It happened faster than lightning, but the consequences unfolded in slow-motion. Kevin was powerless to stop it. He watched, horrified, as crimson liquid turned white to red. His heart stopped. What have I done? He was afraid to look, terrified to meet those cold, dead eyes. His hands hovered uselessly. The damage was done. It was irrevocable. It was all his fault. He would never be able to get these stains out of his shirt.

Cranberry juice is a bitch to clean up.

Edd's notes were ruined.

"Kevin, I swear to any and all higher powers that might exist, if you touch my things again I will end you in the most painful manner that my extensive knowledge base and vast imagination can come up with!"

Kevin flinched back like a kicked puppy. He pulled his shirt off—it was already soiled, no sense in staining a towel as well—and pressed it to the desk to soak up the offending liquid. Edd watched, eyes burning, shooing Kevin away the second he finished. He tacked his notes to the corkboard so they could dry. He would salvage what he could from them later. He glowered at the corner of his textbook that he had not been able to pull away in time. The only good news was that his laptop had previously been moved to the bed to make room for his books and thus spared the fate of a watery grave. Dropping his head to his hands, he groaned loudly.

To say that the past week had been difficult would be an understatement. Everything that could possibly have gone wrong did. Three days in a row he had been assigned a double shift at the café just off of campus. Their car had broken down without warning, causing him to miss a test. In his rush the class the next day, he'd mixed up his folders, handing in the wrong essay. Kevin's method of cheering him up consisted of trying to cuddle at the most inopportune times and getting angry when Edd snapped. To top it all off, he was feeling sad and lonely for reasons that he couldn't determine. He hated not understanding his emotions. Kevin was here. What else did he need? He noticed with a start that he'd snapped his pencil in half. He threw it across the desk, frustrated tears pricking at his eyes.

He left the desk and wandered into the living room. He leaned against the doorway to watch Kevin shoot zombies in some mindless video game. He didn't see the appeal, but Kevin certainly seemed to. He is more into that video game than he's been into me all week, Edd thought bitterly. He cleared his throat, announcing his presence.

If Kevin kept playing, Edd would yell at him.

If Kevin paused the game, Edd would brush him off and insist that he was fine.

Kevin did neither. Instead, he leaned down and hit the power button, turning on the couch to face Edd. He scrutinized the dork's face for a moment, determined that he was being given a chance, and spread his arms to offer a hug. Edd took it. He crawled into Kevin's lap and hid his face in his neck. Kevin wrapped his arms around Edd and rubbed his back softly.

"I'm sorry you've had a shitty week," Kevin murmured.

Edd sighed. "It's alright. I will deal with it."

Kevin's touch changed subtly from comforting to seductive, fingers venturing lower. "Would this be a bad time to mention that we haven't had sex in over a week?"

Edd laughed and pressed their lips together. "This would be a perfect time to mention that."

"In that case…"

Kevin dumped Edd off of his lap and onto the couch. He straddled him and leaned down for a kiss, tangling his fingers in dark hair. In no time at all, clothing was shed, bodies prepped, and a condom located. Kevin looked happier than he had in weeks, thrusting into Edd like he had an itch that only Edd could scratch. Edd, for his part, was certainly enjoying the experience, but his frustrations from earlier were plaguing his mind. He couldn't quite place the loneliness, and it was driving him insane. He felt it on the tip of his tongue, just begging to—

"Oh! Eddy!" Edd cried.

Kevin slowed and stopped. He looked incredibly hurt. "Wow," he said. "Really?"

Edd's forehead creased in confusion before realization struck. He clapped his hands over his mouth. "Oh, my god! Kevin, no! That's not what that meant!"

Hurt gave way to confusion on Kevin's face. "Then what…?"

Embarrassed, Edd waved his hands around while he spoke, his face growing red. "I-I've been feeling sort of lonely for several days, and I couldn't quite place the feeling or determine the reasons behind it, but I believe that I am simply missing my friends. I haven't seen them since Christmas. That was…oh, goodness, is it May already? It's been five months since I've seen them, and it only just now occurred to me that this might be the problem, and you know I am terrible at keeping my revelations quiet. It just sort of slipped out. I'm sorry."

Kevin laughed, the movement sending thrills down their spines. His face flushed and he leaned down to take Edd's lips with greater fervor. "Let's talk later, alright?" he purred.

"That sounds agreeable, y-YES!"

Leaving Edd to shower and change, Kevin stepped into the kitchen and pulled out his phone. He had this number saved to his phone in case of an emergency, but he had never used it. He hated to be using it now, but his duty as boyfriend called. He pressed the send button and held the phone to his ear, steeling himself.

"What the hell do you want, Shovelchin?"

"Eddy. I, uh…I need your help." He cringed. He could practically feel Eddy's smug smirk through the phone.

"Sure thing, but it's gonna cost you."

"Whatever, man. Listen, Double D misses you. He's been down about it all week and it's pissing me off. I know it's a long drive, but do you think you and Ed could come see him? Maybe meet us halfway or something?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment before Eddy sighed. "I guess I can. I'll have to pry Ed away from Rolf with a fucking crowbar. Saturday?"

"Saturday sounds great. You might as well just bring Rolf, too. Me and him can go do something while you three catch up."

"'He and I,' Kevin," Edd corrected as he walked into the room, drying his hair with a towel. "Who are you speaking to?"

"Uh…no one. Just a guy from work. I'll text you later," he said into the phone. Without waiting for an answer, he hung up. He pulled Edd up to his chest. "Can you take Saturday off?"

"Well, for once I am not scheduled to work on Saturday. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking you need a break. We should drive into Riverside."

"Riverside? That's a three hour drive!"

Kevin rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well. Isn't there some exhibit or something there that you've wanted to go see? And we haven't been on a trip in a while."

Edd thought, tapping his chin with a finger. "Yes, I suppose it does sound like fun. Alright, it's a date." He smiled.

"Kevin, if we can't find the restaurant, why don't we just eat somewhere else?" Edd asked.

"Because I fucking said so. Just shut up and open the GPS on my phone."

Kevin gripped the steering wheel tightly. He hated driving in the city. It was too confusing, and drivers were assholes. He was almost certain at this point that the restaurant didn't even exist. He wouldn't put it past Eddy to make something like this up as a prank. A cab pulled out in front of them and Kevin leaned on the horn, spouting profanities.

"Kevin, please calm down. You're making me nervous," Edd said quietly, eyes trained on the screen of the cell phone.

"You're nervous? How do you think I feel? All these crazy drivers…"

"This is why I suggested taking the train…"

Edd trailed off and then gasped suddenly. Kevin nearly crashed, earning honks and middle fingers from the drivers around them.

"Don't DO that!" he yelled as he righted the car.

Ignoring him, Edd rolled his window down and leaned out to yell. "Ed! Eddy!" His friends turned and waved excitedly. "Oh, Kevin, look!"

"Fucking finally," Kevin muttered.

He pulled into the parking lot and parked next to a beat-up van that he recognized as Rolf's. The car had barely come to a stop before Edd was out of his seat and running toward the other two Eds. He crashed into them without hesitation, allowing Ed to scoop him up and swing him around. His face lit up, his mouth moving at ninety miles an hour as he spoke of his time at university. When Ed set him down, Eddy slapped him on the back, grinning widely. Edd's cheeks finally had some color to them, his eyes bright, his smile shining out without hesitation. It made Kevin happy to see his little dork so animated. It really had been too long. Edd turned to give a little wave and mouth "thank you". Kevin nodded once, smiling. He blew a kiss that Edd made a big show of catching and pressing to his cheek. He shook his head. What a dork.

Kevin locked the car and leaned up again the van, rapping on the window with his knuckles. Rolf slid the door open and grinned.

"Hello, Casanova Kevin. Rolf has not seen you since the turnips were harvested." He pulled Kevin in for a crushing hug.

"Yeah, dude. It's been a while. So you want to grab something to eat and maybe catch a movie?"

Rolf nodded and climbed into the front seat. Kevin joined him. They waved at the Eds as they drove back onto the main road, but no one waved back, too caught up in their reunion. Shaking his head, Kevin grinned and leaned his head back, playing the air guitar to the song on the radio. Kevin Barr, you are the greatest boyfriend ever.