45 (UISYA)

Below is the description of Ann and Larie's **45th meeting** (EARTH 6) from the Ed, Edd n Eddy fanfiction series, Until I See You Again.

If you landed here without prior knowledge of the series, please visit its page first.

## Story

> Ann patiently lives out her life and keeps her eyes open for her inevitable meeting with Larie. The moment arrives and she witnesses him entering a coffee house one day, where she goes to sit next to him at the counter. She tries to get his attention by making eye contact and small comments, and as expected, he's responsive, though she realizes she's again the only one who remembers their past. Nevertheless, they're drawn to each other and enter a loving relationship.
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> Larie is surprisingly well-behaved in this life and even argues for abstinence until marriage. They stay together for a year, whereafter she's invited over to join his family's Christmas party; making that the first time she'll meet them.
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> The big house and the crowds of people running around radiate a typical American family vibe, giving Ann an idea of how Larie ended up becoming so normal. But when he introduces her to his parents and many siblings, the last brother at the table is an unshaven version of himself, already digging into the food. After hearing the parents' strong dialect, Ann also learns that the man she believed to be "Larie" all this time is named "Larry".
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> Making eye contact with the twin petrifies her, but she tries to regain her composure and not ruin dinner with her nervous breakdown. She places herself next to her boyfriend, with his identical brother one seat away. The familiar scent of motor oil worsens the doubt within her mind and she can't stop giving him glares. The loud and occupied room allows for her to drown herself in her thoughts, and even Larry doesn't pick up on her pale face. When her food has been sitting on her plate untouched for half an hour, he asks if she's ill and needs to lie down. Ann decides it'd best to get out of the room.
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> She's brought to a guest room, where Larry informs her he'll be back for her in an hour to start movie night. The battle in her head on whether she made a mistake or it's fair to ditch the "wrong Larie" for the real one keeps going on, until the stress exhausts her enough to make her fall asleep. 10 minutes later, the controversial twin wakes her up for movie night with a plate of cake. When she won't wake up or answer him in time if she wants it, he boldly starts eating it himself. Upon opening her eyes, Ann's convinced; he is the real Larie. Her heart sinks, but she doesn't want to alarm a man she's still just a stranger to and tries to mask her dragging feet by wanting to freshening herself up in front of a mirror after her messy nap.
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> While doing so and heading for the stairs, the two keep giving each other hasty looks. Ann guesses that he, as her fated lover, already has his eyes set on her, but because they've only known each other for less than an hour in this lifetime and he's the brother of her current boyfriend, she feels disgusted by her behaviour. She tries to break tension by commenting on how delicious the cake looks he stole from her. He says it's the last piece, but they saved food and other desserts for her. Still, he thinks it's a hint and offers her his half-eaten piece, proclaiming his drool is his brother's drool, so it's not weird.
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> Before they can get too friendly with each other, Larry shows up to get them. He gives the cake back to his brother and says there's tons of handmade candy waiting downstairs she should save room for. But Larie reads Ann better than him, and after she's been princess-carried to the overcrowded living room couch, he passes her from behind to sneak a fork inside her mouth.
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> These little Larie mannerisms stick with her, and throughout the movie, she again can't make her eyes stay focused on the screen. The more she allows herself to think about her mistake, the worse she feels, though eventually reaches the conclusion it's wrong to abandon a flawless man that loves her after a whole year of building that relationship. Assured Larie will understand or at least forgive, her mind is set on forgetting about everything and going forward with Larry.
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> When the movie is over and Larry escorts her to the guest room, Ann asks if he can join her. He takes it literally and says they don't have any blow-up beds left, but could ask Larie if he's alright switching rooms so they can use the bunk bed. Not knowing how to better explain herself, Ann comes along, but is pushed back when the gentlemanly Larry finds his brother one piece of clothing away from being naked.
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> She is left out of the conversation that happens afterwards. Upon hearing Larry's request, Larie picks up on what Ann wants and says they can share the bed in the guest room, but Larry insists two people need two beds. Larie is called selfish, Larry is called dumb, and when their words start to become more rude and personal, Ann flees to her blessed thick-walled guest room.
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> After a while, Larry returns with bad news and says they can't be together for the night. He tries to cheer her up saying she has the best bed in the house, making clear he still doesn't understand why she made her request in the first place. Ann feels slightly hurt, but can't be angry at someone with the purest of intentions
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> She has trouble sleeping after this, and with worry in her mind and hunger in her stomach, heads for the kitchen after her 2 hours of fidgeting. She finds leftovers wrapped in foil sitting on the counter. Despite the note "Don't touch, for Ann!", upon opening it she sees some kind of animal has already dug in. A familiar voice is then heard apologizing for it. Ann asks Larry if he has trouble sleeping too, but the shadowy shape reveals himself to be the twin. Ann becomes uncomfortable in Larie's presence and tries to keep her gaze to herself this time. He answers to feel restless too and wants to get beer to help him sleep. He offers a can to her, but she says not to care for the taste.
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> While Ann is still busy checking the leftovers, he continues to remark how patient she is with his brother and claims Larry lost many friends and girlfriends with his hesitance and prudishness. Ann insists it's a commendable trait, but he believes she's just being nice and it's not something she seeks in a partner. Without a further heads up, he says to have noticed her staring. He asks if he reminds her of someone or is contemplating a threesome, so Ann announces to get some water and head back to bed.
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> Larie takes that as the end of the conversation, but can't get his eyes off her or complete his own departure without moving in from behind to frisk her. Ann gets taken over by the familiarity of his touch and love for the real Larie, and allows him to go further than is salvageable. But when her deceit keeps gnawing at her heart, she detaches herself from Larie and says they can't treat a person they both care about in this manner. He hears her words, but argues her expression isn't fully supporting her words. Ann wishes not to get tempted by him again and leaves. She promises to keep their interrupted misdeed a secret and hopes he will too, but Larie doesn't answer to confirm or deny.
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> He heads back to his shared room with Larry and gives him a long stare. Thinking that his brother's behaviour is a legitimate reason for Ann's infidelity, he tries to wake him up and inform she's waiting for him in bed, for her sake. But Larry is groggy and mutters to know Ann better than him, and that beds are for sleeping, testing Larie's patience. He scolds him for his destructive level of chastity, but Larry has already fallen asleep and pays no heed to the hissing. Larie lays himself back in bed, but again can't sleep for a solid hour. He swears at Larry some more in order to check how awake he is, then leaves the room.
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> Ann managed to get some sleep, but is awakened by a figure crawling up to her. Though the body matches Larry's, the scent belongs to Larie and she immediately knows what he came for. She repeats they should forget about this for Larry's sake, but he replies his brother never made anyone happy and is assured he won't even marry her within the next 10 years. She refuses to entertain that belief, yet begins doubting it as well.
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> Larie won't halt his advances and says she's better off with him. Ann's arguments they'll hurt Larry and the family by doing this isn't listened to, and she can't help herself but go along with it. They're like starved wolves in each other's presence and refuse to separate, until the upcoming sun reminds them of the time that has passed. Larie sneaks back to his bed, while Ann uses the time she has left to get rid of her bedsheets carrying his smell. She's overcome with a combination of bliss and intense shame.
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> When the family has awakened and gathered for breakfast, she musters the courage to leave her room. She can't face the ignorant people at the table just yet and stays in the kitchen to watch the water for her tea boil. She's told good morning by Larry, but she responds using Larie's name and nearly kisses him as an act of automatism. It happens to be Larie, but she knows to have only made things worse by doing that. She tries to flee from the room, but he grabs hold of her and repeats she should to leave his brother for him. His brand of insulting honesty is nothing new to her, but the fact she's juggling between two lovestruck men makes her not want to hear it right now.
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> They join the family like nothing happened. Ann gets a few comments about her tired face, but the overall mood is fitting for a white Christmas morning, until Larie becomes jealous at Larry and Ann's exchange of compliments and starts to let loose statements concerning their affair. Ann feels feverish as he starts to ask his brother if he remembers him trying to wake him, that she needed his help, and he ended up helping her all night instead. Larry and the others don't read into it and he admits not to remember. He asks Ann what she needed, and Larie bails her out by saying it doesn't matter anymore and scolds him for being a lazy boyfriend. Their father jokes that to be true, giving a merciful end to the subject and their Christmas together.
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> After the whole ordeal, Ann tries to make up to the oblivious Larry by being her normal self, though goes to bed every night nauseous of misery. When New Year starts coming along, Larry mentions that his family won't stop talking about her and even the self-concerned Larie would like to see her again. She's not surprised by the latter and can guess why Larry brought it up. He invites her to join his family's New Year afterparty, and Ann can't come up with a reason to decline.
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> The eager family summons her early in the morning, but she's nervous for what might happen now she's in close proximity of Larie again. Everyone thinks she's still sick and suggests her to take a nap before the evening starts. She calls dibs a living room seat, where two uncles unapologetically show up cheer on a game on TV. The rest of the family gets caught up on building sculptures with December's snow still lying outside, making the house relatively empty and relaxing for a change.
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> Larie goes to sit on the closest edge of the couch to pretend-watch the game, but Ann can't get herself to speak to him or care. The mother of the house asks Larry to bring her hot chocolate for that energy boost, of which Ann gives half to the begging Larie being ignored by his mother. He's thankful, but takes her acknowledgement of his presence as a sign of interest and subtly gestures if she wants to go upstairs with him. Ann sternly shakes her head. Though saddened she can't accept, she wishes to finish what she started, though she and Larry haven't further explored their relationship. Ann worries that if he won't do as much as lie next to her, she'll give up on everything to run into the arms of his twin brother, which won't create a good look.
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> When the well-mannered Larry has finished helping his mother with the basic preparations, Ann sees her chance and asks to speak with him privately. Still wanting to give him a chance, she explains she intended to share a bed with him on Christmas night and thinks it's the right course to take their relationship to, now they've been together for a year. Larry responds charmed, but repeats wanting to get married first.
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> With understanding, she asks when the right time would be. He admits to believe it takes 3 to 5 years to really know a person, whereafter he wishes to calmly plan out their wedding and life together. When he then remarks a person's 20s to be ideal for career building, Larie's statements from back then pop up in Ann's head. She asks if he's thinking of waiting 10 years, and he confirms the estimate to be about right. She feels saddened, but again can't deny the goodness of his intentions and decides not to speak up. Larie, on the other hand, enters the hallway to tell him off.
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> Much like last time, insults start flying around and Larie calls him a wimp, unfit to be anyone's lover. Larry stands by his points and becomes emotional while expressing his dislike for the way everyone treats him and his beliefs. Larie sees this wins him Ann's sympathy and concludes he can't make himself look good anymore. He heads outside in the Winter cold to smoke, while a seething Larry goes back to the kitchen to wash already washed dishes. Ann is exhausted after their bickering and flees upstairs.
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> In the kitchen, Larry takes in the insults and starts to worry they might have merit. At the same moment, Larie begins to worry he might've gotten through to him. Since the family started building some kind of city landscape of dangerously high proportions in the snow, Larie hurries over to them to offer Larry's help and automatically excuse himself by claiming to have caught something from Ann.
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> While Larry determinedly heads off to see his girlfriend, his brother stops him to say everyone needs him outside. Larry says he doesn't have time to be playing in the snow, but Larie reminds him that their family only gets together in the holidays and these moments are important. He's persuaded, but asks why he can't help, to which he replies to be sick and off taking a bath. Larie's scheme ensures there'll be no interruption or suspicion of him, and he follows Ann upstairs.
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> When he can't find her anywhere, he checks his and Larry's bedroom, where she finds her browsing through a photoalbum with old pictures of the two brothers. While they undoubtedly look the same and Larry's poses make her smile, the overconfident and often rude Larie again confirms he's the one she's looking for.
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> Larie enters the room and startles her with his loud voice. He says that looking through other people's stuff is bad manners, so she returns the album and excuses herself. Her eyes are watery, so he reassures her he was merely joking and she may even sniff his underwear. It wins him a smile, but Ann still looks upset.
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> Larie tells her that whatever she's feeling, it doesn't deserve tears, but she disagrees. She says not to know how to continue forward and there isn't one answer out there that'll make everything right. He asks if she's talking about her relationship with Larry, but she only responds they'll have to stay at distance from each other as long she's trying to figure things out with him. Larie tries to touch her hand, but is denied and asked again to leave.
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> He's hurt and asks if he's just a "side-ho" to her. She denies and assures this was never supposed to happen in the first place. Larie makes things more difficult when he wants a direct response to the question if that means she doesn't want him. Seeing her struggling to answer, he keeps repeating, until Ann runs out of the room.
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> Back downstairs, he sees she's already joined Larry's side outside, making him sick with anger and heartbreak. The uncles in the room misread his face and say he should go to bed if he's feeling under the weather. Larie goes back upstairs and doesn't show himself until dinner's announced ready.
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> At the table, he allows himself to get riled up the more Larry and Ann engage with each other, and lashes out at his brother for trying to place his hand on his own girlfriend's leg. Though he manages to excuse it as a joke, his anger is sensed and Ann tries to settle things down by leaving. She lingers in the bathroom for a while and concludes to have messed up the moment she shared a bed with him. With no strategy that'll ensure a good ending for both Larie and Larry, she is clueless on how to continue from this point on, she returns to letting things play out however they're destined to.
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> The evening continues with no more outbursts from Larie, but his mind becomes dangerously absent during fireworks, where he forgets to move himself out of the way after lighting a rocket. While the rest of the family just stands there to scold him for playing dumb games again, Ann sprints over to drag him away from the explosion. Her embrace wakes him up from his daydreaming, but when Larry comes to give him a lecture, his moment of euphoria has already gone.
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> The speed in which he's emotionally killing himself startles Ann. She wonders if their continuous reincarnation comes with the absolute necessity of having to accept each other as lovers, but with no confirmed knowledge on the workings of the phenomenon, doesn't feel certain enough to settle for that guess. She returns to creating more a appropriate distance.
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> His jealousy and gloominess affects her mood as well, while the rest of the family seems not to pick up on it. When everyone's gone back inside and Ann returns from a legitimate bathroom break, Larry and Larie are suddenly found wrestling each other in the living room. The rest of the family is also drawn to the noise, but the two men refuse to back down. Larie throws crude terms at his brother, and the pulling turns into punches. Objects are knocked over, making their mother shriek in anger.
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> Larry doesn't have the endurance to deal with his frenzied brother much longer, and turns to grabbing stuff. A vase with sharp edges is swiped at his face, finally bringing an end to the tussle.
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> Larry looks down at the kneeling Larie, bleeding and cursing as he holds the right side of his face. People run over to check, but he wants nobody to touch him. An ambulance is called and picks him up, whereafter Larry feels too embarrassed to stick around. His angered parents want to know what they were fighting about, but he only states Larie has been unfairly critical of his life and verbally abusive. He promises to contact them later and the visitation comes to an end.
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> While Ann is driven back home, nothing is said. When he stops at her flat, they just look at each other for a while. Larry wants to say something, but doesn't find it the appropriate time, while Ann acknowledges once again how much the sad-looking man looks like Larie; and casually trading him in for his brother will be impossible. They both tell each other goodnight, but with Ann's mind full of worry, she forgets to give him a kiss and steps out of the car. It grows Larry's eyes and worries, though he returns a wave before she enters the house. He drives off with food for thought.
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> The next day, Ann's landline is called by who she initially thought to be Larry, but is Larie from the hospital. She expresses surprise for him having her number and asks about his status. He claims to be feeling fine and snatched his brother's cellphone the day before. Since staff allowed him to call someone and he doesn't care to talk to his family, she was the only one to pop up in his head.
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> The conversation is full of awkward pauses, and eventually, Larie expresses the odd feeling they've known each other for years. Ann knows better and says to share the feeling, though also agrees with his statement they've hardly seen and spoken to each other at all. Having that said, Larie asks if he may call her more often. Ann figures it's more appropriate than meeting up in person, and gives her permission.
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> Though she didn't expect much from it, Larie starts calling on a daily basis and more or less becomes Ann's disembodied roommate. The phone rings over little matters, like wanting to know the meaning of a shampoo ingredient or to request her to turn on the TV and join him in making fun of whatever's on screen. He learns the exact moment she comes back from work and the phone rings accordingly.
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> Ann gets used to it and awaits his calls with eagerness. Though not in each other's physical presence, she ends up hanging out with Larie more often than she does Larry.
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> When Easter arrives, Larry invites her over to have breakfast with his family and attend a concert afterwards, with the added promise he's already apologized and made amends with everybody.
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> She is reunited with Larie upon entering the crowded home, who has combed his hair in front of his right eye, giving Ann a clue on what's the status of it. Nevertheless, he looks upbeat and gives her a wink for a greeting, whereafter he leaves to the dining room.
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> Breakfast goes without a hitch, like nothing ever happened between the two brothers. The room is loudly chatting it up with each other, until Larry suddenly stands up and asks for their attention.
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> He proceeds to get on one knee in front of Ann, causing many excited gasps. As it's not hard to guess what's going on, her eyes widen and body heats up in anxiety. He gets out a velvety white box with an equally beautiful ring inside and speaks the magic words. Time stops, while her panicking mind is fighting with itself on whether or not it's a good idea to accept. Now that Larry has gone through all this effort and wants to be her husband, she's unsure if this is the road she wants to take for herself.
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> She looks around the room, as if any of the faces surrounding her has the answer, but they all visibly want her to say yes. Except for Larie.
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> Ann can't think of an answer to give her kneeling boyfriend, but before the wait becomes too disappointingly long, Larie barks to have had sex with her. Shocked and displeased heads slowly turn to him, including Ann's, but Larie takes an unapologetic position in his chair. Larry's face goes through multiple emotions, until he settles with one. While edging on unfiltered rage, he asks if he used the fact they are twins to mislead Ann. She's surprised by his decision to free her of blame and can only think of correcting him at this point, but is not given the chance to. Larry jumps Larie like a rabid dog and the two engage in a worse fight than last time. The yelling and interference of family members has no effect.
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> Ann can't get in between them, and with nobody listening to her or each other, she can only think to threaten them with her leave. But no one hears her while the room is getting wrecked.
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> He hurries herself outside, miserable over the pain she's caused the family with her infidelity and lacklustre responses. The noises of breaking objects and shouting become too much and she decides to take the long walk to the nearest public transport station.
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> Her feet become more sore with every step and uncertainty and regret keep filling her head. Slight rain starts to fall and a Wintery breeze follows, not helping her spirits improve.
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> After more than an hour of walking, an old and shabby car slows down next to her. After the initial belief it's some creep stalking her, she sees it's Larie. He invites her in, and she accepts without saying a word. He asks what she's doing out here, to which she replies to be heading home and if he could take her to the train station.
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> *<under construction>*
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## See also

* Until I See You Again
* An, Ann n Anny
* Ed, Edd n Eddy Working