Grief & Loss

Butters should have known that his mom and dad had an ulterior motive for wanting to see him so adamantly, but he didn't think about it until he was sitting at the table, sharing breakfast with them.  He was spaced out, thinking about Eric, so he didn't know what his parents were talking about until they asked what he thought about their amazing idea.  "Uhm," Butters looked awkwardly at them. "I—"  "Aww, Butters," his mom took both her hands to her face, acting like an overexcited teenager. "There's no need for you to get nervous. I assure you Stella is the cutest and nicest girl I have ever met. You'll get along well."    By paying attention to the rest of the conversation, Leopold learned his mom had a new church best friend whose husband was, in turn, best friends with his dad, and they had a daughter around the same age as Butters, Stella. According to his mom, the best part was that Stella was also studying at the same university as Butters, albeit in a different major.  Linda wanted them to meet and, hopefully, become a couple.  Butters had to make a conscious effort not to make a disgusted face. He also liked girls—that wasn't the issue. —The disgusting part of the situation was how his mom and dad were almost making plans about his marriage and his future kids. They wanted him to give them at least two grandchildren, a boy, and a girl, of course.    When he was little, his mom and dad never tried to help him to make friends. In fact, their constant grounding was the reason why he had many issues when making friends and why he clung to anyone who paid him attention, even if they treated him poorly. Hence why he didn't care that Kenny always ditched him or that Eric blatantly bullied him for years.  Leopold had no idea why his mom and dad thought they had the right to tell him who he should date and marry; he wanted to tell them they were fucked up in the head. Still, he smiled. "I'll be thrilled to meet Stella."  "Amazing, the six of us are going to have lunch together today. I'll call Juliette; she'll be ecstatic about this."  Juliette was Stella's mother, and from what little he'd heard, Butters figured she was just as crazy as his mother. What kind of parent thought it was a good idea to tag along with their adult children on their "first date"? Butters let out a sight and looked at his plate.      They were eating tuna and sweetcorn fish cakes.     Butters met Stella that afternoon and discovered that she was, in fact, a nice girl. She was obviously as disturbed as Butters by the whole situation, but she also smiled and pretended to have an amazing time. None of the parents noticed that she was faking it, but Butters did; it was as if he could see himself in Stella–a kid who had grown up living with controlling parents and had resigned herself to never breaking free.  When they finished lunch, the older couples finally decided to leave Butters and Stella to spend some time alone together. The youngest walked to the park across the street and bought ice cream before sitting on a bench to eat.  They didn't speak for the first five minutes, unsure of what to say, but when they decided to talk, they did so at the same time. "I'm sorry," said in unison and laughed.  Once they recognized that the situation was surreal and both their parents were ridiculous for trying to make them date, the rest of the afternoon went smoothly.  Butters lost track of time listening to Stella talk about the other crazy stuff her mom and dad had made her go through, and Butters told her about the things his mom and dad had made him suffer too. Although he didn't tell her about that time when they chained him in the basement, that was something he had never told anyone.     He didn't see himself marrying Stella, but she was certainly a friend now.      Butters arrived at his parents' home when it was already dark because he had taken Stella to her home first, and for some reason, his dad decided to scold him because Stella was a lady, and he shouldn't have taken her home so late.  He said goodbye to Stella at 7 pm, but he knew better than to backtalk to his dad. So, he apologized and told him and his mom that he was going to work on a university project and asked them not to disturb him. He was smart, but the main reason he had such good grades when he was a kid was that studying was the only time when his mom and dad didn't bother him.  Of course, Butters had no project pending and instead of working, he spent half an hour looking through his window, in Eric's bedroom direction, wondering what his friend was doing. He knew Eric was mad.   Maybe Butters would have some time to spend with him tomorrow—earn his forgiveness before he had to go back to the campus or before Liane came back. But he wasn't sure if waiting until tomorrow was a good idea.    It had been a while since the last time he had escaped from his parents' home, but without much thought, he slipped out of his room through the window and soon found himself knocking on the back door of Eric's house. He knew his friend was home because the lights were on, and he had seen Eric's shadow through the window.  He knocked on the door as hard as he could to get Eric's attention, and when that didn't work, he called him on the phone but got no answer. He didn't want to ring the bell on the front door because he risked being seen by his parents.  He knew he could have told them he would visit his friend Eric, but on days like this, he regressed and believed he still needed to get permission, which would be denied. He didn't feel like climbing back into his bedroom just to leave his childhood house like a normal person.    After 20 minutes of knocking, Butters sat on the ground and stared at the place where Mr. Kitty was buried. He could pinpoint the exact spot because the grass hadn't grown in that place yet.  Now it was late and chilling; maybe it would start to rain, and he would have to give up.  When the first water drops began to fall, he tried calling Eric again and knocked on the door harder to no avail. His hair and clothes were slowly soaking, and he knew he'd have to give up soon. Still, when he was about to leave, he heard movements in the kitchen.  He knocked again and was so determined to see Eric that he didn't mind when the rain got worse. He was drenched from head to toe when Eric decided to stop ignoring the knocks and opened the door.  Butters couldn't help but smile when he saw Eric wearing his pajamas. "Eh—Hi. I—" Butters was going to start apologizing when Eric put two fingers over his mouth to make him shut up before pulling him inside by the neck of his sweater.  "Where the fuck have you been?!" Eric scolded him. "You can't leave all day and come back late at night. Should I lock you in the house? I thought someone had run over you."    Eric removed all of Leopold’s clothes and then brought a towel to dry him. As he did so, he grumbled about how Butters had a house and shouldn't run from it. Who knows where he had been or what strays he had mixed up with.  Tomorrow Eric would have to check him thoroughly to make sure he didn't have fleas or some other parasite, and until he had cleaned him properly, he wouldn't let him climb into bed and sleep with him.    Butters hadn’t had the intention to sleep at Eric’s house, but he was again caught up in their game, and now he had to spend the night. It was okay because he loved to sleep with Eric.    When Cartman said he wasn’t allowed to sleep on the bed, Butters deflated and assumed he was going to spend the night on the couch, not that Eric would make him sleep on the floor at the foot of his bed.  Butters didn't feel comfortable when Eric pointed to the spot where he should rest while tossing a blanket at him. At first, he tried to settle down and sleep, but the night was cold, he had no clothes, and the texture of the carpet was hurting his skin. So, an hour later, he got up—shivering—and climbed onto the bed. He figured that if he curled up at the foot of Eric's bed, Eric wouldn't notice or get annoyed.  Eric was snoring loudly, deeply asleep.  When Leopold finally managed to get comfortable, he felt the mattress shifting and saw Eric sitting up, frowning at him. He thought Eric would kick him off the bed, but his friend simply shook his head and lay back down.     The next day, Butters was worried about his parents finding out he didn’t sleep at home and having to explain where he was. However, he didn't go back home because Eric dragged him to the bathroom to fulfill his promise about cleaning him.  Butters watched the tub filling with water trying not to think about anything and, when he got into the water, the first thing he did was clench his legs together and stare ahead.  He could hear Eric gathering all the products he would use to clean him and filling the sponge with soap, wetting it, and squeezing it to create foam.  He tried to suppress all his feelings until he felt the sponge touch the skin of his back. Then, all the emotions rushed through his body like a torrent, and even though the weather was hot, he began to tremble.  It was a shameful but pleasant experience, feeling Eric’s hands all over his body. Especially with the soap involved, that made everything slippery and hot. At some point with Eric running his hands all over his chest and traveling between his legs, Butters couldn’t help but moan. Then he squeezed his eyes shut and took both his hands to his face to cover his shameful expression.  "Shhh, it's okay," Eric said into his ear, and his voice was so gentle that Butters couldn't suppress another moan, almost a whimper, and leaned toward Eric.   Feeling the sponge move over his entire body except for his dick, which was now fully erect, was heaven.  He whimpered even harder every time Eric slid his hands near his crotch area but didn’t touch his dick or balls. He even spread his legs in an open invitation, but nothing happened.  He was so frustrated.  “You are not a good one,” said Eric still using a soft voice. “But I’ll let you touch yourself.”  Butters stopped breathing, but he was so consumed by the idea of pleasure that he removed one hand from his face and moved it to his penis to squeeze and stroke it shamelessly. He groaned at his own touch and just as he'd started going up and down he heard Eric speak again.  “Use both hands.”  He was still covering his face with his remaining hand and had to fight his embarrassment to reveal himself, but he followed Eric’s order. He used one hand to pump his erection and the other to caress his balls; and since he had nothing covering his face anymore, he leaned even more to Eric and buried his face into his chest.    He moaned, cried, and shook his hips until he came.       When the bath finished, he was so mentally and physically exhausted that he didn't even care if his mom and dad were wondering where he was.   With eyes half-lidded, he saw how Eric rummaged through his drawers, and his curiosity reached its highest peak when his friend turned to him, hiding something behind his back.  "What's the use of you having a collar if you are not going to use it while outside?"  Butters' eyes widened. Eric didn't expect him to wear the pet collar outside the house, did he? If so, he would have to refuse. He had to refuse. Could he refuse?  However, his dilemma required no answer because Eric removed his hands from his back and presented him a normal human neckless with a tag like the one, he used on his pet collar.  On one side it was his name; on the other side, words were spelling he was Eric Cartman’s property.  “You must wear it all the time, so if you get lost, everyone knows you already have an owner. That you are mine.”  Butters nodded enthusiastically; he wouldn't take his necklace off for anything in the world.    That's how Butters ended up toying with his new collar all the time.     Having a constant reminder of Eric in his day-to-day life affected Leopold’s concentration in classes and other aspects of his life. The only moments when he wasn't distracted were when he was with Stella. Once they could recognize each other, they realized that their paths crossed regularly throughout the week and decided to make it a routine to study together at the library every Wednesday.  During their study sessions or when they went out together, Stella would take photos of them and post them on her social media, saying it was because her parents needed to see them. Butters didn't call his mother to tell her about his life, but he sent her messages from time to time and quickly understood what Stella meant.  His mom seemed happier, and she didn't even ask him to come home on weekends. She wanted him to have a good time with Stella.    But Butters spent his weekends with Eric.     In recent days, Butters hadn’t stopped thinking about inviting Eric to live with him and be together all the time. He still had a couple of years left to finish college and the toughest courses were yet to come, but he believed he could keep his part-time job and rent a larger apartment.   He knew that Eric was enrolled in South Park Community College, but he didn't know if Eric still took classes or if he even cared about them. Eric was only studying because his mother had told him she would kick him out of the house if he didn't. Whatever the case, if Eric wanted to continue studying, the city's community college would be better than South Park's.  Even if Eric didn't want to study, there were better job opportunities in the city, and Eric was quite intelligent. He could conquer the world if he set his mind to it, and Butters wanted to be there to see it.  Leopold had been looking for apartments online, and this Wednesday, he had an appointment with a real estate agent to help him. He didn't plan to sign any contracts yet, but he believed it would be easier to convince Eric to move in with him if he showed him pictures of their future home.  He thought that maybe he should ask Eric to be his boyfriend before moving in together, but he was pretty sure that was out of the question. Eric would never date him. Still, it would be interesting to see the reactions of their friends when they found out they were living together.  Butters had never publicly expressed his feelings for Eric, but he had the feeling everyone knew about them. He still didn't forget that, during high school when he and Eric started to spend a lot of time together, Stan and Kyle gave him a long speech on why he was better off without Cartman.  He never managed to establish a relationship other than friendship with Eric because, around that same time, Eric's mom got a job out of state and took Eric with her. Almost a year later, when Eric returned, they resumed their relationship, but it was a little colder. Butters didn't take it personally because Eric got more reserved with everyone. Now, he was happy to have Eric fully back in his life.    It wasn't late, but the streets around the campus were empty because classes had ended hours ago. Butters hugged himself as the temperature started to drop. Fortunately, the real estate agent's office was only a couple of blocks away, so he wouldn't have to spend much time in the inclement weather.  As he walked, he felt like someone was following him, but when he turned around, he saw no one. It was a strange feeling that continued for a whole block until he decided to stop and find out if someone was really following him. This time, he did see someone, a sturdy figure that seemed quite familiar.   "Eric?" he asked in a mix of doubt at first and happiness at the end when he realized he wasn't mistaken. "What are you doing here?" Butters rushed to meet him.  "What do you think?" Eric said shrugging, and then did something Butters wouldn't have expected in a million years. He hugged him.  Butters melted in his arms and would have lost himself in that feeling if it weren't for a sting at the base of his neck. He stepped away from Eric and looked at him with a puzzled expression, just for a couple of seconds because he lost consciousness before he could even ask Eric what he had done.    When Butters woke up, he was in Cartman's house, in his basement. He had no idea how he had ended up there, but he had more pressing questions, like why he was naked, tied to a table, and gagged. His position was uncomfortable as his chest was laid out on the table, his hands tied above his head, and his legs secured to the table's legs.     He tugged at the restraints, but he couldn't free himself; instead, the knots tightened even more and hurt his wrists. Once he fully realized he couldn't escape or call for help, he began to breathe fast. Fortunately, he didn't have to endure the uncertainty of what was happening for long because suddenly the basement door opened, and Eric descended the stairs until he reached Butters’ location.     The gag muffled Butters' question, but Eric understood perfectly that his captive wanted to know why he was there.  "Butters," Eric said, pulling up a chair and sitting down to face Butters. "I know it's normal for cats to explore, even to have more than one home, especially when they're not neutered." He reached out and grabbed the collar and tag he had given Butters weeks before. "But I thought we agreed that you're mine. Only mine."   Butters opened his eyes and began shaking his head. He had no idea what Eric was talking about, but the tone he used and his words were scaring him.  "It was a mistake to let you out and act like a stray. It's best if you're always at home; I'm not going to let you out without supervision anymore. Never again."  There was a very clear threat, so clear that Butters tried to free himself from the restraints once again. He couldn't untie himself, but his violent movements allowed him to get rid of the gag. "Why are you doing this? Let me go!"  Eric raised his hand and seemed intent on slapping him for daring to speak, but he thought better of it and instead tangled his fingers in Butters' hair and tugged lightly. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"  "About what?"  "Your girlfriend. Stella, I think that was her name."  "No, she's not my girlfriend."  "I'm not stupid, Butters. I know you met with her when you ditched me and that you've been going out with her for weeks."  "It's not like that; my parents forced me, and I—"  "You always say dumb shit," Eric scoffed. "But it's my fault too; I was wrong with you. Just like with Mr. Kitty, I thought you were a male, but you're female. That means I didn't take care of your needs properly."  Every word scared Butters more and more, especially when he saw Eric get up from the chair and go behind him.  "What are you going to do, Eric? Stella is my friend, my parents wanted me to date her, but she's just my friend, I swear-I don’t-I don’t even like girls anymore. I only like you. Please don't be mad, untie me and we can talk, I promise it's a misunderstanding, I— I kept seeing her so my mom stopped asking me to visit her and interfere with us—" He tried to keep talking, but Eric delivered a strong blow to the back of his head, causing his nose to slam against the wooden surface of the table.  "I told you; cats don't talk. Butters, seriously, stop being so stupid."  Butters screamed and felt a sharp pain that spread throughout his face. Then, a warm liquid trickled down his nose, and the taste of blood filled his mouth. He was so stunned by the pain that it took him time to process that Eric had positioned between his legs and was now spreading his buttocks.  Eric smeared his entrance with a cold lubricating gel that drenched him and slipped down to his testicles before prodding him with his middle finger. Then he pushed his way inside Butters' body and squeezed hard into Butters' buttocks as he began to struggle. The blonde had decided not to speak, fearing that he would get hit again if he did. But yelled "Wait!" when he felt Eric slide the finger inside him.  Cartman ignored him, went deep into Butters' body, and without waiting for him to get used to the sensation and pain he slid another finger. Butters said "Wait" again and "It hurts", but Eric hit him again over the head, causing his nose to make a crack sound.  A third and fourth fingers accompanied the other two, and Butters could do nothing but squirm; Eric was deliberately hurting him and seemed to be enjoying causing him pain.  "Don't worry Butters, pain is normal. Cats always hurt when mating, but it's what they want and need. Especially when they're in heat like you, I'll fill you up properly."  “No please, Eric, please no,” Butters plead when he felt the head of Eric’s dick pushing against his skin.  “I’ll do what I want, and you just take it. Understood. From now on I don’t want to hear any more words from you.” Then Eric impaled Butters with his dick. He pushed all his flesh inside, hard and without mercy.  Butters was sure his skin ripped, and the intrusion ached like hell. He screamed, cried, and begged, but Cartman didn’t let go.    Half an hour after uninterrupted torture Butter was only babbling and crying, but even if his words were incomprehensible, Eric yanked his hair and made him curve his spine—to the point Butters could hear his back crack—and whispered to his ear “What did you say?”  Butters pressed his lips and started to cry harder when Eric increased the pace of his thrusts.  “That’s what I thought. Mewl. That’s the only noise I want to hear from you.” Cartman was gasping for air, the physical activity being too much for him too, but that didn’t mean a decrease in the peace. Butters screamed again, feeling he was about to die, when Eric bit his ear. “Good. I know you love it when it hurts. Don’t you? That’s why you can’t stop talking.”  Butters shook his head, and Cartman didn’t like that answer.  “You like it, don’t lie. Show it to me.” He squashed his head against the table again.  At first, Butters didn’t know what to do, but he believed Eric intended to hurt him even more if he didn’t comply; he was sure about it when Eric demanded him to “show it” again.  He was going to kill him if he didn’t obey.  The only thing Leopold could think of was to spread his legs even more and raise his ass to give Eric the opportunity to go deeper inside him.  “Oh, fuck. I knew I chose you right. I can’t wait to see you when you’re properly trained.” Eric slammed inside him, and Butters felt his conscience slipping away. “So good. I didn’t want to have to cut your tongue off. I want to feel your tongue lapping my cock. Begging for my milk.”   Completely broken, Butters tried to imagine the sparks of pleasure he was supposed to be feeling. But there was nothing, only pain that didn’t let him pass out. Not yet.    After that, there was no more filthy talk. Eric was about to finish and wanted to concentrate only on himself. Butters has just become the hole that was squeezing him to completion.  When Butters finally felt Eric's semen inside him, he was relieved. At last, it ended. It didn’t matter that Eric didn’t pull out of him or that he put all his weight on him, squeezing him against the table. Cartman had stopped moving and the pain, still latent, didn’t hurt as much.  Eric bit his ear again and then started nuzzling his nape. Giving him bites there too.  “You are good. I’m never letting you out ever again. Can you imagine? Your little hole beeing bred by some stray. I’ll never allow that. You are mine. Now and forever.”    His voice sounded so sure that for a moment Butters believed him.  That he would stay there, trapped between the table and Eric’s body for life.  But that was impossible.  Eventually Butters had to go back to college. As he always did.  Cartman wouldn’t dare to really lock him up.  Yes, Eric was going to untie him, and once the pain faded away, Butters unique worry would be how he would explain why he had teeth marks all over his neck and ears. Or why he was limping. He would not worry about the raping or the feeling of impotence. Those things didn’t happen.    He started crying again. Loud because everything did happen.     Once Eric regained the strength to move again, he circled his hips against Butters buttocks before taking his dick out of him. Enjoying the last seconds of being inside the other's body. He didn’t seem grossed out by seeing his cock covered in blood. For him, it was a sign of how well he had fucked Butters.  The blonde waited for Eric to finally free him, but instead, he saw Eric go upstairs again.    When Eric came back, he was already clean, fully clothed, and carrying a first aid kit. Without saying a word, he got everything ready to clean him. He shoved his fat fingers in his ripped entrance to take out all the cum.  “Stay still little kitty. I must clean you. Now that I have finally decided on fully adopting you. I have to really take care of you.”  Butters kept whimpering and cried out loud when Eric started to apply some antiseptic on him. Eric finished the treatment with a cream that maybe had some numbing effect on his sphincter because the pain faded slightly.  Then Eric pushed inside his rectum the butt plug and the tail. It hurt, but since the plug was long instead of thick, it was more uncomfortable than painful.    “Now, what did you say? About your mom and dad. Were they the ones trying to make you leave me?” Eric’s voice was so scary that Leopold began to shake and denied vehemently.  “No, no they didn’t want that. They like you. I swear.”  “So, you were planning on leaving me on your own.”  “I’m not. I’m sorry,” he didn’t know what to say anymore. “Please untie me. I’m hurting.”  “Yeah, I know you are.”    Then Eric pulled out a syringe and made him fall asleep again.     Butters was wondering where Liane was. She was supposed to be at home, and she should have listened to him cry, but she never went down the stairs.  No one knew he was there, and that meant that no one was going to save him. He was at Eric’s mercy, waiting for him to get bored and, if he was lucky, set him free. If not, to kill him.    Leopold spent, maybe, nine or ten days chained to a wall. He wasn’t sure. In Eric’s words, Butters needed to be locked down while he was in heat, that way he wouldn’t escape and get lost.   Eric didn’t fuck him anymore because Butters' body was taking its time to heal and Eric didn’t want to hurt him. Now that Butters was fully his, he had to take care of him.  Still, Cartman touched his body all the time and made him suck him in the morning and before going to bed.  When having Eric’s dick in his mouth, Butters tried not to think, but the rasping touch of the restraints and Eric’s salty taste, along with Butters' undeniable and humiliating love for Eric, didn’t allow his mind to wander.  The first time Cartman took his dick between his fingers, Butters felt so many different emotions. He was still scared and hated Eric because he was leaving him without agency and had zero respect for him, but still, he felt good because he had been waiting for Eric’s hands on him for so long.  He had always known that with Eric everything would be scary and hurt; a voice told him this was wrong, but he wanted it. He cried, still moving his hips up and down to enjoy the pressure and friction Eric’s hands gave him.  The worst part was Leopold’s body always responded to Eric’s praises. He felt sick whenever his dick stood fully erect while Eric called him a good pet. A cute cat he’ll love and take care of until the end of their lives.    It felt so wrong to feel so good.     When Butters was alone, he didn't have much freedom of movement; Eric had him chained by the neck to the wall with a chain long enough for him to lie on a small two-seater couch or walk to a pair of buckets serving as a bathroom. Sometimes, Eric used the metal cuffs he had secured on his wrists to tie his hands behind his back or fasten them to his collar or over his head. His legs were often chained together as well.    Eric took the TV downstairs and let him watch it for hours to keep him entertained when he was alone.  Every day, Butters used to watch the TV obsessively because he didn't like to be alone with his thoughts. But now, he watched it to try to forget his hunger. Eric had left him alone yesterday at midday, and now it was the afternoon of the following day.  Suddenly, he heard the basement door open and sat up from the couch to see Eric arriving. His self-proclaimed owner had a smile, one hand in his pants pocket and the other carrying a plastic bag with Chinese takeout food. Butters knew it was freshly bought Chinese food because the bag had the logo of the downtown store printed on it. He could also smell the scent of fried rice as soon as Eric reached the base of the stairs.  "It wasn't supposed to take this long," Eric said as an apology and sat down on the couch beside Butters. He then handed him his portion of food and took the remote to change the TV channel while preparing to eat his meal.  Leopold took the food Eric offered him, and although he didn't gulp it down desperately, he ate faster than usual.    Suddenly, the local program that Eric had decided to watch was interrupted by a news flash with some shocking news. The reporter on the scene began to inform the public that a car driving down the road downtown had suddenly exploded. The explosion was so massive and abnormal that it left many people injured two people dead, and caused damage to nearby cars and stores.  Butters felt a sudden wave of panic when the reporter mentioned the brand of the car that had just exploded, and the blood drained from his face when the cameraman panned the scene and showed the vehicle involved in the disaster. He immediately recognized that car as his parents. It was charred, but one of the windows had the sticker from the church his parents attended.  Crushing all his hopes of being mistaken, the reporter announced that the deceased in the incident had already been identified: Linda and Stephen Stotch.     Butters felt like he couldn't breathe due to the shock, and he could barely identify the moment when Eric put his arm behind him and pulled him closer. "Calm down, breathe."  Eric's voice was so calm and so similar to the many times when it was obvious that he had done something wrong that Butters looked up to meet his gaze directly. Eric was smiling at the news.  "What?! What did you do?" Butters didn't care anymore if he was allowed to speak or not. He knew Eric had something to do with that explosion. His mom and dad were dead!  Eric frowned and realized that Butters intended to attack him, so he used all his weight to subdue Butters against the couch and tied his hands to his collar.  "I said no talking. Cats don't talk!"  "I don't care! What did you do to my mom and dad? You—You. You killed them, didn't you? It was you!" Butters knew there was no way to free himself; he had tried many times before, but now he couldn't even think straight.  "Shh, shh," Cartman tried to appease him by pressing his forehead down. "I told you I was going to keep you. You're mine now."  Butters fought for minutes until Eric got fed up and squeezed his groin so hard that Butters screamed and curled up as best as he could. Leopold knew he was defeated and the only thing he could do was cry and whine in pain for his lost family because at last, he understood Eric’s words had no other meaning than what they meant.    He was going to keep him.     "You wanted to be my kitty, didn't you?" Eric asked, now looking directly into his face.  Butters did say that. But he never meant for any of this to happen.  “And I told you the rules. The most important was that you were mine. And what did you do? You acted like you belonged to no one. All bad actions deserve a punishment. It’s your fault your mom and dad died. You broke the rules. You wanted the punishment.”  Butters shook his head. He didn’t want any of this. He never intended for his mom and dad to die.  “Don’t pretend you didn’t know this was going to happened. We know each other; you know what I’m capable of doing. I know you wanted me to do it since you offered to be mine. All your life you have been waiting for someone to take care of your parents." Cartman caressed his cheeks and scratched his chin. "That’s why you offered to be mine. My pet."    Eric’s words sink into Butters' brain.  Yes. He knew Eric, but he never thought he’d—no, he did think about Eric helping him to get rid of his mom and dad.  But he thought about it when he was a kid. Not now and he never really wanted them dead.  But what about if he did this unconsciously?  That meant his parents' deaths were his fault because that was what he wanted.  No. That wasn’t true.  "I'm saying you are mine.”  Eric kept talking, and Butters saw him with a lost look. He was coming to terms with that "yes"; he has always wanted to get rid of his mom and dad.  That Eric killing them was his fault. His mom and dad were dead because of him.  “You are mine to love, but also to hurt if you don't follow my commands. Do you want me to hurt you?"  It was scary to see Eric looking directly into his eyes and saying he would hurt him after he had raped him and killed his mom and dad. Scary because Butters knew Eric could hurt him even more, even though Butters couldn't imagine how he could be hurt any further.  “Or I can sell you out, let the strays breed you, and make some money. Do you want that to be fucked by anyone? You, slut.”  Butters’ eyes were filled with tears when he finally decided to shake his head again. No, he didn’t want to be hurt. He didn’t want to be whored.  "I'll allow you to speak now. So tell me, Butters, whose fault is your mom and dad are dead now?”  Butters opened his mouth, but no sound came out of him.  “Whose fault is it?”  “I— it is-it's my fault.” Butters eyes filled with tears.  “It is. Because you wanted them dead. You wanted them dead don’t you?”  “Yes.”  “And we can’t trust you to be responsible for more deaths. I’ll teach you to behave because you are mine. Are you?"    When their relationship started to shift from a friendship into a pet and owner dynamic, Butters never imagined he would end up tied to a wall, crying, and begging Eric to stop hurting him. Nevertheless, with his cheeks soaked in hot tears, he couldn't stop thinking that he knew Eric would take their game this far. Eric always went too far.  Butters' mom and dad were dead. No one would save him, and he believed he deserved it. It was his fault; he had told Eric his mom and dad wanted him to be with Stella. Butters knew Eric could hurt them. It was his fault.  He had been scared initially, but he kept returning to Eric because he wanted to feel this way. He believed he deserved to suffer because he had asked for it.  “Well...” Eric raised a brow.  Leopold had a lump in his throat that barely let him talk. “I-m yours.”  “My pet,” said Eric patiently.  “I’m your pet.”  “To love, to hurt, and to command.”  “…I’m” Butters' whimper became louder. “I’m your pet. To-love. To hurt… a-and to command.”  He knew Eric would go this far.  He knew and still…  He said Eric he wanted to be his pet...  Because…  He wanted to be his…  “I’m yours!” he said, still crying but looking at his owner directly into the eyes.  “That’s right, you’re my little kitty.” Cartman smiled and patted him.    After the accident, the police tried to contact him, and Eric let him answer.      The police explained that his parents' car had suffered a very rare malfunction and he needed to talk to a lawyer because he may be entitled to sue the manufacturer.  Butters thought about telling them that Eric was responsible, but he couldn't bring himself to speak because it wasn’t Eric’s fault. His mom and dad's deaths were Butters' fault.   He killed them by behaving like a stray.    When the officers stopped explaining what happened, he nodded and let the insurance take care of all the payments while he and Eric organized the funeral. They weren’t going to sue; having an insurance expert review the car was very risky.  Cartman accompanied him everywhere he needed to be, and everyone looked at Eric as if he was the best friend everyone would like to have. He was with him when the lawyer told him that as Linda and Stephen's only son, Butters was to inherit both the house and the life insurance money.    Butters was supposed to be mourning, but instead, now that he was healed, he let Eric fuck him on his mom and dad’s bed.  Cartman pinched and sucked on his nipples. At the same time, he slid his fingers inside his body. This time, Butters didn’t protest; he was paralyzed by a fear that made him cry.  Eric dried his tears and told him he had behaved like a good pet the last few days and that he deserved to enjoy this time. As long as Butters does what he was told and behaves, he’ll always enjoy.  He was the worst son in the world because he moaned in ecstasy and came by Eric’s cock pushing and brushing against his prostate.  Butters also was the worst friend because, when Stella approached him during the funeral and tried to hug him to offer her condolences, he told her not to touch him.  He was scared. Eric was watching. He had been watching him all the time. Controlling his behavior and his posture. He even picked the clothes he was wearing.  Butters didn't want to give Eric a reason to physically harm Stella or kill her.    "I don't think we should continue being friends," he told the girl.  "Oh," Stella recoiled, as shy as she was. "I understand—I'm not needed anymore. I understand,” she repeated. “Thank you for helping me all this time, and I'm truly sorry about your parents."    The only friends he was allowed to talk to were Stan, Kyle, and Kenny. Eric even felt comfortable leaving him with Kyle and Kenny while talking with Stan and his family.  Butters wasn’t paying attention to what Kenny and Kyle were saying. He couldn’t stop thinking it was funny they showed up at his mom and dad's funeral but not Mr. Kitty's. Now that he was Eric’s property, would they show up to his funeral?   He wondered what would have happened if they had also shown to Mr. Kitty’s funeral.  Maybe he wouldn’t have said to Eric he would do anything to not see him sad.   Maybe Eric wouldn’t have said he was a proper replacement for Mr. Kitty.   Maybe Butters wouldn’t be responsible for his mom and dad's deaths.     “Are you staying at your house?” asked Kyle a little worried that Butters had to spend the night alone in his childhood home full of memories, and when Butters didn’t answer Kenny chimed in.  “You can stay with me.” Kenny had moved to a new apartment months ago. It wasn’t big, but it had enough space for Butters.  Butters looked at both his friends still wondering when he heard Cartman’s voice and felt an arm resting over his shoulders. “Butters is staying with me.”  He and Stan just arrived at their circle.  The other three friends seemed surprised, but none said a word. In fact, they travel along with them until they arrive at Cartman’s house talking about random stuff. They seemed focused on making Butters forget about his recent loss, with little success because the blonde was always looking down.  Butters only got out of his trance when they arrived at Eric’s house and Stan asked where Mr. Kitty was. He had a soft spot for that old cat. The three had it.  “She’s dead,” said Eric as if he wasn’t talking about the cat he had cried for while leaning on Butters.  “Oh,” Stan was sad. “When? What happened?”  “Months ago, she was old.” Eric shrugged and took Butters by the shoulders before making him sit in one of the chairs in the dining room.  “Did you bury her?” they could see the backyard from the kitchen.  “Yep, she’s over there.” Eric made a vague gesture to the garden through the window.  “You should have told me.” Kenny sat next to Butters while frowning. “I would have helped you.”  “Butters came.” Eric who still had both his hands on Butters' shoulders gave him a squish, and this was the first time Butters dared to raise his head and look Eric directly in the eyes.  It was overwhelming to see Eric pretending he didn’t care about Mr. Kitty’s death—and then realize that maybe Eric wasn’t pretending not to care— that he never cared. He cried in front of Butters just to make Butters heart clench and ache for him.  Leopold had thought Kenny, Stan, and Kyle didn’t care when they didn’t know. Eric performed for Butters and Butters fell into his act.  Maybe the confusion and hurt of betrayal reflected on his expression because Eric buried his digits on his shoulder even harder and looked at him directly in the eyes. Daring him to call him out on his lie.  But Leopold could only see Eric as this powerful and intimidating man who knew him so well that tangle him into a lie to the point of making Butters kneel naked at his feet and—even be responsible for his mom and dad deaths.  “Cartman. I can’t believe you made Butters come here to help you.” Kyle scolded him then he looked at Butters. “You don’t have to keep following this loser's orders, You know he failed all his classes in community college?”  “Oh fuck you, Kyle.” Cartman scoffed. “Also you don’t know shit about me and Butters.”  “What do you mean by that?” Kyle asked, surprised, because Eric slid one of his hands from Butters' shoulders to his chest and caressed the tag under Butters' shirt that said he was Eric’s property. It was such an intimate touch that the other three raised their brows. Especially when Butters couldn’t help but close his eyes and lean his head against Eric’s arm; he was trained to do that.  “Butters and I are moving together to the city. He will sell his parents' house, and I’m selling this house. We are saying goodbye to this shit hole of a town.”  “What?!” Kenny who was supposed to be the closest to them didn’t know about this. But not even Butters knew about this. Even though the idea of selling his parents’ home hurt him, it wasn’t like he could object.  Eric was the one in charge.  In fact, it made sense that Butters wouldn’t have a clue; it wasn’t like Eric should consult him about anything.  Butters didn’t deserve to have any opinions on what was to do with his parent’s house; after all, he murdered them.  There was a silence in which no one knew what to say.  “Oh wow—congratulations-I guess.” Stan was the first one to talk. “I—this is news are-are you like dating?”  “We are not calling it like that.” Eric would never call his pet his boyfriend. They weren’t on the same level. Butters was his, but Eric wasn’t Butters’.  The other three made silence again. They knew Butters' mom and dad were traditionalists; they would have never allowed Butters to date Cartman. It made sense no one knew about them before and that they were behaving like this now that the Stotches were dead.  “What about your mom?” Kyle asked Cartman.  “She’s not coming back; she has this new job and boyfriend, is like she’s also dead.”  A hint in his voice made Butters realize it wasn’t like she was dead. Liane was also dead.  Butters stopped breathing and hardly heard the “Dude!” Stan said to scold Cartman.    He began to cry. He knew Eric.  He knew—Butters had killed Liane too.    “Cartman, you are being an insensitive asshole,”  said Kyle after seeing Butters cry.  “Butters,” Kenny called him softly and tried to hug him, but Butters stood up from the chair, almost as if Kenny’s touch burned him.  “I want to rest. I’m sorry,” he said softly before running to Eric’s room.    Once there he looked at the window and wondered if he should toss himself from it, not to escape from Eric but to escape from life.  Still, he knew he didn’t deserve to run. He couldn’t take that decision. He was Eric’s property, Eric was the one who said what he should do.  He took his clothes off and put his pet collar on before he sat in the bed waiting for Eric to say goodbye to his friends and come looking for him.  When Eric entered the room a couple of hours later, he seemed pleased to see him, and the first thing he did was to pad his head.  Butters was a good pet. Eric’s pet and they would have a pretty amazing life in the city.