Secret Santa for @wasabiandi
The snow fell relentlessly, covering every surface with inches upon inches of snow. The roads had long since become impassible. The wind howled with such intensity that it cut through the rusted metal of Kenny’s car. He sat, arms wrapped around himself, forehead against the steering wheel. More than anything, he was glad that Kyle had loaded his cruddy car with blankets, packaged foods, and water. Each bottle had frozen and expanded in a way that would prevent it from ever sitting upright, but it would stave off dehydration for some time. The blizzard had to let up. What he had was enough.
Tired, sore from a long day of work, Kenny looked wearily at his emergency cellphone. Not a single bar. No service. Despite the best efforts of the world’s most dedicated mom-friend, Kenny was stranded. The wicked cold had sucked his sorry excuse for a car battery dry. The messy-haired blonde smiled to himself at the potential euphemism, but did little else. It had been a long time since his car stopped moving. The dinky thing didn’t have a functioning heating system, unless one was to count the billowing steam that would pour out of the engine from time to time.
Despite his drunken, druggie of a father knowing the ins and outs of cars and how to fix them- or how to leave unfinished projects all over the front lawn, adding to the white trash look that Cartman was so fast to point out- Kenny had not been taught how to deal with a broken down car. He’d spent nearly a half an hour opening the hood of the car, digging around in it, and trying to make sense of anything. The biting wind stung his face and the snow fell over the exposed contents of the hood. Dismayed, Kenny slammed the hood of the car and climbed back inside.
With a shiver, Kenny snaked a hand from under the blankets to reach for a Slim Jim. He cracked it open, reveling in the smell of overly processed meat. There was something comforting about it. He ate, watching with trepidation as his car grew darker and darker. The mounds of snow that piled atop it blocked out what little light the cloudy Colorado sky let through. And the daylight had already begun to retreat. Watching the darkness surround him, he felt that the darkness was seeping the warmth from his body. Defiant, Kenny wrapped himself tighter in the blankets.
As time passed, Kenny grew colder and colder. He held his limbs close to his thin body, trying desperately to preserve some warmth. He grew more and more aware of the snow he’d stupidly let soak through his coat as he tried desperately to get the car working again. His thoughts began to spiral into nonsensical things. He dreamed of strange magic and teleportation. For the slightest moment, he felt he was face-to-face with an explanation for his cursed immortality. But all these things were just half-dreams, delusional thoughts controlled by the brutal cold outside. More than anything, he longed for warmth.
Fear began to possess his thoughts, growing more and more prevalent until tears prickled at his eyes. He’d died before. He’d died so many times before. Freezing to death wouldn’t be the worst, but he didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to hear the disgusting, rattling breaths that would choke out of his dying mouth. A sound no man should ever have to hear, but one that he’d heard enough to haunt his dreams on a regular basis. But if he died, at least he’d be out of the cold. He’d wake up in his bed and-
A terrible scratching noise caught his attention, startling him. He sat upright, heart in his throat as the scratching continued. Something hit his windshield, and snow fell in mounds. Was it an animal? Being torn apart by some wild beast... He sunk against the back of the seat, feeling even more trapped than he had moments before. He couldn’t move to get a weapon. The thought never crossed his mind.
Then something far more terrifying caught his attention. Something was prying open his passenger’s side door. Before he had a chance to latch it shut with the bungee cord that kept it from flopping in the wind, it flew open.
“Kenny!” A frantic voice shouted. “Kenny! Are you in there? Are you- oh thank God. Kenny...” Bundled up with all the care and precision only a Jewish mother could enforce, Kyle climbed into the car and pulled the door shut behind him. “You weren’t answering your phone and I thought... Oh man. Oh fuck. Even your lips are blue.” Kyle took off his scarf and wrapped it quickly around Kenny’s face. “How long have you been in here?”
Stunned, he sat staring at the fussing red-head like he was staring at a real life angel.
“Are you okay?” In his novel spoken in a minute, those words cut through.
“Yeah. I’m... I’m... mmhmm...” Kenny spoke, struggling to get his frozen tongue and lips to make the words audible.
“Ken...” Kyle took the gloves from his own hands and placed them against Kenny’s cheeks. With care, he slipped his hand under Kenny’s shirt, feeling his chest and back. The look of concern on his face grew as he took Kenny’s hands in his own. “I’ve got my car right next to yours. It’s got heat. We need to get you in there.” He climbed out of the car and quickly rounded the vehicle.
Before he had a chance to do much more than turn his head, Kyle pulled open the door and wrapped his arm around Kenny and pulled him out of what could very easily have been a tomb on wheels. Struggling far more than he thought he would, Kenny leaned against Kyle as the stumbled through the snow to the SUV that hummed a welcoming hum in the otherwise deafening silence of the snowstorm.
Warmth enveloped the two as they clambered into the back seat of the car only a soccer mom would drive proudly. It did belong to Sheila, and it had been a wise choice. Far better than the hybrid and all that smug bullshit Kyle tripped through. The SUV was far more practical, especially when the baseball team needed to carpool to the pizza place. Or the games. The games were important. Far more important than the pizza that followed. Totally.
Kenny lay flat on his back, absolutely loving the idea of heated seats. Instead, the warmth made his entire body tingle in the worst of ways. The warmth trying to etch into his frozen fingertips felt like thousands of needles jabbing him with no remorse. He shut his eyes, trying not to let the pain of every limb and digit aching with the cold. His mind began to drift again. Somehow, the heat seemed to refuse to enter his body.
Watching his weakened friend with frenzied worry, Kyle began to undress the under-dressed blonde before him. His coat was wet with snow. His heartbeat was far too slow. And now he appeared to be drifting in to unconsciousness. He knew little about differentiating the levels of hypothermia, and this fueled his panic.
“You’re going to be okay.” Kyle spoke, voice choked and broken. Kenny did not respond.
By the time he’d gotten to Kenny’s undershirt, Kyle felt himself hesitate. This all felt so... intimate. Maybe even invasive.
With baited breath, Kyle hovered above Kenny, thoughts racing through his mind at how often he imagined himself with Kenny. He’d admire his tall, lanky build. He’d wonder over the beauty of seeing the quiet, yet utterly charming male transform into a hero that protected the streets from things most people never would see. More than anything, he dreamed of holding Kenny. He lived for their brief interactions.
But his strength was not present now. His quiet was alarming, bothersome. Kyle had to do something, so he removed Kenny’s shirt, gently unbuttoning the uniform shirt he wore under his coat. A heavy blush colored Kyle’s face as he quickly took off his own coat and layers, tossing them to the seat in front of him, and laying down flat, entire body pressed against Kenny’s icy one. Kyle wrapped Kenny in his arms, gently massaging his fingers, toes, and ears. Unconsciously, Kenny pressed himself closer and closer to Kyle.
When Kenny woke, he jumped. Fear from waking in a different spot bothered him. That was immediately eased when he felt a hand rubbing his back.
“You’re okay, dude.” Kyle spoke quietly, still holding Kenny tightly. Kenny rested his face against Kyle’s neck. More and more, his senses came to him. And he realized that he was very much enjoying being shirtless and snuggling with the town’s most blessed asset, Kyle Broflovski. Body still acting on its own, Kenny wrapped his arms around Kyle’s torso, pulling him close.
“More than okay.” He spoke through a cracked voice then smiled. “Maybe I should break down more often.” Kenny teased and touched his head to Kyle’s, watching Kyle’s face for any sign.
Kyle’s warm hands felt wonderful against his neck. Without meaning to, he let out a sigh and felt his tense body relax.
“What the hell were you doing out here in this storm? You’re lucky you didn’t get yourself killed.
“I uh... I had shopping to do.” Kenny stated. Kyle groaned and sat upright, pulling Kenny with him.
“What the hell would you need to go shopping for in the middle of a snowstorm?”” Kyle demanded. Weakly, Kenny sat up and pointed to his own car.
“It’s the first day of Hanukkah, right?”
“Uh.... Yeah. It is.” Kyle responded, obviously confused.
“Well, how’re you going to celebrate if your Menorah is in more pieces than Cartman’s love life.” Kenny grinned and Kyle could not hold back his laughter. Mid-laughter, Kyle gasped and took Kenny’s face in his hands.
“You did all this.... You put your life in danger because... You bought a Menorah...” Kyle could not find the right words. “For me...” Kyle shook his head. “Why? It’s.... no one else....”
As Kyle’s hands fell from Kenny’s cheeks to his shoulders, Kenny gently guided Kyle by the chin with one hand, the other to hold him close. What he wanted to say was:
I would do anything for you. You are the reason I get out of bed in the morning. There is a constant fire in your eyes that I love.
Instead, Kenny grinned and pulled Kyle forward. He brushed his lips against Kyle’s and waited for a response. Had he just destroyed his most dear friendship? He’d gone way too fast. Kenny’s heart all but stopped.
Still eye-to-eye, Kyle leaned in and kissed his nervous friend.
“You think we could... uh...”
“Fuck?” Kenny wiggled his eyebrows.
“No! God dammit, Kenny.” The two kissed once again and laughed,
Kyle took in a deep breath, averting his eyes, but not moving from the position Kenny held him in.
“Do you think we can be... you know. Be together?” Kyle waded, his voice filled with nervousness..
“I’d love that.” Kenny spoke quietly and released Kenny’s hat and bag. The two sat silently. Holding each other and smiling until the snow stopped And neither had the slightest chill or shiver as they sat wrapped in each other’s arms. Years of fantasies finally coming true.
