A quick note to new readers this is a sequel to my story [Ed, Edd & Eddy A Weekend Alone] so I recommend reading that before this one to understand what is going on. To the returning readers I hope you enjoy this one just as much as the original. Some changes I've made is that I will not be changing what the characters are wearing every day, what they have on for street clothing will not change. Also the whole Stark Industries thing I did in the fourth chapter, I'm retconing that to just be a coincidence and am not having anymore Marvel comic stuff be part of the "real world" of the story (I have a line I NEED for a later chapter that won't work if I don't make this change).

*Beep beep* an alarm goes off and a long black haired figure stirs in his bed. *Beep beep* the alarm goes off again and this time the figure reaches out and turns it off before a third set of beeps could sound. Yawning and stretching as he sits up in his bed Edd, also known by his full name of Eddward by anyone with authority and Double Dee by his friends, blinks away the sleep from his eyes. It's been almost three years since that one fateful weekend that lead to the biggest changes the residents of the Peach Creek cul-de-sack have ever seen and today marks the start of the next big changes.

Tossing the covers off and moving to the side of the bed. "Today really is the day." He says yawning again as he recalls the dream he had had. While he slept his mind had recalled the events of that weekend at school years ago.

The Kanker sisters, Lee, Marie and May, had attempted and failed to set Edd and his two best friends, Eddy and Ed, up to be trapped by them for the whole weekend after school one day, and in a last ditch effort the three girls chased the boys around their high school in hopes of trapping them still.

Marie the middle sister, and also the most cunning and clever of the three, chose to chase Edd into a broom closet in the school so she could "have her way with him". But when she tried to leave to get help for Edd after he knocked himself out she discovered that the door was stuck and wouldn't open. It ended up taking Edd's clever problem solving stills to get the door open, but when they did get out of the closet they discovered that the school had been closed for several hours and that they were to be stuck in the school until someone came to find them or open the school on Monday. This had crushed Edd as he had a special event he was going to attend for the weekend. When he had told Marie this it was the first time she had felt regret for what her and her sisters have put the Ed's through and she vowed to show Edd the sides of her she's never shown anyone.

And she did show him, she showed him that she does care for his well-being despite what she has put him through. How she has a love for art and is a skilled painter and sketcher, that she has a fear of the dark. She even got him to stop hiding his long black hair under his ski hat, something he has been doing since he moved to Peach Creek.

As they spent time together alone in the school Edd started to develop complex emotions about Marie, on the one hand she was the instigator of most of the strife in his life but on the other she was this blue haired beauty with a secret heart of gold that he was having fun with. After sharing an unplanned by him passionate kiss, their second of the weekend, he needed to put these feelings to the test.

So once they were set free of the school by the principle he asked her out on a date to the mall. They spent most of the day there and by the end he knew he did like Marie. Using all of his courage Edd went against everything Eddy would have advised and asked her to be his girlfriend. Hearing him asks this of her made Marie happier them she had ever been and agreed to his request.

Edd's friends were nowhere near as happy or accepting as Marie was over their relationship but one by one they started to come around. Eddy, being the stubborn person he was, was the last of them to accept it. Because of Edd's relationship with Marie May changed her tactics with Ed, she stopped following the path Lee had lead the sisters down of forcing the Ed's into liking them and tried being nice to him. Edd gave her the advice of trying to talk about comics with Ed, thinking she only wanted a way to talk with him, and because of Ed's massive love for comic books it worked. Eventually May and Ed became friends through their mutual enjoyment of comics and halfway through their senior year they even started dating.

The three sisters also became accepted into the group of friends, mostly due to Nazz inviting them to group hangouts, Eddy even started being friendly with Lee. Eddy and Lee's passive aggressive friendship also lead the two of them into becoming a couple on prom night, to no one's real surprise.

It was on prom night that Edd told Marie that he was going to go to the Lemon Brook Community College. Which she didn't understand why he would choose there, until he asked her to come live in Lemon Brook with him. Again this made her happier them she had ever been and agreed to his request.

Normally Edd would make his bed right away after waking up, but today was the last day he would spend in his parents' house so he left the covers unmade. He'd spent the majority of the previous day packing up his belonging in boxes, each labeled with a list of what was inside of them. He still needed to pack up the last few things left in his room, so after eating a quick breakfast and a shower he changed into an orange T-shirt with a black long sleeve one under it, black dress pants and put on his dark red converts before he went about finishing packing. Edd hasn't realized it, but Marie has influenced his wardrobe over the years with her punk rocker ways. It wasn't anything too drastic, he just wears more black colored clothing, like he is now, and has even gone to school without a tie a few times when a rebellious streak would hit him. Also thanks to Marie liking his long hair and Edd wanting to grow as a person he had chosen to retired his old ski hat from its place atop his head, a move that Marie and his parents enjoyed.

As he packed up the last few things he thinks about the past, he remembers all of the things that have happened in the house his family has lived in for the past thirteen years. All the times he would spend with Ed and Eddy working on homework and just hanging out with them before the three became accepted into the group of friends and the few time Marie had broken in and chased him.

After he finished with his room he went to pack up the few toiletries he has in the restroom and on his walk back into his room he sees a letter left on his door by his parents. He sets the box down on the floor and opens the letter.

"Dearest Eddward. Your father and I do regret that we could not see you off today, but do know that we will always love you and we will miss you. You have made us very proud over the years and while we understand and accept your choice to attend Lemon Brook Community College so you could stay closer to Marie, your father wants you to remember that the lease on your apartment is only for six months so if you do change your mind and want to transfer to a different school you can. Again we love you Eddward and even though you are all grown up and leaving the nest, you will always be my little boy genius and you are always welcome to come home. With all my love, your mother."

His mother's letter to him was very formal, just like the post-it notes they used to leave for him all over the house, but it still held the love she had for her only child.

One thing he felt a little guilt over from her letter was the line about Marie. He had thought it was best to not tell his parents that Marie was going to be living with him in Lemon Brook. One reason being his parents are a bit old fashion and the idea of them "living in sin" would not go too well, the other being that Marie's eighteenth birthday was still a week away and thus means she is still legally a minor.

The conversation he had with his parents when he had told them about wanting to stay close to Marie was the first time he saw a look of disappointment on his father's face.

Marie had come over to his house to be there for support, this being the first time he had ever stood up to his parents about his education.

When Edd's mother saw Marie she invited her to join them for dinner, something she's done every time Marie would come over to their house in the evening.

Marie expected the invitation but wasn't sure if they would still want her around after Edd dropped the bomb he was about to about his choice of school. "Maybe Pam, I might have to leave here soon." Marie says choosing her words carefully.

Edd's mother Pam smiles at her son's girlfriend. "I understand Marie, but the offer is out there for you." As time had gone by Pam had grown to love Marie as if she was part of the family. Pam has even invited, and half expected her to already be coming, to a few family functions in the past. Pam would always forget that Marie was a Kanker and is anything but elegant and proper, but would be reminded when she least expected it. Like Marie giving Edd a pair of black silk boxers with little white skulls on them for his eighteenth birthday. Marie claimed that they were meant as a joke gift and that she just didn't know what to get him, but in all reality Marie wanted to see her gentlemen of a boyfriend in something a bit more risque than what he usually wears.

Knowing he needs to execute his plan as soon as he could Edd asks his mother; "Do you know when Father will be home Mother?"

"Soon I do believe Eddward, he didn't have any meetings this afternoon so he shouldn't have to work late." Pam answers her son as he and his girlfriend follow her into the living room.

Just as she was about to sit down in an arm chair Pam hear the front door open. "And that would be your father, please excuse me." She says leaving the room.

When Pam was out of the room Marie turned to Edd sitting next to her on the couch. She could tell that he was getting nervous about what was about to happen. "Hey, it will be ok Double Dee. I'm here for you." She says lacing her fingers together with his.

Edd squeezing her hand with his. "Thank you Marie. This is all just so nerve racking. Defying once parents is something I never thought I would do."

"We all do crazy things for the ones we love, I'm a prime example of that."

"I know, and I would do anything for you Marie."

"I love you Edd." Marie says before giving him a quick but affectionate kiss.

Edd rests his head against hers. "I love you too Marie."

Out of the room by the door Pam was greeting her husband at the door. "Good evening Honey." She says giving him a quick kiss.

After returning the kiss Ed's father says; "Good evening to you too Pam, how was your day at work?"

"Oh you know, same stuff different day. How was your Jake?"

"It was good, I think I have new client locked in."

"That's wonderful to hear. I should tell you that Marie is in the living room with Edd." Pam says knowing he would want to know that their son's girlfriend is over.

"You left them alone?" Jake asks shocked at what his wife had just said.

Shaking her head thinking his shock was unnecessary. "They are only a few feet away, they are not going to be doing anything."

"Still it's not a good idea to leave them alone for too long, they are teenagers after all."

"You worry about them too much, Eddward is a good by and he would never do anything rash." She says believing her words.

In the living room they find Edd and Marie still sitting on the couch where Pam had left them. Edd was holding Marie in his arms and Marie was resting her head on his chest.

"See, they are just cuddling on the couch." Pam whispers to her husband.

Edd sees his father and let's go of Marie. "Good evening Father."

"Evening Eddward, hello Marie." Jake says greeting the two teens.

"Hello Sir." Marie says greeting Jake with the title she knows he prefers her to use as she sat up.

"Eddward why don't you and Marie come help me with getting the table set for dinner." Pay asks her son as Jake sat down in the arm chair pulling off his tie.

"Um well Mother there is something I wish to discuss with you and Father before we sit down to eat." Edd says feeling his nerves reaching a critical level.

"What is it Eddward?" Pam asks before walking over and sitting down on the arm of the chair Jake was sitting on.

Edd looks down at his feet not wanting to look at his parents. "Well you see I have made my choice of what school I want to attend this fall."

"Good, so which have you chose? Harvard? MIT? I know Stanford hasn't sent a letter yet but I'm sure you will get accepted." Jake says excited to know where his son would like to go to further his education.

"Well um father… I have ch-chosen…" Edd started to lose his words from fear.

Marie see that Edd is having a hard time with telling his parents the big new and takes his hand into her again lacing their fingers together. "I'm here for you and I love you Muffin." She whispers to him squeezing his hand.

Marie's love for him is the strongest force Edd has ever seen in this world and it was his love for her that he made this choice. He squeezes her hand back as a way to channel their love for each other to give him the strength he needs.

Edd looks up at his parents and clears his throat. *Ahem* "I have chosen to attend the Lemon Brook Community College. I have already received an acceptance letter and have sent them my enrollment papers." As he says this he watches their expressions change from smiles to ones of confusion and disbelief.

"Did you say Community College? Eddward why would you choose such a simple school?" Jake asks already seeing his son's future falling to pieces.

Edd felt his whole body start to form a cold sweat. "Because… Because I want to stay close to Marie, I don't want to be apart from her."

Jake started to feel his anger rise. "You're going to throw away a great future for a girl? Eddward we did not raise you to make stupid decisions."

"But Father she is not just a girl, I love Marie and she loves me." Edd says arguing his point against his father for the first time in his life.

Jake looks from his son to Marie and then back to Edd, he doesn't share the same affection his wife dose for the blue haired girl. He does like her and thinks shes' a decent girl for his son to date while in high school, but he never would have thought she would be cause of something like this.

The room grew quiet from tension and Pam sees her husband stare switch between Edd and Marie. "Eddward, your father and I need to talk this over. Why don't you walk Marie home and we will let you know what we decide when you get home." Pam says knowing it would be best for her and her husband to be alone.

Neither Edd nor Marie say anything, they just quickly stand up and leave the room still holding hands.

When she hears the door close Pam turns to her husband. "Jake honey." She says putting her hand on his shoulder.

At the touch of her hand Jake gets up from the chair and starts pacing around the room. "When Eddward gets home we are putting a stop to this. We are going to tell him he is going to end his relationship with Marie and he is going to the school WE choose. I knew she was a bad egg right from the start."

Pam also got up from the arm of the chair "We can't do that Jake."

Jake stops his pacing and turns to her. "Yes we can, he is our son and he will do what we tell him to do."

"Yes he is our son, but he's not a child anymore Jake. If we try and force him to abandon Marie and to go to a school he doesn't want to he could run off with her. Do you want to push our only son away from us because he's going against what we want for him?" She asks trying to calm him down.

"He's throwing his life away." He says still trying to push his point.

Pam sets her hand on his shoulder again. "We don't know that. For all we know this could be what is best for him."

"How can you be so calm about this? You've wanted Eddward to succeed just as much as I have."

"Because I knew you wouldn't be, I'm just as upset about this as you. But I know that Eddward is not going to leave Marie, no matter what we tell him." Pam was upset about Edd's decision just like her husband. It hurt her to hear that he doesn't want to attend a high class school. "Imagine what would have happened if we did what we were told to do when we were young? It wasn't that long ago that my father didn't want me to marry a curtain man who used to have green dye in his hair and was called a rebel." Pam says reminding Jake that her father didn't like him originally.

Jake remembers how he used to dress before Pam and him got married. When they were in their twenty's Jake had his hair dyed green and would always wear an old black leather jacket and was rebellious against almost everyone. "Fine he can go to a simple Community College, but he is going to regret it when he gets no challenge from it." He says accepting his son's choice for the time being.

When Edd reentered the house after taking Marie home he began to dread what his parents will tell him. Quietly he walked into the living room looking for his parents. But his neither mother nor father was in the living room.

He walks from the living room into the hall. "Where could they be? I wasn't gone for that long."

Entering the kitchen he finds his mother sitting at the table drinking from a coffee mug. "Hello Mother."

His mother set down her mug. "Sit down Eddward." She says looking up at him.

Edd does what she asked of him and sit down in the chair. "Can I assume that you and Father are upset with me Mother?" He asks expecting his mother to agree with his guess.

"We are not happy about this Eddward, it seems like a very poor choice for your future. You have such great potential and a community college will not challenge you enough."

Edd was committed to his choice and responds that way. "I understand your concerns Mother, but I want to be close to Marie no matter what."

"You really are your father's son." She says remembering how stubborn her husband was when they were young. "We are willing to let you do this but your Father is not as accepting of this as I am and has gone off to bed already."

"I'm sorry that he is not happy Mother."

Pam picks up her mug to take another drink from it. "I'm sure he'll come around Edd, but for now you're going to want to be caucus around him."

After packing up the last of his things and giving his room another look over to be sure Edd has everything ready for the move he grabs two boxes and leaves the house. One full of his more delicate possessions and the other was something he'd bought for the apartment that he wanted to show Marie and have it be one of the first things to enter their soon to be new home.

Carefully he puts the boxes into the trunk of his old green car and then pulls his IPhone out of his pocket.

He looks at the four year old phone. "It's getting to be time to replace this old thing." He has had this phone since well before he started dating Marie and it definitely shows. There are wear marks all over the casing and a few fine scratches on the screen when he wasn't careful enough with it, or when Marie would surprise him causing him to drop it. Unlocking the screen he sees the same picture Marie had taken of them when they just started dating.

Not much has changed physically with Edd since that day, he's added a few inches to his height and had gained some muscle mass. He's still really thin but just isn't that tall and gangly boy he once was.

Opening up his contacts list then scrolling down he finds the most frequently used number and pushes the call button before brings the phone up to his ear. As it rings he opens and then enters the drivers door of the car.

"You've reached the office of Ms. Marie Kanker baddest girl in Peach Creek, this is her assistant." Edd hears Marie say through the phone.

Knowing she was playing around, like she does quite frequently, he responds to her in a playing manner as well. "Hello I'm calling to inform Ms. Kanker that I, Eddward, am finished preparing for our departure and will be arriving at her office soon." He says grinning at the little game they are playing.

"Very well, I shall inform her. Oh and Double Dee."

"Yes?" He wonders what she is about to say.

"I love you."

"I love you too Marie."

Giggling Marie ends the call on her own cell phone. A few months ago Marie and her sister went in on a cell plan together. They weren't fancy phones, or new models for that matter, but they had cameras and data so the sisters were happy with them.

Lee shakes her head at her sister. "Two years later and you're still in the honeymoon phase."

"Can it Lee, all that time you spend with your midget for a boy is almost as bad as May." Marie says back to her sister.

"But you spend more time with Double Dee then I spend with Ed." May says as she tossed a pile of clothing onto the girls shared queen sized bed.

Marie not wanting to admit that her sister was right waves her hand at May. "Eh details, come on Double Dee will be here soon and I need to finish packing."

Lee and May have been helping Marie pack up the few things that was hers out of all the stuff in their room. She had already packed up her art stuff into her old school backpack and had her few books, mostly all of which are about various art topics, inside a milk crate she had "acquired" from a local convenience store. She still needed to go through the house and pack up all the various things of hers and gather up her clothing, which her and her sisters were in the process of doing.

Marie pulls a white and red polka dot shirt from atop the pile and tossing it at her sister who was wearing a shirt just like it "Ok this one is definitely yours Lee."

Marie and her sisters also haven't changed much in the years that have passed. May had grown to match her sisters in height but she's gone a few shades paler from all the time she'd spend inside reading comics or watching movies with Ed. Lee however has remained mostly the same with her curly red hair in her eyes and a demeanor about her that demands respect. Marie has noticed that Lee looked a little different lately though, like she had an odd glow about her and she has been a little emotional too. Which was nothing like Lee, but Marie just assumed that it was because her sister was moving out that was affecting Lee.

Lee throws the shirt onto a pile on the floor. "Go get the rest of your stuff Marie, we'll sort out the clothing."

"K." Marie says before turning to walk out of the room.

She first hits the bathroom to get her belongings from there. With a grocery bag in hand she grabs her things and tosses them into the bag. Most of the makeup was shared between the sisters so Marie only took the things that her sisters never use, like the blue mascara black eyeliner and rust red nail polish.

After picking up the last of her things Marie stops and looks herself over in the mirror one last time. Like how she's influence Edd's dressing habits he has also caused a slight change in her clothing style as well. What has changed was that shes' stop ripping the sleeves off her T-shirt, like the black one with a white skull on it she is wearing now, and wears pants more often than skirts like she did back in high school, the green ones she has on happen to be her favorite. She had also purchased a pair of black converts just like Edd's. She was still about a head shorter than her boyfriend which kept her at the perfect size in her mind. But what she loved most of all about how she looked in the mirror, besides her blue hair with her bangs still covering her right eye, was the small silver heart necklace she had around her neck that Edd had given her for her sixteenth birthday. It was the think she cherished most in her life, second to Edd of cores and she wears it everyday.

She takes the bag down stairs and leaves it next to the door with the rest of her possession she has packed up.

"Heads up!" Marie hears May yell from the top of the stairs as a trash bag fly's down at her.

With her experience of living with her sisters Marie dodges the bag full of her clothes and watches it hit the door.

Marie yells up at her sisters. "You missed May."

"I got one more for ya if you want me to try and hit you again."

Laughing Marie says; "I'd rather you didn't." How Marie and her sisters interact at home is one of the things she knows she is going to miss. Sure they yell and throw things at each other, but their bond as sisters is stronger than iron.

The member of the Kanter family she knew she was probably going to miss the most was their mother.

Marie was so excited about the move that she couldn't sleep the previous night and ended up going down stairs into the kitchen for a snack and found her mother sitting at the table.

"Hey Mom." Marie says to her mother who was eating a late night sandwich.

"Couldn't sleep?" Ms. Kanker asks her middle daughter.

Marie opens the fridge to look for a snack. "No I couldn't."

"I don't blame you, tomorrow is a pretty big day for you."

"I'm still amazed that you are ok with this Mom, Double Dee's parents seems like they were ready to put me in front of a firing squad when he told them his plans." Marie says sitting down at the table with an ice-cream sandwich.

Ms. Kanker was a little upset about her daughter and Edd moving away to Lemon Brook, but not for the same reasons that Edd's parents where. She was just sad to see her little girl leaving home, but she loves Edd and thinks he's more than she had ever hoped for Marie.

Ms. Kanker shakes her head slightly. "I can't stop you two from continuing your lives together."

"You are the best mom ever Mom." Marie says smiling.

Ms. Kanker smiles back at her daughter. "You have to be the best to raise you and your sisters."

"I'm going to miss you Mom." Marie says looking down at her ice-cream sandwich.

"I'll miss you too Marie."

"Heh, I... I love you Mom." Marie felt a little embarrassed telling her mother she loves her, a word not used very often in their home.

"I love you too Marie." Ms. Kanker was happy to hear her daughter tell her she loves her. "Now seeing as we are being all feely, come here and give your mother a hug."

Marie walked around the table and her mother pulled her into a hug. Hugging was another rarity of the Kanker household.

"You kids are going to do fine." Ms. Kanker says holding her daughter in her arms.

Marie hugs her mother back. "Thanks Mom." Having her mother's blessing to move out with Edd was the only thing she wanted. She doesn't care that Edd's parents are unapproving of this, nor what anyone else would say.

Marie was bringing down the last of her things when there was a knock on the door. She sets down the box on the pile then opens the door and grins at her boyfriend.

Edd smiles back at her "Hello Marie."

Marie jumps the steps and hugs then kisses Edd. "Hey there handsome, my assistant told me you would be coming." She says after breaking the kiss.

Laughing Edd says; "Good I was hoping you would get my message, that new assistant of yours seems a little unprofessional in my opinion."

Marie twists a lock of Edd's long black hair around her finger. "Good thing she's getting fired after today."

"That Double Dee?" Lee yells at the couple from atop the stairs.

"Yes it is Ms. Noise-Pants." Marie yells back at her sister.

"Come up here the both of you." Lee yells wanting them to come up to the second floor.

Curious as to why Lee wants to see Edd and her Marie takes Edd's hand and they two of them walk into the trailer and up the stairs and into the sister's bedroom.

Inside the room Lee was sitting on the bed while May was picking up the clothing from the floor.

"Sit down you two." Lee says scooting back on the bed so Marie and Edd could sit down on the edge of the bed.

"What's up Lee?" Marie asks as her and Edd sat down on the bed.

"I wanted to tell you Marie, and you too Edd, that I'm happy for you both. I know we didn't get off on a very good start, but you looked past that and gave my sister a chance to do better. And now you two are going off to start a new life together and I couldn't ask for anyone better to take care of her." Lee says looking at Marie and Edd through her hair.

"Thank you Lee, it's good to know you-" Edd started to says but Lee cut him off.

"But know this. If you raise your hand to Marie or try and force her to do anything she doesn't want to, I will break both of your legs." Lee says points a finger at Edd.

"You have nothing to worry about Lee, I promise you that I will do everything I can to keep Marie happy." Edd says taking Marie's hand with his.

"I believe you Double Dee, still isn't going to stop me from reminding you what will happen if you cross a Kanker." Lee says grinning.

Laughing May says; "Ever the big sister aren't you Lee."

Lee turns to her youngest sister who has joined the others on the bed. "Someone has to look out for you two clowns."

"But you just said that you couldn't ask for anyone better to take care of Marie." May says getting confused by what her sister has said.

"I- I'm sorry." Lee says pulling her legs up to her chest. "I never thought anything like this would ever happen. So much has changed in such a short amount of time and now my own sister is leaving, it's just been too much to handle lately." She says fighting back tears.

"Are you ok Lee?" Marie asks as Lee starts to sniffle in her fight against the tears forming in her eyes.

Lee shakes her head. "I'm fine, just remember that you are always welcome to come home, or to call if you need anything. We may be apart but we're still The Kanker Sisters." Lee grabs both of her sisters around the neck and pulls them into a hug. "I love the both of ya, you big saps."

The hug was something Marie was expecting to happen from Lee, but her saying she loved her sisters was something Lee has never said. Not that she didn't love her sisters, it was just something that the sisters never needed to say to each other.

Marie surprised by her sisters' sudden affection. "We- we love you too Lee."

"Lee, are you crying?" May asks seeing a tear run down Lee's cheek.

Lee pushes her sisters away before they could see the other tears running down from her eyes. "No I just have something in my eye. Now go help your sister put her stuff into Double Dee's car."

The two sisters and Edd get up from the bed to leave the room but Lee speaks up again. "Double Dee, can I have a quick word?"

Unsure what she'd want to talk to him about Edd says; "Um, sure." Then pulls out his car keys and hands them to Marie. "I'll be down to help you in a minute."

"Please don't kill him Lee." Marie says as her and May leave the room.

Lee gets up from the bed. "If I did that I wouldn't ever be able to get rid of you."

Once she was sure her sisters couldn't hear or see her she grabbed Edd and pulled him into a hug. "You are an amazing person Double Dee, and I could never thank you enough for what you have done for this family. Because of you we made friends, because of you May got her one wish in life of Ed liking her. Because of you I got that big idiot of a clown for a boyfriend that I love. Everything that is right in this house is because of you and now Marie is getting a chance to do better than some peace of shit trailer and a shitty life." Lee says squeezing Edd.

Edd is shocked by the hug. "You are quite welcome Lee, and I have to say I've enjoyed my time spent getting to know your family."

"As far as I'm concerned you are family Double Dee." Lee says pushing herself away from Edd. "Now go and take my sister away from this trailer park and show her a life she deserves."

Edd does what she told him to do and started to walk out the door but stops and turns back to Lee who was sitting on the bed again. "I do believe that you and May will find a way to a better life as well Lee. Remember it was something as simple and insignificant as expired sleeping pills that lead us to where we are now." He says before leaving the room.

Down stairs Marie and May had most of Marie' things packed up into the car leaving one box and Marie's music box Edd had given her for their first Christmas to be packed into the car.

Marie picks up the music box with extra care. "What did Lee want?"

Thinking it was best to let Lee's emotional confession stay up in the bedroom for now Edd say; "She just wanted to make sure I knew she knows how to break the bones of a finger if I ever think of bringing harm upon you Marie."

"That is my over protective sister, come on I want to get to our new place as soon as we can." Marie says her excitement for the trip to Lemon Brook growing.

Edd picks up the last box and follows Marie out of the trailer for what he expected to be the last time for a very long time.

Outside May was closing the back passenger's side door to the car. "That the last of it?" She asks looking at her sister.

Marie opens the front passengers' door. "Yeah it is."

"So… So this really is it, isn't it?" May says looking down at the ground as Edd puts the box he had into the trunk of the car.

Marie also looking down at the ground too. "Yeah it is, well I'll see you later May."

May looks up at her sister and smiles. "Yeah, see ya."

Tucking the music box under one arm Marie pulls May into a hug with her free hand. "I'll miss you May, take care of Lee and Mom for me and don't do anything stupid with that gentle giant of a boyfriend you have."

May hugs her sister back. "I'll miss you too, and I will and I won't."

Once the sisters broke the hug May turned to Edd who was standing next to his door with his hands behind his back looking off in the distance to give the sisters some privacy. "What Lee told you upstairs goes double for me Double Dee." She says not knowing what Lee really told him.

But he guessed May wouldn't have changed what she had said if she knew what Lee had told him in the bedroom. "Trust me May, I'll never forget it and I will always keep Marie safe."

"Good, now get going or you'll spend all day in traffic." May says as Edd and Marie enter the car.

Taking a step back May watches the car back out then turn around to drive out of the Park and Flush all the while waving at her sister and Edd.

When the car drove out of the entrance May pulls out her own cell phone and call the number she uses the most. "Hey Ed, I'm going to have to cancel tonight. No I'm ok, I just think Lee would want me around for the rest of the day. Yeah I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Ed." She says canceling her plans with her boyfriend.

As they drove away from the houses Marie's smile started to fade a little as she thought about her sisters and not seeing them everyday anymore.

Edd noticing how quiet she is being asks; "Everything ok Marie?"

She looks over at him. "Tell me everything is going to be ok and this is the best thing to ever happen." She says needing to hear words of comfort from him.

He takes his right hand off the steering wheel and takes her left with his and squeezing it. "Everything will be ok Marie, and this is the best thing to have ever happened."

She squeezes his hand back. "Thank you Muffin."

"You are welcome Cupcake."

"I hope Lee is going to be ok, she's never acted like that before." Marie says still holding Edd's hand.

"She was a bit out of character today."

Marie starts to wonder what the cause of Lee's affection was. "She's never shown that much affection in her life."

As they drove down the road and then onto the highway to Lemon Brook they started talking about the big going away party Nazz had thrown for all of their friends to celebrate everyone who was moving away from the cul-de-sack.

Edd and Marie were not the only ones moving away, Nazz and Kevin were heading out of state for school. Nazz was going into political science and Kevin got a scholarship to play baseball, conveniently they are going to be going to the same school.

"When are Nazz and Kevin leaving?" Marie asks wondering if Edd had heard from their friends.

"She told me at her party that Kevin and her will be leaving for California later this month." Edd says answering her question.

"It was cool of Nazz to share her party with us."

"Yes it was nice of her to have another get together before half of our group of friends left the cul-de-sack."

"I still can't believe Jonny went and joined the army."

"He really was into the Urban Rangers years ago, so it does make a little sense for him to go into the armed services."

"But leaving his little brother was something I never thought he'd do with how much he went on about him."

"Would you believe me if I told you I saw him give his little brother Plank?"

"Yes." Marie says slouching in her seat to get conferrable fully believing that Johnny would give his old plank of wood to his little brother.

They continued the small talk about their group of friends and what they are going to be doing now that high school is over. Edd, Nazz and Kevin are the only ones going off to college. Rolf was staying in Peach Creek to take care of the animals his family owns and his grandmother. Eddy tried to get into college but his grades were just not good enough for him to get accepted anywhere. Edd did the best he could to help, but Eddy just didn't put enough effort into school. And because he didn't get into a collage Eddy's father made him start working construction with him, which Lee said made him "look almost like a real grown up" When she saw him in his work clothing. Ed's grades had improved a lot and if he put a little more effort he could have gone to a community college as well, but Ed didn't care about going to college. He was happy with staying in Peach Creek and with his job at the comic book shop. Both of Marie's sisters had gotten jobs in Peach Creek in high school to help their mother with bills. With all the times she's helped her mother it only made sense for Lee to start working at the Diner officially and May had luck where Marie didn't and got a job at the mall's movie theater.

The drive to Lemon Brook took almost an hour but when they finally made it to the city Marie could barely stay in her seat. She has yet to see their new apartment and she couldn't wait very much longer to do so. Their apartment building wasn't in the heart of the city but it was all apartment buildings and shops around them for several blocks.

"Here we are." Edd says pulling into the small parking lot next to a three story red brick building. "You ready to see the apartment?" He asks putting his car into park.

"I've been ready since last month." Marie says before opening her door and jumping out of the car.

Edd lets out a little laugh at Marie's enthusiasm and exits the car himself. He walks around to the back of the car and opens the trunk to retrieve the box he wanted to show Marie in their apartment.

"What's in the box?" Marie asks as Edd closes the trunk.

"It's a surprise for when we get up stairs." Edd says as they start to walk towards the entrance to the building.

Inside the building is a small lobby with a hallway leading to the ground floor apartments, a wall full of mail boxes and a stairway leading up to the second floor. Their apartment was on the second floor at the end of the hall and when they reached it Edd pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.

The apartment was a one bedroom one bathroom with very light blue painted walls and hardwood flooring say for in the bathroom and bedroom. To the right of the door on that wall was the door into the bathroom and after that was the bedroom door. To the left of the front door was the kitchen area, with an L shaped counter with the fridge at the end closest to the door and at the other end was a double sink. There is also an island counter in the kitchen parallel to the counter the sinks are in. There was nothing else other than a window on the wall opposite of the door in the main room of the apartment leaving looking very empty.

"I know it's not much, but I do believe it will do for our needs." Edd says setting the box down on the island counter.

Marie didn't think it was "not much", to her it was the greatest place on earth. "Its perfect Double Dee, and do you know why?" She asks turning to look at him.

"Because it's our place?" He asks guessing the answer to her question.

She wraps her arms around his neck and leaning up to kiss him. "Exactly." she says before their lips touch.

Edd wraps his arms around Marie to hug her "To be honest I've been feeling a little worried that you wouldn't like the apartment or that you'd change your mind about living with me."

Marie looks into Edd's eyes. "Don't worry Muffin. Sure everything will be new and different, which is a bit scary, but it's new and different for us together. We will conquer anything that gets in our way as a team." Once again the power of Maries love gave him the strength to kill all the uncertainties he had. "So what's in the box?" She asks letting go of him curious as to what he had brought up for the apartment.

"Well I know that you've never had a proper place to store all your paints and painting tools." Edd says letting go of Marie and turning to open the box. "So I thought you would like a place to keep everything." He says as he pulled another box out of the first one. The second box was a box for a build your own hanging shelf with three shelves on it.

Marie takes the box from him and looks at it. "You didn't have to get this for me Double Dee."

He smiles at her. "I wouldn't be myself if I didn't spoil you sometimes."

"That is true, thank you Muffin." Marie says giving Edd a quick kiss.

He's happy that Marie liked the simple gift he got her. "You're welcome Cupcake."

It took a few trips to bring up all of Marie's things from the car to their apartment and once the car was empty they started the drive back to the cul-de-sack to start moving Edd's possessions to the apartment.

As they drove back down the highway a question came to Marie. "Hey Double Dee, how are we going to move your bed and stuff? I doubt we can fit it all in your car." She asks curious as to how he plans to move the contents of his bedroom.

"I have already gotten Eddy to agree to help with the use of his truck once he is off of work." Edd says telling her his plan.

"I should have known you would have thought of something, you always have a plan."

At Edd's house Edd had all of his boxes stacked neatly against the wall of his room and his bedding was folded up at the head of his disassembled bed. As a Christmas gift his parents had upgraded his twin bed to a full sized bed two years ago, which is going to be very convenient for Edd and Marie as sharing a twin bed would have been quite hard.

Feeling a little nostalgic Marie sits down on Edd's mattress and looks around the room. "You going to miss it here Double Dee?" She asks as Edd picks up a box from the stack.

Edd looks around his room as well. "I think I will, this was my home for most of my life."

She leans back onto her hands. "The cul-de-sack was a fun place to live."

"Yes it was, I don't think I will ever forget all the silly scams Eddy got Ed and I to participate in."

"Or all the times my sisters and me messed with you." Marie says get up off the bed.

"Seeing as I am about to spend everyday with you, I doubt I could ever forget that."

Marie wraps her arms around Edd's neck. "Trust me Muffin, I'll never let you forget." Her wicked smile appears on her face that Edd had come to know will precede something mischievous Marie was planning.

Marie started to kiss Edd deeply while slowly pulling him over to the mattress on the floor. She takes the box out of his hands and drops it onto the floor before she pushed him down onto the mattress. Edd's mind started to go fuzzy as Marie sat on top of him kissing him.

"I love you Double Dee." She whispers to him finally breaking the kiss.

Edd runs his fingers gently accosted Marie's cheek and smiles at her. "I love you too Marie."

"Promise?" She asks as she started to nibble on his ear.

He was getting lost in the sensation of her gentle biting of his ear. "Promise."

"Forever?" she whispers into his ear.

"Forever." He says hugging her fully believing that he will love Marie for the rest of his days.

Marie pushes herself up from Edd's chest and smiles at him with her wicked smile. "You know Double Dee, we're all alone in your house."

Edd expected her to have thought up something she wants to do with him in the empty house. "I guess we are."

"So why don't we have some fun-" She started to say leaning down to him but was cut off by the sound of the front door slamming open.

"Yo Double Dee! I saw your car in the driveway! Me and Lumpy are here to help ya move!" Eddy yells walking into the house.

'So much for having some fun.' Marie thinks getting up off Edd.

"We are up in my room." Edd yells back down at Eddy as he sat up a little disappointed his friends are on time for once.

"Hey man." Eddy says as he walked into Edd's soon to be old bedroom. Eddy's height is still his most lacking feature, besides his own self-image, and still stands almost two feet shorter than Edd. He was dressed in a long sleeved yellow shirt and faded blue jeans both covered in dust from his day of work.

"Hello Eddy, how was your day at work?" Edd asks getting up from the mattress.

A look of discus crosses Eddy face. "Horrible, I hate this job."

"It's better than being a burger flipper isn't it?" Marie asks as she got up from the bed.

Eddy was glad that he was no longer working fast food. "Oh heck yeah." He says agreeing with his best friend's girlfriend.

"Where is Ed?" Edd asks noticing that the tallest of the three Ed's isn't with Eddy.

Eddy points over his shoulder with his thumb. "Lumpy is down stairs still, the big baby has been all sobby sense I picked him up."

Edd looks past Eddy to the hallway. "Oh dear." Ed has been in a very sad state since the day Edd had told him he was going to move away, and Edd guessed this day is going to be the hardest for Ed.

Eddy picks up the box Marie had taken out of Edd's hands. "Well we aren't going to get you out of here standing around."

Marie and Edd both grabbed a box and the three walk down the stairs to the ground floor to find Ed looking off into the living room lost in thought.

"Hello Ed." Edd says when the three reached the bottom of the stairs.

Ed seems to have been locked in time, his height hasn't changed. He still has the same pair of glasses and still wears his old green coat over a red shirt and blue jeans.

Ed turned to face his friends. "Hey guys." He says sound sad like he has been for a while.

"Thank you Ed, and you too Eddy for helping us today." Edd says thanking his friend for the help they are giving him.

Ed cracks a halfhearted smile. "No problem Double Dee, it's what friends are for."

Eddy not wanting Ed to start sobbing again pushed the box he had in his hands. "Stick this in Double Dee's car and then help me get his dresser down the stairs." He says taking his friends mind off the topic of Edd moving.

As Eddy and Ed worked to get Edd's furniture out of the room, Edd and Marie worked on talking the boxes of his things down and put them into Edd's car. After an hour or so of working they had all the boxes, nightstand and lamp in Edd's car and his bed, desk, dresser, book shelf and desk chair loaded up in the back of Eddy's truck.

Tying down the last rope being used to keep everything in place Eddy says; "I'm amazed we were able to get it all in."

"Planning where everything will go will do that Eddy." Edd says closing his car's trunk.

"Always thinking three steps ahead aren't you Double Dee." Eddy says making a jab at Edd's OCD's.

Edd opens the driver's side door of his car. "That I am Eddy."

Eddy opens the driver's door on his truck. "Ok so we'll follow you down to Lemmon Brook."

"Very well, I will do my best to lead you Eddy." Edd says as he entered his car.

Marie was starting to feel a little tired and hungry as they drove down the highway for the third time for the day. Yawning she says; "I'm getting a bit hungry Double Dee."

"Once we get everything up to the apartment well get something to eat." Edd says as he looked over at his girlfriend who's gone to slouching in her seat.

As he looked at her Edd couldn't help by smile at the sight of the blue haired girl sitting next to him.

Marie spots him smiling at her and smiling back at him. "Love ya handsome."

"I love you too beautiful." He says returning her compliment.

"Nice place you guys got here Double Dee." Eddy says following Edd into the apartment carrying a few of the drawers from Edd's dresser.

Edd turns on the lights in the kitchen, being the only light in the apartment at the moment. "Thank you Eddy, we'll be sure to invite you over once we have it looking like a proper home."

"You are going to have to have a few parties now that you are free from your parents." Eddy says as he set down the drawers onto the floor.

"Seeing as they are paying half of the rent, I don't think I'm fully free of them yet Eddy." Edd says as Marie and Ed walk into the apartment.

"And who says I'm going to let you come up here and make a mess of our home?" Marie asks putting down the box of Edd's things she had brought up to the apartment.

"What makes you think I'd trash the place?" Eddy asks wanting to know the reasons behind Marie thinking he would make a mess in the apartment.

Marie points at him. "The fact that you have trashed almost everything in the cul-de-sack when you were pulling all those scams."

"She's got you there Eddy, the three of us have caused quite a lot of disturbances in our youth." Edd says agreeing with Marie.

"Yeah, but when was the last time I messed anything up?" Eddy asks as the group walked out of the apartment.

"Well there was the hole you dug yourself into with Lee years ago." Marie says as they walked down the hall.

"And there was the whole incident with us running away to your brothers'." Edd says recalling his least favorite memory from their childhood.

"That was all years ago, I've grown up sense then." Eddy says trying to defend himself.

Ed pats Eddy on the head as they walked down the stairs. "He does have a point Edd. Our little Eddy is a big boy now."

Eddy smacks Ed's hand away. "You guys are a couple of asses."

"Were just messing with you Eddy, we know you have matured over the past few years." Edd says as they reached the ground floor.

As Edd opens the front door of the building for her and his friends Marie says; "You three remind me of my sisters and me sometimes."

"What do you mean?" Edd asks as everyone walked out into the parking area of the building

"How you pick on each other all the time but you would do anything to help each other. It's just like how we are." Marie explains what she meant.

"Heh, maybe that's why we were all eventually drawn together." Edd says as he unlocked his car so they could get more boxes out.

"That and me awakening the love you always had for me." Marie says quiet enough for only Edd to hear as he handed her a box from his car.

"And I am forever glad that you did." He says before giving her a quick kiss.

As Edd and Marie brought the boxes of Edd's things into the apartment, Eddy and Ed carried up Edd's furniture.

"Where do you want us to put the mattresses Double Dee?" Eddy asks as he and Ed pulled Edd's mattress out of the back of his truck.

"Just leave it against one of the walls please Eddy." Edd says pulling the last box out of his car.

"Alright Lumpy let's get this up the stairs." Eddy says as Ed and him start walking to the front door of the building.

Edd quickly walked over to the front door to open the door for his best friends. "Let me get the door for you."

"Thanks bro." Eddy says as they he walked backwards through the door holding the mattress.

"You are quite welcome Eddy." Edd says as Ed walked through the door himself.

"Well this is the last of it." Eddy says setting down the last piece of Edd's bed frame. "So I guess that's that then." He says as he looked around the apartment full of Edd and Marie's possessions.

Edd looks from one of his friends to the other. "It is. Well goodbye Eddy, goodbye Ed."

Ed who has been quiet for most of the day, partly because he was looking forward to watching movies with May and is sad she canceled, but mostly he's been quiet because he was sad that one of his best friends move away from the cul-de-sack. He's been able to hold back his sadness of the day, but when Edd said goodbye to him and Eddy he lost it. "Oh Double Dee! I am going to miss you!" Ed yells grabbing both Edd and Eddy into one of his bear hugs.

"I'm going to miss you too Ed." Edd says as Ed squeezed him and Eddy.

Eddy tries to pull Ed's arm from around himself. "Calm down Ed, it's not like he moved across the country. He's just an hour away."

Ed squeezing them tighter. "You have to come and visit us all the time Double Dee."

Edd starts to struggle to breath under Ed's death grip. "I will try to Ed, but I will be starting school up here soon and I will need to find a job to pay for my part of the rent."

"Then I will come and visit you Double Dee, we are the three amigos forever." Ed says not seeing his friends struggling against the hug.

Eddy gives up on his fight against Ed's strength. "Yeah Yeah Ed, we'll always be friends."

"We are more than friends, we're brothers Eddy." Ed says letting his grip slip.

"Yes we are Ed. Now I want you to promise me that you will stay strong and keep Eddy from doing anything crazy now that I can't keep an eye on him." Edd says taking a deep and needed breath.

Ed finally lets go of Edd and Eddy. "I will Double Dee."

Eddy slaps Edd on the back and looks over at the love of one of his best friends. "Take good care of our boy Marie. He's a bit of a push over, but don't go taking advantage of that."

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." Marie says holding back a laugh at Ed's affection for his friends.

Eddy snaps his fingers. "Oh I just remembered, my folks gave me something to give you. It's still in the truck, come on." He says turning to walk out of the apartment.

"I will be right back Marie, and then we can do something about dinner." Edd says to Marie before he followed Ed and Eddy.

Down in the parking lot Eddy opened the door to his truck and pulled a box out of it. "My parents thought you could use one of these for your new pad." He says holding the box out to Edd.

The cover of the box showed that it was a new microwave which was something Edd knew he would need to obtain for his new home. "Thank you Eddy, this is something that we need." Edd says looking from the box in his hands to Eddy.

Eddy closes his door. "No problem man."

Edd looks up at the building. "I should get back upstairs, Marie and I still need to eat."

"Then I guess this is goodbye then." Eddy says sticking his hands into his pockets.

Edd knew that Eddy was not very good at sharing how he felt, but Edd could tell that Eddy was sad about Edd moving away from Peach Creek. "Let's not call this goodbye gentlemen, it's just a "see you guys later"." Edd says as he shifted the microwave to under one arm had held out his free hand in a fist as an offer for a fist bump from Eddy.

Eddy touches his fist against Edd's with a smile on his face. "Yeah, later man."

Ed adds his own fist to the bump. "Until the next installment of our adventures."

"Well said Ed." Edd says looking up at his almost seven foot friend.

"Now get going man, your princess is waiting for you." Eddy says pulling his keys from his pocket.

Laughing Edd says. "She is anything but a princess." Before he turned away from his friends.

"Don't do anything crazy without us." Eddy yelled at Edd.

"How could I do anything crazy when you're taking all the crazy with you?" Edd yelled back stopping and turning back around.

"That's a mean thing to say about Ed Double Dee." Eddy says getting into his truck.

"I think he was talking about you Eddy." Ed says getting into the passenger side of the truck.

As Edd walks away from his friends chuckling he heard Eddy say; "I know that Lumpy, I was just joking" Edd was going to miss Eddy and Ed now that he was living in Lemon Brook, but he knows that they're just a phone call away, so if he does end up missing them to the point that he needs to see his two best friends again he can.

When Edd walks into the apartment he sees Marie sitting on top of the counter in the kitchen talking on her cell phone while looking at a pamphlet. "What's the address here Double Dee?" She asks looking up from the pamphlet to him.

"7128 East 9th street. Why do you ask?" Edd says telling her the address of the apartment building.

"Ok, the address is 7128 East 9th street and its apartment number 205." Marie says into her phone telling whoever she was talking to the address of the apartment. "Ok, alright, thanks." She says before ending the call.

"May I ask what that was about?" Edd asks wondering who she was talking to.

Marie holds up the pamphlet to him revealing it to be an order menu for a Chinese restaurant. "I found this door hanger on one of the other doors on the hall and I thought some Chinese delivery would be good for dinner."

"That a good idea, what did you order?" He asks wondering what she ordered for them to eat.

She jumps off the counter. "Some orange chicken, egg rolls and some rice."

"That sounds good, thank you Marie."

"Not going to scold me for jacking the menu off someone else's door?" She asks as he sets the microwave down on the counter.

"Um… Na, being bad is part of who you are and you wouldn't be the girl I love if you weren't a bad girl." Edd says smiling at his girlfriend.

"Evil and love do go hand in hand, so what's in the box?" She asks looking at the box Edd had brought into the apartment.

"Eddy's parents gave us a microwave as a gift."

"That was cool of them."

"Yes it was, one less thing we will need to acquire for our home." It was the first Edd has called the apartment "our home", and hearing him say that made Marie feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She grabs Edd and pulls him into a deep kiss.

When she finally let go of Edd his head was a little fuzzy from her kiss, something that happens quite often when Marie is more aggressive with her affection for Edd. "I had no idea you like microwaves that much." He says resting his hands on her hips and smiling at her.

"I didn't kiss you because of the nuker, I kissed you cause it was the first time you called the apartment our home. It's just so surreal, if someone had told fourteen year old me that in such a short amount of time I would be standing here with you holding me in our own apartment I wouldn't believe them."

He pulls Marie into a hug. "And yet here we are, and I wouldn't trade this moment, or any of them to come for anything."

Marie returns the hug and rests the side of her head on Edd's shoulder. "Today has been a very touchy feely day hasn't it?" She asks thinking of all the times in this day alone that her, Edd or their friends and family had acted in a way that would have been described as touchy and or feely.

Edd lets out a little laugh. "A big move can do that to people."

While they waited for their dinner to arrive they worked on moving stuff around the apartment. They moved Edd's nightstand and bed frame into the bedroom, moved his L shaped desk into the corner across from the bedroom door and were about to move his mattress into the bedroom when there was a knock on the door.

"That must be our dinner." Edd says as Marie and him stop from picking up the mattress from the floor.

Marie dropped down onto the mattress while Edd walked over to the door. "That was quick, if the food is good we may have a regular place to order from."

"Thank you for paying for the food Muffin." Marie says as Edd sat down next to her on the mattress.

"You're welcome Cupcake." Edd says opening the paper bag that contained their food.

Inside the bag is two little triangular boxes, one of rice and the other full of the orange chicken and a third square box contains the four egg rolls.

"I wish we had some plates, it would make this a little easier." Edd says as he pulls the boxes out of the bag.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you!" Marie jumps off the mattress and ran over to the stack of her boxes. "My mom gave us some plates and stuff." She says picking up a box from the pile.

"Wow, that's really nice of her Marie." He says as Marie sets the box down on the floor by the mattress.

Marie opens the box. "It helps that she likes you as much as she does."

Inside of the box was several plates, bowls and mugs all of different color and shapes.

Pulling out a round red plate and a green square one Marie says; "They are all mismatched but I didn't think it would be that big of a deal."

He takes the green plate from her as she sat back down next to him. "That is completely fine Marie, I couldn't say no to your mother giving us something even if I didn't like it."

"Good, I'd hate to have to punish you for not accepting my mom's gift." She says smiling at Edd as he used a pair of chopsticks he found in the bottom of the bag to serve out some food onto the plate Marie had in her hands.

Edd laughs at her threat of punishing him. "I know never to cross a Kanker."

*Yawn.* "I don't want any more Double Dee." Marie says setting her plate down on the floor.

Edd picks up Marie's place from the floor. "I have also had my fill." Then walks over to the sink to rinse them off.

"Have I ever told you that I love your choices of words?" Marie says as Edd turned on the water.

"Several times, but I still think it's cute every time you say you do." He says running water over the plates to clean off the bits of food.

She picks up the boxes of food and takes them over to the fridge. "Everything you do is cute." The fridge was a standard Freezer on top and figuration on the bottom fridge. She opens the bottom door and puts the three boxes into the empty fridge. "Well I'm ready to call it a night." She says before she lets out another yawn.

"Would you like to move the bed into the bedroom before we turn in for the night?" He asks walking over to the mattress.

She picks up her music box from the counter where she had put it to keep it safe as they brought stuff into the apartment. "Na, lets crash out here for the night." Marie has been keeping all of her momentous from her relationship with Edd inside the music box and when she sets it down next to the mattress and opens it so she could put her necklace away Edd sees all the various things inside of it.

"Glad to know I'm not the only one that's kept all kinds of little reminders." He says looking over the things inside the music box. "But what is the nut from?" He asks not recognizing where the bolt nut is from.

Marie picks up the old nut. "You mean you don't remember where this came from?"

"I feel like I should." He says straining his memory for where it could be from.

"This." She says putting the nut in Edd's hand. "Is your wedding ring from when we got married." She says smiling at him.

"Wait, you mean that one time when Ed, Eddy and I went into the abandoned house and you and your sisters trapped us and had that fake wedding?" he asks looking from the nut to her.

"Heh Heh, yeah."

"That seems like it was such a long time ago."

Marie leans against Edd who was sitting behind her. "It was a whole different world back them."

"You do know that it wasn't legal in any way right?" He asks giving the nut back to her.

She puts the Nut back into the music box where it belongs. "Yeah I know, you didn't even propose like a proper gentleman would have."

"Um, I didn't… that is at the time I." Edd started to feel a little panicky at the thought of Marie wanting him to propose to her then and now.

"Don't worry Muffin. Who's to say I want to ever get married? I'd have to give up the name Kanker to do that." Marie guessed that Edd was starting to over think her joke, but she knew that if there was anyone she would give up the name Kanker for it was Edd and only Edd.

Edd felt relieved that Marie seemed to have been joking. "Being a Kanker is part of who you are, I could never ask you to give that up."

"For now." She says quickly.

"I'm sorry, Marie I didn't catch that."

She smiles glad that he didn't hear what she said. "It's nothing."

Edd figured it was nothing that she had said and gets up off the bed and holds a hand out to her "Ok, well if you want you can change into sleeping cloths in the bedroom while I prepare the mattress."

She takes his hand, still enjoying the offer of a help up like she did when they started dating. "Is that an invitation to sleep commando?" She asks in a seductive tone.

Had it been sixteen year old Edd that she had asked he probably would have turned as red as a tomato from embarrassment and start to stutter at the very thought of seeing Marie in her birthday suite. But the past years spent with her had matured his mind. "Well if you want to you can, but it might be a bit odd seeing as I plan on going to bed fully clothed." He says smiling knowing that he's turned her joke back onto her.

She lets go of his hand and starts to walk over to the bedroom. "Yeah I guess you are right. I'll just go throw on some shorts them." At the door she stops and turns to him with her most seductive look. "Some SHORT shorts maybe." She says knowing her legs were one of her features that he enjoys the most before walking into the room.

Edd's face had turned red at the thought of Marie in short shorts. "She will always know how to get the reaction she wants from us Eddward." He says picking up his pillow and comforter from on top of his pile of boxes.

Marie had changed into a pair of green pajama shorts and a black tank top and while Edd was changing in the bedroom she wound up her music box to listen to the song and to add some sound to the apartment.

Neither she nor Edd were nervous about sleeping together, having taken several naps together over the years. But other than a very special camping trip they took alone together during the summer after 11th grade they've never spent a full night together since "our weekend", which is what they have come to call the few life changing days they spent together trapped inside their high school.

Sitting crossed legged on Edd's green comforter Marie listened to the chimes of the music box playing "You are my Sunshine". 'New life, new rules Marie.' She thinks enjoying the song she has listen to so much she knows it by heart. 'We're not a kid anymore, well legally we still are for a week but we can't expect to have someone else doing stuff for us. We need to find a job so we can help Double Dee with rent and bills. And with his lack of cooking skills it's going to fall on us to not live off of frozen food. Though I could teach him some of the basics recipes I know to help him, but he is the one going to school too so we should also expect to have the most free time. Wow look at us, we are thinking like a housewife, I don't mind it though, keeping this place from looking like a pig pen like the trailer did will be easy.' She thinks getting lost in space as the sound of the song carried her mind away.

While she was thinking Edd had come out of the bedroom in a full set of button up yellow pajamas and has sat down next to her. "What you thinking about?" He asks seeing her looking off into the distance.

Breaking her trance she turns to him. "All kinds of stuff about our new life here in Lemon Brook."

He too had been thinking on this topic as he changed. "I know a lot is going to change and the free time I will have will be minimal once I start school, but I want you to know that I don't want you doing all the chores on your own. This is our place and I will do my share, I've even been reading up on some meals I could prepare for us as well. They are nothing fancy but I know my novice cooking skills are fine for them."

Grinning at him and his always looking at the big picture mindset she says; "I was just thinking about how I'd need to help out more than you would because of you going off to school."

"That wouldn't be very fair of me." He says before grabbing one edge of the comforter to pull it back so they could get under it.

Grabbing the other end of the comforter and pulling it back with Edd she says; "I know, I just want to do everything I can to make this work."

They get under the comforter and pull it over themselves. "It will work Marie, I promise you." He says as he lies down on his back like how he normally sleeps.

Marie scoots over to lay partly accosted Edd with her head resting on his chest. "I know this will work Edd." She says using his real name. "We'll show your parents that they are wrong about this." She says closing her eyes.

Edd was about to close his own eyes when he spotted the light in the kitchen was still on "Oh shoot, the light. Sorry Marie, I will be right back."

Marie laughed as Edd got up and rushed over to the switch on the wall. Normally when she'd be in the dark Marie would start to panic due to her fear of the dark. But when Edd flipped the switch off she only felt a little ping of fear until Edd reentered the bed and she got her arm back around him and he put both of his around her. When she was with Edd the dark didn't have its sway over her.

Letting out a long happy sigh enjoying the sound of Edd's heart in one ear and her music box in the other Marie says; "I love you Double Dee."

Edd leans down and kisses Marie on the top of her head. "I love you too Marie." He says resting his head back down onto the pillow 'From now to the end of everything.' He adds in his mind before adding vocally; "And good night Cupcake."

"Good night to you too Muffin." Marie responds back to him already feeling her mind drifting off to sleep.