It was a rare sunny day in South Park. School was out for the day, and Craig and Tweek were at Stark's Pond having a picnic. Craig was sitting against a tree, reveling in the sheer amount of food he and Tweek had just consumed. It felt so good to relax like this on a beautiful day. The two boys had needed a break from the other kids, and from their parents.

Tweek was half asleep, sprawled out on the picnic blanket a few feet away from where Craig was sitting. Craig figured he was in a food coma from all the cherry cobbler he'd eaten. He had to laugh at the sight. It was so rare to see Tweek sitting still at all, much less drifting off to sleep right in front of him. Usually his blond friend was caffeinated out of sight, twitching and jittering out of control. Now, he looked peaceful and at ease, with his eyes half-lidded and his mouth stained red. For once, it looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

At that moment, Craig envied him. Tweek was his best friend, and he told Craig everything. Craig knew all his secrets; his dreams, wishes and fears. Even the silly ones, like the underpants Gnomes. To him, Tweek was chronically nervous and even paranoid, but at least he was completely open and unburdened by secrets, or the stress of keeping them. Craig wished he could be the same way. There was one secret he had been wanting to tell Tweek, but never could bring himself to. It had been bothering him for several months now. He wanted to tell his spastic blond friend the truth about how he felt.

About him.

Craig sighed. It was hard, but he couldn't risk losing the one and only person he trusted. At the same time, he felt like he would be robbing Tweek of the one person he trusted. Sometimes it seemed like all they had was each other. The two of them had been best friends since the third grade, and being more than friends could ruin that.

Still, he looked at his friend and wondered, was it really true? Did Tweek really have no secrets? He didn't know if that was even possible, at least for himself. Craig just had to ask.

"Hey, Tweek?"

Tweek sat up slowly, smiling at his friend as he opened his eyes. "Yeah, Craig?"

Craig didn't really know how to proceed with the question. He thought about it for a minute, and decided that he would do it the only way he knew how: By being totally blunt. "What's your deepest, darkest secret?"

After he said it, Craig felt like an ass, asking his best friend what his deepest, darkest secret was out of the fucking blue. He felt like flipping himself off.

Tweek's eyes went wide and he suddenly looked nervous. "My deepest, darkest secret?" He started twitching as badly as ever and trembling uncontrollably. "Oh God. I . . . I don't think I could say it. It's too much pressure!"

Craig felt like an even bigger ass. Why did he have to go and prematurely end his friend's temporary serenity?

Tweek continued. "The kids at school would rip me apart if they knew. GAHH! My parents would never understand. They'd probably hate me forever. I just can't handle that!"

He stopped and took several heaving breaths. Craig looked at his friend. He couldn't remember a time when he'd seen Tweek look more upset, and that was saying a lot. He had no idea what it was that could be so deeply troubling to him. "Tweek, I'm your best friend. Whatever it is, I won't think any less of you for it."

Tweek gazed at him intently. "You . . . you won't?" he asked, his voice quivering.

"Of course not." Craig moved closer to him. "It doesn't matter what it is. I'll do whatever I can to help you deal with it, Tweek. That's what friends do for each other."

Tweek took a deep breath. He looked like he might start crying at any minute now. The words that came were whispered. "I . . . I'm gay."

Craig was stunned. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "What?" he breathed.

"I said I'm gay!" Tweak said out loud, his voice breaking. He looked away, seeming unable to say anything else.

This was even more stunning to Craig. "Well . . ." he said carefully. "Is there someone you like?"

Tweek nodded, still unable to face him. "I really want to tell him, but . . . I don't even know if he likes me back. It's way too much pressure!"

"Oh." Craig figured he probably should have given a better response than "Oh", but he couldn't help it. The way he saw it, Tweek liked someone else. Still, he was Tweek's best friend, and he knew that Tweek deserved the best.

He deserved to have what he wanted, for once in his life.

Sighing, Craig said "Well, the way I see it there are two ways you can tell him. You could just walk right up to him and tell him that you're totally into him. Or, you could do something that leaves no doubt in his mind exactly how you feel."

Tweek turned his eyes to Craig for a minute, then looked away again. For several minutes the two boys sat in silence. Craig was watching Tweek intently. He seemed agitated and nervous, like he often was, but there was something different to it. He seemed conflicted.

Finally, Craig broke the silence. "So . . . who is it?" he asked. "This guy that you like."

Blushing furiously, Tweek once again turned to face his friend. And before Craig knew what was happening, Tweek pressed his lips against his in what was unmistakably a kiss.

The kiss as abruptly as it had started, with Tweek pulling away and leaving Craig in total shock. Craig hadn't been expecting that. Tweek looked at him apprehensively, his entire body trembling, and asked "Do you . . . do you like me back?"

Craig could feel the shock melting in elation as he looked into Tweek's hazel eyes. He answered Tweek's question by pulling him in and giving him a long kiss. This time, he could taste a mixture of coffee and cherries as Tweek forcefully reciprocated.

When they pulled apart, Tweek could feel the anxiety drain out of him. He was still jittering, but instead of looking nervous, the expression he wore was ecstatic. Craig offered him a gloved hand, which he accepted and laced his fingers into. Tweek leaned onto Craig's shoulder, a contented smile spread across his face.

Craig said "Don't worry, Tweek. Your secret's safe with me."

FIN