Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/4094953.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Ed_Edd_n_Eddy
  Relationship:
      Edd_"Double_D"/Kevin, Minor_or_Background_Relationship(s)
  Character:
      Edd_"Double_D", Kevin_(Ed_Edd_n_Eddy), Nazz_(Ed_Edd_n_Eddy), Marie
      Kanker, Eddy_(Ed_Edd_n_Eddy), Ed_(Ed_Edd_n_Eddy), Peach_Creek_Gang
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe, Angst, Mpreg, Biology, Anthropology, Unplanned
      Pregnancy, Teen_Pregnancy, Trans_Character
  Series:
      Part 2 of Prime!AU
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-06-07 Completed: 2015-10-01 Chapters: 8/8 Words: 26907
****** Prime ******
by TJBones
Summary
     Edd has messed up big time, and he might actually deserve it.
Notes
     Welcome to a fic that has been 7 months in the making. I'm a
     compulsive world builder, and this was planned to be one of the first
     mpreg fics I would ever write. Then, stuff happened and things
     changed (as they usually do), and I'm quite excited about the result.
     A quick few things: This is an AU where men can incubate and women
     can inseminate. Not all of them. Just roughly 50% of them. I have a
     guide to this fic already written out that I'll post later on, but
     just know that in this AU, this is the norm.
     I will try my very hardest to post as frequently as possible, mostly
     because I'm excited to tell this story. It may take a bit of time
     since I'm trying to present the content artistically, so I can't rush
     like I want to, so please be patient! I promise it will at least be
     very interesting if anything else.
     Also, this first chapter is intentionally short. For this fic, I'll
     be actively trying for longer, richer chapters. It's just that I find
     'prologues' to be redundant, but I didn't want this first chapter to
     be very long. Just an introduction.
     Hope you enjoy!
***** Scotch *****
[prime]
At the time, Edd thought he was having the time of his life, which he believed
he deserved. Long story. So, when Kevin's grinning face came closer to his, he
let him. Then, he was kissing back, and they hadn't even made it to the couch
earlier after they stumbled out of the kitchen upon concluding a barely
successful attempt at making sandwiches, so they wriggled on the floor between
the couch and the coffee table. Edd thought the way Kevin squeezed his ass and
pressed up against his dick like it was just what the doctor asked for was
spectacular. He found the sweat dampening the red hairs at his forehead
enchanting and the little wrinkle in his brow as he pressed and pressed was
enthralling.
Then, one of Kevin's hands found the skin of his back, and Edd thought he was
the luckiest guy on earth. He could hardly believe any of it was happening. So,
when Kevin had his jeans undone and slipped his hand inside, Edd let him, and
he shuddered and gasped into the crook of Kevin's neck when his calloused fist
gripped his dick. Kevin tugged and Edd keened then rolled his hips. Kevin
looked up at him with pupils blown wide, circled by rings of blue that glinted
in the low light. His mouth was red, puffy, and slack, and the wrinkle in his
brow had smoothed. There was wonder and amazement there in Kevin's blissed
face. The kind of wonder and amazement people have when they see a magic trick
for the first time and they find themselves believing that magic really
exists—even if for just a moment. It was with that face that Kevin jacked Edd
into a moaning, squirming, sweaty mess who praised Kevin consistently on his
skill and very apparent sex appeal.
With effort and coordination assuredly required of a gymnast (or at least Edd
had thought so at the time), Kevin had Edd on his back, his lips on his neck,
one hand on his dick, and the other pushing his shirt up his chest. Edd felt
his face blaze with a rush of blood, and Kevin looked at him with that face. It
pulled a shiver through Edd's body, then he made a slightly desperate and
slightly hurt sound when Kevin let go of his dick. He'd been so ready to either
demand Kevin take hold of his dick and never let go or grasp his senses before
they fled completely out of reach, and stop all of this...That is until Kevin
slipped a finger between the crack of his asscheeks and smeared the gathered
slick across the plush pucker of his hole. Edd's mouth fell open and his whole
body shuddered when he exhaled.
Despite what he was sure everyone believed Edd was no stranger to sexual
exploration. He was no sweet, naive child who didn't know the illuminating
wonders of an orgasm. When he was old enough for his body to start growing hair
in special places, it also started popping boners around the sight, sound,
smell, touch, or thought of attractive people. And his underwear started to
stick to the crack of his ass, moist and slippery whenever he moved. For two
days every month, he began to stain a new pair with blood. He learned to deal
with the mess, though. He read articles, watched videos, scanned the pages of
medical journals, and even poured over a few self-help books. He got the
necessary tools and learned to deal. He learned to understand that the parts of
his body that were a little messy weren't bad. He was clean and healthy, so it
was safe. So, he didn't mind it when his cum spilled over his fingers or when
the slick wet of his hole slipped between his fingers and knuckles when he
explored himself. And despite what he was sure everyone believed (at least
until now) he liked it. He liked it just as much as any kid his age. However,
his own touch paled in comparison to Kevin's. Strangely, it was the same skin
Edd had been wearing all his life, and yet it came alive when in contact with
Kevin's skin. So, when Kevin curled his fingers, Edd's body arched and he
whined like a wounded animal. This...this he loved. This was the best thing
ever and he deserved every bit of it.
Edd was sure it was interpretive dance that got them out of their clothes, and
when it burned as Kevin buried his dick into him, he just held on. He moaned
mostly in pain for a while until the drag of Kevin's engorged muscle felt more
like a deep massage than being prodded with a hot rod. It felt exquisite.
Completely worth all the accolades Edd gave him, breathless and excited. Then,
Kevin gripped Edd's dick, gave a few long tugs, and Edd was shuddering beneath
him and spilling between their heated bellies. Edd remembered saying something
extremely foolish afterwards, gasping into Kevin's ear. Something about how the
chemicals released during sex is good for mood and the immune system, and so he
suggested they do that again, multiple times, and Kevin tensed up and grunted
like he'd been punched in the gut, and his erratic thrusting became erratic
twitches of the hip. He remembered Kevin slumped on top of him, and they traded
slow, sloppy, wet kisses. He remembered being filthy, and he loved it.
Then, he remembered it all with a couple bottles of scotch and empty glasses on
the table and realized just how stupid he had been. He'd been a complete and
total idiot to think that it was even a fraction of a good idea to drink his
sorrows away with his biggest crush then have unprotected sex on his parent's
living room floor. When Kevin showed up at his door that night, smiling like he
was out of his element, but wanting nothing more than to be there, Edd
should've shut the door and told him to go away. In that order. Instead, he was
feeling sorry for himself because his parents loved him differently than what
he wanted. He couldn't really blame them; because they loved him as much as any
other parent he'd ever known, but just...differently. Unfortunately, their
brand of love left him open to disappointment time and time again. The
Christmas of Edd's senior year was the straw, and Kevin was what kept his
broken pieces together during a time he thought he needed it. And now...Now he
remembered how clumsy and drunk they were. Now he remembered how foolish they
were.
Now...
Now Edd stared at the reflection in the full body mirror attached to his closet
door. There was a square, yellow sticky note stuck to the surface over Edd's
stomach, and on it was written: pregnant.
***** Biology *****
Usually, Edd is perfectly at home in a classroom. His place is at his desk
surrounded by his peers who look on with varying degrees of interest while the
teacher, Mrs. Swanson, presented facts Edd knew wasn't sticking for everyone.
He enjoyed lending his ear to her in order to scribble down interesting tidbits
that may or may not show up on a test later on, but was probably helpful in
life. It should, anyway. It was biology.
"Next, we have the prime reproductive system." Mrs. Swanson changed the slide
of her neatly crafted PowerPoint presentation, and Edd felt the room shrink. He
was usually perfectly at home in a classroom, but right now he wanted to
actually be home. Anywhere else but here.
"While generally half the world's population possesses one set of reproductive
organs, prime males and females possess two sets, or in some circles, referred
to as two variations." She pointed to the screen with a ruler at the decisively
male figure. It was a neat, sterile, medical rendering of all the organs folded
and stuffed inside the abdomen all connected to the scrotum and penis that hung
outside the body. Edd could feel his heart pounding fast as Mrs. Swanson
circled the ruler around the mess of labeled inner parts.
"As you can see, males—also referred to as 'princimale'—have one ovary and
Fallopian tube which are connected to the uterus. There is a small passage that
connects the uterus to the rectum, and it's protected by a muscle that opens
and closes during a bowel movement."
Edd squirmed in his seat and tried not to think about how many eyes were
trained to the screen looking at what he knew to be an example of his own
insides. Despite the recount of non-prime male and female anatomy, he could
hardly stomach the intrusive observation of his own inner workings without
feeling like people knew. Knew about the days he spent bent over toilets he
miserably scrubbed down. Knew about the aches that gripped his back and hips as
he lay drained and tired. Knew about the subtle curve he felt upon his thighs
as he slouched over in his seat or the stress that seemed to radiate from it
and outwards over his body and beyond into his everyday life. Knew about the
strange flutter of something living inside of his organs, siphoning off of
everything that kept him alive.
"Unlike other males or females, princimale waste is always in liquid form due
to enzymes in the body that break the waste down, and then dilute it with a
clear substance for easy passage. Immediately afterwards, the body flushes the
rectum in the same clear substance which includes bacteria that keep the anal
cavity clean. This is because the anal cavity is also used for conception and
birthing—"
"Mrs. Swanson, may I be excused to the lavatory, please?" The words came out in
a rush and Edd already had his things gathered as he clambered out of his seat.
Mrs. Swanson's glasses glinted when she turned to look at him with brows up.
"Yes, of course..." He knew she only approved despite his rudeness because he
was her star pupil, but he caught the traces of worry and suspicion lined in
the subtle wrinkles of her face before he made his escape. He nearly puked
right there outside the door.
Once he was sure he wouldn't turn his breakfast out onto the linoleum, he
marched down the hall, past the bathrooms, and went straight to the library
where he spent the rest of the class period aimlessly wandering up and down the
isles until the bell rang.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
"What's up, Sockhead."
Edd barely suppressed a flinch and pretended not to be startled by the sight of
Eddy leaning against the locker next to his or Ed looming behind him with the
corners of his lips turned up in a vacant smile. These were his friends—his
best friends. He couldn't let them see him sweat, because if anyone was to
notice something out of the ordinary, it had to be them.
"Eddy. Ed," he chose to greet them without turning away from his open locker.
"What brings you to the AP halls?"
He saw Eddy shrug a shoulder out of the corner of his eye. "Just tryna figure
out why you're acting all weird and distant lately."
Before he could open his mouth to lie, Ed stated (and with unwavering
certainty), "Double D is baking bread for buttered toast, Eddy." Edd assumed
the rapid heartbeat and cold, thick dread that consumed him was what it felt
like to be near death.
"Pfff, whatever, Ed," Eddy said, eyes rolling. Then he walked around Edd to
address him from his other side. "So, what is it? Your parents again? They
won't make it for prom?"
In that moment, Edd felt a little bad for not having told Ed and Eddy. They
worried about him, and knew exactly what to worry about, except this time it
wasn't his parents that had him withdrawn. He wondered if he told his friends,
would they care for him just the same, or judge him harshest of all?
"No." His throat clicked when he swallowed and he pointedly didn't look in
either of their directions. "They won't. They're still in Haiti." Giving
medical aid and lectures to those who needed it most. Before that, it was a
medical convention with the United Nations in England.
"That sucks, man. Will they at least Skype you?"
"It doesn't matter," Edd decided as he shut his locker and secured the lock.
"I'm not going."
"What?" Eddy looked like Edd just ate a bucket full of used cat litter and
liked it. Which...never. "Dude, since Nazz is single, I'm trying to come up
with the perfect plan in order for her to be my date. Ed, over here, is going
with Jimmy—"
"Jamie," Edd corrected on reflex. He wasn't sure yet if Eddy had a problem with
Jamie's transition or with memory and small details (like names) in general
since Jamie and Sarah hung out with a different crowd of people and didn't
interact with them much these days.
"Which leaves you," Eddy continued without missing a beat. He made sure to
catch Edd's eyes before he said, "So, who are you going with?"
Edd managed to hold eye contact for two whole seconds before he turned away and
started down the hall. "No one, because I'm not going." He merged into the flow
of student traffic that shuffled between the previous period and the last class
of the day.
"Oh, come on, Sockhead! It's senior prom. This is our last big event as high
schoolers until graduation—a once in a life time opportunity. Don't go and I
promise you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
Edd had been shaking his head slightly all the while, lips sealed over the
words he didn't want to say or even think about. He had his reasons for
skipping prom, but all he could offer his friends was a lie as they trailed
after him.
"I can't go. It's the same week as my visit to MIT. I want to get an adequate
tour of the campus in order to be prepared for my transition into university
life at one of the top competing institutions in the nation." Another lie. He
already deferred a semester. He couldn't bear to show his face to a school of
hard-working and intelligent individuals around his own age who hadn't made the
mistakes he did, displayed for all to see. However, once the spring semester
rolled around, he'd be ready.
"Bullshit," Eddy said, each syllable sharply punctuated. Edd felt a grip on his
arm when Eddy stopped him and turned him around to face him. Despite being
shorter, Eddy held himself like he was ten feet tall—like people should listen
when he opened his mouth to grace them with words.
"You're the most prepared person I know. You're probably prepared for a freak
zombie and alien attack if the world went to shit right now."
"Zombies eat brains, Double D," Ed interjected.
Eddy trucked on seamlessly. "I have it on good authority that you went to your
nerd school last summer for camp, and you went on the college tour just a
couple months ago. You've talked about this place for as long as I've known
you. You're basically already going there, so don't give me that. You're
dodging the question—"
"Eddy, for heaven's sake! Just because you're sneaky and conniving doesn't mean
I'm the same. I'm not 'dodging the question' because I have no date due to the
very real and unchangeable fact that I'm not going. So, if you would please be
so kind as to cease your incessant prodding and go to class? Maybe if you'd
stop concerning yourself with something as frivolous and wastefully expensive
as prom your grades would be better!"
Edd couldn't stop the words as they came pouring out of his mouth—even when Ed,
slightly distressed, told him to stop—voice climbing and growing shrill as he
went. He garnered a few raised eyebrows as people passed by, but Eddy looked at
him now like he just ate a bucket full of used cat litter that'd been dug out
from the darkest, moldiest corner of the oldest cellar in history.
"Dude, what the fuck is up with you? You've been acting weird as fuck since
after Christmas, and now you're getting pissy with me because of some stupid
prom date? Jesus, Double D. Fucking talk to me, will ya?" Eddy looked mad, but
also a bit desperate and scared...out of his depth and ultimately useless. Edd
wasn't surprised. They were just kids after all. They weren't psychological or
medical professionals, so they didn't know the proper protocol for when their
friend was clearly having bigger issues than a break up or a bad grade.
Edd opened his mouth, then the bell rang.
"I'm going to class," he announced, already turned back around and making his
way down the hall, away from his friends. "You should do the same."
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
The high, shrill wailing that filled the room was putting Edd on edge. Despite
the efforts of a tired looking woman, the infant in her arms continued to
scream at the top of its little lungs. Thankfully, the few other children
present stayed quiet. Two women sat on the long couch across from him, smiling
at each other and talking softly while one rubbed the distended belly of the
other. A man was pacing in the corner while the woman with him kept a hand on
the small of his back, muttering to him what Edd could only assume to be words
of love and encouragement. Then, there was the girl who looked to be around his
age sitting stiffly in a chair, eyes trained to the ground. She looked like him
when he first came here to this clinic and it made him all the more rattled.
He had little fear of being seen by someone he knew because the clinic was an
hour drive out to the outskirts of Peach Creek County. It didn't stop him from
feeling alone and afraid, though, just like when he first stepped foot inside
those doors thinking he would liberate himself from his grievous mistake. Like
many things in his life, it seemed, things didn't go as expected.
"Edward Vincent?"
Edd looked up to see a woman in blue scrubs and a clipboard meet his gaze. She
gave a small smile and instructed him to follow.
"How are you feeling?" She asked as she held open the door to an examination
room. She waited for him to brush pass before letting the door close shut. "Any
new aches, pains? Anything out of the ordinary? It says here you should be
about fifteen weeks now."
Edd swallowed hard as he took a seat on the exam table, the paper crinkling
loudly when he shifted. "Everything seems fine. The nausea persists, but it's
not as bad. I've begun to feel..." He stops and makes a sweeping gesture over
his belly and the woman cocked a brow. "Flutters?"
She nodded and sat down his chart. "That's the fetus. It's big enough for you
to feel it moving now. In fact, it's probably big enough for us to find out the
sex."
Edd shook his head sharply. "No. I don't want to know." He didn't need to know.
He'd prefer it if he never knew.
The woman nodded again, obviously trying to stay perfectly professional in
front of a kid who was barely keeping it together. "Alright, then. Dr. Connor
will be in shortly."
When the door shut behind her, Edd sat there breathing in the sterile air while
trying hard to ignore the posters of round bellies, smiling parents, and happy,
healthy infants on the walls around him. Out of the far corner of his eye, he
caught the solemn face of a young boy, the words "Pregnant? Need help?" printed
over the glossy poster followed by a hotline number. He knew the statistics.
Out of all teen pregnancies, princimale teens had the toughest time dealing. A
lot of them went unaccounted for because they tried to self-abort, or they were
simply too afraid to say anything. Support services existed for males, but not
in abundance as for females, who dominated the percentages of pregnancies in
the world, which was why many pregnant princimale teens slipped under the
radar. Edd would've been one of those statistics had he not been aware of the
services and procedures available for his benefit.
The door swung open and an older man in a white lab coat walked in. "Mr.
Vincent. How are you?" He offered a smile and reached for Edd's chart.
Edd breathed deep. "Fine."
Dr. Connor raised a dark gray brow at him. "Have you decided which course of
action you'll be taking after the birth?"
Edd flinched. He hated this whole situation. "The infant can go to whoever
wants it. Keep it out of an orphanage, if it can be helped. It can be someone
else's bundle of joy."
Dr. Connor regarded him for a moment from behind his square glasses, and then
nodded. "Alright, then. There will be paperwork for you to sign a few checkups
from now. For now, we'll continue to monitor the growth and health of the fetus
and keep a detailed record for its possible new parents."
Edd gave a stiff nod and Dr. Connor set his chart back down in order to make
his way over to the sonogram machine.
"Lie back, shirt up," Dr. Connor told him not for the first or last time.
This part was familiar, even if still wildly unsettling. Edd couldn't help but
think of Ed's weird sci-fi monster movies when Dr. Connor pressed the wand into
the cool gel and smeared it over his belly with pressure he was far too
conscious of. His eyes were trained to the monitor to see the grainy image of
the fetus latched inside of him slide across the screen. His ears strained when
the fast flutter filled the room. He barely listened as Dr. Connor told him
about the changes that had occurred since his last visit. When asked about the
sex, he declined vaguely and thanked the doctor like the polite child he was
raised to be. He just still couldn't believe this was happening.
Afterwards, Dr. Connor gave him exactly one print-out of the sonogram, filled
his prescription for prenatals, encouraged him to stay healthy and that if
anything was wrong to call immediately. Edd just nodded until he was free to
go.
He wondered how long before people stopped pitying him, until he stopped hating
his life.
***** Connections *****
MESSAGES FROM: KEVIN
--12/26/2014--
Hey, where'd you go?
10:45 AM
 
I think we should talk about last night
10:50 AM
 
You ok?
11:01 AM
 
I didn't do anything wrong did I?
11:02 AM
 
Call me
11:10 AM
 
Call me it's important
7:36 PM
 
We need to talk
7:36 PM
 
--12/27/2014--
Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?
11:15 AM
 
Call me
12:00 PM
 
Pick up the phone Double D
4:27 PM
 
I'm freaking out at least tell me if you're ok
8:11 PM
 
To Kevin: I'm fine. I can't talk right now. I'm out of town with my parents.
10:33 PM
 
Ok. You disappeared the other day. I just wanted to know if you were ok.
10:34 PM
 
Everything kind of just happened
10:35 PM
 
I still think we should talk about it maybe?
10:43 PM
 
To Kevin: There's nothing to talk about. I have to go.
 
Ok...
10:44 PM
 
--1/1/2015--
Hapy neyear!!11!
12:03 AM
 
Sorry about that was a little drunk
1:55 PM
 
???
2:34 PM
 
--1/5/2015--
Tried to approach you at school today but you ran?
4:47 PM
 
Are you avoiding me?
4:50 PM
 
Did I do something to piss you off?
4:51 PM
 
Is this about Christmas?
4:52 PM
 
You've got to talk to me Double D
4:53 PM
 
This isn't cool
4:55 PM
 
--1/6/2015--
Ok this is ridiculous
4:50 PM
 
I can take a hint
4:51 PM
 
Whatever
5:02 PM
 
Edd scrolled through the string of messages with a bit of a frown. He'd been
doing it more and more lately, reliving the anxiety and doubt at the time. He
always wondered what was going through Kevin's head. Maybe Kevin thought he did
something to hurt Edd? Maybe he was just as scared and worried as Edd was?
Maybe just as confused? Whatever he thought and however he felt, Edd couldn't
find it in himself to respond. That Christmas night was a drunken mistake, a
moment of weakness mired in his own self-pity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have
allowed himself to sleep with Kevin so easily; at least he liked to believe so.
He couldn't entertain the idea of being with Kevin, who probably wouldn't have
slept with him if there weren’t copious amounts of alcohol involved anyway. He
had to keep his distance so Kevin wouldn't get the wrong idea. Then...he found
out about the fetus growing inside his body. The very same they mistakenly
created that Christmas night. At the time, having sex with someone for the
first time felt like everything had changed, but finding out about his
pregnancy eclipsed such a minute feeling and changed his perspective of the
entire world. It literally changed all of his plans—his entire life.
He couldn't tell anyone. Not his friends, not Kevin, and especially not his
parents. He had a new plan and was going to stick to it.
Part of the plan included staying away from Kevin. It was easy to hide a secret
if not in the presence of the one the secret was hidden from, but one bout of
nausea brought on by the serving of steamed broccoli in the cafeteria brought
him face to face with one of the last people he ever wanted to be trapped in a
waiting room with.
Edd felt his heart thundering in his chest, making his skin buzz dull and low
with anxiety and his head light and airy. Kevin, for his part, sat in one of
the few available seats outside the nurse’s office with a wad of tissue plugged
up his bloody nose, blood trapped in the creases at the corner of his mouth,
with his gaze to the door and his arms folded.
It was the most awkward moment of Edd's life.
Time passed between them in dead silence until the nurse poked her head out of
her office to tell them that she would be with them in a moment. Then, Kevin
coughed.
"So, still not talking to me for whatever reason?"
Edd felt like he was on the verge of puking all over again, so he kept his lips
sealed.
"You look like shit," he stated with a shrug, then licked the bloody corner of
his lips, "Not that I have any room to talk."
Edd chanced a glance his way and was met with a sharp blue gaze, so he ripped
his eyes away and hesitated a response. "What happened?"
"To us or to my face," Kevin snorted.
Edd's stomach clenched and his cheeks grew warm. He wanted to say that there
wasn't an "us" to begin with. Never was. Instead, he chanced another glance at
Kevin's injuries and said, "Your face."
Kevin shrugged again. "Some junior asswipe thought he could take me, make a
name for himself. He's in there right now probably crying to his parents to
come take him home or to a hospital."
Edd was only mildly startled. Even though Kevin was the resident king of the
jocks, he was surprisingly non-violent off the field. At least since high
school. He instigated his fair share of fights in middle school, but Edd had a
theory that most middle schoolers were violent by nature.
"You were fighting?"
Kevin raised a brow and eyeballed him for a moment before puffing out a sigh
and reclining back into his chair. "Yeah. Got detention for two weeks and Coach
is pissed. Not as pissed as my mom, though. She says I should know better than
to cause trouble senior year and she won't accept 'boys will be boys' from my
dad or anyone." He chuckled a little and Edd wondered where the humor is in any
of that.
"What about you?"
"Sick," Edd said automatically with panic simmering at his core.
Kevin nodded in acknowledgment and then silence enveloped the waiting room once
again. It was just for a few tense moments until Kevin spoke again.
"Did I hurt you or something?"
Edd's arms crossed around his middle when the anxiety came surging up. His
voice was low and strained when he spoke. "No. I said I was fine. There's
nothing to worry about."
"That's an obvious lie since you've been avoiding me for, what, four months
now? Something's wrong, Double D, and we should talk about it before it gets
worse."
"So, you have a degree in psychology?" Edd sneered. "You expect me to talk
about my feelings in order to discern a problem, diagnose it, and present
recovery options? I'm. Fine. Besides, if there was a problem, there would be
nothing you could do about it." He gestured to the waiting room. "You have your
own problems to deal with. You can't help me."
Kevin looked disturbed by Edd's venom, eyebrows twisted over wide eyes. "What
the hell is your problem?"
Edd felt his face grow hot and the rage came swiftly. "I don't have a problem,
so leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you! I don't want to be around you!
I want nothing to do with you! Understand?"
Kevin tensed in his seat, fists balled up tight as he glared down at Edd.
"Either you're lying or you're delusional as fuck, because that's a load of
bullshit. Look at you. You're acting fucking insane. You've been
weird—weirder—since after Christmas, and if I remember correctly, Double D, you
invited me in. You kissed me back. We had sex together and you disappeared.
Instead of talking to me about it, you've avoided me for months. If you don't
see something wrong with this picture, you're fucking insane!"
Edd rose from his seat and stabbed a finger in Kevin's direction, screaming,
"You are the problem! You're the reason why my entire life is in shambles!
You—"
"What is going on here?" The nurse cut through the argument with the clean
sharpness of a surgical knife. She made sure to glare at them both, though her
gaze held more suspicion for Kevin who was standing as well, fists balled tight
at his sides, body taught with anger.
After a moment, Edd said, "Nothing," and grabbed his backpack off the floor.
"I'm feeling better now. I think I'll go back to class."
"No," the nurse pointed to his chair, "You'll sit and wait for me to check and
make sure you're alright, Mr. Vincent." Edd sat reluctantly, and then she
pointed to Kevin. "You, with me."
Kevin glared at Edd a moment longer with a healthy dose of suspicion of his own
before he followed the nurse into her office. Once the door was closed, Edd
made his escape.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
"Double D." Someone dropped into the seat next to him and when he looked up
from the pages of The Fountainhead he was met with Marie's grinning face.
"Busy?"
Edd deadpanned and said in a low enough tone acceptable in a library, "Not at
all."
Marie got comfortable at his table. "Good. I have a proposition for you. The
Committee has some...plans for prom." He was sure he saw that same smile on the
faces of famous psychopaths. "We need your particular expertise."
Edd raised an eyebrow at Marie, her proposition, and her pet name for the club
she runs. "What does the Princifemale Art Appreciation Club have to do with
prom other than attendance?"
Marie smiled that devious smile of hers. "Agree to help me and I'll let you in
on a little secret."
***** Secrets *****
"So, what was it? Cock or clave?"
Edd balked at Marie who grinned, so pleased with herself as she leaned back in
her chair. All Edd could say in response was, "What?"
"The slime ball or the big lug?"
"Marie, what—"
"You're knocked up," she said simply and Edd felt terror descend upon him like
Armageddon had begun, or at least he assumed this level of terror would be
experienced during the end of the world. He couldn't even begin to negate her
statement because she continued on like it wasn't the figurative end of the
world.
"You're really good at hiding it, what with your parents gone and you being
virtually invisible, but those big clothes won't save you once you're huge as a
whale in 60 degree plus weather."
Mouth the shape of an 'o', Edd stared at her and desperately grasped for the
first retort to come to mind, "Are you threatening me?"
Marie snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Do I have to? Besides, I'm just letting
you know that I noticed, and if I noticed, someone else is bound to notice
sooner or later if they already haven't." She leaned toward him with a wink.
"I'm just wondering how that bun got in your oven and who put it there."
"That—!" Edd was frozen in his seat. "I'm not—!"
"Calm down, Brainiac. I was just wondering since you're the last person on my
list of possible after school specials. Hell, even I've managed not to knock
someone up my entire high school career and I'm pretty sure I'm listed on the
universal Father's Most Hated List."
Despite her words, Edd managed to feel even more like death had bad-touched
him. It must have shown on his face because Marie sighed and said, "Look. I'm
not judging you. Shit happens. You're super smart, so I know you have this
handled. Besides, I'm not here about your condition; I'm here for your help."
She grinned a bit. "I'll admit that I considered using the whole knocked up
thing against you, but despite the fact that you're holding it together, you
barely are, so I won't add to that stress. That said I still need that brain of
yours. So..." Her brows raised a fraction as she looked him straight in the
eye. "What do you say?"
He thought about what she asked for before his condition became the topic of
conversation. It was a delicate situation, but he could separate the two with
ease if she was willing and she seemed so.
"If I agree to help you must promise not to tell anyone about me." Even he
could hear the steel in his voice, the underlining threat painted in broad
strokes of desperation and fear.
"I'll keep your secret if you keep mine," she said, grinning wide as she held a
hand out to him. He looked at her straightened palm and fingers before taking
it in his grasp, sealing his fate.
"Deal."
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
Edd's phone rang again for the eleventh time, and for the eleventh time Edd
ignored it. He didn't even dare look at Eddy's name flashing on the screen, nor
imagine what desperate plea or snide comment his friend had to deliver. He
wasn't in the mood for arguments nor navigating his own web of lies to keep
Eddy and everyone else he spoke to in the dark. He was tired of interacting
with others. Instead, his interests were held elsewhere.
Despite Marie's surprising eye for observation and unsurprising manipulative
skill, Edd found himself blissfully consumed by the task at hand. Shiny scraps
of metal littered his work bench among a cluster of multi-colored wires,
copper, and fibers. At the center of it all was his computer where his fingers
flew over the keys as he wrote instructions and rules encoded into a program he
was happily desperate to complete. Brow knotted in concentration, Edd
discovered that he was the happiest he'd been in months. Probably longer, if
he'd hazard a guess.
So, of course, this would be the moment everything went up in flames.
The phone still rang, but so did the doorbell over and over again, accompanied
by the loud thumping of fist on wood. It was almost as if the police was at his
door. Because of the thought, Edd rose from his workbench and made sure to pull
on a large hoodie to hide the growing swell of his stomach before he carefully
took the stairs to the ground floor. When he looked through the peephole, he
saw the image of Eddy's short frame distorted on his porch, phone to his ear
looking extremely irritated. Even his hair was out of sorts, disheveled from
fingers passing back through the strands, loosening the gel. Some of the black
locks fell into his face as he paced back and forth.
Edd stood there wondering if there was a social obligation he was forgetting.
He doubted it. He, Ed, and Eddy hadn't hung out together in a long time, in
school or out. Edd made sure to always be too busy with other obligations he
deemed more important when asked. He should have figured it would only be a
matter of time before Eddy took matters into his own hands, before he was at
his doorstep and refused to leave without answers.
So, despite wanting to pretend that he wasn't home, Edd opened the door and
Eddy looked at him with a mix of surprise, worry, and fury.
"Eddy—"
"What the fuck, Double? I've been calling you all day! I almost thought
you—What gives?!" Edd looked at Eddy and tried to ignore the unspoken suspicion
that Eddy would have come here and found Edd dead in a pool of his own blood or
vomit or something along those lines.
"We seriously need to talk, Double D. This isn't like you. Something is wrong
and you need to talk to me."
"Do I?" Edd asked, hiding halfway behind the door, half blocking the entrance,
obviously not wanting to let Eddy inside. "I'm fine. I'm actually busy right
now, so, if you'd please..."
Before he could push the door shut, Eddy shoved at the door and squeezed his
way inside with a mad, aggravated sound, his face red and lips snarling.
"No!" He insisted as he stomped into the entry hall, not bothering at all to
take off his shoes as per the rules of Edd's home. Instead, he pointed at Edd
and said, "I'm not going anywhere until we talk about why you've been so
fucking weird and distant lately. You think I haven't noticed that you've been
avoiding me? Avoiding all of us? Even Ed has noticed, and he's worried. We're
all worried. I'm worried, Double D. You're my best friend and I don't know
what's going on with you. It's freaking me out. I'm fucking scared that I'm
gonna lose you."
Edd could do nothing but look at Eddy with wide, startled eyes as he pressed
back against the door with the urge to shrink, to become small or invisible, to
escape the truth of how terrible of a friend he'd been. He'd never seen Eddy
like this before. Never. Not even when Sarah started dating, which he took as a
miniature life crisis over the discovery that his kid sister was having sex. He
claimed then that he was scarred by the knowledge, but this...This was Eddy
wounded, in pain, terrified, and above all else, confused.
"I thought..." Eddy shook his head before continuing, "I thought that whatever
it is, you'd tell me. We're best friends. I thought you knew you could tell me
anything. I thought you just needed time and space or whatever, but I was
wrong. You don't intend to tell me jack shit and that pisses me off, Double D.
All I can do is wonder what's wrong and all I come up with are the worst case
scenarios. Is it something I did? Did I fuck up in some way and that's why you
can't tell me?"
Stiff with fear and grief, Edd jerkily shook his head and tried to will away
the heat of his face, the prick of tears in his eyes, the painful lump growing
in his throat. He didn't know it was this bad. He didn't know anyone would care
this much. He was hoping to go relatively unnoticed among the stress and
excitement of senior year. He thought he had a variety of excuses and covers at
his disposal, but he should have known he couldn't hide anything from his
friends—his best friends. Still, how could he tell Eddy or any of them, the
truth? No, he had to stick to the plan. Once the fetus was dealt with, he could
continue on like none of it happened without anyone the wiser.
"You didn't do anything," Edd said once he thought his voice was steady enough.
"I'm fine. It's just...senior year. I'm busy."
Eddy looked like he couldn't believe it and said, "Bullshit."
"Eddy—"
"No! Stop lying to me, Double D! You're pushing me away—pushing everyone
away—and it's not because you're 'fine'. Ever since Christmas—"
"Eddy!" Edd shouted. "Stop! It's nothing. Nothing happened. I'm just stressed
and tired over senior year and college and...Just...Stop worrying. There's
nothing to worry about."
Eddy looked at him with doubt burning in his blue gaze, then slowly shook his
head, unaccepting of Edd's words, his facade, his lies. "How can you ask me to
do that? I can't just stop worry about you. It's not like I can flick a switch
and pretend life is great while you're...I don't even know, and that's what
kills me! All I wanna do is help, but I don't even know what the problem is.
It's like you're dying right in front of me and I have no clue why or how to
stop it!"
"....nt."
Eddy stopped, breathing hard as he looked at Edd who was watching Eddy
carefully. Edd who couldn't stop the tears from falling, so terrified and so,
so tired.
"What?" Eddy asked into the still, quiet air.
So, Edd just said it. He couldn't do this any longer. Not this. Not to his best
friend. The jig was up. "I'm pregnant."
There was nothing but silence between them as Eddy looked at Edd and Edd
watched for the betrayal, disgust, and disappointment he saw in his nightmares.
He watched and waited for the world to start cracking and splitting around him
like some broken virtual reality ready to crash and swallow him whole with it.
Instead, he saw a flash of relief before Eddy had him gathered tight in his
arms. The immensity of his confession drained him and he sagged in Eddy's hold.
Short as he was, Eddy still held Edd up and rubbed his back soothingly as he
said over and over that it was ok. Everything was going to be fine.
They hadn't been fine for a long time, but strangely...Edd felt like things
would be now.
Soon, Edd was sitting on the couch next to Eddy with a glass of water cradled
in his palms. Eddy was still rubbing his back, but he sat quietly, waiting for
Edd to speak. There wasn't judgment in his eyes and the anger from earlier was
completely gone. He seemed opened to accept anything Edd had to say at this
point, so Edd decided to trust in that, trust in his friendship like he should
have done long ago.
"It happened Christmas evening," he began. "I came home to an empty house and
knew Mother and Father weren't going to make it as promised. I wasn't
surprised, but I was..." He shook his head and looked out into the air to grasp
for the proper word to explain the brand of loneliness he felt then. He wasn't
even sure if there was a name for it. "I didn't want to intrude on anyone's
holiday plans, so I stayed home and kept quiet and tried to
ignore...everything. Then, the doorbell rang and...then there were bottles of
Scotch and one thing led to another."
His throat clicked as he swallowed, but Eddy didn't interrupt as he usually
would. He still kept quiet, rubbing Edd's back, listening intently. So, Edd
continued. "It took me a month to realize that I wasn't sick from stress
because of school and my parents. I took home tests, and when I got positives,
it was the most terrifying moment of my life. It felt like a death sentence. I
drove out an hour to a free clinic to get a professional opinion, and when I
got a positive from them, I nearly told them to take it out of me then and
there. You have to understand, I'm still in high school. I have college and
internships and projects and terrible dates to go to and just...a whole life I
imagined between now and when I thought I'd be ready to have a child. That one
night of weakness ruined everything."
He sniffed and wiped his tears away, then said, "Instead of getting the
abortion, though, I decided I could give the fetus away once it was born. There
are programs for people in my position who can help people who actually want
children to raise and care for. People who have the love and resources to
provide a healthy life for a child, something I can't guarantee. I figured it
could all go away quietly. I would have the child, give it to a family who
wanted it, then go to college and continue living out my dreams like none of it
ever happened. For that to work, I couldn't tell anyone. I had to keep it all a
secret." He turned to Eddy, slightly desperate. "You understand that, right? I
couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell anyone. Plus, I thought...I thought you and
everyone would hate me for being the pregnant teenager everyone makes fun of,
everyone pities. The one who threw their life away."
"No," Eddy shook his head. "You're a freaking genius, Double D. One kid isn't
gonna change that. If there is anyone I know who could handle being in your
position, it's you. I know you're going to go on and, I dunno...build a space
ship to go to Mars or build a machine that lets animals talk or some shit." Edd
gave a watery grin and Eddy paused until their gazes fully met before he
continued. "But...You still should have told me. All of that is a lot for one
person to handle on their own. It's too big a secret. We're best buds, Double
D. We're supposed to be able to tell each other anything and be able to help
each other out when we need it most. That's what I'm here for. Even if it's
just for support, I'm here for you. You're like my brother." He snorted. "My
smarter, less douchier brother, and I wouldn't judge you for this. I'm here to
be the shoulder you cry on, the ear that listens, and the fist that beats the
face of the person responsible for leaving you in this situation. Who was it?
Do they know?"
Edd felt a thread of panic and shook his head. "Do you promise not to get
angry?"
Eddy looked at him for a moment, then said, "I promise," though Edd wasn't sure
how well that promise could be kept.
"Christmas evening, the doorbell rang and when I opened the door...it was
Kevin."
Eddy reeled back and the ire betrayed the disbelief in his voice. "Shovel
Chin?!"
"I know it sounds crazy, and this is going to sound a little cliché when I tell
you, but I had been helping him study for his calculus class. He wasn't doing
so well, so I agreed to help when I could. We spent a lot of time here, or at
his place, or at the library together. I was used to spending time with him,
and I was surprised at first to see him on Christmas, but...It was like I had
no one else in the world but him when he showed up. I hopped on the chance to
spend Christmas with him, and after a few drinks, things...well..."
Eddy groaned and covered his eyes with the flat of his palm. "Yeah, I got it.
You don't have to go into details." He scrubbed his face and then peered at Edd
with one raised eyebrow.
"So...Kevin."
Edd nodded.
"Does he know?"
Edd shook his head and Eddy rolled his eyes.
"Of course he doesn't. Look, Double D. I know you had a plan and that plan
consisted of not telling anyone, but that can't work. Besides the fact that it
was making you miserable, the one person who has the right to know about this
is Kevin. What you do with your body is completely up to you, but Kevin should
know about this. He helped make a baby, Double D. Even if it was by accident.
Even if you're going to give it away, you have to tell him."
Edd shuddered and shook his head, trying hard to hold back tears. "I can't," he
croaked.
Eddy looped an arm around his shoulders and softly said, "You have to. It's
only a matter of time before he finds out. Not from me, don't make that face.
But...come one, Double D. Did you honestly think you could hide being pregnant
once you got big as a blimp?"
Edd gave him a dirty look and sniffed. "I take offense to being compared to
large objects just because I'm pregnant."
"That's right, Double D," Eddy said seriously. "You are pregnant and you didn't
get pregnant all on your own. As much as I would rather punch him in the face,
you have to tell him."
Feeling small, fragile, and tired, Edd curled up and rested on Eddy's shoulder
and asked, "Can I do it later? Right now, I just..."
Eddy leaned back onto the couch and looped an arm full around him. With a thumb
rubbing his side, Eddy nodded. "I know. It's gonna be ok. I promise."
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
After talking with Edd, Eddy called Ed over. The confession resulted in a big
hug from Ed that lasted for what seemed like a blissful eternity, and Ed said
something about bread and butter that alluded to the fact that he'd known all
along, which was equal parts impressive and unsettling. Then they stayed with
Edd that night and watched B-horror movies, ate copious amounts of junk food,
and laughed like it was the good ol' days. It was the second time Edd could
count being so happy in a long time, and he ached with it like a stretch after
a long exercise. It felt good to be able to be with and talk to his friends
again without the secret wedge between them, driving them apart.
The next day, after breakfast, Eddy insisted Edd do it now—tell Kevin the
truth. A night laughing with his friends didn't make the prospect any easier.
Neither did Eddy's promises to beat Kevin's face in if he even said the
slightest thing out of line, nor Ed's story about how protective and brutally
violent mole people were, suggesting some kind of threat...he assumed. Edd was
touched, but he wasn't reassured. There was a big possibility that telling
Kevin about the pregnancy could turn his life into a living hell.
Still, Eddy was right.
It was a novel moment when Eddy was right, so Edd picked up the phone, scrolled
through his contacts, and tapped the phone icon next to Kevin's name. He did
this all while trying not to puke or cry like a small child. Kevin picked up on
the third ring and he wasn't ready.
"Hello?" Kevin's voice was a little rough and soft like he'd been sleeping
until now.  Edd looked at Ed and Eddy with wide eyes and they looked back at
him with varying levels of encouragement. Eddy's was more of the 'what are you
waiting for?' variety.
"Kevin," Edd coughed. He had to do it like a Band-Aid. "I have something to
tell you. Could you come over?" They all agreed that Edd had to tell Kevin
face-to-face. It was only right.
There was a pause on the other end of the phone before Kevin said, sounding
clearer this time, "Yeah. I'll be right over."
"Thank you," Edd concluded and he got another 'yeah' from Kevin before the call
ended.
Afterward, they all sat and waited in the living room for what seemed like
forever and still ended far too soon before the doorbell rang. As he walked to
the door, Edd remembered that night. He remembered how shocked he was that
someone was at his door, and he was even more shocked to see Kevin on the other
side. However, instead of being greeted by that slightly smug and charming
smile, Kevin's face was carefully blank, hands shoved into his pockets,
shoulders hunched forward slightly as he appraised Edd from across the
threshold.
"Kevin," Edd's throat was tight with strain. "Come in." He stepped aside and
let Kevin brush past him into the entrance hall. After toeing out of his
sneakers, he followed Edd into the living room and took in Eddy's grim face and
Ed's large bulk sinking into the edge of the couch they shared. So, he took a
seat on the empty recliner and waited silently as Edd sat on the empty couch
across from his friends.
"Um..." Edd's gaze flitted from Ed to Eddy and then to Kevin as he tried to
control his nerves.
Like a Band-Aid.
"Remember Christmas?"
Kevin glanced at Ed and Eddy, then said, "Yeah."
"Well, soon after I found out that...I'm pregnant." That last part came out
fast and breathless and Kevin just stared at Edd for a long moment, barely even
blinking.
"I actually have this..." He grabbed a scrapbook off the coffee table and stood
to give it to Kevin, who took it like he was in some sort of trance. Edd sat
back down and watched Kevin flip through the pages of sonogram images and small
notes scribbled in Edd's handwriting about his thoughts, feelings, and the
changes happening to his body, including time spent at the toilet bowl, foods
the fetus vehemently hated, and the first flutters of movement that let Edd
know that the fetus was alive and growing inside of him.
After Kevin reached the end of the book's content, he looked up at Edd, eyes
sweeping all over his form as if to catalog all the changes he hadn't noticed
until now. When he opened his mouth, all he said was, "Why?"
Edd shifted in his seat and wrung the hem of his hoodie, swallowing thickly as
he tried to comprehend the question. "Um..." He avoided Kevin's gaze and tried
very hard not to feel hurt by the idea that Kevin couldn't believe Edd could be
so stupid as to get pregnant on his first try at sex. "We didn't use
contraceptives—"
"No," Kevin closed the book and ignored that bit of stupid in favor of leaning
in, brows screwed as he said, "Why didn't you tell me, Double D?"
Oh.
Edd turned to Ed and Eddy and said, "Can you give us a moment, please?"
Eddy didn't look so willing, but he stood anyway. "Yeah, I gotta work on my 12-
step plan to ask Nazz out for prom anyway." It was a testament to how serious
the situation was that Kevin didn't even snort in derision at that. "Come on,
Lumpy."
"Make the call of the wild beast if you need us, Double D," Ed informed him
happily as he stood after Eddy who made sure to sneer as he passed Kevin on his
way out. Once the door was shut, Edd looked at Kevin who looked at him with a
mess of emotions and unspoken thoughts painted all over his face. It made him
look grim.
"That night...Christmas...it shouldn't have happened. It wouldn't have happened
if I wasn't so stupid to involve the Scotch," Edd began. "When I found out I
was pregnant, I had two choices. Either I abort or give the fetus up for
adoption once it was born. I chose the latter. The whole plan was to carry it
to term, give it away, and continue on with life like nothing had ever
happened. In order to do that, I had to keep it all a secret. I couldn't tell
anyone. Not my parents, my friends, or you. If anyone knew..." Edd's gaze
dropped and he picked at his hoodie.
Neither of them said anything for a long time.
Then, Kevin asked, "What changed?" Edd looked up to see his expression was
still grim but also contemplative. "Why did you decide to tell me now?"
"My friends," Edd shrugged. "They were right to convince me that you had the
right to know. Even if it was...a mistake, we made this fetus together and it's
going to be born and alive in the world soon. You should know that."
Another moment of silence stretched between them before Kevin said, "Do you
know who the kid is going to?" He seemed mildly uncomfortable.
Edd shook his head. "I'm supposed to go over my options during my next
appointment. There are processes and paperwork..."
"So, it's not a sure thing yet?"
Edd shook his head again, then Kevin said the one thing Edd had never even
considered possible: "Can I take the kid?"
Edd blinked. "What?"
Kevin fingered the pages of the scrapbook and scratched at the nape of his
neck. "Look, I know you planned on giving the kid away. I know you have your
reasons. I mean...a kid is a big deal. But, does it matter if the kid goes to
some strangers or to...you know...me?" Before he let Edd say anything, he
continued. "I can talk to my parents and we can figure something out. It's not
like I'm not going to get a college education and throw my life away or
anything. I just..." He looked down at Edd's stomach. "That's my kid in there,
Double D...I don't know how to explain it. I've always wanted to be a father,
and yeah, this is kind of soon, but...what does it really matter if it's now or
later, planned or not? I won't be able to live my life knowing my kid is out
there and I'm not part of their life."
It hit Edd like a truck collision that Kevin wanted this child. This whole time
he imagined Kevin wanting nothing to do with their mistake and that Edd was
doing him and everyone a favor by dealing with it quietly. He thought the star
athlete of the school and resident cool kid extraordinaire would be overjoyed
by the fact that this whole situation would be swept under the rug. Never in
his wildest dreams did he imagine Kevin wanted the accidental child they
created. Kevin wanted the child more than Edd ever allowed himself to. Ever,
and that was the most startling thing in the world.
"I guess you've been pissed at me this whole time for, you know, knocking you
up and putting all this stress on your life," Kevin said after Edd was silent
for a while. "And I'm sorry. This isn't just on you, Double D. Scotch or not,
we should have been more careful, and I came onto you first. If anything—"
"No," Edd said quickly. "No. Let's not try to place blame. That's not the
important thing. What's important is how we intend to live our lives in light
of this. I'm sure you didn't fit a child into your college plans. We're both
still children ourselves. This just doesn't seem fair or feasible."
Kevin shrugged. "That's life, Double D, and that's my kid. I know you had
everything planned out, but...Can I?"
Edd looked into Kevin's blue gaze and saw sincerity there. There was also fear,
but what teenager wouldn't be afraid in light of an unplanned pregnancy, a
whole new life to care for? Still, he was determined to take on the
responsibility and it left Edd breathless and beyond surprised still.
"...Are you sure? Your parents—"
"Let me deal with my parents. Besides, they've always been excited to someday
become grandparents. It just happens someday is a lot sooner than they
expected."
In what seemed like the millionth time in 24 hours, Edd felt hot tears
streaming down his cheeks. He'd like to blame it all on hormones as per the
unspoken right of pregnant people, but he knew these tears were for shock and a
deep seeded disappointment in himself that he wasn't ready to analyze just yet.
He was just disappointed that Kevin could take on the responsibility and he
couldn't. Instead, he wanted to get rid of the problem, walk away, and never
look back. Cold and clinical.
"I'm so sorry," Edd said, and he wasn't sure just what he was apologizing for
or to whom.
"Hey," Kevin left the recliner to sit next to Edd, wrap his arms around him and
pull him close. "You don't ever need to apologize for any of this, okay?" He
angled his face enough for Edd to meet his eyes. "Okay?" Edd nodded as Kevin
swept his tears away with the pad of his thumb.
"Everything's going to be okay, Double D. I'm the one who's sorry for ever
leading you to think you couldn't trust me with this. I'm a little late to the
party, but I'll be with you every step of the way. If you ever need anything or
have anything to say, or if you're ever feeling a certain way, or anything at
all, just tell me. Even if you get those weird food cravings or if your feet
hurt, I'll be here to take care of it. I'm just as responsible as you are,
Double D. You shouldn't feel like you have to deal with it on your own. If you
want to go to college and live your own life without having this holding you
back, I'll be more than happy to take care of the kid. And, you know, if you
change your mind, you can be part of their life, too. We can do this however
you like, okay?"
Edd defied his earlier resolve and cried like an infant because the Kevin he
imagined wasn't the Kevin who held him and promised to take care of their
accidental child while Edd went off to live his life. From his friends to
Kevin, he underestimated just how much the people in his life cared for him,
and he was suspicious that part of the reason was because his own parents
showed their love by making him independent and self-sufficient, even when it
hurt. He wasn't exactly well versed in the other ways a person showed how much
they cared for others, especially for him. He was part of the reason why he had
to give the child away, along with all the other reasons he stated before,
obsessed over.
But Kevin...
"Yes," he sobbed into Kevin's shoulder. "Please, take care of them. Please."
Kevin pet his hair and rubbed his back saying, "I will. I promise."
***** Promises *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Since Edd wasn't prepared for Kevin's reception to the news of their holiday
blunder, he wasn't prepared for what followed either. Instead of measuring a
safe distance from him, Kevin kept Edd in the spotlight of his attention. He
was a constant presence in the school halls, sat with him during lunch, drove
him home after school, and lingered at his home for hours. During this increase
of shared time and space, Kevin asked questions of varying nature. He wanted to
know how Edd was feeling at any given time, how well he slept, if he was
feeling nauseous, or if he had any aches or pains. There was a hallmark moment
when Edd couldn't stop the ache of his back from become verbal dissent and
Kevin's strong, capable fingers kneaded the stiff muscles in response while
they sat in the living room doing homework.
In all of these things, Kevin seemed enthusiastic. His smile was as sincere as
the somber uncertainty he seemed to find sometimes when he cast his gaze off
into the distance when he thought Edd wasn't looking. Edd never commented on it
because he knew the circumstances were erected on opposing poles of happiness
and grief. For Kevin, he saw both, though his enthusiasm and determination was
because of happiness and in spite of grief, where Edd saw nothing but grief for
them both.
After a number of days spent together, Edd knew that Kevin could see, feel his
distance from the whole ordeal. The moment Kevin was abreast to the situation,
he jumped in without a second thought, feet first, and hit the ground running.
Edd, however, chose to experience everything from the outside. He scrutinized
his life through the lens of a microscope the moment the lines of the pregnancy
kits read 'positive'. Every time he reached out to touch his life with his own
hands, he was burned by it. He wondered what Kevin thought of him because of
it.
Then, before he knew it, he was rousing Kevin at three in the morning after
fell asleep on the couch. Kevin blinked at him and mumbled about the time. It
happened more than once until Edd stopped waking him when he came down from his
work-station and draped a blanket over him instead.
Kevin was sleeping in his home. Kevin was making eggs, bacon, and waffles in
the morning to the amelioration of Edd's health and the health of his unborn by
extension. Kevin was using his guest bathroom and driving them to school in the
morning. Kevin was filling in the cracks and empty spaces of Edd's situation to
make the ordeal whole and healthy in ways Edd couldn't even perceive beyond his
grief, and Edd didn't know what to do or say in response.
They were freaking living together, albeit in the absence of Edd's parents and
by the grace of whatever trust Kevin's parents seem to have that whatever their
son was up to in their absence would be approved by them. Edd wondered if they
knew the truth.
The topic came up after school one day while Edd was wiring Marie's
commissioned pet project and Kevin watched from his bed. Kevin groaned and
flopped back onto the blue and green plaid.
"I'm gonna tell them," he said, though it sounded like a promise, a reminder he
stated to himself often. "I said I was, so I will. They're cool and all, but
they're gonna start asking why I haven't been home lately. They're gonna start
to worry." He snorted. "You know, sometimes I think about my kid doing
something similar and I feel so guilty for putting my parents through this
because I wouldn't be able to handle it as well as they are."
Edd thought about the words 'my kid' and allowed himself to briefly imagine
Kevin cradling a small child before he glanced up at him. "So, you think
they'll receive the news well?"
Kevin scrubbed a hand down his face and said, "I'll find out soon enough."
A thread of anxiety laced through Edd's innards. "When do you plan to tell
them?"
"At first I thought as soon as possible, then I thought after prom...but now
I'm thinking it should be before prom."
Edd picked up the soldering gun and pressed it to a thin wire and the base of
the chip he'd been handling. "Why before prom?"
Kevin was quiet for a moment, then the bed creaked as he sat up. Edd could feel
his eyes boring into the back of his head.
"I wanna take you to prom."
Edd froze; soldering gun hovered over the chip and wires.
"I mean, Eddy said that you said you weren't going, but...I dunno. I think we
should go. Together. And since you'd be my date, I could introduce you to my
parents as my date and then...you know...let the cat out of the bag. Kill two
birds with one stone."
Edd sat the soldering gun and chip down and looked at Kevin over his shoulder.
He had to stop a moment and think about the fact that Kevin went to Eddy to ask
him if Edd had a date for prom. It was like some wild fantasy. "Don't you think
that's a bit much?"
Kevin shrugged. "Don't think there's any delicate way to tell your parents that
you're gonna be a dad in five months while still in your senior year of high
school." He doesn't mention Edd's parents. It's an unspoken understanding that
Edd's parents are to be kept out of this completely.
Edd turned his gaze back to his work and stared at it absently for a while.
"I know you didn't want to go, but—"
"I intend to go," Edd said evenly. "I changed my mind after I was approached
for a little...project."
Suddenly, Edd could sense Kevin's presence behind him, the proximity close
enough to have the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end. "That's what
that is?" He referred to the mess of wires, metal, and lenses spread across his
work-station and connected to his computer which projected lines upon lines of
code across the screen.
Edd nodded. "I work hard on my projects, so I intend to see this once it's
complete how it's intended to be used."
Kevin leaned over his shoulder for a closer look and Edd tried not to be so
aware of him and how close they were. "You said it was something for Marie.
Don't tell me The Clave Committee is trying to sabotage prom. They've been
making Nazz's life hell since the Prom Committee's been fundraising. Every time
I see Nazz she's complaining about Marie and her princess posse."
Edd doesn't roll his eyes, barely. "What the Princifemale Art Appreciation Club
does is not my concern. This was a personal request from Marie alone. What she
intends to do with it is of her volition and not my business to report."
Kevin snorted and went to plop back down on the bed. "Whatever you say, Double
D. Whatever goes down; just keep my name out of it. I had nothing to do with
this. I don't even know what that is. I don't want to be on Nazz's shit list."
Edd allowed himself to grin at that as he continued working, because, in a way,
this was all about Nazz's shit list and the fact that Marie was on it.
"So," Kevin said after a short while. "You're going to prom. I'm going to prom.
I see no reason why we can't both go to prom at the same time...as dates."
"I'm actually surprised you don't already have a date," Edd deflected
passively. "You're the sports star of the school. You leave a trail of dampened
underwear when you walk by and people throw themselves at you just to share
your air—beautiful people."
The shrug in Kevin's tone was evident when he said, "I don't want to go with
them. I want to go with you." After a breath he continued, "And who said you
aren't beautiful?"
Edd groaned painfully, eyes shut against his own embarrassment. He never knew
how to take compliments of a superficial nature. Compliments on his work made
sense, but he could never understand those about his physical features, not
that he got many compliments of that kind anyway.
"Hey, I'm just stating the facts, here. That aside, it wouldn't change my
decision either way. I wanna go to prom with you."
Edd glanced at Kevin, then back at his work. "You don't have to feel obligated
to go to prom with me just because I'm carrying your child. You don't have to
do things for me to encourage me to keep my end of the bargain. I keep my word.
Next month, I'll straighten everything out with Dr. Connor, so there's nothing
you need to worry about."
"Come on, Double D." Kevin sounded both surprised and disappointed. "That isn't
why I'm doing any of what I'm doing, and it's definitely not why I want to take
you to prom and you know it. I do what I do because I care and it's something
fathers should do for the ones carrying their child. And I want to go to prom
with you because I honestly want to go to prom with you. I planned on asking
you since the beginning of senior year, but then you avoided me after Christmas
and I thought I lost any chance I thought I had."
Edd was startled by that admission and couldn't help but look at Kevin like he
just spoke a foreign language, like Greek. Edd didn't know how to speak Greek.
"Do I have to get down on one knee?" Kevin asked now alert where he sat.
"Because I will, if that's what'll take for you to say 'yes'." Then he quickly
added, "You can say 'no', though. You have every right. I'm not trying to force
you into anything, I just...if I'm going to prom, I want to go with you, and
it's not because you're pregnant with my kid, but it'd be a lie if I said that
wasn't an added bonus." He flinched a little at the end of that as if expecting
Edd to judge him about his animalistic instinct to find a certain kind of
fondness in the bearer of his offspring. Edd, however, held no judgments. He
was just shocked.
"If anything," Kevin continued, "we can just go as friends. There's nothing
wrong with that, right?"
Edd blinked then nodded slowly. "Right. I see no problem in the two of us going
to prom together. As friends." Because, despite noticing the change or when it
happened, they were friends. Friends who were about to become parents in two
different ways.
Kevin smiled and it was like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. "Right."
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
"Mom? Dad?" Kevin shouted into the breadth of open, warm home after he stepped
over the threshold. Edd followed with stiff legs and a thundering heart. He was
trying desperately to keep the terror at bay because if he was sick now, he
wouldn't be able to blame it on nausea. That ship had more or less sailed a
couple of weeks ago in favor for an appetite that returned with gusto. No, if
he was sick now, it'd be because he let his fear get the best of him.
"In the kitchen, hun!" Came the jovial and inviting voice of a woman who smiled
a lot. Edd could tell. He knew what raw happiness sounded like. He sometimes
heard it in Kevin's voice when he thought it was safe enough to talk about the
baby without any of Edd's grief ruining it.
Kevin looked at Edd and gave an encouraging smile before entering deeper into
the warm halls of his family home. What they found in the large, cream and oak
colored kitchen was a woman with straw-colored hair and crow’s feet at the
corners of her happy gray eyes feeding fresh green pepper to a man of red hair
who stood plastered to her back with big, strong arms wrapped around her
middle. He seemed to be impeding her meal preparation than helping, but she
didn't seem bothered by it at all. In fact, they were both so happy that it
wouldn't have seemed real if even Edd couldn't almost feel their happiness
radiating off of them in waves. It was like watching a commercial where couples
were happy and perfect.
"Gross," Kevin groaned, obviously embarrassed though Edd couldn't see what he
had to be embarrassed about. In fact, he was a bit jealous. "Seriously, guys?"
The woman, his mother, looked over at them and laughed at Kevin's expense. "Be
lucky you didn't get here any later."
The man, his father, rubbed his stubble into the crook of his wife's neck with
a broad grin. "Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." He landed an open
palmed slap to her rump and she giggled like a school girl.
Edd felt terrible about what they were about to do. He didn't want to be the
reason why any of this would be ruined.
Kevin looked up at the ceiling as if asking for strength. Whether it was
because of the news he was to give or his parents, Edd wasn't sure.
"Guys, could you sit down? I have something I need to tell you."
The light, bubbly, warm happiness in the room waned and both of Kevin's parents
regarded him curiously, then looked at Edd. Edd was sure his sweater was big
enough to hide the subtle swell of his stomach, but it was almost like they
could see right through it and straight to the truth.
"Hello, Edward," Mrs. Barr greeted.
"Mrs. and Mr. Barr," Edd said in return.
"What's this about?" Asked Mr. Barr who disentangled himself from his wife.
"Seats first," Kevin insisted and his parents shared a look before abandoning
the chopped vegetables in favor for the couch in living room. Nothing more had
to be said for them to pick up on the fact that whatever their son had to say
was important.
"Alright. We're sitting," Mr. Barr said once they were seated across from Kevin
and Edd. The suspicion in their eyes as they noted Kevin and Edd's behavior was
evident. "Shoot."
"Uh..." Kevin took off his hat and scratched his head, then pulled the hat back
on and leaned forward, hands folded, elbows rested on his knees. "Remember when
I went out on Christmas?"
"You left the party to hang out with your friends, you said," Mrs. Barr stated
with a raised eyebrow. Edd could tell that 'the party' had to be a traditional,
annual event by how she stated it.
"Yeah." Kevin nodded. "I went to hang out with Double D. I heard his parents
weren't gonna make it home, and his friends had family stuff to do, so..." He
gulped.
Mrs. Barr was already pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes squeezed shut. Mr.
Barr seemed a bit lost, but only because the direction this conversation was
going didn't seem right to him. Like they took a wrong turn somewhere.
Edd took a breath and said, "I'm pregnant. It was an accident. Kevin only just
found out because I initially planned to give the baby away once it was born to
save everyone the grief. Kevin, however, wants to take the baby instead. He
thought you should know."
Mr. and Mrs. Barr stared at him with wide eyes. It was, admittedly, a lot to
process.
"What about college?" Mrs. Barr said, offering a promised and agreed upon dream
she obviously felt was being torn to shreds and spat upon in light of this new
development, or at least that's what it seemed like to Edd.
"Your scholarships," Mr. Barr added.
"I'm still going to college. I'm still gonna do everything I said I was going
to do. Nothing's changed," Kevin supplied and Mrs. Barr looked at him like he
just ate a live duck.
"Everything has changed, Kevin. I don't think you understand the gravity of
this situation. A child is huge responsibility. It's not like having a pet fish
or a pet dog. Children are a big investment of time, money, and emotional
resources. You're supposed to go to college, get an education, get a job and
establish your life so you can be prepared for children. I thought you knew
this?"
"Sharon," Mr. Barr looked to his wife and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Edd wanted to sink into the couch cushions and disappear forever.
"I can do this," Kevin said, voice strong, eyes gleaming with determination.
His mind was set and no one, not Edd, not even his parents could talk him out
of it. Edd realized that Kevin wasn't looking for his parent's blessing. He was
telling them out of courtesy and nothing more.
"This summer I'll have my job at the shop and there are daycare programs at
State. Rolph and I are already gonna share an apartment, so housing isn't even
an issue. I've thought a lot about this. It's my kid. I've gotta be there for
them."
Mrs. Barr looked long and hard at Kevin, then her stormy grays turned to Edd.
"And what about you?" Her scornful words, the ones she wanted to say, echoed
unspoken in the air.
"This isn't about Edd's decision, this is about mine," Kevin interjected. He
softened the crease in his brow and the edge of his tone before he continued.
"This is me, Mom. Dad. You know me. I can handle anything. And you know I've
always wanted to be a Dad. You know I'm going to make a great Dad, and you've
always wanted to be grandparents. I know it's a bit—a lot—earlier than
expected, but it's your grandchild. Think about that. I'm still going to go to
school. I'm still going to work in the family business. I'm still going to do
everything I said I was going to do, being a Dad included. Just because
everything isn't in the order we expected doesn't mean anything has changed. I
can do this. I want to do this." And they wouldn't be able to stop him even if
they tried. Edd already has to no avail.
Mrs. Barr stood, pinching the bridge of her nose again as she began to pace
back and forth behind the couch. Mr. Barr just looked between Kevin and Edd
like he'd find some great, life-altering secret there.
"Are you eating right?"
Edd's gaze snapped up from his lap to Mrs. Barr who had stopped pacing and was
now staring at him. All he could do was nod beneath her scrutiny.
"Are you going to all your appointments? Do you have your pre-natals? Do your
parents know about this?"
He nodded again, even though that last part was a lie.
Kevin cleared his throat and looped an arm around Edd's shoulders. Edd glanced
at him with wide eyes. "Also, we're going to prom together. I always intended
that, even before the baby. I just thought, in light of everything, now was the
time to tell you."
Mrs. Barr nodded over and over as if not only to accept and understand Kevin's
words, but everything that happened that lead up to this moment, like she
should have known if only she saw the signs.
"Ok," she said. "Ok. If you say you can do this, then...Ok."
"We'll help," his father said.
His mother interjected with, "When we can, but we can't do everything, Kevin.
You have to take responsibility for this."
Kevin nodded and squeezed Edd's shoulder. "I will."
It was a promise to them all and Edd could almost see the weight of the world
on Kevin's shoulders.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
Kevin has a semi-private conversation with his parents in the kitchen over the
fact that Kevin had been quasi-living with Edd for the past couple of weeks. In
low tones, Kevin told them about how Edd's parents weren't around, how they
were abroad being distinguished doctors, saving lives and giving lectures. He
explained to them how he was worried and how he had to be close. His fears
about Edd's mental and emotional stability went unsaid but wasn't unheard. Edd
knew. He knew full and well that Kevin was worried, suspicious, but he also
knew that Kevin was caring most of all. It was because of that Edd was content
with letting Kevin dote on him. Deep down, he knew that he needed Kevin in this
situation like people with kidney failure needed dialysis.
Afterward, they emerged from the kitchen and Mrs. Barr pulled Edd into a hug
that rendered him frozen like stone. His mouth hung open, but he didn't know
what to say. When she pulled back she made him promise to come over every night
for dinner. They only live across the street from each other.
Not even having to feign fatigue, Edd promised he'd be back tomorrow evening
for dinner, but that he was too tired to eat anything after today's events.
Despite the severity from earlier, Mrs. and Mr. Barr were nothing but
understanding by the time he and Kevin left. Kevin, who had a duffle bag and a
bit of a grin on his face as they walked back to Edd's house, groaned and
rolled his eyes to see Ed and Eddy standing on Edd's porch, arms folded.
"I seriously don't want to deal with you two right now," he said, sounding
almost as tired as Edd felt.
"It's Friday," Eddy said, sneering at the red who sneered back.
"Freaky Friday!" Ed exclaimed. "I have Swamp Monsters Ate My Sister 2 and
Invasion from Planet Hell. The baby has to be prepared for the impending
apocalypse, Double D."
Edd looked at his friends hopeful (and in Eddy's case, disgruntled) faces and
thought about how they haven't had an actual Freaky Friday in months. He
breathed in and nodded, then looked to Kevin who looked at him but was already
giving in with another sneer.
"Yeah, yeah," Kevin grumbled.
Edd gave a bit of a smile as he unlocked the door and they poured into the
house, Eddy making demands and Ed hooting and howling into the night.
Chapter End Notes
     I want to take a quick moment to thank everyone who has been reading,
     giving kudos, and commenting thus far. I'm glad that you're enjoying
     this fic and I have a bit more of this Prime!AU trope of mine to
     share after this particular fic is over (a guide was promised, in
     fact).
     The writing's a bit messy, but I'm still getting the hang of things.
     It should get better the more I do it (I hope).
***** Magic *****
 "Hello, Mr. Vincent. May I ask who this is?" Dr. Connor looked at Kevin and
Kevin held his hand out to him with a half-grin plastered on his face. He drove
out an hour to the clinic with an excitement that hadn't waned a bit.
"Kevin Barr. I'm the other father."
Dr. Connor gripped Kevin's hand and gave it a shake as well as an approving
nod. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Barr. Needless to say, this is quite
unexpected."
Edd sat upon the patient table and cleared his throat. "Actually, I'd like to
speak to you about the arrangements for the child, Dr. Connor. I know I was
considering letting another family adopt, but I've changed my mind."
"You've decided to keep the baby?" Dr. Connor implied.
In a matter of speaking, "Yes," said Edd.
Dr. Connor nodded and went to the sink to wash his hands. "It's perfectly
normal to change your mind on matters such as these. It's actually a good thing
that you did so now instead of later after paperwork had been processed." He
didn't question whether or not Kevin's involvement aided the change of heart.
It was quite obvious that he did.
"So, does that mean you want to know the sex of the baby now?" He dried his
hands and pulled on a pair of gloves before turning towards both fathers-to-be.
Kevin was already nodding and Edd gave a soft 'yes' in response, heart pounding
privately in the chambers of his chest.
Dr. Connor picked up Edd's chart, scanned the pages and said, "You'll be having
a healthy little boy—monoreproductive."
Next to him, Kevin's intake of breath was sharp and delicate. "A boy," he
whispered, and Edd imagined a child of bright red hair and round blue eyes
looking up a Kevin from the safety of his arms. Father and son in a singularity
where only they existed, where a happiness like no other could be found.
A boy.
Even if it was a girl, the result would be the same. Kevin would love her with
a bright, passionate ferocity that Edd had only gleaned. He was also there, in
his imagination, peering in like a voyeur through a window. Longing.
From then on, the check-up continued as usual. Blood was drawn. Tests were
done. His blood pressure was taken. He was questioned about any aches, pains,
or abnormalities since his last visit. When it came time to take a peek inside
of the fetus' warm home, one Edd has made safe with the entirety of his body,
Kevin had tears in his eyes. He kept them from falling, but he didn't look away
from the monitor once the moment his son's grainy image slid into view. He was
filled with awe. It was brimming from the shimmering blue of his eyes.
"There he is," Dr. Connor said, pointing out the distinguishably human shape
curled in the mass of fluid and flesh. He seemed to be sucking his thumb. Edd's
heart throbbed. Kevin took his hand and squeezed, and it was the most surreal
appointment Edd had to date.
After getting five print-outs instead of one, plus a DVD to add to the
collection of his son's greatest hits in utero, they drove home. Kevin smiled
the entire time.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
Edd likened it to the gentle, anticipatory tickle of a feather against his
skin. Sometimes it was like the warmth from a fire after trudging in from the
winter chill, seeping into his flesh, warming his body. Sometimes that warmth
stirred in his belly and crept low where he throbbed, yearned. He tried to
ignore it or at least seem oblivious to it.
Kevin's gaze.
There was something hot about it lately, heavy with consideration,
contemplation, images dancing in a ghostly haze across the rings of blue. Edd
tried to ignore it, but he couldn't stop Kevin in his dreams who touched him
with hands of fire, satin lips, breath a humid, muggy summer. He woke with
plywood in his pajama pants which stuck to the crack of his ass like he was
thirteen all over again.
He shuddered at the fondness, the affection, the dream-like hope pooled in the
depths of that gaze and chased the fantasies they fueled with his fingers into
the tight, wet grasp of his body, then stripped them out again with furious
strokes, keening into the pillow.
Sometimes he hated it.
Sometimes because he wanted it.
Sometimes because he couldn't have it.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
Marie insisted on stopping by to see Edd's creation with her own eyes once it
was complete. So, she sat at the breakfast bar in Edd's kitchen the Saturday
before prom week, smirking at Kevin while Edd tried not to look like an animal
while he gorged himself on a peanut butter and pickle sandwich with a dash of
cayenne pepper. Kevin was the proud, if not slightly disturbed chef.
"So, you guys fucking?"
Edd choked and Kevin tossed a startled look Marie's way.
"I'll take that as a 'not yet'," Marie laughed.
"I believe Kevin and I have learned not to repeat our mistakes," Edd said once
his throat was clear. He didn't dare look in Kevin's direction to see if he
shared the same sentiment.
Marie snorted, "Why not? You're basically living together." She looked at Kevin
and said, "Why aren't you all up in that?"
"Marie," Edd warned, "You're not here to discuss my arrangement with Kevin."
"And how is that, by the way?" She asked smoothly, turning to Edd with a brow
perched high. "You guys gonna be co-parents and raise Lil Brainiac together
like a teen soap opera?"
"Marie."
"With Kevin's killer charisma and your brains, this kid's gonna be unstoppable.
Too bad you aren't having a little princess to rule the world. Maybe on the
next try?" She winked.
"I hate that term," Edd found himself saying before he could refute all claims
about co-parenting or having more children any time soon.
Marie leaned back, arms folded, chin tilted up as she challenged him through
the fringe of her dark blue bangs. "NO. We're princes and princesses because
we're awesome despite a time when people thought we were trash. Embrace it."
Edd flushed and looked down at his half-eaten sandwich. "There were also people
who put people like us on a pedestal once upon a time."
Marie barked a laugh. "Those people, I like!"
"Why are you here again?" Kevin asked, brows low.
Marie hummed, low and deep. "I bet you'd like to tell the Queen Bee all about
it, wouldn't you?"
Kevin rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry about it, Pumpkin Spice. Focus on your mini-me in there. Keep my
favorite Einstein happy." She shrugged, arms out. "No one gets hurt."
Before the irritated and slightly loathing look in Kevin's eyes sprung to words
or action, Edd tossed propriety to the wind and scarfed down the rest of his
sandwich, then he stood from the kitchen table. "We'll be right upstairs,
Kevin. I'd appreciate it if you gave us some privacy. This way, Marie." He
caught the smirk on her face as he lead her out of the kitchen and was far too
aware of how diabolical she for comfort.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
At the middle of his second trimester, there were no clothes that could hide
Edd's condition. Every attempt was made but proved futile. He noticed the
lingering gazes of others and desperately hoped they thought he was just
getting fat. Then, his mind supplanted him with the fact that, with a high
metabolism, he'd never been nor had anyone ever seen him be anything other than
slim and decidedly lanky.
He spent months mentally preparing himself to cross this bridge, but the
realization that everyone would know still hit him like a hunter's bullet.
However, there was one factor he hadn't initially incorporated in his obsessive
planning.
"Kevin," Edd startled slightly when he looked up from the round curve of his
belly which peeked out from his open dress shirt and hung over the waist of his
pants. Kevin was staring at his reflection in the mirror, mouth only slightly
parted, but gaze filled with his image, one he wasn't privy to apart from
that one appointment he attended with Edd. There was also more in view, like
the soft flesh of his chest, the slight fullness of swelling milk glands, the
soft puffiness of his areola, darkened to a flushed tan during the course of
his pregnancy. It was with only slight horror that Edd closed his shirt over
his body and began to button it with earnest.
"Uh—" Kevin cleared his throat and turned away, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, I was
just...We have to leave soon and I was wondering if you needed help or
something. I wasn't...I'm sorry. I should've knocked first."
"Yes," Edd said as he tucked the hem of his shirt away. "You should have." He
watched Kevin nod solemnly before he continued. "But thank you for the
consideration. In fact, I would appreciate your help with the vest."
Kevin looked up at him with a renewed light and entered the room to grab the
red vest where it lay on Edd's bed and help Edd into it. Like the rest of his
suit, it was of sturdy, fine material and crafted not only for subtle style but
also for endurance. His parents had bought and paid for it months ago, but due
to the rate in which Edd had been expanding, alterations were made. He'd nearly
forgone the vest entirely, but he found that he liked the extra security of it
cradling the heft of his belly. It fit well, all things considered. While he
did the buttons, Kevin fastened the back.
After shrugging on the black jacket and straightening the red bowtie, Edd stood
back and looked at his reflection. "I look like I'm smuggling a buffet beneath
my clothes."
Unlike Kevin, in his opinion, who stood next to him in all black, save for a
red tie. The both of them nixed the hats for the evening, and while Kevin's red
hair looked perfectly quaffed, Edd couldn't do much with his thick, black locks
for the length of it. Tucking the hair behind his ears and out of his face was
the extent of his hair styling capability.
All this and Kevin said, "I think you look amazing." Edd gave him a flat look
and Kevin smiled, all bright teeth, and twinkling eyes. "No, really. You look
amazing." Then, he took each of Edd's hands into his own and turned him away
from the mirror so they stood face-to-face. "I imagined this moment a few times
before—seeing you tonight—and all I could think was that it was going to be
everything I ever dreamed, and despite everything, this...this is more than I
could have ever dreamed of. This is perfect, Double D. You're perfect."
Edd grew warm and every breath rustled the butterflies in his stomach, which
was a distinguishable feeling from the baby's acrobatics in his womb at this
point. Part of him was having a terrible time coming to terms with the fact
that he was pregnant with Kevin's unborn son and they were on their way to prom
together, but another part of him was...excited.
Regardless, he didn't quite know what to say to Kevin's words and continued
admission of affection, so, instead, he said, "We should get going. Marie would
schedule my murder post birth if I missed the main attraction."
Kevin did a combination of shaking his head and rolling his eyes that were
attributed to anything Marie related. "Nazz is gonna kill me."
Edd grinned as they began to make their way to the front door. "You'd be
surprised."
Before they could climb into the car and head to Peach Creek High, they walked
across the street to Kevin's house where his parents were waiting with a
camera, huge smiles, and the corsages. They were a deep, velvety rose.
"Patrick, they look perfect," said Mrs. Barr as she wiped an unshed tear from
her eye. "Make sure to get them with the baby in the shot."
Kevin groaned. "Mom."
"My grandson is going to look back on this moment and see just how handsome his
papas were for their senior prom." Her voice wavered a bit at the end and Edd
knew Mrs. Barr was an exuberant woman, but never so emotional. On the other
hand, he supposed he should have known. It wasn't particularly a bad thing,
however.
"Come on," said Mr. Barr and his wife made sweeping motions with her hands
coming together. "Get close. Kevin, hands on the bump."
Kevin wilted a bit though his apprehension wasn't from genuine dislike of the
request, but from trying to assume how Edd would feel about it. "I don't
think—"
"Marie will be waiting for me with guitar string to tie around my neck post
birth if we don't hurry, Kevin," Edd supplied and then turned dutifully to
press his back to Kevin's front, indicating they should get on with it. He was
half mortified and half thrilled. The polar feelings were making him dizzy
these days.
"Uh," Kevin floundered for a brisk moment, "Yeah. Right." He stiffly brought
his arms around Edd's expanded waist and rested his hands his belly. He
breathed softly in Edd's ear, warm against his back, and Edd found himself
relaxing in the embrace.
"Alright," said Mr. Barr, "Hold that. Eyes over here. Kevin, eyes on the
camera." Mr. Barr lowered the lens to peer at his son and when Edd looked over
his shoulder it was to see Kevin staring down at his belly like it just spoke
to him.
Edd's words drifted out soft, but his gaze pinned Kevin where he stood. "Did
you...?"
Kevin nodded absently. "I felt that. He kicked."
Mrs. Barr's voice was loud in the fragile moment. "What?"
"He just—He kicked! He kicked me! I felt it!" Kevin grinned like an idiot and
came around to kneel before Edd to look at his belly at eye level, as if to
speak directly to his son as he rubbed the spot where Edd had been feeling some
pretty mean jabs.
"Oh, my god," Kevin breathed, "He's alive in there."
Edd hadn't realized how close his own tears were to falling until he blinked
them away, disguising the whole thing with a scoff and a roll of his eyes. "Of
course he is. He's been kicking my bladder for days." He felt a flutter
somewhere inside to be talking so openly about the baby with Kevin and among
his parents. He usually left all mentions of fetal development to Kevin.
He vaguely heard the camera shutter snap, but he was consumed by the image of
Kevin down on his knees regarding the mound of his belly in reverence and
absolute joy.
After a few more rounds of pictures and Mrs. and Mr. Barr both getting a kick
in the palm from their lively grandchild, Kevin and Edd were on their way to
Peach Creek High, both buzzing with excitement and nervous energy. The parking
lot was nearly full when they pulled in, but there were still people drifting
inside, laughing among friends and taking selfies in colorful, elegant groups.
When they finally graced the gymnasium, it was to a modern rendition of The
Lovin' Spoonful's Do You Believe in Magic. Cloths of streamers in blue, purple,
and white were draped along the walls tied with bouquets of similar color that
glimmered in the light. Round tables were dressed in white and soft purple or
blue ornaments of curling, delicate design sat at the center of each one. The
stage was dim, but the only things lit by soft light were two ornate chairs of
silver, royal blue and purple. It almost looked magical. Almost.
"Kevin!" Nazz's voice was strained with desperation and both Kevin and Edd
turned to see her approach in a flurry of colors that matched the decor. Her
dress was soft and danced around her like the Aurora Lights with every move.
Hints of silver glitter twinkled in her yellow curls like the silver necklace
around her neck and her earrings. Her corsage was a soft, white rose, but her
face was red with ire.
"Kevin, I'm going to kill her!"
Kevin looked at her with wide eyes, hands up in a non-threatening gesture.
"Wait. What happened?"
Her eyebrows shot up, but her grimace didn't wane. "What's wrong with this
picture, Kevin?" She gestured to her labor and design. It looked beautiful, but
Edd knew what was wrong, what was missing.
"Uh..." Kevin scratched the back of his head.
"The lights, Kevin! Somehow, Marie and her gang cont faced life-ruiners covered
the lights! Look!" She pointed to the ceiling where, supposedly, lights to
match the theme were strung but were covered by plates of white like an
unfurled origami structure across the entire length of the gymnasium ceiling.
Marie and the PAAC sure worked fast.
"To be fair," said Edd, carefully easing himself into the flames of Nazz's
fury, "String lights are a bit trite."
Nazz's furious gaze snapped to him, but she seemed to tamp down on her anger a
bit when she took him in. Heavens, she knew. Edd could see it all over her face
that she knew. The fact that she wasn't jumping at the chance to inquire meant
that she'd known for a while now. He couldn't help but wonder, with no small
amount of horror, how many other people knew without a word having ever been
said. Just how obvious was his condition?
"String lights," Nazz began, evenly, "are fun. Tonight is supposed to be fun."
Playing into her unspoken knowledge, Edd placed a hand on his belly and watched
something like wonder flicker in her eyes. "I thought tonight was supposed to
be magical," he said and her eyes snapped back up to his.
"Well, duh, Double D. That was..." Her eyes narrowed. Edd knew she was about to
state the theme, which was indeed 'magical', but he knew that she suddenly
realized how much she struggled to bring that concept to light in the real
world for their last school dance together as seniors. Something he shouldn't
have known. Not even Kevin knew. Not really.
"You—"
"Well..." A familiar voice of smoke and honey made them all turn to a dark
corner of the room and they watched Marie stepped out from the shadows. Edd
noted that she had a flare for the dramatic and it was in that which Nazz's
dreams would come true.
Marie was a vision in deep blue that transitioned into black down to her black
Oxford boots. A smatter of small, twinkling silver covered her gown like she
was dressed in the night sky. Her makeup was light save for the heavy black
around her eyes and her blue hair was tamed into demure waves. Nazz was visibly
taken aback, which was far more amusing than Edd thought it'd be.
"It wasn't all him. In fact, it was mostly my idea. Double D, here, just made
it possible. Let's not forget who was behind the engineering of their trio's
little schemes." Marie smirked and Nazz came back to herself, livid once again.
"What the hell are you talking about? You've ruined my prom!"
"No," Marie said, matter-of-factly, "I'm about to make your prom awesome.
Magical, even." She pressed a button on the scrap of metal in her hand and the
gym lights went out, dousing the place in darkness. Then, right before the eyes
of everyone, a clear night sky faded into full brilliance. Stars twinkled
across the span of velvety black and blue, then swirling masses of pink,
yellow, and violet bled into the black as the cosmos swept slowly across the
sky like ink. Four overhead lights were placed in each corner of the room to
cast everything in a soft, ethereal glow, and everyone was speechless for a
long while.
Kevin shook his head, but he didn't roll his eyes this time because he was
grinning like a fool. "Damn..."
Damn, right.
Edd worked hard on the program and projection technology. It was all customized
for this moment.
"How...?" Nazz wondered and Marie shrugged.
"Magic."
Nazz pressed a hand to her mouth and there were tears in her eyes, twinkling
beneath the night sky. Even Edd felt wonder and whimsy in great immensity swell
inside of him like a rising tide. His hand never moved from his belly. The
child inside pressed back against his palm in response.
"So..." Marie stepped up to Nazz, only visibly nervous by her wandering gaze.
"Ready to ditch your date, now?"
"I freaking hate you," Nazz said, but her tone and the way she leaned into
Marie meant that was farther from the truth, or perhaps she meant it in her
own, peculiar way. "You freaking suck. This is..." She breathed deep, Marie
smirked, and in the next moment, they were kissing.
It all seemed surreal. Magical, even.
"Ok," Kevin said next to Edd in a way that wasn't unlike his mother. "I should
have seen this coming."
Edd laughed and how quickly it leaped from his mouth surprised him, but he
didn't stop. He laughed and leaned into Kevin's arms, and he let himself
believe in something impossible, even if for a moment.
That light, magical feeling carried Edd through the night. He laughed when Eddy
and Lee Kanker walked into the gymnasium and wondered if Lee came back to town
just to see Eddy squirm. They looked like stunners in white and gold. Ed was a
surprising sight in a dashing black suit and white tie. His red hair was combed
and neatly styled and on his arm was Jamie, who, if Edd remembered, was the one
to ask Ed to prom despite only being a junior herself.
"She sure cleans up nice," Eddy commented, and Edd wasn't sure if he meant her
influence on Ed or herself, but it did answer his earlier question regarding
Eddy and Jamie's transition. It made Edd smile, and Eddy was right. Ed looked
great, and Jamie was a vision in white. Her long, platinum blond hair was tied
in a fishtail braid, dusted with white glitter, bangs swept around her crown in
soft waves. And when she smiled, it was bright and free of metal. She truly
looked amazing.
Edd danced with his friends, then swayed with Kevin before his feet and back
hurt too much to stand. He was later content at the table with finger foods and
punch and Kevin sat with him, rubbing his belly discreetly beneath the table
and rubbing his back without a care in the world. They looked besotted, Edd was
sure, and he knew he looked pregnant without a doubt, but in that moment...he
didn't care. He was far too happy to see the grief in his life.
It came to no one's surprise that Kevin and Nazz were elected prom king and
queen, but a few were interested to see Kevin share his dance with Edd and Nazz
with Marie.
Still, there was nothing but smiles.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
Edd and Kevin shuffled into the house sometime after midnight, pleasantly
tired, yet still buzzing slightly beneath their skin. They parted ways to take
separate showers drifting on the wonder of the night, and Edd wasn't even
surprised to hear the knock at his bedroom door when he settled in for his
nightly Cocoa Butter ritual.
"Hey," Kevin said when he poked his head in and Edd waved him inside. "Can I
help?"
Edd smiled, though not without a bit of sass. "Yes, you may."
Kevin snorted and waltzed inside to the bed. He took the bottle of lotion, got
a good amount in the palm of his hand, and then started warming it between both
palms.
"How you feeling?" he asked and Edd looked at him for a moment while he pulled
his t-shirt up over the large mound of his belly.
"Good."
Kevin's brow rose. "Good?"
Edd smiled despite himself. "Great, actually. Tonight was..." He searched for
the words.
"More than you could have ever dreamed?"
Edd looked at Kevin and nodded. "More than I could have ever dreamed."
Kevin grinned and smoothed his broad hands over Edd's belly, rubbing the lotion
in soothing circles. With any luck, Edd hoped to avoid any lasting stretch
marks if he couldn't avoid them altogether. He fixed the pillows at his back
then relaxed into the motion of Kevin's hands, eyes closed, breath calm and
steady.
Just when he was at the dusky fringes of sleep, he felt Kevin's hands go lower
and his hot breath at the crotch of his boxers. Edd didn't startle, but cracked
his eyes open and looked down at Kevin over the mound of his stomach. Their
eyes met and many thoughts were traded between them, unspoken ponderings,
declarations, and agreements.
Without saying a word, Kevin pressed his open mouth to Edd's clothed half-
hardened dick and Edd shuddered with a small noise bred from anticipation. It
was a truce, or an admission so similar to Christmas that Edd began to wonder,
and not for the first time, that perhaps their attraction was truly mutual,
just as Kevin insisted it was.
Edd didn't need his boxers before long and they were cast away somewhere on the
floor while Kevin wrapped his hot, wet mouth around the head of his dick. Edd
keened and cradled Kevin's skull with a gentle palm. He draped a leg over one
of Kevin's broad shoulders and Kevin sucked him down with a finger rubbing his
moistened hole. As it did on Christmas, Edd's body came alive beneath Kevin's
touch and he rolled his hips with what he could only think to be
desperation—desperation to be touched, that it would continue and not stop.
Ever.
He gasped and moaned, then chewed his lower lip upon feeling his body give to
the prodding of one of Kevin's fingers, which reached deep, then curled and
drew back. Edd's entire body shuddered. Kevin pulled off his dick and sat back
enough to watch with that look on his face, that look of wonder as he pressed
another finger into Edd's body just to watch it curl with pleasure.
Edd could hardly stand it.
"I want you," he said, grabbing at Kevin. "I need you. I—"
"I got you," Kevin hushed as he dipped down again to lick around the stretch of
his fingers. Edd couldn't help the whine that followed, nor the soft groan when
Kevin pulled his fingers away, or the gasp when Kevin's tongue laved at his
slippery entrance.
With one hand, Kevin grasped Edd's dick and squeezed along every upward drag,
thumb pressing against the underside of the head. With the other, Kevin thumbed
at Edd's rim while his tongue went about tasting and prodding the hot flesh,
inside and out, and his lips sucked.
"Heavens, Kevin," Edd moaned as his body pooled hot and thick with pleasure.
"Alright. Come on. Come on, please." He tugged at Kevin’s hair.
Kevin surged up to pressed their mouths together and drank his pleas. He more
or less shoved his own boxers down enough to free himself and wasted no time
sinking into Edd's tight clench. Edd's body gave way to Kevin and there was no
burn, no fiery poker, but the deep, languid massage that came with experience,
clarity, and focus on the goal: to reach the highest point of pleasure together
in entangled limbs.
Kevin rolled his hips, and with every thrust he drew back farther and pushed in
harder like a well-oiled machine that had a grasp on Edd's thighs, lips at his
dangling ankle, and that look on his face. Never once beneath the sound of his
clipped moans did Edd think it wasn't okay. Any of it. All he could think was
'yes'.
The bed frame creaked, skin slapped skin in wet contact, Edd sounded wounded,
and Kevin sounded determined. Edd let his hands roam over flexing muscle over
shoulders, arms, chest, and abdomen, and Kevin flicked pebbled, flushed tan
nipples, then grasp Edd's straining length to give it a few soul-wrenching tugs
that pushed Edd into the bright singularity of pleasure where not even his sobs
of pleasure could reach him. There was nothing but his body seized in a moment
almost too much to withstand and the look in Kevin's eyes when he met him
there, mouth agape, hips erratic.
They collapsed exhausted, jittery, and sweaty side-by-side on Edd's bed. The
Cocoa Butter was lost and forgotten somewhere, but Kevin's palm still found the
swell of Edd's stomach and cradled it reverently as he slotted behind Edd's
warm body, Kevin a hot wall of sticky flesh against him.
Kevin brushed his lips to Edd's shoulder and Edd smiled as he sank into the
warm depths of sleep.
***** Unexpected *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
"Shit." Kevin's voice was rough and low, which was different from earlier when
he asked Edd if he was sure, eyeing the other teen warily as he got down on his
knees.
It was a nice sentiment at the time, but Edd wasn't concerned about anything
other than getting his mouth around Kevin's dick. The urge only startled him
for a second, but a wild mix of hormones drove his body and wouldn't be
deterred. He wanted sex like never before and Kevin was being too nice and
infuriating with not initiating the first move, so Edd boldly took matters into
his own hand. He'd save being nervous and self-conscious for later after an
orgasm or two.
Fingers dipped beneath the hem of his hat and brushed along his scalp, so Kevin
wasn't so opposed to the idea of an impromptu blowjob, no matter how unskilled
Edd was. A mix of spit and salty pre-cum was dribbling down his chin, he had to
use his hand for the length he couldn't suck down, and the wet, slurping and
soft choking was the most obscene thing Edd had ever experienced and it made
his dick harder than diamond and ass weep with anticipation.
It wasn't long before Edd climbed into Kevin's lap and impaled himself onto his
spit-slickened length with a strained moan, mouth slack, lips wet, jaw sore. He
grabbed hold of Kevin's shoulders and rode him until he nearly blacked out from
pleasure, leaving him slumped against Kevin's chest as they panted together,
sated.
"Jesus, Double D," breathed Kevin, "Didn't know you could be so..." He couldn't
find the word and Edd grinned. Then he rolled his hips, ready for round two.
Sex became a constant in the Vincent home while Kevin stayed under its roof.
There were also a lot of shared meals at the table or on the living room sofa
beneath the glow of the television. They talked about the baby growing in Edd's
womb while Kevin pressed kisses to the taut mound of his belly and told the
fetus everything that came to mind.
"I've been thinking about names," said Kevin as they sat back-to-chest on the
sofa in the living room. Edd was reading Machiavelli and Kevin was content with
rubbing his stomach, chasing his son's movements.
Edd tilted his head slightly and hummed though his eyes never left the pages.
Of course, Kevin was thinking about names. In little more than three months a
whole new person would be existing in the world, after all—one he would be
responsible for.
"What do you think about Kevin Jr?"
That made Edd pause in his reading just to say, "I find it ridiculously
narcissistic."
Kevin snorted. "Alright. Fair enough. What about Joseph?"
Edd resumed his reading with a hum. "I've never been overly fond of 'Joe'."
"No?" Kevin pressed.
"No."
"Riley, then?"
Edd lowered the book onto his belly and turned his head to look up at Kevin.
"Why even ask me?"
Kevin blinked at him like the answer was obvious. "Because he needs a name?"
Edd sighed. "Since you're taking him, you can name him whatever you want."
Kevin's face was carefully blank save for one elevated eyebrow. "Like Kevin
Jr?"
Edd rolled his eyes. "Except that."
"Double D," Kevin began carefully, "I know you plan on going off to school and
living your dreams while comforted by the fact that the kid you didn't want is
living a good life so you won't have to worry, but you're allowed to be part of
this." Both of his hands cradled Edd's distended belly. "You're allowed to come
up with names and talk about first birthdays and holidays and visits. You're
allowed to be part of this kid's life. He's your son, too. Just because you're
not ready now doesn't mean you'll never want to be."
Edd looked into Kevin's eyes and was frozen by the understanding he found
there. He didn't expect Kevin to understand why he made his decision to give
the baby away, let alone his distance from the whole ordeal. He imagined Kevin
would be resentful and think of Edd as nothing but selfish, cold and spiteful,
instead of seeing the apprehension and seeds of longing at his core.
"I...I like the name 'Wyatt'."
Kevin smiled softly. "Wyatt..."
In that moment, Edd allowed himself to think dangerously. He thought of holding
his son while sharing a proud, watery smile with Kevin. He thought of late
nights quieting little cries and trading off with Kevin when he was dead on his
feet. He thought of little hands in his and round blue eyes gazing up at him
with trust and wonder alike. He thought of fretting over messy meals and
holidays, and happy smiles for birthdays. He thought of wavering, determined
first steps on tiny feet and bright, joyous laughter.
Then, in the next moment, those thoughts shattered with the sound of the door
slamming shut, the jingle of keys, and a cool, authoritative voice calling his
name.
"Edward! We're home!"
The woman in navy slacks and a crème blouse stopped at the living room doorway.
Sharp, hazel eyes locked to where Edd and Kevin sat on the couch. Her grip on
her luggage loosened and she was more shocked than Edd had ever seen her. She
was joined by a slender man in a dark gray suit, blue-green eyes hard behind
the glare of his glasses. They took in Edd and Kevin's placement, the round
curve of Edd's belly and Kevin's hands upon it.
"What is the meaning of this?" Asked the man with a very pronounced English
accent.
Edd had never known terror until that moment. He could barely form words.
"Father..."
"I can't believe what I'm seeing here," said the woman. The cold edge of her
tone was curved very slightly by the hint of something that was decidedly
Eastern.
Edd felt Kevin's chest expand against his back, then the warmth of his breath
against his cheek as he spoke. "Mr. and Mrs. Vincent. I'm not sure if you
remember me, but I'm Kevin. Kevin Barr."
"I don't care who you are," exclaimed Mr. Vincent. "What have you done to my
son?"
"Father—"
"How could you have let this happen, Edward? How could you be so careless?"
Mrs. Vincent let go of her luggage and held out her hands as if to gesture to
the unimaginable right before her eyes.
With some effort, Edd got to his feet and Kevin followed, though Edd wasn't
sure if he could withstand this. His heart was racing, he felt sick, and he was
light-headed.
"Mother. Father. I can explain—"
"What is there to explain, Edward? You're now a statistic. One linked to a loss
of success," Mr. Vincent grated and Edd's head swam.
"Hey, now, wait a minute." Kevin stepped forward, brows drawn together. "No
matter how you feel about this, don't talk to him that way. Double D's already
been through enough."
"I'm sure you're well aware since you're the cause of this," Mrs. Vincent spat,
lips turned up in disgust.
"It was an accident," Kevin stressed stonily and Edd watched his parents grow
more livid.
Mr. Vincent jabbed a finger toward the front door and said, "Out of my house.
Now."
Kevin's face screwed up in disbelief with a minute shake of his head. "What?"
Mrs. Vincent folded her arms and stood at her full height, which wasn't much
next to her tall husband. "Get out or I call the police."
"Mother, please—"
"No, Edward. I don't want to hear a word of what you have to say. This is
completely over the line, and you know better. I am beyond disappointed in you.
In fact, I'm irate."
Edd's face flushed hot with the effort to withhold the tears that blurred his
vision. The lump in his throat was painful to speak around. "Mother—"
She snatched up the house phone from its dock on the small table next to the
doorway and Kevin breathed harshly through his nose. Edd gave Kevin a push, as
feeble as it was, and pleaded with him to go with his eyes alone. Kevin looked
at him with an anger so bright and hot that it radiated off of him. A vein in
his neck pulsed and his hands were curled tightly in fists that knew how to
hurt, how to harm and destroy.
"Please." Edd barely got the word out, thin and broken.
Kevin glared at him for a moment longer before he turned to glare at his
parents and then grabbed his keys from the table. He stopped before Mr. Vincent
only to say, "I get it, now." And Edd's heart cracked in a way he never knew it
could because Kevin's understanding knew no limits. Without ever having to say
it, Kevin knew the deepest, darkest place hidden inside of Edd and understood
it for what it was, which was too complex for words to describe.
With the slam of the door, rattling in its frame, shaking Edd to the core, he
was gone.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
"We taught you better than this."
"How could you throw away your future like this?"
"What about MIT? Your scholarship?"
"All this for some boy?"
"We trusted you, Edward, and you do this?"
"How could you get yourself caught in this situation?"
"Your whole life—Gone! Wasted!"
"And to think you could hide it from us?"
"When were you going to tell us?"
"What did you plan to do? Shack up with that boy under our noses and raise your
mistake thinking we'd be none the wiser?"
"I can't believe this."
"I'm so disappointed, Edward. I don't even know what to say."
Edd sat with his eyes cast to a distant corner of the room, numb. The rush of
emotion that overcame him earlier was just a dull throb he suppressed in the
face of his world's biggest critics. Mr. and Mrs. Vincent paced from one side
of the room to the other, so livid that they couldn't contain the level of
their voices, which grew shrill in Mrs. Vincent's case. Their faces were red
and their eyes glittered dangerously.
The fetus nudged against him and kicked his bladder, but he didn't move for
fear of drawing more attention to himself. He was content with letting them go
on their tirade of disappointment until the steam blew out of them. Then, he
planned to slink to his room and lick his wounds in private.
"I don't understand any of this," Mrs. Vincent said with hopeless defeat. "And
you chose to keep it."
"Boy."
"What?"
Edd looked into her startled face and said, "It is a boy."
Mrs. Vincent's mouth flapped unintelligently for a moment before snapping shut.
She shook her head and turned away.
"This is all the fault of that boy!" Mr. Vincent insisted with a sneer.
"The only thing Kevin is in fault of is caring for me when neither of you
could."
Mr. Vincent shook his head in disbelief. "Do you hear yourself?"
"Do you?"
"This is preposterous."
"Don't strain yourselves with concern for me. I'm giving the baby away. Think
of it as a minor setback." He went to stand and make his exit, but Mr. Vincent
looked him dead in the eye and pointed to the sofa.
"Sit."
So he sat, hating every minute of it.
"We're not done here, Edward. Not one bit."
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
Like some small child, Edd gathered Jim from his desk and closed himself in the
closet to have a well-managed cry. It wasn't woeful sobbing, but it was a near
thing for a few solid minutes. Then, he found his resolve and grasped onto it
in order to stay the course. Once he was of sound mind and free of tears, he
called Kevin.
He picked up on the second ring.
"Double D? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." His voice was a little hoarse, so he cleared his throat.
"Everything is fine."
"Like hell it is. No offense but your parents are dicks."
"No," Edd sighed. "They just have high expectations. I've disappointed them."
Kevin was silent on the other end for a moment before he responded. "Look,
Double D. I never questioned your relationship with your parents. I figured
everyone has their own way of being a family, but I've got to be honest, here.
This isn't good or healthy. Not for you or the baby."
"You don't understand, Kevin. My parents...they raised me to be self-
sufficient, intelligent, and practical. They worked hard on their careers so
that I can grow up comfortably. They go out to do lectures, seminars,
conventions and save people's lives with the confidence that I understand why
they do so. They handle all the financial things and all I have to do is keep
the house clean, keep my grades perfect, and achieve my own success. MIT was
always in the plan. NASA was always in the plan. Getting pregnant in my senior
year of high school, however, was never part of the plan in any way, shape or
form."
"Still..."
"Just imagine if you came home and Wyatt did something similar? What would you
think?"
The answer was immediate. "I would think I failed as a parent by not being
there for my kid when he needed me most."
Edd nodded. "Fair enough, and that's why I wanted you to take this baby. He
would never have to be me."
"Double D, you're amazing. You're pretty much everything your parents raised
you to be, and that won't change just because you're pregnant. It just means
you're even more than what they thought you would be." Then he said, "And what
do you mean by 'wanted'?"
Kevin didn't make this easy. He was so supportive and understanding. It almost
hurt to say the next words. "They want to take me away from Peach Creek, Kevin.
Me and the baby." In fact, they said they should never have moved to Peach
Creek to begin with, but Edd couldn't say that. He couldn't imagine a life
without Ed, Eddy, Sarah, Jamie, Johnny, Rolf, Nazz, Lee, Marie, May, and Kevin.
They were part of him as much as the life growing inside of him was. They
helped raise him when he parents couldn't and taught him things his parents
could never teach.
"They want to go to France."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Kevin exploded. "I was okay with you leaving,
Double D. It sucked, but at least it was your choice. I knew you had things to
figure out on your own. It's your life, but my kid? They can't take my kid away
from me. They can't do that!"
"Kevin, they're my parents."
"Yeah, Double D, they are." The words sounded like an accusation. "But you're
eighteen, now. They don't have a say in this."
The lump resurfaced and Edd breathed evenly in the dark of the closet.
"Come stay with me," Kevin said softly. "I'll talk to my parents. I'm sure
they'll be happy to have you around. They think you're pretty awesome, anyway,
especially after you got us an extra free 300 channels. My dad's been watching
more sports than he can keep track of."
Edd placed a hand on his belly and thought about his life. Then, he thought
about his child.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
The June heat was dry. The sun was a bright, white burst in a blue sky with not
a cloud in sight. Rows of blue and gold were lined before Edd who stood on the
stage with school staff at his back. Faces of families and friends looked up at
him with a mixed interest of many kinds. Some cameras and phones were poised in
the air to capture the moment.
Edd placed his hands onto the podium, took a deep breath, and began.
"Hello, Peach Creek High School Class of 2015. I know that a lot of you are
looking up at me bewildered, confused, and even just a bit scandalized. I know
that you're wondering how I, your class valedictorian, came to stand before you
like this. I know you didn't expect this of me, but that's the thing about
life. No matter how much you plan or prepare, life is strange and unexpected.
We all began high school with promise and expectation. We formed our idea of
high school from books, movies, and stories passed down from friends and
family. We were prepared to be club members, school leaders, prom kings and
queens, sports stars, game winners and game changers. Then, we learned that
high school wasn't what we thought it would be. It was difficult at times, fun
at times, and unpredictable at times. Sometimes we lost. Sometimes we failed.
Sometimes we didn't get the girl or guy we wanted. Sometimes we just didn't
want to come to school that day."
There was a subtle swell of chuckling from the crowd.
"But here we are. First as freshmen, then sophomores, juniors, seniors, and now
graduates. We aren't the people that we were when we all began high school. We
made new friends. We stepped out of our comfort zone. We reached new heights.
We did things we didn't think we were capable of. We grew and we changed. We
took on high school, faced the strange and unexpected, and we succeeded.
However, this is not the end. After we part today, life will be waiting for us
with more of the strange and unexpected, no matter how much we've planned and
prepared for it. But no matter how difficult life gets, remember today.
Remember that you can succeed despite the obstacles, and when we see each other
again ten years from now, we will be different people than who we are now. Some
of us will have accomplished great things for the world. Some of us will have
accomplished great things for ourselves. Some of us will be right on track with
our original plan, and some of us will be on whole new paths. Some of us will
have more friends than we can count." He placed a hand to his stomach. "Some of
us will have families. Whatever the future brings, we'll be there amongst the
strange and unexpected--a success.
So, without further ado: congratulations to the Peach Creek High School Class
of 2015. Thank you."
The crowd erupted in a roar of applause and Edd lifted his chin as he left the
stage, blue gown billowing around his belly as he went. He joined in with the
applause when Kevin's name was called to receive his diploma, smiling as bright
as the sun and looking handsome in his cap and gown. He winked at Edd before he
left the stage and Edd couldn't help but smile. Nazz garnered many shouts of
pride and compliments to her beauty, which was apparent, but none were bigger a
fan than Marie, who proudly shouted, "That's my girlfriend, right there! Be
jealous!" Edd swelled with pride when Ed crossed the stage to receive his
diploma because he worked hard for it and deserved it. Marie got a special
brand of recognition from her PAAC members who chanted her name and declared
their love. Eddy put extra swagger into his walk across the stage to receive
his diploma, and even his older brother climbed from the depths of hell to show
his support with a loud whistle.
When Edd's name was called, he stood to the applause of the entire
congregation. Even the baby gave a kick, and Edd felt victorious.
After closing remarks were made, tassels were shifted, and the sky momentarily
littered with blue and gold caps, Edd found himself standing before his mother
and father, who looked at him with a reserved kind of pride.
"You did well, Edward," said Mr. Vincent. "We're proud of you."
"Thank you."
"We leave for France in two weeks, so we should get home and begin packing,"
said Mrs. Vincent.
"Actually," Edd stopped them before they turned to head for the car. "I've
already packed a bag. I've decided to stay with the Barrs until you leave for
your trip."
Mrs. Vincent regarded her son with careful scrutiny. "Is this really the path
you wish to take, Edward? After all we've done for you? After all we've
planned?"
"The path is the same, Mother. I just have a companion along the way. Like I
said, life is full of the unexpected, but you've taught me to be prepared. I'm
prepared to take this on and deal with in my own way. We'll be here again when
I graduate from MIT and I'll Skype you from NASA between lunch breaks. You've
prepared me for life. I'm ready."
Mrs. Vincent pressed a hand down her blouse and Mr. Vincent gave a nod. "Very
well, Edward. We shall hold you to it."
"You always do." It wasn't an accusation and they knew it. It was a simple
truth. Trust in Edd's capabilities. "Enjoy your time in France. I hope the
conference goes well."
Mrs. Vincent nodded and then stepped forth to wrap Edd in a hug that was stiff,
but desperate. She brushed a hand down the hair at the back of his head, then
cleared her throat and stepped back. They all ignored the slight shimmer of
tears in her eyes.
"Yes. Send Mrs. and Mr. Barr our apologies. It was rude of us to call their son
spawn and to condemn him like we did." Edd could still remember the shouting
match his and Kevin’s parents had on the front porch the day after his parents
returned. Some of the neighbors of the cul-de-sac were still talking about it.
Edd gave a small smile because it took a lot for his mother to admit to being
wrong, so he knew she meant it. "I will."
She gave a nod, then she and her husband turned and headed toward where the
cars were parked. He didn't need to turn to see Kevin to know he was standing
by his side, watching his parents go.
"Everything good?" He asked, snaking an arm around Edd's expanded waist.
Edd breathed easy. "Yeah. It is."
Chapter End Notes
     Shakespeare would chuckle at the amount of drama in this one. Also,
     that cheesy valedictory speech, lol! I barely know what I'm doing
     anymore. I think the follow-up fic to this might be a little
     more...refined (maybe)?
     Anyway, one more chapter to go. :)
***** Life *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Edd rose to consciousness engulfed in warmth. The soft press of lips was at his
neck and marched languidly along his shoulder. One big hand rubbed circles over
the tumid mound of his belly, sweeping lower with each pass. He moaned drowsily
once fingers sank into the thick hairs down below.
"What time is it?"
Kevin continued to press kisses along his neck as he answered, "About two in
the afternoon."
Edd groaned, but he wasn't surprised. Wyatt, as they've agreed to call
him—still much to Edd's surprise, played his organs like drums for most of the
night, and Edd became king of the toilet as a result. When he wasn't sat warily
upon his porcelain throne (because even standing was tiresome), he was lying in
bed wincing at every sharper jab the fetus landed. It all left him exhausted.
"My parents are out," Kevin continued as he brushed his fingers along Edd's
stirring member. "Won't be back until later."
"Quite the opportunist," Edd moaned and stretched into the touch.
Kevin grinned against his skin and said, "When it knocks, I answer."
Edd pressed himself back into the curve of Kevin's body to bring friction to
his hardened dick. Kevin moaned in response and rolled his hips.
"I wanna hear how much you want me," he said gruffly against the curve of Edd's
ear. "How much you like it."
Edd grew hot despite himself. "So crude."
"I like the sound of your voice when I'm fucking you," he punctuated with a
thrust while Edd's throbbing dick slid slowly in his grip.
"Kevin." Despite himself, the smoky heat in his voice and the waver as it
trailed belied his admonishment.
"That's what I like to hear," Kevin grinned. He grasped one of Edd's thighs and
hiked it up enough to press himself deep into the tight heat of Edd's body,
rocking slowly like a lazy tide. He kept that pace for only a moment before he
began to add more power behind his thrusts, knocking Edd's moans from deep
within.
"Lemme hear you, babe. C'mon."
"Kevin, please," Edd stressed, head tilted back enough for Kevin to smear his
lips along his neck in sloppy kisses. He was trying to admonish once again, and
failed for how much his body lit up with pleasure from Kevin's ministrations.
He wasn't one for dirty talk or being an extremely chatty partner in bed, but
he found himself freeing his voice as they rocked, inhibitions melting away.
So, when Kevin asked, "You like that, huh?" Edd nodded with added enthusiasm
and panted, "Yes," over and over with every thrust.
Soon, Kevin was thrusting up into Edd's body with enough power to rock the bed
and fill the air with the quick staccato of slick flesh on flesh. Edd reached
back to fist his red hair and Kevin moaned into the curve his neck.
"Fuck, Double D." He growled. "That feel good? Huh, babe?"
"Yes," Edd panted, "So good. Heavens, fu- Kevin!" Heat washed over his body and
Edd moaned like a wounded animal. He slammed his eyes shut and nearly shouted,
"I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming—Oh, god!"
He clenched around Kevin, spilled in his fist, and painted the bedsheets while
light burst beneath his eyelids.
Kevin thrust with renewed purpose as he chased his own orgasm into Edd's tight
heat, shouting, "Fuck," over and over until his hips grew erratic and he filled
Edd with his hot seed.
Afterward, they were nothing but a loose pile of limbs as they lay catching
their breath.
Then the door slammed downstairs.
"Boys!" It was Mrs. Barr returning from her outing. "Get descent and come help
me prepare dinner."
Edd flushed hot all over and Kevin groaned, hiding in the crook of Edd's neck.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
"Signing up for online classes?" Kevin asked when he peeked at the laptop
screen over Edd's shoulder.
Edd hummed affirmatively. "Instead of just lazing about, I've decided to at
least get the Gen-Ed track out of the way."
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. School, that is." Kevin sounded
apprehensive but determined in that way that he did when the matter was
important to him without being sure if Edd would agree. So, Edd closed the
laptop to look at him when he sat next to him on the couch.
"So, school is starting soon and Wyatt will be due not long after," Kevin began
and Edd nodded. "Rolf and I have an apartment down at State and he wouldn't
mind you being there at all. He knows the situation."
Edd inflated his lungs to calm the sudden rustle of nerves within before he
said, "I shouldn't, Kevin. I don't want to distract you from your studies."
Kevin took both of his hands into his and looked him straight in the eye. "You
and Wyatt would be the only things I can think about if I'm all the way at
State and you're here. I need to be here for you, Double D. You and the baby.
This is the home stretch. I'd lose it if anything happened, or if you went into
labor ahead of time and I'm not here to rush you to the hospital, feed you ice
chips, and let you crush my hand while I tell you to 'push'."
Edd couldn't help the small curve of his lips at the thought of Kevin
frantically getting him to the hospital and being the most supportive father-
to-be that ever was.
Still, he said, "My doctor is here, Kevin. Besides, I don't think any form of
travel is conducive at this time."
That made Kevin pause and press his lips together as the gears in his head
turned. It took a moment before he said, "Then, I'm deferring."
"Kevin—"
"No, Double D. I'm not leaving you here. I'm gonna be here when Wyatt is born."
"Kevin," Edd said evenly, "I don't want you to delay your studies because of
this. You promised your parents that you can handle all of this, and you can't
prove that to them if you start putting your life on hold now."
"The baby isn't gonna wait until the first holiday break to be born, Double D.
October first is the date, and he could decide to be early. If I need to put my
life on hold for a semester, I will."
"Then it's decided," said Edd with a huff. "I'm coming with you to State. I'm
already thrusting a lot on you, Kevin. The thought of you beginning college
late because of my decision will plague me for years to come. You'll begin
school on time and be present for the birth. I'll call the doctor and have the
information transferred to the hospital at State. We can make this work, Kev—"
Kevin scooped him up in a hug and held him tight, face nestled in his neck.
"You're amazing, Double D. And I know you made your decision for your own valid
reasons, but I think you'd be a great father to Wyatt."
Edd swallowed hard, then after a moment he wrapped his arms around Kevin as
best he could with his belly between them. He thought about his carefully
planned future, his life without the baby...Then he thought of his life with
the baby. Not for the first time did he wonder what it was he really wanted.
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
Edd absolutely did not enjoy packing, loading up the truck and van, and driving
to State. His back hurt, his feet hurt, his chest was tender, he was unbearably
hot, he had to pee every five minutes, and no matter how he sat, he was
uncomfortable. Rolf, no doubt trying to be helpful, went on and on about home
remedies that the child bearers of his home country practiced, but it only
managed to make Edd scowl while he expertly resisted reaching across the
passenger seat to strangle him.
After a particular fit in which Edd threatened his life, he traded off with
Kevin to drive the truck, even though Kevin was the better truck driver
(surprisingly enough).
Kevin placated Edd with food, iced drinks, and massages at rest stops until
they arrived at the illustrious East State University. Edd didn't even bother
helping with the unloading. Grateful that they were on the first floor, he
waddled into the apartment, located the bathroom, voided his bladder for what
seemed like the fiftieth time in the last two hours, then parked himself on the
couch. He would have gotten worked up into an obsessive cleaning frenzy
overused furniture, but he was too grateful that the place was pre-furnished at
all. It made taking a nap while Rolf and Kevin unloaded the truck and van that
much easier.
When he woke up, there were a few open boxes against the wall and he caught the
distinct aroma of orange chicken in the air.
"Kevin?" Edd sat up and winced. The couches were definitely not for sleeping
on.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Kevin came sweeping from the kitchenette with take-out
containers in hand. "Went out and grabbed us some grub. Rolf is hiding in his
room—something about not wanting to be eaten by dragons."
Edd barely resisted rolling his eyes. "Give him my apologies. Long travels
don't agree with me in my condition."
Kevin laughed as he sat next to Edd and handed over a carton and complimentary
chopsticks. "I think he gets it. He just wants to stay out of your way until we
get settled is all."
"Still," Edd began as he pried open the container to be bathed in the warm
steam of spices and sauce. His mouth watered a little. "I don't want him to
think I'm always so...unreasonable."
"Don't worry. Like I said, he gets it. He's cool. Rolf's my bro." Kevin tilted
his head back and hollered, "Right, bro?"
"That's right, Casanova Kevin-Boy!" Rolf shouted from the belly of the
apartment.
Kevin snorted. "That's my bro."
"The two of you are ridiculous," Edd commented before shoveling orange chicken
into his mouth although the ends of his lips curved slightly in a smile.
"This coming from the guy who used to come up with crazy scams with his two
best friends all named 'Ed'."
"The first is the result of the ingenuity of young, creative minds. I won't
regret the brilliance of my childhood. And the second is simple coincidence.
I'm sure there will be a number of 'Kevins' here that you will also share
classes with."
"I have dibs on 'Kev'. Or 'The Kev'. Or 'The Big Kevowski'."
"Or Casanova Kevin-Boy!" Shouted Rolf.
"Ridiculous," Edd reminded as he grinned into his take-out.
"Yeah, yeah," said Kevin, grinning just as much. They fell into companionable
silence until Kevin spoke again. "So, I was wondering. About us."
"Hmm?"
"I mean," Kevin pushed his food around with his chopsticks, "I know that just
because you're having my kid doesn't mean there's anything else between us,
but...We've rolled around in the sheets a few times—"
"Rolled around in the sheets?" Edd echoed with a raised brow.
Kevin turned scarlet. "Hey, we did. We got all kinds of hot and sweaty
together, and it's been great. Amazing, actually. I was just wondering if it
was more than that."
Edd lowered his container and looked at Kevin. He was lounging on his side of
the couch in sweatpants and an old Peach Cobblers t-shirt, looking all manner
of casual save for the flush of his skin and the tap of his foot. Part of Edd
wanted to cuddle up to Kevin and rest against the line of his body like he fit
there by design. He wanted to lean over and taste the orange chicken on his
lips. He wanted those fingers to knead the ache away from his lower back. He
wanted to roll around in the sheets with him, then curl in bed with him and
sleep the night away like his presence was essential for the task.
Part of him whispered about emails, phone calls, texts, and Skype calls about a
chubby infant with big blue eyes and red hair—Kevin proud and happy.
Part of him whispered about more than he dared to think of.
Kevin looked up from his food and into Edd's eyes and Edd felt as safe and
whole as he did when he was just a small child, protected by ignorance and his
parents. However, it was different in that he was aware of the dangers and the
unknowable unknown of the world, but with Kevin it all seemed ok. The world
wasn't something to guard against, but something to explore, to seize and
experience.
So, when prompted, Edd said, "I think so. What do you think?"
Kevin breathed deep and smiled. "I think you already know."
 
                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 
Edd was sat with his laptop and a bowl of fruit salad when he felt pain ripple
through his back and belly. It was enough to give him pause and rub at the
large, low hanging mound. He breathed and waited because Braxton Hicks were a
thing that snuck up on him lately and Kevin had been ready to speed to the
hospital then, even though Edd assured him that there was no cause for alarm or
a hospital visit.
Eighteen minutes later and the pain returned, rippling from back to front, and
just a tad more potent than the first. Edd drew in a breath and counted thirty
seconds before saying, "Oh."
Then he began to leak into the couch.
"Okay," he said as he sat his laptop and fruit salad aside. With some effort,
he managed to get off the couch to locate the fabric cleaner and a sponge.
"This is happening," he said to himself as he sprayed, waited for the solution
to soak into the fabric, then paused as another contraction rippled through his
body. He took a breath after thirty seconds and began to scrub. "I'm prepared
for this. Everything is perfectly planned. The Go-Bag is by the door. The
doctor is expecting us. Kevin is just five minutes away in class. Everything is
going according to plan."
He meticulously scrubbed the amniotic fluid from the couch, then went to take a
shower and change into something more comfortable for the duration of what he
knew to be only the first stage of labor.
Labor.
He was in labor.
The thought chased threads of excitement through him and he smiled down at his
belly as he rubbed it while he sat propped up by all the pillows in the
apartment on the bed he shared with Kevin with a bottle of cold water. He
planned and prepared, but he wasn't prepared to actually be excited. He was
sure he would dread the whole experience from start to finish, but he felt
almost giddy here at the start.
"You're right on time, Wyatt," he told the unborn as another contraction
caressed him with a stroke of pain.
Two hours later and the door swung open then closed heavily. "Babe!" It was
Kevin, who had taken to using the moniker more and more in the past weeks since
they've been living together as 'more than just bed buddies who are having a
baby'.
"I got Pad Thai. I know how much you dig Pad Thai. Got extra red pepper, too.
But, I gotta say, if it's just gonna give you heartburn, I think you should lay
off the red pepper, no matter how much you crave it. Hey, why are you just
sitting here? Are you doing that 'mind palace' thing again?"
Edd opened his eyes and looked up at Kevin who stood in the doorway looking
puzzled. Edd opened his mouth, then released a breath and pressed his hand over
his stomach as another contraction swooped in just fifteen minutes after the
last.
Kevin's eyes widened. "Is it time?"
Edd chose his words carefully. "Nearly."
Kevin's eyes widened more. "Are you sure it's not a false alarm like last
time?"
Edd nodded. "Positive. Fifteen minutes apart and increasing in potency. This is
the real deal, Kevin. Wyatt will be making his grand debut hours from now."
Kevin's brows furrowed this time as he walked over to the bed. "Hours?"
"Yes, Kevin. Labor doesn't usually happen in a flurry and panic like it seems
in television and movies. I've been in labor for well over two hours now and
everything has been fine."
"Are you sure? Because we could just go to the hospital now. Just in case. I
can skip the rest of my classes for the day. All of my professors know the
deal. Holy, shit, I'm gonna be a dad."
Edd grinned. "Yes, you are. The best dad any child could ever dream of." Edd
reached across the bed to take Kevin's hand, just to hold. "I'm usually very
adamant about your studies, but could you call your professors and let them
know that you'll be absent? I don't expect we'll be going to the hospital any
time soon, but...Stay with me."
A smile melted over Kevin's previous nervousness like butter and he settled on
the bed next to Edd. "That goes without saying."
Seven hours later and Edd was lying on his side counting eighty seconds of jaw
clenching pain every five minutes. This had been going on for the past fifteen
minutes now. Up until recently, Edd was telling Kevin about an article he read
regarding evidence of water on mars, but he'd since fallen quiet and Kevin
watched him tentatively, feeding him ice chips as promised.
"Call the doctor," Edd told him and momentary panic seized Kevin's face.
"What? Is something wrong? Is the baby alright?"
"The fetus is fine, Kevin, just call. Tell her that the contractions are five
minutes apart. Can you also grab my shoes and put the Go-Bag in the car?"
Kevin fumbled with his cell. "It's showtime?"
Edd nodded as he eased himself up. "It's showtime."
Three hours later and Edd was groaning against the pillow in the labor room.
Everything hurt, he was blazing hot, and he hated everything. He hated the fact
that he had a womb and could give birth. He hated that it hurt. He hated the
fact that he had to be conscious for this. He hated Kevin's stupid, supportive
face and breathing exercises.
"Just breathe, babe. You've got this. You were made for this."
"Kevin, if you say another word, I will grab the nearest sharp object and stab
you in the gut, and then tell you to breathe," Edd gritted out.
The hospital gown itched, he was sweaty, and everything hurt.
"I know this is difficult and you're in pain, so I won't take anything you say
right now personally."
"You don't know anything!" Edd all but shouted, then he brought his hands up to
cover the sweat and tears as they fell down his face. "You and your smirky face
and the stupid scotch! Why did I drink the scotch? Why did I do this to myself?
Fuck!"
"Whoa! Okay, Double D. Just calm down. Just—"
"Say 'breathe' and I will cut you. I swear on the life of my unborn child, I
will spill your guts all over this floor and you'll be forced to write your
name on the birth certificate in your own blood while they sew you back
together."
"Jeez, you're scary when you're in labor," Kevin said in honest shock.
"You haven't even seen scary, Kevin! Just wait until I'm forced to push your
child out through a hole you usually have to work yourself into on a good day!
There will be tearing, Kevin! And blood! And it's your fault! All of it!" Then
Edd began to sob, wet and pathetic. "Stupid fucking scotch!"
"Hey, hey. It'll be okay. I know this part sucks right now, and it's only gonna
get a lot harder, but then afterward, Wyatt will be out here in the world with
us. We'll get to see him with our own eyes and hold him and everything."
That only made Edd cry harder because he didn't want Wyatt. He didn't want any
of this. This freaking sucked. He wished he could take it all back. Have a do-
over. Shut the door in Kevin's face that Christmas night when he came knocking.
Anything but this.
Another three hours and Edd was in the delivery room surrounded by staff and
Kevin telling him to push. He gripped Kevin's hand tight and bore down onto the
pressure. It was difficult. The most difficult thing he'd ever attempted to do.
One wild, delirious part of him was sure that the fetus wouldn't come out. He
was too big. He couldn't do it. He wished he could have a cesarean, but it was
far too late.
Kevin had a different opinion. "You're doing so freaking well, babe. Holy shit,
are you doing amazing. I can hardly believe you're actually bringing our kid
into this world! This is...holy shit. This is so amazing!"
"Crowning!" Called the doctor.
"Did you hear that? You're crowning! You're almost there!" Kevin cheered.
"Push!" He groaned as Edd crushed his hand. "There ya go!"
"Kevin, I'm so sorry for all the things I said before," Edd said in a pained
rush. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. But I can't do this. I can't. It's not
working. He's not going to fit."
"You're doing perfectly well, Mr. Vincent. Just keep doing what you've been
doing. Push. Can you give me just a few more?" The doctor asked patiently. Edd
nodded with tears in his eyes like a small child and Kevin kissed his sweaty
temple. "Alright, then. Push."
Edd pushed and pushed and sobbed and pushed some more until he was screaming.
Then, the delivery room went quiet until a wet little cry chased the quiet
away. Kevin was looking across the room with tears in his eyes and Edd simply
laid there listening to the sounds of the staff shuffling around the room with
the crying infant that had been a passenger in his body for over nine months.
He tracked Kevin's gaze full of adoration as the crying grew closer until a
bundle came into view and was placed into his arms.
He looked down and there was a baby with a wrinkled little red face and a full
head of dark hair. His eyes were murky blue and he seemed pissed, crying at the
top of his little lungs for all of thirty seconds until he calmed. His weight
was slight and he squirmed with little coordination to speak of, just a tiny
human new to the world reliant on the security of the ones who love him.
And for some undeniably strange and baffling reason, Edd did love him. He loved
him more than he thought he could ever love anything or anyone in his life, and
it'd only nearly been a minute.
"He's beautiful, Double D," Kevin said, crowded next to him in awe. "He's
perfect. Look at what we did. A whole baby."
"Hello, Wyatt," Edd said, choking softly on his tears. "Welcome to the world. I
never knew how much I've waited for you." How much I wanted you.
Edd thought of his life. He thought of MIT and NASA. He thought of first steps,
first words, first holidays, and first birthdays. He thought of long nights
studying and quieting fitful cries. He thought of cleaning messes and happy
smiles and big blue eyes looking up at him with trust and wonder. He thought of
little hands at his workstation and the slight weight in his arms. He thought
of years watching a child grow, marking the time with laughter, dinners,
breakfasts, lunches, snacks, trips, school projects, open houses, PTA meetings,
and graduations.
He thought of Kevin at his side, always for every step of the way, because
Kevin's love and devotion burned bright enough to find Edd's light hidden deep
within, and together, they could take on the strange and unexpected.
Chapter End Notes
     And that's the end of the official Prime fic. Immediately following
     this will be The Prime Guide, which will explain a bit more of this
     reproductive trope I've whipped up. If you're a fanfic writer and
     would like to use the trope, you have the green light. Just make sure
     to tag it as a "Prime!AU" fic so I can read and enjoy!
     Also, there will be a Nazz/Marie Prime fic as well that kind of runs
     alongside this one (more so in order to tell a story from the
     perspective of a princifemale).
     Thanks for reading!
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!