"Edd," Kevin draped himself around his boyfriend's shoulders, drawing out his name. "What are you doing for Christmas?"
"Cleaning the house, reading most likely, perhaps I might even catch a few documentaries in my spare time. Why do you ask?"
"… Are you going anywhere?"
"Negative. Are you going to answer my question?"
"Is there any possibility that you might wanna spend the day at my house? Mom says if you're not doing anything over here you could at least help us not have leftovers to last us three months."
"Three months is far too long for that food to stay unspoiled." Kevin huffed, moving to sit himself on Edd's lap.
"You're missing the point. Do you want to spend Christmas at my house?"
"I suppose there isn't any harm in doing so…"
"Sweet! Mom's gonna be so happy." He slid off of Edd's lap, popping his back as he stood. "Oh, yeah, we don't know for sure yet, but we might have some other family members coming over." Edd stood, following Kevin do the door. "So you might have to deal with a few cousins."
"And just why would I be the one dealing with them?" Edd scoffed quietly, opening the door for Kevin.
"Because you're tall, and you have a lot of leg for them to cling to."
"… What?"
"You'll see." Kevin singsonged. "I'll see you in a few days then." He smiled, turning to face Edd for his goodbye kiss, which Edd gave with a small eye roll.
"Indeed you shall. What time am I to be expected?"
"You should come over around noon or so, to help mom cook and me decorate."
"Noon it is. Do try to avoid falling ill." He called after Kevin, who turned around and started walking backwards.
"It takes, like; a minute tops to get home!"
"And you have yet to learn how to dress appropriately for the weather." Kevin scoffed playfully, waving off his concern.
"Nothing is going to happ- oh shit!" And with that, Kevin slipped on a patch of ice on Edd's driveway and landed flat on his ass. Edd was laughing as he dressed, wrapping a scarf around his neck as he made his way over to Kevin with shaking shoulders and a grin.
"Pardon me, Pumpkin, but would you care to repeat that?"
"I'd rather go three days without my glasses. Are you going to help me or just laugh at me?" Kevin grumbled, feet slipping as he attempted to get back to his feet.
"I do believe I am quite capable of both." Edd held out his hands and Kevin gratefully took hold, more than happy to get his butt off the freezing ground.
"You are such an asshole sometimes."
"And here I am, helping you out here in the cold when I could be laughing inside my rather warm house. You're so ungrateful." Edd teased, turning Kevin so he could brush off the snow and slush from his clothes. "Do watch your step the rest of the way, Pumpkin, I do not wish for you to be hurt."
"Yeah, yeah, lesson learned, trust me." He turned back around to face Edd. "So you'll come over for Christmas?"
"Indeed." He leaned over, pressing another kiss to Kevin's lips. "I shall see you then."
Edd nearly swore when he first stepped outside, the freezing wind catching him off guard. His hustle across the street to Kevin's house only took a matter of seconds, but considering the wind and the downpour of snow, it was entirely too long in Edd's book. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long after knocking, Kevin's mother being quick to open the door and usher him inside. He couldn't stop his small sigh of relief when he stepped out of the cold, causing Kevin's mother to cover her mouth in an attempt to stop her giggle.
"Kevin, be a dear and fetch the sweater, would you?" She called, earning a small look of confused curiosity from Edd as he shrugged out of his jacket and hung it up, toeing off his boots as he did so. His confusion only grew as Kevin trotted into the room, sweater bundled in his arms and a grin on his face. Kevin held the bundle out, grin growing wider as Edd took it almost fearfully.
"… I take it I am expected to wear this?"
"Yup, go change." Kevin chirped, heading off again.
"Oh, Kevin saw this at the store and said it reminded him of you. So here you go, something just a tad more festive than your normal hat." And with that, she plopped a black Santa hat on top of the bundle, offering Edd a sweet smile as she wandered back to the kitchen. Edd eyed the two items in his arms for a moment before deciding that changing would be the simpler option and moving to the bathroom. The door securely locked behind him, he sat the hat on the counter and unfolded the sweater, sighing in resignation at the holiday designs he somehow missed upon initial inspection. He changed, pleasantly surprised at how comfortable and soft the sweater was.
Turning a curious gaze to the hat, he lifted it from the counter. A surprised snort of laughter slipped out and he changed hats, shaking his head as he made sure the short phrase on the hat was situated in the middle of his forehead before heading back downstairs. A quick search found Kevin rifling through boxes of decorations as he looked for the garlands.
"You know, when your mother said you claimed this hat reminded you of me, I believed it was because of its color scheme." Kevin turned, a happy grin taking over his face as he laughed and pushed himself to a stand before walking over to Edd. "But upon further inspection I do believe I discovered what truly made you think of me."
"Oh yeah?"
"Indeed. And now I am simply offended."
"You have to admit, "Bah Humbug" seems to be your motto this time of year." He reached out, tugging at the hem of Edd's sweater. "And you're actually wearing the sweater. Mom's gonna squeal again."
"Because I am wearing a sweater?"
"Because we're all matching, you dork." Edd scoffed quietly, reaching up to flick the bill of Kevin's hat.
"You have odd traditions."
"And you're completely anal about cleaning."
"Irrelevant."
"Very relevant. Now come on, mom wants us to decorate the tree then help her with making food." Kevin grabbed Edd's wrist and tugged him towards the boxes. "We need to get this decorated quickly so we can put up what's left before the cousins get here."
"So there will definitely be more than just the three of us?" Edd questioned, passing a garland to Kevin, who moved to start draping it around the tree.
"Yeah, my aunt, uncle, and their kids are coming over, but they won't be here till around three or so."
"Mm, how many children?"
"Just three. The oldest is either nine or ten, can't remember which. I think the youngest is five."
"Shouldn't you know their ages?"
"I don't see them that often and lately I've had to help the adults out more so I haven't gotten to just sit and play with them like I used to." Edd nodded with a quiet hum to show he understood, only to pause and give Kevin a confused look around the tree.
"… Do you two normally decorate the tree at the last minute?"
"No, but we weren't planning on putting the tree up at all this year. Then we figured that we would give you the full Christmas experience so we were looking for the damn thing for a day and a half,"
"Language, there will be children here soon."
"Darn thing. But then it took us till, like, midnight to get it together so you and I are stuck decorating it. Which works, because I'm assuming you haven't decorated one before?"
"You assume correctly." Kevin nodded. The rest of the decorations went on smoothly, the taller branches being decorated by Edd saving them the time of having to get out a chair for Kevin to stand on like they normally would.
"Alright, Edd, I know that you're taller and that it would be easier if you put on the star, and I absolutely adore you, don't get me wrong, but I always put on the star and you aren't taking that from me." Edd's only response was to arch an eyebrow and pass over the star with a quiet laugh. Kevin grinned happily and ran off to find something to stand on, humming as he came back into the room, chair in his arms. It wasn't until Kevin almost fell off the chair and nearly pushed the tree over on Edd trying to save himself that Edd stepped in, demanding that Kevin no longer stand on the chair and instead ride on his back to reach the top of the tree.
"Mom, tree's all pretty now, you still need help?" Kevin called, still perched on Edd's back.
"Did you honestly just ask me that? Get your butts in here!" Kevin looked at Edd expectantly, and Edd let out a quiet sigh.
"I take it I am carrying you to the kitchen?"
"They don't call you a genius for no reason." Kevin grinned. "You heard the lady; our butts are needed in the kitchen." Edd rolled his eyes as he readjusted his grip, heading towards the kitchen.
"Salutations, how can we be of service?" Kevin's mother turned, squealing when she noticed what Edd was wearing.
"Oh, you're wearing it! Now we all match!" She put her flour-coated hands on her hips upon seeing Kevin's hat. "Kevin Anderson, that is not the correct hat." Kevin put a hand over his Quiz Bowl hat protectively.
"My hat is fine! You've got your traditional Santa hat, Edd's got his humbug hat, and I've got mine! It's how people will tell us apart!"
"Because our heights alone will not differentiate us." Edd drawled.
"You shush, I'm making a point."
"Ms. Anderson is correct; you need to be more festive."
"It's Kelly, honey, no need for formalities when we're wearing matching sweaters. If Kevin would wear the right hat we'd be matching in that too." Kevin groaned dramatically, sliding off of Edd's back.
"Fine, okay? I'll go change my hat." And with that he pulled off his hat, grumbling as he left the kitchen to locate another holiday hat. Kelly grinned, turning back to the cupcakes she was making as Edd moved to wash his hands.
"And just what do you need assistance with?"
"Could you start on the cookies? The kids really like sugar and chocolate chip, everyone else likes snicker doodles the most. Don't forget to make a batch of whichever flavor you like as well!"
"Aha, if you insist. How many batches should I make of each?"
"At least two of each."
"Your poor oven." Kelly laughed.
"Yeah, my poor oven. It's gonna take ages to get all of this baked."
"If we truly need more oven space there is always my house across the street." Kelly smiled, bumping him with her shoulder as she passed and Kevin came back into the kitchen, Santa hat in place.
"See? Now we all match even more. And thank you for that offer, Edd; we might just have to take you up on it."
"What offer? Care to fill in the guy who just got back to this conversation?" Edd smirked, moving over to the designated cookie station.
"I merely pointed out that if we need more oven space there is mine across the way."
"Oh. So who's doing what, mom?"
"I'm making cupcakes, Edd's making cookies, and you're the designated pumpkin pie maker."
"Oh, sweet, I love pumpkin pie!"
"As do your cousins, honey."
"They can get in line; someone's already got dibs on the pumpkin."
"Funny, I didn't hear Edd say anything." Edd coughed quietly, turning his head away to hide his smirk when Kevin looked over curiously. Getting nothing from his boyfriend, he turned to his mother who only grinned.
"What? Edd didn't say anything, why did you…" Realization dawned on his face and he gave his mother an unamused look. "Ha. Man, you're so funny. So clever. Where's your trophy?"
"At my house, I'm polishing it for her."
"Edd, I adore you, but shut up and make the damn cookies."
Far too many cookies, cupcakes, and pies for eight people later the doorbell was being rung incessantly. A quick glance around the kitchen told Edd that he should be the one to answer the door, seeing as how he had managed to avoid any and all crossfire from Kevin and Kelly's little food war. Kelly had somehow backfired when she went to fling batter at Kevin, efficiently ending the battle when Kevin had to assist in its removal. Both of their sweaters were now a different shade than Edd's, the green of theirs muted from the flour.
Once Kevin's family had made themselves comfortable, the children instantly making a beeline for the cookies, Kevin dragged Edd over to his aunt and uncle.
"Edd, this is Jackson and Lucy. Jackson, Lucy, this is my boyfriend, Eddward."
"My, he's tall." Lucy murmured.
"On the scrawny side though." Kevin glanced towards the kitchen and spotted his mother gesturing for him to send Edd over.
"Ah, Edd, mom wants you. Probably needs something from the top of the fridge."
"Careful, Pumpkin, she may attempt to throw batter at you again if she hears you." Edd teased, turning to head back into the kitchen.
"So, Kevin, is Eddward more academically inclined like you?"
"Aha, he's a freaking genius, yeah. He's got a five point o' GPA and he's captain of the swim team."
"The swim team? Isn't that boy who bullied you then?" Jackson asked, glancing at the kitchen with narrowed eyes.
"Yeah. Yeah, he did. Hasn't done that for a while now, though."
"And that instantly means you should date him? Kevin, honey, are you sure he isn't-"
"Aunt Lucy, I get it. My friends thought the same thing until recently. I thought about it too at first, that he was only pretending to get along with me, to be my friend. Boy, you should have seen my thought process when he read my robotics journal. I was ready for all sorts of insults, but he actually helped. Corrected some equations that I hadn't realized that I did wrong, suggested some different fuel sources for the engine I wanted to use, even suggested a small change to the design that made everything work better. I never would have won if he hadn't helped, and he wasn't even that much of an ass when I asked him to actually help me with it. Wouldn't even split the reward with me. It wasn't too long, but I learned a lot about him."
"From what you told us before, he's not a nice person."
"He wasn't. Still isn't if he doesn't have a reason to be. But he's gotten a lot better. Pretty sure anyone would if their own parents were never there and only cared about the grades."
"You didn't have your father."
"Yeah, but mom was more than good enough that I didn't even need him. Edd doesn't like being hurt so he pushes people away. You should have seen him when we first started. Would barely touch me without me initiating it. Even in private he was stingy. But he's gotten a lot better in the past few months." Kevin smiled. "You should have seen him when mom first met him. He had no idea how to treat parents. Didn't even understand that we weren't actually trying to hurt each other when we wrestled. Coming over every Monday for movies helped expand his comfort zone, and mom pretty much claimed him as family after the first night." He sighed. "So just… don't judge him too hard, okay? He's not used to family and he's never celebrated Christmas before."
"Never celebrated Christmas?" Lucy gasped. "Well that just won't do. At least you've already got him in a hat, though you could have picked a better one, and a holiday sweater." Kevin laughed.
"Oh no, once you talk to him, you'll understand the hat choice. He's so cynical, it's pretty –"
"Teagan, Eli, get off my boyfriend!"
"Kelly, Kevin said you were gesturing for me?"
"Yes, yes I was. The kids devoured your cookies and wanted to know who made them. Edd, this is Maddi, the eldest, Teagan, and Eli, the youngest. Kiddos, this is Edd, the one who made the cookies."
"Greetings and salutations."
"These are good." Eli held up a half-eaten cookie for a moment before he started eating it again.
"You're pretty, and you talk all fancy. I like you." Maddi stated, stepping up to Edd. "You should be my boyfriend." A look of confusion crossed his features.
"… How old are you?"
"I'm ten. More than old enough."
"I am closer to being twenty than I am to being your age, and I already have someone. I am afraid I must decline."
"I'm cuter than they are, I know it." Edd pressed his lips together, shooting a confused and desperate look at Kelly, who shrugged.
"Maddi, honey, Edd has a boyfriend that he loves very much. Not to mention that you have only just met him…"
"It's love at first sight. How can you not fall in love with him?"
"Talking to me usually seems to do the trick."
"Eddward." Kelly scolded quietly. "Well, how do you know you love him if you don't know him?"
"He's tall, he's handsome, and he talks like a prince from the fairy tales. He's my knight in shining armor, my prince charming!"
"Perhaps I should see how Kevin is doing; he hasn't had anything to drink since I arrived…"
"Aw, don't go! You should make us more cookies!" Teagan cried, taking his spot next to his sister.
"He can do what he wants; you can't order my boyfriend around!"
"I am not your-"
"I want orange juice." Eli piped up, tugging on Edd's pants. Edd looked between all of the children before cupping his hands over his face, fingers massaging his temples. They've been here ten minutes and I already require a break…
"Kelly, do you have any orange juice?"
"Uh… no. No we do not."
"Orange juice is not an option, my apologies."
"But I want orange juice!" Eli stomped his foot before clinging to Edd's leg and sitting on his foot. "Orange juice!"
"Kelly, he is clinging to my-"
"Boyfriend, carry me!" Maddi held her arms out and Edd scooped her up with a sigh, more than one sound of confusion escaping him as she squirmed to be on his back, arms linked a tad tightly around his throat. "I meant on your back, silly!"
"Terribly sorry…" Edd grumbled sarcastically, shifting her arms to allow him to breath. Kelly cupped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles, pulling out her phone and turning on the camera to record it.
"Are you two gonna get married?" Teagan asked, mirroring Eli's position on Edd's other leg.
"Yes!"
"Orange juice!"
"The only person I have any mind to marry at this point in time would be my boyfriend, and it seems a tad early to ask him to do so. Why are you clinging to me now?"
"It's fun! Didn't you do this when you were a kid?"
"Negative, my parents never had the mind to be around long enough for me do anything with them." Edd shifted his legs, beginning to breathe harder by the time he got to the doorway. "Good lord, this is exhausting. Aren't children supposed to be fond of snow? Go frolic outside, I'll even prepare you some hot chocolate if you do so now and leave me be." Edd grumbled, nearly falling over.
"Teagan, Eli, get off my boyfriend!" Maddi shrieked next to Edd's ear, causing him to cringe and turn to Kelly to ask for assistance once more. "You're gonna make him fall!"
"Kelly, I must ask that you… Are you recording this?" He asked, flabbergasted. "That is hardly the assistance I requested!" Kelly laughed loudly, grinning wider when Kevin appeared in the doorway, his eyes popping wide when he saw Edd covered in children.
"Edd… Would you like help?"
"Are you going to actually give me assistance or are you going to record this and call it "helping" like your mother does?"
"So bitter." Kelly murmured quietly, giggling all the while. "I'm being very helpful!" Kevin snorted at that and reached to grab Eli.
"C'mere, you." He hooked his hands under Eli's armpits and started to lift, only to jump back and nearly pull Edd's leg out from under him when Eli's reaction was to cling tighter and scream as loudly as he could. Jackson and Lucy came up behind Kevin, concern on their faces.
"What's going on?"
"All three of your children have decided to cling to me in one form or another. Eli is requesting orange juice rather vehemently, and will not take the fact that there isn't any here for an answer, I do not know why Teagan is clinging to me-"
"It's fun!"
"- And Maddi has declared us to be dating and now will not descend from my back."
"He's my prince charming!" She singsonged, snuggling close and cutting off his air again.
"She will not accept that I already have a significant other." Edd explained once he could breathe again. "Is this entire family this stubborn?"
"Pretty much." Kevin grinned. "Here, let me try this one, he tends to be a bit more agreeable." He reached for Teagan, frowning slightly when he wouldn't let go. "Let go of my boyfriend, I'm the only one who gets to cling to him."
"He's my boyfriend!"
"I'll deal with you in a second, missy. Teagan, do you want to get tickled?" Teagan gasped.
"No!"
"Then get off or you will be." Teagan released Edd's leg, scrambling away from Kevin to hide behind his father. Edd's eyes widened and he reached to tap on Eli's head, drawing his attention.
"What?"
"Will chocolate milk be a sufficient substitute for orange juice?" Eli stared at him blankly, causing Kevin to snort.
"Eli, he's asking if you'd like chocolate milk instead." Eli's jaw dropped and he turned to look at his mother.
"I don't see what one glass could hurt." Eli let go with a happy squeal, running to the fridge. Edd sighed, looking over his shoulder.
"Something tells me that you will not be so easy to convince into releasing my person."
"I like the way you talk."
"Rule of three, Edd. There's always one that goes wrong or refuses to cooperate." Kevin muttered. "Maddi, let go of my boyfriend."
"My boyfriend."
"Why do you even want to date him?"
"He's tall, he's handsome, and he talks like a prince."
"Are those the only reasons you have to offer? You gave the exact same reasons in the exact same order to his mother."
"They're the only reasons I need."
"Yeah, I can't really deny any of those, but he's also really big on things being clean, things being in order, and the labels, he labels everything. You can't move his hat, you don't touch his dog tags unless given permission, you can't startle him or he'll give you the silent treatment because he's really freaking jumpy if he's alone." Kevin shrugged. "Like everyone else he's got his good points and his bad points. But you can't claim you like someone if you don't know about them."
"I know about them now."
"Yeah, but I know all of the ones he's told me, the ones that Marie has shared, and the ones I've picked up just from spending time with him."
"I'm cuter than you, and a princess." Maddi stuck out her tongue. "So that means I can steal him away."
"… You live nearly an hour away, how are you going to see him regularly? You don't have any way to communicate."
"He's a grown up, he has a car."
"Yeah, but he's also got school, swim practice, swim meets, homework, and me." Edd snorted out a quiet laugh and Kevin grinned. "I like to take up all the free time he allows me to." He explained with a shrug, grin never faltering.
"Come on, Maddi, leave Edd be for now. You all can play later, I'm sure they've still got some things left to do." Jackson called, moving back to the living room. Edd let out a quiet sigh of relief when Maddi slid from his back to follow her father, turning to take a seat in the nearest chair. Kevin slipped easily into Edd's lap, the swimmer's arms wrapping around his middle.
"You handled them well." Kevin laughed, his mother joining in when Edd's only response was a groan low in his throat, one hand reaching to rub his temples. Kevin's mother walked up behind Edd, tipping his head back to place a kiss on his forehead.
"You actually did do really well. Most with no experience would have either yelled at them or gotten forceful." And with that she walked off towards the living room. Edd sighed again, resting his forehead on Kevin's shoulder.
"How can they handle them on a daily basis?"
"It gets easier, especially when you get to know them." Kevin lifted a hand to pet Edd's head. "The chocolate milk was a good call; I doubt I would have thought of that."
"And just what was your plan then?"
"I dunno, I was probably gonna have you hold the doorframe while Uncle Jackson and I pulled at him." Edd snorted.
"I would have been on the floor before that child would unhand my leg if we went with that plan." Kevin grinned.
"That's when we bust out a crowbar or something."
"You would need a jackhammer to remove a single finger when that child decides he does not wish to move." They chuckled, Kevin resting his cheek on Edd's head.
"Come on, the parents are probably going to play cards while the kids play in the snow, and something tells me you'd prefer cards." He scooted off of Edd's lap, holding out his hand.
"You should listen to that something; it knows what it is talking about." Edd smirked, taking his hand as he stood.
Edd was more than a little confused about why being outside where it was freezing was seen as enjoyable, and he certainly did not like getting his hands numb packing the snow together for the snowman Kevin convinced him to build, but hearing him quietly hum Christmas songs as they worked and watching his small, content smile grow into a proud and happy grin upon finishing the accursed thing was enough to make Edd understand. Getting pelted with snowballs, on the other hand, he will never find enjoyable.
"Pumpkin, how on earth is that seen as fun?" Edd questioned, more or less successfully hiding the bitterness in his tone as he got rid of the snow covering his clothing. Kevin snickered.
"It's more fun if you're the one throwing the snowballs, not getting hit with them."
"I did not see you offering assistance."
"Not my fault you're too tall to hide behind the snowman like me." He took Edd's hand, leading him to the kitchen after they discarded their coats. "Come on, mom's making coco."
"Kevin, honey, dinner will be served in a few minutes; will you set up the table while I get the food?" Kevin sighed, sliding off of the counter to gather the silverware and plates. "Alright, you've been pouty since we started playing cards, what is going on."
"I'm not pouting."
"You are absolutely pouting." Kevin huffed in response, moving to the dining room. "Do I need to tell Edd that you are being grumpy?"
"No, he's busy." Kelly looked confused for a moment before it clicked and she followed after him to set the turkey on the table.
"Kevin Anderson, you are being jealous of children."
"I'm not jealous!"
"It isn't his fault the children won't leave him alone. He'd much rather be with you than them and you know it." She set down the turkey, bumping his shoulder with her own. "Don't worry, they'll forget about him when we open presents and I'll make sure none of the kids sit by the two of you. Now quit pouting, you know how he gets when you're upset." Kevin smiled slightly, tugging on one of her curls before returning to the kitchen for more food.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll smile all pretty for him when he makes it back this way."
"It's actually been a while since I've heard the kids screaming, do you think he found something to distract them with?"
"Probably, he's pretty good at stuff like that."
The rest of the table was set and dinner was served, with Kevin pointedly shifting his chair a little closer to Edd's and receiving a small smile and shoulder bump in response. His stomach full, Kevin rested his head on Edd's shoulder, the taller male turning to press a gently kiss to the top of his head with a soft smile. When Kelly declared that they would be opening presents when dinner was put away, Kevin groaned, complaining about being unable to move. Edd snickered at him, rolling his shoulder and pointing out that they should help.
The two of them finished putting away the leftovers and Edd started to move to the doorway when Kevin grabbed his sleeve, stating that he wanted to give Edd his gift in private. Edd agreed, explaining that he would have to get it from his house. The joined the others in the living room, Kevin claiming his seat on Edd's lap before Maddi could, unable to stop the pleased smirk from spreading on his lips as he snuggled close.
The gifts were torn into by the kids, happy squeals and shrieks filling the house with nearly every unwrapping. Edd had cringed at all of the paper scattered on the floor, the redhead on his lap being the only thing keeping him from gathering it all. Kevin wouldn't stop checking on the bruise on Edd's cheek that he had noticed during dinner, but Edd was staunchly refusing to explain how he came to have it.
Noticing that the presents were all unwrapped, Edd started to slide Kevin off of his lap, alerting him that he was going to get his gift. Kevin stood, offering to go with him.
"Wouldn't want you getting lost after all." Edd scoffed, turning to tell Kelly of their plans. She pushed the rest of her cookie into her mouth, gesturing for them to wait as she reached into the tree and pulled out two small boxes and handed them off to the teens.
"Here, I thought you two may like something that holds significance to the two of you." She explained after finishing the cookie, clasping her hands close to her chest. "Be sure to open them at the same time, okay?" The boys nodded and Kevin mentioned bringing Edd's gift over to Edd's house before trotting up the stairs, coming back down a minute later with a box in his hands.
The small boxes in their respective pockets, the boys bundled up against the cold with Edd grumbling about needing to find his scarf and clicking his tongue in disapproval at Kevin not even bothering to buy one. They opened the door, eyes widening slightly at seeing Nazz on the other side. She blinked in surprise, slowly lowering her hand as she grinned.
"Hey dudes! Ah, I got you some presents." She turned to Kevin. "I know you still haven't bought a scarf, god knows why, so here's yours." She placed the red scarf on top of the blue and white box in his hands before turning to Edd and holding out a matching scarf. "And everyone knows how much you hate being cold, so I thought you, I dunno, might like one." Edd blinked down at the red material in surprise, murmuring a sincere thank you as he wrapped it around his neck before turning and beginning to wrap Kevin's around his neck. Nazz beamed.
"Is there a reason you're giving these to us now?" Kevin questioned.
"Because I know I'll never remember to get them to you if I didn't give them to you now. Anyway, you're very welcome, Edd, but uh, what happened to your cheek? Kevin didn't hit you on Christmas, did he?" She joked, grinning as Kevin swatted at her.
"Nazz, he won't tell me what happened, something tells me he's taking it to the grave." Edd stepped away, a smug smirk on his face when Nazz giggled and cupped a hand over her mouth at how he had tied the scarf. "All I know is that it happened when he was alone with the kids upstairs. What's so funny?" He glanced down at the scarf, rolling his eyes upward before turning to face Edd with a small smile. "A bow, really?"
"Merry Christmas to me." Edd singsonged, earning a snort of laughter from Kevin.
"Thanks for the scarves, Nazz, but we have some gifts to exchange at Edd's place." Nazz smirked, waving them off as she moved to head back to her house.
"No problem, that's all I really came over here for. Have a good Christmas, you two." They waved goodbye as they stepped out after her, Edd shutting the door behind them before jogging a few steps to catch up to Kevin.
"Kind of funny that she gave us scarves after you were grumbling about them."
"That merely means that there is a higher power that decided to be kind today." They hurried across the street, Kevin nearly slipping on the same patch of ice that took his legs out from under him a few days ago.
"That freaking ice patch almost took me out again…" Kevin grumbled, safely inside Edd's home. Edd chuckled.
"It is a good thing I was beside you this time."
"Yeah, yeah, where do you want to do this?" He held up the box, tilting his head curiously.
"Wherever you wish to is fine, I need to retrieve your gift from my room."
"'Kay." Kevin moved towards the couch. "Dibs on the good cushion!"
"All of my cushions are good cushions." Edd muttered to himself, climbing the stairs quickly. He gently picked up the gift and started his way back, stopping at the foot of the stairs when he caught sight of Kevin smiling softly at the box in his hands.
"I really hope he likes you, but if he doesn't I'm drop kicking you for what you did."
"… Is this what you do in your free time?" Kevin squeaked in surprise, nearly dropping the box. He cleared his throat before speaking, face stern.
"Damn it, Edd! I told you to walk louder!" He scolded, placing the box on his lap as Edd moved to take the seat next to him. "And no, I don't tend to talk to boxes in my free time. I was just bored and felt that it needed to be said.
"… I was gone for less than a minute…"
"And there was nothing to keep me entertained. Just take your freaking box." He held said object out, huffing quietly before remembering his mother's gift to them. "Oh, wait, we should probably open mom's first, huh?" He dug the box out of his pocket, waiting for Edd to do the same before fiddling with the paper. "It looks like a jewelry box… Why do you think she wants us to open them at the same time?"
"You do realize that you know your mother more than I do, correct?"
"… You are no help. On three?"
"I fail to see why not." Kevin rolled his eyes and counted. Kevin wound up struggling with the paper; Edd having no issues whatsoever with it. Edd was smirking as he took Kevin's and unwrapped it, handing it back to him afterwards.
"You appeared to be having trouble."
"I freaking hate it when you do that." He opened the small box, blinking in surprise at the single dog tag resting in it. He lifted it by the chain, noticing Edd doing the same to his. It wasn't until the tag turned and showed its engraved E that he understood, a grin taking over his face as he slipped the chain over his head. Kevin turned to Edd, surprised to see that he hadn't put it on but instead had the tag resting in his palm, a small smile on his lips.
"… Your mother is thoughtful in the strangest of ways." Kevin grinned, bumping Edd lightly with his shoulder. Edd chuckled, undoing the clasps of his gift and own chain. Kevin watched in mild confusion until he swapped the single tag to rest beside the two tags always by his heart, another grin forming as he watched.
"Alright, note to self, mom gets a big ass hug when I get home." He looked over the flat box Edd had handed over. "What is it?"
"Is that not the point in opening it?" Kevin groaned dramatically before pulling apart the paper with a small grin. He found himself blinking dumbly again at the notebook in the box. It looked like his robotics one, the one that had been ruined a month or so earlier, except bigger. Five subjects as opposed to one. "You got me a spiral?"
"Open it." He glanced over at Edd curiously at the quiet murmur, but did as instructed, eyes widening in disbelief as the familiar theories and designs greeted him.
"Edd, you…" He flipped through the pages and sure enough, page after page of meticulously copied notes, thoughts, and miniature blueprints met his gaze. "You even copied over the original notes and how we edited them…" He murmured in awe. "The pages were soaked! This must have taken forever to copy over." He turned to Edd, eyebrows furrowed. "When did you have the time to do this? You didn't do it in school, I would have seen it, and we've been spending most of this month together. How…?"
"I tend to have issues falling asleep unless I am doing something."
"… What about your eight hours?" Edd shrugged.
"I have the rest of the break with nothing to do. I'm certain I can fit in a nap or twenty."
"… Well shit. Now I feel like my gift is too freaking symbolic." Edd arched an eyebrow, turning to start on his gift. He lifted the lid; eyebrows rising slightly as he carefully removed his gift from the box. "Yeah, don't touch the spots on it. It's painful as hell." Edd turned to him, concerned.
"You removed all of the glochidia, correct?"
"… Is that the real name of the barb things?"
"It is indeed."
"Then yes. Took a while, but we got them out." Edd nodded, turning the pot back and forth in his hands as he observed the plant in his hands.
"And just how is an Opuntia microdasys symbolic, Pumpkin?"
"Well, I mean, I pointed it out, it was mom who made the comparisons. Granted, you apparently need to be immersed in water whenever possible where it only needs water every so often." He grinned. "But uh, there's the fact that it looks threatening, but if you're careful and know how to treat it it's less likely to cause you harm. But if you aren't careful you're in for a damn painful experience. There's also the fact that in conditions where other plants would wilt and die pretty soon it can flourish. It just… It reminded me of you, you know?" He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, blushing faintly. Edd smirked, shifting to set the cactus on the coffee table.
"I will clear a space for it in my room as soon as I can." He stared at the cactus in thought. "Perhaps "Jim" would be a suitable name…"
"You're naming the cactus?"
"I feel as though I should." Kevin laughed, scooting to sit close enough to Edd to rest his head on his shoulder. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Edd spoke again.
"… Kevin."
"Hmm?"
"I believe that I love you." He murmured, eyes only leaving the cactus when Kevin sat up to look him in the eye. Silence reigned for a few more moments, the seconds dragging by before Kevin smiled, satisfied with what he had found in Edd's gaze.
"That actually works out. You know why?"
"… Negative."
"Because I know for a fact that I love you."