Chapter Text
It was a lovely Valentine's day evening, and the restaurant, The Peach and breeze, was having its usual traffic for the time. Couples both young and old sat at the tables, sipping wine, sharing a meal, or just lovingly gazing into each other's eyes. Most tables are relatively quiet, preferring quiet conversation and small talk over being too loud and disturbing the other tables. One table did not share that philosophy however, the two sitting at a table towards the back of the restaurant did not share in this philosophy. Loud laughter erupted from the tall redhead young woman as her date accidentally spilled some of his drink on himself. The man that now had a massive stain on his white shirt seemed to look at the stain in defeat and dejectedly grabbed some napkins to stop the spill. The redhead who's hair obscured her eyes, just shook her head. There were murmurs from surrounding tables both from people at the tables and the servers, the subject being both the tall redhaired woman and her large beefy date. The mutterers were fiercely debating which was at fault while others complained about the noise ruining the atmosphere.
Back at the table that was the center of attention the large man had finished his clean up of his spill and it still was a mess that effected both his shirt and pants as well as the table cloth and the floor around him. His date was still guffawing loudly causing him to sigh deeply. "Lee do you really have to be so loud," the man complained. "You're causing a scene." Lee just laughed but did quiet down a bit. "You're the one causing a scene Eddy."
Lee just laughed. "You're the one causing a scene, Eddy."
Eddy just grumbled to himself and glanced about the restaurant. He and Lee were the center of this area's attention and a few people were standing up and looking at them from other parts of the restaurant. He carefully looked at the faces of the people near him, there was a variety of expressions from disgust to curiosity to mild annoyance. As he glanced about he noticed a group of four guys sitting together, giving not so subtle glares at Lee and giving Eddy sympathetic glances. Eddy tapped the table lightly and gave a subtle gesture towards the group of guys. Lee noticed and glanced at them and smirked. "How should we play this," Lee whispered.
Eddy paused giving the group another once over. "I think the usual, they might be loners who got dumped." Lee nodded and hid her smirk by eating a breadstick. The two shared a conspiratorial smile. And for a brief moment, their eyes met and their love for one another flared in their eyes. But it was only for a moment, and then they were back in character, Lee glaring while Eddy became a tired and a bit bumbling fool. Eddy reached for his pocket and gripped a small box and waited. People's attention was slowly drifting away from them. Time to change that, Eddy thought to himself.
Eddy got out of his seat and bent down on one knee. Eddy could feel the eyes on him, and he did his best to look nervous and scared and a bit tired. He looked at Lee and although her eyes were obscured by her hair he knew that her eyes shone with a grand beauty and had a hint of mischief in them. He pulled out the small box and a small gasp came from their audience, and it became even harder for Eddy not to smirk, but he was a professional at this so he kept the grin away and he continued with his lines.
He opened the box and said his practiced lines. "Lee," he said with a bit of hesitation in his voice. "Will you marry me?"
The room went silent and everyone and everything paused. Conversations died, people stopped eating, Eddy wondered if some had stopped breathing as well. All eyes were on them now, waiting for the response. They didn't have to wait long as Lee gave her answer in the clearest and most Lee way possible. "Hell no," Lee replied as she got up. "No way in hell." She slapped Eddy with her heavy purse as they practiced, and Eddy rolled with the blow. Everyone gasped at the sudden response and Eddy heard a few "no" be whispered. With a huff, Lee turned and left, walking out of the restaurant with most of the occupants' stares on her. When she was gone, those stares went to Eddy as he picked himself up. Eddy tried to call after her but he just stared dejectedly. He dusted himself off and went to sit back to sit in his seat. He slumped and almost put his head on the table but caught himself. Everyone's attention seemed to drift back to their own business now that the show was over. Eddy heard a few sympathetic mutters and some crying but no one approached him yet. "Come on, Eddy grumbled as he forced tears into his eyes. "Don't tell me I did all that for nothing."
Just as Eddy was about to give up hope, he felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned and one of the men from the table was there with a somber expression on his face. "Hey man," he began. "Are you alright." Eddy took a good look at him, he was like Eddy in his late twenties and didn't seem to be anyone Eddy recognized. An almost perfect mark. Eddy thought to himself. Outwardly, he just sighed. "I don't know man," Eddy just sighed. "I just don't about anything anymore." The man nodded in understanding.
"Hey, why don't you pull up a seat? Me and my friends saw what happened and we want to eat with you. No one should eat alone, especially after what you went through."
Eddy nodded and he followed after the man to the table, one of them pulled a chair for Eddy to use. He nodded his thanks and made sure to keep his expression as sad and depressed as possible. "That was rough buddy," one the group stated which Eddy just nodded to. He shook his head and glanced about the table, seeing how he wanted to play the next part. The group looked well off, so Eddy wouldn't feel guilty about exploiting their kindness. He wouldn't say anything too extreme about his relationship with Lee, these guys didn't need to hear some sorrowful tale but a simple story about love loss and a heart shattered. Eddy let out another sigh. And the group of men around him gave him comforting looks. Then at last one of them spoke up, offering Eddy a menu. "Hey man, why don't you order something, food can help soothe a broken heart." Eddy reluctantly nodded wondering if he could get a bit more from the group. Then the same person smiled and said the words Eddy wanted to hear. "And don't worry, I'll pay for your meal." Eddy thanked the man and scanned the order. He wouldn't go extravagant, so he picked a relatively cheap meatloaf with a side order of mashed potatoes and broccoli. Eddy contained his urge to smile and sat back and waited for his free dinner.
An hour later, Eddy walked out of the restaurant with a group of guys. Eddy had a large bag that had some of his to-go orders, that either the group of guys or random strangers had offered him. He smiled and thanked the group of guys again. "You sure, you'll be fine on your own?" Todd asked. "You could join us for bowling." Eddy nodded and made sure to show a confident smile. "I'll be fine. Thanks again for everything and remember, if you're ever in the need of electronics, I'll give you all a discount." Eddy said as he made sure to commit every face to memory. He handed them each a business card for his business The Ed'lectric palace. He nodded at them one last time and turned and headed for the parking lot. He made sure to walk slowly to make sure none of the guys were following him.
When he was sure Todd's group wasn't following him, he quickly dashed to a particular red pickup truck. Lee was already starting the car up when he got to the door and opened it. She had been munching on a large cookie which she set down on her lap as Eddy buckled up. "So how was it?" She asked as she got the truck moving. "Good," Eddy replied. "We got some desserts. A slice of chocolate and two slices of a carrot cake."
"Anything else?"
"I got a coupon for half off dinner," Eddy said then hesitated, "I also got a few phone numbers, to soothe my aching heart."
"How many?" Lee asked a small smirk spreading across her face.
"Three," Eddy answered rather proudly which only caused Lee to bark a laugh. "I got four when you dumped me." She bragged. Eddy just stared at her then they both laughed. A deep hearty laugh that did them both good. They smiled at one another as Lee drove on. "So where to next?" Lee asked still smiling. Eddy shrugged, I don't know. We both already had dinner, we also got plenty of desserts. Eddy said gesturing toward the backseat where there were quite a few to-go containers and other food containers. Lee nodded. "I suppose you're right. Why don't we head to my place and split our spoils?"
Eddy agreed to that and Lee headed for her apartments. As she drove onward, Eddy reached for the small box he had put back in his pocket. It was an imitation of a fancy ring, he and Lee normally brought it out for special dates. It was an easy thing although they would never pull this scam on someone they saw as poor or struggling financially. Eddy always made sure to offer their marks discounts at his store. Sure Edd would likely object and have some good reason behind his objection, but Eddy's method allowed him to sleep at night with the occasional free meal.
As Eddy felt the small box in his pocket, Eddy's mind drifted over to Lee. His thoughts drifted to that of a real ring and actually getting down on one knee and proposing to her for real one day. It was a silly thought to him as neither he nor Lee was the overly romantic type. They preferred practical and small shows of affection. Lee would like to say no if he bought a big ring and tried to be overly fancy with his proposal. The thought of prosing to Lee like some shmuck in one of May's overly romantic dramas made him laugh. And yet even as he rejected that idea, a small smile did cross his lips. He would like to spend time with her, maybe even for the rest of his life. That was even more of an odd thought to him. When he was way younger would have never thought he would be date much less thinking of marring a Kanker.
Edd would likely call that growth and start being overly analytical of the situation.
It was Lee's voice that snapped him out of his thoughts. "Don't think you can propose to me just yet," Lee said with a smug smile. Eddy blinked forgetting that Lee was great at somehow reading people's thoughts. "Remember what you said to me at prom?" She asked causing Eddy to groan. "I ain't gonna marry you till I'm 6'0," Lee said in a bad imitation of Eddy's voice. "You still have some growing to do little man," Lee mocked. "Besides, I'm going to be the one proposing to you."
Eddy just rolled his eyes. "Not unless I propose to you first," Eddy said with his own smug grin. The two shared another laugh again. One they shared all the way to Lee's apartment building.
A/N: Yea this was a one-shot idea I had for Valentine's day that took a bit of a while for me to write. I don't quite remember what inspired this idea but I decided to keep at it and this chapter was the result. I have two more chapters planned for the other two. Anyway, feedback and comments appreciated. Have a good evening/life/day/night.