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Everything hurt. That was the first thought that registered in his head as Kyle came to that morning. The room was too bright and the bed was too lumpy and his brain was too ugh. He dimly registered a hazy conversation with Kenny about how he would regret his over indulgence the night before, and decided that yup. That feeling? Definitely regret.
He groaned as he rolled to the side and reached out for his pants on the floor. The memory was joined with the knowledge that he was at Kenny’s flat, after calling to be collected the night before. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with his mother first thing in the morning.
He managed to locate denim and pulled his jeans close to fish his phone out his pocket. He hissed at the unwelcomed brightness of the phone before seeing the text message waiting for him.
It was from Stan, to let him know Kenny had gone back to his house, to give Kyle Kenny’s room.
It made him smile at least as he dropped the phone on the floor and settled back into the bed. Calling for them both had been the right thing.
He only got fifteen minutes of snoozing before his stomach woke him up.
He at least dressed before he left the room, taking the glass of water with him as he moved through Kenny’s flat in a haze. His feet were dragging against the carpet and he gave a low groan as the light from the living room hit his eyes. He hadn’t realised till now just how dark Kenny’s hallway to his bedroom was.
He’d nearly forgotten about the flatmate, until he heard a voice from the kitchen speaking to him, just round the corner.
“I’m impressed I didn’t wake up to any of your drunk idiot friends on my couch, McCormick.”
He stilled at the statement, unsure whether or not he should turn round and go back to Kenny’s room, or maybe just grab his shit and leave, but his hunger and pain far outweighed his desire to dodge an awkward conversation this time.
So he stepped into the kitchen, sheepish smile on his face as he announced. “Not on your couch.”
Craig was sat at the small square table they had set up in the corner with a bowl of cereal in front of him. His chewing came to a slow stop as he looked up at Kyle’s voice and locked eyes, grey meeting green.
“Oh,” he said, deadpan as ever. “It’s you.”
What in the hell that was meant to mean was beyond Kyle.
“It’s me,” he confirmed with a wave.
“Where’s Kenny?”
Kyle gave a useless shrug. “Stan texted me last night to say that Kenny was going to be staying at his the night.”
“What, he’s not here?”
“I guess not. Just me.”
“I can’t believe he’s left you – no, I can believe it. Fucking jackass.”
Kyle glanced towards the fridge, noting the cereal box still out on the counter. “He doesn’t keep cereal, does he? I’m really hungry.”
Craig took a while to answer him. Steely eyes were pinned to him, and for a long five seconds, Kyle wasn’t convinced that he was going to receive an answer. When he did it wasn’t exactly an answer to his question.
Craig stood, abandoning his cereal in favour of moving to the cupboards, pulling out a loaf of bread and addressing Kyle while he worked.
“Don’t have cereal after drinking so heavily. I don’t want you puking milk into my toilet.”
“I wasn’t that drunk.”
“You were drunk enough that Kenny went running out at one in the morning to get you.”
Kyle slid into the second chair at the small table and watched Craig move about the shared kitchen. Part of him wished that he had just left instead of hanging around and subjecting Craig to what was, apparently, his unwelcomed presence?
He whispered a thank you as a plate was set down in front of him, two slices of toast that had been buttered, and from just looking at the food decided that he was definitely too hungry to care about Craig’s hang ups.
Craig clattered back down into the seat opposite him and resumed his own breakfast while Kyle started to eat.
“Did you enjoy your night?”
“I think so. What I remember of it.”
Craig snorted, smirk touching the corners of his mouth. “Not that drunk, huh?”
“It was great, and now Stan and Kenny are talking again, so my morning’s great, too.”
That seemed to pique Craig’s interest. “He spent the night at Stan’s?”
“He did, yeah.”
“What happened? Kenny’s been in a foul mood since he got back from that wedding he went to.”
Kyle hesitated. “What has he told you?”
“He seemed pretty down. I didn’t want to bother him.”
“Or are you just looking for gossip?”
Craig tapped against Kyle’s plate. “I made you breakfast.”
“That doesn’t mean I can go spilling my best friend’s secrets.”
“You can. I won’t tell him, I promise.”
Kyle rolled his eyes, feeling secure in the fact that hopefully this meant they would be dating soon, so it didn’t really matter if he spoke about it. “He went as Stan’s date to Shelly’s wedding, and I think it all just got a bit real. Stan said he’s made that Kenny told his mom they weren’t really dating, but I think he’s just using it as an excuse.”
“Wait, so he went as a fake-date?”
“Yup.”
“And they didn’t think anything would go wrong, with the way they’ve been dancing around each other for years?”
“I guess not. I told Stan it was a bad idea, but he didn’t listen to me.”
It amazed him how quickly Craig got information out of him. He must’ve sat there for some time after finishing his meal while Craig washed their plates responding to various probing questions.
He realised how long he’d been sat there once there was a lull in the conversation. Craig was leaning back against the countertops, face a little softer than it had been when Kyle arrived.
Despite growing up in similar friendship groups and frequently hanging out at parties, Kyle didn’t see him alone very often. He was busy. He’d spent years studying and now was doing a residency. He barely had time for his close friends, never mind people like Craig.
It was kind of weird, seeing him in the apartment he shared with Kenny looking so at ease. So at home.
He really was an adult now.
“I should go,” Kyle started as he stood up. “Thanks. For the breakfast.”
“Sure.”
Craig was...pretty low energy. It was something that stuck with him.
--
He would be lying if he said he was okay with it. If he said he hadn’t been worried it would happen. Stan had a tendency to have very intense honeymoon periods in his relationships, but usually Kyle could fall back on Kenny. Not this time.
It wasn’t the first time Stan had forgotten their plans to hang out. He didn’t hold much hope that it would be the last.
Kyle was left staring down at his chat conversation with Stan, biting down on his lip as he tried to plan his next move. He was standing outside Tweak Bro’s coffeehouse, waiting for his best friend in the whole world to turn up so they could watch a movie together, and...
And when he’d messaged to ask where Stan was, the response was disappointing.
Shit dude I totally forgot. Kenny stayed over last night and I lost track of time. I’m so sorry :(
He groaned out as he fired a quick reply and shoved his phone in his pocket. Great. Just great.
It was his first day off all week, and he was going to be damned if he spent it at home with his mom. He’d been looking forward to doing something that wasn’t being at work or being at home.
The idea was kind of ridiculous, but once it was in his head he couldn’t really get rid of it. The apartment buildings that had been built near the closest thing they had to a nightlife district were close enough to walk, and would give him time to finish his coffee on the way. At least if he was walking somewhere he was doing something.
Twenty minutes wasn’t long enough to talk himself out of this idea, though.
He started to climb the stairs to Kenny’s apartment and felt nerves bubbling in his gut. He didn’t know what possessed him to thinking this was a good idea. He had other people he could’ve messaged. Wendy, or David, or even Tweek. But he was choosing to go and see...
Craig.
He knocked on the door, holding a deep breath as he waited, tapping a foot against the floor.
It opened to reveal Craig, who’s eyes widened at the sight of him. It took him two seconds to recover before he was scowling, his weight shifting his he cocked his hips and leant against the doorframe, eyes scanning Kyle from head to toe as if to appraise him.
“Hey,” Kyle greeted with a wave. “Are...you free?”
“Why?”
Kyle gave a low shrug. “Well, I was meant to hang out with Stan today, but he blew me off for Kenny, so I figured I’d find someone else to hang out with.”
Craig let out a low, annoyed sigh, but he didn’t shut the door. He opened it wide, taking a step back and allowing Kyle into the familiar flat. He scanned the room, picking out the low lighting and bright screen of the TV playing a movie, glass full of soda on the coffee table with the remote.
“What are you watching?”
“Train to Busan.”
“Oh,” Kyle followed Craig as he moved to reclaim his seat on the couch. “I’ve heard of it. Ike’s watched it, I think. You’re not too far in, are you?”
“Fifteen minutes. I’ll restart it.”
“Dude, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s fifteen minutes, it’s not hard to re-watch it. Also? I’m not gonna make you miss the build up.”
He flopped down on the couch. “Thanks.”
“You have to put your phone on mute, though.”
“Seriously?”
Craig pinned him with a stern stare. “Yes, seriously. If you’re watching a movie with me, you can treat it like a cinema experience.”
“A cinema experience?” Kyle repeated as a smile started to spread across his face. “Should I get my refreshments and use the bathroom before we start, then?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll re-watch the first fifteen minute, but you won’t pause for me to use the bathroom?”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“I guess you’re really into movies, then?”
“I am, so hurry up.”
He was honestly a little surprised he didn’t get turned away at the door. He was friends with Craig, but since he moved in with Kenny, Craig was more ‘Kenny’s roommate’ than ‘childhood friend’. It put an extra distance there. Not that he was complaining that he was allowed in, and that Craig was even willing to restart his movie.
Kyle did as he was instructed. His phone was set to silent and he settled in on the couch next to Craig, feet up on the middle couch cushion as he got comfortable, content in the knowledge that he was capable of doing things without Stan that weren’t just hanging out with is mother.
That it was the first day off all week? He didn’t really take into account.
The room was dark, and with nothing but the movie playing it made it quiet. He found himself melting into the cheap couch as the story played out in front of him, and the exhaustion of the week caught up with him. He felt his eyes slipping closed a couple of times, forcing him to adjust himself, if just to stay awake.
If fidgeting wasn’t allowed, Craig didn’t scold him for it.
Kyle amazed himself by staying awake till the end of the film. Or, being awake at the end of the film, at least. He wondered if it was something he would have to re-watch; a dazed experience that left him feeling like he enjoyed it, but not quite conscious enough to make a fair judgement.
“That was pretty good,” Kyle managed to get out before breaking into a yawn.
“You look ready to pass the fuck out.”
“I stayed awake though! I didn’t want to miss it.”
Craig gave a lopsided smile, but his brow was still creased. “Seriously, are you okay? You look exhausted.”
“I’m fine. It’s my first day off all week, so I guess it’s just catching up to me.”
“And Stan ditched you?”
“It’s whatever. I’ll be mad at him later. I don’t have the energy for it right now.”
Craig didn’t push it, but that crease in his brow didn’t leave.
“What do you want to do now?”
“We can play a game, if you want. I don’t have many multiplayer games, but I’m pretty sure Kenny does.”
“I don’t mind watching you play something.”
“Why, so you can go to sleep while I do?”
“Maybe.”
Craig gave a lopsided smile before he swapped over from the film to a game of his choosing. Kyle rested his head against the back of the sofa and slumped down, giving himself a chance to really relax into the chilled atmosphere. He was thankful to see Craig had picked something pretty low intensity, exploration and soft colours that lulled Kyle into dreamland.
He stayed for a while. Long enough that when he woke up the TV was black and Craig had disappeared into the kitchen, doing the washing up. Now that he wasn’t feeling too tired to keep his eyes open he was hit with a wave of embarrassment about having fallen asleep on him, and gave a polite goodbye before he disappeared from the apartment.
Craig didn’t seem too bothered by it, at least.
--
The first time he visited Kenny’s apartment after work, Craig seemed more confused than anything. He’d not even bothered to change out of his scrubs before leaving the hospital, something that would normally make him flinch, but he’d long since accepted that Hell’s Pass wasn’t the most careful place in the world.
If he wasn’t careful he was going to fall into bad habits. Hell, he kind of already was.
The fourth time that he visited after work, bright smile on his face as Craig answered, the response was much more annoyed.
“You can’t just keep turning up unannounced,” Craig said as soon as he’d swung the door open. “Eventually I’m not going to be the one to answer the door.”
“You’re usually here, though,” Kyle noted as he ducked under Craig’s arm into the apartment. “Can I come in?”
“You’re already in.”
Kyle took that as a yes. He wasn’t surprised to find the flat devoid of Kenny, but still asked where he was, just to make conversation as he took his place next to Craig’s spot on the couch.
“Where do you think? He’s at Stan’s, so he won’t be back any time soon.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that he’s never here anymore?”
“No, why would it?”
“I dunno. It leaves you on your own a lot.”
Craig shot him a glare. “How could I be lonely when I get the joy of seeing you so often?”
“You know what I mean.”
Kyle watched him play the game he had been playing before he was rudely interrupted. It dawned on him at some point that what they were doing was something that could probably be classified as becoming routine, but he wasn’t sure he minded.
At first it was weird. Now it was just a relief.
He would fall asleep at some point, and either wake up of his own accord, or have Craig flicking at his ear to get him up before Kenny got home. He didn’t know exactly why it was so important to either of them that he was gone before Kenny got home, but it had also meant that he hadn’t actually spoken to Kenny or Stan about it.
He never mentioned how much time he had begun to spend at Kenny’s apartment, without Kenny. How it was beginning to stop being Kenny’s, and started to be Craig’s.
He had his legs up on the couch, knees bent as he watched Craig play. Watched the way his expression would shift, how the piercing eyes trained on the screen, not missing a single moment.
It wasn’t taking up so much of his attention he couldn’t keep up their conversation.
“Doesn’t it bother you that Kenny’s never here?”
The question took Kyle by surprise. “What do you mean?”
“You always come round, and you never see him. He's also never mentioned it, so I assume you’ve not told him, either.”
“Neither have you.”
Craig scowled as he glanced to Kyle for a split second. “Yeah, because I don’t want him getting funny ideas that I’m going to suddenly become open to him bringing half the people he knows round. I like Kenny because he’s quiet.”
“I’m quiet!”
“Just because you sleep whenever you’re here doesn’t make you quiet.”
He flushed and turned to the screen. “It makes me quiet enough.”
“I just...” his character came to a slow stop as Craig struggled with his words. “I’m not sure why you decide to come here to enjoy your naptime.”
“I guess sometimes after work I just...don’t like the thought of facing my family,” Kyle admitted. “Not that I don’t love them, it can just be tiring. I work my ass off all day for my residency, and then at the end of it sometimes I just wanna collapse and not have to socialise.”
“So, your solution is to come here and socialise?”
“You’re different,” he argued. “You’re pretty low energy.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
“You don’t get upset with me when I do end up falling asleep. When it’s just me and Stan, he wants me to interact with him. And when it’s Stan and Kenny I feel like I have to. Then my mom makes this big deal about how I haven’t seen her all day, I work such long hours and then just ignore them when I get home. At least when I fall asleep here you just leave me to it.”
Craig didn’t have anything to say to that.
It was the end of the conversation. When they spoke again it was because Kyle started it, prompting Craig when he missed something in the game, asking questions about what something was. It was enough that he was scolded for backseat gaming, laughing and shoving his foot into Craig’s leg when he was asked if he just ‘wanted the fucking controller’.
Despite the conversation feeling like it had never been complete, he felt like the mood of the room was a little different. He honestly felt a little more awake.
--
Kyle didn’t start messaging ahead. He finished his work, picked up his things and bounded over to their apartment with a skip in his steps. Craig had started to save their place in the game he was playing, so Kyle wouldn’t miss anything. He took that as a sign that his company was welcome, no matter what Mr Grump said.
He reached the front door, knocking his fist three times with a smile on his face as he waited. He glanced down the corridor, inspecting the dim lighting of the hallway as he waited for the door to open.
When it did, it caught him by surprise.
“Oh, Kyle. I wasn’t expecting you.”
Kyle froze as he came face to face with Kenny.
Sure in the back of his mind he knew that there was a chance eventually that Kenny would be home, but he tried so hard to only visit when he was at Stan’s house, leaving Kyle to just expect Craig. Not that he actively was avoiding Kenny, or that it was a big deal that he was hanging out with Craig, or anything like that. Not at all.
“Do you need anything?”
“I, uh,” he felt his palms grow warm as he tried to come up with something to say. “Sorry for showing up unannounced. I was just...I finished work, and I was looking to get food in town before I go home. I wanted to know if you wanted to come?”
“We’re in the middle of dinner, actually,” Kenny said with an apologetic smile. “You can...come in and have some, if you want?”
“We?”
“Me and Stan.”
“Oh!” he grasped onto the words. “No, it’s fine, I’d rather go get something from Freeman’s or something.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, yeah I’m sure. Thanks anyway, dude. I hope you enjoy your dinner!”
Stan’s head appeared behind Kenny, smile lighting up his face as his eyes searched Kyle’s. “You good, dude?”
“I’m fine!”
“It’s okay if you join. It’s been a while since the three of us hung out.”
“Really, I’m not – we can plan something later, but I really just want something easy. I’ve said Freeman’s and now it’s all my stomach’s thinking about.”
The pair watched him as he darted off down the hall, cursing under his breath as he scrambled to fish out his phone. As soon as he had it in his hands he was scouring his contacts for Craig’s number, moving into the stairwell.
It took exactly two rings before Craig answered, and he didn’t even say hello.
“I told you,” Craig said, sounding way too smug. “Eventually, I’m not gonna be the one to answer the door.”
“You’re an asshole. Where are you?”
“Hanging out with Clyde and Tweek.”
“Now what am I supposed to do?”
“Go bother one of your real friends?”
“I can’t, they’re having a fucking candle lit dinner or some shit.”
“They can’t be your only friends.”
“They’re not!” he defended. “I just...?”
He hesitated. Craig was silent.
“I don’t have time for many people. I can’t just text Wendy out the blue and ask if she’s free whenever it’s convenient for me.”
“You show up out of the blue to my apartment all the time.”
“You’re different.”
The words slipped out. Craig didn’t respond, again. Kyle stumbled to cover his tracks.
“It doesn’t matter, I’ll just – find something to do. You’re still an asshole.”
“Why don’t you come hang out with us?”
“Is...that okay?”
“Sure.”
“Is it okay with Clyde and Tweek?”
“Who cares?”
“I do.”
He heard the low murmuring of a conversation happening away from the receiver of the phone, and came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, left with the decision of what he was going to do, now he wasn’t spending his time in Craig’s apartment.
“They don’t mind. Clyde said to say hi, even though he’ll see you in like ten minutes.”
Kyle felt a smile break out across his face. “Where are you?”
He ended up at Clyde’s house, one of the few kids who still lived at home, like Kyle, but more because he didn’t want to leave his dad in the house alone than for convenience like Kyle. Clyde owned a plethora of multiplayer games that all four of them could play, unlike his best friend.
He didn’t fall asleep. How could he, with so much energy buzzing round the room, him squished between Craig and the arm of the couch that Clyde insisted they would all fit on when they absolutely didn’t.
He took Clyde’s side, just to see the annoyed look on Craig’s face.
--
Craig knew it was a little weird. He had never been that keen on Kenny bringing his friends round to their apartment, mostly because of the fact that when the four of them, plus Butters, were in a room together, they tended to lose their grip on their impulse control.
Kyle had always been the more sensible one of the group. The one that would be the first to say no. To put his foot down. But that didn’t mean that he was always innocent in their shenanigans.
Kenny was pretty laid back, which was why Craig got on well with him. He was also kind of a loner at times, which was probably why he could also put up with Craig, who wasn’t known for being overly friendly at times.
It hadn’t bothered him that Kenny started to spend more time with Stan. Why would it?
It had bothered him that Kyle had decided to take his place, at first. He had been worried. Was it going to be high maintenance? Was he going to have to entertain him? At what point would Kyle get bored and decide to make his life difficult?
He didn’t.
Kyle spent a decent amount of their time recovering from his job, and when he was there, bags under his eyes despite the smile on his face, paleness to his complexion, Craig couldn’t say no.
As much as he was an asshole, he wasn’t that much of an asshole.
He didn’t fall asleep every time. As they hung out more, he became a little more animated. Maybe it was the sudden change in his friendship group. His support network had shifted. It probably didn’t help his tiredness.
It stopped bothering him that Kyle came round, until he visited him at Clyde’s house and played games with them, because something shifted.
Kyle became more affectionate.
Spending two hours pressed shoulder to hip on the couch that was not suitable for four people made Kyle think he was okay with having his personal bubble invaded. They were casual things; touch on the elbow, squeezing past him to get to the fridge, leaning against him when Craig showed him something on his phone.
His presence bothered Craig again, and he hated it. More than that, he hated that he didn’t want to do anything about it.
He let it happen. He didn’t stop showing him things on his phone. He leant into the touch.
Kyle arrived at his flat still wearing his scrubs one Thursday; something that Craig had come to associate with ‘tired bitch hours’. Named aptly, because he would also be especially bitchy. Craig let him in and Kyle all but collapsed on the couch.
He looked up at Craig, pout on his face, as he announced: “I’m going to quit.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No, I’m not, but I want to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Ugh,” Kyle tossed his head to the side. “You’re so right, and I hate it.”
Craig chuckled at the dramatics. “Do you want me to get you a drink?”
“Please.”
“We can watch a movie, if you want?” Craig offered. “That way you won’t miss any of the game.”
“You’re my new best friend.”
“The bar must’ve been set pretty low.”
He got them a drink each, handing one to Kyle before setting his own on the coffee table and grabbing the remote for the TV and navigating his way to Netflix. They put on something mindless that Craig would enjoy and Kyle wouldn’t care about.
Craig flopped back on the couch, tossing an arm over the back, turning to Kyle with narrowed eyes. “Have you got your phone on silent?”
Kyle smirked up at him, rolling his head back again until it rested against Craig’s arm. “Yes, sir. I’m not breaking your dumb little rule.”
“It’s not dumb. You’re going to be sleeping anyway.”
“I’m not. I’m going to stay awake.”
“Why force yourself?”
“I feel bad, that I’m constantly falling asleep on you.”
“Don’t. You deserve a break.”
Kyle’s lips twitched upwards, a soft smile spreading across his face. Craig forced himself to look back to the TV.
When he felt Kyle shift, he didn’t expect it to result in the redhead moving closer. Seeking out comfort in his dreams. Barely awake as he got cozy against Craig’s side. Craig didn’t dare move, for fear of breaking the connection.
He hated that he didn’t want to do anything about it.
He didn’t know at which point he fell asleep. He woke up with the movie still playing, and only because he’d fallen. Kyle’s weight had pushed him over, the pair of them ending up lying down on the couch together.
It was the movement that woke them both up, Kyle attempting to pull back with a slurred apology, eyes bloodshot and barely open.
“Shut up,” Craig muttered as he shifted to be fully lying on his back. “Just - come here.”
Kyle accepted the invitation without question. Craig didn’t think it through.
He really, really should’ve thought it through, because when he woke up again, they weren’t alone.
The TV was off. The lamp in the corner of the room was on. He was lying on his back with his head raised on the arm of the couch, arms wrapped around his guest, and Kenny was sat in the armchair next to them.
Craig tried not to panic. Even as the blonde brows raised, smirk crossing Kenny’s face as his eyes flickered quite purposefully between Craig and the heavy lump that was sprawled across his front. He tried to decide what course of action to take as Kenny continued to stare at him in silence. Should he just...deposit Kyle onto the floor? Leave the room and go hide in his bed? Ring the landlord and ask for Kenny to be kicked out?
“So,” the was Kenny drawled made Craig want to drive forks in his ears. “How long’s this been going on for?”
“What, your friend showing up at our apartment and bothering me for the attention you won’t give him?”
“Oh, touchy.”
“I’m not being touchy.”
“You’re being pretty touchy.”
“I am not!”
He stilled as the body on top of him shifted. He glanced down to watch as Kyle nuzzled into his chest and felt heat erupt across his face at the look of pure amusement that spread across Kenny’s.
“Comfy?”
“No,” he spat as he glared at the ceiling.
“Sure you’re not,” Kenny drawled as he finally stood up, taking hold of Kyle’s glass from the table. “You should let me know when you’ve got guests over. I can give you the apartment. Give you space to entertain.”
“I’m moving out.”
“Why, so you can move in with-?!”
“Oh my god!” Craig hissed out with a glare. “You just don’t stop, do you?”
“Nope!” Kenny grinned. “But, I will, for you. Is this why he showed up unannounced at our door a little while ago?”
The question was said in a more inquisitive tone. The tone that meant Kenny was done with winding him up. “Yeah, I think so. He just...comes round after work and sleeps, or watches me play games. It happened first because Stan forgot about their plans.”
Kenny looked down at the glass in his hands. “He’s still wearing his scrubs.”
“Yeah. He does sometimes.”
“Shit. I never...?” his face scrunched up. He turned his gaze away. “I’m sorry. I’ve been wrapped up. I should’ve noticed.”
“What?”
“How tired he was?”
Craig’s thumb began to stroke against Kyle’s back. “I don’t think it’s surprising. He’s got a pretty intense job, doing his residency at Hell’s Pass or whatever. And you’ve got your new thing with Stan.”
“It’s like, practically old news, by now. Has this been happening since then?”
“Yeah. It has.”
Kenny chewed on his lip as his eyes focused in on Kyle. When they met Craig’s, there was an intensity lost in the blues. “Thanks, for looking after him when we weren’t. I know how you feel about people.”
“At least he’s quiet. When he’s sleeping.”
“Yeah, he is.”
Kenny made them dinner. While he was busy, Craig woke Kyle up, pushing past the embarrassment he had. Kyle didn’t seem that phased by their awkward position.
He was visibly brighter when Kenny appeared with three plates, waking up quickly at the presence of one of his closest friends.
--
Not two days later, he got an image message from Clyde. When he opened it he saw a picture of himself on his couch, fast asleep, with Kyle lying across his torso, equally asleep. He ate all of Kenny’s pop tarts in retaliation.
Red invited him out one Friday night to the bar where her girlfriend Porsche worked. It was a thing that she did periodically. When she lacked other people to hang out with, he was her fall-back plan. If he complained, she threatened to tell his mom on him. He would groan and huff and puff and force himself out the house. He made a big deal of nothing. She was his cousin, and he didn’t mind keeping her company.
It took her until his ass was in the seat before she sank her slimy, well-polished claws in.
“What’s this about you and Kyle, then?”
“Oh my god, are you fucking kidding me?”
Red shrugged. “Word travels fast.”
“Did he send everyone the photo?”
“Wait, there’s a photo? Of what?”
Fucking shit damn why did he have to open his mouth?
“Show me the photo!”
“I don’t have it! Kenny does!”
“Oh my god, I’m gonna text Kenny.”
He suffered through the five minute interval of Red cooing over the photo she was sent, going as far to even turn it so he could see. One glance at it and he was looking away with burning cheeks. With a few more barbing dismissals of her questions she moved on, though his luck didn’t last very long.
It was the thing about Craig and the people that he was maybe becoming a little bit more than friendly with; they popped up fucking everywhere and wouldn’t leave him alone.
“Oh my god,” Red lit up with a grin. “You will never guess who just walked in.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Craig mumbled out as he turned round to where she was looking. He saw the dynamic duo, Stan and Kyle, making their way to the counter. “What the hell are they doing here?”
“Are you gonna go talk to him?”
“God, I hate you so much. You’re my least favourite cousin.”
“I’m also your only cousin, so I’m your most favourite too, by default.”
“End me.”
He didn’t have to go talk to Kyle. As soon as their eyes met, Kyle was beginning to drift over to him, and he had to kick Red under the table to get her to stop sniggering away. He hoped that the smile on his face didn’t feel as manic as it felt.
“Hey,” Kyle greeted. “You finally left your cave?”
“I don’t live in a cave.”
“Sure feels like it, given how often you have all the blinds shut.”
“It’s atmospheric.”
“Yeah, the atmosphere of a cave.”
Craig shot a glare across the table at Red who was too busy choking on her drink to help. “Did you come over here just to insult me?”
“Kind of,” Kyle admitted with a shrug. “Stan’s getting our first round. Something about an apology for standing me up a few weeks ago. Kenny was at work, so he couldn’t join us – but you know that.”
“I do.”
“He’s meant to be swinging by later.”
“You guys can join us, if you want?” Red suggested after Craig failed to respond. “It’s kinda busy in here. Not sure you’ll find a table.”
“If you don’t mind?”
Craig shook his head.
Despite being at the same table, at first it felt a little more like they were just two pairs sharing it, than a group of four. Stan and Kyle had a lot to catch up on, and Craig and Red were good at entertaining each other. When Porsche came over, taking a fifteen minute break from her shift to give Red attention, Kyle dragged Craig into their conversation.
Then it felt a little more like the four of them.
By the time Kenny arrived they’d all already drank a fair amount. Red disappeared when Porsche’s shift finished, the latter having to practically carry her from the place, while Kenny attempted to catch up to them with shots.
When Kenny and Stan began to forget that there were other people in the room, Craig decided to call it quits.
“Alright, I’m leaving,” he announced as Stan continued to gaze into Kenny’s eyes while Kenny started to get a little handsy. “It’s been great, enjoy the rest of your night.”
Kyle stood without prompt. “I’ll come with you.”
It wasn’t even enough to pull their attention off each other, which just showed how much they weren’t paying attention to anything else.
The walk back was quiet. Craig didn’t even question why Kyle was walking with him instead of going home, scared that if he mentioned it Kyle would realise his mistake and turn round to leave. He was too busy enjoying his company to let that happen.
Kyle didn’t leave, even as they were walking up to his flat, their elbows brushing as they walked. Craig found himself once again frustrated by how affectionate Kyle had become.
He withdrew his keys and finally turned to Kyle, forcing his drunken heart to stay steady for the goodbye. “You really didn’t need to walk me home.”
“I wanted to.”
Craig rolled his eyes at the simple answer, but didn’t argue further.
“What are you doing tomorrow? I’m off, for like, the whole day, and I’m not spending it at home. I thought we could finish that game?”
“They’re kicking me out,” Craig explained with a grumble. “I don’t know why, when Stan has a perfectly good house that he doesn’t share with anyone.”
Kyle laughed. “I guess they want a change of scenery?”
“Then they can go out for dates like normal people.”
“We could, if you wanted?”
Craig paused. He looked up and Kyle, surveying him up and down. “What...go out for a date?”
“Well, I just meant like, to go out and do something, not necessarily on a date, if you didn’t want to,” Kyle explained as he started to fumble through his words. “Not that I’d be against it if that’s what you did want to do.”
“This has to be the worst attempt at asking someone out I’ve ever seen.”
Kyle flushed as his gaze fell to the side. “I wasn’t planning on asking you out, you blindsided me.”
“Do you want me to go inside and let you try again?”
“Yes please.”
Craig hesitated, heart stuttering at the seriousness of Kyle’s voice. He gave a bark of laughter as a knee-jerk reaction. “Seriously?”
“Seriously, shut the door, I’ve got this.”
His heart was in his throat as he did as he was told, standing on the other side of the door staring, waiting for the knock. He jumped when it came, eyes wide as he tore the door open and was presented with a question that he didn’t know what to respond with.
“Hey,” Kyle greeted, wide smile across freckled cheeks. “I was wondering if – if you wanted to go on a date tomorrow?”
Craig swallowed the lump in his throat, mind racing as he tried to figure out how to make words with his tongue. “Where do you want to go?”
“Will that make a difference to whether or not you say yes?”
“Maybe.”
Kyle laughed. “How about the cinema? Finally watch a movie together that isn’t in your front room.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“We can go on a date,” Craig confirmed.
“When are Kenny and Stan kicking you out?”
“Four o’clock.”
“I’ll be here for four, then,” Kyle said as his smile widened even further.
Craig’s face broke open as his own smile mirrored Kyle’s. “Okay.”
--
He wasn’t freaking out. He was being perfectly calm and level headed. He was a little nervous, sure, but only the right amount of nervous.
Four o’clock was fast approaching, and he still couldn’t find his wallet.
Kenny and Stan were sat on the couch and had been since they rolled out of Kenny’s room in the afternoon, nursing hangovers. Craig was pretty sure that it wasn’t exactly how they’d planned to spend their evening, but he also didn’t care. He had other things to care about.
Like where the fuck his wallet was.
“It’s not in here,” Kenny drawled as Craig returned to the living room. “You’ve looked already.”
Craig grumbled out as he continued to retrace his steps and triple check the places he’d already looked through.
“Have you tried the kitchen?”
“Why would it be in the kitchen?”
“You always snack when you’ve been drinking.”
Kenny had been right. His wallet was in the kitchen. Kenny also took it as a sign to start gossiping about him loudly while he was in the kitchen, with nothing but am archway to separate them.
“He’s going out with Kyle.”
“Kenny, shut up,” Craig snapped out.
“I think they’re going on a date, but he won’t tell me.”
“Oh my god! It’s none of your business!”
Stan oh so helpfully decided he wasn’t going to keep his trap shut. “It is a date, isn’t it? Kyle said it was.”
“See! Kyle tells his best friend.”
“You are not my best friend. You’re my absentee flatmate.”
“He likes that leather jacket you have,” Stan said. “You should wear that.”
Craig furrowed his brows, stepping back into the living room. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, he thinks it’s hot.”
“See?” Kenny grinned wide as he patted Stan’s knee. “And you tried to tell us to shut up.”
“I told you to shut up. And you didn’t contribute anything.”
“I did! I knew where your wallet was!”
Ten minutes later found him at the bathroom mirror, adjusting the jacket round his shoulders as there were three solid knocks on the door. He rushed through the apartment, pleased that the two still hungover on the couch decided against moving or speaking.
He pulled the door open and his lips tugged up as soon as he locked eyes with the redhead on the other side of the door.
“Hey,” Kyle greeted, smile spreading across his face as his eyes roamed Craig’s shoulders. “You look nice.”
Craig was finding himself thankful for Stan’s input this time. “Thanks. You do, too.”
“Finally free from my scrubs.”
“Finally.”
Kyle’s lips twitched as his eyes focused on something over Craig’s shoulder. “Should we leave, so they stop trying to spy on us?”
Craig snapped round to glare, catching sight of Kenny and Stan peering round the corner from the living room. “Let’s go. Please.”
The journey to the aging movie theatre was short. Too short, given how much Craig was enjoying just walking next to Kyle, speaking between each other as they moved. Enjoying how passionate Kyle could get, or the way he rolled his eyes when Craig was overly sarcastic or made a bad joke.
Kyle paid for the tickets, insisting that he did the asking, and bought them a drink to share. Craig turned down food on the reasoning that they were there to watch a movie, not listen to chomping. Kyle announced that they’d just have to get dinner together as well.
During the trailers Kyle announced which films he wanted to see, while Craig wondered if that was an invitation to see them together.
He got his answer when he agreed that one in particular looked good, and Kyle turned with a grin and said, “we can watch it when it comes out?”
He agreed.
They ended up eating takeout food at the benches in the park, talking enough that their food was going cold by the time they finished. When it came to going home, Kyle offered to walk him back again, and Craig had to admit he wasn’t staying at his apartment that night.
“I’m staying at Clyde’s,” he explained. “To give Kenny and Stan space. I got kicked out, remember?”
“Wow, I didn’t expect them to have kicked you out like, all night.”
“How long have you known them?”
Kyle shoved him, hard, and he bounced back against him. Their arms stayed glued together.
They walked up the path to Clyde’s house and silence fell between them as the knowledge that their night was coming to an end. Craig wished it wasn’t.
He turned at the door, searching for something to say to keep Kyle on the doorstep for just a bit longer.
“You made it all the way through without falling asleep.”
Kyle scrunched his face up and tried to hide his smile. “I stay awake during some of our movies!”
“Not many.”
“We’ll just have to go to the cinema more often then. If it’s a good way to keep me awake.”
Craig smiled something toothy and goofy. “Yeah, we will.”
Kyle glanced to his smile, biting down on his lower lip for a moment, taking in a breath to speak, but was cut off by the sound of the door opening.
“Hey, man! Why are you just-? Kyle! Dude, are you hanging out too?”
Craig spun round to glare at Clyde, who was too used to Craig’s mood to even register the nasty look.
Kyle gave a nervous laugh. “No, I was just – walking. I wasn’t staying.”
“You can, if you want?” Clyde suggested as he finally looked at Craig. “Right?”
Craig’s heart spluttered as he nodded his agreement.
Kyle glanced between them both before answering. “If...you don’t mind, I can. I don’t have plans.”
“Cool! I’ll go get another controller set up!”
When he disappeared Kyle took hold of Craig’s sleeve before he could follow. “You don’t have to, I won’t be offended of you want me to go home now.”
“It’s fine. I...if we had gone back to mine, I would’ve invited you in for a drink, so...”
Kyle’s features smoothed out. “Good, cause I kind of wanted the excuse to not leave yet.”
Kyle ended up staying late. Late enough that Clyde tried to convince him to spend the night, with how tired he looked, but he declined on the insistence that he had to go to work the next day. Craig at least saw him to the door.
With Clyde’s presence still there in the living room they found themselves standing a few feet apart for their goodbyes. Craig didn’t shut the door till he couldn’t see Kyle any longer.
Four dates later, they were boyfriend’s. Two weeks into being boyfriend’s, Craig realised he’d been the one who inadvertently invited Kenny’s dumb friends to congregate in his apartment when Kyle ended up coming round with Stan one day and he had to watch the three of them arguing over who got the remote on his couch.
A fondness blossomed in his chest and he realised that he may have screwed himself over as far as his blissful peace went, and kind of wished he’d done it sooner.