Sorry for taking so long. Hope everyone is safe.

—

The point of views will switch back and forth in some parts.

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When Tweek felt a crippling anxiety taking over, he forced his body to move and to walk fast. Not once did he turn back to see Craig, even when he heard his name called. As his eyes watered and his nose bled, Tweek felt ungrateful and ridiculous. Worst of all, he was crushed that Bradley was able to send him to a place where he was losing control. Tweek had been so happy the last couple of days, and he shattered in a matter of minutes.

"Tweek!"

When Tweek heard Craig's upset voice directly behind him, he couldn't convince himself to turn to him, especially after running away. When he felt Craig tap his shoulder, he felt as though the world around him was forcing him into a box. Tweek could no longer stand on his feet, so he lowered to the ground, wrapping his arms around his legs before burying his face into his knees.

Tweek was having a panic attack. He recognized the feeling that left his heart racing to the point where he was paralyzed. The first time he had experienced such a crippling feeling was when he learned that Craig didn't want to be his friend anymore. The news of the end of their friendship was so damaging that his mother would not leave his side, fearing Tweek would hurt himself.

Tweek hasn't had a panic attack since high school when Bradley made a fool of him. Worst of all, the only person that was able to help him through it was gone. Tweek couldn't breathe.

"Tweek, what's wrong?" Craig asked, his voice trembling as he crouched down hesitating to touch him again.

Tweek could hear Craig's voice. He was so embarrassed, which didn't help the situation. It only caused his chest to race fast and faster.

"Wtf is wrong with him?" Clyde asked.

"Is he okay?" Token asked Craig.

"It's called a panic attack," Bradley said, his tone played between amusement and empathy.

"What did you do?" Craig asked.

"Me? Why would this be my fault?" Bradley replied.

"Because you were just with him, that's why!" Craig growled.

Tweek felt Craig stand, before disappearing from his side. Craig moved so fast it was almost like he was never there.

There was a huge commotion, everyone begging Craig to stop. When Tweek opened his eyes to look, Craig's friends had just dragged him off of Bradley. All while Kenny and Kyle pulled Bradley the other way. When Tweek saw that Bradley's nose was bleeding, he cried. Tweek didn't want them to fight, especially for him. When Tweek's heart felt like it was being squeezed, and he couldn't catch his breath, he pressed his face back into legs.

"You really need to work on your fucking aggression Craig!" Bradley shouted, wiping his bloody nose.

"I have every intention to work through it using your fucking face as my punching bag!" Craig snapped back.

"You are more focused on fighting me for no reason, by the way, and yet Tweek is dealing with his panic attack alone. Do you know who used to help him when he suffered through this? His mom, who's gone," Bradley shouted.

Craig paused and turned back to Tweek. He removed Token, and Clyde's hold on him and walked over to Tweek, crouching down next to him and gently placing a hand in his shoulder. Craig's voice was soft when he asked, "Are you okay?" When Tweek didn't respond, Craig sat in front of him, using his hand to cover Tweek's ears to block out the noise around them.

"You guys should go," Craig told them, his voice trembling. Craig wasn't sure what he could do to make things better but knew he could never leave him.

"What about class? We need to get to class?" Clyde said, irritated.

"The fuck?! Are you serious?" Craig snapped. When Clyde didn't reply, he continued. "Don't ask stupid questions, go!"

"Are you sure?" Token asked him.

"Yes, take that fool with you," Craig said before pointed to Bradley. "Or I swear to God, I will hurt him."

"You can't make me go anywhere," Bradley argued.

As Token was passing him, he grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away. Bradley tried to break from his grip, but Clyde grabbed him as well. When the crowd disbursed, and all was left were him and Tweek and the cold air. Craig slightly opened his hands to ask Tweek if he was okay.

Craig's heart ached as he watched Tweek's face press tightly into his knees. It took everything in him to control the rage growing inside when all he wanted to do was beat the shit out of Bradley. Still, Bradley was right about one thing, helping Tweek was most important.

"Tweek, I'm here," Craig whispered, using his the tip of his fingers to massage the back of Tweek's head without uncovering his ears. There was so much he still didn't know about Tweek.

When did Tweek start getting panic attacks? Tweek never had them when they were friends in elementary. Suddenly a sickening feeling latched on to Craig's heart, and he wondered if his panic attack stemmed from when he distanced himself from Tweek.

Craig took a deep breath, his heart was aching, his body cold, and it didn't help that he sat in the ground, patiently waited for Tweek to respond. When Craig pressed his head lightly ontop of Tweek's, he felt Tweek lift his head upwards slightly.

When Craig got a good look at Tweek's face, he was surprised to see that his nose had been bleeding. One again, it took everything in him to not find and beat the shit of Bradley. Instead of showing Tweek that he was angry, Craig forced a smile and rubbed Tweek's hair, and softly said, "Let's go home, I'll buy some peppermint tea and make it for you."

When Tweek nodded, Craig carefully helped him to his feet and walked him to the car. When Tweek sat, Craig reached over to help him with his seatbelt.

As they drove to the supermarket first, Craig hesitated to get out of the car. He didn't want to leave Tweek alone, and he didn't want to force him to follow him either. Still, Craig had promised him peppermint tea, something Tweek used to share with his mom, and Craig couldn't go back on his word. So Craig hurried in and out.

Tweek's face was the way it was when Craig left, his eyes staring endlessly out the window almost as if wasn't there. As Craig turned on the ignition, he heard Tweek's voice call him.

"Craig," Tweek called softly.

Craig was so happy to hear his voice, but he couldn't overlook how sad it sounded and felt to his heart.

"Hm?" Craig replied.

"You have class, Craig," Tweek told himself.

Craig smiled, "I'm not worried. Let's talk when we are at home."

For as long as Tweek has known Craig, Craig has never missed class or skipped school, so deep down, Tweek was worried that he was becoming a bad influence on him. Tweek wanted to protest, but he wasn't sure how he would when every breath felt painful.

When Tweek turned at stared at Craig's beautiful profile, he wondered if he made the right decision by allowing himself to be involved with him. Craig had always been out of his league, but Tweek still dreamed.

As Tweek thought back to why he was in this situation to begin with, Tweek found that it was inevitable. The person he has always loved, after all these years, sees him, and it was the best and the worst feeling because Tweek doesn't know what to expect going forward. He never had a good example of what a real relationship looked like other than his parents, so he wasn't sure what was next between him and Craig. Could Bradley be right?

Tweek's chest tightened at the thought of someday being dismissed by Craig. What will he do? It's easy for him to say he will be okay, that he can move forward, but the truth was Craig was it. He didn't want anything else if not him, and what was left to live for if Craig hated him again?

"When will Craig hate me again?" Tweek asked himself as tears dripped from his eyes.

"We are home," Craig said softly, breaking Tweek out if his thoughts.

Tweek had been lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that they were in the garage.

Tweek thought of Craig's use of home that was inclusive of him. It made Tweek very happy to hear it each time. Tweek felt apart of something more than just having a roof over his head. It was like having a family again. So the idea that Craig would one day move on made him realize that home was with Craig, and without him, he had nothing. Tweek couldn't breathe.

When the door open next to him, Tweek could see the worried looked on Craig's face. Such a beautiful face.

"When will Craig hate me again?" Tweek asked, tears pouring down his face as he took in Craig's beautiful face, all while Bradley's words echoed in his head.

Tweek was sure that when Craig breaks his heart, he will ask him to leave. So if Tweek couldn't have Craig's heart, he could be by his side either. In the end, there will only be Bradley left. Should he save himself the heartache and go be with Bradley?

Despite how shitty Bradley would treat him, Tweek knew Bradley was possessive enough to give him a bed to sleep in, in exchange for intimacy. Tweek shut his eyes and thought, "Sex with Bradley is painful, but it was also fast so I will recover." As the second wave of panic hit him, he shut his eyes.

Craig

"Tweek," Craig reached into the car to cup his face. "Let's go inside," Craig said, unsure what to do to help. Craig's heart just hurt so much that even he was on the verge of tears.

When Tweek shook his head, Craig kneeled and thought of what to do. When he stood up, he closed the door and got back into the car and drove to a drive-thru Starbucks. Craig ordered coffee and peppermint tea before driving to South Park National Park and parked the car.

Craig was cold. There was old snow on the ground and flurries that started to fall from the sky. It wasn't the best time to be out. However, this was all Craig could come up with. If Tweek wasn't ready to go in, then fresh air was probably what Tweek needed.

Craig opened the door and didn't say anything as he unbuckled Tweek's seat belt and helped him out of the car. Tweek didn't fight him, but he did watch him with sad eyes.

When Tweek started to look around, Craig's heart was pounding when the sadness on Tweek's face started to fade away as if he just recognized where they were.

When Tweek's eyes spotted the lake, Craig smiled, remembering they used to play there when they were young. Craig went into the car and took the tea and the coffee out.

"Peppermint tea or coffee, which one do you want?" Craig asked him.

To Craig's surprise, Tweek grabbed the peppermint tea. When Tweek took a sip, Craig was happy.

Craig took Tweek's hand and walked with him. As much as Craig hated the cold, he knew Tweek liked it, so he sucked it up. With every passing breeze, Craig could feel Tweek tight hold loosing, and his breathing calm.

As much as Craig wanted to know what happen, he knew asking now could trigger another attack, so he will wait. As Craig walked with him down a path he felt Tweek tug on his hand to go towards the lake.

Craig was trying to avoid the lake because of how much cold he knew it would be. However, the moment Tweek expressed going even with his silence, there was no way Craig could say no. When they got to the lake, Tweek let his hand go so that he can stand close to the frozen water.

Craig stood back to give Tweek space. When his phone started to beep, Craig looked and saw that it was his friends reaching out. Craig ignored them and muted his phone.

When Tweek turned around, he had a smile that touched his eyes, and Craig melted. Craig was so happy to see Tweek smile that he walked over and stood next to him.

"My mom brought me here every time, I had a panic attack," Tweek said, as tears ran down his eyes. "She would make me peppermint tea, and we would sit and look at the water. Thank you, Craig."

Craig's eyes watered. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. When Tweek wiped Craig's face, Craig thought it was beautiful that Tweek could wipe his tears before his own.

Craig brought Tweek's forehead to his lip and kissed him. When Tweek shut his eyes, Craig wanted time to stop. He knew he could live in this moment forever.

When Tweek pulled away, he held Craig's hand before taking a sip of tea. After a deep breath, Tweek asked, "Are you sure you won't be upset if you missed the rest of your classes?"

"Nope. I'm already rich. I'm in school because it was my grandparent's wish," Craig said smugly.

When Tweek laughed, Craig was confident that they would be okay.

"We played here with Clyde, Token, and Jimmy when we were younger," Tweek spoke.

"Remember how much we hated Stan and his gang?" Craig asked.

Tweek grinned. "They were so full of themselves. Stan thought the world revolved around him. Kyle acted as if he cared, but he was no different from Stan. Eric was a sociopath, and Kenny was the only normal one."

Craig turned to Tweek with his eyebrow raised. He was shocked to hear Tweek speak without holding back. It was the second time Craig wondered what would Tweek's personality be like if they didn't fight. Tweek was so beautiful to Craig. He wondered if Tweek would have grown up smug and confident and became entirely out of Craig's reach, especially if Craig realized or accepted his feelings for him. As sad as the thought was, in the end, Craig would just want for Tweek to be happy.

"It's good to see that you guys are friends now," Tweek said sadly.

"I'm surprised too because I hated them, always getting into trouble and dragging the rest of us with them. I think in high school, we just understood each other better," Craig replied.

Tweek nodded.

"If I could change the past," Craig started, but Tweek stopped him by kissing his lips. Craig's heart melted.

"I know you would, but if you changed the past, we might not be here, and I just want to be here, for as long as you will have me."

"I'll be here for as long as you are willing to be at my side," Craig said, kissing his forehead again.

"Are you cold," Tweek asked him.

Craig shook his head, lying.

"Can we walk around a little bit more?" Tweek asked sweetly.

Craig nodded. Knowing he would rather freeze to death, then not give him what he wanted.

The drive home was much better than earlier, where Craig felt that even breathing was like walking on eggshells. Tweek was even comfortable enough to turn the radio on but on low.

When they got home, Craig smirked when he noticed Tweek sat in the car waiting for him to open the door for him. When Craig opened the door and saw the cheeky grin on Tweek's face, and he just wanted to punish him later. However, because of what they experienced not so long ago, Craig might just have to punish him in his imagination. Or until Tweek came to him.

Craig took his hand, and together they walked to the elevator. When the doors closed, Tweek pushed his armed though his and hugged him pressing his face into his neck. The way Craig's heart was racing, he was certain Tweek could feel it. Craig held him tightly all the way to their floor.

When they entered the apartment, it was spotless, and the smell of peppermint couldn't wait to push through the door. Craig turned to Tweek and watched as he shut his eyes and just breath. Craig was so glad he asked Anna to come today rather than Thursday.

Craig took off his outwear before turning to help Tweek put his away. When Tweek walked to the kitchen, he picked up a note next to brownies and turned to Craig, trying hard not to laugh. When Craig read the letter, he sighed deeply before putting it down.

Craig Tweek

-FIRE your housekeeper! I have found three great replacements. Let me know when you both are ready to interview them.

-Make sure you both eat the food I've prepared. Don't freeze it! They should be had fresh within the week!

-Could you believe the disrespect I received from that woman who tells me I am in her way?

-I told her she was fire, and you know what she said??? She doesn't work for me! WHAT? I am your mother! She works for me!

-FIRE HER!

-Anyway, I love you! Please bring Tweek home to visit.

"Mom mentioned coming on Thursdays from now on. So I asked Anna to clean today instead so that they can avoid each other. I think my mom is stalking her," Craig said, horrified.

"They're both very lovely, but that day when I was sick, even I felt the hostility between them. What will you do?" Tweek asked.

"Nothing. Anna is wonderful, and my mom is just spoiled."

When Craig took the plastic wrap off the brownie, he handed one to Tweek, and then picked one up to eat.

"It tasted the way I remember," Tweek muttered, emotional.

Tweek

The brownie brought back beautiful memories of his time at Craig's house. As Tweek stared at Craig, he couldn't believe he allowed Bradley to push him into a dark place. It wasn't until Craig had brought him to the park, and he didn't feel like the world was closing in on him, that he was able to think with clarity. Standing by the water with Craig, made Tweek realized that even though his mind was in a dark place, his heart has always been in paradise.

So what if things didn't last forever. Tweek's focus should be staying in a happy place for as long as he could, and then figuring the rest when that time comes. Tweek just hoped that next time he could be strong enough to block Bradley from manipulating him.

When Craig couldn't stop smiling, Tweek's heart fluttered. He was so happy to have this beautiful man's affection.

"What do you want to do since we played hooky?" Craig asked.

Tweek smiled. "Whatever you want."

Craig grinned. If only Tweek knew. "Let's watched a movie," Craig said, turning to go turn on the tv.

Tweek nodded, following right behind him.

"What do you want to watch?" Craig asked.

"Whatever you want," Tweek replied, he really didn't care as long as he was near him.

"If I choose, it is going to be horror. Do you think you can handle that?" Craig teased.

Tweek nodded. He enjoyed horror films as long as he was watching it with someone. When Craig chose IT, Tweek pressed his lips tightly together before going to grabbed a throw cover before sitting.

Craig made popcorn, brought over soda and beer before turning off the lights and closing the curtains. When the apartment was dark, Tweek regretted agreeing to horror. When Craig sat next to him, Tweek pulled the cover to his neck as he leaned into Craig so that they could watch the movie.

Craig

Somewhere along the 2nd movie, Tweek has fallen asleep. Craig wouldn't know which part because he wasn't watching it. His focus the entire time was on the person push up tightly against him, covering his face from fright as he watched the film. Watching Tweek was so much more entertaining.

After IT had terrified Tweek, he requested a second movie to lighten the mood, so Tweek chose a comedy film. Craig agreed, but again Craig was only interested in his veiw below. At some point, Tweek fell asleep in his arms, and Craig couldn't hold him tight enough.

Craig couldn't believe that he was this in love after being together with him for such a short time. It was a scary feeling. With everyone he used to date, after being with them a few times, he would start to notice other women and then plot a way to hook up with them. With Tweek, it was different. Craig wasn't interested in anyone but him.

The girls that would flirt with him, Craig pretended that they didn't exist or that he hadn't noticed their advances. In Craig's eyes, no one he has ever dated could compare to the one in his arms. So when Craig saw Tweek's reaction towards him earlier, Craig was afraid that Tweek might have realized that he hated him after all. Craig doesn't know what he would have done if that was the case.

Part of Craig was dying to know what happened if he had done something wrong. However, Craig knew he must set aside his pride, and the questions would have to wait.

When Tweek looked exhausting even in his sleep, Craig picked him up and carried him to the bedroom, where he laid him gently on the bed. When Tweek continued to sleep uninterrupted, Craig went to clean up the mess.

When the living room was the way they found it, Craig went and checked his phone that he had muted to look at the messages. Craig has many messages from his friend, wondering if Tweet was okay. Craig responded that he was okay before saying goodnight.

Craig placed both their phones on the charger before climbing into bed next to him. When his movements on the bed woke Tweek up, Craig watched as Tweek, with tired eyes, reach for his pants. Craig stopped him, kissing his forehead before laying on top of him.

"Go to sleep," Craig said, kissing his neck. "I'll wake you in the morning."

When Tweek shut his eyes and smiled, Craig had to think about frozen water pouring over him to control his desire to change the expression on Tweek's face.

... "hello,

It's me,"

Sorry, it's taking me so long to get this far. I think I am in a much clearer writing space now. Somehow, during this nightmare of a pandemic, being able to work from home has allowed me to rest and do away with my thoughts of giving up on writing. So I am back — I hope, and I apologize.

I read every email and look at every comment both on the pages and private. Whenever I read the emails, I do feel emotionally sad that I started something that many of you enjoy and couldn't finish it faster.

So Wattpad and Fanfiction readers, thank you for sticking around. Thanks for cursing me out lol, I have never blamed anyone unhappy with me. So I hope you enjoy this first chapter in 2020. I started working on the next chapter, so maybe I'll post it sooner. I realize maybe waiting to get a certain word count per chapter is not a smart move—so I'll post what I write as long as it 3000k words.