Hello lovlies!
My move in date got pushed back so I have more time to write!
Enjoy!
Kevin awoke several hours later his one arm draped over his eyes and the other hanging off the edge of the couch. He glanced over to his right where he expected to see a sleeping Edd but instead found himself alone. He immediately sat upright, looking to the door.
He left.
That little fucker took off without any kind of warning!
With frustrated huff Kevin hopped to his feet and searched his pockets for his keys. He spotted his glasses on the coffee table. "When I get a hold of that punk I'm gonna-"
He paused. What was that smell? He sniffed the air. That smells… good.
"Oh Kevin you're awake!"
Kevin spun on his heels to see Edd standing in the kitchen. A smile was on his soft feminine face, cleaned of tears and shinning as bright as the sun. In his hand was some tupperware which he hastily put into the fridge. "I hope you do not mind. It is seven thirty and I took the liberty of preparing you dinner." A light blushed colored his cheeks and he fiddled with his fingers. "You know, to express my deepest thanks for what you did for me earlier." A smile light up his face. "Thank you."
Kevin blinked stupidly. Well, this was a surprise. He grinned, releasing his hold on his keys. He grinned back. "No sweat dude."
Eddward clasped his hands behind him, rocking back on his heels. "So you don't mind that I used your kitchen?"
Kevin shook his head. "Nah. Just, you know, pick up after yourself and all."
Edd nodded. "Yes of course." The sockhead spun on the balls of his feet and pranced back into the kitchen. He stirred at the pot on the stove and shut off the gas.
"What'd you make? Smells delicious."
Eddward bashfully picked at the hem of his- Kevin's shirt. He hadn't changed out of this outfit since coming back to Kevin's place. Other than the fact he had nothing else to wear, these garments were rather comfortable for looking so stylish. Well, as stylish as one could be in camouflage cargo pants.
"Onion soup with corn cobs." He placed a bowl on the counter and dipped a spoon beside it just as Kevin pulled up a seat.
"Onion soup huh?" Kevin cut his spoon past the thick blanket of melted cheese and sipped at the broth, humming in appreciation. Edd set down a small plate with two buttered corn cobs. "Is it to your liking?"
Kevin rolled his eyes as he downed another spoonful. "You're not Emerald but BAM that stuff is good."
Eddward's eyes sparkled. "Really?"
Kevin nodded enthusiastically. "I've tried making this stuff before but each time it turned out like slop." He swallowed some more. "If giving up my bed meant you'd make this every night I'd happily sleep on the couch."
Eddward waved his hand. "Don't be silly. Please do enjoy. It's the least I could do."
Kevin nodded to the seat beside him but Edd shook his head. "Oh no, I am fine thank you."
He shrugged. "Up to you dude." The soup was heavenly and he was downing it like he hadn't eaten in days.
He thought back to yesterday when he took Edd to the soup kitchen, remembering the blissful look on the boy's face as he ate. By the glow of Edd's smile he could guess he shared same wonderful expression. He swallowed the last bit in a hurry and Eddward chuckled. "If you wish for some more I could get it for you."
Kevin held up his hand. "Nah I'll get it." He poured himself another bowl. "Did you eat already?"
"Y-yes?"
Kevin looked over his shoulder. "You are a terrible liar you know that?"
Eddward blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. Some of the cover up had been faded off throughout the course of the day revealing the marks Kevin had left on him. Edd didn't seem to notice this and the red-head fought not to let the warmth creeping up his neck get the best of him.
"I am not hungry but I thank you for your offer."
Kevin set down his bowl but didn't pick up his spoon. Instead he set his chin on his palm, sniffing at the mouthwatering aroma wafting throughout the kitchen. Both he and Edd were practically salivating. Kevin smirked, seeing the longing in the sockhead's eyes. He stirred the spoon around teasingly.
"You sure?" He lifted the spoon up, waving it under Edd's nose.
Eddward reeled back from it like it was poisoned or something and covered his nose. "N-no thank you."
"You suuuure?" He leaned further over the counter with the spoon in hand. "Come on just a little taste."
Edd shook his head and Kevin smirked. He pressed the rim of the spoon to the kid's lips. "Go on. You know you want to."
The sockhead could smell the delicious scent of his soup and cursed himself for making it so well. Maybe just a bite won't hurt. He parted his lips and reached out to take the spoon but Kevin beat him to it. He slipped the head past his lips and spilled the savory broth on his tongue. Edd reluctantly swallowed.
"Wasn't so bad now was it?"
Eddward's face lit up at the familiar tone before his eyes narrowed. With a pout he hooked his finger onto the rim of the bowl and slid it towards him. Kevin laughed. "Remind you of something?"
He snatched the spoon away. "Oh shush you."
With another bark of laughter Kevin excused himself to answer his cellphone. The buzz in his pocket alerted that he had received a text from his mother and he immediately dialed her back. He looked at himself in the hallway mirror as he waited for her to pick up.
"Hello?"
Kevin raised a brow. "Pops? Where's mom?"
"Oh hey Kev. I sent her out on an errand and she took my phone by accident. Wanted to check up on you since I didn't see you at dinner last night."
Kevin flushed in embarrassment. He had forgotten he had dinner plans with his parents. "Well I figured you and ma' wanted to be alone for a while. Besides I was kind of preoccupied with something." He looked over at Edd and smiled when he saw Edd was actually enjoying his meal.
"With what? A girl?" His father inquired and Kevin could just imagine those big bushy brows of his wiggling on his face like caterpillars.
He grunted uncomfortably. "Nah something else."
"Something up with the house?"
Kevin shrugged even though he knew his father couldn't actually see it. "Something like that."
There was pause on the other line. "I could call your mother and send her over."
"Oh no pops that isn't necessary." Kevin swallowed the rising lump in his throat. He knew Kevin was up to something. "Nothing I can't handle."
"Nonsense. I'll send her over to talk to the manager. In fact, I'll drop by as well. To assess the situation and all."
Kevin winced. Crap.
"Have you eaten? I'll get some pizza on the way."
"Oh no, I already ate." Kevin said a bit too quickly.
"Oh?" Now he was more curious than ever. Kevin NEVER turned down pizza. "And just what did you make?"
"Onion soup."
"Soup." His father deadpanned. "You made onion soup." He was calling horse-dookey on this. His son hated soup, stews, and the like. "Uh-huh."
"Honest to god!" Kevin didn't mean for his voice squeak but it did and he inwardly groaned. "Hey how about we drop this and-"
"Your mother and I will swing by sometime within the hour." Mr. Barr said. "So your sweetheart better be dressed."
"He's not my sweetheart." Kevin interjected, suddenly slapping his hand to his mouth. He heard a snort on the other line and silently cursed.
"I'll see ya' later boy."
Kevin ended the call and looked at his reflection in the hall mirror. Nice going genius.
Stepping out form the privacy of the hall he spotted Edd cleaning up in the kitchen. The soup had been tucked away in the fridge still in its pot with its sealable lid to keep it covered. The corn cobs were nowhere in sight, perhaps either eaten or put away. He was humming a merry little tune as he went, wiping down the counter and pushing the bar chairs into place. It was incredibly endearing how the sockhead went about the room as if he owned the place, aligning the chairs and the spices on the spice rack as so.
The sockhead turned his head just in time to see Kevin stepping into the kitchen. He smiled, his heart warming. It had been a while since he last went on a cleaning spree and resisting the urge to reorganize the setup of dishes in the cupboards had been near impossible. To make up for it he alphabetically sorted the spice rack above beside the sink. He told himself Kevin wouldn't mind. They were just spices after all and thankfully each of them was dust free and labeled. He smiled as the red-head stepped up beside him, inspecting his handy work.
"Sorry. It's a-"
"Habit of yours?" Kevin chuckled. "It's ok." He sighed heavily and looked away. Edd frowned.
"Is something the matter?"
Kevin nodded. "Yeah kind of. I uh-" He cleared his throat. "You're going to need to get dressed in the clothes I bought you."
Eddward tilted his head curiously. "I beg your pardon?"
"Like, now."
Edd crossed his arms, not moving from his spot. "Whatever for?"
Kevin inwardly groaned, smacking his hand to his face. "My folks are on their way."
Eddward gasped, face devoid of all color. "Y-your parents?"
"Yeah, um, I kind of opened my big mouth and now they're expecting to see you." Kevin cringed. "Not like that. They think I'm up to no good or something and dropping by to check on me."
Edd threw his hands to his mouth. "Oh my! I must leave then. I have over stayed my welcome for far too long."
Eddward whipped around and headed for the door, jumping in shock when Kevin followed after and slapped the door back shut.
"Yeah I don't think so." He slid between the sockhead and the door with both arms out. "They're expecting to see you too. You don't get to ditch me on this."
Edd crossed his arms. "Why on earth would they be expecting me?"
Kevin sighed. "I already told you. I opened my big fat stupid mouth so we need to get you changed now."
Eddward slapped his forehead. "Oh good lord. Kevin why did you do that?!"
Snatching up Edd's wrist Kevin snagged the shopping bags by the door, dragging them both into his room. Edd plopped down on Kevin's bed, blushing when he bounced on the mattress. Memories of the night before sprang to the forefront of his thoughts and he flushed deep red. "A-are you sure this is necessary?"
Kevin dumped the clothes onto his bed. "Absolutely. If my parents were to come around and see you dressed in my clothes they might flip on me."
Eddward nodded in understanding but still felt the corners of his mouth tip down. Admittedly he didn't want to change but he understood the implication of wearing another man's clothing would make. Briefly he wondered if Kevin's parents knew their son engaged in homosexual activities with other males. He assumed they did not by the frantic way Kevin was going about this and felt all the more embarrassed for still being there. The memories of their night together bombarded his thoughts, making it all the more difficult. If they didn't know or weren't accepting of such behavior then how on earth would he be able to look Kevin's parents in the eye? Eddward was admittedly gay and proud of his sexual preference but for all he knew Kevin wasn't. How should he act? What should he say? Oh why did Kevin have to go and mention him to his parents?!
"Come on dork pick something out and put the rest in your room."
Edd snapped his head up. My room? Oh no, not this again.
"My room?" Eddward asked skeptically.
"Yes your room. Now go." Kevin said as he dumped all the clothing into the sockhead's arms. He didn't have time for an argument.
Edd took the clothes but shook his head. "Kevin we have been over this before. I am not-"
"Times a tickin' dork." Kevin ushered him out of his room and into the guest room. "Hurry up and change."
Before he could argue Kevin shut the door and Edd let out a frustrated sigh. Great, just wonderful.
Edd set the clothes down on the bed and separated the shirts, pants and accessories. He didn't want to admit Kevin had a niche for fashion. Though each article of clothing could easily be paired in any number of combinations, none of these were something Eddward would willing wear in public. He missed his cardigan sweaters and cream colored slacks. He especially missed his favorite pair of purple shorts which he was thankful for having left back home in Peach Creek. He would have blown a gasket had those been taken when all of his belongings had been confiscated by that deplorable landlord. With nothing else in his possession however Edd had no choice but to put these things on.
From the pile he chose to wear the skinny jeans, the only kind of jeans Kevin seemed at all interested in purchasing, a red shirt and a black hoodie. Staring at himself in the bathroom mirror Eddward had to keep himself from cringing. A few piercings there and some dog tags there and the look would be complete. And here I thought I looked like a douche before, he bitterly thought. Oh but his hat! His hands went straight for his head. Kevin still had it.
"Kevin!" Edd called from the room. The door creaked open and Kevin popped his head in. "Yeah?"
"I just realized something rather important. You are in possession of my hat. May I have it back please?"
Kevin hummed before shrugging. "Depends."
"On?" Edd asked his voice laced with irritation.
"If you're going to behave."
Eddward rolled his eyes. "I shan't make a fool of you, or myself for that matter, in front of your parents. And since their wanting to meet me is the product of your incompetence I feel entitled to having my possessions returned thank you very much."
Kevin smirked and leaned off the door. "Alright you got me there. Hold on a sec."
Kevin left the room for about thirty seconds, returning quickly with the hat in question. Eddward snatched it up immediately, stuffing it securely on his head and humming happily. He got his hat back! Feather soft hair pressed to the sides of his face, the ends fanning out in protest to being contained. He just wasn't complete without his beloved beanie.
The red-head collected the discarded wife beater and cargo pants from the floor where Edd had left them and trotted to the bathroom. He showered in record time and threw the clothes on rather than waste time going through his pigsty of a closet. He made a mental note to clean that sucker out one of these days. He combed his fingers through his short hair and gave his imagine one last look before dumping his previous getup into the hamper. Edd exited his room at the same time, both their eyes widening.
"You're wearing that?" They said in unison.
Edd blushed and Kevin glanced away, beating back a blush of his own. "Yeah why not?"
The sockhead never looked so… guy-ish before. Kevin wasn't sure how to feel about the look. It was hard to imagine with that incredibly feminine face of his and yet he seemed to be pulling it off just fine.
"I highly doubt those garments have been laundered in the last ten minutes." Edd said while adjusted his hat.
Kevin chuckled. "Don't worry about it. You didn't get them dirty so it's no big deal."
Eddward glanced up at Kevin and made a face. "Oh please tell me they were clean when you lent them to me to wear." When the red-head said nothing the sockhead whimpered. "Please say they were clean!"
Kevin averted his gaze and whistled his way into the living room while Edd balked before gagging. "Filthy, filthy, filthy!"
Ta-da! You like? Let me know what you guys think.
Also, the reason I have set the pace of the story kind of slow is because I want to build the relationship between Kevin and Edd from scratch. A lot can happen in the span of two days and in doing so also opens up to us a little bit about both Kevin and Edd's past. I really do love the subtle moments between them as they get to know each other better and I do hope I am conveying all of the doubt, the excitement, and the silliness that typically follows the start of any relationship properly. Well that's enough of me and my rambling. Ttfn!
