Yay! Chapter 25 is here :) Before I go on rambling I want to give a special thanks to Katiechu for being my beta reader for this chapter. She's a cool cookie.
So I teared up while writing this but then again I'm a tear bucket so you all might just laugh at it or something, I don't know. Maybe it's just the approaching holidays. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and a (safe) Blackfriday. (People are crazy, am I right?)
So without further ado,
Enjoy!
Edd sunk deeply into the bean bag chair Kevin had knocked him into, pushing and shoving at the plush exterior to gain back his grounding. With his tongue poking out from between his lips Edd sprang back into action, his bare feet slapping against the plush carpet as he chased a giggling Nat down the hall.
After quickly losing sight of the other boy he checked the bathroom but found no one, only a sparkling white washroom complete with gold plated fixtures and teal painted washboards. He ran through the open kitchen and peeked out into the living, but still he found no sign of either boy.
Wisely he back tracked, turning the corner back down the hall and towards the bedrooms. He stopped at the open door, his curious face suddenly becoming crestfallen. He pouted, slapping his open palm against the door frame.
"I hardly call that fair, gentlemen." Edd crossed his arms in an attempt to look serious but found it too hard to keep a straight face when his roommate was panting, his shaky arms grabbing a bedpost to keep balance as he dropped to his wobbly knees. A bead of sweat had collected on his forehead and trickled a salty path down the side of his face.
"Dude, you're like, The Flash or something." Nat panted beside Kevin. "Where the heck did you learn to run like that? I swear I thought I saw you do a triple salchow over the couch."
The sockhead shrugged, leaving the question unanswered. Kevin was gasping for air, containing the need to laugh as he watched a Nat drop beside him in exhaustion.
"Man I forgot you could run like that." Kevin smirked. "But I'm still faster than you."
Edd scoffed. "You pushed me!"
"Well maybe if you didn't cheat, I wouldn't have." The ginger retorted.
Edd stomped his foot, the hem of his borrowed shirt lifting over his knees as he raised his arms; revealing the soft white skin beneath. His hat sat forgotten on the living room floor where Kevin had dropped it, initiating a ruckus game of indoor tag. Damp inky black strands of hair framed the dork's flushed face, highlighting the blue in his almond shaped eyes. The feminine curve of his chin became more pronounced as a bead of sweat made its way down the side of his face. He looked positively aglow.
"I did no such thing." The man defended.
"Pft!" Kevin sat on his haunches and propped his chin on his fist. "You so cheated."
"I did not!"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please don't fuss. There's plenty of Eddypoo to go around." Kevin and Edd turned their annoyed expressions on Nat who rolled his eyes. "Fine you fuddy-duddies. You stay here and bitch. I'm going to check on the cake. Or the chef. They're both delicious anyways." When the model stood Kevin immediately tackled him to the ground. "This is payback princess!"
Laughter followed as Nat was flipped onto his back and dragged back towards the bed by his ankles. Nat clawed the carpet at Edd's feet and kicked as if his life depended on it. "Rape! Rape! Eddypoo help meeeee!"
Edd snorted and quickly clapped his hand over his mouth. "Many apologies Nathan. Truly."
"Mutiny!" Nat declared. "This is mutiny!" As he kicked he rolled Kevin onto his back. The teal haired boy straddled him and smirked. The view wasn't half bad. "Oh yes I like this much better." He said, walking his fingers up Kevin's naked chest. As he did he counted each familiar freckle he came across and chortled. "Now what was that about payback princess?"
Not one to back out of a fight Kevin wrestled with Nat, limbs tangling and laughter exuding from the both of them as each wrestled their way over the other for dominance. Nathan Goldberg's home was the quintessential make up of jubilance. It was as though his very soul which radiated joy permeated all fifteen hundred square feet of his dwelling.
His not-so humble abode was bright, and clean, and above all felt safe. Here Edd felt free from the dangers of life, unbelievably comfortable in his own skin if that were logically possible. Even with the many busy bodies of paid models roaming the apartment in nothing but their under garments, Eddward Vincent clad in nothing of his own but a borrowed shirt and briefs, never felt more alive.
His heart beat vigorously against the confines of his ribcage as he struggled to catch his breath in-between barks of laughter. The dork felt as if the clouds had opened and down poured a refreshing sprinkle of nostalgia. He felt like a kid again. It seemed so long ago when he was just a child at play. He, Ed, and Eddy had lived their childhood to the fullest, never knowing what lay ahead for them and contently focused on only their present. He missed those times. He very much longed for those years of innocent splendor, only seldom touched by greed.
Back then there was a sense of wonder that couldn't be matched. He missed afternoon snowball fights during Christmas and tricking the neighborhood children into thinking their park's oil slicked slide was some incredible invention; worthy of praise and, of course, worth only twenty five cent of anyone's time. At the mere cost of a quarter Eddy's schemes, Ed's brute strength, and Edd's marvelous mind could take them anywhere. Even though every one of their plans had backfired and fights often broke out amongst them during the thickest of the turmoil; they had in fact succeeded in their schemes. A creation unique to them, never to be sold for a price and always to be held dearest to their hearts, memories and times that would shape them through their adolescence.
The boys had created memories. These very same memories were what the sockhead carried with him when he left his home for a fresh start in life, the very same memories that got him through being homeless and alone in a place so unfamiliar.
And yet- it hurt to think of them now.
Edd knew he didn't deserve to think about his family and friends after having abandoned them for his new life. In search for a new beginning he had sworn never to go back to that illusion of happiness he felt. His friends… his family… No, he refused to think of them. They were well enough off without him anyways.
Strong arms came around the dork while he was caught off guard and a squeal of excitement slipped past his lips as Kevin carried him over his shoulder, as they reached the living room he dropped him like a sack of potatoes. The hem of his shirt flew up past his thighs and the dark haired boy laughed, sinking comfortably into the couch. "Kevin you troll."
The red-head plopped onto the arm rest beside him and grinned. "That's what you get for being a day dreamer."
Edd shook his head, shaking his mind of the hurt that had gathered from his reminiscing.
"So what were you thinking?"
Nat approached the two with two glasses of punch in his hands. His styled hair was now a wreck of teal strands sprawled in every which way, making him look more like a lazy round about than a well off glamor boy. "Yeah you were all doe eyed and rape-able there for a second."
Edd's eyes widened and Kevin punched Nat in the arm, almost making him drop a glass onto the white carpet. The model yelped, quickly setting the glasses down to rub his sore arm. "What? He was!"
Kevin rolled his eyes, stretching his arm over the back of the couch. "Lay off him man. Go get the birthday boy his dinner. Chop, chop." He said with a condescending clap of his hands.
Nat's mouth dropped, his finger snapping in the air faster than Edd or Kevin could register. "Bitch please I aint yo maid." He huffed, turning his back on the handsome duo. "And you can just forget the sexy baker's apron I bought just for the occasion."
Edd shook his head. "Nathan I couldn't begin to express my thanks in-"
"Nu-huh." Nat pressed his fingers to the nerd's lips and smiled. "I told you for like the fifth time you don't have to say it. Your smile says it all."
Edd took his hand from his mouth and held it to his chest. The moment would have been picturesque had Kevin not been staring at the two, rightfully jealous it was Nat's hand and not his own cradled to the dork's chest. He knew it shouldn't matter and really felt silly for it, though recognizing his own stupidity did nothing to quell the envy that stirred in his stomach.
Nathan didn't dare breath of word of the sudden change in his best friend's vibe. It both amused and terrified him how stubborn and naïve Kevin could be. As intelligent as the mechanic was he had his moments of ignorance and Nat was more than sure when it came to sweet little Edd it was the worst case of stupid he had ever seen. Only a fool would let an opportunity like this slip by him. Much to his chagrin Kevin was doing little to take advantage of the happiness fate was presenting him. It was utter lunacy! He dipped his fingers into the cooling well of zeal but would not drink from it? It was a horrible case of the double dips, when the chip at the end breaks off and all that's left in the bowl is wasted opportunity. Nat took his hand back and stood, stretching out the muscles in his back and shoulders.
"Ok cutie pie, time for me to check on our chef. I bet he's feeling all lonely and sweaty over that hot stove. Better crank up the heat if I want those dainty little panties he promised he'd wear to come off."
With a not so subtle wink to the duo Nat hurried out of the living room, his fingers adjusting the drawstring of his panda bear pajama bottoms. Kevin, in similar attire, shook his head of the mental image. "Ugh, great now he's got the image of some bearded guy in lace stuck in my head. Nice going asshole!" He shouted.
Edd laughed, holding his sides as they started to throb in pain. 'I could easily laugh myself to death', he thought. Chrome blue peeked out from behind thin black lashes to meet forest green. Each danced a happy exchange of expressions, finally resting when peace within the chaos was found. Kevin slipped next to Edd and crossed his arms behind his head; the dork taking his favorite spot on Kevin's lap. He placed his head over Kevin's muscle bound thighs and practically purred when fingers brushed gentle strokes through his hair. Ebony strands danced over his face as little knots came undone and a safe, warm feeling of contentment washed over him. He always liked being touched, especially on the head. It wasn't often he let someone under his hat but when he did it was like a sinful experience. Edd quivered under the red-head's touch, feeling it radiate from his head to his toes.
"You never answered my question."
"Hm?" Edd didn't bother to open his eyes.
"What you were thinking about earlier. You never told me." Kevin watched curiously as the look of contentment on the sockhead's face melted away, his smile tilting south as if he had just yanked out a hair by the root.
"Oh." What was Edd to say? He didn't speak much of his past to anyone. He had been determined to keep that part of his life separate. He didn't think it impossible but Kevin's question was proving to make it difficult. "Well uh-" He wouldn't lie, of course, lying was abhorrent behavior patterns manifested only in the lowest of people and Edd would not associate himself within that category. Instead he looked to the red-head with large blue eyes narrowed, his expression soft as his voice carried the heavy weight of his thoughts. "I was thinking of my hometown."
Kevin nodded. "Ah. What about it? Do you miss your family?"
Edd shrugged. "Not particularly."
Kevin was seriously baffled. "Really? You don't miss any of your family?"
"Yes. Well, sort of." Edd went to sit up but Kevin pressed him back down. One lifted brow demanded he answer.
"Well if I were to be honest with you, I would say I missed my friends more." A sad smile took over his face. "They meant the world to me and it is a shame I couldn't have them here with me."
Kevin bit into his pinky nail, staring down at the sockhead's face. He wasn't sure how to process this information. He hadn't known a soul who didn't miss their family one way or another. He began to wonder if something had happened to make the other boy so on edge about the subject. In his lap Edd felt tense, the racing of his heart felt throughout his body. Even though Kevin was curious but prying wasn't in his nature. However the words flew from his mouth before he realized they were even being said.
"Is your family the reason you hate your birthday so much?"
Edd's breath hitched and Kevin's stare intensified.
He looked away. 'This is where word vomit gets you Eddward. Oh how foolish you can be.' He bopped his head with his fist and let out a long and shaky sigh. Well, he couldn't very well shut the lid on this can of worms. "Well, if you must know."
And then it began. The flood gates had cracked, pouring forth a filtered stream of knowledge Kevin never would have been prepared to receive. He didn't feel ready to 'confess' just yet but something had to come out. 'My problems are not his to worry about,' he thought tenderly. 'I shan't worry him needlessly. The past is just that- past. It can't possibly hurt me now.'
Depression and annoyance fluttered across Kevin's face as Edd spoke. Not once did his pale beauty smile as he spoke of his hard working mother, mentioning close to nothing of his father. There was also a noticeable lack of sibling presence, a familial trait the red-head surprisingly shared. He never would have guessed the sockhead was an only child. It was hard to think he didn't learn his love and compassion from an older or younger sister. It was as all very objective.
Kevin heard the disconnection in Edd's soft voice as he spoke. Instead of interrupting he let the man talk… and talk and talk. Edd spoke of moments during his childhood; the scams, and the fun he and his friends used to have when pop quizzes and adventure were just a stone's throw away. Once in a while a smile would appear when some schmo named Edwin or something was brought up but the name was just as quickly discarded, disdain marring the sockhead's face as if the man behind the name held some unavoidable constant in his life, refusing to be excluded even in simple conversation.
With all this new information Kevin found there was little really worth remembering. He wanted to know more about Eddward. Not the genius, not the friend or the son, but the boy lying on his lap revealing and protecting himself in such a haunting yet beautiful way. He was curious about the homeless boy he found rummaging through a garbage can- the same silly kid who preferred the cold bite of city winter over a warm cozy home back from wherever he came from. Who was that guy? What did he fear and what did he love? What lead him to where he was now? He knew what caused it, but why did the dork come to New freakin' York of all places? It wasn't a town exactly known for being kind to new comers. What about his home life could have been so bad to make him want to start all over, and to go about it so drastically?
Kevin combed his fingers through Edd's hair and felt the tiny black threads rub between the pads of his fingers. It wasn't his place to ask. He knew that, but still the words came tumbling out regardless. "And what about your dad?"
Edd bit into his cheek. He wondered if mentioning him at all would be a good idea. "What about him?"
Kevin licked his lips, feeling his way around a line he was on the verge of crossing. He didn't want to upset the dork but he was curious. When Edd said the word 'father' he could have sworn the man laced the word in gunpowder and cyanide. One wrong sentence could blow this moment to hell if he wasn't careful. "Well you just never mentioned him."
Edd nodded. "Oh yes. I tend to avoid any acknowledgement of him." The boy shrugged, shifting himself so that he lay on his side, his eyes dancing admiringly over the sculpted stomach muscles his sight was greeted with. "He… wasn't around."
This took Kevin by complete surprise. "Oh."
Edd shifted, folding both hands under his cheek in his attempt to get comfortable. "He left when I was but a child; on my fifth birthday to be exact, at seven forty in the afternoon." The words tumbled forth like a slow rhythmic chant, numbers and dates Edd couldn't bring himself to forget blaring in his mind like neon signs.
Kevin blinked down in shock. He knew he shouldn't have asked, as soon as the words had left him he had regretted them instantly. Why? Edd peered up at him through fallen strands of black that blocked his view of the red-head's face. In his eyes spoke volumes of pain hidden beneath his many layers of being. If Kevin looked harder he would have been able to see it, the dark that shadowed over the gleaming hues of blue that begged for some semblance of mercy from this cold cruel reality. The twist of fate that had quickly spiraled his life into being stuck in the big city alone, having not a single friend to turn to.
"He…" At first the dork couldn't answer. It almost hurt too much to say. Though it had been years since the man had walked out on him and his mother, he knew without his closure the wound would never heal. No matter how hard he tried to put it form his mind the pain was still there. The pain had dulled due to time but it was still very real and present in his life. Like word vomit he let his thoughts spring free from his mouth, allowing the flow of his grief to filter through. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he didn't bother to hold them back. He'd let them fall free if they so desired.
"He sought prosperity elsewhere in the world, leaving my mother and me to face the hell he had left behind."
Kevin's fingers stilled.
"Henceforth, the annual date of my birth was not a day of celebration for my mother and I." The sockhead sighed, his eyes fluttering shut. "Do you understand now? Why I disengage the thought of-"
"I hardly call that a good enough excuse."
Edd's eyes snapped open. The red-head was frowning, his face set deep into a scowl. "No, seriously, you shouldn't be living the day out for him. It's all about you and what you mean to the world. Not that schmuck."
Edd's eyes widened, the words from the other boy resounding in his head as he peered up at him. 'W-what I mean to the world?'
As if reading his mind Kevin lifted the dork into his lap, tipping his chin up so that their eyes could meet. Forest green was ablaze with emotion, a kind of warmth stretching out its heated yellow tendrils to catch fire to anything in its wake. Kevin's grip was firm and refused to let go when Edd went to turn his face from him.
"Look this may not be my place to say, but I'm going to say it anyways." Kevin's lips captured Edd's in a sudden caress. Fire and ice swept through Edd at an astounding rate, freezing and heating him all at once. It was if the cobwebs of his mind were suddenly brushed aside, helping to clear and focus his thoughts. When their lips parted Edd couldn't tear his gaze from Kevin's. He was a sponge ready to soak whatever the man had to say.
"Your birthday is a day of memorializing you as a human being. That- even from the loins of some dead beat asshole- something, or rather someone, brilliant and beautiful was brought into the world." Kevin's eyes softened, his face becoming distressed. It wasn't often Edd saw this and it pained him to see it. "It's all about you." His lips found Edd's collar bone. "All about you, babe." Kevin traveled his kisses north towards the sockhead's ear. "How special you are." He touched their noses together, a smile spreading over his face as he watched the transformation of at least a dozen emotions dance across the sockhead's face. "How special you are to me."
As a single tear made its harmless way down the side of Edd's face, the blurred vision of their party host appearing in the corner and the smell of barbeque filling the room. Edd's mouth watered but for a completely different reason. He couldn't tear his gaze from Kevin's lips. How shameful, he thought. I am addicted. So thoroughly, enjoyably, addicted to this man.
Nat looked curiously between the two, noting the stress etched into both their faces. "Whoa did I miss something?"
So what did you guys think? Yes, no, moving on?
Kevin and Edd's relationship could be considered strange, maybe even confusing but then again love does that to people and, love, she be a strange mistress indeed. So let me know what you guys think or feel about this. Until then TTFN, ta-ta for now :)
Disclaimer: Nat belongs to C2ndy2c1d
