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With a slam of his door, and the familiar sound of the lock clicking following it, Butters knew his fate was sealed. At least he got off pretty scot free this time. Only a grounding and nothing.. much worse than that. He even got to eat dinner too!
Still, it really didn’t feel good. He sighed, flopping onto his mattress to stare at his ceiling. It wasn’t even his fault this time! The bus ran a bit late today and being a mere fifteen minutes late to get home apparently meant Butters was wasting precious time. Maybe even sneaking off to do drugs or something. As if.
Another sigh left his lips as he raised his hands to rub over his eyes. At least it was only a few days this time. He should feel pretty lucky for that.
After a few long minutes, the faint buzz of his phone caught his attention. Ah.. His dad forgot to confiscate it this time. A buzz of excitement bloomed in his chest and he eagerly fished the device from his pocket to read the notification. A big smile pulled over his face right away.
Ken♡: hey B check out who was lurkin around again
Attached below it was a picture of a possum they had seen around Kenny’s house numerous times before. Kenny lovingly decided to name it Mr.Possy.
aww he came to say hi! Can you tell him I said hi too?
Ken♡: Anything for you ;)
Only a minute passed before another text got sent through. It earned the smallest little laugh out of Butters.
Ken♡: He scratched me :(
I told you to tell him hi, not to mess with him!
Ken♡: well when you tell ME hi you give me a hug! mr possy deserves one too
I would NOT give him a hug! :/
Ken♡: D:
Ken♡: i’m telling him u said that >:(
Okayyy Ken lol
Butters smiled with amusement and curled up more into his pillows as he watched the three dots of Kenny typing come up. For just a moment, he felt like maybe this grounding wouldn’t be so bad after all. But, of course, it was ripped away the moment he heard the lock click again. He quickly tried to shove his phone under his pillow when the door opened, but his father was already holding a hand out expectantly.
“No phones. You know better, Butters.”
The phone buzzed in his hand, but Butters didn’t get the chance to read whatever text he received. He quickly shut his phone completely off before he reluctantly got up to hand it to the man.
Without another word, the man took the device and left the room once more. And with it, what little bit of freedom he had too. Butters could only sigh, plopping himself back onto his bed again. He gave a small glance toward his clock. It was only seven. Maybe he should take a nap, or just go to bed altogether. At least then it’d be tomorrow sooner.
He closed his eyes, not even bothering to properly get pajamas on or move under his covers. It was unclear if he even actually fell asleep like that, but he was stirred from his half-maybe-sleep when the familiar sound of taps on his window reached his ears.
Slowly, Butters sat himself up and gave a glance to the clock by his bed again. It was almost ten now. He really had been laying here a while, huh..? The taps sounded again, and Butters finally looked to his window to see the dim tint of orange sitting behind it. He quickly moved to push the window open with a smile.
“Ken? What are you doing here?” Butters made sure to keep his voice a whisper. Kenny just gave him a large grin.
“Is it against the law for me to see my boyfriend now?” He scoffed, leaning in closer to him. “You didn’t answer my text. And I know that can only mean one thing!”
Butters tilted his head, smiling at him with amusement. Kenny suddenly pushed the window open just a little more, inviting himself inside the room when Butters stepped aside for him.
“It’s a jailbreak. Come on, Bunny, we are going out.”
“Out?” Butters repeated unsurely. He watched Kenny already step over to grab his coat from his desk chair. “Why do we always have to go out when I’m grounded?”
“Do you nooot want to?” Kenny nearly pouted. “Come on, you know they won’t even notice. They never do.”
“I don’t.. not want to- just-” Butters tried to find some kind of argument like he usually did. But, as usual, he was unable to actually find one.
“Pleeease, Bun? I miss youu..” Kenny leaned in to him dramatically. Butters couldn’t stop the little giggle that left his throat as he tried to push him away.
“You are so dramatic. I saw you a few hours ago!”
“A few hours too long, if you ask me.” Kenny pouted. Butters sighed with quick defeat.
“Okay, okayy, you big baby.” Butters teased with a smile. He took his coat from his boyfriend’s hands and began to work on pulling it on. “You’re lucky you’re cute.” Kenny hummed with satisfaction and gave him a small kiss on the cheek for it.
“I know I am. It’s not your fault you are so weak to my charms.” Butters rolled his eyes but kept smiling.
In no time, Butters had his shoes back on and coat securely zipped up. Then, he found himself on that same tree branch he often did. With the recent fresh snow, they had to be extra careful in case it became slippery.
“Where exactly are we going this time?”
“Hm.. I dunno!” Kenny grinned sheepishly as he helped his boyfriend carefully along the branch. “I guess we’ll find out as we go, won’t we?”
Butters wasn’t surprised by the answer, seeing as it was the same one he often got. Still, his stomach was swirling with nothing but anxiety and excitement. Wherever they went, he would be happy just because Kenny was there.
“Please don’t let me fall.” Butters pleaded and clung for dear life on the trunk of the tree. Kenny was already halfway down it when he stopped to look up toward him.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Kenny grinned and held one of his arms out, securing himself in place with the other. “I’ll catch you. Just like we always do. Come on, Bun.”
Butters chewed at his lip and hugged even tighter on the trunk. He never liked this part. But, it was unavoidable if he wanted to actually get out the house. He briefly prayed to any god that was listening in his head and took a deep breath. Before he could think too much more about it, he hopped himself off to the lower branch Kenny was standing on and hugged tight onto him to stop himself from falling back. The hand Kenny had quickly wrapped around his waist would have stopped him anyway, though.
“There ya go.” Kenny praised softly, still smiling. “You’re getting even better at that, you know?”
“I’m gonna fall and die one day.”
“Nahh. I wouldn’t ever let that happen.” Kenny assured him confidently. “Come on, this is the easier part now. Do you want me to hop down first?” Butters quickly nodded his head. “Okay. You gotta let go of me, then.”
It took Butters a long second of gathering courage to unlatch his arms from Kenny’s waist. He immediately grabbed onto the nearest branch for support instead. With ease, Kenny was able to hop onto the lowest branch and then right down into the snow with only a small grunt. Now alone in the tree, Butters clung onto the branch even tighter.
“You can do it, Leo.” Kenny smiled up at him and opened his arms invitingly. “I’ll catch you. I promise.”
“If you don’t I’m going to kill you, Ken.” The threat only made Kenny chuckle.
“I won’t let you fall. I’ll kill me myself if I do.”
It was a bit easier for Butters to push himself forward this time, now that there was less distance between him and the ground under him. He carefully slid down to the next branch, only to yelp in fear when he slipped on the snow there. But, before he could even process it, he was safe in Kenny’s arms and gently being placed on his feet. On the safe ground. Not in a sketchy tree.
“See? I told you I got you, Bun.” Kenny raised a hand to ruffle his blonde curls and Butters quickly started to relax.
“I hate doing that.”
“I know. Sorry. Worth it though, I hope?” Kenny hummed, letting go of him just to reach for one of his hands. Butters eagerly held onto it. “Alright. Why don’t you pick a direction?” Butters gave him a look.
“Is that how we are doing this now?” Kenny eagerly nodded. Butters sighed and rolled his eyes again with another small smile. “Okay, uh..” He glanced at all three directions they could go, and eventually settled on pointing to their left. “That way.”
“I can’t help but feel like you are pointing toward my house now.” Kenny snorted, but already started leading them that way.
“So what if I am?”
“You could have just asked, Bun.”
“And not play along with your game?” Butters leaned into him a little while they walked with a playful smile. “But then you’d just get all pouty.”
“I don’t!”
“ All you do is pout, Ken!” Butters laughed. “You literally are right now.” As soon as he mentioned it, Kenny fixed his expression and looked away.
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
Kenny sent him a stern look, but Butters just had to grin and playfully stick his tongue out to make it crumble. They shared some laughter and Butters felt Kenny squeeze on his hand.
“So.. what exactly pissed him off this time?” Butters sighed. Just thinking about it brought some of the frustration right back to him.
“Because I was late getting home.” He dramatically swung his free arm up incredulously. “But it wasn’t even my fault! The bus was late, remember?”
“Ah, yeah. I remember.” Kenny cringed. “But he didn’t care about that, did he?”
“No! I tried explainin’ to him but he only got more upset because I was talkin’ back.” Butters huffed and glared at the ground. “It just ain’t fair.” Kenny hummed with sad agreement.
“It really isn’t.”
For a minute, a silence fell over the two. Only the sound of the snow crunching under their steps filled it. It was just enough for Butters to pull himself back out of that mindset with the help of another squeeze from Kenny’s hand. He even smiled, glancing in the boy’s direction.
“Thank ya for comin’ to get me, Ken. I was just gon’ sleep all night.” Kenny gasped dramatically.
“And get a good night’s sleep?” Kenny clicked his tongue and shook his head before playfully poking him in the side. “Not on my watch!” Butters giggled and leaned away from him a little. “What ever would I do if my boyfriend slept instead of spending time with me?”
“Probably go and pout?” Butters laughed as he earned another jab for that.
The rest of the playful walk led them right to where Kenny assumed it would. Most often, Butters wanted to come here when he was grounded. Kenny never really fully understood it, but that mostly came from him often not wanting to be here himself. He wouldn’t ever decline Butters of his wishes, though.
Kenny stopped them in their tracks when Butters tried to move toward the front door.
“My parents are probably still passed out, but let’s go through my window.” Kenny motioned toward the right side of the house with a nod of his head. Butters just nodded and followed his lead.
They made their way around the side of the dilapidated house until they found Kenny’s bedroom window. It was already wide open, presumably from Kenny sneaking out of it initially. Kenny insisted on climbing inside first and carefully helped Butters climb in after him.
“Alright, here we are!” Kenny grinned and gave a grand gesture toward his bedroom. “Is it everything you dreamed of, Bunny?”
Kenny’s bedroom was still nothing amazing. Just like the rest of the house, it was pretty disheveled. With wallpaper peeling and a few holes in the walls, most of which were right near the floor, probably from mice or rats. Still, Kenny kept the room pretty clean all things considered. With freshly vacuumed carpet and clean sheets on the mattress that laid directly on his floor.. It wasn’t all that bad. The only other piece of furniture besides the bed was a big dresser pressed up against one of the walls- all of which were covered with various kinds of dingy posters.
“It always is.” Butters hummed happily and leaned in to press a little kiss to Kenny’s cheek. Kenny’s grin grew and Butters didn’t miss the slight pink that dusted over his cheeks.
As a happy hum escaped his throat, Butters stepped over to fall onto his back right in the middle of Kenny’s ratty mattress. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, relaxing further when he exhaled it. Though objectively less comfortable than his own, it always felt so much more inviting.
He felt the bed shift when Kenny quickly took a seat right next to him. When Butters opened his eyes, he found Kenny already much closer, practically hovering over him. It made a tiny laugh escape Butters throat.
“Can I help you?” Kenny’s smile grew a little and he only leaned in even closer. He gently took one of Butters’ hands into his own.
“You help me plenty already, Buttercup. But, a kiss would be nice?” Butters’ smile grew now too, and he felt his cheeks warm up a little with the mere request.
“Ask and you shall receive.”
Kenny’s smile softened and he was quick to take the offer. He leaned down to erase the space between them and gently pressed their lips together. The gesture immediately sent Butters’ mind melting away, leaving nothing but Kenny sitting in the middle of it. In an ideal world, he could stay like that forever. Their eyes met when Kenny pulled back.
“Sorry, I don’t think that was enough to help me.” Kenny pouted, and Butters had to bite back teasing him for it. “Is it too greedy to ask for another?” Butters giggled.
“As many as you want, Ken.”
Kenny leaned back in to share another kiss with him. Then another, and another, and a few more after that. Butters’ hands found their way up around the back of Kenny’s neck as they got lost in the sea of lovely kisses. Kenny shifted his position a bit too, turning Butters onto his side so they could lay in front of each other.
Just when the kisses threatened to become more than chaste, Butters gently pulled from his lips to take a small breath. Their eyes met again and did all the conversating for them at first. Butters slowly smiled.
“I love ya, Ken.”
“Oh, Bun.. I love you too.” Kenny grinned, pressing a kiss to his forehead this time. “A whooole lot.”
“I can’t wait til we can have a lot more time together..” Kenny hummed quietly in agreement, too busy brushing his fingers through Butters’ hair to answer at first.
“One day. I worry you’ll get real sick of me then, though.” Butters snorted.
“What makes you think that?”
“Well..” A big, mischievous grin came over Kenny’s face and it made Butters raise a brow. Before he could react, Kenny started attacking his face with little kisses and moved his hands to tickle at his sides. “Because I’m never going to leave you alone! Never ever ever!” Butters immediately spilled into laughter and tried his best to push Kenny’s hands and face away.
“Ken, q-quit it!”
“See!! You’re already sick of me now!” Kenny laughed, never stopping the onslaught of his attack. Butters squeezed his eyes shut while the endless laughter kept escaping him.
“Stoop!!’ Butters whined and pushed him a bit harder. He managed to get a little bit of space between them. He was quick to sit up and back up some more from him with a few quieter giggles. “That’s not fair, Ken!”
“Oh, soo so sick of me, he has to get away from me..” Kenny sighed dramatically and laid flat on his back to stare sadly at the ceiling. “My life might as well be over.” Butters snorted with disbelief.
“You’re pouting again.”
“Well, can you blame me!” Kenny raised both his hands toward the ceiling. “My boyfriend hates me!”
“I do not.” Butters chuckled and scooted a bit closer to him. “You’re just making stuff up now.” He watched Kenny’s hands dramatically fall back down, one of his arms now covering his eyes.
“Hates me soo much..” he spoke even softer, but the playful tone never left. He yelped and jerked when Butters poked at his side.
“I’m gonna go home if you keep lying!” He was only adding fuel to Kenny’s fake fire, seeing as that only made the blonde pout even more.
“Oh my god!” Kenny whined and turned his back to him now. “He doesn’t even want to see my face!”
“Nooo.” Butters scooted even closer, attempting to cuddle up to his boyfriend again. “I loove you, Ken..” There was a brief quiet before Kenny slowly glanced at him over his shoulder with another dramatic pout.
“..You mean it?” Butters nodded with a hum. That seemed to just set his fate again, because that smile bloomed over Kenny’s face again. Butters caught on this time and tried to move back away from him, but Kenny was quicker. After being nearly tackled, Butters was attacked with another onslaught of kisses. More laughter came out of him as he tried to push Kenny away.
“Knock it off, Ken!” Butters managed to press his hands against Kenny’s cheeks to successfully hold the kisses back.
“Aw, come on, Bunny. I’m not done yet!”
“Yes you are!”
The playful struggle continued for another minute before being suddenly interrupted by the smallest knock on Kenny’s door. Butters’ heart dropped and Kenny was quickly on high alert, sitting himself up right away.
The door slowly creaked open, revealing the small seven year old girl on the other side of it. She sniffled, her face wet with tears. Seeing Butters however, she seemed to perk up just a bit.
“L-Leo?” She croaked, confused. Kenny was up to his feet in a flash, stepping over to kneel down in front of her.
“Hey, Kare Bear. What’s wrong?” He gently wiped her tears. “Did ya have a nightmare?” He watched Karen slowly nod and sniffle again. “Aw, c’mere..” Kenny gently scooped up the girl into his arms and shut his bedroom door with his foot when he turned around. He made his way back to the bed and sat down next to Butters with her in his lap. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
“U-Um..” Karen held tighter onto the doll in her hands, looking at Butters. After a second, she slowly shook her head. “No, I just.. d-don’t wanna be alone..”
“S’all good, Kare. Do you wanna sleep in here with me? I’ll have to take Leo home eventually though.” She frowned as soon as she heard that, seeming to nearly start crying again.
“C-Can’t I come with you?”
“No, I’m sorry, hun. You gotta stay here, okay? We still have a while. Leo only just got here.”
Butters watched them awkwardly. He was pretty used to Karen’s presence, but the circumstances somehow felt too intimate for him to be allowed here. He also really didn’t want Kenny to have to leave Karen here alone if she was so upset.
“I mean- I can just go back on my own?”
“No.” Kenny shook his head. “I’m gonna walk you back, Leo.” He spoke firmly, but smiled shortly after. “This gremlin will surely be asleep by then anyway.” He playfully poked at the girl’s side, earning a few little giggles from her.
“I wonn’t! I’m never gonna fall asleep ever again..” She pouted sadly despite having just laughed. “I’m too scared.”
“Can’t ya tell me what scared you so much, sweetheart?” Kenny nearly pleaded, rocking her in his arms. “I’ll scare it away for you. Promise.” A quiet whimper left the girl’s throat. She shook her head and nuzzled her face into her brother’s shoulder. “It can’t be that bad, can it?”
“It f-felt so real, Ken..” Karen sniffled and tried to somehow press even closer to Kenny. Butters chewed at his lip, feeling a weird pang of sympathy suddenly swirl in his chest.
“You know, Karen..” Butters started cautiously. He scooted himself a little closer to them, trying to catch her gaze. “When I wake up from super scary nightmares, you wanna know what I do to feel better?” Karen peeked her face out to look at him. She slowly nodded. Butters smiled softly. “I find ways to remind myself it wasn’t real. If I got hurt in my dream, I check wherever I got hurt to see there is nothing there.” Kenny was watching him closely now too.
“If somethin’ was after me.. I double check everything in my room to make sure it’s not there. Ya know, under my bed, my closet..” Karen lifted her head a little more, clearly listening even more intently now. “But, if all that don’t work, I list out all the things that make me happy. All those wonderful things make it pretty hard to stay sad.”
He didn’t miss the way Kenny was looking at him with immense pride on his face. It made Butters’ cheeks warm up, but he tried to ignore it and focused much more on the little girl wiping at her face.
“Does l-listing those things really help..?” Butters nodded confidently. “W-Well.. I love Ken. And I love Leo. And.. Kev.. and m-mommy and daddy..” She hiccuped and wiped more tears from her eyes. “I love M-Miss Periwinkle.” She hugged the mentioned doll even tighter. “I love Tricia and Lula and Alica.. And all their mommy’s too.”
Kenny kept busy rubbing gentle circles on the girl’s back while Butters watched her intently. He could tell she was already beginning to forget about the nightmare somewhat as her little brain was forced to focus much more on thinking of things to list.
By the time she was finishing up her long list, the tears were no more and a smile replaced the sad pout. She had moved off of Kenny’s lap, instead laying down in her brother’s bed and reciting the last bit of her list from the comfort of his worn pillow.
“And- And I love that kitty that shows up sometimes outside! She even let me pet her once!” Her voice was audibly more drowsy.
“That’s a lot of really lovely things, Karen.” Butters hummed, giving her a soft smile. “You can list so many more things than I usually do.”
“Really?” She cocked her head. Butters nodded.
“Wayy more.”
“That’s ‘cause she has too much love to know what to do with!” Kenny chuckled, leaning down to press a few playful kisses to her cheek. It earned a tired squeal from her and her small hands tried to push him away.
“Nuh uh!”
“Yuh huh.”
Karen blew a raspberry at him, but Kenny just returned one of his own. It only made Karen repeat the gesture even more aggressively. Kenny conceded with another quiet laugh and a gentler kiss to her forehead.
“Do ya think ya can go to sleep now, Kare Bear?”
Karen opened her mouth to most likely argue against it, but a yawn escaped before she could. Exhaustion must have hit her like a truck with that single yawn, because she barely kept her eyes open and only whined.
“..Okay…” Kenny kept running a gentle hand over her hair while the other pulled the covers up over her some more.
“That’a girl. We’ll be here until you are safe asleep, I promise.” He only got a tired hum in response, Karen already falling victim to her drowsiness.
For a few long, long minutes, the room remained silent. Kenny never once took his eyes off of Karen, still gently petting her hair until he was positive she was out like a light. Only then did he make sure she was properly tucked in and pressed one more kiss to her temple. Butters’ chest fluttered with adoration watching him. When Kenny’s eyes finally turned his way and their gazes met, his cheeks warmed up at the smile Kenny gave him.
“That was really good of you.” Kenny made sure to speak in a whisper. He carefully scooted himself toward the end of the bed, and Butters followed his lead. “Did you just make all that stuff up?” Butters shook his head.
“No.. I really do that stuff.” His cheeks flushed even more red and he looked away with embarrassment. “Is that lame?”
“No.” Kenny reached to hold one of his hands in both of his own. It pulled Butters’ eyes back on him again. “Of course it isn’t, Bun. I really appreciate you helping her like that. Thank you.” The sweet genuine appreciation made Butters’ heart jump around in his chest and he couldn’t stop another smile from coming over his face.
“It’s nothin’.. I just didn’t like seeing her so upset.”
“I never do.” Kenny agreed dejectedly. His eyes drifted to the girl at the other end of the bed. Butters let his eyes follow. He felt a pang in his chest and he felt as if he could read Kenny’s thoughts at that moment. He moved his free hand to hold both of his hands more firmly, pulling his attention back again.
“You’re doing great, Ken. She’s real lucky to have you.” Kenny’s expression scrunched up a little; It was so subtle that anyone else but Butters might of not noticed it. But then, he smiled.
“Thanks, Bunny.” A hand moved up to ruffled Butters’ hair and earned a very quiet laugh out of him.
“I think I need to head back, Ken.” Kenny immediately pouted and Butters had to hold back from laughing. “We can walk the long way?” That mere suggestion perked Kenny right back up.
“Okayy..” Kenny pressed a kiss to his cheek before slowly getting to his feet. He never let go of Butters’ hand, though. “Let’s get goin’ then, before Karen has a chance to wake up.”
So, much sooner than they anticipated, they were back out in the snow. As Butters had promised, however, they didn’t return their way down the street they came here on, instead walking around the whole block to return to Butters’ house the opposite way they had came.
“..How long is it this time?” Kenny broke the comfortable silence they were walking in.
“How long?”
“The grounding.” Kenny explained. Butters let out a quiet ‘oh’ and shrugged his shoulders. His eyes drifted down to the snow crunching under his shoes.
“Only until Monday. So only four days.”
“Ugh. The whole weekend?”
“Yeah.” Butters smiled sheepishly and looked up at him again. “But it could be worse? You know that.”
“Still doesn’t make it any easier. As much as I loove sneaking out with you like this.. I’d like to have my boyfriend during the day too, you know?” Butters exhaled a laugh.
“Well, one day we won’t have that problem?” Kenny smiled warmly and gave Butters’ hand a small squeeze.
“And then you’ll definitely get sick of me.” Butters giggled and shook his head.
“Whatever you say, Ken.”
“....To be honest..” Kenny broke another brief silence between them. “The worst part of you being grounded is just not being able to text you.”
“He almost forgot to take my phone this time. But… it didn’t take him very long to remember.”
“We gotta get you a secret, second phone or something.” Butters snorted.
“That’s a bit overkill, don’t you think?”
“But what if something happens?”
“Well, you’d show up just because I didn’t answer. Like you did tonight. And every other time I’ve been grounded.” He didn’t miss the way Kenny’s cheeks turned pink just before he turned his face away.
“I guess so..”
“I think you just can’t stand the idea of not talking to me for more than five minutes.”
“ Already sick of me.” Kenny chirped playfully. He laughed as Butters lightly shoved him in the arm for it.
“I’m not!”
“Not yet.”
“Kenny!” The named one burst into heartier laughter at that, and it was contagious enough that Butters couldn’t help but do the same.
The rest of the walk back continued on like that, with only a few sneaky kisses shoveled in between all the joking and teasing. The closer they got to that dreaded house, though, the lower the energy got. Their loud laughs and jokes melted down into only hushed words and breathless little chuckles instead.
Butters always found the process of climbing up the tree much less scary than the process of coming down. So, it didn’t take too long for him to get back up to that large branch by his window with Kenny’s careful help. As silent as he could be, he climbed back into his bedroom.
Without a word, Kenny leaned into the window to steal a soft little kiss from his boyfriend’s lips.
“All good?” Butters nodded.
“All good.” They shared another small kiss. “Thank you for gettin’ me, Ken. I know we couldn’t do much tonight but..”
“Any time with you is more than enough, Buttercup.” Kenny cut him off before he could continue. Butters’ stomach swirled with overwhelming love. “Same time tomorrow, sweetheart?”
“You’re going to show up whether I say yes or not.” Butters pointed out playfully. Kenny gave him his hundredth pout of the night.
“Yeah, but I’ll be really sad if you say no.”
“Well, good thing you know I wouldn’t.” Butters chuckled and gave him one more soft kiss. Then one more for good measure. “Please get home safe. You better get back before Karen realizes you’re gone.”
“I love you, Bun.”
“I love you too.” Butters’ smile grew and he leaned in for another kiss. Then another, and another, and a few more after that. And even then, it never felt like enough. It could never be enough for all the love he held in his heart for him.
Who needed a long list of loves when he had one big enough to cover the whole thing?