Title: Silent Night
Rating: Teen? I suppose
Chapter: 1/1
Pairings: None, evidently
Warnings: A bit of wangst?
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Christmas time is a time for family…
A/N: My room mate and I were discussing our plans for the holidays, and I realized that poor Double D probably spends the holidays the same way I do….alone.
Sometimes, Edd wonders what the holidays were like for the other children of the cul-de-sac.
December came to Peach Creek in a rush of snow and lights, the cul-de-sac decorated long before the first week of the month by over excited holiday goers. Edd watched from his living room window as the other children participated in the decorating of their homes, their parents allowing their gleeful assistance with the lights or the tree. Edd watched, chin in hands as he leaned against the back of the couch, mindful of disrupting the couch cushions as he followed his peers movements with curiosity. His own house remained sparsely decorated until the ninth of the month, which found Ed and Eddy helping him decorate. Without his friends, he would find no need to decorate at all; his parents rarely made it home for the holidays (if ever-he couldn't recall any recent holiday spent with his ever absent parents, to be frank) and thus he felt that it was not worth decorating solely for himself. Ed had cried for nearly an hour when he had first learned that Edd did not put up a tree, and the more intellectual of the trio had then declared that if the older boy would help decorate, he would indeed put up a tree. They had gone out that day to purchase ornaments and a fair sized fake tree (Edd had stated firmly that he would not cut down a tree simply to decorate for a month then throw away; it was wasteful.) and put it up that night, to the sounds of Nazz's group choir carolling.
This year, everything felt somewhat lonelier then usual. Both of his companions were away, currently, at relatives for Christmas dinner. His house was empty, his parents not even having called to wish him a merry Christmas (not that he had expected them to, really) and the soft music of the Nutcracker lulling him into a sense of solitude that he found had been banished days previous. He had cooked himself a simple supper of chicken noodle soup, and then curled up on the living room couch, tree lights on, curtains opened to the silent cul-de-sac outside his house, a small pile of books on the coffee table before him waiting to be read. He knew that books were not a substitute for other human beings, but he made due; the books, at least, didn't ridicule him or try to push him to be the perfect son he knew he could never truly be. The books didn't judge him, nor did they taunt him with the elusive promise of 'something more' that his parents and friends seemed to be capable of offering.
He sighed; this was a horrible way to spend Christmas eve. He should have taken Ed up on his offer- the other teen had expressed his wish to either have Edd with him while he went to his aunts, or to stay at home with the younger teen, away from Sarah and Jimmy's taunts and his aunts large, frightening daughter. Edd had explained that the holidays were for the family; and while Ed and Eddy were, indeed, more family to him then his own often gone parents, it would not be fair to their own families if they had abandoned traditions simply because Edd was alone. He had always felt that his friends own families must resent him for often stealing away their sons; both boys had spent Thanksgiving with him, much to the surprise of the be-hatted young man, and he hadn't felt it fair if they'd spent Christmas with him as well.
It certainly was quiet without them, though.
He had been visited earlier by Nazz and Kevin, the girl boasting a cheerful grin and both bearing gifts, and even earlier that day Sarah, Jimmy and Johnny had stopped in to wish him a happy holidays and drop off their gifts. Rolf had popped by long enough to give him his 'very best holiday chicken for the smart headed Ed boy' and a giant hug, which had given him warm and fuzzy feeling, even when Rolf's farm animals began bleating their own Christmas cheer to him. He hadn't seen Ed nor Eddy before the two had left; which left him a little saddened, but not terribly so. He knew that Eddy had spent the morning prior their leaving arguing with his mother over what he was to wear, and Ed had been too preoccupied with the thought of hiding from his cousin to bother doing anything more then curling up on his own couch, whimpering. Edd couldn't fault them their traditions, after all, he himself had spent the earlier morning preparing notes wishing his parents a happy holiday to have delivered by his parents secretary, a Jacob Riley who he saw more then his parents. He had a soft spot for the young boy, and when he delivered special messages (those that warranted more then a sticky note, such as 'Congratulations on your first place in the science fair!' or 'Happy Birthday, Eddward', many of which he suspected were messages from Jacob himself, his parents often forgetting his birthday in lue of their most important scientific work.) he often stopped to chat a moment or two. He'd brought Edd a cheerfully decorated mug, from which he was now sipping hot chocolate while he flipped through the pages of 'A Christmas Carol', which he had read several times before. His hat sat abandoned on the table beside the books, his blonde curls free from their usual prison under the beanie as he thumbed the pages, serene contentment guiding his features as he silently read his book.
The phone rang, startling him slightly and causing him to glance blankly toward the object, curious as to who could possibly be calling at this hour. For a moment he contemplated letting it ring; surely the only person to call on Christmas Eve would be a telemarketer. A moment more of ringing and he gave in, marking his page with a book mark and leaning over, his fingers grasping the phone and pulling it to his ear.
"Hello?" his voice wavered slightly, sleep tingeing his words as he rubbed tired eyes. He should go to bed; but bed wouldn't cure his loneliness, and he knew that he would not be able to sleep for several more hours.
"Merry Christmas Double D! May Santa bring you many a gift!" He smiled; Ed's cheerful, childish voice brightening up the evening as he shifted the phone on his shoulder, moving to rest back into the niche of pillows he'd fashioned for himself. Glancing out the window towards the larger boys home, he squinted; just able to make out the soft, warm light coming from the windows.
"Merry Christmas, Ed. I hadn't realised you were home yet, how was your aunts?" There was a pause, and Edd swore he heard Ed shiver as there was a shifting noise on the opposite end of the phone line.
"It was not full of fun and cheer, Double D. Thelma tried to eat my brain!" Edd chuckled, aware that it was improbable Ed's sixteen year old cousin had attempted any cranial dining. He knew how much Ed feared the other girl, though, and remained silent on the subject.
"That's truly terrible, Ed. I'm certainly pleased you escaped unscathed. Did you receive any presents?" He smiled at the thought of his more child-minded friend receiving gifts; Ed rather loved presents, no matter who from or what they were. Edd had seen him happily receive an old dirty sock from Sarah and cherish it as if it were the greatest present in the world.
"Oh Double D! I did, I did! Aunt Susan got me Zombie Busters and Uncle Marty got me the most wondertastcal toothbrush, it goes vrrrrrrr and has zombies on it!" Edd smiled, playing with the phone cord as he listened to his friend ramble on, He enjoyed listening to Ed talk, though often he found he couldn't make sense of the other boys words. He made the appropriate noises, resting back against the couch cushions as he let the words lull him into an almost sleep. "Well, Sarah want's to call Jimmy, Double D, so I'll call you in the morning. Merry Christmas!" Edd rubbed his cheek lightly, smiling wide.
"Merry Christmas, Ed."
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I know, bad ending. SORRY MAN.