Oh my gosh, this chapter took forever to get out! Anyway, I thought up a really nice Valentine's Day chapter for our little babies. I thought it would be cute. Any old way, I hope you have fun reading this because guys, it was so much fun writing. I cried from the sheer cuteness.
Nazz got comfortable on the couch as Kevin walked around the kitchen. He grabbed a bag of chips out of the top cupboard and walked into the living room.
"Ooh, how did you know I've been craving barbeque chips?"
Kevin handed over the bag. "Because you asked if I had barbeque chips the last time you were here and pouted when I said I didn't."
"You are the best kind of person. Marry me."
"Okay," Kevin watched Nazz open the bag and stick her hand in. She offered some to Kevin and he accepted. When he stuck his hand in he saw that she was staring at him. "What?"
Nazz adopted a mischievous expression. "So how are you and the bae?"
Kevin narrowed his eyes. "We are just fine, why are you asking?"
"I wanted to know if you were planning something for Valentine's Day. You know, something romantic and adorable." Nazz smiled before shoving some more chips into her mouth.
Kevin sat there for a moment remembering that Valentine's Day was coming up this weekend. "So far I have absolutely nothing. I mean, I want to-"
Kevin watched Nazz's face shift into a wide smile. "Good morning! I hope we didn't wake you."
Kevin looked behind him and watched his dad shuffle from the doorway of his bedroom to the kitchen sink. "Mornin'," he muttered quietly.
Nazz raised herself from the couch and walked up to him. "My mom and I were wondering where you have been."
Kevin's dad grabbed a glass from the dish rack to his right and filled it with water. While the liquid found its way to the top he busied himself by talking to Nazz.
"Nancy has? Yeah, I've been working extra hours." Kevin's dad pointed in his direction. "That one could have told you that."
Kevin smiled slightly as he nodded. He rose from the couch and joined them in the kitchen. He was surprised that his father was in nothing but his boxers and a white tank top and Nazz wasn't fazed. Actually, he wasn't surprised. Nazz had seen him in that attire more times than he could count, which was probably bad, but oh well. He watched as he raised the glass to his lips and took a long drawl.
"That's true, but my mom is never satisfied with answers from Kevin. She worries you know."
Kevin's dad chuckled softly as he set the empty glass on the counter. "Yeah, I know. What has she been doing lately?"
Now was probably the best time to tune the two of them out. Nazz always made a point to talk to Kevin's dad whenever she could. He wasn't sure why she did it, but he was definitely not against it. His dad was a really cool person if he was fresh out of the shower, fully clothed and had his mandatory two cups of coffee. At first glance he probably looked like the stereotypical slob father. He had a muffin top and hairy arms and if there wasn't a five o'clock shadow hanging around his jaw line, he was probably headed down to the bank to discuss a loan. He wasn't much, but that wasn't really a bad thing. Kevin's dad was reliable above anything else. Reliable and a little too quiet. That must have been why Nazz was so interested in talking to him. Once she got him talking there was a new layer added to his personality. He was clever with jokes here and there, but to be honest, sometimes he told jokes the two of them didn't understand. He would then shake his head and tell them to get out more.
Kevin's dad's eyes got wide as he spoke to Nazz. "Oh, that reminds me. One sec," he said, leaving the kitchen. When he returned he held a rectangular object in his palm. He dropped it in Kevin's hands and walked back to his original spot in the kitchen. "I got that for you, you did ask about getting a phone right?"
Kevin smiled. "Yeah, I did. Thanks dad." Kevin moved the phone between his hands and thought of all the things available to him now. He looked up at Nazz quickly and she scrunched up her nose as she smiled widely.
"I have a case coming in the mail in a few days. Don't drop it until then, 'kay?"
"Okay, I won't."
With that, Kevin's dad said goodbye to the two of them and walked back into his room. Once he was gone he and Nazz moved to the living room and sat on the couch.
"It looks so fancy," Nazz said, drawing out the word "fancy" in an accent he couldn't place.
Kevin nodded and turned his new phone on, watching the screen flash and display the logo of their service provider. After a few moments Kevin tapped the screen.
"He set it up for me."
"How nice of him," Nazz said and waited for Kevin to place his phone in her hand.
When Kevin got it back, he found that she had put her contact information in. He smiled at how she put a smiley face right after her name.
"Send me a text," Nazz demanded and pulled out her cell.
"So pushy." Kevin found the messages icon and texted her something quickly. It took him a little bit to get used to the on-screen keyboard.
Nazz received it almost immediately and she sighed. "Our first text conversation ever and you send me the word 'Tater tot'."
"That's the only thing I could think of."
"Are you serious? Why are we even friends?" Nazz leaned back on the couch and texted something back to Kevin.
"'Bacon bits?'" Kevin read aloud.
Nazz mocked his tone, "'That's the only thing I could think of.'"
The two of them sat around eating barbeque chips for a little bit until Nazz sighed. "I have to go soon. My mom wants me back at the house before it gets too late."
"Okay, I guess I'll just die of boredom then."
"Oh, stop being so dramatic."
Kevin and Nazz jumped at the loud buzzing that came from in front of them. Nazz sat up and grabbed her cell phone. She looked at it for a moment and quickly got a huge smile on her face. She tapped the screen and placed the phone up to her ear.
"Hey Marie, what's up?"
Kevin stared at Nazz's face as she spoke to Marie. She was turning redder by the second as she talked to Marie. She didn't even have to be in the room in order for Nazz to look like a tomato. Kevin snickered a little too loudly, causing Nazz to hit him. Kevin heard Marie on the other end asking what happened.
"Nothing, I'm just with Kevin right now." She sent him a pointed look. "No, he doesn't deserve a 'hello' from you."
Kevin smiled and watched Nazz nod along to whatever Marie was saying. She agreed enthusiastically several times. Just as quickly as it started, Nazz's conversation was over. She was saying goodbye when Kevin leaned in to get the scoop.
"So?"
"Okay, well, Marie just asked me out for Valentine's Day."
"Are you kidding? What are you two gonna do?"
"Well," Nazz smiled and adjusted her position on the couch, "she was telling me about this really cool pizza place with a cannoli worth stabbing someone over. And she wants me to go with her on Valentine's Day. I was like 'Yaaaaas gaga'."
Kevin smiled widely, "Someone is excited."
"I am. I have actually been hoping to hang out with her soon. You know those Valentine's Cards I give out every year? I made a bunch for everyone over there."
Kevin gasped and grabbed at his chest. "You mean I'm not special anymore?"
"No, you're still special," Nazz chuckled. "It's just that you have to share the spotlight this year. We have more friends."
"But I wanted to continue that monopoly I had. You give out those Tootsie Pops that I love."
"You do realize that you can buy yourself a Tootsie Pop whenever you want to, right?"
"Yeah, I know. But it's nicer when I don't have to pay for it. That and it is a yearly reminder that you love me."
Nazz scrunched up her nose and laughed again. "Yeah, my love for you is worth exactly twenty-five cents."
Kevin gave her a look. "I see how it is."
"Shush," Nazz stood up from the couch. "I have spent too much time stalling. See you later okay?"
Kevin followed her to the door. "Yeah," he said.
"Oh, make sure you come up with something for Valentine's Day. I believe in you."
"I believe in you, too."
With that, Nazz finally left Kevin's house. Kevin sighed and turned to go into his room. Coming up with something for Valentine's Day was easier said than done. He knew that they should be doing something romantic, but they hadn't been dating that long-even if they both already loved each other. Kevin sat on his bed and sighed. He looked at his new phone. He hit the on button and watched the screen light up with the time. Then he turned the screen off. He did this for a few minutes, nothing popping into his head. Kevin made a face to himself in the black of the screen when he turned it off again.
He should probably go over to Edd's house and show him the new phone. He did say that he would keep Edd posted on the goings on of the situation. That and it would be an excuse to see him. Kevin cringed at the way Nazz would smirk if she ever heard him say that. She would lower her head and wiggle her eyebrows and then chuckle. Kevin pulled himself up from his bed and walked back out to the kitchen. He fiddled in the drawers of the island for a second before he found a note pad and pen. He quickly scribbled down where he was going and set it down out in the open for his father to see. Then Kevin grabbed a hoodie to pull over his green flannel and walked out the front door.
Kevin looked around the neighborhood to decide whether or not he wanted to bring his bike or not. He looked at the small amount of snow on the sidewalk and the slick patches on the road in front of his house. Kevin shrugged his shoulders and left his driveway, leaving his bike in the garage.
The walk to Edd's house was calming. Unfortunately the stillness of the air and lack of noises did little to help his thoughts decide on a date opportunity. Anything he came up with on the fly was not good enough for the two of them. A romantic walk would be too cold, dinner at a restaurant would be out of their price range and doing nothing just seemed like a waste. It was the day for couples-how could he not think of something couple-like for them to do? Kevin tried to push the entire subject from his head as he strolled up Edd's front walk. He stepped up to the door and knocked. A few seconds later he was greeted by Edd, who had a sock hanging off his shoulder.
"Oh, my god," Kevin said aloud.
Edd gave him a puzzled look. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
Kevin pulled the sock off of Edd and held it up. "I was here to tell you some good news, but now, maybe to watch you be domestic."
Edd grabbed the sock from Kevin's hand and smiled. "You've seen me being domestic before, haven't you? I cooked that one time." Edd then tugged on Kevin's hoodie to pull him inside.
Kevin let himself be pulled in, stepping onto the rug just inside the door. He took off his shoes one at a time. "That doesn't count; I was too blinded by hunger to really notice."
"Okay, well me doing laundry will have to suffice. Unless you want to see me do dishes first?"
"Laundry, then dishes," Kevin said holding his fingers up as he said each thing.
With that the two of them walked through the house and into the kitchen. On the far side of the room there was a white door that led into the laundry room. There, sitting beside each other were the washer and dryer. The washer was currently spinning while the dryer's door was hanging open, one black pant leg falling out of its mouth. Edd placed a wash basket onto the floor in front of the open door and piled the dried clothing into it. Kevin watched him as he put it on the top of the machine in one fluid motion. He grabbed another basket and started folding shirts and pants.
Kevin smiled widely as he watched Edd move with the experience of a 1950's housewife. It was fun to watch him fold everything so precisely and see his face contort with various expressions.
Edd looked over and saw that Kevin was staring at him. "Are you going to keep staring at me?"
"Maybe," Kevin smiled.
After he said that, Kevin walked to the other side of Edd and paired up two socks for him. He then pulled out a T-shirt and folded it for him.
"Aw, you are so nice. Want to do the dishes for me?"
Kevin gave Edd a look.
"I'm only kidding," Edd said with a smile. "Kind of."
After a bit the two of them had all the laundry folded. After a few minutes of talking, Kevin and Edd heard the beeping of the washer. They worked together to transfer the clothing to the dryer, Kevin leaning over the side of the washer and passing Edd clothing to throw into the other machine. After the timer was set, Edd looked over at Kevin and sighed.
"Dishes," Edd said quickly.
"Dishes," Kevin repeated and pushed him through the door they came through.
Edd took his place in front of the sink and looked at the sink full of pans, bowls and plates. The silverware had most likely slipped to the bottom, underneath all of the glass and ceramic. Edd moved all of the larger dishes outside of the sink and placed them on the counter to his right. To his left, Kevin struggled to sit on the counter. Edd flicked on the tap and stood in front of Kevin as the sink filled with water.
"Do you need some assistance?" Edd asked holding his arms out.
"Absolutely not, I can do it myself."
Edd stared down at Kevin for the next few seconds as he struggled to lift himself up once again. After a moment Kevin sighed and grabbed onto Edd.
"You can help me now."
"Okay, jump in three…two…one." Edd lifted Kevin up with little to no effort, which really ticked him off.
Instead of going back to the sink, Edd stayed in front of Kevin, looking into his eyes.
"The sink is getting full."
"I know," Edd said and buried his face into Kevin's hoodie.
"Wait," Kevin leaned over and pushed the lever of the faucet down. "You need to be more environmentally conscious."
"Okay, I'll work on that." Edd said, his voice muffled by the fabric of Kevin's clothing.
"What are you doing down there?" Kevin asked as he put his hands on Edd's shoulders.
"My best," Edd answered cheekily.
Kevin took off Edd's hat and put it on the counter next to him. He swept his hands through Edd's hair, coaxing a sigh from him. He moved lower to massage Edd's neck, moving his fingers gently over his soft skin.
"Didn't you have news to share with me?"
"Hm? Oh you're right." Kevin pushed Edd off him and put his hand in his back pocket. After looking a little peeved at the new angle he was in, Edd looked at what Kevin had showed him.
"You finally got a phone. That is great."
"I thought you would be excited. Give me your number," Kevin handed Edd his phone.
Edd typed his number into a new contact profile and handed it back. Kevin edited his contact name and put a heart behind "Edd", just like Nazz had done with her smiley face. He opened the camera feature and told Edd to smile.
"Hey, don't you dare," Edd said but gave Kevin a look right after he heard the sound confirming that a picture had been taken.
Kevin giggled. "You look so upset," He said as he showed Edd the picture.
"Yeah, I'm confiscating this until further notice," Edd said and stole the phone. He placed it into his back pocket for safe keeping.
"Edd, give that back," Kevin fussed.
Edd smirked. "I'll give it back if you load the dishwasher for me."
Kevin groaned. Loudly. "Fine."
"No, I'm kidding. Just sit up there."
"Thank god."
Edd began loading the dishwasher, the cups going onto the top rack and the plates and silverware going on the bottom. Edd had everything in its place in a matter of minutes. Kevin was surprised when he closed the door to the dishwasher after putting in a pod. Edd stretched and then walked back over to Kevin.
"All done?" Kevin asked.
"All done," Edd nodded.
Edd once again found his way between Kevin's legs, head resting on his shoulder. Kevin placed a light kiss on the top of Edd's head.
"Are you tired?"
"No, just bored."
"That makes sense, I guess."
As the two of them stayed where they were, Kevin let his mind wander. Edd was really warm as he leaned against his chest. It was comforting to feel Edd's body weight pushing up against him. Kevin let his head fall onto Edd's head as he breathed in his scent. He smelled like fabric softener because of the housework he was doing earlier. Kevin smiled despite himself. Then he started to chuckle, the sound rumbling through his chest.
"What?" Edd asked.
"Nothing," Kevin said and let his hand pat Edd's back.
Once again he thought about Valentine's Day. Maybe they two of them could do something like they did today. Be together while doing chores. He definitely had some things to clean up at his house that could use the loving touch of an Edd. Kevin smirked at his cleverness. Then it hit him.
"Oh," Kevin said aloud.
"What?" Edd asked.
"I have an idea for what to do for Valentine's Day."
"Oh? Good, I've been drawing blanks. What do you want to do?"
"Okay, prepare yourself for my genius plan," Kevin said as he lifted up Edd's head.
"I'm prepared."
"Let's make dinner together that night," Kevin said happily.
"I'm listening."
"We can go to the store and see what we are hungry for and then make it when we get back to your place."
"I like that plan, let's do it," Edd said as he kissed Kevin's cheek and then gave him a quick peck on the lips.
"Okay, then we'll do it."
Nazz had her mother drop her off at the pizza place Marie gave her directions to. Nazz tried to calm herself for a moment. There were so many things that could go wrong and she was trying her best to push them out of her head on the way here. Marie could not show up, Nazz could somehow get the directions wrong, or something else completely illogical and unnecessary. Nazz looked past her mother and saw a familiar head of blue hair sitting just inside the restaurant. She smiled.
"Okay so who exactly are you hanging out with today?" Nazz's mom asked with her hands still on the steering wheel.
"I'm going to be with Marie today, she is a friend of mine," Nazz said. She conveniently left out a few…minor details though. "Okay, I'll text you when I want you to pick me up."
"Alright, have fun."
With that, Nazz pushed open the car door and walked around the front end of the SUV. With one deep breath, Nazz pulled the door of the pizza place open and walked through it. She smiled as she snuck up to Marie.
Nazz tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey baby, do you come here often?"
Marie was startled at first but smiled widely once she looked up. "I do, actually. Come on, sit down." Marie gestured to the seat across from her in the booth.
Nazz looked around as she sat down on the plump leather seat. "It looks really nice in here."
"Yeah, I really like the paintings they have here. Wanna guess which one is my favorite?"
"Um, yes," Nazz said in a 'duh' sort of way. She looked around once again. She looked to the side where there was a large scenery painting. It was littered with greens and blues. Nazz kept looking. She looked over at the art beside the booth behind them. Depicted was a bowl of fruit. Oranges, apples and grapes were painted so professionally that Nazz first thought that it was a picture. It couldn't be that one. Finally, Nazz saw a painting directly behind her. It was a simple painting of a front door, except it was decorated with flowers. She smiled at that one, knowing that it had to be the one Marie's favorite.
"It's the one behind me right?"
Nazz smiled. "Yeah, you got me. Do you have a favorite?"
"After looking at some of them I think I like the fruit."
"That on is pretty cute."
"It looks like it wasn't even painted and that blows be away."
"Yeah," Nazz said but instead of going on, she looked up.
Nazz watched a young waitress come walking up to them. "Well well, look who's back again. With a friend this time?"
"Hey Bea. Yeah, this is Nazz."
Nazz blushed a bit because of embarrassment. She squeaked out a quick hello and hoped her smile would deter the waitress from trying to emit a conversation from her.
"So what do you two want to drink?" Bea said as she gave the two of them menus.
"Let's here the list, shall we?" Marie asked with a smirk.
"You do this every time you are here. I swear it's because you know I am supposed to have them memorized."
"Yeah, actually."
"We have Coke, Diet Coke, Root Bear, Fanta in grape and orange, Sprite, Canada Dry, Dr. Pepper, Water and Lemonade."
"I'll take a Coke. What about you Nazz?"
Nazz tried to soften her smile. "An orange Fanta please."
Bea looked down at Nazz with a smile, and then looked over at Marie. "Alright, I'll be back with your drinks then. Have your order ready by then, 'kay?"
Marie nodded. "Will do."
Once Bea left Marie hunkered down and spoke to Nazz in a low voice. "Sorry, about that. I didn't mean to put you on the spot."
Nazz cleared her throat and tried to breathe. "No, it's okay."
"So what do you want?" Marie pointed to the menu.
"Just a slice of cheese and a cannoli. They have the best don't they?" Nazz let a small smile grace her face.
Marie smiled too. "Sounds good. I'll get the same. Don't worry, I'll talk."
"Thank you, oh, my god." Nazz said with relief.
When Bea came back with their drinks, Marie told her what the two of them wanted. After that Bea left.
Now that the two of them were alone, Nazz tried to start up a conversation.
"So aside from the cannoli, what else do you like about this pizza shop?"
Marie sucked some of her soda up her straw. Her eyes got wide for a moment but then she tried to play it off like she wasn't surprised. "I don't know. I guess I just like the ambiance. The people are nice," Marie snuck a glance at Bea. "Nothing else really, except for the great food."
Nazz raised an eyebrow but started another topic. "That's cool. Do you read much?"
"For a grade," Marie smiled tightly and waited for Nazz to get upset. The rant didn't come.
"Good, then I'll fix that," Nazz said happily, twirling her straw in her cup.
Marie looked up at Nazz and tried to think of something funny to say. Marie had a ton of jokes to tell Nazz but she was blanking on all of them.
"How are our boys?" Marie asked. It was the only topic that she could think about.
"Well, Kevin got his first cell phone a few days ago. He was really excited."
"That's cute. Are he and Edd planning anything for today?"
"Kevin told me that they were doing something normal. I don't know what that means though."
"Yeah, that's peculiar. What normal date can you have on Valentine's Day?"
"Yeah, there are movie dates, flower surprises and dinner dates." Nazz paused when she thought about this little hanging session as a date. Did Marie think of this as a date?
"I guess we'll have to ask them tomorrow."
"Yeah," Nazz said. "How is everyone?"
Marie smiled. "Well my sisters are fine. Eddy is in the dog-house again, as usual. I swear Lee is the only reason he's passing half his classes. Senioritis hit him hard and now my sister is nagging him," she laughed. Edd and May are as cute as ever."
"Aw, I saw them at the New Year's party. They are too adorable. Like, they are my new OTP."
"Aside from Kevin and Edd?"
"Of course."
Bea arrived with the pizza and cannoli as the two of them took a draw on their sodas.
"Thank you," Nazz said as she placed them down.
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Tell me if you two need anything else."
Nazz was pleased by how well she thanked Bea for a moment. Then she looked at Marie again to continue their conversation.
Marie was looking down at her steaming pizza. "This is probably too hot to eat right now, right?
"Probably," Nazz said, looking at her own.
Just after she said that, Marie took a bite. As soon as the pizza disappeared behind her teeth, Marie opened her mouth and started waving her hands in front of it. She kept that up until she was finished chewing the pizza. Nazz had her head down on the table, her body shaking with laughter.
"That was hot."
Nazz took in a deep breath as she picked herself up. "Why did you put it in your mouth if it was steaming like that?"
"Shush, the pizza just jumped in my mouth. I couldn't stop it in time."
"Okay well maybe you'll stop yourself next time, when you remember what third-degree burns feel like."
Marie laughed and took a deep sip of her Coke. "Now, where were we?"
"Um, your other friends."
"Oh yeah, well Johnny and Jimmy come up a lot to visit Sarah so they are doing fine. As for Plank and Jim, I have so much news."
Nazz leaned in closer and Marie did the same. "Dish all of the dirt, tell me everything."
"Okay, so you know Plank, the guy with the piercings right?"
"Yeah, and the short guy he travels with."
Marie took another sip of her soda. "Yeah," she said. "Now, apparently the two of them walk to school together every morning."
"Apparently?"
"None of us really know Plank that well, except for Johnny. And even he doesn't know what Plank does most of the time, considering they live in separate towns."
"Oh, that makes sense. Continue," Nazz batted her hand.
"Well, a few days ago Plank came strolling up Jim's front walk and waited for him to come out like usual. Jim came running out and clung to him, like normal, I guess. Except that morning, Jim's dad was home and saw the whole ordeal."
"Oh no, then what?" Nazz adopted a concerned look. "Nothing bad right? I don't want to cry."
"After that day, Plank went up to Jim's house again and Jim didn't show up at the end of the driveway. He shrugged it off and carried on with the day, only to learn from Jim at lunch that his father flipped out and was worried about Jim hanging around with the wrong crowd."
"Oh no," Nazz drew out the words.
"I'm not finished," Marie said. "So, after that, Jim said that he would talk to his parents and make sure the two of them knew that Plank wasn't a bad influence."
"Aw," Nazz exclaimed. She smiled brightly.
"We were all in the lunch room when Plank practically picked him up to hug him."
"What exactly are those two to each other? I am starting to ship it."
"I'm pretty sure all of us ship it at this point, even Ed and May, who are too busy gazing into each other's eyes to notice anything."
Nazz and Marie laughed.
"But yeah, the two of them have some sort of relationship. Plank won't tell us and Jim is rarely around because we all have different classes." Marie looked up at Nazz for a moment.
Nazz was looking down at the pizza, poking the cheese to make sure it wasn't too hot. "That is just too cute though, I can't even process it."
"It is, really."
The two of them ate the pizza quickly enough and were about to sink into their respective cannoli. Marie ate happily while Nazz took a moment to look at hers.
"What?" Marie asked.
"Nothing, it just looks too good to eat."
"Come on, I promise it's delicious."
Nazz picked up the powdered cylinder and put it to her mouth, like Marie did. She took a quick bite and chewed.
"Damn," Nazz said.
"What? Is it good?" Marie put her hand closer to Nazz.
Nazz hovered her hand over her fork and knife. Marie pulled her hand back quickly.
Marie made a shocked face. "Were you just about to stab me!?"
Nazz finished chewing, keeping the cannoli in her hand. "When you said that it was worth stabbing someone over, I didn't think you were being truthful."
"So you were about to stab me?" Nazz smiled sympathetically and Marie laughed. "Oh, my god, rude."
The two of them finished eating and each forked up cash for the bill. Then they left.
"Do you want to go home or walk around a bit?" Marie asked.
Nazz tilted her head to the side, the wind biting her cheeks a bit. "Well, it is cold. I don't know. Do you feel like being rid of me yet?"
"Don't ask me that." Marie laughed.
"Why?"
"Because I could probably hang out with you forever," she admitted.
Nazz's heart throbbed for a moment and she let a small smile creep across her face. "Okay, I'll stay with you for a bit longer. But we have to find somewhere warm; I'm not freezing my fingers off."
"I'm on it."
"No dad, I keep the ham in the cheese drawer…what do you mean it's not there?" Kevin said through the receiver. "Check under the bologna. See, I told you it was there. Yeah, bye." Kevin hung up his cell phone and sighed.
"You done?" Edd asked, holding two boxes of pasta noodles.
"Yeah, my dad couldn't find something." Kevin said, placing his phone in his back pocket.
"I could tell," Edd said. "Now which one of these should we get?"
Kevin bit his lips together in thought. "Neither. We need the ziti pasta."
"Is that not what I grabbed?" Edd looked at the boxes with a confused face. "Oh, well I meant to grab the ziti."
Kevin smiled. "Grab that one." Kevin pointed to the red box and Edd grabbed it. He put it into the basket Kevin was carrying.
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry that?"
"I'm very sure."
"Okay, what's next?"
"Sauce," Kevin moved down the aisle with Edd in tow.
The two of them had been in this grocery store for about ten minutes and had already rounded up most of the ingredients for a really good recipe they found online. Edd was the one who originally found it, saying that he was hungry for something vaguely Italian. With that in mind, they browsed through a few recipes and settled on sausage baked ziti. The picture on the website they were browsing looked absolutely delicious.
Several brand decisions later, Kevin and Edd went to the self check-out section. Edd watched patiently as Kevin swiped the bar codes over the counter. The little bell got a little annoying so he stepped away for a moment. He had been looking at all of the Valentine's Day flowers on display for a bit now. Edd wasn't expecting on getting flowers for Kevin, but now that he was here, looking at him all excited, he couldn't resist. He was going to have to slip away from him for a bit. But how? They were going straight to his house after this.
Edd got a wide smile as Kevin finished paying for everything. Edd pulled out the receipt from its dispenser for him. He was surprised when Kevin freaked out a little. Edd gave him a curious look as he handed him the slip of paper.
"Sorry, you scared me," Kevin said with a chuckle.
"I just took the receipt. You are so jumpy. Hey, you go to the car first, I have to pick up a pack of light bulbs."
Kevin gave Edd a playful look. "You are running errands on the first stage of our date. I am insulted."
Edd looked down at Kevin. "Oh ha ha, now go. I'll be out in a few minutes."
When Edd got out of the store, Kevin had already packed up the car and brought the basket back inside. He saw Edd come out of the self check-out line holding a brown paper bag.
"You got the light bulbs?"
Edd smiled. "Yeah, I did."
The two of them got to Edd's house and quickly began cooking. Edd pulled out a pot and pan and then a casserole dish. Kevin pulled out a wooden spoon and rummaged to find some measuring cups.
By the time dinner was done, Kevin and Edd had already blown through all of the small-talk topics. They talked about school and teachers, homework and their friends. Kevin admitted that he wasn't comfortable with the latest topic in Chemistry and Edd sympathized with him. Edd knew that the teacher was never on the same page with his confused students, having taken the class last year. Edd was also feeling particularly chatty about his hatred for multiplying and dividing rational expressions. He said, with great enthusiasm, that his grade was taking a colorful turn. All while using colorful language. Finally they exhausted everything that had been happening with Marie and Nazz. Marie had been working a ton of extra hours and finally got off for Valentine's Day. Kevin was happy to report that Nazz had been very excited about her get-together with Marie today.
Without the small-talk, Kevin and Edd just sat at the dining table eating the pasta.
"I had fun today," Edd said out of the blue.
Kevin smiled from behind his hand. "I did too."
Edd paused from chewing to look up at Kevin. Kevin did the same. They would be lying if they said neither of their hearts skipped a beat as their eyes made contact. Edd cleared his throat.
"So, I know it's cheesy but," Edd stopped talking for a moment. He got up from his chair and went to the edge of the kitchen. He grabbed the brown paper bag that he had taken out of the store earlier.
Kevin stood up from his chair and met Edd half-way.
Edd pulled out a bouquet of flowers from the bag. "I got you flowers."
Edd held them in front of Kevin. Before grabbing the mass of flowers, Kevin took a few seconds to take in the view before him. Hanging in the background of the bouquet was Edd, roughly the shade of the roses in the arrangement of flowers. Kevin smiled widely, barely able to contain his joy. He took the bouquet from Edd slowly. After leaning in to smell them, he pulled Edd into a big, hard hug.
"I know it's also cheesy, but I got you something too," Kevin said as he released Edd.
"What?"
Kevin searched for the grocery bag that he had stuffed his gift in hurriedly during the self check-out. Edd saw Kevin's hand go in the bag to retrieve a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
"I tried to hide it from you, that's why I freaked out over the receipt earlier."
Edd took the chocolates and kissed Kevin so hard he was sure their teeth knocked together. After a moment, he pulled back.
"I love you," Edd said.
Kevin smiled, "I love you, too."
The two of them sat down again and resumed eating.
"…even if you kiss with your teeth sometimes," Kevin said under his breath.
"What was that?"
Kevin smiled, "Huh? I didn't say anything."
Edd narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, okay."
Yeah, this chapter was definitely on the cheesy side. Sorry to those of you that are lactose intolerant. I really need to talk about this chapter, tell me what you thought. I am dying to gush. See you next time my sweet darlings! I love you all!