Tuesday night dinners at the Jackson home were a hodgepodge of culinary delight, especially if you were a teenager. They'd order out for pizza and Chinese and when Double D came to visit, they'd have his scrumptious carnitas tacos. Tuesday's used to be date night for Princess' dads. Once, when Double D was spending spring break with the family, as a gift of thanks to his hosts and in an effort to get the Jackson kids to eat better, he made carnitas tacos. So, it became tradition. Wednesday was Cecilia's day off, so the leftover takeout was meant to hold the family over til she came back. As the kids got older, it became a necessity, much to Edd's chagrin, to get takeout bc the carnitas would be the first to go. Antonio and LeMont even changed date night to Thursday just to get a bite of the tacos their kids couldn't stop raving about.

The twins, knowing Edd lived in town, had already made sure to have all the ingredients ready for carnitas. All he had to do was cook. Princess was his prep cook and sous chef. They worked in tandem. The Mad Scientist and his beautiful assistant.

After watching a few episodes of Steven Universe (Edd is such a Pearl!) Edd and Princess rode the elevator to the first floor and Princess made one of her grand entrances through the French doors into the living room.

"Hey, everybody! Edd's here!," she called out.

The living room was a sprawling open space. Straight through the door was the fireplace. Hung above the mantel was a recent large family portrait. Huge picture windows went from floor to ceiling. The room was painted white, but the floor was a deep cherry hardwood. A blue and cream Persian accent rug took up the center of the room. The furniture was overstuffed, Royal blue with cherry wood accents. On the opposite side of the room was a larger version of Princess' kitchen, sans the breakfast nook. There was a breakfast bar instead with seating for eight. The dining room wasn't as much a room as it was a space directly to the right of the kitchen. The furniture was white, the chairs were straight back with burgundy cushions and held seating for six, but Edd knew it expanded to 12.

The Jackson men cheered from their usual seats at the breakfast bar. But Edd and Princess were frozen with shock when they rounded the corner that led them to the kitchen. They didn't realize that they'd have two extra guests for dinner tonight. Kevin and Nat sat between the twins.

"We invited them," Andrew said, gesturing to Kevin and Nat. The twins were known to invite friends to dinner on Tuesdays. But Princess knew Edd probably wasn't ready to face his crush over the intimate family meal, especially after finally admitting to himself that he had a crush.

"I didn't know Double D was a Jackson family VIP," Kevin said with his signature smirk.

Edd quickly went pink.

"Well, we've known his parents for years," Antonio replied. "He's a good egg."

Antonio liked Edd. Watching Edd gently hold Princess' hand through some very rough patches from her place as a rape victim to rape survivor gave the boy a special place to the man.

"Why didn't Kevin know about your tacos, Double D?," Andre asked. Andre loved Edd's tacos. Once he knew they were moving to Peach Creek, he immediately went out and bought everything he knew he'd need for them. They were weeks away from actually moving but he was just that excited.

"W-well, I d-didn't ever think he'd n-need to," Edd stammered shyly.

Everyone in the cul-de-sac knew Edd could cook. His parents were rarely home, so he had to learn how to feed himself. His snacks for all of their parties and study sessions were top notch. Only the other Eds knew about his meals.

"Well," said Kevin, giving Edd a grin, "if they're anything like Cecilla's, I'm more than ready."

Edd paled a bit at that. Kevin had eight of Cecilla's tacos at lunch. The pressure to impress was on.

Princess handed him an apron. "Ready?," she asked softly, her eyes full of concern. Kevin being here unannounced was a lot to take in.

Edd found a bit of confidence from some well hidden away space within his soul. He took the apron, blue eyes flaring with a fire Princess only saw when people questioned his ability to do something he knew he could do.

"Let's do this."

The stove faced the breakfast bar, thus allowing Edd to put on a show. The pork was pulled from its marinade and put in the pan, Princess chopped veggies and warmed the tortillas. Kevin was impressed. The kid was in his element. His orders to Princess were gentle, but precise. Long, pale, delicate hands wielded the kitchen utensils like a pro. He plated the tacos like an artist. The whole event was just about the hottest thing Kevin had ever seen Edd do. Edd focused on a task was cute. Edd in the kitchen was breathtaking.

After taking a bite, Kevin moaned. Edd smirked and quirked a brow. His flag was planted. Eddward Vincent was now fully on Kevin Barr's radar. Kevin shot Edd a look of slight desire. Edd returned it. Over a simple carnita taco, each boy made a promise to themselves to get their man. They had found their way. Tacos. Tacos led the way.

"Thank God, gay marriage is legal, D!," Kevin exclaimed, "I'm gonna marry you for these tacos!"

"Man cannot live on tacos alone, Kevin," Double D mused, trying his damnedest to ignore Kevin's rash proposal.

"Yes, he can!," exclaimed the other teens.

"I'm gonna have to agree with the kids here, Eddward," LeMont said. "Tacos, like pizza, are foods one can make anything out of."

Edd just shrugged in acquiescence.

The rest of dinner was spent discussing the upcoming school year and catching up on old times. Edd learned Nat had moved to town because his parents (they were Hollywood's top location scouts), like Princess', wanted a solid, simple life for their teenage son. Didn't hurt that the school had a solid sports program. Nat played running back and shortstop to Kevin's QB and pitcher. Kevin was now captain of both teams. He was probably the youngest team captian in school history. This was something Edd would research later. And it was true! Princess was already on the dance team and would try out for the swim team in the spring. Edd admitted he was trying out for the swim team and signed up for the football team manager position. Kevin could barely contain his glee. To know that he had some influence on the smartest Ed boy was like a notch in his belt. His plan on getting close to Edd was working.

Kevin asked Princess' father's if she could come to the BBQ pool party that he was throwing weekend. He wanted her and Nat to meet the rest of the cul-de-sac kids. Giving them some 96hrs notice would give them time to do their research and background checks he knew was coming. The understandably overprotective father's agreed. Edd was nervous, though. The cul-de-sac meeting Princess?! Eep.

Dinner complete, Edd was expecting a car to be called to take him home. Nat lived four houses down the street so he just walked home. But when Kevin tossed him his helmet, Princess hung up the phone calling a car around.

"You live across the street, Dweeb," rolling his eyes at Princess' blustering over the name calling. "You're riding with me and that's final. Plus, it makes sense and you know it," he finished flicking Double D's nose.

"But what about you?," Edd asked as he batted Kevin's hands away from his face.

"I always have a spare. Mom won't let me leave the house without one."

That answer satisfied Edd and the dads listening in on the conversation. But Edd was still nervous. One, it was a motorcycle. Motorcycles were death traps. "Not enough airbags," his mom once said. But he had recently seen Nazz take a few rides with Kevin and come back unscathed. Nazz was Kevin's closest friend in the cul-de-sac. His best friend. If she could trust Kevin with her life like that, then maybe, so could he. Plus, there was no way he could get close with Kevin without riding it. So after a wave goodnight to the Jackson family and a promise to call Princess as soon as he got home (she shot Kevin her best mom look for emphasis) the two boys left.

The red and chrome Harley shined underneath the setting sun. She was truly a thing of beauty. Kevin looked amazing straddled on the leather seat. Trading Edd his helmet for his spare, he strapped the helmet to Edd's head, adjusted the straps so it fit properly and helped him on.

"Ok, you're gonna need to hold onto my waist and lean when I lean, alright?," Kevin said. His tone was firm. He loved his bike and sharing it with the people he was closest to. Edd was the second friend to get a ride. They both knew how special this was. But safety first. Kevin couldn't live with someone getting hurt on his bike.

"O-ok," Edd said as confidently as he could muster. He was scared, but excited. Riding with Kevin?! Hell, yeah!

The ride home was too fast. Even though Kevin was driving 5mph below the speed limit the whole time, Edd was still a bit scared of being so exposed on a motor vehicle. But it all ended too soon. Kevin backed the bike into his garage some 40 minutes later.

"Edd?"

"Y-yes, Kevin?"

It was then Edd realized he was shaking and had a death grip on Kevin's waist.

"You can let go now," Kevin said with a small chuckle. Edd reluctantly released him.

He kicked the kickstand, hopped off and kept a steadying hand on Edd's shoulder. Once he got his own helmet off, he helped Edd off the bike, hugging his waist til his legs steadied themselves. He unhooked the spare helmet and fixed Edd's beanie.

"Ok, this spare isn't the best to wear with a hat. I know you like your hat, but you're either gonna have to take it off —," but Edd didn't give him a chance to finish.

"Or you could get me one like yours," Edd's said grinning.

In the back of his mind, Edd was kicking himself for being rude by interrupting Kevin and being so forward. But, he just knew he'd be riding with Kevin more in the future, so why not have a helmet that works? Plus, the look of shock and gleam of flirtatious mischief in Kevin's green eyes was worth it.

"Well, now. Hmm. We'll see." The last two words were said in a low, almost seductive tone that sent a ball of fire straight to the pit of Edd's stomach as his chest tightened and his breath ever so briefly hitched.

Kevin then tucked a few stray hairs back into Edd's beanie. The shy look in Edd's baby blues accompanied by a pink blush on his cheeks and the tip of his perfect upturned nose at the gesture melted Kevin's heart for the second time that day.

"Hey."

Sparkling blue flicked up to fiery emerald green.

"You better get home. Princess is expecting a phone call from you. I'll see you this weekend, ok?"

Edd nodded and ran home. He felt like someone was watching him and never wanted to let him out of their sight. Once he got his front door opened he turned to see Kevin looking at him with that trademark smirk. He couldn't help but grin. They both quickly waved good night to one another and shut their doors.