Author's Note: This is based off a picture created by missmurrka on tumblr. She was inspired by Ke$sha's Die Young (Deconstructed)

It all started off so simple really. The weekend after their throw down with Eddy's brother, The Eds were invited to Rolf's for a BBQ. It had something to with one of the many traditions of Rolf's homeland. The Eds had never been invited before because of their "tendency to ruin everything," Jimmy would say. But they were all friends now, so The Eds got an invite.

And it was a good thing, too. The set up for everything was so haphazard, that Eddy and Double D quickly came up with a plan to straighten things up. With Ed's brute strength, things were quickly reset up and the party went off without a hitch.

As the summer drew to a close, there were more party invites and calls to hang out or go to the movies. The Eds took up as many invitations as they could handle. But the cul-de-sac soon figured out that their names may have been the same, but their personalities weren't.

Double D was always up for an imaginative tea party with Sarah and Jimmy. Ed would help Rolf on the farm and then play video games with Jonny. Eddy and the Kankers of all people, had their own home grown businesses, usually selling May's homemade beauty products. The crazy part was that they worked!

Ed became Jimmy and Sarah's camera and boom operator for all their home movies, Double D would help Kevin fix his bike and Eddy took Rolf's farm to market, as it were.

Things were going well.

When Kevin's parents put a pool in the summer before freshman year, he outright begged for The Eds help in getting everything set up for his first BBQ pool party. Ed and Eddy were the first to arrive as Double D was still out of town for his Grandmother's 75th birthday party.

When he finally arrived he quickly took over. It was worst than Rolf's BBQ and he didn't think that was possible! Once everything was set up, Kevin drew him into a hug.

"Thanks, Double Dork!"

"Glad to help, Kevin," Edd said as he took off his beanie, tousled his hair and put his beanie in his swim duffle.

Then he dove into the pool with a squeal.

When he came up for air, Kevin stared at him in shock.

"It's all cool, Kev," Eddy said as he patted Kevin's shoulder. "It's just a little scar."

To Kevin it wasn't just a little scar. It started at about an inch away from Edd's hairline and went to the crown of his head at weird diagonal angle.

"What happened, D?!"

Kevin sounded frantic. Edd hoped his story of survival, considering that he was alive and floating in Kevin's pool would ease the redhead's fears about the scar on his head.

"It's from a car accident. I was two. It was really foggy out and we were t-boned on Highway 75 as we were coming home from my Grandmother's. I got hit with a piece of glass and it cut my head like this. I only needed staples and a few stitches. But I'm fine now. Really."

Kevin's gaze was unnerving. His lips were pursed into a hard frown and his green eyes were glinting with rage. Two. Fucking two! He was only two years old. Kevin knew that Edd was trying to play everything down, but there was no doubt in his mind that Edd could have died in that accident. He almost lost a friend before he got him. So not cool. Who hurts a two year old?!

"Please tell me that they got the guy who hurt you!"

"Third strike. He'll never hurt anyone ever again," Edd said with a smug nod.

Kevin let out a small sigh of relief. And then he cocked his head as he took in his new friend floating in his even newer pool. Edd had a massive amount of thick black hair. The way it framed his round face was all kinds of adorable. He looked like a big kid, considering how his eyes sparkled as the pool water reflected off of them, his boopable upturned nose and that damn grin.

Too cute.

Kevin didn't mind thinking he was cute. Cute was cute. And if Edd was going to be cute, then so be it.

"You have great hair, Dude. You don't need that hat anymore. That scar looks all kinds of badass," he said as he turned around to go start up the grill.

"Told ya so!," Eddy snickered.

"EDDY!"

The BBQ pool party went well, and everyone agreed that Double D had great hair and a badass scar. But only Nazz made mention of his near child like innocence that seemed to radiate from him with all that hair framing his face.

"I hate my hair," he pouted.

"I would, too, if I had hat hair all the time," Nazz giggled.

"Wha?"

"You have perpetual hat hair. Why do you think Kevin's always messing with his?"

At that moment the redhead took off his own hat and ran his hand through his short messy hair. Kevin's hair had a tendency to look decent even with his hat on all the time.

"I suppose," Edd sighed.

Nazz smiled and took a comb out of her own swim duffle.

"Mind if I?," she asked as she waved the comb at him.

He shrugged. Nazz always looked cute and was on top of all the fashion trends like most teenage girls. If anyone could help him look decent with all his messy hair, it'd be her.

She ran the comb through his hair a few times, worked with the part his scar had created and no less than 15 seconds after she started (Double D counted. If he could recreate what she did in the same amount of time, he'd consider dumping his hat for good.) she sat back from her work and flashed him her mega watt smile. As she combed his hair, Jimmy got his own compact mirror out of his bag and handed it to Edd.

"You look good, Double D," he grinned.

Edd took a look in the mirror and had to smile at his reflection. His hair was neatly positioned around his scar, his bangs sweeping over his right eye. He thought he looked like one of the many lead singers of some of the emo bands he listened to. He always thought they looked good and the girls he knew that liked them as well, thought they were cute, too. Not that the girls opinions mattered to him, he was more about attracting the attention of the singers in the band that wouldn't mind having his attention.

"I guess I do."

Kevin snorted.

"Adorable."

Double D shot him a sideways glance and bit back a grin as he went pink from Kevin winking at him.

"Stop flirting with my best friend, Barr!," Eddy said as he thwapped Kevin on the head on the way to the trash can to throw what was left of his paper plate away.

"Can't help it! He's the one that looks adorable!"

Edd just rolled his eyes and Nazz gave him a knowing smile.

Edd did dump his hat after that, though.

Over the next year, Kevin would flirt with Edd and Edd would grin, blush and shirk away in confusion. Most of the people they went to school with agreed with Kevin. Edd was adorable. And that earned him the ire of some of the tougher students who thought that because he was male, his adorable looks, wit and smarts weren't manly enough. Way too many fights were had, and he earned way too many bruises and a few broken bones.

When his nose was broken by Tommy Andrews from the basketball team, Kevin was almost suspended for breaking Tommy's leg. Edd's nose was broken in a lunch room brawl. An hour later, in gym class, Kevin had Tommy's leg twisted at an odd angle on the gym floor for faking him out on a cross dribble. Rolf was on the basketball team with Tommy and was surprised as anyone that a baseball player like Kevin had such smooth moves in basketball. Even though Tommy's parents were pissed about Kevin's moves, Edd's were even more pissed that their son's nose was broken at the hands of Tommy and no one could directly attach him to the fight that did it. Kevin was the karma evening things out. Plus, it was gym class and these things happen. Tommy's basketball career was over, though. And for Edd, that was justice enough. He didn't think it was fair that a bully should have any way of making money off his talents when he couldn't treat regular people decently.

Their sophomore year was better. Edd came out as gay, but had also established himself as someone with a decent left hook for a rightie, so the bullying died down a bit. He didn't get into as nearly as many fights, but words can cut to the bone. So his wit became sharper than ever. And Kevin was enthralled. But back home in the cul-de-sac, he was still Double D. Just as adorable, just as funny and kind. Kevin was falling in love with his adorable neighbor and he was falling hard.

At the Spring Fling, Edd came with Marie. Considering that he was the only gay guy in school (or so he thought), he was an Ed and she was a Kanker, it went without reason that they'd go to dances together. He considered himself a decent enough dancer, so color him two left feet when they went to the afterparty at Rolf's farm and Kevin snatched him away from Marie for a semi slow dance. Edd couldn't tell you what song was playing, but he'd never forget the look in Kevin's eyes.

All fondness with a touch of desire.

"It's ok, Edd," Kevin grinned. "We're just dancing."

Edd gulped as he nodded and Kevin couldn't wipe the small smile that Edd's wide eyed amazement at what was happening was giving him. And despite his shock, Edd was glad to see Kevin smile at dancing with him, of all people.

When the song was over, Kevin drew him into a hug.

"Adorable."

And Edd hid his blush in Kevin's chest. He blushed even harder when Kevin started to giggle.

"Can I have my date back?!," Marie called to them from the punch table.

"Nope!," Kevin called back.

And Edd was glad to be in his strong grip because the question and answer knocked the wind out of him and made his knees weak.

Another song started up and wide eyed blue met soft green.

"May I?," Kevin asked as he held out his hand.

Edd quickly grasped it as he nodded. If there was anything he wanted to do it was to dance with Kevin. All of sudden the growing friendliness between them and Kevin's flirting made sense. If Kevin wanted to keep it up, Edd would take it. He'd take it for forever.

And he did.

Years later, they still dance, with children and a puppy underfoot. And each dance ends with the same word from Kevin and the same blush from Edd. But when you're in love, it's the best word and the sweetest blush you can imagine.

"Adorable."