Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners.

Nat belongs to c2ndy2cid.

Alright, this took way longer than I had intended, but I don't plan. I just write and GO. So, the ending of this wasn't exactly something I had originally planned BUT... we'll see where it takes us. Anywho, there's quite a few reviews on that last chapter so I would like to simply say thank you to every one of you and I really appreciate your support with this fic. I know the past few chapters have been a little rough because I'm a bit of a person who loves more detail and less dialogue, but I tried to reverse that and I would love it if you could tell me what you think of it.

So, with one more apology, I give you chapter 4! Thanks so much for your bearing with me. I love you all. :)

Bleary eyed and groggy, Edd lifted himself from his bed, stretching. A yawn escaped his lips while he moved his feet to rest on the ground. He hung his head in his hands, his hat falling into them before he quickly returned it. Thoughts of the previous night flooded his mind, eliciting a sigh. Once again, he had spent time with Kevin. Although, it did seem that Kevin was much different than before. He almost seemed... gentler - more considerate.

Edd shook his head, dispelling the thought. The memory of falling asleep curled up next to him and on the muscular teen's chest flooded his mind and his cheeks warmed. He turned around to find Kevin missing. Then it occurred to him; If he's not in my bed, then did he return to his own home? There was a twitch of his lips in a frown at the thought. But he shook his head, unsure why the thought made him sad.

He finally lifted himself from his bed, grabbing a change of clothes, ready for his morning routine. Something caught him off guard, however. There was a strange smell in his home, something he definitely wasn't used to. As he took in the smell a little bit more, he realized it was the smell of something burning. With panic and worry, Edd fumbled down the stairs only to discover smoke rising from a pan and a focused Kevin attempting to stir the contents. "What on earth are you doing?!" Edd shouted, getting the other male's attention.

Kevin jumped at the loud voice and chuckled. "I'm cooking, Dork" he stated before he continued what he was doing. However, Edd was pushing him out of the way, removing the pan from the hot burner and fanning his eyes as he opened the window to the kitchen to dispel it of the smoke. Kevin stood there, looking annoyed as he watched Edd. "I knew what I was-"

This time, Edd cut him off. He pointed a finger at him, straining himself to keep his voice down. "That was not cooking. In fact, I haven't the slightest clue as to what preposterous action you were attempting. The only conclusion I can manage is that you were attempting to reduce my home to ash."

Kevin stared at him for a second before cracking a smile. "Damnit, Dork, it's impossible to get mad when you look like that." He poked his nose before chuckling at Edd's face reddening with frustration. "I was trying to cook you breakfast - figured I'd be nice." He looked at the pan that was nearly done smoking. "But you see how well that turned out."

Edd put his hands on his hips and sighed heavily, ignoring his irritated nerves. "Alright, give me twenty minutes and I'll make breakfast. Just make yourself comfortable in the living room, alright?" He shooed Kevin out before he could get an answer and quickly retreated upstairs to finish his routine. After almost twenty minutes exactly had passed, he was back downstairs and tying his apron around his waist.

"I wonder what Kevin would even like," Edd muttered to himself as he grazed over the items in the pantry. He sighed and walked out to the living room to find Kevin asleep out on the couch, the tv remote in hand. Edd smiled and walked over to him, grabbing the blanket that was draped over the chair to throw it over the slumbering male. It occurred to Edd that Kevin might have gotten up early to make breakfast. The thought made Edd happy, and he found himself smiling. Maybe he really is trying.

Edd went back to the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients needed for cheese omelettes and hashbrowns. He quickly made breakfast for the two. He was so used to the act from all the years that Ed and Eddy had come over in hopes of a homemade meal that he was done and bringing the food out in record time.

Edd held Kevin's dish on a tray along with a glass of orange juice. He set it on the coffee table in front of Kevin and gently nudged him awake, cooing his name.

Kevin blinked his eyes open, a lopsided grin forming on his lips. "Awesome way to wake up." He sat up, noticing the blanket and glancing up at Edd for a moment. His grin grew as he spotted the breakfast on the table and his eyes quickly shot up to Edd. "That for me?"

"Of course."

"Wow, dude." Kevin grabbed the plate, ready to dig in before he quickly thanked him. As he tried the food, sounds of delight escaping between bites, Edd retreated to grab his own breakfast. He returned to the living room to find Kevin still shoveling bites into his mouth and his food almost halfway gone. "Thanks, Double D."

Edd nodded and sat down, beginning on his own meal. "Am I to assume breakfast is satisfactory, then?"

Kevin gave him a dumb look. "Really?" Double D giggled again, raising his hand to cover the gap in his teeth. "Why do you do that?" Kevin asked mid-bite.

Edd looked at him dumbfounded, cringing at the sight of food in his mouth. "Do what, Kevin?"

"Cover your smile."

Edd shrugged and took another bite of his omelette before answering. "I'm not particularly sure myself. I believe it might have something to do with the gap in my teeth and my want to get rid of it."

Kevin took another bite, nearly finishing his meal. "I think it's kind of, I don't know..." he paused, looking for the word. "Cute." He shrugged.

Edd's cheeks flushed and he looked down, poking his fork at the omlette. "Oh," was all he could muster, and even that came out as more of a whisper. Kevin wasn't what he remembered him to be. He was much nicer now and he definitely had changed. But he was in his own ways still Kevin and still the guy who threw much of his last year of high school off. That was something that Edd knew he had to remember.

"That was awesome." Kevin smiled, finishing off his breakfast. "Thanks again, Dork."

Double D nodded and took one more bite of his omelette before his appetite refused any more. He looked up at Kevin and held out his hand. "Are you finished?" He stood up when Kevin handed him the plate and his now-empty glass of orange juice. While in the kitchen washing the plates, he sighed heavily. This morning was going completely different than he had envisioned. It seemed that Kevin wasn't going to go anywhere and he wasn't sure what they were supposed to do for an entire day. He walked back out to the living room, removing his apron and hanging it on a hook before doing so.

Kevin was sitting there, watching television when Edd walked in and sat in the chair once more. "Hey," he began. "Was there anything you wanted to do today?"

There was a momentary pause. "W-what?" Edd wasn't sure why the question took him off guard.

"Would you like to do something today? I know it's cold n' all, but..." he faded out when he saw Double D stand up and walk over to the entertainment center holding the television. "Whatcha doing?" Kevin got up and kneeled down next to the smaller male to find a whole collection of movies hidden in the furniture.

"Well, we could watch a movie," Edd offered. "It's too cold to really go out anywhere. I mean, we could but..." He fiddled with his thumbs as he cut himself off from speaking. He was unusually aware of Kevin's presence right behind him. He could feel the breath that was skimming his neck and ears and when Kevin actually rested his chin on Edd's shoulder, he squeaked with surprise and nearly jumped.

Kevin chuckled and draped an arm over his shoulder. "Relax, dude." Kevin stayed like that as he skimmed the movies in front of him until he launched forward, making Edd nearly tumble forward when he grabbed a box set of movies. "How about these?" he asked excitedly.

Edd giggled, bringing his hand up to his mouth again. "But those movies are all three hours long, Kevin. It would take an entire day to finish them."

"Yeah, I know." He smirked. "That's the point. I'd never have thought you would own something like Lord of the Rings, though," he shrugged. "Also, stop covering your smile, dork. Seriously." He stood up to put the movies in the DVD player before he returned to the couch, Double D soon following and taking his seat on the chair. "You can come sit over here, you know. I don't bite."

Edd shook his head in protest. "I, uh, no thank you, Kevin. This spot is just as sufficient as the couch."

Kevin rolled his eyes and sighed. "Bull. The chair is like, sideways from the TV. Look," he then scooted himself over to the other side of the couch. "I'll even stay over here."

After a moment of hesitation, Edd sighed. He realized he was never going to win an argument with Kevin and moved to sit on the other end of the couch, leaving an entire seat between the two. He began the movie, Kevin automatically engrossed in the film the moment it began. Edd smiled at how excited Kevin was and even found himself enjoying the movie as well. He was particularly engrossed in the plot-line and found himself becoming very emotionally attached to the characters. About three-quarters of the way through the movie, Eddward paused it and stood up to stretch.

"You alright?"

"Fantastic. Simply thirsty," Edd responded. "I'm going to go set some refreshments. Would you care for anything?" he offered.

Kevin stood up and stretched as well. "I'd like to remember what my muscles feel like." He followed a laughing Edd to the kitchen and they both retrieved their own separate drinks - Kevin grabbing a soda that Edd often supplied for the other Eds and Double D opting for water. A silence hung in the air for a moment. Edd finally began small talk with, "this movie is quite interesting."

"Yeah?" Kevin responded, genuinely surprised by the nerd's interest.

He nodded. "Mhmm. I think the storyline is especially interesting and the complexity of each character." He paused, formulating his thoughts. "There's Aragorn and he is in his own classification in my eyes. He seems to start out with the appearance of a common criminal, but turns out to be a key aspect in the story. And Gandalf..."

Kevin chuckled. "He's a wizard?" he guessed Edd's amusement and laughed more when he nodded, a smile playing on his lips. "Well, then let's get back to the movie, 'kay?"

They returned to the living room to finish the movie, this time the space between them much less. Occasionally their knees would touch, then quickly retreat away from one another until Edd seemed to stop minding and relaxed his leg against Kevin's.

The movie came to a close and Kevin stretched once again while Edd sat there, nearly trembling. "That was brilliant! I mean, there are so many-" he was cut off.

"Alright, Dork, calm down. There's still a second movie to get through." He got up and put in the second installment to the trilogy, returning to his seat while Eddward skipped to the start menu and began the movie.

They sat through most of the movie in the same fashion they had finished the first movie with. The only difference being that at some point Kevin had draped his arm over Edd's shoulder and, without the intent, Edd had found himself leaning into Kevin as he enjoyed the rest of the movie. When the end credits came rolling around, and Edd had yet another speech about the movie, they moved apart to exchange the movies one last time and do a refill on their refreshments and get popcorn. When they got back to the third movie and began it, Kevin once again draped an arm over Edd's shoulder to which he paid no mind to.

"You really gotta love these movies, I swear," Kevin said in the middle of one of the more mellow scenes.

There was a giggle and Edd agreed. "Yes, one must. They really are some of the best movies I've watched. Then again, I mostly indulge in documentaries rather than fan-" Edd was interrupted by a knocking on his door. Befuddled, he went to the door, Kevin pausing the movie as the smaller male went to answer it.

Eddward opened the door to come face to face with another male with teal hair, bright green pants and a larger jacket to shield himself from the cold. "Hey there, sweetcheeks."

Edd stared at the man in front of him for a moment in utter fascination. He was bold, obviously, but he was also rude. At the thought, Edd straightened his stance. "May I help you?" he asked as politely as possible until there were steps behind him that indicated Kevin was standing behind him.

"Nat, what are you doing here?" Kevin slung an arm over Edd's shoulder, sighing as Edd quickly recoiled and shrugged his arm off. "Go back to the house."

Nat grinned wide. "Aw, am I interrupting something between you and sweetcheeks here?"

Kevin groaned and ran a hand over his face whilst Edd hid under his hat to hide the creeping red. "Of course not. Why are you even here?"

The teal-haired teen shrugged and pointed inside. "Hey, sweetcheeks, can I come in? It's freezing balls out here." At Edd's reluctant nod, he quickly scurried inside, taking off his jacket and letting out a noise to express the cold. "I'm here 'cause you never came back to your place last night and I got lonely."

Edd's head shot up and he looked at Kevin. "Is he staying with you, Kevin?"

With an affirming nod in response to Double D, Kevin turned his attention back to Nat. "I got stuck here last night because of... stuff." He rubbed the back of his neck, resisting the urge to shove Nat out the door.

Nat waggled his eyebrows and winked at Double D. "Oh, I get it. Gettin' down and dirty without me, huh?"

Edd looked at him in complete horror and Nat burst into laughter while even Kevin cracked a smile. "N-no! What a p-preposterous idea!"

"Chill, dude! I'm just messing with you." Nat wiped the tear from his eye and began walking through Edd's home, disappearing into the office.

The flustered teen turned to Kevin. "What in the world is he doing here?"

Kevin shrugged. "I didn't go home last night or come home today so he was probably lonely. Not like my 'rents are home right now."

"Aw, sweet!" Nat exclaimed from the living room.

"Is he perhaps a fan of Lord of the Rings?" Edd inquired.

"Yeah, he definitely is. Ah, shit."

"Guys, hurry up!" Nat demanded.

"Is he planning on staying for the rest of the movie?"

"Most likely." Kevin sighed.

The two trudged into the living room to see Nat sitting cross-legged on the couch, the bowl of popcorn in his lap. He ushered for them to sit on either side of him and they did. Throughout most of the movie, Nat made snide comments. Most of which consisted of how the movie was almost over and that Edd and Kevin should have invited him over for the marathon.

The movie came to a close and Nat hopped off the couch. "Well, that was cool. Thanks, sweetcheeks."

Edd grumbled. "I do have a name, you know." He scowled at the teal-haired teen.

Nat's grin grew and he leaned down so that he was face-to-face with Edd, looking into his bright cyan eyes. "I'm sorry. What is it?"

Edd breathed in sharply. "It's Eddward. Or Edd. Or even Double D. But it is most certainly not 'sweetcheeks'."

Nat smirked and held up his hands in defense. "Alright, Double D. I got it. Chill."

"Thank you. Now, is your name truly Nat, or is that an abbreviation for something?" Edd asked.

The male shrugged. "It's actually Nathan. Nathan Kedd Goldberg. But you can call me whatever you like, Double Dude," he stated with a wink.

Double D cut his eyes at Nathan. Kevin laughed at the distressed Edd and finally stepped in, getting up from his spot. "Alright, man. Leave my dork alone."

Edd's head shot up at the words "my dork" and he sighed. There was no winning in this situation with the two.

"Well, since it's already eight, I think we should head out?" Kevin offered.

There was a smile that spread across Edd's lips at the words. Some peace and quiet would be the most wonderful thing at the moment. "Yes, perhaps that would be for the best."

With that, the other two men departed and Edd finally let the tension that had built up in his muscles go. "Goodness. I didn't think that a day that didn't involve Eddy nor Ed could be so distressing."

For dinner, Edd made a poor excuse for a meal that he quickly finished as he realized he hadn't had a proper lunch. After his nightly routine was done with, he hurried himself into his room, changing into his pajamas before allowing the warmth of his bed to envelop him. It had been such a long day, and to doze off into a silent and peaceful sleep seemed heavenly. However, that might have worked if his dreams hadn't been flooded with a certain redhead and the brief appearance of teal hair.