And One

Edd began to hear the echo of sneakers squeaking and a ball bouncing on a hardwood floor. As he made his way further down the hall the sound grew louder and louder until finally he pushed open the gym door to find a certain red head right where he knew he would be. All the other players had left nearly an hour ago, but Kevin had once again taken it upon himself to get what he called, "a real workout" in before leaving. Edd chuckled to himself, catching the red heads attention in the middle of a sprint. He shot him that cute smile and held the bag of food he had with him over his head. A night out to a nice romantic restaurant was nice, but there wasn't anything wrong with a nice meal on the gym bleachers now and then.

"I am pleased to see you are making progress Kevin, but there is nothing wrong with taking it easy a few nights out of the week."

Kevin began to present an apology but was quickly silenced.

"I don't say this because it is effecting us negatively. I understand that some nights will be longer than others, it is just the way you are. I simply don't want you to burn yourself out, rest is an important point on the road to improvement. You aren't going to be able to execute the way you hope in games if you completely exhaust yourself day in and day out in practice."

Kevin smiled as he listened to his sock head lecture him for the third time this week. He kept bringing it up and Kevin knew that he was right. Between school work, practice, and games Kev had been burning that candle at both ends for a while now. Eventually he couldn't help himself and leaned over the food in front of them to happily shut his favorite brainiac up for a moment.

"Got it coach," he said giving him a wink as he watched his face burn a light shade of pink. "I'm going to work on it, starting tomorrow. What do you want to do babe?"

Thinking for a moment Edd grinned, "The theater is hosting a production of 'Les Miserables' tomorrow evening."

Kevin looked down slightly regretting his offer, but he would be with Edd so the night wouldn't be a total loss at least. He agreed and the two finished their meals before making their way back to their dorm and getting some much needed sleep.

The next day Kevin lifted himself up in bed, wondering where the night had gone and stretching his aching muscles before turning on the T.V. As the sound filled the room a half dressed Edd peaked his head out from the bathroom door sporting one of Kevin's shirts, toothbrush in hand.

"I didn't expect you up so early."

"Neither did I", Kevin responded giving Edd a pathetic look as he remained sitting up and halfway under the covers. He would have fallen back and tried to get another few hours' sleep if Edd wouldn't shove him off the side if he tried. Instead he simply sat for a moment trying to fully wake himself up before beginning his day. He quickly looked up at the TV, still rubbing one eye as he heard a new story coming on. Edd turned it up, sitting on the bed next to him.

"Now we move into college basketball news, and it seems that everyone is talking about UCONN this season. But more specifically, the name on everyone's lips, Kevin Barr. This kid is showing major promise right now, everyone was sure that he was a one-and-done player. They were gearing up for the news that he was heading to the draft but low and behold, he is back for another year at the collegiate level. Now we know it's not because no-one wanted him because this kid was, and still is, highly sought after by NBA scouts. But something kept him from taking the plunge, maybe he just really wants that degree, I don't know. But what I do know is that with numbers like he has been having, averaging 20+ points per game, 6 assists per game, this kid has had multiple double-doubles already this season, I mean with an output like this I would not be surprised to see the huskies cutting down those nets this year. So, like I said, I don't know why Kevin Barr elected to stay out of this year's draft, but we all know who is thankful that he did."

The screen went black as Kevin put the remote back in Edd's lap before giving him a kiss and moving into the bathroom. Kevin originally had every intention of going into the draft after his freshman year, but, Edd being Edd, he was swayed to stay the course and get his degree before moving on to the next stage of his career. It wasn't necessarily a bad choice, but it did have its risks. If Kevin got himself injured within these next three years, his entire future as a player could be gone in an instant. The both of them did their best to put that thought far out of their minds. Besides, today wasn't about stats, games, or draft picks. Today was about something far more important, like suffering through a theater production for the man you love.