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They were cleaning up their basement when Stan found it. It was an old-looking box with an eagle symbol he only vaguely remembered. The scribbling over it was nearly gone, the passage of time establishing its dominance over an indelible marker pen. He opened it with curiosity.
Inside he found some sort of costume, sort of. It was a plain white shirt and a pair of jeans. The shirt had a pin that simply said ‘T’ in a red background. There was also a pair of yellow safety glasses, black gloves and various tools attached to an utility belt. He squinted at the outfit for a while before it hit him.
When they were snotty little kids, they played superheroes and each had their own ‘secret’ identity. He was the hero otherwise known as ‘Toolshed’, whose power was having a mental ability over any kind of tool. He snorted at the memory. Toolshed more like absolute tool. What the hell was up with that alter ego? So lame.
“What are you looking at?” Kenny’s voice behind him made him jolt. “Is that…?”
“My shitty little costume for when we played superheroes, yes.” Stan finished the sentence while lifting the outfit.
“Wait, that means…” Kenny began lurking inside the box. “Mine should be…Ah! There it is!” He held up an off-lavender base suit that had a big green ‘M’ on the chest and white briefs placed over the crotch. A dark purple cloak was wrapped around the neck and the hood had a bright green question mark on it.
“Oh!” Stan recognized the sight. “That’s Mysterious, right?”
“Mysterion.” Kenny corrected him as he folded his costume lovingly and put it back on the box. “The best superhero.”
“We were so silly, playing around and pretending we had superpowers and stuff…” Stan reminisced with fondness. “We really bought into that whole fad, huh?”
“It wasn’t a game for me.” Kenny proclaimed.
“Huh?” Stan eyed him. “What do you mean?”
The blond turned to stared at him with a you-know-what expression on his face.
“Oh…” Stan was starting to remember. He nodded slowly. “Because you actually are immortal, right?”
“You’re saying it like it’s the most normal thing in the world.” Kenny huffed.
“Well, I’ll never be able to remember it but I believe you.” Stan explained.
“And I’m glad you do.” Kenny walked to him and kissed his cheek with a smile. “I haven’t died since I left South Park so maybe it was the town that was cursed.”
“Maybe.” Stan returned the smile. Kenny took the box and headed upstairs. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, I wanna frame my outfit!” The blond said and continued going up the stairs, leaving Stan to see the symbol on the box as Kenny’s upper body disappeared.
What was that again…
Oh! The logo of their superhero union.
Freedom Pals.
He was in Freedom Pals.
--
Following their argument with Coon and Friends, the boys left Cartman’s basement. It wasn’t until they were outside that they realized they had nowhere to go. They didn’t have a base anymore, where the hell were they supposed to gather from now on?
It wasn’t his top choice but Toolshed offered his basement for the time being, until they could settle somewhere better. Fuck Coon and Friends honestly. Elitist pieces of shit.
And so, they held a meeting there. Brainstorming a new name, coming up with a new strategy and, most importantly, developing a new franchise plan. It was insanely productive, way more productive than most of their meetings with Coon and Friends, where they spent most of their time listening to Cartman’s bullshit or just generally wasting their time.
When the meeting with this new formation finished, they had suggested a couple of options for their new name (none of which had a member establishing their importance over the others) which would later be put to voting, written a few ideas for strategies and drafted their new franchise plan. It was great.
And despite that, Stan wasn’t feeling great. In fact, he was quite pissed still. He tried to ignore it the whole time they were talking, yet the moment the guys left, his annoyance came back. Like a shadow looming over him. An uneasiness that was uncomfortably familiar. Slowly creeping its way inside him. Making him feel like-
“Stan?” Mysterion pronounced his name, reminding him he wasn’t alone yet.
“Ah!” The boy was quickly brought back to Earth. “Sorry, I just-”
“Is everything okay?” Mysterion went back to his usual deep, throaty voice.
“I…” Stan was unsure of how to answer. Were things okay? Was he okay? His eyes darted to the table. “No.” He decided to confess.
The hero hummed as he paced around, serious as ever. “Is it about Coon and Friends?”
Embarrassed, Stan winced. “Is it that obvious?”
“Well…” Mysterion stopped. “I could imagine why it upset you.” His eyes were piercing and Stan had the need to avert his gaze.
“Are you upset about it too?” He asked with some shyness.
“I expected it from Cartman.” His friend replied. “He never plays fair so of course he’d favor some heroes and neglect others. Also, he’s always hated that I’m more popular than him.” He stated matter-of-factly.
That was true. Didn’t Cartman throw a tantrum about Mysterion back then? That’s right, back when no one else had superhero identities but Kenny and him. Maybe it should’ve stayed that way. “Yeah, Cartman is an asshole.” Stan agreed. “I just don’t understand why…” His voice trailed off.
“Why would Kyle agree with him?” Mysterion completed the question. “Well, he was receiving two movies in phase one…”
“But why would he go along? Aren’t they supposed to hate each other? Why would Cartman want to bribe Kyle?!” Doubt and uncertainty invaded him, as a bunch of other unanswered questions popped in his head. “Why wouldn’t Kyle prefer to be with us, his friends?”
When he raised his head, he found a compassionate gaze staring back at him. That was definitely Kenny, not the hardass Mysterion. But why was he giving him that look?
“What?!” He uttered with exasperation
His friend seemed to want to talk, opening his mouth and then closing it at the last second. Despite the mask covering the upper portion of his face, he seemed quite troubled, like he wasn’t sure what to say, his eyes flickering rapidly as they went from one point of the basement to another. “I’m not sure I…”
“What is it, Kenny?!” His heart had begun accelerating for no reason.
The aforementioned was unresponsive, as if he was debating with himself whether to talk or not. Almost imperceptibly so, he clenched his right fist.
“Kenny!”
“Fine!” Kenny gave in. Closing his eyes, he asked. “Have you ever wondered why that is?”
Stan’s eyes, in contrast, widened. “Why is what?”
Reluctant still, the other continued. “The reason Kyle and Cartman keep sticking together despite claiming to not stand each other.” He exhaled heavily. “This isn’t the first time and it probably won’t be the last.”
“It’s not the first…” As he repeated the words, unpleasant memories flooded his mind. The main one being Kyle refusing to be his best friend again. Why was it again? Because he was depressed? Because he was making burgers with Cartman? At the time, Stan chalked it up to his own behavior because it was true that his negativity had affected Kyle and because it was easier on his mind to believe Kyle hadn’t truly picked Cartman over him.
However, Kenny was right and there had been other times where Kyle sided with Cartman over him, his best friend. Like when they had that dumb console wars, Kyle eventually made it up to him but it never truly felt right. It was more like Kyle was doing damage control than anything and yet, Stan tried to pay no mind to the voice inside his head.
Then there was that time where Kyle tried to accuse him of conspiring with PC Principal, although, to be fair, he accused him of the same. What was baffling is that they all stayed with Kyle and left him alone. Again.
A stupider occasion would be when they were fighting over memes and they split, Kenny joining Stan and Cartman and Kyle staying together. Even if it was just a dumb fight, the point remained true. Those two had been teaming up more often than not in recent times. And while he could just blame the circumstance for several of them, in this case, he was lost.
Even if Kyle really wanted to have several movies in the first phase, he could’ve come with them and they would have negotiated together. Instead, he refused to listen and didn’t care who got screwed over by Cartman’s shitty plan. It was, ironically, very Cartman-like behavior of him.
Abruptly, he was reminded of that time Kyle joined Cartman in a company that...exploited baby junkies? And the more time he spent with Cartman, the more he became like him. Was the beginning of the end? It was only shortly after that Stan turned ten.
“Do you...understand what I’m trying to say?” Kenny cleared his throat, interrupting Stan’s rumination.
Stan bit his bottom lip. “I’m not sure…”
A deep sigh came out of his friend’s lips as he leaned on the table. “I’m saying they don’t actually hate each other. They just...haven’t realized yet.”
“But that doesn’t make sense.” Stan protested. “I mean, they’ve always been at each other’s necks, ever since I have memory those two have-”
“Fought, yes. Been insufferable about the other’s existence? Also, yes.” Mysterion stood straight, his edgy tone back at full force. “But they’re incapable of staying away from each other. Not for too long, at least.”
“So you’re…” Stan had to pause to assess the revelation. “You’re saying they’re actually friends?”
“I think it’s more complicated than you and I will ever understand.” The kid spoke frankly. “They’re like a maze. Try to figure it out and you might get lost forever.” Resignedly, he shook his head. “Just thinking about them gives me a headache. I’m going home.”
“Okay…” Stan let out as Kenny walked away. He was overwhelmed. What did that mean? Did Kyle prefer to hang out with Cartman than him? Was he supposed to give up on his best friend? Was it over between them? What should he do?
“Stan.” Mysterion was already on the stairs when he turned to call him.
Too flabbergasted, Stan merely stared at him in response.
“You’re not alone.” The hooded hero declared, cool as ever. “You have me and…” His own words seemed to fluster him. “Anyway. See you tomorrow.” He managed to blurt before going up the stairs. Shortly after, the door was closed and Stan was left blinking in utter confusion.
--
His reverie over, Stan got out of the basement too, following his boyfriend. Once in the main level, he found him placing the shadow box they had bought recently on the living room’s table. The Freedom Pals box was right next to it.
Stan didn’t consider himself to be a particularly affectionate person. However, watching Kenny stuff his silly superhero costume inside the glass-front display case, he had an urge. With hurried steps, he walked to the blond and hugged him from behind.
“Hey…” Kenny spoke softly, rotating his head ever slightly to watch Stan. “What 's up?”
Squeezing him harder, the other replied. “I was just remembering.”
“Something good?”
He let his partner go gradually, a smile on his face. “You could say.” The cryptical answer made Kenny raise an inquisitive eyebrow. Stan’s eyes fell on the framed picture Cartman had sent them of Kyle and him spending their honeymoon in Hawaii. “I was thinking about...how you’ve always been one step ahead and...I guess I didn’t always see it as a kid but...I really appreciate it more now…” It was embarrassing but he wanted to say it anyway. “I’m just really happy to have someone so supportive by my side.”
Kenny giggled softly as he held Stan’s hand. “What’s this? Wanna go at it this early in the day?”
“What? No!” Stan pulled his hand away, red-faced.
“I mean, I don’t mind but-”
“Kenny!”
“I’m joking.” His boyfriend grinned. “Thank you.”
He wasn’t quite sure what he was being thanked for but when Kenny beamed at him like that, he didn’t want to question it. “Y-You’re welcome...” Stan managed rather pathetically.
They gazed into each other’s eyes, the sweetness all over Kenny’s expression. Well, shit, maybe they should-
The blond went back to the shadow box, contemplating his arrangement. “I’m gonna need to put something else there.” He remarked. “It looks too empty like this.”
Stan moved a little to watch it better. It was true, even with all the space Kenny took with his costume, the display appeared half empty. A bulb lit in his mind. Wordlessly, he pulled out his Toolshed outfit, tools included, and accommodated it next to Mysterion’s. “Better.” He said with a proud smirk.
Touched by the gesture, Kenny watched the shadow box with amazement for a moment before closing it. Then, he walked to their bedroom with Stan closely behind him. There was an empty spot in the wall in front of their bed where two lonely nails appeared to be waiting for this exact moment.
Without much preamble, they carefully hung the shadow box, taking care both nails were hooked to it before letting go. They took a step backwards to watch their work.
“Looks great.” Stan commented and glanced at his partner.
The guy was swiftly rubbing his eyes. “It does.” He agreed quietly.
Feeling warm, Stan reached to grab Kenny’s hand. “Wanna get something to eat?”
Kenny nodded so Stan dragged him out of the room. However, when they were walking out of the door, the chilly breeze reminded he needed a jacket.
“Wait, I’ll be right back.” He said before running back to his bedroom. Quickly, he grabbed the first denim jacket he found in the closet before dashing out. Although, the moment his feet were on the doorframe he felt like looking back. He peered at their superhero costumes, hanging so cutely on the wall and a silly smile spread across his face.
“Stan?” His lover called him from the door.
“Coming!” He replied, glimpsing at the outfits one last time before leaving.