Chapter 40: From the Start

Sunday, September 13 Year 2

Kyle

Kyle's stomach rolled. Seeing Kenny tucked into his brother's arms made him furious. How could they?! As seconds stretched he realized he had no room to say anything. His anger was unfounded. And as he observed Kenny pressed into Ike, his face out of sight, Kyle realized this wasn't out of the blue. Memories came together; Ike's cryptic words, Kenny's ability to sleep peacefully next to Ike, all of it. The texting.

"I see." And he did. Kyle could feel Stan shift from one foot to another, antsy beside him. "Can we talk now?" Kyle motioned to one of the branching hallways. "I'm sure there's an unoccupied room."

Knowing he was being addressed, Kenny poked his head up and pulled himself out of the embrace. His cheeks were flushed but he glowed with happiness more than embarrassment. He approached and with him Ike, who reached to entwine their fingers.

"I'm coming too."

"I was hoping it could just be us," Kyle gave him a meaningful look before giving one to Stan.

"It's fine," Kenny murmured to Ike just loud enough for Kyle to hear. His brother seemed to disagree and they shared words in a whisper. Finally the blonde walked away victorious, heading to meet Kyle at the start of the hallway. "He said we have five minutes before he joins us."

"Is that necessary?"

The man shrugged.

Finding a room was effortless as the first one they tried was empty. Deciding it would do, they took a seat on the cold cement floor, both staring at the closed door or the water stains on the ceiling, the only other thing to look at besides themselves.

They spent one of their minutes in silence. It was comfortable, both of them gathering their thoughts. Just as Kyle planned everything he wanted to say Kenny spoke up, "Can I go first?"

"Okay." Kyle's heart sped up. Why am I so nervous? It's already over.

"I've always known you liked Stan. It was hard to miss, even when you claimed otherwise." Kenny gave him a small smile and it nearly melted him. "It's nothing to feel bad about, besides, I knew you liked me too." Kenny's face turned bright pink, matching the costume, before his expression crumpled. "I hope you don't regret us…"

"Of course not!" Kyle grabbed his hands. "I will never regret that. I still love you Kenny." He meant it. "But it's different now."

"I noticed." Kenny leaned back into the wall causing his shirt to ride up. Kyle eyed the exposed flesh hungrily for a moment before tearing his eyes away. He still found Kenny incredibly attractive.

"I'm not sure what happened." Kyle confessed. "I think you're gorgeous, and I seriously love you—like I can't imagine my life without you—but at some point I stopped wanting more."

"Is it because of what happened to me?" His voice came out choked and Kyle was sure he was on the verge of crying. To his credit he didn't.

"God no, of course not!" He sat up straighter, hugging the smaller man before he said something awful like calling himself used goods. "I didn't realize it until I saw you together, but you and Ike got really close."

Kenny jerked out of the hug, his face morphed into horror. "I don't even know what that is yet—I mean I haven't had time to address it, let alone my, our feelings—so if you're implying that Ike and I were romantically involved this whole time-" Kenny took a deep breath, nearly at the point of hyperventilating.

"I wasn't! I know you better than that Kenny. Ike too." He helped the blonde to calm down. "I'm sorry, no, that's not where I was going with that."

"Then what were you trying to say?" He was accusatory.

"I'm oblivious. I'm pretty sure my brother has liked you for a long time now and I just never noticed. But it all makes sense."

Kenny's cheeks were back to pink, the color even marring his neck. "He said since he first saw me, but I'm sure that was just physical attraction."

"He never said anything."

"I had no idea either, at least not anything tangible until recently." Kenny brushed back his hair to finger the well worn ear cuff. "I wasn't trying to seduce your brother."

Kyle snorted, before bursting out laughing, "Oh no, I'm sure if anyone was wooing it was Ike. Though I know him too, and it must have killed him to harbor feelings for you and cheer for me at the same time."

"It wasn't just him," Kenny said softly. "I wasn't trying to woo him, as you put it, but I liked his attention. And, if I'm being honest, I'm sure I encouraged him. I never saw him in that way—my mind is still reeling—but now that he's opened my eyes to it…" He touched his lips, his mind caught in a memory.

"I know what you mean. Stan blindsided me with his confession. When… when Wendy died he was forced to reevaluate everything."

"And he realized how stupid he's been?"

"Something like that. I was actually pissed at first, since it felt like he was ruining everything, but I think I was more angry at myself. Maybe if I had reached out to him, let my feelings be known years ago... "

"Then I'd still be living in a cardboard box."

"Kenny."

"Thank you for finding me Kyle. I'm glad it was you."

A quiet moment passed between them as emotions settled. Feels good to finally talk. Should have done it days ago.

"This is just a formality at this point," Kenny said as he reached behind his neck. The chain from around it fell through his shirt and landed in his lap. He removed a copper ring from it and held the locket out. Kyle accepted the necklace, eyes meeting Kenny's. "I'd like to breakup."

Unable to speak, Kyle nodded, cupping the necklace close. Despite this being what he wanted, despite wanting a relationship with Stan, he still found himself crying. As he brushed the liquid aside the door swung open. There was Ike and Stan, both wearing their own expressions of concern. Kyle was pretty sure longer than five minutes had passed. Maybe they were eavesdropping.

Stan walked in and offered a hand, which Kyle gladly accepted. "You okay?" He lightly brushed away the drying tears that were missed.

"Yeah."

"We're okay," Kenny corrected, presenting them a smile. He picked himself up and went to join Ike at the door. "When you're ready, we should probably join the others and talk strategy. Maybe Harry and Brandon can give us some insight."

Kenny

Two steps down the hall and Ike declared, "We should talk too, about us."

"You really think there's an us?"

"There's been an us in my head since that phone conversation."

Kenny didn't have to ask to know it was the one when he was in the hospital. It had meant a lot to him too.

"I swear I tried to keep a distance, because it is a dick move to steal your brother's boyfriend, or crush." Ike grabbed for Kenny's hand which fit nicely together. Ike's arm was only slightly bent because of the height difference and how closely they walked together.

"You sure swooped in like a vulture as soon as the opportunity presented itself."

"You and I both know I 'swooped' long before then." Ike showed no shame. He stopped, halting Kenny in the process. He cupped the blonde's chin with his freehand, his lips pulled into a shit-eating grin. "If I'm a vulture does that mean I can devour you?"

The line was so cheesy, so awful, that Kenny should have laughed. Instead all he could do was stare into those dark eyes and remind himself to breathe. He swallowed. "Don't you think this is too fast?"

"Are you kidding?" Once more their bodies were pressed together. It was a feeling the blonde could get addicted to.

"That did sound kind of lame."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

"I-" Ike planted a kiss on Kenny's lips, kiss after kiss trailing down his exposed neck. Kenny's giggle became a pitched squeal as the soft flesh tickled him. He pushed Ike back to get a word in. "I'm afraid we won't work out." Just like with Kyle. "That the man you think you like doesn't match with reality." I wear a lot of masks. "And that maybe I'm too broken." I still have nightmares about what happened.

Ike reclaimed the distance, tucking Kenny into a hug. "You are not broken, but on days when you feel like you are I'll hold you tight—just like this."

The steady rhythm of Ike's heart and the motion of him breathing was calming. It was like fucking magic.

"I've known you for almost a year now, I have a pretty good idea of what to expect, but I also want to know more about you. And it's okay if reality is different." Ike assured him. "Couples are supposed to learn together, grow together. But in order to do so you'll have to give me the chance."

Kenny clawed at Ike's jacket, pulling back just enough so he could be heard, "I want that."

A smooch landed on his forehead. "So there's an us?"

"There's always been an us."

The heated kiss from before returned, their lips moving frantically. It was hard to tell who was leading the dance, but all Kenny knew was that is made his insides twist pleasantly. He could hear the others approaching but he was too lost in Ike to care.

Someone did an obvious fake cough, followed by, "Wow, get a room."

Ike pulled back and turned to their audience. "Stop watching, perverts."

Kyle sputtered and Stan covered his face denying all claims.

Ike kissed Kenny on the tip of his nose before releasing him. Though not entirely, as their hands remained joined. In the face of teasing Kenny was warm, but surprisingly not embarrassed. He likes Ike's affection. Kyle had never kissed him so passionately before, so openly. And, as far as he was concerned, nothing with Dale counted. Just thinking the name made him feel uneasy, but a brush from Ike's thumb on the back of his hand grounded him immediately.

"Okay lovebirds, let's go figure out our next move." Stan compelled them to move faster.