and opened the door. “Of course I like them, I wear them every day.”
“Well, how are you supposed to get rid of blood without bleach?” Bleach wouldn’t work on blue jeans- they would just stain them white, which actually might’ve been worse than real period blood. Blood was dark and would at least be semi-hard to notice on denim.
Kyle picked up his jeans and underwear off of the ground. “I guess you can throw my underwear away, I have other pairs. Um… I’ll try to run it under cold water. Make an excuse for me while I try to get it out, when I’m done with it I’ll hide it in the cabinet so they won’t see, okay?”
Stan nodded. “When you come down, act sick or something. They’ll let you come up here and lay down… I’ll finish eating early and come join you.”
With a nod, Kyle turned on the faucet and ran his jeans under the cold water. Stan grabbed Kyle’s pair of underwear on the sink and threw it in his closet with the bloody sheets, deciding to dispose of the underwear and bleach the sheets later.
-
“You feel better?” Stan asked, kicking his shoes off and plopping down next to Kyle on the bed.
Kyle turned on his side, eyeing Stan. “No.”
His eyes trailed down to the small strip of black fabric showing from underneath Kyle’s gray shirt. “Take your binder off.”
“No.”
“No wonder you feel like shit, dude,” Stan sighed, now laying on his back. “You suffocate yourself all day.”
Kyle crossed his arms. “I have to wear it at school, Stan.”
“We’re not at school.”
“Whatever. You’re so fucking stubborn,” he muttered, hopping off of the bed and pulling off the oversized gray shirt he stole from Stan’s dresser. At dinner, he didn’t even have to act sick- he was sick. Nauseous. He changed into some of Stan’s pajamas while he waited for Stan to finish eating.
Stan inhaled. “Kyle,” he said. “I’m just looking out for you, you know you shouldn’t wear it all the time.”
“Can you shut up?” he snapped, throwing his binder off and putting his shirt back on. “I fucking know.”
Kyle laid back down next to him, facing the wall. Stan let out a small sigh, knowing that Kyle was emotional, but… really? He didn’t have to be a dick.
Turning back on his side, he reached out to touch Kyle’s arm, hoping he wouldn’t continue to push him away and insult him. Stan just wanted to help. To his surprise, Kyle turned around and scooted closer to him. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“Hey…” Stan whispered, sliding his arm around Kyle’s waist. “It’s okay. Don’t worry.”
Kyle went silent, shifting his head so that his face was halfway buried into his pillow.
He felt like he had to comfort him further, or say something else, so he added, “I love you.”
That brought a smile to his face. Kyle scooted even closer and put an arm around Stan back. “I love you too… thanks for not getting mad at me. Even though I get mad at you all the time,” he grinned, shoving Stan in the shoulder.
“Pshh, no. It’s okay,” he said again, smiling back. “Plus, you’re really cute when you get mad. Your face scrunches up and gets all red, and-”
“No!” Kyle yelped, covering his ears with his hands. “I’m not listening. Shut up!”
Stan laughed, poking him in the stomach. “Cuuute,” he whispered, sliding his arm up from Kyle’s waist to play with his hair. “Angry boy.”
“Stop,” he pleaded, grinning. “Just stop.” Kyle hid his face further in his pillow.
“No, Kyle. You have to own up to it… don’t hide!” Stan scolded jokingly. “You’re just proving my point.”
Kyle pulled himself off of the mattress, his face red and still grinning. “I hate you.”
“You love me,” he whispered, watching as Kyle laid down on his back. Stan reached out and placed his hand just beneath Kyle’s belly button- his abdomen, where he always got painful cramps. “You feel better yet?”
Staring up at the ceiling, he chewed on his bottom lip. “The nausea is gone. Um..” Kyle said, shifting his head to look at Stan. “And you distracted me from the cramps for a little bit…”
“That’s good..” Stan trailed off, trying to think of anything that might help Kyle. “How long does it take for Midol to kick in?”
Kyle shrugged. “I only took it forty minutes ago so uh.. I think it already has. You know what?”
“What?”
“You should cuddle me,” he said seriously, looking Stan in the eyes. “Right now.”
He immediately grinned. “Oh yeah? Why should I do that?”
“...Because you love me.”
“Hmm. I don’t know if that’s a good enough reason, Kyle…”
Kyle groaned and turned around. “Fine. I guess I’ll just be sad and cold over here, all on my own. Since you won’t cuddle me, you bitch.” He closed his eyes, smiling when he felt Stan’s arm snake around his waist and Stan’s body heat on his back.
Stan pulled away briefly to adjust the blanket, making sure they were covering Kyle’s feet. Once both of them were covered, he threw his arm back around Kyle.
“Stan,” Kyle whined.
He blinked. “What?”
“You know what I want. Come on.”
He’s so cute. God, he’s so cute. Stan used his right arm to run his fingers through Kyle’s curls. His hair was so soft, so shiny, without a speck of dandruff to be seen. How was his scalp so clean and perfect all the time? “I love you. Are you happy?”
“Yeah, dude. I love you too,” Kyle answered. “I’m happy now.”
And he meant it.