Chapter Text
Midnight strikes. Kendall listens to the bells count down as he lies on his bed, still fully clothed.
It’s Christmas Eve, which is also the eve of Kendall’s birthday. His real birthday, not the fake one he celebrates each year. He’s always hated this time of year. The cold, the dark. The celebrations which have nothing to do with him.
He’s alone in his apartment. He has no plans for Christmas Day. He’s barely spoken to Shiv or Roman since the board vote. Rava and the kids are still out of the country. Connor is busy chasing his political pipe dream, even though Mencken is still not confirmed to be the next President. His last message, he confirms by checking his phone, was from Greg of all people, asking what he was doing for Christmas and whether he wanted to spend it with Greg and Uncle Ewan. Yeah, right.
He’s never felt more alone in all his soon-to-be 41 years. A tear trickles down his cheek as he throws back his bed covers.
Walking out of his bedroom, he finds some shoes to put on and steps out on to the balcony. Rain is pounding on the roof above him. Kendall has always liked the rain. Water has always been a big part of his life, from learning to swim with Roman, to skating on the school pond with Stewy, grabbing at his best friend when the ice broke one time, to trying to drown himself as an adult.
And there was that one night, when the car went into the water…
No. Don’t think about that. That didn’t happen.
What a waste his life has been. He should just throw himself off the balcony now. If only he had never been born.
“Fuck you all,” he roars over the edge of the balcony, talking to no one in particular. He’s about to slump to his knees when—
“Hey.”
He whirls around to see Stewy next to him on the balcony. This is weird, since he’s been ignoring Stewy’s calls and messages ever since the vote. Even weirder is that Stewy appears to be hovering in mid-air.
“What,” Kendall begins, not sure where to start.
“Hi.” Stewy smiles. “Sorry for the dramatic entrance, but I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I just walked in, you know?”
“Believe what?” Kendall decides he must be dreaming.
“Basically, I’m an angel, come to save you from yourself.”
Kendall gives a genuine laugh at that. “An angel? You?”
“Hey, hey.” Stewy looks wounded. “I’m just a visual representation of something comforting to you. Don’t ask me why I look like your old pal Stewy.”
“Uh huh.” Kendall decides to just go with it. “And what exactly do I need saving from?”
“Come on, man. We both know what you were just thinking. You think the world would be better off without you, right?”
Kendall feigns shock. “You got all that, just because I’m standing on a balcony in the middle of the night, on Christmas Eve, and shouting at the sky?”
“Very funny,” says Stewy. “I’m here to show you what the world would be like if you got your wish, and had never been born. And then, if you decide to live after that, I get my wings.”
“Really?” says Kendall, genuinely flummoxed.
“Nah, I’m fucking with you about that last part. I am here to show you some visions, though. You up for that?”
Kendall shrugs. He looks out at the world, the one he is sure would be much better off without him.
“Sure, why not,” he says. “I have nowhere else to be.”
“We’ll see about that,” says Stewy. He grabs Kendall’s hand and everything goes blurry.