Deception, even when done for innocent or well meant reasons, was not something the raven haired man made a habit of doing. All those years ago when he'd helped his friend carry out some scam or other, he tried his best to tell as few lies as possible while still getting a few quarters out of it for jawbreakers. This time was entirely different, first this wasn't a onetime lie, no this was a serious of lies told over four and a half months, second it was the eldest Kanker who sought his help, and third the target wasn't a group of preteens but his girlfriend. Although Lee enjoyed pointing out that their relationship was more properly described as a train wreck so it wasn't like her sister being angry at him for all of this would really make matters worse. Sad thing was he couldn't really argue that point as much as he wished he could. Things with Marie started off complicated what with her forcing her affections on him until their last year in junior high and were still unbelievably complicated. They dated briefly freshman year, he found her too childish and clingy to be with while she was severely disappointed when reality didn't live up to fantasy. Sophomore year they barely so much as glanced in the other's direction but were forced to socialize that summer after the other Eds decided to give the other sisters a chance. Sometime that fall they started being friends, studying together and hanging out without the rest of their respective trios. Junior year they both dated other people, her first relationship didn't last long but the other lasted two years, his on the other hand never really went anywhere but neither he nor his girlfriend bothered to break it off for a while. Then last summer the topic came up on whether or not they should give it another try now that they actually knew each other, and could tolerate the other. Best reason to begin a relationship, not by any means, but it was significantly better than their last attempt.

They'd had plenty of arguments in the last year, bringing up old grievances, fighting over incidents that happened nearly a decade ago, really they'd spent more time being mad than acting like a couple in the last year. So why bother dating? He was going to school halfway across the country at on Ivy League university while she was sharing an apartment with her elder sister in their home town. Yes it would be easier to break up but they had their good moments too, thus far they outweighed the bad even though they happened less often. Distance apart wasn't good for a young relationship, especially when they lacked the means to video call (Marie's apartment has real shitty internet). So texts get misinterpreted, someone gets upset when a message is taken wrong, it was a mess. But now that it was summer break they could actually talk it over and a lot of hurt feelings had been soothed away thanks to several long discussions.

However this could very well set them back to square one, something that didn't bother Lee in the slightest. Why did she have to drag him into this in the first place? Oh right, she needed his help for part of it to work. One of those rare occasions he wishes he wasn't so smart.

A month into summer vacation and he'd spent over half that time in the sisters' apartment with Lee putting the finishing touches on their plans. Really the eldest Kanker was making this excessively difficult, going quiet anytime her sister entered the apartment, changing the topic, asking to 'burrow' the brainiac, it made it seem like they were up to something bad. This isn't going to end well is it? Tonight this would all be over, not that, that would do anything to ease the worry his girlfriend was probably suffering from. Threats from the redhead were the sole reason he hadn't outright told Marie anything despite really wanting to.

He'd left Lee in charge of pulling it all together while he got Marie out of the apartment for a while; walk around for a bit, grab dinner, not that it was going well. The blue eyed woman was quiet nearly the entire evening and that was never a good sign. No amount of gentle prompting got her to talk to him which only confirmed his suspicions that she'd caught on to the sneaking around, hopefully she thought better of him than to assume something horrible…Though if it had how could he blame her?

"Marie?" his voice was gentle, lightly bumping their shoulders together. "you've been rather silent this evening, is there something on your mind?"

A quick shake of her head was the only response he got. When he tried to hold her hand she crossed her arms over her chest, yeah he was in trouble.

"Marie."

"Stuff it." Ah insults, yes he was most definitely in the proverbial doghouse.

They turned to head back to her car and at this point it was quite possible he would be walking back to her apartment. With any luck she could still be reasoned with.

"Kindly speak your mind, nothing will change if you refuse to tell me what's wrong."

More silent treatment until they were in her car and on their way back to the apartment. "…Planning on dumping me Romeo?"

Before he could stop himself, Double D chuckled and immediately regretted it. Of all the theories he expected her to come up with, that one hadn't even made the list which was why he couldn't help but chuckle. He thought she'd confront him about sneaking around to see someone else and on the more extreme end of that theory, that perhaps he was harboring romantic feelings for her sister. Why would she assume he no longer wished to be with her? The idea was absurd, what about his behavior could even hint towards it? A quick run through of his actions since his recruitment offered no help so he truly didn't understand. Many people told him he was an open book with all romantic intentions or interests residing on his sleeve, their previous breakup came as no surprise for that very reason. Voicing his thoughts would have been the better response to her question, not laughing. Laughing made it seem as though he didn't respect her worries, that he thought she was an idiot for having them, this would not end well for him if he didn't choose his next words with the utmost care.

If he was able that is. Tires screeched as Marie slammed on the breaks to glare at him, face scrunched up in anger but eyes expressing how hurt she was.

"Out."

"Marie I'm –"

"I don't give a single fuck about what bullshit explanation you're going to give me. Get. Out."

"What I have to say isn't 'bullshit'," he used air quotes at the word, "there was nothing funny about your question, I simply found it absurd that you felt the need to ask it when it's such an unfounded assumption."

"You've been a suspicious little shit ever since you got home!"

"And as little comfort as it may give you, I can assure you that my sneaking about is not due to any nefarious reasons. Hard as it may be for you to fathom at times, as much as we fight, despite how often we wear on one another's nerves, I do love you Marie Kanker and have no reason not to." Brilliant, insult-compliment, that'll certainly make matters better.

"Then tell me what the hell you've been up to lately."

A car behind them honked. Poor individual nearly pissed themselves when Marie quickly accelerated backwards, stopping just short of hitting the offending vehicle, flipped the owner the bird, and sped off.

"Not one word from you about that."

He nodded. "Alright. And as for your demand to know what I've been up to I'm afraid your sister has already made sufficient threats to ensure my silence, however, you'll find out once we return to your apartment."

"What's at my apartment?"

"If I told you then it wouldn't be the surprise Lee's worked so hard to make it."

"…This doesn't let you off the hook."

Of course he wasn't nor did he expect to be. At least she wasn't going to kick him out of the car anymore, hopefully.

The twenty minute car ride was not pleasant. Tension that was being held at bay for the moment threatened to break loose any second. Thankfully it didn't, not yet anyway. Edd insisted she enter the apartment first, inside were a few of her close friends, sisters, and his fellow Eds. Before leaving he and Lee agreed she should be the one to tell her sister. Months ago his girlfriend applied to her dream art school after urging from friends. She wanted to be a tattoo artist but lacked the skill, her artistic talents were impressive, they simply needed some refining before anyone would let her take an apprenticeship. Her sister being the noisy, boundary ignoring person she is, opened the acceptance letter and decided to not tell Marie. That reasoning still had Double D perplexed but it was sweet in a sense. The eldest Kanker enlisted his help to take care of the paperwork, register her sister for classes (somehow managing to get them to accept all her credit hours from community college and get her into classes she needed), and the duo took care of financial aid. That last point was the main reason he was roped into this mess, he knew how to answer the applications best while remaining truthful, and in the end had more than enough scholarships and grants to put her through school. Not a single dreaded student loan had to be taken out and there was more than enough money to help with books, materials, and housing expenses. One last thing about it, though at the moment it might not be seen as a perk, was that the art school was an hour away from the IVY League University he attended. With off campus housing far cheaper, Double D moved into an apartment that was roughly halfway between the two schools. So if she found it in her heart to forgive him from keeping the news from her, making her worry, and his blunder in the car this fall they could see each other on a regular basis. Face to face interactions was the most harmonious for them so it would help their rocky relationship, should it survive that long.

Tears were shed, 'playful' punches thrown, and a lot of cursing before the party dissipated. In an odd way he was happy with how it had all turned out, it was nice seeing his love smile so much. True he was in quite a bit of trouble for keeping it a secret from her for so long now that she 'wouldn't have time to get over the shock before going' but he had a nice little consolation prize. After his reprimanding he asked if she'd like to live in his apartment with him and to his surprise she said yes.