Hiraeth Of The Heart (Tweek X Craig)

Chapter 22, Fix You

"SHIT-FUCK!"

I cracked open the front door to my house to hear a distressed voice spitting colorful words, followed up by a vibrating thud.

"Uhh-" I blinked slowly. "Craig?"  I called out in curiosity, my words most likely seeping through every single one of the house's thin walls and into deaf ears.

Once I heard no follow up response to my call, I took slow, cautious steps towards the noise.  Shuffling and clanking still filling the hollows of my ears.  Any other time that I would hear such noises in my apparent empty house, I would break into a full mentally draining panic attack just from the thought of an intruder, but this was different, I knew it was Craig; his presence is suffocating.  Like a snake wrapping around my throat; Constricting.. in more ways than one. Just enough to keep me heaving in strained, uneven breaths.  I stepped past the framed beams leading into the kitchen as the warm light illuminated the edge of the living room dimly.  I let my school bag fall from my shoulders and next to the kitchen entrance, my breath wavering for a moment as I spotted Craig on the kitchen floor, surrounded by stray pots and pans.  He looked.. conflicted.  What a dork. 

"And- What exactly are you doing?"  My voice rang in a soft mumble as I tilted my head purely.  Craig turned to me standing a few feet from him, letting his eyes graze over my entire frame - which isn't much.  A small smile pulled at his lips as he caught my gaze in his own. His strong jaw tightening in a smile.

"You're back."  He said matter-of-factly.

"Y- yeah- but how did you," I let my finger wave every which way as if I was looking for a direction in which to point, but decided to give up and run my hands through my blonde locks of messy hair instead.  "I thought you couldn't-"

"Leave your side?"  Craig finished with a sigh. "Yeah, it's slowly getting less painful as the days pass." 
I let his deep blue eyes put me into a trance as he kept them locked to me like a chain.  It was silent for just a moment, but it quickly shattered as Craig stood to his feet and forced his pupils anywhere else that wasn't me; dusting his pants of dirt he'd picked up from being on the floor.

"I've been doing research," He breathed.  "a lot of research."

I squinted my eyes tightly in skepticism. "And?.."

"Well," he used his hand to rub at his chin, dragging his eyes up from the floor to capture me.  And, Jesus, did they capture me. 

"That tugging pain I had when we were separated is our bond. It's also why you can see me." He shook his head lightly. "And I'm guessing it's linked to the blood on our 'contract' since your parents can see me too."

I blinked.

"Our.. bond?" I questioned.

"Our bond." Craig repeated. "It's like- I don't know--a chain I guess.  The stronger a demon is, the more flexible it is." 

A small flash of panic ran through me at the thought of being chained to Craig Tucker for the rest of my life, but I did my best to keep it all in -- for now at least. I let my head nod to that softly, then a slight realization rung through my skull.  A gasp tugged at my throat.

"Does that mean-"

"I'm getting stronger?"  Craig placed his hands into his pockets with a slight lean back of his torso. "Yeah, that's exactly what it means."