#it looks ugly linking to google drive but what else am i supposed to do

[gayest-goatest-girl]

okayyy a promise is a promise,,, here's my shower videooo

[raendown]

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Chapter: 6/7 Word count: 1980 Summary: Now attending the university here in their hometown as he begins his Master’s, Tobirama develops a problem with falling asleep in the strangest of places. Madara, poor innocent never-deserved-any-of-this Madara, gets mistaken for a mattress one too many times. All he wanted to do was focus on his career but instead he finds himself forcibly tasked with herding his secret crush towards better sleep habits. It’s driving him up the wall.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI in the blog header!

Chapter 6: Clearing The Air

Boxes. An entire sea of cardboard boxes filling up that one barren corner of his living room that he’d always meant to do something with but never really got around to it. Until now there hadn’t been anyone around to make him feel pressured in to the task and even when Tobirama had appeared he’d figured the fool wouldn’t notice anything that wasn’t food or schoolwork.

Now there were boxes and Madara had a couple of guesses as to where they came from but he was having a hard time figuring out why they chose now to appear. Luckily the man he was after had flopped down in the middle of the mess as though he intended to make himself a homework fort.

“Should I ask?” he drawled. Tobirama looked up from his phone, on which he appeared to be googling some kind of rare chemical compounds.

“My lease came up for renewal but my building manager told me he had some people willing to pay more for the apartment and he wanted me officially gone. So I suppose I really just live here now.” One careless shrug and he was lost to his research again.

Madara sat down hard on the bed-couch, still hovering in the doorway between living room and kitchen at just such an angle that he could watch TV while his self-declared roommate slept. It was too much. He had suffered quite a bit for this man, through confusion and frustration and not a few nights when it took all his self-control not to just roll his hips and take a bit of pleasure no one ever had to know about. Unfortunately he was a police officer who knew right from wrong. He was also, however, hoping to see a promotion to detective someday soon and detectives liked to find answers.

“I think I’m drawing the line,” he said.

“Hm?”

“You can’t just keep playing with me like this.”

Curious, Tobirama resurfaced from his phone. Madara had enough brainpower to at least appreciate the amount of attention he was getting as opposed to last week when Hashirama came to visit and spent over an hour trying to entice Tobirama away from the page of calculations he was studying. The rest of his brain was busy scrambling to tie the loose ends of his sanity back together so he wouldn’t fly apart under the constant confusion of this ridiculous situation between them.

“I am not playing anything,” Tobirama said, a hint of curiosity in his tone. Madara snorted.

“You sleep on me! With cuddling! And you get mad at me when I sleep without you or I can’t be there when you want to sleep and–! You kiss me! Now the moving in and I can’t! I can’t anymore!” Pulling at twin handfuls of hair, Madara’s eyes squeezed shut with the force of his emotions. “There’s no way you can tell me you haven’t noticed I’m in love with you! So just stop! No more! Okay!?”

Tobirama slowly lowered his phone down to his lap, jaw falling open to gape in shock. “Wha–?”

“Any more of this and I’ll have an actual break down and you know I’m ugly when I cry! Everyone says so! I just need…I don’t know.” Madara deflated as easily as he had gotten himself riled up.

What he needed was to hibernate for at least three seasons until these stupid feelings went away or until he starved himself to death, whichever came first. At this point either would have been good.

“No, you misunderstand me.” Tobirama set his phone aside and stood. When he stepped forward Madara scowled and leaned back. He was met with the back of their bed-couch and stayed trapped there as the other man approached, pinning him in place with narrowed eyes.

“Stop it, whatever you’re doing!”

“Be quiet for a minute and listen!” With a huff Tobirama poked him in the middle of his chest. “You think I fell asleep on you every day for several months, laid my head down on your chest when I was tired and looked for you – only you – when I needed rest, but I’m still too stupid to think there might be something between us? Why the hell would I kiss you if I didn’t like you?”

Madara pinched his lips together. “Fucked if I know.”

“You’re an idiot. And here I thought it was perfectly clear where we were headed! It’s hardly my fault you never made a move so I kissed you myself. Are you telling me you still don’t realize we’re already dating?” Tobirama poked him in the chest again with one thin finger but Madara was too busy staring to react.

“Wait what?” he asked faintly.

“Is there a specific part of that you needed me to repeat?”

“Dating!? You think we’re already dating!?”

Finally Tobirama paused, looking unsure of himself for the first time. “Are we not? You didn’t oppose me when I kissed you…” He had the gall to look more confused when Madara flailed with violent exasperation.

“Of course I didn’t ‘oppose’ you! I wanted it – and more! But I don’t want you kissing me or thinking we’re dating just because I happen to make a comfortable pillow!”

“That isn’t it at all!”

“Then tell me what the deal is here because you’ve never shown any signs that you might want something from me other than a bed buddy! I’ve been going crazy this whole time trying to hold myself together with you draped all over me and you’re telling me suddenly that you think we’re dating?” Madara snarled out of sheer frustration. “I don’t like having my feelings played with. I’ll be the first to admit that some parts of having you here have been amazing but it’s – I – this is too much. You can’t live here. You have a whole room at Hashirama’s house waiting for you! Go move in there!”

He was panting by the time he finished, a little surprised by himself. It was hard to remember the last time he’d said so much all at once without being interrupted or giving testimony on the witness stand. Tobirama gaped at him in naked shock.

“Um…can we go back to the part where you said you were in love with me? I sort of passed that over because I didn’t think you meant it seriously but…” Shuffling awkwardly, Tobirama scrubbed at one arm with the opposite hand and let his voice trail off without finishing his sentence. Madara swallowed thickly.

“We don’t, er, need to focus on that, do we?” he mumbled.

“I think we do. Namely because I…hadn’t realized. Truthfully, I hadn’t realize that you felt anything for me beyond a mere acceptance of my presence.”

“Acceptance?” Madara parroted in disbelief.

Tobirama wrinkled his nose slightly. “Knowing how you truly feel makes it seem a bit of a ridiculous assumption, I agree. I thought I had broadcasted my desire for a relationship quite clearly and yet you never seemed to have an interest so when you allowed me to rest on top of you and it turned out to be the best sleep of my entire life I saw no downsides to asking that we continue to do so.”

“Hn, ‘ask’.”

“Fair, I don’t suppose I ever truly asked anything.”

“No, you demanded,” Madara said, “with little regard for what my answer might be.”

“In any case, I kissed you because I was growing impatient and I wanted to know once and for all if you saw anything between us. Your only qualm seemed to be that you wanted more than just kissing and I thought…”

“You thought that meant we were suddenly dating!?” Madara wondered, faintly, why he made such poor life choices as to fall in love with a man stupider than himself.

Actually that wasn’t true. Tobirama wasn’t stupid, he was just socially oblivious and didn’t care much for learning how to be otherwise. But that didn’t make it any easier to swallow that he had been suffering for nothing this entire time just because they both refused to open their mouths and talk like regular people with regular emotions.

He unashamedly placed most of the blame for this on Tobirama’s hands. Madara would be the first to admit that he was bad at flirting but Tobirama had given off absolutely no signals other than hatred in all the years they had known each other, right up until the day he–

“Oooooh.” Madara’s empty body drained off tension, his face going slack with wonder. “When you were off at university that first year – holy shit. That’s why you made me sit next to you and keep you warm when the heater wasn’t working.”

“Mhm.”

“You liked me back then?”

“Clearly. Why else would I have let you cuddle me like that?”

“Let me? That was another demand! You gave me no choice!” Through sheer force of will Madara managed to avoid sticking his tongue out. He was a grown man up for promotion to detective in a very respectable precinct and he would not resort to such childish measures.

He would, however, resort to crossing his arms and snorting pointedly in Tobirama’s direction. The head tilt he got in return was incredibly unsatisfying as far as reactions go.

“Question. Are we fighting right now because we’ve both been wanting to date each other but neither of us realized that the other was interested so now that we’re both on the same page we’re releasing all of that pent up tension we couldn’t discuss before?” Tobirama furrowed his brows while Madara snapped his jaw shut, both of them glaring thoughtfully across the small space between them.

“I think so,” Madara said.

Tobirama grunted. “So we could be making out instead now that we both get what’s going on?”

“We could. I’m still a little mad at you.”

“Understandable.”

Madara nodded slowly. Then he lurched upwards off the cushions and crushed their mouths together. It obviously wasn’t the first time they had kissed but it was the first time he had been able to reciprocate without feeling like he was bracing himself for some inevitable fallout afterwards. The arm of the couch behind him was all that kept him upright then as his knees went weak, hands clutching the back of Tobirama’s shirt both to hold himself up and to keep the other man as close as possible.

When Tobirama groaned against him he swallowed the sound eagerly and tilted his head for a better angle. The kiss tasted like relief, like frustration bleeding out to leave room for everything he had been pushing down to spring up instead and fill him. He felt buoyant when they pulled apart. If his feet had lifted from the ground right then he wouldn’t have been surprised – though he would have held on tighter to make certain that Tobirama came with him because just the thought of separation after such a revelation was painful.

Finally achieving the one goal he had deemed hopeless years ago, now that was a rush not even cracking the hardest case could beat.

“I guess you can stay here and live with me officially,” he murmured, deliberately offhand.

“Can we sleep in the bed now, then?” Tobirama asked. “You’re very comfortable but I’ll bet you’d be much more comfortable if I had you on a mattress.” Madara choked.

“Don’t phrase it like that!”

“Are you turning down sex?”

“Why can’t you just let me have one nice moment? Huh? Just one, that’s all I’m asking!”

Tobirama’s laughter was as pleasing to the ear as ever but it didn’t do much to dampen his annoyance this time. Still, Madara couldn’t find it in himself to get truly angry at the man – not when he finally had a chance to taste that laughter right from the source.

[thestarsaroundyourscars]

I met you in the dark, you lit me up, ch 4

Chapter 4: The day of their first date

Summary: In which the awaited first date between Eddie and Richie finally takes place.

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak

Words: 4,755

AO3 link

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Tag list: @daddyphantomtbh @yes-dillman-yes @richietoaster @beepbeeprichiellc @thetheatregal @its-stranger-than-you-think @lemonaayyee @pennys-pet-kitty Enjoy ♥ 

A/N: I hope their first date lives up to your expectations! This is my favorite chapter so far, I just love writing these two together.  I’m working on new ideas for future chapters, if you have any suggestions, let me know ♥♥♥ 

Richie Tozier woke up early on Saturday to get ready for his date. He made himself some breakfast and took a long shower, but when he went to get dressed, he realized he had absolutely no idea what to wear. He knew he was being ridiculous, it’s not like they were going somewhere fancy or anything and he had a lot of clothes to choose from, but his friends didn’t call him dramatic for nothing.

He had few options on what to do, he could call Stan or Mike and ask for their advice, they were surely awake by now or… he could wake Beverly up. He didn’t want to do that, the thought alone made him flinch, Bev was whole heartedly against waking up early on the weekends, even more so than Richie himself. They had some sort of agreement where, if they had to wake up early for some reason, they had to be as quiet as possible so as to not wake the other person up, they usually managed to do it but on the times they didn’t, it could get pretty ugly.

Remembering the last time that had happened and how he had ended up with a bruised shin from Beverly kicking him, he figured it was safest to just call his other friends.

As luck would have it, neither Mike nor Stan picked up though. He called them three times each but nothing. What the fuck could they possibly be doing so early on a Saturday? He thought as he tried calling their house phone.

“This is Stan and Mike’s voicemail, we can’t come to the phone right now, but leave a message and we will get back to you” he heard Mike’s voice say before the beep. Richie groaned and hung up.

He went through the mess of clothes on his bed and closet and floor, hoping he wouldn’t have to resort to asking Beverly for help but came up with nothing. So, he walked to her room and stood in front of her door, taking a deep breath before knocking.

“Bev, I’m so sorry for waking you up but I need your help” Nothing, he knocked on the door a bit louder, “Bevvy? The peanut butter to my jelly? The cheese to my macaroni? The… the salt to my pepper? The…” He stopped abruptly when the door opened and an angry looking Beverly Marsh stood in front of him.

“What in the shit could you possibly fucking need at” she turned to check her bedside clock, “nine thirty in the fucking morning on a Saturday, Richard?” she growled.

“I…. uh… Have I ever told you how radiant you look in the morning; Bev, darling?” He said with a nervous smile. He wasn’t lying, Bev was always radiant but right now she looked more murderous than anything.

She narrowed her eyes at him and went to close the door on his face.

“Wait!” he yelled and stopped the door with his hands, “my date with Eddie is in a couple of hours and I am trying to figure out what to wear, but I can’t. And I know I’m acting like a 12 year-old here but this is important to me. I’m so sorry for waking you up, I tried calling Stan and Mike but they’re both MIA. Please, Bev, I need you.”

She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, probably counting to ten as a way of not killing Richie right there and then.

“Fine. I’ll help. But you’ll owe me for this, Tozier” she said while pushing past him and heading towards the kitchen, probably looking for coffee. Richie was glad he made enough for the both of them, there is only so much Beverly was willing to forgive him for.

Even though she glared at him the entire time, Bev was actually a big help. In the end, they decided on his nicest pair of ripped jeans, a white band t-shirt, a black and blue plaid shirt, unbuttoned and with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of white converse.

He knew he could have chosen these clothes himself, he was sure he had worn that same combination before, but it was nice knowing Beverly approved.

With her help he was ready by nine thirty. He still had over an hour left before he had to go, which he spent sitting on the couch with Bev, watching some cartoons, because there was nothing else on the TV.

“You wanna know why there’s only cartoons playing, Rich? Because only overexcited children watch TV this early on a Saturday” Bev had said, while he handed her another cup of coffee. They sat in silence, letting out the occasional chuckle, because no matter what Bev said, she loved cartoons.

Richie had been feeling nervous since he woke up that morning, but the more he sat there, the more his nerves increased and the more anxious and jittery he felt. He could see Beverly occasionally glance at him, probably annoyed at the way his legs would make the couch shake with it’s bouncing or the noise his car keys made when he moved them around in his hands, but she never said anything.

When it was finally time to leave, he was feeling like a complete mess, his throat felt dry, he was sweating and he felt like his stomach was in knots.

Beverly must have noticed because before he could leave, she had reached for his hands and looked him in the eye before she said, “You have nothing to be nervous about, Rich. This may be your first date, but you already know each other and have talked to each other and he likes you, okay? So, just be yourself and have fun. Show Eddie a real good time.”

He took a deep breath and nodded, she was right, they had been talking for an entire week and they got along great so, nothing to worry about. Just be yourself and have fun, he repeated in his head.

“Thank you, Bev” he said with a smile. Richie kissed her cheek goodbye, grabbed his wallet and cellphone and left the apartment.

He had told Eddie he remembered the way to his apartment from their cab ride last week, after all he hadn’t been that drunk. Now, he is glad Eddie didn’t believe him and insisted on texting him the address, because he might have trusted his drunken memory more than he should have.

Once he gets there he texts Eddie to let him know and he answers with a text of his own, saying he will be down soon. Richie gets out of the car and leans against it to wait for him. Less than five minutes later he sees Eddie exit the building and start walking towards him.

Richie’s memory of Eddie definitely did not do him justice, he was so much more beautiful than he remembered. Today, he was wearing black shorts, not the same he had worn last week but he looked just as good in them, a white polo shirt with red and black stripes and white socks and sneakers. He hadn’t seen Richie yet, he was looking down, putting away his keys inside the fanny pack around his waist. A fucking fanny pack, could he get anymore cute? He thinks.

Eddie finally looks up and spots Richie, he smiles brightly at him and Richie feels himself choke on air at how handsome he looks. How in the hell did I score a date with this kid?

Richie smiles back and then he is panicking because he doesn’t know how they are supposed to greet each other. Do they shake hands? Hug? Wave awkwardly at each other?

He doesn’t get to make a decision on that matter though because when Eddie finally reaches him, he stands on his tiptoes and kisses Richie’s cheek.

“Hi, Rich” he says taking a small step back. His cheeks are a bit pink but nothing compared to Richie’s, which are bright red and burning hot, especially where Eddie kissed him. He is staring wide eyed at him and he is so flustered it’s not even funny.

“Uh… hey. Um… yeah, hi Eds” He struggles to say. Then he clears his throat and adds, “How is my Eddie Spaghetti?” in a somewhat more composed manner.

Eddie scrunches up his nose, “God, there’s that nickname again” he says but the corners of his mouth still curl up in a smile, “I am good, what about you?”

“Better now that I’ve seen your adorable face and that cute as fuck outfit you’re wearing” Richie says with a wink and Eddie rolls his eyes but he blushes a bit too. Then in a more serious tone he adds, “You really do look great, Eds.”

“You look pretty good yourself, Trasmouth” Eddie says with a shy smile, looking up at Richie.

God, we are both nervous wrecks right now, he thinks, you would think talking nonstop for a week would take some of the anxiety away but it’s like we are meeting for the first time.

“So, you finally going to tell me where you are taking me?” Eddie asks for the hundredth time.

And for the hundredth time Richie replies, that no, he is not telling Eddie a thing.

Eddie pouts, and it makes Richie melt, but he made it this far without telling him and he’ll be damned if he spills it now, so he just opens the passenger door for Eddie and gestures for him to get in.

“Your carriage awaits, Eddie my love, smile, because you and I are going on an adventure” he says in a British accent so awful it makes Eddie laugh.

Once they are both in the car, Richie looks at his date and asks, still with the silly accent, “you ready, darlin’?”

Eddie looks at him and humors him by saying in an accent himself, “Drive away, dear” and with a smile Richie does just that.

Last night he had memorized the route so as to not ruin the surprise by having to look for directions on Google Maps. It’s a short ride, less than twenty minutes, and they make small talk while Eddie looks around trying to figure out where Richie is taking him.

“You really don’t like surprises, do you, Eds?” he chuckles and Eddie just shrugs his shoulders.

When Richie makes the final turn and the place they are going to comes into view, Eddie sits upright on his seat and gawks at the huge sign that has the words “Adventure Aquarium” written on it.

“You fucking didn’t” he says and he’s smiling so wide it distracts Richie so much that he almost rolls over a woman pushing a stroller across the street.

He chuckles, “Oh but I did. You sounded so excited when you told me about your trip to the aquarium, that I figured you would like this” he pauses and adds, “You do like it right? It’s not childish or anything. Shit, it is, isn’t it? I knew I should have just… taken you to the movies or something like that.”

Eddie places his hand on the other boy’s knee and smiles at him in a way it leaves Richie gasping for air.

“Rich, I freaking love it, okay? This is the best surprise ever”, he says and Richie relaxes.

They find a spot to park and walk to the main entrance, Richie holding their tickets in his hands. Eddie is practically bouncing with excitement and Richie makes a mental note to get Beverly something extra nice for her birthday for coming up with this great idea.

Once they are inside, they make their way through different exhibits and attractions. Richie has never been to an aquarium before so he finds himself getting excited over the hippos and the sharks and the fish from Finding Nemo. Eddie might have been to one before but it was a long time ago and he is just as excited as if it was the first time.

While they walk they talk about different things. They talk about their jobs and their friends, Eddie tells Richie about the project he is working on for his physiology class, and he listens when Richie explains how he still hasn’t decided if he wants to major in physics or engineering. Every once in a while Eddie will blurt out some random fact about the animals they see and then proceed to get all flustered at how dorky it must sound, even though Richie insists he finds them really interesting and the fact that Eddie knows them at all, extremely endearing.

They were at the penguin’s exhibit now, watching the African Penguins. Richie was surprised when he saw that there was no snow or ice, he didn’t know there were penguins who could live on warm climates. He said so to Eddie, who of course knew they existed.

“They live in colonies on the coast and islands of southern Africa” he said, before he chuckled and added, “Did you know they are called jackass penguins? Because they make this weird sounds, donkey-like braying sounds to communicate.”

Richie did not know that, but listening to the penguins right now, it made sense. They do sound like a braying donkey.

He looks at the other boy and smiles mischievously, making Eddie’s eyes widen once he realizes what Richie is about to do, but before he can do anything to stop him, Richie opens his mouth and starts braying like a donkey himself, as loud as he can.

Eddie covers his face with his hands in embarrassment but soon enough he is doubling over with laughter. That is all the encouragement Richie needs to carry on making those awful noises. By now, the people around them are staring, some in annoyance but most of them in amusement, there are a few kids around and, like Eddie, they find Richie’s antics hilarious. Some of them, to their parent’s dismay, actually start copying him.

“Oh my god, Richie, stop” Eddie says between giggles, he is in tears by now and holding on to Richie’s arm for support, “please stop, my stomach hurts” he wheezes.

Richie stops and supports Eddie by placing a hand on his side while he recovers. Eddie looks breathtakingly beautiful right now, the corners of his eyes crinkled, his face flushed from laughter. Richie realizes that he doesn’t care how badly he has to embarrass himself, he’d do anything to make Eddie laugh like this.

“You’re so embarrassing, oh my God” Eddie says, and he is still a little out of breath, “Everyone is staring at us.”

“Trust me, they are only staring because you laughing like that is the most beautiful sight” he says, and squeezes Eddie’s side.

“No, they are staring because you are crazy and they think you belong in a mental hospital, you dork” he giggles.

“The only crazy I am, is crazy for you” he says and Eddie snorts, he grabs Richie’s hand and pulls him away from where people are still looking at them.

“C’mon Romeo, all that laughing made me hungry. Let’s go grab some lunch.”

Richie doesn’t answer because he was rendered speechless by Eddie holding his hand and not letting go even after it was clear Richie was right behind him. Crazy for him indeed, he thinks, with a silly smile.

They find a café, where Richie orders a Philly cheesesteak and Eddie gets chicken tenders and fries. Eddie insists on paying for the food, since Richie had bought them the tickets. He only agreed after Eddie promised to let him buy them some ice cream later.

They sit down and eat in comfortable silence. Richie steals some of Eddie’s fries and even though the smaller boy glares at him, he angles his plate so that it’s easier for Richie to grab some more if he wants.

“So, we’ve seen the hippos, the sharks, the giant octopus, the eels, what else?”

“Nemo” Richie answers after swallowing a bite of his sandwich, “and Dory.”

“Right, a bunch of different types of fish and the seahorses too, what are we missing?”

“Um… the turtles, they have at least three different species, I read some of them were rescued from the coasts. There’s also the stingrays and the piranhas and…. One last surprise I have for you” he finishes with a smirk.

“Wait, what? Another surprise?” Eddie asks alarmed, making Richie chuckle.

“Uh huh and before you ask what it is, know that I’m not going to tell you” he says pointing at him with a stolen French fry.

Eddie is about to argue, when his phone starts ringing. He opens his fanny pack, takes it out and frowns.

“It’s Bill” he says, confused, “Do you mind if I answer?”

“Of course not, go ahead.”

“I’ll make it quick, I promise” he stood up and Richie heard him greet Bill before he walked through the door.

Richie took the chance to check his own phone, he had been so focused on Eddie and the animals, it hadn’t even crossed his mind all day. He replied to some texts and checked a Facebook notification, while he ate his food and finished Eddie’s fries. Then he noticed the time and his eyes widened. It was already 3 o’clock in the afternoon, it had been nearly four hours since they had gotten there but for Richie it had felt like less, he had been having so much fun he hadn’t noticed how long they’ve been there.

Richie looks up when Eddie returns and sits down in front of him again.

“Everything okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, everything’s fine, Bill just… did you ate all my fries?” he says frowning at his plate.

“Uh… no… you did” Richie answers unconvincingly.

“Right, so is that why you have ketchup all over your mouth?” Eddie replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Shit” Richie muttered and tried to wipe it off but missed.

“Here” Eddie said and used his thumb to wipe it off himself, while Richie stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights, he couldn’t believe how cliché the whole thing was. Then Eddie put his thumb in his mouth, and Richie honest to God, whined.

That made Eddie realize just what he had done and he blushes furiously. Richie was feeling pretty flustered himself. They stare at each other until Richie talks, in an effort to break the tension.

“What did Billy Boy want?”

“Huh? Oh, he just needed to know where my car keys were, he is taking my car to work today, since I’m not there to drive him.”

“Where does he work?”

And just like that they were back to normal, talking in between bites of food and sips of their drinks and if they stared at each other’s mouths more than they did before the ketchup incident, neither of them said anything.

-♥-

They made their way through the remaining exhibits. When they got to the piranha’s tank, Richie was freaking out over how cool the piranhas were up close and Eddie seized the opportunity to tease him for it.

“What are laughing about?” Richie asked and looked up at Eddie, he was currently sitting on the floor, intently watching a piranha eat its lunch.

“It’s just… You look like a kid, sitting crossed legged on the floor, all excited about a flesh-eating fish, it’s cute” he explains with a fond smile.

Richie just replies with a “Nah, babe, you’re the cute one,” and goes back to watching the water tank in front of him, missing the way Eddie blushes at the pet name.

They go get ice cream after that, mint chocolate chip for Eddie and rocky road for Richie. They walk around aimlessly while they eat it and every once in a while the back of their hands brush together, giving Richie a minor heart attack every time it happens. After the hundredth time it happens, he finally gathers enough courage to grab the other boy’s hand in his own. This makes Eddie choke on his spit and start coughing. Richie tries to retrieve his hand so that he can hit him on the back or something but instead of letting go, Eddie intertwines their fingers together and gives Richie’s hand a squeeze. Once Eddie recovers from his coughing fit, both boys smile shyly at each other and continue walking with their joined hands swaying between them.

One look at his watch told Richie it was time for Eddie’s surprise. He guided the other boy in the direction of the sea cliffs exhibit. Once they arrived, Eddie caught sight of a sign that said “Sea otter exhibit ahead” and stopped in his tracks.

“Richie look! There are otters! You didn’t tell me! Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks confused, then he turns to Richie and sees that the other boy is smiling at him, “This is my surprise, isn’t it?” he adds with a smile of his own.

“Not exactly” Richie says, making Eddie frown. He then reaches into his back pocket, pulls out two tickets and shows them to Eddie. He tilts his head to read what they say, and as he does his eyes widen.

“No way” he said, “no fucking way.”

Richie smiled, “Surprise, surprise, Eds. Today you get to feed and pet your favorite animal.”

Richie had expected Eddie to smile, jump up and down or sprint to where the otters were, what he didn’t expect was for Eddie to wrap his arms around his neck in a hug.

He stood there, frozen for a second before wrapping his own arms around Eddie’s waist tightly. Forget buying something nice for her birthday, I’m taking Beverly to motherfucking Disneyland for this, he thinks, content to be holding Eddie in his arms.

They break apart and Eddie is staring at Richie with such affection and happiness in his eyes, that he feels like he is going to combust. They smile at each other and walk towards the exhibit.

-♥-

Richie decides that if he and Eddie officially start dating he is going to find a way to buy him an otter or maybe steal it, whatever it takes because this right here, Eddie sitting on the grass, feeding the otter that is sitting on his lap and petting it with a huge smile on his face, is the cutest and happiest he has seen him and it makes Richie’s heart feel like bursting out of his chest.

They stay there for as long as they are allowed which is something close to half an hour and as they are walking away, hand in hand, their clothes wet and grass stained, Eddie looks up at Richie and says, “Thank you, Rich, for everything. This has been an amazing first date.”

And Richie lets go of this hand, puts his arm around Eddie’s shoulders and says, “Anything for you, Eds.”

Before leaving, they make a stop at the gift shop where Richie buys Eddie a Sea Otter stuffy and in return he buys Richie a piranha keychain, on which he excitedly hangs his keys right away.

It’s around five o’clock when they leave. The ride to Eddie’s apartment is quiet, they are both tired after walking around in the sun all day so they just listen to the radio, Richie tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the music and Eddie mouthing the lyrics to the songs he knows.

Once they reach Eddie’s place, they both get out of the car and Richie walks Eddie to the front of the building. There, they both stand awkwardly, waiting for the other to do or say something.

“Do you… Would you like to come upstairs? We could watch a movie or something?” Eddie says without looking at Richie, nervous that maybe he is being too forward.

“I’d love to” Richie answers without thinking but then he remembers about his shift starting in about an hour and frowns, “shit, I can’t though. I have to be at the station by six thirty.”

“Oh, right, some other time then” Eddie deflates a little but tries to hide it behind a smile, Richie wishes he could blow off work and stay, but he can’t and he knows Eds wouldn’t let him anyways.

“You can bet I’ll take you up on that” he says and Eddie’s smile feels more genuine this time.

“I had a lot of fun today, Rich. I know I already said it, but thank you. It was perfect.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Eds, I enjoyed myself too.” And he did, more than he had in a long time.

C’mon Tozier, ask him out again, you both want to, so just do it, he tells himself. But it turns out he doesn’t have to, because then Eddie says, “But next time, no surprises, okay?”

With a raised eyebrow and a smirk, Richie says, “Next time, huh? Did I miss you asking me out on a second date at some point?”

Eddie chuckles, takes a deep breath and looks at Richie straight in the eye, “Richie Tozier, would you like to go out with me again sometime?”

“Why, my dear Eddie Spaghetti, I thought you’d never ask” he says fluttering his eyelashes and putting a hand on his chest in a dramatic gesture, making Eddie laugh. He sobers up and adds “That was a yes, in case you’re wondering.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured.”

They smile at each other and Richie’s eyes drift to Eddie’s mouth and before he can realize what he is doing, he leans forward and catches Eddie’s lips in a kiss. Eddie stays frozen for a millisecond before his brain catches up and then he is kissing back and pulling Richie closer by the lapels of his shirt. Richie goes along and cups Eddie’s face in his hands before deepening the kiss. They both feel like they are flying and Richie can feel Eddie smiling into the kiss and he knows he is too.  

Eventually, they end the kiss but they still don’t let go of each other. When they open their eyes, Eddie starts giggling and Richie would be offended at such reaction if he didn’t look even cuter while this close to his face.

“Are my kissing skills that laughable, Eds?” he asks, which only makes Eddie laugh more.

“No, no, your kissing skills are great, is just, your glasses make your eyes look big all the time but with your face so close to mine they look fucking huge” he says in between giggles.

“Oh, I’ll show you something huge” Richie says waggling his eyebrows suggestively and their faces are still inches apart, so when he does that it makes his eyes look even funnier than before and Eddie bursts out laughing.

“Oh god, I’m going to end up with abs if you keep making me laugh like this.”

“You know that’s only going to make me try even harder to make you laugh, right?”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Make me” Richie answers with a smirk and Eddie looks like he is considering taking him up on that dare but before he can kiss Richie again, someone clears their throat and they both turn and find a girl standing on the stairs in front of Eddie’s building.

“Uh… I’m really sorry to interrupt, but you’re blocking the entrance and I kind of need to go inside” she says sheepishly.

Both boys blush and awkwardly move apart so that she can go inside. Once she is gone, Richie turns to Eddie and says, “So, uh… I guess I’ll leave now.”

“Yeah, I should get inside.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, yeah?”

Eddie nods and just like he did hours ago, steps on his tiptoes and kisses Richie, only this time he kisses his lips instead of his cheek. And just like hours ago, it turns Richie into a flustered mess.

“Goodbye, Rich.”

“Yeah, goodbye, Eds.”

He waits until Eddie is inside and out of sight to start walking back towards his car. He has to resist the urge to pump his fist in the air like the guy from The Breakfast Club at how amazing their first date was.

He gets in the car and as he drives away, he thinks about how bad he has it for for Eddie Kaspbrak, because even though he literally just said goodbye to him after spending an entire day together, he can’t wait to see him again.