Work Text:
Craig Tucker was eighteen years old when he moved to sunny California.
He was there for a seasonal job. Due to his need for stimulation, he didn’t want to work a job with a typical 9-5 or work a typical manual labor job.
A lot of people considered him to be restless. Uncommitted. As his father said on many occasions, “You have no direction, boy.”
That changed quickly.
He met a waiter at this hipster cafe downtown. The redhead was vibrant. Bright red hair. Green eyes so close to the color of a pond overlooking moss. He was small. Probably not above 5”4. But his temperament wasn’t.
Craig begins to follow him.
He finds out the man was getting an undergraduate degree at UCLA. The redhead was always busy. Work. School. Rinse and repeat. But he was always alone.
That didn’t stop his ring of hookups coming in from his student apartment. It sickened him. How could any of those appreciate the opportunity to bask in the man’s glow and to feel his fire? They were unworthy.
One day Craig crashed a lecture. He spoke to the redhead afterwards. Not too much. Just enough.
“You wanna get out of here?” he asked casually.
The redhead blinked.
“I never even told you my name.” he said in bafflement.
Craig pulled out a hand. “I’m Tucker. Craig Tucker. Maybe you can show me if this place is worth staying at.”
The redhead reluctantly shook it. “Kyle. Kyle Broflovski.” he said politely.
They spent a lot of time together after that. Craig found out that Kyle was studying an undergraduate degree in Political Science before going to law school in a couple years. Despite that being a remarkable thing, the stoic man couldn’t help but notice he didn’t seem all that certain. Confident.
Kyle didn’t have any friends. Except for the ones that occasionally call him from South Park. A Stan Marsh who seems too attached despite a girlfriend. A Kenny McCormick that seems to flirt quite a bit. The beautiful redhead just smiles and laughs. Was he unaware of his vibrancy? Or simply being coy knowing they all wanted him?
They didn’t deserve him.
Craig couldn’t kill the ones taking his attention from Colorado. So the ones that tried vying for his hand in California disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
California has such a terrible crime rate.
They really should do something about that, shouldn’t they?
Then one day out of the blue his beautiful fire that was lit beneath him was watered down. The great big pond froze over.
Kyle left California and never contacted him again. Who told him he could do that? Why would he do that?
Craig decided to be patient. Kyle was a considerate, lovely soul. He wouldn’t go this long without contacting his “best friend” without any explanation.
Not forever.
Unfortunately he was wrong.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was a year later when Craig showed up in South Park, Colorado.
Originally he was just going to stop by and get some caffeine on the road. Craig originally planned on keeping his distance from the temptress redhead and tried keeping his satisfaction with other hookups.
But fate had other plans.
Craig stopped by a place called Tweak’s Coffee. An odd name for a seemingly odd place. But as much as his quality of life could be mediocre he refused to let his other parts be.
Then he saw him.
Kyle was clad in an apron with a sensational blonde next to him. He was frowning and giving clipped sentences to the customer in front of him.
The blonde, who seemed to have an unfortunate tendency to twitch, forced him to go away and take a break.
Craig took his simple black coffee and felt himself soften at the gentle green eyes of the blonde barista. Maybe in another life this bird would have ensnared him. But fiery redheads came instead. Instead of gently taking the bird and making it fly he was unable to be put out by the internal fire.
He stayed for a while sipping his coffee. Aspen would be fine without him, won’t they?
Kyle eventually took notice of him and waved. “Craig! Hey! It’s me. Kyle. From Cali.” he said warmly.
No mention of his ghosting.
No matter.
Craig will find out soon enough.
He smiled. “Oh, hey, I thought you looked familiar. What a small world, huh?” he said.
Craig eventually found out that Kyle left due to simply having no idea what else to do. He didn’t enjoy his undergraduate degree and didn’t think he’d enjoy law either. The redhead was working until he figured out what really mattered to him.
But the redhead didn’t like it much in the rural Rockies either.
“I don’t plan on dying in this shit hole.” he said with a snort.
Craig smiled.
He could imagine taking care of the man as the redhead took time mastering whatever little job he wanted. Perhaps something culinary.
The sheets would rumble. Kyle would be flushed with excitement. Always ready. His small body fits perfectly inside as Craig takes him on the counters. The bedroom. Everywhere and anywhere.
After exchanging cell numbers again (honestly, what was the point of switching numbers) Craig immediately sought out roommates. The redhead already knew he was a drifter with a trust fund. The fact the stoic man took an interest and decided to stay awhile didn’t surprise him.
He met Clyde Donavon. Not much for intelligence but useful in the social scene. The man seems to know a lot of people and is well-liked.
Craig was adopted almost instantly. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad. Has anyone ever watched the news?
Humanity is disappointing.
He eventually sees Kyle at one of the hangouts Clyde insisted on going too. Craig preferred keeping to himself and his fire. But due to the redhead’s lack of communication outside of memes and occasional text messages he’s at a point where socializing is necessary.
What else is his roommate good for, anyways?
Craig is greeted with unexpected enthusiasm from Kyle. He’s smiling. The blonde muscular man and black-haired man looked at him in confusion.
He found out that they were Kenny McCormick and Stan Marsh respectively. The blonde was a mechanic and seemingly only interested in sex. He looked at Kyle a lot too. The redhead either didn’t notice or didn’t say anything as he continued smiling and laughing at the man’s crass jokes. Stan on the other hand was a farm hand at some weed farm for his father. Music was on the side because it wasn’t a stable enough career. He had a girlfriend, a woman named Wendy, who he seemed to have been together with for a long time.
Yet Marsh was oddly attached to Kyle too. Craig played nice to both men. Yet he focused on them and Kyle the most. The other men were simply background characters in Kyle’s lives. He needed to find weaknesses in the one that took most of his redhead’s space.
Craig worked at the gay bar during the night. During the day he kept watch. He was disappointed to find out what he did.
Kenny McCormick frequently came in and out of Kyle’s home late in the evening. He reeked of sex and smoke. His beautiful redhead looked at him with sparkling eyes as they reached climax.
The blonde’s blue eyes looked at him with uncharacteristic softness.
Yet Kenny never took him as his partner. The redhead is simply a passing fancy. A cheap hookup.
Jezebel, he thought darkly one night as he watched the customers at the bar one night. How could such beauty and vibrancy come from such a whore?
Tweek comes by one night. Usually Craig simply doesn’t bother with him. What the blonde bird does is his own issues.
Yet after a shift one night and a phone number from the blonde led to his own hookups.
He’s sweet.
Gentle.
Soft little cries that made Craig think perhaps he should have been more gentle. But you have to do certain things for your release.
Craig continues his tirades with the bird. But watch the moss before work. He’s disappointed to see that Kenny didn’t seem to get the message.
“W-would you like to go on a date sometime, Kyle?” asked the blonde man. For once his smile wasn’t flirtatious or lecherous.
Kyle grinned. “I’d love to.” he said warmly.
The stoic man decides to watch the blonde interloper next. He found out his routine, about his family, and his work schedule.
Craig drops by one night.
Kenny answers with a grin and tells him that he can come in. Craig grips the knife in his pocket. Waiting.
As he watches the blonde smoke and they drink casually he sees the perfect opportunity. “It’s just so perfect, you know? I never thought Ky would go for me.” he said with a slight slur.
Craig didn’t wait to respond before stabbing him in the stomach, heart, neck, and everywhere repeatedly till he was completely gone.
The man didn’t respond to anything except with wide eyes as if this was a typical birthday surprise. How odd. Was there something he missed?
Nobody would be surprised.
There is a lot of crime in the hood, isn’t there?
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The funeral is brief. The McCormicks were so devastated that they let the preacher do all the talking. The mother, an unusually southern sounding woman, could only talk about what he could’ve done.
“He was so smart, my boy. Could have been a scientist or a doctor.” she said tearfully.
The blonde girl looked lost as she looked at the unopened casket. Karen McCormick. Looks like custody will have to be transferred. How unfortunate.
Kyle was sobbing. Stan was attempting to comfort him. The other men were watching and giving each other uncertain looks.
“H-how could someone do this to Ken? He’d never hurt anyone.” he wailed.
Stan rubbed circles on his back. His eyes were cold. “I don’t know, dude. But we will find this motherfucker.” he promised.
The normally easygoing man was eyeing him with a sense of suspicion. Kyle was giving him a hesitant smile. As soon as Craig came over the redhead rushed over to him and hugged him with tears still streaming.
“Thank you for being there for him.” the redhead said softly as he squeezed tighter.
Craig lightly hugged back.
Stan stared.
Within weeks he was getting close to the fire. It burned. Oh, yes, did it burn. Like Kenny before him Craig was going in and out of the redhead’s home.
It was just as he imagined.
The redhead was open to anything and everything. Sometimes he just lies there. Sometimes his eyes sparkled and other times his eyes darkened with unmistakable lust.
His temptress was insatiable.
Craig didn’t push for exclusively. Not yet. Kyle needed some more time to get the blonde plague out of his system. Cleansed. Shown how cherished he was.
Tweek seemed disappointed when Craig stopped having their flings. But he left them alone with occasional scowls towards the redhead’s direction within group gatherings.
No matter.
The bird will find another coop to fly too.
Then Stan Marsh starts talking to his love. Things that he should know better than to speak about.
Craig watched one day as Kyle and Stan were hanging out at the redhead’s home. They were playing some game on the Xbox.
“Kyle, don’t you think Craig is a little weird? He gives me some weird vibes.” confessed the brunette.
Kyle raised his eyebrow. “Craig is a little quiet, sure, but he’s kind when you get to know him.”
Stan stared.
“Please tell me you aren’t still seeing him. I have a really bad feeling, dude. Something isn’t right about him.” he insisted.
Craig rolled his eyes.
Another interloper.
His darling rolled his eyes. “Yes, Stan, I've been seeing him. It’s nothing serious though. He just…helps after Kenny, you know? I doubt it’ll go anywhere.”
Well.
That’s an unexpected obstacle.
Stan bit his lip. “Maybe it’s best if you stopped entirely. Craig….I don’t like the way he looks at you. And don’t you think it’s strange how passionate the killing of-“ he said before being cut off.
“Don’t you dare. Craig would never do that. I wish we could find the fucker who did. But he covered his tracks well.” Kyle said bitterly.
Craig began to track Stan. Aside from the farm which brought too much suspicion for someone to go in and out of, he found out that his life is relatively routine.
In private he’s angry. Researching types of murders. Murderers. He looks at the photo of Kenny, Kyle, and Stan in their childhood. A tear comes out.
Pathetic.
During the times he wasn’t tracking Marsh the stoic man was stopping the hookups in exchange for dates. He came to Kyle’s home with a bouquet of flowers and chocolates. Sugar free, of course. Kosher? Yes.
Kyle would flush and look at him in surprise. But he smiled. “These are for…me? But why?”
Craig kissed his knuckles. “Because I like you,” he said simply.
The redhead is a lot harder to win over. Something in his heart seems to make him unwilling to do the right thing. Be with the right person.
But Craig persisted.
After a month of dating and making love Kyle was ready to make things official. Unfortunately that meant Stan Marsh was on his case more so.
If only his fire didn’t shine so high to the people who didn’t deserve to see it rise and crackle.
“Kyle, please, I’m begging you! This guy is bad news. He killed Kenny. I know he did.” pleaded Stan.
Kyle glared. “Why? What proof do you have that Craig did anything?” he retorted hotly.
Stan held his face in his hands. “Everyone knew he liked you, man. Then you and Kenny start fucking around and Tweek and him start seeing each other and then suddenly our best friend dies and then he sees Tweek? Then goes for you? That doesn’t seem normal.”
Kyle snorted.
“Kenny didn’t have any enemies, Kyle. Then Craig moves in two months before. You heard of crimes of passion haven’t you?” he said.
“This is a small town. People don’t have a lot of options here. You know that as well as I do. You need to stop watching ID Discovery with your mom.” dismissed Kyle with a wave of a hand.
Stan becomes a problem. He starts talking to the police. He is frustrated when the cops dismiss him.
“How can you guys be so fucking useless? There was blood. DNA. Use your fucking brains.” snapped the man.
The younger cop sighed. His name badge read Matthew. “We have a procedure we need to go through,” he said calmly.
Stan laughed with humor. “It’s been two months. What can you possibly not get after that?”
Matthew looked at Stan with resignation. “A weapon. You can interview every guy with a size ten foot size and it wouldn’t help without that. We are limited on options. Yates ain’t in charge anymore, kid, so don’t think we are trying to avoid this or pin it on the wrong guy.”
Stan left.
One day Craig gets a little careless and runs into Kyle on his route. He was looking at Craig with confusion.
“What are you doing here? I thought you needed to sleep before you worked second shift at the bar tonight.” said Kyle with eyebrows furrowing.
His boyfriend was starting to get caught up hanging out with his friends instead of Craig. So Craig wanted to go to his house and get some things to satisfy him until the redhead was in his arms again.
Could you blame him?
Kyle knew what he was doing. Always trying to leave him wanting more and then riding him hard at different nights.
Craig smiled sheepishly. “I took the day off. I wanted to stop by and see you.” he said lightly.
Kyle stood on his toes and gave him a light kiss. Craig immediately grabbed him by the waist and kissed him passionately.
“Craig, we are in public.” he hissed with darting eyes.
Craig smiled. “I missed you, honey.” he said.
Kyle invited him. He said that he could stay over for a while. But he said with beaming eyes that, “I’m going to be working on some college apps. I think I might have found something worth looking into.”
Craig refused that option. Instead of denying him access to these courses he simply distracted him with massages, back rubs, and with sex. Kyle was overthrown with ecstasy. At one point he looked at Craig with tearful eyes.
“I love you.” he said breathlessly.
Craig held his cheeks with a small smile. He kissed him chastely. “I love you too honey.”
All was well.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Stan ended up going to Tweek’s. At this point he was desperate for anyone to pay attention.
Nobody else was.
They used to be a lot closer until Craig got between them. They decided to protect and help the blonde. At one point they supported Tweek in his recovery from drugs.
But he was still a paranoid fucker so if anybody could see the possibilities it should be him, right?
Stan knocked. He heard the soft voice saying “come in” and he let himself inside. The blonde was more disheveled than usual and he looked upset.
“Hey dude.” he said nervously.
The anxious blonde looked at him with a huff. “What do you need, Stan? It’s getting late and I got to open in the morning.”
Tweek jerked.
“It’s about Craig. Kyle. I know you have a thing about that. But you think what happened was weird, right?”
Tweek didn’t say anything for a few minutes. He chewed on a piece of gum thoughtfully.
“Well, yeah. Kenny didn’t have any enemies. Unless he fucked over someone in the government we didn’t know about.” responded the blonde.
Stan showed him the police report. It gave detailed information about Kenny’s death and surrounding issues.
Tweek stared at the section describing the multiple stab wounds. His eyes widened.
“This…this reads like a crime of passion.”
Fucking finally.
Stan told him everything that he knew. The blonde looked thoughtful before frantically twitching and jerking.
“Some people keep their weapons. Photos. Trophies, you know? We need to go with Kyle when Craig isn’t home and see what’s there.” said the blonde.
What?
Stan eyed him.
“I didn’t think this was something you’d want to go too. Seems anxiety inducing to me.” he said.
A manic glint appeared in Tweek’s eyes. A smile went on his normally calm face. “Exceptions can be made for justice,” he said calmly.
They head out.
Stan argues with Kyle a bit before they finally convince him to use his spare key. Tweek waited.
“Fucking fine! But we won’t find anything.” he said irritably.
They are unaware that Craig Tucker was right ahead of them. He watched with bated breath and held his bloody knife.
Time is running out.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kyle unlocked the door with exasperation. He gestured to the small apartment. Clyde wasn’t home. He worked second shift at Amazon Warehouse and wouldn’t be back till early that morning.
“Go nuts.” he said with a huff.
Tweek goes to the basement. Stan goes to the bedroom. Kyle waits with crossed arms. He gets a text message that notified him with a light beep.
Hey honey, are you doing okay over there? It’s slow as fuck down here at the bar.
Kyle smiled.
Yeah, just with the guys. You know it would be less slow if you kept up with your busy work instead of talking to me. XD
Craig messaged him again three minutes later.
Fuck work. I’d rather be with you.
He beamed.
How could anyone think Craig was capable of such horrific things? Sure, he was a little rough around the edges but at his core he was sweet.
Just like Kenny.
Tweek came out of the basement. He was holding a box. It contained a photo album, a lock of….red hair?, boxers, and another significantly bigger album.
“Found something,” he yelled.
Stan came out.
Kyle stared.
….That looked like his hair. It was the right shade. The boxers could be anyone but how many in town had his shade of red hair?
Kyle grabbed it.
It was thick. He felt his own hair. The missing lock felt just like his own. …Why would Craig have this?
Stan paled as he looked through the album. There were photos of several strangers shot, stabbed, or strangled. The last recent one was of Kenny in his home.
Tweek’s eyebrows furrowed as he saw the smaller album. It had photos of Kyle in a dorm, the coffee shop, his parents home, and with Kenny.
“You need to look at this.” choked the brunette. He handed Kyle the album. Tweek slid the smaller one.
Craig came to the door. He unlocked the door with precision. Kyle dropped the albums.
Stan stood in front of the redhead.
Tweek twitched.
Craig came in. He raised an eyebrow. “Honey? What are you and your friends doing here?” he questioned.
Kyle darted his eyes. “Uh, we were just. Hanging out. Was gonna surprise you babe.” he said.
Stan narrowed his eyes.
Craig went over to the small redhead and grabbed the albums. “I wish you would have asked before going through my things.” he said scoldingly.
Kyle scratched his head. “Yeah, I’m sorry, that was a d-dick move. But we’ll get out of your hair.” he said as he moved towards the door.
Craig held Kyle and kissed his head.
“I don’t think so, honey. I think we all need to have a little talk.” he said dangerously as he looked at Stan.
The redhead watched as Craig gently but firmly guided him to the kitchen table. “You've been a naughty little thing, haven’t you? Always keeping me on my toes.” he said teasingly.
Tweek waited for any acknowledgment. But Craig looked at Stan. “Must you interfere with my relationship? Kyle and I were doing perfectly fine before you stuck your nose in this.” he claimed.
Stan glared.
“We saw everything. We’ll go to the police. You are fucked.” he snarled.
Craig smiled and kissed Kyle’s cheek before going over to Tweek. He looked at him in disappointment. “I thought we were friends, Tweek. Why are you following Marsh?”
Tweek didn’t say a word. Craig sighed and took a hand to his cheek. “Was this all jealousy? I can’t help who I love honey. But you would be a wonderful romantic partner, I assure you.” he said sweetly.
Kyle was shaking.
“C-Craig, please, if you go to the cops then we’ll help you get the plea bargain or something. Don’t do something you’ll regret.” he begged.
Craig raised an eyebrow. “Honey. I have nothing to be regretful about. Now I suggest you stay there until I’m done settling things. Don’t be difficult.” he ordered.
Kyle bit his lip.
The stoic man held out his knife. It was stained from dried blood. “You men never learn to back off what’s taken. Kyle is mine. You hear me?” he barked.
Stan felt his pepper spray.
His own knife.
“Nope.” he said confidently.
Neither noticed the concealed carry Tweek was holding in his own person. The blonde smiled.
Stan went towards him. Craig took his knife out and stabbed him in the leg. He gasped.
The farm man sprayed Craig.
“Fuck!” he cursed as he felt the pain in his eyes.
Kyle went up.
“No!” he cried as he charged towards the men.
Tweek pulled out a trigger.
Kyle went to the ground.
Stan looked at Tweek with wide eyes. Kyle was bleeding. “T-Tweek, why?” he whispered.
The twitchy blonde smiled.
“Because Kyle was in the way,” he said with a shrug.
Craig was focusing on his eyes burning so that he didn’t notice the background noise. “Somebody get me fucking something! Honey!” he screamed.
Tweek went over and kissed his head. His twitching stopped momentarily. “I’ll get you something baby, don’t you worry.”
Stan stared.
“H-how could you? W-why?” he stuttered as he ignored the stabbing pain.
Tweek took the gun and shot straight at Kyle’s heart. The redheaded man’s eyes rolled in the back of his head. More blood poured out.
“Have you ever been around someone who could calm you down? Make you feel sane? Everybody thinks I’m so crazy and paranoid. But Craig didn’t.” he said happily as he went to the fridge.
The blonde got some milk in the fridge. He immediately patted it on Craig’s eyes.
Craig sighed.
“W-what? Did you and Craig never stop seeing each other?” he asked as he watched Kyle.
Fuck.
Tweek continued patting the other man’s eyes.
“No. He did stop seeing me. Because he wanted Kyle.” the blonde replied with an eye roll. Then he looked at Craig with a wide smile. “But I just needed to prove that I could be as devoted as he is. Everyone thinks he is emotionless. But he loves fully and completely. Kyle couldn’t give him that. He was too busy whoring around.”
Craig opened his eyes. He looked at Tweek. Then on the floor. His eyes widened. “T-Tweek, what’s going on?”
Tweek smiled. “I’m getting rid of the person who didn’t deserve you, darling.”
Craig growled and lunged for Tweek’s throat. The smaller blonde immediately kicked him in the balls and he grasped his privates in pain.
“You’ll understand later,” said Tweek. He eyed Stan. The brunette was at a loss. What could he do? What are his options?
Nobody even knew he had a gun.
Except….
Did he get it from Uncle Jimbo?
Tweek looked Stan in the eyes.
“No! Don’t!”
He cocked the gun.
“We are friends! Kyle was your friend!” he shouted.
Tweek rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. But Craig is the love of my life. He takes priority. He doesn’t want you around. And Kyle…well, he shouldn’t have fucked around with the guy I liked.” he spat.
What?
Stan recalled memories of last summer. Everyone was smiling. Yet….Kyle received a grin from Kenny. Tweek scowled. He gripped something. Neither noticed the motion.
“Kyle, baby, anyone would be lucky to have you step on them.” said Kenny with a wide smirk.
Kyle punched him.
“Perv.” he said fondly.
Then memories of the following year appeared. Tweek looked happier. He seemed to twitch less. When Craig unconsciously grabbed his hand the blonde eased.
Then Craig stopped. He ended up seeing Kyle. The redhead eyes were bright with mist but hidden with a beam as they kissed at game night. The stoic man grabbed his waist.
Tweek stared.
“I-I’m sorry we never took you seriously! We just thought it was anxiety. But we loved you. Craig used you, man.” he yelled.
Craig was at Kyle’s corpse. He was playing with his red hair. “Honey, I’m so sorry I put you in this position.” he said mournfully as he kissed the corpse’s head.
“Too late. I had to hear you laugh about my issues in childhood then wave off my fears in adulthood. Craig never laughed. He just held my hand.” the blonde said coldly.
Stan tried to go to the front door.
Craig was bawling.
Tweek went closer.
“Bullseye.” he whispered.
The last thing Stan remembered was the glimpse of the bullet before he reached unconsciousness.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
The next morning, dawn to be exact, Tweek threw the bodies in his truck. He looked at Craig who had dead eyes.
“Are you coming? I want to drop this off to be fed to the pigs soon, babe.” he said with an eye roll.
Craig blinked. Then he grabbed Tweek’s hand and kissed the knuckle. “Yes, honey. Whatever you want.”
Tweek smiled.
Love makes the whole world go round.
Meanwhile Kenny McCormick woke up in his bed at his home. He blinked. He looked around with wide eyes.
“That didn’t fucking happen, did it?” he whispered.
His death was much longer than normal. The blonde was used to dying in frequently painful and violent ways, so that wasn’t what shocked him.
Kyle.
He’s gotta be okay, right?
Kenny rang his cell. It was out of service. What the fuck? Kyle would never ignore him.
Whatever.
He’ll try Stan.
Kenny rang him several times before he gave up and held his hands up in frustration.
What the hell happened while he was gone?
And his death didn’t really fucking happen that way, right? No. Kenny wouldn’t let some asshole kill him.
No way.
Kenny called Tolkien.
“Hey, man, what’s going on? Been a minute,” he said easily.
A couple minutes of silence followed the phone call before Tolkien spoke.
“Where have you been, dude? Kyle and Stan have been gone. Everybody’s been trying to get a hold of you.”
Kenny dropped his phone.
Fuck.