Author's Note: This story was inspired by a few things. My mom told me about the song, Stronger Than Me by Amy Winehouse and I knew I had to add it to the list. And then I saw a post on FB one of my friends shared where a chemistry teacher burnt up $100 bill in class, or so the students thought. Apparently when you soak money in alcohol, it doesn't burn up, it just burns. I have gotten into a state that you can mention ANYTHING and I can make a KevEdd about it. BUT YOU MENTION SCIENCE AND I'M SCREAMING, "TO THE WRITING MACHINE!" I regret nothing. This is a KevEdd tale.
Edd hung up the phone with a sigh. It wasn't his nature to do things the way he did, but he was just done. Hearing the bell ring, he looked up at the clock on the wall. He had an extended planning period today because his students had taken their midterm and then gone to lunch. Since he had nothing planned for them but the midterm, he dismissed them for the day as soon as the last test was turned in.
Fifth period was his planning period, so he was going to take the time to grade as many tests as he could before his last two classes, but the phone conversation with his now ex boyfriend nixed those plans. He had spent so much time arguing with Robert that he now only had enough time to grab a bite to eat and then head back to class.
Groaning at his now obliterated plans, Edd stretched out over his pristine desk and laid his head down. And every 10 seconds for the next minute, he hit the power button to send Robert's calls to voicemail.
This was how Kevin found him when he came by to see if Edd wanted a bro date. Bro dates was Kevin's sneaky way to get time in with Edd. He had been at it since sophomore year of high school. And either Edd was completely clueless or didn't feel the same way about Kevin as Kevin felt about Edd. It didn't stop Kevin, though.
Plus, he really liked Edd's company. He was smart and a bit of a smartass. Kind and loyal. Generous to damn near a fault. As an adult, he had grown out of his baby face, but it gave way to one with ridiculously high cheekbones, a gorgeous, soft jawline, a cute little chin, and his button nose was still just as boopable, his blue eyes were still just as big, his lips still just as full and his gap toothed smile still just as endearingly adorable as it had always been.
And he smelled like lavendar and fresh cotton. Between that and his gentle, sweet nature, just being with Edd was a calming experience, even when he talked a mile a minute about the cosmos.
But right now, that calming experience looked like he could use one himself.
Walking into the classroom, Kevin snatched Edd's phone from his hand and the ravenette genius was too weary to argue. Turning the phone off, he then went and stood behind his friend, slipped off his beanie and ran his hand through the silkiest, inky black, curly locks he had ever had the privilege of touching.
And despite or maybe because of his fraying nerves, Edd couldn't help but lean into Kevin's touch. And Kevin was grateful for Edd being as tired as he seemed because with his back to the redheaded coach and his eyes closed, he couldn't see that Kevin was slowly becoming as red as his hair. Taking a breath to steady his own nerves, Kevin then felt ready to ask his friend what was wrong.
"Wanna talk about it?," he asked.
"No," Edd intoned.
"Wanna grab some pizza?"
"Yes."
They took Kevin's motorcycle to a mom and pop place Kevin loved that wasn't too far from the school. Once they settled down with their pie, Kevin shot Edd a look. Edd sighed.
"We broke up."
Kevin's eyes went wide.
"Really?!," the redheaded PE teacher and baseball coach all but squeaked.
"Yes, really. It was time, I suppose."
Kevin tried to consider this. As far as he was concerned, Edd shouldn't have been dating Robert in the first place. Not that he was jealous, but no one liked the guy. He was basically an overgrown man child and Edd was his Promised Land, but he was draining the chemistry teacher of all his everything.
They had met the spring semester they graduated from high school. Edd was just 18 and Robert was 25. Kevin knew that there was no way in hell they had anything in common, but they stuck it out for at least seven years. Not that Kevin is counting or anything.
In those seven years, Edd had earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, with a minor in Secondary Education. Then he got his Masters in Education and another Masters in Chemistry. He ran their high school alma mater's Science Department with a firm but gentle hand.
Robert had...done not much of anything. He had his own place and a job in the accounting department at the candy factory when they met, but quit Edd's junior year of college so he could follow Edd to India when he went overseas as a foreign exchange student.
Kevin ran into them over Spring Break in St Croix. Robert was being super clingy, and while the only people Kevin had ever seen Edd get touchy feely with was the other Eds, Kevin thought that Edd should have at least been ok with his boyfriend hanging all over him, but he didn't seem to be enjoying it much.
When Kevin transfered to Edd's school for graduate school, he saw that not much had changed and Edd seemed to be less inclined to deal with it anymore than he had to. But he still stayed with him for some reason.
But now, they were no more.
"What happened?," Kevin asked.
"Well, outside his not having any real means to support himself after his trust fund ran out, and blaming me for not doing enough for us, even though I told him plenty of times that my dream job is to teach chemistry, not be a chemist, he was just being a really big, whiny crybaby about everything and I was just sick of it."
"About time!," Kevin thought. But he only said, "That sucks, Dude."
Edd just pouted. Kevin grabbed Edd's hand into his own.
"You'll be fine, D. You always are."
Out of everyone in their childhood cul-de-sac, Edd had become the most resilient. As a preteen and teenager, his parents were noticeably absent. But instead of wallowing or getting into too much trouble as being best friends with Eddy lent itself to all sorts of shenanigans, Edd matured. He budgeted his time and money and made time for his studies and his friends.
After their throw down with Eddy's brother the summer before eighth grade, Edd became the cul-de-sac's level headed voice of reason in contrast to Kevin's go in guns blazing personal MO for leading them into anything they would band together for.
Edd went pink at Kevin's gesture and words. The tip of his ears were red. He bit his lip as he took a breath.
"Th-Thank you, Kevin," he said as he gave the redhead a glance and tried his damnedest not to blush.
"Well, this is new," Kevin thought. And then he grinned, which made Edd slowly go red.
Shaking his head, Kevin snickered.
"You are welcome, sir. What are your lesson plans looking like?"
Taking a moment to compose himself and enjoy his bite of pizza, Edd then went on a ramble about what he had intended to burn and blow up during the second half of the semester. And Kevin ate it up. Having known Edd since they were in grade school, seeing the man get to live out his dreams made Kevin feel good.
But he couldn't shake the urge to get a front row seat to it all versus the friend zone he was in now.
When they got back to school, Kevin pounced.
"How about we go watch the games at Buffalo Wild Wings on Saturday?," he suggested when they stopped by the teacher's lounge so Edd could make a few more copies of the midterm he had to give out in his last two classes.
It was the middle of March and Kevin usually watched the March Madness games with Nat and Rolf and occasionally Eddy when he wasn't working or doing Lee's Honey Do List. But Edd was free and he wasn't about to pass the opportunity to snag him for good.
Edd tossed back his head for a moment and thought.
"Why the hell not?," he said as he scooped his copies up and relished the warmth of the paper against his chest.
Kevin was taken aback for a second by the fact that Edd not only accepted, but swore. He never swore! But the former jock turned coach quickly recovered.
"Rad. I'll see you there at say, 1230?"
"Better make it 11. I want to see the Michigan vs Iowa pregame show," Edd smirked as he walked out the lounge and headed back to class as the bell rang.
"Choice," the redhead softly replied with a wide grin before doing his own happy skip-hop-jog to the gym for his afternoon classes.
Kevin decided the next day that he needed to step his snag Edd game up. So he stopped by Edd's classroom and suggested grabbing breakfast at Denny's before heading to the popular bar and grill for a day of beer, hot wings and basketball.
"Why the fuck not?," Edd snickered as he tucked his bento box away in his lunch bag.
Kevin outright sputtered. Edd grinned the slyest grin Kevin had ever seen him grin and felt his insides go to mush.
"I'll see you at the Denny's on 22nd and Broadway at say, 9?"
"Y-Yeah. S-Sure," Kevin grinned.
But Friday evening, Edd called Kevin to ask him for a ride to their destinations as his car was making a very odd rattling sound and he didn't want to cancel their plans and spend the day at the dealership when he could be up to his eyeballs in bacon pancakes, coffee, cheap beer and hot wings.
While Kevin loved Edd's sass, he quickly registered the weariness in his voice. Edd wanted to get out and live a little. But his car wasn't cooperating. If Edd wasn't gonna let his car stop him, Kevin wouldn't, either. But the man still had to come back to work on Monday.
"I can come and get you, but you're still gonna need to get it looked at. How about I save you a trip to the dealer and come look at it myself?"
It was Edd's turn to sputter.
"Oh, Kevin, you don't have to do that!"
"No, but I want to. How about..."
"Now?," Edd asked.
Kevin let out a small laugh out and looked at his phone.
What the fuck was happening?!
"Oooookay. Give me, like, twenty minutes, alright?"
"Ok," Edd said with a happy sigh and Kevin bit his lip as he tried to compose himself because he knew how adorable Edd looked when he gave his happy sighs. "You have twenty minutes, Coach, starting now!," Edd squealed.
Then all Kevin heard was a click and dial tone.
Muttering curses to himself, he pulled on a pair of old jeans and threw his tool kit in his truck and headed cross town to Edd's house. When he pulled up, he was glad that Robert didn't live with Edd anymore. The house was beautiful and Edd deserved to either enjoy it alone, or with someone who actually gave a damn. And Kevin gave a damn.
It was a classic Cape Cod bungalow that Edd spent a good portion of the previous spring, summer and fall renovating. Saving the two peach trees in the back yard was such a highlight for the young genius that he gave all his friends the first harvest he managed to pluck when he had everyone over for his birthday in October.
And the highlight of everyone's Thanksgiving was Nazz using her peaches to make three of her famous peach cobblers. Kevin and Nat ate one straight from the pan. Despite Robert's very annoying presence, Edd managed to sneak away from his shadow and snagged a bite from Kevin and Nat's pie pan.
"Choice," he had grinned with a wink at Kevin.
It was Valentine's Day before Kevin and Nat finally decided that Edd was just having a bit of sassy fun like he always did when the gang got together at holiday time. But Kevin couldn't help to let simple actions like that flame his feelings for Edd on.
Kevin grinned deviously to himself when he saw a plain box on the front step with Robert's name on it. Edd was done and the man child was gone. Kevin honked his horn as he pulled into the driveway and Edd responded by opening the garage.
And Kevin noticed that despite the house being a bit on the small, but super cozy side, the garage was huge. Big enough for Edd's car, his truck and his Harley. So Kevin pulled inside on the far right side of the garage to give himself space to work, but still get to his truck if he needed anything.
"Ok, what's it doing?," he asked as he hopped out of his Dodge Ram 1500.
Edd gulped. Kevin had had his motorcycle since sophomore year of high school and they had taken plenty of rides on it as it was Kevin's only form of transportation the entire time they were high school.
But Kevin had gotten the truck as a graduation gift and the big, red beast had always done things to Edd. Where the motorcycle had exhilarated and terrified him, the truck made him feel slightly intimidated, but oh so protected.
"I-It's...uh...knocking something fierce under the hood and something about the steering seems off. Like, it pulls left, especially on the highway," Edd said as he came into the garage and popped the hood of his Dodge Avenger.
Kevin pursed his lips in thought, one hand on his hip, the other holding his red SnapBack in three fingers as he used free one of scratch his head. Edd bit his lip and prayed Kevin wouldn't notice him staring at the lucious plump bits of flesh on Kevin's face.
"When's the last time you had an alignment done?"
Edd thought a bit on that as Kevin circled the car and kicked his tires.
"When's the last time you had your tires looked at?"
Edd started to blush and bit his lip and Kevin could tell by the look in his eyes that Edd had no answer to his questions because he hadn't had it done at all or in a long time.
"Edd!"
"I'm sorry, Kevin! But after I bought the house, I kinda slacked on my car's maintenance because I was a bit busy trying to get keep a roof over my head," Edd said snarkly as he nervously fiddled with his fingers.
Kevin sighed and shook his head as he grinned.
"You're lucky I like you, Vincent," he said as he came to stand next to Edd who was now standing in the doorway to the house.
"I was kinda counting on that," Edd grinned as he cocked a hip and crossed his arms across his chest .
Kevin took a step back and gave his old friend a sideways look as he cocked a brow. Edd bit back a giggle as best he could but failed. Kevin dropped his head and took a breath.
"OK, I'll look over it as best I can tonight, but you just might have to take it in on Sunday."
"The dealer isn't open on Sunday's, Kev," Edd sighed.
Kevin bit his lip in thought for a split second before snapping his fingers and saying, "I know a guy who is, but he doesn't open til noon. I'll call him tomorrow and get you set up before we go to breakfast. Tell me you've at least had the oil changed recently?"
Edd suddenly looked sad.
"What's with that face? Over an oil change, Dude?"
"Robert was supposed to take the car in for that a couple weeks ago but never did," Edd said bitterly.
Now Kevin's pissed. The guy couldn't even get Edd's car in for a fucking oil change!
"What the heck did he do?!"
"Went to visit his mother and tried to bring her back here for dinner, but the place was a mess and I still needed to go to the grocery store for the week, not just unexpected company. Even she wasn't happy with his shenanigans."
"Wow," Kevin breathed.
"Yeah."
"Alright, you're gonna get an oil change as soon as I go to NAPA to pick up the filter and oil for it. But I'm taking your car so I can see what it's doing myself, alright?"
Edd nodded and went to get his keys. As he did so, Kevin followed but not before brushing his hand past a button, thus hitting the garage door opener to close the door. Edd grabbed his keys off the kitchen table and gave Kevin a look to which Kevin shrugged in response.
"It'll open back up," he snarked at the ravenette over his shoulder as he went back to the garage.
Edd gave a small giggle, but his moment of teasing at Kevin's expense was short lived as they heard a car pull into the drive.
"Expecting company?," Kevin asked teasingly.
"Nooooo," Edd mused and then he stopped short as he went to the front door.
Tossing his head back, he took a breath and Kevin could barely him count down from ten. He got to seven when the door bell rang. Edd stiffened and walked from the front hall back into the kitchen and braced himself against the island in the center of the room before turning and walking into the corner and standing between a set of cabinets and the dishwasher. He eyed the door with apprehension and suspicion as he played with his fingers again.
Cautiously stepping to the nervous man, Kevin leaned down to get Edd to look him in the eye.
"You gonna get that?," Kevin asked as the door bell rang incessantly.
"No."
Edd's tone was full of confidence and finality, but his body language was that of a man on edge.
"Want me to get it?"
Edd blushed and then his eyes went wide.
"Oh, hell no! I don't need that kind of drama tonight!"
"Heh. You swore."
Edd rolled his eyes but breathed a sigh of relief as the clink of metal on metal rattled in the mailbox that had a chute into the house.
"Drama, huh?"
Edd made a face and gave a slight shrug.
"Is it wrong to want someone to be a comfort to you every once in a while?"
"No," Kevin said as he leaned on the island and crossed his arms across his chest.
"I just wanted him to be the strong one for once," Edd pouted as he picked at his fingers.
"Some people aren't built to be the strong ones. Doesn't make them weak per se, but it doesn't make them the best to lean on," Kevin said as he walked in front of Edd and grabbed his twitching hands. "And stop twitching! He's gone. It's over. You'll be fine."
"I suppose your right," Edd sighed. "I'm ordering Chinese. Want some? It's the least I can do for your help."
"I told you that I wanted to help, but since you're buying, I'll have the General Tso's chicken and two eggrolls and an order of crab ragoon," Kevin said over his shoulder as he went to the garage to get Edd's car and start trying to fix what ailed it.
And distantly, just barely audible over the garage door opening, Kevin could have sworn he heard Edd say, "Hearts and stomachs, Eddward. Hearts and stomachs."
When Kevin got to NAPA, he was surprised to see Robert pull up next to him. The blond gaped openly at seeing Kevin in Edd's car.
"You're Kevin, right? What're you doing in my Edd's car?," he asked as he jumped out of his car and stalked towards Kevin.
Kevin leaned against the compact sedan and snickered. Edd was every bit of 5'10. Robert couldn't have been more than 5'8. Their height difference, while not much, (except it was, compared to Kevin's own 6'3 frame) was one of the things that was most odd to Kevin. Where Edd carried himself with confidence, Robert had an explosive insecure streak. Kevin knew dynamite things come in small packages but he was a good bomb diffuser.
"Look, Robert, I'm just helping him out. Thing needs an oil change and God knows what else done to it. He doesn't know how to do it and he asked for my help so I'm helping him," Kevin said as he went inside the auto parts store.
When they came inside, Robert was surprised and definitely intimidated by the fact that so many of the employees knew the redhead.
"Hey, Amy," he said to a tall brunette, hazel eyed girl.
"Hey, Coach. What can I help you with today?," she said sweetly.
"Need oil and a filter for an '09 Avenger and a diagnostic run on it."
"I thought you had a motorcycle," she said as she pulled out the diagnostic machine and then went to the area behind it counter to grab an oil filter.
"I do. Just helping out a friend."
She nodded as he went to grab the oil he needed. After everything was rung up, she came out with him to run a diagnostic run on the car and Kevin's suspicions were confirmed. He chuckled lightly to himself because he knew Edd wasn't going to like the news. Kevin could do some of the work, and what work he could do, was going to take a bit more time then a simple Friday evening allowed. And he'd still have to take the car in to get aligned and the tires rotated and filled.
The kicker was that Robert was still following him around, albeit at a sizeable distance. And Kevin knew the look in his eyes. Kevin could help Edd in ways he couldn't and it was because he wouldn't. Leaving Edd to fend for himself in some of the most basic things in life meant Edd would come to resent him and find someone to help him. And if that someone played their cards right, they could help him in anything he so choosed.
Edd was always telling Robert that he needed him to be "stronger than me." But what had drawn him to Edd in the first place was his resilience. He figured that Edd would just come to accept that he would be the one that was strong enough for the both of them. Except he didn't. His own mother told him that he needed to get it together before he lost the best thing that could have ever happened to him.
As Robert left, he tossed these words back to Kevin, "I hope you're Mr Universe because you're gonna need to be strong to handle him."
Kevin just rolled his eyes. Edd didn't need to be handled, he needed to be treated equally and fairly and when the time came, for his guy to step up and be his comfort when he was tired of being the strong one. Something that Kevin had done as his friend for years. As a boyfriend, the former baseball player and now baseball coach knew he could knock it out of the park.
While Kevin was gone, Edd went and got the six pack of Kevin's favorite brand of beer out of fridge in his garage. He got it a week ago and was slowly starting to pull plans together to get Kevin to come over for dinner. His car inadvertently helped. Now was a good a time as any to test Kevin's feelings for him.
They had been doing a flirtatious dance since they were in high school. Edd came out the summer before sophomore year to his friends first and then slowly to his neighbor's. And as soon as school started, Kevin started flirting with Edd.
Edd had his suspicions, but it wasn't until a year ago, when he saw Kevin at a Pride Fundraising Event in Peach City for The Trevor Project and AIDS Fund that he knew for sure. The redhead was flirting with nearly every brunette in the place. He saved his best teasing for Edd, though.
He had Robert were near the brink again then. And when the blond complained about all the attention Kevin was giving Edd, Edd once again was forced to deal with allaying his insecurities. And he was so tired of it. When they met at The Discovery Store Edd worked at in the mall, the man came off capable and strong. Not immature like so many guys Edd knew or Eddy, Angela, Nat and Nazz tried to set him up with. But now, not so much.
And Kevin had grown up so much. While he never was as immature as most of their peers, he was a jokester and a hell of a prankster. Whether either knew it or not, Eddy had taught him well in that department. All the flirting he did with Double D had everyone wondering if the baseball team's star pitcher was just pulling an elaborate ruse over them all or he was as gay as the nerdy dork he kept giving so much of his time and attention to.
So Edd kept him at a distance. It was enough that he was an Ed and the nerdy one to boot. Being gay in Peach Creek with next to zero prospects was enough for the boy to just bide his time til graduation. Robert changed that idea, but then Robert changed and Edd was back to dealing with his feelings for his second crush. Nazz would always be his first.
Their Chinese food hadn't gotten there yet by the time Kevin made it back to Edd's. But it was just as well. He wanted to get some work done before he ate the greasy take out, which always made him want to pass out. And as much as he'd like to do that next to Edd, he didn't want to push it. If he knew anything about relationships, it was that you still needed a bit of time off to heal before you moved on.
Didn't mean he wasn't going to make sure Edd moved on to him, though.
"I've got good news and bad news," he said as he dropped Edd's keys in the bowl on the table next to the door.
"I'm listening," Edd said as he poured himself a glass of wine.
"I can change the oil and give it a tuneup tonight. You still need an alignment and your tires rotated. And if I were you, I'd get new tires before Christmas at the latest."
Edd sipped his wine as Kevin spoke.
"Know a tire guy?"
"Yep."
"Ok, I'll keep that in mind," Edd said as the door bell rang.
Food paid for and plated, Kevin settled down to dinner with Edd. It was like most dinners with Edd, general small talk about their own lives and work, reminiscing about life when they were kids, college war stories and a whole bunch of yammering about not much of anything.
But Kevin noticed that not only did Edd get him extra General Tso's to take home, he noticed his favorite beer was in the fridge. Which pleased and amused him more than he thought it should have because Kevin knew that Robert didn't like beer and that none of their friends drank this particular brand.
Then hit hit him. Edd planned this.
Sure, his car did need work. And yeah, they did make plans and Edd's car issues needed to accounted for in that, but between Edd's near gleeful urgent request that he come over now and the food and the beer, good god, the beer, Kevin was feeling like he was being set up on a date.
And as Edd told him the truth of how he had reduced his AP Chemistry class to pin drop silence by setting a $100 bill on fire, but not on fire, Kevin didn't mind being drawn into Edd's trap. He'd stay forever if he could.
"So you put it in alcohol and lit it on fire?," Kevin asked as he tried to stay in the conversation and not just sit and stare at the mesmerizing man in front of him.
"Yes. Let it burn for a bit and watched them all lose their shit," Edd smirked as he remembered his students reactions. "They shut up for the rest of the class period, though."
Kevin stared at him for a bit before responding. Edd swearing was something new and it fascinated him.
"I bet. Trevor Biggs still won't stop talking about it."
Edd gave a small chuckle at the thought of the school's top heavyweight wrestler raving about the experiment. Trevor was a big guy, but science fascinated him. Many called him a geek, but he didn't care. He was Edd's top and favorite student by far.
"He told me that you let him have a few rounds on the new pitching machine."
Kevin blinked in confusion as he stretched. Trevor was talking about him to Edd?!
"Yeah, he missed baseball day because of that tournament they had to go to, so I let him go a few rounds with it to make up for it the other day," he said as he picked at what was left of his rice. "Can't believe he told you that."
"You are his favorite teacher after all."
"I could say the same about you."
Instead of blinking like Kevin did, Edd's cheeks went pink as he sipped his wine.
"So we reached one kid. Go us!," Kevin cheered in an effort to ease the awkwardness that they had a student in common who was always talking about one to the other.
"So what else did he say?," Edd asked as he leaned back and casually crossed one leg over the other, lazily letting a finger circle the rim of his wine glass as he did so.
Kevin's heart stopped for about 5 seconds as he stared wided eyed at the blue eyed, ebony tressed flirty genius. And his heart took a few more pains as he said what he knew needed to be said.
"That you need a break and to cut yourself some slack for a while," Kevin said as he gave Edd a knowing look and booped his nose.
Edd didn't sputter. He didn't blush. His shoulders did sink and his head dropped a bit.
"Hey."
Kevin's tone was gentle and his eyes soft. Edd looked up, all blue eyed pensiveness.
"Look, I'm going to leave my tool kit, the oil filter and stuff here. How about you make us brunch Sunday and I'll do what I can before we take it to my friend?"
A compromise. They could live with this.
"How do you like your eggs?"
They went to Denny's and Buffalo Wild Wings on Saturday as planned. It was raining, so they took Kevin's truck. Watching him relax and lean his head on the window made Kevin glad that he had whatever it was Edd needed to take a break from his usual stoic façade.
They saw a few of their friends, cheered for underdogs and the occasional top dog. And Sunday morning, Kevin spent a good two hours tuning up Edd's car while listening to Edd's Jazz CDs on the old radio system he had on a shelf.
Kevin usually did all his car work to classic rock, but the Jazz was soothing and helped him concentrate. Which helped him make a list of everything that was wrong with the compact sedan for his friend. Kevin would get Edd back on the road as safely and quickly as possible if he could help it and he could.
Kevin got to finally try the biscuits and gravy that Big Ed loved so much. And while he would never have the big lugs appreciation for the white peppery sauce drowning his homemade buttermilk biscuits, he could appreciate Edd's efforts.
"It's the least I can do for all your help," he kept saying.
"Hearts and stomachs, Eddward. Hearts and stomachs," is all Kevin kept thinking.
It was at Edd's Fourth of July BBQ, that Kevin was faced with a dilemma. He could respond to all the flirty signals Edd was sending, or he could his distance until...what exactly?! Only Edd would know when his heart was healed and he was ready for another relationship.
And as much as Kevin wanted to take Edd for himself, he also didn't want to screw anything up. But he'd been after the genius for the better part of a decade. Wasn't it time already?! That was what their friends were asking him. Angela would have thrown one of Edd's peaches at his head if she didn't love the fruit so much.
An engagement ring from Rolf danced on her finger. Eddy and Lee got married a month after they all graduated from high school. Ed and May were married on everything but paper. Nat and Rave's wedding was Peach Creek's first gay wedding and it was fabulous.
Marie and Nazz eloped during a girls weekend in Vegas. Jimmy and Sarah had a shotgun wedding oddly enough. But little Tamara was an adorable follower girl. Jonny, Kevin and Edd were the only ones not coupled up. Jonny was hopeless, so that really only left the first two in their group of friends to have eyes for anyone. And the irony that those eyes still had eyes for each other wasn't lost on anyone.
After everyone else had left, Kevin stayed behind to help Edd clean up. After hosing down his grill and putting it back in his truck, he turned to see Edd staring.
"What's up, Dweeb? Something on my nose?," Kevin grinned as he tied the grill down.
Edd gulped.
"Nooo, no. It's just that...you're a hell of a lot stronger than me."
Kevin smirked at him. He was swearing and ogling. Kevin could work with this. But he's gonna play it safe first.
"I tell you all the time that you're welcome to come to the gym with me."
"And I tell you that I work out my mind. My body is just fine."
Kevin snickered. Sassy Edd meant he could step his game up.
"Tell me about it."
"Kevin!"
Edd was damn near purple.
"You said it, not me, Vincent," the redhead said as he jumped off the side of his pickup and made his way back into the garage where Edd was standing.
Edd shook his head as his hormones reeled. On the one hand, Kevin looked like a kid again and it was adorable. On the other hand, the tall, tanned, toned coach was built like a god and was just as strong and Edd had to bring himself back to earth as his mind inisisted on flashing images across his conscious of Kevin's body gripped around his own.
"Be that as it may, Barr..."
Whatever else Edd had to say died in his throat as Kevin was now standing mere inches from him and the sparks that had flown between them for years was threatening to become a wildfire. But Edd's whole essence was seemingly reeling against what his heart was screaming at him to do.
Kevin looked down at the faltering Ed in front of him and then slowly wrapped his arms around a slim waist.
It was time.
"I can be the strong one, but only if you want me to," he whispered into curly ebony locks.
''I'd...I need that," Edd replied as he slipped one arm around Kevin's waist and the other went across his back and a small hand gripped tight to his shoulder.
They stood like that for a moment before Kevin hitched a now very suprised Edd up by his thighs like he weighed less than nothing before gently carrying him into the house. Having the genius cling to him sent fireworks through Kevin's core. But on this particular day of celebrating freedom, both young men wanted the other to take their freedom away.
"You are stronger than me," Edd breathed as Kevin backed him into the door to close it.
"That's what I'm supposed to be," the former jock whispered huskily into Edd's neck as the genius pulled him close.
Kevin reluncantly pulled his face away from the divine crook of Edd's neck that smelled like Heaven and brought his forehead to Edd's own.
He had to know for sure.
Bright, firey blue met smoldering green.
Edd nodded and Kevin pressed his lips to Edd's. As late night fireworks exploded outside, Edd and Kevin finally set off a few of their own. And as strong hands carassed him and strong arms held him close, Edd finally found the strength to give in to the one who had been the strong one for him for so long.
Kevin
That night, a strong foundation was laid. And over the years, in a cozy Cape Cod bungalow, Kevin became Edd's strength and comfort when he needed it and Edd was finally able to receive as much as he gave. And because of that, what looked to so many like young love, was really the strongest love either had ever known.
