Title: The Second Date Always Leads to Boys Kissing
Pairing: Ed/Edd
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In which the boys go for a walk in the park, and things get a little heated (but not really.)
Set and Prompt Number: #2: Gift
Warnings: Slash. Kissing. On lips. *smack*
A/N: I wonder if this will turn into an actual story? Also, this can be considered a date, right?

Double-D didn't want anyone other than Eddy knowing about the relationship he now had with Ed. It was no one else's business. Why? Did it really matter? He pushed the embarrassment down deeper. He was a giggling mess around Ed these past few days – his first crush attacking him with everything it had.

Caring for Ed was like nothing he had ever done before. There were no set equations. Every factor that needed to be found was different for each individual. And Double-D hated that. He knew he needed emotions…but why did they have to be so silly? And the tall, smiling young man he was waiting on right now made it all even sillier.

"Where are you, Ed?" Double-D checked his watch.

The wind blew a little stronger than just gentle. Fall leaves littered the streets surrounding the park in the center of the town. Thinking most of the other kids would be inside today, what with some big exams coming up and the chance of rain lining the clouds, Double-D agreed to spend time with Ed at the park. He rarely had use for studying and Ed…was Ed. It wasn't until Ed mentioned what a wonderful second date it would be that Double-D started feeling uncomfortable. iWhat if someone does find out? HE had been thinking about the embarrassment he had been feeling since going out with Ed. And he began to realize it had nothing to do with Ed himself thankfully, and nothing to do with how they spent their dates.

It had to do with them both being boys. Two seventeen year old boys dating and kissing on the cheeks.

He hated himself, because he knew he should have known better. Gender, sex…it shouldn't matter. But what of it did? That was where the problem started arising.

Closing his eyes, he breathed in deep. Ed meant so much to him. He could do this.

Opening his eyes, he almost jumped out of his skin. Big hands had covered his face, and directly behind him he could feel a presence.

"What is this?!" He demanded, pulling down the hands before recognizing that familiar dopey laugh. "Ed! Don't scare me like that! I thought someone was going to grab me." Double-D settled down for a mere second, as those arms gripped his own and pulled him in closer.

"Aw, Double-D! Like this?" The physical contact was awkward but feeling that chest against his slim back made up for it. He could feel Ed's fingers start to wiggle around on his bones. And as Ed spoke gently into his ear, he began wondering if he had been doing it on purpose.

"I told you I'd meet you here. And here I am…don't worry. No one will kidnap you on my watch." His breath caressed the sockhead's sensitive ear. A warmth began to rise up inside of him. Hell, the lump could kidnap him all he wanted if he did it this way. What are you thinking, Double-D? Don't think such things!

"Well, hello there, Ed." He pulled himself from the sweet embrace. "I was beginning to worry you wouldn't show up." Admitting lightly. Ed scrunched his eyes together and frowned.

"The hero doesn't abandon his promises, Double-D." He stated firmly. The sockhead smiled, "And I would never miss our second date!" He yelled out loud, his voice echoing down the street. Double-D gasped.

"Don't say that so loud!" But Ed had already pleased himself by making the exclamation and was smiling like never before. Double-D crossed his arms and began tapping a foot on the ground. Once Ed realized he was looking at him, the big lump frowned and tip-toed over to his love.

"I'm sorry…you just make me so happy." He said lowly, eyes like hazel-colored puppies.

"…It's…It's alright, Ed." Double-D said softly, "It's just that no one knows we are together, like this." Ed scratched his head.

"Should they not?" The smaller guy began biting his nails. Would it be all that horrible?

"For now, let's just keep it our secret. Please?" Ed had a history of never saying no to those gorgeous eyes when they begged him. They stole his breath away.

"I promise!" Ed held up his pinky finger, and Double-D laughed as they connected the two.

/

As they walked slowly through the park, the wind began to pick up. Double-D watched the leaves blow past, completely missing the large branch in front of him. "AH!" Double-D called out as he fell face first into the gravel. He could hear Ed gasping for breath, like he did something wrong. "I'm…okay, Ed. Don't worry." He insisted.

"I'll save you, Double-D!" He yelled out preparing to drag the other back up to his feet. But he stopped and hesitated. Letting go of Double-D, Ed stood up straight and tried to smooth his shirt and coat out, without positive results. He then gently gave the sockhead his hand, waiting for him to take it.

When Double-D turned around he was confused, "What are you doing, Ed?"

"Being a gentleman!" Double-D grinned and took the hand, which pulled him up in one fluid motion.

Ed felt like a million bucks after seeing the sweet little smile his crush gave him, "Sarah said to always be a gentleman, especially when you are with someone you really like." He explained. Double-D laughed behind his unoccupied hand. They both stood, looking at each other, hands connected. A second passed before Double-D began moving again, keeping their fingers locked. They continued on side-by-side, the cool air warming just slightly.

Ed could feel the sockhead's pulse in his little grip. Such a scaredy cat, he thought to himself. With such soft, tiny hands. I don't want anyone else holding these hands. He told himself, sterner than he anticipated.

The two hands differed greatly, both held on in the same constant yet content manner. But where Ed 's were big and manly, Double-D's were small and long. Kinda' like a girls. But Ed loved it.

"So, Ed?" Double-D brought him back, "Anything you would like to do tonight?"

Ed's face went numb, not sad but not happy. Double-D knew he had something on his mind – something he was questioning inside of himself. Searching his vacant eyes, he couldn't find anything. That's how Ed was – you really never knew what he was thinking. Yes, you could make an obvious and usually correct guess such as jawbreakers, comics, zombies, or how Sarah beat him up that day. But as they grew older it became clear to Double-D that there was more going on. He was just about to ask if everything was okay, but Ed seemed to come back out of his stupor.

"Let's go to the jungle gym! We can have some fun over there for our," Ed wiggled his eyebrow, "date." Double-D rolled his eyes.

"I think we may be a little old for the jungle gym."

"Let's go, mister!"

"ED, WAIT!"

/

"Here first, Double-D!" Ed pulled him towards his least favorite thing in the world: the pull-up bar. It resided at the beginning of the play area and always mocked him.

"Ed, I hate participating in this at school so I am not going to participate now." Double-D said firmly. Ed laughed and threw his old coat off, his white and red striped t-shirt stained by who knew what. The genius cringed a little.

"Just watch, little guy." Ed patted him on the head, "I'll show you how it's done." Gripping the old bar, Ed began pulling himself up, holding on for a second before dropping, not letting his feet touch the ground.

Meanwhile, a certain sockhead had stopped breathing. Watching those muscles on his arms stretching and straining against the pressure did…strange and new things to him. Things he understood, but was frightened to feel. Ed was physically gorgeous: strong, big, muscular. It was…mesmerizing.

"Now your turn, Double-D." Ed pulled the sockhead over and placed him beneath the bar. Double-D looked up and took a big gulp.

"I think not, Ed. I'm an intellectual, not a…a…" Barbarian, he wanted to say.

"You always did have trouble with this, didn't you?" Ed replied, smile still big, "Your little arms were so weak!" He laughed a kind laugh and rubbed a hand down Double-D's arm. It sent chills, "But I bet this time you can do it."

"What makes you so certain, Ed?" Double-D questioned.

"Just trust me, cutey." Were the shocking words that came out of the big lump beside him. Double-D felt like melting after hearing that nickname. Then felt like hiding and never showing his face again.

"Did you just call me…'cutey'?" Ed nodded his head quickly.

Now, Ed was a stupid boy. But he knew a little something about love. Like when his cutey was in for a surprise but still resisted, all you had to do was call him cutey. The little genius wouldn't know what hit him. Ed grinned on the inside.

And he was right: Double-D's mind went jumbled for just long enough. He raised his arms high over his head and gripped the bar as tightly as he could. Why not try?

As he began pulling, feeling his muscles (or lack thereof) refusing to lift him any higher, something rose from directly below him and pushed him. He went up high enough that the bar was at his shoulders and his feet were off the ground.

"What are you…?" Double-D looked down. There was Ed, giving him a piggy back, all the while crunching up and down. He went wide-eyed and grinned. "I guess you were right, Ed!"

"Told you! I'm a smart mister!" He yelled, giving the sockhead a kissy face and making him blush.

/

"Okay, you go first." Both stood in the center of a roped bridge that closed the gap between one end of the jungle gym and the other. It swooshed ever so gently.

"Okay! One," Ed swung the bridge to the left slightly, "Two…three!" Pulling as hard as he could, Ed swung the bridge around so hard It twirled upside-down a few times before unfolding back into its rightful place. Double-D Turned around, a little green, and laughed.

"Maybe this wasn't a great idea," He said, still smiling though. It felt like old times. Ed grabbed him from behind again and pointed forward.

"Swings then!" He declared, racing over the grass at full speed. Coming in second, Double-D took the seat to the left of Ed and hopped into his spot. He swung back and forth, watching as Ed leaned backwards and grinned.

Double-D loved the swings. The had always been peaceful. Even with his fear of heights, he still was able to enjoy the beauty of the park as he flew over it. He shut his eyes and started moving. The breeze hurt his skin, chilling it a little too much. But its movement surrounding him, a force circling him as he went higher, was calming.

Ed took this time to stare at the other. He looked so different. At ease. He frowned slightly, wishing he could make Double-D smile like that. He watched his face carefully. He was beautiful. You could tell he had soft skin, and his lashes were just a little too long against his cheeks. His peaceful smile was distracting, as was his back as he arched forward to go higher.

Ed felt a warm feeling spread through his body. Maybe all of Double-D would be his one day.

Double-D hadn't grown too much over the years. He was taller, more mature. But his thin frame still held an innocence that was admirable. Eddy and Ed had grown taller, Eddy just a foot or so taller than Double-D. But they were not as delicate as the one he was eyeing right now. The one he wanted so desperately to hold and kiss. That's all he had been thinking about since the night before. That's what he had been thinking about earlier.

"Ed?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?" Double-D stared right at him. No longer flying high, brown eyes wide open. Ed leaned towards him. Pulling his swing along with him.

"I'm very okay, Double-D." He said in his dopey way. Ed crossed the last few inches between them and kissed his cheek. Double-D grew red and looked down, kicking the dirt with his shoe.

"That was…quite nice. I was wondering when one of us would give the other a kiss like last time." He admitted, "I'm glad you were braver than me."

Ed smiled and caressed the small cheek.

/

Deciding it was getting late, both feeling a little uneasy about were to go next, they took each other's hands without questioning it and began walking back the way they came. The night air cooled down, and Double-D shivered. He was happily surprised when Ed took his coat off and handed it to him.

"Thank you, Ed." Sarah really had taught him well. He'd have to thank her.

…If he could ever tell anyone.

"I'm happy you came out with me tonight, Double-D. I was nervous you'd say no." He admitted. Double-D smiled, eyes shining.

"Why would you ever think that, Ed?" Ed stopped abruptly. He looked off for a second, Double-D noticing that questioning look from before. What was he thinking? Looking down, Ed pulled Double-D towards him, arms wrapped around him. The lack of personal space quickly got to the sockhead.

"You're just so cute and pretty and smart. I want to be with you all the time." Ed said, tilting his head Double-D rolled his eyes. Why do people describe me like a girl?! "I didn't think you'd still like me after our last date." Double-D was shocked.

"I could never hate you, Ed. You're one of my best friends. And I…" He looked down at Ed's chest, "…I really like being around you, too. Not just as a friend, you know?" Ed smiled, pulling Double-D's chin up in the gentlest of ways. "As just the two of us."

"You really mean that?" He received a small kiss to the cheek in response. Again, Ed's eyes began to question himself. But after a moment a small glimmer of resolve had Ed suddenly looked like the bravest man on the planet.

Leaning down, Ed went closer and closer to Double-D, who finally realized what Ed had been thinking about all afternoon. His eyes grew wide and he tried to squirm away, but Ed held him too tight.

What promised a slow, romantic, frightening kiss became a giant, sloppy, wet smack on the lips. Double-D yelled into his mouth, Ed germs flying everywhere. Ed's eyes remained shut, until he felt satisfied with his actions. Pulling his lips away he popped as they came apart. He smiled.

"What do you think, Double-D?" HE asked as seductively as he could – which wasn't all that bad.

"WHA-what the hell…why did you do that?!" Double-D yelled, wiping his lips off with his wrist. He seemed to turn green again. Ed frowned.

"It was a kiss, mister."

"I'M AWARE, THANK YOU, ED."

"You're welcome. Come again." Double-D placed his hands over his eyes and shook his head. It would take weeks to clean his face.

"ED!" He yelled, "Why did you do that? You know how I feel about germs!" As Double-D started to spit, Ed realized things weren't exactly going as planned. He froze, watching as his crush fretted over what was supposed to be something romantic. Maybe he wet his lips to much?

"I'm sorry, Double-D! I just..." He began.

"You just what?!" Spit "This is only our second date, Ed! Maybe some people are too impatient to wait, but I assure you I am not one of them!"

"Please forgive me! Eddy said –"

"EDDY TOLD YOU TO DO THIS?! I'm going to have a stern talking to with him after tonight, you can believe that!" Ed frowned. He was…hurt. Did he really do so wrong? Now Double-D really was mad at him. Tears weld up in his eyes and he sniffed.

"Double-D…Eddy said I needed to get to it already and kiss you on the lips. He's never steered me wrong before." Lie. "And, I did everything he told me to do!"

"You mean try and suck my face off?" Double-D calmed down some, now seeing it was really Eddy's fault. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep, still feeling the prickles of Ed germs settling in to his mouth, like little puke green Ed's smiling and growing.

"I-I didn't mean it, Double-D…I thought we were supposed to!" Ed cried out silently. But Double-D had no idea how to respond. The kiss was a complete Ed kiss, sloppy and weird. But the feeling of those arms around him tight, although frightening, felt right. Felt amazing and somehow still safe. And Ed still hadn't let him go. He didn't want him too. The sockhead sighed again. He always ended up forgiving when it came to Ed and Eddy, they meant too much to him. But Eddy was still in a heap of trouble.

"Ed…"What should he say? "I care for you…so much. And I'm sure Eddy was, in his own horrible way, just trying to help us. But we are not Eddy. We are you and me. We should go at a pace that is right for us." Was Ed understanding any of this?

Ed thought about the words, "It wasn't all Eddy's fault. I wanted to do it." He admitted, "I've been wanting to do it for years. But I didn't know when too." He sniffed and wiped his tears. "Did I ruin everything, Double-D? Are you going to leave me?"

Before he could answer, Ed rambled on, "Because I tried really hard to make it good and I was so nervous and I even gave you a gift to make it so much better but maybe it wasn't enough and…and…"

"Ed." Double-D said straight forward. "Calm down.' He hesitated, "What gift? The ring?"

"No." Sniff, "I brushed my teeth for you."

Double-D would never be so shocked again in his life. He could smell on their first day the soap Ed had cleaned himself with, but Ed hated toothpaste. HE would shy away from it like it had three-heads and wanted to envelope him in its self. Literally, he thought if he got to close he would become toothpaste!

"Ed," Double-D said sweetly, "That was so brave of you. And so…so sweet and kind." He hadn't noticed during the actual kiss the taste of mint and clean. He was too horrified.

"Three times."

"What?"

"I brushed three times."

"…my…"

"The toothpaste knows to fear me now, Double-D. Also Sarah was a little scared of me too." Double-D glared, but then smirked.

"That makes me feel so special!" And with that Double-D did something he only slightly regretted later. He leaned in, eyes closing, and gave Ed another kiss. This time it was calm, gentle, and quick. But perfect. Just like Ed had wanted his to be.

When he pulled away, Double-D blushed brighter than ever. What had he just done? Did he really just kiss someone for brushing their teeth for him? Was he that germophobic?

But Ed felt dizzy, and soft, and happy all together. Double-D had soft lips that tasted like sweetness. All those jawbreakers must have become one with the little guy after all these years.

"Oh, my. Excuse me for that Edward." Double-D said low and raspy, "I guess…I'm quite the hypocrite, aren't I?" Ed slowly began releasing him from his hold, as Double-D pulled his arms down from around his neck. He could still feel the hairs on the back of it. And it didn't bother him.

"No." Ed said, seriously. "Hypocrites are fat and have big teeth and swim in muddy waters."

Edd really thought he was going to say something normal there for a second.

"You are none of that." Edd smiled.

"Well, thank you, Ed. That's very…romantic." That made Ed blush and grin wickedly.

"That's me! Romantic Randy! All the way!" With that he hugged Double-D with his trademark huge hug and laughed. The sky had almost completely darkened, and the wind was getting heavier and colder. Double-D pulled the coat, that kinda' smelled, around himself more.

"Would you please walk me home, Ed?" That simple little question tugged at Ed's heart. His date wanted him to walk him home. Like normal couples do! He decided to push his luck some.

"Can I get one more kiss when we get there?"

"No." Ed sighed and slumped.

"I tried and I failed. But the hero will always prevail – one day!"