Chapter Text
Moving back home after college was the ultimate sign of defeat in the eyes of Craig Tucker. He had always been a planner, spending copious amounts of time considering all possibilities. Therefore, he would have liked to be able to say that he’d only arrived at this inevitability after great consideration, and with careful forethought on how he would get himself out of his parents’ home as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the truth was much more humiliating.
There was little else to dwell on than his self-made failure as he made the long drive out from the coastal-California college town he had called home these last four years, back to Colorado and the tiny mountain town he grew up in. South Park. A dead-end town if ever there was one. Maybe he’d be able to find a place in Denver that he could afford after a few months of working. Craig crunched some numbers in his head quickly. Realistically, he’d have to find a roommate too, if he wanted to make city rent fit his budget. There was something he'd not yet pondered in all this upheaval. A roommate. Ugh.
Outside of the guy he shared a dorm with freshman and sophomore year, Craig had only ever imagined himself living with one other person. That was over now, though, he had to remind himself. Better start considering the possibility of two-bedroom apartments, and some scrub to clean up after and share the rent with. This was all on him, after all.
It seemed, unfortunately, that the one thing Craig had failed to dwell on extensively in his life planning was the issue of whether the relationship he was in was actually right for him. It had been the comfort food of relationships, he had to admit. Beginning mid-way through his freshman year of college, they had stayed together the rest of their time through. They had moved in together as soon as they were allowed to live off-campus. They had met each other’s families, talked about the future, established routines together. Somehow, it wasn’t until their trip back to his partner’s hometown right before their college graduation that Craig came to a stunning realization, albeit one that really shouldn’t have startled him.
Everyone was waiting for him to propose.
They had spent the trip attending family cookouts, on thinly veiled tours of the local neighborhoods, showing off the area’s schools and parks and beaches. There were insinuations of helping ‘the kids’ buy their first house to keep them close to the family. There were lots of ‘ball and chain’ jokes, and references to future grandchildren. Craig had taken it all in with a mild but growing sense of panic. He had, of course, considered the possibility of marriage, and a home, and family. He had thought of finding a partner, settling down, pooling resources to make their way in the world. It was practically the only way to get by these days, after all, unless you were exceptionally talented, exceptionally lucky, or more likely, both.
But that trip, the suburban sprawl and performative neighborly-ness, and the push to fall into that life with all those people, made Craig realize something. He had just been going through the motions in this relationship. The friendship and companionship and comfortability were all there. But he couldn’t help but feel that there was an element missing. Excitement, passion, lust. Those were supposed to be pieces of a healthy relationship, surely. Maybe changing over time, but not never existing in the first place. It was the thought of settling down before ever figuring that out, combined with the very real and frankly, justified expectations of everyone around him, that made him sure about one thing.
He was not in love with his long-term girlfriend.
The breakup had been ugly. Not vindictive, or mean, or cruel, though. Just the sad and untimely demise of so many expectations and dreams. Craig’s girlfriend (dare not he speak her name) had been blindsided. He could only imagine what her parents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents must think of him now. After all that time together, Craig had suddenly decided that a partnership of convenience with a likewise even tempered, sensible individual was not, in fact, enough for him. It was a feeling he could only just barely put a finger on, but it was there. So, he found himself driving east, out of California, on his way home.
The uncomfortable conversation with his parents came back to haunt Craig next. He had asked to speak to both of them, so his mother had insisted on a video call. By this point in the process of splitting up and moving on from what already almost felt like a marriage, Craig knew exactly what he was in for with his parents. They were undoubtedly expecting to hear a different bit of information from him than what they were going to get.
“Hi, mom. Hi dad,” Craig had greeted them when the call connected. “How are you?”
“Fine, fine,” Laura Tucker had answered. “Just you on the call?”
“Yeah, just me, mom,” Craig had answered with a sigh.
“Did you hear back about that job?” Thomas Tucker asked.
“Yeah, that's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you,” Craig replied. “I got it. I'll be starting in 2 weeks.”
“That’s great!” Laura exclaimed. “How does that one work again? You go into an office, or?”
“It’s mostly remote, I just need a reliable wi-fi connection. And I have to go into one of the offices a couple times a month for training and meetings and stuff,” Craig reminded his mother.
“What are your plans, then? Do you have a new place lined up, yet?” she continued her questioning.
“Well, actually…” Craig stalled and sighed. “Remember how I mentioned they have an office in Denver, as well as out here?”
The question was met with silence and confused looks on the screen.
“Well… I decided to move back to Colorado. I hope you guys don’t mind if I come home for a bit while I look for an apartment?” Craig reluctantly presented his proposal.
Which was met with another skeptical pause.
“You want to move back into your bedroom with your girlfriend?” Laura finally attempted to interpret.
“No,” Craig corrected, another weary sigh escaping his throat. “It would just be me.”
“What, so you can get set up out here before she comes out too?” Thomas asked. “That's a good idea, it’s just…”
“We’re surprised,” Laura finished for her husband. “I mean, we’ll be so happy to have you two close! But…”
“I thought there was talk of her family helping you get a place to live out in California?” Thomas added. “It’s not that we won’t be able to help at all, but…”
“I think her family is in a better position to help you two, honey,” Laura finished.
“Guys, stop,” Craig pleaded when he could finally get a word in edgewise. “Listen for a minute, please. I'm trying to tell you, it's just going to be me. I'm sorry, I know this isn’t what anyone wanted to hear, but we broke up, and I'm moving back home.”
The news dropped on the conversation like a bomb. Craig cringed as he watched the reaction slowly dawn across his parents faces.
“Oh, no. Craig, what did you do?” Laura accused.
“What’s that supposed to mean, mom?” Craig asked, offended.
“We thought you were going to ask her to marry you soon, son. You'd made it sound like that was the plan, yourself, when you were out here last,” Thomas expanded, sounding confused.
“It was something I’d thought about,” Craig answered defensively. “Of course, it was. It just… wasn’t right, in the end. We weren’t right for each other.”
“That’s it?” Laura questioned, sounding equally as confused as her husband. “Nearly four years, and you two suddenly realize you’re not right for each other?”
“It wasn’t anything dramatic, mom,” Craig promised. “I swear, it wasn’t cheating or anything.”
“Well. I know I raised you better than that, and she’s too sweet a girl for me to worry about her,” Laura snapped irritably. “It was you, though, wasn’t it?”
“Sounds like you already made up your mind,” Craig noted.
“Honey, just tell us what happened!” Laura insisted.
“Nothing happened! I just realized I’m not ready to fucking settle down and tie myself to a mortgage and kids and all that shit with someone I've always been bored with!” Craig exclaimed. “So okay, yes. I broke up with her. And I’m sorry. I probably should have come to this conclusion a long time ago. But I was okay with being bored together until I suddenly realized, maybe I shouldn’t be. And I'm glad I realized it now, and not after the marriage and mortgage and kids and all that shit.”
Thomas was frowning but nodding his head as he listened to his son, which Craig took as a good sign. After a brief pause to collect her thoughts, Laura sighed but also nodded.
“I'm glad you realized it before all of that, too,” she agreed simply. “So, you’re coming home.”
That had been all there was to it, in the end. No one was extremely happy about it, least of all him. But after four years away, Craig Tucker had decided to overhaul his life and move back to South Park.
~
It was late in the evening when Craig parked his little sedan in his parent’s driveway. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he looked around. It had been over a year since he’d been home at this point, but things looked mostly the same, at least as far as the night could reveal. Craig grabbed a few things from his passenger seat and made his way to the front door. His parents had waited up for his arrival, and they opened the door to him as he walked up onto the doorstep.
“Oh, good. You’re here,” Laura announced as she pulled her son into a hug. “Now I can sleep soundly with both my babies under my roof.”
Craig snorted a small laugh into her shoulder at that statement. Pulling away, he hefted a bag into the house and plopped down onto the familiar living room couch. His father settled down next to him while his mother went to retrieve hot tea, to settle their nerves, as she said. An awkward silence extended out until Craig cleared his throat and tried to break the ice.
“Sorry about all this,” he mumbled, shrugging.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Thomas answered.
“I’m going to try to find an apartment as quick as possible,” Craig assured his father.
“It’s really no rush, sweetie,” Laura interrupted as she bustled back into the living room, mugs of tea in hand. “You should stay with us for a while. Save up some money, get back on your feet.”
“I’m okay, really,” Craig promised, accepting the hot beverage from his mother. “I was looking around at rent prices in the area, and I think if I find a one-bedroom or a studio, I should be in good shape budget-wise.”
“I’ve been looking around some myself,” Thomas added. “I don’t see much out there right now, but I put some feelers out so we can be the first to know when something like that does come available.”
Laura cleared her throat pointedly.
“Not that it’s a rush,” Thomas added quickly. “It would make sense to work for a while and build up some savings while you have the opportunity.”
“Yeah. Thanks,” Craig agreed with a sigh. “I guess we’ll see how it goes, right?”
There was a loaded pause as they all sipped at their drinks.
“Well. Ahh,” Thomas cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Too bad we didn’t know you’d be coming home so soon when we were out for your graduation. We could have brought some boxes back for you.”
“Yeah, too bad,” Craig noted with just a tinge of sarcasm, brought on more by lack of sleep than true annoyance. “Did the stuff I shipped make it?”
“It’s all up in your room,” Laura announced. “Well, it’s way past my bedtime. I’m turning in for the night. See you in the morning, sweetie.”
Laura kissed Craig on the forehead, then squeezed her husband’s shoulder as she passed on her way down the hallway to her bedroom. Craig nodded at his father and rose as well.
“See you in the morning,” Craig mumbled.
“Sleep well, son,” Thomas replied, and the whole family tucked away into their bedrooms, just like so many years in the past.
The irony of the fact that his sister, Tricia, was just getting ready to leave home for college was not lost on Craig as he went through the process of settling himself back into his childhood bedroom that evening. His poor parents had probably been looking forward to an empty nest, but here he came to crash the party. He needed to make it a priority to find a cheap apartment as quickly as possible. At least if he had his own space, he would feel like he had a little authority over his life. It seemed like his future was riding on finding a way to get out of the mountains and into the city, but Craig had crunched the numbers and looked into the prospects. He wasn’t quite ready to suffer the indignity of moving in with some strangers. He figured he could give it a year’s lease in some tiny rat-infested shithole out here, save up as much money as possible to get a jump on first and security, and be better able to afford rent in the city after getting a few pay bumps for milestones laid out at his new job.
His parents were being exceedingly gracious about the whole situation, of course. They probably felt bad that the cookie-cutter future it had seemed he would be easing into was now officially dead in the water, and that he would be starting over in South Park, where he was unlikely to make much of a social recovery or find many new opportunities. He really hoped there were some people his age left around the rural town to hang out with so he didn't have to sit at home every night like the utter loser failure he felt like at present.