Chapter Text
When Stan first met Wendy he was so sure she would be his soulmate. He didn’t have a care in the world when he was with her. She had beautiful black hair and pretty eyes with a strong personality. After he got over throwing up near her he the boy was certain everything would be perfect.
For a bit it certainly was. Wendy agreed to date him and the two dated for a while. Stan swore he would always love her, and at first Wendy and him certainly were happy. Then in 7th grade the two had started fighting over nothing. Wendy had become irritable with Stan and the two continued an on and off again relationship for the next year or so. When 9th grade rolled around the two had finally found a stable way of existing again and all was well.
That was what the average onlooker would say. Kyle Broflovski knew better though. The ginger had been through everything with Stan and knew what was truly happening. The black haired boy was stuck in a constant spiral every time Wendy so much as yelled at him. Wendy was causing pain to Stan and Kyle couldn’t bear to see his super best friend be upset.
Halfway through 9th grade Wendy got her soulmark. Alone the mark didn’t mean much, but only soulmates had matching marks. Wendy had a pretty outline of a violet flower on the wrist of her arm. Stan had been happy for her- but Kyle knew that Stan was even more unsure about them being soulmates than before. The marks were supposed to represent the couple- a violet flower? No part of that had Stan in it. The black haired boy had fidgeted with his hat while telling Kyle it “felt wrong” to look at her soulmark.
The best he could do though was comfort his friend and make sure he stayed safe till the morning. Truthfully Kyle had a huge crush on Stan and had been crushing on him for years. There was never not a time the ginger could remember that he didn’t love Stan. The two were so close people often thought they WERE a couple. They weren’t- to Kyle’s dismay. Even while he pined for his best friend the boy never once acted out of his own interest. No that would tear him apart.
Stan and Wendy’s relationship was getting worse as the days went by. More and more crying phone calls to Kyle and more and more drunk sobs. After every comfort session the hate in Kyle’s heart for Wendy continued to grow. He knew she could be nice- but who the fuck treats Stan like that? Doesn’t she know how lucky she is to have him love her!
Finally it all came to end one night. Kyle flipped pages in a math book as he studied for an upcoming test. There was always a stupid fucking test coming up- and there was no way he could fail. The ginger mumbled equations under his breath while solving them. Letting out a sigh from exhaustion the boy pushed away from his desk and leaned into the chair.
*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*
Kyle almost fell out of his chair startled by the noise- a loud ‘shit’ tumbled out of his mouth before he steadied himself. Taking a deep breath in the ginger almost ran down the stairs to see who had rudely interrupted his studying. He opened the door and-
“Who the fu- Stan??”
Kyle took a step back in surprise seeing his familiar friend standing outside his house with an almost lost look in his eyes. He wasn’t crying- or at least not at that moment. His eyes were red and puffy clear signs that he had been sobbing.
“H-hey… Kyle.” Stan mumbled out slowly.
Kyle furrowed his eyebrows for a moment almost wondering if Stan was drunk- but there was no smell of alcohol. Stepping forward towards Stan, Kyle slowly tried to reach out for him- before he could lay a hand on Stan’s shoulder the black haired boy crashed forward into Kyle’s arms, hugging him.
Kyle let out a gasp and felt his face heating up. For a moment he was still- confusion growing as the seconds ticked by. He swore Stan could hear his heartbeat from how loud and fast it must be. It was definitely all Kyle could hear, his ears felt like they were ringing for a moment. Still confused Kyle carefully placed his hands around the boy and looked down at Stan with concern.
“Sta-”
“Wendy and I broke up.”
“What? Stan- Oh god I’m sorry!” Kyle stilled before tightening his hug around Stan once again.
“It- I- I broke up with her.” Stan murmured quietly.
Kyle froze for a moment- Stan had never broken up with Wendy before. Even during their on and off again time it was always Wendy who initiated the break up and asked Stan out again. It was one of the biggest reasons Kyle hated Wendy- for dragging Stan around in front of Kyle as if to mock him. It wasn’t like she knew about his crush anyway- no one knew.
“You did? Why- what happened- shit, Stan, come inside!” He cursed under his breath before pulling away and ushering the taller boy inside.
Stan almost tripped while walking into the house causing him to lean on Kyle again. The ginger felt his breath catch in his throat- but didn’t pause his moving. Wrapping an arm around the black haired boy, Kyle led him to the living room couch. It was lucky Kyle’s parents weren’t home- on some stupid date night. Ike was already fast asleep.
“Here- sit down do you need water? Uh shit- fuck-” Kyle had begun to panic watching his super best friend act with so little emotion.
Stan cried every time Wendy had broken up with him. While Stan had clearly been crying- he wasn’t anymore. He wasn’t drunk either- Kyle loved his friend. Kyle quite literally was in love with Stan- but the one thing the ginger hated was Stan’s drinking problem. But here he was completely sober after a break up with Wendy- Having been the one to break up no less!
If Kyle wasn’t so worried he would congratulate Stan- but other priorities came first. Stan seemed a bit lost while Kyle anxiously moved around. He seemed to slowly be coming back to life, but he was still distant. He started answering questions though.
“I’m f-fine. No need for water.” Stan shook his head.
Kyle breathed a sigh of relief at getting a response. He sat down softly on the couch next to Stan and gave him a soft smile. He was certain his face was red, but who had time to care?
“Stan, do you want to talk about it? I know it’s hard-”
“Yes- Yes I do. I just- it was really bad.” Stan sighed, shaking his head before leaning slightly into Kyle once again.
Kyle nodded mutely, letting Stan take the lead in conversation.
“She- Well- I-...” Stan took a breath “We were at her house just- hanging out. She was getting upset for god knows what, and I was overwhelmed- she was threatening to break up with me if I didn’t do something- and I know you’d be disappointed, but it made me stay. I didn’t do what she asked, but I didn’t leave.” Kyle gave a light chuckle at how well Stan knew him. “We argued more- and when I turned to leave she just- screamed? I didn't know she was holding onto my arm so I didn’t understand at first… until..” The boy's voice trailed off.
Kyle blinked confused, “Until..?”
“I got my soulmark.”
“Oh…” Klye softly let out a breath.
Kyle froze for a moment- god of course he did! No wonder he looked so stressed- what other reason would Stan have for finally breaking up with Wendy. Kyle shook himself out of his shock and gave Stan a gentle smile, rubbing Stan’s back slightly as a sign of comfort. This confirmed one thing for Kyle- at least Wendy wasn’t Stan’s soulmate. He didn’t know what he would do if Stan ended up with her. Probably cry-
“We- well… it isn’t- it- our soulmarks are different is what I’m trying to say.
Stan let out a shaky breath before continuing. “It kind of- it gave me a sense of courage to leave her I guess? I don’t know… It’s just- the idea that we were soulmates was so ingrained into my mind… that I couldn’t leave her because we were destined y’know?” Stan looked at Kyle with pleading eyes and was met with a soft nod. “Seeing that we just- weren’t… It made me feel like I could do it- so I did. I left.”
Stan’s eyes started tearing up and again and Kyle almost lunged forward taking Stan into a hug. The ginger held onto the other tightly. He felt his shoulder begin to dampen and he could hear the muffled sobs of the black haired boy. He didn’t respond till a few minutes later when Stan pulled away.
“Can- can I see the soulmark?”
“Why? you wanna see if it matches yours?” Stan teased slightly- his voice still wobbly, but he sounded better.
“Ha-ha Stan! You know I don’t have mine yet-” Kyle shoved Stan slightly “Just want to see it!”
“Fine, fine! It’s nothing much-”
Stan pulled up his sleeve and brandished his soulmark so Kyle could see it. Stan was right about it not being much- it was a black mark that almost looked like a bullet. It had a long black curve that reminded Kyle of a moon sliver surrounding the round part of the bullet. It was small and barely noticeable- but Kyle was stuck staring at it. Something in his stomach turned as he looked at it- something the ginger couldn’t quite place.
“Well?”
Stan’s voice broke through Kyle’s trance- causing him to tear his eyes away from Stan’s mark. He gave a nervous laugh and grinned towards Stan.
“It looks cool! Small- but unique!”
Kyle could have sworn he saw Stan’s face redden- but it was probab;y a trick of the light. Kyle could feel his own face heating up as he realized how close the two boys were. He let out a small squeak and stood up from the couch.
“Hey Stan! Let’s go to my room- it's late and we’ve got school tomorrow-”
“Fine, fine- but I'm not sleeping on the floor!”
Kyle spun around and huffed, “Well I’m not sleeping on the floor! You showed up at 11 on a school night and expected the bed?” While Kyle was giving Stan shit- the ginger was incredibly glad to be the one Stan went to that night.
“Whatever- let’s just both sleep on the bed. It’s still big enough I think-” Stan shrugged his shoulder and pushed past a stunned Kyle.
Kyle had to be dreaming- because no way in hell did Stan suggest them sleeping in the same bed? The two used to do that when they were kids, but had long abandoned the act. Shaking himself out of his thoughts he ran to catch up with Stan. He felt weirdly airy and confused while following his friend.
Stan didn’t seem to be having the same conflicts as he threw his hat and jacket onto a chair and jumped on Kyle’s bed. Kyle more slowly sat down on his bed. Still attempting to understand what was about to happen- before he could even speak or turn to look at his friend he heard snoring.
The dumbass had fallen asleep already- Kyle had to cover his mouth so a laugh didn’t escape. Of course Stan would fall asleep immediately while Kyle had a freak out- For whatever reason Stan’s lack of awkwardness melted away the uncertainty Kyle had. Sure the two were sleeping in the same bed- but it’s not like it meant anything. It clearly didn’t mean anything to Stan anyway.
Kyle folded his body slightly to get comfortable on the bed. While Stan was right that the bed could fit both boys it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable. Kyle had to almost squeeze against Stan before he could get comfortable. By the time he was set he was worried Stan would wake up from his heartbeat. The black haired boy never once moved though- no sign of consciousness.
The ginger couldn’t help as he stared at his super best friend. Kyle would be the first to admit Stan was a very attractive guy. He was the football captain and clearly had the muscles to show it- he wasn’t overly bulky or anything, but in his short sleeved shirts you couldn’t definitely tell. Stan’s black hair had grown into an almost mullet usually hidden by his hat- The tips of his hair was a faded blonde that was leftover from when the boy dyed his hair blonde. It was almost completely gone, but noticeable if you looked for long enough. Even with his eyes closed Kyle could imagine his blue eyes. If Kyle wasn’t so attached to the colour green- he knew the colour of Stan’s eyes would be his favorite.
Kyle felt his face heat up as Stan almost cuddled into the ginger in his sleep. Kyle swore up and down he would explode if the boy moved any closer- despite his frantic thoughts he could feel his eyes slowly drooping from exhaustion. Soon he found himself falling asleep still being drowned in the warmth of his super best friend.