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Edd latched on to his beanie as the cool Autumn wind picked up when they moved up the hill. He had to squint his eyes to avoid any sort of dirt flying into them, and the cold surpassed his tights and went straight to his bare legs, leaving him slightly chilled to the bone. Still, it brought him some sort of solace to be out in the open, the onset of winter in full swing, the early evening too. He was glad to breathe.
“Hey, sockhead.”
A familiar, raspy voice snapped him out of his thoughts. And he looked down to see Eddy peeking back up at him, a curious expression on his face. It was only then Edd remembered that they’ve been hiking out here since the early afternoon; Ed had gone home a while ago, leaving just him and Eddy to walk through the open field.
“What are ya daydreamin’ about?”
Edd blinked. “Eddy, haven’t you noticed the beauty of the atmosphere we’ve set ourselves in?” he started, “I, for one, believe that it’s moments like these that are worth cherishing.”
And he really did think it was beautiful. Clouds draped and stretched across a peach-coloured sky, towering over periwinkle peaks, which hid behind stalks of yellow and green trees, and the magenta shrubs spotting the grass they stood on.
“Oh, sureee, there’s gotta be a multitude of wonders lurking around this forest! We better keep an eye out. Who knows what we’ll find?” Eddy’s response sounded a little too chipper for him to be sincere; him rolling his eyes afterwards was a dead give away.
It bothered Edd heavily that Eddy was so ignorant of his surroundings. By now he had all reason to chastise him for such a remark, on the other hand it seemed it was better to drop the subject entirely. After all, they were having a good time.
“Well, on another note, our day was surely packed with fun.” That earned a glance from Eddy at least. “Matter of fact, I’d say we’ve never been this happier. Not since…” He trailed off, hesitant. He looked down at Eddy; it didn’t take long for him to catch on either.
“The incident?” He’d said it so casually. “S’fine, you can say it.”
Edd only looked away, arms wrapped around his body. The reassurance did ease his nerves a tad bit, but him bringing up the memory–as good as the outcome of which had been–had started to weigh on him.
The next few minutes were nothing but more of the open field and silence. The sky remained a soft orange colour above them, and the wind was blowing at both their backs now. Perhaps that’s what was moving him forward.
Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Eddy looking off into the distance, and he heard him make a short hum. Not so long after he saw his three strands of hair elevate oh so significantly that Edd almost winced at the realization. Eddy had an idea.
Eddy swung his head around with a devilish simper on his face. “Did Ed ever teach ‘cha how to dance?”
Of course, he couldn’t possibly tell where this was going. Curses.
“Well, we have danced outside while waiting for you to be released from your daily detention. Though it was Ed who took the lead majority of those times.” He had no idea why he told him that, but he shook the thought off as soon as it came.
But as it slowly dawned upon the young teen the direction this conversation was going to take, the rest came out in sort of a squeak. “He… he hasn’t really taught me anything.”
“That lump.”
Eddy stepped out in front of Edd, which prompted him to stop walking. The latter had already begun to sweat, thankfully from his forehead only. As the shorter teen’s grin grew wider, Edd became more afraid of what he was getting himself into.
Eddy extended out a hand. “Allow me.”
Edd gulped; he shakily rose up a hand to meet with Eddy’s, feeling his fingers close around it. “Oh, Eddy, please be gentle–WUAGH!”
Before he knew it, his entire body was swung forward, spinning rapidly around his axis. He could’ve well sunken into the ground but, thank goodness, he didn’t. Instead, he was tugged at by his other arm and was flung backward into Eddy’s grasp. No later did he start taking outstretched strides in all directions, swaying both his shoulders and hips while he was at it. Edd’s legs, if they weren’t flailing around like the ones of a ragdoll, were staggering beneath him to keep up with Eddy’s quick and abrupt movements. The only thing keeping him from falling was him being in his arms; the firmness of his hold started up some sort of heat in his stomach. Which was swiftly disregarded when he was dipped into Eddy’s other arm.
“Eddy, I think I’m gonna be SICK!”
Eddy was still smiling at him. “Trust me, ya ain’t!”
Edd yelped as Eddy twirled him around once more, his surroundings returning to all but a dashing blur. Eddy must’ve been waltzing around him, because the moment he stopped spinning, he’d swept him back into his arms from his right and transitioned into a sped up waltz around the field. His hands were loosely hooked around Edd’s shoulder, but the weight was enough to keep him from falling away. Fortunately, Edd could feel himself catching up; grabbing Eddy by his shoulder and gliding with him across the grass, turning himself around instead of having it done for him. And quickly enough, he spotted Eddy looking down and giggling.
“See? I told ya you’d be fine!” he beamed.
Edd looked down, careful to keep his focus on his movements. He took note and pride out of the fact that both of their legs were moving in perfect unison, and he let out a small chuckle at the sight of it.
He was sent pirouetting outward again with a yelp, then reeled back in by an arm. Eddy had wrapped his arm around Edd’s back tighter this time and was swinging his feet back while pulling the latter forward. He had also started singing while he was at it too.
Edd, paying attention to only Eddy’s face now, felt his free arm rise from his side, and when he looked, he saw Eddy’s hand interlocked with his.
And at that very moment, Edd began to analyze everything that was happening around him. The way Eddy swayed him in circles, fast enough to knock him off his feet yet so passionate it made him not want to let go; the arm enclosed round his stature gave him a sense of security, suffocating as it may have been; his voice. Edd wasn’t quite sure how one could sound so boisterous and all at once sweet as honey. He was aware that Eddy had been a romantic type in this sense–but not once did he stop to understand how deep it was.
Now, he had finally taken a look, his heart jolting and his cheeks reddening and tingling as he came to the conclusion; Eddy was oh, so handsome.
When Eddy dipped him one last time, so close the tips of their noses were touching, he said softly with a passionate look in his eyes, “You’re such a sweetheart, Eddward.”
Edd hearing his former name was one thing, but “sweetheart” was something that immediately made his knees weak and wobbly. “P–Pardon?"
“What, I can’t go all sappy on ya?” Eddy quipped, pulling him back up. “I can be sweet too, y’know.”
Eventually his frail legs decided to give way, and Edd felt himself collapse against a stone, only support being his two arms. It was like being called a pet name had put him into paralysis, and caused his still twitching legs and hips to ache. He caught Eddy glancing somewhere in that area, and instantaneously bit his lip to stifle a laugh. What could he possibly be looking at?
Edd rolled his eyes and sighed, eyes travelling towards his lap to find a bulge bobbing out from the gusset of his shorts.
The boy’s face flashes a hot red as he inhales. “GOOD LORD!–” His arms thrash around to cover the spot, and he could hear Eddy maniacally cackling at his screeching outburst and frantic movements. He fell over, rolling around the grass, his face also red from laughing.
“Eddy, this is nowhere near hilarious! For heaven’s sake, quit that and help me!”
“Yeah, but the look on your face!” replied Eddy between giggles, "You're red as a tomato!”
“I’ll have you know that your face is about as red as mine,” Edd protested. “Now stop laughing and do something. I can’t move.”
“Alright, alright. Relax, will ya?” Eddy crawled over and swept one arm under Edd’s shoulder, and another beneath his knees. He picked him up and began to walk away. “Man, you getting bricked from a compliment and having dead legs afterwards is just plain adorable.”
“Enough with that, too!”
“Enough with what?”
"You know!”
“No idea what you’re talkin’ about, princess.”
“Stop that!”
“Whatever ya say, baby boy.”
“SHUT UP!”