A/N: Okay, yeah. XD This chappie turned out WAY longer than intended, but there was no way I could break it apart without ruining it. So… read on! At least it’ll keep ya busy for a while. XD …OH. And this chapter starts out with good “makey-outy-ness” (I’m not calling it smut because I’m not entirely sure what it means and don’t wish to misinform), then jumps right into bad language! 8O So, a little warning on that. F-bombs are dropped, people scream in terror… not really. XD But yeah. Just a heads up. And keep in mind that they’re still 12-13 years old. XD Read on!

Chapter 11: Points

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“……zzzzzz…”

“Double D…”

“…mngh… zz…”

“Oh, Double D…!”

“…snort, ngh…”

“Wake up, silly!”

“Schkgh, huh?” Once again, Edd was snapped out of another nap, opening his eyes to encounter Ed’s amused smirk.

“You fell asleep again, Double D,” he muttered flatly.

“Mmm… so I did,” Edd replied, yawning as he stretched out in his position on Ed’s lap.

“…Are you bored, Double D?”

“What? No, of course not, Ed!” He straightened up when he realized how bad of a guest he was being. “I tend to doze off when I get relaxed enough…”

Ed giggled. “Because you never are relaxed!”

“Yes, yes, I know! I… I never intended to give off the impression that you were boring me, Ed. I do apologize, really.”

“Aww, it’s okay…” Ed cooed, gently pushing his back down and stroking the droop of his ebony hat, calming him down. “You didn’t miss much anyway. Baseball’s on now.”

“Thrilling.” Edd lethargically turned his head to watch the Pittsburg Pirates’ pitcher throw another strike with little interest. “You didn’t think to turn the television off? Would’ve saved power.”

“Nah…” Ed smiled affectionately. “I was too busy lookin’ at you.”

Edd smirked. “I still fail to see which part of my physical features you find attractive.”

“Aww, don’t say that, Double D…” Ed pouted, tenderly caressing the side of his face. “You really are pretty… Your eyes are pretty, your smile is pretty…”

Edd fingered his headwear, smiling. “And this?”

“Your hat?” Ed thought about it, as it hadn’t crossed his mind before, but he quickly came to realize how it put together his entire visage, and he returned the smile. “…I can’t see you without it. It fits your head so perfectly…” He giggled. “…and it makes you look like a cute little bug.”

Edd snickered. “A bug, Ed?”

“Uh-huh!” Ed grinned warmly. “…my ‘Busy Double Bee.’”

Edd chuckled at that memory, cocking his head as he looked over his partner’s features for a proper comeback. “Well… you’re not bad-looking yourself, Ed.”

Apparently Ed wasn’t expecting that, as his smile faded and eyebrow irked. “Really…? But I…”

“Shh…” Edd placed a finger on his lips, halting any protest. “Wait ‘til I’m done. Now…” His hand gracefully curved around Ed’s cheek. “…your long face holds a very… mature and handsome appeal. Your features are unique; I’ve never seen anyone else with a face quite like yours.” He then grinned lovingly. “And your bright smile is very… very charming.”

Deeply touched, Ed gave off that smile. “You… really mean that, Double D…?” he whispered, realizing how close their faces were all of the sudden.

“…You know I do,” Edd breathed softly, his eyes serenely sliding shut…

…as their lips met again. Sighing in pleasure, Edd shifted in his lover’s lap, the ruffling of his clothes near-deafening within their tranquil space. He laced his functional arm around Ed’s neck to pull himself up closer, fingers playing with his soft, clean locks of pumpkin orange. He felt Ed grin within the kiss, and in response, his hands slyly moved their way up the delicate curve of his spine and to the back of his head…

…and slipped his hat off.

The two broke away simultaneously, and Ed gazed at a sight that was not new to him: a blonde mess of hair, tipped with black highlights in a futile attempt to hide his roots away.

Edd lowered his gaze, ashamed. “…ugly, isn’t it?”

“…no, it’s not,” Ed quietly disagreed, catching his lips again. Not surprised by this reaction, Edd allowed the worry to float away from his mind, ignoring the bangs in his closed eyes as he lost himself within the bliss he was sharing with Ed.

Then, something happened that was completely new to Ed. Something wet and warm sneaked in past his lips, gliding over his teeth and the roof of his mouth. Taken by surprise, he let out a feeble grunt, tensing up and pulling away quickly to take a breath. Flustered, he lifted his gaze up to Edd, who returned it questioningly.

“Wh… what was that?” he asked breathlessly.

Edd grinned playfully, his sea green tongue peeking its way through the gap in his teeth.

Getting the hint, understanding dawned on Ed. “…ohhhh… do people really kiss like that?”

“They do indeed,” Edd nodded, his voice still breathy. “I think it’s called French kissing.”

“Oh…” Ed sighed, a little embarrassed. “…I thought I was being probed.”

Edd replied with the strangest look, then laughed. “You are so weird.”

Ed chose to take that as a compliment. “Thank you very much!” he beamed typically, recapturing his lips.

As the kiss progressed, Ed decided to give it a try himself. Edd’s lips parted easily for his tongue, gaining entrance into his moist cavern. Edd moaned in delight at first as Ed explored, then gagged when he moved in too far, and they broke off laughing.

“Oh my gosh…!”

“Geez, Ed, leave me a little room!”

“I am sooo sorry…!”

“It’s okay, it’s alright,” Edd quickly recovered. “…let’s try that again.”

They met again once their giggling wore off, and Ed was much more careful not to make the same mistake. There was no fight for dominance in this kiss, only pleasure, as the two learned from each other and exchanged wanton moans, losing themselves to the wonderful, enchanting, intoxicating experience their senses were being treated to. At this point, nothing else mattered. Hatred, fear, ignorance, none of it matched the sheer power and emotion contained in this union of flesh and soul. If this was wrong, then neither of them wanted to be right.

“…Wow. I leave you two alone for one night and you’re already French kissing and taking off your clothes.”

Ed and Double D broke off from each other screaming, and Edd made an instant grab for his hat, shoving it on forcefully. Scared out of their minds, they turned to find—who would’ve guessed it—Eddy leaned on the door frame with that stupid, smug grin on his face.

“You guys have grown up so fast,” a continued with an endearing sigh.

“…Dammit, Eddy!” A seething Edd finally snapped, his swear catching both his friends’ looks of surprise. Strands of blonde hair were still peeking out from under his mussed hat. “You have got to stop doing that!”

Eddy blanked appropriately for a second, genuinely shocked, but then regained his grin. “Swearing too? Wow, how much did I miss out on?”

Coming back to himself, Edd gaped and clamped his mouth shut, shooting his partner a helpless glance. Ed, however, only beamed and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

Edd harrumphed and readjusted his hat, tucking his hair back in. “…it was just the hat anyways…” he muttered.

“Yeah, exactly!” Eddy retaliated. “You’d usually take off your underwear before you’d take off your hat!”

Wow. Good point. Lacking a comeback, Edd pouted and slumped back into Ed’s arms, which curled around him comfortingly. That brought his gaze up to Ed’s smile, cheering him up a bit as he settled in closer.

Eddy stared at his cuddled-up buddies in amusement. Dammit, they looked so cute like that. He almost didn’t want to bring up what he came here to talk about and ruin the mood. But he knew he had to.

Reality sucks.

“…Look, guys…”

Both Ed and Double D turned their gazes to him simultaneously.

Edd grew concerned by Eddy’s sudden change in expression. “…Eddy? What is it?”

“I… heard about what happened.”

Oh, no. Ed knew this was coming, and watched with fret as the mirth melted from Edd’s face.

“…oh…” he weakly replied, his dreary gaze following Eddy as he made his way toward a chair and sat down. “…Ed told you?”

“No.” Eddy slowly shook his head. “Nazz did.”

“Nazz? How did she…” Edd trailed off when something else dawned on him, and the ‘how’ didn’t seem important anymore. “…oh… no.”

“…Yeah.” Eddy sighed exasperatedly.

When it sunk in, Edd breathed in unsteadily. “And that means everyone else…”

“Yeah.”

A thick silence strangled the room, and Edd slumped forward, suspending his forehead with his working hand.

“Oh, no… no, no, no, no…” His muttering were low, but still showed signs of a nervous breakdown as he shook his head back and forth. “…No, no, not now, not so quickly, not…!”

“D-Double D! Double D, stop!” When desperate hands grabbed his shoulders, he snapped to attention, glancing at their desperate source in concern.

“Ed…?”

“P-please don’t cry, Double D…” Ed quietly begged, hugging him close and burying his face in his shirt. “I don’t wanna see you cry again… I don’t wanna see you so sad…!”

“Edd frowned. “Ed…”

“If he doesn’t get to cry, how come you get to, huh, Ed?”

Eddy’s blunt question received the expected disapproving glare from Edd, but the other surprised both his pals when he drew away quickly, damp eyes flashing defensively.

“I’m crying for him, Eddy!” he bit back, sniffling as he pulled Edd closer again. “…so he doesn’t have to… s-so he can still smile…”

Eddy was taken aback. This was some serious devotion he was looking at, one of the sappiest yet most tender moments he had ever seen unfold.

“…oh, Ed…” Deeply touched as well, Edd wrapped a comforting arm around his back, patting it softly as Ed continued to sob. “That’s… oh, shh, it’s okay…”

Graciously, Eddy directed his attention away from Ed for the time being. “…hey, Double D?”

Edd looked up, hand still subconsciously stroking Ed’s back.

“…look, just… don’t worry about the other kids right now.” Glancing out the nearest window, he found a humorous approach to his reasoning, grinning softly. “I mean, they’re not hefting pitchforks or torches yet, so I think you guys are safe for now.”

That comment succeeded in lighting up Edd’s face with a chuckle. Score. Comfort points for Eddy.

“And hey, at least they have time to think about it so they don’t, like, beat you up on the spot or whatever.”

“Mm… that’s quite true,” Edd nodded in agreement. “Gives them time to gather their thoughts on the subject… which would make for a less fierce reaction, hopefully.”

“Darn right it would!” Wow, and he was right. Bonus points.

Hey… Eddy caught himself thinking. This compassion stuff isn’t so hard! Double D looks better already!

Then the words ‘fierce reaction’ replayed back, reminding him of the more grim issue at hand and totally deflating his bout of optimism.

Great. Time to get serious again. And he was doing so well, too…

“…still…” he began delicately. “…I can’t believe… your parents…”

He began to understand Ed’s frustration when he watched Edd’s smile falter, wishing it didn’t have to.

“I mean… how could they just…” Eddy’s bottled-up anger took control for the moment. “Here they ignore you. Leave you alone, make you cook and clean and whatever other chores they put on you, and after all that, they have the gall to toss you out into the freakin’ rain, what kind of thanks is that, throwing you out on the streets, where do they get the right to…”

“No!” Ed’s anguished cry snapped Eddy out of his rant, and he looked up to find Edd trembling, his head still lowered and hiding his features. By Ed’s reaction, however, it was easy to tell he had grown upset. “No no no no no no no! Don’t, Double D! You said you wouldn’t cry!”

“I-I’m sorry, Ed…” Edd croaked, revealing drenched cheeks as he sought comfort within Ed’s warm, yet shaky embrace. “…I’m sorry…”

Well, that was brilliant on Eddy’s part. Minus points for being an insensitive jerk.

But before he could get a chance to stew in his guilt, it was now Edd’s turn to surprise him.

“I… I just…” he sniffed, politely drawing away from Ed. “…I feel so… conflicted…”

“Conflicted?” Eddy mirrored in confusion. “What’re you talking about?”

“You’ve given me every reason to battle their contempt with my own, and I wish I could wholeheartedly agree with you, but…” Edd sighed heavily. “… but they’re my parents. They brought me into this world, and… and they’re only doing what they believe is right, so… I-I can’t just blindly hate them back…”

What they believe is right? Eddy scoffed. He hated it when adults acted like they were always right.

But though he highly disagreed with Edd’s reasoning, Eddy maturely decided to put his argumentative nature aside in order to not cause any more tension. “Fine, then. But you have to talk to them about it anyway.”

“Eddy, I got kicked out of the house!”

“I know that! So call them! Double D, you have to make them understand how you feel! It’s like I told Ed, you’re not gonna know if it works out or not unless you do it! It’s time to grow a freaking backbone!”

Edd was taken aback by Eddy’s blunt, yet honestly true response. Another tense silence followed.

All three jumped when the telephone rang.

Ring. Ring.

None of them answered it at first, staring at it as if it was a time bomb.

Ring. Ring.

…

Ring. Ring.

“…Well? Answer it, Ed, it’s your phone!”

“Oh!” Ed nearly threw himself on it, playing hot potato until he lodged it firmly onto his face. “…Hello?”

After a soft, extended reply, Ed began to sweat.

“…what? Who is it?” Eddy hastily demanded.

Very slowly, Ed brought the phone away from his face, covered the receiver, and shot his lover a deeply worried glance.

“…It’s your mom, Double D.”

Edd’s blood ran cold. There was no way he was ready to attempt another conversation with either of his parents, not now, not in his current emotional state. But as he gazed fearfully at the telephone, which Ed held out to him as an option, he deeply knew that it was now or never. Do or die.

He looked to Eddy for guidance. He reinforced the former decision with a stern nod.

Edd took the phone into his shaky hands, holding it to his face like a security blanket made out of glass.

“…M…Mother…?”

Eddy wisely backed off, pulling a reluctant Ed with him. This was Double D’s problem, and he had to face it head on himself.

“I-I’m fine…” At what sounded like a harsh question, Edd grew defensive. “B-because I didn’t want to sleep in the rain, that’s why!”

Eddy would’ve cheered him on, but the feeling was dashed when Edd yelped at his mother’s chastise.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… At least I’m not… h-huh?” Growing upset, Edd grimaced. “M-Mother, please, listen…!”

He flinched when a sharp, audible ‘no’ cut him off, and an earful of a lecture followed soon after. Edd listened to every hurtful word without interruption, biting his lips and clenching a fist as he did his best to hold back his tears.

Ed was growing increasingly scared, but didn’t dare interfere. Eddy didn’t either, but it was taking a lot of willpower for him not to do so, as watching his friend get his ear chewed out for the stupidest reason was really beginning to work on his last nerves. He remained rigid as he caught cruel words pouring from the other line, like ‘disappointed’ and ‘immoral.’

“…M-Mother, please…” Edd whimpered helplessly.

Eddy’s stomach tightened. He was getting really tired of this, really fast. He couldn’t watch this, but he couldn’t butt in either. What would Double D learn if Eddy fought all his battles for him?

The inner conflict was killing him.

“…what? No…! Mother, please, I love him! You can’t… but… I…”

Edd looked ready to fold inwards like a card castle. And all his happiness would come down with it.

Eddy would not, could not stand for this.

“…Mother… please… no…”

He knew he was gonna get in serious trouble for this, but he couldn’t possibly have cared any less. Double D gave it a shot, tried his damned hardest, and had failed impressively. It was time to step in.

“Mothe…!”

Eddy came up from behind and yanked the phone from Edd’s hand rather forcefully, pushing him towards Ed and out of his range.

The sleeping volcano that was his anger than erupted, in the messiest, most crude fashion anyone could expect from him.

“That is IT! I am SO sick and tired of your crap!” he screamed into the phone. “I ain’t stepping aside anymore! Enough is fucking enough!”

Yeah. He cussed. He knew it. He heard Ed and Double D’s tiny gasps of shock, but he was turned away from them for now. All his attention and rage was turned at the phone in his hands, held a good distance away from his face.

“What the hell is wrong with you?? How could you throw your own son out into the freaking street? Your own fucking SON??”

Wow. That was one of the loudest shouts he had ever let loose. It even left him shaky.

He sighed, wondering where to begin.

“…y’know… after all this time… ever since Double D moved in… we never… ever saw either of you. Ever. Not at spelling bees, not at birthdays, not even holidays! Did you know Double D spent last Christmas at my house? …Yeah, he did! My mom wouldn’t leave him alone ‘til he came over for dinner! If you were wondering why your chores weren’t done that night, that’s why!”

Geez. He had no idea where he was pulling all this out from, but it was leaving him breathless, his eyes beginning to sting.

“…I…I don’t get you. Seriously, what kind of parents show their kids they care through… sticky notes? Sticky notes, for god’s sake! I can’t imagine how sick Double D is of ‘em! What the hell do you do that’s more important than your own goddamn son??”

He turned halfway before he got a soft response.

“…Really. Well, I hope you’re having fun with your ‘biochemical research,’ ‘cause… ‘c-cause you’re really missing out over here.”

He then turned to fully face his two compadres. Ed was properly petrified with shock, but it was Edd that caught Eddy’s attention the most. His damp eyes were wide, yet unreadable, and his hand looked to have been clamped over his mouth for the entire duration of the conversation thus far.

But for the moment, Eddy looked past that unsure expression, deep into what he knew to be his dear ol’ Sockhead, and a real smile crawled onto his face.

“…Double D… is the smartest damn kid I know.” Edd straightened up at his mention, obviously surprised to hear such a thing come from his mouth. Eddy couldn’t blame him. “…sometimes I wonder why he hangs out with a loser like me when he obviously knows better.”

A look of concern crossed Eddy’s eyes, and it bit into Eddy something fierce.

“No… he isn’t perfect,” he continued tightly. “He’s obsessed with cleanliness, headwear, always nagging, nagging, nagging and never knows when to shut his fucking mouth!”

Edd flinched, but made no objection to this. It didn’t make Eddy too proud of himself, but he didn’t regret saying it. Not at all. It had to be said eventually.

“…but… nobody’s fucking perfect. Nobody.” Dammit. He swore he wasn’t going to cry, but rivers were already running down his face. “And Double D’s the closest thing to being perfect that he could possibly be. It annoys the hell outta me when he tries so damn hard to be perfect, and I’m always telling him he’s gonna get ulcers as a teen and have breakdowns from all the stress, but… dammit, if that makes him successful, then that’s all that matters, right?”

“E…Eddy…” he heard Edd whisper, but had turned away again. He couldn’t look at him without crying anymore.

“…y’know…” he resumed when he regained control of himself. “…it’s funny. When Double D was smart, nice, and talented, you just could never find the time to tell him so.” He clenched a fist. “But now that he’s smart, nice, talented, and gay, well, you have all the time in the world all the sudden, don’t you?” He chuckled, far from amused. “Enough time to kick him out to the curb, right? Give me a FUCKING break!”

His two friends weren’t the only ones who had jumped. Good. Eddy was actually getting through to this woman.

“You threw him out into the rain! With an injured arm, for god’s sake!” Oh, god, the accident. The family trip. It all just added on to Eddy’s fury. “Do you even remember that he almost died last week?? Do you even CARE?? …Oh, yeah right. You didn’t stay with him all night. You have no idea how scared we were. Not just me ‘n Ed, everyone. Everyone visited him, everyone left gifts, everyone cared… except you.”

It was cold. It was heartless. And it was true.

“Double D is lucky to be alive right now. He was lucky to wake up, find the love he’s been looking for, and so what if it turned out to be a guy? Ed ain’t perfect either, but dammit, he treats Double D right. I’ve seen ‘em. I know.”

“…aww…” he heard the soft whine come from the aforementioned oaf.

“…no, don’t try to hide behind that ‘we’re doing what’s right’ bullshit. What you think is right and what’s right for him are two completely different things. I’ve seen him sacrifice too much already. It’s about time he got what he wanted, for once in his stinkin’ life.”

There. That was everything. Now for the closing statement.

“So whenever you’re ready to get a grip on yourselves and not disappoint your son again, you can just call right back!”

And Eddy punctuated it with the traditional angry slamming of the phone back in its receiver.

What followed was several minutes of a silence so thick it was near-impossible for the trio to breathe. Eddy tried to catch his breath anyway. Edd gazed up at Ed with impossibly wide eyes, then at Eddy again. Ed looked at Eddy, the phone, Edd, and back at Eddy.

And that was when Eddy realized what he had done.

“…oh, shit.”

“EDDY!” Finally, Ed had heard enough, grabbing his pal’s tainted lips. “Sailor’s mouth!”

“E-Ed… please…”

Edd’s soft, quivering plea was more than enough. Ed grimaced, released Eddy, and backed off.

Eddy, however, was only placed in an even more unbearable position, facing the most indecipherable look that ever crossed Edd’s face. Usually Sockhead wore his heart on his sleeve, but… here, Eddy just couldn’t figure out whether h was angry, frightened, or amazed.

But it didn’t matter. Eddy felt brave.

“…okay, yeah, fine,” he began, sticking his chest out boldly. “I yelled at your mom. I screamed and cussed out your mom. And you know what?” He threw up his arms in adamant rebellion. “I’m not sorry! Somebody had to have the balls to do it! But if you’re mad, hell, I don’t blame you! So go ahead, yell at me, hit me, whatever you gotta do, just get it over with so we can move on!”

Edd took his advice and threw himself at Eddy, pulling him into the tightest hug a single functional arm could give.

Eddy was taken by surprise, of course, but the feeling didn’t last long. He should’ve seen this coming a mile away.

“…Geez, Double D,” he softly teased. “You’re such a girl.”

Edd only replied with soft sobs into his shoulder, hugging him tighter. Eddy shot a quick glance at Ed off to the side, who only beamed.

“…so… this mean you’re not mad?”

“I am furious with you, Eddy!” Edd pushed him away without warning, his tear-drenched face red and livid. “You yelled at my mother! You threw away respect as easily as you’d throw away a mucus-filled tissue!”

Completely caught off guard, Eddy was about ready to rebuttal, when Edd’s features took another sharp curve, becoming less angry and more lamenting.

“…But if I were only half the man you were I would’ve done the exact same thing!” he rushed out in a wail, pulling him back in again and sobbing.

Eddy was growing confused, and therefore irritated. “Well, are you mad at me or not??”

“No one… has ever defended me in such a way…!” Edd moaned, shaking his head. “I-I know it was my fault that you had to resort to that, but… b-but…!”

“…psh, don’t worry about it.” Eddy cut him off casually. “Some people… just ain’t built for battle.”

“Th-thank you, Eddy…” Edd choked out, hugging even tighter. “…you may have the biggest mouth… (sniff)… but you also have the biggest heart.”

…Wow. That was one of the corniest lines he had ever sputtered. And it struck home, deep in the core of Eddy’s heart.

“…N… no prob, Sockhead,” he managed out through a wispy chuckle, grinning and biting back more of those damn tears. “That’s… that’s what I’m here for.”

As Edd remained there for some time, Eddy glanced up at Ed again. A big grateful grin spread across his face, and he made a circling motion with his arms. Eddy took his silent advice and wrapped his own arms around his weeping buddy without hesitation, patting his back. Compassion had suddenly become a lot less unfamiliar or awkward.

…a million bonus points for him.

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A/N: OMG FINALLY. XD Took me long enough. Blame Halloween for that. Geez… nutty chapter, am I right? I think I did it right. Please review! Happy Late Halloween, everyone!