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Craig Tucker was happy.
It was funny, up until he was nine years old, Craig hadn’t really felt happy before. He had times where he was less angry, or where he felt calm, but never happy.
Then he got shipped with Tweek by the Asian girls, and that just made him angrier.
For ages, the counselor would ask him how he was feeling, or why he got into so much trouble. Craig hated talking about how he felt. He didn’t want to give an explanation.
But that didn’t mean he wanted other people deciding for him.
And that’s what those Asian girls did. And the school. And the town. They decided he was gay, in love with Tweek, and that’s just…how it was.
When they’d accepted their fate and started dating for the sake of the town, it had all been bullshit, pure lies.
But then it wasn’t. They got older, they got closer, and it became real.
Craig still remembered the day he noticed that he liked Tweek for real. He’d been so upset over it that he’d broke a school water fountain.
Because it felt like he’d been forced into it. Turned gay.
It took a few months for Craig to accept that nothing had turned him gay. He just…was. And that was okay.
And when he’d managed to get the nerve to tell Tweek the truth at age thirteen, and Tweek kissed his cheek and said he felt the same…that was the first time Craig felt genuinely happy.
Sure, Craig had his moments. He still got into fights, still smoked behind the school, still was forced to see a damn counselor every other day, but at least with Tweek…it was better. Every year, it got better.
Until sixteen.
Who was going to tell Craig that sixteen was arguably the worst age to be alive? Not only are his parents breathing down his neck to start working and driving as soon as possible, but school was getting far more complicated and they were supposed to figure out what college they wanted, and on top of all of that was the social pressure.
Craig never wanted to have sex. He just didn’t. And Tweek understood and was okay with that.
The rest of the school? Ha.
The amount of times Craig had been hounded on by his classmates about how far he and Tweek have gone is ridiculous, and infuriating, and frankly made his skin crawl.
He’d told Tweek at the start of the new school year that he wouldn’t fight people anymore, and so far, he’d been doing a good job of that, but man, some of the others at school…
They were really testing him.
“Yo, Tucker, you have fun during the weekend?” A dickhead, Drew, mocked. “How many times did you get to shove it in him?”
Craig’s jaw clenched, but he merely flipped the guy off and continued to his locker. Drew had been a huge pain in his side for the last six months. All because when he first showed up, he’d hit on Tweek and the blonde turned him down.
Now he was salty because Craig got to date Tweek.
It was so stupid, and as petty as it gets. And, because Drew only joined their school six months ago, he didn’t know Craig before he’d gone soft. He didn’t scare the guy, which meant constant harassment.
Drew followed him to his locker, leaning against some of them with his arms crossed, smirking. “What? The love making wasn’t good? Most guys would shout it from the rooftops if they got to nail someone.”
Craig took a deep breath and counted backwards from seven, putting some books away in his locker and grabbing others. It wasn’t worth it.
“You know, I heard you used to be considered a scary guy. That’s what everyone tells me. I guess they failed to mention that you turned bitch.”
28, 21, 14, 7.
“I really should just take your little twink. A guy like that probably folds completely once you manhandle him a little.”
All reason went out the window. Any chance of keeping his cool was lost in mere moments.
Craig didn’t even register his fist connecting with Drew’s face until it was already done.
Students around gasped and whispered, already starting to crowd as Craig grabbed the guy by his shirt and slammed him up against the lockers. Drew was sputtering, blood dripping from his nose, and trying to grasp what just happened.
“Say it again, I fucking dare you.” Craig spat, slamming him into the lockers again. “Do it. Talk about going after my boyfriend. I’ll break your skull with my bare hands!”
“CRAIG!”
The familiar anxious, yet furious voice rang out. Craig gritted his teeth, refusing to look behind him.
He didn’t need to, to know Tweek had obviously shown up, and was glaring at him. “What the hell are you doing!?”
“Yeah, what are you doing?” Drew taunted, sputtering when blood from his nose got in his mouth. “Hit me again, bitch. I’ll have you suspended.”
Craig hit him against the lockers a third time, the rattling of them flooding his ears.
But then a familiar hand was grabbing his arm. “Let him go.” Tweek demanded.
Craig’s jaw set tightly, briefly glancing at Tweek, and then at Drew. He scowled and finally let Drew go. The guy slid down to the floor pathetically, but still grumbling about Craig.
“What is going on here!?” At the familiar shout of a teacher nearby, students quickly began to run for it, heading, to their own classes and such. Tweek pulled Craig along through the crowd to blend in, and took him outside.
Tweek didn’t let go of Craig’s arm until they were on the side of the school. The moment he released him, he started pacing, worked up and clearly trying to decide how he wanted to start his lecture.
Craig lit a cigarette in the meantime, and leaned against the wall.
“You broke a promise to me today.” Tweek finally snapped a few moments later.
Craig’s eyes narrowed. “Uh, no, I didn’t?”
“You promised me you wouldn’t fight anymore.”
“And I didn’t! I let him go! Thanks to you, now everyone thinks I’ve gone soft!” Craig snapped.
Tweek’s jaw dropped. “That’s seriously what you’re worried about!? What if you got suspended again!? God, you are so reckless, Craig!”
“The guy was talking shit; I wasn’t going to just take it. I’ve been holding back beating the crap out of him for six months.” Craig hissed between puffs.
Tweek yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and dropped it on the floor, stomping it out with his shoe. Craig bristled. “So that makes it okay to beat him up now? Because you waited six months first?”
Craig scoffed and looked away. “I didn’t beat him up, it was one punch, I didn’t even break cartilage.”
“BUT YOU WERE GOING TO DO MORE BEFORE I SHOWED UP!” Tweek ranted.
“That’s…” Craig gritted his teeth. “Neither here nor there.”
Tweek was fuming. Craig wondered if he’d see actual smoke come out of his ears. “You are the most reckless, irresponsible…” Tweek took a deep breath. “I just- I don’t get it, Craig. He’s been pissing you off for months. Why- Why now? Why did you have to hit him now?”
“…He pissed me off.” Craig muttered.
“Everything pisses you off. Try again.”
Craig shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Too bad, because you are.”
Craig scowled. “You don’t get to tell me what to do! This is exactly why people make fun of us! Why they think I’ve gone soft. I don’t want people thinking I’m weak!”
“Craig, you’re like six feet tall, you play sports, you have a reputation already, literally what difference does it make if you don’t fight anymore?” Tweek asked helplessly.
“I DON’T WANT PEOPLE TALKING SHIT ABOUT YOU, ALRIGHT!?” Craig blurted it out without thinking.
A heavy silence followed. Tweek stared at him with wide, stunned eyes.
Craig hesitated, and let out a groan, running a hand over his face. “How do you always manage to make me talk about my feelings? I hate that.”
Tweek’s eyes softened. “Craig…”
“People like Drew are assholes. He wants a shot at you, but he can’t have one so he decides it’s okay to talk about you like you’re…like you’re just someone to be fucked or something. He said some really messed up shit and I just…” Craig’s hands balled into fists. He took a deep breath and looked down. “I needed him to know I wouldn’t take that. I can’t have him thinking you’re a target. Absolutely not. So I punched him. I know it was stupid, okay? I don’t care. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
He half-expected Tweek to go on another rant about how Craig shouldn’t let somebody get to him like that. But instead…
Tweek gently took his hand, and set his other hand on Craig’s cheek. Craig weakly lifted his head to make eye contact.
Tweek gave him this tender expression. The one he always gave him whenever he got Craig to talk about his feelings. “…I appreciate the gesture, Craig. I do. I so do. But I don’t need you getting in fights for me.” He whispered. “I need you to stay out of trouble. Because when you don’t, you’re stuck in detention or at home, and I…I have to take on those days by myself. That hurts more than anything a stupid bully could do to me.”
Craig’s eyes widened slightly. He felt a pang in his chest.
Leaning closer, Tweek rested his head against Craig’s chest. “…Just…try not to do it again, okay? Please? I’m not…trying to tell you what to do. I’m just asking that you try.”
God, he had no idea, did he?
Wrapping his arms around the blonde, Craig buried his face in his hair and inhaled softly. “…Yeah. Okay. I’ll try.”
Because Craig would move to the moon if Tweek asked him too.