#what if richie and eddie got engaged before their first kiss

[tommo-stylinson]

It started out as a joke. 

The Losers were huddled around the coffee table at Ben and Bev’s, digging through the leftover candy from the trick-or-treaters. Richie’s hand had landed on a blue-raspberry flavoured ring pop, hidden at the very bottom of the bowl. He’d taken it out of the package, dropped to one knee, and gave some over-dramatic, half-drunk speech to Eddie, professing his love. Everyone had burst into laughter, Eddie included, but he played along. He’d pulled Richie to his feet, jumping into his arms with enough force to knock Richie into the armchair, and screamed “yes!” as they both fell over. 

A few days later, Richie had walked through the living room, where Eddie was watching tv. There were two girls exchanging vows on the screen in what should have been a heartwarming moment, but Eddie had his nose turned up. “What’s with that face?” Richie had asked, stopping at the arm of the couch. 

Eddie huffed, gesturing wildly to the screen. “Their colours are all wrong! Green and orange? It’s awful!” 

“Oh? So what will the colours be for our wedding, oh, cute fiancé of mine?” Richie teased, pinching Eddie’s cheek as he did. 

“Us? Blue and purple maybe? What do you think?” 

“I think it’s perfect.” 

From then, it seemed to become their new favourite topic of conversation. From deciding what the wedding invitations would look like, to the colour of the chairs, to their entire wedding party. One day Eddie had even come home from work with a dozen cupcakes in hand, all different flavours. When questioned, he simply declared “well, we need to decide on a cake, don’t we?” 

It was a typical Thursday night when the joke came to a halt. The two of them were tucked into the couch, beer and chips on the table, trying (and failing) to answer the Jeopardy questions. The category was islands, the answer, Bora Bora. 

“That’d be a nice spot for the honeymoon, don’t you think?” Richie asked, pulling up a photo of the island on his phone. “Unless you’re the ‘backpack across Europe’ honeymooner.” 

“Planning the honeymoon already?” Eddie teased, wiggling his toes which had squeezed their way under Richie’s thigh sometime during the second episode. “We haven’t even picked a wedding date.”

“You pick,” Richie insisted. “It’s your special day.” 

“It’s your special day too!” Eddie pointed out, shoving at his shoulder. 

“Yes, but I’m just happy marrying my Spaghetti. You’ve already been through one of these. I want this one to be infinitely better,” Richie told him with a wink, his cheeks heating up. Eddie was quiet for a few moments, his eyes trained on the TV as the contestants told Trebek about their lives. Richie followed his gaze, figuring Eddie didn’t have an answer.

“September. The second or third weekend of September.” His voice was quiet, almost unsure. “Wh-what do you think?” 

Richie turned back to him to find him sitting up, his knees bracketing Richie’s body, his face only a few inches away. “Sounds perfect,” Richie told him honestly, his eyes falling to Eddie’s mouth. He swallowed heavily, his heart thundering in his chest. 

Neither of them moved. 

“We should probably find a wedding planner,” Eddie whispered, his mouth turning up slightly. Richie nodded, mirroring his smile, but didn’t say anything back. “I think we’ve figured everything else out.” Eddie’s hand was on his thigh, way too high to be friendly. 

“Are we waiting until marriage?” Richie asked, his brain and heart going a thousand miles per minute. Eddie cocked his eyebrow, pulling back slightly, and let out a soft laugh. 

“We don’t have to,” he whispered, leaning back in, maintaining eye contact that made Richie want to drop his gaze with nerves. He felt a smile spread across his face and he leaned towards Eddie too, tears prickling at his eyes. 

“Thank fuck for that,” Richie whispered Eddie’s breath already in his mouth. He pressed forward the last few centimetres, his hand going to the back of Eddie’s neck, his tongue already pushing past his lips. 

They ended up calling the wedding planner the next afternoon. 

[gas-station-trackphone]

Fic Recs/Mandatory Reading for Reddie fans

Here is an incomplete list of some of my favorite Reddie fics on ao3, because i cannot get over the sheer talent of this fandom’s wonderful writers! A lot of these are the Greatest Hits that you’ll find on almost every fic list, but that’s why I consider them mandatory reading. like if you haven’t read some of these, what are you doing?

the years go by like days by georgiestauffenberg, rated M

the 27 years in between, but better because richie and eddie stay together. every time i think of this fic, i think of that lady gaga meme where she’s like “brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, etc” and maybe it’s bc this is one of the first reddie fics i ever read, but this one is always gonna be my favorite

broken record by spunknbite, rated E

the mother of all time loop fics. every reddie veteran gets chills at the phrase “the house on Neibolt was still standing”

literally everything by stitchy

like seriously just clear a few days bc you’re not gonna want to stop reading this author once you start. no other author has made me literally fucking cackle in one paragraph and sob in the next like this one, pls do yourself a favor and devour all their works like i did 

the night we met (take me back) by camerasparring, rated E

ch2 fix-it where eddie shows up at richie’s door alive and with no memory. great slow burn with a wonderfully conflicted richie, 10/10

let’s hear it for my baby! series by cloudings, rated E

OOOOOOOHHH boy! a modern teen!reddie grindr AU that’s both steamy AND sweet?? more like a fucking blessing amen hallelujah

a heart that laughter has made sweet by marjaani, rated E

another lovely teen!reddie fic that’s got it all! sweet, stupid boys, humor, a teeny bit of angst, and some 5-alarm fire smut with some top eddie, as a treat

keep talking. i’ll keep walking toward the sound of your voice. by theappleppielifestyle, rated T

angst with a happy ending is my favorite, and this one is just fantastic. so sweet, so sad! and stan is featured as eddie’s afterlife buddy and idk about y’all but i cannot get enough of stanley uris in my reddie fics. read this, then read all this author’s reddie fics, they’re all amazing

collateral by loosecannon, sheepknitssweater, rated E

a post-ch2 fic that i guess could be classified as fix-it, BUT with some very interesting twists. they beat the clown, everyone lives, but no one really gets the tropey happy ending. the WIP sequel is also incredible and i live for the updates.

the greater fool  series by mischiefmanager, mostly rated T with some E

this is a series i’ll reread a lot bc it’s so fucking good. follows young reddie into early adulthood, mostly a bunch of cute shit where they figure out themselves and their relationship. also contains the single best teen reddie fic in existence, he came in through the window, but reading the whole series is a must

brokeback derry and everything else by Amuly, rated E

27 years in between, richie and eddie reconnect in their 20s and meet back up in derry twice a year to remember and love each other before going back to their lives and forgetting. so much pain. there’s a lot of sweet stuff in there, but you can see shit’s gonna get complicated from miles away and the anticipation almost gave me stomach ulcers (in a good way). ultimate angst with a happy ending.

let me name the stars for you by playedwright, rated M

speaking of angst with a happy ending...Martian AU!!!!! this one fucked me up in the best way, i literally called my roommate at 2am to vent to her about my emotions after reading it. i go back and reread chapter 8 just to be overwhelmed by it, and it makes me cry every time. plus, there are awesome sequels/companion pieces in the series! read this, i beg you!

walk through fire for you by hyruling, rated T

unwind after all that angst with some cute, drunk, confused eddie being very upset when he finds out richie is engaged. richie only teases him a little before pointing out the matching ring on eddie’s finger. 

in the heat of the summer (you're so different from the rest) by kaboomslang, rated E

post-ch2 slow burn with tags that really say it all, including but not limited to: eddie moves to california and richie is a mess, Eddie Kaspbrak’s Hot Girl Summer, and cute middle aged man dates

pivotal moments by danfanciesphil, polypocket, rated E

high school reddie has a sort of fwb thing goin on, but emotions get in the way. featuring wonderful bevchie friendship, hella miscommunication, cute double dates, high eddie, and a happy ending

like a bullet in the back by jerry_duty, rated M

adult idiots in love! a personal favorite trope of mine! slow burn with a fair helping of angst but a really great ending. richie stays with eddie in new york while he’s there on business, and it takes these losers SO LONG to figure it out but the way they dance around it is very cute

no sense of living without aim [WIP] by liesmyth, rated E

richie and eddie meet on grindr in the 27 years between and hey, whadda ya know, they fall in love! i really love this fic but i’m pretty sure it’s been abandoned. i’ve had it open on my phone browser for like 3 months with no update but i still check it regularly bc i’m pathetic and this fic is just so good i’m DYING to know what happens next so read at ur own risk

a strange sense of familiarity [WIP] by Katranga, rated E

another “they meet and fall in love without remembering” fic, and even though it’s not complete yet, it gets regular updates. oh, also, i’m obsessed with it. they’re long distance fuck buddies who can’t admit they’re in love, and then they get hit with the childhood memories! and everyone lives! what’s not to love!  also PLEASE read kisses take like mint and every other reddie work by this author, they are all fantastic

adult friends by sudowoodo, rated T

AU where adult reddie meet at a first aid seminar for work (immediately fall in love), become friends, become best friends, and finally get to be happy. has some super repressed eddie and intensely pining richie, which is always fun, and genuinely made me laugh out loud. also please check out this author’s other reddie fics, there’s some super sweet kid reddie in there that really warms the heart

the mind's a funny fruit by joldiego, rated T

eddie wakes up barely alive in derry, has 0 memory, calls himself richie, and moves in with some lesbians. an absolute must read that ought to be on every reddie fic rec compilation. i read this a long time ago and just thinking about it makes me want to read it again.

now what i'm gonna say may sound indelicate [WIP] by IfItHollers, rated E

it took me entirely too long to find this fic since i joined the fandom, and it’s truly a fucking masterpiece. it’s almost at 200k now and still unfinished, and the slow burn is excruciating, but this is a legendary fic for a reason. eddie spends the first chunk of this fic in the hospital recovering from the massive chest wound, and then he and richie move the recovery to ben’s cabin in the woods. the author’s notes for each chapter are a story in themselves

signs of a new lifetime by swordfishtrombones, rated T

one of the sweetest, most romantic reddie fics i’ve ever read. a fresh take on a classic concept: post-ch2, they’re in love, they haven’t said/done anything about it yet, BUT!!! it’s not angsty! they are all cute and giggly like “you say it first!” “no, you say it first!” and it makes me fucking MELT

broadcasting tower by swordfishtrombones, rated E

back-to-back recs from the same author! bc i love these fics so much! sort of similar to the last one in that they both know what’s up and just haven’t said it, but this one’s got the angst! i didn’t know when i read it that it was the same author as the other fic, and i thought how funny, i found another reddie author that perfectly captures this pair in such a wonderfully romantic way! i also just noticed there’s a follow up to this so now i have to go read that immediately

eurydice; the original comeback kid by Vulcanodon, rated M

for the love of god please read this and the other work in this series. it’s a ch-2 fix-it with some intense action sequences and major pining, and it has haunted me since i first read it

love on the telephone by tempestbreak, rated E

okay this one is really just 30k of pure smut but it’s also so sweet and features a mini sexual awakening for eddie and some insecure richie with an emphasis on how much they love and trust each other. also it doesn’t hurt that the smut is fire, like does anyone else want that twink obliterated, or is it just me?

the boy who loves you by candlejill, rated E

eddie lives, richie confesses, things are chill and then they’re not. richie’s career flourishes, which is always nice to read and is what ultimately catalyzes eddie’s gay awakening and realization of his love for richie. it’s got some sad angsty parts and a very sweet ending, and it up there as one of my favorite reddie fics of all time

richie and eddie break up [WIP] by skeilig, rated M

a refreshing and realistic take on life ch-2 for the losers, because being in love at thirteen doesn’t mean you can fall into a perfect relationship at 40. i’ll admit, i’m hoping this will ultimately be a “richie and eddie get back together” fic, but it’s still a very good read (and often very funny in the second chapter) at the moment in the midst of their break up

september 1989 and everything else by pineapplecrushface, rated T

cute kid reddie figuring it out and making me smile. the follow up to this and the after derry series by this author are also personal favorites

go west by ssstrychnine, rated T

road trip fic! an absolute work of art slow burn with teen reddie in the 90s. it’s so beautifully written i just wish i could go back and read it for the first time again

the edification of eddie kaspbrak by tozier, rated M

character study with some incredible fucking prose, my lord it gorgeous. explores how eddie learns about love as he grows up, and it’s super fucking sad sometimes bc the poor boy doesn’t know how to have the things he wants and i just want to give him a hug, but it’s really a spectacular fic

circular motion by sinchronicity, rated M

soulmate!AU that follows book canon and even though it’s been a long time since i’ve read it and the details are fuzzy, i remember absolutely loving it and thinking it was incredible

tell me you know by RichiesToesHurt, rated E

college losers with some severely pining and jealous richie with a lovely ending 

predicament bondage [WIP] by dgalerab, rated E

i resisted reading this fic for so long, recently broke and binged all of it, and now i’m like frothing at the mouth for updates. richie’s a closeted actor/comedian who meets eddie, a professional Dom, when he needs help researching a role. they become friends, they develop crushes, richie realizes he’s a sub, and it’s just so much fun to read

there’s a lot more fics to rec so i might add on to this in the future, but in the meantime my biggest tip for for reading fanfiction that took me embarrassingly long to figure out: focus on the authors! if you read something you like, check out the rest of the work by that author bc odds are you’ll like that too. i mentioned it in a few specific works above, but check out the authors catalogues for these fics. if i included every work by these authors that i loved, this list would be miles long

feel free to add on any great stuff i missed, there’s sure to be tons of it!

[toyboy-molloy]

reddie but eddie drunk calls richie at two am

“Rich? Richie, listen *hic* I gotta tell you something! No- fuck off, Bill! I know what I’m doing! Richie, I love you. I-I should’ve said, why didn’t I say? I dunno, if I’m too late. But I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. you’re it for me and I’ll *hic* I don’t wanna get married. I don’t wanna get married, Rich-”

The message cut off and Richie stared at his phone screen for a few moments. too tired to do anything other than blink in bleary-eyed confusion. He remembered Eddie saying something about going out for a few drinks with Bill. Clearly, he was having a good time. Richie tossed his phone aside and fell back into his pillow, deciding to deal with all that in the morning.

Sure enough, Richie found Eddie passed out on the couch with his coat draped over him and a bottle of water on the floor beside him. He smiled fondly at the sight before setting about making the Eddie Kaspbrak Hangover Breakfast; Richie had only had to prepare it twice before in his life. The first being when they were eighteen and Richie had persuaded Eddie to try alcohol for the first time. The second time was after Ben and Beverly’s wedding reception.

The smells Richie’s fried food and Eddie’s ridiculously healthy breakfast combined was finally enough to rouse the hungover risk analyst. He groaned, slowly sitting himself up and Richie set a cup of coffee beside him on the table.

“What time is it?” Eddie grumbled, gratefully sipping the coffee as if it was the tastiest cup he’d ever had.

“Nearly eleven,” Richie saw the flash of panic in Eddie’s eyes. He never slept in so late, even if he had the day off. He shrugged, plating up Eddie’s breakfast, you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Thanks,” Eddie replied sarcastically, dragging a hand down his face. He pulled himself to his feet, joining Richie at the kitchen table. Richie was watching him, as if waiting for him to say something. Eddie frowned, grabbing several napkins, “what?”

“You called me last night,” he could barely keep the amusement from his tone as Eddie visibly tensed, looking everywhere but at Richie, “you said you didn’t want to get married. Was that true?”

Eddie didn’t say anything for a good minute, choosing instead to munch his toast almost thoughtfully. Eventually, he gave a small shrug, “I don’t know. I just had too much to drink.”

"So you don’t want to marry me anymore?”

“What?” It took Eddie’s hungover brain a little while to catch up with what Richie was saying. He could almost see the cogs whirring in his brain, trying to remember if he actually was engaged to the trashmouth. When he finally caught up, Eddie’s eyes widened, “oh my God.”

Richie, however, was really enjoying himself. He placed a hand over his heart, feigning hurt, “you actually got so drunk you forgot we’re engaged? Eduardo, how could you? I’m wounded. Although, I’m flattered you want to leave me for me.”

“I hate you,” Eddie muttered, placing his plate in the sink before slipping into Richie’s lap. He draped his arms around his shoulders, playing with Richie’s hair, “what else did I say?”

“That you love me,” Richie said, holding Eddie around the waist and gazing up at him as if he was everything. He is everything. And soon they’ll be married. He kissed Eddie’s collarbone, “five times.”

Eddie chuckled, “I must have been drunk.”

“Oh, yeah. You were. It was super cute,” Richie smiled, nonchalantly adding, “it’ll be, um, nice to hear it sober, though.”

“I love you,” Eddie mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to Richie’s forehead, “I love you,” he removed Richie’s glasses and placed them on the table, leaning in to give him a proper kiss, “I love you, I love you, I. Love. You,” he punctuated each word with a kiss to Richie’s skin, leading him towards the bathroom. Even though he was more or less blind without his glasses, Richie gazed adoringly at his fiance.

“I can’t wait to be married to you, Eds.”

Eddie smiled, helping Richie to undress and guiding him into the shower. They kissed under the warm spray of water and rested their foreheads together, “me, too, Rich. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

[mishasminion360]

We’ll All Float On

An It: Chapter 2 epilogue

Warning: Language; mentions of trauma and therapy; coming out of the closet; angst; fluff. You know what? Everything. It’s got everything.

A/N: I wrote this ages ago immediately after seeing the movie, but I’m just getting around to typing it up and posting it. The remaining members of the Losers Club deserve all the happinesses life can dish out. And in this house we ship Reddie!

Derry, Maine, 2017

Maybe coming back there wasn’t the best idea. After all, the last time they’d all gathered at that particular restaurant it had been a disaster, a God damned nightmare, and Mike had sworn to himself that he’d never eat Chinese food again. But as he gazed into the bubbling waters of the aquarium (this time tranquil and free of severed heads), his worries began to subside. And when the second of the Losers finally arrived his fears vanished completely.

“Jesus, isn’t there anywhere else to eat in this town?” Mike turned to see Bill Denbrough sling his jacket over the back of a chair and offering him a wide grin.

“Man, you grew up here, too, Bill. You should know that the answer to that question is a resounding ‘no’.”

The two men embraced with a hearty laugh, things already felt so much different than before.

***

Beverly gazed up at the glowing neon of the Jade of the Orient as Ben wrapped an arm tenderly around her waist.

“How does it feel to be back, Mr. Hanscom?” Bev asked, leaning into him.

“A lot better now that I’m not saddled with this overwhelming sense of dread weighing on my chest.”

Beverly circled both of her arms around Ben’s muscular torso which 28 years ago had not been so muscular. “Well, now the only thing resting on your chest is me.”

She hoisted herself up on her toes to lock her lips with his and Ben smiled into the kiss. “Easy now, Mrs. Hanscom,” he murmured. “Time and place. Time and place.”

“Get a room you two, before I lose my appetite.”

The lovebirds extricated themselves from each other’s arms to gape at the bespectacled man who’d approached them.

“Seriously, how the fuck is it that the two of you look even better than you did last year? And what the fuck am I doing wrong?”

“Beep beep, Richie!!!” Ben and Beverly cheered in unison as the pulled good ol’ Trashmouth Tozier into a bear hug.

“All right you two, lay off,” Richie laughed as he shrugged his way out of their embrace. “Don’t touch me, you don’t know where I’ve been.”

The three linked arms and strode to the front door of the restaurant like Dorothy, Scarecrow and the Tin Man sauntering down the yellow brick road.

“Alrighty, fellas,” Bev said, never afraid to take the lead. “Let’s do this thing.”

***

“Hello and welcome! How many in your…oh.”

The hostess trailed off as she took in the trip before her. Oh, she remembered these three, and the rest of their strange little gang as well. The last time the six of them had dined there they’d nearly destroyed their finest dining room. She didn’t need to open up a fortune cookie to know she’d be cleaning up more shattered dishes and splintered furniture that night.

“Right this way,” she said, clearing her throat. “The rest of your party is expecting you.”

Volleying quips and sharing in quiet giggles, Bev, Ben, and Richie followed the hostess as she procured their utensils and menus and led them to their seats.

“Where is your sick friend? The small man who is allergic to everything? I don’t believe he’s arrived yet.”

The trio immediately fell silent. She’d been referring, of course, to Eddie Kaspbrak. Bev would had to have been blind not to notice Richie’s face fall and his body sag with an unspoken sadness at the mere mention of their late friend. Reaching behind her without looking, she grasped Richie’s hand tightly in her own and her stiff shoulders relaxed when she felt him squeeze back in thanks.

“He’s, um,” Ben paused as a he searched for the right words. “He’s one of the reasons we’re here tonight.”

***

Mike and Bill were already engaged in an animated discussion about something or other and hadn’t even noticed the others approach. Ben gazed wistfully at the joyful pair, admiring their exuberance and allowing it to overtake him as well before removing the padded mallet from its place and offering it to Richie. “Care to do the honors?”

Bill and Mike’s conversation was abruptly silenced by the thunderous echo of a gong and Richie’s announcement.

“This meeting of the Losers Club has officially begun.”

And just like that all of the pieces fell into place. The little family was whole, as it would ever be, once more.

***

“Shit, Mike, you actually went to Florida?” Richie guffawed before taking a pull from his beer.

“Mm-hm,” he responded through a mouthful of lo mein.

“Fuck, why?”

“It’s like I told you when we were kids. It’s just a place I’d always wanted to see. Now I’ve seen it.

“And?”

The other five eyed Mike in anticipation of an exciting story, but he merely shrugged. “It’s about as magical as you’d expect.”

“Yeah, I told you you’d hate it,” Richie snickered.

“It wasn’t all bad. I did meet a nice gal in Jacksonville.” This was met with a chorus of juvenile “oohs” and a salacious whistle from Bill.

“What was she, like, 70?”

“Don’t be such a smart ass, Rich,” Mike chided, waiting until Richie once again had his lips poised at the edge of his glass of booze before finishing his sentence. “She was 80.”

The gang hooted as Trashmouth Tozier choked on his beverage. Bill clapped his coughing friend firmly on his back before lifting his own glass.

“If Richie here can keep it down, I’d like to propose a toast.” The others followed suit and hoisted their drinks in the air. “To those we lost. To Stan and Eddie.”

They smiled they’d all been wearing throughout the evening finally began to falter as silence engulfed the room. After a moment of quiet hesitation, Bev tapped her glass against Bill’s.

“To Stan,” she said with a grin that took all of her strength to muster.

“To Stan,” they all repeated before clinking glasses and taking a swig.

“To Eddie,” Ben cheered, and the others parroted with a little more pep. All but one.

“Rich? You okay, man?” Bill turned to his left to see the usually boisterous comedian staring stoically into his half poised glass, his brow furrowed in concentration as if he was searching the bottom of his beer for something he’d never be able to find.

“To Eddie,” he whispered at last, clinking his glass against all the others.

***

Though Florida had been a bit of a dud, Mike did find happiness traversing other states, even other countries. Thanks to a little help from Bev’s keen eye, Ben had just designed, and would be supervising construction for, a swanky new chain of hotels. Richie’s third Netflix special would be available to stream by the end of the week. Bill’s latest book had just been nominated for an award and talks had already begun regarding a big screen adaptation. And all that good news coincided with the birth of his first child, a son named Georgie.

It certainly seemed that none of them could be considered losers anymore.

***

Another blanket of uncomfortable silence settled upon them as the waitress plopped the plate of fortune cookies in the center of the table.

“Enjoy,” she chirped before adding in a whisper, “and my boss has insisted that I ask you lot to please refrain from destroying any furniture this time.” To that end she left them to partake in their potentially hazardous desert, and the group eyed the plate of novelty snacks with trepidation.

“Okay, who wants to be the first to crack one of these suckers open?” Richie asked. “By the way, not it.”

After another moment or two of hesitation, Mike finally reached for the plate. “I got you all into this mess last time, so I might as well start making up for it. Since Eddie can’t be with us, I’ll be this evening’s designated risk analyst.”

He cracked a cookie in two and, popping one half inside his mouth and discarding the other on the table, withdrew the small slip of paper.

No blood, no milky eyeballs, no critters from another hellscape of a world. The only thing inside these cookies were fortunes. Mike read his without a sound, and he could feel the others watching him intently.

“If that fucking thing says ‘guess’ or ‘Stanley’ or ‘could’ or ‘not’ or ‘cut’ or ‘it’, I swear to God I’m fucking gone.” Richie laughed but failed to hide his growing unease.

Mike grinned as he read the fortune again, this time out loud. “‘The world is big, but time is short.’”

“Well that’s much less terrifying,” Bill sighed. “I’ll take that as a cue to dig in.”

Bill devoured the cookie and then vocalized his fortune. “‘The ending is the most integral part of the journey’.”

“Would you look at that,” Richie guffawed, clapping Bill on the shoulder. “Even a shitty cookie has offer it’s two cents about your lousy endings.”

“Fuck you, Trashmouth. My last two novels have ended quite nicely, thank you very much. Just ask my Booker Prize nomination.”

“I’d rather ask the award itself when you win it.”

Bill rolled the slip of paper into a minuscule ball and flicked it aside. “If I win it.”

Richie shook his head. “When.”

Bill patted Richie’s hand as a sign of thanks. “You know, I’ve actually been thinking about taking a step back from all the doom and gloom thriller stuff to take a swing at writing children’s books.”

“You’re kidding!” Bev exclaimed with a bark of laughter.

“I’m serious. I kind of thought it would be a good way for Georgie and I to bond. I write a story, then we read it together. You know?”

Ben leaned back in his chair and snapped his cookie in half. “Bill that’s…wow. That’s quite a change. Good for you, man.”

“What does yours say, honey? Bev asked, eyeing the slip of paper between her husband’s fingers.

“Yeah, honey. What’s it say?” Richie leaned toward the two of them, batting his eyelashes dramatically and resting his chin in his hands as the pair flipped him off at the same time.

“It says ‘he who builds the dreams of others should not neglect his own’.”

“Well, that’s oddly specific,” Richie said matter-of-factly. “You know, because you’re an architect? You build things….yeah, I’ll shut up now.”

“First time for everything,” Ben grinned.

“I want to read mine next,” Bev chimed in, holding the small piece of paper primly between her fingers. “It says ‘the smallest changes make the biggest difference’.”

Mike rubbed his chin in thought, nodding his approval at the depth of Bev’s fortune. “Anyone want to wager a guess as to what it means?”

Richie snapped his fingers as his eyes lit up. “Well, by jove, I think I’ve got it, gents,” he exclaimed in an overblown, piss poor excuse for a British accent they hadn’t heard him use since they were kids. “I do believe it means that if our dear friend William here could slightly alter his crummy endings, some of his books might actually make for a halfway decent read.”

Bill glared at his wisecracking friend. “Tozier, if you make fun of my writing one more time, I swear to God-“

“Don’t blame me, man. It’s the cookies that have it out for you!”

“I don’t think it has anything to do with Bill’s books, Rich,” Ben smiled just as Bill smacked Richie in the back of his head.

“I think it means that something small can have a huge impact on your life,” Bev clarified. She scanned the faces of her companions to see if any were catching her drift.

“What, like, a new haircut?”

“Or a baby, Richie.” Ben’s eyes twinkled when he grinned.

“Right. Or like-wait, what?”

“Bev that’s….are you really….?” Mike stammered happily.

“Three weeks along,” she confirmed proudly. “You guys didn’t think it was a little weird that I’ve been drinking water this entire evening?”

Bill leapt from his chair and threw his arms around the expectant couple. “Ben! Bev! This is amazing news! Congratulations!”

“Yeah, congrats you two crazy kids,” Richie added before Mike inquired if they’d been considering names yet.

Bev leaned into her husband affectionately. “Well, of it’s a girl, Ben has graciously agreed to name her after my mother, Elfrida. We’d call her Frida for short.”

“Beautiful choice, Bev,” Mike praised, taising his glass and taking a celebratory sip. “And if it’s a boy?”

The Hanscom’s looked silently, almost nervously at each other before answering, some sort of unspoken agreement passing between the two of them as the rest of the Losers looked on.

“If it’s a boy,” Ben finally said, releasing a breath he hadn’t realized he’d even been holding, “we’d like to name him Eddie. Edward Stanley Hanscom.”

Richie instantly felt a lump form in his throat, and he had to cast his eyes downward to ensure that no one could see the pain that burned behind them. He chewed his lip quietly as he struggled to reel his unraveling emotions back in. When he looked back up his eyes immediately found Beverly’s. She searched his face silently. Hopefully.

“He would have loved that,” Richie finally croaked. “They both would have.”

Mike and Bill were too choked up to speak, so they just adamantly nodded their agreement.

“Alright, I think I’ve had about as much sentimentality as I can take for one evening.” Ben turned to Richie and tossed him a fortune cookie. “Come on, funny man, make me laugh. What does yours say?”

Richie made a big manly show of crushing the cookie in his hand before extricating the fortune from the rubble of the snack, and as he read it to himself his face blanched.

“Oh, this should be good,” Mike snickered, noticing Richie’s sudden discomfort. “Don’t keep us in suspense, Rich.”

He felt a wave of nausea overtake him as he read and re-read the small segment of paper. The clown was dead, he knew that, but this fortune felt like another of his cruel tricks. Richie felt as if he were being mocked all over again.

Love doesn’t come only once.

“Rich?” Beverly asked softly, her gentle voice cutting through the harsh buzz of white noise in his ears. Nuh-uh. No way in hell was he reading this shit out loud. He didn’t have the stomach to explain it to them. Not yet. Not like this.

“I, uh, I guess my new special’s gonna bomb,” he coughed. “It says ‘a career change can set you on your true path’.”

The others eyed him skeptically and he feared they’d seen through his fib when Ben at last said, “it’s probably for the best, Rich. You’re not that funny anyway.”

Richie mouthed a silent “fuck you” and the tension dissolved into laughter.

***

The first to arrive, the leave. Mike stood and slipped his jacket from the back of the chair, shrugging into it as he said, “I don’t know about you folks, but jet lag and alcohol do not seem to be mixing well for me. Any of you care to continue the conversation back at the townhouse?”

“You read my mind,” Bill said, polishing off the dregs of his third beer before following Mike’s lead.

“Me, Ben, and the Lima bean here,” Bev said with a Pat of her stomach, “would be more than happy to take you up on that offer.”

“I’ll handle the check,” Bill said, already removing his wallet from his back pocket.

“Slow your roll there, Stephen King,” Ben said, reaching for his own wallet. “I’ve got this one. Really.”

“Let’s at least split it. I don’t feel right about you taking the whole thing.”

“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty,” Bev interjected. “I’ll pay it myself if it keeps this from turning into an all night debate.”

Bill turned to Richie, who hadn’t moved an inch. “Well, maybe mr. big shot comedian here would like to contribute.”

Richie still made not a move to stand. He simply sat and stared at the collection of dirty dishes littering the table, gazing so intently that he could potentially shatter one of the plates with a single thought.

“Yo, earth to Trashmouth. You okay, man?”

Richie licked his lips nervously; his mouth had gone inexplicably dry and he struggled to dislodge his voice from his throat.

“I’m not ready to, uh….guys we can’t leave yet.”

The tone had shifted once again and a far sense of dread took hold of each of the Losers. Bill tried to laugh through the unease. “You planning on spending the night here, Richie?”

“You guys, I came here tonight to say something and, God dammit, I’m gonna say it! I just need…just give me a sec.”

Richie Tozier spent so much of his time joking around that the rest of the gang often forget that he was even capable of being serious. He felt sadness and fear just like the rest of them, and it was clear at that moment that he was scared to death.

He was gripping the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles paled. Beverly slid into the chair next to him and took one of his hands in her own. He was shaking terribly.

“Richie, what’s wrong?”

For what was probably the first time in his life, Richie couldn’t bring himself to start talking. Tell them, Tozier, he commanded himself. Just tell them. They’re your friends, man. They deserve the truth. You owe it to them, and to yourself. To Stan. To…Eddie.

“Sweetie, you’re scaring us,” Bev whispered. “Talk to us, Richie.”

“I’ve been seeing a therapist,” he finally blurted, the words tumbling out with the gust of a breath.

The others glanced from one another, unsure of how to respond, until Mike placed a comforting hand on Richie’s shoulder.

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of, Rich. Shit, after everything we went through last year…” He trailed off as Richie shook his head fiercely, eyes screwed shut.

“I’m…um, I’m….gay.”

And just like that it was out. His “dirty little secret”. His painful truth laid bared before him for his friends, for the world to see.

“I’ve been having a really hard time accepting myself and….and processing all of these feelings. Especially after….after Eddie….” The rest of the words died on his tongue. He couldn’t bare to finish the sentence. It had been a year since he’d lost the only man he’d ever loved, but with each passing day the wound reopened. The pain was always fresh.

“Oh, Rich,” Bev cooed. She stroked his hair and pulled him close, already a loving mother in the making. “We know, honey.”

“You….what?”

“Richie, we know,” Bill confirmed. “We’ve always known, man.”

Richie could hardly believe his ears. Was it even possible for someone to be in so much pain but still find it possible to smile?

“Why the fuck didn’t any of you ever say anything?”

Ben slipped an arm around Bev’s shoulders and placed one of his strong but gentle hands over Richie’s. “Because we didn’t care, Rich. Who you loved didn’t matter to us. Because we loved you.”

“We still do. We’re your friends, Trashmouth,” Mike added. “We figured that, someday, you’d tell us when you were good and ready.”

Richie snatched his glasses from his face to rub his eyes as his vision went blurry. “I would have told you all a lot sooner, I think. But then we all left and….and we forgot. I forgot.”

Beverly laid her head against Richie’s shoulder. His trembling had only grown worse.

“Do you think….do you think that Eddie knew?”

“Eddie’s death hit us all pretty hard, Richie, but we could see how deeply it hurt you. Much more than any of us. We understand why now,” Bev soothed. “We all know how much you loved him, and we’re just so sorry that you’ve had to deal with all these feelings by yourself.”

He didn’t want to cry in front of them. Not again. But Richie had never been a good fighter, so the tears eventually won. Just like that day in the quarry one year ago, his friends held him as his body convulsed with harsh wracking sobs.

***

After his good healthy cry, Richie excused himself and snuck off the pay the check before either Bill or Ben had the chance to protest.

“So, I think Richie is definitely going to need another drink. How about I go grab a couple six packs and then meet you all back at the townhouse?” Bill offered.

The gang nodded their agreement as they all began filing out of the dining room and toward the front door. Suddenly, Richie came barreling past them back to the table.

“OhShitOhShitOhShitOhShit,” he chorused as he frantically snatched up as many napkins as he could that hadn’t already been soiled.

“What happened?” Ben inquired, quirking one perfect brow.

“I bumped into a guy at the register.”

“A guy?” asked Bev. “Someone you know?”

“Nope,” Richie responded, clutching two fistfuls of napkins. “And I literally bumped into him. Now he’s wearing his takeout as a suit.”

Richie rushed past them all again in a mad rush to clean up the mess he’d made.

Mike rolled his eyes. “Looks like Trashmouth has got quite a way with the fellas, doesn’t he?”

***

Cozy in the townhouse, they laughed some more, drank some more, and reminisced some more. They listened intently as Bill read aloud some of the rough passages he’d scribbled out for Georgie’s book. They helped Mike chart a course for his next adventure: a traditional backpacking trip across Europe. Richie offered to tag along if they could make a pit stop in Amsterdam for some weed.

As for Richie, the happily married Losers offered him some helpful advice for his next encounter with Don, whose number he’d been rewarded with after mopping up his spilled sweet and sour chicken. The very Don he’d promised himself to call when he returned home and felt good and ready to make a move. And Richie was starting to feel that “ready” may actually come sooner rather than later.

And as the week long visit neared it’s end, as their time together came to a close, the five collectively came to the realization that they were far from the losers that Derry had shaped them to be. But then again they never did feel like losers when they were all together.

[therosevest]

the promise (ch. 1)

a/n: hi yes i wrote for the clown gays like a year ago and im deciding to post this now sjdghfg pls be kind

pair: richie tozier/eddie kaspbrak

word count: 8.5k

warnings: swearing, blood ment, homophobic slurs, abuse mentions, psychological trickery, richie’s parents start out a lil absent but they get better i promise

excerpt:   “You’re gonna miss curfew, Rich,” Eddie mumbles, leaning out the window on his elbows. And Richie hears it: you’re alone, you know what could happen. Stay safe.

“I’m not afraid, Eds.” He means it. Richie can’t draw up what fear even feels like right then. With a flick of an eyebrow, he nods toward the door. “Mother is waiting.” 

“I know.”

read on ao3

 No, it’s not that Richie is gay. It’s not like he daydreams about taking it up the ass all fucking day.

 Henry Bowers and his dipshit crew might have a different opinion, but they can honestly, truly suck his dick (in the non-homo way - he has taste). The fact that they took joy in throwing him and his friends around, calling them names, and threatening their whole lives never mattered before; the losers took care of each other, and most of the time it was easy to forget about those other assholes.

 Being called four-eyes when he needed glasses in the second grade never got to him that bad - they were saving him from having to see their ugly faces when they knocked them off, so really, he should have thanked them - and he didn’t care when they shoved him around for being short before his growth spurt, and it didn’t even bother him that much when they mocked his totally refined voices. He knew his own talent, and what he could do with it if he could just focus.

 But the first time they singled him out as the fag of the group, well, it stung.

 He never told the others about that day. He never told them how long he cried, how broken he felt sobbing on that park bench. He never worked up the nerve to tell them why he couldn’t face Paul Bunyan anymore, no, he simply breezed past without lifting his eyes, without missing a beat of conversation.

 At least it got easier with time.

 All things considered, his home life isn’t terrible.

 Richie has his own room, a roof, and usually a decently-stocked fridge. Enough to get by.

 He’s left alone a lot. His parents are always at work, and when they’re not, they take on the personalities of monotonous robots sitting in front of the TV, so he spends a lot of time skimming through comics or jacking off when he’s not running around with his friends.

 But, that’s just the thing. Somehow, Richie, life of every conversation, King of Comedy, Trashmouth, funny-man Tozier, was born to the most boring people of all time. They never engage with his jokes; on a good day, he receives a breezy, “That’s nice, sweetie,” from his mom, or, “Okay, that’s enough, son,” from his dad. Blank stares. Pasty, purple-tinted white eyes. Never a hug, never much past a ‘goodnight.’ Not even a simple, “How was school?” when they got home.

 Richie vividly remembers the day that he bounced in his seat at the end-of-the-year ceremony at school, a bustling bundle of nerves prepared to brag and boast to his parents about his awards in science and, surprisingly (his teacher hated him) English - he took to the dramatics of Shakespeare quite well. He practiced his entrance to them several times over in his head, perhaps overly, unconvincingly modest or Shakespeare wants what I have. Anything to get a laugh. A ruffle of his hair from his dad. A forehead kiss from his mom, like when he was little.

 They didn’t show. He still doesn’t know where he went wrong.

 In a stark, bubbling contrast to his parents, there’s this kid in his group of friends. He remembers one of the first times they met, the boy approaching him, all sweet apple-cheeked and neat polo and ironed khaki shorts; Richie had flicked an eyebrow upward, a not-so-subtle really?, because he never figured that clean-freak Eddie Kaspbrak would be able to handle more than three seconds in Trashmouth Tozier’s presence.

 But boy, was he a lot of fun.

 Eddie was loud and super easily wound-up, screaming about fucking UTIs and do not fucking push me man all the piss on the walls of this city could fill the lake and despite his good-boy appearance, he shot back with just as much fire as Richie threw at him.

 And fuck, Richie loves it. He loves the ease with which they bounce back and forth. He loves the fury in the boy’s eyes when Richie pisses him off, the laughter that always comes about between them once they settle. The crossing arms and pouting Eddie, who he theorizes secretly loves it when Richie calls him pet names (not that he’d ever admit it); the loud and greatly-gesticulating Eddie who yells louder and pushes harder when Richie coos at him; the one who quietly accepts Richie’s affection, and offers it back in subtle ways: simply holding Richie’s arm when he slings his arms around Eddie’s neck from behind, allowing him to sit next to him thigh-to-thigh, and overall not completely cringing and pushing him off. He took it as a compliment, though they’d never mention it out loud.

 On an unfortunate night, his comfortable little world comes crashing down.

 His parents are out for some sort of conference weekend trip or whatever, and they’ve called in his deadbeat uncle to ‘watch over the house.’ Not necessarily him (probably because he isn’t home that much), but the house obviously can’t stand up by itself—and, well, maybe they didn’t trust Richie to not accidentally leave the door open, or leave the stove on, or some other stupidly irresponsible little thing. So, the crusty old guy shows up with his greasy, oiled hair and his lack of deodorant and his wilting knees. It makes Richie miss Eddie so, so much when they part, because a.) he smells a lot better, and b.) it would be fucking hilarious for him to see what Richie has to put up with. Like, he’s really not the most rodent-like of his family.

 Anyway, Richie doesn’t remember what he says. Something slightly instigative, about the lack of any gourmet-level food in the house (he claimed calmly while wasting away on microwave tater tots and bread, even though his parents had left behind plenty of money to keep him alive), and then suddenly hands were on him.

 It stings like a bitch.

 His uncle gets up, with a quiet mumble that Richie makes out to be, “Well, let’s see…” and when he finally gets in the kitchen, facing Richie with eyes rung red and shaking fists, he grabs his nephew by a fistful of t-shirt and shoves him against the counter.

 At that moment, he really wants his mom. Why the fuck did she and dad leave him with this guy?

 “I don’t see you fucking working, or doing much of anything around here, kiddo.”

 “Funny, I was gonna say the same to you.”

 A blow to his mouth. Richie resists the urge to lift trembling fingers to the spot that he can feel swelling.

 “Don’t talk to me like that, asshole! You think you’re so fucking funny, huh?” His uncle drags him forward and shoves him back with conviction, and this time Richie doesn’t answer.

 He should have known to stay quiet when he saw his uncle drinking and smoking incessantly in the house, even though his mother had requested that he stay outside for that. It must have been a rough day at the bar, or wherever the fuck he spent his time.

 “You need to learn when to be quiet, dipshit. Have some fucking respect.”

 For the guy who ignored him for years, didn’t stay in touch, and wasted his existence away on the couch.

 Right.

 But Richie is snapped from his indignant, grounding thoughts when his uncle lowers his voice. “Do I make myself clear?”

 Richie frowns in his face, utterly confused from the swell of attention, still limply holding a bag of bread in his left hand.

 “Do I make myself clear?”

 “Y-yes sir.”

 The wretched man makes a point to push him into the corner of the cupboards with such a force that he collapses to his knees and can just feel the bruises forming. And he sits there for a minute, all sorts of betrayal and anger and sadness suffocating him.

 But he stands up.

 And with stinging eyes, a stuffy nose, and shaking hands, he makes himself a simple peanut butter sandwich.

 And he stays upstairs for the remainder of the night

 It’s a warm, soothing day outside; the sun glows and birds are chirping like some kind of fucking cartoon. In the tall grass the losers sit in frogs croak and crickets chirp and they make a mess of themselves in the circle they form.

 “Damn, Rich, what happened to you?” comes Stan’s voice, concerned eyes flashing down to his now royally fucked-up mouth.

 “Yeah, dude, what the fuck?” says Bev through a sandwich, truly a charmer.

 Richie grins at Bev but answers to Stan, ignoring the sting in the corner of his lips. “Guess I’m a fighter at heart.”

 “Richie—“

 Bev chimes in once again, a bright, snarky grin on her face, “Richie, you can tell us if it was another accident, we won’t judge. Promise.”

 Bev has a way about her; he knows she’s not genuinely the largest, most gaping asshole on earth, and that she actually cared a lot and cried over her friends in the darkest nights, but she also knew how to make light of something dark (even the worst). She probably knew. She probably just had his back in her own funny way, like taking the pressure off the reality.

 “Bev, I’ve really, truly, always appreciated your charm, but as my dearest favorite person on earth, fuck off.”

 “Richie,” Bill says, then hesitates. In that time, Bev flips Richie the bird, which he answers with an air kiss. “What really h-ah-happened?” He looks him over with a frown, clear blue eyes swallowing him in concern and maybe love.

 Richie offers a simple smirk before settling against the trunk of a tree. “Don’t worry about it, Billiam. I’ve got it under control.”

 “Whatever you say,” Bev says. She tosses a baggie over to him with his favorite sandwich.

 Stan isn’t so easily convinced, eyeing Richie up carefully, but he sits with Bev on the boulder she’s settled on when Richie doesn’t falter in his casual disposition.

 It takes a lot of work, as always.

 Ben shows up moments later, with a calm and tender, “You alright, Rich?” and when Richie goes off on a stupid tough-guy spiel, he simply lays at the foot of the boulder and flicks open a book, meeting Richie with one of his melting smiles, a gentle invitation, a sweet If you ever need it, I’m there, but allowing him the space to go on as normal. Which is nice.

 Richie knows they all care. He knows he could tell them, could pour all of the terror and tragedy he felt the night before into the air and they’d fill up the space; Mike would give him the tightest hug in the world, one to combat the most heinous of things; Stan would sit with him as long as he needed it, Bev would come through with a smoke and the best advice in the world, and Ben would tell him stories or just hang out with him until everything felt a bit lighter, and Bill would give him anything in the world because Richie would do it back. That’s the way they were.

 But he can’t do it.

 “Sorry I’m late guys,” comes a nasally voice, huffing and puffing, new pressure leaning against the tree, and Richie grins. Eddie.

 “It’s okay, Eds,” he says, reaching over a few fingers to tickle Eddie’s knee, giggling when the boy smacks at his hand and doubles over with an exclamatory, Richie!  

 The others offer a few sleepy greetings, all soaked up in their own forms of entertainment for the quiet afternoon: Bev and Ben, heads close enough to share his walkman; Stan, reading some lengthy oath to birds or something; Mike snoozing lightly on Bill’s shoulder while Bill pores over some adventure map from a fantasy novel.

 They had all agreed that it was too tiresome to go swimming today, as the previous night was spent out at Stan’s with a bonfire, and for a few of them, some stolen booze (not very much, but enough that they could pretend to be drunk and giggle profusely). But they still wanted to hang out, so this was the middle ground. An afternoon picnic in the shade.

 Eddie quickly notices his lip and drops down to his side. “Richie, what happened to you? Was it Bowers again? I swear to god, I will fucking kill that guy--”

 Richie smiles softly at the protective words, and tries to turn it into a smirk. “Eddie, baby, don’t worry,” he says. “It’s just a little bump.”

 Surprisingly, Eddie sidles up next to him, using the pad of his thumb to press at the sides of Richie’s mouth, apparently assessing some sort of damage. “Don’t call me that.” He scowls. “What did you do? Did you ice it? Clean this cut at all? Cause you could get an infection, you know, you really should clean it.”

 Richie bats his eyes. “Clean it for me, sweets?”

 “Fuck off. Forget I cared.”

 “Ah, come on, Spaghettio. I didn’t mean it.” He pulls Eddie down with a simple gesture, pressing his palm to the boy’s shoulder and dragging. The boy rests against the trunk, nestled in Richie’s side.

 But that’s the complicated thing. He sorta wishes he could mean it. In a small, poking-at-the-back-of-his-head-always kind of way.

 “Just—tell me what happened,” Eddie pipes up quietly from his side.

 When Richie glances down, he takes to heart how disgruntled Eddie still looks, crossing his arms and almost pouting.

 He shrugs. “Your mother was simply affronted by how good I am with my mouth, Eds, she couldn’t take it anymore.”

 Eddie presses his mouth into a line, rolls his eyes at the stupid British voice Richie had developed, and busies himself with a thrilling edition of The Lancet

 Later, as dusk settles in and pale purple skies replace the bright blue, and the club leaves with simple ‘goodbye’s and promises to do something fun tomorrow, Eddie shifts from his nap. He’d passed out with his head slammed back against Richie’s arm (he’d caught it just before he fell to the ground, avoiding a lengthy rant about potential concussions and medical bills), curled in the opposite direction from Richie’s abdomen. As he wakes, through, he rolls over, elbow digging into Richie’s side.

 “Ah-ow,” Richie groans, sitting up from his cataconic state of reading Ben’s stolen comics and avoiding moving and waking Eddie. But he’d just dug the pointiest part of his entire firecracker body into Richie’s ribs, where Richie had attempted and failed to nurse a bruise he’d accrued from a vicious cupboard corner. It was at an awkward angle, and he refused to go down to get more ice packs once they melted, so he slept unsoundly and laid uncomfortably.

 “Sorry,” Eddie mumbles, voice muddled with sleep. “Shit, it’s late. When did I fall asleep? My mom’s gonna kill me.”

 Even in that gurgly, world upside-down state of post-nap consciousness, the boy freaks out about his mother. Richie sighs and rubs his shoulder.

 “You’re all good, Eddie boy,” he attempts for a creaky, witchy voice, but it’s half-assed because he gets so tired of this lady. Not Eddie ranting, that was fine, and he knew the kid needed to get it out of his system; but he was fucking tired of Mrs. K hurting his boy. “You took your meds on time, fell asleep shortly after. Might need to amputate my arm now, though.”

His boy.

 Eddie sits up, and Richie stares at his back, illuminated in the dusk, because he wore a fun yellow today, resting prettily against his tanned, freckled skin.

 (Maybe Richie had looked over, amused, for a few moments, as Eddie snored and twitched his nose in his sleep; and he counted the freckles on Eddie’s arm, his cheek, whatever he could see for entertainment.)

 Eddie glances back at him, and Richie distracts himself with his bag, shifting his eyes awkwardly from the boy’s gaze.

 “Well, well, good sir, shall I walk you home on this fine night?”

 Eddie’s brow furrows. “Richie, what’s that?”

 His eyes are trained intently on the aforementioned bruise, and its cousins that pepper his hips, only exposed because he slipped and let his shirt ride up when he bent over.

 He clears his throat, scrambling for some dumbass answer, wholeheartedly unprepared for the severity of this conversation. “You know how the ladies throw themselves—“

 “Okay, you know what, fine.” Eddie stands quickly, stumbling slightly, and braces himself against the tree. “You don't have to fucking tell me. Just come home with me, okay?”

 “A night with Eddie Kaspbrak? Why, you’re really a dream-come-true kind of guy.”

 “Your lip is bleeding again,” he responds simply, apparently not one for      fun    at this very moment. “I can clean it.”

 Richie pops up from the ground, feeling quite pip pip, tally ho about the whole thing. “Righty-o, Eddie boy.

 That’s how he ends up sitting on the edge of Eddie’s porcelain-white bathtub, dirtying it with his messy jeans and dirt-coated nails.

 It takes a lot of strategic planning, lots of sneaking past Mrs. K, and then sweet-talking and kisses from Eddie once she wakes up freaking out about how late he was. But, after about fifteen minutes of contest-worthy screeching from the woman, Eddie stomps up the stairs, slams the door with a very I’m gonna pull my hair out look, and has to take about three extra minutes to compose himself, ranting under his breath.

 Richie just stares at his distorted reflection in the shining silvery faucet, the violet under his eyes and the renewed puffiness of his lip, Hawaiian pattern of his shirt disheveled in the odd mirror.

 He knows not to engage unless Eddie actually speaks up to him, meaning this run-in was probably just overly grating and mentally draining, considering, well, how his mother is. He just needs a second to get it out, not any kind of heartfelt talk (which Richie sucks at anyway) or even a lighthearted joke. The boy paces and growls into a fist. Then, eventually, he breathes, “Okay.”

 Eighteen minutes. Eighteen minutes of sitting around and waiting for Eddie, just for him to kneel in front of Richie, doe eyes clear and focused, dabbing so, so gently at his battered lip.

 In a way, it’s heaven.

 “I take it your mom can’t wait for me to buy dinner, eh?”

 Eddie sighs. “Apparently this time I’m gonna contract malaria, Rich, didn’t you know? There’s an incredible outbreak this time of year and I’m obviously not prepared to avoid fucking mosquitoes, what with my fifteen bottles of bug spray and essential oils. I’ll probably die tomorrow!”

 “I will make sure that your funeral is a fucking rager dude, don’t you worry. Booze on me.”

 A ghost of a smile.

 “Richie…” he breathes out in a long winded way, saying nothing and everything for way too long. “Why don’t you stay here tonight?”

 Richie raises an eyebrow. “Man, I thought you were gonna back out on your previous offer, but I guess the call for a night with Richie Tozier is too much to back away from. I get it.” He smiles painfully at the way Eddie’s face crumples with something like boredom. “Christ, dude, what’s your poison?” He makes a face at the antiseptic substance that trickles into his mouth.

 “Maybe if you kept your mouth shut for once, this wouldn’t be an issue.”

 Richie beams, which just causes Eddie to huff even more.

 “Please, just stay still!

 “It was my uncle,” Richie finally says, forcing a bored expression onto his face as he flips through a rather dull magazine, sprawled on Eddie’s bed. “And it wasn’t a big deal.”

 Panic flashes across Eddie’s face. His cheeks burn red, and his leg jitters anxiously against Richie’s, but his voice remains level, which Richie thanks dear lordy Jesus for. “Your uncle? He hit you?”

 “Well,” Richie pauses. “Uh, kinda. He was just really drunk, Eds, and he got mad and I was in the way.”

 “In the way?”

 He shrugs, a small smile quirking his lip up. “Am I not usually?”

 “Rich.” Eddie’s voice is really soft in that moment, gentler and quieter than anything Richie has heard from him in all the time he’s known his fellow loudmouth. It simultaneously terrifies and thrills him. Eds. Eddie brings his knees to his chest, leaning back against the headboard. “You say a lot of dumb shit, but that doesn’t mean you should be hurt.” He must notice Richie’s uncomfortable look, because he adds lightly, “Most of the time, anyway.”

 “Woah, Eddie, don’t go overboard with the kindness or anything--”

 “Damn it, Richie.” He casts his eyes downward. “I’m just trying to say - um - thanks for telling me. Sorry if that’s fucked up to say, but I know you didn’t want to, so, yeah. We don’t have to talk about it anymore.”

 Richie swallows deeply with a slow nod, focusing his eyes on the blurry words in front of him. “Well, if there’s anyone I’d tell, it’s Dr. K. He’s gonna be the one to save my life, right?”

 Eddie rolls his eyes. “Right.” He kicks at Richie’s foot, a subtle way of telling him to move over so he can get under the covers.

 “Night, toots.”

 “Goodnight, Richie.

 Richie thinks he knows everything possible about Eddie thus far.

 He knows when he needs to take his meds, an internal clock he recently developed; he knows that the boy is not nearly as fragile as he sometimes seems, and if he really tried, he could pack a punch; he knows that he loves fervently and he’ll always take care of his friends, even if it’s in a way that would usually disgust him.

 Case in point: he didn’t seem to freak out at Richie’s bleeding lip, even when a steady stream of blood started dripping down his chin from the contact of trying to clean it out, though he usually cringed if he got so much as a scratch from a twig. Somehow, some way, he simply held pressure on the wound and told Richie to hold some ice on it (“Ordering me around now, hot stuff? I can work with that,”), and washed his own hands thoroughly in the sink.

 What he doesn’t know until that night, is that Eddie is a cuddler. At least, half-asleep, groggy Eddie is. Like, this kid must be more starved for affection than he is. Richie had curled himself in a ball toward the edge of the mattress, willing himself not to do so much as even press his back against Eddie’s, way too afraid of the ease with which two people can tangle themselves together in the night, terrified of what would happen if he woke up with Eddie’s hands on him, wrapped up in Eddie, Eddie’s terrible morning breath against his cheek, Eddie Eddie Eddie. But while Richie had stressed himself into falling halfway off the bed, Eddie had flopped over in his sleep, slung an arm across Richie’s waist and, seeming to sense that he had something to hold, pulled him in tight to his chest. Though Richie’s breath caught in his throat, he figured, well, no one could really see them then, so what was the harm in passing out like that? No one had to know. He could pass it off like he’d been sleeping the whole time.

 But he cherishes every fucking minute of it

 Richie wakes to the sound of something pounding, a steady beat, and in that state of slowly waking from a dream he thinks it’s some old drum, playing lowly in the corner by some restless figure. When he comes to, his eyes creaking open slowly, he sees the gentle orange-ish hue of the morning sky, the neat room around him, the scent of detergent and soothing fabric softener wafting near his face. And he realizes his head is tucked into Eddie’s side, the boy’s slowed heartbeat thumping softly against his ear.

 Normally, he’d just let Eddie sleep, as he’s usually only the asshole waking everyone up when it’s the whole gang. He doesn’t mind spending a few hours by himself in the morning. In fact, he enjoys the opportunity to try to fall back asleep (even though he never does).

 But with a sudden impulse, he lays a palm on Eddie’s ribcage and pushes himself up onto his elbows, then shakes the boy.

 “Eddie.”

 A muffled, “Mmph?”

 “Eds, wake up.”

 The boy drags a pillow over his ears for all of two seconds before Richie tickles his stomach. Then he crankily sits up and lets out a gruff, “What?”

 Richie grins. “The sunrise, Eds! Look, it’s so pretty, you have to believe me.”

 Eddie responds by laying his cheek on Richie’s shoulder blade, slumping forward with his eyes still closed. “You do know,” he breathes, “that if the sun is just rising, it’s like, six a.m.?”

 “Hmm, 5:49, but close enough, I suppose.”

 The most huffy breath that Eddie can manage at this hour tickles the hairs on the back of Richie’s neck. “Did you know that people who don’t sleep enough die a lot younger? There are serious health consequences.” It doesn’t come out in his usual fiery, punctuated tone; it’s soft and filled with a yawn and he’s pretty sure Eddie might fall back asleep just like that. “You can’t die early on me, Richie. And I don’t want to. Go back to sleep.” He peeks one eye open at the window, squinting at the glow of the sun. “It is pretty, though.” With that, he falls back against the pillow and curls into a ball against the wall.

 And Richie’s pretty damn sure in that moment that he’s, like, in love

 And, sure, that’s terrifying.

 He has no one to talk to about it and nothing could convince him it’s normal, so he shrugs it off and pretends it isn’t there.

 Cause that’s a good way to cope, right?

 It doesn’t matter that Eddie is so easily comfortable with him—he’s a low-pressure person, is all. And no one had called out the way pet names rolled off Richie’s tongue so easily, because that was just a part of his joke. Normal. Easy.

 Until it wasn’t

 You see, there’s this bitch Pennywise. This idiot clown terrorizes his friends, kills people, haunts their nights and days, and fucks with their minds. Tries to turn them against each other. And they can’t even throw a jest back! It’s a sick system.

 Well, anyway, the losers end up in some crickety, wooden, falling-apart-at-the-seams murder house on Neibolt, because Bill wants to find his brother and none of them are willing to abandon him. Instead, Richie gets to see himself dead, face off with a monstrous fucking clown, and hear heart-wrenching screams from Eddie that he can’t even help, because he can’t get out.

 When he does, he reunites with Stan and Bill, using the few seconds he has to catch his breath.

 Just as quickly, he loses it.

 In front of him lies Eddie, arm twisted at the ugliest, most heinous angle, and not only is he probably in pain and freaking out about the arm, but a 7-foot tall clown is sauntering towards him with a stupid swaggering gait, like it knows that they can’t do anything to save Eddie.

Eddie.

 The boy cowers against dust and fallen wood that must be itching to give him splinters; tears streak down his dirty face and his chest rises and falls rapidly, as Pennywise taunts him. Fucking horses around, making stupid noises and joking while Eddie falls apart, and Richie doesn’t know how to save him, even after everything Eddie’s done for him. Richie is vaguely aware of Stan grasping his shoulder, trying to ground him, and he silently thanks him as he glances around for fucking anything to use as a weapon, because he certainly can’t jump into this blindly--

 Then Beverly busts into the room and stabs the bitch in the head, and Richie can’t think but his feet are moving and he lands in front of Eddie in the few seconds’ time he has to play catch-up. He reminds himself to remind Bev of just how much he loves her later.

 For now, though, his focus is Eddie. His ears are ringing and he’s noted the commotion going on behind him, he even realizes that Bill ends up at his side, but his gaze is right on his Eds, grasping at his face, trying to do anything to help him.

 “Eds. No, no, no! Look at me! It’s okay. Please be okay.” He steadies his voice and tries really hard not to think about how much he sucks as a caretaker, how he has no fucking clue what to do, but he’s scared and he desperately just wants to take Eddie from the room and keep him safe, forever and ever.

 Terror-filled eyes find him as the clown continues toward the three of them, flexing horrendous claws; Richie kneels in front of Eddie and Bill’s at his back, and Richie knows Eddie acknowledges him but he’s whimpering and shaking and staring back at the clown. And Pennywise is thriving.

 “Eds,” he says, louder, grabbing Eddie’s chin and forcing it in his direction. “Please just - fuck the clown, okay? Fuck everything. It’s me and you. I’ve got you.” And he’d probably be much more convincing if he weren’t shouting and clinging to Eddie’s shoulders like it means death.

But, he seems to capture the boy’s attention, as he keeps his eyes steadily on Richie and blinks a few times. “My arm!” he cries. “Fuck, I can’t fucking move. I’m gonna die. It hurts, Rich.”

 “Hey, you’re not gonna die. I don’t die early on you, you don’t die early on me. That’s the deal.”

 “Some deals are made to be broken.”

 Eddie is just staring at him, blank eyes staring through him with a grin, a stark contrast to the screaming that was going on just moments before. A surge of panic rises in Richie’s chest, like a freezing wind knocking through his stupid little preteen body. He shakes his head in confusion.

 “Eddie, shut up. It’s just your arm. You’re gonna be fine!”

 A shrug. “Who’s to say?” And then he sits up, arm convulsing at his side like some dying snake, and Richie flinches and flies back into Bill’s chest. He can’t do this. He can’t help Eddie like he should, he can’t take care of him like he wants to. He’s a coward.

 “Rich.” Bill is a million miles away.

 Right here, right now, is that thing in Eddie’s place, body rattling like a rag doll. “They’ll find out.” Eddie’s voice is fucked up, scratchy, and his eyes are all wrong; the way he’s staring at him is fucking uncanny. “Get too touchy, Rich, and you know what’ll happen.”

 “Stop, please, fucking stop!”

 “Richie!” Bill is finally right there, shaking both of his shoulders from behind. “S-stop. You’re f-f-fine. It’s just fucking with your head.”

 It takes a few deep breaths, but Richie turns to him and says a quick, ‘Thanks,’ before turning back to real-Eddie, who is now dry-heaving and wailing at the sight of his arm.

 Eddie’s chest thrusts forward and back rapidly, and he keeps trying to back further from the bedlam in front of them. His face contorts into an absolutely heart-wrenching cry, and as he looks at Richie, gripping his hand with an iron fist, Richie’s heart splits in two. It’s hard, it’s way too hard not to say I love you, after all that. And it’s hard not to run.

 “I don’t wanna die - ”

 Richie crawls closer to cradle Eddie’s head. “Eddie, if you die I’ll kill you.” He wants to go home, he wants to cry, he wants to sleep for about three days and pretend this never happened. But he can’t. He has to be here for Eddie, as much as he wants to flee right now. “You’re not going to, you know that? I still owe you ice cream. And I’m gonna get you inside the arcade—“

 “Fuck the arcade!”

 Somehow, in all of the fuckery going on, Richie laughs. “That’s the spirit!” Eddie, in a scramble to back away from the startle of Pennywise running away, shifts into Richie’s lap. “Okay, Eddie, breathe.” Richie gulps down a breath himself. “I’m gonna snap your arm back into place.”

Eddie’s eyes light up, completely on fire, spitting poison at Richie. “Rich! Do not fucking touch me!”

 Richie winces at the words but he hears Bev screaming, “Richie, his arm!” and uses the moment of yelling to just do it, to get Eddie’s arm back to a relatively normal shape, and then he’s screaming and it’s like he wants Richie to cry in front of everyone.

 “Okay okay okay, it’s done. No more.” Richie, awkward and lost at what to do, brushes back sweaty hair from Eddie’s forehead, because he’s pretty sure the boy would hate how sticky everything had gotten, and if he could help even one thing, well, it’s something.

 He wishes he could help carry Eddie home, sit with him in the hospital, anything to cheer him up.

 But he doesn’t get the chance. Mrs. K is outside and snatches Eddie from the losers in the flash of an eye, talking like they broke his fucking arm or something.

 That’s when it all goes downhill

 Richie storms away from his stupid feud with Bill, the fucking dumbass who punched him in the face because he said he didn’t want a clown to kill him and his friends. He thinks it’s the most reasonable thing he’s ever said, objectively, but whatever. He doesn’t want to lose his friends. But in that moment, he doesn’t see many other options.

 When he trudges back home after his third day alone at the arcade, following newly-formed muscle memory to avoid his uncle (close the door slowly, shift weight and run upstairs, wait at least twenty minutes to go back down for food in case he stirs), he notices another car. Immediately, Richie throws open the doors, calling out, “Mom!” and finds her in the kitchen, with his uncle.

 “Hey sweetie, I just got home—“ she startles at the sight of him.

 “Jeez, that bad?” he jokes, running a hand through his hair. “Just remember, mom, half of this is ‘cause of you.”

 She approaches him quickly, summer blazer flowing behind her from the speed, and crouches down just slightly to be at eye-level. “Richie, honey, what did you do to your lip?” she asks. He doesn’t realize right away, but he tilts his head into her touch, and she strokes his cheek gently.

 Richie had forgotten about the whole ordeal—his friends almost dying at the hands of a killer clown was pretty damn distracting from his low-life uncle—but now, he sets a spitting glare on the man leaning back and manspreading at their kitchen table.

 “Uncle Alan had a few kind words to say over dinner the other night.”

 Her tender touch to his face is lost when she whips around to face his uncle, and Richie feels like a little kid again, standing behind his mom and clutching at her coat while she takes care of everything.

 “You hit him?” she says, her voice threatening in a low mumble, teeth clenched together. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You touched my kid?” She holds back a hand as though to shield Richie as she slams her other fist on the table.

 “How do you know it wasn’t one of his faggy friends? Or maybe some other kid with common fucking sense?”

 She leans down and takes him by the front of his shirt. “Don’t you dare, Alan. What the fuck were you thinking?”

 Uncle Alan yells back in her face, spit flying, and Richie would jump forward to defend her if she weren’t holding him back so protectively (with one hand!). “Listen, Maggie, if he’s gonna act like that, I’m just preparing him for the real world.”

 “You absolute shit! You don’t get to make that decision!” Richie has never, ever seen his mother so angry. “You battered a twelve year old boy! What, do you feel really big now, you pathetic piece of shit? Get the fuck out of my house!” At this point, she’s shaken him and thrown him back against the chair so he falls, catching himself just in time as it cascades to the ground.

 “Fuck you, Maggie!”

 She follows him down the hall.

 “Fuck you!” Richie calls out at his retreating back, before his mother screams about pressing charges and slams the door behind him.

 Richie’s mom rushes back into the kitchen to face him. She’s red in the face, eyes on fire, but she softens at the sight of him.

 “Richie, sweetheart, I’m sorry we left you.” She cradles his face again. “Hey.” She holds him with both hands. “Listen. If anyone ever hurts you, you call me. If anyone ever so much as threatens you, Rich - ”

 Richie, choked up, interjects, “I didn’t know the number, mom. I don’t know where the little paper you wrote it on is, I’m sorry—“

 “It’s okay.” She looks at him for a few more moments, then swaddles him up in a big, mama bear hug. “I love you, kid. I hope you know that.”

 “I love you too.”

 For a few minutes, she just holds him, stroking his back while silent tears fall down his face and onto the chest of her shirt. She doesn’t seem to mind

 It’s late. Richie doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he’s on top of the world.

 He ends up at Eddie’s house, even though he knows they’re not talking and Eddie’s mom might kill him on sight, he has to see him. Mrs. K can go fuck herself.

 Outside the boy’s bedroom window, he raps quietly with his knuckles, just about buzzing with a high, high feeling toward life. He can see Eddie lying in bed, struggling to prop up a book to read, lamplight cascading onto his skin - that is, until he hears Richie, and flies toward the window with a crazed look.

 “What are you doing here?” Eddie asks, brows knitting together. “My mom will kill you if she hears you.”

 That doesn’t matter so much to him at that moment. “Eddie!” He swings his legs over the banister and jumps into the room, adrenaline and something like love pushing him to lift Eddie to his chest and spin. “Eds, my mom came home early and she kicked that motherfucker out of my house!”

 Eddie’s eyes are crazed from the spinning and he clings to Richie’s shoulder with his good hand; and he grins, a giggle caught in his lips. “That’s great, Richie. Fuck that guy.”

 “Yeah, fuck him! And god Eddie, she - she protected me, and we just spent hours together, watching movies and making dinner like old times, and it was amazing, and - god, I know I sound like a dork, but I - ”

 He pauses, mostly because he’s out of breath from machine-gunning a paragraph out of nowhere; but also because in his flustered state he didn’t register the sweet-cheeked smile that Eddie is currently melting him with.

 But when he does, Richie thinks to himself: sure, blue eyes are great; they can be compared to the sky or the ocean or whatever other cheesy nature bit all goddamn day. But Eddie’s eyes - hell, he doesn’t care if he sounds like a cornball - they’re fucking amazing. They usurp all of that bullshit. He’s used to them when they’re blown wide in surprise, or holding him in a steely glare for some dumb joke, and he loves them then; but right now he catches a kind of tenderness hidden in the dark. Something that envelops him in warmth and pinks his cheeks.

 Eddie takes the opportunity to pipe up. “Richie,” he says, “I’m really happy for you.”

 He means it. Richie knows he means it, because for the last several days, he’s heard Eddie mumbling to himself somewhat privately about ‘that piece of shit,’ and right now he’s clutching Richie’s sleeve and smiling without a trace of mockery.

 And he’s perfect.

 His tousled hair that’s rustled from what looks to have been a constant stream of fingers, stressed over the book or his mom or god-knows-what; the oversized t-shirt he’s drowning in and short shorts and perfectly matched socks; and those shining eyes and friendly smile and soft fucking hands that hold all the electricity of Richie’s excitement - all perfect.

 And Richie, Richie could just kiss him.

 He doesn’t.

 Mrs. K knocks at the door.

 “Eddie bear, it’s time for your nighttime oils!”

 Richie cracks a wise-ass smile. “Eddie bear, if I’d known you needed      nighttime oils, well, I would have come prepared.”

 “Get the fuck out,” Eddie says. The laughter catching on his lips tells another story.

 Richie throws an utterly charming wink in his direction and crouches in the window, preparing to jump out and make his escape.

 “Wait!” Eddie grabs the back of Richie’s t-shirt. “It’s cool that you stopped by. It’s - it’s been lonely in this hellhole. I might have gone insane if I thought you guys forgot about me.”

 “Aw, I’d never forget you, cutie.” Richie, stomach twisting and turning, supports himself with his forearm on the outside of the window. “And, anyway, I gotta practice my Romeo somewhere, right?”

 Eddie lets out a characteristic huff. “Whatever.”

 It’s quiet, save for the distant tweeting crickets, and the scent wafting through the nighttime is intoxicating, and for the following moments the world reminds them to just breathe.

 “You’re gonna miss curfew, Rich,” Eddie mumbles, leaning out the window on his elbows. And Richie hears it: you’re alone, you know what could happen. Stay safe.

 “I’m not afraid, Eds.” He means it. Richie can’t draw up what fear even feels like right then. With a flick of an eyebrow, he nods toward the door. “Mother is waiting.”

 “I know.” He smiles. “I’ll see you, Tozier.”

 Richie, without any reservations (until he thinks back on it later), reaches out as though to pinch Eddie’s cheek, but instead, runs his thumb along Eddie’s cheekbone. “See ya, Eds.” He smiles. “I’m gonna get you out of here someday.”

 Eddie shakes his head as Richie takes his hand away from Eddie’s newly red cheeks and makes his way back to the ground, muttering, “My hero.”

 And Richie looks back with a grin at the silhouette of the dork in the window, saluting before taking off

 It sucks when Beverly leaves.

 It’s an early morning, red and orange hues breaking across the skyline like a cracked egg, and Richie, Stan, and Ben all gather around to watch her disappear off to the nearest airport, and then disappear from them forever. Though it’s not nearly as mopey and depressing as it could have been, it’s hard to watch her go; a warm energy follows her as she hugs them all goodbye, looking at them with her all-knowing, crooked little smile, rolling her eyes but expressing more love than any of them had ever known, and Richie knows she means every word of loving and missing that she says. And he knows he’ll miss her more than anything.

 He does. Not much helps with the pain of missing someone, but as the days go by, pieces of her slowly slip from his mind, until finally she’s all gone

 New Years offers promises of ‘new me’s and resolutions and maybe some kind of peace. And considering everything, it’s the saving grace Richie thinks he needs.

 A chance to forget his uncle, the murderous clown that haunts his dreams, and his personal revelation that he loves Eddie Kaspbrak.

 It didn’t ruin their friendship by any means, just made his cheeks flush and heart throb and his rebuttals come back stutter-y when Eddie merely smiled at him. It was stupid textbook puppy love. He never thought he’d fall for that.

 And, he’s not gay. He can’t be, or he’ll have to pay the price.

 It's just that Eddie is his best friend. They’re all best friends, but Eddie never really stopped engaging with his exhausting jokes like the others, when it was finally too much. Eddie always bickered back, he took the bait and bit back. Eddie took him home when he got hurt and cared for him and then went right back to fighting.

 He loves Eddie the way he should love someone like Bev.

 But it’s nothing.

 The night is cutting, crisp with a fresh wintery bitterness, biting at Richie’s nose until it’s practically bleeding. To be fair, he’d opted to only wear one of his lighter jackets and some gloves, so it’s his own fault that his scalp is freezing over and he’s shaking on his way to the loser’s little spot in the meadow.

 At least his friends are smart.

 Stan sports a matching tartan hat and scarf, bundled up around his face so only the pinkish tip of his nose is poking out; Bill has a nice puffy coat and a hat with a bauble rested atop his head; Ben’s ushanka hat is wrapped tightly under his chin, and he waves at Richie with mittens keeping his hands warm; Mike is representing a lot of fleece, and he grins at Richie, shaking his head when he sees his lack of winter clothes; and then there’s Eddie, wearing a coat that has to be at least an extra large, and a knitted cap, bundled up so only his fussy eyes and nose are squinting out at Richie.

 In Richie’s defense, he was running late, and he had sprouted a little bit in the last few months, so his previously comfortable winter coat was now tight and painful in the shoulders and chest. This jacket was his best option in the 30-second long window he had to get dressed and run out the door to attempt to be on time.

 Stan levels a look at him, thoroughly appreciating his idiocy, and obviously not pitying his shaking form more than a quick flash of sympathy in his eyes; he cares, but Richie obviously brought this upon himself. The ensuing cold would be his own fault, and he’d call Stan to complain, just to grin quietly as the boy went on the calmest rant about how stupid he is and then hang up. It’s just how they worked.

 Richie wonders if he’d tell a potential partner that they should have brought a coat to a date if they complained of the temperature. It’s beside the point, but amusing.

 “C’mon man, you didn’t think about a scarf at least?” Mike says as a greeting, laughing a little bit as he removes his own and wraps it messily around Richie’s neck. In that moment, Richie would give up his life for this kid. The body heat/fleece combo immediately brings him back from the brink of a nosebleed.

 “Richie doesn’t think, period.” Stan sticks his hands in his pockets and stares at him, ghosts of amusement playing on his cheeks.

 Richie flashes his teeth in a big ol’ grin. “That’s pretty accurate, actually, I just wanted to be with you guys on time so badly, you know.”

 Bill lets out a small, unenthused, “Aww.”

 Richie simply chuckles and tries to wrap his fingers in Mike’s scarf to help with the inevitable hypothermia. Eddie winds up next to him in their gathering, sucking in a big breath through his nostrils and huffing out shortly.

 He bumps Eddie’s arm with his elbow and says, “What’s up with you, Eds?”

 Eddie nearly topples over from the size of the coat weighing him down, and he curses under his breath before standing back up and glaring at Richie. “You really didn’t wear a bigger coat, dumbass?”

 “As you can see, no,” Richie chuckles.

 Eddie presses his tongue into his cheek. “Well, you can share mine. It’s more than big enough.”

 Oh.

 Right, sharing a coat. That’s fine. No pressure or anything.

 Richie aims for a cool response, some funny voice or smooth and subtle, and lands on, “Yeah, cool. Thanks.”

 So, they share. And it’s pretty great.

 Eddie unzips it and pulls Richie in, and they collaborate to pull it up and then Richie is pressed up against Eddie’s side, in public, already sweating even though he’s still cold because he doesn’t know if he can handle this.

 Fortunately, they’re hidden by the dark, so maybe the boy or their friends won’t notice his red cheeks (or they’ll chalk it up to the cold) and the extra focus he has to place on acting normal. Because Eddie smells nicer than most boys their age, and he’s got a heart too big for his body, and Richie’s sure that Eddie loves him back in at least some way. It’s not just anyone that would get to be this close, squeezed into a coat with him.

 Richie feels sick.

 But the fireworks are starting, and they might be sparse and lackluster in the hell that is Derry, but each loser looks to the sky with love, with appreciation, in awe of the fact that something beautiful can apparently come from hell.

 Barely, just barely, Eddie’s head falls against Richie’s shoulder as they gaze up into the inky black sky illuminated by cakes of fireworks, and he whispers, “Wow,” under his breath right next to Richie’s ear, and now Richie’s contemplating between the two possible causes of his death: he combusts, or he stops breathing - to be determined.

 Richie begs the universe for advice in the ultimate predicament. And to his great relief, memories seep back into his brain; those of freckled cheeks, teeth balancing a cig as a mouth talks, and bundles of ginger curls bouncing as her head turns in his direction.

 “Bev would love this.”

 Riche catches the way Ben looks over at him pretty much immediately - at them, sharing body heat in Eddie’s coat - and then how the boy stares at the ground and mumbles a soft, “Yeah.” He looks back at Richie, holds his eye contact for a sweet, lingering moment, then gazes back at the sky, hopefully thinking of love as much as Richie is.

 Bill, Mike, and Stan all follow, tearing their eyes away briefly to make quick eye contact with each other, and then Richie, and Eddie even shifts to look up at him, and they all smile wistfully as though the girl is there with them, snarky remarks and toothy smiles keeping them all afloat. Richie feels like he’s going to break open and cry enough to fill the whole universe, so he sniffles and looks back up at the sky, breaking the moment of magic.

 But it remains with them.

 It remains as they share this together, as they enter the new year together, promising hope for a happier future as long as they stick with each other.

 And it remains as Eddie Kaspbrak takes his hand under the coat and murmurs, “Happy new year, Richie.”

[tinyarmedtrex]

You know In movies where two friends are talking intensely on a subject (usually relationships or how much the other means to them) and then something happens between them and they’re suddenly kissing?? That I want that. That’s all my monkey brain can think about with reddie

(I hope this satisfies monkey brain :P)

“I don’t know why I bother. I’m clearly just useless at this dating thing.” Richie said, falling dramatically onto his bed.

Eddie stood in the doorframe, watching his friend and roommate engage in his one man pity party. “Richie-”

“No, no. Two dates and she was already done with me. Before that, Mark and I had four. I’m like dating kryptonite or something.” He huffed, staring at the ceiling. “Fuck it Eds, I’m gonna become a nun. I can pull off the look. Everyone looks good in black, right?” 

Eddie moved to sit next to Richie, patting his thigh. “Men don’t become nuns ‘Chee.” 

Richie grunted. “I’ll be the first. Set a new path. Lead the mun-o-lotion. Get it? Man nun?” Richie chuckled at his own joke.

“You want to be celibate?” Eddie asked, laying down next to him. Almost automatically the two turned on their sides to face each other, like they always did. Eddie watched him, debating if Richie was joking or actually sad. Sometimes it was hard for even Eddie to tell. 

But as he looked at Richie’s eyes, downcast, and how his mouth didn’t quirk up at his jokes he knew that Richie was being serious.  

All Richie had ever wanted was a relationship, to be in love. He tried so hard to date and meet people and it always failed, with him getting serious too quick and the other person pulling back. Even if Eddie was secretly glad those relationships never worked he hated seeing his friend like this.

He wanted to reach out to comfort his friend but stopped himself, always worried how it would appear if he touched Richie first. Eddie worried about a lot of things when it came to Richie.

“I thought they shacked up with Jesus.” 

Richie smiled as Eddie rolled his eyes. Even after a decade of friendship making Eddie groan at his terrible jokes was still Richie’s favorite past times. 

“You’ll find someone Richie. Someone who deserves you.”

“You mean someone will eventually be desperate enough to put up with me. I’m the last cow Eds, no one wants me or my milk. I should just hang up my dating jeans now, buy some cats. It’ll be a good life.” 

“Richie you’re a catch.” His friend scoffed but Eddie continued. “You’re kind, willing to do anything for your friends, passionate and, I’ll deny this if you ever tell anyone, but sometimes you’re funny.”

When Richie didn’t respond Eddie continued, having no issues thinking of more things to list. 

“You’ve got great hair.” Eddie couldn’t stop himself, he reached out to play with Richie’s curls, winding them on his fingers. Richie keened into it, his eyes closing briefly. “Especially since Stan taught you how to maintain it. And I’ve heard people find that whole lanky crazed artist look attractive. You’re smart, annoyingly so, and clever.” 

Eddie stopped as Richie stared at him, his big green eyes watching Eddie like he was hoping to see something. Eddie worried that he’d gone too far, revealed too much. 

“You really think so Eds?”

Eddie forced himself to nod and reply with a real answer. It would be easier to make a joke, to insult Richie like he usually did but he knew that Richie needed to hear it. So he moved his hand, cradling Richie’s cheek and said, “I know so. Anyone would be lucky to have you. You’re amazing.” 

“I think you’re the only one that thinks so.” 

Eddie shook his head. “Then they don’t know what they’re missing. Richie you deserve so much. You deserve someone who will love you as much as you love them. You’ve got such a big heart and I hate that no one else sees it.” 

Richie moved in. Their noses were practically touching now and Eddie couldn’t focus on anything else, especially as Richie’s hand fell to his hip. “I think that the only person that matters sees it.”

“What-”

Richie continued. “You deserve love too Eds. You deserve someone who knows all your quirks and thinks they’re cute, who will listen to you rant and think it’s sexy, who will hid all your clothes except those damn running shorts.” 

Eddie frowned, “I knew that was you.”

“I’m having a fucking moment, cut me a break.” Richie said, a slight smile on his lips. “You deserve someone amazing.” 

They looked at each other, Eddie’s heart was beating so loud it drowned out anything else. 

“Any idea who that would be?” He asked.

Richie’s response was to move in, his lips slotting against Eddie’s. Eddie close his eyes and kissed him back. He had wanted this kiss for so long that part of him was terrified that he’d open his eyes and it would all be a dream, that none of this was real. 

Then Eddie felt a slight push and Richie rolled on top of him, breaking the kiss. Eddie’s eyes opened and he saw a grinning Richie on him, proof that this was real. It felt right, having Richie hovering over him, his hair falling forward and glasses on the bridge of his nose. It was a scene Eddie had pictured a million times but never thought it would actually happen. 

“I’m in love with you Eds, that’s why it never worked out with anyone else.” There was a hint of nervousness, like Richie was worried it was too soon, too much.

He arched up, pressing a brief kiss to his lips. “You too ‘Chee. It’s always been you.” 

Richie relaxed, bringing up a hand to trace Eddie’s lips. “I suppose I should woo you now, get you flowers, take you on a date.” 

Eddie smiled against Richie’s finger. “Only if you want.”

“Oh I do, I really fucking do.” Richie clamored off him, holding out a hand.

“Now?” Eddie asked, sitting up.

“No time like the present. Andale Eduardo, let’s go.” 

Shaking his head slightly Eddie reached up, letting Richie pull him up and into his arms. Any sarcastic quip died then as the two smiled at each other, both were they were finally meant to be.

 @spastuetheobsessedphylosopher @chaotickaspbrak​ @wheezyeds​  @constantreaderfool​ @purplepoisonedgem​  @queen-sock  @pink-psychic @bowersgangvslosersclub​ @jem-carstairs-is-perfection​  @reddie-to-cryy​ @moonlightrichie​  @eduardoandale​ @anellope​ @inthebreadbinwrites @sparklingrainbowdragon​ @madi-personal @K-froggit @lifesucksheres20bucks​ @appojoos​ @upsidedownlosers​ @thorn-harvester-ven​ @eddiefuckinkaspbrak​ @andaleduardo @xandertheundead @state-of-longing​ @fandomgirllover​ @adhdtrashmouth @stanleuyris​ @rielysian​ @uppperteeeth @s-s-georgie​ @for-peanutbutter​ @tobobeebub​ @emmadevr @edstozler​ @s-onora​ @notmyspaghetti​ @twoidiotsinl0ve​ @spirited-marvel​ @lover-mouth  @roobarrtrashmouth​ @njess04​ @wilding-throught-thehallways​ @star-gore​ @gloire-celeste​ @stansbooty​ @reddieobsessed @myeverythingisyourstruly​ @onlykatelyn​ @no-she-wasnt-reddie​ @gczebos @ransonelovebot  @isabelleritma​

[mitchmarnier]

4 and 11 + reddie 🥺💞

Reddie + 4: “My heart beats so fast when I see you.” & 11: “I think you’re my true love.”

send me a pairing + a number from this list and i’ll write you a fic!! 

Eddie’s palms were sweating. If anybody had asked, he’d tell them that tonight was not a big deal. He had, in fact, said that. Multiple times. To all his friends who had brought it up. It wasn’t anything huge, it was just a date. Just a date. Just a date.

It wasn’t just a date, and Eddie knew it. The butterflies in his stomach knew it damn well enough. He’d been seeing this man for a few weeks now, Richie Tozier. They’d met when Richie’s car had broken down and he’d come into Eddie’s work to get it fixed. Eddie had been instantly smitten in a way he wasn’t sure he had ever been before, and he’d been on more dates with Richie in the last few weeks than he’d been on at all in the five years since breaking off his engagement and coming out of the closet. Everything was going perfectly, and there was just one catch.

Richie was a father to two young kids. And tonight Eddie was meeting them for the first time. 

Eddie cleared his throat awkwardly, standing on Richie’s front step. It was a nice house, small but it seemed... safe somehow. As safe as any house could be. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to knock. Richie’s kids were his world, his everything, and truthfully- Eddie had never been sure he wanted kids. He was willing to try for Richie, but if Eddie didn’t get along with the kids [whether it being them not liking him or him not liking them] then Eddie knew his short-lived relationship with Richie was over.

Just as Eddie pulling up the urge to finally knock, the wooden door was yanked open. Eddie was confused for a moment at the wide open doorway, before he glanced down. Barely coming up to his ankle was a small girl with shoulder length hair that same colour and consistency as Richie’s and big brown eyes. She stared up at him, with a curious frown on her face. “Are you spaghetti?”

Eddie coughed on nothing, air maybe, as the little girl continued to stare up at him expectantly. June, he realized. Richie’s daughter was the oldest of his two kids- the other being baby boy Pacey. Richie had full custody over the two kids, his ex girlfriend and their mother walking out on them about a year earlier. On their last night, Richie had confessed that Eddie was the first person he’d dated since. 

“Are you going to invite him in, June bug?” Richie appeared in the doorway with his son in his arms. Eddie’s heart leapt straight into his mouth at the sight of Richie, looking well dressed but rumbled with Pacey resting his head against his shoulder. “Don’t be rude. Eds is a guest.” 

June stepped backwards, hand still held tightly onto the front door and she didn’t take her eyes off Eddie as he slowly came into the house and took his shoes off. She closed the door slowly and then rushed away into what Eddie assumed was the living room without another word. 

Richie came over and leaned down to kiss Eddie on his cheek. “Sorry about her. She still has this thing about strangers.”

“Probably not a bad thing.” Eddie said with a soft smile. Richie smiled back at him and leaned back in to kiss him gently. As Richie pulled away, Pacey held his hand out and patted at his father’s cheek. 

“God.” Eddie shook his head, biting at his bottom lip. “My heart beats so fast when I see you.” 

Richie beamed, shifting Pacey onto one hip and wrapping an arm around Eddie to pull him close to his other side. “I know I promised you something home cooked, but Pacey has been a little fussy today and I didnt get the chance to-”

Eddie shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. We can get some takeout! You wanted to try that new diner on main street, they delivery. I'm sure they’ve got lots of kid friendly meals.”

Richie squeezed Eddie’s shoulder and let out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re really speaking my language. You know, I think you’re my true love.“

Eddie almost vomited up his heart. 

[thestarsaroundyourscars]

Need at a party with Reddie!

Hi, thank you! One more time I say: Fuck canon.

Read on AO3

Slightly NSFW.

It didn't surprise Richie that only two months after the losers defeated Pennywise, he received a letter announcing that Ben and Bev were getting married. After all, he’d seen them be all over each other not one hour after they left the house on Neibolt and then every minute after that until they all left Derry. 

The letter was also an invitation to their engagement party in Ben’s house in New York. 

That’s where Richie currently was, sitting on the couch, a beer in his hand and watching the door like a hawk. 

“Stop that.” Stan said, he was sitting next to him with Patty on the other side, glaring at Richie’s leg as it bounced uncontrollably. “He will be here okay?”

“What if he changed his mind?” Richie asked, nervously chewing on his bottom lip. “It’s been over two months, maybe everything he said back in Derry⎯ maybe that was only because we had almost just died. Maybe he realized he doesn’t really want me.”

Richie didn’t need to be looking at Stan to know that he was rolling his eyes at him. “He left his wife Richie.”

“Yeah but he didn’t do that for me.”

“No, he did it for himself, but he also told you that he loved you and that he wanted to be with you and that he would be here. You need to trust him.” Stan said calmly, but Richie could hear the underlying you’re being an idiot tone that was usually there when Stan talked to him.

It still surprised Richie just how easily Stan and him had fallen into their old dynamic. It was like the past twenty seven years and the whole forgetting each other thing never happened⎯ just like Eddie never stopped being the love of Richie’s life, Stan never stopped being his best friend. 

And as his best friend, it was Stan who Richie went to the night after they defeated Pennywise, after Richie and Eddie confessed their feelings to each other. 

Richie hadn’t planned it, Eddie was married and he was pretty sure his feelings were unrequited anyway and the last thing he wanted to do was lose Eddie just as he got him back. But then Eddie had walked out of Richie’s bathroom after a shower, because the one in his room was still covered in blood, and he looked so beautiful and soft⎯ cheeks tinted red, hair wet and curling at the tips, sleeping clothes just slightly big on him⎯ and he was alive and Richie couldn’t help it, he blurted out everything he had kept locked in for thirty years. 

After he was done, Eddie simply smiled and said, “I love you too asshole.” Those words were enough to get Richie moving and leaning down to kiss Eddie but he was stopped by a hand on his chest. Eddie was still married and he didn’t want their first kiss to constitute as cheating. Before Richie could argue, Eddie had placed a kiss on Richie’s cheek and said they would talk again when he got divorced. 

Tonight was the first time he would be seeing Eddie since Derry, since Eddie’s divorce.

When Eddie said he would be at the engagement party, Richie felt hopeful⎯ for about a second. Then that hope had turned into doubt and now he was worried that Eddie had changed his mind and realized Richie wasn’t the person he wanted to be with. 

“Richie, honey?” 

Richie had zoned off, he shook his head and grinned. “Yes Patty, dearest?” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Stan’s mouth twitch into a smile.

She smiled knowingly at him. Richie wasn’t sure how much Stan told her about them, but based on the way she stared at him it seemed like she knew everything. Fucking Stan and his big mouth.

“Eddie’s here.” She said.

His head snapped towards the door where Ben was welcoming Eddie in, wrapping him in a hug and accepting the gift in his hands. “Fuck me.” Richie muttered, breath catching in his throat. 

He heard Stan snicker, “You wish.” Then Patty lightly smacked his shoulder and lovingly shushed him. 

Richie watched as Bev joined the two men by the door, giving Eddie a hug. “What should I do?” He asked, feeling his palms already starting to sweat as he took in how good Eddie looked in his black slacks and his tight button up. 

“You should go say hi.” Patty said sweetly. 

Richie shook his head, he raised his beer bottle to his lips only to find it empty. “I need another drink first.”

“You’re being an idiot.” Stan said. “And a child. Just go talk to him.”

“Actually, he’s coming our way.”

Patty was right, Eddie had spotted them and he was walking towards their couch, stopping to say hi to Bill and Mike on the way. “Shit shit shit.” Richie muttered and before Stan and Patty could stop him, he left the couch and snuck into the kitchen. 

He knew Stan was right, he was being an idiot. He had been anxiously waiting for Eddie to arrive and now that he was here Richie was hiding from him, but he wasn’t ready to face him, to face rejection if it came to that, so instead of going back to the lounging room where the party was happening, he slid into the hallway. 

He wandered aimlessly around the house until he finished his beer. Then he stood there, staring at the moon through the glass walls, trying to gather the courage to go face Eddie. 

“There you are.” 

Well, shit.

Richie spun around, knowing he would find Eddie standing there but even then, his breath caught in his throat again and he could barely get out a weak, “Hi, Eds.”

Eddie’s face scrunched up at the nickname but other than that he ignored it. “Why are you lurking around Ben’s house?”

Richie didn’t want to tell Eddie that he was running away from him so he shrugged. “Uh, Ben said they had a dog, I was just looking for him.” 

“Really?” Eddie quirked an eyebrow at him. “Because Stan said you were hiding from me.” 

“That bastard.” 

“He also said you were worried that I changed my mind about us⎯”

“I’m going to fucking kill him.” Richie groaned, scrunching up his face. 

“I don’t think Patty would like that.” Eddie said with a snort. He moved closer to Richie, frowning at him. “Do you really think I changed my mind?”

Richie gave a noncommittal shrug, running a hand through his hair. “I mean, I wouldn’t blame you if you did, all those things we said⎯ we had just gone through a lot, you could’ve said things you didn’t mean.”

“Did you say things that you didn’t mean?”

Richie’s eyebrows flew towards his hairline, he shook his head. “No, fuck no. I meant everything I said, Eds I still do.” 

Eddie smiled, reaching over to grab Richie’s hand, it was warm and slightly sweaty, just like his. “Me too.”

Richie bit on his bottom lip to stop his face from breaking into a dopey grin. When that didn’t work, he ducked his head down and stared at their joint hands. “You’re not wearing your wedding ring.” 

“Well I’m not married anymore so⎯” He trailed off, taking a step forward and closing the distance between them, their faces were only a few inches away.

“Too bad I’m still married to your mom.” Richie joked.

“Fuck you asshole.” Eddie said, poking Richie’s chest with his finger. His jaw was set and he stared up at him with determination. “I’ve waited two fucking months to do this and I won’t let your trashmouth ruin it.”

Richie cocked his head. “Waited two months to do what?”

Eddie’s answer was to grab Richie by the lapels of his blazer, pull him down and press their lips together. Kissing Richie, hard. There was a moment of hesitation and then Richie’s hands were reaching up to cradle Eddie’s face, their lips moving together.

Eddie sucked Richie’s bottom lip between his teeth, making him groan. He broke them apart and Richie couldn’t help but try to chase after his lips. Eddie chuckled. “That.” 

Dazed, it took him a second to realize Eddie was answering his question. He grinned down at him. “Only two months? I’ve been waiting to do that for almost thirty years.” Richie said, watching Eddie’s cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink. “Fuck you’re cute.”

“Shut up.” 

“You know what? For the first time, I think I will.” Richie said, leaning down and kissing Eddie again. He ran his thumbs over Eddie’s cheeks and the scar there, coaxing his mouth open. Eddie let go of his blazer, his hands sneaking underneath it, fisting Richie’s shirt. His mouth slipped open and he licked into Richie’s mouth, eliciting a desperate and needy whine from him. He could feel a familiar heat coiling in his stomach. 

Crowding Eddie against the wall, Richie slid his thigh between his legs, pressing against him. He could tell that he was half hard already and so was Richie, it was a little embarrassing, that at this age all it took was some kissing but this wasn’t just a kiss, it was a culmination of everything he wanted to do since he was thirteen. 

“Richie, Rich.” Eddie gasped, sounding breathless. “We’re at a party, we should⎯” His words trailed off into a moan when Richie caught Eddie’s earlobe between his teeth and bit down. “Fuck Richie, we’re in the middle of the hallway, anyone could walk in.”

Richie leaned back, stared down at Eddie. His cheeks were tinted red and his lips were a pretty kissed-pink and slick with spit. Eddie licked them and Richie followed the movement with half-lidded eyes. “Fuck them. I’ve waited long enough for this.”

Eddie’s thumbs rubbed circles on Richie’s skin, he hadn’t even noticed the moment his hands snuck under his shirt. “I know, me too.” He said, his hips twitching forward against Richie’s erection, making him gasp. “I’m not saying stop, I’m just saying not here.” 

Richie swallowed loudly, nodding. “Okay.” He said, looking around them. “How mad do you think Ben will be if we sneak into one of his rooms?” 

“I don’t think he’ll notice. He’s too caught up in Bev to care right now.” Eddie said, pushing up on his heels to give Richie another kiss, short but desperate at the same time, before leaving the space between Richie and the wall and starting to drag him to the nearest door. “Besides they owe us, we had to watch them kiss while they were still covered in sewer water, which⎯ gross, man.” Eddie said, scrunching up his nose. 

Richie laughed. “I can’t blame them. I wanted to kiss you when we were covered in sewer water. I wanted to kiss you even when you were covered in that black vomit thing.”

“Richie! Stop being gross, you’re killing my boner.”

“Find us a room and I will have you back up in no time, baby.”

Eddie rolled his eyes but Richie could see them darken with lust. He opened a door, took a step inside and stopped. 

“What?” Richie asked when he hesitated. “You’re not changing your mind, are you?”

Eddie whirled around, he was frowning. “Do you get a kick out of being obtuse?” Eddie snapped, when Richie only blinked at him, he grabbed his face and kissed him hard enough that he stumbled back. “I’m not changing my fucking mind. I love you. Get that into that big forehead of yours.” 

Richie’s face broke into a giddy smile. “I love you too Eds.” Eddie smiled back and started to close the door. “What’s wrong with that room?”

“Oh. I found the dog.” Eddie said, shutting it. “And I’m not traumatizing the poor thing. Let’s find another one, you can pet him afterwards.”

“I like the way you think.” Richie said, letting Eddie drag him to another room, hopefully one with a bed and no dog. 

Tag list: @daddyphantomtbh​ @yes-dillman-yes​ @richietoaster​ @beepbeeprichiellc​ @its-stranger-than-you-think​ @lemonaayyee​ @losers-gotta-stick-together​ @tinyarmedtrex​ @richiefuckfacetozier​ @sam-i-am2468​ @richardtoz​ @s-s-georgie​ @reddie-for-anything​ @eddiefuckinkaspbrak​ @constantreaderfool​ @thundercatseddie​ @jesuschristsupruvestar​ @mirandonsky​ @proton-disaster-blaster​ @alargedepresso​ @purplepoisonedgem​ @pan-ini​ @reddie-to-cryy​ @reddieforlove​ @trashmouthnick​ @multi-fandom-wby​ @wheezyeds​ @nancynwheeler​ @did-someone-say-reddie​ @madi-personal​ @reddie-tozibrak​ @lover-mouth​ @atownofeggs​ @that-weird-girls-blog​ @appojoos​ @castielwinovak​ @fuck-the-sushi​ @twoidiotsinl0ve​ @typewrxter​ @fcngirltrxsh​ @spirited-marvel​ (if you want to be added, let me know!)

[greenornaments]

58. “I’ve been in love with you my entire life. Ever since the day I first met you.” :D

Oooh, thank you so much for this prompt! This takes place post-Ch. 2, they’ve defeated Pennywise and Eddie didn’t die or even get attacked. Enjoy! ^_^

———————————

Richie can’t stop himself from thinking about it; the crippling terror he’d experienced under the clown’s hypnotic spell as he helplessly watched Eddie get impaled above him, unable to do anything but watch, scream, and listen to the deafening cries inside his own head of NO, NO, GOD NO, NOT EDDIE, TAKE ME INSTEAD, PLEASE….

It’s not real. None of it was real. He knows this from the moment he awakens from the Deadlights, dazed and disoriented as Eddie looks down at him and exclaims that he’s done it, he’s killed It, and Richie gets that surge of energy and strength he’s always heard about mothers getting when their child is in danger. It’s enough to propel him to grab onto Eddie and roll both of them out of the way just in time to miss the clown’s vengeful claws. The six of them make it out, fleeing from the house of horrors one after the other, grabbing onto each other in relief and shock as they watch Neibolt crumble into the ground and become nothing more than a bad memory.

And he can’t stop thinking about it. While they walk the quiet streets of Derry in the early dawn. When they reach the quarry, which is now sporting a large sign warning against the diving they’d engaged in so many times as children without a second thought. When they blatantly ignore the sign and dive in anyway, with Eddie grabbing onto his hand before they take the plunge. While they’re swimming around in the opaque water and Eddie is playfully splashing some of it in his direction, the smile on his face more beautiful than all the stars in the sky combined. Especially then.

What would I have done? He thinks to himself as he laughs and splashes him back. If the clown had gotten him and he was gone, what the fuck would I have done?

He’s still thinking about it later that night, as he’s standing in the shower of his rented room at the Derry Townhouse, letting the hot water run over his body and cleanse him once and for all of the scourge of Pennywise and all the misery It had wrought over him and his friends for their entire lives. He’s letting his mind wander, turning over long buried memories that have been barreling at him full force ever since he stepped foot inside Jade of the Orient and saw Eddie for the first time in twenty-seven years, but which he hasn’t allowed himself to fully process until now. Now that he has nothing else to do but think.

He thinks about that summer, of quarries and clubhouses and lazy afternoons spent in a hammock; he thinks about movies and videogames and ice cream; of days spent riding bikes through the streets of town and of hot, still nights reading comics together on Eddie’s bed while trying not to wake up Mrs. Kaspbrak.

He thinks back further, to school trips to the apple orchard, where he and Eddie would pool their pocket money together to share a turnover that Richie would always make sure to take the smaller half of. He thinks of chilly winters; of snowy days spent building snowmen in Richie’s front yard before going inside for piping hot mugs of hot chocolate.

And he thinks back even further still, to the first day of kindergarten, when he was a tiny, nervous ball of anxiety who started crying the minute his mother left, until a brown haired boy with wide eyes as dark as his hair came up to him, smiled, and offered him some dried peaches from a small bag he took from the black fanny pack around his waist.

Fuck, he thinks, the long forgotten truth hitting him as his mind lingers on the R+E he’d carved into the kissing bridge on that long ago summer day. You’ve gotten yourself into a fucking emotional mess now, Rich. You dumb fucking asshole. You shouldn’t have come back here. None of you should have. Forgetting was better, it was always fucking better.

He heaves a sigh and turns the water off, shivering as he steps out of the shower and towels himself off. He’s just finishing putting on fresh clothes when he hears a knock on his door. It’s probably Mike wanting us all to go to brunch or some shit.

He crosses the room and opens the door. It’s not Mike.

“Can I come in?” Eddie asks, even as he’s squeezing past Richie and entering the room anyway.

“Well, since you so politely asked for my permission,” Richie quips, watching Eddie sit on the edge of his bed. He’s also changed his clothes; he’s wearing plaid pajama pants and a plain black sweatshirt that says Tri-State Insurance across the front. It’s a very basic outfit that shouldn’t be and truly isn’t anything special, yet somehow on Eddie it manages to make Richie’s heart thump ever so slightly harder.

Get a fucking grip on yourself.

“To what do I owe this most honorable visit?” Richie asks as he leans against the wall and tries to look like he hasn’t just spent the past half hour reliving every single moment of pining he’s repressed for years.

Eddie looks suddenly uncomfortable, like he’s unsure now of why he’s there. “I… I wanted to talk to you. If you have a minute.”

“Just a minute, I have a hot date with your mom I’m gonna be late for.”

“You do realize my mom is dead, right, asshole?”

Richie swallows down the next joke he was about to make. He actually hadn’t remembered that in all the chaos. “Sorry,” he murmurs, his eyes meeting Eddie’s for the first time since the other man burst into his room. Eddie gazes back at him for the briefest of moments before he closes his eyes and sighs.

“Just… look, this isn’t gonna be easy for me to say,” he begins, opening his eyes back up and focusing them on a vague spot on the wall somewhere to the left of Richie. “But it’s going to bug the shit out of me until I say it, so I’m just going to bite the bullet and fucking go for it, and you don’t even have to respond, I just want to get it off my chest.”

Richie’s stomach drops, and he starts to wonder if he’s done something to piss Eddie off since they’ve reunited. Like, unintentionally. The basis of their entire friendship has always been him playfully trying to get Eddie mad, but Eddie has never really been angry at him. He doesn’t think they’ve ever even had a real fight. But there’s always that seed of doubt, and Richie quickly goes back over every interaction they’ve had in the past couple of days. Did he get mad about me making fun of his job? Maybe I made too many mom jokes, I honestly forgot she’s dead. Ok, maybe I shouldn’t have made those comments about his wife, but come on, he told me himself that their marriage is on the rocks and he’s been emotionally divorced for a long time, so how mad could he possibly-

“Earth to Trashmouth, are you listening to me?”

Fuck. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry. What’s on your mind?” Richie asks, clearing his throat and trying to do the same to his mind as he focuses back on Eddie, who takes a deep breath and begins speaking.

“Richie… back there, in the sewers, when… when the fucking clown had you in those Deadlights, I knew I had to do something to save you, cause no shit, right, you’re one of my best friends, so of course I did, but… but for some reason I also kind of felt like… like you being attacked by Pennywise was a personal attack on me? Sort of? Like… fuck… all I could think of was how I froze up when that spider fuck was attacking you, and how I had to make up for that, but also how… Ugh… I don’t know how to phrase this,” Eddie whines, rubbing a hand over his face as he focuses his eyes back on the wall, avoiding eye contact with Richie.

“It’s like… if it was any of the others up there, of course I would also try to help them if I could, but it wouldn’t…. it wouldn’t feel like so much of a personal thing, if that makes sense? The clown getting you, specifically, just really pissed me off. And when you dropped down I was so worried about you, like, were you ok? Were you hurt? I thought back to when we were kids, you know, when Bev was in the lights and Ben had to kiss her, and I thought… is that what you needed, too? Was I going to have to do that? But then you woke up and I was relieved, Rich, I was so relieved, but I was also… I don’t know… disappointed. I was actually disappointed that you didn’t need a kiss to wake up, and god, Richie, ever since we got out of that fucking house that’s all I’ve been able to think about. Why it is that I was so, so disappointed.”

Richie’s heart is pounding now, the steady thump of its beat echoing in his ears as all of his blood rushes to his head and makes him feel dizzy. Is Eddie saying what he thinks he’s saying? He can’t be, this isn’t real, it’s a dream, he’s still in the Deadlights and he’s going to wake up any second and they’re still going to be in that godforsaken sewer.

“Richie.”

“What?” Richie barely manages to choke out as Eddie finally makes eye contact with him. Every part of him is bursting to come out and say what he’s been holding back for days, for years, but he’s terrified.

“I don’t know how else to say this, but I… I think…”

“Eddie, I love you.” The words leave his mouth before he can stop them, and the minute they do his stomach flips, waves of nausea threatening to make him let loose right there on the bedroom floor, but somehow, using unimaginable strength he doesn’t even know he has in him, he manages to keep himself just barely under control enough to not completely ruin this moment.

Eddie blinks, his cheeks turning a brilliant shade of crimson. “Say that again?” He says it in a shocked whisper, his eyes wide as saucers as he looks at Richie in disbelief.

“I said I love you,” Richie repeats, finding it easier to say the second time now that the worst is over. He might as well let it all out, there’s no going back now. “I do, I love you so fucking much. I’ve been in love with you my entire life. Ever since the day I first met you. And that’s all that’s been on my mind since I got that fucking phone call from Mike. That’s what went through my head as soon as I saw the number pop up on my phone. You.” He feels his cheeks growing hot from the adrenaline and pure relief of that crushing weight coming off of his chest.

Eddie’s shoulders are heaving with the intensity of the breaths he’s taking as his dark eyes bore into Richie’s. The next thing Richie knows, he’s watching Eddie get up off the bed and cross over to him, stopping close to him but, agonizingly, not even remotely close enough.

“Say it again,” he demands, his eyes flashing.

“I love you.”

“Again.” Eddie is slowly closing the space between them.

“I. Love. You.”

“One more time.” He’s practically pressed up against him now, and Richie is about 80% sure he’s about to actually faint.

“I’m in love with you, you little shit-“

His words are cut off by the gentle press of soft lips against his, and his brain short-circuits and goes completely offline. It’s so much, it’s too much, it’s not enough, it’s Eddie, it’s literally everything Richie has ever dreamed of, it’s the moment he often stayed up for entire nights fantasizing about, it’s what he always assumed he would never experience, and here it was, as real as the press of Eddie’s warm, breathing, very much alive body pinning him against the wall.

Their lips part and they look at each other, breathing heavily. Eddie’s eyes are blown black, his lips are cherry red and his cheeks are scarlet. He’s so close that Richie can actually feel the thumping of the other man’s heart against his chest.

“I love you too, asshole,” says Eddie, smiling before crashing their lips back together.

[billhaderlovebot]

beep beep (4) - richie tozier

some sexy stuff, swearing, angst, the usual. i don't know how many more parts there are going to be but if 5 is the last one then prepare for a Big Boy™

@ceruleanrainblues @the-star-above-you @a-second-hand-sorrow @shockwavee

----

the divorce was messy. timothy took pretty much everything on the grounds that you had run off with another man (which you thought was pretty fair) and he also had slandered your name in front of your whole family in court, which was actually quite petty of him. richie almost murdered him, that day, and had to keep his hand in yours so that he wouldn't get up and break timothy's nose again right in front of his big-shot lawyer.

your family, it was safe to say, did not approve of richie, because timothy was always such a nice boy, and you've made a terrible mistake, dear. the only one who ever did like richie was your grandmother, and she was long gone, bless her cotton socks.

so, yeah, you'd run off with richie.

yeah, you'd escaped from an unhappy marriage in which you never felt loved to be with someone who looked at you like you hung the fucking moon.

okay, granted, you did sleep with richie that night, which wasn't entirely moral, considering you were married to another man, but, yknow, timothy hadn't gone anywhere near you in months and months, and richie was just so good at the sex thing.

also, you loved him. so much.

leaving you with barely enough money to pay your hospital bills sucked. you weren't even sure how timothy was able to do that legally.

but it was alright. you took your stuff and moved into richie's penthouse apartment in malibu almost as soon as you'd been discharged from the hospital. he had made enough money over the first half of his trash-mouth tour to support the both of you for the time being, and he cancelled the reno dates, and all the dates for the foreseeable, because all he wanted to do was be around you and the rest of the losers.

your books and mugs and weird stuff that you'd hoarded over the years slowly spread themselves around richie's apartment, and it made him so happy because it was so utterly domestic.

whenever he saw your shoes in the hallway or your toothbrush in the weird ceramic holder with a bee on it that bev had bought him, he grinned like a stupid, lovestruck idiot, because he was a stupid, lovestruck idiot.

eddie came over a lot, regularly crashing in the spare bedroom because he, too was going through a divorce, and myra kaspbrak was quite a bit more intimidating than timothy. so, that became eddie's room while he was looking for his own apartment.

and you were so fucking happy.

the piece of string that had been serving as your engagement ring after richie proposing on a whim was a constant reminder of how loved you were, and you tied a matching one around his finger, because you didn't feel it was fair that he got to do the whole cute proposal thing.

it had been six months since derry. since the sewers, since defeating IT for the final time. since reuniting with your soulmate. you were sure that life couldn't get better.

eventually, you'd gotten an actual ring.

richie had given it to you on a whim, as usual, opening the little ring box in your direction while you were both surrounded by chinese food, the fourth consecutive episode of snapped playing in the background.

you had choked on your wok-fried garlic and soy broccoli, and he'd thumped your back so you wouldn't almost die, again, which hurt your recovering shoulder, and then he had panicked, and you were crying and laughing and choking all at the same time.

point is, he had given you a ring.

it was a thin, gold band with three little diamonds set into the middle, and you had immediately fallen in love with it.

you hadn't, however, wanted to take off the piece of string, so you wore it on the same finger as the proper engagement ring. richie was relieved because he also hadn't wanted to take the string off.

that night, after some really really great celebration sex, (albeit a little careful, as you sometimes got sharp pains up and down your ribs if you exerted yourself too much) richie bared his soul to you.

he told you everything.

and he cried, and he trembled because he was so scared of ending things with you before they had even begun.

it was the first time he had ever said it out loud.

"i'm bisexual."

and he had let out a breath, then. a breath that he had been holding in for almost three decades.

"oh, richie." and you held him to you without a second thought.

you had always known, somehow.

you'd known, for the same reason one knows the sun has risen. because you had eyes.

you'd seen how richie had always gravitated towards eddie, always grabbing onto him in moments of distress, the soft looks richie would give him when he didn't have time to put up his walls. you knew, and you loved him all the same. of course you did.

you didn't tell him, however, that you had known.

because this moment was so important. the moment where he finally had control over his life and his identity and he was spilling his heart out to you. you would not take that away from him.

this was his time. his moment. his life.

he told you about eddie, and the arcade, and the kissing bridge, and how he'd always, always pushed it down but now it was only the two of you, and if he was to marry you, he wanted everything out in the open.

and god damn you if you let him keep hating himself.

"richie, thankyou for telling me. im so happy that you... that you felt you could talk about it. and to me."

"so... you're not..."

"angry? no. honey, this is who you are. what kind of partner would i be if i didn't love you for who you are? you're perfect, richie."

he cried again, and you let him, because he fucking needed it.

----

richie's nightmares were bad.

really, really fucking bad.

he didn't have them as much as beverly said she had, because, while he had been caught in the deadlights, It was dead and couldn't push into his mind any further. he often couldn't remember what they were about, only that he woke up so scared he would cry. the deadlight-induced terrors came and went, but they always caught both of you off guard.

when it first happened, you were more than a little bit confused, because richie was not a restless sleeper.

you woke to quiet whimpers coming from the man sleeping beside you as he writhed under the bedlinen.

in your sleep-addled haze, it took you a minute to understand what was happening, wiping the sleep from your eyes and adjusting to the darkness.

what, moments ago, was little more than disturbed whimpers, was now loud, heart-fucking-wrenching sobs, the only sound in the otherwise silent apartment.

his body shook next to yours and you were beginning to panic, reaching for him.

"richie? baby, wake up." you shook him lightly, noting the sweat practically dripping from him, and his face, scrunched in fear. he whined lowly, jerking in the bed, but he did not wake. you hadn't been faced with such a situation before, especially not with him, so this was touch and go.

this had never happened before and you were absolutely shitting bricks.

you shook him again, and he jolted awake, crying out as he sat up with a start.

"richie?"

his eyes snapped open, searching wildly around the room for something that wasn't there.

the only light came from the moon and city lights outside your house. sobs of pain overtook him, great, heaving breaths, and then the man you were in love with was crying his fucking eyes out in front of you; fisting his hands in his sweat-soaked hair as his whole body shuddered.

they were tremors he had no control over, the aftershocks of the nightmare taking control of him.

it broke your heart. your face softened as you reached for him again.

god, he held on to you so tight that you almost started crying yourself.

"eddie..." he choked. "ben didn't warn him in time. and i-i-i couldn't... fuck-"

"eddie is at home." you murmured, pressing your lips to his sweat-slick forehead "a ten minute drive. he just moved in. we can go up to see him tomorrow, if you want."

"It's... It's in my head." richie sobbed. the front of your shirt was soaked through with tears. "It's still in my head."

"It's dead, richie."

"so why can i still feel it?"

and you didn't know what to tell him.

---

your first fight, needless to say, sucked.

you didn't even remember what you were fighting about, only that you screamed at each other a lot, and there were tears, and it ended with richie, head in his hands, asking you to leave him alone for a minute in a voice so uncharacteristically calm that it scared you. and so you left for the bedroom, shutting the door, your head swimming and chest burning from the sobs you'd been caging in there.

you knew, realistically, that this was just one fight, and you'd be back to normal within the hour, but this was the first fight you'd had since you were kids, and god only knows how hot headed you'd gotten in the 27 years since then. both of you.

and you hated yourself for letting it get this far and making him not want to be around you.

it was times like this, when richie's nightmares were at their worst and you woke up every night like fucking clockwork to make sure he was real and still there and still breathing, and eddie came round constantly because he couldn't stand being alone in a new place, it was times like this that you needed to be close. so while it was just a dumb fight, you allowed yourself to cry.

richie clicked open the door about half an hour later, shuffling into the room. his eyes were red and he was probably shaking a little bit, you thought.

"im sorry." his voice came out small, and you sat up from the bed immediately.

"no, im sorry, rich. i was overreacting and it was fucking stupid and we need to just-"

and richie all but staggered forwards, grabbing your face in his hands and kissing you, hard. you gasped, and he used the opportunity to gain access to the inside of your mouth. cheeky bastard.

you both had been crying for a while, so the kiss was rather wet, but you overlooked it on account of the fact that his hand was not-so-discreetly sliding up your shirt and fumbling at your bra clasp. as suave as he liked to think he was, his bra skills needed work. he eventually did it, and seemed more than a little bit proud of himself, muttering a triumphant: "fuck yeah."

you tugged richie's bottom lip between your teeth and he fucking groaned. and that noise coming from his mouth was so fucking hot that your knees almost buckled.

you made a mental note to do the sex thing really really well tonight, because the sex thing was definitely happening and it had been a bad night for the both of you and you fucking needed him, right the fuck now.

it wasn't long before you ended up underneath him, and he was pressing open mouthed kisses to your inner thighs, and you were breathing hard and you honestly thought that if he didn't get the fuck on with it you'd probably die right there.

"rich- ahh- richie?"

"yes, baby?"

god, how the fuck was he so smug all the time?

"i think you should- fuck, oh my god- probably get on with things right the the fuck now, or i'll have to... i'll-" you curled your fingers into his hair, your nails scratching across his scalp.

"or?" he hummed, continuing his ministrations everywhere except where you wanted them.

"i'll have to, mmmh, hurt you, actually." you whispered, breathless. you were unable to form a solid argument, what with richie fucking tozier being so sexy and all, teasing the shit out of you.

"you will?" richie put a hand on each of your legs and spread them further apart, his lips relentless, sucking and biting your sensitive flesh. this man was going to fucking kill you, god.

"yeah, yeah, i'll- ahh- bite your fucking face off, or something-"

and then he was between your thighs, right fucking there, so he never did find out what that something actually was, because whatever came out of your mouth after that wasn't decipherable.

---

"we shouldn't fight." richie murmured, as if he was afraid of being too loud in case he broke the moment.

you traced gentle patterns on his chest with your fingertips.

"i know." you said, equally as cautious.

"but i don't even remember what we were fighting about, and we just had several rounds of the apology." he laughed quietly, kissing your bare shoulder.

smirking at the hickeys on your collarbone, he pressed a kiss there, too, admiring his handiwork.

"i love you, fuck face." you yawned, your eyes fluttering shut.

"yeah, and i love you, dickweed."

richie stared fondly at the piece of string around his ring finger. you would be alright. after all, your wedding was coming up.

he had no nightmares that night.

[a-second-hand-sorrow]

Paper Rings Part 2 (Richie Tozier X Reader)

WC: 3630

Warnings: Language, kinda sexual talk, gets a bit Sad

Summary: Y/N returns to Derry with Richie, for better or worse.

A/N: Here is part 2! I was so surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the first part so here is the second part. Hope y’all enjoy (also sorry if anyone notices that the summary and stuff is slightly different, for some reason all the text in this post deleted so I’m updating it.)

The drive to Derry was surprisingly fun, full of screaming song lyrics at the top of their lungs with Richie’s hand never once leaving Y/N’s thigh. Maybe they pulled over once to fulfil Richie’s fantasy of making out in a parked car, but regardless, they got to Derry in record time.

They parked outside the Jade Orient, and Y/N could tell that Richie was starting to feel anxious. “Hey, wanna tell me what’s going through that gorgeous head of yours?” Y/N asked, shifting her position so she was facing Richie, one of her hands grasping his.

“It’s just that I haven’t been back here in so long, and I can’t remember why but I just feel like something bad happened here, and I think something bad is about to happen, Y/N.” Richie said, his voice shaking as he spoke, and Y/N felt her heart wrench.

She hated seeing Richie upset more than anything else, so she pulled him into an awkward hug, his head resting in the crook of her neck. “Rich, I’m here and I’m with you. You don’t need to worry, babe.” Y/N whispered into his hair, rubbing his shoulders soothingly.

 Richie pulled away, taking a deep breath before giving her a grateful smile. “I love you so much, Y/N/N. Let’s go.” Richie said, and Y/N felt herself smile at his words. They untangled themselves and climbed out of the car, making sure it was locked as Richie had a habit of forgetting to lock both the car and their front door.

Richie slid his hand into Y/N’s as they entered the restaurant, and she squeezed it gently to reassure him that all would be well. The overpowering smell of Chinese food caused Y/N to smile widely, remembering when she first told Richie she loved him.

“You know, if this dinner finishes quick enough, we can head back to the hotel and really make the most of that room.” Richie whispered in Y/N’s ear as they waited to be shown to their table.

“You are not getting me turned on before a dinner with your childhood friends, Richard. That is a game you do not want to start.” Y/N retorted, pointing her finger at him sternly. Richie went to respond, but the waitress arrived and guided them to their table.

Richie saw a large ceremonial gong near the table and without even thinking he ran towards it, picking up the accompanying mallet and banging the gong. The men sitting at the table all grimaced, and Y/N did too, shooting Richie a disapproving glare.

“Guess this meeting of the Loser’s Club has officially begun.” Richie said, and Y/N furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Must be an inside joke. Richie rushed to the three men sitting at the table with a look of shock on his face. Y/N stood there awkwardly as the friends reunited, rocking back and forth on her heels. She heard a few names thrown about during the conversation, and she tried to assign them correctly to faces.

“Hey Rich, would you care to introduce your friend?” The man that Y/N assumed to be Eddie said, pointing to her shyly. Richie gasped, realising he forgot to introduce Y/N. He moved over to her, placing an arm around her shoulders.

“Gentlemen, this is Y/N. I go everywhere with her, and she is the best.” Richie said cheekily, and Y/N rolled her eyes at him.

“So what? Is she like a PA or something?” Eddie said and Richie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

“No you fuckwit, she’s my wife.” Richie said, and Y/N couldn’t help but burst out laughing as she lifted her left hand, showing off the rings that decorated her fourth finger.

“For once in his entire life he’s not joking. I’m Y/N Tozier, pleasure to meet you all.” Y/N said, stretching her hand out to shake the hands of the other men.

“Richie, do you think you’re maybe batting out of your league at all?” Eddie commented and Richie just gave him the finger and told him to fuck off, which caused Y/N to giggle.

Pleasant conversation took place for a while, before the arrival of two more people drew their attention. Y/N turned around with Richie, and she furrowed her eyebrows at the look on his face.

“Ben, Bev, good god. You guys look amazing. What the fuck happened to me?” Richie said, standing up to greet them. They let out a polite chuckle and Y/N couldn’t help but shoot Richie a loving look.

“Ok now that everyone is here, I’m going to start eating because I’m fucking starving. Also this is Y/N, my wife.” Richie said, causing Ben and Beverly to glance between the two with shocked looks.

“I’ll give you all the brief story. We met at a party in 2009 and didn’t get together until after his SNL appearance later that year. We got engaged in 2011 and got married in 2012. I worked on SNL for a few years as a writer and now I co-write a lot of stuff with Richie.” Y/N said, taking a sip from her glass of wine once she was finished.

“Wait so does that mean Richie doesn’t write all his own jokes?” Eddie said and Y/N nodded, causing Eddie to gasp before turning to Richie.

“I knew it! I knew you didn’t write your own fucking jokes.” Eddie exclaimed, and Richie nearly choked on his spring roll as Y/N, and the rest of the table, burst out laughing.

“Oh fuck you Kaspbrak. What exactly do you do with your life, huh?” Richie retorted once he had finished eating, and Eddie adjusted his jacket almost indignantly.

“I’m a risk manager, so I go into big companies and you know… I manage risks.” Eddie said, and as if through some miracle both Y/N and Richie mocked being asleep; Richie with his head hung back, his mouth open as he faked snores and Y/N who drooped her head forward with her eyes closed. Eddie let out an offended groan, scoffing at the pair.

“Look fuck you both! That was so uncalled for.” After Eddie’s outburst the dinner progressed pretty normally, with Y/N slotting into the group quite well. The bickering between her, Richie and Eddie was next level, and her cheeks hurt from laughing by the time the main course came around.

By the end of the night they were incredibly relaxed, although the tension grew when Mike began talking about It. Y/N was understandably confused as the only outsider, but she quickly put the pieces together as soon as the fortune cookies started to dissolve into some of the most disturbing things she had ever seen.

“Richie what the fuck is going on?” Y/N said, clutching onto her husband’s arm as they backed up into one corner of the room. They were breathing fast, and Y/N let out a scream as one of the things tried to come near her.

“Get the fuck away from my wife!” Richie said, swatting at anything that got too close for comfort. Mike beat the things on the table beyond recognition with a chair, and as soon as the waitress appeared all those things harassing them disappeared.

Y/N looked around the room in shock and confusion, running a hand through her hair as she tried to process what she had just seen. She was breathing fast and hard, and it seemed that Richie could tell she was close to panicking because he cupped her face in his hands and got her to focus on her breathing. 

She started to stammer, unable to form proper sentences due to the chaos she had just witnessed. Richie shushed her gently, moving his hands so he could pull her against him. He pressed several kisses to the top of her head as she calmed down, one hand on the back of her neck and the other on her waist.

“I’ve got you, Y/N/N. I’ve got you.” Richie didn’t care that all the other Losers were watching them, some in confusion and some with an unrecognisable emotion on their face. All he cared about was making sure his wife was ok.

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

Y/N woke up the next morning wrapped tighter around Richie than ever before. All their limbs were tangled messily together and she was practically on top of him. As much as Y/N wanted to stay like that, she had to go get a coffee and wake herself up or else she wouldn’t leave the bed. She carefully untangled herself from Richie’s embrace and quickly threw on the closest set of clothes, which was a pair of leggings and one of Richie’s button ups, before leaving their shared room.

When she walked downstairs she found Eddie on the phone in the common area, pacing frantically as he spoke to whoever was on the other end of the phone. “Myra I love you but I really have to go, ok? Bye!” With that Eddie hung up, sighing as he put his phone in his pocket.

“Things on rocky ground with the wife?” Y/N said, causing Eddie to jump slightly at her sudden appearance.

“Yeah, you could say that, though I guess we’re always on rocky ground. It’s nothing like you and Richie, though.” Eddie said, and Y/N smiled as she scratched the back of her neck bashfully.

“Thanks Eddie. I’m so glad I met Richie, honestly. He’s incredible.” Y/N said, sitting down on the edge of the armchair opposite Eddie. He shot her a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes before letting out a yawn.

“I was just about to go out and get coffee, did you want some?” Y/N said, and Eddie nodded immediately, prompting Y/N to let out a chuckle as they booth stood up. The walk to the coffee shop was punctuated with small talk and the odd jab at Richie’s expense, and Y/N felt glad that she was getting to know her husband’s childhood best friend.

“Look Y/N, can I be completely honest with you?” Eddie said while they were waiting for the coffee, and Y/N nodded, though she couldn’t help the rising feeling of anxiety that hit her thanks to Eddie’s words.

“I genuinely cannot think of a better person for Richie to be with than you. I have never seen him as happy and relaxed as he was last night, and I can tell that he would probably die for you if it came down to it, and from what I’ve seen, I’m pretty sure you’d do the same.” Eddie said with such a genuine tone that it took Y/N a bit by surprise. The smile on Y/N’s face was so wide, and she couldn’t help but pull Eddie into a brief but tight hug.

“Thank you, and trust me when I say that I know my husband, and I know how much you mean to him as well.”

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

Never in her wildest dreams did Y/N think she would be in the sewers underneath her husband’s hometown, about to battle a giant, horrifying clown-spider hybrid, but life did always tend to surprise her.

“You wanna play truth or dare? Well you’re a sloppy bitch!” Richie shouted at the monster before relaying a whole heap of other insults. Y/N was standing behind Richie, clutching his hand tightly in both support and utter fear.

Suddenly Richie was silence, and he began to levitate with an unnatural golden glow in his eyes. “What the fuck did you do to my husband you bitch ass clown?” Y/N called, feeling her hand fall out of Richie’s as he continued to ascend. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she looked up at Richie, hoping and praying to any god that would listen that he made it out alive.

“The deadlights… we have to do something!” Beverly said, looking around at the group for some support. Before anyone could do or say anything, the sound of thundering footsteps alerted everyone’s attention, and suddenly Eddie was launching a pike into the open face of the clown. The hold on Richie was immediately lost and he dropped to the floor with a soft thud.

Eddie and Y/N immediately rushed to him, making sure he wasn’t injured or unconscious. “Richie, I did it! I killed It, Richie!” Eddie said excitedly, full of joy and pride. Y/N gave Eddie a warm smile before turning her gaze to Richie, placing a gentle hand on his cheek.

Richie let out a groan, nuzzling his face into Y/N’s hand as he came back to reality. “You guys… you saved me.” Richie mumbled, and both Eddie and Y/N chuckled lightly.

“Actually Rich, that was all… EDDIE!” Y/N called out, pushing the shorter brunette out of the way. Due to her position she saw that It was in fact still alive, and incredibly angry. It swung one of its claws in their direction, and without thinking Y/N shoved Eddie out of the line of potential injury. The adrenaline was pumping and she didn’t even register what had happened until she felt a searing pain in her abdomen.

“Y/N oh my god!” Richie said, catching her as she stumbled from the impact. All of Richie’s fears were coming true in the form of seeing Y/N wounded and bleeding in his arms.

“Jesus Christ Y/N, you didn’t need to… I could’ve…” Eddie stammered, moving to support her other side.

“Easy boys, tis but a scratch.” Y/N mumbled, starting to feel a little weak but keeping it together for the sake of her husband and his friend.

“Y/N you’re... Jesus you’re almost fucking dying and you’re fucking quoting Monty Python. I know you’re my dream woman but god at what cost.” Richie said, the pitch of his voice raising due to the tears that started to flow from his eyes.

“Rich, if I don’t get out of here.” Y/N said, and Richie made several noises of protest, shaking his head as tears blurred his vision.

“Don’t you say that, Y/N Tozier, don’t you fucking dare say that. We’re getting you out of here. I cannot and will not have you die on my watch, because god forbid if you do, who else am I supposed to love? Who else am I supposed to have a family with? Who else am I supposed to grow old with? I don’t want that with anyone but you, Y/N. Fuck.” Richie said, sobbing openly as he cradled Y/N close to his chest. 

Richie didn’t care that he had his wife’s blood staining his shirt and his hands. He just wanted to get her out of here alive and spend the rest of his life with her, like they promised each other they would all those years ago. He wasn’t a religious man, but he was praying to god that he would spare Y/N.

Richie didn’t move from Y/N’s side until they were sure It was well and truly dead. He had used his button up to stop the bleeding, and he just kept talking to her to stop her from going to sleep, but it worked. Carrying Y/N was tricky due to the tight and narrow spaces they had to get through to get out, but they quickly made it to the surface.

“We have to get her to a hospital.” Richie said, holding Y/N in his arms as she let out a groan of pain. That groan sent a knife through Richie’s heart, and he instinctively tightened his grip on her.

“We’re gonna make it, Y/N. I promise.”

 --------------

Y/N awoke to the sound of soft snoring and the incessant beeping of a monitor of some sort. She felt a dull ache in her lower torso, and when she opened her eyes she was met with a fierce brightness that caused her to let out a groan. It was when she started to wake that she felt a weight in her right hand, and she could only guess that it belonged to Richie.

“Rich.” She said softly, her own voice sounding almost alien after having not used it for so long. The soft snores of the brunette opposite her were quickly replaced by a gasp as Richie realised that she was awake.

“Y/N? Oh my god you’re awake.” Richie exclaimed, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it a dozen times over. Y/N gave him a weak smile, blushing slightly at the gesture. Even after several years of marriage he still managed to make her blush.

“How long was I out?” Y/N asked, trying to sit up but wincing when she was hit with a rush of burning pain.

“Don’t push yourself Y/N, you might tear some stitches. You’ve been out for about a day. They operated and everything is fine, but you’re going to need a lot of recovery time. You nearly died, Y/N.” Richie said, his voice trailing off as he began to dwell on the events of the past day. Y/N could sense this, and she squeezed Richie’s hand tighter to let him know that she was ok. She didn’t die down there, he didn’t have to worry.

Suddenly they heard the sound of the door opening, and Y/N gave the visitor a half smile. It was Eddie, who came into the room meekly clutching a bouquet of flowers. They were by no means the best and brightest, but Y/N appreciated the gesture.

“Hey man, is she good?” Eddie asked, placing the flowers on a table next to Y/N’s bed.

“She’s awake, thank you very much Kaspbrak.” Y/N said, and Eddie’s face seemed to light up.

“Oh Y/N I’m so glad you’re ok. We were all worried sick, but no one more than Richie. I don’t think he’s left this chair since you got here. I think he nearly fought a nurse when they tried to get him out to do the surgery.” Eddie said, waving his hands about as he spoke.

Y/N went to laugh but stopped when she felt that ache in her torso again, and settled for just smiling at Eddie and squeezing Richie’s hand again. “Thanks Eddie, and Richie I won’t be offended if you leave, at the very least to take a shower. I’m not going to be kissing or fucking my husband if he smells like a literal sewer.”

Richie let out a genuine laugh, as did Eddie, and he shrugged his shoulders before standing up. He groaned at the feeling of tension in his muscles before leaning down to press a kiss to Y/N’s forehead.

“If I head to the hotel and scrub up before coming back here, will I be receiving any kisses?” Richie asked and Y/N smirked as she nodded her head.

“Maybe even a handjob if I’m feeling generous.” She said, and Richie’s eyes widened behind his giant glasses. He threw his head back and muttered a thank you to god before kissing Y/N’s forehead once more.

“You’re the best wife a man could ask for, Y/N. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.” He said, wiggling his eyebrows as he left the room, much to Eddie’s disgust.

“You guys are perfect for each other. Sharp, funny, and gross enough to keep everyone on their toes.” Eddie said and Y/N nodded her head, a loving smile on her face.

“Thanks Eddie. So, is there any reason you decided to stop by and see little old me?” Y/N asked, and Eddie nodded, crossing his legs as he turned to face Y/N.

“I want to say thank you. You saved my fucking life down there, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I know we only just met but I feel like I’ve known you for a lot longer. That could just be because Richie doesn’t shut up about you, but you get what I mean.” Eddie said, and Y/N reached out her hand, gesturing for Eddie to come closer to her.

He stood up and walked to her bedside, and Y/N lightly grasped one of Eddie’s hands. “Eddie, don’t forget that you saved Richie’s life down there. Do you know how goddamn happy it makes me to know that you care so much for Richie that you would risk your actual life? I practically owe you my life, Eddie, so thank you.” Y/N said, and Eddie gave her a smile that seemed to have a bittersweet feel to it.

Eddie went to say something but was cut off by Richie’s sudden reappearance in the room. “I might’ve lied about the twenty minutes part. Turns out I can shower a lot quicker than that. So, Y/N, are you going to be keeping your earlier promise?” Richie said suggestively, strolling over to the side of Y/N’s bed and kissing her on the cheek. Eddie stepped to the side and retreated back to his chair, watching the display with a slightly heavy heart.

Y/N just rolled her eyes, leaning up to kiss Richie for the first time since the sewer encounter. How so much passion and emotion could be contained in one kiss she had no idea, but it almost left her head reeling when they broke apart.

“Ok I can’t let this slide. Richie, I saved your fucking life down there so just saying, I think you should name a kid after me.” Eddie burst out suddenly, and both Y/N and Richie let out a laugh at the exclamation.

“I love you man, but that’s a bit too much. What do you think Y/N?” Richie said, and Y/N simply shrugged, making eye contact with Eddie as she did so.

Little did they know that in another two years they would be in another hospital in a similar set up, except with Y/N clutching little Eddie Tozier in her arms as the two men stared in awe at the beautiful boy, with nothing but joy filling the room.

[stellar-alley]

Everfalls

•Chapter 13•

This is based off of the artwork by oceanteeeth on Instagram! Also shout out to my Beta super.rose.cosplays!

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

(Summary: The Losers have a sleepover! That’s all- seriously. Eddie doesn’t get jealous over Richie and Stan’s relationship nor does he walk in on something, that’d never happen LOL, unless...? )

~

Stan and Mike were the first to arrive at Bill’s that afternoon. They helped him set up and get the living room ready for the sleepover.

“Yeah my mom took Guh-Georgie with her to go visit my dad’s sister in Bangor.” Bill explained as he grabbed his chocolate milk from the fridge.

Mike peaked over Bill’s shoulder into the fridge, “Aw that’s nice. Hey Big Bill why do you have so much chocolate milk?” He tilted his head.

Stan snorted from where he was leaning against the counter, “He’ll show you” he nodded to Bill who began chugging the milk with his gatorade cape.

Mike released an over dramatic gasp, “no way” he held a hand over his mouth.

Bill lowered the jug, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, “Yes way!” Bill exclaimed.

Before the trio could say anything else they were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. “I-I’ll get that” Bill stuttered as he put his jug down to go get the door. He opened the door wide to reveal Ben and Beverly.

“Hey!” They both greeted in unison at the sight of their friend opening the door.

Bill smiled and stepped aside, “Come on in” He motioned for them to enter.

The two set their stuff up in the family room as Bill went and grabbed his bin of DVDs and VHS from the basement for later when they wanted to watch a movie.

Richie pulled into the driveway of the Denbrough residence and killed the engine. He glanced down at his hand which tightly held Eddie’s. The wolf lifted the rabbits hand up and kissed his knuckles. “Try and have some fun tonight, okay?” He winked at the blushing bunny.

“I’ll try.” Eddie agreed.

The two got out and retrieved their bags from the back of the jeep, walking side by side up the main pathway and onto the front step. Richie reached out and rang the doorbell, he sent a smile at Eddie who mirrored his grin.

The door swung open to reveal Stanley Uris who leaned up against the doorframe with a small smile at the sight of friends, “Richard, Edward, glad you two could make it”.

“Staniel the Maniel, a pleasure as always” Richie smiled as he wrapped the golden haired human up in a tight hug.

Richie let out a little breath at the sudden physical attention but eventually returned the hug. “Good to see you too Trashmouth” He smiled as Rihcie let him go. Eddie smiled at him, “Same to you Eddie” he smiled, the two mentally agreeing to not engage in a hug.

Everyone said their hellos and eventually gravitated towards the family room where they all found their respected spots. Richie sat sprawled out on the recliner with Eddie sat on the floor in front of him. Mike and Bill shared the love seat while Stan sat on the arm rest and leaned up against the back, while Ben and Bev shared the other love seat.

“Okay what do you guys wanna watch first?” Mike asked the group as they all glanced around at each other, as if Mike had just opened Pandora’s box because all hell just broke loose.

Beverly wanted to watch the new movie with J Lo, Hustlers, which Stan said no to. Bill wanted to watch Back to the Future which everyone automatically disagreed with as that would’ve been their 10th time watching it together. Stan wanted to watch the new National Geographic documentary on birds, which everyone but Eddie said no to. Richie started shouting about watching his all time favourite movie The Hangover, which Stan refused to watch again, he claimed it was “Crude and Stupid” (Richie took great offense to that).

“Guys what about Toy Story?” Ben piped up. Even though everyone was having a shouting contest they all quickly quieted down and looked over at him.

Bev hummed happily, “I haven’t seen that movie in ages!”.

“Isn’t that like a kids movie?” Stan countered.

Mike nudged him, “But it is a classic” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“I-I’m always down to watch To-Toy Story” Bill agreed from beside Stan who sighed. “Fine” he slightly rolled his eyes, though he wasn’t that mad as he does generally enjoy that movie.

Eddie titled his head backwards to look up at Richie. “Rich, what’s Toy Story about?” he asked quietly in fear of the others hearing.

Richie nodded in understanding as he knew that in The All Lands they didn’t watch movies and stuff. He leaned down with an amused smile and replied, “It’s about toys that are alive, it’s cute, like you, you’ll like it”. Richie leaned back up, but left his hand down on Eddie’s head as he ruffled his soft brown hair that wasn't hidden under his beanie.

Stan and Bill got up to set up the movie. Stan switched the lights off which caused Eddie to thank some various deities as it hid his red flushed cheeks. Bill popped the movie into the DVD player before reclaiming his spot on the couch. He proceeded to flick through the options on the DVD.

Eddie leaned into his touch. Richie reciprocated by sliding his hand into the bunny’s beanie and playing with his hair, he twirled it between his fingers and smoothed down the other’s floppy ears. Eddie was practically melting into the floor. His thoughts were whipped, the only thing he thought about was how Richie’s hand felt in his hair and how if he listened close enough, he could hear Richie’s heart beating just as fast as his.

~

Everyone actually really enjoyed the movie, Eddie included. Once the credits began to roll Beverly suggested that they watch the second one as it is superior and also has some really good characters.

“Well I don’t know about you guys but I need to go use the bathroom” Mike said as he rose from his seat.

Richie tilted his head up before he spoke, “You mean the urination stat-”

Stan cut in, “Don’t you dare” He shot a glare at Richie who in return looked at him with a shit eating grin.

Mike stopped and leaned against the wall beside him, “No, no, let him speak. I wanna hear it” He nodded towards Richie which made Stan loudly sigh.

“What I was going to say before I was rudely interrupted was that the proper name for it is the urination station.” Richie broke out into a vague british accent towards the end.

“He’s not wrong” Ben giggled, recalling their past conversation.

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose as if it hurt to listen to Richie talk about this. “God, call it anything else, literally.” Yes, Stan might’ve been conveying that Richie annoyed the shit out of him and that he’d literally strangle the Trashmouth if he had the chance, but this was the way it always was. That’s just Richie and Stan’s friendship.

Richie chuckled, “Hey at least it’s better than that period where I just said ‘I gotta take a leak’” He pointed out as everyone groaned in unison.

“D-Don’t remind me” Bill lightly shook his head.

“That was terrible. Oh wait!” Stan had to stop to laugh a little, “Remember the week before Mike’s dog got neutered and he literally humped Richie’s leg so bad it left bruises?”. Everyone laughed at the memory, Stan literally snorted as he recalled the day after when Richie came in and put his foot on the table to display his bruise littered shin.

Mike, who was still leaning against the wall, clutched his stomach as he laughed. Bill held a hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle his laugh, but that didn’t stop him from toppling off the couch and onto the floor.

Even Eddie, though he wasn't there, still laughed at the mental image. Suddenly the bunny felt a little colder as Richie moved his hand away from his head and got up from the recliner. Eddie glanced up at the wolf who leaped onto the love seat and sprawled over Stan.

In between laughs, Richie exclaimed, “Staniel gets off a good one!”. His black inky hair flopped into his face only making the trashmouth laugh more.

Stanley smiled down at him. He raised a hand and carefully swept Richie’s hair back out of his face. “Chee you’ve gotta get this shit cut.” Stan twirled a piece of black hair with his finger.

It was so subtle, Eddie almost didn’t notice it. It was so quick and natural, he almost let it slide. Chee? Did Stan just call him Chee? Whatever… It’s just a nickname, it's not like I’m the only one who calls him that. But I thought that was my nickname for him. The bunny shook his head, It’s not like anyone else calls me Eds, only Richie does, cause it’s his nickname for me. Eddie pushed the thoughts down and focused on something else in the room.

Everything else probably would’ve gone smoothly if Eddie didn’t catch Richie leaning up, off of Stan only to whisper something into his ear. Stan replied but Eddie couldn’t make it out, but whatever it was made him feel like he was moments away from throwing up his lunch.

Since everyone was still recovering from their little laugh attack, Eddie used it to his advantage, “Wow, that was a good one” He laughed nervously, standing up from where he sat on the floor, “I gotta go to the bathroom before I piss my pants.” He tried so hard to sound amused before quickly rushing out of the family room and towards the nearest bathroom.

He shut and locked the door then yanked his beanie off in an attempt to stop the incoming headache before it had too much time to form. His head and ears were hot from so much blushing and the whirlwind of emotions he was currently experiencing.

Eddie shoved the beanie into his back pocket before he moved to stand before the sink where he turned the water on cold. He leaned down and cupped his hands together under the running water and splashed it onto his face. He could practically hear the sizzling sound as the cold water touched his burning face.

What the fuck is wrong with me? Is it jealousy? Am I jealous of Stan? Why? Just cause he and Richie have been friends for years and have all these nicknames and inside jokes? Fuck, just get over it. It’s not like Richie can’t have other friends, he’s not yours. He’s Richie, and Richie is friends with everyone, just friends…

~

“Are you sure about this Staniel?” Richie whispered up to Stan as they got up to the second floor of the Denbrough residence.

Stan turned and gave him a look, “Uh-Yeah Rich, I’m pretty sure I know a murder conspiracy board when I see one.” He shot back.

After Eddie left to go use the bathroom, (Which Richie kinda found odd, something was off. He made a mental note to go check on Eddie later), the two used the opportunity to tell the others they also needed to go to the urination station, which allowed them to go upstairs without suspension.

“Okay well let’s make this quick. Don’t need Billiam having any other reasons to be spying on us.” Richie grumbled as he recalled how Bill followed Eddie home, and how worried Eddie was about this whole situation. That’s why Richie decided to go with Stan, alone. He wanted to check it out for himself before they showed Eddie. He didn’t want to give him another thing to stress him out more than he already was.

Stanley led the werewolf towards Bill’s room. He nudged the door open and slid through the crack. Once they were inside Stanley moved to stand in front of the desk. His heart still skipped a beat when he laid his eyes upon the display in front of them.

“Fuck” Richie gasped.

Stan watched his eyes dart from picture to picture. The big brown eyes behind the glasses followed the strings of yarn to various places on the board, as everything was somehow connected.

For a minute the golden haired boy stood beside the one with black curls as they both examined the board. Stan crossed his arms over his chest then raised one hand to stroke his chin. “He thinks Eddie is related to his father’s death, or the cause of it.” Stan theorised.

“And?” Richie asked, his voice became serious with the severity of the situation.

Stan turned to Richie, his lips in a thin line, “And?” He repeated with a tinge of attitude, “Is this true? Is Eddie connected to this?”.

Richie shook his head, unable to take in so much at once, “I-I don’t know.”

Stan took a step forward, he pointed at the picture of the white rabbit labeled ‘Last Thing On Dad’s Phone’. “Is this Eddie?” he demanded.

“I think so, Stanley I’m not sure.” Richie almost growled.

“Well he must be connected somehow or else Bill wouldn’t be so obsessed with this.” Stan leaned in closer to examine some of the notes.

Richie closed the distance between the two, “Don’t let Eddie catch wind of this, alright? We don’t tell him until we have solid proof, alright?”.

Stan was about to respond when a third voice called out to them, “Proof of what?”

The two turned around to see Eddie standing in the open doorway.

Word Count: 2230

Y'all aren't even ready for next chapter- wow I cannot wait to get it out cause that's when Eddie- Wait, did you seriously think I'd spoil my own fan fic? Aha well, you're wrong. You're just gonna have to wait and see what happens next!

On that note, I will see you all next friday with chapter 14

And don’t forget to check me out on Instagram @Stellar.Cosplays if you want to see more of my real life and some behind the scenes content!

Until then

So Long and Goodnight.

~

[Taglist]

@richietoaster @s-onora @that-weird-girl-blog @beproudtozier @ghostnebula @bellarosewrites @s-s-georgie @lermanslogan @iamcupcakefrosting @madidraw @gazebobullshit @thoughtfullyyoungduck @aangzukos @ambitiousskychild @reddieonwheels @breadheadscorpius

Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

[muschiettistrashmouth]

Richie was right - Bill Denbrough

Requested: Yes

Request:  thebeckyjolene said: Hello, there! I was wondering if I may request an It Chapter 2 imagine with Adult! Bill Denbrough where he sees the reader for the first time in 27 years and is completely fallen for her and the couple gets engaged after the 2nd battle with Pennywise ? * My name is Becky, by the way! I really love your blog! Please feel free to make any changes you see fit! *

Note: Hello, Becky! Thank you! so much for the love! I rewrote this because I wasn’t happy with what I was doing. I hope you like it ❤

Warnings: swear-words. I guess you can call me Richie haha

Y/N was nervous. Actually, she was so nervous she was sweating. It would take some time to get to Derry and the memories were coming at an alarming speed. She never felt that way, she never thought she could forget her friends. The Losers Club were her family and this was so unreal. 

"Miss?" The old lady sitting by her side on the bus asked seeing her so tense. "Is everything okay?"

Y/N took some time to answer her, a face appearing on her mind. It was a boy, he had light hair and blue eyes, the most beautiful smile she had ever seen in her whole life. 

"Yeah, I'm just nervous." She looked at the old lady smiling. "I'm going to see the love of my life."

"Oh, I remember when I saw my husband after being 7 years apart. He was dating a girl and I was his childhood friend." She remembered with a large smile on her face, it was actually calming the girl. "What happened is that he was in love with me and I was in love with him, so he ran away with me so we could get married." 

"Are you still together?" 

"Yes, yes! He's still the light of my life." They shared a smile. "How long do you know you love this person?"

"Since we were kids." Every memory she had about Bill was coming like a missile.

"And how long are you apart?" The sweet lady asked again.

"27 years." 

"Oh my goodness!" She put her hand in front of her mouth in shock. "But there's always time for love. It's the most powerful thing in the world. It could beat the devil." 

The devil... She remembered something evil like the devil from her childhood. It wasn't the devil himself, it was much worse, at least from a childish point of view. She remembered a clown looking at her. 

Suddenly, she saw herself on the ground, crawling away from the clown. His smile was huge and he was mocking her fear. 

"Is little Y/N scared?" A laugh. "Oh yeah she is, she thinks she will die."

Her breathing was getting uneven, her eyes were wide open and her back just hit the wall. 

"And you know what?" Another laugh, this time it was worse. Frightening. "She's right."

'Fuck, that's it. I'm going to die like this.' She thought. 'Because of a fucking clown."

The clown got closer and closer and when he was getting to her, Bill appeared, hitting him with some random iron and he fell right in front of her.

"Pennywise." The girl mumbled to herself.

"What?" The old lady was confused.

"Uh... His dogs name. Is Pennywise." She forced a smile on her lips before the other woman thinks she's crazy. But at this point she would think she was crazy too.

"Oh. It's a very unique name."

"Yes, it really is." Looking at the window, she saw the 'Welcome to Derry' sign. 

'Finally' she thought.

-

When she finally arrived at the Jade Of The Orient, she saw two people hugging right in front of it, they looked familiar.

"Excuse me." She just wanted to get into the restaurant to end all of this and go home. 

Even if she had good memories of her friends and wanted to see them so bad, she still was frightened to death. All she wanted to do was sleep until all of this would end.

"Y/N?" The woman said looking at her with a surprised face. 

"Bev?" 

'Of course it is Bev!'

"Yes! Oh my God!" They hugged each other. "You didn't change at all!"

"Hello, little one." The man said and you remembered Ben almost immediately.

"New Kid! Hi!" She was really happy to see her friends again.

"Wow. You three look amazing. What the hell happened to me?" Another voice came from behind her and she saw Richie looking at her.

"Rich!" She almost knocked him down when she hugged him.

"Hey shortie." He used the old nickname. "Uh, that just came back to me."

After awhile, the group entered the restaurant, it was kind of easy to get to the rest of the losers.

They exchanged hugs and talked a little. Stan was just like he used to be, same thing with mike.

As soon as Bill saw Y/N, his feelings all came back to him. He remembered how much he loved her and all the fear he used to hide from her because of it.

During the dinner, she looked at him for quite some time and Richie was getting mad at them. I mean, how could they like each other for so long and not do anything about it?

"Hey, shortie, can we talk a little bit?" Richie asked and got up. She didn't have a choice, so she followed him.

"What's up, Rich?" 

"You and Bill are getting on my nerves." He sighed.

"What do you mean?" 

"You two like each other since we were kids and you just stare at each other all the time, like, what the fuck are you doing?" 

"...What?" She frowned. "This isn't funny. I thought you knew how to make a joke."

"Darling, I can see that." Richie put his hand on her shoulder. " And I see a girl that loves her friend and needs to do something about it. I'm not gonna rest till you do something."

"It's not that easy."

"Why? He's right there. How is it difficult?" 

"He's married!" 

"Actually, he divorced some time ago." Richie said, not bothering to pretend he didn't googled his friend during the dinner.

"Oh"

"Yeah." The man laughed and hugged the girl. "You go, girl!"

"Beep beep, Richie."

- 

Pennywise was finally dead. All eight of you got out of the Neibolt house running like your lives depend on it. And it actually did depend on it.

Bill grabbed your hand while you were running so you could run faster and just when you got to the street, the house fall down and disappeared. It was as if it was never there.

"Fuck, that was close." Y/N looked at the now empty space where the house should be.

"Fuck" Bill said gasping.

The losers club decided to go to the barrens to clean up. Bev jumped first, then Y/N and then the boys joined them on the water.

They were all playing with the water like they did when they were kids. Eddie and Richie shared a passionate kiss, the one they wanted to share since Eddie saved Richie from Pennywise and confessed his love inside the cave. 

Bev and Ben kissed too, she finally saw that Ben was the one that wrote the poem for her and she was getting a divorce from that piece of crap that was her husband.

Bill swam to Y/N, he wanted to talk to her because they didn't exactly had the time to do so.

"So..." He started. Her smile got bigger.

"So"

"I have something to tell you and I really hope Eddie is right because if not I'm gonna get pissed with him and I'll be so embarrassed that I won't be able to look at you and..."

"Hey" She stopped the man, he was talking too fast. "Calm down, man. Everything's okay now."

"Okay, heh." He closed his eyes so he would'n see her disgusted face when he confessed. "I like you, Y/N. Since we were kids. And the thing is, I couldn't tell you this before because I was too afraid you were hate me, but Eds said you liked me too and I'm fucking scared right now, but if this second fight with Pennywise taught me something was that life is so fragile and I was so scared I was gonna lose you forever when he threw you on the wall that I..."

He just couldn't stop because Y/N kissed him. It turns out that Richie was right after all.

"I like you too, you idiot." She laughed at his shocked face.

"Fucking finally!" Richie shouted at them and they all laughed.

- 

It turns out that Beverly and Ben married and Bill asked Y/N to marry him on the wedding. She said yes, of course, and now they are living together.

Stan and Patty traveled to Argentina as soon as he got home.

Eddie got a divorce and he is currently living with Richie. Oh, and Richie started to write his own jokes now, many of them are about Eddie and the man says he hates it, but Richie can see him smiling when he tells his boyfriend the jokes.

Mike moved to Florida and started college, he finally had the life he wanted after all these years.

It's never late to start your life. Just go for it.

Love, be proud and have courage. We believe in you. We all do.

[red-sky]

HI @rolls-of-the-tongue-nicely!!!!! I AM SO SORRY I MISSED THIS IN MY INBOX!!!!! THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH, THIS IS SO SWEET OF YOU!!!!

Also funny I just now saw it today, I’ve been working on the latest chapter. I guess this is the universe telling me to GET THIS SHIT DONE!!!!

Gift for you

Hi red ! I loooooved your fanfic When the feelings’s right, I’m gonna run all night so I wanna write you a gift, not only long reviews.

This fic happen after the 4th chapter (because I’m so thirsty to read the 5th !! But take your time, I can wait, I swear) and there is no smut but some references to it + internalized homophobia and self-confidence issues.

Because it’s Richie’s POV ^^

There is a soft snore next to him and it’s the reason Richie opens his eyes first. After his vision got used to the dark, he discerns Eddie’s relaxed features.

Richie wants to touch him but he doesn’t dare. Doesn’t take the risk to wake him up because it would rapproche the moment where he will leave. Right now he is just Richie’s. There is no Myra, no other life in New York, no other house. They are in Richie’s bed and he can imagine for one minute it’s their, Eddie lives with him, they are a couple and it’s nice. Richie can easily imagine them taking breakfast together, and Eddie putting the plates and the cutlery in the dishwasher. He can visualise Eddie bickering about the residues of the clean tab and how it could be cancerous.

It’s weird, they don’t really know each other for so long but Richie still feels like if he knew Eddie by heart. They feels so familiar together, and more, so complementary, like two pieces of a puzzle.

Richie didn’t know what he missed before remembering Eddie. It’s awful. He would prefer ignore this. Ignorance is bliss. Now he is condemned to want something he can’t have. Another married man but this time it’s forever. It’s not just a fling, just a crush, just a fleeting thing.

Soulmate. When he thinks about the word, he grimaces and hides in the pillow. He’s a big sap and hates it.

He risks a glance to Eddie. Handsome even in his sleep. So unfair.

God, he’s fucked.

He was in this situation before. They never leave their wife. It’s a lost cause and for his own heart he would have to make it stop before engaging himself too much in this.

However it’s too late. He threw himself in this entirely at the second where Eddie open his tighs for him in the restaurant.

It seems like a dream, not a memory. He can’t believe it’s true.

But Eddie is in bed with him so it is. Eddie wants him too. Came to the East Coast just to fuck him.

Richie shivers to that particular thought. Even if they didn’t do the whole stuff, he sucked him off. Eddie let him. He caressed his hair and let him swallow and it was so good, so validating, it was perfect and Richie craves to do it again.

In some hours, Eddie will leave. Richie doesn’t know when he will come back. Or if he will. He is scared, so scared about Eddie realizing he did a mistake. Realizing he risked his marriage for what ? A pathetic comedian with bad humor. Pitiful Trashmouth Tozier, still attached to his childhood crush. A loser, a failure.

A fag.

Thinking like that makes Richie’s eyes wetting the pillow. He sniffs a little - he doesn’t cry, not with Eddie naked in his sheets, he’s a lucky guy after all, it’s a miracle. Eddie kissed him. He touched his body without flinching, without looking at his fat belly or ugly hair.

It’s not Richie finds himself totally unattractive. He is average. But Eddie is so…

He knows what people think when they see Eddie. They probably don’t look twice to him. They don’t see what Richie see and it’s what Richie is the most afraid, because love is blind and he’s so in love. For him, Eddie is smoking hot. His face is beautifully sharp and expressive, his tonned skin, his skinny legs, long fingers, narrow hips, he’s so small and yet so…

Eddie groans and Richie stops immediately to breath. He blushes, realizing he was thinking like a fucking highschool girl. Embarassing.

He tries to remember Eddie is going to leave. It hurts but it will hurt worse later if he doesn’t now. He has to kill the shiny little sparkle of hope that Eddie decide to stay. It’s impossible and he knows that.

He is worthy for a weekend, not for a lifetime.

This one hits so hard he needs to get up. He is careful, quiet and slow, puts an underwear and quits the bedroom.

It’s coffee time.

When the feelings’s right, I’m gonna run all night

[softest-cinnamon-roll]

nsfw in the hammock???

warning for some making out and clumsy boys! Thank you to @reddieclownclub for reading over and checking mistakes!

the hammock

* * * * *

“Richie where are we going?” Eddie asked with a laugh as he let his fiancé pull him along the dirt path. They were back in Derry for their 10th High School Reunion but instead of being at the school, reminiscing about the ‘good ol’ days’, Richie was taking Eddie on an adventure.

Instead of replying, Richie just chuckled and squeezed Eddie’s hand a little tighter. “You’ll see, Eds. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

Before Eddie could reply, the dirt path opened up to a clearing, which revealed another path. This time, there was no confusion on Eddie’s part about where they were, not as he looked up at the familiar farmhouse. “Mike’s?” Eddie questioned, tilting his head to the side. “Why are we here? And why did you bring me up this way?”

“So many questions!” Richie laughed. “I didn’t want us to get stopped and pulled into another pointless conversation about how we got engaged. It’s not like anyone actually cares. Not really.”

Richie was right about that and it caused Eddie to fall silent as they finished the walk up to the farmhouse. It had been so long since he had been here, ten years almost, and the sight brought back many pleasant memories. “We had our first kiss here,” Eddie mumbled when Richie opened the large doors and led them inside. “Over there, behind the hay bales.”

“You’re saying this as though I don’t remember,” Richie whispered, coming up behind Eddie and wrapping his arms around his waist. “I was there, remember? You think I’d forget the best moment of my life?”

Eddie snorted, “I thought me agreeing to marry you was the best moment of your life?”

Richie laughed once more, the vibrations sending shivers down Eddie’s spine. “I have many best moments Eds. All involving you.”

With a soft smile on his lips, Eddie turned around, wrapped his arms around Richie’s neck and said, “I remember you being really nervous that day, before and after I kissed you. I just wish you’d told me about the kissing bridge then…I wouldn’t have laughed at you.”

“I know,” Richie hummed, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s forehead. “But I was fifteen and terrified. You made me nervous and even though you kissed me back, I was still scared it wasn’t going to last. That you didn’t…feel as strongly for me as I did for you.”

Eddie shook his head, “Silly Richie. I’ve always wanted you. You’re the only one for me.”

As the conversation continued, they began began backing up, making their way into the farmhouse until they reached a familiar item, still very much in place. The hammock. Richie laughed and immediately moved to sit down, “Remember this?”

Of course Eddie remembered the hammock. He remembered countless evenings in high school spent in that hammock with Richie. He remembered watching Bev and Bill rehearse for the school play, remembered making out with Richie when all the losers were asleep. “How could I forget.”

“Come join me,” Richie patted the empty space on the hammock and Eddie looked at it nervously. He was no longer his light high school self anymore.

“I don’t think it’ll hold both of us anymore, Rich,” Eddie started but Richie cut him off by swinging his legs into the hammock completely.

“Nonsense! Come on, Eds. For old time’s sake?” Richie pouted and Eddie sighed. He never could deny Richie anything.

He carefully moved forward and managed to work his way onto the hammock, laying half on top of Richie, their faces mere inches from each other. He could see the sparkle in Richie’s eyes and knew the ‘I told you so’ was coming, so before he could even open his mouth, Eddie kissed him.

At first, the kiss was soft, slow and sweet, but then Richie moved his hands to the small of Eddie’s back. The hand moved under his shirt, running over the skin and causing a whimper to leave Eddie’s lips as the kiss became more heated. Hands roamed over skin, rumpling up the clothes they were wearing as more kisses were planted onto swollen lips.

“You’re so hot, Eds,” Richie breathed, moving his lips down his jaw to his neck, sucking a mark their. “I am one lucky son of a bitch.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, a soft moan leaving his lips as Richie sucked on a sensitive spot, “I- shut…shut up Richie…” he breathed. “I love you.”

At his words, Richie moaned and rocked his hips upwards, earning him a neddy moan from Eddie. Just as things were getting more heated and were about to shift from simple making out to…more, there was a snapping sound. Before either of them could question what it was, the rope holding one side of the hammock snapped in half, causing both of them to tumble to the ground.

There was a silence before Eddie burst into giggles, covering his mouth as he looked down at Richie, who was also laughing hysterically now. “What- What did I tell you!”

“Mike is gonna kill us,” Richie chuckled, wiping the tears from his eyes. He sat up, Eddie sliding into his lap as he did so. “Regardless, that was still hot though,” he mumbled, smiling. “I love you too, by the way.”

Eddie leaned forward, pressing a light kiss to Richie’s lips, “You’re such a sap. Come on, let’s go before we get caught.”

As Eddie slipped off of Richie’s lap, allowing them both to stand up, he gasped when Richie pulled him in for another kiss. This one remained light and sweet, just as it had been at the beginning. After all, they did have a hotel room where things could get more heated.

* * * * *

@richietoaster @tozier-boy @eds-trashmouth   @fucking-reddie @strange-reddie-loser @eds-kas @propertyofthelosersclub @its-stranger-than-you-think @yes-dillman-yes @totaltozier @reddietofall @reddietofight @reddie-to-fight   @reddie-eddie-spaghettie @bitchbrak @reddieways @maximusfraker @jem-carstairs-is-perfection @thejadeazalea @reddie-eddie-spaghetti @halfway-happy353 @ellomello16 @liliemm @tinyarmedtrex @cacti-cool @inthebreadbinwrites @kat-ships-everything @takeourpure @lo-v-ers @mrs-vh @studpuffin @aizeninlefox @reddie-for-anything  @trashmouthtozierr @richietoizer   @girasol-eddie @bi-bi-richie @honeybeehanlon @mars-14 @reddiesetandgo @marsisaplanetyall @xandertheundead @sedanleystanley @hawkinsbabe @beepbeeprichiellc @stellarbisexual @oldguybones @reddiesetandgo @reddieclownclub

[rchtoziers]

3 from those new prompts for reddie? 🥺

3. “I’m not jealous.”

cait… as a treat…. i lowkey…… wrote this in the lmntsfy universe i hope thats ok xoxo

*

Their move to Houston is a quiet one.

Richie had gotten the job offer on an otherwise uneventful Sunday afternoon, while he and Eddie were curled up on their couch alternating between lazily dozing off and channel surfing. It was a dream Richie hadn’t even realized he had until they offered it to him.

So they packed up quietly and sold their house quietly and took trips back and forth from Chicago to Houston until they finally found a place they both liked and put down an offer. They rented a moving fan to take their things across country and they accepted NASA’s offer for a private jet to transport them on the day of the move, and when all is said and ton it only takes them a week at most to feel settled into their new home.

Richie has one month before his teaching job starts up.

One of the perks with Richie being offered a job to teach the new cadets is that, by extension, they offered Eddie a job at the hospital as well. His own department, actually, complete with an office and people who work for him and budget meetings and the whole deal. Richie had expressed that Eddie had interest in updating medical procedures for NASA flights, and in turn, they had given him a fully-staffed research facility, too.

It’s a bit overwhelming, if Eddie is being honest, in a way he has yet to get used to.

“You know, I keep thinking things are gonna settle down for us,” Eddie comments. He straightens the name plaque on Richie’s desk in his classroom. Because Richie has a classroom now. “Like, eventually the novelty will wear off, right? People will stop just offering us things?”

“Baby, you’re engaged to the guy who famously survived alone on a different planet for two years,” Richie tells him. His arms wrap around Eddie’s middle from behind. “People better never stop offering us things.”

Eddie smacks his arm. “It was only eighteen months, stop exaggerating.”

“Felt like a billion years.”

“Yeah, well, that’s because you were pining desperately for me,” Eddie says back. “Wondering if you’d ever get the chance to tell me you were head over heels in love with me. Carving our initials into the Hab canvas and writing RIchie Kaspbrak in your logs every other day.”

Richie presses a kiss to the space behind Eddie’s ear. “It’s not a funny joke when it’s true,” he teases.

“Oh, shut up. I’ve seen your logs. I know what you were doing that whole time.”

There’s a long-suffering sigh from Richie that almost makes Eddie smile. “Yes, and the fact that you continue to love me after watching me sing horribly off-tune to your god awful playlist is a miracle I thank god for every day.”

Eddie laughs and turns in Richie’s embrace so that he can wrap his own arms around Richie’s neck, pulling him down those infuriating four inches so he can press a soft kiss to Richie’s mouth. “I’m truly the hero, here,” he says seriously. “Not you. They should make a movie about me.”

A startled laugh bursts out of Richie. “Sweetheart, you know that you’ll be in that movie too, right? Like they just announced the casting choice for your character? They are making a movie about you.”

“It’s about you, Richie! The rest of us just happen to be there!”

Richie tilts Eddie’s chin up. There’s an obnoxious, terrible, beautiful smug look in his eyes. Eddie is so in love with him, so desperately, even after all this time. “I knew you were jealous about the movie.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Eddie baby.”

Eddie sighs. “I hate you.”

“How many times do we have to go over this? I know you don’t. You know you don’t. The whole world knows you don’t. Hell, even NASA knows, which is why they gave you an entire hospital for you to play around in.”

“It’s not playing, asshole, there’s life-saving work that goes on in hospitals every day, plus the research I’m conducting is going to help prepare future astronauts for worst-case scenarios prior to mission takeoff, which could statistically prevent situations like the one that lead to you being stranded on Mars for eighteen months—”

Richie kisses him to shut him up. Eddie would probably be more put out by it, if it wasn’t a tactic he himself has used multiple times in the past. Eddie twines his fingers through Richie’s curls at lets himself be kissed thoroughly, lazily, sweetly. He wonders if he’ll ever grow tired of kissing Richie Tozier.

If he’s being honest, he already knows the answer to that.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re very impressive,” Richie says finally, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s nose as he says it. “Dr. Kaspbrak is gonna save the American astronaut. Everyone is very impressed with you, you’re loved by the whole world.”

Eddie smirks. “Now who’s jealous?”

“Still you.”

Unable to stop it, Eddie lets out a surprised peal of laughter. He tightens his grip around Richie’s neck. “You’re insufferable,” he says, but they both know he doesn’t mean it.

“Oh, baby, you call me the sexiest names,” Richie deadpans.

Eddie presses up on his toes to kiss Richie once again. Richie smiles into it, but they’ve had lots of practice by now. Eddie knows how to kiss him around smiles and laughter and tears and everything in between.

“Hey,” he murmurs, when they finally break apart. “We just had a bunch of big changes. How you feeling?”

Still intertwined in Eddie’s embrace, Richie shrugs. “Like we just moved a thousand miles to live in Texas. But. Good? I love our new place. I’m mostly excited about this job. I’ve got you. I’m good.”

“You’re gonna be everyone’s favorite professor,” Eddie tells him honestly. Richie rolls his eyes. “No, don’t do that. I’m serious, Rich. These cadets, they’re gonna adore you. And not just because you’re gonna be the only professor who isn’t afraid to swear in class.”

Richie laughs.

“I’m really proud of you, you know that?” Eddie continues. He brushes his thumb along Richie’s jawline. “Taking this leap. Caring about it so much. There’s gonna be a bunch of baby-faced astronauts in this room that look up to you, and then they’re gonna learn from you and they’re gonna realize they were admiring you for the wrong reasons.”

“Yeah, yeah, hot for teacher,” Richie says. He laughs again when Eddie smacks his arm. “I’m kidding. Doesn’t matter, anyway. Teacher’s only hot for doctor anyway.”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “You’d think that you would get less sappy over time. Or make less inappropriate jokes.”

“First of all, I never make the mistake of thinking anything, ever.”

“Oh my god,” Eddie groans. “Where’s Teddy? Is it too late to warn him to fire you? He’s so going to regret this. Who’s idea was this?”

Richie kisses Eddie again, even though he’s laughing, and it doesn’t take long for Eddie to be smiling into it, too. Sometimes he can’t believe how happy they get to be, now. That this is their life. That he gets to wake up each morning with Richie next to him, even on the mornings that Richie wakes up gasping for breath and even on the mornings where Eddie wakes up screaming and even on the mornings where their coffee machine breaks. They get every morning, and they get every night, and they get all of it in between.

“I love you,” Richie says. It never gets old. Eddie presses a soft kiss to Richie’s collarbone. “Thanks for moving out here with me.”

“You said it yourself, I’m engaged to the guy who survived on Mars. Perks come with it.”

Richie grins. “You know, you really do sound jealous. I can get you a teaching job, too, babe. They wouldn’t even bat an eyelid. I can ask for whatever I want. Hey, NASA, can we get a teaching job for the neurotic doctor? Maybe he can show them how to avoid getting infections when you get stabbed with an antenna.”

Eddie sighs. “For the last time, I’m not jealous of your teaching job, or of the movie they’re making about you, or of Bill’s book about you,” Eddie insists. “I don’t want a teaching job. I don’t want a movie. I don’t want a book.”

“Then what do you want?” Richie asks. “Cause I can get you anything in the world, Eddie my love.”

“Dumbass,” Eddie says gently. “I have everything I want. I moved to Texas to make sure I could keep it.”

It takes Richie a second, but when he gets it his cheeks go pink and he grins obnoxiously from ear to ear and Eddie’s heart is swooping in his chest just at the sight of it. It’s incredible, how much stronger he’s felt about Richie since they started dating. How it just gets stronger every day.

“Now who’s the sappy one?” Richie asks, but he’s crying just a little so his teasing comes up short.

“Still you,” Eddie insists. Richie gives him an unimpressed look. “Okay, both of us. But I’m not jealous.”

Richie laughs wetly. “Sounds like something a jealous man would say.”

“Oh, for god’s sake—” Eddie groans, but Richie just pulls him back in when he tries to break away, and when he’s pressed against Richie’s chest again Eddie can’t help but kiss him.