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Warning: I had someone other than my usual editor look at this chapter so I am very sorry if there's something different about it. Though the fact remains that I am so very grateful for my temporary editor coming to my rescue in my time of need! Thank you, Love!

Reviews:

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I love all of you that have reviewed, favorited, and followed this fic! You have kept me going on writing this when I had severe writer's block! I hope that this next chapter lives up to your expectations. Enjoy!

Double D opened his eyes, wincing at the sunshine that crept its way through his window. With a groan of protest, he pulled himself out of bed, not quite getting up but sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked about his room, remembering that he was in his old one rather than the dorm room. Oh yeah, he thought, remembering that he had come to visit for his three weeks of winter break.

He went through the events of the previous day, remembering that he had slipped and hit his head. To make sure it hadn't been a dream, he began to feel around his scalp, wincing when he touched the tender spot that radiated with pain. Okay, the accident obviously was no dream, he admitted to himself. He was willing to admit that much, but the rest of the night - the night with Kevin – that, he still wasn't sure on. That much he still wished to be in denial about. However, his keen memory showed him the truth, clear as day. Kevin had come out of those trees, he had apologized, he had confessed and he had kissed him once more.

Edd traced his lips with his fingers for a moment, remembering the feeling. It was pleasant, he wouldn't deny that, but it was never to his accord. In all honesty, if Kevin had said what he had all those months ago, he probably would have given the redhead a chance. Not because he particularly felt the intensity that Kevin did, but because Kevin seemed to be oozing truth behind those words – so much so that it made Edd cringe at the mere memory of it.

After deciding that he had dwelled in his thoughts long enough, he groaned. Shower, he thought, his mind now in only one place. He really felt filthy; it was beyond rare that he skipped a shower. Last night, he hadn't exactly meant to, but he was just so exhausted after his run and the shock that he couldn't bring himself to perform any more actions that required focus. As he shuddered in the memory of the exercise and the sweat that had come along with it, he hurriedly fetched some warm clothes and dashed off to the shower.

Once the water was streaming and there was an abundance of steam beginning to fill the bathroom, he got in, allowing the warm water to cascade over his tense muscles and relax him. He always enjoyed this about a shower – it always brought comfort and relaxation. His showers were the time for him to stop thinking and just feel the tension slip away and forget the outside world beyond the glass shower door.

After his long shower, he finally stepped out into the warm and steam-filled bathroom. After drying himself off, he quickly got dressed, drying his hair before putting his hat neatly upon his head. He did a few more tasks before he was completely done. With his morning routine out of the way, he made his way down the stairs and to the kitchen. He pulled out some fruit and orange juice as he looked about the empty room. As to be expected, his parents were nowhere to be found and there probably wouldn't be many chances for him to see them again until his break was over. It was a depressing thought – here he had come all this way to see his parents and his friends, yet he was here all alone in the giant kitchen of his home. At least he still had his friends to visit, even if he didn't know whether or not they were back yet.

Well, he knew Eddy was back. He had decided to wait for college. To Edd, it seemed like the guy simply didn't know what he had wanted to do with his life yet, even being eighteen already. Ed, however, had gotten a scholarship for football and was happily attending college. It had made Edd happy to see his friend whom he had never expected to, attend college and do something he truly enjoyed.

Edd finished his light breakfast and hopped out of his chair, discarding the peels and rinsing his glass out before putting it in the already-dirty dishwasher. I should pay Eddy a visit, Edd concluded, figuring he would be home unless he had gone on vacation. It's highly unlikely that he would considering the weather, however, Edd assured himself before grabbing his coat and slipping into his shoes, lacing them up quickly. He was smiling excitedly, anticipating the reunion with one of his best friends. He left the house, locking the door behind him and rushing to Eddy's house, avoiding the urge to look across the street to a certain someone's house. This was beginning to consume his thoughts. He tried to ignore them, he really detested thinking about the situation.

Before he could keep going in his head, he was at Eddy's door, beaming as he knocked on the door. He was greeted by none other than the person he was seeking out and responded by wrapping his arms tightly around the smaller teen. "Salutations, my good friend!"

Eddy hugged Double D back before pushing the overly-friendly teen away. "Good to see you, sockhead," he said with a wide grin. He tried to hide his joy, but he was failing miserably. It had been months since he saw him and considering they were rarely apart before Edd moved, it was a difficult transition. "Come on," he said, motioning for Edd to come inside. After taking off his shoes and coat, he quickly trailed after Eddy.

"How have you been in my absence? And Ed, is Ed here or is he perhaps still at college? Have you decided-" Double D was cut off by Eddy.

"Pipe down, will ya? One question at a time, Double D." They got to his room and Eddy plopped down on his bed while Edd took his preference to the chair rather than the filthy bed or even worse, the revolting floor. "Things have been boring as hell without you or Ed," he began, slouching his shoulders while looking at Double D.

"I apologize, Eddy. You could have called me at any time, you know." He offered a smile. "And Ed?" Double D pried.

Eddy waved a hand and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there. Hold your horses." As per the usual Eddy, he automatically continued into talking about Ed. "Lumpy's still in college till tomorrow. Might be back tonight," he added, grabbing an old soda from the table beside his bed and taking a drink.

Edd smiled at the thought of his other friend being back in only a matter of hours. It would be simply fantastic to see everyone again, together and laughing like always. "That's splendid news," he said. He watched Eddy put his soda back down. Any other time he would have cringed at the thought of drinking something that had sat overnight unprotected. However, after being in college, he learned that his friend's bad habits where nothing to be compared. "Have you thought about what you're going to do for a career, Eddy?"

Eddy seemed to grow a little upset by the question, but smiled. "Dunno. Don't think I'm going to college yet. But I guess it'd be cool to be able to say I went," he faded out. Edd knew the subject bothered him the last time they had talked about it, but he had hoped that after seven months he might have an idea by now. He seemed like the type of person to enjoy a job where he got to think and come up with ideas; something that could bring out the creativity he had possessed since childhood.

"Alright, Eddy," was all he said in response. He felt that perhaps they should move away from the subject for Eddy's sake. "Shall we do something perhaps?"

Eddy shrugged. "Like what?"

"Well, I know for a fact you still take pleasure in video games." He gestured towards the gaming console lying on an entertainment center beside a decently sized television. By the look on Eddy's face that seemed to lighten up at the idea, he knew he had picked a good choice. He had never really took part in his and Ed's gaming. It wasn't exactly his specialty. But he knew that Eddy enjoyed it and for the sake of spending time with his friend on a cold, winter day, he would make an exception for him.

After Eddy had put in a racing game and Edd moved the chair closer to the television, a silence enveloped them for a moment as the game began and they ran through the first race. Eddy laughed at Edd's loss, claiming it was ridiculous and hilarious. Edd simply smiled at him as Eddy started a second race.

The silence was broken with an actual conservation topic by Eddy. "Hey, I got a question." He wasn't looking at Edd, refused to actually. Rather, he focused all of his attention on the game. Edd was taken aback by his statement and urged him to go on. "I was wonderin' how things worked out with that person you had problems with in high school." He looked down sheepishly at the ground as Edd paused the game.

Edd had forgotten entirely that he had told Ed and Eddy about the ordeal, leaving out the fact of who it was exactly that had done it. He held his breath unintentionally, attempting to answer Eddy's question. For a moment, all he did was stare at Eddy, unable to form the words he wanted to say. After his lapse in silence, he looked down at the controller in his hands resting in his lap. "About that," he began. "You see, I saw said person only last night as a matter of fact." He peeked up at Eddy who seemed to be staring at him with surprise.

"And?" he pried.

Edd fumbled with the controller. "They, um, kissed me and," the rest was hard for him to spit out, but he managed to after a moment. His face heated up at the memory and he continued, "They confessed that they possessed romantic feelings for me." At this Eddy really was staring at him in shock. He noted that Edd had become flustered and red in the face.

"Don't tell me you like this person back, sockhead," he mumbled, running a hand over his face in disbelief.

Edd's face quickly became flush with embarrassment and panic. "No, of course not! How could you even come up with such a preposterous idea in the first place?" he exclaimed, waving his hand in exasperation, quickly growing irritated by Eddy's laughter.

"Look at you, sockhead! You're flippin' over just mentionin' it!" He laughed at Double D's annoyed expression but soon replaced it with a sly smile. "So, who's the lucky chick?"

Double D shifted uncomfortably under Eddy's penetrating, curious gaze. How in the world was he supposed to say who it was, let alone a man? Would Eddy judge him? Of course Eddy wouldn't do such a thing, he and Ed are my dearest of friends after all. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He fumbled over his words, "i-it's not a woman, p-per se." He looked down, pulling his hat over his eyes to hide his apparent embarrassment, avoiding the look that he was unsure was on Eddy's face. Much to his surprise, he heard a chuckle from Eddy. However, he still wasn't sure if it was mock-laughter or not.

"So it's a dude, huh? I'm not surprised, sockhead," he responded, Edd relaxing almost every muscle in his body at once at the relief that flooded over him. Then he realized what Eddy had said.

"Wait a moment, Eddy. Are you implying that you believed I was homosexual the entire time that we have known each other?" He was nearly insulted, but at the same time relieved. He wasn't gay – at least he didn't believe himself to be – but he also wasn't quite sure; he had never had a girlfriend after all. In fact, he had never exactly been interested in the romantic portion of life; he had always been so wrapped up in his schooling and now college.

Eddy laughed. "Nah, don't get your panties in a twist. It wasn't until 'bout half way through middle school," he assured, waving his hand dismissively. He shot another sly look at Double D. "So, who is it? Don't tell me it's me. I know I'm amazing but that'd be a bit too weird," he joked, laughing at himself.

Double D shook his head in exasperation and joined his laughter. "You wish." Double D then meant to tell the truth. But how? Kevin of all people? Their childhood bully? He dismissed the concern. He had just thought the same and Eddy was completely calm about it. He took in another deep breath, this time letting it out in an exhausted sigh. The day had barely begun and he was already exhausted from this conversation. "Well, you see, Eddy," he began, working up the courage to say the rest of the sentence. This was proving to be much more difficult than he had anticipated. "Kevin. It's Kevin."

Rather than what Double D had expected, Eddy pursed his lips and hung his head low. He leaned back against the wall now, resting his head and looking up at the ceiling. He didn't speak for a while, an awkward and almost painful silence hanging between the two that Edd desperately wanted to break but was simply too terrified to. Finally, after what felt like hours, Eddy spoke. "You're shittin' me, right?"

Edd cringed at his words. They were harsh and laced with venom. He was irritated now, and Edd knew it. He had easily learned to pick up on it in his voice after the years they had spent together. He didn't speak, however. He simply shook his head, hiding his eyes with his hat once again, afraid of looking at Eddy and his fury. His words lashed once again at his guilt. "Our fuckin' bully? The guy that made our lives a living hell the entire time we were growing up?" He still continued, and with each sentence, Edd shrunk more and more into the chair, as if he could escape the entire situation. "Why him?

Edd was taken aback by the question and for a moment just paused, finally looking back at Eddy who was staring intently at him, awaiting his answer. "What?" was all he could muster.

Eddy glared at Double D. "You know what I mean, sockhead. Why that ass?" He was seriously pissed off at the situation; he felt betrayed by his friend.

"You," he stammered, quickly putting together what he wanted to say. "No, I never even claimed to possess feelings for-"

"Christ, Double D! It's written all over your damn face!" Eddy shouted in response to Double D's protest.

Double D simply froze. Was it true? Did he really feel something for the bully? That's preposterous! How could I? He was lost in his thoughts, debating this and quickly growing confused at the situation. Kevin was their bully, and just as Eddy had said, had made their lives a living hell. It wasn't impossible for Edd to develop feeling for the redhead, but it was highly unlikely. "I don't know," was all he whispered.

Eddy looked at Edd in disbelief. "What?" He sounded insulted, as if Edd had just talked down to him. "The hell do you mean 'I don't know'?" He was now sitting at the edge of his bed. His feet were on the floor, and he was hunched over with his arms resting on his legs, using his hands to somehow pull together what he was saying with gestures. His eyes were strictly focused on Double D, not leaving his face as he waited impatiently for an answer.

Edd looked about the room, avoiding eye-contact at first. Then, after he realized that he was not in the wrong in this situation, he stood up straight, pulling back his shoulders to present himself as confident. "That's correct, Eddy. I do not possess the knowledge that you desire. Does that place you in a predicament?" There was a hint of annoyance in his voice that anyone could easily detect, especially his best friend. "We have been friends since we were children and this is the moment when you decide that I disgust you? When there is but a chance that I might care for one of our childhood bullies? Just prior to this argument, you were at ease with the fact that I might be questioning my sexuality yet this is what draws the line, Eddy?" He was standing now, stepping closer to Eddy with each question.

Eddy cringed away more and more with each of Double D's questions, uneasy with the situation. It was rare that Double D got angry, but he had a valid point, and he knew that. However, Eddy's pride won him over. He stood up, getting just as much into Double D's face as he had gotten into Eddy's. "Y'know what, I guess so. I can forget that you're gay, a know-it-all, and all that other crap, but not liking Kevin. Not a chance, sockhead," he bit off.

Double D stiffened at Eddy's words and nodded. "Fair enough, Eddy." He began to wrap up the controller he had been playing with and set it down next to the game system as Eddy watched him in disbelief.

"What're ya doing?" Eddy asked, watching Edd's movements closely.

Edd continued to move about the room, quickly gathering the few things he had out. "I am returning back to my own home where I will be free of your judgment if that is all right with you, Eddy." With those final words, he walked out of Eddy's room and quickly made his way out of his house. He wasn't going to tolerate the criticism of Eddy. He had figured that he would be just fine with it considering he had accepted the other information in a positive manner. Evidently he had been mistaken. That's fine, he assured himself. No, it wasn't how he had wanted to begin his break – with Eddy and he angry with one another – but it was better than hiding the truth from him and now knowing what he really thought. As he was walking through the cul-de-sac, he found himself being tackled by none other than his other friend.

"W-what? Where in the world-" he was cut off by a lack of oxygen to his lungs as Ed squeezed him into a vice tight grip.

"I missed you so much, Double D!" he shouted, refusing to let go of the black-haired boy as he tightened his grip.

"Breathe," he choked out. "Let go, Ed," he struggled to say, smiling through the pain. He had fully expected this moment. Ed finally released him, a large grin plastered over his face. "I missed you too, Ed! It's such a pleasure to see you once again!" He managed to say as he caught his breath. "But where did you come from?"

Ed just grinned and blatantly said, "my house."

"Well, of course, Ed," Double D responded. "Where are you headed?" Ed pointed to Eddy's house and Double D cringed. "Then I will see you some other time, Ed! Have fun with Eddy!"

Ed looked quizzically at Edd, obviously confused as to why he was not going with. "But, Double D, come with Ed! We can all watch a scary movie! There's a new one that I brought," he exclaimed, holding the case up to Edd's face.

Double D chuckled in response to Ed's excitement but shook his head, hanging it low to hide his eyes from his friend as salty tears began framing the edge of his eyes. "I apologize, Ed, but I need to go do some housework." With that, he trailed back to his own house, leaving behind a hurt and confused Ed. As he opened the door, his head still hung low as he pulled out his keys, dropping them before managing to unlock it, the tears crawled down the bridge of his nose.

Edd groaned as there was a knock on the door. He took his time rising from his bed and setting the box of tissues back on his desk. Finally, after more time than necessary had passed, he sauntered his way down the stairs, wiping away any remaining moisture from his face and quickly regaining his composure. When he reached the door, he unlocked it and slowly dragged the wood towards him. He peered out into the darkness of the night and stared for a moment. "Hello?" he called out, his response being nothing but silence. He said it one more time to make sure and after getting the same reply, sighed and brought himself to close the door and make his way back to his bedroom. He closed the door and froze at the frame as he noted something outside his window.

There, perched very simply on the tree just outside his home was none other than the last person he had wanted to see at the moment. He had been the reason that Edd and Eddy had gotten into a fight in the first place. If not for him, he most likely could have been able to spend a nice and relaxing day with his best friends – watching movies and eating popcorn like the old days.

Rather than inviting the uninvited guest into his room, he walked over and closed the curtain to hide the smiling face. "Your presence is not welcome here, Kevin," he shouted at the window, his voice cracking from the previous crying. Much to Edd's dismay, however, Kevin continued on with his persistence, tapping the window at an increasingly rapid rate. With a loud and frustrated groan, Edd ripped open the curtains he had just closed moments ago and opened the window. "What in the world do you want, Kevin?" Edd demanded, annoyance and anger evident in his shaking voice.

"Hey, Double Dweeb," he greeted, blatantly ignoring Edd's question as he hoped into the neat room, ignoring Edd's protests for him to get back out. "Yeah, yeah, I know you're pissed. Chill, dude. I wanted to apologize."

"Why couldn't you just wait for me at the door?" Double D protested, attempting to push Kevin out of his room and towards the door of his bedroom. Of course, he made no progress against the built figure that just stood there, smirking at all the effort the small boy was putting forth.

Kevin turned to face Edd as he finally gave up and went to sit on his own bed. "Sorry, Dork. But I kinda had to talk to you and you weren't answering your door. Plus, your light was on so I figured it was a safe bet." He gave Double D a sheepish grin and pulled the chair from his desk to turn it so that the back was facing Double D along with Kevin, straddling the chair. "Are you going to listen to me?"

Edd stared at Kevin in utter irritation. He didn't understand how someone could be so prudish. "That depends on whether or not you are going to assault me once again, Kevin." He said in what he hoped was a stern voice, his eyes holding the truth that he was simply exhausted and completely done with this conversation before it had truly began. Something Kevin could easily see.

With a small sigh, Kevin bit his lip. "Yeah, I won't. I promise." He hung his head a little bit in embarrassment before looking up. "Actually, about that, y'know, I'm sorry. I got," he paused for a moment, hating how bad he was with articulating his words at the moment. "I hadn't seen you for seven months, hadn't heard from you or anything – and that's not including the two months you completely avoided me," he said, throwing a slightly pained look in Double D's direction. This earned him a slight look of guilt that was quickly replaced.

"I never would have if you had allowed us to proceed with our studies rather than sexually assaulting me!" Edd squeaked, shocked with Kevin. "Do you have the slightest bit of comprehension of how complicated my thoughts became after your actions, Kevin?" His voice grew a little louder and Kevin cringed before interjecting.

"What, so you think I did that just to see what another guy's dick felt like?" His eyes had lowered and he was now glaring at Double D through his lashes. "'Cause believe me, that was the last thought on my mind," he muttered, his voice trailing off as he still stared at Double D.

Double D looked at Kevin for a moment, his face warming slightly at Kevin's language and the memory. He collected himself before speaking once more, afraid of yet another outburst similar to what he had with Eddy. "Then what was your reasoning? What other explanation do you have for you actions?"

Kevin gave him a knowing look, knowing he had explained already. Finally, he got up off the chair and came to sit next to him on his bed, watching at Edd cringed away from him. "I told you this last night, Edd."

Double D was taken aback by the use of his name before speaking. "Yes, you said you possessed romantic feelings for me," he responded.

"Can you just talk like a normal person?" Kevin muttered, holding his face in his hands before running them down his face and looked at Edd with a determined expression. "Do you know just how strong those feeling you're talkin' about were?" In response to Edd's shaking head he went on. "I didn't just like you, I didn't just have a crush on you. I fuckin' loved you. I hadn't even meant to."

Edd interrupted him before he could continue. "Then why didn't you ever just say that to start off with, Kevin? Instead, you," he paused, remembering his comment about his speech from earlier, "raped me, thus sprouting my dislike and fear of you." He took note of the face that Kevin made as he used the unusual word for Double D's vocabulary.

Kevin nodded. "Alright, I'll give ya that one, Dork. But you have to listen." He waited for Edd's response, which turned out to be nothing but him rolling his eyes much to Kevin and his own surprise as it was an action out of character for Edd. However, he still continued. "I cared for you. A lot. When all that happened, yeah, I guess I did rape you, but I thought you felt the same." He kept eye contact with Edd the entire time, afraid of missing something in his face or his blue eyes. "I always saw you and before I knew it, my eyes followed you to the point where I looked for you – scouted for you in the hallways. Then, before I knew it, you were always on my mind and I began thinkin' 'bout our childhood and wondering if I had really hated you as a kid.

"After a lot of thought, I realized that you weren't the one I hated. It was the opposite actually. You were the cool one who I could always talk to no prob. And when I thought about talking to you, I realized I missed our conversations. I tried talking to you, but couldn't stop being that bully I had usually been to your group."

Edd stared at Kevin the entire time he spoke in utter shock. He had been so sure that Kevin hated him; he was positive that he had been nothing but a sexual experiment to satisfy his homosexual curiosity – just as he had convinced himself all these months. To hear that he loved him wasn't something he had expected, let alone something he had wanted to hear. "Kevin, please-"

"No, let me finish." He cleared his throat, breathing in deeply as if taking a break from all the words he would usually never speak in just a normal conversation. He continued after a moment, "I left off where I did because I thought I would have another chance to talk to you after the situation. You looked exhausted and I didn't want to cause you too much strain for your first time," he finished, his face now a slight crimson because of the topic. "I intended to try and get even closer to you after that. But I know I was a stupid teenager then. I know it's only been seven months, but I really had time to change and think shit over." His eyes were pleading Edd for forgiveness, for a chance to fix his mistake.

However, Edd shook his head. "I understand that now, thank you for clearing it up. But I really would have preferred you to just tell me like you are now." He pulled down on his hat once again, hiding his eyes from the redhead that wouldn't look away. His frame began to tremble and he hung his head a little lower. He was really sick of the stress and the conflict that had come with today. "I don't particularly know if I can forgive you, Kevin. I don't believe you can ever grasp just how much that threw my life into chaos." His voice was shaking and his lower lip trembling along with a lump in his throat that wouldn't s go away as much as he wished it would.

Kevin reached out for Edd, wanting to pull him into a hug as he saw the small shaking frame. He wanted to coax him into feeling better and whisper that he was sorry and that things would be alright. He had no knowledge of the fight he had just had hours ago with Eddy on top of this. Rather than pulling him into the hug that he desperately craved to do, he pulled his hand back to rest them on the edge of the bed at his sides. "I'm sorry. But I promise, I will fix this. I'll make this better," he whispered, his voice barely even audible to the boy sitting not too much farther away from him.

He watched as Edd shook his head in disbelief. But how could he blame him? He had spent the last seven months obsessing over this and trying to the best of his abilities to forget everything about Kevin.

As the tremors started, signaling that Double D was really crying now, Kevin let go of his restraint. He wrapped his arms around the small frame and pulled him to him. "I won't do anything," he assured. "Just let me hold you." Much to his delight, the boy didn't argue and simply sobbed into his chest. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm so sorry."

There was a muffled, inaudible noise before Edd spoke. "I-it's not you, p-per se," he struggled to say. "I-I fought with Eddy t-today, as well and I am con-concerned that he is truly a-an-angry with me," he choked out. He felt a tremble from Kevin that implied to Edd that he was laughing, and for a moment, he was overwhelmed with anger before Kevin spoke.

"You two have been friends since I've known y'two. You guys will be fine," he assured, running his hand up and down Edd's back to comfort him. "Here, lie down." Kevin pushed on Edd's shoulders, making him lie back on the bed despite his minor protest. Kevin, much to Edd's surprise, laid down next to him and scooped his arm underneath Edd's head, pulling him closer so that he could rest his head on his chest. "What did you guys fight about?"

There was a brief silence before Edd spoke. There was noise that escaped his lips but didn't reach Kevin's ears.

"What?"

Edd sighed. "Y-you."

Kevin looked at the top of Edd's hat-covered head in shock for a moment. "Alright, what about me?" he asked.

"Nothing," he spat out a little too quickly. But much to his relief, Kevin didn't pry and they sat there in complete silence. It was the most comfortable silence that Edd had ever experienced. "Thank you," he muttered before allowing the silence to descend once again upon the two.

A while later, Kevin leaned down to kiss the top of Edd's head, noting the rhythmic pattern that his breath had taken on that indicated he was fast asleep. "Don't sweat it, Dork," he whispered, refusing to move himself from the small frame. He finally allowed himself to fall asleep with the person he had always adored sleeping soundly, curled up next to him.