10. Daddy issues

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Ed angrily asked and put his beer bottle down.

His friend just shrugged.

"Hey all I'm saying is that if she is into you just go for it. Who cares if she got some daddy issues or not?" Wilhelm took a nother gulp from his beer and then continued with a nasty grin on his face, "Besides those young messed up chicks are always super needy. If you know what I mean."

Ed was about to punch him for saying something like that about Alex when his other friend Karl finally spoke up after having stayed quiet for most of the evening, "Okay this is disgusting even for your standards."

"Oh come on like you wouldn't go for it if some young hot chick would hit on you!" Wilhelm argued but all it managed was to make Ed's blood boil even more.

Sure he had been the one to bring it up in hope that his so called friends would be able to give him some actual advice on the matter but apparently not.

And yes he maybe should have mentioned that Alex was only sixteen or the fact that he was a guy but that didn't really matter. What mattered to Ed was that this slimy asshole of a friend was insulting his boy!

When Wilhelm made another disgusting comment Ed had enough. He slammed his fist on the table and was about to tell his drinking  buddy, that if he said one more nasty thing about his Alex he would lose the few tooth he still had left, when Ed realized something.

He groaned and run his hand over his face.

"Guess it's not as one sided as you wanted us to believe." Karl concluded with a chuckle and petted Ed on the shoulder.

Ed looked at his old friend for a moment and the nodded. He hated to admit it but Alex did somehow had managed in just a few months to get through the walls he had built over the years and make him feel things that he would have rather liked to stay buried.

"Haha the bitch got you good huh buddy?!" Wilhelm laughed while earning himself another death glare from Ed.

"H...here name is Alex!" He angrily growled, feeling a little bit uncomfortable by having to call Alex 'here'.

"So I f you like here and she likes you then where is the problem?" Carl asked after emptying his beer and ordering another round for the three of them.

"The problem is that I'm to old for this bullshit."

"Oh please! You are just thirty six! That's not that old!" Wilhelm argued and then fell into one of his tirades about age being just a number and that 'you only live once' and so on.

When he finally stopped Ed sighed and then mumbled, barely loud enough for his friends to hear, "Yes but I'm still twenty year older than her."

Both of his friends seemed to be in shock when they heard Ed's confession.

After a moment that had felt more like hour Karl still in disbelieve asked, "She is sixteen?"

Ed lowered his gaze and nodded.

"Dude you should have said that! For fucks sake I thought she was in here mid twenties or some shit!"

"I have to agree with Wilhelm on that. And you know how much I hate agreeing with him." Karl said with a disgusted look on his face.

"Well first of all fuck you!" Wilhelm said and pointed at Karl. He then sighed, leaned forward and looked Ed deep in the eyes. "Secondly... are you fucking nuts?! A teenager? Really?!"

"Believe me if I could change it I would... For fucks sake I don't even get why the kid likes me in the first place! I'm not much of a looker and personality wise... well..." Ed said, feeling finally drunk enough after the fourth beer to speak what had been on his mind for weeks.

"This is so fucking messed up. I mean even if Alex feeling aren't just a fucked up  parental love kinda thing... I don't think I can do it! With all the baggage I got I don't think I would ever manage to be in one of they disgustingly sweet, lovey-dovey relationships. And I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the kid wants..."

Ed shook his head and noticed his sight had gotten blurry. He quickly whipped his sleeve over his eyes, feeling embarrassed that he had almost started crying in public.

"Just because you got some issues doesn't mean you are unable to be in a relationship. I mean look at me and Sarah. I was a complete mess too when I meet here but thanks to here help I have found a way to deal with the stuff and even managed to be a decent father and husband." Karl argued and then aftet a sip from his beer added "You both just gotta take your time and figure shit out."

"Ugh this is getting way to depressing! Let's get you drunk big guy so you can forget about that bi.... forget about Alex for now." Wilhelm said while already winning over the waitress to order more alcohol.

"You shouldn't enable him to get drunk." Karl criticed him but Wilhelm just raised an eyebrow at his old friend.

"As if your big guy would need anybody to enable him to get shit faced."

-------

"Remind me again why the fuck we are doing this?!" Wilhelm grumbled and pressed the button for the ninth floor.

"Because he is our friend." Karl replied slightly out of breath from having to drag Ed most of the way.

"Besides you aren't the one that has to carry his drunk ass so stop complaining!"

"You know I got back problems!" Wilhelm argued while rubbing his lower back as if just the thought of having to carry Ed was giving him back pain.

Karl rolled his eyes and retorted, "You only have back problems when you have to do something you don't want to do."

The elevator doors finally opened and Karl once again had to shoulder Ed's drunkenly body by himself.

When they had almost reached Ed's apartment a black haired boy came rushing towards them, it seemed like he had been waiting in front of the door.

"Ed! Are you okay?!" The kid asked, visibly worried for the big guy. He seemed to want to come even closer but hesitated and instead stayed an arm length away from the two strangers.

His eyes shifted from Ed to Karl and then back to Ed.

He didn't know why but to Karl it almost seemed as if the boy was jealous for some reason.

"He is just drunk as fuck, kid. Don't worry." Wilhelm laughed, petted him on the shoulder and then walked past him toward the apartment.

The boy looked up at Wilhelm and shifted his weight nervously from one foot to the other. He then held out a plastic container towards Karl and stummelte, "Oh...okay...uhm well I... uhm... I..." He took a deep breath and then continued,

"I baked some cake and well I thought that maybe Eddy would want some."

For a moment Karl was stunned that the kid had called Ed "Eddy". He knew from from experience that the guy hated being called that and had even once punched someone for repeatedly using that name. After overcoming his initial shock he nodded and took the box from the kids hand.

"By the way who are you?" He questioned still feeling a little bit baffled by how close this kid and his old friend seemed to be.

"Uhm I'm Alex, I'm.... Eddys....friend." The boy replied, his cheeks turning slightly red when he said that they were friends.

It took Wilhelm a moment but then he put one and one together. "Alex...huh." he mused and looked the kid up and down. He was skinny and dark shadows under his eyes but otherwise he didn't look to bad.

"You should go home Alex." Karl said but when he saw the boys hesitation he added "Don't worry we take care of Ed." That seemed to have done the trick because the boy slowly nodded and then shambled back to the apartment right next to Ed's.

------

"So...Ed is gay?" Wilhelm asked while opening the plastic container

"No I don't think so...maybe bi?" Karl replied while laying Ed on the couch.

"Don't know what that is but the kid is definitely a keeper." Wilhelm announced while greedily stuffing a piece of the cake into his mouth. While still chewing he then added, "The cake is fucking awesome."

A/N: Marry Christmas 🎄