Note: I think this ship caught everyone by surprise. This idea has been floating around in my head all night. I have a lot of ideas that I hope you all will enjoy. This is just a short introduction to set the scene.

This universe is set mostly in the same as the cartoon. The characters are all in College, now, and I will make references as to how each character fits in this universe (Obviously not everyone is going to the same University). Thanks for reading, and remember, I do not own these characters!

Working at a coffee shop called the Peach Tree just outside of a town called Peach Creek wasn't Edd's idea and it certainly hadn't been in his ten year plan.

Survive High School, get into a respectable University, use slightly underhanded but effective techniques to maintain a clean and very roommate-free dorm room, acquire position of interest in the research department, graduate, promotion, promotion, smooth sailing. That had been the plan.

He was certain he'd anticipated all the factors. Surely there was something he'd missed? His two best friends seemed to think he was doing all right, but Ed was an unemployed dropout still living at home and Eddy was convinced he could find the perfect way to scam a credit card company without being caught. Their opinions on high living didn't quite fit in with Edd's future view.

Somehow, maybe he'd always known there would be snags. The research department had no new openings and, with the apparent loss in funding, there would be even fewer openings in the future. If Edd wanted to get a shoe-in at the University research facility, he'd have to come up with something the board couldn't deny they needed.

Until then, he was stuck working at the Peach Tree coffee shop in the unseemly hours of the morning to make ends meet.

It wasn't all horrible. Often-times, he was given free reign of the equipment, and did his best to come up with new signature creations. The menu was so droll when came to the choices. Why were there only two options for a mocha: white chocolate or regular? What if he added a splash of raspberry, or mixed in juice with the tea instead of adding water?

Some creations were noticeably better, and some failed to make the cut. Not every experiment was a guaranteed success. Edd knew that. He'd dealt with failure most of his childhood.

Mornings came and mornings went. There were some new faces and some regulars. Edd memorized each and every person's drink order after their second visit. He didn't mean to, it just sort of happened. Most of the customers found it endearing.

Most of them.

Edd learned early on not to 'assume' Kevin's order.

"Ah, Kevin," Edd chirped just as the campus basketball star sauntered into the coffee shop. He pulled off his old, faded red hat and rang it out in front of him. Aside from a few droplets of water, the hat was essentially dry, but Edd couldn't help watching the rainwater drop onto his freshly swept floors. The sky outside threatened to really open up with rain as opposed to the light sprinkle they'd had all morning. Edd had to mentally prepare himself for the onslaught of muddy shoes later. "The usual this morning? Iced caramel macchiato?"

At the mention of his drink, Kevin immediately began to search the café with his eyes, as if maybe the other customers had heard Edd shout out his order. "It's raining, doofus," he grumbled. "Who drinks iced coffee in the rain? You want me to die?"

Edd reeled backward, but caught himself. Kevin had been poking fun at him for years, now. He really should have assumed the worst, if anything. Kevin wasn't exactly Edd's favorite customer, especially since he always had something to complain about. "My apologies. Could I offer you a latte, today? Caramel topping is on the house."

Satisfied that no one was going to reprimand him for his coffee choices, Kevin shrugged and made his way to the counter, casually leaning over the edge as if he weren't just any patron. Edd quickly rang up his order and stammered out the price, but before he could even mention the change, Kevin was sliding a five across the counter.

"Not too much foam, okay? I'm buying coffee, not air."

"Coming right up!" Edd said, probably a bit too cheerful for his own good.

Over the months, Edd had found the perfect foam-to-milk ratio while steaming. He had to have absolute concentration as he angled the milk steamer toward him. It was important to him that each of his customers really enjoyed their drink. He felt as though each cup of coffee was a reflection of himself right down to the way he pumped syrup into the cups.

Which was probably why when he announced to Kevin that his order was ready and Kevin took one sip and scrunched up his face, Edd's pride sank to the floor.

"Is… something wrong?" Edd inquired.

Kevin glared at his cup as though it personally wronged him. "This is really good."

Edd's eyes widened.

"You may be a dork, but you make a mean cup of coffee."

Edd couldn't believe his ears. Kevin never complimented him. Kevin never really complimented anyone now that he thought about it. Edd barely had the composure to mutter a thank you before Kevin turned around.

It was hard not to keep an eye on Kevin as he made his way to a table, pulled out a notebook and went over some notes for his classes. Edd had to tend to other customers and after a while, he became so consumed by his job that he didn't even notice Kevin had left.

Aside from the compliment, nothing else about the visit struck him as unusual. That was, until he began wiping down tables near the end of his shift and came across the dirtied table where Kevin had been sitting. He hadn't even bothered to throw his cup away, the brute. Edd rolled his eyes and reached for the cup, but then stopped when he noticed something had been written on the side.

Not bad, double dork.

A snide comment like that shouldn't have made Edd smile at all. He should have crumpled up the cup and tossed it away with the rest of the trash right then and there. Instead he smiled to himself and held onto it for just a little while longer. Compliments like that were so few and far between.

Maybe Kevin wasn't all that bad.