*I had a tongue ring once*
*Once*

Kevin came out of the gym's side door and caught blue aviator sunglasses peering at an iPhone as their wearer leaned on a sensible blue Ford Escort hatchback.

"Yo!"

Then he caught that grin.

That was now being bitten back between two gapped teeth and a shy wave.

"Sup, Dork?" He smiled as Edd scampered away from his car and into his open arms.

"I missed you," the dork sighed into his neck as willowy arms grasped his shoulders and held on.

"Missed you, too, Babe," Kevin grinned as he leaned in for a kiss that he quickly pulled back from when Edd whined in pain.

"I wasn't expecting that," the ravenette pouted and Kevin gave him a shocked look as he said, "Me, either. What is in your mouth, dude?"

At this point, the rest of the baseball team was pouring out of the gym and headed to cars being driven by their own loved ones, but the most popular couple in school always caught people's attention when they were together.

Edd lightly waved at those calling his name and rolled his eyes at a cheerleader teasing him about Kevin biting his tongue so he couldn't shower everyone with salutations. Kevin's usual prove them wrong stance was tempered by concern because Edd seemed pained by a kiss of all things.

"Hey, how about a thanks for all the good luck, babe, kiss, eh, Captain?" A senior named Mark teased and Kevin groaned as Edd tried to hide in on himself.

Usually they would be all over the celebratory kisses and hugs as the team's two week camp had the team in the win column at their tournaments during their time away and they loved to celebrate. Plus, they hadn't seen each other at all during that time because Edd had to work during the day and attend a few classes at night that his Honor's Classes took him away from during the regular school year.

Kisses were to be had.

Except Edd just couldn't.

Kevin wasn't one to see him in pain at all because Edd would never do anything to deserve it.

And if he caused it?!

Making things right would be an understatement. But he'd do it.

Except he couldn't make this right. At least not right now.

"C'mon, Richards," he groaned, a bit embarrassed for not giving the people what they wanted and Edd what he knew he needed and deserved.

"Kev?" Edd said as he tapped his arm.

When the redhead turned to him, he quickly stood on tip-toe and gave him a long smooch, a classic lip lock, really, cheeks in his hands for good measure.

When they broke apart, he whispered in his ear, "We'll talk later, ok?"

Kevin nodded when he stepped away, a bit scared because Edd looked so apprehensive, but the slight cheers and a few jeers they got at the simple show of affection was making more noise in his head than Edd's slightly off putting behavior so he shook his teammates off and directed Edd back to his car.

But then he heard a loud familiar laugh.

Edd growled as he turned towards the sound and everyone else just looked confused as Eddy walked up, beside himself with glee.

"Cat got your tongue, Kev?" He snickered as Edd stormed over to him. "Or did wittle, precious Double Dee –"

Yes, Kevin was pretty sure Edd had done something, but whatever it was had been knocked out of Eddy by Edd's fist in his chest that cut the short Ed's words, well, short.

"Shut up, Edwin!" He screamed at him and then he screamed for Ed.

Except he didn't call him Ed.

He called him, "Edward."

Sure, it was his name, but Double Dee rarely called his friends by their given names. They were his friends and he loved them and deserved to be called by their truly loved names.

Except now, Eddy's Edwin, Ed is Edward, and the baseball team is shocked and scared.

Ed had run up into the parking lot just as Edd knocked Eddy on his ass, and shot over to them as Edd screamed his name.

"Let's go, Eddy," he said as he hoisted the short one over his shoulder. "Sorry, Dee," he called over his free shoulder as he quickly walked away.

"Dude!" Mark cackled and Edd's shoulders visibly shook which made Kevin take off across the parking lot.

Edd heard his thundering feet behind him and held up a hand as he turned around, his red, angry face hidden away a bit in his free hand, shoulders heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

"You okay, Son!?" Someone's concerned father called out and Edd feigned a smile as he dropped his hands and called back, "Yes, I'm fine!"

Kevin shot him a look, but he when he caught sad, blue, misty eyes pleading with him to be chill, he was torn between taking Edd in his arms and holding him til Edd was truly okay again and kicking Eddy's ass.

"I'm fine, Kevin."

Kevin knew he wasn't, but walked over to him and offered him his hand anyways.

"Let's go home, Dork."

When they got back to the cul-de-sac, Kevin ran home for a bit to say hi to his parents and put his things away while he regaled them with stories about baseball camp and they filled him in on their own things.

Plans were made to make the rest of the summer what the quintessential All American family intended it to be, a few excursions including the boy across the street that Kevin was in love with and his parents were welcome to come, too.

And they would.

Then Kevin ran across the street and into that boy's arms.

They traded places in Edd's rolling desk chair, cuddling and exchanging a few small kisses as they got used to being in the same space again, but before Kevin got caught up in story time as Edd rested his head on his chest, he said, "Say, 'ah.'"

Edd whined in embarrassment as he sat up and opened his mouth a bit, and Kevin saw it gleaming a bit with saliva, even though he knew that he wasn't supposed to.

No one was.

A clear, plastic tongue ring is meant to keep the piercing open, but undetectable.

The kiss in the school's parking lot proved otherwise.

"What. The. Fuck. Edd."

Edd looked into a shocked face, freckled cheeks red, green eyes dark and glimmering.

"I know," he pouted as he hid his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, but a bet's a bet."

"A WHAT?!"

Kevin had him sitting straight up in a straddle across his lap in seconds and wrapped his arms around him to hold him still, so Edd knew he was stuck and needed to explain.

"Ok, so Eddy bet me before you guys left that you wouldn't get all clingy before you left and I said you would because you always do, and then you DIDN'T and I had to pay up!" Edd confessed. "Who told you to grow up and take us being apart like an adult?!"

"Well, I thought at this point it'd be a good idea and just dealt with it," Kevin replied, thinking his quick hug and kiss before he got on the bus to leave was a good thing after nearly two years of being the last one on because he wouldn't let his dork go. "But a tongue ring?! C'mon, Edd! What kind of bullshit bet is that?!"

"I told him that he had to ask Lee out, he said I had to do something out of character and since we're still too young for tattoos without our parent's permission and I didn't want something that people could see…"

"Uh huh," Kevin muttered knowing that Double Dee would have had to get Lumpy to sit on their short friend to get him to agree with a date with the Kanker he both feared and slightly adored.

But then he had to go and be a grown up and Lee would be dateless for forever because of it.

Edd sucking on his cheeks a bit and swallowing brought him back to the fact that his boy lost a bet and was still hurting behind it.

"Let me get a look at it," he said gently and Edd opened his mouth again, eyes tinged with embarrassed tears as he stuck his tongue out.

He knew he could trust the redhead's care as the boy's mother was nurse and a dental assistant, so she taught her son well.

Then again, her husband's job at the candy factory forced her hand a bit. Thankfully, it all worked out and Kevin never had a cavity.

But now his boyfriend has a bit of an extra one in his head and he's gonna make sure it was taken care of.

"Looks like the swelling has gone down, so you should be fine," he said as he peered at it. "How often do you rinse it out?"

"Oooh, twice a day actually," Edd said as he hopped off of Kevin's lap and scampered to his dresser to grab a small box. "I only wear the plastic one when I'm in public. Ed knew the girl who did it, so she gave me a discount and I got some rings I wear when I'm at home," he finished as he headed to the bathroom.

"Lemme see!" Kevin called out as he followed him.

Edd chuckled as he handed him the box, but he wouldn't look at him when he washed his hands, so Kevin sat on the toilet and looked inside it. He then watched him carefully as he took out the plastic ring, rinsed it off and put in the box with the other rings, brushed his teeth, and rinsed his mouth out with a bit of Epsom salt.

When he reached for the box again, Kevin said, "I like this one."

In the box were seven rings.

The one that was his initial piercing, an eight ball topped ring, blue, red, and green stone topped rings, the plastic ring and a basic barbell that was just slightly larger than the initial piercing.

Kevin was pointing at the red stoned ring with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

Edd rolled his eyes, but he smiled and pulled it out anyways.

Kevin watched him carefully as he put the barbell through the underside of his tongue and then topped it with the red stone.

"Lemme see!" The shocked jock squealed as he jumped up and grabbed Edd's chin as his mouth closed.

Edd gave him a hard smirk but refused to open his mouth while Kevin begged and begged, so he tried a tactic that got Edd his first real kiss from the redhead and it always would work to make them both grin.

"Dork."

A look.

"Dork, dork, dorkasaurus loves his thesaurus!" Kevin sang and Edd's face squished up in all its pouty gloriousness.

"But he's my dork."

A soft smile.

"And I love him."

A blushing smirk.

"He's still a dork, though."

Edd's tongue shot out of his mouth as he huffed in annoyance and Kevin saw red.

The kiss stung, but when Kevin pulled back a bit, it felt really good.

They stood in the bathroom, kissing til their pants were too tight to take it anymore.

Edd's hands on his hips directed him back to the bed, and crawling over him when the back of his knees hit the bed frame. But when they started to ease down his pants, Kevin fumbled with them a bit as he pulled away from Edd's tongue and that ring, tho.

"E-Edd," he panted, giving him a look that said he was stunned but only wanted an explanation, not for him to stop.

"I missed you," Edd pouted, words coming out in a seductive whisper, blue eyes twinkling, a teasing smirk working at the corner of his mouth.

"I missed you, too," Kevin giggled as cool fingertips played with the waistband of his track pants. "But you don't gotta –"

Edd silenced him with a grin that was as predatory as it was seductive.

Needy green locked on smoldering blue and Kevin nodded.

He only had a chance to take one breath before he saw a flash of that grin.

Then he saw red.

Then he saw stars.

The next day, Kevin told Eddy he'd kick his ass if he ever bet Edd in anything ever again and the short Ed believed him.

He'd always believe Edd's right hook more.

Then Kevin took his out of character boyfriend out for ice cream to soothe his slightly swollen tongue.

And bought him a diamond topped ring because Edd was simply the best, and The Best™ get diamonds.