#shadwsofmyshadows

 authors note: so i think this would be the turning point of the story. enjoy!

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more than once the bully found himself standing at the front door of his pumpkin's house, trying to build up the nerve to knock, and more than once he chickened out at the last second, right before Kevin opened the door to find no one in sight. He wanted to confront Kevin about their situation but he just didn't know how to go about it.

    As good as Eddward was at disguising his emotions it didn't change how he truly felt on the inside. anger, extreme confusion, ashamed, guilt, a swirling storm of every emotion a human can possibly experience.during his free period the dark hair teen strode down to the school's pool to swim a few laps and maybe clear his mind. not wanting to wear anything else but his swim shorts and goggles he left his swim cap in the locker and made his way to the pool, diving every so carelessly into the cool blue chlorine.

    As he began his first lap his mind began to wonder back to that night.

   that night.

     none of it would have happened had he not been so drunk. drinking was rare for him. he usually never touched alcohol but something had drove him to it. but in all honesty...the genius bully couldn't pin point the reason behind his drinking. all he could remember was the feeling of loneliness,neglect,fear, desperation to feel anything other than pain.emotional pain. he certainly didn't expect pumpkin to stop by his house the way he did either. he didn't expect things to go so far as screwing with the boy. Edd was sure pumpkin didn't swing that way anyway.shit, the bully didn't know if he himself swung that way. but his actions told him other wise. although Edd could have stopped himself from advancing he let his body along with his cloudy mind to steer his actions. 

fuck.

Edd didn't think this would have any serious consequences. he still couldn't get this wrapped around his mind. it was just not possible! every time he thought about it his blood would boil. not out of anger but frustration.

after about 10 laps, far after his legs started to burn, Edd swam to the edge of the pool and hoisted himself up out of the water. turning the corner to the locker room as he patted himself dry with the towel that draped around is neck, Edd paused at the sound of voices from the other side of the door. judging by their loudness and scuffling of squeaky shoes and horrible body order emitted from the crack of the door it must of been a few football players who also took their free period to practice. Edd figured he would wait till they were done but froze when he heard a familiar dorky voice in the mix of laughter. he opened the door wide enough to poke his head through.

what the hell was the dork doing here?

Edd watched as the more built teenagers harassed the pregnant ginger. upon witnessing one them grab Kevin by the legs and spreading them apart Edd's blood began to boil again. the brown haired player leaned in closer into his protesting target and planted a kiss on his fabric cover stomach.

that unwelcome gesture was the final straw as the bully burst through the doors, furious. the loud clang of the door hitting the wall caused the football player and Kevin to all jump in surprise. realizing it was only Edward and not the coach or any of the teachers they resumed their torment on the poor boy, unaware of the fist that was zooming towards them at an alarmingly fast pace. he aimed for the brown hair kid who was on Kevin and caught him across the cheek. sending him crashing to the floor head first. 

. the force behind that punch must have been pretty strong, a couple of back teeth had flew out of his mouth and landed a foot away from his head, covered in blood.the other two player glanced down at their fallen team mate then back at Edd and fled the room afraid that they would be next.

Kevin looked up to his savior in disbelief. his bully had defended him. 

feeling the red heads eyes on hi back Edd looked at him from the corner his eyes and said, " my place, 8 o'clock." and walked off without another word.

.......

when 7:30 rolled around Eddward paced about the house, prepping things up for his visitor. its not like he ever had to worry about a messy home or anything but he just wanted this evening to go well. 

the unexpected ring of the door bell caused Eddward to jump slightly in surprise. was it 8 o'clock already? he check the clock mounted on the wall. no. 7:55pm but close enough. he suppose being a tad early than late was better. quickly putting on his "i don't care" face before opening the door.

"pumpkin" the bully smirked. "take off your shoes and come in."

Kevin did as he instructed. slipping on the pink bunny slippers Kevin froze as his nose was filled with a delicious aroma.

"are you cooking?" Kevin asked as he walked through the dinning room and into the kitchen where Edd was pulling out some white glass plates and a few silverware.

"thought you might be hungry". Edd explained. a bit uneasy and out of character as he said it. "you barely eat breakfast or lunch at school and for someone who is expecting you seem malnourished. so i took it upon myself to at least provide you with the nourishment required."

true Kevin didn't eat much at school besides the occasional saltine crackers, but those were to keep the nauseous down. he was afraid if he ate school lunch he would end up vomiting, having need to rush to the nearest restroom was a pain and he was afraid he wouldn't make it and end up vomiting in public. to save from humiliation he would wait till he got home to official eat.

"wow,uh...well thanks...Edd. i didn't think you cared."

Eddward shrugged his shoulders as he sat down "i never thought i find myself in this kind of situation." he beckoned the nerd to sit in the available chair across from him. Kevin glanced down at the meal in front of him. it was fettuccine with Alfredo sauce and shrimp and a couple of warm toasted garlic breads on the side. it all looked so dam good Kevin couldn't wait to dig in. at first bite his eyes popped open in surprise. the blend of spices on the shrimp, the smooth creamy rich sauce of the Alfredo mixed together perfectly. overwhelmed by the taste Kevin let out a surprising loud moan of pleasure.

Edd glanced at Kevin's face and chuckled."I'm pleased that you like the meal i prepared."

this was nice. to be able to use the dinning table for its initial purpose. to be able to have a decent meal with someone and have conversations with. to finally have this room lit and the stove and and oven use for things other than cooking one person meals. to cook for someone and have them actually like it and complement him on it. Edd felt a smile spread across his face.

"I've actually been craving for something like this all day!" aid Kevin. "you've made my night Edd, thanks." he patted his stomach with a content sigh.

Edd's smile vanished as he witnessed the the gesture. he gave a heavy sigh before glancing back up to his guest,remembering his reason for inviting him here.  with a grunt he said,"look, pumpkin i would appreciate it if you took better care of yourself while your incubation chamber holds my DNA."

Kevin was taken back by the request. "excuse me"?

rolling his eyes he leaned forward to ensure that pumpkin heard him."i will not allow your clumsiness to cause any type of damage to my child." Edd could still see the confused look on the nerds face. annoyed he explained himself further. "I've done some research on the matter and male pregnancy is dangerous to both you and the fetus. that child is not properly placed in a protective womb as it would in a women, so an accidental bump to your stomach can cause some serious risk.not only that bu-" Kevin cut him off there.

"I'm well aware of the condition Edd and i...appreciate your concern but according to my doctor my body had developed its own womb." Kevin lowered his head with a frown. "true...this...isn't safe but...during these past five months or so i have bonded with this child enough to say that I'm willing to do anything to bring it into this world." Kevin chuckled, rubbing the back of his head out of nervousness. "as cheesy as that sounds."

Edd chuckled. finding his pumpkin's bravery to be cute."well then i guess my protection is needed twice as much." his  face turned serious as he recalled back to earlier today. "those football players had no business touching you."

Kevin's face lite up. "does this mean you want to-"