#if it goes the same way as rusty brown this will barely be about jimmy corrigan

[thingsifindonthegroundsometimes]

falling falling falling falling now i hit the window falling falling falling falling now i hit the ground, dying dying dying dying now i hit the window, dying dying dying dying now i hit the ground

alive alive alive alive (HOME SWEET HOME)

[gettingfrilly]

Make it count, EddEddy Fanfic

This was supposed to be a short drabble but it got wildly out of hand. Curse my verbose nature. eddeddy, first kiss, underage drinking, rated T

"I was kind of hoping my first kiss would be enjoyable."

The steady creaking of the rusty chains next to him comes to a stop for the first time tonight, Eddy's feet planting in the dirt to cease the momentum of his swing. Edd glances over at him just as he hears the pop of the bottle neck being pulled from his lips, Eddy's brow furrowed as he looks back at him.

"What're ya on about, Dee?"

"I was just thinking," Edd starts, reaching to grab the bottle from Eddy's hand. What little condensation still clings to the brown glass has long since gone lukewarm, the liquid inside not fairing much better. Perhaps it's his own indulgence in said liquid that allows him to let his fingers linger on Eddy's a split second before he takes the bottle from him and finishes his thought. "Do you remember our creek cruise scam?"

Eddy grunts and scrunches his face, his typical reaction to a past failed scam being brought up. "Yeah, I remember."

"And do you remember when the Kankers boarded our 'ship?'"

Now Eddy's lips pucker in distaste, his typical reaction to the Kankers being mentioned. "Uh-huh."

"Well... that was when I received my first kiss. The first of several from Marie, actually." He sighs and upends the bottle, gulping his small swig down quickly to avoid actually tasting the drink as much as he can. The stale flavor still gets him, though, and he grimaces while sticking his tongue out through the gap in his teeth, not nearly as used to the taste of beer as Eddy is.

"I was reminded of it today when I was over at Ed's house. I overheard Sarah and Jimmy discussing their hopes and expectations for their own firsts." Edd continues. "I suppose it made me kind of sad. It's not something I get daydream about anymore."

And this is why he doesn't drink often. Well, other than the fact that it's illegal and immoral and he could get in huge trouble. Drinking doesn't make him lighter and bolder like Eddy, or jovial like Ed—it just makes him sad, in a dreary, pathetic kind of way. He's already the least fun of the trio, as far as he's concerned, and he's loath to further accentuate the difference between himself and his two friends. But Eddy always makes sharing a drink sound like such a good idea, same as how he manages to make everything sound like a good idea; plus there's Edd's own underhanded motivations involving lingering fingers and indirect kisses.

"That don't count." Eddy interrupts Edd's reverie in a firm voice.

"Pardon?"

"I said that don't count." Eddy takes the bottle back from him, taking his own swig. "A first kiss is something both people gotta be into. I don't count any of my Kanker kisses, and neither should you." There's a bitterness to Eddy's voice alongside the usual stubbornness, a can of worms Edd is unsure whether he wants to open or not.

"Ah... I suppose that's one way to look at it." It's the way he wants to look at it, at least. It's not the first time he's wished he could view the world a little more like Eddy, stubbornly holding onto the notion that things are going his way, or at least will be very soon, regardless of what's going on around him.

"It's the right way to look at it. So go ahead and daydream, Romeo."

Edd hums in response, then goes quiet, sitting with Eddy's surprising wisdom. Eventually he hears the old swing set start to creak again, Eddy's restless body gently swinging back and forward, only just barely lifting his feet off the ground. The old playground has made for a good night time haven in recent years, the only members of their group young enough to still have interest in the playground being Sarah and Jimmy. The new families who have started moving into the newly constructed homes this side of the lane are either still childless or have children far too young to wander into the playground alone at night. When all three of them are together for... delinquent activities, the junkyard still makes for a safer bet. When it's just the two of them, without Ed's rambunctiousness, the playground is the more convenient choice. It's also, Edd frequently likes to note, the less stinky choice, especially when considering the effects the hot summer sun has on the piles of refuse. It's much more pleasant here overall, with the illumination of the street lamps nearby and moving playground equipment to keep Eddy's body occupied.

It has been just the two of them more often, as well. Not that either of them are hanging out with Ed less; they're just hanging out with each other more, spending more nights than not decompressing together here on the swings, or on the merry-go-round, or the monkey bars, talking about school, family, friends, life. Sometimes recreational substances are involved, sometimes not—sometimes Edd partakes, sometimes he doesn't. He can't remember when exactly this started, but he knows how much he appreciates and has even started to somewhat depend on their private rendezvous. He can feel their friendship evolving into something too scary to name, a fragile in-between that could crumple in his touch if he's not careful. He can only hope Eddy feels it too.

"So, how's that daydreaming going?"

"Hm?" Edd swivels his head to look at Eddy, blinking owlishly at him, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion into his personal thoughts.

"Your smoochin' day dreams. You've been quiet for so long I figured that's what your big smart brain was up to." Eddy sends him a mischievous smirk. "Anything steamy happening up there?"

"Ah—" Curse his propensity to blush at the slightest provocation. "I don't see how that's any of your business, Eddy." He sputters.

"Prude. Come on." Eddy prods him with his (filthy, muddy, dirty) shoe, jostling his swing in the process. "Who you playin' tonsil hockey with up their? Anyone I know?" His leer and grin are downright vicious now, eyebrows bouncing so quickly Edd's surprised they don't take off in flight.

"No one! I was just thinking about how nice of a night it is. That's all, really." It's partially the truth, though he wasn't thinking about just this night in particular.

"Sure." Eddy draws the word out, unconvinced. "Well, if you won't tell me who, then what? You said you hoped it'd be enjoyable. So how ya enjoyin' it?"

Edd frowns at Eddy's uncharacteristic nosiness into this particular subject. "I really wasn't thinking about that, honest! But if it will sate your curiosity..." He sighs wistfully, looking up at the night sky. "I'd like my first kiss to be with someone I know well. Someone I'm already close to, who already understands the depths of me. Nothing rushed or awkward—just something new between two familiar souls, maybe sparking a nervous excitement. And, well, not to be shallow, but it wouldn't hurt if they were at least somewhat attractive." He tacks that on at the end, mumbling shyly as he kicks the dirt at his feet.

There's a beat of silence that leaves Edd feeling cold despite the warm summer evening air, fretting for a moment that he perhaps said too much—

"Gee, sounds familiar. Except, ya know, change the somewhat attractive part to extremely attractive and good looking and devilishly handsome."

Eddy's voice boasts the easy confidence alcohol usually brings him instead of the faux confidence he typically carries himself with. When Edd chances a glance at him, however, he finds that Eddy isn't even looking at him, face slightly turned away as he stares off into the treeline, thumbs dipping nervously in and out of the crevices of the chain links. Edd's grip on his own swing chains tightens, palms becoming slightly slicked with sweat.

"Well. Perhaps I am speaking of someone you know." He doesn't know where that came from, feeling as though his mind had been a blank canvas when the words suddenly left his mouth. Good lord, he's never drinking around Eddy again.

"Oh yeah?" Eddy perks up almost instantly, turning to face Edd again with another mischievous smirk. It's different this time, though, the razor sharp edges of his smile dulled and softened like wax under a gentle flame, leaving his mouth looking enticingly warm and pliable. His half lidded eyes make for a good match, the whole effect not unlike something fuzzy and fluffy lulling its prey into a false sense of security before the teeth and claws come out.

Good lord, he has got to drink with Eddy more often.

"Yes." Edd sounds a lot more breathless than he'd like to, his already present blush deepening in embarrassment. "Someone I'm rather close to at the moment, both figuratively and literally."

'Well, shit." Eddy laughs, placing the nearly empty beer bottle down on the ground next to the others before reaching over to grab one of the chains of Edd's swing, pulling him closer. "Kinda sounds like we want the same thing here. Yeah?" Eddy questions softly, seeking permission with thinly veiled nerves and desperation.

Edd answers him quickly with fervent nodding, eyelids falling to half mast as he subconsciously pokes his tongue out to lick suddenly dry feeling lips. "And you, Eddy? What would you like your first kiss to be like?"

"With someone who won't make fun of me if I ain't no good at it." He answers shockingly honestly in a rare show of vulnerability, causing Edd's heart to twist itself up and wring itself dry.

"I would never, Eddy."

"Good."

Eddy's free hand lands on Edd's shoulder, shifting along his sleeve until he can feel his thumb graze the side of his neck. It moves up from there, Eddy's fingers rising onto tensed tendons one by one until his thumb rests next to Edd's pink ear. The touch tickles, sending a shiver up his spine as he leans forward, eyes slipping shut when Eddy closes the distance between them.

It's dry, is the first thing Edd notes, used to the overenthusiastic wet smacks of the Kanker sisters. Dry and soft, no sticky cheap lipstick staining his skin and making him want to squirm. It's warm as well, the heat between them growing as their lips stay put instead of moving all over in feverish pecks, Eddy exhaling through his nose and further heating where they're conjoined. Then Eddy tilts his head, causing their lips to shift against each other in a way that pulls a small sound out of Edd's throat, shifting his own head in the opposite direction to get more of that belly-quivering friction.

It ends too soon, the two of them parting nervously with soft sighs, gazing at each other through their eyelashes as Edd chews his lip and Eddy squirms in his swing. After a moment, Eddy lets Edd go, taking his hand off his shoulder and releasing his chain. Edd catches a glimpse of imprints left by the chain on Eddy's palm where he gripped too tightly before looking away and at the ground, trying and failing to suppress the small smile spreading over his face.

"Well?" Eddy asks, voice back to being tinged with the faux confidence Edd is used to. "Enjoyable enough for you?"

"Mm..." Edd hums contentedly, shyly hiding his smile behind his hand. "Indeed. And you, Eddy?" he asks, glancing his way.

Eddy gives him one more smirk, side eyeing him before closing his eyes and shrugging his shoulders. "Eh."

"You—!" Edd tries to push Eddy, but just ends up making his own swing jerk to the side, arms too weak to budge Eddy's sturdy body. "You're a dog! Not a chivalrous bone in your body! I had hoped to believe that with this, at least, you would have the good graces to be somewhat of a gentleman, but it seems even now you can't resist the urge to be a jokester, a prankster, a kidder, and an all around—!"

Edd makes another attempt to push him and has the words stolen from him when Eddy grabs his wrist, laughing like a hyena without a shred of remorse. He uses his grip to pull Edd closer, flipping his arm over so he can press his lips against his wrist, hissing more laughter against his skin as Edd's breath catches in his tightening throat.

"I liked it, too, sockhead."