Junior year had them in the craziest under cover relationship Kevin ever had the privilege of being involved in.

Despite being out, Edd was very selective about who he dated. Peach Creek was a small town so his options were limited. Lemon Brook and the city were no better.

Once or twice a guy caught his eye, but nothing lasted long.

It was Kevin who caught his last local ex cheating on him with another guy from the baseball team. Kevin knew it was revenge for Edd turning his teammate down and for him breaking up with his ex because he didn't want to rush their relationship into heavily committed areas that neither really was ready to go into yet, but the guy didn't see it that way and called Edd a jerk for leading him on.

When the dust settled, Kevin and Edd settled with each other. First as friends, and then the banter got flirtatious, but only between the two of them. But things got hot after Kevin slapped his hand over Edd's mouth to shut him up about some tangent or another and the usually mysophobic Edd licked him.

Kevin was so stunned, he yanked his hand back in disgust and went on a tangent of his own about Edd's germy mouth.

"It's cleaner than yours."

"Prove it."

The kiss that was Edd's proof blew Kevin away. And he lost six months of his life to Edd.

And his virginity.

Edd dated two other guys in the meantime. Kevin met them both. He trusted the red head's judgment. But Kevin wasn't one to stay on the back burner, no matter how much he liked Edd.

So he called it quits right before senior year began. And it hurt. He missed the dork something fierce, but since Edd didn't seem to want to be out with him as he was with everyone else, he had to end it.

Edd, on the other hand, seemed unbothered. And that bothered Kevin even more. But because of their friends, he kept his head as best he could and would blame any attitude changes on the stress of school and planning his future.

Visits home from college were cordial. They were downright friendly to one another at Eddy and Nazz's wedding. Holidays brought them back around to their old friendliness and they bonded over their goddaughters. But Edd was always gone just as quickly as he came.

That first Christmas Eve forced them to face each other as adults, not hurt teenagers. Edd was apologetic and contrite as he wiped the white makeup in Kevin's beard away. He was more afraid of losing their friendship if they broke up than he was of dating Kevin out loud. Instead of explaining himself, he just kept them and so much of himself locked away. Life had taught him that living out loud was more than just wearing a few labels. Some labels may not match, but that didn't mean that they weren't beautiful and deserved to be shown. Not merely as accessories, but as regular pieces of who we are. If you like it enough, you treat it well and make it work for you. Kevin deserved better than what Edd had done to him and them because he just couldn't get himself to make it all work even though he would have had plenty of help to do so.

But Kevin couldn't help but forgive him. It was Christmas and he was Santa.

Time to forgive and move forward.

Well, as far forward as one could with their ex. Especially when that ex, just couldn't bring himself to stay home.

Kevin blamed himself. He shouldn't have forced Edd to have to out them, just like Max shouldn't have tried to force a grown up commitment on a weeks old relationship.

He had always respected Edd. But he didn't respect Edd's wishes to live his life as he wished, and even though he dumped Edd, he couldn't help but feel like the end of who they were then was his own fault. So he followed Edd's lead and stayed away.

Until the holidays forced them back together.

He leaned into Edd's touch as the cold baby wipe was swiped against his blushing face and Edd went a mile a minute about his life and work in New York.

He never registered a word the man said, just enjoyed his touch and his company until it was gone. Which was always sooner than he wanted it to be.

"Ok, it looks like it's gone, but my neighbor told me about this facial scrub that's good for beards," Edd was saying as he put a tube of the facial scrub in Kevin's hands. "That," he said as he pointed to the scrub, "should take the rest of the paint out and get your face back to normal or something."

Kevin looked at the clear tube in his hand and made a face at the black particles of what he was sure was some sort of charcoal scrub.

"But it's a scrub. Isn't that too harsh?"

"Aw, does the mountain man have a baby face?"

Smirk met deadpan stare.

"You would know."

"Haha! I would!," Edd snickered. "But I'm being serious Kevin, you don't want anything in your face overnight and that should take care of it. I've got a moisturizer if you need it."

"I bet you do."

Red face met smirk and Kevin shot him another wink before he hopped in the shower.

Tea was on the nightstands and Edd couldn't even look him in the eye when he stepped out of the bathroom. He just scurried past him, but the moisturizer was next to the tea, so Kevin figured he was feeling a bit shy about the flirting. They only did it once a year, so he had to cut the guy some slack, especially since he never caught anything in their conversations about Edd having a love life back in NYC or much of a life at all because work consumed it.

On the one hand, he liked having all Edd's attention to himself, even if it was for a good 36 hours.

On the other, he worried.

If Edd was just using him to get his rocks off for the year like some end of the year charitable donation, he needed to quit because Kevin needed to be the paycheck that paid the taxes. Being in his every day and providing for his needs.

But if he was all Edd had because of the way Edd's life was set up, he either needed to stay in Kevin's life or go find a new one because the redhead had had enough.

At least that's what he told himself.

After Edd got out of the bathroom and probably the world's hottest shower considering how pink he was all over, he cocked a brow at the toiletries he'd given Kevin on the nightstand.

"Verdict?"

"Come see for yourself," Kevin snarked at him in his usual friendly tone.

Edd rolled his eyes but went to the couch he was sitting on and cupped his face in his hands, closed his eyes and pressed their foreheads together as he caressed Kevin's face.

"And?"

A bright blush crossed Edd's face as he smiled.

"Feels soft to me. How's it feel to you?"

"Meh."

Edd rolled his eyes as he walked away to the bed and crawled under the covers.

"Story?"

"You got the couch because I was already in bed."

Kevin nodded as he crawled into the bed next to him and cuddled him close.

"I missed you."

"Mhm."

"Goodnight, Edd."

"Night, Santa."

But he did kiss him. Gently and it lingered.

And Kevin made his New Year's resolution: Get Santa's favorite good boy back in his life.

He couldn't live without his kisses anymore.

They heard the girls before they saw them.

The pitter-patter of little feet had given way to thunderous noise, but at least this year, the girls waited til the sun had come up a bit.

Kevin and Edd were brushing their teeth when they came banging on the door.

"There had better be coffee," Edd said as sternly as he could muster as he opened the door to the two smiling girls, shaking with excitement, a cup of coffee in each of their hands.

"C'mon, Uncle Dee!," Kim said excitedly as she started to drag him out of the room. "I want to see what Santa brought me!"

"Hopefully, more coffee."

"Uncle Dee!"

Nazz apologized as usual for the girls' excitement but Kevin and Edd waved it off as the joy of children on Christmas morning is a bit contagious. The girls got everything they wanted and Nazz did, too. There were so many gifts, no one knew where Eddy went til a pile of wrapping paper moved and muttered something about Santa bringing more coffee.

Kevin got him a mug of the dark brew and the small Ed came back to life. He and Kevin cleaned up the living room while Edd and Nazz started on brunch and the girls were ordered to their rooms to put their gifts away and get ready for the rest of the day.

Kevin and Edd got ready for the day in shifts, brunch and naps were had.

Kevin found him in the kitchen, sitting at the island in the center of the room after their naps looking at his phone and tablet with a serious expression on his face, one earbud in his ear.

"I can see that, Ang, but I'm also seeing a break in the storms during my flight so I don't see a problem getting back. It's the usual deadlock that may put a stop to things once I land," he told some person named Ang on the other side of his phone. "Tell him to shoot for an hour depending on how much snow we get before I get in…I know, I know, but I will be there…Yes, we'll do brunch…Of course I haven't! I don't have a child, woman!," he laughed and while Kevin loved to see him laughing, the mention of someone having something he didn't and would occasionally long for, hurt him, too.

The phone call soon ended and Edd put his devices away.

"Here to spike the egg nog?"

"I thought that was Ed's job?"

Edd snickered as he stood and pulled a small flask out of his back pocket. Kevin cocked a brow.

"I prefer mine with brandy," he shrugged.

"What does Big Ed use?"

"Cognac. Eddy likes it, too. So I just learned to carry my own stuff."

"Mind hooking a brother up?"

"Don't mind if I do," Edd grinned as he grabbed a bowl of egg nog out of the fridge and set it on the kitchen island.

Pulling two cups from the stack of cups Nazz set aside for the occasion, he served them both individually spiked glasses of egg nog using his own private poison.

Kevin stared into the glass after his first sip and argued with himself for a good minute before deciding that he liked the drink because brandy was better with egg nog than cognac, not just because he liked Edd.

"Good?," Edd asked once his furrowed expression settled into something of acceptance.

"It is. Never considered brandy. Good looking out, Double Dork."

Edd smirked as Kevin raised his glass to him and then took another sip.

"Most people don't."

"But you're not most people."

"I am not," Edd sighed as he looked him over with that same sad look in his eyes that he wore when he left their first forced shared Christmas two years ago.

The look grew sadder as he stared into his own drink before taking a big gulp, shuddering after he swallowed it and slapped a happy grin on his face as Ed walked in the door.

"Merry Christmas!," the big Ed roared as he pulled a fifth of Hennessey out of his coat's inside pocket. "Let's get this party started!"