"I can't believe you're doing this," May giggled behind her hands as she peeked through her fingers and Eddward hissed in pain as the tattoo needle started pulsating through his pale skin.

"Why not? It's a nice piece," the tattoo artist, Jim, said absentmindedly as he traced over the outline he had done on trace paper on Eddward's arm.

"It's my sister's piece!," May squealed as she waved her arms exasperatedly and start pacing around the small tattoo booth.

Jim cocked a brow at Eddward who just smirked at him. Jim shook his head and said, "Ok, I'm with blondie now. I don't do names, so what'cha tryin' to do here, Bub?"

"It's my favorite piece," Eddward said quietly.

And it was.

It was a simple drawing she did in middle school that they had found in one of her old portfolios as she prepared for the Student Spring Art Show. It was a peach branch in full flowering bloom set against a creek at sunset. It reminded them both of home and what they are missing dearly. So why not make it a part of his everyday life and put it where he could see it everyday whenever he wanted?

It wasn't like he was getting her name on his arm. As much as he loved her, he was still way too cautious for that. But, he could see adding his future children's names in the blossoms.

And for something she had done in seventh grade, it was good. Damn good. He wasn't sure if she was going to sell it or not, so he did the next best thing he could thing of to keep it with him for forever.

He took it to the art department and had it scanned to the same USB disc he had all of her other art pieces scanned to, then had the scan printed out. He took the print out to the tattoo parlor her friend Jim worked at and got him to scan it on to trace paper, then that paper was wet down and left the outlines and shading Jim was working on now on his right arm.

Looking around the parlor and seeing Jim's work displayed on the walls, he could see himself adding onto this piece with a few more. A bit of a garden on his arm. Especially since the pain wasn't that bad. It was pretty damn exhilarating. He could see how people got addicted to getting tattoos now.

"What are you thinking, D?," May asked as he stared at the needle in his arm.

"I want another one," he grinned and she laughed til she cried.

And Marie cried crocodile tears when she saw it.

"It's my thing," she sobbed.

"It's our thing," he whispered as he took her into his arms and hid his wet eyes in her hair.


"DUDE!," Kevin roared as he stormed from the bean bag he had been sitting on at the back of the comic book store to the front counter where Ed was talking to Danté.

"Hey, Kevin!," Ed said as he gave him a please don't hurt me grin. "You remember Danté?"

Kevin didn't even acknowledge the man standing next to him as he rolled up his comic book and started hitting Ed with it.

"BAD ED! BAD!"

"I REGRET NOTHING!," Ed said as he roared with laughter and ducked from the jock's wailing right arm.

"Did he kill him!?," Danté asked. "I haven't read it yet!"

"NO SPOILERS!," Ed said as he snatched the comic book from Kevin and pointed it at him warningly.

Kevin groaned as he snatched off his snapback and ran a hand through his hair.

"I hate you," he said lowly as Ed handed a less abused issue of his comic book to Danté.

"It'll be fine," Ed grinned.

"It better be," Kevin snipped before grabbing a Gatorade out of the cooler and a protein bar and placing them on the counter. "Hold this. I'll be right back," he said as he walked over the section of the store where all the Marvel Comics were kept.

When he came back, Danté was seething.

"YOU DIDN'T KILL HIM!?"

"Kev was right. He is their doctor and Lindsay needs his help," Ed shrugged.

"HA!," Kevin laughed at the shorter male but he cut his laughter down to a blushing snicker when heated hazel eyes cut themselves at him.

"But I'm sure you're just so happy about the greeting our dear doctor got when he returned?," Danté snipped at him and Kevin flushed red in frustration again.

"That was not cool, Lumpy," he sneered at Ed as the tall, lovable oaf rung up his purchases.

"Not trying to be cool, Kev. Just telling a story about life at the end of the world," Ed grinned at him with a wink.

"Yeah, well it sucks."

"It's the apocalypse, dude! They've got to get their breeding on," Ed said as a shit eating grin crossed his face.

"This is so damn tropey," Kevin sighed as he thumbed through his comic book again.

Mike and Timothy survived their attack from the bandits after Timothy managed to pull his revolver out of his waistband and shoot Skipper to death before Mike or Skipper could get a shot off. The bandits took off and after three days in cave, they managed to make it back to camp, where Mandy, their cook, greeted Timothy more like a lover than the old friends they actually were. And the tall doctor had the nerve to fall into her arms. Mike didn't seem to be betrayed by Timothy's actions, but Kevin sure was.

"Classic," he thought. "Just fucking classic."

"They're still gonna be bros," Ed said.

"You know," Danté drawled, the vibrato of his accent piquing Kevin's interest. "I can see Kevin's point here. Mike and Timothy have a chance at something and there is so very little gay representation in comics. A bromance is nice, but you know that you could actually explore their relationship a bit more. Throwing a straight romance out there for the sake of breeding at the end of the world is a bit..."

"Tropey," Kevin said for him as he seemed to lose his words.

"Yes, thank you, Kevin," he said with a small gapped tooth double dimpled grin and Kevin's heart nearly stopped. "Tropey. Ed, you're better than this."

"And it's a long story," Ed said, his shit eating grin growing wider.

Kevin and Danté both grabbed their purchases as they gave him a stink eye and stormed out of the store.

Ed's grin stayed in place as he took out his sketch book and started drawing out a few more ideas for his next issue.


"Um, Kevin?"

Kevin turned to look at Danté who was looking very lost.

"What's up, man?"

"Do you know how I can get to Lil Mama's from here?"

Kevin grinned as he gave him directions to the soul food restaurant and Danté thanked him profusely.

"You'd think I'd know these things by now," he muttered to himself as he made his way to his car.

"Well, how long have you been here?," Kevin asked as he put his bags away in his saddlebag.

"10 years," Danté blushed. "But I moved to Peach Creek about six months ago."

"Look, cut yourself some slack," Kevin said as he buckled his helmet on. "Flowers don't bloom overnight."

Danté blinked him in surprise and Kevin snickered.

"That was quite profound," he said in a bit of awe.

"I have my moments," Kevin shrugged as he started his bike. "Later!"

And Danté's heart started to plant a few seeds for the tall cherry tree that was Kevin Barr.