Edd jumped and yelped when strong hands grabbed his ankles and flung them apart before their owner started crawling up his body, the wicked grin on his interrupter's face fading into a small tired smile as he paused his music and pulled his earbuds out of his ears, set the book he was reading and his phone on the night stand, and opened his arms.

"Oooh," Kevin moaned as he collapsed on top of his long-time boyfriend and Edd sighed.

This wasn't the Honey, I'm home, greeting he was expecting and it kinda hurt.

He was only in town a few days and while they were both busy with work, it bugged him that Kevin would come home looking a bit like death warmed over.

He eased his hands under Kevin's arms and started to massage slow circles into the redhead's aching shoulder blades as Kevin whined.

"Ooow."

"I'm sorry, do you –?"

"No," Kevin groaned and a deep sigh settled into his chest as Edd's ministrations eased the day away.

"So what happened?," Edd whispered as his hands eased down Kevin's sides and a flash of pain crossed Kevin's brow.

"Do you know how much the engine to a F 150 weighs?!" Kevin groaned as he shoved his face into Edd's chest.

"No," the accounting lawyer said quietly as he gave him a hug and Kevin pouted.

"Well," he said tersely as he raised his head and a slightly angry look flashed in his bright green eyes, "it weighs a lot."

Edd frowned as he considered why Kevin would be lifting the engine to a pickup truck.

Kevin had decided their junior year of high school that he would take vocational tech classes and then get an apprenticeship at a local body shop. Despite his good grades and general athleticism, traditional college just wasn't for him, but he knew that he would need to do something with his life as he couldn't depend on his parents for forever.

All it took was Eddy mentioning that he could make a living off of fixing people's motorcycles and cars for it to all to click. Being handy with his own motorcycle was one thing, and the trust his friends had in him with their own vehicles was nice, but he really needed training for the rest.

So while his friends took AP classes to get their general education credits out of the way before they went away to college, he would spend half of nearly every school day at the local vo-tech campus learning about how to take care of nearly every vehicle in existence and every weekend at the junior college taking the same AP classes as his friends as well as a few business courses.

Just in case…

While Edd went to school two hours away in Peach City to study accounting and pre-law after they all graduated, Kevin stayed behind and got on with the garage at Eddy's dad's car dealership thanks to his mechanic's certification.

When Edd was done with his bachelor's degree, Kevin got a business loan and opened his own garage in Lemon Brook.

While Edd toiled away in law school two states away, Kevin was busy building his life's work.

When Edd passed the bar, Kevin opened a new garage in Peach Creek.

Edd got a job at an accounting firm in Charleston right after he got his bar license and Kevin opened up another garage in Peach City and moved there to maintain it as his other two garages were doing well without him and he wanted to be in the city to live like a grown up.

While their friendship had grown during their latter middle school and high school days, especially after they both came out junior year, they really didn't start to bond until Kevin needed his business loan.

Edd wanted the practice in learning how loans worked in real life and Kevin wanted to branch out on his own.

Many late summer nights were spent pouring over paper work and Edd's text books, and before Edd went off to law school, Kevin took him out on a date as thanks for all of his help.

That date led to once a month visits to Edd, breaks spent at home so they could see each other more, and by spring break, falling in love.

So to say that Edd was concerned about Kevin's work was a bit of an understatement.

"Hmm."

"Yeah, and Andy's out because his ex just had their baby, and Mark had to go see his parole officer, so it was just me, Isaac, and Lonnie. And God knows Isaac ain't built for this so yeah," Kevin grumbled as he faceplanted into Edd's chest again and moaned in pain as the ravenette tried his best to gently rub his knotted back.

Edd gave him a gentle squeeze as he kissed the top of his head before shoving him away.

"Where -?"

Edd just rolled off the bed and walked over to the dresser across the room as he tossed an order to Kevin over his shoulder to take off his shirt and get on his stomach.

Finding the massage oil he made for times like these next to the cologne he loved on the redhead, he made his way back to the bed as Kevin did what he was told, sat on Kevin's ass, poured a dollop of oil in his hand as he said, "Tell Baby Boy what happened."

And Kevin ranted as Edd massaged the day away.

"Ok so, Isaac can't lift shit, but he's good on inventory so I can't get rid of him, but with Andy out, I need someone who can move shit, ya know? And Rolf just had to bring the truck in today. Hell, I'm surprised it made it here. But then he wanted to shoot the shit, which would have been fine if Andy was in, but he wasn't and Mark was late getting back because of that water main break by your hotel. Like, seriously, what the fuck were you people doing down there?"

"Playing in the water fountain," Edd chuckled.

Kevin turned his head to look at him and the silly smirk on Edd's face was a dead giveaway to what really happened.

Nothing.

Just the city's infrastructure crumbling.

But the water geyser that shot up a good twenty feet in the air was fun for the hundreds of people in town for the H&R Block Continuing Education Conference to play in before the city finally shut off the water and blocked the street off to take care of it.

Edd had been staying with Kevin during the conference because they would only get a few hours together a day if he stayed in the hotel as Kevin's garage was on the opposite side of town from the hotel, but his condo was between both places. Considering Edd's visits were sporadic as it was, staying with Kevin just made sense.

Even when there were water fountains to play in.

"Freaking nerds," Kevin groaned as Edd massaged a knot out of his side.

Then he pinched him for calling he and his colleagues' nerds.

"OW!," Kevin whined into the pillow Edd would sleep on when he came to visit before shooting him a dirty look. "Meanie."

"I'm a terrible person," Edd said with an eye roll. "Now lay still. You're wound tighter than top."

"Sorry," Kevin muttered and Edd leaned over to kiss the nape of his neck.

"It's ok. I understand."

And Edd did understand. In his own way, of course.

Kevin needed to hire two more mechanics and an assistant to help with the shop in general, but just couldn't afford to.

His own accounting firm had laid off so many people it was making his head spin. He had managed to hold on to his own assistant, but he had to give her the work of three people and cut a few job perks to do it. And it killed him that the interns that were being brought in were doing the work for the dreaded college credit versus getting paid actual money for their hard work.

"How are things down there anyways?," Kevin asked, as he started to feel much better but still not quite himself.

All he heard was squirt of the oil in Edd's hand before his numbers guy went on a tangent of his own.

"Ok, so this conference was mandatory for the CPA's to maintain their certification, right?," Edd began and before Kevin could mutter an answer, Edd vented. "But they want them to pay their own way to the conference which is damn near impossible for the entry level employees because they've got so many expenses, but really no one to share it, with unlike our middle management people. And I'm supposed to come up with a way for them to legally get away with it, and I just can't. I think HR will figure something out, but God knows the board is gonna give my boss hell about it which means I'll have to hear about it, which is just silly because I'm not the one who makes the laws, I just have to make sure they're interpreted and enforced properly. But then they want to pay my way and I'm only here to take a few refresher classes."

"And?," Kevin drawled lowly.

"I can't tell them I came to see you, Dear," Edd snickered and Kevin shrugged his shoulders, relieved that he could actually move them again.

"Meeeeeh."

"Silly goose," Edd chuckled as he gave his back a few scratches and Kevin snorted out a giggle. "But really," Edd went on, "I can pay my own way. They don't have to kiss my ass, I ain't going anywhere."

Kevin quirked a brow at his tone and pulled himself up into step one of a pushup. Edd took the hint, crawled off of him, and Kevin pulled him into his lap.

"You been looking again, haven't you?," Kevin asked with a serious look in his eyes and Edd nodded as he looked down at his oily hands.

They had spent the entirety of their relationship up to this point apart and Edd was growing tired of it, but there weren't many account firms in Peach City, let alone any that needed a lawyer. He had thought of starting his own firm, but neither Peach Creek nor Lemon Brook could sustain one and Lord knew the city didn't need anymore. But he never stopped looking at the firms in the city, just in case an opening came up.

Kevin had thought about opening a garage in Charleston to be closer to Edd, but the economy tanked and he couldn't afford to even think about opening anywhere else. He had just broke a three month streak of keeping all three garages in the black at the same time and he wasn't about to stretch his luck.

"Anything?"

Edd shook his head no on a sad sigh and Kevin brought him into a tight hug.

"We'll figure it out," he whispered as he kissed his cheek. "You up for staying in tonight, though?," he sighed as he scratched the back of his neck and a worried pout crossed Edd's face at the tired look in his eyes. "I can make ya something," he finished with a grin and Edd had to laugh as Kevin's skills in the kitchen were very simple and limited to his microwave and the broiler on his oven for steak.

But he was a bit of a grill master and the weather was perfect for dinner al fresco.

"Steak?"

"Yeah, sure," Kevin said as he kissed his forehead and started to climb off the bed.

"Outside?"

Kevin snapped his head around and a wide smile crossed his face.

"I'm gonna need a need a beer for this, you know," he smirked and Edd all but skipped out of the room.

"DONE!"

Dinner was traditional with potato salad, green beans, corn on the cob, and thick rib eyes that Edd had put in his own secret marinade the night before.

But during their Netflix and chill time, he saw that Kevin really just wanted to chill.

Simple cuddles, holding hands, a few stolen kisses, but nothing more.

And it made Edd think.

Life with Kevin had always been hot, passionate romance.

Romantic dates to nice restaurants when they could afford it, but so many picnics were had as well and it was just as sweet.

Taking rides on Kevin's Harley to go stargazing and making out as the stars fell out of the sky.

Visits home when Edd was away at school was the only time they actively went out because their friends and family tended to frown on their staying in bed the entire time as they all wanted to see Edd, too.

But now that they were both on their own, visits were spent in, unless Edd came down for work, but even then, they'd steal away for a bit to kiss like teenagers behind trees at the park during lunch, and Kevin would take him out to dinner before bringing him back to his place and making love to him til they both passed out.

This visit had one lunch date, but two dinner dates out. They made love the first night because they needed to.

The conference ended tomorrow, and while Edd was staying for the rest of the weekend, he wanted to kick it off on a high note of sorts.

Like the one Kevin could bring out of him as he took him in bed.

But in quiet moments, like post work back massages, or making dinner together and binge watching whatever show they compromised on that weekend, Edd knew that this would be life with Kevin if they could ever live in the same city.

While he loved being the one loved on whenever they could steal time away for themselves, being the one to do the lovin' was a nice ego boost.

Kevin needed him.

When they fell into bed, Edd was the big spoon despite being the smaller of the two and the way that Kevin curled against him nearly broke his heart.

Visits would occur a few times a month, but he really worried about how Kevin got on without him. He had work to drown himself in, a few friends to hang out with, and reach out programs he'd do with the graduate chapters of the different honor societies he had been inducted into during his undergrad years.

Kevin had much of the same minus the volunteer work but his day job, which he loved, would take just as much out of him as he put in. And on some days, it would take everything out of him.

They would call each other every day, but seeing what was really going on behind the flirting, the regular discussion about his day, and knowing why he sounded so wistful when they discussed their future, made Edd feel some kind of way.

He just wanted to be with his man and live the domestic life of their dreams.

What he had never truly considered was the fact that Kevin needed to be cared for as much as he was used to Kevin caring for him.

And if he was with him every day, he could do just that.

He fell into a worried sleep holding Kevin close and wondered about what they were going to do.