Next Christmas [Corbett/Ed]
Title: Next Christmas
Author:casiedearestfic
Pairing: Alan Corbett/Ed Zeddmore
Rating: R for language
Warnings: Unbeta'd
Words: 10,000
Summary: Ed's only inviting Corbett to his house for Christmas because he feels bad for him. Honestly.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the boys. All characters belong to respective copyrights.
Notes: Written for the 'Christmas - perfect gift' square on my schmoop_bingo card. Also, dedicated to breaksinmusic. Also, eff you, life, for turning my attempted drabble into a 10k mini-monster of a Facer fic. Say what? Anyway, yeah, here's this. Christmas fic in July, you guys!
Ed stood in the center of the comic shop, dead center (he'd measured, chosen the center for optimal browsing power), feeling more and more frustrated as each second ticked by on the Spider-Man clock on the wall. Getting gifts was usually easy, because generally, his list of people to get gifts for included Harry. And, well... just Harry. And sometimes his mom, if she'd made any exceptionally good meals that year. And they were easy to shop for. All Ed had to do was buy two of something he really wanted, and give one to Harry, case closed. They had too much in common to find gift-giving difficult. But now... now there was Corbett, and Ed still wasn't even sure if getting him a Christmas gift was a good idea at all, being that, you know, he could get the wrong idea. Because Ed wasn't like that.
But, common courtesy had won out, something inside of him telling him that there was no way that Corbett wouldn't be getting him a gift. If Ed didn't at least return the favor, he'd look douchier than the dickhead Winchesters.
"What kind of stuff do chicks like?" Ed asked the guy behind the counter, stepping out of his carefully measured center circle. The man looked up from the magazine in his lap, some kind of cartoony looking porn. Ed cocked an eyebrow, backing up just a step or two to get that shit out of his vision.
"Uh..." The guy drew the sound out, giving it seven monotone syllables somehow, and Ed crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't... chicks don't come here." The guy pushed his glasses up his nose, eyes looking large and frightened behind the lenses. Ed gave him his most efficient death stare, the one that Harry usually laughed at, but it always worked on dogs.
"I have nothing to say to you," Ed bit back, turning on his heels and leaving the building.
Shit.
He forgot his measuring tape.
~!~!~!~!~
"Why don't you just get him, like, a gift card or something?" Harry offered, sitting on the end of the bed, tounge sticking out as he practiced a death grip on the game controller.
"That's my controller, assfacer!" Ed kicked at Harry's back, knocking him off the bed. There was a crash and a crack, and Ed hoped to God he'd broken Harry and not the controller.
"Dude, don't be a dick!" Harry climbed up from the floor, throwing himself onto the bed beside Ed. It was silent for a moment, save for Harry's pained moans, as they both stared up at the ceiling.
"I can't, man," Ed finally replied, hating that it was true.
"Dude, I'm not even getting him anything," Harry confirmed, shaking his head to make a point.
"You're vibrating my pillow! Harry, you are vibrating my pillow, and if --"
"Okay!" Harry stilled on the bed, "Gift card, seriously."
"Dude, you really think that Corbett's not gonna get me anything? Or get me something totally lame?" Ed asked incredulously. "The last time he brought me a French Vanilla, it was import!" He made his point, wondering if Harry really was that dumb. Ed wasn't in the dark about Corbett anymore. There was no denying it now that Corbett actually did have feelings for him, and it wasn't just jokes on Ed's behalf. He didn't put much time into thinking about how he felt for Corbett in return, but... he had serious gift giving business to kick the ass of.
"That's razor," Harry grinned, and Ed reached over to slap his ear.
"It's not! It means I need to get him something good." Ed complained, suddenly remembering and worrying about his potentially hurt controller.
"Dude, did you break my controller?" He squawked, scrambling to the edge of the bed, managing to push Harry off the side again.
"Oh my God, Ed, no!" Harry cried out from the floor as Ed picked up his baby, he'd paid heavy for this thing, okay?
"Jesus Christ, Ed" Harry picked himself up from the floor, and Ed turned just in time to see him pull his best bitch face. "I think you should start giving some compassion, huh? Maybe that should be your gift!" Harry spun from the room, storming out in a dramatic fashion.
"Don't make that face, Harry!" Ed called after him, "Makes you look like Sam Winchester!"
~!~!~!~!~
"It's import," Corbett smiled sweetly as he set the steaming mug in front of Ed, keeping himself pressed against his back even after he'd moved his hand away.
"Uh, awesome," Ed took off his safety goggles as he shifted forward, trying to put some space between himself and his over-excited intern. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, Ed," Corbett replied easily, and Ed was pretty sure he'd never heard anyone say 'you're welcome', like... ever. "Do you have any plans for Christmas?" Corbett asked, sliding into the empty chair next to Ed.
"I plan to eat. Food. A lot of food." Ed's eyes blanked as he thought about his mom's cranberry sauce. It was red and purple. Corbett didn't reply, just sat silently, idly, watching as Ed tried and repeatedly failed to invent The Super Awesome-o Ghostie Seeker from Hell. It was gonna work, okay?
"That's nice," Corbett said finally, nodding slowly, like he didn't really mean it, and Ed wanted to ask what was up with that, until he realized he didn't really care.
"So, uh, you? Plans?" Ed asked with distraction, trying to pull the wire out of an old wooden clothespin.
"I was thinking I'd just stay here," Corbett answered, something odd in his voice. "You know, clean up. Do inventory." Corbett grabbed at Ed's hand, and he flinched away for a moment, until he realized that the clothespin was his target, and not actually Ed's hand, 'cause that woulda been, you know, weird. He watched as Corbett snapped something, making a loud crack followed by a metallic ping as the wire shot free, sliding across the table and landing in front of Ed.
"Dude," Ed's eyes went wide, "That was awesome!" He exclaimed truthfully, impressed by the fact that Corbett was obviously a secret agent ninja pirate, who could probably grow a moustache if he wanted to.
"Really?" Corbett grinned brightly, cutting out his silent crap. "Thanks, Ed."
"Why aren't you going home for Christmas?" Ed asked suddenly, cutting right over Corbett's thanks. He didn't know if he should ask, he wasn't completely retarded. But, he felt like he should know. Why exactly, he wasn't sure. Corbett's face dropped slightly, smile dimming until it disappeared.
"Just, uh... I like it here better, I guess." He kept his eyes on the table, flickering over Ed's mess of broken lightbulbs and nail polish remover. Ed wanted to press, wanted a real answer, but he also knew that it wasn't his place.
"Yeah, this is a pretty cool place," He confirmed quietly, nodding in the same slow, unsure way that Corbett had. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, realizing that he had a pretty good idea of why Corbett wouldn't go home. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, and he wasn't about to spend the night thinking about it.
~!~!~!~!~
Ed spent the night thinking about it. His mind made a list of reasons that Corbett could possibly have for not going home. His parents were dead. His whole family was dead? He was an alien baby and didn't even have a family. He'd been disowned for being gay. He'd been disowned for being weird. He'd been disowned because he was an alien baby. And also gay. And also weird.
He thought about his own house, his own parents and siblings. It was the same thing every year, nothing ever turning out differently than the last. He closed his eyes as he thought about his parents. They were awkward and embarrassing, but... at least they were really nice.
And dude! The cranberry sauce!
~!~!~!~!~
"Corbett?" Ed shoved his hands deep into his pockets, feeling something kind of slimy, but... he'd deal with that later.
"Ed! You... I don't have your coffee!" Corbett panicked at Ed's unscheduled appearance, and Ed watched in amusement as he fumbled frantically.
"Didn't come for coffee, dude," Ed held out one hand, looking at his fingers. Huh. The slimy stuff was pink. "I want you to come home with me tonight," Ed said the words carefully, the way he'd practiced... even though he'd deny that he'd practiced, and was now thinking that he could have spent a little more time on the wording of that. "I mean, I want you to spend Christmas with my family. And I'm going tonight." He rephrased, hoping that didn't sound like some homo pickup line.
"What?" Corbett cried out, dropping the mug he'd been trying to wash. It shattered on the floor, and Ed smirked at the fact that it was Harry's Flintstones mug.
"Hey!" Ed stepped forward, coming to stand beside Corbett, "Were you... were you about to get me coffee... in Harry's mug?" Ed feigned horror and confusion as Corbett just gaped blankly. "Dude! Not cool!" Ed punched at Corbett's shoulder, with way more care than the punches he threw at Harry's dumb ass. Corbett looked horrified, and Ed cleared it up. "It's a joke, man," he dropped his voice, kicking at the broken features of Fred Flintstone's face, scattered on the floor. "And you know, I don't come to you just for coffee," He offered, realizing that Corbett must really think he looked like a dick if he honestly thought that. "And you still haven't given me an answer," Ed winced as his hand found more stickiness. His pocket was evil. He'd scan it later. "Come home with me?" He raised his eyebrows high on his face, pushing up his glasses, trying to look like his ninth grade science teacher, because then Corbett could never say no. That dude was a carnivore.
Corbett nodded silently, still looking like he'd seen a ghost. Ed made a mental note to scan this room after he'd finished with his pocket.
"Razor," Ed grinned as he backed away, "Pack some stuff, I'm leaving in an hour!"
~!~!~!~!~
"You asked him to do what?" Harry Sam Winchestered at him again, trying and failing miserably at looking authorative. "That? That's... that's the worst idea you've ever had in the history of worst ideas, Ed. That's like... that's a date! You're bringing him home to meet your parents!" Harry buzzed around like a bee, getting in Ed's way as he tried to pack.
"I brought you home to meet my parents when you were like five, dude!" Ed countered, realizing it didn't actually have any validity. "It's not a date! I'm not even gay, and I'm pretty much, like, almost positive that Corbett knows that." Ed rolled his eyes, gesturing to his body. One look at his clothes obviously screamed that he was straight and awesome and didn't suck dick.
"Whatever, man," Harry raised his hands, holding them out in resignation. Ed grinned at his own triumph. "Just don't call me in the middle of the night, crying because the dude found you under the mistletoe," Harry shook his head, looking defeated and unapproving.
"Oh, shut up, I wouldn't cry," Ed's mind conjured some half-assed image of Corbett trying to make a move on him, all awkward and awesome. Not awesome. It was just the awkward that was awesome. Because awkward could be fun. Not that kissing Corbett would be fun. Just really awesome. In that awkward kind of way.
"Whatever, man!" Harry repeated again, leaving the room without a secret handshake, which generally meant he was mad.
Ed stood over his suitcase, realizing he'd been folding and unfolding the same things over and over, not accomplishing much as far as actually filling the suitcase went. He felt nervous. Obviously because he hadn't seen his mom since, like, three weeks ago.
~!~!~!~!~
The drive was mostly quiet, and Ed was surprised to find it comfortable. Silences with Corbett were usually sort of tense, because he always looked like he had about eighty things to say, but just didn't know where to start, so Ed would be on edge, listening all hard and waiting, and then Harry would get dumb and talk and steal Corbett's chance, and then Corbett would leave and then --
"How far away is the house?" Corbett broke Ed's thoughts, startling him, embarrassingly. Ed cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.
"It's like another twenty minutes, probably," Ed estimated, realizing he hadn't really been paying very close attention. And that was bad, 'cause they coulda, like, crashed or something.
Ed wondered how it'd feel to be a ghost.
"I thought you took Harry home with you," Corbett's statement came out sounding sort of like a question, and Ed huffed in amusement.
"No, dude. " Ed shook his head, "He'd miss his mom too hard if he spent Christmas away from her."
"That's sweet," Corbett replied quickly, voice low and soft and quiet, and Harry was never low and soft and quiet.
"What about, uh..." Ed thought over his words, the words he wanted to say; what about your parents? But, decided against it, switching his train of thought. "What about the radio, huh?" Ed flicked the button on the dash, turning the knob through an endless expanse of static. He kept his eyes on the road, not even watching the numbers as he ripped through them.
"Here," Corbett offered suddenly, closing his hand over, right fucking over Ed's, turning it, and Ed's mind echoed Harry's accusations of a date. Corbett pulled his hand away before Ed could react, and Ed wasn't sure if that was good or bad. It was a good thing because now he didn't have to do anything about it, it was over and done with. But, now Corbett had pretty much held his hand, and Ed hadn't done anything about it.
And that was bad.
~!~!~!~!~
Ed felt a panic attack eat at his chest as he was thrown around like a pong ball, tossed from relative to relative, all cheek-pinching twelve of them. It was a lot of people for Ed's house, which never usually had more than four. And now there was fourteen, and Corbett must really be hating him.
"Mom?" Ed worked his way through the kitchen, resisting the urge to reach back for Corbett and pull him along behind him, the way he sometimes did to Harry. Zelda conventions got really busy, okay? They didn't want to get separated!
"Baby!" Ed's mom cried out in a voice audible only to dogs, apron all twisted, glasses cracked, hair frazzled. Ed didn't resist as she pulled him into a body numbing hug. It was kind of awesome, but now he smelled like wax.
"This is Corbett, he's gonna stay here, okay?" Ed explained, not really bothering with the whole asking permission part. His step-sister brought home like ten Barbie dickheads every year. He was sure he could have one too.
"Oh, yes!" Ed's mom rushed forward, crushing Corbett in a waxy smelling hug. Ed rolled his eyes, mouthing an apology to Corbett while his mom's back was turned.
"We're gonna, uh..." Ed watched as his mom got pulled left and right, recipes shoved in her face and yanked from her hands by aunts and cousins who tended to do that shit. "Okay." Ed nodded at his mom, knowing he was already forgotten.
"Come," Ed felt claustrophobic suddenly, working his way through the house and up the stairs, checking every few steps to make sure that Corbett was still following. Of course he was. He always would be. "My room!" Ed explained, with too much enthusiasm as he pushed open the door, smiling brightly as he stepped inside, gesturing for Corbett to follow.
"Most comfortable place on Earth," Ed christened in all seriousness, throwing himself down on his bed. The Batman blanket was kind of lame, that was so 2003, but it was warm and soft and Ed would never leave it.
"Your family..." Corbett started, sounding sort of unsure. Ed just sighed, throwing one hand over his face.
"I know, they're super overwhelming," Ed didn't bother to fight the fact. Corbett had met his mom, and that was pretty much sudden death in the Zeddmore house.
"They seem really nice, actually," Corbett corrected, moving to sit on the edge of Ed's bed. Ed closed his eyes, trying to fight off the panic as he realized a crucial bit of information he hadn't given a thought to before now. When Harry would come home with him, they'd share Ed's bed, no big deal, 'cause like, they'd been sharing that bed since they were in a phase where Darkwing Duck was cool. But sharing a bed with Corbett was obviously a bad, bad idea. Real bad idea.
"Oh, they are nice," Ed confirmed, keeping his bed-battle silent as he mentally made a check list of all the surfaces in the house that Corbett could possibly sleep on. "They just... they're really excitable." Ed watched as Corbett shifted, sitting more prominently on the bed than just perched on the edge.
"Well, at least they have personality," Corbett turned to look at Ed. "Unlike some families, some are just cold." Corbett moved again, coming to lay beside Ed, who tensed at the thought of laying in bed with Corbett. But, it wasn't bad, not so much. It didn't feel like some big gay fuck up, just felt like... a night with Harry, only... really different, but still not bad.
Ed couldn't figure out what to say, deciding that he didn't like to hear Corbett talking about his family. It was awkward and rough and really uncomfortable, but... sharing a bed with him wasn't. Noted, they weren't actually really sharing a bed, as much as they were just kind of both sprawled on top of it, but Ed decided that risking a big gay freak out was still sort of more favorable than shuffling the entire house around just so that wouldn't be a danger.
"You're gonna sleep in here with me tonight, by the way," Ed voiced his decision as soon as he made it, hoping he wouldn't regret it and wake up to find Corbett, like... doing something weird.
"What?" Corbett turned to look at him, face inches away, and that was pretty damn close. "In this bed? With you?" His voice got higher at the end, and Ed wondered for a moment if Corbett was uncomfortable with it.
"Well, I can probably figure out a way to let you sleep downstairs, if you'd pr --"
"No!" Corbett cut off Ed's attempt at a reconcile, "I want to sleep with you." Corbett exclaimed suddenly, an obvious outburst that he hadn't really thought through. Ed laughed softly, more amused than actually worried about Corbett's statement. It was kind of fun, the whole... you know, flirting thing. Even if it wasn't Ed's thing, it wasn't like he had a whole lot of other options.
"Okay," Ed turned away, eyes focusing on the Xena poster on his ceiling. "Then you can sleep with me," Ed risked, hoping that Corbett wouldn't take it literally. Or... yeah... the literal interpretation was the innocent one, right?
"Okay, okay, cool." Corbett stumbled through his words, and Ed grinned. Maybe it was mean to mess with him. But that didn't mean it had to be a bad thing.
~!~!~!~!~
"And where did you go to school?" Ed's Grandfather pressed, obviously deciding that an hour of interrogation wasn't enough.
"Uh, I went to Jackson, but..." Corbett had both hands wrapped around his glass of grape juice, holding onto it like a life force, and Ed felt bad for him. His family could be very... just very.
"Are you married?"
"Grandpa!" Ed threw out a hand, silencing him. "That's enough, we gotta go do something anyway," Ed pulled at Corbett's jeans, trying to tug him off the couch.
"We do?" Corbett was sincerely confused, and Ed was hating his life.
"Uh huh, come on, see you later, Gramps," Ed headed for the stairs, Corbett close behind, neither saying a word until they were shut in Ed's room again, silent and relaxed.
"Jeez, sorry," Ed sighed incredulously, sort of embarrassed by all the constant pestering that Corbett was being subjected to. "It's like they think you're my b... we should watch a movie," Ed covered quickly, not wanting to joke like that, in case Corbett got ideas or something.
"A movie?" Corbett smiled, obviously approving of the idea. It was getting late, the sky outside Ed's window was dark, and after all the hectic stress of the day, a movie sounded like a genius plan. He'd have to call Harry in the morning and tell him of his geniusness.
"I have one you gotta see!" Ed remembered suddenly, probably getting a little over excited as he remembered the DVD he bought from eBay a few years ago. It was some horror film from Russia, and dude... it was awesome.
"Okay," Corbett stretched out on Ed's bed, still looking uncomfortable, like maybe he felt like he didn't belong there. Ed didn't want him to feel awkward, but most of his tension breaking techniques involved things that may not be perfectly safe when acted out on a guy who wanted to bone him.
"Okay, uh..." Ed backed up, eyes on the screen, remote control pointed in that general direction. His legs hit the bed as he tried to work through the damn Russian menu, and seriously, menus need subtitles. Subtitles on menu titles. Brilliant. "Okay!" Ed grinned in triumph, falling onto the bed as the movie started up.
His room was pretty dark for the time, but then he remembered it was winter, and it was always dark during winter. He sat with his back against his headboard (it was purple, but he didn't pick it), and watched as Corbett mirrored the pose. Their shoulders were touching, which was a little uncomfortable, but Ed tried to remind himself that Corbett generally never got too pushy about the whole... you know... thing.
"What's it about?" Corbett asked softly, voice sounding closer than Ed had remembered him being.
"This hot chick, she's a werewolf, okay?" Ed started, slumping down lower in the bed. "And her mom is a robot. A werewolf robot though," he added, trying and failing to pull the blanket down when they were laying on top of it. "And her dad, he's actually twelve years old, but he just grows really fast, so..." Ed was getting frustrated with the blanket, and felt gratitude as Corbett helped, "So when the werewolf chick finds out that her boyfriend is actually the father of her dad, she freaks out, and... aw man!" Ed slumped in the bed again, rolling his eyes "I just ruined the twist!" He stared at Corbett incredulously, watching a smile crack across his face.
"I think, uh, I think this film has a lot of twists, Ed," Corbett comforted as Ed pulled the blanket up over them both, feeling like being under the covers was way more tense and weird than being on top of them.
"Okay, yeah, yeah," Ed nodded, "you're right." He crossed his arms over his chest, awkward tension chased away by the awesomeness of being in his own bed.
He focused on the movie for a few minutes, almost forgetting about Corbett entirely, mind probably falling into some assumption that it was Harry beside him, and well... Harry didn't need attention. But, Harry also didn't press his leg against Ed's, and apparently, Corbett did. Ed battled with his thoughts for a moment, flashing back to Corbett's hand on his in the car. He really didn't wanna be a dick and pull away, because that was kind of harsh. But, he also didn't wanna be a chick and let Corbett touch him like that either, because then he'd start getting ideas. Then again, though, it really wasn't that big of a deal, and so, Ed didn't move.
"I don't understand this film," Corbett confessed after a few moments, and Ed grinned, shifting to face him as he explained. He talked for a long time, enthusiastic to be talking about something so awesome, until he started to feel weird, like... like maybe there was something shady in the grape juice. His words started to trail off as he felt something get really tense between them, something that Ed hadn't really felt before. But then he remembered that Corbett wanted to sit on his dick, and that put it into perspective.
"So yeah, that's pretty much... uh, that's it," Ed turned away, putting his focus back on the screen. Corbett made a small sound of understanding, low in his throat, and Ed pulled away. He moved his leg immediately, not liking that sound at all, but the motion only served to bring their shoulders closer, forcing Ed to press against Corbett heavily. The bed was too damn small.
Ed moved again, feeling a blush spill down his chest as he realized that this whole sleeping together thing was gonna be one giant ball of awkward tension, and maybe he really would call Harry in the morning, crying, because dude...
"Ed," Corbett's voice was serious and warning suddenly, and Ed didn't turn to look at him. "I'm not stupid."
Ed felt his face furrow into something resembling confusion, because he couldn't recall ever saying anything to make Corbett feel like he was stupid. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I know that you... you aren't..." He floundered for words for a moment before settling on his track; "I'm in your house because you felt bad for me. And I'm in your bed because there's nowhere else for me to be." Corbett concluded easily, stating it as fact. Ed was taken by surprise, the whole random speech being something unexpected.
"No, that's not..." Ed wanted to deny that, but realized he couldn't. It was basically true, if he really thought about it. But, now that Corbett was here, it was... it wasn't bad, and... "I like you being here," Ed said honestly, wondering when exactly their legs had pressed up against each other again.
"Well, I like being here," Corbett sighed, sounding unhappy, and Ed couldn't figure out why. "But I know this is a one time thing, and that's okay."
Uh huh. So that's why.
"No," Ed countered, shaking his head, "Doesn't have to be, you can come home with me whenever you want. Well, mostly whenever," Ed offered, realizing too late that coming home with Ed wasn't really what Corbett was referring to.
Corbett didn't reply, just let the silence hang heavily between them, hot and cold at the same time. Ed felt like a dick, and he wasn't even sure why. He hadn't really done anything bad, but he had known about how Corbett felt for him, and he'd kind of fucked around with it.
"Corbett?" Ed risked, facing forward instead of toward him. Corbett made a mumbled reply, something dark and broken, and it sucked. Ed took a deep breath, hoping to God that Harry would never find out about what he was about to do. "Kiss me."
"Wh -- "
"Kiss me, Corbett," Ed repeated, still not looking at him. He needed this kiss, he needed to know if the stupid stupidness he was feeling was because he was... you know.
"Ed, you don't h -- "
"Kiss me, please, just..." Ed closed his eyes, tensing up as the moment drew on. It was silent for a moment, a few seconds that felt like days. He felt the bed shift as Corbett moved, felt the sensation of being watched closely as Corbett's hand rested on his shoulder. Ed kept his eyes closed, feeling sort of like he had when he was young and afraid of a monster at the end of his bed. He'd just keep his eyes closed and pray that it would go away, not notice him somehow.
Corbett's lips pressed to his suddenly, and Ed startled at the contact. It was way different than he thought it'd be. No Earth shattering weird feelings or freak outs, just a soft warmth that was really sort of nice. Ed tried to keep his mind on the experimental factor, trying to determine if he was... you know. And he still hadn't decided, but when Corbett pulled away, Ed pulled him back.
He grabbed at the front of Corbett's shirt, pulling him in tightly, pressing their lips together in a proper kiss this time, moving against each other with passion and heat, instead of the cold, lifeless press of flesh that had been their first test. Corbett made a noise of surprise, and Ed worked to swallow it down, really, really wanting to keep their mouths together.
"Ed," Corbett forced himself away, and Ed opened his eyes, seeing Corbett's staring back at him, blown wide and shocked. "It's okay, you don't have to do this," Corbett explained softly, and Ed believed him.
"I know," he confirmed. "I want to." His voice came out broken and shaky, and it was the truth. He honestly wanted Corbett's lips on his.
"But -- "
"Shut. Up." Ed whined, shifting down on the bed, pulling Corbett with him. He felt a moment of panic as Corbett laid on top of him, kissing him tentatively, like he didn't really want to. What if he really didn't? What if, somehow, everyone had read the entire thing wrong? Corbett cleared Ed's mind of those thoughts as he pressed his body down harder, tighter, kissing him with just a bit more force.
It felt awesome, Ed would admit. Corbett was warm and solid over him, and his mouth was really sweet. Ed was getting into the kiss, pressing their lips harder together, and there was no way he'd be able to ever write this off as an experiment. Corbett moaned low in his throat, a sound that was awesome and awful at the same time. Ed was silently freaking out just a little, comfortable... ish.... with the kissing, but super fucking worried about where it might lead. He wasn't into dick. Ed Zeddmore was no Winchester.
Corbett did something on top of him, a press of his hips against Ed's, and Ed forgot that thought entirely. If being a homo Winchester felt this good, then... nah. It was never okay to be a Winchester.
"Uh," Ed pulled back just slightly, putting space between them. He could feel the blush on his face, the hammering in his heart, and something he didn't really wanna think about going on in his pants, and he knew it was time to slow down.
"Sorry," Corbett moved quickly, throwing himself off of Ed and back onto his side of the bed. He looked wrecked, like he'd been hurt, and Ed tried not to let himself feel bad. He'd let the dude suck his face, wasn't that what he wanted?
"I'm just tired," Ed said, with half honesty. Corbett nodded, focusing somewhere on Ed's chest, rather than his eyes, and Ed took it as an end to the conversation. Case closed. He struggled to get into a comfortable position, grateful that Corbett took up less space than Harry, as he closed his eyes and flicked off the TV. It was still sort of early, he thought. Definitely before midnight. But, sleep seemed like the best idea anyway, because otherwise... otherwise things would be awkward.
"Hey Ed?" Corbett broke the silence, and Ed didn't reply. He had a few guesses about what it was that he'd be saying, and all options kind of sucked. He wasn't ready or willing at all to talk about it yet, wouldn't even know what exactly to say if he wanted to. But, he also didn't want Corbett to think that he'd made a mistake or something, because... well, it wasn't really a mistake. It had felt okay. Kind of good, really. And doing it again wouldn't be, you know, awful. So, to replace the words he couldn't say, he turned and wrapped one arm about Corbett. Because damnit, he was not the little spoon.
~!~!~!~!~
Ed woke up to a sun too bright, to a bird too chirpy and an intern under his arm. He'd prepared himself for this before falling asleep, tried to make sure he'd remember where he was, who he was with, and that no, he hadn't taken a dick up his ass. He was pretty sure he'd feel that anyway.
Corbett was asleep, almost board straight on the bed, like he still wasn't comfortable, and... and maybe he really wasn't. Ed had spent some time thinking about it, about the kiss, about, you know... whatever. And he'd decided that he didn't regret it. Corbett was a good guy. A real good guy, a fucking robot assassin samurai trainer. And yeah, Corbett was a dude. And yeah... Ed was a dude, and in Ed's mind, dudes shouldn't be kissing other dudes! But, in Ed's mind, he was also constantly presented with a steady rotation of bikini models, so clearly... Ed's mind needed a little tweaking. There were no girls, none anywhere. They only chick he even knew was Maggie. And, dude... sister!
And then there was Corbett. A dude. With a dick. But... also with an awesome brain and an understanding of Ed's awesome stuff. He was really nice and made perfect coffee and Ed was pretty sure that Corbett would drive to Wichita and back if he was asked. He was good to Harry, which was brocode rule number one in Ed's book. His mom liked him... but Ed wasn't exactly sure if that counted for anything, since his mom liked everyone, really.
Too much thinking. Just... too much thinking.
~!~!~!~!~
"No, mom, it's okay," Ed protested, "I think."
The house was way over capacity, and it was now becoming frustratingly apparent. Everyone was trying to shuffle around, find the best seating arrangements, the best ways to keep this guy away from this girl, the dog away from the cat, Uncle Drew away from Uncle David, because, really? No one wanted to see that happen. And now, Ed's mom was shooing everyone around, trying to prevent Ed and Corbett from squishing into one overstuffed chair together.
"Oh, come on, Dear. Two grown men can't sit in that, your cousin and her friend can manage!"
"Ma! Just --" Ed held his hands out in protest, losing his last ounce of patience with the entire situation as he tugged Corbett down with him into the chair. He would have already done it ten minutes ago, saved half a day's worth of hassle, if only he'd been sure that Corbett was okay with it. He still hadn't actually said anything, done anything differently, and it had Ed on edge. Getting rejected by the only person who you ever had a chance with would be kind of fail.
"Okay, Dear," Ed's mom sighed in resignation, and Uncle David was eyeing Ed suspiciously. Or maybe it was Corbett, Ed couldn't tell, since they were essentially in each other's laps.
"You, I don't... I can sit on the floor," Corbett said softly, turning into Ed. His eyes were wide and scared, and Ed wanted to... not be thinking about what he wanted to do.
"No, want you here," Ed said with false distraction, looking the other way as he said it. He had made up his mind. He liked Corbett, and that was enough to be comfortable with whatever this was. But that didn't mean he was ready or willing to deal with it head on.
"Why?" Corbett pressed, and Ed rolled his eyes. Apparently an easy out was non-existent wherever Corbett was concerned. Ed thought for a moment, trying to choose his words. He had options, a lot of options. Because I don't want to have to share you with the rest of my family. Because I kinda wish we were still in bed, and this is as good as it's gonna get for now. Because I think that I've been lying to myself for a very long time, and now... I might be falling--
"Because you're already here, no big deal," He concluded easily, still looking away as he said the words.
Corbett didn't reply for a long, tense moment, until finally; "Alright."
Ed was glad that he'd dropped it, glad they didn't have to talk it out, like they were chicks or something. But, this was almost worse, because this was Corbett sitting on top of him, all warm and solid and smelling like vanilla. His shirt was really soft... and Ed only knew that because his hand accidentally brushed against his back, and didn't stay there. For a really long time. For the rest of the night.
"So, um, Corbett, is it?" Uncle Drew piped up randomly, half an hour later.
"It's Alan, actually, sir, but... never mind, yes." Corbett stammered, as if taken by surprise.
"Well, I've hardly heard a word from you, boy! Do you have a job?" Drew settled lower into his chair, obvious effects of alcohol washing over him. Corbett tensed in Ed's lap, in Ed's lap, and how did that happen?
"I sort of work with Ed right now, sir," Corbett's voice was strained.
"Ed doesn't have a job!" Drew laughed incredulously, cutting it off with another deep swallow from his dark glass bottle. Corbett floundered for words for a moment, and Ed acted without thinking. He smoothed his hand over Corbett's back, running over the soft (or not-so-soft, because, what? Ed didn't notice things like that...) fabric of his shirt. Corbett visibly relaxed immediately, and Ed mentally filed that tactic away in his mind.
By the time Corbett finally got his words together, they were no longer needed, as everyone else had already moved on, chatting to each other, and leaving them out. Again.
"Ed..." Corbett started, turning to look him in the eye. Ed didn't want this to happen.
"Hmm?" He pushed at his glasses before digging his fingers into the arm of the chair.
"What are you doing?" The question came out like a whisper. Soft and low and private. Ed took a breath, realizing that maybe this was the time to... get this over with.
"I made a mistake, Corbett," He stated, finally turning to look at the intern. Things were wrong. And weird. And happening, like... really quick. Ed was pretty sure he'd been completely straight 48 hours ago. And now he was getting all girly over a dude, and couldn't understand why.
"What do you mean?" Corbett's eyes were wide, afraid, and that was when it hit Ed, like a punch to the eyeball. He wasn't falling in love with Corbett. He didn't wanna fuck the guy. He just... maybe kinda... wanted to take care of him. He felt responsible for him, and he wasn't sure exactly why. He wanted to make sure he was always safe, always comfortable, and somewhere along the line, maybe he'd just gotten his wires crossed. All it was was a need to make him feel wanted. But why?
Back to square one.
"I don't know," Ed answered honestly. His brain was doing some jelly kind of thing, and it was really starting to hurt. He needed to get some thinking done. He'd been thinking for the entire day, been thinking long and hard and painful. But, he hadn't come up with any conclusions, any ideas of what he needed or wanted, any explanation for the way he was feeling. "Come with me?" Ed pressed, shifting in the seat, tipping Corbett off his lap.
"Yes," Corbett replied quickly, easily, like denying Ed wasn't even an option.
Yeah. He had a lot of thinking to do.
"Ed, you're being really weird tonight. And, well... and last night." Corbett said the words to the stars as the wooden boards of the back deck creaked under Ed's weight.
"Well, yeah," Ed confirmed, knowing it wasn't an accusation. Simply fact. "I know."
The silence hung between them for a moment, maybe too long, maybe not long enough. Ed wasn't sure. He'd intended to say more. He had things to say.
"I get it, Ed. Why you brought me here, I mean," Corbett explained, leaning on the railing. "And I know you're not gay, which is... well, it's pretty much the end-all to this entire... whatever it is."
Ed studied Corbett's face, seeing him only in profile. He looked blank and broken, sort of calm, but in a way that had chaos underneath it. "You're right," Ed admitted, knowing that all of Corbett's logic was true. "I brought you here because... I felt bad for you. Because I felt like... no one should ever be alone on Christmas," Ed started, moving to lean against the railing as well, mirroring Corbett's stance. "And I let you sleep in my bed because there was nowhere else for you to be. And I kissed you as an experiment, because... well, it needed to be done. And I let you sit with me because Ma was givin' me a headache about the whole seating thing, but..." Ed took a deep breath, waiting for a moment before continuing. Things would be different after this moment. A lot of things, everything.
"But, I'm already making plans to bring you here again next year, because I like you here. And three of my cousins are going home tonight, but I still want you in my bed. And having you sit with me was the best part of my day. Except, maybe, for when Auntie Lisa tried to eat the plastic fruit, because that was kind of hilarious," Ed said without humor, deathly serious as he turned to Corbett. "And kissing you may have... been done for the wrong reasons. But... liking it was done for all the right ones. I liked kissing you, Corbett. I liked... I like the..." Ed stammered for a moment, struggling for his words as he tried to minimize the lameness of what he was about to say. "I like you," He finished finally, unconsciously moving his hand to rest against Corbett's back.
Corbett's breath hitched audibly, as he dropped his gaze from the stars to the grass, face darkening and brightening all at once. His emotions were stormy for a moment, and Ed worried that maybe, somehow, Corbett didn't want to be liked. That was something he'd have to deal with, because Ed was pretty sure that this wasn't a feeling that could be switched off.
"Me?" He asked finally, turning only slightly, shifting the top of half of his body to face Ed.
"You," Ed confirmed seriously, taking a long, deep inward breath.
"But, you... you're not gay," Corbett pressured, more hung up on that fact than Ed was.
"I know," Ed confirmed, knowing it was true. He wasn't gay, was completely positive about it. He'd never felt anything for a guy before, not physically or emotionally. But it made sense now, with Corbett. It made sense because Corbett was perfect. He was everything that Ed had ever dreamed about in a girl, only, except for the part where he was, you know, a dude. But Ed knew he could work past that, or... get used to it, at least. Because, like, millions of people were gay, right? Couldn't be that hard. "Doesn't even matter with you," He concluded, making the deck creak softly as he shifted his weight forward, leaning against Corbett.
"So... you..." Corbett's eyes darted between Ed's eyes and his lips, looking almost predatory.
"Me and you," Ed replied, not even knowing if that was what Corbett was asking, or if it was even a good enough answer. "If... you know... you want that," He added, figuring he shouldn't bully the dude into being his... boyfriend.
"Ed," Corbett moaned, turning to fall against him suddenly, hands in his hair, mouth on his jaw. "Me and you," He echoed, moving to press Ed back against the railing. The sky was dark and solid over them, broken only erratically by little white buttons of stars. Ed let his hand brush along the side of Corbett's face, sparking at the unfamiliar touch. He swallowed hard as Corbett pressed into him, leaning down to brush their lips together in what would become their first kiss as a couple.
Ed let it happen, trying to still the internal dizziness that still conflicted him. He wanted Corbett, he wanted this, but it was still going to take some getting used to.
Corbett moaned softly, a sound that was more awesome than awkward this time. Ed let his hand rub over Corbett's cheek, as the other gripped his waist, pulling him closer as the kiss continued to deepen.
"Shit!" Corbett pulled away suddenly, breaking the contact almost painfully as his eyes went wide. Ed stood in shock, not sure if it was the sudden outburst, or the fact that Corbett swore that had him shaken.
"What?" Ed cried out, confused and afraid.
"Your gift! I... it's..." Corbett slapped a hand to his forehead suddenly, almost comically. "You're my... my boyfriend now, I can't... I gotta get you something better!" He explained, after apparently deciding to pace over the deck. Ed laughed softly, watching Corbett panic.
"No," Ed denied, stepping quickly in front of Corbett, catching him with both arms around his waist, stilling his pacing as he pulled him into a hug. "I, uh... I didn't get you anything," Ed finally admitted, feeling shittier about it now more than ever. Corbett just tilted his head, looking Ed up and down, and up and down, in a way that was sort of uncomfortable.
"You're really stupid," Corbett said finally, and Ed tensed, opening his mouth to protest. Corbett cut him off with a kiss, hard and fast and dirty, something that would very soon make a debut in Ed's fantasies. "I get to do that to you now," Corbett smirked, pulling back while wrapping his arms around Ed at the same time. "That's the best present you could have given me. Ever. I swear it," Corbett explained, pressing kisses along Ed's face.
Ed stayed silent for a moment, letting himself adjust to the feeling of being held, being kissed. "I don't want you to get me anything, either," He said honestly, reaching to grab at Corbett's hand, tangling their fingers together. "You just gave me all I need," He smiled, silently hoping Harry would never know he'd said those words.
The silence burned long and heavy, broken only occasionally by the sound of a hitched breath or a low moan as they kissed. Ed held onto Corbett tightly, realizing he'd already wasted far too long on not holding him.
"Corbett?" Ed questioned softly, catching a glimpse of his watch.
"Mmm?" Corbett moaned against Ed's neck, warm and soft.
"It's after midnight," Ed stated, letting his hand run over Corbett's back. "Merry Christmas," He said softly, starting to feel tired as Corbett's lips brushed over his throat.
"I love you, Ed," Corbett admitted suddenly, making Ed's heart skip a beat, or... maybe pick up double-time, he wasn't sure which.
"Corbett..." Ed warned, closing his eyes. He liked the guy, and... maybe... well, yeah, maybe. But it was way too soon, way too--
"It's okay, Ed, really," Corbett replied quickly, sounding honest and not at all hurt. "Really," He repeated again, pulling back to look at Ed's eyes for the first time in a while. "You've given me more than I could ever have asked for tonight," Corbett explained, smiling warmly. "So... that other thing?" He raised his eyebrows, smile brightening again. "Maybe that can wait 'til next Christmas?"
Ed swallowed hard, tracing random patterns absently over Corbett's hip. He took a deep breath, sounding shaky and wrecked, before remembering that Corbett was a special forces Jedi master, with favorable interests, and recently discovered talents at kissing. "Yes," Ed promised, smiling as Corbett's hand ran down his arm. "Next Christmas."
-End-
Author:casiedearestfic
Pairing: Alan Corbett/Ed Zeddmore
Rating: R for language
Warnings: Unbeta'd
Words: 10,000
Summary: Ed's only inviting Corbett to his house for Christmas because he feels bad for him. Honestly.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the boys. All characters belong to respective copyrights.
Notes: Written for the 'Christmas - perfect gift' square on my schmoop_bingo card. Also, dedicated to breaksinmusic. Also, eff you, life, for turning my attempted drabble into a 10k mini-monster of a Facer fic. Say what? Anyway, yeah, here's this. Christmas fic in July, you guys!
Ed stood in the center of the comic shop, dead center (he'd measured, chosen the center for optimal browsing power), feeling more and more frustrated as each second ticked by on the Spider-Man clock on the wall. Getting gifts was usually easy, because generally, his list of people to get gifts for included Harry. And, well... just Harry. And sometimes his mom, if she'd made any exceptionally good meals that year. And they were easy to shop for. All Ed had to do was buy two of something he really wanted, and give one to Harry, case closed. They had too much in common to find gift-giving difficult. But now... now there was Corbett, and Ed still wasn't even sure if getting him a Christmas gift was a good idea at all, being that, you know, he could get the wrong idea. Because Ed wasn't like that.
But, common courtesy had won out, something inside of him telling him that there was no way that Corbett wouldn't be getting him a gift. If Ed didn't at least return the favor, he'd look douchier than the dickhead Winchesters.
"What kind of stuff do chicks like?" Ed asked the guy behind the counter, stepping out of his carefully measured center circle. The man looked up from the magazine in his lap, some kind of cartoony looking porn. Ed cocked an eyebrow, backing up just a step or two to get that shit out of his vision.
"Uh..." The guy drew the sound out, giving it seven monotone syllables somehow, and Ed crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't... chicks don't come here." The guy pushed his glasses up his nose, eyes looking large and frightened behind the lenses. Ed gave him his most efficient death stare, the one that Harry usually laughed at, but it always worked on dogs.
"I have nothing to say to you," Ed bit back, turning on his heels and leaving the building.
Shit.
He forgot his measuring tape.
~!~!~!~!~
"Why don't you just get him, like, a gift card or something?" Harry offered, sitting on the end of the bed, tounge sticking out as he practiced a death grip on the game controller.
"That's my controller, assfacer!" Ed kicked at Harry's back, knocking him off the bed. There was a crash and a crack, and Ed hoped to God he'd broken Harry and not the controller.
"Dude, don't be a dick!" Harry climbed up from the floor, throwing himself onto the bed beside Ed. It was silent for a moment, save for Harry's pained moans, as they both stared up at the ceiling.
"I can't, man," Ed finally replied, hating that it was true.
"Dude, I'm not even getting him anything," Harry confirmed, shaking his head to make a point.
"You're vibrating my pillow! Harry, you are vibrating my pillow, and if --"
"Okay!" Harry stilled on the bed, "Gift card, seriously."
"Dude, you really think that Corbett's not gonna get me anything? Or get me something totally lame?" Ed asked incredulously. "The last time he brought me a French Vanilla, it was import!" He made his point, wondering if Harry really was that dumb. Ed wasn't in the dark about Corbett anymore. There was no denying it now that Corbett actually did have feelings for him, and it wasn't just jokes on Ed's behalf. He didn't put much time into thinking about how he felt for Corbett in return, but... he had serious gift giving business to kick the ass of.
"That's razor," Harry grinned, and Ed reached over to slap his ear.
"It's not! It means I need to get him something good." Ed complained, suddenly remembering and worrying about his potentially hurt controller.
"Dude, did you break my controller?" He squawked, scrambling to the edge of the bed, managing to push Harry off the side again.
"Oh my God, Ed, no!" Harry cried out from the floor as Ed picked up his baby, he'd paid heavy for this thing, okay?
"Jesus Christ, Ed" Harry picked himself up from the floor, and Ed turned just in time to see him pull his best bitch face. "I think you should start giving some compassion, huh? Maybe that should be your gift!" Harry spun from the room, storming out in a dramatic fashion.
"Don't make that face, Harry!" Ed called after him, "Makes you look like Sam Winchester!"
~!~!~!~!~
"It's import," Corbett smiled sweetly as he set the steaming mug in front of Ed, keeping himself pressed against his back even after he'd moved his hand away.
"Uh, awesome," Ed took off his safety goggles as he shifted forward, trying to put some space between himself and his over-excited intern. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, Ed," Corbett replied easily, and Ed was pretty sure he'd never heard anyone say 'you're welcome', like... ever. "Do you have any plans for Christmas?" Corbett asked, sliding into the empty chair next to Ed.
"I plan to eat. Food. A lot of food." Ed's eyes blanked as he thought about his mom's cranberry sauce. It was red and purple. Corbett didn't reply, just sat silently, idly, watching as Ed tried and repeatedly failed to invent The Super Awesome-o Ghostie Seeker from Hell. It was gonna work, okay?
"That's nice," Corbett said finally, nodding slowly, like he didn't really mean it, and Ed wanted to ask what was up with that, until he realized he didn't really care.
"So, uh, you? Plans?" Ed asked with distraction, trying to pull the wire out of an old wooden clothespin.
"I was thinking I'd just stay here," Corbett answered, something odd in his voice. "You know, clean up. Do inventory." Corbett grabbed at Ed's hand, and he flinched away for a moment, until he realized that the clothespin was his target, and not actually Ed's hand, 'cause that woulda been, you know, weird. He watched as Corbett snapped something, making a loud crack followed by a metallic ping as the wire shot free, sliding across the table and landing in front of Ed.
"Dude," Ed's eyes went wide, "That was awesome!" He exclaimed truthfully, impressed by the fact that Corbett was obviously a secret agent ninja pirate, who could probably grow a moustache if he wanted to.
"Really?" Corbett grinned brightly, cutting out his silent crap. "Thanks, Ed."
"Why aren't you going home for Christmas?" Ed asked suddenly, cutting right over Corbett's thanks. He didn't know if he should ask, he wasn't completely retarded. But, he felt like he should know. Why exactly, he wasn't sure. Corbett's face dropped slightly, smile dimming until it disappeared.
"Just, uh... I like it here better, I guess." He kept his eyes on the table, flickering over Ed's mess of broken lightbulbs and nail polish remover. Ed wanted to press, wanted a real answer, but he also knew that it wasn't his place.
"Yeah, this is a pretty cool place," He confirmed quietly, nodding in the same slow, unsure way that Corbett had. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, realizing that he had a pretty good idea of why Corbett wouldn't go home. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, and he wasn't about to spend the night thinking about it.
~!~!~!~!~
Ed spent the night thinking about it. His mind made a list of reasons that Corbett could possibly have for not going home. His parents were dead. His whole family was dead? He was an alien baby and didn't even have a family. He'd been disowned for being gay. He'd been disowned for being weird. He'd been disowned because he was an alien baby. And also gay. And also weird.
He thought about his own house, his own parents and siblings. It was the same thing every year, nothing ever turning out differently than the last. He closed his eyes as he thought about his parents. They were awkward and embarrassing, but... at least they were really nice.
And dude! The cranberry sauce!
~!~!~!~!~
"Corbett?" Ed shoved his hands deep into his pockets, feeling something kind of slimy, but... he'd deal with that later.
"Ed! You... I don't have your coffee!" Corbett panicked at Ed's unscheduled appearance, and Ed watched in amusement as he fumbled frantically.
"Didn't come for coffee, dude," Ed held out one hand, looking at his fingers. Huh. The slimy stuff was pink. "I want you to come home with me tonight," Ed said the words carefully, the way he'd practiced... even though he'd deny that he'd practiced, and was now thinking that he could have spent a little more time on the wording of that. "I mean, I want you to spend Christmas with my family. And I'm going tonight." He rephrased, hoping that didn't sound like some homo pickup line.
"What?" Corbett cried out, dropping the mug he'd been trying to wash. It shattered on the floor, and Ed smirked at the fact that it was Harry's Flintstones mug.
"Hey!" Ed stepped forward, coming to stand beside Corbett, "Were you... were you about to get me coffee... in Harry's mug?" Ed feigned horror and confusion as Corbett just gaped blankly. "Dude! Not cool!" Ed punched at Corbett's shoulder, with way more care than the punches he threw at Harry's dumb ass. Corbett looked horrified, and Ed cleared it up. "It's a joke, man," he dropped his voice, kicking at the broken features of Fred Flintstone's face, scattered on the floor. "And you know, I don't come to you just for coffee," He offered, realizing that Corbett must really think he looked like a dick if he honestly thought that. "And you still haven't given me an answer," Ed winced as his hand found more stickiness. His pocket was evil. He'd scan it later. "Come home with me?" He raised his eyebrows high on his face, pushing up his glasses, trying to look like his ninth grade science teacher, because then Corbett could never say no. That dude was a carnivore.
Corbett nodded silently, still looking like he'd seen a ghost. Ed made a mental note to scan this room after he'd finished with his pocket.
"Razor," Ed grinned as he backed away, "Pack some stuff, I'm leaving in an hour!"
~!~!~!~!~
"You asked him to do what?" Harry Sam Winchestered at him again, trying and failing miserably at looking authorative. "That? That's... that's the worst idea you've ever had in the history of worst ideas, Ed. That's like... that's a date! You're bringing him home to meet your parents!" Harry buzzed around like a bee, getting in Ed's way as he tried to pack.
"I brought you home to meet my parents when you were like five, dude!" Ed countered, realizing it didn't actually have any validity. "It's not a date! I'm not even gay, and I'm pretty much, like, almost positive that Corbett knows that." Ed rolled his eyes, gesturing to his body. One look at his clothes obviously screamed that he was straight and awesome and didn't suck dick.
"Whatever, man," Harry raised his hands, holding them out in resignation. Ed grinned at his own triumph. "Just don't call me in the middle of the night, crying because the dude found you under the mistletoe," Harry shook his head, looking defeated and unapproving.
"Oh, shut up, I wouldn't cry," Ed's mind conjured some half-assed image of Corbett trying to make a move on him, all awkward and awesome. Not awesome. It was just the awkward that was awesome. Because awkward could be fun. Not that kissing Corbett would be fun. Just really awesome. In that awkward kind of way.
"Whatever, man!" Harry repeated again, leaving the room without a secret handshake, which generally meant he was mad.
Ed stood over his suitcase, realizing he'd been folding and unfolding the same things over and over, not accomplishing much as far as actually filling the suitcase went. He felt nervous. Obviously because he hadn't seen his mom since, like, three weeks ago.
~!~!~!~!~
The drive was mostly quiet, and Ed was surprised to find it comfortable. Silences with Corbett were usually sort of tense, because he always looked like he had about eighty things to say, but just didn't know where to start, so Ed would be on edge, listening all hard and waiting, and then Harry would get dumb and talk and steal Corbett's chance, and then Corbett would leave and then --
"How far away is the house?" Corbett broke Ed's thoughts, startling him, embarrassingly. Ed cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.
"It's like another twenty minutes, probably," Ed estimated, realizing he hadn't really been paying very close attention. And that was bad, 'cause they coulda, like, crashed or something.
Ed wondered how it'd feel to be a ghost.
"I thought you took Harry home with you," Corbett's statement came out sounding sort of like a question, and Ed huffed in amusement.
"No, dude. " Ed shook his head, "He'd miss his mom too hard if he spent Christmas away from her."
"That's sweet," Corbett replied quickly, voice low and soft and quiet, and Harry was never low and soft and quiet.
"What about, uh..." Ed thought over his words, the words he wanted to say; what about your parents? But, decided against it, switching his train of thought. "What about the radio, huh?" Ed flicked the button on the dash, turning the knob through an endless expanse of static. He kept his eyes on the road, not even watching the numbers as he ripped through them.
"Here," Corbett offered suddenly, closing his hand over, right fucking over Ed's, turning it, and Ed's mind echoed Harry's accusations of a date. Corbett pulled his hand away before Ed could react, and Ed wasn't sure if that was good or bad. It was a good thing because now he didn't have to do anything about it, it was over and done with. But, now Corbett had pretty much held his hand, and Ed hadn't done anything about it.
And that was bad.
~!~!~!~!~
Ed felt a panic attack eat at his chest as he was thrown around like a pong ball, tossed from relative to relative, all cheek-pinching twelve of them. It was a lot of people for Ed's house, which never usually had more than four. And now there was fourteen, and Corbett must really be hating him.
"Mom?" Ed worked his way through the kitchen, resisting the urge to reach back for Corbett and pull him along behind him, the way he sometimes did to Harry. Zelda conventions got really busy, okay? They didn't want to get separated!
"Baby!" Ed's mom cried out in a voice audible only to dogs, apron all twisted, glasses cracked, hair frazzled. Ed didn't resist as she pulled him into a body numbing hug. It was kind of awesome, but now he smelled like wax.
"This is Corbett, he's gonna stay here, okay?" Ed explained, not really bothering with the whole asking permission part. His step-sister brought home like ten Barbie dickheads every year. He was sure he could have one too.
"Oh, yes!" Ed's mom rushed forward, crushing Corbett in a waxy smelling hug. Ed rolled his eyes, mouthing an apology to Corbett while his mom's back was turned.
"We're gonna, uh..." Ed watched as his mom got pulled left and right, recipes shoved in her face and yanked from her hands by aunts and cousins who tended to do that shit. "Okay." Ed nodded at his mom, knowing he was already forgotten.
"Come," Ed felt claustrophobic suddenly, working his way through the house and up the stairs, checking every few steps to make sure that Corbett was still following. Of course he was. He always would be. "My room!" Ed explained, with too much enthusiasm as he pushed open the door, smiling brightly as he stepped inside, gesturing for Corbett to follow.
"Most comfortable place on Earth," Ed christened in all seriousness, throwing himself down on his bed. The Batman blanket was kind of lame, that was so 2003, but it was warm and soft and Ed would never leave it.
"Your family..." Corbett started, sounding sort of unsure. Ed just sighed, throwing one hand over his face.
"I know, they're super overwhelming," Ed didn't bother to fight the fact. Corbett had met his mom, and that was pretty much sudden death in the Zeddmore house.
"They seem really nice, actually," Corbett corrected, moving to sit on the edge of Ed's bed. Ed closed his eyes, trying to fight off the panic as he realized a crucial bit of information he hadn't given a thought to before now. When Harry would come home with him, they'd share Ed's bed, no big deal, 'cause like, they'd been sharing that bed since they were in a phase where Darkwing Duck was cool. But sharing a bed with Corbett was obviously a bad, bad idea. Real bad idea.
"Oh, they are nice," Ed confirmed, keeping his bed-battle silent as he mentally made a check list of all the surfaces in the house that Corbett could possibly sleep on. "They just... they're really excitable." Ed watched as Corbett shifted, sitting more prominently on the bed than just perched on the edge.
"Well, at least they have personality," Corbett turned to look at Ed. "Unlike some families, some are just cold." Corbett moved again, coming to lay beside Ed, who tensed at the thought of laying in bed with Corbett. But, it wasn't bad, not so much. It didn't feel like some big gay fuck up, just felt like... a night with Harry, only... really different, but still not bad.
Ed couldn't figure out what to say, deciding that he didn't like to hear Corbett talking about his family. It was awkward and rough and really uncomfortable, but... sharing a bed with him wasn't. Noted, they weren't actually really sharing a bed, as much as they were just kind of both sprawled on top of it, but Ed decided that risking a big gay freak out was still sort of more favorable than shuffling the entire house around just so that wouldn't be a danger.
"You're gonna sleep in here with me tonight, by the way," Ed voiced his decision as soon as he made it, hoping he wouldn't regret it and wake up to find Corbett, like... doing something weird.
"What?" Corbett turned to look at him, face inches away, and that was pretty damn close. "In this bed? With you?" His voice got higher at the end, and Ed wondered for a moment if Corbett was uncomfortable with it.
"Well, I can probably figure out a way to let you sleep downstairs, if you'd pr --"
"No!" Corbett cut off Ed's attempt at a reconcile, "I want to sleep with you." Corbett exclaimed suddenly, an obvious outburst that he hadn't really thought through. Ed laughed softly, more amused than actually worried about Corbett's statement. It was kind of fun, the whole... you know, flirting thing. Even if it wasn't Ed's thing, it wasn't like he had a whole lot of other options.
"Okay," Ed turned away, eyes focusing on the Xena poster on his ceiling. "Then you can sleep with me," Ed risked, hoping that Corbett wouldn't take it literally. Or... yeah... the literal interpretation was the innocent one, right?
"Okay, okay, cool." Corbett stumbled through his words, and Ed grinned. Maybe it was mean to mess with him. But that didn't mean it had to be a bad thing.
~!~!~!~!~
"And where did you go to school?" Ed's Grandfather pressed, obviously deciding that an hour of interrogation wasn't enough.
"Uh, I went to Jackson, but..." Corbett had both hands wrapped around his glass of grape juice, holding onto it like a life force, and Ed felt bad for him. His family could be very... just very.
"Are you married?"
"Grandpa!" Ed threw out a hand, silencing him. "That's enough, we gotta go do something anyway," Ed pulled at Corbett's jeans, trying to tug him off the couch.
"We do?" Corbett was sincerely confused, and Ed was hating his life.
"Uh huh, come on, see you later, Gramps," Ed headed for the stairs, Corbett close behind, neither saying a word until they were shut in Ed's room again, silent and relaxed.
"Jeez, sorry," Ed sighed incredulously, sort of embarrassed by all the constant pestering that Corbett was being subjected to. "It's like they think you're my b... we should watch a movie," Ed covered quickly, not wanting to joke like that, in case Corbett got ideas or something.
"A movie?" Corbett smiled, obviously approving of the idea. It was getting late, the sky outside Ed's window was dark, and after all the hectic stress of the day, a movie sounded like a genius plan. He'd have to call Harry in the morning and tell him of his geniusness.
"I have one you gotta see!" Ed remembered suddenly, probably getting a little over excited as he remembered the DVD he bought from eBay a few years ago. It was some horror film from Russia, and dude... it was awesome.
"Okay," Corbett stretched out on Ed's bed, still looking uncomfortable, like maybe he felt like he didn't belong there. Ed didn't want him to feel awkward, but most of his tension breaking techniques involved things that may not be perfectly safe when acted out on a guy who wanted to bone him.
"Okay, uh..." Ed backed up, eyes on the screen, remote control pointed in that general direction. His legs hit the bed as he tried to work through the damn Russian menu, and seriously, menus need subtitles. Subtitles on menu titles. Brilliant. "Okay!" Ed grinned in triumph, falling onto the bed as the movie started up.
His room was pretty dark for the time, but then he remembered it was winter, and it was always dark during winter. He sat with his back against his headboard (it was purple, but he didn't pick it), and watched as Corbett mirrored the pose. Their shoulders were touching, which was a little uncomfortable, but Ed tried to remind himself that Corbett generally never got too pushy about the whole... you know... thing.
"What's it about?" Corbett asked softly, voice sounding closer than Ed had remembered him being.
"This hot chick, she's a werewolf, okay?" Ed started, slumping down lower in the bed. "And her mom is a robot. A werewolf robot though," he added, trying and failing to pull the blanket down when they were laying on top of it. "And her dad, he's actually twelve years old, but he just grows really fast, so..." Ed was getting frustrated with the blanket, and felt gratitude as Corbett helped, "So when the werewolf chick finds out that her boyfriend is actually the father of her dad, she freaks out, and... aw man!" Ed slumped in the bed again, rolling his eyes "I just ruined the twist!" He stared at Corbett incredulously, watching a smile crack across his face.
"I think, uh, I think this film has a lot of twists, Ed," Corbett comforted as Ed pulled the blanket up over them both, feeling like being under the covers was way more tense and weird than being on top of them.
"Okay, yeah, yeah," Ed nodded, "you're right." He crossed his arms over his chest, awkward tension chased away by the awesomeness of being in his own bed.
He focused on the movie for a few minutes, almost forgetting about Corbett entirely, mind probably falling into some assumption that it was Harry beside him, and well... Harry didn't need attention. But, Harry also didn't press his leg against Ed's, and apparently, Corbett did. Ed battled with his thoughts for a moment, flashing back to Corbett's hand on his in the car. He really didn't wanna be a dick and pull away, because that was kind of harsh. But, he also didn't wanna be a chick and let Corbett touch him like that either, because then he'd start getting ideas. Then again, though, it really wasn't that big of a deal, and so, Ed didn't move.
"I don't understand this film," Corbett confessed after a few moments, and Ed grinned, shifting to face him as he explained. He talked for a long time, enthusiastic to be talking about something so awesome, until he started to feel weird, like... like maybe there was something shady in the grape juice. His words started to trail off as he felt something get really tense between them, something that Ed hadn't really felt before. But then he remembered that Corbett wanted to sit on his dick, and that put it into perspective.
"So yeah, that's pretty much... uh, that's it," Ed turned away, putting his focus back on the screen. Corbett made a small sound of understanding, low in his throat, and Ed pulled away. He moved his leg immediately, not liking that sound at all, but the motion only served to bring their shoulders closer, forcing Ed to press against Corbett heavily. The bed was too damn small.
Ed moved again, feeling a blush spill down his chest as he realized that this whole sleeping together thing was gonna be one giant ball of awkward tension, and maybe he really would call Harry in the morning, crying, because dude...
"Ed," Corbett's voice was serious and warning suddenly, and Ed didn't turn to look at him. "I'm not stupid."
Ed felt his face furrow into something resembling confusion, because he couldn't recall ever saying anything to make Corbett feel like he was stupid. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I know that you... you aren't..." He floundered for words for a moment before settling on his track; "I'm in your house because you felt bad for me. And I'm in your bed because there's nowhere else for me to be." Corbett concluded easily, stating it as fact. Ed was taken by surprise, the whole random speech being something unexpected.
"No, that's not..." Ed wanted to deny that, but realized he couldn't. It was basically true, if he really thought about it. But, now that Corbett was here, it was... it wasn't bad, and... "I like you being here," Ed said honestly, wondering when exactly their legs had pressed up against each other again.
"Well, I like being here," Corbett sighed, sounding unhappy, and Ed couldn't figure out why. "But I know this is a one time thing, and that's okay."
Uh huh. So that's why.
"No," Ed countered, shaking his head, "Doesn't have to be, you can come home with me whenever you want. Well, mostly whenever," Ed offered, realizing too late that coming home with Ed wasn't really what Corbett was referring to.
Corbett didn't reply, just let the silence hang heavily between them, hot and cold at the same time. Ed felt like a dick, and he wasn't even sure why. He hadn't really done anything bad, but he had known about how Corbett felt for him, and he'd kind of fucked around with it.
"Corbett?" Ed risked, facing forward instead of toward him. Corbett made a mumbled reply, something dark and broken, and it sucked. Ed took a deep breath, hoping to God that Harry would never find out about what he was about to do. "Kiss me."
"Wh -- "
"Kiss me, Corbett," Ed repeated, still not looking at him. He needed this kiss, he needed to know if the stupid stupidness he was feeling was because he was... you know.
"Ed, you don't h -- "
"Kiss me, please, just..." Ed closed his eyes, tensing up as the moment drew on. It was silent for a moment, a few seconds that felt like days. He felt the bed shift as Corbett moved, felt the sensation of being watched closely as Corbett's hand rested on his shoulder. Ed kept his eyes closed, feeling sort of like he had when he was young and afraid of a monster at the end of his bed. He'd just keep his eyes closed and pray that it would go away, not notice him somehow.
Corbett's lips pressed to his suddenly, and Ed startled at the contact. It was way different than he thought it'd be. No Earth shattering weird feelings or freak outs, just a soft warmth that was really sort of nice. Ed tried to keep his mind on the experimental factor, trying to determine if he was... you know. And he still hadn't decided, but when Corbett pulled away, Ed pulled him back.
He grabbed at the front of Corbett's shirt, pulling him in tightly, pressing their lips together in a proper kiss this time, moving against each other with passion and heat, instead of the cold, lifeless press of flesh that had been their first test. Corbett made a noise of surprise, and Ed worked to swallow it down, really, really wanting to keep their mouths together.
"Ed," Corbett forced himself away, and Ed opened his eyes, seeing Corbett's staring back at him, blown wide and shocked. "It's okay, you don't have to do this," Corbett explained softly, and Ed believed him.
"I know," he confirmed. "I want to." His voice came out broken and shaky, and it was the truth. He honestly wanted Corbett's lips on his.
"But -- "
"Shut. Up." Ed whined, shifting down on the bed, pulling Corbett with him. He felt a moment of panic as Corbett laid on top of him, kissing him tentatively, like he didn't really want to. What if he really didn't? What if, somehow, everyone had read the entire thing wrong? Corbett cleared Ed's mind of those thoughts as he pressed his body down harder, tighter, kissing him with just a bit more force.
It felt awesome, Ed would admit. Corbett was warm and solid over him, and his mouth was really sweet. Ed was getting into the kiss, pressing their lips harder together, and there was no way he'd be able to ever write this off as an experiment. Corbett moaned low in his throat, a sound that was awesome and awful at the same time. Ed was silently freaking out just a little, comfortable... ish.... with the kissing, but super fucking worried about where it might lead. He wasn't into dick. Ed Zeddmore was no Winchester.
Corbett did something on top of him, a press of his hips against Ed's, and Ed forgot that thought entirely. If being a homo Winchester felt this good, then... nah. It was never okay to be a Winchester.
"Uh," Ed pulled back just slightly, putting space between them. He could feel the blush on his face, the hammering in his heart, and something he didn't really wanna think about going on in his pants, and he knew it was time to slow down.
"Sorry," Corbett moved quickly, throwing himself off of Ed and back onto his side of the bed. He looked wrecked, like he'd been hurt, and Ed tried not to let himself feel bad. He'd let the dude suck his face, wasn't that what he wanted?
"I'm just tired," Ed said, with half honesty. Corbett nodded, focusing somewhere on Ed's chest, rather than his eyes, and Ed took it as an end to the conversation. Case closed. He struggled to get into a comfortable position, grateful that Corbett took up less space than Harry, as he closed his eyes and flicked off the TV. It was still sort of early, he thought. Definitely before midnight. But, sleep seemed like the best idea anyway, because otherwise... otherwise things would be awkward.
"Hey Ed?" Corbett broke the silence, and Ed didn't reply. He had a few guesses about what it was that he'd be saying, and all options kind of sucked. He wasn't ready or willing at all to talk about it yet, wouldn't even know what exactly to say if he wanted to. But, he also didn't want Corbett to think that he'd made a mistake or something, because... well, it wasn't really a mistake. It had felt okay. Kind of good, really. And doing it again wouldn't be, you know, awful. So, to replace the words he couldn't say, he turned and wrapped one arm about Corbett. Because damnit, he was not the little spoon.
~!~!~!~!~
Ed woke up to a sun too bright, to a bird too chirpy and an intern under his arm. He'd prepared himself for this before falling asleep, tried to make sure he'd remember where he was, who he was with, and that no, he hadn't taken a dick up his ass. He was pretty sure he'd feel that anyway.
Corbett was asleep, almost board straight on the bed, like he still wasn't comfortable, and... and maybe he really wasn't. Ed had spent some time thinking about it, about the kiss, about, you know... whatever. And he'd decided that he didn't regret it. Corbett was a good guy. A real good guy, a fucking robot assassin samurai trainer. And yeah, Corbett was a dude. And yeah... Ed was a dude, and in Ed's mind, dudes shouldn't be kissing other dudes! But, in Ed's mind, he was also constantly presented with a steady rotation of bikini models, so clearly... Ed's mind needed a little tweaking. There were no girls, none anywhere. They only chick he even knew was Maggie. And, dude... sister!
And then there was Corbett. A dude. With a dick. But... also with an awesome brain and an understanding of Ed's awesome stuff. He was really nice and made perfect coffee and Ed was pretty sure that Corbett would drive to Wichita and back if he was asked. He was good to Harry, which was brocode rule number one in Ed's book. His mom liked him... but Ed wasn't exactly sure if that counted for anything, since his mom liked everyone, really.
Too much thinking. Just... too much thinking.
~!~!~!~!~
"No, mom, it's okay," Ed protested, "I think."
The house was way over capacity, and it was now becoming frustratingly apparent. Everyone was trying to shuffle around, find the best seating arrangements, the best ways to keep this guy away from this girl, the dog away from the cat, Uncle Drew away from Uncle David, because, really? No one wanted to see that happen. And now, Ed's mom was shooing everyone around, trying to prevent Ed and Corbett from squishing into one overstuffed chair together.
"Oh, come on, Dear. Two grown men can't sit in that, your cousin and her friend can manage!"
"Ma! Just --" Ed held his hands out in protest, losing his last ounce of patience with the entire situation as he tugged Corbett down with him into the chair. He would have already done it ten minutes ago, saved half a day's worth of hassle, if only he'd been sure that Corbett was okay with it. He still hadn't actually said anything, done anything differently, and it had Ed on edge. Getting rejected by the only person who you ever had a chance with would be kind of fail.
"Okay, Dear," Ed's mom sighed in resignation, and Uncle David was eyeing Ed suspiciously. Or maybe it was Corbett, Ed couldn't tell, since they were essentially in each other's laps.
"You, I don't... I can sit on the floor," Corbett said softly, turning into Ed. His eyes were wide and scared, and Ed wanted to... not be thinking about what he wanted to do.
"No, want you here," Ed said with false distraction, looking the other way as he said it. He had made up his mind. He liked Corbett, and that was enough to be comfortable with whatever this was. But that didn't mean he was ready or willing to deal with it head on.
"Why?" Corbett pressed, and Ed rolled his eyes. Apparently an easy out was non-existent wherever Corbett was concerned. Ed thought for a moment, trying to choose his words. He had options, a lot of options. Because I don't want to have to share you with the rest of my family. Because I kinda wish we were still in bed, and this is as good as it's gonna get for now. Because I think that I've been lying to myself for a very long time, and now... I might be falling--
"Because you're already here, no big deal," He concluded easily, still looking away as he said the words.
Corbett didn't reply for a long, tense moment, until finally; "Alright."
Ed was glad that he'd dropped it, glad they didn't have to talk it out, like they were chicks or something. But, this was almost worse, because this was Corbett sitting on top of him, all warm and solid and smelling like vanilla. His shirt was really soft... and Ed only knew that because his hand accidentally brushed against his back, and didn't stay there. For a really long time. For the rest of the night.
"So, um, Corbett, is it?" Uncle Drew piped up randomly, half an hour later.
"It's Alan, actually, sir, but... never mind, yes." Corbett stammered, as if taken by surprise.
"Well, I've hardly heard a word from you, boy! Do you have a job?" Drew settled lower into his chair, obvious effects of alcohol washing over him. Corbett tensed in Ed's lap, in Ed's lap, and how did that happen?
"I sort of work with Ed right now, sir," Corbett's voice was strained.
"Ed doesn't have a job!" Drew laughed incredulously, cutting it off with another deep swallow from his dark glass bottle. Corbett floundered for words for a moment, and Ed acted without thinking. He smoothed his hand over Corbett's back, running over the soft (or not-so-soft, because, what? Ed didn't notice things like that...) fabric of his shirt. Corbett visibly relaxed immediately, and Ed mentally filed that tactic away in his mind.
By the time Corbett finally got his words together, they were no longer needed, as everyone else had already moved on, chatting to each other, and leaving them out. Again.
"Ed..." Corbett started, turning to look him in the eye. Ed didn't want this to happen.
"Hmm?" He pushed at his glasses before digging his fingers into the arm of the chair.
"What are you doing?" The question came out like a whisper. Soft and low and private. Ed took a breath, realizing that maybe this was the time to... get this over with.
"I made a mistake, Corbett," He stated, finally turning to look at the intern. Things were wrong. And weird. And happening, like... really quick. Ed was pretty sure he'd been completely straight 48 hours ago. And now he was getting all girly over a dude, and couldn't understand why.
"What do you mean?" Corbett's eyes were wide, afraid, and that was when it hit Ed, like a punch to the eyeball. He wasn't falling in love with Corbett. He didn't wanna fuck the guy. He just... maybe kinda... wanted to take care of him. He felt responsible for him, and he wasn't sure exactly why. He wanted to make sure he was always safe, always comfortable, and somewhere along the line, maybe he'd just gotten his wires crossed. All it was was a need to make him feel wanted. But why?
Back to square one.
"I don't know," Ed answered honestly. His brain was doing some jelly kind of thing, and it was really starting to hurt. He needed to get some thinking done. He'd been thinking for the entire day, been thinking long and hard and painful. But, he hadn't come up with any conclusions, any ideas of what he needed or wanted, any explanation for the way he was feeling. "Come with me?" Ed pressed, shifting in the seat, tipping Corbett off his lap.
"Yes," Corbett replied quickly, easily, like denying Ed wasn't even an option.
Yeah. He had a lot of thinking to do.
"Ed, you're being really weird tonight. And, well... and last night." Corbett said the words to the stars as the wooden boards of the back deck creaked under Ed's weight.
"Well, yeah," Ed confirmed, knowing it wasn't an accusation. Simply fact. "I know."
The silence hung between them for a moment, maybe too long, maybe not long enough. Ed wasn't sure. He'd intended to say more. He had things to say.
"I get it, Ed. Why you brought me here, I mean," Corbett explained, leaning on the railing. "And I know you're not gay, which is... well, it's pretty much the end-all to this entire... whatever it is."
Ed studied Corbett's face, seeing him only in profile. He looked blank and broken, sort of calm, but in a way that had chaos underneath it. "You're right," Ed admitted, knowing that all of Corbett's logic was true. "I brought you here because... I felt bad for you. Because I felt like... no one should ever be alone on Christmas," Ed started, moving to lean against the railing as well, mirroring Corbett's stance. "And I let you sleep in my bed because there was nowhere else for you to be. And I kissed you as an experiment, because... well, it needed to be done. And I let you sit with me because Ma was givin' me a headache about the whole seating thing, but..." Ed took a deep breath, waiting for a moment before continuing. Things would be different after this moment. A lot of things, everything.
"But, I'm already making plans to bring you here again next year, because I like you here. And three of my cousins are going home tonight, but I still want you in my bed. And having you sit with me was the best part of my day. Except, maybe, for when Auntie Lisa tried to eat the plastic fruit, because that was kind of hilarious," Ed said without humor, deathly serious as he turned to Corbett. "And kissing you may have... been done for the wrong reasons. But... liking it was done for all the right ones. I liked kissing you, Corbett. I liked... I like the..." Ed stammered for a moment, struggling for his words as he tried to minimize the lameness of what he was about to say. "I like you," He finished finally, unconsciously moving his hand to rest against Corbett's back.
Corbett's breath hitched audibly, as he dropped his gaze from the stars to the grass, face darkening and brightening all at once. His emotions were stormy for a moment, and Ed worried that maybe, somehow, Corbett didn't want to be liked. That was something he'd have to deal with, because Ed was pretty sure that this wasn't a feeling that could be switched off.
"Me?" He asked finally, turning only slightly, shifting the top of half of his body to face Ed.
"You," Ed confirmed seriously, taking a long, deep inward breath.
"But, you... you're not gay," Corbett pressured, more hung up on that fact than Ed was.
"I know," Ed confirmed, knowing it was true. He wasn't gay, was completely positive about it. He'd never felt anything for a guy before, not physically or emotionally. But it made sense now, with Corbett. It made sense because Corbett was perfect. He was everything that Ed had ever dreamed about in a girl, only, except for the part where he was, you know, a dude. But Ed knew he could work past that, or... get used to it, at least. Because, like, millions of people were gay, right? Couldn't be that hard. "Doesn't even matter with you," He concluded, making the deck creak softly as he shifted his weight forward, leaning against Corbett.
"So... you..." Corbett's eyes darted between Ed's eyes and his lips, looking almost predatory.
"Me and you," Ed replied, not even knowing if that was what Corbett was asking, or if it was even a good enough answer. "If... you know... you want that," He added, figuring he shouldn't bully the dude into being his... boyfriend.
"Ed," Corbett moaned, turning to fall against him suddenly, hands in his hair, mouth on his jaw. "Me and you," He echoed, moving to press Ed back against the railing. The sky was dark and solid over them, broken only erratically by little white buttons of stars. Ed let his hand brush along the side of Corbett's face, sparking at the unfamiliar touch. He swallowed hard as Corbett pressed into him, leaning down to brush their lips together in what would become their first kiss as a couple.
Ed let it happen, trying to still the internal dizziness that still conflicted him. He wanted Corbett, he wanted this, but it was still going to take some getting used to.
Corbett moaned softly, a sound that was more awesome than awkward this time. Ed let his hand rub over Corbett's cheek, as the other gripped his waist, pulling him closer as the kiss continued to deepen.
"Shit!" Corbett pulled away suddenly, breaking the contact almost painfully as his eyes went wide. Ed stood in shock, not sure if it was the sudden outburst, or the fact that Corbett swore that had him shaken.
"What?" Ed cried out, confused and afraid.
"Your gift! I... it's..." Corbett slapped a hand to his forehead suddenly, almost comically. "You're my... my boyfriend now, I can't... I gotta get you something better!" He explained, after apparently deciding to pace over the deck. Ed laughed softly, watching Corbett panic.
"No," Ed denied, stepping quickly in front of Corbett, catching him with both arms around his waist, stilling his pacing as he pulled him into a hug. "I, uh... I didn't get you anything," Ed finally admitted, feeling shittier about it now more than ever. Corbett just tilted his head, looking Ed up and down, and up and down, in a way that was sort of uncomfortable.
"You're really stupid," Corbett said finally, and Ed tensed, opening his mouth to protest. Corbett cut him off with a kiss, hard and fast and dirty, something that would very soon make a debut in Ed's fantasies. "I get to do that to you now," Corbett smirked, pulling back while wrapping his arms around Ed at the same time. "That's the best present you could have given me. Ever. I swear it," Corbett explained, pressing kisses along Ed's face.
Ed stayed silent for a moment, letting himself adjust to the feeling of being held, being kissed. "I don't want you to get me anything, either," He said honestly, reaching to grab at Corbett's hand, tangling their fingers together. "You just gave me all I need," He smiled, silently hoping Harry would never know he'd said those words.
The silence burned long and heavy, broken only occasionally by the sound of a hitched breath or a low moan as they kissed. Ed held onto Corbett tightly, realizing he'd already wasted far too long on not holding him.
"Corbett?" Ed questioned softly, catching a glimpse of his watch.
"Mmm?" Corbett moaned against Ed's neck, warm and soft.
"It's after midnight," Ed stated, letting his hand run over Corbett's back. "Merry Christmas," He said softly, starting to feel tired as Corbett's lips brushed over his throat.
"I love you, Ed," Corbett admitted suddenly, making Ed's heart skip a beat, or... maybe pick up double-time, he wasn't sure which.
"Corbett..." Ed warned, closing his eyes. He liked the guy, and... maybe... well, yeah, maybe. But it was way too soon, way too--
"It's okay, Ed, really," Corbett replied quickly, sounding honest and not at all hurt. "Really," He repeated again, pulling back to look at Ed's eyes for the first time in a while. "You've given me more than I could ever have asked for tonight," Corbett explained, smiling warmly. "So... that other thing?" He raised his eyebrows, smile brightening again. "Maybe that can wait 'til next Christmas?"
Ed swallowed hard, tracing random patterns absently over Corbett's hip. He took a deep breath, sounding shaky and wrecked, before remembering that Corbett was a special forces Jedi master, with favorable interests, and recently discovered talents at kissing. "Yes," Ed promised, smiling as Corbett's hand ran down his arm. "Next Christmas."
-End-