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Stan and Kyle laid on their respective bedrolls and looked up at the constellations in the night sky. The stars were only vaguely obstructed by trees that were surrounding the clearing they were supposed to be sleeping in. Their bedrolls were on either side of the campfire allowing them to get equal warmth. While the nights in Colorado were warming up as the season was starting to settle into Spring they still needed a campfire. The embers from the fire floated up into the air almost giving them the illusion of shooting stars flying right beside them. The tinge of orange suited Kyle’s complexion and gave him a softness that Stan often missed during the day. Even in the short time they had spent together the outlaw couldn’t get over how quickly Kyle had begun to infest his brain. Kyle was desperate to learn everything he could about the rugged lifestyle from the gunslinger; it often made Stan dizzy from the undivided attention the redhead would give him. They talked almost endlessly to one another from dawn to midnight since they had met. Stan had already pointed out as many constellations as he could along with special ways to spot each one in the sky. Kyle would undoubtedly need to know that the Big Dipper acts as a compass for anyone who lived on the land. They were currently camped outside of some bum-fuck town in the middle of nowhere Colorado since Stan needed to buy more supplies for Sparky and extra materials for the runaway. Stan had given Kyle the only blanket he owned.
While Stan was certainly proud of Kyle’s first independent fire it was dying a lot quicker than anticipated for the two. The flames of the fire still were bright enough that Stan could see Kyle looking almost longingly at the stars above them. The crackling of the fire and the humming of the life around them were able to fill the comfortable silence between the two. He wanted to ask Kyle the question, but he didn’t feel he had the right to ask about it just yet even if Stan was sticking his neck out for the younger man. The duo had been traveling together for a little under two weeks and Stan still felt like there hadn't been enough time to go looking for some trouble with his companion.
The left side of Stan’s head was fully flushed against his pillow, devoted to staring at the other man. “Stan, just ask me. You’re creeping me out with all your starin’ dude.” Kyle said towards the sky, not even throwing Stan a sideways glance. Stan felt sheepish that he was caught looking and didn’t realize the other man could feel him looking.
“Well, Kenny told me your wanted poster said that you’re a ‘notorious runaway’ and what did you even do to rack up 5,000 dollars? You know I could buy a good ranch and then some with that kind of money dude.” Stan realized how much of an asshole he sounded after the words left his mouth, but couldn't stop himself.
Stan could hear Kyle take in a deep breath before saying, “Do you actually want to know? I know it’ll sound stupid to you.” Kyle was so hard to read in the dimness of the stars and the dying firelight.
“It won’t sound stupid to me dude. I just want to know what we’re getting into,” Stan fully turned onto his side to look at Kyle.
“Obviously this isn’t the first time I’ve run away. I playfully started running away when I was twelve then I think started really trying my hardest to get away from my parents when I was eighteen. I just tried to live my own life, but god forbid.” Kyle was starting to turn a slight shade of red talking about it and rolled his eyes thinking about how his parents shunned a vital part of him away. Stan could only watch as Kyle twisted the blanket in his fists.
“And the reason there’s so much money for my bounty is that I’m the Broflovski heir” Kyle visibly cringed at saying his last name. He knew how other people reacted to his name and he didn't want Stan to treat him differently. But sooner rather than later, he would inherit the largest mines in Colorado. Kyle could never get too close to anyone that wasn’t pre-approved by his parents; thanks to his father's preconceived notion of class and his mother's overprotectiveness. Stan was probably the first person he was able to freely interact with that wasn’t Ike.
“Dude” Stan couldn’t even muster any other words to come out of his mouth after hearing Kyle was a Broflovski. The particular Broflovski would own essentially all of Colorado in a few short years.
“Yup,” Kyle uttered. The pop of the p sound almost echoed in their little campsite. Kyle’s head had lolled in the opposite direction of the fire. Stan felt a hand slowly squeeze around his heart and could only pray that Kyle would turn around to look at him.
“So is that why you tried to run away so much? And why send out a bounty if you're an adult who’s probably over twenty-one right?” Stan wanted to see Kyle’s full face instead of the back of his compadre, but he understood how difficult it was to talk about family. Especially since it sounded that Kyle was never able to stand up to his parents in a constructive healthy way. Stan was never able to do that either and that's why he left. The fire dramatized how rigid Kyle looked during this conversation.
“At first it was just to see how far I could get away from home before someone came after me which was almost instantaneous by the way. But the older I’ve gotten the more constrained I felt in that fucking ludicrous mansion with my family. I have wanted this life since I could read, but it wasn’t good enough even though I’m twenty-four years old.” Kyle started to gesture with his hands to emphasize his frustration with being trapped within his family's expectations of him for over the past two decades.
“Your parents seriously didn’t take the hint after six years? And I could tell you were from money, but damn I didn’t know it was that much money,” Stan sighed. He could remember the night he first met Kyle, he had noticed the deep almost velvety green vest Kyle was wearing in the middle of the day. The beautiful emerald color and the gold accents of even Kyle’s cloak oozed wealth. The dust was even afraid to damage the red-haired boy’s clothes.
Kyle sighed and tensed up for the defensive position of protecting his parents' nonexistent honor. “I love my parents very much and I know they care for me deeply, but apparently this life was below me.” Kyle shifted in his bedroll back onto his back and still couldn’t look Stan in the eyes.
Stan knew what he was. There was no changing the life that Stan chose for himself yet the reality of him never being even close to good enough to be Kyle’s companion hurt. Being hunted for money wasn’t luxurious and he couldn’t blame the Broslowski's for being disgusted with it as an outsider. But to Stan, someone who slept under the night sky almost every night and was able to ride on Sparky and feel the wind coursing against his body, it consumed all of his atoms. While Kyle was a fast learner Stan wasn’t sure he would be able to part from the other anytime soon. Stan hoped that Kyle was able to see it was worth it to stay and figure out the beauty of these circumstances. That Kyle would want to stay with Stan.
“What? Your uber-rich parents thought digging your own hole to shit in was below you?” Stan cracked a joke in an attempt to lighten the mood for his friend. Kyle genuinely laughed and rolled onto his side facing Stan for the first time that night. Stan was elated that he was able to make Kyle laugh during such a difficult conversation. The minimal fire light danced on Kyle’s face illuminating his vibrant green eyes, his hooked nose, his beautiful red curly hair, and the constellations of freckles on his face.
“Dude, I want you to know that I would never turn you in for that money if that’s what it sounded like earlier. I don’t even want a ranch until I’m so old I could never dream of ever riding Sparky again.” Stan never allowed himself the thoughts of getting older because they had always looked the same since he was young. There were only two diverging roads of life for Stan which were dying young before he reached thirty or being alone with all his friends gone up in the air like dust. With Kyle, there was a thrumming desire he could have a different brighter future.
“Dude, you know Sparky has like five years max right?” Stan’s face must have looked as horrified as he felt because Kyle started flat-out giggling. Stan could only barely contain his own laughter at Kyle’s infectious cackle.
After Kyle was able to stop giggling and wiped the tears from his eyes he was able to ask, “Any way you can actually understand what Kenny is saying half of the time?” Kyle had a playful grin on his face and it almost made the outlaw’s stomach flip. Kyle was noticeably thankful Stan ended the conversation about his difficult relationship with his parents. They had met up with Kenneth ‘Kenny’ McCormick a few days earlier at the beginning of their journey and were planning to meet up with him again outside of Mantequilla’s Saloon in about two weeks.
“You really didn’t understand what he was saying?” Stan sometimes forgot that people couldn’t understand Kenny; it had just become natural to Stan at this point because he had been friends with Kenny since they were little kids who could only dream of being cowboys together.
The more Stan remembered the embarrassing experience of having his oldest friend make fun of his adoration for his newest friend made Stan heat up. “Now that I’m thinkin’ about it I’m glad you couldn’t understand him. Kenny can be well y’know outlandish in the way of his words.” Not everyone had the privilege of understanding Kenny, but it was often a curse for those who could whenever Kenny would make a dirty joke. Kenny noticed instantaneously that Stan was fond of Kyle and had made those few short hours hell. Kenny recognized that he could get away with a lot of shit since no one could easily understand him unless they knew him. Stan could feel his face redden up from thinking of the more colorful statements Kenny told him.
“You can’t leave me hanging Stan. What did he even say to make you blush like a girl?” Kyle lifted himself up onto his elbows and was staring at Stan intently. Stan felt like a butterfly being pinned to a canvas all under Kyle’s gaze. Stan could even feel his ears flush with all the attention the runaway gave him.
“The tamest thing he said was that you were mighty fine saddle candy if you catch my drift” Stan felt his face burn after saying those words. Stan knew he wasn’t admitting anything inclinations to Kyle, but he still felt someone had shone a light onto his darkest secrets.
“What? You cannot be serious! He said that about me!” Kyle’s mouth hung open with a slight blush. Stan had even toned it down for Kyle since Kenny’s cleanest comment could make a whore turn a crimson shade of red.
“Yup right in front of your face” The black-haired boy looked straight into Kyle’s eyes even though he was testing the waters. Stan hoped that he could use Kenny's boldness to ease the spotlight off of Stan’s heart.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Kyle seemed flustered to realize that Kenny had been making jokes at the duo’s expense right under his nose before sighing and saying, “Well what are we learning tomorrow Stan?” Kyle was always excited at the prospect of Stan’s daily teachings about being an outlaw, someone who didn’t need anyone, and relied on the natural land. Stan admired that Kyle took everything about this life in stride, showing his dedication to truly being an outlier in society.
“Acting like an outlaw in town” Stan knew he was probably hitting a nerve, but it needed to be said. Kyle was able to smudge the lineage of wealth he came from but wasn’t able to completely shed it just yet.
Kyle incredulously raised his eyebrows at his companion, “You’re saying I don’t already?” Stan giggled at the face Kyle had made and felt euphoric with the closeness he was able to build with the redhead.
“You do! Don’t get riled up, but everyone can tell you come from money. You either have to completely erase the money vibe you give off or become intimidating enough that no one will fuck with you if I’m not there” Kyle’s face had gained a reddish hue on his face and sheepishly smiled at Stan. The gunslinger thought about the prospect of Kyle fully developing into an outlaw and it excited him. Stan felt his ridiculous lovesick smile break out on his face just thinking about it. The possibility gave him the hope that there would be a future where they could be partners in crime together. Maybe even just partners.
“Well goodnight and thank you Stan” Kyle was still facing Stan with that stunning smile of his and looked like he wanted to say something else, but it had finally turned pitch black at their campsite. The fire turned into dying embers that Stan wouldn’t need to manually put out. Stan could see only the outline of Kyle and none of his finer features, so he knew should probably be going to sleep.
“I’ll see you at first light Kyle.”