A/N: Aww, you guys want a new chappie that badly? XD WELL… alright. This next chappie is mostly much lighter, happier, and fluffier! Mostly. You've been warned! 8)

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Chapter 10: Together

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The sun came up without a cloud in the sky to blot it out, greeting a beautiful Saturday morning. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming, dew drops sprinkled every blade of grass…

…and Ed had taken his first shower in who knows how long.

It was a strange sight for the rest of his family to see, watching him parade out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel on. But since no lingering stench followed his trail, nobody bothered to say a word.

Soon after the parents had departed for work, Ed stepped out of the basement while slipping on his trademark, but now pristine, jacket, feeling as fresh as he could be. It really wasn't so bad, this whole clean thing. No wonder Double D liked it so much.

"…oh yeah… Double D…" he muttered to himself at this thought, creeping into the living room to find his love still collapsed on the couch, sawing logs. He grinned inwardly; Double D wasn't going to be happy once he found out that he slept through most of the morning.

Oh well. He did have a hard night, anyway.

"Is he still asleep?" Sarah questioned incredulously as she entered beside him. "What a lump."

"I'll wake him up." Ed stepped up to the couch slowly, taking a moment to gaze fondly at a snoozing Edd. He may have appeared a tad less elegant due to his noisy snoring, but that was okay. To Ed, it was simply an indication that he was still alive and well, and it was much less frightening than his comatose state, that was for sure.

Sarah grew impatient. "Well?"

Almost forgetting she was there, Ed knelt closer to the couch's side, slipping her a sideways glance. "You might wanna leave."

"Oh, really?" Sarah moved her hands to her hips defiantly. "How come? What're you gonna do, kiss him?"

Ed smirked without realizing it. "Yes."

Sarah's conviction deflated like a popped balloon. "Eww…um, o-okay, I'll just…"

"…go get breakfast?"

"Go get breakfast!" she proclaimed, disappearing as quickly as cockroaches scatter when the lights flash on.

Ed giggled to himself in amusement of his sister's antics, then turned back down to Edd, blissfully snoring away. He grinned his beloved's adorable visage, then shut his eyes and placed his lips accordingly, swallowing half a snore. A few seconds passed before he heard a groggy groan and felt his kiss being returned lethargically. Drawing away, he watched in delight as Edd awakened, eyes tiredly opening to gaze up at his first face of the day.

"Good morning, Double D," Ed greeted warmly.

"Mmm… 'morning, Ed." He yawned largely, smacking his lips, only to pause when he noticed something odd.

Ed cocked his head playfully. "What is it?"

"Ed… you tasted… minty fresh."

He could only reply by beaming, leaning closer as a hint. Edd took it, catching a whiff of his new body odor.

"…and you smell like… cinnamon vanilla sugar."

Ed nodded. "If I'm gonna smell nice, I'm gonna smell like food, not flowers."

When realization hit, Edd laughed. "Fair enough," he mumbled, placing a tiny smooch on his nose. "Conquered our fear of soap, have we?"

"Nope."

"…No?"

"No." Ed grinned. " 'Cause I used shower gel!"

Edd could only blink for a second. "Ed, you do know shower gel is…"

"…the same thing as soap? Yup!"

As Edd slowly understood, a smirk waxed across his face. "…oh… I get it. You made a funny." At Ed's energetic nod, he chuckled. "Good one, you had me going for a second, there."

Ed giggled happily at the compliment, wiggling into his lap. "Think I could do stand-up?"

"Keep building your humor and go for it." Edd's smile waned as he lifted the blanket he just noticed. Recognizing their surroundings and remembering the events of last night, he gazed up at Ed uncertainly. "Ed…you…"

"Uh-huh. Me 'n Sarah told our parents about it this morning before they left. They said you can stay as long as you need to."

"Really?" Edd smiled, though half-heartedly again. "That's… nice to know."

Ed acknowledged his loss of amusement and the reason for it, frowning. The last thing he wanted was for poor Edd to worry about his parents' reaction, so he sought to change the subject.

"Oh, um…" Reaching over to a nearby table, he brought back a pile of clothing, folded imperfectly. "Here're your clothes, Double D. My mom showed me how to fold 'em, but they're still kinda messy… sorry…"

Edd's face only lightened up, much to Ed's relief, as he took the pile into his arm. "Oh, Ed… they're just fine. Thank you."

Ed nodded happily, giggling when Edd placed a grateful kiss on his cheek.

"Well, then… may I use your bathroom to change?"

"Of course, Double D!" Ed quickly got out of his lap and helped him to his feet. "Can you do it okay by yourself?"

Edd nodded. "I've been doing so for a week, Ed. As long as there's a counter to lean on in there, I'll be fine."

"Okay!" Ed waved as he ascended the stairs. "It's the first door on the left. Hurry back down for Chunky Puffs and Saturday morning cartoons!"

Edd paused at the top thoughtfully. "Early morning children programs with an inadequately nutritious breakfast…?" He sighed raptly. "I haven't spent a Saturday morning like that in years…"

"Then hurry up!" Ed urged enthusiastically, watching him skip down the hall and disappear into the bathroom. Happy as a lark, he paraded into the kitchen, pouring two bowls of cereal while giddily boasting to his little sister, who was trying to make her own breakfast.

"Guess what, Sarah? Guess what I'm doing."

"…making breakfast?"

"For who?"

"I don't know, Ed."

"For my boyfriend."

"That's nice."

"And guess who's gonna watch cartoons with me?"

"Who, Ed?"

"My boyfriend."

"Like I give."

"And guess who…"

"Ed, if you don't stop rubbing it in my face, I'm going to rub your face into the floor."

Ed shut up nice and quick. No sense in pushing it, no sir.

Once breakfast was ready, Ed reentered the living room to meet his beloved, only to freeze in place as he encountered a magical sight. Donned in his familiar attire of red, violet, and black, Edd was slowly descending the staircase, his hand ghosting down the wooden railing. In Ed's eyes, he seemed to carry the elegance and regal dignity of a fairy-tale princess entering the royal court. Ed was absolutely spellbound, not realizing it until Edd had halted halfway when he noticed him, grinning that brilliant smile of his.

"Just what're you staring at?" he teased.

"You, silly!" Ed leaped up and swept him off his feet again, squealing and squirming and easing into his colossal arms to be carried bridal-style to breakfast.

The rest of the morning was filled with refilled bowl of Chunky Puffs and nostalgia as Edd delightfully pointed out cartoons and commercials he remembered from his younger years. After finishing her breakfast, Sarah grew bored and left for Jimmy's house, leaving the two alone to their first bliss-filled morning together. By around ten 'o clock, Edd was just as enraptured with the currant animated adventure playing across the television screen as Ed was.

BOOM BANG POW!

"Argh! He's… too strong…"

"Foolish children! You thought you could match me in strength and skill?? Face it, your precious World of Light is doomed to darkness! GAHAHAHAHA!"

"He's… he's right… this… looks like the end…"

"Come on, you can do it, Alpha Team Beta!"

"Don't give up! The Dark Lord won't have a chance if you band together!"

Ed and Double D paused to look at each other. Ed was properly surprised at his usually meek friend's enthusiasm, for a cartoon, of all things. Normally, Edd would be embarrassed beyond belief, but one look at Ed, and he knew he had no reason to feel ashamed around him.

They both grinned widely and laughed.

"I haven't been this excited about a plotline since we read A Wrinkle in Time in Literature class!" Edd giddily explained. "Even while the story's cliché and painfully predictable, I'm at the edge of my seat!"

Ed giggled. "You need to watch more movies, Double D."

"I do! And I actually want to!"

"Cool! Oh, shh! They're back to the battle scene!"

Edd instantly quieted, and the two of them glued their gazes to the TV set.

"BWAHAHA! Your futile attempts to defeat me amuse me so! But enough of this; I have a world to conquer! You're all very lucky; you get to be the first victims of my latest, greatest, most destructive weapon!"

Ring. Ring.

"Oh, no! What kind of diabolical weapon could that be??"

"That's the phone, Ed."

Ring. Ring.

Ed gasped dramatically. "The Wicked Cannibal Dark Phone of DEATH??"

"No, Ed. Your phone." Edd pointed out his ringing telephone sitting in its receiver on the couch-side table.

Ring. Ring.

"…ohhhhh…" Ed grinned stupidly. "That phone."

Edd chuckled at his dear oaf's antics, remaining seated while Ed hopped up and answered it.

"Hello?" After waiting for a response, he beamed. "Hi, Eddy!"

Edd smiled. He expected as much.

"Hold on, okay?" Ed made a gesture for him to keep watching, and he nodded in return. Ed then stepped out of the room, as his cordless phone allowed him to do so.

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"…Ed?"

"Sorry 'bout that. What's up, Eddy?"

"I, uh… heard about what happened last night."

Ed's grin faded. "…with Double D?"

"Yeah."

"…how'd you hear it?"

"Nazz called and told me."

"How'd Nazz know?" Ed was growing confused.

"How the heck should I know?"

"…wait… maybe Sarah told Jimmy and…"

"…Maybe. It's probably gotten around the whole cul-de-sac by now."

Somehow, Ed knew that wasn't good.

"So… how's he doing?"

"Who?"

"The Prince of England. Who do you think, numbskull?"

"Oh, Double D? He's fine!"

Eddy was not expecting that. "…he is?"

"Uh-huh! We're watching Saturday morning cartoons together! He is happy as he can be!"

Realizing what Ed was doing, Eddy couldn't help but be proud of him. Double D was lucky to find such a great boyfriend. "Is that so?"

"Yup!" Ed chortled. "It's so funny, Eddy, he gets all excited about it."

"Haha, really? Our Sockhead? Wow."

"Yeah…" He gazed fondly at his beloved from behind the doorway. "It's like last night never happened."

The amusement evaporated from Eddy's voice. "…Ed…"

"What'd your parents say, Eddy?"

"Huh? Oh! They're cool about it… for once. Guess it helps that I'm not the one that turned out gay… no offense to you guys."

"Oh, good!"

"…Listen, Ed, why don't I come over and we'll talk about Double D's issue with his parents?"

"…"

"…Ed? You there?"

"Eddy… can't it wait?"

"Ed, he's gotta face the problem at some point. He can't stay at your house forever."

"I know, Eddy, I know!" Ed kept his volume down, but his desperation was evident in his whimpering voice. "But… we're having so much fun…"

Eddy was growing irritated. "Ed…!"

"He was so upset last night, Eddy! He cried himself to sleep!"

Eddy wanted to rebuttal, but found that he couldn't.

"I don't wanna see him cry like that right now, Eddy. Please… let him be happy for a little bit longer."

Eddy sighed, deflated.

"Please, Eddy."

"…fine. When do the cartoons end?"

"Noon."

"Then I'm coming at around noon-ish."

"…Thanks, Eddy."

"Sure, sure… tell Double D I said hi."

"Will do, Eddy!"

Click.

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Ed came back into the living room, hanging up the phone and finding his dear Double D a little more relaxed now that commercials were playing. "What'd I miss?"

"The weapon turned out to be the ray gun the Professor had built, since the Dark Lord had captured him in the first place."

"Ooh, plot twist!"

"Tell me about it! I'm caught in surprise over here!" He laughed and smiled as Ed sat down, scooting closer. "So, what did Eddy have to say?"

"Oh…" Ed's grin almost faltered, but he did a good job of maintaining it. "He says hi, and he's coming over at about noon."

"Noon?" Edd found this odd. "Why the wait?"

"Uh…" Ed had to think fast. "…chores. He had chores."

"Eddy doing chores on a Saturday morning? " Edd smirked, leaning back into the cushions. "Sounds like a paradox to me."

"…what do a pair of docks have to do with anything, Double D?"

Edd turned to him with a deadpan expression, and for a moment he thought Ed was being serious. However, a big goofy grin told him otherwise, and he burst into laughter.

"You get me every time, Ed!"

Ed giggled mirthfully. "I'm getting good, huh?"

"You sure are!" Edd shifted a bit closer, grinning lovingly. "You know, you're a bit smarter than you come off as, Ed."

Ed smiled almost sagely. "Sometimes it's fun to be not smart."

"…an interesting prospect you bring up, there."

"But when I'm with you, Double D… it's okay to be smart. 'Cause you can be smart with me."

Edd was liking the direction of this conversation, beaming brilliantly. "Well, Ed, I'm happy to be an outlet for your intelligence! May we share many intellectual moments together!"

"Okay!" In truth, Ed didn't understand half of what Edd was talking about, but he liked the sound of the word 'together.' It rhymed with 'forever.' And 'feather.'

"So… are you relaxed yet, Double D?"

Edd gave this mock thought. "…mmm, not quite." He then shifted and leaned back into Ed's lap, getting comfortable and releasing a deep sigh, beaming up at his beloved.

"Now I am."

Ed giggled, leaning over and placing a kiss on his nose before glancing up at the TV again. "Ooh, it's back!"

As it turned out, the team knew the secrets of the ray gun, destroying it, chasing off the Dark Lord, and saving the world in a very satisfying, happy ending.

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A/N: Yay! Cuteness abounds! Now, you'll have to give me a bit of time, as I have yet to complete ch 11. But I'm on a roll with that one, so the wait shouldn't be as long as the wait for ch 3 of Super Eds. XD In the meantime, review!