Seal It With A Label

Just a short and sweet EddyxEdd. Meaning, of course, this fic contains slash. If you do not like reading slash and have found your way to this page by mistake, please click the convenient back button on the top of your browser. Your sanity may well depend on this action. If you do like reading slash and have found your way to this page intentionally, please enjoy! :)

I do not own Ed, Edd n Eddy. If I had ever owned the show, it would have been banned from Cartoon Network for explicit material, disappointing thousands of young children. If I had ever owned Double D, my living quarters would be much cleaner than they currently are.

Eddward awoke to the strange sensation of another's heartbeat steadily pounding against his ribcage. His uncovered hair was still damp, no doubt thanks to the lingering humidity in his bedroom. He was decidedly warm, atypical even in late August weather since his parents demanded the thermostat never to be budged above sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. He was also comfortable, no thanks to his lumpy mattress and thread-bare sheets. Usually he hated waking up underneath his itchy navy comforter, but as he adjusted it around his and Eddy's waists, he knew the old bedspread would now dwell fondly in his memories, as did their childhood money-making adventures. Well, most of their childhood money-making adventures anyway.

Edd let his eyes and fingertips linger over the snoring form beside him, highlighted in the morning sunshine pouring through his window. "Good gracious…" No kid in Peach Creek could deny Eddy had changed since the fateful encounter with his brother at Mondo A Go-Go five years previous. Although still as brash and arrogant as ever, the acceptance of his peers had smoothed his rougher edges and dramatically toned down his scams. And—in Eddward's modest yet thoroughly researched opinion—puberty had done Eddy no ill favors. Greasy black strands had thickened into soft raven locks, childhood plump had fallen away to hard-earned muscle, and shrewd ice-cold glares had softened into amused baby-blue gazes. Edd's breath caught when Eddy's swollen lips quirked up in a brief, unconscious smile.

Edd's fears from the last few months dissipated with what had occurred in his bed just a few hours before. Eddy had been accepted into the nearby community college where he planned to major in business, already concocting ideas for the 'largest jawbreaker company this world's ever sucked on!'. Eddy and Ed had already rented out an apartment together where Eddy could walk to class and Ed could divide his time between his loudest best friend, his not-so-secret-thanks-to-Jimmy's-big-mouth girlfriend May Kanker, and his surprisingly successful comic book series featuring Hibachi Man.

With great anxiety, Edd had accepted a full scholarship to a private college located two hours north of their beloved cul-de-sac. Although his teachers tried to get him to accept offers from Harvard and Princeton, he could barely stand to distance himself 80 miles from his friends—much less to put half a country between them!

He had been so afraid Ed and Eddy would forget him. So afraid they would no longer need their genius after succeeding out in the real world. So afraid all he would come home to on vacations would be his parents' empty house and piles of sticky notes. So afraid Eddy, his Eddy whom he had secretly loved since their freshman year in high school, would give his heart away to a pretty woman from the city. Edd pressed his lips against the bare shoulder currently nudged against his cheekbone, earning a sleepy grunt in response. "Silly, silly, silly me."

Tearfully confessing all his fears to Eddy after Kevin's End-of-Summer party had been unintentional, but beneficial considering the results. Carefully untangling himself from Eddy's arms and legs—no small feat in a twin-sized bed—Edd slid out from under the covers, modestly covering his body with a discarded blanket. Standing up, he sighed happily at the pleasant soreness radiating from his lower regions.

Donning his trademark hat and grabbing his label maker out of his desk drawer with a quiet but merry hum, Edd quickly clicked off a new label and gently stuck it on his slumbering friend's forehead. "A structured environment allows for improved mental application," he whispered. One task towards orderliness completed, Edd gathered all the materials necessary for his daily shower, plodding down the hall towards the bathroom to cleanse his physical self of the previous night's arduous activities.

Eddy woke up a few minutes later to the sound of rushing water and Edd's screechy rendition of Tom Jones' What's New Pussycat?. "Last friggin' time I let him borrow my records."Groaning, he started to wrap Edd's thin pillow around his offended ears, only to freeze when he felt something odd tug on his forehead. He pealed the weird thing off, letting out a loud yelp when it ripped off his skin with the ease of a sticky band-aid. "What the hell—!"

Wincing over the sore, now-hairless spot between his eyes, Eddy recognized the evil object spoiling his morning as one of Double D's never-ending labels. As he ran his thumb over the letters L-O-V-E-R, an annoyingly warm and fuzzy feeling started to tingle in his chest. "Heh. Stupid Sockhead."