"WHAT!?"
Eddy nearly shot through the roof as he flew off the bed. He turned sharply to face Edd, anger radiating from his body and written all over his expression. Instinctively, Edd flinched but no contact was made.
"You think I'm not ready!?" Eddy huffed, stomping in a circle with his arms in the air. "Well, I've got news for ya… You just wait." He turned to his bag on the floor and began digging into it.
"First of all, pretty sure you noticed that I was trying to create ambience to set the mood. Note the candles, the music…" Eddy spat out over his right shoulder, hands deep into his bag. A moment later, Edd was taken by surprise when red petals came flying at him. He then took notice that they were in fact rose petals; bruised, but real none-the-less. They were aggressively thrown at him by the handful and he attempted to block his face from the bombardment.
"See these? Stinkin' rose petals!" Eddy shouted, throwing the last bunch of petals at Edd. "Not cheap either, Sockhead…" All Edd could do was panic from the attack and then from the realization of what a mess Eddy was making. He attempted to gather them into his hands but was interrupted by Eddy a second time. Unlike the gentle slapping of the satiny petals, a pair of leopard skin underwear shot like a rubber-band bulls-eyed for Edd's face was much more abrasive and painful. Edd gagged a choked yelp at the assault on his face.
"Real sexy, huh!?" Eddy continued his aggressive display, once again digging into the bag. "Not ready. Not ready, my ass! Just wait 'till ya see this!" Eddy spun around and swiftly shoved his full hand in Edd's face; from Eddy's fingers a chain of condoms unraveled. Edd's eyes followed the cascade and he gulped loudly. His eyes met Eddy's. Both were red in the face. The condoms feel onto Edd's laps and Eddy dove back into the bag.
"And the piece-of-resistance," Eddy barked and turned one last time shoving his arm forward. In his extended hand this time was a bottle of lubricator. As Edd sucked in his lip and looked at the bottle, Eddy stared him down. His breath was heavy from his fit and he waited for Edd to say something. When silence was the only response, he threw the bottle back in his back and sighed in his hands. He laughed half-heartedly and muttered to himself, "Heh, 'not ready'."
Edd, flustered, was reminded of the mess of rose petals surrounding him. As he went back to picking them up, he gingerly lifted the packages of condoms off his lap as if they were delicate glass and placed them on the night stand. He took a deep breath, a long sigh, and looked to Eddy whom was sitting slumped on the floor facing away from him. Now that the petals were in a neat pile, he could continue where he left off.
"There is a difference between preparation and maturity. The readiness I meant to address was of the latter sort." Edd cautiously walked to Eddy and kneeled down to give him a soft hug from behind. With his chin on Eddy's left shoulder, Edd whispered "Please come talk with me". Eddy could feel himself relaxing under Edd's affection. He couldn't help it; there was something Double D could do that he couldn't explain. He could equally infuriate and tranquilize him in the span of 2 minutes. Eddy complied and they both returned to sit on the bed, hands clasped.
"I'm listenin'."
"Though physical, mental, and social factors are pushing your choice in action I sense that underlying insecurities and fixations may be detrimental in continuation of said sexual activity." Eddy stared blankly, then allowing an eyebrow to arch in confusion.
"Fixations? Yer pullin' some Freud B.S. on me, aren't you." Eddy was a bit aggravated that he was being psychoanalyzed by Double D, but he was also interested in getting an explanation. Edd gave Eddy's hands a reassuring squeeze and continued.
"My only intent is to assist you and guide us through our burgeoning sexual life. We are at a critical period in our adolescence, what with hormonal urges and societal pressures. But I am willing to admit that I too lack the mental maturity to proceed at a more rapid rate. Sure, the thought has arisen in my mind; it's only natural, I suppose. My curiosity concerning sexual endeavors has been awoken but I know that I've yet to attain the mental and emotional state of maturity to manifest those fantasies into reality."
Eddy cut him off: "That's you, but what about me?"
"I suspect similarly of you, though I must be frank; there is an additional constituent that concerns me". Edd looked to Eddy's eyes to read them. Eddy looked away; he wasn't sure if he liked Edd reading him like a book and if the eyes were windows to the soul, he wasn't letting him have any of it. The diverted gaze said enough to Edd. It told him that Eddy had a fleeting idea of what was to follow. To soothe him, Edd caressed the top of Eddy's hand.
"If my memory does not fail me, I recall a substantial amount of your developmental years revolving around a fixation with overtly sexual images and messages. Be it your magazines or manuals in wooing the opposite sex, your concept of human sexuality has been warped. It's a rather common consequence of modern society, really; distorted realities designed to feed consumerist gains, manipulating the ways in which people view themselves and others so that one may profit. The deceptive nature of the images you've grown up with create experiences and ideas that aren't real. Well, essentially they exist but can hardly represent a truer, more genuine reality. You would be surprised by the amount of technological finagling that goes on behind closed doors! I digress-" Edd took a moment to look at Eddy, and then a thought hit him.
"You are being very cooperative. Are you listening?"
"Yes, Sockhead! And if ya want me to keep cooperatin', hurry it up will ya'?"
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry. You know how I'm so easily consumed by my thoughts… Continuing where I last left off, I mean to project that my concern lies in your amount of comfort regarding intercourse and sexuality. Your exposure is limited to manufactured fallacy. When it comes to the topic, you avoid even saying the word "sex", which raised in me a question of your mental mindset. We've yet to discuss it together, which is crucial! Though you've immersed yourself in a culture of sex and seduction, it's hardly applicable to the real-life emotional veracity of sexual exploration. You are desensitized to the physicality of human sexuality and additionally have less experience in regard to the promise of emotional attainment." Edd stopped. He bit at his lip and looked away nervously. What he wanted to say next may hurt Eddy's feelings, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to bring too much onto his mind at once. But, if he was going to have this talk Edd felt it necessary to address his last concern. "I know you've been struggling to trust physical intimacy, and it's understandable. We don't need to talk about it at this moment, but your detachment of emotion to sexual activities is a strong line of defense." Tears couldn't be stopped from welling in Edd's eyes.
Eddy held his breath. A sick filling hit his gut as the memories flooded. But he shook them from his head. He could feel a whimper catching in the back of his throat, but this too he tried to keep from surfacing. Without thought, Eddy fell into Edd's chest and grabbed onto the fabric of Edd's pajamas. Edd, surprised by the hug, whispered to Eddy, "But every day, I see you getting stronger. I see you learning to feel. To love…"
The word hung in the air. Love. Eddy couldn't hold back his tears and let them soak into Edd's chest. Edd two couldn't help but let the tears run, and tenderly rested his head on Eddy's while soothingly rubbing his back. Eddy's hands were needy and firm and they pulled Edd close.
"I hate when yer right" Eddy choked into the folds of Edd's body.
Edd sighed and smiled softly, lifting Eddy's face up to meet his. He kissed Eddy's forehead before responding, "Would you rather me be wrong?"
"No. I just wish I wasn't always…"
"Wrong?" Edd inquired.
Eddy sighed, "Yeah, 'wrong'."
"Oh hush. That's not even remotely true. Your stubbornness blows my interventions out of proportion. I only mean to help you as I'm concerned for you."
"What, you don't trust me to figure my own shit out?"
"Denying assistance from someone who cares deeply for you is not noble, Eddy. And it certainly doesn't make you 'right'."
"Yer not perfect." Eddy huffed, shoving his face into Edd's chest. Edd sighed. Their normal bickering was almost a relief. They stayed for a moment in an embrace, Edd playing with Eddy's hair. Eddy eventually shifted and sat up.
"Should probably clean these candles up."
"We certainly should, similarly these rose petals and…" Edd turned behind himself and grabbed the pair of leopard print underwear. He dangled them between him and Eddy, "these delightful intimates." Eddy snatched them from Edd's hands with a blush and grumbled, then began the process of blowing out the candles. Edd giggled at Eddy's embarrassment and proceeded in blowing out each tiny flame. Once the petals discarded and wax solidified enough to pack away the candles, Eddy changed into pajama pants and a t-shirt. Roughly 11 PM, the taller of the two teens could feel sleepiness creeping in. He proceeded in his nightly ritual of brushing his teeth, flossing, and washing his face. Eddy challenged his efforts by fighting over the sink the entire time to brush his own teeth. While Eddy dribbled foamy toothpaste down his chin, jokingly growling like a rabid beast at Edd, Edd rolled his eyes as he methodically ran the mechanical toothbrush over every molar, cuspid, and bicuspid.
Returning to the room, they both shimmied their way into the bed. Sure; the fit was tight, but the closeness was welcomed and desired. Now only 11:15, the two boys weren't necessarily ready to sleep but instead spent an hour or so talking, kissing, cuddling, enjoying the other's presence. They admitted a weight was lifted from their chests, and maybe now that they were communicating more openly about sex it would be easier to approach, paced and with awareness. They talked until their eyelids became heavy and eventually lulled one another to sleep with soft caresses, a warm embrace, and the intoxicating scent of the dear boy in his arms.