A/N: Aww… poor Double D indeed. Time for Ed to make him all better! Read on!

Chapter 9: Hate and Love

Ed had nearly jumped out of his skin after that last clap of thunder. Uneasily, his hand clicked off his bedroom light, and he was left petrified in pure darkness. He really hated nighttime thunderstorms.

Slow and cautious, Ed felt his way over to his bed, crawled in under the covers, and hid in a tightly-curled ball. Sleep wasn't going to come easy tonight.

Then he heard it.

Tap. Tap tap.

Ed's heart leaped into his throat, hiding deeper under his blankets. Something was rapping on his window, and he wasn't too keen on finding out what.

Bang bang!

Whatever it was, it rapped harder, growing angry. Ed was close to soiling himself, clambering under his bed and wondering what beastly creatures wanted to ensnare him. Mud monsters? The Body Pinchers from Planet Z-9? Mutant gophers?

BANG!

Suddenly, it was over as quickly as it had begun, and there was silence again, albeit the dull roar of the rain. Very slowly, Ed poked his head out, creeping out from under his bed and glancing at the window, terrified to find the shadowy frame of a figure still there. It appeared to be… shaking?

And were those sobs he was suddenly hearing?

His paralyzing fear vaporized, Ed scrambled towards the window, only to trip on some discarded item in his haste and fall to the floor with a crash.

"…E-Ed?" came a cry muffled by glass. "Are you alright?"

Ed shot up when he recognized that voice. "Double D?" With a few more stumblings, he found the light switch and threw on the lights, and sure enough, there was his beloved, crouched at the window.

"Double D!" Ed hurried over, propping it open. "I thought you were a mutant gopher!"

A smile cracked through Edd's sulking face as Ed took his hand. "…oh, Ed…" he choked out.

"Double D… you're all shaky…" Ed noted, concerned. "…and you're cold and wet… what're you doing out in the rain?"

He regretted asking as Edd's lip quivered, his grin falling to pieces as his head drooped in woe.

With his trembling getting worse, Ed knew he had to get him inside quickly. "Meet me at the front door, okay?"

Releasing a sob, Edd nodded, and the two broke off and hurried toward their meeting place.

Dressed in her pajamas, Sarah was ready to hit the sack. She was practically half-asleep already as she shuffled down the hall with her glass of water for the night.

That is, until the basement door flew open and smacked her in the face.

Lying dazed on the floor, Sarah stared at the fallen cup with spilled liquid soaking the carpet, then looked up just in time to see Ed speed away with a towel in hand. Now wide awake and incredibly irritated, she leaped to her feet and followed him in an angry dash.

"ED, you lunkhead! Get back here!"

Ed seemed to ignore her, not once looking back at his pursuer. The chase ended at the front door, and when he threw it open, Sarah froze in her tracks when she spied a familiar face quivering on their doorstep, soaked to the marrow.

"Double D!" she exclaimed as Ed pulled him inside and shut the door. "What happened?"

Edd didn't answer, whimpering feebly as Ed brought his shivering body into a warm hug.

"…Sarah…" Ed spoke after a minute, bringing out the towel and stroking the dampness away from Edd's cheeks. "…go get some clothes from the dryer, please. A shirt, pants… and a big sock."

Sarah looked for an excuse not to, but couldn't find one. "…okay," she quietly replied, hurrying to the basement.

"E-Ed…" Edd moaned, squirming slightly as Ed wiped his face. "…they… th-they…"

"Shh…" Ed hushed gently, cradling his face within the towel and kissing his forehead. ""It's okay, Double D… you can tell us what happened later. Right now we gotta get you into some dry clothes."

Edd didn't respond for a moment, staring up at him tentatively. "…clean dry clothes?"

"Uh-huh," Ed nodded, beaming proudly. "I did a load of laundry tonight. And I'm taking a shower in the morning."

Edd was left aghast, surprised to see change come so quickly. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but grin weakly, rubbing his damp eyes dry. "E-Ed, that's… AGH!"

"Oh, geez, sorry!" Ed grimaced as he pulled away from Edd's injured arm. "I-I just… how do we get your shirt off?"

Edd glowered at him through the pain. "Well, we don't grab my broken arm, that's for certain," he muttered through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I…!"

"It's okay, Ed, it's alright…" Edd gave himself a moment to calm down, releasing a quivering sigh. "All we have to do is remove the sling, keep my arm at level, and slip the shirt off and around."

"Got it." It was tricky, but Ed managed, holding Edd's arm at bay in one hand and peeling off the sopping wet shirt with the other. While Edd watched his obviously careful movements, he began to feel guilty.

"…Ed?"

"Yes, Double D?"

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," he softly apologized, his free hand holding his head in dismay. "I… I-I-I'm just a nervous wreck right now…"

"It's okay…" Ed brushed it off, ever understanding, as he slipped the shirt over his arm and completely off his body, dropping it aside with a squishy plop. He then took the towel to his exposed frame, drying him off. "There we go…"

Edd shied away from his touch at first, but after finding the gesture physically comforting, he remained still, holding his arm in place. "…a new sling would be nice as well," he suggested, prodding the soaked strip of white cloth on the floor with his foot. "I couldn't keep it from getting wet…"

"Uh-huh…" Ed nodded in acknowledgement. "Hmm…"

"Here, Ed." Sarah appeared, holding a small bundle of clothes.

"Oh, good, thanks, Sarah," Ed took them into his hands. "We need some bandages to make Double D a new sling. Can you go get them from the bathroom?"

"…sure." Once again, without protest, she trotted away.

Edd noticed her odd behavior, but didn't bring it up as Ed continued to help him strip down. He pulled off soggy shoes, socks, and shorts, tossing them into the growing damp pile by the door. After drying his legs, he grabbed his clean pair of pants and slipped them on.

"Ooh…!" Edd shuddered. "E-Ed… they're so warm…!"

"Yup! Fresh outta the dryer!" Ed grinned, taking his red-and-white striped shirt into hand and rolling it up. "Next comes the shirt!"

Once it was on, sagging slightly on his slender form, Edd sighed comfortably. "Th… thank you, Ed."

"Now comes your hat."

Edd's gaze shot up. "My… my hat? B-but…"

"Double D, it's soaking wet!" Ed held the dripping droop of his hat to show him. "Come on, I've seen what's under there. Let's do it quickly before Sarah gets back."

"A…alright."

In one swift movement, Ed threw off his ebony hat and replaced it with a red stocking, adjusting it accordingly.

"There! Done!"

"Already?" Edd was left slightly dazed, finding the long tail of the stocking resting on his shoulder. "…well, whadda you know."

"Ed!" He turned to catch a wrapped ball of bandages his sister had tossed him.

"Thanks, Sarah." In turn, he handed her Edd's dripping wet pile of clothes. "I'll wrap him up while you stick these in the dryer."

"Alright." Without even so much as a grimace, Sarah scurried away to complete her task.

As Ed began wrapping a makeshift sling around his splint, Edd finally addressed his observations. "…Sarah's being uncharacteristically obedient."

"She sure is," Ed blankly replied, tying a knot near his neck and letting his arm rest in place. "All done!"

Edd looked himself over, tugging the fabric of his shirt to his face and reveling its warm touch and fresh smell. Drawing it away, he smiled brightly. "Oh, Ed… I feel better already. Thank you."

"Anything for you, Double D," he replied, taking his hand and returning the smile.

"You're too kind, really…"

"Nuh-uh," Ed shook his head in disagreement. "A knight is supposed to watch over and protect his princess." He paused when he realized how weird that sounded. "…or prince."

Edd giggled. "Oh, Ed…" For one moment, he was completely at ease as he nuzzled close to Ed, who kissed the top of his head tenderly.

"The dryer's running, Ed," Sarah announced her approaching presence. "Anything else?"

"Nope, that's it for now. Thanks a lot, Sarah." He beamed, facing Edd. "Now Double D can tell us what happened."

Edd winced as the focus turned back over, and he averted his gaze, hesitant for obvious reasons.

Ed's grin faltered. "…Double D?"

"Um, Ed?" Sarah spoke up. "Maybe we should get outta the doorway…"

"Oh… right!" With mild understanding of the situation, they escorted their guest to the living room, switching on the lights. Ed sat down with him on the couch, and Sarah sat nearby on the floor. They both stared intently at Edd, waiting for him to begin, but their attentive gazes failed to bring him much comfort.

After a while, he cleared his throat uneasily. "Well… have you told your parents about… us yet, Ed?"

He nodded. "Yup. They're in bed right now."

"How did they… react?"

"Not too bad, actually," Sarah piped up. "He told us at the dinner table. I was waiting for the explosion, but it never happened."

"Uh-huh!" Ed nodded, imitating his parents. "Dad said 'as long as that boy whips you into shape, he's fine with me,' and Mom said 'well, Edwin, whatever makes you happy makes me happy too!'"

"Is that so?" Edd smiled half-heartedly. "Well, it's nice to know we have your family's support, at least…"

"What about your parents?"

Edd visibly flinched, looking away.

"Double D…?" Ed grew worried, even more so when Edd began to tremble, a sob escaping his throat. Quickly, he took his hand. "Double D, what's wrong?"

"What happened, Double D?" Sarah asked fearfully.

He turned back slowly, fresh tears welled up in his eyes, wrought with such pain it nearly broke their hearts to look into.

"…I… I tried to explain it to them…" his voice cracked, distraught eyes trailing off. "I-I tried to convey my feelings as gently as I could…" Reminding himself of those futile attempts, he shook his head in dismay. "…but after they heard the word 'homosexual,' they just stopped listening…!"

Ed and Sarah gawked. "D-Double D…"

"I just don't understand it!" Edd broke down at this point, crying out to anyone who would listen. "They're scientists, for heaven's sake! How was I to know they're so strongly tied to their religious beliefs?"

Ed came to a horrid realization as Edd bent off hopelessly. "Double D… Do they… hate you?"

Edd glanced up sharply at that particular word, the thought of it only generating more tears. "Oh, Ed… h-how I only wish that weren't true…" he moaned, breaking into more sobs. "…how I only wish…!"

Sarah was in utter bewilderment. "That… that's… stupid!" she blurted the only appropriate word that came to mind. "How could they just…!"

"Their hatred… was so strong…!" Edd continued helplessly. "I-I never imagined they would be even capable of such a magnitude of contempt!" Both his hands were trembling, as the pain throbbing through his arm was nothing compared to his emotional heartache. "They asked questions like what went wrong, why did you do this, what happened to our perfect little Eddward…!"

"D-Double D!" Ed called, but somehow knew that within his nervous breakdown, Edd was beyond hearing, wide eyes staring in terror at nothing.

"A-a-and then they… they…" He couldn't go on before releasing a heartbreaking wail. "They labeled me a sin against nature and locked me out of the house!"

To call Ed and Sarah's overall reaction shock would be an indescribable understatement.

"Oh, Double D!" Ed threw his arms around him and wept his share of sorrowful tears, though they were nothing compared to the bawling Edd had begun, his full anguish expressing itself to the world.

"I'm sorry for intruding at so late an hour, but I had nowhere else to go!" he whimpered frantically. "I…I just…!"

"Sh-shh…" Ed did his best to smother his own tears, trying to bulk up and be the man he needed to be in order to bring his loved one any comfort. "I-it's okay, Double D, it's okay… we'll let you stay the night, it's okay…"

Once again, the two sat for an uncounted amount of minutes, in each other's arms, with one comforting the other, though the roles were switched this time. Edd sobbed into his partner's undershirt, staining it with his tears of misery, while Ed paid it no mind, hugging him closer and burying his face in his makeshift hat. Sarah didn't move from her spot on the floor, hiding her own tears behind a couch pillow she had earlier grabbed.

Ed was willing to remain there 'til the end of time if needed. There were many things he didn't understand and didn't try to, like how his parents could act that way, or why. 'Why' was the question of the day. But one thing he did understand was that it was his task to give Edd as much love and attention as he could, and then some, whatever was necessary to make him smile again. Ed lived for that dazzling smile, and would gladly give up anything to see it grace his face again. Anything outside that purpose simply didn't matter.

After some time, Edd's sobs finally began to subside. Even the pounding rain outside began to wane, as if the whole world was calming down after a good cry. Ed didn't dare to speak, fearing he would only shatter the delicate moment.

"…Ed…" Sarah finally whispered. "…Ed, I think he's asleep."

Ed blinked, looking down at the youth nuzzled against his chest. Sure enough, Edd had cried himself to sleep, breath still quivering, but much less than before.

Ed frowned. "…Sarah?"

"What?"

"Go get a blanket and pillow, please."

"R-right…"

While she went to go fetch them, Ed carefully moved Edd until his lean body was cradled in his arms comfortably. Edd stirred slightly, sniffling and moaning in his sleep as he snuggled closer, softly grasping Ed's shirt before becoming still again. Despite the tragedy wrapped around him, the adorably innocent visage he took on in his slumber couldn't help but bring a soft smile to Ed's face.

Quickly, Sarah reentered the living room, following her brother's silent instructions as he pointed to the couch and placing the pillow on one side. Very gently, Ed laid his sound-asleep love on his temporary bed, settling his head nicely upon the comforting cushion. Sarah then handed him a thin blanket, which he draped over Edd's delicate form, tucking him in.

"There," he breathed, stepping back. "…now he can rest."

"Yeah… 'cause he really needs it," Sarah agreed, yawning. "Well… 'night, Ed."

" 'Night." As she began to leave, Sarah made a fleeting glance back to see Ed place an affectionate kiss upon Edd's cheek, and the reality of their relationship finally sunk in.

"Good night, Double D."

A/N: Very sad indeed. Man, it's so hard to make it so you don't hate the parents. They're just doing what they think is right… which most of us don't agree with. XD Ah… oh well. Please review!