*BEEP BEEP*

*BEEP BEEP*

Edd groaned as he rolled over and slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, before fumbling a bit and switching it off.

He hissed out a pained sigh as he did his best to gently rub the sleep out of his tired, raw eyes.

But they flew open as he yawned because he felt the dull ache of a headache coming on from crying himself to sleep the night before.

He stretched and caught a fading scent in his borrowed tshirt that used to envelope him and it simultaneously made his heart soar and stomach sink.

When he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, he reached a hand out to pick up the picture on his nightstand that he had placed facedown the night before, but decided against it and trudged to the window across the room that faced another he loved to look into so much across the street, slammed it shut and locked it, then drug himself into the bathroom for another lonely shower.

Kevin heard the hallway bathroom's door slam as he crept into the house from the garage's side door, thankful that the key Edd had given him when he graduated still worked.

Since he figured that that slam meant Edd was up, albeit later than usual and not in the best mood to boot, he decided that breakfast was in order.

But after checking the fridge, freezer, cupboards, pantry, and even the deep freezer in the garage, he saw that breakfast would have be to be taken out.

He made coffee for himself and tea for Edd as he tried to figure out why Double D, the most pulled together of the three Eds, would be down to bare bones necessities.

Edd tossed the shirt into his hamper with the rest of his sleep clothes and turned on the shower so it could warm up while he brushed his teeth.

He grabbed the near empty bottle of lube he kept hidden away in the back of the bottom drawer on the sink's cupboard and tossed it into the shower as he climbed in.

"God, I miss you," he thought to himself as tears filled his eyes and the waxy lubricant filled his hand.

Ten minutes later, he donned another borrowed shirt and a pair of his own loose black sweatpants and lightly limped down stairs.

When he got to the middle of the hallway that led from the front door to the kitchen, a voice he hadn't heard since last night filled his ears and made him lift his downed head.

"Hey, there."

He looked up to see Kevin sitting on bar stool next to the kitchen island, smirking at him as he sipped his coffee.

Edd's jaw dropped as he ran into the kitchen and jumped into a laughing Kevin's arms.

He tried, but failed to not cry again, and the redhead squeezed him tight as he whispered about how much he missed him.

"Wha-What are you doing here?," Edd asked when he finally pulled himself together and could look the redhead in the eye without crying, thus worrying him.

"Can't I come see you?," Kevin smiled.

"Well, yes," Edd blushed as he fiddled with the cuffs of the sleeves of the too large Peach College Football tshirt. "But don't you have class today?"

"Nah," Kevin grinned. "I think my teachers all wanted off early, too, because all my Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes took the midterm on Monday or Wednesday and I only have two classes on Thursdays this semester, so I got out early."

"Early? But it's –"

"I know," Kevin sighed, "but I couldn't be here last night because everybody was at my grandma's for dinner for her bday and if I missed that…"

Edd nodded as he trailed off because if Kevin's parents came back from the birthday dinner in Cherry Hill, some fifteen minutes away, to see Kevin at the house, he'd been in a world of trouble for missing dinner with his family when there was no reason in Peach Creek for him to miss it as far as they knew because he and Nazz's relationship had simmered to a cool friendship and she wasn't in town for spring break.

"And no practice?"

Kevin grinned again as he said, "Coach got married last weekend remember? They're doing their honeymoon over spring break, so he cancelled all practices for the rest of the week on Wednesday."

"Have they said anything about our gift?," Edd asked, brightening up again at the mention of the event that took over Kevin's Facebook and Instagram accounts the weekend before.

"Got a thank you note yesterday, but I didn't open it, yet, because I wanted you to see it," Kevin said as he pulled him closer. "Speaking of you, WHY AREN'T YOU AT SCHOOL!?," he asked, relieved that he hadn't gone up to the school to see him, figuring a surprise for when Edd got home was better.

Edd gave him his own grin that Kevin had to visible steel himself from becoming flustered at because he really wanted to know what was going on with his secret little lover at the moment.

"Senior Skip Day."

"WHAT?!"

"I need a break, Kev," Edd sighed as his head fell on the redhead's shoulder. "So I told them that they needed to do it before midterm or prom and they picked prom because we were all busy studying at midterms and all the girls say the only time they have to get ready for it is this weekend, so we're skipping today."

"Whoa," Kevin whispered as Edd's words settled in and Edd settled into his embrace.

They started dating when Edd was a freshman but Kevin was a junior.

And no one knew.

Time spent together was always disguised as friends and neighbors hanging out, and a few times, just two athletes helping each other out. With Kevin being the older of the two, his mentorship was warranted and needed.

And so was his love.

It crept up on them like moss on an oak tree. But like moss on a healthy tree, it helped their friendship and just who they were as people.

Except for that whole, being public about it all bit.

So they would be as friendly as they could be while Kevin had an on again, off again relationship with Nazz that became officially off when they went off to college to give them a break from the bonds of home and a long distance relationship, but also a fresh start.

But only Kevin took it.

Edd's friendship with Marie grew in that time, but she was more like his best friend then his girlfriend, something even Eddy had a hard time dealing with. Between Kevin's jealousy and Eddy's, Edd was perpetually in a cycle of dealing with two headstrong people eager to just waste his time to keep him from spending it with someone they didn't think deserved it.

If it wasn't for Eddy getting a job that took up much of his free time and taught him how to prioritize the little bit he had, and Kevin moving halfway across the state and having to spend time alone, thus seeing that wasted time isn't always a good time, Edd was sure he was going to have to break up with everybody sooner rather than later to get some sense of self back.

For the last two years, whenever Kevin would have a break from his own school, which was a good four hours away from Peach Creek, he would sneak over, but he'd usually call or text first because Edd's life without him was filled to the brim with class and extra-curricular things between being the class valedictorian and the class president, time to spend with his friends and time to spend alone.

He had hoped he'd take part in the fun, but permanent record busting event, but Edd hadn't said much about it.

And with the school district moving the date for prom from Friday night to Saturday night, but mere weeks after midterms, thus the deadline for final projects quickly becoming due, he could see why the girls led the charge on making sure things with the dance of the year went off without a hitch.

"Yeah, so I'm skipping," Edd whispered as he snuggled closer.

"I can see that," Kevin snickered. "Also, is that my shirt?"

Edd tensed up as he quietly said, "Nuuuuu."

Kevin sniffed his shoulder as Edd quietly squealed before saying, "Smells like my shirt."

"Barely."

Kevin pulled back to see sad blue eyes looking down as Edd picked at the cuffs of the sleeves again.

"I've got more."

"I know," Edd said as he glanced up at him and then down again, not being able to handle the worried look in the hazel that surrounded his irises.

"But I'm gonna need this one back."

Edd blushed at his tone, but started to tug the shirt off anyways.

Kevin quickly grabbed his wrists, though, and said, "Not yet," before hoisting him over his shoulder and running upstairs.