Chapter Text
The last bell of the school day was just about to echo across the linoleum floored halls while Craig Tucker made his way through the school in his usual, mundane way. He always prepared himself for that glorious sound, bringing much needed relief from the pains of U.S. history. Today, he even managed to slip out of class a minute early, while the teacher was writing the next homework assignment on the board. Craig was sure everyone in the room heard the door click closed, but no one bothered to call him back into the room. In fact, he thought he heard Clyde and Token exchange excited whispers. They knew what he was up to.
The yellow puff of fabric on his chullo hat bounced as he strode through the empty labyrinth of South Park High School. This was a rare treat for him, to walk in silence before the chaos of swirling, blabbing adolescences, who were overexcited for the practically nonexistent weekend. Craig would usually scoff at the thought, but today, he joined their eager ranks. He had something to look forward to...hopefully.
The piercing shrills of the bell finally broke the stillness of the air, leaving its vibrations hanging in the atmosphere. It only added to the pure energy of the swarming students stampeding out of their prison-like classrooms. Shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, Craig refused to walk any faster. Soon, he was consumed by waves upon waves of teens talking about drinking, parties, and hook-ups. There was a strong urge within the boy to flip them all off, yet he suppressed it when he remembered his intended destination. He was not about to let this cyclone of dorks affect him. Only one dork could.
Indifference was plastered on his face as he finally elbowed his way to a familiar looking locker. It was banged up around the edges, for it was repeatedly smashed closed by a certain twitchy, coffee addict. It was a miracle that the iron hinges were still intact.
The corners of his mouth lifted ever-so-slightly. The locker was just as disheveled as the owner. And speaking of the owner, he was no where in sight. Craig leaned his shoulder against the metal, trying to keep his nerves under control. It was strange; nerves were never a problem for him until they started “going out” a few weeks ago. Sure, it was for good of the town, but somehow, things still felt different.
Bright spikes of blonde hair caught his eye. Tweek Tweak made his way towards the locker, not noticing that his “boyfriend” was there, waiting for him. He was in his own world, probably worried about a problem that wasn’t really a problem. His whole body lurched when he finally saw the brunette, and he let out an involuntary, “Gah!”
“Whoa, Tweek. You look more stressed than usual,” Craig observed calmly, his nasal tone as level as ever.
Tweek clenched his teeth in response, unsure of how to approach the situation. He stood and stared for a minute, then took a deep, quivering breath. Feet stepped tentatively closer while shaking hands entered his locker combination. His voice seemed to catch in his throat as he attempted to explain, “I-I wasn’t expecting you. Th-That’s all.”
Craig’s brow furrowed, “Oh?”
“You…you know. To…ngh…be standing around my locker,” Tweek seemed genuinely caught off guard by Craig’s presence.
The taller of the two found that somewhat endearing, “Well, I am your boyfriend, so I guess you’re stuck with me.”
Tweek looked at him out of the corner of his eye, the tips of his ears glowing bright red, “R-Right.”
Craig remained quiet, taking in the bustling hallway in front of him. Bystanders would curiously glance at them from time to time, accompanied giddy giggles from some of the girls. Normally, he wouldn’t be bothered by this. However, a heated flare in his chest made him want to shield Tweek from the prying eyes. They were only another source of pressure for the poor spaz. And, Craig really didn’t want him to feel pressured right now. Not when he was about to ask him something potentially upsetting.
The silence from the expressionless boy was unnerving, so Tweek struggled to rekindle their conversation, “Um…was there something you wanted to talk about?”
Craig jerked, startled from his thoughts by the hesitant question. His fight or flight instinct kicked his brain into overdrive, and he blurted, “Do you wanna come over and spend the night?”
That didn’t go as planned. Damn, he thought, shaking his head at himself.
An immediate reaction could be seen in Tweek’s dilated pupils. They grew as large as saucers as he practically screamed, “What?! Gah! To-Tonight?”
“Yup, my parents are out of town,” Craig replied coolly.
Another question spouted from the blonde, “At your house?”
Another reply was uttered from the brunette, “Yeah.”
Full realization smacked Tweek upside the head, “Just you…and me?”
Craig was tired of answering at this point in the game of 20 questions, so he simply nodded.
Shoving his head into his locker, Tweek wailed, “GAH! Oh god!”
It was so loud that Craig glanced around the hallway to see if anyone heard. People would for sure think that something was wrong, and Craig did not want another heartbreak episode, like the one that accompanied their fake breakup. He let out a sigh of relief as he discovered the hallway had emptied out. Looking back to his boyfriend, he reassured him, “Dude, it’s just a sleepover. We’ve had them before.”
His head remained buried in the metal cubby, “Yeah! But that was with Clyde and Token, too!”
“If it’s too much pressure, let’s just not,” Craig sighed, defeated. His attempt at covering up his disappointment failed. His tone betrayed him and blatantly gave it away.
Tweek paused, then started removing his head from the locker with a melancholy expression that made Craig want to shove his words back into his mouth. Gradually, he looked down to floor while he admitted, “I…I don’t sleep.”
Craig snorted, “Who sleeps at a sleepover?”
“You do, Craig. When we had them at Token’s house, you’d always be the first one to pass out during the movie,” Tweek stated with a matter-of-fact attitude.
Craig was taken aback, stunned by the fact that Tweek had been that observant of his actions, “I won’t do that. I promise.”
Tweek wasn’t convinced. With neutral expression, Craig added another piece to his argument, “Look, sleep isn’t mandatory. It’s fine if you don’t.”
A lost puppy-dog face graced the blonde’s features, “But…sometimes…I want to…”
The tinge of sadness in his voice made Craig grimace. Tweek didn’t seem to be bothered by his lifestyle most of the time, but in this moment, he sounded sincerely frustrated by his screwed-up sleep schedule. Craig’s stomach twisted, feeling guilty for having been horribly oblivious to this during their many years of friendship.
“Maybe I could help?” he offered suddenly.
Tweek hiccupped, stunned by the proposal, “What?”
Craig’s voice never wavered, but his heart increased its pace, “I’d like to try and help you sleep.”
“H-How?” Tweek croaked.
With more conviction, Craig clarified, “Well, I have some ideas, but we can worry about that later.”
“O-Ok…but I also have to work at the coffee shop today…” Tweek’s face fell, expecting the plans to be called off.
“That’s no problem, just come over when you get off.”
“That’d be around 6. You’re still sure?” Hope returned to Tweek’s eyes.
Craig merely replied, “Yeah.”
The giddiness in Tweek’s voice was barely concealed as he started to scamper down the hall, “I-I…guess I’ll see you then.”
“It’s a date,” Craig yelled after him, laughing to himself as he saw the blonde visibly jump at the word date.
Craig was lying. He had no ideas. He didn’t know what he was talking about.
Sleep came so naturally to him, he just took it for granted. He had no techniques or anything. All he had to do was lay down and close his eyes. It wasn’t hard. He wondered why it was such a problem for Tweek, even with all the coffee he drank. Shouldn’t his body be used to it by now?
As soon as he got home, Craig rushed upstairs and frantically searched for his laptop. He was going to do the one thing the school system taught him to do well. Rely on the internet for answers.
Google became the almighty god of knowledge when it came to homework and essays, so why not this? It wouldn’t hurt to do some research.
Turning to his alarm clock, he took note of the time. 3:27pm was displayed in lively blue LED lights. He had a little less than three hours before Tweek finished work. Plenty of time.
He quickly recovered his computer from underneath a pile of dirty clothes and tossed it on top of his bed. The task of cleaning his room was then added to his mental check list. Maybe ordering a pizza, too?
Focus, asshole, Craig scolded himself while he opened the laptop. The first thing he typed was: How to help someone sleep.
Lists upon lists of things popped up within thirty seconds. Meditation, white noise, aroma therapy, exercise, supplements, sleep aids, and calming music were just a few of the options that Craig could pick from. All the choices became overwhelming, until one caught his attention. The article’s title seemed out of place in the vast expanse of the search results, and maybe that’s what intrigued him. He had never clicked on a link so fast.
Hypnosis and Sleep.
Craig was somewhat confused by these words used together. He thought hypnosis was simply used to make people do things. He had even seen a hypnotist show a few years back, and it was hilarious. People from the audience went up on stage and did some pretty crazy stuff. The hypnotist had them all dance like no one was watching, act like farm animals, and race imaginary race cars against each other. One guy even forgot his own name.
Craig was curious. How the hell would that relate to sleep?
Hungry for answers, he started reading:
Hypnosis is the process of inducing a subject into a trancelike state that resembles sleep, in which the subject becomes highly suggestible. Even though it sounds like something exotic or foreign, hypnosis is a very natural state of consciousness that everyone experiences daily. Zoning out while watching tv or daydreaming are some familiar examples.
Under hypnosis, the subject becomes relaxed and even more aware of themselves and the world around them. They remain fully conscious; however, the hypnotist can make suggestions that encourage actual sleep.
The hypnotist can use several techniques to create a hypnotic trance such as visualization, breathing, body awareness exercises, and eye fixation.
It was complicated, but nonetheless it sounded like it could work. The again, it seemed like it would work for the average person. Tweek was certainly not average. Craig couldn’t see him agreeing to something like this, being the paranoid bundle-of-nerves that he was.
He sighed, figuring that this was a lost cause. His cursor was about to exit the site when his eyes scanned a sentence that changed his mind.
The subject will be able to make decisions for themselves, and the hypnotist cannot force the subject to do anything they are not comfortable with.
Perhaps that would reassure Tweek that nothing bad would happen. He’d be in control of himself the whole time. Craig found a certain solace in this, too. He didn’t want to control Tweek, he just really wanted to aid him, to feel like he was doing something useful. He had never been very good at comforting people or anything of that nature. Yet, he felt like this was doable. There were approaches he could use and strategies to follow. It was like a math problem that was already solved.
Craig spent the rest of that afternoon typing away on his laptop keyboard, researching and creating his own way to help his boyfriend get the rest he deserved.
6:15pm. The neon lights of his alarm projected 6:15pm already.
Craig still hadn’t moved from his laptop when he heard a door bell chimed “Ode to Joy” in the downstairs living room. He practically hurled his computer off himself, screaming in his head Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.
All thoughts of hypnosis immediately shot out of his head.
With a panicky huff, he kicked as much of his dirty laundry he could fit underneath his bed and rushed down the stairs. He then flew through the living room, almost running into the doorway before he skidded to a halt. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open.
Snowflakes were falling outside in icy flurries, and Tweek, tousled and shivering, stood before him. His hands were clasped together, fingers nervously tugging at each other as he waited to be asked in. He must’ve run from the coffee shop to Craig’s house, for he was slightly out of breath and lacked the proper coat for the winter cold. The green Tweak Bros. apron with his name tag attached was still draped around his neck.
Craig’s neutral mask was close to breaking. Tweek looked really…cute.
He swallowed hard, ignoring his thoughts on Tweek’s appearance, “Hey, dude.”
“H-Hey,” Tweek’s shivers were becoming more intense as a gust of frigid wind encircled his thin figure. Craig fell out of his stupor, seeing that he made his guest wait in the cold for nearly over 10 minutes. He backed up quickly and gestured to the living room.
As Tweek shuffled into the heated house, Craig asked, “How was work?”
Snowflakes melted into the fabric of Tweek’s shirt, making him quake a little more, “Busy, St-Stressful, but a least I get to be around coffee.”
Craig chuckled, “Glad to see you look on the bright side sometimes.”
“Eh, I try,” Tweek gave a tiny smile back.
Looking him up and down, Craig noted, “You didn’t bring anything.”
“Gah! What was I supposed to bring?!” Tweek shouted, bringing a shaking hand to grip onto his blonde tresses.
His panic was beginning to amuse Craig, “Like what you’d usually bring to Token’s house?”
Tweek’s screams became higher in pitch as he responded, “We haven’t had a group sleepover for almost a month now! How am I supposed to remember?!”
Monotone as ever, Craig offered a solution, “Dude, not a big deal. Just borrow some of my pajamas and maybe share my toothbrush if you don’t want to skip brushing tonight.”
“Your pajamas? Your toothbrush?! Oh, god! That’s too much pressure,” Tweek was on the verge of pulling a tuff of hair out of his scalp, watching Craig nonchalantly walk up the stairs. Then, he was alone in the living room. His thoughts started to pound against the walls of his cerebrum. Did I do something wrong? Was it something I said? What is he doing?
Two minutes later, Craig descended the staircase with a bundle in his hands. He walked up to Tweek and shoved it unceremoniously into his arms, “Go to the upstairs bathroom and change into these. They just came out of the dryer, so they’re nice and warm. I’ll be down here if you need anything, ordering a pizza.”
Tweek looked dumbfounded for a moment, “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Then it was Craig’s turn to look befuddled, “Because I like you.”
That answer only seemed to confuse Tweek more, but he nodded anyways, trekking upstairs like Craig told him to in his now soaking wet clothes. Craig didn’t think much of his answer, but then he started to ponder it as he sat down on the couch and dialed Pizza Hut. He just said he liked Tweek, and that was true, but he wasn’t really sure if he liked Tweek in that way.
“Whatever…” he mumbled into the phone receiver, not wanting to overthink it. He really just wanted to hang out with Tweek tonight. That was the main reason he wanted him over. Now that they were officially “together”, whatever that meant, he had an excuse to have a sleepover, just the two of them. If they didn’t have that new label over their relationship, then the whole gang would want to come, too. Not that that was a bad thing. It had just always prevented him from getting to know Tweek on a more personal level. They didn’t talk very much, up until now.
While he was ordering a large half cheese, half Hawaiian pizza, Tweek hopped down the stairs in a fleece button-up with matching pants. A black and blue pattern adorned it, and the sleeves and pantlegs were just an inch too long for him. He sat down nervously next to Craig, who did a double take as soon as he saw the spaz. Seeing Tweek in his pajamas made his heart flip into his throat. He lost his power of speech until a voice on the receiver slurred a half-hearted, “Are you there, sir?”
“Yeah, yeah…” Craig blinked, and turned back to the phone. Once he was done confirming the order, he sighed and said, “Should be here in 30 minutes.”
Tweek cast his gaze to the floor, “Do I look silly in these?”
“No!”
God, no. You look great.
Craig’s loud protest left his mouth quicker than he would have liked. Tweek sat wide-eyed, a little startled by the boy’s shout. Craig almost never raised his voice.
“I mean, I just never see you in blue. It looks good on you,” Craig sheepishly grinned.
Unexpectedly, Tweek giggled, “If I wear blue, will you smile like that more?”
Craig raised an eyebrow, “Huh?”
Tweek looked as if he just grasped how weird his question was, twitching self-consciously as he explained, “You have a nice smile, but you rarely show it.”
“Hm…I guess I don’t…” Craig nodded in contemplation, “But when I do, I think it’s more than just a color that makes me smile, Tweek.”
Not wanting to pry, Tweek feigned understanding, “Oh…”
In front of the two boys was a tv set on top of a two-drawer dresser. Looking to change the subject, Craig sauntered over to it and opened the top drawer, which was stuffed to the brim with DVDs, “Wanna watch a movie?”
“Sure!” Tweek was thankful that Craig always knew how to avoid awkward silence.
Then Craig inquired, “Which one?”
The thankfulness was swiftly replaced with apprehension, “I-I can’t pick! That’s too much pressure!”
“Tweek, it’s just a movie, and you’re my guest. Of course, you’re going to pick it,” Craig informed blandly.
“But, Craig—”
“I’ve seen them all at least twice. No wrong choices,” Craig jogged over to the seated boy and took his hand, coaxing him over to the drawer in order view his movie collection. Tweek peaked inside and saw that the assortment was just as extensive as Netflix and Hulu combined. He breathed, “This drawer is bigger than it looks.”
Craig chuckled at the boy’s wonder, “Yeah. Take your time.”
Tweek spent the next half hour scouring the array of films. There was an insane amount of pressure squeezing the back of his head, to find the perfect movie. By the time his shaky fingers snatched the one from the selection, he caught the scent of Italian cuisine in the air. Whirling back to the couch, he saw that it was covered in blankets and pillows, and the pizza was already laid out on top of the table. He must’ve spent more time deciding than he thought.
Craig was coming down the stairs with some more pillows in tow, dressed in a pajama set like Tweek’s, but with a pattern of stars and spaceships instead. Tweek sucked in his breath, trying hard to curb his laughter. It was a surprisingly childish outfit for someone like Craig to wear. Those look…cute on him.
Pillows flew onto the couch as the brunette questioned, “Finally choose one?”
“Oh! Yeah…” Tweek timidly held out the movie in front of him.
Craig smirked, “Guardians of the Galaxy?”
Tweek’s fingers tightened around the DVD case in fear, “Wh-What, is that one bad?”
Craig gently took the movie from him, “Nononono, it’s perfect. I just didn’t expect you to choose it.”
“Why not?” Tweek quipped, falling back onto the couch with a plop.
“It’s action/superhero/sci-fi all in one. It just seems like you wouldn’t be into that,” Craig smiled as he pushed the disc into the player.
Tweek busied himself, effectively tangling himself in a multitude of blankets, “I heard it was good, but I never got the chance to see it.”
“You don’t get out much, huh,” Craig commented.
“Nope,” Came the muffled reply. Tweek had thoroughly cocooned himself in at least four blankets.
Craig sat next to the bundle of fluff, peeling away the layers of fuzzy material until he found his boyfriend’s face, “Need some help there?”
“Maybe…”
Adept hands unraveled the knots the blonde twisted around himself. Gradually, Tweek was freed from his cozy prison, only to fall clumsily against his rescuer. Arms intertwined in an uneasy embrace, and they came nose to nose with one another. Time stopped for only a moment as they saw the shock in each other’s eyes. They could feel the other’s breath on their lips. Scarlet hues bloomed against both boys’ cheeks as they anxiously pushed away from each other.
Shit, Craig thought.
Fuck, Tweek brooded.
“Let’s um…start the movie?” Craig suggested, unnerved by the interaction.
Tweek simply nodded, shaken by the ordeal as well.
Neither wanted things to become awkward between them. Especially not because of something as trivial as dating. But things were complicated now. And, neither knew how to fix it.