Chapter Text
Richie opened the door, holding Eddie’s hand firmly. Despite their kiss, there was an air of uncertainty between them. Eddie did not like it. He hated walking on eggshells around Richie, someone he was only ever completely honest with. He wanted to act normal, well normal for him, and for things to go back to the way they were. Nothing was more important to him than that.
As they walked into his room, Eddie’s eyes immediately fell to the two boxes on the ground by Richie’s bed. They were the boxes filled with everything that reminded Eddie of their relationship. He reluctantly let go of Richie’s hand, letting their fingertips linger lightly before he went over to a box. “May I?” He asked hesitantly.
“It’s all your stuff, you don’t have to ask me.” Richie said softly. Eddie picked up a comic book and flipped through it, not making eye contact with Richie.
“It’s not my stuff.” Eddie insisted, not really reading the pages of the comic. Too hyper-focused on the anxiety building inside him. “That was the point in mailing it to you.”
“A particularly powerful jab at my heart and gut. So thanks for that Eds.” Richie saddled up beside him looking at the comic.
Anger immediately flared in his chest. No. Blame did not get to be thrown at him when he had been at his lowest point. The only reason they were in this mess was because Richie broke up with him.
Eddie closed the comic and dropped it into the box, not even caring about ruining its condition. “Yes, well, you fucking deserved it.”
Eddie saw Richie cross his arms from his peripheral vision. He stared at Eddie in annoyance. “Did I though?”
Eddie did not know how to answer that. He was self-conscious enough without Richie making him doubt his decisions. “I guess we are getting right into it?” He said barely controlling his anger.
“I guess we are.” Richie responded with that irritating calm he has mastered when being serious. People do not witness it often because Richie is always joking around and being goofy. But when he showed his serious side, it put Eddie on edge.
Eddie looked at him feeling his heart beat fast with apprehension. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, I thought you did. Because you broke up with me, Richie, and broke my heart. So I knew the only way to get over you was to give everything back.”
“But absolutely everything?!” Richie’s voice raised higher. Eddie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at his outburst. “We broke up. I didn’t want to be fucking erased from your life entirely! You must have known that.”
“That’s not. I wasn’t! I...I just...god damn it.” Eddie really wanted to punch a wall or something. He was frustrated that he couldn’t articulate himself properly. His brain was spiraling down a dark chasm. Everything was too overwhelming. “We are too intense together or apart, Rich.”
“Well duh,” Richie scoffed. “We’re gay.”
Eddie blinked at him dumbfounded then slowly laughed. It amazed him that Richie could make him so angry and so happy at the same time. Richie cracked a begrudged smile and Eddie’s laugh.
Eddie’s attention went to the stuffed bear on the ground and he took a moment to gather his thoughts. “I would cry every time I saw our bear on my bed. Or the comics. Or the keychain. And don’t even get me started on the fucking ring.” Eddie stopped, wondering if he had said too much too fast. Taking things slow wasn’t in his vocabulary, especially around his best friend.
Richie hesitated, then unclasped his necklace to slide off the ring. He held it between his thumb and forefinger his eyes boring into Eddie’s. “What about the ring, Eds?”
Eddie eyed the ring worried it would trigger a panic attack but he stayed strong. “Richie...I mean...it’s silly but I’ve wanted to marry you since we were kids. In fact, if I remember correctly, you proposed to me in elementary school and I told you we had to wait until we were adults.”
“Oh my god...that’s right!” Richie said smiling a little. “I said there was no one I would rather be married to than you and got down on one knee because that’s what Rhett does in Gone With the Wind .”
“THAT’S why you called me My Dear Scarlett?!” Eddie said giggling. “I have been wondering that for YEARS but never remember to ask.”
“Stanley told us two boys couldn’t get married and I cried.” Richie commented matter of factly. He threw the ring in the air and caught it.
“Well, that too was an issue. It’s probably why it took so long for us to kiss.” Their eyes met remembering the first kiss they had. How special it was regardless of being done in a closet. Eddie could see a light redness grace Richie’s cheeks, which he was grateful for since his own face was feeling hot. “The idea of us being together was laughable with our families and society and our suppressed feelings.”
Richie scoffed, “I’ve never suppressed a feeling about you until the break up honestly. Every single - cute, hot, sexy, smart, clever, amazing - all true statements to you.”
Eddie’s face heated up because Richie had said some pretty hefty things to him before. “Sometimes, you are just too honest.” He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I would look at that ring and think about how we weren’t together, we would never be together again, half my dreams thrown out the window, it was crippling.”
Richie smiled as if he was being challenged to confess something more truthful. A challenge he would gladly accept. “I didn’t realize it at the time but I bought the ring as a promise to be faithful to you.”
Eddie contemplated those words in his head. If Richie loved him so much, he should not have broken up with him. It was time he told the whole truth. “So what changed? Tell me what happened with your father.”
Their eye contact was intoxicating. Like two planets off their axis about to hit each other and destroy everything around them.
Richie motioned for Eddie to sit on the bed. Eddie sat on the edge looking at him hopefully. He didn’t join, instead, he moved the boxes to the side and stood in front of him. Richie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Something they both kept doing tonight.
“Wentworth found the picture of us kissing.”
Eddie’s heart sank into his stomach. “Shit.” His breathing started to pick up. This couldn’t be happening. Wentworth knew everything now. That explained his behavior earlier. That was why he smacked him. Eddie knew it was wrong to keep those photos. He should have burned all evidence.
“Eds!” Richie had his hands on both his cheeks. “Breath baby. Don’t go catatonic on me.” Eddie didn’t even realize he was going into a full panic mode, his body shaking, hands gripping the bed painfully and oxygen barely getting into him. He took slow, long breaths, calming himself. Richie let go to continue the story.
“After Valentine’s Day, he was sitting all ominously in the living room and made me talk with him. Then he showed me the photo and told me to break up with you. I, of course, told him I would never fucking do that and there was nothing he could do to me to make me stop seeing you.” Richie said the last sentence looking deeply into Eddie’s eyes. His heart soared at the words and he desperately wanted Richie to kiss him but knew that was just his emotions talking.
Eddie gulped, “Then how did he convince you to do it?”
His brown eyes were full of the deepest sadness and regret. It made Eddie’s heart clench. “Told me he would tell your mother and show her the picture.”
“Oh no.” Eddie’s hands shook a little bit just thinking about how that would have gone. It would have been terrible. Except Wentworth still ended up outing them. He broke his promise to Richie anyway. Richie would never forgive his father if he knew.
Richie didn’t have to say anymore but he did. “I still wasn’t going to do it Eds. I planned on telling you and hope we could figure it out. But then...my mom...she told me I shouldn’t let you get hurt by our family and I agreed with her. It was a really hard decision and I…” Tears were making their way into Richie’s eyes. He so rarely cried that Eddie was in shock. He opened his arms wide, Richie launched himself into Eddie’s embrace, fully breaking down. Eddie’s neck was wet from his tears, but he didn’t care. It terrified him to see Richie so broken and distraught. “Please, don’t be angry with mom. She really likes you and wanted to protect you. You can be angry with me.” His voice cracked. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Eddie held him as tight as he could. Wishing every bit of pain could fly out of them. “I don’t know what I would have done differently.” Richie’s crying was silent but his breathing short. He wished his crying could be as contained. Whenever he cried, the whole world could see and hear his ugly sobs. Eddie continued to cradle Richie, letting him calm down in his own time. The minutes ticked by and Eddie was sure they had been hugging for 20 minutes. He didn’t want to pull away or look at his crying face or kiss it better. He just wanted to hold him. If he could keep Richie wrapped in his arms forever, he would.
Richie moved away first, lifting his glasses away to wipe away his tears. Eddie took the glasses and cleaned them on Richie’s Nirvana shirt he was still wearing. He placed them back on his face, letting his fingers linger behind Richie’s ears.
Eddie took his face into his hands, kissed Richie’s right cheek, then his left cheek, then his nose, making Richie chuckle. He pulled away running his thumb over Richie’s lip, trying to decide whether to really kiss him.
Richie decided for him, leaning in to brush his lips over his like a ghostly secret. Eddie’s eyes fluttered shut. The kiss was sweet and calm. Exactly what they both needed.
When they pulled away, everything came crashing down violently. “So...it was all your dad.” Eddie’s stomach was in knots. Every part of him was itching to tell Richie that his father outed him. That the man tried to ruin both their lives. Except he stopped himself.
He couldn’t tell him. There was no going back from that kind of admittance. Richie would break. Eddie remembered back to his own spiral when they broke up and could not put Richie through any similar pain. Richie’s father was truly evil. It was one thing for Eddie to know this for a fact. A completely different story for his son to know.
He wouldn’t tell him right now. If he told him, it would be in the future. Richie had been through enough torment at the hands of Wentworth, he didn’t need to bear Eddie’s pain as well. They were so protective of each other that Richie might do something he would later regret. Eddie would not let that happen.
“It was all him.” Richie sighed. He played with Eddie’s hands, entwining their fingers, placing his large ones over Eddie’s, then he brought them to his lips. Eddie’s heart fluttered lightly.
“I want you to know,” Richie’s eyes searched Eddie’s really looking into his soul. “Everything I said was a lie. I would have stayed with you regardless of your mother knowing or not. You are what’s important to me. You will always be the most important person to me."
Eddie wanted to believe him. He really did. It was all a lot to process. “Anything I said to you wasn’t true either.”
“It felt pretty true.” Richie laughed darkly. “What was it? I am ‘too afraid to be in love. Oh, that can’t be it, must be because he isn’t capable of love. Just being an asshole who doesn’t give a shit.’” Eddie knew Richie was being his usual blunt and honest self but felt frustrated at being called out.
He could hear the blood rushing in his ears, practically teetering on the edge of exploding at him. He removed his hands from under Richie’s and stood up. “What about you?! You said that you couldn’t be with me because I wasn’t out to my mother. It was cruel.” He jabbed a finger into Richie’s chest.
He rubbed at the spot frowning. Then he ran a hand in agitation through his curls, “Yeah, but it wasn’t true! Your words came from a real place.”
Eddie gaped at him, “And yours didn’t come from a real place? You’ve been saying how it bothered you that we couldn’t be out together!”
Richie took a moment to think carefully about his next words. Something he never did. Eddie would have been proud of him if he wasn’t so infuriated. “Sure, it bothered me but I would never have broken up with you…”
“BUT YOU DID!” Eddie shrieked. Then something uncontrollable came over him. He was rarely ever a violent person but his body began reacting in a way it never had before. He started pounding his hands on Richie’s chest as if he could eject his pain physically. He didn’t hit him hard enough to hurt but in retaliation for what Richie had put him through.
“YOU BROKE UP WITH ME!” Right fist went into his chest.
“YOU ACTED LIKE YOU DIDN’T CARE!” Left fist connected.
“YOU LIED TO ME!” Eddie pounded both his fists against Richie’s chest.
“BECAUSE I HAD TOO!” Richie bellowed. He grabbed Eddie’s hands to stop the assault and stood up looking down at him. “I HURT YOU BECAUSE I HAD TOO.”
Angry tears were threatening to spill from Eddie’s eyes. He yanked his arms out of Richie’s grasp and walked away turning his back. Why did all of this have to hurt so much?
“You hurt me because you wanted too.” Richie said in a much smaller voice.
Eddie went very still as his blood ran cold. Even if at the time, that was his intention, he didn’t mean a single word. He didn’t need his darkest thoughts thrown in his face. He didn’t need a reminder of the side of him that was like his mother from someone he loved.
Eddie whipped around and strode forward. He grabbed Richie’s face, ”It. Was. A. LIE. I wanted to hurt you because I didn’t think you felt anything toward me.” He swallowed down his sorrow. “Try to imagine the love of your life not loving you anymore.”
“I don’t have to imagine what I already went through, too.” Richie said miserably. Eddie let out a sob, which made Richie’s breath hitch.
His hands slowly slid from Richie’s face but Richie placed his hands over Eddie’s so he would not pull away, “I know it was a lie.” He stated unwaveringly.
“Do you?” Eddie begged. “Because we can’t get past this if you don’t. We have to forgive each other.”
“Yes, and I forgive you for all of it.” The relief that passed through Eddie was the equivalent of receiving a painkiller. The ache that had been constant for so long, a pain he never thought would cease, had finally relented.
They were silent again, trying to figure out what to say. Richie dragged Eddie toward him, while walking backwards to the bed. Eddie sniffled and let himself be guided to a sitting position on the mattress. Richie brought a leg to the other side of Eddie and pulled him in.
“You are obviously trying to get me to sit in your lap.” Eddie grumbled defiantly. His least favorite position always being Richie’s favorite.
“No,” But his sneaky smile revealed that was his intention. “Sitting between my legs isn’t the same as being in my lap.”
“You are such an idiot.” Eddie chuckled.
“Come on. It’s my birthday.” Richie cooed. Eddie raised an eyebrow, then he pushed Richie to scoot back against the headboard, settling himself in between his legs. He took Richie’s arms so they wrapped around his waist. The warm embrace being the most comforting he had felt all evening.
“Where’s the ring?” Eddie said.
“Here,” Richie plopped it in his hand. Eddie placed it on his left pinky without hesitation. An air of relaxation flowed through him for the first time in weeks. Richie held that hand looking at the ring. Then hugged Eddie tightly, breathing him in.
“Are you sniffing me?” Eddie laughed.
“Yep, you always smell great.” He said unashamedly. “I missed you so much.”
“Oh god, that reminds me of our phone call when you said that.” Eddie groaned. “I missed you too, though.”
“I was just glad you were alright after...well ya know...” He trailed off.
Eddie had been wanting to bring this up and felt now was a good time. He tapped Richie’s arm nervously. “Thank you, Rich.”
“For what?” He asked.
He chewed the inside of his cheek trying to get over his pride. Richie poked his cheek and he swatted away his hand. “You have the cutest cheeks.”
“I’m not cute! And focus fool, I am trying to say thank you for helping when I had my meltdown.” Richie poked his cheek one more time for fun then brought his hands back to grasp Eddie’s.
“Couldn’t have you dying over me.” Richie stated. “What a stupid way to go. The headlines would read: Local Gay Killed Because Boyfriend Was Too Hot To Handle .”
“Oh my fucking god,” A burst of laughter ripped through Eddie. “And under that would be: The hot bisexual boyfriend failed to save him because he was too busy hitting on the paramedic trying to save him. ” They both laughed, wonderful cathartic laughter that vibrated through them. Richie still hugging Eddie and crying into his back at the joke.
When the laughter settled. Eddie said, “But anyway, you were there and you saved me from myself. So thanks Rich.”
“I will always be there for you.” He stated firmly. “Regardless of what we are going through.”
“Even when I have lost my mind?”
“Even if I have to check you into a mental institution, I will visit you every day and entertain you with my hilarity.”
“Or drive me to the brink of insanity.” Eddie mumbled.
Richie kissed the side of his neck distractingly. He grazed his teeth over his pulse point. Eddie sighed soaking in the familiar tingling feeling Richie always gave him. “Hey, tell me about your mom?” He said lightly. “How did she find out? I’m so proud of you for telling her.” Richie was giving the most encouraging and supportive voice. Eddie only felt dread.
“She um…” Eddie was grateful to have his back to Richie. He didn’t think he would be able to lie otherwise. “She also found the photo.”
“Are you serious?!” Richie laughed in exasperation. “Wow, we fucking suck at keeping secrets.”
Eddie chuckled lightly. “Yeah, we do.”
Richie ran his fingers over Eddie’s arms lightly. “But she is alright with it all? What did she say?”
“I had to defend you…” Eddie struggled with how to word everything in a convincing way. He decided to stick to as much of the truth as he could. “She said it is obvious I have always loved you.” Richie squeezed Eddie tighter like a life support. “And when I defended you. She finally heard me for the first time. That it is clear I love you the way she loved my dad.”
Richie brought his hand up to move Eddie’s face toward him. He looked really proud, as if Eddie had defeated a dragon for Richie’s love. “My knight and shining booty shorts.”
“RICHIE! My shorts aren’t that short! Jesus H Christ.” His face flushed and he was going to look away but noticed a change in Richie’s demeanor. He opened his mouth then closed it, eyes going down dejectedly.
“What’s wrong?” Eddie whispered.
“I don’t...I don’t deserve y -”
“Stop. Don’t finish that sentence.” Eddie pleaded. Richie stiffened and his eyes slowly met his. Eddie moved out of his legs and sat cross-legged in front of him.
Richie mimicked the move, so their knees touching. “Are we back to being serious?” He joked.
Eddie huffed, “You have been saying you ‘don’t deserve me’ since the beginning of our relationship. I bet that’s the reason you thought breaking up would be fine. Because I didn’t deserve to be hurt or something moronic like that.”
“Hey, my goal was to protect you from pain because you are perfect and pure and the best person in the world. How can I deserve any of that?” Richie had a thin smile on his face. Clearly trying to joke but Eddie was not laughing now.
“And I love that you think that babe.” He placed both his hands on Richie’s knees. “I honestly believe all the same stuff about you. But Richie...I hate being put on a fucking pedestal. I’m not perfect.”
Richie frowned and opened his mouth to argue but Eddie kissed him to shut him up. Richie mumbled something into his mouth, so Eddie pulled away to let him speak. “You can’t kiss away anger.” He mimicked what Eddie said to him a while ago.
He grinned, “Just did.” Then continued with his concerns “If these past couple weeks have proved anything, it’s that I am truly not the perfect person. And you do deserve to be happy. And if I make you happy, then you deserve me plenty.” He ended the last word by flicking Richie on the nose.
Richie did not respond. He seemed put out for an unknown reason. Eddie expected a sassy remark but received nothing.
“Hey,” He said softly placing his hand under Richie’s chin to bring it up so he would look at him. “You should hit on me.”
“What?” Richie said confused.
Eddie grinned widely, “You should say a stupid pick up line.”
“Why?” Richie’s lips twitched trying not to smile. “Aren’t we trying to have a serious conversation about our relationship?”
“Wow, didn’t know you hated pick up lines now.” Eddie teased. He placed a hand on his heart and another on his forehead saying dramatically, “However will I survive without them?”
Richie stared back smiling then glanced around for inspiration. His eyes landed on the spider-man comic. He smirked, brought his hand to Eddie’s knee to run his fingers up his thigh slowly. Then leaned toward his face whispering, “If I was Spider-man my spidey-senses wouldn’t be the only thing that’s tingling right now.”
Eddie rolled his eyes and snorted out a laugh, “Beep beep, Richie.”
They both laughed and Richie kept his hand on Eddie’s thigh soothingly. He was too conscious of Richie, of his body heat, his breathing, his presence, the slight tickle of his fingers against Eddie’s bare thigh as he kept his hand there. Then Richie placed his other hand on Eddie’s other leg immediately making him flush. He stirred uncomfortably, a warmth spreading low in his belly.
Eddie watched the motion then brought his hands to Richie’s chest and ran them up to his shoulders, his face, and Richie’s hair as if Richie were a treasure that had been lost. Then when all hope seemed gone, the treasure was found and more precious than anything else.
Richie squeezed Eddie’s thighs tighter and he leaned in closer to kiss his lips lightly. He was being extremely cautious, completely out of character for Richie. The kiss was sweet but he started to pull away clearly nervous to continue. Eddie had too many pent up emotions and needs to deal with any more uncertainty. He added more pressure, then cupped his hands around the back of Richie’s head to bring him closer.
“Kiss me harder, Rich,” he whined frustratedly. Richie moaned as he slid his hands to Eddie’s hips and held him in place while he explored his mouth thoroughly, making Eddie gasp. Richie was kissing him, hard and bruising. Eddie opened his lips and licked the inside of his mouth which tasted of cake, Richie inhaled and pulled him harder against him so he was straddling him eliciting a groan from them both. Eddie relished every time Richie dug his hands into his hips, or pressed him impossibly closer. They continued to explore each other’s lips and tongues, caressing, biting, then kissing to soothe the sting.
Richie sucked Eddie’s bottom lip, his mouth on Eddie’s was warm and rough as he teased the corners of his mouth. Then began ravishing Eddie’s mouth with long strokes of his tongue. Each touch of his tongue against his sent a shock through Eddie’s being. Eddie laid back on the bed, pulling Richie toward him so he was pressing his body helplessly against Richie’s, wanting more, craving more. The hot press of body to body was dizzying, Eddie wrapped his legs around him trying to eliminate any space between them. Richie kissed Eddie again and again, each time harder. He savored the texture of his lips over his, the taste of his mouth, until the intensity of it threatened to tip over from pleasure into pain.
Every kiss was like that first one they ever shared except ten times better, Eddie being sure he would want nothing more than Richie and this moment forever. Richie’s hands went under Eddie’s shirt to graze his fingers over the feverish skin. Eddie wasn’t positive if the room was actually hot or if he was heating up from the frenzied kisses.
They pulled away to catch their breath, practically gasping for air. Richie’s eyes were blown out, his hair a mess from Eddie pulling on it.
Richie ran his hands up his sides slowly gazing down at him. “I really love you, Eds.” He admitted.
“I love you so much, Richie.” He sighed back.
Richie’s lips parted anxiously as his golden brown eyes pleaded desperately, “I want this to work again.”
Eddie hesitated, weighing his feelings. He was so worried about everything and unsure how to approach their issues without another fight. “I didn’t like the person I became when you broke up with me.” He said slowly, placing his hand on Richie’s cheek gently. “I was so distraught to the point where I wanted to die. That’s not healthy. I was cruel to Beverly, to you, pretty much everyone when you broke it off.”
Richie removed his hands from Eddie, leaving a coldness in its wake. Then sat on the edge of the bed. He nodded solemnly, “Yeah. Like a nasty Chihuahua."
“Thanks.” He muttered. He stayed laying down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “But I am serious Richie. The argument you used for our break up, me not being out, what you claim is a ‘lie’.” He made air-quotes peering at Richie. “Was the very thing you knew I feared.”
“Don’t air-quote my words.” Richie huffed. “I mean it when I say it was a lie. I had to make you believe the break-up. Otherwise, you would have fought me tooth and nail to stay together.”
He was not wrong about that. Eddie got back into a sitting position and pointed at him accusingly. “See, that terrifies me. You have always said you would never hurt me. But you used my fears against me because you knew it would work.”
At the same time they said:
“Which I had too!”
“Which you had too!”
“I know.” Eddie put his head in his hands rubbing his face, trying to calm himself down.
“And what about you,” Came Richie’s tired voice. “You weren’t much kinder to me.”
He released his hands from his face. “But that’s what I’m saying. I used your fears of becoming your…” Eddie didn’t want to finish his words.
But Richie said it for him. “My father.”
“Which you aren’t,” Eddie said angrily. “I can’t believe the things I said to you.”
“I know. Mom says I never could be anyway. Don’t worry.” Richie said absently.
A pang went through Eddie. “How is your mom?”
“Doing great since my father moved out.” Richie frowned a little glancing at Eddie reproachfully, “Don’t change the subject!”
“I’m not! I just…” Eddie didn’t know what he was saying or doing. A small headache was creeping into the side of his head.
“I want us to move on from the lies.” Richie pleaded.
“I want that too.” He agreed. “I worry about us doing this to each other again.”
“I will never hurt you again.”
“You don’t know that!” Eddie could not help thinking about all the ways they could break each other again. Maybe this was too hard.
Richie stared at him sadly, his lips in a thin line. “So you want to break up?”
Eddie felt sick, “We already are.”
Richie rolled his eyes, “You want to stay broken up?”
“No!”
“You want to be together?”
“I don’t know.”
“You gotta give me something, snicker bar.” Richie put his hands on the back of Eddie’s neck. He brought their foreheads together. The simplest gesture giving Eddie heart palpitations.
Eddie came up with the only solution he could. “Well, how about we take some time to figure ourselves out. Put ourselves first…”
“And our relationship second?” Richie finished.
“Yeah.” He sighed.
Richie kissed his forehead lightly and mumbled into his hairline, “How do we do that?”
Eddie brought his hands up to hold Richie’s wrists, “I don’t know but we’ll figure it out.”
“We always do.” Richie agreed. They looked into each other eyes, an entire universe of possibilities before them. This agreement seemed so fragile and Eddie was not convinced they had figured everything out. Perhaps that was how relationships grew and thrived, through being vulnerable with an uncertain future.
There was a quiet knock on the door. Richie and Eddie looked at each other in confusion. “Come in?” Richie yelled. They got off the bed walking over to the door.
Richie opened it slowly and their friends filled the entryway. Bill in front, Beverly and Ben sticking their heads out at the side, and Stanley being carried on Mike’s shoulders for a better look. It was a funny sight to see.
Bill spoke first, “S-sorry, we are all dying out here.”
“Yeah, you’ve been talking for two hours, we finished the fucking movie.” Beverly complained.
Mike smiled at them. “It’s pretty inconsiderate to forget your guests.”
“I forgot you were even out there.” Eddie laughed. “Sorry.”
Ben took a deep breath trying to find the words to ask them something, “We don’t want to ruin whatever moment you’re having but um...”
“Are you two dumb gays back together or not?” Stanley finished with a roll of his eyes hugging Mike's head.
Eddie stared at his friends encouraged faces with affection and slight annoyance. He looked back at Richie. Their eyes a matching gaze of fear and love.
Richie gave him a shy goofy smile waiting for an answer. Then Eddie smiled back thinking, Who fucking cares?
His arms came up around Richie’s neck and Richie pulled him roughly against him. Richie’s hands flattened against his back, and Eddie was up on the tips of his toes, kissing him fiercely. Richie flicked his tongue along his lips, opening his mouth, and Eddie tasted salt and sweet and everything Richie.
He clung more tightly, knotting his hands in Richie’s hair, trying to tell him, with the press of his mouth, all the things he could not say out loud. He kissed him like he was the only person in the world for him.
And if he was being honest...
He was.