That's My Tutor

Empty Spaces

Tweek looked at the video that had paused itself and the tossed aside instrument. He picked it up and held it in front of himself silently. It was an odd predicament for a couple reasons, but the Tweek's main one being, Craig had chosen the smallest ukulele out of the whole selection on the wall. It was obvious when he was holding-cradling-the instrument that it was too small for his long appendages.

As much as he should be reprimanding Craig for stealing the instrument, he thought of a better way to 'punish' him.

"So you're learning to play this?" Tweek finally said with a smile.

Craig looked at the surprisingly happy smile on Tweek's face and nodded, unsure if this was one of those misplaced smiles Tweek does when he's especially angry with Craig. "Yeah, I started Saturday."

"So you've been doing this for a couple days?" Tweek said, turning his head from the instrument  to Craig with the same smile.

Craig nodded again. "Pretty much."

Tweek then put the instrument back in front of Craig, almost placing it perfectly in his arms. "Play it for me."

"What? No!" Craig put it back on the table. "I suck and sound like shit."

Tweek put it back into his arms, holding the instrument there with his hands to keep Craig from placing it on the table again. "Exactly why you should do it. Plus-" Tweek came closer to Craig, almost cozying up to him as he did. His hands leaving the ukulele to hold his arm with a gentle hold. His voice was soft and his smile kind as he said. "I wanna hear you play."

Craig looked at Tweek with a nervous frown. 

He didn't want to play for him and completely embarrass himself. He wasn't even sure he followed the tuning instructions correctly. Tweek had heard Tolkien play something that was probably phenomenal and a work of art in every way, there's no way that he could measure up. Even worse was the video he had put on to play the damn thing. It was a tutorial for a random song from the dumb vampire movie that Tweek was obsessed with. It seemed pretty easy at first, but he quickly learned it wasn't.

He was about to refuse, but with most things that involved Tweek these days, there was a small weakness that-this time-made Craig give in.

He sighed.

"Fine... but I have to watch a video to play." Craig said, wishing he sounded less embarrassed. Opening his phone up to restart the video that he had been practicing for the past three days.

Tweek's face lit up in excitement, coming impossibly closer to Craig; his chin nudging Craig's shoulder. "Fine by me. What song are you playing?"

"It's um..." Craig felt his face heat up as he thought about the song. "This."

Tweek looked at the video on screen then the side of Craig's face in shock. "That's a Twilight song."

"Really?" Craig grabbed his phone to get the video back up. "Didn't even know."

Craig started the video over and the man started with the usual introduction, a wave and quick overview of what they're going to play and how easy it will be. Although this guy had a very different situation that probably made it easier to play. He had a tuned ukulele, a basic grasp of the instrument, knew all the chords and he didn't have an eager Tweek's head on his shoulder.

He started out pretty strong at the beginning because the song started slow, Tweek even seemed impressed for a moment, but then the chorus came and everything went to shit. The delicate strings that had to be plucked were being neglected. Craig's attention being on the top of the ukulele with the chords instead of evenly distributing his care.

Tweek felt his ears wince as Craig continued, the soft sounds were now like an angry cat. It's still soft, its just not worth being around. "Is this... apart of the song?"

"No..." Craig felt his face heat up, this is exactly what he didn't want to happen. "I don't think so."

Tweek pouted his mouth off to the side as he watched Craig continue to struggle, it was a car wreck. Noticing in particular how he was being tripped up by the strumming. The problem giving him a solution. "Stop."

Craig winced to himself as he heard the word, Tweek couldn't even make it through the whole song. He placed the instrument on his lap, giving up on it if Tweek couldn't even stand to get through it. "I know, it's bad."

"No, I have an idea." Tweek leaned forward and restarted the video, taking the neck of the ukulele into his hands after. Holding up the bottom part for Craig to take in an equal distribution. "I do this part, you strum."

Craig took his end, but raised a wordless eyebrow towards the blonde. 

Tweek caught the look. "It'll make it easier to play."

Then they were playing. 

The notes were still slightly off, but they were at least being hit and the song finally seemed like a song. Craig's fingers plucked every note with a newfound care, the improvement being heard as he played. Tweek's newly introduced hands may have been a bit slow on the chords, but they still managed to make the notes in time. Their own little song filling the room and the space between them, the tune making them both smile subconsciously. Even with the misstepped notes, they were making a song together. They were proud. 

Despite wanting to appreciate this moment, Tweek couldn't let the question and or hunch in his head go away. Craig had stolen a ukulele and was trying to learn to play it for a currently unknown reason. He had only been tutoring Craig for a couple months now, but he could tell that this was out of character. 

"Can I ask you something?" Tweek interrupted, his fingers still playing and eyes still watching the man on the screen. 

Craig nodded, finally finding the perfect rhythm for his fingers to play. "Yeah."

"Why did you take this?" Tweek asked and the second after, feeling dumb. The look on Craig's face after he said it showed that it was a dumb question, or he just didn't want to answer. "I mean, obviously you wanted to play, but why all the sudden? You've never even mentioned playing or wanting to play and the only time we've talked about ukuleles is last week when we were talking about To-"

Tweek stopped as he suddenly had an epiphany. 

His words falling short and mouth making a small 'o' as he realized the reason why Craig seemed to want a ukulele. His hand falling from his part and head doing a slow turn to see Craig's embarrassed face. He had his head and eyes down, he had stopped playing and his hands were awkward as he set the ukulele in his lap. The only sound in the room being the video playing the song. 

They sat in the truth like a pair of wet pants. 

"You know... not that it matters... but I don't care if you can play the ukulele or not." Tweek smiled to himself as he stared at the man still playing on the screen. "Or give shoes to Tiny Tim... or hug a tree."

Craig looked at Tweek through the corner of his eye. 

He was fucked, Tweek definitely knew. 

Craig wasn't fully sure why he did it himself, but Tweek somewhat knowing why he did it felt dangerous for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom. A lurching feeling that he's felt before came up again, it made him want to jump out the two-story window, but he stayed still. 

"Once again... not that it matters." Tweek kept his sight on the phone and put his hands in his lap. "I don't know why you would care what I think." 

"I do." 

Tweek's looked up at Craig with big eyes. Thinking to himself while he stared at Craig that he really, really should stop having dairy because this feeling is annoying.

"You grade my homework." Craig said with a grin. "What you think matters a lot."

Tweek's feeling disappeared and his wide eyes squinted into a glare, hitting Craig's arm with a playful punch. 

"Oh shut up, you thief!"