Work Text:
There was nothing better than a rainy autumn night.
The end of October had always been special, not just for Kyle but for his friends as well. It marked the middle of the fall season and some of his most nostalgic memories from childhood. It was late enough in the year that Colorado had an icy chill that would nip at your skin if you didn’t cover up enough, but not quite cold enough for snow. The feeling of being able to get cozy on the couch, with a nice scented candle going and homemade baked goods was serene.
Unfortunately for him, his living room fantasy was going to have to wait.
Stan Marsh, possibly his best friend of all time, was actually getting married. The charming bastard had proposed to their other childhood friend Kenny McCormick in the winter of last year. The two made a surprisingly sweet couple, despite being quite different in the personality department. Kyle had had the…privilege of third wheeling the two others more times then he count by now.
They had chosen to be wed in October as both men tended to love the fall vibes. Like Kyle, Stan was fond of the fall weather and atmosphere, while Kenny was quite into the Halloween scene. The thing that both future grooms seemed to definitely agree on was the fact that they wanted the decor and dress code to be gothic.
Kyle had a loose plan for their cake since day one of the men’s wedding planning. Stan and Kenny hadn’t exactly rushed into their planning, but a couple of drinks and the adrenaline of the proposal had certainly got them yapping. It was clear to the start that they’d be the ones making their friends cake, much to Craig’s “dismay.” The grouchier of the two never fully let go of their elementary school beef with each other.
Speaking of, the slightly taller man walked through the back doors as he wiped his hands off on his shirt. He could feel the other males eyes zeroing in on him. Craig was such a fucking poser when it came to displaying affection. Yeah he claimed that he hated everyone and there were barely any people who didn’t piss him off which was true in a way. But Craig was really like some needy house cat, despite being taller than the majority of the people in their circle.
“I can feel you staring at me, y’know.” Kyle grinned, not bothering to look up from the frosting he was chiseling off with a little spatula. He hadn’t realized one of the rims was uneven when he had frosted it the day prior, which sucked because now the cake had been chilling all night and the base coat of frosting had chilled.
“When did I imply I was trying to do that?” God Kyle could hear the smirk in his partner’s voice. Craig was such a proud fucker.
“Well being that we’ve been dating since high school and I’ve known you even longer, it’s a given.” The redhead quipped back. He let out a sharp hiss as he triumphantly managed to remove the uneven chunk of frosting. It looked a little choppy but he had always planned to pipe frosting along the outer edge so It really wasn’t the biggest deal in the grand scheme of things. He grabbed the piping bag of jet black frosting from its spot on his workbench.
“You want me to do it?”
Kye whipped around to glare at his boyfriend, who did indeed have a shit eating grin on his face. He did NOT need Craig to pipe fucking frosting for him just because he’d sprained his wrist. Having hypermobility spectrum disorder was so inconvenient when you were someone running around all day. He used his hands and wrists all day which meant the muscles were overworked near constantly, causing them to tear and ultimately sprain super easily.
“Don’t bump the cake with your brace.”
“Oh my god, do you want to die?”
Craig made the rest of his way over to the workbench and plopped down on a nearby stool. Kyle hadn’t caught the way the other man was watching him, but Craig looked as if the redhead held the world. Even though he was covered in flour from the day and his hair was a frizzy mess. What a dork. Kyle had heard chirps about how entertaining it was to Craig that he was messy all the time, being he grew up a total neat freak.
The bottom tier of the cake turned out lovely. The top and bottom of the cake was lined with shell piping, while Kyle had filled the middle with intricate ribboning. Despite both men being skeptical of their friends' choice for black designs on black frosting, it was turning out better than either of them had thought. Kyle, being one of the best men, had seen the decorations earlier and was beyond satisfied at how everything on the cake was coming together.
Unfortunately things started going downhill once he reached the middle of the third and final tier. A sharp pain shot up Kyle’s entire arm, starting at his stupid bad wrist. His brow furrowed at every squeeze of the piping bag. As someone who prided himself in his piping skills, he became increasingly agitated each time a jolt of pain messed up his placement. This was bullshit, he still hadn’t piped the lilies going down the cakes side.
Next thing he knew, the bag was being gently pried from his fingers as Craig nudged him to the side. Kyle stood there absolutely gagged for a moment. He didn’t know if he should be appreciative Craig stopped him before his grip popped the icing bag or pissed Craig pushed him aside like he couldn’t do it. Which he COULD, he wasn’t an incompetent baby. It was just some run of the mill pain. He opened his mouth to snap at the other man but Craig softly elbowed him in the chest.
“Let me finish it.” He murmured calmly. “You’ve been completely hyperfixated for the past week and it’s clear your body is protesting it.”
It was immature sure but Kyle couldn’t help rolling his eyes and grumbling under his breath at that. He hated that Craig was right. If he kept pushing himself like this he’d fuck up his wrist for longer which meant his work would be hugely effected. Kyle didn’t want that. He loved the bakery that he and Craig had worked to build for themselves. Plus he’d be super bored if he had to just sit around and observe.
“Go grab your shit honey, I’ll be done in ten.”
“Are you sure I can’t ju-”
“Kyle.”
“But if I-”
“Kyle.”
“What?”
“Go!”
Craig turned ever so slightly, not even bothering to look at the redhead as he placed two fingers on his forehead and playfully pushed him back before flipping him off. With a very dramatic huff, Kyle mimicked his boyfriend’s token action before retreating back to their little office where he’d thrown all his shit that morning. While there he took a minute to organize all the papers Craig had thrown across the office desk. The taller man enjoyed baking plenty, but he was much more fond of keeping track of their technical shit and orders.
By the time he re-emerged, Craig was shutting the door to the fridge and brushing off his hands. He met Kyle halfway across the room, cupping his jaw and peppering kisses up his jaw. The redhead ran a hand through his hair, scratching lightly as he went. “Craig?” He questioned, voice significantly softer than it had been before. “You’re sure everything is ready for tomorrow? The cake, the favors?” Craig silenced him by moving on to kissing his lips. “Everything is done Kyle, take a breath. Everyone is gonna love it.”
He snaked his hand into Kyle’s and gave him a light tug. “You ready? I was thinking we could grab food on the way home and maybe later we can use all the lemons you bought for something.”
Kyle let out a small laugh and nodded as Craig spoke. He followed after his boyfriend with the same dopey grin as they locked up the shop and made their way to their car, still hand in hand. Craig could be a total ass sometimes but Kyle knew he was always supporting him in his own odd way. He wouldn’t trade it for the world.