Author's Note: This story was inspired by Miguel's Coffee In The Morning. This is a KevEdd tale.

He smelled him and it before he saw them and sighed.

Irish Spring soap and no, the irony of the tall, tanned redhead with Irish roots using that particular brand wasn't lost on anyone...

Old Spice aftershave...

The Ralph Polo Lauren cologne he told her to get him for Christmas because he knew he couldn't get it for him himself. But hell, she asked...

Crest toothpaste. A smile that damn perfect isn't perfected by Colgate. And the crests that mouth brings him to, dear gawd...

And the it is the most heartbreaking of all.

Coffee. Black, half-caf with a touch of cream and two sugars. Just the way he liked it. But it only meant one thing. Time to go back to reality.

A pair of slightly full, chapped lips touched his forehead and he wanted to cry. But he knew this was how it was supposed to be.

"Hey, wake up, E. I brought you coffee."

Hazy blue eyes met bright green. And both young men had the same thought in their minds.

Damn those eyes.

He plastered a smile on his face as he sat up and took the coffee being offered to him.

"Good morning, Kevin."

"Hey."

He was already dressed. Jeans, green hoodie, red SnapBack on his head.

"I've already paid for the room, so you don't have to worry about that. But you gotta get moving. I've let you sleep long enough. It's already 8."

"Kevin!"

"Don't give me that! You know I hate waking you! And besides, you can be a monster if I wake you before you've had your eight hours."

He blushed. He knew the other liked watching him sleep, so he would know exactly what time he went to sleep and thus, would know what time to wake him after he slept for the doctor recommend eight hours.

He sighed and ran his free hand through his thick, inky black, curly hair. Kevin looked at him with sad eyes.

"I'm going to miss you."

"We have Secondary Education 400 together."

"You know what I mean."

He rolled his eyes. This was getting ridiculous. He wanted to kill Princess. Why did she have to do what she did the way she did? They could have avoided all of this if she had just acted like a lady for once. But he wouldn't love her the way he did if she wasn't being loud, obnoxious and getting him in crazy, mixed up situations where he ends up in a hotel room for the night with Kevin Barr, star quarterback, lady killer and his secret lover.

It started two years before...

Eddward Vincent is a sophomore education major at Peach Coast University. He had just come out of a preliminary planning meeting with the Earth Sciences Club at the library. They were going to be spending Spring Break in Costa Rica doing field research with a few renowed earth science researchers and oceanographers.

He ran into his best friend, Angela, a multimedia communications major, in the library's common area. She was standing with their friend, James, a theater major. James tapped away on his phone as the other two made small talk. Then they walked up.

Kevin, the school's star quarterback, his best friend, Nat, the star running back, and Rolf, the basketball team's best center in a decade.

And time stopped.

"Hey, boys," Angela said in that god awful flirtatious tone of her's that could melt the polar ice caps. James bristled and Edd wanted to disappear.

Three of the school's hottest athletes stood before them and Princess decided to hold court in the library's common area.

It's just who she was. She was by far one of the biggest personality's on campus. Caramel skin, a Foxy Brown sized Afro and a ready smile. They called her Princess because she always got what she wanted, how she wanted and when she wanted it. She just had a way about her that no one could say no to.

"Hey, yourself," Kevin said with that damn cocky grin of his. "Who's your friends?"

"Boys, meet Eddward Vincent and James Cute. We've know each other since we were kids."

"So you guys are from Appleton, too?," Nat asked.

"We are," James replied, without looking up from his phone, gesturing between himself and Princess. "Edd here is from Applebury."

"How do rival town kids get along so well?," Rolf asked. After a lifetime in Peach Creek, and thus a lifetime building hate for Lemon Brook, he didn't understand how people from rival towns could get along.

"We just kept it on the field," Edd replied.

He knew where the athletes before him were from and about their rival town. He also knew that the Peach Creek vs Lemon Brook rivalry extended into everything each town did. When the county sheriff is on standby with a paddy wagon at the opening of a new ice cream parlor, you know the rivalry goes deep.

Kevin scoffed and shook his head. Princess shot him a look. He just threw up his hands in mock surrender and snickered.

"I'm glad we kept it on the field, otherwise I wouldn't have such amazing friends," she said as she wrapped her arms around Edd's waist. He kissed her forehead. Then blue met sparkling brown.

Uh oh.

She snickered. And James gave a smirk.

Oh, dear.

"Especially those who just make you want to bury yourself in their ample apple bottoms," she grinned.

Edd went purple.

"I loathe you, woman," he said as he tried to hide his face in her shoulder. He failed, miserably. Why did she have to wear tennis shoes today?! He was 5'10. She was 5'3. There was nowhere for him to hide his face that was on fire at the moment.

She giggled and James shook his head.

Kevin, Nat and Rolf were confused. Why would he get embarrased over what she said? As far as they could see, the tall, thin young man, who looked to be swimming in his long, black peacoat, didn't have much to show for himself body wise.

"You love me," she said as she nuzzled his chest. Then her phone went off.

Checking her new text message, she sighed.

"Rave, don't wait up. My sisters have called an emergency meeting," she called over user shoulder as she walked away.

The actor shrugged, disinterest holding firm in his chestnut eyes.

"Rave?," Nat asked.

"That's what they call me," Rave said, tapping away on his phone once more.

Nat stepped up and snatched his phone from him and quickly put his number in his contact list.

"Since you seem to know how to use this thing, shoot me a line sometime. I'll give that name of yours a whole knew meaning," he smirked, honey colored eyes glimmering a amber fire.

Rave snatched his phone back, but he didn't make a move to remove the teal haired young man's information from his phone. He just gave him a cold once over and walked away.

"Don't wait up, my friends" Rolf said.

Kevin and Nat cocked a brow.

"I love emergency meetings," the tall, foreign young man said as he waved his phone at his friends and walked away with a huge grin on his face. He had been in America long enough to know how things worked. Then again, when Princess wants you to learn something, you will learn it.

His friends doubled over in laughter and Edd felt embarrased and slightly upset. Angela didn't need to lie like that. But his lack of luck in love put him at a disadvantage as to how things worked in intimate relationship dynamics.

Nat then turned to Edd.

"What's the deal with the Ice Queen?"

Edd sighed.

"Go find out for yourself," he said as he pulled his gloves out of his pockets. He was tired, hungry and wanted to go back to his dorm room. As far as he was concerned, he had kept company with these athletes long enough.

"Challenge accepted," Nat said as he strolled away in the direction that they all saw Rave leave out of.

"Aren't you in my Intro to Secondary Education class?," Kevin asked.

Edd cocked his head and took the redhead in.

"Yes, I do believe we share that class. Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 10AM, Mason Hall, room 240?"

"That's the one! You're the one always going on about Common Core being the death of free thought."

"It is."

"I get it. I do. But it's here to stay. Looks like you may have to figure out a way to learn it so you can teach it."

Edd just rolled his eyes. He'd get rid of Common Core before he had to teach it, that's for sure!

Kevin smiled and offered his hand.

"Kevin Barr."

"Eddward Vincent," Edd said as he shook his hand. He looked like he was going to say more, but Kevin cut him off.

"Two D's. I know. We have biology together, too."

"Are you going to teach science?"

"Naw, PE."

Edd looked taken aback. Their biology class was a senior level course. Edd was in it because he took the lower level courses through his AP classes in high school. Why would Kevin need the advanced class as a PE teacher?

"I like the challenge," Kevin said with a shrug, seeing the somewhat shocked look on Edd's face.

Edd nodded.

Then she walked up.

"Plus, he really likes to study biology," she said.

Kevin seemed to stiffen as he turned towards the voice behind him.

"Oh, hey Babe," he said as he drew her into a side hug.

"Hey, Stud. Who's your friend?,"

"Nazz, Edd. Edd, Nazz. He's in a couple of classes with me."

"Hi," she said as she gave him a small wave and a smile, not moving an inch from Kevin's side, even as he tried to step away from her.

"Hello, and goodbye," Edd said with a nod as he went to put his black ski beanie on his head.

"Uh, not so fast, Vincent," said a voice behind him.

Edd turned and saw Max standing behind him. He facepalmed as he remembered that they were supposd to meet up to study for their calculus test.

Max gave him a small smile and a roll of quarters.

"Take off your coat and stay awhile. And take this and go get us some snacks. I'll take our stuff upstairs."

Edd nodded and did as he was told and Kevin found out what Princess meant when she made that crack about burying yourself in apple bottoms. Jesus. Guys in khakis always got the quarterback's motor running. But Edd. Oh, Edd. It should of been a crime to have an ass like that.

He felt her tugging on his arm before he could make out what she was saying.

"Yeah, Babe?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I asked if you had dinner yet."

"Yeah, ate with the boys after practice."

She sighed.

"Ok, then. I'm gonna head to Amberose Hall to grab a salad and go to the hospital then. Kisses?"

He gave her smooch and a slap on the ass before she walked away.

"You're good at keeping up appearances," Max said as he gathered Edd's things.

Kevin gave him a scowl. Max shrugged, then he looked Kevin in the eye.

"By the way, Edd's single. But I don't know if he's ready to mingle. Tread lightly."

Kevin threw he head back and sighed. Then he squared his shoulders and stood up straight. He was PCU's quick footed quarterback. He could tread lightly. But he wasn't sure he even wanted to.

It took half of the spring semester to get Edd to give him his number. He blew off all of his advances. He wasn't going to get caught up with the quarterback. He had lived a lifetime getting caught up in other people's lives. He felt that he was at the point that it was high time for him to get caught up in his own.

But then Her Majesty needed Kevin's help. He was a self taught mechanic and her car was acting up. She called Edd in a panic and asked him to call Kevin to get advice on who in town to trust for a tow. She'd just tow her car to the house Kevin shared with Nat and Rolf and he could work on it there.

So he called the number she gave him. And hearing that gruff voice answer the phone sent Edd's hormones reeling. Jesus. Why did he have to sound so commanding and yet, so lackadaisically distant? It was like that voice coming through the tiny speaker was a flame and Edd was the moth too stupid to stay away. But he managed to compose himself enough of help his friend.

"It's Eddward Vincent. Angela called and asked me to ask you who you would recommend for a tow. Her car is acting up and she wants you to look at it, but she has to get it to you first."

Kevin looked at his phone and grinned. He got the man's number. Finally. He wouldn't wish vehicle issues on anyone, but he thanked the Heaven's that Princess' car was a piece of junk that she didn't have time or money to replace, yet.

"Ok, I'll just text her the guy I use. Why didn't she call me?"

"Her phone is dying. I'm going to get her as soon as I get off the phone with you and I'll follow the tow truck to your place. You guys can chat and I'll bring her back to her place."

"Heh. She's prolly going to just stay here as soon as she sees Rolf. But yeah, I'll see you guys in a bit."

When he got off the phone he couldn't believe his luck, or what a disaster the place looked like. As he was in the middle of his usual we've got company coming in ten minutes quick clean of the house, Nat and Rolf came in from the store. Once he explained the situtation, they went into our parents are coming in ten minutes cleaning mode.

Princess had explained a few of her BFF's quirks in an effort to get Kevin in his good graces. Be clean, be polite. Don't touch his head or his hat. Respect his space. Kevin had been at it for weeks, now it was time to step his game up a few notches. If Edd was coming in his space, he wanted to make him comfortable enough to stay awhile. And his friends wanted him to finally bag the man who made him feel like no other person had ever did before.

The tow truck brought the Princess' carriage. Edd brought the Princess. And the universe decided to play a cruel joke on Kevin. Nazz showed up no less than two minutes after Edd and Angela did. She was a proud and capable girlfriend. She figured out what was wrong with the car before Kevin did. Kevin taught her well. But she wouldn't leave his side. Why should she? She was his girlfriend.

Princess ended up having to stay because she and Rolf had to study for their English test. That's their story and they're sticking to it!

Edd left. And a teeny, tiny piece of Kevin's heart went with him. They had gotten friendlier. It was kinda hard not to. They had their mutual classes. They had a mutual honor society. And they had Princess. She was always leaving them alone together. Or at least trying to get them in the same space. Kevin had slowly become enthralled with him after their first meeting. He seemed so unreachable, but not because he was playing hard to get. That was Rave's thing. He was who he was and he made no apologies for it. And yet, Kevin was lying to himself and the world about who he was. He couldn't hold a candle to the man.

It was after Spring Break, that Nazz picked up on what her boyfriend was trying to put between himself and his new genius, raven haired friend. So she dug in her heels. And her claws. And her teeth. Kevin had never been marked so. He marked. And yet, Nazz was slowly laying her claim. Edd didn't care. She had him. She could keep him. But Kevin wasn't a man to be kept. He did the keeping.

But he and Nazz had been together for years. They were each other's elementary school first kiss, Jr. high crush and high school sweetheart. They were neighbors. They grew up together. They spent a lifetime preparing to spend the rest of their lives with each other. And then the kid from Applebury, with the ass you just wanted to bury yourself in and the near Einstein like mind showed up.

But summer break came and each student went back to their fruity named towns. And Princess couldn't stay away from the tall, foreign guy from an Old Country no one knew about. She soon found out that Nazz and Kevin threw some pretty kick ass summer parties.

Her friends deserved a break from their stressful summer jobs. Rave was coaching Jr. high kids through their town's Shakespeare in the Park summer series and Edd was teaching swim lessons to those same kids at the Y. Helicopter parents aside, it was time to cut loose and enjoy the summer for what it was.

So over the Fourth of July weekend, the three friends made their way to Peach Creek. And Nazz had a near fit. She could handle the other girls that threw themselves at Kevin. But there as something about Edd that she knew she couldn't compete with and it made her crazy inside.

There he was; tall, lanky, pale skin glistening in the sun. And Kevin was in something. Watching him float in his pool without a care in the world and knowing that he had just the thing that helped put that blissed out look on his face had Kevin feeling like the King of Everything. He gave Angela a real hug for bringing Edd to him.

"You still need to deal with Nazz, Kev," she whispered to him as they made a pitcher of margaritas in the kitchen.

Damnit.

Kevin sighed. It was over. It had been over. There was nothing between them anymore but their pasts. The spark left junior year of high school. It wasn't like Nazz had stopped trying and gotten comfortable. Kevin just felt like she didn't care to do anything for herself anymore. It was always about him or this romanticized version of them.

In the beginning, it was great. He loved being catered to. But then it got boring quick. He didn't want a yes woman. He loved a challenge. But he also loved when she'd go out and come back to him with tales of her adventures. Even if it was to the store. Now, it was all gone. And Kevin was ready to move on.

"You'll figure it out," the caramel toned princess said as she carried the drinks out.

Edd came in about five seconds later.

"Kevin, do you have a spare towel? James pushed Nathan into the pool and somehow mine got caught up in their horseplay and is soaked."

"Yeah, follow me," the redhead said as he shook his head at Nat being an ass and led Edd to the linen closet upstairs.

But he soon found that he'd want to give Nat and Rave flowers for their shenanigans making Edd's towel unusable.

Edd cornered him in the hallway.

"You never call and you don't write anymore, Kevin," he said, blue eyes on fire as he pushed Kevin into the wall.

Kevin gasped and then took a few shallow breaths as he took Edd's hand from his chest.

"Didn't want to be a bother."

Edd bowed his head and gave a light laugh and Kevin's heart nearly popped at the sound.

"You bothered me all semester and suddenly you don't want to be one. You are an odd one, Mr Barr."

"Mr Barr is my father," Kevin said, as he reached for the door knob to the room next to where they were standing. Opening the door, he grabbed the brilliant man who had been driving him nuts for the better part of six months and drug him into the room. "You can call me, Kev."

Edd looked around him. The room screamed All American Boy. Posters of football stars, Maxim centerfolds, sports cars and motorcycles littered the walls. Shelves of trophies took up the space the posters didn't. There was a bookshelf, but it held more pictures of the life of a teenage boy in America then it did books. And the books that were there were graphic novels and there were even more comic books. Nicknacks, a few toy cars and a teddy bear on the top shelf.

A king sized bed was in the center of the room and a goldfish was swimming lazily in the bowl on the nightstand next to the bed.

Then he turned to the door. Kevin was leaning on it, effectively blocking his way and smirking.

They stared each other down for a good thirty seconds.

"You have a girlfriend, Kev," Edd said, breaking the silence.

Kevin bowed his head and sighed.

"I know."

"I won't be your fling."

"Who said I wanted a fling?"

"Well, I assumed..."

"You know what they say about assuming shit, don't 'cha?"

"I'm aware."

"Then you must be aware about how I feel about you."

"You have a girlfriend, Kevin. Look, being bi is one thing, and I don't care about that, but I will not be the reason you cheat on your girlfriend."

Kevin sighed.

"Ok, ok. Let's get you that towel."

"Yes, let's."

They went back to the party and Nazz saw Edd's new towel.

"Aww, I'm glad Kevin got you a new towel," she said sweetly, as she went to wrap herself by Kevin's side again.

"You've got a good one, madam."

"That I do."

Kevin wanted to disappear.

Later that night, Edd recieved a knock at his hotel room door. Princess insisted that they get separate rooms and floated them half the cost for it. Her parents were pretty well off so she could afford it. Plus, it gave her the privacy she wanted to continue her own fling. There was no way in hell that Rolf's Nana was letting her stay the night.

He knew who it was before he opened the door.

Pensive blue met the most conflicted pair of green eyes they had ever seen.

"Hey."

"Kevin."

"It's over."

"No, it's not."

"It might as well be."

"That's not the same thing, and you know it."

"Edd, please."

Between his pleading tone and those pleading eyes, Edd did something he never did before.

He took a risk and prayed to the Heaven's that they wouldn't get burned by the flames that were smoldering between them.

Pulling the redhead inside, he quickly found himself in an embrace he had never known he needed. Slightly full, chapped lips met his own and the taller moaned his own need into Edd's mouth. Edd's knees went weak. Commanding this much power over the other had him reeling. But somehow, he managed to bring himself back to earth, but only for a little bit.

"H-Have you ever done this before?"

"What, like it's hard?"

"Kevin."

"Sorta."

"With her?"

"Yeah. It's the same thing, right?"

Edd gave him a devilish grin and Kevin was simultaneously set aflame and frightened. Seeing the desire and apprehension in the other's green eyes, Edd gently coaxed large, calloused hands from his waist to his ass and Kevin was suddenly back on his game.

Hitching Edd up by his thighs, he carried him into the room and gently laid him on the bed. Edd had still figured this would be a fling, right up to that moment. But Kevin was being gentle and taking his time. He wasn't feeling the situation out. Whatever was going to happen that night, the redhead needed to last because this was going to be the start of something special.

And it was. Sorta. Nazz never went away. And once she saw that Edd wasn't going away, either, especially when Angela and Rolf became official (the three friends were a package deal, just as Rolf, Kevin and Nat were), she decided to at least try to become his friend.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

When Christmas came, she came to him for advice on what to get her long time love. At this point, it seemed like he had everything. Edd got him the tool kit he needed, but she got him the colonge he recommended. It would look better coming from her. But Kevin knew. He knew.

And here it was, a week before their last Spring Break in undergrad and they were sharing another hotel room. And as always, Kevin was bringing him coffee. Not just as the caffine boost he needed to get going, but as a sweet gesture between lovers. And that's all they were honestly. Lovers in the most basic sense.

They both knew that Edd wanted and deserved more and Kevin deserved to start living his life in the light. And Nazz deserved to be let go so she could find someone who would love and appreciate her special brand of love. Not that Kevin didn't. But it didn't speak to him like Edd did.

The tall, lanky genius, with the massive vocabulary and ability to speak to most anyone because he can speak nearly a dozen languages fluently, had taught him so much. Not about school, Kevin was smart on his own accord. But Edd taught him about life. How to read people. How to read situations. How to be cautious because not everything in life needs you to make flying by the seat of my pants decisions.

He taught him to curb his temper. And he taught him how to love Edd. Princess' initial advice was invaluable, but for every step Edd had Kevin taking in becoming a better person, Kevin fell in love with Edd more and more for helping him make his life better and Edd fell in love with the person that Kevin was becoming. Not that Edd was turning Kevin into his perfect boyfriend. He just wanted Kevin to be his own best self. And damn it all if that guy wasn't the best guy for him.

The only person who should have been reaping all the benefits of this transformation, was Nazz. Only, she wasn't. Kevin was becoming more distant, even if he was doing better in school, being a better son and all around great guy. And Edd was becoming more and more of a constant in their lives. If he wasn't at the house, he was the topic of conversation. And her heart broke more and more each time he was brought up or came around.

But things were going to come to head today.

Edd waited ten minutes after Kevin left to even make an effort to get out of the bed. His rendezvouses with the redhead would take everything out of him. Kevin was still taller and stronger than he. And as gentle as Kevin wanted to be, their hormones would take over and Edd would be begging for more.

But this gave him time to enjoy his coffee. And it was truly the most heartbreaking thing about all of this. The first morning they woke up tangled up in each other's arms, Kevin jokingly asked him how he took his coffee. It takes two pots of coffee to do it in a hotel room because they can't afford to go to the places that have half caf options. So Kevin made one pot of regular, than one pot of decaf and poured half of each into a cup for him with the cream and sugar how he liked it.

After each rendevous, he'd get coffee. And for a while, he wondered if she got it, too. Turns out, she doesn't. She makes him coffee. He hates coffee. Prefers tea. But she got this idea in her head that this is what she was supposed to do for him and that men drink coffee. And nothing anyone told her saying otherwise, not even Kevin himself, could get her to change her mind.

So he gets dinner, conversations about anything, everything, nothing and life, cuddles, kisses, a few hours of mind blowing sex, a night spent in the most needed embrace he had never knew he wanted and coffee in the morning.

After he finished his coffee, he showered, dressed and left for class. When he got two miles from campus, Angela started blowing up his cell phone. When he parked his car, he finally called her back.

"Damnit, Edd, where the fuck were you last night?!," she said in a harsh whisper.

She knew where he was. But she wanted to hear him say it. She couldn't believe it. She probably never would. But shit was hitting the fan and it was time for the truth to come out.

"Out, Ang. Why?"

She took a breath and then told him that while he was out, Kevin had missed he and Nazz's seven year anniversary date. And Kevin still wasn't anywhere to be found. He looked at the clock on his car's radio. 930AM. Kevin had a 9AM class today.

Edd sighed.

"Let me try to see if I can get ahold of him."

"You do that," she hissed into the phone before hanging up.

He then quickly dialed the number that would forever stay etched in his memory. He didn't know his mother's cell phone number by heart and never would. But Kevin's would stay with him til the day he died.

The redhead picked up on the first ring.

"Hey, E. Wassup?"

"Do you realize how much trouble you're in, Mr Barr?"

Edd's tone was cool and level. Kevin suddenly felt like a student who had upset his favorite teacher. But at the same time, he wasn't the only one at fault here as far as he was concerned.

"Look, Edd, you were there, too."

"And I wouldn't have been had I known how important a date it was! Seven years, Kevin?! Am I just some sort of itch you need to scratch!?"

Edd was near hysterical.

"Edd, I already told you how I feel about you! You're not an itch. You're not a fling. You're The One!"

At this, Edd burst into tears.

"The One, Kevin?! Then why are you still with her?! And why, dear GOD, WHY do I keep doing this with you?!"

"Edd, Baby, please don't cry. I can fix this."

Edd just cried harder.

"Please, Edd. Let me fix this."

"I gotta go." And with that, Edd hung up his phone, pulled himself together and headed into his 10AM Monday class. With Kevin.

It was a gen ed class that both had put off til the end of undergrad because they both had wanted to spend some part of the end of their college careers relaxing. It was the worst Monday class either had ever had. No notes were taken. They couldn't even remember what the professor talked about.

They came. They sat. They were accounted for amongst the other attendees. And after the class was dismissed, they waited til the classroom cleared out before they left. It was as if each was waiting on the other to leave. But they had become so like minded at this point and knew that they were just delaying inevitable. So Edd stood and Kevin was right behind him.

As soon as they stepped out of the door, she spotted them.

"KEVIN!"

She looked and sounded an absolute mess. Long, blond hair that looked like it had been professionally styled and subsequently slept on. Red eyes, with dark circles underneath them. And her nose was red and snotty. Her voice was hoarse. And she was dressed in one of Kevin's football team tshirts and sweatpants.

Kevin's head dropped, but he grabbed Edd's hand and held it tight. Edd knew he would bruise, but somehow couldn't bring himself to care. Kevin took a breath. And then he turned to face her full on.

She stalked down the hall to him and tried to snatch Edd's hand from his. She scratched Edd pretty good in the process. Enough to draw blood. Smiling at this, she looked at Kevin.

"What the hell, Kev!?" Her own blue eyes flashed an angry fire, but Kevin seemed unfazed.

"Nazz, it's over. It's been over. He likes coffee in the morning. Not me."

She took a step back. Her blue eyes swirled with a thousand questions and accusations.

"I have been good to you," she said softly, but her tone held all the anger of a woman scorned.

"But you haven't been good to you or us."

Her head fell and fresh tears sprung into her eyes. But shaking with anger, she lifted her head again.

"I have been perfect for us," she hissed at him.

"You have been perfect for the idea of us."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"

"NOTHING!"

And this was the moment that Edd saw Nazz's heart shatter. It was in her eyes.

"What?!" Her voice sounded so small.

"Nazz," Kevin said, as he dropped Edd's hand and drew his ex into a final hug goodbye, "I only wanted you to be you and for us to be us. But you changed, girl. And I can't be with this new you. You need to go figure out who you want to be and what you want outta life."

He squeezed her tight and let her go. Grabbing Edd's hand again, he led them out of the building. He didn't let go of his hand. Not even after they got into Edd's room. Taking a good look at the scratches, his brows furrowed in concern.

"Where's your first aid kit?"

"Kevin."

"She scratched you up pretty good. I don't want it to get infected."

"Kevin."

"What, Edd?"

Edd ran his hands through his hair and tried to try to piece together a coherent thought, let alone a sentence! For the better part of a year and a half, they had hidden who they were away. And now they were out. What was going to happen now?!

Even with his eyes frantic and his hair wild, all Kevin wanted to do was hold him. If only to ease his fears at the moment.

So he did.

"It's OK, Edd," he said as he drew the frazzled scholar into a hug.

Edd clung to him and cried. Once he calmed down, he looked him in the eye.

Pensive blue met soft emerald.

"Where's your first aid kit?"

"In the bathroom, on second shelf of the rack over the toilet."

Kevin directed him to the bed to sit and went and got the first aid kit. And Kevin put the same gentle care into taking care of his hand as he did when he took care of Edd after they had sex.

"You still going to Australia for Spring Break?," Kevin asked when he went to put the first aid kit away.

"Yes, but you know this, Kevin."

"Cool, cool," the redhead smirked as he leaned on the doorframe.

What was the redhead up to?

Then there was a knock at the door. They both froze. But Kevin managed to compose himself first.

"I'll get it," he said as he silently stalked to the door.

Looking through the peephole, a slightly amused look crossed his face.

"Yes?," he asked as he opened the door a crack. Whoever was on the other side didn't see his shiteating grin. But Edd did and it made him smile.

"Let me in!," came Angela's ticked off voice from the other side.

Kevin bowed as he invited her in the room and she ran into Edd's open arms. Tackling the genius back into the bed, she shook him by the shoulders as she screamed in his face, "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING!?"

"That I'm awesome," Kevin said from the door, shiteating grin still on his face.

"And you!," she yelled at the redhead as she hopped of Edd and stalked Kevin back into the corner by the door. "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Wondering how he took his coffee."

"Kevin."

"Look, Ang, last night was all on me," Kevin said as he held up his hands in surrender. "I'll admit that much. And I know it's fucked up, but me and Nazz have been over for years. It only ended this way because I didn't know how to end it before."

Princess sighed and looked the redhead in the eye.

"It is fucked up, but if you two want to work, you're gonna need to drink a lot of coffee so you can get through your shit. Because, I will kill you, Barr, if you put him through the same shit you put her through."

"He prefers tea," Edd said from his bed.

Princess looked between her two friends with wide eyes.

"Jesus, how long have you two been at it?"

She was genuinely curious as to how long their affair had been going on. Knowing that Kevin preferred tea to coffee is something that only an intimate partner would know. And something she knew that only Edd would care to remember because it would be something that he would make sure the other would have.

"A year and a half," the two lovers chimed together.

Angela threw her hands up in frustration.

"Jesus," she breathed. "Okay, look. I'm happy for you guys, but only because I've wanted Edd to find someone who actually cares for him since high school. Edd, I know you'll take care of him, but don't forget about you."

"I won't."

"Kevin, take care of my boy or I'll sic James on you."

Both young men shuddered.

"You got it, Ang," Kevin said.

"What happened to your hand?," she asked, finally noticing Edd's bandages.

"She saw us together outside of class. He grabbed my hand and she wasn't too happy about it," Edd explained.

Princess just shook her head.

"She's a mess right now, but that's to be expected. I'm still gonna have to give her whatfor for jacking with your hand like that. Anywho, I'm out. Kevin you might want to stay the night here."

Her tone held a thousand warnings. Kevin nodded as he let her out of the room. He doubled checked the lock.

"She doesn't know where you live, does she?"

Kevin had never broken up with someone before, so he didn't know what to expect.

"No, not that I know of."

Kevin gave a sigh of relief.

"Kevin...," Edd began.

"Yeah?," he asked as he stepped over to the bed to sit next to his new boyfriend.

"What do we do now?"

Kevin smiled as he took Edd into a hug.

"How about we chill out tonight and talk about it over coffee in the morning?"

And they did.

A week later, Edd is in Australia with the Earth Sciences Club to study the Great Coral Reef with a few renowed oceanographers. On his third morning there, he smells him and it before he opens his eyes.

Sunscreen and the sea.

Coffee, black, half caf with a touch of cream and two sugars. Just the way he liked it.

He sighed happily and opened his eyes.

Hazy blue blinked up at bright green. And again, their minds are on one accord.

Damn those eyes.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, Mr Barr," the scholar grinned, taking the coffee being offered to him.

The redhead gave a small laugh and Edd's heart swelled. Oh, how he loved to see him happy.

"Mr Barr is my father. You can call me Kev," Kevin said as he leaned in for a coffee sweetened Good Morning kiss.

The kiss he got in return was one he'd give his all to wake up to every morning. He only had to give his heart.

And he did.

Kevin may have become a man who gave his man coffee in the morning, but he only did it because he knew it was something Edd wanted. Just like all Edd wanted was for Kevin to be honest with himself and live in the light. And that light was bright and beautiful and sweet. Like good coffee in the morning.

And Edd makes him tea. Green, with a touch of honey. Just the way he likes it.