Will You Be Okay?

By: Jaha Canon

Disclaimer: I don't own the Eds… at all. :D

I actually wrote this a couple of months ago (in September, actually) and I was sort of in a strange mindset at the time. But, after rereading it, I realized that I still like it a lot, so I thought I'd stick it up here.

My non-humor Eds fics have never really gone over very well, though.

---------

"Well, Ed, I guess this is it." Edd said with finality. "Have a safe flight and make sure to say hello to Eddy for me when you see him."

"You're not coming with me, Double D?" Ed asked, looking worried.

Edd smiled, "Ed, they haven't allowed people who don't have flights past security into the terminal for years now. You'll be all right; there will be lots of signs so you'll find your flight just fine. And there's plenty of time in case you get lost."

Ed was silent for a while and then nodded. He tried to mimic his trademark ridiculous grin, but he still looked concerned.

Edd noticed this and figured it that his friend was nervous to be leaving to live on his own.

They had lived together for the past few years ever since they graduated from high school.

Eddy, of course, had high aspirations for his life and got up the courage to go pursure them on his own. Edd missed him a lot, but remembering how secretly insecure Eddy used to be on his own, he was really proud of his friend's leap towards independence. Eddy didn't have a lot of money yet, although he had enough to get by. Edd and Ed would save money when they could to pay him visits.

And now a long awaited job opportunity awaits Ed in an area nearby where Eddy lives. They weren't going to live to together, but they were certainly going to see more of eachother. Edd felt a pang of sadness thinking of his two friends hanging out without him. He ignored it to continue seeing Ed off.

"Well, take care, Ed. Continue eating well, okay?" Edd advised, in a somewhat naggy tone.

Ed smiled at the tone and nodded again.

Edd always felt like Ed needed him. Although he is as good-natured as they come, the lovable oaf would always get into so much trouble. Edd worried how Ed would fare in the cold, lonely world without him to guide him out of trouble and advise him on proper eating and hygiene habits. He wished that he could move along with Ed, but he already had a very secure job that pays well nearby where he and Ed moved years ago.

"Promise me, Ed," Edd said, "that you'll be okay on your own."

Ed beamed and nodded, "Yup! I promise!"

The two of them fell silent for a while. Edd could tell that Ed had something he really wanted to say and waited.

"Double D?"

"Yes, Ed?"

"Promise me that you'll be okay on your own, too."

This surprised Edd. Why would Ed have to worry about him? He had a great job, both eats and enjoys the heathiest of foods, and keeps his living space in perfect order.

But still, he was touched by the sentiment.

"Of course, Ed." He said with a genuine smile.

The worried expression that seemed to have been on Ed's face since this morning finally vanished and he geniunely smiled back.

Edd watched, waving as Ed gradually disappeared into airport security. Ed turned around every now and then to wave back. When Ed completely vanished, he decided go to where he can watch the plane take off.

He sat down in a bench. A few random people were scattered around him. Edd smiled politely to a woman nearby who was looking apologetic while trying to silence her children.

He shut his eyes and began tuning out the world around him. Not necessarily because of the high pitched screams of the children nearby, but just for the sake of doing it.

Suddenly he had a memory.

A very exhausted Edd fumbled with the apartment keys. It seemed to be a big task just to get the key to go into the slot. Finally, he was able to get the door open. He walked in, dropped his things in a very uncharacteristic careless manner and, without paying attention to anything except the task of putting one foot ahead of the other, he walked past Ed watching TV heading towards his room.

Edd's exhaustion grabbed Ed's attention the second he heard the dragging footsteps.

He turned down the television and looked Edd with a serious expression. "Double D, you look just like a zombie."

Edd sighed, not really up for Ed's imagination at the moment. "It's been a long day, Ed."

Ed nodded in an understanding manner. "Are you going to eat anything, Double D?"

Edd shook his head. "I don't have the energy to get anything together."

"I can make something for you!" Ed offered eagerly. "Come on, you never skip meals!"

"Oh Ed," Edd responded, the tired tone of his voice increased, "as much as I am touched by your offer, you know I can't stomach the kinds of food you make for yourself."

"Nuh uh." Ed shook his head. "I can make Double D food!" He got up, grabbed his smarter friend by the shouders, and sat him on the couch. "Wait here, okay?"

Edd couldn't think of what else to do, so he tiredly nodded. He realized that beneath all of the fatigue, he actually was starving. He briefly watched the movie Ed was watching on television until it started to bore him and his eyelids began to fall.

"No you don't!" Ed ordered playfully, as he shook the exhausted Edd out of slumber.

Edd almost protested when he saw a plate of spaghetti in Ed's hand.

"Why, Ed," the surprise of this woke him up just little, "this actually looks quite edible."

"Yup, I am Ed-able to make Double D food!" he chirped. "I know it's not your favorite, but I don't know how to cook the other stuff in your part of the pantry."

Edd found himself shaking his head dumbly as he accepted the plate. "It looks great, thank you, Ed."

Ed beamed proudly as he watched Edd finish off the plate.

"Actually, I'm feeling a lot better now." Edd said gratefully.

"They made you work a lot again, today, huh, Double D?" Ed questioned.

Edd smiled a little. "Yeah. But after all those years of Eddy's scams, their demands themselves don't faze me. But there's no way anything Eddy or anything could've prepared me for –this- exhaustion."

Ed smiled at Edd's mention of their friend and then sighed. "You're probably a lot smarter than they are."

"Even if that is true," Edd replied, "I definitely won't get on their good sides if I made a point of letting them know that. I suppose that's how it's supposed to work. You start off at the bottom of the food chain and work your way up to-"

"Superhero!" Ed interupted.

Edd chucked, "That would take more time than I have."

They talked for a while until exhaustion caught up with Edd again and he was suddenly out like a light.

He woke up the next morning tucked into his own bed. Ed had even thought to set his alarm clock for him. He got up, prepared for the day, and made sure to say thank you to Ed as he went out the door.

The flashback ended and Edd felt like he had been in a trance. He noticed that Ed's plane was now getting ready to take off.

What this memory meant popped into his head and he suddenly felt like something was stuck in his throat.

Ed took care of him.

And the more he thought about it, the more the realized that Ed had taken care of him all along. Sure, sometimes Ed would require help from Edd with various things, but at the same time Edd could always count on Ed to have a cheerful disposition and to perform a nice gesture for him even when he was so buried in the business of his life to know that he needed it.

"Oh Ed," Edd said silently to the plane soaring away, "What am I going to do without you around?"

While calculating how much of his salary he could afford to put aside each month for "emergency travels," he got up from the bench and began making his way of out of the airport.