#had to do a big find and replace to change all sofias to sophia

[cayenne-twilight]

Hi! Could you write something about Sophia and Anton's daughter (let's call ber Iris) if she knew her father? Bonus for baby Katia! Thank you!

The little girl sat on her mother’s lap, dressed in pajamas. Her mother brushed her vibrant purple hair, a trait she had passed down from herself.

“Ow mama, stop,” the girl pouted. “You’re pulling.”

“Sorry, Iris,” Sophia said, pulling the brush more gently. “If you quit rolling around in the fields, you wouldn’t have these tangles.”

Admittedly, Dropstone did have the most charming landscape. That was why she chose this particular area to settle, after all. Well, that was part of the reason at least. The pond near town center, the rolling fields, the mountains in the distance, beaten paths winding between sparse clusters of trees; it was all very lovely. A change of scenery.

“That better be it, mama,” Iris said, pulling her hair over her shoulder protectively.

“Thank you for being patient,” Sophia smiled.

“You have to tell me a real good bedtime story to make up for the yanks,” Iris said.

Sophia hoisted the girl onto her bed and tucked her in, kissing her cheek. “Hmm, would you like a fairy tale from the storybook?”

“Nuh-uh. I’ve heard all of those over and over again. How about a brand new story?”

‘I should add a public library to my list of projects,’ Sophia thought. “I suppose I can make something up, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be as good as the old stories.”

“No matter, just as long as it’s fresh.”

“Here goes nothing then,” she brainstormed for a moment. “Did any of your stories have vampires in them?”

“Vampires?” Iris’s eyes widened. “This better not be a scary story. You’re supposed to be putting me to sleep, not keeping me up all night, remember?”

Sophia petted her hair. “No, love. This was a good vampire. He lived in a big castle in the forest, and he liked to throw balls with lots of music and dancing. The decorations and tableware were made out of the most brilliant gold. After all, vampires can’t touch silver, you know. His hair was golden, too, and he had a flowing cape that swooshed around as he danced. He was awfully charming, and lots of ladies wanted to dance with him.”

“But don’t vampires have to drink blood?” Iris asked.

“This one had a penchant for um… grape juice, and it kept him satisfied.” Sophia started the story from the beginning.

It would be a lie to say that the drive to Herzen mansion wasn’t daunting. The surrounding town of Folsense may have been welcoming with its warm glow and interesting brand of night life, but this maiden’s destination was detached from the outside world. The road took her through a shadowy thicket, gangly trees arching over her on either side. She tried to imagine what this trail must look like on a sunny spring day, but she couldn’t quite put the image together. She arrived at the massive building’s doors, parking her car. The maiden grabbed her clutch purse and pulled her faux fur coat tightly around her torso as she scuttered inside, taking care to not trip over her heels.

A short, bespectacled man with a downward hooked nose took her coat and pointed her towards the main hall. She was amazed at the sheer size of it. Sure, her father had a countryside mansion of his own, but she could probably stuff most of it into this room alone. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like upstairs or inside those turrets visible from outside.

“And what might your name be?” The young man approached her, a champagne flute in each hand.

She accepted the drink. “Sophia. And you?”

“Anton. Anton Herzen.” He winked.

So this is Duke Herzen’s son. He was certainly handsome-

“Whoa, mama! The girl has the same name as you?” Iris said.

Sophia laughed. “Yes, what a coincidence.”

Sophia and Anton made small talk over fine hors d’oeuvres, seated in the cloister above the main hall.

Anton popped the last piece of a finger sandwich into his mouth. He gestured towards the couples dancing below. “Care to join them?”

They walked down the stairs arm in arm, getting into position to waltz as the live orchestra flipped their sheet music to the next song. They met eyed and smiled. The first hum of strings cued them, stepping back and forth to the rhythm. They swirled across the floor, performing spins at the proper moments.

“So tell me what it’s like, being a Herzen,” Sophia said.

“Being a Herzen? Why, it’s nothing to write home about, save for the family wealth perhaps.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes. Father’s got himself occupied with some silly new business venture. I gather he’s going after pharmaceuticals now, which rubs me the wrong way considering that he doesn’t even know how to alleviate the common cold.”

“Pharmaceuticals? That is odd. He already owns the gold mining company, doesn’t he?”

“That’s just it. The miners have discovered some sort of hallucinogen trapped in the rock, and now they’re searching for a way to harvest it and rework it into anesthesia or anti-anxiety medication.”

“I can’t imagine there being a safe way to do that,” Sophia said.

“There must be, and I hope to God father knows of it.”

With the end of the song, they returned upstairs to continue the next course of food.

Iris yawned. “Now I mean this as constructive story-telling criticism, but this is getting a bit boring. What about the part where the guy is a vampire? Or was that a surprise for later? *Gasp* Maybe the girl will find out he’s secretly a monster and will have to decide whether she’s afraid of him or if she’ll love him anyways!”

“I should’ve thought of that,” Sophia said. “Maybe you should be the one telling stories.” She booped Iris’s nose like a button. “At least I’m succeeding in making you sleepy.”

“What’s Folsense like?” Sophia asked.

“It’s lovely. The lights are beautiful at night, and I’m not just saying that because of the cabaret.”

“I’d love to take a walk there one of these days. Would you be so kind as to give me a tour?”

“Yes, of course. I know Folsense like the back of my hand, and it knows me. Well, except for the people I pranked last Halloween when I ran around convincing them I was a real vampire. That reputation still follows me among the less social townsfolk.”

“I would love to have been there and seen it. Halloween must be a blast in a mansion like this, what with the gothic architecture and spooky forest.”

“I’ve never thrown a Halloween party before, but now that you mention it, it would be surely be smashing.”

Anton took a long drink of his red wine and spoke again, “Where are you from?”

“I live pretty close to London.”

“London? But that’s so far off! It must have taken you, what? Two hours to get here?”

“It’s really not as long as it seems.”

“But it’s already so late! If you left early you’d still only get home in the wee hours of the morning.”

“I could stay at the Folsense hotel-”

“Or you could stay here.”

“You have vacant rooms available?”

“If you want a vacant room, that’s all right too.”

“I don’t.”

Sophia decided it would be best to skip that part of the story.

Anton was still asleep when she woke up the next morning. She put yesterday’s clothes back on and took the chance to explore the castle. Sophia ducked in and out of unlocked doorways, looking for something like a living room or dining room. She found the sheer number of unused spaces odd, thinking that she would surely use them for something more useful, or at least make each room more unique. She stumbled upon the dining room where the Duke was taking his breakfast.

“Nigel, fetch the kettle, would y- DEAR GOD girl, who are you?” the shock faded as soon as it set in. “You wouldn’t happen to be one of Anton’s-“

Sophia laughed nervously. “No, no, nothing like that. He just let me stay the night because I live so far away. Really.”

The Duke’s eyes narrowed as he dabbed the jam from his whiskers with a napkin. “Leave.”

Sophia thought about Anton still asleep in his room. “Um… right. I’ll be right out.” She smiled fakely, trying to remember how to get to the front door.

She gently cracked open the door to Anton’s bedroom. “Antoooon,” she stage-whispered.

He opened his eyes and pushed himself up. “Eh?”

“Your father wants me out. When can I see you again? Maybe we could meet in Folsense?”

“Ah, sorry about him. Are you free next Saturday? We could meet in front of the museum around noon, perhaps.”

“Sounds great! See you there.” Sophia left him, walking through the hallway into the main hall and down the steps to the front door. She retrieved her purse and coat, leaving for her car. Sophia drove home through the rolling hills and fields of the countryside in a dreamy state of highway hypnosis.

“She fell in love with the guy,” Iris stated.

“Yes.”

“And his dad doesn’t want them to be together. It’s a story of forbidden love! Do they have to meet up in secret and serenade each other through the window from outside?”

“Don’t worry, Iris. The Duke isn’t a bad guy, he just cares about his son in his own way, I suppose.”

Sophia and Anton would meet up periodically about town, but although it was good fun, they couldn't do this forever. Anton led Sophia by the hand into the mansion and up to his office.

“Father.”

“What is it Anton? I’m busy.”

“I’ve come to say that I love Sophia whether or not you agree with it, and that she will be coming over no matter what you think.”

The Duke sighed. “You’re right; I can’t stop you two, no matter what I think.”

To Duke Herzen’s distaste, Sophia ended up practically moving in. He appeared to be in denial, engaging young Freidrich in conversation or turning to his legal documents whenever they were in the same room. The young couple tried to keep to themselves, which one would think to be easy in a house of that size, but he seemed to turn up at every corner as if watching them.

Sophia sat down next to him in his library one day. “I didn’t take you for the type to read Poe for fun.”

“Well here I am. Do you read him?”

“Oh of course! I love that surreal macabre stuff. I’ve actually been curious about the mines below the castle; isn’t it a dangerous setup?”

Duke Herzen closed his book. “There were reports of coal being collected when they first built the foundation. I had the idea of digging deeper. I see how having a gaping pit under your home may seem precarious, but I trust in the beams and supports holding us up.”

“Anton mentioned some sort of gas discovered down there…”

“Did he now? That was meant to stay confidential.”

“Oh don’t get mad at him for it, it was but a slip.”

“Still, I’m sure this could become the next big thing in pharma. I need to find the men to research and rework it, but after that it’ll be smooth sailing. I didn’t think you’d be interested in this sort of thing.”

“I can’t deny that I have my concerns, but admittedly this is all very curious.”

Duke Herzen reopened the novel. “Look after him, will you?”

“The vampire’s dad was very cold at first,” Sophia said. “But his heart started to warm up as he got to know the maiden. Soon enough, he began confiding in her. The maiden and the vampire lived together in his castle until one terrible day, tragedy struck.”

“Aww come ooon. I thought this was gonna be a sappy feel good love story. No tragedies,” Iris whined.

“Okay fine. No tragedy.”

“There’s more of it seeping out and diffusing into the air than we thought,” Duke Herzen said from his sickbed.

“What does this mean? Have you lost all hope in stopping it?” Sophia asked, masking panic.

“There’s not much we can do but leave it alone and move somewhere else. Not that I would make it much longer anyhow.”

“Oh don’t say that rubbish.”

“You can’t change the fact of the matter, my dear.” He smiled weakly. “I’ll leave it up to you to lead the evacuation.”

“But so many people don’t plan on leaving. What of them?”

“We can’t force anyone to go.”

“That’s awful- don’t they know-”

“Whatever they’re thinking, their minds won’t change.”

“Awful,” Sophia muttered again.

“I’m staying!” Anton yelled. “I know the risks, and I know that I feel responsible for this town, so I can’t just leave it.”

“You idiot!” Sophia retorted. “There’s no future for Folsense, so stop acting like you’re immune from this gas unlike everybody else.”

“And here I was thinking you’d stay with me.” He turned away.

Sophia grimaced.

“How about we just go to bed and talk this over like normal people tomorrow morning?” he sighed.

Tomorrow morning Sophia was gone. She got up before the sun and kissed Anton’s sleeping head. Lugging her trunk down the ornate staircase, she took a final look around the home she called her own, around the hall where he and she shared their first dance. Nigel handed Sophia her coat, he was staying as well. She stepped out into the crisp air where birds were only beginning to chirp and walked through the woods to the station. They really weren’t all that spooky in the daytime. Charming, really. Friedrich helped her pull the luggage up from the platform.

“Is it really okay? To leave him here, I mean.”

Sophia scanned the rooftops of Folsense once more. “I don’t know, Friedrich. I don’t know.”

She didn’t tell him the train was today. She didn’t tell him that they didn’t plan on coming back once this all “blew over” because she suspected it wouldn’t. She didn’t tell him about the baby.

The train hissed and whistled, pistons coming to life and shoving the wheels along the tracks. This was it. Her last look at Folsense. Her last chance to be with him. The town disappeared before she could notice, replaced with a view of rolling fields and sparse trees. She took a deep breath. This was it.

Sophia snapped back. “The vampire and the maiden threw a grand big wedding and invited all the townsfolk. At first they were wary of the vampire, but it turned out to be a jolly fun evening. They lived together happily ever after, and even had a little daughter who hated having her hair brushed. The good vampire protected the town for the rest of time, no matter what, so all the people could be safe and happy like them.”

“Wow, it’s like I was there, mama,” Iris giggled. “You should start writing this stuff down.”

“Oh hush, dear. It’s far past your bedtime.” Sophia kissed Iris on her sleepy head and left the room. It’s like she was there again.

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

babysit side effects

A/N: This was requested by anon, I hope you enjoy! sorry it took so long, Ihope it was worth it. Please let me know what you think, and if anyone has any requests please let me know! 

summary: Can you write a fic where richie and eddie are babysitting one of the losers kids, and it makes them realize they want a kid of their own? Thank you :)

warnings: curse words 

‘Okay, so let’s go over this again. Sophia has her first bottle of milk at 7:30 am, followed by her second bottle of milk by 11:15 am. At 12:30 she eats either fruit or a vegetable, and then at 3:15 he has another feeding time, this time a vegetable or fruit depending on what you gave her before, and then at 6:45 she has her last feed which is milk. Do you understand?’

Richie nodded somingly, even when he had to try hard to keep his laughter in, the serious and panicked look on Stan’s face too much to handle.

‘Of course Staniel, don’t you trust me to take care of your kids for a day?’

There was a beat of silence, during which Stan stared at Richie intently, trying to gauge if he was serious, or if he was just trying to provoke him. Then; ‘Off fucking course not Richie. Patty take your bags back inside, we’re not going.’

Laughter poured from Patty, who was just loading in her bag in the backseat, straitening up and walking closer to them. When she got close enough, she reached out and plucked Sofia out of Richie’s arms, her in hand holding her by her bum, while the other on supports the back of her head.

She coos at her daughter, full of love and not an ounce of annoyance anywhere visible on her entire face, despite the fact that Richie saw her slobber all over Patty’s blouse only minutes before she had to leave.

‘Sure we do Rich,’ Patty assures him while she grants his a kiss against his cheek as  goodbye. ‘Stan and I wouldn’t have asked you if we didn’t think you were up to the challenge. Besides, we’re only going to be gone for a night, and we’ll return first thing in the morning. If anything goes wrong he can call us.’

There only off to help Patty’s mom move into a new nursing home for the day and night, but it’s the first time that they’ve been away from their children since Sofia was born, and Richie insist to make their time away free of all concerns. That is if they finally leave at least.

Stan kisses his daughter on the forehead holding her close for one last moment, before allowing Patty to hand her back into Richie’s awaiting arms.

It shocks Richie’s that baby’s are so small, though he knows logically that everyone was that small at one point or another, it’s one thing to know it, and another to actually see it.

‘Eddie is here too, so there’s two of them.’ Patty and Stan resort to a silent stand-off, holding a none spoken argument that Patty wins, if her smug smile is anything to go by.

‘There are also two children, so let’s hope they can handle both.’ Richie fake gasps, moving to hold his hand up in faux outrage, but stops when he is reminded of the, albeit barely there, weight of little Sofia, who is now fast asleep on his chest.

Knowing when to be serious, Richie lets his facade drop, Bowing down to catch Stan's eyes, before smiling reassuringly. ‘We got this Stan, trust me.’

Stan smiles back without a moment of hesitation,’ I know. If anything happens to be my babies, I’ll kill you in your sleep.’ The serious expression on his face enough to make Richie gulp, regardless of the fact that he knows Stan doesn’t mean it.

‘Copy that sir.’

‘Speaking of our two babies, where’s Emily?’ Patty demands, turning in a circle in search for her but not locating here.

‘I’m pretty sure she roped Eddie into dress up and having a tea party with her, so I think for the sake of Eddie’s sanity, we should leave now.’

The bolstering laugh from Richie is way too loud on the peaceful morning most of Stan’s neighbors are experiencing, but Patty joins him, so it’s not too bad. Suspiciously, Patty pauses right after to stare longingly at her daughter, her eyes becoming a little wet.

‘Alright, let’s go. Give Eddie my best.’ She hugs Sophia one last time, then turns away to sniffle and hide her tears, no doubt a little sad a the prospect of not seeing her girls. Richie moves to comfort her, but Stan is on the case, and he can do a much better job than Richie, no doubt in his mind.

Richie stands there uncomfortably, rocking baby Sofia back and forth, and staring at her sleeping face to avoid stalking the two lovers in front of him.

He only looks up when Stan loudly proclaims their leaving, ‘come on Babylove.’ Waving at Sophia likes she’s about to wave back. After, he carefully hugs Richie’s side, avoiding squashing Soph while also deeming his goodbye to Richie.

He too is reluctant to leave Sophia and Emily in the care of Eddie and Richie, but not because he doesn’t trust them, he just finds it hard to go anywhere without them.

They still leave regardless, after ten more minutes of saying goodbye, then they finally leave, turning the corner right as Eddie comes out of the house checking up on Richie to see what was taking him so long.

When Richie turns to face Eddie, he shrieks with laughter, not managing to contain himself. Patty’s old lipstick red dress that has holes in the sides of them and a little bit of dirt on one of the sleeves looks good on Eddie, even if Richie may be a bit biased and thinks everything looks fantastic when it’s Eddie that’s wearing it, but it’s the pink crown and staff that he’s holding, and the murderous leer he’s showing, that has Richie cackling like there’s no tomorrow.

‘Don’t you fucking dare, asshole.’ Eddie swears menacingly, but Richie can’t take him seriously, not when Emily scatters out of the house to tug on the bottom of the dress, the three year old herself slipped in the princess dress Eddie and Richie gave her as a present on her birthday a few weeks back. He bets Eddie didn’t expect it to backfire this way.

‘Uncle Eddie come on’, Emily whines, the three year old wearing an frozen Anna dress that is a tad too big on her, ‘The others are waiting on us.’

The other include, mister giraffe, Amika the horse, and Elsa, all in the form of stuffed animals gifted to her by various losers when they came to visit.

‘Yeah uncle Eds, it’s rude to keep the guest waiting you know.’ Richie eggs her on, smirking in delight when Eddie unsuspiciously flips him the bird, but follows Emily anyway, off to indulge her in whatever she requests him to do.

His laughter caused Sophia to wake up again, and she fuzzily bangs her tiny fist on Richie’s chest, as if to convey that she’s mad she was awoken. He tries to bounce her gently up and down, to et her settled again, then changes his mind and enters the house on a whim, trudging up the stairs to join Eddie and Emily in her playroom.

Getting close enough to the door to hear Emily’s voice does the trick, as he expected it to. Sophia calms down, now resorted to peeking up at her uncle, a gurgle escaping her throat while she fists around a piece of his hair, giggling happily.

Richie’s heart melts a little, while he gets hit with an enormous amount of love and affection, and he starts to understand why Patty and Stan were so begrudged to go anywhere without her.

Her blanket, the one she has on her at all times, is still pined safely to the front of her beanie, bunched up in the hand that is not pulling one of his curls. He catches a glimpse of Eddie, folded nearly completely in on himself, forced to sit still in a chair that is even too small for Emily to fit in properly, sipping on a tea cup but making 100 % sure the side of it doesn’t touch his bottom lip.

Emily simpers, lifting her own teacup to her mouth with a pinky stretched up as a greeting to him, chastising Eddie like he is the kid instead of her, when Eddie stretches upwards to grab a muffin.

Doing a poor job of hiding his laughter, Eddie takes notice of Richie staring at them from the door opening, at first looking vex, but then an emotion crosses his eyes that Richie can’t define. He shakes his head and focuses back on the table, but not fast enough to stop the sentiment from getting picked up by Richie.

‘Well, it looks they’re too busy for us right now. It’s just me and you then. Don’t give me that look bumper’, the nickname Richie duped her after finding out that her name was chosen after they saw it on a bumper sticker slipping out effortlessly, not with standing the arguments of Stan. ‘She can not find out about that Richie. I swear to god, I will keep you away from her long enough until I’ve convinced her that everything you say is a lie.’

‘I can be a good replacement dad for the day, just you wait and see.’

-------------------

Five hours later, when the clock strikes 3:15 pm, Richie struggles with the preparing the baby formula, and he can’t figure out what he is supposed to do. There is milk that needs to be added, but when he mixes the powder and the liquid with one another, a sticky, soup of residue is left behind, and that is impossible to taste good.

Embarrassingly, Richie resorts to researching the internet, clicking on video after video to find the same brand Patty and Stan use, to be absolutely assured that he’s doing the right thing. Then when it finally hits him over the head that it is supposed to look like that, he can’t get the temperature right.

The first time he puts it in the microwave he warms it so hot that he can’t even grasp the bottle in his hands, dropping it and staring at the milk that leaked all over the floor, cursing his life and every decision that has brought him up to that point.

The second one is still cold, and he briefly considers giving the baby cold milk, before he remembers Patty’s warnings and places it back in the microwave, when he takes it out, it’s hot enough to make him release a hiss.

He gets more and more frustrated, his emotions pilling on top of each other to leave one huge dump of distress that he can’t possibly take on too, not alongside two kids, and it only gets worse when Sophia has a fit and starts crying.

Richie’s earlier tricks to calm her down don’t work, not even after a few tries, so with a groan, he throws in the towel and yanks out his cellphone, feeling like a complete and utter failure.

‘Hey Richie, do you know where Stan and Patty keep their desserts? Sophia is craving something sweet and I used the opportunity to have myself a little break.’

Eddie pauses when he steps foot in the kitchen, hey eyebrows coming together to frown when he takes in the disheveled state Richie is in.

‘What’s wrong?’ Richie shakes his head uselessly, his shoulders shrugging helplessly while gesturing towards Sophia who is nestled against his shoulder, her cries muffled but still audible.

‘I don’t know how to prepare milk.’ Eddie has the audacity to snort, a sound that Richie has never heard coming from him, so he’s helpless to let out a small one himself.

‘Don’t laugh at me Eduardo, I’m in a deep crisis right now and I require your help.’ Walking closer, Eddie accept the bottle handed to him, the word ‘auch’ escaping from him at the warmth burning his palm.

‘My help? Why me?’ Eddie asks, shooting Richie a questioning look. A pink red sticker is hanging on his forehead, Richie then notices, but since Eddie is apparently blissfully unaware of it, Richie keeps it to himself.

‘Well Eds, I assume you have enough experience with babies, you know. Since you were treated like one your entire life?’ He winces when the words leave his mouth, his mind too preoccupied with Sophia to think twice about what he was about to speak in existence.

‘Fuck you, dude. And don’t call me Eds asshole.’ Luckily, Eddie waves the comment away with the tip of his hand, doing his signature move where he pretends to karate chop the air. ‘Come here, give her to me for a second.’ Eddie suggests, and Richie obliges, handing her over with extreme caution, even when she very willingly goes.

‘You’re uncle Rich is a bit of an idiot huh? How about we go and see how we can prepare your- well it’s not dinner yet, let’s say afternoon snack?’ Sophia quieted down as she got comfortable in Eddie’s arms, one of his arms beginning to prep the formula, again, during which the other held her up and close.

He then leaned in to whisper something in her ear, not loud enough for Richie to decipher what they were talking about, but it caused Eddie to gleam again, and even Sophia let out a big grin, happily going along with whatever her uncle Eddie was proclaiming.

The sight of a baby in Eddie’s arms, his eyes twinkling in pure adoration, his grin wide enough to show teeth, while he rocked her back and forth, made Richie want to beg Eddie to raise a child with him.

He dismissed the idea soon enough though, for if Eddie had a wish for kids, surely he would have said something by now. But he knows already that the image was going to haunt his dreams for a long time, the mesmerizing sight of what could be, or could have been did not plan on leaving his mind any time soon.

He must stare for a tad too long, Eddie feeling his gaze upon him so he glances up, their eyes meeting. Eddie opens his mouth to say something, but before he can he is interrupted by Emily, impatient from waiting too long or her cookie.

‘Uncle Eddie, what’s taking you so long?’ She complains, rolling her eyes when she notices that Eddie is holding her sister.

‘In a minute sweety, I’m just helping uncle Rich out right now.’ Having an excuse from being in Eddie’s proximity while he’s holding a baby, Richie jumps on the opportunity to get out. The fact that he missed his other niece aswell guides his decision too.

‘I’ll play dress up with you for a while Princess Ems.’ He bows down extravagantly, acting as if there is real royalty in front of him.

‘Don’t you want me to teach you how to prepare milk?’ Eddie summons, his voice edged with a tint of confusion at Richie’s sudden interest to leave.

‘You can teach me about that later Eds, she needs her drink three times a day.’ Richie reassures him, fiddling with his thumbs while he begs Eddie to let the subject drop.  

‘But uncle Eddie was so cool, all my friends wanted to meet him.’ Emily had yet to grow out of the phase where she us jealous of her little sister, so her whole argument isn’t about Eddie specifically, it’s about her not entertaining the idea of anyone giving her sister the light of day from who she demands it from.

But that’s alright. Richie is nothing if not persuasive.  ‘Aye, that’s true but they have yet to meet me’, Richie performs, making use of the pirates accent and langue he had to learn for an audition. Emily giggles in delight, easily swayed when it involved her uncle Richie, and even more so when it had to do with his voices.

‘And if they don’t wanna know a seadog like me, I’ll force those scallywags to walk the plank. Aye. Now let’s go, heave-ho upstairs so I can be introduced.’

Emily nods enthusiastically, practically running up the stairs two steps at a time, and Richie follows with just as much energy, yelling ‘aye’ or ‘are’, every so few seconds. In his haste, he is oblivious to the same longing look Eddie gives him, when he sees him interact with a child.

-----

It’s a long day, and Richie can feel the bone deep exhaustion creeping up on him when he eventually makes his way over to the couch, Eddie dozing on the rug with the baby monitor still in his hands.

It’s not even eleven pm yet, and Richie knows that Eddie would be more relaxed in a bed than the sofa, but he also knows that they’ll be awaken more than a few times during the night, so he lets Eddie sleep.

In the wardrobe in Stan and Patty’s living room, Richie discovers a blanket, big enough to cover both him and Eddie, so he takes it, vowing to wash it before they get home. It’s soft and fluffy, and perfect to sleep with, but as soon as he tucks it around Eddie, he shits up, all sleep vanished from his eyes.

He blinks up at Richie, shuffling closer to him while disposing of the baby phone on the ground next to were they are seated, and rearranging the quilt till every part of their bodies is covered with it.

Eddie’s head lays on Richie’s shoulder, while one of his arms rubs up and down his arm and shoulder, grabbing strands of his arm hair with him sometimes, which is just what Richie needs to stay awake, the small jolts of pain keep him on his toes. And that’s necessary, he discovers over the next minute.

Without facing Richie, Eddie drops a bombshell like he’s never done before, causing Richie to choke on his own spit. ‘I want to have a baby.’

I want to have a baby, I want to have a baby, I want to have a baby, the words play on repeat in his head, ricocheting of the walls and tumbling but sticking none the less, Richie brain turning into mind numbing fizz, absolutely no thoughts besides Eddie words formulating.

The coughing alerts Eddie, who sits up straighter, looking back Richie’s way with wide eyes, as he looks on on the natural disaster that is about to concur in front of him.

When his brain comes back online, mortifying is not even big enough a word to describe the shame Richie feels for his reaction, so, he resorts to what he always does; using humor as a blockage.  

‘Christ Eds, I don’t think that possible. You know, question of having the right body parts. It’s a shame really, me and your mom.-‘

‘Beep, Beep Richie.’ Eddie interrupts him strictly. ‘I need you to be honest. No jokes, just you.’ That’s a hard task, since it’s become second nature to Richie to use it as a defense mechanism, but for Eddie he’s willing to try.

‘And before you say anything, let me talk first’, Eddie insists, waiting till he gets an approving nod from Richie to continue. ‘Today, seeing you with Sophia and Emily, I realized that you’re so good with kids. And before today I honestly didn’t think I wanted children, but I guess that I didn’t want them with Myra, but I do want them with you. What do you think?’ Eddie prompts, trying to gauche Richie’s reaction, but even Eddie sometimes has trouble doing that, and now is one of those times.

Holding his breath nervously, not even Richie’s hand grabbing his is enough to calm him down, his fingers drumming against his upper leg.

‘I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you.’ Richie entrust Eddie, his body visibly relaxing when it’s clear that Richie is at the very least not going to yell at him for suggestion kids in the first place.

Their lips meet in the middle of Stan’s couch, the house around them eerily quite while the two of them are stuck in a haze together, blissfully unaware of what’s happening outside of their bubble. It’s a reassuring kiss, their lips lazily in sinc, neither in a rush, to help calm both of them down just a little, before diving head first into the deep shit again.

‘Are you sure you want to have kids with me? Because today I fucked up her stupid bottle. I mean, who can’t warm milk? And I don’t want you to hate me over something that I can’t do. I’m scared I’ll put all this weight on you and you’ll resent me for it, and I can’t have that, Eds, I can deal with everything else, but I can’t deal with you hating me.’ Richie proclaims, out of breath and sucking in large gulps of air.

Eddie pulls his face closer to his, both of his palms on either side of Richie’s head. ‘Listen to me dipshit, cause I’m only fucking saying this ones. You could murder someone in front of me, and I would roll with it okay? I came out and left my wife, and yeah, part of that was because of me, but I would have never understood what those feeling were if it weren’t for you. I love you Richie, and that’s never going to change no matter what.’ Eddie pauses, searching Richie eyes for confirmation that he understood. ‘Dipshit’, he added when he found it.

Richie let out a titter, one of his hands coming up to cover Eddie’s and leaning into the touch.

‘If you’re only worried about not knowing stuff to do with the kids, than I can help with that. That’s what a relationship is. I teach you things, and you teach me. Besides, there’s going to be a specific choir assignment, because there’s no fucking way I’m cleaning a baby’s diaper.’

‘Well then, Edward Francis Kaspbrak, it would be my honor to have a baby with you.’ Eddie’s face it up, through and through genuineness this time. No annoyance or irritation anywhere in sight, so of course, Richie had to change that.

‘Again, not biological because that would be impossible.’

‘Shut the fuck up asshole.’ Eddie grabbed a pillow to whack Richie full in the face, laughter pouring out of him when he accidentally knocked his glaces off.

‘Hey Eds, you might want to learn how to control that temper of yours, we wouldn’t want our beloved child to adapt the same words right?’

‘Seriously, I’ll fucking murder you if you don’t shut the fuck up.’