It wasn't that he hadn't expected to get a tattoo ever. And it wasn't like he thought he would only receive a tattoo when he was an adult. It was more the fact that, over time, he got three tattoos. Three, very familiar, tattoos. The tattoos he'd seen on the ankles of his three closest friends multiple times.

Luckily, all three tattoos- symbols unique to his friends ankles- appeared in places easy enough to hide.

Token's symbol had appeared in the general area of where one would have a tramp stamp. His solution was to always be careful with his shirts, and he hadn't gone swimming since the symbol of the rich black boy had appeared all those years ago.

Tweek's symbol appeared on his thigh. He felt glad it didn't feel like a tattoo he'd chosen to get, because it would have hurt like hell. He just hadn't worn any short shorts in that time, and nobody noticed anything. He was glad for that, otherwise he would have been questioned on it heavily. It didn't help that Tweek and Craig were already dating, each others symbols proudly displayed on Craig's neck and Tweek's wrist.

Speaking of Craig- his symbol was on his skin too. It rested dangerously close to his own tattoo- difficult to hide when people wanted to check it out. He always ended up awkwardly holding his ankle, fingers barely hiding the other boys symbol.

At first he hadn't realized his feelings for any of the three boys, so the first tattoo had been very confusing. Looking down at his thigh one day while he was taking a shit and seeing Tweek's wild symbol that somewhat resembled a crudely drawn rectangle with lines dashing through it, scribbles surrounding it- it oddly suited the twitchy blonde- was a pretty big surprise. He spent weeks after that pondering over his feelings, before determining he was- as Kenny had so kindly provided- Pansexual. Gender had never come into mind before that, and when really thinking, he had realized he didn't give a shit.

Months later, he finally spotted the tramp stamp of a love-symbol. The swirly, fancy-looking symbol was immediately recognized as that of Token Black. It both suited him, yet it was the farthest possible thing it could be. And it exasperated him, because he thought he was in love with Tweek.

He later determined that the symbol had been there for much longer than Tweek's, because it was the only thing that made sense. He must have fallen in love with Token earlier, and gotten over it. Right? All a sub-conscious process.

He would have said it was platonic love, as many people often received, but at the same time it didn't fit. If it was platonic love it would have appeared much earlier, along with Tweek and Craig at the same time. Maybe even Jimmy would be there; Clyde adored the comedian.

It was less than a year ago that Craig's appeared, too. It sent a wave of panic through him when he spotted it, having been mindlessly pulling his socks on as he readied for school. The curves and jagged edges of the abstract thing making up Craig's symbol glared up at him, taunting him. As if it was trying to say "congratulations, Clyde. You fell in love with all three of your closest friends, and if they find out, you'll be screwed."

Obviously not because he couldn't give less of a damn about gender- South Park had been seen as a rather progressive place since the Whole Foods had been put in years ago. And the effect had lasted, long afterwards. Hopefully not just because of the store.

But rather, he'd be screwed because Tweek and Craig loved each other, and Token and Nichole had been going strong for years. He had caught a brief glimpse of what he could only assume was Nichole's symbol on Token's back, as well. He loved her.

Having kept the secret of his previous tattoos for years, Clyde easily kept this new one. Although it hurt to keep it from his friends- from the boys that he discovered he loved in a more than friendly way.

Not that being friends wasn't enough- platonic love was amazing, and spending what little time he could with his friends was amazing. It didn't matter if they didn't love him back in that way. So long as he could be around them the way he was. It didn't matter how much it hurt, knowing that the three boys loved someone else. Not at all.

It wasn't as if every time he saw Craig and Tweek sitting together he wished he could be between them, or every time he saw he saw Token and Nichole kiss his heart squeezed. So long as the boys he loved were happy.

So long as they were safe and happy, it was all that mattered. They were all that mattered.

"Have you really not gotten a single tattoo yet? Not even a platonic tattoo?" Token questioned, one arm resting on Nichole's shoulders and the other using his fork to poke at the moldy tater tots on his tray. Why he insisted on buying the horrible cafeteria food, nobody had a single clue.

"Nope." Clyde shook his head, taking another bite of the sad attempt at a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich he'd made that morning. "Tattoo-less. Unless tattoos can show up actually inside you." He lied around a mouthful of bread and condiments. He felt bad, lying to his friends, but he'd feel even worse lying about what the tattoos he did have meant.

"Bebe said she could've sworn she saw a tattoo on your lower back." Nichole remarked, maybe in case he had somehow missed it.

"Clahde has a tramp stamp?" Cartman, who sat at the opposite end of the table, asked with a smirk.

"No, I do not." The brunette protested, shaking his head. "Bebe must have been seeing things. Trust me, I've checked, and the only tattoo I have is my own."

"Maybe Clyde's just in love with himself." The nasally voice of Craig piped up. Who knew he had been listening? Sometimes he got so caught up with his boyfriend he blocked out the rest of the world.

"Hey! Just because I have confidence doesn't mean I'm in love with myself. " He shot a playful glare at his friend, who simply shrugged.

"How do you go almost 18 years and not get a single tattoo?" Stan Marsh, who wore the platonic symbol of his best friend and romantic symbol of Wendy Testaburger, asked.

The boy had gotten both tattoos years and years ago, and made no effort to hide either of them despite he and Wendy breaking it off permanently.

Clyde shifted awkwardly, casting his gaze to the table. He thought they had gotten over his lack of tattoos years ago, but he supposed with passing time they had expected him to have one.

"I have a very specific set of standards for a romantic partner, and I guess I just.. don't feel that strongly about anyone, I dunno." He shrugged, avoiding looking up at his friends.

"I don't think that's entirely unreasonable. Very unexpected for someone like Clyde, but I think it's possible." Kyle piped up, his brother's symbol moving on his cheek and Stan's symbol almost moving from it's position on the side of his neck.

It had been rumored that the ginger had another symbol somewhere easier hidden, but Kyle had simply ignored the question every time it was brought up, so nobody could really say what the answer was.

"Clyde has to be hiding something." Kenny stated as he slid into his seat between Kenny and Cartman, to make sure the two boys didn't fight. Although their arguments had toned down in recent years, Kenny always declared one could never be too safe.

Even Kenny, who still slept around at times, had some symbols. Although nobody was really sure which were some form of romance and which were some form of platonic.

Craig's symbol, the one that constantly mocked Clyde to this day, sat on his temple. When questioned he simply shrugged it off, saying he was grateful for the way Craig affected his life. Nobody believed that.

His arms and legs seemed to be speckled with symbols as well- although not a large amount. Among them people had spotted those of Stan and Kyle, and in the middle of his back was the unmistakable symbol of one Wendy Testaburger.

According to the guy himself, he just had a big heart and platonicly loved a lot of people. Too bad for him, a lot of people just assumed he got crushes easily. Romance-orientated society was a bitch.

"What? Dude, no. I'm not hiding anything." Clyde protested, gaze snapping up to look at Kenny.

"Then show us your lower back. If you're not hiding anything, and Bebe really was just seeing things, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Shit- damn Kenny. Damn him to hell. He really didn't want to lie about the meaning of the tattoo.

"My lower back is too close to my ass." He tried, hoping in vain that would be enough.

"Just show us your damn tramp stamp, Clahde."

"No! I don't have too!" He tried desperately to get them to back off, not wanting to reveal Token's tattoo sitting there.

"Clyde freaking Donovan, show us your back or I will make you." Kenny threatened, keeping his tone light as he shuffled off of the bench, ready to pounce.

Wow, what a dick move. Who knew Kenny McCormick would pull something so dickish? Or not, as Kenny had a playful glint in his eyes. He was just joking, Clyde determined. He would never really invade someones privacy like that.

He never did have time to figure out if he was right or wrong, though, as Tweek ended up having one of his outbursts. They had grown rarer over the years, so it had been kind of a surprise when he let out a wordless shout and began to twitch, the old tweak coming back full force.

"G-guys! Don't f-f- ACK! Don't FIGHT!" He shouted, bolting out of Craig's arm and whipping his head back and forth to stare at the table with wide eyes.

"Oh Jesus Christ." Craig muttered, gently placing a shoulder on Tweek's shoulder. "Tweek? Tweek, look at me." Craig demanded quietly, waiting for the now twitchy blonde to turn and look at him.

"Tweek, baby. They aren't fighting, okay?" He gently cupped Tweek's cheek, looking him in the eyes with the most gentle look anyone had ever seen on him. "They're just teasing Clyde. Alright? It's harmless fun, babe. I promise. It's all okay." He rubbed Tweek's arm in the most reassuring and calming way he could, keeping one hand placed gently on the others cheek so he wouldn't look away.

When the twitching didn't seem to calm down, Craig continued speaking calmly, the rest of the table and some of the cafeteria effectively shut up by Tweek's previous out burst.

"Alright- babe, are you listening?" He asked quietly, waiting for the nod of acknowledgment before continuing. "Take deep breaths, okay? Do you want to go somewhere else?"

When quick movements of agreement came from the clearly freaking out blonde, Craig quickly got him up and lead him out of the cafeteria in order to calm him down.

"Well, shit. Good job, guys." Token stared around the table as he spoke, breaking the awkward silence that had settled after the two had left.

"Us?! You're the one who brought Clahde's tattoo-lessness! This is YOUR fault!" Cartman pointed an accusatory finger at the other, glaring at him.

"I was asking an innocent question! You're the ones who dragged it out!" The black boy defended, dropping his fork and squeezing Nichole's shoulder a bit.

"Guys." Clyde interrupted, before it could go any further. "Stop." He looked between Cartman and Token, practically begging them to not go any farther.

"Pfft." The fatter of the two crossed his arms, looking away. "Wha'eva. I didn't wanna fight with that pussy anyways."

Token simply rolled his eyes, before returning his attention to Nichole.

Well didn't everyone feel just fucking peachy.

Admittedly, this is more of a test post just to see how this will go over with people who are interested in the ship. If I get enough positive feedback, I'll probably continue, but for now this is all I have.