Kevin stood against the wall, panting. A bead of sweat slid down his forehead and in between his eyes. It tickled. He wiped at it with the back of his hand, a hand that came away smeared with blood. He watched the blood mix with the shining layer of sweat on his skin, swirling into jagged patterns, and laughed. Bracing his hands on his knees, he laughed loudly and with abandon, his sides aching with the effort.
It had started with a kiss.
"Eddward, I really need to study. Please keep your hands to yourself, just for a little while."
Kevin swatted at the pale hands that attempted to slip under the collar of his shirt. Truth be told, he was already perfectly familiar with the materials spread out across the desk. He just wasn't in the mood for whatever it was Eddward had in mind. Kevin intended to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the brooding teen called him on his bluff. Sure enough, less than five minutes later Eddward's hands were tugging at his shirt again. Kevin sighed heavily, grabbing those probing fingers and lacing them into his own.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"My, my, Pumpkin. You certainly are sassy today. You and I both know that you had that material memorized days ago. You are as prepared as you will ever be, and I am quite certain that you will pass your exam with flying colors." Eddward wrapped his hands around Kevin's wrists and pulled.
Kevin fell forward onto Eddward's chest, his eyes bored and unimpressed. "And just what do you propose we do, since you won't let me study?"
"I have a few ideas."
Eddward's hand trailed up the back of Kevin's thigh; the redhead rolled his eyes. Ignoring Eddward's soft noise of complaint, he stood and straightened his hat. He turned to walk out of the room, but Eddward's hand shot out and caught hold of his ankle. Kevin sighed again, trying to gently shake the hand off.
"I'm not in the mood, Edd."
"I don't recall asking if you were in the mood."
Faster than Kevin could process, Eddward was on his feet and pressing his boyfriend up against the wall. His fist bunched around a clump of soft, red hair, and he pulled, exposing Kevin's neck. He dragged his tongue up the smooth skin. Kevin squirmed, voicing his protest through low growls in the back of his throat. His hands came up to push on the taller boy's chest.
"Come on, Eddward. Leave me alone. I don't feel like it."
The grip on his hair tightened, becoming painful, and two slender fingers slipped under the waist of his jeans. Eddward massaged the sensitive skin stretched across the hollow at Kevin's hip, teasing a gasp from unwilling lips. Kevin pressed his hips forward, his body giving in to Eddward's advances despite his better judgment. He hooked his fingers through the belt loops of Eddward's jeans and pulled, closing what little space remained between them. He shook his head free of Eddward's grip and pressed up for a kiss. Eddward reversed their position, allowing Kevin to press him into the wall. His hands reached down and deftly undid the button on his own jeans. Rolling his eyes, Kevin sank to his knees and took the zipper in his teeth, pulling it down slowly and deliberately. Eddward groaned in anticipation.
Kevin held up a finger and said, "Just a quick one."
Eddward laughed and set his hand on his boyfriend's cheek. "Whatever you say, Pumpkin."
Kevin slid his hands up Eddward's thighs, relishing in the shuddering gasp the motion elicited. He craned his neck up to plant a kiss on the swimmer's toned stomach before taking the waistband of Eddward's boxers delicately and pulling. He took his time; if Eddward was going to demand his attention, he was going to pay the price. Kevin flattened his tongue at the base of the shaft and slowly trailed up through coarse hair toward the belly button. Eddward whined, the noise sending a surge of desire through Kevin's body. One hand held Eddward's hips firmly against the wall and the other stroked softly down his length, barely brushing the skin. He nibbled at the skin on Eddward's hip, raking his teeth over the bone. Eddward's hand reclaimed its grip on his hair, pulling back sharply. Kevin hissed.
"Please cease your teasing and get on with it," Eddward said sweetly, but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Fine, fine…don't get your panties in a wad…"
Kevin swatted the hand away from his hair, annoyed. His hands began to move more frantically, alternating as they dragged down Eddward's skin.
"Good boy," Eddward laughed, pinching Kevin's cheek.
Kevin growled and shook him off. He shot a dirty look up, but Eddward was already too far gone to notice. His eyes were closed, head tilted back, fingers grasping at the wall for support, and the sounds he was making… Kevin opened his mouth and took Eddward in. His tongue flicked around the hot skin lazily. Oh, those lovely moans. He would never grow tired of hearing them. He pulled off slowly, lapping at the slit and wrinkling his nose at the taste. Eddward noticed.
"Is there a problem, Pumpkin?"
"…No."
"Excellent."
Eddward playfully slapped Kevin's cheek in a way that probably was not meant to hurt. The unexpected sting was the last straw. Kevin rocked back onto his heels, lifted his fist, and slugged Eddward in the stomach. Eddward lurched forward in surprise.
"Do you have to be so damn condescending all the time? I'm not your punching bag, Edd. I'm…" Kevin's resolve faltered at the look on Eddward's face. "I'm sick…of it…"
He managed to dodge the first punch, but his triumph was short-lived. The second one caught him across the cheek. He took a step back, one hand pressed to the throbbing pain. He lifted his arm to block another blow, but Eddward merely twisted at the last second to drive his fist into Kevin's stomach. The redhead doubled over with a grunt.
"You do realize that you're only proving my point, right?" he coughed.
Eddward took him by the chin and pulled him up roughly. The kiss was searing, full of teeth and sloppy tongue. He interrupted it suddenly by hooking his leg around Kevin's and pushing, sending his boyfriend to the floor.
"I am thoroughly impressed by your ability to stand up for yourself, Pumpkin. It was a cute effort," Eddward sneered. "Please refrain from doing it in the future."
Hot anger rose up in the back of Kevin's throat. As Eddward zipped up his jeans and turned to walk away, Kevin lunged for the nearest object—a glass paperweight from the coffee table—and threw it as hard as he could. Of course, his aim was for shit; it shattered on the wall about three feet to the left of his intended target. Eddward froze, glanced over to survey the damage, and turned slowly to face a scowling Kevin. He folded his arms and leaned against the doorway.
"I was quite fond of that paperweight," he stated.
"Too fucking bad," Kevin replied. He took the matching weight in his hand and threw it as well.
Eddward caught it easily and held it up to the light, admiring the swirl of colors. "It really is lovely, isn't it? I don't think it has enough red in it, though."
He pushed off the wall suddenly and threw it back. Kevin couldn't react in time, and the heavy orb collided with his chin. His lower lip broke open against his teeth. His head snapped back on impact.
"Ow!" he shouted.
Eddward smirked. "Serves you right."
Kevin sucked up a mouthful of blood and spat it onto Eddward's clean, white carpet. "Serves you right," he mimicked.
In a flash, Eddward was on top of him, his expression livid. Kevin thrashed, gripping and pulling at the leg of the coffee table in an attempt to drag himself from under his boyfriend. His efforts were in vain. Eddward pinned his wrists and brought their faces close together.
"You will regret that, Kevin Barr," he hissed.
"Not as much as I'm going to regret this."
Kevin jerked his knee up to slam into Eddward's back. Taken off guard, the tall boy loosened his grip on Kevin's wrists. One hand yanked free of its bond and pulled Eddward's hat roughly down over his face. Eddward rolled off and Kevin made a break for the kitchen. He only made it a few steps before Eddward's hand clamped down around his ankle. He brought his arms up to break his fall, landing heavily on his elbow. Sharp pain shot up his arm, and he yelped. Eddward's other hand came up to yank on his leg. He kicked out, connecting with something hard enough that Eddward cried out. He really hoped it wasn't Edd's pretty face.
Free once again, he threw himself into the kitchen and made a sharp left to duck behind the island in the middle of the room. Eddward followed behind quickly, but his sock-clad toes refused to grip the hardwood floor. In the most ungraceful way possible, the swimmer had his feet taken out from under him. He fell with an uncharacteristic squeak. Kevin popped up from behind the island to point.
"Ha!"
His amused snort escalated into a shout when Eddward recovered and dove over the counter at him. Attempts to scramble away proved useless; the swimmer was long, lean, and determined to pin his boyfriend to the floor. They slid back, crashing into the oven. A low creak served as their only warning before the heavy glass door swung down. Eddward's beanie would cushion the blow to his head, but Kevin was trapped right beneath him. At the last second, he clapped his hand over the redhead's forehead, pressing their heads together just before the impact. It hurt like hell, but at least there wouldn't be any permanent damage. Pushing the door back into place, Eddward sat up on his knees and shook his hand out, groaning.
Kevin scooted backwards and rolled, throwing his glasses off. The bridge of his nose was split where the sharp plastic frame had been smashed into it. He whined in pain, gingerly pressing at the cartilage, eyes crossed in an effort to see the cut. Eddward caught his ankle again, dragging Kevin to him so he could inspect the wound.
"Let me see," he said softly, taking Kevin's face in his hands and turning it to the light. "It will heal on its own, Pumpkin."
He offered a gentle smile, but his eyes held a familiar spark of mischief. He lapped at the cut twice, laughing when Kevin wrinkled his nose, and then he abruptly bit down. Kevin shrieked, shoving him away as his eyes began to water.
"What the fuck?!" he shouted.
"Language, Kevin."
"I'll show you language, you ass! Get over here!"
Just like that the two were on their feet again. This time the redhead gave chase, his shorter legs taking the stairs two at a time for the three that his boyfriend took. Eddward made it to his room but couldn't get the door shut in time. Kevin threw himself at the other, and they crashed into Edd's desk, knocking an array of items onto the floor. Kevin took a dictionary to the head and scrambled to his feet, holding the sore spot. Eddward rose from the wreckage with the back of a hand pressed to a cut above his eyebrow, blood trailing down his arm. With his free hand, he took Kevin by the shirt and slammed him into the wall, rearing back to deliver a punch. Kevin ducked at the last second and crawled to the other side of the room, wincing at the crunch of Eddward's hand denting the wall.
"Ow…" came an unexpected whimper, and Kevin stood to face Edd, leaning up against the wall. Hands on his knees, he laughed, and while he shook with the effort Eddward made his way over to sit heavily on the floor beside him.
"You," Kevin began, struggling to regain composure. "You just punched a wall."
"Fuck you," Eddward replied, but his eyes were smiling.
With a loud exhale, Kevin slid down the wall. Eddward wrapped an arm around the redhead's shoulders, pulling him snugly up against his side. They sat together and simply breathed until their hearts quit pounding and they could speak without huffing.
"Feeling better, Pumpkin?"
"Yeah. But I still wish you'd stop being so mean."
"Understood. I shall make an effort." Eddward paused, fingers pushing up under Kevin's hat to tangle in red hair. "Would you perhaps attempt to study a little less in return?"
"You want me to study less?" Kevin took Eddward's chin in hand firmly and turned that pale face toward him. "Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?"
"Oh, my aching sides. How hilarious," Eddward deadpanned. His eyes searched the other's for a moment before he pulled the redhead into a tight hug, pressing his face to the top of Kevin's head. "You spend so much time with those damned books lately. I miss you," he mumbled, the words muffled.
Kevin couldn't help but grin. "What was that?"
"I am not repeating it."
He nuzzled into Eddward's chest happily. "I miss you, too. I'm sorry, and I'll try my best to make more time for you, okay?"
Eddward hummed in response, pulling Kevin up for a kiss. It started slow and sweet, filled to the brim with the love and tender feelings that they struggled to express through words, but very quickly Kevin was wrapped around the other in a way that was entirely inappropriate for company. When they came up for air, Kevin wiggled his eyebrows, fingers gently massaging Eddward's lower back.
"Still in the mood?" he asked, voice heavy with desire.
"I am indeed." Eddward leaned in for a lingering kiss before heaving an exaggerated sigh and withdrawing completely. "Unfortunately, there is a rather unfortunate blood stain on my living room carpet that requires my attentions."
Kevin sat up, brow furrowed. "Edd, come on. It can wait." He watched Eddward stretch, his shirt riding up to flash a tantalizing strip of smooth skin. "You can't be serious."
"When am I ever otherwise?" Eddward inquired, quirking a brow. "I told you that you would regret defiling my immaculate carpet."
With a little wave, no more than a wiggling of his fingers, the swimmer disappeared into the hall, leaving Kevin sitting on the bedroom floor in disbelief. The redhead moved to follow him, but putting weight on his arm reminded him that he'd injured his elbow, and he fell back with a groan.
"Fuck you, Edd!" he called.
A low chuckle floated up the stairs. "I love you, too, Pumpkin."