The Peach Creek Cobblers had won the game that night. Well, winning would have been an understatement; they decimated their rival team in glorious humiliation in such a way that songs would be written about their victory for years to come. Cheerleaders would use the humiliating defeat against this particular school as taunts for many seasons to come. Not a single away player left that field of destruction with their heads up and word was, their coach had considered retirement.
"Hang on, guys," Ed said as their victorious team, fresh from the showers and dressed in their street clothes began to file out of the side door to join friends and family. "I gotta go."
"Alright, Ed," Double Dee answered as he turned to his tall friend. This was the last season for them, next year would be college for him, a career for Eddy who had worked for the past two years for a man who owned a construction business, and, well, he wasn't sure what Ed would be doing. He reached out, buttoning the top three buttons of Ed's trench coat before smoothing down the collar much like the doting mother hen that he was. "Do you want us to wait for you, or do you want to walk home?"
"I can walk," Ed said, patiently doing the potty dance in place as Double Dee fussed over him. "I'll see ya later!" With a bright smile and a wave, he turned quickly, his heavy curtain of auburn hair flowing around him as he made his way quickly towards the side door. "Make sure Sarah gets home alright!" he called as he rushed into the building.
The game had been great, action packed and full of violence. Just how he liked it. However, his eyes had picked up something he felt not many people would have noticed. His hunch was validated when he watched the new sophomore carried off the field on the shoulders of fans and players alike while Kevin stood by himself. His friend had put on a good stoic façade but fact of the matter was; he was quickly being overlooked for the new star player.
Such as it was in life, sadly.
Ed made haste to the locker room. Up until last year he had played running back until three boys from the very team destroyed tonight had teamed up on him and did a three way tackle. It was a ploy to get him out of the game because Ed's defense was amazing and he could plow through the biggest guys like a bulldozer. The result of that mean spirited stunt left him with a left knee that was shot and so there went his chilly autumn nights playing ball with his friends.
Reaching out, he put his hand upon the locker door and paused, listening. Silence greeted him, but that didn't mean much. Slowly, he pushed open the door and poked his head in, once again greeted with the same empty loneliness. And yet again, that didn't mean much. A man hurting didn't often make a lot of noise. He was careful to make his presence known as he entered the locker room without it being too boisterous or threatening and just as his instincts had told him, there was Kevin, still geared up and sitting on a bench in front of a row of lockers. His back was bent, head down and his arms resting on his knees. He held his helmet, probably forgotten, by the chin strap where it dangled close to his ankles. Ed wasn't even sure if Kevin knew he was there until the Quarter back lifted his head an iota before growling.
"What do you want, dork?"
"Dork?" Ed questioned as he made his way to the bathroom stalls. He removed his trench coat and tossed it onto a bench before heading to the nearest stall. The sound of the door shutting to was loud as it banged into the frame and Kevin continued to sit where he was, the very picture of defeat. He exhaled once and then twice before lifting his face. By the sound coming from the stall, someone had brought in a Russian thoroughbred of exquisite lineage to come and use the restroom.
When he was finished, Ed flushed and headed to the bank of sinks to Kevin's left.
"I'm such a loser," the harsh voice was almost inaudible over the running water.
"Loser?" Ed echoed as he washed his hands. Double Dee had doubled down on making sure Ed took good care of his hygiene and it was rewarding him well. He took a quick glance at himself in the mirror, his pimples that plagued him during puberty long gone, and then turned his eyes at the reflection of the slumped form still holding the bench down.
"Yeah. Loser," Kevin bit acerbically. "No thanks to that ball hog Tory, everyone's treating him like he's some kind of super star." In a fit of anger, Kevin finally lifted his head and then threw his helmet across the locker room as hard as he could. The brash clang and rattle that resulted from the sudden fit of anger startled Ed as if it had happened suddenly behind his back.
"You're not a loser, Kevin," Ed said as he rubbed his damp palms against the hips of his jeans before walking over to the bank of lockers against the far wall. The helmet was undamaged, but that couldn't be said about the thin metal door it had collided with; judging from the appreciative dent it had left when it struck it.
"Yeah, I am."
"You killed out there," Ed said softly as he came back to his friend. Rather than hand him the helmet, he went to Kevin's locker and opened it up, where he hung it on its peg and then turned with a half-smile on his face, but Kevin's head was lowered again. It was as if he were sitting in his own lap.
"Tory killed out there, I was in the way," Kevin said glumly. If he was aware that Ed had moved to stand before him, he didn't acknowledge it. "Stupid sophomore, you know he was held back in the fourth grade, so that makes him a year younger than us, it's not fair."
Ed's knee popped loudly as if making its own point about life not being fair as he squatted slowly before Kevin. He was silent as he studied him with compassionate eyes while he thought what words of comfort would be the best. The stretch of silence was long before he found them.
"Life's not fair," Ed agreed, his hands coming up to rest upon Kevin's upper thighs. He was too focused on trying to get him to make eye contact that he didn't realize where they were. Kevin did. It felt strange to him, but he liked it. A small flicker of thrill tickled a path up his spine and he lifted his head to finally make the eye contact that Ed so deeply desired. They were silent again for a brief tic before Ed continued.
"And you know what? Who cares? I saw you play an awesome game. Awesome," Ed whispered as he absently drummed the fingers of his right hand along the outside of Kevin's thigh. "I bet any recruiter would be going "Now look at that guy, he's got heart." And I would agree with him."
"You agree with French Toast," Kevin snorted as he turned his face away. It was the only part of his body that he wanted to move. There was something about Ed's touch that made him feel weird and tickly inside. He kept telling himself that it was wrong to feel that way with a guy touching him, but at that moment he didn't care. Who cares? That's the advice Ed had just given him, wasn't it?
Ed's face broke into a large sappy grin and his ice blue eyes danced with mirth. "I love French toast, Kevin!" he announced, now drumming the fingers of both hands on his outer thighs. Kevin couldn't help but to scoff as he tried his darndest not to smile. Smiling right now was wrong; it would betray his wounded pride. Smiling would probably make Ed move his hands.
"Stuff like this, you can't keep," Ed said, suddenly growing serious. "You gotta share it, pass it along. Sometimes stuff like this… you can make it better, or you can make it worse."
"What do you mean, stuff like this?"
"This time in your life. You're passing the torch, that's all," Ed said. "You got to have this time in your life since we were kids, but now, it's someone else's turn to have it. These life moments are like the classroom hamster, you get to keep it over the weekend, but next weekend, it's someone else's turn."
Realization dawned on Kevin's face, but he remained silent.
"You've got something else coming up; something that someone else has to let go of because it's your turn," Ed whispered.
"What is it?" Kevin breathed, staring Ed in the eye now, wanting fervently to know what that new thing was he was talking about. Ed simply shook his head softly.
"I don't know," he answered. "But promise me one thing?"
"Yeah," Kevin said, finding a bit more strength to his voice.
"Hang onto it tight, but take good care of it. We don't always get to have that special thing." A sad smile graced Ed's lips as he leaned back, though he was still holding onto Kevin's thighs. "You gotta make it extra special for people like that, so they can enjoy it through you."
"Like you…" Kevin whispered in understanding.
Ed's smile grew and he simply shrugged. "Ah, don't feel bad about it, Kevin. I got my special spots in life. I sometimes just have to wait longer than the rest of you guys. Eddy's got a great job coming up, Double Dee's got college."
"What are you three gonna do since you're separating?"
"Huh? We're not," Ed said. "We're going to buy a house and live there."
"That's not possible," Kevin said sadly. "Dude, you know that some things in life have to end? Like this special thing of mine that you're talking about… right?"
"Some things never have to end, love never ends," Ed said. "It might turn different, change, but it never ends."
"But what if the guys want to get married?"
"Well, we'll worry about that when it comes. No sense worrying about it now, right?"
"You're trying to hold onto something… you can't hold onto your childhood forever, man, that's just stupid."
"No, it's not," Ed said gently. "Life is what you make of it. We're going to make it happy as best as we can, because we aren't promised tomorrow. Why not worry about today? You don't get old fast that way."
"I guess not," Kevin said with a sigh. He lifted his hands and slowly rubbed his face as sadness washed over him. Ed was right; things were changing. He was passing the beloved torch of this time in his life to Tory. It had to be this way so he could move ahead in the race and reach out for a torch that was waiting to be passed to him. What it was, he didn't know, he just sincerely hoped he wouldn't fumble and drop it. "What if I screw up?" he breathed between his fingers.
Ed shrugged again. "So? Aren't you entitled?"
"I hate screwing up. I hate being weak."
Leaning forward, Ed pressed his forehead to the backs of Kevin's hands. "That don't make you weak, mister," he said firmly. "It just teaches you what not to do next time. Okay? Screwing up is like homework. The quicker you learn from it, the less you have to do."
It was the simple wisdom in those comforting words that gave Kevin the desire to suddenly throw his arms around the broad shoulders and cling to him, as if he were drowning. Ed didn't move for a long moment, but when the bitter tears, silent in their delivery, began to soak his t-shirt just above his heart, he slowly moved his hands. His arms wound around Kevin's body in a warm comforting embrace and he simply held him. He could feel the tension in Kevin's body, thrumming like a raw power line downed in a storm, but that was all right. Kevin wasn't one to so easily let himself go in situations such as this, and especially not with another male. Carefully, Ed lifted his right hand and placed it splay-fingered between the shuddering shoulder blades, pressing firmly to give the broken player a silent word of encouragement that this was good. It was okay. Everything was going to be okay.
"You tell anyone about this," Kevin's words drifted up from Ed's chest, muffled through fabric and tears. "And I'll pound ya."
"Why would I tell? I don't want to hurt you."
I don't want to hurt you.
Those words broke and yet mended Kevin's heart at the same time and his arms clung tighter around Ed's frame. He let out a soft keening cry before taking hold of himself and leaning back where he was quick to brush the tears out of his eyes and off of his cheeks. The apology on his lips and the threat in his eyes were cut off immediately as Ed leaned forward and captured his mouth in a kiss. Kevin's eyes snapped open wide, perhaps wider than ever in his life as his breath quickened in his throat. Ed tilted his head slightly to the right, the kiss growing deeper and yet sweeter than anything Kevin had experienced before. His hands, now curled into fists and ready to pound upon the strong back slowly began to relax and open and he closed his eyes while his brows furrowed.
Such a curious sensation as he succumbed. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever pictured himself in such a situation but here he was and truth to told; he liked it. Ed was strong, yet soft and gentle. He could taste the ice breakers wintergreen on Ed's tongue as he teased it gently between Kevin's lips and he parted them, giving in and letting go. A thrill of excitement began to course through his nerves, ending up into a ball in his belly that spread warmth out into his legs and buzzed in his groin and Ed continued to confidently kiss him.
Their lips opened further and the contact grew deeper. Kevin leaned forward now wanting this as much as he wanted the breath in his lungs. He couldn't help the way his toes began to curl as that heavy buzzing feeling in his groan caused his lower belly to cramp. An orgasm. Ed, with the passion of a single kiss, had given him an orgasm and he shuddered before breaking the kiss. He held onto the strong shoulders, but holding Ed's body away from him so he could study his face.
"Dude…" he said, the disgust his confused pride wanted to portray in his voice faltering and melting away. His eyes grew soft. "Dude," he said.
Seeming to ignore him, Ed busied his hands as he reached out to untie Kevin's shoulder pads. Carefully he lifted them over his head and set them aside as he squatted down before him once more. This time, he was sitting between Kevin's legs, smiling up to him with that gentle and faithful expression on his face. He trusted Kevin and Kevin's heart twinged as he turned his face away, desperately wanting to rise and walk away but knowing if he did, he would miss a very special torch that was offered to him in this race called life. He turned his face forward again and gazed back down to Ed and another thought occurred to him; who'd take care of Ed? Eddy and Double Dee had been dating for two years now, and the Ed's continued to run from the amorous advances of the Kanker's, who just couldn't handle the fact that the boys they had pursued for so long would never be available to them.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Kevin sighed as his expression grew soft. People had hurt him over his life time, and he knew he had hurt others, but Ed was almost the exception to the rule. Save for a bit of funny (though it wasn't at the time) bantering when he was grounded and save for some innocent mishaps, Ed had never gone out of his way to hurt him. In fact, Kevin was the one who had stepped in to keep the big oaf out of harm's way when bullies came knocking at the odd kids' door. Kevin had always protected him because Ed was his dork.
His dork.
His dork.
Ed tilted his head as he watched the myriad of emotions cross Kevin's face like storm tossed waves of the ocean.
He felt this torch as it was pressed firmly into his palm when Ed leaned forward and nuzzled his cheek into his chest. Waves of emotion crossed over him; fear, concern, warmth, protectiveness and something he couldn't really place. Maybe not yet, but perhaps he'd have a better word for it when he got older. But above all, the feeling of protection was the strongest. Ed was nearly six foot five and ripped, most of the muscle was natural, too, the big jerk. Yet he was the most gentle, sweetest and most caring person Kevin had ever known. A loyal friend who was as honest as he was goofy; who never said things just because you wanted to hear them, but told the brutally honest truth. He was the one who needed the protection from ones who would go out of their way to hurt him.
"Hey," Kevin said with a gruff voice.
"Yeah?"
"We gotta get one thing straight, Ed…"
"Yeah?"
"I'm the man."
Ed tipped his face up and gave Kevin a trustful, yet playful smile. "You're the man, Kevin!" he announced loudly within the near empty locker room. Kevin grimaced at the volume and then reached out to push the long auburn hair from Ed's face. He liked it long; it did wonders for him.
"One more thing…"
"Yeah?"
"We gotta work on your voice control."
"Okie dokie, Smokey," Ed said as he once again leaned forward and nuzzled into Kevin's chest.
Kevin wasn't sure what to make of this special moment in his life, but no matter what, he would hold it dear in his heart, stashing it away in a safe spot that no one would be able to find and darken. And he would make sure of one thing; no one was going to hurt his dork.