A/N: This is a gift for my dear friend, whatsittoya13. I hope you like it uwu)/
Warnings: This is my first story for these lil' cuties so I apologize if they're too OOC! This is also unbeta'd so if you see any mistakes that just make you cringe and feel the need to correct me, go for it! It'll help me become a better writer in the long run so I appreciate it (:
I hope whoever reads this enjoys it as well and I'll stop rambling so you can get onto the story. Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Dark, angry clouds slowly rolled in the sky, blocking the pleasantly bright rays of the sun. Thunder rumbled angrily in the distance, followed by lightning soon after.
Edd jerked the curtains shut in one quick motion, letting a little sigh escape his lips. Oh how he despised thunderstorms. As much as he didn't want to admit it, they freaked him out, more or less. The thunder was always too loud and scary, the lightning always too bright. The wind howled and moaned, erupting the sturdy house into shakes that normally had Edd taking cover beneath the safety of the blankets.
Speaking of blankets...
He stalked up the stairs and headed to the nearest closet that contained an array of blankets. His security. He grabbed about 2 or 3 before heading back downstairs and throwing them haphazardly onto the couch.
He would be needing those.
Edd grabbed a book that he had been reading beforehand and hoped that he could use it as some sort of distraction from the storm. He settled down on the couch, bundling up into the safe haven of quilts, and opening the book.
The first crack of thunder startled him, but not badly enough to have him stop reading. He tried to ignore it, burying his head into the book and taking in every word written on the page with fascination.
He saw the bright flash of lightning from his peripheral vision and tilted the book slightly so it could block his view.
So far, so good.
He managed to block out the storm for quite some time, engrossed in the book at hand. It wasn't until an unusually loud crash of thunder echoed through the sky that he nearly jumped out of his skin and let out a little yelp. His breathing became erratic and his hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Calm down. You're fine... He told himself. His trembling hands made it slightly harder to read the book, but he managed. He took several deep breaths to calm himself down, although it was all in vain as another clap of thunder sounded loudly through the air which made him drop his book unto the floor with surprise. He quickly grabbed a part of the blanket and lifted it over his head before curling up into a little ball on the couch.
Edd trembled beneath the blankets, a whimper escaping his lips everytime the thunder cackled tauntingly in the sky. Everytime he willed himself to calm down and everytime he would assure himself that he would be okay, that the storm isn't going to hurt him, the elements would tell him otherwise when the lightning stuck down somewhere in the distance or the rain would hit the ground even harder or when the thunder crashed.
Edd wasn't sure how long he stayed there, curled under the blankets, a shivering mess, but he assumed it was a while seeing as thought his legs were beginning to become numb from leaning on them.
A sudden knock on the door, both booming and sharp, had the trembling mess of a body nearly jump out of his skin. Edd lifted the blanket with violently shaking hands to settle his uneasy gaze to the front door where the perpetuating noise was coming from. Who would be knocking at the door while a huge storm was raging outside? Surely it couldn't be Ed or Eddy...
Edd opted to go and look, despite his mind telling him that he would be much safer hiding under the security of the thick, warm sheets.
He unsteadily lifted himself off of the couch (not without grabbing a sheet for comfort first) and proceeded to walk toward the door, picking up his pace when the knocks began to sound faster and louder. Not bothering to look through the peephole like usual, Edd swung the door open; after unlocking multiple locks covering the door, of course.
Light blue eyes widened considerably upon seeing who the person behind the door was.
Standing on his porch, drenched from head to toe in the water that pelted the earth, was Kevin. His hat was missing in favor of the hood of his sweatshirt which didn't seem to help all to much with blocking out the rain from falling onto his face. His ginger hair, a darker shade of red due to the weight of the water that he was soaked in, fell into his eyes; fat drops dribbled down his freckled cheeks and slipped past his defined chin.
"What're you staring at, dork?"
Kevin's voice snapped Edd out of his musing, unaware that he had been gawking at the taller male standing before him. A light blush dusted his cheeks from embarrassment and he mumbled out a quick, "sorry". He cleared his throat and tightened his grip on the blanket that pooled at his feet, willing himself not to jump or shake when the thunder growled and bright flashes of purple lightning illuminated the dark clouds in the sky.
"What are you doing here?" Edd questioned, speaking a bit louder than usual to be heard above the rumble and grumble of the storm.
Kevin brushed his bangs that were nearly obscuring his vision from his eyes and pulled at the hoodie sticking uncomfortably to his skin.
"I was riding around for a while," Kevin gestured to the motorcycle behind him, gleaming from the rain despite the dark clouds blocking any means of light, "And I got caught in the storm. I tried to ride it out, but it just got worse and worse until I had to stop or risk losing my bike to an accident."
'Shouldn't you be more concerned about hurting yourself rather than your bike?' Edd wanted to say, but instead settled with asking him if he would like to come inside.
"No. I want to stand out here in the pouring rain because it's oh-so fun." His voice just dripped with sarcasm.
Edd decided to ignore the sarcastic remark in favor of ushering him inside the house, to safety, when another loud clap of thunder pounded against his eardrums. Kevin shivered when he stepped into the air conditioned house, putting his hands under his armpits in a futile attempt to keep warm. Edd walked by him, after securing the locks once again, and glanced in his direction while he stood in the doorway to another room.
"I'll be right back," He began, "I'm going to find you something to change into. Please, take your shoes off so you don't track mud." He walked away, leaving Kevin a shivering mess in the middle of the foyer. He complied to Edd's request and took his sopping wet shoes off, as well as his socks, and put them off to the side where other pairs of shoes lay. He stood there for another few minutes before
Edd emerged from the doorway, neatly folded clothes in hand.
"H-here. You can change into these. They may be a bit tighter because their mine," His father wouldn't fancy the idea that his clothes had been lent to another who was dirty from the outside world. "But I can imagine it would be a lot more comfortable than wearing that."
Kevin took the bundle of clothes from the other's smaller, and slightly shaking hands, before muttering a quick thanks. He stood there for a few moments longer, his head shifting to each corner and doorway found in the room, unsure on where to go. As if he was reading his mind, Edd wrapped the sheet tighter around his lithe frame and gestured to the staircase just to the left of them.
"The bathroom is down the hall and to the left. You can get changed there." He offered the other a small, shy smile that revealed the slight gap in his teeth that had been there for as long as he could remember.
Kevin stood there, emerald green eyes boring into him with an unreadable expression masked upon his face. Edd averted his gaze down to the sheets that pooled at his feet and shifted slightly from the intense look Kevin was giving him. To be honest, it was kind of unsettling. It seemed that what he said finally processed in the other's head and he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. He gave him a quick nod of the head before making his way to staircase.
Edd watched until the other disappeared up the stairs and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Well, that was weird. Kevin looked as if he was going to pounce on him any minute, much like a wild animal who was stalking its prey would right before the attack. He brushed that thought aside, the mental imagine in his head not one that he really enjoyed imagining. A clap of house-shaking thunder sounded over the neighborhood and the rain seemed to fall even harder, sounding like little rocks were hitting his house rather than drops of water. He unconsciously jumped a few inches in the air and shrunk into the blanket a little.
It was then he realized that he was going to have to hide this fear from Kevin. No doubt if he found out that he would tell the rest of the neighborhood about his childish fear and have them all join in while he mocked him for being a baby. Not that he could blame them; it was a rather stupid fear, in his opinion. He tried so hard to just get over it, but as soon as the wind picked up and howled into the night and the thunder rumbled and grumbled and growled in the most deafening of ways and the lightning flashed so bright that it lit up his entire room, revealing all sorts of creepy shadows that reached out toward him to grab him and lead him into the never ending darkness that surrounded him, he couldn't help but cower in fear under the blankets and tremble so badly that he shook the entire bed. No matter how much he tried.
A heavy hand suddenly rested on his shoulder which made him snap out of his thoughts and let out a little yelp, more from surprise than anything.
Kevin's hand coiled back from the outburst, a perplexed look evident on his face.
"Woah, you okay there? You seemed kinda out of it."
Edd was about to reply, but all words were lost when he saw how Kevin looked in his attire. He already knew that Kevin was taller and build more than him, but he didn't realize just how built he was. The white shirt— that would normally be big on him— fit Kevin rather snugly, the cotton material stretching across his broad chest and shoulders, skin visible visible if you looked hard enough. The short sleeves stretched across his biceps as well, his muscles looking bigger than normal with the smaller shirt that he wore. The pants seemed to fit him better, although they still hugged his thighs and if Edd were able to see, his butt. He gulped and remembered that he was asked a question.
"Y-yeah. I-I'm fine. You just startled me, that's all," He said, blushing a bit more at his stutter.
He couldn't believe he was just checking the other out. "Would you, um, like anything to eat or drink?" He added as an after thought. It was the polite thing to do, after all.
"No thanks. I ate earlier."
"O-oh... okay."
An uncomfortable silence washed over them until Edd decided to speak again.
"Here, I can take those from you," He said, pointing at the sopping wet clothes Kevin had in hand. The other handed them to Edd and he made quick work of putting them in the dryer for the other. He came back into the room that he left Kevin in and stood uneasily in front of him again. Neither said anything and Edd wrung his hands from the sheer awkwardness of the silence. He suddenly had an idea.
"Would you like to watch the television?"
Kevin seemed to like that idea. "Sure," He replied coolly. They made their way to the couch, Edd trailing behind Kevin in case he jumped or flinched from the thunder or lightning (as well as embarrassment from staring at the other like that). Kevin plopped down comfortably on the couch, swinging his arm over the back and crossing his legs as he settled back into the plush cushions.
Edd sat down and sunk into the cushions as well, pulling the blankets around him and reaching for the remote that lay on the coffee table beside him. Maybe the drone of the television will block out the angry storm that was outside. Edd could only hope.
"Is there anything you want to watch in particular?" He asked as he skimmed through the channels.
"Mm, nah. Anything's good," He replied.
Edd nodded and settled for putting on some action movie. He's never seen it, and from the look of interest on Kevin's face, he didn't either. They watched as the hero of the movie fought off a group of bad guys effortlessly, something Edd know he could never do. They watched as the hero made it to the lair of the villain, who was gruesome and horribly mutated. They watched as they battled it out, the hero defeating the villain in the most humiliating of ways and saving the damsel in distress. Just as she was about to thank her hero, the thunder cackled loudly and the lightning flashed widely, the lights flickering on and off along with it. The lightning stopped, and the lights shut out.
Darkness washed over them and Edd instinctively let out a cry and ducked under the covers, momentarily forgetting that Kevin was sitting right there next to him.
He felt Kevin's calloused rest on his shoulder lightly through the blanket and speak to him uncharacteristically quiet.
"Hey... you okay?" He asked, his tone hushed. Like a whisper.
Perhaps he felt the need to so he wouldn't startle the nearly hyperventilating teen in front of him. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the sudden darkness gave him the feeling as if he had to whisper. Who knew. All Edd had known is that he had thoroughly made a fool out of himself in front of Kevin, despite trying his best not to.
"I-I-I'm f-fine..." Edd's lie was apparent; from the way his voice quivered as if he was going to cry and the way trembled wracked his body, anybody would be able to figure out that he was distressed.
"No, you're not. Tell me what's wrong," Despite him still whispering, Kevin's tone was definitely firmer. It had an underlying message in it: Don't lie to me. Why did he care anyway?
"N-nothing! R-really, I'm f-fine..." A sudden crash of thunder had him contradicting his words as he flinched and let out a pitiful little whimper.
Kevin was silent for a moment before it dawned on him.
"Are you afraid of thunderstorms?"
Edd hoped it wouldn't come down to this. He could deny it, of course, but it would be obvious that he would be lying when another clap of thunder sounded or when the lightning bathed the room in blinding light and he flinched or cried or yelped or cowered into the blankets. He thought about it once Kevin found out, it shouldn't be too long now considering he decided to keep quiet. Oh, gosh. He could hear it now- the laughing, the mocking, the ridicule, the teasing.
Large arms circled around his back suddenly and Edd felt himself being pulled into a well-toned chest. Before he had the chance to question what Kevin was doing, the ginger spoke up.
"When I was little, I was afraid of thunderstorms, too. My mom used to hug me and sing to me until I would calm down and it usually worked," He paused and peered down at Edd's flushed face that was slightly hard to see in the dark before continuing, "You tell anyone that and I'll pound you into a new one, got it?"
The tone of his voice didn't necessarily enforce the threat, but Edd silently nodded nonetheless.
"Good, and this stays between us."
Edd nodded against his chest again. Like he would ever dream of telling anybody that his former childhood bully was sitting on his couch, cuddling him during a thunderstorm that he was scared of.
Kevin shifted so his feet were resting on the couch and gently maneuvered them around until he was laying back against the arm rest and Edd was laying flush against him. Strangely enough, he didn't mind being held the way he was. He felt safe, secure. Even more than what the blankets had to offer. Thunder and lightning mingled in the sky and Edd reached up to clutch onto whatever fabric of the too-tight shirt he could. He shut his eyes tightly, his breathing irregular as he tried to calm himself down.
Kevin's hands trailed lightly up and down his back in a soothing manner and he rested his chin atop the other's head. He shushed him softly everytime a whimper escaped the smaller teen's lips or rubbed his back as gently as he could when he would flinch. He knew what it felt like to be scared. Especially thinking back to those nights when he would call out for his mother in panic, the storm disturbing the trees that resided nearby and the lightning striking down in the distance and the thunder rumbling in the most scary of ways, forgetting that she would be away on a business trip, unable to comfort him.
He let out a little sigh when the thunder sounded loudly and Edd buried his head deeper into his chest out of fear. His arms subconsciously squeezed the smaller body a bit tighter; a reminder that he was there and that everything will be okay.
Edd relaxed slightly in the embrace, the light fluttering of Kevin's heartbeat lulling him into a calmer state of mind. Little whimpers would escape his quivering lips every now and again, but he was considerably feeling more at ease. At some point Kevin began humming a song he didn't know softly, as if he were putting an infant to sleep.
The light rubbing on his tense back had him melting into the other and the light stroking on his head had him sighing in content. His eyes began to grow heavy from the soft— and surprisingly good— singing making him sleepy. His irregular breathing became steady as he fell deeper and deeper into the darkness that was actually pleasant.
And before Edd knew it, his mind slipped away into the wonderful world of dreams.
The bright rays of the sun shone through the cracks of the curtains and limitedly lit up parts of the room. Edd screwed his eyes shut when the blinding rays hit him directly in the face. Blue eyes slowly blinked open, both bleary and heavy from sleep. He lifted his head up and let out a rather big yawn before turning his head away from the protruding light and snuggling his head back into the breathing pillow beneath him.
Wait, what?
Edd lifted his head again only to come face to face to a sleeping Kevin. He could feel the light breathing coming from slightly parted lips tickle his nose and Edd blushed a pretty red from how close their faces were. He tried to lift himself off of the other discreetly, finding it a bit hard to do when he noticed that their legs were tangled together into a mess of limbs and how Kevin's arms were still tightly secured around his tiny waist.
When he shifted in an attempt to get up, Kevin mumbled something unintelligible before squeezing him tighter, effectively keeping him in place.
Edd let out a little squeak when he was pulled back down into the taller teen's chest and squirmed in the hold. He lifted his body as much as he could and put his hands on Kevin's shoulders.
"K-Kevin, wake up," He shook his shoulders lightly.
Kevin shifted in his sleep and his eyes began to roll around behind his eyelids, slowly gaining consciousness with every shake. He groggily opened his eyes and let out a jaw-cracking yawn in the process. His green eyes, hazy from sleep, slowly but surely began to become aware of their surroundings. He looked around, taking in where he was before settling his gaze on the smaller teen struggling to get out of his tight hold. He blushed, albeit not as darkly as Edd was currently doing right now.
They looked at each other in silence until Edd cleared his throat uncomfortably and averted his gaze to the floor.
"U-um... C-can you l-let g-go p-please...?" He asked as he fidgeted slightly, a habit that he never seemed to grow out of when he was nervous.
Kevin complied, letting the other stand up and watching as he stretched his arms in the air. Edd glanced at the clock that resided on the other end of the room, the hands telling him that it was 9 in the morning. Just how long were they sleeping for? His blue eyes locked with Kevin's green ones and he shifted nervously on his feet.
"W-would you like something to eat?" He asked, the blush still splashed across his cheeks.
"No, it's fine. I should get goin' before my mom has a heart attack or something," He got up and stretched as well, his bones popping in a satisfying way.
"Okay. I'll walk you to the door."
They both walked to the door that was no more than 15 feet away from where they previously stood. (Kevin just assumed Edd walked him so he could lock the unnecessary amount of locks when he left).
They stood there at the doorway silently, Kevin not moving to leave and Edd not bothering to tell him to do so. They looked at each other, Edd craning his neck in order to look at the other who towered over him. Kevin had the same face on as he did yesterday- that unreadable face that made him uncomfortable. Suddenly Kevin coughed in his hand and looked away, a blush settling on his cheeks.
"Well, um, thanks for letting me stay here, dork. I appreciate it."
Edd blushed. "N-no problem. Um, th-thank you for... you know..." He trailed off, hoping Kevin would fill in the rest.
"No problem..." Kevin said. He gave the little teen a thoughtful look before adding, "We should, uh... hang out sometime. I mean, if you would want to."
The request caught Edd off guard, but he agreed nonetheless. "S-sure, that would be fun...when?"
"Anytime's good, I guess. Here," He pulled out his cell phone and opened the new contact option, "You can give me your number so I can call ya or something."
After Edd gave him his phone number, Kevin saved it and began putting on his still slightly damp shoes. He began to walk off toward his motorcycle that now dry thanks to the sun. He stopped before he got too far and turned to face Edd again.
"Oh, and I had a lotta fun last night," He said with a flirtatious wink.
He situated himself onto the bike and turned it on. He glanced to Edd, who was standing at the doorway with a face as red as a tomato, and gave him a thousand-watt smile.
"See ya, dork!" He called out as he revved up the engine and sped down the street. Edd was left standing there, not bothering to move. Ed and Eddy found him like that 10 minutes later.
"What's with you?" Eddy asked as he approached his friend.
Edd gave him a smile, a smile that was both shy and secretive and replied.
"Oh, nothing."