Once Upon A December, a south park fanfic

Title: Once Upon a December

Author: Darkmoonphase

Disclaimer: I do not own South Park or characters thereof.

Rating: Hang on and I'll check for swearing and stuff. Okay, yeah, it's teen because of language not suitable for children under the age of 13 (not that I think you'll stay away because of the rating, you bad kids, lol).

Summary: We were in fourth grade when the ultimate battle broke out during a snow day. We were also in that grade, in that same snowy month, when I decided that I did, in fact, like Butters. And more than I'd like to admit.

Pairings: Mainly – Kenny and Butters. Side – Kyle and Stan, Craig and Cartman, Tweek and Clyde. (I'd abbreviate, but only two of them actually make a pronounceable word.)

A/N: Told in Kenny's POV.

Once upon a December…It sounds different from the rest of the "once upon a time's". But it's also the exact same. Only it specifies the time. This did happen one December, though. Back when I was in fourth grade. I can't say that my friends and I were all innocent little pests because we weren't. We knew what we were doing and enjoyed every moment of it because it totally pissed off our parents and the rest of the adults. So, let me start over. Now that you know what we did, none of this should come as a surprise to you…Hopefully anyway.

So once upon a December…

I ran towards Kyle's house, excited because it was a snow day. I loved snow days. That meant no school, grouchy parents who let you do anything as long as the snow was cleared from the sidewalk and driveway, angry people who had to go Christmas shopping in the snow – they were lots of fun to throw snowballs at. Yes, the holiday spirit hit me hard when we got snow days. What wonderful days they were.

Kyle, Cartman and Stan were already there, shivering despite their warm outerwear. Kyle and Stan grinned when they saw me and Cartman swore. Craig, Tweek, Clyde and Token were all arriving as well. Craig seemed just about as happy as Cartman. "Hey, guys! Ready for the ultimate battle?" Kyle asked, his voice wavering and carrying lots of over dramatizations. I laughed.

"You bet. We didn't finish last year; this will end the battle," Craig said darkly. His group all grinned triumphantly. "Let's get it on!" I ran over to Kyle, Stan and Cartman and we all split the yard in half. My team started working on our slush/snow fort while I worked contently on making as many snowballs as I could. Craig's team was working on their all snow fort, but by the way Token was eyeing the hose, I had a feeling that their fort was going to be harder to penetrate.

Butters arrived shortly after we started and helped me make the snowballs. I watched him pack one and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to play? I could be referee…if you want." I honestly couldn't imagine watching him get hit in the face with a snowball, but I felt bad for him.

He shook his head with a bright smile on his face. "Nope. I'm fine being referee." He looked up at me with his deep blue eyes that looked so bright despite how dark they were. "I like making your games fair."

I couldn't help but smile back. It was contagious, what else could I say? "If you say so…" He nodded and went back to packing his snowball that was slowly growing from a golf ball to a softball. I went back to making my own, adding a bit of slush to it. I heard the hose turn on and we both looked over at Craig's side. He, Tweek and Clyde were all pretty far away from their fort as Token sprayed it down with cold water. Stan gasped and Cartman started swearing at them. Butters just shook his head in disbelief. I was right up there with him. Why hadn't we thought about that?

Craig started screaming back at Cartman and flipping him off. So I threw the snowball I was working on at him. It hit him square in the face. Token let the hose run aimlessly for a moment while everyone else was silent. Butters suddenly put the snowball he was working on down on top of the pile and stepped off into the sidelines, turning off the water, he cried, "Let the, uh, Battle begin!" Stan, Kyle and Cartman all ducked while the other team ran up to their fort with snowballs in hand. Token threw the hose behind him and grabbed one of the snowballs. I started moving our pile into the center so we could all reach them and Stan threw one over the side of our fort.

"Ow!" Tweek cried angrily. "Look before you throw!" A snowball flew over our fortress and hit Cartman on the head. I laughed until I got snow down my shirt, then I gasped. Cartman laughed at me instead. I growled, ready to throw a snowball at him when Butters peeked over the fort and smiled smugly at me. I almost threw it at him as an alternative, but he disappeared before I had the chance. So I threw it over the fortress, hearing a satisfying scream from Token.

A snowball flew over our fort and hit Kyle on the head. I stood up, hearing shouts from below me – "You're gunna get hit, Kenny!" "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Idiot…" – and threw a snowball at Clyde's face. It hit it exactly where I wanted it to and he blinked in surprise. I laughed at his expression until another snowball came sailing through the air to hit me in the face. Tweek laughed loudly. Angry now, I grabbed another snowball and threw it at him. Clyde took the hit. Stan stood up briefly to throw a snowball at Craig. After that, I'm not sure how many times I got hit or how many times I hit the other team because I was blinded by snowballs that whizzed back and forth across the yard.

Eventually, our team ran out of snowballs so we had to hurry to make as many as we could while the other team continued hurling them at us. Soon enough though, I couldn't feel my face anymore. I'd been hit too many times. This needed to end. I stood again, armed with four slushy snowballs, and started throwing them at the other team. I hit them all – even knocking Tweek over, much to Clyde's dismay. Butters raised his hand and we all looked at him. "Well, I'm cold. So I'm gunna say the winner was, uh…Stan's team."

"No!" Craig cried in despair. My team all cheered and did mini victory dances. Clyde was cuddling Tweek who was holding his nose with a look of pure hatred on his face. Token was trying to calm Craig down, but this seemed to piss him off even more.

And then I glanced at lonely little Butters, standing off to the side with a sad smile pasted on his face. I turned to Kyle and asked, "Since Butters called the game and said we won, could he maybe come in and have coco with us?"

Kyle looked up at me, bewildered. Stan nudged him with a nod. "Uh…You're right. Yeah, go tell him." He stared at Stan with that same shocked expression, like he'd never in his life even considered letting Butters into his house.

I hurried over to Butters gleefully and asked pleasantly, "Do you wanna come have some coco with us? Kyle said you could…" Butters stared at me for a minute, his smile gone momentarily. I almost thought I'd have to repeat myself when he suddenly grinned and nodded ferociously. I grinned too. His joy was too contagious.

()

Snow days never lasted long enough. Soon after our big battle, we were back in school. I was bored out of my mind as the teacher rambled on about the water cycle. Shouldn't we have learned this back in August? Something hit the back of my head and I spun angrily to find a note on the floor. I picked it up, opened it and read it quickly before shoving it in my pocket and nodding at Tweek. Ten more minutes and then we'd have a rematch. I listened to the teacher for as long as I could handle before zoning. And the next thing I knew, the bell had rung.

Tweek and I met outside, facing off. "Still pissed, huh?" I asked him with a smug smile. The other kids started gathering around, wondering what was going on. "What makes you think that you'll with this time?"

"I figured out that I throw better with my left arm," Tweek replied matter-of-factly. "So I can throw both harder and faster. It's lots of fun." He grinned wickedly, almost making me shudder at how evil and demeaning it looked.

I laughed instead to hold off my anxiety. I wasn't going to let him think he'd already won before we'd even started. "Like that's going to help much," I scoffed happily. We both bent and started packing snowballs. Several kids in the crowd realized what was going to happen and started backing away, hoping not to get hit. I grabbed the first of my snowballs and Tweek grabbed one of his. We stared at each other intensely for a moment before I threw mine at him as hard as I could. He ducked and threw his, hitting me in the face. Damn, he was right. He did throw faster and harder with his left hand. I didn't let that get to me though. I pulled out my second and threw it as hard as I could at him. It hit him in the chest with a satisfying THUD.

"Ah!" Tweek cried, glancing down at his chest with a pained expression on his face. "That fucking hurt, you asshole!"

"That's what you get for throwing snowballs at my face," I replied haughtily as another snowball hit me in the face. Laughter erupted through the crowd and I blushed in embarrassment. I picked up another snowball and threw it at him, hitting him in the face. I could almost see the snow melt off his face as he glared at me in anger, his face slowly turning red. It was pretty comical. We started throwing as many snowballs as we could at each other before I hit my knees, the breath knocked out of me as a particularly hard snowball hit me in the stomach.

Tweek walked up to me laughing like a true villain. "I win," he mocked, grabbing a fistful of snow and shoving it down the back of my shirt. I let out a cry and shot up, shocked by the frigid snow. He laughed harder and so did the kids in the crowd. Everyone laughed at my ignorance and failure, except Butters who, standing a few feet behind Tweek, was staring at me with remorse. I was almost positive that he knew how stupid I felt, sitting in the snow shivering my ass off with snow melting in my shirt while everyone mocked me. I felt horrible for ever laughing at him. What really hurt though was knowing that he could laugh at me now, make me feel worse for snickering at him when he was in pain, and he wasn't.

I pushed myself up into a standing position and walked through the crowd, heading for the swing set. "Sorry, man. But that was just so funny," Kyle cried as I passed him. He wouldn't be laughing if it had been him sitting there. But no one ever acknowledges this, as many times as people say it. I shivered as I grabbed onto a swing and sat down, slowly rocking myself.

"Are you, um, okay?" a soft, childlike voice muttered next to me. I looked up to see Butters, gently swinging back and forth. He wasn't staring at me or anything, in fact, his eyes were on the snowy ground, but I could still see the concern in his deep blue eyes.

I glanced at my feet which were dangling about a foot or two off the ground. "Yeah, I'm just cold," I finally responded. It started to flurry; giant, white fluff falling from the dark grey sky. Several kids in the distance let out joyful cries while others started groaning. "I was asking for it. And he technically did warn me…"

"Yeah, he kind of did," Butters agreed, his voice still quiet. The bell rang and I glanced up at the blonde next to me. His mouth was hanging open a little, like he'd been about to say something else, and he was staring at me worriedly. We stared at each other for a moment until he suddenly hopped off the swing and ran into the school. I smiled sadly, jumped off my swing, and hurried after him.

()

Winter break finally arrived. Tweek wasn't talking to me anymore, which was just fine because I was still pissed at him. Though Craig, Token and Clyde made a point to stop and laugh at me whenever they saw me. Stan and Cartman seemed the most amused out of our group and Kyle was slowly deciding that it wasn't that funny anymore. I was grateful that at least one person was letting up. I hadn't seen Butters since that day though. It seemed like he was purposefully avoiding me and it was starting to hurt.

The snow was slowly starting to pile up and I didn't really want to leave my house. It was too cold, for starters. But also, every time I left my house, there were kids walking down the street who'd remind me of my humiliating defeat. It really sucked because others had had worse defeats and they'd never gotten ridiculed so. And I hadn't seen Butters. I really wanted to see him, but I couldn't come up with a good excuse to go pound on his door and demand that he talk to me. Besides, I wasn't really up to talking to his parents when they'd ask what I wanted.

Kyle wanted me to come out and he succeeded a few times. Stan started pestering me too, but I had a feeling that it had something to do with Kyle ripping on him. I didn't even know why I was still so depressed. I should've been able to go beat someone's face in when they laughed at me. I should've been out shopping for presents for my parents with my twenty dollars that I'd won from a bet between Stan and me.

Christmas – or Yule is what my family celebrated – started creeping closer and I was feeling miserable. I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling for lack of anything better to do when my mom yelled at me that there was someone on the phone for me. I wandered downstairs and received the phone with no enthusiasm whatsoever. "Hello?" I mumbled into the phone, my voice bleak.

"Dude…You sound worse than you did Monday…" Kyle told me with shock in his voice. "You've got to get out of that house, man. It's killing you!" He was right, in a way. I wasn't doing any better moping around my house. "Anyway, I wanted you to come over and hang with us. Stan's mom gave him an early Christmas present. Guess what it is!"

I brightened a little, liking the guessing game of surprise Christmas present. "A video game? Wait, wait. It's the new one, right?" I asked enthusiastically, getting into the idea of beating Cartman's virtual ass.

"Yeah! The new version of W.O.W," Kyle replied, giddy that he'd seemed to have made me happy. "You got to come over to Stan's and play. It's totally awesome!" I agreed hastily and we hung up. I got dressed and shoved my wallet into my back pocket. On my way out, I shouted to my mom that I was going over to Stan's. I got sidetracked on the way though. I took a roundabout way through town and something in the window of a store caught my attention. It was a small ornament, decorated so intricately, it threw me off for a moment. It wasn't really too bright, but it wasn't really dark either. And it wasn't Christmassy. I wanted it, needed it – and not for my own entertainment. It was Butters'. It practically screamed that.

I hastily went into the store, desperate to get my hands on it. It was two dollars too much. I stared wistfully at it. There had to be a way to get my hands on those last two dollars. I thought of possibilities as I left glumly and walked to Stan's house. There had to be a way. I arrived at his house and knocked pathetically on it. Stan himself answered. "What the…Kyle said you were happier. You don't look very happy," he told me, an angry hint in his voice.

"I was happy for awhile," I replied, trying to make my voice lighter and failing miserably. "But I saw something in a store on my way here. I really wanted to get it for…someone. I don't have enough though…" I glanced up at him. Kyle was behind him now, staring at me curiously.

"Make you a deal, okay? If you tell us who the someone is and can beat me in a one-on-one battle in W.O.W, I'll give you the money," Stan declared firmly and happily. Kyle smiled in agreement and I felt my hopes soar. It was only two dollars and they were my friends.

"Don't make fun of me, though, okay?" I countered and they nodded, dragging me inside. When we were in the living room they stared at me intensely. The lack of Cartman helped my self-esteem. "I wanna get Butters something, alright? It's just so…him." Saying his name almost stung. What if he didn't want to see me? Why were emotions so complicated?

Kyle gawked and Stan smiled triumphantly. "That makes sense now…How you're always sticking up for him…" Kyle nodded absentmindedly. I guessed he was still in shock. "Well, now. We have a video game bet, don't we?" I nodded and we hurried upstairs, after getting Kyle back to his senses. We pulled out two controllers and plugged them into the computer, ready to start our virtual battle.

Two minutes and thirty-five seconds later, Stan was staring at the screen in confusion and I felt like I might explode with happiness. "Pay up," I reminded him, sticking my hand out. "It's just two dollars."

"That's it?" Kyle asked, leaning around his boyfriend. "Wow. I would have thought that you'd need more. Hey, Cartman never showed up…"

"He probably got sidetracked with Craig again," I said, rolling my eyes in irritation. I wanted that ornament. The sooner I had my hands on it, the happier I'd be. "Please, can I have the two dollars now?"

Stan snapped to and reached into his back pocket, producing his ratty wallet. He pulled out three dollars and handed it to me. I was pretty confused since I'd specified how much I needed. I stared at him in puzzlement and he replied casually, "In case the tax adds to it. Can we come? I wanna see what you're getting him."

I decided to make another deal with him. "Yeah, but only if you'll help me wrap it when I get it." He laughed and nodded. We all bounded downstairs, pulled on our jackets and boots, and dashed out the door. I needed it to be there. What if someone had taken it? What would I do then? We walked through town at a brusque pace, Stan teasing me about how the gift must be really important. Finally we reached the store and I peeked into the window. Despair gripped me tightly. It was gone. I slouched away from it dejectedly.

Kyle caught on faster than Stan. He put a hand on my shoulder and suggested lightly, "Maybe they have some inside?" I couldn't help but be hopeful. I smiled and hurried into the store with my friends behind me. After much searching, I'd almost completely given up. Instead, I marched up to the counter and asked if they had any in the stockroom. I almost screamed with joy when the cashier disappeared momentarily and came out with one in its own little box. I hurriedly pulled out the money and gave it to him. I got a little change back, but couldn't care less as the box was handed to me.

As we walked out of the store and down the street, my friends stared at the box curiously. "It's a Christmas tree ornament…" Kyle mumbled, stunned and a little confused. But I was so happy.

"No, it's not just for Christmas. It could be hung anywhere at anytime," I told him firmly, trying to get him to understand my point of view. Butters would like it and he'd keep it up through the holidays and past. I hoped.

"When are you going to give it to him?" Stan asked, sounding rather excited. At first, I couldn't figure out why he'd be so excited. Then I thought, maybe he was excited for me. I had to keep that thought in mind so I didn't get myself worked up and angry.

"On Christmas Eve, if I can wait that long," I replied quietly. I couldn't take my eyes off of that box. I was hoping so badly that he'd like it. Suddenly it occurred to me that I'd spent all my money on something for Butters. Nothing for my parents, nothing for myself. I almost went back into my miserable black hole but I felt so proud of myself that I couldn't let that small fact get in the way of my joy. We went back to Stan's house so they could help me wrap the box. This was a good thing because I'd never wrapped a gift in my life. My mom had always done it for me. I didn't want to look like an idiot with a half-assed wrapped gift in my hands when I gave it to Butters.

()

Christmas Eve. The dreaded day. The day to give Butters his gift. Oh, I could go on. I was having a hard time accepting that it really was Christmas Eve and that Stan and Kyle were waiting downstairs for me so they could watch me humiliate myself in front of Butters. Why did I like the twerp anyway? I mean, he'd never laughed at me, never made fun of me, never hit me, and never called me names…Oh fuck. Those were all the things I liked about him. Was there really anything I hated? Of course not! He was an innocent little twerp. Damn it.

"Come on, Kenny!" Kyle called cheerfully from the bottom of the stairs. "Up and at 'em! Today's the big day!"

Oh God, don't remind me… I thought in despair as I pulled on my shirt and grabbed my jacket. I pushed my arms through the sleeves, zipped up, pulled the hood up, tightened it and walked over to the desk. The pretty little package was sitting there in bright red wrapping paper with white snowflakes all over it. I was almost afraid of what Butters would say. What if he wasn't gay like I thought? What if he didn't like me at all?

"Come on, Kenny!" Stan cried this time, sounding really impatient. I grabbed the package and hurried downstairs before I could lose my confidence. I didn't have much to start with. I waved to my mom briefly as my friends dragged me out the door. "It's the happiest time of the year, Kenny. Get in the mood. You're about to give the love of your life a gift for Christmas." Stan's pep talk sucked ass.

I gave a low moan as the two happily dragged me toward Butters' house. They shoved me up the walkway to his door and hid in some bushes to watch the show unravel. But would it be tragedy or romance? I stared at the gift for a moment before hesitantly knocking on the door. Less than a minute later, Butters was in the doorframe, staring at me with confusion. "Kenny?"

I bit my lower lip and glanced down at the package again. Here goes everything. "Here, Butters. I thought you'd like it. Merry Christmas." Oh how I wanted run away as I extended that box. My legs were shaking and judging how the bush on my right moved inconspicuously, I'd say they were shaking visibly. I'd never done something so hard in my entire life. And I'd only been alive for nine years.

Butters took the gift hesitantly with a careful smile. I almost didn't want him to open it. I was too afraid for my own good. "Thanks, Kenny…" he mumbled as he tore off the paper. My heart leapt and sank. My legs shook more violently and I thought for sure that I was going to collapse. It didn't help that I felt sick now. His face suddenly lit up at the sight of the box and I smiled a little. "It's really pretty." He opened it and pulled the ornament out. His eyes sparkled. I didn't think he'd like it that much. It was just a glass orb. "Wow…Thanks, uh, so much, Kenny."

I could barely breathe. It was the moment of truth…sort of. I wanted to be spontaneous and fluent, pretty like the little ornament that spun in small circles so gracefully. And suddenly I felt like Tweek. Luck was totally against me on this one. I leaned down, he looked up and I kissed his cheek after loosening my hood some. Not really what I was going for, but it did startle him. I thought for sure I was going to be sick now. The nerves were killing me. I stepped back, spun and raced away. I couldn't believe myself. I was an idiot.

()

I stared out my window dejectedly as the flurry turned a bit heavier because of the wind. I felt more stupid than I had before for running away. I'd made a fool out of myself. Kenny, the one who was already the laughing stalk for getting beat up by Tweek Tweak, had humiliated himself in front of Butters, Stan and Kyle. I sighed and turned away from the window. When Christmas was over and I went back to school, Stan would tell everyone how stupid I'd looked, standing in front of Butters. But worse than this knowledge? They were going to make fun of Butters too. And I couldn't defend him. He probably wouldn't let me. And they'd all laugh harder at him, say how weak he was. This had turned into a complete nightmare.

"Kenny, someone's at the door! Go get it!" my mom screamed and I left my room, slouching down the stairs and to the door. I stood there for a minute, not sure if I was ready to face what was on the other side. What if it was Stan or Kyle and they'd come to laugh at me? I sighed and swung open the door – to see Butters standing there.

"H-Hi, Kenny," he stuttered, gazed down at his shoes. He had a bright blue package in his hands and he looked positively scared. "You r-ran off before I could, um, give this to you…" He extended the package. I stared at it for a moment, not quite sure what to do with it. It was like what I'd just been through only reversed.

I hesitantly took the gift and smiled softly. "Thanks, Butters. You wanna come in for awhile?" He glanced up at me and nodded cautiously. I grabbed his hand and dragged him up to my room, desperate to fix what I hoped wouldn't become the biggest story in the school newspaper – if we had one, I wasn't really sure. When we arrived, I pushed him into my desk chair and sat on my bed. He eyed me warily but I started opening the present instead. I hadn't expected any presents for Yule this year, I never got anything. I pulled off the last of the paper, staring in confusion at the shoe box on my lap. I yanked the lid off and my features softened. Inside was a framed picture of Butters and I. It had been taken last year when we'd gone to a party with the rest of our friends. But Kyle's mom had thought that Butters' parents would like to see how he'd made a new friend and snapped a picture of us.

"D-Do you like it?" Butters asked nervously. I smiled up at him as I lifted the frame out of the box and shoved the box to the ground. I nodded happily. Not only had I gotten a Yule present, but it had been one of the most heart-wrenching gifts I could ever receive. Butters suddenly shot out of his chair and, in the greatest act of spontaneity I'd ever seen, hurried over to me, pulled my hood down and kissed me on the lips. Damn, he was more graceful than I could ever hope to be. I quickly got over the shock and closed my eyes. I set the picture on my lap and reached up, tangling my fingers in that small tuft of hair.

When we pulled away, I felt about as dazed as he looked. "Merry Christmas, Butters."

"Happy Yule," he replied happily. I moved the picture and dragged him onto my lap where he sat gleefully as if he were on Santa's lap. He rested his head on my shoulder and I was so happy. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as I thought they would be.

My mom turned on some happy little Christmas song. It made me smile.

()

"Ha-ha! Butters and Kenny?! Oh my fucking god, that's hilarious!" Cartman cried, laughing heartily. I gave Butters' hand a squeeze and turned away. No one else seemed to think that this was very funny. Except Craig. But that's why they were together. Let them laugh, I thought. But everyone needs someone to love. Kyle and Stan looked happy for me, Tweek was glaring at me – and I was sure that I had redeemed myself – while Clyde thought that it was cute. Wendy and Bebe told Butters how happy they were for him and everyone else pretty much left us alone. Things really weren't that bad. And besides getting ridiculed by the two assholes of the school, I was sure things were going to be alright. What a wonderful Yule that'd turned out to be.

Not surprisingly, Butters and I are still together. It's been two years and we're still happy. Craig and Cartman have broken up since then, but that's what they get for being assholes. Butters still has that ornament hanging from the ceiling in his room above his bed. It makes me so happy. And I still have that picture sitting on my desk. What do you know? It's Yule again. Our anniversary. A holiday and a half is today. To think that a simple snowball fight ignited all those feelings that I'd been denying. It all works out in the end.

"Kenny?" Butters calls from downstairs. I turn to the door to hear him better. "Come on, Kyle's going to be mad if we miss that party he's throwing!" Guess who got most of his self-esteem back? I can't believe I'm being told what to do by quiet little Butters. I guess he isn't all that quiet now though. I grab my jacket and throw it on; making sure the hood's tight on my head, before hurrying downstairs. I reach the bottom step and am greeted with a small peck on the lips. I smile and we leave quickly. This Yule, we're celebrating Hanukah with Kyle and the rest of our friends. I'll still find time for my little Butters though. Yes, once upon a December, we got together. And on a new December, two years later, we're still together.

A/N: The fluff is killing me. It may not seem a like a lot to you, but this is really my first time writing such a fluffy story. All of my stories are either angst, tragedy, drama or humor. I don't have any real romance. But here is the fluffiest story I ever written and it's blinding. I can't believe I came out with something so damn fluffy. You people better like it.

I wasn't sure how to end it, that's why it sounds so fucking lame. And I'm sure it's rushed. And I'm sure it sounds really weird. But that's the best that I have and I wanted it to be a one-shot instead of a really short, two chapter story. Besides, it's got Yule in it. Who doesn't love Yule?

Happy Yule, peeps. Make my day and send me reviews for my present. I like nice warm reviews, straight out of the computer. I don't mind getting flames, if anyone wants to send me some. I could use some coal in my stocking this year. Hey, no one's perfect. XD